Season's greetings

Hii Noeli na mwaka mupya usiite hivihivi bila vijisalamu toka kwangu. Akhsanteni kwa support isiyo na kipimo. Mwakani mambo bien kama kawa.

Wrist watch(s) story....

I got my first wrist watch nilipokuwa std. III au IV sikumbuki vizuri, ilikuwa ni DISCO makonyezo flani very maarufu sana wakati huo na hata siku hizi bado naziona mnadani pale Gorofani (alt spelling Gorfani), ya pili ilikuwa ni hizi za Kichina aka Hwang Hu, rangi ya gold kimtindo na ilikuwa grad present from dad I think, nikaigawa. Ya tatu nilinunua mwenyewe nilipojiunga na MWUCE ili kulua muda, nilikuwa nimetoka sec kule kuna kengele, lakini hapo kukawa hakuna, ikanibidi. Sasa huyu mama ambaye napiga mikonozzzz naye amenipatia saa yangu ya mkono(ni) ya NNE!!! Ana duka la vitabu hapa Cordoba "Libreria la Carmen". Good person, talkative like all Spaniards, well we couldn´t speak. She doesn´t speak English and I don´t speak Spanish, but it was bonitó.

My friends

Mama alitualika kwa msosi, dogo kule ni DJ.

Lola, Manuel na wengine, tulikuwa klub hapo.


Blanca and Ana

Mezquita

Hii ni landmark maarufu sana hapa Cordoba, in fact ni kama alama ya Cordoba, yaani huwezi kuzungumza kuhusu huu mji bila kutaja "Mezquita". Mwanzoni, historia na archeology zinadai ilikuwa ni "cathedral" ambalo baada ya uvamizi na conquest ya Wislamu (Waarabu?) walibalisha matumizi na kuwa msikiti maridhawa. Wakristo waliwashinda na kuwafukuza Waarabu (Moors) hao kama 1200 hivi na ku-regain jengo hilo ambalo mpaka sasa ni "catedral" ya dayosisi ya Cordoba.

Nahudhuria Jubilee

Hapa tupo La Mancha, katikati mwa Spain, tambarare sana hapa na kilimo kwa sana. Ni kijiji alichozaliwa Pd Miguel, El Toboso has about 2000 inhabitants, robust and beautiful.

Pd Miguel, the celebrant na Pd Pepe wakipiga miayo kabla ya msosi kuwasili.

Plate iko empty lakini ashaanza kula kichokoa meno, anajifanya Mhe. Temba nini? Mi amigo D. Paco

Wacha mambo yako watu tunagonga menyu.... Ni kama anasema vile, Pd Miguel Angel

Mdau nawakilisha Mang´ola

Sherehe...!

Cerveza (biere) zimekolea hapo ni kama glass ya 8 hivi, imnimwagikia kunako trousser, wananiambia ni alama kuwa sherehe iko pwa! Asikwambie mtu.
Hata sikumbuki nilimwambia nini vile...


Kama vile na-brush skills? Hamna kitu.....

Moshiiii! Mwanaume watu mitaa hii wanakula mafegi Mungu anajua!

Nilikuwepo kwa TV News jana

Click hapa kwenye link hii kuna kaji-video hapa afu forward hadi muda usome 18:50min-22:27min hapo ndipo kinachonihusu kinapoanza, tafsiri ya kilichosemwa (mi mwenyewe sijui kilichosemwa!) kwa sasa sina lakini naahidi kuitafuta. Now my pimpled face is all ova Spain.

Nakam Back

Kuna waliofikiri nitazamia, aah wapi! Ya huku nimeyaona na ninafikiri ni bora kula sahani moja na mafisadi wenzangu huko hom kuliko ku-stay mitaa hii. Kwa hiyo esta mañana nakwea pipa toka Madrid to Amsterdam afu baadae naunganisha mpaka KIA. Kwa hiyo tukutane holidei nyumbani, kama kawaida nakwenda kwa hija Kilema.

Nimetembelea shule!

Ni Colegio Trinitarios, colegio isikutishe sio college unayoifikiria, hapa shule zinaitwa hivyo.

I was invited to a school near where I live in which the wife of Pd Pepe´s sister firstborn is teaching. It is a private school owned by some congregation of RC priests. as you can see in the first picture it is a three storey building in which the first floor is Pre-school (3-6 year-olds), the second floor is Primary school (6-14 year-olds) and the upper floor is Secondary school (+14 year olds).

