It has been very interesting this week watching the clouds. Much of the time since we’ve been in Dodoma the sky has been very, very clear, with rarely a cloud in it. Now that is changing and the clouds are many and beautiful. Today while walking home from the bus stop, I kept watching the different formations and different shapes of the clouds. They are really beautiful, and somehow so much more visible than in New York. Maybe it’s because of the “open/big” sky, with no tall buildings and not many trees in the way, or maybe the sky here really is different. Anyway, the clouds are definitely becoming more like rain clouds, and proof of that is that we had a very small shower on Friday afternoon. It certainly couldn’t be called “rain” but still it holds promise.
I have also been amazed this week at noticing the splashes of color in an otherwise brown and drab landscape. There are certain bushes and plants that are flowering now, at the absolute height of the dry season. One bush has red flowers, somewhat like the Bottle Brush bush, and it shows up so vividly while walking along the dusty path. Another plant is much closer to the ground and has lovely yellow blossoms, and there’s a white flowered bush as well. Isn’t it amazing that this color should appear when everything else is SO dry. At school and at some places in town there are Jacaranda trees and Flame Trees, and they are just now beginning to bloom. All of these things are signs of rain to come.
People are continuing to prepare their plots for planting. Some of the paths that I take to school in the morning look like they might turn into small fields when the rain comes, so we shall see when that happens. One thing I know is that I’ll have to find another route at that time because I walk through two gullies (or is it the same gully only snaking around so that I cross it twice?) and they will no doubt be filled with water when it rains.
When people clean their fields they also disturb the wildlife hiding in the bushes, so on the path this past week I’ve seen a snake (alive), a scorpion (dead) and lots and lots of Safari ants, all very much alive. These latter creatures travel in a line, all together, and are huge ants that, should they get into your clothing, can bite really sharply. The ones I see across the path are about ½ or ¾ inch long, and very black. I’ve never seen such big ones before. And the scorpion is big and black also. They say that this type of scorpion has a sting not as painful as the small brown ones (and their sting hurts, take it from one who has experienced it) but somehow this big black type really scare me more. Anyway, just like snakes, I keep my eye out for them and have to believe that they have no ill will toward me, and just try to keep out of their way.
The kids at school are doing well. I’m noticing improvement and we’re all more comfortable with each other. They try so hard to say what they want to say in English, but still much of the time give up, take the easy path and use Swahili. Some day ……..
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
19th October – Clouds
Probably the most exciting thing that is happening here is that the sky is beginning to be filled with clouds. People are clearing little and larger plots of land while looking at the sky. I expect it will take a little while for the clouds to produce anything, and the wind needs to stop blowing so hard as well, but the signs are certainly appearing. There’s a Swahili saying: Dalili ya mvua ni mawingu (the sign of rain is clouds) and so everyone is quoting that these days. The clouds also help the walking to and from school, as at least there’s some patches of overcast now and then.
The not-so-exciting event of the past week has been trying to cope with one of those nasty head colds, with tearing eyes, running nose, sneezing, etc. The sore throat and cough of last week was, I thought, all that would afflict me but I was wrong. At least the worst days were over the weekend so I didn’t miss any school. Today I feel MUCH better, and there’s even some water in the pipes so I can wash my handkerchiefs! Many of the kids in the classroom are coughing as well, so I think it’s a combination of cold germs, dust, and smoke. Folks, while clearing their fields, often burn the brush, so the air seems to have a lot more smoke than usual these days.
The class is going along well and we continue to have a good time. When they were writing an exercise on Friday, one boy was borrowing a ruler from the girls next to him. She was finishing her underlining and he was saying to her, “Faster! Faster!” That kind of amused me. Today I was asked by the Director to make up the English portion of the entrance exam for the secondary school. The exam will be on 6th November, and it seems like many youngsters have already applied. They take an entrance exam and then only to fill the number of available places will be chosen.
One day as I was arriving at school I met a man on a bicycle who said he had come to take an application form for the secondary school because he has a daughter who wants to apply. I asked where he was from, and he named a place not far from here. He said that he would like her to go to a boarding school instead of a day school because so often when girls go home after school they are assigned work to do and miss out on time to do extra studying. What he said is very true, but not all parents recognize that so this girl is lucky.
Tune in next week to see if we’ve had any rain!
