Another week in the books in Morogoro, Tanzania. Training is
very stressful, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. It keeps me really busy 6 days
a week. This past week, we started “microteaching” which involves picking a subject
in our respective teaching subject and preparing a 10-15 minute lesson to
present to our fellow trainees and trainers. The first day, I went straight for
the kill, skipped way ahead in the curriculum, and decided to teach Evolution.
It went very well, and what is even cooler is that I was presenting to the
Peace Corps-Tanzania Country Director, as well as the other trainees in my
group. She is very involved with the trainees and it is very cool to be able to
interact with her on a personal level. She also has some really cool stories to
tell about her Peace Corps days and years since. The second microteaching
subject I taught was the scientific method, and third, movement in plants. I
have also learned the importance of speaking very slowly and clearly, as the
students I will eventually be teaching are very new to curriculum delivered in
English. In fact, because primary school is taught in Swahili, the first 2
years of secondary school are essentially a review of the last couple years of
primary school, just in English.
We have had current
PCVs visiting training and interacting with all of the trainees. It is very
cool to hear their perspective on the first 1-2 years of their service, as well
as any difficulties they may have had during their service. Also, they are
presenting various topics; some teaching subject specific, and others on topics
useful to all trainees. One in particular was over “Special English.” This
involves how to address Tanzanian students in class, as I mentioned earlier. It
is best to speak slowly, clearly, loudly, and with the fewest (and easiest)
words possible to still get the important point across. I feel as if I am
adjusting really well to this. In the states, there would be times where I
would be talking and get off on a tangent or digress (as some of my friends,
notably DUSTIN can attest to J), but now in teacher mode I am much more aware of
what I am saying. I have to be. The students will have a hard enough time
getting the information as it is. Especially with the jargon (or at least
advanced vocabulary) that tends to sneak into the upper level biology
curriculum here. I hope that I can master this skill and it will ultimately
carry over to my future endeavors in the US. Especially if I will be doing any
sort of teaching. I have also gained an appreciation for how difficult the
English language really can be for beginners. In my attempt to learn the
Swahili language, a language often touted as being easy to learn, I have had to
try and learn the exceptions to different rules in the language. This is especially
the case with irregular verbs and verb conjugation in different tenses. I often
find myself asking WHY DO WE DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE!? WHY CAN’T THIS VERB
FOLLOW THE SAME PATTERN AS OTHERS!? My wise teacher has calmed me, though, and
said (and I paraphrase) “JUST BECAUSE!” This is the case with any language.
I had the opportunity to watch a current PCV teach actual
Tanzanian students Form 1 (1st level of secondary school) English
the other day. While I was observing, I really became aware of how difficult
the English language can be. This is especially true in terms of exceptions to
rules or when certain letters are dropped off the end of a verb when the verb
is conjugated. A simple example: The verb “Dance”. When said as an action
(dancing), you drop the “e”. You don’t do this is other verbs like “play” or “fly”.
Why? I don’t know. Just because! And then there are LOTS of idioms in the
English language.. I won’t even discuss those. If you want to appreciate the
language and the culture, there comes a time when you have to learn the
language and associated rules AND EXCEPTIONS as they are. There isn’t
necessarily a “reason” why some words do not follow a logical pattern. They
just don’t, so suck it up and deal with it. This is what I needed. I need to
stop searching for patterns. I need to learn the rules and exceptions, practice
speaking as much as I can, study some more, and practice speaking some more.
As it turns out, Swahili IS an easy language to learn and I
am improving a little every day. The other day, for example, I found myself easily
exchanging a greeting with an elder. I think she was very impressed that I
could at least tell her hello (in a culturally respectful way—as opposed to the
English equivalent of “What’s up?”), tell her why I was in Africa, and where I
was walking to at the present moment. The nice thing about that exchange is
that I was able to answer her questions without really thinking about what to
say. Of course, I was at my limit fairly quickly after the greetings and
introductions had passed, but 2 weeks ago I didn’t know much more than “Hakuna
matata” or “Asante sana”. #Progress #Africa #PeaceCorps #InternetDongle
#BlogUpdates (For my readers who don’t understand why I went overboard with the
#Hashtags, I apologize. It is an inside thing with certain people like
#BrianSalin #DustinJoubert and #ClintAnders. Maybe #AndrewBlauser too.).
As I type this blog, I find myself slightly disheartened, as
I am missing the US Olympic Trials. I wasn’t sure of the exact dates, but
#JesseParker and his Facebook status just reminded me. I imagine fast races and
a majestic Hayward Field with stands filled with thousands of track savvy,
screaming fans. Hopefully this is really the case. Oh well, c’est la vie in
Africa. My family likes to watch soccer, though, so I am fairly up to date on the
Euro Cup. I think of #KlaasOlsen when I watch the games, especially when
Germany won the other night. In addition to soccer, all the kids here love
American wrestling. Yep, WWE wrestling. I’m from America and I didn’t even know
wrestling was still on. They all love Triple H. This brings me back to, say,
late elementary or early Junior High. It makes me laugh.
Other thoughts on Africa thus far: 1) DalaDalas* are very
interesting, but not in a fun or enticing way. 2) The weather in Morogoro is
very nice. 3) The passion fruit, oranges, mangos, and bananas are incredible! And
4) The mosquitoes in my current village aren’t all that bad.
*The daladala is a bus used for public transportation. As
far as I can tell, they are privately owned (I think) and drive various routes
from the village to a central hub in town. I have to take one from my village
to town, then switch daladalas at the hub to get on another one to take me to
the training site. To clarify my “interesting” comment above, there is no such
thing as too many people on a daladala. It is a business and the drivers want
to make as much profit as possible since they will drive the same route anyways.
I’m not sure if there are any regulations on max carrying capacity, but if
there are, they are ignored. All of the seats are filled and people stand A to
B (A**hole to Belly Button) in the aisles and anywhere else they can fit. Such
high population density also presents an opportunity for “Mwizi” (thief). It is
easy for them to pickpocket the passengers that are standing, so you have to be
very vigilant or hold any valuables in your hand. The best strategy is to not
having anything in your pockets, obviously, but when that isn’t an option you
have to keep your pockets covered or your eyes on them. The difficulty is that
one hand is required to hold on to a rail so you don’t fall, while the other
hand might be holding a bag or valuables. DON’T CARRY MORE THAN YOU ARE WILLING
TO LOSE! I know it sounds really terrible, but it isn’t really that bad. Yes it
is extremely crowded, but I have accepted it as part of the culture. It is an
experience and it is Tanzania. Embrace it! Just be aware… J
I will stop my rambling now, and again I hope all is well
back home. Hopefully everyone is avoiding the summer heat, as best possible! To
my XC brothers, I hope your training is going well. As Jesse always says and
you all know, miles make champions!! Keep it up and keep me informed on how
things are going, I would love to hear any training or race updates! I wish I
could join you all for a run, so I will just have to imagine I am in the state
park and as a real runner while I am out plodding along on the dirt roads here.
To my triathlon friends (Dustin), if you are racing, I hope that is going well.
I am already training for Florida 70.3- 2015. You better watch out this time…
And for Officer Balluser, I hope your 25/75, 50/50, etc. shadowing is going
well. Keep me informed! For everyone else, until next time, take care!
Feel free to send letters or other things, just refer to the
address in my earlier post!
-Travis