This week I started tutoring for a 3rd grader who attends a local private school here. His mom works at Chumbageni, and asked if I could help him learn English.
For a 3rd grader, I was pretty impressed by Emanuel’s abilities. I found out later that the school he attends is taught entirely in English (unlike most of the other private schools here) which explains why his English is so advanced. However, he is still incredibly smart, composed and conversant in English. After two days of working out of his school’s exercise books, it became clear that the material that he is using is too easy for him.
Emanuel told me that he really likes to read story books, so in an attempt to help him with the language I downloaded an illustrated version of "My Father’s Dragon" onto my Kindle. We took turns reading the first two chapters during the tutoring session, and had a few discussions about what we were reading, and some new vocabulary that we came across together.
After the session, I heard him tell his mom he really liked the book. I had a feeling that he might not be able to wait the entire weekend to keep reading, so I had already come up with a plan for him to keep reading. Emanuel’s home is right on the way to my soccer practice every day. I have it perfectly timed that I jump from one activity to the next, but am always a little concerned that my stuff might be stolen from the sideline when I am practicing. I definitely didn’t want to risk having my Kindle stolen, so I asked Emanuel if he wanted to read the book while I was at practice, and then I’d come to collect it on my way back home for my own tutoring session.
After picking up the Kindle from his apartment, Emanuel decided to walk me home. He was so excited to tell me about everything that he had read in the book, and was on quite a roll in both English and Kiswahili (he doesn’t quite know that I don’t speak Swahili). He didn’t have time to finish his explanation by the time we got home, but he seemed like he had really enjoyed reading the book and managed to get a lot out of it.
When I was crawling into bed later that night to read my own book, I turned on the kindle to find a screen with a picture of the dragon and only two words…..THE END……No wonder he didn’t have enough time to finish telling me about the story.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Shopping for Soccer Stuff
I have a soccer game tomorrow and am very much looking forward to playing with the Veteran Team. The only problem is that I have no equipment, since I stupidly decided at the last minute to leave it all at home.
Not to worry, though! I told my host-brother my predicament and he took me into town to get what I needed. First we went to a small store with everything from toenail clippers to cookware to get shin guards and soccer socks. The shin guards all have the logos of teams from the European leagues. Unfortunately Chelsea was not an option, so I settled for Manchester United shin guards. I also don’t know what color our uniforms are so I had trouble picking out socks. I was going to go with white until I remembered that my host mom has a fit every time I come home filthy, so I decided to go with a dark blue instead.
Next stop: a second-hand store to find a pair of cleats. Unfortunately I was gifted with the smallest adult feet that anyone seems to have ever seen before….so I had to settle for a size 7.5 pair of cleats instead of my usual 5.5 or 6. I doubt that the extra wiggle room will do anything to help my current blister situation, but a tissue stuffing party might just do the trick.
Grand total? 38,000 Tanzanian Shillings.
Not to worry, though! I told my host-brother my predicament and he took me into town to get what I needed. First we went to a small store with everything from toenail clippers to cookware to get shin guards and soccer socks. The shin guards all have the logos of teams from the European leagues. Unfortunately Chelsea was not an option, so I settled for Manchester United shin guards. I also don’t know what color our uniforms are so I had trouble picking out socks. I was going to go with white until I remembered that my host mom has a fit every time I come home filthy, so I decided to go with a dark blue instead.
Next stop: a second-hand store to find a pair of cleats. Unfortunately I was gifted with the smallest adult feet that anyone seems to have ever seen before….so I had to settle for a size 7.5 pair of cleats instead of my usual 5.5 or 6. I doubt that the extra wiggle room will do anything to help my current blister situation, but a tissue stuffing party might just do the trick.
Grand total? 38,000 Tanzanian Shillings.
Times Tables
While drinking mid-morning tea with a few of the teachers on Friday, one of them asked me to show a few students how to do long division. I asked her how to say “times” and “divided by” in Kiswahili, and then I got to work.
It quickly became clear to me that the five kids who were looking on did not know their multiplication tables, making it very hard to do long division. I decided to go back to the basics with them, and drew up a 10 x 10 grid and started randomly filling in the times tables with them. What’s 7x7? 8x3? 6x4? The two students standing next to me were struggling to answer the questions, while one of the students in the back was shouting out the answers without any problem.
I soon learned that he was reading the multiplication chart that every student has on the back of his or her exercise books. From their perspective, why should they memorize their multiplication tables when they always have such easy access to the answers?
I decided to ditch the long division and get back to learning the times tables through rote memorization. I started with the 9s, using a hand trick that a good friend of mine taught me, and then went on to tackle the 7s times tables through rote memorization. We didn’t get too far before school was over, but I hope to follow up with them on Monday.
