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.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
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).
Saturday, June 27, 2009
June 27
June 25 was Mozambican Independence Day and I joined in the festivities celebrating 34 years of Independence from Portuguese rule. In honor of Mozambican Independence Day this entry will consist of a brief, modern history of Mozambique, because (like all countries) the history of Mozambique has had a profound effect on what it is (and what I experience) today.
Portuguese sailors (motivated by trade potential in the Indian Ocean) landed in the Mozambican port of Sofala (near present-day Beira) in 1505 and controlled most of the East African coast by 1530. African Tribal Wars characterized the next 350 years in Mozambique along with Portuguese trade along the coast (including a booming slave trade during the 19th century). The Portuguese got serious about colonization in the 20th century and began to profit from Mozambique through 1) the proximity of the modern-day port of Maputo to South Africa’s gold mines and 2) the exportation of labor to S. Africa’s gold mines (this was a clever system of exploitation by the Portuguese in which indigenous Mozambicans were forced to work in South Africa and than pay a tax to the Portuguese Colonial Government). Portugal underwent a change in government in 1926 and elected to move away from forced migrant labor to forced labor within Mozambique. The result was high agricultural production and a valuable colony for the Portuguese. During this time Mozambique was also one of the top tourist destinations in Africa – with a seemingly endless amount of beach, and one of the best game reserves in the world in Gorongosa National Park.
In the wake of WWII Colonial Rule in Africa was coming to an end (often through violent struggles for independence). Mozambique was late to the party, but in 1963 the president of Tanzania (Julius Nyerere) convinced a few seperate Mozambican liberation groups to get it together and form a united movement for independence (this would become Frelimo (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) – the party that continues to lead the Mozambican government today). Frelimo attempted to take Mozambique by force, but 35,000 Portuguese soldiers sent for the purpose of eliminating them hindered the plan. The Mozambicans decided to run, rather than fight, and luckily for them political problems (rather than Frelimo’s activities) in Portugal resulted in negotiations for independence between the Portuguese and the Mozambicans.
In 1975 Frelimo was given leadership of an independent Mozambique without an election, taking over a country of more than 10 million people, a literacy rate of 5% and just 100 doctors (those numbers today are 54% literacy and 600 doctors). With Frelimo in power, a vast majority of the Portuguese deserted the country, taking their skilled labor, money and management proficiency with them – and as a result destroying the economy.
In the first few years of independence Frelimo did some wonderful things socially, but failed miserably economically and ultimately started leaning towards socialism. The western world was not particularly happy with Mozambique’s Marxist policies, and neighboring South Africa and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia at the time) were not thrilled with Mozambique’s independence (both countries were white-dominated at the time). The result was a S. African/Zimbabwean supported destabilization movement in the form of a group called Renamo. Renamo’s only policy was that they were anti-Frelimo. The ensuing war between Frelimo and Renamo is commonly (though somewhat mistakenly thanks to the influence of S. Africa and Zimbabwe) referred to as a civil war; the war took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans and lasted until 1992. Since 1992 Mozambique (still under the leadership of Frelimo) has been steadily improving in all possible ways.
Not surprisingly, tourism dropped to nearly nil during the years of war in Mozambique. Travel in the country was far from safe, and hungry soldiers managed to eat most of the wildlife that once made Gorongosa such a popular destination. Tourism in Mozambique is still recovering from the damages of war. Tourism infrastructure is difficult to find outside of a few popular destinations and Gorongosa National Park is currently known more for its lack of wildlife. The natural, undeveloped beauty however is still here.
Peace Corps English teachers arrived in Mozambique in 1998 and worked primarily in the southern part of the country. Since 1998 there have been thirteen classes of Peace Corps Volunteers (my class was lucky number thirteen) consisting in the more recent years of English teachers, health volunteers, biology teachers and chemistry teachers stationed in all ten provinces.
