I am not exactly sure where time is going, but it is already January 15th and one of my New Years resolutions was to post on my blog once a week. I guess I am a little slow on starting that up.
My top excitement for this week was finding a new creature in our house. One night a few of us were out in the kitchen starting to get dinner ready, when Ali came running out of her room yelling....AHHHH....AHHHH....THERE IS A SNAKE in my room. All of us looked at her a bit funny, but decided we better go check it out. We all walk in her room and sure enough there is about a 3ft long snake, but thankfully it was fairly skinny. I am not a big fan of snakes and had no idea how we were going to go about getting the snake out of our house. We decided to call on our trusty Masai guards, who I think are getting use to our calls for help for all of our lovely creatures. Three of them come into our house and back into Ali's bedroom, probably not really sure what they were getting themselves into. I am pretty sure that they were not a fan of the snake either once they saw it, because they all just kind of looked at it. One of them happened to have a stick in his hand and he decided to start beating the snake to death with the stick. It was quite the site as all of us girls stood there and watched. After he was done you could tell they really didn't want to touch it, so they tried to pick it up with the stick. It wasn't working, so we gave them a plastic bag to carry it out in. So once again our trusty guards saved us, not from big bad scary people, but from another lovely creature.
It wa for sur the most exciting part of my week. I also had Thursday off this week for Zanzibar Revolution Day. It has been nice slowly working my way back into school. This will be our first full week back. On my day off I took time to read and relax. It was great. I also went to my new favorite place to hang-out. There is a coffee shop about a 20 minute walk away from my house that is amazing. The food is good and it is just a nice place to sit and read or catch up on emails. I don't get there often, but I think I might have to start making it a once a month Saturday morning thing :)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The Never Ending Week.....THURSDAYS
Wow so where does one start when they haven't posted to their blog in over a month. I figured I might as well finish with what I started and explain my other days of the week. I really need to get better at this blog thing. There is so much that has happened since October 27th, but I think I may just have to do a few short blogs to catch you all up on things.
Thursdays
The end of the weeks start to get a little slower for me as far as classes go. This is a good thing for this time of the year. I find that by the end of the week I am exhausted from being out in the sun so much. I start my day off like any other day in the 6th grade homeroom. They are currently trying to plan their Christmas party that will be on Friday. We told them they are completely in charge of planning it, so we shall see what they end up doing.
I then spend about an hour and a half planning for the next week. I have 9th grade from 9:15 - 10:40. This was not a big deal at the beginning of the year, but now that it is getting to be so hot I have had to get a little more creative with the double period. The last few weeks we have been doing some Taebo in the music room. Most of the kids have actually enjoyed it and I think it is a great option for here in Dar in the middle of the summer.
I then get to jump to the primary end of physical education. I have Kindergarten from 11:15 till 12:00 and 1st grade is from 12:30 till 1:15. At first I wasn't so sure about teaching these young kids, but they have grown on me. There is just something about doing the hokey pokey and the chicken dance with these students that has made me love them. I also enjoy being able to teach them to do the basic things like skipping, gallopping, and jumping and landing. The smile on their faces when they are able to do something that they were not able to do before makes it all worth it.
By the time I clean up from teaching those classes, I usually have about 30 minutes till the end of the day. I usually try to finish up my lessons for the next week during this time or catch up on the grades I didn't get finished before. On Thursdays right after school I have about an hour just to hang out and make some use of the internet. I then meet with two other teachers to help plan Sala Sala kids club that I help with on Mondays after school.
After that I usually don't have anything that is scheduled each Thursday night. There are some Thursdays that I will go out to eat, but for the most part by Thursday night I am exhausted.
So that is my Thursday :)
Thursdays
The end of the weeks start to get a little slower for me as far as classes go. This is a good thing for this time of the year. I find that by the end of the week I am exhausted from being out in the sun so much. I start my day off like any other day in the 6th grade homeroom. They are currently trying to plan their Christmas party that will be on Friday. We told them they are completely in charge of planning it, so we shall see what they end up doing.
I then spend about an hour and a half planning for the next week. I have 9th grade from 9:15 - 10:40. This was not a big deal at the beginning of the year, but now that it is getting to be so hot I have had to get a little more creative with the double period. The last few weeks we have been doing some Taebo in the music room. Most of the kids have actually enjoyed it and I think it is a great option for here in Dar in the middle of the summer.
