Done with vacation and back to work...

Hey everyone!
So, I am just getting back from spending 6 weeks of vacation and one week at Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)...
So, let me fill you in on my vacation...I met up with Paul in Dar es Salaam and my luggage was lost by Kenya Airways...then, I find out that his luggage was lost by US Airways, so not the best way to start off our vacation...we spend a night in Dar and then my luggage shows up and we head to Zanzibar! We find out that we are luckily there at the right time (it was the Zanzibar International Film Festival). We spent a few days in Stonetown to see the sights and ate some good seafood that the fishermen sell from their days' work. Then we headed up north to Nungwi to try to do some diving, but Paul and I were unfortunately still fighting our head colds that we got somewhere on a plane...so we headed back to Stonetown and Paul was feeling up to diving and I snorkeled...he saw a sea turtle and I saw a dolphin! Heading back to Dar on a ferry, I got really sick to my stomach and felt awful...The next day, we spent 13 hours on a big bus to get to a town to stay the night before we crossed the border to Malawi. We headed to Mzuzu, Malawi the next day. After that, we went to Lake Malawi in the town of Nkhata Bay (where I was for Christmas). It was a much needed break and time for relaxing after all of our long days on public transport. After a few days at the lake, we headed south to the capital, Lilongwe for a few days...we managed to get Paul some shirts at the market (so that he had more than 2) and he got to meet some of my Peace Corps friends and co-workers. From there we headed to my site for a few days and Paul got to meet my Malawian family, go to a community sensitization meeting, meet George (the guy who I go with to all of the youth club trainings), and eat lots of Malawian food with his hands! I think he liked it!
Then came the fun travel to Mozambique...we headed to the border from Blantyre and got to the Malawi customs to find out that the Mozambiquian border 5 km away that we decided to walk (probably one of the worst decisions I've made). We took a bus to Tete and stayed the night. The next day (a Sunday) we went to the regional airlines' ticket place and they told us they had a flight to Maputo (the capital) but we couldn't get tickets because they can't print out tickets on Sundays...so we went to the airport and waited for standby. We got on and arrived in Maputo...it was like a real city in America! I ate some pizza and Thai food! It was so nice, but I was sort of overwhelmed by all of the sights! We headed north at 4am on a small bus to Praia do Tofo (Tofo Beach). It was beautiful white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. I did a SCUBA refresher course and then we did a dive on a coral reef. We couldn't see alot because of bad visibility and not a lot of animal life. We were supposed to do a 2 tank deep dive to see the manta rays (what this beach is known for), but they cancelled it because of bad conditions. So that was kind of frustrating...we headed up more north to a town called Vilanculos to stay for a few days. It was also amazingly beautiful with turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. We stayed at a really cute place. We did a 2 tank dive at the 2 mile reef off of the Bazaruto Archipelago. It was so cool. We saw a huge sting ray, devil rays, a sea turtle, lots of reef fish, and a white tip shark! For part of this dive package, they drop you off on an island made of sand dunes to eat lunch...there are no inhabitants on this island, so me and Paul were all alone for 2 hours on this beautiful island. We found this place that delivered food for free so we ate a lot of "New York Pizza" and good food from them. We ended up meeting this 50-60 year old New Zealand backpacker who we hung out with from Tofo all the way to Malawi. We traveled to Chimoio and stayed the night so that we could head back to Malawi at 4 am. It took us the whole day and part of the night to get back to Blantyre...from there, we headed to Cape Maclear for a few days in a rental car because we were tired of public transport...we did one dive in Lake Malawi at a site called the Aquarium. It was perfectly named because we were surrounded by small bright blue aquarium fish! It was a beautiful dive. From there, we headed to Malawi's premier game park, Liwonde. We camped there and did a night drive. On the night drive, we saw 7 hyenas! It was kind of scary because they got really close to our open land cruiser. We also saw lots of herds of elephants, hippos, impala, etc. We did a day drive at 6am and then did a boat safari. It was really cool and it has wetted my appetite for the safari stuff that I'll be doing when my parents come!
We spent just a day in Lilongwe before Paul flew out. It was really hard to see him get on the plane. I just wanted one more kiss, one more hug...but that won't happen. I miss him SO much. It is going to be another LONG year before I see him again. It has been hard without him, I see little things that remind me of his visit.
I spent a few days in Lilongwe getting things ready for Camp GLOW and headed up north to Kamuzu Academy to get ready for teaching and facilitating Gender and Health Days. It went so well! We had 58 girls from all over Malawi attend! I think they learned ALOT. We discussed some really important topics like: women's rights in malawi, sexual violence, male and female anatomy, addressed sexual cultural practices, and much much more! There are so many myths surrounding sex in Malawi and it was very beneficial for the girls to get some things clarified! I had a great time and all the work put into it was definately worth it! The girls were amazing and so sweet. OH! I forgot, I also taught them a hip hop dance as a morning activity and they were amazing at it! It was really cute!
Wow, this is a long entry...I guess that's what happens when you haven't written in 2 months...but now I should be back on track with all of this...My parents come on Sept. 6th and leave the 25th or 26th, so I don't know if I will be able to write again any time soon...I need to get some proposals written for the guardian shelter and the TBA training (yes, I have finally gotten the 25% community contribution) and get back to site for a few weeks before I am on some more vacation! I hope that everyone is well! I love and miss you all LOTS!