Working on New Normal

So, this is what I'm dealing with Right Now.  The guy before me left a lot lot lot of stuff in my room.  Mostly garbage.  Unfortunately, I still don't know what to do with garbage around here, so mostly I throw it in a corner or on the floor and pretend it went away.  Also, I have filled the whole cupboard in my  living room with paper-garbage already.  I'm going to use that to light my charcoal grill (carvao) when I get one.  (I spied a hole in the back-40 of my school grounds.  I may go on a night mission to dump my lixo (garbage) there tonight...)

Tiniest bed EVER.  But, it has these cool props so I don't have to put nails in the wall for my  net.  Actually, it's a bunk bed, but I'm trying to make myself feel better (and more grown up?) by calling it a "mosquito net ready bed"

biiig closet.  

Lots of awesome books.  I've found a stack of NatGeo, and some awesome books I've been meaning to read.  Also, a whole stash of bio-teaching supplies.  Score!

In other news:  Yesterday morning, as I was tomaring my cafe, Serge (my neighbor) came to my door, told me to get dressed and come out.  I thought I was finally going to meet my school director, but instead I just stood around with all the other Professors and tried to chat.  So...difficult.  Everyone has a different accent (or so it sounds to me) and it takes me a minute or two to warm up to a new person (to warm up my ear that is).  Sometimes they stick it out and talk to me--even after I asked them to repeat their complicated sentences like: "What are you teaching" or "When did you arrive" three times before I understood.  I met the director of my discipline--he's a real nice guy, lived in Cuba for 16 years--so we had something in common "I lived in Cuba too, kind of".  

The Professors had all returned to school yesterday to correct the national exams that were given last week.  I thought they wanted me to help, but after about 1 1/2 of standing around chatting, when they were finally ready to get to work, Serge sent me home.  I didn't mind, obviously I have a lot of work to do around my house, but I was really amazed by the attitude of the profs during this whole ~2 hours of nothing... none of the profs seemed agitated or anxious to be standing around at work, but clearly not working..no one was bothered, and I liked that.  I can get used to...hanging out...

In the afternoon I walked down the the market and met up with Kim.  We sat at the train station and watched trains go by and drank some cokes for a bit--I think that's my new spot.  I liked it a lot.  

We hung out some more at my place...and then I walked her back to her school in a storm.  I got soaked.  I ran into Serge with a few other professors at the primary school--he was filling up a jug with water (agua doce) for drinking.  He was going to give me a ride home in his car, but right as I was making a dash for his car I slipped and fell in the mud.  Oh boy.  So I told him thanks but I need a bath now and I walked home.    And, that was about the most interesting thing that happened to me yesterday.

Public service announcement to all of my Mozam-friends:  mCel has a 10-amigo plan!  You can talk to your amigos for only 4.5MTs per 15 minutes!! WHAT?  ok, here's how you do it:  *137*THE NUMBER (without the 258)#  

It took me about 10 tries to get it to work--so if it fails the first time, just keep trying--or find a Mozambiquan to enter it for you (this is the method I ended up using, even though she entered EXACTLY what I had entered a million times it worked for her the first time)