March 6th
Last week was an exciting week of only Lindsay and I teaching at school. The four new teachers were in Itumba trying to get their paychecks (took them all week), the headmaster was in Mbeya, the second headmaster was in Itumba, I don’t know where the academic master was, and the disciplinary teacher was busy running the school and didn’t teach. As a result, the students were extremely rowdy and I was very tired.
Umbege came to my house many days last week to help with my garden expansion. Everything is finally planted and now I am hoping it all grows. I am also watering everything twice a day (if it doesn’t rain) so I have a lot of work to do. It takes me about forty minutes to water every plant I have. Now, I must wake up earlier so that I am not late to school. It is nice to have such a busy schedule but it leaves little time to do much of anything else. Unfortunately, Umbege doesn’t know any details about the wizards’ burning so I don’t have any more news there. I asked the teacher, Lwangalo, to shed some light on the subject but he denied it and then ran away from me. I again asked him for details today and he said we would talk later….still waiting for that talk!
On Wednesday, the disciplinary teacher, Kabage, decided to have a tree cutting/planting day at school. Of course, I didn’t know this prior to the school day starting and stayed late on Tuesday marking assignments. Instead of teaching, I spent Wednesday reading and taking photos of the students doing work. The tree cutting/planting days are truly a joke. Half of the students are sitting around waiting to do something, a third are walking around with their tools not doing anything, and the rest are actually cutting down or planting the trees. Once you see the photos, you will see how much work they were truly doing! The students were allowed to go home early which I took as an opportunity to walk to Isoko. Lindsay joined me on the walk but became sick on our way there. Once we reached Isoko, she stayed in the town while I walked to my friend Hawa Kibona’s house. Hawa was one of the student teacher’s from last term who is home on a two week holiday. While I was there, Hawa informed me that she saw the music video. Back in November I joined Mr. Mbughi in the middle of the soccer field dancing to one of the church songs that I have grown to know every word of (that is all the only music they play in the village). The church music group was being filmed for a music video and I took a part in the production of the last song. Last Sunday, the video was released. That was the Sunday where we had a downpour and I didn’t go to church. Hawa informed me not only am I in one of the songs, but they put my photo on the cover of the CD! All week students have been commenting that I am such a good dancer but no one told me I was on the cover! After I got over that shocking news, we caught up on the last couple of months since Hawa has been at school. She was disappointed that I didn’t visit her at her university in December but I promised to visit over the Easter break. I left around six that evening, walked through the market, and then returned home for the night still shocked about the CD news.
On Friday night I finally saw the CD! It has taken a month but now Mr. Mbughi’s inverter is working again so we have electricity for watching music videos. Friday night, Lindsay and I went over to watch the video. There are about seven or eight songs and I am in the last song. I look quite ridiculous. I would do it again though as it is definitely a memory that I won’t forget. And there are so many landmarks in the video which makes it so exciting to have. You’ve got the school, the church, the hospital, the soccer field, and then of course random shots of people that I nor Mr. Mbughi nor anyone else in Kafule has even seen before. It is embarrassing yes, but I have gotten so much more respect from the community ever since its release.
On Saturday, after teaching at school in the morning, I walked to the market in Ndembo with Enea and the school cook, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is very fun and I enjoy being around her. She was the one who had me dance at the local drumming with her back in September. On Saturday she was just as entertaining. Enea is a little less fit than Elizabeth and I and struggled quite a bit on the walk. She had to stop a few times. It is only a little over two miles to Ndembo…Elizabeth just laughed with me as we kept slowing down. During the walk, we ran into a group of men that were very angry. After a five minute conversation in which I couldn’t understand they left. It took Enea and Elizabeth awhile to inform me but I finally understood that a rabid dog was running lose and the men were trying to catch it. I picked up a stick right away. Elizabeth and Enea thought I was joking but I was quite serious, I don’t want rabies! I also picked up sticks for them which they took up as walking sticks. Fortunately, we only saw the dog run across the road once but never came close to us. Hopefully he has been caught by now, I haven’t heard any updates!
That’s all for the week. I am waiting for the rain to stop so I can head over to Mbughi’s for the night. We are watching the video from his brother’s wedding. He has talked about this video for months now and tonight we finally get the opportunity to watch it. Lucky us. All of the teachers have returned for classes this week and we have added a new teacher. The new teacher is a form six student waiting for his examination results and teaches mathematics, physics, and chemistry. I have given him my form one students which makes my schedule amazingly lighter which I appreciate very much.
