Hatutaki kujifunza wimbo

Well the first week of school is in the bag. It was fun, but I learned some things, so I thought I would share.

1. It takes more than two weeks for 279 students to show up.

My school is supposed to be receiving 279 Form 1 students. Right now I believe our enrollment it close to 170 or so, which means we are still waiting on 100ish kids to arrive. Currently the students are in two streams (a difficult process because they cannot count off), but there are still too many in one classroom to teach. The is no space to walk to the back of the classroom and just enough space to stand at the board and teach (Fire hazard?). Hoping by the end of this coming week we will have almost all of the Form 1 students, so we can stream them properly.

2. Trying to stream students off their exams from the previous year would work, but....

Last year, after my students were streamed (ranked) according to GPA I found that teaching was a lot easier because I could tailor it to my classes. I could use more English in the classroom with the students in the A stream and teach at a slower pace to the students in the B stream. This year I suggested using the exit exam grades from primary school to stream the new students from the beginning of the year. At first my Mkuu thought this was a great idea and then said we would have to give our own exam (which would cost time and money that we don't have) because the kids “plagiarized”. I can only assume he meant cheat. Not to insult him, but to make a point, I added that our students cheat as well. In fact, the majority of Tanzanian students cheat. Cheating is rampant. The sad thing is that the students are awful cheaters. Their cheating so blatant, it is laughable. I am still suggesting we use the results from the exit exam, but we will see how this plays out. I would also like to point out that the Mkuu's son is one of the form one students I will be teaching this year.

3. Not everyone wants to learn a song...

To start the Form One year the Ministry of Education has an English orientation course put into place. We teachers are supposed to use this book dated from the early 1980's (before I was born) to introduce the new students to English. The book is actually pretty silly and I will admit that I glanced at it and immediately decided that I would go about the introduction to English in a different way. For the first few weeks my plan is to play a game related to learning English at the beginning of each class, then continue to start my Physics or Math lesson for the day. This past Friday I thought teaching the students “I'm a little tea pot” would be a fun start to class. About halfway through teaching the song, I saw interest was lagging and asked if they wanted to continue. Most responded negatively. Actually one of the boys in the class, who looks around 18, gave me the death stare, which left me pretty stunned. So I asked if they wanted to learn Physics. Most responded positively. So I turned around to the board, grabbed the eraser and said, “If it is what you really want, but Physics isn't fun”. As you can probably guess, I like to take advantage of the fact that they do not know English. And because they don't know English I assume that they were then lost for the next thirty minutes of class when I was talking about applications of physics and gravity.

4. I miss my old form one students

I know I will come to love my new form one students, but I miss my old form one, now form two, students. In a way it is nice that I am not their teacher. I feel I can be more candid with them. I also cannot believe how much their English has improved. Looking at the new form one class and the now form two class the difference is remarkable. I secretly hope their leap in English proficiency had something to do with my teaching, as most Tanzanian teachers teach in Swahili, but I could never be sure. What I do know, however, is that I can have a conversation with them in English. Pretty amazing. After my first few encounters with my former students I decided that I could not just let them flounder in form two without any other English besides their actual English class (taught by my awesome counterpart). So, I decided I would head up the English club. The club will meet during subject clubs after classes on Thursdays. I am hoping to work on vocab and grammar with them through games and a pen pal program with another English Club run by another PCV. We will see how this pans out over the next couple of months... I'll keep you all updated.

5. Not all PCVs look like “PCVs”

I bet most of you think of PCVs and get this image in your head of a guy who has not shaved, showered or cut his hair in 14 months or a girl with dread locks and hairy legs/ armpits, but that is not usually the case. Come to think of it most volunteers in Tanzania are clean and do not sport the Peace Corps hippie look. That being said, there are volunteers who fit that stereotype. This weekend I got a call from Eric who received a call from two Ugandan PCVs. They were traveling through Mbeya and needed some advice on where to stay. I ended up calling them and meeting up with them and a few other volunteers from our region. As you can guess these guys fit the PC stereotype, but, I assume, only because they were traveling for about a month. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my daily shower, haircuts and keeping my self clean, but I wish I had the “I don't give two craps” attitude once in a while. I am not saying I would go a month without taking a shower, but I wouldn't mind having braids in for a few weeks and not caring if I wore a shirt more than twice. I guess the hippie attitude is great in PC, but not as culturally acceptable back in the states. I should also mention these guys were really cool. It is always great to meet PCVs from other countries. You get to see how their program is different from your and to swap stories. These guys were also thinking about setting up a couch surfing network for PCVs in Africa, which would be awesome! Countries in Africa are all very different and most do not speak the same languages, so it is always great, not to mention safer, to meet other volunteers, while you are traveling who have the place wired..

     6. I understand why...

Every time I walk back to my house from the village I am greeted by a backdrop of rolling green mountains, pine trees and dirt covered children hanging from peach trees. Not exactly what you think of when you think of living in Africa or Tanzania, but it still feels like a foreign place to me. I cannot help but smile and think how lucky I am to have this experience. I am still amazed how I ended up here. I guess there comes a time when you realize you just need to find yourself for one reason or another. It is a question that comes up often between PCVs and one that not everyone has a straight answer to-- So why Peace Corps? Personally my answer to this question has changed multiple times over the last 14 months, but I finally feel I have converged on an unwavering answer. I needed new direction in my life. After college/ rowing, which gave me some direction, I felt there was a hole in my life that needed to be filled. I tired to fill it with different things and people, but nothing really seemed to fit. I think PC has fit that hole pretty well and allowed me to feel like I have a new direction, a new path. This experience has also, for the time being, pacified a need for adventure and a need to feel like I am making a difference. During college I was pretty selfish and didn't get to explore too many things. I think after being deprived for a while it caught up with me. I should also add a big thank you for those people who have been so patient through this time and allowing me to do what I needed to do...you know who you are.

