Monday, June 10, 2019
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Saying Goodbye
We spent most of our last day at Banjika saying goodbye to the local community. There was a dedication to the new dormitory incinerator, solar power demos, several speeches and lots of hugs.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Friday, June 7, 2019
Day 16 in Review by Charlotte and Martina
Day 16
Bonjour! (just to shake things up a bit)
Our day commenced with some reflective journaling and relaxation. It was a pretty low-key morning, which proved beneficial as the rest of our day would be pretty exhilarating. We began with an hour-long walk to a muslim familyʼs house, where we learned about the correlations and relationships between christians and muslims. After our sumptuous meal, the woman whose home we were visiting taught us about bio fuel and we experienced firsthand the methods of obtaining it. The first step in securing this “fuel” is to remove the rocks or other hard substances from the mixture of cow dung and water. She did this by using her hands as a mixing tool and manually extracting the larger pieces - a surprising sight (and smell) to behold! We then packed into the bus like sardines in a can (the classic Tanzanian method of travel!) and journeyed to a restaurant/hotel for a movie and snack afternoon. While we experienced an abundance of “technical difficulties”, this allowed for an impromptu dance party as we waited for the movie to resume. The movie “The Kid Who Would Be King” was nicely accompanied by ice cream, popcorn, chicken wings, chips, and vegetables (that we didnʼt eat due to the tap water it contained and definitely not because we donʼt like vegetables or anything! ;) Once the movie was over, we squeezed again into the bus and were dropped off near Banjika for our journey back home. Nearing the end of our homestay experience is a bittersweet experience: we both miss our familiar homes in America and donʼt want to leave our beautiful new homes in Tanzania.
Au revoir!!
-Martina and Charlotte
P.S. An update for any families interested in our eating habits: Last night, Elliot and Christian achieved a new record of four dinners in one night!
Bonjour! (just to shake things up a bit)
Our day commenced with some reflective journaling and relaxation. It was a pretty low-key morning, which proved beneficial as the rest of our day would be pretty exhilarating. We began with an hour-long walk to a muslim familyʼs house, where we learned about the correlations and relationships between christians and muslims. After our sumptuous meal, the woman whose home we were visiting taught us about bio fuel and we experienced firsthand the methods of obtaining it. The first step in securing this “fuel” is to remove the rocks or other hard substances from the mixture of cow dung and water. She did this by using her hands as a mixing tool and manually extracting the larger pieces - a surprising sight (and smell) to behold! We then packed into the bus like sardines in a can (the classic Tanzanian method of travel!) and journeyed to a restaurant/hotel for a movie and snack afternoon. While we experienced an abundance of “technical difficulties”, this allowed for an impromptu dance party as we waited for the movie to resume. The movie “The Kid Who Would Be King” was nicely accompanied by ice cream, popcorn, chicken wings, chips, and vegetables (that we didnʼt eat due to the tap water it contained and definitely not because we donʼt like vegetables or anything! ;) Once the movie was over, we squeezed again into the bus and were dropped off near Banjika for our journey back home. Nearing the end of our homestay experience is a bittersweet experience: we both miss our familiar homes in America and donʼt want to leave our beautiful new homes in Tanzania.
Au revoir!!
-Martina and Charlotte
P.S. An update for any families interested in our eating habits: Last night, Elliot and Christian achieved a new record of four dinners in one night!
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Day 15 in Review by Martina an Charlotte
Day 15 Shikamoo again!
As our days in Tanzania dwindle, we are given more freedom of choice regarding our daily schedules. Our day started off with two hours of free time, letting us partake in activities such as soccer, journaling, and solar projects. The soccer game was a friendly competition between Menlo and Banjika. While Menloʼs participation was scarce and Banjikaʼs seemed infinite, Menlo put up a good fight although disagreement arose regarding rules, primarily the offside rule. In the end, we all agreed on a 4-4 tie and a rematch for the ultimate winner. Those who participated in the solar projects worked on creating study lights for the students out of small LED strips. Others worked on understanding the physics behind the tools that will be used to assist in teaching the subject.
