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Saturday, March 30, 2013

A Farewell to KJ

Sooooo, I haven't had much time for blogging recently with all of the activities that have been going on lately. But, now that Kjirstin and I are back from our trip to Serengeti, NgoroNgoro Crater, and Tarangire National Parks, I'll make a quick update!

Last week was been absolutely insane! We had mid-term exams throughout the week. So Kjirstin and I were in and out of classes giving exams and inbetween exams we were marking them and talking with the students. They were particularly drawn to our table because it was Kjirstin's last week at school and they all wanted to spend a lot of time with her before she left.

Her official last day of school was on Thursday and it was a crazy day for sure. The students had two last exams in the morning and then the afternoon was dedicated to a goodbye celebration for Madam KJ put on by the students. It was really quite overwhelming because we had such a crowd of students around our table while they prepared everything for the event. At one point, we escaped to the house for a few minutes to breathe and eat lunch.

When we got back, I helped set up chairs and get the kids in order for the event. Kids from Classes V, VI, and VII all did different performances. There was dancing, singing, a short skit, and the girls and boys from Class VII did a really spectacular performance. The girls danced and sang to a drum accompaniment by the boys. I got some video of it, but I'm not sure how to post video here on my blog. I'm going to try and get it up on Facebook if anyone wants to watch.

In the afternoon, I taught piano lessons and hung out with a bunch of kids on our porch until I had to go to the bus stand to get our tickets for Friday. When I got back, the teachers had a farewell celebration for Kjirstin. This one was much calmer than the celebration with the kids and was very nice. She was presented with gifts and a certificate and we all ate a meal together.

Overall, it was a wonderful farewell from all the students and teachers and I think that Kjirstin really enjoyed it all. It's certainly never easy to say "good-bye". Here are some pictures from that day:

Class V "squeezing" Madam KJ

Lots of hugs from Class V

Madam KJ in the front

Class VII girls dancing their entrance

Class VII girls dancing and singing their farewell to Madam KJ

The boys and some girls playing the drums to accompany the girls' dancing

Teachers!

Well, that's all for now! I'll try and post an entry about my trip to the national parks soon, but life certainly isn't slowing down. Kjirstin and I are planning to go to the Easter sunrise service in town with the other missionaries as well as the Easter service at our own church. Also, on Monday, at our students' requests (and I'd say that some of them have practically begged), we are going to visit them at Day Spring Orphanage on Monday. After that, there's just a couple of days left before Kjirstin leaves on Thursday!

I hope you've having a blessed week and taking the time to reflect on Christ's sacrifice for you this Easter! What an amazing and free gift He has presented us if only we would take hold of it!
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

More Silly Stories

As promised, here's some more wonderful and hilarious stuff from my students. I do edit somethings, but for the most part, I try to stay true to what they actually wrote, so you may have to bear with some of these.


Words of the Day (WOD):

WOD: bundle
"The car was carrying a bundle of cows."
(Poor cows!!)

WOD: obliterate
"My young brother obliterated my pen in the bathroom."
(why the bathroom??)

WOD: worth
"I am worth more than gold."

WOD: worth
"A motorcycle is worth a lot of accidents"

WOD: extend
"Faith was too short, but her mother extended her."

WOD: duty
"My duty is to honor my parents, my teachers, and other people who are big."


Conversations:

Me: in class V going around helping kids with their English work. I see that two of my students (a boy and a girl) are sharing a book, but their desks are split and the poor girl has to keep standing up and reach over to read it and copy the assignment.

Me: Why don't you two move your desks closer together so Yasinta doesn't have to keep standing up? I mean, Geoffrey, it's not nice to make the lady stand. You should remember this for when you're married: you stand and let the lady sit.

Geoffrey: But, madam, I'm not going to get married. I'm going to be a pastor!!

Me: But, pastors can get married, too. Pastor Umba is married.

Geoffrey: But, madam, that's Pastor Umba. This is Pastor Geoffrey!


