What am I up to?
Teaching Form 2-ers the very beginnings of Algebra and what a variable is. Thus far (knock woods), they seem to be pretty good kids. I haven't had any major problems with the students so far. At first they were rally really resistant to coming up to the board to do problems, but I think they're getting more and more comfortable with the idea, which is great. One class on Thursday, I actually had some of the kids jumping out of their seats as they raised their hands to come up. That was a great feeling. They were also so good at solving for x that if they hadn't been struggling to understand variables the week before, I'd have thought they'd done it before. (And if the other math teachers hadn't assured me exactly where the students had left off in the Form One syllabus-- about halfway through.)
Last week I cut my finger so badly that after putting pressure on it the entire night, it was *still* bleeding. Now over a week later, the area between the tip of my finger and my fingernail is still numb. Does that mean it will be forever? I have no idea. Anyway, that was Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning (when I'd been up all night putting pressure on it) when it was still bleeding, it turned out that I couldn't teach that way. Something about when you walk around your heart beating faster and lot letting the cut close. So I actually had to miss out on my first real day of teaching, which was a bummer. Luckily my headmistress was really understanding. And I will admit: I was more OK with missing class than I would have been if I weren't tired as all heck.
There are two American Baptist missionaries who live just a 20 minute walk from my house. I've been hanging out with them a lot. Their house is incredibly nice; when I'm sitting in their living room or kitchen, I can't see a single thing that would suggest that I'm not currently in America (well, there are some carvings of Africa on the walls, but still). Plus they make delicious meals, things like pizza and hamburgers and enchiladas and all those things that I normally could never, ever get in Tanzania. They're way more all-American than my family has ever been, so it's nice to have somewhere to go where it's like I'm in America for an afternoon. And they're very sweet people as well. In fact, one of them came to my house and fixed my electrical problems, then caulked the gap between my wall and my ceiling-- the entirety of my bedroom and half the living room. The upshot? NO MORE LIZARD POOP FALLING FROM MY BEDROOM CEILING! That's right, I'm LIZARD POOP FREE!!!
Well, we're on our way out of the internet cafe now, so I should wrap this up. ALL OF YOU SHOULD WRITE!! Email me at melknapp@gmail.com and I'll send you my address!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, December 11, 2009
Settling in
Did you know that lizards chirp?
I had no idea until this week, when I was at first convinced that there were mice living in my ceiling, and I was wondering, How on Earth do they get into and out of my ceiling?! Then I thought it was birds, but birds do not leave tons of little pellet-like turds in my bed and on my mosquito net and next to my door and in various other corners of the house. (Their poop tends to SPLAT! a bit more. That would be worse.)
Which is how I discovered that the squeaking/chirping racket that blares from my ceiling is actually lizards. And yes, they poop on my bed while I sleep (and during the day, too). And chirp a lot. What's even worse is that sometimes the bugs get so bad that I wish there were more lizards, because lizards eat bugs. Those are not such good nights.
But things are getting easier. I never expected that the first few weeks would be easy, and I really am so, so thrilled to have gotten to site (that scare where I thought I'd be sent home really put things in perspective!). I don't have anywhere to put my stuff-- while there are a couple of very welcome padded chairs in my house, so that for once I actually hang out in the living room and not in my bed all the time, there is not so much as a single drawer or shelf. So I just have to live out of my suitcases, for the time being. I think furniture, so that I can finally unpack, will have to be my Christmas present for my parents. (And man, was I excited when my mom reminded me that I have that coming. I'd thought that I would have to just live out of suitcases in a mostly-empty house for two years!)
They can send me the money easily, because there is a Western Union a mere 10-minute walk from my house. Yes, really. I don't have any running water and I use a pit latrine that is outside of my house, but there is a Western Union right next to my house. And internet on my phone. Africa is weird sometimes, y'all.
I won't start teaching until sometime in January, so right now all I really have to do is settle in and try not to make too bad an impression. It's been a bit of a rocky start, but I'm determined to be a great, dedicated teacher. Once I get more used to Tanzanian social customs and expectations, I'll do my best to start making friends and fitting in. The other math teacher at my school is a woman just one year older than me, so I'm hoping that a friendship will come of that.
