Family life!

There have been so many things going on in my house here in Mozambique…..I know its bad to gossip but this my friends and family is what you call true family life!

Im just going to give you a list of things that have happened and launch into each below:

1. Neighbours in the garage.

2.‘Nao e bom!’

3. Flora’s in the ring *ding ding*…..Round 1!

4.Did you say RATO or RATOS…

Neighbours in the garage

1.       So yes people my room in Casa Branca (White House) is right next to the garage and I have a beautiful view of its interiors as my windows look into it. The other day I was speaking on the phone and I could hear some coughing in the garage. I wanted to investigate as I was convinced my host Mum was allowing our gardener to stay on the property at night as he seems to be here at the crack of dawn and last thing at night. There was a lot of moving around over the last week week but I was to scared to look just in case he thought I was being nosey (which of course I was). Anyway, the next night I decided I would just shine my touch inside the garage to see what was going on (very discreet I know!) as I heard more coughing, shuffling and moving around! Inside the garage was a GOAT attached to a string and I was actually shocked. It was peeing and the other thing all over the floor and now Ive realised that’s whats been making my room smell a little farm like like NOW, its really horrible. Im also convinced that it was the goats (I say goats because I later discovered that there were two) that have given me this HORRIBLE cough. I don’t know if it really is possible to contract Goat Flu but the garage isn’t that well ventilated and so all the air just circulates from my room to the garage and vice versa so im sure I caught it from them!!!  Its that cough were you are ‘ok’ in the day then at night….wow…you could almost cough your lungs out your mouth. Although to be honest, the weather has changed here and its Winter! I have a duvet at night to keep me warm as temperatures drop to around 10oC and in the day we have highs of about 27-28oC but it always feels FREEZING to me. Everyone is wearing hoodies, coats scrafs and all the babies seem to have these knitted ear muffed bobble hats. Its very cute….

2.       “Nao e Bom”

Was the genral feeling toward my behaviour last weekend and this is just me getting it off my chest once and for all. Me and my host Mum & the empregarder  (house helper) have a silent understanding that I will always text when I am not coming home on the weekend or if I am coming home late. This particular weekend I was a little bit zoned or in the moment of being free and it being the weekend that I completely forgot to let my host Mum know that I wouldn’t been back until Sunday afternoon having left for work on Friday morning. On Sunday morning I had suddenly realised I had made no contact with either of the ladies and I receive a message saying ‘good morning’….that was it. TROUBLE. I quickly composed a message which apologised for not being in contact and that I would be home later in the afternoon for my host brother 25^th Birthday Party! Needless to say there was no response! When I arrived home my host Mum, in front of about 15 members of her family, proceed to  embarrass me my saying that not texting her was ‘Nao e bom’ meaning….not good, that I had been gone for two days and that this was Maputo….ANYTHING could have happened to me. If you were that concerned about this being Maputo and that ANYTHING happning to me why didn’t you just check that nothing had happened considering I had never done this before! I just kept saying sorry while all eyes were on me, then her, then me, then her. The other problem I have is that whenever I call my host Mum (Im just going for it now) she never answers the phone or calls me back. This is just me, but if someone calls you twice or three times consecutively then I would maybe be concerned that there is a problem…..never has a phone call be returned to find out if Im ok when I have done this and this is in a city where ANYTHING could happen. Im just getting it all off my chest but its cool as I know It’s a big responsibility being responsible for someone you only met 4 months ago so I do understand her concerns. I know its good and it is for my own safety but its driving me a little crazy. I discussed that matter with some of the other volunteers and they are having similar problems to me. I think its more a cultural thing than an individual problem and considering that this was the first time I had not let her know where I was I was surprised at the reaction. Im cool with it and I will just play by the rules….its just family life I suppose.

Flor’s in the ring *ding ding*…..Round 1!

My host brother has a girlfriend by the name of Flor….she is a force to be reckoned with at the age of 21. She’s a little in your face a little brash and just a little too much at times.

For example, she asked if she could borrow my nail varnish (Revlon £6.99 a bottle…). “Yeah, no problem Flor” I said... .. She took the varnish about 1 month ago and I have yet seen it be returned to me. I have asked and asked and asked and nothing has happened. One response was did I want her to go out in the dark to get it from the salon, bearing in mind it was probably only about 8pm and the Salon is in the Garden, ….eerrr Flor, 1. Yes, is the answer to that question (but of course I said no) and 2. What the hell is my personal varnish (Revlon £6.99 a bottle) doing business in the Salon for

She also was quiet ballsey and cracked her head round the door of my room and had a good old gander at all my creams, hair products sprays etc….asking what I needed them all for….errrr hello Miss thing is it ANY of your business.

