Routine Day-to-Day Taking Shape

Mambo everyone! Hope everything is well back there in the good old
U.S.A. Things here in TZ are getting smoother by the day and
everything is really starting to fall in place as far as projects go.
The library is really coming along and we have already started putting
the reference section to good use to benefit the students. We have
been working very hard to get all the books sorted and ready to move
onto the shelves but it’s quite a task. We are playing with different
strategies on how to shelve them and as soon as we have that figured
out it will be all downhill from there (or so we think, you never know
where or when a wrench can be thrown into the system as you have all
learned).
Our day-to-day has started to become slightly routine. We wake up
around 6:30, help around the house a bit and sometimes do a little
paper work until breakfast. As soon as that is over we head to school
and the day starts at 7:45. All day long Eileen, Cassie, and I teach
our classes and perform our duties just like any other staff member.
During the times when we are not busy with school-related things we
work on the library as much as we can. When the school day ends at
3:20ish we go home to have lunch and then we walk straight back to the
school to work more on the library until the sun goes down. When it
does, we return home and work on computer/paper
work/grading/documentary/website kind of work until we go to bed
around 10:30ish.
We are working very hard to get the library ready for these kids to
use. I can see how excited they are and it motivates me to work even
harder. One perk of being the ones to organize the books is that we
have been finding some pretty good stuff! We drool over the donated
books and wish we had more time to read them all. I have already taken
home and read books about science inventions, the culture of
Madagascar, a very nice animal encyclopedia, and I am currently
burning through the British version of Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone just for fun. (Needless to say I am one happy
camper)
On Friday we allowed the students to take some of the donated soccer
balls out and play futbol. I couldn’t resist the temptation to join in
and it was great to play with some quality equipment. The kids loved
it so much and this coming Friday we will have a chance for them to
try out their new jerseys in the Staff vs. Student futbol match. It
should be pretty hilarious.
The weekend was really good. We woke up early Saturday and worked on
the library some more. Also, some young friends from Germany, who are
currently volunteering at Olof, came to visit Fanaka. Their names are
Maria and Emmanuel and they have been at Olof for almost a year now.
They came to see the school in hopes to tell their volunteering
company to send future German volunteers to Fanaka for entire years at
a time. Cassie showed them around the school, the house, and told them
about what future volunteers would be doing. Maria and Emmanuel loved
Fanaka and our house and said they couldn’t wait to tell their
organization back home to send more volunteers. There will be a lot of
paper work to fill out and Fanaka would have to be approved for their
program but if it all works out it would mean that Fanaka would
receive two German volunteers every year, each staying for a year at a
time. I cannot express how great it would be for the school and also
for the Tanzanian Education Project to have a steady flow of
volunteers, not only to teach but to work on important projects for
the school.
Speaking of projects, since ELAAP (ELA Advertising Project) has
commenced we have heard some really great news- the project is a
success! The main teacher at ELA, Frita, came to the house on Monday
to report that the school has enrolled four more students due to the
paintings on the walls and there were numerous others inquiring about
the school and possibly wanting to join. Our hearts leapt at this
success because the results were so immediate and so beneficial.
Things are really moving and shaking this week. Yesterday Babu and
Cassie went and purchased the copy machine, printer, and other
necessary items for the stationary shop so we are really making
progress on that. Since the sea container fees were less than we had
thought they would be I will have a meeting tomorrow to get a final
estimate on the futbol and volleyball field repairs/construction. If
we can complete this project the students will have a proper, safe
place to play and it will better advertise the school to potential
students and generate more income.
I have been particularly strained this week because I am T.O.D, or
teacher on duty. This is no easy task. The T.O.D is in charge of just
about everything from chasing students and teachers into class,
administering extra punishments, making all the decisions, writing
reports, etc, etc, etc. T.O.D’s in the past can be lax on quite a few
rules and generally clueless but this week there has been a new
sheriff in town. I made myself three schedules to carry around on a
clipboard so I always know where everyone should be at all times, I
have a notebook on my person to record students who are not doing
their punishments, teachers who are late to class, and other problems
to deal with. I also carried around a red, blue and black pen as well
as a pencil behind my ear, chalk in my pocket, and my lesson plans
with me so I can’t miss a beat.
This week has been running on American time, not African. Anything can
throw the entire school into disarray at any moment so I try to figure
things out before they happen. I get the teachers the exams and papers
ten minutes before the exam is supposed to start so there is no time
wasted finding out who is proctoring it, where the questions are etc.
I find the keys and get the brooms before the period ends so they are
ready for the kids to clean right away. If the kids have to assemble
at a certain time and I know they take 5 minutes to do so I ring the
bell 5 minutes early. Needless to say, all the Africans have been
thrown for a little bit of a loop, but I think they are enjoying
starting and leaving on time for once. The headmistress made it so
that the three of us are T.O.D consecutively and can teach the current
teachers a thing or two about order and discipline. Let’s hope at
least a few of our tricks will rub off on them. Ultimately the only
way to ease the load on the T.O.D. is for everyone to help, which is
not happening so far. However, we have a teacher meeting at the end of
the day tomorrow so hopefully we can discuss and solve this problem.
Bibi is doing much better so thank you for all the wishes and prayers.
Everything at the house is peaceful and we have been getting a little
rain and some water from the main line so the boys don’t have to fetch
it every day! My classes are going very well and every day I learn
more about the students and how to better teach them. Some of them are
stubborn but they are really starting to melt my heart when I see them
get excited about my favorite subjects. Other than that, we are just
cranking away at the website, documentary, library, and projects and
soon everything will start to really come together. Plans for this
weekend and next week are to visit Olof and give them a few gifts,
work on the library, start getting the shop ready to open, and of
course mold the minds with our classes! As always, thanks for reading!
Teresa