Welp, in this time of transition, even my blog is transitioning. It's the same URL, but it has a new title for a chapter.
After a great week at home I am now getting set to head to my ACE teaching placement in Mobile, AL where I will be the middle school math and science teacher (and hopefully the basketball coach) at Most Pure Heart of Mary.
As usual, there is no pressure for anyone to read this- I'm going to see if it will continue to be as therapeutic as it was while I was in TZ. If you do read this: I hope you enjoy! I'm sure it will an interesting year!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
The Zone Goes On
Hey! Long time no blog!
First, as usual, I want to explain the title. One of my favorite current-ish songs is called "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco. Specifically, the second and third verses have some great lines about what it means to be a teacher and instill hope in youth that may not get a lot of affirmation in their lives, and, hey, that's what I'll be doing the next 2 years! Also, I feel like it's a fitting title as I move on to a new funky adventure (the ACE program through Notre Dame). It will be different than Tanzania (just a bit), but I will still most definitely be in my ZPD (exactly where I want to be).
It's been so phenomenal so far! Don't get me wrong- it's been tough and crazy-busy (even according to my standards), but I've loved every minute of it. I still get to go to daily Mass. The people are wonderful. The campus is gorgeous. The classes and professors are great. This has been my dream for a long time, and I cannot complain one bit.
I have a great math prof. who actually just had his last day for the summer, but he left us with quite the philosophical question that my friend Jer often asked as well: "Are we human, or are we dancer?"
Anyway, I'm teaching summer school in the mornings in preparation for these next 2 years. My first two weeks were Pre-Algebra (nothing too exciting) and...HEALTH. Yep. And our first lesson was...BIRTH. Good times! Let's just say I think our students have a new appreciation for Mother's Day, as well they should!
Last week I was at a middle school science camp, and we disected perch, tested fake vomit (guess who got to use a plastic spoon to try to turn calf liver and Sprite into a liquid resembling vomit), and test hair samples (guess who awkwardly walked around the dorm asking for hair samples). Good times were had by all.
We'll see how the spirit moves me, but my ACE adventures may very well turn into their own blog (after all, Mama Katie H. advised it). However, the main reason for this blog is the following giant announcement:
THE BOOKS MADE IT TO THE DE PAUL SISTERS!!!! That's right, Phoenix Rising 2 is complete, as my wonderful aids Ben and Tyler officially delivered the available textbooks and the extra money (for the rest of the textbooks when they're available) to the de Paul School! It was such a sigh of relief, as you just never know how money transactions will go in the TZ! A giant thank you again to Ben, Tyler, Br. Lew, Mike, and everyone who supported in any way. I'm so excited to hear how the sisters grow that wonderful school! TUMSIFU YESU KRISTU! (Praise Jesus Christ!)
First, as usual, I want to explain the title. One of my favorite current-ish songs is called "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco. Specifically, the second and third verses have some great lines about what it means to be a teacher and instill hope in youth that may not get a lot of affirmation in their lives, and, hey, that's what I'll be doing the next 2 years! Also, I feel like it's a fitting title as I move on to a new funky adventure (the ACE program through Notre Dame). It will be different than Tanzania (just a bit), but I will still most definitely be in my ZPD (exactly where I want to be).
It's been so phenomenal so far! Don't get me wrong- it's been tough and crazy-busy (even according to my standards), but I've loved every minute of it. I still get to go to daily Mass. The people are wonderful. The campus is gorgeous. The classes and professors are great. This has been my dream for a long time, and I cannot complain one bit.
I have a great math prof. who actually just had his last day for the summer, but he left us with quite the philosophical question that my friend Jer often asked as well: "Are we human, or are we dancer?"
Anyway, I'm teaching summer school in the mornings in preparation for these next 2 years. My first two weeks were Pre-Algebra (nothing too exciting) and...HEALTH. Yep. And our first lesson was...BIRTH. Good times! Let's just say I think our students have a new appreciation for Mother's Day, as well they should!
Last week I was at a middle school science camp, and we disected perch, tested fake vomit (guess who got to use a plastic spoon to try to turn calf liver and Sprite into a liquid resembling vomit), and test hair samples (guess who awkwardly walked around the dorm asking for hair samples). Good times were had by all.
We'll see how the spirit moves me, but my ACE adventures may very well turn into their own blog (after all, Mama Katie H. advised it). However, the main reason for this blog is the following giant announcement:
THE BOOKS MADE IT TO THE DE PAUL SISTERS!!!! That's right, Phoenix Rising 2 is complete, as my wonderful aids Ben and Tyler officially delivered the available textbooks and the extra money (for the rest of the textbooks when they're available) to the de Paul School! It was such a sigh of relief, as you just never know how money transactions will go in the TZ! A giant thank you again to Ben, Tyler, Br. Lew, Mike, and everyone who supported in any way. I'm so excited to hear how the sisters grow that wonderful school! TUMSIFU YESU KRISTU! (Praise Jesus Christ!)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Photos Already?!
Yep, that's right, it's only been a little under 9 months since I departed for Tanzania, and I've ALREADY posted photos! If you feel like checking some out it should work to just go to the following website:
http://mytzpdinphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures#n_5
*I'm not sure if there are too many or not enough, but this is about a forth of the ones I took...
http://mytzpdinphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures#n_5
*I'm not sure if there are too many or not enough, but this is about a forth of the ones I took...
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Jet Stole Home!
To start with, I should mention that this title was really only chosen because:
a) I can't believe I didn't reference Sandlot in a title until now, and
b) It at least has the word home in it.
This is my 2+ week delayed reaction to let any readers roaming the world out there know that I made it home safe and sound! The travels back were pretty uneventful (we won't talk about the experience of having bed bugs while on an 8 hour bus ride...).
I made it to Iringa to visit seminary graduate Br. Benja, and it was great. They were very welcoming, and I even got to go to the orphanage and hold his 5 month old baby niece! It was incredible.
After Iringa, I headed to Dar, but never made it to the beach. Instead I got my tan by wandering the streets of the city (literally), in search of the textbook store and a few last minute gifts. Overall, it was one last successful adventure.
All flights went off without a hitch, and I met some nice people. I did, however, wake up with only one sandal on on the way from Ethiopia to Germany, and proceeded to not find it for an hour. While getting off the plane, mentally prepared to go the rest of the way home with one shoe, I found it in front of the seat in front of me. Apparently I took it off in my sleep and must have kicked it into the aisle, where it was apparently kicked into the foot space of the woman in front of me (who apparently didn't think this extra sandal taking her already sparse leg room was odd).
