This is Africa

The last few days have been a learning experience - welcome to the african way! I am meant to be assisting for the time being in english classes every morning at primary school, and teaching 2 classes for adults every afternoon. However, despite my very professional advertising (posters I made with some of the guys from class), attendance at the afternoon classes hasn't been great so far. I had one man on monday, a maasai family (complete with breastfeeding baby) on tuesday, so hopefully more today! I am finding it quite frustrating the way things are organised here - yesterday at school the teachers told me the school might be shut today for exams - but they wouldn't know until today!?

So...this morning i got a text saying school was on. I went in as usual, and the class i was meant to help in had no teacher and no-one was looking after the children or could tell me where the teacher was. So I improvised and taught them something which I thought might be relevant. The teacher showed up half way through - no apology - and then asked me to prepare a class for tomorrow! So the next period I had my favourite class (standard 5) and yet again there was no teacher. Luckily I had been in their class yesterday so knew what they were learning and was able to make up an exercise based around it. Then onto class 3... yet again no teacher! I am happy to take the classes but it would be nice (and coutesous) to let me know in advance so I could prepare a lesson, not just be thrown in at the deep end! But as the saying goes, 'TIA' - this is Africa!

However, despite the frustrations I am really enjoying being in Longido. As I said before, the family is great and I feel very at home here. The kids at school are great, they sing a song at the beginning of every lesson and every time I am walking down the road I have a trail of kids behind me like to pied piper ! I have also had some clothes made in the local style...pics soon I promise! I went into Arusha last weekend and met some of my extended african family and met up with some of the other volunteers at a mzungu cafe where the prices are sky high but you can imagine that you are back home again for a couple of hours!

I have a confession...

I am in love! Sorry Neil. His name is Issiah and he is an 8 year old maasai cattle herder. He mysteriously turned up at our house last night in only the clothes he was wearing - nothing else! He is a friend of the family's son and I understand is now 'ours' - which means we will feed, clothe and look after him in return for him taking the cattle out to graze every day.

He is so funny, he speaks only maasai and i can speak only a little swahili so our conversation is limited to say the least - he thinks my name is hello! I don't think he has seen white people before, so is fascinated by me and sits as close to me as possible, touching my hair and wanting to hold my hand and hug me. When I returned from having a shower, he asked if he washed enough would he be clean like me... he doens't understand that there can be different skin colours. It is really hard to get my head around how sheletered his life is - I gave him a toy car and he asked me to make it bigger so he could get in... and to make the lights work! He has had no education whatsoever - I showed him how to use a pen for the first time and when the family were singing hymns in the evening he was joining in using the only word he recognised...'hallelujah' over and over again! Was very very funny. I wonder if I can put him in my suitcase when I leave....?

School is good, I am teaching standards 3,4 and 5 (roughly ages 8 - 13) and is going well so far... not too many hours but from monday will be teaching adults in the afternoons so will be very busy! This weekend I am going to town with Mama Judith to visit her newly married son, and may have chance to meet up with some other volunteers too.

Longido...finally!

After months of planning (not to mention years of dreaming), I am finally in Longido where I will spend the next 3 months teaching english. The homestay family are great - really welcoming, and they remind me a little bit of my parents - Alais, the father is kind but slightly eccentric. He has all sorts of wires and contraptions around the house, much like my dad, and plays the keyboard too! And Judith is very kind - she gave me a big hug when I arrived and has told me they will treat me as one of their own while I am here. They are a Christian family (Lutheran) and every evening after dinner they pray and sing hymns. Last night Alais did a special reading in english for me (as well as the usual ones in kiswahili), welcoming me to their home and Africa. I was very moved, in fact it brought a tear to my eye; I feel very lucky to have been welcomed into such a loving family.

The house is nice (and not made of mud!) although understandably much more basic than houses at home in the UK. The kitchen is in an outhouse, and the washing up isn't done in a sink but in a plastic bowl on the ground. The shower is ok, the water is heated and poured into a small tank so I think I will manage to keep clean while I am here. The one part I think I will struggle with is the toilet - a stinking longdrop in an outhouse with cockroaches. Last night I went with my headtorch but I think I will do it in the dark in future!

I have a free day today as the stern headmistress told me to come in on weds to find out what classes i will be helping with, and i will start teaching on thursday. So this morning i am going to spend some time on the internet (at a centre run by another NGO but which has mondo connections), possibly see a tailor about getting a dress made, and exploring the village. This afternoon i am going to the boma school, which is my second project where i will teach english to anyone who wants to learn. I have said i will begin the classs on monday,and i was very impressed at the keenness of the people wo were hanging out there - they want to help me make some posters this afternoon to advertise - apparently the classes have been missed and they are very keen for them to recommence!

I had a lovely moment this morning walking through the village - I passed the kindergarten and the children came running over to me wanting to hold my hands. I took a fews pictures of them and showed them the screen - they were amazed! I will upload the pics when I can but having trouble with the connection this morning.

Safari

Hi all, apologies i don't have time to write much but just wanted to explain the pic on the right... I have been on a 2 day safari in Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Manyara, was amazing to be in such a beautiful area and see so many animals up close in their own environment - very different experience to seeing them in a zoo. We saw a black rhino (from a distance), lions (very very close - so close that one of the guys in the group nearly lost his arm when he stuck it out of the truck window!), elephants, lots of zebras, hippos, wildebeest, monkeys and baboons and birds.

