13-8-2010
I am glad to announce that my bat problem resolved itself several months ago, but they, unfortunately, were replaced by rats. At first I thought it was just one, and I would see it only occasionally. But then, the week before I was leaving for the world cup, I watched like 6 of them march across my rafters. Since my house was a duplex, they were in my neighbors house too and they put down rat poison while I was gone. The moment I opened the door upon my arrival, it was apparent that the poison had been effective, since I was greeted with the overwhelming odor of dead rats, which was made even worse by the fact that I squished a dead one with the door when I entered. I searched the house, and was only able to find one other, and after they were disposed off, the smell seemed to be mostly gone, so I assumed I had found them all. I had to leave the next day though, for another week or two. When I returned from that short trip though, I found a third one in my basin of clean dishes that I had washed before leaving for South Africa. I discovered it when I took out my french press and noticed that it had the distinct odor of dead rat, and when I emptied the basin, I found the rat.
Enough about rats though. A week ago we hiked my mountain again, successfully reaching the peak this time. It was a smaller group who went, two other volunteers and a couple students and teachers. We climbed it from the side of the mountain that I live on, which takes less time, but is way steeper than climbing from the Katesh side. We reached the peak around 1, and my name will be forever emblazoned in pink paint on a rock at the top. The descent though, was way trickier. We somehow got on the wrong trail, and as a result, instead of zigzagging our way down the mountain, pretty much just slid strait down the side. We literally had to climb down vines or slide down long stretches of super loose dirt. We eventually made it though, thankfully just before it got dark. It was still a good day though, but my feet and legs were sore for a week.
And now, America. For those of you who haven't heard, I am now back in America. I decided to end my service early, and arrived home at like 10 last night. I loved the time I spent in Tanzania and will remember it forever, and I also made several friends that I know I'll be close with for life. So thank you all for reading and for putting up with long gaps between posts. I hope to see everyone soon. Kwa Herini!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
World Cup Update
23-6-2010
Just wanted to give a quick update on the World Cup. It's fantastic here in SA, pretty much just like being back in america. I've been eating heaps of cheese and cereal and apples, things you may take for granted but some of the things I miss most from America. The games have been great too. We came here with tickets just to two US games but we managed to get tickets to 3 other games since weve been here, and theres one more on friday were still trying to get tickets for. Im about to head out the door to the US Algeria game, so sorry for the brief post but I thought Id give you a quick update. Cheers for now.
Go USA!!
Just wanted to give a quick update on the World Cup. It's fantastic here in SA, pretty much just like being back in america. I've been eating heaps of cheese and cereal and apples, things you may take for granted but some of the things I miss most from America. The games have been great too. We came here with tickets just to two US games but we managed to get tickets to 3 other games since weve been here, and theres one more on friday were still trying to get tickets for. Im about to head out the door to the US Algeria game, so sorry for the brief post but I thought Id give you a quick update. Cheers for now.
Go USA!!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Again, sorry for the absence, PSDN, wine results, and World Cup!!
12-6-2010
Hello all, sorry for the long absence again, time really does fly here and the last month has seemed especially hectic. So lets see...
Right now, I just finished this Peer Support and Diversity Network training
in Dar. Its bascially a group that volunteers can call or go to when they're struggling for any number of reasons and just want to talk. I was a little unsure about it before this training, but I feel pretty comfortable with it now. Im also the secretary which should keep me busy in addition to my teaching load.
Also, just before I went to that training, my wine was ready, and I filtered and bottled it (in plastic water bottles). It was pretty tasty and Im not being biased when I say it was one of the better volunteer-made wines I've tasted. Ive got a ton though and I drank a little but have been trying to give a bunch away.
Also, Im about to leave for South Africa and am super stoked. Watching the games last night just made me even more excited and I cant wait for the US England game tonight (just gotta find a spot to watch it). I thankfully though got a US jersey in the mail so I can support them with pride.
Thats all for now, Ill try to update during and after the world cup.
GO US!!!
Hello all, sorry for the long absence again, time really does fly here and the last month has seemed especially hectic. So lets see...
Right now, I just finished this Peer Support and Diversity Network training
in Dar. Its bascially a group that volunteers can call or go to when they're struggling for any number of reasons and just want to talk. I was a little unsure about it before this training, but I feel pretty comfortable with it now. Im also the secretary which should keep me busy in addition to my teaching load.
Also, just before I went to that training, my wine was ready, and I filtered and bottled it (in plastic water bottles). It was pretty tasty and Im not being biased when I say it was one of the better volunteer-made wines I've tasted. Ive got a ton though and I drank a little but have been trying to give a bunch away.
Also, Im about to leave for South Africa and am super stoked. Watching the games last night just made me even more excited and I cant wait for the US England game tonight (just gotta find a spot to watch it). I thankfully though got a US jersey in the mail so I can support them with pride.
Thats all for now, Ill try to update during and after the world cup.
GO US!!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sorry for my absense, HIV club, and homemade wind
7-5-2010
Hello again. Sorry its been so long since my last post, but ill try to
bring you up to date. I think the last time i posted was from
training, which went quite well. The days were pretty long but covered
some useful stuff, gave me some ideas and motivation for teaching and
secondary projects. And at night we ate quite well. I had pizza twice,
chinese, cheese, and ice cream just abou every night. I did
unfortunately spend all my money, but it was well worth it.
One of the secondary projects we got ideas and materials for was HIV
education, and my counterpart seems really enthused about it. We
introduced the new HIV club with a demonstration about how HIV is
transmitted and the ABCs of prevention. My counterpart wanted me to do
most of the prep but once we began he took over and was great. The
students seemed to get a big kick out of it too, so hopefully we get a
decent turnout for the clubs first meeting monday.
One of the other things we learned about at training was making
homemade wine. So i just bought 5 kilos of sugar, some yeast, and when
i get home im gonna cook a kilo of rice, and in 3ish weeks should
hopefully have some tasty rice wine. Lunch is served so for now,
adieu.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Earthquakes, midterms, and IST
14-4-2010
I can say I succesfully survived my first earthquake without incident. Last wednesday or thrusday at like 3 in the morning i woke to the sound of my wine bottle candle holders falling over, and my initial reaction was "crap, someones in my house." I was still half asleep so it took me a moment to realize that actually the whole house was shaking. I got up when it stopped, and my neighbors were shouting at me to see if I was scared or OK. I assured them I was both, and then after surveying the mess, I promptly fell back asleep.In the morning I confronted the mess, which was lots of peices of bricks from the dividing wall of my duplex all over my floor and desk. Thankfully my candle holders were intact. Later my neighbors told me it lasted for over a minute so I must of slept through most of it because all that I just related occupied the span of maybe 5 or 10 seconds. Hopefully that will be the last, though it did provide a new topic for conversing with my neighbors for the next couple days.