It quickly became clear to me that the five kids who were looking on did not know their multiplication tables, making it very hard to do long division. I decided to go back to the basics with them, and drew up a 10 x 10 grid and started randomly filling in the times tables with them. What’s 7x7? 8x3? 6x4? The two students standing next to me were struggling to answer the questions, while one of the students in the back was shouting out the answers without any problem.
I soon learned that he was reading the multiplication chart that every student has on the back of his or her exercise books. From their perspective, why should they memorize their multiplication tables when they always have such easy access to the answers?
I decided to ditch the long division and get back to learning the times tables through rote memorization. I started with the 9s, using a hand trick that a good friend of mine taught me, and then went on to tackle the 7s times tables through rote memorization. We didn’t get too far before school was over, but I hope to follow up with them on Monday.
Mr. Mighty Kileo
This week I got to meet the man initially responsible for setting up the CHUMS Partnership, Mr. Mighty Kileo. While he only had time for a short visit to Chumbageni this week, it was interesting to hear about his vision for intercontinental partnerships. He told me that he originally intended to expand to other countries as well, but switched to a different school before this was possible.
Mr. Kileo also invited me to visit his new school this past Friday. However, due to a scheduling conflict, he was not available when I arrived. I will likely go back to the school next week when he has more time, but it was very interesting to see another primary school in Tanga. A lot is the same: the uniforms, the teachers sitting at tables outside grading exercise books, the teachers-in-training wearing maroon trousers, the classrooms, and the general environment. Interestingly, however, this school is placed right next to one of the biggest high-security prisons in Tanzania, which is not something I’d ever imagine seeing back home. More to follow next week when I actually get an official tour of the school…
Mr. Kileo also invited me to visit his new school this past Friday. However, due to a scheduling conflict, he was not available when I arrived. I will likely go back to the school next week when he has more time, but it was very interesting to see another primary school in Tanga. A lot is the same: the uniforms, the teachers sitting at tables outside grading exercise books, the teachers-in-training wearing maroon trousers, the classrooms, and the general environment. Interestingly, however, this school is placed right next to one of the biggest high-security prisons in Tanzania, which is not something I’d ever imagine seeing back home. More to follow next week when I actually get an official tour of the school…
Thursday, March 4, 2010
No Book, No Co, No Problem!
Last night I sat down with Victoria to prepare a math lesson for the third grade class. The math teacher was going to be absent the next day and asked me and one of the teachers-in-training who works at the school to step in for her. I felt comfortable with the lesson - subtraction with numbers in the thousands – so I agreed.
When I arrived at school today, the teacher-in-training was nowhere to be found, nor was the workbook with the exercises in it. I sent a student to go track down my co and/or the book, but she was unsuccessful.
Here goes nothing! I couldn’t waste more time trying to find the book, leaving all 50+ kids to wait idly for me to return, so I decided to get to work. Thankfully the third graders were well behaved and listened attentively as I wrote math problems on the board. I had a few students come up to the board to read and solve the problems, and then gave them a few to solve independently. When they finished, I had them hand in their exercises for me to grade after class, and switched over to a game of hangman as we waited for the stragglers to finish up. A pretty good finish for a very shaky start!
When I arrived at school today, the teacher-in-training was nowhere to be found, nor was the workbook with the exercises in it. I sent a student to go track down my co and/or the book, but she was unsuccessful.
Here goes nothing! I couldn’t waste more time trying to find the book, leaving all 50+ kids to wait idly for me to return, so I decided to get to work. Thankfully the third graders were well behaved and listened attentively as I wrote math problems on the board. I had a few students come up to the board to read and solve the problems, and then gave them a few to solve independently. When they finished, I had them hand in their exercises for me to grade after class, and switched over to a game of hangman as we waited for the stragglers to finish up. A pretty good finish for a very shaky start!
Babu Ali
One of my little friends at Chumbageni is named Babu, which means “grandfather” in Kiswahili. I didn’t recognize him when he showed up at soccer practice yesterday because he was wearing traditional Muslim attire instead of his school uniform. He also had a workbook with him written entirely in Arabic. He read a few pages to me, and I was very impressed! If only he could read as well in Swahili!
Many kids had these books with them at the game, so I assume that they are all attending the equivalent of Hebrew School or Sunday School, but I’ll have to ask more about this. I apparently forgot that the students all have lives outside of school, making it so refreshing to get a small snapshot of what they do after the bell rings.
Many kids had these books with them at the game, so I assume that they are all attending the equivalent of Hebrew School or Sunday School, but I’ll have to ask more about this. I apparently forgot that the students all have lives outside of school, making it so refreshing to get a small snapshot of what they do after the bell rings.
