A Month in Mozambique! Hooooorrrrrayyyy!

Hey People! Exactly one month ago today… I left for Mozambique!  Kinda crazy that already a month has gone by.  In some ways it feels like it was just days ago I was in the states and in other ways it feels like I have been here for months.

Right now I am in the midst of week four of Peace Corps Training. Peace Corps Training is a span of time in which all the new Peace Corps volunteers (there is 71 of us) live with host families and are trained in areas of language, culture, safety and health.  Because I am a health volunteer, I also spend a good amount of time learning about various health issues in Mozambique as well as how to effectively identify the needs of a community.  As of now, I don’t know exactly what my assignment will be or where I will be for the next two years.  I will be finding that out in the coming weeks.  So very exciting!

Training is taking place in Namaacha, a town located right on the Swazi border and about an hour and half away from Maputo (the Capital and largest city in Mozambique).  Namaacha has been a great place to stay thus far, although it does get muddy and you all know how much I hate the mud.  The community has been very welcoming and open.    

A major part of our training is learning Portuguese, which is the National language of Mozambique.  I spend several hours a day in language class or studying Portuguese.  Although I do have a Spanish background, the language is somewhat difficult for me…but I am getting it!  Something that really helps with learning the language is that I am also living with a Mozambiquan family. 

My “host family” has been great! In the house I have a Mama, a cousin who is 19, two sisters, 11 and 8 years old and a little brother who is 3 years old.  I have been living with them now for almost four weeks and feel pretty comfortable sharing a home with them.  My sisters and cousin help me with my Portuguese and have also been very open and patient with me as I struggle with the language and become aware of Mozambiquan culture.  We also do a lot of laughing and dancing, so pretty similar to my life in America!  Right now I am teaching them the entire dance to Bad Romance! It is so fun.  And ps… people LOVE Bad Romance here!

This last month has been a rollercoaster of emotions, thoughts, judgments, predictions, challenges and opportunities. But if I needed to use one word to sum up the past month it would be P-O-S-I-T-I-V-E.  

ps (while i was typing  P-O-S-I-T-I-V-E I was also singing to myself the song from Legally Blonde the Musical....Ohmigod! you guys!)