Hello everybody,
Sorry about the very, VERY long blog
hiatus, I know you were all on the edge of your seats the last 6 months
wondering what I was doing, so here it is in a nutshell. I’ll try my best to be
communicative, but I haven’t been speaking much English above an 8th
grade level for the past year, so bear with me.
I was part of the very last group of Peace Corps Volunteers in Cape
Verde. The program was “graduated” as a Peace Corps post and I was transferred
to Peace Corps Mozambique. I moved away from my loving community on my little
volcano in the Atlantic amid tears, pig blood, and hopefully realized plans to
return. The pig my neighbors had killed
the day I left was still being butchered amid a downpour of tears when the car
to take me to the airport showed up early. I left what had been a wonderful
home for the past year already missing my loving neighbors and friends.
The
first of my post-Cape Verde adventures was a trip home to California. My
sisters helped me buy a ticket home and we decided to make it a surprise for
our parents. So while Mom and Dad thought I was thousands of miles across the
Atlantic, I showed up at the front door. The visit was rejuvenating, went way
to fast, and at the end of September, I departed for Peace Corps Round 2:
Mozambique.
For the
past 2.5 months, I’ve been in Peace Corps Training take 2. Although some of the
sessions were redundant and at times starting all the way back at square one again
was discouraging, all in all training #2 went great. I learned Portuguese, made
some amazing friends, and became a sister and daughter to yet another wonderful
host family. Then, on December 4, I was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer for
the second time around. After a beautiful ceremony and reception at the Ambassador’s
house, all 69 of the 19th group of Mozambique volunteers were sent
off to our sites.
So
that’s how I got where I am at this very moment, melting in the sweltering heat
of the African sun. I have been
assigned to teach English in a small, rural, very off-the-map community in the
Mozambican province of Tete. Jutting into the African continent and bordering
Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, Tete is the western most province in Mozambique
AKA the furthest away from any cool ocean breeze in the county. So, here I am living on the road to Zambia.
So far life has been a whirlwind of smiling new faces, dramatic lightning bolts
on the horizon, window-rattling thunder, and copious attempts to stay hydrated.
I wake at sunrise to sweep the constantly replenishing layer of dust, to carry
my water from the town well, and get some socializing with the neighbors in
before the sun makes anything but sitting in the shade impossible.
Despite the fact that some trainees
threatened to go home if they got sent to Tete, my host family made fun of how hot I was going to be, and how
actually hot and sweaty I am now that I’ve arrived, so far I love my new site. I
live in a cute cement house on the school grounds, surrounded by mud huts, LOTS
of goats, and the rolling planes of Africa. Although I am new, the people have
been nothing but open and welcoming. They have shown me where to pump my water,
invited me into their homes, and have already begun teaching me the local Bantu
dialect, as many people here do not speak the country’s official language, Portuguese.
So although I am melting in the delirium-inducing,
sandy, early afternoon heat, I am grateful to have been sent to such a
culturally rich, welcoming community, and I’m sure I’ll get used to the heat.
 |
| My back yard |
So there you have it- what I’ve been up to.
I’m going to try my hardest to keep my blog updated, and since school isn’t starting until
January, I should have plenty of time to hide in the shade and write down my
thoughts, so stay tuned. I’ll be delving further into my life on the road to
Zambia, my adventures on the African continent, and my daily ups and downs as a
Peace Corps volunteer. As always, I love to hear from you so keep me updated on
your lives as well!!
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