My adventures as a Peace Corps Mozambique Volunteer
Photo Gallery
Mama Egeneta and Papa Filimone. They helped me with so much and expected nothing in return. So much love for them.
Mama Egeneta
Matching capulana outfits for teachers’ day with biology teacher Lucinda
One of my favorite students and role models, Equinovia with her little one, Nazia ❤
Hanging out with Chissomo and Rosaline in between classes
First stop in the USA: Flagstaff, AZ for my sister’s college graduation
Our second host family and neighbors who adopted us. Thank you Banda family for everything!
Sitemate Carl and roommate Leslie at Thanksgiving
First picture back home in the USA with my mom!
My students insisted on taking HUNDREDS of photos on the last day of school. Here is one of my most enthusiastic (aka loud) students, Graciete
Host family came over for American breakfast!
My host mom from my first site looking at a photo album we made for her. She flipped through it at least 5 times in a row.
Saying goodbyes around town
Host family from my first site ❤
I couldn’t communicate much with either of these two market maes due to language barriers, but that didn’t stop us from laughing every day
REDES end-of-the-year party with Teacher Mercy and a few of the girls
Last day of school with Geraldo and Clara
My namesake, Lucy! Carrying her the African way.
Leslie and I at our town’s entrance. Over 12 km walked that day.
Adao, one of the primary leaders of the school’s youth club, holding his birthday cake.
With Alexandra, who made some of the best chicken and beans in all of Mozambique. And only $1.50 for a ginormous plate!
Cutting the goodbye cake with our lovely host parents
Our last day at house number 8 with the yellow door
Some kiddos from my BA class who wrote me a song as a going-away present. It was in perfect English too!
Some of my closest friends at the town’s best bakery. Thanks for all the free bread.
Teaching one of my students and good friends, Annie, how to make tortilla chips
My host parents in Angonia own their own nursery school. The graduation was very cute!
Sheila and Paulo demonstrating how to put a condom on a banana – they did a great job!
JUNTOS leadership activity – making bridges with spaghetti and marshmallows
A fellow province mate’s huge world map mural – congrats!
Condom demonstration at JUNTOS club
My students didn’t believe I knew how to ride a bike, so of course I had to show them on campus and got a lot of cheers from all the other students passing by
Love seeing my REDES girls smile 🙂
My cohort Moz 27 at our Close Of Service (COS) conference
Best friend Katy and I at a rest stop in Kruger – not many places to get out of the car there
Spending time with a 10th grade student who’s always asking me English questions during passing periods
Alefa ❤
JUNTOS Members celebrating Geraldo’s 18th and Vilma’s 15th birthdays
First step of the world map mural: painting over the grafitti
Making dog friends at Tofo beach
Adao did a great theater about positive communication at JUNTOS workshop. So proud to see how he’s grown this year
Superstars Vanessa, Leo, and Eunice after they had finally finished freehand drawing the map
Good friends Gift and his son Witman in our town’s pine tree forest
My name sake, Lucy, and her mom, Brenda
First McDonald’s in over two years in South Africa
A relay race at REDES to teach about anti-retroviral treatment can slow down the replication of HIV
After a condom lesson in English class, Horacio and Celestina were brave enough to do a demonstration with a banana
This car was just sitting there for 10 minutes while this monkey climbed all over their car – yikes
Isabel and Vilma showing off what they learned about condoms in our JUNTOS club at the provincial workshop
Geraldo and I taking a break from painting
One of my favorite places to eat market food – only 100 mets ($1.67) for more food than you could even eat in a single setting
Selfie with a wildebeest and zebras!
Maquidonade, or in English, McDonald
Health volunteer and sitemate volunteered to give my students a lesson about how we can lessen discrimination and stigmas toward people with HIV/AIDS – the students got a lot out of it and were happy to have a break from English class, haha
Awesome turnout at our REDES meeting about self-esteem thanks to my counterpart Catarina
Voted Peace Corps Mozambique’s Best Best Friends ❤
We saw dozens, if not hundreds of elephants, in Kruger. This one all alone is probably a male that got kicked out of its herd
Some of my fellow PCV friends and I using our capulana best
Had the awesome opportunity to judge the provincial English theater competition, where students had to create 10-minute skits about the theme: “Violence is never the answer”
After painting the wall white, the next step of the world map mural was to draw the grid.
Province mates!
