Tomorrow part 2 - lamination and figuring out to to hang them up in their wall-less classroom.
Friday, November 18, 2011
November 17
Operation Cat Art Orphan Positive Self-Image Part 1 - raging success!!!
Tomorrow part 2 - lamination and figuring out to to hang them up in their wall-less classroom.
Tomorrow part 2 - lamination and figuring out to to hang them up in their wall-less classroom.
November 15
Mary is always either laughing or crying. When she's crying I sing "Miss Mary Mack" to her, and that makes her laugh again.
The kids have four soccer balls to play with. They're all deflated. Luckily, Maksi has imagination and a sense of humor.
The kids have four soccer balls to play with. They're all deflated. Luckily, Maksi has imagination and a sense of humor.
November 14, again
This was at a cell phone shop. I was trying to buy extra minutes for my Tanzanian phone.
The kids love my iPhone. I let a six year old, Paulo, take my picture.
Some of the worksheets I made for the Kindergarteners at St. Viv's.
The kids love my iPhone. I let a six year old, Paulo, take my picture.
Some of the worksheets I made for the Kindergarteners at St. Viv's.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Nzuri sana!
November 13
Hellooooooooooooo Everyone!
My week at St. Vivian's was quite successful. It's an English Medium school, but as it turns out, the three teachers actually don't speak English very well. I had mentioned last week that the teacher was thankful to have me there because while I was teaching English and Art lessons, she was able to prepare the big exam that the kids have to take at the end of the month- all by hand. While she was teaching Math and Science, I was proof-reading the exam and correcting her English. Since she asked for my help, I was honest with her. There was one question that said "Which is color of umbrella?" and an exercise that said "Write the word Dictation" where the kids were supposed to write down the words she said aloud. I helped her reword some things here and there and she was grateful.
I noticed that the teaching method at St. Viv's was heavily based on memorization as opposed to comprehension. As a result, some kids were way off the mark. Little Solame, who was my favorite in the class, often turned in homework and classwork that didn't contain one single correct answer. Unfortunately, I was not trained as an educator, and I had little advice on how to rectify the situation. My best effort was to compose a reference/study guide for the children. It ended up being quite extensive- 15 pages worth of material. I worked on it in class a little, but mostly on my own time during my afternoon break or in the late evenings when i got home from the orphanage. I made 25 copies, one for each kid. The guide is, of course, in traditional Katie Style with fun fonts and lots of drawings. The teacher was pretty impressed with my artwork and she asked me to design the art portion of the exam. I happily obliged.
On Thursday morning, she asked me to teach the kids a song. I taught them "10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." We ran through it a couple of times first and then I got ten kids up in front of the class to play the monkeys as we sang the song again. Each time a monkey fell off the bed, I would playfully pull one kid out of the line and have him sit back down. Then we would count how many kids were left over and start again. They were freaking crazy about it. It was like they'd never had so much fun in all their lives.
Yesterday, the students were practicing introductions in English. They had to get up in front of the class and say their name, age, school, teacher (a couple of them said Madame Kaitlyn) from which village they came,with which relatives they live, and what they want to be when they grow up. Out of 25 kids, all the girls said they would like to be either a teacher or a nurse, and all the boys chose either a doctor or a policeman. I wanted to shake them, especially little Halima, who is so so smart and enthusiastic about her education, and say "Girls can be doctors, too!" Apparently there are still a lot of gender stereotypes here. I asked the teacher about it afterwards, and she told me that it's unacceptable for a woman to do a man's job here, unlike in America. I didn't explain to her that a doctor isn't necessarily a man's job.
My evening visits to the orphanage this week were a little rough. I was really given no guidance, just kind of thrown into the position of taking care of 20 little kids who are usually on their own. I'll be interested to be there during the daytime next week and observe how their teacher handles the rambunctious bunch. Hopefully I'll pick up some pointers for when I'm on my own in the evenings. They're good kids, but they fight a lot. They even fight over who gets to hold my hand. It's exhausting. On Friday night, however, they were factually playing nicely for a little while. I was able to sit down in a chair and catch my breath for a second. Maksi, who is my absolute favorite, delighted me by climbing into my lap. Maksi is no ordinary toddler. He seems to be inherently happy, and most of the time he's entertaining himself. He doesn't fight nearly as much as the other children. One time he called me over- "Tee-cha, Tee-cha!"- When I got there he was pointing proudly to a small lake of saliva he had obviously spent several minutes accumulating on the surface of a rock. When he snuggled into my lap, he started softly singing songs to me in Swahili while he curiously examined my ears, face and hair. Then he gently drove his matchbox car (none of the kids have let their cars out of their sight since they received them five days ago) around my shoulders and my neck. Instead of your typical "vroom-vroom," he chose elongated rolled r's as his car's driving sound effect. This was, for lack of a better phrase, the most adorable effing thing ever. Those fifteen minutes that I got to spend with My Mister Maksi (yes, that's what I call him) were some of the most precious moments I've spent in Tanzania.
