Several times, whether on the dala-dala or the bus, people have gotten on with live chickens. they are usually in plastic bags, with their heads sticking out. The people just set them on the floor by their feet for the journey, like carry-on bags!
Yesterday, while waiting for the Kondoa-Arusha bus to leave, I saw a woman come up to our bus, leading a goat! I thought, this should be interesting. There's hardly room on the bus for all the people who squeeze on, and I couldn't imagine a goat in that crowd. However, they opened up the baggage compartment under the bus and shoved the goat in there! I had hoped, for the goat's sake, that they weren't going far, but they got off just before us in Arusha, 6 hours later!I watched, and while he looked a little dazed, the goat seemed to be fine. So, apparently, goats are checked bags!
Me with my sponsored children
Me with my sponsored children
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Another week in Kondoa
Such a better start to this week. No drama on the bus, only about a 6 hour trip, a restful Sunday afternoon, then it was time for Monday and immigration. I wasn’t really worried; we had all the documentation they had asked for, but you just never know. Obbo, the headmaster, was supposed to meet Joelle and me and go with us, but SBC also had a team flying in, so he had to meet them at the airport instead. We bravely marched to the office, and Abdon, the young man I dealt with the most the last time, recognized me and greeted me as if we were old friends. I introduced him to Joelle, he asked about Sarah, and we handed over our letters, permits, copies of passports, etc., and he went off to show them to his supervisor. He came back shortly, tried to find something we hadn’t done, failed, and let us go! That was such a wonderful way to begin our week!
Time we got to school we saw the SBC team, but they were busy with meetings and sponsored children, so we didn’t get to spend time with them. Instead, we headed for the classrooms. It was a good reunion, and then we got down to work! Lots of observations and feedback, meetings, work on the school timetable, rehearsal for a science demonstration by Elijah’s class on Thursday, some work in the library with resources – a varied week, to say the least!
Time we saw the children at morning tea on Monday, I asked Daniel to show me his 2 sisters that are there. One is 8, and her Maasai name is difficult, so she is now called Love. The other one is only 5, and she is Glory. Due to language issues, they are both in the second kindergarten class together and are just so sweet. One night we took the teachers out for Paul’s birthday dinner, and I told Daniel and Elijah they could bring their siblings. Daniel sat between the girls, ordered for them, cut up their food when they needed it, and was such a daddy, it brought tears to my eyes. During the week, at the oddest times I would think, “These girls are so young he could be responsible for them for 10 more years. When he gets married, they will probably move in with him and his bride.” Then, watching the girls in kindergarten, I was struck again by how young they are to be without a mother. That’s when I remember what a tough place this is and how hard life can be for them.
Left on Friday (at 6!) and were home by lunchtime. That is supposed to be my last trip to Kondoa, but I may see if I can squeeze one more in – they’re all just so great, and I don’t feel like I got to
Time we got to school we saw the SBC team, but they were busy with meetings and sponsored children, so we didn’t get to spend time with them. Instead, we headed for the classrooms. It was a good reunion, and then we got down to work! Lots of observations and feedback, meetings, work on the school timetable, rehearsal for a science demonstration by Elijah’s class on Thursday, some work in the library with resources – a varied week, to say the least!
Time we saw the children at morning tea on Monday, I asked Daniel to show me his 2 sisters that are there. One is 8, and her Maasai name is difficult, so she is now called Love. The other one is only 5, and she is Glory. Due to language issues, they are both in the second kindergarten class together and are just so sweet. One night we took the teachers out for Paul’s birthday dinner, and I told Daniel and Elijah they could bring their siblings. Daniel sat between the girls, ordered for them, cut up their food when they needed it, and was such a daddy, it brought tears to my eyes. During the week, at the oddest times I would think, “These girls are so young he could be responsible for them for 10 more years. When he gets married, they will probably move in with him and his bride.” Then, watching the girls in kindergarten, I was struck again by how young they are to be without a mother. That’s when I remember what a tough place this is and how hard life can be for them.
Left on Friday (at 6!) and were home by lunchtime. That is supposed to be my last trip to Kondoa, but I may see if I can squeeze one more in – they’re all just so great, and I don’t feel like I got to
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
My week as a pedestrian!
