Saturday, November 12, 2005
Life in Songea
Names: Children are given names such as Neema (Grace), Furaha (Happy), or Baraka (Blessing). Sometimes they are given English names with a KiSwahili version. Examples are: Gift (Gifti), Goodluck (Goodi), Godlisten (Godi), Norbert (Naberti), Cloudy (Cloudi), Sixbert (Sixberti)
Sometimes they use the literal translation: Happy, Happiness, Given, Mercy, Gladness, etc.
In true Tanzanian style, I named our new goat "Gifti". Too bad we will probably eat him within a week or two. I know you are not supposed to name something going to eat. I was hoping he could be a stud goat and they could name the babies after us. Oh Well.
Height: I'm not the shortest here. I'm definitely not the tallest, but I'm not bottom rung either. I'm not sure if this is because the average is shorter here or if it is because I spend most of my day with primary school children!
Dress: All colours and patterns are In Vogue here. There is no such thing as tacky. You can wear plaid with polka dots, zigzags with flowers, in all colours of the rainbow. "European" dress is common though often second hand. We saw a lady in church wearing a jacket with the words Saskatchewan across the back! Blue also doesn't equal boy & pink, a girl. George came to school wearing a purple jacket with beaded flowers and hearts around the hood. What a man!
My new friend: Maria, the school cook, has a young son named Bariki. He has been playing a game up until recently, that anytime he would see me he would start to cry. I know it was just a ploy to get attention from his mama. Last week, he started to let me hold him. This week, I've been helping him practice walking. We have been getting a long very well. So well, in fact, that he has peed on me twice. I feel honoured.
Holidays (written by Billy): We had an unexpected long holiday last week. Tanzania is about one third Muslim and one third Christian. So, to be fair, everyone gets everyone else's holidays. Last week was the end of Ramadan. This was supposed to mean two days holiday on Thursday and Friday. But because the calculation of the end of Ramadan is not an exact science (something about seeing the new moon, etc. in the evening) the actual holiday is not announced until the evening of the day before. To complicate matters, there was a disagreement among Muslim factions as to whether the moon was indeed seen at the appropriate time. So some thought that the holiday was for Thursday-Friday while most others insisted that the holiday was for Friday-Saturday. The result turned out to be a three day holiday for those like us trying to be respectful of everyone. What a way to run a country!
Dad and the Prime Directive (written by Billy): Our classes have been going better. As predicited by Marie-Therese, we are beginning to see English phrases being used in new contexts. It is quite a delight. Also I taught the Junior High class how to play "Hangman". They had never seen this game and it was an big hit that finally got most of them to participate. To think, I had almost given up trying to communicate the rules. I am glad I persisted but I once again feel that I have broken the "Prime Directive" and may have contaminated Tanzanian society for years to come.
Our imprint (written by Billy): We have also been taking 1960's rock and roll tunes and putting new words to them and teaching them to the students. It has been a treat and surprise to hear them sung on Saturdays as children walk by the school. One of the songs is sung to the tune of "I like that old time rock and roll" and is about different forms of transportation such as a "daladala" which is of course the local mini-van-bus. I used a couple of local district names in the song and now it goes like, "I like to ride in a daladala, From Bombambili to Msamala..." Chantal's super dance moves and other choreography helps to encourage the children to learn the words and tune. They sure do like to boogey!
Sometimes they use the literal translation: Happy, Happiness, Given, Mercy, Gladness, etc.
In true Tanzanian style, I named our new goat "Gifti". Too bad we will probably eat him within a week or two. I know you are not supposed to name something going to eat. I was hoping he could be a stud goat and they could name the babies after us. Oh Well.
Height: I'm not the shortest here. I'm definitely not the tallest, but I'm not bottom rung either. I'm not sure if this is because the average is shorter here or if it is because I spend most of my day with primary school children!
Dress: All colours and patterns are In Vogue here. There is no such thing as tacky. You can wear plaid with polka dots, zigzags with flowers, in all colours of the rainbow. "European" dress is common though often second hand. We saw a lady in church wearing a jacket with the words Saskatchewan across the back! Blue also doesn't equal boy & pink, a girl. George came to school wearing a purple jacket with beaded flowers and hearts around the hood. What a man!
My new friend: Maria, the school cook, has a young son named Bariki. He has been playing a game up until recently, that anytime he would see me he would start to cry. I know it was just a ploy to get attention from his mama. Last week, he started to let me hold him. This week, I've been helping him practice walking. We have been getting a long very well. So well, in fact, that he has peed on me twice. I feel honoured.
Holidays (written by Billy): We had an unexpected long holiday last week. Tanzania is about one third Muslim and one third Christian. So, to be fair, everyone gets everyone else's holidays. Last week was the end of Ramadan. This was supposed to mean two days holiday on Thursday and Friday. But because the calculation of the end of Ramadan is not an exact science (something about seeing the new moon, etc. in the evening) the actual holiday is not announced until the evening of the day before. To complicate matters, there was a disagreement among Muslim factions as to whether the moon was indeed seen at the appropriate time. So some thought that the holiday was for Thursday-Friday while most others insisted that the holiday was for Friday-Saturday. The result turned out to be a three day holiday for those like us trying to be respectful of everyone. What a way to run a country!
Dad and the Prime Directive (written by Billy): Our classes have been going better. As predicited by Marie-Therese, we are beginning to see English phrases being used in new contexts. It is quite a delight. Also I taught the Junior High class how to play "Hangman". They had never seen this game and it was an big hit that finally got most of them to participate. To think, I had almost given up trying to communicate the rules. I am glad I persisted but I once again feel that I have broken the "Prime Directive" and may have contaminated Tanzanian society for years to come.
Our imprint (written by Billy): We have also been taking 1960's rock and roll tunes and putting new words to them and teaching them to the students. It has been a treat and surprise to hear them sung on Saturdays as children walk by the school. One of the songs is sung to the tune of "I like that old time rock and roll" and is about different forms of transportation such as a "daladala" which is of course the local mini-van-bus. I used a couple of local district names in the song and now it goes like, "I like to ride in a daladala, From Bombambili to Msamala..." Chantal's super dance moves and other choreography helps to encourage the children to learn the words and tune. They sure do like to boogey!
# posted by Chantal @ 2:54 a.m. 
