Small Victories

Last week I got up to Mlalo where we had a get together of many of the volunteers in the region. It was a nice time. Hilary, the second year who hosted the shin dig, is a great cook and the proud owner of a meat grinder and a grill. That’s right, we had grilled burgers! We even had home made buns to go with them. Not only that, but she baked a cake, and made potato salad (first time having it in 11 months) and humus. It was amazing. When I have to live off my cooking, such days are really appreciated. I’ve really been spoiled so far since I’ve spent time with at least one other volunteer every weekend since I came to the new site.

School is going really well. I am really impressed by my students, especially the Form IIIs. Of course when you’re teaching they’ll be times when they don’t understand something the first time you explain it. My experience before was that most students gave up on math a long time ago so they just let it go and you really struggle to figure out when they are or aren’t getting it. My girls here at Kongei ask questions when they don’t understand! That’s right, they know that just because they didn’t immediately get it doesn’t mean that they can’t eventually figure it out or perhaps it could be explained better. I can’t tell you how exciting this is for me. In the practice Form IV national exams this year Kongei scored 5th out of 70 schools in the region and as good as the Form IIIs are they can perhaps do even better. By the way, with the attitudes this country has about women, it’s especially gratifying when a girls’ school does so well.

Another small victory I’m very proud of is with the local primary school kids. They would always shout “Good morning, sir!” when they saw me home in the afternoon. So now and then I would call one over and explain in Swahili that in the afternoon you don’t say “good morning” but “good afternoon.” Apparently the few I explained this to told all the other kids because now when I’m walking home I hear, “Good afternoon, sir!” Because of that, even if I left today, I think my Peace Corps service would be a success. Fixing the little things, that’s what it’s all about. One little thing down, only eight million to go.

Now that I’m getting more used to life in Tanzania away from the big cities, certain things have become easier. For example, now that I’ve been here awhile, that 50 minute walk to the road seems like nothing, and in fact I’m lucky to be that close. I can’t just walk out the door and hop on a daladala, but I have an easier time with transport than most volunteers. There are two towns I can get to in an hour and a half at the most. Granted, one of those towns, Soni, is barely more than a village and Lushoto’s no Mwanza, but I can get most of what I need. The variety of produce is amazing and most things are cheap so I’m not going to run out of money, which I could have done in Mwanza if I wasn’t careful. I’ll easily be able to save lots of money for travel which is going to be very nice.

So I have the satellite radio now, which has been amazing. I can listen to the BBC, CNN, and (oh boy!) NPR as well as lots of music stations. The sound quality is great too. The only problem is I am going to go through a lot of D batteries until (and if) I get hooked up with electricity.

Two more things. Some of the other teachers who are about my age are interested in having American pen pals. If anyone's interested, let me know.