Perhaps the greatest blessing of the past three weeks has been interacting with the students here at Audrey Veldman Vocation and Technical School. The students, who range from age 13 to 23, are some of the most fun and enthusiastic people I have ever met. I have formed some very fast friendships. It feels as though I have been here much longer than just three weeks. Many of the students have already offered for me to come live at their parents' home (sounds like a good offer).
Befriending these students has been amazing, but it is a bittersweet experience. Firstly because they will be leaving for winter break in two weeks. They get a whole month off, so Tyler and I will be gone by the time they return. We will be saying goodbye to these kids forever.
The other depressing part is that we have slowly started learning many of their back stories. Since many of them live here at the school, it is easy to forget they come from extreme poverty. For instance, one of my favorite students is Christopher Burra, a 23 year old carpentry student graduating in November. He is a very bright and enthusiastic kid. He mentioned one day that he wants to join the seminary an become a priest. Sounds great, right? Well I found out from the priests that he never went to secondary school because his family couldn't afford it. He is too old to complete 6 years of secondary school, 4 years of college, then seminary. His dream will never be fulfilled.
Or there is Wilson Charles, an exceptionally athletic masonry student who always has a smile on his face. I found out on Monday that after his mother remarried, his stepdad wanted nothing to do with him. His biological father is an alcoholic, so that is no help. He is literally been homeless since the age of 17. He lives at the school during the school year and often sleeps at a local church where he does chores in lieu of rent.
I apologize for the somber post, but it is simply a dose of reality here in the Thrid World. The good news, however, is that these kids still may have bright futures. The school here has offered these kids a chance for a new life. The skills they are learning here will give them an opportunity to earn a stable income one day.
Despite their poverty, these students here are an inspiration to me. They live each day thankful for what they have and excited for the future. You would never know that they live such tragic lives.
Tanzanian Fun Fact: The people here don't have conventional last names like we do in America. They simply tack their father's name to the end of theirs. As a result, my name would be Gregory Peter.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Death of a Chicken and Other New Foods
Warning: The following post is a bit graphic, viewer discretion is advised.
It was a Monday morning just like any other, but for one unfortunate chicken it would be his last...
After breakfast I found Marieta waiting with a knife as basin; she was ready for the slaughter. She grabbed the unlucky rooster from the garage, and we headed out back. Now I know that chickens have very small brains, but this guy knew what was up. From the minute Marieta picked him up he was screaming like I have never heard a chicken before. She placed him on the ground, put one foot on his legs and the other on his wings. Now it was my turn. I mimicked her stance atop the victim and asked "What now?"
She stepped away and simply said, "You cut." I clutched the rooster's head and began cutting, expecting this to be a quick process. I soon realized that this knife was extremely dull. The chicken agonized for almost a minute while I sawed at its neck. I finally broke throgh, he made one last scream, and breathed his last. I held his body for a few more moments while its muscles continued to contract (I had always heard that headless chickens could run around).
As I walked ways with bloody hands, a knife in one hand, and a chicken head in the other, I felt a sense of supreme masculinity, like Liam Neeson walking away after killing 20 bad guys in "Taken." The irony of course was that I had merely killed a defenseless chicken. Eh, testosterone is testosterone regardless.
Other culinary firsts:
-Fresh mango (Lopez shout out)
-Fermented milk (kind of like yogurt)
-Fresh papaya
-Purple porridge (made from millet flour aka "wimbi")
-Goat meat
-Two types of Tanzanian beer
-Fresh avocado
-Sugar cane (you literally gnaw on a branch and suck out the sugar)
Tanzanian Fun Fact: Speaking of food, the Swahili word for butt is "tako." When people from Tanzania visit America, they are perplexed to see people eating at Taco Bell. Would you eat at a place called "Butt Bell"?
It was a Monday morning just like any other, but for one unfortunate chicken it would be his last...
After breakfast I found Marieta waiting with a knife as basin; she was ready for the slaughter. She grabbed the unlucky rooster from the garage, and we headed out back. Now I know that chickens have very small brains, but this guy knew what was up. From the minute Marieta picked him up he was screaming like I have never heard a chicken before. She placed him on the ground, put one foot on his legs and the other on his wings. Now it was my turn. I mimicked her stance atop the victim and asked "What now?"
She stepped away and simply said, "You cut." I clutched the rooster's head and began cutting, expecting this to be a quick process. I soon realized that this knife was extremely dull. The chicken agonized for almost a minute while I sawed at its neck. I finally broke throgh, he made one last scream, and breathed his last. I held his body for a few more moments while its muscles continued to contract (I had always heard that headless chickens could run around).
As I walked ways with bloody hands, a knife in one hand, and a chicken head in the other, I felt a sense of supreme masculinity, like Liam Neeson walking away after killing 20 bad guys in "Taken." The irony of course was that I had merely killed a defenseless chicken. Eh, testosterone is testosterone regardless.
