Sad, Fun, and Delicious

Monica left on Friday.  It was a sad good bye.  We have shared so many great experiences.  I will miss her dearly. Fortunately, there is always something to do and someone to play with—so I didn’t have too much time to dwell.  There is an amazing group of volunteers here.  I didn’t expect to connect so quickly with random strangers from America, but we’re all here for the same reason—to help make a difference.  We’ve all become close friends rather quickly.

I’ve been keeping busy with preschool, curriculum writing, and playing/loving. 

I’m normally not a nap/rest person, but during my mid-day break I’m wiped out.  I use the time to relax, read, watch a movie, work on the blog, and sometimes nap. My bed is on the right.

On Thursday night we had family dinner night in our house.  We had a blast eating together (YUMMY chapati), talking, and taking fun pictures.

Mamma Sophia--One of Manyara's (my house) mamma

Theresia

Fatuma

Zwadea (student teacher) 

Happy, Grace, me, Fatuma

Coletha, Happy, Grace, me, Fatuma  (GLEE!!)

Yummy chipati

Lucia & Theresia

Grace, Janie, Natalie, Coletha

Today, Sunday—our day off, some other volunteers and I took a walking tour of Karatu, Tanzania.  We saw the “real” life struggles of villagers.  The lack of water, food, shelter, and cleanliness was astonishing.  I thought I had seen this in the local village closest to RVCV, but I was wrong.  The local villagers we met on this tour were welcoming, polite, and eager to talk to us.  Our guide did the translating.  We were even invited into two homes.  I was close to tears several times.  The differences between life in America and life in these villages are devastating.  Rift Valley Children’s Village is lacking MANY comforts of home; but it is like the Hilton and Disney World of Tanzania. I will post some pictures of the tour (hopefully) sometime in the next couple of days.  Sometimes the Internet works, and sometimes it doesn’t. 

Homesick

I'm enjoying my time here, but I especially miss my husband today!  The past 14 years have been wonderful...Happy anniversary!

Hospital Visit & Awesome Kids

We had a bit of scare yesterday.  Monica became very ill all of a sudden.  The volunteer doctor here at the village treated her, but the symptoms continued to increase.  So, we (Monica and I) went to a local hospital called FAME Clinic.  A driver from RVCV drove us the 45-minute distance--most of it on a very bumpy road.  FAME was founded by an American doctor (Dr. Frank and his wife, Susan) over 10 years ago. We actually met Dr. Frank and his wife, Susan, last Sunday.  We had lunch together.  This hospital is unlike the typical Tanzanian government-run hospitals. It was clean, prompt, and provided great service.   Monica had to stay the night because she needed IV fluids and antibiotics.  She has an infection in her GI and also a parasite.  She most likely ingested some "bad" water.  It's so tricky in third-world countries. Although the water is filtered here at RVCV, the produce is usually rinsed in tap water.  We've been both using tap water to brush our teeth because RVCV said it was safe to brush teeth with, just not to drink.  Monica gargled the water while brushing, so it's also possible some got in her system that way. I was ready to stay the night on the floor with her, but a bed was available in the same room. We had a rough night sleep because a dog kept barking, barking, and BARKING most of the night to chase off a pack of hyenas.  Yes, hyenas---they are very local around RVCV and around FAME...and every where else around here.  Their callings sound somewhat innocent, but the dog barking was fierce, and right outside our window.   We are back at the Village now.  Monica is resting and slowly beginning to feel better.  She's MUCH better than she was yesterday, but needs to take it easy for awhile.  The doctors said she should be back to her normal self in 24-48 hours.  We were both VERY impressed with FAME.  I've known about FAME for quite some time now, and I had planned on touring the facility, but I didn't plan on seeing it with a sick patient.  The staff there is simply amazing!  Monica was well cared for and received wonderful medical attention.  If you're interested, check out FAME's website at: http://www.fameafrica.org/whoweare.html.  They rely on donations to keep the place running.

I've been enjoying Pre-school!  I have 4 kids in my class: Janu, Ema, Joanne, and Musa.  They are all sweet and excited to learn. (They're also SUPER DUPER cute!) I'm happy with the classroom make over. There are classroom rules, expectations, and consequences. I made a "Reading Castle" and have even started a short version of Morning Meeting. Each preschooler has a feeling stick. For the past few days we've been working on shapes, patterns, communication, following directions, and creativity.

