Ashley Strong Smith - Courage Coach, Photographer & Podcast Host
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Coaching
    • Work with Me
  • Photography
    • Work With Me >
      • Weddings
      • Couples and Engagements
      • Families
      • Lifestyle
    • Resources >
      • Favorite Locations
      • Preparing for your Session
      • Planning Our Wedding
    • Print Shop
  • Podcast
  • Contact

Mimi ni mwalimu at Kitomondo Secondary School on Mafia Island

1/28/2013

9 Comments

 
Upon arriving on Mafia Island, tears filled my eyes more than usual as an overwhelming sense of joy consumed my emotions. WIthin a half hour of being on the island, the WorldTeach volunteers shook hands with government officials and heads of the Mafia Island education system. 
At this moment, I realized how humbly appreciated and accepted we, the WorldTeach volunteers are to be here in these communities teaching the local children necessary English skills to advance through the Tanzanian education system and into the professional working society. 

I have been in my new home for about two weeks now where my space consists of a quaint concrete walled room in a lovely local families home. I live with the second head master (like a vice-principal) Beta and his wife MamaRay and their son Raymond whom is 3 ½ years old and Sarah (MamaRay's younger sister). Raymond fills my days with so much light and joy and we engage in multiple bonding moments consisting of very little words due to the language barrier and numerous laughs as I tickle and swing him around until he's dizzy and cannot laugh any longer. Most evenings after my run, Raymond awaits my return on the front porch, runs up to me for some swinging time and then says "picha!" I come inside, grab my camera and Raymond and I take a walk around the neighborhood taking pictures and videos, many of which include Raymond's adorable face. 

My weeks are filled with teaching English lessons Monday through Friday with a stream of 50 Form I students ranging from 12 to 18 years old. The large age range of students is due to the societal expectations of young boys and girls as they have roles of bringing in money for the family and doing household chores all the while being a kid and needing an education. As of now, there are two streams and each week we rotate them. This past week I had stream I and Seif had stream II and this coming week I will have steam II and Seif will have stream I. This gives the students an opportunity to get multiple accents and teaching styles while learning English. Throughout the day, many moments are absolutely salama (peaceful) and a smile doesn't leave my face, while other moments are a bit frustrating and exhausting as the language barrier makes it hard to say all that I want to these young minds to tell them how much I truly care and want to help them learn in the best way possible. 

At the end of the teaching day, I remind myself, that words are not always needed…
 it is my actions, my energy, my nonverbal communication, me being here and sending out the caring vibes that truly matters! 

My school is a less than a two minute walk from my doorstep as the teachers live next to the schools. I walk along the dirt path to MamaDixon's house for morning chai and lessons preparations for the day. 

After school, Seif and I walk to MamaDixon's house where we eat a deliciously cooked meal by our local chief, Milka (MamaDixon's younger sister). Lunch usually consists of wali (rice), mboga mboga (vegetables), maharage (beans) and some kind of fruit. Every afternoon, we prepare our menu for the following days meals as one day I choose the meals and the following day Seif selects the meals. Chai ya asubuhi (breakfast) is my favorite meal here as its made of either andazi (a glazed biscuit) or chapati (a tortilla like bread), mayai (eggs), peanut butter, chai (tea), kahawa ya rangi (black coffee), embe (mango) and ndizi (banana). 

Every evening around sunset, I take a run around my neighborhood and school enabling me to reflect on the events of the day all the while physically and mentally regenerating and preparing for that which is. Runs are followed by bucket showers, yes, it is literally a bucket of cold water with a cup to pour the water over you. 

Each bucket shower becomes more and more mediative.
 After these events throughout the day, the evening consists of some downtime, hanging out with Raymond, the family, my neighbors, reading, writing, playing games, listening to music, talking or just sitting in the dark of the porch taking in the beautiful night sky and melodies of the environment. 

Throughout these past couple weeks, the words "community" and "neighbors" have taken on whole new meanings. I've been invited into so many people homes, just to sit in their living room saying all but a few words to each other then just enjoying being in the company of one another. The community truly works together, helping each family, getting supplies for one another, looking after the neighborhood kids, etc. 

