I am so far behind on blogging it’s not even funny. I can’t complain too much though because I’m so lucky to be experiencing so many new things. Anyway, I’ll start with my day today and slowly but surely fill in the pieces from the past week.
This week I am studying with the 4th graders. This is Victoria’s homeroom class, so I am really excited to work with her this week. After spending the first period on English superlatives, we switched over to Kiswahili. Victoria and I have decided to do a song project where the students here take 4 Kiswahili songs (national anthem, patriotic song, school song, and map song) and write down the lyrics. We will then arrange for them to Skype with a group of Key Schoolers who will hopefully prepare a few American songs to share and have a big song exchange.
[Side note: I am doing this without having arranged with any Key School teachers. I am magically hoping this will all come together, but if you are your students are interested in hearing some beautiful African songs during your first class and maybe singing a few for us here in TZ it would be much appreciated!]
Anyway, today I videotaped each of the four groups in Victoria’s class singing the songs so that I can also share them when I return. Victoria has also taken this one step further, since she is expecting me to sing these songs for the entirety of Key School when I return (yeah right), and assigned 5 students to help me learn the songs. She was far too excited about this for me to refuse. Jeezy peezy.
In any case, the recordings turned out great and the Swahili lyrics are in the mail to Key School today along with the letters for the 3rd graders and some other personal mail that I snuck in envelopes between their letters. I still need to translate the Swahili lyrics into English, but that’s a project for my tutoring sessions, and I have at least a month to complete the exercise before coming home.
After that I went to eat some more goat soup with Victoria and three other teachers before taking a daladala to the post office. At the post office I had to put on over twenty unsticky stamps. It took a second for my brain to remember that I was supposed to lick the stamps to make them attach, but I figured it out and sent them off without too much trouble. The Key School Caroll House should be seeing them within 2 weeks!
What now? I’m off to town with Victoria to buy mass amounts of sugar and cooking oil to make ugi for the orphans. Then I’m going to help cook dinner, study Kiswahili with my tutor for an hour, and hopefully write feverishly into the night about my many other adventures. My brain has an inability to compartmentalize at the moment, so expect this week’s postings to be a major brain dump. Apologies in advance.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Lushoto for the Weekend
I travelled back to Tanga on Wednesday, went to school on Thursday and finished the 3rd grade pen pal project, and am now heading off to Lushoto with the Kindergarten teacher today. I have about 25 blogs waiting to be written after everything I've seen and done this past week, but it will have to wait until I return. If only the internet could connect to my brain dictations!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Off to Dar
I was woken up at 2am last night by an epiphany that just couldn't seem to wait until morning. Halifa is going to Dar es Salaam to get his visa today, and I have been helping him with this process for the past few days. I've decided to accompany him on his trip to the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam and am looking forward to my upcoming adventure. Can't wait to share when I get back!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Birthday Dinner
I was invited to dinner at another teacher’s house this week, but found out on the morning of that it was her birthday! I felt very bad that she was preparing to host me on her birthday, but knowing that my protesting would come to naught I asked my host brother to go into town with me to buy a cake for her.
There were no prepared cakes available, but they were selling triangular slices of decorated cake by the slice. I knew of seven people that would be coming to dinner, but knowing that more always show up I thought I would buy 10 pieces at a total cost of less than $5. My host brother told me that it was too much cake and was able to talk me down to buying only 8 slices. After that we went to buy a card from the stationary store and went home.
Later that evening we walked over to the teacher’s house, cake in hand. She was very surprised and was both happy and embarrassed by the gesture. She put it away and went to finish cooking, leaving me, my host brother, and her three kids to sit awkwardly in silence in her living room. I never thought I’d be grateful for a power outage, but when the lights went out 5 minutes later it did wonders to break the ice. They brought out candles and a torch (better known by Americans as a flashlight) and we started eating.
For dinner we ate rice with a tomato-based sauce, cabbage, and fried chicken. I get very nervous with no one talking while eating their food, and tend to plow right through whatever I’m eating before looking up to see that no one else has even made a dent in their food. I then start talking to myself in my head, cursing at my neighbor for not eating fast enough and encouraging the person across from me to take bigger bites at the same time as I start limiting myself to two or three grains of rice per spoonful.
