Friday, December 30, 2011

Two New Angels


I had been at site for about two weeks.  It had been tough, emotional-roller-coaster filled weeks of self doubt and lots of free time.  Erica and I had been trying to keep busy painting our house, buying necessary items so we could live with almost zero resources, trying to make this house feel more like a home.  Though it had only been two weeks, we were both excited to get away from site for the holidays and meet up with some friends for Christmas and New Years.

On December 21st, I and three other friends had literally just arrived in Nametil to visit Adam and Kevin when we received one of the most shocking messages from Peace Corps.  “Dear PC: There was a road accident in Macia, Gaza province on 12/20 involving five PCVs.  Three PCVs sustained and are stable but being med evac’ed to South Africa.  Sadly, Lena Jenison and Alden Landis passed away from their injuries last night….”

At first we thought it must not be true, that it must be some kind of horrific joke.  Only two weeks prior had we all been together, excited, nervous, anxious, and enthusiastic for ourselves and for our friends to begin our adventures at site.  For ten weeks, we had been through an intense training, but nothing can even begin to prepare you for news like this.

The five of us sat stunned on the front porch, at a complete loss for words and unsure how to feel, searching for more information.  We contacted other friends around the country and slowly the reality of the situation began to sink in. Two of our dear friends, two people from this new family we had created here in Mozambique, were gone, just like that, in a single instant.

How do I even begin to describe these two girls.  Lena and Alden were some of the most energetic, beautiful girls, always lighting up the room with their positive spirits.  Though I was not super close with them, I still shared many memories with them.  Never will I forget Lena’s wit and incredible sense of humor, her enthusiasm for making hand turkeys on Thanksgiving, that “growly” face she makes in almost every photo, her spunky glasses, her nack for story-telling, her passion to begin teaching.  I was always so jealous of Alden’s  style and clothes, she had traveled and seen various parts of the world, she was always laughing or making you laugh, I don’t think I ever saw her without a coconut in hand, she was incredibly easy to talk to and made you feel comfortable in an instant.  These girls were, plain and simple, living, living their lives to the fullest and following their dreams.  As a friend put it, there is so much to be said for the fact that they died not just wanting to make the world a better place, but actually taking action to make it one.  Though they were taken too soon, the world is a better place because of them, just as we are better people for having known them.

On December 26th, we held a memorial service in Ilha de Mocambique to remember these amazing girls and the moments we shared with them.  Over thirty people attended, mostly the northern Moz 17ers, but also volunteers from other earlier Moz groups.  The memorial could not have been more perfect, perfect setting on the beach, beautiful sunset, we shared stories and remembered Alden and Lena how we knew them best, energetic, enthusiastic, always lighting up the room and living their lives to the fullest.

On the beach, we found an old boat on which we placed Alden and Lena’s photos surrounded by seashells and flowers.  We created an infiniti sign out of seashells, rocks, and coconut shells and placed it in front of their photos.  We read aloud quotes taken from Lena’s blog and quotes Alden had underlined in a book she had just finished reading.  We said a short prayer.  We took turns sharing stories and memories, amazed at how close you can get to people in such a short amount of time.  We wrote personal messages and put them inside decorated bottles for each girl.  We made wreaths out of flowers and leaves.  We had a moment of silence.  While singing the song we had written for homestay celebration, “Tudo Bom Para Nos”, we let the bottles and wreaths go out to sea.  We made a slideshow and revisited those images and memories we will never forget, two girls whose memories will live on.

It is still all extremely surreal. On Jan 6th, all the Moz 17ers are being flown down to Maputo for a memorial service there.  Thank you to Peace Corps for arranging this very necessary meeting so quickly.  We have been provided with both formal and informal means of support and assistance, but I think the best support comes from us all being together during this difficult time.  Everyone here is like a family and it is comforting having so many others to lean on.

It has been a rough week and something no one was prepared for.  Several volunteers are returning home for 45 days to reconnect with family and re-evaluate their decision to be here.  Many others are seeking site re-placements, hoping that a new scenery may help them begin again.  I hope not to lose more friends who decide to go home, but everyone deals with grief in their own way.  This has definitely brought our group closer together, we were close before but now are even more so.

