Walk around before you read all these

BLOG (6 May 2011) Liriam Dreams

Itºs funny how quickly life got busy. I went from twiddling my thumbs and writing a lot of blogs to hardly finding time and energy to sit and write in my journal or my blogs. But here is an entry and I need to write it now while the dream is still fresh in my head…Oh, the liriam…

This dream was CRAZY! It involved my sister, Kari, her husband, Noah, and their first born, Aliza. I remember in my dream knowing that Stephanie and Marissa were with Shawn, Kariºs friend. I donºt know if they were on a date and brought Aliza, too, but it was night time and all of a sudden it was a HUGE flood and they lost their car…while driving it in the raging waters of the flood. The raging waters included icebergs floating by. The icebergs were my familyºs savior, without them, they would have drowned.

Somehow they came across a carved out wooden canoe and they sat Aliza in the middle, and they did have paddles. Noah was in the front, Kari in the back and waves were crashing all around them as they paddled fast. But paddled fast to where? There was no land in site!

So here they were, Aliza, Kari, and Noah jumping from iceberg to iceberg and then paddling a canoe with hurricane type waves in this random, out of the blue flood that happened. And somehow all I could do was watch it as if it was something on the news. But if it was on the news, how did the camera get the angle shots or any filmage at all? And why werenºt the news people helping? I felt pretty anxious in my dream, wanting to be there to help, to do something!

So, pshychologists out there, what does this mean? J

BLOG (8 May 2011) Oh, I think they like me…

Shout out to my Granny! Today is her birthday! Happy Birthday! (even though it wonºt be your birthday by the time I type it up and put it on my blog and they you read it…but thatºs besides the point.)

“Oh, I think they like me…or better yet, I know…” Iºm just quoting a song. Iºm not that arrogant…but I do think they like me here.

Most of my time here is spent with the students. Playing basketball, dancing, and letting them braid my hair has been great. Itºs definitely different to live here right with them. I mean, my house is practically a zoo display… “Come look at the mulungu in Casa 2!”

I made it through quarter 1 and we are already halfway through quarter 2. English has been pretty fun to teach. It brings a different challenge to me because Iºm trying to apply how I teach (active and games) into a classroom and about English. Some things were successes, while others failures. But with time, the students were finally getting used to my teaching style. But just as that was happening, they pulled the rug out from under me and I no longer teach English. Iºm now the PE teacher.

Donºt get me wrong, Iºm 100% excited to be the PE teacher! It was just completely unexpected to be the full time PE teacher and no English. I was told on Tuesday and started on Wednesday. Being a PE teacher here has its challenges… and Iºm slowly working that out…

CHALLENGE #1: Language.

Yes, I do know enough Portuguese to get by and I am starting to convey my thoughts better and better (slowly), sometimes thinking in Portuguese or not even having to think about what I am saying exactly, but teaching in another language only? Itºs sure going to help my language in the long run, and luckily PE involves a lot of demonstration versus talking, but there is still a lot of talking…especially because of a later challenge you will read about…

CHALLENGE #2: Equipment.

This is all I have to work with: one basketball, one soccer ball, one volleyball, and one futesol ball (a ball that is like a soccer ball, but smaller and doesnºt really bounce). No cones, no more balls, no team markers, no nets. So here is what I do or have done so far: I have made some hackey sacs, so I have 5 of those, and I use them as cones. I also use my flip flops as cones. I can use chalk on the ground. And Iºm going to have to buy more 2 liter pops so I can use the bottles for games also. I canºt forget, I do have 2 rugby balls and one little Frisbee.

CHALLENGE #3: Teaching Style.

This was a challenge in India a bit, too, but it feels more so here. The students are so accustomed to the teacher just making them run and having them sit there as they talked to them, or even had lectures in a classroom on how to play. During the first quarter, I watched a couple classes, and thatºs all I saw. The kids donºt know how to play basketball or any other sport besides soccer/football. The teacher is not a bad teacher, heºs just accustomed to the Mozambican style, while I am accustomed to the Susan and Carole and Thomas/Purdue University and the way PE should be taught in America style. The students arenºt used to breaking down the skills, to playing little games to develop those skills, and so on and so forth.

CHALLENGE #4: Itºs hot.

