A few weeks ago I managed to get internet access on the mobile phone that I use (thanks auntie!). I tried to post on my blog but in spite of blogspot's promise of success it didn't seem to have worked. I wonder where that post ended up...
Anyway, so a few people have been asking me a very important question: What is the food like? Well, it’s different, of course, mostly. They do have spaghetti, rice and potatoes here, but besides that they have two dishes you won’t see in the Netherlands, namely ugali and makande. And here we have a warm meal at lunch too. But besides breakfast, lunch and dinner we hardly eat anything.
For breakfast we have white bread. It’s home baked, and I very much like it. Unfortunately there isn’t anything to put onto the bread, so it’s just that and tea in the morning. There used to be jam and butter, but I think that became a little too expensive. They say bread is very “YWAM” though – they will remember YWAM for it.
Then there is ugali. It’s basically a white, tasteless mass. Apparently it’s made from grinded, dried corn, but you really can’t tell if you see it. But as bad as it sounds, it’s actually ok to eat, if you have an equal amount of sauce or something else to go with it. We have it for lunch every single day here, which to be honest is a little hard to take for me. They absolutely love it here – it takes the same place as bread does in Europe. There’s places here where they have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner... I have no clue how they manage. It’s very heavy, I think you need at least four times as much spaghetti to fill the same space in your stomach. Thankfully the people at the base now have alternatives during lunch too, that’s quite a blessing.
For dinner we have rice, spaghetti or makande. That last one is made from dried rice as well, though it isn’t grinded. They boil it together with beans for some two hours. It’s quite alright I suppose.
The sauce they add isn’t quite like what I’m used to. They call it “soup” here, and often it actually is a kind of soup. But it works fine, and every now and then dinner can be very enjoyable.
One disappointment a foreigner might have is the lack of meat, it really is a luxury here. We have meat or big fish once or twice a week. Chicken I had exactly once so far, I got a part of its spine. Since it’s luxury I guess, they eat everything. Not only meat, but also great lumps of fat, chicken feet – one fellow teacher will even eat fish eyes. “Yes, it’s part of fish!” I was lucky enough to find two in my soup yesterday. Luckily enough I only have to worry about that once or twice a week... We have “small fish” more often though. It’s really just that – many tiny fish, each is I think about an inch long. It goes with ugali during lunch, and is just fine to eat.
Instead of meat they like to have beans a lot, which sometimes causes trouble in class. One student coined the phrase “to make Mbagala”, after an explosion in Tanzania’s ammunition depot in Mbagala.
One more interesting thing is their love for salt, they put surprising amounts of it on their food. Their love for sugar is just as big – most have about three spoons per cup, some even have six. I don’t think they’d want to drink tea without any.
I’m still good after well over a month, so the food must be just fine for me.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Birthdays and class
There were no big trips deep into Maasailand this week, unfortunately. I wouldn’t call it completely uneventful either, there was a birthday and many things happened in class of course.
As for birthdays, traditionally they didn’t celebrate those hear, but it’s coming up. The way is quite different from what I’m used to though. They take birthday quite literally - the lucky one has to be the “bebe”, the baby. There’s a father and a mother too, which are chosen on the spot. I was to be the father this week...Those parents had to feed the baby cake, which is of course a good laugh. And there’s a grandmother and –father too, they’re the ones who present the gifts. There’s plenty of dancing too, all in all they manage to make it quite a party. Though whereas in the Netherlands you may give gifts of maybe ten euro’s for instance, here I think gifts of three euro’s are considered to be expensive...
The students are doing good in class. This week they had a big exam, which got everyone pretty nervous. Rev. Ntangale, one of the students, said the morning before the exam, “No corner, no apostrophe, no abbreviation, no discussion, no anything - must be bent! (which means, ‘must be spanked’)” But the students did well.
They also had to teach themselves, about an animal of their choosing. Wherever they were lacking information they had to make it up themselves, which yielded some interesting “facts”. Apparently tigers only suck the blood from the goats they kill while not touching the meat, and there’s fish in the ocean that if not caught by people live for all of eternity and can have a million children. Also, and this actually came from our oldest student, hyenas are able to shoot poo right in your face from six miles away. I will never forget her clarify, “POOO!!!”
The students themselves love discussion the most. Often there’s a lot of "fire", it’s incredibly fun to see. Unfortunately we were very busy this week, and we only had time for a small discussion that had to end just when the fire started. It was about whether men should do housework. They managed to get to a point about the women being too tired from housework to still do anything in bed after the day, but then it was lunchtime.