It seems like I have experiences everyday in which I am frustrated/bothered in some way by what I perceive as the backwards way that things are done here in Mozambique. What I oftentimes fail to take into account is that Mozambique as a country is just 34 years old. The reasons behind many of the things that frustrate me here may stem from the relative newness of Mozambique. If we think, for instance, about where the United States was after 34 years of independence it brings us to 1810, on the brink of the War of 1812 (yet another war with our original British colonizers). The history of The United States after 1810 included a bloody civil war, multiple assassinations of the president and policy gems such as slavery, prohibition, and McCarthyism. The point is, that Mozambique has not yet had the chance to learn from a long history (and the mistakes that come with history). Granted 233 years after the birth of the United States we still make plenty of new mistakes, but in general the country is run relatively smoothly. The policies, traditions and notions that make it a challenge for me to live and teach here are the result of this country’s turbulent history and relative newness.
To give an example of the point I am trying to make: Education policy handed down from the National Government dictates students in ninth grade take the following subjects: Portuguese, French, English, biology, chemistry, physics, geography, math, history, and physical education. They have each of these subjects every week at least twice per week. If you are asking (as you should be) if students can learn anything in any one subject when they are taking so many, the answer is no. From my perspective this policy seems to be nothing more than an attempt to catch-up educationally after thirty years of war. Although good in theory, the policy is not working.
Anyway, happy Independence Day (American and Mozambican), it will be a chilly one here in the western highlands of Mozambique. My second trimester ends in two weeks – at which point I hope to embark on some international travel in Southern Africa.
*The history part of this entry was adapted (in part) from Bradt, Mozambique. Phillip Briggs and Danny Edmunds
June 25 was Mozambican Independence Day and I joined in the festivities celebrating 34 years of Independence from Portuguese rule. In honor of Mozambican Independence Day this entry will consist of a brief, modern history of Mozambique, because (like all countries) the history of Mozambique has had a profound effect on what it is (and what I experience) today.
Portuguese sailors (motivated by trade potential in the Indian Ocean) landed in the Mozambican port of Sofala (near present-day Beira) in 1505 and controlled most of the East African coast by 1530. African Tribal Wars characterized the next 350 years in Mozambique along with Portuguese trade along the coast (including a booming slave trade during the 19th century). The Portuguese got serious about colonization in the 20th century and began to profit from Mozambique through 1) the proximity of the modern-day port of Maputo to South Africa’s gold mines and 2) the exportation of labor to S. Africa’s gold mines (this was a clever system of exploitation by the Portuguese in which indigenous Mozambicans were forced to work in South Africa and than pay a tax to the Portuguese Colonial Government). Portugal underwent a change in government in 1926 and elected to move away from forced migrant labor to forced labor within Mozambique. The result was high agricultural production and a valuable colony for the Portuguese. During this time Mozambique was also one of the top tourist destinations in Africa – with a seemingly endless amount of beach, and one of the best game reserves in the world in Gorongosa National Park.
In the wake of WWII Colonial Rule in Africa was coming to an end (often through violent struggles for independence). Mozambique was late to the party, but in 1963 the president of Tanzania (Julius Nyerere) convinced a few seperate Mozambican liberation groups to get it together and form a united movement for independence (this would become Frelimo (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) – the party that continues to lead the Mozambican government today). Frelimo attempted to take Mozambique by force, but 35,000 Portuguese soldiers sent for the purpose of eliminating them hindered the plan. The Mozambicans decided to run, rather than fight, and luckily for them political problems (rather than Frelimo’s activities) in Portugal resulted in negotiations for independence between the Portuguese and the Mozambicans.
In 1975 Frelimo was given leadership of an independent Mozambique without an election, taking over a country of more than 10 million people, a literacy rate of 5% and just 100 doctors (those numbers today are 54% literacy and 600 doctors). With Frelimo in power, a vast majority of the Portuguese deserted the country, taking their skilled labor, money and management proficiency with them – and as a result destroying the economy.
