Chantal Abroad

Salamu!
Thanks to everyone for your postings and your e-mails. It is nice to be able to keep in touch.

For those who want an update this week, see the novel my dad wrote. It is posted on the bottom of his website. This link is on this page.

Next weekend, Frs. Jaimy and Mathew will be in Morogoro for Brother Leopold's ordination. I'm not sure if we will have access to their computer while they are away. Also, Sunday is the Tanzanian election day. It'll be interesting to see the festivities that go on that day!

The weekend after, the first weekend of November, Dad and I are to go to Mbinga, which is about 120km away. We are to stay overnight and are to return sometime on Sunday.

Hopefully, I'll be able to be in touch before 12 November, but if not, I'll still be thinking of you all!
Take care! Mungu bariki!!

Chantal

Karibu! This week was somewhat less eventful. Sunday night, Fr. Jaimy took us out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. Fr. Mathew returned to Songea on Monday, as did the two teachers we were missing our first week here. For us, Monday was a difficult day at school. The children would not listen and we felt quite frustrated. The week did get better, and we got Friday off, as it is a holiday in rememberance of the first Tanzanian president's death. We went into town and bought me some material and hired a tailor to sew me a skirt and blouse, as I have already managed to stain some of my clothing... imagine that! Saturday, we got to spend the day with 80 more sponsor children, making cards, playing, and having lunch with them. Afterwards, they had a short programme for us of dancing, singing, and a skit. Today I wore my new outfit to mass. We went to our usual 7am mass. I also went to the children's mass at 11am, which I enjoyed immensly. I'll have to do that again! So that was the week. Hope yours went well. Karibu, tena!

Here are a few musings for you:
*Green toilet paper-softer on one side, pimpled on the other, and very, very green. Why? Beats me.
*Perma "tan"-My feet are permanently 'tanned' as we are currently in the dry season. It is very dusty here and the earth is very red. It gets into everything. No matter how hard I scrub, my 'tanned' hue never quite goes away.
*Kids putting things in their mouths-Children here put everything, anything in their mouths. Broken balloons, candy wrappers, pencils, erasers, paper, bark, leaves, sugar cane, fingers, money, their school uniforms... it seems they are always chewing on something.
*Killer mosquitoes-You know how mosquitoes at home are quite aggressive and big and loud? Although mosquitoes here are to be avoid due to the diseases they carry, they are actually quite passive. They seem to stroll, as do Tanzanians, to get from place to place, and are definitely quieter.
*Food-We eat very well. We are eating a lot of rice, eggs, potatoes, pasta. We get some vegetables (peas, carrots, cabbage, tomato) and some fruits (pineapple, mango, papaya, banana). We have the luxury of eating chicken or beef whenever we wish. We drink loads of tea. Dad's favorite treat is to dissolve a soan cake (a gift from one of the India nuns) in a cup of hot full cream powdered milk. My favourite is having peanut butter and banana on bread with a cup of sweetened instant coffee and a little cocoa powder.

Chantal: There are 120 children (3 classes) in the nursery school, where we live, at De Paul School. The children come from 8-12:30 to learn English and Math. They have a lunch break from 10-11 and have a hot snack every day. They are to learn English, as it is the language that Secondary school is taught in. It is also a common second language among nations and the typical language of commerce.

In the afternoon, there are free classes from 4-5:30. I have a sing a long class from 3-4 for those that want. Dad teaches preform (English summmer school effectively) from 3-4, about 30 students. They seem to have opened up to his sense of humour.

Billy: Our week was quite hectic with two teachers missing. We divided the students into two groups of about 55 based on grade. The first day was horrible( Chantal: well, it could have been better). The students were hot and tired being crammed 3 or 4 into a desk. We tried our best to teach/entertain. It was quite commical as when we got frustrated with the noise of students, the only thing that settled them down was another chorus of "Clap Your Hands". (Chantal: We also sang "Head and Shoulders" about a million times) I am now sick of that song.

The teachers use fairly harsh punishment by our standards. They have a "switch" ( a thin stick) which they use to prod, the students into behaving. If a prod is not enough, the student is struck with the stick on the hand. The difference between the pacifists (Chantal, Sr. Agnes and I) and the disciplinarian (Amy) was phenominal. Before Amy would enter the room it was chaos. When Amy entered the room it was quiet and respectful. I tried all of my tricks for cajoling (including tickling) but to no avail. Not with 56 students who don't speak your language very well. I went through one more day of this then conceded that we were doing more harm than good. When the other teachers returned they would find their classrooms a chaotic mess. I decided that I would use coporal punishment but worked out a heirarchy to help me avoid the stick. I had given a tap on the hands to my first child before school had started. It had no affect. I hit harder to make my point. The child look a little nervous but was still smiling. I was able to communicate that I had a stick in my room and she could choose her method of discipline. She chose "Wisely". The rest of the day went marvelously. I had to set a few more examples before the day was out but order was established and children were learning again (and even happy). I was also able to go back to the orginal student and spend a little time playing ball to ensure she knew it was not personal but that there was a limit and she best not cross it.

Saturday was quite a day. About 60 sponsor children came to the school to make Christmas cards to send to their sponsor families. The children varied in aged, between 3 to 12 years old. They arrived at about 8am and played for a couple of hours while we tried to get organised. Dad even showed some of his magic tricks. Since Fr.Mathew was in the hospital and Brother Leopold was there with him, we had a makeshift crew. We had no car and no phone to tell anyone that we had crayons/markers but no paper. We had to wait for Brother Leopold to come in from Peramiho before we could start.

