An eventful week

A lot has happened in the past week! Here are some of the highlights:

Starting to figure out my way around Arusha – I can now give directions to our house, even using some Swahili words

Ordering a taxi in Swahili and having it show up at the right time and in the right place

Discovering that the easiest way into town is to walk down the hill (a 15 minute walk) and take one of the many taxis waiting at the bottom

Attending a meeting with some of the parents of Umoja’s outreach students – local Tanzanian kids who will start their violin and piano lessons in a few weeks

Having someone say their phone number in Swahili, writing it down as they said the numbers and actually getting it right

Trying to memorize my phone number. If anyone’s wondering, it’s sifuri saba nane nne tano tatu tano tano saba nne  -- figure it out!

Enjoying a delicious dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant with Danielle and Tiana and her daughters

Having pizza with Liza and Danielle at the Masai Café

Dancing at Via Via!

Hearing live music at the Blue Heron

Signing up for Swahili lessons

Going  running through the coffee fields next to the International School (only once so far, but planning to make it a regular practice)

Learning to read alto clef since I have a viola student

Saying goodbye to Liza, who is off to grad school in London. I will miss her! As will so many other people! But we are excited for her as well.

Trying to organize a safari

Cooking a few quick but good meals and learning a few food words including mkate, mboga, ndizi

And of course, teaching a full week of private lessons and groups.

This evening Danielle and I were present at a very special occasion. Tiana invited us to her house for the “Minuet graduation” for her daughter Elsa, who has been one of Liza’s violin students and will now be one of mine. Elsa played for us the three minuets by J.S. Bach from the first Suzuki book, with Liza accompanying her on second violin. In the background, through the living room windows, we could see the sun setting over the hills. A beautiful setting and beautiful music. It was so amazing that in the midst of our busy and somewhat frenetic lives time stood still while we listened to a young girl play Bach. A moving testimony to the power of music to bring people together in community and to bring peace and joy into our lives. Also a testimony to the importance of supportive, encouraging parenting that celebrates the milestones, large and small, in a child’s life.

Now it is Sunday night and I am writing with the kitten curled up in my lap. A new week begins tomorrow. More adventures ahead!

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Swahili time

So… I’m gradually learning a bit of Swahili. It’s slow going. The other night I actually managed to order a taxi in Swahili! That’s a start. Unfortunately although it’s possible to come up with words to say it’s much harder to understand what other people are saying. I am hopeful that as time goes on it will become easier.

One very interesting thing about Swahili is the way people talk about time. Instead of a new day beginning at midnight it begins at sunrise, or 6 am. (Since Tanzania is close to the equator the sun rises and sets at approximately the same time all year.) Basically, you count up from the bottom of the clock instead of down from the top. For example:

7 am is saa moja asubuhi  (1:00 in the morning)

noon is saa sita mchana  (6:00 midday)

9:30 pm is saa tatu na nusa jioni  (3:30 in the evening)

midnight is saa sita usiku (6:00 at night)

Usually people use English time when speaking English and Swahili time when speaking Swahili. So when confirming the time of something, it is not unusual to say “eleven o’clock – saa tano.”

In general Swahili is a fascinating language. I’ll keep you posted as I learn more!

New home!

Danielle and I have moved to a house which we are sharing with Thembi, a writer from Great Britain. Thembi has lived in Tanzania for many years. The house is located up a winding, rocky dirt road near the top of a hill. Although it seems remote, it is actually not that far from work! But it's a whole different world. It is quite rural, with many little shops along the road. When I get a chance I'll take pictures of our "hood." We can buy fresh vegetables right at the end of our lane! And apparently there is a woman at the end of the land who has a shop where she makes fantastic chips. I'll have to check it out soon...

 

My bed, with mosquito netting of course (very cozy)

front of the house

a view of the whole house. The two windows furthest left are my room.

Garden

Pictures of ISM, where I teach Monday through Friday

Car park and front kiosk

front gate

Music building

sign in the hall outside music studios

First week of teaching!

Ahh… I’m so glad it’s Saturday evening, and tomorrow is a day off. The first week of teaching violin was, for  the most part, excellent.  I saw 23 private students and taught 2 group classes.  My students range in age from 4 to 54 (?) and in level from very beginner to quite advanced. A lot of this first week was about getting to know each student a bit and figuring out how I can most effectively work with him or her.  A working relationship with a student takes time to develop – and since Umoja’s  curriculum emphasizes the Suzuki method, it means developing a relationship as well with parents, who are very much involved in the process, especially in the early years.  

Not everyone started this week, so in a regular week I will have about 30 students and teach three group classes. A key element of Umoja is the outreach teaching which will start in September. On Saturdays we teach local Tanzanian kids who would not otherwise have access to music lessons, and we teach at a church in the centre of town which is easier for them to get to.  That will be a new challenge for me, as Swahili is the first language for these families – although the kids are learning English in school .

I am enjoying the cross-cultural aspect of this job. This week I taught students from Holland, Germany, Macedonia, Israel, India, Ireland, France, and Australia, all of whom are living here in Arusha. Most of them are growing up here and speak Swahili fluently, as well as English and their language of origin. I am definitely having language envy! I’m trying to learn at least one Swahili phrase or group of words each day. It will take a while though. I need to write a whole blog post about Swahili; it is such an interesting language.

Liza, the director of Umoja and an amazing violin teacher, has been around this week and will be here about a week more, but then is leaving for graduate school in London. She is not only immensely helpful but also inspiring, and also fun to be around. I’ve learned a lot from watching her interact with students, as well as seeing how she has adapted to life in Tanzania through her six years of living here. She will still be very much involved with Umoja and will be here periodically.

Today there was a meeting with all the parents and teachers to talk about plans for the year. The year ahead looks exciting and busy. I’ll write about events as they happen!

And of course, a lot more happened this week besides teaching. One major event was moving into the house where Danielle and I will be living. Tomorrow I plan to take some pictures, and then I will write about it. At the moment I’m sitting at the big desk (apparently it used to be a massage table, but I wouldn't trust it to hold anyone's weight) in my very cozy room. It feels great to have unpacked, finally.

Pictures to follow when I have a faster internet connection!

Hey all! I'll write an update soon. Meanwhile, thought you'd enjoy this picture. It's the front of a menu from a Japanese restaurant in Arusha.

Catching up...

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.

very small violin

Meet and Greet with Umoja families

Umoja teachers! David, Liza (derector), Danielle, Tiana, Alison