By the time I had finished everything on my plate that required a spoon, I got to work on my drumstick. The meat was tougher than anything I’ve ever eaten before and proved to be quite the opponent. However, my struggle to pick it apart allowed me to catch up with everyone else in the race to be the last one finished.
After dinner came sodas, and then cake. The teacher pulled out only 2 of the 8 pieces I had purchased and began cutting them in half again, and again, and again, until she had about twenty itty-bitty pieces. After butchering the lovely cakes I had bought for her, she stuck toothpicks in them and then began feeding all of her guests (Luckily I had had this experience once before at a local graduation, so I knew what was going on). We took pictures as she stuffed our faces with cake on toothpicks, and when it came to be my turn to be fed I found myself more than relieved that I would only be asked to eat the tiny piece of cardboard a toothpick.
I spent the rest of the evenings playing handclapping games with her eight year old daughter and snapping a few final pictures. Everyone had a great evening and was sad to have it end when my host father came to pick me up. Happy Birthday Zuleah!
There were no prepared cakes available, but they were selling triangular slices of decorated cake by the slice. I knew of seven people that would be coming to dinner, but knowing that more always show up I thought I would buy 10 pieces at a total cost of less than $5. My host brother told me that it was too much cake and was able to talk me down to buying only 8 slices. After that we went to buy a card from the stationary store and went home.
Later that evening we walked over to the teacher’s house, cake in hand. She was very surprised and was both happy and embarrassed by the gesture. She put it away and went to finish cooking, leaving me, my host brother, and her three kids to sit awkwardly in silence in her living room. I never thought I’d be grateful for a power outage, but when the lights went out 5 minutes later it did wonders to break the ice. They brought out candles and a torch (better known by Americans as a flashlight) and we started eating.
For dinner we ate rice with a tomato-based sauce, cabbage, and fried chicken. I get very nervous with no one talking while eating their food, and tend to plow right through whatever I’m eating before looking up to see that no one else has even made a dent in their food. I then start talking to myself in my head, cursing at my neighbor for not eating fast enough and encouraging the person across from me to take bigger bites at the same time as I start limiting myself to two or three grains of rice per spoonful.
By the time I had finished everything on my plate that required a spoon, I got to work on my drumstick. The meat was tougher than anything I’ve ever eaten before and proved to be quite the opponent. However, my struggle to pick it apart allowed me to catch up with everyone else in the race to be the last one finished.
After dinner came sodas, and then cake. The teacher pulled out only 2 of the 8 pieces I had purchased and began cutting them in half again, and again, and again, until she had about twenty itty-bitty pieces. After butchering the lovely cakes I had bought for her, she stuck toothpicks in them and then began feeding all of her guests (Luckily I had had this experience once before at a local graduation, so I knew what was going on). We took pictures as she stuffed our faces with cake on toothpicks, and when it came to be my turn to be fed I found myself more than relieved that I would only be asked to eat the tiny piece of cardboard a toothpick.
I spent the rest of the evenings playing handclapping games with her eight year old daughter and snapping a few final pictures. Everyone had a great evening and was sad to have it end when my host father came to pick me up. Happy Birthday Zuleah!
3rd Grade Project
I spent this past week with the 3rd grade students. I went back and forth between the two sections learning and helping to teach Math, English, Social Studies, and Communications.
I was left on my own more than once, being forced to make up a lesson on my own. My favorite example of this is when the English teacher chose to sit in her office rather than coming to her afternoon class. I already knew what she was teaching because I had sat in on her morning class, so I decided to go ahead with the lesson. The students were learning prepositions, specifically on, under, in, in front of, and behind. I also knew that the previous class didn’t learn very much from their morning lecture because I had the privilege of grading their exercises, so I decided to mix it up a bit for the afternoon class.
I started the class by standing on my desk, and asked the students, “Where is the teacher?” They were a little freaked out by it, but they were all laughing as they told me, "The teacher is ON the desk!" After that I crawled under the desk, and then stood both in front of and behind it. To check their understanding, I had a student come up and asked him to stand in the various locations. As a final challenge, I asked him to position himself IN the desk….at which point he literally tried to stuff himself in the desk drawer, causing another spell of uncontrollable laughter.
