No rest for the weary

So we made it through the first trimester and now get to enjoy a week off of school. However, since we’re Peace Corps Volunteers we never really have vacation – there’s always something for us to do to help our community. In this case it’s taking some of our students and a local teacher to the national Peace Corps youth conferences in the regional center, Chimoio, about 10 hours from our site. Although it’s a lot of travel, and putting on a large youth conference isn’t exactly rest and relaxation for us, it’s nice seeing our friends, which is a rare treat given our site’s isolated location; having catered meals and eating meat and drinking soda; and enjoying a break from the routines of life in site and at school. It was difficult selecting just five participants, since all of our kids wanted to attend, but monetary and logistical constraints meant it was impossible to take everyone. The students we did take really enjoyed the experience; for most of them a week-long event like this is a once in a lifetime treat.