dont know how i forgot to put this in....
www.upendoschool.com is my schools website! i have not spent extensive time on it, but i know that it is my school. so you can see a bit of something. and there are photos, anne i know you will love that.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
hiya friends.
My internet is excruciatingly slow, esp. for Arusha town, but that is ok. I came in to print my english and math exams which my students will be taking next wednesday. I wrote them today during my 4 hour break between classes and used another volunteers laptop to type them. it was pretty fun to write out exams. i am really enjoying teaching, even though i had to yell today because on of my students didnt do his homework for the second day in a row. grrrr.
The week has been really good, getting in the swing of teaching, which i have pretty much taken over by myself. lyndsay comes and so does the guy whose class i am taking over, but i have pretty much taught everything and they have checked the homework while i teach. i have a fair amount of classes but will end early on monday, tuesday, and have a huge break on wednesdays. I will get a lot of reading done, or just all my lesson plans done for the week. I have been taking little notes, not quite journaling during the days when i think to, and will share some with you from yesterday:
I am sitting in the school yard, watching the 3 oldest grades, 2, 3, and 4, have PE class. They are all dressed out in their pe clothes, a sweet yellow shirt that says Upendo pre and primary school PE. (i want one!). The are in neat lines, doing stretches and minor things like crunches and squats. The teacher teaches with a stick in her hand. I watch as the kids sit down, legs stretched, and struggle to touch their foreheads to their knees as they are told. The teacher walks around pushing their heads down until they touch, and popping them with her stick on the wrist if they can't do it. I have never seen a kid be hit at school like this. We have had lots of conversation about it, lyndsay has said she will leave the school if she sees it. I am pretty torn about it. I know that i will never ever hit my students, nor will i tell the headmaster who did not do their homework, knowing that he will only hit them. But as i sit here, i wonder if i will ever say anything to the other teachers about how i feel about it, or even bring it up in general at all. Sitting here watching it happen, i wonder, do i condone it? or am i merely being cultural respectful as i think i am. or am i hiding behind the excuse of being culturally sensitive because i just fear saying something. hmm. a kid gets sick and comes to the side. he is taken hold of by the head master and two teachers. he can barely stand on his own. he is not throwing up, but spitting thick gloppy spit every minute. The headmaster massages quite forcefully his stomach, tumbo in swahili- a word i know..., maybe making him be sick.... i wonder if he is dehydrated, but decide not to say anything. it is finally a dry and hot day in Usa River. They take him in the school jeep, maybe home, maybe to a doctor.
My journalnoting was interrupted by the head teacher asking me to write the exams for next week, which i did today. He talked me through what sound be on them and the format to put them in. I hope i didnt make them too hard. I dont want them to struggle but also dont want them to not be prepared for the national exam later this summer.
I have a pretty sweet bite on my arm, im thinking spider. it gets bigger every day and looks pretty nasty. its a perfect circle, and i am hoping it doesnt get to the point that i have to get it drained like my past spider bites..... a trip to the doctor for something so trivial (or maybe not) is not what I want. My skin has hated me, honestly, here. all the deet and sunscreen- not that its been sunny- and the lack of showering.... hey TIA (this is africa) we dont have to shower so regularly. plus the bug bites and new laundry soap. The girl at the computer next to me has a full ring, not a circle and said hers is a fungus. she said she just went to the pharmacy and got some cream and its gotten better. she looked at mine- said that is how hers started haha. awesome! so maybe i have fungus growing on my arm....
Alright i dont think i have more to say.... we are working still on zanzibar and i am talking with emma about a trip down, trying to work that out without missing too much teaching- i feel bad leaving them hanging, though they have managed before.... so we shall see. all in all, things are really good. i really like it here, my swahili- at least my greeting is getting better, and life is good.
take care of you
My internet is excruciatingly slow, esp. for Arusha town, but that is ok. I came in to print my english and math exams which my students will be taking next wednesday. I wrote them today during my 4 hour break between classes and used another volunteers laptop to type them. it was pretty fun to write out exams. i am really enjoying teaching, even though i had to yell today because on of my students didnt do his homework for the second day in a row. grrrr.
The week has been really good, getting in the swing of teaching, which i have pretty much taken over by myself. lyndsay comes and so does the guy whose class i am taking over, but i have pretty much taught everything and they have checked the homework while i teach. i have a fair amount of classes but will end early on monday, tuesday, and have a huge break on wednesdays. I will get a lot of reading done, or just all my lesson plans done for the week. I have been taking little notes, not quite journaling during the days when i think to, and will share some with you from yesterday:
I am sitting in the school yard, watching the 3 oldest grades, 2, 3, and 4, have PE class. They are all dressed out in their pe clothes, a sweet yellow shirt that says Upendo pre and primary school PE. (i want one!). The are in neat lines, doing stretches and minor things like crunches and squats. The teacher teaches with a stick in her hand. I watch as the kids sit down, legs stretched, and struggle to touch their foreheads to their knees as they are told. The teacher walks around pushing their heads down until they touch, and popping them with her stick on the wrist if they can't do it. I have never seen a kid be hit at school like this. We have had lots of conversation about it, lyndsay has said she will leave the school if she sees it. I am pretty torn about it. I know that i will never ever hit my students, nor will i tell the headmaster who did not do their homework, knowing that he will only hit them. But as i sit here, i wonder if i will ever say anything to the other teachers about how i feel about it, or even bring it up in general at all. Sitting here watching it happen, i wonder, do i condone it? or am i merely being cultural respectful as i think i am. or am i hiding behind the excuse of being culturally sensitive because i just fear saying something. hmm. a kid gets sick and comes to the side. he is taken hold of by the head master and two teachers. he can barely stand on his own. he is not throwing up, but spitting thick gloppy spit every minute. The headmaster massages quite forcefully his stomach, tumbo in swahili- a word i know..., maybe making him be sick.... i wonder if he is dehydrated, but decide not to say anything. it is finally a dry and hot day in Usa River. They take him in the school jeep, maybe home, maybe to a doctor.
My journalnoting was interrupted by the head teacher asking me to write the exams for next week, which i did today. He talked me through what sound be on them and the format to put them in. I hope i didnt make them too hard. I dont want them to struggle but also dont want them to not be prepared for the national exam later this summer.
