Sophie in Africa

Routine

Kategori: Tanzania

Routines, you should never underestimate their value! I have lived without routine for a long time here and have actually missed them. Now, since I am back to my normal schedule, my life is a lot more organized. So, I think it is time to tell you what a normal day lookes like for me.
 
I get up at 06.30 and breakfast is at 07.15. Then I go to school, it takes 10-15, ehere I will be until 13.00. Then we head back for lunch, which I usually buy from the local restaurants or from the market, if I want fruits. At 16.00 it is time to go back to school for the afternoon session with the big kids, and at 18.30 the day is over. Dinner is between 20.00 - 21.00 and then I go to bed.
 
I appreciate this, even though it means that I have less time to do what I want outside of work. The only time is during the week-ends. Especially on saturdays I have time to du other things. On sundays I usually rest, and in the afternoon/evening I go to play (well, watch) Volleyball.
 
The work with the kids is going better and better as I get more used to be a teacher. I like the students, both my little babies and the big ones. I have some problem though in the afternoon, not because I don't like the students, but it is difficult to say which level they are on. If they get complicated grammer excercises, but don't understand a single word if you want to make then read a story, or when they are 10 years old and barely can read, it is difficult.
 
I have some weeks left with this work before I go on my two weeks of free. I am looking forward to it, there is so much more I want to do here. In two weeks you can not do everything you want, but some things. But first: back to work!

Bye, bye friend

Kategori: Tanzania

Yesterday, Susanne left Tanzania for new adventures. The time has been amazing, wonderful and very helpful for me. I enjoyed to have someone to talk to, to discuss with and to make memories together. Even though she only was here for two and a half weeks, the time has felt very long for me and I am happy I get a visitor at all! I think she also enjoyed it. She helped me with some new ideas for the school and what to do with the kids, because sometimes it is not so easy to know. She mostly taught the big ones, three girls who absolutely adored her. I have a small story I have to tell you: one day we played inside the school with some of the girls. We gave them each a sof toy to play with and they put it on their backs and put their sweaters around (that's how the women here carry their babies, on their backs). Then, after a while, they forgot about them and then Susanne pretended that the "baby" od one of the girls started to cry. And what did she so? Yes of course, she started to brest feed it! It gave me agood laugh.
 
When Susanne left I also came into goodbye-mood even though of course it is not time for me to leave yet. But ir made me realize how used I have become to the life here. The houses, the nature, the people, the shops, the market, the rythm of life... it doesn't seem so strange to me anymore. Which was what I wanted! It takes a while to get used to, but I think I'm there now.
 
The remedio classes we usually have in the afternoons with the older students have started now, so I think from next week on I will be on full schedule again. Feels a little strange not to have free afternoons anymore, but it is a part of my work. This year there are new students coming, not the same as last term, so I have to get to know them from the beginning and build a relasionship to them. It takes a while until they really trust you and dare to talk.Bacause, the level can seem very high when you see what they do, but if you ask them the most basic things they don't know. The African school systen is still behind the European one.

Busy Week

Kategori: Tanzania

With Susanne here we are somehow always busy. We mainly do small things, like eating in local restaurants or going on walks, but it is much more busy than usual for me, which I of course like. How much more fun everything becomes if you have someone to share memories with!

Last Sunday we went to the sisters again, we go there a few times a week, but un week-ends they play Volleyball with some youth from the area for some hours in the afternoon. It was really nice to see more young people and to play Volleyball with them. I am really terrible at it, but it is nice that it doesn't really matter if you're good or not, everyone is playing together. Two of the sisters usually join as well which is a bit funny to see in the beginning but they are really good. There I also noticed for real that there is a huge difference in the level of english between the Kenyans and the Tanzanians. The Kenyans are really good but the Tanzanians normally don't speak any english at all. There is one trick though to be able to find out who speaks english: just look for young, well dressed men. It actually works. The explanation for this all is that in Kenya english is an official language, and in Tanzania it is not. But, the Tanzanians are better in Swahili. Here, Swahili is used for as a mother tounge when in Kenya it is more like a second language because for many people their tribe language comes first and is more used in the different areas. There are also some personality differences between these contries, although they are very similar in culture and history. Of course I have met nice people in Tanzania as well, but generally I think that the Kenyans are nicer actually. It might sound weird but that is what it feels like sometimes. The Kenyans I have met (and I meet many since I live on the border) have been very nice and easy to make contact to. But anyway, I will definitely continue to go to the Volleyball on week/ends, I know that for sure. Also, our friends, the boys we met, they also go there so I have some familiar faces.

There has been an electricity problem here lately. Of course, normally there is also problems, but now it has been more that usual. Thursdays especially, a little weird that it is on a weekday in particular, but there you have the answer why I never update un thursdays. Also during other days it can be difficult, but you learn to live with it. I am happy there is at all.

Last Thursday we made an interesting visit. Me and Susanne had a long time wanted to visit the school of the Sisters, they have a nursery school, a primary school and a college. The problem was though that we would have to go during a weekday, but that is when we worked. But after som discussions we managed to get a free day so we were able to visit the school. For me it was very interesting especially because I wanted to see if the kids there at the nursery learn the same way as in my school, to compare a bit. We also met a teacher of the school who invited us to come and visit hime there. So, when we arrived there, we got a visit from one of the Sisters to all the classes. The school is much mor emodern that the other schools I have seen here, more colourful and with a small playground even. The kids had their own chair and bench and it looked more like a western school we are used to see. It was really nice to see everything, but our visit became much shorter that originally planned (things always turn out differently than expected here) but still I am happy that we went.

January was very hot in general, but in the end there was some rain which is unusal for this season. Once we had to helped the women around tthis house (in Africa the gender division is much bigger than in Europe) to collect water in the falling rain. Pretty funny, maybe because I was not the person who got wet...

Now I don´t know what to write anymore, but I feel like I have written mmuch more than I did in December. It is just the way it is, sometimes ther is more happening than other times.