Final days
Thursday ended up being a busy day. Packed in the a.m. I noticed in the last couple of days that the expresso machine in a corner of the dining area, which I assumed was non-functional (since we had instant coffee and hot water on the breakfast table every a.m.), actually works and was used for after dinner coffee for some of the Portuguese volunteers. I asked the Padre if I could have some expresso for breakfast. It was so good I had a second cup. I wish I had spoken up earlier as the instant coffee is a very poor second choice.
Adriano and I were picked up by one of our SNV colleagues to go to their office and discuss the draft of the business plan I had emailed them on Tuesday, with a 2nd draft on Wednesday. It turns out there was a pretty significant math error I am still at a loss to understand . We went hauling off to FM’s warehouse to reclaim all of the flip chart pages that had our original figures. It turns out the error was in FM’s favor. The start up costs are considerably less so they will not be as stretched in coming up with their share of the money. I went back to the guesthouse, revised, expanded and sent off the third and hopefully, final draft of the plan. Left feeling positive about the chances of FM to get the grant.
Thursday afternoon, we left Molocue about 3 and began the dusty, potholed drive to Nampula. On the way, I had the opportunity to learn more about Adriano’s experience as an English teacher during the acquisition of his university degree. He was assigned a location about 70 km from Nampula (no city, just a cluster of huts and a very primitive classroom. He said there were no books, no paper, no pencils. Occasionally, they ran out of chalk for the blackboard and he had to use dried cassava to write (!). While we can say alot of things are wrong with the education system in our country, this brings new meaning to “challenging learning environment”.
This is NOT the hotel where I stayed. I took this picture from
this hotel room. All the mod cons, including airconditioning. Met a friend of the country director who was in town for a USAID conference. We had an interesting conversation over dinner. He has been involved in ag extension work most of his career. He was in the Peace Corps in Brazil in the 60s, married a Brazilian and divides his time between there and Texas. He’s had several overseas assignments, including two years in Armenia in the mid-90s. It was very nice to reminisce about our mutual experiences.
Scene from outside my hotel room.
Since I wasn’t leaving Nampula until 5 on Friday, I asked Adriano to stay with me for most of the day. We went to a museum but didn’t see the exhibits. He wanted me to see the carvers outside the museum, making their carvings in a traditional manner. (see pics). We also shopped briefly for capulanas (the cloth from which the women make their garments), I bought yet another one, bringing my total to 4.
We had lunch at this attractive local restaurant and around 3, left for the airport.
I spent Friday night in Beiria at the same hotel where I started this venture.
Saturday morning in Beiria by the ocean with a book
Then starts the exhausting journey home. First a flight from Beiria to Johannesburg. Eight hours in J’burg airport waiting for the next flight. One nice piece of luck. I asked about an upgrade to comfort coach and sure enough, I could get one. Expensive and it took nearly two hours of dashing from one end of the airport to another. I had to go from the international transfer area, go thru passport control to actually enter the country of South Africa so I could go to the KLM ticket counter and buy the upgrade. I had a decent lunch in one of the airport restaurants, then started the 11 hour flight at 11 pm. Landed in Amsterdam about 10 am Sunday (same time zone, 6 hours ahead of US EDT), had time for a nice croissant and a cup of good cappuccino, then onto another flight around 1 with a 9+ hour flying time. We left about an hour late and after landing in Atlanta and waiting over 30 minutes for my bags, I had less than 20 minutes to clear customs, recheck my big bag, go thru security, take the train to the proper terminal and walk FAST to the very last gate in that terminal. I arrived 5 minutes before the plane was supposed to take off with no one at the gate. The plane was still there, so I begged and pleaded and after a bit of pins and needles was finally allowed to board.
Home again. I write this from my comfortable easy chair with Stella (my dog) sleeping beside me, a cool breeze drifting in from my front porch, my mountains in the distance and an heirloom tomato on my counter. Life is good.
Thursday ended up being a busy day. Packed in the a.m. I noticed in the last couple of days that the expresso machine in a corner of the dining area, which I assumed was non-functional (since we had instant coffee and hot water on the breakfast table every a.m.), actually works and was used for after dinner coffee for some of the Portuguese volunteers. I asked the Padre if I could have some expresso for breakfast. It was so good I had a second cup. I wish I had spoken up earlier as the instant coffee is a very poor second choice.
Adriano and I were picked up by one of our SNV colleagues to go to their office and discuss the draft of the business plan I had emailed them on Tuesday, with a 2nd draft on Wednesday. It turns out there was a pretty significant math error I am still at a loss to understand . We went hauling off to FM’s warehouse to reclaim all of the flip chart pages that had our original figures. It turns out the error was in FM’s favor. The start up costs are considerably less so they will not be as stretched in coming up with their share of the money. I went back to the guesthouse, revised, expanded and sent off the third and hopefully, final draft of the plan. Left feeling positive about the chances of FM to get the grant.
Thursday afternoon, we left Molocue about 3 and began the dusty, potholed drive to Nampula. On the way, I had the opportunity to learn more about Adriano’s experience as an English teacher during the acquisition of his university degree. He was assigned a location about 70 km from Nampula (no city, just a cluster of huts and a very primitive classroom. He said there were no books, no paper, no pencils. Occasionally, they ran out of chalk for the blackboard and he had to use dried cassava to write (!). While we can say alot of things are wrong with the education system in our country, this brings new meaning to “challenging learning environment”.
this hotel room. All the mod cons, including airconditioning. Met a friend of the country director who was in town for a USAID conference. We had an interesting conversation over dinner. He has been involved in ag extension work most of his career. He was in the Peace Corps in Brazil in the 60s, married a Brazilian and divides his time between there and Texas. He’s had several overseas assignments, including two years in Armenia in the mid-90s. It was very nice to reminisce about our mutual experiences.
Scene from outside my hotel room.
Since I wasn’t leaving Nampula until 5 on Friday, I asked Adriano to stay with me for most of the day. We went to a museum but didn’t see the exhibits. He wanted me to see the carvers outside the museum, making their carvings in a traditional manner. (see pics). We also shopped briefly for capulanas (the cloth from which the women make their garments), I bought yet another one, bringing my total to 4.
We had lunch at this attractive local restaurant and around 3, left for the airport.
I spent Friday night in Beiria at the same hotel where I started this venture.
Saturday morning in Beiria by the ocean with a book
Then starts the exhausting journey home. First a flight from Beiria to Johannesburg. Eight hours in J’burg airport waiting for the next flight. One nice piece of luck. I asked about an upgrade to comfort coach and sure enough, I could get one. Expensive and it took nearly two hours of dashing from one end of the airport to another. I had to go from the international transfer area, go thru passport control to actually enter the country of South Africa so I could go to the KLM ticket counter and buy the upgrade. I had a decent lunch in one of the airport restaurants, then started the 11 hour flight at 11 pm. Landed in Amsterdam about 10 am Sunday (same time zone, 6 hours ahead of US EDT), had time for a nice croissant and a cup of good cappuccino, then onto another flight around 1 with a 9+ hour flying time. We left about an hour late and after landing in Atlanta and waiting over 30 minutes for my bags, I had less than 20 minutes to clear customs, recheck my big bag, go thru security, take the train to the proper terminal and walk FAST to the very last gate in that terminal. I arrived 5 minutes before the plane was supposed to take off with no one at the gate. The plane was still there, so I begged and pleaded and after a bit of pins and needles was finally allowed to board.
Home again. I write this from my comfortable easy chair with Stella (my dog) sleeping beside me, a cool breeze drifting in from my front porch, my mountains in the distance and an heirloom tomato on my counter. Life is good.
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