Bovine plumbing....or Toilet adventures in Tanzania.

We had just begun what is becoming our typical Saturday in Manow....sleeping late .... at least when the bell ringer also sleeps late and the 6:30 AM church bells do not ring.  Leisurely breakfast ... we have recently learned to make  toast in our oven so that is our current treat on the weekends - then make our list and get ready for our trip to the market in Lwangwa - a hot and dusty walk of about 3 kilometers going and surely 4 or 5 coming back....uphill.

I went to get changed for the market walk and decided to use the bathroom before we left.  I announced my presence with authority - slamming the door once or twice to alert any spiders or other critters that the sheriff is coming.  I  entered with confidence - nothing around and was at my ease when I heard a loud noise coming from the area of the sink - poking my head around the corner I was amazed to see the drain pipe of the sink moving back and forth with some force.  I can tell you that is a first for me.  My original thought was - Do people steal bathroom pipes thru the wall?  Is that possible?  Needless to say I was no longer at my ease.

I called my trusty partner Sean and he went outside to investigate.  He came back to the house saying "you have to see this".  A cow had been staked in our backyard to graze....not at all uncommon.  Apparently the perfect piece of grass or whatever  green item she wanted was close to the house and right by the outgoing pipe from the sink.  So of course she had to move the pipe to get to it.

Pipe in the foreground.....cow looking rather sheepish....who me???

It was lucky the drain to the sink was not at all connected but rather "resting" on top of the outgoing pipe - otherwise it might have actually broken off causing untold problems for our fundy [handyman] who had already replaced the faucet [extremely fancy with a red handle and a hose nozzle - giving the appearance of what I imagine to be the sink in a fire station.  I did remove the nozzle after he left since it actually was so long I could not get my hands under it - thereby eliminating the primary use of the sink.] and the drain pipe when we first got here.


I called our helper Martin who came over immediately to help us restake the cow.  No more problems.  This beats a huge spider with teeth in the bathroom any day!

Moving Day!!

Today we were able to begin moving benches and tables into our new classrooms....we will have class on Monday in the new space!  We were supposed to be in the temporary  room for 1 week, then 2 weeks, and so it goes but it finally is finished enough for us to use it....hooray.....

The students carried two large tables we are borrowing from Manow Secondary School along with some desks for Sean and I to keep our supplies, some chairs and of course the benches overland to the new classrooms.  It was quite a trek and on the way the kids gave Sean and I some Swahili lessons - pointing out things on the way and letting me know the Swahili words....somehow I was the one the girls thought should have a quiz on Monday to see if I remembered my Swahili vocabulary.  I have been stressing their need to study to do well and in fact pointing out when it is clear they had not studied....hmmmmm.  I think they may have a plan here.....I let them know I would be studying this weekend.  Wish me luck!  I do remember saa is watch and kofia is hat and miwani ya jua is sunglasses....these are apparently my trademarks according to the girls in our class.

  This is a great accomplishment for Nancy Winters, The Tanzania Teaching Foundation and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Oly WA.  With Nancy's leadership, all the funds for the 2 classrooms were raised and the building managed and completed from more than 10,000 miles away.  No mean feat for sure!

Market tomorrow and more cleaning and setting up of the class room. and studying my Swahili vocabulary of course.  Hopefully I will get some photos to drop box and Hilary can post them on the blog - building these classrooms in partnership with the church and the community in Manow is a great gift to the kids and to the community!  The kids are so excited!

Erick, Winhadi, Uwezo, Peter and Antony

Gwamaka, Erick A.,Jasiri

Anafi, Anna, Modesta

Thank You Cedrus from all the kids in Pre Form 1 English!!

Friday is our exam day so it is pretty high stress for the kids.  We also make them clean the room and pick up trash and debris in the area around our class room....not usual tasks for students in Manow or for that matter anywhere in TZ....so....we try to do something fun on Fridays.....this week I brought in my Ipod and the speaker that son in law extraordinaire - Cedrus - got for me.  It is so small it fits in my pocket but plays the music loud enough for you to hear....the kids were enthralled.

I immediately became the coolest teacher ever.....at least temporarily :).  I found a version of "This Little Light of Mine" that was country western complete with steel guitar....they loved singing along to that for sure and then we played "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" also a big hit which they want to learn for sure.

I told them that Cedrus had gotten me the speaker that enabled us to hear the music so there was a big round of ThankYou Cedrus!  Tanzania is very loud....kids talk loud - what we would call yelling is really normal conversation for them.  Also music and radios in general are played very loudly - then people talk over them rendering everyone completely deaf to what is going on around them....or at least me anyhoo.....getting the kids to quiet down so they could hear what a feat but they eventually figured it out and had a great time.  I put it in my pocket and then went around to each group working and we had mini sessions.  They can't wait for next Friday! 

