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welcome to a very special evening program under you can see TV
with a very special guests who is a new teacher this year here
missus reso is the English as a second language
or ESL teacher whose experiences with other cultures
is the on she has visited far over 30 countries
starting with Australia where she was born a few countries later
is a matter has been in China however in between these two
life landmarks was the biggest stepping-stone them up
through a program called world youth international
which she discovered a local newspaper so when Rizzo
took a trip to Kenya for six months as a teacher but ultimately
she did muscling yourself this is Reza anyone who's seen you around the school
yr heard you know that you don't sell it the typical crack
I'm from Australia I grew up
and southeast and astray in the state of Victoria
the area if this is the coal region I grew up in an area called
its land farming area close to the coast
but waiting the beach too much school like where did you go to school
I went to primary school which is the same as elementary
at Technol Consolidated School with the same school
my mom went to they have really old buildings and some newer buildings then
I went to highschool
pic pack Secondary College mix cool about the same size as an outcome
what's the difference between life in american life in Australia
not too much Australians are
I would say much more outdoorsy love outdoor sports school is a little
different
we still have lunch outside even when we were in high school
you get an hour for lunch you can eat outside we don't have
cafeterias and schools you bring one
you get an hour to socialize just great
I'll day-to-day life is
is pretty much the same thing television show Australian
to so after Australia
obviously not there anymore what was next after straying I did a few short
trips overseas when I was still in high school
I went to finally PD then when I was in
finished high school I went to actually came here to america
and worked at a summer camp in Wisconsin and then lived in Canada for about four
months
returned to Australia went to university
had a short trip to Thailand
then I was teaching full-time couldn't continue teaching cuz we had a drop in
enrollment figures it out school
was a very small school with 7 teaches
so too will this had to be the volunteer to leave or
we would have had a class the following year so
I saw an ad in the newspaper to teach in Africa
that was it I was
I knew exactly what i was gonna do applied to the ad in the paper
it was for a organization called
international had an interview in Melbourne
was accepted and two months later
I was flying to Kenya how did you prepare for that what
you I sold my car to pay for my airplane ticket
actually I went into the principal's office when I was still teaching
and I told him what I was planning to do and I was on the phone to the travel
agent booking
mine ticket to Kenya he popped his head in
and he overheard me say wow I'm us we'll just keep going to England if that's the
same price
the travel agent then booked my knee one-way trip from
straight Africa to the UK I got a two-year
work these effing and had no money
so prepared by selling my cow in buying a plane ticket
and that was that for your family how they react to it I'm my parents which is
great
they brought me out to be independent it is good
I'll we'd always traveled when I was younger
so I had the background always
going somewhere normally it was just small family trips but they were the
first ones to take me
overseas and I got the travel bug so there was no looking back
case an hour were in Africa what was that like
Africa was amazing it's like another planet
and that's not in a bad way just so totally removed from
everything I was used to I
arrived in nairobi and my immediate
reaction to the city was I hated it it was dirty
it was loud the first how are we with their
another girl I was with what's next I'm
it was not a pleasant place to stay
thankfully we knew we weren't gonna stay there so we
had our eyes open watch everything and then left listens week
we took the bus to
the Weston
of Kenya province game
and we were headed for the villages to
which is where I was going to live for six months so
it was quite a change out we cross the Rift Valley
which was beautiful hound
the scenery green
lash got in vegetable gardens maintained by locals sugar cane
maze they grow they call it corn but its
its field corn don't have sweet corn
unfortunately I'm lotsa farming
lots jungle Chi areas as a living conditions
living conditions were really interesting we lived in
a regular sized village the
the village center was called the
with market had concrete buildings
my building not hot that's true
some tin roofs on some of the building
but only one shopping the whole village had electricity
and they had a fridge I think I bought a soda then maybe twice because
really expensive and more often than not electricity wasn't on
so it was called anyway it wasn't cold so
um we lived in a compound on the edge of town
which was basically a c-shaped
concrete structure with a gated entrance
they would lock the gate at night right behind us
mud huts with thatched roofs which is what I really wanted to live in
but they were trying to treat us with
