Arrival and So On

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

Arrival and So On

Jambo! First blog since arriving in Africa, have been pretty busy so I'm going to have to try and remember everything, which may be a problem :)

Well the first day and night I was really quite terrified, upset, and down. I felt miles from home, and I wanted to be with the people that I love back home, it would be so much easier to turn around then stay and push through the pain and churning emotions I felt. In the airport I had to call Mum and Dad for reassurance because I was genuinely terrified and already missing them even they left about 40 minutes ago. I was a stranger, amongst strangers and did not like it.

On the plane I read the many letters and cards which people had given me to sustain me through those tough periods of the trip, and the made cry. I cannot say how proud I am to have the people I love right now as my friends and it moves me so deeply to say that they are my best friends.

It was because of this, and the meeting with strangers that made me nearly break down in camp on the first night. I wanted to go home. It was terrible.

However, the next day everything changed. I spoke to the staff on camp, Elefas, Anderson, and Jackson, and they said that it was very common, and just keep busy to keep your mind off home. It helped but not enough.

We then journeyed into the local town of Moshi, and there we received the full  initiation into Tanzanian culture. People haggling, trying to pickpocket you, making friends with you as you were walking along the street. It was all a big shock.

Whilst in town I bought a SIM card to talk to Mum and Dad, and the moment I did everything was fine, although I was choking on the phone, after the call the very fact that I knew I could speak to anyone, but especially Mum and Dad made me feel so much better, and I was perfectly fine, and still am in case your wondering  :D

We started the school project yesterday at Mbokumo Primary school, and it was brilliant! I have never seen such friendly people! they shout 'Jambo Jambo!' and hold your hand, help you work, make you laugh. They are fantastic. Our first job was to shift 3 and a half tonnes of bricks from under shrubbery to the dining hall-to be. This turned out to be more eventful than expected, so whilst the girls were clearing shrubbery, and painting walls inside, the fellas journeyed outside to lift the bricks. Little did we know what lay beneath them, and awaited our arrival. After about 20 minutes the first insects began to appear: huge crickets, and a couple of spiders showed themselves, however it was to be the next arrivals that would shock us. A tarantula, two giant poisonous millipedes, three scorpions and a venomous snake emerged from the undergrowth. We were in no danger for we had been warned of this, so it was very interesting to see Elefas pick them up and show them to us.

The project itself is well underway. All bricks are removed, a classroom is plastered and painted, a wall is cemented and plastering is underway. Teaching has all begun, and is much harder than expected. The language barrier even with the teachers is a real problem, so we have had to knuckle down and learn as much Swahili as possible, as fast as possible. I teach again tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock (oh my god) on the past, present and future tenses, along with others doing the same with separate classes. Although, however hard it is, the kids really want to learn, and they have so far as we spent over an 2 hours defining the use and definition of the words 'For' and 'Since'.

The people I'm with in camp....how to describe them? I could not have been luckier with finding a nicer bunch of people. They are fantastic! It was one of my biggest fears on the trip, and was unfounded. They have made me feel much better about the whole trip, length of time (As thinking about how long your here for once your here is utterly terrifying), homesickness, and struggling through the 32 degree heat we work in. There are 8 boys, and 17 girls (we are vastly outnumbered) but we all get along great, maybe it wont always be like that I'm sure, but for now I'm very happy to be here in Tanzania.

I will have to save the stories about the ice cold showers, and vicious porcupines for another time, so see you later. :)

Hakuna Matata

Josh