My last week teaching at school was a complete mess. The
students were hauling furniture around, digging trenches and cleaning the
environment (or “practicing cleanliness) all week. Tetsuko eventually gave up
on teaching because the students were never in class. There will be
modifications made to the Administrative Block so all of the offices were moved
into the computer lab. So even though I had finally fixed the SMILE problems,
SMILE sessions couldn’t continue. The secretary was very upset about the move
because she was also supposed to be typing all the annual examinations during
this time. Unlike most teachers, I typed my exam myself, saved it in PDF,
installed anti-virus on the computer so I could safely transfer it, and then
printed it.
On Wednesday and Thursday I played a review game with my
Form 1 students. I walked into class with two of the beating sticks and it got
dead silent. The only reason teachers bring sticks to class (every day) is to
beat them. There were three components that correlated to the three sections on
their exam. For the first section, parts of speech, I read a sentence and then
said one word. On the blackboard I had written all the parts of speech: noun,
verb, adjective, etc. Then they had to point to the correct part of speech with
the stick. The first team to point to the correct part of speech got a point.
Then we did some true/false and short answers about HIV. Finally, we focused on
routine activities. I would say the main verbs (like wake up, play, read, cook,
etc.) in Swahili and then they had to write it in English on the blackboard.
For Form 1 A & B the boys won, for C & D the girls won. I gave them
pipi (candy) at the end of the game and that turned into a disaster. Scraped
knees, kids falling off desks, fist fights-it was horrible. I will never give
out candy again…maybe a movie night will be the reward next time.
So that was my Thanksgiving. Jen also came over in the
afternoon and we watched TV shows and ate scalloped potatoes. I stayed up
really late and got to Skype with everyone who was celebrating Thanksgiving in
Modesto. It was nice to be able to see everyone and say hello even though my
day wasn’t festive at all.
Friday morning I left my house at 4:45am and walked to the standi. The reporting time for the bus was 5:00am but as usual, it didn’t arrive until 5:30am. We did leave at 5:45 though! They have fixed the road so it was a lot less bumpy, but we still didn’t arrive in Dar es Salaam until about 5:30pm. We were harassed as soon as we got off the bus and then just hopped on a daladala which we thought went to Posta. Well, we got stuck in horrible traffic so we finally got off the dala and flagged down a taxi driver. He started off at 15,000/= but I got him down to 6,000/=. I still feel like I get ripped off sometimes. Finally, 14 hours later, we arrived at Econolodge.
Since we got in so late, Drew and I decided to stay in Dar
for an extra day. So that is when the eating began. Let me review what I ate in
a 24 hour period: half of a chicken, garlic naan, chipsi, 2 pieces of bread
with jam, banana, papaya piece, chai, ice cream bar, 2 hamburgers, fruit
slushie, and then we went to a buffet where I ate salad, soup, rice, 4 kinds of
curry, chunks of meat, falafels, flan, cake, and 2 bowls of ice cream.
Basically all we did all day was eat and go to Mwenge. Mwenge is an area of
town with a big market. First we hit up the “piles” which is just piles of used
clothes. I found a t-shirt and my prom dress. The guy in charge of one of the
piles kept saying he loved me, so I put him to work finding my prom dress. I
ended up paying 500/= ($0.30) for an 80s dress with shoulder pads. Then we went
to looked around the souvenir area. We were complemented over and over again on
our Swahili skills and given discounts accordingly. One man who was stoned out
of his mind was laughing hysterically about how Mzungus would buy his paintings
for $40, but because I was “Tanzanian”, I would only have to pay 5,000/=. Then
he led me in the back to give me a zawadi (gift) and it turned out to be a
brick-sized chunk of weed. I politely refused but he insisted on giving me a
gift so I left with a slingshot, two bracelets and a keychain for free. It is
crazy how much money they make off of white people and how easy it is to get
respect just by knowing their language!
Zack got into Dar that evening as well, so we all traveled
to Morogoro together the next morning. I literally got off the daladala,
crossed the street and sat down to eat with the other volunteers who had
already arrived. It was basically like no time had passed, even though we have
not seen each other for almost three months. It is also very interesting to
hear about different peoples’ living situations and the dynamics of each
region. Our training group (CBT) had two volunteers who were medically
separated…so it is just us three now. We are sharing a triple in one of the
safi houses.
The training has been…going. I feel like I’m in high school
again. I do not do well sitting still all day. We have had follow-up sessions
on safety & security and medical. We have had many sessions on how to write
grants and then do the follow-up evaluation. Katie, the girl who I replaced,
had already had her Computer Lab Grant approved, but it was too late in her
service to actually use the grant money. So I will re-apply for the same grant.
We also talked about other secondary projects which we could do without any
grant money. I have so many ideas, but the whole point is this isn’t MY
project, it is THEIR project. So I need to have a meeting with my Mkuu or an
all-inclusive staff meeting to discuss ideas. Then we will have to create
Committees to do the work. Also, I have a “counterpart” who is supposed to be
my number one “go to” person for the next two years. My counterpart’s name is
Frednand and he teaches Accounting and Bookkeeping at my school. On Thursday
all of the counterparts arrived. They have had sessions to learn more about
Peace Corps history and procedures, and also cultural differences. Most of the
time we divide groups based on subjects taught, so my counterpart goes to the
Math sessions and I go to the English sessions. So I haven’t seen him too much,
but I’m hoping he is getting something out of his sessions.
I went to visit my home stay family briefly on Wednesday
evening. I had gone to my Baba’s office and asked where he was because I wanted
to surprise him. He was in Arusha for business, so I told his co-worker that I
was his daughter. His co-worker looked very surprised and then asked for my
name. I got a call from my Baba about ten minutes later. I’m guessing his
co-worker called to alert him that some crazy Mzungu claiming to be his
daughter was looking for him. Anyway, so my Bibi has moved to Tanga. Catherine
(the baby) is scared of me again even though she apparently points to my old
room and my chair and announces that they belong to Dada Aly. The four other
kids were in the middle of tutoring when I arrived (which is VERY rare in this
country). I spoke to Jamila and Mama only in Swahili and we laughed and had a
great time as usual. My Baba is doing well and asked me many questions. I will
go back at some point to teach my Mama how to make Spinach Pasta and also just
to hang out some more.
Yesterday night we had Prom! It is a Peace Corps
tradition…dress up in wacky outfits and celebrate the 6 months we have been
together. There is a very Mzungu restaurant, Dragonaires, very close to CCT, where
we are staying. They were having a “Latin Night” so we got to order burritos
and tacos and guacamole. . I’m currently taking antibiotics and anti-parasite
medicine (whatever that’s called?) so didn’t drink, but they even had
Margaritas! I coordinated all the food ahead of time so I was a little busy all
night but besides a missing Prawn Enchilada, everything went smoothly. We had a
great time dancing and taking ridiculous pictures. It was almost like a cross
between Halloween and Prom because some of the outfits were just crazy. Gotta
love shopping/going to fundis in Tanzania!
So that’s all. We finish training on Thursday. I will get my
PADI certification on Pemba in about two weeks. My family will arrive in exactly
one month. Life is good.