I have a pretty sweet bite on my arm, im thinking spider. it gets bigger every day and looks pretty nasty. its a perfect circle, and i am hoping it doesnt get to the point that i have to get it drained like my past spider bites..... a trip to the doctor for something so trivial (or maybe not) is not what I want. My skin has hated me, honestly, here. all the deet and sunscreen- not that its been sunny- and the lack of showering.... hey TIA (this is africa) we dont have to shower so regularly. plus the bug bites and new laundry soap. The girl at the computer next to me has a full ring, not a circle and said hers is a fungus. she said she just went to the pharmacy and got some cream and its gotten better. she looked at mine- said that is how hers started haha. awesome! so maybe i have fungus growing on my arm....
Alright i dont think i have more to say.... we are working still on zanzibar and i am talking with emma about a trip down, trying to work that out without missing too much teaching- i feel bad leaving them hanging, though they have managed before.... so we shall see. all in all, things are really good. i really like it here, my swahili- at least my greeting is getting better, and life is good.
take care of you
Monday, June 16, 2008
comment. question. answer.
Just read my comments for a while ago. Anne wants more details on the family, which is good- ask what you want to know for i forget what I have told.
We live with the beste family, pronounced like meg and claire - for my family who knows them. We have a mama and a baba, both workin Arusha town. Mama is a librarian at a chuo (college) and baba is in tourism. Barnabus is the 19 year old brother who has finished form 6, or high school, and is looking for scholarships to go to school in tanzania or preferrably abroad, though i think he needs to resit his exams or something along those lines. There is another brother, age 14 or so whose name none of us have managed to catch. He is in school most days and is SUPER quiet, though I am working on getting him to talk. Agape is 10, in 5th grade, and is shy, but helpful. She actually just got named 1st in her class! which is still kinda crazy that they announce a head pupil in each grade. She got a special trip into town with mama on saturday for a meal and her hair done to celebrate. Salome is our house girl. We just learned her story on Friday, she is 13, though she looks 20 and can ring some clothes! The older sister, who is 26, of the beste family brought her home to them after their last house girl saved enough to start school. Salome has never been to school and after the death of her father, her mother sent her with our host sister to be a house girl and earn some money. She does all the cooking and cleaning and the families washing. She is amazing. She loves to laugh at our stories after dinner, espescially when we explained what a taco is at home.... taco here is butt cheek, mtaco being your whole bum. We live in a nice house, with a small room with a bed and bunkbeds. I am on the bottom bunk, which holds my mosquito net nicely. We have a squatting toilet, a porcelain hole, i think i have told you about. I have found that the bucket works best for showers- which excites me!
So that is my family, and my home. I guess I forget the day in day out small details.
more questions, post comments!
We live with the beste family, pronounced like meg and claire - for my family who knows them. We have a mama and a baba, both workin Arusha town. Mama is a librarian at a chuo (college) and baba is in tourism. Barnabus is the 19 year old brother who has finished form 6, or high school, and is looking for scholarships to go to school in tanzania or preferrably abroad, though i think he needs to resit his exams or something along those lines. There is another brother, age 14 or so whose name none of us have managed to catch. He is in school most days and is SUPER quiet, though I am working on getting him to talk. Agape is 10, in 5th grade, and is shy, but helpful. She actually just got named 1st in her class! which is still kinda crazy that they announce a head pupil in each grade. She got a special trip into town with mama on saturday for a meal and her hair done to celebrate. Salome is our house girl. We just learned her story on Friday, she is 13, though she looks 20 and can ring some clothes! The older sister, who is 26, of the beste family brought her home to them after their last house girl saved enough to start school. Salome has never been to school and after the death of her father, her mother sent her with our host sister to be a house girl and earn some money. She does all the cooking and cleaning and the families washing. She is amazing. She loves to laugh at our stories after dinner, espescially when we explained what a taco is at home.... taco here is butt cheek, mtaco being your whole bum. We live in a nice house, with a small room with a bed and bunkbeds. I am on the bottom bunk, which holds my mosquito net nicely. We have a squatting toilet, a porcelain hole, i think i have told you about. I have found that the bucket works best for showers- which excites me!
So that is my family, and my home. I guess I forget the day in day out small details.
more questions, post comments!
malimu (teacher). rains. plans
Habari za hapa (whats the news from here....)
Today was my first day of 'teaching'. i say 'teaching' because we didnt really do much. Lindsay and I will be taking over a volunteer friend of ours class at the end of the week, so we are watching him and helping him. It is all very unorganized but we will be teaching maths and english, all of the lessons are up to us. We have some books to help, though it will be interesting. The kids are pretty cool, we have 13 in our class. Lindsay is only here for two more weeks and afterwards I will be teaching alone, which is cool. I think I will be doing a lot of multipication and division and reading with vocab. I did however start on a high note, teaching them the 3 is the magic number song from school house rocks today! They liked it. I think if I can remember the words to other songs like that, it will be pretty helpful for teaching english- our books are pretty lame and have examples but no real explanation. So if you know how to tell the difference between because, as, for, and the word since--- when I would use because in all the examples, I don't really know how to teach the difference.
BUT it will be good. I am excited. We got introduced to each class and they all stand and say in unison 'good morning teacher' and then you say good morning and they say 'we are fine, thank you, how are you.' It was so cute. The 2nd grade teacher asked us to teach on the spot about water. The word colourless was on the board, so we took it and ran with it. I poured my water bottle on my hand and splashed them and they liked it. haha. Then the kindergarteners were learning letters so I asked if they knew their ABCs and they started singing. It was so cute! So, I will be teaching 4th grade, but will stop in I think on the younger grades too... and am hoping to sit in on 1st grade swahili! I figure even that might be above my level but I can learn something! haha.
We have been working on planning a trip to zanzibar. It has been a huge mess and frustration and I am thinking I might not go, at least with Stacey and Sharon. They both want to go straight to a beach town, and do nothing but sit on a beach and party at night. If you know me well, you know I dont sit well long in one place, esp on a beach- with sand- and that I didnt come to africa to party. I want to see Stone town and go on a spice tour and get lost in the cobble stone streets with cool coffee vendors and sidewalk markets. SO because we want different things and are not really on the same page about how to get there, I think they are making it much more complicated because they are trying to squeeze the most time out, even to the hour, I might just not go. I may go later with another volunteer, or not at all- though I feel that is a not so fun. We shall see.
