My Mozambican Family

After nearly 3 months of a new country, new culture, new language, new way of life, and no internet to share the experience with everyone back home, this is the first thing I want you all to know:

In less than two months in a completely different continent, culture, and language, never could I have imagined that I would be so blessed to come to know, cherish, and whole heartedly love the people who opened their home to me. 

Our House! Located in Bairro Fronterra, an old Portuguese neighborhood on the Swaziland border

As you can probably see from the post before that I was completely wrong in my doubts and worries about my family. The day we met our host families, I couldn’t have been more surprised when I saw a cute old man who had just one arm holding up a sign with my name. I was overwhelmed with such shame for having thought such horrendous things without hope only the day before. My sweet dad welcomed me warmly and couldn’t have been more excited to get home and introduce me to the rest of the family; my two beautiful sisters and two handsome brothers. I didn’t know a lick of Portuguese and had no idea how I was going to get through the weekend not knowing how to communicate but everyone was incredibly kind, helpful, and patient. I have no idea how we got through the first few weeks of not understanding a single word of each others, to being able to connect so intimately and to truly feel like family, completely at peace and at home. Only God is capable of this majestic, beautiful, wondrous thing I cannot begin to explain in words. I do know this: that genuine love transcends continents, countries, culture, language, heritage, race, lineage, and worldly understanding. It comes from the Spirit of God that exists in each and everyone of His children.

I would like you to…. Meet my wonderful family!

Pai Ricardo

Pai is the jolliest man you’ll ever meet. He has the sweetest smile, loves chatting with anyone, and gets overly excited about everything. Pai loves working in the machamba (the farm in our yard), loves eating absolutely everything with vinegar, and loves playing checkers.

I was moved by his kindness and hospitality. Pai cooked me breakfast every morning! He always bought me whatever food that I liked, which also happen to be luxuries in Mozambique; peanut butter, jam, tea, coffee, malt, yogurt, and the Mozambican version of Twinkies. He picked lichees off the tree everyday just for me because I love them. I was getting fat while my friends were starving for food.

He only has his left arm and is also missing his index finger, but is completely capable of doing everything…cooking, working in the garden, playing cards, ironing, fixing things, and writing. I don’t know his life story and the hardships he must have faced losing an arm and raising a family alone. I just know that he is amazing - a real life superman.

Me, Meriam holding the certificate, and Pai on the very right at the despedida party

Sheila

Sheila is my sister of 18. She is an incredibly strong woman - both physically and of heart. She taught me how to wash my clothes the Mozambican way, how to grate coconut, grind and sift peanuts by hand, and light the carvao (charcoal stove). We had a great time laughing at me in the process and getting to know one another better. She loves listening to music and singing, especially to Beyonce’s music. She is unbelievably intelligent, absolutely loves learning, and is one of the most courageous people I’ve ever met. She is going to Maputo to go to university this spring and hopefully study to be a doctor. For a woman in Mozambique to finish secondary school, to leave home, go to university, and become a doctor is almost unheard of. I couldn’t be more proud to have a family that values education so much and couldn’t be more proud of her for pursuing her dreams.

Para bems Mana Sheila! I’m so proud, moved, and inspired by what an incredible woman you are and will be. Looking forward to hearing about all the wonderful things you will do!

Me and Sheila - photography by Clidio

 Lerato and Leoneta

Mon Lerato is my brother of 21 years old and is an English teacher in the primary school in the next biggest town. Thank the Lord he was home that first weekend to translate for me! I probably would have cried if he hadn’t been there. He is super smart, and has perfect command of the English language, more than any other Mozambican I’ve met yet. I’m for real. He is a great teacher and taught me how to dance the Marrabenta (a traditional dance known throughout Mozambique). It only has two steps, but took me 2 hours to learn. Now that is patience. He loves intellectual talk about history, politics, science, and is so curious to learn as much as possible about everything. I love his aspirations to learn many languages, to study medicine, to travel abroad, and I pray that God makes it possible for him to do all the things he desires. He has had a very positive influence on his younger siblings to motivate them to learn, go to school, and value education.

