Lego!

Thursday marked the end of exams for class two while class three had one final exam in the morning. The day was used to allow the children to relax after the exams and as we moved all the tables to the side of the room, a box full of Lego appeared. I wasn't entirely sure who was more excited by this, the children or their twenty-two year old teacher. Getting the children to be quiet and play nicely was a huge challenge and we were constantly bombarded with complaints of one person stealing something off another. However, when the children finally did start behaving and building stuff on their own, it was nice to see how something that gave me endless amounts of joy when I was younger could do the same for these children brought up in another part of the world with a completely different background. The children built a variety of things, most simply stacking things to make a tower before holding it triumphantly like a trophy when I went round with my camera. Others were building forts and space stations with one child in particular, one who is usually very disruptive, showed a concentration which could only be dreamed of when it came to academic work to build a large manned station complete with wings and a makeshift Tanzanian flag. Photos will be on my Facebook soon! Soon after it was the turn of class three and similar towers began popping up. They were much better behaved though, probably because of the smaller class size meaning there was more Lego to go around. Two other things caught my eye: one was the large ship one child managed to build, as well as making a wheelbarrow-like machine out of Lego technik stuff (or whatever it's called); the second was that there was far more co-operation between classmates. After school, we were subjected to a workshop on various topics, explained mostly in Swahili so I was pretty damn bored throughout.

Later that evening was the Projects Abroad social, starting with a dance show where volunteers would have the chance to learn some traditional Tanzanian dances. Some volunteers took part when we were given the chance and I was one of them. Many of the moves were fairly simple, using at most four steps, but the speed at which some of it went meant that it was really tiring, especially in the heat. Afterwards, we headed to the Chinese Dragon restaurant for, you guessed it, Chinese food. Having not eaten noodles for nearly a month, it was a relief, although the owners spoke Mandarin and not Cantonese. I had beef ho fun, which wasn't on the menu but the manager told me they could have it made. The portion was huge and the food was goo enough. We then headed back to Via Via for the night.

Waking in the morning, late, I had to run to catch the dala-dala to get to school on time while feeling pretty rough. It was the last of my volunteering and the last day of school before Easter break for the children. They were having a party for the last day, with the school providing food and drinks. There was a lot of singing and drumming of tables which doesn't do hangovers any good but it was nice to watch. I have a video to upload, but that may have to wait until I'm back in the UK with broadband.

Friday afternoon consisted of a HIV/AIDS workshop put on by Projects Abroad which was basically a refresher of my Biology lessons but there were useful bits on the rate and methods of infection specifically for Tanzania and the work that some organisations are attempting to do. It lasted for an hour and a half and included a, frankly ridiculous, clapping game. Afterwards, Quirine and I met some other volunteers and headed to Africafe for a drink and then on to Picasso, a restaurant based near the Impala hotel. The menu was extensive and the cocktails being prepared for another table looked rather tempting but I decided to rest my liver for a day. The menu is fairly extensive, with European dishes ranging upwards of 15000TSH for a main course. I had calamari with some sautéed vegetables and French fries for 17500TSH, a Sprite for 1500TSH and a rich chocolate brownie, which was delightful, for 4000TSH. Speaking of desserts, too, the café has a nice selection of desserts including: the brownie I had, huge slices of Black Forest gateaux, lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, and carrot cake. So a main, drink and dessert for under £10 and this was one of the more expensive meals that I have eaten so far in Tanzania.

The whole dinner was arranged by a girl who is leaving Tanzania on Sunday and even though I have only known her for less than a month, it's sad to see someone leave. But those are the facts I suppose. I have met so many great people over this last month, and will meet so many more until I fly back to the UK in June, but it is hard to say who, if any, I will ever see again in my lifetime. I hope I keep in touch with as many as possible but I'm notoriously bad at that, as my friends back home can probably attest to after this last month. Definitely need to get on Facebook more so I can find out what's going on with everyone at home. Blogging is great method of telling people what's happening to you. This, for example, is informing anyone at home wanting to read what I have done in this truly wonderful past month but it is a one way conversation. Now that I have blogged for an entire month, I need to make more of an effort to find out how everyone else is. Be less self-absorbed should probably have been one of my goals! Speaking of which, I'll give an update of those tomorrow but tonight I head to watch the mighty Arsenal. 'Til tomorrow.