I have been looking on all my walks for a certain picture I had in my head and this morning, I finally saw it and got to photograph it. You might think its pretty dull, but I am amazed by it... a clothes line covered in colourful kangas. The bright patterns of one african fabric after another is just awesome. And it is less invasive then photgraphing a group of women.
Last Friday we came into Arusha to do things, not sure what. I ended up running into a guy whom I'd met a week ago, named Noel- he was born on dec 26. He is in tourism school, taking spanish classes -Maybe I already talked about him? if so, apology. But it was fun to see him again and talk to him. None of the other people selling art prints or sunglasses bothered me. The girls were so frustrated with the selling and hassle but Noel told me that they are rude about it and that they should be nice like me and just try to talk to them. I dont think the girls appreciated this very much. We all have different ways of dealing with people trying to sell us things, I choose to talk to them, they just say no and get annoyed. It is frustrating at times how annoyed and bothered they get. But, I have to remember, we all handle it differently- I am just glad I do the way I do.
The weekend was pretty dull, with cold cold weather and rain. I am going to have to find something to do on weekends to keep me sane. Though I have read a lot. I did walk around a lot in Usa, and really enjoy walking alone. More people talk to you when you are alone and you have the freedom to stop and have a conversation if you wish. I stopped and talked with a lady dewing on her porch and watched her make a skirt. I stopped to talk with a group of kids and got to actually ask their names and where they were in school and which year they were in. Since then everytime I pass they yell 'hey lady- they missed the B part of my name...' and run to greet me, which is awesome.
Sunday we went to church with our host family. I was very excited. The music was good, but not as upbeat as I hoped it would be. And there were no drums. How do you have African church with no drums I ask? Barnabus took notes in english during the sermon, so we could kinda follow what was being said. Basically it was all about loving our neighbor and bringing them to christ and how we have to open our hearts to God and pray to him and share with him. I felt like she said the same thing over and over and I couldnt even understand the swahili. But it was interesting. We 3 had to get up and introduce ourselves to the church, and I said mine in swahili, which i thought was pretty cool. I knew how to say my name is libby, im from america, and Im here teaching, so why not. I am glad I did, they all laughed when I said jambo (hello) though- but I am very used to people laughing when I speak. I dont think it is a laughing at really, but more a oh woah she kinda speaks swahili! (maybe I am fooling myself though, haha, i know the students today full out laughed at me. but its ok i know im a funny person! haha. right. : ) )
alright. I think thats the update. I will be back in town in a few days i think and will let you know how school is going and i think put some pictures on here if i can 1. figure it out and 2. find the patience! We are hoping to come back on afternoon to watch the Rwanda trials that are going on here... yes, think hotel rwanda and the people who were responsible for that on trial. awesome. I mean, to get to watch at least is awesome.
until then, nakupenda (love you)
Today was my first day of 'teaching'. i say 'teaching' because we didnt really do much. Lindsay and I will be taking over a volunteer friend of ours class at the end of the week, so we are watching him and helping him. It is all very unorganized but we will be teaching maths and english, all of the lessons are up to us. We have some books to help, though it will be interesting. The kids are pretty cool, we have 13 in our class. Lindsay is only here for two more weeks and afterwards I will be teaching alone, which is cool. I think I will be doing a lot of multipication and division and reading with vocab. I did however start on a high note, teaching them the 3 is the magic number song from school house rocks today! They liked it. I think if I can remember the words to other songs like that, it will be pretty helpful for teaching english- our books are pretty lame and have examples but no real explanation. So if you know how to tell the difference between because, as, for, and the word since--- when I would use because in all the examples, I don't really know how to teach the difference.
BUT it will be good. I am excited. We got introduced to each class and they all stand and say in unison 'good morning teacher' and then you say good morning and they say 'we are fine, thank you, how are you.' It was so cute. The 2nd grade teacher asked us to teach on the spot about water. The word colourless was on the board, so we took it and ran with it. I poured my water bottle on my hand and splashed them and they liked it. haha. Then the kindergarteners were learning letters so I asked if they knew their ABCs and they started singing. It was so cute! So, I will be teaching 4th grade, but will stop in I think on the younger grades too... and am hoping to sit in on 1st grade swahili! I figure even that might be above my level but I can learn something! haha.
We have been working on planning a trip to zanzibar. It has been a huge mess and frustration and I am thinking I might not go, at least with Stacey and Sharon. They both want to go straight to a beach town, and do nothing but sit on a beach and party at night. If you know me well, you know I dont sit well long in one place, esp on a beach- with sand- and that I didnt come to africa to party. I want to see Stone town and go on a spice tour and get lost in the cobble stone streets with cool coffee vendors and sidewalk markets. SO because we want different things and are not really on the same page about how to get there, I think they are making it much more complicated because they are trying to squeeze the most time out, even to the hour, I might just not go. I may go later with another volunteer, or not at all- though I feel that is a not so fun. We shall see.
I have been looking on all my walks for a certain picture I had in my head and this morning, I finally saw it and got to photograph it. You might think its pretty dull, but I am amazed by it... a clothes line covered in colourful kangas. The bright patterns of one african fabric after another is just awesome. And it is less invasive then photgraphing a group of women.
Last Friday we came into Arusha to do things, not sure what. I ended up running into a guy whom I'd met a week ago, named Noel- he was born on dec 26. He is in tourism school, taking spanish classes -Maybe I already talked about him? if so, apology. But it was fun to see him again and talk to him. None of the other people selling art prints or sunglasses bothered me. The girls were so frustrated with the selling and hassle but Noel told me that they are rude about it and that they should be nice like me and just try to talk to them. I dont think the girls appreciated this very much. We all have different ways of dealing with people trying to sell us things, I choose to talk to them, they just say no and get annoyed. It is frustrating at times how annoyed and bothered they get. But, I have to remember, we all handle it differently- I am just glad I do the way I do.
The weekend was pretty dull, with cold cold weather and rain. I am going to have to find something to do on weekends to keep me sane. Though I have read a lot. I did walk around a lot in Usa, and really enjoy walking alone. More people talk to you when you are alone and you have the freedom to stop and have a conversation if you wish. I stopped and talked with a lady dewing on her porch and watched her make a skirt. I stopped to talk with a group of kids and got to actually ask their names and where they were in school and which year they were in. Since then everytime I pass they yell 'hey lady- they missed the B part of my name...' and run to greet me, which is awesome.
