 |
| The students at the primary school |
 |
| The classroom |
 |
| The teacher of the primary school |
I have to say, this past week, I feel like I have experienced more of Tanzania than I have in the 6 weeks at the University combined. At the university, we are still so sheltered. There are tons of people who speak English and many of the students and teachers are really used to seeing foreigners. And when we go on weekend trips, we usually travel to touristy places, so I feel like I haven't really gotten to experience rural Tanzanian life yet. Interacting with the people at the market, the school, and at church has been really cool and we have gotten to meet some very kind and friendly people. We see our tour guides from the hike all around town and last night some of us even went out to dinner with them. Plus, we know a lot of the shop owners and cafe workers now just from being in town for a week.
Yesterday, I decided that we should go to a school to check out a Tanzanian school. We got up and got dressed, and then wandered out into the streets of Lushoto around 8:30 am where we immediately spotted several young kids in school uniforms. I told Colleen that we were going to follow them, and well, that's exactly what we did. Was it a little weird and creepy? Yes, but it was totally worth it. They took us to their school and we met the teacher. We told her that we were American students and we wanted to sit in on her class that day. She was more than happy to let us in and the kids were so excited to see us! We sat down in class and proceeded to learn. The class had about 20 kids in it, ranging from 3-6 years old. We sang songs, recited nursery rhymes, learned the english alphabet, did math problems, and just hung out with the kids. While the older ones were learning math, the younger ones played with legos on the ground. We got to help the kids with their math, using bottle caps to help them count and add numbers together. The kids were served porridge at 11:00 am and were excited to eat it. Colleen and I didn't stay for the whole day, just until about noon and then we went to lunch. The teacher was so ecstatic that we came and we are considering returning again one of these days. She gave us both a huge hug when we left! We ate lunch at a super small little shack by our hotel that we hadn't noticed before and had rice and meat. Then, we set off to find Carla's group and ended up hanging out and hiking up to the Irente viewpoint. It was absolutely spectacular! It was so high up and we could see for miles since the rest of the land was so flat. We enjoyed just sitting and talking up there until it began to get dark and we headed down to the town for dinner. We called a taxi since the walk is about an hour and a half long.
(Ok, sorry, I'll have to finish this later, my time is up at the internet cafe!)
I'm back! So the end of that wonderful story is that the taxi broke down in the middle of the mountain and we ended up waiting 20 minutes for someone to bring us more gasoline up the mountain. When we finally got gas, the car still didn't start and we had to wait another 15 minutes for the taxi driver's friend to come tow us down the mountain. It was definitely crazy! Well, we made it down and parted ways with Carla's group. They left the following morning for Moshi while we stayed here in Lushoto.
Yesterday, I went to the primary school in Lushoto with Agnes, a girl (12 yrs old) who I met in town. I got introduced to the head of the school and several of the teachers and then got to help out while they learned math, English, and science. It's funny how slowly class seems to move in Tanzania. Because the kids don't have access to enough books, rulers, or pencils, everyone has to share, which takes forever. Even in math class, they didn't have graph paper so each kid had to spend about 10 minutes drawing a grid so that he or she could do their math assignment. After the kids are done with their assignments, they turn in their notebooks and the teacher corrects their assignment. But, while they are waiting for the rest of their classmates to finish the assignment, the students have nothing to do. Needless to say, it can get quite chaotic. But, it was great to see how a school functions in another country. It makes me appreciate the fact that we have smartboards and powerpoint projectors.
After eating lunch at my favorite cafe (rice, beans, tomato salad, and sauce), I went to the market to pick up some bananas and oranges. Surprisingly, I saw many of the students there and they all remembered my name and said hello. It was great to feel like a part of the village. I can now walk almost anywhere and have at least someone recognize me and call out my name. I was going for a walk yesterday afternoon when one of the students from the primary school saw me and decided to tag along. We talked for a good hour and a half (I understood maybe half of what she was saying) and she showed me to her home. The people here are so friendly. Everyone invites you into their home, regardless of your age, sex, or race. I don't think that if I were wandering about town in America, that people would randomly invite me into their homes. Colleen and I spent some time in the evening reading and I finished my second book here. I had to go to the tour company this morning to look at their book swap books. Seeing as we have a 7 hour bus ride tomorrow, I think I need something to keep me occupied.
