11/5 Obama!

Wednesday November 5

Obama won! 

Everyone here is thrilled. The Tanzanians love Obama, so much so that we have many cars with Obama bumper stickers and Jack even saw one bus with Obama's face painted on the back. They all feel connected to him because of his Kenyan heritage, even though Bush did some good things for Tanzania as well.

I wasn't on breakfast so I slept in until 7 - that was great because we were both just exhausted from the safari yesterday. I found out this morning that I would be helping out in the afternoon with the English and computer class from 2-4.

And this morning I left Jack with the preschoolers so I could go give the 3rd grade letters to the Standard 2 class. Carolyn has them in the mornings in Serengeti house for some tutoring before they go to school. I handed out all of the letter with the pictures of the maple leaves as well as the laminated pictures of each American 3rd grader You should have seen their faces! They couldn't believe it - letters and pictures to THEM - with their names on it. I had to run and get my camera. It was priceless. I wish I could have brought a letter and photo for each and every child!

After lunch I found I had a new job - to help with the English and Computer class. These 10 students have been taking this class since July and all live within a 2 hour+ walk from here. Can you imagine some of them walk over 2 hours to get to this class? Just amazing to me. They want to learn English!!

Lindsay and I had them in the Volunteer House around the table. First we split them up into groups of two and had them practice their greetings. They had to have a conversation with each other, practice several times and them get up in front of the class and repeat their conversation. They are all so shy and speak so softly - we kept having to remind them to speak a little louder. They speak the same way in Kiswahili so it's not surprising. 

Then we had them practice their vocab words having to do with travel (airport, taxi, road, boarding pass etc). We had them write them all down and then write a sentence with each - I think there were 10 words in total. Some are definatly better than others - to be expected - and it was a little frustrating because they were at such different levels. Most of them were about 18 years olf (+/- a year or two). One of the things I asked them all was what they wanted to be - what they wanted to use their English and computer knowledge for. The responses were great - a prime minister (a young woman), a safari driver (also a young woman, a teacher, a pilot etc. I love that they have dreams! And that they realize that learning more will and can help them!

We also put in a movie for them to watch - but after about 10 minutes I realized that it was too fast paced and they couldn't really understand it very well - so we went back to the table and studied the words some more because they are going to have a quiz tomorrow.

At 4 I tried to skype Scott's class - but alas there was no internet! So scratch that for today - will try again tomorrow.

Was on for bath/ egg & toast snack and not for dinner - which was a bummer because dinner was chapate which we LOVE! They are like pancakes made out of flour, water, sugar, salt and lots of oil. They are just so good and the kids have them only on Wednesdays and Sundays.

11/4 Tarangire

Tuesday, November 4

Election Day!

Up at 5:15 today because we're heading out on our first safari. Andrew, Susie, Jack and I went with Freddie to Tarangire National Park. It was about a 2 hour drive to get there - back out from the village on one of the bumpiest roads I have ever been on, past Karatu, down the Rift into the Valley, past Menyara and back towards Arusha. Then right - south/west towards Tarangire. 

Even though we left early, it was HOT! The top of Freddie's jeep flipped off so we could stand on our seats to see the wildlife. We saw lots of elephants, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, gazelles, impalas, orynx, watre bucks, egyptian geese, an ostrich, a lizard, mongoose, monkeys and birds, birds, birds!

Susie knows here birds and that was just great to be with her. She also had this great field guide to birds in Kenya and Northern Tanzania that had them all! Jack even turned out to have eagle eyes (thanks to his contacts) and was a GREAT bird spotter. Here is a list of the different kinds we saw:

1. Fisher's Lovebird
   
2. Yellow Necked Spurfowl
3. Red Necked Spurfowl
4. African Pied Wagtail
5. Blacksmith Plover
6. Lilac-breasted Roller
7. Egyptian Goose
8. White winged Stilt
9. Red Billed Buffalo weaver
10. White bellied tit
11. Black Stork
12. Yellow Collared lovebird
13. Ashy Starling
14. Superb Starling
15. Grey Heron
16. Bateleur eagle
17. African Fish eagle
18. Hammer Kop
19. Namagua dove
20. Ringnecked dove
21. Verreaux's eagle owl
22. White backed vulture

They were all so beautiful - the blues, greens, reds etc of these birds is truly amazing to see against the dry grasses of the Tarangire.

