tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35955401121855301342024-03-13T10:23:15.108-07:00Safari TanzaniaStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-57104866012330568402014-09-17T02:59:00.001-07:002014-09-17T03:00:52.024-07:00Kwa Heri (Farewell)<p align="justify">Because it’s been awhile since my last blog post (nearly half a year is indeed awhile), let me bring you up to speed on what I’ve been up to over the past five months.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>Late April:</strong> my PCPP grant for hosting math and science conferences around the country finally came to fruition and got fully funded. Once again, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped out. My year-long extension dream of becoming a traveling science man in Tanzania was finally a legitimized reality. Over the following four months, I was more or less in <em>Shika </em>hyper-drive, and in all, nine conferences were funded by the grant around different regions of the Southern Highlands which I call my home (Mbeya, Ruvuma, Njombe). Some of the highlights included:</p> <p><strong>May:</strong> Njombe Science Conference 2.0</p> <p align="justify">Ever since the very first competition I took part in during March 2013 (also in Njombe), I’d been wanting to put together a giant week-long event specifically for math and science activities. This one fulfilled every one of my hopes/expectations and really was the culmination of all the other conferences and trainings I’d done throughout my last year of service and entire 1-year extension. Three PCV schools in Njombe came and brought six Form II students each. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uMcXQsQW9bo/VBla86z5UrI/AAAAAAAABTA/fvYRTN_KIXI/s1600-h/IMG_1283_12.jpg"><img title="IMG_1283_1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_1283_1" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fxcZKJkmNx0/VBla9lLh-NI/AAAAAAAABTI/ZjS2lzGNL8k/IMG_1283_1_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OgrL4jPnDfU/VBla-SSnpAI/AAAAAAAABTQ/GHKTM9bbzJk/s1600-h/IMG_12232.jpg"><img title="IMG_1223" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_1223" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2PTbYCyI334/VBla_NKueXI/AAAAAAAABTY/_pK_qk2D1us/IMG_1223_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a> <br><em>Left: Participants at the 2014 Njombe Science Conference; Right: A water transport system</em></p> <p align="justify">We tried some new activities like a water transport design competition, a construction-based game for communication and following directions (both much needed and under-appreciated skills here), science relay races, and the best part of all – science fair projects. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YWJqrnHoIuQ/VBla_7O3W8I/AAAAAAAABTg/QvhLpI2IVzo/s1600-h/DSC066142.jpg"><img title="DSC06614" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC06614" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-X1SzQPTQs7Q/VBlbAwulK0I/AAAAAAAABTo/R_YRZI76FYo/DSC06614_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XqHCVj9wyTw/VBlbB3W2pkI/AAAAAAAABTw/K4uV3UQMx7g/s1600-h/DSC066152.jpg"><img title="DSC06615" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC06615" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gLSlU3uIkpc/VBlbCt7JUII/AAAAAAAABT4/JfMZZGtx2dY/DSC06615_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><br><em>Students present their science fair projects. Left: windmill; Right: plant and animal cells</em></p> <p align="justify">Groups chose their own preferred topics and presented in front of all of the other teachers and students. The projects were so great! None of them had ever done (or heard of) science projects before, but they were all super creative and artistically done. I was so impressed by all of the students. </p> <p align="justify">To cap off a great week, we arranged for a tour of the nearby Njombe Milk Factory. The kids got to see how to test for milk pH, learned about pasteurization and got to try cheese for the first time in their lives. Even most of the Tanzanian teachers had never had it before.</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-qti-8ywbV0k/VBlbDd6MVLI/AAAAAAAABUA/dgDu09DQB5U/s1600-h/DSC066902.jpg"><img title="DSC06690" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC06690" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MXD8Lp4HAok/VBlbD98PHUI/AAAAAAAABUI/RXQZGvmUJ_M/DSC06690_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Q9f2CivfnMo/VBlbEtSZz1I/AAAAAAAABUQ/2vU_717ZTJU/s1600-h/IMG_14524.jpg"><img title="IMG_1452" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_1452" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Hml1lZDbAO4/VBlbFkgL0xI/AAAAAAAABUY/JlPhy6fkdBY/IMG_1452_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="267" height="186"></a><br><em>Left: Students get a hands-on tour of the Njombe Milk Factory. Right: CHEESE!!!</em></p> <p><strong>August:</strong> Primary School Conference</p> <p align="justify">I had never done a conference for primary school kids before, and in fact I still haven’t, because this one was planned, organized and run entirely by a small group of the Form II students who participated in the Njombe conference. These students were so excited about what they had done in May that they approached Joe, one of the Njombe PCVs, and asked if they could put on a similar conference for younger students.Talk about paying it forward! Of course we were able to set up a time for them to teach nearby primary students (actually another volunteer’s site). And the best part was, they didn’t just copy what we had done in the previous conference; they came up with new activities and competitions to do on their own. All we PCVs did was provide the materials, which were still cheap enough that they could’ve gotten them themselves (slash most of them were '”garbage” items from the village anyways). </p> <p align="center"> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ptXZEPtk98w/VBlbGAcYCKI/AAAAAAAABUg/2wHrhLtesTw/s1600-h/DSC071602.jpg"><img title="DSC07160" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07160" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Zaytd7GFIks/VBlbHPgvYgI/AAAAAAAABUo/Zf0QaR6Z6T8/DSC07160_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LmanLayblmY/VBlbH54IuTI/AAAAAAAABUw/Baxvz2c9yZA/s1600-h/DSC071332.jpg"><img title="DSC07133" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07133" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jAK9gBzebSI/VBlbIluimjI/AAAAAAAABU4/kEwOkNTvHKU/DSC07133_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <br><em>Left: Njombe PCV Joe Antonacci and his Form II student leaders; Right: Primary students engaged in a science competition</em></p> <p align="justify">Last year I was able to take part in a couple of teacher trainings, and I have to say these students went further above and beyond the call of duty than many of the teacher trainees did. Sometimes it can be difficult to provide teachers with the motivation they need to really take hold of these kinds of alternative teaching techniques – there’s no precedent at their schools, elder teachers stick to old methods of teaching and younger ones don’t want to disrespect them, and many want some financial incentive for going out of their way and adding to their teaching workload. But these students weren’t held back by any of these limitations; they just saw an opportunity to give back to their community and help out their “young brothers and sisters,” and they did it. And that’s why, after all of the conferences and trainings that I’ve been a part of during my three years, I really do think that the secondary students hold the key to the sustainability of projects like this, and it will be through them that real changes are made to the way math and science are taught and understood in this country for years to come.</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GQtZWNUnFiI/VBlbJBmWV9I/AAAAAAAABVA/WykmttfmGJA/s1600-h/DSC071532.jpg"><img title="DSC07153" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07153" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HGduZjPL0t0/VBlbKFDNzJI/AAAAAAAABVI/ZlCIbyua4qs/DSC07153_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XB6ysRB5b3g/VBlbKmDTQAI/AAAAAAAABVQ/aTzW_oui6OM/s1600-h/DSC071482.jpg"><img title="DSC07148" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07148" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-qt2IMg_gND4/VBlbLkzKaVI/AAAAAAAABVY/pRuASAmVk0k/DSC07148_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><br><em>Left: Participants at the Mlevela Conference; Right: Form II students teach hands-on science activities to primary level students</em></p> <p><strong>September:</strong> Time to Go</p> <p align="justify">Luckily I was able to fit in all of the conferences that I had hoped to by mid-August, because I knew that I would be leaving my school Wilima in early September. For a while, I thought that I would be getting a replacement at my site, but when all was said and done, no one form the new class was assigned to follow me. It was sad for my school to hear, since they’ve been having volunteer teachers from all different countries since 1992! But they were incredibly grateful to me and completely blew me away with an extravagant going away party on my final day.</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9kJ_EOKakr4/VBlbMMxV-YI/AAAAAAAABVg/MIicv4aMgHQ/s1600-h/DSC074812.jpg"><img title="DSC07481" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07481" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Pl8lNV7XCIo/VBlbMxrK2XI/AAAAAAAABVo/Q8Zeyifd9XU/DSC07481_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rajvmBsUd1o/VBlbNhkj33I/AAAAAAAABVw/OyuBulZxdSA/s1600-h/DSC075442.jpg"><img title="DSC07544" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07544" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7Dnyj1-20mI/VBlbOdf3s4I/AAAAAAAABV4/FgQTOtFSEZs/DSC07544_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <br><em>Left: Final photo shoot with my Form II students; Right: Chemistry and Biology teachers from my school</em></p> <p align="justify">Tanzanian “sherehe”s (celebrations) typically consist of the same key ingredients: delicious food, long-winded speeches by the guests of honor, and the giving of “zawadi”s (gifts). Finally I was the one getting to give the long speech, for the first time since our swearing-in ceremony three years ago. Unfortunately all of my orange suits are currently back in America, so my wardrobe wasn’t quite up to par from that first time. I really wasn’t expecting any large going away event, but as I’ve learned, saying farewell is a huge sign of respect here. So my school did everything they could to send me off right.They even gave me a couple of beautiful wood carvings as a parting gift – so nice! </p> <p align="center"><img title="DSC07571" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="DSC07571" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-l3FXpjsRq7k/VBlbPInrbkI/AAAAAAAABWA/jj1lfkTFZwE/DSC07571_thumb9.jpg?imgmax=800" width="536" height="190"><br><em>Another sherehe tradition – students writing/drawing a message on the board. What a great artist this one was!</em></p> <p align="justify">As a zawadi from me to the school, I made a kind of picture story book about my life in America to leave as a memento for the students and teachers and also to help expose them to some more interesting differences between the US and TZ. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4ADqQ0z45B0/VBlbPvScDBI/AAAAAAAABWI/-3RW4boJ_tE/s1600-h/DSC075322.jpg"><img title="DSC07532" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07532" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-T1pKh6HFGaU/VBlbQ3HZ8iI/AAAAAAAABWQ/jLKMeRtbcO8/DSC07532_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AFWlDa46wck/VBlbRoxmSII/AAAAAAAABWY/tGLS4dza4F8/s1600-h/DSC075352.jpg"><img title="DSC07535" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07535" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AYH7IYcW_6E/VBlbST4rEiI/AAAAAAAABWg/NBH1EgFWRcY/DSC07535_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a><br><em>Left: Me with the school manager and headmaster at the table of honor; Right: Me and Mr. Mbungani, fellow Math and Physics teacher</em></p> <p align="justify">But before my school’s going away party (allow me to backtrack a bit), Belle and I had our own PCV send-off at her site in Tukuyu. There were seven of us who came, and this time we celebrated the way Americans like to – by stuffing our faces with delicious food. Belle and I arbitrarily chose Christmas as the theme, because, why not? Plus there are a lot of pine trees near her site, so we found a fallen (large) branch and brought it inside to decorate. The house was quite festive, and I gladly took the excuse to whip up some eggnog. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-umSecHoXiDg/VBlbTE7RDfI/AAAAAAAABWo/758JHQ4nOec/s1600-h/DSCF38962.jpg"><img title="DSCF3896" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSCF3896" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JD0bN71n6iY/VBlbTv1L--I/AAAAAAAABWw/ThztOdmJb90/DSCF3896_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vV-5Y0ASSI4/VBlbUTh_eDI/AAAAAAAABW4/dwbfr3-t2tc/s1600-h/DSC073342.jpg"><img title="DSC07334" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07334" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-uMmtWTRcW2o/VBlbVMPGZaI/AAAAAAAABXA/o13z9T2gTAU/DSC07334_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a><br><em>Plenty of festive Christmas decorations for our going away party</em></p> <p align="justify">We also had a MASSIVE bonfire to burn two years worth of Belle’s old papers; we played board games and bags; and we rented a generator so that we could watch movies on a projector (LEGO Movie was the choice). It was the perfect way to say goodbye to some of our closest friends in country, and led Belle into her <em>shadow week</em> of hosting several of the new volunteers, while I returned home for my last week at site.</p> <p align="center"> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Qlr_8zKlL5c/VBlbV9ATqhI/AAAAAAAABXI/md9jnbQrDJA/s1600-h/DSC073592.jpg"><img title="DSC07359" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC07359" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-zEMW6HwbWrs/VBlbXIVd2wI/AAAAAAAABXQ/YmnDouXccl0/DSC07359_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KDVvOJ7XDsI/VBlbX-37K-I/AAAAAAAABXY/eKOED5NQKjA/s1600-h/DSCF38982.jpg"><img title="DSCF3898" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSCF3898" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kHfiBb4to54/VBlbYiCBWII/AAAAAAAABXg/YAwuAd-CxM8/DSCF3898_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <br><em>Left: Roasting documents rather than marshmallows; Right: Awkward family Xmas photos</em></p> <p align="justify">From there, we spent our final week in Dar, completing our scavenger hunt of paperwork around the PC office to get ourselves off the books. It used to be a very anticlimactic finish to your service, just getting the final signature and a, “Well… see ya later…” But now the country director has a special bell that we get to ring when we are all finished. A more suitable way of getting the “R” in RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer).</p> <p align="justify"><img style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" alt="[1556305_2231099387172_6851480185553591032_o%255B3%255D.jpg]" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JNdCEAf38F4/VBlZbxAxeRI/AAAAAAAAHUI/LU6J_LRUxMg/s1600/1556305_2231099387172_6851480185553591032_o%25255B3%25255D.jpg" width="354" height="354"></p> <p align="justify">And now here I am, sitting in the airport, eating my three-year-old M and M’s from our original staging days in Philadelphia that I saved for this occasion, ready to leave Tanzania. All of the goodbyes over the past several weeks have come with many mixed emotions – sad to leave so many great people and memories behind, but also extremely excited to begin a new wave of travel adventures. Belle and I are ready to embark on our most excellent of journeys around the world for the next two and a half months. Ethiopia – Thailand – Australia (incl. Tasmania) – New Zealand, Japan and back to Chicago just before Thanksgiving. And because this trip is worthy of a higher caliber of documentation, we’ve started a new joint blog for our travels called Belle and Steve’s Excellent Adventure (<a href="http://www.belleandstevesexcellentadventure.blogspot.com">belleandstevesexcellentadventure.blogspot.com</a>). Check it out!</p> <p align="justify">So kwa heri Peace Corps, kwa heri Tanzania, and kwa heri to all of those following this blog – and THANK YOU for reading!!</p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-72012269818630216852014-04-26T01:19:00.001-07:002014-04-26T01:20:35.096-07:00World Malaria Day<p>For part of my 2-week midterm and Easter break, I returned to Belle’s site in Mbeya. In addition to puzzling and cooking tons of delicious food, we decided it would be a good idea to put on some kind of event for World Malaria Day (April 25th) to help raise awareness at her school. But because we are both huge science nerds, we also wanted to find a way to incorporate math and science into the activities. So Thursday the 24th, we held a special World Malaria Science Day for Belle’s Form IV students.</p> <p>First of all, we wanted to see what the kids already knew about malaria, so we gave them a short quiz of True/False and short answer questions pertaining to the disease, particularly in Tanzania. (See below to take the quiz yourself!) It turned out they actually knew a lot about malaria, which was great! There is a topic in the Biology syllabus that focuses on HIV/AIDS and malaria, so it was good to see that they had retained a lot of that very important information.</p> <p>After they finished taking the quiz, we went over the answers and allowed the students to ask any other questions they may have had about malaria. What great questions! It really showed that these were some of the top performing students at their school – they were all very engaged in the conversation and truly wanted to learn as much as they could about malaria!</p> <p>After finishing the Q and A discussion, we moved on to the first activity. The goal was to show how mosquito nets are useful in preventing the spread of malaria. For this activity, we split the students (and one teacher who wanted to participate as well) into 2 teams. One student from each team held a picture of a person (or gingerbread man, if you’re judging my drawing skills…). The rest of the students formed a line and one-by-one had to grab a colored toothpick, or <em>stiki</em>, run up to the front and try to poke it into the drawn person’s body to emulate getting bitten by a mosquito. It was a kind of relay race, so when they got back to the line, the next student could go. We wanted to see how many toothpicks they could stick on the board in 1 minute. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GhDbDRGALwU/U1trpnI19qI/AAAAAAAAAw0/zy14GSh3OWk/s1600-h/DSC06212%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06212" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06212" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lUJh9pd7pTo/U1trq7U09cI/AAAAAAAAAw8/_OnIgbh3rGQ/DSC06212_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0VwWOk7tppQ/U1trsG0ENmI/AAAAAAAAAxE/xyUkKxl0r94/s1600-h/DSC06230%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06230" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06230" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iTQEaOXvH8c/U1trtQVmOxI/AAAAAAAAAxM/UdYQEivbDgI/DSC06230_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a></p> <p align="left">The trick was, however, that one of the teams had a mosquito net covering their person, which obviously made it more difficult to poke through and reach them. At the end of 1 minute, we looked at the two people and saw that the one not using a net of course had many more mosquito bites than the one protected by the net. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wd9YtYjJEwQ/U1truopqgBI/AAAAAAAAAxU/PLjB5svVzv4/s1600-h/DSC06216_edit%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06216_edit" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06216_edit" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VDXGwaG9oPM/U1trv6rr8yI/AAAAAAAAAxc/QG1QOd9ddus/DSC06216_edit_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" height="176"></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-yPtuU_gwFdU/U1trw64BeKI/AAAAAAAAAxk/NfSad9zl-js/s1600-h/DSC06220%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06220" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06220" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dO1pW7odS9I/U1trx5byGTI/AAAAAAAAAxs/DQ3wEKrFwyg/DSC06220_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="135" height="175"></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jhIjbfU8JbA/U1try6agp8I/AAAAAAAAAx0/QiZnv5Zxxvo/s1600-h/DSC06221%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06221" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06221" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6UC-QzETB7Y/U1trzwRMZcI/AAAAAAAAAx8/cQ3bpFltN8Q/DSC06221_thumb%25255B11%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="128" height="166"></a> </p> <p>Then, to add a math spin on the activity as well, we said that among the different colored toothpicks (red, blue, green, black, plain), the red toothpicks represented bites from mosquitoes carrying malaria. Given the drawn person who was riddled with mosquito bites of all colors, we asked the students to give the probability of getting bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito based on the given distribution. From the activity, there were 13 total toothpicks stuck to the person, 3 of which were red. So the students were able to figure out that the probability of being bitten by a mosquito carrying malaria was 3/13. They were very excited to see a useful application of math!