Wednesday, July 28, 2004
That fresh pork that I bought led to a very comfortable and pleasant evening yesterday. I’d cooked some of it for myself, but stored most of it in Ryan’s refrigerator at Ngonza – kind of put it in the bank there.
Two weeks ago I’d taken a bike ride back into the country to try to find out more about that odd farm I found on my first trip out in that direction. Even in my poor Kiswahili, I learned that the Australian who ran the place was away. Also, one of crops they raise is sweet corn and some would be ready to harvest in two weeks so did I want some. Of course I did, so I ordered a couple of kg, never expecting anything to come of it. But two days ago, the guy turned up at my house with two plastic bags of husked, yellow sweet corn. Amazing. He knew that I was a teacher at Nsumba, and from that there was no trouble in finding me. We Mazungus do stand out.
So I invited Ryan over yesterday evening to enjoy pork sandwiches, fried potatoes and fresh corn on the cob. He arrived with beer, real BBQ sauce from the U-Turn Market downtown, and Kara who was in from Sumve. So the three of us had a great evening of conversation and a real American BBQ. The corn had been picked just a little past its prime a couple of days before we ate it, but none of us could complain a bit.
My own second crop of corn, this time inside a corral to protect it from my neighbor’s goats, is coming into tassel now. The plants are small, not much above my knees, so I don’t know what kind of crop they will produce. Guess it won’t take us too long to find out though.
Yesterday morning Saidi, a student chemistry teacher from the U. of Dar es Salaam showed up. He is a big guy, a little overweight and a little overwhelmed, but otherwise seems to be a nice guy. He will teach two of my five sections for the next six weeks. He is two years into his four-year degree program in education and so far has been taking courses in chemistry and physics. No methods courses, those will come in his final two years. His program seems a little strange to me in that he is doing his student teaching before learning how to teach, but I do remember something about looking a gift horse in the mouth ...
We are scheduled to get together later this morning (Saturday – I went to bed early after the BBQ, so now am writing in the middle of the night) to discuss where my classes are in their studies now, what topics we should introduce next, and how. I’m hoping to use him to pry open the laboratory so we can give the students the laboratory practice they need for the section on analytical chemistry. In Form III Chemistry that basically entails learning how to conduct an acid-base titration. Besides, I want somebody to commiserate with over our lack of equipment and chemicals for the students. I’ve been using that for too long as an excuse not to get my kids into the laboratory.
I’d understood that a second student teacher was supposed to show up for my remaining three classes, but now that may be in doubt. Don’t know. You do have to hang loose in these things.
Two weeks ago I’d taken a bike ride back into the country to try to find out more about that odd farm I found on my first trip out in that direction. Even in my poor Kiswahili, I learned that the Australian who ran the place was away. Also, one of crops they raise is sweet corn and some would be ready to harvest in two weeks so did I want some. Of course I did, so I ordered a couple of kg, never expecting anything to come of it. But two days ago, the guy turned up at my house with two plastic bags of husked, yellow sweet corn. Amazing. He knew that I was a teacher at Nsumba, and from that there was no trouble in finding me. We Mazungus do stand out.
So I invited Ryan over yesterday evening to enjoy pork sandwiches, fried potatoes and fresh corn on the cob. He arrived with beer, real BBQ sauce from the U-Turn Market downtown, and Kara who was in from Sumve. So the three of us had a great evening of conversation and a real American BBQ. The corn had been picked just a little past its prime a couple of days before we ate it, but none of us could complain a bit.
My own second crop of corn, this time inside a corral to protect it from my neighbor’s goats, is coming into tassel now. The plants are small, not much above my knees, so I don’t know what kind of crop they will produce. Guess it won’t take us too long to find out though.
Yesterday morning Saidi, a student chemistry teacher from the U. of Dar es Salaam showed up. He is a big guy, a little overweight and a little overwhelmed, but otherwise seems to be a nice guy. He will teach two of my five sections for the next six weeks. He is two years into his four-year degree program in education and so far has been taking courses in chemistry and physics. No methods courses, those will come in his final two years. His program seems a little strange to me in that he is doing his student teaching before learning how to teach, but I do remember something about looking a gift horse in the mouth ...
We are scheduled to get together later this morning (Saturday – I went to bed early after the BBQ, so now am writing in the middle of the night) to discuss where my classes are in their studies now, what topics we should introduce next, and how. I’m hoping to use him to pry open the laboratory so we can give the students the laboratory practice they need for the section on analytical chemistry. In Form III Chemistry that basically entails learning how to conduct an acid-base titration. Besides, I want somebody to commiserate with over our lack of equipment and chemicals for the students. I’ve been using that for too long as an excuse not to get my kids into the laboratory.
I’d understood that a second student teacher was supposed to show up for my remaining three classes, but now that may be in doubt. Don’t know. You do have to hang loose in these things.