So there are just a few things I learned/ came to realize this week. This coming week is graduation for A- level students and then a meeting to plan the girls' empowerment conference in Mbeya, i.e. I get to see other PCVs from my region and eat Indian food! I will also be turning a quarter of a century this week, which probably makes my parents feel much older than I feel...

I hope everyone is enjoying the snow at home! Seeing as though I have not seen snow in 19 months I am a little jealous, but not really because it summer here!

All my love from TZ.  

MSC/ Reunion

The first week of the 2012 school year is officially out of the way and I missed every minute of it. This past week the volunteers from my class traveled to Dar for our MSC or mid service conference. The conference is a chance to have, in some cases, a much needed visit to the dentist, a routine check-up and to pick up Pepto and Benadryl (two things most volunteers could not live without). PC also plans sessions that are directed toward helping us improve our teaching and get our secondary projects off the ground.

Our trip to Dar started last Saturday at the Mbeya train station. The train ran about 4 hours late, but once we boarded we were glad we had opted for the 24 hour + journey rather than the 13 hour bus ride. I think Kat summarized our feelings when she said, “I love train!”. It was almost the same exact train that I took a month earlier, but instead of sharing my compartment with two Zambian women I was with three other volunteers, which made it all the more enjoyable. About an hour into the ride we met a bunch of other people traveling around our ages from Australia, South Africa and Germany. Given our instant bond we decided to hang out, which turned into us commandeering the lounge car/ bar area and having a dance party until one in the morning. The next morning was spent recovering and battling the ever increasing temperature as we made our way to Dar. Upon arrival, around 10 pm, we were bombarded by taxi drivers. One gentleman was offering us a larger car, what we presumed was going to be a van, but when he pulled up it was a pick up truck. He was planning on putting us all in the back with our bags. Naturally, we quickly ran off and looked for two taxis to fit all eight of us. We arrived at Econo Lodge safe and sound and after a much needed shower I hopped into bed in an air conditioned room!

The next morning we were required to be at the PC office at 8 am. When most of us walked in at 8:30 we were welcomed and then given our welcome gifts-- a TB test! Afterward we were set off on our own to find the dentist and catch up with the other volunteers, some of whom we had not seen since March. Later that night we all met up for Indian food and drinks. Day 2 involved only a check up and meetings with our APCDs, AO and CD, or the person that runs our region, administrative officer and country director. After our medical appointments a few of us headed to Sea Cliff, ate burritos, drank iced lattes and did some more catching up. That night plans of going bowling (yes believe it or not there is a bowling alley in this country, as well as a movie theater!), changed to going out to another Indian place for drink and then the roof of the Holiday Inn. I know what you are thinking,”Carly, what illegal things were you doing on the roof of a hotel.” Actually the Holiday Inn in Dar has a tiki bar on the roof. They also sell beer on tap, which is almost non-existent here, and show soccer on a large projected screen.

Day 3 of our training consisted of a peer support meeting, technology training on how to use the new PC Tanzania site (http://pctanzania.org) and information on COS (close of service), extensions and site replacements. Almost for got to mention that PC provided chai and lunch for us at the office, but they switched caterers. I have to say it was one of their better decisions because the food was amazing! Think I gained about five pounds after this trip, but it was well worth it! One day we even had swordfish. After our afternoon session, Kat, Kathryn, Geneva and I went to Subway for sandwiches. It smelled like America and I think I forgot how good grilled chicken on oat bread with cheese and honey mustard can be.

Day 4 we had a mandatory session on content based instruction, i.e. how to get your students to think critically, and a session on bystander intervention, which was really awesome. We talked about how to recognize situations that have the potential to escalate and when and how to intervene. For example, if you are at a bar and your friend is talking to a guy and dragged away by him into a dark alley way you better get do something about it. After our long day, a few of us had another amazing food adventure. We all wanted to try Ethiopian food, so we asked some PC staff for recommendations. We eventually found our way to a place down an alley way in an area I would describe as the ghetto. It is set up in a sort of rock garden and run by an Ethiopian woman. The tables are very small, but set up in specific ways, with a small circular central table with chairs and smaller tables on the out side for drinks. Of course we did not know this so we started rearranging tables when the owner came out and explained to us that the meal comes on one big plate and we all share. After this explanation we decided maybe it would be best to have the woman order for us, needless to say we were not disappointed. The food came out on a big tray that was covered by a huge sour pancake-like bread. On top of the bread were five separate dishes of everything from beef and lamb to chicken and lentils. You wash your hands then start by ripping off bits of bread and picking up the food with them. Back in the states I was not a huge fan of ethnic food or maybe I should say I was scared that I would not like it, so far I have been proven completely wrong. I absolutely love food from different countries now-- except ugali. I am still not a fan of sushi, but no doubt I will be searching for Ethiopian and Indian food when I get home. After devouring a huge plate of food in 10 minutes, we clocked it, we got back to the hotel and decided to go dancing. Before we went dancing, however, we stopped at one of the many local casinos to pick up some of the other volunteers. The casino was offering free drinks and food if you were gambling, so put 10,000/= or $6 dollars on a card, sat down in front of a slot machine and ordered a gin and tonic. After my third free gin and tonic I decided it might be wise to stand up, assess and then cash out. All totaled I had three drinks at about 24,000/=, chicken sandwiches at about 10,000/= and came out up 2,000/= on the slots. So, by visiting the casino I made about 36,000/=, not bad for my first time gambling. After we headed to the dance club at about 11 pm, when we arrived it was completely dead. After some convincing and finding out that the cover was only 5,000/= we decided we had enough people to start our own party. It turned out to be really fun and after we stumbled out at 3 am, we all walked back to the hotel to sleep for four hours before our morning session.

