beaches, burns, and bugs

So, first and foremost, I want to dedicate this blog entry to the fathers, mothers, siblings, boyfriends and girlfriends, third cousins once removed, etc. of other Mozambique PCT´s who are currently reading this blog. I have now lost count of how many people have told me that their ____ (insert significant relationship here) have seen my blog. With the way my brain has been working, that means it´s been at LEAST three people. One´s mom even mentioned that I beg for mail on my blog. How embarassing. My secret´s out... now people know why I get so much mail on mail days. What they don´t know is that it´s pretty much all from my mom. (Hi mom. I miss you, and I love you almost as much as I love your mail. Send money. Love, Courtney.) To everyone else´s people, if you too send me mail and make me look really loved, in return I will send you all the gossip about your son or daughter that he or she is not telling you. KIDDING. But in all seriousness, do write me, it makes me feel better, and I will definitely write you back. Oh here I go, begging for mail again.

This week I got to set out on a little adventure for the city of Maxixe (pronounced ma-sheesh) for our site visits. It was an awesome time with really cool people and so inspiring to see a little bit of what life as a volunteer will really be like. We also got to go to praia tofo (tofo beach). If you are bored right now (if you are reading my blog, you clearly are), go google image search it right now. Seriously. Go. It is the most beautiful place I have been in a long time. We stayed in a hostel there on the beach (literally, like, on the sand dunes). And resultingly, my body is covered with hundred of bites from some kind of bed bug/mite/mosquito/swamp creature, and the top half of my body is peeling from a nasty sunburn that is leaving my skin like all liquidy and multicolored like I have got a disgusting type of birthmark going on, but provided I don´t die of some sort of disease, it was totally worth it. Other updates... let´s see. Last night there were some cockroaches falling into my room through the roof, which I then attacked with bug spray, and then my head hurt for awhile as half of my remaining brain cells died off. My original plan was to title this post "my glamorous life in africa," but I digress.

All joking and sarcasm aside, I am doing very well. I am occasionally homesick for friends and family and running water and crunchy peanut butter that is actually crunchy, but what can you do? Tomorrow begins week 7 of training (out of ten) and it feels like I have been here for years! Probably the most exciting thing is that NEXT friday--the day after thanksgiving--I find out my site! Meaning, where I will be living and working for the next two years!!! I am so excited to figure out what God has in store for me here in Mozambique. I will move out to that location in the middle of december. I will definitely let you all know as soon as I find out, and will send out an actual email then too. I have been waiting because my life has been somewhat boring. Training has been fine, learning Portuguese slowly but surely, and getting to know new friends and enjoying the hilarity and humility of it all.

Much love to the states. Please get in touch and tell me how you are all doing. I think of my loved ones across the Atlantic quite often, and hope things are well.

until next time,

courtney