Almost at the end of my time in Bagamoyo..off to Moshi on Saturday to arrange a safari. Here are some more pictures....

Sunday, May 27, 2012

I took a nice walk on the beach this morning after walking around town. The bus station was bustling with people going off for the day.  This afternoon Lauren and I are going to visit her cooperating teacher, Madam Rachel. It is the custom to bring some sugar or cooking oil when visiting so we will be off to the store to get some.

 Until then I am going to enjoy a swim on the beach. Only one more week until I am off to Kilamanjaro.

We had a lovely visit with Madam Rachel, her mother and her daughter. She was very happy with the three pounds of sugar we brought her. We looked through her photo albums and shared a coke together. Then we all walked back to CCS together. 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I really enjoyed my time at school today. The other teachers continue to try and teach me Swahili, but I have been so tired and have been concentrating on my lessons so much that I just have not learned very much. I am not traveling this weekend, so maybe I can practice a little then.

This afternoon we went to see a traditional healer. He showed us many concoctions to heal illnesses such as diabetes, impotence, women’s problems and exorcising demons, but he wouldn’t give away his secrets!

Sunday May 22, 2012

We left the beach in the morning to return to Tanzania. But first we stopped by a Spice farm for a spice tour. As we saw the different fruit and nut trees, the young men made necklaces, rings, bracelets and handbags from large leaves and reeds. We also had a demonstration of coconut tree climbing. The lunch was a delicious mixture of curries made with the fresh spices. 

We had only a quick tour of Stone City with its many winding alleys. There was a mosque and church side by side and the powerful monument to the slaves who were brought here.

Quite a few got sick on the ferry ride back but I made it back surprisingly energized. I still had to do some school lesson plans before I could sleep.

More pictures...

Friday, May 21, 2012

I was really tired after our night out but surprisingly it was a good day at school. My teacher, Madam Flora split the class in half and I only had to teach 50 at a time. I also had a very interesting conversation with a co-teacher. People were very shocked here when President Obama made his comments about gay marriage. The teacher I spoke to wanted to know how I felt, so I told him that I was in agreement. He just shook his head. Here it is felt strongly that hetero marriage is necessary to procreate and extend one’s lineage. Obviously he and I continued to have a very interesting conversation.

After lunch, we were off to Zanzibar. We drove 3 hours to Dar and then took the ferry over to Zanzibar. We rode first class, which was new to me and it was a very comfortable trip. Another hour and we were at the Safari Resort in Kizimkasi. There are a group of ROTC students here and I traveled with them, so as not to go by myself. They wanted to stay at a resort and it was a nice place on the water, but not a resort as we may be accustomed to. On Saturday we swam at the pool and then went out snorkeling. It was fun, but the snorkeling I do in Mexico is much better.

 In the early morning the tide goes out. The men have to push the boats out far if they want to go out. The women go out and look for fish and crabs. Zanzibar is 99 percent Muslim and the women are dressed and veiled in beautiful, colorful clothing.

Off to school in the morning again, am continuing to teach “who” and “whose” to join sentences-something I would rarely teach in the states. The students here do a lot of copying and rote learning. They rarely seem to understand what I say in English. But they are very enthusiastic and all wave their hands around calling out “Madam”! Some don’t have notebooks and they give me little slips of paper with their answers written on them.

After Christine’s talk, we all went to visit a local family of musicians. The father died of HIV-AIDS and his first wife also. Another wife is now sick and who knows which children it has affected. The musicians showed and demonstrated their instruments and put on a small performance. Children were everywhere and they sang to us also.

After dinner we went to a local bar/restaurant and saw a larger performance put on by the same family. After school in the morning we will be off to Zanzibar for the weekend.

I feel bad that I have not learned much Swahili. Our days are so packed with activity and I still have not really caught up on sleep at all.  This afternoon, Christine spoke to us about the education system. English used to be taught as the major language but now all subjects, except English class are in Swahili. Education used to be free but now if a child cannot buy a uniform, he/she can’t go to school.

More pictures from the beach...

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Today, I returned to my placement at the local elementary school. I work with Madam Flora teaching English. She teaches up to 100 students in the class. It is a bit overwhelming to say the least! She wanted me to teach the difference between Who and Whose, when used to combine sentences.  I did the best I could; I think really the students are doing a lot of copying without really understanding what they are writing. I enjoy working with her, though. We sit in the teacher’s lounge and chat with the other teachers and grade the 100 notebooks. At break time they drink tea and eat chapatis.

After school and lunch, a visitor spoke to us about the situation of women in the country. Basically, women have to do what their husbands tell them to do. A man may have up to four wives and can marry a very young girl. Women with education are at a disadvantage to marry because the men do not want educated women as wives. The speaker herself does not want to remain with her husband, but because of parental pressure and children, she remains.

Later, we walked down to play soccer in the schoolyard and all the children came to watch.

Then it was to the ocean! It was refreshing and wonderful. Later, we played tug of war, had an egg race and sang and danced.

Monday, May 15, 2012

Another orientation day before our placement volunteer work begins tomorrow. We explored the town a little. Motorcycles race by everywhere and there are lots of young men out and about. Chickens and goats run free.

 

Later, the women demonstrated the different cloths worn around Tanzania. Many have special sayings imprinted on them.  We also went to an art market and I bought a painting from the young artist. 

Saturday, May 13, 2012

Finally I have arrived in Bagamoyo!  Thirteen hours to Addis Abba, then a two hour delay, plus an unexpected touch down in Zanzibar and finally to DarEsSalaam! Customs and getting my stamp, so I could volunteer, was an experience. Hectic and confusing does not quite describe it.  Erica, who also is staying in Bagamoyo and a young man I met at the airport in Abbas made things much more comfortable and after a three hour van ride from Dar to Bagamoyo, Erica and I arrived at the Cross Cultural Solutions home base. We were served a great dinner and then it was off to bed after almost 30 hours of no sleep.

For some reason I was given a room to myself, the largest room. The bed is super comfortable, but continuously wrapping myself in the mosquito netting is not always easy.  

Sunday, May 13, 2012

I had trouble sleeping and then finally slept…right through breakfast! But I hurried and made it in time to our first get together meeting. There are two groups volunteering-five women at the Main House and 20 plus ROTC students from various places in the United States. After orientation and lunch, we visited the ruins of Kaole. Kaole is one of the earliest settlements on the coast of East Africa during the 13^th century. It grew because of trade.

We saw a huge Baobob Tree; it took fourteen people to surround its base.

It poured rain all night and most of the day, so we returned early and chilled outside.

Later, I tried to help the young guard, Martin improve his English a little and spoke at length to our leader       about life and politics in Tanzania.

The food here is unbelievable; spinach, cabbage, curries and rice, avocadoes, spaghetti, beans…this vegetarian is in heaven!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Well, I am excited and nervous. Off to Tanzania in the morning and will arrive there Saturday afternoon. I am staying in Bagamoyo, a small village on the Indian Ocean that was once a slave port. I will be volunteering for three weeks in a primary school before flying to Arusha (Kilamanjaro) to begin a week long safari. I am going to blog when I can, as I will have to go to an Internet Cafe. There is no WIFI, so I might not be able to post pictures for awhile. Adios, and wish me luck!

 In Swahili, Bagamoyo means "lay down your heart".