Yesterday marks the end of month one and today the beginning of a new one. Next week is my fifth week which is the half way point of training. To say the least I am very excited.
So this week I have been trying to really integrate into my family-though I don't think spending 2 nights in a row in a baracca really helped. Though I had fun and didn't stay all night. I have noticed that 1 beer is pretty good at getting me a little tipsy. They are about 20-24 oz bottles and cost less than $1.
On sunday I helped cook dinner and made mashed potatoes. I think they enjoyed them. We went to the market and I took a pair of pants to get hemmed and a capulana to get made into a pair of pants. That was an interesting ordeal. They talked so fast and I didn't understand half of what they said. But I left my stuff with them in hopes that they would do it correctly-I only payed 45,000 MT which is less than $2. Though on my weekly allowance of 270,000Mt, I will soon have to stop converting.
Anyhow I went to pick up my pants on Tuesday and they definitely hemmed my jeans...about an inch too short. Can't really do anyting and they didn't have my pants made. I went back and got my pants which are really nice but a little too big. I figure the jeans are too shorts the others a bit too long, together they are perfect, which seems to be the way things are here in Moz. T\he pants are so comfy and cool that I love them to death.
Last saturday was sooo hot. I attempted to sleep on my floor but it didn't help. I am glad I didn't because the next morning I found a scorpion on my floor. Otherwise the weather has been descent. When teh sun is out it is hot and when it isn't it tends to be pretty nice.
The highlite of this week has been the water filter P.C. gave us. We boil the water and then filter it. It doesn't taste like dirt anymore...I couldn't be happier!!
On thursday my stomach started to get upset. I talked to mom and after that I told my family I did not feel well and that i was going to sleep, without eating dinner. Wrong thing to say, they were trying to send me to the hospital. Mind you there are only 500 doctors in this massive country and none of them are really capable treating us adequetaley, which I totally believe P.C. tells us. So I went to bed and woke up in the morning-stomach still upset and they asked me what I wanted for dinner-to make my stomach feel better. I said chicken and rice...wrong thing to say-especially wehn fhere in Moz wehn you want chicken you get chicken...from the market alive. WEll I got home early from school yesterday just as the chicken and rice were being delivered to the house. I felt horrible. They asked me if I wanted to go to the market and I said yes. I wanted out of there while they did what they were about to do. I have realized I will be becoming a vegetarian when I get to site. Cause if you want meat here you kill it. No thanks. I will stick to fruits and v eggies. I can live very healthy without meat.
Today wehn I get back to Boane, I have to come to Maputo for the internet, I am going with a few other volunteers to an orphan/street kid place. We are going to play games and what not with the kids. Just to give back to the community that has accepted us. It gives us something to do, the kids something to do and we get to practice portuguese at the same time. I am excited cause most of us know how much I love kids.
Well thats all for this week though I want to say thanks to mom, angie and family and scott for the mail. I love having mail to open on fridays. This will be my address for as long as I want, mail sent here will always (hopefully) end up in my hands. I may get a PO box when I get to site, I may not, who knows. AS far as me sending mail, I am sending 2 letters a week. Its kind of expensive on what we get paid. So 2 letters and thats it to various people.
Anyhow I will write more next week.
Love,
Shells