11 things to get excited about in 2010

1. I am teaching the 8th graders again this year, meaning I already have all lesson plans and curriculum prepared from last year and can actually improve! Plus, I don't have to deal with the older boys in upper classes, most of whom are my age and sometimes older which makes it weird.
2. We are in the new school! This year we no longer have to walk 2 miles alllllll the way out of town in the blazing sun to the tin shacks by the cashew factory. Instead, we walk 3 minutes to a beautiful school that has a beautiful breeze and view of the Indian ocean.
3. The new school has a door that actually shuts on every classroom--does great things for classroom management.
4. The new school has bathrooms!!! No longer have to hold it or run into the field behind the cashew factory!
5. The new school has nice chalkboards!
6. The new school has electrical outlets, so maybe I can use a computer and show the students stuff!
7. So far, I only have about 80 kids per class--half of my numbers from last year!
8. Everyone seems really excited about learning this year. We actually started classes just a few days late and we're still going!
9. I am now in charge of the bio department. Don't know what that means, but it sounds great and I'm excited to see what I can do.
10. Margarida, a new health volunteer has joined the team in Angoche. She is so sweet, wonderful, and willing to help with our REDES group (girls empowerment group).
11. I get to help this year with REDES national conferences and we're revamping the program.

Well those are just a few things...stay tuned.

Swaz Safari

Most people envision Africa like a sceane from the lion king, but a lot of it doesn't look a bit like that terrain and lions, zebras, and elephants don't roam freely. Much of the remaining large animals were killed or fled during the civil war in Mozambique, the survivors live on a number of wildlife refuges where they are trying to build numbers again. Fortunately for me, many of Mozambique's neighbors have much more populated wildlife refuges. When I went to visit Swaziland, I went with a couple Swazi PCVs to Hlane, the king's royal park.





We actually decided to camp at the park which was interesting. The camp ground is surrounded by the kind of fence used to keep cows in pastures in Iowa. Call me crazy, but I think someone needs to re-think the differences between cows and rhinos. Oh well. We were informed by the staff that we could quietly and calmly approach the fence to take pictures. As we set up camp and made dinner we actually got to see rhinos and hippos.



The next morning at 5AM we all piled into the safarimobile with our driver/guide and headed off into the park.



At first, some of the animals were a bit shy, so we did a lot of grass-gazing.



Sweet. A turtle. Can we see the lions now?



Anyone know what this guy is?





White rhino



Giraffes

Antelope



Warthog

finally...the king
And my favorite...elephant. Definitely the most exciting. This one actually charched the jeep. Still pissed after we disturbed him last night.

This is him the night before. We were makin dinner and he was just on the other side of the fence eating. We quietly approached him to take pictures and he got really really angry and charged. Good thing there's a big fence. Can you see it?

Visiting Swaziland

From Namaacha Mozambique, it's only a walk to the outskirts of town to be at the border of Swaziland, so I made my first visit out of Moz. What beautiful country. Reminded me so much of the terrain in Namaacha. It's suprisingly well-developed compared to Mozambique and people speak Sswati (sp?) and English, so travel was super easy. Just look at that beautiful paved road!
Such an interesting little country. It's the last monarchy in Africa and practically surrounded by South Africa--just shares a bit of it's border with Mozambique. Because of it's rather uniform culture and strong monarchy, it was able to resist take over by any of the bigger guys and is a quite stable and calm place to be. It also boasts a suprisingly diverse array of terrain and many large game parks where a huge percentage of African game safely roam. It's certainly not without its problems. Swaziland has an even higher rate of HIV than Mozambique and many of the other issues I've experienced here.

A couple of months before I left for Mozambique, I crossed paths with Jaclyn and learned that she would be starting her 2 years in PC Swaziland. Not long after that, I was placed in Mozambique. Bada-bing! Banda-boom! Neighbors! I got the chance to visit her a few weeks ago, so I took it. What an amazing and refreshing experience to talk to someone who grew up in the midwest, loves Jesus, has a ton of mutual friends, has been working in a southern-African country for over a year with the Peace Corps! I got to see her site, learn about her work, and listen to her perspective on things.