After the earthquake, I finished grading the midterms that my kids had taken the week before and I was pretty bummed with the results. I gave form 1 physics an almost identical exam to the first one, since weve not made much progress, and a few people did really well, but the vast majority, even some of my better students, did pretty bad. Then form 1 math, the results were about as expected but none of the students who usually did well got higher than a 50, which Im kind of confused about. Some different students did well though which was a pleasant suprise. And then in form 3 physics. I think only 3 or 4 kids (out of 13) passed (which is only a 35 at my school). I was kinda bummed with these results too because I thought they had been doing better in class lately. So now im a bit worried how much all my students will remember when I get back from training because it will have been about a month since our last class.
But right now I'm at IST (in service training) and am having a good time so far. The first two days was just volunteers, and it was great just hearing their stories and being able to relate to their frustrations and getting some good ideas of how to tackle some of my problems. Our counterparts (teachers from our schools that we choose because we thought they would be good to work with on our secondary projects) arrived today, so the dynamic changed a bit and all of our sessions were done in a funny mix of english and kiswahili, but its cool to meet the other counterparts especially the counterparts of the people I hang out with the most. I had heard tons about their counterparts and its nice to finally meet them. We've been eating heaps as well and good food too, and I expect that trend to continue till the end of training. So far Ive had ice cream 3 nights in a row.
Thats all for now, I'll try to post again before I leave here next week, so until then, good day.
I can say I succesfully survived my first earthquake without incident. Last wednesday or thrusday at like 3 in the morning i woke to the sound of my wine bottle candle holders falling over, and my initial reaction was "crap, someones in my house." I was still half asleep so it took me a moment to realize that actually the whole house was shaking. I got up when it stopped, and my neighbors were shouting at me to see if I was scared or OK. I assured them I was both, and then after surveying the mess, I promptly fell back asleep.In the morning I confronted the mess, which was lots of peices of bricks from the dividing wall of my duplex all over my floor and desk. Thankfully my candle holders were intact. Later my neighbors told me it lasted for over a minute so I must of slept through most of it because all that I just related occupied the span of maybe 5 or 10 seconds. Hopefully that will be the last, though it did provide a new topic for conversing with my neighbors for the next couple days.
After the earthquake, I finished grading the midterms that my kids had taken the week before and I was pretty bummed with the results. I gave form 1 physics an almost identical exam to the first one, since weve not made much progress, and a few people did really well, but the vast majority, even some of my better students, did pretty bad. Then form 1 math, the results were about as expected but none of the students who usually did well got higher than a 50, which Im kind of confused about. Some different students did well though which was a pleasant suprise. And then in form 3 physics. I think only 3 or 4 kids (out of 13) passed (which is only a 35 at my school). I was kinda bummed with these results too because I thought they had been doing better in class lately. So now im a bit worried how much all my students will remember when I get back from training because it will have been about a month since our last class.
But right now I'm at IST (in service training) and am having a good time so far. The first two days was just volunteers, and it was great just hearing their stories and being able to relate to their frustrations and getting some good ideas of how to tackle some of my problems. Our counterparts (teachers from our schools that we choose because we thought they would be good to work with on our secondary projects) arrived today, so the dynamic changed a bit and all of our sessions were done in a funny mix of english and kiswahili, but its cool to meet the other counterparts especially the counterparts of the people I hang out with the most. I had heard tons about their counterparts and its nice to finally meet them. We've been eating heaps as well and good food too, and I expect that trend to continue till the end of training. So far Ive had ice cream 3 nights in a row.
Thats all for now, I'll try to post again before I leave here next week, so until then, good day.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
New furniture, testing, and pumzika sana
30-3-2010
Hello again. I just got some more new furniture so now my house is
even cosier (though the bats are still there). I got a little book
shelf and a taller kitchen table so i dont have to hunch while
chopping. With a little luck and some thought out arranging of things
i may finally be able to completely unpack. And the furniture was only
2 days late, which is kind of like being done early or at least on
time. He said he was all done and to come get it so me and some
students went to get it but the table was still just boards being cut,
but he still managed to deliver it on the back of his bike an hour
later. They laquered it in my house but at least i got it. Ill post
some photos of the new arangement soon.
I just want to say that as im typing this the teacher sitting next to
me is eating sugar with a spoon.
But anyway, we started midterm exams last week. Ive already graded the
physics exams, and form 1 improved a bit but form 3 regressed a bit.
They havent been cheating as much though, i think because ive been
writing the names of the cheaters down and theyre being punished (ie,
beaten). But i just found a new way they cheat this morning. They
usually write 2 copies of their exams, one rough and one to submit.
Then the students tear the name off the rough copy and give it to
another student who then says its their rough copy. Not a bad idea
except that the handwriting is drastically different.
Since exams started we arent teaching until after easter break. But
the day the school reopens, i start a 2 week training, so ill have
gone a month or more without teaching by the time i start again. So i
plan on heaps of relaxing (-pumzika - to relax). That training will be
super hectic i think, but at least its a break from the frustrations
of teaching. And hopefully ill return refreshed and full of new ideas
to use in the classroom.
For now, adieu.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Photos and Classroom Discipline
20-3-2010
I uploaded some photos to a web album, but I mad it unlisted, so email me if you want the link because I have to share it with you.
And in the classroom. My classes, mainly form 1, are quite unruly, I think largely because I dont beat them like they expect. I know they expect it because when someone is misbehaving and I ask them to stop, they say to just hit them. And usually, its not just one, or even a few who are misbehaving, but like half the class. They just shout and are really obnoxiuos. All the streams of form 1 do this, but 1b is the worst.
In all of them, I threaten to leave if they dont settle down, but then like ten minutes later they are at it again. On tuesday 1b was particularly bad, and I probably should have left then, but instead I said that the first time i told them to quiet down tomorow I was leaving. So on wednesday, I got them to settle down when I got there, but literally as soon as I turned around to write something on the blackboard, they started shouting again. So I told them I had warned them enough and was leaving.
Then I think they tried to tell on me but that plan backfired. The Academic Mistress made them all kneel with their hands above their heads and then went around smacking them in the back. THen another teacher went around smacking their hands with a stick (the normal punishment) and then they were all made to apologize to me. It was quite the punishment, and I had mixed feelings because I think my punishment may have helped, but nevertheless, the next day, all my form 1 classes were impecabbly behaved, 1b in particular.
