Hard at Work!

Ashley, my country director for WorldTeach, came to visit us last week! She stayed with us at Muyenzi and visited both of our schools. She was excited to come to Bukiriro for the first time, and she enjoyed observing both my Form 1 and Form 3 classes! I had some marking to do for Form 1 while she was there, so she took a picture of me hard at work at my desk. Hopefully this week I'll be able to take pictures with my students as well so you can all see the loves of my life!

Exam Time!

Now that Form 2 and Form 4 have finished their National Examinations, it’s about time for Forms 1 and 3 to take their terminal examinations. In both of my classes, we have spent the past few weeks reviewing various topics from the syllabus, taking practice exams, and preparing to take the final exam for the year. My students take every exam very seriously, and most have been studying hard in order to do well. It’s been interesting seeing their progress on recent exams, especially in Form 1. I gave them an exam a few weeks ago, without warning, that covered every topic from Form 1 that they are expected to know according to the syllabus. It was 20 questions, each worth 5 points, and the class average was 18/100. Two boys scored over 50%, and the high score was a 70%. Clearly, we needed some review. Everyday since then, we’ve covered a different topic, reviewing rules and examples before the students practice on their own. I’ve given them two smaller exams since then, both only 10 questions each, and thankfully we’ve seen some improvement! The class stats for both exams were nearly identical, with an average of 4/10, 22 students passing with 50% or more, and 2 students scoring 100% on each. Overall, I was pleased with the improvements, but it is still difficult knowing that there are 40 students who did not pass, with a dozen scoring 0 or 1 out of 10. These scores seem so low, but then I have to remember that there are so many factors affecting these students in and out of the classroom. Let’s imagine for a minute here: You have missed the past few days at school because you needed to work in your family’s shamba/fields or take care of younger siblings and the house. You are finally able to come to school again, but to get there you must wake up and start walking before the sunrise. You walk 5 to 10 kilometers to school, without food or water, and arrive in time to do some cleaning on the school grounds. When classes finally start at 8am, let’s say your foreign teacher walks in, greets you in a language you don’t understand, and tells you there is an exam today. She gives you 5 minutes to study, but since you’ve missed school for a few days, you have no notes to study from. Then she writes the exam on the board, in English, which you still don’t understand, and expects you to figure out the complicated mathematics behind it all. At this point, a score of 4 sounds pretty good, doesn’t it??

            Now, I’ve also neglected to mention the difficulty of the syllabus in Tanzania. It’s unlike math education in America, where the general format of high school math classes is Algebra freshman year, Geometry sophomore year, Algebra 2 junior year, Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus/Statistics senior year. Here, there is a syllabus of mixed topics for each year. Unfortunately I do not have my syllabus with me as I am writing this, but I do have my final exams for Form 1 and Form 3. This will give you a little taste of the material I am teaching, and the level of mathematics the students are expected to know.

Mashed Potatoes Included!

Before sunrise on Thanksgiving morning, Marisa and I headed out to the bus stand in Ngara to catch our bus to Mwanza for a long weekend getaway. Mwanza is one of the largest cities in Tanzania, located on the southeastern side of Lake Victoria, and is definitely a nice change of pace from Muyenzi. The bus ride was manageable, although a little drafty from a broken window, but overall I can’t complain. It was a nice surprise too, when we all got off the bus to take a huge ferry across Lake Victoria! I’m not sure what I expected the lake to look like, maybe giant scary fish jumping out of the water or crocodiles and hippos running rampant, but there certainly wasn’t any of that. It was simply a beautiful, scenic lake, and I could have been anywhere really. Once we finally reached the city center in Mwanza, after about an 8 ½ hour trip, Marisa and I were able to explore the city. We found the bank, the post office, and finally some food…a nice heaping pile of boiled bananas. Definitely not a typical American Thanksgiving dinner, but I was so hungry by 4pm that I didn’t complain. After we finished eating, we had a heck of a time trying to find the hotel, mostly because there are two Kitwima hotels and there were definitely things lost in translation. As we wandered the city, we asked locals for directions, heading in what felt like the right direction. We stopped at the Masai market where we both bought new beaded flip flops, and finally made it to what we thought was the hotel. Turns out, they didn’t have a reservation for us, and suggested we try the old Kitwima hotel. They said we must take a taxi, so we agree, hop in, and head off. Upon arriving at the other Kitwima, the very kind lady at the reception desk also tells me she does not have our reservation. She asked me which number I called to make the reservation, and gave it to her. She was able to call them, and told me that we are at the wrong place, but was vague about which place we need to go. Luckily, we were meeting up with another volunteer, Lindsay from Australia, who just arrived at the real hotel, who said they had our reservations, and told us to take a taxi to the dala dala stand to meet him and from there we would walk. So we did…and where did we end up? Oh, at the first hotel that we went to. Imagine that. Even though they initially said they didn’t have our reservation! What in the world happened, I have no idea.  But we have a room for the night, so it’s all good.

