Dog Blog

I have 4 dogs. There names are Dama do Bling, MC Rogers, Jose, and Beeker. They are great dogs but they like to chase, bite, and kill goats. They’ve become rather efficient at it recently, biting two goats just this week. Unfortunately, these goats belong to my neighbors, and as a newcomer into the community of Mossuril I feel like this is a good way to make a bad impression. I would love for them to stop killing goats but I just don’t know what to do. My house has a 10 foot tall bamboo fence around the perimeter, but the crazy bastards still get out somehow. I think they can actually fly, and I’m jealous. So they get out at night when im sleeping and just hunt goats until morning. I cant stop them from leaving, so the only thing I can do is pay the owner of the goat when one gets killed. Except, people have been trying to get me to pay full price for a goat that has only been bitten a little. In the most recent case the goat which had been attacked had a small wound in its hind leg but was otherwise perfectly fine, running around and playing with the other goats without a notice to his dog wound. The owner of this goat told me that my dogs put their ‘venom’ in his goat, and now the goat was worthless. He wanted me to take the goat and pay full price for it. I tried to explain that my dogs have received all necessary vaccinations, are very healthy, and actually don’t have any venom, but the owner would not listen to me. I tried to offer him a reasonable sum of money as compensation for the dog bite, but the owner refused. The next day we had a meeting with the Economic Affairs Office (That’s right, there is an Economic Affairs Office in Mossuril) to settle things out. I couldn’t believe it but the arbitrator sided with me saying that the goat owner was being too ‘rigid’, and that today my dog bit your goat but tomorrow your chicken could come into my yard and eat all my corn flour. This would have sounded ridiculous in the states, but it was the perfect way to put it in Mozambique.

Lichinga Reflections

Last few weeks of Lichinga. Boy how time flies. Today is a Mozambican holiday and for the first time its one ive already celebrated in Mozambique. I remember standing at the praça in Namaacha while people celebrated the dia da paz. A line formed and every person watching waited in line to put a flower on a small monument in remembrance of the civil war. I was in that line and placed a flower on the monument. I think I had been in Mozambique for a whopping 5 days. What a little wide eyed baby I was. I probably thought, wow this is so genuine. I’m experiencing genuine Africa. What would people back home say. Í hate when I feel like that. That’s what tourists think when they think that they are experiencing culture. What an idealistic baby. Today when the procession passed my house today, I barely noticed. There are so many holidays and so many processions I cant keep ‘em straight, let alone go to the praça and place a flower on a monument every single time. I don’t have enough flowers to keep up.

It just goes to show how my mindset has differed from when I first got here. It might seem like I’m jaded but I disagree. I feel integrated, enlightened, and knowledgeable. When I first got here I wanted to feel cultured. So every time I did something new I took selfish pleasure knowing that my hopes were coming true. After a years worth of living and service I feel more or less indifferent, which is a good thing. The things I thought were so strange and different about Mozambique are normal to me now. So normal that I don’t give a second look to a mother breastfeeding their capulana wrapped child while carrying two 20 liter cartons filled with water up a hill in 100 degree weather. I don’t think twice about sitting next to a goat on a boat, feel uncomfortable in a car jam packed with 30 people, nor do I find xima bland and inadequate. I rather like xima and it is a staple in my diet. My Mozambican friends are my friends, because I like them and want to spend time with them. I think the younger, denser, green Jamie might say, “I’ve got like 30 Mozambican friends! This is so great! I’m really fitting in.” Luckily, for the most part, I don’t think like that anymore.

Ah, am I here for personal satisfaction or to provide service? The answer is murky. Sure Mozambique lacks trained and qualified teachers, and I have some skills that might help in this regard, but wouldn’t it be cool to say, “Hey I went to Africa to teach biology…in Portuguese…when I was only 22 years old. That’s a pretty fulfilling life. What have you done that beats that?” The moment the service aspect of my life becomes an afterthought, its re-evaluation time. Anytime I do something with personal enjoyment and self advancement as the main priority, I need to stop doing it, and I probably shouldn’t have been doing it in the first place. That’s the closest thing to being selfless as you can get. I used to argue with my girlfriend that selflessness can happen, but, despite how painful it is to say this, I think I am starting to agree with her. Everything you do for others has an element of personal pleasure. You strive for selflessness when your honest intentions in action are to help others and not for your own personal satisfaction. This requires being truthful with yourself.

