I haven’t updated this thing in two months – but I don’t think I have too many die-hard followers… so it shouldn’t be a big deal.
My second year as a PCV in Mozambique is going well (I am almost four months into it). I have become a much more approachable person here – colleagues, neighbors, students and even random people in town are much more willing to talk with me and also to ask me for stuff (people will ask for anything). It seems that my becoming more approachable has also coincided with my becoming busier. Not only do I have much more teaching to do this year at my school in Gondola, but I also took on a biochemistry course at a nearby university (a job for which I would be vastly under qualified in the states).
Just for some perspective on how slowly things move in this country (especially construction projects). The incomplete classrooms that I mentioned in my February post are still incomplete. The first trimester of classes will officially end on Friday April 16 and I will have taught for twelve weeks in classrooms that lack doors, windows, and a paint job.
I have developed a very bad attitude towards chapas (the main (only) form of transport here in Mozambique) this year. I think I have mentioned chapas before – they are minivan-sized vehicles configured to fit twenty-plus people in the most uncomfortable position possible. It is a very inexpensive, slow, and unsafe way to travel, but it is the only thing available in Mozambique. Most African countries employ a similar system of transportation with the minivan-sized vehicles in varying degrees of disrepair correlating with the prosperity of the country. The result of my bad attitude towards chapas is that I have been doing a lot less traveling and a lot more staying in Gondola.
The biochemistry course (mentioned above) that I have taken on has been an interesting addition to my course load. I am teaching second-year nutrition engineering students at the Catholic University Mozambique (which is a fairly prestigious university in this country). University students tend to part of a different social/economic class than my high school students. In general, they are much more eager to learn and much more willing to correct my bad Portuguese.
Thanks to heavy rains in February some opportunistic wildlife used our house in Gondola as a makeshift shelter. The highlight was when an owl spent the night (he pooped all over the place trying to get out); the lowlight was when we discovered we had rats. The rains, though, have ended and our home is once again catering primarily to humans and cockroaches.
Overall, my life in Mozambique is moving along nicely…nicely enough that I have begun to start looking ahead to life after PC... it is a scary thought.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
February 3
After my family left in January I spent about a week at school doing work that could have been finished in a fraction of the time with the help of a computer (it is this kind of busy work that irritates me the most about my job here, and I usually do a good job of avoiding it) before heading to Maputo (the capital of Mozambique) for our HIV/AIDS mid-service conference. Just a personal (cynical) note: Peace Corps calls the conference the HIV/AIDS mid-service conference because it is funded by PEPFAR which, (understandably given that PEPFAR is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) funds a lot of things that have HIV/AIDS in the title, but also draws a lot of parallels to the sponsor decals on the uniform of a NASCAR driver. Moving on, I was in Maputo for a week, learned how to be a better volunteer, got tested (medically) for all kinds of tropical diseases and parasites, and found out (at the dentist) that I am cavity-free after 15 months in Mozambique. I left Maputo (as a much better Volunteer thanks to my excellent training at the HIV/AIDS mid-service conference sponsored by PEPFAR… don’t I sound like a NASCAR driver?) and came back to Gondola where I immediately started school.
My school, like many in Mozambique, is undergoing a rather rapid expansion. In 2003 Escola Secundaria Geral Macombe (my school) offered classes (starting with grade 8) up to grade ten and had just 1,300 students. Currently, we offer classes up to grade twelve and have more than 5,000 students. For those of you who are not statisticians, that is a big increase. As you can imagine, it is hard to keep a consistent quality of education with such explosive growth – but at least the students are going to school. Such rapid growth has also precipitated the need for more classrooms every couple of years. The result is a lot of poorly constructed classrooms. Many of my classes are held in the aforementioned poorly constructed classrooms but so far this year I have also had the pleasure of teaching in unfinished classrooms. Things that shouldn’t have been disruptions, such as rain, caused me to cancel class (because the roof and windows were unfinished). I have also had the pleasure of teaching while construction workers filled in wall-cracks with cement inside of my classroom during my lesson (I can only hope that the construction workers absorbed some of my rousing lesson on atomic structure).
Other than my classroom problems, what may be the last year of my teaching career is going well. I have about 700 students in eighth and ninth grade (which will make grading fairly time consuming), but in many ways it is nice to be busy.
One of the underlying themes in all almost everyone’s Peace Corps experience (at least everyone who writes about it) is that the second year is far more productive than the first year, and I have already found this to be true. It seems like most of our first year in Gondola (our being David (my roommate) and myself) was spent establishing ourselves (we are just the second and third PCVs to live in Gondola) learning the language, the culture, and how to get things done. We both have a lot on our plates this year (in terms of extra-curricular activities) in addition to our vastly augmented teaching loads.