Once started, we had a grand time. We put some Christmas greeting ideas on the board and drew some sample pictures of symbols of Christmas and of Africa-a star, a manger scene, the outline of the continent. The variety in cards was amazing. The little ones may not have been able to write their name or their Christmas greeting, but I am sure their sponsor families will be more that happy to receive a card covered in multi coloured 'o's. Some children copied word for word every single greeting idea. Some of the older children drew very elaborate flowers and patterns. I was glad to see each one try. I love that there were no 2 cards alike.

As part of the day, the children got a special lunch. After lunch, they got gifts of a backpack, pen, scribbler, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, dresses for the girls and shirts for the boys (many of which have 50 cent written all over them... as a side note, 50 cent seems to be written everywhere here!) . It was great to be a part of this day.

Chantal wore herself out trying to control the classes and started to get a sore throat. By Friday she had a mild fever in the morning but still tried to do some work in the classrooms. On Friday afternoon we received word that Fr. Mathew had been taken to the hospital. Amanzi, our watchman, tried to communicate with me that I should go to the hospital. We would have to take a Dhaladhala (mini van bus). We arranged to go after our last class at 4:00 p.m.

Chantal took her temperature again and it had risen. We now felt that regardless of Fr. Mathew we needed to go and get a Malaria test for Chantal. It turned out to be negative. It turned out that she had a mild cold and is recouperating well now.

Fr. Mathew was no longer at the hospital in Songea. They said he had been moved to Peramiho. Given the size of the "hospital" we were at, I assumed wrongly that Peramiho was the name of the bigger, "real" hospital. Wrong again. Peramiho is the name of the town where the bigger, "real" hospital is. Chantal was not feeling up to even a short trip so we escorted her back to our school residence and then Amanzi and I set out for Peramiho. I had no idea where I was going or how long I would be away.

There was a special Dhaladhala to take us to Peramiho. Amanzi communicated by scrunching his shoulders together that we would not leave until the vehicle was full. I thought he was just exagerating for effect. Wrong again. The Dhaladhala had 15 seats. When we left we had 25 people packed into the bus. If we were college students going around the block, this would have been a silly stunt. My heart sank as the sun went down and we headed further out of town.

We turned off the "good road" onto a very bumpy dirt trench. I can't imagine anyone seriously injured surviving. Thank God it only went for about 10 minutes.

We got to see Fr. Mathew for about 5 minutes. They were surprised to see us and asked "Why did you come?". I pointed at Amanzi and shrugged my shoulders. The ride back was even more packed and I was standing. Suddenly there was some shifting, the back row of the van now had 5 people (4 sitting, 1 standing) and I was offered a seat. I was not allowed to refuse. Amanzi communicated that they were going to sing. I said, "Do you mean like, '99 bottles of beer on the wall?' ", and I started to sing it. He motioned me to wait.

As soon as we were back on the main road, the singing started. It was wonderful with different people taking the lead and the rest responding in complicated rythmic chorus. I tried to sing along which resulted in hoots of laughter. I introduced myself as Billy to one lady. She immediately started to laugh since my name sounds very much like "mbili" in KiSwahili. It is the equivalent of saying, "Hello, my name is Two. How do you do.?"

After a number songs the bus went quiet. I started to wonder if they were going to ask me to sing. I decided that I would try "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching in" since it had a nice echo part. At the last minute, I had my own private joke going as I started to sing, "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones". They laugh although I doubt any of them had seen the movie, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".

After many long hours we have arrived safe and happy in Songea, Tanzania. The bus ride from Dar es Salaam to Songea took 13 hours. The bus was old but very capable. This highlights one of the first impressions that we have of Tanzania; the useful life of objects is very extended compared to Canada.
Our bus ride took us through a game reserve. There weren't many animals on this trip but we did see a giraffe, two elephants and a number of baboons. There were many short stops along the way but some were only for five minutes so you had to be careful to plan your "pit" stops. The bathrooms are interesting. It's like a flush toilet, only there is no seat or toilet bowl. So you have to hover. But after you are done, you may flush. It's like camping!

On Friday morning, we jumped right in and taught our first classes. We were quite amazed at first to have a four year old come up to us and say, "Good Morning. How are you?" But this is one of the effects of a rote style of teaching and learning. They memorized some phrases at a young age but struggle to understand if you leave the "script". We are both enthusiastic and challenged to teach them English within this environment.

We are being treated well beyond our expectations. Dad and I each have our own rooms which were converted from a classroom. Were are provide three cooked meals a day by a cook who is vary anxious to make us anything we want. We feel quite "spoiled" but they are so grateful that we have come.

They have assigned us two "watchmen" to ensure the safety of our belongings and to keep us company during the night. Dad has been meeting with them in the evening so that they can help him learn Kiswahili while they are trying to learn English. They also play basketball or soccer, which gives Dad excercise and allows him to sleep better. Otherwise, he was getting 4 hours of sleep. Then he would wake up and dream up schemes and plans and ideas. He would then try to tell them all to me all at once, when he would wake me up at 5:30am for my "shower".

The shower consists of a bucket of boiling water, a tap with cold water and a smaller bucket. You mix the waters to your desired temperature and use the little bucket to wash yourself. The whole bathroom ends up getting splashed but it is pleasant, if not time consuming!

We did not bring many clothes so that there would be more room for the teaching materials that we brought. Today Dad went shopping in town to get an extra pair of pants and a shirt. I bought a kanga (like a sarong).

Unfortunately the computer we have access to is a bit antiquated and so we will not be able to upload pictures at this time. It uses a dial up modem and hits on average about 30 servers to get anywhere on the web. I will do my best to write weekly.

The weather here is hot but pleasant. Under direct sunlight, it is very hot, 30+. The school stays relatively cool most of the day and we are quite comfortable (~20-25 degrees Celsius in the shade). The rainy season starts in November, so we expect the weather to cool down further.