In the first few years of independence Frelimo did some wonderful things socially, but failed miserably economically and ultimately started leaning towards socialism. The western world was not particularly happy with Mozambique’s Marxist policies, and neighboring South Africa and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia at the time) were not thrilled with Mozambique’s independence (both countries were white-dominated at the time). The result was a S. African/Zimbabwean supported destabilization movement in the form of a group called Renamo. Renamo’s only policy was that they were anti-Frelimo. The ensuing war between Frelimo and Renamo is commonly (though somewhat mistakenly thanks to the influence of S. Africa and Zimbabwe) referred to as a civil war; the war took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans and lasted until 1992. Since 1992 Mozambique (still under the leadership of Frelimo) has been steadily improving in all possible ways.
Not surprisingly, tourism dropped to nearly nil during the years of war in Mozambique. Travel in the country was far from safe, and hungry soldiers managed to eat most of the wildlife that once made Gorongosa such a popular destination. Tourism in Mozambique is still recovering from the damages of war. Tourism infrastructure is difficult to find outside of a few popular destinations and Gorongosa National Park is currently known more for its lack of wildlife. The natural, undeveloped beauty however is still here.
Peace Corps English teachers arrived in Mozambique in 1998 and worked primarily in the southern part of the country. Since 1998 there have been thirteen classes of Peace Corps Volunteers (my class was lucky number thirteen) consisting in the more recent years of English teachers, health volunteers, biology teachers and chemistry teachers stationed in all ten provinces.
It seems like I have experiences everyday in which I am frustrated/bothered in some way by what I perceive as the backwards way that things are done here in Mozambique. What I oftentimes fail to take into account is that Mozambique as a country is just 34 years old. The reasons behind many of the things that frustrate me here may stem from the relative newness of Mozambique. If we think, for instance, about where the United States was after 34 years of independence it brings us to 1810, on the brink of the War of 1812 (yet another war with our original British colonizers). The history of The United States after 1810 included a bloody civil war, multiple assassinations of the president and policy gems such as slavery, prohibition, and McCarthyism. The point is, that Mozambique has not yet had the chance to learn from a long history (and the mistakes that come with history). Granted 233 years after the birth of the United States we still make plenty of new mistakes, but in general the country is run relatively smoothly. The policies, traditions and notions that make it a challenge for me to live and teach here are the result of this country’s turbulent history and relative newness.
To give an example of the point I am trying to make: Education policy handed down from the National Government dictates students in ninth grade take the following subjects: Portuguese, French, English, biology, chemistry, physics, geography, math, history, and physical education. They have each of these subjects every week at least twice per week. If you are asking (as you should be) if students can learn anything in any one subject when they are taking so many, the answer is no. From my perspective this policy seems to be nothing more than an attempt to catch-up educationally after thirty years of war. Although good in theory, the policy is not working.
Anyway, happy Independence Day (American and Mozambican), it will be a chilly one here in the western highlands of Mozambique. My second trimester ends in two weeks – at which point I hope to embark on some international travel in Southern Africa.
*The history part of this entry was adapted (in part) from Bradt, Mozambique. Phillip Briggs and Danny Edmunds
Monday, June 8, 2009
June 7
It has been a while since I posted anything, but I can explain why. I think that the things that I do here in Mozambique have stopped becoming eventful to me. I have grown used to my life here and nothing that I do seems so out of the ordinary that it can warrant a blog entry. For example, I think I wrote in one of my first entries about defecating in a hole – at this point I that is something that I would not think twice about.
All that being said I suppose I will continue to write things in order to satisfy my friends, my family and most importantly, my mother.
I have been chugging away at school trying in vain (for the most part) to get my students to understand something about chemistry. I decided to start telling them exactly what I am going to put on my tests, but most students still struggle mightily. There are some students that make an effort and actually learn something, and those are the ones that I focus on. I have no qualms about playing favorites – if I did I think I would loose my mind.
Some of my recent travel has included a trip to Manica City (which is in the mountains on the Zimbabwe boarder) to play a basketball game. Manica City is the currently the home of a large population of rich Zimbabweans who have gotten fed up with their own country. As a result it is a very nice little city. You can sit down at a nice restaurant and watch the fancy cars drive by, or walk through neighborhoods full of enormous houses. The income gap here in Africa is enormous – and I have not seen a more clear demonstration of that gap in Mozambique than in Manica City.
