Maharague Malia

I got these at church, via a fun tradition churches do here...

Someone brings a physical offering, like beans or fabric or tomatoes. Then people in the church bid for it. After the first person bids you can offer a higher bid of your own, or you can just add money onto their bid so that they get it, but more money goes to the church. Sometimes people bring items for the church (like a cross for the wall) and people bid to buy it for the church.

This was my first time participating in the tradition; I was a little nervous because I wasn't quite sure how it worked, but now I understand more AND we got to enjoy eating these maharague malia (a type of bean, which, by the way, our house helper prepared in her family's style, with PEANUT BUTTER!).

Keeping up the Theme

Last week I had a student teach the other students about marsupials. This week a different student taught me something...

She learned to crochet from her grandmother (in the Netherlands) and her house-helper (in Tanzania... quite the multi-lingual child!). She's an avid artist, and enjoys figuring out how to make new crochet items. So, when I asked for a "how to" essay, crocheting was the choice.

It's quite the essay. I asked her to bring in supplies when I was checking the rough draft. I didn't allow her to give extra oral directions, wanting to see if the written directions communicated clearly. They did! Now, I'm not saying I produced a dainty doily. (Her directions assure me that is normal the first few tries.) But, the words on the page led me through the initial steps accurately.

You can see, in the first picture, how much focus the excersise required... and how interested my student was in seeing me try out her hobby!

Done with That Teaching Thing

Thanks to my co-teacher, Lyndy Henrickson, for taking this photo!

Why teach when you can have your students do it for you?! It's pretty fun to have an older student in the learning center. He takes science with the other students, so it seemed like this 6th grader needed an extra challenge. And he rose to the occasion; his first lesson was leading an experiment that illustrated why polar bears benefit from having black skin (yes, black, under the white fur!) by putting thermometers under black and white bags in the sun. He asked questions and gave directions... like a teacher. (I was just curious about the temperature... not teaching something.) He's taking care of Monday's lesson, introducing marsupials. I may be working myself out of a job.

Confessions of a Bus Spy

Bus rides in Tanzania are a little different than a Greyhound trip. This weekend I went down to visit Pascaria in the hospital. (Her surgery went well and she's healing up! More later.) I hopped on a bus called Peacemaker and settled in. Then I became a spy, sneaking photos right and left...

After an hour or so a preacher stood up for prayer and a sermon... a common occurrence. He exhorted us to remember God all the time, not just when we're in trouble. Then he prayed for us and our journey.

A while later we pulled over for new passengers, well we did that a lot actually. It's so nice, because vendors are always ready. You can buy beverages, snacks, washcloths (my personal favorite), phone credit, potatoes....

On my way home I got another Peacemaker, this one a bit more crowded. I wedged into a seat right by the driver, surrounded by excess luggage. One man was less lucky; he spent the first few hours trying to snooze on the wheel well!