10 monkeys stared at me much like some Tanzanians do as I walked to the computer lab this afternoon. They must have been asking themselves why I was on their campus. Life here is going very well, with many crazy events everyday. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to write with frequent internet problems here and a busy schedule. The newest edition to our schedule here in Tanzania is teaching. We started teaching 5th graders English at a nearby primary school and I now have a new respect for teachers! It is so difficult! I doesn’t help that most of the kids barely understand English and the teacher herself really can’t carry on a conversation outside of lesson. We attended a linguistics conference on campus this weekend and it gave me a new outlook on the whole English language in Tanzania. I think it’s really unfortunate because secondary school and the University are taught in English so only students who are adept at languages can advance in their education while others who might not learn languages well but who may be bright in mathematics or art or engineering or what have you cannot seek higher education. With that in mind I’m trying to help the kids, mostly through educational raps (like my 4th grade Central days) and interaction. It is a very weird situation because they follow the British education system and are so disciplined. It’s slightly frightening. We walk in and they all stand up and say “Education is a good foundation, good morning teacher.” They all are supposed to raise their hands when they speak but they get lazy and so their arms kind of fall into a hail Hitler sign…very strange. There are about 55 students in the classroom which is very small by Tanzanian standards. There are no books in the class. The teacher just has a handwritten bluebook essentially with exercises that she writes on the board and students copy. It’s obviously very hard to make sure they are all following because English is only 35min and there are so many kids. Also, their desks are long benches that sit 3-4 kids so it is virtual impossible to prevent cheating. But, through these challenges I did manage to make up a rap to try to teach does not and do not. “He, she, it, does not…(beat box)… I, you, we, they do not.” They liked it and now everytime class is close to done they start the rap. Also, I’m teaching them one colloquial American word a day. So far they know cool, what’s up, and nothing. Fun times. It is physically exhausting though when I get done with my class and my head always hurts from trying to translate into Swahili so they understand. A very new challenge for me. Hopefully it will get better as the semester progresses.



This weekend we had a fun trip to a Tanzanian football (soccer) game. Tanzania is trying to qualify for the African Cup and is playing international matches to try to qualify. They played against a team from the Ivory Coast and it was an amazing spectacle. Kids climbing on the lights to get a good seat, kids selling peanuts wrapped up in old papers or invoices, and a sea of red, the team’s color. The name of the team is Simba which means lion in Swahili and even the Prime Minister of Tanzania was on hand to watch. Simba won 1-0 and plays Egypt in two weeks. If they win they are in the semi-finals. Fun stuff! It was great to go somewhere where language was not a barrier. We all knew football and was something we could share. I had another football experience on Saturday. I met a guy on campus name Ayubu who invited me to play football on Saturday so I went and had fun playing with a group of somewhat older Tanzanian guys. No one really spoke English but fortunately many of the words are borrowed English words like wingi (my position), goalkicki, corneri, and cardi. It’s funny because all Swahili words end in vowels so when they borrow words they usually just add an I, like daktari, hospitali, etc. It’s funny b/c we find ourselves adding I’s randomly when we speak English to one another.



The other highlight I can think of is a dala-dala drag race we were in a few nights ago. The dala-dala’s are the old rickety buses that you ride for 100-150 Tsh. We were on one of the last ones back to the university and we leapfrogging with another bus just ahead of us. We got to the university and the other tried to pass us, so our driver stepped on it. They started drag racing and I was yelling “Twende, Twende!” which means go, go, and of course all the Tanzanians laughed at me. We probably got up to about 50 kmh before we left the other dala-dala in the dust. Fun times.



Well, it has been a long update and I’ll do my best to update more regularly, but mostly life is slipping into routine here. About every night we go to DARUSO, the local hangout, where we talk with local students and play pool. Last night was a special night at DARUSO because Big Brother Africa was on. It’s a reality show like Big Brother in the US, but every member on the show is from a different country. One is eliminated each night and the Tanzanian is in the final 5. It is huge here and some commentary has claimed it to be the first thing to truly unite Africa. Very entertaing though. I’m going to meet with a man who works with HIV/AIDS orphans this week to start work on my project and Swahili is keeping me busy. I am missing home amenities like being able to drink from the tap and drive where I want to go, but Tanzania is becoming home a little bit more everyday. I hope all are well in the states. I’m missing luther as I think of people moving in but am sure all will be in order when I return. Hope to hear from you all soon. Baadye.