So yeah, Flor just found out that my host brother has been seeing two other women in and around the area….uh oh. It was like being a part of Eastenders or one of the many Brazilian Novelas that are on TV 4 times a day. The whole thing was crazy and I think it started on the Sunday of my host cousins birthday party. After the party ended at about 7pm my host brother disappeared and no one knew where he was. Flor had her suspicion and I think she managed to sniff him out to a womens house down the road! She was brewing but let it slide for a few days not really talking to him. You could feel the tension in the air. She left the brewing until mid week and then EXPLODED like a ticking time bomb.….POW WOW! My host Mum is not around at the moment as she is travelling to Tete which borders Zambia and Malawi.  Needless to say Flor went mental…..punching, kicking, shouting, screaming, crying the WORKS with the empregarder cheering her on from the side lines. I was on the phone to my boyfriend (yes, I have a Mozambican boyfriend) who just told me to stay in my room. I mean I understand being angry really I do they have been together for about 5 years and she loves him (when shes not flirting with my friends right in front of her potential mother-in-law eyes). Again, this is family life at The White House….what can I say. Drama, drama, drama…..I love it! She moved out about 3 days after the Big Fight live and then the next day my host brother brought another women in ‘discreetly’. The day after that Flor turned up on the door step and it seems everything is back to normal.

Did you say Rato or Ratos….?

The Rats are back in town. I hadn’t really been stressing about them for the last couple of months as I haven’t seen or heard them. However, over the last few weeks Ive seen rat poison on the shelf in the front room and obviously my suspicions were aroused but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I just assumed they had been killed off without my knowing BUT, my people, on Friday I saw something shoot across the kitchen and under the cooker! The teacloth hanging over the oven door was left rippling as the back of the rat must have brushed it. I know youre all saying but was it a rat or just a mouse….Im not going to down play this at all. The word for mouse or rat in Portuguese is RATO so I take that as a direct translation minus the letter ‘o’ and you have RAT. So I was watching TV in the house on my own and there was a wwwwwwhhhhhhole heap of noise coming from the kitchen. I was actually s*%ting myself as it sounded like things being thrown about and the dustbin being pushed over…. Its amazing how much noise these creatures can make your mind here. My host cousin said that we need to do something as they keep running in his room when he is sleeping….eeerrr hello, into your room. Well that night I obviously couldn’t sleep! I actually heard ‘something’ outside and screamed in my room but no one came to my rescue (thank god). I wouldn’t have been able to explain my craziness in Portuguese and so I took direct action at 12am. I shoved all my dirty clothes at the bottom of the door along with my wellington boots (don’t ask why I have them or why I thought they would keep me safe) and a large bottle of water filled ¼ of the way. I tell you, Im wasted as a volunteer…..pest control solutions officer should be my new job title. Anyway, I slept well but I actually think that the ‘something’ outside was the goats clattering about in the garage.

Feeling a little down.....

Im feeling a little down people. Not in am major way like I want to come home but more along the lines of just being fed up! Mozarte, which I haven’t really talked much about for a while, is driving me crazy hence why I haven’t spoken about it for a long time. Im putting it out there because its stressing me out and it really shouldn’t be. Ive come to work there as a volunteer, doing what I can to help but the people of Mozarte are scared of change. Scared to put themselves on the line and put a little trust into people that can see the potential of the organisation that they work for and want to help propel it forward. SCARED….*sigh*

Mozarte is one of a kind in Mozambique. There is nothing like it ANYWHERE in the country. I don’t know if I have ever explained the set up but just in case I haven’t I will go through it for you so we are on the same page. I work at Mozarte 3 days a week. The centre is a really lovely place it has been built on a square and so there is a central raised island which normally has tables with chairs and umbrellas for the lunch crowd. 

