Today marks our two month Tanziversary, and we fully intend to celebrate with some (hopefully) cold mango juice from Hanga Food Land, but it is a bittersweet day. Today also happens to be the day that Sr. Anna, one of my favorite people in this country, must depart from Hanga in order to pursue a degree in nursing. As we found out at her mini-feast last night, this is a pretty big deal, as Sr. Anna will be the first Benedictine from this part of the country to obtain a degree in nursing.
Sr. Anna is about 45, has great English, is a great teacher of Swahili, is very positive and energetic, and will be dearly missed. Not surprisingly, the majority of the content of this blog revolves around what we got to do with her this week. She always claimed to be a member of the “Hapana Pipi” Ultimate team, but she never seemed to make it to our “practices”…finally, on Tuesday, she came! I have some great photos of the time I got to play Frisbee with the coolest nun in Tanzania.
Also, yesterday we got to spend the morning doing laundry in the nuns’ yard (they have way better facilities, and they are great to hang out with. Note to self: thorough clothes-washing in Tanzania requires sunscreen (who knew I could spend a weekend at a beach without getting sunburn and then get a sunburn from doing laundry?). Then we got to sit around and hang out with Sr. Anna and Sr. Claudia (intimidating and loveable cook) as we listened to music. It was wonderful quality time with them, and my pants and shirts finally don’t have their reddish tint from the dirt! I have not, however, gotten my socks back, as Sr. Claudia saw them hanging on the line and deemed that I did not get them clean enough, so she confiscated them and told me I would get them back in mint condition tomorrow…oh boy.
Last night Mike and I spent almost 3 hours in the kitchen helping cook what we thought was a normal going-away dinner for Sr. Anna (it turns out we ended up helping cook our first Tanzanian mini-feast)! The cooking is all done with fire ovens and stoves, so it was toasty to say the least, but it was really fun. We had ventured into the once-monthly soko (market) in the village and purchased some potatoes, tomatoes, and onions to attempt to make crispy potato wedges and tomato sauce, and our addition to the meal actually turned out quite tasty (there wasn’t much left afterward, so we took that as a good sign). We tried to help with other things too, so a lot of tomatoes were peeled, some uncooked rice was sifted through in search of pieces of anything that’s not rice, and a giant ugali pot was thoroughly cleaned by yours truly (I was handed a block of wood to use to scrape off the bits of ugali that were caked onto the sides). It was fantastic!
The feast was small, but there were great people, and there was great food. It ended with a delicious cake made by the other wonderful cook, Sr. Crisillda.
We will miss Sr. Anna dearly, but we know she will go on to help even more people with her further studies, which, as CSB/SJU helped teach me, is, after all, the whole point of studying. My mango juice box will be lifted to you tonight, Sr. Anna. Safari Njema! (safe travels)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
...Emotion- The Gateway to Something Good
Note: I really wanted to title this one “Pomp and Circumference” because it’s mostly about graduation, and it seemed clever, but it was pretty irrelevant, so I abstained.
The week that past was filled with work! This is not the type of statement that usually warrants an exclamation, but for me it is still a very exciting concept. In addition to classes, there was a lot of work to be done to prepare for graduation this weekend (St. B on Saturday and Seminary on Sunday). Speaking of work- you know how “budget meetings” are the typical symbol for undesirable work responsibilities? Well, I sat through one…for an hour and a half…and it was in Swahili! Awesome.
This weekend was seriously packed, so I’ll get right into it. On Saturday, St. B graduation started with Mass in the Abbey at 9:30. In addition to the swaying, clapping, and loud cheering within the Mass, we also experienced one of the coolest liturgical things I’ve seen. Some graduates grabbed a decorated basket and placed an infant inside. The infant was then handed a Bible. This is how the Bible was processed to the altar! It was just really cool. After Mass we processed through the village behind a brass band all the way to the school. We then saw some student presentations. Finally, we sat at the head table (obligatory for any mzungu) and witnessed about 3 hours of Celebration. There were student songs, dances, and comedies, as well as a handful of speeches. I couldn’t catch much of the speeches, but I’m pretty confident that the general theme was something to the effect of “don’t fegit cha keys” (see St. John’s graduation). Then, it was time for us to eat lunch at the head table of the food room (as with all celebrations, every other guest watches the head table as they eat slightly better food).
Following lunch, Mike, Teresa, and I dipped out early to catch the all important soccer match between Hanga VTC (Trade School) and Songea Boys (think Mighty Ducks vs. Hawks in The Mighty Ducks). VTC clearly had less money and discipline but also a lot more fun and fun to watch. The goalie is our friend Robert, and he is incredibly entertaining (and good). We were up 1-0 in the first half due to a sweet header, but in the last 20 minutes of the second half Songea Boys scored twice on some pretty nice shots, resulting in some great flips and a victory for Songea. It was a blast anyway, and it was actually really powerful to see the emotion displayed. VTC played with such joy and passion, and that turned to such disappointment at the end.
We headed back to St. B at night for the dance, but there were only students and we felt out of place. What did we do? Found a dance in the village of course! We mostly just danced with a bunch of kids, but they started calling all their friends over to laugh and watch as we tried to dance like them and it just got uncomfortable, so we got out of there and hung out with our favorite nun, Sr. Anna.
Sunday was the proverbial top piece of bread on this graduation-soccer-graduation sandwich of a weekend. It started with Mass at the Seminary. The Mass, scheduled for 9:00, started at 10:00. Once Mass was done at 12 we went and rested with the guest speaker. The speaker was really cool, and I got to talk to him a lot about education, the progress of Tanzania, and a little about Africa’s history in general. Then came the real show. I spent all day Friday helping the Seminarians prepare the grounds for graduation (you know, like hand picking the dead leaves off the ground and bringing them to the fire pit), and they really did some great work. They built three large, beautiful huts in less than two days! Of course, I sat at the head hut, which, while always awkward, is also always awesome because you get a great view of the performances. The show lasted 4 hours, and there were some great comedies and songs. Also, a group of students did some sort of mock-traditional African performance that was both impressive and comical. My favorite was the last performance: hip hop dance! 6 guys performed a dance to “Wall to Wall” and “Waka Waka (This is Africa)”. This marked the first time I heard “Waka Waka” in Africa, and let’s just say I was pumped! I really wanted to jump up and teach them the official dance…but we’ll get back to that.
