Last Night's Dinner Preparations

Yesterday was the end of our first real week of work. I taught a few English classes and really enjoyed them. The students make me laugh, one of them raised her hand and said, "I thought Americans were all supposed to be fat. Why are you so skinny?" Another, after discovering that for three of my first four years out of university will be spent as a volunteer, asked, "Will you ever actually try to make any money?" They are often more excited to learn about American pop culture than then English language, but their eagerness to learn about everything is encouraging. The school day typically ends at 4:00. Yesterday, the headmistress announced that there would be a prayer service for the teachers from 3:30 to 4:30. Instead of an uproar about the final day of our week being extended by another half of an hour, there was a buzz of excitement and many of the teachers approached Mary Beth and I, inviting us to be a part of it. We sang, we read a psalm, we prayed and we reflected. It was the perfect culmination of a work week. When the prayer service ended, Sister Njau wanted to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the school once more, so she brough out soda and wine for everyone. It was a pleasant little social gathering that enabled Mary Beth and I to interact with more of the teachers on a different level.

When we went to the Jesuit Residence that night for dinner, one of the Jesuit scholastics, James, said that he wanted to have a nice meal to end our first week of work. We were in luck. Christopher, the other scholastic, had gone over to another teacher's home after school and that teacher had sent a chicken home with him. I had witnessed Christopher walk into the house holding a live chicken by its feet. We decided to eat it that night. I asked, half jokingly, if I could be the one to kill it. James and Christopher got really excited about this idea and before I knew it I was outside with knife in hand. Christopher gave me very thorough instructions on the logistics of killing the chicken, but also spoke about the Muslim traditions of respecting the life we were about to take and praising God for it. I was hesitant and nervous, but I did it. Thankfully Christopher was right there to step on the neck after I severed the head, or else blood would have spurted all over me. James then arrived to dance a celebratory jig. This is all on film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaDjXr3MdtY

Next, I learned out to pluck and clean the chicken and I helped James cut it into pieces and cook it. During this process he made a comment about reconsidering his vows now that he knew what I was capable of. Christopher agreed. I made them both take it back immediately, I don't want God to be on my bad side by taking some soon-to-be priests from them! I informed James that when I had asked him the week prior to marry me that I thought I had made it clear he was to be the priest in the ceremony and not the groom.

It was a memorable experience as a whole. I feel as if every meat eater in the world should have the experience of taking the life of what they are to eat, so as to appreciate more fully what it is they are consuming. It was a bonding experience for me and the Jesuits (they were quite surprised at my willingness and enthusiasm towards learning about and doing the dirty work), further strengthening the sense of community that we are developing. And the chicken was delicious.

all kinds of new stuff

New House! We moved into our new house last week. At last! Very very excited about it, lots of work to make it feel like home. We live with a bunch of little (and big) cockroach friends that we capture and DOOM! on a nightly basis. We also pretty much live with the girls that live in the servant quarters type thing that is also in our gated compound, which will be fine once we can communicate with them and become friends, but right now its a bit difficult to feel like we have any sense of privacy since they peek in our windows at the crazy wazungo all the time. It doesn't help that we scream when startled by our cockroach friends every single day. I'm looking forward to picking out fabric to make curtains for my bedroom and I love my giant king-sized bed. I'll be sure to post pictures of our house sometime soon. We still don't eat very many meals in our house because we don't have all of the supplies we need to cook. We also can't really afford to go buy them. Sister Njau dropped off a few boxes that had some plates and silverware and two pots in them for us to use, which was so so nice. She also included a little tea and sugar, so sweet. We did try to go shopping for a bunch of food and cleaning supplies and we were very successful at the market, however we were not so successful with getting it all home. We were robbed. Two of the Jesuit scholastics drove us and when we stopped at another market for bananas someone opened a window that wasn't completely latched, opened the door and stole most of the things we had juts purchased. Luckily they left us a loaf of bread and some peanut butter, but we lost a lot of stuff we had spent quite a bit of money on. We were grateful to be safe and that nothing of great importance was lost, but not very happy. I still love my kingsize bed though.
New Job! We started staff meetings last week and orientation for the form one students started yesterday. The staff meetings were generally pretty boring, (although anything pales in comparison to Noha home staff meetings) but I think they were a little taken aback by my participation in the meeting. Mary Beth and I are on the schedule to teach 45-50 periods a week. There are only 50 periods total in a week. That is actually pretty impossible. We are signed up with other teachers for all fo them so we're hopeful that those number will be cut in half but it has also been impossible to track down the teachers and coordinate meetings. Class starts Thursday and we really have no idea exactly which classes we are responsible for or what the syllabi will look like. This should be interesting! Also going to be interesting...me teaching Divinity and Computer classes along with my English classes. Orientation has been really fun, thank you to all of you that sent me group dynamic activity suggestions! Its taken me a little bit to adjust to working with 160 little girls that are very well behaved and think that I'm a nut job because I teach them weird songs and games to play, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Some still struggle with English a bit and call me Mister Tal-ee-a and some are really good with English and say things like "I think our group motto should be unity is success!" They're cute.
New Language! Swahili lessons are going slowly but surely. I'm really excited about learning the language and relatively motivated about studying it, but I'm not sure when I'll have time to practice! There are signs all over the school saying "Speak English Always" and its strictly enforced. The Jesuits and our friend Catherine have been good about quizzing us and teaching us new words though.