After my family left in January I spent about a week at school doing work that could have been finished in a fraction of the time with the help of a computer (it is this kind of busy work that irritates me the most about my job here, and I usually do a good job of avoiding it) before heading to Maputo (the capital of Mozambique) for our HIV/AIDS mid-service conference. Just a personal (cynical) note: Peace Corps calls the conference the HIV/AIDS mid-service conference because it is funded by PEPFAR which, (understandably given that PEPFAR is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) funds a lot of things that have HIV/AIDS in the title, but also draws a lot of parallels to the sponsor decals on the uniform of a NASCAR driver. Moving on, I was in Maputo for a week, learned how to be a better volunteer, got tested (medically) for all kinds of tropical diseases and parasites, and found out (at the dentist) that I am cavity-free after 15 months in Mozambique. I left Maputo (as a much better Volunteer thanks to my excellent training at the HIV/AIDS mid-service conference sponsored by PEPFAR… don’t I sound like a NASCAR driver?) and came back to Gondola where I immediately started school.
My school, like many in Mozambique, is undergoing a rather rapid expansion. In 2003 Escola Secundaria Geral Macombe (my school) offered classes (starting with grade 8) up to grade ten and had just 1,300 students. Currently, we offer classes up to grade twelve and have more than 5,000 students. For those of you who are not statisticians, that is a big increase. As you can imagine, it is hard to keep a consistent quality of education with such explosive growth – but at least the students are going to school. Such rapid growth has also precipitated the need for more classrooms every couple of years. The result is a lot of poorly constructed classrooms. Many of my classes are held in the aforementioned poorly constructed classrooms but so far this year I have also had the pleasure of teaching in unfinished classrooms. Things that shouldn’t have been disruptions, such as rain, caused me to cancel class (because the roof and windows were unfinished). I have also had the pleasure of teaching while construction workers filled in wall-cracks with cement inside of my classroom during my lesson (I can only hope that the construction workers absorbed some of my rousing lesson on atomic structure).
Other than my classroom problems, what may be the last year of my teaching career is going well. I have about 700 students in eighth and ninth grade (which will make grading fairly time consuming), but in many ways it is nice to be busy.
One of the underlying themes in all almost everyone’s Peace Corps experience (at least everyone who writes about it) is that the second year is far more productive than the first year, and I have already found this to be true. It seems like most of our first year in Gondola (our being David (my roommate) and myself) was spent establishing ourselves (we are just the second and third PCVs to live in Gondola) learning the language, the culture, and how to get things done. We both have a lot on our plates this year (in terms of extra-curricular activities) in addition to our vastly augmented teaching loads.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I wrote this first one in November, but I don't think I ever got around to posting it.
November 17
As I approach my second Thanksgiving in Africa I have had the opportunity to reflect on and give thanks to my experience as a chemistry teacher in Mozambique. Although I have had a wonderful time so far, I have come to the conclusion that one of the things I am most thankful for is the fact that I do not have to do this job for the rest of my life. The following paragraphs should help explain why.
The complicated, corrupt and time-consuming process of recording grades occupied the two weeks following the end of classes. David, myself and two other teachers were responsible for the grades of about 650 ninth graders. Even after applying it I still do not fully understand the process that determines who passes to tenth grade and who stays in ninth. However, I can tell you that it simultaneously (and miraculously) leaves room for corruption while still implementing a complex system of checks and balances. I think my favorite example of corruption was when I watched a colleague successfully pressure his fellow teachers into changing the failing grades of his wife (for no other reason than that she was his wife… and yes, his wife is in ninth grade). The list (of corrupt/ bad practices in Mozambican schools) goes on and on, it is all very frustrating and it paints a bleak picture for the future.
After grade processing came the tenth and twelfth grade national exams, which I helped proctor and grade. An overwhelming majority of students were trying to cheat on the national exam and, for me, proctoring was like a high stakes competition in which a good performance by me would prevent an undeserving, cheating student from making it to grade eleven (assuming corruption does not give him a passing grade further down the line). To make it even better, Mozambican students also saw exams as a contest and they generally did not hesitate to complement my roommate or myself on our proctoring skills (which, in both of our cases, are prodigious). It was not unusual to hear: Teacha’, controlou bem in a complementary tone. Which simply meant that I proctored effectively. After exams came the grading of exams. I would rather not go into too much detail regarding the grading process, but I can tell you that not a single student (out of almost 700) passed the national chemistry exam. I have a suspicion, however, that when I come back to school next January quite a few of those students will have moved on to the 11th grade.
