Sorry my entry last night was so...scattered. I think it reflects the state of my brain, actually.
I'm settling in, but it still seems a little overwhelming (what I need to get done), because it's not totally clear what I need to do. The house is livable as is, but I need to start integrating into the community, which as of yet is not an obvious path.
So there are three guys I'm mainly hanging out with, going to the market, showing me around, etc. Georgito, Dinho and Diamentio (I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS). They're at different ages and educational/Portuguese levels, but all adolescent and have agreed to speak only Portuguese with me (they like to practice their English, but I told them one week so portugues and they're doing pretty well).
Once again, I'm in the position of having too much to describe - but this time, I think I have enough time to describe it all.
My house is about a 5-minute walk from the school. All the roads inside the town are dirt, and the road I'm on is no exception. There hasn't been much rain, but mud hangs around for weeks and impedes car and human traffic.
My house is made of concrete, has a front and back door, a landing for the front door, and a small yard in the back. The landing is used for shoe storage, and other random things that get muddy. It's about 8' x 3'. To the right of the landing is a storage space for bikes and our unplugged deep freezer. Inside that is the bathroom. The bathroom has no outside walls, so all activities are unwittingly shared with the entire house. Beyond the deep freezer and bathroom is the kitchen when then leads to the back door. There is a ventilation chimney for the electric hotplates. The entrance is approximately 5' high and I am 5'9". I have already hit my head about 6 times. I wonder what happens when I hit my head enough times to forget it's there.
There is also a sink in the kitchen, as well as a flushing toilet and sink in the bathroom. Beyond the landing/bathroom/kitchen area is a common room with a couch and comfy chair. There's also an all-weather set of table and chairs for dinner or card-playing outside. These are up against the kitchen.
There's a coffee table in between the couch and comfy chair, and is stocked with various dictionaries and other random reading material.
By the way, everyone stares at me. Expected, but I'm still not used to it.
Beyond the common room are the two main bedrooms, each about 10'x6' with the exception that my bedroom has an extra cut-out for the bed. The third bedroom sits off to the side of the common room, currently occupied by Diamente who is staying with me to smooth over my transition. Also because I'm paying for food and I'm fun to have around.
Of course, some of the fun of having me around is at my expense :)
There's always music playing and lately it's been all the guys'. I've let them have pretty free reign over going in and out of the house and the musical selection, but only those three - and as I am able to be more independent, I will be able to request that they play outside more or listen to MY music.
It may seem petty, but it's all small decisions at this point when it comes to setting the limits as to what I'll tolerate for two years. If I don't carve out the expectations now, I can expect to be walked over or risk insulting others.
I'm starting to feel the real crunch of communal life - how much food am I willing to give to others who are spending time with me? I have to discriminate because I don't want to have friends who use me - but I know these three can be trusted, according to Blake and Tober.
The floods came into C--- and this whole region in 2000. They absolutely devastated this area, and the rebuilding is still evident. Water marks are still present on and in many buildings - others that have been repainted have a line "CHEIAS 2000" ("2000 Floods"). People talk about the floods as a landmark - "Before the floods...", "After 2000...", etc. Everything changed and an already poor area got poorer.
From the little info I have, many people, both governmental and NGOs, got involved in the rebuilding. There's a multipurpose sport court built by the French, an Internet Cafe started by a Canadian group, and a computer lab in the Agricultural school donated by South Africa. PC has been here teaching since 1999, and had to be evacuated for the floods.
Entire major roads were demolished and the only way to get from the south to the central provinces was by air. There are still "landing strips" present on the road in the form of two large white stripes, about 1/4 mile apart.
Peace
John
