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Time flies. Today is my last day in Mozambique.
Since 1 image is worth 1000 words, let me share 1 infographic “My Mozambique” (I tend to draw my memory of each country). In retrospect, everything boiled down to these words: Thank you (Obrigado) and see you soon (Até já). This entry is the summary of my Mozambique, where I spent 2 years until July 2024.
- Before Japan: I decided to take one more stop before returning from Denmark to Japan.
- My expectation about Mozambique: lean and adapt to Japanese way, improve my self-taught Portuguese and learn Mozambican food (many people who knew Africa talked about it).
- My main activities: I was involved with JICA work, life skill education project, advisory task for the ministry of education, while preparing for the next move. Particularly, a series of training for the ministry staff (GAVI) and pilot project on life skill / SEL (ProHaVida) were my highlights.
- Travel: It is one of my core values, and I could travel in/outside the country.
- Side activities: I also had a chance to work with Tsukuba University (lecturer), WWF (consultant), World Education (consultant)
- Publications: I could also publish 1 book (my book) and 3 picture books (supervision).
- Learning highlights
- Portuguese language: 3 months after I moved to Mozambique (Portuguese speaking country), I decided to stretch myself to take C1 test (5th out of 6 levels) and somehow passed (see the detail “Story and tips for passing Portuguese Exam CAPLE C1 level”). I also started learning Korean.
- Cooking: While I was in / outside the country, I asked friends and restaurant owners to teach me how to cook their dishes. Most people agreed to introduce their own culture / foods. This included Mozambique, Brazil, Portugal, India, Spain, El Salvador, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Korean, Dominican Republic, Chinese, Madagascar, etc. For example, when I went to South Africa (Cape town), I found a Nigerian restaurant, and asked to teach me their dishes even though I was there with my family for only a few days. Whenever I could, I took cooking classes.
- Growth with my kid: I joined the marathon with baby stroller and grew with my daughter
- Soft skills: I also prioritized to improve facilitation skill, writing and caring people
As is shown in the bottom of the drawing, I could manage to learn these thanks to the support from others, including family, friends and colleagues.
I learned a lot from Mozambique, and I will keep telling stories from this diverse country (in a single country there are more than 40 local languages, including 19 used in the education system).
I will go back to Japan after 18 years of being away to promote diversity and holistic learning, which includes opening “Global Learning Center” If you are interested, please check the link and follow the journey so that we can continue our connection as a global learner community:
https://linktr.ee/3lmiel?utm_source=qr_code
Having lived in this diverse country before returning to Japan was definitely one of the best choices.
Learning of this time
Even though moving to Mozambique was initially a stepping stone before going back to Japan for a next chapter, I could learn so many things to move forward.
Thank you for reading this article. Have a great learning!
MD