I’ve been in Sena, Mozambique for two weeks now, and I can honestly say no day is like another. Still, I’ll try to sketch out what my day looks like:
4:30 am Get up, put on my tennis shoes and walking pants.
4:45 am Out the door to walk with Joseph (the local Lutheran pastor), assorted guests to the project or by myself. This walk can last for up to 2 hours, but it is typically an hour if I go up the hill and back again. I meet the local people going to the “mashamba,” a garden area over the hill. We tease that I am going to work there also. Yesterday, an older woman actually teased me by jogging past me. I tried to join her, but she was tough!
6 am Heavenly shower in my own bathroom with running water. Mind you, it’s a trickle, but it’s refreshing. George, the young man who helps with chores, is usually at the house by the time I return sweeping the yard with a homemade broom. It looks nice and keeps the snakes away….good thing!
6:30 am I make a cup of coffee with my Italian coffee pot that works on my stovetop. Fortunately, I bought coffee in Beira because they just have instant in town. I either have eggs, bread, fruit, yogurt, or cereal for breakfast. I couldn’t find oatmeal in Beira, but I’m going to look on my next trip out.
8 am The staff of the Kuwangisana project (for whom I am an advisor) meets under the tree just outside my gate for morning devotions and daily updates. I have to say something too, but still need a translator…except to say “Bon Dia Todos!” (Good Morning Everyone!)
8:30 am – 5 pm This is our working time. I have the only air conditioned office since it is also the IT room. On the days when it reaches 40 C or higher (over 100 F), I am extremely thankful. I break for lunch for an hour and walk over to my house where George has typically made rice and beans. I did teach him this week how to make hummus and fruit smoothies!
5 pm – 8 pm I am typically exhausted, especially these past two weeks because of all the guests to the project, getting acclimated to the heat and serving as the second driver because one of our drivers is on holiday. I eat something (last night it was pasta with feta and tomatoes – pasta and feta purchased in Beira which is a 6 hour drive away), check to see if my kids are online, read a bit, take the second shower of the day, and crash!
A few other highlights of the week have been the goat feast up on the hill Wednesday night to thank several of our guests for coming to help the project and visiting a crocodile farm down the road to pick up some hippo meat for the orphaned children we serve. Next week I’m off to Uganda for a fund raising workshop.
