It's neat that the party that we are planning for Chinese class will fall on 8/8. That's got to be good luck, right?
Anyway, today Focus and I journeyed into the city to attempt to deliver the rest of the letters. Focus thought it'd be wise to invite the public relations portions of the big cell phone companies Vodacom, Zain, and Tigo to this party as well. A number of local government officials and also the police office were among the other places that we needed to go. This is a long process, and before Focus got tired of walking (He is quite a big man, and quite old as well), we only had delivered four or so letters, and we have about 12 remaining. I guess we'll just have to go Monday. Nothing ever gets done in Tanzania with phone calls or emails, but if you visit someone and give them a letter, then that apparently means a lot. It'll be interesting to see how any people actually show up next Saturday.
In other news, I received a phone call from Ms. Wang, informing me that she wanted to write a report on the Chinese learning woodcarvers. When I asked who would be getting it, she told me not to worry about it... Anyway, needless to say, I started writing immediately and will try to get it back to her tomorrow. It's taken almost 6 weeks, but at least the embassy is finally doing something with the project. Ms. Wang was ambiguous of whether she would be coming next Saturday (though she did mention she got the letter from Focus), but at the very least, this report is something in the right direction. Ms. Wang specifically asked me to write down the woodcarvers' request for more blackboards, benches, chalk, and notebooks, which leads me to believe that perhaps they will be donating this stuff next Saturday. That would be one way to make themselves look good.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
7/30/09
I’m excited at the progress that the students have made in their skits. If they can just keep their head composed during the presentation, their pronunciation is pretty much spot on, although they do sound like they are trying a bit too hard when speaking.
I have 13 days left, and these final days will be my attempt to publicize the Chinese learning that is going on at the Woodcarvers school. I am hoping that if the woodcarvers’ learning is well received, the Chinese embassy and perhaps other organizations around the world will see that a Chinese learning program is feasible in Tanzania and that there are many students ready to take advantage of such a program. Perhaps more importantly, I hope to validate the learning of the woodcarving students. They are already very motivated, but still, I feel sometimes the rigor of daily life may prevent them from studying as enthusiastically as usual. Though their interactions with the Chinese customers is validation to some degree, it compares nothing to the certificates and ceremonies that western institutions put on at a graduation or so. To them learning is something valuable in itself, but even so, I would like to somehow show that I, and I think many people in Tanzania will, appreciate their efforts.
I talked to my professor, who taught at Princeton for two years, but will now be returning to the University of Dar es Salaam to work full time. He has recently become head of the Kiswahili program there, so fortunately for me, he has a couple of useful connections. He has contacted the Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and the Dean there was very happy to hear about my program and wanted to interview me on radio and TV! Hopefully, I can convince the dean to attend one of our classes, as that would be the best situation, but an interview is a good start. I want this to be more about the woodcarvers rather than my own journey, but I’m not sure how the questions are going to twist it, so I need to prepare myself, haha.
I am also writing letters to some major media outlets as well as the Chinese Embassy and Business center. Here is a default example:
Dear Media Member,
We would like to invite all members of the media to attend a Chinese presentation put together by the Chinese language students of the Tanzania Carvers’ Association (Chawasawata) on Saturday, August 8th 7 p.m., at the Chawasawata school, located right behind the Woodcarvers‘ market in Mwenge. The students will be presenting a few short skits to show the Chinese language that they have acquired over the past two months. In addition, Chawasata will be bidding fairwell to their Chinese teacher, Mr. King, who is returning to America, and welcoming their new teacher Ms. Wu, who will continue to teach every Saturday at the Chawasawata school.
We are very proud of the progress that these dedicated students have been able to make, and would greatly appreciate it if the media outlets in Dar Es Salaam could also come out to see just how much they have learned in just these few months. Your presence at this event would not only encourage the students at the Chawasawata school to encourage learning, but also set a precedent to show Tanzanians that the Chinese people are not only seeking a business relationship, but a relationship that fosters the exchange of culture and knowledge. We hope to invite other members of the Chinese community, local newspapers, and television stations to publicize this event and show Tanzanians how much China-Tanzania relations have progressed.
We understand that the media has many projects to pursue, but hope that they do find our cause valuable enough to make time for. If you are planning to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so that we may plan out the number of drinks needed. If there are any questions about the event or how to arrive at the Chawasawata school, please contact Jeffrey King, Chinese teacher at the Chawasawata school at 0755330574 or Focus, chairman of the Tanzania Carvers Association, at 0754623873, prior to August 12th. Finally, if you cannot attend this particular day, but would still like to cover this developing story, please let us know as well, and we will do our best to arrange another day in which you can observe the classroom.
Thank you for your time,
Chawasawata (Chama cha Wasanii Wachongaji Tanzania
Tanzania Carvers Association
I have 13 days left, and these final days will be my attempt to publicize the Chinese learning that is going on at the Woodcarvers school. I am hoping that if the woodcarvers’ learning is well received, the Chinese embassy and perhaps other organizations around the world will see that a Chinese learning program is feasible in Tanzania and that there are many students ready to take advantage of such a program. Perhaps more importantly, I hope to validate the learning of the woodcarving students. They are already very motivated, but still, I feel sometimes the rigor of daily life may prevent them from studying as enthusiastically as usual. Though their interactions with the Chinese customers is validation to some degree, it compares nothing to the certificates and ceremonies that western institutions put on at a graduation or so. To them learning is something valuable in itself, but even so, I would like to somehow show that I, and I think many people in Tanzania will, appreciate their efforts.
