Thanksgiving

In honor of Thanksgiving (which I did celebrate with the other missionaries this past Friday), I would like to post an entry centered around many things that I am thankful for in the past week.

As much as I wish I was home with my friends and family back in the states, I am so terribly thankful to be serving here in Morogoro, Tanzania. Those of you who have been following my blog know that it hasn't been an easy journey for me (but, what journey in life is ever going to be easy?). It's taken a lot of hard work, patience, and faith, but I've come so far as a person since arriving here. I've done things that I've never dreamed of doing. I've learned about what it means to be part of a community. I've learned a new language and culture. When I finished my undergraduate, I swore that I was never, ever, ever going to teach. And, yet, here I am, teaching and LOVING it. Honestly, though, I feel that what I have here in Morogoro is unique and I'm not sure that I'd like teaching so much if I were doing it in the US right now.

On Thursday, I decided that, even though people here don't have/celebrate Thanksgiving, I needed to make the kids do journal entries about what they were thankful for. I got quite a few interesting answers and some really awesome ones. It got one kid who wrote: “I am thankful for fruit. I am thankful when my mother gives me fruit. I am thankful when my father gives me fruit. I love fruit…etc.” And then, there were the kids who wrote about how thankful they were for their parents helping them and how they were thankful to be able to get an education. And, then there were the kids who wrote about how thankful they were to God. I took a picture of the entry from one boy in Class V. I hope that you enjoy what he wrote as much as I did!! :D

Friday was a terribly special day in the life of our school. I’m not sure how many of you remember or read about this, but a while ago one of my students was run over by a pikipiki (motorcycle) and had to have surgery for injuries associated with a broken collar bone. During break, she came to school for the first time in about 1 ½ months (since the accident). As she walked up the driveway, all of the other students ran up and gathered around her. They were all screaming and cheering with joy. And then, they all began chanting her name and giving her hugs. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever witnessed. It reminded me of movies when the war hero comes home victorious. I wish I had been able to take a picture of it for you to see, but I didn’t have my camera on me.

In the afternoon, I had my usual piano lessons with John and Elizabeth. After the lessons (which were cut just a bit short because of a power outage), Kjirstin and I had a shot bit of down time before we headed to town. We had to do ALL of our shopping on Friday because I knew that we were going to Bagamoyo all day Saturday and on Sundays a lot of places are closed. We managed to get everything and then we headed to the place where we would be having our Thanksgiving celebration. We were running late due to the shopping we had to do, but luckily, the MacSavenys were also and we just happened to cross paths at the same time. Thus, we were able to ride with them for the remainder of the way. The Thanksgiving celebration was a great time. The food was SUPER good and I was excited that there was no rice or ugali on the menu. Not that I mind these things, but sometimes I just need a little variety in my life. Yes, we did have turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, pumpkin pie, and so many other delicious items that we all enjoy on Thanksgiving. 

On Saturday, Kjirstin and I woke up early in the morning to accompany the students on their field trip to Bagamoyo. Honestly, it turned out to be a great trip and I was quite impressed with how things went so smoothly!! At exactly 6am, the students began arriving at the school and soon after, so did the two buses that would take us there. We had students all the way from Class II - Class VI going on the trip. Sometime between 6:30am and 7am, we crammed into the buses left the school. And when I say "crammed", I mean that it was like being on a daladala. There were people sitting in the isles, some where standing, I even had a kid in my lap for part of the time. It took about 4 hours to get to Bagamoyo. It was a LONG trip there, but I had a good time on the bus. I was on the "big kid" bus and I was sitting next to a lot of students that I know really well. My piano student was sitting next to me and we talked quite a bit of the way there. 
Once at Bagamoyo, we found the site that we were going to get to tour. Bagamoyo is a very historical place in Tanzania as it was the last stop on the slave trade route before the slaves were shipped off to other places. I was to that it was named Bagamoyo because the people were so weary and hopeless by the time they had had been forced to walk all the way there. There are many sites in Bagamoyo, but we only toured one. It was built in the 13th century when the Persians came to Tanzania. We got to tour the ruins of their mosque, graves, and the port where the tide reaches in the evening time. During the day, the water receeds for 1KM and leaves behind a bunch of sea snails. The people who lived at this site used to collect the sea snails and cook them to eat. They had a pot of snails cooking and offered them to the students, but, surprisingly, none of them wanted to try the cooked snails. After we toured the ruins and got to see the Baobab tree that is over 500 years old, we piled back into the buses and made our way to the beach. It was so exciting to see the faces of all the kids as they played in the water. There were even a few that could swim and I went further out and they swam out to me. After playing in the water, we ate our lunches, changed and headed home. Again, I talked with the students and even got to sleep for a short time on the way back. As we reached Morogoro, the kids got super excited and started singing and cheering. I felt so badly for the poor bus driver, but somehow he managed to keep going even with all the racket and chaos. When we arrived at the school, parents were already ready and waiting so we all dispersed and Kjirstin and I walked home, tired, sweaty, salt-watery, and everything in between, but so happy. Thankfully, when we arrived home, the water was on and we were able to shower and I was able to wash out our salt-water soaked clothes!! :D

lecture time about the history of the site.

Entering the mosque

The well of "lucky water" next to the mosque.

Some students in the mosque ruins

The kids didn't want to eat these boiling snails (not even with ugali!!!)

Kjirstin and some of the kids at the beach.

At the beach with my piano student!!

Well, that's all I've got for now. There are so many things to be thankful for, I hope that you have been able to take time to praise God this past week. I also hope that you all have been able to enjoy your time with friends and family. I may not have been able to be with my family, but I am thankful to be a part of what's happening here in Morogoro. I've been blessed in so many ways that I can't even count them. Bwana asifiwe!! (Praise God!!)

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,

~Christine