toa_habari

So I am very excited because now the autistic program at Patandi will have Individualized Education Plans(I.E.P's) for its students! Well, my own version of an I.E.P,which I tweaked a little bit to fit in with their general curriculum and the resources they have available, so that Mary can easily recreate it periodically. She was very interested in continuing to work on particular goals for each child's needs, and she came up with a lot of creative ways to work around their lack of speech, occupational, and physical therapy. Again i feel so fortunate that she is so fluent in english, because that is making this whole process SO much easier. This afternoon Ben and I went to see the kids who live at Patandi. They love music, so we taught them how to sing Yellow Submarine, and they loved it! I also did my best to assess Zawadi's vision. It's funny how many things i do here that, in the U.S, i would never be allowed to do on my own because i don't have the training. Things are just different here. Amy says there is only ONE person at Arumeru hospital who is an M.D, and he is an administrator, he doesn't even see patients! the people doing surgery are not surgeons, and i'm not a vision specialist or a certified teacher, but here i am doing what i have to do. More good news, Tumikiaeli got leg braces today, so hopefully this will improve her walking and prevent further distortion of her ankles. it's the little things that are encouraging, i'm so happy that the people at Patandi truly exhaust all efforts for these kids. it is such a struggle to get them the services they need, but they really make it a priority and it means a lot to know there are a lot of us working toward similar goals.

so we finally got into the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda yesterday, and it was HILARIOUS,no wonder it's taking so long. what we saw was a portion of the military trial (we sat in on a gov't trial for a bit but nothing really happened so we left) It was Father DaSoto (spelling?), a french priest, being cross-examined by the prosecution regarding a report he had written analyzing previous rulings from the ICTR. well, turns out the guy lied a whole bunch in this document, made up false facts/quotes, etc. the lawyers, judge, & witness were all arguing and yelling and being SO rude to one another, i couldn't believe it. i definitely want go again and try and see more.

no water today. none, not even cold water. at least it's the whole compound and not just 3rd floor like it had been, cause that just wasn't fair. you'd think with all the rain we've been getting this shouldn't be a problem, ah nothing makes sense to me. so it looks like i'll be dirty until this weekend. i think i'm going to stay at the impala with gail, my new surrogate grandmother. the rest of the volunteers that are around this weekend are coming saturday night to do dinner & swim and such, and i promised them all they could use my room to shower which they're very excited about! it'll be good to be in arusha for the weekend, i can get so much done...i need to take my fabric in and speak to my seamstress, talk to the tanzanite lady, buy shoes at maasai market, and a few other odds and ends. i also want to pick up a few things for the school...notebooks for discreet trials, they need new funtack, simple stuff like that.

it's weird, i feel like i live here. it used to be exciting all the time, but now only sporatically i'll experience something really new. it's comfortable though, which is nice. i went into town all by myself for the first time today, and it wasn't difficult at all. as long as it's during the day, and i'm dressed conservatively, i don't have any problems. i think it helps that i know enough swahili to greet people appropriately & get information i need, so people show me more respect than they do the 'tourists.' i'm getting better at crossing the street, too, people here drive worse than in boston!

so i found out that my kids have 2 weeks off for easter, so i only have 2 days left with most of my kids! Tumikiaeli & Zawadi live at school, so i'll still see them at least. Next week i will still go in to work with Mary on goals & objectives for the students. i want to get her started on using some form of i.e.p. with the kids, and she seems very receptive to the idea. i am really going to miss teaching, though, but i am actually glad i'll have this time to really share a lot of information that the school can continue to use after i'm gone. the following week i'll try to spend some time at the orphanage, or the AIDS hospice, but i also want to set up a home visit or two with Zawadi's family. She is a twin, and her parents have essentially given up on her and moved on with the other little girl. Tanzanian culture has had longstanding negative attitudes towards individuals with disabilities. these children, especially those with autism, are often viewed as products of a curse on the family. in the past many families would have their children killed to rid the household of the black magic; fortunately this no longer occurs. however, children with special needs are often kept hidden, (or sent to live away from home, as in the case of Zawadi and several other students at Patandi) to avoid the shame associated with having a disabled child. what we hope to do is counsel the family on Zawadi's diagnosis (autism & cortical blindness), and try to enlighten them to a new way to view their daughter. she's such a sweet girl, and has made a lot of progress, but i worry what will happen when she must return home to a family that basically doesn't want her.

