First Day of School

We had our first day of school today…I get nervous on my first days teaching American schools, so you can imagine my feelings going into a Tanzanian school.  All ten of us crammed into one van and headed out, and don’t be alarmed; yesterday there were eleven us plus our driver.  When we got there, students came running to their classroom doors to look at us and wave and say hello.  They were absolutely adorable! After some communication difficulties we were placed in our classrooms and I am with an English teacher in first grade.  The schools are different here in that they have specialized teachers for each grade level, like high school in America.  The students were thrilled to see us and all they wanted to do was touch us and feel our hair, clothes, jewelry, etc.  If we took out our cameras they were enthralled, and everyone wanted a picture.  The students would stand and greet me, “good morning Madame” when I entered and the teacher would tell them to sit and they would respond with ‘thank you Madame’.  They were so polite and cute I just couldn’t believe it.  At around 10:00 or 10:30 we had a break for tea and rolls; I observed the teachers dipping their rolls into their tea and followed accordingly.  The tea was great, and I can imagine I would enjoy having a break like this as a teacher.  Awkwardly at 12:30 my teacher told me I was free…we were supposed to be there until 2:00.  I explained that to her so I graded some more papers and at around 1:00 was told lunch was ready.  I met with two other girls from my group and we walked around until we found where our lunch was; it was ugali and some mixed vegetables and beef.  It was interesting and I am glad I had the chance to experience the local food here!  I felt like I was back in Spain with Maria, because my teacher kept telling us to eat more food and fill our plates more.