Proper Matches
While my foot blister kept me from playing soccer yesterday, it couldn’t keep me from showing up to watch. I started chatting with some of the players on the sideline and I figured out that these guys don’t just play pickup games every day for fun – they are practicing for their weekly Sunday games. No wonder there are such intense warm-ups and cool-downs! I guess I need to track down some shin guards and cleats for this weekend…
A Handful
Last night after tutoring I sat down to eat dinner by myself. Everyone else was either out of the house or had already eaten, so I sat down and helped myself. Usually there is a fork and knife sitting at my plate, but today there were none. I thought about getting up to go find one, but decided against it. I wanted to try eating like everyone else: with my hands.
I am very glad I decided to do this without company, because it took some practice to get all of the rice into my mouth in one go. One handed eating is also the norm, although two is acceptable, so I gave that a try too. A good bit of my food ended up in the sink as I was washing up, but it was definitely a fun test run.
I am very glad I decided to do this without company, because it took some practice to get all of the rice into my mouth in one go. One handed eating is also the norm, although two is acceptable, so I gave that a try too. A good bit of my food ended up in the sink as I was washing up, but it was definitely a fun test run.
Monkey Business
At Pangani this past weekend I saw a cat-like animal sprint behind a building. I went to check it out, a little suspicious of the length of its tail, and figured out it was a monkey! I had my camera in my hand, but unfortunately he scampered off when I reached for it. I figured if there’s one monkey, there are probably two…so I started scanning the trees. Giving up my search, I turned around to walk away and there, three feet above my head, was a monkey! He had probably making bunny ears behind my head while I was looking for more monkeys, but when I raised my camera to snap his picture he was gone!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
No, You!
Occasionally when a kid is taking themselves too seriously, I feel the need to stick my tongue out at them or make a funny face. Today, a kid stuck their hand out towards me and made a strange grabbing motion by clenching her fist. I thought she was just starting the game up herself, so we exchanged this gesture back and forth a few times. It wasn’t until later that I remembered reading in one of my books on Tanzanian culture that their gesture for “come here” is an upside-down version of the one I am used to. Apparently I had been engaging in a competition of: You come here! No, You come here! No, You come here!.......I hope she didn’t need me too badly!
Good Morning Boy
While playing on the roof on Sunday, my 3 year old neighbor across the street couldn’t help but scream and wave, “Good Morning!” at me, once every thirty to forty seconds. After we finished playing, I walked over to his house and gave him a small ball to play with. After about five minutes of playing catch, we had a crowd of at least ten other children to join us, and my little friend couldn’t have been more excited when I told him that the ball was his to keep.
Art
Sanaa. Art. Not my best subject. At least my Kindergarten-level drawing abilities were not met with hysterical laughter from the students when the Kindergarten teacher asked me to draw a flower on the board for art class. Her reaction, of course, was a different matter.
Twiga, Twiga, Simba
The Kindergarten teacher loves to put me on the spot by asking me to teach the kids new songs or games with little to no warning. While I have exhausted all of my Kindergarten level songs, I still had Duck, Duck, Goose! up my sleeve when she asked me to teach the kids something new.
Since the Swahili language does not have words to differentiate airplanes from birds, I figured that the subcategories of birds that are necessary in understanding this game may not make for the easiest explanation.
I decided, instead, to make a more Swahili and geographically appropriate game by renaming it “Twiga, Twiga, Simba!” or “Giraffe, Giraffe, Lion!” We moved all of the desks to the sides of the room and made a huge circle of 58 students. The stew pot was also a bit hard to explain, so we just tossed them all into the middle if they got tagged on their ½ mile run back to their safe seat.
Since the Swahili language does not have words to differentiate airplanes from birds, I figured that the subcategories of birds that are necessary in understanding this game may not make for the easiest explanation.
I decided, instead, to make a more Swahili and geographically appropriate game by renaming it “Twiga, Twiga, Simba!” or “Giraffe, Giraffe, Lion!” We moved all of the desks to the sides of the room and made a huge circle of 58 students. The stew pot was also a bit hard to explain, so we just tossed them all into the middle if they got tagged on their ½ mile run back to their safe seat.
Perfect Pineapples
When we still had a car to drive to school with, we used to stop at a pineapple stand on the side of the road on our way home after school. Victoria is very good about introducing me to everyone, so when she was excitedly pointing, “Look at the twins!” I would never have guessed she was talking about the conjoined pineapples that are featured in the slideshow above.