</p> <p>Our next activity was aimed at showing how malaria gets transmitted among humans and mosquitoes. For this activity, we gave each student a beaker of water. The female students were mosquitoes (because only female mosquitoes can carry malaria) and the male students were humans. Belle began as the lone malaria-carrying mosquito, and so her beaker contained a colorless sodium hydroxide solution, which represented the malaria infection. The female mosquitoes were each given a syringe and told to walk around to the different humans and exchange small amounts of liquid from each of their beakers. They had to show two transfers of liquid using the syringes – first, taking some of their own liquid and depositing it into the human’s beaker (to show the passing of saliva from mosquito to human) and then also to take some liquid from the human and place it into their own beaker (to show the sucking of the human’s blood). </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-YmCm1PUTjFk/U1tr1WTYLXI/AAAAAAAAAyE/2oRojuICKa4/s1600-h/DSC06233%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06233" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06233" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5dT0WunBYVE/U1tr2mDXZ2I/AAAAAAAAAyM/9noS33N36eo/DSC06233_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ALZtwj3RiI0/U1tr37GKmKI/AAAAAAAAAyU/-xhJn29zbg4/s1600-h/DSC06234%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06234" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06234" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ULslz4bklHY/U1tr5f_HB7I/AAAAAAAAAyc/8LDSrRKLwyg/DSC06234_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> </p> <p>This went on for a few minutes until all of the mosquitoes had a chance to bite all of the humans. After that, we had all of the mosquitoes come up to the front of the room. Although all of the beakers remained colorless, we wanted to know which of the beakers were now infected with malaria (sodium hydroxide). Using a special indicator called phenolphthalein (PoP), we could determine which beakers were infected and which weren’t. PoP is an indicator that remains colorless in acidic and neutral solutions (e.g. water), but gives a bright pink color when added to basic solutions (e.g. sodium hydroxide). So by adding a small amount of PoP to each beaker, we knew that if we saw pink, the beaker must be infected with malaria. It turned out that all of the mosquitoes and humans were now infected with malaria, even though we began with only a single malaria-carrying mosquito!! </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-31Plk1GhVNQ/U1tr6iXi78I/AAAAAAAAAyk/2Sis6gxsNvY/s1600-h/DSC06240%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06240" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06240" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-MsIpWX8aHAw/U1tr7o-RQbI/AAAAAAAAAys/yqfQ_mXZYt0/DSC06240_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-H7LjhoMq_uU/U1tr8wTxcVI/AAAAAAAAAy0/fFvpJ3DugVQ/s1600-h/DSC06243_edit%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06243_edit" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06243_edit" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tCaV-JQ3_LA/U1tr-C1GLnI/AAAAAAAAAy8/-Oyi3VRMQ04/DSC06243_edit_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> </p> <p>How could this be? When Belle began biting humans, she was transferring the malaria infection to all of them and causing them to become carriers. Then when another mosquito came along and bit the same person, they contracted the infection and helped to pass it on to other humans. Even the one human that Belle did not bite directly ended up with malaria, because other mosquitoes who had become infected were able to pass it on to him. The activity was a great way to learn about the transmission of malaria, while getting a good Chemistry review at the same time!</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wHwYFvPUefs/U1tr_o7dzWI/AAAAAAAAAzE/RjwQyjTqtEA/s1600-h/DSC06206%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC06206" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC06206" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GZpLrSPr94Y/U1tsA72eeHI/AAAAAAAAAzM/43M-gaOdEoA/DSC06206_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a></p> <p>Our World Malaria Day event was a great success and a wonderful opportunity to show more of the important everyday applications of math and science. Thanks so much to Belle and Mwatisi Secondary for making it all possible!</p> <p>I also want to take this chance to thank each and every one of you who donated to my Math and Science Conference project! The grant is now fully funded, and we have begun preparations for our Njombe conference in mid-May. More on that to come soon, but for now, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!</p> <p>And finally, as promised, here is the malaria quiz so that you can see how much you know about malaria (answers at the end). Karibu (Welcome)!</p> <p>I. True/False</p> <ol> <li>Malaria is a major problem in Tanzania.</li> <li>Mosquitoes spread malaria by transferring blood to humans.</li> <li>Mosquitoes can spread HIV/AIDS.</li> <li>If you have malaria, you don’t need to use a bed net.</li> <li>Malaria test kits are always correct.</li> <li>Only some regions of Tanzania must be concerned with malaria.</li> <li>Everyone should sleep with a mosquito net.</li> <li>All mosquitoes can transmit malaria.</li> <li>Malaria can be passed through pregnancy from mother to child.</li> <li>Mosquitoes are more common in cold areas.</li> <li>Mosquitoes tend to reproduce in moving water.</li> <li>Everyone who is sick has malaria or influenza.</li> <li>Malaria can be passed from one person to another like a cold or flu.</li> <li>In 2010, 660,000 people died from malaria world-wide.</li> <li>Malaria is most common in Africa.</li></ol> <p>II. List 3 prevention strategies to avoid getting malaria.</p> <p>III. Why is malaria so common in Africa?</p> <p>IV. What more would you like to know about malaria?</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Answers:</strong></p> <p><strong>I. True/False</strong></p> <ol> <li><strong>True</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Mosquitoes only transfer saliva to humans, not blood.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Because mosquitoes do not transfer blood to humans, they can not transfer HIV/AIDS.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – You can still transfer malaria to other mosquitoes and hence humans, so you should still use a net.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Malaria tests can be wrong! Nothing is 100% accurate.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Malaria is a problem in every region of Tanzania.</strong></li> <li><strong>True</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Only female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria.</strong></li> <li><strong>True – This is called congenital malaria.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Mosquitoes are found mostly in warm and tropical climates.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Mosquitoes tend to reproduce in stagnant water.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – This is a common misconception in Tanzania. Many people write off any kind of sickness as either malaria or the flu, which leads to many incorrect diagnoses.</strong></li> <li><strong>False – Malaria exists in a human’s bloodstream and thus cannot be transferred by ordinary contact or by coughing, sneezing, etc.</strong></li> <li><strong>True – According to the World Health Organization (WHO)</strong></li> <li><strong>True</strong></li></ol> <p><strong>II. Malaria Prevention Strategies</strong></p> <ol> <li><strong>Sleep with a bed net</strong></li> <li><strong>Keep mosquitoes from biting you, especially at night</strong></li> <li><strong>Insect repellant and spray</strong></li> <li><strong>Wear long-sleeved shirts if out at night</strong></li> <li><strong>Wear light colored clothing</strong></li> <li><strong>Take malaria prophylaxes/medication</strong></li> <li><strong>Kill mosquitoes!!!</strong></li></ol> <p><strong>III. Why is malaria so common in Africa?</strong></p> <ol> <li><strong>Tropical climate</strong></li> <li><strong>Lack of malaria control programs</strong></li> <li><strong>Lack of treatment and medication availability</strong></li> <li><strong>Lack of education about malaria prevention</strong></li></ol> <p><strong>IV. Other questions?</strong></p> <p><strong>Check out some of these great sites for more info on malaria and World Malaria Day!</strong></p> <p>World Health Organization (WHO): <a title="http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/" href="http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/">http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/</a></p> <p>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): <a title="http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/" href="http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/">http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/</a></p> <p>Stomp Out Malaria (Peace Corps Initiative): <a title="http://stompoutmalaria.org/" href="http://stompoutmalaria.org/">http://stompoutmalaria.org/</a></p> <p>Tanzania-Specific Page: <a title="http://stompoutmalaria.org/tanzania/" href="http://stompoutmalaria.org/tanzania/">http://stompoutmalaria.org/tanzania/</a></p> <p>World Malaria Day 2014: <a title="http://www.who.int/campaigns/malaria-day/2014/event/en/" href="http://www.who.int/campaigns/malaria-day/2014/event/en/">http://www.who.int/campaigns/malaria-day/2014/event/en/</a></p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-54817898754501855942014-04-03T07:12:00.001-07:002014-04-03T07:17:01.775-07:00Pi Day and SEGA Science DayAdmittedly, both of these events carry misleading titles – there was no pie to be eaten on Pi Day, and SEGA Science Day didn’t include any video games (nor did the school have a hedgehog mascot, disappointingly). These minor deficiencies were overcome, however, as they did serve as great forums for spreading the word of <i>Shika</i>, as in hands-on math and science.<br />
This year marked the 10th annual Pi Day celebration in Tanzania, and it was held in a large gated park at Mnazi Mmoja grounds in Dar es Salaam. This was the first year that the event spanned two days, catering to its first-time theme of hands-on teaching aids in mathematics. What could be more fitting to the <i>Shika na Mikono</i> team?! As luck would have it, I knew the man running the Pi Day event from a math conference that I attended in Arusha a couple years ago, so he remembered our group and invited us to come and present some of our best math teaching aids.<br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-q-ZwmgKyVxE/Uz1r6CEO5pI/AAAAAAAAAtg/LtOIk2zdzXM/s1600-h/DSC054062.jpg"><img alt="DSC05406" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-n5FaVoH0Ugc/Uz1r7boP65I/AAAAAAAAAto/nv8Ioo6q7NU/DSC05406_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05406" width="244" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-U6EDDBo4Y3M/Uz1r8t3MOAI/AAAAAAAAAtw/SQU4HwiB0jw/s1600-h/DSC054102.jpg"><img alt="DSC05410" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KALIogFcvMg/Uz1r9_IWokI/AAAAAAAAAt4/OooqI-BNmVY/DSC05410_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="183" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05410" width="244" /></a><br /><i>Interactive teaching aids for algebraic equations (left) and coordinate geometry (right)</i></div>
The first day was mainly an exhibition for the public. Teachers and students from nearby primary and secondary schools came to see and use the different teaching aids on display. We weren’t the only ones with great ideas to show – there were simple games using fraction flashcards, as well as interactive computer programs for calculating volume and surface area (the program was actually made by Form IV students!). Our Peace Corps tables definitely carried a unique theme of using <i>local materials</i>. Our goal was not only to show interactive ways of teaching math topics, but also that they can be done cheaply and easily even in the most rural schools. The constant flow of engaged students kept us busy for hours, until the daily afternoon storms rained out our parade.<br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xiYQxau6xCA/Uz1r_OHAWZI/AAAAAAAAAuA/DpZJ0Jy3fTM/s1600-h/DSC054212.jpg"><img alt="DSC05421" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-nUKj_YXfByk/Uz1sAbeYM9I/AAAAAAAAAuI/YdV19zlWH1k/DSC05421_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05421" width="244" /></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bFKg-yeW42g/Uz1sBt94VzI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/t6k_XeR7-cc/s1600-h/DSC054482.jpg"><img alt="DSC05448" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0Wmg7QCTmbQ/Uz1sCg_7eKI/AAAAAAAAAuY/BbgguuSNf_8/DSC05448_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05448" width="244" /></a> <br /><i>A Tanzanian teacher’s aid for teaching integers (left); Shika Math Team ready to go (right)</i></div>
The second day was the actual Pi Day, March 14th. A select few of the teaching aid presenters were asked to come back to show off their displays for the guest of honor, the Vice President of Tanzania. The big <i>sherehe </i>(celebration) consisted of a morning parade through the streets of Dar by students carrying picketing signs calling for improvements in math education. Following that was a children’s dance performance, which I later found out was actually a native dance to Botswana, called <i>Makilikili</i>. Many invigorating speeches later, the VP walked around to the different teaching aid displays, so we all had a chance to greet him in Swahili, which he was a little surprised to hear coming from us <i>not-so-Tanzanian-looking</i> volunteers. The rest of the afternoon was again open to the public, so we handed out a lot of brochures and copies of our math and science teaching manuals to help spread the word about <i>Shika</i>.<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-nAsMw_5RDSA/Uz1sD3YyV9I/AAAAAAAAAug/GFg7a_9Ekfk/s1600-h/DSC0543711.jpg"><img alt="DSC05437" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PY6xVOHDYaY/Uz1sFINBjmI/AAAAAAAAAuo/-utKGpKzTG8/DSC05437_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05437" width="244" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VPMvKGsg2ck/Uz1sGZKDofI/AAAAAAAAAuw/aTafqfRuNKU/s1600-h/DSC0548211.jpg"><img alt="DSC05482" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RpDcQJC5jiA/Uz1sHw7ud_I/AAAAAAAAAu4/rdc692MeHk0/DSC05482_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05482" width="244" /></a> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Students march for math at Pi Day (left); Makilikili, a native dance of Botswana (right)</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-FzkGUm01qOM/Uz1sJE4ZO5I/AAAAAAAAAvA/886XnnpYGJQ/s1600-h/DSC05696_edit214.jpg"><img alt="DSC05696_edit2" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-qkzZIEnkmHE/Uz1sKnonHgI/AAAAAAAAAvI/dD4UL3Odslw/DSC05696_edit2_thumb12.jpg?imgmax=800" height="301" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="DSC05696_edit2" width="364" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />Meeting with the Vice President of Tanzania at the Pi Day celebration in Dar es Salaam</i></span></div>
Still reveling in the glory of our successful Pi Day extravaganza, the Math Team packed up its bags and equipment and hit the road for Morogoro, using the power of Tanzanian buses to magically transform a 3-hour trip into an impressive 6-hour <i>safari</i>. We were received by the rest of our <i>Shika</i> team, new and old, for our yearly crossover meeting as we began the process of handing over the reins to next year’s class of mad scientists. After a day of discussing future goals and visions for the group, we took advantage of having everyone together in one place by putting on a Science Day event at the school of another Peace Corps Volunteer living in Morogoro. Our forces combined, we were determined to put on a show for the girls of SEGA Secondary, a young school of only about 130 students, most of which are orphans or have been displaced from their original homes.<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-llNK38ADQYA/Uz1sMJAPK3I/AAAAAAAAAvQ/FUEdYbVhEOA/s1600-h/DSC055368.jpg"><img alt="DSC05536" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MuF96S5A4-k/Uz1sNOIPIFI/AAAAAAAAAvY/5DyPAs0nXkY/DSC05536_thumb6.jpg?imgmax=800" height="230" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC05536" width="303" /></a><i>The girls of SEGA Secondary prepare for a special Science Day</i> </div>
Altogether there were 11 of us, so we had plenty of <i>Shika</i>-power to distribute among the kids. We veterans tried to take a back seat as much as possible, since the point of having the event was for the new members to gain some experience in planning and preparing for similar trainings in the future. The girls were split into groups and rotated among 4 subject stations: Math groups played number line games and solved tangram puzzles; Physics groups built straw towers and made paper helicopters and airplanes; Biology groups taste-tested different flavor mixtures and played a food-gathering game about evolution; Chemistry groups learned about combustion and used vinegar and baking soda to blow up balloons with carbon dioxide. At the end of the day, we gathered everyone together for the grand finale, where we set off a reaction to make <i>elephant toothpaste</i> (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezsur0L0L1c">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezsur0L0L1c</a>) and lit a <i>sufuria</i> (pot) full of smoke bombs. <br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NZPirNp1UwI/Uz1sOSyhMXI/AAAAAAAAAvg/CuOt48WK-No/s1600-h/DSC056172.jpg"><img alt="DSC05617" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-bLS3IRkNXw4/Uz1sPr9PN5I/AAAAAAAAAvk/W7-d_eHf4Ms/DSC05617_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05617" width="244" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-F2knUYh8RXE/Uz1sQ4s20PI/AAAAAAAAAvw/CQ_efdu6WDw/s1600-h/DSC056202.jpg"><img alt="DSC05620" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0jFu8drvpVU/Uz1sSDyFD-I/AAAAAAAAAv4/sFTMetsffks/DSC05620_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05620" width="244" /></a> <br /><i>Students gather food in an evolution game for Biology (left); Tangram puzzles for Math (right)</i></div>
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-csTUQDJE05I/Uz1sTL97gRI/AAAAAAAAAwA/R4fwCf2aJMw/s1600-h/elephanttoothpaste2.jpg"><img alt="elephant-toothpaste" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Thf5D1EDcmA/Uz1sUdQ64mI/AAAAAAAAAwI/WEIOJfbo2XU/elephanttoothpaste_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="178" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="elephant-toothpaste" width="244" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-sja0TXAKu1c/Uz1sVmspSbI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/A8XwD3ijpC8/s1600-h/DSC05676_edit2.jpg"><img alt="DSC05676_edit" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ypdoAGTeIks/Uz1sW-JWWUI/AAAAAAAAAwY/cFrKdZ8DU10/DSC05676_edit_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="DSC05676_edit" width="244" /></a> <br /><i>Elephant toothpaste reaction (left); Past and present Shika members at SEGA Secondary (right)</i></div>
The SEGA girls were incredibly grateful for us coming and loved every second of our shenanigans. We all left Morogoro feeling accomplished and assured of the continued success of the <i>Shika </i>Team. Not that any of us old-timers are ready to let go of it just yet, however – we’ve still got a few months left until we go out with our final bang.<br />
In the same light of everything else I’ve talked about in this post, I also received wonderful news recently that my grant proposal for putting on Science Competitions in this country has been approved!! The project is now listed on the Peace Corps website (<a href="https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-621-010">https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-621-010</a>) and is open to receive donations. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE consider helping out with this if you’re able. The entire Science Day event at SEGA was done on a budget of under $50, and we were able to give 130 girls a day that they will never forget and that has certainly allowed them to see math and science in an exciting way that they’ve never seen before. For my project, I want to hold 5 or more multi-day conferences / teacher trainings to further the reach of the <i>Shika</i> philosophy and try to get as many Tanzanians as possible to see the advantage of interactive learning and a hands-on approach to science. Thank you in advance for taking an interest in this too!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-92024836209901202262014-02-28T06:49:00.001-08:002014-02-28T06:59:08.646-08:00Mikalanga Science Competition<p>In keeping with my extension goal of becoming a “Traveling Science Man” in Tanzania, in early February I took a trip to the valley/bowl of Mbinga, a small town near Songea known for its coffee production and less-than extensive diet consisting mainly of <em>ugali wa mihogo </em>(a lump of starch made from cassava flour). Another extending volunteer from my original Peace Corps class helped to host the 2-day competition between his school and that of another nearby volunteer. </p> <p>The visiting school wasn’t able to come the first day, so we did a sort of preliminary competition among four teams from the host Mikalanga Secondary School, with student participants coming from all Forms (I-IV). From there, two teams advanced to take on the rival Hagati Secondary, which was represented the next day with four teams of its own. The host school was definitely seen as the underdog, since Hagati students have traditionally performed better on national examinations, and they are considered the more coveted school in the area for those families that can afford the higher school fees.</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-G1FG42mSkSA/UxCh1UI207I/AAAAAAAAAsE/p_u8OnnstA8/s1600-h/DSC05265%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC05265" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC05265" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-IfqGN2uLJTQ/UxCh2YhM6II/AAAAAAAAAsM/caGN7BwZDFo/DSC05265_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JGpbvX8YR2k/UxCh6GXZT0I/AAAAAAAAAsU/fyGH15XUy5w/s1600-h/DSC05324%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC05324" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC05324" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Bv5hCOC9Qp0/UxCh7WLcDmI/AAAAAAAAAsc/Quz64J6RQwc/DSC05324_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <br><em>Mbinga students have fun playing with magnets and building towers out of straws.</em></p> <p>In the end, however, it was one of the Mikalanga teams that proved victorious, after completing a variety of the staple events such as Egg Drop, Bridge Challenge (teams buy all building materials using a few Science Shillings), Raft Rally (build a raft from aluminum foil), Jenga Jengo (make the tallest building out of straws) and some fun math and logic puzzles. The students were really excited at exceeding their own expectations for themselves and their school, and according to the volunteer at Mikalanga, they were able to show off at the morning assembly the following Monday.</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-rKJn9NMLq_I/UxCh9MmP9qI/AAAAAAAAAsk/RzXHW5F2fmY/s1600-h/DSC05250%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC05250" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC05250" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-d8f-HaoKHRc/UxCiARqboxI/AAAAAAAAAss/P87OFtLnEKU/DSC05250_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1NtVo59VBnM/UxCiCE8cKSI/AAAAAAAAAs0/CRKDuXoIrEg/s1600-h/DSC05325%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="DSC05325" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="DSC05325" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RYBa62qe9X4/UxCiDO7MtbI/AAAAAAAAAs8/rFaYcp_w_00/DSC05325_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <br><em>Mikalanga students show up to cheer on their school’s teams; participants pose with PCV and Tanzanian teachers who came to support the science competition.</em></p> <p>This competition was a great and unique experience for me because the host school Mikalanga is one of the lowest performing secondary schools in the region, and has only recently gotten a couple of science teachers, meaning that many of the students there have not studied math or science for their entire high school education. Coming to that kind of setting to do a science competition reminded me of the real value of doing these kinds of events. At least for me, it’s not so much about getting every student to understand all of the concepts being talked about or necessarily showing immediate improvement on exams as it is about getting students to make some positive associations with math and science rather than just writing them off as “very difficult,” or in the case of math, “<em>ugonjwa wa taifa”</em> (“national disease”). Getting to see an entire school of underperforming students who have never left their home village cheering, standing on tables to watch bridge testing and intently listening to a butchered Swahili explanation of Archimedes’ Principle was a great motivation for me and a reminder of the reason why I wanted to extend my service in the first place. Many thanks to Mikalanga and Hagati schools for participating and for hosting me!