Cowschwitz

My Uncle Doug has been sending me short stories that he writes based off of pictures. One of them was called “Cowshwitz”, a play on words (Auschwitz but for cows). Funny coincidence that our very own Biology Laboratory would become Cowshwitz!

Everyday around 2-3pm about thirty cows are herded behind my house. They graze for a while and then their herders move them onto different grounds. Apparently, the herders got distracted yesterday and let 15 cows run rampant. It is illegal to let cows graze on the property of any government institution, so there was only one thing to be done: herd the cows into the Biology Laboratory.

All last night I kept thinking the “moos” sounded incredibly close. As I walked to school this morning I realized the smell was incredibly close too! 15 cows and 2 goats are still locked in the room. They are standing in their own feces and have had no food or water for almost 24 hours. They can’t simply be released because this is a huge legal issue.

The herders broke the law by allowing their cows to wander onto school grounds. The Mkuu then reported the loose cows to police yesterday. He took photos of them “destroying the environment” for evidence. The herders finally went to the police this morning to claim their cows. They now need to prove they are the owners. Also, there is a fee to reclaim each cow. The fee will go to the school to pay for the damages. It is a total of 480,000/= ($300). A grown cow can be sold to the butcher for 800,000/= so these herders are losing a ridiculous amount of money. Once they pay the fine, then the cows will be released.

Check out the photos under "Newala Day Secondary School" in the Photo section to the left.

Other exciting things: A fundi came to look at my backyard because I want a concrete walkway to get to my choo. He will come with a team tomorrow and lay the cement. I'm so excited that I won't have to trudge through puddles just to go pee! I need to go with my Mkuu soon to buy the cement bags. A fundi came yesterday to fix my front porch light, since I “need to leave it on for safety”. I don’t really care either way. If I leave my house after dark I am never alone.

I have been helping another teacher, Joyce, with her English. Today she invited me to her house at chai. Her daughter is adorable and has just started to walk. She actually started to cry when we left. Joyce’s husband lives in Dar, so she has hired a house girl (she looked about 12 years old) to take care of the baby and cook during the day. I kept catching the house girl staring at me while we were eating. I just feel so bad that Tanzanians think we need special treatment. Everyone takes off their shoes when entering a house, but when I do they tell me my feet will get dirty. Everyone sits on a mat to eat, but I get a chair. Everyone eats with their hands, but I get a fork. I just want to be treated like them instead of a fragile piece of china!