Reply to Mr. Zetah's Questions

Response to Mr. Zetah:

Thanks for the updates! Sounds like it should be a good staff and a great year!

You asked some really good questions so let me get right to it:

What do your students know about America/What is their perception of living there?

My students believe that everyone in America is very wealthy and has many possessions. They will not believe me when I try to tell them that in America there are also many problems with crime, poverty, health, and education. They often argue and tell me that a poor person in America is much better off than a poor person in Tanzania. However, I’m not sure if this is always the case. I try to explain that because America is so developed there is a high cost of living and people do not grow their own food so they must rely on a job to pay for housing and food. As a result, when people cannot find jobs they are often left to live on the streets with no shelter or food. Here in Tanzania land is an abundant resource and, even though people here are poor in the sense that they make very little money, many are still able to self sustain themselves with food and shelter.

Also, because many of my students have never used a computer or been on the Internet before they don’t have any resources where they are able to get current events and other perspectives on different countries. Therefore, they rely on the few photo books that they have here that show only the beautiful landscapes of the United States.

What would your students love to receive?

Anything. Ok, that might be a little too broad. My students love to hear about America and see pictures and find out new things about the lifestyle. Some students found one of my bookmarks and had never seen one before so I’m sure they would love to have one of their own. They don’t have stickers here or paper to color on. I think they would be pretty fascinated with anything that I could tell them came from America.

What do I really miss from my usual daily routine?

This is a tough one. At first I missed being able to snack on food. My diet here is limited to about 10 different types of food (rice, ugali, beans, chicken, beef, pork, spinach, potatoes, bread, bananas, and eggs). Every now and then we might get spoiled with something a little different, but it’s usually the same food each day. But, I’ve started to get used to the food. I think what I miss the most is hot water. I’m fortunate enough o actually have a nice bathroom with a shower in my room, most people in Africa do not, but getting up at 5:30 in the morning and trying to take a cold shower is a little tough.

One thing that is really cool that people in America would like:

Besides the beautiful scenery and friendly people I think one of the coolest things is how the women here can balance a 5-gallon bucket of water on their heads while they walk. Very few roads here are paved and they are full of potholes and uneven ground, but it doesn’t seem to affect these women while they walk. No matter where you are going you will always see women walking with bundles of logs for firewood, buckets of water, or baskets filled with various items on their heads.