Sunday by a pool in Gondola

Quick post today. At least I'm hoping it will be quick. I wanted to share with you a fantastic experience I had on Sunday. I spent most of the day helping out on an actual farm in Gondola, which is a town 20 km north (northeast, I think) of Chimoio. The farm is actually a good 1.5 hours walk from Gondola town centre, which is not atypical of many farms in Mozambique - a testament to the quality of infrastructure in the country.

Before I get to the farming, let me take you to a giant remnant of colonial rule in Gondola. In this sleepy 1 road town, there are a MASSIVE olympic-sized swimming pool and a beautiful soccer field. The swimming pool has a platform diving board and a kid's pool off to the side. The soccer field has built-in seating, which pours out from a ballroom type facility. Of course, neither facility is properly maintained. The soccer field is still useable, but the rest of the facilities are in complete disrepair. I have a feeling this whole complex was a gathering place for the local socialites, back when the Portuguese ruled the roost.





I'm going to talk about my farming experience in the next post. Before I finish this post, I must give special props to Peace Corps Volunteer DB. DB works as an English teacher at the local high school and helps out on the farm every Sunday. He invited me up to Gondola, took me around and forced me to work on the farm =D. Without his hospitality, I would have never had this experience, so I definitely owe him a big 'thank you'.