Why a good language instructor is key to really get a culture

Our first professor, Arsénio,
during a CouchSurfing event

Two years ago, when we first saw a position in Mozambique, we didn't know much about the country. A little bit more than a year later, when we first set foot in Maputo, after consulting many encyclopedias, studying several academic articles and international development reports, and reading local websites, blogs and newspapers, we had much more information, but not necessary a full understanding of the people and customs. The only Mozambican we had met up to that point was a lovely woman who chatted with us about some basics for a couple of hours during our SKWID (Skills for Working in Development) training. And that was it.

But to live and specially work in a country, you need much more than that. At this point a good language instructor becomes essential. People think a language professor is there to tell you how to say this or that, explain some grammar rules, and correct your mistakes. And to be honest, that was what many language instructors were doing in Mozambique. But a good language instructor is, more than anything, a cultural interpreter.

Cristina, my favorite Portuguese professor
in the whole world

He or she can quickly become what in Anthropology we call a "key informant," the go-to person for anything you don't understand. Why do people behave in a certain way? What's the best way to approach this subject in this situation? Would it be correct to do this or that? A good language instructor / cultural interpreter has a good grasp of the whys and hows of their culture and can explain and answer these and million other questions about the hidden dimensions of a culture and the puzzling behaviors of its people.

We were lucky when eventually we were able to have classes with two such wonderful instructors. Arsénio had training in Linguistics and came from a very traditional style of lecturing-teaching, but had a wealth of information when it came to work relationships and communication that was eye-opening. Unfortunately, he soon left for a job abroad.


After much running around, we found Cristina Chilaule*, another wonderful professor. Not only did she have a strong work ethic, but she was able to adapt immediately to our specific needs of working professionals who needed to reach a certain communication standard quickly. More importantly, she became a window to a part of Mozambican culture we had no idea about. Because she came from a completely different background, she was able to introduce us to different aspects of the local culture and give us invaluable insights into everyday life. She even managed to teach Fadi some grammar, a never-before achieved feat! (Fadi learns languages by osmosis and had so far done without any grammar).

Definitely, a highlight of our time in Mozambique.


*If you happen to be in Maputo and in need of a Portuguese professor, contact her at chilaulecristina@gmail.com

Graduación en el kinder: el futuro de Mozambique se ve prometedor en los ojos de estos chiquis

Quería compartir estas fotos de la ceremonia de graduación, porque las encontré fantásticas.

Me parece que hablan de la energía, esperanza y potencial que se respira alrededor de los niñitos mozambicanos que comenté hace unas semanas.

No digo nada más, las fotos creo que son más que suficientes.

Fotos sacadas por Boaventura Nguenha, miembro de la Asociación Cultural Bonga Mbilo.

Si quieren saber más de como apoyar la educación de estos pequeños, lean acá.

Paseo a la biblioteca y club de inglés

No sorprende que en un país con alrededor de 50% de analfabetismo (hasta hace no tanto rondaba el 95%) y un acceso a internet que alcanza apenas un 4-5% de la población, el tema  libros y lectura deje mucho que desear. Hay pocos libros y son caros. En lenguas nativas, para niños chicos, o escrito por mozambicanos no hay casi nada. La lectura no es un hábito popular y a cualquier nivel se nota las carencias en lectura, escritura y comprensión de lo escrito.
 

Es un poco la historia del huevo y la gallina: no hay libros porque no hay lectores y no hay lectores porque no hay libros. Considerando el tema de forma más amplia, se ve enseguida que las carencias va más allá de los libros: la producción, diseminación y acceso a la información es una barrera a todo nivel.

Cuando los dos aspectos se combinan, lleva a que las pocas bibliotecas y servicios culturales que sí existen (en general gracias a centros culturales de varios países) y que están a disposición de los mozambicanos estén sub-utilizados porque la mayoría no se entera de su existencia. Como saben los que me conocen, cosa que me da fiebre es el desperdicio. Ergo, tenía que hacer algo.


Para empezar invité a mi querido grupo de Bonga Mbilo a una visita guiada al Centro Cultural Ameriano de Maputo y la biblioteca Marthin Luther King, ya que había tenido tan buena experiencia con ellos (con el taller de escritores y el panel de Fulbright). Allí, además de biblioteca y sala de computación, tienen un club de inglés, de debate, clases de informática, muestra y discusión de películas, talleres—todo gratis (se puede ver el calendario de eventos acá). ¿Cómo no aprovechar?

Asistimos a una de las clases de conversación que se dan cuatro veces por semana de nivel básico a avanzado. El día que fuimos la conversación era sobre géneros literarios de ficción y no ficción.

Observación #1: La mayoría de las veces relacionaban los géneros literarios a los géneros de películas. Una novela policial era una película de acción con polícias y ladrones. Definitivamente una cultura de lo audiovisual.

Observación #2: De los más o menos 30 participantes, sólo 2 eran mujeres. Sin comentario.

