While we could easily have travelled to Dar es Salaam on Saturday with plenty of time to catch my 11:30pm flight, I was happy to drive here with Godfrey (my host father)today. Given my experiences with driving in Tanzania, I figured my anxiety level would be significantly lower if I arrived here with a full day to spare.
That turns out to be a marvelous idea, given how many times my heart almost stopped on my trip down here. Before I begin, I will emphasize that I am perfectly safe, happy, content, and writing this blog post from a nice hotel in town.
The first issue we had was crossing through a small town that requires a significant reduction in speed upon entry. There was a police officer with a radar gun who pulled us over for going 75 in a 50 kph zone. My host father, always ready for a good battle of the wits, managed to talk his way out of it by claiming that he only had as much money as the ticket cost, and would be SOL if he had any real issues between here and Dar es Salaam given that there are no ATMs between the two cities. With a fully elaborated limp from his accident several months back and very erratic outbursts of emotion, he was able to talk his way out of the ticket and was allowed to pass without any trouble.
While getting a good laugh about the story as he retold the whole thing (in English this time), he got distracted from the road with our eye contact and we almost found our way into the grill of an oncoming bus.
Our next close encounter was at the next police stop. We were not required to stop (the checkpoints along the road are usually random) and passed all the cars along the right side of the road. Everyone is usually eager to get waved passed the stops, including this very big bus that didn’t see us as he jutted out to pass the bus in front of him, almost smashing my passenger’s side door and sending us off the road.
I thought I was being a bit dramatic about insisting on driving to Dar es Salaam a day early, but I now feel as though it was a completely reasonable decision.
On a different note, we'll be heading out to a Tanzanian mall soon and then have an early sushi dinner before hitting the hay and resting up for a full day of touring Dar and a late night plane flight tomorrow.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Last Weeks...
It's only been 11 days but it feels like a lifetime ago since I last wrote on my blog. I was hoping to be almost finished before my plane touches down at IAD, but it seems like this will be an ongoing process. Saying goodbye here is a never-ending process and finding any time for rest, let alone writing on my blog, has been almost impossible. Luckily I've been jotting down blog titles over the last week and a half so I won't forget too many funny stories and recent impressions.
A rough sketch of what's been going on:
Since returning from holiday on April 12th I planned an entire trip to Zanzibar using my Lonely Planet guide to Tanzania. I then spent 4 days there, skipping school on Monday, and have returned for just three more days of school before driving down to Dar es Salaam to catch a plane back home (volcano permitting, of course).
Things from last week:
- Last Tuesday students from the 4th grade classes of Key and Chumbageni Skyped. The theme was music, so the kid here shared their national anthem, a patriotic song, ad their school song. The kids at Key played the recorder (how Orff of them!)and asked some really great questions. I have been really improving with my Swahili and was so psyched that I could translate a large part of the conversation.
- My keyboard went haywire and now chooses to skip letters every now and then. This has made for interesting gchats, emails, and now blog posts. Apologies for the many typos.
- I spent all day on Wednesday opening email accounts for every teacher at the school. I made a contact list for every teacher as well as a power point presentation that includes a picture and a brief background on every teacher. Exhausting, but totally worth it.
- Thursday the 1st graders Skyped with Mrs. Waymouth's Kindergarten class. They got to talk about what they do after school and other things about their life. We learned that only one student in the Key School K class has chickens, and almost everyone owns a dog. Here, everyone owns a chicken, but only one person owns a dog.
- Friday is always a half day. I took off for Zanzibar at 3:30 and came back Monday at 2:30. I have copied my itinerary in its original form into a separate post. Pictures have already been posted, but look for more in the future about how the trip actually went. Overall it is a beautiful place and I had a great time....
- Tuesday (Yesterday) after school we Skyped with the 3rd graders. This was very cool since these kids have already exchanged one round of letters with each other with the second round currently in transit. The kids really enjoyed getting to meet their pen friends and learning about the similarities and differences in between our two countries (sports, classes, chores, etc.) The most interesting thing was that the kids here are mostly Muslim, with a few Christians mixed in. At Key it's a mixture of Christians and Jews. The teachers and students don't know anything about the Jewish religion (unless we were having trouble translating, but they seemed to genuinely unaware of what it was). There was also an athiest in the class at Key, but I've had enough of an interesting experience trying to explain that about myself when I am asked so I decided to just stick with Christian for the sake of the short conversation. After that, we moved to my house where the kids got to see my room and my bathroom for a fun compare/contrast exercise. They were in the middle of picking their next room when we got a call from the US Library and skipped up the road to talk to them. It was really cool getting to meet the big kids, but for me the best surprise was getting to see my sister and introduce her to my students at Chumbageni.
- Yesterday also included a trip to a local hostel to take pics and gather information for any group who would potentially like to come visit Chumbageni. We then went to the post office to get a new key (the old one was lost), followed by the internet store. All lines of communication should now be functioning and people should be able to stay in touch even after I leave.
That's the quick version of everthing that's been happening lately. Four more days until I'll be home.....
A rough sketch of what's been going on:
Since returning from holiday on April 12th I planned an entire trip to Zanzibar using my Lonely Planet guide to Tanzania. I then spent 4 days there, skipping school on Monday, and have returned for just three more days of school before driving down to Dar es Salaam to catch a plane back home (volcano permitting, of course).
Things from last week:
- Last Tuesday students from the 4th grade classes of Key and Chumbageni Skyped. The theme was music, so the kid here shared their national anthem, a patriotic song, ad their school song. The kids at Key played the recorder (how Orff of them!)and asked some really great questions. I have been really improving with my Swahili and was so psyched that I could translate a large part of the conversation.