My only delay was from Chicago to Minneapolis- there was nothing wrong with the plane; they just couldn't find the last flight attendant... Really? That's what's delaying my long-awaited arrival home? Awesome.
Being home has been wonderful beyond words, as I've relaxed and caught up with family and friends. I even got to go to Notre Dame this past week for an ACE retreat, and it was great.
Also, two important notes:
*I would like to hereby recognize Corey Friend's stellar performance in the blog title contest. He correctly predicted my 7 month title and identified what it referenced after I didn't notice his correct answer (shows how much I read my own blog). Congrats, Corey! I hope that foam marathon visor keeps the sun out of your eyes and the style on you head!
*I would like to apologize for anyone who actually read those long blogs that had no spacing- I promise they were beautifully spaced in my Word Docs, and I didn't notice that the spacing disappeared when I pasted...Yikes!
Well, I guess this officially ends the blog (you thought it already had, didn't you?). Maybe I'll start up another for my funky adventures at Notre Dame and in Mobile...If I do, I'll keep it shorter and more properly spaced!
a) I can't believe I didn't reference Sandlot in a title until now, and
b) It at least has the word home in it.
This is my 2+ week delayed reaction to let any readers roaming the world out there know that I made it home safe and sound! The travels back were pretty uneventful (we won't talk about the experience of having bed bugs while on an 8 hour bus ride...).
I made it to Iringa to visit seminary graduate Br. Benja, and it was great. They were very welcoming, and I even got to go to the orphanage and hold his 5 month old baby niece! It was incredible.
After Iringa, I headed to Dar, but never made it to the beach. Instead I got my tan by wandering the streets of the city (literally), in search of the textbook store and a few last minute gifts. Overall, it was one last successful adventure.
All flights went off without a hitch, and I met some nice people. I did, however, wake up with only one sandal on on the way from Ethiopia to Germany, and proceeded to not find it for an hour. While getting off the plane, mentally prepared to go the rest of the way home with one shoe, I found it in front of the seat in front of me. Apparently I took it off in my sleep and must have kicked it into the aisle, where it was apparently kicked into the foot space of the woman in front of me (who apparently didn't think this extra sandal taking her already sparse leg room was odd).
My only delay was from Chicago to Minneapolis- there was nothing wrong with the plane; they just couldn't find the last flight attendant... Really? That's what's delaying my long-awaited arrival home? Awesome.
Being home has been wonderful beyond words, as I've relaxed and caught up with family and friends. I even got to go to Notre Dame this past week for an ACE retreat, and it was great.
Also, two important notes:
*I would like to hereby recognize Corey Friend's stellar performance in the blog title contest. He correctly predicted my 7 month title and identified what it referenced after I didn't notice his correct answer (shows how much I read my own blog). Congrats, Corey! I hope that foam marathon visor keeps the sun out of your eyes and the style on you head!
*I would like to apologize for anyone who actually read those long blogs that had no spacing- I promise they were beautifully spaced in my Word Docs, and I didn't notice that the spacing disappeared when I pasted...Yikes!
Well, I guess this officially ends the blog (you thought it already had, didn't you?). Maybe I'll start up another for my funky adventures at Notre Dame and in Mobile...If I do, I'll keep it shorter and more properly spaced!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Seven the Hard Way
Welp, there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Before my very eyes our seven month Tanziversary came and went. That means two big things: the blog title has been unveiled (thus meaning the contest is now to name the reference) and….I’M GOING HOME! (*Update: I’m going home to prep to be a member of the ACE crew in Mobile, AL where I’ll spend two years teaching middle school math and science at Most Pure Heart of Mary!) There’s such a flood of emotions that I should apologize right away if this blog post is incoherent. In a few hours I’ll be waking up and catching a ride with good old Br. Patrick to Mlilayoyo (halfway to Songea) to catch a bus to Iringa (halfway to Dar). There I’ll stay the day and night with a student who graduated from the seminary in October. On Wednesday I will catch a bus the rest of the way to Dar es Salaam. I will spend Thursday “resting” in Dar, meaning I will attempt to go to bookstores and get the textbooks from Phoenix Rising 2 ordered and paid for. In super exciting news, we’ve officially broken the $1500 mark, and, based on verbal commitments should be breaking the $2000 mark soon! How beautiful! Yet another huge thanks to all who have been supporting financially and/or spiritually! If textbook stuff goes well, I may treat myself to some time at Kipepeo (Butterfly) Beach in order to go out the way I came in. On Friday at approximately 4:55PM EAT I will be partaking in the miracle of human flight! No foolin’! Hizzah! Thanks to thriftiness, I will be reversing the exact path I came by, meaning stops in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Frankfurt, Germany; and Chicago before getting home. My scheduled arrival time is Saturday at 2:09PM CST! Unreal. Family, friends, and Final Four, here I come! I suppose anyone who’s been paying attention to this blog deserves one final update on how classes ended, so here goes: Trade School- Naturally, the last classes started absurdly late (the trade school is the one that I “taught” at last term without actually ever having a class meet in over a month’s time). We ended with some very spirited “Matches” (arithmetic races) on the chalkboard, and it was great to see a bunch of smiles and energy. St. B Boys’ Physics- We finished the unit we were on (Motion in a Straight Line) and even had enough time to make a short video in honor of SJU Ultimate Frisbee! St. B Girls’ Physics- I had one more class with the girls than I did with the boys, and we needed it in order to just finish that last unit. There was one small but hilarious (in my opinion) moment that really brightened the period. You see, the girls’ class has had the (un?)fortunate tendency to occur during rainstorms. With tin roofs, the sound of the rain is amplified about a billion times. (Data is not exact. What do I look like, a science teacher?). Anyway, the girls love that, because it means I have to scream just to convey information, and apparently physics is more exciting the louder it is. Anyway, today I noticed a girl giving the Tanzanian hand symbol for come her out the window, and I thought maybe we had a late student. I looked and, to my surprise, I saw no one. Then I realized she was beckoning the rain to try to get it to pick up so I’d have to yell…AND IT WORKED! This was extra surprising because every time I make the gesture to implore “Cut it out!” to the rain, it never obeys! Aye, Aye, Aye. Seminary- Well, it finally happened. We caught the elusive Ndizi Mwizi!!!! I was definitely wondering if we would! You see, I had intended for it to be the Rector of the school, but I learned on Thursday that he’d be out of town. The morning of the class, I was looking for a certain monk that the students would have loved to catch, but I couldn’t find him (ironic?). Anyway, ten minutes before class I got the Academic Head (a really goofy dude who also teaches them Civics) to agree to do it. Granted, he had no idea what I was talking about, but luckily Mike came to the rescue by meeting him with a basket of bananas and reminding him to come to my class. We used our newfound knowledge of percents and some information from an imaginary watchman to determine that the cafeteria and adjacent kitchen were the most likely places to find the thief, so all 70 of us trounced through those two rooms. Unfortunately, a ton of students were taking a test in the cafeteria, so we had to search silently. Then I noticed the thief was taking a while to sneak into our classroom (who would have thought we’d find him in our very own classroom?!), so I tried to stall and tell the students to check every window twice. After apologizing that I’d be leaving without us finding the thief, we entered the classroom and lo and behold, there was Mike and Mr. Luana with a basket of bananas! We got ‘em! Everyone got a banana, and, as they enjoyed, I tried to do a little role play with Luana (would have been easier if he spoke more English and/or understood what he was doing). Anyway, Mike asked him why he stole the bananas and he said, “I was using them for counting and realized it was better to put one in my pocket.”