tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19437234701571780222024-03-19T04:55:40.620-05:00Tanzania Adventure in MissionsThis blog documents my trip as a missionary teacher in Morogoro, Tanzania.Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-64496282306140079392013-07-09T22:55:00.002-05:002013-07-09T22:55:55.977-05:00HomeI'm not going to lie. It's hard to believe that I've only been back at home in the states for 1 1/2 weeks. So much has happened as I try to get myself situated to move forward with life here while seeing everyone and coming to terms with the fact that I have finished my service in Tanzania. So far things are looking up: I've got a job, it's looking like my friend and I most likely have an apartment lined up, and while I am still trying to work on getting into those classes for speech and language pathology, it seems like things are moving forward for that as well. I'm back at karate, back to visiting all my favorite spots, and reconnecting with everyone I've lost touch with during my extended stay out of the country. And the food; good Lord I've eaten SOOO much good food since I've been back!!!! :D<br />
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But, off and on it hits me: I'm gone now. I've left Africa and I don't know when I'll be back. I want to go back some day. When I left, I knew that it was time; I knew that my service at Wesley had ended. But does that mean that my service to Africa has ended? Only God knows the answer to that question, but I feel in my heart that it is not over yet. Yes, America is home, but Tanzania is my home now too. When I was in Tanzania, America became like a dream life for me: something so far away and completely unrelated to what I was experiencing in Tanzania. Now, I guess the opposite will become true. As my life in America becomes more real, my life in Tanzania will feel further and further away. But, America never truly left me while I was there, and I don't think Tanzania will ever truly leave me just because I'm here.<br />
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Thankfully, there are so many reminders of my life in Tanzania that surround me. I still speak occasional Swahili words without thinking about it. I've got a HUGE stack of goodbye letters from my students that I read before I left, but have not read since I've arrived in America. I think it'll be a very emotional experience for me now that I'm so far away from them. Plus I've got all kinds of home decorations and outfits that I wear proudly to church and around town. The other night, I was showing some Tanzanian TV commercials and Gospel music videos to my parents on youtube. For me, I was transported back to Pastor Umba's house. For me, it was like I was in the sitting room, eating dinner with the family, talking and sharing and watching TV. I know that my parents couldn't understand anything that was being said, and some of it's pretty strange to us in our culture, but it was a chance to share yet another small part of my life in Tanzania. And today, I went through my pictures that I took over the last year and a half. There's a LOT of them. I feel like I will have no troubles remembering my time in Tanzania. I filled up just about 5 journals (and they're not particularly small journals either), took thousands of pictures, and I've got my whole blog documenting my experiences. As I was going through the pictures, I remembered what it was like walking through the hot and dusty streets in town, and the funny things my students have said and done. Those smiles and those faces, those places and those times will always stay with me. I've tried my hardest to make sure of that, but I still pray that one day I will be able to return.<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-20292821765818672862013-06-25T14:17:00.004-05:002013-06-25T14:17:52.122-05:00Mission Team Visit in MorogoroMy last week in Morogoro, we were blessed to have a mission team visit our site from Oklahoma. Many members of the group had visited the site before and had built wonderful relationships with the members of our church. Also, it was a very exciting visit because it marked the beginning of the construction for the roof of our church. As I have mentioned before, our church has been under construction for a LONG time. Mostly, this is because the church in Morogoro is very dependent on foreign money. They wait until they have received the funds and then they start the next project.<br />
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It was really fun, though, watching everyone from the church as they got ready for the visitors. There were extra rehearsals and more choir groups were created to present even more music at the Sunday service. A group of youth also rehearsed a dancing routine for while we were singing our praising songs. It was quite a festival on Sunday and there were a lot more people in church! There was a time that the mission team was called up to introduce themselves to the congregation (a very important part of Tanzanian culture). One of the members of the team gave us our message at church about how we are to trust God to save us in our situations. In the end, we all had communion together. This was a very powerful time for me because it was my last Sunday and God reminded me that it doesn't matter where we come from, we are all so very precious in His eyes. It doesn't matter what we've done before, what continent or city we were born in, how our lives growing up are, He loves us all unconditionally and in His presence, we are the same. (Please note that the Sunday I'm talking about in this blog was the same Sunday as my last Sunday in Morogoro. I know that I kind of split it up a bit.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mission team introductions</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancing while praising</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church Communion</td></tr>
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Throughout their stay, the team did what they could on the work site, but I think it was difficult because so much of the work was meant for skilled laborers. They got to do things like mix concrete and transfer the mixture in buckets up the ladder to where it was needed on top. They also got to spend some time playing with the kids from the school. I think they kids really enjoyed the simple activities and toys that the team brought with them. I even got to help them teach some of the kids how to make gimp which is a crafting project that was really popular when I was growing up. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The scaffolding which was used to put up the church roof</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A line of people (mission team and church members) passing buckets of concrete up the ladder</td></tr>
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Overall, the visit of the mission team was a very nice experience, but a little bit stressful for me because they were keeping their items at my house. Luckily, everything worked out and I was able to do everything that I needed to do (including packing) without much difficulty!! :)</div>
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I hope that you are having a blessed week!! I'm currently visiting a volunteer missionary (like me!) in Czech Republic right now. It's been great to see her church and see the town where she has been living for the last 15 months. She's also finishing up her service and we will be heading back to the states together later this week. It's really crazy to think that it's actually happening and I'm really going to be home so soon!! :D</div>
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You!</div>
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~Christine</div>
<br />Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-15180283270817721232013-06-19T14:47:00.000-05:002013-06-19T14:47:02.916-05:00Many GoodbyesThroughout my last week and a half in Tanzania, there were many goodbye celebrations and everything else. It was almost overwhelming how many people wanted to do stuff for me to say goodbye. I've already mentioned the goodybe parties that the school put on for me, so these are the other goodbyes.<br />
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The last few days of school, I really didn't want to teach anything. I had finished up what I wanted to do with Classes V and VI and so we just had music and game times. We learned songs and I worked further with Class VI on the recorders. They actually did pretty well there and I think the reason is because they were more secure in their music theory foundation (YAY!!). The rest of the time, we played enriching games like Simon Says and Jimmy Pa and we also watched informative movies like Tangled. The last few days of school was like a big party for me. I was exhausted when I got home every day because of all the activity, but it was worth it. (The other teachers were not really teaching anything because most of them are class teachers and were working on their end of the year reports, so I got a lot of freedom to go in and out of classes as I wished.) On the last day, Friday, I went to each class and gave every student a sticker as my final gift to them. It was quite a solemn event and everyone was silent as I went around the room. Class VII hadn't finished their movie when the bell rang for everyone to go home, so they remained in the classroom for quite a while. Many students from the other classes stuck around for a long time, not wanting to say the final goodbye just yet. It was a really sad time for us all.<br />
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The following Sunday was my last one in Morogoro and it was quite the event. The mission team had arrived at that point, so there were many extra songs which had been prepared for them and there was a lot of excitement in the church surrounding that. At one point in the service, I was called up to the front and Pastor Umba gave a speech about me and my service to the community in their church and the school. Then the women presented me with the gift of a kitenge fabric. Afterwards, I was given the opportunity to give a speech which I did (or I should say attempted to do) in Swahili. I thanked everyone for their welcome and for allowing me the chance to teach at their school. I expressed my hope to one day to return to Morogoro, but only God knows if that will come to fruition or not.<br />
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Last Sunday at Church:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancing with the gift of a new kitenge fabric</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving my goodbye speech in Swahili at church</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some girls from the English choir and me</td></tr>
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On Sunday in the evening, Nathan finally made his way home from secondary school. I had pretty much given up hope that I was going to see him before I left for America, so I really really excited when he came back. Rhodier, Frank, Vanessa, and I had all expressed our excitement over his return and they decided that they wanted to throw a party for him. In the end, it was decided that the party was to celebrate: Nathan's birthday (which we had missed because he had been at secondary school), Nathan's return, and the fact that Frank, Rhoider, and Nathan had finished their first term in secondary school.<br />
Rhoider and Vanessa decided to come over early on Monday morning to prepare for the party. I found some balloons that other missionaries had given me and we blew them up and taped them to the walls. Also, they had brought some sparkly tape that they used to write "Bye 'Tina" because they ran out of the tape. (I pretended not to notice that after we had decided that the party was supposed to be about Nathan and the finishing of the first term of secondary school and all).<br />
In the afternoon, we began the party. I had some Oreo cookies, and some crackers that I put out on plates. I also cut up an apple and bought sodas for everyone. It was quite the little party!! It was announced that the party was in honor of my leaving in addition to all the other reasons mentioned above. Then, we ate and drank and talked together before starting our movie which I had promised to Nathan when he was home for the Easter holiday: Captain America. I think they really enjoyed it!! One thing I realized later was that these were all the students who were translators for me at church. I'm not sure that it was ever meant to be that way, but these are all students that I have grown particularly close to over the past year and a half and I am very sad to have left them.<br />
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Goodbye party with Nathan, Rhoider, Frank, and Vanessa:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the preparations</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my translators</td></tr>
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On Tuesday, I had lunch with some friends in town at my favorite restaurant, Oasis. It was a really nice meal and I was happy to see them one last time. After lunch, I went to Day Spring for the last time. All of the kids had been begging me to visit them again, so I agreed. They also asked if I could spend the night, so I said I would since it was going to be my last visit. It was so funny when my friend drove me up: all the kids gathered around the car to take my bag and greet me even though I had just seen many of them at school that morning. (Classes IV and VII are meeting during break to prepare for exams and Class VI is meeting because they failed their math exams and need extra work) As soon as I walked inside, all of the kids gathered in the sitting room area and whipped out a deck of cards. They all wanted to talk with me and play with me. It was such an amazing transformation from the first time I had visited last year. Then, the kids had been so shy and were not really sure what to do. The visit had been so awkward and I hadn't really known what to do.<br />
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This last visit was so wonderful. I taught them how to play the card games Crazy 8's and Battle. Then, we ate lunch together which was ugali and veggies. I wasn't able to eat very much, though, because I had just eaten a huge meal at the restaurant. Afterwards, we put in a movie, The Princess and the Frog. I think they enjoyed it. After the movie, I called everyone into the sitting room so that I could present the kids with a small gift. We had taken group pictures at the school and I had made sure to get a picture with all of my students from Day Spring. I then took it to the print studio in town and got it printed and framed. It was a simple gift, but the kids were SO very excited about it and they put it up in a special place in their home. I hope that it will serve as a reminder of our times together and the many visits I made to their home. Then we started the next movies: Madagascar 3 and Finding Nemo while we prepared things for dinner and ate dinner. Before, I wouldn't have dared to help with the dinner preparations because I know it's rather against Tanzanian hospitality for the guest to do work, but some of the girls were peeling garlic and onions and I got brave and jumped right in and helped. It was really fun!!<br />
At the request of my students, I spent the night at the orphanage because it was going to be my last visit to them. In the morning, I planned to go to school early with the students from Class IV, VI, and VII in their car. The only problem ended up being that the car came SUPER late for reasons which are still unknown to me. (I've noticed this year that their ride seems to be a lot less reliable and they've been late to school many times or have had to stay very late into the evening.) So, we sang songs and played while we waited. They also had a prayer for me for my journey home and their grandmother presented me with the gift of khanga fabric. That fabric is probably the most special fabric that I now own because every time I see it or wear it I think of my precious students from Day Spring and their bibi (grandmother).<br />
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Last visit to Day Spring Orphanage:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peeling garlic and onions</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just hanging out</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I <3 these crazy students!! :D</td></tr>
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Finally, on Wednesday evening, after the prayer service, the youth from church made a stop by my house to say goodbye and present me with their gifts: khanga fabric and kitenge fabric. The gave a small speech of thanks and we took many pictures together.<br />
