I just found out that the Angels won the World Series. It's very surreal being so far removed from the American media. I can't imagine the Angels winning, just because it seems to be out of nowhere. However, I know if I were keeping up with things, it would seem perfectly normal.
Zach and I got haircuts today at a barbershop by the market. He has significantly more hair than I do.
The shop was about 15' long and about 8' wide. There was one lightbulb hanging from the ceiling and one outlet with an extension cord and power strip. Some men were fooling around with cell phones on one part of the power strip, and the electric razors were plugged into the other outlets.
My host father took us there, and he explained that we needed haircuts. I told the barber how short I wanted my hair (he cut it a little too short, but it's no big deal), and he took the electric razor to it. It was going very normally, and I was speaking to Zach in English.
One of the men working on the cellphones speaks a little English, and told me (in English) that "it's not nice to speak" a language that most people in the room cannot understand. He held fast by this rule, as he was later speaking Changara. But I was trying to communicate to Zach what this man was doing to my head, and I guess that could definitely be construed as rude!
After he cut most of my hair, he got to my neck. "Gentle" is not a concept for Mozambican barbers. It was downright painful how hard he shaved my hair away, and I let Zach secretly know this so he could be prepared.
Because Zach has so much hair, they ended up going to a backup electric razor - and instead of using scissors, they trimmed from about 6 inches down to about 3-4 inches with a razor. It was actually quite impressive.
The whole thing took about an hour and cost 35,000 Met each which translates to $1.50. You don't tip for anything here, as it's a communal society. The reasoning is that everyone has their job and always works hard at it. I want to give people a tip, but it just doesn't work.
I've found out that other people are recommending this journal as a way to find out how things are in Mozambique. So please communicate with your contact in Moz what you might like to hear about, and I'll try to describe it as best I can. But please keep in mind that my experiences can't help but be vastly different from your loved ones'!
We had discussions today regarding what we're doing for Halloween, and it seems like we're having a little party on Sunday afternoon with a movie and such.
I didn't want it to be on Sunday, because that's the only day I can spend entirely with my family. Some people see it as a day they do nothing, but to me, this time is important. This family has taken me in and wrapped their lives around my well-being - I feel like I owe them more than just one day a week!
I think it goes back to my perception of the volunteers working around the culture rather than with the culture. I've brought it up in conversation, and the concensus seems to be that it's too difficult. We are told that we can never be Mozambican, try as we might. It's not that I think they're wrong, it's just that I'm stubborn. I'll only find this out the hard way, which is why I took this job in the first place.
As much as I enjoy spending time with the other trainees, we won't have this luxury at site, so I feel that I need to force myself to be away from that and spend quality (Portuguese) time with my host family. There are similar reasons to spend all our free time with the trainees, but I just don't think that way.
These entries should be arriving in two weeks from now, if not sooner. By then, the Xmas season will be starting and Thanksgiving will be right around the corner. I'm going to miss my traditional Thanksgiving in Virginia, seeing relatives and taking a nice long road trip with my father. It will be even stranger to have a Thanksgiving in the summer heat!
Please keep on writing - I've only received mail from my mother so far (!) but there are a bunch of us who know more is coming. It seems to arrive by the part of the country it departed from, in no particular order. I have a feeling Ohio will be this week, and I'll feel better having some letters from school friends.
Peace
John
