My last few days have been crazy busy! I should not have put off a blog until now, so please bear with me on the length!
So, Thursday was my second day in class, and I really got to start working with the kids. Someone donated Hooked on Phonics to us, so we have that as a resource but Christine hasn't been able to utilize it as she's been teaching. My job therefore is to pull the kids out one by one and have them do a hooked on phonics activity with me (read the story and answer questions about it) and then send them back in. This is especially helpful for them because it provides reading comprehension and test taking skills that they're not getting otherwise. They're still shy though; it'll be a lot more fun when they open up and I get to know them more. I was blown away at one point. The kids were asking to do reading! If one class had a break, some of them would come up to me and say, "Madam, may I do reading with you?" I really hope they say that the whole time I'm here! :)
Other than that, Thursday was rather uneventful, probably God's way of making up for Friday. Class (grade in the US) VII took their national exams a few weeks before I got here. This the end of their primary school education, and their performances on these tests determine what kind of secondary (high school) school they'll get into. They're REALLY important, and since this was the first Class VII for the school, they were all the more important. While it will still be a while until we know the scores, the school held the graduation ceremony Friday. Which meant I had my first Tanzanian celebration.
I'm not sure what to compare the day to. The morning part felt like Thanksgiving or Christmas (with summery weather) with all the cooking and preparations. Christine and I got to help which apparently was weird- usually we're not expected to help. The ceremony was supposed to start at 12:30, but it didn't start until 1:30. I can honestly say it was the most unique graduation I have ever been to. Classes V, VI, and VII all sang songs in Swahili, English, and French; there was a skit; there was a fashion show; one of the students gave a speech about the school's history; it was just quite exciting! :) I didn't understand as much as I wanted, but I still basically knew what was going on. Honestly, it was great in my mind, except we were sitting in the sun and since this didn't start until 1:30, I sat in Tanzanian afternoon sunlight for a couple hours straight. Many of you know that I'm not the biggest fan of the heat, but I swear this isn't just me complaining! Even natives here don't sit directly in the sun, especially afternoon sun, if they don't have to. By the time we got to the dinner at 4:30, I was so sweaty and tired from the event. Christine had to help serve and since I'm new I wasn't expected to do anything, which left me on my own for the meal. The food, which is a pretty basic diet of grains, fruits, veggies and very little meat or variety, was traditional. The manner of eating was also traditional- I ate rice with my hands. I was watching the other teacher to try to figure out how to reasonably do this. There is no good way.
I was pretty much spent after the ceremony, so Christine and I delayed my first trip to town until Saturday. The next morning, I got to ride my first dala dala, the bus system here. I use the term bus loosely because they're actually 15 passenger vans with 20+ people on them. They're actually a cool set up; the driver focuses on driving because the driving is insane here. Defensive/aggressive driving is the only method of driving, or you will never get anywhere. So, another guy is actually in the back collecting money, alerting the driver when to stop, and calling out to people they're passing where the bus is going so they know if they want to get on or not. I would feel more comfortable if I understood mroe Swahili, but having done it a few times now, I like it.
Town was busy- larger shops are the extreme minority here. Rather, it's tons of small vendors. There were people everywhere and shops everywhere; because we were in a hurry, it was a lot more overwhelming. I just wanted time to semi-absorb everything around me. From what I understand, town will eventually seem a lot smaller, although I still think it's huge. I got my first Tanzanian money, which is Tanzanian schillings. Roughly, 1500 schillings is equal to one dollar, so some things are crazy cheap here. A dala dala ride, for example, is roughly twenty cents. I got to meet a number of other missionaries, all Americans, which was really cool. Most are working with this company that translates the bible, and a number of them are a whole families. I had lunch with a group of the women, my first western food in a few days! (For anyone wondering, I'm doing fine food wise. The other missionaries say the craving for American food comes, but everything here has been fine and I've been able to eat everything). After that, Christine and I did some hardcore shopping with another missionary. I GOT A FAN! AND A PILLOW! I was so excited to bring them home! We got some other smaller things for our house. Pretty soon, our nyumba (house) will become our nyumbani (home) :) Maybe tomorrow, I'll get the wardrobe from the pastor's house that's going to be mine and then I'll get to actually unpack!
Today, we went to church which was two hours long. I would estimate that singing was one hour, praying was a half hour, and bible reading/sermon was another half hour. This is normal, and really it was ok. Although the ceremony was in Swahili and I couldn't understand most of it, it still felt like church. We even sang some hymns in Swahili that were traditional. Somewhere in all of that, I had this moment of total awareness. I always expected it to hit me on the second day when I woke up here that I was actually, really in Africa, but it didn't happen until this morning. I kind of just went "Whoah, this is my reality. I am here Africa, staring at the gorgeous Uluguru mountains, worshiping God with Tanzanians, since when did this become my life?!"
I think that's an appropriate place to stop. I have more to say (so much more!) but I don't think it could fit in one post reasonably. It's been a very hectic few days, but tomorrow we're back to school, and since the graduation is over, it should be business as usual. Hopefully now, I can just focus on settling in and creating some routine.
God bless!
