Ever Been In Two Places At Once?

Hello everyone! Hope all is well wherever you are!

Ok....so I made the commitment to wake up at 2:30am this morning and go on a hike at 3am with some friends. We were headed to the mountains to check out the Swazi/Moz/South Africa border. Did I mention we left at 3am?!?! I went with 4 other people. It was dark and dreary. On our way out of town we picked up a dog that followed us the whole way. We decided he was going to be our protector and keep the snakes away...and the bandidos (bandits) away...Oh yeah, we left at 3AM!!!!!! It was super dark and scary, actually but exciting too. I had one of those surreal moments once I got to my stopping point. I sat my butt on a rock and just took it all in. I was sitting on a mountain in Mozambique, Africa. I also made a point to stick my hand through the fence into Swaziland to say I was in two places at once. Beat that Mandy Moore (movie reference to A Walk to Remember)! We actually made it up without falling, which was a feat because it was crazy terrain and dark. On the way down I went to walk through a rocky area with water and wiped out and had to walk home with a wet butt. The group I was with was super funny. We laugh a lot together and can be inappropriately comfortable together. Once we got back on the main road we were amazed at what we were seeing around us because, like I said, on the way up it was dark. We saw this cool grove of trees off the road so we went to check those out. They were great climbing trees! It was a really great experience and glad I woke up early to do it.

This weekend we also worked on a mural. It is at our training office and is sooooooooooo cool! Check out the pics! We only have a little over a week left of training. I can't wait. Next Saturday, I will be giving a speech in Portuguese in front of everyone (Peace Corps staff, family, colleagues, etc.). I am super nervous! I was also elected to be the north representative for the volunteer advisory committee (VAC). I will be working with the country director in making sure the sites in the north are running well. We shall see how that goes. I am looking forward to the opportunity.

Check out the pics!