Water, water everywhere!

I promised a flooding story, so now I will deliver. Last month, out of now where, my school got hit with a huge hail/rain storm that lasted several hours. I was stuck on campus during the storm, but as I left the school buildings to return home, I followed a small, but swift moving stream of water downhill toward my house. I sloshed through mud several inches thick on my front porch and opened my front door to see a puddle where my living room once had been  

The mud on my porch and the puddle inside the front door

Also, due to the contouring of my floors, the water managed to flow into every room of my house… lucky me. On the bright side, I have concrete floors, so I was able to just let the water dry over the next couple days, then swept and mopped the dirt and mud that had accompanied the water.
Word got around pretty fast about my house flooding and several students came by the next day to help me dig a ditch around my house to divert the water back around  to my garden during the next storm. And what do you know, it worked great. No more flooding for me.

Moat around my house in action

Well, I seem to be adjusting to everyday life here, but it’s not without its challenges. I tend to live in a very buggy part of Tanzania. In fact, I have killed more bugs in my couple months here than I have in my entire life combined (its times like these that I wish I had my little brother.) I have nightly invasions of giant flying termites, known here as kumbikumbi. The locals like to catch them, fry them and eat them as a snack… I haven’t been brave enough to try them yet, but I will let you know when that day comes. I also have a family of spiders in my ceiling the size of my hand that come out only to bask in the beautiful glow of my energy efficient light bulb that turns on for several hours a night. I let them live, but only because I’m petrified of them and they stay out of reach. I also have a mouse that lives in my room. He is a baby, but he still gives me anxiety, so I’m planning getting a cat come January.

I don't think those hairs would feel good if you touched them

One of my jirani (neighbors) has several cattle that get lose just about every day (I’m starting to wonder if he even ties them up) and like to eat the grass in around my house and stomp through my garden, grazing at what few plants have sprouted. Most days when I return home from school, I have to meander around cows to get to my front door.

Just a few feet from my front door near, I think he would classify as my closest neighbor

 Every day here is full of surprises here, but last week, when I went out to use the bathroom in the morning, I had to sidestep around an amputated chicken foot in my courtyard. Didn’t expect that one. Don’t know where it came from, or how it got there since my courtyard is surrounded by  12 foot tall concrete walls with glass on top… but like I said, everyday is an adventure, right?

I’ve also been handy around the house. I tried to change out my outdoor porch light that was burnt out, but despite my innovative attempts, I couldn't get tall enough without the real fear of breaking my neck (see photo below.)

a little sketchy to say the least. a desk, balanced on stairs by the aid of 2 bricks and a piece of wood... and I still wasn't tall enough to reach the light!

These last few days, my school has hired some fundi’s to finish the construction on the dorms across from my house, so the students hauled dirt and rocks to help with the landscaping for a few days and we didn’t have class; but that’s how things go here. Classes will be canceled so the students can clean, work in the shambas (farms), the list goes on.  Flexibility is key when  being a Peace Corps Volunteer.

hauling dirt with 5 gallon buckets to fill in the space between the dorms

 Well, I am in the homestretch for Christmas break. The Form II students left last month, the Form IV students finished up their NECTA’s just a week or so ago and headed home to await their results, and my Form I and III students are in the process of taking their annual district exams. I have to admit, it feels strange to be playing a different role in the exam room. I now proctor the exams rather than take them, answer questions rather than ask them, and grade the exams rather than await my score. Being on this end of things is much less stressful, so you won’t hear me complain (too much).

 

Later days!