…Not the line I wrote for him, but it works I suppose. We ended class with a little tribute to Breakthrough Saint Paul for my sake and then one more class cheer for everyone’s sake. It was pretty good. We then learned that I had a golden opportunity to leave Hanga as I entered it: in sheer embarrassment on the soccer ground. Yep, just like our first weekend here, my last weekend here included a St. B students vs. staff soccer match! Luckily, the teachers wanted to win (we tied 2-2), so they only joked about putting me at goalie. Instead I got to be the only sub and never had to play! I just joked with students on the sidelines the whole time! There are eleven players on the field at a time, and they call the positions by numbers. Students kept asking what number I like, and I’d tell them I’m number 12 (sideline). It was in broken Swahili, but they seemed to appreciate it. On Saturday I also got to go over to my favorite teacher (fittingly named Dietrich- the name of a dear, late friend and one of the greatest people I’ve ever met). It was great to eat an egg and look at pictures of his family! On Sunday I did my last load of bucket laundry, and it was refreshing! Then we had our last day of basketball with the seminary, and they let Mike and I play on the same team. Let’s just say there was some definitely domination and some vicious dunks (one hoops is really short). Today after teaching I kind of tried to wander and say bye to as many people as possible (difficult between the village, the monastery, the trade school, the primary school, the secondary school, the seminary, and the other volunteers). After taking a break from packing to do some somersaults with village kids, I finished packing and ended up leaving a bunch of stuff here. Dinner was wonderful as a couple trade school students were there, as well as Br. Patrick, Br. Theodory (the money man), Fr. Gregory (the first Tanzanian monk here), the Abbot (the Abbot), Br. Jerome (head of guests), and Br. Augustine (our guestmaster and server of meals), as well as all the volunteers! There was all sorts of special food including cake, I got to make a speech, the Abbot made a speech, and I received a Masai blanket and a tailored feast shirt. It was just great to be surrounded by the wonderful people that helped make it such a wonderful 7 months (especially my fellow volunteers Mike, Catherine, Resa, Chiara, and Christa). Speaking of 7 months…gosh that’s a long time. Aside from being a reference to something near and dear to my heart, the title has a bit of meaning. First of all, it was hard to say goodbye to everyone and everything I’ve gotten to know here. Even more so, this was by far the most difficult seven month stretch of my life, but doing these seven months the hard way has been so fruitful for me and hopefully some others I’ve been working with here! In honor of this fruitfulness, here’s a little reflection on just a few of the many things I’ve learned here: Stuff I’ve Learned/Re-learned *You CAN re-gift chickens. *I love HOME. *There’s no place like home. *Also, there’s no place like Hanga (as far as I know). *The challenge of life is to be comfortable being uncomfortable. *Jim Valvano was very correct. “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day.” *Starting each day with a handstand when you get out of bed is great for many reasons. Sure it’s good practice and stretching, but it also gives you nice clarity and perspective on your new day. *After every night there’s a day. *Language plays a big role in communication. Smiles may play just as big a role. *A little Swahili slang goes a long way with students. *My favorite Swahili word is “kuota” because it means all of the following: “to dream, to grow, and to bask”. Beautiful. *If you mix all of the food on your plate, even if you don’t like any of the separate foods, you can eat it. *Ultimate Frisbee is a beautiful thing. *Prayer is wonderful! *It’s never a bad idea to get to know nuns. *Bill from the Peace Corps taught me early on that the following rule works: “In Tanzania, you can do anything until you’re told not to…twice.” *I really like playing sports the right way. *It is possible to read for fun! *Things that are supposed to happen are happening when they’re supposed to happen. *God is good!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Having My Cake and Eating It Too!
Well, I officially turned 23 years of age today, and I suppose that marks a good time for reflection, and that means updates for you fine people!
The marathon fundraiser is still very much a part of our lives, as we are still accepting donations, and we are going into Songea tomorrow to see the sisters and talk about which books exactly they want to order! This is extra exciting as one of the sisters has been to India and back since we saw them last (that means curry!!!!). *Post weekend update- They did have curry, and it was delicious! They were also very pumped about the money we’ve raised so far. Also, Songea gets “ESPN International”, so we got to watch about one half of one March Madness game before power went out (I almost cried tears of joy)!*
Speaking of running, I went for a little jog with Mike and another guest named Herold. Should have been simple enough…and then a man on a bicycle came. I decided that would be a good time to move over so he could pass, and my foot landed on a gravel-covered slope. Let’s just say gravity did its work from there and I found myself on the ground shortly thereafter. Mike was behind me when this all went down (pun intended), and he assures me the fall looked pretty cool. Anyway, it was one of those times when you feel that little sting on your leg and look down to see an intense mess of blood. After finishing the run (frightening the villagers a bit), I took a shower. Again, this is normally a simple task. Well, it took me three tries before I could force myself to actually let water continually hit my leg. However, we watched the movie 127 Hours tonight (Catherine brought it from the US!), and I feel a little silly for struggling so much with my little sting.
I suppose now is the time I should forego a segue and skip straight to my exciting news! (We really did have cake tonight, and I consider this news “eating it too”). *For those of you that know about my decision-making process that brought me here to Tanzania, some of this next part may make more sense.* Let’s just say that 2 days ago I received the e-mail that I waited 363 days for…I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE “ALLIANCE FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION” (ACE) PROGRAM THROUGH NOTRE DAME!!!! This has been my dream program (volunteer/Master’s degree) since sophomore year, and I was pretty ecstatic to receive this news! When I read the e-mail, a bunch of glorious celebrations rushed through my mind, including but not limited to the Form 3’s rushing the field after beating the Form 4’s 2-1 in the championship of the Seminary soccer tournament earlier that day, Kobe Bryant’s clench-jawed/underbite subtle fist-pump, Rudy being carried off the field, Jim Valvano running around the court searching for someone to hug (my all-time favorite), and Michael Jordan flying through the air swinging his fist across his body after “the shot on Ehlo”. It was much like a celebration version of the wonderful YouTube video “40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes”. Anyway, it turns out I had a terrible cold that day and could barely feel my head. Internet was working fine, but it took 2.5 hours for my e-mail to work, which was fine, because the e-mail had only been sent about 20 minutes before I was able to check it anyway! What I’m trying to say is, even though I was celebrating inside, by that time of the night, all I could do was sit in thankful disbelief that it was, in fact, real life.
