Good Thing I Like Rollercoasters

Moma, Mozambique – my new home.  I have been at site for about a month now; most people at my site know me as “Jackie” because apparently Jack is hard to say.  As expected, there have been its ups and downs; honestly, it’s like a rollercoaster ride of emotions.  There are times when I think to myself, “I’m actually in Mozambique for two years… how am I going to make it?”  Some of my frustrations have included (keep in mind that a lot of these are not regularly occurring events):

• Showing up on time for a meeting/work and waiting for about 2 hours for everyone else to show up
• Having the dono de casa (landlord) tell me that I don’t know how to close his freezer correctly, don’t know how to select the water that is frozen, don’t know how to turn on/off a freezer correctly – so some background: the dono de casa has left his freezer, which he uses to freeze water for his selling cold water business, in my house because the house he moved into doesn’t have electricity
• Having people yell “China” at me when I’m walking down the street (Note: To be fair, they don’t know my name, and it’s an easy way to make sure I know it’s me they want to talk to.  Usually, people call me my name after I tell them “Meu nome e Jackie.”)
• Having some of those same people ask me for money after yelling “China” at me
• Little kids to adolescents saying “Ching-chong-ching-chong” at me when I walk past them (Note: I know this may seem very racist, but it is definitely not everyone.  Also, I have had people in the States try to imitate Chinese the exact same way.  Not saying it’s okay, but I’m saying it’s not of malicious intent)
• People calling me over to them only to ask me for money
• People being generally rude – for example, having the person I’m talking to cut me off to cat call a woman walking down the street
• Missing family/friends/the ease of life in the States
• Feeling isolated

Needless to say, there are a bunch of frustrations that come with my Peace Corps experience.  But, then there are other times when I think, “This is exactly where I’m supposed to be right now.  This is the exact experience that I want.”  Surprisingly, it’s the little things that sway my moods.  For example, here are some of my favorite things:

• Taking a bucket bath under the moon and stars in my outdoor bathroom
• Riding out into the mato (Portuguese for middle-of-nowhere) in the back of the SCIP truck as we speed past the scenery of Moma – even with all of the terrifyingly bumpy dirt roads
• Watching a feel-good movie before going to sleep
• Sitting in on the coast of the Mira-Mar and watching the little wooden fishing boats
• Eating the dinner that I just cooked over a charcoal fire outside under the stars
• Lighting the charcoal in less than five tries
• Getting a weekly routine established
• Accomplishing my goals for the day/week
• Having everything in my day go really smoothly
• Watching my puppy awkwardly waddle around my yard and explore it for the first time
• Having the little guy fall asleep in my lap
• Old ladies trying to teach me Macua (the local dialect)
• People being surprised that I can cart by myself
• People being impressed that I cook for myself
• Sitting on my veranda and writing in my journal/reading a book
• Having the neighborhood kids sit and talk with me on my veranda
• Getting an email/kik message from someone at home

Overall, I’m please to let you guys know that I like it here.  It’s really a great experience.  Hopefully, this gives you guys some insights on what some of my daily emotional journeys are like.  Haha.