INTERNET!!! PRAISE JESUS!

HELLO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!! HOW I MISS YOU DEARLY! It's October
now and for the majority of you, I have not talked to. I've only had
limited texting contact with my parents and Rachel. It's very weird
to be so disconnected from life back in the states. I've been
journaling some so I want to type it out on this lap top in hopes to
save it to my thumb drive and on Saturday (10/16) go into town at an
internet café and load this up to my blog. If you are reading this,
it means I was successful in doing so…
It's going to be long, so maybe read a little each day…or if you don't
care, then don't read it…that's perfectly fine too : ) I just wanted
to update those of you who are interested in knowing what's going on
in my life here in Africa.
Monday 9/20 was my last night in Igoda Village with my student Sturida
whom I was living with for the two weeks during training. Before she
began studying in preparation for exams, I presented her with the
quilt Andrea and her students had made as a gift for taking care of my
and teaching me the Tanzanian way of village life. She loved it! The
gift was nothing in comparison to what I owed this 18 year old girl.
The two weeks I lived with her will probably the single most impacting
event of my life. My perceptions of life, love, sacrifice, diligence,
poverty, wealth, and joy have been challenged and I'm proud to say,
they have all changed for the better.
Reflecting on those 2 weeks, I went from Day/Night 1: "I'm going to
die by being eaten alive by rats and/or by suffocating and
claustrophobia…WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING of doing something of this
magnitude?" to Night 12: "I love living here; I don't want to leave;
Sturida, will you transfer schools and leave your family and friends
and come with me?"
That evening, by the light of the moon, I played soccer, excuse me, I
should say "football," with 3 little boys...well, we actually just
kicked the ball back and forth. I would like to mention that one of
the boys was Ezla, the one whom I frightened so badly that he would
cry at the word "mzungu." Him and I had a moment of reconciliation
when I went to the monthly market and bought him mandazi (which is
equivalent to our plain donut). Maybe it wasn't the best precedence
to set, act terrified of someone and they will buy you a donut, but I
truly felt bad and I didn't know how else to get close enough to him
to allow him to see I'm not a terrifying white human being. They
bribe lessened the blood-curdling screams every time he saw me, but he
still kept his distance with an object in his hand to throw at me at
any given point in time.
Joy would have defined that moment as we kicked a ball of plastic
bags held together by rope, the simplistic, yet innovative
modifications to my definition of a soccer ball, produced a memorable
time.
9/21 As a team, we are on our own for dinner. We decided spaghetti
is the simple, yet scrumptious, all-American cuisine we should go for.
There were so many of us to cook, that I just ended up slicing
tomatoes for the sauce, which is very crucial to the nature of the
dish. It turned out pretty well, it's no Tomato Street/Olive
Garden/Grandma's special recipe (Marcus, let me just say, it made me
very excited to one day experience the art form you claim to have
perfected). Naturally, we want to have dessert after…..hmmmm…well we
have made too many noodles, and we have some form of cinnamon and we
have sugar, TA'DA, we have dessert! Let's just say, you won't be
seeing that recipe on Rachel Ray's anytime in the following century.
Attempt #2 at dessert= banana chips. We only had the green bananas,
which I think are plantains, but even after frying them in oil and
coating them with sugar, we had given up on our quest for the perfect
dessert. Not even a half hour later, Mrs. Vinton walks in with…we
can't believe our eyes…a multi-colored sprinkled covered, frosted,
homemade CAKE!!! Jesus is so good to us! Our last night in Igoda was
marked as a success!
9/22 4am came very quickly. On the bus/van, we all cram in.
Shivering, we make our journey to Mafinga, where we will part ways to
go off to our separate schools. My Tanzanian phone finally picks up a
Vodacom tower and I have service! The only 2 numbers I remember, give
me a taste of home…my mom and Rachel! How bittersweet it was to have
some form of direct communication with them. "WHAT???!!! EMILY'S
ENGAGED?!" (I find out from both of them). Nice timing Drew, way to
wait until I'm not only on the other side of the world, but that I
have no means of receiving information. I think I actually squealed
when I read the text. I looked around for someone to share the
long-anticipated news, but no one knows Emily nor Drew. Shoot. I'm
just going to have a little celebration, cognitively. I just want to
know when, how did he do it, did you have any clue Emily, and yes…what
does the ring look like? When's the wedding? Am I invited? HA! I
at least know the answer to one of the questions running through my
mind. Then a slow stream of tears runs down my face. I miss my
family and friends. I'm so disconnected. I have no clue what is
going on in anyone's life. One of my best friends got ENGAGED and I
had no idea, nor do I still know anything. Why am I subjecting myself
to this again? Then I hear it, through my iPod. Shawn McDonald
reminds me, "Little child, don't cry….because our God knows why…"
Even though my heart was still sadden by my lack of "connectedness,"
God reminds me that He has a perfect plan and purpose in this season,
even if I never see/understand it, I ultimately trust Him.