After the performance and dinner, we headed back to the Seminary for the dance (we found out that teachers, especially ones that enjoy hanging out with their students) are more than welcome. Plus, we’ve gotten to know a few Form 4’s pretty well, and we wanted to say a proper goodbye. Unfortunately, we got caught in an impromptu staff meeting on the way (most teachers did not want to hang with the young folk). Everyone had to stand and say something about the school, and some spoke for over 20 minutes. Finally, I heard “Waka Waka” playing at the dance and pretended to get a phone call so I could leave (on second thought, this wasn’t that clever, as most would just answer the phone and talk mid-meeting). Anyway, I talked to a bunch of the Form 4’s, and then I headed in to watch the dance contest. “Waka Waka” came on again, and I had to represent what I learned from “BSP’s Best Dance Crew”, so I did it- I busted out Shakira’s official dance! This was validated when the school’s best dancer came over to learn it from me! (This was a relief as a lot of them were making fun of me because her dance is the girls’ part, and there’s actually an African male dance that goes with the song as well). Throughout the next two hours of the dance I learned a few of their dances, but I also taught/showed off the following: *heel-toe*c-walk*lean wit it rock wit it*the arm wavy thing (fahja molding). This was my attempt at my own “Great American Influence”.
Finally, I should explain the title a bit. It is part of a lyric from a song written by a good friend of mine, and it seemed fitting. I’ve experienced an incredible rollercoaster of emotions in the time I’ve been here (it seems the ZPD is a good place for that). However, I haven’t witnessed a ton of emotions from those around me. It just doesn’t seem to be very blatant in the culture here if that makes sense. However, the graduations and soccer game were packed with emotion. People were jubilant to have gotten through a very difficult part of their educational lives. People were happy for their graduating classmates. People were expressing sadness in their leaving. The soccer team went from joy to disappointment. I was sad to see people like Mozart, Benja, Berno, Edward, Freddy, and Justin go. I even got emotional seeing people going home and thinking about how long it will be until that is me. The moral of the story, however, is that this emotion-filled weekend, was fantastic. Indeed, all the emotions stirred up seemed to form the gateway to something good for all involved.
The week that past was filled with work! This is not the type of statement that usually warrants an exclamation, but for me it is still a very exciting concept. In addition to classes, there was a lot of work to be done to prepare for graduation this weekend (St. B on Saturday and Seminary on Sunday). Speaking of work- you know how “budget meetings” are the typical symbol for undesirable work responsibilities? Well, I sat through one…for an hour and a half…and it was in Swahili! Awesome.
This weekend was seriously packed, so I’ll get right into it. On Saturday, St. B graduation started with Mass in the Abbey at 9:30. In addition to the swaying, clapping, and loud cheering within the Mass, we also experienced one of the coolest liturgical things I’ve seen. Some graduates grabbed a decorated basket and placed an infant inside. The infant was then handed a Bible. This is how the Bible was processed to the altar! It was just really cool. After Mass we processed through the village behind a brass band all the way to the school. We then saw some student presentations. Finally, we sat at the head table (obligatory for any mzungu) and witnessed about 3 hours of Celebration. There were student songs, dances, and comedies, as well as a handful of speeches. I couldn’t catch much of the speeches, but I’m pretty confident that the general theme was something to the effect of “don’t fegit cha keys” (see St. John’s graduation). Then, it was time for us to eat lunch at the head table of the food room (as with all celebrations, every other guest watches the head table as they eat slightly better food).
Following lunch, Mike, Teresa, and I dipped out early to catch the all important soccer match between Hanga VTC (Trade School) and Songea Boys (think Mighty Ducks vs. Hawks in The Mighty Ducks). VTC clearly had less money and discipline but also a lot more fun and fun to watch. The goalie is our friend Robert, and he is incredibly entertaining (and good). We were up 1-0 in the first half due to a sweet header, but in the last 20 minutes of the second half Songea Boys scored twice on some pretty nice shots, resulting in some great flips and a victory for Songea. It was a blast anyway, and it was actually really powerful to see the emotion displayed. VTC played with such joy and passion, and that turned to such disappointment at the end.
We headed back to St. B at night for the dance, but there were only students and we felt out of place. What did we do? Found a dance in the village of course! We mostly just danced with a bunch of kids, but they started calling all their friends over to laugh and watch as we tried to dance like them and it just got uncomfortable, so we got out of there and hung out with our favorite nun, Sr. Anna.
Sunday was the proverbial top piece of bread on this graduation-soccer-graduation sandwich of a weekend. It started with Mass at the Seminary. The Mass, scheduled for 9:00, started at 10:00. Once Mass was done at 12 we went and rested with the guest speaker. The speaker was really cool, and I got to talk to him a lot about education, the progress of Tanzania, and a little about Africa’s history in general. Then came the real show. I spent all day Friday helping the Seminarians prepare the grounds for graduation (you know, like hand picking the dead leaves off the ground and bringing them to the fire pit), and they really did some great work. They built three large, beautiful huts in less than two days! Of course, I sat at the head hut, which, while always awkward, is also always awesome because you get a great view of the performances. The show lasted 4 hours, and there were some great comedies and songs. Also, a group of students did some sort of mock-traditional African performance that was both impressive and comical. My favorite was the last performance: hip hop dance! 6 guys performed a dance to “Wall to Wall” and “Waka Waka (This is Africa)”. This marked the first time I heard “Waka Waka” in Africa, and let’s just say I was pumped! I really wanted to jump up and teach them the official dance…but we’ll get back to that.
After the performance and dinner, we headed back to the Seminary for the dance (we found out that teachers, especially ones that enjoy hanging out with their students) are more than welcome. Plus, we’ve gotten to know a few Form 4’s pretty well, and we wanted to say a proper goodbye. Unfortunately, we got caught in an impromptu staff meeting on the way (most teachers did not want to hang with the young folk). Everyone had to stand and say something about the school, and some spoke for over 20 minutes. Finally, I heard “Waka Waka” playing at the dance and pretended to get a phone call so I could leave (on second thought, this wasn’t that clever, as most would just answer the phone and talk mid-meeting). Anyway, I talked to a bunch of the Form 4’s, and then I headed in to watch the dance contest. “Waka Waka” came on again, and I had to represent what I learned from “BSP’s Best Dance Crew”, so I did it- I busted out Shakira’s official dance! This was validated when the school’s best dancer came over to learn it from me! (This was a relief as a lot of them were making fun of me because her dance is the girls’ part, and there’s actually an African male dance that goes with the song as well). Throughout the next two hours of the dance I learned a few of their dances, but I also taught/showed off the following: *heel-toe*c-walk*lean wit it rock wit it*the arm wavy thing (fahja molding). This was my attempt at my own “Great American Influence”.