I returned on Sunday from a trip to Beira, which is the second biggest city in Mozambique and generally considered to be (by travelers and PCVs, but not by Mozambicans) a very unpleasant place to be. It is dirty, hot, and full of Malaria transmitting mosquitoes. However, I did have the pleasure of seeing a traffic light (we don’t have any in my province), and I got to go to the beach. My fellow PCVs and I took a trip north of Beira that included a 40 km along a terribly maintained dirt road and a short boat ride to a place called Rio Savane. It is a small campsite situated on a peninsula at the confluence of the Rio Savane (Savane River) and the Indian Ocean. There were miles and miles of beautiful beach and not another person to be seen – quite frankly it was one of the coolest places I have ever been. We played games on the beach during the day, and had bonfires on the beach at night- it was a fun weekend for all that were involved.
It has been a while since I posted anything, but I can explain why. I think that the things that I do here in Mozambique have stopped becoming eventful to me. I have grown used to my life here and nothing that I do seems so out of the ordinary that it can warrant a blog entry. For example, I think I wrote in one of my first entries about defecating in a hole – at this point I that is something that I would not think twice about.
All that being said I suppose I will continue to write things in order to satisfy my friends, my family and most importantly, my mother.
I have been chugging away at school trying in vain (for the most part) to get my students to understand something about chemistry. I decided to start telling them exactly what I am going to put on my tests, but most students still struggle mightily. There are some students that make an effort and actually learn something, and those are the ones that I focus on. I have no qualms about playing favorites – if I did I think I would loose my mind.
Some of my recent travel has included a trip to Manica City (which is in the mountains on the Zimbabwe boarder) to play a basketball game. Manica City is the currently the home of a large population of rich Zimbabweans who have gotten fed up with their own country. As a result it is a very nice little city. You can sit down at a nice restaurant and watch the fancy cars drive by, or walk through neighborhoods full of enormous houses. The income gap here in Africa is enormous – and I have not seen a more clear demonstration of that gap in Mozambique than in Manica City.
I returned on Sunday from a trip to Beira, which is the second biggest city in Mozambique and generally considered to be (by travelers and PCVs, but not by Mozambicans) a very unpleasant place to be. It is dirty, hot, and full of Malaria transmitting mosquitoes. However, I did have the pleasure of seeing a traffic light (we don’t have any in my province), and I got to go to the beach. My fellow PCVs and I took a trip north of Beira that included a 40 km along a terribly maintained dirt road and a short boat ride to a place called Rio Savane. It is a small campsite situated on a peninsula at the confluence of the Rio Savane (Savane River) and the Indian Ocean. There were miles and miles of beautiful beach and not another person to be seen – quite frankly it was one of the coolest places I have ever been. We played games on the beach during the day, and had bonfires on the beach at night- it was a fun weekend for all that were involved.
Monday, May 11, 2009
May 9
When I last left you I had just returned from the JOMA conference, I was not bathing and I had just been robbed. I am now almost four weeks into the second trimester of school, and still not bathing (as the weather continues to get colder).
The second trimester is turning out to be better than the first, mostly because my Portuguese has improved. I am also currently teaching about trends in the Periodic Table (which is about as exciting as it gets in ninth grade chemistry over here).
I got a chance to go to the beach last weekend, which was fun. The beach town of choice was Vilankulos, which is at the northern end of Inhambane Province (pronounced in – yam – bahn – ee) and hence, extremely far away. Long distance travel here is on par with my vision of hell, however, I did get to pass through the town of Mexungue (Mesh – oong – gway), which I think must be the cashew and pineapple capital of the universe (both were plentiful, cheap and delicious). Vilankulos itself is really a very sad little town; millions of dollars (for tourism) pass through the airport on the way to the offshore islands known as the Bazaruto Archipelago while the town continues to go on without development or basic infrastructure. Apparently all the money spent on tourism follows the South African and Zimbabwean Lodge owners back to their countries. The beach was nice, though, and I went swimming, ate seafood (I don’t really even like seafood), and saw lots of people whom I had not seen in a long time.
