The Plan and Day 1 (Malawi Trip, Part 1)

After the end of the first semester at the IFP, the school has a two-week break.  Sam and I decided it was time to take a trip and get out of Cuamba.  We had originally planned to travel through Malawi and then through the central region of Mozambique but due to time, we decided just to stick with Malawi.  Our friend Tania, who is also at an IFP, had the same break and we ended up meeting up with her in Malawi too, so there was the added bonus of seeing one of my best friends from training… my good old vizinha (neighbor) from Namaacha. Once we decided just to stick to Malawi, we made a plan to head to Blantyre to meet up with Tania, get some food, and see a movie (the only movie theatre remotely close by).  Next, we would head back the way we came to Zomba, where we heard it was beautiful and they have a gorgeous plateau we could go to the top of and then we would spend two days in Liwonde at a Safari camp seeing some animals.  Our trip ended up completely different and I think we only did about two or three of the previously mentioned things.  Most of you reading this probably know that I am not much of a planner and this trip fit my personality completely. Because so much happened, I’m going to split the posts up so you are not overwhelmed with information and awesomeness. So let’s get started at the beginning…

Sam and I left Cuamba on Friday, June 20.  We got to the chapa paragem around 5:15 and were the first ones in the chapa so we got the front seat!  Let me just explain to you that for someone with long legs this is probably the best thing that can happen other than getting a ride in a personal car where there are small amounts of people in it.  We left around 6:30 am after the chapa was nice and full of people and had a very comfortable (at least for me) ride to Mandimba the border town in Mozambique.  We met a friend of our colleague who helped us exchange money at a reasonable rate and arranged a bike boleia to take us from the town to the border and then from the border to Chiponde, the border town on the Malawi side.  From where we were dropped off in Mandimba to the town of Chiponde is just across the border but it is still about 15k and too far to walk, so we needed a ride.  It was very strange sitting on the back of a bike while we were going up and down hills the whole way.  Let me just say, this guy had some serious leg muscles to be able to manage that.  We got our passports stamped on the Mozambican side, not before we were asked several times if we would be coming back to Mozambique.  The border patrol guy kept telling us that we couldn’t find a namarar (boyfriend) in Malawi and fugir (flee) and never return to Mozambique or the US government and the Peace Corps in Maputo would be calling him and asking where we were.  After assuring him that we promised to come back, he stamped our passports and wished us a good trip.  We continued the bike boleia to the Malawi side, got our passports stamped and negotiated a price for a chapa to a crossroads town called Mangochi. 

               

This chapa was a little different from the ones we were used to in Mozambique, it was basically your typical minivan.  Cushy seats, lots of room, windows that opened and music.  Although they did continue to cram people in the back on the floor in the front and four people to a seat, it was still one of the most comfortable rides I’ve ever had since being in this region.  We switched over to another larger chapa and arranged to pay 2800 kwacha to take us the rest of the way to Blantyre.  We arrived in just outside of Blantyre at about 5pm and asked the driver where our hostel was and if we could walk to it.  He said we couldn’t walk but they could take us for 150 kwacha so we agreed and got back in the chapa.  We took a bunch of roads (that felt like it was out of the way), picked up another full chapa of people to drop off and then they got out and as we got close to where we were staying, they asked us to pay.  So we handed them the 150 each and he said no, we agreed on 1500 kwacha, and we had a big argument with them about how we had not agreed on that and that was a ridiculous price.  The normal price for in town chapas in 150 and that is what everyone else paid so that is what we would pay.  Their response was, then let’s go talk to the police, and we responded, ok let’s go.  We found a police officer that was on the street, Sam and the one man got out to talk with them, and I stayed in the car with our stuff and the driver.  What I saw was the man talking to the police, then Sam, then the police officer scolding the worker, so I felt pretty confident that it would turn out ok for us.  When they returned the police officer was with them and rode with us to the hostel.  Sam and I were a little frustrated with the last part of our trip; we were tired from the full day of traveling and just wanted some food and a drink.

When we got to our room, Tania had just arrived about 10 minutes before us and we decided to get some food at the hostel and get some drinks there too.  We had some delicious food, a hamburger, a chicken club wrap, nachos, and lasagna, and ate it family style, (i.e. we each ordered something and split it three ways).

