Today was a great day for the CHUMS partnership. We had a Skype conference between the Kindergarten classes at both Chumbageni and The Key School.
The Tanzanian students practiced their English by introducing themselves and saying “Good Morning!” while the American students asked some great questions about life here in Tanga. Both classes sang songs for each other and were delighted to talk with their new friends. Victoria was nice enough to record the entire conversation with the Flip Camera so I can share it with everyone who wasn’t able to join us!
The teachers at Chumbageni were thrilled and deemed the conference a huge success! They have asked me to set up more of these sessions between different grades in different subjects and are looking to try again next week. For those of you Key School teachers out there, the students here are very excited to be selected to speak with the Key School students and would love to prepare some questions for your students. Please contact me if your class would like to participate!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
To: Chelsii
Today in class a student gave me a gift. It was a piece of paper folded into a letter that was addressed to me. I said thank you, put it in my pocket, and went back to teaching. However, sometime over the next hour, I managed to lose the note. I felt like I had just lost a love letter or something, and was terribly worried that if someone found it and opened it that it would be very embarrassing for the kid who wrote it. I kept looking under desks and backpacks for it as I went around correcting their exercises, but with no luck. I found it later in the grass just outside of the classroom and let out a big sigh of relief.
When I got home, I was very excited to open the letter and see what was inside. I unfolded it very carefully, making sure not to rip the paper…..and there inside was a completely blank piece of paper. What a letdown.
When I got home, I was very excited to open the letter and see what was inside. I unfolded it very carefully, making sure not to rip the paper…..and there inside was a completely blank piece of paper. What a letdown.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Powerless, Sleepless and Sweaty
The power in Tanga goes out once or twice a week for about fifteen minutes or so. When it happens, we all walk around the house turning off the major appliances so they don’t break when the power comes back on. A little later it comes back and everyone returns to business as usual.
Last night, however, was a different story. The power went out around 7:30pm and stayed out. Like most evenings, it was incredibly hot and sticky, with only an occasional breeze. I managed to sweat through all of my clothes and was more than slightly irritable in my discomfort.
While sweating, I was thinking about the 1st grade teacher I worked with this week. I remember she told me she was really tired because she hadn’t been sleeping well. When I asked her why, she told me that she doesn’t have air conditioning and doesn’t like to have a fan (I didn’t really understand why, but it sounded like it’s because they are noisy and keep her awake). She also had an itchy heat rash covering her whole body that she is constantly scratching. Anyway, thinking about the many families that live every day without air conditioning or fans in this weather was very humbling.
When the power finally came back on I went to take a shower, crawled into the other non-soaked half of the bed, flipped over my pillows and went to sleep……for about two hours, before the power went out again. I spent the next hour listening to a huge thunderstorm outside, hoping that the housekeeper was fast asleep because thunder scares her half to death.
Thankfully it wasn’t a weeknight and I was able to sleep in this morning. I hope I have enough energy for the game today!
Last night, however, was a different story. The power went out around 7:30pm and stayed out. Like most evenings, it was incredibly hot and sticky, with only an occasional breeze. I managed to sweat through all of my clothes and was more than slightly irritable in my discomfort.
While sweating, I was thinking about the 1st grade teacher I worked with this week. I remember she told me she was really tired because she hadn’t been sleeping well. When I asked her why, she told me that she doesn’t have air conditioning and doesn’t like to have a fan (I didn’t really understand why, but it sounded like it’s because they are noisy and keep her awake). She also had an itchy heat rash covering her whole body that she is constantly scratching. Anyway, thinking about the many families that live every day without air conditioning or fans in this weather was very humbling.
When the power finally came back on I went to take a shower, crawled into the other non-soaked half of the bed, flipped over my pillows and went to sleep……for about two hours, before the power went out again. I spent the next hour listening to a huge thunderstorm outside, hoping that the housekeeper was fast asleep because thunder scares her half to death.
Thankfully it wasn’t a weeknight and I was able to sleep in this morning. I hope I have enough energy for the game today!
Religious Parade
My Swahili tutor, the seventy-three year old retired teacher, goes to church almost every day and is very involved with their singing group. She’s been especially busy at the church this past week, since Friday was a major religious event for the churches in Tanga.