As for birthdays, traditionally they didn’t celebrate those hear, but it’s coming up. The way is quite different from what I’m used to though. They take birthday quite literally - the lucky one has to be the “bebe”, the baby. There’s a father and a mother too, which are chosen on the spot. I was to be the father this week...Those parents had to feed the baby cake, which is of course a good laugh. And there’s a grandmother and –father too, they’re the ones who present the gifts. There’s plenty of dancing too, all in all they manage to make it quite a party. Though whereas in the Netherlands you may give gifts of maybe ten euro’s for instance, here I think gifts of three euro’s are considered to be expensive...
The students are doing good in class. This week they had a big exam, which got everyone pretty nervous. Rev. Ntangale, one of the students, said the morning before the exam, “No corner, no apostrophe, no abbreviation, no discussion, no anything - must be bent! (which means, ‘must be spanked’)” But the students did well.
They also had to teach themselves, about an animal of their choosing. Wherever they were lacking information they had to make it up themselves, which yielded some interesting “facts”. Apparently tigers only suck the blood from the goats they kill while not touching the meat, and there’s fish in the ocean that if not caught by people live for all of eternity and can have a million children. Also, and this actually came from our oldest student, hyenas are able to shoot poo right in your face from six miles away. I will never forget her clarify, “POOO!!!”
The students themselves love discussion the most. Often there’s a lot of "fire", it’s incredibly fun to see. Unfortunately we were very busy this week, and we only had time for a small discussion that had to end just when the fire started. It was about whether men should do housework. They managed to get to a point about the women being too tired from housework to still do anything in bed after the day, but then it was lunchtime.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Tempus fugit
Coming Monday I’ll have been here for exactly one month. I really can’t believe it, it went so fast! That I’ll be here for three more months doesn’t seem like such a long time now.
Last weekend I got to go on safari, together with a two students and two other teachers. It was what they call Eight-Eight, which stands for the eighth of August. It’s when people show their harvest, or any of their other work to anyone that’s interested. The Mikumi National Park had a special offer, so we decided to go there. Of course we couldn’t expect much luxury – the transport vehicle was a somewhat large van that seated some 40 people (African style) and the guide wasn’t always there. But it was still great to see the wildlife – elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, baboons, impalas and even quite a few crocodiles. Unfortunately we didn’t see a lion or any other big cat, in this season you can only see them at dawn or dusk and we were there in broad daylight. But it was still very nice, I was especially impressed by the number of animals that were there.
I also got to go to the Maasai, again! The settlements we went to were closer by than the one of last week, but since most of the road was sandy and generally very poor it took us much longer to get there. It was about 45 km, and it took us two and a half hours. All of it was bush land too, there are no shops or anything at that road. So if those people want anything they can’t find in the bush, they have to bike or walk those 45 km, twice... That’s about 18 hours on foot! But I suppose they chose that kind of life.
Again we went there to encourage the people and to see if the schools are still alive. For one settlement that was so – they even got taught some math, which I found impressive. But the other school unfortunately wasn’t active. As with many things, money is the problem. Sometimes teachers volunteer, but most of the time they ask for a compensation for missed income. An allowance, if you will. And in that particular village, the parents didn’t want to pay for education. They don’t really see its importance. If there’s no money and no volunteers, the whole thing stops of course... Which is a shame.
That area is blessed with an actual river though, so people can have all the water they need. Unfortunately, upstream people use the water for irrigation, especially in the dry season of course. This causes the river to dry out for a few months every year. This means the people have to move elsewhere, leaving behind their school. This way a solution in agriculture causes a problem in education elsewhere. The Maasai could probably dig a well, but I somehow get the idea that these people secretly don’t want to settle. Most here seem to find that almost shameful, since it can bring so much good, but somewhere I do understand. You would lose a lot of freedom, being “stuck” in one place. They used to just go anywhere they want, live anywhere they found nice. Until they simply felt like moving on... At least, that’s how I imagine it to be. It’s a shame it doesn’t match with the rest of the world, and I understand that it can be quite a dilemma for them.
Meanwhile, our “chained down” life at the base is good. The English course continues, and is now quite hard for the students. They have a lot of distractions too, not in the least the temptation of secretly speaking Swahili, which isn’t allowed here, for their own benefit. But there seems to be progress, all students are now able to tell very long stories if they want to, be it in somewhat broken English. By the end of next week we’ll be half way through the course.
The first small steps for the computer school have been made, too. Asheri and I had a meeting of sorts today to see what is needed. I thought getting enough computers would be a challenge, as they are more expensive here than at home in the Netherlands. But just recently Asheri got in contact with someone who happens to really want to send us computers. That’s God at work... So now we have to get a good curriculum to teach, and we have to make the classroom ready. The space is there, but a lot of things need doing still. You can’t plug 16 computers into one socket, for instance. A voltage stabiliser is a good idea as well, apparently, since voltage peaks cause the office computer to break down every once in a while. And of course there’s no internet either. Luckily the Arusha base already has a computer school up and running, so they may well be able to help us to solve these practical issues. I have good hopes!
