It's Never too Late for a First

“Sara”, called an eight year old neighbor, “I heard there was a party at the library this morning!” 

The building of the library took a lot longer than I had hoped and after its opening, I felt somewhat bad and definitely disappointed that I wouldn’t have much time to try to start some reading programs with the community.  I felt a little like I had dumped the library on my counterparts and then was kind of abandoning it, hoping they would be able to execute the projects we had discussed like organizing children’s reading sessions, finding volunteers who would help out with the library’s programs, holding a mini training to demonstrate and discuss some methods for working with kids and how to plan a session.  But these past few months had flown by and my hopes of seeing such activities executed were slowly diminishing as I faced the reality of leaving soon. 

Turns out, I had nothing to worry about!  By its own initiative, this week, AJUDEMU, the community organization responsible for the library, organized a group of nine eager student volunteers and created programming for a mobile library project.

The volunteers in their fancy Mobile Library t-shirts

I had always known my counterpart Iassito was an incredible guy with a great amount of initiative and passion for helping his community.  He had arrived on Saturday afternoon, informing me that he had the idea of taking some volunteers to the smaller surrounding towns outside our vila, hoping to spread the knowledge of the existence of the library and reach a larger audience who didn’t have easy access to it.  

On Sunday, we met with 9 student volunteers for a planning meeting.  They designed their program for the session including read aloud and individual reading time, local songs and dances, games like Hot Potato and João (just like Simon Says), and educational games to review the alphabet, spelling, and numbers.  I was impressed by all of their ideas and left the programming entirely up to them.

On Monday, they did a small rehearsal of their programming with children from our community, becoming the first of what will hopefully be monthly children’s sessions at the library.

As they prepared in the morning, I walked around the neighborhood, asking any child I encountered if they wanted to study and play.  Though they often looked at me utterly confused, I got them to follow me to the library, eventually gathering a group of about 50-60 children of all ages. 

I was a fly on the wall during the session, excitedly watching the volunteers interacting with the 50 or so children, my counterparts leading them and taking control, myself not really having to do anything but take pictures.  And the kids loved it!  They practiced writing their letters in the sand.  Counted aloud forwards and backwards.  Attentively listened to their volunteer leader reading a book aloud.  Excitedly paged through a book themselves, sounding out a few of the words or just looking at the pictures on the pages.  It was such an awesome experience to see the community taking control, using the resources we had gathered, having a passion for doing such a project that I had envisioned but that they designed and implemented all on their own, on their own initiative!  I felt totally confident, knowing that the library couldn’t be in better hands, that with my counterpart’s passion and incredible ability to motivate people, he could really do great things with the library.  It still has its growing and expansion, trials and errors to overcome, but it’s slowly making progress in becoming the dream both Iassito and I had envisioned. 

Demonstrating a local dance called Eyuna

Another dance

Playing hot potato

The volunteers are planning this week to go to a local orphanage in a small town called Nihessiue located about 18km outside of our vila.  Though I’m sad to not go with them, it’s time to let this project run on it’s own and I’m excited to hear about their experience afterwards.  They are an awesome group of teenagers who all seem truly interested in helping with the program, in helping their community. 

“Yes,” I responded to my little friend, “We studied, danced, played games.  And there is going to be another one on Saturday.”  “Yeah, I heard,” he responded, “I’ll be there!”

Despedidas

For some reason, whenever I think about going home, I imagine myself in my green bathroom at home.  I’m not sure why exactly.  Maybe it’s the room that is the most different than anything else I am used to living with?  Green tiling, running hot water, huge mirror, indoor toilet with a seat!  And I try to imagine what it’ll feel like being there again, that being my norm again, and it’s hard to imagine.  I can’t believe how normal the things around me have become here! 

But the goodbyes continue.

