A Year in Machanga: What We Have

And so.

A year has passed since we first arrived in rainy, muddy, fire-engulfed Machanga. It wasn’t a particular good first impression. But slowly, but surely, this place started to grow on us. And now, in spite of its pitfalls – the isolation and loneliness, the lack of constant energy or running water – we have come to really appreciate what we have.

What we have is the real deal. A lot of people talk about “The Peace Corps Experience”, eluding, I think, to how it was in its nascent days: out in the middle of nowhere, just you and your community. Doubtless, we get that here. And I think we can take some pride in the fact when people say, “Oh, you’re getting the real Peace Corps Experience”, we can honestly reply “Yeah, we are”.

What we have is a really awesome community. Or I should say communities. Outside of our school community in Machanga, we have become a part of the big Peace Corps family. Whether a person was in Thailand in 1965 of in Cameroon in 2009, it doesn’t really matter: the only people who truly understand what this whole Peace Corps thing is about are Peace Corps Volunteers. I guess what it comes down to is that it’s pretty cool to be a part of something that is so much bigger than you.

What we have are truly phenomenal friends and family. Put aside the packages and the letters, the phone calls and text messages. Knowing that we have their love and support, even though it may be difficult to have a loved one so far away for so long, is priceless. It makes this term of service easier.

What we have is a new education, the kind you can’t get in a university. It’s a cultural education. Sure, there are a lot of things that we still do in a typically American way. But a lot of what we do – speaking Portuguese, riding in chapas, cooking with charcoal for half of our meals, washing our feet with stones – is Mozambican to its core. We do these things not just to blend in or because we have to, but a lot of times, we do these things because they just work better here.

What we have is a new appreciation for the things we take for granted in America. In a developing country like Mozambique, life is not easier in most ways. The network of roads, despite recent touch-ups, still needs a lot of work. Our energy situation, though no longer difficult to deal with, is not ideal. And man, I could really use a good burrito or some Vietnamese food. There are things that we certainly miss, but these are the things that we will enjoy the most when we are home.

What we have is a Mozambican sense of patience. Things get done here, but they do take a while – twenty-four hour energy, anyone? In the end, we have little control of when the chapa leaves or when our mail will arrive. So we sit. And we wait. And we wait. And hopefully, we have a book or a magazine.

What we have are stories – more stories than we have friends to listen or time to tell. I know that every Thanksgiving from here on out, I will think of Maurice. Our travels in the future will be compared to our travels from this year. And all those little things that we barely think of now will be bigger when we look back on it.

What we have is a year under our belts. What we have is one more to go.