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Goodbye gifts from the youth:</div>
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Right now, I'm having a great time visiting my friends in Maua, Kenya and comparing my experience with theirs. It seems that they live in a much poorer area and thus our experiences have been different. Also, there are quite a few subtle differences between Tanzanian and Kenyan culture which is always interesting to learn more about. I hope to write a blog entry about it soon, but I'm trying to finish updating about my last weeks in Tanzania. </div>
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Soon, however, I will be moving to the next stage in my journey back to the states: a stop to visit a missionary friend in Czech Republic. I'm really looking forward to getting to see where she has been living and learning about her experiences and mission in an area where there is still a strong Communist ideology. From what she's told me so far, it's been very tricky going about spreading the Gospel there because so many people are against it. </div>
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I hope that you are all well and that you have been having a blessed week!</div>
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,</div>
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~Christine</div>
Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-81389940196071187162013-06-16T15:04:00.000-05:002013-06-16T15:04:45.314-05:00The Kids Who Changed My Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
First of all, I want to apologize profusely for not getting this blog up sooner. First of all, I've been ridiculously busy with packing and preparing to leave. Also, we had a mission team visiting during my last week in Morogoro which made things all the more hectic. The other problem I was experiencing was that I could log into blogger, but I couldn't access any of my previous posts or create a new post for whatever reason. But, I can say that I am alive and well and have now left Tanzania and begun my journey home. Thus, now I am visiting some missionaries in Kenya before returning to the states.</div>
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Well, I must say that I had an absolutely WONDERFUL last week of school. I finished everything that I wanted to with my kids and also had a lot of time for playing and hanging out with them. It was super fantastic!! On Tuesday of my last week, the kids threw a party for me. It was super cute, they all started having practices the week before to prepare, but they were all trying to keep it a secret from me (although I totally knew what was going on, I pretended not to. The students just said they were going to "football practice" or something like that). </div>
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Tuesday was a wonderful day. The kids sang all kinds of goodbye songs that they wrote for me and did all kinds of dances. There was even a fashion show with some of the most interesting fashions I've seen (LOL!). Some of my students even break danced which was absolutely hysterical to watch. Seriously, this one boy in particular from the orphanage is such a punk! There was even some cultural dancing by some of the kids. It was absolutely wonderful and a bit overwhelming realizing that they prepared all of this just for me. </div>
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When I think back on everything that I've been through in Morogoro, I realize that it was tough, but I am made of tough stuff and I survived. I didn't want to teach. I wasn't even 100% sure that I wanted to come to Morogoro because I really wanted to be placed somewhere where I wouldn't have to teach. But, I can say that these kids have changed my life. I'm not really interested in teaching once I get back to the states, but I can say that I am so thankful that by the grace of God I came to Morogoro and had this wonderful experience doing the one thing I didn't want to do. Seriously, I feel like God used these kids to heal something inside of me. So, I may or may not have changed their lives, but I know, without a doubt, that they have changed mine! And for that I praise God!!</div>
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Here are some pictures of my amazing students!! :D</div>
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I hope to get some more entries posted soon, but I'm not sure how feasible that is seeing as I'm traveling and in transition now. Hopefully I'll get one more post up this week though because a LOT has happened in the last couple weeks since I posted. There were quite a number of "good-bye" parties and also we had a mission team visiting our site my last week (as I mentioned previously).</div>
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I hope that you're having a blessed start to week so far!!</div>
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,</div>
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~Christine</div>
<br />Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-30960539886400257362013-06-05T09:47:00.001-05:002013-06-05T09:47:48.013-05:00DARRecently, some of my very good friends have moved to DAR to do their mission work. So a friend from Morogoro and I decided to go this past weekend and visit them at their new homes. We all had a really great time together helping one of the families move into their finally finished house, going to the beach, eating all kinds of awesome food, and visiting their church.<br />
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DAR is an amazing and magical world full of exotic foods like Subway sandwiches, stuffed crust pizza, fettuccini alfredo, cheesecake and more. It's a strange city that somehow combines African culture and western culture all into one big lump. You can find all kinds of places like malls, beach resorts, and restaurants which are created especially for foreigners. And, at the same time, you can find all of the normal small African shops as well. There are many cars, motorcylces, buses, and as a result so much traffic because the roads are narrow and poorly maintained. Yet, at the same time, there are so many poorer people walking and trying their hardest to sell things on the streets. It was a very strange combination to experience; especially after having been away from western life for so long. The strangest part of the experience was going from church on Sunday (which is not complete, but it does at least have a roof), and then going to a mall where we ate fast food at a chicken place (sort of like KFC, which there also is one of those in DAR). I also got to walk through a real supermarket for the first time in a year. I was overwhelmed by the number of choices in food. I even found Clif Bars (one of my favorite snacks), Reece's cups, half an isle with just different types of teas, and so much more; though, of course, all of these things were grossly overpriced.<br />
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In spite of the shocking aspects of the weekend, it was just what I needed since things have been really stressful for me in Morogoro as of late. Any transition is difficult, but I think that the transition of a cross-cultural move is even more stressful than most. I'm used to life here now, but lately, knowing that I will be leaving soon, some cultural aspects of life have really been getting on my nerves. Mostly this has had to do with the attitude of locals towards white people and the fact that I can't go anywhere without attracting a lot of attention from people. It's very frustrating because I simply can't be friends with every single person I meet and it's impossible to greet everyone. If I did stop to greet every person, I would never get anywhere and if I was friends with everyone I met I wouldn't have time for anything. It's very overwhelming sometimes. In DAR, I suddenly became invisible and I was able to walk around and, well, just exist without extra attention being brought to myself. It was such a relief for me.<br />
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Here are some pictures of the weekend. My friend is supposed to be sending me pictures of the beach, but I don't have them yet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, that's right. The first thing on this list is "Cajun Chicken". I didn't try it, but I was shocked to see that on a menu in Tanzania.</td></tr>
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Hope you're having a great week so far!</div>
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,</div>
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~Christine</div>
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<br />Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-46636700770936355192013-05-29T08:12:00.001-05:002013-05-29T08:12:23.259-05:00The Final FinalsTwo and a half weeks left; and only 7 of those days are with my kids. That's all that's been on my mind lately; how soon my departure is. While it's half exciting, it's also half sad and maybe a little bit scary (if I'm going to be completely honest).<br />
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As it turns out, I wasn't able to get into graduate school for this fall. Apparently, it was a very competitive year, but I was given very good feedback from a couple of universities that told me I should try again next year. So, I'm going to try and take some prerequisite courses this fall and spring which might help my application even more for next year. Thus, the future is a little uncertain at this time, but I just have to put my faith in God and I know that all things will work out.<br />
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As for life here in Tanzania, this week has been mid-year finals week. Exam week always feels like a big black hole and I personally don't care so much for it. The students just take exams all day and it can be pretty boring for me as a teacher. Because Class VII doesn't take the monthly exams, I only have two sets of papers to grade throughout the week (Classes V and VI English) and each day I'm only scheduled to give one or two tests the whole day. Thus I've been reading a lot and hanging out with the kids when they finish their tests and are allowed to go outside. Also, I've been giving the Class VII students a LOT of work to do throughout the day since no teachers go in to teach them while the others are doing exams. It keeps them quiet for a while and reassures me that they're learning something.<br />
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Today was the last day of exams (praise Jesus). For the next two days Class VII will be taking a mock examination to prepare for the exams in September and I'll be doing test corrections with Classes V and VI. Then, next week is the last week before the mid-year break. Usually, breaks are good and I look forward to them. In fact I know that it's just about time for a break now because it's been taking me 20 minutes to wake up to my alarm lately. But, it hasn't quite hit me that this is the end. Up to this point during my time here, we've had several breaks; we go and we all come back again. The difference now is that after this break, the students will return to school and I will not. So next week is it; the end. I'm slightly torn between wanting to continue teaching up to the end and just letting them watch movies or something like that. I mean, we've already had the exams and they're going to go on break for a month, so what's the point of teaching something new? But, at the same time, this is my last chance to pour out any last bit of information into their brains. I already know that Friday is going to be the "farewell party". Maybe I'll teach until Wednesday and have some movie time on Thursday? We'll see how it goes.<br />
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As for myself, I'm going to be traveling to DAR this weekend to see friends and say a final goodbye. Also, we have a mission team from Oklahoma that will be arriving mid-week next week, so that will be exciting to meet them. They will be here up until about the time that I begin my journey back to the states via Kenya and Czech Republic. (On my way home I'm going to be visiting some missionary friends that I met through my training to come here. I'm really excited to see where they are living and what kinds of things they have been doing!)<br />
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Well, I guess that's the update for now. I hope that you're having fantastic week so far!!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~Christine<br />
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<br />Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-55042326980703997782013-05-19T11:29:00.001-05:002013-05-19T11:41:42.023-05:00A Teacher is...So this week, nothing particularly exciting or amazing or wonderful happened. It was just an average week at school, teaching and sharing with my kids. Soooo...I tried to think of what to write about and this is what I came up with! Enjoy!! :D<br />
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When I was in my undergraduate classes, we talked about what/who a teacher is. We discussed how teachers spend a huge chunk of the day with their students; and sometimes the students spend more time with their teachers than their actual parents. So, what does this mean for teachers? It means, that a teacher takes on many roles. A teacher is not just a teacher, but a friend, a counselor, a mother/father figure, a confidant, and so much more. And, just because you living in a foreign country does not change this fact. Somehow, over the past year, I have managed to embrace all of these roles in some form or fashion. When I'm in the class, I am "Madam" and I do my best to maintain control while allowing the students to have some fun and laugh a little. Outside of class, we talk, make jokes, and tell stories. The students are always coming up to my desk during break time to hang out with me. Many students, especially in Class VII, have been coming to me with questions about English and Math. A few students have opened up to me about personal problems they're experiencing and I've been blessed to be there for them (it is a very rare thing here for people to express their real emotions). Yeah, we've had a good run together and it's going to be really hard to leave them all so soon.<br />
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Just this week, one student was asking me what day I was leaving and another student who standing nearby said "She's not leaving. Nope!" When students make comments like that and "Please don't go madam!!" it makes me want to start crying because I realize how much of an impact I've had on their little lives. It's in those moments I realize that I have succeeded as a teacher, in all of these aspects.<br />
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I knew, when coming here, that I wouldn't be able to change the whole world. It's just a bit to big for me. ;) But, I hoped that God would move through my life to change the lives of the people I met here in Morogoro. I'm so blessed that He has allowed me to have such a powerful experience with memories to last a lifetime, and also because I'll be leaving a small mark here that I hope will last beyond my own impending departure.<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~Christine<br />
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Haha, sorry for all the repeat photos! I've got to get some more recent ones at school this week and in the last two after that! ;)<br />
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Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-55070690059325079262013-05-12T13:40:00.000-05:002013-05-12T13:40:00.067-05:00Sick of Saying GoodbyeI'm going to try and make a quick update. However, if you go by my previous history in writing blogs, short is not exactly in my writing vocabulary. ;)<br />
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On Sunday, for our usual prayer service, our group of missionaries and I had a special goodbye party for three groups/families that were to leave this week. One family has now moved back to the states for good. One family is going home of furlough and will be back after a number of months, and one group is moving to DAR to begin work on a ministry there. We all sang worship songs together and a message was given. Then, we shared a meal of Mexican food and talked a lot. It was a great time of celebration of Jesus' sacrifice and how that has allowed them to be here in Tanazania and how God has done so many great works through them. Though we will miss them, we know that they're all in God's hands and that He will continue to do great things in their lives.<br />
