Happy Holidays

Best wishes to all for a very happy new year! Jesse and I spent the holidays with our new neighbors. Everyone contributed dishes to summer-barbeque-style potluck parties in our communal backyard. We listened to music and danced until late into the night. We enjoyed incorporating some of our holiday traditions into the celebration, like making pierogies and baking Christmas cookies.
Jesse and I are continuing to enjoy cooking delicious dinners and exploring our community. We found a beautiful spot to walk and ride bikes in the Limpopo River Valley, which is very close to our house.
Many of Justin and Mike´s friends have extended their friendship to us. Our friend, Viegas Sergio, invited us to a family party celebrating the graduations of his brother and sister. The night was filled with great food and lots of music, singing, and praying with thanksgiving.
We are continuing Justin and Mike´s project called "English at the Beach." Participants meet us at the beach on Saturdays to practice English in a low stress environment. Often this includes frisbee and soccer in English. Jesse is trying - without success so far - to teach the concept of Ulimate Frisbee. Our house is a convenient stop for traveling Peace Corps volunteers so we´ve seen a lot of people. The bed frame was successfully cut and fit through the door so our guest room is fully functional and well-used now. Below is a picture of our Peace Corps friends Erika, Katie, Lindsay, and Zach helping to make New Year cakes.

When Dan and Russell visited, they worked with Jesse to sharpen their spears and go crab stabbing at the beach. They successfully speared several teeny crabs which went smelly before the next night´s dinner.

We have also visited the sites of a couple nearby volunteers. We got to spend a couple days with our friend, Russell, who lives in Macuacua, a very rural site a few hours away from the city down bumpy dirt roads. The truck that brings bread to the town only comes twice a week, so each time it swarmed with people. Here is a picture of Russell in front of his school, which is kept in great condition by a wealthy man in the province.
We worked conducting admission interviews last week at the testing site in Chokwe, which is where our Peace Corps friends, Sinead and Andrea, live. After we finished proctoring exams for each day, we were able to visit with them and get to know the town.
We corrected admission exams this week and are preparing to begin teaching at the end of January or the beginning of February. We´re getting used to being summoned by phone calls at unexpected times to go help with work at the school.
Our school, called the IFP (Instituto de Formacao de Professores), provides a one-year training program for graduates of 10th grade who plan to be future teachers of 6th and 7th grade English. Jesse will be teaching the Reading and Speaking components of the course, and I will be teaching the Listening and Writing classes.
A couple weeks ago, Jesse and I carried a new kitten home in a rice sack. After a few baths and hours of attention with tweezers, he is flea-free. The kitten´s name is Xingove, which is the word for cat in the local language of Xangana. We´re trying to encourage this tiny kitten to become a killer cat to rats, spiders, roaches, and whatever else tries to invade our house. The kitten is also very affectionate and will help us to welcome you when you come to visit.
We bought a P.O. box in town. Please note our new address and send letters to C.P. 270, Xai-Xai, Mozambique. We´d love to hear from you! Also, we´ll be having more consistent email access now that we´re settled here. Thank you for your messages!