Sorry it's been so long since I've written. The first semester is ending this week and it's been getting pretty chaotic around here. I might be able to skype or call people with better luck this coming Saturday-Wednesday because I will be in the capitol of my province, Nampula, for a PCV conference, so let me know if you'd like to talk and we can find a time that works.
Instead of a journal-esque email today, I have a list of my firsts in Mozambique, as a summary of my now over six months in the Peace Corps.
In Mozambique, I've done these things for the first time:
--killed a chicken
--taught a high school class alone
--received a marriage proposal (the answer was no, as with all the other countless offers of marriage I've now received here)
--lived somewhere where English is not the spoken language
--cooked nearly every meal for myself
--spent Christmas away from home
--cut all my hair off
--washed my laundry by hand (and hung it to dry)
--made cookie dough with the express purpose of eating it raw (no eggs, don't worry)
--lived somewhere where I was such an obvious minority
--been fully appreciative of shade, or a nice breeze
--gone so long without seeing my family
--written a diary regularly
--swam in the Indian Ocean
--had people honestly think I was in my late thirties and tell me so
--bathed at least twice a day every day
--been so happy that a 170 km (or 100 mile) car trip took only 4.5 hours
--been really cold when it's just below 80 degrees outside
--cooked with charcoal on a regular basis
--baked without an oven
--smoked a Cuban cigar
--had clothes tailor-made regularly
--had people be appalled I wasn't married with children at the age of 23
--have seen and swam in bio-luminescent water at night
--have taken a malaria test (which was thankfully negative)
--had people tell me I was looking fat today as a total compliment (it means you have enough money to eat, so it's a good thing here)
--had people tell me I was looking skinny today and mean it negatively
--been so completely refreshed by an ice cold Coke
--lived within walking distance of the beach
--been able to greet someone in three different languages in the same conversation
--felt scandalous in shorts that come nearly to my knee
--painted a mural that a whole town sees everyday...
So that should give you an idea of how life here in Mozambique is different, and how it's changed my perspective on some things already -- and usually always for the positive.
Thanks for taking the time to keep up with my adventures while I serve in the Peace Corps, and please let me know what you're up to as well! I love hearing from my friends and family about what's going on back home.
Love from Africa,
Alissa