I then get to jump to the primary end of physical education. I have Kindergarten from 11:15 till 12:00 and 1st grade is from 12:30 till 1:15. At first I wasn't so sure about teaching these young kids, but they have grown on me. There is just something about doing the hokey pokey and the chicken dance with these students that has made me love them. I also enjoy being able to teach them to do the basic things like skipping, gallopping, and jumping and landing. The smile on their faces when they are able to do something that they were not able to do before makes it all worth it.
By the time I clean up from teaching those classes, I usually have about 30 minutes till the end of the day. I usually try to finish up my lessons for the next week during this time or catch up on the grades I didn't get finished before. On Thursdays right after school I have about an hour just to hang out and make some use of the internet. I then meet with two other teachers to help plan Sala Sala kids club that I help with on Mondays after school.
After that I usually don't have anything that is scheduled each Thursday night. There are some Thursdays that I will go out to eat, but for the most part by Thursday night I am exhausted.
So that is my Thursday :)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
WEDNESDAYS
Wow so I didn't do so well on my challenge. I guess I have a bit of an excuse in the fact that I got sick that week, and never picked it back up again.
So now since it has been over a month later, I will pick up with my Wednesdays.
Wednesdays are my lighter days, which is kind of nice considering Tuesdays are so crazy. On Wednesdays I have homeroom at 7:30 with the 6th graders as we do every morning. The class is growing on me. It is taking me a little bit to get use to teaching middle schoolers, but I think God is helping me in that department. After homeroom I have some time to do some planning for the next week and enter grades into my computer for classes. I then have 9th grade from 9:15 to 10:40. Today I was teaching them different types of frisbee throws. I then taught them how to play ultimate frisbee. It took a little bit for them to completely understand it, but after they got it most of them seemed to enjoy it.
I then have another break, which I now have decided to use as time to work on curriculum. I have been tasked to start coming up with curriculum maps so I am planning on trying to do that as much as possible in my free time on Wednesdays. At 12:50 till 2:15 I teach an 11th and 12th grade elective class. Today we were doing some more things with speedball. We played outside for half of the class, but the sun was too instense to stay out for the entire class period. The rest of the class we played indoor speedball.
On Wednesdays after school we have a staff meeting. Each week a different teacher is in charge of leading a devotional time and prayer. We then split into meetings for the elementary and the secondary to cover the business end of things. Last week it was my turn to do the devotional. I decided to talk about trust, since that is something that has been on my mind alot lately. I had one of the staff members do the trust fall and then talked a little about how God calls us to not only trust him in the big things, but also the smaller things of life. He may also call us to trust him in ways that we don't expect.
My day is then officially over. I usually try to go for a run on Wednesday afternoons, since my evenings tend to be fairly open. I plan on leaving school shortly and going for a nice run this evening.
So now since it has been over a month later, I will pick up with my Wednesdays.
Wednesdays are my lighter days, which is kind of nice considering Tuesdays are so crazy. On Wednesdays I have homeroom at 7:30 with the 6th graders as we do every morning. The class is growing on me. It is taking me a little bit to get use to teaching middle schoolers, but I think God is helping me in that department. After homeroom I have some time to do some planning for the next week and enter grades into my computer for classes. I then have 9th grade from 9:15 to 10:40. Today I was teaching them different types of frisbee throws. I then taught them how to play ultimate frisbee. It took a little bit for them to completely understand it, but after they got it most of them seemed to enjoy it.
I then have another break, which I now have decided to use as time to work on curriculum. I have been tasked to start coming up with curriculum maps so I am planning on trying to do that as much as possible in my free time on Wednesdays. At 12:50 till 2:15 I teach an 11th and 12th grade elective class. Today we were doing some more things with speedball. We played outside for half of the class, but the sun was too instense to stay out for the entire class period. The rest of the class we played indoor speedball.
On Wednesdays after school we have a staff meeting. Each week a different teacher is in charge of leading a devotional time and prayer. We then split into meetings for the elementary and the secondary to cover the business end of things. Last week it was my turn to do the devotional. I decided to talk about trust, since that is something that has been on my mind alot lately. I had one of the staff members do the trust fall and then talked a little about how God calls us to not only trust him in the big things, but also the smaller things of life. He may also call us to trust him in ways that we don't expect.
