Rat Chase

Between Forms 1 & 3, I pretty much taught all day – woohoo! That’s what I was assigned to do! Of course it was rather exhausting trying to explain things to Form 2 and get participation from students in all forms. I’ve realized that even when I look up words in Kiswahili before going to Form 1, I inevitably realize while teaching that it would be really helpful to know some other words I didn’t think to look up.

Excitement in the staff room today as 3 male teachers flushed and killed a rat. I couldn’t help laughing as I watched them because sometimes they would jump out of the way of the rat and yelp. I didn’t bother helping, I was being entertained lol.

Head of many things, master of none

Success! I have now taught Form 3! Though I will be teaching more periods of Form 1 (b/c it’ll be Chem + Physics), I consider my Form 3 classes slightly more important b/c they are closer to the national exams at the end of Form 4 that will determine if they continue with schooling or not. Granted, I didn’t do much more than introduce myself and have my students stand and tell me the village/hamlet they are from but at least I got in the classroom.

On the noticeboard by the head- and 2^nd-masters’ offices was the list of teacher responsibilities. I am:

Chemistry Department head

Classmistress for Form 1A

Sports & Games Coordinator

Environmental Care Coordinator

& Computer Room person

When was this decided? Maybe Friday when I was in Katesh to meet the district officials or maybe the headmaster just decided. Why do I have a disproportionate amount of duties? Again, no idea. I hope my coworkers aren’t jealous because I have a Peace Corps imposed limit on the number of periods I can teach per week (thankfully; though I’m still over the limit of 24 since I have 30). With this many responsibilities I think I’ll be busy every day after school lessons (the activity time after lunch). Luckily there are 2 coordinators for 4 things I am listed for so I am not alone, which is great because I have no idea what I am supposed to do.

Pasha, Pasha, Pasha –Choma! Choma! Choma!

Yesterday was a complete bust for teaching Form 1 but today was slightly improved. I learned from the other teachers that there is a section of the English Orientation course that the science teachers are supposed to cover. I decided to go with the first measurement lesson because I thought it’d require little actual speaking. I grabbed a half dozen “meter” sticks from the staff room so the students could practice measuring height and length. My plan (and the lesson in the book) was to have the students measure one another’s height. However, try as I might to explain, the students didn’t seem to understand what I wanted them to do. Maybe they were just shy but I did my best to force some of them to measure on another. I learned that I really need to look up a lot of words in Kiswahili if I am going to survive teaching Form 1 this year. As I left though, they did pasha and choma for me – the Tanzanian hand-clapping equivalent of 3 cheers. For some reason or other they enjoyed my debacle of a lesson…or I am entertainment just because I am a mzungu (white person).

“You teach about Time after chai”

The Form 1 students start the year with an English orientation course because the language of instruction for primary school is Kiswahili but secondary school is taught in English. I thought this was a well-planned thing, like a separate course and a few teachers teaching it. I was rather surprised when Emmy told me today to teach about Time and handed me the book that turns out to be the lessons forth English orientation course. So I spend the morning writing out what I will teach them (rewriting the lesson plan) then at chai break another teacher tells me he has already taught that lesson. Alright, guess I won’t teach about Time. However, the experience taught me a few things. 1) I do have to teach some of the orientation course, 2) there is a book with the lessons to cover, & 3) there is no schedule for who is teaching what or when (it’s a free-for-all).

In the end I did not teach today but am scheduled to teach Form 3 on Wednesday according to the timetable that was fixed today; I went through and edited some of it so at least my schedule is correct (correct number of periods and no conflicts).

JIF & Nutella to-go packets – does life get any better?

I stopped by Uma’s today after mass and we had a great chat. She also gave me a few goodies from her packages: a JIF to-go and a single-serving Nutella. Thanks Uma! Then I went back to Gitting Sec. School and typed up something Uma’s mkuu had asked (really told) me to type. Unfortunately the internet wasn’t working so I couldn’t get very far with fixing Megan’s computer.