</p> <p>One of the perks of visiting the volunteer’s site near Mbinga was its proximity to Lake Nyasa (or Lake Malawi), which means delicious fresh fish was only a 12 hour hike away. Luckily for me, Jerome was coming back from the lake anyways, and so he shared with me some of the best fish I’ve ever had. Also on the menu for the weekend was a slightly less traditional delicacy, pigeon. Jerome’s neighbors had recently started raising a small pigeon farm of sorts, which were apparently not the best courtyard-mates, so he was pretty pleased with the idea of taking them off their hands. Turns out, when they’re not bathing in sewers and eating city trash, pigeons aren’t all that bad (sometimes the stereotype “tastes like chicken” is perfectly valid). Nonetheless, this is definitely an experience I don’t need to recreate in America.</p> <p>In other news, our Shika na Mikono science team has selected its newest members from the most recent group of Education volunteers. Of course myself and the rest of the current team will still be around for a while, but we wanted to incorporate the new people as early as possible so that we can hand things off better over the course of several months rather than a couple weeks, which is how it’s been done in the past. We will all be gathering in Morogoro in mid-March to do a Science Day at a nearby volunteer’s school so that the new group can get some experience in preparing for and conducting such events and trainings. The Shika team has made such great progress in working with the Ministry of Education over the past year that we want to make sure that that relationship continues to grow in years to come.</p> <p>So more on that to come shortly, as well as a recap of a math Pi Day celebration on 3/14, so stay tuned!</p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-8808005931538806082014-01-19T06:59:00.001-08:002014-01-19T07:17:25.745-08:00Changing of the SeasonsAfter narrowly escaping the dreaded “polar vortex” that quickly consumed Chicago and many other parts of the US in a wave of snow and sub-zero temperatures, Belle and I successfully migrated back to the melting heat wave that is Dar es Salaam in early January. My month-plus visit home, complements of the Peace Corps as part of my 3rd year extension, was of course as fun-filled, relaxing and fattening as I could have hoped for.<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-BCSsMisVJFI/Utvn-S58KyI/AAAAAAAAApE/BB8EYs7_-l4/s1600-h/DSCN5471%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="DSCN5471" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-pTVQ0wCql34/UtvoAMDaomI/AAAAAAAAApM/wp7OfKTPhCs/DSCN5471_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="DSCN5471" width="244" /></a>To make for a smoother transition back into the country (and to kill time before going to the in-service training of the new Education Volunteers), Belle and I took a detour to Mafia Island the day after our return to country. Apparently NOT known for housing all of the head Tanzanian mobsters (who knew?), Mafia is actually well known for having whale sharks pass by on their annual migration pattern from the months of November – early February. We were able to see 5 or 6 of them and actually got to swim and snorkel alongside them! Whale sharks are apparently the largest fish in the world, but pose no threat to humans because they are filter feeders that only eat plankton. They have really cool spots on their bodies, which are unique to each individual and can be used as an alternative “tagging” method for biologists to identify them. Even though they are relatively slow swimmers compared to other ocean-dwellers, they were able to easily out-swim us as soon as we entered the water. But we were still able to get close enough in the boat so that when I jumped in, I almost got smacked in the face by one’s massive tail fin. It was a lot of fun!<br />
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After Mafia we decided to make an impromptu trip to Zanzibar for a couple days. I had been there once before when Christine came to visit a year and a half ago, but it was Belle’s first time, so we did the spice tour which includes a nice trip to the beach at the end. More delicious sea food and fresh sugar cane juice as well.<br />
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The real reason we had to stay in Dar all that time though was because the new group of Volunteers who arrived last July were having their in-service training, and our Shika na Mikono science team was given a day to do sessions for them. For this training, volunteers come with their counterparts (Tanzanian teachers at their schools who they work well with) and go through the sessions together. We themed the Shika sessions in a game show setting called “Whose Lab is it Anyway?” It consisted of three rounds for teams of PCVs and Tanzanians together to compete in making useful math and science teaching aids and hands-on activities.<br />
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The first round had all teams separated by subject (math, physics, biology, chemistry), trying to use a table of local materials (aka trash) to teach about a topic from the Tanzanian syllabi. We Shika members served as coaches/judges and selected one team from our subject to advance to the next round. For Round 2, the four remaining teams were given additional time and better materials to prepare a 3-minute mini lesson from one of three assigned topics from their subject. While they were preparing that, the rest of the teams were able to get guidance on the national exams or compete in a “losers bracket” science competition of constructing buildings out of straws. The remaining teams presented their mini lessons to the audience, but were judged on a scale of 1-10 by our panel of Shika experts. Without meaning to, I apparently became the Simon of the group because I was not quite as lenient of a scorer as the rest of the judges. The top 2 teams advanced to Round 3, where they were given 5,000 shillings (about 3 dollars) of credit to buy a limited set of items found in local stores to prepare a hands-on activity that could be performed by a full class of students. This time, we played the role of the students, but the audience got to vote for the winner. We gave out prizes to winning teams that we had picked up in our recent trip to America. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, especially all the cheesy game show music we cued up throughout the show.<br />
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We had a great time preparing everything too (exhausting though it was), and coming up with new explosion ideas for the introduction. For this one, we rigged up several sets of hydraulic presses using plastic syringes and tubing which could be used to push small cups of kerosene into charcoal stoves below, which made big flames timed to the lyrics of Fall Out Boy’s new “Light it Up” song. It was cool because using the syringe presses made it possible for someone to hide behind the front table and “detonate” the explosions remotely without being seen by the audience. Then Ben, the host, came in and announced the rest of us one-by-one as we popped out from our hiding places (I was hiding behind a curtain) and dropped smoke bombs into the stoves. The people in the front row got a bit of smoke in their faces, but it still got a good reaction from the crowd.<br />
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In keeping with the "Changing of the Seasons” theme, this was likely the last Peace Corps training that our group will do together, since this new group of volunteers will soon be taking over the reins of Shika. Soon we will choose our successors with the help of the Peace Corps staff, and hopefully be able to serve as mentors to them during the remaining time that we all have in country before we hand things over completely. It’s always difficult passing on projects from one class to the next, but it helped last year that I was extending and could help bridge the gap a little bit. It’s doubtful that anyone from the current group will be extending into next year, so we want to get the new group started as quickly as possible so that we can work with them before we leave. We still have a lot planned for the near future as well, and will hopefully continue working with the Ministry of Education doing teacher trainings like we started last year. As for me, I’m now heading back down to the rains and cooler weather of the southern highlands to my site for the start of another school year and teaching Form II math. Helia Mwaka Mpya! (Happy New Year!) Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-38484514961507494272013-11-04T04:04:00.001-08:002013-11-04T04:04:07.010-08:00Shika na Mikono and the Ministry of Education<p>Sure, it might not make the most exciting title for a Harry Potter spin-off, but it was still a monumental event in the short history of Peace Corps Tanzania’s Shika na Mikono hands-on science group. Since its origin in 2009, the Shika group has had opportunities to work with the Ministry at various workshops, but it has typically been for the purpose of creating new teaching manuals and resources. Last month, however, marked the first time Shika has been invited to actually conduct sessions at a Ministry training. And it was a huge success! Below is a write-up we made as a Peace Corps Success Story, which will soon be published in the PC Tanzania weekly newsletter given to all PCVs and PC staff. The Ministry contacts who invited us to this training have already invited us to additional regional math and science trainings in Mbeya and Dodoma at the end of this month. Enjoy! <p>The week of the 21<sup>st</sup> through the 25<sup>th</sup> of October, Peace Corps’ Shika na Mikono hands-on science team was invited by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) of Tanzania to help facilitate an INSET workshop for national and regional trainers in Morogoro. The workshop provided various Math, Science, and Language trainers with the necessary information and resources to train other Tanzanian teachers upon return to their respective regions. Sessions focused on educational improvement, including Big Results Now (BRN), classroom and presentation skills, and hands-on science, which is where Shika na Mikono was called in to assist. <p>The Shika Team were allotted one day (five hours) with the Math and Science trainers to share their experiences of using locally available materials to teach hands-on science in Tanzanian schools. The five members of the Shika Team included Belle Archaphorn (Mbeya), Willie Blackmon (Mbeya), Steve Bonomo (Ruvuma), Ryan Early (Dodoma), and Ben Savonen (Iringa). Workshop Coordinator Dorothy Mwaluko and Salum Kilipamwambu from the Ministry assisted the Shika members in their preparations, while also providing the supplies and resources required to conduct their sessions. <p>Approximately 70 trainers represented the four subject panels (Math, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics). After a brief introduction to the aims and goals of the Shika na Mikono group, the trainers were split up by subject for the first session: The Box of Fun. The Box of Fun is an activity that challenges teachers to come up with teaching aids for various assigned topics on the spot, using only a limited number of locally available science materials (LASMs) to be shared among all groups. The trainers were forced to use their creativity to construct interactive teaching materials to be used in the classroom as well as the laboratory in the absence of traditional teaching resources. After each group had a few minutes to brainstorm and construct, they were given a chance to present their ideas to the whole group. It was great to see the creativity and innovative ideas of each group, which proved that science and math do not require expensive materials to teach in an exciting way! <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-9YaTrJhoRA0/UneIXVd7e8I/AAAAAAAAAlU/Lup3NQP8UfE/s1600-h/clip_image0024.jpg"><img title="clip_image002" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image002" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-DkbOWIC8GUo/UneIdZNDwXI/AAAAAAAAAlc/a4OCdEzYD7Y/clip_image002_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="218"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ICj9gPK7L9Q/UneItvp5UlI/AAAAAAAAAlk/e1UZTNieaOo/clip_image0044.jpg?imgmax=800"><img title="clip_image004" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image004" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UckhP_QIE4U/UneIzPvPgDI/AAAAAAAAAls/PEPQvOtnGsY/clip_image004_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="213" height="165"></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-P6URRRBVe58/UneI2XUrZSI/AAAAAAAAAl0/ZRIoQ41u3X8/s1600-h/clip_image0064.jpg"><img title="clip_image006" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image006" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pzTOTH0fR3U/UneI4yTmNSI/AAAAAAAAAl8/8KcSK05UEDc/clip_image006_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="161" height="219"></a><br><i>Ministry trainers develop teaching aids using LASMs in the Box of Fun activity</i></p> <p>Following the Box of Fun was a session entitled Shika Express, which involved a gallery walk and science fair set-up of various, short demonstrations that can be done in the classroom, also using LASMs. Tables were aligned so that all participants could walk around and observe demonstrations for all subjects, which were led by the respective Shika members. Demonstrations included construction of a simple DC motor, alternatives to litmus or pH paper using hibiscus leaves, a cardboard model hand to show joints and movement, as well as multiple interactive mathematics teaching games. <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--JBl9lhXAPA/UneI6cXUzEI/AAAAAAAAAmE/h6Qw55NV5-I/s1600-h/clip_image0087.jpg"><img title="clip_image008" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image008" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-CcbC0Lt4JOk/UneJCZQ7brI/AAAAAAAAAmM/CR8-wy3v8KY/clip_image008_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="201" height="171"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Grl3-43Ekb4/UneJEeXmITI/AAAAAAAAAmU/qiAy34nLFuI/s1600-h/clip_image0104.jpg"><img title="clip_image010" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image010" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yM4hle2BRpQ/UneJI5uGG2I/AAAAAAAAAmc/3SI8rIQ80hw/clip_image010_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="135" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0FPzrYKvsBg/UneJPCe3uFI/AAAAAAAAAmk/wqbrtuQigas/s1600-h/clip_image0125.jpg"><img title="clip_image012" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image012" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-sYCslPpONRE/UneJR65X4NI/AAAAAAAAAms/ioXYusVPKO4/clip_image012_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="200" height="160"></a><br><i>Participants interact with hands-on Math and Science demonstrations as part of Shika Express</i></p> <p>After the chai break, the Shika Team began its second session with a presentation on performing science competitions for students in order to stimulate their creativity and interest in the math and science subjects. Following a short introductory video and explanation, the trainers were divided into teams of 4-5 and asked to perform the competitions themselves. Teams competed in one of two different events: Egg Drop and Bridge Challenge. The Egg Drop competition required teams to design and build a device using a limited set of materials to safely carry an egg from a drop height of roughly 3 metres. Teams taking the Bridge Challenge were asked to build a bridge that could withstand the greatest load before failure. However, they were given only 15 Science Shillings with which they needed to purchase all (locally available) construction materials from Mama Belle’s Science Duka. Following construction, all of the devices and bridges were observed and tested for all groups to see. What a fun way to learn about science! <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-N7aQ9WprD8g/UneJkd7epLI/AAAAAAAAAm0/YopgjP9Ldto/s1600-h/clip_image0145.jpg"><img title="clip_image014" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image014" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Wp5krRz_Pho/UneJrKp0quI/AAAAAAAAAm8/GDhZ2FjuP1Y/clip_image014_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="219"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TOnIFNConaU/UneJvXTKRgI/AAAAAAAAAnE/0qSZn0h8_-8/s1600-h/clip_image0164.jpg"><img title="clip_image016" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image016" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3TI5IFZFQec/UneKQmQn_WI/AAAAAAAAAnM/GlCz11bbAAQ/clip_image016_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="218" height="169"></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1Ucvy22iqGw/UneKSbFI5wI/AAAAAAAAAnU/jnqca8-D9mo/s1600-h/clip_image0184.jpg"><img title="clip_image018" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image018" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-QUe8waq6tvQ/UneKUbueJnI/AAAAAAAAAnc/kDbWPsdLrE4/clip_image018_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="161" height="219"></a><br><i>Teams design and build devices for the Egg Drop Science Competition</i></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ya5M0aukPw8/UneKW8G07WI/AAAAAAAAAnk/yFFOH5MuWEQ/s1600-h/clip_image0207.jpg"><img title="clip_image020" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image020" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wQLmhDLDntE/UneKZwtr-tI/AAAAAAAAAns/7RGhBt3AVUQ/clip_image020_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="188" height="159"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tY8bxWx12mY/UneKcUNyuhI/AAAAAAAAAn0/NhOlZ3IRfsU/s1600-h/clip_image0224.jpg"><img title="clip_image022" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image022" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XWYYidjt2cI/UneKe_-7wMI/AAAAAAAAAn8/kzBuT5mTWfY/clip_image022_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="140" height="190"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oLw54FHi9oE/UneKgUcuznI/AAAAAAAAAoE/2yYsuWAeTjc/s1600-h/clip_image0246.jpg"><img title="clip_image024" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image024" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rZg9_uYlN3w/UneKuw9jMdI/AAAAAAAAAoM/d1r44_OtpxU/clip_image024_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="209" height="173"></a><br><i>The Bridge Challenge tests teams’ abilities to build and budget efficiently</i></p> <p>The final session led by the Shika Team was one on conducting math and science NECTA practicals by substituting local materials for expensive lab equipment. Participants were able to see and think about alternative methods for doing practicals at schools which lack traditional laboratory apparatus. Beakers were replaced by water bottles, glass test tubes by plastic syringes, expensive chemicals by their local sources - these and many other examples helped to prove that science can be taught anywhere and on a small budget. In this way, students can see that science exists all around them in their daily lives and not just in the laboratory. <p>Upon completion of the Shika na Mikono sessions, Salum and the Shika members expressed their gratitude for the invitation to participate in the Ministry of Education INSET workshop by presenting the coordinator with several copies of the Shika na Mikono hands-on science and math manuals to be given to the head regional trainers for further distribution at future trainings. The Shika Team looks forward to future opportunities to share interactive math and science teaching ideas, as well as a continued partnership with the Ministry of Education in Tanzania. <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cSww06vu7bY/UneKyTHfJWI/AAAAAAAAAoU/BwPNRqvMQNM/s1600-h/clip_image0266.jpg"><img title="clip_image026" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="clip_image026" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-duK0IuS2Nks/UneLBEF6SnI/AAAAAAAAAoc/HH0JkiiMrEk/clip_image026_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="538" height="388"></a><i>The Shika Team poses with Ministry representatives.<br>(Top row) pictured left to right: Ben Savonen, Ryan Early, Willie Blackmon, Salum Kilipamwambu, Steve Bonomo<br>(Bottom row) pictured left to right: Belle Archaphorn, Dorothy Mwaluko</i></p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-38620914246795764682013-11-04T03:25:00.001-08:002013-11-04T03:25:16.594-08:00USA RELOADED<p>In the time since my last blog post, I took a brief, yet densely intense return trip to America, my second since originally coming to Tanzania in June of 2011. My two-week refresher included attending a cousin’s wedding near Chicago, followed by a baseball-road-trip-inspired tour of Texas. As it was my first taste of ballpark tours in 3 summers, as well as my first chance to watch live baseball in a couple years, I was extremely excited and more than willing to pack in the extra travelling to an already-limited stay home (besides, who can complain about transportation that leaves on-time and gives you a seat all to yourself?).</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xMPC32f_hlU/UndgvqoQy5I/AAAAAAAAAiE/qc-7HRKQRXE/s1600-h/DSC041993.jpg"><img title="DSC04199" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC04199" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-61TD6__L_5Y/Undg97Po8wI/AAAAAAAAAiM/DA1zFEnIn68/DSC04199_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a>My Texas tour began in Austin, where I had a day to explore the campus at the University of Texas and splurge on some delicious tex-mex stuffed avocados and sweet tea. After meeting up with the rest of the gang, we drove to Houston to see an Astros-Yankees game, whose meaninglessness in terms of league standings was overshadowed by what I thought to be a really cool stadium in Minute Maid Park. The highlight was getting to see the engineering wonder of the 20-minute retractable roof opening for a post-game fireworks display. The next day we got an early start to Arlington to catch a Rangers-Angels game (this one actually relevant) that got bumped up 7 hours due to imminent storms. Narrowly dodging the rains after the Rangers victory, we sought shelter and killed some time playing 4-way air hockey, complements of Dave and Busters, and then stayed the night at Belle’s family’s house near Plano.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jRwCyAS-558/UndiC7MgH6I/AAAAAAAAAiY/9si0jw71cUY/s1600-h/DSC042373.jpg"><img title="DSC04237" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC04237" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UuBD_JU3pXU/UndiL32QUgI/AAAAAAAAAig/Luf9fRXgcBg/DSC04237_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-dXRr5fRV3P8/UndiPUDpktI/AAAAAAAAAio/zGGFLa2UO7A/DSC043003.jpg?imgmax=800"><img title="DSC04300" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC04300" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xwmqv4JJluo/UneDTofj0wI/AAAAAAAAAkU/Jw6QHv2MRT8/DSC04300_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CFjK8U2MkgM/UneDXCEKiCI/AAAAAAAAAkc/L-78arfC-5c/DSC043124.jpg?imgmax=800"><img title="DSC04312" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC04312" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-FqgehodIm68/UneDk8YEOcI/AAAAAAAAAkk/aFqrCsJ02cA/DSC04312_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="173" height="234"></a>As luck would have it, some of the other recently-returned PCVs from my class (and fellow Njombe-natives) were also in the area and were able to meet up for a very disappointing all-you-can-eat pancakes brunch at Steak ‘n Shake (it’s no IHOP, I shoulda known…). While the baseball group headed back to Austin, I stayed a couple extra days to spend some more time with Belle’s family. They took me to the Texas State Fair in Dallas, which featured the single largest display of <em>unexpectedly</em> deep-fried foods I’ve ever seen, including (of course) the deep-fried thanksgiving dinner. I was also able to try all kinds of home-made and dine-in Thai food (none of which are done justice by the word scrumptrulescent) and also meet a lot of the extended family and friends who live nearby. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NVkl5wNEVmQ/UneDnaqgzwI/AAAAAAAAAks/RL3nX4EXTjY/DSC043133.jpg?imgmax=800"><img title="DSC04313" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC04313" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xJbnuFGijwM/UneDtod2YyI/AAAAAAAAAk0/LCpasfc2FMI/DSC04313_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6PitQ0CowTo/UneD1HNnaLI/AAAAAAAAAk8/ZpE-ee2Ni8s/s1600-h/IMG_21413.jpg"><img title="IMG_2141" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="IMG_2141" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-C-IWc0Ut0Mw/UneEAgX190I/AAAAAAAAAlE/3DW-sUFeI-g/IMG_2141_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a></p> <p>The trip home was a great way to rejuvenate myself as I continue now in my one-year extension, but in actuality it was just a snack, as I’ll be coming home once again around Thanksgiving for my month-long home leave granted by Peace Corps. So for everyone I wasn’t able to see this time, I’ll still see you soon! </p> <p>As for life back in Tanzania, things have been getting really exciting with our Shika na Mikono group, so much so that it warrants its own separate post! And so, submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this blog post…</p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-2916238045037650822013-08-31T01:45:00.001-07:002013-08-31T01:51:43.235-07:00I’m Extending (Part 3 of 3)<p>Although it probably could have been inferred from the fact that I’m not back in America after completing 2 years of Peace Corps service, I can finally say with certainty that I am in fact extending my service for a third year. After spending much of the last few months in uncertainty on what the next step for me would be, I was finally able to realize that what I most want to do right now is continue teaching here in Tanzania and continue the work I’ve been doing with the “Shika na Mikono” hands-on science group and conducting science competitions around the country. In other words, I want to be a travelling science man who goes around Tanzania promoting interactive science events and working with other Peace Corps Volunteers.</p> <p>I will be staying at my current site at Wilima Secondary School near Njombe, and will continue teaching, though with a reduced number of scheduled periods. I am continuing to teach Form I Math, but will have more time to prepare Physics lab practicals for students in every grade level. Hopefully around once a month or so, I will be able to visit other Volunteers’ schools or nearby towns and provide the materials and planning to do science competitions / seminars with their students. Depending on how things go, it may also be possible to do region-wide science fairs and possibly gain added support from the Ministry of Education as well.</p> <p>So please stay tuned as things progress, as I will continue to give inside looks into the various events and conferences that I take part in around Tanzania. If there is anyone who may be interested in supporting these kinds of events, either by donating money, books, supplies or other learning resources, please feel free to contact me by email (<a href="mailto:sbonomo3@gmail.com">sbonomo3@gmail.com</a>) for now, and please also be on the lookout soon for a more direct way to contribute that I will make available online. BUT PLEASE DO NOT SEND PACKAGES OR BOXES OF SUPPLIES TO MY PO BOX IN NJOMBE!!!! Problems with the Njombe customs office continue to stifle attempts at receiving care packages from America, so until things get figured out, please don’t send anything other than letters to that address. </p> <p>In other news, I’ll be coming home in a couple weeks! For the last two weeks of September I’ll be home - a Game Night wedding and a Texas baseball trip are just too much of an excuse not to use to come home, so I am very much looking forward to that. Plus, one of the perks of extending for a full year with the Peace Corps is that they give you a month’s home leave to use whenever you want. So I’ll be adding on a few days using my regular vacation time to be home from Thanksgiving, all the way up through New Year’s! Can’t wait to hopefully get to see everyone over at least one of those trips!</p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-56606513723925768062013-08-31T01:34:00.001-07:002013-08-31T01:41:31.633-07:00Science = Explosions (Part 2 of 3)<p>Belle, Ben and I were the three chosen representatives from the Shika na Mikono hands-on science team to go to the pre-service training (PST) of the newly arrived 2013 class of education volunteers. The location of PST was changed this year, from Morogoro, where I completed my training almost exactly 2 years ago, to the altogether underwhelming new location of Korogwe, near the coastal region of Tanga. However, despite its lack of luxuries, conveniences and more than 2 dining options, Korogwe did perhaps offer the trainees a more genuine “Tanzanian experience” than its predecessor. And at least we were able to tell the new group in all honesty that going to their sites would almost certainly actually be an upgrade compared to what they’ve gotten used to in 10 weeks of training.</p> <p>During the week, the trainees stayed at their CBT’s, or local clusters of nearby village schools, while we made preparations for our sessions on Friday and Saturday. Our task was to prepare the volunteers for teaching math and science in a Tanzanian context and to show them ways to use cheap and easy-to-find materials to make their teaching more interactive. But of course, as has been the case for the past couple years of such trainings, the primary area of focus was to make a dazzling explosion-filled introduction that would hopefully scare the new volunteers as much as inspire them. So that’s what we spent the majority of our week prepping for.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5tdF34xUFk8/UiGqZ24zeEI/AAAAAAAAAgE/Rndi9FBAI7s/s1600-h/intro5_edit3.jpg"><img title="intro5_edit" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="intro5_edit" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AYbxu2e7W08/UiGqao4qKGI/AAAAAAAAAgM/AojbSZ4cAQk/intro5_edit_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a>Here’s what we did: For a while, the Shika team has been working to perfect locally available recipes for gunpowder and smoke bombs, so we made a few trial batches of each to make sure everything would go as planned. For the introduction, the group was led into a dimly lit open dining hall as initial smoke bombs were thrown into the charcoal jiko’s (stoves) placed on the front stage. Out of the shadows appeared Ben, who as he walked out, initiated a video space montage, finely tuned to coincide with the song Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell (think Requiem for a Dream). Throughout the video, Ben stood on the stage in front of the crowd, giving a passionate monologue on the mysteries of space and our attempts to understand the universe through science. Meanwhile, Belle and I slowly approached from the back of the room with lit toilet paper torches, lighting kerosene-soaked rocks on the ground on either side of the standing crowd, before setting off pouches of gunpowder front and center, and then finally ascending the stage for a synchronized final trio of smoke bombs as the music reached its final crescendo and Ben capped off his speech with, “We are….Shika na Mikono!” </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZFUrsNfSahY/UiGqbwPkrmI/AAAAAAAAAgU/lPKLfDWZqhQ/s1600-h/intro7_edit4.jpg"><img title="intro7_edit" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="intro7_edit" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-XaqOiZ7H_Ck/UiGqcjp8crI/AAAAAAAAAgc/T9ld5jXCm_o/intro7_edit_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="266" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ivgme0B87i0/UiGqerhGpsI/AAAAAAAAAgk/wSPE-hvsYXM/s1600-h/DSCN40163.jpg"><img title="DSCN4016" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSCN4016" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GOr2EyGLqdQ/UiGqfnULFeI/AAAAAAAAAgs/Q0Kg9arRr0A/DSCN4016_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a></p> <p>Of course in a perfect world, things would have actually lit as they were expected, been timed correctly, and we would have mysteriously disappeared behind a wall of smoke and reappeared in the back of the room. But it was still pretty entertaining I think, and we made sure to admit that we are in fact nothing more than a bunch of nerds who like to blow things up.</p> <p><img title="DSC03896" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03896" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0Kdmn1dLSyc/UiGqgqYQlEI/AAAAAAAAAg0/Ow3ZCo_0sj0/DSC03896_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184">Needless to say, the rest of our training was a let down compared to the introduction, but it was the first time the trainees had training sessions that weren’t just sitting and listening to powerpoint presentations, so they all said they really appreciated our days with them. For our first session, we split them up into small groups and dumped out a giant “Box of Fun,” filled with different items that can be found almost anywhere at very little cost. Each group was given a couple topics from the various science syllabi and had to come up with some kind of engaging way to present the topic. There were some really creative ideas from the volunteers, and Ben, Belle and I shared some of our own that we’ve picked during our time teaching. We also introduced them to the idea of doing science competitions by having them do an Egg Drop competition, and showed them how to set up and conduct science practicals, or lab experiments. A couple times we split up into separate math and science groups to talk about issues specific to those respective subjects. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QwcotG-bYq0/UiGqiNg2R2I/AAAAAAAAAg8/MY8ALPuOiqg/s1600-h/DSC039723.jpg"><img title="DSC03972" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03972" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bT7dOPm3EGU/UiGqjFjy8uI/AAAAAAAAAhE/MTciE-obGCE/DSC03972_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MBSfqYes8r8/UiGqkvCpAZI/AAAAAAAAAhM/l6If-jJrGD0/s1600-h/DSC039673.jpg"><img title="DSC03967" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03967" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vhYcLXRzJKc/UiGql8z1UxI/AAAAAAAAAhU/sVd8RgLxVJw/DSC03967_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a></p> <p>In the end, it was a lot of work and travel for a couple days of training that went by incredibly fast, but we all loved being able to lead our sessions and getting to know the new group of volunteers. They will be headed to their sites in early September, and it sounds like 3 will be coming down to Njombe, so that’s very exciting.</p> <p>And I’ll actually be able to get to know them because…</p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-3548628581127712582013-08-31T01:28:00.001-07:002013-08-31T01:32:56.845-07:00Puppies, Pills and P-hysics (Part 1 of 3)<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BuUbUeLGsPQ/UiGoxow2kXI/AAAAAAAAAds/iOqw-lFqM7s/s1600-h/DSCN01373.jpg"><img title="DSCN0137" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSCN0137" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-6o610dmeI7g/UiGoygDKs8I/AAAAAAAAAd0/zrL_dTKoLC8/DSCN0137_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a>A few weeks after starting the new term at Wilima, I decided to make my first stop as a travelling science man at Belle’s site, Mwatisi Secondary School in Tukuyu, near the town of Mbeya. Loading up the science wagon (backpack) with the necessary provisions, I hit the old dusty trail (crater-laden dirt road). But along the way, sickness struck in the form of some kind of tonsillitis / mono virus – I’m still not totally sure which one it was. The timing was convenient enough, since I was spending the week at Belle’s site anyways, and that made it much easier to recover and maintain a steady overdose of Advil. What also made things much more tolerable was that Belle had just inherited an 8-week old puppy from a nearby Volunteer’s recent puppy surplus, so Apollo was able to keep me in as high of spirits as possible as he struggled to adapt to new concepts of indoor bladder control and not being constantly smothered with attention. </p> <p>Having tonsillitis / mono in Tanzania while sleeping with a puppy every night – is there any better way to define juxtaposition?</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dtoVPgjJmRE/UiGo0O1_wyI/AAAAAAAAAd8/Hio4K7cl174/s1600-h/DSC037093.jpg"><img title="DSC03709" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03709" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gup4G73dIQE/UiGo1NbnykI/AAAAAAAAAeE/kqkO3YVbDgQ/DSC03709_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kfxbMcmGY6g/UiGo27Qu5aI/AAAAAAAAAeM/Tg1sIF9fkkI/s1600-h/DSCN01103.jpg"><img title="DSCN0110" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSCN0110" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4pabXm3_rOY/UiGo3_rK3KI/AAAAAAAAAeU/tqmRuU8Evqw/DSCN0110_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-lSsrl29Gf9c/UiGo4yZ9QbI/AAAAAAAAAec/j02YDcCScTU/s1600-h/DSC037875.jpg"><img title="DSC03787" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03787" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1ur2XXkULiA/UiGo5iQIOZI/AAAAAAAAAek/dn7HiwsG2aw/DSC03787_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="173" height="239"></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PqNd4C24XtM/UiGo6hvpaMI/AAAAAAAAAes/p0VIX9yH6K8/s1600-h/DSC037734.jpg"><img title="DSC03773" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03773" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-r15TShi1HMw/UiGo721m8lI/AAAAAAAAAe0/SMy09Luidnw/DSC03773_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="176" height="238"></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-B3marp5CZuo/UiGo9MjICxI/AAAAAAAAAe8/611dBPtrY7A/s1600-h/DSCN01064.jpg"><img title="DSCN0106" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSCN0106" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-of-YJ9eXucw/UiGo-MjfsLI/AAAAAAAAAfE/WEZy-scEpcI/DSCN0106_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="178" height="241"></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xNB_nZ5EXjc/UiGo_smWeDI/AAAAAAAAAfM/qw41_-nEXNY/s1600-h/DSCN01413.jpg"><img title="DSCN0141" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSCN0141" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7HHZRlFL15Q/UiGpAuh_IGI/AAAAAAAAAfU/NCmWGwkz-84/DSCN0141_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a>Luckily, by the end of the week I was feeling a little better, and so the science competition was able to continue as planned. Once again, science wins the day. It was slightly more difficult to do a weekend event at Mwatisi, since it is a day school, and most of the students do not come in on the weekends. But at least half of those who were expected to show up came within 3 hours of the stated starting time (pretty darned good by TZ standards), so everything worked out great. We were able to use several of the activities that I have done in the past, and saw some new and interesting ideas from the Form III students. They were all really excited to participate, especially when we handed out prizes of colored pencils and USAID-provided school supply pouches. At a school whose only 2 science teachers over the last 3+ years have been Peace Corps Volunteers, it was pretty cool to see the students getting so excited about doing science activities. And the school headmaster and some other Tanzanian teachers were there observing most of the time as well, and really seemed to appreciate and get into the events themselves.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-f8o6o4rnmXI/UiGpCGudTsI/AAAAAAAAAfc/iZpCVXw_n3g/s1600-h/DSC038683.jpg"><img title="DSC03868" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03868" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-L6gkJj6dQfw/UiGpDDoPx-I/AAAAAAAAAfk/gKonif3Mt9w/DSC03868_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MKOJFXL2xt8/UiGpFOXmeeI/AAAAAAAAAfs/B7sS1Qm7SEY/s1600-h/DSC038754.jpg"><img title="DSC03875" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC03875" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Vr1oTv6IwVE/UiGpGufobDI/AAAAAAAAAf0/D628KifysDY/DSC03875_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="265" height="183"></a></p> <p>So for me, it was back to Wilima, but only for a few days, since the following week would be the Shika na Mikono (hands-on science) group’s turn to lead training sessions at the new Peace Corps Volunteers’ pre-service training…</p> Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-13963651931469753892013-07-04T02:07:00.000-07:002013-07-04T02:08:52.385-07:00Jake’s Visit and Safari Circuit<br />
Last month, I was lucky enough to have yet another visitor during my time here in Tanzania. Jake and I did a tour of some of Tanzania’s northern attractions, which was just as much of a treat for me, since I had yet to pass through many places in that part of the country. Over the course of our week and a half trip together, Jake and I were able to do some scenic hiking, scourge the country’s main safari circuit, while also getting some in depth looks at Tanzanian culture, village life, and of course a wide variety of bus experiences. <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VY0VUxszSQM/UdQp2mCZMLI/AAAAAAAAAYs/aScmSB1s4kk/s1600-h/DSC03088%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="DSC03088" border="0" height="233" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TW_x-PtTDMY/UdQp_0RdcxI/AAAAAAAAAY0/hQ4UTU45S2k/DSC03088_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03088" width="160" /></a>Our tour began with a ride up to Moshi, home of the famous Mt. Kilimanjaro and well-known for its cool climate, hilly forested landscape, and huge coffee production. After meeting up with some other Peace Corps Volunteers, we went for a day hike to a nearby waterfall with an incredible 20-foot cliff to dive off of into a swimming pond below. The water was freezing cold, but the exhilarating jump made it worthwhile.<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-gE3J0PGZQp4/UdQqSLOWVVI/AAAAAAAAAY8/iuCmQe40OJM/s1600-h/DSC03109%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="DSC03109" border="0" height="197" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-YTlw7uD2O34/UdQqg1aNKQI/AAAAAAAAAZE/TqJg69DiK1s/DSC03109_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03109" width="142" /></a>Damp and shivering, we followed our guide to the house of an old coffee farmer who is of the Chaaga tribe. He welcomes any and all visitors and demonstrates the entire coffee production process, from picking and de-shelling the beans, roasting and “twanga”-ing (grinding) them, and boiling water to serve the fresh coffee on the spot. Admittedly I am not normally much of a coffee enthusiast, but even I thought this was delicious, and also the perfect thing to warm us up after our impromptu swim.<br />
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From Moshi, we made our way to Karatu, the starting point for our safari, located right in the middle of many of the big northern game parks, including the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Our safari was a 3-day trip through Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Tarangire National Park. We would have liked to hit Serengeti as well, but it is located much more out of the way from the other parks, and didn’t fit into our travelling plans as well as the others. But that doesn’t mean the trip was any less exciting.<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-CnC_R0-wdUU/UdQq8R4f56I/AAAAAAAAAZM/k5aq2sBUq1s/s1600-h/DSC03159%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="DSC03159" border="0" height="152" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yIE8grZwwOc/UdQrCIyupAI/AAAAAAAAAZU/qv0W_zTf7j8/DSC03159_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03159" width="196" /></a>Lake Manyara National Park has a very diverse landscape and offers a wide range of stunning scenery. It has many dense forests which house a large number of baboons and elephants, as well as expansive plains near the lake which contain large herds of wildebeest and buffalo. These animals prefer to roam in open areas to get a better look at approaching predators. The entire park is bordered by a wall of mountains on one side, which is where our campsite was located and offered a wonderful view of the lake and trees below at sunrise. Even though it is a relatively small park compared to others in the area, Lake Manyara had a huge variety of animals and other wildlife, and was the perfect way to start our safari adventure.<br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UkWtombcgzs/UdQrUKmVXbI/AAAAAAAAAZc/lSzofioCVIg/s1600-h/DSC03208%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="DSC03208" border="0" height="171" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4s7yrZsxwLM/UdQrdmcnj9I/AAAAAAAAAZk/ejfIVFoAinA/DSC03208_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03208" width="221" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-t2HmRE_W2aA/UdU3brH68yI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/JXbruC6tg_8/s1600-h/DSC032423.jpg"><img align="right" alt="DSC03242" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cOmEw6UU7GQ/UdU3dLA1dSI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/qZ24iwjDCvw/DSC03242_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03242" width="244" /></a><br />
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Day 2 of our safari took us to the famous Ngorongoro Conservation Area, known for its 22 km-wide crater that is home to nearly every animal you could hope to find in East Africa, including the endangered black rhino, of which there are only about 100 left in existence. The crater is officially not a national park, because there is also a large population of the Maasai tribe that continues to live in their native home amongst the animals.<br />
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Shortly after descending down into the crater, we spotted a male lion laying low in the tall grass with a small herd of zebra approaching unknowingly. When the zebra came close enough, two additional female lions who had been hiding with the male sprang up, and one of them took off chasing after the zebra. She was unsuccessful in her attempt, but it was such an amazing sight to see up close and in person. The male and the other female remained behind, but amazingly were then actually chased out of their territory by a group of buffalo who apparently saw how tired and outnumbered the lions were. The male gave an angry roar, but had to accept the will of the buffalo and so the two of them retreated to a safe distance, which, conveniently for us, was right in front of our car on the side of the road.<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qEONR6EAoAE/UdU3gcCaanI/AAAAAAAAAaE/0zSlNjoi1kE/s1600-h/DSC033593.jpg"><img align="left" alt="DSC03359" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_-0eTnYPhoE/UdU3jZkkAPI/AAAAAAAAAaM/FojZBAM7BBQ/DSC03359_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03359" width="244" /></a><br />
