One month down…

This was by far the best week I’ve had since I’ve gotten here! It probably has to do with getting my 2 care packages from my mom but it’s been a good week all around. Had more language classes and talked about Halloween and Christmas in Portuguese for an hour during tutoring. Trying to get prepared for our LPI test this next week.
We learned about perma gardening this week (just a different type of permanent garden that is easy to do here in MOZ). On Friday and Saturday we built our own garden and compost pile. We planted a lot of different veggies: sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, couve (Cabbage), pumpkins and mandioca. It was really fun and I’m hoping once I get to site to have a little garden to plant the broccoli & pumpkin seeds I brought from home.
Nothing new happened this week…it was mostly language classes and learning how to garden. We did have our Halloween party yesterday. I dressed up like an m&m with another volunteer, Anna. I even brought some of the m&m’s my mom sent to the party with me—and everyone loved them! (Thanks mom!) This week was also one of my host sister’s birthday. My host family had a birthday party for her yesterday. They made 2 cakes, lots of cookies and a whole lot of other food for the party!
Went running this week in the morning before classes with 2 of my friends, Jamie & Marin, in the English group and it’s been really beautiful out. Not many people are out walking around at 5:30am and it’s been foggy lately so the view is amazing of the mountains. We even ran to the bakery this week and bought some sweets—they were so good! We bought a piece of bread with a glaze on it (kind of like a doughnut) and a roll with a streusel like topping and shared them. It was really good and didn’t cost much at all. This week we’re going to have a “Starbucks” date and buy pastries at the bakery Tuesday morning and Wednesday (aka HALLOWEEN!) we’re going to the hotel to eat them with coffee/pop after HUB day.
On Wednesday we find out where we’re going for site visits next weekend. It’s going to be so fun. I heard that while we’re at site visits we are going to have another Halloween party! We have started planning our Thanksgiving dinner—we are making lots of good things: pumpkin pie, apple crisp, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and chocolate chip cookies! I’m helping bake some of the desserts and get the fruit ready. I’m so glad we can all celebrate Thanksgiving together and have some good American food J The only thing that is missing will be pumpkin pudding and black Friday shopping.
I can’t believe it’s already been one month and we’re halfway through PST (Pre service training). I have been getting better at Portuguese and my host family has been helping me a lot.
I was literally the happiest I have ever been when I opened my care packages this last week! I saw their was a jar of peanut butter and a nutty bar and started jumping up and down and screaming. I’m sure my neighbors were wondering what I was doing but I was so excited I couldn’t help it! It was like Christmas morning seeing all the American candy, Peanut butter, chocolate, hand sanitizers, a pillow, Halloween jewelry and bingo and much more! Thank you to the most amazing mom in the world for being so thoughtful and caring to send me the packages! I’m trying to ration the candy and nutty bars so they last me at least a few weeks…but sometimes it’s just too hard not to eat them.

Quote of the week:
“Just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair. That’s me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.” ~From a children’s book: Wherever You Are my love will find you

Updates:
-Site visits start on Saturday and we stay there until the following Thursday! (so no blog post next Sunday)
-I’m halfway done with training!
-Will not take toilet paper for granted ever again.
-I really hope it stops raining long enough for me to do laundry and for it to actually dry…I’m running out of towels.
-Time here is very different than time in America...if something is going to start at noon in the US it would...here noon means three or four...I really need to try and get used to it but everytime I think it will change, haha
-Happy early birthday Mom!! :)