Sunday we went to church with our host family. I was very excited. The music was good, but not as upbeat as I hoped it would be. And there were no drums. How do you have African church with no drums I ask? Barnabus took notes in english during the sermon, so we could kinda follow what was being said. Basically it was all about loving our neighbor and bringing them to christ and how we have to open our hearts to God and pray to him and share with him. I felt like she said the same thing over and over and I couldnt even understand the swahili. But it was interesting. We 3 had to get up and introduce ourselves to the church, and I said mine in swahili, which i thought was pretty cool. I knew how to say my name is libby, im from america, and Im here teaching, so why not. I am glad I did, they all laughed when I said jambo (hello) though- but I am very used to people laughing when I speak. I dont think it is a laughing at really, but more a oh woah she kinda speaks swahili! (maybe I am fooling myself though, haha, i know the students today full out laughed at me. but its ok i know im a funny person! haha. right. : ) )
alright. I think thats the update. I will be back in town in a few days i think and will let you know how school is going and i think put some pictures on here if i can 1. figure it out and 2. find the patience! We are hoping to come back on afternoon to watch the Rwanda trials that are going on here... yes, think hotel rwanda and the people who were responsible for that on trial. awesome. I mean, to get to watch at least is awesome.
until then, nakupenda (love you)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
lions. poop. officer.
Jambo. first, i apologize if i repeat stories, i do not go back and read what i posted the time before. AND i want this to be as honest as i can be, if you havent noticed.... so forgive me if i offend or disgust. the title does say poop though....
we spent the past weekend on safari, hitting up lake manyara, the ngorongoro crater, and the sarangeti. unfortunately i took sick thursday night and had tummy troubs all night. I popped some immodium friday morning, praying i would be okay for the jeep ride, only to develop a fever in the car that wouldnt break with advil and tylenol combined. awesome. luckily my tummy troubs held off in the car and my fever broke for about an hour at the peak of our time in Manyara. To see the animals, even feeling like crap, was amazing. I took lots of pictures but i dont even think it does it justice. we saw baboons all over the road and climbing on cars, elephants, giraffe, lions - and cubs!- warthogs, tonnnns of zebra, impala, one rhino, hyena, wildabeast, and crazy birds. Think the lion king, we saw it. AND in the sarangeti we saw pride rock, which the lion king pride rock is based off of. so cool. we camped the first night outside of the park, where i felt like i was dying. I threw up in the middle of the night and made many a trip to the loo- was glad to see a western style toilet for that experience. the next night we camped in the middle of the sarangeti, with signs everywhere saying dont feed the animals that happen to come on to the site. so neat. the last night we camped on the edge of the ngorongoro crater, it was soooo dang cold but beautiful. you look down on a circle of grasslands that are in a ring of mountains. that night as we cuddled into our sleeping bags- i was wearing two skirts over my jeans, two tshirts, a long sleeve and a fleece, an airplane blanket and then my sleeping bag- the field next to our tents was fulllll of zebra. at least 50. saturday night our driver gave me some crazy tanzania medicine to take bc I still had the runs. Luckily, a brittish pharmacist had joined our safari, so i ran everything i took by him and he helped me manage my meds. Oh to see the places where I had to go poop- if you can even call it poop. many times it was just between two rocks. haha. what an experience. I began to feel better sunday night and actually got to enjoy the good food. over all, it was a freaking amazing experience to see the animals and just the environment. it really felt and still feels surreal when i look at my pictures. wow, i am blessed to have that opportunity!
We arrived back home Monday evening, and it was nice to be home- and warm- again. sadly, i got sick again Monday night... allllllll night. tuesday morning i took my cipro, hoping to finally kill whatever was causing it. I stayed home from the orphanage yesterday and just slept. I felt better, i think cipro is a wonder drug! we found out last night that the boy who got sick with the same thing i had was in hospital last night- bacterial infection. i suppose my body fought it off better, he was throwing up more than i was and his fever didn't break for two days. he is doing well now i think. I am feeling better now, still not 100%. but I am getting there. soon.
Now for the more interesting news. I am officially teaching only now. I will visit the orphanage a few times, for an hour here or there, but I am done there. Yesterday while i was home sick, an immigration officer came to the orphanage. because i wasnt there, i am still a little unclear as to what happened, but apparently they wanted us to show them our passports and since we didnt have them we were suppose to bring them back this morning. apparently they were checking that we had volunteer visas, which we didnt. after forever of heated voices, titus, our volunteer organization director, came to meet us and told us he had talked to the officers and worked out a deal to keep us from being fined 400 and had bribed them into giving us the new visas for $50 instead of $120. the girls were pissed and yelled at Titus about how we shouldnt have to pay. the whole thing was just bad. I had to keep telling them to stop interrupting him because he couldnt even tell us the soultion because they kept asking questions and just saying they wouldnt pay. it was incredibly frustrating. It worked out that we were to meet him today to get our new visas for $50.
one of the girls refused to work within Titus's bribe and wanted to do it herself and contact the embassy. Emma told me that all things in tanzania are bribes and you just go with the corruption. i was set to just pay the 50 and get the visa i need. instead, when we met titus, he told us to leave it for a few days and see what happens. as soon as we had settled that, two other girls working directly through the orphanage came out of the immigration offices with the new visas. because they went, we knew thy would be looking for the 3 americans that they had written down to come through. lindsay and i decided to opt out of the orphanage and teach, meaning we wont need another visa- yet atleast. Stacey and sharon gave titus their passports to get the new visa so they can stay at the orphanage, they dont want to teach. The orphanage has been targeted because they have volunteers directly through the place as well as through organizations. as well, the nannys told the officers we were there before we could tell them we are just passing through between safaris. in the future all should be well. although i was kinda looking forward to having to get another visa- and another stamp! haha. oh my passport, i adore it.