Love,
Gretchen
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
chocolate covered termites
February 26th (part three)
I know my blog posts are full of great stories today, so I figured I would give ya one more for the long week ahead.
Two Friday’s have passed since I last took a walk past a soccer game at the school’s field. Lindsay and I passed by on our way to buy some vegetables when I stopped to look at some children catching bugs in the air. For the last two months there have been thousands of termites flying in the air. Lindsay tells me they are not termites because their wings are too long, but I don’t know what else they could be. They dig into the ground and their wings shed like termites. Umbege calls them termites and I am sticking with the fact that they are termits. Now, back to my story. I thought the kids were just playing, sort of like catching a lightening bug. I caught one proudly and showed the girl. She took it from my hand and put it in her mouth. I must have projected a shriek or something of the sort because everyone turned and stared at me. The children realized my horror and continued to catch and show me that they were eating them. I ran away. I caught up with Lindsay and told her and she didn’t believe me.
After buying bananas and tomatoes, we crossed back by the soccer field where we ran into some of our students. We asked them about the eating of the termites. One girl, Love, found a hole, picked up a termite, and plopped it into her mouth. Lindsay was horrified. We left the game shortly after that still talking about the bugs.
The termites have made a lasting impression in my mind, but I have tried to avoid thinking about it over this past week. Yesterday, I went to school all morning and taught my form two students. I planned to walk to a market in Ndembo with Umbege that afternoon but had a lazy day instead. It rained really hard that afternoon and I didn’t want to go trudging along footpaths in the mud. Around 5:30, I went for a walk. Most days, I try to go for a run on the main road but I was in the mood for a walk and knew I would have trouble with all the mud. After thirty minutes on the road, I reached the only village on my walk: Chija. The entire village was out picking termites out of the ground. The old women asked me to join them and I refused. A man came up, grabbed my arm, and tried to convince me to eat the termites. I think, at least, that is what he was doing. He was speaking in really fast Swahili and I just kept saying sorry and that I don’t like. Everyone stopped to watch my reaction and laugh at the situation. Eventually, I got free and continued to walk. I passed the bend in the road and found these two small boys. They were bent over the side of the road picking up termites and putting them in their mugs. I wonder if the termites are better on the outskirt of the village…?!
Today, I am inside hiding from the torrential downpour that we’ve had since last night. There was a two hour break this afternoon in which I washed my laundry but it has failed to seize ever since. My laundry is nice and wet inside my house and hopefully will dry by morning. During the break in rain, I went outside to find the flowers on my zucchini plants have finally sprouted! Also, there was a mini-landslide outside our house but no damage came from it. Other than that, just a lot of rain and a lot of mud to hold me over for the weekend!
Love,
Gretchen
I know my blog posts are full of great stories today, so I figured I would give ya one more for the long week ahead.
Two Friday’s have passed since I last took a walk past a soccer game at the school’s field. Lindsay and I passed by on our way to buy some vegetables when I stopped to look at some children catching bugs in the air. For the last two months there have been thousands of termites flying in the air. Lindsay tells me they are not termites because their wings are too long, but I don’t know what else they could be. They dig into the ground and their wings shed like termites. Umbege calls them termites and I am sticking with the fact that they are termits. Now, back to my story. I thought the kids were just playing, sort of like catching a lightening bug. I caught one proudly and showed the girl. She took it from my hand and put it in her mouth. I must have projected a shriek or something of the sort because everyone turned and stared at me. The children realized my horror and continued to catch and show me that they were eating them. I ran away. I caught up with Lindsay and told her and she didn’t believe me.
After buying bananas and tomatoes, we crossed back by the soccer field where we ran into some of our students. We asked them about the eating of the termites. One girl, Love, found a hole, picked up a termite, and plopped it into her mouth. Lindsay was horrified. We left the game shortly after that still talking about the bugs.
The termites have made a lasting impression in my mind, but I have tried to avoid thinking about it over this past week. Yesterday, I went to school all morning and taught my form two students. I planned to walk to a market in Ndembo with Umbege that afternoon but had a lazy day instead. It rained really hard that afternoon and I didn’t want to go trudging along footpaths in the mud. Around 5:30, I went for a walk. Most days, I try to go for a run on the main road but I was in the mood for a walk and knew I would have trouble with all the mud. After thirty minutes on the road, I reached the only village on my walk: Chija. The entire village was out picking termites out of the ground. The old women asked me to join them and I refused. A man came up, grabbed my arm, and tried to convince me to eat the termites. I think, at least, that is what he was doing. He was speaking in really fast Swahili and I just kept saying sorry and that I don’t like. Everyone stopped to watch my reaction and laugh at the situation. Eventually, I got free and continued to walk. I passed the bend in the road and found these two small boys. They were bent over the side of the road picking up termites and putting them in their mugs. I wonder if the termites are better on the outskirt of the village…?!
