Dementor Attack!

With the month of January comes the rain. Not just your average rain, either -- no, this is African monsoon torrential downpour, which brings with it lots of bugs (bad) but also cooler weather (good).

Last night was so pleasant that Laura jumped up from our couch mid-movie and excitedly proclaimed "That's it! I'm putting on a hoodie!"

She disappeared into her room. A few seconds later, I hear a weird noise.

"AAaughhh!!!!"

"You OK in there?" I casually asked.

The door creaked open, and a hooded monster came stumbling toward me, arms aloft.

"I AM A DEMENTOR! HEAR ME ROAR!"

I laughed. Then I looked over at the door, and I laughed even harder, because standing in the doorway was our next door neighbor Páscoa, looking equally amused and confused.

"I WILL SUCK OUT YOUR SOUL! AARRRRRGHHH!!!" continued the Dementor, unfazed and unaware.

I could barely stop laughing except to say "Take -- off -- your -- hood!" in between bouts of laughter.

Laura obliged, and looked at me. Then she followed my eyes to Páscoa, still smiling in the doorway, and burst into peals of laughter herself.

"É teatro...?" Páscoa asked. "Is it... theater?"

And we just laughed. "Não, é só uma brincadeira..."

"Nope, we're just fooling around."

Our Furry Friends

I'm not a morning person. When I wake up in the mornings, I'm not particularly hungry, I don't feel the urge to do much of anything, and I mostly just want to lie in bed and read. Inevitably, though, as soon as I open my eyes and reach for my Kindle, I hear it--

"Meow."

I keep reading, concentrating on the sentence I'm trying to read.

"Meow!"

I start my sentence over, but again--

"Meow. Meow. MEOW!"

I turn the other way, hoping it'll stop for a half hour so I can fully wake up. But if I'm stubborn, Kitty is even more so.

"Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meeeeooooowwwwww. Meoooooooooooooooooow. Meow. Meoow! MEOW! MEOW!"

Finally, after having started the same sentence seven times, I give up and reluctantly get up and follow as Kitty runs to the minifridge. Yawning, I take out the plastic container that has her food and dump a few spoonfuls into her dish.

The infuriating thing is, she'll take two nibbles, shut up, and then walk away. What the hell, Cat!? You were just meowing like a... well, like a dying cat, as if you were on the brink of starvation, and then once I give you food you couldn't care less! Stupid cat!

Still, she's my stupid cat and I'm very fond of her. She eats bugs -- cockroaches, moths, spiders, etc. In the afternoons, we often take naps together -- her curled up on my stomach or in the crook of my arm. She purrs as I gently stroke her, and life is good.

Lots of Peace Corps volunteers have pets. Animals can be such a source of companionship, especially during first few months of service. The first three months at site are widely known to be the hardest, when you're dealing with homesickness, isolation, missing other volunteers, getting used to your site, etc. I had Poppy when I got to site, and she was a great friend to me.

Which is why I wasn't too surprised when, the other day as I was on vacation, I got a text from my new roommate at site, Laura.

"I got a puppy!"

And what a puppy he is.

I've never lived with a puppy before, and it's been equally fun and infuriating. He's so cute, and he loves to have his belly rubbed and sleep upside down. On the other hand, he chews on everything, pees everywhere (seriously, everywhere!) and cries at night.

Still, Laura loves him like her own child. We've been spending a lot of time sitting on the couch together, watching Downton Abbey, with my cat purring on my lap and the dog lying contently belly-up on Laura's lap.

Our little friend, Simba

The interaction between the cat and the dog has been pretty funny. The first day, when we brought the dog into the house, Leeloo was most seriously displeased. I have never seen her tail so big and fluffy or her back so arched. She made this really weird sound, that I have never heard a cat make before, and just basically gave the dog the stink eye for the next few hours.

Slowly, though, they've been getting used to each other. The dog is always trying to play with her, and she just glares at him, as if to say "Come on. I dare you to come a few steps closer."

Still, we've caught them eating from the same bowl without fighting, and even napping next to each other. I just know that one of these days, I'll catch Leeloo curled up with the dog and purring.

