A Mural is Worth How Many Words?

As I wrote in my previous post, one of the highlights of my trip down south was visiting my old site Guija, in Gaza province. My old site mate, Elisabetta, had received funds to paint a mural educating community members about HIV/Aids prevention and ways of healthy living for those who have HIV, hygiene and malaria prevention, and to simply commemorate last years flood. It was awesome getting to be a part of this project, not to mention a lot of fun painting. Here are some pictures...

Step 1: Paint the wall white...

Step 2: The artists sketch and then stencil in (via a projector) the drawing for the mural.

Step 3: Invite the community and don't be a afraid to get a little dirty...

The two artists from Chicumbane, in Gaza province (about 2 hours from Guija)who drew the mural design, painted all the incredibly detailed spaces and also went through fixing everyone else's errors...

Elisabetta encouraged other hospital workers (and community members) to help out; she wanted everyone to feel like the mural was something they helped create and should be proud of.

I think he painted this spot at least three times...needles to say the grass was very green.

Even the criancas wanted to help!

All the PCVs hard at work (once the big spaces disappeared to paint most of the locals went home...)

And here's a picture of my friend Mindy and her adorable son, Sebastian. They came all the way from Maputo to help out!

Step 4: Try to increase awareness and education in a community where illiteracy rates are incredibly low, and HIV rates are alarmingly high. Elisabetta also chose to write the messages in each board (aside from the last) in the local language, Changana, with hopes that more people would understand the messages.

Panel 1: Our Health is in Our Hands.

Panel 2: Prevention Begins with Our Hygiene
(malaria prevention/water preservation methods...both of which can present huge problems in a post-flood environment an d everyday life here!)

Panel 3: Always look ahead, be strong Guija!

Here's to hoping the mural does help to spread awareness and educate community members in a non-traditional way!

FERIAS

Hello everyone, sorry it has been so long since I last posted but here is a nice summary of what I've been up to the past 2 months....

For Christmas, myself and a few other volunteers in Manica province traveled to Tete. Helen, an education volunteer from my training group, lives in a very small town just north of the city called Mavudzi-Ponte. Helen's parents were visiting from the states so she invited us to celebrate the holiday with her family. The few days I spent in Tete we went hiking, explored her teeny-tiny town, enjoyed sunset beers by the river and helped cook some amazing food. Helen's site is just an hour from Tete City, (a magical town with falafel, indian food and hookah) but even with the city so close, her town is very small. There are a few small stores that sell basic items like rice, pasta and dried fish but there is no central market. We found tomatoes and cabbage one day and that was exciting...so visiting Helen's site and being able to compare it to my own made me even more grateful for my little mecca of a site with plenty of produce and its own little food truck. Not to mention Tete was SO HOT. Although we went hiking and explored town, most of the time was spent hanging out inside Helen's house, sitting in front of fans, and just relaxing. Everyone told me Tete was hot and now I know for sure...it's deadly. Still it was a great visit and I'm glad I finally got to see some of Tete!


A view of Helen's town...all of it!


A group shot from Christmas

Helen-if you're reading this thanks again for including us in celebrating the holidays with your family, it was a lot of fun :)

After Christmas I went back to Chimoio to celebrate new years with the new volunteers in Manica province. That was fun, sorry there's no pictures! hehe

Over the course of the next 2 weeks I visited other volunteers and colleagues in Manica.

I went to Sussendenga to visit my friend Taylor...he used to live in Sofala province but because of the political unrest in Sofala, Peace Corps moved him to a new site, conveniently located close to me! We pretty much just hung out, went on a small hike and drank delicious smoothies because Taylor has a blender!


So you can't tell but we went hiking up this small mountain/large hill and here's a picture from the top!



And here's a picture of Sussendenga, it's so green!!!!!

Thelma (my roommate!) and I also went to Manica town to visit my colleague and close friend, Bea. She has invited me to visit her countless times in Manica so because I had so much free time during the break I finally took her up on her invitation. Thelma and I met Bea in Manica town(a small, quint but bustling town with a few paved roads, restaurants/bars, banks and a random olympic-sized swimming pool). Bea told me she lived outside of town, which actually meant that we had to hike an hour outside uphill to her house in the side of the mountains. By the time we got to her home, Thelma and I were sunburned and dripping in sweat but Bea's family gave us a bowl of fresh mangoes to enjoy while we overlooked the beautiful view. It was totally worth it. Bea also said we were her first colleagues to ever come visit her at her home, which was kind of awesome; I could tell she was very happy to have some guests.