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The other big news from the week is that I got a very bad case of a cold or the flu on Wednesday I managed to teach most of my classes in the morning, but had to go home in the afternoon and was stuck in bed with a very high fever. I continued to be sick on Thursday and Friday, but I still managed to teach all of my classes, even though I went home early each day because I was so exhausted. I'm doing much better now and am praising God that I brought some cold/flu medications with me from the states. By Saturday, I was feeling much better and even managed to play frisbee with the other missionaries. And, today I'm feeling pretty much back to normal (maybe just a little bit tired). </div>
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The students at school are continuing well. Classes V and VI are doing reading units and Class VII is in full swing test preparation mode. I'm really enjoying the reading unit that we're doing in Classes V and VI. I hope that it's not just challenging the kids in English, but in other areas of their lives as well. I started with shorter books like Little Red Riding Hood, Madeline, and Peter Rabbit. All classic stories with easy plots and I wanted a variety of stories that I hoped kids could relate to. </div>
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It was hard to choose a longer, chapter book that I thought would be interesting and relatable for the students. Although we have many books, a lot of them are written from such a western mindset that it's hard for the students to relate to them. Of course it's still good exposure for them to read those things, but I wanted to choose a book that we could do a lot with. After much consideration, I chose a book about the Holocaust called Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I guess it does seem like a strange topic to teach students in Africa, but there are a lot of very relevant aspects. First of all, the book is historical, so it's easy to teach "this is what happened" and give more background and understanding. Also, I thought they could relate to things like power outages and food shortages. And it's not about America. The kids hear, talk about, read about, think about, etc. America so much. Everyone in Tanzania wants to go to America because it's the place where "all your dreams will come true for FREE!" I want the kids to learn some things about other places in the world too!</div>
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But, the biggest thing I want them to get out of this, though, are the great lessons that can be learned from what happened as a result of hatred and those which are the results of love in this story. The main character of the story, Annemarie, and her Christian family go out of their way to protect their Jewish friends from the violence of the German soldiers. I want my students to learn from their actions of bravery and courage. I want them to realize that she was only just their age and that they also have some power. Things between Muslims and Christians hang on a thin line sometimes. Even since I have been here there have been multiple incidents of violence between the two groups (none of them in Morogoro, thankfully). Most recently, as in within the past week, there was a bombing of a Catholic church in Arusha. I want my students to consider the things that have happened in the past as a result of hatred so that they can learn from the mistakes of others. I want them to consider how they can try and live in peace with each other and help each other in the future instead of taking part in the violence. I want them to consider Annemarie's actions of love and bravery and strive to be like her if and when things get tough. I want this to be my final challenge before I go. </div>
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Here are some pictures of the reading unit!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drawing pictures of Madeline.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Break Time!! (And the students are still reading) :D</td></tr>
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That's all for now! Hope it wasn't too long! ;)</div>
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,</div>
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~Christine</div>
<span id="goog_1741287780"></span><span id="goog_1741287781"></span><br />Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-57423362353821543442013-05-06T12:13:00.000-05:002013-05-06T12:13:46.768-05:00What is Poverty?Living in a place where there is poverty all around me, and where I am basically living as the people are living, has caused me to question what exactly is poverty? From a western mind-set, poverty is a lack of material goods. And while this is true, that is only the tip of the iceberg. I've talked to people here and I've discussed the issue with other missionaries and this is what I've come up with.<br />
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Poverty is a lack of material goods. Poverty means not eating some days of the week for lack of funds. It means that parents can't send their children to school, or buy new clothes for them when they outgrow their old ones. It means that some people walk many miles every day to get water for their families. It means that people die from preventable diseases because they can't afford the medicines needed to cure it. To me, I would call these the external poverties.<br />
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But I think that the thing which harms people even more than these external poverties is something I'll refer to as the "poverty of the mind" that plagues people in underdeveloped countries. This is a mindset of poverty; a feeling that you have no power to do anything that can change how things are. People see problems and they don't do anything about it. Instead, they blame the government for their problems, and they say that the government should do more. Many people can see that the government is corrupt, but people here don't vote; especially not young people. Even if they don't like the government, they don't vote because they don't think that their vote will count for anything. Or, they think that even if they do vote, corrupt people will just change the situation. So the problem gets worse because no is doing anything to change the government or the problems that they see.<br />
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From what I can tell, all of this comes down to one thing: people don't feel like they have the power to change anything because their own situations are so desperate. People feel like they don't have the resources to bring about change and a better way of life, so they just don't do anything and accept the way things are. Or, worse, they just wait until someone comes in and "saves the day" by fixing the problem for them. And yes, by others coming in to help, it seems to be fixing the problem, but really it's like putting a bandage over a wound and not actually treating the infection that is raging inside. People are afraid to try and do something for themselves and they just wait until someone does it for them.<br />
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Sometimes I see this in class. There are certain students who always call me over saying "Madam I don't understand!" even after I've just explained how to do it and given examples. I try to refer them back to the examples and guide them through another one to make sure they're on track. But, I refuse to just give up the answers. I want them to do their own work. I want them to feel proud of themselves for accomplishing something. I don't want my students to feel like they can't do anything. I don't want them to think that they don't have any power to change the world around themselves. I want them to see that they are intelligent and that they have good ideas. I've done some journals with them concerning changing the world and things they can do to change what they see around themselves. I've even done a journal entry about what they would do if they were the president and how they could change the situations for people. I want them to start thinking about these things now, while they're young. I want to sow the seeds of change in their hearts now and I pray that they will grow inside those kids.<br />
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When I first came to Tanzania, my goal was to teach kids English and that was all. But now, my teaching has become so much more than that. While I am still teaching English, my goals have become more about personal development. I want the kids to explore and express themselves and the things that they want. I want to challenge the kids to think about things in new ways about things. I want my students to question things so that they can come to greater understandings about themselves and the world in which they live. I'm not sure when this change happened; I think it was a gradual thing, but I praise God that I get to teach English because it is a subject that lends itself towards self expression. I hope and pray that somehow this is the difference that I will make. Yes, it's good to teach them about grammar and tenses. Yes, it's good if they pass their exams and get into graduate school. But, to me, the great thing is the development of the person and new ideas. I hope that will be my legacy here.<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-38288956326253094042013-04-30T10:48:00.001-05:002013-04-30T10:48:51.307-05:00Ilula X2This past weekend was a three day weekend because of the sikukuu (holiday) to celebrate the union of Taganyika and Zanzibar. So, my friend Anne and I decided that we would travel to Ilula. Ever since I visited in February I've been wanting to go back and after I told her about the place, my friend said that she would really like to visit there as well.<br />
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We left Morogoro on Thursday after school by bus. It was a very crowded bus and reminded me more of a daladala since there were so many people sitting in the isles (which I've found is not so very common with the big charter buses that travel long distances). Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable ride and I was very glad when we were approaching our drop point. The only problem was that the conductor didn't understand where we wanted to drop. My Swahili may not be so great, but Anne has amazing Swahili and we were still having problems. In any case, somehow by the grace of God, they understood that we wanted to go see Berit (who is known all over Tanzania because of her work) and they dropped us off right at the road that leads up to IOP. We arrive late, so we didn't get to do much that day.<br />
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On Friday, the five volunteers, some of the girls from the orphanage, Anne, and I all went to a place called Isimila. This is a beautiful canyon not far from Iringa town that recently (if I remember correctly) has become a national park. Luckily for us, Berit knew of someone who would be willing to guide us through the park and she had set everything up for us. I took just over an hour on a daladala to reach Iringa town and then we had to get on another daladala for about 30 minutes. Literally, we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere. There were like two buildings and a bunch of farms and one dirt road. We walked down the road for less than a mile and reached the entrance to the canyon. There we met our guide who showed us the small museum there and then we walked through the canyon itself. Really it was quite beautiful and so peaceful since we were the only ones there. The canyon reminded me a lot of Bryce National Park because of the tall columns in the middle. Here are some pictures of what we saw:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls from the orphanage who came with us!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, that's right. It's a chameleon!! :D</td></tr>
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On our way back, we got the chance to walk around Iringa town. It's smaller than Morogoro, but it's still pretty nice. There is a wonderful little cafe there called Neema Craft which was started by a British couple. They serve all kinds of baked goods and specialty drinks; even smoothies!!! They also have a shop with all kinds of cute crafts made from recycled goods and other things you can find in Tanzania. All of the workers there are deaf, and they had some charts with some sign language diagrams for the customers. It's truly an amazing place that is having a great impact on the people with special needs in Tanzania!<br />
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On Saturday, one of the girls who grew up at IOP gave us a tour around the entire IOP site. Having already been once before, I knew all of the programs that they offered, but it was cool to see that things have progressed since I was there just a few months ago. Anne asked her to give us the tour only in Swahili so that we could practice. I was amazed how much I could understand, but it does get tiring listening and trying to translate Swahili so much. The whole tour took maybe 3 hours or so!! That's a LOT of Swahili.<br />
In the afternoon, I remained at IOP and Anne went to town to meet some friends. I stayed behind and helped one of the girls with math. She's in secondary school and is struggling a lot, so Berit asked if I could try and help her. Also, the volunteers put on a series of activities like a treasure hunt for the girls and I helped them with that. I forgot to bring my camera, so I unfortunately didn't get any pictures, but we had a lot of fun none the less.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls danced to welcome us to IOP</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJpeR3pkEZSWiV0udGZ4TAe4i6fMIAgR1orTkzOzUSlzFyf_h0g9vONA_HtWsJGqJlj8sfcvp3DUHcHljamfw2Sybwfs0gJclehIkkeTJDMdCJEOVrJXmTHUQ2RmOUWmmnAs9pGRAZd8/s1600/DSCN2629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJpeR3pkEZSWiV0udGZ4TAe4i6fMIAgR1orTkzOzUSlzFyf_h0g9vONA_HtWsJGqJlj8sfcvp3DUHcHljamfw2Sybwfs0gJclehIkkeTJDMdCJEOVrJXmTHUQ2RmOUWmmnAs9pGRAZd8/s320/DSCN2629.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sitting area for the girls to rest in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vTbxSOfAn8lUTPCS2NZDfD0jXyjcVkr9U4ZEmRU8hn6Aja_cnZe5ZrN6SsgUqKEeErfNCD7zMzWEj3k6YCcVNbmVOjClqriiKb_jlvWioj4qaVnFgnF6SgvM7TuyKCpBSkINeYr3gF4/s1600/DSCN2632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vTbxSOfAn8lUTPCS2NZDfD0jXyjcVkr9U4ZEmRU8hn6Aja_cnZe5ZrN6SsgUqKEeErfNCD7zMzWEj3k6YCcVNbmVOjClqriiKb_jlvWioj4qaVnFgnF6SgvM7TuyKCpBSkINeYr3gF4/s320/DSCN2632.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the chicken house that was under construction the last time I was at Ilula. <br />
Now it houses a few hundred chickens!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEf2gvbW614Q2XMBcimcRK8MKQaT18Ko6q7utsZJ9eorr1-YmZY_QbpJMLnfkHZgfqxYMXHdEpsD9XMnRfsy9KAKMwwDqOG4jNbxu0Ia-I79ZfW-9yndcvHUViJzehWu8H1DI0pEilqo/s1600/DSCN2643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEf2gvbW614Q2XMBcimcRK8MKQaT18Ko6q7utsZJ9eorr1-YmZY_QbpJMLnfkHZgfqxYMXHdEpsD9XMnRfsy9KAKMwwDqOG4jNbxu0Ia-I79ZfW-9yndcvHUViJzehWu8H1DI0pEilqo/s320/DSCN2643.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture from up at The Lord's Hill High School </td></tr>
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Before church on Sunday I jogged, and unfortunately twisted my ankle (again!). Seriously, my ankle is so terrible messed up now from running on the uneven surfaces. It's so easy, even when walking to accidentally make a wrong step. Luckily, it's not a bad twist and it doesn't hurt at all. So, I was able to walk up to where Kjirstin and I planted our sunflower seeds the last time we were in Ilula. It was SUPER exciting to see the results of our hard labor!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQzAFVLzVNrD-FXUscK0KR_mc6_aOSPO166aWeaTS5sT_RXNqx1O_cU7x9HWjNTUrFvxYgqgtZ9mILjeW_ZW6AK-O2ALIREgZRLw-WZBKUI2l_nZtGN1KbUg0SSZ99nrvWtZcPhXx9uE/s1600/DSCN2654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQzAFVLzVNrD-FXUscK0KR_mc6_aOSPO166aWeaTS5sT_RXNqx1O_cU7x9HWjNTUrFvxYgqgtZ9mILjeW_ZW6AK-O2ALIREgZRLw-WZBKUI2l_nZtGN1KbUg0SSZ99nrvWtZcPhXx9uE/s320/DSCN2654.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Me and the sunflowers that grew from the seeds I planted last time I was in Ilula</td></tr>
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For Sunday School, Anne and I got to teach the lesson. Berit had a puzzle with pictures of the story of Noah. So we used that to help us tell the story. I told the story in English and she translated it into Swahili. It was really fun. After we told the story and talked about the lessons we can learn from Noah, we took the whole puzzle apart and put it back together with the kids. It was really fun! </div>
