January 11, 2013
Really never take anything or anyone for granted…
There is a Buddhist saying that when we strive to be alone
away from the world we become squares when we are around other people and learn
to live with everyone of different types of personalities we become round and
more accepting of our selves and other people.
I have been having the time of my life here living in Africa
for the last few months and I have been feeling so much love for everyone and
feeling very loved in return. I am
so happy being in a culture and being around people that feel that the most
important thing in life is about people and relationships. Of course you get the bad with the good
too but I never want to go back without living with so much people around. I truly have a love for all people
especially children and here it feels great to be around the same types of
people that feel the same way.
When you go out for a coffee here you sit and have a coffee there is no
take away or to go coffee. Your
friends and strangers always have time to talk about their families and what is
going on in their lives and always have time to listen to you. It so true that all people want is your
attention and time, not money or material things all though to some people that
is a bonus. People here travel
from far to see each other. There
are no schedules, no black berries, no iphones and no other thing that is more
important than having a full conversation with a person or going to a social
outing or going to spend time with loved ones here. All I remember in Toronto when it came to socializing is
people even when you are with your bestest of friends and family on their
phones. Everyone at the table at a
restaurant or bar had their phones in their hands texting someone or reading an
unimportant email while having a conversation with the person at the
table. Traveling on the subway or
walking around in the streets no one greeting each other because they are to involve
in what is on their pods and pads.
I was one of those people too and I will probably go back to doing that
because it beats the reality of how lonely people can be or become but I prefer
this kind of world when it comes to treating people nicely by paying attention
to them and giving them your time HANDS DOWN!
The arts and entertainment culture here is just as amazing
as the social life here. There
have been some great concerts and free live music I have attended here in
Maputo. We saw a beautiful female mocimbicana
jazz singer live along with many Brazilian singers and the concerts here last
forever and anything is acceptable bringing in drinks, walking in or out of a
venue, children with you singing and dancing. I had the opportunity of also attending many free concerts because Maputo was celebrating
125 years old and I saw a famous singer who sings the Marabenta dance song Stuart Sukuma but the song was originated from a Mozimbican in the 1920’s. I also got to see Zahara live too, she is from South Africa
and she is pretty famous here and quite phenomenal. That was a special night because we had fireworks in the sky
and even though that some of the sparks flew in my eye and in my friends hair
(no one got hurt) it was still very pleasurable. To be expected at free concerts it also comes with allot of
rift raft floating around. At one
point, there were some very drunk boys in front of me and there were ladies
walking around selling bags of peanuts for the equivalent of 1 penny. The boy in front told her to give him 3 bags of peanuts but only paid for 2 and then stating that he only took 2. Well of course all of his friends found
this hilarious and then I couldn’t take it any longer and I told him to stop
doing that and he ought to give her some respect because this is her work. I
did this all in Portuguese, and just like my Italian I am very fluent in a
language when I am mad. Well he
just glared at me as he wobbled from side to side but I did pay her for it.
We also participated in a film festival they had here for 1
week and it was a lot of fun, most of the documentaries and films were about
Mozambique and other African surrounding countries by a lot of different Portuguese
and non Portuguese writers and directors both male and female. Interestingly enough there are way more
female directors in the rest of the world then there are in Hollywood. There was one American movie called
“The Age of Stupid” and it was great and if you have never seen this movie
please do.
As far as work goes I am now getting to go to the communities
more often and work with a specific community called Costa Do Sol. It is about a 10 minute drive from
Maputo so you do not have to go far in order to see the majority living with
very low means. Children from this
barrio are welcomed to a women’s backyard of her house and we teach the
children there about literacy, writing and reading. Some of the kids are not bathed for weeks nor fed. Some of the children have hardly any
clothes on or very torn clothes.
We bring recycle materials to make books, paint, crayons, pencils
etc. We also bring some peanuts
and water to help the children concentrate more. One time as a treat the American School came to volunteer
with us and they brought the children juice instead of water and no one could
control the line. The children
seemed ecstatic because they had juice; it was like someone brought in a
magician, a pony, and toys for all the children (North American image).
Also, I have never seen children more engaged and focuses in
doing something then I have seen in these communities when they have pencils,
pens, and paint! Most of the times
we have to tell the children to stop what they are doing because it is time to
go, it always takes a couple of hours or more.
So one day I decided to begin to teach the children an
English song, and then in return they had to teach me and sing a Portuguese
children’s song. So I sang there
was a crocodile…and then they would sing one of their songs. There is no other joy in this world
that fills me up more than to hear children from Africa singing all together it
is like when a baby laughs and times that by 100. One of the children asked his mom to ask me, if there was
anything I like more in the world than being with children? I said no probably not. So, the next time I see the kids was at
the Children’s Day Fundraiser that we had in the park in Maputo city and the
minute they see me they start yelling “Tia, Tia there was a crocodile…” They
remembered the song! So we all
gathered around and sang the song they appeared to love. I also think it could be the way I am
quite dramatic and expressive from when I sing to children to the way I tell a
story to children. At work we all
went to a workshop here with Rafael the artist and amazing storyteller from
Peru. Rafael came to our place of
work 3 different times to teach us different ways to tell children
stories. On the last day he told
me that I am a female storyteller, just like he is a male one. Rafael complemented me and said you are
so natural at it and you tell stories wonderfully. Rafael was also at the fundraiser in the park and all the
children were gathered around to hear his amazing stories with no books, props
or pictures, just his animated self and his words. I was so engaged sitting there in the green blouse with one
of my best friends Ellen.
