Intermediate Language Training in Morogoro
on Kev in Tanzania (Tanzania), 23/Feb/2009 05:26, 34 days ago
I am back in Mpwapwa now after spending last week learning more Kiswahili in the shortened Intermediate Language training.I was told during language training my wages had arrived but when I went to get them today I only had Novembers they still need to pay me December, January and February!! But hey at least I have some...Back to nicer thoughts - here is the update for that week.Saturday 14th FebruaryGot up at 5.30am as needed to catch the bus to Morogoro. This time I tried catching it from outside the TTC which would save me lugging my bags all the way into town. I have always been worried about the bus not stopping but it was fine and the journey felt pretty short (4 and a half hours!). I got off at the garage in Morogoro and then caught a cab to the Amabilis house where we stay and have our training. (The place is run by nuns but they serve beer - awesome!) The cab driver was friendly and spoke pretty good English, we chatted about football and then switched to my basic Kiswahili which impressed him!When I arrived at the convent (I guess thats what it is... or maybe a hostel) I went in to meet the new VSO intake who were doing cooking as part of their training. They were a small group and it was nice to meet them all. One of them called Charles, from Uganda, is going to be placed in Mpwapwa with Peter and myself. The new vols cooked up some local food and I was just in time to try some, the Pilau was gorgeous and the Ugali was not bad either! It was good to see Benji again and I could tell we would have a good week learning more Kiswahili.In the afternoon Sandra, Liz, Jo, Wila, Andy and John arrived, the rest of the intermediates were due to arrive on Sunday. We arrived early as we planned to climb the mountains.In the evening we went to Dragonaires for dinner with the new vols which was expensive and they only had a limited menu due to it being Valentines day! After eating Benji and some of us went to a local bar for a few more beers and staggered home after 12 to find we had been locked out! Benji had someones number and was able to get them to open the door.Sunday 15th FebruaryGot up and had breakfast, we were going on a hike in the mountains. The journey would be 4 hours up and 3 hours down! Our guide met us around 8am and we were off, it was very hot and were soone covered in sweat! We were always ahead of the guide who kept complaining that he was tired! (we paid him 30,000tsh each for a days work, thats a lot of money and should have motivated him!)The hike was long and some parts hard and steep but we got to see lots of waterfalls and some lovely views of the valley below. Liz and I also got a beer near the top in one of the villages - perfect! Sandras soles peeled off her walking boots so she had lots of jokes about not having a soul anymore, but she made it up and back. Up at the peak we had a lunch of bread, tuna and choccy spread and then went down to a waterfall for a paddle and pumzika (rest).You would not want to live too high up in the mountains as there are no roads, only thin paths and anything you want to either have to grow/make yourself or carry all the way up! Next time we will try to go to the very top but it is 6 hours up and 5 hours back (plus a 30 dollar fee!!)After we got back the rest of the intermediate volunteers had arrived and we all had dinner together.Monday 16th FebruaryToday we started our training and as we mixed up with some volunteers who started placements in June/July I decided to opt for the 'bottom set' or lower of the two groups. We started of with a recap of greetings and then moved onto past tenses, object infixes and noun classes. (In English we only have one noun class but in Kiswahili there are six!)Words are constructed by adding tenses and pronouns but they are all joined up - for example:Nitakupikia = I will cook for youNita = i will. kupika = to cook. Adding the "I" to make it Kupikia means "for you"Tutakujengea nyumba = We will build you a houseTuta = we will.Ananifulia nguo = He/She is washing clothes for meAna = He/She isThe main thing is practice and learning all of the different rules!! I must admit I don't think I am at intermediate level yet!!Tuesday 17th FebruaryMore Kiswahili including more 'prepositional form', KO, PO and MO used for locations. The stuff was more fun after lunch, when we were sent into town to discuss with people anything we like and then come back write up what we did in Kiswahili.Liz and I were on the entertainment committee and we needed to find somewhere to eat for Wednesday night. Went to the Hotel Oasis and asked for a copy of the menu. On the way back we met up with John at the small local bar (we had a beer pact - to drink 2 beers everyday!) John had been chatting to the bar maid as his assignment... It was a fun task and we all enjoyed it.Wednesday 18th FebruaryWe were given a task (for Friday) to teach the rest of the group something in Kiswahili, it could be anything and I decided to teach the group the card games 'beat Jack out of doors' and 'Hi Jack'.In the evening both the beginner and intermediate groups went to the Hotel Oasis for dinner and the food was great value and very tasty! Some of us stayed late and staggered home. Liz and I fell asleep after chatting on the couch in the common room and woke up covered in mosquito bites - ouch! So if I get malaria I know when it happened! There are far more mozzies in Morogoro than in Mpwapwa.Thursday 19th FebruaryLeo ni siku yangu ya kuzaliwa = Today is my Birthday!!At breakfast they sang happy birthday to me which was a nice treat but having to learn Kiswahili was not my number one option for ways to celebrate your birthday! I got lots of nice txts and spent most of the day smiling!The big treat came later though when we went to Mama Pirinas for dinner. We had been there last time we were in Morogoro and knew the food was good. She made us garlic bread and even bought out a cake (with my name on!) for dessert it was really tasty and made me smile.Friday 20th FebruaryToday we had to teach our lesson in Kiswahili. John taught us how to juggle, Jo taught how to make a paper bird, I taught the card games, Anne taught a form of bingo and Andy taught us hypothetically how to make an IED (or bomb...) It was great to practice langauges and have a laugh at the same time.Saturday 21st FebruaryThis was our last day of training, I skipped part of the last lesson to go and buy my bus ticket back to Mpwapwa.In the second session we did an evaluation of how we felt it went. We all wanted two weeks rather than the one but the recession mean VSO TZ does not have as much money at the moment. After the evaluation we played a gift game before going out to the New Savoy in the evening for local food and live music!There was lots of fun dancing and many many beers drunk! We were all very tired by the end of the week!Sunday 22nd FebruaryGot Benji to call a friend to take me to the bus stand and Benji decided to drive his car which was exciting as I dont think he had driven much before! Luckily at 8am the roads were not busy...The bus journey back felt long and I was sat in between two people. I kept drifting off to sleep and was glad when it finally stopped in Mpwapwa.House was fine - I always worry a little when I leave it. Peter dropped my laptop back to me. The chickens were good but my garden was dry and someone has stolen my peanuts...Got rain Sunday night which is great for the garden.Have a nice week and take care!