We stopped for lunch at a picnic site and had out egg salad sandwiches that Elias had made us. We were all so hot and were getting far too much sun - even though we were applying sunscreen all the time.

Freddie suggested we grab a cold soda at the Tarangire Lodge - WOW! What a place. The view over the park was just fantastic and they even had a pool, which we would have all loved to have had a splash in.

Headed back to the Village with a stop in Karatu - I wanted to get more drinks and a couple snacks for next weeks safaris.

That road back in to the Village is just killer - wait until you see the photos!

We had a great day and both went to bed by 9:00 pm -wondering how the voting was going back home.

11/3 Preschool Plan & Garden Walk

Monday, November 3

On breakfast duty again - Ugi -so I could come in around 6:20! I then walked with the school crew to school with Vicenti and Rehema. They all get to school at about 7:15 and then do their chores until 8am when school starts.

I came back, had breakfast - woke up sleepy Jack - and prepared for the preschoolers. I got some small notebooks from the office and 7 pencils - one for each and I put their names on each. My plan is to have them do a page for a each letter of the alphabet where they have to write the letter and them draw some pictures of the things that start with that letter. All went well except for Vicenti and Rehema who are just a bit too young. Rehema was really trying and got out a couple A's and I was so proud!! Such a little thing made me so happy!

Then we did some water coloring - that was amazing. They all actually sat still for about 20 minutes busily painting away. But shortly after that the chaos returned. It is getting better as they are starting to listen a bit more.

In the afternoon Jack and I took all the little ones on a walk to the garden which is just past Indiaís house They are lots of things growing in there - from beans and lettuce to some flowers and peppers. I think we eat a lot from the garden. The plants are all in raised beds of soil, which I found so interesting because I had just started The Poisonwood Bible where the Baptist Minister after arriving in the Congo in 1959 wouldnít listen to the house Mama about how to plant a garden. He cleared away the jungle and made the garden flat. This was all fine and dandy until the rains came and washed away all the seedlings. Upon seeing this he made raised beds - like burial mounds - for all the plants and they never washed away again. (Note that his plants did end up growing but never grew any fruits. He thought it was because there were no bees for pollination. This is not a problem here - there are bees!).

After the garden field trip we decided to clean up the Children's Village. Usufu, Joshua, Vicenti and Rehema filled a huge bag with garbage. And just scraps of garbage - small blue plastic pieces, bits of duct tape pieces, cardboard pieces and a variety of small toys (legos and beads). As a prize we gave them each a roll of Smarties - with the promise thar they had to brush their teeth extra well tonight!

Sara (the Volunteer Coordinator) and three other volunteers returned from their Gorilla trek to Rwanda this afternoon. They had been gone for a week and it sounded like an amazing experience! I canít wait to see all the photos. It was great to have more faces and people to share the work with. Jack and I had been on for a lot while they were all away. I am in no way complaining - it was just great because it gave us more opportunity to get to the know the kids faster and spend more time with them.

Who would have thought that I would have to come all the way to Tanzania to try Tae Bo (?sp)! At 5:15 in the Rec Hall, Sara, Carolyn, Ellie, Lindsay and myself did an hour and half Tae Bo DVD! Hot and fun - I told Sara to let me know when they were going to do it again, because I would love to join!

Jack was helping out with bath time, showered and then went back to Tarangire to help with dinner. Our dinner was great - listening to the stories of Rwanda was amazing.  The genocides & memorials were very disturbing. Africa is such a vast continent with so much to learn about and so much to seeÖ...

11/2 Letter Writing

Sunday November 2, 2008

No breakfast duty this morning! We got to sleep until 7:15 and then were not really on duty until about 10:30 because the children have Sunday School in the rec hall. It did rain a little this morning but by 11 it had burned off and was again a hot, hot day!

As it was an off day, we just played - Jack played soccer in the morning and decided enough was enough and was only the goal keeper when he played soccer in the afternoon. He had gotten quite a bit of sun on Saturday and was utterly exhausted from too much play and too much heat!

I spent the afternoon writing letters with those that wanted to in the preschool room. Scott, if you are reading this - you are going to have quite a few letters to write! All the boys wanted to write you! Some of them were able to write novels on their own and others needed me to write the sentences and they copied them. It was a bit crazy because at any given moment at least 4 of them were asking me for help-can you say chaos? I also helped Coletha write a letter back to a little girl that had written her. Very cute!

