In order to maximize my PC experience, I have decided to write by flashlight tonight and pretend like I don't have electricity (except for the fan blowing on me). Actually, we just lost power a couple times, and I don't want to go through the hassle of fiddling with the light in my room.
Every day for each class, I do a mini-lesson on HIV/AIDS. Today I introduced the fact that 50% of people who have HIV got it before 25 years of age and die before they're 35 (in Mozambique). This prompted quite a few interesting and difficult questions.
I had to reinforce the issue by stating that about 42 million people worldwide have HIV and about 30 millionn of those live in sub-Saharan Africa. One girl asked me "Why do people in Africa, why do so many people, have HIV/AIDS?" All I could say was that it was because people think it doesn't exist, that they can't get it, and they don't use condoms. I ended up saying that I really didn't know, when it became obvious she was trying to look at the big picture: what makes Africa so different? I have even less of an answer for that now than I did before I left the States.
In another class, one student said that his girlfriend didn't want to use a condom. I could only answer that it's possible she's had sex before or while he's been with her - (f--- we just lost electricity again) - and then reiterated the stat about 20% of Mozambicans having HIV or AIDS, and so there's a 1 in 5 chance that someone else she's slept with has HIV. And, ultimately, that he needs to talk with her about this.
Another question was about how a condom protects against HIV infection. I thought it was great that this was brought up in a Bio class, but it raised a whole new set of questions for me - how much good is it doing, preaching condom use, when they don't know how it helps? I think my next mini-lesson will address that and the other questions - the students really seem to take these to heart and see the lesson afterwards as more of a formality - which, admittedly isn't far from what I think. To me, it's more important that they are educated about AIDS and save lives than are biologically superior in their knowledge. I definitely want them to learn, but they have to be healthy and alive to complete their education. We'll see.
Peace
John
