WWS

My Aunt, a seventh grade teacher, and I are trying to facilitate a cultural exchange between our students through the World Wise Schools (WWS) correspondence Math program. We are still ironing out some details but I wanted to give her class a bit of information about the school here in Meconta.
 

The Escola Secundaria de Meconta-Sede (Meconta High School).

There are two main buildings on either side of the picture. There are four classrooms in each building, so 8 classrooms in total. The building in the middle is the administration bulding and there are also two rooms tucked behind that are the teacher lounge and study room for students. Because it is so hot here and we don't have air conditioning, the nevers rarely use the lounge and, instead, sit under a tree in desks. Students either study in the morning, afternoon, or at night and the grades are 8th through 12th.

Inside each classroom there is a desk and a chair for the teacher. At the front of the room there is a chalkboard that I use to draw pictures and write notes.

The desk and chalkboard.

Being a student here in Mozambique is hard! Schools don't have enough money to buy supplies for everyone so there are...
NO textbooks
NO computers (most students have never used one before in their lives!)
NO projectors
NO laboratories
NO libraries
No cafeterias
NO calculators
NO televisions
NO school buses/public transportation (some of my students live two hours away on foot)
and....
NO air conditioning!

Tough, right?

Sharing a desk is common and if you're rich enough, you can buy a dictionary or textbook for yourself. Every students has a notebook and pens. Because there are no books/computers/internet, the notes I give them are their textbooks. And usually, when it rains on the tin roofs, it is almost impossible for students to concentrate and for me to be heard over all the noise.

Students taking notes.

Everyone wears a uniform, including me! Here in Mozambique, I wear a "Bata" to school. It is white to prevent the white chalk from getting on my clothes and makes it easier to keep clean. The students wear a white shirt and dark blue skirts/pants.

Well that's all for now. Summer break is coming up in a few months and we're all pretty excited for the long vacation.

Welcome back to school everyone in America! :)

It's a little hard to read but the board says, "Hello Mrs. Simmons' class! Greetings from Mozambique!"

September 7, 2013

Liz and I have finally moved! We now live in Meconta, which is in the province of Nampula. We're very close to the city of Nampula, the Peace Corps office, and a supermarket called Shoprite (It's like a Walmart! In Mozambique! I was in complete disbelief when I first walked in). We moved into our house on the fifth of August so it's been a month now since we got here. Pretty hard to believe. And in a couple weeks I'll have been here in Mozambique for a year! Wow. Not sure if time is flying necessarily but I feel like I've learned a lot since I first arrived in Africa :)

We live in a house now with a yard on a street with lots of important and rich Mozambicans. Our backyard didn't have a fence until about a week ago (We paid three kids to use bamboo and dried reeds to close off our yard) but we have a guava, mango, and papaya tree in our yard! Not bad, right? Our mango tree in particular is enormous. Mango season is coming up in a few months, can't wait! Our house is a lot smaller than our previous place in Mariri. We don't have a table or chairs but our living room came with three couches! The bathroom is painted neon orange (No idea why) and it's indoors with a toilet. No running water so we get to manually flush.

The front of our house. The only house with grates on the doors and windows in the neighborhood. Thanks Peace Corps!

Our kitchen. We have a sink now!

Can't complain though, we have electricity now! It's fantastic. We have more time during the day to do other things besides cooking (we have an electric stove!) and I can actually use my computer at home (More time to blog! Woot!)! I think I'm going to be even more thankful when summer comes around and I can use a fan instead of a wet blanket to keep cool! It's the little things haha We now have a market that's a couple minutes away. We can buy bread and fresh produce (Lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes,onions, coconuts, green onions and fruit on certain days). Further down the street there are a couple stores with stuff like tomato paste and canned tuna too.

A couple weeks ago the Country Director of Peace Corps Mozambique, Carl Swartz, visited us! I had been sick again but Carl took us to lunch and brought us dark chocolate and fresh cheddar cheese (Rarities here in Meconta, thanks Carl!). He came with one of our previous language instructors during training, Macaringue, who is now working here in Nampula for the EGRA project. Liz and I are participating in the program along with many other volunteers throughout the country. We have a trunk full of elementary school level picture books in Portuguese to start a children's library here in Meconta but we just moved so we're still trying to work out the details. Can't wait till we can get everything set up! Books here are a such a rarity and I loved going to the library as a kid. I hope we can show students how fun reading can be. Liz brought out a book in front of the elementary school the other day and she was completely swarmed by kids. Super cute! Wish us luck with everything!