My Swahili is improving. When I come home for lunch the housekeeper at my host's house always asks me a series of questions. On Thursday I was able to answer them all naturally and on my first try. When I did, she grabbed my arms and we danced in a little circle as she sang "Nzuri sana Kiswhahili!" which means "Very good Swahili." I was also able to purchase water, pencils for my students, wet ones, a chocolate bar, and Bublish for Mudy and Miriam this week with no problems. Of course, most of my Swahili is based on the fact that I spend lots of time with toddlers. The words and phrases I can say perfectly without consulting my dictionary include: Share, Sit, No Hit, No Kick, Hurt, Good, Bad, Give Me, Nice, Stop, Quiet, and Don't eat that, it's garbage.
To be filed under "Coolest Things I've Done in My Life," I went on a Safari yesterday to Arusha National Park. At first I was a little disheartened that I had to go by myself but then I remembered that, although I wrongly assumed there would be other volunteers to hang around with, this trip has always been about being on my own. I insisted on coming here and I insisted on coming by myself. It is the finishing touch on a year's worth of work sculpting a sense of self-esteem and independence as an adult. The reality wasn't that I was by myself, but rather I had my own private guided safari. And that was pretty damn awesome. My guide, Rajai, is close friends with Crispin, my host. He spoke a little English and you could tell his knowledge of the wilderness was extensive. He told me that he used to guide mountain climbers up Mt. Kilimanjaro, but going up and down the mountain as frequently as he did was simply unhealthy. I was in a giant safari van and the entire roof popped up so I could stand up inside. And i had it all to myself. Arusha National Park is situated at the base of Mt. Meru. The entire visit consisted of breathtaking views of the mountain. As soon as we entered the park, I saw giraffes and zebra. They were so amazingly beautiful. It took five hours to complete the journey around the park. Although most people sit until there's something interesting to look at, i stood up in the van the entire time. In fact, I was so excited that most of the time I stood on my tippy-toes. We were racing through the rainforest- it was a sunny day with a nice breeze and the scenery was unreal. I felt like a very happy puppy with her head stuck out the car window. Among the indescribably beautiful scenery, I saw warthogs, water buffalo, antelope, baboons, blue monkeys, colobus monkeys, banded mongoose, and flamingos. I saw countless birds of all shapes sizes and colors of the rainbow. Often, the path of our van would intersect with the flight of a butterfly, dragonfly or large beetle. They would keep us company in the car for a bit and then fly on. I saw about a million species of trees, plants and flowers. I was wishing many of you were here to share the experience with me, but i also felt peaceful with the fact that I was able to share it with myself. I thought about how hard I always work, and how good it felt to treat myself to something so extraordinary. I frequently asserted myself and asked the guide to stop or go back so I could take pictures, which is something I don't think I would have done this time last year before all of my soul-searching. Not only did it feel great to ask for what I wanted and get my money's worth, I got some really awesome shots!
I had a beer with the guide afterwards and he told me some interesting stories, but I'm running out of time in the Internet cafe. I'll send 'em later.
Many of you have texted to ask if there some way you can help the kids. I am buying them some school supplies here in Africa, but the options are limited and the quality is poor. On my first day here, during a tour around the village, a representative from TAMIHA mentioned several times that most of the volunteers end up sponsoring a child for a year's worth of education, about $460. The orphanage holds kids from 3-6 years old, and after that they must become sponsored to continue their education. At first I was a bit annoyed that he seemed to be pressing the matter after I spent so much money getting here and I was already devoting three weeks to the cause, but by the end of that evening, after I had spend the afternoon playing with the little ones, I had already decided to sponsor one when I get back home. These kids really have nothing. An opportunity to continue with their education is probably the best thing I can give them. When I look into their little eyes, I realize that where and when one is born is completely up to chance. I could have easily been born into poverty or lost my parents, just like these guys. I can't imagine being in Kindergarten and not knowing where I'll be next year. Maybe those of you who expressed interest in helping can contribute to the sponsorship? I'd be a really nice thing to do for one kid on the other side of the world, especially with Christmas time coming up. I'm also planning on sending out a package in January or February, with better quality school supplies and maybe a special something for Miriam and Mudy. I'll let you know when that goes out.