Not only is he a positive influence on his younger siblings, but he is a great role model for them as well in his relationship with his girlfriend Leoneta. It’s such a beautiful thing to see so far away from home where the culture is so different. The culture here for young men is much of casual dating and having more than one girlfriend or wife at a time (called casa dois). But Lerato and Leoneta are absolutely and perfectly made for one another, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Right before I left, they had announced and started planning for their wedding in April! So excited for them. I hope I get an invitation to attend! ; )

Me and Leoneta - sadly I don't have a pic with Lerato : (

Clidio

Mon Clidio is my younger brother of 16 years old. He’s a genius and extremely talented at whatever he puts his mind into doing. He is extremely handy and practically wired every appliance in the house. Nothing would work if it weren’t for him. He loves joking around, goofing off with his friends, and has the best laugh in the world. He is an amazing runner, and loves to dance. Actually, all of my siblings love to dance and they are all so good at it! He likes drawing and it turns out he’s a pretty talented photographer as well. He’s already making his portfolio to be a civil engineer or architect one day. He is great at cooking, and helps out with the chores. Watch out meninas, he’s a keeper.

Clidio standing on the roof of an old Portuguese ballroom with a backdrop of Namaacha. Absolutely love this photo!

Meriam (Mabongi)

Meriam or Mabongi (her Swazi name) is my sister of 13 years old and has become my best friend and constant companion here. Because she’s the youngest, she knows nearly no English and in the first couple of days we could only smile at one another, but I knew instantly that we were kindred spirits, and of like minds. There is a kind of bond which needs no words, and this is the kind of connection we have. To be able to understand one another without saying anything, just by looking at one another, and sometimes just knowing what the other is feeling without any explanation. I can’t describe it; it’s just the way it is but I am so thankful to have this kind of relationship with her.

Meriam is not just another sibling. She has a mom who lives down the street, doesn’t know who her dad is or just doesn’t have one, and isn’t actually siblings with the others, but is part of the family regardless. She is extremely intuitive, bright, and has method to her step. She loves Nicki Manage and Lady Gaga, loves eating french fries, loves shoes and high heels, and is extremely stylish and chique. We love talking together about things serious and silly, love dancing, running together, doing exercises, eating raw mangos with salt, making up stories together and drawing pictures to go with them, walking around town together, playing with the kids, and just sitting and being together. You wouldn’t know she was 13 by the gravity of her temperament, but if she ever opens up to you, she’s extremely impressionable. I pray that she grows up to be a strong, successful, intelligent woman.

Meriam - her expression in the photo on the right pretty much sums up what she's all about. 

Me and Meriam on the roof of a building - photography by Clidio

Me and Meriam in the garden of  the Escola Agrario - photography by Clidio

Me and Meriam on top of some rocks on our adventures - photography by Clidio

There have been some pretty unforgettable moments, things I will never forget and moments I will always cherish. To some up a few:

• Praying together before eating dinner
• Sunday brunch together with the whole family
• One Saturday spent at Mon Rodrigo’s (oldest brother I didn’t know I had who has his own family in Maputo) house for his surprise birthday party. Cooking a ton of food together with all the women (never grilled so much meat in my life!), eating till we were stuffed (chicken, pork, french fries, salad, noodles, rice, pudding, cake, etc), and spending good qt with the whole extended family. Riding with my family back home in the back of a covered truck and singing the Mozambican National Anthem acapella. Seriously one of the best days of my life. 
• Adventures around Namaacha with my siblings - (another post to follow)
• One weekend night spent playing so many games with my siblings till my stomach hurt from laughing.
• One afternoon/night spent dancing with my siblings.
• Cake making competition: Me, meriam, and Pai against Sheila and Clidio. Both of the cakes were equally delicious!

Me, Meriam, and Clidio on one of our adventures

Me, Meriam, and Clidio in front of the pool at the Escola Agrario

Leaving my family for my permanent site was incredibly heartbreaking. I felt like I was just getting to know them better and really connect with them. It was a very tearful goodbye and very touching. Excited that I’m not so far away and can visit them often. Looking forward to seeing them again for Christmas…only a few days away!

This is my family. I love them with all my heart, mind, and soul.

Welcome to Africa! ....oh wait, my host family WHAT?!

Hello friends and family!  I'm in Maputo, Mozambique...and I'm ALIVE! Thank goodness. As for being well....only time will tell. 

