Part of me wants to write for hours about the past few days.
Most of me wants to sleep.
So here's the compromise. My mother promised me she'd write about her experiences, so I'll try to give a summary as a reminder.
On Friday, we visited Naomi and Nora on our way out of Maputo. They were more than happy to see us. And the brownies my Mom brought. We then arrived at my house a couple of hours later, tired of sitting down. So we took a walk in the blazing heat of 3 PM, seeing the central market and a few other landmarks. Ate dinner at one of the local restaurants.
On Saturday, we picked up the car from the hotel where their non-Portuguese-speaking guard had been dutifully protecting it all night. Then we prepared for the day and made breakfast, including a bread run. Afterwards, we headed out to the tailor and got ourselves measured, stopping by various stalls in the market.
All the while, of course, meeting my students.
Then we headed over to the market to say hi and buy some food (!). Afterward, we went by Oscar's place to appreciate and pick out a couple of his paintings. Lunch happened, then we rested through the heat and moved on to the hospital where we visited Maria. She seemed to be doing fine and should be released tomorrow.
Which brings us to today.
We headed out to a site about 2 hours away that has a couple of colonial-era dams and an entrance to the tri-national game park. I had arranged to meet one of my students who lives out there, but as we found out, he wasn't around. However, being a Sunday, his mother WAS around, at church.
So we went to church and had one of the most magical African experiences ever. So I won't even try to write it on an empty tank.
We gave rides to some locals going back to my site. Then ate dinner at another local restaurant, leaving the car in a guarded area. And now, I sleep.
Peace
John