Isabel with her drawing of what changes a boy goes through during puberty
First glimpses of South Africa when I went to visit Kruger
Vanessa and I after we finished the mural
Known as the roomies who can’t cook but bake a lot of cakes
Sharing market food with some friends after learning to play cribbage
How many human knots will I have done before finishing Peace Corps…?
Adao leading a HIV lesson at a JUNTOS meeting
Homoine special – nachos!
Bazaruto Island
My most spacious classroom and a map-drawing activity
Happiness is kitties
Update: the brownies after did not turn out
Kelvin ❤
Avocado season was a great two months!
Homemade pumpkin pie – yum!
The class president gave his own English tutoring session during the break. Very impressed!
Thanks for the henna, Nikita!
This student clearly plagiarized and was confused when I knew.
At a women’s empowerment club meeting and of course this woman is doing it with a baby glued to her side.
Ilha de Mocambique fort
JUNTOS icebreakers
Juelma and Joaquina ❤
Catarina and Diana teaching the girls how to make reusable pads at REDES workshop.
My most participatory JUNTOS (youth club) member, Geraldo
Ana’s super cute nametag: “I love you teacher, you is beautiful…”
Two of my favorite students, Genilda and Angelina, who come over some weekends to cook with us.
REDES workshop – HIV session
A normal afternoon walking around town
Happy Children’s Day!
Making creepy Christmas cookies
Baby Juju – still trying to become friends with him
Relay races at REDES to show that girls have a harder time completing school than boys
Fatima practicing her presentation skills at a REDES meeting
When it rains, it pours…
My REDES girls at workshop
Chico went all out and put a photo on his name tag.
A human knot activity
Look at those cheeks!
Happy Children’s Day from the local preschool kids and I!
Christmas lunch – rice with tomato sauce, bread, and all the fruit I could’ve wanted
Best friend’s host siblings – Gina and Mila
If you look several rows back you’ll see Maquindonade (aka “McDonald Trump”) holding up an American flag for the entire lesson.
My roomie learning how to tie a baby on her back using capulana
Love my students ❤
“Girls are…beautiful, smart, strong,,,”
So many photo shoots at REDES workshop.
When you make a new friend and hours later she brought me dinner. Love the hospitality here!
My student gave me a shout-out on his WhatsApp status ❤
The big market where you can get 20 huge carrots for $1
These women are amazing – cooking for over 50 people over sticks and ginormous pots!
So many secondhand shoes!!!
Ilha de Mocambique
Trying to hitchhike – waiting hours for any car to stop
Snorkeling in Bazaruto Archipelago on Christmas
It took a few minutes for everyone to get this
At a JUNTOS meeting demonstrating how to use a mosquito net, in this case a capulana.
Passear-ing around town
Skits at REDES
Relay races involving a test about malaria knowledge.
Katy’s host family had a huge birthday party for all the December babies. They were so excited to all cut the cake together!
Twenty Fingers concert with my province mates
My counterpart Catarina and I after REDES training
Typical night without energy: reading, studying the local language, and beans from our neighbor Brenda by candlenight
Laughing with my roomie on Teachers’ Day in the park.
UNO on the front porch can get chaotic.
Grating coconut for our first crack at matapa. We still need to practice.
My only student who wears glasses like me #nerds
With some of my students on Teachers’ Day.
Celebrating Celia’s birthday on my front porch. She is one of my REDES girls and good friends in Sitila.
Kitties can be such a pain, but so cute.
The first camel spider I killed! Luckily they are harmless, just fast and creepy.
Mozambique has so many different landscapes. From pristine beaches to giant pine tree forests.
With some colleagues on Teachers’ Day. Of course the Americans were the only ones to wear capulanas. Kkkkk.
Some of my kiddos. The name of the student getting up to my right is “Happy” 🙂
One of my fellow PCV friends teaching 9th grade English. He’s a great teacher!
This was an overwhelming experience!
My friend and I were “cat naps” for Halloween.
I probably eat egg sandwiches for 1/4 of my meals.
We had to unload all these goats and chickens from a truck to put huge straw mats (esteiras) on and then the animals on top.
In the host family’s garden where they plant kale, corn, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, squash, and more. These eight-year-olds know more about agriculture than I do.
Celebrated my birthday and Children’s Day with a movie night (“Frozen”) with some girls. Also baked cakes and went crazy with the stickers!
Aren’t these carrots beautiful? A big bunch of seven for 0.33 USD!
Nacho night ❤
This game took over an hour.
At the Saturday community library program singing songs
Frying up some donuts to celebrate Mozambican Independence Day.
