So I guess you can see my parents post below and you all know where I´ll be going for the next two years. Our Model School here went well, our students were really great and gave us hugs and stuff the last day. Yesterday I went with some friends to hike a mountain nearby where Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa all meet. It was a pretty intense climb, and it unfortunately rained a bit so the pictures aren´t as great as they could have been. Tomorrow a bunch of us are hiking to a nearby waterfall that is supposed to be really beautiful. There is really only one week left here in Namaacha, and all of us are pretty much ready to go to site now that we know where we will be going. This last week of training is going to last forever!
I´m also really excited about the other volunteers who will also be in Nampula province with me. Apparently several of us have September birthdays, so we are already planning a big party, as well as a christmas party for this year. We need to stay at site for either xmas or new year, and we can go away for two weekends per month, within our province, for the first three months. And I know Moz is incredibly far away, but if anyone wants to come visit you´re more than welcome!!
I have had nothing stolen here so far, which really reflects the awesomeness of the people here rather than the security of the houses. On Tuesday I went home for lunch to find my house locked and no one there. I debated going across the street to my friend´s house, or texting one of my brothers to come let me in, but in the end i decided to break in by climbing up on a bucket and jumping in through the open window, which was remarkably easy. About 10 minutes later I got a text from my brother telling me where the keys were.
Peace Corps had a great thanksgiving dinner for us, and we had a big American football game too, which was a lot of fun. That was also the day we got our site placements! Some people will be living in mud huts without electricity (and requested such sites), while others have hot running water. But since everyone wanted different things, most people were happy with what they got.
My house here is rather empty now, since it is summer and several family members have gone away for the holidays. Right now it´s just me, Mama, and my two brothers Zinho and Samito.
And a quick update on Mike: He moved to Vale, Colorado for the skiing season and has a job with Vale Mountain and gets to ski a lot!
Friday, November 27, 2009
The 1st PC Volunteer in Nacaroa
[Written by mom and dad after speaking with Jess on Thanksgiving]
I found out yesterday that my service site for the next two years is in Nacaroa, a rural district in the province of Nampula, in northern Mozambique. I will teach English to students in 8th to 10th grade, probably seven classes with about 70 students per class.
I will be the only Peace Corps Volunteer in Nacaroa, and the first one ever to serve there. This is exactly the type of setting that I was hoping for, so I am really excited about it! I want to become part of the local community and culture, speaking Portuguese as much as possible, so I like the idea of being the only Volunteer there. Other Volunteers from my training group have been assigned to nearby districts in Nampula province, close enough that we should be able to visit each other occasionally. Nampula city, the capital of the province, is about 3-4 hours from Nacaroa. Nampula is the third largest city in Mozambique and is known as a business center.
I will not see my living quarters until I move there on Dec 10, but here is what I have heard about it: I will have a Mozambiquan roommate, probably a teacher from the school where I will teach. The main living quarters has two bedrooms and a common living room. The kitchen is in a hut outside the main living area, and the bathroom also is outside. There is no running water. The nearest water source is about 600 meters away, so I probably will pay someone to carry water for me. There is electricity, but it is only on from 6:00 -10:00 PM. I don’t know what we do for food storage – with only four hours per day of electricity, we won’t have a refrigerator. There is cell phone reception in the area, but I don’t know how good the reception will be at my house and school. I don’t know if there is internet access at the school or anyplace nearby.
I can’t wait until training is finished and I head to Nacaroa! I am sooo… looking forward to seeing my new home, meeting my roommate, and becoming part of Nacaroa!
I found out yesterday that my service site for the next two years is in Nacaroa, a rural district in the province of Nampula, in northern Mozambique. I will teach English to students in 8th to 10th grade, probably seven classes with about 70 students per class.
I will be the only Peace Corps Volunteer in Nacaroa, and the first one ever to serve there. This is exactly the type of setting that I was hoping for, so I am really excited about it! I want to become part of the local community and culture, speaking Portuguese as much as possible, so I like the idea of being the only Volunteer there. Other Volunteers from my training group have been assigned to nearby districts in Nampula province, close enough that we should be able to visit each other occasionally. Nampula city, the capital of the province, is about 3-4 hours from Nacaroa. Nampula is the third largest city in Mozambique and is known as a business center.
I will not see my living quarters until I move there on Dec 10, but here is what I have heard about it: I will have a Mozambiquan roommate, probably a teacher from the school where I will teach. The main living quarters has two bedrooms and a common living room. The kitchen is in a hut outside the main living area, and the bathroom also is outside. There is no running water. The nearest water source is about 600 meters away, so I probably will pay someone to carry water for me. There is electricity, but it is only on from 6:00 -10:00 PM. I don’t know what we do for food storage – with only four hours per day of electricity, we won’t have a refrigerator. There is cell phone reception in the area, but I don’t know how good the reception will be at my house and school. I don’t know if there is internet access at the school or anyplace nearby.