On the same pineappley note, the first day I arrived I saw Victoria peeling a pineapple like an apple. This inevitably left many little brown eyes behind, which she spent a good twenty minutes carving out with the tip of her knife. Hesitant to correct the African community on their pineapple pealing methods but confident in my dad’s tried and true pineapple cutting methods, I offered to show her a way to cut the pineapple without leaving behind the eyes. I cut off the ends, sliced it into quarters, and then sliced the meat away from the skin before cutting each pineapple log into perfect fan-like pieces. Problem solved. Victoria was so impressed that she has been informing all of her friends about the way Americans like to cut their pineapples.
On the same pineappley note, the first day I arrived I saw Victoria peeling a pineapple like an apple. This inevitably left many little brown eyes behind, which she spent a good twenty minutes carving out with the tip of her knife. Hesitant to correct the African community on their pineapple pealing methods but confident in my dad’s tried and true pineapple cutting methods, I offered to show her a way to cut the pineapple without leaving behind the eyes. I cut off the ends, sliced it into quarters, and then sliced the meat away from the skin before cutting each pineapple log into perfect fan-like pieces. Problem solved. Victoria was so impressed that she has been informing all of her friends about the way Americans like to cut their pineapples.
Basketball Hoops - Discontinued
The day after the basketball hoops were put up, I went to go see how they had set in the concrete. Strangely, there were no hoops. As it turns out, someone stole them that very night.
The teacher at the school who warned me that this would happen gave me a very big I told you so smile before informing me that the night guard had caught the man in the act, and took the rings back to the office. We are now going to work on a plan to install temporary hoops that can be taken down each night and locked up in the office.
The teacher at the school who warned me that this would happen gave me a very big I told you so smile before informing me that the night guard had caught the man in the act, and took the rings back to the office. We are now going to work on a plan to install temporary hoops that can be taken down each night and locked up in the office.
La Vida Loca
My older host brother, James, pointed out a popular club in town today as we drove by. Not only was he unaware that its name was Spanish in origin, but he also found it hilarious when I told him that it means “The Crazy Life.”
The Birds
The housekeeper's two year old daughter and I were sitting on the couch the other day, when all of a sudden a very loud bird started squawking at us through the roof. We looked up, saw nothing, and went back to business. A few minutes later, it did it again – it sounded like the birds at my house in Annapolis that get stuck in the vents. The little girl started squawking right back at the bird, which seemed to be squawking at a more frequent pace now. I joined in the fun, and we had a great time laughing while imitating our new bird friend.
That night I heard the bird again and my host brother said, “I’ll get it.” I didn’t know what he meant until he told me someone was at the gate. I guess that’s just our new alarm system chirping!
That night I heard the bird again and my host brother said, “I’ll get it.” I didn’t know what he meant until he told me someone was at the gate. I guess that’s just our new alarm system chirping!
Drawing the Line
Every day the students arrive with their exercise books and a pencil. However, there is no red line down the side to indent the paper in most of the books, so every day the students line up to have the teacher draw a straight line down the sides of their paper before they start writing.
The teacher asked me to do this for the kids, which was fine except for the fact that I wasn’t sure exactly how far from the spine it was supposed to go, and how perfectly straight it needed to be (every second counts when you are trying to put lines in the exercise books of over 60 kids). Furthermore, multiple students came up to me with an exercise book that already had a pink line down the edge. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the books….so I just copied over that same line with my pen and they all seemed ecstatic at the improvement. Whatever floats your boat I guess.
The teacher asked me to do this for the kids, which was fine except for the fact that I wasn’t sure exactly how far from the spine it was supposed to go, and how perfectly straight it needed to be (every second counts when you are trying to put lines in the exercise books of over 60 kids). Furthermore, multiple students came up to me with an exercise book that already had a pink line down the edge. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the books….so I just copied over that same line with my pen and they all seemed ecstatic at the improvement. Whatever floats your boat I guess.
Moving Up
After one fantastic month with the Kindergarten class at Chumbageni, I have decided that I want to experience other classrooms, students, teachers, etc. I have asked to spend a week with each of the grades (this week 1st grade, next week 2nd etc.) which should take me to about the end of my stay here.
I have so far had a great time working with the 1st grade students, and recognize some friendly faces from tutoring in the afternoon. There is lots of singing, and counting soda bottle caps, and practicing handwriting…..and I even understand most of the teacher’s instructions when she is talking to the kids!
I have so far had a great time working with the 1st grade students, and recognize some friendly faces from tutoring in the afternoon. There is lots of singing, and counting soda bottle caps, and practicing handwriting…..and I even understand most of the teacher’s instructions when she is talking to the kids!
