I cannot believe it has been over a month since I have arrived in Africa and moved in with my homestay family. So much has happened since then. October was probably the longest month of my life because everything I did and said (because it was in Portuguese) was new and some days seemed to just creep by. Speaking of Portuguese, I have a correction to make from my last blog entry. I did not, in fact, bomb my language test like I thought I did. Apparently, four and a half year old Spanish (I haven't taken it since my first semester freshman year of college) and a half-ass attempt at Rosetta Stone is enough to place me into the intermediate Portuguese class. Another really exciting fact is that I am now proficient enough in Portuguese to become an official Peace Corps Volunteer instead of just a Trainee and can begin to take a local language class. So once again, so far so good.
Over the past four weeks that I have been living in Namaacha, I have learned a few simple truths that I would like to share with you.
1. "Lanche" is not a cute word for lunch.
The very first day of school my sister-in-law (25 years old, 9 months pregnant, and married to my 21 year old brother - they have a five year old son) packed me a banana, a fried egg, french fries, and a juice box for lanche. So, like any rational human being (or so I thought), I assumed that this was my lunch because it was so much food. At noon, however, my brother showed up at school with a picnic basket full of rice, chicken, and bread. Needless to say, I felt so guilty when I sent him home with all of the food after he walked thirty minutes uphill to bring it to me.
2. Pouco janta means just that, "little dinner."
So once again, I made another food faux pas. In my experience (two very key words), going hungry in Africa is not something that I will be experiencing (Peace Corps pays our families extremely well so that they can turn us into healthy "um pouco forte" adults). The second day of school, I came home and "ate dinner" with my dad. We had tea, salad, potatoes, bread, and an egg. I was a little confused why only the two of us were eating, but I figured that everyone else was either busy or not at home (but, my mãe and sister-in-law were at home so I was even more confused). After dinner, I got up to go outside and brush my teeth and my family was staring at me like I was crazy. Eventually, after they stopped laughing, they explained to me that I had not just eaten dinner, but the snack that comes before dinner. Luckily, I did not have to sit down and eat actual dinner, but ever since then I have been extremely careful not to eat anything substantial before dinner.
3. My open air banho is a nice place for reflection and my replacement weather channel.
Every morning in the States, I love to get up and turn on the weather channel so that I can dress appropriately. If you have ever lived in New Orleans, you will understand why it is so important. Sometimes, I would even do the significantly less trustworthy, hand against the window test. I feel infinitely lucky (and sometimes unlucky when it is cold out) to have a roofless casa de banho where I take my bucket baths. I have gotten really good at determining whether it is going to be a cold and windy day, when it will rain, or when it is going to be extremely hot. I also have this incredible view over the valley and across the Swaziland border to keep me occupied. There is a downside, however, that I try not to think about too much when I am banho-ing. I can see one of the other volunteer’s front doors when I look out to the right over the top of my casa de banho. Every time one of her family members (who happen to be my family too technically) walks outside, I get a pretty good look of exactly who it is. I keep hoping that my slightly bronzed farmer's tan keeps me from becoming a bright white beacon of light (keep you fingers crossed for me!).
4. One verb can change everything.
One day in class we learned this verb that I knew held great potential for the future. The verb, acostumar, means "to become accustomed to" or "to get use to." One thing that I have not yet become entirely accustomed to is waking up before 6:30 am every day of the week. The second weekend at my homestay family, my mãe woke me up at 5:30 am to help with some of the household chores. When she first knocked on the door, I thought that it must have been a mistake because it was way too early to get up on a Saturday and I didn't even have class until 7:30. So about five minutes later she knocked again and I grudgingly got out of bed. That afternoon, I decided to take action and try to get a little extra sleep on the weekends (especially on Sunday when I don't have class). So I went home and told my mom that "in America it is customary to sleep in on Sunday mornings until right before church starts." The results exceeded my every expectation. That night, my mãe asked me what time I wanted to be woken up the next morning and I said "9:30." She laughed and was probably thinking that she must have gotten the laziest PC trainee ever, but did not knock on my door at all the next morning. I ended up waking up before 8 am and helping around the house, but ever Sunday since, I have gotten to "sleep-in" as late as I want.
5. Sex Ed. is funny in every language.
You know that TV show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" I've only seen it once, but always felt really sorry for the "professional" adults who were, in fact, not as smart as a fifth grader. Recently, I have had my own similar experience. I really like to think that I am a lot more mature than I used to be in 7th grade when I had my first sex education class, but now, unfortunately I am not so sure. I remember when they split us into boys and girls and we all were sitting there trying not to giggle or feel too embarrassed. Of course, I had both giggled uncontrollably and felt super embarrassed. So 10 years later, I find myself once again in the same situation (minus the embarrassment) and I am, once again, giggling uncontrollably. In my defense, having sex ed in Portuguese is different than in English because of the extra spice that comes with every romance languages´ accent. But, the icing on the cake has to be the fact that our book concluded with this sentence: "A vagina e magico." Enough said.
Here's my phone number in case you ever want to call or text me: 011-258-82-819-8138
p.s. it would be really great to know who the new president is exactly when it happens since today is the first day I have seen CNN or any other U.S. news on TV and I am a election junkie
12 years ago