One disheartening thing about getting here, though, is that I've realized how crappy my Swahili really is. I can form sentences sort of decently, as long as I go super slowly, and read and write OK, but I can't catch like a single thing other people say to me. And for some reason, even when I do understand, people think I didn't and translate into English. (This mostly applies to the other teachers at my school, of course.)
Anyway... this has been my first week. Does anyone know how to chase lizards out of one's ceiling?
I had no idea until this week, when I was at first convinced that there were mice living in my ceiling, and I was wondering, How on Earth do they get into and out of my ceiling?! Then I thought it was birds, but birds do not leave tons of little pellet-like turds in my bed and on my mosquito net and next to my door and in various other corners of the house. (Their poop tends to SPLAT! a bit more. That would be worse.)
Which is how I discovered that the squeaking/chirping racket that blares from my ceiling is actually lizards. And yes, they poop on my bed while I sleep (and during the day, too). And chirp a lot. What's even worse is that sometimes the bugs get so bad that I wish there were more lizards, because lizards eat bugs. Those are not such good nights.
But things are getting easier. I never expected that the first few weeks would be easy, and I really am so, so thrilled to have gotten to site (that scare where I thought I'd be sent home really put things in perspective!). I don't have anywhere to put my stuff-- while there are a couple of very welcome padded chairs in my house, so that for once I actually hang out in the living room and not in my bed all the time, there is not so much as a single drawer or shelf. So I just have to live out of my suitcases, for the time being. I think furniture, so that I can finally unpack, will have to be my Christmas present for my parents. (And man, was I excited when my mom reminded me that I have that coming. I'd thought that I would have to just live out of suitcases in a mostly-empty house for two years!)
They can send me the money easily, because there is a Western Union a mere 10-minute walk from my house. Yes, really. I don't have any running water and I use a pit latrine that is outside of my house, but there is a Western Union right next to my house. And internet on my phone. Africa is weird sometimes, y'all.
I won't start teaching until sometime in January, so right now all I really have to do is settle in and try not to make too bad an impression. It's been a bit of a rocky start, but I'm determined to be a great, dedicated teacher. Once I get more used to Tanzanian social customs and expectations, I'll do my best to start making friends and fitting in. The other math teacher at my school is a woman just one year older than me, so I'm hoping that a friendship will come of that.
One disheartening thing about getting here, though, is that I've realized how crappy my Swahili really is. I can form sentences sort of decently, as long as I go super slowly, and read and write OK, but I can't catch like a single thing other people say to me. And for some reason, even when I do understand, people think I didn't and translate into English. (This mostly applies to the other teachers at my school, of course.)
Anyway... this has been my first week. Does anyone know how to chase lizards out of one's ceiling?
Sunday, November 29, 2009
So Yeah
I was supposed to be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer this past Wednesday, and go to my site (and finally see where I'll be living and working for the next 2 years) this past Thursday.
Instead, I am sitting here in the city, in... a very nice hotel, actually. You can tell from the way I have wireless internet, see.
I actually feel pretty bad about that bit as well. I mean, the hotel is nice, but that makes me feel even worse, because Peace Corps could be spending its money in such better ways, but instead they're stuck spending it on me. They don't normally put Peace Corps people here, but (a) I couldn't handle stairs so I needed a hotel that had rooms on the bottom floor, and (b) I had to be near to the physical therapist and to headquarters.
So you might have caught on that I've been injured.
Well, I don't know if "injured" is the right word. I don't have any idea what I did that caused the back pain, but man, was it awful. I couldn't really walk for a lot of the week-- I could for short periods of time with shuffling steps, but I never knew when my back would just rebel and I'd be standing there, unable to take an other step.
Last Monday was really horrible, actually. That's when it started. So then I was lying in the infirmary, all alone, terrified because I couldn't walk and convinced that Peace Corps would send me back to the US. Then some of the staff came and said it was time to go home (to my Tanzanian family I mean). They had me sit up on the bed (which was, at that time, VERY painful), picked up my purse and then put it down on the other side of the room, and told me that they'd be back in five minutes. Then, they didn't come back. Not even to tell me that it'd be another couple of hours, or even to tell me I could lie down again.