(WARNING: the text below is overly dramatic and possibly takes a deranged undertone due to sleep deprivation, extremely recent rabies vaccination, and setting foot on a foreign planet)

It's been a long road here, but we finally made it. After two solid days of traveling like wandering nomads, pitching up our tiresome and oppressive luggage in all sorts of crevices in JFK, Johannesburg, and Maputo airport we have arrived in paradise. Sort of. If not for the threat of possible theft of personal items, unsafe drinking water, possible food poisoning, and the ever present danger of getting bitten by a Malaria infested mosquito, it has been absolutely beautiful at the Hotel Cardoso. We showed up in time to watch the sunset with a GRAND view over the Indian Ocean with palm trees swaying in the ocean breeze. We then had an amazing and very luxurious dinner with all kinds of goodies: salads of all varieties, soup, rice, chicken, pork, fish, bread, freshly grilled kabobs, chicken, cakes, choc mouse, fresh fruit, and one of the most amazing bread puddings I have ever tasted. Could we have even asked for more? 

And yet, I DO! We got our host family information today, and we were all just so stoked to see what our families would be like. We were given a booklet with our names assigned to a family, consisting of the number of family members, their names, their professions, their ages, the languages they spoke, and whether or not this was their first time hosting a volunteer. Many people got a cute family anywhere from 4-6 people, with a husband and wife, and lovely children, the average ages you would expect a young family to be. About half the volunteers received families that have hosted before and know what to expect. 

This is my host family's description:

Family Members (name/age/relationship/activity):
Ricardo Canza/63
Leonilde/18/daughter/student
Elidio/15/son/student
Miriama/13/student
Languages Spoken:
Portuguese and Changana (local language)
Observation
First year with volunteer

My first reaction to my host family's description:
WHAT?!!!! YOU MEAN THERE IS NO MOM?! I HAVE NO MOM!????????????? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITHOUT A MOM????!!!!!!!!!!!!
 (***To my real mom: Please don't freak out after reading this. Me going crazy over this is quite tramatic already. Just tell me it's going to be ok, even if it is a lie. I'll believe you because your my mom, and I love you and trust your judgement***)
 

My second reaction to my host family's description:
And it's their FIRST time with a volunteer??!!! OH NO, OH NO OH NO!! I'm living in a MAN'S house, with NO WOMAN FIGURE of the house to show me the ropes. OH NO! He's going to make me cook, and clean, and wash clothes, and collect the water, and clean and manage the kids, and OH NO, OH NO, OH NO!!!! And what am I supposed to do if I don't know how to use the bathroom, or get the water and set up the bathroom for a bath, or anything womanly?!!! There's NO WAY I'm going to ask him about that kind of personal business. And then my mind wandered to living alone in a house with just A MAN and his kids and as you can imagine my mind ran away to the worst of possibilities (I've also been reading "The Color Purple" which made this so much worse). Unless "Ricardo" is really a woman, I'm in for a tough 3 months folks. Peace Corps, really? You thought it was a smart decision to put a naive American girl into a first time host family without a woman? OH NO!!! And they don't speak a lick of English?! OH NO! 
(***P.S. Every OH NO, was really taking the Lord's name in vain. I'm sorry God. I blame the drugs.***)

In all honesty though, it's not even my first full day here, and already I need to remember the title of my blog "In God, We Trust." I can't imagine the reason for this insanity, but I trust that you know God. That you have a purpose for it that is beyond my comprehension and beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I know this is going to be hard, but I know that I am not alone. God, only give me the strength and perseverance to be able to do it! I hope that whatever Sunday may bring when I meet my host family, I can look at the positive in it, and be thankful for such a learning experience to grow me into a stronger more resilient woman.

....but for the next two days, I'm seriously going to be praying hard that the description of my family is inaccurate and that I really do have a host mom after all. 

More shots to follow tomorrow, and hallucinations from malaria meds.
Time for sleep.

P.S. The best part of my day? The ride from the airport to the hotel. It was everything you've ever seen about Africa, but to see it with mine own eyes was UNREAL! Dirt covered roads, sides littered with rubbish, people everywhere, crazy driving, women with heavy bundles on their heads, brightly colored skirts, slums made with collected trash, roofs made from metal embarkments held on to the roof by discarded bricks, children playing in the streets in abandoned rusty old cars, music jamming, shops of all kinds, bra stands, shoe stands, children on the side of the road selling chips, officers carrying AKs, the smell of cool ocean water, the palm trees, etc. etc. This is really Africa, and I LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT! I want to soak it all in. A jaw dropping WOW for this southern girl.

