Eu estou a sair

My last days in Namaacha were spent full of hugs, packing, playing, sharing photos, and reassuring everyone I will be back someday and I will make sure to tell President Obama and Celin Dion I will say hi next time I see them. It was easier than leaving Hokwe, because this time around I have fewer close Mozambican friends, but still hard knowing I’ll most likely never be back.

This is Avo, my and Scooter's grandmother, with a few of her grand and great-grandbabies. I'm showing photos my mom has taken.

I keep having moments of Graduation Goggles. Let me explain- the term comes from How I Met Your Mother (great show) and means roughly the things, people, or places that drive you crazy start to seem pretty great or at least not so annoying. For me, the heathen neighbor kids started to seem less annoying. The long walk to the office in the hot sun was not so unbearable. The overstuffed chapa rides where I hardly touch the seat because I’m crammed between three “Big Mamas” and I lose feeling in all limbs because I can’t move seemed strangely comfortable. Because I know it’s all coming to an end, I weirdly enough miss the things I couldn’t stand. Graduation Goggles, if you will.