There is a hamna shida (no problem) way of life here, where people seem to be accepted for who they truly are and not by what they do or what possessions they own. 
The pace of life is very slow and people spend all day just being in the company of others, 

smiling, sharing laughs and stories. 
Planning ahead of time is pretty much a foreign concept, people just go with the moment, focusing on what is happening in front of them and being completely satisfied. 

Below are some photos of the above described events that occur throughout my days. 
Thanks so much for all the love and support. 
My days are filled with so much joy when I read your comments about my adventures. 
Sending lots of love. 

Picture

Above, my house with MamaRaymond and Raymond sitting on the front porch. 

Picture

Above, my bedroom. The drawings where there before I moved in.
 I strung together 7 of my favorite photos from home next to my bed! 

Picture

Above, my bathroom (on the left) and my shower (on the right). This is a building separate from the house located in the corner of the backyard. The buckets along the wall are those in which I shower with everyday. It's the local students task to get water for the houses each day after school. 

Picture

Above, Raymond and I playing as I was getting ready to go into Kilidoni,
 the local town about a half hour walk away. 

Picture

Above, Raymond on one of our evening walks as he plays along side me taking photos. 

Picture

Above, my favorite meal of the day! Chai ya asubuhi (breakfast) is my favorite meal here as its made of either andazi (a glazed biscuit) or chapati (a tortillas like bread), mayai (eggs), peanut butter, chai (tea), kahawa ya rangi (black coffee), embe (mango) and ndizi (banana). 

Picture

Above, MamaDixon's house. 
This is where I eat my four meals everyday and get nightly Kiswahili lessons. 

Picture

Above, Kitomondo Secondary School. 
My classroom is the third door on the right side where I teach Form I students. 

9 Comments

Ninafararah, Dar es Salaam pichas 

1/24/2013

3 Comments

 

Ninafararah (I am happy)!
 Below are some pichas (pictures) and explinations from my adventures in Kunduchi, Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam. 
Enjoy! 

Picture

Above, this is the first lunch I ate in Tanzania including wali (rice), mboga mboga (vegetables), mchicha (spinach), maharage (beans) and Tangawizi (ginger ale soda). 
The food here is incredibly suited for a vegetarian, which makes me extremely happy. Meals are typically made up of four to five ingredients and fruit is served for dessert. 

Picture

Above, this is Sean, my partner in crime here in Tanzania! 
He is a fun loving witty hippy from upstate New York with so much respect and understanding for humanity. He immediately understood my importance of every being needing at least 7 hugs per day! As he is about an hour and a half dala dala bus ride away, we have daily downloads during the week and on the weekends, he comes and stays in Kitimondo with Seif and myself. 

Picture

Above, this was my view every morning for seven days while we did 
“Genki English” training at Kunduchi Beach, Dar es Salaam. 
The sun rose daily around 6:30am and shinned so elegantly through my mosquito net. 

Picture

Above, one of my favorite photos from Dar es Salaam (thanks Sean for capturing this moment) as this was our walk back to Kunduchi Beach, Maui Rest House after lunch in town! 
The colors in this photo truly capture the dynamics of the environment of Kunduchi. 

Picture

Above, our groups’ first bajaji ride in Bagamoyo. 
Bajaji’s are these fun little three wheeled motorcycles with a decorative cover on top.
 I feel like they’re oversized go carts! 

Picture

Above, walking back from exchanging our money at a near by resort in Kunduchi, I was taking photos of the land and they two young boys got our attention by saying "hello! hello!" 
I walked over to them with my camera and took one of the boys hands to show him how to take pictures. We hung out under a tree for several minutes while these two young boys took pictures of the environment. After they took photos by themselves, they turned to me and said “picha” while pointing to themselves. As you can see, they’re smiles are so innocently joyful and when walking away, their laughing radiated in my ears as their excitement was so pure, so innocent, so youthful. 

Picture

Above, the photo leaves me short of breath. One of the bittersweet moments of visiting Bagamoyo was getting to tour an old slave dwelling and burial grounds. This specific monument was created to mark the exact location where “German colonist used to hang to death revolutionary Africans who were opposing their oppressive rule.” It’s ironic so much darkness occurred at this exact location and right beyond this monument lies some of the most stunning landscapes I have witnessed as the sand is so white, the water is a turquoise clear, the palm trees are voluminous and bright green and people walk about with glowing smiles on their faces. 

