Monday, November 12, 2012

Last month of the school year!


Highlights for the last month and a half in Mozambique
-Oct 4th – Oct 6th:  Machanga for an inter-group exchange with my REDES group!
-My maid and her husband
-Halloween in Rio Savane!!! – October 26th -29th
-One full year of teaching
-Canoe Ride on the Buzi River

Hello everyone,
After a month and a half of being busy with wrapping up the school year I’m finally ready to write another blog!
Troca in Machanga!!!!             
In early October I brought my REDES group, a group of 10 very excited girls, on a trip to perform a theater and dance piece to a neighboring Mission school in the district of Machanga.  Machanga is a small town/ district on the boarder of Sofala and Vilankulos, and is about a 5 hour car ride south from my site of Mangunde.  
The first thing I would like to say about the troca is that it was AWESOME, 4 different schools from surrounding schools were invited and it was a wonderful experience to see all of the girls from the different schools show off their dancing, singing, and acting skills.  In a country where the majority of women you meet are extremely passive, shy, and generally subservient.  Seeing this group of girls being lively, laughing, and talking about important issues was a fantastic thing to see.
After all of the fantastic performances (Side note: some other volunteers and myself also got in there and broke it down Mozambican style…SO MUCH FUN) the night wrapped up with a dance party followed by some Xima(Corn flour cooked in a way to give it the texture of firm mashed potatoes) and beans, then off to bed.  The next day all the girls went to church in the morning (Us Peace Corps volunteers did not get up and go to church, and boy-oh-boy did our girls make us feel guilty, apparently they had a big announcement at church that morning and wanted to thank us for the work we were doing….we didn’t get the Memo :-/ ).  After church Mac (The PCV who lives in Machanga and who organized the whole event (Good work btw Macky boy!)) had all of the girls get together for one last event.  He got three nurses from the hospital to come in and talk to our group of about 70 girls about pregnancy, contraception, and general female health (Mac and I as the men stepped out for this part, nothing makes Mozambican women more uncomfortable than talking about Menstruation and female condoms in front of two white American men).   All and all the workshop was a stunning success, most of the girls had no idea about the options available to them at their local hospitals and for some of them it was their first experience with anything related to formal sexual education.   With an HIV rate as high as 33%  (1 out of every 3 people you see could have HIV)  and with families that have 8 children and barely the ability to feed 2,  Sexual Education is VERY necessary.
Another wonderful experience
One slightly comical revelation I had on how different life in Mozambique is to that of the states was when my REDES girls and I were getting into our vehicle to head to Machanga.  We excitedly packed 10 girls, my counterpart, myself, and the driver (13 people) into a small blue pick-up truck for a 5 hour journey and were extremely grateful for having a private ride.  Can you imagine in the States a school allowing 10 girls to pile into the back of an open pick-up truck to travel for 5 hours on a highway to get to a school related event.  In the states: LAWSUIT, in Mozambique: RIDING IN STYLE. 

