Silver Spring

Reporting live from the Panera Bread in Silver Spring Maryland. I'm off the mountain. My training is over. I'm in Maryland for the next few days before I go to New York and then take off.
Here are some pictures from our going away party last Friday. Also pictures of my hair. Last night, I took some scissors from my mom's sewing kit and hacked my hair off.
No comment!

I've finally received my exact placement. I'm of to Inhambane, Mozambique.
I'm excited.
It's the area in Mozambique I wanted to go to. I'll be right on the beach and I'll be able to work on theatre projects with the kiddies.
Yay!
Tonight is our going away party. Tamika and I are also leaving the mountain tonight afterwards. I can't believe this chapter is closing. Our training is over and we will soon be leaving. It's been a long seven months of training, studying, meeting new friends, fundraising, and walking Berkshire hiking trails with black bears.

I'm uploading some pics:

- greylock, the little grey monster (i'll miss that little guy!)
- my new mozambican hairstyle (compliments of tara)

Sail Away

Pictures from our pre-going away party yesterday. One of our team members, Rodrigo is leaving for Brazil today so we said goodbye last night.
We will meet him again at the airport in Joburg.

Two steps from the door

We had a big meeting today. Sunday will be the August Teams last day on the mountain. We leave for Mozambique on the 17th of February.
We're flying South African airlines with a layover in Senegal and then onto our destination in Johannesburg.

From Johannesburg, South Africa we'll take a bus to Maputo, Mozambique (12 hours- the scenic route).

We're literally wrapping up by finishing courses and having lots and lots of meetings.
On Thursday, I have a Portuguese language test that I must pass in order to go.
MERDE!!!!!! (At least I know all of the curse words!)
Saturday night we have our going away party!
Then, ate logo mountain!
ciao, ciao, ciao...

Flood waters are rising!

Mozambique is under water !?!...

Snakes, Scorpions and Spiders

I've been in the library studying Portuguese for the past two hours, and I just can't shake the image of tarantulas feasting on my sleeping body.
I will explain.
Last night, after watching Hostel (which is another story altogether), a group of us (girls only) headed up to the lodge for a candid discussion of what it would be like to be a female in Angola or Mozambique. Three volunteers just returned from their posts in Mozambique and we sat around the fireplace snacking and listening to their cautionary tales. I have made a list of things to watch out for in Mozambique.

SOJOURNER'S FEAR LIST:
1) Poisonous snakes (referred to in Portuguese as cobras- not helpful)
2) Tarantulas (yes- Mozambique is literally home to giant hairy tarantulas that enter our huts through the cracks between the mud walls and the thatched roof).
3) Poisonous spiders (Not only do I apparently have to fear tarantulas, there are a host of poisonous and deadly spiders just waiting to feast on my sleeping body).
4) Scorpions (If a scorpion bites you, you've got a few hours to get to the hospital or else...)
5) Centipedes (Apparently centipedes like to hide out in peoples socks)
6) Flying cockroaches (Not only do they fly, but they are enormous, the size of birds)
7) Getting into a chappa accident (Chappas are large vans aka. public buses, that are overcrowded and in terrible condition. Chappa accidents are very common as the drivers apparently soar at astronomical speeds. A few Development Instructors have been injured. We just got news this morning that one of the Project Leaders in Angola was killed when she flew through the windshield of one of these lovely vehicles.)

That is my fear list. Those of you that know me, know how crazy I get when I see a regular sized roach/spider/centipede.
For the next six months, I will be facing my fears head on, literally.
eeeeehhhhhhhhhh...

Rock the vote 08'

Bom Dia! If you are an American and a voter, and you are interested to see how the presidential candidates feel regarding issues of global poverty and how they plan to work towards the Millineum Development Goals check out www.ONEVote08.org/ontherecord.