Apparently every year, the women from four local churches of different denominations come together to pray. This year, the service was held at the church that is nearest to my home. I was invited to go, but couldn’t attend do to a scheduling conflict. However, I got to see the parade of women as they walked past on their way to church. They were all wearing the same vitenge (piece of cloth wrapped around their waists as a skirt) and singing as they passed by. I was able to take a short video of the parade for your listening pleasure, which is posted below.
Apparently every year, the women from four local churches of different denominations come together to pray. This year, the service was held at the church that is nearest to my home. I was invited to go, but couldn’t attend do to a scheduling conflict. However, I got to see the parade of women as they walked past on their way to church. They were all wearing the same vitenge (piece of cloth wrapped around their waists as a skirt) and singing as they passed by. I was able to take a short video of the parade for your listening pleasure, which is posted below.
International Pharmacy Failure
I went to the pharmacy today to see if I could track down some Band-Aids or Moleskin for my blisters and Pepto-Bismol in case of any future stomach attacks.
No Pepto-Bismol. No Moleskin. It took me about five minutes to explain what I meant by Band-Aids, since they are apparently called “plasters” here. They only had regular sized ones for 50 shillings a piece, so I bought 8 even though they won’t do too much to cover up my blisters. Oh well!
No Pepto-Bismol. No Moleskin. It took me about five minutes to explain what I meant by Band-Aids, since they are apparently called “plasters” here. They only had regular sized ones for 50 shillings a piece, so I bought 8 even though they won’t do too much to cover up my blisters. Oh well!
Transportation
The various modes of transportation here in Tanga all have one thing in common: chaos. For starters, traffic flows the opposite way from the states. This by itself is no reason to criticize Tanzanian transportation, but it has certainly required me to look BOTH ways before crossing the street for fear of becoming a featured appetizer at the Road Kill Café. In any case, the real reason that transportation is so chaotic, is that there are never more than a total of two lanes, with no center line, no bike lanes, no sidewalks, and the right to pass anyone whenever you so choose with only millimeters between you.
Pedestrians
By far the most popular mode of transportation, the walkers in this town have a lot to look out for. I enjoy walking to school and around town because I get to interact with more of the people in this town, but at least once an outing my walking buddy has to yank me by the arm to keep me from being hit by the oncoming traffic. As far as other pedestrians, it is not uncommon for African women to walk around with babies tied to their back and/or large bundles on their heads. Men are more likely to be seen carrying CDs, pots and pans, or boxers to sell to any spur-of-the-moment purchasers.
Bikes
The bikers of this town fall into three, non-exclusive categories. The first group is just trying to get from point A to point B more quickly than could be done by foot. The second group carrying a heavy load on the front or back of their load for sale to any interested customers – maybe a huge basket of mangoes or oranges. This group is often seen walking their bike around trying to sell their product. The third group is carrying a passenger on the back of their bike. Most frequently this passenger is a woman sitting on a small platform behind the bicycle seat. She has both her feet off to one side, and is somehow able to keep her balance over speed bumps and dirt roads (sometimes even with a baby in her hands) without holding on to anything. The male passengers usually sit with one leg on each side, making it a much easier task. Overall, no one wears helmets, and riding right alongside fast moving cars and busses seems to be the norm.
Motorcycles
The word for motorcycle in Kiswahili is pikipiki. While there are far fewer pikipikis around town than bicycles, this is still a popular transportation option. These machines are sometimes better than cars for navigating the city, can go relatively fast on the open road, and are sometimes operated with helmets. Passengers are also common, and hop on the same way they would a bicycle (women with both legs off to one side, men straddling the bike). I initially thought that only men ride pikipikis until I saw a sixty-something year old woman with goggles riding past the school. Too bad I didn’t have my camera at the time.
Cars
Cars are not uncommon in town, but they certainly are not the most common vehicle on the road. Toyota seems to be the most popular car maker in Tanga and has a dealership in the middle of town. However, I think the cost of cars and fuel is prohibitive to widespread ownership. There are, however, taxis that run throughout the town that can be used for a reasonable price.
Daladalas
Daladalas are like big vans that seat about 15 people. They are used for public transportation and have routes that run throughout the city for only 300 TZ shillings per person (students ride for free). The number of seats in the vehicle, however, has nothing to do with the number of people in the car. Especially during peak hours, you will see these vehicles bursting at the seams with people. There is a daladala that picks up and drops off right outside my house that goes just about everywhere in town, so I used to take it with my host sister to get into town when there was no one at home to drive us. I would like to start using them on my own to get to the beach, the library, the supermarket etc. but I haven’t yet had the time to go on or get permission to go on a solo adventure.