I ended up having to sort of fall out of the bed and crawl across the room to go to the bathroom, and then crawl to where they put my purse (which had my phone in it) in order to, still sprawled on the floor, call people to figure out what was going on.
It was truly miserable.
Eventually, after a couple hours, I made some calls and finally got people to come and help me home.
On the other hand, the staff driver who drove me to the city (3 hours away; everyone was going, not just me, but I was in a separate car) was *wonderful*. He heard me squeak in pain once when he went over bumps, and after that, without my having to say anything, he went super slowly whenever there were bumps of any kind-- even though sometimes some of the other cars honked at him. I was so grateful-- that car ride could have been torturous, but instead it wasn't bad.
So now I'm in physical therapy. I really started feeling better Friday, and now I can pretty much do most regular activities with, well, there's still a little bit of pain, but it's manageable. The only things I can't really do now are leaning over and lifting heavy things.
They're moving me out of the nice hotel today (it was supposed to be tomorrow, but I really don't want Peace Corps to spend the money here when there are SUCH better places it could go), and will move to one with stairs and without room service. I'm REALLY hoping that I'll be able to go to my site sometime this coming week, though. So keep your fingers crossed for me!
Instead, I am sitting here in the city, in... a very nice hotel, actually. You can tell from the way I have wireless internet, see.
I actually feel pretty bad about that bit as well. I mean, the hotel is nice, but that makes me feel even worse, because Peace Corps could be spending its money in such better ways, but instead they're stuck spending it on me. They don't normally put Peace Corps people here, but (a) I couldn't handle stairs so I needed a hotel that had rooms on the bottom floor, and (b) I had to be near to the physical therapist and to headquarters.
So you might have caught on that I've been injured.
Well, I don't know if "injured" is the right word. I don't have any idea what I did that caused the back pain, but man, was it awful. I couldn't really walk for a lot of the week-- I could for short periods of time with shuffling steps, but I never knew when my back would just rebel and I'd be standing there, unable to take an other step.
Last Monday was really horrible, actually. That's when it started. So then I was lying in the infirmary, all alone, terrified because I couldn't walk and convinced that Peace Corps would send me back to the US. Then some of the staff came and said it was time to go home (to my Tanzanian family I mean). They had me sit up on the bed (which was, at that time, VERY painful), picked up my purse and then put it down on the other side of the room, and told me that they'd be back in five minutes. Then, they didn't come back. Not even to tell me that it'd be another couple of hours, or even to tell me I could lie down again.
I ended up having to sort of fall out of the bed and crawl across the room to go to the bathroom, and then crawl to where they put my purse (which had my phone in it) in order to, still sprawled on the floor, call people to figure out what was going on.
It was truly miserable.
Eventually, after a couple hours, I made some calls and finally got people to come and help me home.
On the other hand, the staff driver who drove me to the city (3 hours away; everyone was going, not just me, but I was in a separate car) was *wonderful*. He heard me squeak in pain once when he went over bumps, and after that, without my having to say anything, he went super slowly whenever there were bumps of any kind-- even though sometimes some of the other cars honked at him. I was so grateful-- that car ride could have been torturous, but instead it wasn't bad.
So now I'm in physical therapy. I really started feeling better Friday, and now I can pretty much do most regular activities with, well, there's still a little bit of pain, but it's manageable. The only things I can't really do now are leaning over and lifting heavy things.
They're moving me out of the nice hotel today (it was supposed to be tomorrow, but I really don't want Peace Corps to spend the money here when there are SUCH better places it could go), and will move to one with stairs and without room service. I'm REALLY hoping that I'll be able to go to my site sometime this coming week, though. So keep your fingers crossed for me!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Life as a Peace Corps Trainee
Habari za leo?
Well, considering that training is almost over now, I figure I should tell you a little bit of what Peace Corps Training was like.
I live in a home with my Tanzanian family. I've got a Bibi (grandmother) and a host brother and-- sorta-sister, sorta-aunt? She's two years younger than me, but she's my Bibi's daughter. (She also has the same name as my American aunt: Joyce. Weird, huh?)
