Alright, So apparently a few of you wanted more details than I was giving out. I'm not crazy about the LONG blog posts, so this will be one of the few....
Most of you wanted to know my daily routine and a few more specifics about Mozambique's program. Peace Corps has been in Moz since 1998 and only started sending health volunteers 2 years ago. There is a great overview of the country at http://www.worldviewmagazine.com/issues/article.cfm?id=211&issue=48. Our Country Director, Dave, is a pretty fantastic human being with a lifetime of experience in Peace Corps, Ameri Corps and the like. Sadly he is retiring in January, which surprisingly is the biggest thing that most volunteers are worried about. His past policies have put the volunteers more in control of their environment and the projects they take on. As a result, Moz is one of the stronger model programs in the world. Our Health Trainer is Caroline, a shorter woman from Zimbabwe that most of us refer to as God. She is a nurse, a midwife, an AIDS Activist and an amazing teacher. She has lost family members to the disease and brings an amazingly real perspective in dealing with the more human side of the epidemic. She also did some clinical trial work at Stanford, so her understanding of the disease (not to mention her English) is better than most. The training staff (Claudia) is fantastic as well. You can tell they have gotten good at their jobs...
Everyday I wake up...twice. First when my Cows go off, along with the other symphony of goats, birds and roosters, at around 4am. Amazingly, I am able to suppress my anger at any creature not wielding oposable thumbs long enough to drift back to sleep. Mama Florencia knocks on my door at 6am and gives me about 5 minutes to rouse myself. The moment my door opens I am handed a broom and bucket to clean my floors, afterwards I empty out my "Xi Xi" bucket from the previous night's....tinkles.
I go get the boiling water that mama has lovingly prepared and mix it in my "basiha" to take my bucket bath. To be honest, I actually enjoy my bucket baths. It is a very freeing experience and once you get over the concept that you will NEVER REALLY be as clean as you were in the States, everything falls into place.
After my bath I go and have breakfast, which usually consists of freeze-dried coffee (which I am trying to stop drinking), and egg and bread. I head to class at about 7:30am and we have language for 4 hours. There are 2 "pods" in my village, so they can keep the language groups small to about 5 people per group. We break for lunch for about an hour, then return back for a few hours of technical (health) sessions and/or cross-cultural sessions. These are led by Carolina or one of the 2 current volunteers that visit us each week. After that we have language tutoring and then head back home to study, help make dinner, take another bath and study some more. Everyone is pretty tired by about 8pm, so there are very few wild nights. I have introduced my family to sweet potato fries and also beets. They loved both.
The health care in Peace Corps is impressive. We have gotten just about every vaccine that you can imagine, and are issued a fantastic medical kit filled with all kinds of goodies. The medical teams is always available for questions or concerns, and Peace Corps will fly you down to Maputo for any medical appointments or mental health check ups. One thing they don't mess around with is the health of their volunteers.
It's hard to imagine that we are almost halfway through training. After the first week, things started speeding by. The week after next we will have our site visits. This is where we go to stay with another health volunteer in the field and get a little hands on experience. The week after that is a very heavy tech week, and then the following week is the administrators conference, where we will meet our new NGO's....I think.
The nights get a little lonely, but they are very manageable, since we are loaded with work each day. Many of us fear going to site and not having much to do for the first few months while we acclimate. I need to start looking for hobbies that can keep me busy. Might not be bad to have a few...
Overall, this is a pretty secure program. The kids are energetic, motivated and capable. We have had a few ET (early terminate) for various reasons, but most of us are still in it for the long haul. Knowing the good that will come from our being here helps when questioning our commitment and our...intestinal fortitude.
Once we get to site we will have less monotony. Right now they are trying to keep up busy with a daily routine, and it's certainly for the best. We all miss our family, our boyfriends or girlfriends, our favorite foods and our emotional security....and by missing these things together, it bring us closer and makes it all very manageable.
I'm going to close for now. Hope this has been a more informative post than my previous ones. If any of you have specific questions, let me know and I can answer. Letter and packages are always nice. I am always in need of more books to read (and index cards to study language with).
Keep me posted on gossip and news from back home. I miss you guys, but as always, I'm having a blast.
Much love,
Zacariah
P.S. Also, I had a Duh Moment on my last post. I called Sandra "Shirley". Also, thanks to Jeffrey for his second card. Made me miss Weho's Halloween festivites....
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