My maid and her husband

A few months ago I wrote a blog about my maid and her son Jacinto, however to put the next story in context I will repeat myself a bit.  
Gracinda is a woman that was selected by the Priest who runs the mission to help out and assist the Peace Corps volunteers that work in Mangunde.  Here in Mozambique it is very common for teachers, foreigners, nurses, doctors, and just about any job that requires a college degree to have a maid.  When I arrived here in Mangunde Gracinda was contracted to fetch water, cook lunch and dinner, wash clothes, and keep the general house and yard clean.
Gracinda has been the maid here for about 6 years, she is 25 and has a 2 and a half year old son named Jacinto (who I adore).    Gracinda’s niece Inoria and nephew Jose live with her and Jacinto in small wood house just a step or two off of my back porch.    
Gracinda, Jose, Inoria, and Jacinto basically have full run of the kitchen and the back yard of my house and because of this I have had a hard time in the past year dealing with personal space issues.  I mean seriously I live in a house with 1 American roommate and an entire Mozambican family.  There are parts of this which are wonderful, but there are also parts that I thoroughly dislike and want to change.  A few things that aggravate the situation are that she gets paid far more than the work she does is worth, she doesn’t do a very good job, and no matter what I offer her she makes me feel as though I’m not doing enough.    It doesn’t help that I have never actually wanted a maid, and the only reason that I’m giving her a job is because I have the ability to single handedly help her and her child make a living for themselves with a job that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.  
It’s hard for me because I do like her and I love Jacinto but she effectively makes me feel like a stingy rich person who just isn’t willing to help her out, when in fact she receives so much help from the Peace Volunteers and from me personally that she lives very respectably compared to others in the community. 
Anyways, as of October 10th I had decided to reduce her pay, reduce significantly the amount of work she would be doing, and if she still wanted to stay in Mangunde she could, if it wasn’t enough she could choose to move on. (Did I mention that she gets 100% free housing out of this whole deal).  I had decided on this because 1. I could hire some students who were struggling to pay for school from the surrounding community to help me out around the house, and 2. Gracinda has a husband who lives about an hour away and has a decent job as a primary school teacher which would mean her and Jacinto would be supported.   This seemed like the best option for me, I get to help out a few students who are truly struggling to go to school and who will appreciate what I would give and I would regain control over my house.
HOWEVER, things never quite turn out the way you expect.  Everything changed the weekend Gracinda’s husband came to visit.  Her husband Lino is someone I have never liked, from the first moment I met him he walked into my house like he owned it and made me feel like I owed him my full hospitality. 
The night he arrived I went to bed without any thought of the events of the following day.  When I woke up the first thing my roommate Ian said was “did you hear them fighting last night!?”  I sleep like a brick but  was surprised to hear Ian recount being kept up late into the light with Lino and Gracinda’s fighting.     
Gracinda looked really upset the next day so I asked her about it and she proceeded to tell me how Lino has repeatedly been hitting her when they get upset with each other and how she was tired of their situation.    She then showed me her mouth which was swollen due to almost having a tooth knocked out.  To sum up, her husband beats her.  This immediately put me on full alert and made me very angry.  I told Lino off and then spent most of my morning facilitating a “marriage counseling session” between Lino’s Godfather, Gracinda, and Lino.   This entire situation was very awkward because I just wanted Lino to leave and Gracinda to never talk to him again; however things are different in Mozambique and being punched in the face by your husband, does not mean a divorce it means a long conversation where a bunch of promises are made and only half will actually be kept .
The story ends here, I don’t like Gracinda’s husband, they are still together, and I CAN NOT take away her only way to support herself while she has a husband that beaters her.   Therefore she has got a full job for next year, though many things are going to be changed (I’ve already talked to her about these things) and I think over all next year will be for the best.    It might not seem like the situation has been resolved for me, however there are a lot of little of little things that changed for me after I found out about Gracinda’s husband.  I’m now in a comfortable position with Gracinda and my living situation and get to see Jacinto grow up for another year.

Halloween 2012  - Rio Savane

Rio Savane is a beautiful Beach/ River located just outside of Beira (the second largest city in Mozambique).   A bunch of Peace Corps friends and I all met up at a small island resort to say good bye the volunteers who have finished their two year service and are heading to the USA during the following weeks.  
The place we stayed at was on an Island just off of the mainland where the Savane River lets out into the Indian Ocean.  This place was amazing on one side of the island was a long stretch of white sand and a stunning view of the ocean that was accompanied by the constant crash of waves coming in.  On the other side was a winding river with tons of vegetation, crabs, and a wicked current.   The whole place had an untouched feel to it which made it a wonderful refuge after a busy trimester.
The weekend was filled with costumes (I was a flamboyant Donatello from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), beer, and goodbyes.   It was nice to see everyone (about 15 of the people who came were set to leave) one last time in the Peace Corps setting, before they embark on their post Peace Corps life.  It made me realize that I have in fact been in Peace Corps for over a year (definitely an odd revelation).   A shout out to all of the Moz 15ers, Mozambique will certainly miss you!!!
                                                                                                                                                                            