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Also, I was asked to sing during the special music part of the service when the choirs are coming up to sing. Last time we were there, I was caught off guard when Berit asked me in the middle of the service if I would sing, but this time I was more prepared for that to happen. So, I sang a song that is based off of 1 Corinthians 13 which is really nice and a particular favorite of mine.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telling the story of Noah</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrMesicDFSblZgN5ufapnUcNXLkov7bxkLf2DJQlhvk10zxgWGrcSEraqQwuETV0HHnp5oW6oZfgz0GnbmjHlwabyexOpgcqOuynS4M_Is3wwAeT72Dxs19JVE045gp523dgfWhvPRQk/s1600/DSCN2667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrMesicDFSblZgN5ufapnUcNXLkov7bxkLf2DJQlhvk10zxgWGrcSEraqQwuETV0HHnp5oW6oZfgz0GnbmjHlwabyexOpgcqOuynS4M_Is3wwAeT72Dxs19JVE045gp523dgfWhvPRQk/s320/DSCN2667.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting the puzzle back together again with the kids!</td></tr>
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After church, Anne and I returned to IOP for lunch and then prepared to go. We waited at the bus stop at Masukanzi for over an hour while the guy who works there tried to flag a bus for us. But, all of the buses which were passing by were full and once it got to be about 4pm, I was feeling like it was getting too late because most buses were going all the way to DAR which is about 8 hours from Ilula. The guy even tried to wave down mini-buses and private cars for us, but we were still not having luck. Suddenly, a guy stopped in his truck and offered to take us. Normally, I'm not a fan of the idea of riding with a strange person, and I know that it's especially important to be careful here seeing as I'm white and all. But, somehow I felt OK about the situation; I'm not really sure how to describe it any other way.<br />
Really and truly, I think this man must be a very wealthy Tanzanian. The truck was practically brand new and very clean, he had a super nice phone, and even mentioned visiting his sister who is now living in Austria. Honestly, I don't think we could've asked for a more comfortable ride back to Morogoro. He didn't play the music too loud (which is quite common here) and he didn't ask too many questions or for our phone numbers or email addresses (which is something that strangers seem to always ask me for). It turns out that he went to secondary school at the Seminary where Anne is working and they talked about the people they both know there which was kind of a cool connection.<br />
When we arrived in Morogoro, it was dark already and he even drove all the way out to the seminary to drop Anne off before dropping me off at my house. He refused to take the money that we offered.<br />
I was simply amazed by this, and I feel like he must have been an angel sent by God just for that purpose. I mean, who does something like that and doesn't expect anything in return, even when offered? The whole experience really blew me away.<br />
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Well, that's about all for now. It's May tomorrow which only leaves me 1 1/2 months here (and only 5 of those weeks will be for school). Somehow I thought it was never going to end, but now it's becoming more and more real every day. Even the kids are starting to talk about it now and I wish they wouldn't just because I'm not sure I'm ready to face the fact yet. I just keep telling them "But we're together now, so let's enjoy what we've got left instead of mourning over the departure." I'd rather go out singing than crying!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-17865464915140246762013-04-20T12:16:00.000-05:002013-04-20T12:16:01.691-05:00Slowly Saying Goodbye**WARNING** This blog consists of lots of rambling. ;)<br />
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I keep having these realizations that soon my life here is going to come to a close. This chapter of life is finishing and the new one will soon be beginning. Honestly, I'm not sure what's next for me. Things aren't shaping up too well for graduate school, but somehow God has blessed me with a peace that surpasses all understanding. Seriously, I normally would be (and probably should be) totally freaking out right now. I've been rejected from two programs, wait listed from a third, and haven't even heard from the fourth. In the past I've always like clear-cut paths. I'm a planner. I like to know what's going to happen, when it's going to happen, how it's going to happen, down to the very last detail. I guess being in Tanzania has changed that about me; I've really had to learn how to be flexible and open to changes. I mean, last year, our school time-table made at least 4 or 5 changes throughout the year (and not just small changes; I'm talking big changes), and I can't tell you how many times I found out the day before that "We won't be having school tomorrow." Yeah, I've changed. And not just in this one way. I feel like I've been challenged physically, mentally, emotionally, and in pretty much every other way possible beyond any previous life experience. And it's been really hard, but I've survived.<br />
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So now here I am, just under two months before I leave, and still not quite believing that it's actually happening. Seriously, where has the time gone? Why is it still racing forward at break-neck speed? Can I pause it, just for a minute so that I can take in everything for the last time? Compared to what has already happened in the last year and four months, these last 8 or so weeks here are simply a drop in the bucket. They are the final footprints that I will leave behind. They are my chance to say good-bye. I'm making my last trips, buying my last fabric for kitenges and dresses to bring home, purchasing the last souvenirs to give away as gifts or keep for myself as tokens of my experience, and I'm making my last effort to cram as much knowledge into the minds of my students as I possibly can. Slowly, I am saying goodbye. Slowly, I'm allowing myself to let go.<br />
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It hits me at random times, like slow raindrops before the storm takes over. I think "Oh wow! I'm going back to America soon!" I'll be able to eat whatever kinds of food I like, I can get a haircut, I can get my new tennis shoes that are waiting for me at my house, I can drink water out of the faucet, I could wear shorts again if I wanted to! But, it hasn't quite hit me yet that going there means leaving here; that I can't have both at the same time.<br />
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It's time to leave. I know in the depths of my heart that it is. When I compare how I felt at this time last year to how I'm feeling now, I know that God is calling me back to the states. Plus, my stock of American goods is running pretty low. My stash of "exotic teas" is almost finished. My tennis shoes have been repaired twice and have gone well over 600 miles in addition to playing frisbee and volleyball. My hair is longer than it's been in quite some time and looking pretty shabby. It's almost embarasing to have it down. The excitement about speaking Swahili is wearing off a bit and I'm ready to be in an "English only" or at least an "English mostly" country. I've seen the sites all over the country. I've smelled the smells (which are not always quite pleasant). I've tasted the food (or in some cases force-fed myself; as in the month when all lunches and dinners consisted of only beans and rice). I didn't just come to Tanzania, I LIVED Tanzania. And I am so thankful and blessed because of it.<br />
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I feel good about the progress my students have made. I feel like an accomplished teacher and I'm glad that I never followed through on my vow to "never teach". I think God laughed at that; I think He laughs at me a lot sometimes (meaning, all the time). But, that's ok. I'm living and learning, just like everyone else. I love these kids so much; all I want is their future success. This has challenged me very much as a teacher to expand my curriculum to include other activities that will give them a more rounded English education. I've tried to take every chance I have to speak words of encouragement and belief into their lives. I want them to know that they have power to change their world and that they have the chance to make choices; be they good or bad. I've tried to force them to think about things in new ways (especially through my journal topics). I've tried to challenge them with vocabulary because I believe that is the key to fully understanding a language. I'm working with them on reading, the parts of a story, and comprehension. I've worked with them on writing and how to construct a sentence or a paragraph. The students in Classes VI and VII have even written essays. They don't know that that's what they've done, but it is. I remember where we started last year in January and it was terribly overwhelming to realize how much we needed to cover. But, we took it one step at a time, and I can see and hear the difference. That is the rewarding part of being a teacher: knowing what your students have accomplished and realizing that it was them who did it; all you had to do was them there.<br />
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So yes, it's time to go. And I'm thankful that I get to say goodbye slowly. I'm glad there's time for me to close things down the way I want them to be. I'm happy with the way things have turned out. Praise God!!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-11721419051329571342013-04-14T08:03:00.004-05:002013-04-14T08:03:58.442-05:00Back at SchoolWow! The first week back at school certainly was crazy! It feels like a month has passed and not just a week. Here's the latest news on the goings on here in Morogoro:<br />
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Kjirstin has officially returned to her home safely. The kids certainly miss her and I think that everyone has been asking me about her and how she is doing. Some even want me to call her while we're all at school so they can talk to her. The only problems with this plan are 1) the time change, 2) I own the cheapest phone I could possibly purchase here and I'm not sure it's capable of international phone calls, and 3) Lord only knows how much such a phone call would cost!!<br />
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I received some big news this week when I was emailed the list of donations that were made to myself and other UMC volunteer missionaries. I have finished raising the amount of money to cover my costs of living here in Morogoro for the year!! I am so blessed and excited because so far I've even received a little bit more than what I was asking for to cover my costs. This means that that little bit extra along with other donations given to me in the next two months will be given to my site here to help with construction costs at the school and the church!! I'm SOOO excited about this!! :D<br />
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Nathan, the pastor's youngest son and one of my former students, came home from secondary school last week on Saturday evening! He got back so late that I didn't get to see him until Sunday at church. It has been so great to see him again and see that he is doing well. It seems that he is progressing well at school and is having a good time, but I think he misses home a lot. It's hard enough to move away from home when you're 18 going to college, but he's only 13! Sometimes I forget how young these kids actually are. In so many ways they act and seem so much older to me and it's because they have to. So much responsibility is given to such young children. Of course, in other ways they act just their age and I'm glad that they have the chance to have fun and be kids!! As for Nathan and I, we watched Iron Man and The Avengers and have decided that we'll watch the other movies like Captain America and Thor when he returns in June.<br />
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The week at school progressed as normal. There have been some schedule changes because they had to divide Class I. There were so many kids in that class and the parents were complaining. Thus, the school was forced to quickly build a new classroom for those kids. And I'm not kidding when I say quickly! It's like the new building just sprang up overnight! It's not finished, though, because of money issues, but it's got everything they need a classroom to have. The teachers who were teaching those classes were really overwhelmed after the division, so some teachers who were teaching the upper grades have been shifted down. As for me, I am remaining with the same classes as before and I'm 100% fine with that! I've got enough students, grading, and marking to do as it is (maybe even too much).<br />
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Class V has begun their reading unit. So far it's been really fun! I'm starting slowly with some short, children's books that have good plots. I'm reading the books to the class and then we're taking it all apart: title, author, illustrator, characters, story vocabulary, questions, plot, setting, etc. We're even doing coloring!! We started with the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the kids had to draw six small pictures of what happened in the plot. They had SO much fun with it!! We've started Madeline and next we're going to graduate to a short chapter book. My hope is that we'll have enough time for them to be able to do their own book reports with a partner. Then they can report on it to the class!<br />
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With Class VII, I'm about to start a different type of reading unit. I've searched online and found websites with all kinds of short passages with comprehension questions. I've been copying and pasting them all into one word document and this weekend I printed them off in town. Thus, the students will all have their own copies of the passages and I've got the questions. I'm going to write the questions on the board for the students to copy and answer. I'm really excited about this because I feel like reading is a struggle for the students and reading comprehension is not something that always comes very easily. I tried to get a variety of passages which are written for different grade levels (everything from 4th grade to 8th grade) and ones of different topics. It was sometimes difficult to find ones that I felt like the students could relate to well enough. A lot of the passages really reflected a western mindset or talked about things in America. I basically ended up picking all the non-fiction passages.<br />
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As for news of the weekend I've been really busy. It feels like I haven't stopped at all!! I did my shopping in town, dropped off my tennis shoes to be repaired (again), ran, played frisbee, got stuff copied for Class VII, today was Madam Ngoy's birthday (pastor's wife) so we had a celebration at lunch time, Nathan and I have been watching movies, English Choir has been meeting again and we've gained some new members, etc. Today was Nathan's last day in Morogoro before returning to school, so I said goodbye to him and I'm praying that his break in June will start before I leave Tanzania! Apparently, though, he won't find out until later, but everyone is pretty confident that he'll be back before mid-June.<br />
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Well, that's all the updates for now! Hope you're having a wonderful and restful weekend!!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-45843511105877171592013-04-10T23:41:00.000-05:002013-04-10T23:41:07.241-05:00Struggles of Being a Volunteer MissionarySince I first arrived here, I can see how much I've grown as a person, how much my attitude towards missions has changed, and how I view my life here now as opposed to when I first arrived. It hasn't always been an easy road, but it hasn't been a terrible road either.<br />
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So many things have become habits, normal, natural parts of life. Things like being water conscious and always making sure that the buckets are full. And always making sure that I'm dressed appropriately and that my knees are covered. Wearing kitenges (wrap skirts) is second nature, even around my house where I'm not required to dress "Tanzanian appropriate". Even speaking Swahili has become easier and so many of the greetings and common sayings like "pole" (sorry), "karibu" (you are welcome), "asante" (thank you), "Bwana asifiwe" (praise God), etc. are second nature. I know where to go to get my American foods, I know how to get a package from the post office, I know the routine for riding the daladalas into town, and I've even become accustomed to traveling around Tanzania using the bus system. And, as hard as it can be to be away from family and friends, there are so many ways to communicate with them. Skype isn't always the best, but it still allows us to hear each other's voices and sometimes we even get to see each other! (if the internet is working well that day)</div>
