So, today will be a bit short because the man that runs the internet cafe is looking at me very suspiciously because i was squirming, trying to decide if i should ask for a bathroom, and i think maybe he thinks iºm on drugs or something equally suspicious. He is standing now, looking at me. Great impression.

Anyway, some exciting news. In just a few weeks i will be traveling to an unknown destination in Moz to visit a PCV site. This could be in the north of the country, in which case i will be flown, or just nearby. Depending on where they think i would like to see. So that is neat. Hopefully the elections will not cause any problems with it.

In other news, my family recently expanded to include my cute 3 year old host-sister, which we call Mae, i think. And mae means mom. So, that was a little confusing at first. Especially since her name is actually Tanya. Anyway, she is in from Maputo, to spend some time away from the big city living and with us country folk. She is super cute, super curious, and i am pretty sure she smiles 90% of the time. I did notice she does not smile when sleeping, and she does not sleep much so that accounts for the 10% she does not smile.

Have you noticed i am not using any contractions? Perhaps by my next entry i will have discovered the appostrophe on these forsaken keyboards. Or maybe i will just have sentences that are a little bit longer.

My mom recently introduced me to her boyfriend, so that was a nice family moment. In Mozambique it is very common and culturally expected for men to have women, sort of on the side. Anyway, Mae (the real mae) told me her boyfriend is married, and i could not help but notice that it is not to her. So that will spark some excellent conversations as soon as my Portuguese is up to snuff.

I visited the beautiful, coveted waterfalls. Ahem. I mean, rocks where, if there were water, it would be able to fall off of beautifully. It is the end of the dry season, so the two hour walk was rewarded by some great cliffs.

Today I was able to make my little brother smile at me for the first time. Apparently all it takes is a digital camera to be HILARIOUS. So now my popularity with little Kevin has increased tenfold, which is good since I was getting used to the idea that i would just get scowls and a forced "boa noite" from him.

Next week will be the start of our community projects. I will be assessing what a group in the community needs and how to provide it, essentially. It is something really small, like teaching some kids how to cough into your elbow, or to brush your teeth. Making a difference, one toothbrush at a time.

So, for now I will leave you with a popular myth in Moz:

HIV came from America and Americans intentionally spread it to Mozambique.