And Were Off and Running Again

Not only have we begun our second school year, but we’ve finally started to pick up one of our favorite past habits. We can proudly call ourselves “runners” again, now that we’re braving the African summers to clock a few miles a day.

Before we came to Mozambique, we were both pretty dedicated to hitting the pavement several times a week. Our hope was to continue here, but our motivation got lost with the countless adjustments we were dealing with last year. Then after 15 months of a carb heavy diet, we were starting to see the results of our slacking. The physical aspect is a part of it, but it’s mental too. Running was a release of tension and a time to unwind after a long work day or way to get your mind right first thing in the morning. Happily, our Moz life is generally much calmer and the stress level is way down, but regardless, I was missing that time of tranquility and the endorphins that follow. So during the lull period after our South Africa trip and waiting for school to start, we begrudgingly laced up our Nike’s and headed outside. The first few times were a bit of a struggle but very quickly I remembered why I used to like to run so much. It’s not easy while you’re doing it but the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you feel when you’re done can’t be beat. I definitely needed that burst of good feeling too because at the end of December while sitting in my house with nothing to do except sweat in the unbearable heat, I started thinking, “whoa, I’ve got one more year of this?” I’ve heard it’s not uncommon to hit a wall between your first and second year of Peace Corps service, but I was sure I wouldn’t be one of those people. I figured if I didn’t go home for the holiday break, I’d be immune to the mid-service slump but that wasn’t the case. For months on end, time seemed to run away from me and then all of the sudden, I was counting every hour.  I’d made it through much harder times during this experience, so I had enough foresight to know I’d be out of the funk shortly. Putting back on my running shoes helped to put things into perspective. You see, Running for miles can require you to play a sort of mental game in order to make it to the end. There are times when you’re hot, tired and the ipod has died on you, making it seem impossible to take one more step forward. So, you tell yourself if only you can keep running until that tree in the distance, you can walk the rest of the way. It’s all about tricking yourself into a new goal so you don’t feel so bad about stopping. But the surprising part is that 99% of the time, you don’t start to walk when you reach that tree. In fact, you keep running until the end, to that mile marker you initially intended to reach. My mid-service slump forced me to seek out a “tree”, the first time I had to do so since the initial challenges I faced during training and first getting to site. As of today, I already reached that tree and I’m still running to the 27-months-of-service finish line.

Starting to teach again brought me back to the reason I am here and reminded me of the satisfaction I so frequently feel. And the beginning of the school year gave another reminder as to how far we’ve come. Now, we understood both the language and cultural context of the school’s opening ceremony and parents meeting. We already know school policies and procedures, most of the teachers and students, and are bracing for our schedule to be changed numerous times. It’s really cool to be at a point where we are no longer doing something new, but starting the cycle over again. We can finally put all of the lessons and experiences to good use.  This year, we walked into our classrooms for the first day of school with confidence and poise. I can already feel a difference in my teaching and it’s only been a few weeks.  My style and timing are much more natural, I’m not afraid to switch to Portuguese to discipline if needed and lesson planning is a breeze. Chris is no longer clutching his notebook to read a Portuguese script for his Chemistry lesson. Instead, he’s got a command of the language and knows which activities will work for a science class. We’re happy to be teaching the same subjects as last year except for one minor change. I teach 11^th and 12^th grade English and Chris teaches 8^th grade chemistry and 9^th grade math (instead of 10^th grade biology). He’s excited about math since Peace Corps trained him to teach in that subject and he enjoys it more than biology.  Another welcome change is less classes and less overcrowding, both due to the new secondary school in our village. We’re hoping this weeds out the kids who only want to “brincar” (to play around) and our school regains its reputation as one of the best in the country.

Aside from running and teaching, there have been a few other positive events that have brought us to the upswing. Mapinhane is lively with teachers and students and although the privacy during the summer vacation was nice, it’s even nicer to feel part of a community again. Our new site mate, Karina, is settling into her new life. We’ve enjoyed helping when she needs it and having another American just around the corner.  I got to see one of my favorite Americans, TJ, after a 2 month hiatus due to our South Africa trip and her visit back in the states. It was an exciting reunion with beef tacos (a rarity here) and a swim in the ocean.  Then back at home, we received a very special Peace Corps guest.  The director for all PC countries in the African continent made a visit to Mozambique and we were lucky enough to have him check out our humble abode in Mapinhane. He came with our Country Director (the head of PC Mozambique) and we showed them our school and house and chatted about our experiences. It was encouraging to meet someone so high on the PC ladder who was genuinely interested in what we were doing and open to our opinions. And today, I’m writing this blog during the conclusion of the kicker of positive events, and one of the main reasons for my rejuvenation. We just finished our Mid-Service Conference, where my training group shared successes and plans for the next year. It was the first time all members of Moz 17 had been together in over a year, and man did it feel good! Everyone is more cool, calm and collected and we’ve finally all seemed to find our way in Mozambique. Not only did we have an awesome time hanging out together which included dinners out and voting on group superlatives, but I gained some solid ideas for what I want to accomplish this year. I’m getting my plans together for my girl’s empowerment group, English theater crew, and children’s book readings. And I’ve got to get a move on because if you can believe it, I’ve only got 10 months left in country and that finish line doesn’t look very far at all.