Blistering Feet in Blistering Heat
On Sunday I agreed to play soccer on the roof of our house. Everyone was playing barefoot….and in an effort to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes I decided to do the same.
Of course, within 5 minutes of play had four lovely blisters: two on my big toes, and two on the balls of my feet. I wasn’t upset about it though, because I haven’t had too many chances to play soccer since I’ve been here, and I had a great time.
The following day at school, I found out that Deborah had arranged for me to play soccer at the school at 5:00 that day. Apparently every day around five o’clock, the local men (around age 20 - 50) come to play at the school. There are two teams, the “veterans” (i.e. the old guys) and the youth team.
When I showed up to play, I was put with the veteran team, which unfortunately meant I had to play AGAINST the young, fast, talented soccer players on the other team. I played right fullback and did my very best not to make a fool out of myself. Although every time I got the ball in the tall grass with players rushing towards me, the best I was able to do was kick the ball up the field to a player who I could only hope was on my team, which worked out about 60% of the time.
More interesting than the game itself, however, were the spectators. People of all ages came out to watch the game – or more specifically, to watch me. Those who didn’t know me were calling out “mzungu” and my students were screaming “Chelsea!” or “Madam!” My favorite, of course, were the group of students yelling, “Good Morning!” at me at 5:30 in the evening.
Unfortunately my blisters from playing barefooted soccer over the weekend opened up, causing my host family to be very concerned and threatening that I couldn’t go to school the next day for fear of getting it infected. I gave in on not playing soccer today, but I certainly don’t want to sit at home all day just because I have a blister on my foot! Although I do need to catch up on my blog…..
Of course, within 5 minutes of play had four lovely blisters: two on my big toes, and two on the balls of my feet. I wasn’t upset about it though, because I haven’t had too many chances to play soccer since I’ve been here, and I had a great time.
The following day at school, I found out that Deborah had arranged for me to play soccer at the school at 5:00 that day. Apparently every day around five o’clock, the local men (around age 20 - 50) come to play at the school. There are two teams, the “veterans” (i.e. the old guys) and the youth team.
When I showed up to play, I was put with the veteran team, which unfortunately meant I had to play AGAINST the young, fast, talented soccer players on the other team. I played right fullback and did my very best not to make a fool out of myself. Although every time I got the ball in the tall grass with players rushing towards me, the best I was able to do was kick the ball up the field to a player who I could only hope was on my team, which worked out about 60% of the time.
More interesting than the game itself, however, were the spectators. People of all ages came out to watch the game – or more specifically, to watch me. Those who didn’t know me were calling out “mzungu” and my students were screaming “Chelsea!” or “Madam!” My favorite, of course, were the group of students yelling, “Good Morning!” at me at 5:30 in the evening.
Unfortunately my blisters from playing barefooted soccer over the weekend opened up, causing my host family to be very concerned and threatening that I couldn’t go to school the next day for fear of getting it infected. I gave in on not playing soccer today, but I certainly don’t want to sit at home all day just because I have a blister on my foot! Although I do need to catch up on my blog…..
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Pre-Church Troubles
After a full day of fun in the sun, I went to sleep early last night and, for once, didn’t set an alarm. At 9:30am I woke up, turned off the AC, and switched to the fan. Within five minutes, the power went out and a series of bangs started going off that almost shook the house. A little frightened, I went outside to determine the source of the noise…..discovering, with relief, that it was just thunder (but impressive thunder at that).
My host brother James reassured me, and then told me he had a surprise to show me. I closed my eyes as he led me outside….only to open them and see Victoria’s car smashed into the guard rail in front of where she parks her car….totally mangled.
Apparently on her way to Church this morning, her three point turn out of the driveway went wildly wrong. I briefly entertained the idea that Toyota’s recent news popularity might have had something to do with it…..but it seems that her description is more reflective of panicking than anything else. Anyway, she felt horrible about it and was quite shaken up….the fact that the driveway is about three feet above the garden below makes it quite a relief that the guardrail kept her from going over the edge.
My host father was apparently took it all quite well. He has full insurance on the car, so he just took a deep breath and went to church….deciding not to make a big deal out of the situation. When he got back, he poked his head in the room to say good morning, and told me he was going to disappear for a few hours.
Apparently, the insurance company requires a police report to file a claim. The police department, however, is quite corrupt. If my host mom and her son are there, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. But if Godfrey were to stick around….their palms would most likely require some grease.
Of course, two hours later my host brother ran into the house looking for his mom’s wallet. I wonder what that was about….
My host brother James reassured me, and then told me he had a surprise to show me. I closed my eyes as he led me outside….only to open them and see Victoria’s car smashed into the guard rail in front of where she parks her car….totally mangled.
