Papayas, Lichees, and Mangos, oh my....

1. Fruit here is delicious.

2. it's funny how the last place that you would want to get diarrhea is also the place that you're most likely to get diarrhea.. (had some stomach issues a week ago and it wasn't fun. it sucks now.. but i know that when i'm back in the states i'm never going to get sick because my immune system will be prepared for anything.. )

here, you hear about the symptoms for dysentery and cholera and whatnot, and sometimes i tell myself not to freak out even though my sister on "oregon trail" died from dysentery, b/c at the end of the game i still got to that river and rafted myself down to safety...

3. O Chines has resurrected.

i went back to the chinese walmart and told the chinese guy in portuguese (which i thought was sort of funny and odd) that i didn't do anything and that it broke on its own. and he let me exchange it for a new one even though i didn't have a receipt.

the moral of the story here is that it never hurts to try.

the moral of the story according to my host aunt here, is that they let me do that b/c they're my family. not going to lie, i think me being asian definitely had a lot to do with it.

4. kuch kuch hota hai

on an eventless saturday, i saw a cheesy 3 hour long indian film with 5 other guys and one indian girl. it made me cry, laugh, and embarrassed. wait, no. i'm not embarrassed. i enjoyed the movie thoroughly and i recommend everyone to check out "kuch kuch hota hai". it'll move your heart in directions you did not think were ever possible.

5. december?

it's weird. right about now i'd be studying and starting finals and getting ready to go back home for winter break. how is uva? i miss it.

and how is cold weather? i miss that a lot.

6. fine thai silk

my most recent acquisition is a short-sleeve, button down shirt that i bought here for 15 meticais (roughly 50 cents in U.S. dollars). it is a part of the thai silk collection, and is made from nothing less than the finest materials.

remember that seen in garden state where zach braff's aunt or grandmother or mom or whoever makes him a shirt and then he goes into the bathroom and sees that the pattern on his shirt is the same as the pattern on the wall? yea, that's what the shirt looks like and yes, the emotion that you're feeling is envy. i would be jealous of myself too. my little sister, Salida, saw me wear it and said "Que Bonita". little does she know. little does she know. haha..

7. hurley?

am i or am i not hurley from lost? who knows. like i mentioned before, i don't have a mirror so i rarely ever see myself. and so, i don't really know whether or not i've lost some significant weight.

here in africa, when they call you fat it's a compliment. b/c it's a sign of good health and wealth. and so, last year, all of the host mothers had a competition on who could get their peace corps volunteer the fattest. and i believe that they have maintained that tradition. so, with that being said, i am given a fair share of a variety of meals and am required to carry with me a minimum of one juice box and a pack of cookies every day.

8. Happy Turkey Day

for Thanksgiving Peace Corps provided a sizable meal catered at a local restaurant. needless to say, my appetite was no less than it usually was on past thanksgivings and i proceeded to eat no less than i usually ate on past thanksgivings. it was a glorious day.

Oh, and the country director made some pumpkin pie. that Definitely made my day.

9. "Goood Moooorning TeeeCHa."

just finished model school today. it wasn't indicative of a normal mozambican classroom (i had about 20 kids when i should expect about 40-70), but it still gave me a little taste of what it'll be like to be in front of a bunch of mozambican kids.

in the class we had a 49 year old. just to let you know, the life expectancy here in mozambique is 39 and so this guy is considered elderly. anyways, he stopped going to school after the 4th grade and there aren't a lot of opportunities for people like him to learn some english. and he came in and whenever he got something right, all of the kids clapped and cheered for him. it was real cute. made me smile.

10. animal planet

i'm not gonna lie. i'm still a little disappointed that i haven't ridden a giraffe or a hippo or something yet. haha. but i might see some real soon. i will be living in the Manica province 20 min. away from the provincial capital Chimoio (for peace corps security reasons, i'm not going to put the specific city. yea, i know. i feel like a spy). and near my site is this place called mt. gorgonzola or something along those lines and apparently it has a bunch of animals and some person from the U.S. has invested tons of money into there in order to preserve this small reservation. and so, i hope that next time i can begin my blog with "lions, tigers, and bears, oh my." instead. except that i don't think there are any bears in africa. or tigers. so "lions, cheetahs, and hippos, oh my".

oh wait... did i ever mention that one a rainy walk back home i saw a crab? it was just in the middle of the path, and crawling away. and it was one of those crabs that live in coconut trees and stay there even though they're like hundreds of miles away from the ocean. i think i saw 'em on the animal planet dvds or on some show on the animal planet channel. but either way, i saw it and i thought it was cool.

i love nature.