Bea sitting outside her home with her adorable little princess of a daughter, Eva.

I also spent a lot of time hanging in Chimoio with the new (and older) volunteers.


Wendy, Steven and I on a little hike.

And Telma and I finally got around to planting our garden! I forgot to take a picture of it though but lots of things are sprouting and we are SO EXCITED. Pictures of that will be coming soon...

After spending 2 straight months in Central with now work I went back to the south for my Mid-Service Conference and to visit other volunteers.

First, I went to Guija to visit Elisabetta and help her (along with a few other PCVs) paint a mural at the local hospital in Guija. (SEE NEXT BLOG POST FOR MORE PICTURES!) Aside from helping with the project it was really great to go back to Guija, and see my how my old site had changed and rebuilt itself after the flood. The roads may have been full of new potholes but the market was bustling, the hospital was busy and everyones houses/businesses were up and running. It was pretty amazing to see how easily the town had come back together, especially considering that Guija was cut off completely during the flood. Aid and supplies did eventually trickle in to help the people living there but the reconstruction effort there was much more community-led. Forca!



A preview of the mural I helped to paint in Guija---see my next blog post for more pictures!


My old neighbors in Guija. I was SO EXCITED to see them at their home and doing well. They bashfully posed for a family picture for me (sadly their oldest son, Jaime was at work so he's not included). Even their dog, REX, survived the flood :)


The local Health Center where Elisabetta works 2-3 days a week educating community members about HIV/Aids.

After my visit to Guija I went to Maputo for a week and attended my mid-service conference. It was great to see other kids from my group who I hadn't see in OVER A YEAR and catch up about work, secondary projects and what everyone else did over their holiday break!

After Mid-Service I went to Inhambane to visit Mary, a good friend who used to live an hour north of me but now lives in Inhambane City...conveniently just 20k from one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Mozambique.


Tofu Beach + a Manica = The perfect way to end my summer vacation.


Mary and I at the beach!

I also went to Homoine for a few days to visit my good friend Cheyeanne (and meet her new roomie Erin!) It was fun hanging out, exploring her site and meeting her friends. I even helped her and Erin pick out a new cat!

After traveling in Inhambane I went to Macia for a night to watch the super bowl. I stayed with Mike and Marisa, both 18-ers who I had become friends with when I used to live in the south (before moving sites!) There were a bunch of other PCVs visiting for the little super bowl festa and it was just great to see old friends and catch up! We hung a sheet over their fence and set up a projector, and then all pitched in for phone/internet credit so we could stream the game. It was like being at the drive-in theatres...minus having a car. Marisa also cooked up a ton of delicious food for us to enjoy. So we all stayed up and watched the game, and as the sun was rising (around 5:30 AM) we all finally went to bed. It was a really fun night.


So much good food...wings, corn dogs, hummus, guac, chips, MAC AND CHEESE, and veggie chilli. We were clearly spoiled.



Our "drive in" theatre projection!

After visiting friends in Macia I went to Namaacha to visit my host family and that trip was so awesome! Since visiting last year in January, my mae has started a new job working at a water bottling company outside of town. This new job means she finally has a real income, and with her new money she's done a lot to help support her family. She installed a faucet outside the house so her and her children no loner have to walk to the pump two days a week to cart water (instead they get what they need each morning from their own spicket). She also had a new room added onto the house, which she's using as an indoor kitchen, but will eventually turn into a bedroom for her son, so once he's older he doesn't have to share a room with his younger sister. She also bought new school uniforms and all the necessary textbooks for her kids for school this year AND is attending night classes herself so she can finally get her certificate and finish secondary school. It was just so incredible to see her using her money so wisely and making an effort to invest in her children's future. Aside from changes to the house, just catching up and hanging out with my family was great. I always enjoy my time in Namaacha and always leave the town wishing I had more time to stay and and hangout. Thankfully, I'll see my family again in August.


My host fam posing in front of the delicouse dinner we cooked together.


Cleiton and Yusara covering their new textbooks for school so they won't get damaged.


Cleiton and Yusara all ready for school, don't they look so cute!


My family's home...the room all the way on the right is the new addition that my mae added and you can see the new water spicket as well in the front ride side of the house. The veranda is also new!

I finished my three and a half week trip in the South by taking the Foreign Service Exam in Maputo with a few other PCVs. Aside from not studying too much (it's difficult to study when you're in Africa!) the test was actually really fun. Maybe I just really miss school but doing something academic again was just plain awesome. If anyone has questions about the exam shoot me an email, I'd love to tell you more about it!