So things are good, kinda up in the air again, but good. I talked to anne briefly last week and she said i sounded kinda bummed. honestly, it was a big adjustement when i got here and i didnt expect it. I am still getting used to being around fairly negative volunteers. Often i want to just scream 'you are in Fing africa....' when the toilets arent good or there is only bread of breakfast, or we have to get another visa. i am really working on staying positive and trying to ignore all the negative comments, but its getting annoying. I am hoping to go see emma in a few weeks- alone, if i can swing a tactful way of saying i want to go alone- for some space and time to be with someone who loves tanzania and will not have negative things to say about not having toilet paper in the bathroom all the time and getting annoyed to have to ask for it when it runs out.
I am truly excited about teaching, the babys are adorable but holding babys all day could get old in two months. plus being with children i can interact with more, will be much more enjoyable. plus, i am thinking it will pump up my swahili. i have been kinda stagnant in my learning for a while. so that will be good.
there are minimal plans for zanzibar in two weeks, but i am not hopeful that they will come through. i have told the girls that i refuse to go if it is half ass planned and planned stressfully a few days before we go. so we shall see. there is still time. I will go alone if need be, there are plenty of travelers there.
all in all, i love it. im happy, and getting healthy.
xoxo
we spent the past weekend on safari, hitting up lake manyara, the ngorongoro crater, and the sarangeti. unfortunately i took sick thursday night and had tummy troubs all night. I popped some immodium friday morning, praying i would be okay for the jeep ride, only to develop a fever in the car that wouldnt break with advil and tylenol combined. awesome. luckily my tummy troubs held off in the car and my fever broke for about an hour at the peak of our time in Manyara. To see the animals, even feeling like crap, was amazing. I took lots of pictures but i dont even think it does it justice. we saw baboons all over the road and climbing on cars, elephants, giraffe, lions - and cubs!- warthogs, tonnnns of zebra, impala, one rhino, hyena, wildabeast, and crazy birds. Think the lion king, we saw it. AND in the sarangeti we saw pride rock, which the lion king pride rock is based off of. so cool. we camped the first night outside of the park, where i felt like i was dying. I threw up in the middle of the night and made many a trip to the loo- was glad to see a western style toilet for that experience. the next night we camped in the middle of the sarangeti, with signs everywhere saying dont feed the animals that happen to come on to the site. so neat. the last night we camped on the edge of the ngorongoro crater, it was soooo dang cold but beautiful. you look down on a circle of grasslands that are in a ring of mountains. that night as we cuddled into our sleeping bags- i was wearing two skirts over my jeans, two tshirts, a long sleeve and a fleece, an airplane blanket and then my sleeping bag- the field next to our tents was fulllll of zebra. at least 50. saturday night our driver gave me some crazy tanzania medicine to take bc I still had the runs. Luckily, a brittish pharmacist had joined our safari, so i ran everything i took by him and he helped me manage my meds. Oh to see the places where I had to go poop- if you can even call it poop. many times it was just between two rocks. haha. what an experience. I began to feel better sunday night and actually got to enjoy the good food. over all, it was a freaking amazing experience to see the animals and just the environment. it really felt and still feels surreal when i look at my pictures. wow, i am blessed to have that opportunity!
We arrived back home Monday evening, and it was nice to be home- and warm- again. sadly, i got sick again Monday night... allllllll night. tuesday morning i took my cipro, hoping to finally kill whatever was causing it. I stayed home from the orphanage yesterday and just slept. I felt better, i think cipro is a wonder drug! we found out last night that the boy who got sick with the same thing i had was in hospital last night- bacterial infection. i suppose my body fought it off better, he was throwing up more than i was and his fever didn't break for two days. he is doing well now i think. I am feeling better now, still not 100%. but I am getting there. soon.
Now for the more interesting news. I am officially teaching only now. I will visit the orphanage a few times, for an hour here or there, but I am done there. Yesterday while i was home sick, an immigration officer came to the orphanage. because i wasnt there, i am still a little unclear as to what happened, but apparently they wanted us to show them our passports and since we didnt have them we were suppose to bring them back this morning. apparently they were checking that we had volunteer visas, which we didnt. after forever of heated voices, titus, our volunteer organization director, came to meet us and told us he had talked to the officers and worked out a deal to keep us from being fined 400 and had bribed them into giving us the new visas for $50 instead of $120. the girls were pissed and yelled at Titus about how we shouldnt have to pay. the whole thing was just bad. I had to keep telling them to stop interrupting him because he couldnt even tell us the soultion because they kept asking questions and just saying they wouldnt pay. it was incredibly frustrating. It worked out that we were to meet him today to get our new visas for $50.
one of the girls refused to work within Titus's bribe and wanted to do it herself and contact the embassy. Emma told me that all things in tanzania are bribes and you just go with the corruption. i was set to just pay the 50 and get the visa i need. instead, when we met titus, he told us to leave it for a few days and see what happens. as soon as we had settled that, two other girls working directly through the orphanage came out of the immigration offices with the new visas. because they went, we knew thy would be looking for the 3 americans that they had written down to come through. lindsay and i decided to opt out of the orphanage and teach, meaning we wont need another visa- yet atleast. Stacey and sharon gave titus their passports to get the new visa so they can stay at the orphanage, they dont want to teach. The orphanage has been targeted because they have volunteers directly through the place as well as through organizations. as well, the nannys told the officers we were there before we could tell them we are just passing through between safaris. in the future all should be well. although i was kinda looking forward to having to get another visa- and another stamp! haha. oh my passport, i adore it.
So things are good, kinda up in the air again, but good. I talked to anne briefly last week and she said i sounded kinda bummed. honestly, it was a big adjustement when i got here and i didnt expect it. I am still getting used to being around fairly negative volunteers. Often i want to just scream 'you are in Fing africa....' when the toilets arent good or there is only bread of breakfast, or we have to get another visa. i am really working on staying positive and trying to ignore all the negative comments, but its getting annoying. I am hoping to go see emma in a few weeks- alone, if i can swing a tactful way of saying i want to go alone- for some space and time to be with someone who loves tanzania and will not have negative things to say about not having toilet paper in the bathroom all the time and getting annoyed to have to ask for it when it runs out.