Other culinary firsts:
-Fresh mango (Lopez shout out)
-Fermented milk (kind of like yogurt)
-Fresh papaya
-Purple porridge (made from millet flour aka "wimbi")
-Goat meat
-Two types of Tanzanian beer
-Fresh avocado
-Sugar cane (you literally gnaw on a branch and suck out the sugar)
Tanzanian Fun Fact: Speaking of food, the Swahili word for butt is "tako." When people from Tanzania visit America, they are perplexed to see people eating at Taco Bell. Would you eat at a place called "Butt Bell"?
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Life at an African Pace
Here is my typical day in Kitete:
6:50am - Wake up
7:00am - Morning Prayer
8:00am - Breakfast
9-10:40 - Teach computers
11-12:20 - Teach English
12:20-1:30 - Free
1:30pm - Lunch
2-5:30 - Free
5:30-7pm - Volleyball
7-8:45 - Free
9:00pm - Dinner
9:45-11pm - Free
As you can see, there is a lot of down time here in Kitete. Tyler and I have been doing our best to fill the time without getting bored, but that is a tall task. We read, listen to music, journal, and nap a lot. When we aren't being lazy we go for runs too. We are training to hopefully climb Kilimanjaro in July.
Some days we get a chance to travel with one of the priests for small village masses in the afternoon. These masses take place in tarp-covered lean-tos and last between an hour and half and two hours. This is no surprise of course because life moves slowly here. Things always start fashionably late and last for a long time. For instance, mass this morning was supposed to start at 8am. It began at 8:30 and ended at 11:30! Talk about a test of endurance.
That is all for now. I am excited because tomorrow the cook says I may get to slaughter a chicken! I will be sure to report back if that happens.
Tanzanian Fun Fact: The locals here don't use the typical am/pm method of telling time. Instead it is based off of the sunrise. One o'clock is 7am, two is 8am, and so forth.
6:50am - Wake up
7:00am - Morning Prayer
8:00am - Breakfast
9-10:40 - Teach computers
11-12:20 - Teach English
12:20-1:30 - Free
1:30pm - Lunch
2-5:30 - Free
5:30-7pm - Volleyball
7-8:45 - Free
9:00pm - Dinner
9:45-11pm - Free
As you can see, there is a lot of down time here in Kitete. Tyler and I have been doing our best to fill the time without getting bored, but that is a tall task. We read, listen to music, journal, and nap a lot. When we aren't being lazy we go for runs too. We are training to hopefully climb Kilimanjaro in July.
Some days we get a chance to travel with one of the priests for small village masses in the afternoon. These masses take place in tarp-covered lean-tos and last between an hour and half and two hours. This is no surprise of course because life moves slowly here. Things always start fashionably late and last for a long time. For instance, mass this morning was supposed to start at 8am. It began at 8:30 and ended at 11:30! Talk about a test of endurance.
That is all for now. I am excited because tomorrow the cook says I may get to slaughter a chicken! I will be sure to report back if that happens.
Tanzanian Fun Fact: The locals here don't use the typical am/pm method of telling time. Instead it is based off of the sunrise. One o'clock is 7am, two is 8am, and so forth.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
A Near Crisis
This will have to be a short post because the battery on Deacon Chris's laptop is about to die.
I wanted to post about perhaps the scariest thing to happen to me in a long time. Believe it or not it involves volleyball.
I was playing volleyball with the students yesterday, which is an everyday occurrence. These kids love volleyball; they absolutely eat it up. They would play all day if they could, and they are very good. I was playing up on the net and I jumped to spike the ball but it was further back than I realized. As I pulled my arm back and thrust it forward I heard a pop, and a sharp pain. As I reached for my shoulder I felt a gap between my arm and my shoulder. I had dislocated my shoulder. It was one of the strangest feelings of my life, and it hurt A LOT!
Luckily Tyler was there and he helped me back towards the parish house where we live. As we were walking I knelt down because of the pain, I used my other arm to lift the dislocated one to about parallel with the ground and gave it a little push. Much to my relief it popped back in! This was honestly a miracle. I am over an hour by jeep from the nearest doctor, and who knows what kind of training that doctor has. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.
I popped a bunch of Ibuprofen and lied down for a while. I think it is going to be okay, but I won't be playing volleyball for at least a week.
Everything else is going well. The teaching is really fun, and the students are enthusiastic. I drank fermented milk, which is like yogurt, for the first time today. Hopefully I won't puke!
Tanzanian Fun Fact: The people of Tanzania are extremely poor, but they have softer toilet paper than the University of Notre Dame, which has a $5 billion endowment.
I wanted to post about perhaps the scariest thing to happen to me in a long time. Believe it or not it involves volleyball.
I was playing volleyball with the students yesterday, which is an everyday occurrence. These kids love volleyball; they absolutely eat it up. They would play all day if they could, and they are very good. I was playing up on the net and I jumped to spike the ball but it was further back than I realized. As I pulled my arm back and thrust it forward I heard a pop, and a sharp pain. As I reached for my shoulder I felt a gap between my arm and my shoulder. I had dislocated my shoulder. It was one of the strangest feelings of my life, and it hurt A LOT!
