First days in Maputo

Training in Maputo

We've spent the first two days in Maputo in a really nice hotel that we are not allowed to leave -- and for good reason. This morning we were given lots of training sessions, including Safety and Security training, which should really be re-named to "U.S. Embassy Officials Scare the Crap out of You". Other fun events have included lots of shots -- one of which I had not-fun reaction to, and even more medical clearance. The malaria medicine we got today to start taking has been known to induce extremely vivid nightmares and suicidal thoughts that may or may not go away after you stop taking it. Fun. But if you somehow get malaria anyway, you take the non-FDA approved meds that have their own slew of side effects.

On the upside, we have internet here, and running water and electricity, not to mention delicious buffets of food at every meal and a pool on the lawn that overlooks all of Maputo. If only we had the free time to enjoy it.

The gorgeous view of Maputo from the Hotel Cardoso.

Next Stage: Training

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we leave for Namaacha, a smaller place about an hour and a half from Maputo. This is the town where we will be spending then next 10 weeks for training, staying with a host family and learning about cross-cultural stuff, technical skills, and lots and lots and lots of language skills.  We are all pretty anxious about meeting our host families, adjusting to the *real* Mozambican way of life (not the bubble we've been living in in the hotel). I probably won't have internet there, and we haven't set up our phones yet (we're working on it) so this may be my last communication for some time -- there is only one place in Namaacha that has internet available, and if you flash your laptop there you're kind of asking to have it stolen from you.

I have a feeling that, as the saying goes, "Shit is about to go down."

Arrived safely in Mozambique!

Staging

I have a hard time believing that staging was only 2 days ago, partially because it seems like much longer and partially because I have no concept of time (having not slept properly in 3 days and being 7 hours out of sync with the sun....)
At the hotel in Philadelphia, we did a 5-hour seminar about the basics of what to expect, what the Peace Corps goals and commitments are, and the logistics of travel. We all met each other for the first time, too (though some of us had corresponded on Facebook already) and I am really surprised at how many names I got down pretty quickly. It was kind of nice to know that everyone else has the same reservations/fears/anticipations as me. Calming.

Travel

We traveled by bus from the hotel in Philadelphia to JFK Airport in New York, and in order to be "on-time" we left at 3 a.m. and arrived at the airport at 6 a.m. for our 11 a.m. flight. Of course, the check-in counter didn't even open until 7:30 so we sat around the airport and waited for a few hours, then checked in and waited for a few more hours.
The flight was very long, about 15 hours, but since none of us had slept the night before we were all pretty tired. I manged to keep myself awake until the meal service came through after take-off, but then I fell deeply asleep and didn't stir again until halfway over the Atlantic, about 6 hours into the flight. I watched part of a movie, but fell asleep for another few hours. My seat buddy, Saranya, must have been thrilled with my company.
We arrived at the Johannesburg airport without incident, and didn't have to pick up our bags. Half of our group transferred to a smaller flight to Maputo right away. The other half, including me, got to sit around for about 4 hours waiting for the next flight. At least the Joburg airport is pretty big and has lots to do. We ate lunch and had some delicious hot coffee.
Our flight to Maputo was really short, only about an hour, but that didn't stop me sleeping some more. I missed the snack service, which I came to regret later.  The landing was pretty bumpy and turbulent -- you could tell some of the people who weren't used to flying a lot looked super uncomfortable.
The only problem we ran into during arrival was some hitch in our visas and passports. I never quite figured out what the issue was, but eventually, after some phone calls and a meeting with one of the people picking us up, we got cleared to leave immigration and went to the hotel.

Mozambique: First Impressions

The area around the airport is pretty run-down, but the city center of Maputo looks pretty much like any other big city in a developing country. Lots of people, lots of cars, lots of buildings in various states of disrepair mixed in with fancy embassies and hotels.
I'm feeling overall pretty calm at the moment. We're in a nice hotel right now, and it kind of reminds me of South America. The fact that everyone is speaking Portuguese really adds to that perception.
Somehow things that would have bothered me under normal circumstances don't seem too important right now -- like the fact that the water coming out of the faucet was an opaque brown color for a considerable amount of time, or the fact that at this moment there is a little cockroach sitting on the bar, staring at me. I'm just happy that we're not underway anymore, that I have all my stuff and am in (relatively) unharmed condition (Though I managed to bump into something and give myself a rather large, multi-colored and swollen bruise on my leg).  It's weird, but nice to know that this is where I'm going to be for the next two years. It seems feasible.
I am definitely looking forward to sleeping in a bed for the first time in many nights. But before I do that, I have to organize and re-pack my bags, because we surrender one of them for storage tomorrow. I am running on my last reserves of energy, so I am going to go ahead and stop typing now.