in other news, yesterday was the first time i was actually able to have a real conversation in swahili. up until now all i could do was all the 'hi how are you, how'd your family', etc. i asked mary a question, and i actually understood the answer, asked her another question....it was awesome. haven't been able to do anything like that since but.......i am still proud of myself.

today will be our 3rd try going to the rwanda criminal tribunal. the last 2 time we walked all over the u.n. and finally weren't let into any courts, boo. i think up until the safari things will be kindof low-key for me. i'm not going to zanzibar, i've decided, since it's a lot of money to spend when i've seen much nicer beaches in my life. i may stay a night this weekend at kigongoni lodge, just to get a real shower and some time away to clear my head. the new volunteers come this weekend and i'm excited, there are only 2 my age but thats good enough for me, i'm getting kindof sick of the canadians boys and have been hanging out with gail & amy, who are 60, and surprisingly more immature than i am!

guess that's all, badai.

yesterday we hiked up meru(only part way), i never would have made it were it not for daos, i owe him my life. can't tell you how many times i slid on the mud and steep inclines and he pulled me back up. it was soooo difficult but i'm so glad i did it. we walked through Themi river all the way to the falls. it was absolutely gorgeous, walls of moss, baobab trees, caves, lush plants. the whole thing took about 8 hours and was exhausting but worth it. we're very lucky we have daos as a guide, because very few people get to see Themi. he had to get us permission from the head of the village so that we could pass through the area, tourists are almost never let in.

i can't believe my trip is half over already. next weekend we plan on going to moshi and maybe snake park if we can arrange that. then after that is our big safari so we'd better hurry up and plan it. school had been going well, we keep getting more students which is VERY encouraging. i wish i was able to write more, but internet has been bad lately. we found out that our first 2 weeks the electricity was so good because the president was in town, now that he's left it's barely ever on. oh well, this is africa.

today i went with mary on a home visit to go see nelson. he had been going to school consistently for a while and then all of a sudden stopped. we found out that his had mother worked at the school making porridge, but got layed off, and now she is too embarassed to bring her son in. we went out to the other side of town, toward moshi (where kili is), and spoke with her. nelson should be returning to school on monday, we'll make sure the mother knows she has our support so she'll keep sending him. next we travelled over an hour back to arusha to the uzungoni(upper class) area. we went to a private school to see a young woman with down syndrome named gloria. she was a sweet girl, and very high-funcioning. i set up some english reading & writing excercises, and some math work dealing with money. it was great to be able to see new parts of northern tanzania, and i learn so much from mary, it's amazing.

so i feel like i had another entry in here but it somehow got deleted. oh well, i guess that's tranzanian internet for you.

this past weekend we stayed at the shifting black sands with the maasai tribe. it was exhausting but wonderful. we danced until about 3 in the morning (the way they dance is basically jumping up and down, which i managed to do with a little kid on my back) then we woke up the next day to carry water, over the hills & valleys that they live in, on our heads. it's harder than it looks(and it looks pretty hard)

yesterday we went on a hike up part of kilimanjaro, and swam in a waterfall. that was a good break from school, but i was happy to be back today. i spend most of my time in the autistic class, they range in age from 6 to 18 years old. i'm working with the teacher, mary, on doig some a.b.a. with the kids. one of my goals is also to encourage more outreach in the community, in tanzania only 2% of children with special needs attend school. we already made contact with one family and their son, Praygod came to school today for the first time in months, which was very gratifying. i'm happy i've been able to take on more responsibilties at school, at first i felt like i wasn't doing a whole lot. now that i know the kids better and my swahili is coming along, i'm able to plan more activities, and i felt comfortable taking the class today while mary was counseling a parent. i'm lucky i get to work with a teacher who speaks english and is so willing to help. a lot of other volunteers are unhappy with their placements.

last friday my kids didn't have school so we went to the orphanage for the day. i was so surprised that the babies never cry, i guess they learned it doesn't make a difference. a lot of them have malaria, and h.i.v. you walk into the building and about a dozen toddlers have their arms out for you to hold them but you have to go feed an infant, or care for a sick child. it was intense, i liked it. i think we will go back if we have time, but i like my placement, it's more of a challenging because i have to start whatever i'm going to do from nothing. at the orphanage they feed, change, bathe, hug...etc, the same every day.

