Sunday, February 6, 2011

Tanzania Week 2




Jambo! Habarni? (How are you?)



The beautiful language of Swahili is spoken in about five countries in Eastern Africa. The language originated in Tanzania, and is used in Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have been in Tanzania for almost two weeks now and have started to pick up on words spoken in Swahili. I learned how to thank people (Asanti), and being the Canadian I am, learned how to say sorry, Poli (the i is pronounced as an e sound). With each passing day, at least one new word is entered into my vocabulary. I have learned the numbers, and after a few minutes of thinking, I can say any number between 1 and 10'000. This is helpful because most of the items I have been purchasing cost under 10'000 Shillings. On many occasions, I have had to tell the shopkeeper "Pole Pole," asking for him or her to slow down their speach in hopes of me handing over the correct amount of money.



I took my new language skills into the classroom, as programming started this week. Monday was designated to plan the week of classes and we divided ourselves up in pairs for each course. The courses we are offering here are basic english, intermediate english, basic computers, intermediate computers, business computers, a class on HIV and AIDS education, as well as programming for environment initatives. I drew the basic and business computer classes, and will work on environmental programming as well. The basic computer course runs three days a week consisting of two days of theory and one day of practical. Alysha, a volunteer from Vancouver, teaches the course on Tuesdays with me and Kanny, from Montreal, will teach on Mondays and Wednesdays. The course is offered through the Department of Substance Abuse and runs for eight weeks. The class consists of members of the community who are clean and sober and are working hard to get their lives back on track. During the first class, I asked the participants to go around the room and introduce themselves. My translator, Fatma, a twenty year old local volunteer, gave the simple instructions and around the room we went. Each and every one identified themselves followed by a title of "recovering attic." It was a moment I will never forget in my life. I introduced myself and tried to make it as clear as possible just how much I wanted to be there to help them learn computer skills. A warm Karibuni Sana followed my speach, meaning I am most welcome. Alysha, Kanny, and I prepared a pre-test for the class and did this for two reasons. First, we wanted to know their level of computer knowledge, and second, we want to compare the results of the exam from the first class to the last to track their progress. The test consisted of 23 questions. Six questions were labeling parts of the computer, the next ten were multiple choice, and the exam finished with seven matching questions. The highest mark for the class was slightly over 50% and the class average was 23%. I asked, by a show of hands, how many people have used a keyboard before? Two of the twenty two people put their hand up. We have a lot of work to do.



The second class is business computers. Kanny and I are working together on this course and we are the first YCI volunteers to run the course. The goal here is to teach the volunteers and staff of the local partner orginazations computers at a higher level. Powerpoint, Excell, Microsoft Word, and Outlook are going to be key areas of study. These people know computers, but want to know the finer points of a variety of programs and want to feel comfortable creating professional documents. The class will begin on Monday, so, for now, Kanny and I are working on a pre-test and course outline. My third job is environmental programming. Fridays at 9am, Alysha and I work together to determine what enviornmental issues Zanzibar is currently facing, and how can we create a course to teach others about awareness and the steps individuals can take to have less of an environmental impact on the island. This is a huge topic to take on, but we will work with partner organizations over the next eight weeks and try to come up with something special to leave behind. As a start, we are trying to come up with a composting campaign or education around recycling. We also hope to work with a partner organization in hopes of doing a day to clean up the local beaches.



