Two Years in Two Bags

After medical clearance last August, I started seriously thinking about what I should bring with me to Mozambique. I would be there for two years, not expecting to return to the States at all, so figuring out what to pack in two 50lb bags and one carry-on was kind of a big deal. Ok, it was a very big deal and I became a little obsessed with making sure I had everything I needed.

I’m writing this for the next Education group that will be arriving here in Mozambique in four months. I’m sure most of them are waiting to hear nothing about legal clearance (no news is good news) and finishing up medical, dental and eye exams in order to obtain medical clearance. PS: Medical clearance is the LARGEST pain in the rear end. Am I right?

Below is some insight about what to bring, from somebody who has been here for 8 months. I hope this is helpful as you make 15 trips to REI and 27 trips to Target.

Clothes

Every day here is hot. I’m not exaggerating. People told me that winter would come in April…it didn’t. Then they said it would come in May…it’s not here. So pack maybe three pieces of clothing that would be fit for a fall day in Ohio, but not much more than that. All other clothing should be suited for the hottest and longest summer you’ve ever experienced. 

I live in the south, which is less conservative than the north. You should pack for both because there’s no telling where you’ll end up. When in doubt, choose conservative (girls—no knees, no shoulders). 

Teaching: To school I usually wear jeans and a blouse. If it’s a day I know we won’t be doing much of anything (i.e. the week before the trimester ends), I will go with jeans in a t-shirt. On days where I’m feeling especially motivated I’ll wear a skirt and a blouse or a dress. Female teachers at my school look very put together, and some even wear heels (not recommended—the school yard is a beach without water). We all have to wear white batas over whatever we wear, so it feels pointless to put much energy into choosing outfits since it’s going to be mostly covered up anyways. 

Passearing: In my town it’s okay to wear non-spaghetti strapped tank tops, so if I’m just walking to the market or going to visit a friend I’ll go sleeveless with either jeans or yoga pants or a skirt. I would recommend bringing a couple of tanks, because even if you’re in the north you’ll be wanting to sleep in as few clothes as possible.

Working out: I work out every day and always wear crop running rights or yoga pants and racerback tank tops. Sometimes I work out in my quintal, where I could get away with wearing shorts, but being here for 8 months has made me feel uncomfortable showing my knees like ever. 

Shoes: I wear my Birkenstocks 99.9% of the time. Running shoes for running. I have one pair of nice peep toed sandals and a pair of black flats that I only wear on special occasions. Many volunteers wear Chacos or Tevas, too. I have a pair of Tevas but choose my birks almost always (teaching included).

Other notes: Doing laundry is a lot of work, so you will get used to wearing things multiple times before washing them. You don't need nearly as many clothes as you might think for two years worth of living. In beach towns shorts are acceptable and I wish I would have brought a pair of plain denim shorts. I also wish I would have brought a few simple plain v-next t shirts (sold color, light cotton, semi-fitted). Anything you bring that’s white will be not white within a few months and washing these pieces will become the thing you dread the most. Don’t forget your swimsuit and a lightweight rain jacket! 

Toiletries

Bring enough deodorant for the full two years. You can buy it here, but it’s just not the same. Dental floss and mouth wash, if you’re big on that stuff, also for the full two years. I am pretty particular about my dental floss and I can usually only find “herbal flavored” mouth wash, which is disgusting. I didn’t bring mouth wash originally, but got some in a care package and it pretty much changed my life. I also brought enough face wash and face lotion for two years and I’m very glad that I did. My skin changed a lot when I got here (I never dealt with pimples but now I break out a lot), and I’m glad I have face wash I like and that works. I was also really glad that I brought a nice razor and enough cartridges for two years. The razors they sell here are either very expensive or very shitty. 

You can buy shampoo and conditioner here—nice kinds like Dove, Panteen, Sunsilk, etc. in the cities and generic brands that smell like grandma’s house in the markets. I would recommend bringing enough to get you through training at least. Soap is also easy to find here but I’m glad that I brought my own because it smells like me. Toothpaste, too, is very easy to find.

Girls: If you’re used to wearing make up, or having your nails painted, or spritzing perfume, bring that with you. I really miss feeling pretty, and really there is no real reason to get dressed up nice, or style your hair, or put on makeup. But on days when I really don’t want to go to class (you’ll have those), blush and mascara help to perk me up. 