I teach outside which is awesome…and not awesome. I love the fresh air, but the African sun can be pretty harsh. And when your students donºt really have shoes so they are playing barefoot, the cement doesnºt feel so great on their soles. And, naturally, they are like magnets to any shade that might be available in the area (making them not participate and move slowly to the game,etc)

CHALLENGE #5: Water.

Thereºs this song that I think anybody who spends time in Africa really appreciates. You might recognize by this one line “Bless the rains down in Africa.” If you havenºt guessed yet, itºs Toto Africa. The rainy season is most definitely over. We pump water from the ground, but it goes 85 feet into the ground, so we need energy/electricity to pump the water, and then to displace the water to the plastic tambors around the school grounds where we actually fetch the water. Three hours in the day, and 3 hours at night was barely cutting it for all of us here. Then, you now take into account that we were having even less energy for a week. We didnºt have enough fuel for the generator… We were scrounging (we are better now!) But when you add a lack of water plus the African sun… itºs not a great combination… And they donºt carry water with them anywhere besides that. Iºm always sharing my water.

CHALLENGE #6: Football/Soccer

Anytime thereºs a ball in site, whether it be a rugby ball, basketball, volleyball, or football/soccerball, they want to play football (for the Americans, when I say football, I am meaning soccer…) They love to take the ball and juggle it ALL the time. Thatºs great and all until it comes time to class and one, we arenºt playing football, we are playing basketball, and two, they kick the ball to you rather than nicely throwing it to you or giving it to you when you ask. (Thatºs getting better…)

CHALLENGE #7: Play Time.

This one kind of goes with Challenge #6. The kids here do a lot of work. The school day is from 7:00 to 17:25. Granted sometimes they donºt have a class for an hour during the day or a professor doesnºt show up so they are free…but even on the weekend they are kept busy with Actividades (Activities). They cut the grass, they sweep the ground, they trim the trees, etc. Thatºs what they do on Saturday mornings versus watching cartoons or playing video games. Play time here is limited not only because of work, but also because of light and heat of the day. Itºs hard to be playing out under the sun here especially when most play without shoes. When it gets tolerable to play outside, time is then limited to when the sun goes down. With a lack of constant energy and no light fixtures on the court or field, we end up playing in the dark, which I must say is not my favorite thing when a ball comes flying at your face. So, what I am trying to say here is that when they actually do get play time, they go at it full force and can make it more difficult to calm them down when I need them to listen.

CHALLENGE #8: Rules and Good Sports.

One great thing that I LOVE about sports is what it can and does teach you in time, given a good atmostphere. My feeling here in Mozambique with sports and the atmosphere is not so great. Yes, rules are a good thing and much needed in games. Without rules, it would be utter chaos. But rules cause disputes also 1) when people donºt really know all the rules; 2) When people arenºt honest with the rules, and 3) When people try to fight over the littlest rules. There seems to be a lot of disputes on rules. I do my best to be a good example towards how games and sports should be… they should be about fun. I try to stop any fighting/disputes when they are happening even though a quarter of the time I really donºt now what they are disputing over (language barrier…) I know this is not something that can be created overnight. It is something that takes time and effort, especially when it is not something they are surrounded by. I am not trying to say that these problems donºt exist in the U.S because they most certainly do, but I also feel it to a different extent here. These are the reasons, though, that I see why developing more sports here as something that is needed and something that hopefully my skills can provide. Sport and Play teach so much. Look it up on Right to Play and anywhere on Google. J

CHALLENGE #9: Diet.

