Tis the Season to Nourish Mind and Body

When I’m not busy facilitating science conferences, I’m spending my free time with camera in hand as I try to soak in and capture every memory possible. Spending time with the people I care about most in Tanzania, both PCVs and Tanzanians as it sinks in that my time here really is almost over. Three weeks from now, I will be in Dar es Salaam crossing T’s, dotting I’s and adding an R to my title as PCV.

When the rain stops, the green landscape turns to brown and everything dries out. This marks the beginning of harvest season, meaning the corn is dry enough to be picked, removed from the cob and then milled to make ugali flour, the staple food of Tanzania. 

This of course means that my students do not attend remedial classes, but instead do manual labor in the evening hours.  

Dried corn on the cob from the school farm is picked and collected in a pile, then put in guinea sacks

The guinea sacks are then smacked around with sticks with force to knock the kernels off the cob

Last month, my school received 10 student teachers that have been placed at the school temporarily to practice teaching while they await placement. Now my school is over staffed, and since I'm on my way out, I gave them my teaching periods. This means I have more time to spend with my favorite villagers.

Three families in particular have taken me in and treated me like one of their own. I can't imagine my service without them in it.

Mr. Salvatory Mwakapala, my counterpart

The most energetic 18 month old, Prosper Mwakapala, my counterpart's son

 Mama Joeli and Mr. Yamba, my closest neighbors

Joeli Yamba, my 3 year old neighbor. We get to play every day now that I'm not teaching

 Mama Grey and Mr. Mwinuka, my favorite villagers and second family

Holding baby Rose Mwinuka (named after me) and practicing writing numbers with her older sister Sifuni

Can't put into words the mixture of emotions I'm experiencing as I realize how close I am to the end. I know all good things must end and this chapter is over, but the people I've met along the way have been by far the greatest part of my two years spent here and saying goodbye is heart-breaking.

When you compete in science, everyone's a winner!

My Close of Service date is quickly approaching, so to perpetuate the denial that this is all ending, I decided to travel around to all corners of Tanzania for three weeks to do what I love best… Science!

For the past three weeks, Joe Antonacci and I have been facilitating regional science conferences for secondary school students. Joe wrote a Peace Corps Partnership Program grant that was funded by friends and family in America (Thank You!) to bring PCVs, their students and a Tanzanian counterpart to a nearby center to put on a three day conference full of competitions and activities focusing on physics, chemistry, biology and math.

The aim of these conferences is to excite students and teachers alike about math and science and show them that concepts can be learned and demonstrated using locally available, inexpensive materials. 

Many of the competitions consist of students receiving a plethora of common materials (toothpicks, playing cards, rubber bands, Q-tips, etc) which they must use to meet a specific, simple objective (ex. Using the given materials, students must build a vehicle propelled by the expulsion of air from a balloon.)

The first stop on the Shika train was Moshi. PCVs  Ryan "Dubu" Shortal, Seth Jenison, Frank Lufin and Brett Thompson each brought 6 students and split up by school. 

Female students "bend" the rules when building a card tower

Told the kids to make a "vehicle" to protect an egg dropped from various heights. They took it very literally

The winning design for the egg drop looked like a milkshake! Straw and handle included!

Measuring the amount of weight aluminum foil boats can hold using change and tea spoons as weights

Let it fly 

Preparing her balloon buggy

Team work to complete Sudoku puzzles

Testing bridge strength

The whole crew- Moshi Regional Science Conference July 2015

Next stop: Mbeya

PCV's Fletcher Davis, Bekah Munnikhuysen, Beth Behrens and Sam Owens each brought 6 students and a counterpart to Beth's site at Kayuki Secondary School in the beautiful mountains outside Tukuyu to throw down science style. 

This conference consisted of only female students due to lodging logistics. The students were split into 6 teams with one member from each school per team. Encouraging cooperation between schools helped to break the ice, but lessened the air of competitiveness a bit. 

Also, Sharon Chang, a member of the new generation of Shika, came to lend a helping hand. Thanks Sharon! We appreciate all your help.

Getting creative with the card tower

The counterparts were very involved. They loved competing against their students and explaining their designs

Students from different schools on a team together collaborating during morning math

Washichana Wanaweza! Mbeya Regional Science Conference July/August 2015

All smiles as they build their buggy using cardboard, straws and wooden skewers

Counterparts embraced the Shika mantra by creating a hands-on way to teach ionic compounds

Testing bridges using water bottles as weights

The PC crew
Our flag says "Waafrica Weupe" which means "White Africans"

The last stop on the Shika Express was the rocky desert of Singida. 

This conference was attended by Allison Belfield, Sunhee Moraes and Amelmal Wondimhuengn.

Each PCV brought 6 kids of varying forms and mixed the students by school, so each team consisted of a Form 1, Form 2 and Form 3. 

Math Relay. Run!

So proud of their baking soda and vinegar project 

Built a working circuit!

Such a big smile while teaching about pressure and how a toilet flushes

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Demonstrate Science!
A toilet tank demonstration

Sunhee's counterpart did his own project! Taught electron configurations using hands-on methods and scrap paper

Testing aluminum foil and straw boats. Held so many nails! Woo hoo, buoyancy!

Sunhee having a great time as she tinkers around with ideas for Write it, Build it

I dropped the winning teams structure for egg drop from the second story and it didn't break! (yet)

The proud builders of the unbreakable egg contraption

Everyone is smiling and anxious as we test bridges. Even me!

Using the soddering iron. We fancy

To end every conference, we have a closing ceremony and of course the final conference finished with 2 teams tied for first.

To break the tie, we gave each group a deck of cards (since they used straws to complete the tower building activity) and instructed them that the first team to build a card tower 15 cm tall would receive 1 point for the win.

Thus commenced the most intense card tower building session I have ever witnessed!

Build, build, build!

After winners were crowned, certificates distributed and prizes claimed, the conference came to a close. The next morning as we swept our conference space, we were surprised to find that the unbreakable egg structure had abandoned it's passenger in the most comical way possible.
Couldn't have cracked it that well if we had tried.

An appropriate end to an exhausting, inspiring, exciting string of conferences.

Joe and I really got the planning and flow of these conferences down to a science and have worked out the kinks. Perfect timing now that they are over.