Anyway, my Bibi is pretty awesome. A couple of weeks ago she won an election, and now she's the Women's Rights council member for our ward. She's basically fluent in English, so we have to try pretty hard to only speak Swahili (Trainees aren't supposed to speak any English at all in home stay). She used to be a primary school teacher, but she's retired and now has a little duka (shop) in front of my house where she sells all sorts of useful little odds and ends.
As I think I've mentioned, our house has electricity (though it's out at least a few nights a week). We've only had running water once. My host family used the opportunity to stock up on water, but the only way it affected me was that the shower started dripping during my bucket bath. I tried to turn the knob (didn't care if I was turning it on or off, I just didn't want it dripping on me). But the knob came off in my hand and water started spraying at me horizontally from the spot where the knob used to be. So, overall, I was pretty content when I found out last week that the house where I'll be living for the next two years will have electricity, but won't have indoor plumbing. But more on that soon.
We had class all day, Monday-Thursday and Saturday, at our CBT (Community-Based Training). It's a secondary school, so for the last three weeks we also taught our subject there; but mostly, it was lots and lots of Swahili training. Then on Fridays, all the trainees meet up for training in Tanzanian culture, safety/security, teaching techniques, health issues, and so on. Then on Sunday we get a "day off," which generally involves doing chores.
My school was a 30-40 minute walk from my house, so most days I biked to school, exchanging greetings with locals as I passed.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, we recently found out where we're headed to for the next two years. I'm not allowed to say publicly where I'm going-- though there's a very interested, largely undocumented UNESCO site I'd like to, well, document photographically, so I don't know how that will work in regards to this secret-location thing. Eh, there'll be plenty of time to figure that out.
What I think I can tell you is that I'm in an actual town, so I'll be right by an internet cafe. Thus I'll be able to update a lot; probably more than I have been now, as training is hella busy and you have to go downtown to get to internet. I've been so exhausted from every day and my brain is rebelling from too much Swahili jammed in there. (I get internet on my phone so you can email me, but I'm not good at typing on a normal phone pad yet, so I rarely respond, lol.)
So now, we've all gone to stay with a current volunteer. This way we get a taste of how Volunteers live, what it's like, etc. Right now we're in a fairly big city; we're going to the village today, and staying there for a few days. I'll try to let you know how that goes in my next post!
Until next time!
Kwa Heri!
Well, considering that training is almost over now, I figure I should tell you a little bit of what Peace Corps Training was like.
I live in a home with my Tanzanian family. I've got a Bibi (grandmother) and a host brother and-- sorta-sister, sorta-aunt? She's two years younger than me, but she's my Bibi's daughter. (She also has the same name as my American aunt: Joyce. Weird, huh?)
Anyway, my Bibi is pretty awesome. A couple of weeks ago she won an election, and now she's the Women's Rights council member for our ward. She's basically fluent in English, so we have to try pretty hard to only speak Swahili (Trainees aren't supposed to speak any English at all in home stay). She used to be a primary school teacher, but she's retired and now has a little duka (shop) in front of my house where she sells all sorts of useful little odds and ends.
As I think I've mentioned, our house has electricity (though it's out at least a few nights a week). We've only had running water once. My host family used the opportunity to stock up on water, but the only way it affected me was that the shower started dripping during my bucket bath. I tried to turn the knob (didn't care if I was turning it on or off, I just didn't want it dripping on me). But the knob came off in my hand and water started spraying at me horizontally from the spot where the knob used to be. So, overall, I was pretty content when I found out last week that the house where I'll be living for the next two years will have electricity, but won't have indoor plumbing. But more on that soon.
We had class all day, Monday-Thursday and Saturday, at our CBT (Community-Based Training). It's a secondary school, so for the last three weeks we also taught our subject there; but mostly, it was lots and lots of Swahili training. Then on Fridays, all the trainees meet up for training in Tanzanian culture, safety/security, teaching techniques, health issues, and so on. Then on Sunday we get a "day off," which generally involves doing chores.
My school was a 30-40 minute walk from my house, so most days I biked to school, exchanging greetings with locals as I passed.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, we recently found out where we're headed to for the next two years. I'm not allowed to say publicly where I'm going-- though there's a very interested, largely undocumented UNESCO site I'd like to, well, document photographically, so I don't know how that will work in regards to this secret-location thing. Eh, there'll be plenty of time to figure that out.
