The Mango Tree Voyage

                As my first school year here in Mozambique is winding down I am wrapping up lessons, grades, and making notes for next year’s lesson plans and possible projects I hope to accomplish.  My life here is about to slow way down as the school and much of my town will clear out for the two month summer break.  I hadn’t put too much thought into it or made any specific plans for my time off aside from probably winging a little trip to northern Moz.  However, about a month ago a good buddy from my sailing circle approached me with this crazy sailing race he had found in Tanzania.  And, as it happens, it lines up perfectly for me and the free time my school break would permit me.  The idea went dormant for a while because of some possible scheduling conflicts and some slow response from the race coordinators, but just within the last week things have begun to line up. It’s made this a real possibility and it has me up at night with the idea racing through my mind.

                It’s called the Ngalawa Cup.  It’s basically a 500km sailing race through the Bay of Zanzibar, going from island to island in a boat MADE out of a mango tree and uses a bed sheet for a sail!  Crazy, yeah I know.  It’s is exactly the kind of adventure idea that has my blood pumping and dreams running wild.  Not only would we be doing 9 days navigating a small part of the Indian Ocean in a rickety trimaran held together with natural parts, but we would also camping out every step of the race on isolated beaches…. roughing it true dirtbag style just with a little coastal bum twist.  After being land locked for little over a year and unable to do anything even close to sailing, my heart races at the idea of getting back to my passion on the water and moving with the wind.

 

 

                The other amazing thing that just so happens to line up in my favor is that I am living in arguably the best possible location in Mozambique to do an overland trip to Dar es Salaam and the starting point of the race.  So at the end of December I would take a series of buses from my capital of Tete City into Malawi and then across the border of Tanzania where I am looking to jump on a classic train that would take me the rest of the way across Tanzania to the coast.  Not only does this opportunity allows me the option to bypass an expensive flight, but I get to see some more beautiful landscapes of this continent I’ve become quite fond of.  It also means that I’d spend my Christmas and New Years with my friends in Tanzania before embarking on our ludicrous voyage the morning of the first day of 2017.  Then hopefully after some successful 9 days or less of racing we’ll win ourselves some hardware to show for it and extra pride to take back home with me overland the way I came.

                As awesome as this may sound, and as incredibly excited I am at the possibility of taking this adventure on, the thing is I won’t be able to do this trip without some help from you; my friends, family, and best supporters who have already given me so much love and encouragement during my time here in Mozambique.  So let me be just honest in that this is not the way I would have liked to approach this, and my intention is in no way to make you feel uncomfortable, obligated, or even put on the spot.  But, this is my last resort and I am just looking for a bit of help from as many people as possible.  People who find the idea of this adventure to be as captivating as I do.  People who would like to see and hear me accomplish it.  If I am able to raise the funds to make this happen you can be more than certain there will be on the road updates, photos, and blog posts for you to experience this with me as best as the internet here allows me to.  I would appreciate any amount not matter what size because believe me, the value of a hard earned dollar has a whole new meaning to me from being here; which is actually close to 80 metical for every $1, actually.

                So if you are interested in supporting this, click the link below to donate. 

Support the Voyage!

Thank you so much from the bottom of my wild heart whether you donate or even just for taking the time to hear me out.  

Here’s the link to the website for the race.  If you want to watch a video or read a little about it from them, please check it out.

The Ngalawa Cup

Dia do Professor

                So the weather isn’t the only thing that is heating up this trimester here in Tete, the holiday season has been upon us in Mozambique.  In the 8 weeks now that we’ve had this trimester there has been Victory Day, September 7^th,  which was celebrating the treaty signing between Frelimo and the Portuguese to end the struggle for independence which was made official the following June in 1975. Then there was actual Peace Day, October 4^th, celebrating the treaty signing between Frelimo and Renamo thus ending the 15 year Mozambican civil war in 1992.  Each one turning into a loose three day holiday celebration, apart from school and government building being closed on these days the locals often take it upon themselves to have a lax day before and after.  Something I couldn’t complain about or change, just enjoy.  

                Though this last holiday in week seven was definitely the best one in my opinion, but I might just be overly biased.   Professors’ Day! That’s right, a whole day just dedicated to the educators and mind molders here in Mozambique.  I must say, this is something the States should get on board with.  The planning of this day started way ahead of last minute, basically a full month before.  Teachers were holding meetings and debating the ins and outs of how our day celebration would go.  From where the post ceremony celebration would happen, food to be served, how much beer to get, flavor of the cake, our group capulana design.  The process being done was quite impressive to me.  I’d rarely ever seen this much motivation and pre-planning done anywhere in Mozambique to be quite frank and with so much enthusiasm.  It gave me hope for possible future event coordinating, as long as it included a free shirt, some refreshments, and a little praise.  Each professor kicked in a whopping 950 mets, which was a solid amount considering that was about 1/10 of my monthly living allowance on one day.  Non the less the seemed like it would be well spent with all the rallying my colleagues were doing for this fund raising.  The weeks leading up we got together and decided on a capulana design, got our measurements made by the team of tailors we brought on to make our matching shirts, passed around documents making our preferences of food, desert, and drinks known.   It was on.

                The day of the celebration, Dia Doze as all my collegues just referred to it as the holiday always falls on the 12^th of October.  Morning of, I threw on my official Escola Secundario do Vale de Chitima shirt and headed over to our town’s ceremony square to meet all of the other professors.  Every school’s teaching staff from the many primary schools around Chitima to us at the only high school and even the Teachers’ College in town.  The square was packed with students as well and other public officials for the ceremony and a few speeches.  The ceremony started like any Mozambican holiday with a flag rising and national anthem, “Moçombique nossa tera gloriossa.”  Followed by a flower laying ceremony on our square’s monument, though this time instead of just watching I was pulled into line by my colleagues and given a flower, to my surprise, to lie on the monument.  Feeling so humbly honored now and a new level of pride to be a professor amongst the other educators being celebrated, I walked up with as much pose and grace I could muster up while sweating profusely as I waited my turn to lay my flowers while teachers college students sang.  I laid my flowers down and walked on off with a whole lot more gratitude for my colleagues and school.

 (That SWEEEEET Leopard Print Capulana)

 

                After the officialness was over, the square turned into a large dance party of sorts with the main stage changing from school dance groups to government speaker and back for the next couple hours.  The excitement stayed though most rest of the town square festivities until it was about time for the Do Vale professors to make our way to dinner and group celebration just across town. Hitchhiking our way over the complex our organizing professors had secured for us.  We spent the rest of the day chatting, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company on our deserved day off.  Dinner was a great big spread of Mozambican deliciousness with grilled chicken, couve, xima , goat curry, bean stew, roasted potatoes, the works.  After polishing off that bomb works we jumped into a few speeches from our own Directors of the school, topped the night off with a cake slicing and one popped bottle of champagne that everyone got a splash to wash down the bolo(cake).  Finishing the night off with nothing less than some fantastic group dancing and conga lines around the ball room.  My first Dia dos Professors in Moz and I couldn’t have been happy with the event or colleagues I was able to share it with.