I think that is enough about school, I would much rather write about the fun and interesting things I have been doing (though there have not been many recently). The highlight of my last month or so was an early November trip to a nearby lake (Lago Chicamba). The lake was full of crocodiles (apparently the lodge where I was staying occasionally has croc on the menu), but a Zimbabwean guy informed us that crocs do not eat white people – so it was safe to swim (for me anyway). The lodge catered mostly to Zimbabwean fishermen and it was a nice place to get away for the weekend.
I am currently prepping for about a month and a half of traveling through East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa are all on the menu along with Mozambique of course). Assuming all goes, well I will see my lovely family (on the African Continent) for the first time in almost 15 months beginning in late December. In the meantime, however, I want to wish everyone a very happy holiday season.
January 10
Happy 2010! I have recently returned to my home in Mozambique after quite a lot of traveling. The following are some highlights; English teachers should note my use (or over-use) of the present continuous tense.
Eating a Thanksgiving meal (on the beach) of grilled fish and coconut rice in the very isolated Northern Mozambican village of Pangane.
Exploring the dilapidated Portuguese-era mansions on the island of Ibo in Northern Mozambique.
Avoiding the lurking hippos while crossing the Mozambique-Tanzania border via dugout canoe (the only way to cross).
Swimming in the crystal clear waters around Mtwara in Southeastern Tanzania
Walking through the unreal (and extremely old – some date back to the 12th century) Swahili Ruins at Kilwa Kisiwani in Southeast Tanzania.
Browsing the food stalls and spice markets in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Feeling like I was in the middle of a Corona commercial on the unbelievably idyllic beaches of Zanzibar.
Bunking in a compartment with five Zambians on a 50-hour train ride from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi Zambia.
Watching the Zambeze River spill 100 meters over Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia.
Seeing my family in the Johannesburg airport for the first time in 15 months.
Enjoying very cosmopolitan Cape Town, South Africa on my parents’ dime.
Being close enough to touch Lions, Leopards and Elephants on Safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Taking the family on a tour through my village in Gondola, Mozambique.
It was a very satisfying vacation for all kinds of reasons. I would love to share my photos, but my camera broke the day after I left Gondola – so I do not have any. For the time being it is nice and relaxing to be back at home in Mozambique. Things should really start to heat up when school starts again in about two weeks.
November 17
As I approach my second Thanksgiving in Africa I have had the opportunity to reflect on and give thanks to my experience as a chemistry teacher in Mozambique. Although I have had a wonderful time so far, I have come to the conclusion that one of the things I am most thankful for is the fact that I do not have to do this job for the rest of my life. The following paragraphs should help explain why.
The complicated, corrupt and time-consuming process of recording grades occupied the two weeks following the end of classes. David, myself and two other teachers were responsible for the grades of about 650 ninth graders. Even after applying it I still do not fully understand the process that determines who passes to tenth grade and who stays in ninth. However, I can tell you that it simultaneously (and miraculously) leaves room for corruption while still implementing a complex system of checks and balances. I think my favorite example of corruption was when I watched a colleague successfully pressure his fellow teachers into changing the failing grades of his wife (for no other reason than that she was his wife… and yes, his wife is in ninth grade). The list (of corrupt/ bad practices in Mozambican schools) goes on and on, it is all very frustrating and it paints a bleak picture for the future.
After grade processing came the tenth and twelfth grade national exams, which I helped proctor and grade. An overwhelming majority of students were trying to cheat on the national exam and, for me, proctoring was like a high stakes competition in which a good performance by me would prevent an undeserving, cheating student from making it to grade eleven (assuming corruption does not give him a passing grade further down the line). To make it even better, Mozambican students also saw exams as a contest and they generally did not hesitate to complement my roommate or myself on our proctoring skills (which, in both of our cases, are prodigious). It was not unusual to hear: Teacha’, controlou bem in a complementary tone. Which simply meant that I proctored effectively. After exams came the grading of exams. I would rather not go into too much detail regarding the grading process, but I can tell you that not a single student (out of almost 700) passed the national chemistry exam. I have a suspicion, however, that when I come back to school next January quite a few of those students will have moved on to the 11th grade.
I think that is enough about school, I would much rather write about the fun and interesting things I have been doing (though there have not been many recently). The highlight of my last month or so was an early November trip to a nearby lake (Lago Chicamba). The lake was full of crocodiles (apparently the lodge where I was staying occasionally has croc on the menu), but a Zimbabwean guy informed us that crocs do not eat white people – so it was safe to swim (for me anyway). The lodge catered mostly to Zimbabwean fishermen and it was a nice place to get away for the weekend.
I am currently prepping for about a month and a half of traveling through East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa are all on the menu along with Mozambique of course). Assuming all goes, well I will see my lovely family (on the African Continent) for the first time in almost 15 months beginning in late December. In the meantime, however, I want to wish everyone a very happy holiday season.