Today, I am inside hiding from the torrential downpour that we’ve had since last night. There was a two hour break this afternoon in which I washed my laundry but it has failed to seize ever since. My laundry is nice and wet inside my house and hopefully will dry by morning. During the break in rain, I went outside to find the flowers on my zucchini plants have finally sprouted! Also, there was a mini-landslide outside our house but no damage came from it. Other than that, just a lot of rain and a lot of mud to hold me over for the weekend!
Love,
Gretchen
witches and wizards
February 26th (part two)
On Wednesday evening I spent the day in bed (after returning from school) not feeling so hot. On Thursday, I woke up full of energy ready to start the day. After school, Umbege returned to help me finish digging trenches for my garden expansion. While he was digging, he had many stories to share. Two really stuck with me.
Umbege arrived later than he planned. He explained that a man in Isoko passed away and he was attending the funeral. I said my apologies and then he kept telling me more about this man and the accident that led to his death. The man is an outsider. He came from some village in the middle of nowhere and came to Isoko for work. The hospital employed him to cut trees for them. Just like at the secondary school, the hospital gets their pine trees cut down and they sell the timber to make money. This man was working on Thursday morning when he cut down a tree and it fell on him. He died instantly. Umbege informed me that he believed in witch craft so that might have something to do with his sudden death.
While we were on the witchcraft theme, Umbege started telling me how wizards will get burned by people in the villages because people don’t like them. I thought that this was something that happened a long time ago (I was thinking of the Salem witch trials) and asked when the last burning took place: two weeks ago at the home of one of my fellow teacher’s! I was so taken aback by his response that I didn’t know how to reply. I just kept digging. Later, when I shared the story with Lindsay she was angry that I didn’t ask for more details. I guess I will save my questions for the next time I run into Umbege and will give you the full details of the wizards’ burning.
So those are my stories. I have the feeling there will be many more to come this week. Umbege will be returning with fertilizer on Tuesday so we can plant the eggplant seedlings and some lettuce…the work will surely bring out some new stories!
Love,
Gretchen
On Wednesday evening I spent the day in bed (after returning from school) not feeling so hot. On Thursday, I woke up full of energy ready to start the day. After school, Umbege returned to help me finish digging trenches for my garden expansion. While he was digging, he had many stories to share. Two really stuck with me.
Umbege arrived later than he planned. He explained that a man in Isoko passed away and he was attending the funeral. I said my apologies and then he kept telling me more about this man and the accident that led to his death. The man is an outsider. He came from some village in the middle of nowhere and came to Isoko for work. The hospital employed him to cut trees for them. Just like at the secondary school, the hospital gets their pine trees cut down and they sell the timber to make money. This man was working on Thursday morning when he cut down a tree and it fell on him. He died instantly. Umbege informed me that he believed in witch craft so that might have something to do with his sudden death.
While we were on the witchcraft theme, Umbege started telling me how wizards will get burned by people in the villages because people don’t like them. I thought that this was something that happened a long time ago (I was thinking of the Salem witch trials) and asked when the last burning took place: two weeks ago at the home of one of my fellow teacher’s! I was so taken aback by his response that I didn’t know how to reply. I just kept digging. Later, when I shared the story with Lindsay she was angry that I didn’t ask for more details. I guess I will save my questions for the next time I run into Umbege and will give you the full details of the wizards’ burning.
So those are my stories. I have the feeling there will be many more to come this week. Umbege will be returning with fertilizer on Tuesday so we can plant the eggplant seedlings and some lettuce…the work will surely bring out some new stories!
Love,
Gretchen
Saturday, March 3, 2012
cow and leopard
February 26th
Last Monday I returned from school, ate lunch, and then prepared to clean my garden. Most of the pineapple plants have not settled roots yet and I went outside to find six of the plants pulled out of their holes. I was very upset and blamed the primary school students. I also noticed the tops of the onions were cut off. I asked Lindsay if she noticed the pineapple plants were pulled out when she cut the onion for chives. She had no idea what I was talking about. I returned outside and heard branches crashing down. I walked around the corner to see my nemesis: the cow. It was trampling through the empty yard next door. Someone wasn’t watching their cow close enough and he took off! I continued to pull weeds from my gardens (I have four separate gardens and three rows of my eggplant plants now) keeping watch on the cow.