I forgot to blog about some of my experiences the week or so that my car was in the shop. I don't often think of myself as spoiled by having a car, but after going without one for a week, I have a new appreciation for how most everyone else here lives.
The procedure for getting into town includes a 20 minute walk down our dusty Njiro road (not paved, of course) to a dala-dala stop. (Those are the min-buses that are supposed to carry about 14-16 passengers. The record that I've heard of is about 32!) There are very few regulations governing these, as the police are part-owners in most of them, so they are often overcrowded and under-serviced. There's always room for one more paying customer! They are very cheap, however, so that's the plus side.
After getting on the dala, and miraculously getting a seat, you bounce along into town, another 20 minutes away. When you're ready to get off, you either signal the conda (conductor, who takes up money and shouts out the window for new customers) or bang on the side of the dala. You get off as close as possible to where you want to go, then walk the rest of the way.
I did this several times that week, once getting a lift part of the way into town, then taking my computer to the shop, then walking another 30 minutes to the Impala, for a well-deserved (I thought!) swim, then repeating the process back home. On one of those trips, a young TZ man started up a conversation (it's pretty obvious I'm not from around here!), and he knew one of my housemates, Corinne, so we chatted till time to get off the dala. Then he walked me all the way to Joshua, carrying my swim bag, so I wouldn't have to go alone or carry it myself. We had a great conversation, and, of course, he wanted my cell phone number at the end (everyone always wants your cell phone number!). Another time, a young man got off with Sarah and me and also walked us all the way to Joshua, this time carrying Sarah's bag. We think he was practicing his English, as he works in an Arusha hotel as a waiter and cook.
However, the most intense experience was getting to church that Sunday. I'm on the hospitality committee at church, and I'm the one responsible for bringing the coffee, tea, sugar, milk, napkins, etc. since I have a car to transport it all in...usually! I also give people lifts, most often Anna, a former student at the pastor's college at Joshua who still lives "on campus", along with Don and Sarah. That particular Sunday, I asked Don if he was going because I needed him to help carry things! He and I loaded up backpacks, and the 3 of us did the dala-dala thing into town. We had to transfer to another dala, but didn't really know which one would take us the fartherest (is that a word?), and, ultimately, picked one that didn't go far enough. We were already running later than I would have liked, as the coffee time is before church starts, and I try to get there at least 30 minutes early. We were trudging along yet another dusty, unpaved road, when, thankfully, Bruce Bone (from Imara) and his family stopped and offered us a lift! When I showed up, there was great rejoicing! Funnily, the thing they were all the happiest to see were the napkins! Tanzanians don't like to touch some foods, except the ones that are meant to be eaten by hand, and those 2 things never make sense to me! For instance, their national dish, ugali( which is the consistency of mashed potatoes) is supposed to be eaten with greens, with your fingers. But, cookies or pieces of cake need a napkin! So, there had not been any "bites" put out, while they waited for the napkins! Later, they asked, could I come earlier next Sunday! I said, yes, if I had my car!
After church we got a lift back into town, had lunch, did some grocery shopping, and took the dala home. The last part of the whole thing is usually to take a shower because you're so completely dirty and dusty!
Made me really appreciate my car when I finally got it back!
The procedure for getting into town includes a 20 minute walk down our dusty Njiro road (not paved, of course) to a dala-dala stop. (Those are the min-buses that are supposed to carry about 14-16 passengers. The record that I've heard of is about 32!) There are very few regulations governing these, as the police are part-owners in most of them, so they are often overcrowded and under-serviced. There's always room for one more paying customer! They are very cheap, however, so that's the plus side.
After getting on the dala, and miraculously getting a seat, you bounce along into town, another 20 minutes away. When you're ready to get off, you either signal the conda (conductor, who takes up money and shouts out the window for new customers) or bang on the side of the dala. You get off as close as possible to where you want to go, then walk the rest of the way.