Buses
Buses are the most common means of transportation over long distances. All major cities have huge bus stands where you can purchase a ticket and hop on a bus on the day of your journey. There are many buses leaving every day, but they are not legally allowed to be driving at night because they are so dangerous, so leaving in the early to mid-morning is usually a must. Buses also serve a second role as a mail-carrier. If you want to send a package, say from Tanga to Dar es Salaam, you just pay the driver to put it on the bus and off it goes!
Almost every type of vehicle from bicycle to huge truck can be rented here with or without a driver. However almost everything is at your own risk and major accidents are reported nearly every day in the news. Not even airlines are exempt from this, as a recent news article was talking about the high accident rate of planes here just last week.
Pedestrians
By far the most popular mode of transportation, the walkers in this town have a lot to look out for. I enjoy walking to school and around town because I get to interact with more of the people in this town, but at least once an outing my walking buddy has to yank me by the arm to keep me from being hit by the oncoming traffic. As far as other pedestrians, it is not uncommon for African women to walk around with babies tied to their back and/or large bundles on their heads. Men are more likely to be seen carrying CDs, pots and pans, or boxers to sell to any spur-of-the-moment purchasers.
Bikes
The bikers of this town fall into three, non-exclusive categories. The first group is just trying to get from point A to point B more quickly than could be done by foot. The second group carrying a heavy load on the front or back of their load for sale to any interested customers – maybe a huge basket of mangoes or oranges. This group is often seen walking their bike around trying to sell their product. The third group is carrying a passenger on the back of their bike. Most frequently this passenger is a woman sitting on a small platform behind the bicycle seat. She has both her feet off to one side, and is somehow able to keep her balance over speed bumps and dirt roads (sometimes even with a baby in her hands) without holding on to anything. The male passengers usually sit with one leg on each side, making it a much easier task. Overall, no one wears helmets, and riding right alongside fast moving cars and busses seems to be the norm.
Motorcycles
The word for motorcycle in Kiswahili is pikipiki. While there are far fewer pikipikis around town than bicycles, this is still a popular transportation option. These machines are sometimes better than cars for navigating the city, can go relatively fast on the open road, and are sometimes operated with helmets. Passengers are also common, and hop on the same way they would a bicycle (women with both legs off to one side, men straddling the bike). I initially thought that only men ride pikipikis until I saw a sixty-something year old woman with goggles riding past the school. Too bad I didn’t have my camera at the time.
Cars
Cars are not uncommon in town, but they certainly are not the most common vehicle on the road. Toyota seems to be the most popular car maker in Tanga and has a dealership in the middle of town. However, I think the cost of cars and fuel is prohibitive to widespread ownership. There are, however, taxis that run throughout the town that can be used for a reasonable price.
Daladalas
Daladalas are like big vans that seat about 15 people. They are used for public transportation and have routes that run throughout the city for only 300 TZ shillings per person (students ride for free). The number of seats in the vehicle, however, has nothing to do with the number of people in the car. Especially during peak hours, you will see these vehicles bursting at the seams with people. There is a daladala that picks up and drops off right outside my house that goes just about everywhere in town, so I used to take it with my host sister to get into town when there was no one at home to drive us. I would like to start using them on my own to get to the beach, the library, the supermarket etc. but I haven’t yet had the time to go on or get permission to go on a solo adventure.
Buses
Buses are the most common means of transportation over long distances. All major cities have huge bus stands where you can purchase a ticket and hop on a bus on the day of your journey. There are many buses leaving every day, but they are not legally allowed to be driving at night because they are so dangerous, so leaving in the early to mid-morning is usually a must. Buses also serve a second role as a mail-carrier. If you want to send a package, say from Tanga to Dar es Salaam, you just pay the driver to put it on the bus and off it goes!
Almost every type of vehicle from bicycle to huge truck can be rented here with or without a driver. However almost everything is at your own risk and major accidents are reported nearly every day in the news. Not even airlines are exempt from this, as a recent news article was talking about the high accident rate of planes here just last week.
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