Part 2 of this exciting news is that fact that I need to be home for an orientation/retreat for ACE in April, so I am now in the process of booking a flight HOME in the first couple days of April! YES!
It’s a little weird/sad to think I only have one more week to teach here, but I’m pumped to go home. I broke the news to my classes today, and that was kind of tough…we’ll see what next Friday is like.
Now that I’m headed out of here soon, I have to work hard to get everything finished that I wanted to, but, before I get to work, I’ll throw you a few more classroom updates.
In physics we just finished talking about equilibrium, and we learned about stability. In other words, this was an exciting chance for students to push their teacher (that’s me) while he stood in different positions with varying stability. I was also going to have two students push against each other to prove a point, but one student pushed before I said to and the other kid wasn’t ready. No one was hurt in the making of this teachable moment. However, I let the kid that got pushed sit down and had the one that did the pushing stand in front of the class. I proceeded to sprint at him as if I was about to tackle him and stopped right before making contact. The class erupted, and luckily the student did exactly what I expected/hoped. He got low and braced himself (lower center of gravity=increased stability!- See class, I told you this stuff was relevant!).
This next story might be a “you had to be there” one, but it made my day today. Two girls that were especially engaged in class today (they’re not always big fans of speaking in class) just were not understanding the difference between “distance” and “displacement”. I explained the example they didn’t understand and then suggested we try a trickier example to see if they got it. I explained the new situation in which someone essentially walks in a 14m circle back to the point where they started. I said, “What is the displacement?”, and they responded, “0?”. I said, “YES!”, and they both got big grins and gave each other a low five under the desk. It was the most enthusiasm I’ve seen students exude when going from not understanding to understanding since I’ve been here!
Speaking of things that made my day, this morning when I walked through the guesthouse halls to go to Mass at the Seminary, two chickens meandered out of the storage room and just started roaming the halls (neither was Rambo for those wondering). They just strutted around, left a gift in the middle of the hall, and made their way out the door. Naturally.
As an added birthday bonus, I had a great afternoon in the village today. Every morning at the monastery Mass there is a wonderful elderly couple in the front row. After Mass I always great them with the most formal and respectful Kiswahili way, and the man with two canes always stops, says, “Asante, Asante, Asante sana.” (thank you, thank you, thank you very much), and shakes my hand. We used to call him AsanteMan (see last sentence), and he always said I should visit their house someday. Yesterday I told him I wouldn’t be in Hanga much longer and he said, “tomorrow afternoon you will arrive at our home” in Kiswahili. Okay.
So, this afternoon, I went to the place they described (neither speaks a lick of English), and there was a guy a little older than me waiting outside the house I thought I was shooting for. He said, “Kaboga?”, and I remembered this was some word the elderly man said was a nickname of his the other day and realized it apparently doubled as a code word, so I said yes and the young man led me into the house. I sat with Frances (Kaboga) and Martha and their son for about 1 hour, and we just talked. It was almost solely Kiswahili (I learned in the waning minutes that the son, did in fact have decent English). It was by no means an advanced conversation, especially since they spent most of the time thanking me for coming. Their little toddler granddaughter waddled in and greeted me with the aforementioned formal greeting and reached up to touch my hair (the accompanying action for little kids using this greeting). After allowing (embracing) this, I got her to give me a fist pound…then she fell asleep. Anyway, it was a wonderful experience, and they sent their greetings to my family back home and said they were happy to be my “African family”. Good times.
Finally, I should point out that the contest from last blog is still open and winner-less. It’s anyone’s game, and the next blog should be the 7 month Tanziversary blog, so the clock is ticking. The only hint I have is that the title will be based on the amount of months. I don’t what’s more suspenseful: finding out the blog title or finding out who the Ndizi Mwizi is…speaking of which, I should go order 70 bananas soon!
The marathon fundraiser is still very much a part of our lives, as we are still accepting donations, and we are going into Songea tomorrow to see the sisters and talk about which books exactly they want to order! This is extra exciting as one of the sisters has been to India and back since we saw them last (that means curry!!!!). *Post weekend update- They did have curry, and it was delicious! They were also very pumped about the money we’ve raised so far. Also, Songea gets “ESPN International”, so we got to watch about one half of one March Madness game before power went out (I almost cried tears of joy)!*
Speaking of running, I went for a little jog with Mike and another guest named Herold. Should have been simple enough…and then a man on a bicycle came. I decided that would be a good time to move over so he could pass, and my foot landed on a gravel-covered slope. Let’s just say gravity did its work from there and I found myself on the ground shortly thereafter. Mike was behind me when this all went down (pun intended), and he assures me the fall looked pretty cool. Anyway, it was one of those times when you feel that little sting on your leg and look down to see an intense mess of blood. After finishing the run (frightening the villagers a bit), I took a shower. Again, this is normally a simple task. Well, it took me three tries before I could force myself to actually let water continually hit my leg. However, we watched the movie 127 Hours tonight (Catherine brought it from the US!), and I feel a little silly for struggling so much with my little sting.
I suppose now is the time I should forego a segue and skip straight to my exciting news! (We really did have cake tonight, and I consider this news “eating it too”). *For those of you that know about my decision-making process that brought me here to Tanzania, some of this next part may make more sense.* Let’s just say that 2 days ago I received the e-mail that I waited 363 days for…I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE “ALLIANCE FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION” (ACE) PROGRAM THROUGH NOTRE DAME!!!! This has been my dream program (volunteer/Master’s degree) since sophomore year, and I was pretty ecstatic to receive this news! When I read the e-mail, a bunch of glorious celebrations rushed through my mind, including but not limited to the Form 3’s rushing the field after beating the Form 4’s 2-1 in the championship of the Seminary soccer tournament earlier that day, Kobe Bryant’s clench-jawed/underbite subtle fist-pump, Rudy being carried off the field, Jim Valvano running around the court searching for someone to hug (my all-time favorite), and Michael Jordan flying through the air swinging his fist across his body after “the shot on Ehlo”. It was much like a celebration version of the wonderful YouTube video “40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes”. Anyway, it turns out I had a terrible cold that day and could barely feel my head. Internet was working fine, but it took 2.5 hours for my e-mail to work, which was fine, because the e-mail had only been sent about 20 minutes before I was able to check it anyway! What I’m trying to say is, even though I was celebrating inside, by that time of the night, all I could do was sit in thankful disbelief that it was, in fact, real life.
