It is amazing how fast time flies. It felt like I just sent out an email about the guests arriving and it is approaching a week that they have been gone. The two ladies had a good time. They taught three classes per day, four days a week. Each class they had a local translating which they admitted was a life saver. When it comes to teaching English things continue to be baby steps. At this point I see 3 people eager to learn and I believe they will be translating for guests in the near future.
Last Saturday I was the Muzungu cameraman at a local wedding. It was great. It was a long day and I was definitely tired but I had a blast. The night finished with some dancing at the reception. Good times. I took about 550 photos that day and I plan to make a DVD for the newlywed’s.
Sunday I made a quick 2 day trip to Dar to visit one of ex-coworker’s from Peet’s. She was traveling with her boyfriend throughout Tanzania and I was able to have dinner with them the evening before they left. They seemed to have had a great time.
Since returning to Chamwino I have taken over 2 of the classes which the ladies were teaching. I have a pretty full schedule at this point. I am teaching English every morning, afternoon, and early evening. I am trying to keep some room for the randomness of life.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
return from Rwanda
This is a quick one. I just wanted to email to say that I made it back to Chamwino one week ago. Now we have two wonderful guests, for 3 weeks, who are helping with teaching English. Lewis is back too.
Rwanda was beautiful. It rained. I saw a large body of water (Lake Kivu). Lots of hills (it’s the land of 1,000 hills...they aren’t joking). I experienced Genocide memorials.
It was surreal being in Kigali and surrounding areas knowing quite well the atrocities which happened 15 years ago. People in Rwanda are peaceful and are still healing. The government seems to be trying hard to unify its people. The Kigali memorial was powerful. There have been too many genocides in the past 100 years. Let me rephrase that, there have been too many human beings killing other human beings, in mass amounts, in the last 100 years.
I met a man named John. He is 33 years old and Tutsi. He was in secondary school at the time of the Genocide. He lost 5 brothers. He is a wonderful man but you know his heart hurts. He said he can’t see the memorials…it would be too hard.
I went to a village near Lake Kivu where in 1994 every 9 out of 10 Tutsi’s were slaughtered. At the time they were 20% of that village’s population.
Rwanda was beautiful. It rained. I saw a large body of water (Lake Kivu). Lots of hills (it’s the land of 1,000 hills...they aren’t joking). I experienced Genocide memorials.
It was surreal being in Kigali and surrounding areas knowing quite well the atrocities which happened 15 years ago. People in Rwanda are peaceful and are still healing. The government seems to be trying hard to unify its people. The Kigali memorial was powerful. There have been too many genocides in the past 100 years. Let me rephrase that, there have been too many human beings killing other human beings, in mass amounts, in the last 100 years.
I met a man named John. He is 33 years old and Tutsi. He was in secondary school at the time of the Genocide. He lost 5 brothers. He is a wonderful man but you know his heart hurts. He said he can’t see the memorials…it would be too hard.
I went to a village near Lake Kivu where in 1994 every 9 out of 10 Tutsi’s were slaughtered. At the time they were 20% of that village’s population.
25.09.09
I have not updated in a little over a month. I haven’t had the words. I still don’t know if I really do. But I will try.
This past week has been challenging. I have been living by myself and I don’t like it. I like living life with people. I am in a wonderful community with great people but living in the corner of the village by my-self is not my most favorite thing. Today I saw a truck and on the back it said, “Don’t walk alone.” Seeing that really hit me. I have been feeling like I have been walking alone for some time now. This has been a huge challenge for me, which I am trying to think through and work through.
Steve was living with me for the past month but now he is back in Zimbabwe. Lewis is supposed to be returning from Zimbabwe but his return to Chamwino has been delayed due to his family stuff.
So, what have I been up to???
Every Tuesday and Thursday a man named Ezra teaches me Kiswahili in the morning and then in the evening I help him teach Secondary and Pre-form 1 students at a nearby primary school. I was helping with debate/discussion and now I am helping with some mathematics. This is turning out to be a good trade off for the both of us.
