My Self Portrait

This is gonna be a busy week in the field. I took this picture outside the community of Salinhanga because there was a mud wall house and trace of a rainbow reflecting off my motorcycle helmet.

Your brother,
Stephen

My Thank You Letter to FMCSF

Dear First Mennonite Church of San Francisco,

There is a lone cricket rattling against the inside of the paper lantern we use as a lamp shade on my dinner table. Apparently at some point this evening, he had jumped and landed a little disoriented suddenly surrounded in warm light. I’m sitting alone at the same table under the same light writing you. I am already grateful for your friendship but today I was humbled by it. Maybe this letter seems a little late or out of place so I’ll explain a few things first.

I don’t like making long lists of things I hate here in Moz because it’s ignorant and shallow, but I do have a top three of things I strongly dislike. In no particular order they are: racism, poverty, and the Mozambican post. The postal system offends my ideals of efficient business and unsettles me to my core. They’ve lost so many of my letters, I’ve lost count. Jennifer told me I had a package coming, so I checked the box every week since December. Each time, I asked the front desk if any package had come for me and they would usually feign to push around the piles of unsorted mail behind then look up and say there was none. They said the problem was in America or the address was wrong, because there is no package here.

Today after some explanation, the woman at the desk thought to look for the package in the back room. Much to her surprise, there it was. Based on the dust that had collected on top, it had probably been there since a week after if left California.

I’m not sure if someone specifically knew I love Peanut M&Ms better than any other candy but there they were. I shared them with my coworkers and they were gone immediately. I also don’t know who it was that bought the underwear to put in the box, but that person has unknowingly joined the elite list of people who have ever bought me underwear – my mom and my grandma. Don’t be embarrassed though, because I actually needed new undies and I don't know where to buy new ones. I especially liked the cards because everyone’s personality poured through them. I took a picture of them to capture this, even though I know it wouldn’t convey. To be honest, I feel undeserving of the thought that went into putting it together. It’s indeed disorienting to be surrounded by this much light.

Some of you curiously wrote that you weren’t sure I would remember you. How could I ever forget? I look forward to August and Sunday mornings with the strange little church that meets in the green synagogue in the Mission. I am humbled to know you all as friends. Thank you.

Your brother,
Stephen Esaki

My Weekend

Today is World Water Day, which began in 1992 after a United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro. World Water Day is meant to promote awareness of various issues including sanitation, water scarcity, and environmental quality. This year to celebrate, my plan is to go around our communities passing out bars of soap to help improve hand washing. I'm really stretching the meaning of the word 'plan' though, because what I really did was buy a bunch of soap.

Yesterday was the Dia de Cidade de Tete, or the City of Tete Day, which is a provincial holiday. Every year, there is a canoe race and a 50cc motorcycle race, which is like completing a mountain bike race on a tandem bicycle - you incur all the danger of the real thing, but you look silly doing it. Here's a picture of some racers on their cinquentinhas (little 50s) and then a photo of the route running through downtown.

Your brother,
Stephen

My Coworker Chauca

I hope Chauca doesn't mind me posting his picture here, but since I wrote about how he saved me from the police the other day, I reckon I should properly introduce him. He lives in Beira and is one of the Mozambican workers we have on the MCC team. His Skype profile photo is him and his truck, which is a sweet truck and an even better picture. He has bailed me out of many jams and has made bus tickets for me appear out of thin air like David Blaine. Thanks man.

Your brother,
Stephen

My First Traffic Ticket

I was making my way out to the field today to work on some dams. There's this police hang out right by the intersection between the road going to Tete and the road going to Songo. One of the cops was standing in the middle of the road and pulled me over as I was going by on my motorcycle. I wasn't speeding or anything. He asked to see my registration and license. Apparently, my registration was only a temporary one, which ended back in December. The policeman said I had to leave the bike there. He said I'd have to pay a 5,200 met fine.

I called Chauca, our MCC coworker in Beira, for help. The policeman said he didn't want to talk to anyone and I would have to explain myself, which I just can't do eloquently. Eventually he gave in and spoke with Chauca. I don't know what Chauca said, but the policeman ended up writing a ticket for 200 mets, all the while saying that it's for 5,200. He told me to go right back to the city to pay it.

Then he asked me for a ride home.

Your brother,
Stephen

My Coworkers

Here are some of the awesome peeps who work for CCM across the nation.

In other news, I'm off in a few minutes to participate in a swim-run race. Jon and I are each teaming up with one of the Bister kids to race other (slower) parent-child teams from their school. I'm wearing my spandex and all (yes, I brought jammers to Africa - don't ask me why). Those kids are going down.

Your brother,
Stephen

My View from Beira

I took this a couple of weeks ago while hanging out at the MCC office in Beira.

Also, I moved into a new house last week. The house is nice, but we've had plumbing issues so I woke up to a flooded hall the first night and lacked water to bathe properly on subsequent nights. Rough.

Your brother,
Stephen