Tim's Baking Project

Tim baked this beautiful loaf of banana bread all by himself.

He was very proud.

So was I.

frankenstein leg

sorry if you don't really want to see this, but i don't think it's too gross...anymore. the surgery was done through an incision on my outer thigh, instead of using the old one on my inner thigh. according to my dr, it was easier to go from this angle and if ever i need surgery again, they'd use this new one then, too.

the picture was taken after the nurse had cleaned the incision a little bit. less than a week to go before the staples are out!

finally!

For those of you who have hounded me to get this blog going again, here's a little something for you...
Two weeks post knee-revision surgery! This is me at home, using the machine that bends my leg for me. I'm working up to 90 degrees of rotation; so far I've reached 73. My leg's pretty stiff at that point, but I just have to try and work through it. I have to use the machine for 6-8 hours per day, so my bed and I are becoming very close friends. Still praying for healing in the leg, for no infection and that my bone 'accepts' the new knee component. On March 30, I'll have the 48 staples removed from the incision.

Do you want to see a picture of the incision on here? Not sure if it would be appropriate...or if you would stomach it. But you can let me know!

Home in Brooklyn!

I'm back safely and taking a little time to think about my time in Tanzania in order to report back to everyone! Stay tuned...and until then, here are a couple pictures!

Kaleja and Tito enjoying cake and soda at our house; they often came over for treats!

A female lion. They are so much like cats I've known in that they don't seem to care about you, unless you bother them. These ones have much bigger teeth, too!

Students had to gather for uniform inspection sometimes at the end of the school day. They call this time 'Parade.'

During a 'study' time one night, I found these class 5 kids trying to draw trousers (pants) on the chalkboard. They weren't doing so well, so I helped. My trousers turned into a cartoon version of another student who was in the room. Everyone else then began drawing each other on the board. It was fun.

A group of kids fighting for the limelight. Turn a camera on them and it's magical how many appear in just a few seconds.

It's time to leave already?!?!?

Though I have to admit that until this week, time didn’t seem to pass too quickly here, it still seems strange that I have already finished my teaching and will be leaving Bulima on Monday. We are taking a short flight from Mwanza back to Nairobi on Monday. The flight was confirmed today, but we were told it might be ‘delayed’ since it has been bad weather for the last few days. So, I am hoping the delay doesn’t turn into a cancellation because we need to get to Nairobi by Tuesday night for our flight out.

Latest news: I am sick. There is a pretty bad cold type bug that’s going around here with the kids and as a parting gift, they have passed it on to me. I am oh, so grateful. I have been taking airborne, but I think it’s too late to really prevent it from hitting me. I am officially sneezing about every two minutes and can only breathe through my mouth. I am praying it will go away before I have to last for 20 hours on a plane.

On a brighter note, I am getting many notes and cards from the girls who I have been teaching. They seem to love making them. They all tell me I am their best friend and that they love me. It’s very special. I am taking many pictures of my friends (the students) here and hope to keep in touch with them. I have given many of them envelopes with a stamp so they can write me a letter and mail it to me in America. I told them that if they wrote me, I would write back and send copies of pictures I have taken of them while I was here. This will get some letters to me, I bet! I look forward to hearing from them…and I really do hope to see them all again someday.

It has been difficult being here for me, especially to be so far from friends and family. I knew traveling here with only two other people (who are much older than me) would probably bring about some loneliness and it definitely did, particularly the first week I was here. And, it still doesn’t feel quite like ‘home’ here as the culture is so different. All that to say, I am very sad to leave. I am starting to miss the students already. It is only really hitting me today that I will not be teaching them anymore.

This morning as I was meeting with the teachers and staff for a short bible study and prayer time, I was asked to speak for a few minutes. I could only get out a quick thank you before I started to tear up. I was telling them all about how I consider it a privilege to have been here among them and teaching these beautiful children…and I could say no more.

So, to all of you who have donated and who have prayed for me, these students and this school…I want to say THANK YOU, or ASANTE SANA! This is not my final post, but it has been on my mind lately that so many people are a part of this trip even if I am the only one here in Africa.

And...when I get back to the states, I will be sure to put some pictures up for all to see to make up for the unfortunate lack of visual effects!

SWEET VICTORY!!!

i can't believe that i just got a picture up! amazing!

these are some girls from class 6. sarah (back row, third from left) is one of the girls who asked me to talk about my country. she invited me over to her house last week and i'm due back this week (as she reminds me) because she didn't have a soda for me last time. having a visitor in Africa is a grace; you have to offer them something. she wanted to walk with me and buy me a soda on the way home, but i suggested just paying another visit for my soda. and, like africans, i do love soda.

