Written Monday, November 12, 2012

Why hello there!! It has been quite sometime since I’ve updated everyone about my life here- sorry about the delay, its been a busy few weeks.

So when we last left off, I was preparing to head down to Maputo for our IST Reconnect conference, after 3 months all the volunteers in my group met up in the capital for a conference to discuss how site has been, work/counterparts/housing/life etc.

It was SO good to see everyone. After training was over, everyone was ready for site, ready to set out on our own and see what life was like here in Moz. But after 3 months, it was incredible to catch up, hear about everyone’s experiences, the good and the bad. I really missed my friends.

Last Saturday (the 3^rd) I went down to Bilene – a beach near Macia in the Gaza province. We had a great time at the beach there it was a collection of people from my group of Moz 18, and other volunteers that came in for the weekend. Its really awesome to meet other volunteers who have been in country for a while, everyone seems to get along really well and its interesting to hear of everyone’s experiences.

Sunday I headed down to Maputo, I’ve become a fan of using “boleia’s” aka- hitchhiking for travel purposes. Not only is it free, it also usually is much quicker than a chapa or a bus because they don’t stop to pick people up. So I made it down to Maputo in decent time, arriving early afternoon. The entire group went out for dinner that night at a wonderful Thai restaurant – can you say YUM?  And the fun kicked off there. Most of us were really beat from a day of traveling, so nothing major happened Sunday night, just the dinner and catch up. There was a lot of hugging, yelling, and loud exclamations whenever a new person would walk in. I’m pretty sure I jumped on 3 people to hug them. Haha yep, I was that girl.

So Monday kicked off with an all day session about our lives, everyone gave a 10/15 min presentation about what they had been up to, what life was like for them etc. we had lots of sessions throughout the week about counterparts and supervisors – and how the role of the volunteer works within organizations here in Moz. Or “should work” haha. Not everyone had as great of an experience as I did. I have been really fortunate with work, my housing situation and many other things in my life here so far, of which I am very grateful.

I’ll spare you all the details about our conference and the sessions we had throughout the week and just tell you about our evenings. Tuesday we were invited to the US Embassy to watch the election – it was a bit overwhelming to say the least, lots of Americans, tv’s playing CNN, etc. It was a really cool experience, just a bit different from my life here in Quissico. Oh! Let me just tell you about my supermarket experience. . . .Monday night, we went into this great supermarket called Spar – I’d say it’s the same as a Giant Eagle Market District. . . my mind was blown haha. I just walked around looking at things for a while, and ended up buying a bottle of wine – because there was that option. No boxed wine all week! It was great haha.

So that was Monday and Tuesday evening. Wednesday we went to dinner at our Country Directors (Carl) house. He made us this delicious risotto and broccoli, and we had a really nice evening with him, it was a relaxing environment, and we played some fun games that included the entire group. All in all, it was an excellent evening. Not to mention his apartment is absolutely beautiful. When I grow up, I’d like to live in a place like that haha.

Thursday evening, our APCD (Rachel) held a Halloween party for us. I didn’t have a costume, sadly, but again it was really nice to hang out with everyone in a collective area, and have some yummy dinner. I ate really well this past week if you haven’t picked up on that yet haha.

And then suddenly it was Friday evening – somehow the week just flew by, and we were all preparing to leave the next day. Everyone met up for a drink at the neighboring restaurant, and two girlfriends and I broke off to go have dinner at a different Thai restaurant. We wanted an evening just the three of us to catch up, chat, and have a good meal. We had a pitcher of sangria to celebrate the week, and a really delicious meal. . . am I in Africa?? Haha

Saturday I was up bright and early – actually I didn’t sleep at all that night, I was up late trying to Skype people – the internet at the hostel we were staying at SUCKED, so that was annoying. I was really looking forward to chatting with a lot of people. But unfortunately due to time constraints with the conference and the changing of hours (you all are now 7 hours behind me) it just didn’t work out. . . better luck next time I suppose. So Saturday I headed up to Inharrime for a friend’s going away party. Again, it was a late night of fun, wishing her well and congratulating her on completing 2 years here in Moz.

Came back to Quissico on Sunday with a friend who was passing through to Maputo – we decided to hike it down to the lagoon and spend the afternoon there relaxing and swimming. Last night I cooked a really good veggie curry and had Sota and one of his friends over for dinner. A great way to end an incredible week. A good dinner with some nice visitors. What more could a girl ask for?

Needless to say, today was totally and completely dedicated to domestic chores, and napping. I did all of my laundry, dishes, and even gave the puppy dog a bath. Then took a 3 hour nap haha. Its going to be an early night for me as well, because tomorrow I go back to the “grind” of my working life here. HAHA working life. I’m such a kidder. But really though, I have some cool things planned this week, and am looking forward to seeing everyone again.

So I suppose I should explain my facebook status from the other day to everyone. Yes I did go to the hospital in Maptuo. Yes I am ok. But I do have a nice set of stitches on the back/nape of my neck. I had been having a problem with dry skin/what I thought was dandruff during my time here – and it seems to have gotten worse as the weeks go by. The medical officer looked at it, and sent me to the Maptuo hospital to have a dermatological consult. The doctor decided she wanted to do a biopsy, so Thursday afternoon I went and had the procedure done. She shaved part of the back of my neck, and numbed the area, then removed three samples. I have some lovely stitches now, that itch like hell, and hurt in an awkward way. I have to keep my hair up in a ponytail/bun, and was given a cream for the rest of my scalp. I go to get the stitches out at the end of this week, and the results from the biopsy should be received in about 15 days. Vamos ver- we will see.

And so it goes.

But tonight finds me here back on my porch with my pup. He smells good from his bath, and my yummy veggie curry leftovers taste even better day 2.

Life continues to be good here, and the crazy experiences just get better and better. I’ve also really enjoyed getting to know fellow volunteers. Such a cool networking system. I’m a lucky girl to be here in Moz.

Mom comes to visit in just about a month! So so so so so excited!

Anyway- sorry again that I’ve been out of touch. But I’m back home now with my evenings mostly free! So hit me up with emails, phone calls whatever! I’d love to hear how everyone at home is doing!!

Hugs and kisses always-

td