– Martina
After a delicious lunch, Carlos taught a group of students how to play “animal master” (try to keep up as the beat gets faster!) We gathered in a circle and each chose an animal that could be represented using one hand, and as we made a beat by clapping, we passed the animals around the circle: first making the motion for our animal, and then someone elseʼs, who made theirs and another personʼs, and so on. The game ended in laughter over a splits contest between Christian and Marvin, with the latter taking the gold. Then, it was back to work! Carlos led a learning session during which we split into groups to discuss topics such as the gender gap, literacy rates, democracy/corruption, peace rates, and human development levels of countries around the world. We discussed why certain countries had higher or lower rates of each, and why money doesnʼt guarantee success in human development. After school, many students met up with neighbors to hang out, play cards, and of course, eat an abundance of dinners (I believe the record so far is three in a day) so for parents concerned about us getting enough to eat, never fear!!
– Charlotte
P.S. Just wanted to add something: we really appreciate Banjikaʼs efforts in making a delicious variety of options every day! We have heard from several students that their typical lunches consist of one or two options, so theyʼre really making an extra effort to make us feel comfortable and welcomed :)
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Day 14 in Review by Charlotte and Martina
Day 14
Shikamoo! (Hello, formal)
While Eileenʼs allowed us to relax and regroup, I think we were all excited to see the familiar faces of our friends at Banjika again :) Almost immediately, we got back into the grove of school life. Our first activity, an Mchaka Mchaka race, consisted of five stations which we visited in turn: bricks, planting trees, making chapati, removing sunflower seeds, and dancing. Some highlights included carrying buckets of water on our heads to water the newly-planted trees, as well as getting to devour our chapati with some delicious (albeit slightly tongue- burning) chai tea. Part of the challenge was that we were unable to speak in English which prompted us to quickly learn key Swahili terms. For the tree planting station, we needed words like “water” (maji) and “tree” (mti) to execute the task. While there was some disagreement regarding the true winners of the competition, we all agreed that the learning was more profound than the outcome of the race.
The afternoon activities consisted of a lot of down time, as the morning was more active. We were assigned articles to read over the night and had a mini discussion about them. Topics included during our conversation were the impacts of volunteering and charity work (when it is/isnʼt necessary) and the “White Savior Industrial Complex”. After school, many of us headed to the “grounds” (the school soccer field) with our siblings to dance and watch the soccer game. Well, thatʼs a wrap to an amazing day! ;)
Kwaheri!
Charlotte and Martina
Shikamoo! (Hello, formal)
While Eileenʼs allowed us to relax and regroup, I think we were all excited to see the familiar faces of our friends at Banjika again :) Almost immediately, we got back into the grove of school life. Our first activity, an Mchaka Mchaka race, consisted of five stations which we visited in turn: bricks, planting trees, making chapati, removing sunflower seeds, and dancing. Some highlights included carrying buckets of water on our heads to water the newly-planted trees, as well as getting to devour our chapati with some delicious (albeit slightly tongue- burning) chai tea. Part of the challenge was that we were unable to speak in English which prompted us to quickly learn key Swahili terms. For the tree planting station, we needed words like “water” (maji) and “tree” (mti) to execute the task. While there was some disagreement regarding the true winners of the competition, we all agreed that the learning was more profound than the outcome of the race.
The afternoon activities consisted of a lot of down time, as the morning was more active. We were assigned articles to read over the night and had a mini discussion about them. Topics included during our conversation were the impacts of volunteering and charity work (when it is/isnʼt necessary) and the “White Savior Industrial Complex”. After school, many of us headed to the “grounds” (the school soccer field) with our siblings to dance and watch the soccer game. Well, thatʼs a wrap to an amazing day! ;)
Kwaheri!
Charlotte and Martina
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Working with Banjika Teachers
Monday, June 3, 2019
Sunday, June 2, 2019
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