Their diet here is not so good. Things to consider in your diet: proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, fats, etc. Unfortunately that doesnºt really happen so well with the food for the kids here. They eat lots and lots of rice and very little else… I took the liberty to eat with the students on night. It just happened to be that I was there playing Ping Pong, and they told me to come eat. So I did. Iºm glad I did. It makes me understand better. This is what I had on my plate: rice, rice, rice and maybe 3 beans. It could have been 4 beans… Low and behold I was not satisfied. It gets hard. A common phrase I get from not only my students, “Estou fome.” (I am hungry) What am I suppose to do? Yes, I would LOVE to feed you, but I canºt be expected to feed everybody and thatºs what they see in a white person here. I canºt do it. Iºm not a food bank or a money bank or a bank at all. It makes me feel terrible. And I do give some food here and there, and yes, I can look at myself and call myself selfish at the same time. And Iºll continue to make excuses of not being able to feed them. Even when I give out a little bit of food, they all come swarming. I also need to keep myself healthy so I have the energy to help them here in a more sustainable way. By giving them food, itºs not sustainable. Itºs just learning to be dependent on people around them, as they already do that too much. Why, do you ask, is this a challenge in PE? Lack of correct food equals lack of energy and lack of health to sustain them through the day. Some students come to class with this lack of energy and therefore try to make excuses for not participating. This also leads to Challenge #10.

CHALLENGE #10: Sick.

Lack of proper food and not having clean water and having malaria carrying mosquitoes leads to a lot of students being sick. But hereºs the thing, some students are actually sick, but some students are not, yet they tell me they are sick Or thereºs the “I hurt my toe” or “I scraped my knee.” Some of these are also common excuses in America also, but how do you weed out the people being honest and those who are not? Right now Iºm using “I need a not from a doctor or from the pedagogical director or from the head of the dorms.” For them to not have to participate. But I donºt even know if that is realistic…especially the doctor one…

CHALLENGE #11: Commitment/Attendance.

So this one applies to sports after school and to class. Iºve tried to make teams in the class that will be their basketball teams for the rest of the unit, but when a good handful or more donºt show up to class, there goes the theory of teams making things run smoothly. Then with sports after school or on their free time, there is a lack of commitment. One of my students asked me to coach a basketball team, so, of course, I say yes. I show up the first day and we were able to do some things. The next day was a different set of students, maybe one or two the same. How can I make a team if people donºt commit to it? Itºs one of those things that hopefully can be learned as more sports and such are hopefully developed.

BLOG (18 May 2011) The Mixing Mandy Cooking Show

I still find it funny I was an English teacher. I donºt think I was bad, but I donºt know the different parts of speech, different types of verbs, etc. I donºt even speak English well, especially now speaking some Portuguese. (We now call our language PorEnglish). Anyways, if anything I try to have fun with what and how I teach. Might as well, right? If Iºm having fun, surely theyºll have some fun, and when youºre having fun, you tend to unconsciously learn. Thatºs my theory and Iºm sticking to it!

Anyways, this unit I taught food and cooking utensils and verbs in present continuous. If I havenºt mentioned it before, I hate tests, especially here because cheating on tests is widely accepted all around Mozambique schools. So, I decided to have fun with this test. Iºm no Rachel Ray, but I can make my own “cooking show.”

That`s right, it was an oral test. I acted in front of the class, I put on an apron, had pictures of food, and I had my kitchen utensils so I could “cook.” It was the Mixing Mandy Cooking Show.” Just thought it would be fun to mention this for yaºll. . .

BLOG (24 May 2011) FREEEEEEDDDDDOOOOOMMMM!

If I could only have 5 movies to watch for the rest of my life, they would be:

1) Braveheart

2) Crash

3) Finding Neverland

4) The Lion King

5) GI Jane

But so many more are coming to my head that I definitely want more than 5!!!! I mean, thereºs classics like Jurassic Park. And then of course, Moulin Rouge should be on the list! And 7 pounds is another favorite of mine. I also really enjoyed Where the Wild Things Are. Okay, as you can tell, Iºve been a bit deprived of movies! Iºm not use to not having movies to watch. Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings… Perhaps I should get on to the actual blog I was meaning to write. . .

Iºm not going to lie, I have a pretty good feeling of who I am and I am definitely comfortable with myself. Some things I know of myself, but at different times in my life they come into the spotlight. Freedom is now in the spotlight for me. Itºs such an important thing, in my opinion, for everybody. But something I have found myself doing, more so within the last few years, is fighting some rules, regulations, paperwork!!!! Donºt get me wrong, I understand the importance of these to a certain extent. I guess my feeling is that in our society today some things have gone to the point of exploding (would that be the word to use?) Letºs take rules and regulations for example. Yes, they are in place to keep us safe and make us all work together more smoothly, etc. Thereºs a lot of reasons for rules in general. But sometimes specific rules can be what brings it down. When does it become a rule/regulation and when do we become captives of this world? When can it be my risk to take when it is dealing with MY life and no others? If I know the risk I am taking by participating in something, isnºt it then up to me to decide what I should and should not do with my life? Now, when it maye affect the life of another person by my action, perhaps thatºs when to thing about the rule. Hence, we donºt murder people…

