chaseinafrica

Moving On

2010-09-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

Feel free to check out my new blogs.

http://thismanwentbybike.blogspot.com/

http://chasequatch.blogspot.com/

The Skys of Inhambane and Beyond

2009-12-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

I'm signing in for the last time and taking note that I've posted 47 times since my arrival in Mozambique, a success considering the fact that I haven't written in a journal that many times...ever. The last six months have been some of the busiest of my life. Wrapping up a Peace Corps service is no light task. As I began to jot down a to-do list, I fell deeper and deeper into my chair. The race was on. November 13th was the finish line and it was me against my own goals.

My primary responsibilities were to prepare my grades and grade maps at both the secondary school and the university, annual grades for 500 students. As stated in the previous post my university students completed their final project and I was talked into scanning all of their work, which called for a midnight run to Massinga and a 5:00am return to teach classes the next morning. I also rushed to finish preparing all of our computers by installing encyclopedias, dictionaries and some last minute network adjustments. We took on the challenge of painting four murals, one of which was a world map; we decided to hand paint all geographic and political information. I then had to make repairs on my house which included lining my veranda with new cane. I wrote a site report with crucial information for the following volunteer.

After these and many other items I packed my bags and headed off for a two week stop in Namaacha where it all began in order to assist in the training of the fourteenth generation of volunteers for Peace Corps Mozambique. Five other volunteers and I worked with the training staff by attendeding language classes, administering classes and painting a picture of what their life is likely to be like for the next two years. My last week in Mozambique was spent in Maputo preparing for lift off. We completed the descriptions of our service and tended to the medical and administrative requirements. On the evening of November 12th we were dropped off at the border and bid farewell. After five hours in the dark and rain our bus arrived and we rode to Johannesburg, South Africa.

Patrick and I flew to Cape Town and spent ten days frollicking in the Western world. Sunny beaches, good food, art galleries, tasteful music and charming hosts all aided in our enjoyment of the Cape of Good Hope. Highlights included watching Patrick crash a scooter through my own rear-view mirror, eating the best scrambled-egg sandwich at a diner called La Superette in Woodstock (go there if you get a chance), and viewing the daunting cape as we cruised down the last of the Atlantic coast on scooters.

And now, after a suiting farewell to a beautiful life on a beautiful continent, I am here in Austin trying to turn the page of a seemingly never-ending chapter. It's hard to remember what all happened in the last two years and yet it's harder to forget. If you've at all enjoyed the story, there is an easy way to help other volunteers. Peace Corps Partnership offers a way to support various projects that volunteers across the world are trying to complete. If that doesn't interest you, there is always the Peace Corps itself. It's never too late to volunteer.

I look forward to returning home to Utah next week and that will bring my voyage full circle.

We had two weeks of touch-ups on this wall alone. Here is Belmira trying to do less damage than good.

This is a rogue painter. I don't know who gave her a brush.

In order to paint on the world map teacher Chase said that one had to get an A+ on the big wall. Here are some of the stars showing off their talent.

Pinas took a lot of pride in being one of the key artists on the project. That hat says a lot.

These are the two stars of the project. As a reward I gave them two small murals to do on their own. Here is the image on the front of the library.

Snazy!

A little home repair. I was so busy that I was bouncing between the mural and the repairs on my house every twenty minutes or so.

Paulove and I didn't do too bad.

We received funding from PEPFAR for the murals and in an effort to increase our impact on the community I asked all of my English students to complete a test on the global HIV prevelence rates. Here is a group trying to decipher the color coded map. As you can see in the picture, the nine countries with rates above 15% are all located in Southern Africa, one of them being Mozambique.

My posse and I decided to go look for a witchdoctor to bless my voyage home. It was a long evening of seeking. We finally found one and put him to the test.

Along the way we found some inviting coconut trees.

And a young boy selling lanha, an unripe fruit good for a snack. We purchased everything he had cut that day and ate them on the spot.

The remaining mess and stomachaches that insued.

Here is a the complete map mural.

And this is the final product now found on the front wall of our computer room.

With nothing more to say, I'm out.

Syntax Without Borders

2009-10-28T03:08:00.000-07:00

As I live through my last fleeting moments in Mozambique, I am torn between cherrishing the present and anticipating the future. My students have helped me to do the former, even if only a little more often. After a year of trying to get my syntax students to take a little more pride in their diagrams, I decided to mandate a little style into their routine. One of their final projects was to create art out of syntax. They were to draw two diagrams, one in English and one in another language of their choice. The pieces had to be on a unique surface with creative mediums. I gave them four examples and set them loose. Two weeks later, the results were in and they ranged from "meh" to quite impressive. I received mostly marker on cardstock but two students submitted oil on canvas and a few others turned in monstrous posters with pictures of girrafes or a compound sentence that required a half-hour just to grade. I rewarded extra credit to those who used wit to link the visual result to the language represented. Here are some of the examples that Patrick and I managed to scan. Some of the most impressive diagrams were too large to scan, but these will give you an idea of the project. Take note of the examples in the Bantu language Xitswa.

Disclaimer: Not all of them are correct.

This pattern, design style is typical here in Mozambique. Their only art class is a course on techinical drawing and design. It is rather fitting to represent the beauty of syntax with this particular style.

Here is a more simple piece. I like how ironic it is that the child-like drawing is representing a complex idea about language.

This reminds me of some early Arcade or Atari video game. I could imagine playing syntax asteroids. That market would be rather limited.

My students loathed drawing their diagrams from the bottom up. I was pleased to see that a student took an interest in that particular style. The result is always a surprise.

Here is a fun sample from Xitswa. The language is spoken in Inhambane province in southern Mozambique. The majority of my students are native Xitswa speakers and it was fun for them to apply what they had learned in English to their own language. It was also valuable for them to see that all languages contain an internal structure. By demonstrating that, we emphacized that, while we use English in the class, their languages are not less impressive.

This examples represents the vast majority of what I received.

This one and the following are of the same idea represented in both Portuguese and English. The student missed a crucial element in the latter half of both trees, but was still able to conceptualize the similarities among our languages.

I like the ruler-edged lines mixed with a casual handwriting on the text.

Another Xitswa example represented in a tall and slender tree.

Contrasted from the diagram above, this is a wider tree.

This student, Roque, enjoys that his name in English is Rock, or Rok as it is spelled here.

Again, a very rigid and well organized tree.

A Good One

2009-10-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I had a fateful match with what I thought was a black mamba. They say that upon being bitten by a black mamba, one dies within six seconds (popularized in the greatest action film ever – Kill Bill Vol. 1). When asked the question, what you do with the last six seconds, answers may vary. Mine? Eat the snake. So, with my heart pounding I ended the snake’s life with a large steel hoe. Mutilating what the sleeping reptile (actually, not of the black mamba species), I also destroyed the cement floor beneath the snake. Ashamed of my weakness, I decreed that if I ever had another snake in my house, I would act with more composure and cut the snake’s head clean off. Of course, I planned this with the intention of making a belt afterward (what would you do?). To view this pathetic 2005 account, you can see the story in (more or less) January 2008 of this blog.

As my service in Mozambique comes to an end, I believe that I have matured into an efficient volunteer. Every day I see more and more actions and behaviors that differentiate the old Chase from the new. I am proud to say that after two years of personal development, I have also managed to maintain my composure when killing snakes.

After straying into my room while I was playing the guitar, a hissing snake met its reaper. We had a moment of eye contact and it was on. I can't say that I was immediately composed. I was more spry than anything. I jumped on the bed and secured my guitar in on its rack; I then grabbed my rat-beating stick and lighter, more efficient, machete. The hunter had become the hunted. The snake, seeing the commotion, turned back towards the main room. I put my shoes and headlamp on. This was my chance. I had been planning this for two years and already knew what would be my method. There had been too much day dreaming about this moment to leave any room for failure. The snake, not familiar with my wit and experience, slithered behind the couch. I quickly switched my death-notched stick for a broom. This may sound like an odd choice, but remember, I had a plan. I stood on the table and got a good look at the two-foot reptile as he hissed back at me (notice, snakes are always male when recounting stories). I worked my way to the couch and the slithery devil, unaware of what was above him, searched and searched for his hunter. With the broom in my right hand I trapped the snake right behind the head. Unable to get the machete at a good angle to cut the head off, I jammed the point through the back of his head. Pinned, the snake violently threw his body from side to side. Holding my hand on the machete, I moved the couch with the other hand (it’s wicker) and reached for the kitchen knife. Without any hesitation, I cut the head off and ended it.

And that is how I marked my maturation as a fully formed Peace Corps volunteer. The following are some visuals of the aftermath.

Shortly after the kill. Head laying still in position.

Its headless body coiling around my hand. It was everything I could do to keep from dropping it. That is a look of concentration.

And, like I said, I want to make a belt. So I skinned it.

