10/12/10

So much has happened in the last week. I almost don’t know where to start! Thursday was our last full day in Namaacha. I had bought some capulanas for my host mom, her sister, and the grandmother as a thank you gift and had bought candies for the kids, Nunucha and Pai. I presented the gifts to them at dinner time and my mom just went nuts. They were so excited over them and went on and on about how I had such good taste in capulanas and they were very grateful.

Friday morning I was all packed and ready to say goodbye to my host family, but they insisted on accompanying me to the bus that we were leaving on. Part way there, my host mom remembered that it was my birthday and we stopped in the middle of the street as the kids sang me happy birthday. I was meeting Hannah and Audrey along the way too, and their host families also had decided to accompany them. We walked through the streets of Namaacha with all of our stuff and little by little our sending off party seemed to grow as we met volunteers and family members along the way. By the time we got there we had quite the community parade going, which was pretty amusing to see.

Saying goodbye to my host family wasn’t too sad. Since I was placed in Gaza, one of the southern provinces, it’s very plausible for me to go back and visit them at some point.

We got to Maputo and upon arriving found out that we would not be able to check in to our hotel rooms for another couple of hours. At this point we are pretty used to waiting for things so all 70 of us made ourselves at home in the hotel lobby. Also, they had prepared coffee, juice, and refreshments for us so we helped ourselves to mini sandwiches, pastries, and real coffee!(most people drink instant coffee here, which is even what they serve at many restaurants). Needless to say, we were content to hang out for a bit. We finally checked in to our rooms and rushed to get ready to leave for our swearing in ceremony.

The ceremony was held at the house of the US ambassador to Mozambique. The house was beautiful and had a gorgeous view of the Indian ocean in the back. The ceremony was nice, and not too long. We took the oath to be Peace Corps Volunteers, which is the same oath that any government employee takes, including the President of the United States, so that was pretty cool. After the ceremony we had refreshments (again, they were delicious, and by far the best little treats we have had in two months), socialized with each other and the guests there, and took lots of pictures.

We returned to the hotel after and my friends surprised me for my birthday by having the restaurant downstairs make me a delicious little cake(Thanks Jen, Hannah, and Audrey!). Some people went out in Maputo, but I stayed around the hotel with some friends and had a good night hanging out with each other there. After only a few hours of sleep I woke up at 4:45 to say goodbye to the first group of volunteers on their way to the airport to catch flights up to Chimoio. I then went back to sleep and got up a few hours later to pack my own stuff and get on my bus to a conference in Xai Xai. It was so sad saying goodbye to the people going far away up North, but it just means that I’ll have to visit.

Monday and Tuesday we had supervisors conferences which is where the school directors meet their volunteers and Peace Corps holds a conference to make sure they are clear on rules and expectations for volunteers. I met my director at dinner on Sunday night, but he then failed to show up to the conference on both days. My school was holding exams so he had to be there, but he somehow managed to make it to the free dinner at the hotel on all three nights… Needless to say, I didn’t get the best first impression of him, but oh well. Xai Xai is also a beach town so our hotel there was about 200 meters from the beach. After the conference each day we just crossed the street and laid on the beach or swam in the ocean…not a bad life.

Wednesday morning we loaded into different chapas based on our site’s location and they sent us off! My town, Chongoene, is only 17K from Xai Xai so I was the first one delivered and got there at about 6:45 am. I am overlapping with the current volunteer by a few days so she welcomed me and I promptly went back to sleep for a couple of hours. Wednesday and Thursday we spent walking around the town, meeting people in the community, and getting to know the area.

On Thursday we took a chapa into Xai Xai so that I could get to know the city part of it and do a little shopping. We went to the post office, the bank, the market, and stopped in at the Indian restaurant in town, which is popular among Peace Corps Volunteers. While in town, I bought food supplies as well as an electric kettle to heat water, and an iron. I am fortunate that I am replacing a volunteer and don’t have to buy a bed or furniture, like many volunteers do. I might end up buying a new mattress anyway because the one here is a little old, but at least right now it’s not a necessity.

ALSO, on a less positive note, I have bats living in the roof of my house. The first night I slept on the spare mattress in the kitchen room (where the bats are). I woke up in the middle of the night to hear them squeaking and one was swooping around the room above my head. I was absolutely terrified. When I woke up in the morning and was arranging my things, I picked up my jeans that I had worn the day before and heard a squeaking sound. Yes, one of the bats had made itself at home in the pocket of my jeans. I brought it outside and later in the day found ANOTHER bat in the room on the floor, which I swept outside and then killed. I’ll have to figure out a way to get rid of the rest of them and close up the holes in my roof so they don’t come into the house anymore…