Challenging Gender Roles

     After school every day I tutor four students who want to get better in English. I give them workbooks and about an extra hour of homework every day. We meet after school to go over their assignments and I teach them the material for the next assignment.  I am currently tutoring four students, but two really stand out.  A boy named Othman in Form 2 and a girl named Glory in Form 4. Both are advanced and the top students in their class.  When I got to my site, I realized that they were often bored in class because they understood things long before their peers.  So I started tutoring them to give them a more challenging and interactive learning experience.  They are also the leaders of English Club, an after school club I started for students who wanted to practice English in a fun, informal setting.  I am just the faculty supervisor, but the students lead the group, plan meetings/ activities, etc.  Needless to say, Glory and Osman are the students I spend the most time and they have even come to my house for dinner on occasion.

     On Wednesday, Osman told me that he had a surprise for me and Glory.  He wanted to cook dinner for us!  After school he went to the village market and bought rice and vegetables, then he came to my house and cooked.  We had a delicious meal of rice with spinach and vegetables.  He prepared our plates, served us, then cleaned up my kitchen and mopped my floors. I was in shock the whole evening!  I had to take photos just to convince myself this actually happened. Gender roles are deeply rooted in this society.  Men do not cook or clean if there is a woman present and they certainly do not serve food to the women.  The fact that Osman was serving us was also surprising because he is Muslim, and I have found that Muslim men are the most traditional.  My Headmaster once told me that if I had male and female students over to my house, the girls should clean and serve the boys their meal first.  So I am guessing that this would not make him very happy.  However, I love that I am teaching my male students to respect women and help around the house at an early age.  Osman promised that when he was married, he would help his wife with cooking and cleaning.  And Glory said that she expected her husband to help with household chores.  Its refreshing to feel like I am having a positive influence on these students.

Osman cooking dinner.  He wouldn't let us help him at all.

Mopping my floors

Our dinner

Me and Glory

Osman and Glory

My Birthday Celebration in Dar es Salaam!

I had a great birthday celebration in my village with my students, but decided to celebrate in style while in Dar es Salaam.  I had to go to to Dar es Salaam for PSDN (Peer Support Diversity Network) training.  PSDN is a group of 12 Peace Corps volunteers who do crisis support for other volunteers and also lead some of the trainings for Peace Corps.  Since I had to be in Dar anyways, it was a perfect opportunity to celebrate the big 25.   My friends Danielle, Fezekile, and Patrion joined in for the celebration.  We had an AMAZING dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant called Addis in Dar.  I highly recommend it! The food is delicious and you must try the honey wine. After dinner they surprised me with a cake and the waiters brought in small candles and sang happy birthday with my friends.  It was a great day and I am lucky to have such wonderful friends!

Witchcraft and Demon Possession

     This has been one of the strangest weeks of my life.  Apparently Adam Secondary School has been plagued by witchcraft and evil spirits.  This past weekend, students accused the Matron of being a witch.  The Matron is an older Tanzanian woman who lives in the girls dormitory and looks after female students.  She is also one of the cooks and personally I really like her.  She is kind, cares about the students, tries to help me with my Kiswahili, and gladly cooked the rice I bought for my birthday.   While I was in town on Saturday, students claimed she was a witch and tried to kill her with sticks and knives. The headmaster told her to go home for a week for her own safety until this matter was cleared up.  I am really bothered by the fact that students can threaten the life of a staff member and not be punished.

     The students obviously had overwhelming evidence for their accusation.  First, they said the Matron only uses one toilet in the girl’s dormitory and she refuses to use the other toilets.  She even waits to use the toilet if someone is using the one she likes.  Also, after some of the girls used her toilet they became possessed by evil spirits.  Not all of the girls who used her toilet were possessed, but some.  Their second piece of evidence that she was a witch more convincing.  They said that the Matron refuses to walk between two people when they are talking.  She waits for them to stop talking or walks around them.  I tried to explain that this was considered polite in some cultures, but nobody listened to me.   I also didn’t believe this evidence and said this would open the gate for any staff member to be accused of being a witch.  I do weird things too.  I told him I only use one bathroom in my house even though I have two.  And I also try not to walk between people when they are talking.  Maybe I’m a witch…

     On Monday morning the witch trials began.  Students testified about why they thought the Matron was a witch.  Some said they had medicine from their home that allowed them to see who was a witch, and the medicine told them Matron was evil.  The discipline committee agreed to meet with the Matron to do a full investigation and that the trials would continue when it was safe for her to return.  I wasn't feeling well and my survival Kiswahili did not cover witchcraft, so I left the trials pretty early.  After the meeting the Academic Master explained what had happened.  One of the students I tutor gave me a student’s perspective later that evening.  She said she didn’t believe Matron was a witch but many of her friends did.  

               

     On Tuesday, the Headmaster said that students who fell over claiming demon possession would be beaten.  He said many students were just being foolish and that the Matron isn’t a witch.  Unfortunately, after the Headmaster left for a meeting in town the school erupted in chaos.  After chai, three students were suddenly possessed by evil spirits and demons.  They put mattresses on the floor in the staff room and students came to pray over them while they squirmed on the ground and yelled crazy things.  I kept hoping that the demons didn’t move from the students and find a new home at my desk.

     During this time, the teachers met to discuss whether we should postpone the exams that were supposed to be taking place this week.  The Academic Master said the environment had been disrupted by evil spirits so students couldn't focus on their studies.  I mentioned that there seemed to be a direct correlation between exams and the arrival of evil spirits, the students who are failing seemed to be the biggest victims of demon possession, and there was no guarantee that the evil spirits would be gone next week.  Plus, I think all students should learn how to take exams while they are distressed.  If this had happened during NECTA exams, the students would still have to take the exam.  Sometimes I get frustrated by how much people blame evil spirits.  If a student fails school, he or she can say it’s due to evil spirits.  It has nothing to do with a lack of studying and terrible attendance.  Similarly, illness isn't caused by drinking dirty water or sleeping without mosquito net in a malaria area.  It’s the demons that make people sick.   With these widespread beliefs, it can be difficult to change student behavior.  Students blamed the Matron for the demon possession even though she had left the school. 

