Another month has passed and all is well here; I hope the same is true for readers of this rambling blog. We continue to have some lovely rains, and everything is green and beautiful. The corn and the millet look so tall and green and healthy, and the peanuts look great, too. With all of the sandy soil around, I guess peanuts (called “groundnuts” here) do very well. Right now many fields of them are in bloom so they are pretty with their little yellow flowers. We have had a taste of some of this year’s crop already and they are fat and nice. Last year was the third bad year in a row for crops in this area, so people are about at the end of their food supply. The hope that the good rains has given this year is a great boost. Of course, I don’t know if the same is true all over the country or just in our immediate area, but this rainy season has made people very happy.
I spent what seemed like hours and hours marking papers this past week. Monday and Tuesday of this week were days for giving monthly tests, and so after giving the test there remains what? Right, marking them, of course. It seems like 90 papers are never ending, and I got really tired of some of those sentences before I could finally put them away. As expected, there were some high marks (in the 90’s) and some low marks (19 and 20). Some of those with low marks shed a few tears when I returned the papers…. School pass mark is 45 and supposedly they will be returned home if they don’t manage to get that average, hence the tears. They will be given some time yet but still it makes them anxious, of course.
Last Sunday I had a couple visitors, both young girls who have just finished their A (Advanced) Level examinations at different schools here in Dodoma. One is the daughter of a fellow who was one of the first employees at the school in Singida and she was just a little tyke when I last saw her. The other is the daughter of a teacher at that same school. She was in her first year of secondary when I left Murigha, and now she’s finished those four years plus two years of A level. She wants to be a doctor so badly; if she does well in the exams she just did, she has a chance at one of the four medical schools here in Tanzania. The government helps girls who pursue careers in science but she’ll still need extra financial help. Her parents are very supportive with whatever they have: her father has a teacher’s salary (not fantastic) and her mother farms and also does some sewing for people. The other girl also wants to go to University, and is aiming for a career in accounting. Both are lovely girls, hard working, smart, charming. May their hopes be fulfilled.
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