Sunday, February 20, 2011
1 2 3... A B C
With left over paint from the Bus Stop Project, I decided to paint the preschool. I had a ton of fun with the ladies there and even my Sisi helped one day!
Friday, February 18, 2011
There’s a New Chief in Town
February 10, 2011
4:33pm
A little over a week ago we had a very important visit in my community. The new Chief of our area, Chief Gasa WaNgwane, and his new chief Indvuna, Vusi Ndlovu, came to greet everyone and proclaim his visions for his new chiefdom. The Lavumisa area, the largest chiefdom in Swaziland, has been without an appointed chief for just over 10 years since Chief Ngwane’s father, Chief Tsekwane, passed away in 2000. I’m told that this area became as large as it did because the late Chief Tsekwane was a brother to the current king, King Mswati III. In an attempt to appease a possible rival for the throne he was given a massive area of Swaziland to oversee. One person told me he was suppose to be the king, but since he was blind in one eye he was unsuitable to take the throne. If I have not mentioned this before, the King is chosen from his plethora of siblings and ½ siblings by the lack of male siblings. If only one boy is born to a certain wife and the rest of the children from that wife are female, that child is deemed to be chosen by God.
But I digress, back to my corner of the country. Every year since the death of Chief Tsekwane one of his sons from his many wives have been brought before the elders in Swaziland. Until this year, every son has been turned down. This year they agreed that this son was the one to rule over the Lavumisa area. He was then brought to the King to be re-named. I don’t actually know what his name used to be, but from now until his death he will be Chief Gasa WaNgwane. He then appointed his chief Indvuna or his second-hand man. Their credentials are quite interesting. The chief was, and I believe continues to be, a chef or cook to the King. The chief indvuna was and is a police officer. It sounds like they do not receive compensation or a salary from the government, so they are chiefdom leaders on a part-time basis.
The community greeted both of them in great numbers. Bedecked in traditional garb, a truck full of people came in chanting and cheering over a handheld microphone. Chairs were set up under a tree and the group from the back of this truck sat there. As community members we sat under a couple trees facing the bank of chairs. A cow, several goats, and a few chickens were given to the new leaders. The chief Indvuna gave a speech after a prayer was said. Even before this speech, many people were not pleased with this appointment, and predictions have been made that he will be taken out of office. As a PEACE Corps volunteer I am not allowed to talk politics or voice opinions with host country nationals. I’m actually not suppose to discuss it in a public blog form either, so I will attempt to not show my personal thoughts here as well. Anyway, quite factually, many of his statements circled around the thought that to get to the Chief for any reason you, as a community member, need to go through him first.
The topics brought up by the Chief during his 20 minute talk were a bit more goal focused. He targeted the concept of “development”. Bullet points in his speech included the need for every home to be built well and have a toilet; couples need to be faithful to each other to decrease the spread of HIV (he practices monogamy); the secondary school that the community has been attempting to build for over a year is not close enough to the shops and should be rebuilt; he wants a completely new Umphakatsi (community meeting area and Chief housing) to be built. Other things were certainly discussed, but that was what I caught at the back of the crowd. Again, I’m not going to discuss my personal reactions to this, but the main question off the lips of my community members and friends are, “with what money?”.
At this presentation he also appointed a new Indvuna (community leader) for Ekuphumleni. He asked this individual to pick a new inner council of about 10 members. Thus, our entire leadership has changed overnight. Today I found out my Make (Mother), is a part of this council. I believe she is a “super-Make” being involved in every committee possible, so that was a very good choice. Plus, the fact that she is on this usually male-only council is a good step for women’s equality in my very conservative community.
In National political news, there have been protests by university students to the Ministry of Education to restore the scholarships they used to receive. From what I understand, almost all students going to college in Swaziland are doing so with financial help from the government. Last year “free education”, or publicly funded schooling, for grades 1 & 2 started with the negative effect of scholarship cuts occurring as a consequence. Protests have occurred or have been predicted to occur semi-often during my service for a plethora of reasons. Peace Corps always puts us on Alert and restricts our travel to these areas. Being in my hot corner of the country and at least an hour walk from the nearest Swazi “newspaper”/tabloid, I don’t usually get the dish until I talk to other volunteers who live closer to the cities. Another protest in scheduled for Monday, but Ekuphumleni won’t be the wiser.
