Kihaya, Poor test results, A visit

I wrote awhile back about my attempts to pick up the tribal language of Bukoba- Kihaya. Under the assumption that knowing the local mother tongue will somehow work to my advantage, I've slowly picked up enough Kihaya to properly greet people and talk about the weather. As this comprises roughly ninety-five percent of all conversations taking place in Tanzania, I'm sitting pretty. Today I caught a cab-share (really, that is glamourizing the whole business a bit; it was a decrepit post-taxi miraculously carrying seven others) from Ihungo to town. When I did the contortionist trick of taking up as little room as physically possible (as I did when I shared the bed with Jacques), I was able to slam the door closed on myself. Some pain. In an unexplained good mood while sharing the back seat of this cab with four others, I decided to wheeze out a few Kihaya greetings. Again, my theory of this language's utility was correct, and within five minutes some of the ladies were asking if I am married. (To be honest, this isn't that uncommon; some of the women in the Corps tell me that they are asked to marry total strangers on a weekly basis.) When we reached town, I paid the driver with a 2000 shilling bill, expecting change. For some reason, we were surrounded by a large number of Tanzanian men who seemed to have nothing better to do that watch me pay for my cab ride. As soon as I'd handed the driver the bill, several of the men told the driver, in Swahili, that he shouldn't give me any change. The driver and I started laughing simultaneously, and then the driver told one of the guys to guard his tongue, as "the mzungu knows even Kihaya." You're damn right. After a short exchange where he gave me most of my change and I gave him the evil eye, I was on my way having paid the proper fare. When I thanked the driver in Kihaya, the whole crowd of layabouts gasped. Gratifying... I guess all I'm trying to say is that learning Kihaya has paid off, more than just in this example. The facilitation of dealing with people in their own language here has inspired me to try picking up useful phrases whenever and wherever I may travel.

For news from school, my form six students began their national examinations yesterday. This is what they've spent the last two years studying for, and their performance will determine their fates. The examinations take a full two weeks, and are designed to rigorously test a student's ability to memorize obscure facts. I have a number of complaints against the system of examinations here, and the examinations themselves, but I'll save those for another day. The first of two physics tests was held yesterday, and I can't tell you how my heart dropped when I saw my students leaving the exam room with sad, sad faces. Not a single one of the students who I talked to yesterday told me he thought he performed well; all of them said the test was "so so difficult". Crap. Granted, I only talked to students who hadn't attended my class in months (extreme "senioritis"). Granted, the results aren't out, and perhaps some kids did quite well. But for even one of my boys to fail makes me feel that I have failed as a teacher. I can only hope that they performed better than they think they did. I'm still finding my groove as a teacher, and these students were my guinea pigs of a fashion, but I put forth a staggering amount of effort over the last year trying to prepare them to succeed on this test. I hate to see them fail...

Switching topics again, with only this tenuous segue, my mom and step-dad will be arriving here soon! They'll be flying in next weekend, and spending the following three weeks exploring Tanzania and learning about how I live here. I am truly excited to have my first visitors from the States. As much as my words might give you picture of my life here, I can really only paint the broad strokes, and with their visit, my parents will get to see all the minor details. We are planning on going on a safari in the Serengeti, among other things. If I don't update for awhile, its because my guests and I are off challenging the wilderness and taming the wild beasts. Peace...