Day 5 was pretty rough, lack of sleep set in around the room, but we all made it through thanks to some Advil. Our last session started off with a presentation on Peace Corps' Stomp Out Malaria project, which was really interesting and something I wish was more relevant to the area around my site because our prevalence rate is pretty low. The second half of the morning was taken up by a session on how to give feedback and a closing message. After our half day session most of us headed back to the hotel to catch up on some sleep. For dinner Kat, Geneva, Paff and I decided to try the burger everyone had been raving about. Kat and Geneva wanted a burger and then to go to a movie so we left the hotel early. When we arrived at the bus stop there was a large group of people waiting for the bus we wanted to board. Kat was a little upset by this because if we did not get on the bus she would miss her movie. When the bus arrived, like a good Tanzanian, Kat followed the large group and started running after the bus until it pulled over into the station. Somehow she ended up in the front of the group, but before the doors opened she got pushed into the side of the bus by the crowed trying to get in the unopened door. I have to say watching this happen multiple times from a safe location I nearly peed my pants with laughter. After being slammed against the door by the mob about three times I started to see her throw bows and yell in Swahili. Funnily enough the crowd died down and those of us who thought we wouldn't make it on the bus, got on with room to spare. Lesson of the day: trying to get on a bus, so you are not late, when another will be coming in 15 minutes is not worth being mobbed by a group of sweaty people who only have one goal in mind, “GET ON BUS!!!”. As it turned out we hit a traffic leaving the city , Kat and Geneva gave up there quest for the burger to go to the movies and Paff and I enjoyed one of the best burgers I have had in country. The last night in Dar I really wanted to sleep, but decided hanging out with people I do not see that often should take priority. Some of us met up at the Holiday Inn again for some drinks, but then the hotel lost power. I am not sure what happened because the generators did not kick in, but I am almost positive some poor soul had to have been stuck in one of the two elevators!

Yesterday I jumped on a bus to head back home. All I could think about on the way home was how much fun I had in Dar, but how excited I was to be heading back to my village and my daily routine. A few hours into the trip I over heard the woman next to me talking on the phone. Apparently she was headed home because someone in her family had died. I wanted to say something to her, but I was really unsure how to go about it, so I just looked out the window and pretended that I did not hear anything. As I was admiring the scenery, she, without asking, took the book I had picked up in the PC office, The God Delusion and started reading it. I am pretty sure she thought I was either crazy or a heathen or both. I was almost positive that she was going to say something to me about how absurd the book was and why I would ever question the existence of a greater being, but she didn't. Never the less I still felt strange. It is not enough that I am white, but I was reading a book that goes against the beliefs of most Tanzanians. After feeling awkward I looked out the window and started to think why these people believe so strongly in something they have no way of proving exists. I guess it is knowing their life does not just end. Personally, I have come to terms with this. Being here has really made me think about it and honestly just knowing that you go back into the circle of life is completely enough for me. It may be weird to think about it, but eventually our bodies will decompose and the carbon and other elements we were once made up of will make up other living things. Alright well that is my two cents on religion.

Eventually I arrived home around 9 pm after 15 hours on a bus. The icing of the cake, however, was when the conductor was unloading my bags from the bus and he asked for my phone number. When It asked him why he said it was because he was looking for a girlfriend. I wanted to respond, “ Hey, Buddy let me let you in on a little secret, never ask a woman for her phone number after a 15 hour bus ride, especially when she is losing her voice and it looks like she wants to shoot lasers out of her eyeballs at you”. Of course my culturally sensitive side kicked in and I explained that my phone was only used for work.

All in all my trip to Dar was really great. Between the meetings, doctor's appointments, food and friends I had a really fun time. The next time we will probably all be together, if no one else decides to go home early is in late summer for our COS conference.

This week will be the first real week of teaching! I am really excited to meet my new students, all 279 of them! Hopefully I can swing only teaching form 1 math because I really do not know how I would be able to teach almost 300 students two subjects. I guess time shall tell. Oh, I will also be enjoying my last two weeks of being 24. Time flies here... As always I hope every one is doing well at home!

All my love from TZ. 

Krismasi na Mwaka Mpya

Well another holiday season has come and gone here in Tanzania. Christmas this year was very low key, a few volunteers and I had a small party. We made pizzas, drank wine and sat around talking and playing games. Christmas morning we had a late brunch at 4 pm, but it was complete with bacon, homemade cinnamon rolls, eggs, fruit salad, left over salad from the night before and banana bread! This year we also celebrated Boxing Day, December 26^th with a pasta lunch for about 40 PCVs. I am amazed that only a few people pulled off cooking for so many people with two charcoal stoves.