In general, if you are particular about certain toiletries, stock up on those and bring it with you, because you will be in a foreign place experiencing situations and feelings you never have before. It is really nice to have things that smell like you and that feel like home, even if it’s just the smell of shampoo or the way your soap lathers. 

Also remember that people live here, have lived here, and will continue to live here without anything from America. If it’s crucial to your personal hygiene or health, you likely can find it here.

Other Stuff (in no particular order)

1. I’m so glad that I invested in a Kindle! Peace Corps has an e-library and it’s so much easier to travel with. I’ve been here for eight months and am on my 12th book. 
2. A tent! It gets too hot to sleep in my room in the summer (especially when the power is out and the fans don’t work), so I sleep outside in my tent. It is also good for camping trips but more for staying out of the heat.
3. Coffee and a french press. Ground coffee here is hard to find and expensive. If you’re a coffee drinker in the states you probably won’t be too pleased with Ricoffy. Bring your own. You won’t regret it.
4. Protein powder. No matter who you are, it’s likely you won’t be getting enough protein from the foods that are regularly available here. I am really glad I brought protein powder. I kept it in my 2-year bag and it was a nice surprise when I got to site.
5. Yoga Mat. Holy shit. I use this every single day. It was a pain in the rear to get it here, but so worth it!
6. Printed out pictures from home. Nesting is a real thing here and if you live in a house where you can’t paint the walls, pictures help your room feel like your space. 
7. Pens and notebooks. They don’t really have spiral notebooks here, only composition notebooks, which I don’t like very much (it’s hard to write on the backs of pages), and the pens are cheap and explode a lot. 
8. A hard-drive. You will want things to watch on the boring days. Even if it’s currently empty, volunteers will have lots to share and you’ll want a place to store all the shows you’re about to binge watch. 
9. Fitted sheets and pillow case, washed with the laundry detergent you typically use. Keep these in your two year bag. When you finally arrive at the house that will be yours for two years, it’s going to take some time to make it feel like home. Soft, nice sheets that smell like USA life will definitely help the process. 
10. A big backpack. I use a small backpack for school, and also have a big camping backpack for weekend trips to the beach, to visit other volunteers, or Peace Corps conferences. The big camping backpack is also useful for trips into the city to stock up on food and other items you can't find in your town. 

So, that was just me rambling about all the things for a solid two pages. As much as I would like to say "don't worry about packing" I know that everyone that's about to start this journey is indeed worrying about packing. I hope that my insight helps guide your packing decisions.

But truly, as long as you bring an open-mind, limitless flexibility and patience, everything else is bonus. Cheers!

English Energy

During training, we learn about many secondary projects: girl groups, early learning activities, Science Fair, English Club, English Theater, Stomp out Malaria, perma-gardening, etc. There are many volunteers here in Mozambique that are doing really great work. 

After hearing about the great work that current volunteers are doing, and ideas about projects that I could start in my community, I thought I knew two things:

1. I want to do something with EGRA (Early Grade Reading Activities) because I worked in 0-5 before quitting USA life to come to Mozambique.
2. I absolutely do NOT want to do anything having to do with English. Yes, I can speak it, but no, I cannot teach it and frankly, teaching English sounds like the worst. 

Fast forward a few months to February, when the school year started: I began to slowly get to know my students, and I started to become in tune with my community’s needs. I wanted to just listen and watch and try to identify where I could best offer my knowledge, heart and resources to improve the lives of my neighbors and students. It would be very easy to use brute force to start a project that focused on 0-5 because that’s what I wanted to do and Mozambicans likely won’t say no to help, even if it’s not a top priority. But how successful would that be if there weren’t some key players in the community helping me out? By the time the application for EGRA was due, I had not met anyone who seemed passionate enough about 0-5 to jump on board. I was a bit bummed, but also energized to figure out what I should be doing in addition to teaching. 

Peace Corps volunteers are special in that we do not work in an office in the nicest part of the country, trying to bring Western ideas to communities that cannot relate to Western ideas. We live (more or less) just like our neighbors live and see every single day the challenges that they face. I am forced to work within the framework of Mozambique’s struggling education system and have to deal with the same nonsense that other teachers deal with. I meet girls that don’t believe in themselves, and think the only way to a stable like is to get pregnant. I meet students who are not even close to mastering the country’s national language. Some days my students sit in their desks for hours waiting for teachers to never show up. Students cheat instead of think for themselves, and sometimes this cheating is support by the people who are supposed to be prohibiting it.