I talked to my professor, who taught at Princeton for two years, but will now be returning to the University of Dar es Salaam to work full time. He has recently become head of the Kiswahili program there, so fortunately for me, he has a couple of useful connections. He has contacted the Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and the Dean there was very happy to hear about my program and wanted to interview me on radio and TV! Hopefully, I can convince the dean to attend one of our classes, as that would be the best situation, but an interview is a good start. I want this to be more about the woodcarvers rather than my own journey, but I’m not sure how the questions are going to twist it, so I need to prepare myself, haha.
I am also writing letters to some major media outlets as well as the Chinese Embassy and Business center. Here is a default example:
Dear Media Member,
We would like to invite all members of the media to attend a Chinese presentation put together by the Chinese language students of the Tanzania Carvers’ Association (Chawasawata) on Saturday, August 8th 7 p.m., at the Chawasawata school, located right behind the Woodcarvers‘ market in Mwenge. The students will be presenting a few short skits to show the Chinese language that they have acquired over the past two months. In addition, Chawasata will be bidding fairwell to their Chinese teacher, Mr. King, who is returning to America, and welcoming their new teacher Ms. Wu, who will continue to teach every Saturday at the Chawasawata school.
We are very proud of the progress that these dedicated students have been able to make, and would greatly appreciate it if the media outlets in Dar Es Salaam could also come out to see just how much they have learned in just these few months. Your presence at this event would not only encourage the students at the Chawasawata school to encourage learning, but also set a precedent to show Tanzanians that the Chinese people are not only seeking a business relationship, but a relationship that fosters the exchange of culture and knowledge. We hope to invite other members of the Chinese community, local newspapers, and television stations to publicize this event and show Tanzanians how much China-Tanzania relations have progressed.
We understand that the media has many projects to pursue, but hope that they do find our cause valuable enough to make time for. If you are planning to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so that we may plan out the number of drinks needed. If there are any questions about the event or how to arrive at the Chawasawata school, please contact Jeffrey King, Chinese teacher at the Chawasawata school at 0755330574 or Focus, chairman of the Tanzania Carvers Association, at 0754623873, prior to August 12th. Finally, if you cannot attend this particular day, but would still like to cover this developing story, please let us know as well, and we will do our best to arrange another day in which you can observe the classroom.
Thank you for your time,
Chawasawata (Chama cha Wasanii Wachongaji Tanzania
Tanzania Carvers Association
Monday, July 27, 2009
7/27/09
Saturday, I met with Mr. Li, who introduced me to Ms. Wu, who is the actual teacher. Mr. Li will be returning back to China in two weeks, but Ms. Wu has started working here for just a month or so and will be staying for the foreseeable future. Both of them were interested in doing the teaching because they saw it as an opportunity to help spread some Chinese culture (They felt particularly strongly that China needed to do a better job in building a cultural and not just business presence), and in addition, to learn some Swahili. Mr. Li in particular was interested in how he could teach the woodcarvers to better save their money. He insisted that due to colonization, many of the woodcarvers just spent the money that they got each day and saved none of it. I’m not sure how accurate this is, but it could be true. Anyway, Mr. Li is an actual success story himself, and probably could be a poster boy for China’s educational system. He grew up in a rural area, but with good test scores, was able to attend college and now is doing quite well for himself. I think partly due to his background, he sympathizes with the poorer Tanzanians.
As of now, Ms. Wu can only teach once a week on Saturdays because her work schedule is really busy. She says she will try to find more time when things get lighter. In addition, there are about 8 young graduates from China coming over to work in the company, and she will “require” them to volunteer to teach the woodcarvers Chinese. I really like how she sees teaching the woodcarvers as an exchange of knowledge rather than her taking time out of her schedule to do something solely for the sake of the Tanzanians. Anyway, while once a week is not ideal for Chinese learning, it is much better than nothing, and the woodcarvers were indeed just happy to know that they will at the very least be able to keep their Chinese at the level which it is at.
Later that Saturday, she also came to take a look at how class was run. Because right now I am preparing the students for some skits (in which I hope the Chinese Embassy will attend), class was a bit different than usual. I split my class into six groups and the day before (Friday), we had started working on dialogues that I had written. Sadly, I don’t think many of the students are yet capable of writing dialogues for themselves, and because I am tight on time, I decided to write them myself. I assigned students parts in each dialogue, and during the class they worked on it within their groups. When Ms. Wu finally came (with her cousin who’s much younger than she is), the woodcarvers gave her a very warm greeting. I told her about what I was doing, and she immediately helped the woodcarvers with their pronunciation in each group. At the end of class, she finally introduced herself officially, and she left to a standing ovation from the woodcarvers.
Today (Monday), in class, we further worked on the skits. At the very end of class, I had each group do its’ presentation in front of the class. It was an absolute blast. The students made a ton of mistakes, but I was really proud of what they were attempting to do. One student in particular had some hilarious acting skills (in that they were not good, but he was trying hard), and the class gave him a hard time about it. It was neat, however, that the students could tell when a student was pronouncing things correctly and they even caught on to some of the mistakes other people were doing. I am currently on a mad rampage to find someone with a video camera. The ones sold here are at cheapest over $500, so buying one is not really an option. This is something I’d really like to record and show to the world.