Picture

Above, here is a photo exemplifying the stunning landscapes described above, 
as this is Bagamoyo Beach. 

Picture

Above, my smile in this photo is an explanation in itself as to the excitement and abundance of laughter we shared on this adventure! The photo includes several mates from WorldTeach (Patrick, Sean, Rachel and myself), our slave dwelling tour guide (Raymond), our volunteers who brought us to Bagamoyo (Margaret and Joseph) and a couple local Africans whom were hanging around the burial grounds. 

3 Comments

Kuvutia (to inspire)

1/23/2013

1 Comment

 
Inspiration. 
 Experience. 
 Inspiration. 
 Love. 
 Inspiration. 
Openness. 
Inspiration. 
Gratitude. 
 Reflections. 
 An open landscape in the distance. 
 Large grandfather like trees to my right. 
 Thick green grass knee high in front of me. 
 Palm trees larger, greener and older than possible to pinpoint. 
 Birds whistling. Chirping. Singing. 
 The chorus of our environment. 
 The melodies of Kitimondo, Mafia Island. 
 A centipede slowly sways along the mustard dirt ground and a skinny honey cow moo's at my sight. 
 I am humbled. 
 The sight of that which was once a dream. 
 The reality of openness. 
 Of letting all fears, all insecurities go. 
 Letting them become more love, more understanding, more openness, more laughter and more smiles. 
 The subtle noises of the environment brings about so much peace.
 So much calmness and eventually so much wonder. 
 I am here. 
 I am now. 
 This is my experience. 
 My camera is around my neck. 
 Each turn I make is a new inspiration. 
 A traditional African hut, a pile of opened coconuts, a small sugar cane farm. 
 These are my moments. 
 Ones in which I want to document. 
 Ones I want to share. 
 Photos that need to be spread. 
 This is part of our world. 
 This is home to so many smiling faces. 
 Curious minds. 
 Ginormous hearts. 
 This is someone's song, dance, rhythm. 
 Yes, this is my song, this is my dance, this is my rhythm. 
 My reality. 
 I am thankful. 
 Openness surrounds me. 
 Together. 
 This place radiates community. 
 It speaks abundant truth to not just one person raising a child, a community raises a child. 
 The walk continues. 
 The adventure expands. 
 The melodies are still radiating. 
 The voices from the futball field get louder. 
 Laughter is a common sound. 
 Here is my experience. 
 These are my photos. 
 This is my reflection from an evening walk after a big rain storm on Mafia Island in Tanzania. 
 My vocabulary is not large enough to explain all that I am witnessing. 
 My days are filled with broken Swahili, Genki English lessons, laughter and smiles. 
 My heart expands daily all the while my brain is a little exhausted and overstimulated. 
 I have a large task at hand. 
 One in which I can confidently say will be done with abundance in abundance of gratitude, love, inspiration, passion, understanding, laughter, smiles and possible tears of overwhelming joy.
 I am blessed. 
 I am humbled. 

 I am happy to share these experiences with you. 
 As always, sending lots of love and enormous hugs. 
 Thanks for the continued support and positive vibes reaching Mafia Island. 
 I am well looked after and taken care of as this community is one that has welcomed me with open arms and very full plates of food four times a day.
 Until next time.  
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
1 Comment

There is room for one more…. 

1/13/2013

5 Comments

 
Oh my, let me tell you…. there is room for one more…. took on a whole new meaning today.  It’s almost a daily experience to get some kind of laugh attack whether it’s 30 seconds or 45 minutes and today was one of those 45 minute kind of days as I ventured from Mikati Beach back home to Kunduchi Beach.

I spent half of Dala Dala ride pinched intricately between an old Tanzanian man’s knee, a woman’s left butt check, my right leg on the bottom step of the stairs going into the dala dala, my left leg holding my backpack next to the wall all the while my head was sticking out the window. 
After a few stops, the puzzle pieces of the beings involved in this dala dala ride adjusted and I then spent the remaining adventure with my left butt cheek sitting on the window with my body resting against the edge of the window all the while my head swayed in the early evening breeze.

