In my defense, it wasn't intentional. And for clarification, this is not a normal Tanzanian activity. Christine and I bought some kitanga matieral, which is just a long, cotton sheet meant to wrap around a woman, to make a curtain and for me. They're very handy for us westerners who like to wear shorts in our house (which are not acceptable for women here) to quickly make ourselves "Tanzania appropriate." Anyway, you buy them in sets of two and three and cut them at home. One was cut to be worn, the other to be a curtain. As you can all guess, a simple mistake was made. Thankfully, we caught it before we went anywhere that would have resulted in offenses.
The last few days have been busy, but not eventful. I'm still adjusting to everything that's going on and life here in general. I'm trying to settle into some sort of routine. So far, Monday-Friday is school from 7:30-3:00, then I usually spend the afternoon in my room with my fan doing schoolwork, sometimes there's something going on in the evening like a prayer service, and then over to the pastor's house for dinner around eight, devotions about nine, and then back to the house to get ready for bed. Since many people don't know, I feel I should quickly explain my schooling situation. The University of London International Programme is a long distance education system that allows students to study from anywhere in the world. There isn't any exact schoolwork, ie, no papers, assignments, quizzes, etc. Rather, studying is done independently and then students sit an exam in May in a number of countries (I think it's about 130 total). Tanzania is an option, but I'm planning to do mine in the USA. This exam is the entire grade. Somewhat scary, but considering that this allows me to continue my education while being here and giving back, I think it's worth it. Since I'm studying theology, I also think this keeps me connected to the reality of my degree while my studies are far more theoretical. I should also clarify, this degree is an academic theology. I could go on to become a pastor, but I could do a variety of things with this degree. Currently, I'm studying Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Science, The New Testament, and Christian Ethics.
Back to Africa, Tuesday was quite exciting- I got my cabinet! I finally got to unpack and feel like I moved in! The cabinet is huge. It was a six man job to get it in my room! Also, a lady in the church who needed some work is going to be doing some cleaning and came over for the first time. Christine and I were so excited when we got home! It is incredibly hard to keep clean, well everything here, your home, shoes, your clothes, you..... The roads and much of the ground is dirt. It's dry right now so it's at least not muddy, but the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet keeps going off in the back of my head. I have just accepted that my feet will not be clean while I'm here. Actually, I've learned here that my body can be quite colorful. From the reds and pinks of sunburn covering my arms and chest, to the at least twenty mosquito bites dotting my arms and legs and the permanent dirt stains on my feet, I'm just a piece of artwork! :)
Of course, all of those things stand out more because my skin is so white. Yesterday, we went to town to get my internet modem, which is great to finally be on my own internet. That trip was the first time I really heard the word "mzungu" a lot. Mzungu in Swahili literally means white person. I have yet to understand why it accepted or even thought to see a white person and just yell out "white person!" Especially in Morogoro, it's not super uncommon because there's a large missionary community here. It's not meant to be offensive or anything; ironically, yesterday afternoon, a little girl in class I yelled out to me "teacher mzungu" as I was walking back to the house to get my attention, purely so she could wave good bye to me. It was adorable! :) Like I said, I still don't understand what the lure is in yelling it at us. Half the time, they don't want to talk to us. I guess if all else fails, it's a sign my skin hasn't changed it's mind and decided to start tanning all of a sudden. (And even if it started tanning, I doubt it would ever become dark enough to blend in here).
There isn't much more I can say simply. Bits and pieces of the nuances of daily life I feel will come in the blog the longer I'm here. Everything is so different from home, but not in a bad way. Perhaps this is me just entering the "honeymoon" phase of culture shock, but I think it's deeper than that. My main job at school so far is to do hooked on phonics with the English students in Classes IV, V, and VI. This means reading the same ten sentence story over with 90 different kids, answering the same questions, and doing the same activities. This sounds incredibly repetitive, and there are a few moments it is. However, overall, working with the kids, getting to see them figure out the answers, and soon, start improving in their English, test taking, everything, this just makes sense. I keep thinking about where I was six months ago, a year ago, even two years ago. There's no way I would have believed that this is what I would be doing now, and although I've loved Carleton and England, I just know this where God wants me to be right now. :)
God bless!
Kjirstin
Edit: Please pray for one of our students- this afternoon, she was hit by a piki piki (motorcycle) as she was trying to cross the street. She's in the hospital with injuries and will be transfered to another hospital tomorrow near DAR to see a specialist. Prayers for her, her family, and her doctors would be very appreciated!
