Running At Mzumbe

 In a post that’s pretty long overdue, I thought I would describe a bit about what running at Mzumbe is like.  For anyone who may or may not be aware, running is a very big constant in my life and has been for many many years.  Even back at home when I’m at my busiest, I always found time to run on a regular basis- almost everyday.  When I came to Tanzania, I wasn’t sure of what my living situation would be like, or if my new home would have anywhere that might be suitable to keep up my regular habit of running.  Fortunately, when I arrived at Mzumbe I was quite surprised and incredibly pleased with all of the beautiful grounds that I could explore and run on.  

 As I have described in words and pictures from previous posts, Mzumbe is quite an expansive campus, surrounded by many green fields and mountains.  Once I step out my door, I have a multitude of running options to choose from.  After a first few weeks of exploring the trails (which included getting a little lost every now and then), I found an area of trails behind the school campus that I decided to stick to for my regular runs.  Since runners tend to be creatures of habit, I became quite comfortable with this area of fields and trails.  Luckily, I still have yet to get tired of running around them each day.

My running shoes: I think it's time for a new pair...

Just about every day I run at the same time in the evening, usually between 5 and 6 P.M.  At this time of day, the sun is setting and it’s a lot cooler than it is during the midday when it’s really hot.  Also it’s really quiet and peaceful along the trails, and there aren’t many people walking out in the fields.  Most days when it’s clear out, I get to observe a pretty spectacular sunset on my run, which sometimes causes me to stop for a minute to take it all in.  The trails that I run around are all dirt paths that surround farm fields of various crops.  The dirt paths are a nice alternative to concrete, but unfortunately can make runs a bit dirty.  I think my socks are permanently brown and my running shoes can speak for themselves.  The farm fields that the trails border are surrounded by the Uluguru mountains, and running along the trails you get some really spectacular views of the green mountains that overlook Mzumbe.  They are especially beautiful when the light from the setting sun hits them in the evening. 

 Since I’m not currently training for any race or marathon while I am here (there are opportunities, but unfortunately they conflict with prior plans), I am mostly just running recreationally.  Depending on how I feel that day, I’ll usually run around 40-45 minutes.  Sometimes I’ll run more or less miles if I have the energy, or lack thereof.  Since I do run just about every day, the Mzumbe community never fails to greet me hello as I run by the students, a fellow teacher or a neighbor.  Even the kids get excited when I run past them, stopping their activity to wave and shout “Hello Matthew!”  It’s a pretty cool experience.  Also every now and then a student will come to my door and ask to join me on my run.  Of course I’m willing to always have the company, and it’s always fun to get to know some of the students personally.  I had been interested to possibly start a running club at Mzumbe, but since most students prefer playing soccer or studying in the evening, I couldn’t get enough students interested.  Of course since the way of life here is Pole Pole, most Tanzanians would rather be relaxing than going out for an evening run anyway.

 As it was back in the U.S., running has stayed a constant in my daily life here at Mzumbe.  When I run here, it’s one of my favorite times of the day to unwind, relax, reflect and appreciate the beautiful surroundings I’m lucky enough to have around me.  Of course the health benefits are great, too, and I have to admit it’s kept me in great shape mentally and physically.  I know when I return home I’ll have to get used to running in the concrete jungle again, so for now I’ll enjoy the deserted, serene and uninterrupted trails of Tanzania as much as possible.

Follow-up: Shortly after putting together this post, I received a brand-new, long-awaited pair of running shoes!  Here's a picture of the newly retired shoes next to the brand new ones.  After getting them, I was a bit afraid to wear them out the door!  Let's see how the new ones look in a few months of hitting the trails...

New Year, New Classes

2011 is fully underway as this week I have started teaching my new classes at both of my schools: Mzumbe Secondary and Mongola Secondary.  I’m really excited to get a fresh start and put a lot of what I’ve learned so far about teaching into good use.  I’ll be quite a bit busier for the next few months, but I’m sure the time will fly by and I hope that it will be just as rewarding as it has been so far.

At both of my schools, I’ll be teaching Form III students at the O (Ordinary) Level.  I’ll be teaching them English language for the first term of their year, which will be until my departure date in May.  At Mzumbe I have 3 “streams,” or classes, to teach and at Mongola I have 2 streams, which I had last term at Mongola as well.  I will be teaching all classes three times a week, for a total of 5 40-minute periods.  At both schools, my classes are fairly large, but at Mzumbe they are considerably smaller.  Those classes only have about 30-35 students per class, whereas at Mongola there are about 60 students in each class.  It will be interesting to experience the contrast of not only the class size, but also the ability level of the students.  At Mzumbe, the students are some of the best and brightest in the country, so they’re a lot more eager in class and understand English at a higher level than most students at their age.  At a community school like Mongola, the students are not as comfortable with English, so it will definitely be a challenge.  While all of the Form III students I will be teaching are intermediate English speakers at best, between the schools, the classes and also between all of the students in each class there will be a wide variety of skill level, which will certainly bring a unique set of both challenges and rewards in the classes.

Since I only have a few more months left in Tanzania, I was eager to take on a lot of classes so that I can leave knowing that I had a good impact on my schools and my students.  At both schools they are certainly in need of English teachers, so I am more than happy and eager to help out teaching the Form III students.  It is certainly a different experience teaching O-Level students, as opposed to the Form V students I was teaching for the good portion of the past year, but I’m glad I’ll have the experience of teaching students of all levels.  Now that I have my new classes, I’m anticipating the rest of my time as a teacher here in Tanzania, and really looking forward to further developing my skills as a teacher and helping out my community here at Mzumbe as best that I can in and out of the classroom.