I did this several times that week, once getting a lift part of the way into town, then taking my computer to the shop, then walking another 30 minutes to the Impala, for a well-deserved (I thought!) swim, then repeating the process back home. On one of those trips, a young TZ man started up a conversation (it's pretty obvious I'm not from around here!), and he knew one of my housemates, Corinne, so we chatted till time to get off the dala. Then he walked me all the way to Joshua, carrying my swim bag, so I wouldn't have to go alone or carry it myself. We had a great conversation, and, of course, he wanted my cell phone number at the end (everyone always wants your cell phone number!). Another time, a young man got off with Sarah and me and also walked us all the way to Joshua, this time carrying Sarah's bag. We think he was practicing his English, as he works in an Arusha hotel as a waiter and cook.
However, the most intense experience was getting to church that Sunday. I'm on the hospitality committee at church, and I'm the one responsible for bringing the coffee, tea, sugar, milk, napkins, etc. since I have a car to transport it all in...usually! I also give people lifts, most often Anna, a former student at the pastor's college at Joshua who still lives "on campus", along with Don and Sarah. That particular Sunday, I asked Don if he was going because I needed him to help carry things! He and I loaded up backpacks, and the 3 of us did the dala-dala thing into town. We had to transfer to another dala, but didn't really know which one would take us the fartherest (is that a word?), and, ultimately, picked one that didn't go far enough. We were already running later than I would have liked, as the coffee time is before church starts, and I try to get there at least 30 minutes early. We were trudging along yet another dusty, unpaved road, when, thankfully, Bruce Bone (from Imara) and his family stopped and offered us a lift! When I showed up, there was great rejoicing! Funnily, the thing they were all the happiest to see were the napkins! Tanzanians don't like to touch some foods, except the ones that are meant to be eaten by hand, and those 2 things never make sense to me! For instance, their national dish, ugali( which is the consistency of mashed potatoes) is supposed to be eaten with greens, with your fingers. But, cookies or pieces of cake need a napkin! So, there had not been any "bites" put out, while they waited for the napkins! Later, they asked, could I come earlier next Sunday! I said, yes, if I had my car!
After church we got a lift back into town, had lunch, did some grocery shopping, and took the dala home. The last part of the whole thing is usually to take a shower because you're so completely dirty and dusty!
Made me really appreciate my car when I finally got it back!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Week in Kondoa 4 (and final)!
Sunday morning we had tickets for the 10 a.m. bus back to Arusha (for me; Sarah stopped off in Magugu to observe one of our student teachers there for a day or two). We had breakfast at our guesthouse....
Oh, just have to add a paragraph about meals this week! We ate lunches at school, and pretty much bananas and a Fiber 1 bar (for me) for breakfasts, all but the Immigration Morning. Dinners we ate at our guest house because we didn't want to be walking around Kondoa after dark by ourselves. Albert cooked and served our meals, so we got to know him very well! Sarah had sat beside his mother on the bus to Kondoa, so she knew who he was. He just finished high school (Form 4, the first 4 years of HS; if you do well on that exam, you can on for 2 more years and qualify for university. If not, you can still go to college, just not university. I know - what?) and was waiting for results of his exams, so they had him working in the restaurant. Pretty much every meal was chicken and ... chips (French fries) or rice. Or we could have chips mayai, which is French fries and eggs, sort of like an omelette and one of my favorites. That got old pretty quickly, so sometimes we just had rice with veggies! Any way, we prayed before every meal, even though this is a 98+% Muslim village, and after the first time, Albert said, "I notice you pray. Can I listen?" We had also prayed that we would be a blessing to him since we would be spending so much time with him, and I told him that we prayed for him, too. From then on, he stayed to listen to us pray at every meal, including him and our prayers for God to bless him and use him. When we were telling him good-bye, he said, "I will miss you." Very sweet.
So, our 10:00 bus finally left at 10:30, and shortly after leaving, a ticket-taker gave me a new ticket on a different bus lne for the second half of the trip. Going to Kondoa, it had been one bus the whole way, so this was different. After about 3 and 1/2 hours we got to Babati, the half-way point. Sarah was only a few km from Magugu, and they told her to stay and wait for the same bus I was going to get on, then she could just get off in Magugu. However, after an hour, my bus had not come, yet, so she took a smaller local bus (dala-dala, like a mini-van or old VW bus that holds 12-20 people, depending on how many you can pack in!), and I stayed on. There were several others waiting with me, only 1 of whom spoke English, but everyone sort of bonded through the exasperation of waiting together.