Finally, I should explain the title a bit. It is part of a lyric from a song written by a good friend of mine, and it seemed fitting. I’ve experienced an incredible rollercoaster of emotions in the time I’ve been here (it seems the ZPD is a good place for that). However, I haven’t witnessed a ton of emotions from those around me. It just doesn’t seem to be very blatant in the culture here if that makes sense. However, the graduations and soccer game were packed with emotion. People were jubilant to have gotten through a very difficult part of their educational lives. People were happy for their graduating classmates. People were expressing sadness in their leaving. The soccer team went from joy to disappointment. I was sad to see people like Mozart, Benja, Berno, Edward, Freddy, and Justin go. I even got emotional seeing people going home and thinking about how long it will be until that is me. The moral of the story, however, is that this emotion-filled weekend, was fantastic. Indeed, all the emotions stirred up seemed to form the gateway to something good for all involved.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Lessons from the Boys of Mbamba Bay
After getting a couple of weeks of actual work under our belts, it seemed about time for a vacation…Actually the other young volunteers in Hanga were taking one, and we graciously accepted their offer to join. Thus, we literally just returned from Mbamba Bay (the Tanzanian side of Lake Nyasa aka Lake Malawi). We had been told it was gorgeous there, and it turns out that people were right. In exciting news, I did get some sweet pictures. In less exciting news, none of you will see said pictures until my internet situation changes.
(First of all, for the Great American Influence:
I saw a Brian Griese Denver Broncos jersey, but that was a little out of place relative to these next three. I spotted a Charles Barkley Suns jersey, a Detlef Schrempf jersey, and a Jason Kidd jersey from the first time he was on the Mavericks! That’s on its way to becoming a pretty good 1990’s starting 5 with Griese as the waterboy.)
It was great to have a weekend to just see the beautiful sites of this wonderful country and to get away from the monastery (although we did go with two monks to make life easier) and to have a little time where we could just hang out as young adults (aka kids are great, but we needed a break from them)…Or did we?!
Again, the views were spectacular, and swimming felt great in the midst of this scorching hot time, but ironically, it was the children of Mbamba Bay that really made the trip what it was. Of course, Mike and I went on a pretty great mini-hike up some rocks today and got to a point where we could see the beautiful lake to the left and right of us and saw an 18 inch lizard and bunches of monkeys in close proximity on our way back. But again, these sites had nothing on the ridiculousness of these kids. Without further ado, the following are the tales of the lessons we learned from the young boys we met at the two beaches we went to this weekend.
Lesson 1: Those who can kind of do, attempt to teach and end up learning from the people they tried to teach.
The first day at the beach kids slowly started gathering near us, especially as we started tossing a Frisbee. Naturally, we encouraged them to join. Even though they were probably ranging from about 4 to 10, some of them could really throw. All of a sudden, when the Frisbee craze was kind of dying out, I saw a kid make a half-hearted attempted at a handstand. Perfect! This is my chance! We had already greeted them and asked their names, so further Swahili conversation was out of the question, but we could still talk through silliness. If you are thinking the handstand attempt specifically was perfect because of my math class antics…you are incorrect, although that does mean you’ve been reading carefully, so thanks! Actually, headstand competitions are a staple during our annual Cooper Crew camping gathering at the beach. I often get pretty dominated in said competition, but I have been studying the form of one Jake Kappel, and I was confident that I could teach these kids how to do a good headstand/at least make a fool of myself and get them to do the same.
So, I hopped to it, knelt down, put my head and hands in the sand, put my knees on my elbows, and straightened my legs into the air for a solid two seconds before flopping over into the water! By the time I got the water out of my eyes, there were three kids doing headstands as stiff as a board. Clearly, they were showing me how it was done. In honor of the Cooper Crew, we had a contest, and I lasted for about 2 seconds (I was pleased). One kid lasted like 12 seconds. What happened next was one of those “this can’t be real life” moments. The third and final member of this contest was a kid no older than four that kind of looked like he still had some baby fat (honestly, he looked like a toddle Ice Cube). He assumed headstand position and held it, and held it, and held it. We were counting in Swahili, and we got to the point where they switched for English for me because the numbers were too high! When he got to a minute I put the Frisbee on his perfectly flat feet and he started laughing and fell. The kid lasted a minute! Oh yeah, and he was naked! A lot of the kids took off their clothes to go swimming, so this wasn’t relatively out of the ordinary. However, as he neared a minute, it hit me that I could now say I’ve seen a naked Tanzanian boy do a headstand for a minute, and that’s just crazy!
Lesson 2: Don’t rock the boat.
As our first day at the beach neared an end, our new young friends wanted to thank us for playing with them, teaching them to throw a Frisbee, and getting worked at headstands, so they offered us some boat rides. When I say boat, I mean hollowed out log with sticks as paddles. Yep, that happened. My hips were too wide to fit into this log (too much rice!), so I balanced my bottom on the two sides…for a while. Then I proceeded to tip the boat. They kind of laughed, but then I realized how much trouble I caused them. They don’t have a fancy system to get the water out of the boat. They tip it up, and then they move it side to side as water slowly splashes out. Luckily, it turns out the Frisbee is a great scooper, and they had the boat ready for a much more successful round two in no time. Again, just a generally ridiculous experience.
Lesson 3: How to eat an unripe mango.
I love mangoes! Mangoes are all over this country! The only problem is that we are still a month or two away from mango season. That didn’t stop the kids at our second beach. They munched on mangoes throughout the day, so Mike and I finally approached with our own mini-mangoes from the tree and asked if they’d show how they eat them.
Step 1: Hit the tip against a rock.
Step 2: Bite off and spit out tip.
Step 3: Find a good stick that has spoon and knife-like qualities, and dig out the pit as best you can.
Step 4: Wash the partially hollowed mango in the lake (you know, the lake where people swim, wash themselves, wash their clothes, and relieve themselves).
Step 5: Break the mango in half.
Step 6: Use your stick to scoop out the salvageable and incredibly bitter bits of mango that do exist and enjoy!
It may not have been the most sanitary, but it was a good taste of what’s to come, it was a great skill to learn, and, as usual, the kids got a good laugh out of the deal.
Lesson 4: As usual, be thankful!
This whole experience has given me countless reasons to be thankful every single day so far. Some of the things I’m thankful for relate to how lucky I am to have this experience, and some of them related to how lucky I have been to have grown up where I did and been surrounded by the wonderful people I have been. The lessons and sites of this weekend were both ridiculous and beautiful, and it all reminded me, once again, to be thankful for the present moment and the life I have. Many of these kids looked like they don’t necessarily eat much more than these mangoes on a given day, and I couldn’t help but wonder where they go at night, what they do eat, what they’ll do when they grow up, and who they have that cares for them. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life, and I just can’t stop thinking about how lucky I am for that.
Anyway, I hope this goofy/suddenly somewhat sentimental blog has, if nothing else, prepared you for mango season!
(First of all, for the Great American Influence:
I saw a Brian Griese Denver Broncos jersey, but that was a little out of place relative to these next three. I spotted a Charles Barkley Suns jersey, a Detlef Schrempf jersey, and a Jason Kidd jersey from the first time he was on the Mavericks! That’s on its way to becoming a pretty good 1990’s starting 5 with Griese as the waterboy.)
