Graduation

When I returned to site on Sunday I started packing/arranging all of my things. I packed 2 bags and had piles of stuff to give to the girls’ dormitory. I walked over to the dormitory with a jiko and some laundry detergent and told them I had many presents for them. All of a sudden, about 20 girls were following me back to my house. There were younger girls too that were just hanging out in anticipation for the graduation preparations. We walked into my courtyard where I had set aside a bag of charcoal, a piece of rebar to break up charcoal, a charcoal “spoon” to carry hot coals, and a pot holder for making ugali. Silly me, I had left out my hand washing station and a few dirty pots/dishes/silverware. When I pointed to the pile and said, “This”, there were kids diving in to grab anything they could. Finally they set down the dirty dishes after I told them I still needed to eat for another day and a half!

Next, we went inside to a chair in the corner. I had put all the little things I couldn’t pack/didn’t need/were almost empty. Once again, a crazy mad dash. Oh my gosh. They seemed so shy and unsure at first and as soon as I reassured them those were the gifts, it was just crazy! I thought it was funny so asked if I could take a picture. As soon as the flash went off they all started cheering! The girls hung around and we took pictures. I also brought out the Pop Rocks again, and they loved them. Some older boys were milling around outside preparing to slaughter the goat. I got to watch them butcher it and unravel/empty all of its organs. It just looked like green mulch. For some reason they didn’t skin the bottoms of the legs, so it looked really funny. The boys were messing around with the goat and said, “Madame, in Biology, we call this a pen-is.” They were laughing at me because I looked so disgusted by the whole process. Also, Tanzanians don’t know how to properly cut meat off an animal. They just hack away, bones and all. I had a lot of fun joking around with them and hanging out with all the girls.

Monday was graduation day! I woke up early to pack a little bit more, but when I went out my back door to burn trash I found the boys starting a fire for the goat. They were roasting the hide and testes first. The head was sitting in a bucket on top of all the other meat. They were scraping off the fat from the hide, setting in on the fire for a minute, then eating it. The testicles had a long stringy tube hanging out (vas deferens?) that was placed on the fire for a minute to char and then offered to me. It tasted like chewy, uncooked, burned chicken. Not the best but I’m happy I got to try it. They continued to cook the rest of the goat and I went to the school to help with decorations. Somehow they had little tiny balloons but nobody knew how to tie them. My Mkuu also hung the Peace Corps 50^th Anniversary kanga for decorations (even though he knew I was leaving the next day). I guess it was also a going away celebration for me.

The graduation was supposed to start at 10am, but we didn’t start until noon. I should’ve known that I could be late!  It was cool to watch people arriving. There was so much excitement! Vendors came to sell coconuts, popsicles, mandazi and other trinkets. Pikipiki drivers were kept super busy delivering family after family. I could tell the whole village had been waiting for this celebration for a while and this was one of their few opportunities to let loose and splurge a little. While we were waiting to begin, one part-time teacher was telling me how much they would miss me and how they would never get this opportunity again. I do feel bad for leaving, but if they really wanted me, they would have fulfilled their end of the bargain. This teacher also kept saying that he thought the environment was too harsh for me and that I just wanted to go back to America.

Anyway, the ceremony finally started. I was sitting in between my Mkuu and the Mkuu of the primary school. I really liked him because he kept making jokes and off-hand comments throughout the ceremony. The ceremony consisted of a lot of singing and dancing. First all of the teachers got up and did a cheer and introduction. They really liked saying “oh yay” as a cheer. “Chinongwe, oh yay! Wanafunzi, oh yay! Form 4, oh yay!” Then my Mkuu announced that I was leaving so I had to give a short speech saying goodbye and thank you. The Form 4 students were “presented” and did a song/dance thing. The “kwaya” (choir) was made up of other students also they also danced and sang a lot too. In between each “act”, the MC would say a few words and the DJ would play some music. Apparently a lot of villagers had been drinking homemade alcohol so as the ceremony went on the dance sessions got longer and more intense. A hired guard was supposed to control everyone and clear off the “stage” for each performance, but he seemed to be having difficulty. During the performances parents/loved ones would come up and dance around their kid and slip folded up money into their hands or put a lei around their necks. Followed by a banshee scream, of course. I know kids in America are embarrassed by their parents but this would have mortified me! There were also rap performances by some “shoroboro” (gangster) Form 4 students. Shadrock, my water boy, even included me in his rap. I was so touched. “Thank you Mr. Magambo, thank you Mr. Liviga, thank you Madame Aly, and thank you other teachers.” After all the singing and dancing, the graduates’ names were announced and they had to shake all the teachers’ hands and exit the stage. It was weird to be the “official hand shaker” when I just graduated a few short months ago. Each student was followed by their families who had even more gifts!