We then decided to continue catching up at the bar of the hostel and got a few more drinks.  We ended up meeting a Malawian/British man named Roy and his cousin, Foxy.  Turns out Roy had gone to University in the Indiana and Alabama for about five years total and then got his masters in Britain and has lived there for about the last ten years.  He was just back visiting his family and doing a little work on a plot of land he owns.  We talked to these guys and they were teaching us, mainly Tania, Chechewa (the local language of Malawi and some parts of Mozambique.  The area Tania lives in, this is the main local language).  Sam was exhausted from our day of travel and went to bed and Tania and I stayed and talked with them for a little longer.  We told them our plans to go to Zomba, because we heard it was beautiful and they said it was but they said their hometown was much prettier and we had to go visit.  They kept assuring us that it was not only because they were from there, it was really one of the best places in Malawi.  Roy offered to come back and get us, take us around Malonje (his hometown), and then bring us back to Blantyre the same day.  We said we had to talk to Sam and think about it but got his number and said we would talk to him tomorrow.  They eventually left and we stayed and continued to catch up.  Eventually, when we were heading to our room, there was one other table left full of people and they called us over.  We had another few drinks with them and found out that the four guys were from Greece, one of the girls was Turkish, and the other girl was British.  Tania and I eventually went to bed around 3am.  That was the end of Day 1 of our trip.

Reunited

The road to Montepuez

After the end of the trimester at the Secondary school, it was time for our first official conference for Peace Corps since being at site.  Most groups have this conference after three months at site but we had it after five.  The reason it was changed for our group was because of the last elections the school schedules were pushed back a few weeks and so we had to wait until the first break at the secondary schools.  Sam and I still had classes at the IFP but we were able to leave work for our students and to head to Nampula for this conference.  We decided it was time for a little trip before this conference too and because of the train schedule, we had to go a little early anyway.  So we took the train to Nampula, stayed one night there then caught a bus to the province of Cabo Delgado.  Once there, we took a nice cushy chapa to Montepuez to see our first 21ers (my group of volunteers) since Christmas, and stay at a fellow Iowan’s home.  We hung out at Jeanette’s house and explored Montepuez for a few days, and more volunteers ended up coming to visit too on their way to Nampula, in the end there were eight of us traveling from Montepuez to the conference. It was great to see some of our group.  It’s so strange, we spend 10 weeks together getting to know each other and being extremely close during training and then they split us up and send us all over the country to our new homes, and for Sam and I, we are the only ones in Niassa and it is very hard to get anywhere and see people. 

Role playing some reading techniques

                Our group traveling from Montepuez was the first group to reach Nampula and the hotel.  We all went to our rooms and took advantage of the hot showers.  Then we went to get some food and more people started to show up throughout the day.  It was so great to see everyone from the North again.  I honestly forgot how much fun all these people are since we never see each other.  Our conference started the next day and we had sessions all day about what we had been doing at site over the past 5 months, troubles and successes, integration, teaching practices, and a little about secondary projects.  I wasn’t expecting to get a lot out of this conference, in all honesty, but it actually was great.  I got some good ideas for my classes as well as heard about some great projects some people are working on.  It was also great to hear that we all are going through the same sort of difficulties and talk about how we are dealing with them.  Usually we all put on a happy face when talking about site, but we were able to share our doubts and problems and see that we may not be the only ones going through these things, everyone is. 

Sam's picture of the bridge over to the Island

                After the conference, there was a gathering of many of the northern volunteers at Ilha de Moçambique. Our entire group got a chapa to Ilha and made the short trip from Nampula where we met many of the other volunteers spread throughout the northern region.  It’s always great to meet new

Most of the Northern 21ers at Ilha de Mozambique

volunteers and hang out.  One day a few of us went over to the island and took a tour of the old fort on the island.  It was beautiful and I will definitely have to make it back someday and explore the island a little more, when I have some more time.

At  Fort São Sebastião

 Fort São Sebastião

 Fort São Sebastião

 Fort São Sebastião

 Fort São Sebastião

 Fort São Sebastião

 Inside Fort São Sebastião

Me outside of  Fort São Sebastião

After that, we got a ride back to Nampula with a friend in his rented chapa, so we had plenty of room because there were only seven people in the entire chapa instead of the usual 17, and then I caught the train back to my home sweet home, Cuamba.

Testing is an experience here...

A lot has been happening in the last month.  I have travelled a lot, had several conferences, met lots of new volunteers and Mozambicans, and finished our first semester at the IFP and finished the first trimester at the secondary school.  Because of all this, I have been extremely busy and I have a lot to tell you all.  Because of this you are about to get a flood of blog posts for your reading pleasures!  It might be a little overwhelming considering it has been pretty quiet on this blog for quite some time, so to help you pace yourselves I’m going to only post once every day.  This will also help keep the blogs fairly short too. I'm going to try to post every day for at least 2 weeks, maybe even make my goal for an entire month... but lets not get ahead of ourselves.  

