Back to Class, Kinda

So I’d like to think that now that I’m a seasoned second year PCV, I know a thing or two about Mozambique. Don’t buy the bread on the top of the pile at the market. Don’t use your left hand to wave hi to people. Don’t accuse vendors of being racist when they try to make you pay more. Don’t convince yourself that you’re a surgeon and the PC doctor shouldn’t see you finger. And don’t stress out about how long it takes for full classes to actually start.

Now for all you new or aspiring PCV’s out there, this is not a recommendation to skip the first days of class. When I first got to Alto Molocue last year and found out that classes were starting, I was super excited to get into the meat of my service. Of course, I was incredibly disappointed by the lack of attendance and kept kicking myself for being the sucker who actually showed up. Between students who didn’t know that classes had actually started and a majority of my colleagues who weren’t back from vacation yet, teaching an actual lesson was impossible. Though this made me incredibly frustrated and antsy to get to work, I learned a lot about how the school operated and was eased into teaching gently. Eventually classes did start, and by that point I was already well on my way to becoming the jaded and skeptical professor I am today.

Louisa, Allison, and our local guides after we reached the top

Well this year I was determined to learn from history (and not be doomed to repeat it). When I was informed that classes would be started on the upcoming Monday (January 21^st), I was automatically suspicious. “Aulas para verdade vao commencar?” (Classes are going to start for real?) “Sim, Sim, segunda feira vamos estudar bem forte” (Monday we will be studying very hard) my director responded. But how could that be possible? I knew that more than half the students had yet to be assigned to a class. I also knew from an informal survey of the teachers that very few were in town. Juvencio, no. Analucia, no. Gafar, no. Mabunda, no. Silvia, no. Though ‘classes’ would start on Monday, only a few students would show up, much fewer teachers would come to school to sign the attendance books, and then everyone would go home early blaming the others for the lack of class. Having already been through that pointless exercise once before, I decided to demonstrate my cultural integration by skipping. Instead of going to class, I would do what I love most and go hike a nearby mountain with fellow PCVs Louisa and Allison.

Myself, Eunice, Euclides, and Argentina at the meeting

Well I didn’t miss much. Eric Wilburn, my new sitemate, attended all of his classes and told me that there were 0 students on the 1st day, 5 on the 2^nd, and 12 on the 3^rd. No exactly a critical mass for 80 person classes. Sure, the honorable volunteer would have tried to lead by example and gone to class even though nobody else was. But as far as I’m concerned, if no one is there to see your good example, those who most need to be led aren’t ready to go anywhere. After coming back from the hike on Wednesday, I went to school on Thursday to present myself to the students. Over 3 hours, I stopped in each of the 9 turmas of 10^th grade that I will be teaching French to this year and introduced myself, went through a brief review of the previous year, and informed them that French classes would start in 2 weeks because I would be away for midserice conference. Content to have met the probably 15 best students in each class, some of which I already knew from Science Fair, English Theater, JEAM, and Escuteiros, I went home and satisfied my dragon addiction with the end of Game of Thrones Book 5.

Saturday was an equally relaxed

Eric, Dylan, and I with the mosquito netting team

 but productive day. We held the first scout meeting of the year, which was attended by about half of our troop, a satisfying turnout considering school attendance. Beyond discussing what we each did over break and what are plans for this year would be, I also announced that our camping equipment would be arriving shortly, which everyone was very excited about.  Afterwards, I went with several of the scouts to the secondary school where Dylan was working on the long planned replacement of the mosquito netting of the schools classrooms. While Eric and I helped out, students replaced old and torn netting and planted lemon grass which is a natural mosquito deterrent. Though not fully done with the work, we broke for lunch and then took the afternoon off for Dylan's 26th birthday. After welcoming frequent visitor Steph Newton to Alto, we celebrated with beers and a dinner of super subs (cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, pineapple salsa, pulled chicken, salami, and pickles) bringing the week to a delicious close.

Though it was not the incredibly productive first week of school I had hoped for, I was happy to have used my time effectively and avoid the disappointments of last year. Here’s to a wise and wasteless 2013!