Journals: 


Topic: Superheroes

"My favorite superhero is Bibleman. Bibleman have a power of God. God gave Bibleman power. I like to be superman because I like to have the power of God. And when I be a superheroes, I would like my name to be Biblewoman and I will like to have God's power and I will like to be help other because in my life I like to help other to help those who are not have father, like me, or who are no have mother, like me, or all both of them that is my favorite superheroes power."

Topic: Superheroes

"My favorite superhero is bathman. He is a cool superhero. His power is a electricity." 
(Yes, that's right, bathman...and he controls A electricity!!! I can foresee that maybe this is a problem combination.)


Topic: Be the Change You Wish to See in the World:

"...I will stop people who are fishing by using bombs." 
(Is this a problem in Tanzania?!?)

Topic: If I were 1CM tall...

"...I will not go to the toilet. If I will enter there I will sink to the toilet."
(Yes, I can see that this could be a problem)

Topic: A Trip to Outer Space

"I will scientific the moon or the sun."
(Might I ask how you "scientific" something?)


Topic: I wonder why...
"I wonder why the stars are shine at night. I think they are shining well, but why always night only. But I know God create the stars and moon but I wonder how they are able to stay without fall down but sometime they are fall down and this I think it is amazing. I think no one know this and planets are also amaze standin without any balance thing which can support it and I wonder why we are talking and feel, hear, write, and walk. How we are able to do this is the business of God to control all things. Without any help from any living organism.
This is more wonderful.
So we should respect God."



Honestly, I think my kids are amazing. They are so smart and capable and they have such wonderful thoughts. It's just hard to express them in English sometimes (seeing as English is their second language). It really is amazing that despite many obstacles (especially getting their education in their second language), they are finding successes!! It's going to be so hard to leave them just under three months from now, but until I leave, I want to enjoy every precious moment we have together!


May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,

~Christine

Friday, March 15, 2013

Birthday Surprises

Last weekend was my birthday and honestly, it turned out to be a pretty amazing one. First of all, I got a care package from my parents with all kinds of wonderful goodies!


The biggest birthday surprise happened for me on Saturday. The day started off normally enough. I left in the morning to play frisbee with the other missionaries. Because of all of our traveling, I haven't gotten to play in about two months. It was a really great game, and I guess it was just so good we couldn't end it. By the end we were so worn out that no one was able to score. Honestly, it was taking about 20 minutes for someone to score. Eventually, we just ended it instead of continuing until we reached the final score that had been agreed upon.

Afterwards, I went to a friend's house to do laundry. We had quite a pile up of laundry due to the water issues we were having last week. Thankfully, most of our missionary friends have washing machines and some offered to let us use theirs.

As I mentioned in a previous post, last week was pretty rough because of the water situation. Although it seemed to have been fixed and clean water had been returned to us as of Friday evening, we're now under the impression that it might be a while before the fix is permanent. Sometimes the water smells alright, but most of the time it smells salty or like rotten eggs and sometimes it goes back to being very dirty. I'm not sure about you, but I don't particularly wish to wash my clothes or myself in water that smells like rotten eggs. Luckily, God has provided and it seems that every time we are just about to run out of water, it rains or the water smells good enough to fill up the buckets at home. Honestly, I've found new meaning for the part of the Lord's Prayer when it asks "give us this day our daily bread". But for me it's been, "give me this day my daily water". I can say it's been a pretty powerful and sometimes frustrating lesson. I hope that I never take my water for granted after I return to the states where we never doubt that if we turn on the faucet that it will a) not be on or b) be dirty/smelly. In any case, we have water at our house now and I'm praising Him for His faithfulness!!

