Independence Day

I've been lazy with the aulas lately. In the last week and a half, my students have played Jeopardy (for review, of course), taken a test, and sat through a few half-assed lessons with Paul's old notes. I finally sat down this morning for a few hours and wrote up some solid material about the filtration mechanisms of the respiratory system. Tomorrow, Mozambique is celebrating its Independence Day, so apparently - I learned a few minutes into my first well-planned-for lesson - the Ped canceled afternoon classes today. It didn't make much sense to me, but it was nice to have the afternoon free.

I went home and prepped my room for the beautiful piece of furniture that I ordered from a carpenter last week. While I was cleaning, Jovencio, Santos, and friend came by, borrowed Eli's drum and a water badong, and began to sing some songs they'd written. I brought out Eli's rain stick and jammed a little with them before I remembered that I have no rhythm. Integration, what? Eventually (i.e. in December), I'll post some adorable videos of Mozambican boys singing/rapping, mostly in Portuguese but occasionally in undecipherable English. One of their songs is about loving their mother, and another is a rap about the importance of education. They're so cute I want to adopt them - I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Although, Santos wants to marry me, which would make adoption a little complicated. And, I already have a 19-year-old son named Rene, who Eli and I had a parental-sized argument with the other day. He is currently being punished. Rene is my crash course in parenting; difficult yet rewarding, blah blah blah.

Tomorrow, the 25th of June, é o Dia de Independéncia de Moçambique. Long story short, the JOMA members are being trained to council students in the conto, so they haven't had much time to practice the theater piece and won't be performing. Really, it's a good thing, because it means that Eli and I don't have to suffer through the entire ceremony to act as moral support. We will show our faces for a bit and then grab a few mets of feijão nova to eat on our way home, where I will be celebrating the holiday by watching a DVD and integrating with Mozambican teenagers. Good times!