Today marks exactly one year since I stepped
off the plane here in Mozambique. Needless to say, this leads to some
reflection about all that I have experienced since arriving and how it has
affected me.
One year ago: first views of Maputo from the plane and first day in Hotel Cardoso. |
1.
I was
raised by a teacher and a principal, a majority of whose friends are also
educators, so I have always had a lot of respect for those who dedicate their
lives to education; however, working this past year as a teacher has
super-charged that respect. Teaching is HARD! Writing a syllabus that covers
enough, but not too much; putting together lessons that are challenging, but
engaging; earning your students respect while also wanting them to like you;
doing what is best for them in the long term without alienating them: every day
is an incredible balancing act. Writing tests, grading projects, enforcing
deadlines… And I don’t even have to worry about standardized tests or a
centralized curriculum!
2.
You don’t
have to be fluent in a language to communicate and you don’t have to understand
every individual word to understand a person. This is a lesson I first started
to learn from being in a relationship with someone who spoke English as a
second language, but living in a new language has only reinforced it. My
ability to express myself well has always been one of my strengths; whether in speaking
or writing, I have always loved the search for the perfect word needed to
communicate my thoughts. My father the teacher is also a human dictionary and
words have always been a passion for us. The idea of moving somewhere where I would
have to start building a vocabulary from the ground up was downright
terrifying. But it really hasn’t been that bad. Instead of finding the perfect
word, the challenge is now circumlocution: how can I best express myself with
my limited choice of words? It turns out this is just as fun. And although it
can still be frustrating when I can’t get all the nuances of my thoughts
across, it is still possible to get to know people very well when they have the
patience to work with you as you learn.
3.
Having fresh
fruit growing in your backyard is one of life’s great pleasures.
4.
I have
come to appreciate political stability and freedom of the press. I love John
Stewart and think he calls out a lot of well-deserving members of the media for
not doing their job to hold politicians accountable, but the lack of
transparency in the Mozambican government and lack of information provided by
the Mozambican media has made me realize how accountable our politicians still
are. Over the last six-or-so months, there has been some political instability
here and information just isn’t available. Rumors fly and people are left to
wonder what is going on or to make up their own versions of events. This
situation has also made me come to appreciate how much we are able to take the
future for granted in the US.
5.
Sometimes
you don’t need to know everything ahead of time or be in control of it all. As
I have written before, things around here tend to happen on a much looser
schedule. As much as this was an adjustment, I have found that things still
tend to work out. And the more I give up my control-freak tendencies, the
happier I am. It is just as valuable a skill to be able to go with the flow and
adjust as things change as it is to plan things out ahead of time. Similarly, being
able to find the right person to take on a responsibility and giving them the
support they need to accomplish their tasks is just as important as being able
to do many things by yourself.
6.
Making
friends with the people you buy things from may get you a better deal
occasionally, but will definitely make shopping a more pleasant experience.
7.
When I
look over the past year, the times that I have put the work I had planned to do
aside in order to have a conversation with a student, go to a cultural event or
have lunch with a friend have been some of the most memorable and valuable
experiences for me, and I think in many cases, for them. While I am here to
teach and to develop secondary projects, I think the times I just get to talk
with people are the more important. Peace Corps is about economic development,
but it is also about cultural exchange. I am not an engineer who can make a
real impact on infrastructure, but I can help get people thinking in a new way.
I get to have really fascinating conversations with my students about gender
roles, the importance of education, gay rights, responsible consumerism,
democracy, freedom of the press… And it is worth turning a schedule in late,
straying from lesson plans, delaying replies to emails, etc. to make room for them.
The formal activities are a structure to foster these kinds of conversations
and, hopefully, to create mechanisms to keep them going once I am gone. Lesson:
don’t let your job get in the way of your work.
8.