My day is then officially over. I usually try to go for a run on Wednesday afternoons, since my evenings tend to be fairly open. I plan on leaving school shortly and going for a nice run this evening.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
TUESDAYS
Well it is now Wednesday, but my Tuesdays are so busy that I didn't have time to post yesterday. My typical Tuesday is wake up at 5:00am and leave my house by 6:30 or so.to walk to work. On most mornings I get to see an amazing sunrise, but yesterdays was just amazing. I then one again have prayer at 7:00am and then 6th grade homeroom. After that I have about 45 min to plan and set up for the day, I then start out by teaching 5th grade. I then have another small break, before I go for the rest of the day. I have 6th grade, and then a lunch break, but yesterday we had a meeting to discuss things that we can do to manage one of the classes better. I then have an 1hr and 30 min class with a few 10th graders and finish the day with 7th and 8th grade.
Normally I then have soccer practice after school with my U11 boys team, but last night I had a prayer meeting with SIL. Once a month they change the prayer time at the office so the SIL HOPAC teachers can go and have a time of prayer with them. It is good to catch up on what is happening around Tanzania in terms of Bible translation.
We have also just recently started Tuesday night T-Square night. T-Square is a little outdoor resturant that sells meat for cheap. It is also just good to get out for a meal and be able to sit down and chat about how are week is going. It is also very cheap so that is nice, although last night we found out they just raised their prices so that was a little disappointing.
On the way back from T-Square we decided to walk to buy luku (electricity). Now this is a very interesting process, which is always amuses me when we have to do it. So each house has a power box in it that you can plug number into, and on the power box it tells you how much electricity that you have. As it starts to get low you have a number that you have to take, along with some money to the luku place. In the past we have done this no problem. We just walk up to the little window and hand them the money and the number. Well last night I think everyone needed luku. We stood in line for about 45min and experienced some very interesting things as we stood there. We were going to walk home, but decided that we no longer had the energy so we got a bajaj. Our bajaj that we got was great, because as we started off he began to blare music. It was one of those moments of yeah I actually live here :)
So yeah that is my Tuesday pretty much a nonstop day but good things along the way. Hopefully in the next few days I will have some good stories to tell about things in the classroom. Today is not as busy of a day, which I am thankful for because I started not feeling so well last night.
Normally I then have soccer practice after school with my U11 boys team, but last night I had a prayer meeting with SIL. Once a month they change the prayer time at the office so the SIL HOPAC teachers can go and have a time of prayer with them. It is good to catch up on what is happening around Tanzania in terms of Bible translation.
We have also just recently started Tuesday night T-Square night. T-Square is a little outdoor resturant that sells meat for cheap. It is also just good to get out for a meal and be able to sit down and chat about how are week is going. It is also very cheap so that is nice, although last night we found out they just raised their prices so that was a little disappointing.
On the way back from T-Square we decided to walk to buy luku (electricity). Now this is a very interesting process, which is always amuses me when we have to do it. So each house has a power box in it that you can plug number into, and on the power box it tells you how much electricity that you have. As it starts to get low you have a number that you have to take, along with some money to the luku place. In the past we have done this no problem. We just walk up to the little window and hand them the money and the number. Well last night I think everyone needed luku. We stood in line for about 45min and experienced some very interesting things as we stood there. We were going to walk home, but decided that we no longer had the energy so we got a bajaj. Our bajaj that we got was great, because as we started off he began to blare music. It was one of those moments of yeah I actually live here :)
So yeah that is my Tuesday pretty much a nonstop day but good things along the way. Hopefully in the next few days I will have some good stories to tell about things in the classroom. Today is not as busy of a day, which I am thankful for because I started not feeling so well last night.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday and Monday
Alright so I failed on my first day, but I will catch up. Last week was a tough week for me and by the weekend I just felt like I needed some time away. I decided to go and hang out at the beach all day on Sunday. I went with Stacy Cawley, while her husband went to church with the kids. It was so nice just to relax and share about our weeks. I also spent some time just resting and reading. After church Dan brought the kids over and we had lunch together. Then we all went swimming together. It was great to play with the kids in the water. We also had the chance to watch some fishermen pull in a huge net. It was quite the process. I wish I would have had my camera, but it was back on the beach. This beach is amazing because during low tide the water is probably out about a half mile, so you get to walk out into the ocean. It almost looks like you could cross to an island that isn't far away, but think it is farther than I thought. After I arrived home I decided to continue my day of rest and hang out in my room watching a movie, and skyping some people. My Sundays are not all like that, but it was a much needed complete day of rest.
