6th October 2013

Another week has gone by in Dodoma and more signs are here of a change of seasons. Just like in the north there’s an obvious change of seasons (I’m reading of snow in ND, SD and WY!) so here we have much warmer weather with lots and lots of wind. Also during the week there were some cloudy days as we hear of rain in neighboring regions. Here in Dodoma we don’t expect any rain until December but some parts of Tanzania have what are called the “short” rains now, and these places will have a longer and heavier rainy season in March and April. There farmers plant some short growing crops at this time and so have two growing seasons and two harvests every year. That’s certainly not true for farmers here in Dodoma. Another sign of changing season is the appearance of leaves on the jacaranda and flamboyant trees. I’ve already seen some jacaranda trees in bloom and the flamboyant trees will be a sea of orange color before too long. I continue to be amazed at how, during such a dry time, these trees can produce such beauty. Last week we administered the entrance examination in order to choose students to join the secondary school next year. 360 girls sat for the exam and 80 were chosen to join. Lucky are those who are assured of a place in secondary school for next year. Now I’m working on a program for intensive English learning which these girls will do in November. That will give them a good preparation for their first year and learning all their lessons in English and hopefully make it easier for them next year. As I see these girls beginning school I always think of all the other ones who don’t have this chance.