Science

I have always loved science because it is all around us, and I mean, I did major in Chemical Engineering after all, but I had never realize how much work it was to ‘simulate’ or singlehandedly prepare a full week of lab practicals for over 30 students at a time.

The week before last was the most exhausting, yet most productive week of my teaching responsibilities.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were the Form IV NECTA lab practicals for Chemistry, Physics, and the second group of Biology, respectively.  When Eric was here, he was the only permanent science teacher at Mwatisi, which automatically made him the head of all the science departments.  I am already the head of the Math department, but now that he is gone, I am officially the head of all the science departments as well.  That also meant I was the main/only qualified teacher to prepare all the lab practicals.  I was entirely happy to do it, but it was extremely time consuming.  Luckily, I had done most of the practicals before (thanks to all the labs I took in university) and Eric was able to prepare me enough to do the prep work on my own, but just the time and effort alone was what Tanzanians would call a “kazi kubwa” [big job].

About one month before the NECTA practicals, every secondary school in the nation receives confidential instructions from the Tanzanian government about what materials and/or specimen are needed for each practical.  Then, 24 hours before each science subject practical, another set of confidential and advanced instructions are sent to the school so that the lab technician (in this case, me) is able to prepare the specific chemicals, solutions, or the labeling of specimen necessary.  Biology was the easiest to prepare because most of the specimen were already collected and prepared before we received the 24 hour instructions, Physics was not difficult either, but Chemistry (one of my favorite subjects in school) was so elaborate.

Since the Chemistry practical was on Tuesday morning, Monday and Tuesday were the most tiring for me.  I spent all of Monday in the lab from 7:50am to 6pm weighing and preparing all chemicals and solutions that would be used for the practicals, labeling equipment, and setting up the three stations for each of the three experiments the students would have to do: titration, qualitative analysis, and chemical reaction.  Mind you, almost all of the solutions had to be prepared and diluted to the specifications in the instructions.  I felt like a true scientist, or more like a mad scientist, mixing chemicals in a lab all day.  I even had a large, white lab coat that was passed down to me from Eric!  :D  The next day, I woke up at 5am to get down to the school, to start lighting up the jiko and kerosene burners to use a heat source for the hot water bath.  Please keep in mind that my school does not have electricity or a gas tank for Bunsen burners, so it had to be done manually.  There would be over 30 of the total 60 students in Form IV that would be taking this exam, so we had to have two 3-hour sessions.  As the lab tech, I had to be on call for everything so I was not able to teach my other periods during the practicals.  There were a couple of issues in the very first session but then I improvised and things seemed be getting better.  The second session was not as successful by the end of it because the kerosene burner’s wick lever was getting stuck.  Then after both sessions were finished, NECTA required me to perform the titration and chemical reaction experiments and answer the questions to create a marking scheme specific to our school’s resources.  Although the students were allotted 50 minutes for each experiment, I had to do both of them as quickly as possible and place it in the envelope before the invigilators (what are the equivalent of proctors in the states) could close the seal on the test papers’ envelope.  Once the invigilators left, I still had to clean up the lab and prepare for the next practical – Physics.

That day alone took a toll on my energy, but I knew I still had two more practicals before the end of the week.  Luckily, the practical for Physics was only setting up for two questions: plane mirrors and Archimedes’ Principle.  It took much less time than Chemistry by a long shot, but there was a slight problem with the mirror stands that Eric and I ordered to be made by the local carpenter.  The order was not finished, so we had to borrow mirrors and stands from a nearby school, Mwakaleli Secondary School.  By the way, this type of situation (of borrowing and sharing resources in schools) happens very frequently.  Classic Tanzania…  Biology’s prep on Wednesday was very quick, entailing the making labels for each specimen (marked by letters) and making sure each work bench had enough of each.  Though I woke up at 5:30am for the Physics practical day and 6am for the Biology practical day, the practicals (two sessions each day) went quite smoothly and I was not required to do any marking schemes after the practicals!

Needless to say, the theme of the week before last was science, every waking hour of the day for a week. I truly felt like a scientist!  Although I was fatigued by Thursday evening, I had never felt more thankful of being an engineer and a woman of science.  My engineering degree and science classes over the years truly paid off, and I saw the direct results of science education.  That is one reason why I love doing what I do here – teaching science and math subjects, and simultaneously showing Tanzanians that science isn’t scary.  Most students are intimidated by science and engineering because they feel that they are unable to do it, but after speaking to a few students after the practicals, they seemed quite confident in how they did!  And as an advocate of science and engineering, I plan to continue promoting science by starting a couple of clubs at school that have been inspired by my experience in the SEEK (Student Engineers Educating Kids) organization that I was in during university.  I am hopeful, and more updates will come shortly!

Adieu

Initially, I was going to title this post as “Transition”, but the more I thought about it…”Adieu” has become more and more appropriate in describing the past couple of weeks.  “Adieu” directly translates to “to God” in French, but it is more commonly used in the expression “to bid adieu” to someone or something that is leaving.  In this case, it is bidding adieu to Eric, the PCV that I have been sharing a house with for the past couple of months and am replacing.  Also, I figured it was appropriate for the mood I have been in.  I have been missing France a lot lately and realized today that I had been referencing my study abroad experience in Toulouse, France more often than a couple of times just this past week.  I was even in the mood to watch Chocolat recently despite the fact that it meant I had to watch a movie about a ton of chocolate, which is more expensive and not in abundance in Tanzania unless you are in Dar or safi dukas.