Thats all for now. Adios
I uploaded some photos to a web album, but I mad it unlisted, so email me if you want the link because I have to share it with you.
And in the classroom. My classes, mainly form 1, are quite unruly, I think largely because I dont beat them like they expect. I know they expect it because when someone is misbehaving and I ask them to stop, they say to just hit them. And usually, its not just one, or even a few who are misbehaving, but like half the class. They just shout and are really obnoxiuos. All the streams of form 1 do this, but 1b is the worst.
In all of them, I threaten to leave if they dont settle down, but then like ten minutes later they are at it again. On tuesday 1b was particularly bad, and I probably should have left then, but instead I said that the first time i told them to quiet down tomorow I was leaving. So on wednesday, I got them to settle down when I got there, but literally as soon as I turned around to write something on the blackboard, they started shouting again. So I told them I had warned them enough and was leaving.
Then I think they tried to tell on me but that plan backfired. The Academic Mistress made them all kneel with their hands above their heads and then went around smacking them in the back. THen another teacher went around smacking their hands with a stick (the normal punishment) and then they were all made to apologize to me. It was quite the punishment, and I had mixed feelings because I think my punishment may have helped, but nevertheless, the next day, all my form 1 classes were impecabbly behaved, 1b in particular.
Thats all for now. Adios
Friday, March 19, 2010
Mahjong, soccer, cooking for one
4/3/2010
Hello all. Its been a little while since I've written but things are still going well. We had monthly exams last week which was basically just two marathon days of exams for all the students. My form 1 math and form 3 physics classes did fairly well, though my form 1 physics did quite bad. The couple physics lessons I have taught form 1 have been far and away my worst lessons. The combination of them not knowing english and me not knowing swahili makes it quite tough. After their exam, I decided to not teach them physics for a couple more weeks, hopefully they will get more used to my teaching and my swahili will improve enough to have more productive lessons at that time.
We had another soccer game vs the students on tuesday, and again, we lost, 3-0 I think. But since the last game, the other people started an actual team, and have been practicing heaps and had subs, so I was kind of the odd man out. I didn't get in til the last 20 or so minutes, but when I did, I played substantially better than I did the first time out. I think it was a combination of playing on a better field and playing for only minutes. It was good fun, but they try to practice I think almost every night. They were playing a different school tonight, but I was so behind on laundry and I didn't want to get hurt before hiking my mountain this weekend, so I stayed home.
While I was doing laundry though, I also baked my first solo loaf of bread, and I must say it turned out quite well. So dinner tonight was bread, peanut butter, and cucumber. This wasn't an ordinary cucumber though. It was round, the size of a small apple, but when you sliced it, sure enough it was a cucumber. Cooking for one is rough though. It seems I go from eating bread only one night to a massive mound of food the next, but I guess it balances out? Like last night, I made this awesome eggplant. It was a bit spicy and the sauce was awesome. But it was probably easily enough for at least 2, if not 3 people. I was originally planning to eat half and then reheat the rest today, but it was just so good, I kept adding “just a spoonful more” until it was all gone.
Hello all. Its been a little while since I've written but things are still going well. We had monthly exams last week which was basically just two marathon days of exams for all the students. My form 1 math and form 3 physics classes did fairly well, though my form 1 physics did quite bad. The couple physics lessons I have taught form 1 have been far and away my worst lessons. The combination of them not knowing english and me not knowing swahili makes it quite tough. After their exam, I decided to not teach them physics for a couple more weeks, hopefully they will get more used to my teaching and my swahili will improve enough to have more productive lessons at that time.
We had another soccer game vs the students on tuesday, and again, we lost, 3-0 I think. But since the last game, the other people started an actual team, and have been practicing heaps and had subs, so I was kind of the odd man out. I didn't get in til the last 20 or so minutes, but when I did, I played substantially better than I did the first time out. I think it was a combination of playing on a better field and playing for only minutes. It was good fun, but they try to practice I think almost every night. They were playing a different school tonight, but I was so behind on laundry and I didn't want to get hurt before hiking my mountain this weekend, so I stayed home.
While I was doing laundry though, I also baked my first solo loaf of bread, and I must say it turned out quite well. So dinner tonight was bread, peanut butter, and cucumber. This wasn't an ordinary cucumber though. It was round, the size of a small apple, but when you sliced it, sure enough it was a cucumber. Cooking for one is rough though. It seems I go from eating bread only one night to a massive mound of food the next, but I guess it balances out? Like last night, I made this awesome eggplant. It was a bit spicy and the sauce was awesome. But it was probably easily enough for at least 2, if not 3 people. I was originally planning to eat half and then reheat the rest today, but it was just so good, I kept adding “just a spoonful more” until it was all gone.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thiefs, tire shoes, and banana bread
14-3-2010
Good morning. Sorry its been a bit since my last post, i had one typed
and was going to upload it when i went to town last week but there was
no power. Ill upload that post next time i go.
Good morning. Sorry its been a bit since my last post, i had one typed
and was going to upload it when i went to town last week but there was
no power. Ill upload that post next time i go.
I went to mnada, our big market that comes twice a month, on friday.
It was extra crowded because its bean season so everyone has money.
When i got there some guy was being a jerk, but thats kinda normal.
But when he walked away another guy was like "wheres ur phone?" and it
wasnt in my pocket anymore so me m that guy started running after
whomever took it. Then the guy who was being a jerk n i think was the
thief just walked up n gave me my phone back. It was really weird. The
only explanation i could think of was that since he didnt get away
cleanly, he didnt want to be murdered by a mob of angry tanzanians,
which is the common fate of unlucky thieves here.
Other than that, the rest of the day was great. I hung out with tara n
amy, two other nearby volunteers who finish soon, n theyre both full
of energy n heaps of fun. I also bought a kithenge to make into a new
shirt next time i go to town. And i got my first pair of tire shoes.
Theyre sandals literally made from strips of old tires and are what
everyone wears here. Im walking around now as i type trying to break
them in a bit.
I also baked a loaf of banana bread the other day that turned out
perfectly. Im getting the hang of this "cooking" stuff, although it
sometimes still takes a bit to get my fire going.