P.S. While I have been writing this blog entry Nothando and Neliswa have been napping in my hut. After school today they came into my hut probably to escape the 100+ temperatures outside and to draw. We worked on how to tell time from a clock drawing I made, and then they fell fast asleep on my cool concrete floor. :-)
4:33pm
A little over a week ago we had a very important visit in my community. The new Chief of our area, Chief Gasa WaNgwane, and his new chief Indvuna, Vusi Ndlovu, came to greet everyone and proclaim his visions for his new chiefdom. The Lavumisa area, the largest chiefdom in Swaziland, has been without an appointed chief for just over 10 years since Chief Ngwane’s father, Chief Tsekwane, passed away in 2000. I’m told that this area became as large as it did because the late Chief Tsekwane was a brother to the current king, King Mswati III. In an attempt to appease a possible rival for the throne he was given a massive area of Swaziland to oversee. One person told me he was suppose to be the king, but since he was blind in one eye he was unsuitable to take the throne. If I have not mentioned this before, the King is chosen from his plethora of siblings and ½ siblings by the lack of male siblings. If only one boy is born to a certain wife and the rest of the children from that wife are female, that child is deemed to be chosen by God.
But I digress, back to my corner of the country. Every year since the death of Chief Tsekwane one of his sons from his many wives have been brought before the elders in Swaziland. Until this year, every son has been turned down. This year they agreed that this son was the one to rule over the Lavumisa area. He was then brought to the King to be re-named. I don’t actually know what his name used to be, but from now until his death he will be Chief Gasa WaNgwane. He then appointed his chief Indvuna or his second-hand man. Their credentials are quite interesting. The chief was, and I believe continues to be, a chef or cook to the King. The chief indvuna was and is a police officer. It sounds like they do not receive compensation or a salary from the government, so they are chiefdom leaders on a part-time basis.
The community greeted both of them in great numbers. Bedecked in traditional garb, a truck full of people came in chanting and cheering over a handheld microphone. Chairs were set up under a tree and the group from the back of this truck sat there. As community members we sat under a couple trees facing the bank of chairs. A cow, several goats, and a few chickens were given to the new leaders. The chief Indvuna gave a speech after a prayer was said. Even before this speech, many people were not pleased with this appointment, and predictions have been made that he will be taken out of office. As a PEACE Corps volunteer I am not allowed to talk politics or voice opinions with host country nationals. I’m actually not suppose to discuss it in a public blog form either, so I will attempt to not show my personal thoughts here as well. Anyway, quite factually, many of his statements circled around the thought that to get to the Chief for any reason you, as a community member, need to go through him first.
The topics brought up by the Chief during his 20 minute talk were a bit more goal focused. He targeted the concept of “development”. Bullet points in his speech included the need for every home to be built well and have a toilet; couples need to be faithful to each other to decrease the spread of HIV (he practices monogamy); the secondary school that the community has been attempting to build for over a year is not close enough to the shops and should be rebuilt; he wants a completely new Umphakatsi (community meeting area and Chief housing) to be built. Other things were certainly discussed, but that was what I caught at the back of the crowd. Again, I’m not going to discuss my personal reactions to this, but the main question off the lips of my community members and friends are, “with what money?”.
At this presentation he also appointed a new Indvuna (community leader) for Ekuphumleni. He asked this individual to pick a new inner council of about 10 members. Thus, our entire leadership has changed overnight. Today I found out my Make (Mother), is a part of this council. I believe she is a “super-Make” being involved in every committee possible, so that was a very good choice. Plus, the fact that she is on this usually male-only council is a good step for women’s equality in my very conservative community.
In National political news, there have been protests by university students to the Ministry of Education to restore the scholarships they used to receive. From what I understand, almost all students going to college in Swaziland are doing so with financial help from the government. Last year “free education”, or publicly funded schooling, for grades 1 & 2 started with the negative effect of scholarship cuts occurring as a consequence. Protests have occurred or have been predicted to occur semi-often during my service for a plethora of reasons. Peace Corps always puts us on Alert and restricts our travel to these areas. Being in my hot corner of the country and at least an hour walk from the nearest Swazi “newspaper”/tabloid, I don’t usually get the dish until I talk to other volunteers who live closer to the cities. Another protest in scheduled for Monday, but Ekuphumleni won’t be the wiser.
