Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Epilogue

The end has come!
I've been trying to write this post for quite some time, but it's been hard. How do you sum up two of the most critical and formative years in your life? It's impossible. And that's how it got to be February before I could finally close out this blog.

Leaving Mozambique was a very strange feeling. Put every emotion from excitement to fear to regret to hope in a blender, blend it all up, and that's what it's like. Mavudzi was my home, my world, and my life for two years, and I will always remember it fondly. However, it was also a struggle, and after two years, I was ready to move on -- with both my life and my career.

I'm back in Texas now. (Possible new spin-off blog: "From Tete to Texas: Readjustment Woes of an RPCV") Every day, I enjoy a warm bed, no bugs in my room, hot showers, and home-cooked food. I'm working, too -- I teach an adult ESL class here in San Antonio. However, on a daily basis, I miss my people -- my students, Quizito, Laura, Redi, Páscoa, other volunteers... I don't think that will ever go away.

Mozambique seems very far away to me now, both spatially and temporally, but it will always be close to me in my heart. I think it goes without saying that I am eternally grateful to everyone who was a part of my life in Mozambique.

And thus, two months late, I officially declare an end to this blog. There were so many things I never got around to writing about, but I hope that it accurately portrayed the ups and downs of my life as a Peace Corps volunteer anyway, and I hope that it will help other people make the decision to do something positive with their lives, whether that's joining Peace Corps, doing a mission trip, or volunteering in their home communities.

Thanks for reading. It's been fun.

Até a proxima!


Closing out my last few days of teaching.

My neighbors threw me an awesome goodbye party.

Moz 23, who replaced us, waits to hear their placements.

Coming full circle to say goodbye to Mamá.

Getting my "R" and hanging out with JFK.

We made it through together!

Some photos of our travels: Swaziland

Riding 4x4s in the desert of Namibia.

Namibia: Absolutely stunning.

Cape Town. One of my favorite cities in the world.

Merry Christmas from Germany with the family!

And Happy New Year!

6 comments:

  1. Finally caught up with your farewell! I thoroughly enjoyed your blog and have missed it lately. Keep up the good writing - Mrs. H.

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  2. You made some good points here. I did a search on the topic and found most people agree with your blog. Thanks

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  3. I read every page of your blog to prep for my interview, thanks a million!! Take care

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    Replies
    1. Hope you got it, and that you have a great time!

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  4. E putugal que do que? E o mesma merda e pior povo no mundo! E verdade e verdade amigos! Ler meu blog pa mais informaciao, obrigado amigos meus (L)(L)(L)

    Ahhhh putugal, putugal, putugal! Sempre, sempre, sempre chorando e chorando e chorando e chorando por tudo, sempre! Tudo mundo sabe que putugal e o pior merda no mundo, tudos! E mais na palavra "luso' e uma invencao! Tudo nossa historia e fenotipo e Cigano e Arabe. Nao somos lusos. E mais, e melhor que tudo putugal sei uma provincia do Espanha e pronto!

    E nao trabalhos, sempre ficar nas sopas dos pobres tudos dias. Putugal e em estado do merda e nao fix. E verdade e verdade amigos. Esperamos que um tipo de mudança positiva aconteça em Putugal, pois mais de 50% da população, por necessidade, tem que ir às sopas dos pobres para comer. E também, uma melhora no crescimento dos empregos, já que eles estão no país. Por esta razão, muitas pessoas já vão para suas ex-colônias para buscar uma vida melhor e não retornam. Putugal está realmente atolado na merda e ninguém quer fazer nada sobre o assunto. Eles preferem viver em mentiras, o que é isso?

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  5. Interesting article from a fellow Texan!

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