Kuuliza si ujinga

I could write a long rant about the various annoyances and frustrations of Tanzanian village life. Or I could write a cheerful entry full of all the great things that have happened in the past two weeks. Life here is like a roller coaster. It's exhilaring, intense, and often there's too much happening to process it well. And you could describe it as awesome or as a huge pain-in-the-neck: it just depends on what mood you're in and which events you decide to focus on.

I guess the biggest news is that we had visitors at my school. Yes, other white people in the village! There was a woman from Austria and a woman from Switzerland, who somehow represent some NGO which may give us money to build a library and increase the size of our hostel.

So, what does this all mean for the school? Well, a day off for the students, and a day of acting as a translator for me. We gave the visitors a tour, then the students put on performances for them, and the headmaster made a speech. We decided to switch roles for translating: the headmaster spoke first in English, and I translated into Kiswahili. The students seemed to enjoy it, especially when I acted out words I didn't know. Lots of laughter when I was talking about how small the library is and pretended to stand stiffly in a crowded room, as I don't yet know the Kiswahili word for "crowded".

Oh, and it was nice not being the honored guest for once. (But benefiting from the lunch prepared for the honoroed guests!)