Year in review: What did I ship in 2010?

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In the spirit of sharing what I was able to “ship” (i.e. get my work “out there”), here’s a list of things from 2010:

– Completed my 8 month Fellowship with the Aga Khan Foundation Canada. Survived (and occasionally thrived) my experience with a microfinance bank in Pemba, Mozambique.

– Joined VillageReach in Nampula, Mozambique after my Fellowship and administrated a project to promote propane among households. Over a 3-month period, we were able to sell 200 propane kits.

– Had an excellent summer back in Canada spending time with friends and family.

– Joined Me to We in September. Accomplished a number of things such as making my first sales of a overseas volunteer trip (now the count is at 7 or 8… I need to check this), helped establish over 100 contacts at a conference in Orlando, and put together two project proposals that I’ll ship in 2011.

OK, so not all of the things that I listed up there were things that I “shipped” in 2010 but I have to say that it’s been an adventure. I’ve learned about what I’m good at (e.g. planning out the details of something) and what I’m not (e.g. being flexible and observant).

I’m not sure how I’m going to to 2010 in 2011, but I suppose thinking that way is a self fulfilling prophecy. Instead of thinking that I’m going to try to “top” 2010, I’m just going to see what comes for 2011 and make the most of it. No need in comparing as each year is unique in itself.

So what did you ship in 2010? Think about it. You’ll have accomplished a lot more than you think. 🙂

Wedding!

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Last week, I had the opportunity to go to one of my co-workers wedding. It was a really cool experience because it was held in a traditional Muslim style and I’d never been to a Muslim wedding before.

For the first part of the wedding, the men and women were separated. The men gathered for prayers at the local mosque while the women waited in a different location. It was neat to be able to listen in on the prayers (though I didn’t understand a thing) which had a certain melodic quality to it. Here are several pictures from the “men’s gathering”:

I believe this was the mosque's mullah opening the men's portion of the wedding ceremony

I believe this was the mosque's mullah opening the men's portion of the wedding ceremony

Ismael, the groom, is sitting in the middle

Ismael, the groom, is sitting in the middle

Ismael answering a series of questions (I'm thinking they were wedding vows or something)

Ismael answering a series of questions (I'm thinking they were wedding vows or something)

Once the men’s gathering was complete, we moved over to a house where dinner was to be served. The women were already there waiting, and it was the first opportunity for the bride and groom to see each other. What was interesting was how the bride was completely covered until the groom arrived to lift the veil.

The bride waiting for the groom

The bride waiting for the groom

Unveiling of the bride

Unveiling of the bride

After the unveiling, dinner was served to the guests and it was quite a feast. The dinner featured goat meat (in some kind of stew), rice, potatoes, chicken, and salad. Dessert was also fantastic as they had a whole bunch of delicious treats ranging from cakes to pudding. Suffice to say, I was stuffed by the end of it. After the dinner was the cake cutting ceremony (I guess that’s the same with Muslim and Christian traditions?)

Cake cutting!

Cake cutting!

Since the wedding was held on a week night, we had to head home early but it was a really neat event to experience. Hopefully there will be more to come in the future!

We’re back!

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Hi folks!

So, the blog has been out of commission for the last little while (ahem, 3 weeks or so) since the internet at my house hasn’t been working. WELL, the good news is that the landlord has gotten us connection to a different router and we’re back in business. Yay! Much apologies for the lack/sporadic updating, and there’s quite a bit to catch up on. Hopefully I can cram as many posts before the end of this month so we can get you caught up.

Thanks and all the best from Mozambique!

p

Free time

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So, I was recently told by a friend of mine that I’ve talking a lot about my job and not so much about what I been doing during my free time. It was a point well taken because when you work long hours every day of the week, your free time becomes gold and you need to make each minute count. Anyways, I thought I’d take this post to share with you guys some of the things that I’ve been up to during my free time.

Free time usually comes in the form of weekends over here since I’m usually at work until around 5pm (at which point the sun has set). So, it’s kind of hard to make use of the afternoon/evening time period with a run, a game of soccer, going to the beach, etc. since the sun has already set. Weekday free time usually ends up being cooking dinner, watching some Law and Order/House/Heroes on TV/my laptop, reading a book (I’m currently reading The Time Traveler’s Wife), and going to sleep. Occasionally, the other interns and I get together to go out for dinner but we’re usually too exhausted to do anything. Oh, but we have started a little “Guys/Girls Night” tradition where me and Bart (the other male intern) hang/chill out while the girls (Sarah and Ninoska) do their thing (usually involves watching Grey’s Anatomy).

OK, so now onto some of what I’ve been up to on the weekends. Since the beach is just a walk across my house, it automatically becomes part of our weekend plans. It’s really convenient to just walk across the road and read a book on the beach, go for a swim, lie in the sun… whatever.

We’ve also had the opportunity to check out some of the more “remote” beaches in Pemba. Just a couple of weekends ago we went to a beach called “Il Pirata” where they were hosting a kite surfing competition. For those who don’t know kite surfing, it’s basically surfing but using the wind and a sail to help guide your board. It’s kind of different from wind surfing because the kite is way up in the sky, but it looks like a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures of it below:

Although there are a limited number of “social activities” in Pemba, there are still a few parties that happen here and there. Last weekend we went to an after party of a wedding of a couple of expats that we met. The party was held at a restaurant right next to the ocean and it was a gorgeous setting. The other interns and I always make sure to take advantage of these social events whenever they happen!

When there isn’t an organized event/party going on, we usually head to Russell’s Place which is a nice restaurant/bar right next to my house. They have good food, drinks, and a lively crowd on the weekends. If there isn’t anything going on, we usually go there and see where the night takes us.

Other weekend activities involve going into town and usually doing some shopping. Weekends are usually bustling with people trying to get some last-minute shopping done (stores are open until 2pm on Saturdays and closed on Sundays). In particular, the local market has been quite interesting to walk through as they pretty much sell anything that you can imagine from furniture to cassette tapes to stereo speakers. Here are a couple of shots inside the market:

I’ve also started to play for the soccer (ahem, I mean “football”) team for my microfinance program. We just had our first game yesterday and we were destroyed (final score was something like 10-0)… I think it had to with the combination of the other team being a lot better, our fitness level being really low, and never having practiced before. But no worries, we’ll get them next time. Here’s a team pic:

So, so far into my placement my free time has been kept pretty busy and interesting. I’ve never really worked in an “office environment” before (the only paid job I’d had before was working as a camp counselor) so I’m really appreciating the weekends. Sure, weekends were great during university but they often started on Thursdays or Friday nights and you were good to go as long as you had your work done… but having a 9-5 job (as I’m discovering) is something totally different. Now I understand why there are so many songs about Fridays or weekends!

Anyways, thanks for dropping by my blog and check again for more updates!

p