28 September 2014 - Back home

Tomorrow is back to school after nearly a month of being away.  We’ll see if the girls did all the work that I left for them, and, since I believe that they did do it, how well it was done.  I’ll be happy to get back to classes with them, and I hope that they feel the same way.  The little scholars have seen that I’m back and I expect they’ll be here with all the enthusiasm in their little bodies tomorrow afternoon.

It was a long trip and a busy time.  Travelling doesn’t get any easier as I get older, but the weariness of it doesn’t all have to do with age, I believe.  Every airplane that I flew in was fully booked, and it seems as though the seats become closer together and the aisles narrower each time I travel.  Cabin crews are busy trying to serve food and drinks and their voices asking hundreds of time whether one wants the “chicken or pasta meal” seems to get louder and more irritating as the time goes on.  However, even with the mostly comfort-less airplanes, it’s still a miracle that one can travel safely for more than 16,000 miles and in a relatively short period of time. 

The Maryknoll Sisters’ meeting was a wonderful opportunity to get together with 145 others of us, to get to know each other better, and to discuss some of what impacts our lives every day in our mission.  I especially loved being with the younger ones of us and to appreciate their wonderful gifts and dedication.  God is good and the Universe is kind to us.

Nane Nane

The sights and sounds of Nane Nane:  As I mentioned last time, this day is set aside to honor farmers and peasants, and is always held at the very large fairgrounds just on the outskirts of Dodoma.  Since the day has to do with farming, there are lots and lots of exhibits showing different crops, gardens, animals, including bee keeping (honey production is a big industry here in Dodoma region), sunflower oil making, etc.  We saw demonstrations on solar power and energy efficient wood-burning stoves.  And a lot of government offices had places where they announced and taught the services that they provide.  There was used clothing galore, shoes (new and used), lots of household good being sold along the roads and in other places being auctioned.  The Wildlife and Tourism Ministry brings in a few exotic animals (lion, hyena, boa constrictor, etc) and that’s always a popular place for people who have never seen the wildlife of their own country.

I made a beeline to the place that I remembered from previous years, the place that Tanzanian craft is sold.  There wasn’t as much displayed this year as last year, but some of the craft was of new designs and very nice.  We didn’t go all around the whole fairgrounds because of the sun and dust but saw lots of interesting things.  Before we left, we had our meal, in a tent with a couple of small tables and the cooking being done in the back of the tent by a woman who had set up her kitchen there for the duration of the fair.   It was tasty (spiced rice) and some vegetables.  This is a great time of the year to do business, and everyone with anything at all to sell was there at Nane Nane grounds, hawking their wares.  We also noticed a lot of extra traffic on the main road, as well as people walking back and forth, and motorcycles galore.  A good time was had by all.

It seems like our season is finally changing.  Everyone has been remarking that our cool season is exceptionally long this year but now I think it's finally finished.  It's been nice while it lasted but now my blanket has been put away and the time has come again to begin sweating.

And tomorrow will start the final week of school for me for almost a month.  I’ve been preparing lessons for the classes to do while I’m away and I think that’s ready.  The students will have a week of mid-term break during that time as well so we’ll all have a time away from each other.  I’m looking forward to seeing friends and doing the work we need to do as Maryknoll Sisters to prepare ourselves for the future.  My motto during these months of preparation leading up to our General Assembly has been:  Trust in the slow work of God.  And so I do.

WILD WEEK

3 August 2014

I guess some weeks are like this last one – lots of extra-ordinary events – and dealing with them is tiring.  It started out on Monday with the whole afternoon (4+ hours) spent at a meeting with the discipline committee, that is the committee made up of teachers whose responsibility it is to keep ahead of the students on discipline matters.  The background to our long meeting was a surprise inspection of the dormitories that had been carried out the previous week.  School rules prohibit certain things from the dormitories, and during the inspection a LOT of contraband was found.  Mostly the first and second year students were alright, but the third and fourth year students showed us that they have the knack of sneaking things in down to a science.