Our team consisted of 9 individuals. Once we reached Mafinga, there
were 5 remaining (the other 4 took another bus to the region where
they would be teaching). We had a couple of hours in town and were
occupying the lobby of a guest house while we awaited our next
direction. INTERNET CAFÉ right next door!!! Opens in ONE HOUR!!!
Praise Jesus, I will be able to read emails! Maybe Emily has e-mailed
me about Drew's proposal! Two hours later, internet café's doors have
not moved. The owner's child is sick come to find out. Well, such is
life, maybe it's for the best.
I'm the first to depart for my school. No!! I don't want to say
goodbye, you four are my last remaining American comfort! I wave
goodbye and set off to face another adjustment, but this time, having
no one who can speak English fluently and for all I know, who can
speak it at all. 45 mins! That's all? I'm only 45 mins from a town
where I could possibly use the internet (on a good day) and maybe find
a store with NUTELLA? Shut up! This is awesome! My suitcases are
out of the truck now; I've drawn a crowd of approximately 30
whispering and staring students. All Swahili escapes from my mind as
I wish I was back in Igoda village with Templeton (Yes! One night, a
rat woke me up, and delusional by any definition, I felt compassion
towards the repulsive creature and said to myself, "Aww…Templeton is
just trying to get food…he gets hungry and needs to eat too!" I then
realized what I had said and knew I was possessed by something!) Now
back to Imauluma Secondary School. Baraka approaches and welcomes me.
He instructs the students to take all my things into my new room and
then he escorts me to the school. We go into a bare room with 3
tables, some chairs, and a radio…the Teacher's Lounge. Teachers come
in and out and introduce themselves. All males. Perfect. Where are
my single ladies?! Finally I meet her…God's angel, Aneth (Anett).
Sarah Bickle told me I would love her and she was very right. I
didn't think it was possible to instantly have love for people, the
kind of love that you crave to be around them because when you are
not, you feel like something is missing. This is how I feel about a
handful of the teachers now. Before I tell you about them, I'll tell
you about the living arrangements. There are two teacher houses…Side
A "Boy's house" and Side B "Girl's house." (Which now has created a
light-hearted debate between myself and the boys…I say that my side is
Side A and their side is Side B. At first they argued with me about
it, but now they say if I need to be apart of the "special group" of
Tanzania which includes the elderly, children, and women…then yes, the
girl's house can be Side A. Well…my stubbornness comes out and
doesn't want to be apart of a "special group" that needs special
attention…so it's a toss up now.)
Anyway…the houses are very nice. Outside, we have a room where we
can bathe and go to the bathroom, next to that is another room I
haven't figured out the use of yet. (I have now come to think that
it's for chickens to sleep and lay their eggs maybe?) Connected to
these rooms is our house. Four rooms, one at each corner with an open
middle area which consists of two small school desks and a couple of
chairs. My room is the first door on the left. The next room is
Anita's. Across from her is Aneth and Kepha's room, which I'm pretty
sure they share a bed (now I know that they do because I have seen)
and they gave me their nice wooden frame with headboard and are now
sleeping on their foam pad on the floor. You don't enter in other
people's rooms unless welcomed for a specific purpose, but I've seen
in when the door is opened. I was told that as a culture, they would
rather share a room and bed with someone than be by yourself (even the
guy's). The 4th room is used as a kitchen. I'll be sure to take
pictures so those who want to see can. I'm just so thankful I have my
own room and a full size bed to myself. I am spoiled. They guys'
house is the same, except they have at least 8 people living there,
maybe more…it's hard to say right now because some aren't around much.