In any case, I knew the 3rd grade Key School class was learning about Africa this past week, so I wanted to do a project between the two classes. I suggested that we start with a simple pen pal exchange, asking pointed questions that would allow students in both countries to compare common cultural themes (food, family, weather, etc.) I then started pulling in elements that the students were learning in other classes. By the end of the week, the students had all drawn the Tanzanian flag and explained its significance (something they had just learned in their social studies class), and addressed the envelopes for sending the letters to Key School (something they are learning about in their communications class).
I’ll be putting the letters in the mail this week and then eagerly waiting for the Key School letters to arrive, hopefully sometime before I head home. I’m already starting to think about new projects to do as I move to other grade levels, and would love to hear your input. So far I have thought of doing a song exchange where the students write out the Tanzanian national anthem and other patriotic songs in Kiswahili. After that they will try and translate them into English and exchange them with similar projects completed by Key School students. I then hope to set up a Skype conference where both classes sing the songs they have selected to each other. I’m not sure where everyone’s interest lies exactly, but I’m very open to new ideas!
I was left on my own more than once, being forced to make up a lesson on my own. My favorite example of this is when the English teacher chose to sit in her office rather than coming to her afternoon class. I already knew what she was teaching because I had sat in on her morning class, so I decided to go ahead with the lesson. The students were learning prepositions, specifically on, under, in, in front of, and behind. I also knew that the previous class didn’t learn very much from their morning lecture because I had the privilege of grading their exercises, so I decided to mix it up a bit for the afternoon class.
I started the class by standing on my desk, and asked the students, “Where is the teacher?” They were a little freaked out by it, but they were all laughing as they told me, "The teacher is ON the desk!" After that I crawled under the desk, and then stood both in front of and behind it. To check their understanding, I had a student come up and asked him to stand in the various locations. As a final challenge, I asked him to position himself IN the desk….at which point he literally tried to stuff himself in the desk drawer, causing another spell of uncontrollable laughter.
In any case, I knew the 3rd grade Key School class was learning about Africa this past week, so I wanted to do a project between the two classes. I suggested that we start with a simple pen pal exchange, asking pointed questions that would allow students in both countries to compare common cultural themes (food, family, weather, etc.) I then started pulling in elements that the students were learning in other classes. By the end of the week, the students had all drawn the Tanzanian flag and explained its significance (something they had just learned in their social studies class), and addressed the envelopes for sending the letters to Key School (something they are learning about in their communications class).
I’ll be putting the letters in the mail this week and then eagerly waiting for the Key School letters to arrive, hopefully sometime before I head home. I’m already starting to think about new projects to do as I move to other grade levels, and would love to hear your input. So far I have thought of doing a song exchange where the students write out the Tanzanian national anthem and other patriotic songs in Kiswahili. After that they will try and translate them into English and exchange them with similar projects completed by Key School students. I then hope to set up a Skype conference where both classes sing the songs they have selected to each other. I’m not sure where everyone’s interest lies exactly, but I’m very open to new ideas!
Waterless + Powerless = Adventurous
Tanga has been having severe public utilities problems lately. This is unusual for the city, so it has been the talk of the town. We had a major water outage as a result of a power failure somewhere near the source that lasted almost a full day and have been having multiple power outages every week.
Yesterday I was taking a bath out of a bucket due to a lack of running water. I have developed a system for this process and consider myself to be quite the expert at this point. This involves applying shampoo and soap simultaneously so as to maximize the effectiveness of the water.
In any case, just as I was finishing shampooing my hair, the power cut out. It was 8pm and there was absolutely no light to be had. I stood there in the dark for a few minutes before I began laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. I pulled myself together, realized that I had everything I needed to finish taking my shower, dry off, and get dressed without too much trouble. I’m just glad it happened during week 6 instead of week 1!
Yesterday I was taking a bath out of a bucket due to a lack of running water. I have developed a system for this process and consider myself to be quite the expert at this point. This involves applying shampoo and soap simultaneously so as to maximize the effectiveness of the water.
