A young Chinese teacher is spreading his country's language and culture on a remote island in Mozambique.
"14-thouand people live on this island and I'm the one-and-only Chinese person. I think my Chinese is getting rusty." My Chinese speaking ability is degrading.
29-year-old Chen Huan is a teacher with the Confucius Institute in Mozambique.
He's working at a school on the Island of Mozambique, a small islet that is one square kilometer in size and over two thousand kilometers away from the Mozambican capital, Maputo.
Chen is not just the only Chinese teacher at the school, but also the only Chinese national on the remote island.
He says life on the island is harder than what he expected and he has to deal with a lot of challenges.
"This is the first time I came to a country where its Language is totally new to me. Local people speak Portuguese, about which I know nothing. I didn't even know how to greet people. So I had to learn Portuguese. It's not easy."
Mozambique Island is relatively isolated. It's linked to the mainland with a 3 kilometer one-way bridge. It is 200 kilometers away from Nampula, capital of Nampula Province. Basic commodities can be hard to find. Power outages are frequent and it's not easy to gain access to drinking water.
Chen Huan says living conditions on the island are challenging.
"There's no tap water at my house. I have to grab water from the water tank downstairs. This place suffers from electricity blackout a lot. And the internet is also not stable. Food on the island is also limited. I don't have much a choice. I barely get a chance to eat meat in one month."
Despite the challenges, Chen says he's getting used to the living conditions here and getting more fun from the job he's engaged in.
He says working on the island has given him a different perspective.
"It's very special. I couldn't stay in Africa for such a long time without working here. Traveling in Africa and living here are two different concepts. Now I think I can have an objective idea on the African continent."