I actually feel like I'm living my college dorm life that I never
experienced. All the teacher are around my age, a couple years
younger for the most part, but age is so different here compared to
Americans. I think they are all older than they really are, not
because of how they look, but because of how they act. I'm sure all
of them started taking care of themselves around the age of 4 or 5, as
well as their siblings. It's amazing to see what little children are
actually capable of doing…I thinking we hold ours back often. The
differences in how children are raised is an entirely different topic
that I would gladly share in a one-on-one basis, not blogging
sensitive material.
Two things that you must adjust once you step foot in this country,
1) patience level and 2)contentment of ambiguity. These two things
are very hard for any American. I would even confidently say I'm a
very patient person, but even that great characteristic gets tested
here. I had a still have no clue what I'm really supposed to do now.
All the students are in the in middle of mid-terms. Imauluma is a
printing hub for the surrounding VST schools. Therefore, teachers
hand write exams, send them to Aneth, who is the only one here that
knows how to effectively use a lap top, printer and can type, except
for me now. So all I have really been doing is trying to read the
handwriting of some teachers and transfer the exam to the computer to
then print off copies for each student. I can't believe Aneth does
all of this by herself usually. It's a lot of work. I've gotten a
nice refresher of geography, chemistry, math, civics, English, and am
learning about Tanzanian history. It's actually been interesting at
times. I'm just glad I can come as a slight relief of consuming work
for Aneth.
When will I start teaching? Where? What will I be teaching? Only
God knows I guess. Let me at least give you a character synopsis of
each teacher, at least the ones I know:
ANETH: Approximately 24 (she's not sure when she was born). Like I
had said, she is God's angle. She is absolutely beautiful inside and
out. She has taken me under her wing. We have arranged it whereas I
give her 40,000 shillings a month for food and she cooks our meals
together. That equals to approx. $35/month. It was her best
estimate; I told her if it is more (which I think it will be) to just
let me know. She is an amazing cook, I have yet to eat something I
don't like. Granted, there isn't a lot of variety, but it's okay…I
feel like I'm at least getting a good balance of nutrition and not
just eating carbs/starches. Aneth is fairly quiet, but very sweet and
kind. She works very hard all day and always put other first. She is
Roman Catholiv, I went to church with her on Sunday 9/26, which is
always a good, being stared at by everyone like I have flashing neon
arrows pointing towards me.
KEPHA: Ha! She makes me laugh. She is 22 I believe, and very loud.
She is pretty sarcastic. We joke around with each other. She
randomly bursts our in song and dance. I laugh often because of her.
You can always hear her whether she is teaching on the other side of
the school or is at the guy's house. She is leaving mid-October to go
continue her education at the university.
ANITA: Her and Kepha are buddies. I think she is 22 as well. She is
also leaving to go to another university to study. She is also very
kind, more reserved. We haven't spoken as much as I have with others.
Now we have the boys. Even though the girls are very kind and
welcoming, they boys are that much and more! I spend more of my free
time with them. They ask questions about myself, America, education,
politics, pretty much anything. The girls don't really ask many
questions, maybe it's a cultural thing?
BARAKA: He's 19 and absolutely adorable! His English is pretty
good. He actually is from Igoda and went to school at Madisi. He is
quiet, but engages in conversation often. He is the epitome of
"cool." Whenever I see him I just think to myself, "Now that is one
cool guy!" He is usually listening to the radio whenever I see him.
He is the type of guy who has patience for all people, he is an
observer, very deep, and protective of the one's he loves. He is very
sweet and very cute.
"MOODY": His name is Mohamed. He is my favorite. I feel like Moody
and I just had a connection from the start. His English is very good.
He's only 21, but he acts beyond his years. I was left intrigued and
mesmerized when I first met him. Moody is laid back and very cool
(coming close to Baraka). He has the most beautiful eyes and smile.
(Rachel and Janessa, he reminds me a little of Jasper in his looks).
I think I could be around him all of the time and not ever get
annoyed. He is Muslim, but we haven't talked much about it, at all
actually. Someone else told me he was, and you I guess you can assume
by the name as well. He just has this "light" that exuberates from
his face, I want to have you all meet him.
