A lot has happened in the past couple of days! Friday was fairly quiet, and I actually got a chance to practice violin (not the small one! see below) and study a bit of Swahili (nasema kidogo sana!). Friday night our roommate-to-be Thembi invited Danielle and me out to a barbecue restaurant. We met a few students from the US and Canada who are volunteering in Tanzania. We then went for drinks at a place called Empire where (note to self) there will often be live music. It was a lot of fun to go out and meet new people.
Saturday (yesterday!) we met Liza, the director of Umoja, and were whisked away to Tiana’s beautiful house for teacher orientation and training. After going over the group class curriculum I have more of an idea of what I’ll be doing and am very excited! Umoja has both Suzuki-based instrument lessons and a traditional Tanzanian music ensemble, and part of the vision and curriculum is to integrate the two. As well as instrumental techniques we will teach ear training, rhythm, improvisation and performance skills. Each student will have a private lesson and a group lesson each week.
Saturday evening was a “meet and greet” at a local restaurant where we met some of the families who are part of Umoja. I met some of my students and their parents. Everyone is so hospitable and welcoming. It will be a while before I get people’s names straight though. Tomorrow we continue with teacher training and Monday we start teaching!
I’m starting to make plans for things to do in my spare time – if there is any! One of the first things will be a day trip to Arusha National Park, which is the closest park to Arusha.
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| very small violin |
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| Meet and Greet with Umoja families |
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| Umoja teachers! David, Liza (derector), Danielle, Tiana, Alison |
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