I am truly excited about teaching, the babys are adorable but holding babys all day could get old in two months. plus being with children i can interact with more, will be much more enjoyable. plus, i am thinking it will pump up my swahili. i have been kinda stagnant in my learning for a while. so that will be good.
there are minimal plans for zanzibar in two weeks, but i am not hopeful that they will come through. i have told the girls that i refuse to go if it is half ass planned and planned stressfully a few days before we go. so we shall see. there is still time. I will go alone if need be, there are plenty of travelers there.
all in all, i love it. im happy, and getting healthy.
xoxo
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Go With the Flow
First, I must tell you what a test of patience it is to get on the internet in our village. 10 minutes just to bring up this site! awesome! and excuse my grammer and spelling, I will not take the time to reread or correct. I just cant be bothered! Now that that is out of the way, MAMBO!
The past few days have been good, ups and downs naturally, but overall good! It seems like so much happens in just a few days, so I have begun taking notes so that when i do get to the internet i can remember the big stories I want to share. Some are big, some are small little instances that just happened. First, a crazy experience we had was taking a dalla dalla back from Arusha Town after my last post. The ride is about 45 minutes or so. As we walked up to the dalla stand, our host brother and friend, jeffit, were surrounded by drivers who bagan fighting over who would take us. The pushing started, the pulling on jeffit and eachother, and then the fists came out, all over who would get our buisness! Thankfully, all the hasseling was done to Barnabus and Jeffit, and no one touched or even talked to us. Last night we took a dalla on the way home, all alone without our host bro, and luckily it went much smoother!
We have already begun learning to practice carrying bottles on our heads, our practice for the big buckets. It is much harder than I thought it would be! Our host sister, Agape, who is around 10 is helping us. Sunday we had our program orientation. We traveled to Arusha Town not sure how many other volunteers for expect. There were probably 20 of us, total- more than i thought there would be. Overall, I was not impressed with the group of people. AT ALL. I have never encountered people which such low cultural sensitivity, especially among people volunteering for at least a month stint. A group of the volunteers first impression was this: they told us a story, laughing hysterically the whole time, about how the first night there was a rooster outside their window, so the next day they offered to buy it from their neighbor who owned it and killed it, so they could get their sleep. I was speechless.... lucky... because had i not been I would have had many choice words for them about how completely horrible that is. THANK God, I am out in Usa River with some pretty decent people. Though, we all have our moments.
I have a pretty sweet rash. I kinda resemble a man with a ginger beard because of the location and colour of it. maybe I should be showering more often? once so far might not have been enough... haha.
We had some trouble telling our host brother, Barnabus, 19, that he cant come everywhere with us. We had been going everywhere together, to get used to the city and our village, but have gotten to the point where we need some independence and some time with the other volunteers. We were going back into Arusha Town yesterday for a dinner and had a bit of a struggle trying to tell him we didnt want him to go. I don't know how it will play out in the future... so it will be interesting. Our host fam is great though over all. Very religious, which I expected. And since Stacey and Sharon are atheists, I do the nightly prayer almost every other night. M&D- if only the thumbs up game worked here!
Since I will be doing everything, basically, with Stacey and Sharon, Ill tell you a bit about them. Stacey is from CA, will be a senior in social work. She has a boyfriend and misses him a lot and got mad for getting an A- in one of her classes. We have a lot in common I suppose. Sharon is 23 and will start teaching school in the fall in Toronto where she is from. We are all working on being flexible and going with the flow, but there are times where I just have to keep my mouth shut and let them be upset about things. There is some negative energy about somethings, coming from them, so that is a bit of a bummer. but, they are good girls and I do enjoy them.
We have started our job at Cradle of Love, an orphanage for babies, newborn to 3. It is intended to be a short term stay for children to get healthy and then returned to their relatives or neighbors who will take them. They are also up for adoption before that point or if they are released by their relatives. There are 37 children in the orphanage, yesterday there were 38. One died this morning, the second death in a week. The babies are adorable generally, but I already have a few favorites from each age group. No lie, there is one that I would bring home in a heart beat, but who does that surprise?? The orphanage was started and is run by an American woman. It is interesting though, how little involvment she has in the daily running of the place. Through talking with the other volunteers, there are many...., we have found out that lots of kids just miss a meal, because the Tanzanian nannies don't keep track well enough and there is no system set in place to keep track. It seems like a simple thing to have a spreadsheet and check it all off... a simple solution that the founder has failed to even consider. BUT the place is very nice, with good beds and an okay amount of supplies and lots of voluteeers to make sure everyone gets held. There is a baby that is very sick and came home from hospital just this morning because the owner has gone back to the States for 7 weeks and the volunteer who has been left in charge doesn't have authority to keep them or pay for them to be in hospital. I don't know that Jackson will make it through the week. It is really frustrating. But I won't go too much into that.
We are going on safari on Friday and I can't wait! Five of the six of us in Usa River are going, so that will be nice. Saif has been here for 3 weeks, so he has already gone. I just can't wait, thats about all there is to say about it.
We have started brushing our teeth with the water, our family has said it is safe, and so far no problems. I am sleeping a wee bit better, but still not great. And worrysome enough, I already feel mildly sick of Tanzania food. We had Ugali the other night for the first time, fufu for you Nora, and it is not the most appetizing thing. Imagine grits, ground finer, but cooked to be extra thick. You form a ball, then dip it into a stew like dish. exchange ugali for rice, white or brown, and you have every meal. We are not sure what the meat in the stew is, goat or beef, but we haven't asked. We also have had a huge ant infestation in our room- Stacey's beef jerky was a nice treat for them apparently. They are fire ants, so we are hoping that today we got everything food out of our room. I still have my nutragrain bars! I am saving them for when I really can't make myself eat Tanzanian food!
I think that is all for now. maybe I have caught up?
Things are good, still adjusting, but good. I still have to think about the fact that I really am here. It all just seems to surreal!
Hope all is well! Enjoy a salad for me! I'd kill for one!
xoxo
The past few days have been good, ups and downs naturally, but overall good! It seems like so much happens in just a few days, so I have begun taking notes so that when i do get to the internet i can remember the big stories I want to share. Some are big, some are small little instances that just happened. First, a crazy experience we had was taking a dalla dalla back from Arusha Town after my last post. The ride is about 45 minutes or so. As we walked up to the dalla stand, our host brother and friend, jeffit, were surrounded by drivers who bagan fighting over who would take us. The pushing started, the pulling on jeffit and eachother, and then the fists came out, all over who would get our buisness! Thankfully, all the hasseling was done to Barnabus and Jeffit, and no one touched or even talked to us. Last night we took a dalla on the way home, all alone without our host bro, and luckily it went much smoother!