Today I also called the embassy and told them that I had found a teacher who was willing to teach. I also asked Ms. Wang to try to make this Saturday or next Saturday available, and as usual, she said she’ll see what she can do. Things on this front are not looking that promising. Maybe the embassy really is busy, but can they not just take one hour to recognize some Tanzanians who are working their butts off to learn an aspect of their culture? It just seems something that the Cultural Department of the embassy should be eating up. I mean, , sure, doing business with Tanzanians is one thing, and certainly deserving of respect, but educating Tanzanians about Chinese culture, that is completely on another level in terms of building a solid relationship.
As of now, Ms. Wu can only teach once a week on Saturdays because her work schedule is really busy. She says she will try to find more time when things get lighter. In addition, there are about 8 young graduates from China coming over to work in the company, and she will “require” them to volunteer to teach the woodcarvers Chinese. I really like how she sees teaching the woodcarvers as an exchange of knowledge rather than her taking time out of her schedule to do something solely for the sake of the Tanzanians. Anyway, while once a week is not ideal for Chinese learning, it is much better than nothing, and the woodcarvers were indeed just happy to know that they will at the very least be able to keep their Chinese at the level which it is at.
Later that Saturday, she also came to take a look at how class was run. Because right now I am preparing the students for some skits (in which I hope the Chinese Embassy will attend), class was a bit different than usual. I split my class into six groups and the day before (Friday), we had started working on dialogues that I had written. Sadly, I don’t think many of the students are yet capable of writing dialogues for themselves, and because I am tight on time, I decided to write them myself. I assigned students parts in each dialogue, and during the class they worked on it within their groups. When Ms. Wu finally came (with her cousin who’s much younger than she is), the woodcarvers gave her a very warm greeting. I told her about what I was doing, and she immediately helped the woodcarvers with their pronunciation in each group. At the end of class, she finally introduced herself officially, and she left to a standing ovation from the woodcarvers.
Today (Monday), in class, we further worked on the skits. At the very end of class, I had each group do its’ presentation in front of the class. It was an absolute blast. The students made a ton of mistakes, but I was really proud of what they were attempting to do. One student in particular had some hilarious acting skills (in that they were not good, but he was trying hard), and the class gave him a hard time about it. It was neat, however, that the students could tell when a student was pronouncing things correctly and they even caught on to some of the mistakes other people were doing. I am currently on a mad rampage to find someone with a video camera. The ones sold here are at cheapest over $500, so buying one is not really an option. This is something I’d really like to record and show to the world.
Today I also called the embassy and told them that I had found a teacher who was willing to teach. I also asked Ms. Wang to try to make this Saturday or next Saturday available, and as usual, she said she’ll see what she can do. Things on this front are not looking that promising. Maybe the embassy really is busy, but can they not just take one hour to recognize some Tanzanians who are working their butts off to learn an aspect of their culture? It just seems something that the Cultural Department of the embassy should be eating up. I mean, , sure, doing business with Tanzanians is one thing, and certainly deserving of respect, but educating Tanzanians about Chinese culture, that is completely on another level in terms of building a solid relationship.
Friday, July 24, 2009
7/24/09
I’m pretty sure none of you have ever heard me curse, and it’s a good thing I’m in Tanzania, because in the past half an hour, I think I’ve cursed more than my good friend Jonathan Kent has in his whole freaking life.
I have found another Chinese teacher. It still hasn’t settled in yet, and I am shaking my head vigorously, but oh my god, I can’t believe I have found another teacher to continue to teach Chinese here in Tanzania. Like, I feel as if a boulder has been lifted off my shoulders, and I am literally going to explode with happiness once I stop jumping around like I’m five years old.
You have to understand that I was really starting to lose hope. I had started to form backup plans, where I would send audio recordings to one of the storeowners who would be able to then download them and listen to them. He, being professionally trained as a teacher, would then be able to try to teach the other students. Also, yesterday, I was explained by one Chinese medical director that the Chinese people have very little concept of Volunteerism, and doing work without getting paid. Today, I received a call from one person who asked if she could be paid to teach. Then, tonight, in the shower, I was thinking about how really very few Chinese people actually volunteer, and it is certainly a shame. I was even conjuring up twisted thoughts about writing an article which argued that Chinese people have lost their roots in emphasizing making money over other things like yi and dao.
But now all of those thoughts are gone, and with just one received phone call, my faith in the Chinese people has been completely restored. Chinese people rock. They freaking rock! I can’t believe my plan of talking to every remotely looking Chinese person has worked, but it has worked, and I can’t help but to feel like, wow, if I can do this, I can really do anything now. Looking back, I’m thinking where in the world would asking people if they’d like to teach Chinese to woodcarvers for free work anywhere else in the world? Could you imagine this happening in America? Where I’d hunt down every Chinese person and ask them if they wanted to teach Chinese to Tanzanian woodcarvers? It seems like such a bizarre plan, and yet, talking to people really seems to work. Wow! What a concept!
Now that the excitement and pure shock is starting to leave, a bit of fear is starting to creep in. This truly has to be too good. I’m meeting with the teacher and a guy I talked to yesterday at the woodcarvers market. He really did look for other teachers, and when he picked up the phone and explained to me he found someone else, I couldn’t believe it. The first thing I asked was, “You know this is volunteering right?” (In Chinese), and he said, “Yup, you explained it to me.” And I went on for about 5 minutes, thanking him, trying to explain to him how he couldn’t understand how freaking happy I was. After we hung up, I called him 5 minutes later, asking him he knew that the time was 6-7, and made sure that this would work for him. I am so freaking paranoid right now that this is some kind of joke, or that something will go wrong, and then my happiness will be shattered.
