Something Good

Something Good

The beginning of last post may have painted a bleak picture of my experiences in the past month of service. This post is about something good. Food! One of the best things about food in Tanzania is that a much high percentage of the produce is grown and consumed locally. So along with this thought, here's another mini-lesson in swahili (refer to the pics). "Ya kinyeji," which translates as "locally made" has become my mantra while shopping in the local markets. The difference is most apparent in the eggs that are available. For 150 shillings you can buy a yai la kisasa, or "modern egg." Laid by kuku wa kizungu (foreign chickens) fed mostly pumba (corn meal). OR, for 200 shillings a difference of about 5 cents in USD, you can get a "yai la kinyeji". Chickens that forage for insects and seeds and wander far from their coops. The difference is like that described in Omnivores dilemma.

1UP

A new chapter starts as we continue with the school year at Kayuki Secondary. In attempts to improve the future examination outcomes of our form II and form IV students, members of the school staff have been requested to put in extra teaching and conference hours. Between my extra “remedial” courses for form IIs and the continuing computer lab schedule life is as busy as ever. One new development should prove to be very helpful to preparing students for the national examinations (NECTA) that is having received numerous past papers in digital format from fellow PCVs. I hope to categorize the questions based on their topic outline in the syllabus so that teachers wishing to write tests can draw upon a NECTA type question bank.

Unfortunately with increased discipline among students and staff, corporal punishment has also increased to keep stride. Today, May 1, “May day” is supposed to be a day of rest for the world’s workers and about 30 students seemed to think that day of rest also applied to them. However, on my way to the offices, there they were in two rows straining in frozen pushups supported by there clenched fists and knuckles against the ground. When their strength would give out, down onto their knees they’d go and hold up their hands to receive the kiboko. All around the school, other students were busied with cutting grass or cleaning classrooms and dormitories. No holiday for Kayuki girls.

Yesterday we had a sport day where we invited the teachers of Lutengano Secondary (Amber’s site) to compete in basketball and volleyball here at Kayuki. They showed up in force with something like 15 competitors. We only had enough for a team of 5 with 2 substitutions. So, what happens when you take 9 competitive Tanzanians and get them playing a game that hardly any of them know? A lot of holding, shoving and just plain dirty ball. Since David Mwaipopo and I have actually played together a bit we pretty much dominated. The other team got possession of the ball enough, but no one could score worth a damn. Every time we scored a point, hell broke loose. The 500 or so Kayuki students who had been slowly accumulating at the edges of the court would go into fits of soccer-fan elation. Each time we got a basket, they’d flood the court and scream, as though it were the winning point of a playoff game. Of course I thought it was inappropriate behavior, but Amber told me it was the same whenever they had a soccer match at Lutengano. By the end of the match and volleyball, I was worn out mostly by the energy the students were radiating. Although I was a little overwhelmed by all the excitement, I can see how it would be a really big deal for Kayuki girls to whip Lutengano. First off, Kayuki is an all-girl’s government school. Lutengano is a private, co-ed institution about twice the size. Kayuki has had abysmal results on the Form IV certificate examination in the past years; Lutengano’s have been middle of the road. I suppose that school pride is one thing that gives students motivation to work hard and study for the NECTAs. We teachers were practically carried out of the arena like champions. It’d be nice to see the girl’s compete as well, and our student b-ball side is really quite good, considering. Maybe that’s the next step, after teachers break the seal, students will push for matches for themselves.