The airport....well...we made it through..thank goodness! We met some really nice people there, which was a comfort. There were 2 older women, who were both widows. They went to the Serengeti for a safari and were headed for Cairo, Egypt....having the time of their lives. We also met a man from Sierra Leone. He was very proud of his country, even though they are in constant war and his father was killed in the war. When we arrived to the Kilimanjaro airport, our luggage was indeed missing...lots and lots of laughing. We went to missing luggage and they were being held there since we were supposed to be on the earlier flight...whew!!!!! Our driver, Simon, picked us up and took us to home-base. As we were driving, there were hundreds of people walking down the streets and many of the woman were carrying buckets of food and water on their heads. I expected this, but it is so amazing to see this in person.
We were welcomed with open arms at the house. The volunteers are all wonderful people. There are 25 in all, 4 older women, 3 guys, and the rest girls their 20's and early 30's. The staff is absolutely amazing, so I am very thankful for that. The volunteer house is better than expected, accept for our cold showers, which I absolutely hate. Michele and I share a room with Brittany, who is 19, from Wisconsin, and Holly, who is 25, from Chicago.
Mama Grace is our second mother here and Moses oversees everything that goes on. We have had many meetings about cultural conversion, goals, and expectations, which has been very helpful. The language is going to be extremely difficult for us all. Swahili is quite difficult to learn, but is essential for my placement at the school and for walking around town. Moshi is extremely overwhelming. Everyone wants to talk to you and sell you things. Overall, the people are very friendly and understanding that we have no idea what we are doing. I have now learned how to greet the people, which makes a great difference.
I was warned about corporal punishment in my school. This made me soooo nervous as I did not know how I would react to this in person. Today was my first day of placement and I am absolutely exhausted. The teachers and nuns are very great, and speak a bit of English, which I am soooo grateful for. The children are absolutely adorable. I teared up at I walked up to them singing their national anthem and trying to say, "how are you" in english, even though they are only 2-5 years old. They are all so little. This is going to be a great challenge for me. I am in charge of teaching English,math, and writing...the problem is that my Swahili is less that good, so it is difficult to instruct them. They were out of control today...hitting eachother, fighting, screaming.....I cannot punish them because I don't know how to speak to them correctly. Sister Cecilia is the full-time teacher in the classroom and she punishes by smacking the children in the head....I definitely don't believe in this. I feel that a school should be place of safety and comfort. As my Swahili improves, hopefully so will their behavior. They are alllll over me. I have scratches up and down my legs. Every child, 60 or so of them, wants to hold my hand, me to hold them or dance with them or talk to them. It is crazy. I am the only volunteer in the school, so I get way too much attention. I can't wait to send you pictures of them all. The conditions of the school are exceptional, compared to the others. This school is private, so the families must pay about $200 for their children to attend. This helps, but of course there is no air conditioner, toilet paper, or chairs in the room. It blows my mind. I was able to teach one of the students to write the number 4....pretty exciting. :)
It is now the next day as the power goes off often and I was unable to continue this last night. Today was day 2 at my placement....I almost broke down in tears in the front of the classroom. Sister Cecilia left me alone for a long time and the children were out of control!! When I tell them to sit, they laugh, when I say no, they laugh, when I put them in the corner for hitting or not listening, they laugh. I am at a loss. It is very frustrating, so I am hoping they will send another volunteer my way to assist. I definitely need some help. One of the 2 year old was crying all day today. I went to pick him up and noticed that his ear was dripping of puss. So, I sat him down and tried to clean it out, which only lasted for a few minutes. I told the Sister that he had a severe ear infection, but she said that she already spoke with the parents to let them know he needed to go to the hospital, but they had not taken him. It is absolutely heart-breaking. He would not eat, so I had to force the porridge down him, which he doesn't even like the taste of. Sister Cecilia said that she would try to put more sugar in it tomorrow.
I am extremely exhausted everday....we have been having Swahili lessons every day, along with discussions about the differences in our cultures. This is what I have learned:
-Tanzania is the 5th poorest country in the world, the people are poor, but rich in happiness, they have a 3.8% growth rate(they say baby factories), the women walk 10 miles to town for food and water, there are no strangers in Kilimanjaro, they have power outages a few times a day, If someone pick pockets me and I notice, I must not yell or they will be shot, they kill disabled children, twin, and albinos when born, in certain tribes, some women are circumcised when their boyfriends leave for long periods of time to purchase cattle, so that they do not marry someone else, and educated Tanzanians understand that there are better ways of doing things. Whewww. I am on overload.
I feel thankful that I was not placed in an orphanage as I do not think I could handle it. I will be visiting one next week, but the word is that the children go to the bathroom all over you and are left to sit in their own feces, as their is a lack of help. Once you hold them, they become attached immediately and it is hard to leave them. I would have struggled with this I know.
This has been an amazing experience so far. I can't believe I am actually here doing this. My time is out, but I will try to send pictures when I can. Please forgive my spelling and grammar mistakes. I am in a hurry always. The internet is very very slow and I am low on time. I head for the safari on Friday afternoon, so I may not get a chance to write before. Much love to you all. Please keep writing, and I will get to you as sooon as I have an extra minute. XOXOXOXO
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