MONDAY
My mondays are not my busiest day so it is nice to have time to prepare for the week. I get up around 5:00 am on Mondays and try to be at school by 6:15. There are two boys that I open up a tiny little room for that has like 3 sets of weights that they can use to lift on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I usually spend some time catching up on emails or reading the newspaper online. At 7:00am a few of the secondary teachers meet together for five minutes or so to pray for the school day and any pressing things. I love starting my day out on the right foot and getting into the mindset of how can I serve the kids today. I then have a few minutes before homeroom. I am one of the homeroom teachers for the 6th grade class. On Mondays we have a secondary school assembly. We do worship together and have a speaker. Our theme for the year is Plugged In. We are challenging the students to think about what they are plugged into and how that influences the choices they make. We are then taking that and trying to give them ways to be plugged into God.
After assembly I have about 1hr and 30min of planning time, which I try to organize at least my Mondays and Tuesdays. I teach 6th - 8th grade for 40 min each on Mondays. They are a fun group, but it has been a challenge for me to teach middle schoolers. They are growing on me though and God is teaching me how to just love them right where they are at. Today I also spent alot of time inputting grades into our new online grading system.
On Mondays after school I go right to Swahili lessons from 2:30 till 3:15. I need alot of help in the Swahili department. I am not finding enough to practice so that doesn't help anything. After Swahili I go right into helping to set up for Sala Sala kids club. I will put more about this in my newsletter next month. It is such a privelage to work with these kids though and just be able to love on them for an hour and 30 min.
So that is my typical Monday. Every other monday night I meet with my housemates for a Bible study. Tonight happens to be the night for that, so I should start heading home.
MONDAY
My mondays are not my busiest day so it is nice to have time to prepare for the week. I get up around 5:00 am on Mondays and try to be at school by 6:15. There are two boys that I open up a tiny little room for that has like 3 sets of weights that they can use to lift on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I usually spend some time catching up on emails or reading the newspaper online. At 7:00am a few of the secondary teachers meet together for five minutes or so to pray for the school day and any pressing things. I love starting my day out on the right foot and getting into the mindset of how can I serve the kids today. I then have a few minutes before homeroom. I am one of the homeroom teachers for the 6th grade class. On Mondays we have a secondary school assembly. We do worship together and have a speaker. Our theme for the year is Plugged In. We are challenging the students to think about what they are plugged into and how that influences the choices they make. We are then taking that and trying to give them ways to be plugged into God.
After assembly I have about 1hr and 30min of planning time, which I try to organize at least my Mondays and Tuesdays. I teach 6th - 8th grade for 40 min each on Mondays. They are a fun group, but it has been a challenge for me to teach middle schoolers. They are growing on me though and God is teaching me how to just love them right where they are at. Today I also spent alot of time inputting grades into our new online grading system.
On Mondays after school I go right to Swahili lessons from 2:30 till 3:15. I need alot of help in the Swahili department. I am not finding enough to practice so that doesn't help anything. After Swahili I go right into helping to set up for Sala Sala kids club. I will put more about this in my newsletter next month. It is such a privelage to work with these kids though and just be able to love on them for an hour and 30 min.
So that is my typical Monday. Every other monday night I meet with my housemates for a Bible study. Tonight happens to be the night for that, so I should start heading home.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Goat Races and a Challenge
I have been reading over the blogs I posted and I have realized they are mostly about what I have been doing on the weekends. I realize that I haven't really given you any day to day specifics or what is going on inside the school, so I am giving myself a challenge to blog every day for one week. I am going to start on Sunday October 2nd and continue through till Sunday October 9th. I am hoping then I can give you more of a glimpse into my everyday life here and not just the weekend experiences.
