Farewell From Abroad!

Ahh the time has come my friends, for me to wish you farewell-at least from afar. By the time you read this I may be in my last day in Tanzania, or I may be somewhere across the Atlantic. Although before I go off on a tangent about how much this time has meant to me or whatever, let me tell you what has been going on here the past week.

As I said, I will be leaving in the next few days and so this obviously has meant a lot of last minute scrambling around for me. I have spent the past week going over my lessons from throughout the term so as to determine what I would have Eileen (who is taking over my English Form One class, in addition to her Form Two and Three classes, once I leave) teach my class. I have also been writing their terminal examination, which they will take in just three weeks. Planning a farewell dinner with the boarding students and purchasing last minute gifts have also been on menu this week. And of course I’ve been trying to accomplish these tasks intermittently while spending as much time as possible with the family and my students as my departure approaches. The realization that I am leaving with no idea of when I will be able to see them again has caused me to become somewhat panicky as of late.

In addition to all of these little, last minute projects I have also been Teacher on Duty (TOD) this week. You may recall when Eileen was TOD that it entails arriving earlier in the morning, and staying later in the afternoon, plus a lot of extra yelling at students. In reality it is not much different than how our other weeks have been spent at school, because truthfully Eileen and I act as TODs most days anyway. The difference this week is there is not another teacher (besides Eileen) who is supposed to be helping with this task. Although I am happy to report that Mr. Oswen, our history/civics teacher and Second Headmaster, has been fairly helpful this week as far as discipline is concerned and that has been very welcome since the students have been less than angelic this week. For a while I was confused about why they have been so rambunctious lately, until I realized that they have less than a month left of term. When I consider this I can easily understand their restlessness, although as a teacher it makes it no less frustrating! I must say that this experience has increased my respect and admiration for people who chose teaching as a career a hundred fold!

We were supposed to pick up our first batch of chickens for Raising a Future this week, but unfortunately that did not happen. Originally the plan was that Babu and Eileen would leave the house at 5:00A.M. on Tuesday morning so they could be at Kiboho (the company from which we purchased the chickens) when the chicks arrived from Moshi. Unfortunately, they set off about an hour late and this meant they hit morning traffic, so by the time they reached the local branch of Kiboho all the chicks had been purchased. Apparently African time does not apply when there are chickens involved! As a result, they will drag themselves out of bed at an even more ungodly hour next Tuesday and hope for a bit more luck and good timing in their venture. I am a bit disappointed because I was hoping to see our chicks before I left, but I also don’t have to wake up at 4:30A.M. to get them so I really should not complain.

Well that is about the gist of my past week. And although I would normally sign off right about now, I must apologize that I cannot do this yet because I must take a moment to do that final departure/farewell/thank you thing that comes along after such an adventure as this.

It is strange to look back and consider that I didn’t have any knowledge of this place or these people only three months ago. Like other volunteers, I have fallen into feeling as though these people are my second family and I can’t imagine not knowing them. I hope my time here has been at least a quarter as beneficial to them as it has been for me. This has truly been one of those experiences where I have been affected far more than have the people I came here to help. I am extremely grateful to my family here for taking me in and making me feel as though I am a welcome addition. I am especially grateful to my Babu, Eliezer Kahatano, who has treated me as a granddaughter from the moment he first greeted me, but has become even more wonderful with every passing day. Thank you also to Bibi. Although I was never fortunate enough to meet you, it was you who created this wonderful family and school that brought me here and has since accepted me so wholly. Without your influence I have no doubt I would not be sitting here today. Thank you to all of you who have followed and supported me, and TEP, through your reading of this blog. Fear not dear readers, for I am sure this is not the last you will hear of me! I plan to continue to work for the benefit of TEP upon my return to The States, so I believe you will hear about me, if not directly from me, on occasion. Thank you also to Cassie for laying a path for others to follow, this experience has been a fantastic one and I never would have gotten here had I not known you. Finally, an enormous thank you to my family for supporting me throughout everything I’ve done here and in my life. You are all wonderful. I suppose that is all this week. Stay tuned, as I certainly will, to hear about what Eileen battles for the next month! I look forward to seeing you all as I resume my life on the other side of the Atlantic!

Love,
Kristina