It was great to have a weekend to just see the beautiful sites of this wonderful country and to get away from the monastery (although we did go with two monks to make life easier) and to have a little time where we could just hang out as young adults (aka kids are great, but we needed a break from them)…Or did we?!
Again, the views were spectacular, and swimming felt great in the midst of this scorching hot time, but ironically, it was the children of Mbamba Bay that really made the trip what it was. Of course, Mike and I went on a pretty great mini-hike up some rocks today and got to a point where we could see the beautiful lake to the left and right of us and saw an 18 inch lizard and bunches of monkeys in close proximity on our way back. But again, these sites had nothing on the ridiculousness of these kids. Without further ado, the following are the tales of the lessons we learned from the young boys we met at the two beaches we went to this weekend.
Lesson 1: Those who can kind of do, attempt to teach and end up learning from the people they tried to teach.
The first day at the beach kids slowly started gathering near us, especially as we started tossing a Frisbee. Naturally, we encouraged them to join. Even though they were probably ranging from about 4 to 10, some of them could really throw. All of a sudden, when the Frisbee craze was kind of dying out, I saw a kid make a half-hearted attempted at a handstand. Perfect! This is my chance! We had already greeted them and asked their names, so further Swahili conversation was out of the question, but we could still talk through silliness. If you are thinking the handstand attempt specifically was perfect because of my math class antics…you are incorrect, although that does mean you’ve been reading carefully, so thanks! Actually, headstand competitions are a staple during our annual Cooper Crew camping gathering at the beach. I often get pretty dominated in said competition, but I have been studying the form of one Jake Kappel, and I was confident that I could teach these kids how to do a good headstand/at least make a fool of myself and get them to do the same.
So, I hopped to it, knelt down, put my head and hands in the sand, put my knees on my elbows, and straightened my legs into the air for a solid two seconds before flopping over into the water! By the time I got the water out of my eyes, there were three kids doing headstands as stiff as a board. Clearly, they were showing me how it was done. In honor of the Cooper Crew, we had a contest, and I lasted for about 2 seconds (I was pleased). One kid lasted like 12 seconds. What happened next was one of those “this can’t be real life” moments. The third and final member of this contest was a kid no older than four that kind of looked like he still had some baby fat (honestly, he looked like a toddle Ice Cube). He assumed headstand position and held it, and held it, and held it. We were counting in Swahili, and we got to the point where they switched for English for me because the numbers were too high! When he got to a minute I put the Frisbee on his perfectly flat feet and he started laughing and fell. The kid lasted a minute! Oh yeah, and he was naked! A lot of the kids took off their clothes to go swimming, so this wasn’t relatively out of the ordinary. However, as he neared a minute, it hit me that I could now say I’ve seen a naked Tanzanian boy do a headstand for a minute, and that’s just crazy!
Lesson 2: Don’t rock the boat.
As our first day at the beach neared an end, our new young friends wanted to thank us for playing with them, teaching them to throw a Frisbee, and getting worked at headstands, so they offered us some boat rides. When I say boat, I mean hollowed out log with sticks as paddles. Yep, that happened. My hips were too wide to fit into this log (too much rice!), so I balanced my bottom on the two sides…for a while. Then I proceeded to tip the boat. They kind of laughed, but then I realized how much trouble I caused them. They don’t have a fancy system to get the water out of the boat. They tip it up, and then they move it side to side as water slowly splashes out. Luckily, it turns out the Frisbee is a great scooper, and they had the boat ready for a much more successful round two in no time. Again, just a generally ridiculous experience.
Lesson 3: How to eat an unripe mango.
I love mangoes! Mangoes are all over this country! The only problem is that we are still a month or two away from mango season. That didn’t stop the kids at our second beach. They munched on mangoes throughout the day, so Mike and I finally approached with our own mini-mangoes from the tree and asked if they’d show how they eat them.
Step 1: Hit the tip against a rock.
Step 2: Bite off and spit out tip.
Step 3: Find a good stick that has spoon and knife-like qualities, and dig out the pit as best you can.
Step 4: Wash the partially hollowed mango in the lake (you know, the lake where people swim, wash themselves, wash their clothes, and relieve themselves).
Step 5: Break the mango in half.
Step 6: Use your stick to scoop out the salvageable and incredibly bitter bits of mango that do exist and enjoy!
It may not have been the most sanitary, but it was a good taste of what’s to come, it was a great skill to learn, and, as usual, the kids got a good laugh out of the deal.
Lesson 4: As usual, be thankful!
This whole experience has given me countless reasons to be thankful every single day so far. Some of the things I’m thankful for relate to how lucky I am to have this experience, and some of them related to how lucky I have been to have grown up where I did and been surrounded by the wonderful people I have been. The lessons and sites of this weekend were both ridiculous and beautiful, and it all reminded me, once again, to be thankful for the present moment and the life I have. Many of these kids looked like they don’t necessarily eat much more than these mangoes on a given day, and I couldn’t help but wonder where they go at night, what they do eat, what they’ll do when they grow up, and who they have that cares for them. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life, and I just can’t stop thinking about how lucky I am for that.
Anyway, I hope this goofy/suddenly somewhat sentimental blog has, if nothing else, prepared you for mango season!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thumbs Up Teaching Techniques
I figure that, every once in a while, you deserve an update on the reason I’m here- teaching. My main teaching focus this term, as I’ve mentioned, is my Form 1 Mathematics class at the Seminary. Within the 69 students I have, not surprisingly, some who breeze through, some who sleep through, and two who look exactly like younger Dwayne Wades (okay, that part was more surprising). Anyway, it is up to me to help a) improve their math b) improve their English c) get them to not hate math d) keep them awake e) improve their higher level thinking skills. Let’s just say this task will require some experimenting.
Last class we talked about how to divide by fractions (multiply by the reciprocal). I busted out “reFLIProcal” to help them remember that you flip the fraction, but it wasn’t really sticking. *Disclaimer: What I’m about to describe may have been quite the opposite of a good teaching technique, but it felt necessary at the time.
It was a Friday and a lot of them were starting to doze (most of the ones who struggle with English the most). Thus, as I started to explain that it’s as simple as me switching from standing on my feet to standing on my hands, I got a questionable idea. It seemed mild bribery was the way to go. Thus, I promised to stand on my hands at the end of class if, after going the whole 80 minute class, the students could loudly tell me what you do when dividing by a fraction (“Multiply by the RECIPROCAL”). Naturally, they remembered (although I did hear some “reFLIProcal”s). Let’s just say my hands were stood on a cheering/laughter ensued as I fell into the blackboard. (No mzungus were injured in the making of this memory). Shameless, I know, but it happened.
