Monday, March 22, 2010

Kaengesa Seminary

Things are going very well here in Sumbawanga! I am really liking living here. School is going well. I haven't started teaching my classes yet becuase the students have had mid-term testing and don't finish until this Friday. But, I've been going to school for the past week anyways. The teachers all seem very fun. They are always laughing and joking around. And, I think the students are really excited to have me there. I am going to be focusing on 'spoken English' with my students, so hopefully I'll be able to come up with some fun activities that will improve their ability/confidence in speaking English!

So, I want to tell you about last Friday! I went to Kaengesa Seminary to celebrate the feast of St. Joseph. The seminary is located about 1 hour away from Sumbawanga, up in the mountians. There is a boys boarding school there as well. The overall day was really fun. After a good mass (with an amazing choir), we sat outside for 2 hours and had all sorts of entertainment by the students. The students did different traditional dances from various regions of Tanzania. There was african drums and singing. There was even an acrobatic show! It was so neat. Then, after a huge lunch with about 30 brothers/sisters from around the area, we watched a student soccer game then headed back home around 7:30. It was really need to watch the tradtional african dancing and listening to the signing ... a very cool cultural experience! Here are a few pictures!




Monday, March 15, 2010

What I Would Have Missed - Part 2

Hello all!

So, my Dad gave me the idea to do a "Part 2" of the "What I would have missed" blog now that I've been here for 2 and a half months! So, here are a few additions:

-I would have missed out on the opportunity to become comfortable being by myself for long periods of time throughout the day. Everyone at home knows me as the type of person who always likes to be with people and doing something. I would much rather hang out with friends that sit around by myself. While that is still very much true, I can definitely say that I've grown to actually enjoy my alone time. You might every be able to go out on a limb and say that I look forward to the time each day when I can be by myself and read, reflect and journal. I know when I get home that my social ways will probably stay the same, but I can also say that i think I will make more of an effort to take quite time each day to reflect. I did not anticipate this, but I am very happy about it!
-Another thing I have learned/grown to appreciate that I did not expect is my enjoyment of reading. At home I find it very difficult to get through books quickly. I just never made it a priority and I was also too busy. But here in Africa I have turned into quit a reader. I'm even branching out from my typical "Nicholas Sparks" realm and reading different types of books. I've read 7 books in the 2 and a half months I've been here (wow - NERD ALERT - haha, kidding). My Dad and sister have always been the readers, not me. While I'm still not positive that when I get home it will be any easier to read more often, I know that I am really enjoying being able to read for enjoyment here.
-One last thing I've learned about myself: I REALLY MISS AMERICAN FOOD. Haha, I should have assumed that would happen. Being here has really made me realize that I just love food at home. It's not that the food here is bad ... I just miss the variety we have in the U.S. I find myself craving different types of food all the time. I've already planned my first few meals when I get home. Pot-stickers, pasta, boneless wings, and burgers are all on the list of things to devour in the first week. :)

Ok I think that's all for now!

I've officially moved back to Sumbawanga - got here this afternoon. I left Laela at 7:30 this morning on a bus, which took 5 hours because it started to smoke half way here. Haha, typical. But, I made it safely and it's very nice to be back. I don't know when I'll start teaching yet, but I know that I'll be going to my school tomorrow! Hope all is well at home!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Update

Sorry for not updating in a while! Here's a quick recap of what I've been up to the last week or so!

-Christian (one of the German volunteers) got married last weekend to an African girl. A few nights ago he returned to Sumbawanga and we had a little celebration for him at Mariana's (the oprhange run by a German woman). It was really fun to be a part of that. All the kids (and some neighbors) sang traditional African songs, and danced, and James played the drums. It was a really neat experience.

-I had dinner with some of James's students at the girls hostel the other night. It was really fun. The students are so nice. I've gotten to know a lot of them pretty well. It's really neat being able to have relationships with them, and being a mentor for them. It will be hard to say goodbye in 4 months.

-James left for South Africa yesterday. He'll be gone for a month. I was supposed to take the bus to Laela yesterday, but it never came. I waited from 1:30 - 6:30, and no bus. Typical Africa. Haha, so I'm still here in Sumabwanga, and I will be getting a ride back to Laela tonight with the headmaster of my school (well, that's the plan at least). I'll stay in Laela this weekend, pack up my things, say goodbye, and return to Sumabwanga on Monday. I'll move into the Libori center and hopefully start teaching next week at the school across the street! I am excited to get back to teaching.

-My next month should be pretty busy! My parents are coming to visit the week before and the week after Easter (YAY)! So that will be wonderful. Then, after I drop them off at the airport in Dar I'll be meeting up with James, and we will pick up our friend Allison who is coming to visit on April 12th (YAY again)!. I'll have a lot of fun traveling experiences the next month, and I'm really excited to have some visitors!

Well that's all for now! Hope all is well at home!

Sarah

Monday, March 1, 2010

Another Great Weekend in Tanzania

Hello everyone!

I’m still here in Sumbawanga … I should find out tonight or tomorrow if I’ll be staying here permanently or if I’ll be returning to teach in Laela. I’m kind of thinking that I’ll end up staying and teaching here, which would be kind of fun. But, I’m totally at the mercy of Fr. Ndasi and the dioceses of Sumbawanga. I’ll teach wherever they think I’ll be of best use.

So, yesterday I went on a 9 HOUR hike with James and Dan through the mountains surrounding Sumbawanga. We left at 8:30AM and got back at 5:30PM. We brought a camping stove and a pan, and cooked lunch on top of the mountain. We cooked rice with green peppers and tomatoes, and we had bread and peanut butter as well. It was great! The weather was absolutely fantastic. It’s been raining quite a bit the past week, but yesterday the weather was perfect! It was sunny but partly cloudy so it didn’t get too hot, and it didn’t rain all day! (Except for a few sprinkles lasting only for about 3 minutes when we sat down for lunch). We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. I brought my camera this time and took some pretty sweet pictures (even though they really don’t do justice to what it felt like to be there). So here are a few pictures (They uploaded in the oposite order - so the end of our hike is at the beginning). Enjoy!

Picture #1 – On the top of the second hill we climbed that day. Dan’s looking out over the rain coming down on Sumbawanga.
Picture #2 – Could it be any more beautiful here??
Picture #3 – I repeat my previous statement. Could it BE any more beautiful?!
Picture #4 – The rain coming down over Sumbawanga (you can kind of see the town in the distance).
Picture #5 – Group photo number 1! This is a good one :)
Picture #6 – Group photo number 2! (I love timers on cameras!) Goofing around at the top!
Picture #7 – James and Dan resting!
Picture #8 – Another beautiful view! The mountain you see in the distance right in the middle of the picture is the second mountain we climbed that day! (It is also the first mountain I climbed with James back on February 14th).
Picture #9 – A beautiful view! You can kind of see Lake Rukwa in the background through the clouds. (Lake Rukwa is one of the five great lakes of Africa!)
Picture #10 – James checking out the view from the top of the first mountain we climbed!
Picture #11 – One of the mountains we climbed.
Picture #12 – Taken within the first 30 minutes of our hike. You can kind of see Sumbawanga in the background.













Life is great here in Tanzania!