GOODLUCK: He's 22 and buddies with Moody. Those two are the ones I
have hung out the most with thus far. Goodluck also speaks English
pretty well. He is a little more forward and talkative and very
inquisitive. He is also leaving this month to go to the Univeristy of
Dar es Salaam.
NASHONI: He is unique. Nice. Doesn't know of personal bubbles.
Likes direct people. Can hold a decent conversation. (Now, as I'm
re-writing this…he has grown on me. He is very sweet).
MR. HASHIM: He is 26 or 27 maybe. He is the Headmaster. Very nice
and very cool. He is smaller in built, but charming and handsome.
Everyone seems to like him well. He's not around a lot, so I haven't
gotten to know him much.
PETER: I can't read him. My first impression was that I didn't
think he like me. But, I think it's more the fact that he's not super
confident in his English speaking, so I haven't talked with him much.
Plus he is never around during our off time. I'm not sure if he just
always goes to the village or what. When you see him, you would think
he is very cool too. I guess some of he guys just have this coolness
about them. They are all great. There are at least two more (Michael
and Fred) that have been around because of the break. (Now, as of
October, I have gotten to know them both more. Michael is the head
Academic teacher, and very tall. He's nice. And Freddy…I think I
write about him later, but my gosh…he's is probably my new favorite.
He has a very special place in my heart; I adore him! And he's
leaving in a week as well to go to the University…I'm sad.)
9/27 Remember that ambiguity? Well, it was Monday morning and I
THINK I might be teaching today…maybe? Since it's break, most kids
aren't attending school. Pre-form starts coming though for part of
the day. Yes, I am told I'm going to go teach for a short time at
8am. One my way from the house to the school…no, I'm told I'll be
teaching at 10 now. Okay. I ask, "Have you been able to find the
vocabulary pictures?" Nope, still don't have any visual aids or
teaching materials. Okay….God blessed me with some ability to draw.
I guess I'll draw what I can on the blackboard.
In class now. I understand I'm white, but being here in Tanzania now
for about 5 weeks, it's getting so old being stared at, talked about,
laughed at how I pronounce words (even correctly sometimes) and how I
do anything really. So there I am, in front of about 20 kids. It
went pretty well. Some of them knew a little English, so it help the
others. I was only going to do one lesson and then dismiss them, but
they did so well that I taught them a few lessons. I loved teaching!
After class, the students were walking up to our house because they
are required to fetch water for the teachers; one of my students
didn't realize I was behind her and I think she was making fun of me
or making fun of the dialogue I had them repeat multiple times and
memorize. She was repeating it, but plugging her nose as she spoke.
One girl turned around and saw me, so she hit the other girl which
made her turn around and was in shock to see me. Who knows, maybe
because I have a higher voice or my accent is what they find amusing.
This girl is a ring leader, I can tell already. But she was the first
student that caught my eye, besides the smallest precious boy,
Mohamed. This girl's name is Shakila…so her name alone is enough for
me to love her. Shakira, Shakira…"my hips don't lie….waka waka! This
time for Africa!" Shakila has the "light" though. I don't get it,
but some Tanzanian's have it, some sorta have it, and some don't. The
ones that don't have the light, there's nothing wrong with them, I
just can't explain it. Shakila's eyes and smile are refreshing
though.
Moody and Goodluck told me that we were to going to meander into a
neighboring village. I have come to find out that meandering can last
from one hour to all day, depending on who you meet along the way and
what you find. They said we need to do this because otherwise we will
go crazy being at our home all the time. Valid. So, my thought was
"Sweet! We are going on a walk…I'll get some exercise and see more of
the land." We actually never made it very far in proximity, though we
were gone for 3 or so hours. We stopped to talk to a lot of people
and they showed me the government primary school. At one point, if
you would have played a processional, given me a white dress, and a
bouquet of flowers, I would have thought I was walking down the isle
with Moody and Goodluck on either side of me, that's how slow we were
walking. I found it quite comical. Life is beautiful. They aren't
in a hurry to get from one place to the next, so often they don't even
have a specific purpose, it's simply the process and relationship they
cherish, not the end product. I think that can define my time here:
"It's about the process, not the product." I hope to live the same in
America, you miss out on so many things if you are always focused on
what's next or the end result of what you are doing.