Thanks again for sending all the love and the texts! I miss you all like crazy!!
Much love,
Katie
Hellooooooooooooo Everyone!
My week at St. Vivian's was quite successful. It's an English Medium school, but as it turns out, the three teachers actually don't speak English very well. I had mentioned last week that the teacher was thankful to have me there because while I was teaching English and Art lessons, she was able to prepare the big exam that the kids have to take at the end of the month- all by hand. While she was teaching Math and Science, I was proof-reading the exam and correcting her English. Since she asked for my help, I was honest with her. There was one question that said "Which is color of umbrella?" and an exercise that said "Write the word Dictation" where the kids were supposed to write down the words she said aloud. I helped her reword some things here and there and she was grateful.
I noticed that the teaching method at St. Viv's was heavily based on memorization as opposed to comprehension. As a result, some kids were way off the mark. Little Solame, who was my favorite in the class, often turned in homework and classwork that didn't contain one single correct answer. Unfortunately, I was not trained as an educator, and I had little advice on how to rectify the situation. My best effort was to compose a reference/study guide for the children. It ended up being quite extensive- 15 pages worth of material. I worked on it in class a little, but mostly on my own time during my afternoon break or in the late evenings when i got home from the orphanage. I made 25 copies, one for each kid. The guide is, of course, in traditional Katie Style with fun fonts and lots of drawings. The teacher was pretty impressed with my artwork and she asked me to design the art portion of the exam. I happily obliged.
On Thursday morning, she asked me to teach the kids a song. I taught them "10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." We ran through it a couple of times first and then I got ten kids up in front of the class to play the monkeys as we sang the song again. Each time a monkey fell off the bed, I would playfully pull one kid out of the line and have him sit back down. Then we would count how many kids were left over and start again. They were freaking crazy about it. It was like they'd never had so much fun in all their lives.
Yesterday, the students were practicing introductions in English. They had to get up in front of the class and say their name, age, school, teacher (a couple of them said Madame Kaitlyn) from which village they came,with which relatives they live, and what they want to be when they grow up. Out of 25 kids, all the girls said they would like to be either a teacher or a nurse, and all the boys chose either a doctor or a policeman. I wanted to shake them, especially little Halima, who is so so smart and enthusiastic about her education, and say "Girls can be doctors, too!" Apparently there are still a lot of gender stereotypes here. I asked the teacher about it afterwards, and she told me that it's unacceptable for a woman to do a man's job here, unlike in America. I didn't explain to her that a doctor isn't necessarily a man's job.
My evening visits to the orphanage this week were a little rough. I was really given no guidance, just kind of thrown into the position of taking care of 20 little kids who are usually on their own. I'll be interested to be there during the daytime next week and observe how their teacher handles the rambunctious bunch. Hopefully I'll pick up some pointers for when I'm on my own in the evenings. They're good kids, but they fight a lot. They even fight over who gets to hold my hand. It's exhausting. On Friday night, however, they were factually playing nicely for a little while. I was able to sit down in a chair and catch my breath for a second. Maksi, who is my absolute favorite, delighted me by climbing into my lap. Maksi is no ordinary toddler. He seems to be inherently happy, and most of the time he's entertaining himself. He doesn't fight nearly as much as the other children. One time he called me over- "Tee-cha, Tee-cha!"- When I got there he was pointing proudly to a small lake of saliva he had obviously spent several minutes accumulating on the surface of a rock. When he snuggled into my lap, he started softly singing songs to me in Swahili while he curiously examined my ears, face and hair. Then he gently drove his matchbox car (none of the kids have let their cars out of their sight since they received them five days ago) around my shoulders and my neck. Instead of your typical "vroom-vroom," he chose elongated rolled r's as his car's driving sound effect. This was, for lack of a better phrase, the most adorable effing thing ever. Those fifteen minutes that I got to spend with My Mister Maksi (yes, that's what I call him) were some of the most precious moments I've spent in Tanzania.