Eventually, the cow grew tired of the empty yard and ventured back into my yard. Two students were walking by at that point and I asked them to tie it to a tree. They tied him up and continued on their walk home. Two minutes later he ran free! It was one strong cow. I yelled to Lindsay about him and she came out to see. He started to eat the maize of my neighbors. Lindsay went over to tie him up and he ran from her! She chased him and pulled on his rope but he wouldn’t budge. Eventually, she tied the rope around a tree and we left him. I started to think that we had just adopted ourselves a cow.
The next morning, the cow was gone and I figured the owner found him and didn’t put much more thought into it until later that evening. After school on Tuesday, my friend Umbege came to my house to assist me in expanding my garden. I have about forty eggplant seedlings that need to be thinned out. Unfortunately, the only land I have remaining is thick with weeds. Umbege arrived with his hoe and many stories to share. At close to the end of the day of work, Umbege informed me that the students which walked by said there was a leopard spotting that morning. Umbege’s English is good, but not that good so I asked the name in Kiswahili to make sure. A chui was spotted at saa moja asubuhi: at 7 AM a leopard was indeed spotted. The church (which is a five minute walk for me and maybe a minute run for a leopard) was where the leopard was seen. When I was walking to school that morning I came across many paw prints. At the time, I figured they were from a dog even though there are no dogs in Kafule. I couldn’t imagine anything else stalking around Kafule. Now, I know there definitely was something else.
Later that evening, I escorted Umbege to Mr. Mbughi’s house where we informed a frightened Mbughi about the chui. As I returned home (almost at a sprint because it was getting dark and I was scared) I realized that the leopard came around because he was probably hungry… nothing like a tied up cow to fill the appetite. :-)
Love,
Gretchen
Last Monday I returned from school, ate lunch, and then prepared to clean my garden. Most of the pineapple plants have not settled roots yet and I went outside to find six of the plants pulled out of their holes. I was very upset and blamed the primary school students. I also noticed the tops of the onions were cut off. I asked Lindsay if she noticed the pineapple plants were pulled out when she cut the onion for chives. She had no idea what I was talking about. I returned outside and heard branches crashing down. I walked around the corner to see my nemesis: the cow. It was trampling through the empty yard next door. Someone wasn’t watching their cow close enough and he took off! I continued to pull weeds from my gardens (I have four separate gardens and three rows of my eggplant plants now) keeping watch on the cow.
Eventually, the cow grew tired of the empty yard and ventured back into my yard. Two students were walking by at that point and I asked them to tie it to a tree. They tied him up and continued on their walk home. Two minutes later he ran free! It was one strong cow. I yelled to Lindsay about him and she came out to see. He started to eat the maize of my neighbors. Lindsay went over to tie him up and he ran from her! She chased him and pulled on his rope but he wouldn’t budge. Eventually, she tied the rope around a tree and we left him. I started to think that we had just adopted ourselves a cow.
The next morning, the cow was gone and I figured the owner found him and didn’t put much more thought into it until later that evening. After school on Tuesday, my friend Umbege came to my house to assist me in expanding my garden. I have about forty eggplant seedlings that need to be thinned out. Unfortunately, the only land I have remaining is thick with weeds. Umbege arrived with his hoe and many stories to share. At close to the end of the day of work, Umbege informed me that the students which walked by said there was a leopard spotting that morning. Umbege’s English is good, but not that good so I asked the name in Kiswahili to make sure. A chui was spotted at saa moja asubuhi: at 7 AM a leopard was indeed spotted. The church (which is a five minute walk for me and maybe a minute run for a leopard) was where the leopard was seen. When I was walking to school that morning I came across many paw prints. At the time, I figured they were from a dog even though there are no dogs in Kafule. I couldn’t imagine anything else stalking around Kafule. Now, I know there definitely was something else.