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Although the majority of our excitement came early on in the crater, the rest of the day was still filled with many spectacular sights. We saw elephants, giraffes, ostriches, flamingos, warthogs, and a mother hyena nursing her pups. At one point we stopped the car in the middle of the road, surrounded on all sides by TONS of zebra and wildebeest. Watching them graze and roam from as close as a couple of feet in every direction was really something special and quite a sight to behold.<br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-gvqqnxDFGak/UdU3s5aXvtI/AAAAAAAAAak/ZjRGAB2UJdI/s1600-h/DSC034204.jpg"><img align="left" alt="DSC03420" border="0" height="176" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-yoLcmmEYsaE/UdU3vCLa6vI/AAAAAAAAAas/eMiHtgyqKJ4/DSC03420_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03420" width="227" /></a><br />
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After a great day in Ngorongoro, our final stop on the safari tour was Tarangire National Park. Known for its many massive baobab trees and enormous elephant population, Tarangire was a great way to finish our trip. The many hills and evenly dispersed baobabs created another very unique and beautiful landscape for Jake and I to experience. We were able to spot a female lion and her cub from a distance, but by far the most prevalent animals in the park were the blue-butted, lunch stealing monkeys. We managed to eat in safety, but the unfortunate people eating near the fenced part of the picnic area were literally invaded by a hoard of hungry hungry monkeys.<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RlgZ7kfM6_Q/UdU4Dzic9uI/AAAAAAAAAbk/O-uSr4n6T_o/s1600-h/DSC035593.jpg"><img align="left" alt="DSC03559" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hEYLCUC52P0/UdU4Fe2mXMI/AAAAAAAAAbs/T4cXj5iZw2o/DSC03559_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03559" width="244" /></a><br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nRteTk49Kq0/UdU4I7y0j1I/AAAAAAAAAb0/D2fsd9tQRwk/s1600-h/DSC035403.jpg"><img align="right" alt="DSC03540" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Rg6ADPWvvsI/UdU4K2zMsUI/AAAAAAAAAb8/lns1iDMN-3U/DSC03540_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03540" width="244" /></a><br />
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The safari lived up to all of our hopes and expectations, but with its end our trip was only just beginning. We bid farewell to the luxury of having a private car to drive us around and prepared to face the real world of Tanzanian public transportation. After a couple hours of waiting on the side of the road as full bus after full bus rolled by, we managed to secure standing space (just slightly smaller than the size of our bodies) on a bus headed towards the town of Katesh, the home of another volunteer friend of mine who we were going to visit. The bus to Steph’s village was comparably packed with people, though we had at least secured seats this time by getting our tickets as early as possible. <br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-NqZCV5j6j94/UdU4NkOmo5I/AAAAAAAAAcE/K9257SIgBiw/s1600-h/DSC035774.jpg"><img align="right" alt="DSC03577" border="0" height="174" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-88LddXYTyh4/UdU4P5e5-HI/AAAAAAAAAcM/dmc1hUpmpdU/DSC03577_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03577" width="225" /></a>Since it was impossible to make it all the way down to my site during Jake’s short visit, I figured the next best thing was to see another volunteer’s site. Although it was slightly out of the norm in that her house had electricity and indoor plumbing, and her neighbor had a refrigerator(!!), Steph’s site was still located in the middle of nowhere and served as a good look into the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer. We cooked, played card games, visited the neighbors, went on a long day hike to a couple of salt lakes adjacent to Mt. Hanang, the 4th tallest mountain in the country, and on the final night were invited to a massive goat roast next door where we stuffed ourselves beyond discomfort.<br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-a4g8cySbiMk/UdU4TrDqKpI/AAAAAAAAAcU/hjcbW0LAUGo/s1600-h/DSC035893.jpg"><img align="left" alt="DSC03589" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GMco-WhF_Co/UdU4VfRUbCI/AAAAAAAAAcc/7rns7yAPEnc/DSC03589_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03589" width="244" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hQJVRa9ubWo/UdU4YBhTinI/AAAAAAAAAck/0c_TIwrIe7U/s1600-h/DSC036043.jpg"><img align="right" alt="DSC03604" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PNvlSVw7R2w/UdU4aY39T7I/AAAAAAAAAcs/u0uUAgLilm0/DSC03604_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC03604" width="244" /></a><br />
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With the end of Jake’s visit drawing near, we made our way to Morogoro, the home of my 10-week training at the start of my service over 2 years ago, hopped on a loaded daladala and paid a visit to my host family whom I hadn’t seen in a very long time. They were really happy to get to meet Jake and greatly appreciated the surprise visit. We then finished our final leg of travel to Dar, where we enjoyed an evening walk-around and boarded Tanzania’s finest cruise vessel, a 5-minute 200 /= (about 15 cents) ferry boat that we stayed on and scored a free return trip, before finally returning to the airport.<br />
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All in all I thought it was a fantastic trip, and I was so glad to have another person to be able to share Tanzanian memories with when I return home. Thanks for visiting Jake!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-79845412423717546972013-05-15T06:06:00.001-07:002013-05-15T06:06:15.084-07:00Ticket to Ride (Zug um Zug) Tanzania<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ioVyD21cqoc/UZOEFtv43UI/AAAAAAAAAXY/8dIr0PdxK_A/s1600/DSC02779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ioVyD21cqoc/UZOEFtv43UI/AAAAAAAAAXY/8dIr0PdxK_A/s200/DSC02779.JPG" width="200" /></a>All aboard the Tanzanian Express! On my way up to Dar for our Close of Service (COS) Conference a couple of weeks ago, a few other volunteers and I decided to take a ride on the Tanzanian railroad system. Despite what you may think, the trains in this country are actually considerably slower than the buses (no small feat), only run twice per week to a very limited number of cities, typically arrive hours after schedule, and, aside from 3rd class tickets (think standing only, rush hour subway - esque sardine packing for multiple days) are even more expensive than your average big bus. So why would anyone in their right mind actually <i>choose</i> to ride the train rather than a bus? Well, as far as Tanzanians go, very few actually do take it aside from those in 3rd class who are simply looking for the most economical way to travel, since those tickets actually are very cheap. But for we foreigners, why the heck not? As long as you have a 2 day time frame within which to reach your destination. There's much more leg room than a bus, a small fold-out table to watch movies on, "concessions" being sold by mama's along the way, and a rare chance to see some of the more stunning scenery in an already inspiringly beautiful country.<br />
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The train starts in Zambia and passes through the town of Makambako, which is about an hour north of Njombe, my banking town, on its way to Dar es Salaam. There are two trains in each direction weekly: an express train and an ordinary train. Unfortunately the one we needed to take was the ordinary, but then again, we were in it for the experience and to get to see the country in a new light, so longer wasn't necessarily worse in our case. The station gets very busy on the train days, and seems to turn into a free hotel for a lot of people. Outside there is a sizable shanty town of various vendors and child salesmen, selling things like hot tea, roasted corn and blankets, since this is now the winter season in the southern highlands. We found a small plot of wall space to set up camp and wait an unknown number of hours for the train to arrive.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qHCLbGGZPrM/UZOENK2mgWI/AAAAAAAAAXo/zgl6P4HY2mM/s1600/DSC02751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qHCLbGGZPrM/UZOENK2mgWI/AAAAAAAAAXo/zgl6P4HY2mM/s200/DSC02751.JPG" width="150" /></a>The arrival time itself was quite ambiguous, but we ended up waiting around 4 hours until our train rolled in at around midnight. Not too bad given our expectations. After waiting for them to attach the car that contained our actual train cabin, we were finally settled in around 2am. The cabins had 6 fold-out padded benches for beds stacked in 2 columns 3-high. In between was a fold-down table and above was a good amount of storage space for luggage. Even though it was only four of us travelling, we bought out the whole cabin to ensure our privacy.<br />
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When we woke up the next morning, we were a good ways farther north into some much hotter weather, but there was plenty of breeze in the cabin - another major plus over the buses. We entertained ourselves by playing some card games, including the Ticket to Ride Card Game, which, being played while travelling on a train, could only be likened to playing Settlers of Catan on the Old Settler's Trail in the Smokey Mountains. At various stops along the way, children would come playing around the train tracks (right in line with typical Tanzanian children's standards of safety). We gave them paper cranes and airplanes made of colored post-it notes, which they got really excited for.<br />
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The train arrived in Dar almost exactly at midnight, so our full trip was right at 24 hours. We then went from looking like homeless train bums to staying at a schnazzy beach resort in Dar for our COS Conference. The hotel had its own beach, swimming pool and air conditioned rooms, so a big change from what we had just gotten used to on the ride up. But undoubtedly the best feature of the hotel was its thrice daily buffet meals, each consisting of about 8 courses, linked together by intermittent chai and snack breaks. I guess they were trying to compensate for all of the volunteers who have lost too much weight over the last 2 years by fattening us up over a week of binge-eating.<br />
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The week was a great vacation and final opportunity to spend time with the remaining volunteers from my training class. Although it wasn't quite as relaxing for me, since I am still trying to figure out if my extension will work out. At this point, it sounds like it would be very easy to extend at my site and just change the focus of my service from teaching to doing other secondary projects like these science competitions. There are a couple potential partner organizations that I could end up extending with, but those obviously take more time to figure out and to see if their needs match up with what I want to do. Nonetheless, I am trying to remain patiently optimistic to have my plans for the next year settled before long.<br />
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Since finishing our COS Conference, I have been staying in Dar for our Shika na Mikono (Hands-on Science Group) handover meeting to the new class of volunteers. We have been helping them to plan the upcoming trainings for the Education volunteers coming in July, as well as handing off all of our training resources and brainstorming new ideas for the future of the group. We are hoping to put more of an emphasis on science competitions along with doing more practice "practical" lab exams similar to those given for the national exams, to help the PCVs get a feel for what preparation duties they may have at their schools. Of course if I end up extending, I will still remain a part of the group and hopefully be able to help push the competitions and confereces aspect myself. Woo science!<br />
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I am now on my way back home, where I will be for one night before taking a handful of students to Wino (the nearby volunteer's school) for another mini science weekend. One of the original students that I took to Njombe in March came up to me and asked if we could do another competition there to get more students involved, so we will do that Saturday and Sunday. This time we may try out some new ideas like building gliders, paper helicopters and probably more JEOPARDY games. More on that to come!<br />
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Meanwhile, using the magical powers of Dar internet, I've been able to upload my video from the science weekend at my school in April. One of the teachers at my school was able to take some great video footage, which was a great help in putting this together. Enjoy! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt-ZGmLOfKQ&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt-ZGmLOfKQ&feature=youtu.be</a><br />
Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-40855347449469803942013-04-26T08:51:00.001-07:002013-04-26T08:58:06.250-07:00Wilima Science CompetitionFirst off, I would just like to take this opportunity to wish everyone out there a very happy Tanzanian Union Day! And how exactly does one celebrate this festive occasion locally, you ask? I have absolutely no idea, but it means a day off of school for me, and therefore an opportunity for soon-to-be-leaving PCVs from the area to have a "final Chani weekend" in Njombe. And so today, to clear out some space and make some extra cash, a few of us took to the streets of Njombe to sell all of the old clothes that have been accumulating over the last couple years. My haul was mostly supplied by the things that the volunteer before me left at my house. But hey, finders sellers. It was worth it just for the entertainment to be honest, seeing the crowd of Tanzanians following us around town to see what we had in all of those big fancy suitcases. Can't wait to see a few more people walking around town with their fashionable bike helmets!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EaRSg0UWCb4/UXqgw9L1mlI/AAAAAAAAAWA/aOb0veasJp4/s1600/DSC02615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EaRSg0UWCb4/UXqgw9L1mlI/AAAAAAAAAWA/aOb0veasJp4/s1600/DSC02615.jpg" /></a>The big news since my last post, however, was that I successfully completed my second weekend science competition, this one at my own school, Wilima Secondary, along with students from the nearby Wino Secondary School, which also has a PCV from my class. So he, along with 8 Form III and Form IV students, made the walk to my school on a Friday, making for a total of 6 teams of 4 students competing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Form III parachute - based egg drop device</td></tr>
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This competition was different from the first one in Njombe during March in that it contained twice as many students, was hosted by my school and therefore took place in front of a crowd of a couple hundred cheering students (wild and crazy kids if you will) throughout the weekend, and also featured a couple new events that we didn't get to try out in Njombe. Many of the competitions were the same, although it was interesting to see the differences in some of the design techniques compared to the younger students from the Njombe seminar. These students, for instance, actually were familiar with the parachute concept (to my surprise) and a couple of them used it in their egg drop devices. I also tried to incorporate more mini lessons into the activities to help the kids relate their classroom content to more practical applications (e.g. thinking about center of mass for building tall structures and Archimedes' Principle for building rafts).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Form IV student presents his group's tallest jengo, or building, made from only paper and tape.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o2Vk8ysGi_A/UXqeQctyyxI/AAAAAAAAAVU/MwK6yPGAuhQ/s1600/DSC02554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o2Vk8ysGi_A/UXqeQctyyxI/AAAAAAAAAVU/MwK6yPGAuhQ/s1600/DSC02554.jpg" /></a>This seminar also saw the introduction of the JEOPARDY quiz bowl competition. Rather than testing them strictly on classroom facts, we decided to focus the JEOPARDY categories on things like completing number sequences and picture patterns, and presenting engineering-style scenarios that required them to use simple formulas to meet certain design specifications. Some of the problems were pretty challenging, even for the top students that we had participating. But they all really got into it and once again really impressed me with their abilities. The one disappointment, however, was that none of them seemed to appreciate the value of Final JEOPARDY. Only half the teams were even willing to gamble any of their points after my pulling their arms, and then only bet the minimum. I need to find a way to teach them about the value of high-risk-high-reward gambling and extreme thinking - someone has to set a good example after all...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creating a fresh batch of Sudoku maniacs.</td></tr>
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The bridge building competition again was saved for last, though this time it got to be a little ridiculous. I guess the bamboo sticks we gave them were bigger, so the groups were cutting them in halves and using multiple rails of bamboo on their bridges. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves in terms of the results - myself standing on one of the bridges while holding a cinder block I think was actually a reduction in the load compared to what we used while testing. But the kids certainly enjoyed seeing how they could make such a strong bridge with such few materials.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each of these cinder blocks easily weighs 50 lbs.</td></tr>
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Overall, I was extremely pleased once again with how the competition went, and it definitely seemed like the students appreciated it as well. That and the fact that, after using some leftover materials from the last one, this entire competition cost somewhere around $12 to put on. Now that's what I call a Peace Corps budget! And the added bonus was that one of the new teachers at my school has a video camera, and was able to take some great footage of the whole weekend, including plenty of my jumbled, babbling Swahinglish. So I'm currently working on making some kind of video / slideshow trailer that I can use to possibly further my extension hopes and maybe get more funding for doing future competitions. I've already gotten a good amount of confirmed interest from other volunteers in bringing things like this to their schools, but I'm still waiting to get more information from the Peace Corps staff about what is going to happen with my extension request. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying getting to do these small-scale seminars for the kids at my school. One of the Form I's that I took to Njombe actually approached me and requested that we hold another similar competition at Wino soon for the younger students who didn't get to participate this past weekend, so it's really cool to see how excited he is getting for these competitions!<br />
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The other exciting thing at my school has been that I've found a couple teachers who are also big basketball enthusiasts, and so I've shared with them some of the old Bulls playoff games and Michael Jordan videos that I got while I was home. We've started having evening screenings for some of the basketball playing students as well, so I'm happy to say that MJ is quickly becoming a household name around Wilima!<br />
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Next week I will be heading up to Dar for our class's Close of Service (COS) Conference, which basically means spending a week on vacation at a nice hotel on the south beaches of Dar. I guess it's Peace Corps' way of saying congratulations on making it for two years, now enjoy a free week in Dar. So check back soon for more updates on that and hopefully some good news about my extension finally! Thanks for stopping by, San Diego.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-80811420734329790712013-04-13T08:24:00.004-07:002013-04-13T08:24:42.602-07:00Karibu Kwangu (Welcome to My Home)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-72muolJFggg/UWl3mNPri6I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/-YpztMVEBeU/s1600/DSC02061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-72muolJFggg/UWl3mNPri6I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/-YpztMVEBeU/s1600/DSC02061.JPG" /></a>The week before Easter, I had my week-long break from school, so I decided to take the opportunity to get a closer look at my home town of Njombe. For the beginning of the break, I took my tent on the road to a small lake a few miles outside of town, where other volunteers and ex-pats sometimes go for water skiing and other fun things. But most of the time it's just an empty space that offers a quiet retreating point with a beautiful backdrop. A very nice Tanzanian man keeps up the place and provided a roaring fire each night, which was much appreciated during the now-beginning cold season of Njombe (which actually is COLD, go figure!). Aside from the hordes of raging siafu (vicious biting army ants), it was extremely pleasant, and a very nice way to regroup after the first few months of teaching. Why haven't I been taking advantage of this place more over the last 2 years?!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EUHDZ-heNR0/UWl3mNi3JaI/AAAAAAAAAUg/Sr5boOpNhD4/s1600/DSC02088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EUHDZ-heNR0/UWl3mNi3JaI/AAAAAAAAAUg/Sr5boOpNhD4/s1600/DSC02088.JPG" /></a>After that, I visited a village called Uhekule near Njombe, where there is an ex-Peace Corps volunteer who has stayed in Tanzania for seven years now, and has built an orphanage for kids in the village. I had been meaning to pay a visit for quite a while now, and so it was really nice to finally see the place. The kids provided a warm welcome by literally jumping all over me and asking me to do Spiderman impressions. I guess they don't get enough visitors... The orphanage is fantastic, though. It's been up and running for 2 years now, and gives a home to 11 kids from the village, and the other village members seem to have taken very well to it. There is also a fantastic kitchen, so we made some very tasty fajitas, and I paid for my stay by making my own specialty - banana pancakes.<br />
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Following these small excursions, it was back to the Chani Hotel in Njombe for the 2nd Annual Njombe Jam. For those who didn't read about it from last year's blogs, Njombe Jam is Peace Corps Tanzania's newest Easter tradition, started last year by myself and a few other Njombe PCVs. Volunteers from all over the country compete, representing their home regions, in a decathalon of events seeking the right to claim nation-wide superiority among Peace Corps Tanzania. Events include basketball, bags (cornhole for those from Indiana), Mario Kart, a relay race, egg toss, and of course the Easter Beer Hunt. And if you think I indulged myself by making over-elaborate poster-sized brackets for each event, then you know me all too well. There was a great turnout, and even better, Njombe came out victorious! I was particularly excited that we won the one event I really cared about, 3-on-3 basketball. I believe our victory can be credited to a pre-game viewing of Michael Jordan highlight films, followed by a mandatory screening of Space Jam. For two straight years now, we have tried to make a Stanley Cup-esque trophy for the tournament, and for two straight years now it has been lost/stolen. At least this year I was able to get a picture!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-StAmzXn0WaQ/UWl3n6ioScI/AAAAAAAAAUw/_g8i-zADk3U/s1600/DSC02388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-StAmzXn0WaQ/UWl3n6ioScI/AAAAAAAAAUw/_g8i-zADk3U/s200/DSC02388.JPG" width="150" /></a>Since my return to Wilima, I have been teaching my normal classes, and was very pleasantly surprised to see a Form I student of mine get a 100% on my Physics midterm exam, and another get a 98% for math. I was particularly happy because both of them were female students, and girls in general tend to get more easily discouraged in math and science in this country. Over the last week, I've been getting through the greatest predicament of my life - too many avocados!! I got a gift from the school of a 10-liter bucket full of them, which is just the tip of the iceberg of how many the school has gotten this year. So I've been averaging about 4 per day for a while now... and loving it!<br />