This past week I had my despedidas (farewell parties) with my English and REDES groups.  As is culturally normal for any Mozambican celebration, the honoree must arrange and pay for her own party.  On Monday, for my last English meeting, I bought some bottles of coca-cola (the coca-cola here is made with real sugar and nothing can beat it on a hot day!), packets of cookies, popped a bunch of popcorn and set up a movie viewing area in the patio of the library.  We first started watching Finding Nemo in English, to which my students quickly asked me if I understood what they were saying.  Clearly they weren’t understanding the English version, so we switched over to Procura de Nemo, the Portuguese version.  After the movie, I thanked them all for their hard work throughout the year and told them I would always remember our time together and wished them all the best in their futures.  I had burned a CD for each of them with the video of their English Theater performance from our competition, the songs we had learned the words to during our lessons (The Wanted - Glad You Came, which became our groups theme song; Katy Perry - Hot ‘N Cold; Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World; Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)) and also printed our group photo for each of them.  The students then surprised me with some gifts of their own.  Two students gave me a wooden bracelet, one a brand new pen, and another an English book entitled Peace is Every Step.  The sentiments were so sweet and I was truly touched.  I’ll definitely miss those boys!

Yes, Judite is using Vanda's foot to hold her string.

Then on Thursday, I had my REDES despedida.  The plan was also to watch a movie in Portuguese with them, but the power had been out since the morning before, so that made that plan a little more difficult.  Instead, Adrienne offered a huge bag of colored string to use and we spent a few hours making friendship bracelets.  Again, I provided the expected cookies and juice refreshments, and the girls certainly loved making the bracelets!  

Thanks to the generosity of Carla Buchanan and her company Business Brandings, I ended the despedida by presenting each of the girls with a REDES Murrupula pink polo t-shirt, complete with rhinestones on the collar.  They loved them!  

Thank you to my Mom and Carla for designing and making these shirts for them!

Honestly, I’m not sure what will become of these groups next year, if they will continue on or perhaps die out.  Lidia, my REDES counterpart, is amazing and very passionate about the group, but really it depends on the girls and if they are interested in continuing.  They definitely all agreed that they want to do more dances next year for the community.  Honestly, the group was not what I had dreamed it would be, but it still has the potential to get there, especially with Lidia as its leader.  I definitely had great memories with those girls and watched them grow a little bit throughout the year.  And it’s opened doors to AJUDEMU and REDES, becoming more recognized by the community and even the local government which is a great opportunity as well!

So, as time gets closer and the weeks continue to wind down, I keep finding myself imagining being in that green bathroom at home again.  Trying to recognize my reflection in that mirror and reflecting back on who I have become during this incredible experience and where it will take me in the future.

Sala de Informatica

 It’s filled with some of my favorite memories and some of my most frustrating memories.  A place where patience came up against all types of frustrations, sometimes winning, sometimes losing.  I was there every Monday through Thursday, repeating the same lesson twelve times every week.  It’s my Sala de Informática, the computer room.

Though still facing complications with unreliable electricity and technological malfunctions, this second year of teaching was a huge leap from last year’s attempt.  Aside from being more comfortable with the language, I also had more realistic expectations for my students, better ideas of how to teach computer lessons, and better new computers to teach them on.

  

Teaching computers is not easy, that’s for sure.  When students have no knowledge or background, or perhaps have never even seen a computer, you must start from the very beginning, even before the beginning.  Combine that with the fact that students outnumber usable computers 3:1, classes are 30-40 minutes just once a week, and electricity comes and goes as it pleases.  What can you expect anyone to teach, let alone learn in such a short amount of time?

Though definitely not all of my students, maybe not even half, finished the year with a super solid understanding of the material, I can confidently name many who did, and I think (hope) that many walked away with at least something, even if it was just the story of having had the opportunity to use a computer.  During our last class, my student Luis said, “Teacher, you taught us all the basics.  Now we can do anything with a computer!”

Inocencio, Islaito, and Amilo modeling for the camera

The Sala is also the school's storage room.
These books are supposed to be for distance school, but they've been
here all year... and those on the right are the broken computers from last year.

Luis is one of those students who definitely
mastered the basics and is going to go on to
do great things.

Inocencio works on creating his health advertisement project on HIV

Though I was definitely exhausted and done with teaching computers by the end of this year, it was certainly sad to lock up the room for the last time.  Students would say, "See you next year!" to which I had to reply, "Nope, this is it."  It's a very surreal feeling.  In my last few weeks, I'm working with some of the school administrators to teach them how to use the computer program and pass on some of the tips I have learned during my time here.  Hopefully next year, they can have more than just one computer teacher and continue to take full advantage of the incredible resource available for these students.

