Tanzania - Week Three

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Jambo!

Day 14 -
Today we went back to Camp Joshua and found the dispute between the village and the school over and so we had to redig part of the foundation. We also taught English which is pretty difficult - they children were reading and it was hard to control them and correct them without sounding weird.
After we had dug the foundation (again) we had to unload rocks into but and as we were picking them up from the pile 2 poisonous snakes jumped out at us (Jimmy ran away sharpish) but Baba K killed them instantly with a rock and they were given to the children as play things - not entirely sure how safe that was...

Day 15 -
We didn't really do anything - just more work at Camp Joshua! At home we just chilled out with Jojo, Fay and Kina (the local children!)

Day 16 -
Today was my birthday! I woke up for breakfast and opened by cards from home, when everyone mysteriously disappeared into the kitchen (how subtle) and came out with a card and a cake which was lovely! We then went to Camp Joshua and finished our project by laying and cementing the bricks in which was difficult but looked good at the end!
Afterwards, we came back and chilled at the house. Had interesting talks with Mbassa about lifestyles and homosexuality in Tanzania (apparently it's not a crime to be gay in Tanzania but it's socially unacceptable - if you were openly gay here you'd be rejected from your village. Also - apparently lesbians hang out in hair salons, I now know where I'll be spending my free time... ).
In the evening, me, Jennie and Priyanka went to a restaurant called Africafe for dinner which was really lovely and cheap, but for the next few days our stomachs complained!

Day 17 -
Today we got up early and went into Arusha and met our waterfall tour guide called Noel. We got a dalla dalla to Tengeru and walked to a gorgeous garden house and he explained that he was going to give us a tour around a coffee plantation, we'll prepare coffee and then go to the waterfall after lunch.
First of all, he showed us how they cook their food using cow dung and urine... Right... Even asking us to help mix it together with our hands (being very serious!). There was a part of me that wanted to go all Ray Mears and get into the culture and do it, but I decided that that part of me can stay purely British! After quickly making an exit, he took us around the coffee plantations and taught us about the types of beans. We went back to the garden and peeled, cleaned, roasted, mashed, sieved and boiled the coffee beans to make coffee. All very interesting, if only we had known what we were signing up to! We hadn't realised that a lot of the day would be about coffee - me not liking hot liquids and the others not drinkers of coffee/tea, Noel looked quite disappointed that we didn't drink the end product!
We then had lunch with 2 other tourists - Adrian and Austin from Warwick University, who were helping out in a Zanzibar hospital and came to Arusha on a week off.
After lunch, we hiked up a hill (which was tiring but felt pretty good not being the unfit one, for once!) and when we reached the top we had to make our way down a 45 degree vertical slope down to the bottom of the waterfall, which sounds difficult, and the fact that the ground consisted of soil that so very easily crumbled it was not difficult. Just wish I hadn't worn a skirt (all of my shorts were in the wash!), Noel got more than he bargained for! We finally made it down and the waterfall was really lovely!
When we got home, our plan was to have a few drinks before going out to the club, but the vodka we had bought was a lot stronger than what we thought so we ended up passing out before getting out of the door! Now we know why it was so cheap!

Day 18 -
Today we were granted a lie-in (much needed after the night before...) After lunch, me and Jennie went into town (Priyanka had gone to see her family) and we went to an internet cafe and after leaving, we chased by some crazed local man who was making kissing noises and tried to grab me, perhaps loving it a bit too much. But I suppose you also get this in England!

Day 19 -
Today was our first day at Moshono Primary School - there we were set the task of painting the outside of one building. We first had to sand down the entire wall - which took ages as all we were given was a small square of sand paper each! After lunch, I was sanding down a door (the doors only closed from the outside, so I had to lock them in, and they knocked on the door if they wanted to get out!) and I let the teacher out (in England, if a teacher leaves the room it causes immediate uproar from the students, chatting etc.) but these students remained silent and continued with their work. Then, I let a different teacher into the room and shut the door to continue sanding. I heard what I thought was someone knocking on the door so I opened it but the sound was actually coming from a stick being hit across the backs, heads, faces, arms and legs of any of the students that this teacher could reach.
I was stood there for a while, not really believing what I was seeing, and then closed the door and tried to continue with the sanding (for a moment I felt embarrassed as if I had walked in on something private) but hearing the consistent slapping noise I had to leave and I couldn't control my emotions - I felt like going back and taking the stick from the teacher and teaching her a lesson, but I thought it best to go sit somewhere and process what I'd just witnessed. I talked to Mbassa about it and he said it was completely normal and that I just wasn't 'used to it' which made me quite angry because - why should I be 'used to it'? The idea of being used to child abuse and violence against children is something I cannot comprehend. Apparently - it is illegal for teachers to hit the pupils - not that police would do anything. Plus, there is a loop-hole where the teacher may be granted permission to hit a student from the headmaster. Which, in my eyes, is ridiculous. But, being in a new country with a different culture made me helpless - they wouldn't have taken my opinions into account at all.

Day 20 -
Today we woke up and Priyanka was having problems with her arm - feeling nerve pains. So Mama Jojo arranged for us to be taken to the doctor - and she was given medication which kind of helps. It involved a lot of waiting around (you were given a number and waited for it to be called, like in Argos) and it cost her 9000 shillings (about 4 pounds) to see a doctor and get the medication.
We then went to placement and painted the white on the walls and filled the walls.

Day 21 -
We just went to placement today and did the cement work (Baba K makes it look so easy and I wasn't THAT bad at it!). Afterwards we just chilled with the locals.

Day 22 -
We just went to placement today and finished the project! It now looks really good from the outside and I am still covered in paint! (I can't get it off..) The last 2 days haven't been very exciting! My fellow volunteer has decided she wants to go home after 8 weeks instead of 10, so I am currently trying to think of things I could do in Africa by myself... Hopefully it'll all work out!

Lots of love,
Beki xxx

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