Dance Competitions and Reproductive Health

     Tania made the trip back to Cuamba with us after our trip.  Just like after any trip, I was not ready to go back to work.  So I decided to take advantage of having Tania there and we would do some activities with her.  Another PCV was coming to Cuamba to give some classes on Sexual Reproductive Health as well but I was not sure if she would make it to my classes or not.  I figured if she made it in time, Ariel could give the reproductive health lessons, because that is very important for these students, otherwise Tania and I would do some activities with my 11th graders.

My students and Tania... they loved her

The next day came and Ariel had gotten to Cuamba late the night before, so she wasn’t going to make it for my first class.  So it was all Tania.  I decided we would let them ask her questions and just practice speaking English.  Right before we got to class we decided it would be fun to pretend that Tania does not speak any Portuguese, so they would have to work and only speak English.  This was fun.  We got there and they questions began.  Started with the standard, how old are you, are you married, where do you live, what do you do, what do you like to do in your free time, etc.  Then what kind of music do you like, her and I gave a little beat and did a little dance… my students got to see a new side of me.  I am usually pretty serious in my classes because one of my classes does not listen to me if I joke around; this first class is not the same.  I think I’ve gained a little more respect over the last few months with them.  Part way through the questions we decided we wanted them to “teach” Tania a little Portuguese.  So we started having them translate some of the things that they were asking and some of her answers.  This was great, until one point when I wasn’t listening and someone translated what she said wrong.  I didn’t hear it, but Tania handled it well… she was like, is that really what I said and looked at me.  I had them repeat it and I realized it was wrong.  She said her response again and this time someone got it right… I should really pay attention more haha.
Toward the end, after Tania and I talked about how much she liked to dance and how much she liked music, one of my students raised his hand and asked…. “Can we have a dance contest?”  Tania said she would, so I said it was fine.  We put on some Michael Jackson and had 5 of my students and Tania as contestants.  I knew, in general, Mozambicans are very good dancers… but these students were amazing.  They were pulling some serious Michael Jackson moves.  Luckily, I got a short video of some of them, you cannot see great because most of the students ended up standing up.  When Tania disappears, she is doing the worm.  At the end, we voted it was a close one, but Tania ended up winning.  I’m not sure if I agree, Tania was great but these kids have some skills.

The dance-off.. 

The dance contestants 

For the next class, Tania talked to them for about 15 minutes and then Ariel came.  She taught about the reproductive systems of both a male and a female, talked about pregnancy and answered several questions.  These kids did not know a whole lot.  I wish she would have had more time, but the next teacher was ready to teach his class.  The next day she did the same thing for my other class.  Again, they had so many questions for her that she only got through a fraction of her material.  That was ok, because it is important to answer their questions and address the wrong information that they have been given, but they need more classes like this.    I hope that she will be able to come back sometime, maybe for a week and give lessons for the entire week.  We talked with the director and she was able to give these classes to some 9th and 10th grade classes in the afternoon for teachers who were either sick or who did not show up.  Each time, she said she got through only a fraction of her material, due to students questions.  All of my students said that they wanted her to return some day and teach them more.

Everything the light touches is our kingdom.

Disclaimer... this post was written at the end of April... and for some reason I never posted it.  so when it starts last saturday that doesn't actually mean yesterday or last week.  It means about 2 months ago... anyway here it is)

Last Saturday, Rich (our site mate/neighbor), Sam and I finally went for a hike up what we call Church Mountain.  I guess it is mountainish, but I’d say it’s a very big hill.  At the top, you guessed it, is an old small church built a while ago.  It was absolutely beautiful up there and we were able to see so much of our beautiful site. 

We left the IFP around 7:30am and started the trek to the base of the mountain.  It isn’t too far from the IFP and probably only took about 15-20ish minutes to get to the trail.  Finding the actual trail was difficult, it was very grown over and neither Sam nor I knew where we were going, but don’t worry Rich found it and we started the hike.  It was a fairly easy hike to the top, minus one part that had all the tall grass and other plants flattened and was very steep.  It didn’t help that it was still early and the grass was wet, so that part was a little slippery and we had to be careful not to slip and slide all the way back down.  No worries though everyone (ie Mom) we made it safely up and were a little concerned about the way back, until we realized there was a much easier path that we had missed on the way up.  I don’t want to think about how the people who built the church were able to get all the materials to the top, I’m just glad it wasn’t my job.  It was so pretty at the top, there is something about old buildings that I just love, they are just beautiful.  Instead of trying to describe everything I’ll just post some pictures.

