Ihla de Mocambique

I don’t know where to start.

After PDM, I traveled north to meet up with some friends at Ihla de Mocambique—and it was absolutely wonderful.

(Some of the group standing at the pier in Ihla--Lisa get's photo credit for this one!)

The trip to Ihla took 2 full days. Two weeks ago, Kristen (another PCV) and I left Chimoio at 5AM in a chapa that took us to Inchope, the crossroads between north, south, east and west (north to Nampula, south to Maputo, east to Beira and west to Chimoio). This cruzamento is where central volunteers go to start our hitch-hiking. Well, by 7AM Kristen and I were camped out on the side of the road, optimistic that our early start would bring us some luck from the bolea [hitch-hiking] gods. We could not have been more wrong. In the first few hours just 4 other cars drove by, one of which stopped and tried to charge us $20 to go a couple hundred k north. We declined, we didn’t have the money, if did we would have taken a bus, so we waited, and waited and waited. After 5 hours, feeling pretty desperate and not wanting to return to Chimoio, we waved down a semi (a large truck) who stopped and agreed to take us all the way to Zambezia for approximately $6. We agreed and go in the van. So begins my 10 hour journey in a truck with little water, no food and no bathroom breaks (we did pack snacks but we ate them all on the side of the road.) After 10 hours we rolled into Mocuba, Zambezia around 10PM, our driver dropped us at bridge, which we crossed on bikes to meet our friends on the other side who had been waiting for us all day. Thankfully, PCVs are kind of awesome, our friends had waited up for us and had dinner saved for us to eat when we arrived disheveled and exhausted at their house.

(Kristen and I started in Chimoio, and finished our journey at Ihla...it doesn't look to far on the map but it was "la!")

We slept maybe 6 hours that night then woke up to continue traveling north. We got a little luckier that day and got a bolea to the cruzamento for Gurue (a beautiful area in the north I will return to visit!) From there we got picked up by a wonderful French man who drove us all the way to Nampula City. In Nampula we ended up taking chapas/open-back trucks all the way to Ihla and we finally arrived at our destination around 8PM that night. After 2 full days of travel we were beat, but also really excited we made it to the island and were reunited with our friends, some of whom we hadn’t seen since last December.

(A window to paradise, mom and dad are you sure you don't want to visit?)

The next 3 days were just wonderful. Ihla de Mocambique is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it served as the original capital of the Portuguese empire in the region and was a major trading port between Portugal and India. Aside from having pristine beaches with beautiful, turquoise water, the town itself is pretty magical. Unlike most of the country, the Island has a clear Portuguese influence. The roads are narrow and cobblestone, the buildings perfectly white (or faded colors from long ago) and although most of the architecture appears to be crumbling it really is beautiful.

We spent those three days exploring the old Portuguese fort, wandering town and spending lazy afternoons on the pier that extends into the Indian Ocean. At night we ate delicious food (the cuisine is easily the best I have had yet in this country; incredibly fresh seafood, coconut rice and curries seasoned with Indian, Mocambican and Portuguese flavorings, it was truly to die for). And basically just enjoyed our time on the sleepy island of ihla.

The trip back took another 2 full days of travel but I can happily report is was definitely worth it and I can not wait to travel back north and visit this island and the rest of that region again.

(Fresh Fish)

So now I am back at school, starting the third (and final!) semester of the year but I can’t focus much on teaching because I am leaving for vacation THIS SATURDAY and will get to see my family (and some friends) after 11 months away from home! I could not be more excited. So apologize ahead of time if I don’t update my blog until I’m back, but I’ll be traveling without a computer…but I promise to return with pictures and stories!

PDM

(Does anyone actually know what this acronym stands for?)

I attended PDM with 9 other Peace Corps Volunteers and their counterparts, in Garuso (about 15k from Vanduzi). The purpose of the conference was to learn about secondary projects that volunteers can start/continue in their communities. We each brought a colleague from school, who ideally we would work with on these projects, and who could continue them once we finish service and return to the states. Overall, it was incredibly successful, and was the exact forum I needed to show a colleague of mine what Peace Corps really is, and the potential I as a volunteer, have to start projects in our community. It was also great to finally learn about grants that are available for volunteers.

At the last minute I asked another English teacher, Simao, to come along with me to PDM and he agreed almost immediately. The weekend before the conference he insisted on meeting up and discussing potential project ideas-because he only had a few days notice to prepare, he was worried others would think we were weren’t prepared (note: there was no required prep for this conference). Still, his desire to prepare made me even more excited that I was bringing him along. During the conference Simao and I brainstormed a number of different ideas for projects we could start in Vanduzi. We made a list and then decided to focus on one of the easier/more short-term projects, and agreed to return to our list at the start of the next school year, when there would be more time.

We decided we will form a student group at school and together will teach them more about HIV/AIDs. These students then, will have the chance to educate their community about HIV/AIDs through theatre, dance, music and poetry. This group will be very similar to JUNTOS—a nationwide group that many volunteers are involved with in Mozambique. We set meeting dates and agreed to talk to other teachers about our group when we returned to Vanduzi. We also agreed to form an English club and really get started with our English theatre group (today I got a list of interested 8th graders who want to participate!)

Overall, the conference was a huge success. For me, I was able to share with a colleague more about what Peace Corps is, and because the conference was so professional, my colleague was able to trust or understand better what kinds of projects would be possible if we worked together. More importantly, I was able to chat with Simao about what he thought was really needed in Vanduzi, and through these conversations gauge a better idea of what the community wants and needs.

Now that I’m back at site, I’ve met with Simao and we are still planning to meet with our colleagues---it’s the first week of the semester and unfortunately very few teachers, and students have returned to school. I’m excited though I think our student group, along with our English club, is going to come along great. Simao is well-liked as school and the students really respect him, so I think together we will be able to get more participation and excitement from our students. Wish me luck!