I can’t wait until training is finished and I head to Nacaroa! I am sooo… looking forward to seeing my new home, meeting my roommate, and becoming part of Nacaroa!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Back from Morrumbene
I had a great time in morrumbene and we went to undo beach also i'm in mastun now and i just bought some really cool earrings that are the shape of a mozambican map. We start model school this week, which is kind of like student teaching.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Going to Morrumbene
I'm on my way for a site visit, which basically entails visiting a current volunteer to see their site and job and stuff. I'm going to the city of morrumbene in the province of inhambane, which is near the beach! I'm happy to say i've no been sick since the last post. Me and my neighbor meagan made chocolate chip cookies from scratch and a made up recipe and were very popular with the people who happened to be around.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
It's been a month already!
Everything is still going great here! I've been sick a few times in the past few weeks (stomach things), but still loving it overall. Some highlights of that include my mama putting a bucket in my room and telling me I could go to the bathroom (and she wasn't referring to urine...) in there so I wouldn't have to go outside at night. I tried to tell her there was no way I was going to diarrhea in my room, but she insisted so I had to tell her I would and then sneak out as need be. She also gave me cheetos and cookies to eat, and didn't seem to understand why I didn't eat them.
It's getting to be the beginning of the rainy season here, which means the dirt roads get incredibly muddy and slippery. It also means that there isn't much water left in the wells, and the water that is there is quite dirty. I didn't have water to bathe yesterday, so I was really excited for my one today, until I was the water. It looked dirty enough to have been used the clean the floor already, but amazingly I still felt a lot cleaner afterward than before.
Another thing that goes along with the rain is rain gear, so I wanted to comment on a few rain outfits my fellow trainees have worn that I think my father would really approve of:
1) A few people have ponchos, which for those of you who don't know, my dad is a strong advocate of. I've kept one in the trunk of my car even since I got my license because he said I never knew when I would want one. The answer was never, even though Mike did use it once.
2) One of my friends has a hardcore rain outfit that reminds me of the one my dad wore to Dillsburg when I was in middle school. It consists of waterproof overalls, and a jacket to match, all olive green
Next weekend we will be going on site visits, which means we will be staying with current volunteers Sat-Wed to see what their sites and jobs and lives are like, so I'm really excited for that. I'll find out where I'll be going for that on Wed, which won't be relevant to where I'll ultimately be placed for 2 years.
I really want to get my hair braided. I lot of my friends have sisters who do it for them, but I only have brothers, so that hasn't happened for me. I tried to tell one of my friends' moms that I wanted braids, hoping that she would get one of her daughters (she has five) to do it, but instead she just laughed like it was the funniest suggestion she had ever heard, so I didn't get braids.
There is a really beautiful mountain nearby that I really want to hike a little bit. Me and some friends headed for a walk in that direction this morning, but didn't go too far, and we want to make a day trip of it sometime.
Well that's all for now...I'm still waiting for a call from my dear sister...perhaps she needs my dear parents to buy here Skype cards?
It's getting to be the beginning of the rainy season here, which means the dirt roads get incredibly muddy and slippery. It also means that there isn't much water left in the wells, and the water that is there is quite dirty. I didn't have water to bathe yesterday, so I was really excited for my one today, until I was the water. It looked dirty enough to have been used the clean the floor already, but amazingly I still felt a lot cleaner afterward than before.
Another thing that goes along with the rain is rain gear, so I wanted to comment on a few rain outfits my fellow trainees have worn that I think my father would really approve of:
1) A few people have ponchos, which for those of you who don't know, my dad is a strong advocate of. I've kept one in the trunk of my car even since I got my license because he said I never knew when I would want one. The answer was never, even though Mike did use it once.
2) One of my friends has a hardcore rain outfit that reminds me of the one my dad wore to Dillsburg when I was in middle school. It consists of waterproof overalls, and a jacket to match, all olive green
Next weekend we will be going on site visits, which means we will be staying with current volunteers Sat-Wed to see what their sites and jobs and lives are like, so I'm really excited for that. I'll find out where I'll be going for that on Wed, which won't be relevant to where I'll ultimately be placed for 2 years.
I really want to get my hair braided. I lot of my friends have sisters who do it for them, but I only have brothers, so that hasn't happened for me. I tried to tell one of my friends' moms that I wanted braids, hoping that she would get one of her daughters (she has five) to do it, but instead she just laughed like it was the funniest suggestion she had ever heard, so I didn't get braids.
There is a really beautiful mountain nearby that I really want to hike a little bit. Me and some friends headed for a walk in that direction this morning, but didn't go too far, and we want to make a day trip of it sometime.
Well that's all for now...I'm still waiting for a call from my dear sister...perhaps she needs my dear parents to buy here Skype cards?
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