The One With The First Day Of School (written 9/10/2012)

Today was the first day of school.  At the beginning and end of every school day there is an assembly where all the students gather and announcements are made.  The students are to arrive at school at 7:10 and clean the grounds.  Assembly is to begin at 7:30.  Dahlia and I thought since it was our first day that we should get there early; so we arrived at 7:15.  Students gave us very quizzical looks as we walked up to the front doors to the office, which we found to be shut and locked.  At 7:32 the first teacher arrived and assembly began at 7:45.  Apparently time is relaxed even on the first day of school.  Dahlia and I each introduced ourselves at assembly (I got a huge round of applause when I said that I was going to be teaching math!)  And then uniform inspections were made.  I will spare you the details but punishments were given accordingly.  I don’t know that I am ever going to get used to that aspect of life here. 

The students spent the rest of the day cleaning and I got to spend time with my fellow teachers.  They showed us around some more and explained more of the responsibilities I will have.  I was also named the mathematics department head today (before you get too impressed, keep in mind that I am the only member of the math department here) so I will have a few extra meetings and responsibilities.  Tomorrow we begin teaching.  I am really looking forward to finally getting into the classroom with my students!

The One With The Special Church Service (written 9/9/2012)

Evidently the church services in Kafule are exceptionally short by Tanzanian standards (to the disappointment of many of the teachers whom I talked to about it).  They usually last about 2 hours or so.  But this is apparently a weekend for celebrations because there was a special church service which included a bunch of people from neighboring villages.  Dahlia and I went with Makala, a fellow teacher, and stayed for about 4 hours… apparently these special services can last for 6-7 hours! But the part that we did see was a lot of fun!  There is a children’s choir that led about half of the worship and it literally brought tears to my eyes! The kids were unbelievable joyful, so full of life and energy, dancing their hearts out in front of the church.  I was able to get a Swahili Bible before arriving in Kafule so I could follow along for the scripture readings.  The pastor asked Dahlia and I to get up and introduce ourselves which we managed to do all in Swahili.  I am really looking forward to attending church here regularly!  Tomorrow starts school so I am headed to bed early tonight and looking forward to writing about the first day tomorrow!

The One With The Harvest Celebration (written 9/9/2012)

Once a year in Kafule there is a traditional harvest celebration.  Yesterday I got to go and watch.  There were probably 400 people who came out to celebrate with drumming and dancing.   There were two groups wearing traditional clothing that went back and forth in a kind of dance off for about two hours.  They had drums and horns and whistles and the rhythm of their stomping feet.  It was totally captivating to watch and the drumming was amazing! What a blessing to get to experience the celebration during my first week here!

The One With The Pictures Of The House

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The One With My First Walk To The Market (written 9/6/2012)

Yesterday afternoon two of the teachers at Kafule, Stela and Kivega, came by to take us to the market.  It is about a 45 minute walk down a very steep hill but it is gorgeous the whole way.  Food here is seasonal so we were able to get avocados, bananas, yams and tomatoes.   We walked past one the district fields where a soccer match was going on.  Kafule has soccer, netball, and volleyball teams.  Kivega asked is I have ever played volleyball.  I told him I never have competitively but that I have played for fun.  He asked me to coach the team…

When we got back to Kafule Stela and Kivega dropped us off at our house.  Stela felt so bad to not coming in and helping is make dinner but she has a cold a needed to get home.  She made sure we were all set though, asking what we were going to make, how we were going to make it and if there was anything else that we needed.  We managed our first dinner on our own just fine.  Later that night we got this text message from Stela, “Don’t feel lonely this night, I’m praying for you and there is the blood of our Lord behind to protect you all the time, call His name at night.  Lala salama (sleep peacefully).”  I cat even tell you how blessed I feel to have this incredible teaching staff here. 

Stela was back this morning to help us with breakfast.  I then did some laundry and after lunch Dahlia and I are going to walk over to the school where we will get to see the class schedule and look over where the students are in the syllabus.   

