language pod reunion

This weekend I steeled myself on saturday to jaunt down to DC to have brunch with a visiting friend and my language pod (and associates gathered when back stateside)

So when I was in the Peace Corps in Mozambique we had 2.5 months of training - in language, culture and health. We were put in the same village with a section of people (living with different host families), and lived closest to the people we were going to be in the same training group as. Our group consisted of Jenny, Me, Kevin, and Lily. Jorge and Veronica as well, but they were not able to make it.

 Jenny and Brian

 Lily and Eliav! who were visiting from Portland/Seattle! I haven't seen Lily since getting back! yay!

 quality mimosas were consumed ;)

 A happy language pod!

 We were directed to look how we felt during most of the training (i was trying really hard to look angry and frustrated, but kinda laughing at the idea! hah)
note: trying to learn a language in 10 weeks while being away from home, friends, family and in a totally strange culture is HARD. but you really want to. because no one around you can communicate with you! so when you get frustrated and are full of questions about how this STUPID (ok not stupid i <3 portugues) language works and the language instructor insists on saying "calma" (ie. calm down) ... ARG. I always felt like saying "I will NOT be fucking CALMA ... I want to know this NOW. BLAAARG" and i don't even know where to start about zanguza ... (our first language instructor)

how our group felt when we got chocolate.
Story: on a particularly frustrating language session at Kevin's host families house (kevin is pictured on the left) we finally got a 15 min break. We were sitting around in his room and he brings out a bag of quality chocolate. Note this chocolate had been sent from the states, and had melted into a formless lump by the time it got to Mozambique. ... it was the best thing EVER. we took a spoon and just devoured it! We got such a high! And it turned us into truant students ... the break lasted a good while longer than the instructor had planned! all the while we were giggling like school children and going 'shhhhh.'
chocolate ... our drug of choice.

visitors

Last weekend my parents were in town for a visit!

 I took them to teavolve after getting off of work! hurray for yummie breakfast food!


I took a nap, then we headed to the Walters art museum for a bit, then to a late lunch at marie louise bistro, where I got the beet and cheese salad - again with the tasty!

 No pictures of the art museum - but it is a nice free museum. I've been meaning to go visit it forever, but never got around to it. i'm such a lazy butt! That night we ate at the Helmand! Another place I've been meaning to try since i found out about it. tasty afghan food!

The next day after breakfast at ... somewhere maybe? i forget!  we went off to hike a little of the Gwynns Falls trail i haven't been on before.

It was hot! and on the way back we took an apparently not much used side trail, and it was attack of the spider webs! But good. I need to go out there more.

We saw To Rome With Love, and then went to Pierspoint for dinner to get Mom her crabcakes! and of course, got some pitango gelato since we were in the neighborhood.

Yesterday since it was my night off, I re visited the Walters - we didn't see all of it. It was probably a good thing we didn't get Dad to the third floor - we may not have gotten out of the museum til dinner! A lot of religious art.  But also neat asian art in the adjoining building (see my instagram photos of the weird figurines)

Other than that - reading a lot. Kristin reminded me of how awesome Joe Haldeman is. Read Marsbound (birthday present!) and re-read The Forever War.
Also reading 2312by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Work isn't bothering me as much as it used to, which is good. About to sleep soon.