First Impressions

We have officially arrived in Mozambique!  For two nights we will be here in Maputo, then we head off to Namaacha on Saturday to meet our host families there.

I sit now on the balcony of my hotel room overlooking the Maputo Bay.  The sun is beginning to set, its rays filtering through the clouds, it is slightly muggy but not horribly so, breezy, and maybe around 70-75 degreesish.  Life could certainly be worse.  

view from my balcony

Today, after our 15 hour then 1.5 hour flights, we took 3 buses to the hotel, our luggage all in the back of a pickup and filling a trailer.

People strolled the streets, some waving at us, other passing drivers peering into our bus I’m sure wondering what we were all doing there.  Maybe I was expecting a bigger city since it’s the capital or maybe we just didn’t venture in that area on our short drive from the airport to the hotel, but it kinda reminds me of downtown LA.  One side of the street has older looking cement walls and low buildings while the other side has a bright, newly painted yellow apartment building.  The bus driver pointed out Nelson Mandela's house as we drove past.  Billboards for Coca Cola and even KFC are displayed along the road, the occasional fruit stand or guy selling maps appears, satellite dishes sit in apartment windows, clothes hang from banisters, kids in uniform leave school, 6 people ride in the bed of passing pick up trucks...It's not crazy crowded or hectic feeling at all and those on the bus sit there trying to take it all in, that we are actually here!

Unfortunately, we don’t get the chance to explore the city as they confine us to the hotel premises for these next two days, giving us more vaccines (I only got a rabies shot and then get another tomorrow) and supplying our malaria medication (cross your fingers for no crazy side effects), and then tomorrow we go over some safety things and prep for living with our host families who we meet on Saturday! 

It’s all happening very quickly, yet still feels very surreal in a way probably because we are still just at a hotel and there still remain a lot of unknowns.  I’m nervous about meeting my host family and then actually jumping right in to training and this is all really happening! 

P.S. I am unsure how reliable the communication, particularly the internet, will be during these first 10 weeks of training, so, just in case, there may be fewer posts, if any, but I’ll try my best to continue to share my experiences as soon as I can!