Year 2 - Week 48 -- Ta Ta 'Zungu

Even though we were all pretty exhausted, none of us was able to sleep beyond 5 or 530. It he better for our guests, as each of them had long travel days ahead. For me, I was just frustrated. I would have been happy to sleep the day away. I said my goodbyes and tried to go back to sleep, but that wasn’t going to happen. I was wide awake. Might as well be productive.

I began the first major round of clean-up in my room. There was so much crap that I brought with me that I never really used. I thought I had done a decent job packing for this. I was very wrong. I did a terrible job. After an hour or so, my room was pretty empty. Everything sat on one little shelf.

For all my hard work, I rewarded myself with a run to the market to by some internet phone credit. Vodacom had this sweet deal going, where we got 125 megabytes of internet time for only fifty minutes. I excitedly entered my credit, thinking 125 megs would be more than enough for me. But you know what they say about something being too good to be true. That was the case here. I had to use all that time within 24 hours and then the credit would be gone. I went from being thrilled with Vodacom to thinking they were banditos in a split second. I spent the rest of the morning playing on the internet, trying to burn through as many megabytes as possible.

After lunch, Richie and I began phase two of clean-up. Our rooms already cleaned up for the most part, we got to work on our kitchen and little living area. Our house is so small that we only needed an hour or so to put everything in order. The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to get through “Guns, Germs and Steel”. To this point, it’s been interesting, but it’s starting to get a little repetitive.

A productive day behind us, we took it easy in the evening. We went with all prepackaged food for dinner: a pack of spaghetti, an alfredo sauce packet and a half of a pack of chicken breast brought up from Vilanculos. It was all quite delicious. I spoke with my parents for a little bit – the last time I’ll speak with them from Machanga – and we wrapped up the night with an episode of “Dexter”.

I got an amazing night of sleep Sunday night. I actually managed to make it all the way through the night until about 6 o’clock. That’s a victory.

Monday was the start of National Exams for all of Mozambique. Almost all of the teachers made their way to the school around 6:45. Richie and I were not among the people who went. We knew when we should have gone, but no one told us to be there. We took that to mean that we were not obligated to go. Richie was going to drop in voluntarily but thought better of it just as he was about to walk out the door.

It was a very relaxing morning for me. I had another three hours before my internet deal expired, so I spent the better part of the morning being thoroughly unproductive online. Once the internet deal expired, I stayed in bed and continued reading my book. I’m so close to finishing that I’ll be ashamed if I can’t finish it by the time we get out of here.

I took a lovely nap after lunch. It’s not that I was particularly tired, especially after my good night of sleep. It was just so damn hot that it was the only way not to think about the heat.

We decided on beans for dinner, and since we didn’t soak them, we knew that they would take forever to cook. We started carvao, through the beans on the stove, and walked to the market while the beans started to soften.

The market run had very little to do with us – we needed to get some things for the house that would be of use for the people who follow us. Since our water pump has been busted for a couple weeks, we’ve been using a well, which requires rope and an oil can. What no one told us is that everyone needs to have their own rope and can. This completely baffles me, since everyone here is so reliant on the community. Whatever. I don’t have to deal with this for much longer.

While the beans finished cooking, I strung together the rope and oil can. The rope was barely long enough to reach the water. Once the rains begin, it should be perfect. The beans, as usual were delicious. We ended the night with two episodes of “Dexter”, leaving us one last episode for our last night in Machanga.

I spent Tuesday morning finishing up “Guns, Germs and Steel”. Other than the repetition at the end, it’s an extraordinary book. I probably learned more from that book than I learned from some college courses.

Tuesday was a big day for us for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason was that Tuesday was our last day in Machanga. Richie must head to the border by Friday to renew his visa and there was no way that I would stick around Machanga alone for a couple extra days. Plus it would just be awkward for one of us to say goodbye and have one of us stay.

For the students in Machanga, Tuesday was a huge day: the day of the English exam. Everyone was nervous, and with due reason. It’s rare for anybody to study here. Those who do actually study do well. Everyone else, it seems, just hopes or prays or does something else. Regardless, I’m cautiously optimistic. They did well on the final exam, so they should do just fine on this exam.

