26/11/09

We had our big american football game today to celebrate Thanksgiving in true american fashion. It was supposed to be health versus education (which education would have obviously easily won) but it just ended up being a mix of everyone. It was really fun. We played on the main camp in town and I'm sure all the Mozambicans who passed by thought we were crazy playing such a funny game. When I got home I taught my 13 year old cousin to throw a football. It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving at all. Not in a depressing way. It's just hard to remember that at home all the things associated with Thanksgiving, the leaves changing, the first frost/snow, hockey, the annoying Christmas songs and decorations, are happening when here everything feels and just is completely different. While we were playing in the yard my 13 year old cousin was eating a mango. When she was done she tossed the sit aside on the ground. A few minutes later I pc my 7 year old cousin eating a mango pit. Once I confirmed that it was the same one and he had picked it up off the ground and it was covered in dirt I got pretty mad at him. Are kids everywhere like that and I am just more sensitive to health and hygiene issues here? It's just hard to not be hypersensitive in a country where kids are still dying from things like diarrhea which is completely preventable but comes down to simple hygiene.