I am still working with the same group as before in the mornings and most evenings. The trade-off I just talked about changed things a little bit but not much. I have also been trying to remain available to help with the construction project when needed. At this point they have been working on the plastering of the toilets. I believe the completion of everything is expected to be done around the beginning of November.
When it comes to learning languages I have noticed the biggest difference between me learning Kiswahili and the locals learning English is resources. I have about 4 books to teach me Swahili but the people of Chamwino lack these materials. It would be extremely helpful if they had books in Swahili which would be teaching them English. I haven’t seen any. Also, I am speaking Swahili every day. I am learning more every day. It is hard for the people here to speak English more frequently because communication is easier in Swahili. Don’t get me wrong, people ARE trying and they ARE learning, but it’s harder for them because of these reasons. Because of this I made a 3 page document, for starters, and passed it around to many people. This will allow them to practice at home, like I do. The information is pretty much all the initial things I wanted to learn when I first started learning Swahili. The document is in Kiswahili and in English; this will help them see the patterns in things like greetings.
A little over a week ago Steve and I headed to Dar. He was getting ready to head back to Zimbabwe and I just needed a little time to regroup. We decided to make a trip to Zanzibar. We went for 3 days and it was nice. It was a little too touristy in the main areas but overall the island was beautiful. We were there during Ramadan so many of the shops were closed but it was good we didn’t have to mess with the craziness of daily life. It made it peaceful. The first night we stayed in Stone town and then the following morning we headed to the north of the island to an area called Kendwa. The island of Zanzibar has white powdery sand and clear blue water. The day before we left we took a boat trip to a coral reef and did a little snorkeling. I uploaded some pictures on Facebook. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=2087386&id=39204366&ref=nf. (sorry I use FB to show photos. I know not all people have it but it is the easiest way for me to do it.)
Next Saturday I am leaving the country of Tanzania, BUT NOT FOR GOOD. My visa requires me to leave every 3 months even though my visa is a year. It’s crazy, I know. October 6th is already the 3 months mark. So, the 3rd of October I will take a bus journey to Rwanda. The bus ride will be 2 days both ways and I think I will stay in Kigali for at most 1 week. I chose Rwanda because they don’t require me to get a visa and I have someone I know there who said I can stay for free. This helps keep cost down a lot!
When I return to Chamwino Lewis will be here and so will two visitors from the states. It will be nice to have people in the house.
This past week has been challenging. I have been living by myself and I don’t like it. I like living life with people. I am in a wonderful community with great people but living in the corner of the village by my-self is not my most favorite thing. Today I saw a truck and on the back it said, “Don’t walk alone.” Seeing that really hit me. I have been feeling like I have been walking alone for some time now. This has been a huge challenge for me, which I am trying to think through and work through.
Steve was living with me for the past month but now he is back in Zimbabwe. Lewis is supposed to be returning from Zimbabwe but his return to Chamwino has been delayed due to his family stuff.
So, what have I been up to???
Every Tuesday and Thursday a man named Ezra teaches me Kiswahili in the morning and then in the evening I help him teach Secondary and Pre-form 1 students at a nearby primary school. I was helping with debate/discussion and now I am helping with some mathematics. This is turning out to be a good trade off for the both of us.
I am still working with the same group as before in the mornings and most evenings. The trade-off I just talked about changed things a little bit but not much. I have also been trying to remain available to help with the construction project when needed. At this point they have been working on the plastering of the toilets. I believe the completion of everything is expected to be done around the beginning of November.
When it comes to learning languages I have noticed the biggest difference between me learning Kiswahili and the locals learning English is resources. I have about 4 books to teach me Swahili but the people of Chamwino lack these materials. It would be extremely helpful if they had books in Swahili which would be teaching them English. I haven’t seen any. Also, I am speaking Swahili every day. I am learning more every day. It is hard for the people here to speak English more frequently because communication is easier in Swahili. Don’t get me wrong, people ARE trying and they ARE learning, but it’s harder for them because of these reasons. Because of this I made a 3 page document, for starters, and passed it around to many people. This will allow them to practice at home, like I do. The information is pretty much all the initial things I wanted to learn when I first started learning Swahili. The document is in Kiswahili and in English; this will help them see the patterns in things like greetings.
