So my fake malaria went away in about two days, and Charlotte got smart and moved her new web up about a foot, so life is good again. School finally started this week… but before I tell you all about that, I want to tell you a little bit of how we teachers have been preparing these last few weeks.
Sean and I came to Dodoma at the beginning of November because the our school was projected to be done in time to do a “pre-form one session” the month of November and some of December. (Form one is equivalent to the ninth grade in the States). This session would be a review time, especially for English skills, to get students a head start on their new school year. They were to move in to campus, but unfortunately, the school construction has been taking a lot longer than expected and it was not at all possible to have this session.
This is where our brief stint at Vijana, the Jesuit Youth Centre, came about. We had arrived two months before school would start and our work was no longer going to happen, so Marty suggested us teaching a few classes at the youth centre to give us something to do. I’m really glad we were there because I met a few of the students that are attending Peter Claver, and I got my first slice of teaching in Tanzania.
The teachers were also hired to start in November, so instead we had a few months of orientation with Marty. Every morning from about 8am to noon we met at the K/Ndege Church to discuss best teaching practices, Ignatian pedagogy, the mission and vision of the school, and other details such as which clubs we will be monitors for. The meetings were interesting, to say the least. Despite them being ungodly early (compared to my summer of 10am-noon wake ups), the experience was really interesting. It was great to meet the other teachers, and it was fascinating to see how we evolved as a staff. Personalities and opinions became much more apparent as the days went on and as we became more comfortable with each other.
I really felt like I am as much a teacher as the others, despite my inexperience. And it wasn’t until about a week ago that I realized that I am the youngest person on the faculty at our school - I truly appreciate the respect I get despite my age. Our staff is a pretty young one; the oldest teacher’s daughter is 15 and the rest of the teachers have really young kids or are “not yet” married.
When we reached January, our orientation meetings were much more sporadic considering there were so many things going on with the school. Marty had his hands full trying push the contractors to work faster to be ready by our second deadline (the original date for starting was pushed back a week because the facilities just would not be ready for students). Other things like passing the school inspection, applying a school registration number, getting the government to release crates of books, arguing to remove the tax on our buses (no tax on buses for schools), and so on were just a few of the many things Marty had to deal with in the weeks leading up to move-in day. I’m impressed at his endurance through it all, considering he had the added challenge of navigating a system that isn’t his own.
Move-in Day was this past Sunday (the 23rd) and the following week was orientation. Tomorrow is our first official day of class. This is all for now, but I hope to give a better update soon. This past week in a few words? I'm tired but I'm excited.
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