Savane Beach (Praia de Savane)

My attempt at capturing the stars, can you see the palm trees?

Savane Beach Sunrise, Indian Ocean.

One of my favorite memories from the Mozambique trip was our excursion to Savane Beach in Beira after the program had ended. It was so relaxing and wonderful to hear nothing but the crashing of waves and wind in the trees. As I sat out among the palms and stars attempting to photograph the night sky sans tripod, I marveled at the beauty of Mozambique, and also the silence. There were no cars, nobody was talking, no music to try and ignore. Just the wind and waves, the stars, and me.

It was also just wind and the waves I heard the next morning as we went to watch the sunrise over the ocean. Being from California, I am used to watching sunsets over the ocean, but this morning's display of colors and beauty did not disappoint me. I stayed long after the girls had left taking progressive pictures of the sunrise, and also the fishermen going out for the catch of the day. It was one of those moments that come few and far between, where like Moses, you understand that man is truly nothing, and that a greater being created everything before your eyes.

Being back in Provo I miss the wind and waves, the stars and the silence, and the beautiful sunrises of Mozambique.

Pièce de résistance: Kruger Park

This is my Pièce de résistance.

I took it early in the morning, while we were on our morning safari that went from 5-8 am. I had seen a print similar to this that caught my eye a few months back. After a bit of tweaking I feel like it really is a decent photo. Many of the ones that I took were blurry from the safari trips, but I was so happy that this one was in focus and so crisp.

The safari experience is interesting in the fact that you are essentially driving around looking for animals the entire time. It has the potential to be three hours of complete boredom, but for me it was moving. There is something ethereal about happening upon a cheetah just at dawn, when the sky is still a murky grey, awaiting its colors of the morning. Turning a corner in the road and seeing a giraffe twice the size of your van crossing the street is surreal, and watching lions 30 feet away eat their prey isn't horrifying, but a fascinating moment.

I remember last year being utterly disappointed with the idea of staying on paved roads, I envisioned driving through grasslands in an open jeep looking for rhinos and lions in the tall grass. But, after seeing it all, I am happy the safari was the way it was. My pictures don't do it justice, but my memories will last-and that is all I need.

A Teaser (or two, or three, or more)

Here is a taste test of things to come. This very well might become a photo blog for a while. I am home now in Utah after spending four days and lots of moolah in London. But anyway without further ado, some pictures from Africa.

Influene Orphanage, Mozambique


Macaneta Beach, Mozambique

Sunrise over Savane Beach, Mozambique

Zona Verde Machamba, Maputo Mozambique

Kruger Park, South Africa

Don't worry, there's plenty more where those came from!

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

I love that Jack Johnson song.. that is me right now, I'm sitting, waiting, wishing in the airport waiting for my London flight.

Anyway, greetings from the first class lounge in Johannesburg, South Africa! Kailey's flying first class with Air France and got me in here too...

Yesterday was good, we tied up some loose ends in Maputo and went down to the Feira to buy some last minute things. Then we packed cleaned and woke up early to get ready for our flights first to SA then to London. We were all ready to go and waiting for our cab, and a half hour goes by without him arriving to take us to the airport. So after waiting a bit longer we decided to hire a random car.

We get an old Datsun pick-up to take us (Kailey and me) to the airport and I tell him to take the fastest route possible. Hahaha...so we are going on these tiny dirt roads through these little canico (reed huts) homes neighborhoods, Kailey is in the back with our backpacks and I am sitting shotgun to talk it up with our driver and make sure he really is taking us to the airport. We were quite a sight! When we got to the airport, we were able to check in and get our bags check without having to pay any fees, which was great! Our flight arrived in South Africa without any problems and I have been here since noon, and my flight leaves around midnight. But I have been window shopping, had something to eat, and now we are living the high life in the lounge.

But enough about that...I wanted to write some memorable moments from Mozambique:

Getting a ride home from work in a Semi truck
Meeting Alice and going to her church
Killing cockroaches with spoons in our kitchen
Nights at Changalane and the misty early mornings
The time our tire blew out on the way to Beira
Seeing the Red Tide of the Indian Ocean
Giving a talk about education at the youth fireside
Going on splits with the missionaries in Matola
Cooking tacos in our apartment listening to music LOUD
Awkward dance competitions in the living room
Teaching a music appreciation class with just a drum and a guitar
Staying overnight in a random hut on the coast of Beira
Cougar Talk with Kailey and Christina
Going to take pictures with Mike at sunrise
Teaching my culture class students how to do a water balloon toss
Eating an amazing Indian dinner on the coast in Beira
Watching a garage band practice of a friend in T3
Waking up each morning to someone yelling about their coconuts or the sound of a rooster
Meeting Elder and Sister Nelson and getting to talk to them a bit.
Watching one of our econ class students get baptized.
Praying late one night to see Isaura, and seeing her the very next day.
Endless inside jokes between the fearsome foursome and other members of the group.

As you can see I had some memorable experiences in Mozambique. The funny thing is that I really hadn't been planning on coming back so soon, but now I can't imagine it any other way. I have grown to love Mozambique, the people, the culture and everything about it. I feel like this experience has been 100% different than last year's, and I am glad I have had both trips to take in two very different sides to what Mozambique has to offer. I am grateful to the Kennedy Center and to my boss for pulling some strings to get me here. I am thankful to my parents who raised me to appreciate other cultures and to try walking in other peoples shoes for a while. I am thankful to my Heavenly Father, this experience has been a strength to my testimony. I have enjoyed seeing the church growing here, helping the missionaries, and serving in the church. I saw how much God loves each of his children-whether they are living in utter poverty or in the nice beach homes he loves them all. I am thankful for everything I have learned on this trip, and I hope to someday come back to Mozambique.