After we returned, Aneth greeted me with an item in a black bag,
Hashim had picked it up in Mafinga town at the request of Aneth. As
she pulled this small (1kg) bucket out of the bag, heaven began to
sing as I gasped with joy….PEANUT BUTTER!!!! Legit peanut butter, not
the sugar infused Jiff or Skippy, which in my honest opinion you mind
as well just eat a Rese's Cup (which I do from time to time, but
that's not my point)….it was like our Adam's peanut butter, where the
oil separates on top and you have to stir it….PURE BLISS! I didn't
even ask for this! God must have told her; I'm sure He tells His
angels this kind of thing all the time. Perfect, I had bought a
kitchen knife in Moshi, with the help of Jordan (because I have no
idea what type of kitchen knife would be beneficial for cooking).
Stirring it all together is an art and no easy one at that…but the
time and labor is worth it in the end, you get to lick the knife!
I've licked plenty of knives in my day…I just focus on licking the
side of the knife that is lacking the sharp end of the blade. Simple
and completely safe. Lesson of the day: check first, before applying
tongue, that you are not in possession of a double edged knife! I
didn't even know they made those, let along my knife was one. A nice
flow of blood and peanut butter, mixed together quite nicely and was
welcomed warmly by my stomach. Since that day, my tongue has healed.
9/28 Tuesday. Nashoni decides he is going to teach pre-form
English, but allows me to accompany him and says we can teach
together. Alright; flexibility; go with the flow…I do that all the
time. Let me just leave it to say that I'm looking forward to next
week when there is a time-table and schedule for classes and I will
hopefully be teaching solo.
2:50pm Goodluck comes by and says he is going to go to the village; I
can finish eating "lunch" and then Moody would come get me and he will
escort me to the village where we would all meet up. One thing you
should know, as a culture, it is courtesy to escort someone to
wherever they are going. Walking alone just doesn't happen often
here. So, Moody and I are walking to a village that's about 30 mins
away. We walk at a much quicker pace today; I enjoy it.
*2 things I want to mention....one is relevant to this day, the other
occurred Sunday. After church, Aneth, Anita, and I were walking back
home on the dirt path. I hear from behind us come the word, "Hodi"
which is usually used when you want to enter a house or someone's
room…it's like you are asking, "May I enter?" and then the other
person would reply "Karibu" (Welcome). In this instance, two guys on
bicycles wanted to pass us, so we moved to the side. As they got
closer I heard a pig snorting…and in my sweet, naïve little head I'm
picturing little Wilbur (I'm not sure where all the Charolete's Web
references keep coming from) on a leash running along side of the bike
as a good companion-…like I do with my dogs, or attempt to, Cedar
hasn't quite grasped the concept of not running in front of the tires.
As the bikes pass I realized I am witnessing the pig's last moments
of life. It is laying on its side on the back of the bike, with its
front legs tied together, along with the back legs. There are bamboo
pieces tied together to form a gurney that completely surrounds the
pig. Ham used to be my favorite meat when I was younger…as time has
come, I only eat chicken and turkey as a main staple of meat. The
occasional bacon, or hamburger, or even elk…I will eat if it's cooked
well enough…I will never stop eating hamburgers. Now, I'm sure bacon
is forever ruined as a food group. Hopefully in time, I will forget.
(As I'm writing this on Friday night 10/15…I have gotten over it and
want to eat some good crispy bacon when I get home…I even had a dream
the night after it happened that I was eating a BLTA…BACON, Lettuce,
Tomato, Avocado sandwhich…oh man I love those!!) But seriously, I
don't know how they do it…they buy cows, chickens, and pigs and raise
them…see them daily…feed them…protect them…come to know the
personalities of each animal and for what? To one day end its life?
I'm all about eating meat. It's great and I love it and actually miss
it…and I know they have to do what they have to do to get meat…but I
would get too attached to the animal that I raised.
The other thing I want to share relates to bamboo. All I knew of
bamboo was that my favorite animal, the Panda, eats it. Well, it
exists here in Africa and the locals use it to make an intoxicating
"bamboo juice." Yes, if fermented, bamboo can be made into alcohol.
Maybe this is a known fact, but it was new to me. I wonder if Pandas
are lushes?
