I Started My Job!!!!

1/28/17

Hi ya friends and family!

It’s been awhile since I’ve made time to write my next update and it’s been another one of those busy periods where there is no shortage of stories, experiences, lessons, and adventures. To start things off, I’ve been out of touch for about a month now. I had a mishap with my phone right before New Years and finally got a replacement yesterday. For about 40$ I bought a replacement smart phone (brand new too!). The clerk asked me several times if I was sure I wanted it because it was not a Samsung or other “American Brand”. After all, it had a “made in china” sticker!! In my region of Mozambique, there is a huge social value placed on American brand names (even though those products are typically made in China anyway…). I had two choices – buy a Movitel branded smart phone for about 40$ or buy a US brand for 200-300$. To be honest, option two was really never a practical choice – I would’ve gone without than attempt to use 2-months’ salary on a smart phone.  

Anywho – I apologize to anyone who sent me messages in the last month and I never replied! I should have my what’s app back up in the next few days.

Brief update on the house and building shiz nitz – I decided to build a couch because why not. Plus, built some kitchen shelves and outdoor shelves. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to finish our outdoor handwashing station. I also built the gate for our yard. Today, my roommate and I re-wired our living room and added a second outlet (our living room is also our dining room and kitchen: living, dining, cooking room). In college, I took some courses requiring wiring and circuitry so this was fairly simple! We bought cheap led flashlights and used the lights to test our connections with a small battery before wiring everything into the house. If I had access to things like ammeters and voltmeters I could have used those – but Alas! We had to be a touch creative. In the next week, we’re hoping to rewire our veranda to add an outlet and some lights/a switch for the bathroom. In one week, our house will have gone from 3 outlets to 5!! WOAH.

Related to household improvements, I planted some corn and it is well on its way to growing well.  Ohhhh and if you’ve been wondering how all these building projects have been treating my hands, fear not! I was able to buy a cheap 50$ cordless drill in Pemba and a 11mm drill bit to help build my wood joints (the connection points for the couch are Mortise & Tenon which is a strong joint that does not use nails or screws).

In early January I hired a Makua tutor (the Peace Corps reimburses us – up to a certain amount – to hire language tutors. My tutor was a previous 10^th grader who is 18 and whose family did not have enough money for him to go to school this year. He was going to wait until next year before starting 11^th grade. I told him I can afford to continue to hire him at our 3$/week for about 3-4 hours of tutoring for one entire year. Last week, he registered for school which costs about 10$ upfront and maybe another 5$ to buy the uniform and notebook/school accessories. A few months back, I promised to write a blog about pricing to paint a better picture of the value of money – and I will get to that. All in due time.

And now to change the subject to why I’m actually in Mozambique at all, I had my first week of classes as a teacher!!!!! 5 months after arriving in Mozambique I have started my official job J. I have 4 groups of 8^th grade math classes and 1 group of 11^th grade math class for a grand total of 23-45minute periods. The 8^th graders meet for 5 periods a week and 11^th graders meet for 3 periods a week. Most other volunteers teach about 16 periods so I’m a bit on the heavier side but enjoying it! There is most definitely a different culture surrounding learning that I have been trying to help students reframe. There is the assumption that learning occurs when the teacher says something and writes it on the board and then students learn it! In my experience with education throughout my 22 years of life – it is a quite different reality. So goal one has been demonstrating to students that their learning is their responsibility. I am here to guide the process in every way I can and to be available to help them learn outside the classroom as well. Typically teachers also tell students “you’re dumb” when students answer a question in the classroom incorrectly so I have also been trying to reinforce every instance of students answering a question – whether right or wrong I NEED to encourage more participation. I’m hoping, and it would seem it is starting to be the case, that my students are beginning to realize I want them to participate in class and we are going to be working and learning together.

Keep in mind that all of these classes are in Portuguese so my speaking capabilities continue to improve. Typically, the first week of classes are a joke and most students don’t show up but my 8^th graders have had astonishing attendance for the most part! My 8^th grade groups are about 67 students each and on Thursday my lowest attendance class was 54. Oh – I need to pause for a moment. 8-D is the 8^th grade class that had the fewest students on Thursday with 54 of 67 students. Their classroom is a disaster (in Mozambique a class stays in its classroom the entire day and teachers move). The chalkboard is broken, the door doesn’t close, day 1 I found a mango seed and corn husk on the floor, and the room is littered with trash. To make it worse – this classroom has 18 desks which normally accommodate 2 people per, but on Thursday it was 3 people per desk and no desks left. Granted – there were two empty benches that next time I’m sure will have 3 people each as well. When 8-D all shows up to class I will probably have about 10 students sitting on the floor.

For another struggle that students face (foreshadowed previously with respect to my Makua tutor), oftentimes students range in age per class. In my 8-D class, most of my students are 14-16 years old. However, that class has several between 16 & 18 and two students who are 20 years old. 8^th grade. Two students that are 20. In my 11^th grade class I only had 20 students show up (class size is still around 60-70), but they ranged in ages from 15-18. Hence, I have several 8^th graders who are older than all of my 11^th graders.   

From what I hear it’s been some crazy times in the states – especially for scientists, government employees, and veterans. Peace Corps volunteers receive a non-competitive advantage for governmental jobs. Significance is – when we return we have 1 year where we get auto-cleared for back-round checks for government jobs. So, we don’t automatically get government jobs, but our resumes get guaranteed looks. However, with recent executive orders Peace Corps Volunteers currently returning to the United States have been faced with job offers that they have agreed to but cannot start or get paid for; henceforth leaving returned volunteers jobless.

Whelp, overall I believe that has been a thorough update on my life! I’m making some beans and about to go make some chili and serve it over rice for dinner. We were able to get some large peppers, large onions, and large garlic!! PLUS THE MONTEPUEZ MARKET HAD AVOCADOS!!!! I was in Montepuez yesterday to use the bank – it’s the nearest town to me at about 3 hours away. BUT AVOCADOS. It was most definitely worth it.

Thanks for reading!

-Daniel   

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one learned in school” – Albert Einstein

P.S. I apologize for not having a picture in this photo. I just bought a phone capable of pictures yesterday and have not taken any pictures worth sharing yet.