We were on dinner duty and ended up reading 3 books! When I read, they are all over me - on my lap, on my legs, on my back - practically folding me in half! 

Another delicious dinner as usual!

Saturday November 1

 Saturday November 1

I was on breakfast today which was at 7 instead of the usual 6:30. That extra half an hour really makes a difference. And yes, I let Jack sleep in.

Weekends are less structured so there is quite a bit of free time. After breakfast the children have a list of chores that they must complete. Everyday there is a rotating list of who does the dishes, sweep the floor, wipe off the table & chairs, cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floors etc. And on weekends they have to cleanout their cubbies, which means reorganizing and folding all their clothes to then doing the laundry. They are just amazing. Wait until you see the photos - these children are such hard workers and for the most part all the jobs they do, they do well! For example, when they make their beds - there is not one wrinkle!! Just amazing!

Note to Self: make a longer list of chores for my own children when I get back! 

They are also (for the most part) extremely well behaved. Pleases, thank youís, welcome Louisa, welcome Jack etc. They are just a pleasure to be around. Oh and when they want to ask you something - they almost always say, ìExcuse meî.

The other thing that I just love - is how happy they all are! They all have their own stories about how they got here - some worse than others - yet for the most part they are all so happy and well adjusted. Not an hour goes by that I am not completely amazed at what India has done for these children.

So today brought soccer, soccer, soccer and more soccer for Jack. I think all the boys were out there playing for every free minute of the day that they had. Jack was exhausted - it was also quite hot and sunny all day (good for the solar but bad for sun burning and heat exhaustion). We brought Gatorade to keep him hydrated and it did the trick.

In the morning I was with the girls drawing pictures, doing puzzles and playing games in the preschool room. Lots of things were taken out - and just like kids at home, when I said time to put everything away - a couple of them did sneak offÖ..they are not allowed to play in there with tomorrow.

In the afternoon, while Jack was still playing soccer, Jessie and I took about 6 of the children for a walk. A walk that I would never had taken alone because I had no clue where I was going. We walked down a pretty steep path into a small valley that had a small river running through it. It was hot and dusty! There was a herder down there with cattle and goats and along the side of the river bed you could see that people were growing some crops - corn, cabbage and even some green leafy lettuce type plants. There was really no rhyme or reason, so I am not sure it all worked. Who got to plant there? Did they all know whose plants were whose? Iíll have to find out.

On the way back up there was another farmer who cut sugar cane for each of the children. And you should have seen them gnaw at it with their teeth. They loved it! But itís hard work and we didnít have a knife or anything to help make it a little easier. We made them promise to brush their teeth extra hard tonight!

We got back just in time for bath time! 

Oh, I forgot to mention that there is also a great library that is not only full of books but also videos and DVDs, And on Saturdays they pick the movies for the week. There are hundreds here, all organized alphabetically. Tonight they also have an extended movie time so they can actually watch an entire movie. Most other nights they might only get about 20-30 minutes after egg and toast.

We were on again for dinner, which was rice and a meat stew, water and a banana. They eat really well - lots of protein! The Mamas in each house make all the food - part on the stove in the kitchen - which is gas, and the other part just outside on small round bbq-type grills. Iíll post a picture here when I get back so you can see what they look like.

Dinner for us is always at 7:30 in the Volunteer house and itís always delicious! Elias is an amazing cook and offers more diversity than you can imagine. We eat more vegetables in day that I would eat at home in 2-3 days. Homemade soups (carrot, broccoli, zucchini etc), salad with tomatoes and cukes, potatoes, beans, spinach lasagna, baked zucchini, pineapple, mango etc etc. Truly amazing. So much for me thinking that I was going to loose weight here in Tanzania. We are eating like royalty!! 

We had a guest at dinner tonight. She was a past volunteer who has been here many time (at least 5 if I understood it correctly) and she had just (72 hours ago) adopted a 3 month old Tanzanian baby. He was so cute!!! We learned a lot from her and listened intently as she told us her story.

Your Comments

We love your comments - thank you and please keep them coming! 

Michelle - Jack's knee is getting better - we are spraying it with neosporin and it is starting to look better. I think he is not too keen to play on the town's soccer fields again after that. It was all dirt, dust and rocks.... And thanks so much for helping with the Christmas present!

Jan and Will - thanks for your comments too - Will - Jack was so psyched to hear from you. We tried a couple times to upload a reply with no luck.. He is playing at least 3 hours (if not more) soccer a day. The kids just love him.