The One Where We Were “Warmly Welcomed” (written 9/5/2012)

Monday morning my alarm went off at 4:15.  It was time to get up and get to the bus station.  The bus went from Dar Es Salaam to Mbeya and took a total of 13 hours but the 4 of us living in the Mbeya area made it through.  We were met by a man (although now I am convinced that he is an angel) named Kita.  He is a Tanzanian who grew up in a village near Kafule and he has worked with WorldTeach before.  He now lived with his wife and two sons in Mbeya.  Ashley (our field director) asked him last week if she could give out his phone number so that if we were even in Mbeya with questions we could call him.  He took it upon himself to meet us at the bus stop, take us to our hotel, show us where to get dinner, and then accompany us all the way to our villages. There is no way we would have made it without him; he truly is an angel. 

The ride from Mbeya to Kafule was also long and interrupted by the fact that we had to stop at about 10 district officials’ offices to sign their guest books and introduce ourselves.  We also had to drop off Sarah and David at their house (they will be living about 3 hours from us).  The last few hours of the drive were truly breathtaking! We drove through the mountains, paralleled the river that divides Tanzania and Malawi, and then arrived at Kafule Secondary School.  Breathtaking is the only word that comes close to describing the view from the school.  It is absolutely incredible! Mountains in every direction, the most vibrant green trees (banana and evergreen right next to each other, who knew?), red dirt, blue sky; it’s gorgeous!   I got to meet a handful of students (who were there studying, this is school vacation after all, certainly not a time to fall behind in your studies).  They were so polite; Madam Carly is what they called me.  I told few of them that I was here to teach mathematics; their response: “thank you.” So sweet and sincere!!

Then we finally made it to our house.  I was a little confused when we pulled up because there were about 8 people here already.  I introduced myself to them and they said that they are fellow teachers at the school and that they were here to drop off groceries and cook us dinner.  They had pots of warm water ready so we could shower, candles for us and a bag of bottled waters.  We arrived at the house at 6 and they stayed until about 10.  Their English was good but they spoke mostly in Swahili.  I didn’t care.  This house was so full of laughter and joy! They all seem to be about 20-30 years old, pretty evenly split between guys and girls and they seem to have so much fun together! I am so excited to get to know them better. 

After they left Dahlia and I went on a spider killing rampage throughout our house.  They are enormous here! I have a feeling I am going to be getting over my fear of spiders over the course of this year.  And then we finally made it to bed. 

Shortly after we woke up this morning Stela, one of the school teachers, came by to bring us eggs and help us light the jiko so we could cook breakfast.  After breakfast we spent most of the morning unpacking and then Kita came by to make sure we were settling in alright.  He helped us hang our mosquito nets and a clothes line and then he gave us a bunch of practical advice on living here.  I was thanking him for everything that he has done for us and he looked at me and said, “we have this proverb: birds of a feather stick together.  So of course I am here to help you with whatever you need” he is planning another trip back in 2 weeks to make sure we are doing alright.  That is the attitude that everyone here seems to have in Kafule.  Everyone we meet tells us that we are “most warmly welcomed” here in the southern highlands.  I am getting the sense that life here is going to be challenging but the people seem incredible and if nothing else, I am surrounded by the most beautiful environment.

The One With The Farewell Dinner (written 9/2/2012)

First, for those of you who are still wondering, my second day of teaching in Iringa went really well! The activity we tried was great! The students all participated and seemed to have a lot of fun with it! It was a super encouraging day and a joy to be in the classroom again.  I know I have said it before, but I can’t wait to get to Kafule and meet my own students!

We left Iringa yesterday and traveled back to Dar where we will spend the day today.  The bus ride was long but gorgeous!  We got to drive through the mountains and then through game reserve again.  What a blessing to be able to cheer up a long drive with scenery like that!

We went out to an Ethiopian restaurant last night for our farewell dinner.  The food was amazing and we got to sit out on this patio under the stars and moon (which was full by the way and absolutely beautiful!) I guess they are assuming we are all fully oriented at this point though because today we have a free day in the city to run all of our last minute errands and then tomorrow I begin the two day trek to Kafule.  I will be traveling with my roommate Dahlia and, for most of the trip, Sarah and David, who will be living about three hours away from us also in the Ileje district.  We will be taking a bus to Mbeya tomorrow (which should be about 14 hours… but again, it should be a beautiful ride).  Then, Tuesday morning we will be met at the hotel by a district official who will take us to our sites.  The long travel days are a little daunting right now considering we have to keep track of all of our luggage and get it to and from the bus stop, but knowing that I finally going to get to Kafule is super exciting!