Richie and I had plans to go over to Madinha’s for lunch. We didn’t have any eggs in the house and we really wanted a good meal. Before we could head over to the market, I had to read through the English exam to check for mistakes. This exam was probably the cleanest the government has produced. There were very few errors, and none that particularly affected answers, which was a huge improvement over last year.

Madinha did a hell of a job with lunch. The meat from the chicken she cooked fell right off the bone. It was absolutely delicious. The late lunch, plus all the time it took to get to and from the market, killed a good portion our afternoon. When we returned home, we watched our final episode of “Dexter” and made our last celebratory cake, to be consumed later.

We were still full from lunch when dinnertime arrived. We had some left over rice and beans from last night, and some frozen chicken breast still in the freezer. Richie whipped up some tortillas and we ate delicious burritos. After dinner, we headed back to the market for one last beer with some of our colleagues.

As we walked back from the market, I stumbled several times. This wasn’t drunken stumbling -- I only had one beer in the villa. I kept tripping because I wasn’t watching where I was walking. My head was looking up, staring at a perfect sky full of stars one last time, watching not one but two shooting stars streak right through Orion.

Wednesday was the day. Departure day. After two years, it’s finally here. Two years in Machanga has come and gone, and now it’s time to get out of here. Before leaving, there were still some things we had to do: one last sweep, one last mop, one last set of goodbyes. We said our goodbyes at the school, turned in our keys to the school director, then headed to the villa to say goodbye to Madinha and Osorio.

There was only one thing missing from our departure: where were the little kids. Usually, little kids are standing on the side of the road, always saying “Ta ta muzungu!” They weren’t here this morning. It kind of made me sad.

We were accompanied the entire time by one of our colleagues and some students. God forbid we should have to carry our bags to the river for the millionth time. We were the only people wanting to cross the river, so Richie and I each paid double to avoid the wait and the awkwardness of our colleagues just standing there, waiting for us to leave.

There would be plenty of waiting for us to do in Mambone. Almost no one was heading out to Maluvane. We waited a good forty-five minutes before finally getting going. The ride was fine, uneventful. From Maluvane, Richie and I split ways: he headed north toward Chimoio, I headed south to Inhassoro. We got rides within a few minutes of each other.

My rides from Maluvane to the crossroads to Inhassoro were all free and more importantly, all fast. A little faster would have been nicer because I could feel the stomach issues coming on. Eating cake late last night was a bad decision. The same stomach issues hit Richie at exactly the same time. We’ve clearly lived with each other for way too long.

I chilled out at one Volunteer’s house while I waited for the other Volunteer – one of my better friends here – to get home from Maxixe. While I relaxed, she told me that the Vilanculos to Mambone chapa – a chapa I’ve been on at least twenty times – crashed on Tuesday, with at least two people dead. Might be a sign that it’s time to get out of here.

In the meantime, I spent a little time on the internet and in the brand new deli that opened literally across the street from the Volunteer’s house. So much meat. So much cheese. So much deliciousness. I made an executive decision then and there: in spite of my stomach issues, steak and cheese would be consumed tonight.

When my buddy arrived, we headed over to the market to pick up some final ingredients for dinner. We decided on rice and beans, plus steak and cheese. I’ve made plenty of beans in this country, and I can say without qualification that this batch of beans was the best I’ve ever made. They would have been that good even without the steak and cheese. The additions really put it out of reach. We ate until we felt sick (what a great feeling) and crashed.

I didn’t sleep particularly well Wednesday night. Good thing I didn’t have much to do on Thursday. We started our day with delicious cheesy omelets. While my host went into work (sucker!), I lazed around the house reading Noam Chomsky’s “Imperial Ambitions”. I wish I had one hundredth of one percent of the knowledge of that guy. Later in the morning, I jumped online, just because I could.

After my friend returned from work, we continued with breakfast with pancakes. He took care of the batter while I made the syrup. The pancakes were delicious and should definitely hold me over for the rest of the afternoon.

Early in the afternoon, I said goodbye to my friend. Luckily, he’s a good NorCal kid, so I know I’ll be able to catch up with him after he finishes his second year. I waited on the side of the road for about half an hour before a chapa came around the corner.

