Orlando and Picture Books

When my alarm goes off at 5:30am, I sometimes have the thought that all I want to do is go back to sleep or lounge around or really, do anything but teach. Although I love it, there are times when I just don’t feel like doing it, as is the case with any job… And then I see Orlando. Where do I even begin to describe this ball of positive energy? It’s no easy feat to be a student in class 12A with a name I actually know considering there are 64 students (and just to be clear, one teacher!). Orlando sits front and center to make sure that he doesn’t miss a second of the lesson or an opportunity to participate. And, you can’t help but be happy when you see the toothy smile radiate from this tall, goofy, freckled kid’s large mouth.  His desire to learn, and particularly to learn English is inspiring. Although learning the language doesn’t come as naturally to him as some others, I see him studying his butt off to improve and every test and evaluation has shown that it’s paying off.  He will take any chance he gets to practice his English skills. Whenever I see him at the water pump or on my way to the market, he says in his booming voice, “Hello Teacha!!! How are you?” to strike up a conversation. I generally try to speak Portuguese when I am outside of the classroom, but it’s wonderful that some of the students don’t think that 5 hours a week of formal instruction is enough. When I am the first to greet Orlando I say “Bom Dia (Good Morning)”, but he will not have it! “Good Morning, Teacha!”, he says, making sure I know that he only wants to speak English. As we talk, I can almost see the wheels in his head turning as he carefully thinks of how to communicate. It’s never perfect, but he always gets his point across and does it with such enthusiasm. I tell ya, I’m envious of his gusto. I wish I had his same courage when I speak Portuguese. Orlando also wants to continually expand his vocabulary. Almost every day he will ask me the meaning of a word, usually relevant or sometimes completely random like, “Teacha, what it mean ‘wooden’?”. I have no clue where he heard the word “wooden” but I’m always happy to provide a definition for his inquiring mind (and it’s actually a great exercise for me to learn more Portuguese!). I know that I will sincerely miss this kid’s perseverance and heart in my classroom after he graduates.

But, I am beginning to find motivation outside of the classroom too. My goal was to begin secondary projects during our second trimester which started last week, and the things are already in motion!  I have talked to my potential Mozambican counterpart about starting the girls club and she is interested in helping. I have a handful of excited students who are pumped about the group and keep asking when we will have our first meeting. And, I just started a new project that will hopefully instill a love of learning in some future Orlandos! Yesterday, I biked down to Mapinhane’s Primary School with 10 books in hand with the purpose of starting an impromptu reading session.  Peace Corps has partnered with Books for Africa, an organization dedicating to improving literacy, and they have provided all PCVs with 50 picture books to take out to kids in our community. I knew this would be a great opportunity to connect with the cute youngins’ of Mapinhane, so I’ve been looking forward to getting into this project. As soon as I entered the primary school, 2 boys yelled over to say hi. They were hanging out right next to a tree trunk, which looked like the perfect place to start my story time. I asked the boys a little about themselves like what grade they were in and their age, then if they’d like me to read to them. They nodded their heads fiercely to say yes. I pulled out one of the picture books I liked best (FYI- All books are written in Portuguese so I’m trying to read them all myself first. Nothing can kill story time quite like bad pronunciation!). As I read aloud, the boys listened intently and then began to read with me which was great since I wasn’t sure about their reading level. I let them take turns reading pages and by the end of the story, we had about 8 more amigos join us. Over the next hour, I brought out a few more books and took turns reading aloud with those who wanted to show off their reading skills. And over that hour, my group of 2 had grown to about 40 thrilled, adorable kids who couldn’t wait for me to turn the page. It was wonderful to see such excitement! As you can imagine, resources are scarce here, and that includes books so this was a real treat for them. When it was time for me to go, the 40 kids wanted to follow. I’ll admit, some of them probably wanted to chase me only because of their curiosity of the wired white person, but I truly believe that most were amped by the story session and didn’t want it to end. Seeing their enthusiasm gives me tons of inspiration and motivation to continue with this initiative. I plan to go back once every week to hang out and read with the kids. And, I talked to one of the third grade teachers who wants me to come read to her class and maybe teach a little English too. I’d like to check out their library situation, if one exists, so that I can have a structured place to keep the books once I leave here. If not, maybe I can help set one up. I’m also thinking about having the girls in my soon-to-be girl’s club come with me to read to the kids. Really, the possibilities are endless. I feel like there is a ton I can do with this over the next year and a half…

And so I end this blog with a big thank you to Orlando and cute kids for making me realize that a year and a half more here is totally doable. :)