P.S. While I have been writing this blog entry Nothando and Neliswa have been napping in my hut. After school today they came into my hut probably to escape the 100+ temperatures outside and to draw. We worked on how to tell time from a clock drawing I made, and then they fell fast asleep on my cool concrete floor. :-)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Tooth Mouse
January 30, 2011
5:39pm
I just got back to my house from a lovely weekend with the Broodryks. They are such a wealth of information on the history of Ekuphumleni and the whole of this African region. I love their company and only wish I knew more of the Afrikaans language. :-P The Afrikaans people are descendants from the Dutch settlers in South Africa, and learning about this completely different African culture is fascinating. I am very blessed to have the Broodryk family at A1.
Anyway, they told me this weekend about the Tooth Mouse. This is an interesting variation of the Tooth Fairy. A young Afrikaans child, after losing one of those precious baby teeth, will place the tooth in a shoe next to his/her bed. During the night the Tooth Mouse will come and exchange the tooth for some money. It is said that this mouse builds his special house out of the teeth he collects.
According to an event in the Broodryk family history, the Tooth Mouse does not want any other kinds of teeth for his house. The Broodryk children, now grown adults, had supplied the Tooth Mouse with a shoe full of cow teeth collected from the community. It is said that they removed the teeth from the discarded skulls, washed, and polished them. They arose the next morning expecting to cash in on their creativity, and found out that the Tooth Mouse can only build his house with young children’s baby teeth. Nothing else is known about this magical creature and his tooth house. It was discovered, though, that both the Tooth Fairy and the Tooth Mouse have had to deal with inflation. Every generation is astounded at the next generation’s reward for wriggling out one of their loose teeth.
5:39pm
I just got back to my house from a lovely weekend with the Broodryks. They are such a wealth of information on the history of Ekuphumleni and the whole of this African region. I love their company and only wish I knew more of the Afrikaans language. :-P The Afrikaans people are descendants from the Dutch settlers in South Africa, and learning about this completely different African culture is fascinating. I am very blessed to have the Broodryk family at A1.
Anyway, they told me this weekend about the Tooth Mouse. This is an interesting variation of the Tooth Fairy. A young Afrikaans child, after losing one of those precious baby teeth, will place the tooth in a shoe next to his/her bed. During the night the Tooth Mouse will come and exchange the tooth for some money. It is said that this mouse builds his special house out of the teeth he collects.
According to an event in the Broodryk family history, the Tooth Mouse does not want any other kinds of teeth for his house. The Broodryk children, now grown adults, had supplied the Tooth Mouse with a shoe full of cow teeth collected from the community. It is said that they removed the teeth from the discarded skulls, washed, and polished them. They arose the next morning expecting to cash in on their creativity, and found out that the Tooth Mouse can only build his house with young children’s baby teeth. Nothing else is known about this magical creature and his tooth house. It was discovered, though, that both the Tooth Fairy and the Tooth Mouse have had to deal with inflation. Every generation is astounded at the next generation’s reward for wriggling out one of their loose teeth.
Swimming with the Fishes!!
January 28, 2011
4:35pm
Mozambique was exquisite. It truly, truly was. During the planning of this beach get away (sorry to all those in the snow right now), I had apprehensions that 7 days was too long to spend at a beach. I’m not your typical sun worshiper. Spending hours baking in the sun sounds painful, because my now slightly darker than neon white skin fries in the African sun. Plus, I get bored. Nonetheless, my friends were psyched for this retreat and I was ready for a long break from Swaziland. Ocean-ward ho!!
