MSmith

Saturday October 13^th

Not long after I returned from Tanga yesterday we had some new guests.  A young couple turned up on a motorcycle and booked into the room next to mine and immediately I saw Eva bringing a tray with drinks over.  I did comment that I had never had room service and was even more vocal when later on she turned up with a tray of food for them.  When I found out that this was kuku (my chicken) I was almost apoplectic.  This morning at breakfast I asked if they had left yet and was told by Eva that they had left last night and hadn't stayed over. I did ask if they registered as Bwana na Bibi MSmith but I think it got lost somewhere in the translation. 

 I had another run to Pangani this morning to print some photos of the students and to do some shopping for Eva.  She was planning to go as well and as the things she needed were for me to eat, mkate (bread) and bluebandi (margarine would you believe), I said I could as easy pick them up.  I like walking round Pangani, as unlike Tanga I don’t feel I am under any deadline as the journey home is so short.  I must admit though, I know how Daffyd Thomas in Little Britain must have felt, ‘The only Muzungu in the village’, as even after a month there are still new roads to walk down and new people to see.  Pity lycra is not really my style. 

I left it a little later this week and went down about 10:00 I've found out from Denis why many of the shops don’t open until then on Saturdays. This is down to an edict by the High Commissioner for Tanga District that Saturday is cleaning day and all establishments are supposed to spend four hours on Saturday morning cleaning.  What they do the rest of the week no one seems to know. 

I returned home only to receive a text from Hadija, my Saturday student, saying an emergency prevented her attending her English lesson, so I decided to use the time improving the efficiency of my laptop.  As you might know by now the Internet has been a source of exasperation, in one way or another all the time I have been here.  Daytime use has proved quite expensive and only working 10 pm to 7 am can have its drawbacks.  I finally investigated and found a monthly package I can use which is quite economical, so I can finally work during the day.  The one problem left was the best, and sometimes only useable, signal is on the veranda outside my door, but my laptop is not sunshine friendly and the screen is very difficult to read in the very bright light here.  So, I have used the skills nurtured over many years of watching Blue Peter and produced a sun screen (see below patent pending)

The Laptop Sunscreen

Please read my Boza Printer appeal.

Baadaye

Street Wise

Friday October 12^th

As I rode on the back of Denis’ motorbike to Pangani in time for the 7:00 am Tanga ‘basi’, I wondered what I could put on the blog today because by now you must be sick of hearing about the Tanga run.  But no day is ever boring on this trip.  Well for me, anyway, so I hope not for you.

I caught the bus and found myself sitting next to a gentleman called Joseph, who spoke excellent English.  He lives in a thatched house near the Boza turn off but informs me that the big pile of bricks and corrugated tin I pass every morning, just as I leave the field and go onto THE HILL, is his, and he has bought a plot on the junction to construct a new house.  He was on his way to another boarding school in Tanga itself to hopefully enrol his 13 year old daughter for the new Form I starting in January.  Once again I was so impressed with the commitment they seem to have to the education of their children and that this is worthy of an investment of hard earned cash.  I realise that I know many people in the UK with the same commitment but I think I have been soured by my experiences before retirement, working for so long with just the opposite.

I’ve never mentioned before that on the occasions I have caught this early bus we are overrun for the first ten minutes by miniature Norwich City fans.  This is what it looks like anyway as about twenty five youngsters of primary school age board the bus looking a picture in their bright green skirts or shorts and their canary yellow shirts.  They get off the bus about five minutes past Nkoma Bay and Joseph informed me that his second child, a boy, is one of the travellers who make this journey every day, because their school is the best in the area.  The badge has English in the roundel and he informed me that it is run by an English lady.  I met the lady in question at the turtle hatching and I’ll have to investigate as it sound like this is one place where we are getting it right.

I have mentioned before, the torrential rain that falls early some mornings.  It seems to be a pattern for black heavy rain clouds to come off the ocean but as soon as the sun rises they burn away and the rest of the day is beautiful.  Today was much more British.  Dull, grey, eight eighths cloud cover and constant rain from about 7:30 until well into the afternoon.  I wish I had had my camera ready as we entered Tanga as first two cyclists and then a motorcyclist road past with umbrellas held high.  Luckily I have a coat folded ready in the front of my rucksack, so with this and the trusty baseball cap I could cope with whatever the elements threw at me.

I got off the bus in the bus station and realised that I am finding it increasingly easier to deal with the crowds of hawkers that want to sell you things or the helpers that want to put you on a bus to Arusha.  I past the hoards and wended my way to the row of Bajajes (is that the plural?) and for the first time this trip had a conversation with a stranger that involved no English at all.  I won’t bore you with the Swahili but the conversation basically went –

I go to Barclays.  How much?

3 000 shillingi

No. 2 000

2 500

No 2 000

Ok

Thank you

Good eh?  Not Shakespeare, but Neil Armstrong didn’t say that much more when he landed on the moon.  What made it better was that when we got to Barclays he claimed to have no change for a 5000 note and then tried to palm me off with two 1000 notes and two coins (200 each).  The conversation continued, with palm held out –

600 shillingi

Another coin appears.

