Bem vindo em Moçambique

From South

to

Southern Africa

Such a long time I have not written here. Is it a good or a bad sign? An EXTRA GOOD of course. Don’t satisfy yourself with ”good” things, even if it is better than normal things. Anyway. My situation is South Africa in Nelspruit in Old Vic was too chaotic and not satisfying enough for me, even more after my week holidays in Mozambique.
To make it short, let’s say, I spoke with Lynne the last night of my stay at her house about the fact it could be eventually possible that she introduces me in Kulima, the NGO she is working for. Lynne is a fantastic person and convinced me almost more than myself to do it. I will always remember what she told me this night at the “home baraka”, after I confess her my fears about all the situation, and in two minutes she changed my naive and stupid mind in a calm, clear and determined mind : when you are in your 20ies, you are scared and you don’t do it, when you are in your 30ies, your are hesitating but after a while you do it, in your 40ies and after, you are confident enough to know there is no reason not to do it. So just because I was scared I shouldn’t have done it even if it was the best for me? And sincerely, even for Bella today I’m sure it’s not the end of the world, definitely not. Yes, I am just speaking about breaking my contract with Dave and Bella and escape of this area, I would almost say of this country. I am sorry, South Africa is a beautiful beautiful country, but unless you are an ethnological student, and then the field is I’m sure one of the most interesting in the world, you don’t want to live in South Africa for the moment, even more in my case, white European born with the brain of anti-racism. Mamamia, I can’t explain all what I have been thinking since my first step on the African ground but it is for me one of those things that make me grow up very fast. Bla bla bla I should have been short, I just write my thoughts one more time, and I’m not sure one of you can follow me, as if I wouldn’t have the occasion to speak about it here. Of course yes, and with everybody, white South African, white Europeans, white Mozambican, the Blacks… ah yes, I forgot, maybe not everybody. Now I am very sarcastic, it is also one of those things…
Then I arranged my contract with Poitiers in France, Sylvanie and Sophie helped me to do everything on time and properly. I informed Dave and Bella I would not stay any longer. Dave was not so surprised, Bella maybe a bit more, ( about Bella and Elise’s relationship : when they asked me the reason of my decision, among the other one, I also said her face to face that I didn’t like the contact between us, and she sort of understood it, she knows anyway she is not good at dealing with people, and I am not one of her kind cleaning ladies fearing her because she is white and has got more money than I have, so I could tell her…sad).
I contacted Jimmy, my first contact in Mozambique I met at the terrace drinking a coffee, we were the only guest this day in “Punto final” in Inhambane. Jimmy arranged a lift for me from Nelspruit to Inhambane with Dylan, a guy from Nelspruit working with him. So an other adventure was going on. And one more happened in between…not so unexpected after all. I mean, I spent almost 3 months in South Africa, I would have missed one of the mot common experience without it. Indeed, Dylan picked me up this morning after our introduction the previous evening in the Keg, with beer and some shooters, I thanked Dave and Bella who had given me a nice card to tell me thank you too, they have been very very nice…at the end of the day what to say : we just don’t have the same idea of contact, communication etc but respect each other for other abilities maybe, just too different to function together anyway, this period is over. Then Dylan had to fetch some stuff in the city centre in a shop. Waiting for him inside the car, by a diversion I didn’t realize it was one of course… they stole my bag!!! And of course, with everything extremely important inside : ot the most important this exactly day : my passport!!!! I am in South Africa, plan to go in Mozambique for almost three months, organize a Visa for 3 months at the consulat in Nelspruit after 2 visits with all papers, declaration etc shit administration, and 2 hours before I finally leave and start a new, free life, my passport got stolen!!! It was so hilarious that I was not shocked, I didn’t wonder, I was kind of sad but even not. Just it should happened, too bad, almost passed through but finally not… Then begin my week “holidays”. I was supposed to arrive in Inhambane on the Wednesday evening after one night in Kruger with Dylan the Tuesday. Finally, we spent Tuesday night in Pretoria!!!! Ready to get to Johannesburg the next day and sort out a temporary passport for me to be able to cross the boarder… Dylan was as simple as an angel, really, he drove me to Jo’Burg, borrowed me as much money as I needed (oh yes because naturally, my credit card was also in the bag, as well as my camera, so sorry but no more photography, unless I can steal some from some people around… what else in the bag? The bag itself, a souvenir of my Mozambican holidays, my labello!!!!, some cash but not a lot, and….a stick anti mosquitoes!!! Really bad luck!!!). We spent one more night in Nelspruit, on the way back to Mozambique, too tired that evening to drive till the border though. We arrived in Dongane on Thursday, not much later than planed, but without the night in Kruger… that sucks!!! Jimmy didn’t help calling us to know how we were, he was more worried for me than I was, this person, Jimmy, met 20 min on this terrace was becoming somehow my Mozambican father or brother or friend, for me as well as for him. As he says, it is this kind of loveable situation. Then I spent the end of the week not in Inhambane, not yet, but in Dongane, a wonderful place where Dylan, Jimmy and his mum are working. A golf resort, they are actually building a village with private houses for holiday visitors, most of them South African. Dongane is situated between the Indian Ocean and 5 or 6 lakes of soft water. It is just gorgeous. Hamac on the terrace, Jimmy bringing me a cup of coffee in the early morning, Dylan training kayaking in the lake 10 meters away, Anabela sitting close and telling stories about her life in the past and her love for her country. Un petit bout de paradis.
Hunting warthogs was one of my few activities except lying…it was fun!!!
1 hour drive in the sand , we drove the bush road on the Sunday to Inhambane and not the main road. I met Rodao, colleague and Couch Surfer by whom I spent a night before settling in Lynne’s house. We watched the Euro Cup final together with Lauretina Breta.

