Adventures in Africa

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS

Name:
Location: Mozambique

I will be in Mozambique with the Peace Corps for the next 27 months. While in Africa, I will periodically post thoughts about my experiences so anyone interested can keep tabs on my happenings.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

January update

Hi all! Sorry for not keeping up with this. There has been a lot going on with the holidays and settling in. I will start by saying I absolutely love Mozambique. I never imagined that I would love it so much, but I do. Things aren't all easy, but the people here are so nice, I have an amazing beautiful site, and I have been really fortunate with the support that Peace Corps Mozambique gives all its volunteers. I don't think that the staff in other countries is always so attentive and supportive, so I am really lucky to be here.
I still haven't started teaching but I've been going into school every week to help out with little things. This week we are doing registration. It is a lot of sitting around and doing nothing, but it has given me time to get to know some of my colleagues, practice Portuguese, and just get out in the community so that people start to know who I am. I had a tough time over the holidays because I had a ton of American visitors, so I was seriously neglecting the time that I should have been spending getting to know my neighbors and other people in town. The last week or so though, I have been going around, talking to lots of people, studying Portuguese a lot, and doing my best to start intergrating. It is going well. I have a lot more to do though.
I got a puppy last week to. Her name is Gus. She is adorable. She is also a lot of work. She's not house trained yet and she is still in her biting stage so I have to spend some time training her, but she is good company. I plan on making her my running buddy and having her walk with me whenever I go anywhere in town. She is good for a friend, but also for protection. Vilanculos can be dangerous, especially now with so many tourists in town, so a dog is good to have around. Mozambicans are scared of dogs so they will be less likely to mess with me!
I am anxious to start teaching. I still don't know what grade I will be teaching or how many classes (they save these kind of things for last minute, a little bit annoying). I am excited to start meeting my students, and to think of ways that I can contribute to the school. I am still thinking that I will start a soccer team and maybe a girls club, but I'll have to see if there's interest. I think its more about what the people here need, rather then what I want to do.
My Portuguese is coming a long, but I have a long way to go. I have been putting in a lot of effort though, so I feel like I can be proud of how far I've come. It is hard to not being fluent because it isolates me from some of my colleagues and neighbors who can't speak english, but I try to talk to people with my broken portuguese anyway, and when they are patient, it usually works out.
I hope everyone is having a great January! I hear it is hot back in CT... Not as hot as here though. I've never been so tan in my life. I'm turning into a beach bum to, very unlikely but thats what happens when you get placed in a place like Vilanculos.
Take care, and I'll try to send out some pictures soon!

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