Monday 13 September 2010
And we will now reconvene the scheduled programming...
http://carolinejanemortimer.blogspot.com/2010/09/guess-whos-back.html
Je ne parle pas anglais.... (30th August- 7th September)
Here I am in Dar on my last evening before I head back to the UK early tomorrow morning.
I've spent nearly a week, milling about, not doing much after we finished distributing books in Kilwa on 1st September. Kilwa was very pretty and the guest house we were staying in overlooked a beach but the schools we visited were very remote. The last school we went to took two hours to get there in a jeep going up and down the bumpiest path known to man through a forest with us having to stop frequently so that the driver could move tree trunks out of the road and cut away low hanging branches with the meat cleaver he kept under his seat.
Early the next morning, I took a coach up to Dar on my own. It was more pleasant than the journey down, possibly because it was shorter; Kilwa is further north than Lindi town, and because the bus was smaller so it seemed to be less bumpy on the uneven road. I even saw the sunrise and at least a dozen monkeys running about near the road. When I got to Dar, I arrived at the oddest bus station on the outskirts of the city where I had to wait to be picked up by Stella and one of the locals thought it would be hilarious to shout vampire at me from across the bus stand.
Considering he didn't speak anymore English it was an odd word for him to know. Someone has being watching too much Twilight methinks.
Anyway, I've spent the past few days at the YMCA without incident, I met a few of the READ volunteers from the Oxford/Cumbria group who told me that they were given a live chicken by the schools they visted as a thank you. Twice.
I have also been approached by nearly every street artist in Dar Es Salaam more than once but as a western girl on my own I am clearly an easier target. They tend to follow me down the street and try to catch my eye so they can try to introduce themselves and pretend like I actually want to talk to them. They ask where I'm from, where I'm going, tell me I should stop for five minutes and look at their artwork not understanding I won't stop because I don't want to and I have no intention of buying anything so they are wasting their time pretending to be my friend. I have also had a bit of the same with taxi drivers who do not seem to understand I don't need a taxi to go 10ft down the road.
As a result, because if you engage them, the grab your hand and you can't escape I've developed an alter ego; I am now Rebecca from Montreal who didn't learn English in school and unfortunately most of the street artists don't speak French. What a shame.
I went back up to Mwenge market on Saturday although I nearly didn't get there as the taxi I got into broken down half way there. He then negotiated for another taxi driver to take me the rest of the way; to the wrong destination. Instead of the market, he took me to a weird outlet mall which was like stepping into a piece of California in the heart of Africa. I would have been annoyed but I actually found it quite funny. I was also intrigued by this strange mall and had to go investigate. There wasn't much there; a few phone stores, some clothing, a few shops selling the usual 'authentic African' souvenirs that you can get at the market down the road for a third of the price and some African kids following me around when they should really be in school. I did however find a bookshop and bought some books to feed my reading habit over the next few days and I got to the actual market down the road in about five minutes by walking down. I got some good presents for the people back home and I managed to get a daladala back to the right place.
After that, I didn't really go that far, I spent most of my days at the fancy hotel around the corner using the pool, which was lovely and for the most part deserted, as was the included use of the sauna and hot showers. I have had an extremely relaxing few days in all, and have even got a bit of a tan but I am looking forward going back to the UK and back to Birmingham even. I even miss the rain, we got a bit in the Dar the after I got it here and I was oddly excited by it.
Next I update will be back on the Pretty Vacant blog so I guess here is goodbye to my summer in Tanzania and on to whatever is next! Till tomorrow!
I've spent nearly a week, milling about, not doing much after we finished distributing books in Kilwa on 1st September. Kilwa was very pretty and the guest house we were staying in overlooked a beach but the schools we visited were very remote. The last school we went to took two hours to get there in a jeep going up and down the bumpiest path known to man through a forest with us having to stop frequently so that the driver could move tree trunks out of the road and cut away low hanging branches with the meat cleaver he kept under his seat.
Early the next morning, I took a coach up to Dar on my own. It was more pleasant than the journey down, possibly because it was shorter; Kilwa is further north than Lindi town, and because the bus was smaller so it seemed to be less bumpy on the uneven road. I even saw the sunrise and at least a dozen monkeys running about near the road. When I got to Dar, I arrived at the oddest bus station on the outskirts of the city where I had to wait to be picked up by Stella and one of the locals thought it would be hilarious to shout vampire at me from across the bus stand.