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Next weekend is my second installment of science competitions - this one will take place at my school and will be a 6-team competition including students from the nearby school that also has a Peace Corps teacher. I plan on trying out some new variations, like Jeopardy-style academic competitions, together with some of the activities that were a big hit last time in Njombe. This competition however will consist of older students, Form III and IV, so it will be interesting to see how their designs compare to the Form I and II students from last time. I've sent in my application for Peace Corps extension doing these kinds of competitions around the country for the next 6 months to 1 year following my end-of-service time in mid-July. So now I play the waiting game to see what they have to say about my idea, but I will be sure to keep the updates coming as I find out more!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-59268440625791007222013-03-28T06:14:00.002-07:002013-03-28T06:16:20.136-07:00Njombe Science Competition<br />
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A couple of weeks ago, myself and two other Peace Corps teachers held a science competition weekend in Njombe. Only two schools were able to bring students, but there were 12 in total - 6 from my school and 6 from another near Njombe. Last year, some older volunteers got in touch with a group from MIT which agreed to make a $500 donation to support some kind of science-related activity or conference in Tanzania. We were finally able to make use of the money for this conference, using the funds to cover all the costs of the venue, materials and supplies for the competitions. The students' contribution was covered by them paying for their own transport to and from Njombe.<br />
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The competition was a great success! We split the kids up into 4 teams, mixing schools and allowing them to make their own team name and flag. Throughout the weekend, we awarded points to the teams based on their performance in each of the competitions and kept a running standings board to keep track of which team was in the lead.<br />
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In addition to the acutal competitions (which I will describe in more detail shortly), we set up some short science demonstrations that highlighted certain topics which are covered in the syllabus, and also introduced them to some math and logic puzzles like sudoku, which they loved. Students here don't really get exposed to many (if any) critical thinking activities like this, which are so common for young students in more developed education systems, and have a huge effect on learning development in general. But it was great to see them all have so much interest in the puzzles, and I was very impressed with how quickly a lot of them were able to pick them up. All of the students were Form I and Form II, so they were pretty limited in their knowledge base and English ability, but they all were very excited to do the activities and went far beyond our expectations.<br />
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As for the events, here's a brief rundown on some of the competitions we put them through:<br />
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<b>Egg Drop</b> - given a bunch of junk, design some kind of container that can keep an egg safe after dropping it from 8-10 feet. This one was very interesting actually - apparently the students (and even Tanzanian teachers) were not at all familiar with the concept of a parachute, which is usually the standard approach used in making egg drop devices. So all of the teams just tried to pad the containers as much as possible in order to protect the egg, and 2 of the 4 teams still succeeded. It made me realize that without TV and textbooks, there really is no reason why they should know of parachutes, so after we tested their designs, we made a quick example of one with a parachute and showed how much of an effect it had on the outcome.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O1aCS_YH16I/UVRBOO85sQI/AAAAAAAAATo/TSUJ9r0JCzA/s1600/DSC01856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O1aCS_YH16I/UVRBOO85sQI/AAAAAAAAATo/TSUJ9r0JCzA/s1600/DSC01856.JPG" /></a><b>Jenga Jengo ("Build a Building")</b> - build the tallest structure possible, as quickly as possible, that can withstand a book-waving wind test by using only sheets of paper and masking tape. All of the groups seemed to go straight for house-type buildings as opposed to sky scrapers, which again was an indication of how little they are exposed to. Though some of them were very tricky and gave themselves an advantage by putting their scissors inside of the buildings as a weight to keep it from tipping over. Clever girl...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DKHmbhsLaEI/UVRBajgckTI/AAAAAAAAATw/4YAuphOcIK8/s1600/DSC01927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DKHmbhsLaEI/UVRBajgckTI/AAAAAAAAATw/4YAuphOcIK8/s200/DSC01927.JPG" width="200" /></a><b>Raft Rally</b> - make some kind of boat out of a small piece of aluminum foil that can hold the most weight before sinking. A couple groups did me proud by making origami-style boats, but quickly learned the difficulties of doing such things with aluminum foil... especially since they weren't allowed extra sheets in case of rips. Whammy. But the winner held up 2 large rocks and a potato!<br />
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<b>Drop Zone</b> - make a plastic bag parachute to safely drop a paper clip passenger as close as possible to a target on the ground. After their brief introduction to parachutes earlier, the kids did a great job making some themselves.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M2CaOzoXtyg/UVRBqriwlzI/AAAAAAAAAT4/muZaPkFtsG8/s1600/IMG_2049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M2CaOzoXtyg/UVRBqriwlzI/AAAAAAAAAT4/muZaPkFtsG8/s320/IMG_2049.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>Bridge Challenge</b> - the grand finale and my favorite of them all. Design and build a bridge using limited materials, BUT instead of being given the materials, each team gets 15 Science Shillings and must buy everything from a science shop. All kinds of materials were available - straws, toothpicks, wooden skewers, bamboo sticks, tape, rubber bands, glue, etc. but the kids had to decide which materials were most important becuase bonus points were given for each Science Shilling leftover at the end. Again, I was incredibly impressed with what they were able to come up with, and the winning bridge held a bucket with 18 giant rocks. In fact we didn't have enough to start with and had to run outside to grab massive bricks just to see how much the thing could hold.<br />
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All in all, I couldn't have been happier with how the weekend went, especially in terms of how excited it made the students participate in these competitions and put their science knowledge and intuition to the test. It would also be great to be able to show this to all students, so that they could all see some fun and interesting applications of science subjects, which is why I'm hoping to replicate it soon after the midterm break at my school.<br />
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Helping to organize and put on this science competition reminded me of why I had originally had thoughts of trying to continue doing hands-on-science-related work in Tanzania after my 2 years of service runs out in July/August. It really inspired me to look into the options of extending with Peace Corps, with the hopes of being able to travel to different parts of the country and put on similar conferences and competitions for other Peace Corps schools. This event was so cheap and easy to plan and put on that there's no reason why it can't be duplicated for any other school. The only problem for volunteers is finding funding sources and going through grant-writing processes and preparing venues to hold these kind of conferences. But I feel like if I can continue as a volunteer with a primary focus on making those kinds of arrangements, there can be a ton of similar and improved science competitions all over the country, which can hopefully help to raise interest in science among Tanzanian students and possibly increase the incredibly low percentage of students who even bother continuing to study science subjects through Form IV. I'll keep the updates coming on whether this idea actually seems feasible, but in the meantime, I'm very excited for the success of our first science competition, and also for the hope of doing another one at my school in the next couple of weeks!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-37957626905681680552013-03-06T07:27:00.001-08:002013-03-06T07:27:15.970-08:00"Kili"-ng Me SoftlyNot literally "killing" me, granted, but still, I'll go for the pun at the risk of sounding a bit over-dramatic. It is of course in reference to the Kilimanjaro Marathon which took place last weekend on Sunday, March 3rd and which became my second completed marathon over two continents!<div>
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I successfully completed my lone goal of finishing the race, after having done foolishly little training beforehand. Considering the lack of preparation, though, the run could have been much worse. The weather in Moshi right now is still very warm and sunny with little rain, but the race started early at 6:30am and was at a high enough elevation to be fairly breezy throughout the length of the course, so overall it still felt plenty cooler than the hot and humid Chicago Marathon of 2010 that I can compare it to. </div>
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The course was very interesting and varied in terms of its environment. The first half marathon took place throughout a series of side streets passing through villages, where runners were able to take in the wonderful scents of Kilimanjaro (a.k.a. Wake up and smell the burning garbage!). It was fun to run by the crowds of villagers on the side of the road and actually greet them in Swahili, which was not common for most of the foreigners that were running the race. And because the early part of the course was "down-and-back," I was able to see the leading pack of world-class Kenyan runners as they whizzed by me in the opposite direction and left me in their wake of clouded dust for good. If only I were able to run one 5-minute mile, let alone 26 consecutive ones, I might just have had a chance at that prize money...</div>
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The second half of the course was a tarmac road that goes up closer towards the base of the mountain, and so the stretch of miles 13-19 ish (the funnest stretch by far) was almost completely uphill. Woo. My greatest motivation during this part, however, came from a couple small Tanzanian children who started running alongside me carrying bags of cups that were being used to give water and the alternative "energy" drink, coca-cola, to the runners. So I kept telling myself that if a couple of 5-year-old boys in flip-flops carrying bags of cups could run this, then I guess I can go on a little longer. I did stop a few times on the uphill part to stretch my legs though, which I think was very necessary for my lack of preparation for the race. But the one boy stuck with me the whole way up and back down, which was very impressive. It was kind of sad though, at times I would still technically be "running", based on little more than the fact that I was swinging my arms slightly while moving, and yet the walking child beside me was still slowing down to let me catch up to him.</div>
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Near the end of the race, I met up with another Peace Corps Volunteer who was running, and we decided to finish together. Naturally this warranted some sort of finale, so we did a little routine over the last hundred feet or so involving leap-frogging, circle-swinging, and finishing with a human wheelbarrow across the finish line, which got some applause from the crowd and also got the attention of the cameraman who apparently had little work cut out for himself in between recording the exciting finish of a group of Kenyans and the goofy antics of two 6-foot-plus white people stumbling across the finish several hours later. But hey, maybe it was enough to make the Tanzanian nightly news...?</div>
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Overall, running the Kili Marathon was an experience I'll certainly never forget. Being able to look up and see the massive snow-capped peak of Africa's tallest mountain while running 42 kilometers amongst Kenyans, Tanzanians, Americans, Europeans, and others of many more nationalities in the midst of a country and a group of friends that have defined what I've called home for that last 21 months is an experience that I am extremely lucky and grateful to have had. Although, despite having added a new member to my collection of marathon medals, I have to say, a better souvenir would have been to take home a glowing piece of that radical rock.</div>
Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-35272263650760065362013-02-09T04:46:00.001-08:002013-02-09T04:46:03.039-08:00How Steve Got His Groove Back<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Hello all, and greetings once again from the land of Tanzania! It's
great to be back after a short, yet <o:p></o:p></div>
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refreshing 3-week visit to America, and now finally after about 5 weeks
of getting back into my Tanzanian groove, I am able to use internet and let the
updates rain down, not altogether unlike the weather I've been experiencing in
what is now the full-on rainy season in the southern highlands of
Njombe/Songea. It makes for some exceptional scenery, especially around my
school, but of course carries with it the occasional <i>whammy</i> of getting caught
in the village for hours on end in the afternoon before being able to make the sloshy
hike back to my house on travelling days. It still remains one of my favorite
pasttimes though to sit in my house or on the porch during a heavy rainstorm
and just see how calm and quiet it seems to be all around, amidst the
thunderous and fierce showers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately we had a pretty bad lightning attack a few weeks ago, which
not only scared the living bajeebus out of me after lightning struck no more
than 20 feet outside my front window, but also caused some pretty serious
damage to our generator, leaving us without our typical electricity benefit in
the evenings. But all is well (and I am still able to take regular advantage of
my incessant movie- and tv show-downloading in America) because our solar power
is fully functioning. Another teacher has brought his own inverter to use in
the staff room so that teachers can keep their phones and computers charged
during the day, and there is still enough left to keep the classrooms lit from
7-10 at night so the students can still have their nigh studies. It's great to
now be seeing the real advantages of our solar grant! The school is putting the
finishing touches on the new administration block that has been under
construction since before I arrived, and when it is fully done we will be able
to move on with the next phase of the solar project and make one of the new
rooms a computer lab / photocopy room. Can't wait to finally have that!<o:p></o:p></div>
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As for teaching, I've begun with my Form I students, teaching an
introductory course called Baseline, which is supposed to get them all up to
speed on what they should have learned in 7 years of primary school. I have
actually just finished with those topics, so next week I will start with their regularly scheduled programming - math and physics. I am really loving teaching
the Form I's. They are all very impressionable and actually haven't given up on
math and science yet, so they are all really excited and participating in class
and it's great. I can tell a lot of them are able to build up their confidence
by doing relatively easy topics to begin the year. And I am definitely
beginning to see who the standout students are going to be, so that is keeping
me very excited for the rest of my time with them this year. I'm also teaching
Form III Physics, and these are the same kids that I taught Physics to last
year. At the end of last year, they took their national examinations to see if
they would be allowed to continue on to Form III or have to repeat Form II. Surprisingly,
only 11 out of 120 or so failed, which is awesome by normal Tanzanian
standards. All of the results were quite impressive. They finished 3rd out of
22 in our District and 108 / 408 in the entire Southern Highland zone, which
includes Iringa, Njombe and Songea. I was particularly impressed by how they
did in Physics also. For the class, they averaged a C and there were actually 3
A's!! Another one of my teachers said he had never seen an A in Physics since
he had been at our school, so that is definitely an accomplishment. They
certainly deserve a lot of credit because with the shortened schedule last year
for the census, we had to rush a bit at the end of the year to fit in all of the
topics, so I knew it would be on them to make sure they studied their notes
well, and apparently they did, so I was very pleased. Now in Form III, Physics
is no longer mandatory, so I just told them that whoever wanted to continue
should come join my class, and over 40 of them came, which is fantastic (Usually
there are 10-20). Although I'll only be with them for half of the year, it is a
great motivation to teach them having seen the effort that they have made so
far.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other school news, my All-Star Girls Conference girls have continued
with their life skills teaching, this time teaching the new Form I girls. It
was great sitting in on their session (I've never had to say a word in any of
their sessions, which shows how prepared and superb leaders the girls are)
because you could tell that these new young girls were really looking up to the
leaders who are now Form II's. So I think they got a lot out of it. And as
always, they LOVE playing musical chairs, which is pretty great entertainment for
me as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Outside of Peace Corps stuff, there are a couple trips coming up that I
am really looking forward to: next weekend we are saying goodbye to Songea's
beloved Paul, who was the Dumb to my Dumber (or the other way around) for our
Halloween costumes last year and will greatly be missed. So we will be going to
Mbamba Bay one more time, which is the nice campsite on the beach at Lake
Malawi that I have been to a couple times before. Then a few weeks later, on March 3rd, is the Kilimanjaro Marathon,
which, despite having done next to zero training for, I consider myself sufficiently
prepared to "run". Of course my only real goal is to finish the race, and put
myself one step closer to the ultimate goal of a marathon on every continent
(watch out, Antarctica!) so I won't be too disappointed if I end up with a
terrible time. At least it should be cooler weather near the mountain than it
usually seems to be for the Chicago Marathon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now that it is already February, I am really starting to see what little
time I have left in Tanzania. Officially, we can begin to COS (leave) in
mid-July, though I don't know that I will necessarily be trying to take the
first plane outta here since I haven't exactly made any...what do you call
those...plans for after Peace Corps. Not to say that I don't have ideas. As I
have mentioned, I've been involved in a hands-on science group with Peace
Corps, and if it could work out, I could see possibly sticking around to
continue with that, perhaps doing things like preparing inter-school science competitions
and conferences. It is something that I have really enjoyed doing at my school
and at our Girls Conference last year. Myself and 2 other volunteers are
planning a small-scale competition like this in mid-March in Njombe, and
depending on how that goes, I think I will have a better feel for whether I
think it is something I would like to continue doing in this country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That's all I've got for now, I promise the next update won't take as
long to deliver, but thanks again to everyone who continues to check back and
take interest in the goings-on of Tanzania! Hope everyone is doing well, and an
early Happy Birthday to Mom!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a semi-decent attempt at capturing probably the greatest rainbow I've ever seen. An entire semi-circle with every color vibrant and visible, and from the right viewpoint, my house could be seen perfectly centered underneath it. Pot(s) of gold pending...</td></tr>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-47625389281328119842012-12-15T08:01:00.001-08:002012-12-15T08:09:10.485-08:00A Change of Scenery<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top priority after 1.5 years...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Well I am very happy to say that I have successfully returned home to the greatest place on earth, Tinley Park, and have officially begun my holiday vacation in America. Still, I wanted to give some updates on what I had been up to in Tanzania just before coming home.<br />
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Dating back to Thanksgiving, I have to say that it turned out to be
one of the greatest and more memorable Thanksgivings I've ever had,
mostly because of how smoothly it went despite having so few "typical"
amenities. We were able to cook a turkey (to perfection, not by me of
course) in an aluminum pot charcoal oven, along with stuffing,
mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and some amazing pies made from scratch
- pumpkin, mango, chocolate pudding-pineapple, and apple. I continue to
be blown away by the cooking prowess of many of the other people here.
My endeavors were not as difficult or complicated, but were equally
successful and appreciated by all. I ended up making a 10-liter bucket's worth
of guacamole, which turned out to be a great secondary gravy, and the
egg nog was a HUGE hit and went off without a hitch. I think I've
influenced a few more people to make it a twice-a-year tradition like it
is for me. With 20 people at a single Peace Corps house with no
electricity, the fact that we were able to get all of the cooking done
and actually eat by 7 o'clock may have been nothing short of a miracle.