The first night of our adventure got us just to the northern border of Swaziland were we crashed with our amazing PCV friends, the Goldens. I had made it up there a day early to discuss the library project with Brooke, who is my partner in the Books for Swaziland project. Once the rest of the vacationing crew, 7 of us in total at this point in the trip, arrived at their homestead the holiday officially began! The Goldens’ part of Swaziland is much different than my dry bushveld area. They live on top of a plateau that makes up the northern part of the Lebombo Mountains, which run down the eastern border of Swaziland. They get a lot more rain, the vegetation is drastically different, and a cool ocean breeze can be felt. A few of the guys and I even explored a waterfall, which was only a 45 minute walk away! Gorgeous. On clear days they can even catch glimpses of the ocean and the city of Maputo, our first destination in Mozambique.
With the wonderful directions given by the Goldens, as well as a small lift from their Babe to the main road in the back of his truck, we took public transport to the Lomahasha/Namaacha border gate. There we had to wait while some of our friends got their visas, since the Embassy in Mbabane was closed for the holidays and did not open on the day posted. They had to pay a LOT more at the border, but Ali and I tried to decide if that would have been better (see Black Friday Fiasco blog entry). On Mozambique soil we jumped into the back of a truck that took us to the small bus rank. Already we noticed major differences in this neighboring country. Portuguese was spoken and not English, buildings were still touched by the remembrance of Portuguese design and art, flowers were grown to sell, and the most striking difference for us was the adherence to the concept of a line or queue. We are so used to being trampled on and fighting for a seat on public transportation that when a line started forming behind us while waiting for a khumbi, we all were shocked and awed. We thought surely this was just a trick of our minds and tried to get on the khumbi as fast as humanly possible when it arrived. Most of the people >laughed at us and the order was actually kept!! Oh the first of many wonders of Mozambique!! :-)
The port city of Maputo is much larger than any of the “cities” in Swaziland. Mozambique’s very violent history is apparent on the tattered and damaged facades on many of the buildings. These post war-zone buildings present the perfect foil to the malls, cinemas, and restaurants that are being built next door. As on any other PCV vacation, the first objective after dropping our stuff at a backpackers is showers and good FOOD!! Gelato was our target, but was sadly closed. Plan B (which was actually what we were going to do anyway after Plan A) was Thai food. We then perused a craft market before deciding it would behoove us to get some sleep before the 5:30am transport the following morning.
The vehicle that pulled up in front of Fatima’s Backpackers was a strange hybrid between a mini-bus and a khumbi. Plus, it had cases of alcohol under every seat and some under the aisle seats! Transporting passengers isn’t the only source of income for this driver it seemed. With the 7 of us and another foreign couple there were still about 8 seats vacant. To remedy this, the driver pulled into the Maputo bus rank and there we sat for over an hour waiting for the remaining seats to be filled. Transport doesn’t seem to work unless full in Africa, and in Mozambique that means people are hanging out of the doors. Luckily, ours didn’t have to get this full … well, until our return trip to Maputo.
Notable observations on these trips include that mangos, coconuts, pineapple, and papaya grow wild like weeds in Mozambique; rural houses are rarely made with concrete blocks, like in Swaziland, but instead are constructed using thin poles bound vertically with thatched roofing; and to indicate that you can buy cashews (not grown in Swaziland but abundant here) multiple white, plastic grocery bags are tied to branches, poles, or signs like eerie, ghost, cashew banners. The landscape is so much greener and denser in Mozambique. Even though it was raining most of the trip, which kept us cooler, the scenery was beautiful. Six hours on this road running parallel to the coast delivered us to the paradise known as Tofo.
We rented a house up on a small cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean about a 4 minute walk from the beach!!! Fan-frickin’-tastic! It was up a flight of 92 steps (I don’t remember who counted them) and was divided into three sections. The center section was a large kitchen and dining area with a thatched covered deck of about the same dimensions. On either side of this building were mirrored, identical 2-bedroom 1-bathroom buildings. Sans the stealthy, silent mosquitoes (we all left with limbs looking like small pox was back in vogue) the deck was by far our favorite spot. Coming in a close second was a tie between the showers (running water amazes us :-P) and the kitchen, which quickly turned into a seafood experiment lab. Some nights we got dolled up and went out to the restaurants which obviously catered to the tourists, but a few nights we rolled up our sleeves (if not still in our bathing suites), bought seafood at the market which came in that day from the boats (and hopefully didn’t have too many flies buzzing about it), had a cocktail… or two, and attempted to figure out the anatomy and culinary secrets of prawns, barracuda, and squid!! I can proudly report that every single one of our dinners was a huge success, even better than a couple experiences at the restaurants! Mmmm…. seafood.
