Thanks giving

Moz 14ers and 15ers celebrate together

I spent Thanksgiving this year with the trainees in Namaacha.  It was an amazing spread!! 10 turkeys, buckets of mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate banana bread, apple crisp… I ate myself into a coma.  It also occurred to me that this is my 4^th Thanksgiving in Mozambique.  Year 1- Namaacha. Year 2- Chokwe. Year 3- Mapenhane. Year 4- Namaacha, coming full circle.  Each year has been extremely different- playing American football with 20 other trainees, trying to cook “American” food when all we could find was mandioca (cassava root) and squash, getting a turkey drunk before killing it, or cooking copious amounts of pies in dutch ovens because the power went out, again.  Each year has been so interesting and I’ve made a million different memories.  I can’t say any one year was a traditional Thanksgiving (not that I’m too used to that anyways- always dancing in The Nutcracker growing up, or eating crab rather than turkey for dinner), but each year has brought something new to my concept of Thanksgiving.  I’m so thankful for the experience I’ve had over the last three years.  I’ve gained working experience, I’ve grown tremendously as a person, I’ve gained family and friends, both Mozambicans and Americans, and because of Mozambique, my life has changed forever.  Thank you to everyone who’s supported me throughout this experience, helped picked me up when I’ve fallen, encouraged me to keep my head up even when I wanted to give up with every ounce on my being, and shared in all the amazing memories and joy I’ve experienced.  I could not have made it here without you.

Despedida

This weekend I went up to Inharrime to visit Erin and participate in her despedida (going away party). For the party, Erin arranged 25 chickens (maybe more), french fries, potato salad, normal salad, rice, chema, beans (made into a soup-like sauce with veggies, served over rice or chema- also, one of my favorite dishes), 300 beers, and 100 soft drinks, enough food for 100 people. I arrived Friday night and we spent from 6:30am Saturday until people started arriving around 5pm peeling potatoes, cutting onions, washing beans, creating music playlists, and making everything look beautiful and presentable. At one time I was cutting onions for the beans, then started cutting onions (in the same manner, thin strips) for salad and I has heavily reprimanded by one of Erin’s co-workers, “You can’t put onions that look like that into a salad! We can’t use those! They must be cut in complete circles.” Just one more way I will never understand Mozambicans. Anyways, the party went wonderfully. So many of Erin’s colleagues and friends from her town were there, as well as a few other PCVs. We ate, drank, danced, and mingled. Erin was given presents, hoisted up onto a chair and carried around above people’s heads (may I note, not something that should be done after consuming beers), and praised by all of her friends and co-workers for all the amazing thing she has done. I am so happy I was able to come visit for this! Part of me is jealous I never had a party like this, but the other part of me understands why not- I wasn’t able to build the same strong, solid bonds Erin was. For that I’m jealous.

Halloween!!

Enough Said

Election night fun