-What exactly are you doing?So there are different sectors of Peace Corps, and when you’re nominated you’re nominated for that specific sector. Because I only have a degree in English, I wasn’t qualified for much besides English teaching, so I am primarily an 11th and 12th grade English teacher at the Escola Secundaria do Mucoque in Vilankulos, Inhambane. The World Bank opened my school in 2005, so I work in a very nice school, including electricity and running water, relative to some of the other volunteers here. In Mozambique, one receives the equivalent of a GED after passing the 10th grade exam, so I am lucky enough to be teaching students who are opting to go to school and are therefore eager to learn (most everyone is eager to learn English anyway though since all the bordering countries speak it). Classes start on February 2nd, and I will have anywhere from 6-8 classes ranging from 60-70 students per class. School goes Monday through Friday from 6:45AM to 5:30PM, but I will either teach in the morning or afternoon each day. They offer night classes at my school, but I am not involved in that. I am also going to begin giving computer and typing lessons in the school’s new computer lab starting in March, and I am joining a national organization called REDES, which focuses on empowering women and gender relations.
-What made you decide to do the Peace Corp life?
Um, I don’t really know why I chose this. I have traveled a lot since I was really young with and without my family, so I have always been interested in other cultures. I first thought about it in high school, but at that point I never thought I
would be tough enough or worldly enough to do something like this (not that I am really those things now either though). After junior year of college I volunteered in Costa Rica for the summer and loved it, and after that I started taking the idea more seriously and applied. During the application process I visited Amanda Strickler (W&L ’06 Graduate) during her service in Tonga and decided while I was there that it was definitely what I wanted to do. I think the timing was just perfect really. I wanted to get away from the States for a while and figured that this was one of the better times in life to do something like this. I was also ready to do something different or less planned than say my choice for college, and I think this was one of the most different things I could think of that I would still enjoy. Peace Corps is also a step in the right direction for most of the fields in which I am considering returning to school, and I am hoping I will be ready and excited to do that in two years.-What's the coolest thing you've done since arriving there?
I saved a goat one day during training, and that was pretty cool. I was walking to a friend’s house about 20 minutes away, and this goat had jumped on a wall and tied himself around a stake, so he was choking and pawing at the wall trying to relieve the tension. He was freaking out as I was getting closer and kicking and such, so I picked him up as quickly as possible around his belly with both hands, and awkwardly twisted him back around the stake. When I put him down he tried to run away from me so hard and fast that he whip-lashed himself. I learned how to kill a chicken for fresh meat during training as well, but that’s kind of what you would expect it to be. I don’t really know what the “coolest” thing I’ve done so far would be…my life is pretty slow here, and I haven’t done anything touristy yet. On one of my runs in the beginning on the beach I started getting chased by these dogs, and I didn’t know if they were nice or not, so I got really scared and just ran directly into the ocean and waited for like 20 minutes until they moved on…turns out they are nice dogs and that was totally unnecessary. Recent but not so fun. Both my dog and my next-door neighbor are pregnant though, so there will be a new baby and lots of puppies around here soon, and I’ll have to help my dog do the birthing thing, so that will be pretty interesting.
-What do you miss most about W&L?
I miss my roommates (I watch Friends sometimes and think about how they all live in NYC together…it’s kind of pathetic) and lax (teammates from all 4 
years, the sport, competition, having a reason to work out…everything about lax, especially teammates and my class and feeding the chicken with Bender -W&L ’08 graduate…well, doing lots of obnoxious things with Bender) most of all, and I miss writing and being challenged mentally. And right now I miss the weather, because it is about 100 degrees and unbelievably humid every day here, but I do live on the beach and all the roads are sand, so I can’t complain too much.
-Anything you want to say to your former Lax teammates?
Nothing they don’t already know or haven’t heard: stay unified, enjoy it, and work as hard as you can physically, because you won’t have a reason to later.
-Any other fun thoughts or stories?
Hmm, the most fun I have really is talking to my neighbors, who are also my colleagues, and getting to know people in my community. It can be exhausting sometimes speaking all in Portuguese and trying to remember all the small cultural things that don’t come naturally yet, but that is probably my favorite part, though I definitely have to take breaks from it and take time to myself. And, since I typically get along better with kids than adults, I am very excited for classes to start and to get to know my students, even though plenty of them will be older than I am.