All of that to say I figured I have to tell you all about my experiences of going to the goat races last Saturday. That is right GOAT RACES. It was quite the experience. Ali Price, Winston Ly, and I decided to take a Bajaj to the goat races. It is always an adventure when you decide to go somewhere and you are not really sure where it is, so we hopped in a Bajaj thinking he knew where he was going. Well he didn't so he dropped us off to another Bajaj driver, who also did not know where he was going. After driving for a bit he stopped at a taxi stand and ended up paying them to tell him where to go. We eventually arrived safe and sound, but just a little hot and sweaty. The goat races are a fun raising event so there were lots of little tents with food and other things to do. It was very much like a fair type atmosphere. We got there when they were doing a little parade to judge customs and hats. There were people dressed in all types of customs and hats. The goat races themselves were great entertainment. They would parade the goats into the track by carrying them and then place them behind the starting block. Then on the go signal they would let them go and all the guys would run after them. It was a very fun Saturday afternoon activity. I will let the pictures tell you the rest of the story.
All of that to say I figured I have to tell you all about my experiences of going to the goat races last Saturday. That is right GOAT RACES. It was quite the experience. Ali Price, Winston Ly, and I decided to take a Bajaj to the goat races. It is always an adventure when you decide to go somewhere and you are not really sure where it is, so we hopped in a Bajaj thinking he knew where he was going. Well he didn't so he dropped us off to another Bajaj driver, who also did not know where he was going. After driving for a bit he stopped at a taxi stand and ended up paying them to tell him where to go. We eventually arrived safe and sound, but just a little hot and sweaty. The goat races are a fun raising event so there were lots of little tents with food and other things to do. It was very much like a fair type atmosphere. We got there when they were doing a little parade to judge customs and hats. There were people dressed in all types of customs and hats. The goat races themselves were great entertainment. They would parade the goats into the track by carrying them and then place them behind the starting block. Then on the go signal they would let them go and all the guys would run after them. It was a very fun Saturday afternoon activity. I will let the pictures tell you the rest of the story.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
HIGHLIGHTS OF MY WEEK
The first highlight of the week was babysitting Adah and Micah. My housemate Ali and I volunteered to keep the Cawley's kids one night this week so they could get out by themselves for a couple of hours. They thought we were doing them a favor, but really I think we may have had more fun. It was so much fun to just spend a night with them and get lost in a kids world for a bit. We played on the playground at the school, and then took them back to our house. Micah then helped me make mac and cheese for dinner (it was extra special mac and cheese from the States). After that we ran around outside our house playing ball with Micah, and I think our guards thought we were a little crazy. Then we had some popcorn and Micah read a book to us. I am glad we could give the Cawley's a night out, but it was just as good for me to be able to play with the kids. I have been missing playing with my nieces and nephew so that was a help.
The next highlight of the week and maybe the best thing since being here happened today. After church today I was invited to go for lunch to the other single female teachers house, along with the Pastor from my church and his family. I had an awesome meal, great fellowship, got to hold a little baby, and also learn how to drive a bajaj. Yep, thats right I drove for the first time since being here in Tanzania. Marie, a teacher at HOPAC, owns a bajaj and volunteered to give me some driving lessons. So a couple of us went out with her today to learn how to drive. It was so much fun. It is very much like driving a motorcycle. The hardest thing for me was driving on the opposite side of the rode. A couple of us took turns learning how to drive and we had a blast. Who knows maybe I will have to buy one for myself :)
Here some pictures from both experiences!
Micah being an excellent helper.
Adah just enjoying playing with the box.
YUM..this is the real stuff!
I am driving and Marie is instructing :)
We survived !!!!!!!
The next highlight of the week and maybe the best thing since being here happened today. After church today I was invited to go for lunch to the other single female teachers house, along with the Pastor from my church and his family. I had an awesome meal, great fellowship, got to hold a little baby, and also learn how to drive a bajaj. Yep, thats right I drove for the first time since being here in Tanzania. Marie, a teacher at HOPAC, owns a bajaj and volunteered to give me some driving lessons. So a couple of us went out with her today to learn how to drive. It was so much fun. It is very much like driving a motorcycle. The hardest thing for me was driving on the opposite side of the rode. A couple of us took turns learning how to drive and we had a blast. Who knows maybe I will have to buy one for myself :)
Here some pictures from both experiences!
Micah being an excellent helper.
Adah just enjoying playing with the box.
YUM..this is the real stuff!
I am driving and Marie is instructing :)
Fun afternoon of driving for all..don't ask why
I am at the top of the hill and they are at the bottom.
We survived !!!!!!!
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