A glimpse into my new fashion statement.

a face lift

2009-10-06T04:24:00.000-07:00

My students have been slaving away to paint four different murals on our campus. Here is the results of the first endeavor.

the countdown begins and the to do list only gets longer

2009-09-11T04:56:00.000-07:00

books: don't take them for granted. especially when they are in a language which you happen to speak.

it has been some time since my last update. much has happened. i was briefly in austin, texas to visit jamie. the word from there is that it's hot and malaria can follow you anywhere. i was out of it for the first week. after spending an afternoon on an iv, i was forced to convince the texas department of health that i was not a threat to their fine (and big) state. i arrived safely back in mozambique only after an extra week of u.s. time, mandated by peace corps. a bitter sweat turn of events. i made the rough transition back into life here in inhamussua and things are great. some might say that we are on the right track (you know who you are).

below are a couple of updates on the work we're doing here. not pictured but just as important is that the newly formed art club of inhamussua has been studying the fundamentals of drawing and we hope to move on to painting next week. we are working hard to get our group ready for our end of year finale when we will paint two giant murals on our campus, one to commemorate our agricultural efforts, and the other will display HIV prevalence rates throughout the world.

i am also happy to announce that after a year of sewing and selling goods our sewing club has finally been awarded a match grant to purchase a new pedal driven sewing machine and table. thanks to their hard work, the school's and another private (thanks mom) donation, we will be bringing the machine home next month.

further, i have been corresponding with Books for The World, an american organization that supplies books to schools in many parts of the world. Park Burroughs, a representative of Books for The World, arranged to have two boxes sent to inhamussua (not a cheap task, i'm sure you can imagine) as a bit of a test run. it seems to have gone well. the students were thrilled to get a hold of some new books and the administration received them gracefully. here are some pictures of the students opening the boxes.

on behalf of the Agrarian School of Inhamussua,
thank you Books for The World.

this is the initial opening of the boxes.

Books for The World sent a variety of english books.

including some books with great visuals.

below are some thank you letters sent to books for the world as well as pictures of their authors.

My name is Silvério Francisco.

I am Mozambican. I am from Inhambane city, I am 19 years old and I am a student of the agrarian school of Inhamússua.

For you, we will study English, because your offering will help me to be a man of future. I’m very glad, because that is something difficult to see here in my country. I say thanks and I congratulate the project because I want to study English. I want to give you certainty that this project will be fantastic and will help many students to speak and write the English language.

Thanks Books for The World for help me to be a man of the future.

Silvério Francisco

I am Paulo Manuel Macucha.

I was born in 1987 and I am a natural of Maputo city. I am 22 years old. I am a student of the agrarian school of Inhamússua in the province of Inhambane. I frequent the first year of the husbandry and livestock course.

I would like to thank you for the books we received and for your offering with whole goodness. I promise the good use of books, good advantage and good preserve, because they are very important to us and our future generation to the development of education and the world.

Thank you very much Books for The World.

Paulo Manuel Macucha

let's not forget about the daily work of spreading the good word which is english.

it's a zoo!

2009-08-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

my house was recently host to an unexpected visitor. patrick's brother, sean, and sister, emily, came to romp around mozambique and swaziland. although they did come to inhamussua and keep things interesting, they were also expected. the unexpected guest was heifer, our new bovine buddy. and when i say new, i mean brand new. take a look.

for about an hour diogi was barking, growling and, at times, howling. but at what, we didn't know. it wasn't until patrick went outside to take a bath that we heard there was a calf in the backyard. while i thought it was annoying that the dog was barking for a good hour, i had no idea she would bark until well after the cow came home (i just had to include that...i promise no more).

take note of the age. not easy when your viewing through a photo but i'll point out few giveaways. first, umbilical cord nearly hitting the ground. second, placenta, dried at this point. i don't have a third.

he was rather friendly and decided us to come inside and chat, i think largely due to two things - hunger and the fact that he got sight of patricks nipples. cows grow 900 lbs. in their first year. and we choose to drink their milk for life?

i couldn't let him leave without maintaining my alpha-male status. it's a daily occurrence.

an unrelated but puzzling guard dog.

i'm in Austin until the end of next week. then i will return to mozambique in order to insure that i've done something in the past two years. or at least convince myself as much.

safari surfing

2009-06-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

i'm currently touring mozambique a little with my mother and step-father. they have had more adventure than they bargained for. after missing their connection in johannesburg, the airline managed to loose both of their bags. feeling much lighter than expected we moved on. we spent the last three days in south africa enjoying kruger national park, which boasts one of the largest collection of large game. jerry was like a kid in a candy shop and used more AA batteries than has ever been recorded. of the "big five", we only failed to locate a leopard. so illusive! in search of the more illusive luggage, we returned to maputo today and found both items waiting for us in the airport. so with five days to go we are a complete party and looking forward to taking our safari to the sea. tomorrow we will travel north for eight to nine hours on a hot stinky bus so they can get to know what i have to go through any time i want to go somewhere. enjoy the pictures we have taken thus far.

this is dave our british tour guide who speeds more than i do. however, he didn't manage to prove his speed via a speeding violation like I did.

here is jerry in our safari truck luring the elephants for some peanuts.

giraffes can grow to five meters. surprisingly, so can crocodiles.

these guys reminded us of judges from the high court.

the lions were enjoying the high traffic caused by the public holiday. if it weren't for dave, we would have never gotten lucky enough to see the lions even from this distance.

after begging our guide to find some wild dogs, we were finally treated by these two dorky ones. they both kept us company at our cabin over looking the city of nelspruit.

here is a clip of our best elephant encounter.

a couple visual updates

2009-06-12T17:12:00.001-07:00

improvising a mancala board in the dirt

mr. M's punishment

this is a link from patrick's blog, a photo I found to be charming. apparently Mr. M doesn't like a little physical contact. there is also a priceless peace corps story on his blog right now. if you get a chance take a look at the story. the link can be found above.

I'm in maputo right now waiting for my mother and step-father to arrive. we are traveling through the area for about ten days. we hope to see some big game both on land and at sea. it is humpback season and if we're lucky we'll see some whale sharks as well. wish us luck!

all´s good in the hood (no juice necessary)

2009-06-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

a serene sunrise in inhamússua

we´ve been busy over the past couple of weeks here in inhamússua. we hosted a seminar for volunteers and their counterparts on permaculture - a hip, yuppy sub-culture in arizona, yet a lifesaving set of techniques in an underdeveloped, equatorial country. the course went well and we received a beautiful garden out of it. after the show was done it was time to try and implement it within our communities and that is usually where the difficulties begin. how do you show a group of people that the methods they have used for centuries have been perverted into something ineffective and damaging? repetition and exemplary success.

so, Elias and I started with our eleventh grade students that study agriculture every day and told them that all of those responses they gave us on their exams were wrong, everything that they have studied since eighth grade is now in question. we told them that maize is planted at a distance of 40 centimeters instead of 100, and that pesticides are only necessary when you don´t rejuvenate the soil. we tried to convince them that watering everyday can be avoided with a little foresight. the largest obstacle is that half of what we have to say is taught exactly opposite within the classroom by 40 other teachers, the tests are written with aged techniques in mind and the teachers teaching them...HATE change.

so what do you do? you dig a hole, fertilize the soil with natural resources and build a compost pile. what else is there?

here is the sub-soil of our soon-to-be-bed with four added ingredients all found locally. compost, ash, charcoal and a high-in-nitrogen leaf.

here is our group finishing their first compost pile.

of course, I have managed to find a little work to do around the house. fortunately, I finished what I have because that dreaded feeling of the near-end is here. that is to say that at some point the volunteer gives up on improvements because their service becomes a simple endurance race to the end. everyday I find myself getting lazier and choosing to play the guitar over fixing something in my house. arguably not a bad choice, but my mentality is certainly changing. here is the most recent improvement that snuck through the lethargy.

my roommate and i added a little pizazz to our front water spicket. we used some beautiful bricks made in a local low-lying area of Inhambane Bay known for its clay type mud.

some of you may remember the Future Business Leaders of Mozambique project that we worked on last year. here is the latest photo of the products soon to be butchered. we are on schedule and still have ten beautiful pigs, two of which are pregnant with an average offspring of ten. the pen should be a little crowded shortly.

out with the old in with the new. our second FBLM contest has finished and at least half of the students learned something and proved it, making your tax dollars that much more likely to go to me and my next whim of a project (thank you PEPFAR). below are some photos of the contest which ended this saturday after eight weeks of procrastination on all parts. we were up until the wee hours of the night on wednesday, thursday and friday. fortunately, we´ll have something to show for it.

here is Elias teaching the principles of budget projections, a skill lost somewhere between him and the students. students were reluctant to find it despite the 600 dollar reward for who did.

the students observe lessons one night a week on eight various topics and prepare a proposal for a panel of judges. on the final day they present and defend their project.

the day finally arrived and the students were put to the test. some students relied on wit rather than a decent project and others lacked style when elaborating well designed piece. for a little harmony is all we ask.

the panel of judges was a red-penned fury when it came down to the final decision.

two judges reviewed the written work of the students.

here are two students asked to clear up some doubts about their numbers.

here are the two girls, Xaina and Mariana, that made the day possible. without them we would have died of hunger and looked bad. I don´t know which is worse, nor does Elias. needless to say, we erred on the side of food.

and finally, the winning group. while last year I was proud to be what can only be assumed as the only vegetarian with a pig-slaughtering club, this year I am happy to say that we have produced some new and creative thinking. the winning group will begin this week creating a produce conservation project. they will use locally produced fruits and vegetables to make jams and dried goods, which can then be sold in seasons when those products are out of season. manufactured, as opposed to raw, products is a large part of economic success in the world and this group is helping to implement a large task at a grassroots level, something that we focus on quite a bit in FBLM. here are some photos of their victory.

