It's Pi Day, 3.14! 

   I remember the wonderful T-shirts my colleagues from the math department wore to remind us it was a special day in "their world" that was dominated by numbers. 
   Reflecting on this custom brought to mind the holiday customs I introduced in my English lessons at Give A Heart To Africa in the fall of 2011: Halloween, including jack-o-lanterns 

and trick-or-treat; Thanksgiving, with talk of turkeys and pumpkin pies and being thankful; 

The children were a little reluctant to let me trace their hands to make the turkeys, but they loved coloring them!  Christmas brought the first experience with tiny gifts for a "Secret Santa" exchange.  That went a bit awry since students couldn't remember whose name they had drawn.  Maybe it was a case of misunderstanding of why they drew a name at all.  Nevertheless, we had some good laughs at the creative gifts that did show up.  Anna and Goody had stayed up all night in order to bring us cinnamon rolls; 

Victoria and I did our best to provide maandazi 

and crepes along with ice cubes frozen with pieces of fruits inside to make a festive punch.  We just didn't realize how fast they would melt in the noontime heat of December in Tanzania! We were entertained with singing and parody.

   

  

So how in the world would I explain the concept of Pi Day?  Glad that I'm not going back until May so that I won't have to do it!!  Now to consider Mother's Day, Father's Day, 4th of July!!!  Just can't wait to meet the new students and join in with Monika, Fatihia, Rahimu and Herman!

Asante, Danke, Thank You!

This Thanksgiving is unique.  In the past month, I have broadened my horizons considerably and discovered myriad things for which I am unexpectedly grateful.  Time in a country far less developed than my own reveals how much I take for granted.  I am grateful that I am able to stay in contact with family and friends, even chatting with children and grandchildren 6000 miles away on a connection that was as good as if I were at home.  I am truly pleased that the cousins and the siblings will spend this holiday together, surrounded by love and attention from a grandmother and two grandfathers in person, not to mention a bountiful feast.  I am grateful that Mwanahamisi will bring Stephanie a chicken as a token of her love for the 6+ weeks they have known each other as teacher and student.  Each day’s thank you’s are precious to hear.  We have reminded them often to be encouraged, that we take some steps forward and some backward as we learn together.  It was touching to see Melania take Magdalena by the shoulders as Steph and I had done with her Pelagia some weeks ago, repeating our words “we take a big step forward and little steps backwards,” as they marched around the courtyard, in big steps and little steps.  I am grateful for a shower, even though it isn’t always hot water; a flush toilet, even though it takes 8 minutes to fill the tank and has 5 women using it!  I am grateful for a bed with a mosquito net—so many here do not have that.  I am thankful that our students confide very personal things because they trust us.  I am grateful that I have lived with three delightful young Australian women, traveling and sharing their time with GHTA.  Victoria’s laughter, organization, determination and sassy spunk remind me of good times a year ago at GHTA, and it makes me glad that I could share two months with her again.  Sacha is from Singapore, beautiful, articulate, burned out in her job, so she’s on leave for 4 months of traveling.  I have learned so much in just a few days with her.  John has been on the move for about 8 months, in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Sri Lanka before landing her with us.  I am grateful for his prowess in crepe-making!  Smiling faces and sincere (and prolonged) greetings with hugs and handshakes, chai and chapati, lessons and laughter, trekking and traipsing, triumphs and tears—all things part of our weeks here in East Africa.   I am so grateful for the daily jogs just after daylight, on a canopy road lush with the lavender blossoms of the jacaranda, the riotous colors of bougainvillea; the pale blue and white uniformed students on their walk to secondary school; the olive-and dark-green of the primary school students on their walk; “the regulars” we pass each morning, some walking, some cycling, some heavy-laden.

    To my friends and family, I miss celebrating Thanksgiving with you.  I am grateful that you have encouraged me, prayed for me, sent me messages, sent me photos and coloring, and allowed me this long time away. The Lord has blessed me so richly, each and every day with opportunities beyond imagination. Now I recognize His Hand in slowing my pace for a couple of days’ rest when I was too stubborn to do it on my own. I learned so much in those two days!  I look forward to sharing many more thankful thoughts along the way.   

Gator on the loose in TZ

   Last year when I left for Tanzania, I thought it would be cool to take along a toy to photograph—a “flat Stanley” type of thing to send photos to the grandsons on my travels. It was a blessing in disguise, because it clued me in Detroit that my camera chip would not work in my camera.  When I arrived, it proved to be a great source of fun in the household, because Lusajo’s first sight of it was such a shock! We continued to torment him with it for the next two months. I used it as a prop to teach prepositions, slowly withdrawing it from a bag the first time—once again to gasps from each student.

