Estou a pedir

24 March

I have grown accustomed to my life here, and really don't need a thing - aside from the occasional envelope stuffed with splenda, thank you very much miss Kristen.

But my students are in serious need. Despite my rantings about the incessant cheating, lack of motivation, complaining, and adversity to critical thinking, I do have these select students who just desperately want to learn English, know that it could be one of few paths to employment, and are eager to devour whatever sort of materials I can cook up for them. Unfortunately, that isn’t much.

They come to my house and ask for help, they ask to chat, they ask, more than anything, for English-Portuguese dictionaries and easy books to read.

And then I think about how I have learned languages, mostly how I went about learning Portuguese. Yes, I learned in part out of desperation, a need to work, eat, live, etc. But every step of the way I had a little pocket dictionary by my side.

Actually, that isn’t true, my first two weeks here I was sans dictionary. Hand gestures only go so far when communicating, and I fell off that edge into confused misery. My first night in Namaacha, I just kept repeating the two words I knew, “minha mae, minha mae.”

Mama Cecilia showed me photos of her family – people I now consider my family - and I did the same. Again, smile, point, “minha mae, minha mae.”

She taught me how to take a bath before our first meal – point, demonstrate, nod, think ‘I am pretty sure I can manage a bath... but shoot, I don't have shower shoes or a towel,’ “minha mae, minha mae.”

We ate – point, nod, smile, think ‘oh god what am I eating’, smile again, “minha mae, minha mae.”

Time for bed – think, ‘thank god this day is over,’ “minha mae”
“Boa noite minha filha”
“Boa noite” think, ‘wow I learned a new word!’

So estou a pedir (I am asking) if you ever think of me, and care to send a care package, think twice. Because really, I can manage. But perhaps instead, browse your local used book store or Barnes and Noble just to see if they happen to have a little dictionary or simple children’s book that you might be able to send on over to Africa.

Because I want to give the world to those students that show even the slightest interest in learning despite the difficulties they face everyday, difficulties that easily make a high school education seem absolutely irrelevant. But, to quote the beloved Backsteet Boys, “my love is all, I have, to give…” And they deserve more.