Looking at sticker charts and rule

Making crowns for the Reading Castle

                                      

Guess who is stepping in as the Education Director?  ME!!  RVCV currently doesn't have one, but needs some help designing a preschool and kindergarten program.  Most of the volunteers here aren't teachers, so they struggle with making and carrying out lessons.  In the mornings I've been teaching my class and playing with the kids.  In the afternoons, I've been working on curriculum and planning. 

Here are some pictures of Rift Valley Children's Village. There are 5 houses--each house has 11-13 children, 2 Tanzanian mommas, a student teacher and 1-2 volunteers.

Manyara House (where I am staying)

Pretty Suset 2 Nights Ago

Off Time

Yesterday I posted about the typical day at Rift Valley Children’s Village. Today isn’t a typical day.  Sundays are volunteers’ free days.  There are 7 of us who left this morning for Gibbs Farm—a quiet, beautiful and peaceful safari lodge. We’re all relaxing, using Wi-Fi J, talking, and reading.  Saturday night we all went to a tented camp to have happy hour around a fire.  We celebrated Chris’ birthday. (Chris is a volunteer.)  We had a group of 20 because there were some visitors in for the weekend.  Right now there are 8 volunteers, but five of them will be leaving within the week. Fortunately, 4 more will be joining on Friday.

A Masai  lighting our fire for Chris' birthday celebration

View from Gibbs Farm (Day off)

Gibbs Farm

I posted yesterday about working with the Standard 3 and 5 students.  I showed the kids Shaker Heights on a map and explained what I teach.  The students worked in pairs or trios to draw and write about their favorite African animals.  I have the pictures to bring back to school!  Afterwards, the students inquired into various animals.  (Even in Tanzania I’m managing to use IB language!)  The morning ended with an enticing game of Red Rover.  At first I only had 9 kids playing—but at the end there were over 20.  I got some serious grass stains during this game!

Students from Standards 3 and 5

Every Thursday the volunteers eat in the houses with the kids.  The mommas make chapati, which is delicious bread, with beans and spinach and carrots.  I was worried about eating the food, but it was delicious!! This was our 3^rd day in the house, and the girls were really testing the limit.  I finally pulled out the “TEACHER” card and made the expectations and consequences crystal clear.  I ended up using my classic “TEACHER FREEZE” with the kids.  Monica was shocked and later told me that she had never been more proud of me.  Since then, the girls have been in better control. After dinner I read some bedtime stories.

TEACHER FREEZE! :)

Story time after dinner-Notice I need a head lamp to read.

On Wednesday or Thursday (I can’t remember which day—they all blend together), I walked through a local village, Camp Nairobi, which is about a 5-minute walk away from RVCV.  It was shocking to see the shelters, water, garbage, and animals.  Some kids in this village are supported by RVCV—providing clothes, food, and education. These children LOVE to get their picture taken and desperately want to see pictures on the camera.  They say, “Show please,” while flashing a charming smile.  There aren’t any mirrors in this village, so the kids only see themselves through volunteers’ cameras.

Local Water Hole

 
     

Water Buckets

                                      
                           
Also on Wednesday or Thursday, I toured Gyetighi Primary School. This is a local school, which is greatly funded by RVCV and partly funded by the Tanzanian government.  The school-aged children at RVCV attend this school, as do local children IF their parents can afford the fees, uniforms, and supplies.  The school structure here seems to be set up for failure.  School is required for Standards 1-7, but I use the word “required” loosely.   There is no check-up on kids who don’t attend; and many families make less than $200/year—which is about how much fees, uniforms, and supplies cost.  School is taught in Swahili, except for English classes.  Students must pass a big test (in English) after Standard 7.  Secondary school is much more expensive and is taught in only English. Many students who pass the test aren’t familiar with English, so they suffer in secondary school.  Like I said above, the system seems to set students up for failure.  A big part of my job at RVCV is to help teach and communicate with the children in English. I hope to visit a school in Karatu (the largest town around, about 45 minutes away) with another teacher volunteer. We want to see the instruction and learning in action.  The tour of Gyetighi Primary School took place during recess/break time.

Teacher's Office

Daily Life

I can’t believe I’ve been in this beautiful country for a week already! What I’ve experienced in this short 7-day span has been extraordinary.  Sometimes I feel like laughing, and other times I feel like crying. There are over 70 kids here who need love, support, and guidance. These kids are SO lucky to be at RVCV.  That being said, life is totally different.  The most apparent differences to me are water, electricity, and the amount of “stuff” that people have. The scenery is amazing.  Every time I turn around I'm amazed at beauty! Since we're very close to the equator, there are exactly 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. (6:30-6:30) The locals call this time of year winter. The nights and mornings are chilly (in the 50s). I'm usually bundled up until 10:30 or so, when I take off my hoodie and fleece vest. There are few hours in the afternoon when it's warm enough to take off my long sleeve.  We haven't had any rain.  This section of Tanzania is in the "dry" season, meaning it's typically cloudy/hazy in the morning, and sunny in the afternoon.

