Mozambique 2
Door: Jeroen
17 Februari 2007 | Mozambique, Maputo
*****
Sunday, Feb 4th
Already the fourth. It seems time moves faster now, after 4 weeks, than it did in the beginning. This is a strange place. I miss Janeth. I am trying to learn Swahili. It's going quite well too, but if feels strange to do without her. I pretend doing it for her, but it's too hard since I haven't had contact for a week now. I'm afraid she might have second thoughts about us. At the same time I want to have faith.
Today was a funny day. Went out with Sean to check his fishing hooks. Nothing there. We put them out again in a different place. Then we decide to go up the river a bit with the kano. Suddenly we see about ten baby crocs! Later we go out again, while Briony is watching from the riverside. When we see them again and Briony comes closer to see them too, she stumbles on a bunch of snakes! At least 15 together, might be even up to 30. They are African Pythons, just hatched, about 50 or 60 cm long and thumbthick.
I have a hard time sleeping the last week. Maybe the Lariam again? I'm thinking of stopping soon.
I am making a new path in front of my hut. Rerouting a small river, making a bridge and a waterfall. Nice to do, but hard work. Worked on it yesterday all afternoon and today for at least 5 hours.
Tomorrow Cobue again. Working on the maternity clinic once more. Also enjoyable. Cobue itself is hardship. Still I look forward to go. To meet John and Julius again. And Shai. And of course to sms Janeth. Why the hell doesn't she e-mail me? Really not happy about that.
*****
Cobue, Tuesday, Feb 6th
I'm at the Nkwichi lodge now for over 4 weeks. I'm still alive and healthy! We have been working a little around the lodge, some weeding, maintaining the paths and making glasses from empty wine bottles. Also we have been painting the house of the owner. I must say I find that not very motivating. We have been to the farm a few days. It is a demonstration farm, with the purpose to teach villagers to grow a wider variety of food. Partly to get them to eat more healthy and also to produce fresh vegetables for the lodge or the market. But the project seems not te be doing very well. Apparently only two villages (out of 16) have taken up the idea and are doing good, although they sell to the lodge mainly. Most people stick to their traditional diet and the market... isn't there yet.
And then there is the maternity clinic in Cobue. We are helping to finish it. That is a very nice project to do. We are in Cobue now for the 3th time and the building (it was half finished when we first came) is coming along very well. But it's hard to be here. The village is completely out of vegetables, fruit or potatoes. So we eat pasta or rice with fish or chicken twice a day and for breakfast we have dry bread with tea.
All in all I am not too happy being here. This place has quite a neo-colonial taste to it. In the evening we have 'drinks on the beach', 10-15 white people being served by two blacks. And some of the jokes are about whipping the staff or comparing blacks to animals. Many times I feel much closer to the Africans than to the English (most of the whites are British).
Being in the nature is nice. A bit too much the first few days (... spiders, scorpions, snakes and crocodiles), but later really beautiful. Strangely enough however the white people that are here the longest run on coffee and sigarettes in the morning and alcohol in the evening!
Janeth and I still are a couple I think. But she stopped communicating with me once more. That happened before when she was not happy with me. She calls it 'her style', when she needs time to think and decide if she wants to continue a relationship she stops talking to the 'victim'. I witnessed her doing it to her last boyfriend and had it done to me too, although I survived that time. This time she doesn't e-mail me and stopped answering my text messages. Her last one was a quote: "True love stands the test of time, distance and absence ..." etc. Nice words, but still just a quote. I have no clue why she doesn't write me. I have no other choice then to give her time. Till the end of March or even the end of June.
And if this isn't enough I have stopped sleeping. I slept not well and not much for maybe two weeks. Last night I didn't sleep at all. Probably it is the Lariam. I am going to stop taking it for a while.
*****
Then sms. She is sorry for not answering me, but she is very sick and was in hospital even. Her best friend explains to me that she was robbed in her shop and beaten up. After this, again, nothing more. I decide to go back to Dar. And I let it be a surprise. Somewhere deep inside I have a bad feeling about the whole thing. Something is not right.