January 10
Happy 2010! I have recently returned to my home in Mozambique after quite a lot of traveling. The following are some highlights; English teachers should note my use (or over-use) of the present continuous tense.
Eating a Thanksgiving meal (on the beach) of grilled fish and coconut rice in the very isolated Northern Mozambican village of Pangane.
Exploring the dilapidated Portuguese-era mansions on the island of Ibo in Northern Mozambique.
Avoiding the lurking hippos while crossing the Mozambique-Tanzania border via dugout canoe (the only way to cross).
Swimming in the crystal clear waters around Mtwara in Southeastern Tanzania
Walking through the unreal (and extremely old – some date back to the 12th century) Swahili Ruins at Kilwa Kisiwani in Southeast Tanzania.
Browsing the food stalls and spice markets in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Feeling like I was in the middle of a Corona commercial on the unbelievably idyllic beaches of Zanzibar.
Bunking in a compartment with five Zambians on a 50-hour train ride from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi Zambia.
Watching the Zambeze River spill 100 meters over Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia.
Seeing my family in the Johannesburg airport for the first time in 15 months.
Enjoying very cosmopolitan Cape Town, South Africa on my parents’ dime.
Being close enough to touch Lions, Leopards and Elephants on Safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Taking the family on a tour through my village in Gondola, Mozambique.
It was a very satisfying vacation for all kinds of reasons. I would love to share my photos, but my camera broke the day after I left Gondola – so I do not have any. For the time being it is nice and relaxing to be back at home in Mozambique. Things should really start to heat up when school starts again in about two weeks.
Monday, October 19, 2009
October 18
My classes officially ended on October 16, although a majority of students and teachers stopped coming to school near the end of September. The point is, however, that as of October 16 I officially completed one year of teaching ninth grade chemistry in Mozambique. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) for me ninth graders do not take a national exam so I do not really have anyway to evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching. Were I to give myself a self-evaluation however, in would be glowing (except for the first trimester when I could not speak Portuguese to save my life).
The end of a year of teaching in Mozambique is not all fun and games. To make a broad generalization about Mozambican students (which is a bad way to consider people of any nationality) they do not study, and they are always unhappy with their grades. As a result, I have spent the last week dealing with students and their bad grades. I have to explain to them that they did not study during the year, they cheated or tried to cheat on all of my tests, they do not know anything about chemistry and they do not deserve to pass. This kind of reasoning blows their minds, in large part because many of my colleagues give students completely underserved “help” at the end of the year – which allows them to pass, thus moving on to the next grade without knowing anything. To be frank, the education system in this country leaves a lot to be desired.
Students result to some pretty desperate measures at this time of year, in fact I would not hesitate to say that most of many students put more effort into trying to get me to “help” their grade than actually studying during the year. Some students offer to buy me things, some offer other kinds of favors I even had one student forge a letter from my school director (signature and all) that mandated I change his grade. For me it is all just an exercise in saying no, and thanks to all those anti-drug campaigns in elementary school (“just say no!”) I am well practiced.
I think I mentioned something in my last post about my electricity problems, they have been taken care of (thank goodness) and I am once again living happily in Gondola.
My birthday came and went at the end of September (kudos to all of you who remembered and shame on those of you who did not). The literal Portuguese translation for getting older is: “I did years”. So I did years here in Mozambique, and I have to say it was a nice birthday. There was a gathering of Peace Corps Volunteers the weekend before and we all went out for pizza in the city. The actual day of my birthday I taught six classes (and did not tell my students because a bunch of them are older than me and it would be kind of awkward for them to know my age) and my roommate (who a year ago could not have made grilled cheese) cooked an excellent dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.
Elections (which I mentioned last time) are coming up in about a week and they are really consuming the country at the moment. As per Peace Corps policy I do not have an opinion about Mozambican politics, though I do hope the various parties can avoid any kind of violence. The combination of imminent Mozambican presidential elections and the latest dose of trouble in Zimbabwe has us (PCVs) on relatively high security alert – which, in addition to our heightened vigilance means we are not supposed to leave site.
My classes officially ended on October 16, although a majority of students and teachers stopped coming to school near the end of September. The point is, however, that as of October 16 I officially completed one year of teaching ninth grade chemistry in Mozambique. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) for me ninth graders do not take a national exam so I do not really have anyway to evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching. Were I to give myself a self-evaluation however, in would be glowing (except for the first trimester when I could not speak Portuguese to save my life).