Watching a football game with Pipoca (Popcorn, the dog) and some neighbors.
My roommate opening a gift on Teachers’ Day. It was laundry detergent – how practical!
Children’s Day with some of my favorite girls.
Teaching “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” in Portuguese at a Saturday literacy program.
REDES Workshop – Mozambicans love their certificates!
Students with their pasta/marshmallow tower. I love being able to do creative activities with my older students.
My host family gifted me this Nyusi t-shirt and jean skirt for my birthday. How sweet! Nyusi is the current president of Mozambique and will likely run again next year.
REDES Workshop – My students wanted to take photo shoots everywhere! Such a fun weekend with them.
The older girls at the primary school put together a dance to perform in front of hundreds on Children’s Day. Great job girls!
REDES Workshop – We were lucky enough to have our event right on the beach. The girls loved it! And so did I!
Teaching an icebreaker at the community library training.
Celebrating a friend’s birthday with party hats, balloons, and the YMCA!
Popcorn break while working on a science fair project with some 10th graders
At Katy’s house playing badminton with neighbors
Finding fun treasures in Maputo
If Mozambicans get carpal tunnel, it’ll be from shelling peanuts, not from typing.
The primary school uses a white tent donated from UNICEF since a lot of classrooms were ruined after the cyclone.
Geared up for spraying a wasps’ nest in my house.
Celebrating Raeven’s birthday with her host family.
PDM in Maputo with Agostinho and Raeven
Cows casually strolling through your yard
Awesome batik we got at the art market from our friend
Anyone want 3 kilos of Nutella?
Host family’s yard. Look closely and you’ll see my nephew climbing the coconut tree for our dinner.
Update: they were knocking on my door at 5:50AM! Good thing I like cake (and them :P)
Spent Christmas Eve with my host family on the beach!
On the walk to my host family’s house. The dogs always lead the way.
Mana Yara and I on Christmas. Note Vula behind me. She never leaves my side!
Great New Years vacation on Tofo Beach!
I thought someone had ripped my caniço and robbed me, but no, it was just my silly puppy. Sigh…
The whole host family got involved when I pulled out a children’s book in Portuguese to share.
They’re taking turns crushing up peanuts to make matapa. They got a really good rhythm going!
Rainy season brings out all the creepy crawlies.
Haven’t been bananas since that day, but I’ll remain hopeful for the future!
Limited supplies for my first meal on my own. Not bad though!
Host nephew, Alex, showing off the cow skull after eating the head :O
With lots of free time before classes start, I’ve been making my way through the PC Moz cookbook!
Mana Yara roasting cashews.
Sitila reminds me of some ghost towns we have in AZ!
These are some of the capulanas available at the local market. So many colors! So many choices!
Peace Corps has a partnership with USAID to promote early grade reading. My sisters loved the books I brought home. We read this one, “The cat and the rat” at least 10 times!
Last week we had a competition to test skills we learned in our homestays. One of the events was hand-washing clothes.
Peace Corps Prom. Gonna miss everyone once we disperse throughout the whole country.
My group went on a hike to the Tres Fronteiras where the borders of Swaziland, South Africa, and Mozambique meet!
Here’s about 45 of us in all three countries at once!
Our living room, where we spend most of our social time.
First time washing my clothes by hand – good workout!
Cuddling with their mama during a rainstorm ❤
When your mom literally gives you a huge piece of cake and seven cookies as a “snack” 30 minutes before dinner.
I let my 7 year old sister, Ciara, do my hair and became Pippi Longstocking for the night.
Taught my two older siblings how to play Set!
Elizabeth pelar-ing peanuts for the matapa.
Masisi is the cutest. She’ll just randomly come up to me and start kissing my hand like I’m a queen ❤
Ciara loves doing my hair!
My Tia Arlet was about to leave, so she put this bag of food on her head. But then stayed to talk for 10 minutes. Why didn’t she take it off? So strong!
When seven kids are in your room wanting to make bracelets…
Me and Ryan demonstrating a “photo bomb” to our language teacher
A wedding parade down the main road! The people in the back of the truck were singing and dancing for the bride and groom in the following car.
A demonstration of Halloween. Love that everyone is smiling 😀
My language group had the opportunity to give a lecture on the environment (in Portuguese) at the teacher’s college. We started with 80 students. But after three hours, only 25 remained.
Macici every 5 seconds: “Mana Elizabeth, is this a set?”
Visiting a local orphanage for a morning of games with the kiddos.
Grinding coconut. Didn’t get blood everywhere this time!