P.S.S. I move to my host family's house on Sunday where I won't have access to internet often (maybe once a week) and maybe with service so poor that I won't be able to update my blog. I'll try and update it with at least a sentence saying I'm alive and ok. 

Love you all so much!
Saranya

2 Months of Packing, 2 Years of Service, and 2 Pieces of Luggage

Welcome friends and family! Hopefully I have time and internet access to keep up this blog so you know how I’m doing in Africa for the next two years. But for now, enjoy what I’ve been up to, pre-Africa : )

As you all know, I’ve been packing for this next step in my life for the past 2 months. 2 months of packing, for 2 years of Africa, all into 2 suitcases. Totally justified.

I wrote this post mainly to thank everyone who has helped me prepare for this journey. I’m touched by your help, guidance, advice, gifts, prayers, and time spent together. I feel incredibly blessed, and know that in the trying times ahead I can look back at these past two months, and know that no matter what I face or go through, I am well loved. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you have done for me!

Since I found out where I was being placed for the Peace Corps, you all have been kind enough to ask where I am going, what I’ll be doing, and what on earth I am packing for the move to Africa.

Just in case I didn’t get the chance to tell you, here’s the run down of where I will be and what I’ll be doing for the next few months:

I am going to be living in Mozambique, Africa for the next 2 years and 3 months in the hopes of being a high school biology teacher. I am departing on Tuesday, Sept. 25th to meet the other volunteers in Philadelphia and pick up my sweet new PC passport. We are all then catching a bus at 2AM on Wednesday morning to New York where we will fly out of JFK headed to Johannesburg, South Africa arriving Thursday morning. We will then fly to the capital city of Maputo for a 3 day orientation, a brief and in-a-flash Portuguese course for simple means of communication, and lots of vaccinations (ouch!). Then we are bussed to our host families in Namaacha, located on the border of Swaziland and about an hour (if all goes smoothly) from Maputo. We will be here in training for the first 3 months learning the language, the culture, and how to teach our specific subjects in Portuguese. Then we take a language proficiency exam, and if I pass, at the end of December I will be a sworn in member of the Peace Corps! From then on out there is site placement for where I’ll be for the remainder of my service.

In terms of what we are allowed to pack: we can bring 2 pieces of checked luggage not exceeding 100 lbs (50 lbs each) and a carry-on. The catch? We are only allowed one of the pieces of checked luggage for the 1^st 3 months, but we don’t get the other till after training!

When I first got “the suggested packing list”, I was overwhelmed with the number of recommended things to bring that I could only imagine trying to fit it all into 2 suitcases. Not only that, but that list continued to grow with people’s suggestions and my own. It should rightfully be named “THE BLOB” because it was an ever changing, shifting, heap that continued to grow in size and would amass more and more items in its ridiculous trajectory, charging in whatever direction it pleased, draining me of my sanity, floor space, and bank account. The buying of things has been endless, but finally it has come to an END, and I truly feel that I have everything that I could possibly need to keep me alive and well in Africa (except a snake bite kit and antivenom…but don’t even get me started).

Well this is definitely TMI, but it is as detailed a description I can give for what all I’m bringing with me to Africa (including an attempt at thanking everyone for their contributions)…so you know that I am as ready as can be! (And if I forgot something, please don’t tell me. It’s a lost cause at this point.)

Here are the three pieces of luggage I’m bringing: 1.“So long, farewell” large suitcase 2.“I hope this is all I need!” large backpack 3.“My own, my precious” small carry-on backpack.

Long-term suitcase, 3-month backpack, carry-on backpack

Long-term Suitcase Items

For my “So long, farewell” long-term suitcase:

