First, another HUGE thank you to anyone who sent books, I cannot emphasize how grateful and happy I am to have these books! I will hand the books over to the school in September (when our next semester starts) but in the meantime have been using them in English club to do group reading activities. I’ve also told the students who I tutor that the books have arrived and we’ve been doing informal reading lessons at my house in the afternoon when they do not have school…and the little kids who live next door also come over daily so that Thelma and I can read to them, it’s adorable. They’re learning how to repeat in English while also learning Portuguese, these kids are going to be great when they are a bit older! My English-teaching colleagues have already come over to pick out which books they will have their students use for book reports or poem memorization, basically it has been AWESOME. I’ve already exceeded my goal of receiving 100 books and I know more are on their way…it’s really great and I am so incredibly grateful to everyone one of you who sent something! Below are some pictures of the students using the books but I promise a more complete blog posts (with plenty of pictures) once the reading program really starts going! I also posted an updated list of the books I have received at the bottom of this post, so you can check if I’ve gotten your order yet :)
Here's Bon Bons and Julio, who come over almost every day to practice reading now. Simao's all the way on the left...simply in awe of the books!
Reading with Julio and Amendoim :)
Okay, so as I mentioned before, I am just finishing up the school semester and this semester was so much better. I saw a lot of improvement in my students work, and even had some classes give presentations, which were somewhat successful, but fun and something I will do again this fall. I’m thinking that for those students who are not able to prepare a speech or presentation, I will have them memorize a poem instead, just so they can practice their public speaking (and English speaking) skills! About half the students I assigned topics to simply didn’t do it, either they didn’t think I was serious or they were just too scared so I am trying to find ways to make them more comfortable trying to speak in English. I can’t believe I just have one semester of teaching left and then I will be done here!
Thelma and have been busy meeting with our JUNTOS group which is still coming along. Last month, we took 5 of our group members to a workshop where they met student groups from 6 other schools and were able to learn/discuss topics like self esteem, education, the difference between gender/sex, HIV/AIDs, malaria and other health issues that are somewhat taboo for them to discuss with family members or friends. Each student group brought two leaders (either a PCV and a Mozambican teacher, or two Mozambican teachers) and overall the workshop was great. Our students were a bit shy at first because they’re very new with JUNTOS and aren’t yet comfortable discussing these sorts of topics freely, not to mention they were younger than all the other groups, but after a full day of discussions they started to open up, and everyone made new friends. It was also really great because the Mozambican leaders took the lead role in running the discussions, so instead of having the volunteers (cough couch, white foreigners…) lead the sessions, they were learning from people who live and work in their community and have faced similar problems they face now as teenagers. It was cool. Here are some pictures from the workshop:
The students doing some ice-breaker activities...
Thelma and I with our fabulous 5 original JUNTOS members!
Jorge, a student in the Chimoio JUNTOS group who I met last year when watching Shane's group practice their theatre. It was cool to see old friends and make new ones :)
Everyone loves JUNTOS!!! But really, I think the students had a great time at the workshop making new friends and learning new leadership skills and educating themselves about a variety of relevant topics!
Vanduzi Roomies, all that's missing is Amendoim.
Graca, one of the students in our group, reading a poem about violence in the community.
Also, since coming back from the workshop, word has spread about how awesome it was and more students have started coming to our meetings. Our core group of 5 students has now grown to 15 (including some students Thelma and I actually have problems with in school, who have bad attitudes but now, want to be a part of something positive!) and the members have been much more vocal about topics they want to discuss at our meetings. They decided at our first meeting after the workshop that they wanted to do a theatre piece to raise awareness about violence, and not just physical violence, but sexual and psychological violence as well…all of which are common in the community but are not really spoken about. So they are now working on a theatre piece that brings this issue into light, and offers different ways to help alleviate it. The students are hoping to present their theatre piece in the town plaza on September 7, which is the next big, national holiday (Victory Day).
We also had some other volunteers visit us for the 4th of july and that was fun. We tried our best to cook some "american" food, which was shared with Thelma and my friends and colleagues at school, and just relaxed in Vanduzi enjoying each other's company, it was nice. All that was missing were s'mores and fireworks...
Ana and Helen, two of my favorites.
And volunteers complain they don't eat well...
family picture!
Carly and Taylor making friends with our neighbors/students.
And, on a final, very unrelated note, I got ringworm! Gross right! But it’s actually really common here, especially among children. But luckily I spotted it early and I don’t have that much of a bald spot on my head…and the doctor here assured me my hair will grow back. ha, let’s hope! I’ve been taking medicine and am certain it’s gone but I just need to wait for those alfalfa hairs to start growing…I can’t wait to make a list of all the weird health problems I’ve had since I started growing here…that list is going to be long but should make for some good stories!