There are 5 workshops running around the square which have equipment for Weaving, Tailoring Ceramics, Batik, Wood Work, Metal Work and Leather production. The leather, Tailoring and Ceramics rooms are at present the only rooms that have people ‘producing’ (I use this word VERY loosely). The other 4 rooms are not producing anything  and have no designers within them and so have been left to gather dust. The idea behind the centre is that each of the disciplines shown above have a skilled professional who is responsible for training a student in their area of skill. At anyone time there can be three students being trained at the same time over the course of 3 months. At the end of the 3 months the student should have basic knowledge of there chosen area to go on and start there on small business or continue to make products for Mozarte. All products made are sold in the shop attached to Mozarte which is in a fantastic position avaible to catch the eye of any passerby. At present the shop is difficult to see because the window is not well lit and there are many cars that have been parked in front and there is no clear signs indicating that the shop is actually there. The concept to me is brilliant and gives amazing opportunities to young people that have an interested in being creative.

The centre is not functioning AT ALL at the moment and so that is where my role was suppose to kick in…*sigh*. Mozarte was originally funded by UNESCO up until 5 years ago. It had 300 students going through the doors each year. It was then given over to the Ministry (which I think is the Mozambique version of the UK government). I think they thought that it would be better funded and looked after but sadly it has not worked out that way. Mozarte is funded under the umbrella of Youth and Sports instead of Culture and the focus over the last few years has been within sport as Mozambique is hosting the African version of European Games. This has left the youth section with NADA especial in regards to art (hence why we should really be under culture section but even then, Im sure there would be some reason not to give money to Mozarte).

Last week Marion (a VSO volunteer that I work with) and I decided we wanted to surge ahead as on the 3^rd of September the African Games will start. Mozarte has been given a shop within the stadium to sell products over the two weeks that the games are being held! We have to make A LOOOOOOOOT of things because we have nothing but "dusty god only knows what" in the shop. I honestly cannot even bare to go in the shop through shear embarresment but hey….what can I do! So we have been having MAJOR difficulties with getting some cash because of ‘procedures’. I am all for procedures if they make sense but what Marion and I were confronted with just sent us a little wild in the eyes. Apparently when starting any production of any item being made at Mozarte you are required to complete the following:

1.      

1. A plan of what you are intending to make ei. A sketch of some sort (no problem). The sketch must show all trims and fabrics required (no problem)
2. 2.       You must then go to the shop and get THREE quotes from three different shops for each of the trims or fabrics required. This is for things like a zips, a button, thread etc….(no comment)
3. 3.       You then come back and give the quotations that you have acquired to the office manager and she will check and verify each price (this can take weeks depending on how she is feeling on the day)
4. 4.       The office manager will then either work out the average price or just select the cheapest item on the list
5. 5.       You are then given the cash to make the purchases as required with receipts and you may even be required to show what you have bought along with receipts! (thats if what you want has sold out because you've had to wait soooooo long for an approval of the 'list')

Marion and I just saw LOOOOOOONG written all over this 5 step programme and asked if it was possible to just have 1000.00 metical’s which is the equivalent to £20 to buy what we needed over the course of the month and we would provide receipts for each purchase. We would then be happy to complete an invoice with all receipts attached and give it to the office manager for her records. COMPUTER SAID NO! I would have been happy to follow this ‘procedure’ (begrudgingly) if it wasn’t for the fact that we only have 2 months to fill a very large shop with top notch product.

My patients levels are currently non existent and thats something that is required in abundance in Mozambique. I had a bit of what can only be described as a ‘ding-dong’ with the office manager and she now has only daggers for me which I can live with as long as she just gives us the money. Whats strange is that Marion and I are not doing any of this work for our benefit and we are not being paid, yet the people that it will benefit and are still getting paid couldn’t give a flying fart! I need to have a different approach and a way of dealing with this problem because at present its just aggravating me and I really feel like Im wasting my time. Having been at Mozarte since mid February we have been asked to' plan' up to our eyeballs and even with plans we have not been given any money. We have requested that the missing technicians within ceramics, wood work, metalwork and Batiking be employed and NOTHING has happened. 

I am going to leave it there for now......Im going to the beach! Next week is another week and Im going to see what powers I have to switch the whole thing up!!! OMG. Have fun in the Sun I heard its super HOT at the moment. 

I have more blogs about my recent trip to South Africa....will be posted 'shortly' (as I always say)....

Tchau, ate logo

xxx

PS. My camera is still broken. Im still really upset....working on a solution with about 3 other people. The blogs just arnt the same without them!