Thankful

I woke up this morning and made it all the way to Jeff and Kim Nelson's couch. I stayed there for the next three hours and had two breakfasts, one of which included Oreo Double Stuff cookies. Let's just say it's good to be home!

Many of you know I got sick. A couple days before we were to fly home I came down with a viral pneumonia in both lungs. I started in a hospital in Arusha which didn't have the facilities to properly help. In fact, at one point I needed to go on oxygen and they had to decide whether it was me or the old guy who got the bottle. It went to the old guy. So, I was flown to the Nairobi Hospital and wound up in the ICU for a couple days. All in all, I was in the Nairobi Hospital for about a week.

Peter and Lisa were by my side the whole time. Peter was supposed to fly home and cancelled his flight to help me. Lisa was supposed to be celebrating her birthday and doing last minute Christmas shopping. Everyone was just supposed to go home. But they changed their plans to help me.

Lots of people also supported us. People prayed, called, e-mailed, sent money and cards. Rapha came up from Arusha and and made his way to the hospital in Nairobi for a visit.

I've never had anything like that happen before obviously hope to never have it happen again. I always try to look for a meaning or reason in things happening. Maybe this was my warning to slow down. Maybe it was a lesson so I can empathize with sick people I encounter. Maybe it had nothing to do with me and was just an opportunity for a lot of people to get to be a blessing to someone else...namely me. I don't really know why all of this happened but I do know I have a few things at this Christmas time to be thankful for...

1. Breath in my lungs

2. Lisa and Peter literally being right by my side

3. Skilled doctors who could fix me

4. Family and friends who poured out love and support

5. Finally being HOME

May God bless you and yours as we finish this year. And even if there's a boat load of crap you're having to go through, may it be a time that you notice a few things for which to be thankful.

The Top 14 Things that Tried to Kill Us This Week

Students add a tarp to the water pit to prevent evaporation.
Water pit construction. You can see the pipe leading from the settling pond to the pit. Also, in the background is the ongoing goat house project.
Student Isaack working on his science fair project. He's seeing if soda rots your teeth!
Form 2 students investigating breeds of rabbits in one of the enrichment classes.
Ahhh...the peaceful road leading to our house on Friday.

Let me just say this was a difficult week. Here's the run-down

1. By Monday we had lost three teachers (they were marking national tests, etc...) so we had six teachers for 135 students!

2. Form 2 and 3 students were finished with testing... and mentally finished with school! We had to work extra hard to convince them they really wanted to be there!

3. Because they are finished with classes, we get to do "other stuff" with Form 2 and 3 students. Form 3 are busy working on research papers and a drama. Form 2's are doing extra classes, science fair and drama. A science fair! Cripes!

4. Tuesday we sent Pre-form on a field trip to Snake Park. This is an annual end-of-year trip for pre-form where they look at local snakes, ride camels and go through a cultural tour... of the Maasai!

5. Thursday was Thanksgiving. We stayed up late in Arusha eating turkey dinner with friends Hunter and Tate.

6. Friday Lisa and Peter took students to Usa River on the other side of Arusha for a football match (boys and girls). While this was a great opportunity for those students, it also reduced our teaching staff yet again!

7. It's been raining! Everything is covered in mud!

8. Whitney had four friends arrive and stay in the house for a couple of days. They were very nice and brought lots of supplies for the school.

9. Trying to make revisions on the water pit. We dug the settling ponds too deep so all the water that flows to them just sinks into the ground before it reaches the pipe to actually go into the pit. I was down investigating Friday and dropped my phone in the water!

10. Still have to teach! Just because everything else is happening doesn't mean you can forget your teaching responsibilities. This is my favorite part anyway, so I try to plan around that first. We're getting the Form 1's ready for their end of year finals. I also worked with the form 2's offering extra enrichment classes. One was doing these interactive rabbit stations from a kit I got from the Ohio State University 4-H. The students really seemed to enjoy it!

11. Lisa's been working with the sports kids getting them ready for a sports weekend in Moshi next weekend.

12. Tests and reporting has to happen! We've been collecting student comments for all forms, grades, final form 1 tests, etc... Obviously that takes a lot of time, hunting down people, etc...

13. Student absences because of ceremonies. This year marks the beginning of the traditional circumcision ceremonies. Many of our boys wanted to go through this rite of passage. However, since our school goes about three weeks longer than other schools, we've had some scheduling conflicts. I think we've reached a good compromise with the students who will participate. But, it has definitely been a big unknown variable this week.

14. Oh yeah... and we sent one of our students to America for three weeks yesterday! Our student, Margaret was selected to participate in an international leadership event held in Washington DC. She went to Dar Es Salaam earlier this week, returned mid-week, and flew out of Dar yesterday.

By Friday, I was pretty whipped. I got dropped off in Monduli and was walking up the hill to my house. It was pretty peaceful and the sun was shining. The jacaranda trees are in full bloom and smelled amazing. I can lose perspective pretty fast...especially after a week like this. I took a picture of the road to help me remember....

Coffee Farm Tour and Sports Fest with Form 2

This week our Form 2 students had some free time. They had tests on Monday and Friday...but nothing in between. So, we had some fun. On Tuesday I took them to a coffee farm near Arusha named Kimmemo. We learned about the production process for my favorite drink in the whole wide world. Now, were my intentions to turn them all into coffee lovers? Not exactly. But, I did get to share a nice cup with the students at the conclusion of the tour. I think they enjoyed the tour. But, what they really enjoyed was when we drove by the herd of milk cows that the coffee farm also owned! You can take the Maasai cattle herder off the farm, but you....

On Wednesday Lisa planned a sports/games tournament with the Form 2 students. They played board games, netball, basketball and volleyball. They kept track of their points for wins in each of those areas and top teams received a prize.

One thing that made both of those days difficult is that the students, as good as they are, were not in the mindset to play! They had a test to take on Friday and they wanted to study for that. They "got in to" the tour and the sports, but not like they normally do. It's funny how focused they get. These tests have been on their minds for years - literally.

Finally Finished with Tests

I am so pleased to announce we are finally finished with the Form 3 Mock Examination and the Form 2 National Exam! I can't tell you what a relief that

The Garden Gate

Water Catchment Pit Finished!

After nearly six weeks of work, we finally finished the water catchment pit! I have loved and hated this project for many reasons. Obviously its been a lot of work and taken every Saturday for the past month. But, it's also been a wonderful time to learn more about my students. Who volunteers to give up their Saturday to come do hard physical labor? Orkeeswa students do! I am so proud of them.

This pit is designed to catch water flowing down the hill. We will use the water to irrigate the garden in the dry season. My hope is that something like this can be repeated out in the community.

The Garden Gate

The garden gate was being left open. This presented a problem as many donkeys, goats, dogs and various other animals were welcoming themselves inside. So, I made a closure. I hung a rope over a tree, attached one end to the gate and the other end to a small piece of wood. The weight of the wood acted as a counter weight and pulled the gate closed. At first I was going to use a big rock, but it slammed the gate shut too fast and I imagined young children losing an arm... so we opted for the much lighter piece of wood. It's been working great for about a week: gate closes, donkeys out, problem solved - or so it would seem.

On Saturday we were working on the water catchment pit. We needed some materials from inside the garden, so I sent in three students; two girls and one boy. I watched the two girls go over to the garden gate and use their combined efforts to open it. I thought they were just playing around, so I thought little more about it. After a few minutes the girls returned separately. Again, I watched them walk back through the gate. This time a boy was helping one of the girls open the gate. This time I payed attention! I realized that possibly the weight was too much (me make things too heavy, course or rough? NEVER!)

I asked the girl to come back and show me how she opened the gate. She looked at me like I was crazy, but went over to the gate. This particular girl weighs maybe 80 pounds. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is full of life. She braced herself, gripped the gate with both hands, and threw her whole force into the opening the gate... about six inches!

Perhaps I need to reduce the weight. Maybe I could use a pulley to make things open just a bit easier. But, I would not have changed that moment for anything.

Form 2 & 3 Tests

We're in the midst of Form 2 National Exams and Form 3 District Mock Exams. It's a little crazy! The students seem to be holding up well though. We had a yoga instructor come earlier this week. I think timing was perfect. Reduced stress. Released some endorphin. These tests are basically all consuming for many students so we try to help keep things in perspective.

The Bat Who Buzzed My Bum Bum

Lisa and Form 2 student Anna at the Arusha 1/2 Marathon

Seth, Isdori, Rose and Ester with skeletons from biology class. These skeletons were actually being used in a drama at the time!
We hiked to this waterfall near Moshi a few weeks ago.