After the next hour, people started getting restless! Finally, after about 2 and 1/2 hours, people, including me, went to see the policeman, whose job is, apparently, maintaining order at the bus depot. A heated discussion followed, and he finally put us on a dfferent bus line altogether, where we waited another 30 minutes! Just as we were finally pulling out, our "real" bus arrived, so we all had to get off and back on again. One mama had taken me under her wing, so she made sure I was following the plan! We were finally off and doing well, and about 20 minutes later, had a flat tire! That was a good time for a toilet break, so everyone who needed to (me included) found bushes or clumps of grass and took care of that business. Back on the bus and off we went. At some point a man a few rows up bought some peanuts from a vendor on the side of a road, shared some with the girl next to me, who shared some with me. We had become a family, I think.
As we approached Arusha I called a taxi driver we use and asked him to pick me up at the bus stand because it would be dark and not safe for me to take a dala-dala, then walk, to En Gedi. The mama who had been taking care of me got off the bus, and we held hands, and I said, "Mungu akubariki," which is God bless you! She just grinned and said something similar back to me, then she got off the bus. A few stops later and we were at the main bus stand in Arusha, which is a busy place. I sent Dickson a message, and soon he was walking over to greet me and whisk me away home. So 10 hours from when we left Kondoa, I was finally home!
A very full week!
Oh, just have to add a paragraph about meals this week! We ate lunches at school, and pretty much bananas and a Fiber 1 bar (for me) for breakfasts, all but the Immigration Morning. Dinners we ate at our guest house because we didn't want to be walking around Kondoa after dark by ourselves. Albert cooked and served our meals, so we got to know him very well! Sarah had sat beside his mother on the bus to Kondoa, so she knew who he was. He just finished high school (Form 4, the first 4 years of HS; if you do well on that exam, you can on for 2 more years and qualify for university. If not, you can still go to college, just not university. I know - what?) and was waiting for results of his exams, so they had him working in the restaurant. Pretty much every meal was chicken and ... chips (French fries) or rice. Or we could have chips mayai, which is French fries and eggs, sort of like an omelette and one of my favorites. That got old pretty quickly, so sometimes we just had rice with veggies! Any way, we prayed before every meal, even though this is a 98+% Muslim village, and after the first time, Albert said, "I notice you pray. Can I listen?" We had also prayed that we would be a blessing to him since we would be spending so much time with him, and I told him that we prayed for him, too. From then on, he stayed to listen to us pray at every meal, including him and our prayers for God to bless him and use him. When we were telling him good-bye, he said, "I will miss you." Very sweet.
So, our 10:00 bus finally left at 10:30, and shortly after leaving, a ticket-taker gave me a new ticket on a different bus lne for the second half of the trip. Going to Kondoa, it had been one bus the whole way, so this was different. After about 3 and 1/2 hours we got to Babati, the half-way point. Sarah was only a few km from Magugu, and they told her to stay and wait for the same bus I was going to get on, then she could just get off in Magugu. However, after an hour, my bus had not come, yet, so she took a smaller local bus (dala-dala, like a mini-van or old VW bus that holds 12-20 people, depending on how many you can pack in!), and I stayed on. There were several others waiting with me, only 1 of whom spoke English, but everyone sort of bonded through the exasperation of waiting together.
After the next hour, people started getting restless! Finally, after about 2 and 1/2 hours, people, including me, went to see the policeman, whose job is, apparently, maintaining order at the bus depot. A heated discussion followed, and he finally put us on a dfferent bus line altogether, where we waited another 30 minutes! Just as we were finally pulling out, our "real" bus arrived, so we all had to get off and back on again. One mama had taken me under her wing, so she made sure I was following the plan! We were finally off and doing well, and about 20 minutes later, had a flat tire! That was a good time for a toilet break, so everyone who needed to (me included) found bushes or clumps of grass and took care of that business. Back on the bus and off we went. At some point a man a few rows up bought some peanuts from a vendor on the side of a road, shared some with the girl next to me, who shared some with me. We had become a family, I think.