Now I'm back at site, and school has started and things are already so busy! I started teaching last week, I've got five ninth-grade classes this year, which means I have around 250 kids for the year...good luck learning all those names right? I've only had a week and a half of lessons but already teaching seems SO MUCH EASIER. It's amazing how much you can learn in just one year of working in the classroom. Aside from actual lessons I'm super excited to get my English club up and running, and start a JUNTOS group at school. I'm also in charge of organizing science fair for all the schools in Manica province so, unlike last year, I should be pretty busy. Also, because school has start, that means all my students (and friends!) are back in town...so Thelma and I never have free/quiet time because people are seriously always visiting us! It's still raining a lot but that doesn't stop the visitors...they just run up to our house, wait on our porch and pedir to come inside to visit.



Bea's kids, Eva and Panash came to visit while we were cooking dinner so we entertained them with coloring books...


Bea and Sophia's empragada's and niece. Rosylde, Anna and Marium.


And this is just what a typical afternoon/night looks like. Students (and our neighbors/colleagues) hanging out, practice English and telling stories...I'm not kidding when I say this happens every single day.

Needless to say, after a nice long 3 month summer break, it's great to be back in Vanduzi, teaching and keeping busy with school!

Look forward to my next blog post, which will be about the mural I helped with in Guija!

Ate ja!

New House, New Roomie and Lots of Rain

Boa tarde! (Good afternoon). It’s currently pouring in Vanduzi right now, it’s been raining pretty much non-stop since yesterday afternoon and as a result, Thelma (my new roommate, I’ll get there later…) and I have plenty of water, its great! It’s finally the rainy season here and that means that every three or four days, the sky turns really dark and it thunders like crazy and water falls like buckets out of the sky. The temperature also drops (just for the duration of the storm) and Vanduzi turns to a big mud pit, it’s pretty cool. The rain makes a very loud, yet soothing noise on our tin roof and I finally understand why rain sticks sounds the way they do, because I swear it is the exact same sound.

(view from the front porch of the flooded school yard, the water pump is right in front of that bush on the right....and those buckets well they do their job! hehe)

So much explaining to do I’m sorry I haven’t written in forever.

First, I moved houses about two and a half weeks ago. My old house was fantastic but it only had one bedroom (and my school director was paying rent every month) so once the school year ended and some renovations were made, I moved to a new house right next to school. Although I loved some things about my old house (mainly the indoor shower and my privacy) this move has been beyond great for my integration. My new house is situated right at school, my neighbors are colleagues and one (of two) public water pumps is located about 50 feet from my house. This means there is heavy foot traffic (and plenty of children) around all the time. The students who live next door to me visit everyday, and sometimes come to take Amendoim for a walk. When I leave for an overnight trip they also take extra precautions to watch my house. My colleagues who live next door are staying in Vanduzi for the holidays, and the secretaries/administration at school continue to work through the break so this means people are always around and I am never lonely. My new house also has a HUGE front porch where I can sit and read all day, but I haven’t gotten much reading done because so many students and friends have been stopping by to chat and bring me mangos now that they know I am on holiday.

My new house

What it looks like to live without running water.

My chicy kitchen/hangout area. Yes I have a gas stove and fridge, I'm spoiled but I saved up for those guys....

Because I really do miss you all :)

MOSQUITO NETS ARE FANTASTIC. they keep out cockroaches and scorpions and camel spiders, oh and they help prevent malaria too.

Second, and related to the first, I now have a Peace Corps roommate. I was nervous to start living with someone again after spending an entire year alone but so far its been great. I’m sure being in close quarters with someone constantly will have some challenges but overall I think it’s going to be so much better. Going to community events, doing work at school, and just passearing to buy things at the market are so much for fun when you can do them with someone else. My roommate, Thelma, is going to teach biology at school this year, so I’m happy to have her help running science fair at school and planning the provincial event next fall. Already we’ve brainstormed some big ideas for projects to do in the community and its just going to be so much better having her enthusiasm, ideas and help.

(Insert picture of Thelma, Amendoim and I hanging out on the front porch because that is ALL we do.)

Also, now that I live at school I can plant in the school garden. The school director is thrilled that there are now two volunteers at his school and he has been so helpful and accommodating with everything since I moved houses. He found out we wanted to make our own little machamba and told us we can plant right at school and gave us a huge area to use. We’re going to start planning after the holidays. Aside from finally having things like zucchini, eggplant, KALE and basil in my backyard I’m excited to share some of my favorite foods with people here who are constantly sharing from their garden with me.