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But there are some things that you never truly get used to. There are some things that are deeper in you, some things that you can't seem to let go of. And before I continue any further, I feel the need to write some kind of disclaimer. This is still something I'm still trying to work through and understand (and maybe I'm not meant to fully understand it). Thus, some of this may not come out in the best way, but I still feel the desire to share it with you because it's a real (and rather messy) part of missionary life. Of course, if you have questions you are welcome to post comments or send me an email and I'll do my best to clarify anything. :)</div>
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For me, the hardest part of being a missionary is how people here see me; what people see when they see any "mzungu" (white person). For so many here, that's my name. They see me and they yell out "Hey mzungu!" Sometimes they just stare at me and keep staring. It's not even a polite, slightly interested stare. It's a full out, pointed stare. It hurts a lot sometimes, realizing that people here only see my white skin and nothing else. It makes me feel less than human. Often I find myself looking down because I don't want to see them staring anymore and I pretend I can't understand Swahili so that I don't have to respond to them. Maybe it's a bad habit, I'm not really sure.</div>
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I know what my white skin represents here: wealth, prosperity, health, three or four houses, ten cars, and endless bank account, everything perfect, everything beautiful, nothing wrong. And the fact of the matter is, it's not a true assumption. There is poverty in every country; there is poverty in America; there are white people in this world who are impoverished. (this is a shocking idea to most people here) My life is not perfect and not everything is beautiful. I certainly wasn't impoverished, but I was working two minimum wage jobs and living with my parents before I came here. By American standards, I was at the bottom. And then I moved here and I suddenly found myself at the top. It has been a really hard transition for me to make. I know that no matter what my self concept or situation was in the states, it was not even close to the position that so many people face here. And yet it's hard for me to accept this change in status because it doesn't match up with how I see myself. Especially when I haven't received any salary since I've gotten here and the real reason I'm able to be here is based on donations from friends, family, and church.<br />
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I try to live as simply as I can here. I was living with the pastor and his family, but now I'm renting a small, Tanzanian-style home. I don't have a car, a pikipiki (motorcycle), or even a bicycle. I've hardly bought any new clothes. So far, I've only gotten two dresses made since I've been here and I've had to buy a pair of shoes because so many of my shoes have been completely destroyed by having to walk everywhere on bad dirt roads (out of the 5 pairs of shoes I brought, only one pair is in good enough shape to make it back to the states. The others have been super glued together and sent to the shoe repair guy multiple times). I don't have a water heater (if I want hot water I've got to heat it myself by using the hot pot, or if the electricity is out, I have to heat it in a pan over the small kerosene jiko I have). I don't have air conditioning. I hand wash my clothes, I eat a lot of Tanzanian food (more than I'd ever like to sometimes), and my house is sparsely furnished. It's hard for my mind to merge this with the idea of "rich mzungu" in a way that makes sense.<br />
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So on the one hand, I feel like all people can see about me is my supposed "wealth". That's not what I'm here to try and tell or show people. Yes, Jesus can bless our lives, but He can also choose not to bless our lives. I'm not here to preach the "health and wealth gospel". And yet, on the other hand I feel like the above paragraph only points to me. It sounds self-righteous and like I'm trying to say "Hey! Look at me! Look at how much I've sacrificed!" I don't want my life or my mission here to be about that either. I want my life to point to Jesus and to His wonderful provision. I want people to see how He is the one who has carried me through the lowest points in my life and rejoiced with me in the highest points. I want people to see that all these material things we cling to and say "I can't live without ____" are not actually necessary. In our lives, our situations, our wealth, or our lack, God is what is meaningful. It is possible to live without electricity, consistent running water, air conditioning, etc. I don't want people to see a "rich white girl", but I don't want them to see someone who is self righteous either. And it's a hard balance in addition to the balance of living between two extremely opposite cultures. I'm not sure if there really is a real and defined solution to this issue.</div>
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Of course, I must add that it's not everyone who treats me like this. When things like this start to overwhelm me or get me down, I remind myself of Pastor and his family, all of my students, my fellow teachers, and the members of our church. These are the people who have gotten a chance to know me. These are the people who see me as more than just a white person. I praise and thank God for these people who have been so good to me. Who having so little, have opened their arms and given me so much. I know that we can never truly be able to understand one another. There are some things that are just so culturally different that it's just short of impossible to bridge the gap. But, I hope that I have given them something in return and that all the struggles of life here are worth it. I hope that through all the mistakes and failures, I've managed to represent God in a good and true way.<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~Christine</div>
Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-63344915659997743582013-04-05T06:35:00.001-05:002013-04-05T06:35:33.997-05:00Easter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In many ways it's nice to have stayed in Morogoro for over a year. Last year, I never knew what was going to happen. Many things were sprung on me last minute (especially at school). So, it's really cool to be able to anticipate certain events and have a better feeling of certainty in the future. </div>
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This year, like last year, the missionaries put on an Easter sunrise service in town. Kjirstin and I made arrangements to stay in town with friends on Saturday so that we would be able to go. (It can be really hard to get to town at 5:30 in the morning) It was a nice service and the man who was leading it (someone with PBT) play-acted as one of the disciples telling the story of Jesus. Throughout the service, we also sang hymns throughout the service that corresponded with the different events in the Easter story. </div>
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After the service, we all ate breakfast together at the PBT (Pioneer Bible Translators) offices. Everyone provided something and so we had all kinds of breads, fruits, egg casseroles, and other goodies. After the breakfast the kids went outside for an egg hunt. Some of the eggs were real, but some were plastic and had pieces of candy inside.</div>
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Honestly, it was such a great event and so incredibly simple. At one point I was thinking back to how Easter is a huge commercial deal in the states. I don't miss it. I don't miss the candy isles. I don't miss seeing the over-done, expensive decorations. I don't miss all the extra pressure that comes with holidays in the US. This was a simple celebration with friends; a reflection on the life of Jesus Christ followed by fellowship and a little bit of fun for the kids. </div>
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Of course, this is not to say that I don't miss my family and friends or that I'm glad they weren't here. It certainly would have been even better if I had been with my family, but that's just not a possibility right now. What I'm trying to say is that the concept of the day and the way the Easter celebration manifested itself was more to my liking.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast after the Easter sunrise service</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The adults after our breakfast</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter egg hunt for the kids</td></tr>
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After our excursion in town, Kjirstin and I returned to Kihonda to celebrate with our Tanzanian family. Once again, everything was simplified. In fact, in many ways I hardly really realized that it was Easter.<br />
Our services usually go for only 2 hours. But, this week, there seemed to be a lot of extra things that we did during the service. For one, a few people decided to join our church and become members. For another, it was Kjirstin's last Sunday, so there was an official good-bye/send off from the church members. Also, we took Communion together and English choir sang two songs. I felt like since it was Easter, we needed to do a little bit more! Between all the additions, the many people who came up for testimonies, and the normal things that happen at church, service went for 3 hours! But, that was OK with me. Honestly, there was so much going on that I hardly noticed the time passing.<br />
For the afternoon, we just chilled out around the house and got some real time to rest and relax after our trip and all the Easter preparations.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shalom Choir performing for Easter</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">English choir performing at the Easter service at church</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'll become even more undignified than this!!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saying good-bye to Madam KJ</td></tr>
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As for the rest of this week, I've been catching up on a lot of personal business and preparing to go back to school next week. Also, Kjirstin left on Thursday, so there were some farewell activities for her with other missionaries and whatnot. The students are certainly going to miss her and it's going to be weird for me to be the only white person at my site again. But, I don't feel alone, and that's the good thing. I've been here for long enough now that I realized I'm surrounded by friends. Now all that's left for me to do is to get through the last two months with the same attitude!<br />
It's hard to believe that I'm this close to leaving, but this year, I feel in my heart that it is time to return to the states. I'm still waiting to hear from all of the graduate programs that I've applied to, but I know that even if I get rejected from all of them, it's the right choice to go back to the states for a while. I have a peace about it all and if graduate school is not in my future, I know that God has another plan for me. I just have to wait and see how everything falls into place.<br />
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Hope you have a great weekend!<br />
May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-62249467627743356202013-04-02T06:49:00.001-05:002013-04-02T06:49:30.985-05:00Serengeti and Other Parks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For Easter break, Kjirstin and I decided that it was time to visit some of the big national parks in Tanzania. Since we are already living here, it only seems reasonable to take it the opportunities that we can to see as much of Tanzania as we can! </div>
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On the Friday before Palm Sunday, we took a 10 1/2 hour bus ride to Arusha. It was very long and uncomfortable. Plus, there was only one ten minute stop for food and bathroom. It was quite a relief to finally arrived in Arusha and got to the hotel where it had been arranged for us to stay. </div>
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The next morning we met our guide after breakfast and we were off! On our way to our first national park, Tarangire, we stopped at a tourist shop which was selling Tanzanite among other tourist-y souveniers. Honestly, most of the stuff they were selling was worthless, steryotypical African stuff that does not hardly reflect culture in Tanzania at all. It's really strange being so familiar with the culture and whatnot and being able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. The Tanzanite, however, was absolutely gorgeous and we really enjoyed looking at all the different pieces that they were selling. It's a beautiful blue stone, but it can change to a purplish color depending on the light. We learned that the darker the color, the higher quality it is and that green color is pretty low quality. It's very expensive because it's such a rare material which is only found in Tanzania. In fact, it's supposed to all run out in the near future. So, I guess if you want some, you'd better buy it quick because it's not going to be around much longer!</div>
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After the stop, we continued on to Tarangire National Park. It was a gorgeous park and quite different from Mikumi (which is quite a small park which is nearby). It was very hill-y and green and there were Baobab Trees everywhere! It was really quite stunning with the river flowing through it and herds of elephants roaming about everywhere. We saw our first lion in Tarangire, but it was very far away and it was hard to get a good picture. The most exciting thing about our visit was getting to see a mama cheetah and her baby. They walked right past our car on their hunt for food! It was really quite amazing!</div>
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<b>TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK:</b></div>
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If you can believe this, these are picture of the "tent" that we stayed at in Tarangire. We choose the tent options because they're cheaper than staying in lodges. However, even the tents were nicer than our own home in Morogoro. And the food that we were served was absolutely amazing and VERY western! It was a pretty shocking transition for us to go from life in Morogoro to something so very westernized. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32wYsQixLKcR5Akz8oJXiSwfRYpTbDXNjufAEZPQyQCNZx7y1VrwxlX3g3596hFkP0ZNkrvXBJzD4lsXE7kPwpha6aGZO_86wEFqOw_yIHLwR2tHu3rU1pUdH3BprpfJOhvQ-yd-i_sc/s1600/DSCN2038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32wYsQixLKcR5Akz8oJXiSwfRYpTbDXNjufAEZPQyQCNZx7y1VrwxlX3g3596hFkP0ZNkrvXBJzD4lsXE7kPwpha6aGZO_86wEFqOw_yIHLwR2tHu3rU1pUdH3BprpfJOhvQ-yd-i_sc/s200/DSCN2038.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJx2id9qdfd-VYAvGjBS5M4VTe7L4Nao6ib55IvwAjVLHmnEaLqLh6qqptVwwSApTHN8A7mJsPuZUcLmmfRn-fcOdAAmM0V4iqAXKXLl0lNKQPVuuIBf3aH6s_mA30yNVChkI8Ib1_dg/s1600/DSCN2039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJx2id9qdfd-VYAvGjBS5M4VTe7L4Nao6ib55IvwAjVLHmnEaLqLh6qqptVwwSApTHN8A7mJsPuZUcLmmfRn-fcOdAAmM0V4iqAXKXLl0lNKQPVuuIBf3aH6s_mA30yNVChkI8Ib1_dg/s200/DSCN2039.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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The next day we left Tarangire and made our way towards the Serengeti which is in the NgoroNgoro Conservation Area (NCA). This area include Serengeti, NgoroNgoro Crater, and Oldupai Gorge, as well as surrounding areas in attempt to preserve the natural wonders there.</div>
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On our way to Serengeti we stopped at Oldupai Gorge which is where an ancient set of footprints was preserved in the rock. Also, many ancient bones (some of the oldest ever discovered) of man have been discovered in the gorge. We got to see a cast replication of the man or woman who lived 3.5 million years ago. The original has been recovered for preservation purposes. We also got to see many old bones of ancient animals in their museum. It was a nice rest stop and a great time to get up and stretch our legs after sitting for so long.</div>
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An interesting note is that when some Germans came to OlduPAI Gorge, they mis-hear the name as OlduVAI Gorge. Thus, in the greater world, it is more commonly known as Olduvai Gorge. However, they really are trying to get the record straight that this is Oldupai Gorge (Oldupai being the local Masai word for the sisal plants which are growing there). </div>