Apparently on her way to Church this morning, her three point turn out of the driveway went wildly wrong. I briefly entertained the idea that Toyota’s recent news popularity might have had something to do with it…..but it seems that her description is more reflective of panicking than anything else. Anyway, she felt horrible about it and was quite shaken up….the fact that the driveway is about three feet above the garden below makes it quite a relief that the guardrail kept her from going over the edge.
My host father was apparently took it all quite well. He has full insurance on the car, so he just took a deep breath and went to church….deciding not to make a big deal out of the situation. When he got back, he poked his head in the room to say good morning, and told me he was going to disappear for a few hours.
Apparently, the insurance company requires a police report to file a claim. The police department, however, is quite corrupt. If my host mom and her son are there, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. But if Godfrey were to stick around….their palms would most likely require some grease.
Of course, two hours later my host brother ran into the house looking for his mom’s wallet. I wonder what that was about….
Post Office
My experience at the Post Office was actually quite interesting. They don’t sell any packages to put your things in, and instead send you to the stationary next door to purchase your packaging materials. The balance is also analog, making weight just a visual approximation. To send a package to the US of a weight between 0.5 and 1.0 kg, it costs 27,300 / + (TZ shillings). My package was clearly over the 1kg, but the woman just smiled and said, “it is 1kg,” so we went with that. The package is supposed to take 7 to 10 days to get there, but has already surpassed that timeframe. I was also due to receive a package from the US four days ago, but it too has yet to arrive. I knew that the 1 week arrival dates were just too good to be true, but I’d be curious to follow a package en route to its destination and take note of its journey.
Tutor
Teacher Eva is a seventy-three year old woman who is about five feet tall with piercing blue eyes and skin as dark as night. She taught in primary schools for years, but is now retired and works as a tutor for all ages helping students learn how to read and write.
Per my request for a tutor, Mwalimu Eva comes over for an hour Monday through Friday at 6:30 to help me learn Kiswahili. She was very surprised that I could read and write in Swahili (even though the alphabet is practically the same, and everything in Kiswahili is phonetic) but is thrilled to have such a capable and motivated student. We are still working to find the appropriate materials for her to teach me with, but I am very much enjoying getting to know my new teacher, and making her laugh.
Unfortunately, our daily 6:30 sessions tend to conflict with other events, and I have already had to cancel on her once. The next day, she asked Victoria if she had done something wrong or if I didn’t like her or something……but thankfully Victoria assured her that dinner at Halifa’s was very important and couldn’t be moved since he is leaving this weekend.
Per my request for a tutor, Mwalimu Eva comes over for an hour Monday through Friday at 6:30 to help me learn Kiswahili. She was very surprised that I could read and write in Swahili (even though the alphabet is practically the same, and everything in Kiswahili is phonetic) but is thrilled to have such a capable and motivated student. We are still working to find the appropriate materials for her to teach me with, but I am very much enjoying getting to know my new teacher, and making her laugh.
Unfortunately, our daily 6:30 sessions tend to conflict with other events, and I have already had to cancel on her once. The next day, she asked Victoria if she had done something wrong or if I didn’t like her or something……but thankfully Victoria assured her that dinner at Halifa’s was very important and couldn’t be moved since he is leaving this weekend.
Pangani
Yesterday, baba, kaka, na mimi (my host dad, my brother, and I) went to Pangani to swim in the Indian Ocean and relax by the beach. Historically, Pangani is an important city in Tanzania, but we were mainly going to stay at a resort for the day.
Overall, I had a great time in the beach, but going to this very nice getaway with American-style food, people to wait on you, a swimming pool, and a full bar felt very strange to me.
Also, to get to Pangani you have to drive 55 km over bumpy, dirt roads. It takes a little over an hour, but could take less than half of that if the road were paved. Also, if the road were paved, people could use the road to get to Dar es Salam in about two-thirds of the time it currently takes to get there.
Overall, I had a great time in the beach, but going to this very nice getaway with American-style food, people to wait on you, a swimming pool, and a full bar felt very strange to me.
Also, to get to Pangani you have to drive 55 km over bumpy, dirt roads. It takes a little over an hour, but could take less than half of that if the road were paved. Also, if the road were paved, people could use the road to get to Dar es Salam in about two-thirds of the time it currently takes to get there.
In America...
Surprisingly, I have not gotten a ton of questions about the US or my life at home. However, when I do, I have been finding it very difficult to provide answers that are not regionally specific. I am constantly qualifying my statements and pointing out that things are different across all of the regions of the country – especially weather, which is what I get asked about the most often. At first I thought this made sense to think of a country as one big unit with similar characteristics across it….because that is how I initially thought of Tanzania. However, even here, there are many places that have drastically different climates and weather patterns, among other things.