Board Chair Jim Keller comes to visit

I think very few non-profit board chairs would leave the comforts of home, fly for many hours, fight the dust and bumps in the road and spend an entire week learning about the culture of the project they are chairing. But, Jim did. I didn't know what I would think of Jim. Would he be stuffy? Would he be pushy? Would he not like the long winded stories I like to tell? (Just to clarify, everyone likes the long winded stories I like to tell...so if you don't, please don't tell me!) Yet, Jim was none of these. I found him to be a successful businessperson who, for some reason, has taken a serious interest in shaping the future of Orkeeswa, and consequently these students we work with. He was right there in the mix of things this past week. He went to meetings in the village, meetings at the school, meetings before and after school. Yet, he was very open all along the way.

I've often heard non-profits complain their board "just doesn't get it." They are a detached group who doesn't appreciate the realities of day to day operations. But, it seems to me, that Jim is a chairperson who gets it. So to Jim, a very sincere thanks is extended your way. You could very easily have been anywhere else in the world and you chose to be with us.

Return of the Greg

Also joining us at the time of Jim's visit is Greg Flett - my singing buddy and associate director for IEFT. He lives in the US in Boston. He's a good dude. We seem to eat well and have a boat load of fun whenever he's around! Unfortunately he too is leaving on Thursday.

Dr. Challenges

I have had to learn about African agriculture. Many would say that I am a terrible agriculture teacher here because I don't know much about the way things work. Sure, the general principles are the same - put a seed in the ground, provide water, keep the bugs and disease away and harvest when it's ready. But virtually everything is different - the types of crops, the availability of water, the soil type, the heat, the day length, the markets, etc...

So, I shouldn't be so critical when others come to do medical work and are unfamiliar with the myriad of diseases they are presented. But, I am.

I serve as the medical person for our school and ultimately have to make the decision as to whether a student can be treated at school, or needs additional help at a local clinic. Usually, I depend on the clinic for everything from upper respiratory issues to parasites to helping remove a thorn from a students hand. That kind of stuff. The general rule of thumb is that in Tanzania many pills will be prescribed. I think in general this is a good idea. If you aren't 100% sure what the problem is, just treat for a few different things with a few different meds and hopefully one works. What I've seen is, for the most part, that works. But, I'm not a doctor.

I think there's probably issues with giving out lots of meds. Disease resistant strains are always a threat. There's the chance that complications could happen if a student has a reaction to the meds. So, I'm guessing there's some logic in not over-prescribing medicine too.

Recently, we have seen a lot of upper respiratory issues; colds if you will. I've found that students just need some medicine in order to get over these colds. But, we went through some time of one doctor who would refuse to give the meds to our students!

Anyway, to make a long story even longer, I think he was doing what he thought was right. I don't think he knew the diseases and certainly didn't understand the living situations of many of our students. It was a bit of a disaster.

I think we've finally reached some resolution and he's doling out the appropriate meds again. Our students are fortunate to have that clinic so close and receive that level of care - probably no other school in East Africa does that. But, it's a good reminder of the challenges that happen with the transient population we have here doing short term professional work.

Preparing for Exams

We have the Form 2 National Exam and the Form 3 district mock exam coming up in the next two weeks. Yikes! As you may know, the Form 2 National Exam is the high stakes test which determines whether the student goes on to Form 3. If they fail, they will be forced to repeat Form 2 again. So, we've been busy setting up rooms, creating seating arrangements, etc... Once the tests actually begin, it's not so bad. Anyway, good luck to us all over the next two weeks!

Ah, that darn bat

Ok, here's the story. We have a pit latrine behind our house. I like to use it. We always have issues with running water, in that we don't have any right now...just bring in buckets. So, a pit latrine is more, um, convenient.

It was a dark and stormy night. I went to the latrine to do what I had to do. It was peaceful, almost serene inside. All of a sudden the light from my headlamp fell on the fluttering of wings. "Could it be?", I asked myself. I thought perhaps some gasses were affecting my judgement and went on my way; albeit a little more cautious. Then, again, the fluttering of wings just inches from my tucus. There was not doubt! A bat had set up residency in our toilet!

This presents a dilemma. I can't spend the next year not going to the bathroom. It's not healthy. However, I can also not live my life gripped with fear. If you have suggestions, please let Lisa know. I'm sure she will be MORE THAN HAPPY to receive an email entitled "Your Bat Bum Bum Problem." Thanks so much for your contributions.

Got our flights booked to come home - woo hoo

We are coming home! We'll be home for part of December and January. Don't have a schedule made yet. The only real item I know if is to GET FAT!

Peter Returns and Pre-Form Builds a Shelf . Not necessarily related, but both exciting on their own right…

Peter Returns

Peter returned from the U.S. on Tuesday night. He was raising funds for our student sponsorship for most of the month of October. He hit the ground running! He was at our house early Wednesday morning for breakfast and didn't really slow down until about Friday. We hadn't played squash for the entire time he was gone. Then, less than 48 hours after his return, there we were Thursday night swinging and running and sweating away! It was as if he never left.

Digging the Pit

For the second Saturday in a row we worked on the water catchment pit at school. Again, I was amazed at the number of students who turned up. We had around 20 students again. I was free to help a bit more this time so I set about swinging a pick-ax. I thought I was "hardened in" from working in the garden and other things around school. But, after only half an hour of swinging that tortuous tool, I found myself panting, sweating and well blistered. My students, on the other hand, had no problem with the work. One, in fact, kept referring to himself as a machine. Based on his abilities and apparent lack of blisters, I had to agree with him.

Pre-Form Woodworking

I began working with 12 pre-form woodworking students two weeks ago. Last week we built a shelf out of scrap wood. Wow they had a lot of enthusiasm! It had rained that afternoon, so we moved our operation to one of the school sidewalks, hopefully avoiding the mud. "OK guys, we need some shelves three feet long." "Whack, crash, bang!" "OK teacher – finished." Cramped on those narrow sidewalks we banged together a six foot tall shelf in 45 minutes. Was it the most beautiful masterpiece created by human hands? Well, not quite. A few of the pieces were a bit wider than others. Nails jutted akimbo from multiple sides. And, it's possible, that many of the pieces used were infested with termites ultimately spelling a really short life for that shelf. But those guys built with gusto. Or, like my mom likes to say 'like they were killing snakes.' We'll work on finesse later.

Girl's Football (Soccer)

Our girls soccer team played in a league called Future Stars on Saturday. Apparently they are pretty good. They tied Saturday to a team called the Black Mambas. Don't you think the other team deserves one goal just for the name alone? Anyway, it just reconfirms my belief that our girls are some tough mamma-jammas. If you want to get something done, you ask an Orkeeswa girl. They're tough, smart and apparently not to shabby at scoring goals.

Upper respiratory, please – for all!

Well, it's cold season. Or, it sure seemed it this past week. Cripes! It seemed as though everyone was hacking and coughing and sneezing and wheezing. I'm hoping everyone went home this weekend and was magically healed and will all be healthy next week. Please…

Big week coming up

This coming week is bound to be busy. The chairmen of the IEFT board is coming to visit along with our associate director. It's going to be good to have them here and share some of the good things that have been going on at the school. Personally, I'm hoping to introduce both of them to the business end of a pick-ax and see if they too are machines down in that water pit… only time will tell.

Just a Normal Week at Orkeeswa

I have been sitting here racking my brains trying to remember anything out of the ordinary this week. And really, there's not too much!

A girl broke her arm and is STILL waiting to have it put in a hard cast. Apparently it's too swollen. That's taken two trips in to Arusha to discover that.

I've been working on a goat house and water catchment pit with the students after school. About thirty came in yesterday to excavate the rock hard ground– voluntarily!

But, for the most part it was just a normal week. We taught classes. We were exhausted at night. We went in to Arusha and bought some groceries. We ate at a new restaurant that was local and had really good barbecue.

So, since it was just a normal week, I included a few pictures from the past few months. Enjoy!

Jeff, Kim and Laura in Tanzania!

I think a pause for reflection is necessary after the past two weeks. Lisa and I were so fortunate to have Lisa's family visit us here in Tanzania. In just ten days we visited the school, an airport, a student's boma, toured the Serengeti and Lake Manyara and a coffee farm. I think they probably slept well on the plane ride home. I know Lisa and Laura took a load of pictures so be sure to check them out on their Facebook pages.

