Small Town in the Big Africa

So here I am in lovely Manhiça, population 5 if you dont count the cockroaches, a few of whom are large and intelligent enough to be considered for the census. xD

Just kidding, it´s a very nice little town and its honestly a pity that I cant put pictures up (though I might this weekend!!!) because I could show you my nice little house.... And the pictures from ponto douro.......

A couple of weeks ago I was crouching on the sidewalk (i was tired and its too dirty to sit down) and an interesting-looking dude with curly hair in a ponytail passed by. I smiled and he waved and we got to talking and it turns out his name is Giuseppe (guess what his nationality is!!!! Come on, take a keap xD) from Italy, and he´s working for the Italian government doing desenvolvimento, which is a clever portuguese word that is bandied about all the time but has yet to be properly defined for me in any language. It´s sort of like progress and it´s sort of like developement and it´s sort of like globalization but not any one of these things exactly. Desenvolvimento covers everything from trade relations with the west to agricultural non-profit organizations setting up sustainable farms in rural areas. Anyways, Giuseppe did desinvolvimento work at the local hospital, accounting and bookeeping for their medical goods department, kind of a funny occupation for a hard core rock fan with multiple brightly coloured tattoos.... But hes a gem, and one afternoon over coffee in downtown Maputo he mentioned that he was going to Ponto Douro (point of gold) over the weekend and would I like to come? Well everyone knows what my answer to would you like to come hang out on a splendid and world famous beach for a few days would be. So on Friday I packed my bag and met him at his beautiful house in Matola, a city-suburb just north of Maputo proper. He and his friends that we went with, except for one who is doing voluntary work at a dance school, earn decent Italian salaries in Mozambique, and it was totally bizarre to be around people with disposable income after months of scrimping volunteers!!! They certainly live a different lifestyle than I do....
But they were all super nice and we had a fabulous time bumping along the sandy track that is the main road to Ponto.

The beach there.... is rather beyond words. At sunset there is a sort of pastel glimmer on the water that is so pretty it seems nearly unreal, and at night the stars seem to continue directly into the sea. In the day its even better, the water is just the most perfect shade of turquoise, the water is not to warm though the current is VERY strong and definitely to be watched out for.
So I beach bummed and thought about colleges and took in the sun and didnt get any tanner barely at all even though I didnt use a drop of sunscreen..... I really do have the strangest skin....! And then. On sunday morning at seven, a group of about twelve people got on a boat and went out to swim with dolphins, but we couldn´t find a single pod.

Instead, I swam with three different, beautifully, majestically and totally awe-inspiring whale sharks, or basking sharks. These filter feeders are known for their gentleness and mostly for their size, they are the largest shark in the ocean, and the ones I saw were not an inch under twenty to 25 feet long.... I really have never seen anything like it.


In less exciting news, I am finally moved in and almost entirely unpacked, I will start work at the schools when the holidays are over in fifteen days, and in the meantime I am thinking of going north... At least to Bilene and perhaps to Inhambane and maybe Tofo, but I dont know when I will get a long break like this again and am considering going all the way to nampula and the ilha de mozambique to visit some friends..... but I have other friends going north a bit later so I may just take my two week vacation to travel with them. we´ll see. I have become involved with an exchange program taking place between mozambique and England, 8 vols from the UK and 9 from here, they are doing community developement projects and all have work placements and live with host families. The level of organization is astonishing, they are more than supplied with support and rules and regulations and activities..... and yet I am starting to see the other side of the coin. Yes, there are some serious and basic problems with ICYE and AJUDE that need to be dealt with, but on the other hand, the complete and total freedom we ICYE moz vols are blessed with has been shown into sharp relief here. They are not allowed to do basically anything without group consent, are not allowed to travel or do anything on their own, and can´t really even leave Manhiça at all. I know that I would be totally stifled under those rules, and I am beginning to gain a different perspective on our program in Maputo.... Hmmm........ Oh africa, the place of my deepest and most convoluted thoughts.

However, my thoughts will shortly become much more convoluted if I dont eat something, and I am perilously close to being late for lunch at a friends house, so more later, much love


allie