importance so we got the concrete building
my room was a little bit larger than this place here
this is my whole house had one room I had a bid
address them a desk and the chair
that was my house
no bathroom can you go without about three to six months
I'm not sure that's a no we had pit toilets
at the back bathroom
in the pit toilet which Allah if you wanted in the pit toilet
basically you would have to transport your water
and Bed Bath down but over you
it was much easier in the pit toilet cuz you could just dump the water in
it would drain away
it didn't smell too good I tended to
Bay in my actual house yes with
wash my hand maybe once a week I was lucky
because you just you can have enough water to have the luxury
here every day or every two days you weren't the only person there right
the teaching not there were three of us all from Australia
one she was actually American been living in Australia for quality is
three Australians all-girls all teaches
from Australia we ate at little house and we were each assigned different
schools
so during the day we didn't really see each other but
in the evenings we get it together and had evening meal
with the family who live right next door to me I guess you could call them
host family
mom and dad and they had two young boys a four-year-old and a 1-year-old
and their adopted me was 11
her parents had died so the custom is that another family member will
adopt surviving children she had brothers and sisters who
we never met because they were living with other families
they had three kids they were there the whole time
which was great %um close out very how's the TT
teaching was great I was teaching in
a primary school which had grades K
through 8 lots a little kids few older kids as
the classes go on high school was next door which
basically like it high school here with
nine through 12 officially
I was supposed to be teaching English 26 great mathematics to fifth grade
and then standoff with an craft craft clasp
grateful which was quite interesting because
the great for students didn't speak English and
I was just learning their language once I arrived in the country
so they spoke Luo
which is the local language and Swahili
which is the national language Africa so these
little students new two languages and would just learning English
but couldn't say anything hello my older students 5th and 6th
had both been learning English for two years three is
so they were fine I could canvas with them freely
and they're so excited to teach me their language that I picked up
a lot that while I was there after about
two weeks the younger kids left my
craft class so much that they added an great three
grade 3 grade 4 like I said had more students so it was typical that I had
seventy students in one class of grey three
seventy students the classrooms
were a about the same size as a classroom he may be a little smaller
al school was AP
stone construction window spaces but no windows
their desks were very crude
wooden planks the desks probably seated about
25 kids so when you have seventy students in the class
the average desk would see maybe
three or four students they would have 62 eight students
squashed onto a disk they would sit in each other's laps they would sit on the
floor
they would sit on the edge of the desk they would sit on the window
ledge just two of it into the at a craft was fun
I needless to say to them outside a lot because we had more space
um I would ask them to bring in
local resources
I they would bring in sticks
they were cool I think they were called size so sticks
we would do a lot of construction on the
using sticks they would make models /a hot they would make models
animals we would draw and it didn't have a lot of teaching supplies
pencils paper they want their
I had one little teaching manual of
about an inch thick and that was for the whole year
did everyone have a pencil not everyone
home one little boy in particular had a pencil it was about an
inch long it was his prized possession
it was passed down to him from his older brothers finish school
he didn't shop in a very much otherwise he wouldn't have
had a pencil for the rest of the so different a
it was it a huge difference I did bring a box o
at supplies with me but I ended up giving that out nicely as rewards to
students who were working well
we made some little little projects using
colored paper which I know they
the students to in put them on the walls and they probably stay there
he is your supplies limited
me is what we had sweetie teaching English class
English class I had a book that I had to follow but
it was destruction gramma
mechanics have sentences I really wanted
to get them using a conversational English
so we would have a lot of discussions we would go outside to
and talk about what we saw at the end of class
we would spend time singing
and playing the drum this is my African drum
my my six grade
Boyce wonderful drumming on anything
they didn't have a dream like this they used a plastic margarine tub
stick or they would just use the desk and a stick
and they would have the best rhythms and then the girls would start singing so
the last 5-10 minutes of class kind
and in the song classes passes for about the same
is here about 40 minutes
the students would would go from classroom to classroom depending