Alright, I have to go back to the experience of teaching the students at the Department of Substance Abuse. Just to give an idea of the level we are teaching at I will highlight some of the things covered in the first week of class. First, we gave a handout with a photo of a monitor, printer, microphone, mouse, keyboard, and a disk drive on it. The first time going over the terms, the class mumbled the words and were hesitatnt to confidently say the answer. After two days of repeating the words, the entire class say the words aloud as I point to the pictures. Success! It was then time to teach a few more words: icon, cursor, start button, tower or central processing unit, and on button. We went over the keyboard and mouse and the two topics took 45 minutes to teach. I am learning the importance of patients, as it is sometimes hard for me to stand in front of the class and think did it really just take 10 minutes to expain the functions of a shift key. My expectations are high for the class however, and I will work very hard to have all the students feel comfortable turning on a computer, opening and using a Word document, the Internet, and have all the students comfortable sending and receiving emails. I mentioned to the class that one of our goals was to get everyone an email address, they began to clap, cheer, and say Asanti Sana (Thank you much). I have never imagined a life without being able to connect with family and friends at the click of a button. Our third class covered the basics of Microsoft Word. We learned how to open Word, use the keyboard to type sentences, use bold and italics, and centre text using the paragraph tab. Working with a translator slows the pace of the class down, but it is very helpful to ensure everything we are saying is understood by the class. The class is teaching me Swahili words, numbers, and colors as we go, and I try to use Swahili in my class to show them how the learning for both of us.



Friday night the group of volunteers went to Stone Town and checked out the night market. There is at least one lantern at every table, and the entire market had about 30 tables. This area had more tourists around, and we were able to meet a few Amerians who are studying at the university in Dar Es Salaam. I ate a "Zanzibar Pizza" filled with chicken, egg, and a bunch of vegetables. I also tried sugar cane juice. The sugar cane is put into a press and the man at the market turns the wheel and the juice runs down a tray into the bucket below. I had a large glass for under one dollar. I have begun to open up more about my eating habits and have now tried shark and have eaten the fish that shows up at the table as a full fish. Lots and lots of rice and beans here and I eat a lot of bread. I found a store that sells Mars bars and I have been treating myself after work to one of those. The mangos are amazingly fresh. When we cut into one there is a mess of juice. I have drank a lot of fresh juices and have stopped on many occasions to enter a restaurant type place just to sit down and have a glass of juice.


Laundry is something that I will no longer complain about when I get home. I spent two and a half hours learning how to do my first load of laundry. My homestay mother, Damtu, watched my every move and simply couldn't resist taking over the job in an effort to help me. I filled up a tub of water, put in a bunch of soap and began washing. She showed me the best technique and she was able to do a shirt in about a fifth of the time it took me. The water becomes dirty fast, so it took many refills to get the clothes washed. Then the process was repeated during the rinse. I had to mimic the washing process but without soap this time. Then, a second rinse finishing the wash process. I hung up all the clothes and hours later was able to fold and put them away. Now, I wash a shirt after I use it so that I don't have to spend hours of my weekend labouring over a bucket of laundry. Never knew how physically exhausting laundry could be.



The main religion on the island is Islamic. A great number of the population is Islamic, and there is a strong Middle Eastern influence here. Friday is the day of warship for Islamic people, much like Christians use Sundays. Every day of the week there are five calls to prayer throughout the day. The first, 5 am. I have been using earplugs at night to get a good night sleep, but often I am still awoken by the call to prayer. The Mosques become filled with men who face north to pray. The women pray from home. I am slowly learning about religion and am very much interested in learning more in the coming weeks. Throughout the day I will see people kneeling on their prayer mat thoughout the village. Work comes second to religion.



No matter where in the world I am, I want to make sure it's not all work and no play. Not only me, but the entire group was looking forward to a Saturday off. Alysha took the lead and planned a day at the beach on the east coast of the island. We hired a driver for the day and each threw in about $7. He drove us for about an hour and we arrived at a beach I have only seen in travel magazines. The warm light blue water smacked against the pure white sand. I had made it to the Indian Ocean! I dove in and played in the water like a kid for some time. I took in as much sun as I could handle, which I later found out was too much to handle as I am now burnt from head to toe, and enjoyed lunch at a restaurant on the beach. I took photos until the low battery light flashed, everything needed to be captured. The day was spectacular and provided a much needed break from the daily routine of life on the island. I learned that where I am living isn't actually called Zanzibar rather Unguja. Zanzibar is the entire collection of islands. The largest of the islands is Unguja, and the second is Pemba, a place I hope to go to soon. Apparently there is amazing scuba diving there and I hope I get a chance to try it out.