My roommate and I have started playing a new game with our neighbors (most of whom are children) called mata-mata which literally means kill-kill. The game is a complicated version of pickle/dodge ball that involves turning over flip-flops. The bottom line, though, is that I get to peg little kids with a ball made out of a plastic bag and grass. If you are having trouble visualizing this I would suggest a viewing of Adam Sandler during the dodge ball scene in Billy Madison. If you are still having trouble, just picture a 6’10” guy throwing a ball at small African children.
When I last left you I had just returned from the JOMA conference, I was not bathing and I had just been robbed. I am now almost four weeks into the second trimester of school, and still not bathing (as the weather continues to get colder).
The second trimester is turning out to be better than the first, mostly because my Portuguese has improved. I am also currently teaching about trends in the Periodic Table (which is about as exciting as it gets in ninth grade chemistry over here).
I got a chance to go to the beach last weekend, which was fun. The beach town of choice was Vilankulos, which is at the northern end of Inhambane Province (pronounced in – yam – bahn – ee) and hence, extremely far away. Long distance travel here is on par with my vision of hell, however, I did get to pass through the town of Mexungue (Mesh – oong – gway), which I think must be the cashew and pineapple capital of the universe (both were plentiful, cheap and delicious). Vilankulos itself is really a very sad little town; millions of dollars (for tourism) pass through the airport on the way to the offshore islands known as the Bazaruto Archipelago while the town continues to go on without development or basic infrastructure. Apparently all the money spent on tourism follows the South African and Zimbabwean Lodge owners back to their countries. The beach was nice, though, and I went swimming, ate seafood (I don’t really even like seafood), and saw lots of people whom I had not seen in a long time.
My roommate and I have started playing a new game with our neighbors (most of whom are children) called mata-mata which literally means kill-kill. The game is a complicated version of pickle/dodge ball that involves turning over flip-flops. The bottom line, though, is that I get to peg little kids with a ball made out of a plastic bag and grass. If you are having trouble visualizing this I would suggest a viewing of Adam Sandler during the dodge ball scene in Billy Madison. If you are still having trouble, just picture a 6’10” guy throwing a ball at small African children.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
April 23
I returned from the annual JOMA conference last Monday. JOMA stands for Jovens para mudança e açcão (which means young people for change and action). It was created by some PCV a few years ago and today almost every PCV site in Mozambique has a JOMA group (that is, a group of students who meet every week and do activities – such as painting murals, theatre, and journalism – that are vaguely related to the fight against HIV and therefore funded by PEPFAR and U.S Government). I know I said that in a somewhat cynical way, but in all honesty projects like JOMA are probably a more effective use of PEPFAR money than anything else the U.S Government is doing in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Anyway, the JOMA conference was fun. It was completely organized by PCVs – which made it slightly stressful (though I was not in charge so not for me). During the day students learned about a specific profession (artist, journalist, actor etc.) from a Mozambican professional and at night we ran summer camp – like activities that the kids loved (problem solving activities like egg drop and feats of strength like tug of war). It was probably one of the best weeks of their life for the 50 or so Mozambican students who attended.
I returned home to lovely Gondola to find that my house had been broken into. The thief stole primarily DVDs, though he also took a packet of gum (he took winterfresh gum but left Juicy Fruit and Big Red…a wise choice in my opinion), five pens, a light bulb, and three condoms (that is my contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS). However, we found out from our neighbors who the thief is and we know where he lives – unfortunately he already sold our DVDs. Perhaps we will ask a local witch doctor to curse him (that is popular method of crime control around here).