Luckily Tyler was there and he helped me back towards the parish house where we live. As we were walking I knelt down because of the pain, I used my other arm to lift the dislocated one to about parallel with the ground and gave it a little push. Much to my relief it popped back in! This was honestly a miracle. I am over an hour by jeep from the nearest doctor, and who knows what kind of training that doctor has. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.
I popped a bunch of Ibuprofen and lied down for a while. I think it is going to be okay, but I won't be playing volleyball for at least a week.
Everything else is going well. The teaching is really fun, and the students are enthusiastic. I drank fermented milk, which is like yogurt, for the first time today. Hopefully I won't puke!
Tanzanian Fun Fact: The people of Tanzania are extremely poor, but they have softer toilet paper than the University of Notre Dame, which has a $5 billion endowment.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Tamsifu Yesu Christu! Milele Amina!
That is the traditional greeting around here. It roughly means: God be praised! Response: Indeed, Amen!
I am happy to report that I am safe and sound in Kitete. It has only been a few days, but it has been a wild ride so far, both literally and figuratively.
After 26 hours of travel, Tyler and I arrived in Arusha, a large city at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. We spent our first night under mosquito nets in a small hotel with Deacon Chris. Actually I should mention that he took us out for dinner first. You would never believe what he ordered...Chinese. My first meal after arriving in Africa was Chinese food, hilarious.
The next day we explored the city. We got money at the ATM and bought a cheap cellphone. It cost less than $20. We then made the three hour drive to Kitete. It is about two hours on a paved road and then an hour on a dirt path. It would be completely impassable without the four wheel drive LandCruiser. It is like riding a carnival ride for an hour. Thank goodness Tyler and I don't get motion sickness.
Since our arrival we have been meeting the students and staff. There are about 60 students here studying one of four subjects: masonry, carpentry, tailoring, or sewing. Tyler and I will begin teaching them English, computer applications, and some math tomorrow. It should be a real challenge. At least we get to play volleyball or soccer every afternoon.
As the wise Chaz Michael Michaels once said, "Night is a very dark time for me." He had no idea, unless he had been to Kitete. Once the generator is turned off, this place is completely dark, just the moon and the stars. I have been camping many times, but nothing matches this. There is honestly no ambient light whatsoever.
Tanzanian Fun Fact: Tanzanian money feels a lot like Monopoly money. One US dollar can buy roughly 1,400 Tanzanian Shillings. Seeing a bill with that many zeroes would make anyone feel like Donald Trump.
I am happy to report that I am safe and sound in Kitete. It has only been a few days, but it has been a wild ride so far, both literally and figuratively.
After 26 hours of travel, Tyler and I arrived in Arusha, a large city at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. We spent our first night under mosquito nets in a small hotel with Deacon Chris. Actually I should mention that he took us out for dinner first. You would never believe what he ordered...Chinese. My first meal after arriving in Africa was Chinese food, hilarious.
The next day we explored the city. We got money at the ATM and bought a cheap cellphone. It cost less than $20. We then made the three hour drive to Kitete. It is about two hours on a paved road and then an hour on a dirt path. It would be completely impassable without the four wheel drive LandCruiser. It is like riding a carnival ride for an hour. Thank goodness Tyler and I don't get motion sickness.
Since our arrival we have been meeting the students and staff. There are about 60 students here studying one of four subjects: masonry, carpentry, tailoring, or sewing. Tyler and I will begin teaching them English, computer applications, and some math tomorrow. It should be a real challenge. At least we get to play volleyball or soccer every afternoon.
As the wise Chaz Michael Michaels once said, "Night is a very dark time for me." He had no idea, unless he had been to Kitete. Once the generator is turned off, this place is completely dark, just the moon and the stars. I have been camping many times, but nothing matches this. There is honestly no ambient light whatsoever.
Tanzanian Fun Fact: Tanzanian money feels a lot like Monopoly money. One US dollar can buy roughly 1,400 Tanzanian Shillings. Seeing a bill with that many zeroes would make anyone feel like Donald Trump.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Hypocritical Narcissism
If you have spent any amount of time with me, you know that I tend to speak my mind. Some would say I lack tact (Lopez), others would say my filter doesn't work. Regardless (or "irregardless" for Steve) one my favorite things to pontificate about is the narcissism inherent in blogs. Honestly, how could you think that people care about your day-to-day life?
Well, I guess this makes me a hypocrite, and a narcissistic one at that. This will be my blog for the next nine weeks while I venture into the world of Kitete, Tanzania. I don't expect many people to read this, but I hope that it will serve as a funny and interesting way for me to keep in touch with my family and friends while I am 7,425 miles from home (thanks, GoogleMaps).
I will do my best to keep my posts short and interesting, and I will try to post regularly. I will even include one "Tanzanian Fun Fact" each time.
I will be leaving on Tuesday evening from JFK. I will fly with my partner, Tyler, from NYC to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro Airport. My next post will likely be from St. Brendan's in Kitete. I hope to have some interesting travel stories by then.
Tanzanian Fun Fact: When Tanzania was formed in 1964, it was initially named the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. It took less than a year for that name to be shortened to just "Tanzania." It rolls off the tongue a little easier.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