Third, moving to the new house also forced me to finally hire an empragado (maid). But, this was a huge internal struggle for me and I waited for Thelma to arrive and we together decided to hire a student to help at our house BUT they’re just going to get us our water. The water pump is located RIGHT in front of our house so getting water is actually really easy BUT every time we go to get water, the women there take our buckets and fill them up for us. Its really nice and they do it out of respect because we’re teachers but I don’t like having people work for me and I also feel guilty every time I go to the pump because I know someone else will have to do my work. Aside from this, NONE of the teachers get their own water and whenever I go to get mine they ask why I didn’t ask them for help. So to avoid all of this awkwardness, Thelma and I hired one of my students (the same student who takes care of my dog) to come get us water everyday and guess what, he was so happy he skipped all the way home to tell his parents about his new job. Seeing how excited Tatenda was about making just a little money this year made all my stress about this empragado business disappear and instead I felt great for hiring him. We’re going to pay him 200 mets (about $6) a month to cart our water every day or so, and we actually paid his first month in advance so he could afford to travel to Chimoio for a big church conference last weekend. Have I mentioned how happy he is to have a little pocket money now.

(Before I go home I will get a picture with Tatenda where he is smiling!)

ASIDE FROM HOUSING…

Having Thelma move here has really helped me to realize how far I’ve come in Vanduzi. That sounds silly and I don’t mean it to brag because I still have so much work to do here BUT it has been great showing her around and introducing her to friends. I realized how many connections I’ve made here and it makes me really optimistic that the school year next year will really be productive. Peace Corps warns us that the first year is hard and its tough to get projects started, especially if you start somewhere new, but I never really realized it until now and I think this next year will just be so much better.

POLITICAL UPDATE—because its important.
So elections came and went on November 20th. Luckily there wasn’t much violence (and the violence that did occur was not RENAMO related) but the elections did make me realize how much I really take for granted living in America, a true democracy. Mozambique is classified as a democracy, and there are multiple political parties that ran in the election and the main opposition party, MDM, received a significant amount of votes, which makes me optimistic that presidential elections could actually see some real change in the country. Yet, the elections were also marked by huge voter intimidation (MDM supporters were prevented from counting votes and warned against celebrating), voter fraud (ballot boxes went missing, votes were inflated and had to be recounted…etc) and in more than one city/district the opposition party was announced as the winner, only for FRELIMO (the government party) to respond with a re-count and then announce themselves the victor. Reading all of this made me so mad; I hate to draw this comparison and its probably NOT correct but I’m going to do it anyway. The way the elections were held here reminded me of (what I’ve read) of politics and elections in so many autocratic states in the Middle East. Yes, the opposition party, MDM, did win some districts and people were able to vote for them, but they were intimidated throughout the process and at the end of the day many people believe the numbers were changed in favor of FRELIMO. It’s really frustrating to watch because if people are unhappy here and they vote to try and make a difference (and the international community recognizes Moz as a democracy) then the elections should be free and fair. But like I said, at least they were mostly peaceful, I can only hope that the fishiness surrounding these elections will encourage the international community to be more involved in next years presidential elections. Mozambique’s last presidential elections were not recognized as free/fair by the rest of the world so hopefully these ones will be under more scrutiny by organizations like the UN and SADC.

Aside from elections there is still political unrest in Sofala province. Unfortunately people (in Moz and in the international community) aren’t really talking about it anymore but attacks are still happening everyday/every few days and the road is not safe. And the government peace talks are still at a stand still. I don’t think the country is going to resort to civil war but the violence is terribly depressing and it continues to make me worry how much longer it will go unnoticed/without outside intervention, at least from bordering countries. Here’s a link if any of you are interested in a summary of what has happened until now:

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/dec/16/mozambique-risk-civil-war-pressure

The article claims that dozens of people have died from this violence but people here think the number is much higher. The economist printed last month that over a hundred people had died and the number continues to increase.

POLITICS ASIDE its almost Christmas and I am so excited. I am planning to travel to Tete with a few other volunteers to meet up with a friend/fellow PCV whose parents are visiting! We’re going to do a Christmas Eve celebration and then on Christmas day I will travel to another volunteers site to celebrate some more. After returning to Vanduzi I will then travel to Chimoio to celebrate a “Mozambican” Christmas (complete with slaughtered chickens and a goat and lots of traditional Mozambican food, dancing and Manicas). One of my good friends here, Silvino, is a BOMB cook and he wants to throw a Christmas party so he is inviting his friends and the other PCVs in Manica province, and we’re all going to have a jolly good time. I absolutely love Christmas so I am really grateful that this year I’ll get to celebrate it three times! I’ll try to take some pictures to post on here after the holidays.

