Baseball in Africa

Today in my basic Informatica class I decided to play a review game since we are having our first test next week. I found a Baseball review game online and decided to try it out since all you needed was a chalkboard and chalk (which is all I had). Going into the class I thought that my students would know how the game of baseball was played-I was wrong. After drawing a baseball diamond on the board and trying to explain the concept of bases and 3 strikes then you’re out (in Portuguese) we started playing the game. Each of the 4 corners of the classroom represented home plate and the 3 bases. Each time a student got the answer correct they moved to the next base-after the first round they started understanding it a little more. 

My 8^th graders really got into the game and started cheering and shouting when they got on a base. Which at first was few and far between since they had not done any studying. We may have gotten a little too rowdy because the teacher next door came over and stared in the classroom during our game. Oops! At least they were having fun and learning at the same time. I was really proud of myself because normally my 90 minute basic Informatica class is something I dread each week. I feel like I can’t talk for 90 minutes in Portuguese about the history of computers and how to use them when they have no computers to use for practice. Today I had class for the full 90 minutes and they were all participating and finally getting the answers right. I’d call that a success-yes it’s a small success but I’ll take anything right now.

I’m so happy it’s Friday! This week has been long since I’ve been sick since Monday…I swear Africa is bringing out the weird illnesses in me more so than in America. I never used to get rashes in America…maybe when I was a baby but never after that. Yet while I’ve been in Mozambique I’ve had a bad rash for over 4 weeks now—that can’t be normal. Thankfully Peace Corps provides each PVC with a medical kit with practically a whole pharmacy full of medicines for almost any problem. I’m going to run out soon if my body doesn’t start to get better quick though!

This weekend I’m hoping to write my tests for next week, go food shopping in Nacala (for Chicken burgers!), help some of my students with English tomorrow and finally weed my garden. It’s starting to look like a jungle out there and I can’t tell what’s weed and what are the actual plants….oh boy.  

National Peace Corps Week starts this coming Sunday! Each day has a different slogan…here they are:

Sunday—“Grow Your Peace Corps Family Tree”

Monday—“Inspire Global Learning”

Tuesday—“Make Peace Personal”

Wednesday—“Invite the World to Your Table”

Thursday—“Foster Global Citizenship”

Friday—“Champion RPCVs as Global Professionals”

Saturday—“Act Locally to Influence Globally”

I better think of something so I can participate in Peace Corps week here in Nacuxa!

Missing home and snow during this crazy snowstorm back in Nebraska and KC! Hope everyone stays safe and warm—I’ll try and send some of my African temperatures to melt the snow :)

Pictures of my PCV life

I finally got my camera cord and am uploading a few pictures from the past few months. School has been interesting this past week and a half. I've been teaching a lot and trying to learn about computer theory (since that's what my informatica basico class is all about). It's been a hard few weeks but thankfully, by some miracle, I got lots of packages from my family and friends back home today! It truly means the world to me to receive any letter or package from my loved ones back home. I feel so loved when I receive my mail-I hope you know how much I appreciate the thoughtfulness you all put in to sending the packages! They came at a perfect time and are helping me stay sane this weekend. My motto of the week: "Just keep swimming....just keep swimming" yes it is from Finding Nemo but the message is really helping me this week. I just have to take it one day at a time and I can do it. 

Just. Keep. Going. 

I promise to keep the pictures coming! 

Anna and I at the waterfalls in Namaacha

Outside my homestay 

"Pilaring" peanuts to make dinner with my host family

Welmer (Anna's host brother) and I...he's such a cutie

Some of our students from Model School during training. The two girls on either side are my host sisters!

My host family and I at the home stay celebration the last week of training. 

Anna, Hannah and I rocking our capulanas :) 

Jamie and I at the home stay celebration-language group buddies! 

My host brother and sister, Jamito and Deolinda

My school that I teach it...yes it is basically a farming school. 

Our house--it's pretty big inside and we have a nice backyard with a garden!

