Vacation Time

The end of April also marked the end of my first trimester here in Moz, and also my first opportunity to travel a bit and get to know the rest of the country. I took the free time to catch up on my beach time. I traveled to Tofo, Bara and Vilankulos down south. Bara is one of the most beautiful places I have every been--I felt like I was living in a post card. The south is definitely a different world from the Africa I know and live in, with all the tourists and development. It made me glad to know it was an option, but also that I didn't have to live down there and be mistaken for a tourist everyday of my life. Really made me appreciate what I have in Angonia. It was also great to get to see some of the PCVs I haven't seen since swear-in and catch up with them and their lives.

I also took the chance to try out scuba diving. Scuba is very big here in Moz since it is a ton cheaper than doing it in the states. They happen to offer a one-day course where they sit you down and make you watch a video and practice in a pool in the morning, then in the afternoon you go out on the ocean and do a 50 minute dive. It's the same philosophy as tandam sky diving--you always have an instructor right there by you. I never thought I'd ever be tempted by scuba, but the opportunity was there so I took it. Unfortunately for me the entire experience turned out to be a bit of a struggle, but I'm glad I tried. From getting the wet suit on, to jumping in the boat after pushing it out to sea, to motion sickness and vomiting it just was not my day. Unfortuantely once I finally started descending down, I could only make it 3 of the 12 meters before my ears felt like they were going to explode and no amount of nose plugging and blowing or jaw moving and swalowing was going to pop them. So, I did scuba dive, I just didn't see any cool fish or coral. Like I said, worth the experience.

Other than that, vacation was just filled with lots of sun bathing and great meals (sausage stuffed crust pizza, hamburgers, seafood chinese stirfry, prawns, ice cream, club sandwiches, etc. etc.) Needless to say when I get back to site I'm going to get quite a few "Esta a engordar!" ("You're getting fat!") but it was worth it. I'm excited to get back to site and back to teaching, back to what I now feel like is "life as normal".

6 month marker

April 29th marked the sixth month anniversary of my arrival in Mozambique. Hard to believe that it’s gone by so quickly. Living here is like living in a completely different world. I have adjusted to the way of life here, and sometimes it is hard to remember how I used to live. Like taking hot showers; having boneless, skinless chicken readily available; or that eggs in the states can be white. I wanted to list some of my most memorable moments so far:

-My first day arriving in Namaacha and all the host moms dancing into the gym singing a welcome song. It was such a moment—the singing was amazing and it was my first “Holy s—t I’m in Africa” moments

-Being stuck in Maputo for an extra day after swear-in and successfully negotiating Maputo. After the first time and being so overwhelmed by everything, the second time we spent going to the Museum of Natural History and tracking down Thai food and ice cream successfully. It was a great time of relaxation and a great way to celebrate officially becoming a volunteer.

-Waking up to my first Christmas morning without my family to a drawn-up Christmas tree hanging on the wall with our homemade stockings strung above it and our white elephant gifts laid out below. It was the best Christmas away from home one could ask for.

-Officially bonding with my roommate over our spider-ridden house. We didn’t know each other well and our shared opinion on cleanliness made me feel like we’d get along just fine over the next two years.

-The two days of travel hitching back from Chimoio to Angonia. The first ride was in a semi-truck and I spent it chatting with the driver about AIDS in America and discussing all sorts of different cultural aspects between here and there. Then my second ride on my own and completely missing my classes due to the loading of 400 lbs of bananas in the middle of nowhere along the way, the entire time not caring because the sky was so beautiful.

-Making a friend with a Portuguese professor who makes me feel like we’ve known each other forever. This also helped make Angonia feel like home and quieted my urge to travel and visit other volunteers every weekend.

At times it feels like I’ve been here forever and others it seems like just yesterday I was waking up late for my plane and struggling with my giant bags through 3 different airports. Its been an amazing trip so far with many more life-changing moments to come, I’m sure.