See that white grouping of buildings... that's the IFP

Gosh this place is BEAUTIFUL!

The Church at the top of the mountain

The church at the top of the mountian... not sure how they got the materials to build it all the way up there... 

Inside

Take a look out that window...

The other side

On the side of the church... 

 Look, Simba. Everything the light touches is our kingdom. (a Lion King reference felt appropriate while we were sitting up there on the ledge) 

An ants view...

To view my children, that'll be, 1 metical, a papaya, and some flour please

We slept surprisingly well (but not that great) considering there were 3 of us on a twin bed, until about 5:30am when we got up to try to find a ride to Chiponde.  We got in an open back chapa, aka a pick-up truck, fairly quickly and it filled with about 30 other people, their luggage and we ended up basically hugging boxes of fish and bags of onions for the next few hours.  On our trip, I got to see several monkeys along the road and when we finally got to Chiponde we got through customs and then made our way to the Mozambican side. 

Most comfortable way to travel...

Here the same man that was there the time before, remembered us and we told him, “See we told you we would be back.”  We joked with them for a little bit, then I was asked for a half American half Mozambican baby by one of the younger men working there and then we were on our way.  Right outside of the office, as we were walking by, one of the big trucks transporting goods from Malawi to other places asked us if we were going to Cuamba and when we said yes, they told us to climb in.  We got in the back on top of sacks of cabbage and potatoes.  

My new Mae, the one furthest from the camera

Several other people were picked up and we made a lot of friends and had a lot of stares on the trip home.  I made friends with this old woman who ended up saying she was our Mae and when ever we would stop and several children would just stare at us and we would be joking around with them, she would say in the local language, “These are my children, you need to give me flour to look at them.”  It became a very big joke and at one point we stopped and there were a lot of teenage boys and men standing there staring at us.  We were talking to them and she arranged a lobolo (dowry) of 1 metical and 1 papaya for Tania and I to marry these two guys.   I guess that’s all we were worth to her.  She received the metical but is still waiting for the papaya… so I think only I am officially (by lobolo rules) promised as of now. 

one of the smallest crowds of kids we attracted along the way

We finally arrived in Cuamba after probably the most comfortable ride I have ever had in Mozambique that wasn’t in a private car.  I could move around as I pleased and the sacks of cabbage/potatoes provided a nice bed to lay on and rest if you found just the right spot.  I have to say although one of the reasons I went to Malawi was to go on a safari and see some animals, even though we didn’t get to do that, I would not change our trip for anything and I still can’t believe what became of our trip.  There is always next time…

Are they leaving for good, good? (Day 5 of our Malawian Adventure)

One of our Chechewa teachers...

 The next day we woke up, had another delicious breakfast and chatted with Grandfather a little more.  As he sat there eating gummy worms, he asked his grandson, “Are they leaving for good good?”  Its official, we are always welcome at that house and I hope we can make it back to visit sometime.  Then it was time for us to head to Blantyre.

 Up until this point, most of the trip I had spent sitting in the front of the trip, but for the ride back I decided to sit in the bed of the truck, so I would have an even better view of Malawi’s scenery.  Two of Roy’s workers were coming along to help Roy with some work in Blantyre so they were sitting in the back with us. Tania and I continued our Chechewa lessons with them.  That day they were extremely chatty and full of helpful phrases for us to learn in Chechewa.

 Roy took us to get us a chapa back to the border town Chiponde, not before meeting his stepfather to complete the family meetings.  We agreed on 3000 kwacha from Blantyre to Chiponde and got in for the trip. 

Our lodging for the evening... and yes it says free bleakfast...