My Swahili is improving. When I come home for lunch the housekeeper at my host's house always asks me a series of questions. On Thursday I was able to answer them all naturally and on my first try. When I did, she grabbed my arms and we danced in a little circle as she sang "Nzuri sana Kiswhahili!" which means "Very good Swahili." I was also able to purchase water, pencils for my students, wet ones, a chocolate bar, and Bublish for Mudy and Miriam this week with no problems. Of course, most of my Swahili is based on the fact that I spend lots of time with toddlers. The words and phrases I can say perfectly without consulting my dictionary include: Share, Sit, No Hit, No Kick, Hurt, Good, Bad, Give Me, Nice, Stop, Quiet, and Don't eat that, it's garbage.
To be filed under "Coolest Things I've Done in My Life," I went on a Safari yesterday to Arusha National Park. At first I was a little disheartened that I had to go by myself but then I remembered that, although I wrongly assumed there would be other volunteers to hang around with, this trip has always been about being on my own. I insisted on coming here and I insisted on coming by myself. It is the finishing touch on a year's worth of work sculpting a sense of self-esteem and independence as an adult. The reality wasn't that I was by myself, but rather I had my own private guided safari. And that was pretty damn awesome. My guide, Rajai, is close friends with Crispin, my host. He spoke a little English and you could tell his knowledge of the wilderness was extensive. He told me that he used to guide mountain climbers up Mt. Kilimanjaro, but going up and down the mountain as frequently as he did was simply unhealthy. I was in a giant safari van and the entire roof popped up so I could stand up inside. And i had it all to myself. Arusha National Park is situated at the base of Mt. Meru. The entire visit consisted of breathtaking views of the mountain. As soon as we entered the park, I saw giraffes and zebra. They were so amazingly beautiful. It took five hours to complete the journey around the park. Although most people sit until there's something interesting to look at, i stood up in the van the entire time. In fact, I was so excited that most of the time I stood on my tippy-toes. We were racing through the rainforest- it was a sunny day with a nice breeze and the scenery was unreal. I felt like a very happy puppy with her head stuck out the car window. Among the indescribably beautiful scenery, I saw warthogs, water buffalo, antelope, baboons, blue monkeys, colobus monkeys, banded mongoose, and flamingos. I saw countless birds of all shapes sizes and colors of the rainbow. Often, the path of our van would intersect with the flight of a butterfly, dragonfly or large beetle. They would keep us company in the car for a bit and then fly on. I saw about a million species of trees, plants and flowers. I was wishing many of you were here to share the experience with me, but i also felt peaceful with the fact that I was able to share it with myself. I thought about how hard I always work, and how good it felt to treat myself to something so extraordinary. I frequently asserted myself and asked the guide to stop or go back so I could take pictures, which is something I don't think I would have done this time last year before all of my soul-searching. Not only did it feel great to ask for what I wanted and get my money's worth, I got some really awesome shots!
I had a beer with the guide afterwards and he told me some interesting stories, but I'm running out of time in the Internet cafe. I'll send 'em later.
Many of you have texted to ask if there some way you can help the kids. I am buying them some school supplies here in Africa, but the options are limited and the quality is poor. On my first day here, during a tour around the village, a representative from TAMIHA mentioned several times that most of the volunteers end up sponsoring a child for a year's worth of education, about $460. The orphanage holds kids from 3-6 years old, and after that they must become sponsored to continue their education. At first I was a bit annoyed that he seemed to be pressing the matter after I spent so much money getting here and I was already devoting three weeks to the cause, but by the end of that evening, after I had spend the afternoon playing with the little ones, I had already decided to sponsor one when I get back home. These kids really have nothing. An opportunity to continue with their education is probably the best thing I can give them. When I look into their little eyes, I realize that where and when one is born is completely up to chance. I could have easily been born into poverty or lost my parents, just like these guys. I can't imagine being in Kindergarten and not knowing where I'll be next year. Maybe those of you who expressed interest in helping can contribute to the sponsorship? I'd be a really nice thing to do for one kid on the other side of the world, especially with Christmas time coming up. I'm also planning on sending out a package in January or February, with better quality school supplies and maybe a special something for Miriam and Mudy. I'll let you know when that goes out.
Thanks again for sending all the love and the texts! I miss you all like crazy!!
Much love,
Katie
Sunday, November 13, 2011
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