These issues are important and are often lost in discussions about other crucial issues such as the war in Iraq and the economy. At www.ONEVote08.org/ontherecord major presidential candidates from John McCain to Hillary Clinton speak out about their plans (or lack there of) to eradicate global poverty.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

One of Africa’s many folk tales is the story of the mouse who tried to mobilize his fellow animals- the chicken, the goat, and the cow- to remove a mousetrap. Well, they did not care about the mousetrap, since it posed no danger to them. But then it happened that a very dangerous snake got caught in the mousetrap and when the farmer wanted to take it out, he was bitten. Now, when bit by a snake you immediately have to wash the bite with blood from a chicken, so the chicken was slaughtered.
As the farmer became more ill and unable to work, the family had to slaughter the goat to have enough food to eat. And alas, when the farmer died from the bite, the family had to slaughter the cow to have food enough for all the people coming to the funeral.

Moral: Don’t turn your back on the problems of your fellow human beings, because they will end up being your problems as well.
Empower yourselves and make good decisions!

I just held my first morning course and it went very well.
;0)

I talked about pedagogy and learning styles and how to effectively teach teachers to be better educators.

Yesterday I went to the Salvation Army and held an art workshop with troubled youth. My specialization tasks are flying by.

I am so ready to go...go....go......to (and i'm still adjusting to this notion) Mozambique!

Mozambique!

I am now going to be re-routed to Mozambique. I don't know which city which is crucial, but I will have the same project so all is not lost.

Oi!
I'm back on the mountain after my fifth fundraising trip.
AND WE'RE FINISHED!
NO MORE FUNDRAISING!!!!!!

Thanks so much to my good friend Liza who held a benefit concert in Rochester on behalf of the August Team.

As excited as I am to be finished with my fundraising, I'm having a series of small heart attacks. I will not be able to go to Benguela. No Angola for me!
We are having too many worries when it comes to our VISA situation.
Now I must chose between Malawi and Mozambique. I know nothing about the placements in these countries yet I've got to make a decision by tomorrow.
Aaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS???????????

It's still warm and pleasant outside. The snow has almost completely melted. Let's hear it for global warming!
We got our vaccinations today. I actually was already up to date on all of my shots thanks to Ghana so I got my malaria pills and dysentary pills from the Travel Clinic and laughed at my teammates who had sore arms.
Tonight we will sign our contracts with Humana People to People and it will be official. We will be Development Instructors. We have survived the training! (almost...)

The weather is warm!
It's finally warm, really warm (60 degrees more or less).
The sun is out, the snow is melting, we're about to re-apply for our VISA's to Angola. Hopefully everything will work out. I've decided to give myself until March. If I don't have my VISA by March I will opt to go to Mozambique.
I have also decided to do my camp future (follow-up period) in New Delhi India as opposed to my original idea of Brazil and then my secondary idea of South Africa.
Things are slowly coming together.
I will go to Maryland next week to finish my fundraising. I've got about $700.00 dollars left or to fundraise and it's completely possible.

problem!!!!!!!!!!!!

So there is a problem now. It looks like our VISA applications to Angola are not going to go through. I may have to change my plans and go to Mozambique instead.
;0(
pooh!

I'm Back!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I arrived back on the mountain last night and it's COLD!
We're having the coldest day of the year today (- something or other).

Late last night when I was about to go to bed I discovered a present. Mouse droppings!
Lots and lots of mouse droppings all over my bed!
Yes, not only was my room freezing to the extent that I could see my breath, but a mouse, or mice or rats or who knows decided to use my duvet as a latrine.

So I spent the night curled in a ball wearing layers and layers of clothes with no sheets or comforter.

At least I can say things are pretty much getting back to normal!

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN ABOUT BENGUELA ANGOLA, A PLACE I WILL SOON CALL HOME!

Article by: Brendan Sainsbury, May 2007

I'm sitting, mosquito repellent in hand, on a near-empty beach in coastal Benguela, Angola's second largest city. I watch two sinewy youths practicing the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, their fluid movements and acrobatic high-kicks blending like a sort of African ballet against the rugged and dramatic backdrop.
Benguela Station

Angola - a country more famous for its landmines than its tourist drawcards - is experiencing something of a cultural renaissance. The national football team is competing for the first time in the World Cup Finals in Germany, the economy is looking up, and the chance of having a safe and memorable adventure in this former cauldron of chaos is now a distinct possibility.