My Tanzanian Christmas Tree

Kat and I on Christmas Eve

I should note here that Christmas in Tanzania is not the same as Christmas in the States. They do sell Christmas decorations here, but nothing along the lines of what you would find at home. Small strings of Christmas lights, garland and a few fake trees. People here do not really decorate the exteriors or interiors of their homes or give gifts. They get new clothes for Christmas, go to church and then have a big family meal. The meal usually consists of pilau, which is rice with spices, meat and potatoes mixed in, chicken, plain rice and some sort of mchuzi or meat sauce. This meal is typical of all Tanzanian celebrations, graduations, birthdays, Easter, etc.

For New Year's this year a bunch of volunteers went down to Matema beach on Lake Nyasa or Lake Malawi. Getting to Matema is usually a full day affair, but we arrived Kyela in record time, thanks to a crazy coaster driver and hopped on another car to Matema because of good timing. We stayed there for about four days relaxing in the sun, playing Frisbee and having a great time! Every night we would all sit around a bonfire with a few beers just talking until we got tired and headed off to bed. Luckily it only rained one afternoon! New Year's Eve was celebrated with another large fire and a car full of Tanzanians who pulled up on the beach and started blaring music out of their car. All in all it was a great trip and a great way to spend my last holiday season in country.

Escorts to Boxing Day Party in the Village

I am currently back at home wading through 144 student report forms that I need to finish filling out in the next few days. Unfortunately all of the forms are filled in by hand and I offered to average all of the grades and rank the students- thank goodness for Excel. School starts on Monday and we are supposed to have a full Form 1 roster and then some. Supposedly 300+ standard VII students passed their leaving exam to go to Form 1, but we only have space, right now, for about half of the students. My headmaster is currently looking to move classes and other forms around to accommodate them. If 300 Form 1 students do end up enrolling, I may be teaching all of them Math and Physics. Even thinking about it makes me feel like I am in a dark tunnel with a train bearing down on me and all I am see is the head light. I am hoping that if this is the case another teacher will pick up my Physics section and I will just be teaching Math.

On Sunday all of the Education volunteers from my class will be heading to Dar for Mid Service Conference-- MSC. Mid way through service was November, but because of other trainings and holidays MSC is usually slated for the second week in January. As far as I know we will be having medical check-ups and some small training sessions at the office. I am not really excited to travel all the way there and then all the way home only to start school again. I am hoping it will be fun to see everyone and spend a few days getting some work done at the PC office.

Well, not much else to report back. A few weeks ago we received three new Health and Environment volunteers, Cindy, Brandon and Andrew. All great additions to what other PCVs call the Mbeya Fraternity. I am still waiting for my LSAT score to come in. It will hopefully be here by the end of the week, then my applications can be completed and submitted.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season!

All my love from TZ.  

Bed full of kids...

Heat, Humidity and Henna

School has officially ended for the year and I have been on vacation since the end of November. As mentioned before I was signed up to take the LSAT in Dar, which I did on the 3^rd of December, then traveled to Pemba to visit a fellow volunteer.

Normally I would take the bus to Dar, but I figured since I had some extra time I would take the train. The train is about the same price as the bus, but it takes about twice as long. As far as traveling goes here the train is really not a bad set up. If you purchase a first class ticket on Tazara (combination of Tanzanian and Zambia because the train runs between the two countries), you are placed in a cabin with three other people. The cabin has beds, a table and a big window to take in some really pretty views (I saw elephants as we traveled through Sealous National Park). The first class compartments also have toilets, showers and an eating car with reasonably priced Tanzanian food. Not sure the Tazara people understand the concept of a “captive audience”. The train is overall in nice condition for Tanzania and if you are not a rigid schedule then I might recommend it.

I arrived at the train station at 1 pm for a 2pm departure. As expected the train arrived a few hours late – 4pm. Passing through the train station doors was an experience in and of itself. There are about three or four double doors to the platform, but only one is opened for about 250 to 300 people that are going to board the train. As I think I have mentioned before there is no such thing as an orderly line with reasonable personable space between people. When the Tazara worker announced the arrival of the train people sprung from their seats, strapped their kids to their backs, piled their luggage on their heads and stormed the doors to the platform. I can only describe it as a mix between black friday at Walmart and holding a third class ticket on the Titanic. I jumped in the mix and was squeezed through the doors and plopped out on the other side. After boarding the train, it waited around for a while and then we departed at around 5:30 pm. After settling in and greeting the two Zambian woman I shared a compartment with I found some dinner. Just as dark approached the train stopped because the engine was broken and we had to wait for another to rescue us from an hour and a half out. At this news, I went to sleep. The next day on the train was pretty long. Thankfully I met a Canadian volunteer who traveled from Botswana and we had a few meals and conversations together. It was interesting to hear about how different countries are in Africa even though they are so close to one another. The rest of the train ride to Dar was spend reviewing old LSAT questions and sleeping. At some point during the trip I looked down and saw light radiating from the bottom of the stainless steel of the toilet bowl and realized that when ever I used the toilet what ever I had just deposited was not sent to a holding tank under the train, but directly out on to the tracks-- Darjeeling Limited? The train finally arrived in hot, humid Dar around 9 pm.