Basketball Game
Deborah is a teacher at Chumbageni who plays on the women’s basketball team in Tanga and came to the US last fall to learn how to set up basketball programs in Tanzania as part of a State Department program here. Fortunately, I was able to meet her and a few of her fellow Tanzanians with the Waymouth’s when she was here, and was able to meet a few of them again this past Friday.
After school at 4pm I went to the local stadium to watch a basketball game. However, both of the teams were late, and the game had been rescheduled to later. Fortunately, there was a soccer game that was just starting in the complex, so I was able to watch half of a game that I actually understand before coming over to watch the local players running drills on the basketball court.
Interestingly, all of the basketballs that I saw on the court (I counted six) were from Deborah’s trip to the United Sates. Apparently basketballs are too expensive here, and are not in great supply. Another man who is involved with creating a basketball program in the local community was talking to me about the youth team he is currently working with. He had to buy all of the kids the proper shoes, but takes them home after every practice so they don’t inevitably walk away.
Overall, the complex was very neat and covered in blue paint with Vodacom logos everywhere. There’s a soccer field, a basketball court, and an area for netball (I sport that I do not yet know very much about). The place seemed to be alive with people on a Friday afternoon, and I was told will be running programs throughout most of the weekend.
After school at 4pm I went to the local stadium to watch a basketball game. However, both of the teams were late, and the game had been rescheduled to later. Fortunately, there was a soccer game that was just starting in the complex, so I was able to watch half of a game that I actually understand before coming over to watch the local players running drills on the basketball court.
Interestingly, all of the basketballs that I saw on the court (I counted six) were from Deborah’s trip to the United Sates. Apparently basketballs are too expensive here, and are not in great supply. Another man who is involved with creating a basketball program in the local community was talking to me about the youth team he is currently working with. He had to buy all of the kids the proper shoes, but takes them home after every practice so they don’t inevitably walk away.
Overall, the complex was very neat and covered in blue paint with Vodacom logos everywhere. There’s a soccer field, a basketball court, and an area for netball (I sport that I do not yet know very much about). The place seemed to be alive with people on a Friday afternoon, and I was told will be running programs throughout most of the weekend.
Basketball Hoop
Halifa is leaving to continue his studies today, and was in a big rush on Thursday of last week to help me get the basketball hoops up. He took me to a welder at the end of the day on Thursday, and made our best guess at the dimensions. We made it exactly half an inch bigger than the largest basketball at the school.
When Skyping with my friend from school later that night, I was informed that the hoop should actually be significantly bigger than the ball itself. In fact, it’s supposed to be 18” in diameter. I was pretty bummed about this….but I cheered up when she pointed out that they’ll just get really accurate!
To compensate for my mistake, I think that we are going to set up the small hoops for grades 1 – 4 in the Kindergarten classroom that is under construction and play with the smaller basketball. I’ll go back to the welding shop with Deborah, who leads the sports programs here, and get the appropriate sized hoop for the older kids and try and set up a “proper pitch” for them.
When Skyping with my friend from school later that night, I was informed that the hoop should actually be significantly bigger than the ball itself. In fact, it’s supposed to be 18” in diameter. I was pretty bummed about this….but I cheered up when she pointed out that they’ll just get really accurate!
To compensate for my mistake, I think that we are going to set up the small hoops for grades 1 – 4 in the Kindergarten classroom that is under construction and play with the smaller basketball. I’ll go back to the welding shop with Deborah, who leads the sports programs here, and get the appropriate sized hoop for the older kids and try and set up a “proper pitch” for them.
Dinner at Halifa's
Before Halifa leaves for Lushoto to continue his studies, he invited me over to his house for dinner. My brother Gilbert “escorted” me to the dinner…which I was very grateful for since he speaks very good English and helps me when I am having trouble understanding (and gives me a hard time when I have forgotten words he has already taught me :).
Halifa has two kids and a wife. He lives in a very nice house with three other families, and is renting out certain rooms in the house. We had a very nice dinner, complete with french fries (called chips), rice, a meat dish, and a glass bottle of Fanta Orange.
Afterwards we watched a comedy show completely in Kiswahili…..that involved a host and a Scooby Doo hand puppet….and a few other things I didn’t really understand. Halifa also invited over his friend from another local school, and he asked a lot about comparisons in the weather, and how many hours there are in a day (this is where I found out about telling time based on one’s shadow).
All in all, it was a great evening…and an interesting contrast in terms of the different living situations of all of the teachers at Chumbageni.