Anércio and Valdo dazzling the judges.

we decided his clipboard and polo shirt said enough.

explaining that they can use milk as a substitute for sugar when making jam...the jury is still out on that one.

nothing in Mozambique is final without a little champagne. and the two winners were able to sneak in a soccer game between winning and celebrating.

the quantity of flavours in that cake would amaze you.

we even seemed to convince them that they´re all winners. don´t ask me how.

winter is here!

2009-05-05T03:59:00.000-07:00

As we head into winter here in Mozambique, temperatures have become much more agreeable and my garden has begun to take shape. Now in our second year of service we are increasingly busy, finding more and more to do each day while realizing that the time we have to complete our projects is short. Despite all the rush I have still found time to continue with my garden, play the guitar, read some great books and study for the GRE. Here are a couple pictures of the recent events.

With not enough classrooms my students have been ousted to the garage. Here they are sitting among tractors and trucks learning how to form negative phrases.

A university student of mine rode his bike 10 miles through sand to study syntax with me. Man how I love syntax!

My courageous bully of a dog has managed to pump out another seven beautiful puppies.

Here I am babying my green peppers. They are arguably the most expensive vegetable here and my plants are as strong as ever. That, my friends, makes me wealthy!

My tomato plants are officially as tall as I am and my students still think I know nothing about agriculture (at least half true). I´m going to start demanding that they believe me if they want to eat any of it. Just a little vindication is all I ask.

After a long stint without leaving home or work, it was time to get out and swim a bit. The Peace Corps Mozambique Beach/Beer Olympics took place in the paradise get away of Vilankulos this last weekend. It was a fiery battle between the southern and central provinces. and as unsportsmanlike as it gets. It ended in a tie due, solely, to exhaustion. Being the anti-social that I am, I avoided the spectacle and spent the day on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. My friend Laura had two visitors, Krista and Cate, that are on a trip around the world and so they, another volunteer Caitlin, and I all made the trip. We were treated with some amazing snorkeling, where we saw some lion fish, trumpet fish, pipe-cleaner fish, blow-fish and the largest school of fish I have ever seen. I was able to dive through the school to the bottom, allow them to gather again, while watching my friends swim around on the surface, and then emerge through them on my way back up. It was really quite a treat.

Speaking of treats here is the meal they fed us. I was impressed, and although I didn´t eat the calamari or crab, my vegetable curry and ice-cold juice were enough for me.

Two southern dolls, Laura and Cate, and me.

When told by a local that the lion doesn´t walk with meat in his hands, I told him that this lion doesn´t eat meat. There´s a riddle for you.

Here is the beautiful and simple dhow that took us across the bay with the help of a near-non-existent breaze.

Oh captain, my captain!

Nobody actually said that to me but I could sense the urge.

That sense was strongest at this point.

Back on the mainland, Patrick´s offering candy to little children. Who knows what lesson they walked away with that day?

Cameron and Patrick arguably showed outright chivelrous behavior to Laura´s guests (I didn´t actually hear anyone argue that).

We had a blast with Krista and Cate and if you´re interested you can see their blog as they travel around the world in an caustic one-two fashion (that´s GRE word). I have provided a link to the blog above.

Ali was on fire all night. Here she is showing some moves few of you could even dream of.

This guy is the real reason I made the trip this weekend. Can you blame me? And here is a fun clip of Patrick, as a representative of the southern provinces, owning all that is the central, Cameron.

peace corps rollercoaster

2009-04-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

You know you should terminate your blogger account when your blog can be defined as a diary. Well I´m sorry but with not much time to elaborate a wonderful update and layout some beautiful photographs, I´m reduced to sharing my thoughts. If this is too much like a journal of sorts, tell me and I will cease, but with seven months left in my service there are a slough of emotions running through me with respects to going home. The overtone? Is there excitment, fear or indifference about returning?

I sit here in my house trying to ignore the ants crawling through my left-over sweat-potato-leaf curry. Deep inside, I can´t wait to get to a place where ants and other creatures don´t dominate the interior of my home. Excitment? Then...a friend, visiting from a nearby city, brings a giant sized Tootsie Roll bar as a gift. Ahhhh...home I think. After a day or two I notice the Tootsie Roll bar sitting on the counter two-thirds eaten, open and vulnerable. Still tasty as ever but vulnerable. Considering the temperatures are in the ninties, I´m surprised it has survived the past couple of days. Tribute! To the engineering of our enamoured society, I think. But that´s not what startles me. What catches my attention is that the ants are indifferent. They don´t have the slightest interest in the classic American candy. In that moment you can´t help but think that perhaps overpriced organic foods are, quite possibly, worth the extra money. I won´t be the judge, but do I leave it to the ants?

At least in Mozambique, I can smell the produce and the ants aren´t too good for my food. Fear?

The same day I walk into to work and there is a father pleading, on his daughter´s behalf, to allow her to continue studying. Pleading, depsite the fact that his daughter is pregnant. The answer? NO. This year the administration is sticking to their predetermined rules that pregnant students, living in the dormitory, will not be allowed to continue studying. Moral dilema. I´m caught. I don´t know how I feel about this policy. Indifference? One question comes to mind. What about the father?

They laugh.

And there it is. Moral dilema. Do you walk away, go home and be thankful you´ll be in a place where, as home was once defined, you understand the sons-a-bitches? Or is this a reason to stay?

Don´t worry. Or, just maybe, don´t get excited. I´m coming home.

Just a couple of thoughts. And I put the photos in here so that it wasn´t too much like a diary entry. The one above is us playing with the kids in Nkhata Bay, Malawi. This photo is just in case you don´t get to Jamie´s blog too often.

a brief life above the clouds

2008-12-23T04:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we have returned from the mountain of Kilimanjaro. After a long search for guides and arranging one that is wanted by the police, we successfully headed off into the jungles and high mountains of Tanzania. The days were relatively short and we had a number of porters to carry the majority of our gear. Despite these factors the hike proved to be a grueling process. We totaled six days on the mountain and it seemed that we took the most round about way to the top. But not to worry for it was one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever done.

On day one we started at 1800 meters and walked six hours to the first camp. We encountered a little rain—not surprisingly, considering we spent the entire day in a quasi-rain forest.

Sunset from camp one.

Ali and me enjoying the oxygen-rich air.

Day two offered a step above the jungle into a spectacular high mountain desert with large leopard tracks and white-necked ravens. The camp was at 3850 meters and the view was spectacular.

What we assumed to be leopard tracks.

The second night brought on the cold we had heard so much about and I put my 15 degree sleeping bag and thermal underwear to their fullest potential for the first time on the African continent. That night we did a small acclimatization hike and I showed Patrick who was boss in a little bouldering competition.

A Michael Jackson unity.

Setting up at camp two, well above the clouds in the valley below.

A second amazing sunset - camp two.

The following day we experienced the coldest weather off the summit and Paul and I reached 4600 meters (14,950 feet) in sandals. A couple of us experienced altitude sickness at that height but overall we felt well about what was a head and really only suffered from the low temperature.

Patrick sporting REI's finest before the low temps settled in.

Looking the obstacle in the eye.

The crew in full.

That night we set up camp in a dense fog and after hours of trying to find north and guessing where the peak was, she unveiled herself with an unforgettable force.

Wondering what's below.

The daunting task ahead.

But what the hell? Let's give it a shot.

The following day we hiked straight up and down steep passes until we reached the base of the peak at 4600 meters around 3:00pm. We ate a quick dinner and slept until 11:30pm when we prepared for our midnight summit attempt. We all bundled up and started the 1300 meter climb to the top. I immediately felt terrible and was doubtful that I would make it. I was dealing with a strong case of nausea and hardly had the power to put one foot in front of the other due to the altitude. It was clear that all of us were having a tough time but Jimmy didn’t seem to be himself from early on.

After two hours of hiking I managed to throw up whatever was bothering me and I got a second wind. Shortly afterwords, Jimmy collapsed and couldn’t control his movements. He was trying to walk but his legs refused to respond to his commands. He managed to stand with the use of his trekking poles and continued on with support from Hans and two of the guides. He was able to walk for thirty minutes before collapsing again at 4:30am. At that point they tried to get him to take an Excedrin in order to thin his blood. When he took hold of the water bottle to wash down the pill, his arm collapsed under the weight of one liter of water. We knew then that it was time to submit to the mountain. The guides decided to take him down the mountain immediately.