Thats all for now, im gonna go see if the pipe where i get water has
started working yet n if so the rest of the morning will be spent
carrying water n doing laundry. And stay tuned for pictures. Last time
i had internet in town i set up a picassa gallery n uploaded some
pictures but ran out of time before i could make it public. I think
ill be back there in two weeks n ill try n do it then. For now,
cheers.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Showering in the rain
I had a full week of teaching this past week that was probably my best
week of teaching yet though thats not saying a ton. It was also the
first week that i taught my full load of courses now that form one is
under way. I think it should be a manageable load once i get a lesson
planning routine down. Like today, i wanted to do all my lessons for
the week, but i was invited to lunch at someones house. I had done
about 2 lessons n then i left for lunch around 1, thinking id be back
by 4 n could finish then. Well i didnt get back til after 6 so im
trying to do at least one more so ill be covered for tomorow n
tuesday. It was an awesome lunch though. It started raining right when
i got home, n when it rains here it really rains. Since my shower area
is outside, its a pain to go there when its raining so i just lathered
up in my courtyard, in the rain. It was pretty cold so i dont know
that ill do it agaim though. I came in though n put on these awesomely
warm socks my grandma mailed me, made some tea, n now im about to
finish my lessons n go to sleep. And also im all booked for the world
cup, flight with kenya air n camping at some hostel, so now i just
need the OK from peace corps, n ill send them my request next time i
go to town.
week of teaching yet though thats not saying a ton. It was also the
first week that i taught my full load of courses now that form one is
under way. I think it should be a manageable load once i get a lesson
planning routine down. Like today, i wanted to do all my lessons for
the week, but i was invited to lunch at someones house. I had done
about 2 lessons n then i left for lunch around 1, thinking id be back
by 4 n could finish then. Well i didnt get back til after 6 so im
trying to do at least one more so ill be covered for tomorow n
tuesday. It was an awesome lunch though. It started raining right when
i got home, n when it rains here it really rains. Since my shower area
is outside, its a pain to go there when its raining so i just lathered
up in my courtyard, in the rain. It was pretty cold so i dont know
that ill do it agaim though. I came in though n put on these awesomely
warm socks my grandma mailed me, made some tea, n now im about to
finish my lessons n go to sleep. And also im all booked for the world
cup, flight with kenya air n camping at some hostel, so now i just
need the OK from peace corps, n ill send them my request next time i
go to town.
Monday, February 15, 2010
mobile updating test
I think im now able to update with my phone so i should be able to make more frequent though probably shorter posts because typing with a phone takes ages.
Friday, February 12, 2010
World Cup tickets
I got back from Moshi and our swine flu shots last sunday night. Moshi is an awesome town. It caters to tourists mainly so they have lots of killer food. I was there all day saturday and had two breakfasts, heaps of coffee, some killer indian at lunch, decent italian and wine for dinner and then went to a cool outdoor bar and sat around a bonfire for a bit. Unfortunately now I have no money, so until i get to a bank again, ill be living kinda meagerly.
Coming back from Moshi was a super long day. We had to catch an early coaster from Moshi to Arusha in order to get a bus that went all the way to Katesh. Unfortunatley we arrived a bit too late so could only get as ar as Babati, where we then got a daladala. Megan reallyy didnt want to take a dala, but this one seemed different: it had captains chair style seating and the roo poope up like a Westfalia, so we thought it wouldnt get too crowded. Of course, this being Tanzania, we couldn't hae been more wrong. The dala wasn't too crowded until about Dereda. it was also about here where it started to rain so the roo had to be closed so the people standing were now hovering around my face and pinning megan in a cornerr against a window with a little girl and an old man. I literally could only move my hands for most of the next two hours. And Dereda should only have been about an hour away but because o the rain we had to go slower. When we got to endasak some folks got out so it wasn't as crowded but then after driving for about 50meters, we brroke down. I don't know anything at all about cars, but to me it looked like a brroken axle. the sun was going down too, and theres nowhere to stay in Endasak, and endasak is a bit of a gnarly little place, so we were a bit woried and anxious to get another ride to Katesh. We tied to get this guy with a tuck to take us but as we were arguing to no avail with the owner a big rig drove by and offered to take us. The guy we were arguing with tied to dissuade them, but fortunately they took us. When we got to Katesh we wee greatl releived, ate 1 kilo and a half of pok between the two of us, had a couple beers to celebrate an ages long day of travel and then fell sound asleep.
That day, I also found out i got wold cup tickets, to the US Slovenia game and the US Algerria game. I'm super stoked, and as soon as I'm done typing here I'm going start shopping for airfare and lodging.
Thats all for now, cheers!
Coming back from Moshi was a super long day. We had to catch an early coaster from Moshi to Arusha in order to get a bus that went all the way to Katesh. Unfortunatley we arrived a bit too late so could only get as ar as Babati, where we then got a daladala. Megan reallyy didnt want to take a dala, but this one seemed different: it had captains chair style seating and the roo poope up like a Westfalia, so we thought it wouldnt get too crowded. Of course, this being Tanzania, we couldn't hae been more wrong. The dala wasn't too crowded until about Dereda. it was also about here where it started to rain so the roo had to be closed so the people standing were now hovering around my face and pinning megan in a cornerr against a window with a little girl and an old man. I literally could only move my hands for most of the next two hours. And Dereda should only have been about an hour away but because o the rain we had to go slower. When we got to endasak some folks got out so it wasn't as crowded but then after driving for about 50meters, we brroke down. I don't know anything at all about cars, but to me it looked like a brroken axle. the sun was going down too, and theres nowhere to stay in Endasak, and endasak is a bit of a gnarly little place, so we were a bit woried and anxious to get another ride to Katesh. We tied to get this guy with a tuck to take us but as we were arguing to no avail with the owner a big rig drove by and offered to take us. The guy we were arguing with tied to dissuade them, but fortunately they took us. When we got to Katesh we wee greatl releived, ate 1 kilo and a half of pok between the two of us, had a couple beers to celebrate an ages long day of travel and then fell sound asleep.
That day, I also found out i got wold cup tickets, to the US Slovenia game and the US Algerria game. I'm super stoked, and as soon as I'm done typing here I'm going start shopping for airfare and lodging.
Thats all for now, cheers!
Soccer
4-2-2010
Today was our teachers versus students soccer game and it was quite the event. None of the women teachers wanted to play so in order to field an entire side, teachers from the neighboring secondary school and one or two primary schools came to play on the teachers side. We were a rag tag looking bunch, some people with no shows, some in their teaching clothes, some in boots. The students on the other hand, at least looked like a team in their brand new uniforms. A few had cleats even. Around the field was the rest of the students and they were quite into the game cheering and singing the entire time, but they were especially into it when the student team was on the attack. The field was super rough though. Most of it was covered in thick knee high weeds, US Open third cut-esq. In some of the deeper
spots the ball would be completely covered. It was super hard to run in and you had to really drill the ball in order to get it to go where you wanted. It was also full of those little thorny balls that get all over you and are impossible to get off. The only places where the grass wasn't like this was in the trenches that served as the lines, which really came out of nowhere and more than a couple times I thought I was going to break an ankle. To make it a bit more challenging, there was also a few little termite mounds at random spots, hidden by the grass, acting as yet another hazard.
