If you can forgive the photography, this is a picture of one of the families we're friends with in Catandica. They have 3 children: the son, Rafiki, might be the cutest little boy I've ever seen. The lady in pink was just born 2 days before this picture was taken. Once her mom brought her home, she couldn't leave the house for an entire week! Her mom asked Lindsay and me to give her an American-ish name, so we gave her a list with about 15 names (including our Mozambican names, of course). By the time I left for the States, she had narrowed it down to Carolina (my name), Cecilia (Lindsay's name), and Elaine. When we got back, we had the moment of truth.... Elaine!
I might not be able to leave this country until there's a baby named after me, though.

Obama, America, and back

My mama loves Obama:

The last time I was in Chimoio was to watch Obama’s inauguration, about two weeks ago. Although I experienced a bit of the excitement while I was home for Christmas, the majority of my 2008 election experiences have been here in Mozambique. The day of the election, I was in Catandica, proctoring national exams and was thus unable to watch the election coverage. The next morning, I received a text message from one of my friends in the village saying “Obama. Our new President. Now anything is possible.” Most of my colleagues were abuzz with excitement about the election as well. I think it shocked my school director quite a bit because he had said not too long before that there was no way that Obama would be chosen because America would never elect a black man to be President. Booyah!
At one point during my beach-filled trip down the coast of Mozambique to fly back to the States in late November/ early December, I had to send a fax to the Peace Corps office. I went to a local internet café/ tele-center to send it. At first, I was treated fairly coolly and was told that I would not be able to send the fax or would have to pay much more than was necessary. I talked to the man in charge for a bit, and eventually the conversation turned to the fact that I was American and that we had just elected a new president. Not only did he let me send the fax without further hassle, but when I went to pay him for it, he wouldn’t accept my money. I asked him why not, and he just asked me to say hello to Barak Obama for him when I got back to America. Obama and I, like Jackie Chan or Jean Claude Van Damme and I, are best friends.
I knew that the world watches America, but I wasn’t aware that they watched quite so closely. Perhaps it’s because I’m an American, but since October or November, conversations with non-Americans have almost always turned toward the elections and Obama at some point.

Back in the US of A:

My trip back home really started on Thanksgiving day, hitchhiking from Chimoio to Vilankulo. In Vilankulo, we went had a great Thanksgiving dinner of sweet & sour pork and lasagna from freeze-dried camping packs, snorkeling on a practically-deserted island, and enjoying some of the (not-so-)famous Mozambican beers on the beach. After Vilankulo, we headed South to Inhambane (a surprisingly European town) and Tofo (a great beach town with the only waves over 10 cm I’ve seen in this country). In Tofo, the highlight was definitely swimming with whale sharks. They are absolutely HUGE!!
After several days in Maputo, I was leaving on a jet plane. I didn’t sleep the entire Johannesburg, South Africa-Dakar, Senegal-New York flight. I watched movies and TV the whole time, trying to catch up on some of the pop culture I’d missed over the past year an a half. I had to switch terminals in NYC and was still dressed in African summer clothing. It was quite a shock to my system to be able to see my breath before walking out the door. Finally, almost two days after leaving Maputo (I think), I arrived in Charleston!
One of my favorite things about the trip was tap water. Not only was it there all the time- it was also drinkable and could reach a variety of temperatures in a matter of seconds. Grocery stores and Target/ Wal-Mart were other sources of entertainment. I couldn’t help but think what any of my colleagues or students would think if they were in a store with so much STUFF! It was a bit overwhelming for me, and I’m familiar with the basic layout of a Target store. I can’t imagine what somebody from the bush would think!
While in America, I stayed in Charleston for a large portion, visited my grandma and sister/ brother-in-law in NC, visited my other sister/ brother-in-law/ nephew in Providence, and ended the visit in New York City. The last time I had seen my nephew Peter, he was a little baby, but now he’s walking and talking. My other sister is pregnant and will have her baby in March. I think one of the hardest thing about living in Africa (other than transportation, illnesses, corruption, lack of available materials, etc) is that life goes on back home, even while I’m not there. Babies are born, people move, get married, get new jobs…
After a cold trip to New York, it was time to head back to Africa. I had to stay overnight in Johannesburg, South Africa and ended up staying at a huge casino. I have a not-so-secret love of betting. Luckily, I didn’t convert any dollars to South African Rand, so I couldn’t blow it all on the slots. The most surprising thing at the casino was an indoor roller coaster. I never would have expected to find one of those outside of the Mall of America!
Stepping off of the plane in Maputo, I was immediately enveloped in a blanket of heat and humidity. I could get away with wearing some of my winter clothes in Johannesburg, but an hour’s flight away, that was definitely not a possibility.
I visited my host family in Namaacha upon my return to Mozambique and brought them a lot of goodies from America. This is my host brother, Joaquim, sporting a lovely Bobby Cremins basketball camp t-shirt. (Those shirts have been a BIG hit in Mozambique. People would almost sell their souls for a t-shirt, especially one with a Nike Swoosh on it!) Joaquim is currently studying to be a teacher- math, I think.

Also in Maputo, there was a middle of service conference for the volunteers in my training group. I was really worried that I would test positive for Tuberculosis since I’d been working for several months in the TB ward at the hospital, and for about a day, the raised spot where they pricked me made me think I would indeed test positive. By the time the test was read, however, I was definitely negative. Woohoo!
After nearly two months away from Catandica, it was finally time to head back to the bush. We flew into the teensy tiny Chimoio airport. Only sight landings are possible. The only equipment there fits into a shipping container. Luckily, the weather was on our side that day, and we landed without problem. The road back to Catandica was pretty darn bad, some parts more river than road. Thank you, rainy season. On my first trip back into the villa and to the market, a lot of people told me they thought I had left and wasn’t coming back. Somehow, everybody knew that I had gone to America to spend my holidays. Funny, I only remember telling maybe 4 people in Catandica where I was going…

Now, I’m really just gearing up for the school year. We had the official opening of our school yesterday, and classes start on Monday. As of now, I’m going to be teaching 11th grade biology, which is mostly taxonomy. Not my favorite subject, but I think I’ll just blow through the necessary stuff and then do several weeks of labs and fun units in between. I have a lovely trip to Zambia and hopefully Namibia coming up in April and am already starting to think about my travels when I’m done with Peace Corps, sometime in November or December. Any ideas or suggestions would be warmly welcomed. I’m thinking about Eastern Africa: Tanzania, Kenya, and hopefully Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and if they straighten themselves out in time, Congo. If anybody is sitting at the computer at work right now and feels like a little procrastination, feel free to do a little research for me! Shameless, I know.