(Helen helped me cook for Thanksgiving and she brought these cookies as a surprise, we listend to christmas music and cooked for HOURS...needless to say i think she will be great to spend Christmas with!)

(All the food we ate on Thanksgiving, I'm excited to see what we make for Christmas!)

To everyone back home, I hope you guys are surviving the cold weather and getting ready for the holidays. I can’t believe that next year at this time I’ll be home too, baking cookies, watching Christmas movies and complaining about the snow and my unemployment haha Happy holidays everyone, stay safe and stay warm!

MALARIA.

My last few posts have been upbeat and positive and although the majority of the time I am very happy here I think I've failed to share with you some of the most serious problems that restrict mozambique from developing to be on par with other leaders on the African continent. So after having someone I knew pass away from malaria I thought it was a good time to address the topic here.

Malaria is arguably the most important health issue confronting Mozambicans today. UN reports estimate that malaria accounts for 29% of hospital reported deaths (HIV/AIDS accounts for 27%) but this percentage is likely even higher because of unaccounted deaths occurring outside of the hospital in more rural communities. Shockingly malaria accounts for 43% of children's deaths under age 5.

Malaria is a year round problem with cases reported every month, but the peak season for incidents is during the rainy season (December-April). Mozambique is also prone to natural disasters such as droughts, floods and cyclones, which occur in low-lying coasts and along rivers. These incidents make the country more susceptible to malaria because disaster-affected areas are breeding grounds for Mosquitos.

In peace corps training we learn about malaria prevention (and are urged to take our malaria medicine religiously). Malaria is also included in the national curriculum for every grade in Mozambican secondary schools. Students are taught the causes and means to prevent malaria. The Mozambican government (in collaboration with many NGOs, INGOs and other governments) has created extensive programs to distribute insecticide treated nets, indoor residual spraying, intermittent preventative treatment for pregnant women and diagnosis with rapid tests. Yet with all of these efforts malaria continues to be a leading cause of death in mozambique.

At school, when I ask my students how to prevent malaria, most of them are proud to respond 'with a mosquito net!' Yet when I ask how many students actually sleep under a net the number is almost none (if any) who do. Although nets are sometimes distributed in the community, for sale in the market and readily available at the hospital for pregnant women, they are rarely used. It is more common to see someone in Vanduzi using a mosquito net as fencing around their garden to keep out goats and chickens. When I traveled to ihla I saw local fish man using mosquito mets to reel in their daily catch. So although nets are here and available, they are used for all different reasons, many Of which do nothing to prevent malaria. Medicine is also available at local hospitals but many people are slow to see a doctor and acquire medicine so when thy do go it is usually too late. In more rural communities (where hosptals are under stocked or do not have access to medicine) people will instead visit a curandero (traditional healer). But malaria can't be treated with homegrown remedies and chants, someone who is sick has to take antibiotics or the disease is fatal.

About a week and a half ago my Dona da Casa (landlord) got sick. After 5 or 6 days, and some pretty alarming symptoms (aside from a high fever an hallucinations he was also going in and out of a coma) his family took him to the hospital. He was diagnosed with cerebral malaria (the most serious type) and given medicine to take. He returned home on rest and waited for the medicine to kick in but the symptoms only got worse. On Thursday night his family called a traditional healer and I could hear chanting and yelling (in toungues) well into the night. Friday Torres went back into a coma and his family took him back to the hospital. At around 10:30 PM Friday night, while trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep in the heat I heard yelling and sobbing...In a culture where people rarely show sadness or shed a tear, this type of emotion is very uncommon...i saw a group of people enter our compound. After walking outside I discovered Torres had passed away and his family was now returning from the hospital.

Note: i live in a dependencia, which means my landlords house and my house are on the same compound and in this case seperated from our neighbors by a stone wall. Our houses are about ten feet apart and we share an outdoor toilet and water well. His children play in frot of my house everyday (Taunting amendoim and building forts or playin with empty bottle-constructed cars.) I see my landlord everyday and we always greet each other and make some small talk about the weather or work or just ask about the other persons health. We were by no means close but we were neighbors.