Today in the American society we are so worried about being sued. If you think about it, the rulese arenºt, in the end, solely for the safety of the person themselves, but instead to save their own ass in case something happens. Granted they donºt truly want something to happen to anybody, but what has society become if we canºt just naturally trust each other? I guess Iºm talking about a perfect world, Utopia, and itºs starting to get a bit philosophical. Itºs funny, sometimes you think you know the basics of what you are to write (in a blog) and then suddenly your hand has a mind of its own and does all the writing for you.

So, some other things going on here in my life…

I think there is a reason that every year on my Purdue rugby team I got the Team Spirit award. One, Iºm pretty loud so everyone can hear me. And two, I find cheering and being a good sport quite fun. NOO!! Not being a cheerleader! I never clap my hands and kick my legs up saying “Rara, shishkoomba!” And 3, I never doubt or give up on the team Iºm cheering for…no matter how far they may be behind. What I mean by Team Spirit is keeping the morale of the team high. Why not have fun when you are playing? People tend to feel good when they know someone/people believe in them. Plus, if Iºm on the sidelines, I donºt just sit there. Itºs like my own little game on the side with the opponent “cheerers”. Why am I talking about this? Weºve been having a futesol tournament going on the past few weekends, classes versus each other. I cheer for my class, my homeroom. And the kids really get into it!

More…

Iºve decided Iºm going to try making my own clothes (for the most part). I just finished a pair of pants, and Iºm working on a skirt and another pair of pants. After that will be 2 dresses and a shirt. Not sure why the dresses, but Iºm sure one day Iºll wear them. One will look pretty “African”. And all these clothes will be made out of the capalanas (material) here. Iºll model them and put pictures online sometime.

We are lucky enough to have a Ping Pong table here. Unfortunately there it no net on the table and both of the ping pong balls I had have broken. But, low and behold, these students are resourceful. For a while, we had cardboard to make the net, and now for the balls we use the little roller ball you find in a deodorant thing. Yes, itºs a little bit heavier, but, by goodness, it works! Iºm hoping that I can perhaps set up a ping pong tournament. I can tell they are getting better.

For about a week, I had to lizards living with me in my house.I named them Shababa (which means left in Shitzwa) and Shaneinee (means the direction right). By the time I got back from my week holiday, they left, though. I guess I didnºt have enough bugs for them…

Well, thatºs all for today, folks. Tune in next time to read about a sexy dance… J

BLOG (30 May 2011) Iºm too sexy…

The students here have created a dance/theatrical group that they call G-PIDS. I donºt know when it was created and Iºm still trying to understand it all. No other teachers are a part of it as far as I know. The students made it and the students run it, which I think is awesome. Iºm still trying to understand things about it, though.

The theater part is about HIV/AIDS, the problem it is here in Mozambique and prevention/education and such. The dance is Mozambican style dancing, plus, get this, a “catwalk”. Iºm not sure why the catwalk. Every Saturday night is the “production”. It changes a little bit from week to week, but for the most part, itºs the same, especially the “catwalk” or as I call it “the sexy dance.” They walk a certain path, walk sexily, do a turn or 2, and then walk sexily out. And every week the audience hoots and hollers. Itºs the same people doing the catwalk and doing the same thing. Itºs one of those cultural differences…

I have somehow got involved with the G-PIDS now… I mean, how can I miss out on dancing? Instead of going to the bars and dancing the night away with Chelsea and Doc G and drinking rum and cokes, I grab my water bottle and go dance with the students. Donºt worry, I donºt do the sexy dance, and I donºt bump and grind with the students. Iºve been teaching them Salsa and they love it. So what I have become with G-PIDS is one of the “dance instructors” which should be fun. Iºve also been learning more Mozambican style dancing. Iºm not going to lie, and I think Iºve said this in a previous blog, the dancing that is common here for all ages (as soon as they can stand and dance to when they canºt anymore) would seem provocative and very “sexual” in the eyes of America. Not all of the dancing is like that, but a lot of it is. It was kind of hard at first to know what I should do… I mean, itºs dancing with my students, in what may seem inappropriate. But there is a fine line because itºs also the dance of Mozambique, can I not participate because I see it as inappropriate? If itºs not inappropriate in their eyes, why make it something bigger than it really is? And yes, I make sure I have my space to dance and no students dance close to me (no student bumping and grinding dancing with me). And dancing has been a great integration tool, especially when they see me trying to learn from them.