Observation:

• classes are small here usually less than 25 students in a class
  
• in secondary they´ve got some 11 subjects
• well equiped in all fields, sports and games included
• parents come to pick their children; especially pre-school and primary. I hear its due to insecurity
• one class session is 1hr in sec school
• sec school don´t wear uniforms as you can see in 4th picture
• a school will generally be having all education levels i.e. pre-school, primary and secondary
• am forced to think that their syllabus is limited to Spain and Europe, very little is taught of Africa

Cordoba from roof of the house am living

Naishi 11 Ronda de Marrubial, huo ukuta mzee ni wa tangu enzi za Warumi, hapa ukiwa unjenga afu ukakutana na any type of historical structure or something of archeological value, unakiacha kama kilivyo. Sio kama Dar ambapo watu wanademolish very old buildings and antiques without pity.

Hospital

Oparesheni ya jicho la kulia, Ijumaa tar 24, Nov 2008. Hapo naandaliwa.

Longing for Europe? Well....

Pic. El Corte Ingles, hypermarket in Coboda and many other Spanish cities and towns, you get everything here and its expensive.

Tomorrow I´m travelling to Madrid (about 400km from here) in which to get there I can take train 1h40min, or by bus´+5hrs or plane. It is usual here for many to take train which I also did. When I´m talking of trains in these parts of the world, don´t try to imagine TRL (Reli ya Kati) or TAZARA. Trains in these parts are fast (about 250km/h), reliable, comfy inside, and well, no hawkers to disturb you!
That I´m going to Madrid isn´t something you need know, do you? I´m telling this ´cause I´d to buy a ticket, so I went ot the station to get it.There I met one broder (brother) from The Gambia, West Africa. This guy has been to the station since early morning, he wants to go to Barcelona. To get there he needs about 70euros and he´s only 20euros. He´s there seeing for any good samaritan to get him the remaining amount. Just try to think of the cold here (3 degrees C) and hunger because he cannot use the money he has for food else he won´t get to Barcelona. This broder has been here for almost a year, he came through Senegal by boat offcourse.
Negroes (Blacks) are very few here, so when you happen to see one you´re like, wow! So this guy saw me and came to play his fortune, to ask for some money so that he can travel. It is almost 1815hrs freezing evening and all signs taht it´ll rain or something, showers have started by the way. He spoke, I listened not able to help in any way. Why? you may ask, well, first I didn´t at that point trusted him, and second I didn´t had any extra for him too. My ticket costed me some 90euros. He smelled like someone who hadn´t enjoyed the luxury of bath for some weeks, mouth was dry signifying hunger and despair. Anyone would pity him, but here everybody is having enough problems for himself so nobody really cares, I´d say. There is all this economic crisis and everybody seems to feel its pangs, businesses closing and bars and pubs generally empty.
So to all who hunger for a nafasi to come to First World you´re welcome, but you´ve got to be prepared. Get your university degree or something, get your legal documents and save some cents for a start-up then come, else it´s not all glittering here. Also for those who would wish to be born a dog in Europe than a person in Dark Continent, bingo! Just imagine locked inside for the whole day, only to get out when your owner is back from work for a stroll in the public park or street, with a strap round your neck and all fast food! If you were thinking of inzi, don´t even think of it. They really don´t like houseflies, that means you´ll be dead before long when you get here.
When I was coming some friends were telling, don´t come back; zamia! Ain´t gonna do that whatever, wherever!
Am out

Reporting from Cordoba, Spain

Hullo ndugu wadau,

It has been a while no reports from Mang´ola, well I like to think that I´ve been busy and occupied to what I really don´t know. 

Comprendes, I´d like to present this report live from Spain, a city called Cordoba where I´ve been since Fri 14th. Am here for some serious eye treatment, I got this cataract thing. Seen a lot and wished to post some photos but next time.

As for now naomba kuwakilisha! 

Victor looks BUSY!

Fr Lyamtane gets personal

There were some reasons to laugh also

Adelgunda from Visitation and Eveta who is MWUCE student on the way to the library to prepare, I guess, the portfolio

um

I posted this one after I realized that it was only yesterday I knew how BIG my nose is! Thanks Santa for taking this

After a busy, long morning session

Working together

Sr Stella, Philip, Maryflora, Innocent Samky and um, am sorry to forget your name!

Prof gets personal

Attentive to every detail as always, Mama Gus

Soja and Nyau

Am sorry Nyau I couldn't get your laughing face!