which teacher they had they
had a lull longer lunch then you do here because
there's no lunch at school and some of the students would live an hour away
from the school so having a longer lunch
enable them to run grab something to eat
and run back to school run run because they didn't have time to walk if they
lived far enough away
they would run grab a corn cob
and run back someone bring lunch to school and just sit outside
more often than not they would travel
get something from you said the class sizes cuts miners than
my was that
parents had to pay for their students to go to school
and a cost money fading
so if the students would leave school at a younger age
or they might come for a weekend not be at school for a week if their parents
couldn't afford to pay
the fee on a continual basis
there was so many kids in a family that the parents couldn't afford it
all of them to schools so unfortunately not all of the kids in the family
end up getting an education but I think a lot of times
the students would go and teach younger brothers and sisters
everything they could they would also
come and find me after school on the weekends
and bring their little brothers and sisters along to me and
or they would practice their English
they would ask questions about
what life was like outside Africa me
these families don't travel anywhere they don't get
outside
so what about the other teachers do you think that the scenes like and had gone
they had
you I'm sure they did I'll
one of the girls I was with worked at the high school
in the village where we lived she ended up setting
up a scholarship for her students so one student at the end of each year would
get
I think it was a hundred dollars she would donate
to help that student a start of their
business or continue their education
most students trying to do something
back in village to help support the family
some went off to college teaching was a popular
Correa nursing was a popular Korea
other than that I don't really remember any students talking about
other fields that they would issue
just making a living with was harder now
teaching style is if about the learning styles
anything special
they were so eager to anything
from me I had students
who I'd seen for a week at school and then they would come to my house
after school and just stand at my door
I didn't even know the name yet I would be faced with students just standing
there watching me they'd watch me do my washing
made watch me write in my diary
they just wanted to be near me which
is quite humbling when you're not used to being the center of attention
you really were because one you you look so different
your coronary you know all these other things you can speak another language
they were pretty excited and I think they soaked everything out
did any of the other teachers like the experience everyone
I think 132 so as with she was a little homesick I think
it took a little longer for her to settle in
the advantage I had was that I being astray evil so
I had travel I I being too southern Asia
and there's a similarity between the level of poverty
in Asia and Africa
I I didn't have a problem with it I think
one of the other teachers in particular had a huge problem
with the punishment that students at school would get caned
if they did something wrong they would even bring
canes into school and this
it upset all of us but I was able to deal with it
my own way for example
math class my girls would bring in Cain's
and drop them at the foot of the chalkboard
after a couple of weeks I would pick them up
and throw them out the window and the students would just look at me in shock
like done something really bad another teacher
I'm and I would hear them get came during the day you know if they
did something wrong in class or would like that from lunch
they would be it really said there were reports in the paper
with their that there was too much caning
needed to stop we couldn't really do anything
right the guest I had my own little rebellion by throwing the Canes out the
window cuz that was no caning in my classroom
and I spoke up a couple of times when Allah teaches
caned my students and
they seem to settle down a little and not do so much while I was there I think
with better for the students
after school like after school was
was fun I A
after a month after school I also went to
the local Polytechnic which is like a tech school
they tore home economics
headed Taylor workshop address making
room and masonry and boys would learn how to
bill construction is using rocks bricks stones
whatever they had the teachers they found out that
I could cool can I knew how to sew I could net
so they employed me as the home economics teacher
which is quite funny because they only had one student
who was taking home economics they have three students doing dressmaking
and one who wanted to do economics so
after school my regular school I would travel to the Polytechnic
walk and teach my student beatrice
how to cook eggs five different ways
have to come up with 5-way related boiled eggs
poached eggs omelets scrambled eggs
and I told her how to use them in cakes which
they didn't have cake so that was something quite different
then I wanted to teach you how to knit she left school
at a younger age because she was pregnant she had a baby
