Written January 14, 2013
Happy New Year everyone! I hope the holiday season found
everyone in good health and spirits, and that the New Year came in with high
hopes and lots of smiles!
So as many of you know, I just had a fantastic visit with my
mom, a short but absolutely wonderful time spent together. Our first week
together was spent in Mozambique at my site here in Quissico, then in Tofo
Beach, then the second in South Africa on a safari. I recently uploaded a bunch
of pictures onto facebook – feel free to check them out! The safari was
incredible, saw so many animals (but I’ll get to that).
Her travels started off a little rough, missing her
connecting flight from Johannesburg to Maputo, she had to spend the night
there. I was waiting at the airport for her, when I got a call from a strange
number (a nice person let her a phone) –it was mom saying that she’ll be
getting in the next morning around 10am. So I went back to the backpacker I was
staying at and just crashed for the night.
The next morning, I went quickly to the Peace Corps office,
got my WHO card, and some other things I’d need for our travels. Then went to
the airport where I waited anxiously to see her! Her plane had landed, but her
bags had arrived the day before, and were locked in a room. In typical
Mozambique fashion, one person had the key to this room, so the next 45 minutes
were spent looking for this person – finally mom got her bags, and I was
hugging her like crazy!
We spent the day having a mini-christmas in the backpacker, mom
unloading all of the gifts everyone sent – again, thank you so much, your
kindness was overwhelming. After the chaos subsided, we walked up to the craft
market, and just wandered around a bit, mom got a few things, and I enjoyed
talking with some of the artists. That night we went out for dinner at a great
Thai place with Sota. I’m happy mom got to meet him – he got a job in Maputo
with the Japanese embassy, so he’ll be back in Moz in Feburary! Woo!
The next day was a rough one, even by Peace Corps standards.
It was our day to travel up to Quissico (my site), to do so, you must go to the
“Junta”, the big bus depot that is crazy and full of half-crumbling busses,
screaming people, women selling bread, drinks etc. We found a nice(ish) bus
that was still a bit empty, which worked because we had massive bags that we
had to fit in by our legs/on top of our legs. This is when things got fun. We
didn’t pull out of the Junta for another hour and a half, and then our actual
trip (which should take at max 6 hours) took about 8 hours. Soooo we were in
this small bus from about 6am until 2pm. . . it was a bit much for both of us.
Feet and butt cheeks kept falling asleep, crowded, hot , smelly. It was a
perfect introduction to public transportation in this country for mom. (sorry
mom).
The next few days were spent at site, exploring the market,
meeting my friends, seeing where I work, and admiring the lagoon. Unfortunately
it did rain a few days that we were here (welcome to the rainy season!) so our
outdoor activities were limited and wet. But never fear! We had a wonderful
time having mommy/daughter time watching some great movies, and hanging out
with the dog – who is currently sleeping on my feet.
New Years Eve was spent with Dona Julia and family at their
house. So much fun! Great food, great people, plenty of booze, fireworks,
music, dancing. . . .It was a fabulous way to ring in the new year! And to top
it all off, my mom was there with me. Too much fun.
We headed up to Tofo Beach on the 2nd – one of
the worlds most beautiful beaches (lucky us right?). Had some trouble with our
original backpacker reservations, so the first few hours at the beach were
tense. But once we got everything sorted, we were able to relax on the beach
with our beers and books. Watching the sunset, the waves crash on the beach,
and afterwards a nice dinner together. We spent the next day at the beach,
having cocktails at lunch, going jetskiing (I think I scared mom half to
death), playing in the ocean, having ice cream, doing a bit of t-shirt shopping
for those at home etc. pretty standard day at the beach. That night mom packed
it in a bit early, and I went out with some new friends from the backpacker we
were staying at.
Needless to say, the next morning was a little rough for me,
but nevertheless we got out early enough, took the bus into Inhambane City, and
then the ferry back over to Maxixe, where we hitchhiked back to site. – on our
trips through Mozambique, we had great boleia luck (boleia is hitchhiking). It was a quick and easy trip back home,
and we had another relaxing night at site.
On the 5th we headed back down to Maputo, again
having wonderful luck with a boleia, we were dropped off right at a chapa stop,
hopped on that, and got to our backpacker quickly. By pure chance, two other
peace corps volunteers were staying at that backpacker the same evening – so
mom got to meet a few of my friends, which was nice.
The next morning we caught the Intercape bus down to
Neilspruit, South Africa, encountering some problems with our tickets and
whatnot, but it was all sorted in the end. Our safari company picked us up
right from the office, and we were promptly introduced to a wonderful Norwegian
couple Jan and Nina. They were great, each so full of life, humor, and
kindness.
Our safari was AMAZING. I’m sure some of you have seen the
pictures on facebook, but the amount of animals that we were able to see was
incredible. Elephants right next to our truck, a leopard, zebra’s, giraffes,
buffalo, impala, moneys, hippo’s etc. . . it was way better than any National
Geographic show, or zoo that I’ve seen/been to, because it was wildlife. Actual
wild animals, right there 5 meters from my body. Wild!
Our accommodations for the safari were excellent, the first
night we spent it in a lodge/hotel type thing, and the next two nights in a
treehouse with a great view over a river. That’s right, a TREEHOUSE, with
monkeys everywhere, impala all over the pathway etc. we were in the bush, and
it was fantastic. No complaints about the safari, I learned so much about
animals, plants and had a fantastic time meeting the new people in our group
(there was one guy who was from Brazil so I got to speak Portuguese with him!)
and spending quality time with Mom.
The last day and a half of our trip were spent in Neilspruit,
in this AMAZING, and I will say it again, AMAZING, guest house. Air
conditioning, running water, free wify, a comfy bed, and possibly the nicest
owners one could ask for. Breakfast was included, and we had rented a car for
the two days, so we did a bit of exploring around the area, mainly to local
shopping malls/grocery stores etc. I got a functioning blackberry, some fitted
sheets for my bed, contact solution – and mom and I got cheese and wine that we
enjoyed pool side at the guest house.
I was able to skype with some friends and family from home
which was WONDERFUL. I miss you all so very much. I was also able to start
looking into graduate school programs. . . I am thinking about doing a masters
of public health. . still trying to decide on a school – preferably one that
helps out peace corps volunteers with fellowships/scholarships etc. So any
suggestions are welcome!
Before I knew it, I was hugging mom goodbye (tearfully) and
getting back on the Intercape bus, at 2 in the morning mind you, and was back
in Mozambique on a bus back north towards site.
I decided to take a bit of a detour and stopped off in Chicumbane
(about 10 minutes south of Xai Xai) for “girls weekend” with some wonderful
girlfriends from Moz 18. It was a great way to get back into “Moz life” after
having just been in South Africa, which is basically a mini-America.
Got back to site yesterday, did a bit of cleaning, hung out
with the dog, took a nap, and went to the neighbors house for dinner. It feels
good to be back. I’m still really sad about having to say goodbye to mom, and
feeling a bit strange about taking a bucket bath again – but soon enough I’ll
get back into my normal routine here.
Goal for this month – find a refrigerator, and re-start P90X
workouts.
I have a working blackberry now, my pin is – 29CDC4CD
And I will be working on downloading ‘whatsapp’ an
application that uses data, and allows for free international texting. So if
any of you are interested in staying in better touch, let me know!
X’s and O’s always
(mom got home safe by the way) - until next time ~t