Later that evening, I escorted Umbege to Mr. Mbughi’s house where we informed a frightened Mbughi about the chui. As I returned home (almost at a sprint because it was getting dark and I was scared) I realized that the leopard came around because he was probably hungry… nothing like a tied up cow to fill the appetite. :-)
Love,
Gretchen
Saturday, February 18, 2012
busy, busy
February 12th (part three)
While there was no running water in the village, I wasn’t around the home very much which was an attempt to keep me occupied which you read in part two didn’t really work. Last Saturday, I held a mock exam at my school which I mentioned in part two. After the mock exam, I contemplated staying at school to grade the exams, but decided on a run instead. I did my longest run yet ending at my friend Enea’s house. After departing Enea’s, I went home then spent the evening at Mr. Mbughi’s house where he complained that his new inverter was no longer working. While Lindsay and I traveled in December, he purchased solar paneling and installed an outlet at his home. It is hooked up to an inverter and a car battery. An inverter costs 100 USD and he is now on his third inverter. I think he may be overloading the inverters and that is why they keep breaking. He told me that he doesn’t want to live like a poor person without electricity. Since he is the only person with electricity in Kafule and he’s lived without electricity for his entire life, it is difficult for me to understand why he spoke like that. I guess when you start affording some luxuries you become greedy.
On Sunday, Mr. Mbughi brought me to a church which has a pineapple farm. I didn’t know that I would have to speak at the service. I was assigned one of the readings by the pastor: Isaya 40: 21-31. I read aloud in Kiswahili. It took a while but everyone congratulated me and said I did well. I was extremely embarrassed and know I probably didn’t pronounce most of it correctly. We stayed at church until 4 PM that evening. We ate lunch and then sat in meeting after meeting. I am still not sure what was talked about at each of these meetings, but I greeted everyone at each one! I have learned to just smile and wait until someone tells me to go.
On Tuesday, I returned to the pineapple church. Mr. Mbughi told me he was bringing me to Kibona’s house (the man who fixes various things at school). When we started to make the all too familiar climb to the church, I knew I was in trouble. Every Tuesday and Thursday there is dance practice. I’ve been able to avoid all but two of the four hour long practices, but not this one. I was content with watching since I find their dance moves quite interesting, but Mr. Mbughi wanted me to participate. I participated for one song, but then felt too ridiculous to continue. After thirty minutes of sitting, a baby gets plopped into my lap. The baby is happy and enjoying the music so I didn’t mind. Suddenly, my lap got extremely warm. I jumped out of the chair holding the baby out in front of me while it keeps peeing all over my shoes, all over the bench, and all over the floor. I tapped the mother and she said, “pole (sorry).” I don’t really know what I expected her to say but I was so disgusted that it made no difference. We walked outside to the neighbors’ house to ask for water. I found out my student lived there so I was happy to speak English to them. Frolida gave us some water. I took off my kanga (my skirt that is a wrap—I was wearing shorts underneath) and cleaned my legs while the woman cleaned my kanga. The baby didn’t get cleaned. We walked back to church while I sat for half an hour in my wet kanga still feeling absolutely disgusting. The other women in the church didn’t seem to mind that the child had piss all over it as the baby was getting passed amongst them. I dipped out of the practice early and practically ran home. I called ahead and asked Lindsay to have water warmed for a bath. I’ve stayed away from Mr. Mbughi most of the week afraid he will ask me why I left the church early, but he won’t understand that I thought the child peeing on me was revolting! I am just hoping he forgets to ask!
The rest of the week started to turn around for me. We didn’t have class on Thursday (students planted trees all day…again) and classes on Friday were cut short. I left some things at school on Friday and returned to retrieve them when school let out. I found a form 3 student dribbling a soccer ball in her classroom and got really excited. I decided to join her. I taught her the different forms of passing and she was amazed at the bounce pass. Eventually, another student joined us and we had a lot of fun. After a half an hour a male student came into the room and said he needed the soccer ball for the afternoon game. I was disappointed, but the girls and I made plans to play again tomorrow after school. I went for a long run on Wednesday which helped to clear my head from the bad start to the week. I continued to exercise throughout the week and yesterday I did the challenging climb to the market again. Today, I went to church to find it was cancelled. They went to another church this Sunday. Instead, I went on a picnic in the bush until my stomach decided to act up yet again… :-/
Now, I am relaxing at home drinking all the rehydration drinks in the world hoping this will pass. Starting the week off bad yet again!