Bayete Mocambique!

Week in Beira

So last you heard we were in a hotel after a long LONG busride.

Sunday morning we went to church, and let me tell you, we were so blessed for doing so. We talked with the Zone leaders and explained why we showed up to sacrament meeting in church clothes with our backpacking backpacks with us. They told us that there is a home two blocks from the beach that belongs to the mission that wasn't being used and that we could stay there for free. So we went to check it out after church and it was perfect. We stayed there for the week and avoided paying hundreds of dollars. And there was a kitchen and a washing machine, it was heaven!

Monday we went to see a wood carver out in Manga, which is on the outskirts of the city. I bought some souveniers and also was able to meet up with Mike and see Care for Life, where he is working for this week. It was neat to see the place I have heard so much about from so many people in the US. He is having a lot of fun out there helping train people and observe classes in rural communities. Later that night we met up for dinner, and right as we all went to pay the check with our card, the lights went out. For the whole neighborhood. It was pitch black! We paid in cash, walked back to the chapa stop enjoying the breaking waves and the stars, and went home.

Tuesday we went to the beach, which is a long story! We rented a van to take us out to the river where we would cross to get to the beach and pick us up. About 45 minutes into the trip he stops us in the middle of nowhere and demands that if he takes us any farther we pay him more. It was ugly, mainly because I cannot fathom doing that to someone, it was so dishonest. After all of us taking our turn chewing him out in Portugese for doing that he finally drove us the rest of the way. We paid him for the ride there and told him we didn't need a ride home. So we cross the river and upon arriving on the other side we see that there is a little inn on the island. We talk to the owner and to stay in a little hut on white sand surrounded by coconuts it cost only $12. We decided to stay the night, eventhough we had no change of clothing or anything. It was a good choice! We went to the beach and swam till the sun went down, then ate dinner while the generator was still running (they only have electricity from 6-9pm each night) and then we went back down to the beach. Just the night before Mike was explaining the red tide phenomenon to me, and as we get to the beach we see red tide. It was AMAZING! I had never seen it before. Then all of us went in the water because it was too cool to pass up, but we weren't in our swimsuits and didn't want to get our only clothes wet, so I'll leave it up to you to figure out what happened there :)

Wednesday after we rode home from the beach in the back of a truck with the catch of the day and about 30 people, we went to help the elders construct a jungle-gym for an orphanage. It was fun, and then that night Mike came out to go to dinner again-this time it was indian food....mmmm! I loved it! After he left Chrstina, Kailey and I made a batch of no-bake cookies in the microwave for our busride home, and packed our stuff, and Dusty found us a ride to the bus terminal for 2:45 am.

Thusday 2 am we wake up, Dusty calls the ride, and he says he can't come. Lucky those same elders that found us a place to stay said they would take us to the terminal. Those to deserve major blessings! So Kailey, Dusty, Christina and me rode home on the bus for 15 hours. It was a nice bus this time, we could put our feet up, there were movies and snacks, air conditioning and a bathroom! HEAVEN! So now...

We are back in our apt in Maputo with a few days left here in Mozambique. Just today and tomorrow basically, because I start my journey to London on Sunday with Kailey and Christina. I will be sad to leave this year, I have a feeling this will not be the last time I am here however. I will find my way back somehow. Even when I get home I will be writing on here, about things I didn't have time to write about and putting up pictures.

I hope everyone has a good weekend, I know I will!

Love you all!

Lots has happened...

So I am writing this past midnight at my hotel in Beira, which is a long ways from Maputo, but let me recap this past week before I get into that can of worms...

Monday we left on the bus for South Africa where we picked up our vans and drove into Swaziland. I was driving the BYU student van, on the right side of the car, on the right side of the road. And it was a stick-shift. Good times! Let's just put it this way, no one died while I was driving!

Tuesday we spent in Swaziland visiting a village, and some of the group jumped in the waterfall that I got in last year. Seeing how it was freezing water, raining, and I had a cold I didn't want to chance getting even more sick!

Wednesday we drove into South Africa to Kruger National Park for safari. Thursday was the best though, because...

We saw amazing animals, like Cheetah and a whole family of elephants, and seven lions who had just killed a zeebra or something and were eating with their cubs. It was like watching a national geographic video live, it was incredible.

Friday we came home, tided up loose ends, unpacked, packed again, and left for Beira Saturday morning at 5 am. I slept most of the way here, and it was pretty uneventful other than the tire blowing out and us being stuck in the middle of nowhere for about an hour until a big-rig helped the bus.

Tomorrow I think all of us will be sleeping in, I am glad we all made it to Beira safe and sound. Most of us will be here only a few days, we just wanted to see the city here and get to know a different part of the country, and then we will catch some chapas home that stop along the beaches in the lower two provinces on the way back to Maputo.

As you might have guessed, our program is officially over and after the traveling here in Mozambique I will be going to London with Christina and Kailey for a few days. I am excited to do that, I loved London last year and on the way here this year, so I'm thinking it is still going to be good a week from now. I hope everyone is well and I will see you soon!