After doing laundry and hanging out with my friends all afternoon, I had a dinner date with Kjirstin and another friend. However, when I arrived and the restaurant, I was amazed to find that there were many more people than I was anticipating would be there. I was shocked and quite overwhelmed to realize that my friend had thrown me a surprise birthday party! I had decided that I wanted my birthday to be low key this year, and I hardly mentioned it to anyone. But, apparently, God had other plans and I have to admit they were pretty awesome. We had a great dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and then we went back to a friend's house for cake and a movie. They had even decorated the house for a birthday. The birthday sign was Tinkerbell and the plates were Cinderella. I was SUPER excited because if you know me, you know that I'm quite the fan of Disney! :D After dinner, we watched a movie, Anna Karenina, together which turned out to be a little bit strange. I hadn't heard of it before, but a lot of people wanted to see it, so I agreed. All in all it was a great evening!!

Here are some pictures of the party:

My friend Shantelle who planned my party for me! :D







Sunday, my actual birthday, was pretty chill which is what I needed after all of the excitement on Saturday. I ran in the morning and went to church. Kjirstin and I watched The Avengers (which my parents had sent me for my birthday) and  we went to prayer service. In the evening, Pastor's family had a celebration for me. We had birthday dancing, which turns out to be a tradition for them, and they had a cake for me. I got to cut the cake up and feed it a piece to each person who was there. It was a really fun tradition that we didn't do last year. They gave me a very nice card that everyone signed for me. It was a wonderfully perfect little party!! (I just wish I had thought to bring my camera so I could take some pictures!)

Also, I got to wear my new "birthday dress". Somehow, I see this becoming a new tradition for me (since I did the same thing last year). I bought the fabric a few weeks ago and had the ladies at the Susanna Wesley Center sew it up for me. They did a pretty amazing job with the little picture that I drew and my attempted descriptions of what I wanted. Honestly, I think it turned out to be a good mix of western style and Tanzanian style and I've gotten a lot of compliments on it.

Here's a picture if you didn't see it in my last post:



One of my piano students is my birthday buddy (meaning we share the same birthday). It was quite exciting although we didn't get to celebrate together on Sunday. However, she did give me a present on Monday (which I was totally not expecting). She gave me some earrings and they match my new dress very well. On Thursday after her piano lesson, I threw a small party for her. I went to the duka (small shop) nextdoor and got us chips mayai (basically french fries cooked with eggs. It's SUPER delicious), cokes, and some chocolate cookies. She's one of the children from the orphanage, and I'm not sure that they do anything for birthdays. But, I was very happy to be able to do a little something for her!! :D

As for the rest of this week, it's been pretty good. We're still having water issues as a rotten egg smell keeps showing up. But, somehow we are managing and I'm praising God for it. Next week, the students have mid-term exams, so I'm trying to get them geared up for that. I gave them a pop-quiz last week and some did surprisingly, but some really need to improve before the tests. Overall, I can really see a world of difference between where the students are starting this year and where we started last year. The students are becoming more and more used to hearing a interacting with native English speakers and it seems that their works just keeps getting better and better. And now they're moving almost too quickly through the books. Class V is already 2/3's done (granted, they actually started the book last year) and Classes VI and VII are getting pretty close to being half-way done. And it's not because I'm pushing them; they're just understanding the concepts so much easier now! I'm so incredibly proud of these students and what they've accomplished. 

I'm excited that they're getting to have some opportunities to be creative as well. The journals, I think, are helping a lot. It's amazing to see how excited they get over some of the journal topics. Like on Thursday, I talked to them about visiting outer space. Class V was dead silent as I was explaining about how it is possible for people to travel in space, and how people have been to the moon, and how there are people who are trying to figure out a way for us to live on Mars, and so on. I feel like I'm opening up whole new worlds to them and it's SOO exciting! I can't wait to start my creative writing and reading unit after the Easter Holidays!! :D This post is getting pretty long now, but I'll have to post a new entry soon with some more really funny and cool stuff that my kids have written in their exercise books and journals. 

As for this weekend, there's not anything very exciting that will be happening and I am glad for it. Everyone needs a break and I feel like I've been running for the past 2 1/2 months. It's definitely time for a rest!! I hope that you have a wonderful and blessed weekend!!

The Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Kilimanjaro Half Marathon

I would like to start by saying THANK YOU for all of your prayers for water!! On Friday night, clean-smelling and looking water was restored to us!!!! :D However, on Saturday, the water quality took a change for the worse and a funky smell has returned, but it's definitely not back to being sewage water. So, if you could, please keep praying that all problems will be solved in the near future! Thanks!!

So, about that race last weekend. I haven't run a race in over 1 1/2 years. Although I've been into running since Freshman year of college, I really wasn't until the end of my Junior year that I got into races. I started slowly, with a 5K. I did a lot of 5Ks until I got my time down to the mid-twenties and then I worked myself up to the 10K. I did a few of those until I felt comfortable and in November of 2011, I ran my first half marathon. I trained really hard for that race. I was running 30-40 miles every week in addition to continuing with my other activities such as yoga and karate.

But, I didn't get to train very well for this one. My focus here in Tanzania is doing what I need to do here as a missionary first and foremost. Mostly due to time constraints (and some to the overly hot weather), I was only running about 15-20 miles per week using the path that I basically created around the football field at the International School. In fact, my farthest distance at any one time was 5 miles. Thus, I was a bit concerned about how this race was going to go, but I was ready to take on the challenge.

We left Saturday morning after some slight complications at home. Thankfully, we made it to the bus in good time and at 8:30am, we were on our way to Moshi. It was a long bus ride; very long. The bus was hot; very hot. The road was dusty; very dusty. For one particular stretch, there is some pretty significant road construction that is happening. So, our bus got re-routed onto the pretty rough dirt roads and we got tossed about pretty well. In the 8 hours it took us to reach Moshi, there was just one 10 minute stop for food and toilet.

Race day, we woke up just before 5am. Breakfast was supposed to start at 4:30am and our departure time to get to the stadium was set for 6am. I had slept horribly and was a bit concerned about how that would affect the race. I loaded up on bananas and carbs before we hopped on our ride. At the stadium, Kjirstin and I wandered about watching the set up. We watched the full marathoners take off and before I knew it, the half marathoners were lining up. I ended up further forward that I would have liked to be, but oh well. They played music to get us pumped up and then we were off. Little did I know what was in store for me.

My goal had been to run the whole race like I did last time, but that was not to be. I knew that part of the race was going to be uphill because I had read about it online. I didn't realize that the first HALF (meaning like 6.5 miles) was going to be uphill. I felt really pathetic on the way up and I repeatedly asked myself "What in the world have I done to myself?" and "Why am I putting myself through this torture?" I seriously doubted that I was going to make it to the end in one piece. Somehow by switching between running and speed walking I made it up to the half-way point. Maybe it was the spectacular view I had of Mount Kilimanjaro that inspired me to press on.

In any case, when I reached the half-way point, there were a few people there taking down the numbers of the runners. However, it was pretty chaotic as people pushed each other in line and we lost some race time by standing around. Another mzungu (white) girl and I were really confused, and weren't sure if it was required or not. But, we got our numbers on the list and headed off together.

The way down was a wonderful reward after the intense uphill workout. I felt like I was flying even as other were flying past me. My new running partner and I chatted about our work as we made our way down and it made the time fly by. I found out that she is working at IOP where Kjirstin and I had just been a month before. I didn't meet her while I was there, but I also didn't make it to the clinic where she has been doing research for Tulane. (Ironically, both of my sisters are students at Tulane.) Before I knew it, the kilimeters had flown by and I was feeling great. By the time there were only 4 KM left, I decided to race ahead to the finish. It was the most amazing finish I've ever experienced from a race before. Even though it took me 2 hours (10 minutes slower than my last half marathon), I am very proud of myself for pushing through the hard part and finishing well. I felt so accomplished and strong as passed the finish line.

I guess in a way the race was rather representative of my experience here in Morogoro. I got here and realized that I wasn't nearly as prepared in all the ways that I should have been. But, I really didn't have a way to prepare. I mean, life in the states is a whole other world from here. It was a tough road at first; like running uphill. Some days I was able to run, but some days I had to just keep walking and pressing forward. But once I made it through the first six months it's been like a swift downhill run through the past 8 months. As I approach the finish of this missionary experience, I feel strong and accomplished. I feel a sense of closure coming upon me that I didn't feel last year. I'm so glad that I extended my stay, and I praise God daily that I am here and that I have been blessed with this opportunity to serve. But, I feel like the time is nearing for me to return to the US.

