Homestay Celebration

I think I’ve already mentioned a few times that our days in Namaacha are numbered.  We’ve only got a few more left, and are starting the process of wrapping things up here.  Yesterday, we had a big homestay celebration for all the trainees and families.  Every family was allowed to bring four people (including one trainee) to the party. Each family was presented with a personalized certificate (Mozambicans love certificates) acknowledging their generosity and thanking them for their patience with us.  The Mães had spent all morning (starting at 4am) cooking food for the 300 people who were coming, including Peace Corps staff members.  There was chicken, pork, beef, goat, mystery meat and fish; salad, matapa, xima, rice, and fried potatoes; there were five different kinds of vegetable salads and two humongous cakes too.  And much to the Mozambicans’ delight, there was also a whole lot of booze; four kegs of beer complimented by a couple cases of wine.  Mozambicans love alcohol, often times too much.  But that’s a topic for a whole different post. 

The party was alright.  Well, I’m not giving it the credit it deserves. It was great, and aside from a bunch of teenagers crashing the party and drinking all the beer, I think everyone had a pretty good time.  But something didn’t feel right, and the whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way.  I can’t figure out why, but for the first time in ten weeks, homesickness finally hit me.  

I stood there watching the presentation, looking around at all the other volunteers sitting, surrounded by their host families, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to be sharing this moment with my real family.  I don’t think I have ever wanted a hug from my sisters so badly in my life.  I was excited to be giving the certificate to my host parents, but it would have been great to have had my American Mom and Dad to be there watching it too.  Their absence just didn’t feel right; there was a lingering guilt making me feeling like I was cheating on my real family or something.

Armando Sigauque and Maria de Luz (Not Pictured, but still very important: Octavio, Gerson (Mandinho), Sosanah, Dulcidio, and Fina; and that crazy pilot Mister Valerio too).