Dia da Festa!

The day of the big party was last Friday.  Some of the professors told Helen and I that we needed to show up early to help cook before Mass – but when we arrived, we were quickly dismissed and left to ...sit. Shocking.  I’m pretty sure there was serious Mozambican women (profs and student) cooking going on and we were going to slow their roll.  So we were sent to “brincar” (play) with the boys.  Oh the joys of being a foreign woman here – no one is sure where we’re supposed to “fit in.”

Anyways. To start the day, we had a nice Mass with lots of visiting Padres, awesome songs (that I couldn’t even follow along with because they were in the local dialect) and – of course – dancing.  Then, we had a little snack break before the student vs. prof soccer game.  The students won 4-1…. Because, well, they’re awesome! And what would a Mozambican party be without excessive amounts of music and dancing?! We had a huge sound system and DJ brought it for the students (I will cease to be amazed at how much these kids love to dance! They can’t control themselves!). 

Despite having an overly detailed schedule of the days activities – we (obviously) became seriously delayed.  Lunch, which was supposed to be served at 1:30, was at 3:30 – thus cutting out ALL of the student performances and field day games.  However, the food was delicious. Standard party procedures are that guests must bring their own plate, cup, ect to any even where food is served. And even though I bring my plate with out fail (duh)– there are always some kids that forget.  Then I feel guilty that I’m going to eat and one my kids isn’t – so MY standard party procedure is now to bring plate, give said plate to teenage boy who can eat 3 times more than me, and then pick off someone else’s plate with my spoon (because I probably gave away my fork too). 

Monday morning, with the party behind us, we geared up for the last two weeks of the semester.  Even though its not Rhodes-finals-intense, its still a huge burst of work.  Mostly because I have an entire week of tests to give (which inevitably ends with me being  SO frustrated) and then grade.  Plus, I have to hunt down 8 million kids to get them to do their work. We’re working on responsibility – its apparently a slow lesson to learn…. BUT I was informed that at the end of August, we celebrate the feast of Dom Bosco --- with another partyyy!!

Random Updates:

·        This Friday is our much-anticipated Festa de Maria Auxilidora – Which essentially is a day long party at our school.  Not only have we all “donated” money to the party committee --- air quotes because, well, you donate or you don’t eat…  I’ve sat through a number of meetings discussing what kind of sports competition will take place, 4 afternoons of “song practice,” a “who will kill the goat” debate, and an especially grueling meeting in which we only discussed whether to buy Fanta or Fizz (off brand Fanta).  Every turma has to present something for the “show”… a dance, a skit, a song, etc. My second year Welding class (who has claimed me as their own) took me out to a field the other day to watch them practice their dance (in secret, of course). The next time I have some good internet access, I’ll upload the video – they’re going to be awesome!!

·        Hannah, Helen, Janet and I are busy planning our REDES (which stands for Girls in development, education, and health) weekend. Basically, each group will bring 10 girls from their school for a fun weekend of team building, health classes, soccer games, etc.  I think it’s going to be super fun – that is, if I manage to buy food for 50 people for an entire weekend and prep our school (we’re all camping out in the auditorium for 2 nights – basically a giant slumber party). 

·        Our school has recently started a “community” youth group ? (I’m not entirely sure what it’s called….).  Anyways, every Sunday the Padres open our school up to the kids of Matema for a few hours where they can play soccer, basketball, chess, watch a movie, etc.  Our older students come to help out and ref the games. Helen and I are the newest addition to the line-up where we’ve been giving impromptu, fun English lessons.  I was like, “whose going to want to have an extra class on Sunday afternoon?!” …… well, apparently a lot of kids, that’s who.  We had about 45 kids packed into a classroom last Sunday practicing dialogues and whatnot.  Plus, some of our students were there to help out.  They LOVED being able to show off in front of the other kids – which made us SO proud!  Oh, and I tend to seriously attract a 12 and under crowd (this is not a new development, and I’m not sure why ha!)…. So there were a significant number of kids just following me around for a while and calling me Tia Carolina (tia means aunt)

·        I’m getting realllyyyyyyy excited about my family coming to visit me in July! My younger brother just graduated from high school and has a packed schedule until he heads off to Rhodes (heyyyy Zoeller legacy).  Luckily, between him and my parent’s crazy summer of llama trekking, building houses in Belize, and business in Hawaii they’re making the long trip to Africa.  We’re going on Safari in Kruger, shopping at the markets in Maputo, hanging out in Tete with my students and visiting some of the cool places up here.  Every time I call home from school, I get rushed by students who want to say “good morning, how are you?” to my mom. Needless to say, they are veryyyy excited that the fam is coming as well. Although, if they tell me that my 18 year old brother looks like he’s 25 and I look like I’m 18 one more time… I’m going to lose it.

·        One of our dogs has been missing for about 2 weeks now, and we suspected she was pregnant. And after I creeped around our yard for a while the other day – the puppy rumor was confirmed.  Also confirmed: 2 week old puppies are not yet the cute cuddly puppies I like.  So in a few weeks, we’ll have a new distraction here in Moatize.