Settling in

We’ve been back in Mozambique for almost two weeks. It’s hard to imagine that we ever went to the States. We looked forward to our trip for months. We dreamed about the people we would see, the food we would eat, the things we would experience. We wondered what it would like to be back, to interact with our families, to go shopping, to go to church. We wondered if it would feel overwhelming. And when it came to the trip, we anticipated the plane trips and how it would feel to be greeted at the airport by our parents and then go out into the cold weather. And now it’s two weeks after all of it and it seems hard to imagine that we ever returned because it seems like a dream.

We arrived at JFK airport in New York and it felt so normal in many aspects. There were things that struck me—how the bathrooms smelled clean, how the immigration agent was friendly(!), asking us what we were doing in Mozambique and welcoming us back to the US, how big and modern the whole airport was. And then we got out of customs and walked with the rest of the people from our flight out to the waiting area and there were my parents, waiting with our winter coats. We got in the car and as Dad began to drive, we taken aback at the side of the road he drove on, though we struggle (mainly me) here to know to drive on the left.

We got back to my parents’ house and it was so nice. We celebrated Valentine's Day with my parents (see above picture). Unlike when I came back from a year in Russia 10 years ago, things seemed more normal and I didn't have much of a jolt adjusting to the differences. We went shopping and the stores, though stocked with many times the amount of merchandise as here, didn’t seem as overwhelming as I though it would feel. One thing different I did notice was, here in Mozambique there are people or living creatures (goats, chickens, dogs, etc) everywhere, in the States, there was always something somewhere. We decorate public spaces, probably because we have a lot more disposable income.

We arrived in the States on Wednesday; on Friday, we traveled to Harrisburg for my brother’s wedding. We met my sister-in-law for the first time and went to a Mexican restaurant (it was such good food, if anyone opens a Mexican restaurant in Moz, we’ll come!). In the evening was the rehearsal dinner. The funny things about being the groom’s family, is there’s not a whole lot to do, except show up and smile at pictures. I’ve done more at friends’ wedding (who were the brides) than I did at my brother’s wedding. That said, it was a lovely wedding and gave us a glimpse of who they are as a couple. Here’s a picture of the happy couple.

We spent time with both sides of my family. And then flew to Nebraska to be with Joél’s family for a week.

We soaked up the time with our families. It felt so good to be able to talk with people who have known us for longer than our MCC term, who will be with us after it and who are support us while we are here. Again I was struck by how nice the house was. Not that we do not have a nice house here, it’s just a different nice. We laughed and played games quite a bit with Joél’s siblings. We caught up on National Geographics. The time passed quickly but at the right speed.
We shared some of our experiences with people at both Joél’s parents’ church and my parents’ church. We were pleasantly surprised how interested people were in what we are doing. It was a good opportunity to connect with some of the people who are praying for us and who support our parents while we are so far away from them. This is a picture of Joel, his brothers and our sister-in-law.

Now we’re back in warm Mozambique. We are realizing that there are two season here—mud and dust. It didn’t rain much while we were gone, so now it’s dust season. The seasons are changing. It’s getting cooler in the evenings and the length of daylight is lessening. People are beginning to harvest their corn and avocados and guava are in season. Pumpkins are finishing and other squash like things too. Beans are coming into season. It’s nice to know more what to expect for seasons, now that we are on our second year. Soon it will be citrus season, then harvest time and then time to plant lettuce for the cold season, then we’ll watch the leechies ripen and the mangos and another year will have passed.