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.