It’s been such a struggle with the Chinese embassy, getting them to call me back, trying to set up a date where they could just come look at the classroom. But now, I have an actual Chinese citizen lined up to teach Chinese. Surely, that gives me some leverage with the embassy. Now they surely will come and shake hands with me and the new teacher and bring in the papers to show that the Embassy is doing so much to try to let local Tanzanians learn more about their culture and language. It looks as if things will turn out ok, but I will have to wait until Monday before I can call the embassy, a wait that will surely be too long.
I don’t even care if I get no credit for this honestly. It makes me so freaking happy that the woodcarvers will be able to continue their Chinese education. I am certain that they are just as deserving of anyone else in the world of receiving education in a Chinese language, and that they appreciate it just as much as anyone else in the world. They take so much joy out of learning, and have been so concerned with my pursuit of another teacher. After texting all my students who have cell phones, one responded “Oh… That is so poa… Xie Xie Lao shi”, (poa = cool). The others expressed similar emotions.
I’m not sure if anyone can understand how much this means to me, and I guess from any perspective, it seems like such a small victory. But I have put in so much work running between my homestay and the Chinese Embassy, talking to everyone, that I don’t think I’ve ever fought for something this hard in my life. And as I stated earlier, though the Woodcarvers’ learning Chinese may not greatly affect them in terms of moving up the social ladder, through this journey, I somehow started to believe that it was their right to learn Chinese.
Chinese learning is something that is a luxury in their life, with sometimes practical applications. It’s not something like clean water, or anti-malaria drugs, or a microfinance loan. But there is something about learning a language, of learning anything really, that is so freaking beautiful. Though they wish to see the world, the reality is many of these woodcarvers will never leave Tanzania. I feel like this is perhaps the next best thing for them. They are gaining knowledge of something foreign, of something not many natives in their country know, and by doing so, are entering somewhere outside of what is their harsh reality. I’m not sure if I’m being clear. It is likely that I’m not, but geez, I feel like I’m doing something so right here.
I have been asked many times why I decided to take Swahili my freshman year. Most of the time it’s been very skeptical, as in, “Why in the world would you do that?” (A lot of Chinese people here). My “professional” answer would be that I was looking for a niche so that if anyone would be sent to East Africa to do development work, it would be me. But wow, now that I think about it, if this is all my Swahili ever does for me in my entire lifetime, I’ll still consider it one of the best decisions I have made.
I think people underestimate how powerful any language is in giving you a new perspective on things. Even if the language is spoken by only one hundred people, that’s one hundred new people you could communicate that you otherwise couldn’t have. If you’re a businessman, that’s a hundred possible new clients. If you’re a teacher, that’s a hundred possible new students. And no matter what profession you are, that’s a hundred new teachers that you can learn something from (Citing Confucius here). Lucky for me, Swahili happens to be spoken by 100 million people.
Anyway, I’ve settled down now, and am really looking forward to the days ahead where I will meet with Mr. Li (who is leaving after 2 months), and the teacher he has found. One thing that really impressed me about Mr. Li was that he saw this as an opportunity for him and this other teacher to learn some Swahili. I believe that this is completely the right attitude, but at the same time, is an attitude that is hard for many people to comprehend.
To end on a funny note, Mr. Li calls me “Xiao Jin”. Honestly, he can call me whatever he wants. As of now, I am eternally thankful.
I have found another Chinese teacher. It still hasn’t settled in yet, and I am shaking my head vigorously, but oh my god, I can’t believe I have found another teacher to continue to teach Chinese here in Tanzania. Like, I feel as if a boulder has been lifted off my shoulders, and I am literally going to explode with happiness once I stop jumping around like I’m five years old.
You have to understand that I was really starting to lose hope. I had started to form backup plans, where I would send audio recordings to one of the storeowners who would be able to then download them and listen to them. He, being professionally trained as a teacher, would then be able to try to teach the other students. Also, yesterday, I was explained by one Chinese medical director that the Chinese people have very little concept of Volunteerism, and doing work without getting paid. Today, I received a call from one person who asked if she could be paid to teach. Then, tonight, in the shower, I was thinking about how really very few Chinese people actually volunteer, and it is certainly a shame. I was even conjuring up twisted thoughts about writing an article which argued that Chinese people have lost their roots in emphasizing making money over other things like yi and dao.
But now all of those thoughts are gone, and with just one received phone call, my faith in the Chinese people has been completely restored. Chinese people rock. They freaking rock! I can’t believe my plan of talking to every remotely looking Chinese person has worked, but it has worked, and I can’t help but to feel like, wow, if I can do this, I can really do anything now. Looking back, I’m thinking where in the world would asking people if they’d like to teach Chinese to woodcarvers for free work anywhere else in the world? Could you imagine this happening in America? Where I’d hunt down every Chinese person and ask them if they wanted to teach Chinese to Tanzanian woodcarvers? It seems like such a bizarre plan, and yet, talking to people really seems to work. Wow! What a concept!
