Orkeeswa- Day one & two

Orkeeswa – Day One & Two

I arrived in Kilimanjaro Monday evening around 9:30. Michael and Peter picked me up from the airport in a Land Rover and we drove about 2 hours to the staff house in Monduli, I should have been exhausted, but my eyes were bugging out of my head. On the way along the road there were a lot of houses, shops, gas stations, one fancy hotel (for wealthy travelers who climb Mt. Kilimanjaro or go on safari), Pepsi signs, speed bumps and people walking. It was about 85 degrees. We turned on the radio in Arusha, and I was surprised to hear American hip-hop and really bad R & B music.

We drove down the bumpiest road imaginable to get to the staff house. It is pretty big with 4 or 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and bathroom. IEFT hired two Masaii men to guard the place at night, so they were the first people I met. They were wearing their full Masaii outfits. Inside, I met Scott and Lisa, a couple who have been teaching here for the last two months. Lisa teaches English and Scott teaches biology and agriculture. They are very friendly and welcoming. Lisa showed me how to use the bathroom (squat over a hole in the ground) and how to do a bucket shower (self explanatory). Good thing I was expecting this. My room has a bed with a mosquito net and a shelf. My first night sucked because I barely slept. I was anxious and the neighbor’s dogs kept barking. A rooster woke me up at sunrise when I finally did fall asleep.

The ride to Orkeeswa Secondary School in the morning was very entertaining. We hopped in the Land Rover. I saw kids in uniforms walking to school, women carrying huge bundles on top of their heads, donkeys, chickens and roosters, dogs (I have to stop myself from going up to dogs because they are not friendly and most likely have rabies), and lots of people walking. Everyone stared at us as we drove by, and a lot of them smiled and waved. We gave a ride to teachers and staff we saw on the way, and by the time we got to the school we had 11 passengers.

Orkeeswa was exactly how I had imagined it from seeing pictures. When we got there, the students were gathered outside and one student was addressing them. Lisa introduced me the students, and I explained a little bit about why I was there. The “lead boy”, Petro, gave me a tour. Much of the campus is under construction. I think it is about to double in size with the construction of a science lab, new classrooms and a new staff house. Men from the village were hired to build. Petro showed me all the buildings, the football field, the outhouses, the kitchen and the garden. They are trying to grow corn, pumpkins, herbs, carrots and lots of other vegetables, but the garden gets invaded frequently by goats, elephants and monkeys who eat the crops when no one is looking.

The other teachers and staff members are very friendly and talkative. There are two or three Tanzanian men who teach at the school, and a Tanzanian headmaster. I sat in on Lisa’s English class, which was fun. Lunch consisted of beans and this stuff that is basically cornmeal and water. In Scott’s class, he invited me in to have the students ask me questions. I stood in front of the class and almost every one of the students’ hands shot up. They asked me questions like: how many kids to you have, how many brothers and sisters do you have, what is your dad’s name, where does your brother live, who is the Vice President of the USA, what is Barack Obama’s favorite drink, what religion are you, what is your favorite sports team, where do you go to school, and my personal favorite, what are you doing to help your community? They had trouble understanding that I am not a new teacher and that I am only here for two weeks. This question and answer session went on for about 30 minutes until school let out.

After school activities included basketball, crazy ball (I have yet to figure this out), gardening, and practice for the Orkeeswa Idol contest. Orkeeswa Idol is a group singing competition. The winning group gets to go to the movies in Arusha and eat popcorn and drink Pepsi. To the students, this would be the most exciting thing ever. I was assigned to help a group of four girls practice their song, Cat Stevens’ “If you want to sing out, sing out.” The girls had practiced earlier, but I helped them choreograph a dance to go along with the song.

That is pretty much it for now!