I think a friend put it best, LIFE IS FRAGILE.  For me, that is a huge reason as to why I decided to do Peace Corps in the first place.  We have a limited time that could end at any second and we have to take in every moment and live it to its fullest.  I still look forward to this incredible opportunity I have been given.  Thank you to all of you for your support, it means more now than ever before.

My thoughts, prayers, and heart go out to both Alden and Lena’s families and friends, as well as those of the three other victims of the accident.  Mary, Mark, and Derek, we wish you all a quick, healthy recovery.  You have many here who will miss you and we think of you every day.
Alden and Lena, you will never be forgotten.  Rest in peace girls.  Estamos juntos.  Sempre.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

PHOTOS!

I finally got the chance to upload some photos to facebook today!

Here is the link....
Pre-Service Training

Enjoy!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Swearing In

An application, interview, two months of medical appointments, waiting, waiting and more waiting, invitation to Mozambique, training in Philadelphia, homestay families, ten weeks of training in Mozambique…...after all that, yesterday, we finally officially became Peace Corps Volunteers

Leaving our families in Namaacha was somewhat bittersweet, excited to be moving on but sad to say good-bye.  Mae told me some nice things and said their door is always open for me.  Then we hopped on a bus and headed to Maputo to the US Ambassador’s house for our Swearing In ceremony.

The Ambassador Leslie Rowe, PC Mozambique Country Director Carl Swartz, the training staff, representatives from the Ministry of Education and other Mozambican government officials, a few current volunteers, and 50 excited Moz 17 trainees attended the hour or so long ceremony including a speech from Carl, speech from a volunteer in our group, speech from the Ambassador, and one from the Ministry of Education representative.  We stood with our right hands raised and repeated an oath swearing to uphold the US Constitution and serve as Peace Corps Volunteers.  In fact, it’s the same oath used to swear in the President.

Apparently the ceremony was televised.  Our waiter at lunch today asked where we were from and what we were doing in Mozambique and then said how he remembered seeing us on TV yesterday.  Got that a couple times actually, so pretty cool!

So now we can officially call ourselves Peace Corps Volunteers!!  In a couple days, we begin what we all came here to do.  It’s bittersweet to see everyone leave to go all over the country, sad leaving good friends, but excited for everyone and the new experiences we are all about to have.  :)

Also, today I took my first shower with running water in almost 70 days!

Here are a few pictures.  Hopefully I'll be able to upload all of the pictures from Training soon!


Moz 17 Peace Corps VOLUNTEERS


Me with Carl, PC Mozambique Country Director

Me with Leslie Rowe, US Ambassador

Monday, December 5, 2011

Updates from Week 9


My, what a week it has been!  Had a scavenger hunt, model school finished, little kids are exhausting, HIV/AIDS Day march, homestay celebration  party, confirmation ceremony and party for Senia, and only 3 more days til our Swearing In Ceremony where we become official Peace Corps Volunteers!

So, to start, last weekend, Jill and Mac organized a scavenger hunt!  The volunteers divided into teams of four or five people and we ran all over Namaacha, completing tasks like finding a black goat, a white goat, and a black and white goat, a lizard, make a human pyramid, take photos wearing our batas (white coats very similar to lab coats that all teachers wear), a photo inside our mosquito nets, playing pool, inside a chapa, with a few local figures like the internet cafĂ© man, climb a tree, etc.  And guess who’s team won……I DID!  Me, Mary Z, Mary L, and Ashley completed the most tasks, earning the most points and we returned first.  Love me some competition and victory!

This week, three cousins visited my family, two six year old boys and a thirteen year old boy.  The kids are hilarious and have unbelievable amounts of energy!  They love playing cards, and I have taught them Slap Jack, Spoons, and Uno.  They were blown away when I showed them how to make a paper airplane and then demonstrated how they can fly it.  They also LOVE to dance, especially to Michael Jackson and even break dance, do MJ’s spin move, and moonwalk.  Though they don’t understand much English, they were thrilled to watch my movies, including all three Toy Stories, Aladdin, Madagascar, and Ratatouille.  Felt very much like any American family, just sitting around the table playing cards after dinner and watching a movie together.

