Happy Halloween

Well, today is kind of my first real "holiday" here in Tanzania. I can't say that I have really noticed or missed Halloween too much. Time here has a way of just kind of blending together. I don't really notice what month I am in or how far into the month it is. I have become so used to the change in seasons that, with the weather getting warmer here, I think I am still in summer mode as opposed to fall mode. I do miss the sweets that come along with Halloween, but I have been told to be expecting a package from the parents so I can't complain too much and have something to look forward to in the next couple of weeks.

These next two weeks for me will be busy with final preparations for the end of our school year. We are writing final exams and tutoring the kids that slept throughout most of the year and are now scrambling to learn material before the final exams begin in mid-Nov.

My hair has reached the stage of half fro. After shaving it 2 months ago it is now not long enough to fall straight, but long enough to poof. I haven't decided if I will shave it again soon, or just wait and let it grow out for awhile before I go for another cut. (seeing that this is blogable news might give an indication that things are at a bit slower pace here!)

I have been in contact with a couple of different people from different schools that are interested in finding a way to make a connection with the students here. Through my sister and the YMCA the students are sending care packages and letters to the 70 students in my St. Benedict's class (hence the new picture link of all the students and their names). I am begining to be in more contact with Cornelia elementary school and developing a way to connect the students and make the blog I have developed for them more useful. Along with these two I have friends teaching in Wayzata and Chicago that are interested in setting up a pen pal relationship with students here. I think these will be my big projects to try and plan out over our Dec. break before the kids come back for lessons in Jan.

Well, I wish everyone a happy halloween. Take advantage of the sweets and eat a few for me. I will eat some ugali, rice, and beans for you.

Derek

Website

So after countless hours of interviews and writing Lew and I have decided that we have enough information to publish the website we have been building to the web. While it is an ongoing project that will be continually updated and there are a few glitches here and there, overall I think it is a pretty good site that offers a lot of good informaton about the Abbey and what services it provides to the people of Tanzania. Along with the services it provides a background, information on each of the schools, and information about coming and visiting or volunteering. Check it out and see what you think. I will include a link here as well as on the navigation bar of links:

www.hangaabbey.org

Hope you enjoy!

Derek

It's been awhile

Sorry for the lack of posting. The Internet here seems to work pretty well with some sites, and not so well with others. Blogger just happens to be one that doesn't seem to want to work very often. The last month or so has been a settling down period for me. We had a great trip to Mbamba bay, as you can probably see from the pictures, and now I have about 2 months of just teaching until the end of the school year here.

I have started to make communication with Cornelia Elementary School in Edina and have begun to update a blog for the students at the school there. The information that I will include on that blog will be different from here and provide more information about the differences between what school is like here and for students in the United States. I will add a link on this page to check out if you would like.

I have begun to settle into my role as teaching and am begining to get used to trying to teach with little resources. Math isn't as difficult because so many exercises can be done on the board and figured out by the students, but English has been a bit more difficult. Many students here focus their education strictly on copying notes from the bored and memorizing what they have written. There are some students that can graduate Form 4 and not even be able to speak English, but know all the grammer rules. Coming from America this makes teaching so different from what we are used to. I often find myself getting frustrated that the students aren't able to use any sort of comprehensive thinking to solve problems that I ask that they haven't copied directly off the bored. The lack of enough books for students also hinders their ability to practice reading and speaking.

Many students have commented on how much they have enjoyed having me as a teacher and they are more interested in the subject than they were before. That has had a nice rekindling of my devotion to trying to motivate and find activities that will benefit the students and make learning fun.

The students begin to take final exams towards the end of Nov. and the year ends in Dec. At that time Lew and I hope to travel a bit, but our plans are not yet finalized.

We are very close to finishing the website for the Monastery and the schools here and I am very excited to have that online so people will be able to see and read more about the services that are provided here. As soon as that is done I will add the link as well.

Hope everything is well with everyone!

Derek