Monday, May 28, 2007

Oops

Well dear reader, lots happened in the rather long period since the last ‘post’ (will it always be so?). In a nifty summary:

Work’s going in fits and starts. Latest fit was a 3-day workshop and the mania that reigned in the run-up. Logistics in this country are hair-raising, like Greek plate spinning. I was virtually resorting to carrier pigeon to invite people. Most of the staff were deep ‘in the field’ without a flicker of electricity, never mind phone line, mobile network or (scoff!) internet connection. Letters went with cars that may or may not pass by and messages were radioed to government posts from government posts. Like WW2! Obviously when the time arrived, planes were missed, hotel keys lost, photocopiers conked out, even a case of food poisoning. But hey ho the show must go on and actually the workshop itself went well! Lots covered and I think learnt. And after fielding calamities and facilitating sessions for 30 people in Portuguese I’m doubtless ready for anything.

I’ve got to know the director of a new local orphanage over the last few weeks. After visiting and seeing they have lots of land and are keen to make the place sustainable (run itself), I’ve applied for a grant from a VSO fund to do a small income generation project. This would involve growing vegetables and keeping livestock – goats and chickens - to both eat and sell (inspired by the VETAID food security project). It’s taking ages to get a reply though. I finally got hold of the VSO lady in charge the other day and she says she’s back in the office next week and we’ll talk then. Fingers crossed we’ll receive the money. Although I read in our newsletter that RAISA was funding another project in the north for the visually impaired. Hope they haven’t snaffled all the cash.

I managed to get malaria a few weeks ago – well so they said, and only the milder form but it still meant a tedious, feverish week in bed. I visited the private clinic that VETAID’s with which was very basic. After doing no tests they packed me off with a rainbow of pills to cure all ailments 4 times over. They probably have a deal with the pharmacy, which then doled them out in a plastic bag with verbally gabbled instructions (no packaging). I think I’m now forever resistant to antibiotics but after intensive vitamin B have the heart of an ox.

Soon after that a crime-fighting incident occurred. Peace Corps volunteer Marie rang me at 5am one Saturday morning petrified that people were trying to break to her house.
She pleaded with me to come quickly, so I hauled myself out of bed resigned to the inevitable futility of it all. But sure enough I got there and a man was standing by her door. He saw me and darted round the side of the house. I got a tad scared. Then Marie rang again saying she thought someone was actually inside, so I woke the neighbours/landlord up. They came out bleary-eyed and started to investigate. The two men had disappeared but it emerged one had actually broken a window, got in and taken Marie’s wallet and passport. The other one must have been waiting to be let in. Yikes. We called the police but unfortunately they’re pretty ineffectual and often corrupt so it was really just a formality. Poor old Marie had to trundle off to Maputo to do lots of paper work.
On a lighter note, social life’s been quite jolly, if unconventional. There’s nothing too crazy to do in Chokwe. We have one ‘discotheque’ which plays the same CD each Friday while the DJ earnestly pretends to mix, and I sheepishly try to shake my booty and shimmy out of the clutches of drunks. Even the sound system had had enough recently when a speaker blew up. But that, Palhota, a kind of village hall setting with a bar and unexpectedly decent food, and local ‘happening’ café/bar Rafik’s are the social hubs of Chokwe. We make dinner and watch films at each other’s houses though. One guy has a projector so we lie on mattresses on the floor and watch dvds on the wall. We’ve also now found a shop that sells decent white wine - a change from 2M (Mozambican) beer and Amarula (like Baily’s).

Significant advantages are being near beaches and safari parks and everyone (except me) having 4x4s. Last weekend we went camping to the newly opened Limpopo National Park. It was beautiful, proper bush and really isolated villages with little painted houses. We managed to spot giraffe, zebra, buffalo, impala and warthogs! Limpopo is newly opened though and doesn’t actually have many animals yet. It borders with well-established South African Kruger Park so we’re going to cross over next time to see elephants, hippos and big cats! We pitched up at a place high up overlooking the expansive river Limpopo. But with no light for miles, the stars were a twinkling profusion so we slept outside in appreciation. Idyllic as it was I woke up with a really sore throat and felt fluey for the next 3 days. I decided to battle it off myself though and steer clear of another overdose!

With it being inadvisable to travel after dark, Friday night on the way to the park Georgina and I stopped to stay at the Medicus Mundi (NGO she works for) house in Massingir, a little town nearby. After cooking ourselves a civilised dinner we thought we’d venture out to survey the local nightlife. We discovered that the whole town was at this one motel, from kids to grannies. The sight of alien-pale people whipped them into a frenzy and we kind of got mobbed. It was friendly, if overbearing and we chatted away, until people started shoving each other, sitting on our laps and asking for money so we thought it was time to go. We sped off in our white-man’s landcruiser with children running after us semi-sorry semi-scared.

I’m still forging ahead with the Portuguese. My friends are largely Portuguese, Mozambican and Spanish so I using it socially now as well as at work. Though Georgina, who I probably see most, is Catalan and throws in a few words with even more Spanish so I’ll probably end up with an incomprehensible mulch. Still a long way to go anyway. Last night in Rafik’s I sat at a table full of Portuguese engineers. Straining to follow the thick-accented lightning quips about machinery, I eventually zoned out.

Went to colleague/friend Aderito’s ‘apresentação’ the other weekend. It was fun, basically a big party with lots of outdoors dancing, food and drink. I missed the earlier part of the ceremony though. The driver who was supposed to pick me and Carla up had got drunk and gone awol and Aderito was too preoccupied to notice. He (driver) did come and fetch us later, sozzled, and insisted on a detour to show us his house even though we were 4 hours late.

I‘d been a little preoccupied myself that afternoon. I’d gone for a walk around Chokwe and taken my camera out at various intervals to snap away. Arriving home, I realised my house keys were nowhere to be seen. After furious rummaging I retraced my long, meandering path but no keys glinted in the sunlight. I was locked out. You can’t get a locksmith at the weekend. All the windows have grates on, bar (ha) one at the back to the bathroom. To get to that you have to climb a tall metal gate, which I duly, precariously, did. I was scanning about for something to break the window when I thought I’d better ring someone about last ditch alternatives. With Aderiot busy being ceremonial, I rang my boss who lives over the road. He came over armed with a screwdriver and had to climb the gate. He has a very comical demeanour anyway and, teetering on the top with the terrible prospect of a fracture, I had to turn away to hide my laughing. He then set about chipping off the putty around the pane of glass to avoid breaking it. Just at the end of this painstaking endeavour he broke it anyway so we reached through and opened the window, and I clambered in. What a palaver! Have now left a spare key at the office to avoid future disaster.

Apparently it’s Africa day today. No sign of any celebration nor a day off work. There are only 6 public holidays and if they fall on the weekend, as half of them have this year, they don’t graciously move them to the following Monday. Boo – how am I supposed to traverse this rough terrain to visit lovely beaches in only 2 days?? So thoughtless!

So I’ve hit the halfway mark. How strange, it’ll be Christmas before I know it and I’ll be home making up for lost mince pies. I’ve got a serious hankering for London at the moment. Dressing up for big nights out, live music, Sunday markets, interesting food, cafes and friends, ohh. But I’m reminding myself all that’ll be there when I get back, whereas warthogs won’t.

1 Comments:

Blogger animaltalk said...

Hi,enjoy reading your blog,You have a rare talent for expressing that which surrounds you.I have spent a lot of time in Moz in and around Vilanculos and have an appreciation of the joys and frustrations.keep it up.

8:34 am  

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