On Friday I went to the PC office to get some more work done and meet with the new CD (country director) EB, who was very nice and seemed really excited to be heading up PC Tanzania. Andrea the outgoing CD is headed to Nepal to reopen the post there-- pretty cool. While was at the office I also met three PCVs from Mozambique who were traveling to Tanzania for vacation, but got into a bus accident. After hearing of their experience I have to applaud PC. They take great strides to make sure volunteers are safe and healthy, even if they are not in their host country. After the PC office, I realized that I did not have enough hot weather clothing to survive my trip so I went to the only shopping mall in the country. I was actually surprised to find that it looked like smaller shopping malls in America. It is complete with clothing stores, fast food, atms and a grocery store. All in all it was a very strange shopping experience, coming from the village. I actually felt a little out of place in my mshamba (farmer) kitenge dress and wide eyes.

Saturday around noon I headed to the PC office to take the LSAT. It was actually pretty nice to be the only one in the room, besides Frida my proctor. Overall all I felt pretty prepared for the test since I started studying in April. I felt a little more pressure having someone else time and watch me as I took the test, but nothing that I would not have encountered if I took the test in America. Now I am just waiting for my scores to come back around the end of the this month or the beginning of next month.

After the LSAT, I met up with Justin, another PCV who was headed back to the States for Christmas. I am not sure what we actually talked about because my brain was pretty much fried, but it was nice to see him. Afterward I had dinner with the PCVs from Mozambique. It was really interesting to hear about the PC experience in a different country. As expected there are many similarities between programs, but also many differences. For example because there is a housing shortage in Mozambique many of the volunteers live two to a house. I think living with another person, at times, would be really nice; however, I also feel it would also really change my experience and would probably interfere with my language proficiency. The education system is also different in their country. It shocked me to learn that they were required to pass 50% of their students and many students do not attend school, but just paid teachers to pass them.

Sunday morning I went into town to buy a ferry ticket to Pemba for the next morning. Not surprisingly I was told that the schedule on-line was wrong and the ferry to Pemba had actually left earlier in the morning. Making a split second decision I bought a ticket to Zanzibar (Unguja) and one to Pemba for the next morning, then rushed home to secure a hotel room on Zanzibar and pack. The ferry ride to Unguja is actually really pretty once you leave the Dar harbor. The water is a tropical blue and the air is extremely salty. On the trip to Unguja you see many of the local fishing boats or dhows. They vary greatly in size, but all look the same. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cnj1h_tM1w) When the ferry beings to approach Unguja, you get the feeling as if you've been transported back to the times of the spice trade. The smaller islands are green and some posses tall white towers. The Unguja harbor is filled with dhows, fishing vessels with Swahili phrases written on their canopies and large cargo ships. One of the first things I noticed, besides the beautiful sunset, were the beautiful historic buildings that make up Stonetown, one of the more famous towns on Unguja. They are very closely set and are usually white with beautiful lattice work balconies. After leaving the ferry and having my passport stamped by immigration I attempted to find the Flamingo hotel. Foolishly I thought it would be relatively easy to navigate Stonetown, but I was completely wrong. This was yet another time I was glad I spoke Swahili because I was so lost in the narrow alleyways that I had to ask for  directions. I arrived at the hotel a little worse for wear and was given a room with three beds for the price of a single, since all of the singles were booked. I should also mention here that on this trip I found the surface of the sun-- Unguja/Zanzibar. It was over 90 degrees and about 200% humidity-- no lie. After peeling off my sweat soaked clothing and showering, I headed to an awesome restaurant, which I am currently forgetting the name of; however, it is located right around the corner from my hotel and looks like something out of Swiss Family Robinson. Half of the restaurant is located up stairs and the other half is covered over by a vine ceiling. After sitting down by myself, I ordered a non-alcoholic mojito (Zanzibar is about 95% Muslim, so alcohol is pretty hard to find) and sweet and sour prawns with basmati rice. My meal was absolutely amazing. Maybe the best food I have had in country to date. After dinner I found my way back to the hotel.

Sign on Unguja that says ,"Don't park cars here"

Monday morning I somehow found my way back the port for my 7 am ferry to Pemba. On board I met two really nice Germans who were on vacation to escape the cold weather and get some SCUBA in. I have to say I really admired that they lived a pretty reasonable life at home in Germany so they could save up for a really nice month of traveling. They said they had been to Fiji, India, Philippines, some countries in South America and a handful of other place I forget. I guess if it was just me and my spouse I would opt for a lot of traveling too! After arriving in the Pemba port I boarded a coaster that took me three hours to Doug's site in Konde.

Notes on Pemba: Pemba is very different from Unguja because the natives are not as used to seeing foreigners who are not Muslim and as such I was forced to cover my head whenever I left the house. I should say I was not forced, but I was stared at and attracted unnecessary attention if my head/ hair was exposed.

The town of Konde is mid-sized village located on the Northern end of Pemba. Doug lives in your typical PC house complete with two bedrooms a living/kitchen area, courtyard and toilet room. His house is situated right on the road, which means many of his students and other people from the village come over to visit unexpectedly at all hours of the day. While I was at his house about 4 people a day came to say hi, sit awkwardly in silence in his house and stare at me. This occurrence is something I am actually quite used to here. Tanzanians, for some reason, like to visit each other and then just sit around not talking. After about 10 or 15 minutes they get up, say goodbye and leave. I really have no idea why they do this, maybe to save face, but it is strange none the less.