A little over a week ago Steve and I headed to Dar. He was getting ready to head back to Zimbabwe and I just needed a little time to regroup. We decided to make a trip to Zanzibar. We went for 3 days and it was nice. It was a little too touristy in the main areas but overall the island was beautiful. We were there during Ramadan so many of the shops were closed but it was good we didn’t have to mess with the craziness of daily life. It made it peaceful. The first night we stayed in Stone town and then the following morning we headed to the north of the island to an area called Kendwa. The island of Zanzibar has white powdery sand and clear blue water. The day before we left we took a boat trip to a coral reef and did a little snorkeling. I uploaded some pictures on Facebook. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=2087386&id=39204366&ref=nf. (sorry I use FB to show photos. I know not all people have it but it is the easiest way for me to do it.)
Next Saturday I am leaving the country of Tanzania, BUT NOT FOR GOOD. My visa requires me to leave every 3 months even though my visa is a year. It’s crazy, I know. October 6th is already the 3 months mark. So, the 3rd of October I will take a bus journey to Rwanda. The bus ride will be 2 days both ways and I think I will stay in Kigali for at most 1 week. I chose Rwanda because they don’t require me to get a visa and I have someone I know there who said I can stay for free. This helps keep cost down a lot!
When I return to Chamwino Lewis will be here and so will two visitors from the states. It will be nice to have people in the house.
Chamwino update 19.08.09
Things here in Chamwino are well. Everyday has been sunny, windy, and quite peaceful. I have not seen a drop of rain or even a cloud which looked like it had a rain drop in it. This area of Tanzania does not see rain until usually late November. It is extremely dry and sandy. When the winds come so does the sand. The other day I walked by a guest house and in the courtyard I saw a patch of grass. I stopped and thought to myself, “is that grass?” People here rely on their water taps for water and it’s a good thing water follows regularly; otherwise I don’t know what we would do.
Lately I have been helping with the current construction project and I have also been doing a few English lessons. Time has been a challenge. I have constructed a schedule where I devout certain time to people and often they are late. They don’t understand that their time is then cut short because I may have another group to meet with after. I am trying to find the best way through this but it is taking time.
Every evening there is a large group of kids hanging around the house. If I bring out the soccer ball you will soon find about 20 kids kicking the ball around. Many of the kids are too young for school so during the day they are hanging around playing in the sand. (I have attached some pictures of the kids)
Swahili is coming along very slow. I am picking up a little day by day.
Lately I have been helping with the current construction project and I have also been doing a few English lessons. Time has been a challenge. I have constructed a schedule where I devout certain time to people and often they are late. They don’t understand that their time is then cut short because I may have another group to meet with after. I am trying to find the best way through this but it is taking time.
Every evening there is a large group of kids hanging around the house. If I bring out the soccer ball you will soon find about 20 kids kicking the ball around. Many of the kids are too young for school so during the day they are hanging around playing in the sand. (I have attached some pictures of the kids)
Swahili is coming along very slow. I am picking up a little day by day.
Chamwino update 28.7.09
A little over a week ago I arrived in Chamwino, the village I will be living in, and opened the door to my nice house but had one slight problem…IT WAS EMPTY! (I have included a picture of our kitchen and a picture of our view from the front door) Haha, to be honest I knew this was going to be the case but I didn’t know they REALLY meant it. After a week I headed back to Dar es Salaam to buy house supplies. (Kedmon, you will be happy when you return home…thanks again for letting me stay in your house.)
Yesterday I returned to Chamwino and now it is time to start “living.” Today I made a trip to Dodoma town on the daladala to finish up my house supplies shopping. The house still looks fairly bare because I am only getting what I need. It is funny to have guests over and they are surprised I don’t have much! They seem to have all the things for daily life around the house and I don’t. They laughed at me because I only had ceramic mugs for both water and coffee/tea. Good times…
Chamwino is much different then what I expected. I think I had a mixed vision from my past trips to Uganda. Chamwino is 2 km’s off the main road. It is small but spread out. The President has a state house, which he seems to never use, and there is also roughly 10 gated houses (nice houses) for his entourage and these houses are also vacant because the President is never here. It is strange to see this in a village where people mainly survive off their farm crops.
