"Are we in South Africa?"

I was in three different countries this week!! We made the all-day-long hike up the mountain (if you can really even call it that…) where Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa all meet. The day started out with a run and doing laundry, then 5 of us made the walk out of town. We definitely took the long way out, but it was gorgeous so no complaints. After about an hour and a half we came to a house- it was the weirdest thing (I thought). A food delivery truck was in the driveway and we could see they had a whole farm of animals. Three huge dogs ran from around the corner toward us, but they were harmless and adorable- the first non-mutts I’ve seen since coming here. Then a young girl came from around the corner of the house, and when she spoke in English we were all shocked. She was from South Africa, and in my confusion of how far we’d walked already, I asked “Are we in South Africa?” Apparently that was the funniest thing anyone had heard all day. But really, who knows how far the boarder really was, and it’s possible that there wouldn’t be a well defined country boarder… Needless to say, she said no so we continued on our hike. Another few hours of hiking (and beautiful views) we made it to our destination. For the record, there was not a well-defined boarder into South Africa. It was pretty cool to stand on the mountain and look around in all different directions and see three different countries. I can’t say that’s something I often have the opportunity to do. One for the record books for sure.
Also this weekend, I went with Lisa into Maputo and got dreads. Yes, dreadlocks (sorry mom). It took 8 hours from start to finish! But totally awesome and I love them. When in Africa!!
I started model school today- an adventure to say the least. It’s great to finally get in front of real Mozambican students who don’t yet know much English, but it was still so challenging. The students here are much different from those in the states. They’re taught to copy, memorize, and regurgitate, so trying to involve them in my lesson was a bit tough- like pulling teeth. It was the longest 45 minutes of my life. But I’m learning and I can only go up from here. Even through my frustration I’m told I had a good presence in front of the class, so at least I have my silver lining ;)
On a great note for the day I’m officially in the intermediate medio language level, meaning I know just enough to pass the language test and swear in! I had myself a bit worried about learning enough, so the confirmation today was a great relief.