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!

Under Arrest...House Arrest That Is...

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well. Shout out to my home state Illinois! I hope those affected by the tornadoes are doing well and have began the healing and recovery process.

Today we are under house arrest and on standby until Sunday for possibility of evacuation. Today the Mozambican municipal elections are being held so there is some tension amongst the country. We are pretty safe in Namaacha but you never know. The world is a crazy place. I am not a fan of wikipedia but here is some info on the political parties (you can do further research if interested :)). I finally received my package my parents sent me about 5-6 weeks ago. It had oreos, which ended up being perfect timing since I am stuck at home today. I took more capulanas to the modista yesterday! I am getting a tunic and dress done. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

We are being sworn in as volunteers in 13 days!!!!! Time is flying. We all are packing our things up to be shipped out this weekend. It is going to be bittersweet. I love my family here and am going to miss them a lot. I am also having some anxiety about being apart from everyone but also about starting my actual service. We are having a big celebration next weekend with our families!

We started teaching this week. I taught my first chemistry on Monday. I was super nervous but ended up having fun. I introduced the kids to acids and we ended up juggling acidic fruit and doing an acid crossword puzzle I had made. I teach again on Friday and then again next Tuesday.

Check out my other pages and also this neat page!

Liupo, Nampula here I come!

I had a big week last week! First off, I had a great experience visiting an orphanage! It was heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. A majority of the kids have no parents or family members and others were just abandoned. They all have a great spirit though and were so much fun. We played games, sang and danced. It really was a good time despite the circumstances. On Thursday we found out where we will all be living at for the next two years...it was the longest day of my life. I will be living in Liupo, Nampula with one other volunteer. It is northern Mozambique about 45-60 minutes from the beach. We are actually opening up a site which is pretty cool. The community leader is a woman which is also really cool because gender roles here are much different than in the states. Members of the community actually built the house we will be living in. I have a feeling it is going to be a really special experience. My Portuguese is coming along. I will be teaching 3 chemistry lessons in the coming two weeks which I am super nervous about. I am working through an ear ache at the moment. Only 2 more weeks of training...I uploaded new pics! Check them out!

Site Visits and More!!!

Ola as pessoas festas! Not sure if that translates right but what I want to say is, "Hello party people!" I am finishing up my 6th week of training...4 more to go! Time is flying by now. I haven't been up to too much. Still working on my Portuguese and lesson planning. Last Saturday I had a cooking day with my mae. It was great! She makes some really good dishes! Cooking takes all day...literally. We started to make lunch around 10am and finished it at about 12:30pm. Then we did dishes and chatted for a bit then started on dinner around 3pm. We finally sat down to eat around 7:30pm. It was exhausting. The women here are super hard workers. They go nonstop all day long. It is exhausting to watch. During our relaxing time after lunch we sat out on the veranda with my mae's brother, Castro. He is my English buddy and I really enjoy hanging out with him. We were watching kids play and called some of them over. They were pulling each other on a water jug. I wanted to give it a whirl, thinking there was no way they were going to be strong enough to drag me. Boy was I wrong! We got pics and videos so I will upload them when I can. I did laundry last weekend too. One of my least favorite activities. It is a workout!

Sunday we all left for site visits. I went to Inharrime, Inhambane with a colleague. We had met the volunteer there 2 weeks ago when she came to help out with training. I had a blast getting to see what a site is like. We interacted with the locals, helped proctor exams at the secondary school, played pool with some locals, ate some delicious food, cooked breakfast for dinner, ate mangoes right from the tree, almost got eaten by a spider, etc. etc. etc. It was a great time and it got me excited. The trip also made me realize how much I have to learn in Portuguese, but my hopes are high for being pretty fluent by the end of my two years.

Other than that, not much is going on. Check out my other pages for updates. I usually update them a little more frequently than my actual posts. Thanks for all your support!

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!

Bem Vindo Mocambique!