Alright, I will leave this blog with a quick story that happened to me here. I was walking from the office toward the dala dala stop when I realized I needed more credits for my phone. I entered a small business and asked for "Airtell", the provider I am using. The standoff began. She didn't understand a word I was saying and nor did I her. Long story short, I purchased 5000 Shillings worth of credit or about $3 worth just so that I could leave the store and everyone would be happy. I was looking at my useless credits when I was approached by two men. They were wearing tribal outfits and were very much interested in talking to me. They didn't speak a word of english, not a word. I didn't know this going into our conversation however, and tried my best to communicate with them. One pulled out a cell phone and pointed at my phone as if we were playing some sort of matching game. I smiled and they started talking really quickly in a language that didn't sound anything like Swahili. They pointed at the phone credits I had just purchased and for some reason I was trying to get their help using the card. I handed one card over to them and they proceeded to give me high five. I guess I just donated 1000 Shillings worth of credit. Quickly, I realized that this was where I was going to get rid of the rest of the credit and handed over the other 4000. They began dancing, laughing, and proceded to give me a lot of high fives. The situation blew my mind. The men looked to be tribal and yet had cell phones. We couldn't use words, but a connection was clearly made. They got the better end of the deal financially, but I now have a story for life. I walked into the next available store and purchaced the proper phone credits. When I was in that shop, I was again the centre of attention. I walk into a place and it goes quiet for about 30 seconds. After the silence, there is sometimes, and in this case, a sentance spoken followed by laughter. I heard the english word credit, and was thinking they were guessing my pupose in the store. I waited for the lady behind the counter to ask me if she could help me, and to satisfy the crowd, I made sure I asked specifically for credit. The people behind me all started to laugh, and I couldn't help but laugh myself. I knew they were making fun of me, but not in a mean way. After the lady gave me the cards I needed I said "Asanti Sana" and turned toward the group of youth. When they heard me attempt Swahili they began laughing again, but this time a voice spoke in english. He said, "ah, you are good." I laughed with the group and left the store. There never is a dull moment here, and that specific moment reminded me not to take everything so personally. They were having a laugh at my expence, but I was able to laugh with them and recognize the comdey in the experience. There is no room for getting my back up here against people. Everyone I have met is friendly, and we are all laughing together.



Life isn't always spectacular living in a developing country. There are many moments each day that make me very excited and happy to be here, but, on the other hand, there are moments that make me think about home. I know I have a lot of love and support there, and it helps greatly moving forward. The smaller frustrations wear off quickly however because everytime I leave the homestay or office I am being watched by so many people. The locals are very much interested in my presence, and I have to make sure that I am always smiling and saying Jambo to the children. Their smiling faces remind me why I am here and whatever small stresses I have quickly fade away. Whenever I am in a dala dala, taxi, or bus, I can look out the window to notice someone staring in my direction. When I first arrived here, it made me feel really uncomfortable. But now, I know the people are curious as to who I am, and the look is almost always now followed by a wave or a thumbs up. I catch myself laughing out loud a lot here, as it is truly a special place to be. Thanks for everyone leaving messages on the blog and to my hotmail and facebook. Everyones support means a lot to me here!


Next week I jump into the thick of programming and attend a few practical sessons with the students. Thanks for reading, I miss everyone a bunch, but am happy and safe here! Setting the alarm for 4:30 am, as I am going to try and track down a fuzzy cable channel to watch the Packers kick Pittsburg in the Super Bowl. Don't bet on it though, I am horrible at predictions!


Trevor

1 comment:

  1. You're in the groove Trev!!!! As you've found out, it takes a while to get used to people staring at you as if in concern but it's just pure curiosity and a willingness to understand your purpose in their area. Your classes sound amazing!!! What fantastic topics to be teaching and it's great that you have a translator in your class. Fatma will be a key piece in their learning and someone you can learn from too. Do you get any longer days off or breaks? It would be wonderful to travel around the area more, by yourself or with a group. I love all of your pics and hearing about your weeks :) Keep it up buddy and continue to experience all that you can......who knows, maybe a jungle trek is in your near future??! love ya!!!!

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