Sorry I have been absent for several weeks! To start, here is something I wrote during my
first week at site….
It’s difficult to begin to describe quite what it
feels like to be in our current situation.
The first word that comes to mind is overwhelming. We just finished ten weeks of training, but
nothing can quite prepare you for the feeling that comes when you first arrive at
your new house, your home for the next 2 years.
It feels just as crazy as one might think it sounds, but slowly we will
make this into our home.
On Monday, December 12th, Erica and I were driven
in a Peace Corps car to our site in Murrupula.
Though only about 70km from Nampula City, the ride seemed much longer
than the hour or so it took, and as more and more time passed, we both got more
and more nervous, completely unsure about what to expect.
We were first taken to our school and met the
school director and then we went to our house.
The director was so excited to show us our new house, but Erica and I
were totally and completely shocked by what we encountered. So I guess that is what culture shock feels
like… The walls inside desperately needed
a paint job to cover up the dirt, random patches of cement, and just random
feel of dirtiness and old, broken down feeling.
The doorways are tiny, just wide enough to walk through and short so you
have to bend over when passing through. I have already hit my head many many
times. There are almost no windows, only
one small one in the bedroom and another small one in the kitchen. And the house was totally empty, only a table
and three wooden chairs which have seen better days, and a small wooden bookshelf,
nothing else. Nothing on the dirty
walls, no plates or kitchenware, no bed frames nor mattress, no dresser or
nightstand, basically nothing.
There are actually two houses, one with a bedroom,
kitchen, and living room area and the other with a bedroom and living room with
some concrete benches. We have an
outdoor bathroom, one side, a key-shaped hole into the abyss with two
foot-shaped concrete sections to indicate where to place your feet, and on the
other side, a place for our bucket baths.
We also have (and our favorite parts) a gazebo with a thatched roof for
some shade relief from the ridiculously hot African sun and a reed fence around
the entire property for some privacy.
Initially, we were totally shocked, thinking what
in the heck have we gotten ourselves in to and why! Luckily, and thank god, the Peace Corps
driver stayed with us and, along with another professor, helped us buy
mattresses, pots, and big buckets for storing water. They also arranged for another guy to get us
water and fill up the buckets. Slowly
things were coming together and the initial shock and total overwhelmed feeling
began to subside a bit.
Once we were on our own, Erica and I took a seat
in our living room and surveyed our house for a second time. Though there is a ton of work to be done, we
actually have a pretty awesome set up here.
With a little paint on the walls, building some shelves or something for
storage and making it so we don’t have to live out of our suitcases for two years,
this house can and will become our home, slowly. We even have some papaya trees of our own!
For the first few days, we lived without
electricity. Having no lights was okay
to deal with, but the heat, especially at night, was miserable with no
fans! Our first night, we barely were
able to sleep as our house felt like the inside of an oven and we resorted to
soaking some t-shirts in water and laying them on ourselves to try to cool off
enough to fall asleep. Needless to say,
it was a long first night.
But, thankfully, our director, who seems pretty on
top of things so far, arranged for us to get electricity set up a few days
later. And the first thing we bought
that day was two big fans :).
It’s been a long week, but we have come a long way
from that first day. We bought some
paint and painted the walls in our living room a super super bright blue and a
bright green and had enough paint left to paint one wall in our bedrooms. We have gotten crafty during our free time
(we have lots and lots of free time), weaving capulana strips together to make
a wall hanging and hanging another cool looking capulana up as art work. I made a basket out of sticks lashed together
and covered in capulana and another out of taped together cardboard from a
cereal box. I “repaired” our kitchen
counter using some rocks and duct tape (only a picture can really
explain). We even braved up enough to
sleep in our separate houses!
It’s a lot easier to stay in our backyard, but we
are trying to force ourselves to leave and at least walk around the
community. So far, I really like the
feel of the community here and the town itself.
Most everyone we have met has been super friendly! Our school director took us around to meet
some administrative officials including the governor of the district of
Murrupula, the city’s one doctor, the director of the hospital, the secretary
of the district, and the district educational administrators. We have met several other teachers, many of
whom are our neighbors or live really close by.
The town itself is actually pretty big and spreads
out in either direction for a while.
(I’ve never been the greatest with distances, but I’ll try to find out
some numerical values or something soon.)
There is a small market with not many food options other than rice,
beans, tomatoes, onions (so many onions!), potatoes, mangoes, bananas, eggs,
and some pasta. But the options really
vary depending on the day and time of day you go. We also discovered a dried fish market, quite
the smelly place and not something we will ever be frequent visitors at. Luckily, Nampula City isn’t too far for a day
trip to a somewhat larger “grocery store” to include a little more variety into
our diet.
So that was my first week at site, and my how
things have changed since then!
Unfortunately, Erica decided to return home to the US so I am on my own
now. Also, my school got a new director,
yes a new director just a week before school begins. But I am embracing this new independence and
taking it one day at a time. Recent
changes I have made to my house include making a shelf out of stacked plastic
bottles and two others out of bricks and reeds, organizing my house a little
more, meeting some more neighbors, hanging up some new artwork, and
cleaning. School starts on Monday so
that should keep me busy and help me meet more people. Each day has its ups and downs, but I am
hanging in there!
I love how you are making the most of your ramshackle house and filling it with your loving creativity, even in the face of so many challenging shocks right off the bat. On facebook a friend put up an interesting poster with a circle that says "magical moments" on one side, and another that says "comfort zone" on the other. May it become - and stay - a magical and rewarding place to come home to. And for now, stay strong, and know we are all thinking of you every day.
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