Thank you Cedrus!

Weekend at Matema

We had a beautiful weekend at Matema on the shore of Lake Nyasa - a huge lake on the border between Malawi and TZ.  Relaxing and reading and meeting some new folks.  Monday was the celebration of Julius Nyrere's death day which is a national holiday here.  There were lots of folks taking advantage and spending time at the lake.

We met lots of Germans either vacationing or living in Tanzania and having a quick trip for the weekend.  A couple of American Peace Corps kids and lots of others....it is always interesting getting a new perspective.  Our neighbor was a Filipino contractor who was overseeing a road project for a Chinese company - working with both Tanzanians and Chinese - he and his family have been here several years.

We had a very beautiful hike to a waterfall at the end of the Mwalalo river near Matema.  I did not make it to the waterfall having discovered that hiking over rocks and rappelling down cliffs was exactly as I expected....horrifying and not at all fun....I had my fill when hanging onto a tree on my way down to the alleged trail I miraculously avoided being impaled on a branch before landing on our guide's head.  I decided to wait in safety while Moyo our guide and Sean continued to the waterfall....I waited by the side of the river which turned out to be something of a super hiway for beautiful butterflies of every possible description....lovely way to spend the time!  Unfortunately I was not able to get any photos since those critters are fast.

Although we would love to go back we probably hit the best time before the November rains...when the misquitos get really bad - it was wonderful to have the opportunity to have a break and to see this beautiful spot.  Back to the classroom!

We have picture capability...at least we hope we do! Not really.....here are the photos I wanted to share!

Okay....I think I figured this out and this is such a beautiful place and I have already met so many special people I hate not to be able to include them....first my partner Sean Sheehan

Well all attempts to upload photos have failed.  Of course it is possible as others do it every day from here....so....I will keep trying but in the  mean time I will just write.

Sean, Tine and Me outside our very comfortable volunteer house

Martin [friend, minder, helper, super fundy, great storyteller and nice man] with his two most challenging volunteers!

Mt. Ugali from our front door.

Part of our "garden" in the back yard.

Mesia [one of our students] and her brother stopping by with some milk for us.

On the road to Lwangwa. 

Beautiful vista on our hike to Owden's house.

Shukrani makes my day!

We have had some great teaching days this week.  The kids were writing short little stories and struggling with the whole idea.  We gave them some ideas for topics and an example - most of the kids wrote a few sentences about school or family .... and then our sweet little Shukrani made our day.  She is very petite and extremely sweet - also smart and a hard worker.  Her story was about the animals in Tanzania.  Very outside the box for the group and very brave of her.   It was even more cool since few of the kids have ever seen any of the animals that TZ is famous for and some don't even recognize them from a photo.  Shukrani did say that elephants eat meat but I say...that's what editors are for!  She was so proud of the story and the kids were very impressed when she put it on the board - a great day for sure! 

Shukrani (on the right)

Rain, Rain and......termites!

Well....so much for Mr. Mwaikemo's Monday night prediction - 'The rains will not come until November."  We have had rain of biblical proportions since Tuesday evening.  Tuesday and Wednesday night were particularly inspirational - I reviewed all my sins at least 3 times on Tuesday night in anticipation of the endtimes.....the noise on the metal roof makes it sound like a hurricane at least!  Wednesday was a bit better with only one time for the review of sins. 

The rain also brought a continuing infestation of termites to my bathroom....Yuck!  Big mommas and all their little hatchlings.  This happens when it rains since they get washed out.  They appeared in the early hours of Thursday - I asked our #1 helper Martin what to do and he replied "I wait for them to leave".  Well they are leaving but then they come back.....this AM we applied paint thinner to try and eradicate....keep a good thought.  They are not dangerous of course and that is good but they are revolting :).

We were able to hold class - rain is even more difficult when you are walking in flipflops or in worn shoes that may or may not fit you properly - many kids were not able to make it on Wednesday but by Thursday we had almost everyone and Friday we had only one absence. 

It is true that our students and folks here in general walk much more slowly than we do - as I observe the terrain - huge rocks on the paths, holes and general uneven and slippery into the bargain - it is apparent it may be as much a safety precaution - albeit one of the few I have seen here - but I would not want to walk too quickly around here in flip flops.  As a result, I have stopped telling kids to haraka haraka - hurry hurry.

This is the path to our classroom on the campus of Manow Lutheran

This is on the road to the market at Lwangwa....Yikes....the true miracle is that Mama Jane never fell the whole time!

As we finish our second week of class we are seeing a small glimmer of understanding in some of the kids....since we know very little Swahili - a word or phrase here and there - the kids struggle to understand us making their job much harder.  We are getting there bit by bit.  Keep us in your prayers.