Classes begin here early. The first bell rings at 7 a.m. and, rising in a cloudless sky, the blazing sun is getting ready for another hot day's work. It's the start of the week and I have classes from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. As I walk past the rows of classrooms, through whose broken windows I can glimpse on the horizon the turquoise ocean beyond the tops of swaying palm trees, I smile and easily shake off any remnants of traditional 'Monday morning blues'.

I am working through V. S. 0. (Voluntary Service Overseas), as a volunteer English teacher and teacher trainer at the Escola Secundaria de Pemba. Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado in the north of Mozambique, is a small, sleepy town. It is beautifully located on the tip of the world's third largest natural harbour, with its sweeping circular bay to the left of town and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean to the right. The main town centre has few streets with banks and shops and residential areas, and the tallest building is an impressive 7 storeys high. Surrounding this concrete nucleus are the many bairros which, when viewed from the plane as it descends low over the bay and approaches the runway on the far edge of town, appear to be symmetrically laid out in a grid system of dirt roads and paths that stretch down to the sea. I sometimes have to remind myself how lucky I am to be living and working here.

The job itself involves two main tasks: I teach English to students in grades 11 and 12, and the other 50% of the time is devoted to helping and providing support to the Provincial English Adviser, who is part of a Ministry of Education national project designed to improve the quality of English language teaching throughout the country. This work consists of the setting up and management of a Provincial English Resource Centre, here in the school, and planning and delivering in-service training activities (through seminars and workshops) for all teachers of English in the province.

In the 10 months that I have been here, I have found the teaching and teacher training thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding. Naturally, there have been the occasional obstacles and frustrations to overcome, such as general communication problems, getting transport to visit teachers out in the remote districts and accepting the length of time it takes to get anything done! There are difficult circumstances and somewhat harsh conditions in which all teachers here have to work. For example, there are no textbooks for grades 11 and 12, there is a general lack of materials and resources for all subjects, even desks, chairs and chalk are in short supply and classes with over 40 students of mixed abilities are the rule not the exception. Yet I am constantly amazed at how competent and motivated some students are and at the teachers who are enthusiastic when participating in the activities which, for some of them, are their first real training opportunities. Of course, there is still a long way to go but I didn't come here expecting to work miracles.

From 1993 to 1997 I taught English in a private language school in Oporto, in the north of Portugal. Before that, I had taught English in Brazil and Egypt. Although I still enjoyed teaching (well, most of the time!), I began to feel I needed a fresh challenge and perhaps even a new direction. I had heard about V. S. 0. and decided to find out more about this organisation. I learned that its main philosophy is to send people, volunteers, who work alongside other people in poorer countries in order to share skills and knowledge and help promote self-reliance. I believed I had something positive to offer and when I saw a V. S. 0. advertisement in the Portuguese press asking for English teachers to work in Mozambique, I immediately sent off for an application form, quickly completed and returned it to V. S. 0. in London.

After my application form had been processed and references received, I was invited to attend a selection day at V. S. 0. offices in London. This consisted of a private interview and various group discussions and activities together with an opportunity to talk to other prospective volunteers. Within 15 days I was informed that my application had been successful. I was then assigned to a Postings Office in order to match my application to a suitable postings overseas. My Postings Officer kept me informed of any developments and was always helpful if I had any doubts or queries. Finally, I was offered this job in Pemba and, without much hesitation, duly accepted.

There then followed several training sessions at Harbourne Hall, V. S. 0.'~ training centre outside Birmingham. Some sessions were general, such as the Health workshop, which addressed the important health concerns when working overseas, and others were specifically related to work. V. S. 0. aims to provide the necessary training and support before sending volunteers to their placements overseas. The courses are designed to begin to prepare volunteers for the changes and difficulties they will face in both their professional and personal lives. When I arrived in Maputo in September 1997, along with the other new volunteers for Mozambique, we received a further 5 weeks of in-country training (talks on country-specific issues such as culture, history, medical concerns, expectations and the role of the volunteer, etc.). Looking back now, I would say I received all the help and support I needed to prepare me for what is certainly a challenging, fulfilling and positive learning experience: working as a volunteer overseas . . .

It's Friday afternoon and everyone has that weekend feeling. A group of 30 or so happy students, some more confident than others in English, are contributing to our weekly 'English Club' session. Today, we're writing a co-operative story based on my feeble attempts at stick drawings on the blackboard. When we're ready, we will try to act out our stories with some dialogue, which always seems to amuse everyone. Finally, we'll end with a song, another Bob Marley tune like last week and once again, I imagine, we'll all want to stand up and sing it together.