            Ok so first off, we finished up the first trimester at the secondary school.   To do this, the students had to take a final exam.  I was used to testing in the US, where the teacher creates the final based on what they taught that year, so that is what I was prepared for.  A few days before the week of testing, I found out that the tests were from the government.  So I felt very bad for my students, because who knew what was going to be on that test, plus I had started about 3 weeks late in the semester with them, so we were VERY behind in the curriculum.    Instead of trying to describe the Provincial Exam ridiculousness to you (and probably failing), I have decided to copy the test here exactly as it is written (spelling/grammar mistakes and all) and write in my own comments in this font and color.  This test may be hard for some of the best Mozambican speakers, so keep in mind that many of my students are very low and at best know just the basics of English.

So here we go… here is the test!

Section one (worth 10 marks)

Natural resources are derived either from the air, water and organisms of the biosphere or from the subterranean areas of the Earth.  Resources of the first kind (the first kind would be called what??? I mean I know you are talking about Renewable resources but it would be nice for you just to say that…considering this isn’t a science test) will be depleted by excess harvesting, but given time, proper conditions and natural processes; these resources will maintain and replace themselves.  They do not release carbon dioxide and other air pollutions in to the atmosphere.

These resources (again, what resources???) ,such as fossil fuels, are derived from beneath the Earth’s crust, the Earth’s ecosystems have evolved largely in absence of them, and so they are in a sense of foreign to the Earth’s biosphere.  They exist in limited supply and they are not being naturally created at a significant rate.  Once consumed, that is the end of them. (Holy big words.  Maybe we could use simpler terms considering this is most of my students 3^rd language)

Group the words below into Renewable and Non Renewable Resources. (Gee I hope they know what it means to be renewable and non-renewable, because the 2 paragraphs above didn’t really tell them which was which, unless they already understand this vocabulary)

Forests;                        Fish;                Coal;                Oil;                  Natural Gas;

Water;                        Minerals;                     Petroleum;        Silver;                  Herbs.

Section two (worth 5 marks)

Complete the following words to comparisons in the sentences. (words to comparisons? Excuse me what?  You mean put these words into a comparative sentence?, but at least we covered this a lot in class so students should at least have a chance on this one… especially cause most of them are going to use their notebooks)

Example: A horse/ fast/ a cheetah.

A horse is faster than a cheetah. (Last I checked a cheetah is faster, but I guess that doesn’t have much to do with English, so why bother)

1)      The town of Maputo/ rich/ town of Lichinga.

2)      The average temperature in Tete/ high/ the average temperature of Lichinga.

3)      Music/ interesting/ gardening

4)      Paulo Samuel Kankhomba Secondary school/ big/ Heroes Primary school.

5)      Gold/ expensive/ cotton

Section three (worth 5 marks)

The manager of Niassa New Forest is looking for a man or woman of the aged between 18 to 30 years, capable of taking care of his child of five months old.  He offers transport from and to the care’s residence.  The salary is compatible. His address is:   Post Office Box 98, Lichinga, Niassa.

The application letter should be handed in his office before the end of April. (Wait I’m confused… is there a question here.  At least some instructions, what am I supposed to do with this.  And do I do this now or do I turn it into the office in the next few weeks?  What the students were supposed to do is write a letter of interest for this job, but how would they know that.  I got some that did that, some that wrote their own version of a job advertisement, even though I explained what to do here, they still didn’t quite understand, especially because I was not the one proctoring their exam and only came into the room for a few minutes to explain.)

THE END

(They like to let you know that it is the end of the test always with THE END… just in case you couldn’t tell by the blank space left over)

The answer key that I got said that for section 3 their score would depend on the following things; The letter should have two addresses, the sender’s and the receiver’s, the sender’s address should contain a date, The salutation, the introduction, the body, the conclusion, signature of the sender, good sentence construction.  That list is the only thing I was given to grade the last part.  Of course most of my students didn’t get any points and only one person got 3 points on that part.  Section 2 was the best part for my students, but even that part didn’t go great.  The highest score on the test was a 15, but the average was a 5.  Luckily, I have a little freedom with my grades and can make it so this test does not count for any or much of their grades.  I decided to add it to their grades because it is work but only make it a small part of their grades, so it would not really affect anything much.  

I just hope that I can teach my students at the IFP how to make an appropriate test for their students.