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<b>OLDUPAI GORGE:</b></div>
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After the Gorge, we continued on to Serengeti National Park. We were there that evening, the next day, and the morning of the following day. The Serengeti was definitely different from either Tarangire or Mikumi National Parks. Here, the plains stretched on endlessly and gnarled acacia trees were the only trees that were able to grow. The problem, we learned, is that there is a very hard layer of lava which prevents roots from growing deep into the ground, so in most places, there are no trees. The grassy plains were nice because it allowed us to see many animals; even ones which were far away. </div>
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Here, we saw many wildebeasts, but they are not migrating right now because they are calving. So as we looked out, we saw thousands of them spread out across the expanse of wilderness. Among them were zebras and various types of antelope which migrate with them. </div>
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Here, we also saw a number of birds, hippos, giraffes, elephants, leopards, cheetahs, monkeys, hyenas, buffalo, and tons of lions. We saw at least four prides of lions in the park in addition to others that were traveling alone. We saw one pride that had recently killed a buffalo and we got to watch them eat the meat. We also got to see some of the lions hanging out in the trees where they are able to catch a bit of a breeze to cool down in the hot afternoons. </div>
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The weather for the whole trip was pretty spectacular. It was really cool in the evenings (like, enough to want a sheet and in some cases a blanket) and although it warmed up in the afternoons, it wasn't nearly as hot as it's been in Morogoro. </div>
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While we were in the Serengeti, we spent one night in the tents (which were not quite as nice at Tarangire, but still quite amazing) and one night in a lodge. I personally preferred the night in the tents because it was so much peaceful and I felt a lot closer to nature. </div>
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On our last morning in Serengeti, we took a very early morning drive starting at 6:30am. We returned to the site where the lions had been eating the buffalo the day before and found that there was almost nothing left! The lions had left the site and there was a hyena there trying to pick off the last of the meat from the head and spinal column. We drove for a while and then ended up in a place where there was a small pride of lions in a tree and in the grass nearby at heard of buffalo. We waited for a while until one of the buffalo migrated away from the heard and close to the lions. We got to watch two of the lions chase it, but that buffalo got really scary when it realized that the lions were after it, so they gave up on the chase. </div>
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<b>SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK:</b></div>
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Our last stop was NgoroNgoro Crater. Our day began with some excitement as we found ourselves following a lion who was marking his territory. We got to follow this lion for at least 5 - 10 minutes and I was able to get a lot of great pictures!</div>
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Of all of the parks I've seen in Tanzania, NgoroNgoro Crater was my personal favorite. It was absolutely stunning! We descended into the crater and found ourselves in what I would describe as an animal's paradise. There were grasslands, a small rainforest, a swamp area, a large lake, and forested areas around the sides and rim of the crater. We saw many animals that we had gotten to see in the other parks in addition to flamingoes and three white rhinos. Our guide told us that there were only 17 remaining in the crater (which is the only place in the world where they live). The three that we saw were quite far away and we could only really see them using the binoculars. But, I did try my best to get a picture of one that was a little bit closer than the others that we saw. </div>
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We also got to see another lion who was preparing to leap after a wildebeast. However, the wildebest could kind of see the lion and was being very cautious. Then a jackle (sp?) came and started making a bunch of noise which scared a lot of the animals away, so the lion gave up and came to sit right next to the road. We got some great pictures of her and more lions in the crater!</div>
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<b>NGORONGORO CRATER:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtQGyVmuOVQaxtqgY2lXfd4BA1oCwPgkuSm5_iHrbjmkD-MfukNWiMMm4mNnAt2W0xIQN2qSnaWezynqZhTalq_RnU0dCaCOcTLXs7Jl9z9p9EgxIRYRgsm3bTbAQBUbU6OS60XSJDFk/s1600/DSCN2455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtQGyVmuOVQaxtqgY2lXfd4BA1oCwPgkuSm5_iHrbjmkD-MfukNWiMMm4mNnAt2W0xIQN2qSnaWezynqZhTalq_RnU0dCaCOcTLXs7Jl9z9p9EgxIRYRgsm3bTbAQBUbU6OS60XSJDFk/s200/DSCN2455.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ42KWLe9-hk2hINoyhZ60B-iNCWtq46BLJkWxDaT6m5MrAQwSXlpqRCgak4edN98huI0bbegcC-g-nHWp2-FmYeMLKmH68s0mlRojBt_-25GH-hv3_KTTk935EJIFhFAQMkl1-LXpbo/s1600/DSCN2482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ42KWLe9-hk2hINoyhZ60B-iNCWtq46BLJkWxDaT6m5MrAQwSXlpqRCgak4edN98huI0bbegcC-g-nHWp2-FmYeMLKmH68s0mlRojBt_-25GH-hv3_KTTk935EJIFhFAQMkl1-LXpbo/s200/DSCN2482.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Overall, it was a great trip! Although it was a LOT of sitting down, we were able to stand up, even when the car was in motion because the roof popped up. We saw a TON of animals, especially lions, and we got to see the Big Five: elephants, buffalo, lions, leopards, and rhinos. All of the animals are considered very special to see because they were so well hunted in the past. Some of these, like the rhinos are practically extinct. But, park rangers and other workers are doing everything that they can to protect these magnificent animals of Tanzania.<br />
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I hope that you've enjoyed my re-telling of our trip and the pictures! I wanted to post more pictures, but I felt like it was getting to be a lot already. If you would like to see more pictures, please check out my facebook page where I've posted a good portion of my pictures!<br />
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I know it's a bit late now, but Heri ya Pasaka! (Happy Easter!)<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~Christine</div>
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Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-87869362497421622622013-03-30T00:06:00.003-05:002013-03-30T00:06:42.398-05:00A Farewell to KJSooooo, 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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfu7gRg3CqlpVs_46MwnmZPY4gGQN0Aw4u4Y05rpIRRHoxRkrSPnyqsLHejPedXJMmfhUaile1FrTPlECYTkZkdg225Mg-KAhjR5fPzpMCfhS6t6hSOVL74sksExqYscJyCtc8ten5exc/s1600/DSCN1771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfu7gRg3CqlpVs_46MwnmZPY4gGQN0Aw4u4Y05rpIRRHoxRkrSPnyqsLHejPedXJMmfhUaile1FrTPlECYTkZkdg225Mg-KAhjR5fPzpMCfhS6t6hSOVL74sksExqYscJyCtc8ten5exc/s320/DSCN1771.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Class V "squeezing" Madam KJ</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbxYJKZ7E9jrek9DkEZ9DYYpPgjINNbuB4yiMt_xWAIMa0ZmKJOnE32Hy0eNaWxFer3E6JMUZKU3LosYAsBZLwRqsR-rl0mGI1L_woQQR_hmkk1j6o_6BIDLyW8WDynsvVAeDmAeyKsA/s1600/DSCN1776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbxYJKZ7E9jrek9DkEZ9DYYpPgjINNbuB4yiMt_xWAIMa0ZmKJOnE32Hy0eNaWxFer3E6JMUZKU3LosYAsBZLwRqsR-rl0mGI1L_woQQR_hmkk1j6o_6BIDLyW8WDynsvVAeDmAeyKsA/s320/DSCN1776.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of hugs from Class V</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2mWVAFNSlYvX-Ttc36xBxuM0D9-SJsTu088iZxmiwbM9V6p5dNpHAaEPfdjZcMWfF5O7mnn5YQlUm9_0HzBt6qAcOGzLVPtogBfE-mL0PN6Jymp3klQ_IVY5jBLjqBvKhVO7_N8b2UBk/s1600/DSCN1798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2mWVAFNSlYvX-Ttc36xBxuM0D9-SJsTu088iZxmiwbM9V6p5dNpHAaEPfdjZcMWfF5O7mnn5YQlUm9_0HzBt6qAcOGzLVPtogBfE-mL0PN6Jymp3klQ_IVY5jBLjqBvKhVO7_N8b2UBk/s320/DSCN1798.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madam KJ in the front</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1NHcw8lSURvwahUKUDlVZS9zLXLILulzyt1g7hQ3vXhWHovpPA17qVx-v_MMHsdUBcTPMXliXt7yNt8xSv_SP1v-GiiKra2ykfzxVe_l-JL6bIoZ9zXNQ_MF09ixQlmIXf0F3bP5vmLQ/s1600/DSCN1826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1NHcw8lSURvwahUKUDlVZS9zLXLILulzyt1g7hQ3vXhWHovpPA17qVx-v_MMHsdUBcTPMXliXt7yNt8xSv_SP1v-GiiKra2ykfzxVe_l-JL6bIoZ9zXNQ_MF09ixQlmIXf0F3bP5vmLQ/s320/DSCN1826.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Class VII girls dancing their entrance</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyl2GpirwvD8W8JOZN_8HUqxgY2VU5PQZRjesVBy6uxWlMsgPZx6J6Q7oI6UZJrxRCpn1H6eys7hyCez0vcmcBn1KBal0wPtggnYr0MKblW7n8uPb64nVQJMWrIMuog7NdHDz78Et0LM/s1600/DSCN1837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyl2GpirwvD8W8JOZN_8HUqxgY2VU5PQZRjesVBy6uxWlMsgPZx6J6Q7oI6UZJrxRCpn1H6eys7hyCez0vcmcBn1KBal0wPtggnYr0MKblW7n8uPb64nVQJMWrIMuog7NdHDz78Et0LM/s320/DSCN1837.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Class VII girls dancing and singing their farewell to Madam KJ</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInX9t9tqoPB8CF5XZzisTEdP0uFkYrLLL1gcS97a5wydzcYerob4SCIzNoPtgA5u_ghnO3D_Ukdel_StQ8I7Sbam2kDY0rxL-YOcOSetB_VVK1a2kRClaB2VBaDhHFpRjLlH6b4UTeBA/s1600/DSCN1840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInX9t9tqoPB8CF5XZzisTEdP0uFkYrLLL1gcS97a5wydzcYerob4SCIzNoPtgA5u_ghnO3D_Ukdel_StQ8I7Sbam2kDY0rxL-YOcOSetB_VVK1a2kRClaB2VBaDhHFpRjLlH6b4UTeBA/s320/DSCN1840.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys and some girls playing the drums to accompany the girls' dancing</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGKAXiwaA1GyQr95bahvA-ghwzKaKAtbtDZBF2S9KQpa1ECUnW5XDW-vKn3cYUuWoIvZITQNqoyMTFc8MNde5LLdFF7VXZpE07s1P1bYbTQMAihgnbfhOqdEY71LXcFhf5Huq1dHnhMw/s1600/DSCN1867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGKAXiwaA1GyQr95bahvA-ghwzKaKAtbtDZBF2S9KQpa1ECUnW5XDW-vKn3cYUuWoIvZITQNqoyMTFc8MNde5LLdFF7VXZpE07s1P1bYbTQMAihgnbfhOqdEY71LXcFhf5Huq1dHnhMw/s320/DSCN1867.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teachers!</td></tr>
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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!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">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!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="btext" colspan="2" height="20" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8</span><br /><div style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">~Christine</span></div>
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Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-30003558955001749992013-03-19T09:22:00.000-05:002013-03-19T09:24:13.909-05:00More Silly Stories<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">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.</span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Words of the Day (WOD):</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />WOD: bundle</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"The car was carrying a bundle of cows."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(Poor cows!!)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />WOD: obliterate</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"My young brother obliterated my pen in the bathroom."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(why the bathroom??)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />WOD: worth</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"I am worth more than gold."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />WOD: worth</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"A motorcycle is worth a lot of accidents"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />WOD: extend</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"Faith was too short, but her mother extended her."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">WOD: duty</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"My duty is to honor my parents, my teachers, and other people who are big."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><b>Conversations:</b></span></div>
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<span class="userContent" style="font-family: inherit;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Geoffrey: But, madam, I'm not going to get married. I'm going to be a pastor!!<br /><br />Me: But, pastors can get married, too. Pastor Umba is married.<br /><br />Geoffrey: But, madam, that's Pastor Umba. This is Pastor Geoffrey!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<b>Journals: </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Topic: Superheroes</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"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."</span><br />
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Topic: Superheroes</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">"My favorite superhero is bathman. He is a cool superhero. His power is a electricity."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">(Yes, that's right, bathman...and he controls A electricity!!! I can foresee that maybe this is a problem combination.)</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
Topic: Be the Change You Wish to See in the World:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"...I will stop people who are fishing by using bombs." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(Is this a problem in Tanzania?!?)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Topic: If I were 1CM tall...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"...I will not go to the toilet. If I will enter there I will sink to the toilet."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(Yes, I can see that this could be a problem)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Topic: A Trip to Outer Space</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"I will scientific the moon or the sun."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(Might I ask how you "scientific" something?)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Topic: I wonder why...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This is more wonderful.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So we should respect God."</span></div>
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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!</span><br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">~Christine</span>Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-16440921909122975612013-03-15T05:26:00.000-05:002013-03-15T05:26:00.993-05:00Birthday SurprisesLast 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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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!!<br />
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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!!<br />
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Here are some pictures of the party:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friend Shantelle who planned my party for me! :D</td></tr>
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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!)<br />
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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.<br />
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Here's a picture if you didn't see it in my last post:<br />
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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</div>
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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. </div>
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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. </div>
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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!!</div>
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The Lord Bless You and Keep You,</div>
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~Christine</div>
Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-78150178311207421212013-03-10T11:40:00.003-05:002013-03-10T11:40:52.865-05:00Kilimanjaro Half MarathonI 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!!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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!!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~Christine<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in my birthday dress!!<br />I bought the fabric in town and had the ladies at the Susanna Wesley Center sew it for me.<br />They really did a fantastic job!! :D</td></tr>
