The first day of the conference seems like a week ago, yet in reality, only 2 days ago. There were many nurses from Maputo province (southern most province in Mozambique), from the Gaza province and from the Inhambane province - about 30 in all. All nurses really exhibited much passion for nursing and how to become a stronger professional voice in Mozambique. We certainly see parallels with our own history. Yet given the many obstacles related to poverty so evident here in Mozambique, we are filled with a deep sense of respect for our new partners. They are courageous men and women.

On a lighter note, it was nice going to a nursing conference that actually started at 8am or after. None of this 6:00am wake up call for opening sessions at 7am! There are lessons that we can learn here. There is a great sense of culture expressed in song and dance that was apparent on both days. We will be posting a video (hopefully -- if I used my camera correctly) of some of that. Lori and I are trying to determine how we could introduce music / dance into our meetings.

Our presentation went very well (Portuguese and all) and there was great interest in our structure and the professional voice that nursing enjoys in the United States. Throughout the rest of the conference, references were made to American nursing. How we wish we could snap our fingers and make this happen in Mozambique. But that would be too easy. One interesting observation for the first day is that much time was spent in reflection -- open dialog about issues within the provinces, solutions, etc.

Pictures for the cultural session will be posted shortly, so stay tuned...

Michele