The end of a year of teaching in Mozambique is not all fun and games. To make a broad generalization about Mozambican students (which is a bad way to consider people of any nationality) they do not study, and they are always unhappy with their grades. As a result, I have spent the last week dealing with students and their bad grades. I have to explain to them that they did not study during the year, they cheated or tried to cheat on all of my tests, they do not know anything about chemistry and they do not deserve to pass. This kind of reasoning blows their minds, in large part because many of my colleagues give students completely underserved “help” at the end of the year – which allows them to pass, thus moving on to the next grade without knowing anything. To be frank, the education system in this country leaves a lot to be desired.
Students result to some pretty desperate measures at this time of year, in fact I would not hesitate to say that most of many students put more effort into trying to get me to “help” their grade than actually studying during the year. Some students offer to buy me things, some offer other kinds of favors I even had one student forge a letter from my school director (signature and all) that mandated I change his grade. For me it is all just an exercise in saying no, and thanks to all those anti-drug campaigns in elementary school (“just say no!”) I am well practiced.
I think I mentioned something in my last post about my electricity problems, they have been taken care of (thank goodness) and I am once again living happily in Gondola.
My birthday came and went at the end of September (kudos to all of you who remembered and shame on those of you who did not). The literal Portuguese translation for getting older is: “I did years”. So I did years here in Mozambique, and I have to say it was a nice birthday. There was a gathering of Peace Corps Volunteers the weekend before and we all went out for pizza in the city. The actual day of my birthday I taught six classes (and did not tell my students because a bunch of them are older than me and it would be kind of awkward for them to know my age) and my roommate (who a year ago could not have made grilled cheese) cooked an excellent dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.
Elections (which I mentioned last time) are coming up in about a week and they are really consuming the country at the moment. As per Peace Corps policy I do not have an opinion about Mozambican politics, though I do hope the various parties can avoid any kind of violence. The combination of imminent Mozambican presidential elections and the latest dose of trouble in Zimbabwe has us (PCVs) on relatively high security alert – which, in addition to our heightened vigilance means we are not supposed to leave site.
Monday, September 21, 2009
September 20
I have not had much of a chance to update this thing because the electricity in my house in Gondola was disconnected (but I will get to that later).
The end of August saw me in Maputo (Mozambique’s capital city) for the first time in nine months. Maputo is just a few hours from the South Africa border, and there are some aspects of the city that are relatively westernized (there are also many aspects that are very third-world). I have to admit that after living in central Mozambique for nine months I received a healthy dose of culture shock (which was not necessarily a bad thing). I relished experiences that I never thought I would (sitting in traffic, for instance) as well as experiences that have been absent from my life for quite some time (like eating ice cream and bacon – though not at the same time). A few days in the capital were a nice break from day-to-day life.
Following my time in Maputo my roommate and I (but mostly him) were graced with the presence of his girlfriend. It was nice to have a new person around and she injected some excitement into our lives (again mostly his). The presence of an American girl at site brought an onslaught of questions my way (in my experience, when it comes to asking questions Mozambicans generally are extremely intrusive and completely without tact) regarding my girlfriend and when she is coming to visit. I do not have a girlfriend, thus this line of questioning (which continues as I write this; three weeks later) made me feel bad about the current state of my personal life. Anyway, Gondola is not much of a tourist destination, so following a few days at site; David (my roommate) and his girlfriend went off traveling to the more tourist friendly parts of Mozambique.
Almost immediately following their exit I was greeted at the door by a worker for E.D.M - the national electricity company that provides power to most of Mozambique. This man informed me that my school had failed to pay the electric bill for five months and he was disconnecting my electricity. Needless to say this was extremely inconvenient, given that, among other things, I have an electric stove. Later that day I chatted with my school director and he claimed to have paid all of the energy bills. I have spent the last two weeks attempting (in vain) to get the energy in my house reconnected. I have been cooking with charcoal (or just eating uncooked food, because cooking with charcoal is a pain), taking cold showers, and reading by candlelight.
I am sure that the RPCVs (former PCVs) reading this are scoffing at my complaints about a lack of electricity, but in my defense: electricity is a very difficult thing to loose 1) in this day and age and 2) when you are supposed to have it.
In other news, the Presidential election campaign officially opened here in Mozambique about a week ago. This year will mark the 1st parliamentary election and 4th presidential election in the country’s history. Peace Corps forbid me from having an opinion about politics on this publicly accessible blog (I do however, have plenty of opinions). Mozambicans from various political parties tend to approach election season like a 24-hour-a-day college football tailgate (with rallies, parties and parades through the streets that keep me up at night). It is very different from our system, but exciting all the same.
I have not had much of a chance to update this thing because the electricity in my house in Gondola was disconnected (but I will get to that later).
