New Things...

There was a giant millipede hiding in my running shoe, I forgot to bang it before putting it on, and stepped on it. I freaked out, took off my shoe and realized that the millipede stained my toe. It was like this for a couple of weeks. Seriously weird.


View from Cape McClear, Malawi. Great trip. Did you know you can get peanut M&Ms and Snicker bars there? Just about had a heart attack.


In general, I think people would say that hanging out with any group of Peace Corps Volunteers is BORING. I’m pretty sure it stems from that fact that all we do is talk about 2 things: 1. Crazy health problems that we have had happen to us and 2. The food from back home that we miss. Number one is just crazy and never really gets old (also, you’d be surprised/disgusted with some of the stories). Number two is probably the most popular topic. My guess is that it is because most PCVs eat really poorly their two years of service. I’m not too sure what it is like in other countries, but here in Moz, the standard foods are rice and beans or spaghetti. Somehow, I managed to hit the jackpot when I was assigned to have Esther Gweon as my roommate. She is known for a few things here, but she is most famous for being a PHENOMENAL cook. This means that while others are suffering, I’ve been living the high life and trying to rub it in as often as I can. Little did I know I was just storing up a bunch of bad karma. A couple of weeks ago, I took a trip without Esther and realized what it is really like to be a PCV in Mozambique.

I was headed to Mocimboa, a site so far north that I decided to layover in Chiure (about 4 hours from my house) with my friend Sam. Chiure is something else: no electricity, food is scarce, the school is falling down…pretty much as mato/bush as it gets. Well, come dinnertime, Sam and I had to figure out something to eat. He had messaged me a few days before my visit super excited because ‘rat season’ had just kicked off and some of his friends had caught 18 rats from their first burn. I sent back the standard ‘haha,’ which I’m pretty sure he took to mean that I was equally excited. Back to finding something to eat. We were hanging out in his yard when a neighbor came over to pick some plants from his yard to cook with. Sam took advantage of this and politely asked her to make enough for us too…perfect. We went for a walk while dinner was being cooked and came across his friends with the rats. I wasn’t paying too much attention, but either the friends or Sam insisted on us eating rat for dinner as well. I’m not one to say no without trying it, so that was it, rat for dinner. We went back to do dinner number 1 with the neighbors (I made it a point to get as full as possible), then headed back for our rat. The boys brought us out a metal bowl filled with 5 charred rats and another metal bowl FULL of xima (Esther describes xima as congealed grits…seriously gross). I had never seen anything less appetizing in my life. A little bit on the rats first. You eat them with the furry skin still on. At first, I thought that would be the worst part, but it wasn’t. The worst part was that you have to eat the bone too!!! Luckily, Sam set me up with the meatiest part of the rat, the hind leg. Not bad. At least that’s what I thought until I was done chewing and swallowing and found some rat bone hiding out between my cheek and gums =/. 20+ months in Mozambique and I’m still trying new things…pretty cool.

A quick update on everything else here in Monapo: life is GOOD. I had a chance to visit my college friend/roommate Jamie in Malawi...so much fun. Still playing volleyball every weekend with a great group of kids. Esther and I started an English Club with our standout students and it has been a huge hit. I’m really enjoying teaching just bio and physics this year (only complaint is that my biggest class has jumped to 130 students). We are in the home stretch, and my COS (close of service) date has been announced as December 16th. And last/most importantly, Michelle Diane Britten is coming to visit in just over a month!!!!!!!!!!!! Def can’t complain.

Important shoutouts: Happy early first birthday to Kellen Rece Verners and congratulations Nico and good luck in Boston!!!! Miss you Nic and can’t wait to meet you Kellen!