I knew as soon as I got in the car that it was going to be a bad ride. I just didn’t know how bad. It turned out being the worst chapa ride I’ve been on in two years. I’ve probably said that a couple times over the course of these two years, but this went above and beyond. What should take 90 minutes took three hours and fifteen minutes.

Now, I’m usually very calm, cool, and collected when it comes to this kind of thing. I believe that I have the right to get as angry as the angriest Mozambican. The guy sitting next to me was pretty fumed. He would yell something to the driver – “Are we going to take six hours to get to Vilanculos?!” – and then I would comment to him. “We should have walked. It would have been faster”.

When we finally arrived in Vilanculos, the driver tried to shaft me by charging 100 Mets for a 65-Met ride. It was a point that I snapped. I decided that I was going to public dress this guy down. I wish I knew more Portuguese swear words. I had to settle. “That ride was a joke, you’re car is trash, and you are trash too!” He didn’t respond, but the people who watched me yell at this guy were quite entertained.

I definitely felt better after the verbal assault. And I was happy that no one got in my way or pissed me off on the walk over to the Vil girls’ house. I told them the story, and they were proud of me for going off on the guy. He definitely had it coming.

One of the girls from CARE (a non-Peace Corps Volunteer, but a volunteer nonetheless) came over to make crepes. So to review, I had pancakes for lunch and essentially had pancakes for dinner. The Vil girls made ice cream with their ice cream maker (life in Vilanculos is so difficult. So difficult.), I took a phenomenal running water shower, and I went to bed, exhausted from a frustrating afternoon.

I was happy to have a relaxing Friday, especially after yesterday. I was on my own for most of Friday morning. I didn’t have much to do in town, so I sat around the house, destroying Laura’s computer at Scrabble.

Around noon, upon Laura’s return, I headed out to the market in search of food and banking information. I got myself a delicious sandwich, then made my way to the bank. Thankfully, my money for my time in Maputo had been deposited. Lord knew I needed it because I was down to 600 Meticais.

The rest of the afternoon was very quiet, very calm. I read some horrifyingly old magazines, but they were new to me, so it was all good. I got another glorious hot water shower. Then, the three of us, along with another Volunteer who came up in the afternoon, went to Smuggler’s for dinner.

The house was horrifyingly hot when we got back, so I felt it best that I should sleep outside for the night. I sprayed myself up and down with bug spray, threw some couch cushions on the patio, and slept a beautiful, wind-aided sleep.

Saturday started out so promising for me. It was yet another travel day and after the Inhassoro-Vilanculos disaster and the Vilanculos-Mambone, I really didn’t want to take a chapa. Lucky for me, people were very cooperative in the morning. I hitched a ride from the school to the bank, then from the bank to the highway, all for free.

Then the waiting began. I sat at the crossroads, burning, waiting, but nothing was coming south. Finally, a car heading to Maxixe came around the corner. Exactly what I needed. I jumped in the car and we started hauling.

We made it to Maxixe in good time. I thought I wouldn’t have to pay, but the driver asked for cash when I got out of the car. Okay, okay. I headed over to the pier and caught a boat heading to Inhambane. Once in Inhambane, I had myself a delicious (and cheap) chicken lunch in the market before heading to Tofo by chapa.

It’s been a good while – almost a year – since I had been in Tofo, and it always seems to take my breath away. It’s just so beautiful. Of course, everyone wants to treat me like a tourist, but a little Portuguese goes a long way.

I dropped my bags off at Fatima’s backpackers, changed into a bathing suit, and hit the ocean. It wasn’t nearly as warm as I thought it would be, but still plenty comfortable, at least for a little bit. When I got back to the dorm, a guy named Sergey introduced himself. He worked for the Millennium Challenge Corp., which piqued my interest, and my being a Peace Corps Volunteer interested him. We talked for a little while, and had dinner together along with some Brazilians.

The rest of the evening was lovely. I was going to take a little walk on the beach, just to catch the night stars. As I walked down to the beach, four people were sitting in front of the stair case. As soon as they said “sorry”, I knew they were American. They were study-abroad students in Cape Town, enjoying a little vacation time. We ended up talking for about an hour about all things American.

Maybe this is how I’m supposed to re-integrate myself into American life.