1/15/14

First day facts 

• picked up on tanzanian time ... 30 minutes late
• lots of students at the school when we arrived. they were ‘cleaning the environment’. this means hand-cutting/ whacking at the grass, raking the dirk, moving desks, sweeping, etc 
• Muhumi dropped me off at the door and I was off. I met some of the teachers and talked mainly to Sebastian and Deus or Toga. Sebastian was on a roll. He is very opinionated so that is amusing. His favorite saying is the small minded leading the big minded. That is analogy for pretty much anyone above him/ anyone who has a powerful title. Two more of his saying that I found amusing- ‘they want the milk without feeding the cows’ and ‘its like putting new wine in an old bottle’. I just smile and nod most of the time. 
• We were visited by 4 DEO’s (District Education Officers) on day 1. It was definitely unexpected and also unwelcome. They went on a rant about how unwelcoming the teachers were. oh well i guess. They were there to measure teacher attendance, check to see how many teachers had the syllabus for their classes, and to collect their ‘scheme of work’ (basically the teachers plan for the year). Their message was not too warmly accepted by the teachers but I do admire their efforts to try to keep tabs on the teachers. It is their goal to conduct their own kind of study to try to identify a connection between what happens during the school year and the student success on the national exams. 
• there were 17 of us there. pretty impressive actually. I do not know how many teachers there are supposed to be but I doubt it is many more. This is rare by tanzanian teachers to be there, especially this early. Nick’s school only had 4 teachers there for comparison. 
• Sebastian told me he would rather go fight in Iraq than teach math. This was basically his way of saying that he is not good at it and he respects me for it. However, across the board, math and science are highly valued here. Many teachers have already been begging me to teach them math and two have come to me with math problems to help them solve. The problems were very similar and something that I do not think that we solve too much in the US. For example, 2^n = n^2. 
• Later in the day, Muhumi introduced me to the only other math and physics teacher. He said ‘now this is your department’. I found some humor in that. He said he is trying to find a part time teacher to help. 
• I was pretty much clueless all day because the teachers were talking in swahili. At first it was a great listening exercise. Then it got old. I am good at smiling and laughing when everyone else does though! 
• So. much. fried. dough. Chai break came around noon today and I actually liked the chai so that was a relief. But the food. Everyone got 2 mandazis (doughnuts basically) and then i had to eat another fried rice cake thing. Not really a fan of either. Luckily, i was able to pawn off a mandazi to another teacher after I saw them fighting for the last one! haha
• I did some lesson plans. I think I will have to reevaluate them after I get in the classroom though. I planned 3 days for most of the 1st unit. There are only 8 units for the whole year. At least we will have plenty of time to practice/ review. 
• Talk about the USD. I had not thought of this yet but the largest currency that Tanzania makes is 10,000 tsh. I think that says a lot about the economy and the cost of living here. To give you a little perspective, right now the conversion rate is about 1,600 tsh = 1 usd. So, their largest bill is about 6.25 usd. The school gave me an old Form 3 textbook and rates is actually one of the units. The book spent a lot of time on currency conversion and I found an old exchange rate for USD. As of May 17 2007, the rate was 1272.50 tsh = 1 usd. I don’t know what happened between now but I say the shilling has taken a big hit. 
• I think two teachers taught today. I really was so clueless. I did not know which form was in what classroom. I did not know the times of the classes or anything. 
• The teachers are very demonstrative and loud yet quiet at the same time. Don’t worry, I am confused how that can happen too. 
• vegetable stew for dinner. beyond delicious