Considering he didn't speak anymore English it was an odd word for him to know. Someone has being watching too much Twilight methinks.
Anyway, I've spent the past few days at the YMCA without incident, I met a few of the READ volunteers from the Oxford/Cumbria group who told me that they were given a live chicken by the schools they visted as a thank you. Twice.
I have also been approached by nearly every street artist in Dar Es Salaam more than once but as a western girl on my own I am clearly an easier target. They tend to follow me down the street and try to catch my eye so they can try to introduce themselves and pretend like I actually want to talk to them. They ask where I'm from, where I'm going, tell me I should stop for five minutes and look at their artwork not understanding I won't stop because I don't want to and I have no intention of buying anything so they are wasting their time pretending to be my friend. I have also had a bit of the same with taxi drivers who do not seem to understand I don't need a taxi to go 10ft down the road.
As a result, because if you engage them, the grab your hand and you can't escape I've developed an alter ego; I am now Rebecca from Montreal who didn't learn English in school and unfortunately most of the street artists don't speak French. What a shame.
I went back up to Mwenge market on Saturday although I nearly didn't get there as the taxi I got into broken down half way there. He then negotiated for another taxi driver to take me the rest of the way; to the wrong destination. Instead of the market, he took me to a weird outlet mall which was like stepping into a piece of California in the heart of Africa. I would have been annoyed but I actually found it quite funny. I was also intrigued by this strange mall and had to go investigate. There wasn't much there; a few phone stores, some clothing, a few shops selling the usual 'authentic African' souvenirs that you can get at the market down the road for a third of the price and some African kids following me around when they should really be in school. I did however find a bookshop and bought some books to feed my reading habit over the next few days and I got to the actual market down the road in about five minutes by walking down. I got some good presents for the people back home and I managed to get a daladala back to the right place.
After that, I didn't really go that far, I spent most of my days at the fancy hotel around the corner using the pool, which was lovely and for the most part deserted, as was the included use of the sauna and hot showers. I have had an extremely relaxing few days in all, and have even got a bit of a tan but I am looking forward going back to the UK and back to Birmingham even. I even miss the rain, we got a bit in the Dar the after I got it here and I was oddly excited by it.
Next I update will be back on the Pretty Vacant blog so I guess here is goodbye to my summer in Tanzania and on to whatever is next! Till tomorrow!
Sunday 12 September 2010
Locked in a Library (23rd -27th August)
This past week has been my last in Lindi town and have spent it entirely getting the library renovation project that the Emilys have been predominantly working on ready for the official opening next week.
For the most part, I have been painting blackboards and cleaning the paint off the floor with kerosine. My fingers are blackish grey colour and I'm still picking wire wool out of my fingernails. I had to scrub the floor because some of the paint we used was oil based and therefore couldn't be moved by water alone; it needed to be scrubbed for two days using wire wool, kerosine and my bare hands.
Lots of fun you can imagine.
However, in the end it did look amazing and along with the books READ donated the school already had lots so it actually looks like a proper library. The 'opening' was on Friday and although none of the DEOs or the REO came, many of the teachers and the students came by at the end of school to listen to speeches a few of the teachers thanking us and READ for the work we had done. A few of them even gave speeches themselves thanking us and saying how much it'll improve their education.
We've made a few friends amongst the 6th formers at the school that always seem so eager to talk to us about life in the UK and the difference between it and Tanzania; I had a chat for about twenty minutes with two of them about why the European powers colonised Africa and what British historians had to say on the matter.
A few of them gave us necklaces to say thank you for all the work we were doing which was really sweet and told his to keep in touch when we return to the UK. They had already asked for all our email addresses and a few have added me on Facebook.
Next week we're off to Kilwa to complete the last few distributions and then I'll be going up to Dar for a week before coming home a little earlier than planned on 8th September.
For the most part, I have been painting blackboards and cleaning the paint off the floor with kerosine. My fingers are blackish grey colour and I'm still picking wire wool out of my fingernails. I had to scrub the floor because some of the paint we used was oil based and therefore couldn't be moved by water alone; it needed to be scrubbed for two days using wire wool, kerosine and my bare hands.
Lots of fun you can imagine.
