Before coming here I'd read several stories about people who'd had children named after them while they were living abroad. So every time a baby is born, or even if someone is just talking about having a baby, I suggest my name. They always seem to think this is terribly funny. But when the name is actually given (newborns here don't have names...and they think it is barking mad to name a baby before it's even born) it always ends up being something like Godlove or Sweetbert or Grace.
The students put on a bit of a strike a few weeks ago. A combination of panic inspired by poor test results and being forced to do cleanliness around the school when they should have been given time to study. So one day they were outside their classrooms cleaning and they refused to go back in when they had finished. The thing that impressed me was that they also called the press and the Ministry of Education.
Anyway I thought we might get some real excitement but instead of releasing the dogs and bringing out some water cannon the administration's reaction might have been summarised as 'give meetings a chance'. First with only the teachers for about half an hour. Then with the students body for about two hours. Then with only teachers again for literally six (6) (VI) hours. The next day for about another three hours. In the end nobody really got what they wanted, so it was a valuable lesson in democracy.
The mice or rats or mutant rodents living in the ceiling boards of my house seem to be up to something. In the last two weeks they've chewed two holes in the ceiling and are constantly scurrying around, scratching here, sniffing there. And yesterday I found some sort of massive centipede exploring the concrete expanse of my sitting room. It was like a big cigar floating around on a million undulating legs. Not a million. Then it would be a megapede. Which sounds a lot cooler than centipede.
Gun crime, which used to be unheard of, is now become a daily staple of the national press. People say it's because of all the refugees from Sudan Rwanda Burundi Congo but they've been around for 20 years or more. Other people say it's globalisation, although nobody seems to have a very clear picture of what that is. Only that it's pure evil. Others say the result of the younger generation being influenced by western (American) culture. That's very possibly true. The only American films which seem to exist in Tanzania are low budget action movies filmed in the late 80's. My neighbor, for example, is often called Osama (on account of his beard) or even Jesus (white guy with a beard) but every now and then gets Chuck Norris. An odd trinity, but without question three names that people associate with America.
The students put on a bit of a strike a few weeks ago. A combination of panic inspired by poor test results and being forced to do cleanliness around the school when they should have been given time to study. So one day they were outside their classrooms cleaning and they refused to go back in when they had finished. The thing that impressed me was that they also called the press and the Ministry of Education.
Anyway I thought we might get some real excitement but instead of releasing the dogs and bringing out some water cannon the administration's reaction might have been summarised as 'give meetings a chance'. First with only the teachers for about half an hour. Then with the students body for about two hours. Then with only teachers again for literally six (6) (VI) hours. The next day for about another three hours. In the end nobody really got what they wanted, so it was a valuable lesson in democracy.
The mice or rats or mutant rodents living in the ceiling boards of my house seem to be up to something. In the last two weeks they've chewed two holes in the ceiling and are constantly scurrying around, scratching here, sniffing there. And yesterday I found some sort of massive centipede exploring the concrete expanse of my sitting room. It was like a big cigar floating around on a million undulating legs. Not a million. Then it would be a megapede. Which sounds a lot cooler than centipede.
Gun crime, which used to be unheard of, is now become a daily staple of the national press. People say it's because of all the refugees from Sudan Rwanda Burundi Congo but they've been around for 20 years or more. Other people say it's globalisation, although nobody seems to have a very clear picture of what that is. Only that it's pure evil. Others say the result of the younger generation being influenced by western (American) culture. That's very possibly true. The only American films which seem to exist in Tanzania are low budget action movies filmed in the late 80's. My neighbor, for example, is often called Osama (on account of his beard) or even Jesus (white guy with a beard) but every now and then gets Chuck Norris. An odd trinity, but without question three names that people associate with America.
posted by Ryan Kadow at 11:59 AM
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