First Impressions-Training- Namaacha, Mozambique Group 19 (Sept.15- Dec. 4, 2012)

As I sit listening to a technical session on management of large classrooms with 32 other soon-to-be English teachers, I hear the sound of chickens cackling and roosters calling behind me. I watch a gaggle of pigs wandering about searching for anything they can find to nibble. I have mud on my Chacos that is over an inch think and I smell the sweet scent of rain mixed with burning garbage. The “building” where our sessions take place is neither outside nor inside. It doesn’t protect us from the smoldering heat or the freezing rain. The wind blows the makeshift boards and papers around as the sketchy wire-exposed extension cord attempts to power the shaky projector. There is breathtaking view of foggy, lush mountainsides and fruit trees that is contrasted by muddy latrines and hungry-looking dogs. Despite the many difficulties however, we manage to discuss and learn about culture, education and language. My first impressions of Mozambique all come down to one simple word- beautiful. The landscape, the fog, the ocean, the people, the languages, the food, etc… all have varying degrees of beauty. What an amazing country to be placed in. Of course there are less beautiful things just like any other country- poverty, gender roles and expectations, maltreatment of animals, and crime to name a few, but these are problems found on different levels throughout the whole world.

Training is an interesting experience similar in many ways to summer camp or freshman year of college. You are placed in an environment where proximity and loneliness determine many relationships. These relationships grow into cliques and gossip or “fofoca” becomes a common past time. New and difficult experiences help solidify these bonds. These are the only people that really understand what you are doing and feeling at the moment. Training is a surreal experience where 68 Americans take over a small town in Africa for a few months, then leave to become the only “white person” or “mulungu” in a town far far away. I am both elated and sad for the end of training and the near future.