Ma-poo-too 2 Naa-ma-sha

It’s Friday night and I’m excited and tired at the same time.  We had safety and health training.  We also got to ask questions to current volunteers about possible challenges as a teacher volunteer.  We were given a Hep A and a Typhoid shot.  I was prescribed anti malaria pills and I’ll have to take them every Friday.  The possible side effect is having bizarre nightmares.  I really hope I don’t get any adverse side effects from taking the meds. 

On another note, I’m extremely excited about meeting my host family tomorrow in Naamacha.  All I know is that my host mother is 36 y.o. , her mother is 61, her daughter is 20 and her son is 17.  They speak Portuguese and a local language called Changana.  I’m happy that they don’t speak English because I think it will help me learn Portuguese faster.

The hotel's internet is pretty good and I've been able to write to people.  However, I doubt that I'll have WiFi internet at my host family's home. I ordered my cell phone today and it has internet.  I’ll receive it tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I may not be able to write long posts with pictures since I’ll be using a phone that doesn’t have a ‘qwerty’ keyboard.  However, I’ll try my best.  

Well, tomorrow is a long day and I need to get sleep before my 3 month home stay in Naamacha.  I hope all is well with you all.  Feel free to shoot me a message J

Posh Corps in Maputo

On Wednesday morning at 3 AM, half of our group took the first bus and I took the second bus with another group.  After a 15 hour plane ride from NY to Johannesburg, South Africa, my group and I waited about six hours for our plane to depart.  Meanwhile, the other group was swimming in the hotel pool and drinking pina coladas at the hotel because their flight was scheduled 5 hours sooner than mine.  I was too sleepy to take a nap at the airport even though I slept about seven hours on the plane.  Too fatigued to read a novel,  I observed people at the airport .  I observed a man who looked to be around sixty years old, charging and yelling to catch his flight as if he were running from wild zebras and giraffes.  I observed a young woman’s hips that swayed to slow beat.  They were the same hips that bore her baby who was protected in green and white cloth wrapped around her body like a cocoon.  People watching was very entertaining during the wait.  

When my group and I arrived to Maputo, Mozambique, we were separated into two vans and a Jeep .  I was in the Jeep and I watched a truck that contained a pile of our luggage and backpacks leading the way to our hotel.  The windows were down and I could smell the smell of burning trash and pollution and surprisingly, the new smell did not bother me. Suddenly, the vehicle turned onto a street that revealed a beautiful beach.  It was breathtaking. 

After my roommate and I dropped off our luggage in our room that overlooks the Indian Ocean, we completed paperwork, discussed how pre-service training would look, and we received a Meningitis shot and our first round of rabies shots. 

I will be posting pictures of my hotel room soon.  This doesn’t feel like the Peace Corps right now.  It feels more like “Posh” Corps because we are getting three delicious buffet meals per day and our hotel is simply gorgeous.  I’m taking advantage of this blissful scenery because the rest of my experience will not be nearly as lavish. 

This was a wonderful day.  I look forward to writing more soon.

The Meatless Cheese Steak Ain't Got No Meat

I'm happy to say that after waking up at 3 in the morning with just grapes and oranges in my stomach, I arrived safely to Philadelphia today at 1PM (PST).  However, it wasn't fun dragging two bulky suitcases with my throbbing hands and carrying my elephant-sized backpack around the airport.  I was relieved when I finally met up with eight other volunteers and we were excited to talk about our assignments with one another and where we were coming from.  After we crammed into a van with our oversized baggage, we were dropped off at our hotel.

After we left our belongings in our rooms, we walked about ten blocks to satisfy our cravings for the infamous Philly cheese steak.  When Matt (another volunteer) and I ordered the "meatless cheese steak", the chef stated, "The meatless cheese steak ain't got no meat."  I laughed because he looked at us like we had a squirrel on top of our heads.  As if he were to say, " Why would you come here to order a vegetarian sandwich?"

Anyway, after the nine of us ate our dinner, we roamed around and saw the Liberty Bell.  After being tourists, we just played a few games when we got back to the hotel.

Right now, I'm in my room typing this post while I struggle to keep my eyes open, as if they weighed heavier than my backpack.  I can't wait to go to sleep.  When I wake up, a group of us plan to get breakfast.  At noon, we'll have our orientation until about 7 PM and we'll get to meet the other 50 volunteers heading to Mozambique.  At 2:30 AM, we will be taking a bus to New York where we will catch our flights to our final destination.

I promise to keep you abreast of my journey in Africa.  At the same time, I'm not sure how reliable my internet will be.  If you don't hear from me in a couple of weeks, it will most likely be because I may be having trouble accessing internet.

Here are some pictures I took today...

"...it ain't got no meat"

An Article Featuring Me!

Gina Moore of Lancaster Selected for Peace Corps Education Assignment in Mozambique

by nextpcvs

Peace Corps Volunteer Profile: Name: Gina Moore Age: 26 Hometown: Lancaster, Calif. Alma Mater: San Diego State University, Marriage and Family Therapy, Graduate Student Country of Service: Mozambique Assignment: English Teacher Trainer Departure: September 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON September 17, 2012 -- Gina Moore, 26, of Lancaster, Calif., has been accepted into the Peace [...]

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Countdown #2!

In exactly 1 week from today (September 24th), I'll be leaving for Philadelphia for orientation for a day with  other education volunteers.  Even though packing for two years is harder than I thought it would be, I'm very excited for this new chapter in my life.  For the last four weeks, I've been making exhausting trips to Walmart, Target, Michael's, and to the mall, where I've bought long skirts, spices,a universal adaptor, sharp cooking knives, school supplies, and so much more.  I have to buy some items in bulk, such as eyeliner and mascara (should I really be bringing makeup with me?), because I've read that some things are hard to find/unavailable/expensive in Mozambique.

On September 26th, we'll be flying out to Mozambique.  We'll receive language, cultural, and safety/security training for 10 weeks while living with a host family.  Afterwards, the Peace Corps staff assigns the volunteers to different sites throughout the country.

I'll be posting more before I leave.  Stay tuned :)