The End of the School Year

When you bring out a camera, everyone gets so excited to have their picture taken, running up to you shouting “Take one of me! Over here!” and then posing model-esque and putting on their best serious face as you capture the moment.  It’s hilarious, and a little overwhelming, when you show them the photo on the camera review and they all grab for it and shout over each other, laughing when they see the picture.

This describes my last week of school.  I brought in my camera to take a last photo with each of my classes and they were so excited!  As we were all grouped together, my students nearly knocking me over as they pressed in around me for the picture, it suddenly hit me that this was it, the last day of school, my last day with these awesome students, my last day as a teacher in Mozambique.

All week, I had been feeling somewhat down, tired of my same routine: wake up 6am, work out, heat up water for my bucket bath, quick breakfast, head to school, repeat the same thing a million times to students who seemed to not remember much of anything I had taught all year, walk home in the ever increasing afternoon sun, lunch, maybe an afternoon meeting, then dinner, sleep, and repeat.  It was some of my first solid moments of thinking to myself, ok I’m ready to go.  Even the children running up to me from 50 yards away for their high five didn’t quite cheer me up all the way.

And then there was this huge Last as a snap back to reality.  There have already been a lot of Lasts lately, last science fair, last Peace Corps conference, last time with my other volunteer friends, but this was a big Last and one that I couldn’t suppress and shine on quite like the others. 

In talking with a student about my not returning next year, he took a moment to himself and then said, “Teacher, we are going to miss you a lot.  It was so good to meet you and get to know you and I don’t think there is anyone else like Professora Sara and I won’t ever meet anyone like you again.”  It was hard to hold back the tears. 

For whatever reason, the day turned in to a very emotional one, with a lot of discussions about my future, the future of the library, how we are going to communicate when I leave, all those things that I’m not quite ready to deal with just yet.  But will there ever be a right time to truly acknowledge that soon will be my last time leaving my little town?  I dare say it’s only going to keep getting harder.  And while I know it’s time for me to go, time to move on and begin the next phase of my life, and that I’m definitely ready to be home, I don’t think anyone is every truly ready to leave.  You leave your stuff behind, lots of stretched out and worn clothes, that bicycle I used that one time, but you take so much more with you.  Memories and experiences that have changed you in ways you can’t quite yet know.

And honestly, I’m a little terrified of returning home.  Afraid of the feelings of guilt at jumping back in to my first world lifestyle, perhaps feeling judgmental at the ignorance of people around me, not connecting with friends like I used to, fear of an unknown future and what’s next for me, and so much more.  One big lesson that I have learned here is that, with time, everything gets easier.  Some have described returning home as comparable to jumping on to a moving treadmill.  I anticipate all those feelings that come with any break or change in your usual routine as you begin something new in life.  Most importantly, it is always a comfort knowing I am lucky enough to have a place to go home to.

And so I am still taking in all the lasts as they occur here in my last few weeks, playing with those neighbor children or working with students a little longer than I normally would, hoping to solidify those memories a little bit more.

Some of my high-fiving buddies

Some of the school administrators and a few professors

English Theater

Meet the Cast

Feliciano

Age: 20

Grade: 11^th

Interests: studying English; cutting hair; selling fish

Dream Job: English Teacher

Role: Chris, the orphan

Alberto José

Age: 20

Grade: 11^th

Interests: studying, especially English; reading and reviewing notes; travelling

Dream Job: English Teacher

Role: Will, the good neighbor

Sergio Joaquim

Age: 19

Grade: 11^th

Interests: studying English; selling chickens; walking with friends

Dream Job: Policeman

Role: Mack, the uncle

Eanes Basilio Pilardo

Age: 18

Grade: 10^th

Interests: Studying, especially History; playing with friends; watching movies

Role: Kevin, the cousin

Ibraimo

Age: 18

Grade: 11^th

Interests: playing volleyball; reading; walking with friends

Dream Job: doctor

Role: Justin, the cousin

Gaifane Alberto Walhane

Age: 19

Grade: 11^th

Interests: studying, especially English; playing soccer; listening to music

Role: Jane, the aunt

Calane Ernesto

Age: 18

Grade: 11^th

Interests: Studying, especially English; playing with friends; travelling; listening to music