Her site is pretty matu (bush). But so beautiful! This is the view walkin out of her front door!

Jaclyn, me, host family squirt.

Kids are pretty cute there too. As you can see.

Back to Namaacha

First of all, sorry for the long break in blog posts. Couldn't have been helped--I was on the road. Thanks to those of you who didn't get bored and give up on me. So first off, when I returned to the southern half of Mozambique, I took advantage of my proximity to the 'ol host family and went to hang out with them for a bit (normally a nearly impossible trip to make from Angoche). The last time my host family saw me was the last day of training in December of 2008. I was informed by them that I had gotten fatter (a compliment here), whiter, and could finally speak Portuguese after a year in Angoche and a month back in the States. Gotta love em. We covered a lot of ground...we could communicate so much better. And it was kinda sweet that I wasn't treated as some sort of awkward princessy guest that no one understood...I felt like a part of the fam. So here's some updated pics of the fam.
Nilzu
Mana Neida

Ilda, Sancho, Xirene, Mana Neida

Sancho and Nilzu...not gonna lie...they're my favorites!

Sancho

Our house

Ilda

Sancho, Mama Come, Nilzu, and some random cousin

Sancho

And last but certainly not least...my nephew! My host sister had him the day I left for Angoche and I didn't even get to see him. he played hard to get at first, but then warmed up to his tia branca.

Brrrr. No place like home

My toes were a little chilly when I stepped off the airplane in Omaha.
What a week to make the transition from my tropical life! Walked right back into a blizzard wearing flipflops.
That's right folks, I traded sweating for shivering, black for white people, portuguese for English, rice and shrimp for pizza and milk, students for family Ben and friends. I'm home until January. Anyone want to hang out? So it was 105 degrees when I left Angoche. And here its -5. No big deal. Just a 110 degree difference.

Papa Frems.

When I told people in Angoche that it's cold where I'm from they say

"oh you mean like our winter?"

Nah, not exactly. You guys wear puffy down jackets and stocking caps for 60 degree weather because you're goofy. Where I'm from, ice falls from the sky and stays on the ground without melting.

"Do you have to wear a jacket?"

Yes. And boots, mittens, scarves, and hats.

"What happens if you leave your house?"

You mean without a jacket? Well, you could die if you stay out too long.

"Why do people live there?"

Smile. I dunno. Hot chocolate?

Thanksgiving

Mashed potatoes...a lot. Toam and I made em.
How we going to keep them cold if Katie doesn't have a refrigerator?
Oh well, they'll be ok if we eat them soon enough, right?
Did Miguel, Hammer, and Katia get a turkey?
They didn' have time to find a turkey.
How much are ducks? Lets get 2. The lady at the bungalow will cook em for us.
A sail boat ride to Chokas Mar.
I think one duck is sick.
Lady who usually cooks for us is not there.
Is there anyone else who can cook our ducks?
One duck escapes.
Hammer catches him again.
Anyone wanna play scrabble?
Can that kid cook our ducks?
He's like 9 years old.
Who cares. They know how to do that stuff.
No one in sight for miles in each direction on the beach.
Perfectly azure water.
Frisbee.
Is it time to try to make stuffing?
How do you make stuffing?
Just some veggies, bread, and some sort of bird juice?
Mashed potatoes are fermenting. Ew.
More beach.
Did anyone start the stuffing?
What are you reading?
Anyone in the hammock?
Sun burn.
Katia on guitar. "Octopus with one tentacle gone"
Stuffing looks weird.
They're back with the ducks!
Oooo, kinda tough.
Stuffing is interesting.
Pumpkin pie saves the meal, nice work David.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Beach Babies

Last trip to Praia Nova for the year. We got to go with our favorite Moz fam.

Shamik. We're in love.

My roomie and Danish (they're in love) and the boys' beautiful mom, and our friend Tonisha.

Sand art lessons from Tia (aunt) Alexi.

Thanks mom for sending the spider-man kites. This guy loved them!

Not long after this, he accidentally let the kite go and his Tia Xirene had to chase it down the beach to the amusement of the local village people.

Ahhh. Gotta love it.