September 7th-9th: Monday-Wednesday
This week I did a lot more teaching in the school. Monday I taught the middle class some English words. Stick, leaf, stone, etc… on Wednesday then I was put in charge of the uppermost level class for pretty much the whole day. It’s really hard because I don’t speak Swahili and these kids don’t speak almost any English. I corrected their math assignment that they were assigned that morning and then taught them the English words for several fruits, apple, banana, strawberry. I thought I did ok but I had to break up a fight in class between this boy and girl. Put the boy in the corner by himself. I hope I can be these kids friend but also that they can respect me as an authority.
Tuesday afternoon I got the help of Gladness, Lightness, Winnie and Neema , who were all hanging around, to help teach me some Swahili. I just asked them some words and phrases. They would spend some time though arguing amongst themselves before they all agreed on what word it was that I actually wanted to know. It was really fun. Monday I walked for a couple of hours to track down that National Geographic magazine. It was definitely worth it. Talked to Unity about his plan to have me teach an English class. For conversational English. He says that it will be made mainly of secondary school (middle-school and high school) age kids and a bit older most likely. He thinks we should start next week so we have time to get the word out and also the kids have two weeks off school the next two weeks.
I have been running regularly here. I have a lot of extra time on my hands so I like to go out and just explore. Monday I ran about 4-5 miles and explored the tracks and the “suburbs” to the west. Tuesday I did almost the same thing but to the east towards Kili.
Wednesday I put the two routes together and did around 8 miles I think. It was really fun and a great run. A few experiences from running in Moshi Africa. Monday I ran past a guy riding his motorcycle who said, “Hello, how are you?”. He said it in this aggressive demanding fashion a lot of Africans seem to have when they talk to westerners. It was towards the end of my run and I was pooped so I failed to answer. As he passed me by he muttered “f—k you”. Glad to see the impact the west has made here. Tuesday I ran past three white girls in enjorro (the “suburb”/slum where I stay with Unity and his family). Double take. The first mzungus I have seen on foot in enjorro before. I’ve seen a few vehicles with what looked like teams of volunteers or something.
The food here is good although eating rice, beans, noodles, and meat sauce for every meal does begin to get a little boring. I live for the fresh fruit. Maybe the best watermelon I have ever had. The watermelon here is about the size of a cantaloupe in the US. And little “finger bananas” and fresh oranges. Tuesday I was wondering around Moshi Town and I stepped into the bus station to use their bathroom. I got out and this guy stopped me and demanded I pay for the use of the bathroom. 500 tsh. (Tanzania shillings). Well that struck me as a load of bs if I ever heard any. I asked him to show me some identification. A badge or booklet, anything. he didn’t answer. So then I asked him to see his boss. He grudgingly replied he didn’t have one. I asked him if he owned the bathroom. He said no. by this point a few of his countrymen had gathered. I told him I wouldn’t pay since he didn’t use the bathroom and he couldn’t shoe me any identification. He didn’t say anything and I walked away. Mzungu:1 Fake Bathroom Attendant Guy:0. whoohoo!
I have been diligently keeping up with Trouble in Paradise. My favorite line from this week is “Now we know that a criminal needs only a few seconds to commit a crime! I swear I’m going to kill that b------d when I find him!”
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