My favorite neighborhood "criança" Anu-she so reminds me of my niece back home! 

Victor and I and someone's host brother at the end of training celebration! 

All the kids love coloring-thanks for sending some new coloring books and crayons! :) 

All of the Moz 19 volunteers after our swearing-in at the Ambassador's house in Maputo. 

Crazy "Crianças"

Christmas in Angoche with my fellow Moz 19ers in Nampula

First Day of Classes

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of classes and the day we received our teaching schedule. That of course didn’t happen since Mozambique runs on a different time schedule than I’m used to back in the states. 

I got up early and was told to be at the school by 7am…at 6:30 I was already ready and looking out my window to see if the students were getting ready. No one was in uniform and they were still eating breakfast! Finally at 7:45 everyone showed up and we had an assembly to start off the school year and introducing all the professors. That afternoon we had a 2-hour long meeting where we were supposed to get our class schedule but instead we talked about everything but that. (My roommate found out at the meeting that she was now going to be a professor since she’s been helping write the new lab tech course curriculum…that was a surprise for both of us.)

This morning we were told to show up at 6:45am to sing the national anthem and then for classes to start. My roommate and I went outside to wait at 6:40 and we started the anthem around 7. Thankfully the director of the school had all the class schedules finished and we received them this morning right before classes started. It was really nerve-wracking not to know the schedule until the morning of classes! I’m a person that really likes to be organized and have a schedule so it was a little unnerving not to have any idea what time or where I’d be teaching!

I’m teaching 22 hours of English and Informatica (Computers). I was pretty surprised to be teaching computers since my supervisor made it seem like I was off the hook for that. At least it’ll help me improve my Portuguese! I’m teaching 8^th and 11^th grade English and Computers. In the 8^th grade computer class I’m supposed to be teaching the class without computers….we’ll see how that goes!

My first class was 8^th grade English. The students were about 11-14 years old. I was told the livro de turma (class book with rosters and grades) would be in the room as well as chalk. When I got there nothing was in the room. Thankfully one of the students went and got me chalk, which was really helpful! All in all I’d say the first lesson didn’t go half bad. I had a lesson plan ready with an introduction game to get them talking in English and boy did that turn out differently than what I had planned! When I got in there I realized that most of the students have a very basic knowledge of English so I had to talk a lot in Portuguese for them to actually understand what I was telling them. The game did not go over well. All they were supposed to do was find the person with the same card number and introduce himself or herself (say “My name is….” I am ___ years old.” Etc). Well after about 5 minutes we finally had everyone paired up but when I told them to begin talking and completing the sentences on the board they just stood there and then walked back to their seats. I think I have a long way to go before trying to play that game again!

At the end of the 45-minute class one of the other English professors at the school and I looked over the curriculum for the 8^th grade class. While we were doing that another professor came up to me and told me I was supposed to be teaching an 11^th grade class right then. I am supposed to be teaching 11^th grade but half of the students aren’t here yet so my class got cancelled for today. I guess this other group of 11^th graders didn’t have a teacher so they roped me into teaching.

At first I was a little panicked because it was a 90-minute class and I had no lesson plan…I was wondering what the heck I was going to do for an hour and a half with these students. Turns out they know about the same as my 8^th grade class but could play the game a lot better! I had them practice introducing themselves and writing sentences about their lives. Class was a tad difficult because they had no chalkboard or anywhere to write so I just had to use my notebook. When we came across the sentence “I have a girlfriend or I am single” they asked what if we have more than one? I laughed & asked how many they had—one of the boys said 7! After talking with the class I found out that they were all seminarians in their first year studying in Nacuxa. I was pretty shocked when I found out they were seminarians because one of the students said they had 7 girlfriends. I asked if they were going to have girlfriends once they became priests and thankfully they all said no. We all got a good laugh out of that conversation!

Overall I’d say my first day wasn’t half bad. I was a little freaked out at first but now I have my first class under my belt. Tomorrow is my first day teaching Informatica so we’ll see how that goes since it’s all in Portuguese…