Our guests picked a great time to visit. We had water and electricity for their entire stay. Plus, the weather was great right up until the final day when it rained a bit. Lisa and I had a one week break, so we were free to enjoy right along with our guests.

I think we're really lucky to have such good family. Not only are they great to have around…but obviously they were also willing to jump through all of the hurdles to get down here. So, even though it was too short, THANK YOU for coming to see us and this place we are calling home for right now.

A few quick highlights:

1. Jeff teaching the Form 3 Students about tractors – they laughed when he said he fed corn to the cattle (that's food for people here!)
   
2. Laura taking pictures of the stars in the dark…as well as a billion other great pics.
   
3. Seeing lions, cheetahs, a leopard, a rhino, crocodiles, water buffalo (thousands), wildebeest (thousands), zebras (thousands), elephants (eating thorny trees…wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen it!), giraffes, and lots more on our safari.
   
4. Rushing through a walking tour of a coffee plantation in the mud right before everyone had to get on the airplane.
   
5. Kim's sandwich being snatched right out of her hand by a "black kite" bird during a picnic lunch.
   
6. Watching lions, um, mate.
   
7. Helping a mother cheetah be reunited with her lost cub (at least we like to think we played an instrumental role).
   
8. Watching episodes of "Lost" right before going on a four day camping excursion…whose great idea was that?
   
9. No one getting sick!
   
10. Jeff, Kim and Laura getting home safely.
    

THANK YOU for a wonderful 10 days!

Teaching Tractors with Boxes and Blocks

ISM Track and Field

Yesterday we competed in the International School Moshi (ISM) track and field events. We took nearly 150 people which was quite an accomplishment. Efforts towards effective transport were made much more difficult due to the rain we had had the night before! I went on a small bus called a dalla-dalla until the mud made the road impassible. The driver kept saying "I have no four wheel." I thought he was saying "I have no oil." I was less than sympathetic! You idiot…why didn't you put oil in the darn thing! Ah, language… Anyway, with some pushing, some walking in the mud, some laughing and some cursing, we were able to get everyone loaded and off to the event. One boy was nearly left! He came running up, dripping with sweat, just as we were about to load the busses. "Good morning, sir!" he chimed! I love this kid!

We arrived about ½ an hour late (not bad considering the mud bogging bus event) and competed well all day. Our kids, who walk a long way to and from school, have no problems in the distance competitions. They easily win the 1500, 800, 400 and any race that requires some endurance. Shot and discuss and some of the short distance races are more difficult, though, given the size of some of our kids. I can remember sitting in Mr. Parsons' biology class learning about fast twitch and slow twitch muscles. Turns out, our kids have great slow twitch muscles! We were 4^th for the day which was a little disappointing. But, I think the kids enjoyed the event and we were able to bring home two trophies for winning some divisions. Not bad for a Saturday in Arusha.

On the dalla-dalla ride in, I sat next to some boys who were singing. Sometimes our kids, just like kids everywhere sing loud obnoxious songs. These guys were just singing some Maasai songs…not trying to draw attention at all. Pretty soon, a few more students joined in, then more, then the parents. Soon, the whole bus was singing. But, not trying to draw attention to themselves…just singing! I can't tell you how cool it was. After the stresses of the morning and the general stresses of the week, I felt like I was being blessed with an incredible gift. I don't know where these songs came from, or even what they were saying. I just knew this was one of those moments where I have to say to myself "stop and pay attention to this bud because this is a good one." And it was.

Phone Calls that Never Quite Work Out    

I get so excited when someone calls me or I get to call someone from home! Yesterday my sister Sara called. We talked for about 10 minutes. Then, just as I was hearing the final dramatic conclusion to what happened to Alice the cat, click…the phone lost connection. ARGH! Communication is tough enough (see the dalla-dalla story above for example!) even with the best of devices! Sometime over the next year I am hoping to discover a really great way to stay in touch with family and friends! I don't know…maybe message in a bottle…anyone tried that one in a while?

Teaching Tractors with Boxes and Blocks

Form 3 agriculture has been learning about tractor parts and operations. It's been fun! I do wish for a real tractor. Since we don't have one, I've had to improvise. So, on Friday we quickly built the "Maasai Furgeson 8880" in their classroom using a box as the engine block, a pencil as the dip stick, a cup as the radiator cap, a surge protector as the battery and wooden blocks as the pedals. We did have a real tire too. I thought the students would just groan over how ridiculous it was (because it was pretty ridiculous!) But instead they asked great questions and acted really interested! We even did a driving lesson with a couple of them…using a stick as the gear shifter!

Goodbye to Robert for a While

On Monday this past week we said goodbye to our principal Robert. He is leaving for a few months to get his Masters degree in international development. We had a ceremony and gave him some gifts. Robert has been a really important piece in community relations. It will be difficult without him here…but he'll be a stronger leader when he returns!

Goodbye to Francis

We also said goodbye to a student worker named Francis on Friday. He's been with us for over a month helping teach math and chemistry. He's studying to be a medical doctor. When we asked him if he had anything to say to the students he said "I hope when I come back you will tell me that you are now in Form 3 and Form 4… not 'Here is my husband or here is my wife'." I was really impressed by this young man and he'll be sorely missed!

Goodbye to Peter for a While

We will also be losing Peter for a while as he is back in the US raising funds for the school. Peter brings a lot of energy and vitality to the school. Thankfully he'll be back in a short time!

Hello Jeff, Kim and Laura

And of course THE NELSONS ARRIVE ON TUESDAY! This is really exciting to have Lisa's family coming for a 10 day visit! We have a break the week after next. So, Jeff, Kim and Laura will visit the school, students and Monduli for the first few days. Then, I think we'll head to Lake Manyara and the Serengetti for a few days. They are in for an adventure!

Sweet, Glorious Rain

Last night I woke up to the sound of pounding rain. It was one of those noises that was really out of place. The rains have been all out of sorts lately. It's really dry right now. But, I didn't expect it to start raining for another month. Peter has been predicting the rains to come in the first part of October for a long time. When something is truly needed (i.e. water) the sound the that thing becomes really sweet!

Lisa – Possible Rockstar

Reasons Why Lisa Rocks

We all know Lisa is a rock star for multiple reasons. But, for those of you out there with some lingering skepticism, look at the evidence produced in these past two weeks. Lisa is not only teaching a subject that she has no background in (English) 18 time per week, but she is also organizing all of our activities. She puts together the sports list. She puts together the after school activities. She puts up with me. So, anything on top of that should kill a lesser soul! Please read on to discover why Lisa is a rock star.

Basketball Scrimmage with St. Judes

Saturday of last week we had a basketball scrimmage against St. Judes. We had nearly 200 students, teachers and staff attend. We played on the new basketball court. Lisa was a main contributor in organizing and executing this event. St. Judes is a school about 10 times our size in Arusha. Their mission is similar in that they sponsor really poor kids to get a great education. We are trying to develop a strong relationship with them because we have a lot in common. So, it was fun to get their boys and girls (and even teacher's) teams out there to play.

Arusha ½ Marathon

Hot on the tail of the St. Jude's basketball scrimmage, we had 22 of our students compete in the Arusha Safari ½ Marathon and 5K fun run. Since the event started at 6:45 AM (Yeah right…more like 7:30!) we had to find a place for all of our students to sleep. So, we kept them here! Yes, last week at about this time we had 18 snoring students on our living room floor and extra beds with the remaining ones down at Peter's house. It was a kick feeding them the night before….popcorn, pasta (brought from Peter's house in two big pots), tea (with loads of milk and sugar…in fact we ran out of sugar!), cookies, bananas… Needless to say that next morning our house looked like a hurricane had blown through! We finally got to bed around 10:30 only to hear our kids laughing and talking. Lisa had put on a movie for the girls to watch…I think it was Little Rascals. I finally went in after about an hour and said it was time to go to bed. At 4:00 the next morning, what do you think they did first? Yes, those girls finished watching Little Rascals! Anyway, we got everyone fed, washed, put to bed, woken up and down the road by 5 AM last Sunday morning. All of our efforts paid off too because we had the top two runners in the boys and girls 5K as well as the top two boys in their age division for the ½ marathon. And, here's the kicker….LISA RAN THE ½ MARATHON TOO! After no sleep, working her buns off all week and at the basketball game, she ran the ½. In case you were wondering, I was way too busy drinking coffee and talking to be bothered.