I will not be fooled a 3rd time

I woke up around 01:30 because I felt a little wet. In my sleepy daze, I tried to figure out the cause of the wetness. I ruled out a leak (it wasn’t raining anyways) and me peeing the bed, which left only kitty lying next to me. He was all content because the pee was soaked up by my new, yes new, blanket so he couldn’t feel it. I was so tired, I merely fell back asleep to deal with it in the morning, after the sun is up. Thanks to kitty, I had to wash my sheets and blanket today so I also finally fully washed my sleeping bag from the first time he peed on my bed. He is no banished from my room at night and when I am not home. I really don’t have the time (or patience probably) to deal with him peeing on my bed again, especially with school being in session.

In addition to washing my bedding, I stuck around my house doing housework like baking, toting water, and working on my garden. As I was putting charcoal in my jiko, I flushed a couple of rodents from around the bag of charcoal. They didn’t escape right away so I called my kitty in and flushed them out again. Although the large rat got away before my cat noticed it, he did catch the smaller rat or mouse. My other experience with wildlife today wasn’t quite as good. While getting water, I was stung by one of the bees that are always around it (attracted by the water). Anyway back to the baking. I was really excited to make granola bars with the raisons my mom sent in the envelope I picked up yesterday (there was also lots of other yummy things like dried apples, beef jerky, oatmeal packets, etc.) but I accidentally followed the recipe for granola. Then I brilliantly decided it needed just a wee bit longer on the jiko and left it on too long. Good job Amanda. I ate it anyway.

“Rain, rain, go away…”

We definitely can use rain but why does it have to rain both times I go to Katesh to meet district officials? There was so much rain that the road was flooded in parts and the dala basically forded a stream crossing the road as we slowly made our way. Our first order of business was breakfast and we watched CNN because one of the Tz channels carries the show produced in Asia. We learned that there was a shooting in an Arizona courtroom and a little girl dies. Eventually we got to talking about school shootings and I learned that one of Uma’s friends from high school was a victim during the shootings at Virginia Tech. So sorry Uma.

For our official business in Katesh, Uma and I were introduced to all of the top brass of Hanang District, including the District Commissioner. After the official business, Uma and I were free to do our personal business. First stop, the post office. I had received a call from the PO lady telling me I had a package and had authorized the PC office in Dar to take money out of my living allowance to forward a box from my mom. I was really excited…and then really disappointed to receive the box I had left at the PC office when we swore-in because I didn’t want to carry the items (mostly books & rocks) and wouldn’t need them until training anyway. Somehow I wasn’t clear enough over the phone to the Tanzanian in charge of sending PC mail. I tried to be clear that I had left a box at the office and if there was another box from America to please send the 2^nd box. Ok, I can kind of understand her not being able to figure out the box wasn’t from America. Yet there was only one box for me at the office, not 2! Clearly, that box must have been the one I left. What also gets me is that I had written my name and site on the box. There was no Peace Corps address on it to indicate it was sent there and the Tanzanian who forwarded it to me only added Hanang (name of my district) and my cell phone number – not even my school’s address. Sure it got to me but it seems it should have gotten to me before and not been at the PC office of it had been mailed from America. This is why we need to teach critical thinking.

Good news is that I did get an envelope from my mom and Uma got 3 packages from family/friends. She was really surprised and excited so I felt better because she at least made out at the post office.

I’ve been looking for matembele (sweet potato leaves) to plant in my garden but the people I’ve asked don’t know what it is. However, Uma’s mkuu (headmaster) knows what it is and told me to ask the mamas at the soko (market). The mamas didn’t have any but pointed somewhere and said to try behind there. We couldn’t quite figure out “behind where” because we didn’t really see any shops or anything where we thought we were supposed to look. Before we got back on the dala, I asked the guys running the farmish looking shop in the front of where I was supposed to look “behind”. Took awhile to explain what I wanted and for them to understand but eventually one guy disappeared around the corner of the building and came back with a matembele leaf cutting for me to plant. Sometimes persistence does pay off.

We were happy it stopped raining while we were in Katesh because we didn’t have to ford any rivers on the way back (only slight hyperbole there).