Done and Done

Hey everyone.

So things are winding down here in Maputo for us already. The time is flying by!

Our cluture class that we were teaching up at the Polytechinic school finished last night. We had a game with water balloons and for a treat we taught the kids how to make smores. Tracking down the marshmallos was easier than I thought it would be! They all enjoyed it and we had a good time. Also we are helping the boys teach their last class at the teachers college this afternoon, and tomorrow we have nothing planned! That will be good because we have some loose ends to tie up for our trip to Beira before we...

Go teach for a week at One World Univeristy in Changalane, which is the University I was helping at last year. It is about and hour and a half to two hours outside of the city, and about half of that time is on a dirt road. I love the drive out there, it is gorgeous. I am excited to go back and see if some of the students from last year are still there. They have internet there too, so maybe I will finally be able to upload some pictures!

This weekend I was supposed to be translating for Elder Nelson's wife and also the wife of the Area President, but they will be bringing their own translators with them for the conference on Saturday and Sunday. I am so excited for the saints here to have the chance to have an apostle and his wife visit, the last time one was here was in 2002 according to the branch president where I went to church on sunday.

This post is really scattered, so sorry about that, but lastly I wanted to tell you about the woman we met working in the machamba. On Monday I got up early and went to the cemetary to take pictures of the sunrise and the light was perfect. Then Tuesday we got up and went to the machamba to get pictures of the sunrise there. Just as we were getting ready to walk back I said "I wish I could see Alice before we leave" and literally 10 minutes later there she is smiling and waving from across the river. She is the woman that let me help carry the lettuce on my head for over a mile to the pick-up stop. She is the one that invited us to her church where her father is a pastor. She is always smiling and loves to give hugs, and is just the sweetest lady you will ever meet. I talked to her and we worked out having her come to dinner on sunday so Mike, Dusty, and I will be making tacos. Surprisingly enough we found handmade tortillas here (go figure), taco seasoning, and we are going to make our own salsa. After watching Oli and Haguit a few times I think I can do it! For dessert we are having ice cream sundaes. I love that lady and her family, I hope they can all come.

Anyway I have to go, Kailey and Helena are getting their hair braded today and they still need to buy there weave. The jury is still out on weither or not I want to do it this year. Any votes for braids? Any against it? Let me know!

Love you all, have a great week :)

This Week...

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I will try to get some up tomorrow if I have time.

This week we worked at ADPP teaching our culture class and that was a hit. Also we (Mike Kailey Dusty and I, the other group members have taken to calling us the fantastic four) were invited to speak in at one of our friends churches. It was a church that is conducted in Changana (the native dialect here) so we had translators from Portugese to Changana. I bore my testimony about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and also sung a trio with Mike and Dusty. Then I lead a song for the congregation (African style) half in Portuguese half in Changana! It was a good experience, I will have to write more about it when I have time.

Us four also taught a music class at the college this week, it was a lot of fun. The people we are teaching are going to be teachers next year so we even taught them a little song to teach their students to remember what sound each instrument makes. They loved it and then afterwards they taught us a song from here. It was a fair trade :)

Tomorrow Mike and I have to track down some paper to print our Econ course certificates on, and then print them out, that will probably take most of the morning down town. Then in the afternoon we will be taking some toys and presents to a local orphanage. Saturday one of our econ students is getting baptized so some of us will be going to that, also we will be visiting the home of Malangatana (go google him, he is the most celebrated Mozambican panter), teaching the last econ class, and also going out to dinner. A full day to be sure!

Well I have to go, I need to go help Mike and Dusty finish cooking! I hope everyone is doing well, Kenny congrats on your mission call, or should I say meus parabens! Oli please call me when you can (skype) so we can figure our trip to MEXICO out, yay! Mom and dad I love you, Nuh thanks for your email, I was laughing out loud here in the internet cafe, and everyone else that reads this have a good day!

Up to my knees

In Mud.


Last time I wrote I said we were going to do something fun for the holiday here. We decided to go out to Macaneta beach which is about a two hour drive away are requires taking your car across a river filled with lilly pads and driving down a dirt road filled with pot holes for 45 minutes. The car we took is a chapa, basiaclly a gutted out van from the 80's that has some extra shocks on it. Well, when we got to the other side of the river we saw that the roads had been washed out from the rains a few days ago. That is about when the chapa got stuck in about a foot or two of mud. So we all got out and pushed it...that was a sight for the Africans to see. A bunch of white boys and girls pushing the car out of the mud.

The bach was wonderful, beautiful and just warm enough. We loved it.

This past weekend we went into town and had a long but fun day. We went to the artisan fair where we picked up some local crafts, took the boys to the capulana store to get them some fabric to make african-style suits. Then we went to a museum, looked around, and walked down the road along the beach to the Mission Presidents home where we had lunch and a small fireside with him and his wife. Then Mike and I rushed to teach the Econ class at the church and after that was done we went to a play downtown. We had a great time, and I was glad everyone was able to do so much.

This week we are just teaching and during the weekend we are going out to an orphanage to visit the kids and take them some food and clothing. I went there a few times last year so I am excited to go and see the kids again.

Also, church here has been wonderful. We have gone to the branch downtown and also in a poorer area, T3, which is where I spent the majority of my time last year. It was good to see the growth that has happened so far, I am excited for them!

