Paul and Eli Blog in Moz

Mozambicans aren`t really into pets, but I think our house worker is starting to grow fond of our kitty (or kibby, as she- and us now too- calls him). At least, she is starting to respect the cat as an intelligent animal. She was highly impressed that he knew how to use the litter box we had set up for him. She was even more impressed though when, one morning last week, he tried to answer our phone! We were both out of the house, but here`s the story she animatedly told us when we got back: When our cell phone, laying on the kitchen table, started ringing and vibrating, the cat came running, jumped on the table, and tried to answer it. Not being able to answer the phone with his paws, he knocked it off the table and onto a chair. Still trying to answer the phone, the cat jumps down onto the chair as well, put since he has paws he just knocks it around some more. She then tells us about how she once saw a movie where a dog took a ringing phone in its mouth to give to its owner. She hadn`t believed it when she saw it, but now she knew that it was true- cats and dogs can answer the phone!
What was really funny for us was her sincerity in believing the cat was trying to answer the phone, and how excited she got when she told us the story.

This Thursday Eli and I will be going to the Peace Corps regional meetings, which will take a week including travels. I`m going to stay in the north (in Chimoio) and Eli is going to Maputo because she`s also going to a dentist appointment. But she`s pretty lucky because her regional meeting is going to be at a beach resort! Anyways, it`ll be a nice break for us and a chance to see a lot of people that we don`t get to see very often.

This weekend we had a taco and movie party at our house, and the other 3 volunteers in the province came over, as well as one volunteer from Madagascar, named Lindsey. She finished her time in Madagascar (plus a stint in Morocco) and was traveling all over Africa. It was interesting to hear about some of the other Peace Corps programs, since her environmental tourism projects were quite different than our education programs.

Welcome home to my sister Julie, who just got back to the US after a year abroad in Germany and a job at a soccer camp in Hungary! Also welcome to my parent`s host daughter, Nina, who`s going to be at their house for about a year and comes from eastern Europe (the details escape me).