As the guides carried him down the steep slope, the five of us remaining hikers miserably continued on in a stupor. The five of us had little to say in the howling wind, and Patrick and I began to lag behind the rest. Patrick began to feel the same effects that caused Jimmy to turn back, while I was beginning to feel nausea again. After a grueling five plus hours of climbing we topped out on Kibo peak and began the one hour walk to Uhuru point. The sunrise and wide open sky brought Patrick and I to tears as we reached Uhuru at 6:20am.

Uhuru is the highest point in Africa and the top of the highest freestanding mountain in the world, meaning we could see for miles without interference because there were few other mountains in the region.

The luring African sky that nobody can forget.

One short but all in one piece.

No one conquers or dominates the mountain, but is rather allowed to mingle for a few amazing moments.

After all is said and done, I was miserable on the peak and like many miserable feats of strength one swears to oneself never to repeat the challenge again. And, of course, after a couple hours of rest you plan the next. I don’t know if I will make it any higher than Kilimanjaro, a daunting 5895 meters (19,341 feet). But, if I do, I have an idea of where it will be.

Think north and think big.

Off season training.

humbly at her feet

2008-12-15T08:35:00.001-08:00

After much ado about nothing, we have arrived live and well to the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I could not be more pleased to be finished with the extensive travelling we just went through. Right now we are weeding through the guides available for the hike and and haggling over prices. I believe we have found a guide with an exceptional price. The only catch at this point is that word on the street tells us that some Russians had to kick our guide's ass recently, due to some disputes over the contract. We are confident that we can avoid such problems and I think Jimmy can handle him if we do, in fact, encounter difficulties. We should be heading up the mountain on Wednesday for a duration of six days bringing us down the mountain on Monday the 22nd in time to talk with family for Christmas. A relief, I'm sure, to the many fans waiting to wish me a merry Christmas.

After the mountain we will return south and enjoy a more leisurely travel style with a lot of sun time so that I can look good for Jamie when she visits me in January. The most fortunate part of this trip is that I am getting out of Christmas shopping (forget Kilimanjaro!). I am sorry that the majority of you don't have that luxury but I wish you good luck in the chaos that remains and I hope that your holidays are treating you well. I will be sharing in the white Christmas this year seeing as how we will be reaching 0 degree temperatures and snows that, due to your driving habits, have a limited life time.

Until we can summit and provide you with a full update, please enjoy the picture above. That, my friends, is the roof of Africa and large mass of snow ever so close to the equator. A fact believed to be impossible when word of the mountain reached Europe. I can confirm after centuries of dispute that in fact there is snow in central Africa. You heard it here.

Moving North

2008-12-12T05:14:00.000-08:00

We are now moving north and escaping danger every step of the way. In actuality, I wish it were that exciting but the truth is that we are surviving the stress of utilizing public transportation in Africa and that is as intense as it gets to date. We left Inhambane last Saturday and made our way up Mozambique picking up team members along the way until Quelimane where we headed northwest to Malawi. At this point we are on the move trying to get to Kilimanjaro. We hope to beat the seasonal rush (highly unlikely) and climb the mountain. Thereby, saving exciting activities for the return trip. Activities like scuba diving, site seeing in Dar Es Salaam and hiking the Milanje and gurue mountain ranges. My number in Mozambique will be unavailable until my return but while we are in Tanzania family and friends can reach me at 002550788242525. Paul's blog has been updated with a little more email. You can access it from the link on the left. Happy hollidays and I hope to send a detailed update soon.

The M Team

2008-11-30T05:52:00.000-08:00

Now that school is over, my schedule has opened up considerably. Therefore, the squad and I were able get in a little leisure time. Paul, Patrick and I traveled out to Barra Beach, which is located about 45km, or two hours, from my house in Inhamussua. We enrolled in the Open Water Dive course offered at the lodge there. It included five tiresome days of diving in both the pool and at some local reefs. All in all we had four open water dives and each had their own beauties. On the first dive, I was amazed to see the quantity of fish that exists on reefs. I assumed that the pictures of underwater diving were of the amazing sights not seen to often. On the contrary, every dive we took was filled with beautiful, colorful fish, all of which had the most peculiar habits. By the end of the four dives we had seen some star fish and the shrimp that eat them, a couple octopuses, an eel, a number of small rays, a larger manta ray (which is hardly seen at such shallow depths), and everybody but me saw a shark on the second dive. Not a bad resume after four dives. The M Team is quite pleased with the investment and is excited to hit the sea in the near future.

Now it is back home to tidy up the house before we head north for our Great African Adventure. There are six people among our crew making up quite an all-star team and it will be about a forty day journey culminating on the roof of Africa at more than 19,300 feet. Feel free to drop in and see the updates as we voyage north from the tropic of Capricorn to the equator and back.

I hope the northern-hemisphere winter is treating you well as we head into a blistering, humid summer here in the southern tropics.

Arguably a Success Story

2008-11-15T00:48:00.000-08:00

Over the past two months my friend Jamine and I have been organizing and implementing a business competition. The event consisted of five lessons on topics ranging from demographics to marketing. The most challenging component for the students was the budget and cost projection.

In total, there were six groups with a business proposal for each of them. At the end of the five-week program the students submitted a portfolio including finished pieces of work for each subject we covered in the program. A jury of six members read the portfolios and then each group presented their proposal in front of the jury and then defended their project. The winning group received 15,000 Meticais ($600) to implement the project over the next year.

The proposals included a bakery, pig and chicken farms, dried and canned vegetables, egg production and ornamental plants.

Overall, the competition was hit and miss but we learned a lot about what to do next year. And the students were pleased with the outcome and all of them have taken something away from the course.

I am proud to say (but before hand I should say that I was not a judge) that my two boys, Paulove and Silverio, and their respective groups took first and second place. Paulove and his group created a pork project and Silverio's designed an ornamental plant project. There was a little gossip about the irony of my favorite and closest students (os filhos de Chase) taking the top two places, but I think any conspiracy theories have been put to rest. I couldn’t be more proud of the two of them.

I wish I had some pictures to accompany the story but I made the brilliant mistake of erasing them without having uploaded them to the computer, a fitting ending to a touch and go project. For a look at os filhos de Chase, please refer to sitter shitter picture below where the two of them are cooperatively building me a toilet. Instead of relevant photos, I have included a photo of Paul and I on the beach attempting mid-air high fives.

I hope the bitter weather treats all of you well at home, while the heat and humidity can only go up on this side of the world.

red, white and blue

2008-11-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

On a historical date like today we have managed to get ourselves invited to an exclusive US embassy party and then an afterhours party at a Maputo mini-mansion. We had a great time and are anxiously awaiting the results of todays election at nearly 4 am. Hope all is well at home. I hope the pics are a good laugh.

The party was animated with the use of uncle sam hats. More like uncle Chase!

Paul and Ali sporting the goods.

The after hours party was no less festive and the three candidates got hot and heavy late in the evening. Always wanting to win, I made sure to be Obama.

Ali is playing with fire and I'm the one that's going to get burned.

Patriotism and democracy spreading throughout the world.

Notice the beer bottle in Patrick's hand.

This is Ali and me reacting after he spilled the beer on us.

Happy election day to all and Mozambique couldn't be happier to see what is developing in the United States at this moment. I hope you all enjoy the tense race at home and in the mean time, watch your blues and reds, and hope for turquoises and pinks.

A Long Overdue Update

2008-10-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a long time since I have updated my friends and family at home. And seeing as how having a blog is flattering oneself, I will continue to assume that you are all dying to hear about my boring life. Fortunately, I have been working harder these last two months than the previous 11 and there are many stories to tell.

To begin with, my school has been constructing/rehabilitating a reservoir that served the community and school until about thirty years ago when they stopped maintaining the damn due to the civil war. It has been a two month project and once finished will serve as a spot to retrieve water, wash clothes and irrigate the surrounding fields. We have also installed a small canal and repression in order to pump water, with an electric pump, to about 10 hectors of land.

Prior to the construction the project was blessed by a war veteran curandeira (also known as witch-doctor).

Video coming shortly.

The following are some pictures of my students waiting for the ceremony.

These are some of my students from the first year and are in my favorite class. Teaching them is like managing pre-school at times but always pays off.

As always, any project at our school requires hard manual labor from the student body and that means nothing but hard hands at the end heavy hoe.

Attention! Please, all engineers, go easy on criticizing the craftsmanship. Mozambique is a work in progress and not known for its long lasting qualities.

And when there is anything out of the ordinary in Inhamussua we have to have the maximum amount of meat possible. And in any language (maybe excluding Urdu), that means cutting up a cow. Here is Paulove showing off his fruits.

Attention! Please, any butchers, go easy on the quality of work happening in this picture. Yes that is an axe, a big dull axe.

In early September a neighboring volunteer organized a second annual theater competition targeted towards educated our communities about HIV/AIDS with respects to legislation. Our school has a thriving thespian group and so we gave it a shot and did terribly and it was quite a stressful day for reasons that are not worth going into on a blog where I can barely hold your attention. Here is a photo of the group the day of.

