Sunsets – an absolutely beautiful phenomenon that happens
each and every day. Fortunately I have an incredible front porch from which I
can watch them on the daily! Imagine, if you will – a comfortable chair, some
chilled mint tea, and a slight breeze blowing through your hair. The sun is
still warm, but doesn't have the full affect that it does earlier in the day.
Looking out over my porch, yard and further all you can see is palm trees upon
palm trees. It's a veritable sea of green waving fronds. The sky is a crystal
clear blue, not a cloud in sight- the sun still a vibrant yellow. But as it
descends from above to kiss the horizon, an array of burnt colors arise from
its glowing aura. A blood red,
burnt orange, and deep mustard yellow illuminate the forest of palm trees
creating silhouettes found only in a tropical paradise. As the last bit of sun
escapes from the sky, a deep purple color fades in along the horizon. It is a
spectacular sight.
My mid-service mark has come and gone! I am officially into
my second year of Peace Corps. GAH! Where did the time go? And at the same
time, I still have another YEAR to go?? Yikes.
Actually, I’m kind of coming to terms with being here for
another 10 months or so. At first it was shocking that this tiny grass hut was
the first permanent residence I have had since I was 17 (moving in and out of
college, then apartments) this is the longest I’ve lived in one particular
location during my adult life.
So we had our Mid-Service conference in the capital city of
Maputo last week, it was wonderful to see all of my friends (all of Moz 18)
especially those who live in the northern provinces that I don't see often. The
sessions were good, some boring, some very interesting – one in particular on
plants/nutrition. . . think of this “if you were stranded on a desert island,
and had 5 seeds in your pocket for plants, what would they be?”. Mine were;
moringa, cacao(coffee), papaya, a spinach/couve/green veggie that I could cook,
and garlic. The nutrients from the moringa would also provide me with protein,
I cant live without coffee, papaya has so many uses its beyond ridiculous, I
love a green leafy veggie, and garlic has medicinal uses and a great taste.
What would yours be?
So our sessions ran from 8am until 12pm generally, leaving
the afternoons free for medical tests, meetings with our director, shopping,
lunch and dinner with friends etc. I used a lot of this time (when I wasn't in
the doctors offices) to prep for the big festival here in Quissico. I had to
leave Maputo a day early, to prepare for the festival – so unfortunately didn't
get to say any personal goodbyes. Never fear, I will be heading to the North
next month for the REDES leadership handover, so I will see some friends then!
I drove up to site with Rachel (my boss) her husband Marco,
and my two fellow PCV’s Kyla and Hannah who are the Malaria coordinators! The
festival on Saturday was, in my mind, a big success. We had a spot where we
hung a mosquito net, provided coloring for kids, did small informational sessions
about malaria under the net, and ever hour or so we did a ‘net giveaway’ where
people had the opportunity to answer/take an oral test and if you answered the
questions correctly you got the net! My neighbors won one! Yay! They have so
many kids, that end up sharing the bed with them just to be under the net, so
now they can all sleep protected!
In addition to the malaria information/activities, my
organization sold the Moringa smoothies again, giving us a chance to get some
income, and give many health talks about what moringa is! We reached out to
many people (taking a tallied count for every activity- monitoring and
evalutation!). We also had a space where we talked a bit about what Peace Corps
is, and our secondary projects REDES and Juntos. I even did a radio spot!! That's
right, yours truly was on the local radio doing a quick info session about
moringa, malaria, peace corps and what volunteers do in this country! Woo! Basically
I’m a famous celebrity now. Ok . . . .thats a bit of an overstatement. Haha but
let me live in the limelight for a minute, it was my 10 minutes of fame!
The only thing that could have made the festival better-
would have been other volunteer participation. We had a core group of like 5
volunteers (myself included) that worked the booth all day- while others did
whatever in town. Now, this had happened last year as well and to avoid such
happenings I made a schedule and posted it/handed it out to people. Clearly that
meant shit though, and people either didn't show, didn't come to work, or
arrived super late…. Whatever, shit happens, its in the past, overall it went
really well – so I’m not mad. Nor am I one to hold a grudge. I realize shit
happens, and sometimes there is just nothing we can do about it. Life goes on.
So now that the insanity from the past few months is FINALLY
OVER – life is getting back to normal. I went to work yesterday, today as well,
going to both CBO’s and to the hospital, and holding my REDES meetings, I’m
finally finding the time to cook again, making good healthy food, and working
out. Kicking some bad habits, trying to get a workout in each day, and eating healthier.
Woo!
Anyway. Just an update from your friend here in Mozambique! Let
me know what’s going on in Americaland! I hear the Bucco’s are still in 1st
place?! And the Steelers suck?! Sigh . . . .
Xoxoxo
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