Well I have to go already, my time is up at the internet cafe, but hopefully I will get to write some more soon, and post some pictures. I just need to find time :)

Love you all!

I made it!

Hi everyone!

I made it to mozambique, after my two days of flying and lots of sleeping we all arrived into Maputo in the afternoon on Monday. After having a customs official try to confiscate some presents (he didn't succeed) I hopped in the mission van (the humanitarian missionaries came to pick us up) and went to our apartment.

The girls apartment is nice. We have hot water, a nice kitchen, living room, dining room, and a varanda to wash and hang our clothes to dry. Everything is good except for the roaches in the kitchen and the fact that we lost our water today...hopefully it won't be off too long!

Jardim, the area where we are living is really different than Machava, where we lived last year. There is a market close by, where we go to buy fruits and veggies, a little mercantile store (complete with the tall shelves, ladders, and store clerks that get everything for you. Very old fashioned!), and a few other stores on the main road. I like where we are living, it is the perfect place to catch a ride into town or out to the NGO we are working for.

Speaking of ADPP we went back yesterday and it was fun to see my students, my friends I made last year, and see the campus again. I will be teaching at a different school with Kailey this time, it is the Polytechnic School, so I don't know what they will have me teaching, but I would love to do anything really!

Tomorrow is a national holiday, so we will probably go as a group somewhere fun. It is weird being here and having to make decisions and whatnot....that sooo was not my role in the group last year, but I'm glad that my job let me come back and I am looking forward to the next two months here. No pictures yet, I don't want to be too shutter happy...maybe tomorrow we will do something picture-worthy. I hope everything is going well for those in the US. Don't forget to leave a comment and say hi, I'd love to hear from you!

p.s. sorry if there are spelling mistakes, the spellcheck isn't working and I don't have time to proofread!

So Soon (12 Days)

This year has been one difficulty after another with getting the program to Mozambique.

First we have no housing.
Then we find a house and a tent for us to use for two months.
Then we have no letter of invitation (read:no entry into Mozambique)
Then we get a letter of invitation and subsequently our passports back.
Then one of the visas is wrong, so we send it back to be fixed.

Now we are waiting for that passport, and we need to find lodging for five more people while they are in Maputo.

But there have been fun things too:

I will get to see my friends and students when I get back to Maputo.
I will go on Safari again and see beautiful animals in South Africa.
I will visit Inhaca Island for the first time. (It looks like Bora Bora)
I get to stop in London for 3 days on the way back.
I get to see Wicked in London's West end.

There are most certainly highs and low's with the trip this year. We leave in 12 days and I feel like I still have a lot to do. Travelers insurance, tuition payments, finish buying things, and so forth. I feel a bit overwhelmed with everything that I need to do, but I know I will finish it all! Overall we are an excited group and I feel good about everyone that is going. Maybe if I have time later I can blog a bit about some more of this stuff in detail.

Love these videos!

I stumbled across these videos that were filmed in 2006 about Mozambique, she is specifically in Maputo and the outer regions of the capital as well. They are really interesting and very true to reality. She didn't just find the poor areas, almost all areas of Maputo look like what is going on in the videos. But, I love the kindness, fun, politeness, and positive outlook that comes across from both the Mozambicans and Regina Case. This is the place I came to know and love last year. Enjoy!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

It might tell you that your computer doesn't support the file but just click "continue mesmo assim" or something like that and it should work. It works for sure in Explorer :)

Travel Itenerary

Let me tell you a few things about buying a plane ticket to Africa.

First, they are expensive. We're taking $900 in taxes alone expensive.

Second, it helps if you are going over to do humanitarian aid, like me. Then the people at British Airways say, "hey, thanks for being all giving and such" and give you a big discount on your ticket. And make it possible to stay over in London for no extra charge for 3 days on the way back to the states. Then the people from South African Air also say, "yeah, thanks for helping out, we'll book you some $70 tickets to Mozambique that usually cost $300." It's nice to get a little help on the ticket situation, but even if I didn't get the discount, I'd still be going anyway.

So it's official. I will be in the air starting at 1:40 pm on the 25th of April, and won't touch down in balmy humid Mozambique until 3pm on the 27th of April. Yes, that is two days of straight up airplane food, in-flight movies, layovers, weird neck pillows filled with goodness knows what, covering your ears after you flush the vacuum-powered toilet (yes, I cover my ears okay. It's loud, and scary.) swollen feet, and gross alligator skin from the dry plane cabin.

And you know what? I love every minute of it. I love traveling, getting to a new place and stopping along the way. I also love Africa, Mozambique, and the Indian Ocean, and if it takes over 25,000 miles, 60 hours of flying, 8 separate flights, and 4 days round trip I'll be the first in line to get there. Why? Because I miss my friends there, I miss my little 5th graders, I miss my primary kids, and I miss the sunsets of Mozambique.

April 25th won't be here soon enough.

Honestly

I never thought I would post on this blog ever again. Not because I hate this blog, or because I hate Africa, or Rain, or the Rains down in Africa. I love all three of those things actually. I didn't think I would be clicking away at a new post at this site...

Because I never thought I would be back in Africa, hence no reason to blog on here. Well, I have been thinking about Mozambique and the time I spent there for months on and off, and came to the decision over break that I needed to go back. The hard part was I had no way or getting there. My scholarship for school only covers my main semesters, and I already took the classes that are offered in Mozambique. It didn't make sense to go back.

