Mwaka Mpya, Mambo Mapya

Things are getting busy in the village. Malihai (enviro club) has been re-started with a slew of new freshman members. Like, we're now half freshmen if they all stay. Awesome! We've had major problems getting participation certificates from the malihai office in Arusha. First they said we weren't a real club because they haven't done a visit. So I sent pictures of the kids' work to show that we have a good program. Then they told my APCD that they sent the cert's, but the school never got them. So I called them for like, the 871st time and they said they never got the club registration form. That I sent in August. And that they had told me was received. Then they said that they got it, but it was unreadable. This is the same day I fried baby laptop, and backed everything up onto a flash until I could fix it. By a miracle, I found the scanned form on the flashdrive and re-sent it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. Now they said they're sending the certificates, and they aren't charging for them like they normally do. I should think not after all they put me through to get them! We're planning a new field trip to town to see the Parliament and maybe visit some local environment projects.

Girls' program was a spot of trouble as well. My co-teacher from last year is out on maternity leave, and didn't tell me before she left. So I spent several days tryingt o hunt down the health officer to help me, unsuccessfully. Finally his wife, a nurse at the clinic, offered to help me, saying that he doesn't know anything about girls anyway. I'd have asked her first, but didn't know another nurse had been sent to help at the clinic. I assumed she couldn't leave if she was the only one working there now. And we found the curriculum that had been missing for months; I made copies of the lessons we used and made her her own book. We'll be finishing the lessons we didn't get to for the 7th graders (last years' 6th graders) and starting afresh with the new 6th graders, so we'll have 2 programs going simultaneously. I got some brochures and things from NGOs in town to supplement a few of the sessions. I'm really looking forward to starting again. My girls classes are always my favorite thing to teach.

Yes, I accidently messed up baby laptop, but luckily, one of the PCVs near-ish to me is a computer teacher, and he knew how to give me a new operating system, so baby laptop is back in action and better than ever. Also I bought 2 chickens at market day to eat at somepoint this month. They were both roosters, and someone saw me carrying them home and informed me that I wouldn't be able to get eggs, since they're both boys. I thanked him for his astute observation. I didn't study animal science for 2 years to sit wondering why my 2 roosters can't breed. They were fighters, so in my coop there are 3 roosters, each tied to their own corner so they can't reach each other. In the middle of this mayhem and testosterone-filled posturing is my duck and her remaining duckling wandering about peacefully. No one has any beef with the duck. Also, I was re-paid for a loan I made in peanuts. Literally. The secondary kids planted a bunch of trees with the plastic bags still on them. Dummies. My radio was stolen when I was gone over Christmas and has been replaced and a new lock obtained for my front door. I got some kind of infected wound on my head that felt like a brain-burrowing parasite but wasn't. I got some antibiotics and stuff at the hospital in town and got to keep my hair, but was irritated when a nurse saw me and asked if I was pregnant. The PC/TZ office continues to be frustrating whenever I'm forced to have contact with them.

Until nex time,
Allison