The group of mine that is my favorite is my sewing group. And a hell of a sewing group they are. We are making purses in order to raise money to buy a machine. After which, we will begin making a wider range of products thanks to Jamie who sent us a number of patterns to use. The group works hard and love the work. It is a very calming exercise and the darling girls are displayed in an array of photos below.

Luisa likes to call me big brother because of our similar skin tone.

Paulove is like my brother and leads everyone of my groups.

Violet and Namimate are students in the first year and hot items on campus.

Telma is a brilliant young superstar.

Gossiping over the needle.

After all of this hard work I have to find my way to relax, which is usually done by reading, playing the guitar or doing nothing, but in the last few months we have been making upgrades to my house and I think it coming along quite nicely. A few examples:

As anyone who has squatted for a prolonged period of time, I needed a little DIY home improvement.

The is what we call a sitter shitter.

Silverio (my other brother) has been planting dozens of plants throughout my yard.

The preparation that goes into our project.

After it was all said and done we have a party for Zodua's birthday. Here is her and here friends cutting the cake, an important part of all Mozambican parties.

Also, October 12 is teacher's day in Mozambique and teachers here, unlike the states, have a large amount of respect (however, are equally underpaid). So the day is a national holiday and widely celebrated by both teachers and students alike. Here are a couple of pictures of the celebration.

Professor Nelson and Gabriel and their lovely wives. Both of these professors are an amazing amount of help with everything I do. They are part of the all-star team here in Inhamussua.

Here is a group of the younger more wild professors after stuffing themselves, one of the many traditions included with teacher's day.

This is Jamine. He is my absolute best friend in Inhamussua and my sanity would have drowned in the confusion of living here along time ago if it weren't for him. Jamine is an irrigation teacher at our school and this is first year along with me. He is an intelligent guy and will be a part of the solution in the country, without a doubt. Every problem or doubt that occurs in my life is solved by him. There is talk about him leaving the coming year and I seriously dread it but for now he and I are growing closer and I am extremely thankful to have him.

And because my blog posts aren't the same without including Mozambican wildlife. Here is a picture of one lizard eating another. Or at least attempting.

2008-09-07T15:16:00.001-07:00

Twenty four volunteers in the southern part of Mozambique got together over the weekend in order to bounce ideas off each other and overcome the difficulties involved with communication. It was a lot of fun and Ali's birthday was the day before so we had a little shin dig at my house. Baking was involved and there is little left to say.

Engrave this into your hearts.

Ali's birthday party called for a special treat.

It almost tasted like the real thing. From scratch by the way.

Partners in crime. But I'm innocent.

The Fab Four!

Lessons on the beach with the great one, Paul.

After a long fought weekend I am up one chocolate bar on Pyat. I was down two-not a bad come back. Ali and I followed that with a 2-0 win over Patrick and Amy.

This is a little something we can all enjoy.

2008-07-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

The luck of having visitors has graced me again and for my semestrial break we traveled south. I have been soaking in the beaches but it was time to quench the thirst of mountains and rocks. Jamie and Ashley flew into Inhambane, and after a short two days on the beach we headed to Swaziland with Ali. I was in luck because it turns out that Swaziland is made up of boulders. So we got that going for us...which is nice.

That is the entire airport.

Throwing back an entire pineapple.

Yes that 'capalana' (or sarong) has a waterbuffalo on it.

The stilted huts of Flamingo Bay...and two tresspassers.

After arriving to Swaziland, we quickly realized that it was heaven. Exept the fact that the girls are less clothed than I am and they don't allow catapults. You do the math!

But the milk is great.

I had to leave all of mine at the border.

A number of us went on a hike but I quickly got lost with Jamie (you know where this is going) and I made her watch me rock climb allllll day. It was great!

Hairline crack, kicked my ass.

The was my first and last move of this problem.

But I managed to dominate the V0.

Topping out. Another V0!

We all have to meet our match at some point in our lives.

If you're lucky you'll conquer.

After our day in the sun we headed to a national park just outside the capitol of Mbabane. The scenery was fabulous including warthogs, ostrages and springbok strolling among our tents.

The peak on the left is Execution Peak. We celebrated a hard earned summit.

There's a debate as to exactly what species these belong to.

Also a debate about these.

We also found this wild Cenetaur.

Speaks for itself.

A crocodile cooling down with a family of hippos.

While on my trip I received a call saying that somebody was selling my computer at the local university. So, I wasn't surprised to find a hole in my house when I returned home. I have a signed testimony from the theive and all missing items will be in my posession this sunday. Another tally for a non-consequential robbery. Go figure!

The undergroud safe I built that will now guard my goods.

After working my ass off building my safe I needed another quick jaunt before beginning the second semester so we headed to a secluded peninsula on the northern half of the Bay of Inhambane, Punta Linga Linga. We met some fabulous hosts who put us up and fed us. They also took us on a memorable cruise through the bay on their inflatable yaught. Cocktails were flowing freely, along with our driver. After half a dozen sandbank encounters we arrived and not one fishing net was ruined.

This, as always, sums it up.

And now...back to work.

Harvest Ahoy!

2008-05-11T00:16:00.000-07:00

Nobody said that the job didn't have it's perks. Working at an agriculture school is treating me well. I have a gardener (yes it is a different person than my maid, that's right I have a maid) and he is going to town with my yard. He and a couple of other students hand till the entire lot and water every plant twice a day, by hand. Not only that, but they don't let the plants bear fruits more than once or twice before they let them dry up and rotate the plot of land. The sand here dries fast and has no nutrients to begin with so rotation is a must. They also fertilize the plots with manure. They do this by filling buckets and carrying them from about fifteen minutes away. It takes a while. Of course I help. By that I mean that I bought all of the seeds. Fortunately, I can comfort myself by knowing that he is receiving certification for running a plot from start to finish. Here are a couple of pictures to please the green thumb in everyone.

The garden as a whole.

Carrots and onions.

Cucumber harvest.

Tomatoes

Brandywines are going to rock Mozambiques world.

Lettuce

Zucchini round two.

My tomatoes are about to turn and I couldn't be happier. Lettuce is edible and carrots are close (however my dog has been napping in them). Eggplant is struggling but we are hopeful. And the second round of cucumbers is around the corner, accompanied by more zucchini. Tangerines are also at their peak which are treating me well.

On another note, last night I had an incredible experience with a family of one of my students. She had entered an American-Idol-modeled contest and yesterday was the final round. She was the only contestant with the slightest bit of talent and I am not alone when I say this. She continually left the judges speechless week after week. Compare that to her opponents that inspired comments like 'learn the words to the song' or 'perhaps you should practice singing'. So we were all shocked to find that she took third place. On second thought, I wasn't shocked at all. You see, the voting is not based on talent. A person can vote as many times as they would like but each vote costs two and half meticais (about 10 cents). So the girls who finished ahead of her, both of whom cannot sing worth a damn, bought their way into the position. But the point of the story is the ride home. I was in the back of a truck with her family and all of them were yelling at each other, arguing about why Zodua had lost. It went on for a little while and then a little break came at which point Zodua's mother started singing. I could immediately see where Zodua got her talent. It was a traditional song with a common style. That is that one person sings a line and the rest of the group does a variation of that line. The women were singing in a similar key and one man was harmonizing an octave lower and a couple seconds behind which left you with an echo effect. It was a beautiful song and it was clearly their way of just letting it go and being happy that Zodua had taken third place. And it worked, the rest of the night was a party and everyone forgot that she was robbed. They all danced the night away.

Moving on...sucessfully?

2008-04-20T03:04:00.001-07:00

Well, I have finished a trimester and failed miserably. That being said, I am okay with it. Ten weeks of wasting my students valuable education time and thinking about how dauntingly difficult this job is and then, I still sleep at night. It's really a great combination. It probably comes from the results of a comparison between myself and my colleagues. They don't set the bar very high.

But I had a week break from teaching spent with Ali P., taught for a week and finally spent a three day weekend on the beach with Patrick and Cameron, and now I feel ready. This last week of teaching was organized and accompanied with a sense of direction and light at the end of the tunnel as opposed to stumbling through a rock field in a dense fog (hell on the toes). I have broken down the trimester into themes and divided the themes into units and now I know when the tests will be and...wait, sounds a little like curriculum planning. Okay, so I didn't invent or innovate anything but I feel accomplished. As far as history class goes I am getting caught up and even a little ahead with writing, what is more or less, my students' textbook. However, this last week the chair of the history department asked me to give a seminar on the American history, from Jamestown to independence, to the entire second year class. You could say I am a little worried about that.

So all and all, I feel organized and on the right track but the task of teaching English to students in a time frame that amounts to sixty hours in one school year (or thirty, for my third year students) is as daunting as ever and I am coping with the fact that there will only be a select few that will truly learn a marketable amount of English from me. But it is important to note that the relationships outside of the class as well as the exchange of experiences and lifestyles negates any concerns I have about teaching, or the lack there of.

Thanks for all of the support and keep in touch. I love to hear from everybody.