The Fear of Haircuts

It's not that I am afraid of cutting my hair. I do it regularly. It's more the fear that the electricity will go out in the middle of it and I'll be left looking a bit like Mr. T. Yesterday, for example, the electricity came on. I rushed in and grabbed my stuff and was buzzing away. No sooner had I cleaned up and clicked the clippers off than, sure enough, the electricity went off. I dodged that bullet. But, rest assured, one day it's going to happen. And, you're going to be looking at pictures on Lisa's Facebook page and ask "Why does Seth look so bedgraggled? Does he have mange?" And, while I may have mange too, it will likely also be because of a nasty run in with clippers, power cuts and poor timing.

Maasai Eyes

There is an interesting phenomenon I have encountered here that I would like to refer to as Maasai Eyes. We use white boards in our classrooms. All of our classrooms also have many large windows which allow sunlight to come streaming in. Great for mood enhancement, terrible for glare on the whiteboards. Several students have complained of eye problems, headaches, etc… So, we try to remedy the situation by putting up curtains. Pretty soon all of that wonderful natural light is blocked and the rooms are dark. Still not good enough. Still have kids complaining of eye problems. Now, last night we dropped a kid off after dark to walk home. And I began to put things together. I'm fairly convinced that our kids have a much higher amount of rods (or cones…can't remember which ones are responsible for night vision) than the average person. I think this helps them see at night like no other, but makes that white board like staring at the sun. Just a theory. Not going to get my PhD in that study just yet. And of course, it is a far cry better than Man Eyes which is the syndrome where you can't find anything even if it's right in front of your face. I might blog about that some other time.

Swimming in the Bush

Yesterday we took four students to TGT to experience squash, lifting weights, eating some great food and, of course, swimming. There is no water where these kids come from. They walk for miles to get water and bring it back in buckets on their heads. So, I can't imagine what must have been going through their minds yesterday when they saw that ENORMOUS pool of crystal clear water, just for people to play in! After some encouragement they got in. It was a treat to watch them encounter such a foreign concept. Mostly they just walked back and forth in the shallow end. Then they would try the arm motions while walking. By the end a few were brave enough to put their heads under for some time. I would have loved to have been there later in the night when they tried to explain to their friends and family what they did that day. I'm sure it's a little like me trying to explain some of our experiences here. Sometimes, words just aren't enough.

Week of Celebration

Turning 30
Much like Peter, I had the "never ending birthday party" this week! Wednesday - Friday we had celebrations! But, easily the capstone was Friday. I had NO idea any ideas were in the works. Then, Peter called me down to the school library. There were ALL of our students with soda in their hands singing "Happy Birthday." It was the best. Then came the gifts... two Maasai blankets (put on by a Maasai man wearing jeans...ironic) and a load of cards made by the kids. Then came the dance! Out came some of our boys...dressed as girls! They danced and the whole group of kids watching were beside themselves laughing (myself included!). Then came the cake! Ahhhh, the cake. It was a chocolate cake. I ate one bite then shared the rest with the students. No surprise it was gone in no time flat. Between the sodas, the cake and the lollipops, the kids were pretty well sugared up. It was just a great celebration.

That afternoon we had soccer and netball games. We won the soccer game. The kids declared it was because of the party. They also allowed that perhaps we should have a party before EVERY game if we want to win. I told you they were clever kids!

That night we went in to Arusha and ate Chicken at a place called Nicks (AWESOME chicken!). I got another cake from Rapha. So, we are all well sugared!

6 Year Anniversary

Lisa and I celebrated 6 years of being hitched on Saturday. As a treat, Peter got us a room at the African Tulip. WOW! We drove the Land Rover in (covered in mud and dirt) and discovered one of the nicest hotels in Arusha. We walked in to be met by a man who served us fruit juice as we checked in. Not too shabby! Then, he walked us to our rooms, opened the door and turned on our television. Then he changed the channel. In fact, he kept changing it until he got to the Discovery Channel. Bear Grills was surviving the Arizona desert. I guess our man thought that was the right spot because he left the TV there and was out the door. Oh, glorious hot showers, hot food and comfortable bed.

New Kids Start Tomorrow!

In the midst of Form 2 Mock Exams, the new "pre-form" class will start TOMORROW! They'll be working on English immersion for the next three months. We saw them for a short time on Saturday. They are small! It's going to be fun getting to know them... and add them to the family.

New Stuff...

New Volunteers Arrive

This week we had the third pre-form English immersion teacher arrived. Michelle from Canada will join forces with Andrew from California and Amy from Ireland. I made a great first impression because she had read my blog...yes the one about peeing in the garden! Today they will all move to the other volunteer house (called Mzee Mboze) to stay together for the next three months.

New Student Selection

Peter and Rapha have been busy driving around in the bush interviewing potential students. They have to verify the financial status of the family and just get a feel for the student. They should be done soon and we'll see the fruits of their labor as the next group of students arrives in Mid-September!

New Science Laboratories

The science laboratories have been built, now we need to outfit them with equipment! This is fun for me to see the possibilities. The labs will have wood cabinets, sinks, gas and of course lots of equipment. I've been helping gather information on what sorts of things need to go in them (i.e. chemicals, beakers, etc...). Thanks to the folks at Pine Bluffs High School we have quite a bit of equipment already!

New Electricity

For some reason (knock on wood!) we have had electricity for the past five days! Solid! What the heck? Noone can figure it out, but we have been taking advantage of it...lights are on...music is blaring... Lisa made cookies! We watched a movie last night. Ah, the good life!

New Shoes for Lisa (and renewed energies for running!)

Andrew brought Lisa some running shoes that she had ordered and had shipped to him. Now she is back to running. In fact, she ran 10 miles yesterday! Just like that...woke up and said to herself "I'm going to run 10 miles" and she did! That's how Lisa rolls. I usually wake up and say "I'm going to make coffee." She is getting ready to run the Arusha 1/2 marathon coming up in a couple of weeks.

Form 2 Mock Exams Next Week

Form 2 will be taking national exams this week...you know the ones that determine whether you get to go on to Form 3. Well, this week the district will be administering a "mock exam" beginning Friday and continuing all next week. Our students are, of course, nervous. It is a little frustrating though because the exams are really poor quality - misspelled words, poorly worded questions and some for which there are just no proper answers. We will take the exam anyway because it's a good way for the students to get themselves prepared for the national test.

Bees in the Woods

Peter's Never Ending Birthday Party

We celebrated Peter's birthday this week…for three days! Picked up a new volunteer Andrew on Wednesday until late…BBQ on Thursday then in to Arusha on Friday. Needless to say, by Saturday we were all TIRED! But…HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Genetics in Swahili

But…no rest for the weary! Friday I found out I had to attend a biology seminar in Monduli which would be held at 8 AM on the campus of a high school. Peter and Lisa said "don't go…it will start late and be done in Swahili..." not really helpful. But, some other folks wanted me to go. So I did. Bad idea. Both predictions were right. Now, for some people, learning the topic of genetics may sound as if people are speaking to them in Swahili. Now I understand where they are coming from!

Bees in the Woods

This may be the best story I have yet! I am teaching a unit on keeping bees with my Form 3 students. They said there is a man keeping bees near here…you should get him to come here and be a guest speaker. I asked Peter to call some people…he did…the guy was supposed to come on Friday at noon. He arrived Thursday at 8 AM (not too surprising). So, I thought he could speak to the class as long as he was there. But NOOO. He had something better in mind. "Just a little way from the school" there was one of his hives and we could help gather honey from it. I say great – but can we make it there and return before the end of the hour. He says "Sure, no problem!" Hind sight and all that…. Anyway, we start walking….I don't have my cell phone and I certainly havn't told anyone my plans. We keep walking…and walking… Soon, we pass tracks of elephants. My students said they heard people had speared some of them last night because the elephants were trying to get to the water. Now the elephants were angry. Ah, this is really good news since I have 32 students tromping through prime elephant habitat! We keep walking… Finally we arrive. It is now time for the class to end, but we are 2 miles away!

Before I know it, one of my students is up the tree. 30 feet up the tree. He has to lower the bees down (of course). In the meantime another couple of students are lighting a fire to "smoke the bees." They also have some mushroom thing they are going to use to smoke (the bees of course…no students were smoking the mushrooms as far as I know). So, student up the tree….other students lighting fires….mushrooms are involved…recipe for one good time right? Well, it gets even better.

We got the hive down to the ground and ready to be opened. More smoke was blown in. More students crowding around. More grey hairs are added to my head. Then it came time to lift the lid. I'm picturing that scene on My Girl when the boy gets swarmed and then…well you know the rest. Anway, the bees don't swarm. They are just laying around. Must have been some mushroom! So, then it was time to cut the honey comb.