- My keyboard went haywire and now chooses to skip letters every now and then. This has made for interesting gchats, emails, and now blog posts. Apologies for the many typos.
- I spent all day on Wednesday opening email accounts for every teacher at the school. I made a contact list for every teacher as well as a power point presentation that includes a picture and a brief background on every teacher. Exhausting, but totally worth it.
- Thursday the 1st graders Skyped with Mrs. Waymouth's Kindergarten class. They got to talk about what they do after school and other things about their life. We learned that only one student in the Key School K class has chickens, and almost everyone owns a dog. Here, everyone owns a chicken, but only one person owns a dog.
- Friday is always a half day. I took off for Zanzibar at 3:30 and came back Monday at 2:30. I have copied my itinerary in its original form into a separate post. Pictures have already been posted, but look for more in the future about how the trip actually went. Overall it is a beautiful place and I had a great time....
- Tuesday (Yesterday) after school we Skyped with the 3rd graders. This was very cool since these kids have already exchanged one round of letters with each other with the second round currently in transit. The kids really enjoyed getting to meet their pen friends and learning about the similarities and differences in between our two countries (sports, classes, chores, etc.) The most interesting thing was that the kids here are mostly Muslim, with a few Christians mixed in. At Key it's a mixture of Christians and Jews. The teachers and students don't know anything about the Jewish religion (unless we were having trouble translating, but they seemed to genuinely unaware of what it was). There was also an athiest in the class at Key, but I've had enough of an interesting experience trying to explain that about myself when I am asked so I decided to just stick with Christian for the sake of the short conversation. After that, we moved to my house where the kids got to see my room and my bathroom for a fun compare/contrast exercise. They were in the middle of picking their next room when we got a call from the US Library and skipped up the road to talk to them. It was really cool getting to meet the big kids, but for me the best surprise was getting to see my sister and introduce her to my students at Chumbageni.
- Yesterday also included a trip to a local hostel to take pics and gather information for any group who would potentially like to come visit Chumbageni. We then went to the post office to get a new key (the old one was lost), followed by the internet store. All lines of communication should now be functioning and people should be able to stay in touch even after I leave.
That's the quick version of everthing that's been happening lately. Four more days until I'll be home.....
Zanzibar Itinerary
Thursday:
Pick up from Zanzibar airport at 5:30pm and transfer to Clove Hotel in the heart of Stone town,check inn at the hotel and relax, at 7:00pm, our guide will pick you up and walk to Forodhan garden, where you can see the local seafood market,mix with Zanzibaris in this eating place and choose your dinner,you can also have an option to go and see several bars in Stone town,back to the hotel and overnight.
Friday:
After breakfast, you will be picked up for a walking historical Stone town, after Stone town tour then we will drive you to the Spice farms for Spice tour, before the tour you have an opulant lunch of trypical Zanzibar cuisine served in alocal house (to see Zanzibar Culture & tradition), after lunch proceed to the Spice farms to see the reason why Zanzibar is called a Spice Island,back to the Hotel around 4:00pm, free time to explore on your own and overnight Clove Hotel.
Saturday:
After breakfast at 9:00am you will be picked and drive to Jozani forest to see the monkeys,this tour ends around 1:00pm where you will be driven to South east cost for beach leisure,lunch at any restaurant around there, back to Stonetown around 7:00pm and overnight Clove Hotel.
Sunday:
After breakfast, pick up and board a motorised dhow boat and head to Prison Island. Earning its name as a former prison for slaves and a quarantine station for Zanzibar and the mainland nowadays the island gives you the chance to escape for some peace and quiet. The island lies just off the Old Stone Town and is home to giant tortoises that were imported from the Seychelles in the late 19th century. It is fringed with a beautiful coral reef, ideal for snorkelling, and has a lovely white beach for sunbathing,this is a half day trip back to Stone town and drive to Zanzibar airport to catch the Coastal Aviation flight to Tanga.
Pick up from Zanzibar airport at 5:30pm and transfer to Clove Hotel in the heart of Stone town,check inn at the hotel and relax, at 7:00pm, our guide will pick you up and walk to Forodhan garden, where you can see the local seafood market,mix with Zanzibaris in this eating place and choose your dinner,you can also have an option to go and see several bars in Stone town,back to the hotel and overnight.
Friday:
After breakfast, you will be picked up for a walking historical Stone town, after Stone town tour then we will drive you to the Spice farms for Spice tour, before the tour you have an opulant lunch of trypical Zanzibar cuisine served in alocal house (to see Zanzibar Culture & tradition), after lunch proceed to the Spice farms to see the reason why Zanzibar is called a Spice Island,back to the Hotel around 4:00pm, free time to explore on your own and overnight Clove Hotel.
Saturday:
After breakfast at 9:00am you will be picked and drive to Jozani forest to see the monkeys,this tour ends around 1:00pm where you will be driven to South east cost for beach leisure,lunch at any restaurant around there, back to Stonetown around 7:00pm and overnight Clove Hotel.
Sunday:
After breakfast, pick up and board a motorised dhow boat and head to Prison Island. Earning its name as a former prison for slaves and a quarantine station for Zanzibar and the mainland nowadays the island gives you the chance to escape for some peace and quiet. The island lies just off the Old Stone Town and is home to giant tortoises that were imported from the Seychelles in the late 19th century. It is fringed with a beautiful coral reef, ideal for snorkelling, and has a lovely white beach for sunbathing,this is a half day trip back to Stone town and drive to Zanzibar airport to catch the Coastal Aviation flight to Tanga.
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