Kjirstin
So, Thursday was my second day in class, and I really got to start working with the kids. Someone donated Hooked on Phonics to us, so we have that as a resource but Christine hasn't been able to utilize it as she's been teaching. My job therefore is to pull the kids out one by one and have them do a hooked on phonics activity with me (read the story and answer questions about it) and then send them back in. This is especially helpful for them because it provides reading comprehension and test taking skills that they're not getting otherwise. They're still shy though; it'll be a lot more fun when they open up and I get to know them more. I was blown away at one point. The kids were asking to do reading! If one class had a break, some of them would come up to me and say, "Madam, may I do reading with you?" I really hope they say that the whole time I'm here! :)
Other than that, Thursday was rather uneventful, probably God's way of making up for Friday. Class (grade in the US) VII took their national exams a few weeks before I got here. This the end of their primary school education, and their performances on these tests determine what kind of secondary (high school) school they'll get into. They're REALLY important, and since this was the first Class VII for the school, they were all the more important. While it will still be a while until we know the scores, the school held the graduation ceremony Friday. Which meant I had my first Tanzanian celebration.
I'm not sure what to compare the day to. The morning part felt like Thanksgiving or Christmas (with summery weather) with all the cooking and preparations. Christine and I got to help which apparently was weird- usually we're not expected to help. The ceremony was supposed to start at 12:30, but it didn't start until 1:30. I can honestly say it was the most unique graduation I have ever been to. Classes V, VI, and VII all sang songs in Swahili, English, and French; there was a skit; there was a fashion show; one of the students gave a speech about the school's history; it was just quite exciting! :) I didn't understand as much as I wanted, but I still basically knew what was going on. Honestly, it was great in my mind, except we were sitting in the sun and since this didn't start until 1:30, I sat in Tanzanian afternoon sunlight for a couple hours straight. Many of you know that I'm not the biggest fan of the heat, but I swear this isn't just me complaining! Even natives here don't sit directly in the sun, especially afternoon sun, if they don't have to. By the time we got to the dinner at 4:30, I was so sweaty and tired from the event. Christine had to help serve and since I'm new I wasn't expected to do anything, which left me on my own for the meal. The food, which is a pretty basic diet of grains, fruits, veggies and very little meat or variety, was traditional. The manner of eating was also traditional- I ate rice with my hands. I was watching the other teacher to try to figure out how to reasonably do this. There is no good way.
I was pretty much spent after the ceremony, so Christine and I delayed my first trip to town until Saturday. The next morning, I got to ride my first dala dala, the bus system here. I use the term bus loosely because they're actually 15 passenger vans with 20+ people on them. They're actually a cool set up; the driver focuses on driving because the driving is insane here. Defensive/aggressive driving is the only method of driving, or you will never get anywhere. So, another guy is actually in the back collecting money, alerting the driver when to stop, and calling out to people they're passing where the bus is going so they know if they want to get on or not. I would feel more comfortable if I understood mroe Swahili, but having done it a few times now, I like it.
Town was busy- larger shops are the extreme minority here. Rather, it's tons of small vendors. There were people everywhere and shops everywhere; because we were in a hurry, it was a lot more overwhelming. I just wanted time to semi-absorb everything around me. From what I understand, town will eventually seem a lot smaller, although I still think it's huge. I got my first Tanzanian money, which is Tanzanian schillings. Roughly, 1500 schillings is equal to one dollar, so some things are crazy cheap here. A dala dala ride, for example, is roughly twenty cents. I got to meet a number of other missionaries, all Americans, which was really cool. Most are working with this company that translates the bible, and a number of them are a whole families. I had lunch with a group of the women, my first western food in a few days! (For anyone wondering, I'm doing fine food wise. The other missionaries say the craving for American food comes, but everything here has been fine and I've been able to eat everything). After that, Christine and I did some hardcore shopping with another missionary. I GOT A FAN! AND A PILLOW! I was so excited to bring them home! We got some other smaller things for our house. Pretty soon, our nyumba (house) will become our nyumbani (home) :) Maybe tomorrow, I'll get the wardrobe from the pastor's house that's going to be mine and then I'll get to actually unpack!
Today, we went to church which was two hours long. I would estimate that singing was one hour, praying was a half hour, and bible reading/sermon was another half hour. This is normal, and really it was ok. Although the ceremony was in Swahili and I couldn't understand most of it, it still felt like church. We even sang some hymns in Swahili that were traditional. Somewhere in all of that, I had this moment of total awareness. I always expected it to hit me on the second day when I woke up here that I was actually, really in Africa, but it didn't happen until this morning. I kind of just went "Whoah, this is my reality. I am here Africa, staring at the gorgeous Uluguru mountains, worshiping God with Tanzanians, since when did this become my life?!"
I think that's an appropriate place to stop. I have more to say (so much more!) but I don't think it could fit in one post reasonably. It's been a very hectic few days, but tomorrow we're back to school, and since the graduation is over, it should be business as usual. Hopefully now, I can just focus on settling in and creating some routine.
God bless!
Kjirstin
Thanks for the posting Kjirstin! I know you're tired, but I keep thinking that it's good that you're busy. I love hearing about what you're doing and how God is using you to impact the lives of the children! I love you!
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