How does one express all of the heart-filling and
heartbreaking, joyous and somber, exciting and mundane, faith-filled and
Godless moments into one blog, let alone, into words at all? I don’t know if it
is possible. There have been numerous moments of bliss, sadness, frustration,
wonder, homesickness, actual sickness, love, dislike, justice, and injustice
during my first six months in Tanzania. It’s difficult, nay impossible, to
remember every single person and experience I have been blessed enough to encounter
thus far. But I am certain there is one day that will stick in my mind forever,
a day filled with immense joy and unconditional love that is hard to describe
simply using words, but I will try my best.
On June 8th, we celebrated the end of the first
term of school before our winter holiday (yes, winter is in June!) with a
celebration called Gonzaga Day. The central purpose of the day was to remember
the patron saint of our school, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. I arrived at school
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for the excitement and laughter I knew the
day would bring, but also slightly nervous as my Standard 3 classes and English
Club had not practiced quite as much as I was hoping we would. We began the day
with a thoughtful mass said by the Jesuit chaplain at the high school, Father
Joe. Being the enthusiastic and relatable speaker that he is, he was easily
able to encourage the students to continue to stretch their minds and their
hearts, because if they do so, they will go far in life (It was a good reminder for myself, too).
Upon returning to school after a short walk from the local
parish church, we had milk tea and bread, which is a treat compared to the
porridge the students drink every day (personally, I prefer the porridge but
some students don’t really care for it). After a very relaxed tea time complete
with students running and playing all over the school grounds, we began the
performances. It started with the parade from our scouts and some performances
by the lower classes (Pre-Standard 1 to Standard 2), including a fashion show and some wonderful songs.
During this time, I was running around like crazy trying to round up my
Standard 3 students for their first performance as members of the Upper
Classes. I managed, with the help of one of another teacher, to round up
(almost) all of our students and line them up just in time for the MC to
announce our entrance. My students marched right out into the performance area and
sang “This Little Light of Mine” with more gusto and confidence than I could
hope for. The hand motions and dancing were subpar through no fault of their
own, however, because I was the one who choreographed them. Regardless, I am
incredibly proud of them and realize more and more everyday how heartbreaking
it will be to leave them at the end of next year…but let’s not get ahead of
ourselves!
After a few more wonderful performances including dance club
performing to the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s Telephone, Standard 4B’s
skit about the life of Saint Gonzaga, a retelling of St. Gonzaga’s life given
in impeccable Kiswahili by Standard 6, and a few more songs and dances, it was
time for English club…the last student performance of the day. Let’s just say I
was anxious. I spent the whole morning running around getting the other
performances ready and simultaneously trying to enjoy this fun day with
students, all the while knowing in the back of my mind that I wasn’t sure how
well English Club would do after the little practice we had time for in the
weeks leading up to this big day (which, by the way, was absolutely my own fault).
But then, there they were, in the performance area after dancing out to the
tune of a Tanzanian favorite, “Under the Coconut Tree.” I stood back and
watched, praying they would remember their lines and remember to face the
audience. They quickly situated themselves and Jackline of Standard 5 grabbed
the microphone with a world of confidence and began: “Once upon a time…”
Before I knew what was happening, I was whisked away into
their magical world, watching as my students transformed before my eyes….was
that Theresia flawlessly delivering her line and 7 of my other favorite
students singing “High-ho, high-ho, it’s off to work we go” in perfect unison?
No, that was Snow White and the 7 dwarfs I was watching. By the time Prince
Charming came to save Snow White so they could live happily ever after, I had
the most enormous smile on my face; to say that I was beaming is an
understatement. They did it; my students cooperated so wonderfully and gave the
best performance of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs I could have asked for. I knew
in my heart that they did incredibly well, but to have other teachers
congratulate me and tell me how much they liked it, only added to my joy.
After a delectable lunch of pilau and chicken, it was time
for the teacher’s dance. We practiced every day after lunch for about 2 weeks
learning the moves Beth, the 2nd year JV, put together for us. All I
can say was that it was a huge hit! The students went wild after we finished
our performance.
Then it happened, the moment when I realized that all the
hard work, time, and sacrifice that went into becoming a JV was more than worth
it… Gonzaga Day ended with a big dance party. Students, teachers, staff,
guests, and anyone else that was there started dancing together. So there I was, all
of the stress and nerves of the day washed away, surrounded by hundreds of tiny
students mimicking my horrendous dance moves, smiling from ear-to-ear, when I
realized that this moment is exactly
why I came to Tanzania. There was absolutely nowhere else in the world I would
have rather been in that moment. I love being a teacher, I love children, I
love learning about new cultures…and all of these things certainly make my life
much more fruitful but the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced is
being surrounded by boundless, unconditional love. Nothing else is the world
was as important as the sense of community and belonging we all felt in that
moment. I was literally in a sea of uninhibited joy. There are no words to
describe how full my heart feels just thinking about it. This experience is no
longer long-term service but my life…and these children are no longer students
that I must teach noun/verb agreement to but uniquely special individuals that
I have genuine connections with. The entire Gonzaga Day, and more specifically,
that moment of clarity, has made this entire journey worth it. And though it
will be hard to top last Saturday, I still have a year and a half and another
Gonzaga Day to try...but I just don’t know how it gets better than that.
Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs
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