Henna Artist

After downing about 2 liters of water, or the amount I had sweated out since 7 am, Doug took me over to the house of one of his students where a Henna artist was waiting. Thinking I would just have a nice small design drawn on my hand I sat down on a mat on the floor surround by about 20 people all curious to see how the henna would look like on white skin. After about a minute I realized I would not be getting the small intricate design I longed for, but I would be getting the real thing. The artist covered both of my arms up to my shoulders and both of my legs. After she was finished two girls filled in the paces with an orange dye and I was left to hold out both of my arms until the henna dried. It was a pretty tiring process. After about 2 hours, a few tubes of henna, some laughs from the onlookers I looked like I had just stepped out of the tv show Miami Ink. Doug and I thanked the mamas and the artist and said good night to everyone. I bolted right for the shower to rinse off the encrusted ink on my skin and to see the final project. To be honest I would have never opted for the full works, but I said to myself, when in Rome.

Trying to not get the dye on my clothes

The next morning we found some coffee in his village and I was hit on/ proposed to by every single man in the village. Apparently in training they forgot to mention that henna is a huge turn on to Muslim men. I was also asked by a rude man at the coffee stand why I did not have my head covered. I simply said that I did not feel I needed to cover my head because I am not Muslim and that if I was a Christian then that would be reason alone to not cover my head. I am not sure he really understood my response and from then on to avoid anymore comments I put a scarf over my head. That night in the village I was also proposed to by a man at the fish table. On the mainland men will ask white women to marry them, but after they are told no once or twice they usually drop it. The Pembans are different. This man would not let it go. He insisted on marrying me. He took it so far that Doug got involved/ really upset. This incident is just one of the few things I have learned to shake off here. The culture is so different sometimes that you cannot get upset, you just have to deal. After our coffee trip, we checked out the new secondary school that was built buy a Chinese construction company, but backed by some Germans. The school is really beautiful and looks like schools you would find in Southern California. The rooms are connected, but the walkways in between are open. All of the classrooms have three fans, outlets and nice blackboards. The school is also equipped with three nice labs and teachers' offices. Needless to say any volunteer who laid eyes on this school would probably start to salivate.

On my last full day in Pemba, Doug took me to the beach to go snorkeling. The road to the beach runs through a really cool forest with monkey and tropical trees. The first beach we went to was absolutely beautiful, but because of the wind and the rain from the day before the water was a little cloudy to snorkel, so we headed over to a place called Swahili Divers. The reef right off of the resort is small, but filled with colorful fish, sea urchins, coral and seaweed. The water was aqua blue, bath water warm and really salty. I have to say that snorkeling in the Indian Ocean has to be one of the coolest things I have done during my service, as far as traveling goes. After returning home we both passed out from being exhausted and later had dinner at a neighbors house. There are two American families with 7 kids between them that live with in a few minutes of Doug. At Sandy and Reed's house we had red snapper for dinner and played some board games until the power went out and the heat was pretty unbearable without a fan. I have to admit he is very lucky to have them around, especially because he lives in such a different community then most of us on the mainland.

Beach in Konde (Northern Pemba/ Indian Ocean)

In the morning I woke to a monsoon outside and the unpleasant thought that I would have to be traveling. After trying to find the bus to the port I was told that it had already left and that I would need to take the slower dala back down the island. This was not great news because if the boat left on time I would definitely not be on it. After swearing like a sailor and realizing my pants were now see-thru because of the rain I got on the dala in hopes I would make my boat. Amazingly five minutes down the road Doug called my phone and said he had found a car that could take me to the port... another sanity saving moment in this country. In the end I made it on the ferry with my ticket in plenty of time. Although he may not agree I had a really great time visiting Pemba and Doug! Thanks again!

The ferry back to Unguja was a little stressful because I realized that my preferred method of transportation home, the train, was completely booked. So I called up my trusty taxi driver Stella who found me the last ticket on a bus home for the next day! I arrived, sweaty again, in Unguja, fended off my suitors, found a ticket on the ferry to Dar and waiting the hottest, most uncomfortable line ever. To make matters worse we had to wait around for another 20 minutes in the hot weather because the ferry had been over booked. We arrived back in Dar at 7pm, where my plan to take a taxi to the hotel was quickly abandoned when I realized there were no taxis available. Left with no other options I set off to find the hotel on foot, in the Dar, by myself without a map. I eventually ran into three women who out of the kindness of their hearts escorted me to the hotel. Later I met up with some volunteers for Indian food and a chance to catch up. In the morning I headed out on the bus, which was actually air conditioned and had reasonable leg room and arrived home around dark.

Overall I had an amazing trip. At times I felt like the Brave Little Toaster (great movie) traveling and dealing with unexpected events by myself (for the most part) and at other times I felt like a tourist-- lost and frustrated. This trip made me realized how much I like the area in which I live. It is not too hot, but sometimes too cold. The people are also friendly and more accustomed to people from other cultures or religious backgrounds. I thought the Zanzibar islands were absolutely beautiful and that the Indian Ocean, around the equator, should be seen by everyone at least once in their lifetime. Traveling by myself also gave me a new sense of confidence and “can do” attitude. I think there are many times during a volunteer's service when they start to think they are incompetent or that the experience as a whole lacks adventure and excitement. My remedy for either of these situations is travel. I have never felt so proud of myself in this country as I did on this trip. There were many times where I could have just thrown in the towel and headed home because things did not go the way I had planned. Save for one time, when I missed the bus and was practically crying and screaming, I kept my stuff together. I have said it before and I'll say it again after this whole PC experience I will never complain about traveling again in the US. Hell, I may even be the first person to be smiling while being interviewed on TV because I snowed in at an airport at Christmas saying, “not as bad as the time I lived in Tanzania”. The lesson here is people appreciate that you can book your Amtrak ticket online, that your cell phone alerts you that your flight is delayed before you leave your house and that if something says it is going to depart or arrive at a certain time, it does.