today we're going to the rwanda criminal tribunal. i think the prime minister is on trial this week so this is the best time to go. this weekend i think we're staying around arusha, maybe going kayaking or to a local nature preserve. we may stil go to zanzibar but planning and money are issues. and we're all so tired all the time we just sit around playing scrabble. we are planning a big 4 or 5 day safari to lake manyara, ngorongoro crater and the serengeti; probably a few weeks from now since we have lots of swahili lessons and cultural seminars to keep us busy. i'm afraid the computer might crash again so thats all for now.

so today me & tristan went to watch some of our students train for the special olympics. the actual event is next weekend and we're going to try to go see it. we were planning on head to dare essalaam & zanzibar that weekend so i guess we'll have to postpone again. this weekend we're going to stay with the maasai people, and basically live with their tribe for 24 hours. i think the boys are going to have an easier time than me, they just sit around with the men and talk about their many wives while i'll be learning how to carry stuff on my head! it'll be a good skill to have, though, for carrying stuff in the airport.

i'm starting to feel less like a tourist every day. we're getting pretty good at getting around, now that i've learned to watch my step in the city since the sewer covers are often cracked or missing. people know us, especially local kids, they run up to us and remember our names, ask for 'picha' (picutres) and one little girl even braided my hair.

so my initial aprehension, which many of you had the chance to experience with me, disappeared as soon as i got here. our compound is absolutely gorgeous and the surrounding area, even more so. we had this weekend to relax, and i gota chance to bond with the other volunteers in my group. there are 3 boys from toronto i've been spending a lot of time with (i told them they have to protect when we're out in town, but i ended up protecting them from the souvenir salesmen) there is also a family here with 2 little girls, which keeps things exciting.

i was worried about the food too, but so far it's awesome including avocadoes for breakfast (they know me so well!) and REALLY good chai. i already have quite a sunburn so at least i got that over with, and my feet are well-blistered, too. i do miss everyone and everything from home, but not like i'm homesick, more like i wish all of you were here, cause really i don't ever want to leave. ...we'll see if i still feel that way when i start placement tomorrow. i heard another volunteer quit after one day there. i won't be going alone, renee is going with me. she's in her 40's, sweet and very mom-like. she doesn't share my experience in special ed., but her swahili is way better than mine so i think we'll make a good team.

have not yet gotten my cell phone to work yet...sorry! no time to make calls anyway ...

so if you call me at my old phone number you'll get a message saying i'm in africa (as you already know) please be selective with your message-leaving so my voicemailbox doesn't fill up.

my new phone should be up and running by saturday, the number is 07030690879878

remember tanzanian time is 8 hours LATER. here's a link to help you out: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=71
also know that i will be at work from 8-1 on weekdays.

i leave for the airport in about an hour, i miss all of you already!

so today is the day i actually started packing, with a suitcase, instead of the imaginary packing i've been doing all this time. today is the day i realize that the suitcase isn't big enough to fit all the stuff i imagined i would bring. i found my traveller's vaccine certificate, so that's one worry taken care of. i can't figure out my new awesome international phone, but at least it arrived in time. i'll post the phone number when i get it all sorted out [all i was able to do with it so far was pop all the bubble wrap it came in]. that's it for now, must run out for some double espresso to keep me motivated.

tutaonana baadaye! (see you later)
[i'm cheating with my swahili dictionary, i don't actually know how to say this]

so packing (or the lack of it) is dreadful. i look forward to prancing around our village in my pretty long skirts, which i was able to find plenty of. but my last minute shopping to find appropriate tops is killing me. i am not used to this level of modest dress, and insist on still looking cute in the non-fitted, high-necklined, long sleeve clothes i must buy. i haven't even thought about shoes. at this point in my preparations i'm so sure that something will go wrong that i'm not even dwelling on it.

not that it's all bad, i'm mostly stressed out about the language barrier i'll experience. (i'm hoping someone will go along with my buddy-system idea and keep me safe) i'm really looking forward to the work i'll be doing, which is at Patandi Practicing Primary School. it's in the village of Tengeru, walking distance from the compound i'll be living in. all i know so far is that i'll be working in the special needs annex, and they serve students with developmental delays, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and autism. i'm hoping i can help with physical therapy, i read that there was a need to expand that department.

no, i don't have time to be excited right now. i'll be excited on the plane.