400 shillingi

Two more coins appeared.

Muzungu, I grinned and he grinned back.

The usual shopping trip followed, when I even managed to find a pair of goggles for Deo, and then back to the bus station for the journey home.  No big bus in sight only two ‘dala dalas’ and a short wheelbase bus.  I passed on the minibuses, climbed on the bus and waited the 45 minutes until it was full and we could go.  I soon realised that I should not have packed up my coat and stowed it away so quickly.  The constant rattling and shaking kept opening the sliding window next to me for the rain to drive in, and when I was able to hold this closed (buttons and handles long since gone) the water was still dripping down on me.  I was slightly better than the gentleman three seats in front where there was a constant dripping from the middle of the parcel shelf above his head.  Thankfully he had a hat on.  The road itself was very bad as well.  Light brown rivers down either side often met in the middle and covered the road completely, forcing the driver to slow right down in case deep potholes would ground the bus. Added to this, the conductor forgot I had asked for Mkoma Bay and a stentorian bellow of ‘shusha’  (drop off) was needed before the bus eventually stopped, leaving me to traipse through the mud back to our road. 

Back home, the sky started clearing and as I sat with a mug of coffee contemplating my outing as a latter day “Officer Crabtree”, the world looked good.

Please don't miss my 'Boza Printer Appeal' below.

Baadaye.

Boza Printer Appeal

Thursday October 11th Part II

After some consideration I have decided that Boza really needs a printer.  The students deserve to see a concrete record of their achievements and staff need to be able to print out without a 4k  trek to Pangani.  

Many people, when I said I was coming to Tanzania, asked if there was anything they could do;  well, now is your chance.

I have put a donate button on the right of the page which links to a secure payment site.  If you have a spare Tsh10 000 (£4) to spare the cost can soon be covered.

Asente sana to anyone who can help.

The Dogs

 Thursday October 11^th

Four weeks today since I stepped of the bus in Tanga and exactly a month since I left home.  That must put be a third the way through my adventure and if I learn as much during the remaining time as I have so far, I certainly will come back to the UK with a different outlook on life.

Looking back through the blog so far I realise that I have not introduced two of my best friends at Mkoma Bay, Cheetah and Pola, the dogs.  As with many dogs in country areas, the world over, I don’t think they are treated as pets as such, but more as working dogs with a responsibility to warn of intruders at night.  So when a big soft Muzungu arrived who will scratch their heads and rub their backs and has been known on a rare occasion to share a biscuit, they latched on to this strange being.  Pola was friendly from the start but I had to convince Cheetah with a friendly voice that the hand I held out was not there to smack her, before she would actually duck her head low as she approached for a rub.

Cheetah

Pola

They wait at the gate as I cycle out every morning and race in front, behind or even occasionally at my side as I cycle through the wooded area paralleling the Pangani Road.  I worried a little when they started crossing the road and continued their escort duty across the fields but they obviously know the area well and are always there when I arrive home in the afternoon to run round and welcome me.  On one occasion they even accompanied me well up THE HILL and only a stern word prevented a ‘Mary had………’ moment at Boza.

Through the woods over the main road ......

and across the fields.

Need I say more!

They come when I call them and I think with two months to go perhaps ‘sit’ is the next step. I’ll have to use kaa – sit or even kaachini – sit down, so they don’t get confused learning a foreign language.  I’m used to kaachini anyway as I say it to the students every lesson when they stand as I enter the classroom. (remember the days folks!). 

The dogs surprisingly even came with me as I went for a swim yesterday afternoon but the wind was up and the breakers were pounding over even me, so a paddle was all they ventured.  With two dogs, a kitten, three cockerels (soon to be two if I have my way) and four hens, there is certainly plenty happening.

There is no escape from livestock at school either.  This is the view out of the Form I classroom most days –

And this afternoon I opened the door of the computer room to be met by this emaciated animal –

I leave you with Kesho nitakuenda Tanga for those who have been keeping up.  I’ve run out of ‘the readies’, work it out. Oh Hell, here comes that cockerel again.

Baadaye.

Tanzania Time

Wednesday October 3^rd

An uneventful day by recent standards.  No insect invasion, electricity on all day, shower working at both ends of the day and even the Internet behaved,  so with little to report, I thought I would attempt to explain another Tanzanian puzzle that has caused me some confusion over the month I've been here.  It started in Umbungu bus station in Dar as Salaam all those months ago, or so it seems, when I examined my bus ticket and saw that the bus was scheduled to leave at 12:00.  As it was then 05:30 you can imagine that I was not a happy bunny.  The thought of six and a half hours sat on a bus that was surrounded by revving engines was not one to look forward too at all.  It was then that I remembered Cliff’s warning about Tanzania time.