Friday October 31, 2008

Friday October 31, 2008

On breakfast duty for PB & J's so that meant arrival at Tarangire House at 6:15. Being the nice mother that I am, Jack hasn't come with me yet. He needs his sleep and I figure since he's playing sometimes more than 2 hours of soccer a day, he deserves it!

Today, I was much more organized with the preschoolers (Usufu, Vicente, Edina, Rehema, Boaz, Joshua and Vicent). I had each of them write their numbers from 1-10, then the alphabet, then I wrote on each paper about 15 math problems. Each time they were done, and it was correct, they got a sticker. Motivation! And on the back of the paper I had them copy, MY NAME IS..and TODAY IS OCTOBER 31, 2008.

That took a while and they were actually focused. Yeah! Molly was feeling better so was in there with us, and I am sure that's why they were better. We are still too new. Anyway, after their work, we made some butterflies on black craft paper with glued on squares of assorted colors of tissue paper. A huge hit as far as we were concerned - they were focused and listening. We ended with Story time and Molly reading to them. This was much better than the other mornings.

After Ugi, Molly came with us for a walk with Usufu, Rehema and Vicente (the others go to afternoon kindergarten until 3:30). She took us to Indiaís old place - the first house she had around here with her first children. It was through a part of the coffee plantation and it was just beautiful. In fact all of the land around is, including the Children's Village, are all on the Kiran Coffee Plantation. And most of the people living here all work on picking the coffee beans. You can see just rows and rows of plants.

Anyway, back to India's old place. It was an old brick main building with several other buildings (one of which was the old volunteer house - more on that later) and the most beautiful trees and gardens. WOW! It was even more remote than where we are now - on top of a hill with nothing around but coffee and even a couple fruit bearing trees (none of which I know the name of yet).

I am not sure how many children lived up there with her, but when it was too many, she bought this new land and built the village. It's really amazing. An office building, a volunteer house that can sleep 4, a rec hall, another vol house that sleeps 2, 3 children's houses (Tarangire, Serengeti and Manyara), India's house where she has 6 children, the container,  and a couple other buildings for staff. There are more staff employed here than children.

It does take a village.

We have a staff here just at the volunteer house, Elias does all our cooking and two Mamas do all the house cleaning and laundry. Everything takes time. Boiling and purifying water, all food is made from scratch, and the house is swept and mopped everyday - including the bathroom. The laundry, by the way, is washed outside in a series of 4 buckets and then hung out to dry on the most elaborate hanging system - that can also be covered with a huge tarp because the clothes must hang out to dry even in the rainy season.

The children's houses have a boy's room, a girl's room, a boy's bathroom, a girl's bathroom, a Mama's room, a volunteer bedroom and a volunteer bathroom. You walk into the center which is the kitchen, then a huge long table where the children sit for meals and a living room area behind that for hanging out, playing on the floor, reading or watching movies. The layout was very well thought out! And all the furniture is also made right here in the Childrenís Village. Each house also has a little covered porch area on both sides. To the right and left of the front door you will find shelving for all their shoes and hooks for all their rain jackets. The best mud rooms Iíve ever seen. And then each house has two huge sinks on the porch too. 

You just can't believe how well organized everything is here.

And I can't wait to be able to upload photos. The files are just too big (even though I have saved them to the lowest possible resolution - they just can't be uploaded. So that means, if you are reading this - you might want to look back again after I am back to see all the photos that correspond with each entry.

While I am on the subject of photos - I have already taken tons. Does that surprise you? I have been downloading them daily as I fear if I waited until I returned with 2,000 photos it would be too overwhelming.

Jack spent the afternoon playing soccer while I played around with the little ones. I also made a sign for the girl's room at Tarangire that I surprised them with. I put their names on it (Fatuma, Coletha, Marietha and Nuruana) and in big bold letters wrote , NO BOYS ALLOWED!. This is what they wanted.

Back on toast & egg duty as well as dinner duty. And finally time for dinner for us. Jessie had set the table and put an orange glass Fanta bottle and a mini paper back decorated with pumpkins and candy inside at our places. We had all forgotten it was Halloween until then.

What a great way to end the day!

Note: we are also planning 3 day safaris- one next Tuesday to Tarangire, and the other two the following week to Manyara and Ngorogoro Crater. We can't wait!!