The not-so-exciting event of the past week has been trying to cope with one of those nasty head colds, with tearing eyes, running nose, sneezing, etc. The sore throat and cough of last week was, I thought, all that would afflict me but I was wrong. At least the worst days were over the weekend so I didn’t miss any school. Today I feel MUCH better, and there’s even some water in the pipes so I can wash my handkerchiefs! Many of the kids in the classroom are coughing as well, so I think it’s a combination of cold germs, dust, and smoke. Folks, while clearing their fields, often burn the brush, so the air seems to have a lot more smoke than usual these days.
The class is going along well and we continue to have a good time. When they were writing an exercise on Friday, one boy was borrowing a ruler from the girls next to him. She was finishing her underlining and he was saying to her, “Faster! Faster!” That kind of amused me. Today I was asked by the Director to make up the English portion of the entrance exam for the secondary school. The exam will be on 6th November, and it seems like many youngsters have already applied. They take an entrance exam and then only to fill the number of available places will be chosen.
One day as I was arriving at school I met a man on a bicycle who said he had come to take an application form for the secondary school because he has a daughter who wants to apply. I asked where he was from, and he named a place not far from here. He said that he would like her to go to a boarding school instead of a day school because so often when girls go home after school they are assigned work to do and miss out on time to do extra studying. What he said is very true, but not all parents recognize that so this girl is lucky.
Tune in next week to see if we’ve had any rain!
Monday, October 12, 2009
12th October 2009 - The Goings-On
As I write the date it seems to say to me that the U.S. celebrates Columbus Day today. Right? At least the New York Italians always have a big parade, I recall!
And here on Wednesday we will have a day off, observance of the 10th anniversary of the death of the Father of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere. He is still sorely missed and remains a very admired and revered person for Tanzanians. The other night I was listening to an interview on the radio and the person being interviewed was the retired Bishop of Dodoma. He was reminiscing about Nyerere and his contributions to the country, especially in light of the elections which we are beginning to prepare for in 2010. There has been some controversy and a lot of discussion after the Tanzanian bishops issued a pamphlet with some guidelines about the kind of leaders that Tanzania needs. The controversy has to do with the role of the church and whether it’s getting into politics. The response to that goes like this: The church is not saying that leaders need to be Christian or Catholic but whoever the leaders are, they need to love the people of Tanzania and work for them and not for themselves. Anyway, it’s a great topic of conversation among folks. Politics all over the world is a great subject to discuss.
Every morning when I walk to school I need to walk along the main highway (leading to Morogoro and Dar es Salaam) for about one kilometer. And it is during that time that I see how another group of people make a living. There is a steady stream of bicycles, the majority driven by men, going into the city from the outlying villages, and they are all carrying something that will be sold in the city. Many carry sacks of charcoal on the back of their bicycles, filled to the brim and overflowing and sticking out on either side a couple of feet. There is a great market for charcoal since that is the intermediate cooking fuel. By that I mean that the fuel used by women in the villages is mostly firewood, the fuel used by women living in towns and with a considerably higher income is electricity or gas, but the fuel used by that middle group is charcoal. Anyone making charcoal is supposed to have a license in an effort to decrease deforestation but there is really a vast market for it so the trees continue to be cut down to make it. Hopefully there is a lot of replanting going on as well.
Another thing I see on the back of bicycles are containers of milk. Some have only a gallon jug, but many bicycles are carrying one or two twenty litre containers on the back. These folks probably have a distribution place in town where they take the milk and someone sells it from there. Or they may be taking it to a restaurant for use in making tea, etc. And the third thing I see on the bicycles are chickens: large baskets tied to the back filled with live chickens. These may be going to the market, where one can buy a live chicken and have it butchered for a few extra shillings, or they may be going to a restaurant getting ready to be served for lunch.
One other thing I noticed the other day when I went to town was that there are more beggars on the streets these days. As the dry season gets longer I suppose that the food supplies are finishing for some people, so that may be one reason. But most of the people who are begging are either quite old or blind or lepers, so they have some problem that prevents them from getting their needs. Of course, there are government agencies that are supposed to take care of them but as in any society some folks fall through the cracks. A lot of the churches or mosques or temples also have charitable outreach for people in need, so there is help available. I usually try to avoid going to town on a Friday because there are always more beggars on Fridays. Why? Because Friday is the Muslim holy day, and since giving alms is one of the pillars of Islam, so they are usually very generous on Fridays.