It seemed that we picked the perfect time to vacation at Tofo. The beach was practically clear of tourists, which were in abundance just over a week before during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Heavy rains were predicted for every day of our vacation, but other than rain on the trip there and morning showers the first full day, we had clear, sunny skies. Most in our group, which grew as other PCVs from Swaziland joined at different parts during the time there, enjoyed reading, laying on the beach, swimming in the unbelievably warm waters, walking the coast, and/or renting body boards. Brandon and I enjoyed these things, but also had other plans for our vacation. We signed up for the 4 day course to get PADI certified as scuba divers!!! It was the best decision I could have made. The first day, which happened to be the only rainy one, we had book work to do and movies to watch. By the time we emerged from the classroom the skies were sunny and swimminga was the only logical action. The next day we spent hours in a pool learning all the practical skills necessary to avoid issues when underwater. The most interesting fact I learned that day was that I don’t use much air! Our instructor was shocked when I reported, using the newly learned hand motions, the amount of air left in my tank. No one can accuse me of being full of hot air (sorry, lame joke :-P).
On the third and forth days, we dove four different times. Clownfish Reef, Mike’s Cabinet, and Simon’s Town were the names of our underwater destinations (don’t ask me who gets to name them). There truly were completely different worlds hidden just a short distance from our beach house. Being in “class” we had to perform a few tasks underwater first. I HATE taking my mask off, and we had to do it every single time! After those were completed, though, we got to go hang with our underwater friends. By the way, Nemo says “hi”. :-P We saw moray eels, different colored star fish, barracuda, lion fish, baby reef sharks, sting rays, crocodile fish, octopus, spotted box fish, and a whole bunch of brightly colored, beautiful fish I could appreciate but not identify. On the surface, after we completed our final task of the course, we were congratulated for being officially certified and then slapped the water, which I am now convinced is the cool scuba diver’s clap. :-P Before the final day of our trip we convinced Laura, who has previously certified, to take a review course so we could dive together on our last day in Tofo. It was all amazing, and I am now addicted. :-) If I happen to have any friends who are scuba divers out there, LET ME KNOW!! I’m thinking there are some sunken ships I want to explore and underwater adventures to plan.
As a huge group of PCVs, we went on an “Ocean Safari”. This meant we were all given flippers, masks, and snorkels and then tooled around the ocean for 2 ½ hours. This area off the coast is known for the whale sharks, but sadly they were nowhere to be found that day. Instead, we got to swim with dolphins! Someone would spot them jumping and the boat would get as close as it could. We would then get the signal from our guide to slip off the side of the boat and start swimming! I got so close to them. Most of the time they would let us tail them for a while and then decide we were too much of nuisance. At that point they would simply dive down out of our reach and we would hop back onto the boat. It was a fun experience to say the least!
The trip was so good for my physical and mental health! I did get a bit of sun, read a couple books, threw the Frisbee, and didn’t felt bored for even one second! Our trip back through Maputo was just as fun. We went through the markets and bought some beautiful fabrics (with my sewing skills they will probably all turn into tablecloths!!). A few of us die hard seafood lovers went to the Maputo-famous Fish Market. There we walked by stalls and stalls of different fish, spitting clams, lobsters, pots of raw prawns, and crates of live crabs! We picked out some barracuda and a few pounds of the active crabs. From there we went to the other side of the market where about 8 different kitchens circled an area of picnic tables. As with ever business transaction in Mozambique, we bartered for the price of cooking the seafood and then sat down at a table with a draft Lorientina, a Mozambique beer. Soooo delicious, sooooo fun, and a perfect way to end an amazing vacation!
4:35pm
Mozambique was exquisite. It truly, truly was. During the planning of this beach get away (sorry to all those in the snow right now), I had apprehensions that 7 days was too long to spend at a beach. I’m not your typical sun worshiper. Spending hours baking in the sun sounds painful, because my now slightly darker than neon white skin fries in the African sun. Plus, I get bored. Nonetheless, my friends were psyched for this retreat and I was ready for a long break from Swaziland. Ocean-ward ho!!