and now she was trying to get some former educations
she could work for herself make a living
I wanted to teach you haven't I didn't have any knitting needles
I A didn't have any wall and I didn't have a patent
so I sent a letter to my mom waited a few weeks to get a response
she sent back a patent a copy
photocopy a patent for babies booties but that would be perfect because it's
small
and my student had a baby I found one beloved will
at the local shop in the market it was yellow
so that was just fine neutral gender-neutral
but I didn't have any meeting needles I was coming back from the market
and I so the local bicycle repairmen
he was called Frankie and he had all of his bicycle spokes
that he would use to repair bicycles with
laying out on the ground in front of him he didn't speak English
but I asked him if I could have for bicycle spokes
I got the message that I can't take them but I had to bring them back when I was
down
so I borrowed for bicycle spokes
from the bicycle repairman took them
and both beatrice and I made apparel cities
mine was sent back to Australia I just becoming well I was
in Africa so my nephew got a pair of yellow beauties
and Beatrice is baby gotta he's too and then we tend the bicycle spokes
to them and so he can fixes bikes
so that was that was really interesting that was a lot of fun
people thought we were crazy that's what you do when you
you don't have what you need speaking just making
does the forger like wardrobe I have
one with me my bag am
the students wear uniforms those uniforms were passed down from
sibling two siblings the girls wore their older sisters dresses
if they came from another school they would keep
the dress from the school where they were at it might have been a different
how it didn't matter so long as they they wore the uniform
they were extremely proud to wear uniform to school
they might have their batons dunlap
on the address but the back of the dress has
a gaping hole words being ripped the boys would wear white shirts
with everybody done up but he might have no shoes
most didn't wear shoes because they're more expensive
they wear out much quicker summer students have
I war long skirts
*** just because shorts want that popular
for women boys it was okay but I also took to the local custom
kanka which is s quick of
to wrap around like a wrap around skirt
I would wear them all the time so easy
in the heat they were really good you actually rate them over your head like a
social
would
this is kanka
which is the cough most women wear
this is actually a double one would normally cut it in half
one as a skit and one over the top
they always bright and colorful
and most of them have a saying down the bottom long life
good health for whatever just just local sayings
which
at I guess it makes it more interesting so this would be one
by women sometimes men would wear the skirt
but I think they were generally have shorts underneath which is kits
yeah so I I got used to wearing these quite a lot
how much they cost they're not very expensive maybe
five dollars and where would you get
you would get one the market the market sold
fruits and vegetables dry goods
being maze
anything you needed for cooking there was also a section of the market where
they would bring in
bales of clothing the bail would be maybe
three or four feet square
filled with clothing and ice you
all comes from clothing bins like those we is here
when you throw out your clothing I know where it ends up
because all of the clothing that was then and packed
was for sale and none of it was new
but when you you living on limited means anyway
you don't have a lot of money to spend on clothes most people would
one or two nice outfits that thing
way to church on Sunday or special occasion as I said before students my
one uniform
with for the whole year the same dresses for the girls
all year long and then they might have t shirts and skirts
which second and past
food at the market
customs food was took a gulp
lot of getting used I'm the main
food the staple diet
consisted I'll a bread
type substance called ghali
ghali is ground maize meal
cooked with water so
a kind of get stick like cream of wheat even thicker like oatmeal
and so sick that you can store it tip the sauce pan upside down
and it comes out in a mound everybody ate
this right lunch every male
everyday you had Valley you would break off
pieces in your hand if you eating it with something else maybe
80s to you or soupy vegetable
beings you would break a piece of roll it in your hand
diffuse some precious %uh minute and then use it to skip
the other didn't have knives and forks and
so even if you ate soup you
is you the galley to spoon it in TN now
we'll got very
very sick and tired a valley because it has no flavor
its just completely tasteless and forming
and that was the one thing that after a few months
really didn't want it anymore
there were two types of the ghali there was the
just the regular yellow maize some people would
white maze you kelli was so much nicer
so occasionally we would buy the white maize meal and it was like a special
treat to have
the white galleons the your very first meal there were your thoughts when you
taste it
out was great ghali was wonderful it was a godly
I'm it was ghali we had
at dish I love sukhumi weeki which
