I spent the weeks after Christmas at a sort of slow-motion, leisurely pace. I met with my friend Sister Monica, a wiry, middle-aged Brazilian nun, and we worked on re-writing the English curriculum for the Domingos Sávio Professional School where Monica is an English teacher and I volunteer in many capacities. We spent about a week writing activities and short texts, discussing the ins and outs of English verbs and expressions, and stopping every few hours for a cup of tea and cookies with an older sister in Monica’s convent.

When Matt returned from the U.S., I went to meet him in Maputo and was overwhelmed with happiness at all the gifts my family sent from the U.S. – a green tupperware full of Aunt Jean’s Candy Cane Christmas cookies, photos of Matt with my family and friends, a DVD copy of Kate and Tommy’s Wedding, books, hole-less jeans, even some Betty Jane chocolate-covered caramels. The 12 hour bus ride to Nhamatanda the next day passed rapidly as I read the University News and Universitas to catch up on SLU news and started a new book my Aunt Mary had set me.

In Nhamatanda, Matt and I found a house left empty for a month that had been conquered by the rainy season and we spent the week cleaning up from the small flood – and doing old New York Times crossword puzzles that Matt’s grandparents had saved for us.

Upon returning to Inharrime, I started working at Laura Vicuña Secondary School. I helped with student registration, making class lists and forming a rough class schedule. In the calm before all our little girls returned from their family-visits, Sister Verdiana and I prepared the house for the new year – two new Salesian Sisters will be transferred here in the next month, and 6 lively new little girls will also arrive by the end of January. We got the girls dorm in order and moved our own things to new rooms to accommodate for the new sisters.

For my birthday, Matt surprised me by stopping by Inharrime for the day. We took a leisurely walk to the village and returned in time for the birthday dinner that Sister Verdiana and Father Pierre prepared for me at the priests’ residence: Mozambican pizza (my favorite), Chicken, rice, potato salad, and even a cake! Brother Antonio ended the evening by making everyone participate in a traditional birthday game – everyone had to light a match and give me a birthday message lasting as long as the flame on their match.