The honey comb was in sections and loaded with bees and honey. The students cut it using a machete. Then they went running into the woods with their booty! They were eating it comb and all! I even had some…not too bad. I was thinking this whole thing might not be so bad and I might not get fired from my volunteer position when, of course, someone got stung.

Now, these students know how to act when they are hurt! My students can withstand pain, hardship and difficulty. They do every day of their life. But, give them an audience and a sudden and intense situation (i.e. a bee stinging your honey smeared hand) and it's a recipe for d.r.a.m.a. One girl got stung and started flailing her hands about and screaming. Then another. I got them calmed down and was saying "OK…seriously now….I think it's time we are heading back." But, of course, the man needed help hanging the hive again! CRIPES!

While students were over helping hang the hive, some others were milling about (nursing their wounds). Some told me they get stings on their lips. The problem with the whole situation when you eat honeycomb is that there are still several bees inside!

Anyway, to make a long story even longer, we finally got to leave. We re-traced our steps through the bush and arrived at the school 5 minutes late for their third class (yes, I had taken the second period thank you very much.) Thankfully I have EXTREMELY flexible coworkers (one of whom is my wife) who just rolled with my disorganization.

Anyway, we got to see how honey is harvested, ate some local product, and no one died. I count that as a success!

What a Friend we have in Jesus

Today in church we sang that classic hymn. All of a sudden I was 9 years old in the Hulett First Baptist Church standing in front of Bruce. Bruce was a friend of my grandpa and lived just up the road from us. He stood about 6'2" and had just huge hands. He would clap you on the shoulder and say "How's Seth today" and other expressions like that I used to associate with real men like my grandpa and Bruce. There's a picture of Bruce and Dick and Grandpa all standing there with beards. None of them EVER wore facial hair, so I asked about the picture one time. Grandpa said they were going hunting in the mountains and thought it would be a good idea. Makes sense I guess. Bruce had a deep bass voice and would belt out those hymns such as What a Friend we have in Jesus. I know of lots of folks who have had just terrible experiences with their churches, especially when they are young. Or, they have never had good men as their role models. Today, for whatever reason, I was just remembering that I have had neither. I had the Hulett First Baptist Church (average membership of maybe 25 ish….average age of maybe 98 ish…) and men like Bruce. We had pot lucks and things like that. I suppose you could hear that song and it could make you remember bitter feelings…or the irony of singing about this supposed friend if you are feeling particularly lonely. But, thankfully today, I had none of that. I was just remembering Bruce.

Eid… the Tanzanian Snow Day

Well, once again, we have cause to celebrate. Somewhere between Monday and Wednesday we will have one to two days off of school because of Eid, a Muslim holiday which marks the end of their fast. The actual date of celebration is affected by whether the moon can be seen the night before. So, we are blessed with that element of unpredictability. Which, quite frankly, always makes it just a bit sweeter don't you think.

Dust and Selection in Monduli

New Student Selection

Last Friday we had over 400 students on our campus vying for a spot at the entrance exam to Orkeeswa Secondary School. After a long day of matching students with their actual home (we can only select students from three villages) we had narrowed the field to something like 268. So, last Saturday and Sunday, most of us were back at the school helping to proctor and grade entrance tests for these students. They took two different tests and we took the average score to help rank them. Needless to say, that was a tiring process! Then, yesterday and today Peter, Rapha, Thomas and Robert sat down one on one with about 70 students (the top 70 from the test) and interviewed them. Lisa and I ran screaming into the night…and wound up in Arusha…well away from the selection process for a while! Sorry for those guys who have now worked like 20 straight days. From here we will narrow the selection down to about 40 student who will get a "boma visit" to determine the relative wealth of the family as we only take the hardest cases. Then…it's time to make the selection of the 30-35 students who will be our next class! It's exciting. When I think about the personalities we will get….the skills….the stories… the future woodworkers (of course!)…

Hike to the Waterfalls

Since we were not helping with the interviews this weekend, Lisa and I ran away to Arusha. In fact, that's where I am right now! Yesterday, we hiked to a waterfall just outside of Arusha. The trip was organized by a local club called Tuende (meaning….Let's Go!) The waterfalls were beautiful…a far cry from the dust of the road it took to get there. There were lots of other volunteers and NGO workers on the walk…mostly female…representing Australia, Germany, Holland and the US. From my experience this is a fairly good representation of all volunteers around this area. The trip took about six hours and we lounged around afterwards!

New Volunteers

Starting today three new volunteers will trickle in to help English. Amy from Ireland arrived last night. Andrew from California will arrive next week and a third gal (name escapes me right now) from Canada will be coming the following week. Apparently they are all good cooks…which is really more exciting than their teaching abilities! They will all live together in the other volunteer house….no running water or electricity…oh wait, that sounds more like ours lately! Don't worry, we've already begun to consider ways to trick them into coming up and cooking for us in exchange for….well, we're still working out those details.

Track and Field Tryouts

This past week Lisa has been busy auditioning students for the track and field competition. We'll take most of our students to compete against the international schools around Arusha. We always do pretty well in the distance events (go figure) and javelin throwing (again, go figure) but struggle in the sprints and shot/discuss. We're hoping for big things this year though from our little guys! (ahhh…)

 

The Tarp in the Back of the Truck

I have to tell you about the epic tale of the blue tarp. We've all been riding to school in the four door pickup ever since school began this term. The favored ones would ride in the front, safe and sound, listing to music and drinking Champaign (kidding about that Champaign thing….) while the rest of us suffered the dust and cold temperatures in the back. I would end most days covered in a thick layer of dust from head to toe that would take a long time to get washed out….not to mention rob us of precious water. Well, that all changed the day I brought a big blue tarp to cover ourselves with. The first day I was the only one covering myself with it. Most of the other teachers looked at it with contempt. On the second day they were all under it with me….laughing and telling jokes. By the third day when I went to climb in the back, they told me there was no room and I would have to sit in the front! Perhaps I created a monster. The bed of the pickup, covered in a big blue tarp, had become way more, um, awesome, than the front. More jokes, stories and songs were shared back there in the past two weeks than in all the other weeks combined. Interesting phenomena. I'm still waiting for acceptance from the group to get back in…

Let me introduce you to…

Let me introduce you to our students…

My blogs miss the heart and soul of what we are doing here. Our students are the heart and soul of our experience here. I spend a lot of time complaining about the conditions and whining about my own shortcomings … both topics about which we could write novels! But, I realize you may not know our students. Let me introduce you to them…

 

Our students walk to school and arrive at 7:30 in the morning. They study on their own. They assemble at 8:00 and discipline each other on dressing properly, studying and whatever else happens to be on their mind that they need to be doing to be a good student. They do this on their own…the adults are just trying to just get everyone rounded up, collect the food for the day, and get out to the school! We teach, they learn until 2:40. Then they do after school activities. Some days they get to watch a movie. Some days they play basketball. Some days they work with me down in the garden. Then they walk home. And then they study some more. On their own. Then they come in on Saturday and study some more. We didn't have school last Friday. They came and studied at school. On their own.

 

Our kids aren't angels. They have their own issues…just like any other kid. But read the above general introduction to our kids again. Then you begin to get some idea of the really incredible side of being here.

 

The Garden

The garden is really coming together! While we were gone visiting family in the States, students and volunteers re-built the fence. They also cleared the grounds of weeds, etc… and created new beds in many of the sections of the garden. We've built 15 benches for an outdoor classroom. We've also created a drip irrigation system in one section to experiment with. If it works we hope to expand to all of the garden. We also built a sand filter to use the grey water from the kitchen to irrigate the fruit trees in the garden. I realize that when I have to watch a sport for after school activities, I keep checking my watch wondering when it will be over. But, when I work in the garden with our kids time seems to fly. Maybe I am boring after all…

 

The Basketball Court

Over the five week break in June and July our students worked to create a basketball court. This isn't just any court! It's a full length concrete basketball court which, when finished, will have six hoops around the perimeter. In a word…it's cool! And, it sure beats the dirt courts we were playing in before. The project was done as part of a service learning project done by a high school in Boston called Groton. Groton brings about 15 students here to work and interact with our kids. This is the second year they have come.

 

Nanenane Agriculture Show

Yep, it's that time of year again. Prepare your eyes, your ears and your noses for the Nanenane (pronounced nah-nay nah-nay) Agriculture Show! We are taking the Form 3 agricultures students to the event tomorrow. Apparently there will be animals, crops, machines…and a whole boat load of Tanzanians! Should be a good time…so long as we don't lose any students….