That's all I've got for this post. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures yet. I didn't bring my camera to the race because I wasn't sure where I was going to put it. But, the volunteer from IOP took some pictures and is supposed to email them to me. As soon as I get them, I will post them for sure!
Also, I hope to get another post up soon about my birthday activities from this weekend (today is my birthday). Some friends threw me a surprise birthday party yesterday and among other reasons, it's been one of the best birthdays ever. I feel SOOO incredibly blessed right now. I hope that you're having a great weekend as well!!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine

Me in my birthday dress!!
I bought the fabric in town and had the ladies at the Susanna Wesley Center sew it for me.
They really did a fantastic job!! :D

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Prayers for Water!!

Plain and simple that's what we really need right now. Since our return from our trip to Moshi this past weekend, Kjirstin and I have discovered that our water situation has taken a turn for the worse. For quite some time now, it's gone back and forth between having a funky smell and being fine enough to use. However, this week, the water has been black and has more of a sewage smell to it than just a strange salty smell. Luckily, we had some water stored up in our buckets, but unfortunately not everything was full (and then I used some to wash some clothes when we got back Monday afternoon).

To our great advantage, it has rained some this week and we've been able to collect some water. But, unfortunately, no matter how much you try to budget out your water and use as little as possible in the shower (I found out tonight that I can get by with just over half a bucket), water is necessary for life and you can't possibly live without it. We have clean water for drinking, no worries there (as you can always buy it). The problem we will face this weekend is not being able to bathe or wash dishes, clothes, or anything else for that matter if the pipe problem (which they are apparently working on) is not solved (or it doesn't rain) sometime tomorrow.

So, if you will, please join us in praying for this situation!! It would be greatly appreciated!!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine



Monday, March 4, 2013

Exam Week

This past week, we had our first monthly exams for the new year. Because these exams were not mid-term or end of term exams, it went really fast. For all classes (except VII), each test was only 10 questions long. For Class VII, it was 25 questions long. I will admit, though, that I was rather disappointed in the results this month. Class VI did quite well, and Class V did OK, but Class VII did horribly. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that most of them only got 56%. I know that the students can do better than this; they've proved it to me before.

It just seems to me that the minute Class VII from last year left, the pressure was placed on the new Class VII, and their scores automatically began sag under the weight of that pressure. So, now I've gone on a rampage to find out what are the underlying causes of the low scores. But, it's hard to get a straight answer out of the students because I don't think they fully understand what I'm trying to talk to them about. They're so used to memorizing and spitting out information. They say exactly what they think their teachers want to hear. But, here I am, messing everything up, and trying to get them to express themselves and how they actually feel. It's not easy when you're not used to it and when you're not quite sure of the language. For example, the students don't really understand the word "nervous". So, if I try and ask them if they feel nervous when they're taking a test, they don't quite get what I mean. I've tried to explain it many times and in many ways, but it's difficult to describe feelings in concrete ways.

One thing that I did get out of a lot of students is that they are afraid that their teachers and/or parents will beat them for low scores. I'm not sure I've talked very much on this matter in my blog, but maybe now is the time to explain the situation in more detail. Please, I hope that you will read this with an open mind. I hope that those reading this will understand that every culture is different and every culture has it's good and it's bad points. Up until this point, I've refrained from speaking of negative aspects of Tanzanian culture. But, this is one such thing.

Beating is currently a common form of punishment here in Tanzania, as well as many African countries. If students are misbehaving at home or at school, they are beaten. If they are disrespecting their elders, they are beaten. If their grades are too low, they are beaten. (I hope that you will note, that even not to long ago beating was considered acceptable in western cultures, and even America. The campaign for not using corporal punishment is really a rather recent one.)