And here on Wednesday we will have a day off, observance of the 10th anniversary of the death of the Father of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere. He is still sorely missed and remains a very admired and revered person for Tanzanians. The other night I was listening to an interview on the radio and the person being interviewed was the retired Bishop of Dodoma. He was reminiscing about Nyerere and his contributions to the country, especially in light of the elections which we are beginning to prepare for in 2010. There has been some controversy and a lot of discussion after the Tanzanian bishops issued a pamphlet with some guidelines about the kind of leaders that Tanzania needs. The controversy has to do with the role of the church and whether it’s getting into politics. The response to that goes like this: The church is not saying that leaders need to be Christian or Catholic but whoever the leaders are, they need to love the people of Tanzania and work for them and not for themselves. Anyway, it’s a great topic of conversation among folks. Politics all over the world is a great subject to discuss.
Every morning when I walk to school I need to walk along the main highway (leading to Morogoro and Dar es Salaam) for about one kilometer. And it is during that time that I see how another group of people make a living. There is a steady stream of bicycles, the majority driven by men, going into the city from the outlying villages, and they are all carrying something that will be sold in the city. Many carry sacks of charcoal on the back of their bicycles, filled to the brim and overflowing and sticking out on either side a couple of feet. There is a great market for charcoal since that is the intermediate cooking fuel. By that I mean that the fuel used by women in the villages is mostly firewood, the fuel used by women living in towns and with a considerably higher income is electricity or gas, but the fuel used by that middle group is charcoal. Anyone making charcoal is supposed to have a license in an effort to decrease deforestation but there is really a vast market for it so the trees continue to be cut down to make it. Hopefully there is a lot of replanting going on as well.
Another thing I see on the back of bicycles are containers of milk. Some have only a gallon jug, but many bicycles are carrying one or two twenty litre containers on the back. These folks probably have a distribution place in town where they take the milk and someone sells it from there. Or they may be taking it to a restaurant for use in making tea, etc. And the third thing I see on the bicycles are chickens: large baskets tied to the back filled with live chickens. These may be going to the market, where one can buy a live chicken and have it butchered for a few extra shillings, or they may be going to a restaurant getting ready to be served for lunch.
One other thing I noticed the other day when I went to town was that there are more beggars on the streets these days. As the dry season gets longer I suppose that the food supplies are finishing for some people, so that may be one reason. But most of the people who are begging are either quite old or blind or lepers, so they have some problem that prevents them from getting their needs. Of course, there are government agencies that are supposed to take care of them but as in any society some folks fall through the cracks. A lot of the churches or mosques or temples also have charitable outreach for people in need, so there is help available. I usually try to avoid going to town on a Friday because there are always more beggars on Fridays. Why? Because Friday is the Muslim holy day, and since giving alms is one of the pillars of Islam, so they are usually very generous on Fridays.
Monday, October 5, 2009
5th October 2009 - Another Week, Another Month
Another week has passed so quickly. It seems as though the days go by so fast and before you can blink it’s already the weekend. On Saturday afternoon I went with three other women to the celebration of the feast day of the other Small Christian Community of our outstation. They are St. Francis community, and his (of Assisi) feast day was being celebrated by them and so some of the members of our community were invited. There was Mass outdoors using the wall of one of the houses as the backdrop, and then a few speeches and finally food. Every person who was there had a big plate of rice with a little meat as well as a bottle of soda. It was a nice celebration and I appreciated the walk to and fro and the chance to get to know those other women a bit better. I should say that I appreciated getting to talk to the neighbors, but didn’t much care for the walk at 2.00 in the afternoon. I had thought I’d have the weekend without the long walks, but not so. Oh, well.
The classes this week have gone well and I’m beginning to know the students a little bit better also. I find them a bit different than the ones I was used to from five years ago. First of all, they are a bit younger than the secondary students that I taught, and I’m also used to a class of only girls, so having a mixture makes a difference also. Then some of these kids are town kids, and formerly it was mostly village girls who were our students. And I think there’s just a lot more outside influence these days, due especially to TV and video. I’m not saying that these kids are bad, or even harder to teach, but I just notice a difference.