The game:
Prior to today, I think it had been at least a year and half since I had played any soccer what so ever and that was just one game after a previous year or two drought. So needless to say, I'm not in any kind of soccer shape. I didn't do much in the game, especially the first half. The second half was a bit better as my legs started to come back to me and I managed to make some good tackles. What I didn't seem to have a problem with was falling down: on several occasions I tripped and fell just trying to run. Every time I fell the ref called a foul, which helped us out on defense. I also managed to get kicked in the face and the crouch, both by the same kid. The crouch shot was I think the second most direct and painful one in my life (5 hours later and I'm still hurting). In the end we ending up losing only 4-1, which I thought was respectable. Tomorrow I think I'll be quite sore, and a full day of busses I don't think will do anything to alleviate that.
School was good this week. We finally divided Form 1 into streams, so instead of teaching 1 class of close to 100 students, I now teach three of about thirty students. While this makes the school day much more busy, with virtually no down time, the classes I think are going better.
Thats all for now, I have a 5 am bus to catch so I'm gonna get to sleep.
Today was our teachers versus students soccer game and it was quite the event. None of the women teachers wanted to play so in order to field an entire side, teachers from the neighboring secondary school and one or two primary schools came to play on the teachers side. We were a rag tag looking bunch, some people with no shows, some in their teaching clothes, some in boots. The students on the other hand, at least looked like a team in their brand new uniforms. A few had cleats even. Around the field was the rest of the students and they were quite into the game cheering and singing the entire time, but they were especially into it when the student team was on the attack. The field was super rough though. Most of it was covered in thick knee high weeds, US Open third cut-esq. In some of the deeper
spots the ball would be completely covered. It was super hard to run in and you had to really drill the ball in order to get it to go where you wanted. It was also full of those little thorny balls that get all over you and are impossible to get off. The only places where the grass wasn't like this was in the trenches that served as the lines, which really came out of nowhere and more than a couple times I thought I was going to break an ankle. To make it a bit more challenging, there was also a few little termite mounds at random spots, hidden by the grass, acting as yet another hazard.
The game:
Prior to today, I think it had been at least a year and half since I had played any soccer what so ever and that was just one game after a previous year or two drought. So needless to say, I'm not in any kind of soccer shape. I didn't do much in the game, especially the first half. The second half was a bit better as my legs started to come back to me and I managed to make some good tackles. What I didn't seem to have a problem with was falling down: on several occasions I tripped and fell just trying to run. Every time I fell the ref called a foul, which helped us out on defense. I also managed to get kicked in the face and the crouch, both by the same kid. The crouch shot was I think the second most direct and painful one in my life (5 hours later and I'm still hurting). In the end we ending up losing only 4-1, which I thought was respectable. Tomorrow I think I'll be quite sore, and a full day of busses I don't think will do anything to alleviate that.
School was good this week. We finally divided Form 1 into streams, so instead of teaching 1 class of close to 100 students, I now teach three of about thirty students. While this makes the school day much more busy, with virtually no down time, the classes I think are going better.
Thats all for now, I have a 5 am bus to catch so I'm gonna get to sleep.
Teaching is Tough
31/1/2010
School is well under way now, though I think probably about a third of the students have yet to show up. But almost all of the teachers are here and teaching is under way. I only have my form 3 physics class twice a week and then I've been teaching the form 1 orientation once or twice a day. I'm not the only one teaching that anymore, a schedule has been drawn up and I only get 1 or 2 periods a day. And I think only about half of the form ones have shown up so they haven't divided them into streams yet. While this means I only have to teach each lesson once, instead of three times, one to each stream, the class is quite large now, around 70 or 80 kids, which makes teaching quite tough. I think once the orientation is over and I'm teaching math and physics to smaller classes it will get a bit easier, but it will still be hard.
I finally started my garden last week too. I didn't do much of the work, instead 7 form one kids came over and did most of the work. At the end of the day students have to do chores around the school, and these kids were excited to get to help me garden instead. They cleared all my weeds and then tilled my garden. Then I tried to explain the perma-garden method we learned and together we sort-of have one bed of a permagarden. With the rest of my space they just planted seeds how they do in their fields at home. This group of kids are now like my enforcers in class, yelling at everyone to quiet down.
This coming thursday, we are having a staff vs students soccer game, which should be interesting. Aside from 2 or 3 teachers, most of the staff doesn't seem the soccer type. And I'm quite out of shape myself, but it should be fun. The next day though, I have to get up at 4 to try and make my way to moshi for a H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine the next day, provided by peace corps. The 3 buses I need to take could be even more uncomfortable than usual if I'm as sore from soccer as I think I'll be. But I'm excited to see moshi at least. Its a big touristy place so you can get all sort of western style food, so I plan to splurge and eat well while there and by a few goodies for my site too.
That's all for now, might do a bit of cleaning before bathing. Then its off to the neighbors to watch the African Cup of Nations final: Egypt Nigeria. Should be a good one. Watching this tournament has been making me excited for the World Cup, and I should find out this week if I got tickets so stay tuned.
Ciao!
School is well under way now, though I think probably about a third of the students have yet to show up. But almost all of the teachers are here and teaching is under way. I only have my form 3 physics class twice a week and then I've been teaching the form 1 orientation once or twice a day. I'm not the only one teaching that anymore, a schedule has been drawn up and I only get 1 or 2 periods a day. And I think only about half of the form ones have shown up so they haven't divided them into streams yet. While this means I only have to teach each lesson once, instead of three times, one to each stream, the class is quite large now, around 70 or 80 kids, which makes teaching quite tough. I think once the orientation is over and I'm teaching math and physics to smaller classes it will get a bit easier, but it will still be hard.
I finally started my garden last week too. I didn't do much of the work, instead 7 form one kids came over and did most of the work. At the end of the day students have to do chores around the school, and these kids were excited to get to help me garden instead. They cleared all my weeds and then tilled my garden. Then I tried to explain the perma-garden method we learned and together we sort-of have one bed of a permagarden. With the rest of my space they just planted seeds how they do in their fields at home. This group of kids are now like my enforcers in class, yelling at everyone to quiet down.