Now that the excitement and pure shock is starting to leave, a bit of fear is starting to creep in. This truly has to be too good. I’m meeting with the teacher and a guy I talked to yesterday at the woodcarvers market. He really did look for other teachers, and when he picked up the phone and explained to me he found someone else, I couldn’t believe it. The first thing I asked was, “You know this is volunteering right?” (In Chinese), and he said, “Yup, you explained it to me.” And I went on for about 5 minutes, thanking him, trying to explain to him how he couldn’t understand how freaking happy I was. After we hung up, I called him 5 minutes later, asking him he knew that the time was 6-7, and made sure that this would work for him. I am so freaking paranoid right now that this is some kind of joke, or that something will go wrong, and then my happiness will be shattered.
It’s been such a struggle with the Chinese embassy, getting them to call me back, trying to set up a date where they could just come look at the classroom. But now, I have an actual Chinese citizen lined up to teach Chinese. Surely, that gives me some leverage with the embassy. Now they surely will come and shake hands with me and the new teacher and bring in the papers to show that the Embassy is doing so much to try to let local Tanzanians learn more about their culture and language. It looks as if things will turn out ok, but I will have to wait until Monday before I can call the embassy, a wait that will surely be too long.
I don’t even care if I get no credit for this honestly. It makes me so freaking happy that the woodcarvers will be able to continue their Chinese education. I am certain that they are just as deserving of anyone else in the world of receiving education in a Chinese language, and that they appreciate it just as much as anyone else in the world. They take so much joy out of learning, and have been so concerned with my pursuit of another teacher. After texting all my students who have cell phones, one responded “Oh… That is so poa… Xie Xie Lao shi”, (poa = cool). The others expressed similar emotions.
I’m not sure if anyone can understand how much this means to me, and I guess from any perspective, it seems like such a small victory. But I have put in so much work running between my homestay and the Chinese Embassy, talking to everyone, that I don’t think I’ve ever fought for something this hard in my life. And as I stated earlier, though the Woodcarvers’ learning Chinese may not greatly affect them in terms of moving up the social ladder, through this journey, I somehow started to believe that it was their right to learn Chinese.
Chinese learning is something that is a luxury in their life, with sometimes practical applications. It’s not something like clean water, or anti-malaria drugs, or a microfinance loan. But there is something about learning a language, of learning anything really, that is so freaking beautiful. Though they wish to see the world, the reality is many of these woodcarvers will never leave Tanzania. I feel like this is perhaps the next best thing for them. They are gaining knowledge of something foreign, of something not many natives in their country know, and by doing so, are entering somewhere outside of what is their harsh reality. I’m not sure if I’m being clear. It is likely that I’m not, but geez, I feel like I’m doing something so right here.
I have been asked many times why I decided to take Swahili my freshman year. Most of the time it’s been very skeptical, as in, “Why in the world would you do that?” (A lot of Chinese people here). My “professional” answer would be that I was looking for a niche so that if anyone would be sent to East Africa to do development work, it would be me. But wow, now that I think about it, if this is all my Swahili ever does for me in my entire lifetime, I’ll still consider it one of the best decisions I have made.
I think people underestimate how powerful any language is in giving you a new perspective on things. Even if the language is spoken by only one hundred people, that’s one hundred new people you could communicate that you otherwise couldn’t have. If you’re a businessman, that’s a hundred possible new clients. If you’re a teacher, that’s a hundred possible new students. And no matter what profession you are, that’s a hundred new teachers that you can learn something from (Citing Confucius here). Lucky for me, Swahili happens to be spoken by 100 million people.
Anyway, I’ve settled down now, and am really looking forward to the days ahead where I will meet with Mr. Li (who is leaving after 2 months), and the teacher he has found. One thing that really impressed me about Mr. Li was that he saw this as an opportunity for him and this other teacher to learn some Swahili. I believe that this is completely the right attitude, but at the same time, is an attitude that is hard for many people to comprehend.
To end on a funny note, Mr. Li calls me “Xiao Jin”. Honestly, he can call me whatever he wants. As of now, I am eternally thankful.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
7/23/09
These days I have been talking to anyone who even remotely looks Chinese, asking them if they themselves or if someone they know would have an interest in teaching Chinese to the woodcarvers. About half the reactions involve vigorous shaking of the head, and making a face that seems to suggest, “Are you crazy? Why in the world would I want to do that?” I have been pleasantly surprised, however, that the other half of the people are at least mildly interested in what I’m doing. I’ve already given three people my contact information (after they asked for it first), and they will do their best to look for people interested. I met one guy who worked in China, but came to Tanzania to take a look at how the company’s branch in Tanzania was doing, who said that if he were living here, he’d do it in a second. Unfortunately, he will be heading back to China. I also met a father who works as the head of a medical team here distributing medicine to local residents, and his daughter, who had just finished one year of college in China. They were very sympathetic to my plight, but because the father is particularly busy during this time period (old nurses are leaving, and new ones are coming in, so he has to train all the newcomers), he cannot do any teaching.
The fact that some Chinese people are even mildly interested in teaching Chinese really comes as a surprise to me. I could be wrong, China is a country still developing, and very much a country where education is simply a means to climb a social ladder or to make money. Currently, in the Chinese mindset, there is little concept of volunteering. To teach Chinese, it requires that one be paid. I have had more than a number of Chinese people (as well as Tanzanians) who have asked me how much I get paid for teaching Chinese. When I respond, it’s free, people have a hard time swallowing this fact. The father and daughter who I discussed with seemed to understand better, but the daughter explained to me that even those who graduate from college face stiff competition in the Chinese economy.