10/7/11
Today Colleen and I went back to the market in Soni (it is every Tuesday and Friday) in hopes that our chapatti lady would be there and we could kill some time making chapatti with her. Unfortunately, she wasn't there, but we saw some of our friends from the other day and helped them go through tea leaves for chai, grate carrots for the beef, and make ugali. At the market, I bought a pair of shoes for 4,000 Tsh ($2.50) which I am really excited about! Colleen and I ate lunch at a restaurant in Soni and had rice (Colleen had pilau), beans, and cabbage. Then, we bought our bus tickets for tomorrow and headed back to the school to visit the kids once more before we left. We taught them the hokey pokey and then took pictures with them. It was so much fun and the teacher was so appreciative of us. After seeing the kids fight over the one eraser in the classroom, I bought a bunch of erasers at the stationary shop and gave them to the teacher to have in their class. She was so happy! She is probably the sweetest person I have met so far in Tanzania. And I hope that someday, I can come back and visit her. Right now, Colleen and I are just hanging out, waiting for the other crew (the group of ACM students who went to Zanzibar) to arrive here. They didn't leave Dar until 9:00 this morning, and last we heard, they had a flat tire, so we aren't expecting them until 6:00 or 7:00 tonight. Anyway, hope all is well. I couldn't help but notice this headline on the newspage I opened up on the computer: "Admit it -- you'll probably tune in to see Kardashian and Humphries say 'I do' -- but instead ... you could take 16 long showers.". Well right now I would gladly take 1 shower, let alone 16 showers. I think this is a new record. As of tomorrow, it will be 8 days since I have showered. Surprisingly, my hair is doing pretty well. I think the cool weather here helps. Anyway, talk to you all soon!
Erin
I'm back! So the end of that wonderful story is that the taxi broke down in the middle of the mountain and we ended up waiting 20 minutes for someone to bring us more gasoline up the mountain. When we finally got gas, the car still didn't start and we had to wait another 15 minutes for the taxi driver's friend to come tow us down the mountain. It was definitely crazy! Well, we made it down and parted ways with Carla's group. They left the following morning for Moshi while we stayed here in Lushoto.
Yesterday, I went to the primary school in Lushoto with Agnes, a girl (12 yrs old) who I met in town. I got introduced to the head of the school and several of the teachers and then got to help out while they learned math, English, and science. It's funny how slowly class seems to move in Tanzania. Because the kids don't have access to enough books, rulers, or pencils, everyone has to share, which takes forever. Even in math class, they didn't have graph paper so each kid had to spend about 10 minutes drawing a grid so that he or she could do their math assignment. After the kids are done with their assignments, they turn in their notebooks and the teacher corrects their assignment. But, while they are waiting for the rest of their classmates to finish the assignment, the students have nothing to do. Needless to say, it can get quite chaotic. But, it was great to see how a school functions in another country. It makes me appreciate the fact that we have smartboards and powerpoint projectors.
After eating lunch at my favorite cafe (rice, beans, tomato salad, and sauce), I went to the market to pick up some bananas and oranges. Surprisingly, I saw many of the students there and they all remembered my name and said hello. It was great to feel like a part of the village. I can now walk almost anywhere and have at least someone recognize me and call out my name. I was going for a walk yesterday afternoon when one of the students from the primary school saw me and decided to tag along. We talked for a good hour and a half (I understood maybe half of what she was saying) and she showed me to her home. The people here are so friendly. Everyone invites you into their home, regardless of your age, sex, or race. I don't think that if I were wandering about town in America, that people would randomly invite me into their homes. Colleen and I spent some time in the evening reading and I finished my second book here. I had to go to the tour company this morning to look at their book swap books. Seeing as we have a 7 hour bus ride tomorrow, I think I need something to keep me occupied.
10/7/11
Today Colleen and I went back to the market in Soni (it is every Tuesday and Friday) in hopes that our chapatti lady would be there and we could kill some time making chapatti with her. Unfortunately, she wasn't there, but we saw some of our friends from the other day and helped them go through tea leaves for chai, grate carrots for the beef, and make ugali. At the market, I bought a pair of shoes for 4,000 Tsh ($2.50) which I am really excited about! Colleen and I ate lunch at a restaurant in Soni and had rice (Colleen had pilau), beans, and cabbage. Then, we bought our bus tickets for tomorrow and headed back to the school to visit the kids once more before we left. We taught them the hokey pokey and then took pictures with them. It was so much fun and the teacher was so appreciative of us. After seeing the kids fight over the one eraser in the classroom, I bought a bunch of erasers at the stationary shop and gave them to the teacher to have in their class. She was so happy! She is probably the sweetest person I have met so far in Tanzania. And I hope that someday, I can come back and visit her. Right now, Colleen and I are just hanging out, waiting for the other crew (the group of ACM students who went to Zanzibar) to arrive here. They didn't leave Dar until 9:00 this morning, and last we heard, they had a flat tire, so we aren't expecting them until 6:00 or 7:00 tonight. Anyway, hope all is well. I couldn't help but notice this headline on the newspage I opened up on the computer: "Admit it -- you'll probably tune in to see Kardashian and Humphries say 'I do' -- but instead ... you could take 16 long showers.". Well right now I would gladly take 1 shower, let alone 16 showers. I think this is a new record. As of tomorrow, it will be 8 days since I have showered. Surprisingly, my hair is doing pretty well. I think the cool weather here helps. Anyway, talk to you all soon!
Erin
Erin
I am glad everyone is so nice! Going to the school sounds so fun. Miss you up on the hill...the weather is getting very fall like! Midterms have been crazy and stressful as always! Lots of love! Katrina
ReplyDelete