New Look! I had a dress made here with fabric I received on my birthday and I love it! Those are ducks and reeds on it! I also have worn more make-up and jewelry and high heeled shoes here than I ever have in my life. I'm trying so hard to feel pretty but its SO DIRTY.

New Life? We have been told repeatedly that if we spend two years here we will become Tanzanian. The other day at lunch bets were being placed on my future. One Jesuit says I will move to either Pennsylvania or Denver in two years. One Jesuit says I will go back to the States for schooling but then come back and work in his clinic here. One Jesuit says I will never leave. We shall see.

ps I ate cheese today. and bacon. What a good day. AND IM STAYING UP LATE AT THE JESUITS TO WATCH THE STEELERS GAME!! GO STEELERS!!!

A typical staff meeting at Mary Goreti Secondary School

Meeting Scheduled for 9:00AM, Wednesday January 7th 2009

8:59 Mary Beth and I arrive to find a note on the white board informing us that the meeting has been re-scheduled for tomorrow, January 8th at 9:00am due to very few of the teachers showing up for the departmental meetings that were held on the previous day.

Thursday January 8th 2009 Posted Meeting Time: 9:00am

8:58am Mary Beth and I arrive and excitedly go to sit at our newly assigned desks. Two other teachers are seated at their desks. One teacher is wandering around cleaning.

9:05am One more teacher arrives.

9:08am Four students arrive and begin to clean the staff room.

9:10am Two more teachers arrive. One of these teachers is the self-proclaimed Master of Ceremonies who has a goatee resembling a rat tail protruding from his lower lip.

9:11am Three of the teachers go outside.

9:13am A teacher approaches us and attempts to schedule another meeting with us for 9:45. Double booked!

9:15am Mary Beth and I are the only teachers present in the staff room.

9:19am Mass cleaning effort by six students continues. MB and I are beginning to think we are not supposed to be in the staff room at this time but no one has said anything to the crazy wazungu in the corner.

9:24am James (a Jesuit living with Balige for this semester) arrives and after laughing at us for arriving at 9:00 informs us that when a meeting is scheduled for 9:00 we should come at 10:00.

9:25am Two teachers come into the staff room and sit in the lounge area instead of at their desks. One teacher at desk.

9:27am Sudden inexplicable influx! Four teachers arrive!

9:28am Three of them go back outside.

9:30am Status update: Four teachers at desks. One moving furniture. MB and I straight chillin. One student cleaning. One teacher at computer.

9:31am One in one out rule seems to have been applied.

9:34am Supplies for tes begin to be put out.

9:39am MB leaves on a mission to find Sister Njau.

9:40am Someone turns on the television and flips through the channels until the soap opera channel is found. Show title: Deceptions.

9:42am Sister Njau(headmistress and convener of meeting) arrives sans MB

9:45am Sister Njau, "Good Morning Teachers! How is the day?"

9:47am Sister Njau is chatting on her cell phone.

9:50am Meeting commences. Stand for prayer. 22 people present

9:51am Three more people straggle in.

9:52am Announcement of Form 2 Examination results. They ranked second out of 486 secondary school in Tanzania. Celebration to occur later.

9:55am The Master of Ceremonies re-enters and is playfully publicly chastised by Sister Njau.

10:15am Status update: 30 people present

10:18am This writer begins a crossword puzzle brought from the Washington Post. Thursday level. Tough.

10:21am Interruption for speech from special guest! He begins his spiel with a "God is Good!" The congregation responds, "All the time!" He says, "All the time?" Congregation of teachers: "God is Good!" He then proceeds to inform us that in life, people should do three things. Plant a tree, have a child and write a book. He goes on to claim that he has done all three and then pitches his study skills book to us at the discount rate of 2000 tsh.

10:33am After a strenuous 43 minutes of meeting... its time for a tea break!

11:05am Meeting resumes.

11:15am A handout is passed out from the computer department. Under general comments it states that the computer department would like to thank the administration for the two new computer teachers, Ms. Talia and Ms. Betty, who are mostly welcome. Mostly??

11:35am Several people asleep. Handouts being read aloud word for word. This writer witnesses a teacher sending a text message to a colleague to wake her from her nap. Cell phones ringing sporadically.

11:43am Sister Njau stands up and peaces out with no warning mid-action plan from the Natural Sciences Department.


12:18pm* A note is passed from James. It asks..."Who sings Lean on Me?" I bust out my pizzle to check and show MB. It says the Temptation. She says, "no."

12:28pm Another colleague surreptitiously begins to read Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (who Mary Beth has met and whispers this information to the reader) under his desk.

12:32pm Sister Njau returns and immediately begins asking questions that were just clarified 36 seconds earlier.

12:38pm Crossword puzzle finished.

12:45pm Two cases of soda arrive.

1:15om Sister Njau lists of the absentees of this meeting, stating why they are not here if she knows, and inquiring as to why if she does not.

1:18pm Prayer for lunch. Words of encouragement for the new school year from Sister Njau, "Let us put our legs down and our hands down and our legs doen and reduce this F." Then we celebrate the positive Form 2 Exam scores with sodas for all!

*It should also be noted that between the minutes of 11:45 and 12:15 nine people were witnessed picking their noses.