   Imagine my pleasure that the ‘gator was still in the house when I returned. Today it was to be part of the vocabulary to teach “This is a…” or “That is a…” Yeah, that was MY intent, but when Penina, our translator/teacher, caught sight of it, she snatched it immediately and hid it under her shawl— mischief was brewing. Penina was one of my students a year ago; she was so such a dedicated student and so articulate that Monika employed her soon after she finished her semester as a student. She had been in the classes where I had used the ‘gator as my prop. Today she strolled nonchalantly to the back of the room and suddenly tossed it onto the table (our students sit on benches at tables).  The uproar was instantaneous—students recoiled, shrieking (which causes our next-door class to be disturbed) and then erupting into laughter. Hassan trembled, then laughed, then cried, all the while sweating like a dog! It was good fun until someone later put it in front of a student who’d been in the restroom at the time of the crime—she fainted! You can never predict the turns these things take—‘gators can cause a lot of trouble!  Guess he’ll lie on the shelf until prepositions need some help.  

Neighborhood Fun

   Tap, tap, tap! That’s the tiny sound on our huge metal closure anytime after 1 PM on Mondays and Thursdays. The little people in our neighborhood come to play, sing, jump rope, do crafts, and enjoy our small-to-us, huge-to-them array of toys. Officially, our after school program runs from 2-4 PM, but that’s for people who can tell time, have a watch, and/or are bound by such constraints. They trickle in at first, and some don’t arrive until after 3 PM, but they join in the activity in progress. Some come on their own, and parents or siblings escort a few. On Monday, our special feature was stringing foam beads to make bracelets (bangili). Our adult helpers (Kiswahili lifelines from among our students) were every bit as enthusiastic to participate as well as help.

   Audrey loves to demonstrate his amazing jump rope skills—he can run in and then jump (barefooted, of course) about 60 revolutions. No one can touch him! Yesterday we endeavored to teach them “right” and “left” before we sang the Hokey Pokey (which they adore)!  We enlisted the eldest boy as our assistant, used keshoto and kalia so the littlest ones knew what was going on. I THINK we made some progress, although they like shaking “your whole self” the best of all.

    I have to tell the truth—it’s exhausting, especially in the heat after teaching for three hours or more, BUT it is a joyous time. Despite the toys, the songs, the crafts, the cups of water, there is one thing that they really crave from us—it’s just US! They love the attention and the time they spend here. It’s such a thoughtful way that the leadership of Give a Heart to Africa pours back into the little community where we live.

Can't escape the Legos

    Just observing that Legos know no boundaries.  Messe enjoyed herself this afternoon in our afterschool program just as much as the little Lego munchkins I know several thousand miles away from here!  Hugs to them!

What we do every day

The vision for Give a Heart to Africa focuses on empowering women through improvement in their education. In our free school, students study English, business principles and computers. Many lack the confidence to greet, turn on a computer or enter numbers on a basic calculator when they begin their 6-month semester. The progress each individual makes is astounding. Though our classes begin at 9 AM and continue until 12 PM, more than half of our students arrive by 8 AM. They have a chance to work in pairs, practice on the computers, or simply socialize. Imagine 42 students, most of whom did not know even one other person, hanging out, laughing, making plans together. They clean the classroom floors and the tables and benches. Some scour and mop the area in and around the student’s bathroom.  A few green thumbs water our herbs, pick up any debris that has blown onto the grass, tidy up the shrubbery, sweep the dirt area all around our gated entry. On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons between 2:30-4:30, students can get extra help in small groups or one-on-one. They actually come and spend 2 more hours! 

  I have been trying to learn their names. It’s a challenge because they change seats every morning! This Monday morning, nearly every woman had a different hairstyle—I’m not kidding! So far I know the guy who always (even in this heat) wears a knitted beanie; I know the woman whose husband was my taxi driver on every airport pick-up of volunteers last year; I know the two who are brother and sister; I know the one who has an attitude; I know the one who was soooo excited because I am older than she is! Like them, I am a work in progress here.

What I learned about Halloween today

  We used a short text about Halloween incorporating noun plurals for our English class today.  Our students did not know anything about this occasion, so we told them about pumpkins being carved into jack o' lanterns, children saying "Trick or Treat" for candy, costumes, bonfires and parties.  The lollipops (a kind of Blow-Pop) were definitely a hit, regardless of what they understood about today in the USA.  What did I learn?  They eat pumpkin, roast the seeds AND eat the leaves--majani ya maboga.  We have a wide variety of "salad" greens here, so it may be that we have eaten them already--gotta check with the cook.  They also told me that we could try to bake a pumpkin pie using the same method as they can bake cakes:  put about an inch of sand in a big pot; place your cake pan with batter on top of the sand and cover with a lid.  "Bake" over a charcoal fire.  This sounds like Girl Scouts!  We plan to try it--stay tuned for the results!  They are very interested in tasting pumpkin pie for the first time!  Happy Trick-or-Treating!