Carl left that day but returned the next to bring us a few more things! A care package had come from my mom (Omg thank you again mom. love yo!) and Carl also brought us a.... PUPPY! Two volunteers in Muecate gave her to Carl to bring to us. She cried most of the first night and can't stop chewing and destroying everything (Including my computer charger. Thanks puppy :/) but we're hoping she'll be a good guard dog. Most Mozambicans are scared of dogs.

This is Maluca. "Crazy" in Portuguese. Isn't she cute? :)

Four days later a group of kids appeared in our yard wanting to speak to us. I had been telling everyone I want a kitten (I miss my kitty in America!) and they pulled out the tiniest and cutest orange tabby from a bag. I couldn't resist him! So now we have two babies in the house: a puppy and kitten. The kitten freaked out on us the first night so I was worried I had made a terrible decision but he's calmed down a lot. We cleaned his eyes out (Thanks for the advice Mr. Oddo!) and he's much happier. The puppy and kittens are even friends now!

The kitten: Simba. It means lion in Swahili. 

Baby kisses! Plus the huge moth that appeared on our doorstep.

One of my students also told me yesterday that they make dog and cat curry here in Meconta, which worries me a bit. Got to make sure the babies can defend themselves. At least our pets are friends? Carl is so nice and a great Country Director. He is always there for us when we need him and makes us feel important. I'm going to miss him when he leaves. Thank you for everything you've done for us!

Just wanted to talk about my job here in Mozambique. I am now no longer teaching biology. I am officially just an English teacher! Liz is teaching 8th, 10th, and 12th grade chemistry and I have 8th and 9th grade English. The walk to school is only about ten minutes and the teachers here are great. The director (Principle) of the school has been on vacation so I haven't met him yet but the pedagogical directors (Vice principles. We have 4) are very helpful and nice. Liz teaches in the morning and I have classes in the afternoon but the school also has night classes for the adults who want to complete their education and work during the day. Another perk of having electricity.

All the adults kept asking us to teach them English so we have an adult English class twice a week now. I am also working with a group of students every day to practice English. There is an English Theater competition coming up on the 28th of this month. 10 students will do a theater piece for 10 minutes. Volunteers from all over the province of Nampula will come and compete. It should be a fun experience for the students!

I'm really glad we moved. I'm a lot happier now and although we have to start all over again (Meeting new people and integrating into our community) we do have a fresh start. I have a chance now to redo all the mistakes I made in Cabo Delgado. Don't worry, I got this :)

A Woman's Roll

I know I mentioned this book in a previous post but if you have time and want to learn more about the culture here in Africa, I would highly recommend The Poisonwood Bible. It's beautifully written and very insightful. There were two quotes in particular that stuck with me, probably because I can see living illustrations here in Mozambique on a daily basis.

"Men sit on buckets and stare at whatsoever passes by. The usual bypasser is a woman sauntering slowly down the road with bundles upon bundles balanced on her head. These women are pillars of wonder, defying gravity while wearing the ho-hum aspect of a perfect tedium. They can sit, stand, talk, shake a stick at a drunk man, reach around their backs to fetch forth a baby to nurse, all without dropping their piled-high bundles upon bundles. They are like ballet dancers entirely unaware they are on stage. I cannot take my eyes from them." -Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

As you can tell by the huge grins on their faces, these women were aware they are on stage. We ran into them right before they were about to hike up a mountain. And some men here think women can't do anything….

That is one of the exasperating parts for me about this country: Gender inequality. Being a woman here is very different from being a man. You are treated completely different if you are a woman AND a foreigner with paler skin (An interesting combination. I'll save the comments about racism for another day). Being here in Mozambique makes me realize how spoiled I am. I am an American born in the late 1900's. I didn't have to fight for my right to work with equal pay or for my right to vote in elections.It's not like that in every country.