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Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-65984911376551399042013-03-07T13:44:00.000-06:002013-03-07T13:44:28.425-06:00Prayers 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). <br />
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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.<br />
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So, if you will, please join us in praying for this situation!! It would be greatly appreciated!!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~Christine<br />
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<br />Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-10248825131865802542013-03-04T11:23:00.002-06:002013-03-04T11:23:03.548-06:00Exam WeekThis 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.)<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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!"<br />
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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.<br />
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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!!<br />
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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.<br />
I hope that you also had a great weekend and that your week has started well!!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-64162356957729499102013-02-24T11:01:00.001-06:002013-02-24T11:01:07.748-06:00Visitors, Goodbyes, and Women's DayIt's amazing how God times meetings with people. This past week, Kjirstin and I had our visitor (another missionary) at our house!! She's a United Methodist pastor and missionary from Korea and has been at the DAR for almost three months now. She was wanting to see the other United Methodist sites in Tanzania, just like what Kjirstin and I did, and we were her first stop. We only have two rooms, so I gave her my room and Kjirstin and I shared during her stay. It worked out surprisingly well in our tiny house; though I did feel bad that I had to go into my room often to get things I needed. It was super fun getting to have someone stay with us. For me, getting to serve people in my own home is such a blessing. I love doing everything that I can to make them feel welcome!<br />
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Christina stayed from Thursday afternoon until Saturday afternoon. I think she really enjoyed getting to visit the school and meet the kids. I know that she also got to talk to Pastor Umba and his wife about their story of how they came to be missionaries in Tanzania. I'm also sure that he was able to give her a tour of the rest of our site (the Susanna Wesley Center, Pastor Umba's house, the church, the pre-school, etc.). On Friday afternoon, Kjirstin and I took her to town and since Christina really wanted to go out to eat, we took her to Acropol, which as great western food. We also got to show her Pira's Supermarket (where we do much of our shopping) before we had to head back to Kihonda.<br />
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Here's a picture of all of us with her friend who came down from Dodoma on Saturday:<br />
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During her stay, I found that I as much as I was doing to try and bless her life and her stay with us in Morogoro, I was blessed by her presence. We had lots of opportunities for conversations during the weekend, and I found that she has such a love and passion for Tanzania. I was really inspired by some of the stories she shared with me about her experiences in Korea and America prior to her arrival here. I've been feeling a bit down spiritually, so I'm thankful that God provided me with some encouragement. It's hard to see what He's doing here and sometimes I wonder if I'm having an impact at all. But, I know that in all things, God works for the good of His people. And, if He's called me here, then there must be a reason, even if I'm not fully aware of it yet (or ever for that matter).<br />
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On Saturday, I woke up early in the morning to run. It was a wonderful morning for running due to the rain the night before. When I got back, I got breakfast for Christina and I and then got to work on my laundry. I was rushing a bit because of the good-bye party for some missionary friends who are coming to Morogoro for the last time. They have been coming back and forth between Tanzania and their home country over the past 6 years (6 months on, 6 months off). But, they have decided that this is going to be their last trip here. Thus, the organization they've been working for decided to throw them a good-bye party.<br />
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I thought it was going to be a wazungu (white people) affair, but when I arrived, I found that I was mistaken and it was everyone from their organization (PBT). The party was supposed to start at 1pm, and I had rushed through my errands in town to be there on time. But, true to Tanzanian style, it didn't start until 2pm. We all ate a meal together and then they began the celebration. Different people came up to the front to talk, a group of women sang song they wrote, gifts were presented and more. It was a very nice party, but I was glad when it finally came to a close because I was tired of sitting in the heat. One great thing about the party, though, was that other missionary friends were in charge of the sound system and it was actually set at a reasonable level. I could hear everything perfectly well and my poor ears were not blasted to heaven and back.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They did a skit demonstrating the differences between Tanzania and their home country</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting the "Good-Bye" Cake</td></tr>
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The event really made me think about my own impending departure in just under four months. It's so crazy how fast the time has flown by. I'm feeling a peace about leaving this year which I didn't have last year, but it still doesn't make it easy. I'm going to miss my students a TON when I leave and there are some parts of the African culture that I think are always going to be a part of me. I mean, you can't spend a year and a half completely immersed in another culture and come away un-changed. It's just going to be interesting to see how things play out once I get back.<br />
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Today was the Women's Day at church. Last year, I participated in Women's Day at church, but due to our traveling this year, Kjirstin and I did not get to be a part of it. I was fine with that, though. Last year, the rehearsals took up a lot of time and there was a lot of preparation. It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy it this year instead. There were songs, lots of dancing, gifts that were awarded to different people (the guest preacher and the other pastors). There was an offering competition between the women, men, and youth. The funniest part of this was when the parents were giving their kids money to place in the baskets. The kids ran up and chose any bucket that suited them ( and a couple little boys chose the Mama's bucket). The women put on a skit centering around fruits which tied in with the sermon on the Fruits of the Spirit. In the skit, a woman was selling "special" fruit to others. The fruits helped those women in areas of their lives where they needed it. It was a great celebration, but it stretched on for over 3 hours. By the time it was done, I was done and ready to come home. But, first, I got to eat some of the delicious food which had been prepared by the women!!<br />
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I didn't get to take any pictures of the event.<br />
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Another exciting event from this week (that happened this past Friday) is that I got to skype one of my best friends, Holly. Over the past year, I've been able to skype home plenty of times. Thus, I've always got the latest news from my family. However, keeping in touch with my friends has been a lot more difficult since many of them are still in college (either for undergraduate or graduate studies) and are super busy. It's always a nice treat to hear an update from others and be reminded that I'm not completely forgotten about!!<br />
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As for this week at school, the students will be taking their monthly exams for February. The tests this month are short (only 10 questions long); except Class VII will have a 25 question test for each subject (since they have their big national exams at the end of the year). I'm not sure which day we'll be beginning those tests, so I may have to teach tomorrow. I guess I'll prepare for either way and I'll officially find out in the morning!!<br />
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On Friday, Kjirstin and I will head out early in the morning for Moshi. We will be going to Arusha to participate in the foot races that will be happening on Saturday. I'll be running in the half marathon and she will be running in the 5K. I'm really excited!! I used to run a lot of races back in the states and I've run one half marathon before. This will be my first race in about a year and a half, so I'm interested to see how I will do! We will head back to Morogoro Sunday morning and then it's back to school on Monday!<br />
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I guess that's all the news for now!! Have a great week!<br />
May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-73258615150462793672013-02-18T08:11:00.001-06:002013-02-18T08:11:57.314-06:00Valentine's Day and LupangaI didn't actually realize that it was Valentine's Day until maybe half-way through the day on Thursday. I've never been much of a fan of Valentine's Day in the past, and without all of the commercial cue: pink and red hearts all over, over-stocked candy and card isles, ads and billboards, and everything else, it would have passed me right by. However, a student or two reminded me by wishing me a Happy Valentine's Day.<br />
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At break time, I passed by some kids during break time, and one of the girls ran up to me and complained that the other girls in the class were saying that her valentine was a particular boy from their class. So, I jokingly decided to pair up the other girls with boys from their class. Somehow, this escalated and a list was written out, pairing up the boys and girls from Class VI. But, of course it couldn't end there because we were all having WAY too much fun. Kjirstin, the other students, and I all paired up all the boys and girls from Classes V and VII as well. (There are significantly fewer boys at the school, so quite a few boys were partnered with multiple girls. Then, Kjirstin and I decided to take everything the next step and make the kids write Valentine's cards to their partner/partners. Luckily, one of the teachers was absent, so we used his periods to let the kids have their fun with paper and colors!<br />
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Here are some pictures of them:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In case you have trouble reading what they say:<br />
The one on the left says "Bad Boy" and the one on the right says: "Mr. Good Boy"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student in Class VII with his card</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girls in Class VII working on their cards</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A boy in Class VI working on his card</td></tr>
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I must say that we got some pretty interesting results from quite a few students. The girls in Class VI seem to be at the stage of REALLY not liking boys. Thus we got cards like this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMMGfkN0NoEfohjqM3xKl08JIz24xRdlYOzpBbV0ntS-dK0TOmP5gUt3WldW2EMIABf4FhE3JORJwbXrJI-HrE6ssDuCBg0pTYFw9yz2tbdwo-KarfBvMRA50HBtgitAY1vQMvPm9tKM/s1600/DSCN1658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMMGfkN0NoEfohjqM3xKl08JIz24xRdlYOzpBbV0ntS-dK0TOmP5gUt3WldW2EMIABf4FhE3JORJwbXrJI-HrE6ssDuCBg0pTYFw9yz2tbdwo-KarfBvMRA50HBtgitAY1vQMvPm9tKM/s400/DSCN1658.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you have trouble reading it, it says:<br />
"I like Valentine, but I hate boys of Class Six"</td></tr>
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Some girls, who Kjirstin and I consider to be particularly sweet and well behaved, wrote things like "I'm not yours forever", "I hate you", "You are not my type", and "You will never be mine". We had to have a serious talking to some of those girls about writing things that are nice. We insisted that they they could just write the card as if they were writing it to a friend or a brother. Valentine's Day doesn't necessarily have to be all romantic. Surprisingly, many of the boys actually wrote decent cards. One boy started his letter something like this: "I've never written a letter to a girl before, but Madam Christine and Madam KJ say I have to. So, here it goes..." The letter was so precious!! I wish we had gotten a picture of that card, but we didn't. Oh well!!<br />
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The other big recent news was my hike up to Lupanga, the highest peak of the Uluguru Mountains and probably the most challenging climb up the mountain. I spent the night at a friend's house on Friday so that it would be easier to meet up with the group in the morning. At about 6:30am on Saturday, I met a fellow missionary, and two sons of another missionary couple and we began our ascent up the mountain. It was a very steady and grueling uphill climb the whole way to the top. There were only 2 or 3 short spots where the path leveled out a bit. Honestly, going up wasn't so bad (especially compared with coming down). I was able to find enough footholds and handholds, mostly by grabbing onto tree roots, to pull myself up when the path got super steep. And, it wasn't too hot since we made it to the shaded forest area before the sun rose over the mountains.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some make-shift ladders and bridges were built in various spots to make the hike "easier"</td></tr>
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We reached our destination just before 12pm which is a pretty good time. At the top of the mountain, we found ourselves completely surrounded by a strange and ancient forest. There's also a small tower that was built at the top of the mountain by the Germans. I can't imagine who would want to haul up the metal and tools to build it; even if it was rather small.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tower at Lupanga Peak</td></tr>
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By far, the way down was far more intense and dangerous than the ascent. My feet slid out from under me a number of times because of the steep path. The others found a walking stick for me, but it was still pretty tough. There were many places we had to turn all the way around and climb down the same tree roots we had used to pull ourselves up with. Sometimes it was really hard to find a foothold and I found myself dangling by tree roots a few times. Luckily, there were so many trees around and the path was pretty narrow, I certainly wouldn't have fallen too far down. It was an exhausting climb down and my thighs were put to the test. I still run a lot here (I'm even going to be in the Kilimanjaro half marathon in a couple of weeks from now), but my body was not quite prepared for this. </div>
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About an hour/hour and a half away from town, storm clouds began to gather around Morogoro. We watched the clouds dump buckets over Kihonda before making their way closer to the mountain. It was a bit unnerving as we began to hear thunder and still had another hour to go before returning home. At that point we had left the forest area and were back into the farmland areas where it was a little less steep. But, as we tried to move faster, it almost felt like we were tumbling down the mountain. The moment I smelled that fresh "rain smell" in the air, I knew it was all over and we were not going to make it back before the clouds opened up over us. It started slow enough at first, but before we knew it, we were walking in a torrential downpour. We were drenched all the way through within minutes, but we had no choice but to keep going. On a normal, sunshine day, there would have been no need to keep the walking stick. But, I held onto it because small rivers were rushing down the dirt roads and the dirt had turned to a slippery mud. At some points we had to cross the small rivers and I slipped and fell down. Lucky me, it was raining so hard that the mud was completely washed out of my kitenge (my wrap skirt which I had to wear over my shorts in the populated areas so that I could be "culturally acceptable") before I reached the house in town were I had spent the night. There, I was thankfully able to wash up and change into dry clothes. </div>