Part 2 of this exciting news is that fact that I need to be home for an orientation/retreat for ACE in April, so I am now in the process of booking a flight HOME in the first couple days of April! YES!
It’s a little weird/sad to think I only have one more week to teach here, but I’m pumped to go home. I broke the news to my classes today, and that was kind of tough…we’ll see what next Friday is like.
Now that I’m headed out of here soon, I have to work hard to get everything finished that I wanted to, but, before I get to work, I’ll throw you a few more classroom updates.
In physics we just finished talking about equilibrium, and we learned about stability. In other words, this was an exciting chance for students to push their teacher (that’s me) while he stood in different positions with varying stability. I was also going to have two students push against each other to prove a point, but one student pushed before I said to and the other kid wasn’t ready. No one was hurt in the making of this teachable moment. However, I let the kid that got pushed sit down and had the one that did the pushing stand in front of the class. I proceeded to sprint at him as if I was about to tackle him and stopped right before making contact. The class erupted, and luckily the student did exactly what I expected/hoped. He got low and braced himself (lower center of gravity=increased stability!- See class, I told you this stuff was relevant!).
This next story might be a “you had to be there” one, but it made my day today. Two girls that were especially engaged in class today (they’re not always big fans of speaking in class) just were not understanding the difference between “distance” and “displacement”. I explained the example they didn’t understand and then suggested we try a trickier example to see if they got it. I explained the new situation in which someone essentially walks in a 14m circle back to the point where they started. I said, “What is the displacement?”, and they responded, “0?”. I said, “YES!”, and they both got big grins and gave each other a low five under the desk. It was the most enthusiasm I’ve seen students exude when going from not understanding to understanding since I’ve been here!
Speaking of things that made my day, this morning when I walked through the guesthouse halls to go to Mass at the Seminary, two chickens meandered out of the storage room and just started roaming the halls (neither was Rambo for those wondering). They just strutted around, left a gift in the middle of the hall, and made their way out the door. Naturally.
As an added birthday bonus, I had a great afternoon in the village today. Every morning at the monastery Mass there is a wonderful elderly couple in the front row. After Mass I always great them with the most formal and respectful Kiswahili way, and the man with two canes always stops, says, “Asante, Asante, Asante sana.” (thank you, thank you, thank you very much), and shakes my hand. We used to call him AsanteMan (see last sentence), and he always said I should visit their house someday. Yesterday I told him I wouldn’t be in Hanga much longer and he said, “tomorrow afternoon you will arrive at our home” in Kiswahili. Okay.
So, this afternoon, I went to the place they described (neither speaks a lick of English), and there was a guy a little older than me waiting outside the house I thought I was shooting for. He said, “Kaboga?”, and I remembered this was some word the elderly man said was a nickname of his the other day and realized it apparently doubled as a code word, so I said yes and the young man led me into the house. I sat with Frances (Kaboga) and Martha and their son for about 1 hour, and we just talked. It was almost solely Kiswahili (I learned in the waning minutes that the son, did in fact have decent English). It was by no means an advanced conversation, especially since they spent most of the time thanking me for coming. Their little toddler granddaughter waddled in and greeted me with the aforementioned formal greeting and reached up to touch my hair (the accompanying action for little kids using this greeting). After allowing (embracing) this, I got her to give me a fist pound…then she fell asleep. Anyway, it was a wonderful experience, and they sent their greetings to my family back home and said they were happy to be my “African family”. Good times.
Finally, I should point out that the contest from last blog is still open and winner-less. It’s anyone’s game, and the next blog should be the 7 month Tanziversary blog, so the clock is ticking. The only hint I have is that the title will be based on the amount of months. I don’t what’s more suspenseful: finding out the blog title or finding out who the Ndizi Mwizi is…speaking of which, I should go order 70 bananas soon!
Friday, March 11, 2011
What's Up?
I apologize for the mildly boring title, but please know that it is very much intended to be a shout out to the song “What’s Up? (What’s Goin’ On?)” by 4 Non-Blondes. Also, I feel it’s fitting, as this blog will be an attempt to simply summarize a little bit about what’s been going on here in our everyday lives in Hanga.
Speaking of titles, I think I mentioned long ago that I now seem to narrate my own life with blogs in my head and blog titles for experiences. While sometimes the titles are difficult to decide on (yes, I do put too much thought into this stuff, and yes, I do enjoy it thoroughly), there is one title I’ve had in mind since the first month. That is blog title is for our 7 month Tanziversary. So, because sometimes I feel like making this blog more like a magazine (remember the “Great American Influence” segment?), I’ve decided to create a little contest for any of you fine people who happen to be reading this. The winner will receive a prize I received from my marathon experience… The question?... What will this 7 month Tanziversay blog title be? (Note: If no one tries/guesses correctly before the blog, the question will be “What is the title a reference to?”) The first person with a correct answer relayed to me through any medium (e-mail, comment, Facebook, Skype, messenger dove, telegram, etc) will get to pick between 2 lovely prizes. *Offer good only at participating computers. Not redeemable for cash. Contest is open to all U.S. states except Alaska, and all countries other than Guam. There is no reason for that, I just felt like a contest should always be accompanied by gratuitous and mostly arbitrary fine print. I cannot be held responsible for any eye damage caused by the reading of this fine print.
Speaking of the MARATHON…we’re not done yet! We’re still hoping to keep pushing that total up so that we can get the sisters started with somewhere around 300 books if possible. Thus, the fundraiser will be continuing for a while, so any help you can offer in spreading the word is still greatly appreciated! On a non-fundraising note, I’d like to point out that some people say marathons are a great way to get into shape. I say it’s a great way to get a slap in the face telling you that you should get into shape- I’ve run three times since the big day, which is exponentially more than the first month after my last one! Hizzah!
Alright, now for the everyday life updates I promised. First of all, a small victory:
Last Friday was quite possibly my busiest day in Hanga (teaching nonstop from 8:50 until 2 while somehow opening the St. B. library for short stints in between/slightly during some classes, followed by some very important business in Songea. I actually came near managing to have a stressful day here. Anyway, after the Songea business was taken care of, I had to wait in a hotel entrance in Songea during a 10 minute downpour. In this time I spoke with the hotel attendant for the whole 10 minutes…IN KISWAHILI! Certainly the sentence structure was simple and the grammar was likely flawed, but we really talked! It felt so good. We mostly talked about languages (somewhat ironically), and it just felt really good to have a long-ish conversation that ended with me saying I had to go instead of me trying to explain that my Kiswahili knowledge had been exhausted.