The end of August saw me in Maputo (Mozambique’s capital city) for the first time in nine months. Maputo is just a few hours from the South Africa border, and there are some aspects of the city that are relatively westernized (there are also many aspects that are very third-world). I have to admit that after living in central Mozambique for nine months I received a healthy dose of culture shock (which was not necessarily a bad thing). I relished experiences that I never thought I would (sitting in traffic, for instance) as well as experiences that have been absent from my life for quite some time (like eating ice cream and bacon – though not at the same time). A few days in the capital were a nice break from day-to-day life.
Following my time in Maputo my roommate and I (but mostly him) were graced with the presence of his girlfriend. It was nice to have a new person around and she injected some excitement into our lives (again mostly his). The presence of an American girl at site brought an onslaught of questions my way (in my experience, when it comes to asking questions Mozambicans generally are extremely intrusive and completely without tact) regarding my girlfriend and when she is coming to visit. I do not have a girlfriend, thus this line of questioning (which continues as I write this; three weeks later) made me feel bad about the current state of my personal life. Anyway, Gondola is not much of a tourist destination, so following a few days at site; David (my roommate) and his girlfriend went off traveling to the more tourist friendly parts of Mozambique.
Almost immediately following their exit I was greeted at the door by a worker for E.D.M - the national electricity company that provides power to most of Mozambique. This man informed me that my school had failed to pay the electric bill for five months and he was disconnecting my electricity. Needless to say this was extremely inconvenient, given that, among other things, I have an electric stove. Later that day I chatted with my school director and he claimed to have paid all of the energy bills. I have spent the last two weeks attempting (in vain) to get the energy in my house reconnected. I have been cooking with charcoal (or just eating uncooked food, because cooking with charcoal is a pain), taking cold showers, and reading by candlelight.
I am sure that the RPCVs (former PCVs) reading this are scoffing at my complaints about a lack of electricity, but in my defense: electricity is a very difficult thing to loose 1) in this day and age and 2) when you are supposed to have it.
In other news, the Presidential election campaign officially opened here in Mozambique about a week ago. This year will mark the 1st parliamentary election and 4th presidential election in the country’s history. Peace Corps forbid me from having an opinion about politics on this publicly accessible blog (I do however, have plenty of opinions). Mozambicans from various political parties tend to approach election season like a 24-hour-a-day college football tailgate (with rallies, parties and parades through the streets that keep me up at night). It is very different from our system, but exciting all the same.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
August 20
It has been about a month; time to update the blog again. Today I am going to skip the quips that I usually open with and just jump right into it.
The third trimester of teaching has been interesting, in large part because my fellow teachers have not been paid in a few months, which is causing some problems. Apparently some clever people in the Provincial Education Ministry managed to steal/embezzle an enormous amount of money (somewhere in the neighborhood of $120,000) and the result is that the Provincial Education Ministry has stopped paying its teachers. My colleagues have been threatening to strike for quite a while, but the reality is that organized labor movements do not exist in Mozambique (or in Africa, for the most part). What really happens is that teachers go on individual strikes (which just means they don’t show up to teach – this actually happens quite a bit even when teachers are getting paid, but it is definitely worse now). There have been a few days of school in which I am the only teacher that shows up to teach (lucky for me, Peace Corps faithfully deposits my living allowance into my bank account every month) which makes me feel like a scab. In all likelihood this problem will not be resolved before the school year ends and many of my students will not have certain subjects for the remainder of this trimester. Unfortunately, this just perpetuates the huge education problem (perhaps huger than any other) in Mozambique that is improperly prepared students moving up grade levels (imagine trying to teach physics to students who don’t understand algebra, or even worse – teaching students (in any discipline) who don’t understand Portuguese).
The start of August marked the inauguration of a bridge traversing the Zambezi River at Caia. The Zambezi River cuts a half-mile wide swath between Northern and Central Mozambique and the aforementioned bridge means that it is now possible for a wheeled vehicle to drive the length of Mozambique without the necessity of getting on a ferry. It is actually a pretty exciting to see this kind of development (though it was primarily paid for by the European Union). I happened to be at a hotel (attending a conference in Northern Mozambique at the time) and every television I saw was playing the equivalent of Anchorman’s (the Will Ferrell movie) Panda Watch except for the bridge – which made it Ponte (bridge in Portuguese) Watch.
I recently read a book (Dark Star Safari) by former PCV and current author Paul Theroux, in which Theroux details his trials and tribulations on an overland trip from Cairo to Cape Town. For those of you who think African geography is unimportant, Cairo to Cape Town is more or less a north-south traverse of the African Continent. Anyway, I am sure Theroux’s experiences are more relevant and interesting to me (given that I am currently a PCV in Africa), but nonetheless it is a read that I would recommend (if only because many of his views mirror my own, and are expressed in such a way that I feel like I would express them if I were a good writer). To be clear, I understand the presumptuousness of making book recommendations (I do not have delusions about becoming an Oprah-like figure) and it probably will not happen again.
