I guess I should start with updates from my last post: all housemates are now comparatively healthy again after a few trips to the hospital and one Ameba diagnosis, and our school cupboard is now looking beautifully full. I arrived at school on Wednesday to find teacher Rose proudly re-arranging the new supplies and beaming as she found space for everything. 15 new desks are currently under construction and should be ready to pick up sometime this week.
Everyday at a school became a little easier as I began to understand the processes and got a grasp on everyone's level of understanding. Every one of my little treasures has their own personality and I almost have the 15 names in my class memorised. Little Victor is just the most charming kid on the planet, his smile could melt an ice berg. He's a bit behind with maths and English but likes to sit on my lap and work on the exercises with me, waiting for praise and reassurance after every letter he writes down. Luis was originally very shy but has now warmed up, he's incredible at drawing! Queen needs special exercises and has a lower understanding than the other kids but has a gigantic heart and one of the cheesiest smiles I've ever seen, and Joseph is a 20 year old trapped in a 6 year old's body. He doesn't beg for cuddles like the other kids and is the first to get into a fist fight (yep, I'm talking about 6 year olds here...) but I've noticed that he has started responding to a bit of TLC and positive reinforcement, I think I saw him smile for the first time on Thursday and on Friday he held my hand all the way home. Glady is like a big sister to the other kids, very intelligent, respectful and graceful, and the first to put up her hand to answer a question on the black board. You can see her beaming with pride when she gets it right, which she always does!
After school we walk some of the kids home who are on a similar route to us. Sometimes it's just Rachel or Brian, other days like on Friday we had 4 kids. This was tricky because everyone HAS to hold our hands, and both of our hands ideally, which causes a fair bit of fighting. At one point on Friday we walked for 10 minutes joined in a complete circle. Rachel walked backwards, anything to avoid letting go. Two of them were tagging along for the first time and we had no idea where they lived, language barriers meant they couldn't tell us. The youngest was just two, but totally self sufficient. He too wouldn't let go of our hands and we were slightly concerned we were leading him in the wrong direction, but about half way home he let go and ran off into a house.
The kids here are far more street wise than any child at home and know all the short cuts. 6 year old Brian hears a car coming from a mile off and will herd us off the dusty bumpy road and into a safe place before we even realise there's a car approaching. To be honest I'm not sure who's walking who home.
I swear I've also seen the street dogs stop and look both ways before choosing a safe time to cross the road.
The trips home are such a colourful experience. If I opt for the Dala Dala it saves me a half hour walk but often requires standing in an overcrowded van hanging out the side or sitting on the lap of a local. Almost every time I pay I'm short changed, but the workers collecting money see it as a game - which Mzungu (White man) is silly enough not to notice. I can't help but laugh at the sheepish grins I receive when I count my change and put my hand out a second time, 200 more TSH please!
Walking down the streets there are people everywhere, many of them carrying water buckets, bananas, clothes baskets, crops, and everything else you can think of on their heads. Every second person waves or says "Mambo!" - white people are fairly uncommon around here so I stand out like a sore thumb. The typical response to Mambo is "Poa" - direct translation "how are you?" "Cool!" - but the latest phrase I've learnt is "Poa kichizi kama ndizi" which means "Crazy cool like a banana." It's guaranteed to get a laugh or a smile every time. It also tricks people into thinking I know Swahili, which can become a problem because then I have no idea what they're saying in response.
On Thursday we had our first "social night" where all the volunteers from the different houses have dinner together. I had no idea there was so many of us! There must be fifty all up. That night I had my first taste of the Arusha night life, we hit up "Via via", this great outdoor club with a live African music section, a huge DJ dance floor and a karaoke section. I planned to check it out then head home after an hour but there was no chance of that happening, the place was amazing and so much fun. The locals are incredible dancers and always seem keen to teach! Beers cost around $1.80AU and the was a 7000TSH entry fee, around $4.50. Unlike the rest of the town, around 50 per cent of the crowd were Mzungus. It's safe inside as long as we keep our bags and phones very close but were warned never walk or catch public taxis at night. Luckily IVHQ has around 4 incredibly loyal and trustworthy drivers who we can call up at any day or night, for about 10000TSK or $7.
They seem to never sleep. Jimmy and Valence are the two I've come to know so far, and they are so incredibly dedicated and proud of their work. They often work all day, take volunteers out at night and then hang out at that location until everyone is ready to go home, I don't know when they sleep. Jimmy has 4 children and he said he doesn't see them very often, but he loves his job and feels very lucky.
By the time the weekend came around I was ready to get out and see more of this incredible country I've found myself in. Yesterday a group of us took a trip to Mount Kilimanjaro where we spent the day hiking through the most amazing rain forest. The whole mountain takes most people 6 days, taking it slowly to acclimatise, but given the lack of time we had we just squeezed as much as we could into one day, covering around 18kms. The views were beautiful but unfortunately not as beautiful as they usually are given the low cloud covering the top of the mountain. I also had my first taste of African wildlife - monkeys and a mongoose - certainly not the big five but exciting none the less, and there's plenty of time for wildlife on safari next weekend!
Today we went and visited a traditional Maasai village which was amazing, about 3 hours from Arusha. Our security guard Zack who's a Maasai came with us and we learnt along the way that we were actually going to his village, to meet his extended family. The Maasai tribe live a very traditional life, they live in mud and straw huts and farm the land for food, sometimes heading into town to buy supplies. Both men and women are circumcised when they reach puberty and men can have as many wives as they like. When the boys reach a certain age they receive Maasai burns, circular burns on their face and arms, and they're not allowed to show any sign of pain. They're then sent out into the world on their own for a month to see if they can survive.
We were greeted by a line of men, women and children in incredible bright outfits, they were draped in Massai cloth and had incredible jewellery around their necks, heads and hanging from the huge holes in their ears. They sung, chanted and danced for us and encouraged us to join in, jumping high into the air as if they were on springs. The village is fenced off with a straw fence and contains around 15 huts. Dogs, chickens and goats roam free, including a baby goat which was born this morning, it still had its umbilical cord attached! Very cute. There are no toilets or anywhere to wash, that all happens in the surrounding dessert. We brought corn flour and rice as a gift which was warmly welcomed and then bought some of the jewellery they had made, some of which I plan to hang on my wall.
The children were very different to the kids at my school, they were very shy and seemed initially frightened of us. One little boy had flies all over his face, I bent down to say hi and gently "swooshed" them away and he burst into tears. I felt terrible. Overall it was very humbling experience.
It's amazing how quickly you learn to appreciate food. Today I had boiled eggs for breakfast, boiled eggs and a snickers for lunch, and mashed potato for dinner. And I'm just grateful that a) I'm going to bed feeling full and b) I packed my vitamin tablets.
Back to school tomorrow for the start of the new week, looking forward to seeing the little rascals again.
Thank you for so beautifully and touchingly helping us to understand a culture that is about a million miles from our own, Christie
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