This coming thursday, we are having a staff vs students soccer game, which should be interesting. Aside from 2 or 3 teachers, most of the staff doesn't seem the soccer type. And I'm quite out of shape myself, but it should be fun. The next day though, I have to get up at 4 to try and make my way to moshi for a H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine the next day, provided by peace corps. The 3 buses I need to take could be even more uncomfortable than usual if I'm as sore from soccer as I think I'll be. But I'm excited to see moshi at least. Its a big touristy place so you can get all sort of western style food, so I plan to splurge and eat well while there and by a few goodies for my site too.
That's all for now, might do a bit of cleaning before bathing. Then its off to the neighbors to watch the African Cup of Nations final: Egypt Nigeria. Should be a good one. Watching this tournament has been making me excited for the World Cup, and I should find out this week if I got tickets so stay tuned.
Ciao!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Teaching has begun
21/1/2010
I finally started teaching this past week. The schedule of periods wasn't finished until wednesday, but since only 4 of my 31 periods are not form 1, I wasn't missing out on much. Since the form ones have their 6 week orientation before the subjects begin, I began teaching orientation. The first day of it was quite the shock. The text for the orientation course provides fairly detailed lessons for the entire orientation, but the lessons assume either the students are already quite good at english or else that the teacher speaks Kiswahili (neither is true in my situation). So I sort of fumbled through the few lessons I “taught” this week, trying to explain in kiswahili as well as english, but I don't think the students comprehended the vast majority of what I was teaching. The schedule for the orientation will be done for next week, so I won't be teaching all of it then, and I hope the students make significant progress by the end of their 6 weeks, otherwise I think this will be a long year as I have form 1 for the vast majority of my periods.
In other news, I had ordered a kind of table/dresser to be made from a fundi in my village the other day. Its like a tall table with two shelves underneath and I plan to use it as a dresser. I ordered it on sunday, and they delivered it to my front door today, via cow-drawn cart. I was quite impressed with the rapid turnaround, and since the table looked good and sturdy (it was super heavy, I struggled to move it once it was inside) I ordered a coffee table from him as well. Once I have that, I think I will be done buying stuff for a while. I still have a significant amount of stuff I've yet to unpack. I'm not entirely sure what it all is, but with the table I got today, and the one I should get tuesday, I think I will finally have space for everything. While the fundis were here dropping off my table/dresser, and some stuff my neighbor had ordered, the also put a handle on my courtyard door. I've been waiting almost the entire time I've been here for that. A fundi came once to fix my door the first week I was here, and I told him I wanted him to come back to put the handle on, and he said OK, but he never returned. All is well though.
On the bat front, they are still here, and I may additionally have rats. I saw one in my store room outside the other day, so I'm assuming they are in here too, but hopefully not. I might buy some rat poison to sprinkle around the corners of my house. And if anyone knows how to get rid of bats, I would love to know so please send me an email. Thats all for now, time for a nice warm bucket bath.
I finally started teaching this past week. The schedule of periods wasn't finished until wednesday, but since only 4 of my 31 periods are not form 1, I wasn't missing out on much. Since the form ones have their 6 week orientation before the subjects begin, I began teaching orientation. The first day of it was quite the shock. The text for the orientation course provides fairly detailed lessons for the entire orientation, but the lessons assume either the students are already quite good at english or else that the teacher speaks Kiswahili (neither is true in my situation). So I sort of fumbled through the few lessons I “taught” this week, trying to explain in kiswahili as well as english, but I don't think the students comprehended the vast majority of what I was teaching. The schedule for the orientation will be done for next week, so I won't be teaching all of it then, and I hope the students make significant progress by the end of their 6 weeks, otherwise I think this will be a long year as I have form 1 for the vast majority of my periods.
In other news, I had ordered a kind of table/dresser to be made from a fundi in my village the other day. Its like a tall table with two shelves underneath and I plan to use it as a dresser. I ordered it on sunday, and they delivered it to my front door today, via cow-drawn cart. I was quite impressed with the rapid turnaround, and since the table looked good and sturdy (it was super heavy, I struggled to move it once it was inside) I ordered a coffee table from him as well. Once I have that, I think I will be done buying stuff for a while. I still have a significant amount of stuff I've yet to unpack. I'm not entirely sure what it all is, but with the table I got today, and the one I should get tuesday, I think I will finally have space for everything. While the fundis were here dropping off my table/dresser, and some stuff my neighbor had ordered, the also put a handle on my courtyard door. I've been waiting almost the entire time I've been here for that. A fundi came once to fix my door the first week I was here, and I told him I wanted him to come back to put the handle on, and he said OK, but he never returned. All is well though.
On the bat front, they are still here, and I may additionally have rats. I saw one in my store room outside the other day, so I'm assuming they are in here too, but hopefully not. I might buy some rat poison to sprinkle around the corners of my house. And if anyone knows how to get rid of bats, I would love to know so please send me an email. Thats all for now, time for a nice warm bucket bath.
School has opened/Stones into Schools/I hate bats!
16/1/2010
Well school is officially opened as of this past monday, though classes have yet to begin. I hopeful they will start monday, but we shall see. It seems the standard mode of operation for schools opening goes something like this. The first week or so is dedicated to cleaning the classrooms and doing a bit of work on the school grounds, like weeding and such. Knowing this is the case, most of the students choose not to come right when school opens. When they do arrive I think varies greatly from school to school, and here at least we went from 30ish on monday to maybe somewhere between 100 and 200 on friday out of roughly 600 total students. Thats excluding the form ones, who aren't due to arrive till monday. Most of the teaching I'm doing is in form one so if a fair amount show up on monday, I want to start teaching. Stay tuned for updates.
I received Stones into Schools in the mail as a christmas present from my aunt Judy and uncle Neil (thanks heaps you two). It is written by Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea. I haven't read that one yet, but I've been aware of it for some time, thanks to Adam Rones, though I didn't know entirely what it was about. Greg Mortenson runs an NGO that builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and they try to aim at girls in particular. His new book focuses mainly on their Afghanistan operations, which they began roughly 6 years after beginning in Pakistan. The book is focused around one school in an extremely, uber-remote area of Afghanistan, with lots of other anecdotes along the way. I highly recommend this book to all, and I wanted to give it a short plug on my blog, per the request to do so at the end of the book, in a list of ways to help. I believe if you purchase the book from amazon, part of the proceeds go back into the NGO.