Scarred by years of debilitating warfare, Angola is an isolated and oft-misunderstood traveller's destination, with few outsiders privy to its jaw-dropping scenery and vast cultural riches. But the recent cessation of a three-decade-long civil conflict has ushered in a new era of peace and reconciliation. The country's fledgling tourist industry, coupled with the pioneering efforts of its battling national football team, could soon put the country back on the traveller's map.

Places like Restaurante Escondidinho buzz with young locals practicing the kizombe, Angola's romantic and highly sensuous national dance.

Benguela sits 700 km south of the Angolan capital of Luanda. It was founded by the Portuguese in 1617 and is a former slave port and the erstwhile terminus of the cross-continental Benguela Railway. Spared the worst of a bloody civil war that reduced other inland towns to piles of smouldering rubble, Angola's second city and self-appointed cultural capital is a charming muddle of low-rise apartment blocks and sputtering motorcycles that weave deftly between Benguela's famous crimson acacia trees.

African traditions are strong in Benguela, and the sense of history is palpable, but the real highlight of this diminutive regional capital is not its paint-peeled colonial architecture nor its spectacular beaches but, rather, the Benguelans themselves. They are open and gregarious, with an infectious spirit. Their continued survival in the face of crushing adversity is nothing short of remarkable.
It's not all landmines - a brand new resort hotel near Benguela, Angola

I head slowly north from my spontaneous capoeira-fest towards a sprawling and haphazard fishing village that gives out onto the blustery Atlantic. Swinging inland momentarily I encounter the well-tilled Cavaco River valley, an oasis of green in an otherwise parched and arid desert, and the proverbial bread basket upon which this heavily populated coastal strip so desperately relies.

Cavaco is characterised by patchwork banana plantations and mud-bricked homesteads that nestle like chocolate boxes beneath tall palm trees. It is quintessential Africa at its best, an unending cavalcade of waving children, braying goats and sturdy women in floral wraps who walk to market with bowls of maize balanced on their heads.

The recent cessation of a three-decade-long civil conflict has ushered in a new era of peace and reconciliation.

In town, the attractions are notably less bucolic. Benguela is barely set up for tourism in the modern sense, but nevertheless boasts a handful of reasonable guesthouses, some decent Brazilian-run restaurants and a nascent nightlife. Places like Restaurante Escondidinho buzz with young locals practicing the kizombe, Angola's romantic and highly sensuous national dance.

Festivals are common and religious processions are almost weekly occurrences, but one of the best ways to experience the whole kaleidoscopic panorama of this region is to catch the legendary train from Benguela to its twin port town of Lobito. Rusty old cattle trucks have been hollowed out to accommodate a more lucrative human cargo, and the 30-km journey is a living microcosm of the country at large. It's a disorganised scrum of screaming babies, adolescents hanging nonchalantly from the doorways, and posses of impassive gun-wielding guards snaking their way through the passengers like imposters at a wedding.
The Benguela-Lobito train sometimes resembles a travelling market

update

So I've survived fundraising trip number four!
Barely...
Unfortunately this is not our final trip because we are approx $17,000 dollars below goal. So joy of all joys, it seems as though we'll be back out on the icy pavement in January.
I can't wait!
Truly I can't think of anything I'd love to do more.

Today is VISA preparation day. I'm in North Adams at a coffee shop waiting for a physical so that I can get a letter declaring that I am in good health. The Angolan visa is so difficult. It's taken so long to schedule all of our tests and paper work. At least Tamika and I were able to get our criminal record reports earlier today, so hopefully we're on the right track and will be saying tchau to the US very very very soon.

Our final day of fundraising in Boston was a bust. Tons of people were on the streets but nobody felt the need to stop or donate any money. Shopping was first and foremost in every ones mind. The people in both Boston and Cambridge were extremely rude and snotty. I think we made only $60 dollars on Saturday there. Yep,, it sucked.

Yesterday, on a up note was fantastic. We had yet another winter storm which dumped snow on our mountain to the extent that we couldn't fundraise or do anything so Tamika and I stayed in our warm little room and watched movies all day.
Our film festival included :
St. Elimo's Fire
Children of a Lesser God
Bridget Jones' Diary
and
A Fish Called Wanda

Yes, our choices are somewhat limited considering we have an old VCR player and can only chose movies from the IICD video library. This afternoon and into the evening we will resume our film festivities.