It really does make me happy, however, that some Chinese expressed interest in teaching Chinese without pay. It not only gives me hope that I may be able to find a teacher to continue the Chinese education of these woodcarvers, but also suggests that Chinese people are more willing to do volunteer work than I had given them credit for.
The fact that some Chinese people are even mildly interested in teaching Chinese really comes as a surprise to me. I could be wrong, China is a country still developing, and very much a country where education is simply a means to climb a social ladder or to make money. Currently, in the Chinese mindset, there is little concept of volunteering. To teach Chinese, it requires that one be paid. I have had more than a number of Chinese people (as well as Tanzanians) who have asked me how much I get paid for teaching Chinese. When I respond, it’s free, people have a hard time swallowing this fact. The father and daughter who I discussed with seemed to understand better, but the daughter explained to me that even those who graduate from college face stiff competition in the Chinese economy.
It really does make me happy, however, that some Chinese expressed interest in teaching Chinese without pay. It not only gives me hope that I may be able to find a teacher to continue the Chinese education of these woodcarvers, but also suggests that Chinese people are more willing to do volunteer work than I had given them credit for.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
7/21/09
I called the embassy this morning and talked to Ms. Wang. I told her that we were planning to hold a small party of sorts, in which soft drinks would be provided (I will likely shell out the $50 to buy all these drinks), and would like to schedule a day in which they could come. I suggested Friday the 31st and Saturday the 1st , since we have two hours of class on those days instead of the normal one. During the night class, I told the students to start writing some skits that they would like to present. They seem really excited about it, and I hope for the sake of these woodcarvers, that the people from the embassy will show up and appreciate the progress they’ve made in acquiring the Chinese language. In addition, I tried to find out some information about those students from China who will be coming to study here next semester, but found out that the students in China have yet to register for classes here. I also asked if she could obtain information about Tanzanians who had gone to China to study Chinese, but had returned back to Tanzania to work. She seemed to think that she could obtain this information and forward it to me.
I had a chat with one of the local Tanzanian college students who teaches English to the Woodcarvers, and he told me about a few students on campus who are doing work for IYF (International Youth Foundation, I think). Among those, he thinks that a couple of them are Chinese and that they are teaching Chinese classes on the Dar Es Salaam University campus. I will have to check this out and see if it is indeed true. He said that their classes sounded like Chinese, but that he was unsure.
During the English class, the students met with some of the chairmen of the Education group of the Tanzania Carvers Association and aired out their complaints about having to pay 10,000 shillings for three years of education. The biggest question was where the money was going, The chairmen tried to answer that it was for the sake of the electricity bill, fixing the chalkboards, repairing the benches, but it just didn’t add up. I was given the opportunity to speak and told the chairmen that the students already pay 500 shillings monthly for these things, and wondered where the other 10,000 shillings/student would be going. They said that they would have to see, and would use the money accordingly. It all seemed pretty excessive. The local Tanzanian who taught there made quite an elegant point, adding things up, and showing that there would be an excess of almost 500,000 Tanzanian Shillings ($400+) from these students. It seems like the chairmen will have to rethink this plan.
Also, another new rule that irritated the students was the necessity of graduating after three years of education. I’m not sure why this rule is in place at all. It was explained that this rule was chosen to try to get students to take their studies seriously and so attend every class. Nonetheless, it is obvious that three years of English education and/or Chinese language education from volunteers is not enough (I’ve taken Chinese for three years from some of the most well trained teachers and my Chinese is still not that great).
Anyway, it looks as if the 10,000 shilling fee will not be implemented, and that means that the woodcarvers will continue getting some semblance of English (and hopefully Chinese) language education.
I had a chat with one of the local Tanzanian college students who teaches English to the Woodcarvers, and he told me about a few students on campus who are doing work for IYF (International Youth Foundation, I think). Among those, he thinks that a couple of them are Chinese and that they are teaching Chinese classes on the Dar Es Salaam University campus. I will have to check this out and see if it is indeed true. He said that their classes sounded like Chinese, but that he was unsure.
During the English class, the students met with some of the chairmen of the Education group of the Tanzania Carvers Association and aired out their complaints about having to pay 10,000 shillings for three years of education. The biggest question was where the money was going, The chairmen tried to answer that it was for the sake of the electricity bill, fixing the chalkboards, repairing the benches, but it just didn’t add up. I was given the opportunity to speak and told the chairmen that the students already pay 500 shillings monthly for these things, and wondered where the other 10,000 shillings/student would be going. They said that they would have to see, and would use the money accordingly. It all seemed pretty excessive. The local Tanzanian who taught there made quite an elegant point, adding things up, and showing that there would be an excess of almost 500,000 Tanzanian Shillings ($400+) from these students. It seems like the chairmen will have to rethink this plan.
Also, another new rule that irritated the students was the necessity of graduating after three years of education. I’m not sure why this rule is in place at all. It was explained that this rule was chosen to try to get students to take their studies seriously and so attend every class. Nonetheless, it is obvious that three years of English education and/or Chinese language education from volunteers is not enough (I’ve taken Chinese for three years from some of the most well trained teachers and my Chinese is still not that great).
Anyway, it looks as if the 10,000 shilling fee will not be implemented, and that means that the woodcarvers will continue getting some semblance of English (and hopefully Chinese) language education.