Observación #3: Además de tener la posibilidad de interactuar y oír a un hablante nativo, aprenden sobre diversos temas y otras culturas. Y por lo que ví ese día, a veces resulta en discusiones muy interesantes. Como cuando llegaron al género “Gay and Lesbian”. Hubiera estado para grabarlo...

Después de la clase subimos a la biblioteca, paraisito cómodo y acogedor, con libros de referencia, atlas, mapas, novelas, textos de estudio, revistas, diarios, DVDs. La mayoría en inglés, pero también algunos en portugués. Sacaron todos la tarjeta de la biblioteca en unos pocos minutos y después de escoger algunos libros marchamos—tras prometerme que volverían a las clases y a usar la biblioteca.


En muchas aspectos Mozambique me recuerda al Uruguay de hace 20 y tantos años. En los tiempos despuecito del fin de la dictadura, cuando en la Biblioteca Nacional no había ningún libro posterior a 1970, si le habré sacado el jugo yo a la Biblioteca Artigas-Washington de la Alianza Cultural Uruguay-Estados Unidos, a la biblioteca del Goethe Institut y varias otras. Y no hay razón para que habiendo posibilidades similares acá, los jóvenes no le puedan sacar el jugo simplemente porque no se enteran.

Full Circle Fulbright

Fifteen years ago I was at the Centro Cultural Artigas-Washington in Montevideo being interviewed for a Fulbright Scholarship. Today, I’m at the Centro Cultural of the U.S. Embassy in Maputo interviewing Mozambican applicants to the Fulbright Scholarship. Coming full circle.

As a former Fulbright Scholarship recipient, I was invited to be part of the panel, together with U.S. and Mozambican staff and other parties. I thought it was a nice wrapping up to these last 15 years that started with that scholarship to do a master’s degree in the United States, followed by a Ph.D., and which finally took me to working in Mozambique. So, obviously, I accepted.

The process itself entailed quite a bit of work: going through all the lengthy application forms (brought back memories!), rating and evaluating, followed by 3 full days of interviews and more discussing, rating and evaluating.

About 20 applicants had made it to this final stage, about half of them women. Most of the applicants were going for an M.A., a couple of them for a Ph.D. Disciplines? Health, agriculture, urban planning, engineering, teaching, finances, a really wide spectrum. In all other aspects they also varied enormously, which was nice to see.

We all enjoyed meeting such motivated young women and men, some definitely amazing in their will and perseverance to study under extremely difficult circumstances. Listening to their “why” they wanted to continue studying, a theme soon became common: they had done their undergraduate studies and gone to work. Then, while working in the government, or NGOs, or companies, they had identified problems that needed to be solved but nobody knew how to. They wanted to continue studying to learn how to solve those problems—everything a new country needs to sort out in order to grow.

As the only one who had gone to the U.S. with the Fulbright Scholarship, I was able to answer some of their questions and doubts about “being there” as a foreigner. It was easy to picture who would have no problems pursuing a graduate degree while living in a completely different culture and who would struggle. But everyone in the panel brought their own unique perspective to the evaluation, considering some points over others and not always agreeing on what was more important. That diversity in the panel was just what was needed to provide a more equitable evaluation of the applicants.

I don’t know who ended up being selected for the final cut, nor how many. From those chosen in Mozambique, only a few were going to be selected to finally go to the U.S. to study. I know is not as many as they would deserve it, or that at least I would have liked to send. I’m very curious though to find out who made it, and more so, what will they be doing 15 years from now. And I hope the ones who didn’t make it this time, keep on trying. Mozambique would be better for it.

Writers, journalists, editors, poets, and translators

Sometimes paradise comes under the most unexpected guises. For example, a workshop with a panel of American writers, poets, journalists, editors, and translators.

Invited by the Cultural Center of the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, a group of five writers from the University of Iowa presented a series of workshops talking about what they do, why they do it, how they do it.

The audience, mostly young journalist students from Mozambique, were hungry for information and seemed eager to know more about the craft, the process, the career, the challenges. The writers were fun, honest, approachable and down to earth. Not to mention engaging and interesting. The flow of the conversation, though carried in two languages, was kept at a good pace by a very skilled interpreter and some of the participants who were bilingual. What else
can one ask?

Mozambican poets and writers also had the chance to present their work. The following day, there was more time for discussions during the presentation at the Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos (Mozambican Writers Association). I felt fortunate to be able to fully understand the nuances of both languages and had a great time observing the coming together of these very different cultures.

You can play 'Where is Waldo' and try to find me in this photo.

Plus, in a weird way, I felt at home. It was only during these presentations that I realized how much had I been missing my readings, my writing groups, my “real” work, books, meetings with colleagues, my libraries (Oh, VPL, if you only knew how much you mean to me!). Next obvious step, was to raid the bookcases of my friends here. Picky-ness out of the window due to lack of choice, I've been reading some *interesting* stuff.


But at least I won’t read-starve.