Well, today is my third day back at school. I went to my first class this morning which is taught by the professor that runs the program. He and I stepped outside a few minutes before the bell and he proceeded to tell me that he had been speaking to my boss at the Kennedy Center, you know my Italy and Mozambique boss, and they both decided that they wanted me on the trip this spring to Mozambique. So much in fact that they agreed to rustle up some funds for me to go for free. Tuition is paid, food, lodging in mozambique, safari, hotel while traveling, everything. I just have to buy the plane ticket. And I'll still be getting paid while I'm there.

How can you say no to two months in Africa, giving service alongside amazing people?

You can't, and I didn't.

So long story short, I already have classes taken care of that will prep me for my Brazil experience coming this July and count towards my graduation, and I will be flying off to Africa once more just four months from now. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to go once again, and even more so to have it financially taken care of. I guess my the little voice whispering consistently these past few months was indeed right, I need to go back. Why? I don't have that answer, but that's okay. We seldom get all the pieces to the puzzle at once. So if you notice my other blog is looking abandoned, unloved, forgotten, or any other tragic adjetive you can think of at the end of April come look for me here!

Last week Here...

This is my last week, well really it's less than that, because I leave here on Thursday to go back to the US. The internet has been down at the place that we live so here is a recap of last week's activities sans fotos, sorry folks!

Last monday-We left EARLY to get on our greyhound bus going to Johannesburg, South Africa. I once again was saved during the trip by my wonderous iPod. We got through Mozambican customs okay and also through South African customs just fine. On the South African side there were lots of Mozambican refugees who were trying to flee South Africa. For those who dont know, the people of South Africa (not all, but some groups) have been killing, beating up, raping, and robbing immigrants in South Africa trying to get them to leave. So we saw VW vans full of beds, clothes, food, matresses, dressers etc. and the people trying to get back into Mozambique. It was so sad to see, and it made me so sad for the mozambicans who are just trying to find a better life in SA.

Well, that same day we stopped in Neslpruit, SA and got two rental vans, also known as the "space ships" due to their sweet aerodynamics. Then we drove to Swaziland, which is a kingdom still and their king gets a new wife every year he is on the throne, he has six so far. We got to our hotel and it was amazing! It was so nice to have a hot shower after 2 months of cold ones, ahh...

Tuesday- We checked out of that hotel, went to an old cultural vilage where we got a tour, tasted traditional food, watched traditional dances, and then hiked to a beautiful waterfall and lagoon where we all jumped in. It was freezing!!!! Really, it was, it took my breath away! Then we got out and went back to the cars, changed, and went to a candle factory called Swazi Candles, they made some sweet stuff there, I just had to buy some :) Then it was off to a 1/4 mile of artesan crafts, and I bought some souveneirs for people and for me, and then we checked into our second hotel in Swaziland and ate a big dinner. It was a good day.

Wednesday- We left Swaziland early in the morning, went back through customs out of swazi and back into South Africa so we could go to Kruger National Park in SA. We got there around noon, had lunch and then drove through the gates into the park. That was amazing, it is your car, and the animals, no cages nothing. We saw crocodiles, a giraffe crossed the road right in front of our car, we had to wait for a family of baboons to cross the road, it was so amazing. It took two hours to get to our camp, which is located in the middle of the park and surrounded by electric fences to keep you safe. They close the gates at 5:30 pm sharp and if your not in the camp area, you have to sleep out side the gates in your car. We made it in seriously at 5:25....cutting it close huh?!

Thursday- 4 am, get up put on like 3 layers of clothes, hop in a huge safari truck and go! That was my morning. It was cold, soooo cold, but sooo worth it. We had two lions literally like 10 feet away from us, it was amazing. And soon after I spotted a leopard in the bushes, it was so close to us too. These animals are so amazing when you see them in the wild, it was an experince of a lifetime! We also saw hippos, giraffes, monkies, and LOTS of birds. I loved it. Then we went out on safari again in the evening and saw a family of elephants eating. The mom didn't like us being there too much so she started to charge the safari truck where I was sitting. I freaked and the only thing that came out of my mouth was "vixe maria" haha...we drove off before she really did anything. Then we got home and went to dinner at an old train station and I had some Ostrich meat, and some of a native dish that has a name that is like 20 letters long and way beyond my ability to pronounce. Then we walked back to the tents we were camping in (tents with cement floors, fans, real beds, and a refrigerator....not really a tent in my opinion) and found a hyena behind ours. The only thing that separated us from him was the fence, not soon after the guys came to tell us there were also elephants near by too. It was so cool, I found it interesting that the roles were switched here, we were the ones fenced in, and they were the ones on the outside. Crazy huh!

Friday-We ate breakfast and then headed out of the park, once again we saw lots of animals, Antelope, Waterbucks, Vultures, Zeebras, Impalas, Hippos, etc. We drove back to the bus staion hopped on our bus, and then drove back to Mozambique. Customs was not a problem and I felt happy to be home again in Maputo, funny how I can call it home....it feels like it now even though it hasn't been a long time for me. We were all dead tired, but glad to have had the oppertunitity to see these other countries and see all those amazing animals and get out in nature for a bit!

