Doodles?!?

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7/6/09:

Hamjammbooo everyone, time for the daily update on my life in Arusha.

No kiswahili today, so no break up in the morning, which meant straight lecture from 9:30-12:30. We're supposed to be talking about capacity building this week, but of course we get off topic and Sipho just tells random stories and has the most unorganized and uninformative lectures. UGH. It's getting so frustrating, I feel like there's so much we could be talking about and so much more DISCUSSION should be taking place and it's just not. Like today we were talking about how to increase positive foreign direct investment (FDI) and I raised my hand and said something like, "I think for FDI to work more positively, the focus has to be on building up existing industries to make them more credible and making local industries green / eco-friendly, so they become more attractive to investors." I thought it was a pretty good statement, and Sipho was just like "uh yeah...blah blah blah blah", I was so annoyed. Then I talked about how difficult it gets for African countries when they want to get loans from the IMF and the WB (international monetary fund and the world bank) because they pose such stringent conditionalities on the loans, like forcing them to open up their markets, weakening infant industries and he was like "yeah that's the point I was making". THAT WAS NOT THE POINT HE WAS MAKING! He was talking about like how he couldn't buy a BMW or something because the English pound is too strong??!?! It is SO frustrating. Dr. Piper, Dr. Hilaire, or Dr. Beckman if you're reading this today, I've enjoyed your classes and learned MUCH more than in this one! A true testament that just because you have a law degree, doesn't mean you'll make a good professor.

We were supposed to go to the legal human rights center in the afternoon, but Sipho like didn't confirm or something went wrong, so we couldn't go and we just had to have more off-topic lecture. I know I'm complaining a lot, but forgive me for being one of those students who actually came to Africa to LEARN ABOUT AFRICA and that I actually ENJOY LEARNING. At the end of today's lecture, he accused us all of not paying attention and doodling in our notebooks. He joked that he was going to collect our notebooks and look at our artwork. Let me tell you something, in my most favorite classes, you'll find no doodles in my notebooks. Even when the speaker from the UN came last week, his presentation was so thorough and good I listened the whole time and didn't doodle once. In Sipho's class, the doodle ratio is very, very high. But then again, some people can doodle and pay attention at the same time, see my Mother 😉

Anyhow, after the drabness (I'm not sure that's a word...) of class was finally over, some of us headed over to the school that's across from our hotel. Tom set up some volunteer work with us and the school and so on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we're going to play with the kids for like an hour. It's a really big school complex and EIGHT HUNDRED kids go there! It's in much better shape than some of the other schools we have seen, though it's nothing like you'd see in America (even an intercity school is probably much, much better equipped and in better shape). Some of the kids board there, but most go home at the end of the day. They only have 33 teachers for 800 students...yikes. They did have three computers (old, but still) but they were definitely hurting for some dry erase boards (instead of chalk boards), notebooks, textbooks, etc. They did have a great school mascot there...we arrived to find a MASSIVE turtle hanging out in the field, chomping on cabbage. I will be sure to take a photo.

The headmaster had to attend a meeting, so one of the teachers gave us a quick tour and then set us up for Wednesday (tomorrow is a public holiday in Tanzania). Some kids went home, but me, Jessie, Carrie, Kara and Emily stayed and started playing with some of the kids. Let me tell you, they LOVED us!!! Everyone was saying hi and running up to us and hugging us and touching our hair and our skin and looking at our clothes and our jewelery. They all wanted to show off on the playground and ask us questions (they take English classes, so there wasn't too much of a language barrier, though I want to try to use more Kiswahili with them). We even managed to set up a game of duck-duck-goose, but tag didn't work out too well. When I'm with kids in America, they require SO much to keep them entertained and happy. These kids, pshh all you need is a different skin color from them and they're completely in awe of you. We're so different to them, which is so crazy. I guess I just didn't have that notion of race or wealth for that matter, when I was that age. I can't wait to go back on Wednesday and play and help them with homework!! I'll bring my camera (we'll be volunteering the rest of the time we're here) one of these days so you can see the school and some of the children.

The girls and I got a nice workout in before dinner AND the hot water came back in our apartment, so I was quite pleased. Dinner was good too...good soup, good bread, and some plain rice and steamed veggies. Another good day...I'm glad I'm having more good ones than bad ones. Working with the kids is going to be really great too I think. They have a lot of ambition, it's so nice to see that.

That's it for today, time to relax now. Have a good day everyone!
<3<3<3
Kwaheri

PS: Thank you to those professors who are saving my life and emailing new letters of recommendation to NYU. I am forever grateful!!

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Comments

[dadaa]

"that I actually ENJOY LEARNING."
Hola, dahlin' ;-) I can only hope that I have students like you in my class-room. Yes, *drabness* is, in fact, a real word, but certainly not applicable to your present environment. Enjoy it, warts and all, por favor? dadaa

[Alan]

Yay Im glad you are having better days. Wish we could talk now, but I know you are aschleep!!! Luv u !