Flights, Virginia and Philly

Packing

I don't know how this happens. Three days before departure, I had everything neatly packed and it all fit in my bags nicely. The day before departure, I bought a few little things I still needed and went to "officially" pack for the flight on Friday. Somehow, my stuff multiplied itself (like freaking tribbles) and nothing fit anymore. I suddenly had waaaay too much stuff. I ended up frustratedly throwing things around the room ("I DIDN'T WANT THIS ANYWAY!" *Chuck*) and finally getting it down to where it fit. But I still feel like I have a lot of stuff. Everyone else kind of had comparable amounts, but it's so exhausting to drag two 50-lb bags around the airport -- I can't even fathom dragging them around Africa. I'm just not going to think about it until I need to. In the mean-time, I'll do some bicep workouts to prepare...

Kallie helped me pack.

The final product.

Virginia

On Friday morning, bright and early (ugh) I flew to Philly via Dallas. Unfortunately, Friday morning is also when American Airlines declared bankruptcy. Three guesses as to what airline I was on. So in Dallas, of course, once we had already boarded the plane bound for Philly, were bucked in and ready to go, the pilot announces that due to "malfunction" we would have to disembark again and get a new plane. Fantastic. Luckily, they did actually find another plane (which I was not expecting) and we were delayed about two and a half hours. So by the time I got to Philly, had the rental car, and made it down to Virginia, it was late and I was HUNGRY. Luckily my friend Alicia, who I was staying with, makes delicious food and I scarfed down a concerning amount.

One of the coolest things I was able to do in Virginia is go back to the little town I grew up in, Burke. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I am doing the correspondence match program with my third grade teacher, Mrs. Swartz, and I was actually able to go visit her and even meet her class. I talked a little bit about what I was going to be doing and answered some of their questions. It was really cool meeting my teacher and her class! I'm really excited about the correspondence match program.

Mrs. Swartz and me, circa 1998.

Mrs. Swartz and me just now.

Mrs. Swartz and her class.

I was also able to wander around my old neighborhood, take some pictures, reminisce. It's amazing how big the tree in our yard got. I had half a mind to knock on the door and introduce myself, but I resisted. Instead I took a walk in the woods (which have not changed a bit) and swung on the swing-set for a little bit.

Me in front of our childhood home.

 Staging (Philadelphia)

Yesterday afternoon I arrived in Philadelphia. I returned my rental car and met a bunch of other Peace Corps people at the airport. We all got a shuttle van to our hotel. I didn't technically have a room, so two very nice lades, Jackie and Gina, let me share their room. I let my inner child out and made a fort in the closet. But today I DO have a room, so I checked in early and claimed the window side of the room (hope my roommate didn't want it...)

It all officially starts today. We have staging in about 45 minutes. There are 55 of us in the Mozambique group. For some ungodly reason, we are leaving the hotel at 2 a.m. and driving to New York, where our flight for Johannesburg departs at 11 a.m. It's a 14 hour flight... that'll be fun. I find that, even being a fairly normal sized adult, I'm super squished in those seats. I hope (against all rational thought) that the plane is devoid of people except Peace Corps volunteers. We could have 3 seats each. The chances of that happening are quite low, but I can dream, right?

NOTE: It was brought to my attention that it was kind of hard to comment on this blog. I hadn't ever actually checked my commenting settings, but now that I have you can comment without logging in or doing any of that crazy word recognition stuff. So... leave comments.

Departure: Tomorrow

I'll keep it short because I'm burned out an tired from cleaning and packing all day.

It starts tomorrow. I fly to Philly. By Thursday I'll be in Mozambique.

Woah.

My bags are packed and HEAVY. Stuffed to the brim. I am sure I won't need a lot of it, but I don't yet know which things I won't need.

I'm really looking forward to meeting the people that I have been corresponding with in our Facebook group. They seem really cool. I can tell we're going to get along.

I should get some sleep because it's an EARLY MORNING tomorrow and a looooooong day. By tomorrow night I'll be in Virginia.

Travel Arrangements!

We finally got what's called our staging e-mail, which includes final details on when and where staging will be and how to make travel arrangements. It's going to take place September 25th in Philadelphia. I'm going to be flying in several days earlier, on the 21st, so I can rent a car and drive down to Northern Virginia, where I spent a sizable chunk of my childhood and adolescence. There I'll visit one of my really good friends from high school, and if all works out, I will drop in and visit the teacher I'll be doing the correspondence match program with.

Of course, within minutes of getting this e-mail, all of us on Facebook immediately started talking about who was coming in when, and it wasn't long before we had an arrangement for about seven of us to meet at the airport on the 24th, when I will be returning my rental car, and taking the shuttle together to get to the hotel. I know I've said this before, but everyone that I've talked to so far seems really awesome, and I can't wait to spend 2 years with these people.

The time is passing really quickly, though. I have a little calendar that I've been crossing the days off of, and I had a mild heart attack earlier this week when I realized I'm only going to be working at my little theater for another week and a half (sad sob, it's been really fun), and in just over two weeks I am leaving San Antonio. When did that happen!?

I hope 27 months in Mozambique doesn't pass this quickly!