Dream Job: Meteorologist

Role: John, the father

Alex Richard

Age: 16

Grade: 10^th

Interests: studying, especially Portuguese; playing with friends; dancing

Role: Kristina, the mother

Alberto Assane

(picture to come)

Age: 20

Grade: 12^th

Role: Narrator 1

Sadique

Age: 20

Grade: 10^th

Interests: hanging with friends

Dream Job: unknown

Role: Narrator 2

Saturday, September 28^th, I accompanied these 10 enthusiastic students to Monapo for the Nampula English Theater competition.  We had prepared for months, first writing a theater piece centered around this year’s theme “The choice is mine.  The future is ours.”, then translating it to English, and rehearsing and rehearsing as they became more and more comfortable and confident.  I was extremely excited and proud to take this incredible group of students to the competition, having witnessed their hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm throughout this past year.

We started as an English club, working on general English grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary during our weekly meetings in the beginning of the school year.  Then I presented the opportunity to participate in an English theater competition to the ten students who regularly came to each meeting, and they eagerly jumped at the offer.

Upon presenting the theme, they universally chose to write a play about domestic violence, centered on domestic violence concerning children.  Sadly, it is not a concept far outside the reality they witness in their everyday lives.  As in our story, many children may become orphans then move in with their extended family and become the family workhorse, responsible for all household chores, hauling water, lack of an opportunity for education, etc.  In our play, (written entirely by them and then I helped with the translation), an orphan Chris is abused by his aunt and uncle but befriends a neighbor who helps him escape and change his future. 

Sadly, at the competition, my group did not win anything, but that did not at all downplay the efficacy and success of their performance.  They had come so far from our first rehearsals and confidently took the stage, performing flawlessly.  I was very proud of them all.  Feliciano, the main character, almost won for best actor, and Murrupula took 5^th place out of the 9 participating schools. 

It was an amazing experience seeing these students presenting projects they had clearly all worked so hard on, plays they had written about important problems in their communities like cheating and corruption in school, HIV/AIDS, and fidelity.  I think I was more disappointed than my students were when they didn’t win; I wanted them to be recognized for all the hard work they had put in!  Each week they'd surprised me with their level of commitment and enthusiasm.  But when I asked them during the trip home if they were sad, they all exclaimed, “No, Teacher. We had lots of fun!” None of them had ever traveled East of Nampula city and were all very excited to participate next year.  It was an amazing experience working with this group of boys and I am going to miss them all a lot.

Here is the video of their performance! Enjoy!

A (Thankfully) Not-so-normal Morning

While enjoying a cool, drizzly morning, I heard a scream from the bathroom and Adrienne came racing out.  “I just got attacked by a huge rat!” she explained.  Apparently, while doing her business, she had heard a loud bang as something hit the roof and then a fat rat came rushing through the doorway, straight towards her!  

After doing my morning workout, it was time to shower, and I hesitantly brought in my capulana towel and shower stuff, investigating if the bathroom was safe and rodent free.  First I saw its tail, thinking to myself, “That is definitely not a lizard.”  It was on top of the wall separating the latrine side and the shower side, it’s beady eyes watching me.  I raced out and found my trusty broom and proceeded to start hitting the roof, hoping to scare it out, to no avail.  My amazing roommate then came to my aid, bravely entering the bathroom and trying to poke the rat with the broom to frighten it away.  “Ok,” she said, “I think it went out and you’re safe.”

So I brought in my bucket of water and tried to take the fastest bucket bath ever, constantly looking around for our fat friend to return.  I grabbed my capulana off its hook to dry off, and there he was!  I screamed like I’ve never screamed before, jumping around in the small space as it leapt from the wall in my direction and ran around on the floor looking for a way out.  I ditched my sandals, half wrapped the capulana around myself, and fled for the exit, still screaming but also laughing.  (Keep in mind the space is only about 4ft by 4ft.)

Fortunately, our empregado (the boy who brings us water) was cleaning the front yard, so Adrienne called him to my aid.  He chuckled to himself as Adrienne explained the situation but quickly grabbed a stick and began whacking at the rat trying to kill it, chasing it around the yard.  He definitely got a couple good whacks in, but the rat escaped over the fence and was gone.

Quite the way to start the day!