Tomorrow I am going to Longido to start work, which I am very excited about - I will meet the homestay family and some of the school children. My kiswahili is coming along nicely, so I will be able to greet everyone which is a good start! It is winter in Tanzania at the moment, but the weather is what we would expect in england in late spring, so still nice and warm. Haven't needed my thermals yet!

The african way

I have had an eventful few days since I last wrote in Zanzibar. I was in the beautiful north for a while but soon craved the excitement and buzz of Stone Town, so made my way back there and checked into a hostel for a few nights. St. Monica’s hostel was built on the site of the old slave market, so I was able to do a tour of the church, monument and the eerie slave chambers where 75 men, women and children were held for days on end to test their strength before being auctioned to rich Arab masters at the market. This was after having been forced to march for days on end without food or water – only one in five slaves taken from the villages of east africa made it to Zanzibar. So picture the scene: I am in the slave chamber with my guide, Elvis (?!) and he has just told me about the horrific plight of the slaves. Then he says ‘So, would you like to go for a drink with me tonight?’! I quickly said no and then asked a question to get him off the subject, but the Tanzanian men are nothing if not persistent and he asked me twice more before the tour was over! I don’t flatter myself, I think that every lone western woman gets asked the same but it happened with 2 other tour guides… cheeky beggars!

Anyway, my experience has been that the vast majority of people here are very friendly and just want to say hello and practice their English. Of course some are trying to sell you something but I have become adept at saying ‘hapana asante’ (no thanks in Swahili). Before leaving Zanzibar I also traveled down to the south coast where you can take a boat trip to see wild dolphins… (tissues at the ready linzi and rach). Unfortunately it was not the best experience of my life, as I love dolphins and didn’t like the fact that the boat chased them and everyone jumped in the water to try and get close to them even though they clearly weren’t in the mood to play. It was still a good day though as I got to go snorkeling again which is incredible. We also went inland to Jozani forest where the endemic red colobus monkeys, only found in Zanzibar, can be seen. Here we were able to get very close to a whole family which was a real privilege.

I spent the last couple of days exploring the atmospheric streets of Stone Town (which is a Unesco World Heritage Site) and had delicious cheap street food at the Forodhani gardens in the evening with a friend, Anna. I met some really great people in Zanzibar and had a fantastic time, but by yesterday was ready to move onto Arsuha, where I write from now.

I had a bit of a stressful day yesterday as I was meant to be at the airport for 10am, but had loads of missed calls from a Tanzanian number on my English mobile. I rang back and it was the travel agent telling me that I was now on a different flight to Arusha (via Dar es Salaam) and had to be at the airport by 9am – bearing in mind it was already 08.55 you can imagine my panic. To cut a long story short, I battled my way through the incomprehensible system that is Zanzibar airport and eventually arrived in Arusha at around 2pm. The hotel Mondo has arranged is very nice (and cheap which is a bonus)! Althgouh I now know why – it is right next to a mosque and the muezzin chants for about ½ hr every morning at about 4.30am, and ever afternoon. Good job I have ear plugs, but even they don’t do the trick!

Arusha is at approx 1000m above sea level and is very green. My first impressions of the town are good – lucky as I will be spending a lot of time here over the next 3 months. Last night I met some fellow volunteers and went out for dinner and a few drinks at the local wuzungu (white persons’) bar. Today I have had an induction by Leonard, the friendly and helpful Mondo Challenge guy in Tanzania, and a Swahili lesson which I have been practicing with the locals a bit already. Tonight there is a volunteer meeting followed by dinner at a local place. And then an early night as I am going on a safari this weekend with some other volunteers – to Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Manyara. I am very excited, I had expected I would do a safari at some point but hadn’t planned on it being so soon – however, I thought I would take the opportunity to go with the others as it is a relatively cheap deal with a reputable company, and will be nice to get to know the other volunteers. On Monday I travel to Longido, the village where I will be based – I am looking forward to meeting the family I will be living with and also the children at the school. The boxes of books/pens etc I sent over have arrived safely so I will be able to give the children some presents which will be nice. So to sum up – all is going well so far…

Stone Town, Zanzibar

Well here i am - in Zanzibar - such an amazing and incredible place I don't know where to begin... I arrived into Dar Es Salaam airport after having slept for only an hour on the night flight, so was very dazed and confused trying to make my way to Zanzibar. I made it here in one piece and have had a great couple of days exploring the town and surrounding area. I did the traditional spice tour, where they show you how many spices are grown and let you taste local fruits - very exotic, although the only one I remember is jack fruit, which is like a cross between a banana and a pineapple... very nice but strange!

The town itself is made of tiny backstreets and alleys, with a market like how I imagine a Moroccan souk to be. It is very dark, with awnings blocking the sun and smells coming from offal on butchers' blocks, spice stalls and a million other things. The sellers see a white person and you see the $ sign light up their eyes - it is a strange feeling to be a novelty due to the colour of your skin, but the people here are very poor and whatever I have got is more than they will ever have (for some). I have met some great friendly people - my 'international family' from finland, canada, oz, uk and the states, and many many more. I am now in Kendwa on the north coast, a stunning beach resort where I plan to relax for a few days before heading down the coast either back to Stone Town or to Jambiani in the east. The volunteering will be hard work so am making to most of my time off before I start! Ele x