As we approached Arusha I called a taxi driver we use and asked him to pick me up at the bus stand because it would be dark and not safe for me to take a dala-dala, then walk, to En Gedi. The mama who had been taking care of me got off the bus, and we held hands, and I said, "Mungu akubariki," which is God bless you! She just grinned and said something similar back to me, then she got off the bus. A few stops later and we were at the main bus stand in Arusha, which is a busy place. I sent Dickson a message, and soon he was walking over to greet me and whisk me away home. So 10 hours from when we left Kondoa, I was finally home!
A very full week!
Week in Kondoa 3
Believe it or not, we also got to observe our student teachers last week! That was the best part of the week. We would each go observe a student for a period, write observations, suggestions, feedback, etc., then meet with them later and discuss it all. Another day, we would go back, sometimes to a different class, sometimes the same one, check on progress, new observations, etc. In between, I did my favorite thing - played with children! I taught several of the girls London Bridge and a version of Duck, Duck, Goose, which, in TZ, we call Simba, Simba, Swala (or Lion, Lion, Gazelle). I also played with some kindergartners, threw a frisbee I'd brought with me (thanks, Linda Hudson!), ate lunches and morning tea with them, and just had such fun. I had met the older children, classes 4 and 5, when they were in kindergarten, and it was fun to see them "grown up!"
The student teachers are working hard, but they are really loving having their own classes for a change, not just borrowing someone else's class. They are establishing routines and relationships and "owning" what they are doing.
We also did two really fun things with them. One was we took them out to a "hoteli," which is really a little cafe-type restaurant, for Elijah's birthday. I had gotten one of the lady teachers and a former JTTC student of mine, Suzanna, to go with me to get "birthday cakes" and a card for his b'day, and we shared those with all of the teachers at morning tea, and he sent me a text later telling me how loved he felt!
The other fun thing, which I wasn't sure was such fun at the time, was to take them on a "field trip" to a town about 20 km away to see some historic, actually prehistoric, cave paintings. They'd studied these in their history books but had never seen them themselves. (Thanks, Rocky, for the Christmas money - that helped pay for the drive and entrance fees and water and snacks we provided!) Unfortunately, I don't think they'd ever done anything like this before, and only Agaba was dressed appropriately in jeans and t-shirt. The other guys had on dress slacks and shoes, and the 2 girls were in dresses! Suzanna looked like she had on a bridesmaid dress and strappy sandals with heels! I'll post pictures when I download them in the next day or two. However, they all did better with the actual climb than Sarah and I! We thought several times, why did this sound like a good idea?! However, it was well worth it, the paintings were definitely worth the trek, and it was a geat bonding experience. We weren't even sore the next day! (Maybe the hour walk we did every day, 30 minutes to and from school) helped us get ready for it!
The student teachers are working hard, but they are really loving having their own classes for a change, not just borrowing someone else's class. They are establishing routines and relationships and "owning" what they are doing.
We also did two really fun things with them. One was we took them out to a "hoteli," which is really a little cafe-type restaurant, for Elijah's birthday. I had gotten one of the lady teachers and a former JTTC student of mine, Suzanna, to go with me to get "birthday cakes" and a card for his b'day, and we shared those with all of the teachers at morning tea, and he sent me a text later telling me how loved he felt!
The other fun thing, which I wasn't sure was such fun at the time, was to take them on a "field trip" to a town about 20 km away to see some historic, actually prehistoric, cave paintings. They'd studied these in their history books but had never seen them themselves. (Thanks, Rocky, for the Christmas money - that helped pay for the drive and entrance fees and water and snacks we provided!) Unfortunately, I don't think they'd ever done anything like this before, and only Agaba was dressed appropriately in jeans and t-shirt. The other guys had on dress slacks and shoes, and the 2 girls were in dresses! Suzanna looked like she had on a bridesmaid dress and strappy sandals with heels! I'll post pictures when I download them in the next day or two. However, they all did better with the actual climb than Sarah and I! We thought several times, why did this sound like a good idea?! However, it was well worth it, the paintings were definitely worth the trek, and it was a geat bonding experience. We weren't even sore the next day! (Maybe the hour walk we did every day, 30 minutes to and from school) helped us get ready for it!
Week in Kondoa 2
So, the afternoon after all the Agaba drama, Sarah and I finally got around to fillng out the check-in sheet at our guesthouse. Neither one of us had brought our passports or work permits with us, as we hadn't left TZ and saw no reason to carry those with us. However, in retrospect, I do remember always having to write those numbers down at the guesthouse there, but that's been a few years, and I just forgot. So we left the places for those blank on the registration form. BIG mistake!