Right now it is very dry and in the village there isn’t many crops growing. June, July and August from my understanding does not have rain. Rainfall usually starts late November/early December and then continues until about March. January usually sees the most rain but even that is less than 8 inches for the whole month! The rains came late this year and now the crops are suffering and there is a lack of water.
During the night it gets really cold. The first week I had a sheet and I woke up at 3am freezing my butt off! I now have a blanket.
Yesterday I met with the Head Mistress of Chamwino Secondary School. This school had about 575 students and only 8 teachers (they should have 14-17 teachers…). At some point down the road I will begin tutoring during free periods and after school and maybe even help with coaching soccer.
For now I will begin living life here on a regular basis, becoming more familiar how things work and better my Swahili. I am going to start working one on one with a few specific people who are involved in the partnership. They have been working on increasing their English and now they need more time talking. I am excited to see how they respond through time. The community seems to be looking forward to me teaching English and assisting with other tasks.
Chamwino life is slow and I was told this front the get-go. I experienced this the first time I was in Gulu. The thing I like best thus far is the lack of cars. Most people walk around the village or use bicycles. Sometimes when I walk I feel like I am going to fall over because I am walking that slowly but I think about it and just laugh. Being late doesn’t seem like too much of a problem…that is always a challenge for us because we are always time conscious but in the end it always seems to work out.
The people here are WONDERFUL and I think I am going to enjoy living here. Tomorrow I am washing my clothes. I don’t think I can go any longer wearing dirty clothes. Haha.
Hope all is well and sorry this is long.
Yesterday I returned to Chamwino and now it is time to start “living.” Today I made a trip to Dodoma town on the daladala to finish up my house supplies shopping. The house still looks fairly bare because I am only getting what I need. It is funny to have guests over and they are surprised I don’t have much! They seem to have all the things for daily life around the house and I don’t. They laughed at me because I only had ceramic mugs for both water and coffee/tea. Good times…
Chamwino is much different then what I expected. I think I had a mixed vision from my past trips to Uganda. Chamwino is 2 km’s off the main road. It is small but spread out. The President has a state house, which he seems to never use, and there is also roughly 10 gated houses (nice houses) for his entourage and these houses are also vacant because the President is never here. It is strange to see this in a village where people mainly survive off their farm crops.
Right now it is very dry and in the village there isn’t many crops growing. June, July and August from my understanding does not have rain. Rainfall usually starts late November/early December and then continues until about March. January usually sees the most rain but even that is less than 8 inches for the whole month! The rains came late this year and now the crops are suffering and there is a lack of water.
During the night it gets really cold. The first week I had a sheet and I woke up at 3am freezing my butt off! I now have a blanket.
Yesterday I met with the Head Mistress of Chamwino Secondary School. This school had about 575 students and only 8 teachers (they should have 14-17 teachers…). At some point down the road I will begin tutoring during free periods and after school and maybe even help with coaching soccer.
For now I will begin living life here on a regular basis, becoming more familiar how things work and better my Swahili. I am going to start working one on one with a few specific people who are involved in the partnership. They have been working on increasing their English and now they need more time talking. I am excited to see how they respond through time. The community seems to be looking forward to me teaching English and assisting with other tasks.
Chamwino life is slow and I was told this front the get-go. I experienced this the first time I was in Gulu. The thing I like best thus far is the lack of cars. Most people walk around the village or use bicycles. Sometimes when I walk I feel like I am going to fall over because I am walking that slowly but I think about it and just laugh. Being late doesn’t seem like too much of a problem…that is always a challenge for us because we are always time conscious but in the end it always seems to work out.
The people here are WONDERFUL and I think I am going to enjoy living here. Tomorrow I am washing my clothes. I don’t think I can go any longer wearing dirty clothes. Haha.
Hope all is well and sorry this is long.
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