Saturday- That was SO much fun. We held a district activity for the young adults here in Maputo. Lana, Paul, Brandon, and I sang "come thou fount" in a quartet, it was so nice to sing for them, they really liked it. Then we each read our favorite mozambican poem, and two of us spoke on setting goals. After that I taught line dancing to everyone, it was about 100 people, and they loved it! Then they taught us a traditional dance the "marbenta" which is a dance to atract your lover....hahahaha, great dance to be teaching at a church activity, right? It wasn't too bad and it was fun! Then we went to the mall down town to have dinner at a resurant there to end our program. It was a long day with a lot of yelling instrucitons and eight-counts, but it was so nice to get out there and serve the church members.

Sunday-I went with Jessica and Sam to T3, where I've been helping suzie, one of my friends from here who is the primary president, teach. Last week I taught Lehi's dream to the 8-10 year olds and "nephi's courage" the primary song, it was so fun. This one girl in particular latched onto me, her name is Isaura. She is 10, and she and her brother are orphans who live with relatives nearby. She is really poor and quiet, and Suize told me that she started coming one day a few years back and has come every week since then. The people she lives with are muslim or something similiar, and so she isn't allowed to go to church, but she tells them she is out walking around or playing and then walks with her little brother Jose to church. She can't read so I help her with the hymns and scriptures during class, and every week she takes my hand and sits with me at church the whole time. This was my last week and she asked me to take her home with me, she said she wanted to come live with me in the US at my house. It almost broke my heart, she said "please, just take me with you, take care of me there in the US". I had to say no, but I am so worried about the future that awaits her and her little brother.

Monday-I left with the other BYU kids early today to come out to One World University again, we are staying the night here and we taught english all day. The people here are motivated and want to learn it is so nice! I also had an AWESOME discussion with the director of the univeristy on the ride out here about the church and gave him a book of mormon. He had good insights, questions, and at the end of it he promised he would read it. He is a good man and I had talked to him previously about church, the bible, etc. and I know he would make a wonderful member of the church. I was so glad to have an hour and a half ride to talk to him about our beliefs, and to have been given such a wonderful missionary oppertunity. Tonight we are doing a fireside here and I will be teaching line dancing again and singing in the quartet...fun fun!

Tomorrow we teach again here at the university and then go back to Maputo, to take finals. Wednesday we are tying up loose ends in the city and buying last minute things, and then thursday Afternoon I start my long trip back to Provo. 4 pm I leave maputo, then I go to Johannesburg, SA then London, then Dallas/Ft. Worth then SLC finally.... phew, this is long. If you made it through congrats, I'll bake you a cookie when I get home :)

Some more pics!

The good looking "Team America" as we Like to call ourselves, standing in the hut where Eduardo Mondlane, the founder of the political party that brought Mozambican independence was born. It was a humbling experince to be there.
Me and my "new best friend" as she called me last week at the orphanage. She was amazingly cute, and she lives with family members now because her parents passed away from AIDS, which is a common story here, sad but true.
The girls we teach from the 5th grade class each Friday, They are soo adorable!

My national Geographic sunset pic I took one day while waiting for my roomies to get home, I had forgot My key. BTW the sunsets always look like this here.

My other national geographic photo of the lightning storm here a few weeks ago, I was so stoked that I took this picture!

This is a Machamba, A garden where people grow their own food, and also sell it at little road side stands, those trees in the back are bananas and papayas...mmm! There are litterally hundreds if not thousands around here.

More of the kids we teach on Fridays, the little one in the bottom left corner is my favorite student, he is super funny.

BUSY weeks make for BUSY days.

Okay here is the recap. The internet isn't super reliable but its working for now! Here it goes:

Monday- Went to the funeral of one of the women from the Maputo II branch that we had met at our line dancing activity. She died of an Asthma attack, and it was interesting to see how funerals are done here in Mozambique. Everyone there was very friendly and one of the men was nice enough to give us (the girls) a ride back to ADPP which is like a half hour out of his way, people are so nice here. Then for family home evening we were in charge of the treat and activity, so we made tin-foil desserts with fresh apples, pineapples, bananas, and coconut...they were amazing.

Tuesday-Went to teach in the morning and then in the afternoon went to go meet Mia Couto, a very famous writer within the lusophone literature community. He was so down to earth and had some great stories to tell us, he is an ecologist as a formal profession but is a writer on his free time...basically like superman, well kinda.

Wednesday-Taught during the morning again and then in the afternoon went out to go visit an orphanage where most of the kids parents had passed away due to AIDS. The kids were all so fun and taught us some dances and games that they like to play, which was awesome. Then we started taking pictures of them and they wanted to use the cameras, it was the funnest thing for them, so we have like 100 pictures of random things now, but it kept them entertained!

Thursday- Went and taught in the morning again, which went well although the kids have trouble really getting what I'm teaching and with 60 students and only 45 minutes that doesn't really add up to much progress, but they at least pay attention most of the time. In the afternoon we went and met a congress woman who works at ADPP and is from Portugal. She has a HUGE house down the street from ADPP is a poet and her late husband was a very famous painter here in Mozambique, and so she let us go hang out at her house and swim in her pool, which was almost surreal. I had gone by that house so many times wondering who it belonged to and now I know!