Kulima

Finally in Kulima then, we met with Lynne very happy to see each other again here. I met the provincial director for Inhambane, Eric Perrin. Yes he is French, but it’s not all. He comes from Centre too, from Indre too, from La Brenne too, he actually comes from Saint-Gaultier and was at school with my mum!!! He showed me some photos of his school years and I could recognize my mother sitting on the same bank!!! Is that not totally crazy??? Le monde est petit, ok, mais à ce point là. Je me demande même si c’est pas un signe du destin, c’est dire si je suis stupéfaite !!!
So then my job : my main task is to create a project and organize as much as possible for a sustainable tourism in the Inhambane province. This is crazy again. I have not started studying tourism management and now I must make a whole project from the very beginning for a possibility to accommodate tourists by local people on my own!!! Is that not the best job ever???? It is, at least for me in my position, I just couldn’t dream better. I just arrive here without knowledge about anything even without being able to speak a word of the official language and I have the responsibility to bring such an interesting project as far as possible. I am so happy with this job, just with it I would be satisfied here, but all the rest is as fantastic as my job.
My second main task is to organize an event for tourist for one day. On this project, I just start this week. We just decided what we want to do with Lynne before she left to Canada, I must start right now. The first task of my day is to open a new Word page and start to write more or less what our idea is… more about it later when better definite.
Lynne left last Monday for 6 weeks, back to Canada. So I have the big house for me alone, kind of sad because it is so much fun to live with Lynne, but I enjoy it in some way too. On the two main projects, we are supposed to work together, then actually, she is busy with other things in Canada, I do the sustainable project and the event, send her my work every day and she gives me more ideas, ask me when it’s not clear, gives me feed backs, or at least, it’s gonna be like this up to this week, normally…
Kulima is a Mozambican NGO, in duty since 1984, present in 7 provinces, employing more or less 250 persons. To summarize very quickly, they arrived in association with a French organization with the first goal to help people during the war and replace them after it in kind of descent conditions, then they were busy working to give a new dynamism in agricultural fields by bringing tools, improving it… Now they are mainly into prevention about SIDA and malaria, Eric wants to use the tourism for the profit of the communities, which is kind of absolutely not the case for the moment in the whole country.
The colleagues in Kulima are all very nice, friendly, smiling as all Mozambican person does, the office is 5 minutes walking distance from home, my office hours are flexible. For one week now I have Portuguese lessons every day, I think for 2 more weeks, at least so I am able to buy bread and eggs in the official language and come easier in contact with the people in the administration I use to visit for the project. I must say that it’s already possible though thanks to Spanish. If my interlocutor make the effort, he speaks slowly Portuguese, I speak slowly Spanish, and we can just communicate like that. So great!!! Mas agora falo um poco portugues. Eu gusto da idioma. Estou a aprender. Posso dizer os numeros, os nomes da familia, coisas entao, e e muito bem de poder falar algunas palabras!!!

At least remember the name KULIMA, that it is a Mozambican NGO, working in Integrated Socio-Economic Development within the communities, so if you do hear about it, pay attenion!! soon coming : sustainable tourism with Kulima in Inhambane - Tofo !!! accommodation by local families...

http://www.kulima.org/Kulima/home_english.html

My mozambican life, quickly

My 2 first weeks in Mozambique were just thousand times better than my first 2 days in South Africa. It’s not fair for South Africa, I want to remind here that I do think South Africa is worth it, it was just for me one of this experience you don’t expect but don’t regret either. Have I already regret just one? … !!! I had a good introduction to the town, to people, to the job with Lynne the first week. We had an amazing, amazing party last Saturday from 12pm to 4am with some other volunteers, some Couch Surfer, and so many more tourists and nice people around. I spent my first Sunday on the beach in Tofo with Ana and Pascal, our 2 lovely Couch Surfer last week end. 2 other dutch CS spent Tuesday night here, Jean Christophe arrived Saturday and left tomorrow morning. I am sure it won’t be so many visits all the time, but Couch Surfing can be a full time job somehow… it is before all a very nice company every time, Couch Surfing is such a good concept really. Although, I would not have this kind of week every week, it would be a lot too exhausting.