But for now, the relationship is pretty much explained by this photo:

Still, they're our animals and we love them. <3

Christmas Vacation Part 4: The Big City

Ah, Maputo, capital city of Mozambique. So small compared to Johannesburg, so big compared to Tete. My parents and I spent the last leg of our journey there, giving me a week to bask in luxuries of the first world that I'd forgotten even existed.
 
The funny thing is, when I first stepped off the plane in Maputo 15 months ago, my first impression was "Wow, what a run-down city." All I saw was the houses made of sheet metal, barefoot children running loose through the streets, and overflowing garbage cans. This time, however, as I explored the city with my parents, I couldn't help but marvel at how developed Maputo is. Check out that house that's made of metal instead of reeds! Look at those well-fed children playing barefoot in the street! And there are even garbage cans!? I hadn't noticed, but living in the mato as been changing me a great deal.

Maputo (colloquially referred to by PCVs as "Mapoots")

We stayed at the ridiculously chique Radisson Blu Hotel, an 11-story tower directly on the water. This is one of those places where there's a doorman whose only job is to push the revolving door around so you don't have to, a place where some guy comes up every afternoon with complimentary hors d'oeuvres made of unidentifiable delicacies, and someone else comes to close your curtains at night. ("Whew! I was so worried I'd have to close my own curtains!")

Though I joke about it, it was a really nice hotel. The pillows were made of goose down, the window looked out on Maputo bay, and my daily breakfast included more vitamins and minerals that I usually eat in a week at site (Seriously, there was brie cheese. YUM.) I wanted to crank up the AC, snuggle into my bed, and lay around all day long -- well, maybe take a break every once in a while to ride up and down the elevator.

Inside the Radisson Blu.

 Still, we didn't come all the way to Maputo to ride the elevator or curl up in bed. During the day, we got out and explored the city. Though Maputo certainly isn't a tourist attraction, there are a few places worth a visit if you're there, like the Fortaleza, an old Portuguese fort, and the colonial-style train station. Tourism isn't something that Mozambique has really got the hang of yet, so when you get to most of the sights, you kind of say "Oh, that's nice..." and keep walking. Nothing is labeled and there's very little information about anything you see.

Writing on the Fortaleza

Old cannon... bullet...things. No idea what these are called.

An Important Man on a Horse. (No idea who this is.)

Maputo skyline from the ferry.

During our time in Maputo, my prime objective, one of the most important reasons for my parents' visit to me, was for my American family to meet my Mozambican family. Moreover, I was determined for them to get to and from Namaacha by the most Mozambican of travel methods -- by chapa.

The parentals on a chapa.

My parents' thoughts on the chapa ride: "I feel so squished, and this vehicle is about to fall apart on the road. The transmission is shot! And we got stopped three times by the police!"

My thoughts on the chapa ride: "What!? No backwards facing people? No goats? No chickens? The benches are actually attached to the car and the door slides open? We even started without a push! And we only got stopped by the police three times!"

Jokes aside, though, my parents being as well-traveled as they are, they weathered the chapa ride very well. We got to Namaacha just in time for lunch, and what a lunch it was! My host mom made the very typical Mozambican dish of matapa and rice, like I asked her to, and when we finished, she said, "Right. Now for the second course!" And out came an entire grilled chicken accompanied by xima. So much food!

Seeing my host family again was really nice, especially because my parents had really nicely offered to bring presents from home for them. I wanted to give something special to my little host sister who is learning to read, and my mom chose the perfect gift! She brought one of those boards that you can write on and then erase, and my sister and all her friends loved it. The rest of the afternoon was spent writing words, drawing pictures, and trying to read.

Reading with my little sister (in the pink tank top) and friends.

The meeting of my two sets of parents was a really strange clash of worlds. I'm so glad they had the chance to meet! I think both of them got a lot out of the experience.

Mamá, Mama, Papá, and Papa

After our day trip to Namaacha, our journey was almost at an end, as was the year 2013. All that was left for us to do was celebrate New Years which we did by watching the fireworks from our room high up in the hotel.

I think of 2013 as my year in Africa -- I came here in 2012, I leave in 2014, but from the very beginning to the very end of 2013, I was here in Mozambique. What a year it's been.

Here's to 2014!

Happy New Year from Maputo!