     While the students were praying over those who were demon possessed, one teacher asked if I believed in God and if I had been baptized.  After I answered yes to both questions, he suggested that I go pray over the students.  I told him that my culture and belief system did not support this.  I believe in God and can’t say with 100% certainty that people don’t get possessed by demons, but evil spirits were taking over about ten students a day in a school of only one hundred.  That seems like a very high possession rate.  I also found it strange that students had the ability to remove the evil spirits themselves.  I thought demon possession would require the work of a priest who was experienced in exorcism.  The Academic Master said that only those with strong faith get possessed, but I know many people with strong faith who do not frequently get controlled by evil spirits.  Plus, wouldn’t the increased risk of demon possession discourage someone from having a strong faith? I am trying to be sympathetic, but sometimes it’s really difficult for me to understand parts of Tanzanian culture.  Especially since many other Tanzanians have told me that many students fake demon possession because they want attention, to get out of taking exams, etc.   

Surprise Inspection

     There are many school rules that I am not aware of and I think my students use my ignorance to their advantage.  One of the rules that our headmaster has decided to be very strict about is cell phones.  I understand that they are disruptive if used in the classroom, but I had no idea that cell phones were banned completely.  Especially since this is a boarding school and I figured students would want to be able to contact their parents.  After all, I had a cell phone at boarding school.  And I can’t think of a school in America where phones are banned completely.  Recently the headmaster told me he was going to be strict about phones because he cares about student safety and many are doing “bad things” with their phones.  I had heard about some Tanzanian students having sugar daddies and often having sex with them for gifts, spending money, etc.  but I did not think that was happening at this school.  He said that the school had a phone students could use to call their parents but the ones who didn’t want to use the school phone were doing bad things.

          

The girls waiting outside while the inspection took place

The Headmaster and a teacher watching a student go through her suitcase as they check for  phones

     As part of the cell phone crack down, we had a surprise inspection.  The teachers went through the dormitories looking for phones, drugs, and other things students weren’t supposed to have.  The students were called in one by one to empty their suitcases, etc. as the others waited outside.  Those who were hiding phones were beaten as punishment.  Everyone on staff has learned that I have a weak stomach for corporal punishment and school beatings, so they let me leave.  I thought about my own experience at boarding school.  I remember rooms of certain individuals being searched if they were suspected of having drugs, but they never invaded the privacy of all students.  Sometimes I wonder if students have any rights.

The River

     I am almost embarrassed to post this because I have been complaining about a water issue and the little irrigation channel behind my house that is often dry.  But today I found out there is a river behind my school.  It is behind the dormitories and completely hidden from view.  This discovery made me so happy!  I have been looking for a quiet place to read or journal and have finally found one!  I had wondered where students were getting enough water for bathing, washing clothes, etc. but assumed they were using the same little stream I was.  Clearly I was wrong.  To get to this river you have to walk down a steep hill and I am amazed that students are able to walk back up with buckets of water on their heads.  The school is set up to have running water in places, so often they get water from the faucet.  One student told me that if the water at the school is not working, they will all go bathe together in the river.  The boys and girls go to different areas and are unable to see each other.    I have learned that Tanzanians are not quite as modest as Americans and homosexuality is not acknowledged in this country, so this is completely normal.  One thing that I have not adapted to is the idea of bathing with freezing cold water.  Mbeya is a cold place (especially June through August) and I have no desire to pour ice cold water all over my body.   I really don’t know how the students can bear it…

My 25th Birthday

     Today I turned 25 years old.  That’s right.  I have now reached the quarter century mark and am starting to feel old.  With each day that passes, I will be officially closer to 30 than 20 and that’s a little scary.  I feel like I have so much to accomplish in the next 5 years!  I love birthdays (not just my own) because it is the one day of the year when people show how much they love and care about you simultaneously.  However, birthdays are not celebrated as much in Tanzania as they are in America and I thought this would be a good opportunity for cultural exchange with my fellow teachers and students. 

Today is Wednesday and probably the worst possible day for a birthday celebration if you have a job.  I couldn’t leave my village as part of a long weekend or get out of teaching my classes, but I was determined to make this day special.  As a gift for students, I bought them rice for lunch.  I should start by saying that students eat the SAME thing EVERYDAY for lunch AND dinner: ugali and beans.  I am trying to adjust to Tanzanian culture and diet, but ugali makes me sick.  I try to eat it a few times a week and each time I get a terrible stomach ache.  My body just does not want to digest it.   While the students are used to this diet, they get tired of eating the same food twice a day for four years.  So I decided to splurge and buy the school rice.  For my birthday lunch we all ate rice and beans.  This was a surprise and students did not know they would have a different meal until they walked into the dining hall.  They were so excited!  All the students stood up and sang “Happy Birthday” to me.   All of the teachers ate together in the staff room and I made chocolate no-bake cookies for the staff.  Tonight three of my students surprised me with birthday cards.  This was an extremely thoughtful gesture and I was touched that they spent the little money they had on me.  The families at this school are poor, but sometimes parents are able to give their children some spending money to use to buy pens, fruit, avocados and other things to vary their diet.  But the students spent their money on me!  The knowledge that I was making a difference in the lives of at least a few students made my birthday really special.   Sometimes I get frustrated and wonder why I joined Peace Corps in the first place.  I am lucky to have students that remind me why I am here =)