I am old
and that’s okay. No, I am old and I like it. Since I arrived here, I have
turned thirty, stopped drinking and I find I spend the little free time I have
reading the Economist and knitting hats for babies. Okay, so those last two I
have been doing for a while, but I am finding that I no longer need to be out
late just because it is Friday night, in fact, I might rather stay in and watch
a movie because I have to be up early for English Club. When I turned 30, it
gave me a moment to reflect on how much I have grown and changed since college
and I realized how awesome getting older is. I find myself to be a much calmer
person, able to choose where I want to put my attention and energy, less
concerned with what others think of me, able to accept my own strengths and
weaknesses. And I feel like I am in a much better place to keep improving as
time, hopefully, keeps passing.
9.
I have
learned more than I want to about bugs and animals. Including the fact that,
when hot enough, chickens will pant. Also, it is possible for dogs to get stuck
when doing it.
10.
Yoga is
the best. I have been living quite happily without sliced bread, but yoga keeps
me going every day.
11.
You know
how everything in the US is fortified with something? Don’t take that for
granted. Throughout seven years as a vegetarian in high school and college, I
was never anemic. After a few months in Moz, I had to go on iron supplements.
Over the years, I have been a proponent of natural foods and a balanced diet,
and a detractor of GMO and lots of additives. As a rule, I still prefer food
that has fewer ingredients, that hasn’t been filled with hormones and whose
genes haven’t been spliced with those of another species. But at the same time,
that iron in your flour and iodine in your salt? It’s there for a reason.
12.
I have
come to appreciate, to a more profound degree, the generosity of the human
spirit. First, because of the culture here in Mozambique. Mozambique is the
fourth least developed country in the world according to the UN’s Human Development
Index. It is ranked 210th out of 229 in per capita GDP. People here are poor and their lives can
be difficult. But if you approach someone for almost any reason while they are
eating, you are almost guaranteed to be greeted with, “Servido!” an offer to help yourself to their meal. The culture here
is one in which wealth is shared among family, friends and community. While servido is a clearly generous side of
this, some PCVs struggle with the flipside: people pediring constantly. The practice of just asking people for their
things is still an expression of the same expectation that what you have should
be shared with those who have less, but to us it sometimes just seems like
begging. [This will probably be expanded into a whole post at a later date. ]
My specific experience with the amazing kids in
my English Club has reinforced this feeling. They have grown up in a tough
country, a lot of them facing challenges I can’t begin to imagine overcoming.
But they all just want to give back. Some were raised orphans and spend their
vacations going back to work with the kids in the orphanage. They are in the
process of starting a Rotary Youth group to take on more community service
projects. They are spending their Saturday’s writing and practicing an
anti-drug, pro-education play to perform for a bunch of secondary school
students. Along with these kids, I have had the chance to work with a bunch of
women who volunteer their time through REDES, organizing activities for teenage
girls, trying to keep them in school and teaching them about safe sex.
But just as much as my experience with people
here reinforces my faith in humanity, it is the generosity of my friends and
family back home that makes me feel this way. Starting with knee-length skirts
donated to keep me appropriate by Mozambican standards; continuing with care
packages, cards and letters sent to me here; and more than anything else, the
frequent words of support conveyed through these, through emails and Facebook
messages, text messages and Skype calls: I have been so supported by you all
this whole time. And when I have reached out for contributions – books for kids
here, or just yesterday, clothing for a Mozambican student studying in the US –
the response has been immediate and generous. I mentioned to my teacher-penpal
that students here sometimes can’t afford glasses and she immediately responded
with an offer to get her students working collecting glasses to send over. The
stories from other PCVs are the same: when they reach out for support to build
a basketball court or a preschool, to help a neighbor start a business,
whatever it is, their friends and family back home pounce on the opportunity to
contribute. And this leaves me with the distinct impression that most people
out there really want to help those who are worse off. They want to share their
wealth and make the world a better place. They just need to be offered the
opportunity.
Since I am living in a site where communication
back home is relatively easy, I feel like a lot of you have been on this
journey with me and it has been made all the better for that. Thanks to my
friends and students here and all of you back home, this has been a wonderful
year that has flown by. Thank you so much for your engagement, your support,
and your encouragement.