Passear em minhas sandálias (walk in my shoes!)

So, as much as I love writing and trying to describe in vivid detail the daily thoughts, sights, and sensations that I experience here in Moz, sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. Here’s a little photo essay (if you want to call it somethin’ fancy-pantsy) showing you just what my life is like in Mapinhane, and Mozambique in general.

Welcome to Mapinhane! The national highway, or N-1, runs right through town yet it can still feel pretty quiet here. Cue tumbleweeds and country western movie theme... 

Walking south to my front door! My hut is the one front and center with the pretty thatch roof :)

Home sweet home!! ! It’s maybe 15 feet in diameter – enough room for a bed and a desk and not much else. But it’s perfect size for me… although I admit, it’s come to feel like I’ll be camping for the next two years… :P

A teacher doesn't need much... just a desk to prepare lessons and a bed to sleep. 

Looking out my front door toward my outdoor kitchen. On this particular day it happened to be raining... A LOT. 

Inside my outdoor kitchen! Plastic table, bidaos, and a gas stove (not shown) make for an excellent PCV kitchen :)

Looking out of the kitchen back toward the Hut...

Alrighty!! Onward, to the casa do banho! Just follow the trail...

The nicest seat in the house, ha!! Yep folks, that's my pit toilet, and where I get to squat/sit for the next two years! I share it with three other female professors so at least we keep everything clean 'n tidy.

Aaaaandd, my "shower" lol! Actually, I've come to love my bucket baths. Use only 3 liters of water and get mostly clean. It's good for you, good for the Earth, so why not? I'll admit though, getting a real shower at the local hostel in Vilankulo is always a special treat that I look forward to ;)

But where does all the water I use come from?? The ground of course! And  I have to pump it and haul it home all by myself along with all the other women in the village.

Try hauling 20L or approx. 25 lbs of water on your head for at least 5 minutes and you'll have a new appreciation for how much work it takes to just LIVE here! In general, I use about one bidao of water per day, for drinking, bathing, washing dishes, etc. Water is effing precious. In fact, I reward myself for getting through a hard day with an extra cup of water for my bath...and I relish it! 

Another new part of my daily routine? Gardening! Perma-gardening that is! Before the sun comes up, I either put on my running shoes or get out my enchada or hoe to do some work in my machamba or "farm".  I'm already growing corn, beans, mandioca, and Grandma's canteloup from Iowa! 

Look Grandma, your cantelop like Mozambique! :)

Luckily for me, I also have great neighbors...

Me with Junior (2) and Prof. Gloria, my neighbor, colleague, and newest Mozambican mother (lol!)

Of course, I have work too...

My school!! Ecola Secundaria 25 de Junho de Mapinhane!! It just ushered in its second anniversary!

More pictures of my school next time! Just wanted to give you all a little glimpse into my day-to-day life at home! Until then, I'll leave the final words to my next door neighbor cutie named Junior :)