Anywho, seeing as it’s Thanksgiving and all, we decided we wanted to splurge on a nice dinner. Although Lindsay isn’t from the US and doesn’t celebrate said holiday, he’s always in the mood for good food, so it worked out well. We walked to Hotel Tilapia, which sits right on the lake, and has a beautiful view of the city and really excellent food! I ordered beef stroganoff, which was really as close to turkey as I could come and still be happy, and of course I had a side of mashed potatoes! Ahh it was heavenly! The side of mashed potatoes was actually its own plate, and the stroganoff was an excellent compliment. Overall, not a bad Tanzanian style Thanksgiving dinner! Although, I will admit that I really miss the pumpkin pie...next year I’m eating 6 pieces to make up for missing out this year :) lol.

I hope all of you had a very happy Thanksgiving, with lots of delicious food, great moments with family and friends, and many things to be thankful for!

Asante Sana

Here’s my list of things to be thankful for this year:

My Bible

Above all, this is what is getting me through this year. Without a community of believers to join in worship, to share reflections, or to encourage one another, my Bible has been my sole source of comfort everyday.  While it is difficult to feel so alone at times and I often wonder if I am doing enough here, I am reminded that it is in the quiet simplicity of everyday life that we must rest in God’s presence. Living for God is not in large, heroic acts, but in living each and every moment with Him in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts.

My students

I love teaching them, and although it can be very challenging at times, this is clearly the reason why I’m here. I always look forward to my classes, and I can’t help but admire their work ethic, respect, and enthusiasm.  They have the ability to brighten my day, with their exuberant “Good morning Madam!!!” greetings and the look in their eyes when they finally understand. Now, these students, especially Form 1, will answer “yes” to any question, regardless. For example,

“Is negative two squared positive or negative four?”

“YES!”

“No, I asked, positive OR negative.”

“negapositive…posinegative…”

Normally I get a split answer for this question, but then I reassure them that the answer is positive 4. And then without fail, the whole class laughs because of the way I say positive. Haha

But the point of this story is, that there are times when they answer “yes” and it’s different than all the other times. I can’t really explain it, and perhaps it’s the teacher in me that just knows, but this “yes” affirms that they finally understand. It’s usually accompanied by an aggressive head nod, and it’s usually louder and more assertive than the other yeses I get, and this is when I know the light bulb is turned on.

I love this “yes!”

My health

With the exception of my recent weird toe infection, a fever during training, and an intense sore throat the first week of school, I can safely say that I have not been sick yet. I am crossing my fingers that this trend continues!

Music

The ability for a great song to turn around a rough day is mind-boggling, but so awesome and refreshing. Top picks in Muyenzi: Fight for You (Jason Derulo), Some Nights (Fun), Everybody Talks (Neon Trees), What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction), Don’t Stop Believin (Journey). Although, I must admit now that I miss my French horn SO much! Shout out to Cielo Brass Quintet: one of our pieces came on my shuffle the other day, and I thought to myself, “dang! We sound so good!” And then I actually missed all of you…yes, even your random antics during rehearsals when I thought I was going to lose my mind…So when I come home, I’m calling for a reunion asap! (That is, after I have a few weeks to get myself in shape again.) Please and thank you!

My roommate

She’s great, and without her this would not be nearly as positive of an experience. The fact that we can laugh off the worst of situations has definitely helped both of us retain our sanity. But for real, I doubt that I would still be here if it weren’t for her! And in case you haven’t checked out her blog yet, I promise it’s worth your time! Tanzania365.com

My phone

While most days I want to just throw it out the window because my service is so terrible, it is the most reliable means of communication with people at home. So although frustrating, I am still grateful for the sporadic conversations I am able to have with everyone I miss in America. I also really enjoy the random text messages from Marisa about the crazy times she’s having in Muyenzi; they definitely bring a smile to my face (and sometimes I actually laugh out loud). LOL

My education

I have a new appreciation for my diplomas. For one, I never realized how blessed I was to have graduated from a high school with nearly a 100% graduation rate until I began teaching Bukiriro Secondary School, where only one student has passed Form 4 in the past two years. Also, having a college degree at 23 years old might not have seemed like a big accomplishment in back home, but here, it’s a huge deal. It’s rare to even have the opportunity to attend the university, and if you are lucky enough, the age range for students who graduate is late twenties.

Weekly email updates

I seriously love updates from all of you! Whether by email or facebook message, it is the highlight of my week to finally feel connected to the real world again. I look forward to every Saturday when I can go online again, and I love reading stories from people back home, checking in to see what’s happening, and the responding with my own crazy stories from the bush. I’m so thankful for all of your encouraging words, so please keep them coming! It’s wonderful!

The opportunity to follow my dream

I am so incredibly thankful for this opportunity. For all of you who have supported me throughout the years, thank you. For all of you who supported me financially, thank you. For all of you who support me daily with encouraging words and silent prayers, thank you. Without all of you, my dream of teaching in Africa would not have become the amazing, beautiful, life-changing reality that it is. Thank you.

The ability to help and inspire others achieve their dreams

While I have been so blessed for the opportunity to make my dream a reality, I hope that I have inspired others to make their dreams happen as well. With a little hard work, a lot of perseverance, and the courage to listen to God’s word that is truly alive in you, you too can make a difference.