A Day in the Life of an Inhamussua Student

2008-04-08T05:03:00.000-07:00

Ohhh, high school. Those were the days. Finally driving a car with the freedom you could have only dreamed of. Weekend parties and sporting events. This is a similar tale of such a life. So just sit back and put on some of that good old rock n' roll, the kind that takes you back...way back...

Ding, ding, ding goes the bell. The sun is nowhere near the horizon but that damned brown-nosing student is banging on a big piece of steel with an even bigger piece of steel. The time is hardly 4:40 am and he won't stop until all bunks are stirring. It's time to wake and cook a quick breakfast before reporting to work at 5:00 am.

Roughly an hour and a half of work is over and it is time to squeeze in a quick bath and porridge before classes at 7:30 am. Of course the water is ice cold and the temperature is no African dreamland temperature. A brisk 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Off to the classroom for five classes in a row ranging from disciplines like math and biology to less demanding subjects such as chemistry and physics. Fortunately, there is a two hour break from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm, just enough time to wash our clothes

Then it is back to the classroom for Portuguese, history, irrigation, fertilization, mechanization (?) or English class. In total, there are nine classes a day. Of course, every other day we have the afternoons off to work in the fields at the end of a hoe or ox. Nothing like hands on practice.

At 5:00 pm we finish with classes and attend our duties in a certain site of the school we are responsible for. This lasts an hour and a half and is usually something like watering an entire field with one watering can.

Time for another bath, but fortunately the water will be an appropriate temperature considering the temperature has increased to 90+ while the students are in the fields. After that, dinner will be served; same as lunch boiled corn flour with a mashed up leaf on top, they tell me it's very nutritious. After dinner we will enter the classroom again for obligatory study sessions that will last until nine when if we don't hit the sack tomorrow will be a pain in the ass. This is every day but the weekends. Of course on Saturday we wake up at 5:00 am to clean the school. But the bright side of things is that we get Sunday off, that's more than my parents can say.

But then there is the saying...we work hard, we play hard. And like any group of students we know how to play. And we know how to play at the expense of others. Any student who enters our school and wants the right to be a part of our family must pay the costs. So we put them to the test. Here is Silverio to tell you all about it.

To better understand the process...all the freshmen are lined up and each older student escorts their younger counterpart through, what you might call, the gauntlet. We begin with a little water, ice cold water. And then...well, why don't you take a look.

The point is that the students work hard and go through hell in order to work hard. They spend three years studying the art of agriculture and livestock in order to enter a labor force which faces a 21+% unemployment rate. Most of them are forced to go back home and use their skills to raise crops for their family as opposed to entering the industry where the money is. Yet, they keep coming with the hope of bettering their lives. These kids are the fortunate ones. The less fortunate are those who are picked up by traffickers and dragged across borders where they are massacred for organs, not always for transplant but for use by witch doctors.

So the next time you hear the story of the lack of an American Dream being used to explain the lack of success in developing countries, ask the jackass what his childhood was like and spread the word about the students working in Inhamussua. Africa isn't just a playground, people live and die here too.

The Complexities of Service and Snakes

2008-02-16T06:30:00.001-08:00

You live two years of your life in a foreign country trying to succeed in something, of which that you're not quite sure. Are you running from something? If not, what are you trying to achieve? Is it selfish? Are you really going to help? And the big question we all love to ask; is Uncle Sam paying for a two year vacation?
I recently had the opportunity (and by that I mean that nobody else would do it) of speaking on behalf of my fellow volunteers as we swore in to the United States Peace Corps . It was a challenging task, considering it was in Portuguese, and it forced me to ask these difficult questions, the paramount question; why is it that we are here, or anywhere, trying to 'help' the world. The answer is never obvious and it may be difficult to justify our efforts until we can materialize some reasons.
Recently, there was an article written in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/opinion/09strauss.html) asking some tough questions about the Peace Corps. It touched home with me because I am acting out the role most attacked in the article, an English teacher. Many of us would like to rebut the article with examples of success stories. I am not trying to do that nor denounce the efforts of my colleagues and mine. Instead, I want to put it in the lime light for all of us to chew on. That way, any do-good glory that my colleagues and I might receive will be earned and, more importantly, tested.
So for your enjoyment, or confusion, I have posted the link to the article as well as a video clip of my speech. Thank you so much to Alex Kruzel who was kind enough to record it and send me a copy through the ever-so-shaky Mozambican mail system.

On a lighter, but no less serious (?), note I would like to share a recent event. I have been instructed not to share this with certain people (you know who you are) but I simply can't resist. After winding down from the day by watching an episode of 'The Office', I noticed something black lying behind the front door of my house (for clarification, it was inside the house). Living in my situation I always think the worst, and use the most caution, upon seeing anything out of the ordinary. On this occasion, I was not unjustified in thinking just that. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it was a coiled up snake. I should say that the area I live in is famous for Black Mambas, Africa's fiercest and most venomous snake. That being said, this snake was as black as night, and I made the connection. I quickly put on my Chacos, in case I needed to be agile and climb a wall, and then turned to my trusty hoe (no, not my trusty whore, but my trustier garden tool). With little delay, and an increased heart rate, I came down on the snake with enough fury to destroy the concrete floor under it, the entire time assuming it was a Black Mamba. I have now discovered that Black Mambas are not black, other than inside the mouth, and I am now not sure what kind of snake, or how venomous, it was. But needless to say, we will never find out. Ali P. Gross and I have decided that the next snake to come my way will be killed with surgery like precision in order to maintain the quality of the skin, which will then make a beautiful belt. I would like to add that my snake kill, Black Mamba or not, outranks Patrick's tarantula kill, for the record.

Take a Little Tour

2008-02-09T02:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I have begun teaching and it has proved to be quite a challenge. I am teaching English to the entire school (ten classes) and I am teaching one class of history. My classes range from 45 to 75 students to a class. However, a couple of the class have diminished to as little as 16 late in the day. The students live on campus and have classes from 7:30 in the mourning until 5:30 at night and the first two weeks seem to be understood as nothing more than a joke, so attendance can suffer. Some of my classes lack a chalkboard and not one of the classrooms has enough desks, so the students are forced to sit on the floor. In fact, two of the class have no desks at all. The absence of desks we get around but you should see the dumb look on my face when there is no chalkboard.
As for the classes themselves: the first class of history was a disaster but I followed it up with a second that we all agreed was as success. I am now adjusting to the surprise that history is quite a bit easier to teach than English. I assumed it would be the opposite, but I have struggled a bit with the material for English. At this point, there are only so many students I have been able to reach, and I say that in a practical way, not in a 'Dangerous Minds' sort of way. But I hope to work the kids into a routine that will allow me to be creative with them and actually have an interesting class.
And the home front? My garden has got a good start. A student has taken it over in order to become certified as a person who can run a garden from start to finish. Seems to be a win-win. My zucchini plants are huge and only a month old. I have planted twelve of them and eleven have not only survived but thrived. The package said two months to harvest but I should sneak in under five weeks and, because they are doing so well, I am now hoping they are not evasive. Some of you may be saying that I planted too many but keep in mind I am in Africa and all of you bums in the US throw out enough food to feed the world twelve times. The only thing I need to do is come up with some simple recipes to give to the locals with each bundle of fruit I give away.
I have posted some pictures of a little tour of the site. The link is the webshots album on the right. Sorry, but after viewing the album I realized that I am a little biased to the fields as opposed to the school itself so the perspective is not incredibly balanced but you will have to deal with it for now. Take note that my dog Diogi is absolutely adorable. I have been lazy and have procrastinated with training her. The only thing she knows is where she can and can't go. She seems to prefer scavenged goat skin and other scraps to any food I offer her so I don't have to feed her which is okay by me. She is the last of five, all of which I intended to give to friends and all of which (excluding her) were stolen. But, do not fear. A handsome male has been courting her mother Mary and I don't think she minds him. I predict that my two month old puppy will have siblings in about the length of a dog's gestation period (rumored to be between two days and two months, but wikipedia would beg to differ).
I have been reading like mad. Shhh! Don't tell anybody, they might think I am not working hard enough. Still, thus far I have read seventeen books. If you have any you can't get rid of in the yard sell this summer send 'em my way. Currently, the post office box I have in Maxixe is 100% successful and averages three weeks to arrive. For a little perspective, that is amazing and the most you can hope for in the country. I am supposed to keep contact info limited but it is posted in an earlier post. Keyword 31.

Thanks for all your support, I would love to hear from all of you.
Chase

A little heads up in the mean time.

2008-01-18T04:42:00.000-08:00

Patrick just posted some great pics from our swearing in ceremony at the beginning of December. I also hope to post a little surprise from the event but I am waiting for a delivery that I expect in a short time. Be patient and enjoy his site in the meantime. His site is "bad boy patricio," the link is to the right. Thanks for all the support.

A Quarter of a Century in Style

2008-01-16T02:23:00.000-08:00

Well I knocked down a quarter of a century the other day and it couldn't have felt better. Who would have ever thought I would make it this far? I spent the whole day traveling and received quite a sunburn as a gift. That night we had some pizza made with cheddar cheese, quite disgusting! I don't suggest anyone try it. The following day I arrived home from my News Years vacation and three friends and I celebrated my big day with a large stack of M&M, banana pancakes covered in homemade, mango syrup.

