Week 3

So busy! The days are flying by. Eu peco falar un pouco portugues que eu gosto muito! So, my typical day in Moz goes roughly like this. I wake up at about 5am (sometimes 5:30 when I sleep in) when the roosters are squaking and the dogs are barking. I take a bath (from a bucket), get dressed, have tea (which is usually instant coffee, not tea), and head off to school. Depending on the day, I walk between 10 and 45 mins to my first class- language. After two hours we walk to a different location and have two hours of teaching training (which always take place outside, which is aweomse!). Then it’s back home for lunch, back to teacher training, and the end of the day is language application (walking around the market asking questions, talking to each other, etc). After classes get done at 5pm I have about an hour to get home before the sun sets. Usually I come home, come to my room to study, have more “tea” and bread, and try to have any sort of interaction with my family. My siblings are pretty great about getting me talking, and they really help me conjugate verbs and make coherent sentences. And none of them speak ANY English. I take my second bath around 7:30 or 8 and then we eat between 8:30 and 9. I eat in the living room watching tv with my dad, mom, and little brother (Pai), while my sister (Mae), older brother (Valdo), and Gilda (I think she’s the embregada?) eat in the kitchen. Considering I can’t make conversation, I usually come to my room right after dinner to study more and read. My days are pretty full, and it’s extremely tiring to be listening and translating and trying to speak Portuguese all day. I can’t wait for it to get easier! During our teacher training classes we’ve begun practicing teaching short lessons to each other which is very helpful because most of us have never been teachers before-getting these 10 weeks to get a base is wonderful. Also I’m starting to realize how difficult it really is to teach the basics of my native language.

Randoms of week three: Cleanliness is very important here, so I learned how to clean my room- scrub the floors and rearrange everything. I also learned how to wash clothes- my hands are STILL beat up from both the harsh detergent and the stones I have to pound everything against. I was chased by the neighbor goat, who continued to nnnnaaaaaay at me as I walked up my road. I got my hair braided- it hurt and I look bald, but it’s easier to wash! My host mom bought peanut butter! I had my first official phone conversation in Portuguese- the cell service company here is not very receptive. My host mother and I have had a few more… interactions… She’s very much like my first host mother in France- if you know that story I don’t need to explain farther, if not I’ll explain later.

sorry these are so short but things are happening here so fast, and i only have internet rarely. I'll try to do better next time ;)
and pics to follow, when i know how