The next day was spent paying respects to the family and many people filed through our house compound to visit the family and sit in mourning outside. By 10 AM there was easily over a hundred people there. Feeling a little awkward, I paid my respects and then took my school directors advice to pass the day in chimoio, so the family could have their privacy and our compound could be used for families visiting to pay respects and mourn.

This morning I returned home for the funeral and boy was it an event! I've been to a few funerals here in Vanduzi but none like this one. Torres was well-respected In the community. He worked in the fish market, supported a large extensive family and although he clearly was well-off, he didn't give off the chefe auro that many male leaders seem to posses. He was always friendly and polite and was overall very popular in town.

A typical funeral in moz starts at the family's house, where people gather to sing and dance and pepare for the day. After a few hours everyone goes to the hospital to retrieve the body, more dances and songs are performed and from there the funeral party piles in trucks to parade through town (singing church hymns) and finally proceeds to the cemetery, where the body is laid to rest. After all of this, everyone returns to the family's house to eat lunch. After eating people slowly trickle on home, so that now, at 9 PM, the only people still gathered outside are close friends and family.

I always understood that malaria was a huge problem here in moz and I also knew people weren't exactly serious about taking real measures to prevent it. Whenever someone gets sick (or worse, dies) people say it is because they had malaria. Seeing someone like torres, who was well-off, educated, and even took the initiative to go to the hospital and take medicine, get sick and die, really brings the seriousness of this problem to light. The resources and funding is (arguably) present here but people are slow to use them. Today 10 pick-up trucks full of people attended the funeral. Easily 400+ people were here yet even though most people know that Torres died from malaria, I doubt that any of those individuals will go home and decide its time to buy a mosquito net. I don't have suggestions about how to change attitudes here in my community. If there's one thing I've learned so far it's that culture can sometimes be the biggest obstacle in grassroots development because people are so reluctant to change their habits and culture. I hope that ican find a better way to at least educate my students at school and in our student groups about how to prevent malaria because Torres death, like so many others here in mozambique,happened too early on in his life and was definitely preventable.

NOTE: I am sorry for typos and grammar errors I typed this post from my phone and it was a bit difficult!

End of the school year!

Because I'm posting two blogs posts at once I thought I'd make this one nice and light (with lots of pictures) and save the writing for the next one...

The school year is coming to an end and with that comes end of the year celebrations. My school director (who is fantastic!) took all of us to Millpark, this chicy hotel on the outskirts of Chimoio, for one final staff get together before everyone starts to leave for the holidays. Aside from the fact that the chalets and hotel grounds overlook beautiful fields and mountains out in the distance, there is also a really nice, fancy pool, and MINI GOLF! (NOTE: I did not play mini golf but will return in the future to do so!). My director let me bring a friend along, Ana, who is a PCV in Messica, a town close by to me, and it was great to have her with me. An entire day of Portuguese can still be pretty draining but with another friend at your sides its easier to shake off the jokes when teachers encourage you to dance, and negar bottles of beer when colleagues are trying to get you tipsy. Needless to say we spent the entire day at Millpark yesterday, eating delicous food and talking to my collagues, many of whom I've come to know much better in the past few months. Ana also helped me describe different types of secondary projects that I can do (which are PC projects) with my colleagues at school. It was great having her there!

The teachers and staff at Vanduzi Secondary School

Sophia (easily one of my closest friends in Vanduzi!) , her daughter Shanazia Clarina, and I.

Simao and Siguake, two of my colleagues at school who also teach English.

And this is Bea, my other closest friend at school, she was sick yesterday and couldn't come to our end of the year lunch but it didn't feel right to write about school and not include her!

Ana---I'm not sure how we missed taking a picture together :( but here's proof of the mini golf course! Note--Manica/Central crew, we will go back here!



And here are some pictures of some of my better students at school...I don't feel too guilty labeling them that way because they were also the only ones who showed up for the last 2 weeks of classes!

Students from turma 8J: at the end of the semester I asked my students to prepare a short dialogue to present instead of taking a final exam. Only two of the students from this class showed up prepared and it although I was dissapointed in the rest of the crew, these two students literally made my day. They spoke clearly and loudly and it was very obvious that they actually practiced! They were of course rewarded with some starbursts (thanks mom!) One of them, Castro, is the student all the way on the right

Students from turma 8A:
So I know I'm not supposed to pick favorites but in this turma, up until the end of the school year students were still coming to class EVERY DAY, and taking notes and asking me what we could do to practice more english. They were also my class with the highest pass rate and they were pretty awesome.



And that's it for now :)