Maryangela's Venture to Mozambique: 365 Days!

May 1^st 2016, is my one year mark that my feet have touched Mozambique. I am emotionally mixed about this; I am looking forward to returning home yet, I value being here. Time goes by much slower here; I feel more like I’ve been here 365 days, rather than one year. So this day mixes my feelings between celebrations and relief.

The year has been mixed with intrigue and adjustments, nuances and challenges. I have loved meeting new people and making friends; sharing interests and commonality. I have been intrigued with the culture; funerals, weddings, the traditional healer’s drums at night, the chicken feet in the beans, the pounding of peanuts, the potage snack at school, the dusty roads, the swollen bellies, the acute dermatitis, the buildings in rubble from colonial times, the weekly market, the vendor boys that work all day in the heat for fifty cents. These impressions are carved into my mind.

Emotionally this adventure has also been topsy-turvy, I have never felt so popular than when I hear my name called so many times walking to the center as my heart often squeezes when looking at the kids and wondering what their future will be like. They also make me think of my own children, Christian and Alycia, and appreciate where they are even though I miss them.

I swerve between counting down the months I will be home and hoping I have enough time to see some results from my projects. The Peace Corps’ phrase; “The toughest job you’ll ever love”, is accurate.

All in all, this year has definitely enriched my journey, thank you for sharing it with me. xo @bloggingabroad