Love,
Gretchen
While there was no running water in the village, I wasn’t around the home very much which was an attempt to keep me occupied which you read in part two didn’t really work. Last Saturday, I held a mock exam at my school which I mentioned in part two. After the mock exam, I contemplated staying at school to grade the exams, but decided on a run instead. I did my longest run yet ending at my friend Enea’s house. After departing Enea’s, I went home then spent the evening at Mr. Mbughi’s house where he complained that his new inverter was no longer working. While Lindsay and I traveled in December, he purchased solar paneling and installed an outlet at his home. It is hooked up to an inverter and a car battery. An inverter costs 100 USD and he is now on his third inverter. I think he may be overloading the inverters and that is why they keep breaking. He told me that he doesn’t want to live like a poor person without electricity. Since he is the only person with electricity in Kafule and he’s lived without electricity for his entire life, it is difficult for me to understand why he spoke like that. I guess when you start affording some luxuries you become greedy.
On Sunday, Mr. Mbughi brought me to a church which has a pineapple farm. I didn’t know that I would have to speak at the service. I was assigned one of the readings by the pastor: Isaya 40: 21-31. I read aloud in Kiswahili. It took a while but everyone congratulated me and said I did well. I was extremely embarrassed and know I probably didn’t pronounce most of it correctly. We stayed at church until 4 PM that evening. We ate lunch and then sat in meeting after meeting. I am still not sure what was talked about at each of these meetings, but I greeted everyone at each one! I have learned to just smile and wait until someone tells me to go.
On Tuesday, I returned to the pineapple church. Mr. Mbughi told me he was bringing me to Kibona’s house (the man who fixes various things at school). When we started to make the all too familiar climb to the church, I knew I was in trouble. Every Tuesday and Thursday there is dance practice. I’ve been able to avoid all but two of the four hour long practices, but not this one. I was content with watching since I find their dance moves quite interesting, but Mr. Mbughi wanted me to participate. I participated for one song, but then felt too ridiculous to continue. After thirty minutes of sitting, a baby gets plopped into my lap. The baby is happy and enjoying the music so I didn’t mind. Suddenly, my lap got extremely warm. I jumped out of the chair holding the baby out in front of me while it keeps peeing all over my shoes, all over the bench, and all over the floor. I tapped the mother and she said, “pole (sorry).” I don’t really know what I expected her to say but I was so disgusted that it made no difference. We walked outside to the neighbors’ house to ask for water. I found out my student lived there so I was happy to speak English to them. Frolida gave us some water. I took off my kanga (my skirt that is a wrap—I was wearing shorts underneath) and cleaned my legs while the woman cleaned my kanga. The baby didn’t get cleaned. We walked back to church while I sat for half an hour in my wet kanga still feeling absolutely disgusting. The other women in the church didn’t seem to mind that the child had piss all over it as the baby was getting passed amongst them. I dipped out of the practice early and practically ran home. I called ahead and asked Lindsay to have water warmed for a bath. I’ve stayed away from Mr. Mbughi most of the week afraid he will ask me why I left the church early, but he won’t understand that I thought the child peeing on me was revolting! I am just hoping he forgets to ask!
The rest of the week started to turn around for me. We didn’t have class on Thursday (students planted trees all day…again) and classes on Friday were cut short. I left some things at school on Friday and returned to retrieve them when school let out. I found a form 3 student dribbling a soccer ball in her classroom and got really excited. I decided to join her. I taught her the different forms of passing and she was amazed at the bounce pass. Eventually, another student joined us and we had a lot of fun. After a half an hour a male student came into the room and said he needed the soccer ball for the afternoon game. I was disappointed, but the girls and I made plans to play again tomorrow after school. I went for a long run on Wednesday which helped to clear my head from the bad start to the week. I continued to exercise throughout the week and yesterday I did the challenging climb to the market again. Today, I went to church to find it was cancelled. They went to another church this Sunday. Instead, I went on a picnic in the bush until my stomach decided to act up yet again… :-/
Now, I am relaxing at home drinking all the rehydration drinks in the world hoping this will pass. Starting the week off bad yet again!
Love,
Gretchen
4 days.
February 12th (part two)
For four days there was no running water in either my house or the surrounding area. On Friday afternoon Lindsay left for Isongole. I woke up early Saturday to prepare breakfast to find the water running as normal. After eating, I went to clean my dishes and the water wouldn’t turn on. This happened a few times during the dry season but I was baffled about it happening in the wet season. I didn’t think much of it and just left the dishes for later. I went to school and proctored a mock exam for my form four students then returned home to wash the dishes and my clothes…still no water. This continued into Sunday. Luckily, I filled a trash can with water back in November when the outages happened once a week and had enough water to last me through the weekend. By Sunday night I started to worry. Even though I had the bucket, my level of sanitation inevitably dwindles considerably without proper running water to clean my hands or dishes.
