05/12/09

Today we had our big homestay party, I suppose it was a goodbye party. Each family was presented with a certificate that usually the mom and the trainee went up to receive. Some of the moms were funny, getting really into the Mozambican style of cheering (a high-pitched “yiyiyiyiyiyi”), All of the families were all thanked and applauded. Then everyone ate tons of wonderful food and there was even cake too. Although the mix CD they were playing appeared to have only 5 songs on it, Mozambicans love to dance so everyone was dancing the whole time. Some of the kids must have been born dancing, they are just such good dancers and I don’t know how you learn stuff like that by age 3.
Afterwards a bunch of us watched “The Sandlot” this afternoon. One other girl shaved her head yesterday and two more are planning to this week after the swearing-in ceremony. So that will make 5 total (Roselia was brave and showed up to staging with a shaved head). Training is wrapping up which is pretty relieving, but we are also realizing that we won’t be seeing many other people for a long time, possibly a year. It’s kind of bittersweet because I am ready for training to be over and to start my new life, but I don’t want to have to say goodbye to a ton of the people who have been my best and only friends for the past 10 weeks.