In any case, just as I was finishing shampooing my hair, the power cut out. It was 8pm and there was absolutely no light to be had. I stood there in the dark for a few minutes before I began laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. I pulled myself together, realized that I had everything I needed to finish taking my shower, dry off, and get dressed without too much trouble. I’m just glad it happened during week 6 instead of week 1!
Time Change
Apparently we got one hour closer to each other this weekend! Hopefully this will open up some more room for communication….but probably not by too much. Can’t wait to mess up the time calculations in the coming weeks as I plan more Skype sessions!
PK Performance
On Sunday I woke up with little confidence that I would be playing soccer later that day. However, my host brother, knowing my overwhelming excitement, told me not to worry, and was able to make it happen.
The first obstacle was meeting up with the team. I had arranged to meet the team at school (only a 3 minute drive from our house) and then caravan to the game. No one seemed to think that this was a practical idea, so we went ahead and drove to the field without meeting up with them…..about sixty kilometers away. We drove on the main highway for almost an hour before turning off a random dirt road, headed for nowhere. I didn’t have the phone number of anyone on our team, and we didn’t know where the field was. Thankfully, we found the field without too much trouble, because my guilt over making my host family drive that far for nothing was ever increasing. The only thing that was missing was my team.
I have never been so thankful that my host brother came along for the ride, because I was quite the spectacle for everyone in the village to see. Around a hundred or more children and adults came out to see me twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my team to arrive and hoping that they’ll do so before the sun goes down.
About forty-five minutes and one car breakdown later, the team arrived ready to play. They gave me my uniform assigned me to position number 7 (offensive right wing) and off we went!
With oversized cleats, undersized socks, and no shin guards….I wasn’t too effective for most of the first half. At one point, however, I pulled off some fancy footwork and to get around a defender and the crowd went wild laughing, screaming, and shouting. I had forgotten everyone was there and almost fell over with the surge of noise.
At half time spirits were a little low because the other team had managed to score a goal. There was no pep talk or anything so I used the break to change out of my oversized shoes and back into my regular sneakers that I have been using at practice.
During the second half I got a little bit more into the groove. Being less anxious about tripping and falling flat on my face was certainly helpful, and I started to really play the game. About 23 minutes into the half I saw made a great connecting pass to player in front of the goal and handed it off for a beautiful give-and-go to the goal. However, before he had the chance to pass the ball back to me for the shot, he was taken down by one of the defenders in the box.
Penalty kick. The chance to tie it up. I figured that the player who had been taken down would be given the opportunity to take the shot, but everyone, without any hesitation, called for me to take the kick. I protested to the point that they asked me if I even knew how to take a penalty kick before agreeing to shoot the ball. I looked around the field for the first time, and saw spectators lined up shoulder to shoulder around the entire perimeter of the field, sometimes even two or three rows thick.
I immediately lost all sensation in my legs and began to feel a little dizzy. As my breathing started to get a little panicy, I took a few deep breaths and tried to find my zen. My number one mistake in penalty kick situations is to kick it over the net, so I kept repeating myself, “shoot low, shoot low...”
Shoot low I asked for and shoot low I did -- right past the keeper’s right foot. GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL! I have no clue how it all happened, but the crowd went wild. Even the other team was giving me high-fives as we all jogged back to reset.
For the rest of the game I kept praying for the referee to blow the final whistle. I was still woozy with anxiety from taking the penalty kick and was more or less useless after that point. The game finally ended with a score of 1 – 1 and rush of people onto the field to come shake my hand.
After the game we took a bunch of pictures with the locals. They must not have been used to flash photography because after every picture the kids would run off in every which direction as if a bomb had gone off or something. Then they would come back and repeat the whole process again.
I have to thank my parents and coaches for all of the years of supporting my passion for soccer. While I never ended up being Mia Hamm, I certainly had the chance to feel like a World Cup player last weekend. If I had to hang up my boots tomorrow I could walk away feeling totally fulfilled.