It has been about a month; time to update the blog again. Today I am going to skip the quips that I usually open with and just jump right into it.
The third trimester of teaching has been interesting, in large part because my fellow teachers have not been paid in a few months, which is causing some problems. Apparently some clever people in the Provincial Education Ministry managed to steal/embezzle an enormous amount of money (somewhere in the neighborhood of $120,000) and the result is that the Provincial Education Ministry has stopped paying its teachers. My colleagues have been threatening to strike for quite a while, but the reality is that organized labor movements do not exist in Mozambique (or in Africa, for the most part). What really happens is that teachers go on individual strikes (which just means they don’t show up to teach – this actually happens quite a bit even when teachers are getting paid, but it is definitely worse now). There have been a few days of school in which I am the only teacher that shows up to teach (lucky for me, Peace Corps faithfully deposits my living allowance into my bank account every month) which makes me feel like a scab. In all likelihood this problem will not be resolved before the school year ends and many of my students will not have certain subjects for the remainder of this trimester. Unfortunately, this just perpetuates the huge education problem (perhaps huger than any other) in Mozambique that is improperly prepared students moving up grade levels (imagine trying to teach physics to students who don’t understand algebra, or even worse – teaching students (in any discipline) who don’t understand Portuguese).
The start of August marked the inauguration of a bridge traversing the Zambezi River at Caia. The Zambezi River cuts a half-mile wide swath between Northern and Central Mozambique and the aforementioned bridge means that it is now possible for a wheeled vehicle to drive the length of Mozambique without the necessity of getting on a ferry. It is actually a pretty exciting to see this kind of development (though it was primarily paid for by the European Union). I happened to be at a hotel (attending a conference in Northern Mozambique at the time) and every television I saw was playing the equivalent of Anchorman’s (the Will Ferrell movie) Panda Watch except for the bridge – which made it Ponte (bridge in Portuguese) Watch.
I recently read a book (Dark Star Safari) by former PCV and current author Paul Theroux, in which Theroux details his trials and tribulations on an overland trip from Cairo to Cape Town. For those of you who think African geography is unimportant, Cairo to Cape Town is more or less a north-south traverse of the African Continent. Anyway, I am sure Theroux’s experiences are more relevant and interesting to me (given that I am currently a PCV in Africa), but nonetheless it is a read that I would recommend (if only because many of his views mirror my own, and are expressed in such a way that I feel like I would express them if I were a good writer). To be clear, I understand the presumptuousness of making book recommendations (I do not have delusions about becoming an Oprah-like figure) and it probably will not happen again.
Friday, July 24, 2009
July 24
I realize it has been quite some time since I wrote anything and given my penchant for living an extraordinarily exciting life (sarcasm) this blog entry could potentially go on for days. In the interest of time (and length) I will proceed to highlight the highlights.
I believe I last wrote about Mozambican Independence day, which would bring me back to June 25 and the penultimate week of my second trimester here in Mozambique.
After telling my students exactly what would be on the final exam, I still had plenty of students who cheated, plenty who failed, and just a few that appeared to have been listening during my lessons. However, I can say with confidence that my second trimester of teaching went a lot better than my first.
Following my final exam, I attended a Fourth of July party at a PCV site named Mangunde. At the Catholic Mission of Mangunde, I think I was as in the middle of nowhere as I have ever been, but the party (which included a Brazilian-style pig roast) was a lot of fun.
Although school officially ended July 10th the reality is that neither students nor teachers (except me of course) showed up for the last week. I actually went to school to turn in my grades the last day before break, and I had trouble finding someone to whom I could hand my grades.
I spent the first weekend of the holidays at a meeting regarding the future of a Peace Corps Project called JOMA (I wrote about it in an earlier post if you want to refer back). In general, Peace Corps Volunteers live in different places, have very different experiences, discover their own useful ways of dealing with said experiences, and always think they are right. The result was that not a whole lot was accomplished during the meeting, but we got some stuff done and the discourse got me thinking (mostly about how ineffective “development” is in Mozambique).
Following the JOMA meeting I caught a ride to Beira (Mozambique’s second largest city which also happens to be set in mosquito-ridden swamp on the Indian Ocean) to judge a Science Fair for Sofala Province. Many of the Mozambican students have quite a ways to go in terms of understanding the scientific method, but I think the science fair (and its accompanying prizes) motivated them to think about some interesting ideas. Among the top projects were: toothpaste made from banana peels and ash, a homemade pesticide, and a study about how public urination (a serious problem here) affects plant life. I also got to spend some time in Beira, the city is primarily known for its dilapidated colonial architecture (which can be appealing), and its abundance of stores (lots of stores is among the greatest assets a city can have here in Mozambique). Crumbling buildings aside, Beira is a vibrant and interesting city, boasting attractions such as a golf course, fountain, and a mall.