On Monday, I planned to find a student to fetch me water but things took a turn for the worse. There was supposed to be some Muslim holiday so I woke up late not expecting to have class. When the primary school bell rang I got out of bed and quickly prepared for school. Lindsay was still in Isongole so I went to school alone ready for the day. The day started with an upset stomach which scared me a little. Then the cell phone reception was out which made me even more worried. Finally, the water had still not returned. I was a little on the distraught side. For the first time since I’ve arrived in Tanzania I felt completely trapped in Kafule and wanted to leave. I was very tense all day waiting for something to work out for me. When Lindsay returned late that afternoon I explained what was going on and she quickly took charge and found some students to find us water. After providing some financial support, they were only too eager to assist.
On Tuesday, I returned from church in a foul mood. (This will be explained in part three) After sitting around reading I heard the trickle of water. I jumped out of my chair in happiness. The water returned. My foul mood dissolved and the rest of the week seemed so much brighter.
Four days.
What else happened this past week? Read about it in part three!
Love,
Gretchen
For four days there was no running water in either my house or the surrounding area. On Friday afternoon Lindsay left for Isongole. I woke up early Saturday to prepare breakfast to find the water running as normal. After eating, I went to clean my dishes and the water wouldn’t turn on. This happened a few times during the dry season but I was baffled about it happening in the wet season. I didn’t think much of it and just left the dishes for later. I went to school and proctored a mock exam for my form four students then returned home to wash the dishes and my clothes…still no water. This continued into Sunday. Luckily, I filled a trash can with water back in November when the outages happened once a week and had enough water to last me through the weekend. By Sunday night I started to worry. Even though I had the bucket, my level of sanitation inevitably dwindles considerably without proper running water to clean my hands or dishes.
On Monday, I planned to find a student to fetch me water but things took a turn for the worse. There was supposed to be some Muslim holiday so I woke up late not expecting to have class. When the primary school bell rang I got out of bed and quickly prepared for school. Lindsay was still in Isongole so I went to school alone ready for the day. The day started with an upset stomach which scared me a little. Then the cell phone reception was out which made me even more worried. Finally, the water had still not returned. I was a little on the distraught side. For the first time since I’ve arrived in Tanzania I felt completely trapped in Kafule and wanted to leave. I was very tense all day waiting for something to work out for me. When Lindsay returned late that afternoon I explained what was going on and she quickly took charge and found some students to find us water. After providing some financial support, they were only too eager to assist.
On Tuesday, I returned from church in a foul mood. (This will be explained in part three) After sitting around reading I heard the trickle of water. I jumped out of my chair in happiness. The water returned. My foul mood dissolved and the rest of the week seemed so much brighter.
Four days.
What else happened this past week? Read about it in part three!
Love,
Gretchen
the rain is still falling
February 12th
On the Saturday after I last wrote, I decided to walk to the market in Katangele. I have been to Katangele only two times before. It isn’t very far away but to go is a full day affair. I have walked to the market once before which is almost a four and a half hour return trip. I have also taken the hospital car from Isoko which is about a three hour return trip (I must first walk the hour to Isoko). As far as big markets, Katangele doesn’t compare, but it is much larger than any other market or shop we can walk/drive to within a day. Lindsay and Enea (my “best friend” who is a nurse at the hospital) walked with me to Isoko. They prefer not to walk and caught a pikipiki (motorcycle) to the market. I walked with my friend Umbege. The walk is difficult. It is an hour and a half straight up the mountain from Isoko. Once we arrived I was extremely thirsty. I brought a liter of water with me but that was already depleted by the time we reached the top. The only beverages of choice at the market are soda and beer so I stayed dehydrated. Lindsay and I quickly did our shopping, ate some lunch, then prepared to return home. Umbege was talking to his friend from another village when we finished so I sat in the grass waiting for him. Twenty minutes later he was still talking and the rain clouds started to fill the sky. I felt rude but told Umbege that I was leaving… he told me not to fear. I think he realized I wasn’t joking though and said goodbye to his friend and ran off to buy food. When we finally left it was already too late. The rain had begun and got progressively worse as we walked. No one lives along the trail back to Isoko so we had nowhere to hide. It took us a little over an hour to reach Isoko and the rain never ceased. The rain was so heavy that our path turned into a river/stream that rose above my hiking boots in some sections. Once we reached Isoko I continued to walk as my rain jacket was not very protective and every part of my body was drenched. I walked home, dressed, and boiled some tea to warm up my body and prepare for church in Isoko the following day.