The first obstacle was meeting up with the team. I had arranged to meet the team at school (only a 3 minute drive from our house) and then caravan to the game. No one seemed to think that this was a practical idea, so we went ahead and drove to the field without meeting up with them…..about sixty kilometers away. We drove on the main highway for almost an hour before turning off a random dirt road, headed for nowhere. I didn’t have the phone number of anyone on our team, and we didn’t know where the field was. Thankfully, we found the field without too much trouble, because my guilt over making my host family drive that far for nothing was ever increasing. The only thing that was missing was my team.
I have never been so thankful that my host brother came along for the ride, because I was quite the spectacle for everyone in the village to see. Around a hundred or more children and adults came out to see me twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my team to arrive and hoping that they’ll do so before the sun goes down.
About forty-five minutes and one car breakdown later, the team arrived ready to play. They gave me my uniform assigned me to position number 7 (offensive right wing) and off we went!
With oversized cleats, undersized socks, and no shin guards….I wasn’t too effective for most of the first half. At one point, however, I pulled off some fancy footwork and to get around a defender and the crowd went wild laughing, screaming, and shouting. I had forgotten everyone was there and almost fell over with the surge of noise.
At half time spirits were a little low because the other team had managed to score a goal. There was no pep talk or anything so I used the break to change out of my oversized shoes and back into my regular sneakers that I have been using at practice.
During the second half I got a little bit more into the groove. Being less anxious about tripping and falling flat on my face was certainly helpful, and I started to really play the game. About 23 minutes into the half I saw made a great connecting pass to player in front of the goal and handed it off for a beautiful give-and-go to the goal. However, before he had the chance to pass the ball back to me for the shot, he was taken down by one of the defenders in the box.
Penalty kick. The chance to tie it up. I figured that the player who had been taken down would be given the opportunity to take the shot, but everyone, without any hesitation, called for me to take the kick. I protested to the point that they asked me if I even knew how to take a penalty kick before agreeing to shoot the ball. I looked around the field for the first time, and saw spectators lined up shoulder to shoulder around the entire perimeter of the field, sometimes even two or three rows thick.
I immediately lost all sensation in my legs and began to feel a little dizzy. As my breathing started to get a little panicy, I took a few deep breaths and tried to find my zen. My number one mistake in penalty kick situations is to kick it over the net, so I kept repeating myself, “shoot low, shoot low...”
Shoot low I asked for and shoot low I did -- right past the keeper’s right foot. GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL! I have no clue how it all happened, but the crowd went wild. Even the other team was giving me high-fives as we all jogged back to reset.
For the rest of the game I kept praying for the referee to blow the final whistle. I was still woozy with anxiety from taking the penalty kick and was more or less useless after that point. The game finally ended with a score of 1 – 1 and rush of people onto the field to come shake my hand.
After the game we took a bunch of pictures with the locals. They must not have been used to flash photography because after every picture the kids would run off in every which direction as if a bomb had gone off or something. Then they would come back and repeat the whole process again.
I have to thank my parents and coaches for all of the years of supporting my passion for soccer. While I never ended up being Mia Hamm, I certainly had the chance to feel like a World Cup player last weekend. If I had to hang up my boots tomorrow I could walk away feeling totally fulfilled.
Bottled Up
This morning I went into town with my host father to get drinks for a party later today. We put three crates of empty glass soda bottles in the car and headed out to exchange them.
When we got there, Godfrey got very frustrated and got back in the car to head home without getting any new bottles. Apparently there were two 7Up bottles mixed in with the other soda bottles. Our Coca Cola product filled crate was therefore contaminated with Pepsi products, making the exchange a no-go. We went home, switched out the 7Up for Fanta and Sprite, and went back to the store.
Later, I asked Godfrey about bottle exchange in this country. It is apparently about 60% more economical to exchange crates than to buy new ones. It is much cheaper for the factories to sterilize the bottles than to make new ones, so the incentive to return bottles is very high.
When we got there, Godfrey got very frustrated and got back in the car to head home without getting any new bottles. Apparently there were two 7Up bottles mixed in with the other soda bottles. Our Coca Cola product filled crate was therefore contaminated with Pepsi products, making the exchange a no-go. We went home, switched out the 7Up for Fanta and Sprite, and went back to the store.
Later, I asked Godfrey about bottle exchange in this country. It is apparently about 60% more economical to exchange crates than to buy new ones. It is much cheaper for the factories to sterilize the bottles than to make new ones, so the incentive to return bottles is very high.