Today was by far one of the most interesting public transport experiences I have yet been involved in as there were around 60 people crammed into a dala dala that typically seats around 25 people. 
Although we were filled to the point where people where hanging out the window, we continued to stop and pick up individuals waiting at the stops and with each stop, 
we somehow made room for each and everyone that needed to get on the dala dala.

As for some fun details of today’s adventure, the group of us whom will be teaching on Mafia Island left Kunduchi Beach after breakfast and ventured to Mwenge to shop at local cultural shops and into an air conditioned Tanzanian mall called Mlimani City and yes it was air-conditioned with cappuccino and ice cream shops! 
We then ventured on several other dala dala in Posta and Kivukoni where we took a five-minute ferry across the ocean to Kigamboni and ate lunch at a street vendor. 
One of my favorite local dishes to order is chipsi mayai (french fries with eggs). After lunch, our final destination was a local beach, Mikati for an afternoon swim with local Tanzanians and fellow volunteers.

Amongst the chaos of being a human puzzle within the public transportation in Dar es Salaam, I was once again reminded of the sincerity of the Tanzanian culture. While scrunched against and hanging out of the dala dala window, I watched an older Tanzanian man, someone who you referred to as “Shikamoo” (meaning elderly respect) engage in an extremely humble humanitarian act. 
As a woman and her son (probably around 5 years old) squeezed onto the already overcrowded dala dala, Shikamoo pulled the young son’s hand up and made enough room for him to sit on the edge of the chair. Shikamoo then took the large plastic bag of recycled water bottles filled with liquids and put it on his lap. It gets better…. he then looked at the mother and grabbed the large gasoline container from her hands and put that on his lap as to ease the burden from both the mother and her son. When it was Shikamoo’s time to get off the dala dala, he made sure this woman and her young son received his now vacant seat before he exited.

Although this interaction between strangers may seem minuscule amongst all that we witness in our daily routines, this gesture speaks loudly to my observations about Tanzanian culture in this short amount of time here on mainland Tanzania. Yes, this country is extremely impoverished financially BUT I will tell you, it is so rich in culture, so rich in openness, understanding, and acceptance. 
It is truly humbling to witness and experience the subtle gestures of local Tanzanians as majority are so overjoyed to share a small conversation, even if it is in my broken Swahili. 
With each excursion out into the cities, my understanding and ability to speak Swahili increases as I look forward to having a full conversations in Swahili without having to look at my Tanzanian counterparts for assistance.

This evening is filled with the task of repacking my suitcase as I leave early in the morning on a plane to Mafia Island where I will be teaching at a school in Micheni. While there, I’ll be living with a local Tanzanian volunteer, Seif who grew up in a town outside Tanzania. At dinner tonight, Seif and I talked about creating house rules which will include nightly dinner sessions, Swahili and English “Genki lessons”, photo excursions, yoga sessions, creating a blog for him and anything else that comes up along the way. 
I am thrilled to share this experience with a local, someone who is native to Tanzania knowing the in’s and out’s of the environment, language, school system, welcoming culture and so much more!

Below are a couple photos I uploaded to my computer. 
There are far too many to share at the moment, but this will give you a sense as to my reality for the past week. I am not too sure as to my Internet connection once I am on Mafia Island, but those details will be worked out within the first couple days of getting settled. I hope each and every one of you reading this is enjoying it as much as I am writing it. Thank you so much for your openness and support! As always, it is humbly appreciated. 
Baadaye for now! :)

World Teach Tanzania Semester 2013 volunteer at our training facility – 
Maui Beach House in Kunduchi Beach. 

Picture

Local Tanzanian's exiting the ferry in Dar es Salaam. 

Picture

This is the local food vendor where I got chipsi mayai. 

Picture

This is me playing at Mikati Beach in Dar es Salaam. 

Picture

Seif and myself at Mikati Beach, 
this is my new roommate whom I will be teaching with on Mafia Island. 

Picture

And yes, this is what I looked like hanging out of the dala dala window. 

Picture
5 Comments

Mambo Vipi from Tanzania! 

1/11/2013

1 Comment

 
Jambo from Tanzania! At 6:30am the sun rises just beyond my balcony overlooking an incredibly gorgeous Christmas tree (no, not an American Christmas tree – a vibrantly gigantic tree with intricate red flowers) and a fishing village in Kunduchi Beach, which is a small village in Dar es Salaam.