Their concern for each other was made clear for me this week. After class one day, as I was gathering my materials and preparing to leave, one of the boys remained in the classroom. He very seriously informed me that two of his fellow students stutter – he told me their names and that was all he said, then he left. I had already recognized the problem in one of them, but the other one has been sick a few days and so I hadn’t heard enough to know that she also stuttered. I guess this boy wanted me to know that his friends had this problem when I called on them to speak. Since we’re doing quite a bit of oral work, I know this is a concern, but I’m thinking that the others in the class probably have as much concern for them as this boy, and so we can just wait as they work through trying to speak. I’ve had students who stutter before in my classes, and as long as they are given some time they can usually manage alright.
On Friday after class I met up with a former student, one of the first students who attended the school in Singida. She had been in contact for some time and was begging me to meet, so finally on Friday I said I’d go to her after class. She told me that she works at Saba Saba, the place where Connie and I went some few weeks ago to look for used sheets, etc. And so we met and she took me to where she works. When she was at school, she studied the specialization of tailoring, and so that is what she was doing. We went to a big area with canvas over it, so it was like a big tent. In front were a bunch of young men on a platform and they were holding up pieces of used clothing and auctioning them off one by one to the people standing in front of them. Behind those folks again there was a line of about 12 sewing machines with women sitting at them, and Neema is one of those. When someone buys a piece of clothing they see the potential in it, eg. one small shirt I saw was in good shape except for the sleeves, which had holes in them (looked like they had probably been eaten by mice/rats). So the fellow who bought the shirt brought it over to Neema and she cut off the sleeves below the holes, hemmed the sleeves and voila! A good school shirt for some kid which can probably be sold for twice the price that was paid for it. Pieces of clothing kept being piled up on Neema’s machine: seams to be run up, pants to be changed into a skirt, sleeves shortened, etc. There was so much noise and so many people in that area I wondered how she could possibly remember what she was to do to each bit of clothing. She said that she remembers, and that’s how she makes her living! Another one of the many creative ways folks make ends meet around here.
The classes this week have gone well and I’m beginning to know the students a little bit better also. I find them a bit different than the ones I was used to from five years ago. First of all, they are a bit younger than the secondary students that I taught, and I’m also used to a class of only girls, so having a mixture makes a difference also. Then some of these kids are town kids, and formerly it was mostly village girls who were our students. And I think there’s just a lot more outside influence these days, due especially to TV and video. I’m not saying that these kids are bad, or even harder to teach, but I just notice a difference.
Their concern for each other was made clear for me this week. After class one day, as I was gathering my materials and preparing to leave, one of the boys remained in the classroom. He very seriously informed me that two of his fellow students stutter – he told me their names and that was all he said, then he left. I had already recognized the problem in one of them, but the other one has been sick a few days and so I hadn’t heard enough to know that she also stuttered. I guess this boy wanted me to know that his friends had this problem when I called on them to speak. Since we’re doing quite a bit of oral work, I know this is a concern, but I’m thinking that the others in the class probably have as much concern for them as this boy, and so we can just wait as they work through trying to speak. I’ve had students who stutter before in my classes, and as long as they are given some time they can usually manage alright.
On Friday after class I met up with a former student, one of the first students who attended the school in Singida. She had been in contact for some time and was begging me to meet, so finally on Friday I said I’d go to her after class. She told me that she works at Saba Saba, the place where Connie and I went some few weeks ago to look for used sheets, etc. And so we met and she took me to where she works. When she was at school, she studied the specialization of tailoring, and so that is what she was doing. We went to a big area with canvas over it, so it was like a big tent. In front were a bunch of young men on a platform and they were holding up pieces of used clothing and auctioning them off one by one to the people standing in front of them. Behind those folks again there was a line of about 12 sewing machines with women sitting at them, and Neema is one of those. When someone buys a piece of clothing they see the potential in it, eg. one small shirt I saw was in good shape except for the sleeves, which had holes in them (looked like they had probably been eaten by mice/rats). So the fellow who bought the shirt brought it over to Neema and she cut off the sleeves below the holes, hemmed the sleeves and voila! A good school shirt for some kid which can probably be sold for twice the price that was paid for it. Pieces of clothing kept being piled up on Neema’s machine: seams to be run up, pants to be changed into a skirt, sleeves shortened, etc. There was so much noise and so many people in that area I wondered how she could possibly remember what she was to do to each bit of clothing. She said that she remembers, and that’s how she makes her living! Another one of the many creative ways folks make ends meet around here.
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