Ok, it's cold!

BLIZZARD!!!!!!!!!!!

The snow won't stop falling.
It really won't stop!

Let's recap the day...

We began with a team meeting at 9am in the Bella Vista common room. After a long discussion regarding an impending storm we decide not to go to Boston because a severe snow advisory had be posted. Our supervisor walks in and asks us why we're not going to Boston, we explain that going to Boston today would be risky. After getting a lecture about the importance of fundraising we are told that we must go out today. We decided to go to Albany again since that city only had a snow advisory, not a severe snow advisory.

So according to the national weather service, the snow was supposed to fall by noon and would be heaviest between four and six. We decided we would head into Albany (40 mins) and then leave Albany by 3pm to be back on the mountain before the severe snow. Our supervisor was not happy that we were cutting fundraising short, but that was the plan because clearly we were the only people looking after our own best interests and well being.

We head out. All is well. The roads are clear, we are talking and making plans, then suddenly and without warning, the sky turns dark and snow begins to blow everywhere. The wind is getting crazy, the snow is accumulating and it isn't even eleven am. By the time we skid into Albany, there is already a few inches of snow. The snow is falling steadily. Not a good start!

We break off into teams and begin our door to door/ business to business work. After a few minutes we are all covered in snow. I had snow accumulation on my eyebrows, above my lip, on my eyelashes and I was soaking wet. I had on two shirts, two sweatshirts and a coat and I was wet. I had on a pair of pajama pants, a pair of sweat pants and some jeans and I was wet. We were all soaked and we couldn't figure out what was going on.

Finally, after all of the stores started closing (about an hour into our fundraising and only fifteen dollars later) we decided to head home. At this point there is about a foot of accumulation and beneath the snow, was ice, lots and lots and lots of ice. Cars were spinning out around us, the sky was dark, there was fog, the wind was blowing and we couldn't see, I'm talking zero visibility. All around us cars are pulled off to the side of the road, trucks are stuck, buses are stuck, it's chaos. Then we slide of of the road and get stuck.

Tamika is driving and the rest of us get out to push. It takes so long because we have no tread, we are pushing a van on ice. It's terrible. But miracle of miracles the van gets unstuck and we get back in and continue on our fateful journey.

We are on interstate 90, and as we drive underneath an overpass a huge avalanche of snow from a plow above comes down. This causes a white out which causes people to swerve and panic. A nasty accident unfolds directly in front of us. Two cars, collide and fall off of the side of the road onto a shoulder, but we couldn't stop because we'd get stuck so we kept on going.

A few moments later, rounding a steep curve (we are going maybe 15 mph) we spin out and we are just twirling and zig zagging and luckily we stay on the road and there were no other cars around us. So we continue.

By now, we have driven for about three hours and we're still in New York and the windshield wipers are frozen and our windshield is frozen and Tamika has her head out the window as we drive and I've got my hand out the window trying to de-snow and de-ice the windshield. It's just too much and we decided we can't handle it anymore.

We pull into a gas station and call our supervisor to see if we can get a ride. We are told no and that we would get a call back. We wait ten minutes, nobody has called, we call again and we are told that they are unable to make it down the driveway of the mountain to get us. We're all fuming, but have no choice but to continue on our unsafe path.

We get back on the road, we're driving extremely slowly and it takes us about thirty more minutes to get back to the base of the mountain. As soon as we pull off of route 43 onto the driveway we spin into a snow bank and get stuck. So out we go again, pushing and pulling and heaving and hoeing and nothing. We give up. Once again the car would be abandoned for the morning.

Eventually, after three out of five of us call consecutively to request assistance, we are picked up at the bottom of the mountain and driven to the top and are asked "oh, it's not really that bad out there is it?"
We were fuming.

This place is getting too crazy for me. I can't wait to break for Christmas. Three more days of fundraising left, three more days!
Just put my ticket to Angola in my hands and let me be off!!!!!!