The mystical beauty of this “paradise” includes intense smells of fish, children smiling brightly, 
dala dala’s (buses) racing about on the roads, women walking with all sorts of buckets on their heads 
and fabrics brighter than imagined.

Frogs chirp loudly at night and in the early morning, I am woken with the rising sun and a plethora of roosters crowing and birds chirping. Just beyond our parameters, men, women and children walk about getting their water for the day, preparing for fishing and adventuring to whatever their task at hand may be. 
The weather is HOT and sticky, oh so very sticky. 
The mosquitos like my skin a little too much – I don’t think I’ve worn this much bug spray in my life.

At this point, I have yet to find the words of the reality I am witnessing, as it is something never before seen by my eyes – a combination of absolutely beauty and sadness. Tanzanians are so community oriented, so friendly, so welcoming. We walk about the streets and little children jump up and down saying “Jambo” or “Hi” or “Karibu” (welcome) and an occasional “Mambo Vipi?” (What’s up). A simple pause, looking at their face and responding with “Poa” (cool) brings about a huge smile on their faces. Greetings are extremely important here as you typically hear three to four when meeting a person.

We spend majority of our days at a place called Maui Beach Rest House in Kunduchi Beach, as this is where our training is taking place. Lessons begin at 8:30am and continue through dinnertime, typically around 7:30. Our training includes anything from Swahili lessons to cultural training to afternoon siesta’s where we have group swimming sessions in the pool and lots and lots of “Genki English” lessons, which is a large portion of what I’ll be teaching my students starting next Thursday.

I find out my placement tomorrow, where I can either be placed at a school on Mafia Island (off the coast of Tanzania) or Kilwa (on mainland Tanzania, south of Dar es Salaam). We gave recommendations the other night at dinner as to our preferences for schools, working with a local Tanzanian volunteer and room accommodations…. we will see where these recommendations take me.

Yesterday was a time to adventure out of Kunduchi Beach and into a town called Bagamoyo about an hour away from where we’re staying. I spent the hour standing up in a very crowded dala dala talking to a local Tanzanian who volunteered to guide us around for the day about her American interest. Once we got into Bagamoyo, we visited an old slave dwelling where slaves were held before getting sent to Zanzibar – a combination of absolute depression from seeing where slaves were hung to absolutely joy when hearing the pride in Raymond’s (our tour guide, a local Tanzanian) voice as he expressed his countries history. The dala dala ride home was spent in silence staring out the window as we passed through town after town – a sense of melancholy overcame my body as I am living a dream I’ve had for as long as I can remember, yet am seeing the struggle of the people that live this reality every day.         

Well, this is it for now. There is so much more to say, but at this time, this is all that needs to be said. I cannot wait to begin sharing the pictures of the reality I am living – it is truly a paradise and beauty I have never experienced. Sending so much love and positive light to all of you. Much love! Until next time…. 
1 Comment

    Jambo from Tanzania: 

    Living & Teaching abroad in Mafia Island, Tanzania 
    Picture
    In June of 2012.... a dream came true. 
    I was accepted into a WorldTeach program to teach English in Tanzania on Mafia Island. In late December of 2012, I embarked on a 3 month journey to the motherland! Enjoy this blog as it was designed to share my photographs and adventures while living and teaching 
    on Mafia Island, Tanzania. 

    Archives

    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

Picture
Social 
Instagram 
TikTok 
Facebook 
Pinterest 
Linked-In
Navigate 
Home 
About Ashley 
Courage Coaching 
Photography 
​Podcast 
Free Downloads  
5 Ways to Stop Caring About What Others Think 
​10 Tools I Use Weekly to Stay Grounded, Connected, Motivated & Inspired 
Let's Connect 
Contact Ashley 
Courage Coaching Discovery Call 
Photography Discovery Call 
Podcast Inquiry 
Newsletter 
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Coaching
    • Work with Me
  • Photography
    • Work With Me >
      • Weddings
      • Couples and Engagements
      • Families
      • Lifestyle
    • Resources >
      • Favorite Locations
      • Preparing for your Session
      • Planning Our Wedding
    • Print Shop
  • Podcast
  • Contact