Thunderstorms!

Termite Mound

The Primary School

Shaye Teaching English

So yesterday morning we woke up and it was strangely overcast.  So far, the weather here has been sunny every day, and the sun is super hot!  And then, around 11:00 a.m., we started to hear thunder and it actually rained!  It poured for about 15 minutes and was thundering. It was fabulous. We haven’t had many storms here in Tanzania, and it was very comforting. 

For breakfast yesterday we had beans, eggs, and bread for breakfast.  Trudy, Colleen, and I walked to the school where we taught Standard 3 the numbers in English.  We also taught them the difference between short and shorter, tall and taller, etc.  After that, we had craft time and I graded some of the math notebooks while the other kids did art projects with us.  We walked back to camp and I started doing my laundry.  However, it decided to rain in the middle of my laundry session so my laundry is now sitting in a bucket half-done. 

Lunch was ugali, vegetables, and potatoes.  Ugali is not my favorite meal, but it was still pretty good, especially with the veggies.  After lunch I read for a while and then walked into town.  Rumor had it that there was a post office in town, but alas, there is not so I will just have to wait until Arusha to mail my letters.  From what I understand, the post office is in the next town over.  I bought a few postcards while in town and then returned to camp.  As usual, I was escorted by a host of kids who walked along side of me, holding my hand, and asking if I would teach them at school.  Camp was pretty empty in the afternoon.  Many were gone doing interviews in town, and others decided to walk to the store to buy candy bars.  I killed some time coloring and reading. 

It’s really funny how much free time we have here.  I don’t think we are used to having so little to do.  Our mantra here at camp is “Pick the activity that takes the most time”.  We have designated one wall in our pavilion as the “art wall” and have begun to fill it with watercolor pictures, coloring pages, and drawings.  I think that some of the best items we brought with us to the field have been coloring books, craons, watercolors, and friendship bracelet string.  We are also convinced that we are all going crazy.  4 weeks is a long time to spend with 20 other people and many of us are going insane.  Fortunately, we aren’t getting too snappy with each other yet.  We are more just going insane from boredom and lack of structured activity.  We frequently burst out in song or yell absurd things.  Yesterday, we started singing Christmas songs, and this morning, it was the backstreet boys. 

The highlight of our day yesterday was adopting a pet turtle.  Lauren met some children on the street who had a turtle and were going to kill it.  She convinced them to give it to her for 500 Tsh and now we have a pet turtle that lives in our pavilion.  We even made him a cardboard box house!

One of our fantasies here has been ice water.  We crave it like crazy!  The water here doesn’t quite taste ike the water in Dar or at home.  In fact, we have come to determine that it just doesn’t quench your thirst.  It has a really strange taste and some people haven’t even been able to drink a lot of it because it tastes so gross.  Anyway, we often go into town where they have coolers full of drinks and we buy semi-cold water, which is a HUGE treat.  But, it still isn’t super cold and we still wish we had ice!  During the day, it’s so ht our that our waterbottles heat up and we have to drink warm water.  It’s really tasty! (NOT).  The other day, Daveo came up with the idea of digging a root cellar to keep all of our waterbottles cold.  And yesterday, Zoe actually started digging one.  It was pretty hilarious to watch.  We put a waterbottle full of water in it and today we are going to test it out to see if it actually keeps anything cooler. 

Today Dave, Jen, Lauren and I went into the park.  Dave and I measured 22 termite mounds and now have enough data to begin analyzing.  It was really pleasant in the park this morning, it was overcast once again, and it even sprinkled a little.  Things are so much cooler here when the sun isn’t out!  I even had goosebumps this morning!  And last night I got to sleep with a blanket on me!  Anyway, I’m headed back for lunch now.  Adios!

Erin

Swahili word of the day: Kobe [KOH-bay] = turtle