 

Lisa stays overnight at a student's home, Seth celebrates MANduli…

Last night was monumental for two reasons. First, Lisa and Whitney (office manager from New York) went to a student's house to stay the night. They had to travel all the way out to Usa (pronounced u as in you – sah) River. So…it meant about d4 hours of travel one way. While she was gone, Peter and I celebrated being men in Monduli with the first ever MANduli. It involved, in short, cooking meat on a fire. I hope to repeat the event soon. But, since we had to use her fingernail polish remover to start the fire, I am not sure about Lisa's stance on the event just yet.

 

Tough News to Share

You know that news that you have to share but just don't want to. Like that you just peed your pants. We had some of that news to share with our families since we've been home. That is that we are staying in Tanzania for another year. We're excited...but I must say it's been challenging telling our families. I think they want us back in the U.S....for good! I have to say it's pretty tempting too. I missed them so much and being here has been so good. I drove 2 hours to pick up a baling part for Dad yesterday just to see the countryside. Plus, I've packed on a few pounds chowing down on the local cuisine. I like having access to my family. But...I don't think here is where our story resides right now. There's a big part of me that wishes it did...like when I'm fishing with my nephew in the river or shooting arrows with him. Like when I can just call up Lisa's dad Jeff and visit. Like when I just look over this country up here and it's just so pretty that you can't imagine being anywhere else. I don't know. But, it certainly does keep you longing for home even before you've left.

Home

I didn't know what home felt like until being gone for so long. Home feels awesome! Home feels like being able to drive to Bridgeport with Jeff to get used tires for his tractor. It feels like ruining Kim's internet power cord and having to wait all day for the repairman to show up. It feels like going to a t-ball game with Sara to watch my nephew knock one out of the park. It feels like surprising Leland and Irene over a Runza because they didn't even know we were back. Home feels pretty good.

We spent yesterday at Horizons Church. That was cool and a little surreal too. It was good to see so many familiar faces of friends. But, it was also a little too fast. My biggest shock, though, was seeing Brandon. He used to be a 4th grader I worked with in Discovery Zone. Now, he's 5'2" tall and has a deep voice. What the heck?

And who knew they brought yogurt shops to Lincoln? You can load your cup up as high as possible and then add toppings. Nice addition.

We were also able to get in a little shopping. Lisa is still not a fan!

These past few days have been a little like on the Matrix when Neo wakes up and finds himself in a whole new world. We hadn't planned on coming home. Then when it was a reality there were so many other things going on we couldn't think about being home. Now we are here and...well it's just strange.

Thank you friends and family (and of course Taco Johns) for being "home".

7 Stitches in Sub-Saharan Africa

Return of the Peter

Peter, the director of IEFT, returned from the US on Tuesday. He had been there raising money to run Orkeeswa and buying me two bags of sunflower seeds. I'm not sure of the order of importance of those two things. It's good to have him back! He brings a load of energy when he arrives.

Ben Dies A Slow, Painful Death (Or, why 32 does not feel like 22)

Our poor dear friend Ben died yesterday of a nasty rugby overdose. In case you don't know rugby is a sport similar to football but you don't play with any pads. Ben is recovering from his death by eating sushi and swallowing pain killers. He has mentioned many times to us that a 32 year old body does not move the same way it used to. I think Ben needs to find better friends who do not compel him to play rugby. Or, he should avoid it for a long time. We are hoping for a speedy recovery of our friend.

Testing, Testing

We are busy transferring all of our stress of writing tests on to our students who are busy taking them! We will finish our end of term testing on Wednesday. Bummer that I made a 10 pager for form 3. I had visions of frightening them with it and making them have undying fear and respect for me after they took it. Unfortunately, all I got for my efforts was one student saying "Well, that was a little difficult." Cripes! What does it take to get through to these guys!

Goodbye Everyone

It is time to say goodbye to Ben and Quinn. They have been our friends, teaching companions and house mates for many months. They are returning to Australia and America respectively next week. I must say they will really be missed.

Hello Home!

LISA AND I GET TO COME HOME! We are very excited to be heading home for a month to visit family next Sunday. Bring on the Taco Johns baby!

P.S. - no one received stitches as of the making of this blog. Just wanted to catch your attention!

Do Dik Dik's Mate for Life?

This has been an ongoing topic of conversation around here for many months now. Now, many of you are asking...what is a Dik Dik. Glad you asked! It's a tiny little deer like creature...maybe 16 inches tall. There have been many rumors that they mate for life. So...when you eat one (which is really more like an appetizer!), one could argue that you are robbing the other of it's life partner. I don't make that argument, mind you. Well, yesterday morning, I had a sighting of two little Dik Dik's standing side by side. For me that just confirmed it. They are in fact mated for life. My assumptions were further verified later on wikipedia.com. Ahh, the more you know.

End of School Exams

You'll be happy to know we are nearing the end of our term. We will begin giving final exams on Thursday and finish on Wednesday of next week. Then next Friday is a big celebration and we are outta here. I think the kids are handling the stress pretty well. They are really focused on doing well on their exams. Picture your achievers in any class...that's what most of these kids in each form are like!

Orkeeswa Idol

We have been working on the second annual Orkeeswa Idol! We are set to have it this Wednesday. As of now we have two skits, one singing group and many dancing groups. Should be interesting. My personal favorite as of now is the group of two form one boys who are going to dance off to "The Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira. Yes, come one, come all! It's bound to be one entertaining show!

More Water Issues

There has been little to no water in Monduli for over a week. How can people live without water? Why aren't they sending any more? Don't know! Some corn around here looks OK, but apparently the rains came at the wrong time so many of the crops either failed or under produced. Consequently there is widespread speculation that prices are going to go really high on people's staple food.

Microfinance

One of the fun things we have been working with is developing a microfinance project here. Already there are nine groups working on filling out loan applications. We would potentially lend each group a loan to begin a small project. Projects range from cutting hair to buying and selling chickens and eggs. These guys have some good ideas, but as usual, there must be some degree of experience here. So, we're hoping to work with them on developing good businesses. I really enjoy the beekeeping idea that is buzzing around!

I hate sickness!

We had a kid get really sick from some water he drank. At least that's my professional opinion in the matter. We took him in to the hospital and he had a fever and was in pretty bad shape. What killed me is he had dressed in his nicest clothes to go. Here he feels so terrible and just looks terrible and was considerate enough to put on his slacks and dress shoes...underscores why I really like this kid. Anyway, mercifully he was immediately sent to a bed and treated rather than having to wait in the waiting room. Again, it was one of those "sucking chest wound" things with this guy where you felt so sad that he was so sick. I am thankful that when I saw him yesterday he was eating. It just reminded me how much I hate sickness. This was a strong young man who was just taken down by these things that persist here!

Well, it happened...

The Incident -

Well, we all knew the day would come. I'm just ashamed it was so soon! I finally got caught peeing in the garden. Now, before you go judging me, all you non-garden-pee-ers out there, I want to paint you a picture (no, not that picture!) Our school is out in the bush! Plus, the pit latrine toilets are not my favorite thing in the world. Finally, I need to check on the garden anyway. So...it only made sense in my mind. Now, just to be clear, I go well away from produce, etc... I know many of you will condemn me as of reading this. That's a risk I'm willing to take.

I was down there as usual when all of a sudden some students came walking around the corner of the building. What in the world! Why are they out of class? As it would happen, they were bringing me some papers. What are the odds? Anyway, as anyone who has tried to stop early in this particular situation, you know it's very difficult. Well, I did, somewhat. Anyway, to spare you the gory details...I think I'll be heading to the pit latrine in the future!

Whitney Arrives

Whitney, the new office manager arrived last night. I think she was pretty tired. I had made her some spaghetti and just as I was getting ready to dine with she and Lisa, I was called to help take kids home to their bomas. So, I guess I'll get to know her later! She'll be living in the same house as Lisa and I for the next year working as the office manager.

The Sporting Fiasco

We have had a series of sporting events here. They are REALLY disorganized. The latest timetable said, in effect, we need your kids here to play an undefined game at an undefined game in the next three days. So, it's been a lot of chasing around and waiting...especially for Lisa. As I write, she awoke around 6 AM today (after getting to sleep at midnight last night) and is still not home at 7 PM because of the schedule of things today. I'll be glad when things are finished with that!