 

And so on Monday we began the task of interviewing some of the biggest offenders, and then realized that we needed parents’ help, and so arranged that parents come for a meeting on Friday.  Not all the parents of the students concerned were able to come so our job isn't finished, but a number did manage to come and we spent all Friday afternoon meeting with parents and students, with parents admonishing their daughters and daughters crying and asking for forgiveness.  And not only students asked for forgiveness but mothers as well.  One mother threw herself down on her knees and begged that her daughter be spared punishment!  I guess we must have hard hearts so all offenders are being given something to remember that, like it or not, some rules are made to be followed.  Some are suspended for two weeks, some will do outside work during class time, all of the offenders are barred from going out to the Nane Nane fair, and all have to write statements admitting their wrongdoing.

 

These exercises are very tiring and time consuming and not fun to be involved in at all.  And yet it seems like rules need to be in place so that more than 350 girls living together can do so fairly peaceably and well with some order.  I wish I knew the answer as to why living outside the rules is so enticing!

Going to Nane Nane is one of the highlights of this time of year so staying home while others go hurts quite a bit.  Nane Nane is the eighth day of the eighth month and is designated as Farmer’s/Peasant’s Day here in Tanzania.   Here at the Nane Nane fairground in Dodoma there is always a good time to be had, with many demonstrations, exhibits, sales, food, music, dancing  – everything under the sun.  I always go for a couple hours just to breathe in the excitement of the crowd and, even though the bright sun and harsh wind aren't very conducive to strolling around, it’s worth it for a short time.   And it’s on my schedule for this afternoon!

TIME

TIME:  I had recently written some thoughts about time to post on this blog but thought that it wasn’t very interesting and so left it alone.  And then one afternoon this past week I spent 2 ½ hours, yes, 2½ hours, standing, yes, standing, in a line at a bank waiting to pay in some school fees for a young girl who is just beginning Form V.  I had left school where I had taught five 40 minute periods, mostly standing up, and hoped to do the bank deposit quickly and get home to teach the little scholars.  Instead I became increasingly frustrated as I waited in line as half hour followed half hour.  I think what amazed me most was the patience of everyone else in the queue.  There was a bit of murmuring about the long delay and the hardship of standing all that time, but mostly people were amazingly patient.  I couldn’t seem to achieve their level of patience, and went to the desk of the “Customer Service Officer” to ask why another teller couldn’t be provided to speed up the service.  My frustration wasn’t alleviated when told that as it was is the arrangement of the bank, and so that was that.   I really tried not to portray the image of a cranky old woman, but don’t think I succeeded.

In Tanzania Wazungu (Europeans, Americans) are well known for their propensity to be on time for everything.  It’s a real cultural practice that has been a part of my life from birth, I guess, since it seems very deeply ingrained.  When I’m told that some event will start at a certain time, I just HAVE to be there on time, even though I know in my head that the event will not begin at the time stated.  When I was at a school in a village area and invited to attend village meetings, if I was told that the meeting would start at 2.00 I would be there at 2.00, even though I knew for absolute certainty that I would be the first and only one there at that time.  At first I was annoyed by that, but later I came to realize that I was the one out of sync, and so brought a book to read or staked out someone close by to visit or something to use my time before the meeting began.  Even now when I’m told that something is to start at a certain time, someone might tell me on the side the REAL time it may start. 

The concept of time becomes a bit different in schools, when things need to be on a certain schedule so as to run smoothly.  However, the invitations for our school graduation last year said that the ceremony would start at 9.00 a.m. while we were all preparing for the actual starting time – 10.00 a.m.  Sometimes it’s also true in churches, but again many times I’ve arrived “on time” for Mass and find myself waiting for the pews to fill up and the service to begin.  Sometimes the priest warns people that he will start on time, and so at 6.30 he enters the church, with less than a quarter of the church filled.  By the time the Gospel is read, the church is packed, standing room only.

So time is an interesting concept, interpreted differently in different cultures and different situations.  Last thought about time comes from John O’Donohue:

A Beauty Blessing

As stillness in stone to silence is wed
May your heart be somewhere a God might dwell.

As a river flows in ideal sequence
May your soul discover time in presence.

As the moon absolves the dark of resistance

May thought-light console your mind with brightness.

As the breath of light awakens colour
May the dawn anoint your eyes with wonder.

As spring rain softens the earth with surprise
May your winter places be kissed by light.

As the ocean dreams to the joy of dance

May the grace of change bring you elegance.

As clay anchors a tree in light and wind
May your outer life grow from peace within.