Last weekend I got to go on safari, together with a two students and two other teachers. It was what they call Eight-Eight, which stands for the eighth of August. It’s when people show their harvest, or any of their other work to anyone that’s interested. The Mikumi National Park had a special offer, so we decided to go there. Of course we couldn’t expect much luxury – the transport vehicle was a somewhat large van that seated some 40 people (African style) and the guide wasn’t always there. But it was still great to see the wildlife – elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, baboons, impalas and even quite a few crocodiles. Unfortunately we didn’t see a lion or any other big cat, in this season you can only see them at dawn or dusk and we were there in broad daylight. But it was still very nice, I was especially impressed by the number of animals that were there.
I also got to go to the Maasai, again! The settlements we went to were closer by than the one of last week, but since most of the road was sandy and generally very poor it took us much longer to get there. It was about 45 km, and it took us two and a half hours. All of it was bush land too, there are no shops or anything at that road. So if those people want anything they can’t find in the bush, they have to bike or walk those 45 km, twice... That’s about 18 hours on foot! But I suppose they chose that kind of life.
Again we went there to encourage the people and to see if the schools are still alive. For one settlement that was so – they even got taught some math, which I found impressive. But the other school unfortunately wasn’t active. As with many things, money is the problem. Sometimes teachers volunteer, but most of the time they ask for a compensation for missed income. An allowance, if you will. And in that particular village, the parents didn’t want to pay for education. They don’t really see its importance. If there’s no money and no volunteers, the whole thing stops of course... Which is a shame.
That area is blessed with an actual river though, so people can have all the water they need. Unfortunately, upstream people use the water for irrigation, especially in the dry season of course. This causes the river to dry out for a few months every year. This means the people have to move elsewhere, leaving behind their school. This way a solution in agriculture causes a problem in education elsewhere. The Maasai could probably dig a well, but I somehow get the idea that these people secretly don’t want to settle. Most here seem to find that almost shameful, since it can bring so much good, but somewhere I do understand. You would lose a lot of freedom, being “stuck” in one place. They used to just go anywhere they want, live anywhere they found nice. Until they simply felt like moving on... At least, that’s how I imagine it to be. It’s a shame it doesn’t match with the rest of the world, and I understand that it can be quite a dilemma for them.
Meanwhile, our “chained down” life at the base is good. The English course continues, and is now quite hard for the students. They have a lot of distractions too, not in the least the temptation of secretly speaking Swahili, which isn’t allowed here, for their own benefit. But there seems to be progress, all students are now able to tell very long stories if they want to, be it in somewhat broken English. By the end of next week we’ll be half way through the course.
The first small steps for the computer school have been made, too. Asheri and I had a meeting of sorts today to see what is needed. I thought getting enough computers would be a challenge, as they are more expensive here than at home in the Netherlands. But just recently Asheri got in contact with someone who happens to really want to send us computers. That’s God at work... So now we have to get a good curriculum to teach, and we have to make the classroom ready. The space is there, but a lot of things need doing still. You can’t plug 16 computers into one socket, for instance. A voltage stabiliser is a good idea as well, apparently, since voltage peaks cause the office computer to break down every once in a while. And of course there’s no internet either. Luckily the Arusha base already has a computer school up and running, so they may well be able to help us to solve these practical issues. I have good hopes!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
The Maasai
Before I came to Africa I feared the three months I’d be teaching here would be boring, but so far every week has brought something interest, to say the least. This week I was invited to visit the Maasai. We actually have three of them in class, but now I and the British teachers got to see how they live. These are actual bushmen, the ones living far from cities and roads. Not so much because they didn’t know any cities, at least, not the ones I went to. These people chose to live away from what most would call civilisation, because of the peace and quiet, and for their culture’s sake.
Meeting those people was fascinating... They do have the colourful robes and they do walk around with blade and staff or spear. Where they live, anything could happen. YWAM is supporting schools among the Maasai, so they can learn how to read and write. The settlements are so remote that you have to go there every now and then, there’s no real other way to see how the schools are doing, and whether they’re even “alive” still.
Because the schools may stop, yes. There’s two main reasons for that, namely a lack of water and a lack of motivation. The Maasai are animal keepers, they herd cattle. If there’s no water their livestock may die, which is their fortune. And because they’re cattle keepers, they often don’t see the point in literacy. I could tell our visit meant so much to them. The teacher told us the school will definitely be very busy the next day, even though most of the people went away in search of water, since it’s the dry season now. They were very, very thankful, just for our presence, and for knowing that we think of them. In fact, when they heard I was 21 and not yet married, they offered me a woman to marry... But they were just kidding of course. At least, I hope they were. I think they were less enthusiastic when they found out I didn’t know how to keep cattle, at all.
