quick update

Hello all

I found a spare moment or two at the Peace Corps office, so I thought I’d send a quick update about what is going on in my semi-crazy life.

As many of you may remember, I have since left Quissico. It was a good parting, filled with lots of love, good food, and very few tears. Lua has settled in nicely to her new home in Panda, hanging out with two great PCV’s there who work at the local school. Her new past time, according to them is playing soccer with the kids, she chases after the ball with them- but her mouth is too small to actually catch it, so she is left snapping after it! Haha what I would do to see her running amok with the kids. . . sigh. I miss that goober.

(photo of the baby i got for my birthday- yes, she is sleeping like that)

So since leaving my little grass shack, I have been living out of my backpack for a few weeks now in Maputo at my friends house. I first traveled from Quissico, to Maptuo... then spent about a weeks time in Namaacha helping with pre-service training for the new volunteers, and am now currently living on my friends floor here in Maputo. 

I will be here in Maputo until the 6th, the new group of volunteers swears in on the 5th at the Ambassador's house. From that I will fly to Nampula City, in Nampula Province to assist with their supervisor's conference from the 7-9th. On the 10th, I will be going overland to Quelimane in Zambezia Province (my new home for the next 13 months). There we are having a separate supervisors conference from the 11-13th for the volunteers who will be working with ICAP in the province. So then I am in Quelimane for a week and a half (living in a guest house or something….details still to be worked out). 

From the 13-23rd I will be in Quelimane, getting to know my new town, meeting my work team there, etc. just sort of settling in (while still living out of my backpack). On the 24th I fly back down to Maputo to help with Moz 20 MidService Conference, so back to living in the big city here, in yet another hotel. 

But the very best part of all of this craziness is- on the 29th (because I will be in Maputo) I have been granted approval to travel back to Quissico to help/participate in the Timbila Festival!!!!! So even though its about 6 hours out of my way, I am making the bus trip up to my wonderful town of two years, to see friends and family for the festival. SO EXCITED! 

So... the 29th-31st I will be in Quissico. Bussing back south to Maputo on the 1st, and flying back to Quelimane on the 2nd. 

that is my life in a nutshell.

hectic. crazy. adventurous. fun.

Since being here in Maputo I have been working heavily with this new GAAC toolkit, ICAP and Peace Corps. I have been spending my mornings at the ICAP office, meeting the team there, getting introduced to the various programs I will be assisting with. Afternoons have been spent at the Peace Corps office, working on programming prep for the new incoming volunteers (I found out who is replacing me in Quissico, and think it is going to be a great fit!)

I have completed the final drafts of a few documents with this GAAC program, and turned them into the CDC for final review/feedback/revisions. Hopefully we will have word from the various implementing partners this coming week, in regards to them both.

In addition to the work I’ve been doing, I am also here in Maputo doing medical tests and such, similar to the ones I did at Mid-Service – a physical, dentist, etc. I am hoping to get new glasses while I am here too. Oh, and beauty of all beauties- I had to poop into a cup (testing for parasities)…. Ahh the glamorous life of a volunteer.

(one of the goodbye nights with some fellow 18ers)

With that lovely image in your minds, I’ll say ta-ta

loving every minute of this crazy adventure  

missing you all even more.