We have already begun learning to practice carrying bottles on our heads, our practice for the big buckets. It is much harder than I thought it would be! Our host sister, Agape, who is around 10 is helping us. Sunday we had our program orientation. We traveled to Arusha Town not sure how many other volunteers for expect. There were probably 20 of us, total- more than i thought there would be. Overall, I was not impressed with the group of people. AT ALL. I have never encountered people which such low cultural sensitivity, especially among people volunteering for at least a month stint. A group of the volunteers first impression was this: they told us a story, laughing hysterically the whole time, about how the first night there was a rooster outside their window, so the next day they offered to buy it from their neighbor who owned it and killed it, so they could get their sleep. I was speechless.... lucky... because had i not been I would have had many choice words for them about how completely horrible that is. THANK God, I am out in Usa River with some pretty decent people. Though, we all have our moments.
I have a pretty sweet rash. I kinda resemble a man with a ginger beard because of the location and colour of it. maybe I should be showering more often? once so far might not have been enough... haha.
We had some trouble telling our host brother, Barnabus, 19, that he cant come everywhere with us. We had been going everywhere together, to get used to the city and our village, but have gotten to the point where we need some independence and some time with the other volunteers. We were going back into Arusha Town yesterday for a dinner and had a bit of a struggle trying to tell him we didnt want him to go. I don't know how it will play out in the future... so it will be interesting. Our host fam is great though over all. Very religious, which I expected. And since Stacey and Sharon are atheists, I do the nightly prayer almost every other night. M&D- if only the thumbs up game worked here!
Since I will be doing everything, basically, with Stacey and Sharon, Ill tell you a bit about them. Stacey is from CA, will be a senior in social work. She has a boyfriend and misses him a lot and got mad for getting an A- in one of her classes. We have a lot in common I suppose. Sharon is 23 and will start teaching school in the fall in Toronto where she is from. We are all working on being flexible and going with the flow, but there are times where I just have to keep my mouth shut and let them be upset about things. There is some negative energy about somethings, coming from them, so that is a bit of a bummer. but, they are good girls and I do enjoy them.
We have started our job at Cradle of Love, an orphanage for babies, newborn to 3. It is intended to be a short term stay for children to get healthy and then returned to their relatives or neighbors who will take them. They are also up for adoption before that point or if they are released by their relatives. There are 37 children in the orphanage, yesterday there were 38. One died this morning, the second death in a week. The babies are adorable generally, but I already have a few favorites from each age group. No lie, there is one that I would bring home in a heart beat, but who does that surprise?? The orphanage was started and is run by an American woman. It is interesting though, how little involvment she has in the daily running of the place. Through talking with the other volunteers, there are many...., we have found out that lots of kids just miss a meal, because the Tanzanian nannies don't keep track well enough and there is no system set in place to keep track. It seems like a simple thing to have a spreadsheet and check it all off... a simple solution that the founder has failed to even consider. BUT the place is very nice, with good beds and an okay amount of supplies and lots of voluteeers to make sure everyone gets held. There is a baby that is very sick and came home from hospital just this morning because the owner has gone back to the States for 7 weeks and the volunteer who has been left in charge doesn't have authority to keep them or pay for them to be in hospital. I don't know that Jackson will make it through the week. It is really frustrating. But I won't go too much into that.
We are going on safari on Friday and I can't wait! Five of the six of us in Usa River are going, so that will be nice. Saif has been here for 3 weeks, so he has already gone. I just can't wait, thats about all there is to say about it.
We have started brushing our teeth with the water, our family has said it is safe, and so far no problems. I am sleeping a wee bit better, but still not great. And worrysome enough, I already feel mildly sick of Tanzania food. We had Ugali the other night for the first time, fufu for you Nora, and it is not the most appetizing thing. Imagine grits, ground finer, but cooked to be extra thick. You form a ball, then dip it into a stew like dish. exchange ugali for rice, white or brown, and you have every meal. We are not sure what the meat in the stew is, goat or beef, but we haven't asked. We also have had a huge ant infestation in our room- Stacey's beef jerky was a nice treat for them apparently. They are fire ants, so we are hoping that today we got everything food out of our room. I still have my nutragrain bars! I am saving them for when I really can't make myself eat Tanzanian food!
I think that is all for now. maybe I have caught up?
Things are good, still adjusting, but good. I still have to think about the fact that I really am here. It all just seems to surreal!
Hope all is well! Enjoy a salad for me! I'd kill for one!
xoxo
Saturday, May 31, 2008
here. overwhelming. precious.
Jambo!
I am sitting, sweating, in an internet cafe in Arusha town visiting with my friend Emma and the two other girls who are sharing my home stay and placement. The trip here was an adventure, complete with no sleeping even though I was taking sleeping pills! awesome! My flight from London to Nairobi was canceled, but I was able to get on another flight through Kenya Airways and arrived in time to still make my flight from Kenya down to Arusha. I met two girls in my program while in the airport in Nairobi, Sharon and Stacey. On our flight from kenya down we flew right past Kilimanjaro! It was amazing, we were above the clouds but could see where the top reached above the clouds. We got our visas and Sharon was took the prize as the first one to get sick... even before going through customs! We were picked up from the airport and delivered to a house, that we were told would be our home stay for the summer. I had planned to stay in Arusha town with Emma the first few nights before the program started. We had no idea what was going on and I had no way to get in touch with Emma. Finally, late last night I got a chance to call her. (M&D sorry you got no call....) But we made it after a day of stomach aches from not knowing what the hell was going on.
We spent the day yesterday with our host brother, Barnabus, and his friend whose name I still do not know. They walked us all around the village we will now call home. We didnt know if we were in Arusha or where we were, but learned today that we are in a village about 20 minutes in a private car outside of Arusha Town. The village is called Usa River, pronounced oosa, not USA. I spent all day yesterday seeing people in Usa River t-shirts, but assumed they were from a rafting company or something in the states, not the name of our village. Pretty funny. The children in the town called out greetings to us all through our walk, and the cutest little boy even followed us for 15 minutes singing songs to us. It was adorable. If I could bring him home I would! We were pretty unsure about water, but managed to buy a bottle for $1 for a tiny shop in the village. From there, we didnt really know where our next shared bottle would come from. We took a nap yesterday afternoon and being able to lie down was amazing after two overnight flights! We have a cute room with three beds and mosquito nets. We had dinner, a dish of rice and meat and cooked bananas- though they tasted like potatoes. Our host parents came home from work and we got to meet them. We got a more in detail intro to the house, including a lesson on water and where they boil it and put it for us. The house girl is amazing and will become our best friend I think. She was still up last night doing work and was up this morning in the middle of the washing when we woke up. Our host dad is the tour operator that our program has partnered with, so needless to say we have the best hook up for safaris! woo hoo!
