It's been almost a month since my last post because I've been living in an alternate reality called international air travel and a magical place called the United States. In November I spent a few weeks in California and Alaska. Did you know that you can get from Tete, Mozambique to Los Angeles in only 36 hours? Did you know that ALL the bathrooms at the Johannesburg airport are clean and always have flush toilets, toilet paper, running water, soap, AND paper towels or those hot air blower things to dry your hands? Did you know that people at the Dubai airport are respectful and quiet and don't play their music on their phones at maximum volume or have conversations in loud voices?
Also, in the United States when you go to a restaurant the waitress or waiter brings you water right away and takes your order in a timely fashion and you don't even have to wait 2 hours for your food! In the United States you can go to a grocery store and walk through aisles and aisles of SO MUCH FOOD! The vegetables are GIANT and there is so much variety! Broccoli, zucchini, red peppers, orange peppers, YELLOW peppers, eggplant, cauliflower, spinach, spring mix, herb spring mix, spinach and spring mix mix. There are packaged vegetables already cut up just waiting to be steamed. There are 10 types of hummus. There are three different ways you can choose to buy your fresh basil. On my first trip to the grocery store I was overwhelmed and I hadn't even gotten out of the produce section.
Life in Mozambique and life in the United States is very, very different, but surprisingly I didn't have as hard a time adjusting as I'd thought I would. There were times I would exclaim about how different things were or when I was excited about a certain type of food (greek yogurt! cheese! tortilla chips! salsa! spring rolls! avocados! berries!), but overall it seemed like I was living in two separate realities and it was easy to adjust back to life in the United States. For the past year I have been living in Mozambique and have gotten used to life without running water, toilet paper, and food variety, but I lived in United States for 24 years before that so when I was back in that environment it seemed pretty normal.
Another great thing about the United States (at least in the winter) is that it's cold! I didn't sweat ALL the time! I could wear a sweater, jeans, socks, even a jacket, hat, and gloves! Also, there are almost no bugs and no dirt. I could go a whole day (or a few days) without needing a bath. Though I must admit, I did shower almost everyday because there is nothing better than a hot shower and then getting out and NOT sweating!
Though the food was great and the cold was wonderful, the best part of being home was seeing all my family and friends. I wasn't able to see EVERYONE on this trip, but I was able to visit with a whopping total of at least 63 (give or take a few) friends and family members. Thank you so much to everyone for taking the time to spend with me, even if it was only for a short time! Knowing I have so many people at home who love and support me and are interested in what I'm doing is so important. I'm incredibly thankful for all of you!
I am very grateful for the opportunity to be at home for a bit (thank you Dad!). Leaving to come back to Mozambique was extremely hard. I didn't want to leave. The thought of leaving a place where I felt so comfortable (in all senses of the word) to return to a place where I feel uncomfortable (again, in all senses of the word) a lot of the time made me cry. If I didn't have a trip planned to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in December I'm not sure I would have come back.
I'm now back in Mozambique. I'm back in my village, back in my house, back to my neighbors and friends. Back to sweating all day as my fan blows hot air at me. Back to speaking Portuguese and trying to learn Nyungue. When I arrived in Zobue the kids in my neighborhood yelled my name and my baby neighbor smiled and stretched out his arms to be picked up. It was great to see my friends Leme and Servina and their daughters Suneila and Marnela again. I was also happy to see my friends Silvia, Albertina, and the rest of their siblings. In the days I've been back many people have greeted me happily saying, "You disappeared!" "Yes," I say, "I went home, but now I'm back."
I'll be here in Zobue for a few weeks, then I leave for my trip to Kilimanjaro. In January I have a mid-service Peace Corps conference in Maputo and then school starts again in February. I've thought a lot about whether I want to spend another year of my life as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mozambique. I want to finish my commitment, but I know that if I am unhappy all the time I won't be a good volunteer. Right now I'm taking it one day at a time. If I can keep a good attitude about being here, I'll stay. But if I am angry and frustrated all the time I won't be doing anyone any good here. We'll see what happens once school starts. Stay tuned.
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