All the teachers were taken to a classroom to wait for food. Mamas had been working all day to prepare food. In the morning I had seen an entire 70L drum filled with uncooked rice. They were cooking in pots about 3 feet in diameter. I decided to walk around and mingle instead of awkwardly sitting with the teachers. I met Ambari and Shadrock’s (2 of the boys that lived next door) families outside. Then all of these random people started asking me to take pictures with them. I was standing talking to a random guy and a huge crowd of children gathered to stare at me. Finally I asked if they wanted to take a picture. They were so excited to be included! Then a Mama untied her baby from her back and said she wanted me to take a picture with her. I felt like such a celebrity! I finally made it back to the classroom after many awkward introductions, business offers, and attempted conversations. I had missed lunch though! They sent kids to find me pilau. I ate my first meal of the day at 4:30pm.

People were starting to leave so I decided it was a good time to go home. I was only home for a few minutes before someone came asking for water, so I decided to walk around and try to continue the party. The DJ was sitting outside my house so I asked him to turn the music on again. A little girl who was friends with my Mkuu’s daughter just grabbed me hand and we walked back to school together. Mujuni, who had my camera for the whole day, was with us also. He also lived with my Mkuu but was a Form 1 so I think he felt a little left out because all of his friends were graduating. He was happy to be the photographer though. A random lady rode her bicycle over and told us it was time to eat! Mujuni seemed excited to go with her so I figured it must be alright. She was Ambari’s older sister. She took me to her family’s house where about 20-30 relatives were continuing the celebration. Most of them were wearing matching kangas that had a quote-something about good behavior paying off (the boys had convinced me to get one too). This takes “family unity” to a whole new level. I was warmly welcomed by Ambari’s bibi, especially. They fed me ugali even though I told them I was full from eating pilau an hour prior. They also let me try togwa, which is a porridge/juice thing. I kindly excused myself and the dada and her 3 year old son walked me home. I forget his name but he was the cutest kid! He had so much attitude-chewing on a bone forever, putting my keys in his mouth, climbing up my window bars, flipping electrical switches, etc. but I had a lot of fun playing with him. I think his mama was drunk and probably tired of taking care of him too. Another of Ambari’s sisters (probably 12 years old) showed up and started talking about the Pop Rocks she had eaten the night before. (She had also been the lucky winner of a pair of shoes.) So I brought out the Pop Rocks again and the little boy laughed hysterically and kept demanding more. Ah, I would totally adopt him!

That ended my exciting day. It was probably the best 24 hours I had spent at site. I am so happy I left on a good note. The next morning I woke up to finish packing. I gave the rest of my stuff to the girls’ dormitory and had some boys start moving my cabinet to the library. My Mkuu said they will move the library to a different classroom, so he will move the cabinet there “soon”. I doubt it.  I had arranged a private driver from Ndanda and he showed up EARLY! I was so surprised. Tanzanians are NEVER on time. We loaded up all my teaching supplies, toiletries, kitchen supplies, a bucket, medical kit, food, clothes, etc. I fit everything into only 4 bags. He delivered me to Masasi and helped me get my bags onto a bus.

I arrived in Newala and took a bajaj up to my new house. It was so effortless! We went to school to see if the Mkuu was still around, but he wasn’t so we went to his house to make introductions. He seemed excited to have me! I was able to unpack everything out of my bags and then we went out for a celebratory beer and chipsi mayai!

Wednesday I went to school at 7:30 for the morning parade. I was introduced to the students there and then led to the staff room. I met most people and everyone was so nice to me! One teacher took me to individually meet all of my classes. I will still be teaching Form 1 and Form 2 English. I met with the Academic Master and looked at the Scheme of Work (lesson plans for the year) to see where I need to start teaching. I was amazed at how many adults were around. Chinongwe is basically just run by the students. Newala Day Secondary School has A Headmaster, Academic Master, Department Heads, Secretary, and Discipline Mistress. It is crazy how much more structure there is. We had a staff meeting from 11am until almost 2pm. I understood basically nothing since it was all done in Swahili. Nothing seemed to get accomplished. I will return to school on Monday and begin teaching!

Other than that, we have had Kathryn and Jen (other volunteers) staying here, so we have just been hanging out, having a good time. Today Katie and I hauled a bunch of water and then cleaned out a NASTY storage shed. The floor was covered with ½ inch of animal droppings and dust. We had a huge bonfire and salvaged anything that might be useful later. We also organized the kitchen and threw out some old things there. I know I will continue to clean and organize but I already feel comfortable here. This sounds kind of cheesy, but I think I was meant to be here. I spent my 21^st birthday here and exactly 2 months later, I returned to live here.  I will miss Chinongwe, but already I feel a lot more at ease here and not anxious about every little thing. Today I even walked out the gate in shorts because I knew no one could see! It was great.