                When we reached the cross-roads town, Mangochi, the driver said he wasn’t going any further and dropped us off at pick-up truck he said would take us to Chiponde.  By this point it was dark out and we weren’t sure if we really wanted to continue or not, we knew we would either end up staying in Mangochi or in Chiponde and leaving tomorrow morning for Cuamba either way, we just weren’t sure where we would end up staying.  The driver then demanded that we pay the 3000 Kw.  We said we had agreed on that price all the way to Chiponde.  He said we didn’t agree on it with him and it is 3000 to Mangochi.  We got in another argument and ended up talking with the police again.  This time, they sided with the driver.  We finally agreed to pay 3000 if the driver would take us to somewhere safe to stay.  The police said he knew this guy and he would drive us to a several different places, until we found one that had space, one that we liked and that was a decent price.  We said ok, and crossed the bridge back into Mangochi, went to the first place, which was full and then to the second place which had rooms ranging from 1500-3000 kwacha.  We said that would work and paid the driver went in to the hostel to decide which room we wanted. 

Enjoying our dinner in our luxury room

         We ended up staying in the cheapest one for 1500, (or 500 kwacha each).   If you do the math for each of us that is about 41 metical, or approximately $1.39.  For this price we got a room with a twin bed, a mosquito net, a flushing toilet, a bucket of water, a broken fan, and energy.  This is a lot for all that and more than I’ve ever seen for so cheap in Mozambique.  By this point, we may have been a little delirious, but we found the fact that we were paying less than $1.50 for this room hilarious. 

We had our dinner of bread and peanut butter on the bed while recounting all the stories from our trip and once again asking the question of our travels, “What is happening on this trip and where are we?”. 

Green everywhere! (Day 4 of our adventure in Malawi)

 The next day we woke up and met Grandfather.  He is this cute, old, half Indian half Malawian man who welcomed us into his family and home.  He kept saying to each of us, “Most welcome, Madam, your most welcome”.  We chatted with him, took some bucket baths, they insisted that we give our dirty clothes to their workers to wash while we were on our next adventure of the day, so we complied and finally had some delicious breakfast.   Roy came in and started the day with his usual sentence, “Today we are going to… o so what do you want to do today?”  By this point we had surrendered all control of the trip to him and returned the same questions, “so, what are we going to do?”  He informed us that we were going to go up the other side of the mountain to where there were tea fields and a beautiful dam that the tea plantations use for hydroelectricity. 

We set out on the drive, and this might be one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever taken. 

Tea fields and Mountains

The road we were driving on.... best views ever

More tea

Best color of green... am I right

Tea everywhere we looked

The Three of us at the dam

We were surrounded by tea fields on every side, and for those of you, who have never seen tea fields, they are the most beautiful color of green ever and to top it off, it was surrounded by mountains, too.  Then we started to drive up the mountains and the view continued to be of more mountains, tea, and beautiful trees.  We arrived at the part where we could no longer drive and then continued on a 45-minute hike up to the dam.  We sat at the dam for a while and then walked a little further up to another little pond.  Again I think I could have sat there for days.

By the dam

The Hike up

                We finally got back to Grandfather’s house and he scolded us because it was around 3pm and it had been 6 hours since we had last eaten.  We did not go hungry by any means at any point of this trip.  When we returned the cook had prepared us a traditional Malawian meal, which was very similar to Mozambican food.  Nsima (xima), Chinese cabbage (basically the same thing as couve), pumpkin leaves, and chicken for us.  Once again, it was delicious.  We sat around talking and it was prayer time for the grandfather, the family is Muslim.  I am not a religious person but I love learning about religions and watching religious traditions so this was very interestings for me.  We got to watch him as he did the ceremonious ritual of washing before he went to the other room to do his prayers (he washed his hands, feet, and head a special way).  We could also hear him doing his prayers and even though I could not understand him at all, it was a very beautiful sound to hear the kind of song like prayers he we doing. 