basically it translates as the end of the week
so when you've gone through the whole week
eating whatever you have all that's left at the end of the week
at the screen leafy greens like spinach
may grow very easily so everybody has
access to grow them and they just used
maybe with tomato if you like enough to buy
to mother let the market so we
Valley and super week
that was it does it yet it was great what's happening
during the week same food and sometimes we would make me Tookey
which is a green been honest you that was one of my favorite meals
their I wish I could buy green bananas here because I would make it like a plan
think
not plan to paint a different plant ain't a bigger we probably had a dozen
varieties
is that grew in the village where I lived
I ate bananas all the time a little finger bananas which one wait this long
there were red bananas big green
that yellow banana skin a yellow bananas though it just
they taste better than ours yes because
it was the only sweet okay um
bananas all the time but this met okie was made from green bananas
and onion maybe a tomato
I don't know what made it tastes so good maybe just it had more flavor
so that was common another common dish was called known you
which is maze
corn and beans
once again that one got kinda old as well
it was pretty tasteless but they were the main dishes
we also had to paddys which like
flour tortillas which would make from scratch
to paddys and a and grain
cold green grams
they're a lot like lentils so if you're a vegetarian
great africa is a good place to be because
you didn't he mention me in there we probably had
me once every two weeks
would buy me sound basic
cuts of Cup I'll
goat land
not sure what me was that I ate when I was there but
there's not a lot livestock I could be in beef to
they had they had cows around we didn't have me
very often cuz it's really expensive
you help I did help for the cooking
and I collected recipes while I was there so I could
continue to make these dishes when I came
we would cook for the host family Fred and Judy
judy we've got most of the time but the three foreigners we would help her out
we were taking
10 helping her cook because she was basically cooking for us as well
so we would cook
all the time we introduce them to different foods
something really funny happened with dinner one night
judy was cooking pumpkin leaves
for a the three of us foreigners
said we can eat pumpkin leaves that poisonous
so we can eat the pumpkin the fruit but not the leaves
and she was like no no no the fruit is poisonous
you can only eat the leaves so we had this huge
cross cultural clash there she thought that we were eating was poisonous than
we thought
she was eating was poisonous in the end
we ate believes wrapped around whatever it was wrapped around
and I made pumpkin soup forehand they have never used
a pumpkin to cook with news spread around the village and i ended up going
to three other people's houses to teach them how to make pumpkin soup
which was great any its much here to you
pumpkin pies in a stray we don't make pumpkin pies
compensate so sweet
no no its like a *** but pureed pumpkin
so the pumpkin soup was one of the interesting foods
we also had
with it we cooked on a pop one-pot
over a small fire the fire was either three stones
with cold in or it was a small
coal stove about this high which started off with kindling and then put
pieces of Colin so you had one pot at a time
whatever your meal was thing only maybe girly
first dumps that out and then maybe other day
not more than two dishes at a time
unless it was a special occasion harvesting
everyone in the family it every family had
a vegetable plot called a sham they would go to their sham
after school was finished work they got in
have as their vegetables bring them coke
8 the next day would be the same go to school go to work
go to the sham work they got in how was the vegetables
bring so they they ate what they grew
if they couldn't grow what they needed it would trade
some families grew a lot of beans they would let the bean plants
dry off and they would collect the beans stuff that they pull up the whole
Bush bring them back to their hot
lay down sometimes they would lay down a top sometimes they would do it just read
know gets tix and this was so much fun and you would
back thing the whole plans until the beans
fell out they would remove the the stalks and leaves
and then we would sort bean and it would take hours
because they were all different colors so we would have red beans and purple
beans and black beans and white beans and yellow beans
blue veins and we would sort them into baskets
kids love doing because it's like
playing with buttons lots they would just sit there
for so long the family would keep some of the bean
to cook with they would keep some to plant again
and then if they have enough they would sell or trade
so you could make money from your garden if other people didn't have a big enough
would buy for the portions like
well you kinda everybody 8 from the same did
so you can eat as much as you want but whatever was there
was for everyone *** a lot of times you would have
unexpected guests just poppin
they would 82 you didn't necessarily cook morning
everybody just got a little less there were times when I went to
my students family
