Tuesday was relatively ordinary. Joan was able to come to school this day so it was fun to have her with us, and I actually got to teach the students a lot this day! I found out that a former volunteer had donated “The Giving Tree” to the school, and I read it to the students during part of English time. I have always loved this book – I love trees and I love the story of how the tree gives of herself to the boy and is so happy to give. I was hoping that the kids would be able to enjoy both the story and the illustrations and I was happy to find that they remained rapt with attention throughout it. I was also able to go over a lot of words and numbers with them, which helped me to gauge the level of the students and to connect with them more. When I wasn’t teaching I observed Jane and helped the kids. The kids really love Joan as well and it is so cute to see them say shikamoo to her. Shikamoo is a greeting used for elders from younger people. It is a sign of respect and the older person responds to shikamoo with marahaba to acknowledge and greet the younger person. It is really fun to work on Swahili with the students, Octavio and Jane.
This day was very muddy near the school because it had rained the previous evening through the night. There is a very steep hill near my school that the car is unable to handle when it is muddy, so Sam, Joan and I walked down the muddy hill and down a couple of roads to the school. We also walked back to the car this way, and many of the kids walked with us and held our hands as we went back to the car. They all began to disperse as they walked home, but it was fun to walk with them. My kids are all very loving and it is incredible to experience their light and joy for others. They all took care of a mtoto (baby) that had wandered into their play area on Monday, and they support each other in games and activities. It is wonderful to work with kids who are passionate about learning and love to be with each other and serve as a strong support group for each other.
Wednesday we had to say goodbye to Erin, which was very sad. A couple nights earlier we went out to dinner for Susan’s (another volunteer with CCS) birthday. We went to Indoitaliano, a restaurant located in Moshi town. They serve really yummy Indian and Italian food here (hence the name) and it was our first restaurant experience of our Moshi trip, excluding Union Café on our first day…but I am going to say that doesn’t count. So we all got ready for her birthday and went to Indoitaliano. I got a garden pizza. While that sounds pretty basic, in reality it was a very flat pizza with a salad of cooked vegetables on top. I liked it a lot, but definitely had trouble eating it. The poor European waiter must have had a hell of a time with all 14 of us talking to and over each other the entire time he was trying to serve us. Oh well, bring a bunch of volunteers out for someone’s birthday, add in a few of their local friends and serve us alcohol and you’ll get a lot of talking, laughing and confusion. I was able to try Tusker while out to dinner and I immediately thought that Casey would be proud! I plan to drink more Tusker within the next three months, it is easily my favorite beer served here J.
Anyway, sorry for getting off track – back to Tuesday and Wednesday. After school/placement on Tuesday we went back to CCS and then left for a town tour. Mama Sarah joined us for the tour and explained things to us as we went. We went around the main roundabout in Moshi and then into town. We ended up stopping at two places this afternoon – one was the art market outside of town and the other was the market in town near Chagga Street. The Chagga are a tribe that are known for their business skills, and so many Moshi business are run or owned by Chagga tribe members. The market near Chagga Street was quite an experience. It consisted of many stalls outside as well as a large area within a warehouse-type of space in which many vendors sold their goods. You could get anything from dried fish and freshly cut meat to rice and grains or avocadoes. The smells here were overwhelming – the combination of fish, meat and spices was definitely enough for my little nose to be ready to leave. Outside we found a lot of other stalls and Kira, Becca and I spent some time just walking around and seeing what other places there were in town. During our tour we also encountered a lot of churches – Catholic, Lutheran and Muslim were all located on our drive around the town. The art market was very cool – I saw a lot of awesome potential souvenirs for my family and friends here.
Wednesday was eventful for a few reasons. We had our guest lecturer on Education come to CCS, Erin left, and we went out to both the Shaky shaky and Kool Bar with our friends later that night. The guest lecture was very interesting and informative. The speaker was the Tanzanian representative for the UN and he was very well spoken and interesting. It was unfortunate that his lecture was from 6:15 until 8:15 at night; because I was so tired I was like a waif sitting there trying to listen.
The education situation in Tanzania is very interesting because it takes into account not only the history of schools themselves, but also the history of the tribal societies and their customs. Prior to 1885, Tanzania was governed and populated by African tribal societies. These societies were identified by the vernacular they used and the economic activity they participated in (e.g. maize growers, grain producers etc.). Although colonization seems to have a negative connotation, prior to colonization Africa was in great danger as a continent due to the lack of unity and growth it was experiencing. Tanganyika (Tanzania prior to its communion with Zanzibar) has 120 tribes within it alone, so to imagine Africa prior to colonization would be intense! During this time two systems of education existed. One was an informal system in which education was obtained by being exposed to the customs and ways of the community and copying their behavior. In these communities people learned from practicing and following their own family. In the other system children would learn the secrets of the village annually – or seasonally. This is similar to the more stereotypical idea of tribal education. Here boys would go into the wood or something similar and become men at a certain age. Women would also go through a ritual into womanhood, one that often resulted in female mutilation. Once the children emerged from their manhood/womanhood rituals they would return and become a part of the community.
