Form 3 Vocab Quiz and Leopards

The power was out today, so I couldn't print vocabulary quizzes for form 3.  So, I had Collins write the list of vocabulary words while I wrote all the definitions in random order for them to match. You know, I first decided to be a teacher when I was four years old.  My main motivation was that I would get to write on a blackboard--that looked like a lot of fun!  Well, I love teaching, but I'm rather underwhelmed by the fun factor of writing on blackboards.  They are one of my least favorite parts of teaching, actually.  But the vocabulary quiz was taken as scheduled! 

In other news, look what I got in Arusha! Isn't he adorable?  I found this little painting of a leopard cub that goes really well in my new living room.  I hope someday I can see a leopard; they're the only one of the "Big Five" (elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions and leopards...and I'm really not sure why those five were chosen, and not hippos, giraffes, cheetahs, etc.) that I haven't seen.  They're solitary and well-camouflaged, though, so they're the hardest to find. 

One of Those Days

Life is the same no matter where you live... today was one of those days with all sorts of things going wrong.  I arrived at the Shorts' house about the same time as Beth and little Emmy, but it took us awhile to get anyone's attention to let us in the gate.  Emmy found a stick to try to pick the lock...unfortunately, she is much too short to actually put the stick anywhere that might actually be useful, but it kept her occupied.  We were just laughing that she's already caught on to how to get in the gate without a key.  Beth and I might have managed it, but we don't like to do it while the kids at the daycare across the road are watching (and they were), and besides we were just waiting on the Shorts anyhow to go to Arusha, so we might as well wait outside as well as inside.

 Speaking of leaving for Arusha... The car had been driven out of the gate and parked outside, and we finally got everyone out and settled, and then the car wouldn't start again.  Albert tried to jump it off the landrover, but no luck.  We finally had to call a mechanic to come out, and he got it going.  But it died again right after he left.  Two hours later, we finally gave up and took the old blue car instead, which we try to avoid but it guzzles gas.  (Tammy kept driving the silver car over the next few days and we kept having to rescue her when it broke down all over town; finally with a new battery and some other electrical work done, they finally got it behaving again.  Also, turns out those jumper cables don't work.)

With our late start, it was well after dark before we got home from Arusha.  We arrived to a commotion in the yard--the cat had escaped from the house, got into a fuss with the dogs, and ran further up into a tree than was wise. Lewis ended up on a ladder on a cat-rescuing expedition while we stood around holding lights and yelling various helpful suggestions that he mostly didn't appreciate.  

Working Hard

My coworker, Oscar, came over to hang out in the library with me while grading papers.  However, I don't think he's getting too much work done over there... Maybe he shouldn't have gotten quite that comfortable.  :) 

Haircut Day!

 It's quite common here in Tanzania to require all students to keep their heads shaved or cut very close, both boys and girls.  It does save on time spent washing hair, braiding hair, spending money on hair extensions (common among the girls), etc.  The students grumble about it, but it doesn't do them much good.  Not all schools require this, but it is quite common so it's no shock to them.  They are expected to have their hair freshly cut before returning from a break, but occasionally barbers will come to the school during long stretches between school breaks.  This quiet Saturday afternoon seemed a good time, and part of the computer lab was taken over. 

A couple of the guys came over and asked me to take a picture of them so they could see their new haircut instead of walking all the way back to the dorm for a mirror.  These are two of our form 2 guys, Nelson-John and Charles, both frequent library-dwellers.  

Backroads of Monduli

I needed to go do some work in the library today, a Saturday, but as I wasn't in a particular rush to get there, I took the chance to go on a long ramble going through the backroads and neighborhoods to get up to the main road.  I've got new areas of town to explore since moving into my new apartment, and it was a beautiful morning, although getting quite hot.

Rainy season should have started by now, but it's still dry and dusty here.  You can even see a haze of dust out over the valley, and many people are running low on water.

 I wasn't sure exactly where I'd come out when I started walking, but I ended up coming up to the lower end of the Sunday market grounds (below), empty and seeming much bigger without any stalls or people on a Saturday.  The main road is up there in that line of trees.  I had hoped to come out further down and walk the rest of the way to school, but I was hot and had already taken a good bit of time, so I caught a boda boda (motorcyle taxi) up at the main road the rest of the way to the school.

Form One March Exams

Mid-March means another round of exams for the students.  The form one and three English exams are a combination of my grammar/usage classes and my coworker Oscar's literature/writing classes, so we each write our parts and then put them together.  I helped him find this blank comic for his part; they've been doing 'picture-based stories' in his class.  They look at a picture and explain what's happening, even better if they use their creativity to add details.  This one generated quite a few interesting stories.  Here's one student's take; he named the main character after my coworker. (You can click on the picture to bring it up larger if you need to). 

Now to finish grading them all!

Sunrise from My Front Gate

I'm definitely not a morning person, but it did help when I had to be out early today to see the sunrise over the field by house.  Good morning from Tanzania! 

Pizza at George's

Here in Tanzania, I rarely eat out, because there's not much to buy out here in Monduli unless you want roast chicken with french fries.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there's only so often I want that. While Monduli is only has a few small family-run restaurants, Arusha has a wide variety, so we sometimes take the chance to have a meal out while we're running errands in the city.  Today we went to George's, which is a Greek/Pizza place that our friend Anna (a missionary in Kisongo, a town between us and Arusha) really loves.  While the pizza is pretty good, I think I prefer Bravo's at the mall.  They have a nice, shady outdoor dining area, though, and some swings for children.  