Thursday, Dec 1st was HIV/AIDS Day.  In acknowledgement, that morning we joined others in a march along the main street of Namaacha, carrying banners with messages of spreading the word about HIV transmission, encouraging testing and use of condoms, etc., walking about 15 minutes or so, ending at an AIDS monument where a few people spoke, placed flowers, and sang a couple songs.  There were about 150 people in attendance.  Then, of all things, there was a basketball game (two Mozambican teenage teams), somewhat random, but fun to watch. 

Michael, a volunteer who stayed with my family before and who has completed his two years of service, came to visit Thursday before he returns home to the US.  My family prepared a big dinner for him, complete with a heart-shaped cake.   Our neighbors came over, and all the family sat together for a tasty dinner they had clearly put a lot of work in to.  It was a simple moment, but seeing how happy they were having him visit and the relationship he had created with them was a great reminder about why I am here and the potential I have to create equally meaningful relationships.  At times during the past few weeks, I have gotten somewhat sad because my family was always very busy and not really around much, but I have come to realize how much they have adjusted their lives by having me stay with them and how great of an experience this has been.  Yeah, maybe I could have put in more effort to do more with them, but in this last week, I have actually felt like part of the family during those simple moments of playing cards, eating dinner together, and watching movies. 

Apparently, my mae is more comfortable with me too as she had no hesitation in telling me that I had become more gorda (fatter) since coming here!  During that same fancy dinner with Michael, she told me how I had been skinny when I arrived and now I was “um pouco mais gorda”, I tried to take it as a compliment…

Saturday, Peace Corps held a party to celebrate the homestay families.  There were a few speeches, (one by a volunteer, others by Namaacha figures), an incredible spread of food (so many chickens, beef, matapa, salad, pasta, fish, rice, beans, cake!!), followed by music and dancing.  My mae and the two visiting younger cousins came, and somehow I became in charge of the kids for the entire duration of the party, turning in to Mama Sara.  Those kids were lots of fun, but so exhausting!  By the end of the afternoon, despite my best efforts to keep them entertained by my silly dancing, they were definitely tired and cranky and behaving like typical little boys who had missed their naptime.

Sunday, I woke up around 5am, and was greeted by about five new women at the house who were beginning to prepare for a party celebrating my sister’s Confirmation.  As I waited to leave for church, I debated whether or not there was some way I could help them or whether it was better to just stay out of their way.  (I did offer to help, but they refuted me anyway.) 

I thought the two hour mass I attended many weeks ago was long, but it compared nothing to Sunday’s four and a half hour long service.   Yes, you read that correctly, four and a half hours!  Still, even after 9 weeks of Portuguese, I understood very little about what was going on or being said.  The mix of Portuguese and Changana certainly makes it difficult to follow, and, needless to say, difficult to stay awake. 

Finally, at 12:30pm , the mass ended and we returned home, the women still cooking and prepping!  Around 4pm, my sister came back from her lunch at the church and was escorted into the backyard by singing and clapping.  We ate incredible amounts of food including the typical rice, beans, potatoes, egg salad, lots of cake, but also this new special kind of chicken which was delicious (they called it frango de Zambezia, not sure what the sauce was but it was awesome!) and my first time eating cow head. 

Yup, cow head!  On Friday, I watched my brother remove the fur from the head, then he cooked it in a pot of salted water over an open fire.  Then they removed it from the skull and used a hatchet to cut out the brain, throwing all the parts (meat, brain, nose, ears, tongue) together in a pot with some onions and peppers and continued cooking.  It tasted basically like normal stew meat, though I did pick around all the foreign looking parts this time.  Maybe next time, I’ll try some brains….

But anyway, the party was a lot of fun!  We had so much cake!  They have the guest of honor cut the cake and then go around to important family members, feeding them bites of the cake.  During the gift giving part of the party, everyone sings and claps as each person gives their gift and kisses the receiver on both cheeks.   The Mozambicans certainly do love their music and dancing!

Monday we had our final language test, and this week we are prepping for heading off to site!  Thursday is our Swearing In Ceremony which will be held at the Ambassador’s house, then Friday we are headed to our regions for a conference!  Just a week from Monday, we will be at our sites!