Having many wives is normal among the Maasai – some may have more than ten. They have more children too. Twelve, twenty... Some men have more than eighty! Sered told there was one Maasai that even started his own primary school, just for his own children.
These people unfortunately know very little. I didn’t expect them to know about the string theory etc., but they didn’t even know the stuff their sandals are made of came from cows such as the ones they keep. They also had and still have to be taught about things as boiling water against parasites and the importance of hygiene. YWAM hopes to start a health education programme, which would be great.
Sitini said some of the Maasai we visited live for ten years without going by car, so of course they were eager to come along. Unfortunately the jeep was full... So they tagged along on the back of the car instead. They do have bicycles though, and some even have mobile phones. But I think that’s just for status, I do wonder about the network coverage there... And how they recharge without electricity.
Meeting those people was fascinating... They do have the colourful robes and they do walk around with blade and staff or spear. Where they live, anything could happen. YWAM is supporting schools among the Maasai, so they can learn how to read and write. The settlements are so remote that you have to go there every now and then, there’s no real other way to see how the schools are doing, and whether they’re even “alive” still.
Because the schools may stop, yes. There’s two main reasons for that, namely a lack of water and a lack of motivation. The Maasai are animal keepers, they herd cattle. If there’s no water their livestock may die, which is their fortune. And because they’re cattle keepers, they often don’t see the point in literacy. I could tell our visit meant so much to them. The teacher told us the school will definitely be very busy the next day, even though most of the people went away in search of water, since it’s the dry season now. They were very, very thankful, just for our presence, and for knowing that we think of them. In fact, when they heard I was 21 and not yet married, they offered me a woman to marry... But they were just kidding of course. At least, I hope they were. I think they were less enthusiastic when they found out I didn’t know how to keep cattle, at all.
Having many wives is normal among the Maasai – some may have more than ten. They have more children too. Twelve, twenty... Some men have more than eighty! Sered told there was one Maasai that even started his own primary school, just for his own children.
These people unfortunately know very little. I didn’t expect them to know about the string theory etc., but they didn’t even know the stuff their sandals are made of came from cows such as the ones they keep. They also had and still have to be taught about things as boiling water against parasites and the importance of hygiene. YWAM hopes to start a health education programme, which would be great.
Sitini said some of the Maasai we visited live for ten years without going by car, so of course they were eager to come along. Unfortunately the jeep was full... So they tagged along on the back of the car instead. They do have bicycles though, and some even have mobile phones. But I think that’s just for status, I do wonder about the network coverage there... And how they recharge without electricity.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Of pizza and mountains
I had pizza yesterday. It was so good! I was smiling ear to ear when eating... Simtu, one of the students, took showed us around town a little. He's actually somewhat famous in the area as he's a boxer, and I recon he's one of the more wealthy students too. He took us to this Rock Garden Resort, a beautiful area with a little river and boulders, of course... I'll have to upload pictures later. He also took us to this restaurant called "Dragonaires", where we shared said godly pizza. I think pizza will be the first thing I want when I come home again... It's so good...
Joshua and I also climbed the nearby mountain. And it wasn't just "mountain" by Dutch definition, it was of actual, proper height. Even Josh thought so. Strangely, no one else wanted to go with us. It took us one hour to get to the base of the mountain, and after two hours of climbing / crawling upwards we made it to the peak! Actually there was a higher peak still, but we'd had to go through a small valley first, and we simply didn't have the time. But we could see all of the Morogoro area from where we were, it was a fantastic view. "The whole of Morogoro is on our eyes," as Joshua put it. And it was on that peak that Joshua heard he was accepted at university too. We prayed together too, for all that we could see from there. It was a fantastic, though exhausting day.
Joshua and I also climbed the nearby mountain. And it wasn't just "mountain" by Dutch definition, it was of actual, proper height. Even Josh thought so. Strangely, no one else wanted to go with us. It took us one hour to get to the base of the mountain, and after two hours of climbing / crawling upwards we made it to the peak! Actually there was a higher peak still, but we'd had to go through a small valley first, and we simply didn't have the time. But we could see all of the Morogoro area from where we were, it was a fantastic view. "The whole of Morogoro is on our eyes," as Joshua put it. And it was on that peak that Joshua heard he was accepted at university too. We prayed together too, for all that we could see from there. It was a fantastic, though exhausting day.
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