7-26-2010

7-26-2010
Today’s word: Mahindi.

Mahindi is Maize, or Corn, which is the main source of calories for much of Tanzania ( I say this hesitantly, as I expect that some regions depend more on Cassava).

I am feeling really settled into life here in Kibaya, and wanted to give some updates on my daily routine. I am planning on traveling to visit and interview farmers for research a few days a week, depending on when I can network with community members to meet with me. It is harvest season right now, so farmers are busy collecting their Maize from the fields, and preparing it for sale. I still am finding plenty of people willing to meet with me, and the survey portion of research is going well.

But there is still plenty of time in my schedule to be occupied! I have visited a few schools in Kibaya, and have been able to speak to several different groups of students. I’m playing football (soccer) in the afternoons at the secondary school, and am teaching lessons in the evening on english and mathmatics (we did coordinate geometry last night). The students have class from 9-5 like a normal school day, but reconvene from 8-10 at night to study more, which is where I have been helping out. This has been a great way to really be involved in community life here, and make connections on a personal level.

I’m helping with a form 2 class, which in academic years, is the equivalent of 9th or 10th grade. However, I don’t want to give the impression that I’m teaching 14 year olds, because the youngest student in the class is 18, and most of which are between 20-24, so it is really not like I’m teaching children, but more of participating in a tutoring session among my peers here in Kibaya. Tutoring like this has helped my kiswahili tremendously, and I’m feeling like I have progressed from ‘beginner’ to ‘conversational’. Teaching informally like this also helps me make friends, as we spend a good deal of time talking about our home lives (they are curious about my life in America, and I’m equally curious about their lives.)

One of the young men is Massai, and his dad is apparently very rich for a Massai man. He has over 7,000 cows (which makes him, by net worth, a millionare). He has 10 wives, and over 100 children, but lives without electricity.