First trip to Nampula City

[Written by mom and dad after speaking with Jess]

I had a nice Christmas visiting with other volunteers in Monopo, but I wasn’t able to blog from there because the internet café was closed for Christmas. So I asked my parents to update my blog. [Editor’s note: Jess’s dad has been rather slow to post this.]

I had an exciting time on my first trip to Nampula City. When I arrived, after a 3-hour chapa ride, I called the other volunteers that I had planned on meeting there. As I put my cell phone back in my pack, three guys suddenly surrounded me, telling me to give them my cell phone and my money. I handed over the phone, and they started saying “Hurry up! Give us your money!” I searched through my purse trying to find the money; the guys kept saying to hurry; I kept searching; and in a few seconds they ran away. I guess I was lucky that I didn’t find the money. It all happened so quickly that I didn't even have time to get scared.

After a couple of hours at the police station, reporting the robbery, I ran into the other volunteers and we did some shopping. First on my list was a new cell phone – I opted for a more basic (ie, cheaper) model than the one that had just been stolen. Next was food and household stuff. I didn’t buy as much as I planned to, because the merchants tried charging me prices way above what they were charging the local people. When I questioned this, the answer usually was “take it or leave it,” and in most cases, I left it. Overall, shopping in Nampula City was rather frustrating. But the day wasn’t over yet – I still had to get back home.

When I went to pay for the chapa ride going back to Nacaroa, they asked for a price much higher than what was reasonable. Again, their attitude was “take it or leave it.” And again, I wouldn’t pay the unfair prices that they wanted. Instead, I found a more economical, though less comfortable, means of transportation, crammed in like sardines with a bunch of other people. The woman next to me was holding a baby, sandwiched between us. It was kind of cute for a while, but unfortunately, the baby was facing my way when his/her bladder decided to relieve itself. Finally, I got back home, washed up, and began looking forward to the next day.

I am learning what it is like to stand out as an obvious non-local. In Nampula City, they charged me higher prices. Here in Nacaroa, everybody knows where I live and that I am the new
American teacher. I’ve had kids knock on my door and ask if I would hire them to do some work for me. The school provides a guard who watches the house overnight, sweeps the yard, and replenishes our water supply as needed. The other day he told me that he also is a good mechanic, and wanted a job fixing things.

The school year will start soon. Teachers are supposed to arrive by Jan 11, and classes will start around Jan 18. It’s finally been decided that I will teach English, not Chemistry. I will have three sections of 11th grade English, which meets five days a week. I also will be Director of a quarter of the 11th grade students. I am looking forward to it.