Monday, July 20, 2009
7/20/09
This morning I went with the chairman, Focus, to help get the school registered again. I didn’t exactly understand the process, but we went to a local government post to get the application stamped, then another larger government post to get it stamped by another guy. The guy at the larger post took a tea break for an hour, and since there were three people in front of us, it took two hours to get this done. Such is the life of a government official in Tanzania. Because of the delay, we did not have time to take it to the third place, where a regional educational officer will look at it and hopefully approve it. If so, then I think the school will be officially recognized by the government.
Tomorrow, we will attempt to finish this task (which likely will involve waiting a couple of hours), and then head to the Chinese Cultural Center, which Focus has been to a couple of times. Focus has gotten this idea that if he can obtain some tapes of Chinese language instruction that are broadcast here by the Chinese International Channel, as well as a cheap TV, then students can watch these tapes in class until another teacher is found. I am skeptical that this is a good idea, especially since tapes are no replacement for a teacher, but admit that it is not too bad of a backup plan. It’s best to consider all options, I guess. In addition, maybe the cultural center will have people that may be interested in teaching Chinese to the woodcarvers. It can’t hurt to check it out.
I am pulling out all the stops now to try to find a teacher. This means talking to every Chinese person I see and telling them about my project. Today, I ate at a Chinese restaurant, but upon talking to the restaurant owners, obtained nothing too useful. They did say that there were a few local Tanzanians who go to China to study every year, so maybe if the embassy has a list of these people, I can try to contact them, though it is unlikely that they would freely hand out this information. After arriving at the woodcarving market at 4 in the afternoon, I found a group of six Chinese customers, and asked each of them whether they’d be interested. Upon asking the sixth person, I found out that they are actually from another far away region in Tanzania.
In other news, I found out that the chairman, Focus, is indeed trying to get each student to pay 10,000 shillings (roughly $8/year) for three years of schooling. This is in addition to the 500 shillings they already have to pay monthly for electricity. While $8 seems very reasonable, to many Tanzanians, a one-time payment of this sum of money is out of question. As I said earlier, many of them live day to day, and the storekeepers do take advantage of this (essentially paying the woodcarvers a day’s worth of food for a carving that would otherwise sell for much more). The students have complained and hence will hold a meeting with the chairman about this new plan. In particular, they want to know where this sum of money would be going. I have talked with some of the students, and they think that the money will be spent to buy sodas for those at the top of the party. I will likely attend this meeting, and though I’d hate to be at odds with the chairman after all the things we’ve worked through together, my larger objective remains to continue to allow these woodcarvers to learn both the Chinese and English languages.
Today, I also started buying woodcarvings from my woodcarver students. As a general
rule, I am paying 15,000 shillings (roughly $12) for a small woodcarving. I am letting the students choose what they wish to make. I arrived at this sum after estimating that with $15 they could likely buy a piece of wood 2-3 feet high, and maybe 1 foot in diameter, and that they could use a small piece of that to make a gift for me. This way, they can use the remaining wood to carve something which they can sell to either the storeowners, or if they are lucky enough, people who pass by the carving area. In essence, I am giving my students 15,000 shillings, and telling them to give me whatever they want in return.
In order to understand better the dynamics here, I need to explain how the stores are set up. Essentially, facing the main street, one can only see the stores. Many tourists only see this face of the woodcarver market and so they only see the storeowners, not the actual woodcarvers. The woodcarvers themselves carve behind the shops, and so are unlikely to be seen at all by people who pass by. For example, one of the Chinese customers I talked to today thought that the storeowners ordered the carvings from another part in Tanzania. He did not realize that behind the shops there were actual woodcarvers carving on the spot. As one can imagine, the woodcarvers would make a lot more money if they could sell directly to the customers. If they are lucky enough to have a customer (or a teacher) who they can directly communicate with, they can make a much better profit. Of course, without the storeowners, many woodcarvers would not attract the attention that these stores are now receiving. My goal here is not to criminalize the storeowners, as they are not exactly super rich either, but to show that the woodcarvers do have a particularly hard time making themselves known.
I have been told by some storeowners that the Chinese they are learning has really helped them grab the business of Chinese customers. One of my students, Amiry, has made friends with one old woman, who actually told him that she would come back next week. The storeowners also tell me that the Chinese customers become extremely happy upon hearing that the owners can speak a little Chinese, and hence are more willing to buy some of their items. I’m glad that at least on the surface, it seems that the Chinese is helping.
At the same time, I realize that to many, especially the woodcarvers, learning Chinese is really more of a luxury than something that will “improve” their lives in an economic sense. As I explained earlier, woodcarvers have very little contact with Chinese customers (though there still is some) so their opportunity to use the language is much less than the storeowners. At times, I feel like I am just relieving the pain of poverty, rather than pushing to end it. Nonetheless, I can’t help but to feel as if what I’m doing has some meaning. It reminds me of the story “Shou” (Hand) that I read for 5th year Chinese at PiB, where a young girl, despite knowing that she’d never really do anything meaningful with her education, continued to go to school anyway. I guess something that I’m struggling to grapple with is that I know for a fact no aid agency would fund a project that simply taught Chinese to woodcarvers for the sake injecting happiness into their life. If rated by an aid agency, my project would be ineffective in reducing poverty and completely unsustainable (I am not being paid to teach). I’d be the first to admit these things. Nonetheless, it seems odd then that what I am doing seems to be something that may be more meaningful than giving these woodcarvers a microfinance loan, which could pull them out of poverty. And if given the choice between either teaching them Chinese or working with a microfinance bank to try to improve their economic status, as of now, I think I’d have to side with teaching them Chinese. Would it be the most effective or sustainable choice? Of course not. But for some reason, it seems like it’d be the right one for me.