Isn't she adorable?

My Neighborhood

Today I'm sharing a few more photos of my house and neighborhood.  Here the view looking north towards the higher slopes of the mountain from my road. 

 The big black gate is mine.  The metal roll-up door cover a space meant to be used for a small neighborhood store, but no one has ever opened one there.  It would be convenient to be able to buy drinks and sodas and all right outside my own door, but it would probably be a noisy neighbor, so probably for the best.

 The road leading down to the main road...

 Walking towards the main road...

 The paved road that my neighborhood is off of.  The Shorts, Beth, Albert and his family, and quite a few other people I know live in the neighborhood across the road.  Turning left on the road will take you into town in about a kilometer.

The view out of town on the paved road.  I need to explore in that direction sometime...and below, the view towards town.

First Morning in My New Home

Good morning, everyone!  Today was the first morning I woke up in my new apartment. As it works out (and this was part of my reason for moving the day I did), it's exam week at school, and I'm not scheduled to proctor any exams today, so I have the day to settle in and unpack. Here's a few pictures from my day:

(Above) The view of my driveway (not that I have a car to park in it) and my gate, from just outside my kitchen door.

My front porch.  I'm still not sure why the wall is a different color on the porch.  

Looking back towards my kitchen door from the gate.

The view from just outside my gate (above and below).  The main roads in Monduli are paved, but the neighborhood roads are all dirt roads.  I have to walk around the cornfield (currently freshly plowed) to get out to the main road.

The view the other way from my gate.

My building from the outside.  The open door to the left is mine. There are several connected apartment and an (unused) shop.  

 An unfinished house across the road.  I like the structure of it, though.  You don't see too many two-story houses around here, and you can see the structure of a spiral staircase inside.  Half-finished houses are a common sight around here.  People don't tend to take a loan to build a house here, or if they do, can't get a big enough loan to do it all at once.  They save up money and build a foundation, or possibly even all of the concrete block part of the house, and then it sits for a year or two while they save up more money to build the roof, run electricity, etc.

The electric pole on my street is a bit concerning.

 We have quite a few of these huge black and white birds in my neighborhood.  They're rather noisy.  My doorbell is a very loud and insistent version of this bird's call, which is maybe not the best because I have to figure out if it's the doorbell or just one of the actual birds on my roof.

Deborah rode her bike over to help out a bit.  She washed the rest of my dishes and helped me unpack a few things. She also hid under a curtain. :) 

I stepped back outside of my gate at sunset, as I can't see much from inside my high walls.

My New Apartment

On March 17th, I finally moved into my own apartment!  I've been living in the Shorts' guesthouse since moving here in August, but they have many visitors coming over the next few months, and a good opportunity came up to rent this apartment with a friend as my landlord.  I've somehow managed to acquire quite a bit to move just in the few months I've been here.  It only took one vehicle, but it was crammed quite full!  The house came furnished with the big things--a fridge, stove, couches, two arm chairs, two beds, some linens and a couple of fans, but I'd been shopping for some pans, cooking utensils, some small plastic carts for the bathrooms, etc.  The Shorts are letting me borrow a folding table and chair until I can get a table (there might be one in another apartment that can be moved in, but we'll see).  They had also saved some items from when another mission team in Mbulu had left more items that they could use when they left Tanzania a couple of years ago, so I inherited a set of dishes, a set of glasses (if you ever visit, DO NOT stack the glasses!  They stick together!), a mixer and a few other kitchen and organizational items. 

The Shorts as well as three young guys that were hanging about (Sheki, Amadeus and Camara) that Tammy roped into helping came to help unpack everything and do things like wipe out dusty cabinets.  (I gave the boys enough money for the three of them to go get dinner from one of our local restaurants as a thank you--about five dollars).  Deborah, who is ten, washed nearly all of my dishes, and then came back the next day and washed all the rest.  That might have been a bad move on her part, because now we all know she is capable of washing dishes well.  But it was much appreciated!

Sheki and Amadeus were very helpful.  Rebecca had hidden Camara's phone, and apparently, he is paralyzed without it.

As you can see, the walls throughout the house are a light sage green color; I'm glad it's not white, and the color is neutral enough that nothing clashes too badly with it.  I really love the floors--they are tile in a three-toned wood pattern.  I know the couch probably seems a bit loud in pattern, but trust me, this is surprisingly neutral and tasteful compared to many examples I've seen locally. There are two bedrooms, so if anyone comes to visit, I have space for you!  

The outside of the house is a pale seafoam green color, except for on the porch, where it is tan. (?)  Not sure why. We had these doors propped wide open while moving in, but in general, I'll use the side door through the kitchen.  These doors off the porch have a wide gap underneath, so there is a towel stuffed under for now, so it'll be easier to just use the other door on a daily basis.  The house has a high wall around it (seven feet or so? No one can see over) and its own gate as well as outdoor lights all around, so it is quite safe. 

So far, I'm really enjoying having my own place again.  It'll be nice to be able to entertain, as well; I enjoy having dinner parties.  I also hope that I'll be able to feel more like part of the community, as I'll be stopping for bread at a different duka (small neighborhood store) and have new neighbors who won't see me as just an extension of the Short family.  It's only a five to ten-minute walk back the Shorts' house, though, so I'm not too far away.