Happy Saint Patrick's day from Alto Molocue! I'm up here staying with Amy for the week, in preparation for our most excellent adventure in Tanzania. We're leaving the moz in a week to have a go at climbing Kilimanjaro.
So Amy and I are celebrating this holiest of holy days by having two peace corp volunteers over for dinner. I'm substituting my usual feast of soda bread, corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes for mucapata, rice, and beans. Guinness has been replaced with Manica, our local Mozambican beer. I considered dyeing the Rio Molocue green, but it already has a brownish-green hue, and there's cholera-o-plenty around here so I think it would be wise to steer clear of the river.
In other exciting news, I finished my research project! So I'm living the good life for the next couple weeks. Hanging out with my bud in Molocue, partaking in African adventure travel. Not bad, says I.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
30 more nets!
30 more nets found a home this week! They went to members of an organization of people living with HIV/AIDS in Alto Molocue.
Clarification
So apparently my prior story was misunderstood by some people, which prompted a frantic phone call from my mom. To clarify:
Yes, some of the expat doctors in the districts have been ordered back to Quelimane. The government here is flexing their muscles and manipulating the NGO's, which is nothing new. The government here treats NGO's like their monkey puppets, and they use these organizations to funnel American taxpayer dollars into their own pockets. I could write a 20 page report on why US foreign aid should be pulled from this country.
I digress...so the "unapproved" expats were brought back to the Provincial capital. But Amy and I have approval for our projects (which took 6 months to get), so we're still continuing with our work. The others might be deported.
And the phone call that Amy got was just a joke. Troy and Adi were getting her back for sending a snotty text message to Adi. That being said, Amy and I have proclaimed ourselves the rulers of The Northern Alliance. With Adi and Pola in the south, and potentially out of the country, Amy and I will usher in a era of awesomeness in our northern kingdom of Alta Zambézia. It's a dawning of a new age!
Yes, some of the expat doctors in the districts have been ordered back to Quelimane. The government here is flexing their muscles and manipulating the NGO's, which is nothing new. The government here treats NGO's like their monkey puppets, and they use these organizations to funnel American taxpayer dollars into their own pockets. I could write a 20 page report on why US foreign aid should be pulled from this country.
I digress...so the "unapproved" expats were brought back to the Provincial capital. But Amy and I have approval for our projects (which took 6 months to get), so we're still continuing with our work. The others might be deported.
And the phone call that Amy got was just a joke. Troy and Adi were getting her back for sending a snotty text message to Adi. That being said, Amy and I have proclaimed ourselves the rulers of The Northern Alliance. With Adi and Pola in the south, and potentially out of the country, Amy and I will usher in a era of awesomeness in our northern kingdom of Alta Zambézia. It's a dawning of a new age!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Northern Alliance
The doctors in the districts of Ile, Gilé, and Alto Molocue made this club called the Northern Alliance. The reason is that if any of them gets attacked, literally or during an FGH meeting in Quelimane, the other 2 districts have their back. Well, Amy and I have been trying to get into the Northern Alliance for the past month, but Adi and Pola are acting like the older siblings who made a fort in the backyard and won't let you play.
Well, things have been brewing with the hammer and sickle government here, and yesterday things kind of hit the fan when the government ordered all expat doctors who don't have their approval to leave their districts and come back to Quelimane immediately. Naturally, this prompted Amy to send a text message to Adi saying, "well well, looks like you'll have to ask my permission to be in the northern alliance now. my how the tables have turned."
And so the fun began. Amy received a phone call that evening from Troy, our boss at FGH.
Troy: hey, is there a car there in molocue?
Amy: yeah, i mean, the normal molocue car.
T: so, i really hate to tell you this, but you need to come to quelimane tomorrow.
A: what? what are you talking about?
T: things here continue to fall apart, and now it looks like everyone needs to be pulled out of the districts for now. can you take a car to quelimane tomorrow? when is pola coming?
A: are you serious? pola's coming on friday. she's not coming tomorrow. wait, what the hell? are you serious?! i don't even know what to say
T: hold on, talk to Adi
Adi: Amy?
A: yeah
Adi: you need to get a ride to quelimane as soon as you can. everyone needs to get out of the districts tomorrow. you'll have to take a chapa if need be. (chapa being a mozambican bus meant for 12 people, that usually has 20 people, a few chickens, and maybe a goat)
...at this point Amy is about to cry because this means that her project is toast, FGH is falling apart at the hands of the mozambican commies, and she potentially has to pack up her belongings and sit on a stinky chapa for 6 hours.
Retaliation for a snotty text message. Boys team: 1, Girls: 0.
Don't worry. They'll get theirs. And for now, Amy and I have taken over as commanders of the Northern Alliance.
Well, things have been brewing with the hammer and sickle government here, and yesterday things kind of hit the fan when the government ordered all expat doctors who don't have their approval to leave their districts and come back to Quelimane immediately. Naturally, this prompted Amy to send a text message to Adi saying, "well well, looks like you'll have to ask my permission to be in the northern alliance now. my how the tables have turned."
And so the fun began. Amy received a phone call that evening from Troy, our boss at FGH.
Troy: hey, is there a car there in molocue?
Amy: yeah, i mean, the normal molocue car.
T: so, i really hate to tell you this, but you need to come to quelimane tomorrow.
A: what? what are you talking about?
T: things here continue to fall apart, and now it looks like everyone needs to be pulled out of the districts for now. can you take a car to quelimane tomorrow? when is pola coming?
A: are you serious? pola's coming on friday. she's not coming tomorrow. wait, what the hell? are you serious?! i don't even know what to say
T: hold on, talk to Adi
Adi: Amy?
A: yeah
Adi: you need to get a ride to quelimane as soon as you can. everyone needs to get out of the districts tomorrow. you'll have to take a chapa if need be. (chapa being a mozambican bus meant for 12 people, that usually has 20 people, a few chickens, and maybe a goat)
...at this point Amy is about to cry because this means that her project is toast, FGH is falling apart at the hands of the mozambican commies, and she potentially has to pack up her belongings and sit on a stinky chapa for 6 hours.
Retaliation for a snotty text message. Boys team: 1, Girls: 0.
Don't worry. They'll get theirs. And for now, Amy and I have taken over as commanders of the Northern Alliance.
give me one moment in time
Highlight of my trip to Namacurra yesterday: Victoriano, the FGH driver, who doesn't know a lick of English, in his baritone voice shamelessly singing "one moment in time" by Whitney Houston.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Brian Adams Mystery Solved
This was probably the biggest breakthrough I've had since arriving here. Today I uncovered the mystery of why Mozambicans have an unnatural love of Brian Adams. Turns out, Brian's dad was a diplomat and he grew up in Portugal. The Portuguese consider him one of their own, and apparently their love of Brian filtered down to their colonies. And that is why millions of Mozambicans who can't speak a word of English manage to stumble through every lyric (hilariously incorrectly) in the Brian Adams collection.
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