What I think I can tell you is that I'm in an actual town, so I'll be right by an internet cafe. Thus I'll be able to update a lot; probably more than I have been now, as training is hella busy and you have to go downtown to get to internet. I've been so exhausted from every day and my brain is rebelling from too much Swahili jammed in there. (I get internet on my phone so you can email me, but I'm not good at typing on a normal phone pad yet, so I rarely respond, lol.)
So now, we've all gone to stay with a current volunteer. This way we get a taste of how Volunteers live, what it's like, etc. Right now we're in a fairly big city; we're going to the village today, and staying there for a few days. I'll try to let you know how that goes in my next post!
Until next time!
Kwa Heri!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
TZ
Well, I've been in Peace Corps for a month now, and Tanzania almost that long. I'm only just starting to get a feel for the culture, but that's okay, I have a long time I can learn. :)
My homestay house is much snazzier than I'd expected. I didn't think I'd have electricity, but in fact not only do they have electricity, but also a television, and satellite TV. (No, it doesn't get American channels. But STILL.) There's no running water, but I think that's just because it's the dry season.
I've been learning lots of Swahili, and this week I started teaching math at my CBT (Community-Based Training) school.
I'm sure there's tons of interesting things I could mention-- I'll have to start jotting down the funny/bizarre things that happen so that next time I'm at the internet cafe, I'll have a list right there to jog my memory.
Oh, you should know: I have internet on my phone! I know, wild, right? I didn't have that in Korea or America. It's very cheap here, and by the information sent through, not by minutes or whatever. So if you email me, I'll receive it! I can answer too, but generally short answers, as I have to type them into a regular keypad-- I don't have a super fancy phone, the cheapest kind that can get internet actually.
Also, since Tanzania is south of the equator (barely), I arrived right at the beginning of spring, and it's steadily getting hotter. Man! I can't wait for the rainy season to start, because it's very dry now, and I've just been parched all the time.
Well, this was probably not as informative and interesting a blog entry as I could've written, but I figured I should put up something. I promise to try to be wittier next time and to write down the anecdotes I want to remember!
My homestay house is much snazzier than I'd expected. I didn't think I'd have electricity, but in fact not only do they have electricity, but also a television, and satellite TV. (No, it doesn't get American channels. But STILL.) There's no running water, but I think that's just because it's the dry season.
I've been learning lots of Swahili, and this week I started teaching math at my CBT (Community-Based Training) school.
I'm sure there's tons of interesting things I could mention-- I'll have to start jotting down the funny/bizarre things that happen so that next time I'm at the internet cafe, I'll have a list right there to jog my memory.
Oh, you should know: I have internet on my phone! I know, wild, right? I didn't have that in Korea or America. It's very cheap here, and by the information sent through, not by minutes or whatever. So if you email me, I'll receive it! I can answer too, but generally short answers, as I have to type them into a regular keypad-- I don't have a super fancy phone, the cheapest kind that can get internet actually.
Also, since Tanzania is south of the equator (barely), I arrived right at the beginning of spring, and it's steadily getting hotter. Man! I can't wait for the rainy season to start, because it's very dry now, and I've just been parched all the time.
Well, this was probably not as informative and interesting a blog entry as I could've written, but I figured I should put up something. I promise to try to be wittier next time and to write down the anecdotes I want to remember!
Monday, September 14, 2009
One week to go
Well, one week from now, I will have registered at Peace Corps Staging. (Registration is 1:30 PM, Monday, September 21st.) I'll be at the hotel with all the other new Trainees.
It'll feel a little silly, almost, since Staging will take place in the city I've been staying for the past two weeks, in the city where my parents live, in the city in whose suburbs I was raised. The hotel we'll be in is right down the street from where my dad works. We were even considering grabbing dinner downtown that evening-- Orientation is 3-7 according to my Reporting Instructions, and it doesn't mention any activities after 7 pm. But ultimately, we decided not to meet up-- once I've registered at Staging, I should stay there, get to know the other PCVs who will be with me in Tanzania, and so on. It makes sense, but I'll feel a little guilty that I've already said goodbye when my parents are actually still in the same city.
One week.