That Saturday morning I returned to Hanga on the bus, and a teacher from the seminary rode up on his bike and asked if I was ready to head to the school picnic. Luckily, I talked him into giving me 15 minutes to get myself together, and then we were off. We bicycled to Nakagugu (that church/junior high about 8km into the bush I like to run to), and I realized it was the first time I biked that trail since very early on when Jack, my bike, decided he wanted to lay down and rest for a while (I hit a bump and fell off my bike). This time went much more smoothly, as the other teacher had a bike that doesn’t go up hills well (1 speed) and I had one that doesn’t go down hills well (no brakes). Thus, we took it slow. Anyway, it was great to spend a Saturday leisurely biking to a beautiful day of rest and picnicking. Most of the time at the picnic we just kind of sat around, but I did partake in a little keepaway with the students. Basically, there was a basketball, but no court or hoop. Luckily, the soccer field was made of hard rock ground, so we dribbled on there. I very much enjoyed running around like a goof as little students lunged for the ball not realizing the dribbling behind my back is possible and actually not so difficult. After the games we sat on the ground and ate the lamb that had just been roasted. It was pretty darn good!
As for classes, I’ve been very busy grading, since all of my classes had some sort of review or test while I was gone for the marathon. In physics we are now learning about equilibrium. You know what that means…that’s right, we’re talking about rotational movement and doors! We now know that, even if there are bricks holding a door open, a student can push it closed with just one finger if s/he pushes at the very far edge of the door (away from the hinge). However, if this student tries to use just one finger to push on the door right next to the hinge, the student will not be able to move the door and is very likely to pretend like his/her finger is hurt just like Aliki did when he demonstrated. (Please note, being called Aliki seems to have instilled a somewhat annoying habit of me speaking in the third person).
In the trade school, the first years are learning about “order of operations” (I learned this as either PERMDAS or “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”, but they learn it as BODMAS). Anyway, we talked about why following an order is important, and they really seemed to wake up when I put on my shoe and tried to put a sock on over it. The effect was basically, “Ha! That’s silly! Clearly the order is important! I get it.” This was, of course, nonverbal, as they only laughed and nodded yes with grins as if to say, “That wasn’t really necessary, but thanks for the entertainment.”
The second year trade school students are learning about profit and loss (very pertinent and also something they requested). Today I attempted to “take them to the market”, as they all received the name of the item they could sell and how much they had to pay to make/buy it. I tried to be simple, clear, and explicit, but they just were not understanding the directions of the activity, and the class period was a bit of a flop, although some students really got into it, and eventually they all participated. I personally had a great day at “the market”, as I went in with a lowly notebook to sell, made money on that, bought some chipsi mayai, and then sold that and made even more money! This worked out perfectly, because the girl I ripped off ended up with loss, so we had a good class example for both profit and loss (don’t worry, she took it well, and it was in the name of mathematics).
Lastly, there’s the seminary. They recently started “league play” during sports, meaning each form will get a chance to do battle with each form on the soccer field (and supposedly the basketball court, dance floor, and other places?). Anyway, Monday was the day to get the Form 4 vs. Form 1 match out of the way. If you asked anyone, including the Form 1’s, they’d just give a concerned raise of the eyes and tell you it was going to be rough. To frame this a bit, Form 4’s are studying topics fairly similar to those of our 10th graders, and are probably an average age of something like our high school upperclassmen (maybe 16-18). The Form 1’s are studying what is roughly equivalent to our 7th graders, and, while they range in age from probably 12 to 40, most of the soccer players were probably in the 12-13 range. In other words, this is somewhat analogous to a 8th grade vs. 11th grade match, which I think may be even more lopsided than a freshmen vs. senior game, because so many of these form 1’s just haven’t done any of their growing yet. Anyway, I digress. The point is, when they took that field, the Form 4’s towered over the Form 1’s. The game started, and something amazing happened. The ball was almost always near the goal the Form 1’s were protecting, but they just kept being able to kick it away. The Form 4’s kept charging, outrunning, and outmuscling, but the Form 1’s kept scrappily finding away to boot that ball out of bounds and make them start again. The goalie was on fire, and there was a particularly pint-sized littler baller that was able to weave his way through the big guys and advance the ball a handful of times (for soccer fans, picture a mini-Nasri). It was an inspired first half, and the score at halftime was still 0-0 (nil-nil for soccer folk), and the whole school (aside from Form 4’s) rushed to the Form 1 huddle to fan them with shirts. In the second half it rained somewhat heavily for a while and students on the sideline why I wasn’t running inside to take cover so that I don’t catch malaria. I attempted to explain that a) there was no way I was going to miss this epic half and b) you can’t “catch” malaria from the rain- malaria comes from mosquitoes and something we call a “cold” can be caused in part by standing in the rain. They looked at me like I was crazy. Perfect. Anyway, the second half progressed much like the first, with our Form 1 goalie making a couple of great saves, a few blown opportunities by the Form 4’s, and an injury (stalling?- they have to go in at 6 no matter what) to the goalie, the whistle was eventually blown and it was official, my little boys pulled off the unthinkable: A DRAW (tie)!!!!!! I fully expected to take part in a jubilant rushing of the field, but I got to witness something a lot more entertaining. The looks on the faces of the Form 1’s was, indeed, jubilant, but there was no field-rush. Instead, everyone joyfully sprinted into the school building! It was just a mob of shocked and excited little guys who wanted to run and be happy, but also knew it was time to go inside, so that’s where they ran. Probably more than that, it had a Derek Fischer-esque effect of “We need to get off this field now before they have a chance to take this away from us!- (If we do penalty kicks, we are in trouble!)” It was simultaneously exciting and hilarious, and this guy was pretty proud of all of them.
As for the seminary math class, we also had some excitement recently. We are wrapping up our unit on all things fractions, and today was a jam-packed day. First of all, it was their first day with their school uniforms- until today they’d been the 66 kids that wore whatever they had while they waited to join the rest of the school in wearing the uniform. They looked pretty spiffy. Also, last class, after a review test, I promised one visitor would join us on Tuesday (today). When class started today (Tuesday), I commented on their uniforms, and then I introduced Catherine, Mike’s wonderful girlfriend who just arrived and will be here for a couple months. (I should note here that it is wonderful to have her positiveness, her American-ness, and her CSB/SJU-ness here!...not to mention the American food and movies she brought!). Anyway, I after introducing her, I explained we would have yet another guest coming later…(insert suspense here). Of course, I had to congratulate them on the great match, and we did a celebratory “Wake Up” cheer, and it was definitely the loudest and most harmonious they’ve been yet! It was pretty cool.