Other than that instance at the end, however, the students are still slow to catch on to the whole “100% participation”/active participation, so what did I do? I went with what worked of course. That’s right, one more small bribe (they really were “deals” more than bribes”). I happened to mention that I can stand on one finger (better than I can on my hands actually), and they definitely woke up. However, they don’t get to see this feat until participation in class and on homework attempts picks up. We’ll see what happens…
Oh yeah, and I even busted out an educational idea that I had back in my days in the Education Department at CSB/SJU. I taught one class back then, and I taught it on absolute values. I like describing absolute values as “doors of positivity”. No matter how things start, when they come through the doors, they are positive. My plan is to eventually label my classroom doorway as such in order to cheesily help create a positive atmosphere, but I don’t have my own classroom here, so that will have to wait. Anyway, I did still use the doorway as my example. I explained the notion, and they were close to getting it, so I ran out the door and peeked in the window. I explained that I was negative as I frowned/gave thumbs down, then I ran through the “doors of positivity” and had a smile/thumbs up. After a few rounds, by the time I would enter the room the students would great me with a thumbs up and shouts of “Positive!” I think it was the first analogy-type thing they’ve understood! After the handstand, as I departed from class, they shouted, “Aliki!” As I turned to see what their question was, thinking, “Yes! A Question!”, they grinned and gave a thumbs up (a general sign of acceptance around here).
I’m not going to lie, it felt kind of good. More than the acceptance (who doesn’t want to be accepted) I was pumped about the idea that maybe, just maybe, we can do something here. Now when I see them they laugh and throw me a thumbs up. It’s hard to read if it’s mild mocking because they think I’m ridiculous or if it’s genuine, but I’m fine either way.
In sports news, we’ve had a couple of decent volleyball games recently, and a bunch of seminarians are interested in and getting decent at throwing Frisbees. Get ready Nairobi!
*Great American Influence: The other day I was shooting hoops with one student from St. B’s, and he started talking to me about American hip hop. I swear to you, I had the most in depth conversation about Lil’ Wayne’s musical abilities that I have ever had (the kid was using words like “bass” and “tenor”). Of course, he later stated that he likes Kanye West because of how he moves his hands when he raps…
Last class we talked about how to divide by fractions (multiply by the reciprocal). I busted out “reFLIProcal” to help them remember that you flip the fraction, but it wasn’t really sticking. *Disclaimer: What I’m about to describe may have been quite the opposite of a good teaching technique, but it felt necessary at the time.
It was a Friday and a lot of them were starting to doze (most of the ones who struggle with English the most). Thus, as I started to explain that it’s as simple as me switching from standing on my feet to standing on my hands, I got a questionable idea. It seemed mild bribery was the way to go. Thus, I promised to stand on my hands at the end of class if, after going the whole 80 minute class, the students could loudly tell me what you do when dividing by a fraction (“Multiply by the RECIPROCAL”). Naturally, they remembered (although I did hear some “reFLIProcal”s). Let’s just say my hands were stood on a cheering/laughter ensued as I fell into the blackboard. (No mzungus were injured in the making of this memory). Shameless, I know, but it happened.
Other than that instance at the end, however, the students are still slow to catch on to the whole “100% participation”/active participation, so what did I do? I went with what worked of course. That’s right, one more small bribe (they really were “deals” more than bribes”). I happened to mention that I can stand on one finger (better than I can on my hands actually), and they definitely woke up. However, they don’t get to see this feat until participation in class and on homework attempts picks up. We’ll see what happens…
Oh yeah, and I even busted out an educational idea that I had back in my days in the Education Department at CSB/SJU. I taught one class back then, and I taught it on absolute values. I like describing absolute values as “doors of positivity”. No matter how things start, when they come through the doors, they are positive. My plan is to eventually label my classroom doorway as such in order to cheesily help create a positive atmosphere, but I don’t have my own classroom here, so that will have to wait. Anyway, I did still use the doorway as my example. I explained the notion, and they were close to getting it, so I ran out the door and peeked in the window. I explained that I was negative as I frowned/gave thumbs down, then I ran through the “doors of positivity” and had a smile/thumbs up. After a few rounds, by the time I would enter the room the students would great me with a thumbs up and shouts of “Positive!” I think it was the first analogy-type thing they’ve understood! After the handstand, as I departed from class, they shouted, “Aliki!” As I turned to see what their question was, thinking, “Yes! A Question!”, they grinned and gave a thumbs up (a general sign of acceptance around here).
I’m not going to lie, it felt kind of good. More than the acceptance (who doesn’t want to be accepted) I was pumped about the idea that maybe, just maybe, we can do something here. Now when I see them they laugh and throw me a thumbs up. It’s hard to read if it’s mild mocking because they think I’m ridiculous or if it’s genuine, but I’m fine either way.
In sports news, we’ve had a couple of decent volleyball games recently, and a bunch of seminarians are interested in and getting decent at throwing Frisbees. Get ready Nairobi!
*Great American Influence: The other day I was shooting hoops with one student from St. B’s, and he started talking to me about American hip hop. I swear to you, I had the most in depth conversation about Lil’ Wayne’s musical abilities that I have ever had (the kid was using words like “bass” and “tenor”). Of course, he later stated that he likes Kanye West because of how he moves his hands when he raps…
Some Therapeutic Comparisons
I was told by another volunteer here that Month 1 is the honeymoon and Month 2 is the tough part (referencing how much you’ll miss home). Well, I was missing home something fierce during Month 1, and, while I still miss home, this month I am at least keeping busy. However, I do find myself spending a lot of time thinking about everything and everyone I miss, and this blog definitely helps with that, because, in some weird way, it feels like I’m actually getting to talk to you. I guess that’s why I’m starting to write a little more often. Thus, this entry is much more a small compilation of thoughts than it is a story, but here it is. Take it or leave it.
Things I do more here than I did in the past:
*Attend prayer with monks. It was just as available at SJU, but I just always seemed a little too busy (maybe having prayer in my native language was not challenging enough).
*Do dishes! That’s right roommates, I handwash a bunch of dishes about twice a day! The nuns like to do it, but Mike and I try to help whenever we have time. And, in all fairness, I actually use dishes. This brings me to my next point…
*Eat on a regular schedule! I eat so much at all three meals at very set times (especially relative to Africa time)!
*Read. Tonight I will finish my fourth book in Tanzania, which is probably more than I would have read at this point in a normal semester (Math major- give me a break). I would have been on pace for even more, but I have slowed down in order to spend more time on Kiswahili. If you’re curious, I have read Let the Great World Spin (fascinating work of fiction that acts as a commentary on America and the interconnectedness of people), The Shadow of the Sun (the stories of a Polish reporter who spent 40 years in Africa), Teach Like a Champion (a book filled with great techniques to be a better teacher that we used for Breakthrough orientation), and The Lamb’s Supper (a book about how the book of Revelation is really a description of the Mass as Heaven on Earth). So far, I am four for four on picking phenomenal books. Next up is The Gift of Change (one of 2 books added to my luggage by Mom), and it’s very good so far. Once I finish that pesky spirituality section of the library, I’m thinking I’ll treat myself by reading my first library selection- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Some guy I know really likes it…
*Play soccer. No comment.