Patrick and I are naturally sporting the hats of the general.

Many of you skeptics of my diet would be happy to know that despite my vegetarianism I have taken up the hobby of killing random wildlife of Africa in lieu eating meat. My original preference was for spiders and the bigger the better. I would like to think that I have caught some big ones. But I can't help but admit defeat after Patrick nailed this doosey of a tarantula on New Years Day. He came down on this one with a nice jolly shout.

In recent developments I have taken to killing rats. Some of you may know that on at least one occasion a rat entered my mosquito net while I was sleeping. After staying up all night while three rats fought over the rights to my house I finally trapped one in a pot and smashed the hell out of it. Good fun really! Since then no rats have returned and I think the word is out.

Finally, I really upped the anti by achieving forty kills in one sitting. These unfortunate souls were worms which I pulled out of the skin of my six-week old puppy.

Turns out she had worms and as opposed to just sitting around and hoping that they would go away I should do something about it. Oh, the joys of learning from experience instead of books. Well, couldn't be happier and I am excited to begin work in roughly two weeks. It will feel good to finally do what I am here to do.

a white christmas, in the sands of inhambane

2007-12-31T04:23:00.000-08:00

Now that is a white christmas

a coconut tree

the man, Patrick Mohundro, in his element

minha casa

Jamie basking

mary and the pups

typical scenery surrounding my house

Well, I spent the holidays on the white sandy beaches of inhambane province adjacent the indian ocean. You could say it was a white christmas. I was also fortunate enough to have a visitor; Jamie spent two weeks here in Mozambique and the company was a great christmas present. And a christmas present for her is that she remained "solid" the entire time, a monumental feat by anyones standards.

Moving on, the lastest on the mozambican news circuit is that I am a complete mess whenever over seas. I have become someone who is guaranteed to loose nearly everything when traveling. I don't know how this has managed to happen but it is a fact, I cannot deny it and I have moved on with life. The fortunate outcome is that I have been learning valuable lessons without paying the price. For example...

I was casually working on the electricity of my house when I needed to test the current to a bulb fixture. I turned the switch off but just to be sure I used my screwdriver to try and get a little spark assuming there would be none. This, of course, was not the case. Sparks occurred and the entire energy to my house went out. I walked next door to locate the problem and an official for the school told me he would send someone over. I ceased the opportunity to make all the changes I needed to while the electricity was out. Afterwards two students who were "experts" with electricity showed up to help. They were two students that had already helped me before and I trusted them and definitely preferred them be shocked by 220v as opposed to me, so I accepted the help. One student and I spent about 45 minutes locating the problem and some wire while the other decided to hit on Jamie in broken English and unintelligible Portuguese. After fixing the power they left and we began to prepare some dinner. About two hours went by before we realized that both of our brand new cameras missing. I immediately went looking for the boys, who I knew lived close. Nobody could tell me anything other than they had gone home. I finally sought the help of a elderly neighbor of mine who I knew was home with her kids visiting and surely she would help me find them. Two of her kids and I set off on a goose hunt for the boys. The older of the two felt that this was an opportunity to get accepted to an American university and forgot the urgency of the situation (in all reality his education probably is more important than my camera). After about 45 minutes we located one of the boys and they assured me that sending in a "spy" to see if he was there would be better than confronting him in case he decided to flee. Well, the "spy" simply told him that we were waiting for him and he decided not to flee. I told him the situation and he assured me it was not him. Knowing that he was the only one alone in the house that day I decided to play his game, not make him mad and try to continue on the search with him involved. We began to search for the other student, the one who had not left my side. After an hour of failing I decided to head back home where Jamie had been waiting for two hours. I told the boy that if he had truly not taken the camera then we were still friends and a friend would help me retrieve the cameras. After he assured me that was the case I told him that if I did not get the cameras that night I would talk to the school, peace corps and the police the following day and that the police would likely speak with them since they were the only two in the house. He told me he would find the other student and come to my house to help me find them that night. Two stressful hours later he showed up on my doorstep with the cameras. Lesson learned...no price paid.

Round 2. I had just left the airport, where I had watched Jamie leave, and I was seeking a chapa (make-shift taxi). The chapa stop was a popular one I knew that it was going to be a fight to get a spot on the chapa I needed. We have been told a million times about the pick-pocketing that goes on during these situations and I had already removed my wallet from my pocket and put it in my bag. My phone had been there too but I was using it to call a friend and had quickly put it back in my pocket when the chapa rolled up (it should also be said that deep down I have a striking suspicion that I am better than pick-pocketers and therefore feel immune to their antics). The rush for this chapa was incredible and at first I was going to let it go and get the next one but then I decided to go for it. I snuck in there with best of them and pushed some old ladies over (in a george constanza manner). I had definitely secured myself a spot when I felt it...that unmistakable sensation of some jackass stealing my cellphone. I immediately turned around expecting to see my phone and be able to grab it. Unfortunately, they were so fast I saw nothing. I was pissed. I looked around and started accusing people and demanding it back. There was some hesitation as to what to do next...should I get on the chapa, no, the thief is off the chapa stay here until he gets scared and gives himself away. So that is what I did I stayed there and began to inspect people as the chapa filled up. One of the men standing next to me told me it was someone in the chapa so I started yelling at people and asking who he had seen take my phone. He was unclear so I told him to help me confront the guy. He told the driver not to go anywhere and accused a man in the front seat of taking it. He got out of the car and demanding the accuser search his pockets. The accuser refused and told him to give the phone back. Needless to say, there was a lot of yelling and I egged on every bit of it because it seemed to be working. The commotion grew until there was a timid hand appeared from the packed chapa holding a phone resembling mine. Someone grabbed it and asked me if it was mine. I confirmed that it was and the chapa drove off. Standing dazed and confused with yet a phone in my possession, I had learned another lesson without paying a price. Lesson...perhaps I am not immune but the fact stands that they didn't get my phone.

That was a lot. I am sorry if it was too much but here are some pictures to enjoy.

A couple pics

2007-11-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

Turkey Bowl Celebration

Others just throw rocks

Assume the position

This is Africa

Enjoying the sunset in the bush.

2007-11-21T06:13:00.000-08:00

Olã todos,
I have recieved my placement today. I am going to a rural village in the province of Inhambane. The village is called Inhamússua and it is thirty minutes outside of a coastal town called Maxixe, which is a glorious coastal beach town with boats for diving and the works. I will be living in a thatch hut and teaching English at an agricultural technical school. Students there learn core subjects while being taught the skills of raising crops and animals. The volunteer I am replacing taught history the past year and so I hope to teach history during the second year. Of coarse, this would be in Portuguese and that much more enticing. Google Earth the site for me because I canºt access the wonders of the western world.

My number has changed (and you can still call me whenever you want) it is now:
011258826430101
this is exactly how you would dial it from the states, it breaks down in this way:
dialing out of the US - 011
dialing to Moz. - 258
my in country number - 826430101

Bottom line, no mountains for me but I guess I am here to work not play. So I will take up reading instead of climbing like my father would prefer.

Thanks for all of the support,
Chase

How American Am I?

2007-11-17T00:07:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I was in Maputo, the capitol of Mozambique, for a little break from the life in the bush. We were looking for some good food and a place to buy things we recognized. There is a famous store hear in Maputo that all of the volunteers go to in order to buy quality home goods that you might find in the States. I would like to paint the picture.

We were eight Americans stumbling out of the bush into a large empty parking lot. We could hear music in the distance. At this point, it would be helpful to visualize the Griswalds arriving at the long over due Wolly World. We are dropped off at the end of a large parking lot and a soft melody in the distance sets the mood. It is hot and we are sick and tired of long rides in over-crowded minivans. Game, thatºs the name of the store we are about to enter, is a large (how would I say this...oh yes) big-box chain-store outlet. Oh yes, now we feel at home, a real retreat to American comsumerism. As we near the massive, brick edifice, a scent enters the air...itºs barbecue! What the hell? Why does it smell like an American barbecue? It quickly becomes apearant that there is a good old fashioned cook-out for the costumers taking place at the entrance to this store. Even the vegetarian in me got a little misty-eyed. As we stride past the massive grills and scents of sausages, I spot out...wait for it...a donut machine. A big, fat, conveyer-belt-style, donut machine. I am home.

My experience at Game after only six weeks in Mozambique revealed the deep-seeded American habits of mine. At home I would have opted for a locally owned store, or perhaps a couple of them even if one chain-store had everything I needed. But here, in the heart of inconveniences, what I thought I hated beckons me with such ease. It is sickening, but Iºll probably go there today.

On a lighter note, I had a wonderful vacation last week a little north of Maputo in a couple of cities. We visited a number of beaches, ate pizza and delicious pasta and rode a canoe on a beautiful river. We had an incredible first half of the week visiting volunteers in three places. On wednesday of our week-long vacation we were left out to dry by our host who told us she would go help someone grade test for the day and meet up with us later. That was the last we saw of her.