On Sunday, January 29th I promised to give a sermon in Isoko while my friend Umbege translated. On Friday evening, he finally told me the message for Sunday: giving more to the church. After digesting that bit of information (he told me throughout the previous two weeks that I was free to preach on whatever I wanted) I became worried. Yes, you can talk about giving your time, your energy, etc. and not discuss the financial aspect of giving which wouldn’t be too bad. If I don’t talk about money, I am still telling the congregation in so many words that they aren’t giving enough, they need to do more. I started feeling like the typical foreigner telling people they have not sacrificed enough that they need to be better Christians. I backed out. I couldn’t consciously speak on that topic. I promised to preach a different Sunday where I agreed with the topic and had more time to prepare. I’ll keep you posted on when/if that happens. Instead of preaching, I just attended church and Lindsay joined me for her first church service in Tanzania. She was not very happy to attend. The service lasted a little over three hours and she grunted and sighed throughout. After church, the pastor invited us for food at his home before we returned to Kafule for the evening.
Classes in the first week of February were pretty uneventful. I continued to work on my garden after school each day and go for a run in the evening when the temperature cooled down. Last weekend Lindsay traveled to Mbeya and Isongole which gave me the house to myself for the first time since we’ve been back. I was looking forward to relaxing, but God seemed to have other plans in mind for me…
Now, read part two please!
Love,
Gretchen
On the Saturday after I last wrote, I decided to walk to the market in Katangele. I have been to Katangele only two times before. It isn’t very far away but to go is a full day affair. I have walked to the market once before which is almost a four and a half hour return trip. I have also taken the hospital car from Isoko which is about a three hour return trip (I must first walk the hour to Isoko). As far as big markets, Katangele doesn’t compare, but it is much larger than any other market or shop we can walk/drive to within a day. Lindsay and Enea (my “best friend” who is a nurse at the hospital) walked with me to Isoko. They prefer not to walk and caught a pikipiki (motorcycle) to the market. I walked with my friend Umbege. The walk is difficult. It is an hour and a half straight up the mountain from Isoko. Once we arrived I was extremely thirsty. I brought a liter of water with me but that was already depleted by the time we reached the top. The only beverages of choice at the market are soda and beer so I stayed dehydrated. Lindsay and I quickly did our shopping, ate some lunch, then prepared to return home. Umbege was talking to his friend from another village when we finished so I sat in the grass waiting for him. Twenty minutes later he was still talking and the rain clouds started to fill the sky. I felt rude but told Umbege that I was leaving… he told me not to fear. I think he realized I wasn’t joking though and said goodbye to his friend and ran off to buy food. When we finally left it was already too late. The rain had begun and got progressively worse as we walked. No one lives along the trail back to Isoko so we had nowhere to hide. It took us a little over an hour to reach Isoko and the rain never ceased. The rain was so heavy that our path turned into a river/stream that rose above my hiking boots in some sections. Once we reached Isoko I continued to walk as my rain jacket was not very protective and every part of my body was drenched. I walked home, dressed, and boiled some tea to warm up my body and prepare for church in Isoko the following day.
On Sunday, January 29th I promised to give a sermon in Isoko while my friend Umbege translated. On Friday evening, he finally told me the message for Sunday: giving more to the church. After digesting that bit of information (he told me throughout the previous two weeks that I was free to preach on whatever I wanted) I became worried. Yes, you can talk about giving your time, your energy, etc. and not discuss the financial aspect of giving which wouldn’t be too bad. If I don’t talk about money, I am still telling the congregation in so many words that they aren’t giving enough, they need to do more. I started feeling like the typical foreigner telling people they have not sacrificed enough that they need to be better Christians. I backed out. I couldn’t consciously speak on that topic. I promised to preach a different Sunday where I agreed with the topic and had more time to prepare. I’ll keep you posted on when/if that happens. Instead of preaching, I just attended church and Lindsay joined me for her first church service in Tanzania. She was not very happy to attend. The service lasted a little over three hours and she grunted and sighed throughout. After church, the pastor invited us for food at his home before we returned to Kafule for the evening.
Classes in the first week of February were pretty uneventful. I continued to work on my garden after school each day and go for a run in the evening when the temperature cooled down. Last weekend Lindsay traveled to Mbeya and Isongole which gave me the house to myself for the first time since we’ve been back. I was looking forward to relaxing, but God seemed to have other plans in mind for me…
Now, read part two please!
Love,
Gretchen
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