Outside view from RVCV

Monica and I are living in the Manyara House, which is house of girls.  There are 11 girls who live here full time.  There are a few other girls who come on weekends and holiday breaks.  The house has 4 bedrooms: one for the volunteers (I’ll get a new roomie after Monica leaves), one for the two Tanzania mommas, and two for the children.  There is also a student teacher living in the house.  This means that 6 kids share each child bedroom! There is a volunteer-only bathroom and 2 additional bathrooms for the mommas and children. We're actually somewhat spoiled here.  The Tanzania mommas do our laundry, make our bed, and clean.  There are cooks who prepare meals for the volunteers.  Here is a typical day at Rift Valley:

Momma Sophia

A momma doing laundry
(This is done every day.)

5:30-5:45 (depending on my energy level): Get up and get ready for the day.

6:00-6:45: We help prepare the girls’ breakfast. This is either egg and bread, or peanut butter and jelly on bread. The girls get up at 6:00 and get ready for school. After breakfast the girls do chores.

6:50: Walk the Standard 1-7 kids to school (This is comparable to 1^st-7^th grades.)

The girls LOVE Glee!

7:30 Volunteer breakfast

8:00-10:30 Class Time:  The kids who don’t go to school receive classroom instruction at RVCV.  The first few days I helped out in a few different rooms.  Now I’m running a preschool class.  Students have classes on Saturday morning in Tanzania.  There currently is not an Education Director at RVCV; so I was asked to “revamp” the preschool program. Preschool is SO important, and it makes a huge difference. Today’s project is to reorganize the room and get a rough schedule drafted.  I will start some curriculum mapping over the next 2 ½ weeks.  Fortunately, Leah (another volunteer) is helping with this project.  I will post pictures of the end result over the next few days. (If you’ve seen my current classroom, you’ll recognize some items.)

10:30-11:00: Uji-This is a snack for the kids that is similar to porridge.  The mommas set this up and the volunteers clean up from class time and take a breather.

11:00-12:30:  Play time!! J

12:30-2:30: Volunteer lunch and rest time. (The kids at school have lunch there, and the kids at RVCV have lunch and rest.)

2:30-4:30: Play time!! J (The kids from school get home about 4:00.)

4:30-5:15: Snack time.  Monica and I cut bread and prepare milk for the girls’ snacks.  Snack is eaten after showers, followed by chores.

At this point, volunteers are done with responsibilities.  I usually go for a walk with other volunteers, come back and shower, and then head to the volunteer dinner at 6:30.  I’m usually sound asleep by 9:00-9:30. The only exceptions to this are on Thursdays, when volunteers eat in their houses, on Saturdays—movie nights. I’ll post more later about these events.

Lions and Elephants, and Kids--OH MY!

So much has happened since we got here!  We haven't had much luck with the internet until now.  We made it safely without any mishaps.  Pure exhaustion was the only complaint.

On our first day in Tanzania (Saturday), we went to exchange money, get a phone, and an interent air card.  After a much needed nap (we slept thru lunch), we went on a nature walk with our guide, Danny.  We saw monkeys and lots of Tanzanian brush! Saturday night I started to feel sick.

On Sunday I was even more sick, but I didn't want to ruin our safari fun.  So I barreled through the icky feeling.  The highlight of this safari for me was seeing all of the elephants four feet in front of my face.  (My favorite African animals are elephants and giraffes.) We then went to our lodge and I saw a doctor.  I had an allergic reaction to the anti-malaria medicine.  My face, fingers, arms, and feet were numb and I was very nauseous.  I'm all better now!

  

On Monday we went on safari through the Ngorongoro Carter.  This is quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth!  Monica and I have SO many pictures of the wildlife.  We will share them all on an online photo website, which we'll create after we're back in the states (where wireless is quick).  For now, I'm choosing some of my favorites.

After a long bumpy car ride (see below), we arrived to Rift Valley Children's Village Sunday afternoon--where we were greeted with lots of hugs, playing, and excitement.  We unpacked and started playing right away.  Here are a few pictures of our first day.  I'll post more details and photos later, but right now our adult alone time is about over.

Kizzie and Me--Volunteer Bedroom 

Kizzie and Monica Resting

Off to School
(School is from 7:00-4:00!)