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Overall, I really feel a sense of accomplishment and I'm really glad that I finally have made it up to Lupanga!! When I first moved here and saw those mountains, I was very eager to hike all over them. Now, I've had the chance to hike to Bondwa, Lupanga, Morning Site, and the Bahati Camp. I can't say that I'm ready to go up again just yet (I'd like to recover a bit first). But, I certainly wouldn't mind heading up one more time before my departure in June!! :D<br />
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Overall, school is continuing very well and the students are progressing at back-breaking speed through their books. All of the classes are ahead of where I projected they'd be at this point in the school year!! I don't think that I could be more proud of their work ethic and their excitement about learning. I'm continuing to throw in different creative activities for the students to do so that they can have a more rounded English education. I've continued with the journaling activities, vocabulary, while adding my own units on tenses and how to write using complete sentences. The unit on complete sentences has significantly improved their writing this year which has been a huge relief for me! The students in Classes VI and VII have even written essays!! Now, they don't know that's what they've done because I made it into a charting activity, but they've done it!! I gave them the topic of "People from other countries should come to Tanzania." They had to give reasons why those people should come and then "unpack" those reasons. They also had to do the same thing with the topic "All students should go to school." I'm planning to do a more extended version of these charting/writing activities with Class V in the near future (since they're SOO far ahead in their books), and I'll explain more about it then. What I've been doing with Classes VI and VII has been more of a small warm-up/experiment to see how the students would respond to it. But, I'd say it was pretty successful and I'm definitely going to do it with Class V!<br />
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Well, that's all the updates I've got for now! I hope that you're having a good start to your week and a happy Monday!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-71796656682815561732013-02-16T13:13:00.001-06:002013-02-16T13:13:22.397-06:00DodomaThis past weekend, Kjirstin and I made our next stop in Dodoma. We were originally going to leave on Friday after school. However, we found out that we were not going to be able to return to Morogoro until Monday morning, so we decided to delay our departure until Saturday morning and take some time Friday afternoon to relax and prepare for the journey.<br />
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Unlike the bus ride to Ilula, we had a thankfully uneventful journey. When we arrived in Dodma, it was early afternoon. The pastor of the Dodoma church was not there, so we waited outside for a short time until he arrived. When he did arrive, we hopped into the taxi and made our way to his house.<br />
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Before arriving at the site, I knew that it was a less developed site than the one I'm at in Morogoro and certainly less than the one in Ilula. But, I was not expecting what we arrived at. There is one building which serves as the pastor's home, the church, and a pre-school. The pastor has seven kids, the oldest being in her second year of secondary school, and his wife which are living at their house. There's no running water and no electricity at their site. The living-room where we sat to eat our second lunch (I say this because Kjirstin and I had packed lunches which we ate on the bus) was no bigger than my current bedroom in Morogoro. After lunch, the pastor brought us around to the other side of the building to see the church/pre-school before making our way to the guest house where we would be staying.<br />
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On Saturday afternoon, Kjirstin and I had a lot of time for resting at the Guest House near the church. In the evening, the pastor returned and we all enjoyed cokes and talked together. The pastor does not have very good English, so I was pulling out my own Swahili left and right. I must say that I rather impressed myself and was able to carry on a pretty decent conversation. Afterwards, we went back to his house for dinner and to meet friends and church members. Again, I had the chance to whip out as much Swahili as I could. It was really exhausting, however, because I had to concentrate so much on what was being said and what the correct response should be.</div>
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On Sunday morning, we had breakfast at the pastor's house and then we all went to Sunday School and church together. No one translated the Sunday School lesson for us, so I just kind of sat there and did my best to listen and see if I could understand anything; I couldn't. After Sunday School, the service started. I was rather amazed at the church service. There was so much dancing and singing. It was far more upbeat than any service I've ever been to. The guy who was leading the singing was doing all kinds of crazy dances. He was shaking his knees, kicking his legs up the in air. At some points, he was even down on the ground, scooting himself around. There were some girls who had a coordinated dance going in the middle, and the kids had their own dance line going. It was seriously quite amazing!! All the choirs sang and they even asked me to sing a solo. I was so embarassed. I am classically trained and I don't feel like people here appreciate that very much. I would sing a Swahili song, but I just don't know the Swahili songs well enough to sing them on my own. I still have to listen pretty hard to get all of the words in when we're singing at church. After a long period of praise and having my ears blasted out by their sound system, we had the sermon, which thankfully someone translated.</div>
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After the main service ended, they had a special time to welcome Kjirstin and I to their church. They read a letter to us asking for financial support to get the water and electricity and then the ladies presented us with new Khangas (wrap skirts) as a gift from Dodoma. (I'm actually wearing my new khanga now as I type this blog!!) To get both water and electricity for the church would total somewhere around $500 USD, but that's a hard thing for people who have almost nothing to come up with on their own. If anyone is interested in helping, please email me (you can find my email by clicking on the "contact me" button at the top of the page). </div>
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Here are some pictures from church:</div>
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In the afternoon, I went to Dodoma University with my friend Mary from the United Methodist Church here. When I first arrived in Morogoro, she was the one who invited me to play netball with some other girls a couple afternoons a week and I went a few times. Over the past year, I've talked to her a lot at church, but recently, she is left for Dodoma to get her bachelor's degree. She wants to be a translator and the Lord has opened up an opportunity to study at the Dodoma Univeristy. However, this is still very challenging for her because she must live far away from her husband and her daughter who is very young. So far, I am the first person who has visited her, and I think that it made her very happy that I was able to come. She showed me the dorm room which she is sharing with 3 other girls. The dorms are very nice (even nicer than some of the dorms I toured at schools in the US) and I enjoyed meeting everyone and laughing and joking with them. </div>
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In the evening I returned to the church and the pastor's house for dinner. After dinner, we visited the home of some church members and talked with them. I was pretty exhausted from using so much Swahili, but luckily their oldest son is in Form 6 at Secondary School and was able to translate for us. They wanted to know all kinds of things about the US, even some things that I would consider strange. Such as: is professional wrestling real or not? And: is CocaCola a big company in the US? All in all, it was a good visit, but I was glad when we got to return to the guest house and have some time to just speak English!! </div>
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We weren't able to leave on Sunday afternoon because of the bus situation. So, we spent the night Sunday night and visited the pre-school on Monday morning before returning to Morogoro. It was a good weekend, but a bit stressful because I was forced to use so much Swahili. I am thankful for it, though, because I can see I'm getting better and my vocabulary is expanding. I know I only have a few months left, but I know I will leave with a sense of accomplishment in this area of my life here!!</div>
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I hope that you're having a great weekend!!</div>
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,</div>
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~Christine</div>
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<br />Christine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943723470157178022.post-58964821392786488142013-02-11T06:54:00.000-06:002013-02-11T06:54:25.585-06:00Silly StoriesI wanted to take an opportunity to share some silly stories from school with you. Not all of them are stories, but instead just funny sentences that the students have come up with or whatnot. There are so many things that these kids come up with that are hysterical that I decided that I would write them down so that I will always remember them.<br />
Please don't get the wrong idea from this, though. The students really do have excellent English and are capable of very intelligent thoughts and conversations. But, it's still their second language and some interesting things can come from that. <br />
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Frequently, the students write or draw on the covers of their exercise books. One of my students wrote on the top: "Don't steal. Jesus see you."<br />
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A student was asked: "What does a butcher do?" The student knew what he was talking about, but he was not 100% sure how to express it using English. Thus, he came up with this: "A butcher sells cows which are dead."<br />
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A question on a quiz asked the students to describe a stimulus. One student wrote this: "A stimulus is something that you can see in your nose."<br />
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Another question asked the students to give examples of involuntary actions. One student wrote this: "Tree, House, Stones".<br />
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People in Tanzania frequently confuse the "L" sound with the "R" sound because in Swahili they're pronounced so similarly. Also, to complicate things further, some tribal languages only have the "R" sound and some only have the "L" sound. The students were asked to give reasons why they like coming to school. One student wrote: "I like coming to school because I want to have no rage." What she meant was: "I like coming to school because I want to have knowledge."<br />
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Here are some fun journal entries that students have come up with. I always make them write 13-14 lines, but I'll just share the funny/cute parts:<br />
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Journal Topic: If you could be any animal, which would you be and why?<br />
Student Response: "I want to be a cow because I want to be eaten. I think they will enjoy eating me. I think that I will taste very good..."<br />
At least she understood the fact that cows do indeed get eaten!<br />
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Journal Topic: If you could be any animal, which would you be and why?<br />
Student Response: "My name is ____ . I want to be a lion of God..."<br />
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Journal Topic: Describe a problem that you see and come up with a solution for that problem.<br />
Student Response: "I don't like to play with a lion..."<br />
Well, I hope that's not a problem that he faces on a regular basis! LOL!<br />
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For Class V, I give the students a new English word every day to help them increase their vocabulary. For Classes VI and VII, they get a list of 5 words every Monday and have a quiz on them at the end of the week. For each word, I give the definition, the part of speech, and a sentence. Then, I make the students write their own sentence using the word. This helps me know if they actually understand the word or not. Here is a list of sentences that students have come up with for various words of the day:<br />
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Word: fatal<br />
Sentence: The water was fatal.<br />
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Word: Vivid<br />
Sentence: The boys in Class four they are vivid.<br />
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Word: Perpetual<br />
Sentence: Education is perpetual.<br />
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Word: Unbecoming<br />
Sentence: It is unbecoming for a beautiful girl to fall down.<br />
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I don't quite remember the context for these sentences, but they're still pretty funny:<br />
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"If in the aeroplane, fly the aeroplane." <br />
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"Do not play with the fire, but it is also fun."<br />
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I hope that this has given you something to smile about today!! I love my students very much and I'm so proud of what they have accomplished over the past year with me (and of course what they accomplished before me as well). Learning a second language is difficult and learning all subjects IN the second language is even more difficult.<br />
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I know that I make mistakes in Swahili all the time!! One time, I intended to tell our friendly neighbor at the duka that Kjirstin had gone to Europe to meet her mother. But, what I actually said was "KJ went to Europe to meet YOUR mother." Needless to say, we made a small joke of it for a while. Another time, I was intending to greet someone who was older than me by saying "shikamo" (which means "respectful greetings"). However, what I actually said was "Marahaba" which is what the older person is supposed to say in response to "shikamo". I certainly gave her something to laugh over! And I'll never forget the time at language school when I meant to say "Kuna nymba kubwa." which means "There is a big house." I accidentally said "Kula nyumba kubwa." which is an order to "Eat the big house!"<br />
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All of this is part of the process. Honestly, it's amazing how well some students are able to express themselves in their journals and other writings. I am so incredibly blessed by God to get to teach them and help them fix their mistakes.<br />
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I hope that you're all have had a wonderful weekend. I know that mine was very busy as I was in Dodoma (the political capital of Tanzania) this weekend. It was a very exciting trip and I was very happy to visit the United Methodist Church there and share and exchange information with them. I also got to practice a LOT of Swahili since the pastor and most of the members of their church do not speak English. Of course, I hope to be able to post an entry about that a little bit later this week!<br />
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May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,<br />
~ChristineChristine Cumminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08168683268154201004noreply@blogger.com0