Well I have a few more things to add, but I feel this post has gone on long enough. Hope everyone at home is doing well. Miss you all!!!

All my love from TZ.  

Konde

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants. - Kevin James

Not too much to report since my last blog. School is officially closing on Friday, but our exams ended today. After grading 288 exams and proctoring three exams for a total of 10 hours I am done with schoolwork and ready for Thanksgiving!!! Thanksgiving will, of course, be spent this year in country again. However, not to worry the volunteers in my region have collaborated and put together a stellar menu for Saturday (we are delaying because tomorrow is not a holiday here!). I am on pumpkin pie duty, Kat is making mac and cheese, Rebecca is on mashed potatoes, I think someone is getting chicken or turkey? (currently going the veggie route due to the last bout of salmonella), Jess is on cake for TJ’s and Anna’s birthdays. I think I will probably chip in with a veggie dish and possibly another dessert. Going to make the pie from scratch, even the filling. I will let you all know how it turns out.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I wanted to give my top 10 list of things I am thankful for, in no particular order (save #1),

1. a. Life!

     b. My family and friends!!!  (Miss you all sooo much, it is not even funny)

2. Being a PCV.  I know I complain about the bad times, but really I am thankful for every experience – bad or good.

3. Care packages… seriously anyone who has sent me a package in the last year; you have no idea how much they mean to me. I am not quite sure where I would be without Velveeta, candy and magazines.

4. Electricity—enough said.

5. Apples and Diet Coke (luxuries here)

6. The waterspout outside my house

7. The fact that I have (knock on wood) not contracted malaria—yet.

8. My students, even if some are as sharp as marbles.

9. Support from everyone at home! I do not think you all know how much I value your well wishes and encouragement. It has not been an easy road, but knowing people are keeping tabs on me back at home is comforting.

10. The fact that I am doing what I love to do and that I feel like I am making a difference, even if it is small.

Everything else is going well. Next Wednesday I will be heading to Dar to take the LSAT, then I am headed to Pemba to visit a fellow PCV for some sun and some R and R. After that I am probably going to be returning home to decorate for Christmas and to start prepping applications for law school. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Eat lots of food, watch lots of football and take a long nap on the couch. Like last year, if you plan on going to Walmart on Black Friday, my advice to you is to wear a suit made of chain metal and a helmet, so you are not trampled to death!

Here are some T-giving quotes to leave you with…

“The thing I'm most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands.”- unknown, but brilliant

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. “ -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.  They are consumed in twelve minutes.  Half-times take twelve minutes.  This is not coincidence.”

  ~Erma Bombeck

“A lot of Thanksgiving days have been ruined by not carving the turkey in the kitchen.” - Kin Hubbard 

All my love from TZ

Wedding Crasher

This weekend I finally put the lumber in my backyard to good use and completed about 2/3 of a fence before I ran out of nails. Once I have it finished I will no longer have to worry about people watching me while I wash my laundry or dishes. I may also have a place where I can sit outside and enjoy the sun—in shorts!

2/3 of my fence...

Saturday afternoon I decided to get my butt off of my couch while taking a study break and walk into the village to get a soda and attempt to be social. Along the way I ran into a fellow teacher who had a soda with me and then suggested we “crash” the wedding celebration that was happening near by. I should note that in Tanzania you are usually given an invitation to an event and you RSVP by sending in a small donation and bringing the invitation to the event. However, because of the culture randos usually show up and you have to accommodate them as well, so as not to offend anyone. I figured this could be a unique experience, so we set off. Along the way we made a pit stop at the local pastor’s house for another soda and some conversation about the potato harvest—stimulating. Eventually we made it to the celebration, which was taking place outdoors. About 200 people from my village were gathered around the bride, groom, maid of honor and best man, who were standing in front of a home made stage decorated with brightly, albeit not matching, fabric and balloons. When we arrived people were presenting their gifts to the new couple and the emcee was blaring really loud Tanzo music.

I should explain that the presentation of the gifts is probably as far as you can get from the way it is done in the States. At home a couple (the bride) signs up a William Sonoma or Crate and Barrel for the place settings, silverware and expensive cheese board. The gifts are then selected by wedding guests online, or in the store and conveniently wrapped and sent to the couple’s residence or brought to the reception and left on a table. The whole process is decidedly very discrete. In Tanzania, the people presenting the gift or gifts buy what they think a new couple would want and gather in a group to pitch in money for said gift. At the reception the gifting group dances holding up their unwrapped gift to the bride and groom. While hollering, blowing whistles and bouncing up and down.

During the twenty minutes I spent at the reception the bride and groom received, plastic plates, glasses, bed sheets, a mattress, a suitcase, buckets, basins, rice, potatoes, blankets and my personal favorite—firewood. Not quite the Margaretville blender or the KitchenAid mixer, but necessities nonetheless. Also during the brief time I was there I noticed that the bride looked absolutely miserable, almost on the verge of tears and I honestly have no idea why. I mean I could probably guess and say that she was shy and did not like people, the marriage was arranged or she registered for the Fiestaware and the plastic plates were just not cutting it. All I know was that she did not look like she was thrilled to be married or even at the reception. After about 20 minutes, the emcee finally spotted me amongst the guests (not too hard) and announced, in Swahili, that a white person was present. At this I looked around for the white person when I quickly realized he was talking about me, I blushed and two minutes later made a timely exit. Actually being singled out was uncomfortable because I consider myself a part of the community, but also interesting for the same reason; most of the people present knew I was there long before he said anything, but did not make a big deal about it because they see me everyday. I either teach them or their kids or buy things from their store or produce stand. It was really only a big deal to the emcee, who probably came from Mbeya. I guess in the end I was comforted by the fact that no one was really surprised.