I hate bats. They scare me and keep me up at night. Last night (the second time this has happened) when I woke around 2 to use the toilet, after I had crawled back in bed I began to hear a shuffling around among my bags. I had heard this before. The first time I was really creeped out because in the dark, or even with the light on I couldn't quite tell what it was. The morning after the first time I saw that it was a bat (not a mouse or rat as I feared) managed to get it outside. Last night was noiser than the first time, so I was thinking that maybe it was indeed mice or something this time. I did not get out of bed to check but instead put on my headphones and attempted to go back to sleep. In the morning I didn't see anything but the corner of my spare room that is always filled with little turds (bat droppings I assume) days after sweeping was extra full. Nevertherless, I went about my morning.
I had some bread, fruit and coffee for breakfast then went outside to start weeding my courtyard and do a little gardening. I had planned to do my courtyard, plant a little bed, then move on to my big garden rea outside, but halfway through the small bed in the courtyard I was starting to get a bit tired and I also realized I didn't remember how to properly double dig a bed like we had learned at training. So I did a crappy bed in my courtyard, planted some green peppers and tomatoes, and deciding to postpone the big garden a few days or a week.
Then when I was cutting veggies for my lunch, I heard the squeaking noise coming around my trash bag. I got a stick and nudged the bag a little and could see the tip of a wing, so I went next door and told my neighbor and he just walked in, picked it up, and took it away. I hope I don't have anymore incidents for a few days at least so I can get a proper nights rest. In the meantime, however I finally hung my mosquito net. There aren't any mosquitos here so I had been slow in getting around to hanging it. Now it will serve duly as a mosquito net AND as a bat net.
Thats all for now. Cheers!
Well school is officially opened as of this past monday, though classes have yet to begin. I hopeful they will start monday, but we shall see. It seems the standard mode of operation for schools opening goes something like this. The first week or so is dedicated to cleaning the classrooms and doing a bit of work on the school grounds, like weeding and such. Knowing this is the case, most of the students choose not to come right when school opens. When they do arrive I think varies greatly from school to school, and here at least we went from 30ish on monday to maybe somewhere between 100 and 200 on friday out of roughly 600 total students. Thats excluding the form ones, who aren't due to arrive till monday. Most of the teaching I'm doing is in form one so if a fair amount show up on monday, I want to start teaching. Stay tuned for updates.
I received Stones into Schools in the mail as a christmas present from my aunt Judy and uncle Neil (thanks heaps you two). It is written by Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea. I haven't read that one yet, but I've been aware of it for some time, thanks to Adam Rones, though I didn't know entirely what it was about. Greg Mortenson runs an NGO that builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and they try to aim at girls in particular. His new book focuses mainly on their Afghanistan operations, which they began roughly 6 years after beginning in Pakistan. The book is focused around one school in an extremely, uber-remote area of Afghanistan, with lots of other anecdotes along the way. I highly recommend this book to all, and I wanted to give it a short plug on my blog, per the request to do so at the end of the book, in a list of ways to help. I believe if you purchase the book from amazon, part of the proceeds go back into the NGO.
I hate bats. They scare me and keep me up at night. Last night (the second time this has happened) when I woke around 2 to use the toilet, after I had crawled back in bed I began to hear a shuffling around among my bags. I had heard this before. The first time I was really creeped out because in the dark, or even with the light on I couldn't quite tell what it was. The morning after the first time I saw that it was a bat (not a mouse or rat as I feared) managed to get it outside. Last night was noiser than the first time, so I was thinking that maybe it was indeed mice or something this time. I did not get out of bed to check but instead put on my headphones and attempted to go back to sleep. In the morning I didn't see anything but the corner of my spare room that is always filled with little turds (bat droppings I assume) days after sweeping was extra full. Nevertherless, I went about my morning.
I had some bread, fruit and coffee for breakfast then went outside to start weeding my courtyard and do a little gardening. I had planned to do my courtyard, plant a little bed, then move on to my big garden rea outside, but halfway through the small bed in the courtyard I was starting to get a bit tired and I also realized I didn't remember how to properly double dig a bed like we had learned at training. So I did a crappy bed in my courtyard, planted some green peppers and tomatoes, and deciding to postpone the big garden a few days or a week.
Then when I was cutting veggies for my lunch, I heard the squeaking noise coming around my trash bag. I got a stick and nudged the bag a little and could see the tip of a wing, so I went next door and told my neighbor and he just walked in, picked it up, and took it away. I hope I don't have anymore incidents for a few days at least so I can get a proper nights rest. In the meantime, however I finally hung my mosquito net. There aren't any mosquitos here so I had been slow in getting around to hanging it. Now it will serve duly as a mosquito net AND as a bat net.
Thats all for now. Cheers!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Furniture
8/1/10
I finally got some furniture, a chair and love seat combo. I had told my headmaster I wanted a couch so when I got to his town, he took me to a furniture shop with american style couches for like 600,000 TSH which is WAY more money than I get to live on here, so I told him I want a kawaida (regular) couch and he took me to another place where I got the pair for 80,000 TSH, though that was just for the wooden frames, I still had to pay 48,000 for the cushions. Buying these was one thing though, but I was really nervous about them surviving the ride home on the top of the dala. I bought them in Babati and there is a dala that goes directly from there to my village, but it goes to several other places along the way. All in all, with stopping in different villages and due to a couple exceptionally muddy/flooded parts of the road, it was about an 8 hour trip home. The sky was threatening rain the entire time to, and I was sure my cushions would be completely soaked and ruined but luckily the rain didn't really start until later that night.
When we did get back, the driver didn't want to go all the way to my house, but when I seemed upset he reluctantly went. When we got there they made me pay 5 times what I had already payed for the fair, but I was exhausted and grumpy and in no mood to argue so I gave them the money and happily relaxed a bit with my new furniture.
I also met a neighbor who had just returned, she had been on holiday since before I arrived. Shes a really nice, youngish women, and she gave me dinner last night since I got home lateish and had no food to speak of.
Today, I took the bike that I had also bought in Babati to the fundi (mechanic) for a servicing.He basically dismantled the entire thing, rubbed grease all over all the pieces, and then put it back together. The ride home was quite smooth, though not all the gears work. I'm not sure if this was a problem before the tuneup, or if the fundi screwed something up. I'll have a look later this weekend and see if I can figure it out or I'll take it back to him. That took the entire afternoon, and since it was 7 by the time I returned, my new neighbor fed me again tonight.
Thats all for now. I plan to do some food shopping this saturday and clean and do laundry sunday so ill be set for all this week because school finally opens monday. I don't think this means I start teaching yet, though I'm not sure. At first they told me that I would be teaching on monday, but a teacher today told me that the students usually don't come right away, so it'll likely be a week or so before teaching begins. Ill try to keep you posted.