Okay, so we are back to walking with Moody. Once we reach the
village, we got to a shop where Mr. Hashim and Goodluck are playing
Draft…which is similar to checkers, with a few different rules. The
large, hand-painted, black and white checkered board rests in between
them on their knees as they strategize how to move each soda bottle
cap piece to seize the other's. Moody took Goodluck's place and
dominated Mr. Hashim most of the time. After they were done playing,
the four of us walked to the river, Lyandembela. You should be able
to find it on a map. It was very beautiful. Remote and
secluded…mystifying. It was low enough in one place, we could cross
over some randomly placed rocks that were partially emerging.
Thankfully God prompted me to war my Chaco's on this meander. Mr.
Hashim led the way, then Goodluck, me and Moody was the caboose. Now,
this crossing wasn't made of consecutive stepping stones, but of
jagged, uneven, far spaced rocks that if stepped on wrong, became a
nice slope into the river. The combination of my restrictive skirt
and unsure footing nearly landed me straight into the frigid waters,
but to my rescue came Goodluck's hand in front of me as Moody grabbed
me and fell partially in the water. That's sacrifice. We made it
across and explored the boulders and small water falls that are
exposed due to the dry season that we are in. On the way back, I came
across a big stick, about 3 feet taller than me…this came as an
excellent aid in walking across the boulders and crossing back over
the water. Once we made it, they said that passing will now me called
"Marisha's Way." If you look closely on a map, perhaps you too will
see it. We are going to return again with my camera to capture the
beauty. We made it back home by 7pm just as the sun was completely
down and the moon lit the way.
When I got here to Imauluma, I counted the letters some of you had
written by Rachel's request. I have figured out that I can open about
2 per week while I'm here. I have made Tuesday and Friday my letter
days. And I just close my eyes and grab one. So far I have had the
joy of reading one from Joscelyn, then Kathleen and family (which I
was a giddy schoolgirl when I found a picture of the whole immediate
Batchelder family inside…you are now on my door). Side not, when they
tell you to bring a small photo album of your home town, family and
friends…don't put it off until the last moment and then forget to
gather any pictures. They make the suggestion because it's the only
thing you have to look at to connect you to your loved ones for your
time here…plus it's fun showing other the people that you love and
where you live. The next letter was from Val, one of my Young Life
girls…it was so sweet! And she included a picture of our cabin from
camp! I LOVED IT! Today(9/30), even though it's Thursday, I had a
specific letter form Janessa to open from our time together in Moshi.
These letters are honestly my most cherished belongings here. I'm
looking forward to opening the rest and being blessed by your words.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
9/29 Teaching went the same as it did Tues; I had to pray a lot more
in the moment for grace and His strength to carry me through. To give
you a preview of the typical day: 6am, nearly on the dot, the
obnoxious rooster begins his call (they use the British term cock and
now I completely understand where we get "cocky!" Oh how they drive
me nuts at how they walk around thinking they are all that and just
dominated all of the hens and have their way with them whenever they
want! Just like I can't stand cocky people. Huh.). Earplugs go in.
Since it's break this week, I really don't have to be up until 8:30 or
so. (Now that school is in session…I wake up then because I have to
be at the school by 7:30 and start teaching at 8). "Chai" (tea)
happens at 10:40-11:10. Teachers and students get a short break to
basically eat breakfast. I am sure a lot of the kids don't eat
anything because they don't bring food and might not have money to buy
anything. I don't know how they sit there all day and try and learn
on empty stomachs. There are a few mama's that come to sell mandazi
and bagia (which is made out of ground up beans and then fried?) They
are good. So for chai you usually eat something small like that or
maybe bread and drink some tea. After chai, everyone returns to class
until 2:30. Then you go home and prepare lunch…which for us consists
of Ugali (a taste-less combination of corn flour, water and a little
salt cooked to the consistency of playdough)…I have actually come to
like it. You always eat something with it. With your right hand you
grab a ping pong size section and make a ball in your hand, then you
dip it and use it like a spoon with the assistance of your thumb to
grab the other food (sometimes beans, sometimes "Chinese" which is
some form of a lettuce type vegetable, prepared with tomatoes and
whatever vegetables you want to mix in…or there is my favorite: the
base mixture is always oil, red onion, tomatoes, and if you have
it...a little ginger. Cook it over the fire until its become like a
sauce. Then you put cut up cabbage in and cook until tender. The
last couple of times, Aneth has also put in ground up peanuts and it's
soo sooo good! She will also put eggs in the base sauce and that is
my very favorite. I will make it for whoever wants to try it once I
return. After lunch you do whatever, maybe chores, wash clothes,
fetch water, bathe, take a nap, correct papers, meander. This week
(October 10-15) I've been practicing football with the other guy
teachers because we have a match on Sunday against Form 2. We have
played against some students and everyone is quite in shock that I
play. Girls just don't play football here, let alone a white girl!