Another Mzumbe Wedding

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending my second wedding here at Mzumbe.  As I wrote previously, a couple of months ago I experienced my first Tanzanian wedding, so it was interesting to attend another one so that I could see how Tanzanian weddings differ and how they are similar.  The person getting married was Fidelis Mwesiga, a former administrator at Mzumbe Secondary School.  In typical Mzumbe (and Tanzanian) tradition, the entire community was invited to attend the wedding ceremony and reception that was held at the assembly hall conveniently located by my house.

Assembly Hall ready for a wedding

What was interesting to observe after attending two weddings was that for the most part both receptions were quite similar in their proceedings and traditions.  The wedding on Saturday followed the same schedule of events as the last one I attended, with an MC presiding over a grand entrance of the families and the bride and groom, the guests personally lining up to greet and congratulate the couple, a grand presentation of the gifts, some music and dance performances and of course a delicious meal.

The Newlyweds

Although there wasn’t anything different or unique to observe at this wedding compared to the last one, it was a more enjoyable experience because the entire Mzumbe Secondary School staff attended this wedding.  At the last one, there were not as many staff members present.  It was a lot of fun to see some of my fellow colleagues let loose outside of the staff room/classroom, and I think they got a kick of seeing me in a more social setting as well.  While I’ve had a few opportunities to see how Tanzanians act in social situations and parties, it’s not too often they get to see how Americans celebrate and enjoy themselves when they’re not at work.

Some Colleagues and Myself

As with all of the previous cultural experiences I’ve had so far, this wedding was another amazing first-hand opportunity to enjoy how wonderful the Tanzanian culture and local community really is.  As I approach my last few months here at Mzumbe, I am truly appreciating all of these rewarding cultural moments just as much as I appreciate all of the rewarding moments in the classroom as well. 

Zanzibar Adventure

Happy 2011!  I can’t believe it’s January already and that there are only a few more months left in Tanzania.  I’m really looking forward to the coming year and having many more great experiences to add to the unforgettable ones I’ve had so far.

View of Stone Town from the Ferry to Zanzibar

Over the past week, I was lucky enough to travel to the island of Zanzibar, which is part of Tanzania just off the coast near Dar es Salaam.  The trip was part business/part pleasure since we had our Mid-Service Conference held there and also had plenty of time to relax and get mentally ready for the new year.

An Aerial View Of Stone Town

Stone Town

One of the many typical streets of Stone Town

The group arrived in Stone Town in Zanzibar last Thurs (12/23).  We stayed in a rented house in the heart of Stone Town, which was really nice and convenient.  I had traveled to Zanzibar a few months ago but didn’t get to explore Stone Town at all.  It’s a truly amazing part of the island, with lots of winding streets, shops, friendly people, gorgeous scenery and wonderful culture. When everyone arrived it was great to see the whole group together for the first time since Orientation, since I hadn’t seen a couple of the other volunteers since then.  It was good to catch up with them and share experiences about our service so far.  On Christmas Eve, our conference began with a delicious buffet dinner at one of the nicer hotels in town.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it quite a bit because based on the amount of food we all ate you would think no one had eaten a full meal in 6 months!

The WorldTeach Tanzania 2010-2011 Together for Christmas Eve!

Christmas Morning

On the dhow for Christmas Day

On Saturday, Christmas Day, we started the morning with some Christmas traditions.  A few of the volunteers cooked up some home favorites, and we exchanged gifts to one another as part of a Secret Santa swap that we did as a group.  After that, we spent Christmas in spectacular fashion as we boarded a dhow (handcrafted wooden boat) and sailed around the coast of Zanzibar for the day.  Spending Christmas day taking in some sun, swimming off the coast of Zanzibar and enjoying the company of my fellow volunteers and friends was a truly great way to spend the day, especially when we were all quite far from our families.  It was certainly a Christmas I won’t ever forget.

Sailing along the Zanzibar Coast

Sunday was spent taking part in some Mid-Service WorldTeach sessions on teaching skills, recapping our year so far and gaining some other useful information preparing us for the end of the year.  It was good to give some input for future volunteers and also share some teaching techniques with the group and get some feedback that will be useful when I get back to teaching at Mzumbe.

Our Mid-Service ended on Monday so the rest of the week was spent relaxing, enjoying and exploring Zanzibar.  We got to see many parts of the island, experience the breathtaking beaches, eat some really delicious food, take in the culture of Zanzibar and even put our Swahili to good use!  Even though it is part of Tanzania, Zanzibar really is a world of its own, and it’s a place that needs to be seen to be believed.  It’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been before and can be quite intoxicating when you’re there.

The Beach at Paje on the East Coast of Zanzibar

In the water at Paje

The Beach at Mangapwani

Mangapwani Beach

The week wrapped up with a New Years Eve celebration in Stone Town and also at a large beach party outside of town.  It seemed like almost every visitor and a lot of locals were at the party, which included a fireworks display at midnight.  It was a really fun way to ring in the New Year.

The next day we all returned home after an amazing week exploring Zanzibar, which is hard to believe is just about in our back yard. It was a great vacation and an unforgettable way to celebrate the holidays and start 2011.  It’s good to get back to Mzumbe and get ready to get back to work.  I’m really excited to get back into the classroom and finish out my service in Tanzania as strong as possible.