Halifa has two kids and a wife. He lives in a very nice house with three other families, and is renting out certain rooms in the house. We had a very nice dinner, complete with french fries (called chips), rice, a meat dish, and a glass bottle of Fanta Orange.
Afterwards we watched a comedy show completely in Kiswahili…..that involved a host and a Scooby Doo hand puppet….and a few other things I didn’t really understand. Halifa also invited over his friend from another local school, and he asked a lot about comparisons in the weather, and how many hours there are in a day (this is where I found out about telling time based on one’s shadow).
All in all, it was a great evening…and an interesting contrast in terms of the different living situations of all of the teachers at Chumbageni.
Dinner on Friday
The next night, after dinner at Halifa’s I went to have dinner at the home of the 3rd grade math teacher. This woman lives on the highest level in the furthest back corner of an apartment complex. There are clothes hanging from clotheslines between the two parallel sets of apartments and open doors with American rap music blaring. From the balcony in front of her apartment we can see the school, most of the city, and the beautiful full moon that marks the start of an important Islamic Holiday here.
This teacher lives with her youngest son, and two other teenage girls who I believe are relatives who recently became orphans. I guess I haven’t mentioned this….so I’ll explain how a meal typically works. If there is a sink, you wash your hands there. If not, someone pours soapy water over your hands wall you wash them over a bowl (usually both hands). All of the food is served in hotpots of various sizes, and it all goes onto your plate, and is then eaten with either your hands or a fork. If you are using your hand, I have been told you can use either hand or both if you wish. However, most people use only one hand, and at the end of the meal hold the carafe themselves with one hand while only washing the hand that was used for eating.
Also, the girls and women almost exclusively do the cooking, cleaning and serving. As a guest and as a woman, I often struggle to decide what I should be doing….but have almost never been allowed to help when I offer an extra hand.
This teacher lives with her youngest son, and two other teenage girls who I believe are relatives who recently became orphans. I guess I haven’t mentioned this….so I’ll explain how a meal typically works. If there is a sink, you wash your hands there. If not, someone pours soapy water over your hands wall you wash them over a bowl (usually both hands). All of the food is served in hotpots of various sizes, and it all goes onto your plate, and is then eaten with either your hands or a fork. If you are using your hand, I have been told you can use either hand or both if you wish. However, most people use only one hand, and at the end of the meal hold the carafe themselves with one hand while only washing the hand that was used for eating.
Also, the girls and women almost exclusively do the cooking, cleaning and serving. As a guest and as a woman, I often struggle to decide what I should be doing….but have almost never been allowed to help when I offer an extra hand.
Chelsea's Garden
Victoria is interested in the “environment” at Chumbageni, and is also interested in trying to increase the green spaces at the school. She has said she wants to try and set up the irrigation materials sent by the 6th grade science teacher at Key School (Mr. Waymouth) and is frequently helping the children water the plants at school.
Last week, Victoria asked if I would like to get a plant for Chumageni for everyone to remember me by. While I was a little thrown by the concept of buying a tree for myself for everyone there to remember me by, I was touched by the thought and said it would be a great idea.
We went to the flower shop a few days later to buy the flowers, and bought 3 pink plants and 5 smaller green plants. The price was hiked up very high because I was there, but I was able to bargain with a guy a bit and he threw in an extra plant at the end.
The next day, I came to school and Victoria had already gotten to work with her 4th grade class planting the plants. They had saved one for me near the entrance of the school, and a few students and I got to work.
As a side note: There is a difference between a key garden (which exists) and The Key Garden (which doesn’t yet exist…or does now that we planted those few plants at the school). A key garden has to do with composting and is just a bunch of white rocks around it. It isn’t very pretty, or garden like…..and therefore should not be equated with the Somer’s Park Garden.
Last week, Victoria asked if I would like to get a plant for Chumageni for everyone to remember me by. While I was a little thrown by the concept of buying a tree for myself for everyone there to remember me by, I was touched by the thought and said it would be a great idea.
We went to the flower shop a few days later to buy the flowers, and bought 3 pink plants and 5 smaller green plants. The price was hiked up very high because I was there, but I was able to bargain with a guy a bit and he threw in an extra plant at the end.
The next day, I came to school and Victoria had already gotten to work with her 4th grade class planting the plants. They had saved one for me near the entrance of the school, and a few students and I got to work.
As a side note: There is a difference between a key garden (which exists) and The Key Garden (which doesn’t yet exist…or does now that we planted those few plants at the school). A key garden has to do with composting and is just a bunch of white rocks around it. It isn’t very pretty, or garden like…..and therefore should not be equated with the Somer’s Park Garden.
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