As we have been here for three months now, Marisa and I have been thinking about ways to help support our students and our schools. We would like to establish a scholarship fund to raise money for school fees, because we have unfortunately experienced drastic dropout rates in our classes due to their inability to pay the annual fee of $25. While the need is widespread, we would like to focus our efforts on sponsoring a few exceptional students beginning in Form 1, promising to cover their school fees for as far as they can go in their education. For many of our students, even if they are able to pass Form 4, they do not have the means to go onto Forms 5 and 6, nevertheless the university level. But we certainly have students who are bright enough and driven enough, that if given the promise that their fees will be covered, they will be encouraged to work hard, study well, and ultimately be successful. As the holiday season is approaching, please keep in mind all that you have to be thankful for, and consider the possibility of sponsoring one of my students! There will certainly be more updates and details to come regarding this, so in the meantime, simply consider this and know that your support will have a profound impact on the lives of our students.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Unajua wewe ni poreni wakati...

You know you’re in the bush when…

…you have to climb to the top of the hill by your house in order to make a phone call home. Then your phone dies because there is no electricity in the bush, and you can’t even say goodbye to your parents! Or make any other phone calls. Pole sana!

…you are woken up from your afternoon nap by your screaming roommate because two lizards fell on her while taking her bucket bath.

…you are greeted by a bat hanging on your front door when you get home from school. That’s certainly sketchy, and was I concerned about the possibility of rabies? Oh yes. But is there an alternative entrance to your house? Nope.

...a giant stick insect falls in your lap while watching your weekly movie in the dark. Not cool. I almost knocked my computer off the bed.

…the highlight of the week is being able to wash your hands at your house for the first time! We finally found someone in Rulenge who was able to fasten a tap into a bucket, so now we have running water! Revolutionary!

…you have a serious conversation  with your headmaster about a fellow teacher’s apparent involvement with the local witch doctor.

…a pickup truck from 1967 stops as you are walking to town and offers you a ride in the back end. Considering there is a maximum of 8 vehicles that ever travel on this rode each day, you have to take what you get. Otherwise you’ll be walking for the next hour before turning around and walking home for another hour and half.

…the days all blend together, and when your roommate asks what happened on Monday, but you literally can’t remember. It’s only Thursday.

…you spend at least 7 hours sitting in a red plastic deck chair every day. Because the only alternative is the squatting position, which my legs can only handle for so long after washing dishes and making dinner like that.  

…you are informed that no one wants to visit your house because the front yard area isn’t presentable. To be honest, the grass, rocks and dirt look the same to me everyday, but I’ll be grateful for the girls who came and swept the dirt and cut the grass by hand.

...you can’t go to the bathroom without wearing your raincoat, because it’s raining so hard and you’ll be soaked otherwise.

…it takes an hour to scramble eggs for dinner on your charcoal jiko.

…a huge bull cow with at least 3 foot horns runs right at you on your piki piki on the way to school.

…and finally, unajua wewe ni poreni wakati you have an overwhelming need to tell everyone about life in the bush.

Uchawi

Last week Wednesday, I had one of the most interesting conversations with my headmaster over chai.  He was filling me in on the latest details about one of our fellow teachers, and I’m going to recount this as best as I understood. While my headmaster speaks very good English, there’s still the possibility some of this was lost in translation. To begin, this teacher has recently been involved in negative “school politics,” supposedly pitting students against another teacher. Then during the night on Tuesday, some items from the teacher’s duka (shop) were stolen. It was unclear if the political involvement caused the theft, but regardless, the teacher apparently went to the local witch doctor to find out who stole from him. Getting an answer, he went to the man declared thief by the witch doctor, and demanded all of his items be returned, otherwise the witch doctor will kill him with his medicines. At this point, my headmaster told me that he warned the teacher that he must back down and drop the claims from the witch doctor. He is worried that the villagers, afraid of the teacher’s involvement in witchcraft, will attack him and possibly kill him. 

I was so in shock while he was telling me this story. I didn’t realize the presence of witchcraft, witch doctors and medicine men in this part of Tanzania. I asked if these are common beliefs, or if witch doctors are often still found in the villages, and he told me that it is because of our proximity to Burundi. Being only 10 km from the border, he said that their beliefs and traditions strongly influence people here, but at the same time there are many people who are trying to rid beliefs in witchcraft. It seems that education is the dividing factor among people who are still influenced by witchcraft. If you have an education, especially from the university, chances are you have more modern beliefs compared to villagers who may not be as well educated and who still might follow tribal traditions. At least, this is what I was able to gather in our brief 20-minute chai break.

Interestingly enough, Marisa also had a witchcraft discussion at her school on Wednesday morning. The details were much foggier from Muyenzi, but I do know the teachers were telling the students they were receiving an education so they should not believe in witchcraft. Check out her blog (tanzania365.com) for more stories!

I’ll be sure to keep you updated with more stories from the bush, and as of Friday there was no more news of witchcraft to report. Hopefully this situation will blow over with only minor effects on all parties involved, but life here is what it is. No more, no less.