I’ve already said a few times that its proximity to the equator means that days are a pretty standard length and I could easily see that a time system could evolve where the sun rose at 0:00 and set at 12:00 and every other time was worked out from these.  The Tanzanian, or East African system as it seems to spread up and down the coast, is that the day starts not at dawn but at dusk at 6:00 pm.  7:00 pm by our system is then one o’clock and working on, it is easy to see why my bus left at twelve although it said 06:00 on my watch.  The system does not operate a 24 hour variety so that one o’clock could be early morning or early evening and has to be followed with either asabuhi or usiku for morning or evening.  Thankfully most of the people I deal with stick to the normal worldwide system but when I move away from my safe pastures, where people appreciate by failings, some of the answers I have got to questions have been very confusing at first examination.

My knowledge of Swahili grows, although to be honest it has restricted uses, as much of what I learn is for use in the classroom.  I have for instance learnt that a verb starting nina is first person and present tense e.g. Ninakusanya daftari means I collect the books, whereas change this to nita and Kesho asabuhi nitakusanya daftari means I will collect the books tomorrow morning.  I did tell you my language had minimal usefulness.  Not really an opening gambit in a conversation at the local bar or even a good chat up line.

Baadaye

Ants

Tuesday October 9^th

With so many positive things to say about this trip, with the students’ reactions coming out top of the list, I must admit there are also negatives to this adventure.  The speed and reliability of the Internet is a constant cause of frustration as I depend upon it so much, if nothing more than to communicate with my small band of readers.  Mosquitos are an obvious nuisance  although as I am in the habit of wearing long trousers, socks and shoes for school, I wear the same after sundown and so give as little of a target as possible.  That, spraying, and constantly tucking the net under the mattress have reduced although not eliminated the bites.  Until this morning those, plus of course THE HILL were the only negatives. 

And then today… ants.

There are always ants around; quite small ones that scurry around on the path in front of my room.  The path is down a step from the patio and we have developed a clear understanding.  If they stay on their level, they are quite safe to go about their work with no interference.    If they come up a level to my patio, it’s simple, they die.  It’s worked quite well so far and I think the message is getting across, one or two play chicken by skirting along the very edge of the step but they usually drop down a level again after a harsh word.

Ants clambering over each other to get down the step

This morning though when I went across for my breakfast, there was not the odd ant running around but a veritable invasion of thousands of the things.  These were not the little ones that I was used to; these were large ones, and not individuals, but marching in two solid files.  They entered at the kitchen went across the corner of the room, up onto the draining board, back down again and out of the kitchen.  Their journey then took them across the dining room out into the lounge and finally down the step and into the garden.  My mind went to the story Miranda, Cliff’s mother, used to tell me about Zambia where you opened the front and back door and just let the ants through.  Needless to say I walked very carefully around and over the marching columns, possibly not as carefully as Eva and Deo who both had sandals and bare feet.  I took a few photographs and showed them to my students and the general comment was, “Dangerous, don’t mess”.  Thankfully, I arrived home after school to find a complete absence of the creatures and when I asked Eva what had happened she laconically replied, “They have gone”.  Obviously the ant at the head of the column must have decided there were better pickings elsewhere.  I hope this doesn’t point my way or I will have to rethink my ‘live and let live’ policy.

Baadaye

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Examinations

Monday October 8th

Form IV started their final examinations today with Civics this morning and English Language this afternoon.  The whole process is taken completely out of the hands of the school and the education authority send an invigilator to oversee the whole exercise.  Stationed outside the hall to assist and be available to supervise toilet visits etc are, wait for it, two members of the police in full khaki.  Wouldn’t Pat Cuthbert love that, for those of you with a knowledge of Carleton High.  I asked  them if I could take a picture so that I could show you but got a curt hapana (no) from the female officer.  I will work my charms over the next ten days and try to win them over so you can see the security that is used to make sure the exam process is a fair one.  Certainly one of the boys was a bit late this morning and got a real ‘dressing down’ before being asked to empty his pockets completely for a check.  Keen stuff.

My day was Maths and computing again and some time with Hillaly after school so that when I got home I was hungry and tired.

A bit of personal information is needed here I’m afraid.  All my life, ever since childhood, I have never particularly liked fish or in fact anything that comes out of the sea.  Unfortunately all my life I seem to have been drawn to places around the world that are famous for their seafood whether in France, Italy, Spain or further afield the speciality of the house has always seemed to smell of brine.  Because there is usually a good menu provided, I have so far managed to shirk my responsibility to educate my taste buds and opted for the easy option.  So, when I decide to spend three months in a centre where the right of way for the fishermen and their nets runs right through the establishment I thought the time has finally come to ‘bite the bullet’ or rather scale.  It has been made easier since, unless a trip to Tanga produces a chuck, the alternative would be beef every night.  So every other night when the dreaded question is heard, “You want beef or fish?” I’ve gritted my teeth and muttered ,”Fish please” , but then to ‘soften the blow’ have opted for chips rather than rice.  Until last night.  The offering was fish cooked in a coconut milk sauce and as I’d just seen Deo knock the coconut of the tree and Eva purchase part of a fisherman’s catch I though “Why not.” So that was it then fish with rice.  I’d like to end the story on a real high proclaiming the beauty of the dish and my total conversion to a piscine diet, but all I can say is, “The sauce was nice, and I ate all the fish.”  I still wait in hope for my ‘Road to Damascus’ moment.

Baadaye