Sunday, August 14th, 2011
Surprisingly, I wasn’t as sad as I thought I would be when I left my family on Friday morning. I know I’m going to miss them like crazy, but they are really only a cell phone call away (when the phone lines are working correctly!). Also, I didn’t have to say goodbye to all of them in Namaacha because my host dad was invited to attend the swear-in ceremony.
We walked to the ambassador’s house from the PC office in Maputo on Friday afternoon. The ceremony was held in the backyard, around a beautiful pool, and with the Indian Ocean in the background. It was absolutely beautiful. There were a lot of PC staff members in attendance, along with our language teachers, some Mozambican government and health officials, and tons of people in high positions in international government agencies (like USAID) and international non-government agencies (Family Health International, Pathfinder International, etc). The PC Country Director (Carl Swartz) and The US Ambassador gave speeches before we were officially sworn in as volunteers. Then a fellow MOZ 16er, Maddy, gave a speech for our group. Finally, the director of Mozambique’s National AIDS Council gave a speech. We sang the “Home” song we performed at the Homestay celebration and there were Mozambican dancers and musicians. For the rest of the afternoon, we were able to mingle and speak with the many important people there and eat some delicious appetizers! Such a lovely afternoon, we all felt like royalty by the time we left.
Things only got better the rest of the day as we checked in to the gorgeous hotel Girassol. I’ve stayed in some pretty nice hotels, and this place was right up there with the best of them. I only had one roommate and our room was huge! It looked more like an apartment than a hotel room, and the view was incredible. Since the ceremony at the ambassador’s house ended in the early afternoon, we had a lot of free time to enjoy Maputo. So a group of us found a gelato shop and some fancy grocery stores to get the essentials before heading up north. Then, we ordered in Thai food for dinner and enjoyed our last night together (at least until our Reconnect Conference in 3 months!).
The lucky Northerners got to wake up super early to leave the hotel by 5:30am. PC cars took us directly to the airport for our 8:00am flight to Nampula. Upon arrival, we were sent straight to our hotel, Hotel Milenio. It’s a very nice hotel, but we were all a little bummed after being spoiled in Hotel Girassol in Maputo. By the time we checked-in and settled into our rooms everyone was starving. So Kristie (the Assistant PC Director for Health) led us to a nearby restaurant where we ate a lot of pizza, burgers, and lasagna. We wandered around Nampula and got to see the PC regional office, but everyone was exhausted from our long day of travel so we returned to the hotel to take naps before dinner. Hotel Milenio has a wonderful restaurant with Portuguese, Chinese, and Indian food. We are definitely very spoiled at mealtime!
Sunday morning we all met in the hotel’s restaurant for a delicious buffet-style breakfast. Then, a large group of us headed to Nampula’s craft market. I was a little disappointed with the selection of crafts. There wasn’t as much variety as in Maputo, but I probably should have expected that. I was, however, very pleased with a black and white wrap dress I found for $2!! Later, we walked around trying to find a decent grocery store since the Shoprite (a South African chain of fancy grocery stores) burned down a few weeks ago. We weren’t very successful as nearly every store was closed. Again, I should have expected that, since most stores in Namaacha are closed on Sundays. We ended our afternoon with a cold beer in the shade of a restaurant’s deck. We really needed to cool off because Nampula is HOT. I wore a light skirt and tank top and was sweating all afternoon. And it’s winter! I am so not looking forward to the summer heat!
In the evening we had a meeting to introduce the “peer support network,” which is basically just a resource for PCVs to use when they need someone to talk to about cultural differences, isolation, feeling homesick, relationship problems, etc. Afterwards we were supposed to meet our counterparts/supervisors, but mine had not yet arrived. So I will just have extra catching up to do with them tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
Today I left Nampula for my new home- Monapo. Edmundo (my counterpart) and I rode with Paula (SCIP’s driver) on a beautiful road with scenery very different from Namaacha. It looks less tropical here- not as lush and more mountainous. I fell asleep during the drive and woke up right as we were turning down the road that leads to Monapo. After speaking with Irmã Belinda for a bit, everyone helped me move my things into my new room. I took some time to arrange my things and I must say, my room looks great! I cannot believe how happy I am right now and I am just praying that this feeling doesn’t change.
Later in the afternoon, I met up with Vonnie and Jenn (2 education volunteers. Vonnie lives in Monapo and Jenn lives in the next town over). They showed me around town, introduced me to some vendors and store owners. We also treated ourselves to ice cream, popcorn, and apas (tortillas with an egg, ketchup, and mayo…sounds weird but they’re pretty delicious).
Then I went back to the irmãs house took a SHOWER inside of our indoor bathroom and met the irmãs in our dining room for dinner. We ate shrimp, rice, sautéed vegetables, egg noodle soup, and papaya for dessert. Very delicious! I’m going to be so spoiled with all of this Asian food. Each irmã takes turns cooking and cooks food from her home country. So I will get to experience Indian, Filipina, and Indonesian food while I am here.
I read my mom’s note right after dinner. It was in my big suitcase that I’ve had with me this whole time. I think just too strange that I’ve had it with me but have never found it until today. It just popped out of my suitcase while I was unpacking. I’m glad it remained hidden while I was in Namaacha, because I wouldn’t have been able to keep myself from reading it and I really wanted to save if for the first night at site. Just like my dad’s note, mom’s made me cry. But it was a good cry, because her words were so beautiful and meaningful, not because I felt sad/lonely/homesick like I did when I read the note from dad. This is just such a great feeling- to know that everything is gonna be ok. I’m going to be ok, better than ok, and complete my service successfully and come out such a better person, personally and professionally. I am so excited for my new life and this amazing journey that lies ahead!
No comments:
Post a Comment