Projects

Part of what I love about being here are the projects we work on. I love trying things in the garden. I would love to have a plastic greenhouse, beehives, irrigation, goats and dairy cattle and aquaculture by the time I leave. Right now I'm working on using plastic sheeting to capture rainwater for irrigation (failed twice so far...hoping to rally soon). Also, I'm trying to filter grey water from the kitchen through sand to use on the fruit trees. Also... a work in project. It's fun to try these things that you read about. For the most part I fail...but it's fun to try!

What kind of animal would you be?

Tonight we were walking up the hill to our house - Quinn, Whitney, two students and I. I saw some chickens eating some termites off of a tree...kind of cool. So, I commented that I wouldn't mind being a chicken if I had to be an animal (again, all of you who were judging me about the garden incident just back off!). I asked the group if they could be an animal what animal would they be. Quinn and Whitney said a zebra and a unicorn. One student said he would be a sheep because in the Bible the sheep are the innocent ones. The other student said he would be a lion because they are obviously big and strong. This kid is about 5 foot 4 inches and weighs about 110 lbs! He walked along in silence for a while. Then he commented that when he was done with school he was going to grow out his hair and whiskers and have a mane. How could you not love that!

The Hurricane Lantern and the Laser Printer

I knew working in Tanzania would yield a clash of ideologies. I knew enough to realize the area that we were coming to was labeled as an extremely poor area in an extremely poor country in Africa. One thing, however, that has been rather surprising is the chasm of how things are expressed between those who do not have and those who, at least from outward appearances, have.

There is no doubt we are in the "have" group. On my plastic table in our living room is a hurricane lantern. It's there because we have regular power outages. Most of the electricity provided to Tanzania is driven from hydroelectric generators. Due to many reasons such as shifting weather patterns the power gets cut. To be honest we've become so used to it that on Friday when we celebrated Quinn's birthday we sat with the lights off even though electricity was available! What sort of strange psychology is that? The power outages are frustrating for business owners. However, many manage by purchasing generators or just stocking up on candles. Of course our students aren't terribly bothered because most live in homes without electricity. The hurricane lamp reminds me of how quickly I can be sent back to a time without electricity. Then, my lesson planning (done by my ancient laptop), my e-mailing (done by Lisa's newer but recently broken laptop), my reading (done by electric light), and my DVD viewing (again, previously done on Lisa's computer...but difficult now with a broken screen...the West Wing just isn't quite the same with a split down the middle of Sam's head!) all gets taken back to the, shall we say, dark ages.

I'm surrounded by a lack of technology in many respects. Farmers farm here with a mouldboard plow pulled behind a set of cattle. Sometimes they can hire a tractor (typically a Massey Furgeson). Most people walk wherever they go due to lack of transport. If they do ride, it's in a crowded share ride such as a dalla dalla (small bus) or boda boda (reckless motorcycle). People get water from a reservoir. I thought it was just for livestock until some of my students said that was what they drank too (which yet again underlines my belief that any of our kids on their worst day is way tougher than me!). Food is cooked over charcoal or wood. Yep, this is truly hurricane lamp country...if you are fortunate enough to have a hurricane lamp in the first place or fuel to make it work.

Now, right next to that hurricane lamp is our printer. It's fairly new. It's constantly out of ink, but works fine for the most part. It also scans and makes photo copies. I can attach at least two of our three computers (and sometimes four or five computers if Quinn is visiting from the other volunteer house) and print in no time. Our school is equipped with solar power that runs, on occasion, one of three LCD projectors we have at the school. Recently, a partner of IEFT donated 15 laptops - nice ones too - not some reject stuff. I saw our kids flocking around it in the library the other day teaching each other how to use Microsoft Word. Further, EVERYONE here has a cell phone (and NOONE has any credit. EVER!). It's a very strange site indeed to see a Maasai man or woman walking along in their traditional garb, holding a spear or walking stick in one hand, and talking or texting from a cell phone in the other! When I go in to church, the church is decked out with swanky speakers, a mixing board and wireless microphones. Recently there is a trend to listen to your music, whether from an I-Pod or some knock off. The rule, it seems, is that you have to walk along with one ear-bud in place and the other dangling down around your neck. I think that's so you have one free ear in case someone "flashes you" on their cell phone (which means they call and then immediately hang up so you have to call them back and waste your credit and not theirs!).

Drake University and some team from Mexico came here to play an American Football game. Lisa contacted them and a few of the administration and players wanted to come visit the school. They left Arusha late so they arrived at the school after all of the students had gone home. Someone must have thought there to be great danger at Orkeeswa because the first car (of three) was filled with a dozen armed police. The second was a fancy new car of a government official of some kind. The third was a 35 passenger bus filled with around 10 athletic administrators. Of course, the presence of all the armed police made everyone more than just a little uneasy (including the villagers who immediately started calling our security guy...from their cell phones...to find out what was going on...thank you small town!) But, eventually everoyne calmed a bit and the touring of our guests resumed. They had digital cameras, video cameras and I-phones to capture the moment. They were courteous and genuinely interested in the work we were doing out at the school. Some of our students were there and I couldn't help but wonder - what must our student's think of these people who need an armed guard to accompany them. I also couldn't help but wonder about our guests - what must they think of Tanzania that they need to be escorted by such a patrol. They left after about an hour. On their way out they passed a small church with plank board siding painted with used oil to keep the termites away. Nearby there was a couple of young boys with sticks herding their cattle (a constant site around here).

There is no doubt I have become used to my new world conveniences. I love being able to type my blog from a new computer and instantly broadcast it to the world. I loved taking a group of students last week to Skype with students from America. But, I can't forget that here it's also the land of the hurricane lantern. And I think that's a big part of why I like it.

We put the ZZZ's into Zanzibar!

This will be the most boring blog post yet.

Which is AWESOME!

We went to Zanzibar this past week in search of some rest and that is exactly what we found, in abundance (Oh, the sweet abundance of it!)

We landed in Stone Town on Sunday, went on a spice tour (wow, who knew we could spend four hours talking about spices, the use of spices, the medicinal use of spices and also the history of spice). I was very happy to head on up north to the beach at that point.

Then we found Kendwa. Sweet, wonderful Kendwa. With her unassuming ways, her restful bandas and her lazy, lazy days.

We slept, we ate, we...well actually that's about it!

Then we migrated to Jambiani...another beach...only to repeat the therapy.

Check out the pictures on Lisa's Facebook page. I know I will be to relive the...mmmm.

Drama, Drama, Drama....

Last week of a thirteen week term! I should have known there would have been some grand finale's. Here are a few...

Monday-Wednesday not to bad. Did the Insanity workout video that Scott, Lisa's brother sent. I literally thought I was going to drown in my own sweat!

Then Thursday hit!

I sent a student to our local clinic because she was complaining of headaches and chest pain...not uncommon for this time of year. In the mean time, I was getting ready for our new woodworking club (which is always fun...but a mess when I'm involved!), teaching and doing other stuff at the school. I had had a lot of coffee on Thursday, but when I saw Ben drinking some in the afternoon, I thought I needed another cup. Oh, what a bad idea! You know that "twitchy" feeling you get when you have too much coffee...well I was there.

Just as we were about to begin clubs, we had an unexpected visitor show up, handing out gifts, but throwing off the flow of things a bit. No sweat, I've become used to interruptions.

Then, as clubs were ending, I had the typical 54 students around me. "Teacher can I have some seeds for my garden." My saying, "Oh, yeah....I forgot about that...". "Teacher may I keep this thing we just made?" "You betcha" (which I am always convinced really gets lost in translation). "Teacher, teacher, teacher....." It's fun for reals. That "buzz" is part of what I like about teaching here. Or was that the last cup of coffee....

Anyway, in the midst of all the end of day stuff, one student said..."Teacher, you're needed outside. A student is passed out there." Crap.

So, I ran out and sure enough there was a student down with a few others around. We loaded the student up, took her to the local clinic and then on to the district hospital. This is when I got really angry.

This was my first experience with the Monduli District Hospital. Let me just be succinct in saying I would not feel comfortable going there for many procedures. What really struck me, though, was the ARROGANCE I perceived from the staff. We spent more time talking about who was the "big man" amongst all of us who accompanied our student than we did trying to fix the problem! I got yelled at to get out of the way...but only after they discovered I was "only teacher." "I am not!" I thought about saying. "I'm the chief medical officer at Orkeeswa...." Oh shut up, Seth! One more ego in this mix isn't going to solve anything!

