Merry Christmas!!!

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the long time between posts but between the end of training and moving to site its been pretty hectic and I really haven’t had access to the internet. I arrived at site on Friday the 18th and I was in for a surprise…I really did get a hut! My house is a kanisu house (which means it’s made out of straw and it has had many problems. There are a ton of rats living with me…so much for living alone! And I have a ton of bugs and ants which are living inside the straw. Being a straw house I can hear everything outside and can never tell exactly where it is coming from. The house has three rooms and a ton of furniture which I really don’t want or need…I also think some of the pieces are what the rats are calling home. The house does have electricity but no water so I have to have someone bring me water often. Because of the state of my current house I am going to be switching houses soon (hopefully!) and am actually going to look at them tomorrow!

I live in a new house (no one from Peace Corps has lived there before) so I am constantly going to Maxixe or Inhambane (the two major cities an hour north of me) to buy things. It’s great because I go with my site mate Scooter often and then we can bolea(hitchhike) and it takes less time and money. It’s also great because the big cities have a South African grocery store, where I can buy cheese, yogurt, diet coke, and many other things that are hard to find, a store owned by Chinese men where I can practice, some really good places to get amazing (well know I think so) food and other places. The two cities are about 10-15 minutes apart by boat because Inhambane is located on the peninsula and Maxixe on the mainland and by car they’re about 40 minutes.

My town is a great place because it is located on the EN1which is the main road going up the coast of Mozambique which means a great market area. But it also means that I am constantly being called Maloongo (white person) and am being given the higher prices. It’s especially bad right now because all the South Africans are traveling up for the holidays…I hope that it will get better once everyone realizes that I’m actually living there!

My job as of right now is still not defined but I know that I will be giving talks on all things health here in Mozambique. I’m excited because my organization International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program (ICAP) has the main office area in a youth health building (Servicos Amigos para Adolecents e Jovens SAAJ) and so I hope I can work a lot with the ‘at risk’ age group here! I am really going to start work after the new year, it’s been hard coming in right around Christmas time because everyone is just trying to finish up for the year.

I still cannot believe that it’s Christmas! Its been so hot here and there is no snow or really any Christmas decorations that it just doesn’t seem time. Every time I comment about the weather I have to explain how cold Chicago is with snow and they still don’t understand…they think 20C is the end of the world and now I do to! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I don’t get to a computer before then!!

I’m trying to put up pictures but I think you can see them on my picture site: http://gallery.me.com/aedavis

Love you and miss you all!!!

Ann