53. Two Years

I'm proud to say that I've now lived in Mozambique for two years of my life.  Two-thirds of my marriage has been spent with my husband in Africa, and Dan and I have spent more time living in this particular house than we have lived together in any other.  It's become our home.

It's strange to think that I'm about to walk away.  In 40 days, I'll be leaving Zobue.  I'll pack up my bag, lock my house, kiss the dogs on the head, and wave goodbye de vez.  I might come back and visit, but I'll never live here again.  Not the way I live here now.

Dan says that he's ready to go.  He's tired of the heat and dust.  He's tired of the stares and gawks and endless chatter, the pointing and the laughing and the bald and gaping sense of rudeness.  He's tired of the discrepancies and the gulf between the rich and poor.  

Me, I'm not so sure.  I'll walk away when it's time to go, but a part of me will stay right here.  

Photo taken by the kids...

Rather than try to summarize these past two years, I'm going to rely on the printed words of my fellow volunteers. These blogs and posts are some of my favorites and, when bundled and read together, really capture the essence-- the ups and downs and laughs and tears-- of our mutual, two years' experience.  

MAC'S BLOG:
On Always Using Condoms:  Let's Talk about Sex
On Death:  A Failed Recovery
On Running a Successful Workshop:  Where is my Penis?
On Hospitals in Mozambique:  Oral Vaccines

STEPH'S BLOG:
Student Polls:  Funny Opinions and Favorites
Four Maps:  Where in the World is Steph?
On Living without Electricity:  Why Everybody Should Try It
How to Kill a Chicken:  A Step by Step Guide
On Being a New Teacher:  8th Graders

And from other amazing volunteers in our training group:
Adrienne Marvin:  Capricious Sojourner
Sara Nowakowski:  A Time for Adventure
Kevin Cannaday:  Experimental Chemistry
Laurie and Chris Williams:  On the Banks of the Limpopo River
Stephanie Hay:  The Super Exciting Adventures...
Sam Bar:  Mo-Sam-Bique

TWO YEARS IN MOZAMBIQUE!  Woo-hoo!

I'm proud of myself, and I'm proud of Dan.  I'm proud of everybody.

Honestly, we've grown so much.

A few basic statistics

Competitions won:  0

Basketball courts built:  0.5

Languages learned:  1

Years spent:  2

Dogs adopted:  2

Countries visited:  6

Students taught:  505

Hours in the classroom:  2340

Pictures taken:  30,000+
Happiness points:  A billion