Tuesday morning, Obbo came and said, "Miriam, immigration is in my office, and they want to see you and Sarah. You go on up, and I will find her and come." Sure enough, 2 young men, Steven and Abdon, were waiting. They asked to see my passport and permit, and I told them the amusing (!) story of how we had forgotten to bring them, so sorry, we would bring them next time. Sarah arrived, and it started all over again. People here do things in such a circular way that we had to hear, repeatedly, that since we had no proof of who we were, we were in violation of the laws of immigration, subject to various penalties, fines, etc. I really didn't know what they expected us to do, but Sarah had the idea that we could call Magreth at our Joshua office, and she could scan and email copies of our permits to them. Sounded good to me, but they decided to take us to ther office, instead, so Obbo and both of us, along with Abdon, got in the back of a pickup and went to their office, where we had to repeat the entire story to their boss. I'm still not sure why, but instead of having the documents sent to them, they wanted them sent to Sarah, us to print them off at school, and bring them to them the next day. (That is the short version of this since that took several more trips of a circular nature to get to that point!) They told us to come back first thing the next morning and not to go to school first.
So, the next morning, we actually slept a little later (or as late as the 5 a.m. Muslim calls to prayer would let us, and the 5:30 one, and the 6:00 one!!!), stopped off for breakfast, and met Obbo at 8:30 to go their office. This time was the same thing all over again. They were just incredulous that we had come without any proof of what we were doing there! At one point they realized that they knew Alan Stephenson, the director of The Joshua Foundation, and that they wanted to talk to him to verify what we were saying. (Because I'm sure many illegal aliens come to TZ to work in village schools!) Alan spoke with Abdon for ages, then asked to speak to me. He told me that he had been imformed that they "could" charge us $600 EACH for our various felonious activities, arrest us, take us to court, etc., but that they would settle for the copies of our permits and passports this time as long as next time we do the following: bring a letter of introduction from Imara because we are working in an Imara school, bring a letter from Joshua saying that we are doing this on behalf of Joshua, bring our passports and permits (even it's just copies), and come see them time we get to town, not going to school first. I also had to dictate a written statement, with everything we'd been talking about for 2 days, sign it, and put my fingerprint on it! They then asked Obbo if he was willing to "carry this load" on our behalf, which he agreed he was. (Don't even know what that meant!)
All of that took an hour and half, and our students and the other teachers had been so worried about us but told us they'd prayed for us at staff devotions. Nothing else happened the rest of the week with them, and now we know!
Tuesday morning, Obbo came and said, "Miriam, immigration is in my office, and they want to see you and Sarah. You go on up, and I will find her and come." Sure enough, 2 young men, Steven and Abdon, were waiting. They asked to see my passport and permit, and I told them the amusing (!) story of how we had forgotten to bring them, so sorry, we would bring them next time. Sarah arrived, and it started all over again. People here do things in such a circular way that we had to hear, repeatedly, that since we had no proof of who we were, we were in violation of the laws of immigration, subject to various penalties, fines, etc. I really didn't know what they expected us to do, but Sarah had the idea that we could call Magreth at our Joshua office, and she could scan and email copies of our permits to them. Sounded good to me, but they decided to take us to ther office, instead, so Obbo and both of us, along with Abdon, got in the back of a pickup and went to their office, where we had to repeat the entire story to their boss. I'm still not sure why, but instead of having the documents sent to them, they wanted them sent to Sarah, us to print them off at school, and bring them to them the next day. (That is the short version of this since that took several more trips of a circular nature to get to that point!) They told us to come back first thing the next morning and not to go to school first.