About 40 minutes into class, as we were just beginning to discuss dividing fractions, I received a phone call on my cell phone which had mysteriously been switched to high volume (I never thought I would actually use the “Activate Fake Call” feature on this goofy Tanzanian phone…who knew?). Luckily, it was my “guest” who needed help finding the classroom, so I told my class I’d be back (apparently leaving Catherine to help the class solve the example I had just put on the board). I sprinted to the teachers’ room and they laughed at me as I put on my costume (I’m a little embarrassed to say that this is the first time I’ve used a costume in class here). (The following story will be an example of what some people believe is unnecessary in education. I believe that a little pizzazz in a lesson every once in a while is necessary, especially if it will help the students remember/understand something important.) I ran back to the classroom with no shoes, a t-shirt with the words “numerator” and “denominator” taped to the back, a pillow tied to my head, and sunglasses on the back of my head. I entered the classroom with my back facing the class and explained that Aliki (this time not third person) had to use the bathroom and that I was the promised visitor, Mr. Divisor…Mr. Fraction Divisor. Without turning to face the class, I continued to explain about “multiplying by a reciprocal”, and, when the time was right, I did a simple headstand in front of the class (falling into the blackboard on the first attempt, naturally). Anyway, doing the headstand (I was now facing the class, although upside down) revealed to the class that the front of my shirt, when upside down, read, “Original Denominator” over “Original Numerator”- I was now the reciprocal of my original self. After much more explaining and sweating (apparently pillow-hats are warm), class was ready to end, and we did one more “Wake Up”, with me standing on my head (that part was absolutely just for fun and not educational, I am well aware). Anyway, they did a very good job with our practice problems at the end of class in dividing fractions. Odds are they already knew how, but, hey, at least that means I didn’t leave them more confused than they started if that is the case. The teachers kept laughing and referring to my pillow as my “teaching aid”, but the Rector of the school called it my sleeping aid (unintentionally?...), which I thought was pretty funny.
Well, so much for a short update. Anyway, I am excited for the blessings of Lent to begin, and, as always, I am missing you all.
Speaking of titles, I think I mentioned long ago that I now seem to narrate my own life with blogs in my head and blog titles for experiences. While sometimes the titles are difficult to decide on (yes, I do put too much thought into this stuff, and yes, I do enjoy it thoroughly), there is one title I’ve had in mind since the first month. That is blog title is for our 7 month Tanziversary. So, because sometimes I feel like making this blog more like a magazine (remember the “Great American Influence” segment?), I’ve decided to create a little contest for any of you fine people who happen to be reading this. The winner will receive a prize I received from my marathon experience… The question?... What will this 7 month Tanziversay blog title be? (Note: If no one tries/guesses correctly before the blog, the question will be “What is the title a reference to?”) The first person with a correct answer relayed to me through any medium (e-mail, comment, Facebook, Skype, messenger dove, telegram, etc) will get to pick between 2 lovely prizes. *Offer good only at participating computers. Not redeemable for cash. Contest is open to all U.S. states except Alaska, and all countries other than Guam. There is no reason for that, I just felt like a contest should always be accompanied by gratuitous and mostly arbitrary fine print. I cannot be held responsible for any eye damage caused by the reading of this fine print.
Speaking of the MARATHON…we’re not done yet! We’re still hoping to keep pushing that total up so that we can get the sisters started with somewhere around 300 books if possible. Thus, the fundraiser will be continuing for a while, so any help you can offer in spreading the word is still greatly appreciated! On a non-fundraising note, I’d like to point out that some people say marathons are a great way to get into shape. I say it’s a great way to get a slap in the face telling you that you should get into shape- I’ve run three times since the big day, which is exponentially more than the first month after my last one! Hizzah!
Alright, now for the everyday life updates I promised. First of all, a small victory:
Last Friday was quite possibly my busiest day in Hanga (teaching nonstop from 8:50 until 2 while somehow opening the St. B. library for short stints in between/slightly during some classes, followed by some very important business in Songea. I actually came near managing to have a stressful day here. Anyway, after the Songea business was taken care of, I had to wait in a hotel entrance in Songea during a 10 minute downpour. In this time I spoke with the hotel attendant for the whole 10 minutes…IN KISWAHILI! Certainly the sentence structure was simple and the grammar was likely flawed, but we really talked! It felt so good. We mostly talked about languages (somewhat ironically), and it just felt really good to have a long-ish conversation that ended with me saying I had to go instead of me trying to explain that my Kiswahili knowledge had been exhausted.
That Saturday morning I returned to Hanga on the bus, and a teacher from the seminary rode up on his bike and asked if I was ready to head to the school picnic. Luckily, I talked him into giving me 15 minutes to get myself together, and then we were off. We bicycled to Nakagugu (that church/junior high about 8km into the bush I like to run to), and I realized it was the first time I biked that trail since very early on when Jack, my bike, decided he wanted to lay down and rest for a while (I hit a bump and fell off my bike). This time went much more smoothly, as the other teacher had a bike that doesn’t go up hills well (1 speed) and I had one that doesn’t go down hills well (no brakes). Thus, we took it slow. Anyway, it was great to spend a Saturday leisurely biking to a beautiful day of rest and picnicking. Most of the time at the picnic we just kind of sat around, but I did partake in a little keepaway with the students. Basically, there was a basketball, but no court or hoop. Luckily, the soccer field was made of hard rock ground, so we dribbled on there. I very much enjoyed running around like a goof as little students lunged for the ball not realizing the dribbling behind my back is possible and actually not so difficult. After the games we sat on the ground and ate the lamb that had just been roasted. It was pretty darn good!
As for classes, I’ve been very busy grading, since all of my classes had some sort of review or test while I was gone for the marathon. In physics we are now learning about equilibrium. You know what that means…that’s right, we’re talking about rotational movement and doors! We now know that, even if there are bricks holding a door open, a student can push it closed with just one finger if s/he pushes at the very far edge of the door (away from the hinge). However, if this student tries to use just one finger to push on the door right next to the hinge, the student will not be able to move the door and is very likely to pretend like his/her finger is hurt just like Aliki did when he demonstrated. (Please note, being called Aliki seems to have instilled a somewhat annoying habit of me speaking in the third person).
In the trade school, the first years are learning about “order of operations” (I learned this as either PERMDAS or “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”, but they learn it as BODMAS). Anyway, we talked about why following an order is important, and they really seemed to wake up when I put on my shoe and tried to put a sock on over it. The effect was basically, “Ha! That’s silly! Clearly the order is important! I get it.” This was, of course, nonverbal, as they only laughed and nodded yes with grins as if to say, “That wasn’t really necessary, but thanks for the entertainment.”