At that point, Roy suggested we go walk around to see more of Malonje but the three of us were exhausted so he told us to take a nap and he was going to go to his plot of land to do a little work.  So we laid down on the couches and took a nap until we were woken up by some of his family members who lived there (there were probably about eight or so people living there) and we played some cards with the little kids until he returned.  We then left to go get a small dinner and some drinks, had some debates and then decided we were all still exhausted and returned home to get a good night’s sleep.  

Bricks and Mountains

Tania and I before getting in the truck on this great adventure!

The next day we all got up and headed to Malonje, not before getting some delicious donuts on our way out of town.  The drive took about 45 minutes to reach the edge of Malonje and we went straight to Roy’s plot of land.  Let me just say from the start, from the moment we got to Malonje, I agree with Roy, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  His plot of land is at the base of a mountain and it is so green and just breathe taking. 

We all piled out of the truck and then were shown the bricks and he told us what he was planning for the land and then we got to work.  Even as we were breaking up the dirt and pouring the water in to start to make the mud, he doubted us.  Then we took off our shoes and started stomping around in the mud to make the correct consistency for the bricks (think wet cement consistency). 

Roy's view.... not bad huh!

I think I was falling... but I could have been trying to push her into the mud too!

Making Mud!

Then one of Roy’s workers showed us how to pack the molds and how to flip it over.  We each took turns doing this task and then we tried to figure out a way to be efficient about it.  Tania and Sam packed the molds, I took them and flipped them over and washed them out again while they were packing the other ones.  I was also in charge of digging more dirt to make more mud. 

Working hard.

While we were doing all this, Roy still didn’t think we would finish 300 bricks, but that just made us want to do it more.  After about 2 hours of work, we had made 300 bricks.  Not all were perfect but everyone who was around was very impressed by the quality of our bricks and said most of them would be used. 

Us and the Kids we were entertaining by working.

Some of the better bricks that we put our initials on

The view on our hike

                Next, we all piled into the truck again and he took us on a tour of Malonje.  It is a smaller town but still has quite a bit, it has a golf club (what??? It’s been so long since I’ve seen a golf course) and some fancy hotels, we ate at one of them, and his family seems to be about half the population of the town.  As we were driving, he would point out to me, “this is where my uncle lives and my aunt lives here.  My cousins live in those three houses there”… and so on.  After eating, we drove part way up the mountain on one side to go to some natural pools where the local people often swim.  We would have gone swimming but it was so cold, although Tania did fall in while we were walking across a part that was very shallow.  We sat there for a while and then headed further up the mountain to see the waterfall.  We were able to drive a little further up and then parked the car and had about a 30-minute hike up the mountain.  This place was absolutely beautiful, I think I could have sat there for days and just relaxed.

The waterfall

Walking back down the mountain

  

Our Walk down while the sunset

The pools at sunset

              We headed back down the mountain back to the pools and watched as the sun set.  Absolutely amazing!  On our way down, we stopped to buy some things made from Malonje cedar.  I got a nice little keepsake box, which smells AMAZING, and termites apparently won’t go near the stuff.  I think I could live in a house made of this stuff; it is so soothing and just makes me relax.  We grabbed some dinner and then he took us to one of the bars in town for a few more drinks.  We had decided that it was too late to head back to Blantyre and we ended up staying at his grandfather’s house.  But before we went home we were at the bar and we met some of his friends.  One man, Riaz, we were talking to about Mozambique.  His ex-wife is Mozambican and turns out, he knew some people in Cuamba that he wants to introduce us too someday.  He also owns a bunch of land in Malawi and from what I got, somewhere he is opening up a game reserve, or something along those lines.  So during our conversation he started to ask us a question, then stopped and said, “Wait are you two democrats or republicans?  Cause if you are democratic I’m not going to even bother asking you this next question.”  Tania’s and my response was the same… just ask, we won’t be offended.  He ended up saying that if we came to visit his game reserve thing we could shoot guns, we looked at each other and were like… “OK!”
          Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go this trip but we got his email and are in the works of planning another trip to shoot some guns with this guy, although I made it very clear, I didn’t want to shoot any animals, just targets with all sorts of different guns that he has.  After watching the last few minutes of the USA vs. Portugal game of the world cup, we headed back to Roy’s grandfather’s house to finally go to bed.