R's first week at Tanzanian school

Hi it's Ruth here. It's been a really busy week so not managed to do my blog sooner.

Highlights of my week: getting to know everyone at school, receiving all the lovely notes from my classmates and little presents from them, learning their clapping games, going to Tanga this weekend & swimming in the sea & swimming pool. Having delicious food om Tanga and a proper shower.

Lows of my week: some of the school lunches, having to look after my little sister at lunch break when she has been crying, when the power runs out, and the house running out of water so we can’t have showers, have to use a jug of water to wash hands.

When I walked into school on Monday I don’t know what I expected, but I do know it was very different from anything I had imagined. It was kinda terrifying, I was hoping it would be Lottie or Beth who got taken to their classroom first but it was me.  Everyone turned round to stare. The chairs and desk made a massive screeching sound when I sat down and I wasn’t really sure what to do! There were a few tests to start with that I didn’t take part in, like Swahili. Then it was break time, so I just sat there wondering what my first move should be, until all the girls rushed over and dragged me out the door. They all surrounded me, unsure what to do with me, until one of the girls, Esther offered to give me a tour of the school. (I’d already had a tour with SG but I said yes anyway). Her tour was actually way cooler than Sister G as she told me loads more detail & introduced me to the teachers. Since then Esther has been my go to person.

Lunch: on Monday was ok, rice & beans (which I managed), Tuesday was cassava, which was disgusting. I think I got a really bad piece which was like a hard slice of white parsnip with some vegetables to go with it, so I said to my friends that I’d had a big breakfast and didn’t eat it. Think I’ll take a packed lunch on Tuesday from now on. Wednesday I can’t really describe, round lumps of slightly chewy stuff which Esther brought in sugar to put on top – was really delicious. Thursday was Ugali, which lots of people call stiff porridge. It’s kind of rubbery, if you push it it just springs back up and it looks like little balls. There was papaya with it (which I don’t really like) but tasted delicious compared to the ugali. Friday was cassava again ☹. So packed lunches on Tuesday, Thursday & Friday. Luckily there’s only school on Monday & Wednesday this week – Tuesday is an Islamic religious holiday and on Thursday/Friday some of the years have national exams, but not mine.

Exams: I did some of the school exams this week, maths, English, science & music. I did try the history of Tanzania exam but I had no idea about any of the answers. On the maths test (though I haven’t got my score yet) the questions were pretty easy, but one or two were really confusing as I didn’t really understand what they were asking. The English exam I got an A on (84%) – but the reason I didn’t get 100% was that their multiple choice answers were incorrect, so I added the correct answer!

Getting to school: I would have liked to have got the school bus, but mum & dad aren’t sure how safe it is, and I would have to get on it at 6.30am. At the moment I’m only just managing to get up at 6.30! The hospital has kindly lent us their car, so the driver Emmanuel picks us up at 7.15 & then gets us at the end of the day (3pm). We’d quite like to try getting the bus home one day as it does stop right outside our house. 

Word of the day: Shikamoo - doesn't really have a meaning - it's a respectful greeting to your elders. They reply marahaba (sounds like mother hubbard).