Week 2

Monday was alright, it was a bit sad because we had to say goodbye to Joke and Olivia, our two volunteers who were going home. I've met and said goodbye to so many people this year!

Tuesday was pretty good, I especially enjoyed our egg race, the kids were so much better at it then I thought they would be at their age! We walked home with the children (they walk with us a lot) and I was feeling pretty good. Unfortunately my light mood was darkened by a light spot...on my foot. I pressed it and it was a bit sore, so I asked (with trepidation, as I kind of had an idea) what it was. Eddie said maybe it was a metequene, I said no, surely it isn't, I'd been quite diligent about always wearing shoes and always dusting off my feet, but Eddie looked closely at it, and said one word that sealed my fate. "Yep."

I rushed to my room, got a needle, sterilized it and then asked him to take the sucker out. One of the other volunteers called Mai tried to be helpful by telling me "Don't worry Carielle, it's like taking out a splinter," but the response from Amy, who has actually had a metequene, "Mai, have you ever had one taken out?" let me know that Mai-bless her-was probably blowing smoke. NOT ENCOURAGING.

Eddie tried a bit with the needle but then said he needed to use his "tool," tool meaning a thorn that was much thicker than the needle. Thank God I didn't know how much it hurt or I probably wouldn't have let him near me. The thing came out and we took photos and videos, but I think it'll gross you guys out so I'm not posting!
We had Portugese lessons, Deolinda, one of the teachers at the school, came by to help us out. Now I can stop speaking Spanish and just having people think I have a funky accent (and in some cases, having them think I'm just speaking gibberish).

The rest of the week was good, on Wednesday I led my first adult English class.

I teach the pre-intermediate group with India, a volunteer from Australia. I had put a good bit of time into my lesson planning for Wednesday, so I felt pretty confident, but only a few minutes into the class I realized I was heavy on exercises and not so strong on the basic rules of what I was teaching! So I thought fast and scrapped the plan and just went over the basic rules of what I was trying to teach for the rest of the class. I made a good comeback, but this was a good lesson for me! When teaching, make sure students understand before you start having them practice what you've taught. For Friday, I made a point to really focus on the rules of what I was teaching before going any further into the lesson, and we had a wonderful time. The students seemed really engaged and when I finally did get around to practicing what I had taught, they were answering my questions correctly, which let me know they were retaining the information.

We had another pleasant weekend! We painted the school on Saturday and got quite a bit done, I'm sure that's thanks to the help of a certain munchkin.
I'm excited to go back to school tomorrow, things felt a bit hectic the first week, but now that I'm getting to know the children, I'm really enjoying it!

Weekend

Friday was my first full day at school. After we feed them breakfast, we have circle time, where we sit outside under the shade of a huge mango tree, and play games and sing songs. On Friday I learned two things:
A-the Mozambiquan national anthem may be in the running for the longest one on earth
B- the other teachers have great songs, I wish I'd had them in some other teaching experiences!

Later in circle time, the kids will usually dance and it is really funny. They thrust their pelvises to the beat of a song, which is something I have to get on video, as they are very serious about their dancing.

Next is the activity session. We always have the children separated into three different groups, all doing a separate activity. I was inside helping with coloring and I was very happy, we had a lovely, mellow time! Between us, I prefer being inside doing that type of thing than outside in the sand, so much so that I wanted to join in the coloring, but we didn't have enough coloring books. I got my wish in the guise of telling a kid we should "color together." She liked it, I liked it, hey, everybody wins. Well almost everybody. One little girl was coloring outside the lines and one of our local teachers told her she should be more like another girl and pointed at that work, but I just thought: let her be! Who cares if a child colors in the lines? The kid seemed all self-conscious after that, and who wants to be self-conscious during coloring??

Later we had a free period where a bunch of little girls started "doing" (read: tangling up) my hair, oh the things I do for the munchkins. We fed them their lunch (we make them rice every day) and then headed home.

I went to our adult English class for the first time that afternoon, we sit in the shade of some lovely trees
in sand on some mats (folks I swear I have never been exposed to so much sand ever in my life, and considering my paranoia about critters, oy...) Still, school was awesome. Our students are characters, some of the boys are a bit cheeky and make jokes asking if I know random famous people, but alas, I don't.

The school book was a bit hard to use because of cultural references that just didn't apply to our students. It made me wonder about about some standardized test questions that are geared to certain people.