However, in the end it did look amazing and along with the books READ donated the school already had lots so it actually looks like a proper library. The 'opening' was on Friday and although none of the DEOs or the REO came, many of the teachers and the students came by at the end of school to listen to speeches a few of the teachers thanking us and READ for the work we had done. A few of them even gave speeches themselves thanking us and saying how much it'll improve their education.
We've made a few friends amongst the 6th formers at the school that always seem so eager to talk to us about life in the UK and the difference between it and Tanzania; I had a chat for about twenty minutes with two of them about why the European powers colonised Africa and what British historians had to say on the matter.
A few of them gave us necklaces to say thank you for all the work we were doing which was really sweet and told his to keep in touch when we return to the UK. They had already asked for all our email addresses and a few have added me on Facebook.
Next week we're off to Kilwa to complete the last few distributions and then I'll be going up to Dar for a week before coming home a little earlier than planned on 8th September.
One week of Guestbooks and a lizard named Rodolfo
I'll say one thing about the Tanzanian people, they really like their guest books. I have been distributing books in Liwale, Nachingwea and Rwanga for the past week and I must have signed at least a dozen guestbooks. They seem so fascinated with our names and our signatures that every office we went into whether it was a school or an education office or sometimes a random local government office we had been ferried into, we would eventually be handed a leather bound books and asked to write our name, address and the organisation we worked for.
It gets very repetitive after the first dozen or so.
Other than that, this has been fairly uneventful; we have been visiting schools around the regions,distributing books and doing activities with the students in an attempt to get them to talk to us about life as a Tanzanian student and to ask questions about life in the UK. There were a few confident students (who tended to want to be politicians or footballers when they grew up) but for the most part students either smiled shyly at us or looked blank and refused to speak. Some schools were better than others; most were incredibly grateful for the books READ had donated and a few were so moved they were almost in tears. One or two did not seem that interested or welcoming of us but overall the response to us being in Lindi has for the most part been extremely positive.
In other news, we have been staying in the different areas for the past few days in hostels of varying quality. The Liwale guest house was nice with the hilariously named 'Mr Chipichipi' restaurant and bigish self-contained (i.e. ensuite) rooms.The Rwanga guest house we stayed in was horrendous, with dirty sheets in a room that smells like urine, a crazy strung out looking woman running the place and a massive hole in the ground outside my room in which rubbish was thrown. The Nachinqwea guest house was the nicest and even had a working television in my room on which I watched the greatest TV show- ever! Called Mi Pecado, it was hard to tell what was more funny; the acting or the dubbing.
However, in its honour I decided to name the lizard who was staying in my room whilst I was there, Rodolfo after the character in the show with the most ridiculous name imaginable.
Why can't we have over the top shows like that in th UK?
Next week, instead of visiting schools I'm going to work on the library renovation project with the Emilys at Lindi Day Secondary School to get it opened for its grand opening next week.
It gets very repetitive after the first dozen or so.
Other than that, this has been fairly uneventful; we have been visiting schools around the regions,distributing books and doing activities with the students in an attempt to get them to talk to us about life as a Tanzanian student and to ask questions about life in the UK. There were a few confident students (who tended to want to be politicians or footballers when they grew up) but for the most part students either smiled shyly at us or looked blank and refused to speak. Some schools were better than others; most were incredibly grateful for the books READ had donated and a few were so moved they were almost in tears. One or two did not seem that interested or welcoming of us but overall the response to us being in Lindi has for the most part been extremely positive.
In other news, we have been staying in the different areas for the past few days in hostels of varying quality. The Liwale guest house was nice with the hilariously named 'Mr Chipichipi' restaurant and bigish self-contained (i.e. ensuite) rooms.The Rwanga guest house we stayed in was horrendous, with dirty sheets in a room that smells like urine, a crazy strung out looking woman running the place and a massive hole in the ground outside my room in which rubbish was thrown. The Nachinqwea guest house was the nicest and even had a working television in my room on which I watched the greatest TV show- ever! Called Mi Pecado, it was hard to tell what was more funny; the acting or the dubbing.
However, in its honour I decided to name the lizard who was staying in my room whilst I was there, Rodolfo after the character in the show with the most ridiculous name imaginable.
Why can't we have over the top shows like that in th UK?
Next week, instead of visiting schools I'm going to work on the library renovation project with the Emilys at Lindi Day Secondary School to get it opened for its grand opening next week.
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