but, unlike africans, i cannot play netball barefoot. netball is similar to basketball, but you don't dribble the ball. you can only take a step or two before you have to pass the ball to a teammate. you pass back and forth across the court and then shoot to score. i don't think i've made a basket yet, but it's fun playing. the first time i played, i wasn't wearing proper shoes. all the girls were shedding theirs so i did the same. BIG MISTAKE. it was about 3:00 p.m. and the ground was toasty. i didn't really 'feel' it until after playing for a while when i suddenly realized i couldn't walk. i wobbled home. i still have a mark on one of my feet; it looks like a deep bruise and while i do have a picture of it, i will spare you from looking at my feet...for now.

what else...last sunday was my safari into the serengeti. we saw lots of animals and even saw 5 female lions up close and personal. the male lions were in hiding, but we managed to see many elephants, giraffe, zebra and gazelle. the wildebeests had, for the most part, already migrated north, so we only saw a few. my favorite parts were watching the giraffes eat. they look so funny when they chew. they made me laugh.

so, this is my last week of teaching. it has been going well. it is very interesting comparing the teaching styles of Tanzania with the teaching styles of the US, particularly in NYC. the students are so scared to talk in class, answering or asking questions. i know they're smart enough to answer my questions...if only they would try! sarah (the girl i mentioned above) has a brother named Andrew. he asked me the other day, "Do students in class laugh at each other in America?" it made me sad because i know that students are hassled by their classmates for 'incorrect' answers. what they don't know is that every mistake in math class is useful, not shameful. i hope my short three weeks of teaching can communicate this to some extent.

later this week i'll be giving tests to see how students have learned what i've been teaching. i'm eager to see how they do. also, class 6 is having a surprise party for me tomorrow, though they told me about it last week. SURPRISE!!

failing

i really, really tried. i sat here for 20 minutes almost. i am so sad that uploading pictures doesn't seem to be working. i will try again another day and hope for the best! thanks for reading the blog even without pictures...

the stories that go with the pictures...

NOTE: I was going to try for lots of pictures, but the internet is incredibly slow. These are captions that correspond to pictures that I will try to upload next...wish me luck!

This is the second 500-piece jigsaw puzzle that I finished within the first few days of being here, after I finished the first book I brought to read and before my luggage had arrived with my other books. There isn’t much entertainment around these parts, especially after the sun goes down.

Last Sunday, we visited the market in a nearby village to buy some produce and some kitengis (they’re the colorfully dyed pieces of cloth used as wraps or to make clothes).

Here is a view of part of the school, The Lion of Judah Academy (‘Simba wa Yuda’ in Swahili). [In case I haven’t said this yet, the school is in a village called Bulima, near a larger village called Magu and about a 1.5 hour drive from Mwanza.] From this view you are looking at two of the primary school buildings. They house Kindergarten through Class 5.

On Monday, I started teaching. I met with Class/Grade 3 and 5. I’m a little shy to take lots of pictures just yet, but here is one of Class 5. This class has some characters in it and I think they are losing their pens and pencils on purpose so I will give them one of my pens or mechanical pencils! They’re also obsessed with being marked correct when they do problems during class. If I mark one student’s notebook with a check, they immediately surround me with their notebooks saying, "Madame, will you mark?" I love it!

Also on Monday, I enjoyed a wonderful reunion with my luggage. The other case with supplies for the school arrived, too.

On Tuesday, we visited a girl’s orphanage that is about an hour away. This orphanage is in its beginning stages and was designed by a guy who actually lives in Brooklyn and attends NYU. It’s so funny to travel all the way to Tanzania and meet somebody who is your neighbor.

On Wednesday, it was my birthday! That afternoon, we invited the teachers and some people I know from the theological college to come over for cake and soda. Apparently, this will get any African into your home. So, we had quite a large group over and went through two large cakes and more than a crate of sodas. Here’s me cutting one of the cakes…After eating cake, we taught everyone how to play Pictionary with Bible stories. People were a little shy at first, but they got really into it by the end and we all laughed a lot. It was great.

To finish my birthday off, I helped make a Mexican feast…African style. The tortillas were actually chippati, which is sort of like a pita. I made the guacamole (which was pure happiness to eat). It was delicious!

As I mentioned before, I am teaching three different grades in math, but not every grade has math each day. With my spare time, I’ve been laminating books from the school library to help them last longer. The supplies and materials at this school are pretty limited, so it’s helpful to make things last. Yesterday I laminated for about 6 hours and when I closed my eyes at night, I had only visions of sticky paper and books.

My favorite time here is when I am with the students and getting to know them. I have a shadow named Lydia from Class 3. I have a friend named Sara from Class 6. She was over yesterday and wanted to talk to me about my country, my hobbies and my family. Another friend named Christian chatted with me for a while yesterday, too. She wishes to be a doctor and loves Science!

Tomorrow, I am looking forward to the graduation of three of the students I tutored four years ago. I hear the ceremony is long and in Swahili, but at least there will be singing! I love it when Africans are singing.

All that being said…I miss my friends! I don’t check email too often, but after about 4-5 days I start feeling pretty homesick and need to check email. It definitely helps me to write these updates so I feel that people are more in touch with me in spite of the distance. I hope they are enjoyable to read!