After eating, we all gathered around a 12-inch netbook computer screen
and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Turkey finished to perfection.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "jiko" oven used to cook the turkey.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving gang, mostly residents of Njombe / Songea.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truly classic-looking Thanksgiving pies - pumpkin, mango, apple.</td></tr>
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Following Thanksgiving, I traveled to Morogoro to help with the in-service-training of the new class of Education volunteers. I led two sessions related to teaching Math in Tanzania, and I was part of the Hands-On-Science team that led activities all day on Saturday the 1st. We talked about ways to make science seem more exciting for students, and demonstrated this by doing an egg drop competition for the volunteers and their Tanzanian counterparts. We also made homemade gunpowder and stuffed it into a giant paper crane and then ignited it for an enticing fireworks introduction. So essentially our message was: if you can't break or blow something up, it's not science.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Testing out an egg drop contraption.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hFIXLlA5MGs/UMoNO_1bYrI/AAAAAAAAARA/SWjd_rDTk2w/s1600/DSC00940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hFIXLlA5MGs/UMoNO_1bYrI/AAAAAAAAARA/SWjd_rDTk2w/s200/DSC00940.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking up a delicious batch of gunpowder.</td></tr>
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Upon finishing my work at IST, I had about a week of time before needing to be in Dar for my flight home. Before he left, an old friend of mine in country told me about his site in a place called Lushoto, which is a small town in the mountains slightly farther North than Dar. I had my tent with me, and so I decided to go check out that area and see if I could do any hiking. From my guidebook, I learned about this place called the Irente Viewpoint, for which the book used some pretty intense descriptors such as: heart-pounding, breath-taking and gob-smacking. After seeing it myself, I have to say I agree with all of these, though I might also add on one more - scrumptulescent. It was really incredible, and I felt like there needed to be some Lord of the Rings background music just to stand and look out at the view. There is a very nice hotel right at the viewpoint, which was far outside of my budget range, but luckily they let people set up their own tents on their front lawn for cheap, and so I was able to wake up to the incredible sights seen below.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were a lot of chameleons in the forests of Lushoto.</td></tr>
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After my hike through Lushoto, I made my way to Tanga, a coastal town only a few hours away. There is a beautiful beach called Pangani that can be reached by a short 2-hour bus ride from town. I stayed there with a friend for 2 days and enjoyed the soft sandy beach, slightly warmer than desired but still refreshing Indian Ocean waters, and unbelievable views of the starry night sky. The temperature was very hot since this is the middle of the summer season, but with a nice fanned room it was nothing unbearable.<br />
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Finally, after leaving Pangani, I went on to Dar with a day of preparation before my 4:30 am flight on the 12th. On my last day before coming to America I decided it would be worthwhile to get into the proper mindset for the next 3 weeks and go to an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. 6 plates later my stomach was sufficiently stretched out to accommodate for all of my eating plans at home.<br />
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Now that I've had a couple days to be back and start catching up with friends and family, I can definitely see how seemlessly some things like driving came back to me, and yet everything I do seems to cause me to draw comparisons to my life in Tanzania. I'm sure I will be looking forward to returning in January, but for now it is nice to be completely unburdened and to actually understand everything that's being said around me! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you for your continued interest in my blog and activities over the past year. Be sure to stay tuned next year for even more wild and wacky Tanzanian adventures!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-42405499288424535592012-11-23T23:26:00.000-08:002012-11-23T23:26:03.272-08:00Happy Thanksgiving!!!Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Or more up-to-date, Happy Black Friday! My Thanksgiving here was a rather quiet one, spent at home with a not-so-impressive "feast" of rice and beans, but don't think I was any less thankful than usual to have it. Our Thanksgiving celebration will be on Saturday in Njombe. My scheduled contribution is (of course) a tub of guacamole, and also this year I'm going to give the egg nog another try. Basically this is an attempt at a retribution Thanksgiving, since I will be trying not to fail so badly on both of those things compared to last year. Helping me out this time around will be not having to lug the avocados half-way around the country and also the learned foresight of making sure i don't get sour milk for the egg nog. As far as the last several weeks have gone....<br /><br />In the time since the Girl's Conference, the 5 girls from my school who attended the conference have hosted mini-conference lessons of their own for pretty much all of the other girls at Wilima, from Form I to Form III. A lot of the lessons were ones that they saw at the conference, but done in a slightly different way and sped up to cover more material in a short time. I was VERY impressed with their leadership and ability to keep control over a group of 40 or so students, especially those a couple years older than themselves. I literally did not even need to say a word during any of the lessons because they were very well prepared and confident about what they were teaching. I can't say enough about how proud I am of them and how dedicated they've been to spreading girls' empowerment at my school. I am sure they will be glad to continue lessons next year as well when we get new Form I students.<br /><br />Aside from that, I've recently gotten involved in a hands-on science teaching group of Peace Corps Volunteers called Shika na Mikono ("Hold with Your Hands"). The group was started by other volunteers a few years ago with the intent of spreading knowledge of how to teach different science topics or perform labs using very cheap and easily available materials. I find it very interesting because it strongly relies on finding creative ways to teach students somewhat more difficult material, while sparking their interest in science subjects by letting them physically participate in the lesson. Because the last group of Education volunteers is now leaving the country, the old group members are passing on the duties to our new group - me and 2 others from the class I came into country with. So we had a meeting a couple weeks ago to talk about new ideas and goals for the group for the coming years. <br /><br />There is a really nice manual that has been published for use by PC Volunteers, and so we are hoping to make updates to that and also add on more simple lesson plan ideas for hands-on teaching. The manual is made all in LaTeX, a document-writing program that I was (somewhat forcibly, but not regrettably) made pretty familiar with at Notre Dame, so luckily I am able to draw back on some of those skills now. The other big thing is that the Ministry of Education is planning these new teacher trainings for next year in terms of showing them how to actually teach using experimental lessons rather than just writing on the board every day. So we may be able to attend those trainings and put our two cents in on how to do all of those things, but also on a small budget. I'm really excited to start planning a Math and Science Conference next year, which will probably involve using some of the same kinds of ideas.<br /><br />I'm officially done teaching for the year now, since the Form II students have finished their national exams and have left school. So the school is now half-capacity and winding down towards the final exams for the remaining students at the end of November. I have had a bit more freetime the last couple of weeks, though beginning the week after Thanksgiving is the IST training for the new group of volunteers in Morogoro, and I will be going to lead lessons for the math group, and then also a few sessions with the Shika group.<br /><br />I will be spedning Thanksgiving (weekend that is) at the house of the married couple in Njombe, Jon and sara. It sounds like most of the people in the region will be coming - 15 or so - so it will be a lot of fun. We will actually be having turkey, even though they are so hard to come by in this country. Of course if it catches on fire in our make-shift cooking pot oven, we may have to all go looking for the nearest Denny's in Njombe.<br /><br />After Thanksgiving and IST, I will probably be looking for some small filler travelling for a week or so, because on Wednesday, 12/12/12.......I'll be coming home for Christmas!! Wooooo!! I decided a while ago that it would be great to go home for the holidays, and so I booked my tickets for Dec 12th - Jan 4th. So let me know if you will be around Chicago in that time, because I will probably be able to take a few small breaks from gorging on food to actually see some people. So excited to be home and see everyone!!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-66297265945801648912012-10-13T08:12:00.001-07:002012-10-13T08:36:19.845-07:00Wasichana Wanaweza!!<br />
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Last week we held a Girl's Conference in the town of Peramiho, which is about a half hour bus ride from Songea. At the conference were 5 Form 1 girls from my school, Wilima, and also girls from 5 other schools that other volunteers either teach at or live near. Only our school and one other had girls from Secondary schools; the others were primary level but all within a few years in age. The conference started on Monday and went through Thursday night, and then we all returned to our respective homes on Friday. It was held at a big conference center in Peramiho. Pretty much the entire town of Peramiho has been built by various Missions and the whole town is well kept and has very nice buildings.<br />
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There were 7 volunteers in total from the Songea region, and most brought with a counterpart to help teach lessons and give advice to the girls. I brought with me one of my neighbors, since there are no female teachers at my school. Her name is Mama Edu and she turned out to be the perfect choice for me to bring. She gave some pretty heated rants to the girls about the way women are treated in this country and how that affects her. It's not much of a secret that generally speaking, at least in the village setting, women do a highly disproportionate amount of work compared to men in Tanzania. Cooking, cleaning, farming, carrying firewood, taking care of children, and choting water are all on the job description, and then it's also customary for them to always serve men first for food. A lot of men don't work and end up just sitting around the house most of the day drinking pombe (a locally made alcoholic bamboo juice) and talking with other people. Since most students don't pass their exams or do well enough to continue on to A-Level studies, they mostly end up going back home to work on the farm with their parents, and so many girls end up living this kind of heavy work-low payoff life until they are very old. The theme of the conference was "Wasichana Wanaweza" which basically means "Girls Can."<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tv3AFYGHSoo/UHmHI44b3_I/AAAAAAAAAOg/GGmXm12U4bU/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tv3AFYGHSoo/UHmHI44b3_I/AAAAAAAAAOg/GGmXm12U4bU/s1600/7.jpg" /></a>We had a lot of different teaching sessions and activities to send different messages of empowerment to the girls and also mixed in a good amount health education. One was teaching about the food pyramid, since your typical Tanzanian diet consists often of nothing more than ugali (a corn-based staple food of white mush with little nutritional value) and beans. Tanzania is such a fertile country all over and it easy in a lot of places to grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables, so there should not be nearly as many malnourished people as there are. We also taught them about the solar disenfecting, or SODIS, method of treating water. If you fill up a water bottle and leave it out in the sun for 6 hours or more, it kills a lot of the harmful bacteria and makes the water safe to drink. It's a good alternative to boiling water, which uses a lot of wood, charcoal, or kerosene that can be expensive.<br />
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Another session was on gender roles. The girls were given cards with different words on them like "doctor" or "cooking" and then they had to make an instant reaction and either go the "Men" or "Women" side of the room based on who they associated that word with. We also had a guest speaker, a female doctor from the Peramiho hospital, come to give a talk on HIV/AIDS, and with her was a man who is living with HIV, and he also gave a talk about his experience and advice for the girls.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6o5Pv1nU1WQ/UHmHTI7wvfI/AAAAAAAAAOw/1byzy8Uk_qI/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6o5Pv1nU1WQ/UHmHTI7wvfI/AAAAAAAAAOw/1byzy8Uk_qI/s1600/5.jpg" /></a>I had two sessions that I led. The first was a lesson on Role Models- what the term means and how to identify/choose positive role models in our lives. Of course the example I used was Michael Jordan, so I made a big poster of him (a better drawing than my old Frank Thomas posters I must add - he did not look like a thumb) and listed reasons why he is my role model. Then I gave the girls poster paper and markers and told them to draw someone who is a role model for them. I guess my initial rough Swahili explanation was somewhat confusing because the first girl I saw working on hers starting writing "Michael Jordan" at the top of her poster, and I had to explain again that they were supposed to use someone that THEY looked up to, though maybe she was just so impressed with MJ that she decided he was a worthy role model for her as well.<br />
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The other session I did was a Hands-On-Science workshop kind of thing. So many kids in general, but especially girls, come into secondary school hating math and science, usually because they never had an actual teacher in primary school. So what I wanted to do was have different science demo's that were kind of exciting and showed them that science is more than just memorizing formulas, which is all that most of them do in class. We had 4 stations that they rotated through in small groups. One was a simple circuit with a battery and a Christmas light bulb, which was left open and needed to be completed with different materials like a pen, aluminum, nail, paper, test tube, balloon, etc. and they had to predict first and then try to see if the light would turn on. Another was a lever demo, which was just a ruler balance with cups on either end to add bottle caps into to see how many it took on each side to balance. Then they had to move the ruler so one side was larger than the other and try again to see how it changed.<br />
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The next was using a water gun to shoot targets at different heights to try and get an idea about how trajectories work and how to point the water gun to get the most distance and height. And the last station was rubbing a balloon or plastic pen or ruler on your head and seeing how it attracted small pieces of paper with static electricity. Most of the girls have shaved heads, so I think they needed to borrow a head to rub from some of the volunteers. All in all I was super excited with how it went because they all seemed to enjoy the activities and looked really interested.<br />
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For the end of the conference, we had each group of girls prepare a song/dance and a skit related to the messages of the lessons. My students put on a really good play that of course I only got a limited understanding of, but based on the other Tanzanians' reactions, was downright hilarious. I was incredibly proud of all my students because they kind of took leadership roles since they were some of the oldest students at the conference. They asked a lot of good questions and seemed to really believe in the things they were being taught. I'm really excited now for the rest of the school year to have them lead sessions like the ones they saw, but use them to teach other students at my school and possibly even some of the primary schools nearby. It also made me a lot more comfortable with teaching life skills lessons and was great to get other ideas on how to teach them. I definitely think teaching life skills will become a much bigger part of my teaching at school after having done this girls conference.<br />
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We were already talking about now trying to do a Boys Conference sometime during the next school year which starts in January, possibly at the same place in Peramiho. Another idea that I have had and really want to do next year is to hold a conference like this, but instead of being a Boys or Girls Conference, have it be like a Math and Science Seminar, where the best math and science students from different schools can come and have some quality nerd-out time. It would be really cool for them to be able to see what is actually happening with science in the world today and where the real applications of what they're learning are. I can possibly even show them some footage of our robot quarterback, Sleepy Jim, that we made as a senior design project for our robot football game at Notre Dame.<br />
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Meanwhile, back at school.....<br />
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The week of the Girls Conference was also the week of National Exams for the Form IV students. They will be finishing up for a few days this coming week also, but then will be headed home. I'll continue teaching the Form II's until their exams in early November, but then will be finished with my regular teaching schedule. I plan to work more with the Form III's and giving them a head start in some math topics that they will learn next year, and also hopefully keeping up these life skills lessons on a regular basis.<br />
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The solar power project is moving along well. We had the grants coordinator from the Ambassodor's Grant Dept. come to visit our school a couple weeks back. She happens to be the wife of one of the head Peace Corps people for Tanzania. We haven't started to install anything yet, so her visit was really just to see the school and talk about whatever changes are going on in the solar project. The headmaster has now decided to do the project in 2 phases since the original cost estimate was lower than what it is now, and the school will have to wait until next year's budget to make the rest of the contributions. So first we will install lights in the classrooms, and then a few months from now will use the rest of the grant money to install a second system that will be able to power the big photocopy machine and also the laptop computers. I continue to be happy with the relatively little amount of work that I have to put into the project, which shows they are able to do it themselves, and maybe even write another grant after I leave!<br />
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Other than that, I've been dedicating the diminishing free time I have almost exclusively to puzzling. In a 6-day span I did (with some help) about 2.75 puzzles, and already have a couple more and one sent from home to work on when I get back to my house. My hope is to turn my house into a replica of the Wilks' garage, and just have the walls covered with completed puzzle posters. In unrelated news, I don't have any nerd tendencies whatsoever.<br />
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I continue to love and miss you all, and don't forget to check out all the pictures from the Girls Conference on facebook!<br />
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-86404851349237189922012-09-17T10:41:00.001-07:002012-09-17T10:41:48.691-07:00August / September Roundup<br />
School was closed for the better part of August because of the national census, which gave me a few weeks to do some travelling.<br />
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<b>NICK VISIT</b><br />
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Though he could only be here for about 6 days, Nick's visit to Tanzania featured, I believe, a pretty good sampling of the country's sights, early history, both spectrums of its widely separated social and economic classes, and inevitably some of its larger annoyances, namely with travelling. We started the trip in Dar, getting to see some different parts of the town and the beaches, and later went to see The Dark Knight Rises in (supposedly) the biggest movie theatre in East Africa - mostly just an indulgence for me to remember what a movie theatre looks like. Then the next day we stood on a typically overloaded bus for 2 hours going to Bagamoyo.<br />
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Bagamoyo used to be the major port city in East Africa during the height of the slave trade, but eventually the business captial moved to Dar and Bagamoyo has been in a steady decline ever since. Now it mostly serves as a historical and tourist site. We saw the Kaole Ruins which included remnants of mosques dating back as far as the 1500's, and also a Catholic church (very rare in that part of the country) that was built around 1900 and has some very nice murals inside. Next to the church was a museum that basically gave the history of Bagamoyo from its origins, through the part it played in the slave trade, then came under German control up to World War II and given up as a British colonial town until Tanzania's independence in 1961. What's interesting is the name of the town used to be something similar that meant basically a place of hope, but got changed during the period of slave trade to what it is now, Bagamoyo, which means "Lay down your heart," meaning that pretty much everyone who came there in those days would never return to where they came from.<br />
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After coming back to Dar, we headed on South to Iringa, where we met up with another volunteer and his friend for a joint safari in Ruaha National Park, the one I had visited with Christine a while ago. We used the same guide as the first time, and funnily (or not) enough, got a flat tire at the exact same spot that we did then. So we got into the park right at sundown, which was beautiful of course. We had the whole next day to see pretty much all of the major animals, including a few male lions all resting together. We stayed in the little metal huts inside the park and at one point during the night, all of the guards were yelling at us not to come out because there was an elephant just hanging out sitting right outside our door. Naturally we went out anyways and jumped on for an evening ride. Then on the way back we got another flat tire (well, actually the same one that they had "repaired" inside the park), so by this point we were all pit crew pros.<br />
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After Ruaha, we had to go right back to Dar for Nick's flight home. One more flat tire on the cab ride to the airport just for completeness, and then Nick was off, leaving all of his newfound "friendies" behind (who coincidentally seemed to include every taxi driver that we walked past in the country). But he did leave me with plenty of mementos from home, including a giant bear-sized container of animal crackers. You know me too well...<br />
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<b>MSC</b><br />
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The week after Nick's visit was our Mid-Service Conference or MSC, also in Dar. It was great to see everyone from our class again, and it really was like a family reunion since we were all staying in the same hotel for the most part. We had a few training sessions on sharing ideas and experiences from site now that we've been there for over a year, and then a doctor's and dentist's appointment, but overall the week was very laid back. We were able to check out a couple of Dar's nicer beaches, one of which had a pirate ship to play on. By far my favorite part of the week was finding a real basketball court where they hold youth league practices every evening. I went there one night to check it out with a couple other volunteers and we got to play full court 5-on-5 scrimmage games with the guys there. And they were so good, much better than any other Tanzanians I've seen play before. It was so nice to have that since I've really been missing playing real basketball on a nice court. I actually found out about the place from a coach I ran into at this kid's camp that I just stumbled upon earlier in the week, but was apparently hosted by two NBA players - Hashim Thabeet (I think the only Tanzanian basketball player in the NBA) and Luol Deng from the Bulls. Unfortunately I had just missed them when I found the place, but it was still lucky to find out about that other court.<br />
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<b>SONGEA FEST</b><br />
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Capping off the week of MSC was our adventure to the largest annual Peace Corps get-together event, Songea Fest, held in my hometown Songea, which is normally about a 15 hour bus ride from Dar. Because our whole class was together already, and most of them wanted to go to Songea, we more or less rented out a big bus to take us all down there in style, and were able to put on our own movies and music for the whole ride.<br />
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At Songea Fest were a ton of volunteers and even more delicious food. The major event was a huge BBQ featuring pork burgers with cheese, ice cream, plenty of sides, and of course, a giant tub of guacamole that used somewhere around 75 avocados. It was a much bigger success than my last attempt of such proportions last Thanksgiving, since the avocados were actually ripe this time around. And not a drop remained at the end.<br />
