Hi Belgium, Tanzania calling (mostly blogging though)

Saturday 15.02.2014

Last Saturday, when I posted my first blog, Paul, Astrid and I had travelled from Getamock to Karatu. We did the first part by bodaboda (the motorbike) and switched to the daladala for the second part of the trip. It turns out that it gets even cosier in this daladala than in last week's daladala from Arusha to Karatu. This morning there were six people smashed together on the back seat. Have you ever sat with six in the back of a car? Well, I have and it's not that much fun. Nevertheless, we got to where we needed to be.

On a 1 km walk from Karatu we found Happy Days, a restaurant / bar in the middle of nature with Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, the internet doesn't work as well as we would have liked. It is a really nice place to go and relax though.

On Saturday night I had drinks at our guesthouse with Paul and François Xavier aka FX, a French guy staying at the same guesthouse who had been travelling through Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania for 2 and half months. He told me that if I was open to it I would have the time of my life here and I have the tendency to believe him.

Sunday 16.02.2014

On Sunday we did our shoppings for the week and took the challenge of riding the daladala back to Endamarriek (it's not like we had much of a choice :p). We were scared it was going to be more difficult since it had rained during the weekend and Paul had shared his doubts about it as well. This time the daladala was not as packed and the ride was shorter but a lot rougher. This driver chose the short route, which turned out to be one with a lot of bumps. When we finally arrived at Endamarriek we were not stirred, we were shaken.

Monday 17.02.2014

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the pupils have to bring water to all the teacher's houses. When they arrived at our house this Monday, Astrid and I were sitting in front of it in the grass reading a magazine. When we abandoned the magazines for a second, to carry the buckets of water inside, several girls crowded around them and seemed completely captivated. We on the other hand were captivated by how some of the girls were able to carry a huge bucket of water gracefully on their head. As soon as we walked over to the girls they ran away but we told them to come back and showed them the magazine.

Tuesday 18.02.2014

There are three primary schools around Getamock; the closest one is only a 2 minute walk away. This Tuesday we were walking there and when we were only 500 meters away from the school I suddenly noticed that some of the kids were being caned. It weren't just small hits against their wrist but we could hear the cane hitting their skin. We knew coming to Tanzania that caning is allowed in the schools but were still really shocked, especially because the kids were so small and defenseless.

The primary schools around Getamock don't have their own playing fields so they sometimes come to Getamock Secondary School, just like the two other schools did this Tuesday. Those little kids are too adorable for their own good and although they are so little some of them are already amazing football players. When we tried to take a picture they all ran away but eventually they started to trust us and Philly, one of the other teachers from Getamock Secondary School, spoke to them and encouraged them to take a picture with us.

In the evening Astrid and I tried to wash each other's hair but this was a real challenge. While we didn't know how to go about it, Paul had the time of his life laughing at us. Now we've gotten slightly better at it, but he still gets a kick out of watching us struggle sometimes.

Wednesday 19.02.2014

In the middle of the week I have the busiest day of teaching ahead of me. On Wednesday I teach 6 periods out of 9 and sometimes I will help Astrid for 1 period as well. After classes are over the pupils have debate, which Astrid and I will supervise during our stay here.

To end a busy day on a happy note we made Tanzanian chips but since we're Belgian we influenced the making of them and they were something in between Tanzanian and Belgian chips. A good word to describe them would be tamu, otherwise known as delicious.

Thursday 20.02.2014

The next day shouldn't have been called Thursday this week but Thunderday. It was raining and storming all night. It woke me up more than once but Paul said it wasn't a big storm, just a little bit of rain. This didn't change the fact that a lot of students were late and during the first period I had only half of the students to teach, which is still close 25 pupils.

While walking to school that day, both Astrid and I almost fell. We have to walk 3 to 4 minutes opposed to some pupils who have to walk for two hours or more. So on a regular day they have to leave their homes at five in the morning but when it rains it takes them even longer. If you think about this it is not all that surprising that a lot of pupils were late.

Friday 21.02.2014

On Friday I taught form 4 for the second time this past week and they seemed to be loosening up a bit. They're less afraid to ask questions and less hesitant to answer them when I ask something. On Friday the pupils have religion period as well. This is not at all like in Belgium were you have it as a regular subject. Here there are no teachers in the classrooms and it is not done per form but per denomination. So all the Catholics have class together, all the Lutherans etc. There are only four groups and they're all Christian. We went to watch the classes briefly and the first impression I had was that they believe more intensely than we do. They dance and sing a lot and it is mesmerizing to watch. I will definitely join them again the coming weeks.

After lunch the pupils have sport and games on Fridays. Since it was raining they had to do something inside. All of the pupils were in an empty classroom dancing and singing together. They were all smiling and seemed so happy that it made me smile as well. When the students were called together to end the school day we went for a walk around Getamock.

After about five to ten minutes we ran into the primary school kids who were on their way home. We were walking in the same direction and they kept walking right behind us or beside us but seemed to hesitant to actually pass us. So when we stopped they stopped and when we started walking again they started walking again as well. Eventually they were less afraid and a little girl even dared to hold my hand. She was the cutest thing ever!

On our way back to our house we ran into some of our pupils and they invited us to go to church with them. I can't imagine Belgian kids having two hours of religion in a day and going to church after school but here the students really open up when they're in church. They invited us to sing and dance along.

In the evening we went to a local bar (well, the Getamock version of a bar). It is really tiny and when there are 8 people inside it has almost reached its limit. Nevertheless, it is very nice to go there. On our way back home it was pitch dark and when we looked up to the sky it was filled with stars. I have never seen anything like it before, it was beautiful and I was blown away.

Lastly, I have a message for my dad. Most smartphones from Belgium can't access the Tanzanian internet because it is considered unsafe and the phones are protected. So sorry, daddy, when you're in Tanzania you won't have internet for two weeks! Mentally prepare yourself! ;)

Next week you won't hear from me, but the week after that I'll hopefully be able to give you an update on my Tanzanian adventure!
Bye, bye Belgium, I love you!