April 25
I think I mentioned before that it is getting colder, a lot colder. The drop in temperature has had some unexpected consequences – most unexpected has been a reduction in bathing by me. Generally, during warmer months I took nothing but cold baths – because I did not want to go through the process of boiling water (boiling enough water for a hot bath is a process that takes 20-30 minutes, so it needs to be planned out). In this weather the prospect of taking a cold bath just does not appeal to me anymore. As it turns out the prospect of planning when I want to take a hot bath doesn’t appeal to me either – the result is less bathing, oh well. To head off worry from the many nurses to whom I am related: I still bathe often enough to ward of infection etc.
I returned from the annual JOMA conference last Monday. JOMA stands for Jovens para mudança e açcão (which means young people for change and action). It was created by some PCV a few years ago and today almost every PCV site in Mozambique has a JOMA group (that is, a group of students who meet every week and do activities – such as painting murals, theatre, and journalism – that are vaguely related to the fight against HIV and therefore funded by PEPFAR and U.S Government). I know I said that in a somewhat cynical way, but in all honesty projects like JOMA are probably a more effective use of PEPFAR money than anything else the U.S Government is doing in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Anyway, the JOMA conference was fun. It was completely organized by PCVs – which made it slightly stressful (though I was not in charge so not for me). During the day students learned about a specific profession (artist, journalist, actor etc.) from a Mozambican professional and at night we ran summer camp – like activities that the kids loved (problem solving activities like egg drop and feats of strength like tug of war). It was probably one of the best weeks of their life for the 50 or so Mozambican students who attended.
I returned home to lovely Gondola to find that my house had been broken into. The thief stole primarily DVDs, though he also took a packet of gum (he took winterfresh gum but left Juicy Fruit and Big Red…a wise choice in my opinion), five pens, a light bulb, and three condoms (that is my contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS). However, we found out from our neighbors who the thief is and we know where he lives – unfortunately he already sold our DVDs. Perhaps we will ask a local witch doctor to curse him (that is popular method of crime control around here).
April 25
I think I mentioned before that it is getting colder, a lot colder. The drop in temperature has had some unexpected consequences – most unexpected has been a reduction in bathing by me. Generally, during warmer months I took nothing but cold baths – because I did not want to go through the process of boiling water (boiling enough water for a hot bath is a process that takes 20-30 minutes, so it needs to be planned out). In this weather the prospect of taking a cold bath just does not appeal to me anymore. As it turns out the prospect of planning when I want to take a hot bath doesn’t appeal to me either – the result is less bathing, oh well. To head off worry from the many nurses to whom I am related: I still bathe often enough to ward of infection etc.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
April 12
The weather is changing here in Gondola, and since I am in the southern hemisphere it is getting colder (I apologize for the geography lesson). I always use a blanket at night these days – and on several occasions I have felt the need to wear a sweatshirt.
I am currently at the halfway point of the two-week school holiday that falls between the first and second trimesters. The trimester ended with the archaic system of writing down everyone’s grades in at least three different places (first in pencil than over the pencil in pen) this is necessary because the computer (or really any type of machine that is conducive to efficiency) has failed to reach central Mozambique in force. You can imagine how long this system takes with 400 students. The end of the trimester is also the time when you get students trying to bribe you with a Fanta to give them a passing grade, or colleagues (almost always male) asking you to change the grade of a student (almost always female) for whatever reason (almost always because they are sleeping together). All those aside, there were some positives that came out of the first trimester. For instance, there are some students who really understand, care about, and are willing to study what I am teaching. These students earned good grades and it is these students whom I focus on when I think about what I am doing here and whether I am actually making any impact.
Prior to the end of the trimester I took some days off from teaching and attended my Peace Corps Regional Conference (for the central region of Mozambique). I got to stay in a hotel, take hot showers and eat meat at least twice a day – it was glorious. I received training in education and project development as well as a refresher course on Peace Corps Policy. It was also an opportunity to socialize with my fellow PCVs . We had an 80s party (it is really easy to have 80s parties here because almost all the clothes in the markets are donations from developed countries – mostly the US). When I walk around town I might see an 80-year-old grandmother wearing a shirt touting the 4-H fair in Crawfordsville, Indiana or 25-year-old guy wearing a girl’s soccer uniform from Towson, Maryland. The bottom line is that it is easy to find 80s gear in the market so we had some excellent costumes.
