The Last Trip

Sunday marked just 20 days left for me in Mozambique and I still can’t quite wrap my head around it.  Already, some volunteers from my group have officially completed their service.  Some of them have even already arrived back home in the states!

As for me, I just returned home from my last travel adventure with some of my closest friends.  Last week, we visited Tony’s site in Imala, probably one of the most rural, or most “mato”, sites of any of the volunteers in our group - just recently got cell phone service but no electricity.  Of course it was a typical travel adventure on the ride in when the driver decided to turn off his engine in the middle of the biggest hill.  Everyone hopped out of the truck, the women beginning their decent up the hill as the men all gathered together to push the truck up the hill (though it would have been much easier to let it roll to the bottom which was much closer).  Finally, they got it to the top of the hill, gave it a running start and the engine was up and running again. Ugh, travelling… But we eventually made it there!

Imala sunset

Due to some of the political conflicts in country right now (I’m safe and Peace Corps keeps us very updated on everything), we thought it safer to not travel too much and celebrated Halloween back in Murrupula 

Our outdoor "nest" to escape the indoor heat

before heading to Ilha de Moçambique for our last week all together.  It was a “tough” week filled with eating delicious food like freshly caught seafood, gnocchi, pizza, and club sandwiches, swimming in the beautiful blue water, playing cards, and creating some great memories with friends.  We spent our last night watching the always incredible African sunset, all of us thinking how lucky we were to be able to experience such a sight together, reflecting on our past two years, not believing it is actually coming to an end, and wondering what’s in store for our futures. 

I was a ninja for Halloween

Our typical swimming spot at the end of the pier

Last sunset on Ilha

While Kevin and Tony are now on their way out of country, the rest of us headed back to our sites for our final couple of weeks.  It’s always hard returning home from a vacation, having to go to the market, clean the house, get back to work, etc.  Feeling a little apathetic, soon after arriving home, I braved the afternoon sun to walk to the market.  Six little boys came running down the street to greet me, immediately grabbing my hands and fighting over who got to hold them as we walked together.  Neighbors greeted me with smiling faces and more children appeared to say hello.  “Where did you disappear to?!”  they asked me somewhat angrily, no doubt having spent significant amounts of time calling for me at my house while we were away.  I have a feeling these next two weeks are going to be filled with a lot of emotional ups and downs.

My two favorite Madison boys - Tony and Adam

Though I have been making an effort to inform people that we are leaving, forever, it’s not something they seem to totally understand.  When they already assume I travel to America on the weekends, trying to explain that I am going back there and will not be back here doesn’t seem to quite compute in their minds.  Now that I can say I have just two weeks left, it seems to be setting in a bit more for some of them, maybe.  Until they again bring up something about me being here next year…

These last two weeks in Murrupula are going to be pretty low key.  The town is fairly quite now that school is over and students have already finished their exams.  It’s generally over 100˚ before 9 or 10am, so you can’t do much other than sit in front of a fan.  We have a going away party planned for Saturday with some of our colleagues and friends and then a smaller dinner planned for our last night next week.  Otherwise, I’ll be keeping myself occupied by packing and sorting through what stays, what goes, and what comes back home, playing with children and chatting with neighbors, enjoying doing nothing and taking it all in.