Good news everyone! Two weeks ago I won the PCV Lottery. I got a call from Sergio, the Southern APCD who told me that I’d won an all-expenses paid vacation (well, not really) to Maputo. I’d been selected to participate as one of the visiting PCVs during the training of the new group of Education volunteers. And not only that, but I was chosen to come for the PCT Arrival in Maputo and the following Week One in Naamacha. Now to you folks back home, this probably doesn’t mean much, so let me school you a bit in how awesome this actually is. Week One is when the PCT’s first set foot in country. It was my responsibility to not only welcome them at the Maputo Airport (which, as it turned out, I wasn’t able to do because my flight got in an hour later than theirs), but also to help them settle in at the luxurious Hotel Cardoso and to over-indulge in their extravagant buffet.
Because I got in a little late, our Country Director Carl and Pedro, one of the Office Administrators, met me at the airport and gave me a lift to the hotel. I arrived about an hour after everyone else and was greeted by 50 whacked American faces. Like zombie babies, they were exhausted to the point of collapse, moving mechanically; yet wide-eyed and curious, still anxiously trying to soak-in their surroundings and that they could.
I spent the next day and a half answering questions about Mozambique, shoveling grilled steak and calamari ceviche into my stomach, and standing under a hot shower. Yesterday morning, we had one last crack at the breakfast buffet and one last orientation session, before we boarding a couple of chapas and a minibus bound for Namaacha. It’d be my first visit since departing last December.
So now I find myself back where it all started, Namaacha. My housing situation is a bit different (Laurie, the other visiting volunteer and I get to stay in a small guest house behind the local PC Office) and my stay is a bit shorter, but the town itself still has the same feel to it. It’s freezing out, hasn’t stopped raining, and there’s a whole lot of mud. Namaacha is familiar, and it feels like home.
ADD-ON!
I got to visit my host family, and it was great! It was only my Mae and Pai, but that was ok. Octavio has since moved north to Nacala and Mandinho is living in Maputo trying to get into College. Anyway, I dropped by after training was done one day to say hey, and to try and organize a time to come for dinner sometime that week. My Mae wouldn't have it. "Haha, it's funny how you think that you're gonna walk out of here with an empty stomach," she exclaimed in her characteristic booming, yet well-intentioned voice. "Sit down. I'll be right back." Well, it wasn't exactly "right back," but that wasn't an issue for me because it gave me a nice chunk of time to do some well-needed catching up with my host-father.
No joke, the first thing I did was apologize to him. My Portuguese is far from excellent, but I can now comfortably communicate and understand most of what's being said to me. So I apologized for my pitiful inability to speak when I had been here last time, and thanked him for his patience with me. I was finally able to say all the things I had wanted to before; finally able to tell him how much I really appreciated him opening his home to me and welcoming me into his family. It felt good to finally be able to say it.
We sat there talking for a while. It was one of those conversations that feels like five minutes, but must have been more like an hour and a half. Finally, my Mae came back with a huge bowl of coconut rice and some pumpkin leaf matapa. Even though it had been nearly a year since I left to start anew in Cabo Delgado, she still remembered my favorite dish and how much I loved her green stuff. And then, just like she used to, flipped my plate over and piled on a hefty portion that could feed a small army. That's motherly love right there.
The visit was short lived, but still very enjoyable. I was so happy to see them, and I think they were equally happy to see me. They loved hearing about what I had been up to over the past year, and even seemed proud of me.
What a feeling. I'm so glad I got to do that.
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