One of the things that makes me very sad here is how people
beg for your food when you are at a restaurant eating. Most of the restaurants here are
outside, and when you are done and if there are any particles of food left in
your plate. People will beg for
that and you do it with or with out the servers knowing. I can recall many moments now when I
was a little girl and my mom telling me to finish everything in my plate
because people in Africa are starving.
I am so much more aware of things here, I finish everything in my plate
now at home more because I do not want to throw any food out because of the
creepy crawlers in my apartment are always lurking. But other things my mom use to do was save the oil from
cooking, or boil our drinking water and then put it in a glass jar, or memories
flood me now of how I would wash the clothes by hand with her and we would hang
them up on the line together. Or
how my mom got rid off ants by boiling water and cleaning the house with it and
adding vinegar to it. All these
things I just thought growing up, wow my family is so weird but now I
understand fully that there were saving and economically friendly at the same
time. These are the ways in which
they learned in Italy how to live and now here I am in Mozambique, Africa doing
the same things! Wow what a trip!
HAHAHA
So what VSO has failed to mention to all of us is that
during the times of October, November and December it is very dangerous
here. Its like how no one every
told us to bring rain boots (they do not sell them here) because every time it
rains here there are big and small puddles everywhere because of our lack of drainage systems
so the city becomes one big pond and flooded everywhere. Due to the festive season there is a
lot more robberies and pick pocketer’s.
The time of Christmas season is so pleasant here though there are no
busy malls or any propaganda that makes you sense that it’s Christmas or lets
you feel pressured that you have to buy gifts. Also, the weather is wonderful, summer here has finally
started, kind of an oxymoron, I know!
Boxing Day is called Family Day here and not allot of people return back
to work until late January or even February is where you start to see the city
back into gear.
So, I did celebrate my 40th birthday here with my
friends and some strangers and it was great! My friends threw me a party and there was a professional
Mozambican DJ and cake. I was so
touched by everyone and everything that I felt like one of the richest people
in the world. Abundance is truly
part of being surrounded with good friends and family, good people, food,
drinks and pure happy moments. At
that moment and after I truly felt that I had everything I ever wished for even
if my ass is broke! HAHAHAHA! We also decided to go out to an Indian
restaurant a few days later that was very good too.
So I returned back to South Africa to meet up with my Yoga
friends and do more of the Guru’s Itta’s workshop. We worked on the throat chakra and the sex chakra. It was quite intense but very helpful
as always. We stayed at a
beautiful lodge called Utopia. I
have met some of the most wonderful people in SA and who are all part of the
Kundalini Yoga experience there. I
feel blessed to be around so many like-minded people.
After returning from the Yoga in SA my friend from Canada
came to visit that I met in the Ottawa for the training of this job. Candace is placed in Malawi and was on
holidays traveling Mozambique and I have to admit seeing a Canadian friend was
also so warming and welcoming.
Candace and I decided to go off to Tofo beach together for about 6
days. We traveled there by a
chappa (bus but the size of a mini van) for what felt like eternity and I came
back with my lovely friend Lorraine who decided to come to Tofo for the
weekend. It was so heavenly coming
home in a SUV with 3 people including me.
I crashed in the back seat for 2 hours and woke up drooling. In Tofo I had one of my most beautiful
moments in life again, I met back papers from all over the world and they asked
me to do some yoga on the beach for them and as luck would have it I brought 3
different kriyas (sets of classes) with me. So during the day Candace and I would hang out on the beach
and talk to all the kids that were making (from beads and sea shells) and
selling bracelets. At around 5pm 3
days on the beach I would go in front of the back papers stay and start a yoga
class. We started off by about 4
adults and then all the kids from the beach would come and join doing yoga,
chanting and meditating. It was
the best experience I ever had! I
had a best friend there his name was Carlos and he is 8 years old. Carlos does not speak much but we
decided to go for a walk on the beach.
During this walk I realized that Carlos has a fear of the ocean, he was
even afraid to walk on the shoreline.
I reassured Carlos in a non-verbal way that he was safe with holding my
hand and walking with me, and so our walked continued for about 1 hour or
more. When Carlos joined me on the
beach for Yoga time he always sat right beside me and seemed happiest to
chant. I was so happy and thought
OMG this is my son! Allot of
people were taking pictures from the back papers I turned at one point and saw
many flashes of cameras. I hope
one day those pictures come back to me too. By the time I left Tofo Carlos I did observe Carlos talking
allot more especially to his fiends and I respectively taught Carlos the Sa Ta Na
Ma meditation with the thumb touching every finger (the pinky being the last one
MA), which every child seems to like.
I told him to do this meditation every day and especially when he needs
it. Carlos learned everything very
quickly and I stopped teaching him when I was reassured that he might never
forget it or me! One evening after
the Yoga Candace and I had to walk back to our lodge where we were staying and
it was about a 40 minute walk. All
the beach kids selling jewellery walked with us and at first I was a little
scared but then they all started singing a song called “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” and
they put my name into it. So I had
20 kids singing me a song! AMAZING
I also tried surfing this time in Tofo and went for a few
hours lesson and it hurt. I fell a
lot and got pushed around by the board allot but I did get up a few times and I
would definitely do it again and again.
Surfing has such a calming experience to it too. The only time that I did feel
successful on top of the board when I was the calmest and the ocean allowed me
to be on top of her and with her.