I have posted some pictures of mine and a friends. My camera has died on me and I have to take what I can get so that is the disclaimer I have for the interesting photos that have been posted. Check it out at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/fstfenx

I am finding out where I will be placed next week and I have made it very clear that I want to be in the Province of Manica, a mountainous region on the border with Zimbabwe. Cross you fingers for me. The group in Namaacha has become very close. Last night I cooked spaghetti and garlic bread for everyone. We are all excited to move on and go to site but all of us know it will be sad to leave the lives we have in Namaacha. Enjoy the pics!

Correct Address

2007-11-04T05:06:00.001-08:00

The correct address is:

Corpo do Paz/Peace Corps
Avenido do Zimbabwe, 345
Maputo, Mozambique

Sorry, hope everyone gets this.

Off to paradise for a week.

2007-11-02T04:33:00.000-07:00

There has been some requests for my address in Mozambique, and without further ado here it is:

Corpo do Paz/Peace Corps
Avenida do Zimbabwe
Maputo, Mozambique

This address is especially good until early december while I am in training. After that I may have a new address that will serve me better. But if in doubt, packages sent to this address will arrive to me eventually. I hear USPS is best and takes about three weeks. Padded envelopes are roughly 16 dollars and mid-size boxes are ball-park 40 dollars.

Moving on...I am heading north for the following week to visit a current volunteer and get a taste of the simple life that is a peace corps volunteer. I am going to the city of Machanga in the province of Sofala. I will spend a night in Vilankulos first. While in Vilankulos a friend, Patrick, and I will go snorkeling and see the aledgedly jet-blue seas between Vilankulos and the Archepelago de Bazaruto(?). The following day we will visit two girls living in Machanga at a missionary school. We have to take a boat up a hippo filled river in order to reach there home. It should be exciting. I have little in the way of pictures because unfortunately my camera has failed me at the most unconvenient time. I will try to get some from some friends. I hear there is a link from peace corps website that can take you to any public blogs of peace corps volunteers and all of ours are listed. I am sure there are some great pictures from others at training. I will try to provide a link to some good pics for everyone to see until I am able to upload some myself.
looking forward to any generous packages coming my way. chocolate and sweets are of a low comodity in Mozambique (FYI).

How life changes.

2007-10-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

we had a party for our one month mark yesterday. on the surface things are not much different than when we arrived, however subtle things catch my attention. For example, when we first arrived in Namaacha it was so easy to notice the trash everywhere you look or the poor living conditions. slowly, i have begun to overlook the trash and negatives and take note of the beautiful surroundings. we are at the foot of a mellow peak in south africa and the view is gorgeous. there are fruit trees everywhere you look. in my yard we have papaya, mango, banana, orange and avocado trees. we have also began to notice that the living conditions are not as poor as we had let ourselves believe. it turns out that my family is well within the middle class population of namaacha, a city that is much more well off than many parts of mozambique. it is odd to catch yourself thinking of how much money your family here has and then compare it to our families at home. it is unbelievable to think about the wealth we have.

once again i am sorry to not have pictures for you. i am struggling to commit my time to the internet. but i do intend to upload some soon. as well as spend some more time writing. anyone can call me when they wish; my incoming minutes are free. if you are interested dial as follows, i would love to hear some voices.

011258827339547

thank you everyone, i am just getting started on a great experience. i hope to have many inspiring stories for people in the near future. for now, i am trying to get my bearings speak this damn language, they call portuguese. chase.

I have become a baby again.

2007-10-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

All, I am working on getting to the computer with a picture to sum up what life is like here. It is quite a task to upload a picture and I want to be good. Where to start? There are many surreal experiences living in such a foreign land at such an intimate level. I am no longer an observer passing through looking for adventure. I sleep under their roofs and bathe in their water. The experience already has changed my life. The things I donºt think twice about would bewilder many. It is a slow process of desensitivity that sneaks up on you.

After arriving the first night I had apearently told my mother I was vegetation as opposed to a vegetarian. She said okay and I thought everything was clear (peace corps was supposed to have told them ahead of time). Unfortunately, nothing is ever clear here. I say down to a beef rice dish and had to tell her very clearly that I did not eat anything that used to be any type of animal. She was not happy and thought she was going to kill me. Feeling terrible, and sick, I went to bed early. I woke up to go to the bathroom (outside) only to return to two rabid dogs eating some food on my motherºs porch. After kicking them and wispering at them to get the hell out I noticed that no one had woken up but I thought to myself how much worse could this get.

The following week was the longest week of my life. Things slowly got better and I spent the latter half of the week without diareaha, a rareity here. Since then I have fallen into a grove and things are moving relativly smoothly, however slow. The training is regorous but I am learning the language faster than I ever could have imagined. Overall, I have become a baby again, learning everything as if I were a toddler. I constantly tell my mom that I am a baby and to talk to me like one. It works well.

To explain the situation of the poeple of Namaacha was put well not to long ago by a fellow volunteer in Namaacha when he said simply...´´life here is no bullshit.´´ I donºt know how else to put it. Explaining the lifestyle and routines of my family will have to wait but here is a small list of my most interesting experiences.

A bucket bath. Outside, in my casa de banho with no roof, where the nieghbors can more or less say hello to me.

A bucket bath in the rain, even better. My mom insists on three baths a day. but I am very resistant.

My mom, with her grandson hanging from her back, killed a lizard on my wall with a club and then caught it on the end of the club before it even hit the ground. She did all of this with a picture of water in her hand, a valuable comodity not to be spilled.

Eating papayas from my backyard after a mean called couve, a peanut coconut dish that is to die for. My mom had to pound the peanuts into powder with a pilao, or a large club-end in a bowl.

There will be more to come and I hope to have some pictures for you soon.
Thanks for the suppport, chase.

Moving On.

2007-09-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

We spent four plus days in both Philly and transit. We are a close friendly group where bonds were made easily. The plane touched down in Maputo and we were just a bunch of twenty-somethings looking for a life experience. After 3 hours at the airport, we loaded on to three shapas (mini buses) and departed for the city; we had never been more happy, more talkative, more excited. We were thrilled to be in Africa and our faces were glued to the window. We were lively at the moment, gazing at the locals of the richest city in Maputo. As I observed the lives of Mozambicans, it took me some time to realize that the chatter had come to a halt. The saying goes, you could have heard a pin drop. It struck me as the first time we realized what our job really was. The lives we were observing were, simply put, nothing like our own. A rich city never seemed so without. I think that at that moment many of us aged in our transit to a new home. Since then we have all been staying in compounds in Maputo, excluded from participation in the real world. But...

Today is a new day and we could not be more happy. We are leaving for homestay in the country. The nerves are evident and the language is young. But we are so happy to be saying goodbye to our sheltered world. From that moment in the bus seriousness and determination has taken over our studies and aspirations. We are a new group with a new dynamic, ready for what lies ahead.

As I head into the bush I will lose a considerable amount of computer access. I will do my best to update friends and family on my condition. Thanks for reading.

chase

The mother land

2007-09-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

After much ado, I have arrived in the capitol of Mozambique that is Maputo. It took 31 hours of travel from Philadelphia to Johanesburg, and then to Maputo this mourning. We arrived at a group of bungalos for further training this afternoon. This evening we were treated to some local dancing and music by a band performing for a wedding at the resort. An important-looking gentlemen gave us a show by participating in a native dance with some young elusively dressed dancers. We were amuzed to later find out that he is the former president of Mozambique. After informed we quickly took notice of a number of men behind us holding AK47's. What a welcome.

Since leaving SLC we have been wined and dined by Peace Corps. We were put up in the historic district of Philly, a fancy hotel in Johanesburg and now a resort on the Indian Ocean in Maputo. It will soon come to an end for we head to the country on Sunday to meet our families. We will be staying in Namaacha on the border of Mozambique and Maputo until Dec. 10th. 49 of the orignial 69 will be in Namaacha. This group is a lot of fun and everywhere we go people know we're there. We have cheered on every take off and landing in the planes.

Tomorrow I will recieve nine more shots and a language test so I better get to bed. Thanks for reading. Remember there is an open door policy for anyone in Mozambique. So if you are in the nieghborhood, give me a ring.

Chase

Deal with it!

2007-09-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is mandatory so just bear with me for one post:

any and all information provided below is the opinion and thoughts of me, chase nye, personally and in no way is the opinion or thoughts of the United States Peace Corps. So be it.

the free and independent, chase

Sampson the killer

2007-08-27T11:48:00.001-07:00

This is the best k9 killer you will ever see.

2007-08-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

Testing 1,2,3

2007-08-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
I am currently testing blogs to decide on a blog before I leave. This blog will allow me to post photos and statements with updates about my time in Mozambique. I would like your feedback about this blog. I am hoping to try some others as well. Let me know if you like or dislike this blog or if you have any suggestions about other blogs.

I will let everyone know which one I decide to stick with so that we can be in touch once I leave.
Thanks for your help,
Chase