That’s about it as far as stories go. English club and reading has kept me very busy, and JUNTOS is coming together perfectly so I couldn’t be happier with the group’s progress. My colleague Simao, is currently in South Africa working to attain his Visa for a study abroad program in Brussels (just in case Fullbrigh doesn’t work out) and my other good friend Derreck is getting read to go to a conference with Thelm this break. Together they are going to start a program that works in primary (elementary) schools and helps teach children how to read Portuguese books. I’m so glad that two of my colleagues here are really working to better their education and help in the community.
I am about to head out for a 2 week trip through Zimbabwe and South Africa, and will return to site just as the third trimester begins. I am excited for this trip because there was a long-standing travel ban in Zimbabwe, but this was just lifted, so I’m anxious to explore a new country before meeting up with a friend from college in Cape Town. And Cape Town, well, words cannot describe how excited I am to go back to Cape Town! I studied abroad there 4+ years ago and LOVED it and I think I will appreciate it even more after living in Mozambique for the past two years. Hot showers, coffee, and table mountain here I come…!
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Tchao!!
As promised, here's a list of the books I have recieved so far:
Dr. Seuss
ABC’S
Are You My Mother (P.D. Eastmen)
Green Eggs and Ham
Happy Birthday to You
Hop on Me
Hop on Pop
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?
One fish, two fish, read fish, blue fish
Put Me in the Zoo (Robert Lopshire)
Sleep Book
The Cat in the Hat
The Foot Book
There’s a Wocket in my Pocket
Series:
Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events (books 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12)
The Magic Treehouse (1, 2, 4, 5, 9 and 17)
Novels
Baby Tiger Wants to Explore- Alice Greene
Beezus and Ramona- Beverly Cleary
Berstein Bears go to School
Berstein Bears Trouble with Friends
Brave Irene (Sunburst Books)
Bridge to Terabithia- Katherine Patterson
Brow Bear, Brown Bear- Eric Carle
Caps for Sale- Esphyr Slobodkvia
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl
Charlotte’s Web- E. B. White
Cheer Up, Mouse- Jed Henry
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom- Bill Martin Jr
Children’s Visual Dictionary- Jane Bun
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford, the Firehouse Dog
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs- Judi Barrett
Corduroy- Don Freeman
Curious George
Curious George and the Hot Air Ballon
Curious George Visits the Library
Danny and the Dinosaur- Sid Hoff
Dishey’s the Lion King
Disney’s Bambi
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Disney’s Cinderella
Disney’s Finding Nemo
Disney’s Jungle Book
Disney’s Lady and the Tramp
Disney’s Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs
Disney’s the Three Little Bigs
Ender’s Game- Orson Scott Card
Frindle- Andrew Clements
Frog and Toad are Friends- Arnold Lobby
Goalkeeper in Charge- Matt Christopher
Going Long- David Willey
Good Times- Kristen Hall
Goodnight Gorilla
Goodnight Moon
Grimm’s Fairy Tales- Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Harold and the Purple Crayon- Crocket Johnson
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes- Child’s Play
Henry And Mudge First Book
Higher than Hope- Fatima Meer
How to Eat Fried Worms- Thomas Rockwell
I Spy Letters
If You Give a Dog a Donut
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
Invictus- John Carlin
James and the Giant Peach- Roald Dahl
Madeline- Ludgwig Bemelmans
Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body- Joanna Cole
May I Please Have a Cookie- Jennifer Morris
Miss Nelson is Missing- James Marshall
Morris Goes to School (I Can Read Book 1)
Mr. Popper’s Penguins- Richard and Florence Atwater
Pickles to Pittsburg- Judi Barrett
Ramona the Brave- Beverly Cleary
Romana the Pest- Beverly Cleary
Sheep in a Jeep
The Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries)
Make way for ducklings
Amelia Bedelia (I Can Read Book 2)
The Alchemist- Michael Scott
The Amazing Spider Man
The BFG- Roald Dahl
The Boxcar Children- Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Bravest Dog Ever, the True Story of Balto- Natalie Standiford
The Cloud Book- Tomie de Paola
The Grouchy Ladybug
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C. L. Lewis
The Little Engine that Could
The Little Mouse, the Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear- Don and Audrey Wood
The Lucky Baseball Bat- Matt Christopher
The Magic Hat- Mem Fox
The Monster at the end of the Book- Sesame St.
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Rainbow Fish- Marcus Rfister
The Little Red Hen
The School Story- Andrew Clements
The Very Hungry Caterpillar- Eric Carle
The Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover- Lucille Colandro
The Widwife’s Apprentice- Karen Cushman
The Wizard of Oz- L. Frank Baum
Thomas the Tank Engines “Big Lift and Look Book”- Rev, W Audrey
To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
Trucks- Slide and Find Book
Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak
Yawn- Sally Symes
