The "M" Word

Can you guess what the leading cause of school absenteeism is here in Mozambique?

If you guessed, children having to work to help support their families, then you’re wrong.  It’s malaria.  Before coming to Africa, I didn't know that much about malaria.  All I knew was that it was transmitted by mosquitoes and that it could be fatal if it wasn't treated.  While this is true, here are some additional facts that I learned during my pre-service training (PST):

-Malaria is the number one killer in Mozambique.  29% of deaths caused by malaria and 27% by AIDS, being second

- The people who have the highest risk of getting malaria are kids under the age of 5 years old, HIV positive people, and pregnant woman

-Malaria is only transmitted by mosquitoes

-Malaria transmitted by female mosquitoes

-The symptoms of malaria include fever, vomiting, sweats, dizziness, weakness, nausea, body aches, fatigue, anemia, loss of appetite, retinal bleeding, and kidney failure

-Malaria is transmitted when a mosquito bites someone with malaria.  The mosquito then bites another person, thereby transmitting the disease to him/her

-The mosquitoes generally eat between 6 PM and 6 AM

How can I lower my chances of getting malaria?  Well, I take a pill every Friday and I sleep underneath a mosquito net.  It’s treated with chemicals that kill the mosquito after it makes contact with the net.  Both the medication and the mosquito net were provided by the Peace Corps.

Many Peace Corps volunteers in Africa have spearheaded some impressive projects to spread awareness and help decrease malaria.  Volunteers have given talks in their classrooms and communities, created murals, made radio broadcasts, utilized social media, and so much more.

To find out more about what volunteers are doing to reduce malaria in Africa, go to www.stompoutmalaria.org

What do you eat in Moz?

I’m very fortunate to be placed in a city where there are a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables.  While walking on the street, I see mango trees everywhere. I might even see a glowing mango on the ground and eat it as I walk.  I've never tasted mangoes, pineapples, pears, apples, and bananas as sweet as they are here in Mozambique. 

Also, there are outdoor markets where farmers sell their produce, similar to what we may call farmer's markets in the States.  Here's an estimate of how much fruit and vegetables cost here in U.S. dollars.   

6 Avocados=$1, 

6 Coconuts= $1

30 Mangoes= $1

1 Pineapple= $.75

12 Tomatoes= $1

10 Bananas=$1

30 Limes=$1

10 Potatoes= $1

12 Green peppers=$1

10 Carrots=$1
4 Cucumbers=$1

6 Papayas= $1

A lot of people have been asking me what I eat here, so here are a few things that I make.  I don't eat meat or dairy products, but I'm still able to survive.

This morning I made a mango, banana, pineapple smoothie with a blender that I brought with me from the States.  It was so delicious! All I added to it was water and I put it in my freezer.  Sometimes I add coconut water to my smoothies.

My roommate and I sometimes make bean and rice burritos with guacamole and mango salsa. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Also, I often make salads with cucumber, tomatoes, and carrots or a stir fry with cabbage, green peppers, carrots and rice.  Sometimes I make spaghetti or lentil soup. Further,french fries are probably one of my favorite types of foods, even though they aren't that healthy.  But sometimes I'll bake potatoes or sweet potatoes in our stove and they come out just as tasty.  If I'm feeling really creative, I might prepare a vegetable coconut curry and throw in some potatoes.   For a snack I might have cut apples with cinnamon and peanut butter or I'll make hummus and eat it with crackers crackers (Thank goodness they have garbanzo beans here). 

Fortunately, I'm not starving over here and I have a lot of food options.  If you have any other vegan recipes for me, I would love to take a look at them.  I'll probably post another blog in the future with other things that I cook.

Here's a funny clip that some Peace Corps volunteers in Tanzania made.  Even though I'm in a different country, I can relate to almost EVERYTHING in this video.  Take a look at some of the things we Peace Corps volunteers NEVER say...

Spiders, lizards, and, snakes. Oh, my!

Since I've been living here in Moz, I've seen a snake in my bathroom, had a mouse eat my potatoes in the kitchen cabinet, and felt a spider crawling on my leg which was the size of my palm.  As you can imagine, cockroaches no longer scare me and I can kill spiders without screaming and jumping on the dining room table.  In fact, I  invite lizards into the house so that they can eat the insects. Nope, I'm not afraid of lizards anymore. However, I'm still terrified of mice because they're fast and furry and carry diseases. That said, my roommate and I don't like the idea of having snakes, mice, tarantulas  or any other un-welcomed guests crawling or dashing across the kitchen floor, obviously.  One evening, we spoke with our neighbor about how we can get a cat so that we could take care of our rodent/insect problem.  Three days later, she rang our doorbell and handed us a moving rice sack that was crying, "Meow".  As you may have already guessed, there was a cute kitten inside the bag! Our smiles were big as we accepted our holiday gift and we haven't had a problem with insects/rodents since.

It's not set in stone, but I think we decided to name her Lani.  Isn't she cute?

Christmas in Africa

I'm in my room with my fan spinning on the highest speed.  Sweat is dripping down my neck. It's summertime here. I'm miles away from friends and family during the holiday season.  I hear Christmas music in some of the stores here.  I see posters of  Black Santa Clauses advertising cell phone services. It doesn't feel like Christmas.  I'm not expecting any gifts.  No one will be receiving any from me.  That's just how it'll be this year.  That said, volunteers can't leave their province for the first three months for security reasons.  In other words, my roommate and I have to stay in Zambezia until March.  There aren't many volunteers in Zambezia from my cohort and the volunteers from other cohorts have left for other  provinces for the holidays.  Luckily, my roommate and I were invited to have Christmas dinner with a missionary couple who live  in our city.  My first Christmas should be low-key   It'll be very different from eating around the dinner table with my family and playing games.  Don't get me wrong, I'm blessed and very thankful for all that I have here and for the people I have met.  

Anyway, I hope you all are doing well.  Have a safe and Merry Christmas!

Minha casa mocambicana!!!

My new home. My home for the next year is in the Zambezia province and I couldn't be happier.  Supposedly, my roommate and I will be volunteers will be visiting us because people often stop in our city for while travelling.  I'm not in the mood to write, so I thought I'd just post pictures.

Here's our new hut!

Gotcha! I was expecting something like this, but we ended up with a pretty sweet home.  

Here's our place:

Here are pictures of the school

Pictures of the city...

Don't worry, I'm still alive!

Great news, I'm still alive! I hope that you didn't miss me too much. The past five weeks have been quite hectic, but a lot of fun.  I'll try to update you as much as I can:

In November, we found out where we'd be serving for the next two years.  I was excited to hear that I'd  be living in the Zambezia province with my new roommate, Jennea.

My host grandmother had a birthday. She had a GREAT time!

All of the volunteers got together for a Thanksgiving pot-luck dinner.  We have a lot to be thankful for :)

...Then I studied and took language, cross cultural, safety and security, and technical tests.  Later, I packed for my big move.

I left Namaacha and gave my host brother and sister a big hug.

We officially became Peace Corps Volunteers at the U.S. Ambassador's immaculate home in Maputo, Mozambique on December 4th.  Gorgeous view, huh?

We stayed the night in Maputo and said our goodbyes that night.  In the morning, all of the volunteers left with others who were headed to their region.  A group of us who will be living in northern Mozambique for the next two years, stayed in Nampula for a few days for a conference with our school directors.

On December 9th, I spent my birthday unpacking and cleaning.  I'm still unpacking and cleaning.  But I'm happy that I have fans to keep me cool.  

The next post will be more about my new home and community.  Feel free to write me and let me know how things are going with you all.  I miss my friends and family in the States!