Polepole...'slowly, slowly'

Polepole - pronounced "po-lay-po-lay"

It has been a few days since arriving here in Bulima, Tanzania. After a long two days of flying (including a not-so-friendly-to-the-stomach flight from Kenya in a tiny plane), it was a comfort to get to the Lion of Judah Academy where I’d be spending the next few weeks.

It is great to finally be able to report my safe arrival. I found out that the power company sometimes switches off the power to the village when people are using ‘too much.’ This makes using a computer even more complicated, but I am finally sitting in front of this beautiful piece of technology to ease my withdrawal of all things internet. [I won't mention the power outage that just temporary haulted my post or the fact that the internet goes so...polepole.]

Yesterday (Friday), I was able to take a look at the math curriculum that the school uses. It’s all in Swahili, which is extremely helpful but since they teach students in English from a very young age, they also have some textbooks that are in English that the students primarily use. I was able to talk with the teacher who has been responsible for teaching two of the three classes I will teach while I’m here to get an idea of what I should cover. I’ll be teaching math to Classes 3, 5 and 6 (roughly the same in American ‘grades’).

All that to say, I’m still a bit nervous about starting teaching here in such a new environment. I can already tell that it won’t be hard to maintain their attention, being a white person. They are intrigued. They call me ‘Madame’ and want to know where I come from. They stare at me until I smile and then they say ‘Good Morning’ or whatever time it is. As all children, they are extremely charming, even when they snap their fingers at me and say "Teacher!" to get my attention.

So…in regards to the title of this post. Polepole. This is how my luggage seems to be making it to Africa. SLOWLY, SLOWLY. It was exciting, almost thrilling to see the first four (out of six) bags come off the luggage rack when we reached Nairobi, Kenya as I chided myself a being even a little bit skeptical that they wouldn’t all make it. I learned quickly, however, that a little skepticism wasn’t uncalled for.

I arrived in Nairobi Tuesday, July 8 at 11:00 p.m. The baggage people said the next flight from Brussels (where my bag was) to Nairobi (where I won’t be until August) would be Friday, July 11. We told the baggage people we weren’t staying in Nairobi; they said they will try to get the bags to Mwanza, which is still a good drive from where we are now. We got a message from them on Thursday saying that the bags would ‘arrive’ on July 11. We think this means they’re in Nairobi now though we don’t really know because the baggage people, who work 8:00-5:00 every day, don’t really appreciate phone calls as they never seem to answer them.

Of the two missing bags, only one of them is mine. The other is a box of supplies for the school. The situation is somewhat comical to me, only having two pairs of socks, two shirts and a pair of jeans along with me in my carry-on. I’ve already made a list of everything I remember being in my bag and if I have to, I think I can claim it all with my travel insurance policy. But it would be more comforting to receive my bag and have all my own stuff.

I was really homesick the first night I was here and extremely tired. I slept for over 12 hours that night/morning and feel like I’m slowly having more energy and feeling accustomed to meal times and waking up here, etc. I have to get used to the many roosters crowing, the ‘guard’ dogs barking and wailing at each other and the little footsteps past my window at early morning hours.