Meat Soup...For Breakfast
I got a text last night from Halifa asking to go get soup at a local restaurant at 3:00. I assumed that soup constitutes lunch, so I figured he was telling the time in the “regular” fashion instead of based on Swahili time.
Well we all know what assuming does. At 9:00 the next morning I got another text saying that he was on his way. I was still sleeping, thoroughly exhausted from a full day at the beach yesterday, and had to scramble to get ready. I tried to put on my best awake face and went outside to meet him.
At the restaurant, we got the local goat soup, chapati, and a boiled banana. My palate was a little shocked by my choice of breakfast, but my eyes were even more shocked by the shapes of meat products in the soup. Some pieces were just regular meat on bones, others were spiny and gelatinous, others still resembled gills and perhaps tongues. The soup itself was actually pretty good, but I didn’t have the will power to try all of these new forms of meat that early in the morning (nor to ask what they were for that matter). I did the best I could, and was very grateful when they took my bowl away and replaced it with a bottle of Fanta Orange.
I ended up having a great time overall. A few of Halifa’s friends came to join us and we sat and talked (in Kiswinglish, of course) about Halifa’s upcoming visit to the States, the differences between America and Tanzania, and plans for my last five weekends in Tanzania.
I was later told by my host father, however, that the breakfast I ate is ideal for people who like to drink away their day…good thing we’re having a big party later today!
Well we all know what assuming does. At 9:00 the next morning I got another text saying that he was on his way. I was still sleeping, thoroughly exhausted from a full day at the beach yesterday, and had to scramble to get ready. I tried to put on my best awake face and went outside to meet him.
At the restaurant, we got the local goat soup, chapati, and a boiled banana. My palate was a little shocked by my choice of breakfast, but my eyes were even more shocked by the shapes of meat products in the soup. Some pieces were just regular meat on bones, others were spiny and gelatinous, others still resembled gills and perhaps tongues. The soup itself was actually pretty good, but I didn’t have the will power to try all of these new forms of meat that early in the morning (nor to ask what they were for that matter). I did the best I could, and was very grateful when they took my bowl away and replaced it with a bottle of Fanta Orange.
I ended up having a great time overall. A few of Halifa’s friends came to join us and we sat and talked (in Kiswinglish, of course) about Halifa’s upcoming visit to the States, the differences between America and Tanzania, and plans for my last five weekends in Tanzania.
I was later told by my host father, however, that the breakfast I ate is ideal for people who like to drink away their day…good thing we’re having a big party later today!
Fun in the Sun
Yesterday I was invited to go to the beach with Emanuel (my tutee), his mom (a teacher at Chumbageni), and six 7th grade students from the school. I was very excited to go, and wanting to contribute to the picnic, went over to their home at 10:00am to help cook.
When I arrived there were at least 8 girls crammed into the small apartment helping with the operation. I didn’t realize there would be so many hands involved in the process, but they were still happy to have me.
There was no electricity due to yet another power outage, but we were cooking on a charcoal stove so it wasn’t any inconvenience. We made French fries (called chips), meat, bananas, and hot sauce. The quantity of food was overwhelming, but they seemed to have everything under control. I helped with some occasional stirring and cutting, but mostly wound up just practicing my Swahili with the students.
I pulled out my camera and taught them how to take pictures, allowed them to play with my hair, and talked about life in America. After a few hours, I went home to get my things for the beach and have a quick rest.
When I returned to the apartment an hour later, the food was still cooking, but almost finished. Out of nowhere all of the girls started changing clothes and putting on makeup, leaving me feeling more than slightly underdressed. I asked them what they planned to swim in when we got the beach, but apparently their selection of nice clothes was suitable for swimming. They finished getting ready, and headed out to the beach, leaving me and the teacher to pack up the food and meet them there.
I wasn’t quite sure how we would transport all of the food, and was really surprised when the she pulled out a bunch of small, plastic, black bags used at the supermarkets. We filled each bag with individual sized portions of food, tied the tops closed, stuffed them in a big bag, and headed out to the beach.
