Chega!

Ok so chega means...Enough! I say it a lot! It is one of my favorite words, along with chiki (sp?), which means fancy! I am making more progress on my language and getting along well with my new family. I have learned how to prepare coconut from scratch and will be cooking with my mae (mom) this weekend. It has been super rainy here and I am not a fan. It gets so muddy but I did buy some chiki rain boots so those help. I have made a great Mozambican friend who speaks English really well. He took me to my first wedding last weekend which was cool to experience...lots of singing and dancing, which is one of my favorite parts about the culture. We also had a dance party of our own at my house after dinner. I needed that so bad. I have been frustrated with my language progress and it was nice to unwind and forget that my speaking is total crap. I am learning a lot every day and processing everything like crazy. A fellow trainee, also my neighbor, taught some of the kids the game Hot Hands, so I am swarmed by kids after training on my way home who want to play.

Lets see what else...Went to shopright last weekend. It is a huge market that is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Had fresh chicken with xima (think mash taters but thicker, not a fan!) and a salad. It was probably the best meal I have had so far. I bought some tomatoes for my mae. The food, though, has been great so far. It is a lot of rice, chicken, veggies and fish. My mae makes this amazing potato soup. I think I could do a blog post on just food alone which I will probably do once I get to site. We are half way through training already. We are being sworn in on December 3rd. I am looking forward to having my independence again. I got my skirt from the modista (seamstress) on Monday. It is great...very chiki! Heading to Inharrime, Inhambane next week to visit a current volunteer...stay tuned for a post on that adventure!

Check out my pics and other pages for more fun stuff!

You will see pics of Ngoma time. Once a week all 51 of us are together for training sessions on health and safety. At the end of the day we have what is called Ngoma time. Ngoma is a drum played here in Moz. It is a time where we share American culture with the Mozambicans and vice versa. It was one of my favorite parts of the week. We have done songs, dances, games, etc. and have learned about different Mozambican activities as well. We usually start off by singing the Mozambican national anthem and then the American national anthem. I always get a little choked up. It is a really proud moment for me, personally, to be apart of two great countries.

Thank you all for the support!