I've been a bad blogger....

It’s been quite some time since I have posted an update to the blog and informed the general public of my well-being. I was asked to write a bi-weekly column for GayWired.com about my travels and experiences and for a while that was a good substitute outlet for my thoughts, frustrations and failed attempts at humor. But like a man with two cross mistresses, I am able to hop between them when one becomes too much to handle. However, if interested, you can search for past articles I have written by going to GayWired.com and just typing my name in the search.

Much has been going on since my last update. I have experienced both a Mozambican and American Independence Day. I survived a Mozambican Cultural Festival that was true to its name. I also got my diver’s certification so that I can finally enjoy the Mozambican coast that is famous for their underwater sights.

Mozambican Independence Day came and went without too much fanfare. I decided to invite Melissa over and we cooked, played cards, watched The Office on her computer and walked around the community. The weekend of July 4th, however, turned out to be a much more festive occasion. Melissa and I went with our Maputo development friends to Tofo Beach in Inhambane Province about 3.5 hours north of me. We were saying goodbye to the Emily, a visiting cousin of a member of the group, and to Russell, a Rocking Aussie who was in country working with the Clinton Foundation and was returning to the States. We stayed at a hostile on the beach (Fatima’s), played cards, drank a little beer, watched the sun rise on the water and set against the dunes and generally relaxed in the sand. Games of Bocci and horseback riding were enjoyed and overall everyone left feeling much closer and more relaxed than when we had started. Although, despite the occasion that brought us together, I doubt any of us felt more patriotic…

The following weekdn Xai Xai held the annual Mozambican Cultural Festival and decided to alert the public about a week in advance. With a late start and a rushed promotion, the festival was already living up to its name. However the music, dancing, theatre, food and exhibitions were impressive and worthy of a festival representing so many diverse people of one “culture”. I stayed with David, a 2nd year volunteer buddy, and a group of us went to the Gastronomia where we were able to buy food that were specialties in each of the 11 Provinces. The Chicken Zambeziana made with lime and coconut was nice, as was the okra dish made with shrimp and coconut milk. However, I went a little wild when I got to the crafts exhibition from artists around the country. It was so refreshing to see not just the variety of materials used in crafts from various parts of Moz, but also that art was being celebrated at all! Mozambique is just finally coming around to recognizing, resuscitating and honing traditional crafts and marketing them to the public. I bought a painting from Niassa Province, a hanging woven cloth from Manica Province, a Botik from Maputo Province and put in a request for a traditional bed/sofa made by the wife of the Gaza Governor. I walked out feeling better than if I had maxxed out my credit card at a sale in Bloomingdale’s. The bareness of my walls at home were starting to grate on me.

During the festival, I also got the chance to meet Matt, a family friend of another volunteer, Megan. He was visiting Mozambique for over a week before his trip to Tanzania where he planned to climb Mount Kilamanjaro. He had come out to his family about a year and a half ago, and it was nice to be in the presence of and to laugh with another gay guy. When I heard that Matt was in town to sample some of the amazing diving that Moz is known for, I couldn’t resist going up to Barra Beach and getting scuba certified with Megan, our friend Anne, and her friend Emily. While Matt went on the more “adventurous” dives at 25 meters, the four of us hopped between classes in the pool and dives at about 11 meters to test our newly learned underwater skills. Our Swedish instructor, Nick, and his Swedish apprentice were amazing. We soon found ourselves exchanging information and wanting to keep up with everyone at the dive center. It was great to get certified as a group and we didn’t stop cracking ourselves up the whole time. Starting in September, I want to head back to swim with the whale sharks and manta rays. Hopefully this will turn into an interesting and promising hobby; and at roughly $40 per dive, it is a relatively manageable one.

However, after days of diving, laughing and enjoying the friendship of each other, it was time to return to reality and head back to site and our organizations. Megan and I were lucky to hitch hike back to Xai Xai in a comfortable car driven by a man working for the Highways Administration. After getting food for the animals and checking my mail, I jumped on the first chapa back to site, where I was seated next to a schizophrenic man speaking on his invisible cell phone as he ate a wooden stick he found. I paid for his chapa ride, went home to play with Chissy and realized how much I love this country.

ZS