 Many Mozambicans are farmers. A husband and wife will go out to their farm and work all day. When I see couples walking back home in the evening, it is usually the woman who is carrying all the food (on her head of course!) with a baby strapped to her back. Once they are home, the husband rests while the wife cooks dinner (Because, of course, a man can't cook! That's a woman's job!).

This gender role is ingrained into the rural society here in Mozambique, which is where I live. It is not as extreme in the cities but still exists. It's the young girls who clean, cook, and take care of the babies. They have all these duties to do in the morning so if/when they came to school many times they are late and tired. In the evenings, they have the same chores. It's hard for them to find time to do their homework, especially if there is no electricity, so most of the time boys are better students. This, then, makes the girls feel like they aren't smart enough to learn and they fall further and further behind.

"While the little boys ran around pretending to shoot each other and fall dead in the road, it appeared that little girls were running the country." -Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

This little girl is Jane. Her family lives in an empty classroom at our school and the baby on her back is her little brother. I always see her wandering the halls like this when I am teaching.

We can see examples of the government attempting to empower girls in our school. Female students are constantly encouraged to participate in class and in extracurricular activities outside the classroom but the numbers don't lie. In Mariri, ten percent of our students were girls. Now in Meconta, we have closer to half. Peace Corps also has two country-wide programs to help girls. One, JUNTOS, is a group with both girls and boys were gender is addressed and the other, REDES, is a group for girls only.

Women here in Mozambique are making a stand. I now live in Meconta and the Administrator (Governor) of the entire district is a woman! At least one of the female teachers can drive a car and there has been a woman (Luisa Diogo) Prime Minister of the entire country. This country is still developing but it is moving forward. Pouco a pouco :)

August 2, 2013

Nick left with his parents today to go back to his school in Gaza. It's been a really wonderful break, I'm so grateful I got to spend so much time with him. Two of our friends, Casey and Ella, came up from Nampula to hang out with us in Pemba. We walked around town and found a shop that sold cake. Because it was Katherine and Jim's anniversary, we decided to buy them a cake to celebrate! It was surprisingly delicious for African standards. It kinda reminded me of cake in Taiwan actually lol the next morning we woke up early and walked out to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful. A great way to end an amazing vacation.

Heading into town with Casey, Ella, and Nick in a chapa!

A view of Pemba from the chapa. Those houses are typical here in Pemba but look at that view! Can't forget the trash on the side of the road…

The "customized" cake. Parabens! 

 Sunrise on the ocean with fishermen.

July 31, 2013

We spent the last few days on the island of Ibo. There are a lot of beautiful islands off the coast of Mozambique and I think Ibo is the most famous. Here's more information about the islands for anyone interested :) whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5380/

The ride up was really nice because we were in a private car. Thank goodness, because I was sick the whole ride over and the entire time I was on the island as well. It seems that my stomach and Africa still aren't on good terms. Didn't stop me from eating delicious homemade Mozambican seafood though ;) It was still a fun trip and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go before I left Cabo. Here are some photos from our vacation:

Baboons on the side of the road!

Traveling on a Dhow to the island. Can you spot me? :)

The fort. There were lots of artists inside and a beautiful view of the ocean from the top.

A silversmith making a necklace. Ibo is famous for their silver jewelery.

The boat we took back to the mainland. It was much fancier than the Dhow!

Rain approaching the island.

Low tide! It is so shallow in the archipelago you can only use a Dhow during high tide.

July 26, 2013

First half of the break is over! Nick flew up to Pemba to come visit and is the only person who visited us for more than three hours! Haha he helped us pack and move everything into the Peace Corps car. It looks like today is the official date of our move to Meconta! Nick and I will be going to Pemba to meet his parents. They're flying into Pemba tomorrow and will be in Cabo Delgado for a week. Liz, therefore, is going to the new house and after that she'll be at a conference in the city. One more quick goodbye to Mariri. It's been a good eight months but it's time to go!

Nick hanging out with some of the kids.

One of my classrooms. I had about 70 students.

One of the old abandoned buildings I use to walk by every day. Mariri used to be run by Catholic Priests.

 Hanging out with some of the teachers.

One of our neighbors and fellow teacher, Agneta. The hallway behind us is the building complex we lived in with the other teachers.

 Three of the kids that use to come by our house all the time. The little girl, Reina, used to cry when she saw us. I'm going to miss them.