*Tell people that I live near Canada.
*Act like a professor. I caught myself advising students that they should always “start with what you know” when approaching mathematical proofs. After it came out of my mouth, I realized I should be citing the one and only Tom Sibley (whose syllabus I found taped in an Abstract Algebra book in the advanced mathematics section of the library)! Also, I usually find chalk dust all over my face and shirt by the time I’m done with class….Awesome.
There’s probably a lot more, and I could definitely make a long list of things I do less often now, but somehow that doesn’t seem as healthy (although there are plenty of good things like the following: “I use less natural resources and hurt the planet less by not driving.” and “I am not so reliant on technology.” )
Sorry this entry wasn’t super exciting. Maybe I just wanted to brag about all of the wonderful habits I’m getting into.
*Great American Influence: A good portion of the spirituality section of the library is made up of books from the SJU Liturgical Press, including a book on altar serving by my former Faculty Resident, the one and only Fr. Michael Kwatera, OSB.
Things I do more here than I did in the past:
*Attend prayer with monks. It was just as available at SJU, but I just always seemed a little too busy (maybe having prayer in my native language was not challenging enough).
*Do dishes! That’s right roommates, I handwash a bunch of dishes about twice a day! The nuns like to do it, but Mike and I try to help whenever we have time. And, in all fairness, I actually use dishes. This brings me to my next point…
*Eat on a regular schedule! I eat so much at all three meals at very set times (especially relative to Africa time)!
*Read. Tonight I will finish my fourth book in Tanzania, which is probably more than I would have read at this point in a normal semester (Math major- give me a break). I would have been on pace for even more, but I have slowed down in order to spend more time on Kiswahili. If you’re curious, I have read Let the Great World Spin (fascinating work of fiction that acts as a commentary on America and the interconnectedness of people), The Shadow of the Sun (the stories of a Polish reporter who spent 40 years in Africa), Teach Like a Champion (a book filled with great techniques to be a better teacher that we used for Breakthrough orientation), and The Lamb’s Supper (a book about how the book of Revelation is really a description of the Mass as Heaven on Earth). So far, I am four for four on picking phenomenal books. Next up is The Gift of Change (one of 2 books added to my luggage by Mom), and it’s very good so far. Once I finish that pesky spirituality section of the library, I’m thinking I’ll treat myself by reading my first library selection- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Some guy I know really likes it…
*Play soccer. No comment.
*Tell people that I live near Canada.
*Act like a professor. I caught myself advising students that they should always “start with what you know” when approaching mathematical proofs. After it came out of my mouth, I realized I should be citing the one and only Tom Sibley (whose syllabus I found taped in an Abstract Algebra book in the advanced mathematics section of the library)! Also, I usually find chalk dust all over my face and shirt by the time I’m done with class….Awesome.
There’s probably a lot more, and I could definitely make a long list of things I do less often now, but somehow that doesn’t seem as healthy (although there are plenty of good things like the following: “I use less natural resources and hurt the planet less by not driving.” and “I am not so reliant on technology.” )
Sorry this entry wasn’t super exciting. Maybe I just wanted to brag about all of the wonderful habits I’m getting into.
*Great American Influence: A good portion of the spirituality section of the library is made up of books from the SJU Liturgical Press, including a book on altar serving by my former Faculty Resident, the one and only Fr. Michael Kwatera, OSB.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Where's My Ukulele?
This is a very exciting blog, as it marks the first in possibly a long line of blogs that is merely a quick story from an otherwise ordinary day. The exciting part is that this implies I am at a point where I have “ordinary days” that involve work! Yep, today I went to the early, English Mass, and then I taught for 80 minutes, and then I graded homework for 4 hours. The grading had to be done immediately, as they turn in their whole notebooks, so they needed them back to do my new homework! Anyway, it was pretty much a typical day…and then the afternoon came.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m not really seeking work at St. Laurent’s Primary School because, well, it’s a primary school. The last time I worked with upwards of 60 elementary school kids it involved my baritone ukulele (which I can’t play), an Irish folk song (which I messed up), and some awesomely absurd banter between the students and myself. Today I worked with over 60 students from “Standard 4” (the age of our 3rd graders). I was armed with no ukulele this time, and the lesson was hygiene.
I had kind of helped with this same lesson (taught by an Italian volunteer here primarily to teach monks to make cheese!) last week, but I was one of 5 helpers and really had no role other than crowd control. Today, I was the only available reinforcement. For the sake of being mildly politically correct, let’s just say that the main ideas of the (2 hour!) lesson was that you should wash your hands, boil your milk and water, cover your cough, check your…feces…and go to the doctor. Kiara (the Italian) struggles a little with English, so I got to write some pretty great pointers on the board for her, and I got to teach her the English word “poop”. It was such a wonderfully innocent and funny moment, and the kids seemed to appreciate her animation…at first…
After a while, they decided they wanted to prove many educational theorists (and probably most of you reading this) right- 8-10 year olds probably shouldn’t be asked to do the same thing for 2 hours straight, especially when they don’t really understand the language and don’t all have chairs…
She got through her lecture, but the attempt at group poster-making turned into mass chaos, including an attempt made by me to teach them the meaning of “summary” by summarizing Noah’s Ark. Yep, that confused them pretty substantially, and most went on to copy the factsheets verbatim onto the posters. Anyway, the volume level slowly rose, colored pencils were fought over, and desks were broken (I would explain, but I just saw kids on the floor laughing). It was nuts, and there were no adults in sight. Kiara was stressing, and I was loving the chaos. Every once in a while she would yell and they would settle down. Then the energy rose. Then I would bust out a good old “If you can hear my voice, clap once”, and they’d give me their attention. Then I would realize I didn’t know what they were actually supposed to be doing.
Eventually, enough had finished their work that I brought them to the front of the room (those that hadn’t walked out mid-lesson- no telling how many or where they went). I thought hard about what I could do. I quickly realized that the very experience that had vaguely prepared me for this was the experience I would draw from. So, I used what I learned from Breakthrough Saint Paul. Literally, I taught the kids our Breakthrough Spirit Check. This is simply a pattern of clapping and leg-slapping, but it provided great practice for their English numbers, distraction, and probably an equal amount of noise. After a good deal of time, they had it, and they were even learning to yell, “Breakthrough!” at the end instead of “Heyyyyyy!” I have to say it warmed my heart and, luckily enough, brought a little order to the madness.