This Saturday night will be the 7^th sexy dance … I think Iºll give them the song “Iºm too sexy”…

BLOG (7 June 2011) They called me fat…

Itºs such an American cultural thing to automatically think that fat is bad. Itºs definitely something that is hard for me to get out of my head. I mean, think about it, we are brainwashed with this fat equaling bad thing since we are born or even while in our motherºs womb. Even pregnant moms hate that they get “fat” when pregnant… perhaps not recognizing the beauty of a pregnant body and the crazy things our bodies can do…

Anyways, on with the blog..,

I have started my Aunt Janet wall with the pictures I have. I have some pictures of my nieces and Kari, of my dad, of some friends, of my rugby team, and yes, Iºm in some of the pictures. The students love to come in and look, at first thinking the 3 cute babies on my wall must be my kids…haha… as if I should even have kids! (I think I make a great aunt…not so sure about the mom thing). Well, a couple of students were looking at the pictures and mentioned I was fat…FAT! Okay, I know Iºm not skinny by any means, and I do consider myself on the fatter side, but to be blatantly called fat as if it was nothing…thatºs a different feeling. He said Iºm skinny now…I donºt think I have changed all that much since last year…January 2010 when the other photo was taken.

BTW, I would still love more pictures!!!

BLOG (8 June 2011) “Fingers-crossed…”

Imagine a world where something you do often, some kind of hand symbol, something you do in a good manner, means something totally and completely different than intended. Now imagine “fingers crossed” which in America is a way of saying “good luck” or “letºs hope”etc. actually means “letºs go have sex.”

I think Iºll leave the rest up for your imagination. (letºs just say I donºt think I have asked anybody to have sex with me…)

BLOG (27 June 2011) “Ooh, eeeh, ooh, ah, ah. Ting tang, wolla wolla bing bang!”

Carandeiro = witch doctor

The female dorm at my school apparently has “spirits.” And these “spirits” possess some of the girls some of the nights. This is definitely something new to me, and I canºt just say itºs not true. I donºt personally believe in spirits myself, but what I have seen of this is something quite strange to my eyes.

I sometimes go and visit the girls in the dorms, joking around with them. They love to help me with my Shitzwa. I donºt see these “possessive spirits” every time I go and visit, but I did once and it was different. Two girls were “possessed”, their bodies convulsing in ways that it looked like they couldnºt control. Other girls would try to hold them back or down so they wouldnºt harm themselves. Their eyes are kind of rolled back in their heads. They can walk and they try to get out of the “captivity” of the other girls. At first, I thought it was a kind of joke, but it continued. Some of the girls would laugh some, but it was still a serious matter. I didnºt know what to do. Itºs apparently somewhat common and just happens some nights.

On the Friday night before I was heading out for my vacation, our schoolºs winter break, Senhora Carla told me to come to the girlsº dorm. There was something going on. I didnºt quite understand. She looked like she was playing some pretend drums with her hands, so I thought maybe a festa (party)? I locked up my house and followed her and Professor Guambe. Coming from the entrance of the school was a group from the community. The group included the secretary of Makwakwa, the traditional chief of Makwakwa, some other men of the community and a few women. Some held rattles and rattled them behind the “head man”, the carandeiro. The carandeiro was dressed in a capalana around his waist and one tied like a cape on his shoulders. He also had a dread wig on his head.

I fell in line with the group and followed the carandeiro, not really knowing what was going on. The carandeiro stood in front of the girlºs dorm. The girls were all sitting inside in the hallway along the wall. There were 3 girls “possessed” this night. He walked in to the dorm, turned around and came back out. He did some changing around a tree/bush right outside the dorm. As he circled around the bush, he came around the other side as a mean dog on all 4ºs, growling and barking. He came back to the door to the dorm and growled. Some girls got scared and ran off in the other direction. He crawled into the hallway and made his way to the “possessed” girls.