The first night of our adventure got us just to the northern border of Swaziland were we crashed with our amazing PCV friends, the Goldens. I had made it up there a day early to discuss the library project with Brooke, who is my partner in the Books for Swaziland project. Once the rest of the vacationing crew, 7 of us in total at this point in the trip, arrived at their homestead the holiday officially began! The Goldens’ part of Swaziland is much different than my dry bushveld area. They live on top of a plateau that makes up the northern part of the Lebombo Mountains, which run down the eastern border of Swaziland. They get a lot more rain, the vegetation is drastically different, and a cool ocean breeze can be felt. A few of the guys and I even explored a waterfall, which was only a 45 minute walk away! Gorgeous. On clear days they can even catch glimpses of the ocean and the city of Maputo, our first destination in Mozambique.
With the wonderful directions given by the Goldens, as well as a small lift from their Babe to the main road in the back of his truck, we took public transport to the Lomahasha/Namaacha border gate. There we had to wait while some of our friends got their visas, since the Embassy in Mbabane was closed for the holidays and did not open on the day posted. They had to pay a LOT more at the border, but Ali and I tried to decide if that would have been better (see Black Friday Fiasco blog entry). On Mozambique soil we jumped into the back of a truck that took us to the small bus rank. Already we noticed major differences in this neighboring country. Portuguese was spoken and not English, buildings were still touched by the remembrance of Portuguese design and art, flowers were grown to sell, and the most striking difference for us was the adherence to the concept of a line or queue. We are so used to being trampled on and fighting for a seat on public transportation that when a line started forming behind us while waiting for a khumbi, we all were shocked and awed. We thought surely this was just a trick of our minds and tried to get on the khumbi as fast as humanly possible when it arrived. Most of the people >laughed at us and the order was actually kept!! Oh the first of many wonders of Mozambique!! :-)
The port city of Maputo is much larger than any of the “cities” in Swaziland. Mozambique’s very violent history is apparent on the tattered and damaged facades on many of the buildings. These post war-zone buildings present the perfect foil to the malls, cinemas, and restaurants that are being built next door. As on any other PCV vacation, the first objective after dropping our stuff at a backpackers is showers and good FOOD!! Gelato was our target, but was sadly closed. Plan B (which was actually what we were going to do anyway after Plan A) was Thai food. We then perused a craft market before deciding it would behoove us to get some sleep before the 5:30am transport the following morning.
The vehicle that pulled up in front of Fatima’s Backpackers was a strange hybrid between a mini-bus and a khumbi. Plus, it had cases of alcohol under every seat and some under the aisle seats! Transporting passengers isn’t the only source of income for this driver it seemed. With the 7 of us and another foreign couple there were still about 8 seats vacant. To remedy this, the driver pulled into the Maputo bus rank and there we sat for over an hour waiting for the remaining seats to be filled. Transport doesn’t seem to work unless full in Africa, and in Mozambique that means people are hanging out of the doors. Luckily, ours didn’t have to get this full … well, until our return trip to Maputo.
Notable observations on these trips include that mangos, coconuts, pineapple, and papaya grow wild like weeds in Mozambique; rural houses are rarely made with concrete blocks, like in Swaziland, but instead are constructed using thin poles bound vertically with thatched roofing; and to indicate that you can buy cashews (not grown in Swaziland but abundant here) multiple white, plastic grocery bags are tied to branches, poles, or signs like eerie, ghost, cashew banners. The landscape is so much greener and denser in Mozambique. Even though it was raining most of the trip, which kept us cooler, the scenery was beautiful. Six hours on this road running parallel to the coast delivered us to the paradise known as Tofo.