Being naïve, I thought the job was done once Kiara yelled, “Okay! Lesson’s over! You can go play!” Our walk back to the monastery would be about 5 minutes at the most…or would it?! Not only did our new students follow us and stop us constantly as we tried to walk, but so did hordes of other students that had been playing. We were mobbed and had no choice but to embrace it. They wanted to touch our skin. They wanted to ask if I knew soccer players (It turns out answering, “Yes” is the easiest option”. They wanted to teach us Kiswahili. They wanted to learn English. Most importantly, they wanted me to dance like Michael Jackson with them!
A surreal 45 minutes later, we made it back for a couple of Cokes and some long, deep breaths. Just imagine the chaos I could have helped foster had I actually known what was going on….Oh yeah, and don’t forget to wash your hands WHEN?... (Correct answer: before you eat and after you use the toilet! If you switch the before and after like the students, then you aren’t doing a lot of good).
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m not really seeking work at St. Laurent’s Primary School because, well, it’s a primary school. The last time I worked with upwards of 60 elementary school kids it involved my baritone ukulele (which I can’t play), an Irish folk song (which I messed up), and some awesomely absurd banter between the students and myself. Today I worked with over 60 students from “Standard 4” (the age of our 3rd graders). I was armed with no ukulele this time, and the lesson was hygiene.
I had kind of helped with this same lesson (taught by an Italian volunteer here primarily to teach monks to make cheese!) last week, but I was one of 5 helpers and really had no role other than crowd control. Today, I was the only available reinforcement. For the sake of being mildly politically correct, let’s just say that the main ideas of the (2 hour!) lesson was that you should wash your hands, boil your milk and water, cover your cough, check your…feces…and go to the doctor. Kiara (the Italian) struggles a little with English, so I got to write some pretty great pointers on the board for her, and I got to teach her the English word “poop”. It was such a wonderfully innocent and funny moment, and the kids seemed to appreciate her animation…at first…
After a while, they decided they wanted to prove many educational theorists (and probably most of you reading this) right- 8-10 year olds probably shouldn’t be asked to do the same thing for 2 hours straight, especially when they don’t really understand the language and don’t all have chairs…
She got through her lecture, but the attempt at group poster-making turned into mass chaos, including an attempt made by me to teach them the meaning of “summary” by summarizing Noah’s Ark. Yep, that confused them pretty substantially, and most went on to copy the factsheets verbatim onto the posters. Anyway, the volume level slowly rose, colored pencils were fought over, and desks were broken (I would explain, but I just saw kids on the floor laughing). It was nuts, and there were no adults in sight. Kiara was stressing, and I was loving the chaos. Every once in a while she would yell and they would settle down. Then the energy rose. Then I would bust out a good old “If you can hear my voice, clap once”, and they’d give me their attention. Then I would realize I didn’t know what they were actually supposed to be doing.
Eventually, enough had finished their work that I brought them to the front of the room (those that hadn’t walked out mid-lesson- no telling how many or where they went). I thought hard about what I could do. I quickly realized that the very experience that had vaguely prepared me for this was the experience I would draw from. So, I used what I learned from Breakthrough Saint Paul. Literally, I taught the kids our Breakthrough Spirit Check. This is simply a pattern of clapping and leg-slapping, but it provided great practice for their English numbers, distraction, and probably an equal amount of noise. After a good deal of time, they had it, and they were even learning to yell, “Breakthrough!” at the end instead of “Heyyyyyy!” I have to say it warmed my heart and, luckily enough, brought a little order to the madness.
Being naïve, I thought the job was done once Kiara yelled, “Okay! Lesson’s over! You can go play!” Our walk back to the monastery would be about 5 minutes at the most…or would it?! Not only did our new students follow us and stop us constantly as we tried to walk, but so did hordes of other students that had been playing. We were mobbed and had no choice but to embrace it. They wanted to touch our skin. They wanted to ask if I knew soccer players (It turns out answering, “Yes” is the easiest option”. They wanted to teach us Kiswahili. They wanted to learn English. Most importantly, they wanted me to dance like Michael Jackson with them!
A surreal 45 minutes later, we made it back for a couple of Cokes and some long, deep breaths. Just imagine the chaos I could have helped foster had I actually known what was going on….Oh yeah, and don’t forget to wash your hands WHEN?... (Correct answer: before you eat and after you use the toilet! If you switch the before and after like the students, then you aren’t doing a lot of good).
Monday, October 4, 2010
Let the Revolution Begin
So, there are definitely armed guards in front of the schools…Don’t worry though, that’s not related to the revolution I’m talking about. No, the sighting of the armed guards marks the beginning of National Examination time for students. Form 4 (the final year of secondary/minor seminary) begins three weeks of what sounds like intensive testing, and every school in the nation is will now be guarded by armed guards to make sure no one tries to take an early peek at the tests…no pressure.
I suppose I should explain this whole revolution thing. As I have mentioned, I thoroughly enjoy sports, but not particularly soccer (the overwhelming sport of choice here). I enjoy getting exercise and getting to know the students, but I figured there had to be a better way. So I said to myself, “Kyle,”… (that’s what I call myself*)… So I said, “Kyle, you have Frisbees with you, and you should start using them more.” It turns out that this was great advice. We are currently in phase one of Tanzania’s Ultimate Revolution, which means the people of Hanga are slowly getting exposed. I know that I mentioned earlier that I love to see the smiles of people trying to throw for the first time, and that definitely still holds true. In addition, I have been blown away by how quickly people are picking up on how to throw well. By people I am referring to 1) primary school students 2) secondary school students 3) fellow volunteers and 4) you guessed it, MONKS! It’s phenomenal!
An official Hanga team is already in the making, and I think our name does a good job of describing our toughness and our sentiments. We will be called “Hapana Pipi”, which translates to “No Candy”. You see, as a white personal, you get treated pretty special by the little village kids. They have seen many tourists come and go, and they have learned that white people 1) are white (they shout “mzungu”, white literally is like them calling out “white person!”) and 2) probably have candy. Unfortunately for them, we are volunteers and never have candy for them, so we have gotten a lot of practice replying, “Hapana pipi” to their shouts of “Mzungu pipi!”.
I know you are wondering and yes, I did search the nearest organized Ultimate Frisbee before I came here. It turns out it is in Nairobi, Kenya. It just so happens that our friend Fr. Francis (see “Once a Johnnie, Always a Johnnie”) has gone to work in Nairobi, and we were hoping to visit him over our holiday in December…It looks like a little e-mail challenge may need to be sent to some people in Nairobi…
Aside for the wonderful world of sports (I also had a pretty legitimate block in volleyball today and the Bears are doing well), my biggest news is that I am dangerously close to getting into some form of a set routine! That’s right, after one week of teaching that included my workload being changed every day, I think I have my schedule settled. I did, however, teach one day of a great class, only to find out that they changed their mind and don’t want me to teach it any more. However, I think I actually might have had a small lasting impression on the men of Seminary Form 3- in an attempt partially to help them remember and partially to test their willingness to actively participate, I told them that whenever I said, “Domain!” they had to shout whether it was X or Y (relations and functions in mathematics) and make the letter with their arms. The other day I walked into the class during their down time and asked if they knew what domain referred to, and they grinned and crossed their arms to make an X. Then the biggest kid in the class grinned again, looked like he was about to start the YMCA, and said “Range”. Beautiful.