Friday was the last day. Last days are hard for teachers. They makes teachers all over the world want to drink. I did enjoy our end of school party...we had a whistling contest and even gave away two of our very own chicken eggs as a prize to the top whistler amongst the teachers. Personally, I thought the maintainence guy should have won, but you know what they say about art, and all that... We even heard there were elephants near the school. One student came up to me and said "Teacher, I almost had to say goodbye to my parents. I walked between two elephants on the way to school today." You gotta love that! Anyway, we survived and were celebrating after school with the teachers and other folks. That's when we got the call. That student was still sick and needed to be seen to know if we needed to go to a different doctor. So, in the car I go...bouncing through the bush. The student lived WAY out there. We loaded the student in the Land Rover and off we went to Arusha. After some blood work and a couple more IV bags (man, I ought to start taking some of those IV bags instead of coffee...) the student was good to go. Unfortunately since it was 12:30 AM, I wasn't. Plus, I realized I had lost my wallet in the mix.

Finally, we dropped off the student and returned home about 2 AM this morning. I still havn't found my wallet and thank the stars above noone was attacked by elephants. Lisa had made some chocolate chip cookies...so I ate them by myself at 2:30 this morning with some tea. Don't get me wrong... I love this stuff! But, sweet, sweet beaches of Zanzibar, I hear you calling my name next week!

I Would Take It All Away

I would take it all away.

The mud. The mud that our students walk through every day to get to school. The mud that binds to their shoes and clothes and instantly covers everything. The mud the mamas must wash out of the kitchen and classrooms every day. The mud that coats the Land Rover and threatens to pull us off the road at a moment's notice. I would take away the mud.

The hunger. If there is no food at home, kids don't eat. I am naïve enough to think that most of our students eat at home. I know that some don't. I know that until morning breakfast, they don't have much, if anything in their bellies. I would take away the hunger.

The stress. Everything is geared toward these high stakes tests. If they don't pass these tests, they don't continue this education. End of story. The kids know this better than anyone. Add on the realities of life too. Relationships. Family. Work. All of it adds up. Our kids handle it pretty well, but I know stress is a constant companion. I would take away the stress.

The sickness. As the medical guy, I look at some weird stuff. It's escalated since the rains began. Waterborne illness. Infections. Coughs. No problem if you can get in right away and see a doctor and then get the proper medications, right? No problem… if it were possible to not walk in the mud every day. But of course…it's not. I take it hard when they are sick. I don't like it. I'm guessing they aren't that fond if it either. Still, some things I say "I just don't know what to do about that…" I would take away the sickness.

The hard life. Sometimes I look around and see these struggles and it does make me sad. I don't like to see my students walking in the rain. I don't like to see my students having to grow up so fast. I would take away this hard life.

I would take it all away.

But I don't get to make that call.

We had an all school show and tell about the clubs students participate in. Each group stood up and shared a bit about their club. Everyone was in a good mood, respectful toward their fellow students and teachers. Afterward, each student received a lollipop from their club advisor. Unfortunately, during the event one girl got sick and I was trying to attend to her. I gave out as many of my lollies to my woodworking club folks before looking after the sick girl, but I managed to miss one of my club members. I was busy with the sick girl and had quite a few "helpers" standing around which seemed to add to the chaos of the situation. I was feeling a bit stressed by everything. In the midst of things, my club member found me and quietly tapped me on the shoulder and said "teacher, I didn't get my lolly. Could I have one." It wasn't one of those snotty "I didn't get…blah, blah" retorts you might get from a teenager. Nor was it demanding. It was a simple request for something that was hers. And it was so innocent that it caught me off guard.

Maybe God gives us mud so we can learn perseverance. Maybe we get sick so we can care for one another. Maybe what I see as a "hard life" is just developing the character of someone in ways I am too limited to understand.

Or, maybe it's just mud.

 

Oh Heck, I’m Up to My Neck…in MUD!

The rain has finally come to Monduli! It was about 3 weeks later than normal and obviously affected life all around!

The Dust

Rain did come to this area over one month ago. It was a good downpour. Unfortunately, it didn't last. It did encourage people to plant their maize – mostly used for their own consumption. The plants shot up with the moisture. Then, they immediately started to wither under the sun. Just as soon as the rain started, it stopped. Dust returned everywhere. Talks turned to the widespread drought that covered the area two years ago. The sky would cloud up and then produce nothing. We even planted the entire school garden, only to have nothing germinate except lots of weeds. The implication, the one that no one really spoke of, was that people would starve. In the States if a crop fails maybe prices increase a bit in the grocery store. Here, when most of the crops go directly to feed your family, if they fail, the consequences are far more grave.

The Sub-Saharan Depression

Whether it was because of the lack of rain or just the grind of school, there was a heavy cloud hanging over our house. We volunteers were grouchy toward each other. The students, while almost always courteous, had a bit of an edge to them. The work just wasn't fun. It was work. It was virtually impossible to find a reprieve. We were tired out, fed up, and generally frustrated. I can't help but think that a fair amount of that influence came from the lack of rain and the emotional effects it carried. Thankfully, we remained civil toward each other. I think we all sort of understood that this wasn't normal. And, in the words of that famous person Anonymous, we knew that "this too shall pass."

The Rain

Finally the rains came! Last week, with a torrent, they came. Buckets and buckets fell from the sky. The change in the air was obvious. The students were quite literally jubilant! Even Form 3, who usually growls at anyone who tries to be the least bit cheerful with them responded. "Good morning Form 3!" Lisa would say. They cheerfully responded with, "Good morning, Teacher!" What the…. That never happens! The rains just create a hum in the air. I can remember at home in Wyoming this same thing would happen. When people are so closely connected to their surroundings, major changes like this have an obvious effect. Maji ni uhai – Water is Life!

The Mud

An obvious side effect of the rain is mud. How shall I describe the mud? You know those Betty Crocker tubs of frosting? Picture something like "Dark Fudge" or something like that. You know that same creamy, smooth texture and dark black/brown color? Well, picture the road being covered in that and trying to navigate a Land Rover through it. That's what is created when it rains here. We spun off the road on Friday. Everyone piled out (I say piled because we usually stack 10 extra bodies on the Land Rover). Even the principal ripped off his suit coat and went to digging. We went off the road right next to a family's boma (house). I was sure at any moment we would tip over and crash through their mud wall! Finally after much digging and being covered in mud, literally, we got unstuck. Students standing around were laughing. But then, they had to walk home through it. The road turns into a river of rushing muddy water crashing down from the hills above. The going becomes slow. Easy trips into the school become a battle every morning and night. Ah the fun!

The Disease

Right along with the water comes the disease. If you are constantly wet and sleeping in and near mud, chances are good you'll get sick. This has happened around here for sure. I've seen quite a few cases of water-borne disease, malaria and of course the ongoing battle of parasites. I don't know what you do about it either. Even Lisa is sick now; hacking up a lung. I think our epically long walk yesterday didn't help.

The Epic Walk (followed by the epic blisters!)

Yesterday we walked to the end of the Earth. Its name is Lendikenya. Unfortunately, because of the mud, we decided to wear the rubber, calf-high boots. We were following a student to her boma and she didn't seem to be having any problems. Lisa and I on the other hand were in full sweat mode! By the time we arrived, we had walked nearly 6 miles there and I was covered in sweat. But, it's always worth it! Her dad is a farmer and her mother a primary school teacher. They were happy to have us there and even killed a chicken for us to eat. We had a great conversation, as translated through our student. Lisa told them about her father, Jeff, who is a farmer. They decided Jeff needed to come visit them if he ever came to Tanzania! Finally, after filling our stomachs with tea, makande (corn and beans cooked together) and chicken, we began our return journey. Thankfully Ben was able to meet us about 2/3 of the way into the trip. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have made it all the way home! Right now, I have a blister about the size of a quarter on one foot. Lisa has one that looks like a small marble on her foot. But, ha ha ha Seth, this is how most people get around here. My tender-footed ways wouldn't last very long without the aid of a car and some serious foot crème!

The Healer - Baba Loliondo

There is a faith healer that EVERYONE is going to near Loliondo. He makes a drink, blesses it, and people are cured. The five things it cures are tuberculosis, AIDS, cancer, diabetes and ulcers. People are flocking up this rough, long, dusty (well now muddy) treacherous road by the thousands. Once they arrive, the queue is so long, a few die just waiting for the dawa (medicine). He charges 500 shillings per person for overhead costs. Transport services are charging hundreds of thousands of shillings to get you there. Don't tell people that you don't believe in it, either. This is grounds for a healthy debate and eventual ridicule from the obvious polarizing effect such an emotionally charged issue can create. Also, don't go to the knock-off healer in Moshi. His dawa doesn't work.