Less costs, effective teaching materials

On Friday we had Mr Allen discussing "Teaching without sufficient teaching materials", the task was given to spend less of the 5000 shillings. Mashaka Mahenge, Crispin Shayo "Nyau", Adelgunda, Serafine and Mugaya won. They made very practical but inexpensive periscope for a Physics class. Kudos guys, but I don't think your idea was novel"

The facilitators

Mr. Nzao will usually get really as excited as young gazelle at a mere mention anything with "participatory" and the use of "locally available material " He presented in Wes on "Teaching using participatory methods a large class" which to be honest was rather boring and uninteresting. But thanks amn you were good!


This man promised us participant all the good life at MWUCE, he's the Coordinator and he would peep in and check out what we were doing and helped a lot to put thing in simple Tanzania understanding, if I may call.


Sr Augustina and Prof Shelley

Profs Vavrus and Lesley

Did something went wrong or? Well, I can't guess but these were the brains behind this year's workshop, both from Teachers' College, Columbia Univ NY.
One thing I liked about them is that they are FOR OBAMA!

TIA 08: the photos are here!

The look on the face of Anitha and Rebecca tells it all! LOOK BUSY!


Sr. Stella and Edith, the nun is from Mtwara.

Prof Vavrus from the Teachers' College, Columbia Univ. NY stressing something over to Richard

We managed one or two sunny days were some of our guests who have never seen mount Kili were able to witness unleashing her beauty

For the pic

The maintainer of this blog wishes to express his sincere sorry for not having posted any photos to the moment, I took some and hopefully the will be on your screen before tomorrow evening, unless otherwise.

TIA: mid week and thur

This year's workshops are full of excitement and fun with lots of active activities, hot discussions and experiences. The seminar has now gone through the mid week with four cases already discussed. Wednesday was about the problem of using participatory m,ethods while teaching a large class, assume having a hundred and fifty young people making all that hell of noise and the discipline issues connected to that. Mr. Nzao presented using a rather vague case study as I may think and a lot of examples.
Today it was Sr. Augustina's turn to look at the problem that we all face in our classes of having students with varied learning speeds, cognitions, style etc. The day started off with a "Learning style questionnaire" which I scored RED meaning I am some sort of independent, unstructured, practical, self directed learner which I assume I possess. It was then followed by a discussion using a method called "discussion carousel". We had some reflection session and some teachers including me gave their experiences in the schools they are from. Most including me totally disagreed to the idea of streaming*grouping with very interesting account from Rev. Uwoya
I would say today wasn't as bored as it was yesterday that we witnessed some participant snoring off!!
During the evening session we were dealing with SoW, Lesson plans and teaching and learning aids. It reminded me of Mrs. Hellen and Miss Sussanah, I missed them both. I'm doing a form two topic "Water management for economic development" specifically on the sub-topic "Riveter Basin Development" of which I made a map for students simulation and role play activities on decision making,
The day is ended with smile on my face remembering the Tuesdays I had making models, posters, creating role plays or learning how to use a digital camera with Erick.
One thing I do not understand is the college website has got virtual nothing regarding this ongoing event. Can someone help me do something about it?

TIA 2008

So two days of the TIA seminar have ended, with a lot already learned, discussed: new methods and skill, in general this year's workshops are all but fruitful. It is though tiresome and sometimes well, boring!
We are now busy creating portfolios; schemes of work, lesson plans, teaching materials and notes, just a hell lot of things.
This years' seminar also introduced a new technique for teacher preparation prior to class sessions called Topic Design Plan (TDP). Being a very novel idea in Tanzania education, and I hope am privileged to one of the few first in Tanzania to get it, proved hard to get it through and right. But life's is a never ending school so I hope even my colleagues who have been to job for long than I are benefiting from this new experience.
Another intersting and difficult part is the construction of a case study story suitable for practical use in our classes, challenging but well worth it!

TIA 2008

Hello and welcome to my blog once more! I am writing from Mwenge University where am attending the second edition of the Teaching in Action (TIA) seminar and workshops. This year it has grown in number, content and facilitators including the brains behind the seminar Prof. Vavrus who was missing last year. We are here since Sunday evening and will be for the whole week till Saturday.
We've had two case studies done: Negative attitudes toward Maths and Issues pertaining to Discipline when using participatory approaches to teaching and general.

Lost, found!

I posted my last f****g entry last yera in Dec. I've been so busy I guess. Man'ola is where I still belong and used and familiar I am becoming.