I mentioned before that I had just completed my first week of holiday. My roommate and I decided to spend our week on a trip to Tete. Tete is the province directly north of Manica (my province) in Mozambique and widely considered to be one of the hottest and least attractive tourist destinations in all of Southern Africa. Tete City itself is considered by some to be the hottest city in the world (in terms of year-round mean temperature). We knew all of this prior to planning our trip – and we still wanted to go. It turned out to be an interesting trip – Tete City (though very hot) is currently awash in money, (apparently the province is floating on coal and Brazilian and Australian mining companies have recently leased large plots of land). It was unlike any other city I have seen in Mozambique – in terms of modern buildings and amenities. We also visited Lago (Lake) Cahora Bassa where we hung out with Nick the Afrikaner fishing lodge manager and Gary the Zimbabwean Crocodile Hunter (this guy actually hunts crocodiles). While on the lake, we were surrounded by hippos and crocodiles and a variety of exotic African birds. It turns out hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa and since I am not a fisherman – the hippos made fishing exciting for me.
The weather is changing here in Gondola, and since I am in the southern hemisphere it is getting colder (I apologize for the geography lesson). I always use a blanket at night these days – and on several occasions I have felt the need to wear a sweatshirt.
I am currently at the halfway point of the two-week school holiday that falls between the first and second trimesters. The trimester ended with the archaic system of writing down everyone’s grades in at least three different places (first in pencil than over the pencil in pen) this is necessary because the computer (or really any type of machine that is conducive to efficiency) has failed to reach central Mozambique in force. You can imagine how long this system takes with 400 students. The end of the trimester is also the time when you get students trying to bribe you with a Fanta to give them a passing grade, or colleagues (almost always male) asking you to change the grade of a student (almost always female) for whatever reason (almost always because they are sleeping together). All those aside, there were some positives that came out of the first trimester. For instance, there are some students who really understand, care about, and are willing to study what I am teaching. These students earned good grades and it is these students whom I focus on when I think about what I am doing here and whether I am actually making any impact.
Prior to the end of the trimester I took some days off from teaching and attended my Peace Corps Regional Conference (for the central region of Mozambique). I got to stay in a hotel, take hot showers and eat meat at least twice a day – it was glorious. I received training in education and project development as well as a refresher course on Peace Corps Policy. It was also an opportunity to socialize with my fellow PCVs . We had an 80s party (it is really easy to have 80s parties here because almost all the clothes in the markets are donations from developed countries – mostly the US). When I walk around town I might see an 80-year-old grandmother wearing a shirt touting the 4-H fair in Crawfordsville, Indiana or 25-year-old guy wearing a girl’s soccer uniform from Towson, Maryland. The bottom line is that it is easy to find 80s gear in the market so we had some excellent costumes.
I mentioned before that I had just completed my first week of holiday. My roommate and I decided to spend our week on a trip to Tete. Tete is the province directly north of Manica (my province) in Mozambique and widely considered to be one of the hottest and least attractive tourist destinations in all of Southern Africa. Tete City itself is considered by some to be the hottest city in the world (in terms of year-round mean temperature). We knew all of this prior to planning our trip – and we still wanted to go. It turned out to be an interesting trip – Tete City (though very hot) is currently awash in money, (apparently the province is floating on coal and Brazilian and Australian mining companies have recently leased large plots of land). It was unlike any other city I have seen in Mozambique – in terms of modern buildings and amenities. We also visited Lago (Lake) Cahora Bassa where we hung out with Nick the Afrikaner fishing lodge manager and Gary the Zimbabwean Crocodile Hunter (this guy actually hunts crocodiles). While on the lake, we were surrounded by hippos and crocodiles and a variety of exotic African birds. It turns out hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa and since I am not a fisherman – the hippos made fishing exciting for me.
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