My service in Mozambique should be about me giving every ounce of energy to my school and community. Everyone has their breaking points so taking vacations and breaks, while being enjoyable, would serve the purpose of motivation and reflection so I can keep providing service to the best of my abilities. Everyone needs motivation and reflection. This dedication to my service gives me a connection to my school, students, and community. Its by default. How could you not be a part of something that you are trying so hard to improve. This is what I’m most proud of.

I am at the end of my time here in Lichinga. PC decided to move me to Nampula to teach next year. So, like at the end of everything, I’ve been thinking about my time here a lot. What was successful? What would I have done differently? What did I like and dislike? What will happen to my school and students? So to organize these thoughts I made a list, using bullet points…which I love to do.

What I liked
My students! Man they are great. They have a great collective personality and individually I appreciate their diversity. Also, some of my students are incredibly gifted, creatively. So many write, draw, paint, and play instruments. Here is a poem one of my favorite students wrote:

One Day
One day…
I had a family
A job and even more
My health

One day…
I was free
Without having to take medicine
And eat a limited diet

One day…
I lost control of myself
I drank alcohol and consumed drugs
And today I am what I am
A slave of HIV

One day…
I was happy
And today I only worry
I have the feeling that
My days are numbered

Being in a city. Our bank was 30 minutes away, we have 4 markets to choose from and these are real deal markets, not like those were lucky to have tomatos or garlic markets. Also, the internet is accessible. There are new people to meet everyday, a basketball court, and a basketball league.
Being isolated. The tougher the better right. I think the temptation of being close to other volunteers would be great and I think I would rely on them too much for friendship, and would in turn neglect possible friends in the community.
My dog. Great dog, swell dog, hot dog.
The direction of the school and coworkers. The direction of the school was very lenient, I was able to do things how I wanted without much interference. The freedom was great. Also, when I was in a bind with work one of my colleagues always bailed me out.
My house. Great back yard, lots of space, if only I had a latrine.

What sucked
Having an American roommate. While it was helpful having someone pick up food in the market, work with on projects, and talk to, I think it took away from my experience. My roommate and I are fundamentally different and having him as my primary American support system was not easy. There wasn’t much choice than to be surrounded by him, we live in the same house and are the only volunteers around for days.
The climate. Lichinga has the unfortunate combination of dust and wind. It is really awful. I wake up every night coughing because there is so much dust in the air that you cant help but breath it in, no matter how much you sweep.
Being in a city. Its hard to feel a part of the community when the community is so big that you haven’t seen half of it. Sure there are some nice neighbors close but I feel like a tiny fish in a big ocean sometimes. A tight knit community has its appeal.
My colleagues. There are a lot of bad teachers here. I don’t want to go to much into it, but they are just bad teachers and bad people.

What was successful
Sending students out when they deserve it. I used to let students stay in the class when they were loud, inattentive, and even sleeping. Now when I ask a question I think a student should know (i.e. its written on the board in front of them) and they give no effort, they are sent out of the classroom. This really gets the other students on the same page with me. Maybe a bit dramatic, but whatever works.
Group projects. My students performed so well on a group project test. I was and still am impressed.
Field trips. Maybe it was because they were well behaved but it worked out great.
Having extra-curricular groups. This was great, there is a lot of student interest and very few projects. All of the groups I started I consider a success, even the music group that had to stop because of a lack of instruments.

What was not successful?
Being nice in the classroom
Expecting students to come to meetings when you tell them, and expecting things to work out as you planned in general
Trying to do everything. You end up spreading yourself too thin

So, these were just some thoughts I had at the end of my first year in country. This year was an adventure, with various highs and lows. Living in Mozambique is concentrated living. There’s not much fluff. This second year will most likely be much different in my new home of Mossuril, and it will be filled with new highs and lows, but I’m looking forward to the adventure.