07/03/12

Cyclone #4 of the year (and it’s only march) hit Mozambique over the weekend, causing many power outages in the southern region of the country and knocking out our internet for four days. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as originally anticipated to be, but there was still severe rain and wind and all PCVs in the south weren’t allowed to travel for a couple days.
Being back in Inharrime was really wonderful. People in Namaacha are getting to know me little by little—the people from my church, the guard at the gas station I walk by every day, the woman who sells produce on my way to the office, the neighborhood kids, the man we buy eggs from—but it’s still not the same as it was in Inharrime. I was a teacher there, which meant that instantly thousands of people knew who I was and why I was there and gave me a certain amount of respect. It was great to walk down the road, into the market, into the school, and into the restaurant and have tons of people greet me by name with big grins and waves again.
There are a few girls from the orphanage who didn’t return after the holidays. The littlest one from last year and her sister are reportedly living with family in South Africa now. This troubles me because these two girls were not in great shape when they arrived at the orphanage last year, the little one had a stomach full of worms and the older one was a little off cognitively and socially. I hate to imagine that they are likely returning to that same environment.