19/05/2023
Wednesday was our last day at Manza Bay Secondary School ❤️😭 it was harder to say goodbye than I thought it would be, considering we were only there for a week and a half! Since all Forms started exams on Thursday, we were split up to go to primary schools! This will be so fun playing with the children, who speak ZERO English!
Tegamea was one of the teachers who always greeted us first thing in the mornings 🥰 she and I connected on day 1 because we both have locs! I asked her where she gets her loc jewelry or if she makes it, and she told me she makes all her beads by hand! 😲 I commented that I loved them and they were very beautiful 😍 she asked where my beads came from, and I told her they came in a variety pack that I got for Christmas last year.. she pulled out the loc with a shell on it and said "I'll bring you real one from the beach here" ⛱️ well, Wednesday she saw me at the start of the day and gave me a handful of shells she got from her home and a bead she made with the colors of the Tanzanian flag 🇹🇿😲😭😍 I put the TZ flag bead in my hair and thanked her profusely! I told her I'd wait until I'm home and can get rings to attach my shells.. she hugged me and said, ever so sweetly "karibu sana" which means "you're very welcome"
I spent Wednesday morning teaching English to Form 1 and playing games with everyone who correctly introduced themselves in English.. every student had the opportunity to try, and they all wanted to play me in tic-tac-toe 🤣🥰
I then made starch gummies with the teachers to make sure my experiment would work.. they were so excited (and disgusted) with the process! They were so scared to try the gummies, but when they did, they liked them and were surprised to find how sweet they were! 🤣 there was SO much engagement and excitement making the candy and the students were so cute and funny to watch trying the candy that was made.. so polite when they didn't like it, they smiled and said "oh, okay thank you" and then didn't take anymore 🤣🤣🥰
I spent the rest of the afternoon with the Form 3 kids and the girls taught me two different dances 💃 we played, sang, answered questions about our clothes, danced and laughed until we couldn't stand anymore! One sweet girl, Amina, was so fascinated with my tattoos and kept commenting how beautiful they were 🥰 she wants to get one to remember me and I told her she is more than welcome to come to the USA and we would get matching ink together ❤️ another sweet girl gave me a gold necklace to "add to your (my) collection of jewelry" 🥰 she loved my earrings and wanted me to have the necklace to wear and think of her, which I will daily! ❤️ 😭🥰
We spent a week and a half teaching different subjects and English to the students, but really they were the ones teaching us! We learned more than we could ever explain from these children and thus amazing culture that's so different from ours ❤️ we will forever remember these new friends and memories forever! It was so heartbreaking to leave them on Wednesday, but thankfully we will return Thursday next week for the end of semester party 🥳 I'm so grateful to have one more day with my new friends, who became family so quickly, but I wish we could have a million and one more days with them before we say a final goodbye 😢❤️
Yesterday in primary school we spent the day teaching sub 2 basic math, including numbers 0 - 100 in English, and today we taught sub 1 shapes and counting with beads
It was exhausting being at primary school because we spend so much time playing with children, but this is going to be so fun and a whole different experience in a fun way compared to the secondary schools
We jumped rope, kicked a soccer ball, chased the younger kids, did hand games and sang all day long!
Since we got done with school a bit early yesterday, we met Tua, who used to work at FEP, and toured Subutuni Boma
We saw Tua's house, the local mosque and watering hole, and then Tua took us to his friend's (small) banana tree farm! He cut down a bunch of bananas for us, but we left all but 1 for him to sell in the village.. we took our 1 banana home and had the staff prepare it with dinner.. peeled and boiled, it tasted just like a potato! It was delicious and we were sad we didn't bring more home with us 🤣 maybe next week we will swing by and get us a bunch of ndizi to bring back to FEP 🤔🤣
Next week is our last week here and in thw schools! It's already time to get ready for safari 😲 Kilimanjaro is the following week, and then I will be home!
I miss everyone, but I'm not ready to leave 😢 I have found a new home and calling for my next chapter in this life - I will return here to teach English and chemistry in the Tanga region of Tanzania 😍🥰 Erica Harvey