1. Clothes-t shirts, skirts, tank tops, jeans, and one dress (thanks, Amma)
2. Cooking knife (thanks, Amma)
3. Moth balls (essential for warding off cockroaches and snakes, ugh)
4. Pressure Cooker Pot (thanks, Amma)
5. Journals
6. Instant Cappuccino and Chai Tea
7. Travel coffee Mug
8. Waterproof hiking shoes
9. TAMPONS! (thank you to everyone who gave me tampons! Molly, Kristen, Dominique)
10. Solar Camp Shower (After 3 months of bucket baths, If I can ever get this set up at my site, even a single use with this thing will be heaven!)
11. Single packets of coffee, Gatorade, and crystal light (thanks, Molly)
12. Hot chocolate and oatmeal
13. Packets of my favorite hot teas
14. Gum and delicious chocolate (thanks, Alvin and Soeir)
15. Motivations stickers and stationary for my students (thanks, Katie and Molly)
16. Notebooks (thanks, Molly and Katie)
17. Toiletries - thanks to everyone who gave me soap! Good to know you all value me being clean : )
18. Asthma medicine (thanks, Nadia)
19. Disinfecting wipes (thanks, Cassi and Molly)
20. Sandals
21. Sewing Stuff (thanks to the McMillians, and Molly)
22. Portable speakers (thanks, Christina)
23. Large Multitool
24. Bike repair kit (if I end up getting a bike)
25. Sharpies, pens, and pencils galore! (thanks Kristen, Katie, and Molly)
26. Steel and Flint (because I need to be able to start a quick fire to burn the Mozambique version of coal for cooking my food)
27. Emergency water filter (thanks, James)
28. Bug net for my hammock
29. Hammock (thanks, Nadia)
30. Sleeping pad

3-month Backpack Items

For my “Hope this is all I need!” 3 month backpack:

1. Fake but nice jewelry (thanks Amma and Cammy)
2. Travel towel
3. Duct tape
4. Sewing kit
5. Rope
6. Knife and Cat Claw (safety essentials)
7. Scissors
8. Small Multitool (thanks, James)
9. Whoops!
10. Portable Nebulizer (for emergency asthma care)
11. Second pair of glasses
12. Clothes
13. Travel toiletries kit (thank you to the McMillians)
14. Journal
15. compact 55 degree sleeping bag and mosquito net
16. Dry bag (thanks, Cammy)
17. Socks
18.  instant drinks and granola bars
19. More clothes
20. TAMPONS
21. Underwear
22. Electronic items: headlamp, batteries, I don’t even remember anymore
23. Hair accessories
24. Vitamins
25. Medicines for all possible ailments
26. Travel Purse
27. Pens, pencils, and more sharpies
28. Lots more clothes
29. More asthma meds, epi pen, bug spray, more toiletries, shampoo and conditioner (thanks, Christina)
30. Thanks, Vidiya for the backpack

Carry-on Backpack Items

For my “My own, my precious” important items pack:

1. Mad Libs: Peace and Love edition (for making friends on the 14 hr plane ride!)
2. Potable water pills (thanks, James), allergy meds, pain meds, wipes, handy mints (thanks to the McMillians)
3. My new friend “Hug”. Poor bear, he’s mighty allergic to lions, elephants, and tigers! I hope he can at least protect me from snakes. Wishful thinking, I know.
4. Portuguese verbs 501 and Portuguese grammer (also have the Pimsleur Portuguese thanks to Elizabeth)
5. Daily devotional
6. Journal (thanks sis)
7. Water bottle (thanks Kari)
8. Reeses cups - aka bounty demanded of us by current volunteers during training
9. Toothbrush
10. Travel size toiletries
11. Smaller water bottle
12. Passport imitating tissues- that will really fool em’ (thanks to the McMillians)
13. Money belt
14. External hard drive
15. Bible
16. Portuguese-English Dictionary (thanks, James)
17. Albums (thanks Christina, Becca, and Dominique for the pictures)
18. Flash light (thanks to the McMillians)
19. Steripen water purifier (thanks sis)
20. Address book
21. Measuring tape
22. Kindle (thank you Shantel, and thank you to the Stevensons and James for the Amazon gift card)
23. My precious UT wallet that I still have!
24. Flashdrives
25. Memory card for my camera
26. Sunglasses
27. Drop proof, waterproof, sand proof camera….let’s hope!
28. Deodorant (a must)
29. Rain boots (for the icky roads during training)
30. Chacos
31. Stamps
32. More TAMPONS
33. Money (thanks Dad, Christina, and Loyda)
34. Ipod
35. Glasses
36.  Voice recorder (for language learning sessions) and cords for my electronics
37. My computer (which is not pictured)

P.S. If you’ve made it this far, you’re a trooper. If you know me, you know that I sometimes get carried away, but fortunately for all of us, my recent fortune told me not to overdo it and I will be sure to have a promising future. So I’ll take that advice with me to Africa, and I’ll never again write a blog this detailed or this long!

So, thanks for reading! Hope I haven’t scared you away.

And please write back and leave comments, because there’s nothing more encouraging than hearing familiar voices so far from home.

Much love, Saranya