My friend Esther told me that I needed to write on here again because "people who read your blog but don't know you personally will think that you've died."
I don't know if anyone reads this blog who I don't know personally, but just in case, here we go.
I am alive. I am in Canada.
It has been very nice being back in Canada. This is one of my favorite times of year- autumn- and it has been lovely to watch the wheat ripen and the leaves begin to turn. It's also been lovely to catch up with friends and family. I love my friends and family.
The two things people have said to me the most since I got back are:
1. You are back already?
2. Why don't you have a tan?
The two things that I have had the hardest time remembering since returning to Canada are:
1. To yield to pedestrians
2. That hot water comes out of taps here (ouch!)
Leaving Mozambique was pretty sad. I was speaking in staff devotions that morning and I had something all eloquent planned but then most of my mental effort was spent trying not to sob convulsively. I did pretty well with the not sobbing until I went to say goodbye to Tendai and her mom. Tendai wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, but she gave me a hug and two kisses anyways.
(Lynn and I at the Beira airport)
Dwight and Lynn very kindly flew me from Chimoio to Beira where I caught my first flight to Johannesburg.
(The plane getting some fuel under Dwight's supervision while I try to soak in my last glimpses of Moz)
While I was waiting for my flight out of Beira I decided to organize the loose change that was clinking around in my wallet. The tally was:
I don't know if anyone reads this blog who I don't know personally, but just in case, here we go.
I am alive. I am in Canada.
It has been very nice being back in Canada. This is one of my favorite times of year- autumn- and it has been lovely to watch the wheat ripen and the leaves begin to turn. It's also been lovely to catch up with friends and family. I love my friends and family.
The two things people have said to me the most since I got back are:
1. You are back already?
2. Why don't you have a tan?
The two things that I have had the hardest time remembering since returning to Canada are:
1. To yield to pedestrians
2. That hot water comes out of taps here (ouch!)
Leaving Mozambique was pretty sad. I was speaking in staff devotions that morning and I had something all eloquent planned but then most of my mental effort was spent trying not to sob convulsively. I did pretty well with the not sobbing until I went to say goodbye to Tendai and her mom. Tendai wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, but she gave me a hug and two kisses anyways.
(Lynn and I at the Beira airport)Dwight and Lynn very kindly flew me from Chimoio to Beira where I caught my first flight to Johannesburg.
(The plane getting some fuel under Dwight's supervision while I try to soak in my last glimpses of Moz)While I was waiting for my flight out of Beira I decided to organize the loose change that was clinking around in my wallet. The tally was:
$2.01 CAN
£ 1.17
2 MZM (that's Moz currency)
7.10 ZAR (South African Rand)
I'm pretty sure that this all comes to less than $6.00. The only reason that this is notable is because when I got to London I went to the British Museum to see one of the moai (aka a giant stone head from Easter Island). I wanted to leave my rather weighty backpack in the coat check but alas...it cost £1.50 to leave your backpack at the coat check and, if you will recall, I only had £1.17.
I stumbled around the museum for a while but my backpack was SO heavy and I was SO tired and had SUCH a bad headache after flying all night. I made my way out of the main entrance to the museum, sat down on the steps, looked up and made the very happy discovery that there was a Starbucks right across the street. I hastened over, bought a tea and a muffin, and went back to the museum steps to sit in the sun and have my snack (and some Tylenol. Good thing I don't leave home these days without a malaria survival kit!)
After the Starbucks and the drugs kicked in I decided to go find the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). I will be beginning my masters degree at said school this coming Monday and I wanted to check the place out.
In May I really began to regret my decision not to go to school this year. In late June I was looking around at the websites of some of the schools I was the most interested in applying to, one of which was the LSHTM. While I was browsing I noticed that the LSHTM didn't have an application deadline! I wasn't sure how things could work out, seeing at it was kind of late in the game and I had, well, no money, but I decided to just go for it an apply! I applied in early July and, two days before I left Mozambique, I was shocked to find out that I was accepted! I didn't think that I was be able to go (remember, no money) but on my flight home while I was waiting in the Johannesburg airport I checked my e-mail. There was a message in my inbox informing me that a line of credit was available to me which would cover my tuition and living costs. I was one happy girl!
So, I came back to Canada, waited the mandatory 28 days until I could apply for my student visa (don't ask me why you have to wait 28 days, I have no idea), applied for my visa, bought a plane ticket and then received my visa last Friday! I leave for London this Friday and school begins the following Monday. I am SO grateful for this opportunity. It seems like God has so quickly brought everything together that I needed to go to school this year, including a great airfare and what looks to be a fantastic living situation. I don't think I'm really going to believe that this is all true until I'm through the registration line and sitting in my first lecture! I am very happy and thankful and excited, both for the last wonderfully rich year of my life and for this new chapter, full of possibility.
£ 1.17
2 MZM (that's Moz currency)
7.10 ZAR (South African Rand)
I'm pretty sure that this all comes to less than $6.00. The only reason that this is notable is because when I got to London I went to the British Museum to see one of the moai (aka a giant stone head from Easter Island). I wanted to leave my rather weighty backpack in the coat check but alas...it cost £1.50 to leave your backpack at the coat check and, if you will recall, I only had £1.17.
I stumbled around the museum for a while but my backpack was SO heavy and I was SO tired and had SUCH a bad headache after flying all night. I made my way out of the main entrance to the museum, sat down on the steps, looked up and made the very happy discovery that there was a Starbucks right across the street. I hastened over, bought a tea and a muffin, and went back to the museum steps to sit in the sun and have my snack (and some Tylenol. Good thing I don't leave home these days without a malaria survival kit!)
After the Starbucks and the drugs kicked in I decided to go find the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). I will be beginning my masters degree at said school this coming Monday and I wanted to check the place out.
In May I really began to regret my decision not to go to school this year. In late June I was looking around at the websites of some of the schools I was the most interested in applying to, one of which was the LSHTM. While I was browsing I noticed that the LSHTM didn't have an application deadline! I wasn't sure how things could work out, seeing at it was kind of late in the game and I had, well, no money, but I decided to just go for it an apply! I applied in early July and, two days before I left Mozambique, I was shocked to find out that I was accepted! I didn't think that I was be able to go (remember, no money) but on my flight home while I was waiting in the Johannesburg airport I checked my e-mail. There was a message in my inbox informing me that a line of credit was available to me which would cover my tuition and living costs. I was one happy girl!
So, I came back to Canada, waited the mandatory 28 days until I could apply for my student visa (don't ask me why you have to wait 28 days, I have no idea), applied for my visa, bought a plane ticket and then received my visa last Friday! I leave for London this Friday and school begins the following Monday. I am SO grateful for this opportunity. It seems like God has so quickly brought everything together that I needed to go to school this year, including a great airfare and what looks to be a fantastic living situation. I don't think I'm really going to believe that this is all true until I'm through the registration line and sitting in my first lecture! I am very happy and thankful and excited, both for the last wonderfully rich year of my life and for this new chapter, full of possibility.