Saturday night, while I was washing dishes on my back porch, a baby kitten made her way on to my back porch. After looking around for her mom or owner I took her inside and gave her some milk, made her a bed and a litter box. The next day I asked my mkuu if he knew of anyone missing a cat, to which he said, “If you found a cat, you should keep it”. So, long story short I now own a cat, her name is Patagonia and she is the 4^th animal to live in my house here. Hopefully I will not have to put her down, bury her or give her away – like her predecessors.

Neighborhood Girls

Everything else has been going well here. I am still in the middle of studying for the LSAT, as well as writing a grant for a school library! I am actually really excited about this secondary project because our school is in desperate need of a library and one thing I really miss about home strangely enough is a quite environment to sit and read that is not my house. The mkuu and I went over a list of things we would like to see in the library to which I added couches and chairs. At first he thought this was absurd, but after I explained that a welcoming atmosphere would make the students want to sit, stay and read. He seemed to understand where I was coming from and so when our library is finished it will have a reading corner! It will also, hopefully, have a mural drawn by a student. The other teachers and I decided that we should have a mural contest and the student with the best idea/ skills will have the privilege of decorating one of the walls of the library. As an aside, it is amazing to me that some of these students are wonderful artists, but the teachers or the school system here do not foster any creativity in them. Maybe by initiating a mural contest at school some of the students will realize that they do posses a valuable skill besides memorization of random facts.

Also while I am on the topic of secondary projects, I am still looking for a group to adopt my basketball court project. The group would raise money and then come to Tanzania to help build the court at my school for a week. If you are reading this and know of any groups who may be interested please tell them to contact me for more details!!!!!

Well I have to finish up writing this grant so I can send it to PC for revision, we will see how many times this takes… I have heard horror stories. Hope all is well at home and that everyone has his or her power back! Miss you all!

All my love from TZ

Emotional Roller Coaster

Last weekend, Sarah, another PCV, and I had an interesting conversation about emotions. We both came to the conclusion that emotional states here, for some reason, are extremely magnified. Things that would make you relatively happy at home can just about make your month here. For example, getting NYT crossword puzzles and a few magazines in the mail will make me smile all day long, combine that with a few packets of tuna and crystal light and I may as well have won the damn lottery. Conversely, the smallest disappointment can make you feel like you are stuck at the bottom of a 30-foot well with no one around to hear your screams. Every day here I feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster and just wondering when I am going to hit the highest point of the day or the lowest. Granted some days the average of my emotional state tends to be higher, but today has not been one of those days.

This story really began yesterday, so that is where I will start. I was listening to the news on VOA and realized that there were some terrorist acts that took place in Nairobi as a result of Kenyan forces entering into Somalia. I called up Peace Corps because I was concerned they would not let me travel to Nairobi to take the LSAT in about a month. As suspected, I am not allowed to travel to Kenya and in all honesty do not really want to be anywhere near people and hand grenades. I then contacted the people who give the test and explained my situation. Unfortunately, they are going to make me pay the extra money (a lot of extra money) to have the test moved to Dar. I could have done this earlier, but was going to take it in Nairobi to save money. On the upside they are going to let me take it in Dar, which I guess they did not have to agree to. Anyway, this coupled with the fact that Sunday morning I woke up with another lovely case of food poisoning set my week off to a really horrendous start.

Moving on, this morning when I was going to teach my first period class and realized the majority of my students were not in the classroom, but being punished for arriving to school late, I went and rounded them up in front of the teacher on duty without permission. Looking back, it was a poor decision not to ask first, but they were using my class time to punish students.  I admittedly did what I did out not out frustration and because I wanted to teach my students for a full period, but because I needed an emotional pick me up. My latter intention completely backfired in my face (Yes, Judy, if you are reading, I may have asked for this one). After class I felt guilty about what I had done and went to apologize to the teacher, whom I had wronged. [I should mention that culturally Tanzanians will not tell you if they are angry with you unless they are extremely angry with you.] Being less than thrilled to see me, he told me he was angry. I apologized to him and tried to explain that I know I live here and am expected to follow Tanzanian culture and in America what I did would not have been looked favorably upon either. I also tried to justify my actions by explaining that it is not easy for me to follow another culture 24 hours a day 7 days a week and as a result my behavior sometimes breaks down. After my explanation he seemed to understand my position, but still insisted I stole my students so they would not be hit because I do not approve of corporal punishment. I agree with him that I do not approve of it, but stated that I knew there was nothing I could do about it and was more upset that he was taking up my class time.  After all was said and done I called up and vented to Kat, who was really gracious and listened to me even though she experiences the same situation daily at her school, then made a cup of coffee.

Lesson learned from this situation: (maybe more like hypothesis reconfirmed) emotions are extremely amplified here and I think whenever I enter into a charged situation I need to keep a better charge of my emotional state and account for huge fluctuation. All in all, sometimes, as my father says, you have to eat a little crow.

All my love from TZ.