Sunday, Feb 4th
Already the fourth. It seems time moves faster now, after 4 weeks, than it did in the beginning. This is a strange place. I miss Janeth. I am trying to learn Swahili. It's going quite well too, but if feels strange to do without her. I pretend doing it for her, but it's too hard since I haven't had contact for a week now. I'm afraid she might have second thoughts about us. At the same time I want to have faith.
Today was a funny day. Went out with Sean to check his fishing hooks. Nothing there. We put them out again in a different place. Then we decide to go up the river a bit with the kano. Suddenly we see about ten baby crocs! Later we go out again, while Briony is watching from the riverside. When we see them again and Briony comes closer to see them too, she stumbles on a bunch of snakes! At least 15 together, might be even up to 30. They are African Pythons, just hatched, about 50 or 60 cm long and thumbthick.
I have a hard time sleeping the last week. Maybe the Lariam again? I'm thinking of stopping soon.
I am making a new path in front of my hut. Rerouting a small river, making a bridge and a waterfall. Nice to do, but hard work. Worked on it yesterday all afternoon and today for at least 5 hours.
Tomorrow Cobue again. Working on the maternity clinic once more. Also enjoyable. Cobue itself is hardship. Still I look forward to go. To meet John and Julius again. And Shai. And of course to sms Janeth. Why the hell doesn't she e-mail me? Really not happy about that.
*****
Cobue, Tuesday, Feb 6th
I'm at the Nkwichi lodge now for over 4 weeks. I'm still alive and healthy! We have been working a little around the lodge, some weeding, maintaining the paths and making glasses from empty wine bottles. Also we have been painting the house of the owner. I must say I find that not very motivating. We have been to the farm a few days. It is a demonstration farm, with the purpose to teach villagers to grow a wider variety of food. Partly to get them to eat more healthy and also to produce fresh vegetables for the lodge or the market. But the project seems not te be doing very well. Apparently only two villages (out of 16) have taken up the idea and are doing good, although they sell to the lodge mainly. Most people stick to their traditional diet and the market... isn't there yet.
And then there is the maternity clinic in Cobue. We are helping to finish it. That is a very nice project to do. We are in Cobue now for the 3th time and the building (it was half finished when we first came) is coming along very well. But it's hard to be here. The village is completely out of vegetables, fruit or potatoes. So we eat pasta or rice with fish or chicken twice a day and for breakfast we have dry bread with tea.
All in all I am not too happy being here. This place has quite a neo-colonial taste to it. In the evening we have 'drinks on the beach', 10-15 white people being served by two blacks. And some of the jokes are about whipping the staff or comparing blacks to animals. Many times I feel much closer to the Africans than to the English (most of the whites are British).
Being in the nature is nice. A bit too much the first few days (... spiders, scorpions, snakes and crocodiles), but later really beautiful. Strangely enough however the white people that are here the longest run on coffee and sigarettes in the morning and alcohol in the evening!
Janeth and I still are a couple I think. But she stopped communicating with me once more. That happened before when she was not happy with me. She calls it 'her style', when she needs time to think and decide if she wants to continue a relationship she stops talking to the 'victim'. I witnessed her doing it to her last boyfriend and had it done to me too, although I survived that time. This time she doesn't e-mail me and stopped answering my text messages. Her last one was a quote: "True love stands the test of time, distance and absence ..." etc. Nice words, but still just a quote. I have no clue why she doesn't write me. I have no other choice then to give her time. Till the end of March or even the end of June.
And if this isn't enough I have stopped sleeping. I slept not well and not much for maybe two weeks. Last night I didn't sleep at all. Probably it is the Lariam. I am going to stop taking it for a while.
*****
Then sms. She is sorry for not answering me, but she is very sick and was in hospital even. Her best friend explains to me that she was robbed in her shop and beaten up. After this, again, nothing more. I decide to go back to Dar. And I let it be a surprise. Somewhere deep inside I have a bad feeling about the whole thing. Something is not right.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