So, the next morning, we actually slept a little later (or as late as the 5 a.m. Muslim calls to prayer would let us, and the 5:30 one, and the 6:00 one!!!), stopped off for breakfast, and met Obbo at 8:30 to go their office. This time was the same thing all over again. They were just incredulous that we had come without any proof of what we were doing there! At one point they realized that they knew Alan Stephenson, the director of The Joshua Foundation, and that they wanted to talk to him to verify what we were saying. (Because I'm sure many illegal aliens come to TZ to work in village schools!) Alan spoke with Abdon for ages, then asked to speak to me. He told me that he had been imformed that they "could" charge us $600 EACH for our various felonious activities, arrest us, take us to court, etc., but that they would settle for the copies of our permits and passports this time as long as next time we do the following: bring a letter of introduction from Imara because we are working in an Imara school, bring a letter from Joshua saying that we are doing this on behalf of Joshua, bring our passports and permits (even it's just copies), and come see them time we get to town, not going to school first. I also had to dictate a written statement, with everything we'd been talking about for 2 days, sign it, and put my fingerprint on it! They then asked Obbo if he was willing to "carry this load" on our behalf, which he agreed he was. (Don't even know what that meant!)
All of that took an hour and half, and our students and the other teachers had been so worried about us but told us they'd prayed for us at staff devotions. Nothing else happened the rest of the week with them, and now we know!
Week in Kondoa 1
So much happened last week I think it will take several entries!
The first thing had actually started the week before when one of our student teachers, Agaba, did not show up when he was supposed to. When he finally did come, he and Obbo, the headmaster, had such a run-in that I got several texts and emails from both of them about how impossible it would be for them to work together! If Agaba can't do his practice teaching, he can't take his exam for certification, and he will have "wasted" a year and a half and countless money and investment. I got them to hold off till Sarah and I could get there, so first thing Monday morning (we had taken a 6 a.m. bus on Sunday morning and got there Sunday afternoon around 2), we were in Obbos' office discussing things. Our back-up plan was to send Agagba back to Karanse where he had been for the previous 15 months, but which he would, I was sure, want no part of going back to. Obbo was going to talk to Agaba after talking with us, but when we left him, he was adamant that he would not have Agaba working for him. I just prayed all morning, as I was observing,that God would work to soften his attitude. About 10, he found me in a classroom and said "Miriam, I want to think about Agaba.I told him we would meet at 1. Can you be there?" I was so shocked but agreed instantly and prayed even harder. The eventual outcome was that Agaba could stay for his practice teaching, but Obbo held out no hope of his continuing there after taking his exams in May. I decided we'd take one thing at a time, so we didn't tell Agaba part 2 of that decision, as I'm praying Agaba will prove himself to Obbo in the intervening months. Agaba started teaching first thing Tuesday morning to all 60+ second graders, as they'd been combined in the absence of a teacher for the previous week! He did a fine job, and Sarah helped them divide their classes, and we both observed him during the week. I thought he did a fine job, and I'm praying the oil and water of their beginnings won't adversely affect the rest of their time together.
The first thing had actually started the week before when one of our student teachers, Agaba, did not show up when he was supposed to. When he finally did come, he and Obbo, the headmaster, had such a run-in that I got several texts and emails from both of them about how impossible it would be for them to work together! If Agaba can't do his practice teaching, he can't take his exam for certification, and he will have "wasted" a year and a half and countless money and investment. I got them to hold off till Sarah and I could get there, so first thing Monday morning (we had taken a 6 a.m. bus on Sunday morning and got there Sunday afternoon around 2), we were in Obbos' office discussing things. Our back-up plan was to send Agagba back to Karanse where he had been for the previous 15 months, but which he would, I was sure, want no part of going back to. Obbo was going to talk to Agaba after talking with us, but when we left him, he was adamant that he would not have Agaba working for him. I just prayed all morning, as I was observing,that God would work to soften his attitude. About 10, he found me in a classroom and said "Miriam, I want to think about Agaba.I told him we would meet at 1. Can you be there?" I was so shocked but agreed instantly and prayed even harder. The eventual outcome was that Agaba could stay for his practice teaching, but Obbo held out no hope of his continuing there after taking his exams in May. I decided we'd take one thing at a time, so we didn't tell Agaba part 2 of that decision, as I'm praying Agaba will prove himself to Obbo in the intervening months. Agaba started teaching first thing Tuesday morning to all 60+ second graders, as they'd been combined in the absence of a teacher for the previous week! He did a fine job, and Sarah helped them divide their classes, and we both observed him during the week. I thought he did a fine job, and I'm praying the oil and water of their beginnings won't adversely affect the rest of their time together.
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