At the risk of jinxing it, here’s what my schedule looks like right now:
Monday-Teach Form 3 Math at St. B’s Secondary to the boys for 80 minutes and the girls for 40 minutes (I think it’s something weird in the scheduling that gets cancelled out later in the week, but it’s definitely difficult to try to cover the same material in half the time).
Tuesday- Teach Form 1 Math at Seminary for 80 minutes
Wednesday- Random work!
Thursday- Teach Form 1 Math at Seminary for 80 minutes, then teach Year 4 Math at the trade school for 60 minutes
Friday- Teach Form 1 Math at Seminary for 80 minutes
It seems like a lot of down time, and I would definitely be game for teaching more classes, but it’s a nice start. Plus, I dare to say I might actually still stay pretty busy the rest of this term, because when I’m not teaching I still have lessons to plan, papers to grade, a Spirituality section of the library to organize, and resource to make for teachers and students to make the library resources more accessible, a trade school donation project to help organize and advertize, sports to play/kids to get to know, prayers to attend, and a language to learn! Hizzah!
In another exciting note, I will be working with the awesome Australian couple (Roger and Julie) on the trade school stuff, and we are almost done with my first real newsletter to be sent out!
In wonderful breaking news, Alicia Keys’ “No One” is currently blaring outside my window (from the village).
I apologize for the lack of flow and order to this blog, but the other exciting news is that I went to my first graduation. I caught a packed dolla dolla bus from Hanga to Nakagugu all by myself (it cost a whole 33 cents!) and went to the pre-seminary’s day long graduation/celebration! The food was phenomenal, and the celebration was pretty great (dancing, singing, skits, and speeches).
Great American Influence: The dolla dolla money collector was wearing a Burnsville Blaze hat, which is by far the closest to home I’ve seen thusfar!
*Note: I do not call myself Kyle. This is a quote from Boy Meets World.
I suppose I should explain this whole revolution thing. As I have mentioned, I thoroughly enjoy sports, but not particularly soccer (the overwhelming sport of choice here). I enjoy getting exercise and getting to know the students, but I figured there had to be a better way. So I said to myself, “Kyle,”… (that’s what I call myself*)… So I said, “Kyle, you have Frisbees with you, and you should start using them more.” It turns out that this was great advice. We are currently in phase one of Tanzania’s Ultimate Revolution, which means the people of Hanga are slowly getting exposed. I know that I mentioned earlier that I love to see the smiles of people trying to throw for the first time, and that definitely still holds true. In addition, I have been blown away by how quickly people are picking up on how to throw well. By people I am referring to 1) primary school students 2) secondary school students 3) fellow volunteers and 4) you guessed it, MONKS! It’s phenomenal!
An official Hanga team is already in the making, and I think our name does a good job of describing our toughness and our sentiments. We will be called “Hapana Pipi”, which translates to “No Candy”. You see, as a white personal, you get treated pretty special by the little village kids. They have seen many tourists come and go, and they have learned that white people 1) are white (they shout “mzungu”, white literally is like them calling out “white person!”) and 2) probably have candy. Unfortunately for them, we are volunteers and never have candy for them, so we have gotten a lot of practice replying, “Hapana pipi” to their shouts of “Mzungu pipi!”.
I know you are wondering and yes, I did search the nearest organized Ultimate Frisbee before I came here. It turns out it is in Nairobi, Kenya. It just so happens that our friend Fr. Francis (see “Once a Johnnie, Always a Johnnie”) has gone to work in Nairobi, and we were hoping to visit him over our holiday in December…It looks like a little e-mail challenge may need to be sent to some people in Nairobi…
Aside for the wonderful world of sports (I also had a pretty legitimate block in volleyball today and the Bears are doing well), my biggest news is that I am dangerously close to getting into some form of a set routine! That’s right, after one week of teaching that included my workload being changed every day, I think I have my schedule settled. I did, however, teach one day of a great class, only to find out that they changed their mind and don’t want me to teach it any more. However, I think I actually might have had a small lasting impression on the men of Seminary Form 3- in an attempt partially to help them remember and partially to test their willingness to actively participate, I told them that whenever I said, “Domain!” they had to shout whether it was X or Y (relations and functions in mathematics) and make the letter with their arms. The other day I walked into the class during their down time and asked if they knew what domain referred to, and they grinned and crossed their arms to make an X. Then the biggest kid in the class grinned again, looked like he was about to start the YMCA, and said “Range”. Beautiful.
At the risk of jinxing it, here’s what my schedule looks like right now:
Monday-Teach Form 3 Math at St. B’s Secondary to the boys for 80 minutes and the girls for 40 minutes (I think it’s something weird in the scheduling that gets cancelled out later in the week, but it’s definitely difficult to try to cover the same material in half the time).
Tuesday- Teach Form 1 Math at Seminary for 80 minutes
Wednesday- Random work!
Thursday- Teach Form 1 Math at Seminary for 80 minutes, then teach Year 4 Math at the trade school for 60 minutes
Friday- Teach Form 1 Math at Seminary for 80 minutes
It seems like a lot of down time, and I would definitely be game for teaching more classes, but it’s a nice start. Plus, I dare to say I might actually still stay pretty busy the rest of this term, because when I’m not teaching I still have lessons to plan, papers to grade, a Spirituality section of the library to organize, and resource to make for teachers and students to make the library resources more accessible, a trade school donation project to help organize and advertize, sports to play/kids to get to know, prayers to attend, and a language to learn! Hizzah!
In another exciting note, I will be working with the awesome Australian couple (Roger and Julie) on the trade school stuff, and we are almost done with my first real newsletter to be sent out!
In wonderful breaking news, Alicia Keys’ “No One” is currently blaring outside my window (from the village).
I apologize for the lack of flow and order to this blog, but the other exciting news is that I went to my first graduation. I caught a packed dolla dolla bus from Hanga to Nakagugu all by myself (it cost a whole 33 cents!) and went to the pre-seminary’s day long graduation/celebration! The food was phenomenal, and the celebration was pretty great (dancing, singing, skits, and speeches).
Great American Influence: The dolla dolla money collector was wearing a Burnsville Blaze hat, which is by far the closest to home I’ve seen thusfar!
*Note: I do not call myself Kyle. This is a quote from Boy Meets World.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)