July 20, 2013

The trimester is finally finished! We helped proctor the students during state testing and now it’s time to enjoy our break! We know for certain now that we are moving during the break but we don’t have a specific date yet. It’s a bit frustrating because we can’t make definite travel plans and we’re not happy about the fact that we can’t say goodbye to our students. They have already left for the holidays and by the time they get back we’ll be gone. Liz and I decided to leave a note with one of the teachers for our JUNTOS group but I don’t think it’s enough. We thought we would be moving months ago so we’re not as sad as we thought we would be. It actually feels like more of a relief. We’re finally moving! Last two photos of our kitchen. 

 Our counter and cupboard with pin board.  

The other half of our kitchen (with Lord of the Rings clock and tea shelf!)

One of the lakes. Pretty, huh?

July 15, 2013

Roberto is a twelfth grade student in Mariri. He lives about 3 Kilometers away from the school in Campine. His family gave us a giant bag of raw unshelled peanuts after visiting the other day. Apparently there is a technique to shelling peanuts (You push on the little button at the top. Who knew?). Do you remember the three lakes that we have in Mariri? Well, Roberto now has a plot of land next to one of the lakes to farm. He came by a few months ago and we showed him the seeds we were sent in care packages (thanks again everyone!). We gave him a few, including sunflowers, vegetables, and a few herbs. He has planted these seeds from America and is planning on selling the products to make a profit to help pay for his education. No one else in Mariri will have his produce! 

Roberto and part of his garden. You can see corn, tomatoes, lettuce, and couve (don’t know what this is called in English but it is similar to collard greens). 

A turnip! Nope, this does not exist in Mozambique :)

Lettuce! The American lettuce is on the left and the Mozambican is on the right.

It is only within the past few weeks that we’ve had fresh produce here in Mariri besides cassava and pumpkin leaves (did you know you can eat pumpkin leaves? It actually tastes pretty good!). The agriculture school we live next to has these giant farms and sells fresh produce! I was so excited when my student showed me around. We’ve been buying couve (yup. That collard green thing again), lettuce, and green tomatoes. We have to wait until after the break for the rest of the vegetables but Liz and I have just been excited we can buy green things here at our home! Things are looking up!

Roberto came by the other day with some other students to help us string our rope bed. I asked a Mozambican what its name is and he just said it’s a traditional Mozambican bed. They’re really comfortable and because there are so many gaps it’s a lot cooler than a bed in the heat. Liz and I have been using it to sit on while we watch media at night. 

Making the rope bed outside our home.

 Using our bed while eating Liz’s pad thai and watching the Lion King! :)

June 24, 2013

This past weekend was a lot of fun! It was Eric’s birthday and they decided to roast a pig in the ground. It reminded me of New Zealand and how the Maori cook their food. The day started off at 4am with a pig squealing. The pig was then cleaned, stuffed, and buried underground. 

 Heating the pit with charcoal.

Placing the pig in the pit (covered in foil, a sack, and chicken wire).

Layering! Tin foil covered the outside. Then a door was place on top, covered with dirt. 

The roasted pig (later that evening) Success!

The next day the guys rented a chapa (public transportation=a open back truck with a tarp covering it) to take us to the illusive but famous waterfalls in Chiúre. We went down a bumpy dirt road after stocking up on snacks in town. It was the roughest ride I had been in since I went to Invinha during site visits. When we finally arrived, I was slightly nauseas and covered head to toe in dirt but wow was the site worth it! We walked to the edge of the cliff and saw these beautiful gigantic waterfalls that were literally in the middle of nowhere! Much bigger than the ones in Namaacha. It was from the river that separates the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado. The boys from the local village showed us where to go to climb down the cliff. I don’t know if it was because I was scared or just tired but I couldn’t stop shaking till we got to the bottom. It was totally worth it though :) So beautiful! When we left, we gave the village chief a bag of oranges as payment. Could you imagine doing something like that in America? Lol A fun day spent with great people. I’m going to miss everyone in Cabo Delgado! 

Some of the kids that helped us down to the waterfall.

Me and the waterfalls. Can you spot me? Can you spot all the dirt I’m covered in? haha

The rapids at the bottom.

The view of the waterfalls near the top of the path.