they would asked me to come me if
so on the weekends or after school I would travel with my student and they
would always come to collect me
that would come to my house now that though mister
come you going to meet my family sometimes I wouldn't even know they
would just knock on my door come
okay where are we going come with me
and I would go to their their family village
I was expecting to
sit around and it with everybody but no
I'm a special guest so they would put you in a hot
bias all alone occasionally a student would come in
and see it smile and then they'd leave
because everybody else in in there their family
was cooking for me they would kill a chicken for me they would cook
10 dishes but they wouldn't aid
they would bring one dish in a time for me
8 some all I was full
they would take it away they would bring the next
I thought it was horrible because I really wanted to spend time with them
and not just be stuck in a hot myself eating their food
I knew that they would get to eat the food I didn't
8 so I would need a little bit full
and then they would bring me something else to try and I D the little bit
knowing that
the family would get Everest which was good
you kinda isolated as a special guest
very strange what did you drink I had water
all the time water was precious
we would have to go and
you to collect water if it wasn't raining or
thankfully I live there during the wet season where rain
every day about four o'clock we would place
safe water barrels and the roof line
catch water so I had water
and I had my Quintin tablets
so I wouldn't get malaria but they taste so bitter
and so disgusting after a couple of weeks
I stopped using tablet Angeles drink the water
I didn't let my wanna sit around too long
as it was the only thing I drank it was gone pretty quickly
and then if my neighbor wasn't there
to go get water she used to she went to school for half a day
individuals around the house the other half a day if she hadn't got water
we would go fitzwater and that's what this is
this is all about this is a
banana leaf ring
which is all dried out when you go to
collect water when you carry anything in Africa
they don't carry things in a they carry everything on the head
and after I lived there for six months and carry things on my head
it really is so much easy you have your hands free to do
other things with and you completely balanced
so I would get my been honoring
place it on my head get a five gallon bucket of water
see if the water bucket on the rain this would help balance
made it a little more comfortable we would also use
rag so close twisted up into it
shape my my neighbor made this for me
she was 11 name was a don't go and
she came with me wherever I went
if we went to the market she would be there she was like a little shadow
so we would carry water one day in particular when I did this I went with
they made had made employed to help
with the youngest Sun because both friend Judy my neighbors were teaches
so they would work all day and I went with estimate
to collect water and
it was one of the most strenuous thing
have ever done it was so hard but I was really proud of myself because
I didn't spill a drop I was walking
rocky past through the jungle from the string
back to %uh village with the help of my little
than honoring so
what it was precious and you looked after and that was the only thing I
drank
people we would actually get invited to have tea
but that he was so sweet was and it was hot
the weather was hot which is probably good because then you sweat new cool
down
but that he was so sweet milk and sugar
anti every single time they had
you couldn't ask but a black you couldn't ask the tea without sugar
this was just how T with
so it was tea or water so
Wed community was it was every family for themselves Ford
mostly every family for themself like I said if you had something to trade
you could trade we had
Fred in Judy's very good friends live
right behind us in amman
and to me they would like the African family
friend judy we're a little more modernized they had a television
although we didn't have electricity so every now and again
I don't know how they did it every now and again they would turn it on
there wasn't really anything what they were both teaches
so they had more money fred was the local
coordinator for the the International Group I was there with
so he travel somewhat at least
Nairobi the capital he hadn't been out of the country
at that stage but their neighbors
behind them were to me
just real africans they
had them happen that they would paint the bottom
with cow manure to repellency
day two rooms in a madhouse I think they have maybe five or six children so
the parents would sleep in one room with the baby and the other kids
when it was bedtime would sleep in the main room but the main room was also
there living
their everything room most people cooked outside so they
they didn't cooking inside
they would bring their go
and walk around the village in cell
which is really sweet when you've got it nine-year-old boy
leaving his goes around you sell a cup of milk at a time because he would
actually
milk the goat into the cup and sell you the cup of milk you have to tip the milk
out
into your own container because that was his cup
and of it go to the next so the community work together
