Wedding, Hooligans, and Halloween

Through the powers of technology, from the other side of the world, I was able to see my new sister-in-law walk down the aisle and I was a part of my big brother’s wedding ceremony.  It was a bundle of every type of emotion watching them saying their vows and then being passed around the reception talking to friends and family members all gathered together, being a part of it but also reinforcing the fact that I wasn’t actually there.  Still though, pretty amazing that I was able to see it all, despite it being 3am my time.  Definitely worth the lack of sleep.

Unfortunately, some interesting occurrences happened while I was away from my house that weekend.  I had left my neighbor to watch over things while both I and Adrienne were travelling.  I’m still not entirely sure what unfolded that Saturday night, but I came home to a hole in the wall of my bedroom.  After talking with my neighbor, I have formulated my own idea of what perhaps happened.

Apparently he returned to the house, encountering five guys on the premises.  They proceeded to fight each other and then everyone ran away.  I think he must have returned right as they had just gotten inside my house because nothing was taken, very fortunate for me.  All in all, things could have been much worse and improvements have been made on my house since then, making things a little harder for them if they decide to come back.  Still, a little disconcerting though.  Unfortunately, even after a year of being here, some people still see my skin color and associate it with having a lot of money and expensive things.

On a more happier note, the school year is officially over and I have some free time now to relax and do some travelling.  I spent Halloween in Angoche dressed as a butterfly, forming the wings with a brightly colored capulana and some black paint.  This week two volunteers from the new group are doing site visits here in Murrupula.  It is a strange feeling thinking back to being in their place just a year ago and answering all their questions, trying to show them an idea of what life is like for a volunteer here.  In a couple weeks, I’ll be heading down to help out at their training, but first a train trip to Lake Malawi! (more to come soon J )