We rented a house up on a small cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean about a 4 minute walk from the beach!!! Fan-frickin’-tastic! It was up a flight of 92 steps (I don’t remember who counted them) and was divided into three sections. The center section was a large kitchen and dining area with a thatched covered deck of about the same dimensions. On either side of this building were mirrored, identical 2-bedroom 1-bathroom buildings. Sans the stealthy, silent mosquitoes (we all left with limbs looking like small pox was back in vogue) the deck was by far our favorite spot. Coming in a close second was a tie between the showers (running water amazes us :-P) and the kitchen, which quickly turned into a seafood experiment lab. Some nights we got dolled up and went out to the restaurants which obviously catered to the tourists, but a few nights we rolled up our sleeves (if not still in our bathing suites), bought seafood at the market which came in that day from the boats (and hopefully didn’t have too many flies buzzing about it), had a cocktail… or two, and attempted to figure out the anatomy and culinary secrets of prawns, barracuda, and squid!! I can proudly report that every single one of our dinners was a huge success, even better than a couple experiences at the restaurants! Mmmm…. seafood.
It seemed that we picked the perfect time to vacation at Tofo. The beach was practically clear of tourists, which were in abundance just over a week before during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Heavy rains were predicted for every day of our vacation, but other than rain on the trip there and morning showers the first full day, we had clear, sunny skies. Most in our group, which grew as other PCVs from Swaziland joined at different parts during the time there, enjoyed reading, laying on the beach, swimming in the unbelievably warm waters, walking the coast, and/or renting body boards. Brandon and I enjoyed these things, but also had other plans for our vacation. We signed up for the 4 day course to get PADI certified as scuba divers!!! It was the best decision I could have made. The first day, which happened to be the only rainy one, we had book work to do and movies to watch. By the time we emerged from the classroom the skies were sunny and swimminga was the only logical action. The next day we spent hours in a pool learning all the practical skills necessary to avoid issues when underwater. The most interesting fact I learned that day was that I don’t use much air! Our instructor was shocked when I reported, using the newly learned hand motions, the amount of air left in my tank. No one can accuse me of being full of hot air (sorry, lame joke :-P).
On the third and forth days, we dove four different times. Clownfish Reef, Mike’s Cabinet, and Simon’s Town were the names of our underwater destinations (don’t ask me who gets to name them). There truly were completely different worlds hidden just a short distance from our beach house. Being in “class” we had to perform a few tasks underwater first. I HATE taking my mask off, and we had to do it every single time! After those were completed, though, we got to go hang with our underwater friends. By the way, Nemo says “hi”. :-P We saw moray eels, different colored star fish, barracuda, lion fish, baby reef sharks, sting rays, crocodile fish, octopus, spotted box fish, and a whole bunch of brightly colored, beautiful fish I could appreciate but not identify. On the surface, after we completed our final task of the course, we were congratulated for being officially certified and then slapped the water, which I am now convinced is the cool scuba diver’s clap. :-P Before the final day of our trip we convinced Laura, who has previously certified, to take a review course so we could dive together on our last day in Tofo. It was all amazing, and I am now addicted. :-) If I happen to have any friends who are scuba divers out there, LET ME KNOW!! I’m thinking there are some sunken ships I want to explore and underwater adventures to plan.
As a huge group of PCVs, we went on an “Ocean Safari”. This meant we were all given flippers, masks, and snorkels and then tooled around the ocean for 2 ½ hours. This area off the coast is known for the whale sharks, but sadly they were nowhere to be found that day. Instead, we got to swim with dolphins! Someone would spot them jumping and the boat would get as close as it could. We would then get the signal from our guide to slip off the side of the boat and start swimming! I got so close to them. Most of the time they would let us tail them for a while and then decide we were too much of nuisance. At that point they would simply dive down out of our reach and we would hop back onto the boat. It was a fun experience to say the least!
The trip was so good for my physical and mental health! I did get a bit of sun, read a couple books, threw the Frisbee, and didn’t felt bored for even one second! Our trip back through Maputo was just as fun. We went through the markets and bought some beautiful fabrics (with my sewing skills they will probably all turn into tablecloths!!). A few of us die hard seafood lovers went to the Maputo-famous Fish Market. There we walked by stalls and stalls of different fish, spitting clams, lobsters, pots of raw prawns, and crates of live crabs! We picked out some barracuda and a few pounds of the active crabs. From there we went to the other side of the market where about 8 different kitchens circled an area of picnic tables. As with ever business transaction in Mozambique, we bartered for the price of cooking the seafood and then sat down at a table with a draft Lorientina, a Mozambique beer. Soooo delicious, sooooo fun, and a perfect way to end an amazing vacation!
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