A wet few days in Wete
on Kev in Tanzania (Tanzania), 25/Nov/2009 13:41, 34 days ago
Currently no internet at the college so doing this post from home...Monday 16th NovemberHad my 2 lessons today and taught the classes their first ever word processing lesson using Microsoft word. They are enthusiastic and it is very nice having such small classes. Things take a long time and I use my mix of Kiswahili and English to get my message across. They are very good at saving their work which is always a bonus (especially when power fails so often!)Tuesday 17th NovemberHad one class and as it was our first lesson we made folders to save work in and then drew pictures using paint to get them used to using a mouse. So many ICT skills taken for granted back home but these are picking it up fast.On the way home we bought some card and other materials so we can make cards and resources for lessons.In the evening I cooked and we watched‘Raiders of the lost Ark’ which was great as I have not seen for a while.Wednesday 18th NovemberI had 2 more word processing lessons as we still had power. There was a technician in today and he had with him some XP cds and serials so he was able to reformat the 2 dodgy PCs in the internet room. He also fixed the one with missing parts in my class so I am now up to 4 PCs in my room (33% increase!) It was good to have them all working but not sure how long it will last…In the afternoon Liz cooked banana bread which was really nice and as we have an oven it is inspiring us to try some more things (obviously depending on power…)We went over to Juanito’s for dinner who cooked for us a lovely feast (reinforcing my stereotypes that all the Filipinos I have met are great cooks!). His askari came to work and bought a big mean looking crab with him – very bizarre!Thursday 19th NovemberThere was no power in the morning for about half an hour but then it came back so my class was on. We had our first lesson and we did the drawing practice the with the mouseThere was no internet in the staff room and they were fiddling with all the kit. I explained that the router was fine and that the problem is with the provider. They ignored and kept fiddling, swapping wires and unplugging everything– in the end I just left them to it…Friday 20th NovemberNo lessons on Friday and it is a half at the college. There was no power so I had a look in the library which is next to my ICT room.In the afternoon Liz went to Chake and I stayed at home and organized my music on my laptop and external hard drive. Home and work are on two separate power lines which alternate so when there is power at home there is none at work and vice versa.In the evening we went down to the mess for dinner and a few beers. There are always people there but they are quiet and pretending not to be there. We played some cards and I lost badly so we switched to some star gazing. Getting pretty good at it now, I can find several major constellations without any help from the starcharts! (I can find Orion, Cassiopea, Pegasus, Sagittarius, Taurus, Canis Major, Southern Cross and more!)Saturday 21st NovemberToday was a cleaning day and we tidied up the house. Liz also did her washing. In the evening I cooked curry and we watched‘The importance of being earnest’ which was funny and has tempted me to try and read some Oscar Wilde.I got a message from Mr Suleiman at the ministry saying that my passport and work permit were ready and will be with‘The Director’ in Chake tomorrow. Not sure what ‘The Director’ directs but I said no worries and that I would meet him in the morning.Sunday 22nd NovemberI caught the dala and 6.45 in the morning (so much for a nice Sunday lay in!) I had lunch, met the director to get the documents and then returned to Wete. During the dala ride I was thinking all the different sounds that I associate with different places in Tanzania; for example Dar will always be the street hawkers with their flip flops, the money they jingle and the calls of’Maji, Maji baridi’ or them making kiss noises to get attention or the crows outside econolodge and YMCA. The sounds of Wete are the call to prayer mixed in with goats bleating…The weather turned bad and it rained all afternoon, there was also no power which was a little frustrating. I read lots and we had chipsi mayai for dinner from just down the road.The played scrabble and I lost, we are both getting pretty good now! It rained all night…Monday 23rd NovemberIt was a very hot night but managed to sleep ok. It was just dry enough to walk to work. Power went halfway through my lesson and the students wanted to go and study for other lessons. I went over to see Juanito at his work so I could give him his passport and work permit.Liz was making board games with math themes and I helped her in between my classes. I also found a nice book on African poetry which I am reading.It rained on the way and I got very wet– luckily I used the umbrella to shelter my bag as it had my camera in it. Going up the hill on the way home was like walking up a river – the roads flood really bad when the rain is heavy and it is a pretty messy sight what with all the crap from the cow are carts around…In the evening Liz cooked and Juanito came over to eat with us. He was happy to see us and we enjoyed some yummy pasta. He did not stay long but then I don’t blame him, I would not fancy walking home in the dark if it was raining heavily.Tuesday 24th NovemberThere was no power at college and the internet is still not working. The staff were starting to understand that all their fiddling with the router, wires and power is not going to make it work… My class was cancelled as no power so I spend some time in the library looking at the book selection.It rained until midday which made me happy as I needed to wash some clothes and that was not really practical in the rain! Liz went to Chake to the bank while I was washing.Due to the rain there are even more mosquitoes than usual and they were particularly pesky in the evening. We had leftovers, played scrabble and watched some‘Flight of the Conchords’ before retreating to the relative safety of the mosquito net on the bed.Wednesday 25th NovemberHad 2 lessons today (periods 1, 2, 5 and 6). We are moving on to adding tables into Microsoft Word so we can write simple reports and make organized lists. The vice principle has asked me to run some ICT classes for people outside the college so will be doing 2 hours a week of that with fees going to the college. After agreeing to that I had two members of staff asking for tuition and as they are support staff I told them to come to the lessons (killing two birds with one stone!)Going to Juanito’s again tonight for dinner so excited about that!Take care