The second year trade school students are learning about profit and loss (very pertinent and also something they requested). Today I attempted to “take them to the market”, as they all received the name of the item they could sell and how much they had to pay to make/buy it. I tried to be simple, clear, and explicit, but they just were not understanding the directions of the activity, and the class period was a bit of a flop, although some students really got into it, and eventually they all participated. I personally had a great day at “the market”, as I went in with a lowly notebook to sell, made money on that, bought some chipsi mayai, and then sold that and made even more money! This worked out perfectly, because the girl I ripped off ended up with loss, so we had a good class example for both profit and loss (don’t worry, she took it well, and it was in the name of mathematics).
Lastly, there’s the seminary. They recently started “league play” during sports, meaning each form will get a chance to do battle with each form on the soccer field (and supposedly the basketball court, dance floor, and other places?). Anyway, Monday was the day to get the Form 4 vs. Form 1 match out of the way. If you asked anyone, including the Form 1’s, they’d just give a concerned raise of the eyes and tell you it was going to be rough. To frame this a bit, Form 4’s are studying topics fairly similar to those of our 10th graders, and are probably an average age of something like our high school upperclassmen (maybe 16-18). The Form 1’s are studying what is roughly equivalent to our 7th graders, and, while they range in age from probably 12 to 40, most of the soccer players were probably in the 12-13 range. In other words, this is somewhat analogous to a 8th grade vs. 11th grade match, which I think may be even more lopsided than a freshmen vs. senior game, because so many of these form 1’s just haven’t done any of their growing yet. Anyway, I digress. The point is, when they took that field, the Form 4’s towered over the Form 1’s. The game started, and something amazing happened. The ball was almost always near the goal the Form 1’s were protecting, but they just kept being able to kick it away. The Form 4’s kept charging, outrunning, and outmuscling, but the Form 1’s kept scrappily finding away to boot that ball out of bounds and make them start again. The goalie was on fire, and there was a particularly pint-sized littler baller that was able to weave his way through the big guys and advance the ball a handful of times (for soccer fans, picture a mini-Nasri). It was an inspired first half, and the score at halftime was still 0-0 (nil-nil for soccer folk), and the whole school (aside from Form 4’s) rushed to the Form 1 huddle to fan them with shirts. In the second half it rained somewhat heavily for a while and students on the sideline why I wasn’t running inside to take cover so that I don’t catch malaria. I attempted to explain that a) there was no way I was going to miss this epic half and b) you can’t “catch” malaria from the rain- malaria comes from mosquitoes and something we call a “cold” can be caused in part by standing in the rain. They looked at me like I was crazy. Perfect. Anyway, the second half progressed much like the first, with our Form 1 goalie making a couple of great saves, a few blown opportunities by the Form 4’s, and an injury (stalling?- they have to go in at 6 no matter what) to the goalie, the whistle was eventually blown and it was official, my little boys pulled off the unthinkable: A DRAW (tie)!!!!!! I fully expected to take part in a jubilant rushing of the field, but I got to witness something a lot more entertaining. The looks on the faces of the Form 1’s was, indeed, jubilant, but there was no field-rush. Instead, everyone joyfully sprinted into the school building! It was just a mob of shocked and excited little guys who wanted to run and be happy, but also knew it was time to go inside, so that’s where they ran. Probably more than that, it had a Derek Fischer-esque effect of “We need to get off this field now before they have a chance to take this away from us!- (If we do penalty kicks, we are in trouble!)” It was simultaneously exciting and hilarious, and this guy was pretty proud of all of them.
As for the seminary math class, we also had some excitement recently. We are wrapping up our unit on all things fractions, and today was a jam-packed day. First of all, it was their first day with their school uniforms- until today they’d been the 66 kids that wore whatever they had while they waited to join the rest of the school in wearing the uniform. They looked pretty spiffy. Also, last class, after a review test, I promised one visitor would join us on Tuesday (today). When class started today (Tuesday), I commented on their uniforms, and then I introduced Catherine, Mike’s wonderful girlfriend who just arrived and will be here for a couple months. (I should note here that it is wonderful to have her positiveness, her American-ness, and her CSB/SJU-ness here!...not to mention the American food and movies she brought!). Anyway, I after introducing her, I explained we would have yet another guest coming later…(insert suspense here). Of course, I had to congratulate them on the great match, and we did a celebratory “Wake Up” cheer, and it was definitely the loudest and most harmonious they’ve been yet! It was pretty cool.
About 40 minutes into class, as we were just beginning to discuss dividing fractions, I received a phone call on my cell phone which had mysteriously been switched to high volume (I never thought I would actually use the “Activate Fake Call” feature on this goofy Tanzanian phone…who knew?). Luckily, it was my “guest” who needed help finding the classroom, so I told my class I’d be back (apparently leaving Catherine to help the class solve the example I had just put on the board). I sprinted to the teachers’ room and they laughed at me as I put on my costume (I’m a little embarrassed to say that this is the first time I’ve used a costume in class here). (The following story will be an example of what some people believe is unnecessary in education. I believe that a little pizzazz in a lesson every once in a while is necessary, especially if it will help the students remember/understand something important.) I ran back to the classroom with no shoes, a t-shirt with the words “numerator” and “denominator” taped to the back, a pillow tied to my head, and sunglasses on the back of my head. I entered the classroom with my back facing the class and explained that Aliki (this time not third person) had to use the bathroom and that I was the promised visitor, Mr. Divisor…Mr. Fraction Divisor. Without turning to face the class, I continued to explain about “multiplying by a reciprocal”, and, when the time was right, I did a simple headstand in front of the class (falling into the blackboard on the first attempt, naturally). Anyway, doing the headstand (I was now facing the class, although upside down) revealed to the class that the front of my shirt, when upside down, read, “Original Denominator” over “Original Numerator”- I was now the reciprocal of my original self. After much more explaining and sweating (apparently pillow-hats are warm), class was ready to end, and we did one more “Wake Up”, with me standing on my head (that part was absolutely just for fun and not educational, I am well aware). Anyway, they did a very good job with our practice problems at the end of class in dividing fractions. Odds are they already knew how, but, hey, at least that means I didn’t leave them more confused than they started if that is the case. The teachers kept laughing and referring to my pillow as my “teaching aid”, but the Rector of the school called it my sleeping aid (unintentionally?...), which I thought was pretty funny.
Well, so much for a short update. Anyway, I am excited for the blessings of Lent to begin, and, as always, I am missing you all.
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