very family orientated if
somebody in your family died and that what children
like I said at this time the children would live with other family members so
they really try to look after their
unfortunately there were a lot of funerals well I was there
from the second week
but I was there until the second last day
that I was there we had funerals whose
there was a hospital there was a what was called the
to dispensary was it now believes
it was a hospital I'll but I would not
wanna to go in there for anything I walked past
a door one day and I have I took a photo of a boy who had
a gash in his leg and the doctor was
putting a bandage on his leg but there was
screen like it addressing screen
hospitals you have screens up you can move so you can't see
one area it was a screen behind him that had three panels
rid stain
leather on them that it was in a place where I wanted to go and I'm glad I
didn't really get sick while I was this
so that was a plus yeah
I had one injury well as their I kicked iraq
I was in the thunderstorm running from my house to my neighbors
and then only had the door propped open with wrong
because if the amount of grain close that door
and I ran straight into the Rock
main tied so I had to deal with that
my my little injury
the community's so people re-instated
seems that way people people
one is it stereotype
always wondered all the big piercings and
plates see not and
the area where I was that's
there are so many different tried in Africa
I was with the lows for additional E
they don't do anything they a have
short here normally girls and boys the girls would get
extensions in all the time which
is really cute teaches that I worked with sometimes
here this long and then three weeks later they would be
appear again I wouldn't recognize them
I'm but traditionally
the people I live with were
modernize not rival at all
when I I had a chance to go traveling
through other countries in Africa I did see
some *** i mass I worry is
mass I and that's what this this blanket is found
this is a traditional dress unlike the can get that I should
which is made of cotton this is made of wool so
its a little sick a home
but they have
the ear lobes cut so they will will
have is pierced basically and then they will wear really heavy
hearing to stretch the low
once they stretch enough then they will cut them so they actually
really long loops that hang down
and the first mess I saw I was on the train
I falling asleep I woke up and he was just standing right in front of me
staring at me
freak me out just a little bit but I think he was trying to protect me
is there were probably pickpocketers in whoever else on the train he just stood
there and smiled at me and
after a while he went and sat down but the first thing I noticed was he
had his eludes lived up top of his hiya
later on I ask someone about that in a civil it gets annoying when
a loaf is hanging down when they're running
it kind things against that takes a
just hook it up if they don't have hearings in but no
no play grain MSI women do when
wings
nothing a crazy you said about the
pickpocketers crime rates anything in your village
out village I think was fine
I'm they did lock okay at night
had a god who stood out there but he wasn't there just for us
that was just the common practice if that was a compound
and which was mostly house teaches
they would have a goblin would love to get
I didn't have a single problem
well I was in Africa nothing was stolen
no harm done unfortunately one of the girls I was with
she had what stolen of this day Nairobi
we went on a bus trip to you can to
she had a camera stolen we when on a
time to which is a local taxi it's like a pickup truck
with a open canopy open at the back
and if it as many people as you can
inside sitting on bench seats
when the bench seats full you will cram in there standing out
been over because the county makes will have to stand up
and once that's full you to stand on the outside hold on
and we had some attached to ride where
what her backpack was stolen on one of them so that poor girl
everything that could go wrong went wrong for her I'm
I was fine them atop his
really scary we tried not to use them
too often because every day every week
no accidents the death rate was
pretty high you can imagine twenty people hanging onto the back
trap flying down the road you know with
most of the Rovers potholes you there wasn't really a flat surface
of the road on the road through the potholes
it was pretty dangerous driving was a close to city
city was coke assume
was post office a bank hotels
shopping center I don't remember doing much shopping there because
basically our food was provided force in the village
when we did go to casino we always went to the hotel
Tasha because they had chocolate milkshakes
we could buy french fries and
it could get a meal there really cheaply a small
that was L no
Weston if go back and get some real food go to the hotel motel
Nitesh milkshake or are in Japan to
I didn't have coke their head I would have orange
vent casino was
was pretty big not like Nairobi
it was a city city assume it was on the edge
lake victoria wasn't too far away
I got to see late Victorian see the pink flamingos
which just cover the lake it's beautiful
to go back to their a bit of bad first experience
