My dearest ones in Denmark, Portugal, Africa and in the rest of the world:

Before everything, I apologize for all this time that I didn’t say anything. Almost two months are gone and it seems yesterday! Oh Africa! Africa is absorbing, jealous and unique. Being here we almost forget the world out there. We don’t stop and there is always something to do. There are thousands of words to write, lots of experiences to share, millions of ideas of how to do it but at the end I will feel I didn’t show you my Africa, my daily and nightly sounds, my funny conversations with local people, my results as a DI in Maputo – Mozambique. Even though and knowing as I know my difficulty in maintaining focus in one point (just one!) each time, being objective (?) and clear, I will, in the name of Africa (now it looks a political speech!), try to report my time since I am here. Advices, I don’t have so many because each one live and melt in Africa at his one way. Just be strong, flexible, open minded, hard worker, happy, … yes, it is always the same song!

My life starts at 05h30 from Monday to Wednesday, to go with the EPF students to their primary schools, where they have their practice.

The schools are like we hear in Denmark: class rooms outside, under a tree, children sited on the floor, with capolanas or not, with or without breakfast, with or without shoes. Here the reality is very peculiar and we should never generalize, from one person, city, province, or country in Africa. Everything has an identity, has a fingerprint as being one. There are rich people, rich organizations, rich smiles, rich lives, rich dreams and realities, rich wrinkles, rich looks and rich experiences; there are people that needs help, that wants to learn more, that wants to know, there are many people here, different people – and it is for them, with them, that I have been working with.  Every day I meet someone different: from hitchhike, from chapa (public anarchic way of transport!), in the streets, in the school, in the shops and markets; we swap contacts, we share lives and days, we talk about being DI n Africa. ADPP is very popular in Maputo; everyone knows the organization and in general, they appreciate the work done.  

So, after the practicing, we have lunch at the school and then, in the afternoon, I give classes (my subject is Language Expression and Communication Techniques), only 4 hours / week, to 50 students. There are many teachers in the school so I can only teach one subject. I also have a computer club on the Thursdays evening – even if I just know the basic, is exactly that basic that I am teaching because they don’t know it. The classes are not regular, depending on the planning of the week. I start a English club but 2 more DIs arrived, so we divided one club for each. In total there are 5/6 DI’s in EPF Maputo: all Brazilians and me, the only Portuguese one, to give the example!

The students are very curious and smart. They want to know everything but they have serious problems in reading and writing Portuguese. That is one of my biggest fights. The teachers, just some of them are real teachers. So, during the week, I am completely there, as part of the school to help where I can and know. I correct and insert tasks in DMM, I prepare my classes in the most simple, alive, complete and academic way I remember from my times as a academic teacher, I correct tests and reports, I make part of the jury table in the oral exams and “It is show time”, I help the students to planning their classes (they they my phone number) and most of all I try to make the students active and citizens of their city. How? Study trips! Since I am here I was the only one that organized study trips. One to the most symbolic and popular enterprise near the school – coca cola, other to the parmalat (with the children of the primary school where I go) and the last one to the media of Maputo: News paper “Jornal de Domingo” e “Jornal de Notícias” and Radio Mozambique (also to the TV Mozambique but we didn’t have time to go there at the end of the other two). I try to link everything with my subject to make sence but, to be honest, not all of them can actually fit there. Anyway, I continue! One of the purposes of these trips is create good relations between the school and the enterprises, so latter we can ask for support or partnership. From coca cola I asked already drinks for a special Saturday; from parmalat I asked 50 juices for the Media study trip; in news papers we made good publicity of the school and in the radio we (I) were interviewed about our initiative to go there as a class (journalist words: “An example to follow by the other schools”) – the students were so proud! The students ask for more! The students write always a report evaluating the trip and giving more ideas. 

To all that the school didn’t support me not even with one metical. I almost lost my legs, running the city, trying to find partnerships for food and transport and guess what… I found it! During the process I opened some doors that I thinks they can be useful in a near future, with other study trips: transportations enterprises, super markets (one of the biggest in town), Ministries and other organizations. I look almost business woman! Speaking about that, remember the aids material that I fundraised in Portugal? The pamphlets, the condoms, the didactic movies? And the 45kg of new books, dictionaries and grammars  also for the library?    Yes, that has been a struggle to bring it here. LAM (Mozambican air company) said yes, that they could help but so far nothing – and I have been pushing! So I start again the emailing to find out another way. After a while I found: in a Portuguese blog, I found doctors and pilots, that once a year come to Africa with one tone of medicines. They are supported by the private Portuguese television (SIC), by the best hotels and magazines and laboratories. They are coming here in the last of April (I hope).

Mentioning the handicaps that all the students have with the reading and writing, I organized a competition to write stories, to be published in the public newspaper. There are always prices, this time supported by paperchase shops or books. In my class there is always homework: writing stories, poems, tasks – the result is astonished!

Organizing the Project file, 50 students: list of names, photos, evaluations, students cards missing, etc, small things, is also part of my days. To fill any gap left on my schedule, ADPP gives me translations to do from English to Portuguese or the opposite.

Oh, almost forgetting: one thing that we have a lot here – meetings. We (they) talk about everything but not always I can see solutions. The EPF school in Maputo is probably the 5 stars epf in Mozambique: we have printers, computers, machines, cameras, food and a lovely surrounding but… too much of burocratie, too much confusion just to have a printer done, too much stress to have fast internet, makes the simple difficult and the fast slow. Still, we continue, we must, we need, we want to, I want to.  

The kitchen in EPF: some work should be done. Eradicate the cockroaches, clean the spiders nets in the ceiling, be careful with the food conservation and hygiene conditions, change and diversify the menu. The menu starts with “mata bicho” (“kill the beast!”, really), around 5h30 till Wednesday and 7h30 the rest of days (teachers can eat it till 10h) – white bread with fried egg, or bread with butter or jam, black tea and tones of sugar (I wonder why African people loves so much put tones of sugar on their tea – it loses its natural flavor); lunch, around 12h (xima, of course, with a coconut and peanuts sauce or soup and fried fish; rice with beans; rice with potatoes and some chicken; rice with pumpkin leaves with peanuts and coconut sauce and that’s it! Guess what: there many complains but I like African food!!! And yes, I gained more weight… L

In the DI’s house, the atmosphere is very familiar. EPF, TCE and Hope live together. We share our day, we try to organize projects together, we work and we try to continue motivated and full of energy to innovate every day/week, with a new idea or project.

The place is called Savana. Take a look how it is in the end of the day…

Africa! Or urban Africa!

And now some pictures of Maputo

 Advices: bring vitamins because the local food nutrients or local gastronomy is not enough;

Bring repellent; sum protector and after sun; a belt wallet; sun glasses; a camera; dvd to make a computer back up because Africa is full of virus and since I am here I saw 2 lap tops caput; also good antivirus or download a free one from internet (ex: avira – is better than nothing); an unlock mobile; some clothes; some classes material prepared about your country or your school; songs, music and dances; and other things that I can’t remember now . It is late.

Much more to say and to show but I have doubts if all of you are going to read this 7 pages!!! 

So, Spanish people, how is your Portuguese going? Lolo, Almudena, Felix, Valentina? Relax, you will love Mozambique! Oh, I miss you all! And my people from Malawi, how are you?! Don’t worry, I miss u too! 

Am I in Africa or: am I already Africa?! I feel home! Africa can be addicted! Plans? Don’t stop!

Come to Africa! Stay in Mozambique!