Following science fair cleanup I returned to Chimoio for a few days of relaxing and eating the cookies that were left over from science fair (I ate a lot of cookies). I also spent a day at Mercado 38, which is an enormous used clothing market outside of Chimoio (imagine a Goodwill Store the size of an oil tanker - the used clothing primarily comes from developed western nations i.e. U.S.A, Europe, Australia). Anyway, it is a fun place to go and if you look hard enough you can find some great stuff.
I left Chimoio early last week for a few days in Catandica, which is a small town at the foot of the Serashoa mountains on the Zimbabwe border (the spelling on that mountain range is almost certainly wrong). I went hiking with some other PCVs on the trails that lead up and over the mountains (and harbor mainly unofficial cross-border activity between Mozambique and Zimbabwe). We spoke Portuguese with Mozambicans, English with Zimbabweans and tried to toss in a word or two of Shona (which is the local dialect for much of Zimbabwe and this part of Mozambique). The mountains were gorgeous and I am pretty sure I saw 762 meter-high Matarazi Falls in the distance (the tallest waterfall in Zim).
I realize it has been quite some time since I wrote anything and given my penchant for living an extraordinarily exciting life (sarcasm) this blog entry could potentially go on for days. In the interest of time (and length) I will proceed to highlight the highlights.
I believe I last wrote about Mozambican Independence day, which would bring me back to June 25 and the penultimate week of my second trimester here in Mozambique.
After telling my students exactly what would be on the final exam, I still had plenty of students who cheated, plenty who failed, and just a few that appeared to have been listening during my lessons. However, I can say with confidence that my second trimester of teaching went a lot better than my first.
Following my final exam, I attended a Fourth of July party at a PCV site named Mangunde. At the Catholic Mission of Mangunde, I think I was as in the middle of nowhere as I have ever been, but the party (which included a Brazilian-style pig roast) was a lot of fun.
Although school officially ended July 10th the reality is that neither students nor teachers (except me of course) showed up for the last week. I actually went to school to turn in my grades the last day before break, and I had trouble finding someone to whom I could hand my grades.
I spent the first weekend of the holidays at a meeting regarding the future of a Peace Corps Project called JOMA (I wrote about it in an earlier post if you want to refer back). In general, Peace Corps Volunteers live in different places, have very different experiences, discover their own useful ways of dealing with said experiences, and always think they are right. The result was that not a whole lot was accomplished during the meeting, but we got some stuff done and the discourse got me thinking (mostly about how ineffective “development” is in Mozambique).
Following the JOMA meeting I caught a ride to Beira (Mozambique’s second largest city which also happens to be set in mosquito-ridden swamp on the Indian Ocean) to judge a Science Fair for Sofala Province. Many of the Mozambican students have quite a ways to go in terms of understanding the scientific method, but I think the science fair (and its accompanying prizes) motivated them to think about some interesting ideas. Among the top projects were: toothpaste made from banana peels and ash, a homemade pesticide, and a study about how public urination (a serious problem here) affects plant life. I also got to spend some time in Beira, the city is primarily known for its dilapidated colonial architecture (which can be appealing), and its abundance of stores (lots of stores is among the greatest assets a city can have here in Mozambique). Crumbling buildings aside, Beira is a vibrant and interesting city, boasting attractions such as a golf course, fountain, and a mall.
Following science fair cleanup I returned to Chimoio for a few days of relaxing and eating the cookies that were left over from science fair (I ate a lot of cookies). I also spent a day at Mercado 38, which is an enormous used clothing market outside of Chimoio (imagine a Goodwill Store the size of an oil tanker - the used clothing primarily comes from developed western nations i.e. U.S.A, Europe, Australia). Anyway, it is a fun place to go and if you look hard enough you can find some great stuff.
I left Chimoio early last week for a few days in Catandica, which is a small town at the foot of the Serashoa mountains on the Zimbabwe border (the spelling on that mountain range is almost certainly wrong). I went hiking with some other PCVs on the trails that lead up and over the mountains (and harbor mainly unofficial cross-border activity between Mozambique and Zimbabwe). We spoke Portuguese with Mozambicans, English with Zimbabweans and tried to toss in a word or two of Shona (which is the local dialect for much of Zimbabwe and this part of Mozambique). The mountains were gorgeous and I am pretty sure I saw 762 meter-high Matarazi Falls in the distance (the tallest waterfall in Zim).
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