For transportation we took a daladala, bursting at the seams with at least 30 passengers. I spilled juice on one of the passengers, making her very displeased with me, and smacked a lot of people in the face with my backpack. The daladala also didn’t complete its route for some reason, leaving us to walk the remaining third of a mile from our destination.
The items we were carrying were very heavy. The teacher and I each took one handle of the bag and started trekking. After five minutes, my hands were numb and my kanga was falling off, so the teacher decided to take carry the bag herself……on her head. I tried to convince her to let me help, but to no avail. I can only imagine how her neck must have felt.
When we arrived there were close to 20 students waiting for us. We all hopped in the ocean and had a great afternoon splashing around in the water.
The only negatives of the trip were that there was not enough food for everyone (although I really don’t know how that was possible), someone walked off with my football, and there were no daladalas running when we finished so we had to walk the whole way home.
On the positive side are all of those negative things, plus everything else about the experience. Everyone is really concerned about me if I have to walk or carry something, or don’t get enough food…..but for me it’s just all part of the fun!
When I arrived there were at least 8 girls crammed into the small apartment helping with the operation. I didn’t realize there would be so many hands involved in the process, but they were still happy to have me.
There was no electricity due to yet another power outage, but we were cooking on a charcoal stove so it wasn’t any inconvenience. We made French fries (called chips), meat, bananas, and hot sauce. The quantity of food was overwhelming, but they seemed to have everything under control. I helped with some occasional stirring and cutting, but mostly wound up just practicing my Swahili with the students.
I pulled out my camera and taught them how to take pictures, allowed them to play with my hair, and talked about life in America. After a few hours, I went home to get my things for the beach and have a quick rest.
When I returned to the apartment an hour later, the food was still cooking, but almost finished. Out of nowhere all of the girls started changing clothes and putting on makeup, leaving me feeling more than slightly underdressed. I asked them what they planned to swim in when we got the beach, but apparently their selection of nice clothes was suitable for swimming. They finished getting ready, and headed out to the beach, leaving me and the teacher to pack up the food and meet them there.
I wasn’t quite sure how we would transport all of the food, and was really surprised when the she pulled out a bunch of small, plastic, black bags used at the supermarkets. We filled each bag with individual sized portions of food, tied the tops closed, stuffed them in a big bag, and headed out to the beach.
For transportation we took a daladala, bursting at the seams with at least 30 passengers. I spilled juice on one of the passengers, making her very displeased with me, and smacked a lot of people in the face with my backpack. The daladala also didn’t complete its route for some reason, leaving us to walk the remaining third of a mile from our destination.
The items we were carrying were very heavy. The teacher and I each took one handle of the bag and started trekking. After five minutes, my hands were numb and my kanga was falling off, so the teacher decided to take carry the bag herself……on her head. I tried to convince her to let me help, but to no avail. I can only imagine how her neck must have felt.
When we arrived there were close to 20 students waiting for us. We all hopped in the ocean and had a great afternoon splashing around in the water.
The only negatives of the trip were that there was not enough food for everyone (although I really don’t know how that was possible), someone walked off with my football, and there were no daladalas running when we finished so we had to walk the whole way home.
On the positive side are all of those negative things, plus everything else about the experience. Everyone is really concerned about me if I have to walk or carry something, or don’t get enough food…..but for me it’s just all part of the fun!
Tailor Made
Two weeks ago the kindergarten teacher bought fabric for us to make twin dresses with. We finally had the chance to go to the tailor yesterday and spent a good part of the morning trying to track down the woman who would do it for us. We finally found her in her very small home with only two couches, a television and a small room for storage. There were many small apartments like this under one roof, with an area in the middle for hanging clothes and cooking. I’m not quite sure where anyone sleeps, but everything in those living quarters seemed to be a team effort.
Anyway, we both got measured for our dresses and played with the kids while we waited for her to finish. The dresses cost 10,000 shillings a piece and should be ready next week. Pictures to follow!
Anyway, we both got measured for our dresses and played with the kids while we waited for her to finish. The dresses cost 10,000 shillings a piece and should be ready next week. Pictures to follow!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Successful Skyping
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!
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!
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.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Cool Kindle for a Cool Kid
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.
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.
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.
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