Kwa herini.
I finally got some furniture, a chair and love seat combo. I had told my headmaster I wanted a couch so when I got to his town, he took me to a furniture shop with american style couches for like 600,000 TSH which is WAY more money than I get to live on here, so I told him I want a kawaida (regular) couch and he took me to another place where I got the pair for 80,000 TSH, though that was just for the wooden frames, I still had to pay 48,000 for the cushions. Buying these was one thing though, but I was really nervous about them surviving the ride home on the top of the dala. I bought them in Babati and there is a dala that goes directly from there to my village, but it goes to several other places along the way. All in all, with stopping in different villages and due to a couple exceptionally muddy/flooded parts of the road, it was about an 8 hour trip home. The sky was threatening rain the entire time to, and I was sure my cushions would be completely soaked and ruined but luckily the rain didn't really start until later that night.
When we did get back, the driver didn't want to go all the way to my house, but when I seemed upset he reluctantly went. When we got there they made me pay 5 times what I had already payed for the fair, but I was exhausted and grumpy and in no mood to argue so I gave them the money and happily relaxed a bit with my new furniture.
I also met a neighbor who had just returned, she had been on holiday since before I arrived. Shes a really nice, youngish women, and she gave me dinner last night since I got home lateish and had no food to speak of.
Today, I took the bike that I had also bought in Babati to the fundi (mechanic) for a servicing.He basically dismantled the entire thing, rubbed grease all over all the pieces, and then put it back together. The ride home was quite smooth, though not all the gears work. I'm not sure if this was a problem before the tuneup, or if the fundi screwed something up. I'll have a look later this weekend and see if I can figure it out or I'll take it back to him. That took the entire afternoon, and since it was 7 by the time I returned, my new neighbor fed me again tonight.
Thats all for now. I plan to do some food shopping this saturday and clean and do laundry sunday so ill be set for all this week because school finally opens monday. I don't think this means I start teaching yet, though I'm not sure. At first they told me that I would be teaching on monday, but a teacher today told me that the students usually don't come right away, so it'll likely be a week or so before teaching begins. Ill try to keep you posted.
Kwa herini.
Happy New Year
31/12/09
Hello all, merry christmas and happy new year. Christmas was a bit different for me this year and understandably so. I went to a nearby town to stay with a volunteer there. There were five of us in all so at least we weren't alone. Its the short rainy season now though so the dirt roads around me are becoming quite treacherous and nearly impassable in parts. Coming back home after christmas, what should have been a 2 hour bus ride turned into an 8 hour ordeal. Once we had to wait while at least 5 trucks and buses stuck in front of us managed to dig themselves out or eventually get towed out by a tractor. Once that mess was cleared up, we started to move again, but within minutes, we were stuck and after an unsuccessful attempt to dig our bus out, we had to sit and wait for a tractor. Needless to say, it was quite a relief when we finally made it home.
Christmas itself was nice, though kind of bleak. We awoke to pouring rain, so we ate a bit of the leftovers from the night before, and then sat around playing cards and listening to christmas music for hours. When the rain started to lighten, me and another volunteer went in search of a chicken that was meant to be delivered that morning but never was. After walking through random fields and asking anyone we ran into if we could buy a chicken, we began to return empty handed. We then went to a neighbors to ask if we could buy one of theirs. We though they said we could take a small one, but instead they brought us some cooked chicken and rice. And then after eating it they said we could take one of their small chickens, which we didn't do though im not sure why. When we returned however there were two chickens at the front door, one dead and headless, the other alive and clucking. Two of the other volunteers had managed to find a chicken and after they had killed it, someone we had talked to earlier had showed up with another chicken for us, but we turned it down.
I thankfully managed not to take any part in the killing or cleaning of the chicken, only the eating.
For new years, I treated myself to some wine that I will drink tonight with some sort of pasta. I'll try my best to make it to midnight, but I'm not optimistic. I'm also a bit bummed. I was planning to make gnochis but was unable to get potatoes so I'll try that another day.
Two mondays from now the school is meant to open, so I will finally have something to day, rather than cooking, cleaning, reading, and vegging, which has occupied most of my days here thus far. I'm hoping to be able to get a bike and a couch before school starts but I'm not optimistic, and I think I'll likely have to settle for one or the other.
Thats all for now. Sorry for rambling a bit, but hope you enjoy.
Hello all, merry christmas and happy new year. Christmas was a bit different for me this year and understandably so. I went to a nearby town to stay with a volunteer there. There were five of us in all so at least we weren't alone. Its the short rainy season now though so the dirt roads around me are becoming quite treacherous and nearly impassable in parts. Coming back home after christmas, what should have been a 2 hour bus ride turned into an 8 hour ordeal. Once we had to wait while at least 5 trucks and buses stuck in front of us managed to dig themselves out or eventually get towed out by a tractor. Once that mess was cleared up, we started to move again, but within minutes, we were stuck and after an unsuccessful attempt to dig our bus out, we had to sit and wait for a tractor. Needless to say, it was quite a relief when we finally made it home.
Christmas itself was nice, though kind of bleak. We awoke to pouring rain, so we ate a bit of the leftovers from the night before, and then sat around playing cards and listening to christmas music for hours. When the rain started to lighten, me and another volunteer went in search of a chicken that was meant to be delivered that morning but never was. After walking through random fields and asking anyone we ran into if we could buy a chicken, we began to return empty handed. We then went to a neighbors to ask if we could buy one of theirs. We though they said we could take a small one, but instead they brought us some cooked chicken and rice. And then after eating it they said we could take one of their small chickens, which we didn't do though im not sure why. When we returned however there were two chickens at the front door, one dead and headless, the other alive and clucking. Two of the other volunteers had managed to find a chicken and after they had killed it, someone we had talked to earlier had showed up with another chicken for us, but we turned it down.
I thankfully managed not to take any part in the killing or cleaning of the chicken, only the eating.
For new years, I treated myself to some wine that I will drink tonight with some sort of pasta. I'll try my best to make it to midnight, but I'm not optimistic. I'm also a bit bummed. I was planning to make gnochis but was unable to get potatoes so I'll try that another day.
Two mondays from now the school is meant to open, so I will finally have something to day, rather than cooking, cleaning, reading, and vegging, which has occupied most of my days here thus far. I'm hoping to be able to get a bike and a couch before school starts but I'm not optimistic, and I think I'll likely have to settle for one or the other.
Thats all for now. Sorry for rambling a bit, but hope you enjoy.
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