Friday-Dr. Williams asked me and two other students here to make a 1 and a half hour drive out to Shangalane, which is still in the Maputo Province to go teach for the afternoon at One World University, which is a 4 year institution giving bachelors degrees in Education. So I went and rode to this super rural but lovely brand new university in a 4x4 truck, taught college (weird, I know)for the afternoon, and rode back in the same truck this time out in the back of it. It was so fun because it looks so rural, just like you see on the movies, it was sunset, and absolutely beautiful.

Saturday-Got up ate breakfast and went down town for a day of shopping. We went to the artesanato fair, meaning it was a fair where people displayed the crafts they had made and got some sweet souveneirs for people. Then we walked up to the main street and went to Mimmo's to celebrate Kailey's birthday, she turned 18 today, yay! Then a man recognized us as the white people from ADPP and gave us a ride home in the back of his truck which saved us from having to catch a Chapa, the little VW busses that they cram 30 people into during rush hour, we are blessed!

Tomorrow-District Conference, which means we get to sleep in a bit! Yay, Okay and here are some more pics...
Me and Christina, a woman I met in the Province of Gaza, you take a 40 Km. dirt road out to her hut and she will be there. Doesn't speak portuguese but Shangana, the native dialect. She was so nice and kind, even though there was a language barrier there, I could tell she was a warm and loving person, som


Lana and I having lunch of Xima (a paste made from ground up corn) Hortela (pumpkin leaves mixed with peanut oil) Mandioc root, and chicken. It was really good, simple and good.


When we were leaving the community they gave us some Cashew fruit, which is what I am eating in the picture, and to tell you the truth, I hate the fruit as much as I hate the juice, big surprise there! But I smiled and ate it anyway....


When I say we ride around in the backs of trucks a lot, I'm not joking! It's actually a lot nicer for us because there are less people stepping on toes, pushing into you etc. I just try not to think about what would happen if we crashed!


A market, just wanted to picture what we see every day here while driving around.


Sunsets here are awesome, this was on the way back from Gaza, which was about 300 Km away from where we are living, it was an experince getting there!

PICTURES!!!

Here they are....well some, but I'll keep'em coming!


1. Half way through "gettin my hairs did" it took like 12 hours and hurt like a mo-fo.
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2.The end result of the hair, the guys took to calling me mermaid for the time I had it in. I agree it does look pretty mermaid-ish. This is at the natural history museum of Mozambique.

3. Teaching Line dancing to the Maputo II branch, we will be teaching the entire distrct line dancing again on june 14th if anyone else wants to come you're invited:)

4. Going out to macaneta beach, in the Chapa, thats Kailey, Blake, and Paul. Love those kids!

5. We had to cross a river on that ferry boat, the river was filled with with floating lilly pads, and a local also explained that they get hippos and crocodiles sometimes through there, anyone wanna go for a swim?
6. Everyone, the Indian Ocean, Indian Ocean, this is everyone. I LOVED this beach, absolutely beautiful.

7. The cutest little boy, Junior that we met last Sunday while out on an afternoon walk, his mother was so nice and spoke amazing english, she sells vegetables she grows herself in her yard. I want to go visit them again soon.

I will post more soon, its lunch time but there are some for the meantime, love you all!

My time in the Hospital in Mozambique...

So This week was going just fine until tuesday aftenoon, but before I get into that big old story let me give you a wrap up of the weekends activities...

Saturday-We rented a big car, mom it was like the "30 seconds of sheer terror" Mercedes from last summer's europe trip and we all headed out to this beach that is literally in the middle of no where called Macaneta. We had some hired drivers take us and it was sucha beautiful beach, white sands, no other people there, just us. It was perfect.

Sunday-This week we went to yet another Branch this time in Matola. Also watched conference this weekend since the district here (they don't have a stake yet) hadn't seen the Sunday sessons yet. President and Sister Packard were there along with a member of the Area presidency. We went and said hello and introduced ourselves, and Janae the Packards say hello to you and your fam! They said it's so good to hear your are doing well:) Then in the afternoon we went walking with a boy here from the matola branch into some neighborhoods. He is 18 and getting ready to go on his mission and will be great, he already brings entire families to church with him. We met some super cute kids, took pictures of them which they thought was AMAZING digital cameras are a new thing to them and seeing the picture immediately always made them giggle. I also talked with a girl about my age who had a 4 month year old, and that baby was abosolutely adorable. They were all so kind and warm, and had us take some raw sugar cane home as a treat. We decided that we would go do that more often, it's a great way to start talking about the church because at some point they all ask "why are you here so far from home" and then "serve your fellow man" and all that comes into play...

Okay now for the crazy story...

So Tuesday I woke up fine, but by 11 am I was feeling queasy so I cut my tutoring session short, which by the way that girl is doing amazing, I honestly think she is the reason I came here. Anyway I felt sick so I went home and slept until I woke up with a fever, and then I started throwing up then I got a huge hedache that felt like someone had hit me in the head with a baseball bat. My body ached all over and I could barely get out of bed. I thought this was like maybe a 24 hour flu but it wasn't getting better only worse. I couldn't sleep all night because I either was running a fever or freezing cold.

Wednesday I woke us even worse with a bigger fever, and I hadn't been able to eat or drink anything and get it to stay in my system since tuesday morning, so our study abroad director took me to the Sommerfield Clinic which is basically the outpatient hospital that the embassaries and their families use here in Maputo. I guess I looked pretty bad when I got there because they took me straight to a bed and took my vitals. I was dehydrated and still throwing up with a fever, and a high pluse and other medical stuff that I guess was serious so they gave me an IV of saline and some medicine to stop me from throwing up. A few hours later they decided to send me home with some anti-biotics to take over night and see how I would do with those. Well, I promtly threw that up as soon as the medicine they gave me for nausea wore off and kept throwing everything up all night, I could feel myself becoming more and more dehydrated.