Ok...this is going to be a long post so bear with me. Check out my photo and video page for uploaded photos. The last 3 weeks have just flown by. This has already been a life changing experience and I haven't even started my actual service yet. I couldn't be more happy with the people I will be serving with. We all get along and enjoy hanging out together. The flight to get here was long and exhausting. I managed to watch about 7 movies. The country director and a current volunteer met us in the airport in Maputo to pick up and take us to the Hotel Cardosa, beautiful place with a great view. We enjoyed the food and running water while we had it. The chapa ride from Maputo to Namaacha was entertaining. It is just a completely different world here and really hard to describe when I am constantly trying to process it all. I think by the time I am done I will be able to better describe my experiences but for now they may seem lacking in some respect and I apologize. Once we arrived in Namaacha, the families we were going to be living with met us. My family's empregada (housekeeper) picked me up and took me home. I was actually surprised with my accommodations. The house was nice and the bathroom was inside! Granted the toilet didn't flush and I still had to take a bucket bath in the shower but I was expecting a lot worse. My family consisted of a mother, father, niece and granddaughter. Super nice people and very patient. It is hard going into a situation where you are not able to communicate well. We managed though. The first three weeks have consisted of intense language learning and mini seminars on teaching, skills, safety, health, etc. My house was right next to a bar...Hallelujah! A fellow PC trainee lived next door so it was nice to have someone in the same boat so close. The first weekend his brother and his brother's friends took us and another trainee to the Cascatas (waterfalls). They made it seem like it wasn't far. Well it was far...for me. I think it took about an hour or so to get there. It was cool but I was exhausted! I was recently moved to a different house because the health of my mother was not good. It was a scary and upsetting experience for me. I was finally connecting and getting used to my family. My new family is great though too. I live with a mom, son and grandmother and frequent family visitors. I am learning a lot more. I do have to take a bath and do my business outside but I am getting used it. The bugs and frogs taking a bath with me...not getting so used to but o well, welcome to Mozambique, right?!

I think I am going to end it here for now...Like I said I am still processing a lot and it really is hard to describe what I am feeling because it is a lot. I feel like I go through every emotion multiple times a day. I want to leave, I want to stay, I want some oreos, I am sick of eating rice, I am sick of peeing in a hole in the ground, I love the people, I love the other volunteers I am with, I wish I packed more clothes, I wish it would stop raining, I hate being woke up by roosters and turkeys every morning, I love eating the fruit here and I love me some Maria cookies. These are just a few things I deal with daily.

Check back for more photos, insights, inspiration, etc...Thank you for all your support as well!

You are brave...crazy but brave!

I can't believe how fast this summer went! I also can't believe that I am leaving next week. "So much to do so little time," says the procrastinator in me. I told myself two months ago that I was going to start practicing my packing techniques so that I wouldn't feel stressed about it now...guess what...THAT NEVER HAPPENED! It is a rough week saying my goodbyes to the first world and preparing for the third world. I spent last weekend in the Smoky Mountains and was able to clear my mind a bit as I sat out on the porch looking at the gorgeous view.

I have never doubted my decision to pursue this adventure. I feel like it is an adventure that was made for me. Yes, I am scared and nervous. I am sad to say goodbye to everyone. "You are brave...crazy but brave," says my big sister. I am worried that no one will like me and that all these ideas I have floating in my head won't work. What do I want to do when my service is up? Where do I want to end up? I am hoping that I can get these questions answered during my adventure.

After working at the Boys & Girls Club, my mind has been on overdrive on all the things that I learned and want to tryout with the community I will be working in. I have the best support system with BGCA and so happy our paths crossed. I look forward to working together again in the future.

My family has been super great through everything. They love talking to their friends about it and always ask questions. I am told I need to bring lions and giraffes home for my nieces and nephews. I will do my best on that one!

I hope you all will view my journey with an open heart and mind, and really reflect on what is important in life. Love each other, respect each other, and help each other, no matter what the color of your skin is, what religion you practice or what your sexuality is...There is not one thing that makes us more or less than one another. I have found that negativity takes more effort than positivity and you never know what kind of impact your positivity can have on someone else or even the world. 

I leave you with this quote that my sister-in-law sent me:

“Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.”