I have students who want to spend their free time learning but are lacking a teacher to put his/her own free time into that.

BINGO.

Within the first two weeks of school, I had a handful of students come up to me and ask me if I could help them with their English. As awesome as it would be to have one-on-one practice time with each of these 5-10 kids, I am only one person and that’s just not feasible. So, I decided to explore the idea of an English Club, and after submitting a request to the school director, I was approved to use Classroom #12, which is unused in the afternoon, to hold English Club once or twice per week. 

I spoke with Mana Marta’s daughter Nércia, who is also my student, and asked her what types of things they are currently learning in English class and what she thinks she would need the most help with. She said that it’s hard because the teacher usually just writes on the board, the students copy, and then the teacher moves onto the next topic. Little time for explanation and no time for practicing. I know, from learning Portuguese by diving into the deep end and hoping I don’t drown, that practicing speaking is just as important as learning the verbs and vocabulary. If you have words in your brain but can’t figure out how to put them together and push them out of your mouth, what’s the point? So I decided that my English Club sessions were going to be more about speaking and less about learning technicalities. 

The first session happened on a rainy Tuesday, and I was really nervous. I had never taught English before, I didn’t really know the current level of the students, and I didn’t want it to be boring. I wanted them to leave feeling confident, energized, and like they actually learned something new. To be honest, I was dreading this. What if it sucks? What if the students are unimpressed? What if nobody participates and it’s just crickets all around? I don’t want to do this I don’t want to do this this is completely outside of my comfort zone I don’t want to do this.

So then, I did it. I went to school in the rain to Classroom #12 and nobody was there. Well, this is cool. So I waited. And one student trickled in. And then four more…and eventually there was about 25 kids sitting in desks looking at me with high expectations. We want to learn some English, damnit!

So we stood up and I challenged each student to introduce themselves and say one special thing about them. I started and said that My name is Sarah and I am an only child. I asked the next student to introduce me (Her name is Sarah and she is an only child) and then introduce himself (My name is Titos and I like apples and bread). Apples and bread. Thumbs up. (Whatever at least he’s speaking English). We went around the circle in this order until everyone had introduced one other person and themselves. Some of the students—most of them, actually—were terrified to speak. It took many seconds of deep breaths and mustering up the confidence even to say “my name is”. But in the end, everybody did it. I then went around the circle asking “who is this” to students about other students. By the end of the 90 minute session, each student was speaking more loudly and with more confidence. 

Before leaving, I asked if they liked what we did and if they learned something. I explained to them that I had never taught English before or never had an English Club, so we will have to learn as we go. One student told me, “if this is your first day, you will be wonderful”. And that made me happy. I left feeling like it was a success and I was excited for the next session.

Since then, we have had English Club once or twice per week each week. Students are getting more confident in speaking, and also more confident in thinking for themselves. Sometimes I bring in a passage for them to read, translate and answer questions about. Sometimes I give them scenarios and make them talk to each other, pretending to be different characters. Sometimes they ask me questions about slang words and I try to answer honestly without saying anything inappropriate. (I.e. “what’s a birthday suit?’). I can honestly say that English Club, so far, has been the thing that positively energizes me the most. I always leave feeling like my students have gained something—whether it be a new vocabulary word, an ounce more of confidence, or just the feeling that there is a teacher here who is without a doubt invested in their learning. It’s a mutually beneficial project and I’m so glad I pursued it.

English Club as taught me a lot about the different ways in which I can impact my students. It’s taught me about myself in that I can start something from scratch, leave my comfort zone, and find success. But most of all, it taught me that when you enter into a position to serve others, you have to intentionally ensure that your expectations and wants come second to the needs of the people you are serving. If I would have stuck to my initial idea of starting Early Grade Reading and stayed closed off to projects relating to English, there would be no English Club and I would have missed a really wonderful opportunity to meet my students where they’re at.

I’m here to serve. And I am serving. Sometimes it’s really hard. Sometimes I want to be selfish and go home. Sometimes I feel like my time here won’t matter. But then I go to English Club and see my students’ joy and enthusiasm for learning, and the opportunity to encourage and expand on that is what keeps me going.