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Sunday morning there was the typical 3-on-3 basketball tournament. It was actually a good turnout with 6 decent teams. Myself and another person from my same team in Njombe Jam won our second straight PC basketball championship, though without an exciting 6-2 comeback this time.<br />
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The final event was the talent show, for which me and 5 other guys from Songea dressed up in shiny orange (how'd you guess?) robes of sorts, and, sporting the finest in fake moustache fashion (thank you random care package gifts) put on a pretty good performance to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want it That Way." So I suppose be on the lookout for embarassing pictures to come on that one.<br />
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<b>SOLAR POWER</b><br />
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The end of break meant a return to school for me and, roughly 10 percent of the students...? I suppose it's just a natural trend for schools in this country, especially boarding schools, for students to gradually filter in over the first week or so back. It meant I didn't really have my normal teaching schedule, but did give time to talk with my Headmaster and others more about our Solar Power grant. We've now gotten the money from the US Embassy and are currently looking for a reliable retailer of the materials and a good technician to install them. There is another school near Njombe that has a system similar to what we want ours to be, so we may very well use the same contacts that they did. We should have enough money to get solar panels to power our new copy machine, which doesn't run well off of the generator, and to light at least half of the classrooms. Though it sounds like the Headmaster wants to keep the generator running for the classes in the evenings and use the solar as a backup for when the generator breaks down. I think its a good idea, and also to use solar for the copier, since it is pretty much useless right now, and it would be so great to actually be able to have print-outs for my classes next year. Finding the right retailer is probably the most important part of the project, since there are so many fake and poorly made materials up for sale here. Once we decide on one for sure, the installation should go relatively quickly.<br />
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<b>MATH CONFERENCE</b><br />
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Right after getting back to site, I was notified of a national math conference in Arusha this week by one of the Peace Corps staff, and he asked if I could go since I had said earlier that I was interested in going to trainings like this. I gladly accepted and so that is where I am now, in Arusha, way up north near Mount Kilimanjaro. The conference lasts all week and they will be having different discussions on teaching methods and materials relevant to teaching in rural secondary schools in this country. There are probably around 200 or so math teachers from all over the country, including me and 2 others from Peace Corps, so it's a pretty cool opportunity to see how the Ministry of Education views the issues related to teaching math in Tanzania. The conference came at a good time, since my students have a week full of mid-term tests this week. Though when I get back, I will only have 2 weeks of prep time for my Form IV students before their National Exams. I can only hope that they studied over their break, because that sure isn't alot of time to review the 4 years of material they're responsible for in all their subjects! But I still have many that I feel confident about in math, so hopefully they can even exceed my expectations!<br />
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That's about all for now. Stay tuned for the next update and keep sending yours my way!<br />
Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-61002180973176040622012-08-02T06:30:00.003-07:002012-08-02T06:30:55.132-07:00Some of the...tests, grants, and librariesI suppose it's about time for a good old-fashioned Tanzania update, sans exciting adventures with visitors...for now at least.<br />
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Things have been more or less back to "normal" at school after our mini break ended early July. The students have taken two sets of Mock or practice national exams and we've gotten the results back. Overall an improvement in math from last year, though that is surpassing a prettly low bar. Of course after actually finishing the syllabus I have high hopes to see even better scores for the real deal in October/November. <br />
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A big thing these days is that we found out our school was awarded the grant we applied for to get solar power! We were among 8 schools/centers around the country that got one of these grants from the US Embassy, so it is a great success for Wilima. I'm particularly happy since I didn't really do much of anything for it, aside from download and email the application. So it's a good sign that my school has apparently developed skills to do things like this for itself. We are waiting to get the money deposited into the school account, and then will start looking for quality solar dealers and a good technician to install everything. The grant should be enough to get a solar system that can at least light the classrooms at night, and possibly also staff houses and a few laptop computers during the day. It will be a big help, since the generator has been having many issues lately and is very expensive to use and maintain.<br />
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The other exciting thing at school lately has been that we are now finally actually opening the library. Some of the students asked about it for studying for their exams, and that was my excuse to keep bugging the academic master about getting it opened. They had apparently lost the keys for the locks, but that's nothing a hammer couldn't fix! (finally a time when cheaply made goods here have worked to my advantage) So I've got a few good students as my minions / monitors and we spent a good amount of time organizing all the books and old exam papers that we have. I've made a few posters and diagrams to hang on the walls, and I would like to get a library card system going if possible. That way maybe it will encourage the serious students who are capable of not losing their cards to use the space for studying. The only problem right now is that, while we do have a lot of books (mostly math), none are for the Tanzanian syllabus, and the students have a lot of difficulty finding the topics they are studying in other books. I may look into possible ways of trying to get money for some Tanzanian textbooks soon, since it doesn't seem to be in the school budget.<br />
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Many schools are closing this week, but (I guess because mine is private?) we are staying open for two more weeks. It's fine for me because I didn't have any plans until then anyways, when Nick is coming to visit for a week. For now, it seems like we may try to do a safari and visit my school, which unfortunately may take up all the time for just a week's visit. But I am extremely excited to have another guest coming so soon!<br />
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The last week of August is our Mid-Service Conference in Dar, which is basically a glorified set of doctor's appointments, but still a great chance to see and catch up with everyone from my training class, most of whom I haven't seen since last year. The new group of Education volunteers is still in training and will be going to their sites in a couple weeks. There is one coming to Songea who I already got to meet while they were on their "shadow" week. None coming to Njombe though, which is disappointing since a good number of volunteers are leaving now. But I will probably get to meet more of them this weekend before they head back to Morogoro.<br />
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We had a fun weekend recently where a bunch of Njombe people went to spend the weekend at our 81-year old volunteer's house. John Clay Weekend, as it has been dubbed, included plently of board game playing, cooking delicious Mexican food, and some good old grandpa story time. He really is like a grandpa to pretty much everyone else here since all of us in Njombe are around the 23-28 age range. We even got a surprise welcome to a staff party of sorts at his school, where we were pretty sure they were getting ready to eat us, after fattening us up with snacks, locally grown juices, and a meal that must have had at least 10 courses. So it was an awesome time and certainly worth repeating.<br />
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One last bit of Tanzanian entertainment news: One of my best friends from my training group who went back to America in January, Eric Kehoe, has already recorded and put out a solo album since he has been back home. I have been able to download it here and I think it's awesome. I encourage anyone who's interested to download his album give it a listen: <a href="http://erickehoe.bandcamp.com/album/eric-kehoe">http://erickehoe.bandcamp.com/album/eric-kehoe</a> He's living in Grand Rapids, Michigan now and apparently has a couple shows coming up too, if those of you who live around there would like to check it out. You can tell him Steven Anthony Bohomo the Three sent you and call him Bwana Harage and I'm sure he would be very excited. So there's my plug, and here are his shows: <a href="http://erickehoe.net/shows">http://erickehoe.net/shows</a><br />
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Until next time.... please keep those updates of yours coming too!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-3820681067247770642012-07-08T15:19:00.002-07:002012-07-08T15:19:23.419-07:00Stanzania - The VillageAfter staying in Njombe for a night, Christine and I finally continued on to see my school. It is a 2 hour trip from Njombe to a village called Lilondo, and then a "bumpy" (to say the least) 8 km ride up into the hills to Wilima Secondary School. Apparently our travelling must have been going too easily for Tanzanian standards because we had a particularly annoying time getting a bus to Lilondo. But after plenty of arguing and fighting, we finally were able to get seats on one of the medium-sized coaster buses Monday afternoon. <br />
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More than anything else, I think it was just nice to have time to ourselves and relax at my house. After being on the move every day up to then, we were both happy to just relax and not do anything. We did a walking tour of the school campus and were able to meet with most of the teachers, which was nice. Half of the students were home on break, and the other half were taking tests all week, so unfortunately we could not spend too much time with them.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BbS_dQ-Mm68/T_n9zYIzHXI/AAAAAAAAANo/EPV4pLeiiaQ/s1600/DSC05002+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" sca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BbS_dQ-Mm68/T_n9zYIzHXI/AAAAAAAAANo/EPV4pLeiiaQ/s200/DSC05002+(640x480).jpg" width="200" /></a>For Christine's birthday, we celebrated pretty much the only way that I know how to celebrate at my house - cooking and eating a ton of food. Pancakes and fruit salad for breakfast (and lunch), and then burritos (chipatis, rice, beans), chips and guac, and mango salsa for dinner. I had been able to find a Funfetti cake mix in town, so we tried to make it using the charcoal stove oven method, which basically involves putting a pot on top of a few thin rocks inside a bigger pot, and then baking over the charcoal jiko. I have had success doing this in the past, but this time I just didn't have the touch I suppose, and the cake turned out a little, well, let's just say it was obvious that it was baked in a Tanzanian make-shift oven. But luckily you can't screw up the taste of a Funfetti cake, so it was still good. We went and shared it with the mama who usually cooks for me, Mama Edu, and my counterpart and his family. </div>
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After leaving my school on the 5th, we went to Songea to stay for the night, and stayed with my friend Veronica who lives right in town. From there, it was easy to catch the early 6am bus the next day to Morogoro, as we began our return trip up north. It worked out very well staying in Morogoro for a night, because it turned out a lot of other Peace Corps volunteers were there for a training, so we were all able to hang out, and Christine was able to meet some of my best friends from my training class. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6aXguvS5PEQ/T_oGPHu-p5I/AAAAAAAAAN0/y84-qk203ug/s1600/DSC05010+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" sca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6aXguvS5PEQ/T_oGPHu-p5I/AAAAAAAAAN0/y84-qk203ug/s200/DSC05010+(640x480).jpg" width="200" /></a>The next morning we walked to my host family's house to visit and have breakfast. They were so incredibly happy to meet Christine and to see us both. I hadn't even seen any of them since early December, so I also enjoyed being able to see them all. Baba was travelling to Moshi, but everyone else was there, including my host sister Eunice, who Christine actually was writing a couple penpal letters with last year. So I know it meant alot for her to finally meet Christine in person. </div>
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Finally, we capped off our epic travelling adventure with a little good luck, getting good seats on the bus to Dar, and getting in with just enough time to get to the airport a couple hours before Christine's 5pm flight. All in all, I think the trip was a very good introduction to the many different faces of Tanzania - from the big-city atmosphere and relentless "Mzungu!"-yelling cab drivers of Dar es Salaam, to the touristy yet entertaining attractions of Zanzibar amidst the beutiful tropical scenery and interesting historical background, to the classic African Land Rover safari adventures and unbeatable wildlife viewing of Ruaha National Park, to the quiet, simple, and albeit bug-infested life of the village among welcoming Tanzanian neighbors, all the while feeling the difficulty and frustrations of seemingly simple tasks such as getting a bus to travel, buying and transporting food items, cooking, and doing laundry in a third world country, and also getting a more in-depth peek into the community and lifestyles of Peace Corps volunteers in this country. I am so incredibly grateful that Christine was able to come visit me here, and I hope that her trip has helped her, and anyone who reads this blog, to get a better idea of what Tanzania is like.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-13797462258135485422012-07-01T12:15:00.001-07:002012-07-01T12:15:41.388-07:00Stanzania - Ruaha Safari<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
[From Saturday, June 30]</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8E54LYBerpU/T_CgrkPr1KI/AAAAAAAAANE/NXpzwsNFwaY/s1600/DSC04892+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8E54LYBerpU/T_CgrkPr1KI/AAAAAAAAANE/NXpzwsNFwaY/s200/DSC04892+(640x480).jpg" vca="true" width="200" /></a>Friday Christine and I did a safari in Ruaha National Park, just outside of the town Iringa in central Tanzania. Ruaha is a great park to visit because they have a large variety of animals to see and it is much less touristy and crowded (and cheaper) than Serengeti and Ngorongoro since it is farther from the big cities up north. It is also the second largest game park in Tanzania and has the large Ruaha River running through it which made for some amazing scenery. We used a private guide to drive us around, which was really awesome because we got to ride in a classic Land Rover car with a lifted roof to take pictures. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OdZOccDCbkA/T_Cg7s0Hb8I/AAAAAAAAANM/Mv4qjhla5F0/s1600/DSC04915+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OdZOccDCbkA/T_Cg7s0Hb8I/AAAAAAAAANM/Mv4qjhla5F0/s200/DSC04915+(640x480).jpg" vca="true" width="200" /></a>We saw many of the typical safari animals right away - impalas / antelopes, zebras, giraffes, elephants, hippos, crocs, and even two lions who were just by themselves outside of the pack. Soon afterward, we saw a huge pride of at least 15 lions together under a tree, resting after what appeared to be a recent successful hunt. Next to them was a mostly-devoured buffalo carcass that foxes and vultures were starting to call dibs on. It was pretty amazing to see, and a little scary too, as we drove up to within 10 feet or so of where the lions were laying. Luckily we could see they were no longer hungry... and neither were we after getting a good whiff of the buffalo.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8uM5xDdUtME/T_ChRkZDfHI/AAAAAAAAANU/2lPM4OQc5zk/s1600/DSC04945+(480x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8uM5xDdUtME/T_ChRkZDfHI/AAAAAAAAANU/2lPM4OQc5zk/s200/DSC04945+(480x640).jpg" vca="true" width="150" /></a>Other animals inside the park that we saw included the waterbuck, which looks similar to a deer but with white stripes across its back and huge ears, babboons, a smaller breed of monkey called a tumbili, a couple hyeenas, warthogs, though not nearly Pumba-sized, and many colorful birds.</div>
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We stayed at the government bandas (small huts) inside the park as a cheaper and easier alternative to the many resorts and camps both inside and outside. They were nice enough, though it did get very cold at night since they weren't really insulated. It was cool staying there because the animals would literally walk right up to where people stay throughout the day and even more of them come around at night. We woke up to the sounds of elephants and hippos in the near distance.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YueIgmUKRgU/T_Chf_kE1zI/AAAAAAAAANc/RORmw7-PJmA/s1600/DSC04953+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YueIgmUKRgU/T_Chf_kE1zI/AAAAAAAAANc/RORmw7-PJmA/s200/DSC04953+(640x480).jpg" vca="true" width="200" /></a>We were taking our stuffed white-ish panda around with us and taking pictures of him with the other animals, and then we stopped near another car of people and saw that they were doing the same thing with a stuffed elephant of their own. Good to know we weren't the only crazy people in the park.</div>
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The only major animals we missed out on seeing were leopards and cheetahs, which are both apparently very rare in Ruaha and usually can't be found. But we still got to see much more than I did on my first safari in Mikumi last year during our training. My camera died towards the end of the day, so you'll have to check out Christine's pictures when she gets back as well. <br />
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After getting back to Iringa this morning, we did some shopping and exploring around a more typical and less overwhelming Tanzanian town. There are many Maasai natives that live not very far from here, and a large Maasai market where they sell their hand-made crafts, wood carvings and paintings. Tomorrow we are getting on an early bus to Njombe, finally my neck of the woods. We will spend the night at the Chani Hotel, my favorite guest house in all of Tanzania, and then make the (now) short, 2-hour trip to my school on Monday. I can't wait for Christine to get to meet my students, and to celebrate her first Tanzanian birthday!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019580127974557030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595540112185530134.post-76093104085055147172012-06-27T13:41:00.000-07:002012-06-27T13:41:00.647-07:00Stanzania - Zanzibar<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Monday morning Christine and I took the ferry from Dar to Zanzibar. It was very little extra to upgrade to the air-conditioned first-class section, so we rode in style, eating chocolate and watching the new Karate Kid movie. Arriving on the Zanzibar beaches was gorgeous, and we couldn't believe how big the island was. Of course we were constantly heckled by taxi drivers as we made our way on land, which was a little overwhelming, even for what I'm used to. I'm sure it must have been especially crazy for Christine. But we made our way to our hotel, which was very close by.</div>
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The people at the hotel were incredibly helpful, and gave us tips on everything we wanted to do on Zanzibar. We arrived around 1:00pm and found out that we still had time that afternoon to take a private boat out to Prison Island. The island was small, only about 250 yards at its widest point, and never actually was turned into a prison, though that was the original intention for it many years ago. Many of the original buildings have been preserved and now it is strictly a tourist site. We were first led around the island and stopped a ways off the coast to go snorkling around the coral reef. It was so cool to see the many types of coral, sea aneonomies, all different rainbow colored fish, starfish, those black, sharp, thorny guys, and plenty of other things that I don't know how to accurately describe. It took us both a bit to get a hang of the snorkling, but it was such a blast!</div>
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Then we got on the island, which had kind of a guided tour path around the buidings with some historical info, and there was even a fresh-water swimming pool for guests with the water coming from an underground pipe from zanzibar. We ran into a herd of peacocks for our first wild-animal sightings of the trip. By far the most interesting though was the tortoises, the oldest of which was apparently 189 years old! They were all kept in one area and ranged all the way to just 10 years old. Of course they filled the stereotype of moving incredibly slooow - I only saw one riding around on a skateboard, but he wasn't even wearing an orange bandana.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ys0ea3p-6k/T-tqMG1gp0I/AAAAAAAAAMo/U0tXIvBBbb0/s1600/DSC04815+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ys0ea3p-6k/T-tqMG1gp0I/AAAAAAAAAMo/U0tXIvBBbb0/s200/DSC04815+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" vca="true" width="200" /></a>In the evening, we went to this place called Forodhani Gardens for dinner. It is a huge lantern-lit garden where people set up tables and sell (supposedly) fresh seafood or make other local specialties such as soups, mini pizzas, and sugar cane juice. The variety of seafood was incredible - among those I remember them saying are, tuna, baracuda, kingfish, lobster, crab, red herring...but there were plenty of others too. Everything had so much more flavor than I've ever tasted in Tanzanian food.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MtgxYpYl6OQ/T-tqSQux4iI/AAAAAAAAAMw/PIt-hqgh0rk/s1600/DSC04834+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MtgxYpYl6OQ/T-tqSQux4iI/AAAAAAAAAMw/PIt-hqgh0rk/s200/DSC04834+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" vca="true" width="150" /></a>The next day we did the Spice Tour, which was a widely recommended must-do, even though it is rather touristy. I have to agree with the recommendations, though, it was a great full-day trip. There were 2 small vans for our group (the kind that I'm used to cramming 40 or so people into), and our first stop was to one of the local spice farms on Zanzibar, where we got a guided tour and got to see how various fruits and spices grow naturally. Some of the spices included nutmeg, vanilla beans, ginger, cinnamon bark, lemon grass, and some plant with orange seeds that the Maasai tribe apparently use for facial paints. We also had a demonstration on how to climb a coconut tree while singing the native Tanzanian "welcoming visitors" song, all the while being handed expertly made grass-woven bracelets, necklaces, ties, and even the coveted "King of Spices" crown. </div>
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After the actual spice tour, we stopped to see the old Persian baths briefly, and they gave us an excellent lunch of pilau (seasoned rice), curry, and chipatis, which were all cooked with the different spices we had just seen. We then drove a ways to a place called Bububu, where we went down into the entrance of a cave was used for hiding slaves during the time of slave trading. Zanzibar was a major port for slave trades, harboring and sending many East African slaves to various nearby countries around the southern coast of Asia. Arab immigrants and Zanzibar natives worked cooperatively to continue transporting slaves to and from Zanzibar, even after it was banned in the 1800s, by hiding them in caves like this during the night and boarding them onto small dhow boats in the daytime. We could see the many tunnels that went to different parts of the island from within the cave.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1U65rMEBbFU/T-tqcAkzKtI/AAAAAAAAAM4/BVaHrQX9uiQ/s1600/DSC04861+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1U65rMEBbFU/T-tqcAkzKtI/AAAAAAAAAM4/BVaHrQX9uiQ/s200/DSC04861+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" vca="true" width="200" /></a>Nearby the cave was a short trail to an amazing and very isolated beach on Zanzibar's eastern coast. The water was perfect, not very warm like the Indian Ocean waters I'd been to in southern Tanzania. We stayed and swam for an hour or so and then got dropped off back at the hotel. Quite a full trip!</div>
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For dinner I wanted Christine to try possibly my favorite Tanzanian dish - chipsi mayai, which is essentially a french fry omelet, and therefore delicious. But apparently it isn't very common on Zanzibar. We passed this swanky restaurant that was right on the coast and wanted to eat there just so we could watch the sunset, and I asked them if they could make us chipsi mayai but they said no - i guess it wasn't a classy enough meal for that kind of place. The restaurant was called Mercury's, which we soon found out was named after Queen singer Freddie Mercury, who apparently was born on Zanzibar - who knew! Anyways, they clearly put his name to shame by not serving chipsi mayai.</div>
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Today we finally got whammied by the rain, which was on and off for most of the morning. We were planning to do a hike in Jozani forest, where there are very rare species of monkeys, three foot rats...? and other cool animals, but didn't have time in the end, so we walked around the fruit market for a while and then got on the afternoon ferry back to Dar. Tomorrow we take an early bus to Iringa, 7 ish hours, where we will leave from the following day for a safari in Ruaha National Park. We are both very excited and can't wait to see what kinds of animals show up to greet us. So more great pictures are on the way!</div>
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