The last few days have been busy, but not eventful. I'm still adjusting to everything that's going on and life here in general. I'm trying to settle into some sort of routine. So far, Monday-Friday is school from 7:30-3:00, then I usually spend the afternoon in my room with my fan doing schoolwork, sometimes there's something going on in the evening like a prayer service, and then over to the pastor's house for dinner around eight, devotions about nine, and then back to the house to get ready for bed. Since many people don't know, I feel I should quickly explain my schooling situation. The University of London International Programme is a long distance education system that allows students to study from anywhere in the world. There isn't any exact schoolwork, ie, no papers, assignments, quizzes, etc. Rather, studying is done independently and then students sit an exam in May in a number of countries (I think it's about 130 total). Tanzania is an option, but I'm planning to do mine in the USA. This exam is the entire grade. Somewhat scary, but considering that this allows me to continue my education while being here and giving back, I think it's worth it. Since I'm studying theology, I also think this keeps me connected to the reality of my degree while my studies are far more theoretical. I should also clarify, this degree is an academic theology. I could go on to become a pastor, but I could do a variety of things with this degree. Currently, I'm studying Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Science, The New Testament, and Christian Ethics.
Back to Africa, Tuesday was quite exciting- I got my cabinet! I finally got to unpack and feel like I moved in! The cabinet is huge. It was a six man job to get it in my room! Also, a lady in the church who needed some work is going to be doing some cleaning and came over for the first time. Christine and I were so excited when we got home! It is incredibly hard to keep clean, well everything here, your home, shoes, your clothes, you..... The roads and much of the ground is dirt. It's dry right now so it's at least not muddy, but the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet keeps going off in the back of my head. I have just accepted that my feet will not be clean while I'm here. Actually, I've learned here that my body can be quite colorful. From the reds and pinks of sunburn covering my arms and chest, to the at least twenty mosquito bites dotting my arms and legs and the permanent dirt stains on my feet, I'm just a piece of artwork! :)
Of course, all of those things stand out more because my skin is so white. Yesterday, we went to town to get my internet modem, which is great to finally be on my own internet. That trip was the first time I really heard the word "mzungu" a lot. Mzungu in Swahili literally means white person. I have yet to understand why it accepted or even thought to see a white person and just yell out "white person!" Especially in Morogoro, it's not super uncommon because there's a large missionary community here. It's not meant to be offensive or anything; ironically, yesterday afternoon, a little girl in class I yelled out to me "teacher mzungu" as I was walking back to the house to get my attention, purely so she could wave good bye to me. It was adorable! :) Like I said, I still don't understand what the lure is in yelling it at us. Half the time, they don't want to talk to us. I guess if all else fails, it's a sign my skin hasn't changed it's mind and decided to start tanning all of a sudden. (And even if it started tanning, I doubt it would ever become dark enough to blend in here).
There isn't much more I can say simply. Bits and pieces of the nuances of daily life I feel will come in the blog the longer I'm here. Everything is so different from home, but not in a bad way. Perhaps this is me just entering the "honeymoon" phase of culture shock, but I think it's deeper than that. My main job at school so far is to do hooked on phonics with the English students in Classes IV, V, and VI. This means reading the same ten sentence story over with 90 different kids, answering the same questions, and doing the same activities. This sounds incredibly repetitive, and there are a few moments it is. However, overall, working with the kids, getting to see them figure out the answers, and soon, start improving in their English, test taking, everything, this just makes sense. I keep thinking about where I was six months ago, a year ago, even two years ago. There's no way I would have believed that this is what I would be doing now, and although I've loved Carleton and England, I just know this where God wants me to be right now. :)
God bless!
Kjirstin
Edit: Please pray for one of our students- this afternoon, she was hit by a piki piki (motorcycle) as she was trying to cross the street. She's in the hospital with injuries and will be transfered to another hospital tomorrow near DAR to see a specialist. Prayers for her, her family, and her doctors would be very appreciated!
Kjirstin - I love reading these! Keep them coming! Is the bug spray not effective on the mosquitos? Are you putting it on? Also, I think the malarone may be the culprit for your abdominal pain. It should help to take it with food or milk. If not, it's better than malaria! Funny story with the curtain! I love you - thanks again for calling!
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