Of course they are crazy good and do things that would probably hurt
me badly if I tried…so I just do what I can.
I have realized that I have written so much in my journal that there
is no way I can transfer it all onto this document. It would take too
much time and I just don't want to. SO…I'm going to save the specific
stories for when we are together. Sorry, I had good intentions to
fill you in on a lot of things, but I don't have the time, resources,
or energy to do so. I will just summarize how things are going now:
I absolutely love teaching. I love teaching pre-form the most; I
have grown quite attached to them. Teaching the Form 1 classes was a
little more intimidating at first because I didn't think I would be
able to teach them legit English and all the rules that we have. But
so far it's going well. They are learning articles "a/an/the" and
changing sentences from singular to plural…we are going on two weeks
now because they weren't getting it. I feel bad for them because I
can't explain things in Swahili, but I think they are catching on now.
I have had to learn to be very creative with them. In pre-form it's
all fun and games and pictures…but in form one it's just lecture and I
hated lecture in school, so I try and make it more interactive for
them and make it a competition. I'm actually seriously considering
going back to school for my masters in teaching. I roll my eyes
because my degree was in education, but then I got scared and thought
I wouldn't like it and switched to psychology. But now, I don't
know…I really like it. Granted, I know teaching in the states will be
a lot different than here, but how I think I would love to do it! We
will see.
Tomorrow (Saturday), Aneth and I are leaving early in the morning to
catch the bus to town. We will stay the night there in Iringa…I think
with her family and hopefully I will get to a store and internet café.
Then Sunday is the big game! I think a lot of students are coming to
see my in action. I will give them a lot to laugh about I'm sure.
Did I mention I play in a skirt? Ha! Yes. And no shin guards. I
have a pretty stretchy skirt and I wear leggings underneath and then
my tennis shoes. It's a fashion statement without a doubt.
Thursday I will be speaking at the school's chapel time. They call
the period "religion," and basically they sing and maybe listen to
someone talk about the Bible. The head prefect asked if I would share
and I said of course I would love to. It will be a lot of students,
but I'm excited. I'm not exactly sure what I will talk on, but I know
God will give me something.
It's been nice not having facebook, internet, tv, and whatnot for
distractions. I have been able to spend a lot of time reading. And
those of you who know me, I'm not much of a reader…or I start and
don't finish a book. But I've read a few books since I've been in
Africa, one being Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers…amazing! I'm
currently half way through Pride and Prejudice. That one is taking me
more time because of the language I think, but I recently was able to
stay awake to watch the whole movie with Marie (one of my YL girls)
and fell in love with it. So when I saw that VST had a copy, I jumped
on the opportunity to read it. I've also been reading through Genesis
and 1 Samuel and love those books as well. I've read them before, but
for some reason they are way more interesting and have come alive to
me. I'm very intrigued.
Oh I have so many funny things to tell you guys, but I can't possibly
go through everything; how I wish I could. I've been told that I'm
God's gift to them and that I'm to be this man's wife…I've been
offered a bride price by a woman that was married…I'm the talk of
wherever I go…I'm stared at with wide eyes and it gets old
quickly…I've been homesick and just want to watch bull riding and
drink apple cider….how I miss the fall in Idaho…I miss my little kids
so so much…I love Tanzania…I love the people here and am enjoying
every moment…it's going so quickly, that I daily just stop and take it
all in because I know December will come quick. I have grown a lot
and am very thankful. It's such a hard place to be at sometimes
because I love my friends here but miss you all….and when I go back
home I know that I will miss this place and wish I would have never
left.
Okay, the battery is about to die on this lap top and we haven't had
electricity for about 2 weeks now. So my phone is dead, the ipod was
dead, but I charged it a little on this computer. I love you all.
Miss you so much. And I will write again when I can. I'm praying for
you all and think of you often!