Early to bed last night and I slept well til about 2.30am. I got up to pee, which is unusual for me, and then couldnt go back to sleep. I got stuck in the choo (bathroom) for a while unable to get the key to turn back to unlock the door. Anne, I thought about your Nica story... haha. Our house is very nice, pretty affluent family. We have electricity off and on and running water- I think I am relieved truthfully. Our toilet is a porcelain hole in the ground, but does actually flush. We still have yet to ask about the shower... yep, its been 4 days since I showered! This morning, Barnabus and his friend brought us into Arusha Town to meet Emma. We went to the bank and changed money and then waited for a dalla-dalla to take us into town. I have never seen so many people crammed into a 15 passenger van, even in Egypt! It was an adventure to say the least and we finally got to see the one stop light in the whole Arusha region! We are still in Arusha Town now, we had lunch and I have caught up with Emma and given her the tuna and reeces pieces I brought her. I am also the proud owner of a new mobile phone which awesomely enough is exactly like my mobile in Belfast! it makes me miss my 077 number a wee bit...
We start orientation tomorrow and will get a lot of the unknown stuff straightened out. I suppose we will start our orphanage work on Monday, though I don't know for sure. There is a huge conference here in Arusha Town starting tomorrow, so it will be a little crazy and I am glad we are out in a village. Over all, it is a little overwhelming, truthfully. It is greener than I anticipated. The weather is warm but not super hot, and ranges a lot from morning to day to night. We have not seen rain yet, and it is pretty cloudy off and on, though I have already acquired a nice sunburn on my chest. Only one bug bite so far, and a few blisters on the toes as I break the feet into chaco's again!
Alright, my time is almost up.
More soon. Know that I am well.
xoxo
I am sitting, sweating, in an internet cafe in Arusha town visiting with my friend Emma and the two other girls who are sharing my home stay and placement. The trip here was an adventure, complete with no sleeping even though I was taking sleeping pills! awesome! My flight from London to Nairobi was canceled, but I was able to get on another flight through Kenya Airways and arrived in time to still make my flight from Kenya down to Arusha. I met two girls in my program while in the airport in Nairobi, Sharon and Stacey. On our flight from kenya down we flew right past Kilimanjaro! It was amazing, we were above the clouds but could see where the top reached above the clouds. We got our visas and Sharon was took the prize as the first one to get sick... even before going through customs! We were picked up from the airport and delivered to a house, that we were told would be our home stay for the summer. I had planned to stay in Arusha town with Emma the first few nights before the program started. We had no idea what was going on and I had no way to get in touch with Emma. Finally, late last night I got a chance to call her. (M&D sorry you got no call....) But we made it after a day of stomach aches from not knowing what the hell was going on.
We spent the day yesterday with our host brother, Barnabus, and his friend whose name I still do not know. They walked us all around the village we will now call home. We didnt know if we were in Arusha or where we were, but learned today that we are in a village about 20 minutes in a private car outside of Arusha Town. The village is called Usa River, pronounced oosa, not USA. I spent all day yesterday seeing people in Usa River t-shirts, but assumed they were from a rafting company or something in the states, not the name of our village. Pretty funny. The children in the town called out greetings to us all through our walk, and the cutest little boy even followed us for 15 minutes singing songs to us. It was adorable. If I could bring him home I would! We were pretty unsure about water, but managed to buy a bottle for $1 for a tiny shop in the village. From there, we didnt really know where our next shared bottle would come from. We took a nap yesterday afternoon and being able to lie down was amazing after two overnight flights! We have a cute room with three beds and mosquito nets. We had dinner, a dish of rice and meat and cooked bananas- though they tasted like potatoes. Our host parents came home from work and we got to meet them. We got a more in detail intro to the house, including a lesson on water and where they boil it and put it for us. The house girl is amazing and will become our best friend I think. She was still up last night doing work and was up this morning in the middle of the washing when we woke up. Our host dad is the tour operator that our program has partnered with, so needless to say we have the best hook up for safaris! woo hoo!
Early to bed last night and I slept well til about 2.30am. I got up to pee, which is unusual for me, and then couldnt go back to sleep. I got stuck in the choo (bathroom) for a while unable to get the key to turn back to unlock the door. Anne, I thought about your Nica story... haha. Our house is very nice, pretty affluent family. We have electricity off and on and running water- I think I am relieved truthfully. Our toilet is a porcelain hole in the ground, but does actually flush. We still have yet to ask about the shower... yep, its been 4 days since I showered! This morning, Barnabus and his friend brought us into Arusha Town to meet Emma. We went to the bank and changed money and then waited for a dalla-dalla to take us into town. I have never seen so many people crammed into a 15 passenger van, even in Egypt! It was an adventure to say the least and we finally got to see the one stop light in the whole Arusha region! We are still in Arusha Town now, we had lunch and I have caught up with Emma and given her the tuna and reeces pieces I brought her. I am also the proud owner of a new mobile phone which awesomely enough is exactly like my mobile in Belfast! it makes me miss my 077 number a wee bit...
We start orientation tomorrow and will get a lot of the unknown stuff straightened out. I suppose we will start our orphanage work on Monday, though I don't know for sure. There is a huge conference here in Arusha Town starting tomorrow, so it will be a little crazy and I am glad we are out in a village. Over all, it is a little overwhelming, truthfully. It is greener than I anticipated. The weather is warm but not super hot, and ranges a lot from morning to day to night. We have not seen rain yet, and it is pretty cloudy off and on, though I have already acquired a nice sunburn on my chest. Only one bug bite so far, and a few blisters on the toes as I break the feet into chaco's again!
Alright, my time is almost up.
More soon. Know that I am well.
xoxo
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