Considering my circumstances (you all remember, or if you don't you can check my recent archives, how my passport was stolen in Shanghai, I had to go through all this red tape to be allowed to leave China, then I had all this stuff to wrap up in Korea, and only have 3 weeks in America total before I leave again?), I haven't procrastinated that much. I've been going around, buying stuff I'll need, packing stuff, getting things together. Learning Swahili on the Rosetta Stone they sent me. There's a lot to do this week, to finish everything up, but I don't feel particularly behind or anything.
I'm meeting with a Brownie Girl Scout troop tomorrow. Trying to come up with cool cultural exchange things for them to do. Hopefully the leaders will have some good ideas in mind, being in possession of the Badge Book and all of that. Still, I'm having trouble coming up with coherent things to say to them. Peace Corps is just so unpredictable that I have no idea what sort of projects might end up making sense to do with the girls, so it's hard to plan in advance. Well, maybe that's what I should say to the leaders.
One week. Wow.
So yeah. Packing. Studying Swahili (still 4 and a half hours from the required time amount). Picking up some last minute things. Waiting for my solar panel to come in the mail. Still need to get my hair cut.
Trying to figure out whether I should just bring my Durabook with me to Peace Corps, buy a netbook and bring BOTH, or buy a netbook and only bring the netbook. There are lots of pros and cons and all that. I know I can only bring things to Tanzania that I accept may be stolen. The Durabook is more expensive, but I've already had it for a year, so it has a lot of my files on it-- files I may want in Tanzania, especially of the media variety. It takes up more power, though, so it will last less time on the same amount of charge as a netbook. And the only internet I'll have will be in regional capitols and larger towns/cities, which means that I'll probably be bringing my computer with me whenever I go to banking town, so for that smaller is better. Aaargh! Decisions.
One week!
It'll feel a little silly, almost, since Staging will take place in the city I've been staying for the past two weeks, in the city where my parents live, in the city in whose suburbs I was raised. The hotel we'll be in is right down the street from where my dad works. We were even considering grabbing dinner downtown that evening-- Orientation is 3-7 according to my Reporting Instructions, and it doesn't mention any activities after 7 pm. But ultimately, we decided not to meet up-- once I've registered at Staging, I should stay there, get to know the other PCVs who will be with me in Tanzania, and so on. It makes sense, but I'll feel a little guilty that I've already said goodbye when my parents are actually still in the same city.
One week.
Considering my circumstances (you all remember, or if you don't you can check my recent archives, how my passport was stolen in Shanghai, I had to go through all this red tape to be allowed to leave China, then I had all this stuff to wrap up in Korea, and only have 3 weeks in America total before I leave again?), I haven't procrastinated that much. I've been going around, buying stuff I'll need, packing stuff, getting things together. Learning Swahili on the Rosetta Stone they sent me. There's a lot to do this week, to finish everything up, but I don't feel particularly behind or anything.
I'm meeting with a Brownie Girl Scout troop tomorrow. Trying to come up with cool cultural exchange things for them to do. Hopefully the leaders will have some good ideas in mind, being in possession of the Badge Book and all of that. Still, I'm having trouble coming up with coherent things to say to them. Peace Corps is just so unpredictable that I have no idea what sort of projects might end up making sense to do with the girls, so it's hard to plan in advance. Well, maybe that's what I should say to the leaders.
One week. Wow.
So yeah. Packing. Studying Swahili (still 4 and a half hours from the required time amount). Picking up some last minute things. Waiting for my solar panel to come in the mail. Still need to get my hair cut.
Trying to figure out whether I should just bring my Durabook with me to Peace Corps, buy a netbook and bring BOTH, or buy a netbook and only bring the netbook. There are lots of pros and cons and all that. I know I can only bring things to Tanzania that I accept may be stolen. The Durabook is more expensive, but I've already had it for a year, so it has a lot of my files on it-- files I may want in Tanzania, especially of the media variety. It takes up more power, though, so it will last less time on the same amount of charge as a netbook. And the only internet I'll have will be in regional capitols and larger towns/cities, which means that I'll probably be bringing my computer with me whenever I go to banking town, so for that smaller is better. Aaargh! Decisions.
One week!
Friday, September 4, 2009
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