The weekend was great, my first in weeks where I had no set itinerary! I went to a really fun full moon party with my housemates, then hung out with them over the weekend. By the way, I love my roommate Alexandra, she's Greek and is a ton of fun. Plus she's a granny like me so she's down for naptime in the middle of the day. When we weren't napping we were swimming, meeting new people at the pool, and having a few good meals, no stress! Ah if every weekend could be so simple.

My first week in Moz

Getting out of bed this morning was a feat, I felt so tired! I didn't even experience a time change from Jo'burg to Vilanculos, so I'm not sure what is up with me. I had breakfast at the volunteer house and had my...final induction! I can't believe it. This year has just whizzed by, where did the time go?? Just last year (right around this time, actually) I was vying for a spot in the finals for YBY Liverpool! Who knew I would actually win, what a blessing.

We headed to school and the kids are on break, which means no real lessons, just activities. I prefer structured teaching to playing around because I end up feeling like I'm not doing much, but what are ya gonna do? The children are gorgeous, but I didn't take my camera today because I prefer to meet people and have them get a bit comfortable before I stick my camera in their faces, but you'll see the kids soon, I promise. They're really fun and the setting seems very relaxed.

After school the other volunteers and I walked back through a nearby resort (really nice) and along the beach to our hotel. I read by the pool, a good end to a good day!
Tuesday: I had a bit of an easier time getting up (barely) so I was thrilled that just as I was about to walk out the door my roommates told me we had to skip school because of some government stuff. I didn't get to go back to sleep because we walked to the market instead. I asked and there was some discussion about whether this was a" a 30 or 45-minute walk, try closer to an hour! As if that wasn't painful enough, it was on this walk I found my card does not work at any of the ATM's here! AAAAH having flashbacks from earlier this year when my card got a scratch, it was miserable! Wondering again if I should be so dependent on a piece of plastic, but I don't think it's safe or smart to carry around a ton of money, so until someone comes up with an alternative (maybe retinal scans at ATM's? ;-)), this is it.

We headed back and just hung out at the pool, I even got in a good afternoon nap. School is canceled for Wendnesday too, so we decided to take a trip to Tofo.

Wednesday: We took a 2:30am bus, had a few transfers (including a boat ride and a crowded van), and arrived in Tofo on Wednesday afternoon. Tofo is GORGEOUS, a definite must-see for volunteers in Vilanculos.
Our trip was short-lived as school was back on, so we left on Thursday morning and arrived in Vilanculos just in time for the orphanage (we go every Thursday). We hadn't known we needed to go to the orphanage today, so the revelation after a 6-hour trip was met with some whingeing (we're volunteers, not saints, people!), but it was fine. Volunteers basically just sit in the yard and play with the children, and the children seem really happy to have us there so I'm happy we went. We played duck duck goose or pato pato galino (sp?), I believe this is the one game you can play around the world that kids-and most adults- will love!

We had a full moon tonight and a good Mozambiquan dinner (I can't remember the name), my first proper day of preschool is tomorrow, full update soon!

Mozambique

I left Johannesburg this morning and we stopped in Inhambane, then onwards to Vilanculos. African Impact staff member Amy picked me up and drove me to the volunteer house. On the drive I asked about these bugs that supposedly burrow into your skin when you sit on the beach(someone I met in South Africa told me this)! The staff member told me she wasn't sure they were just on the beach and that she thought the mango trees at school attract them. She hadn't gotten any until she recently got four all in one foot. A friend had to pick them out with a needle...lovely.

The volunteer house is a structure with high ceilings and a thatched roof, there's a downstairs area with a large table where we will eat meals together. We will mostly just use this building for socializing. Across the road is a beautiful resort with two pools (whoohoo) and the beach is a short walk from there! This is also where we'll be staying.

Five of us live in a thatched roof bungalow that has electricity and an ensuite bathroom with running water, it is lovely! Space is a bit tight and the rest of the beds are in the open, there are two beds upstairs right across from the big opening in our bungalow (or as I'll call it, mozzie highway)
and there are two more on the bottom floor right near the entrance, but I'm in the only closed off bedroom in the back. Another volunteer arrives on Tuesday and she will be sharing with me, but for now I have a bit of privacy. I took a long nap and then had a delicious dinner at the restaurant next door with my new roommates, from England, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands. I asked about the burrowing bugs and they told me the bugs actually don't like saltwater, so you wouldn't find them on the beach. So jury's out on what area I should avoid? So far so good, orientation tomorrow. Pics coming soon, net access here is a bit iffy.

update: pics added!