I just came back from seeing a great African dance troupe - they had on the most wonderful costumes and moved incredibly gracefully.
The backing band was a drum corps and a homemade xylophone made of gourds and trees. The clothing was mostly composed of shredded cloth about 2' long that was tied to various parts of the body and made for an incredible effect when they danced. It was really quite something to watch and I hope that I can get some pictures from other people.
This troupe seemed pretty professional, so I asked about how we landed this gig. Apparently, one of the Moz organizers found this group and offered them free lunch in exchange for their performance. It just seems incredible to me - you couldn't even think about landing a gig like that in the States without tremendous compensation (especially for such a small group). It really reminds me of how poor this area is.
This has been a very good Portuguese day - I've understood most that has come my way!
Unfortunately, I didn't receive much mail today, and I've been expecting - or hoping for - some letters from Ohio friends. It's difficult to be patient, especially since the phone I did get hold of stopped working this week, so I've been able to have a conversation with my father, but that's it.
On the plus side, I did receive this wonderful newsletter from my mother and some logic puzzles. It's all great to have! But this lack of communication with so many of my friends is as hard as I thought it would be and more! I suppose I just need to be patient and wait for letters, while taking the time to keep on writing them.
I know you all want to hear about different aspects of my life here, but I just don't know what to focus on!
It's a very interesting group dynamic that we have, because we are all so focused on our individual contributions to Mozambique and being good teachers, so we have only a decent knowledge of each other as people. Sure, there seem to be some closer friends, but we don't really have cliques, per se, and there don't seem to be people who spend all their time together. I think part of the reason for this is that we are training for what it is - preparation for our jobs. We are all taking it seriously, and so our focus is on self-preparation and not so much on making good friends...not just yet. Once we get to our sites, I'm sure we'll grow closer to each other out of necessity, and once we're settled in. It's hard not to have people who know me very well and to also know I will be putting myself in a tough spot by trying to find these people during a transitional period.
I think I speak for all of us when I say that we need to get to our sites and have some permanence in our lives!
Personal space and touching are quite interesting here. Africans have much less personal space and same sexes like to hold hands and just be very touchy-feely. This is perfectly fine with me, and I think it's kept me sane to feel the warmth of other humans! However, there are very few PDAs between couples (and don't talk about homosexuality --- it's quite taboo, not unlike the US just a few years ago) and rarely do you even know without a map who's married to whom. It is practically the opposite of the US in that respect - and so it has its positives and negatives.
Of course, to understand why personal space is the way it is, you really need to understand the culture. I'm working towards that understanding, and I most likely will be for my entire time here. Honestly, the culture is constantly changing from what I can tell as they move towards their goals. And these next two years are going to be interesting as the current president of 18 (or so) years is stepping down in 2004. It should all be wonderful to see and experience.
I've been thinking about what I want to do when I return to the States, and pursuing an acting career is looking very attractive. Acting is one of the pursuits I've found to be both challenging and rewarding in ways other careers are not. However, I wonder how I can integrate that pursuit with my passion for aiding society. Of course, acting is a very romantic notion that seems attractive as I'm 2 years away from having make that decision!
Peace
John
