Saturday, February 23, 2008

It's Official

Ó terra longe de mim, ainda não te conheço, mas amo-te mesmo assim.



For those of you who don't already know, I have decided to spend my Spring Term in a far away country. Very far actually, I looked online yesterday and it's about 30 hours away by plane. Where am I going, you might be wondering, well the answer is Maputo, Mozambique. It is a beach town on the shores of the Indian Ocean, where it stays about 75-80 degrees year round and from what I hear is gorgeous.

I will be there from late April to late June, so about two months. I am excited to go, so excited in fact that I looked up some interesting facts about the city.

1.There are about 2 million people that live in the city, that is the smallest city I have lived in during study abroad so far. That will be a welcome change!

2. The food is a mixture of three main types: Indian, Arabic, and Portuguese, along with traditional and native dishes. I was told they use fish a lot in their cooking, let's see how I fare in that situation...I don't like fish...I'll learn to love it I guess.

3. There is a 9 hour time difference between Maputo, Mozambique and the Mountain West...I will have some serious jet lag upon arrival.

4.Maputo is home to the Dockanema Documentary Film Festival, and international festival showcasing documentary films from around the world. This is in September usually so I won't be there for it, but it's cool anyway.

5.The name of the city, Maputo has its origin in an old, fierce tribal leader, Maputa, who once ruled over the region.

6.Maputo is the Capital of Mozambique, and is also one of the economic powerhouses of the country because of its harbor.

I think I am most excited for our Safari we will be going on in South Africa, yay for elephants and lions! We will be going to Kruger National Park, I will bring back pictures! Well, this is the official announcement, I will be going away for Spring on an internship through BYU and the Portuguese department...look for new blogs in the future, I will be writing in it more as my trip gets closer!

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