Tomorrow, we will attempt to finish this task (which likely will involve waiting a couple of hours), and then head to the Chinese Cultural Center, which Focus has been to a couple of times. Focus has gotten this idea that if he can obtain some tapes of Chinese language instruction that are broadcast here by the Chinese International Channel, as well as a cheap TV, then students can watch these tapes in class until another teacher is found. I am skeptical that this is a good idea, especially since tapes are no replacement for a teacher, but admit that it is not too bad of a backup plan. It’s best to consider all options, I guess. In addition, maybe the cultural center will have people that may be interested in teaching Chinese to the woodcarvers. It can’t hurt to check it out.
I am pulling out all the stops now to try to find a teacher. This means talking to every Chinese person I see and telling them about my project. Today, I ate at a Chinese restaurant, but upon talking to the restaurant owners, obtained nothing too useful. They did say that there were a few local Tanzanians who go to China to study every year, so maybe if the embassy has a list of these people, I can try to contact them, though it is unlikely that they would freely hand out this information. After arriving at the woodcarving market at 4 in the afternoon, I found a group of six Chinese customers, and asked each of them whether they’d be interested. Upon asking the sixth person, I found out that they are actually from another far away region in Tanzania.
In other news, I found out that the chairman, Focus, is indeed trying to get each student to pay 10,000 shillings (roughly $8/year) for three years of schooling. This is in addition to the 500 shillings they already have to pay monthly for electricity. While $8 seems very reasonable, to many Tanzanians, a one-time payment of this sum of money is out of question. As I said earlier, many of them live day to day, and the storekeepers do take advantage of this (essentially paying the woodcarvers a day’s worth of food for a carving that would otherwise sell for much more). The students have complained and hence will hold a meeting with the chairman about this new plan. In particular, they want to know where this sum of money would be going. I have talked with some of the students, and they think that the money will be spent to buy sodas for those at the top of the party. I will likely attend this meeting, and though I’d hate to be at odds with the chairman after all the things we’ve worked through together, my larger objective remains to continue to allow these woodcarvers to learn both the Chinese and English languages.
Today, I also started buying woodcarvings from my woodcarver students. As a general
rule, I am paying 15,000 shillings (roughly $12) for a small woodcarving. I am letting the students choose what they wish to make. I arrived at this sum after estimating that with $15 they could likely buy a piece of wood 2-3 feet high, and maybe 1 foot in diameter, and that they could use a small piece of that to make a gift for me. This way, they can use the remaining wood to carve something which they can sell to either the storeowners, or if they are lucky enough, people who pass by the carving area. In essence, I am giving my students 15,000 shillings, and telling them to give me whatever they want in return.
In order to understand better the dynamics here, I need to explain how the stores are set up. Essentially, facing the main street, one can only see the stores. Many tourists only see this face of the woodcarver market and so they only see the storeowners, not the actual woodcarvers. The woodcarvers themselves carve behind the shops, and so are unlikely to be seen at all by people who pass by. For example, one of the Chinese customers I talked to today thought that the storeowners ordered the carvings from another part in Tanzania. He did not realize that behind the shops there were actual woodcarvers carving on the spot. As one can imagine, the woodcarvers would make a lot more money if they could sell directly to the customers. If they are lucky enough to have a customer (or a teacher) who they can directly communicate with, they can make a much better profit. Of course, without the storeowners, many woodcarvers would not attract the attention that these stores are now receiving. My goal here is not to criminalize the storeowners, as they are not exactly super rich either, but to show that the woodcarvers do have a particularly hard time making themselves known.
I have been told by some storeowners that the Chinese they are learning has really helped them grab the business of Chinese customers. One of my students, Amiry, has made friends with one old woman, who actually told him that she would come back next week. The storeowners also tell me that the Chinese customers become extremely happy upon hearing that the owners can speak a little Chinese, and hence are more willing to buy some of their items. I’m glad that at least on the surface, it seems that the Chinese is helping.
At the same time, I realize that to many, especially the woodcarvers, learning Chinese is really more of a luxury than something that will “improve” their lives in an economic sense. As I explained earlier, woodcarvers have very little contact with Chinese customers (though there still is some) so their opportunity to use the language is much less than the storeowners. At times, I feel like I am just relieving the pain of poverty, rather than pushing to end it. Nonetheless, I can’t help but to feel as if what I’m doing has some meaning. It reminds me of the story “Shou” (Hand) that I read for 5th year Chinese at PiB, where a young girl, despite knowing that she’d never really do anything meaningful with her education, continued to go to school anyway. I guess something that I’m struggling to grapple with is that I know for a fact no aid agency would fund a project that simply taught Chinese to woodcarvers for the sake injecting happiness into their life. If rated by an aid agency, my project would be ineffective in reducing poverty and completely unsustainable (I am not being paid to teach). I’d be the first to admit these things. Nonetheless, it seems odd then that what I am doing seems to be something that may be more meaningful than giving these woodcarvers a microfinance loan, which could pull them out of poverty. And if given the choice between either teaching them Chinese or working with a microfinance bank to try to improve their economic status, as of now, I think I’d have to side with teaching them Chinese. Would it be the most effective or sustainable choice? Of course not. But for some reason, it seems like it’d be the right one for me.
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