Halloween
I am sure most of you are disappointed that I don't really have any Halloween cultural stories, but Tanzanians do think bats are bad luck. The real reason I wrote Halloween as the subject is because on that day I was supposed to write to my mom and wish her a happy birthday. And even though on that day I went to town and even to the internet cafe where there was power I still did not send her a birthday note. However, I maintain that my time was well spent and hope she still enjoyed her birthday despite the fact that her only son did not write.
As it turns out one of my favorite students came by the day before to pick up his leaving certificate. I found out that
the next day would be the last opportunity for me to meet with him and set him up with an email account as I had discovered previously that it is surprisingly hard to maintain contact with somebody. So I spent the full hour teaching Dennis how to use a mouse, keyboard and email. In the last thirty seconds he was even able to send me a reply. Afterwards we went to the library and I showed him how to find books to get scholarships and learn about the computer and he helped me get a library card. A remarkably good day.
I wrote a short email for a student asking for me to describe the school to a "friend" in America. Here it is: I think Msufini is a very good school by Tanzanian standards. But is quite different from American schools. First, is mostly a boarding school. So the students come from further away and stay on the school grounds. Second, the school has a farm so several weeks of the year the students plant weed and harvest the crops (maize). The school has a library which I try to keep open, but because of my unreliable hours its use is rather limited. There are two computers that work when there is power which is about half of the days. The most important aspect of the school is that there are teachers that care and attend classes in most if not all subjects. The students are fed breakfast lunch and dinner and though the school food is bland, at least it is filling and there are places for the students to buy fruits and vegetables cheaply.
-T
As it turns out one of my favorite students came by the day before to pick up his leaving certificate. I found out that
the next day would be the last opportunity for me to meet with him and set him up with an email account as I had discovered previously that it is surprisingly hard to maintain contact with somebody. So I spent the full hour teaching Dennis how to use a mouse, keyboard and email. In the last thirty seconds he was even able to send me a reply. Afterwards we went to the library and I showed him how to find books to get scholarships and learn about the computer and he helped me get a library card. A remarkably good day.I wrote a short email for a student asking for me to describe the school to a "friend" in America. Here it is: I think Msufini is a very good school by Tanzanian standards. But is quite different from American schools. First, is mostly a boarding school. So the students come from further away and stay on the school grounds. Second, the school has a farm so several weeks of the year the students plant weed and harvest the crops (maize). The school has a library which I try to keep open, but because of my unreliable hours its use is rather limited. There are two computers that work when there is power which is about half of the days. The most important aspect of the school is that there are teachers that care and attend classes in most if not all subjects. The students are fed breakfast lunch and dinner and though the school food is bland, at least it is filling and there are places for the students to buy fruits and vegetables cheaply.
-T
Labels: Peace Corps Tanzania
posted by Thomas Curtis at 8:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home