When I first arrived, I didn't see any kid get beat for about a week. When I saw it for the first time, I recoiled in horror. My immediate thought: "a teacher could be arrested for this in the US!!!" Through talking to others, I've learned that that is the most common form of punishment and it has been happening for generations. Parents were beaten by their parents who were beaten by their parents, who were beaten by their parents. It doesn't necessarily make it right, but it explains why it happens. Because o one does or tries anything else. They just do what they've seen modeled for them.

As for myself growing up, corporal punishment was never common in my family, but I definitely heard about it from others at school. Fellow students and friends would do something wrong and then have to go get "daddy's belt", but this was usually reserved for severe misdemeanors. Maybe some will think I'm wrong for saying this, but I can see where corporal punishment has it's place. But, for me, getting a low score is not such an offense. I remember one time when we had monthly test scores last year. One of the teachers wrote on the board scores and how many "sticks" a student would receive for each of those scores. The list went up to 6 or 7. Unfortunately, last year, I happened to be in the room when that teacher came in to punish those students. I could see the fury and lack of compassion in her eyes, even when the kids started to cry. It seriously made me want to cry, but who was I to say anything or judge what was culturally acceptable? So, I just left the room instead.

However, it's not that way for all teachers. For some teachers, the use of the stick is more symbolic, and it's rather obvious that the child is not really suffering from severe pain/injury. The act is more of a simple tap on the hand two or three times. For some teachers, they use the symbolic method for minor offenses, but they will use the stick more severely for major offenses. I'll admit that when I first got here, I used the stick a few times because I wasn't sure what else to do. Before I came, I hadn't given much thought to the fact that how people punish here might be different from how I see punishments. I found that some of the punishments I tried at first confused the kids a lot (ie. sending them out of the class for a "time out"). (Also, referring to a more specific case: I see fighting as a major offense which deserves a more severe punishment such as getting a "stick") But, as time has gone on and I've spoken to other teachers as well as the past missionary, and really just used trial and error to figure out what works best. I tried having them write lines, but that was hard to keep track of and rather wastes their resources (pens and exercise books). I've tried sending them to the Head Teacher, but I don't want to do that all the time (I'd rather that be a special punishment for the bad offenses, or repeat offenses). What I've found works best for maintaining order in the class is for me to start counting to 5. Once I hit five, the kids have to kneel for the rest of the period. If they continue to talk and make noise, I start counting again. If I make it to 5 a second time, it means that the Head Teacher is going to be called into the class to talk to them/punish them. Most of the time, all it takes for them to get quiet is for me to say "One!"

Honestly, I've seen kids get beaten by a stick so much now that for the most part I've accepted it as a part of daily life here. It's something that's happened for generations and it's going to continue to happen; I can't change the mind-set of an entire people. But, the time the punishment really bothers me is when it's over scores. Beating a child with a stick is not going to beat knowledge into their brains. It's not going to make them more intelligent. It's not going to help solve the situation. A real solution would be to get that child extra assistance in or out of class, or to assign extra practice work at home. What sucks most about this, though, is when a student has improved (maybe last test they got 30% and this time they got 50%), but they still get beaten because their score is still so low. Honestly, I think this messes with their minds and makes them even more nervous to take tests.

I'm trying my best to eliminate the fear factor for my English students. I'm constantly reassuring them that they won't be beaten by me if they get a low score. But, I make sure that they also know that they will be rewarded if they get a high score (an 80% or higher). I'm trying to do my best to help students in class and I've been assigning extra work for homework 4 days a week. Only time will tell if these things are actually helping my students. I hope that as the national exams get closer, the scores on my tests will get higher. I would like to leave in June with a feeling of confidence in their English abilities!!

Well, that's all for now! I was in Moshi this past weekend for the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon, but I plan to write a separate blog about that later this week. I left my camera in the hotel room on race day, but someone else took pictures for me and I'm waiting for her to email them to me.
I hope that you also had a great weekend and that your week has started well!!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine