Did someone say new beginnings?

December 9, 2010 On Wednesday, we packed up and headed to Niassa. Supervisor's conference, and all of the awkward games and inappropriate questions (or inappropriate games and awkward questions, depending on who you ask) were over. After the most beautiful, scenic trip I had ever taken in my life, I arrived at site. Driving into Mandimba, I was excited to see streetlights. Something about seeing streetlights calmed my nerves a bit. I arrived at my house and was greeted by the woman who lives in the house across the yard from me. The entire property is surrounded by a reed fence. She and another boy helped unload my things, and afterward, she invited me in for tea....and I was completely and utterly terrified. Here I was...alone, with these people who seemed nice, but whom I had never met before. I sat on the couch with tea and bread and sardines, watching a runway show from Mozambique Fashion Week on TV, trying not to burst into tears. Of course I knew that crying would make absolutely no sense...but that didn't stop the urge. I finished my tea, and crossed the yard to my house. My house is tiny, with two rooms and a bathroom with cement floors, and a tin roof. When I walked in, I saw a lizard, as well as a host of moths, spiders, and other unidentifiable bugs. I sprayed like my sanity depended on it (because it did) and after letting the house air out a bit, I got in the bed. That was the first night i realized just how long two years is... The next day was better. The empregado (his name is Miguel, and he happens to be the brother in law to the landlord) brought me water for bathing, and breakfast. My landlord is a teacher. Not sure what the lady of the house does, but they seem nice. They've been providing all of my meals so far and the empregado has been cleaning and bringing my water..so...I think I have a pretty good set up. Later that day, I went to the office to meet my co-workers and the activistas who were having a meeting. My supervisor picked me up from my house and drove me to the office (which is within walking distance...but he wasn't ok with me walking alone yet). I met the core staff, and then walked into the meeting room with about 40 activistas. My supervisor made me sit in the front while he explained to them who I was. He then told them to ask me questions, and he walked out...leaving me in front of a room full of activistas, most of them women. I clutched my dictionary, and prayed no one would want to ask me anything. Of course...that wasn't the case. Let's just say that the next 30 minutes were equally awkward and terrfiying, and they all left the meeting certain that I was an idiot who couldn't speak their language... The next day, my landlord mentioned that there was a friend of his that I should meet from London. He knocked on my door, and we walked to what ended up being a meeting for an organization that he happened to be the President of...and the lady from London is the founder and main fundraiser for. The organization is called MaMA, which stands for Mandimba Alliances in Mozambique Africa. They're doing all sorts of wonderful things in the community like building hospitals, starting school nutrition programs, etc. Two people from my organization were also at this meeting, as well as other people I had never met before. Once again, I was forced to introduce myself...in Portuguese. I gave my introductory speech (who I am, where I'm from, why I'm here, how long I'll be here...) After my introduction there were all types of responses... "How old are you?" "She's 25" "Are you married?" "She's not married, and she doesn't have any kids!" "Oh....you're gonna be here for 2 years? You're gonna get married" "You can marry me! Then take me back to America" "No, I'm going to choose a husband for her....I have a cousin..." Yeah....I quickly announced that I was here in Niassa to work, not to get married. Everyone kind of brushed it off, then my landlord and Francesca (the woman from London) quickly directed the meeting to the tasks at hand. I spent the rest of the meeting taking notes and avoiding eye contact from the man across from me who had just announced his interest in marrying me and going back to the States.... After the meeting, we went to a restaurant (that is owned by the family of the wife of my landlord) and we ate. It was nice talking to Francesca, because although I think she knows Portuguese, she absolutely refuses to speak it. Her...assistant?...always translates for her. It felt good to speak English with someone for a change. Apparently there are other Americans here too, who I will meet soon. Everyone keeps telling me about them. Anyway...its a little hard adjusting, but I think there are some amazing people here doing some great things. Although most of my friends are in other provinces (and there are more PEOPLE in other provinces altogether) the people here really care about their community and its great that people are focusing on "the forgotten province" of Niassa.