Thursday I woke up to the director telling me he had called a cab and they were taking me back to the hospital, since I was worse and couldn't take my medicine. My roomies later told me when they looked at me when they got up and looked at me sleeping in my bed that I was seriously yellow. Um, not normal. When I got to the hospital they said I would have to get my antibiotics interveinously since I was too sick to take them orally. They put me in a hospital bed, drew lots of blood, gave me my second IV line in 2 days, and for those of you who know how much I hate blood and needles know that this was not fun for me. Thank goodness I was too out of it to really care. My tests came back negative for malaria for the 2nd day in a row and also negative for Dengue and some other crazy deseases which was good news. They knew I had an infection but couldn't figure out what it was. So they kept me on an IV and told me they were going to admit me to a nearby hospital and keep me there for 48 hours while they figured things out and when I looked good enough I would be allowed to go home. I was sad because I am so far away from my family and friends and spending the night in a hospital alone didn't sound like a good time. At the same time I knew that if that's what needed to happen that that's what I would do.

So then I fell asleep...and when I woke up I felt SO much better, my roomie Kaylee who was with me said I looked better and all the nurses and doctors said the same...Anyway 9 hours later they said I was in good enough shape to go home since my vomiting had stopped and my fever had broken and my vitals were normal again! So after an IV bag of atibiotics and a few bags of saline I was back in my "home" in Machava at ADPP. My brazilian friends who I met here (love by the way that no matter where I am I seem to find brazilian friends:) gave me a welcome home present of a hot shower up at their house, those girls are wonderful!

Anyway long long story longer...I am feeling much better now, not 100% but for sure good enough to sit here and write all this up. My rapid recovery I atribute 100% to the blessing I was given when I got sick that promised me that I would be healed promptly, I am so thankful for priesthood blessings and for the power of prayer. I am finally eating again today, some soup and plain white toast which after 3 days without eating tasted amazingly good! I missed work and my students were asking for me, guess they like me after all:) I'll start again on monday hopefully.

BTW-ADPP got our group a computer and internet so I can upload some pics and stuff when I feel up to it. They will be here soon! Okay I Will write more soon, thanks mom and dad for your prayers and support, they help even when they are coming from thousands of miles away, I love you both!

maybe some pictures today...

Hello everyone from downtown Maputo. I have today off, well kind of, I taught some 5th graders this morning a little bit of English for an hour and a half. They were so cute! We learned some colors in english, taught them the ABC's and also learned "head shoulders knees and toes".

So this week...

We had a crazy big rain storm complete with thunder lightning and everything. I got one National Geographic style photo of the lightning.

We went Saturday on a tour of the city where we saw the place Elder Scott dedicated mozambique for the preaching of the gospel, then we went and ate lunch at the Holiday in Maputo Which is a 5 star hotel here, very very nice. Then I went and laid on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

Sunday we went to church in Bemfica, which is different from where we went last week, we were just visiting that branch. We watched conference instead of having sacrament meeting because the saints of Mozambique are just now getting to watch it. They were kind of clueless as to what to do during the sustaining of President Monson, as was I when we had conference about a month ago, glad to see somethings in life are universal!

Monday- that was food poisoning day for me. I guess our cook had been pouring the new yourgurt she would buy into se same container as the old yougurt so it was going raincid at the bottom, and everyone kept eating it not knowing that was going on. So, I woke up that morning aroung 6 am threw up, and continued that for the rest of the day with a fever. But we talked to the cook, explained why layering new yougurt on old yougurt isnt a healthy practice, and we're all good now.

Tuesday-Teaching. This week the kids learned the imperative (the command form in english) and used "Irreplaceable" by beyonce as practice with it, as well as help on pronunciation. It was a big hit. Next we we'll do the "th" sound and use Chris Brown's "with you" for that...good times!

Wednesday-More teaching of course! I also had a girl as me to start tutoring here after she is done with school, I agreed and we started that on thursday. We also wento down to the corner to buy some fruit and stuff aroung 10 pm and noticed that the police were down there in full riot gear with m-16 machine guns....needless to say we hurried home when we saw that! Later I found out that is how they dress when they are breaking up the clandestine fruit vendors. Oh, okay...makes no sense to me seeing as how those fruit vendors are mostly older women, but whatever.

Thursday-Taught the same thing and also started tutoring the girl. She is probably like 16 or 17 and cant read or write anything but is a fast learner, I think I'll be able to help her a lot. Then we had a really good class on one of the short stories we had to read for class. I love the literature from this country, it is so beautiful!

Well really quick, Mom and dad thanks for signing me up to go white water rafting with Tisha and Dad, I am excited! And mom it was good to talk to you on the phone last saturday, happy mothers day again! Jill, thanks for passing along "J-money"'s letters, glad to hear things are going so well for him in the MTC!! Nuh...I am glad that you enjoyed Mexico, it is a beatuiful country isn't it! I am stoked to see those pictures!

In closing I tried to upload some pics but to no avail. I can't see which is which on this but soon!