One full year of teaching!!!
So as of October 26th 2012 I officially finished one full year of teaching in the Mozambican school system.  The whole experience had its ups and downs but overall I would say that teaching in the context that I was put in has been an invaluable experience that I’m never likely to forget.  On top of the craziness that is ones first year of teaching, I managed to deal with learning and teaching in a foreign language, and to handle all of the idiosyncrasies of the Mozambican school system.
The end of the year brought a few goodbyes, a few “see you next year”’s, and that general “wrapping it up” feeling you get right before summer break.   I thought that these last few weeks would be smooth sailing, and that I wouldn’t have very many responsibilities.  I was wrong.  The past few weeks have been crazy due to the National exams that all of the students in 10th and 12th grade must take.  My last two weeks have been filled with helping kids prepare for the exams, than monitoring them while they take the exams, then grading the exams, absolute craziness.
Some comments on the National exams here in Mozambique: 1. passing is a 35% on the exam and average passing right per discipline is about 60%.    In my opinion there is just something wrong here.  It could be the teachers, it could be the students, or it could be the test.  But, I have a sneaking suspicion it’s all three.  The nuances of the education system here boggle my mind, but how the ministry rationalizes only having 60% of its students pass an exam when the passing rate is about 35%  is beyond my understanding.   Grading these exams is rough, towards the end I found myself getting excited when a student managed to get 40 or 45% of the material.  L
Anyways, at the time I am writing this blog, my responsibilities as far as the school is concerned have dropped to zero and I am excited to use the next few days to catch up on non school related work.  Which includes REDES, CLEANING MY HOUSE (an undertaking worthy of respect and admiration), and preparing for an awesome month long traveling extravaganza that I will be embarking on in early December.  South Africa here I come!!!
Canoe Ride on the Buzi River
I’m going to end my blog on a relaxing note, just yesterday November 11th my roommate (who will be leaving in just two days, L) and I took a wonderful canoe ride down the Buzi River.  The Buzi River is only about a 10 minute walk from my front door and holds a quit and humble atmosphere.  When you get to the river there are usually around 20-30 women washing their clothes, children playing in the water and people generally just going about their day to day life.  
Ian and I arrived with our good friend Alberto to search out the Canoe man.  We crossed the river and ended up at a house were the Canoe Man (a very friendly elderly man ) was helping his friends build a house.   Around these parts people are very poor, and no one has any more for paying people to build a house.  So what they do is that make a special drink called Ndoro (basically fermented corn flour)  and invite anyone who wants to help build the house come over and take part in the festivities.  Everyone then chips in and helps build the structure and as their reward they get to get nice and tipsy on this highly alcoholic Mozambican beverage.   Back to the story, Ian and I arrived and we warmly welcomed, we ended up waiting there for about an hour for the canoe man’s son to arrive and we also got to drink a little Ndoro and watch the construction.   The Canoe Man’s sun came and we agreed to pay him 100 meticais (3 dollars) to take us on a 2 hour canoe ride so that Ian could get some fishing in.
Alberto, Ian, Canoe Man’s Son (henceforth CMS) all piled into the hand carved canoe and started making our way down the river.  Ian tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to get the fish to bit, but they just weren’t having it. Eventually he gave up and we enjoyed the rest of the trip seeing the wilds of Chibabava (the district I live in) and looking over our shoulders for crocodiles.
Though we didn’t catch any fish, it was a wonderful trip and honestly one of the last Mozambican adventures I will have with Ian.   We had a good year living together and I couldn’t have asked for a better roommate.  I wish him the best as he leaves and starts his life Stateside. Now I get to wait both excitedly and apprehensively to meet the next person who will have to put up with me for the next year.   J
Thanks again for reading up on my Mozambican adventures!  The next blog probably won’t be for awhile (I’m thinking mid to late January) unless I score some internet in South Africa.   I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, a very Merry Christmas and/or Hanukkah and a Fantastic New year!!!  <3
Sent with love,
Mikey