From 1885 to the 1960s Tanzania was under colonial rule. During a five-month conference the European powers took a solid 48 minutes to decide the fate of Africa and divide between themselves. Pretty crazy that it only took 48 minutes to divide an entire continent! Initially, the colonists came as missionaries. This was due to the understanding that everyone shared faith or the idea of a higher power. Prior to colonialism, Africans had been believing in unjust and scary gods, so the idea of a loving God was appealing to them. The sharing of religion built a philanthropic relationship with the African people and brought Christianity to the country (Tanzania). Another way in which colonization affected Africa was through the introduction of hospitals. Prior to formal hospitals a lot of people had been dying due to trial and error, so gaining medicine was a huge advancement. Lastly, the colonists brought formal schools to Africa. The purpose of educating the native people of Africa was to provide employees of the government. The students would learn a skill and at the end of the curriculum they would become servants of the colonial government. This education had the effect of making the people begin to think for themselves, thus leading to the desire for independence.
Though Tanzania gained its independence in the 1960s, the people were still being educated to be employed. In 1992 there were 3 levels for students to participate in. The first was a European based school system in which students trained so the could become investors. The second was children of liberals and government people. These schools had good facilities and became entrepreneurs. The third system was made for the African children and was not as formal or nice as the other two. In 1972 Tanzania became the first African country to sign a UN Protocol law mandating that all children are sent to school. Currently, there are a few levels of schooling for the children. There is nursery school/kindergarten (this is the level of my kids), Primary school, Secondary school and University. The nursery schools do not have curriculum, so working in them or being a teacher for them is difficult and very free form. The other levels do, however, have formal structure, but sometimes money issues come into the picture at these levels. Many families cannot pay the optional/additional fees associated with primary schooling such as porridge. Secondary school and University education both cost money. I believe secondary school costs around 20,000 Tsh each year. Due to the cost and the life circumstances facing many children here, a lot of children drop out of school by secondary school, some even by primary. It is very hard to find someone who has mastered the system of education as well because of the way the language barrier is addressed. Children often speak their tribal language before they attend nursery school, and thus begin to learn both Swahili and English in nursery school. However, even though these students are being taught English, their classes are taught in Swahili until they reach secondary school. Once in secondary school all classes from this point through University education are taught in English. This system makes language comprehension and acquisition difficult and arduous.
Toward the end of his lecture our teacher emphasized our role in teaching young children in Tanzania. He encouraged us to do two things – 1. Help the children to hear. It is important that they hear words, sounds and distinctions. Without breaking down the phonological systems of words for them, it is good to make sure the sounds are distinct and clear for them to repeat and comprehend. 2. Help them and encourage them to speak. Don’t turn them away if they make mistakes, but encourage them to continue to keep trying. Without putting the words into use and practice they will just revert to the more comfortable way of communicating. Challenge them while also being compassionate. It is good to show them the importance of knowing English and allow them to speak broken English.
The other experiences of this day/night were quite different from each other. Saying goodbye to Erin was quite sad. It was hard to see the other (veteran) volunteers crying as she left, and I was definitely sad to see her go. Even though I only met her and talked to her for a few days, I really loved being around her. Her energy is very bright and warm and she really made me feel welcome and at home my first couple of days. I am glad I got to spend a few days connecting with her and becoming her friend. I will miss her and I hope she is having an amazing time in Amsterdam as I write this!
The last event, going to the Shaky shaky and Kool bar, were…very interesting. First, when we went to shaky shaky I thought that we would be going to a popular bar or dance club or something. However, to my surprise we went to a location that was reserved for our group. We were served yummy African dinner (very similar to our dinners here at the Home Base – which I will be sure to explain further in a different post), and we watched two groups of performers. The first was just dancers dressed in African clothing. They came out a few times and sang and danced more traditional African dances. The musicians in the back included djembe players, wood drums and a toaster – yes a toaster. The second performing group came and did amazing stunts and acrobatic moves. They looked like performers from cirque de soleil – it was amazing and to be honest, kind of freaky. They were doing incredible stunts on a very unforgiving concrete floor. During the performance I became a little nervous about some of the stunts and had the urge to cover my eyes, but luckily nothing happened. Later in the evening there was a contortionist. This was kind of unnerving because she was very close to us. It is one thing to see a contortionist up on the stage, but right in front of your table? It’s an entirely different experience. Although I was a little creeped out, the performance was very well done and I enjoyed it a lot. Naturally, after the performance we were invited to get up and dance. It was a both a little bit nerve wracking and very fun. I found that the hand/arm thing is very true about Western dancing. We put a lot of emphasis on using our arms while Tanzanians are all about their trunk and lower body. I have never seen any human – man or woman – shake their hips as well as the male dancers at the shaky shaky. I was basically in awe of their skills while we were there. The night ended by going to Kool bar. This was hilarious because we decided to smash ourselves into a taxi to get there and rode in a truck bed through the rain to get home. Kool bar provided my first squatty potty experience and I got to witness the bar life (on a Wednesday that is) in Tanzania. It was a lot of fun and it prepared me for our night out at La Liga on Friday! Anyway, I am getting nimechoka sana and need to get to bed. I will write more later! Ninakupendo/nakupenda. Salama!
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