Going to Gurue!

Hey Eveyone!
Hãppy Belated Thanksgiving!!
We had a lovely meal here altogether on Wednesday
complete with turkey and all the trimmings. I made green bean casserole,
stuffing and no bake cookies-which was an adventure/ learning experience
considering my family has a charcoal stove. But it all turned out well for the most part.

Wednesday was also an exciting day because they announced our site placements!!!
I am going to Gurue in the Zambezia povince up north. You won´t get much when you
google it, but try. lol
I have been told by many PCVs and my guide book that Gurue is THE most or 2nd most beautiful place they have been in Mozambique! And I have seen some pictures, which seemed to indicate they were right. It has mountains and tea plantations all around.
I have also hit the jackpot with my house as well. I have an indoor bathroom complete with FLUSH toilet!! A total rarity here and esp. for PC housing. I am so grateful!!!
I have so much more to say, but alas I only have 7 more mins. left here at the internet cafe.
So I will try to get on again soon to tell you more about my job and organizations I will be working with! They are great too!!
Stay tuned!

Jules

yes, more pix...

My alarm clock

My latrina (potty)

the Casa da Banho (with bonus door!)

Minha Casa

my shower-nice huh?? don´t be jealous

Pictures yet again

Ann & Kat (peeps in my language group)

Sara and I

a typical lunch-yes, that´s a fish

Farida-age 14

panel of CDC and PEPFAR people at HIV/AIDS Info Day

Pix Round 3

Pilaring peanuts during "Learn How to Cook Mozambican Food" Day.

fun reptiles-a chameleon we found!

Ralaring (shaving) coconut

My host siblings: Farida, Maria, Madena, Alberto, Mariza

More Pix

yes, there are big, gross bugs here. Thankfully none of them have been in my house yet...

My family´s pentacostal church-very pentacostal LOL but at least the service is in Portuguese so I can follow a little bit.

The day I met my host mom-Adelia

A beautiful moment: the host mom´s singing and clapping as they welcomed us in.

Maputo

Pictures Finally! I hope...

View of Maputo from Hotel Cardoso

Hotel Cardoso in Maputo

My roommate (Bao) and I

Jburg here we come!!!

Lounging in JFK waiting for theSouth Af Air ticket counter to open.

The Good, the bad and the ugly

Hey all-

Yes it has been forever since I have posted.. sorry!! I never get a chance to get up here
and now that I have basic internet on my cell phone, I don´t make as much of a point to get
up here and wait in line.

But today there is no line! Yea!! So I am once again going to try to upload pictures!

And here´s some brief updates from the past few weeks:

The Good: We have reached the 1/2 way point of training!!!! Yea!!
And this weekend we get to get out of Namaacha!
We are all going to visit current volunteers at their sites around the country. I am
going to a city called Milange in the Zambezia province in the North. It is right on the Malawi
border. It is really far!! I fly into the provencial capital Quelimane and the next morning take a looong bus ride across. But am staying with a super cool vol that I have met here at training and am soo looking forward to seeing more of this country.

The Bad: I think I already wrote about my sinus infection which was no fun; and this week has been all about testing-language, culture and everything else we´ve learned thus far.

The Ugly: I got very sick last weekend... it was AWFUL! Major G.I. problems from both ends (read diarrhea and vomitting). But thankfully was "only" food poisoning so it only lasted for a day or so...

Anyway, things are good, language is progessing (though do not like my new language instructor) and lots of work and assignments coming due.

For now, I will leave you to spend the rest of my time posting pix. Forgive me that I am still a bit of a blog novice and do not really know how to post pictures well or label them. But I will try.

Paz,
Jules