The beginning of a new year and maybe a new me?

While I was at home, several people gave me a lot of crap for being so horrible at keeping up with my blog entries. My original goal was to write one a month, but obviously, I have failed miserably. One of my New Years resolutions this year is to try to keep up with it better, but like most resolutions, this one will probably only make it to February.

One question that came up over and over again while I was at home was how has my perception of the States changed after living in Mozambique for a year. Great question.

Someone told me before I left for Moz that most PCVs come back to the States after two years disliking (I am pretty sure he said hating, but I think that is too strong of an emotion in this context) Americans and our way of life (wasteful, overindulgent, lazy, etc…). Personally, I feel like I have developed a great respect for "our way of life." I can honestly say the things he thought I would grow to resent, ended up being exciting parts of my trip home. For example, on my road trip I stopped at Sonic, Arby’s and Taco Bell (not all in one day of course) for lunch. It was incredible. So easy and convenient. I will admit though, the wrappers and the paper bags everything came in hurt me a little inside, but I guess all I can do is hope that they eventually end up in a recycle bin. Or I could open up my very own fast food restaurant or grocery store where everything is sold wrapper less and Tupperware is a requirement for entry. Any financial backers?

When it comes to food and lifestyle choices, however, I would have to say I prefer my way of life here. This has nothing to do with America as a whole. This is all about me and the choices I make everyday. In the States, I love TV and tend to watch way too much of it. What can I say? It is seriously addicting. While I am watching TV, it is so easy for me to put clothes in the washing machine, throw a premade meal into the microwave, and run the dishwasher all at the same time (I am incredible at multitasking). Here, I still watch movies and TV shows on DVD, but there is not an endless list of options that keeps me coming back for more. Or commercials that make new TV shows and movies look too good to pass up. I also do not have the luxury of a microwave or even a car to jump into if I want to pick up fast food during a commercial break. Whenever I go shopping here, I have to think about what exactly I want to eat for the next few days because getting to the market is not as simple as turning a key. I do love, however, the amount of walking that comes with not having a car. Not only have I reduced the size of my carbon footprint, but I am also in the process of reducing my pant size. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

On to a more serious note:

While I expected to be wowed by the endless number of luxuries in the States, I was completely taken back by something I experienced driving underneath I-10 in New Orleans. Let me preface this by saying that I see extreme poverty almost everyday here, but I have not been hit so hard and so fast as I was when I was driving past the homeless shelter on that cold and rainy night. There was something so incredibly sad about all of the people huddled together trying to sleep outside in front of the shelter that tugged at my heartstrings. I kept going over and over this scene in my mind to try to figure out why I had such a strong emotional response and finally came to the conclusion that it was because it was basically unnecessary for people to have to live in those conditions in the US. Yes, the economy is bad. I understand that, but where are these people’s families? And I don’t mean nuclear families. I am including extended family in this too. In Mozambique, if a child’s parents die (HIV related or not), there is someone to take them in and provide at least some kind of family life. This not only applies to children. If you are an adult and traveling down to the capital city, you just call one of your distant (I mean like really really distant) relatives and crash on their floor. Why would you ever need a hotel if you have relatives? Family takes care of family. I will get off my soap box now, but I do hope I always remember this simple statement and take a hint from Mozambicans: being a part of someone’s family does not always mean you are blood relatives.

Okay back to a lighter note. So how has living in Moz changed me over the past year? According to my lovely friends from college, it has turned me into more of an observer rather than the person who always has to be in the middle of everything. The contributor (or one of them), if I may. In their exact words: I am more “subdued.” At first, I wasn’t sure whether to feel offended by what they said and add it to my list of things I need to work on (another New Years resolution like trying not to interrupt people when they are speaking – I just get so excited though!). The more I thought about it, the more I understood why living in Moz has turned me in to more of an observer. I have concluded it is because I am living in a place where people do not speak my first language. Understanding Portuguese is not a problem for me anymore. Trying to verbalize every single thought that comes in to my head still is. I have learned that body language and just listening to a person’s tone of voice and other subtle clues goes a long way. Even just a gentle squeeze on a person’s shoulder sometimes speaks volumes. I have also learned that sometimes less is more and that saying what I mean in one brief sentence can just as easily get my point across as a 5 minute long monologue.