Bits and Pieces
So. Been awhile. Much to say. Problem is, I don't feel like saying a lot of what I was going to say because last week a cyclone named Favio rolled into the Mozambican channel and right up the coast, coming ashore a bit south of my site and wreaking a terrible path of destruction. So terrible that people's homes and livelihoods (mine included) are temporarily ruined, if not completely destroyed. And so the thing is, even though I was preparing to post a bunch of stuff about life at my new site and the process of adjustment, I'm just not sure how much it applies anymore, not least of all because I'm not sure what exactly remains of my site.
For instance, I was going to write a whole post about my site transfer, because, really, Peace Corps doesn't transfer people. It's a very rare security or health issue that results in a site transfer...because Peace Corps assumes that if you're not happy at the site that you've been placed at, you won't really be happy in the Peace Corps. (At least, that is my impression of PC Moz). And by and large, they are right. There is a certain period of adjustment after getting to site, an overwhelming time when you first try to get food, then water, then figure out how to set up your household, then figure out how to interact with community members, etc, in a outward spiral of involvement. I think this is pretty overwhelming to do in the States for the first time, and so it is that much more difficult when you're operating under limited circumstances in a completely foreign place. So...to come back to the point, Peace Corps Moz does not transfer Volunteers for housing reasons, or roommate reasons, or lack-of-beach reasons, or any reason other than a threat to safety or health. Peace Corps would not have moved me from Angoche simply because our housing situation was not what was expected. They moved me because an opportunity came up for two schools to still receive two teachers, and that is that. Unfortunately, for me, although my site and my roommate and everything is glorious, it was an extra period of adjustment to transfer from one site to another, and I was going to write a post about it. Something along the lines of: Peace Corps Moz doesn't transfer people because your site is your site unless something drastic happens. They know you get attached to that site from the moment you are assigned to it, and they know it is generally more disruptive to move a Volunteer than for that Volunteer to work out whatever housing/roommate/general adjustment issues might occur. So I had wanted to clear that up.
I was also working on another post about our community's reaction to having two (three really, I have a sitemate at another school) foreigners plopped down in the middle of it, claiming they were going to live there for gasp! two years! and teach in the secondary school! etc. It was going to be a rather witty post (I was hoping), along the lines of "Newsflash! Aliens Take up Residence in Small Coastal town of Inhassoro, Mozambique!" and discussing some of the various reactions we've had, from outright disbelief (you're lying!) to welcome, to asking for money or water or books, to simply hanging out on our front porch, shooting the shit.
Then, I was going to write something about the marketplace in Inhassoro, which I visit nearly every day, wending my way through the rickety stalls to buy tomatoes or onions or pasta. The marketplace is the heart and soul of many an African village, and Inhassoro's is no different as a place to buy food or a new tshirt or a beer, or simply a place to chat with neighbors or catch a glimpse of the latest episode of a brazilian soap opera on the tv that someone has rigged up amidst the lean-tos.
And finally, I wanted to tell you all somthing about The Other Side, or How I'm Becoming a Teacher. Because going from student to teacher is difficult. I never quite realized how hard teaching is, or how much preparation goes into each lesson, especially a good lesson. And things are particularly trying when you don't have things like textbooks or photocopiers (what I woudn't give for a photocopier!) and the maximum exposure that your students have to the English language is the 2 and a half hours they spend in the classroom with you. It can be hard to figure out how to motivate the kids under such circumstances, let alone keeping oneself motivated. By and large,though, it was a challenge I was enjoying.
But all of that was blown away, literally and figuratively, in the first major cyclone to hit southern Mozambique in (I think) five years. My house is the least of anyone's worries, but it too was destroyed, along with all the clothing, books, and pictures I left behind when we were evacuated. It may take awhile to rebuild, and that's ok, because the people of Inhassoro are busy rebuilding their own homes, salvaging what's left of their farms, and trying to figure out how to move on when their already hard existence has just gotten that much harder. Until then, it's bits and pieces.
For instance, I was going to write a whole post about my site transfer, because, really, Peace Corps doesn't transfer people. It's a very rare security or health issue that results in a site transfer...because Peace Corps assumes that if you're not happy at the site that you've been placed at, you won't really be happy in the Peace Corps. (At least, that is my impression of PC Moz). And by and large, they are right. There is a certain period of adjustment after getting to site, an overwhelming time when you first try to get food, then water, then figure out how to set up your household, then figure out how to interact with community members, etc, in a outward spiral of involvement. I think this is pretty overwhelming to do in the States for the first time, and so it is that much more difficult when you're operating under limited circumstances in a completely foreign place. So...to come back to the point, Peace Corps Moz does not transfer Volunteers for housing reasons, or roommate reasons, or lack-of-beach reasons, or any reason other than a threat to safety or health. Peace Corps would not have moved me from Angoche simply because our housing situation was not what was expected. They moved me because an opportunity came up for two schools to still receive two teachers, and that is that. Unfortunately, for me, although my site and my roommate and everything is glorious, it was an extra period of adjustment to transfer from one site to another, and I was going to write a post about it. Something along the lines of: Peace Corps Moz doesn't transfer people because your site is your site unless something drastic happens. They know you get attached to that site from the moment you are assigned to it, and they know it is generally more disruptive to move a Volunteer than for that Volunteer to work out whatever housing/roommate/general adjustment issues might occur. So I had wanted to clear that up.
I was also working on another post about our community's reaction to having two (three really, I have a sitemate at another school) foreigners plopped down in the middle of it, claiming they were going to live there for gasp! two years! and teach in the secondary school! etc. It was going to be a rather witty post (I was hoping), along the lines of "Newsflash! Aliens Take up Residence in Small Coastal town of Inhassoro, Mozambique!" and discussing some of the various reactions we've had, from outright disbelief (you're lying!) to welcome, to asking for money or water or books, to simply hanging out on our front porch, shooting the shit.
Then, I was going to write something about the marketplace in Inhassoro, which I visit nearly every day, wending my way through the rickety stalls to buy tomatoes or onions or pasta. The marketplace is the heart and soul of many an African village, and Inhassoro's is no different as a place to buy food or a new tshirt or a beer, or simply a place to chat with neighbors or catch a glimpse of the latest episode of a brazilian soap opera on the tv that someone has rigged up amidst the lean-tos.
And finally, I wanted to tell you all somthing about The Other Side, or How I'm Becoming a Teacher. Because going from student to teacher is difficult. I never quite realized how hard teaching is, or how much preparation goes into each lesson, especially a good lesson. And things are particularly trying when you don't have things like textbooks or photocopiers (what I woudn't give for a photocopier!) and the maximum exposure that your students have to the English language is the 2 and a half hours they spend in the classroom with you. It can be hard to figure out how to motivate the kids under such circumstances, let alone keeping oneself motivated. By and large,though, it was a challenge I was enjoying.
But all of that was blown away, literally and figuratively, in the first major cyclone to hit southern Mozambique in (I think) five years. My house is the least of anyone's worries, but it too was destroyed, along with all the clothing, books, and pictures I left behind when we were evacuated. It may take awhile to rebuild, and that's ok, because the people of Inhassoro are busy rebuilding their own homes, salvaging what's left of their farms, and trying to figure out how to move on when their already hard existence has just gotten that much harder. Until then, it's bits and pieces.
posted by Alison at 5:47 AM
1 Comments:
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