Anyway, the main theme for the prior weeks has been a variety of send off dinners and parties for Eric’s leave to America and my welcome to my new home at Mwatisi.  A little less than two weeks ago, we (Steph, Eric, and I) went to eat dinner with the Mwakibambo family in Kandete village.  It was so sweet and it was so hard to watch Eric say bye to them.  I first need to interject with a short blurb about this amazing family.  They are quite possibly the most loving family I have ever met in Tanzania apart from my homestay family.  Mama Paulina and Baba Mwakibambo treat you like you are one of their own children, even if they meet you for the first time (Steph and I met them during our shadow week), and truly love you.  They both know English quite well and are so hospitable.  They also have one son (Lugano), who has two daughters (Sekela who is in Form I and Neema who is an adorable little girl in primary school, not sure what Standard).  Everyone treats you like you have always been around and being around them just warms your heart.  Needless to say, I can only imagine how difficult it was for Eric to have to leave this family.  I am sure I will feel the same way if not moreso, because I will have known them two full years rather than Eric’s span of knowing them since he met them at the end of his first year.  Luckily, Eric was able to go back to see them by himself later that week.

Eric, Steph, and me with the Makibambo family in Kandete

The next night, we three were invited to Mr. Chabwi’s house for dinner.  Chabwi was the awesome MC at the Mwatisi graduation and I have gotten to know him more because he is one of the founding members of the Kandete Community Center (KCC) project that Eric started working on with some of the Kandete community.  [I will be taking over that project now that Eric will be state-side, and I will expand on this in a later post.]  We had DELICIOUS “kiti moto” [pork], rice, pilau, beef stew, “mboga” [vegetables], bananas, and apples.  And then Steph, Eric, and I all received matching gifts from our local “fundi” [craftsman (in this case, tailor)], who is the chairman of KCC!  It was super sweet of them to give Steph and me a dress made of the same kitenge they used to make Eric a shirt.  :)

Then after being stuffed, Mr. Chabwi got us all a car and drove us straight to our homes, which was quite thoughtful of them.  We dropped Steph off first, but then on our way to mine and Eric’s house, the gas ran out and we were stuck on the road for about two hours in the cold waiting for someone from Kandete to bring us more petrol before we could continue on.  Eric and I fell asleep waiting in the car that was a nice barrier to the cold air outside, until our savior (piki driver) arrived with a tank of oil.  Once again, we were off and on our last leg to our house, half-awake half-stumbled our way to the house, and plopped ourselves onto our beds at around 2:30am, which is SO passed our bedtime of usually 10pm.  But truly, it’s the thought that counts!  :D

Then that weekend, was the big bash for Eric’s Going Away Party and my Housewarming Party!  It was so great and lots of our friends, both Peace Corps and Tanzanian, showed up to celebrate, play games, have bonfires, play music (Eric’s handmade drums and my ukulele), and eat terrific food.  OH, THE FOOD!  I am sure you can tell by now that I am obsessed with food…but anyway, that weekend, Eric and I pulled all the stops.  I had travelled to Tukuyu the weekend before to get a bucketful of avocados, a bucketful of potatoes, pasta, and a few other things, and Eric and I ordered chapatti, beef, and rice.  Here was the menu for that weekend:

Friday (Dinner):  Spaghetti and tomato sauce, toast
Saturday (Breakfast):  Peanut butter sandwiches, bananas
Saturday (Lunch):  Hashbrowns with green peppers and onions, eggs, toast
Saturday (Dinner):  Beef and veggie tacos using fresh meat (I spent over an hour grinding up in our meat grinder), guacamole, super delicious salsa, cheese (brought by PCVs from Mbeya), chips (brough by Marin), chapatti (as soft tacos), rice

It was SO successful!  Everyone loved our tacos!  Heck, I loved them.  But a disclaimer to this though was that I will not be able to eat like this every day, let alone every weekend.  This called for only special occasions and this was one.

Then after that weekend, NECTA exams for the Form IVs started and Eric had to start packing.  That was when it started to hit me – I was REALLY going to miss him.  He was a great housemate and although I was planning to live alone in country for two years, I never expected to grow so close to a person in just two months!  When he said goodbye to the teachers and the students that week, some tears were shed and I almost cried as the students sang him the school song.  It was truly heartbreaking, and I also realized that if I was close to crying now, I wonder how I will be after two years.

During the school’s goodbye though, the craziest thing happened – it started to rain.  There was a light sprinkle when the students started singing and by the end of the song, it was a steady rain.  As Eric finished his speech, the rain was coming down pretty hard and the students started to leave to go home.  It was as if the sky was mimicking the sadness felt by the students.  Very poetic actually…  Once all of the students left and the school was quiet again, the rain stopped suddenly.  We walked up the hill to go home, he finished packing, and the house was becoming emptier by the minute.  :(

Eric will be missed dearly by everyone, and I am glad I was able to say bye to him one last time in Mbeya this past weekend before he went on a bus to Dar.  I am now currently back at my site and am left with a slight emptiness that is new.  I am super happy I have the dogs (Amani and Orion) and cat (Felix) to keep me company, but it still feels like something is missing.  I am sure it may feel that for a little while, though luckily, I am going to be extremely busy taking care of Form IV NECTA lab practicals this week so I may not even notice hah.  I know it may take some time to get used to living alone now, but I am also looking forward to making what used to be “his house” and “our house” to become “my house” and finally “my home.”

Eric – I bid you adieu and thanks for being an awesome housemate and friend.  You will be missed dearly, but we had some great memories.  I wish you the best of luck and karibu kila mara!  Let the good times roll!