As twilight fills night with bright horizons

May beauty await you at home beyond.

- John O'Donohue from his book Divine Beauty

Back to school

I've been amiss at writing, maybe because I was enjoying the time off and was not very concerned about fulfilling commitments !  A weekend away with friends, reflecting and sharing together, a holiday (SabaSaba) and today back at school.  And so I guess it's time to get back in the groove.

This second term of the school year always seems like a short one.  Two classes have national examinations, and before those exams, a "mock" exam is always done, so there is quite a bit of time spent in doing exams. There's also graduation (in October) to plan for and get together.  This month is Ramadhan, and so at the end of the fasting period there will be two holidays.  And  life goes on, trying to cover all the topics that need to be covered in class, trying to make learning fun and interesting for the students, working with them to internalize their moral and ethical and spiritual responsibilities - Lots of good moments all in all.

It was nice to see my colleagues this morning.  We have a good staff and a great group to work with, and there's always something interesting going on with them.  This morning there was talk about who will win the World Cup, of course.  We'll see if their predictions come true.

16 June 2014

Home sweet home.  It’s always nice to go away but how sweet it is to come back home.  There are so many impressions of the “big” city running through my head.  And Dar es Salaam is big, really big.  The population now is around 4.5 million, and there is a prediction (fear?) that it will double in a few years.  One of the main talking points around DSM is the traffic, and while there are steps being taken to ease the jams, still people use a lot of time getting around from one part of the sprawling city to another.  We actually didn’t have a very hard time of moving around in the city but leaving was another story.  It took over three hours to do the first 60 miles, mainly because of lines of slow moving trucks.  Dar es Salaam  has a very large port which handles cargo for not only all the upcountry towns in Tanzania but also for several neighboring countries which are landlocked.  And the rail system isn’t very good so most of that cargo needs to go by road, and these roads are nearly all two lanes.  A lot of the road between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma is climbing, and parts quite curvy as well so all in all it took eight hours to go 280 miles.  That was a long drive on a sunny day … But the main consideration – a safe trip – was achieved, thanks be to God and to all our guardian angels and loved ones in heaven who are looking out for us.

Some of the scenes which I observed waiting in traffic in the city:

-          A young girl, about nine years old, leading an older man, probably her father.  She is holding one end of a stick, he the other.  He’s blind.

-          Young men, late teens or early twenties, walking between the cars which are sitting in stalled traffic.  They are selling all kinds of thing:  mosquito zappers, glassware, toys, water and soda, grapes, apples – to mention only a few.  They obviously know the places in the city where there are  traffic jams, and so they go, trying to make a sale.

-          Traffic policemen and women, directing traffic at almost every intersection.  Without them keeping the traffic moving the jams would even be worse.  Standing in the hot sun in the middle of traffic moving in all directions with exhaust fumes all around can’t be a real fun job.

-          This wasn’t noted in Dar es Salaam but from Dodoma to Dar every roadside along the way is having its grass slashed.  Not by a mower on a tractor, not by a hand or gas powered mower, but

by people with slashers.  Most  people doing the work are men, but there were some women as well, and I suppose many are glad to have this work in order to earn some cash.  This is what a slasher looks like (for those who don’t know):

 

Finally, a day at the ocean.  It was beautiful – enough shade with a gentle ocean breeze and a good book.  Is there a better way to spend a day??

School is out!

All exams given.

All exams marked.

Marks recorded and submitted.

All paper work done for the term.

Three hour committee meeting done.

Three hour staff meeting done.

Non-exam year students gone home.

Time for a change of pace!  And a very nice way to start the month of June. 

Yes, we have closed the school, somewhat.  Exam students (2^nd and 4^th year students) will stay for three weeks to do remedial/extra work in preparation for their exams but others (1^st and 3^rd year students) are now happily at home, enjoying family life.  Since I don’t teach 2^nd or 4^th year students, I’ll have no classes.  We expect to move the library to its new location sometime during this month, so I’ll be part of that move but otherwise there will be lots of time for other – than – school – activities.  The time will go fast, I’m sure, but I’m not thinking about that yet.

A safari to Dar es Salaam is on the schedule for this week – meeting and a couple days extra to enjoy the Indian Ocean.  How nice is that going to be !!??