I believe he was trying to “scare” the “spirits” out of them. He also took a black brush thing and would “brush” them. This seemed to work for the most part. One girl, though, remained “possessed.”

He crawled into one of the 3 bedrooms and sat in a corner. I kind of pushed into the room to see what was going on. He was talking, of course, everything is in Shitzwa, so I donºt really know whatºs being said. At one point, he wanted some water. I just stood at the door taking it all in. he eventually stood up to leave the room, and low and behold I was RIGHT in front of him. He got this really startled and scared look and told people in Shitzwa something. The other teachers/community members pulled me back into the crowd of the rest of them. They said he was scared of me, the mulungu. It was really funny and everyone was laughing about it.

He left the room and went to sit outside the back of the girlsº dorm. We all sat around him. At first there was people sitting between me and the carandeiro. But then he was telling people he needed wine and they needed to run to get it for him (Watsozuma!) Well, the person who “ran” to get him wine was the person sitting between the carandeiro and I. At first, he let this go, but apparently he couldnºt handle it anymore. I was “scaring” him still. No, I didnºt have to leave. He was letting me stay, but he pointed at somebody else and told him he had to sit in front of me. When he moved, me “mandar-ed” (ordered) another person to block me from his site. I needed a “wall” between him and I for him to continue on with his business.

There was talk about me, the mulungu. I just kept hearing the word “mulungu” being used. I was trying to imagine what they were saying about me. Was I the cause of the “spirits” in the dorm? Was he going to put a “curse” on me? I had a lot of time to imagine… I started to think “Are they expecting me to do more for the community than I am even capable?” “Do I have these really high expectations from the community I donºt know if I can actually do?” I donºt know what was really being said, but the feeling I got during this was the community on my side, defending me or sticking up for me in some way or another. The administrator at me school speaks real good English and heºll tell me more later, but he said something about me and pregnant. Another guy from the community kind of laughing and said to me “Be careful with the carandeiro” Am I going to be the Virgin Mandy? Haha Iºll have to inform you the rest of that part later…

More things were going on, I am not sure what, but I had to leave. The girls said I could come in their room, so I snuck in there. Somebody in the community came over and said “no, you need to go to your house. You can come back later…” Okay.

Itºs not over…

The next morning I was heading out for my vacation, heading to the tallest mountain…of Mozambique. So, I locked up my house and took my bag out to the road and began my wait for a boleia (hitch) to the vila (village). The carandeiro group came back to the school in the morning. They happened to come by where I was standing. Another man, not the carandeiro, was heading this up…he had a table knife hanging from some red yarn/string and was using it like a metal detector. He walked around the front of the school and stopped in front of a tree and started digging a hole with a spoon and water. The hole was maybe 5 inches in diameter and he probably went 10 inches deep. He stuck his hand down in the muddy hole, searched around a bit with his fingers, and came up with a plastic tube thingamajiggy. He put it on a wood block and they put some salt on it and on the hole. Then he took his “detector” and walked around again. He found another spot maybe a foot in front of the first spot, dug and found a little stick with a band tied around it. They put some salt on it and then took a walk around the school grounds.

When this was happening in front of the school with the digging and such, the carandeiro from the night before, now dressed in everyday clothes, came up to me, shook my hand quite energetically and was smiling and said something I did not know at all. I just nodded and smiled, as you would when you have no clue what is being said. Again, the same guy from the community last night, just smiled and laughed and told me to be careful with him…

It will be interesting to find out when I return to school if the carandeiro and artifact digging has helped the problem of “spirits” around the school.

When I was sharing this story with me friend, she said she has read something about this before. What she read was that this happens sometimes when a girl gets pregnant and doesnºt know it. She gets morning sickness and doesnºt know whatºs going on with her body. Then it kind of creates a hysteria in the dorm where the girls truly think they are possessed by a “spirit” of some sort.

It was definitely something really neat to experience and be a part of. Iºm thankful I was able to be a part of it. I may not understand it, but itºs something….