not now only when I have to fly out of there yeah that I don't
be year that on the opposite side how about the wildlife
wildlife in the village we had monkey
who would laugh in the trees like I would walk through
I took a lot of books I want a bike ride even just by myself
I wasn't afraid of getting lost I think because
being a foreigner all love the locals
new me I gotta love help me on my way home
I'm monkeys stray dogs
walked around chickens
quite a few people had hit like wildlife wildlife
just the monkeys me we didn't have any Alliance near us
not in that part of the country the monkeys were fun
you go for walks in a way be
you for saving faith no no
around out there were spiders which I'm deathly afraid of
because they move so fast like
I can squash a spider I have to I remember one day
in my bedroom knows a spider going up the wall and I tried throwing money
shoes at it and it just went so fast that
I had to leave my way it was too scary
me where the closest Tigers know things
versus wild animals really probably would have been
souter National Park
which if the movies made movie about
line them anything lines itself
with a movie right it was filmed
their I took a trip
I guess it was spring break I went off by myself
003 us we're going to different places I went to
Kusuma got on a bus and went through some National Park
I didn't stop there because I was planning
to stop another national Tanzania
so actually traveled through South and that's when I first heard
my first line: warring at night as
I went through which was wonderful
its eatery then I went through into tanzania
and went on that is our railway I
ended up
Zambia and down to Zimbabwe
to see Victoria Falls while I was there
national osceola tonya Game Reserve
and I saw all over everything animals that were on my list I saw my lie and
Allah I said their Buffalo
empower tackle left teaches
everything white rhino which very rare
so that was great that was my little holiday
little animals in one shot and visited
Victoria Falls it was
amazing they just the longest bull
hussein my life go on and on
Nicole osceola tenure which means think it's Thunder roles
they also rainbows
that constantly born every couple seconds
rainbows just emerge up out of the mist and fade away
and others just constantly
how to keep in contact with people at home when you get home safe
okay you write a lot 11 let us take time
and you have to wait for a response which can be a little heartbreaking
especially when you go to the post office
and his letters many
you now with three of us there that happened quite a bit
the postmaster his name was McDonald
I would go to the post office after school to collect the mail
any mail for me today McDonald they might be
man he'd come back not today
try again tomorrow which was his stand
fly I'm we didn't have a fun
in our village but there was a village about
it was about 10 kilometers miles that is
that ten kilometers away so I'd written a letter to
one of my very good friends and gave them the phone number
I'll the telephone box in this
billion with the understanding that if I couldn't call out maybe he could call
we get to talk to each other so this particular
Saturday morning I get up early and
I start walking towards we
City and it took me about two and a half hours well
there with no map it didn't have a nap
just ask people which place it in the this way
through villages it was great so it took me a while to get there
I get to the village
find the post office which is where the telephone was and I was about an hour
early
from the time that I said I would call my friends so that was fine
sit down of course I have a little trailer kids who follow me
and then go off and do that so there was a group of kids there who I was talking
to
10 a.m. and came over to the fun
he walked into the fun box and we just started lifting up the receiver
putting it down lifting up the receiver putting it down and I said
is the phone broken cuz I hadn't heard ring at all
well I was he said know the phone works just fine
okay
I didn't say anything else and he kept picking up the receiver
a danny is the fun he said
no the bell doesn't work so I figured out that
the bell was broken but the phone would still work all this and he picks up the
phone and then he just started talking
so I thought this is just one of those moments in Africa know where
crazy things happen he finished his conversation
left make it settled left will
the fun doesn't ring if I can hear it
I'm not gonna be I wouldn't know when
my friend is calling me so I started doing what he was doing and pick up that
we see
way pick up the receiver
hang it up probably that happen now
by and finally I picked up the receiver hello
okay and my friend was this so I talk to my friend that
which was great that
it's one of those crazy things where the phone works but bell doesn't
to pay for it I didn't have to pay cuz my friend called me
up yeah that was good I don't have any cash it's not a fun way you have a car I
wouldn't
money city to Oct their barefoot she's I have my
my side the same pair of boots almost every day I had a pair of sandals
my walking my hiking which all the locals
really intrigue why they thought my feet got really hot
because I have these big heavy boots on no
will suck make shoes I wear shoes yes
overtime everyday internal area what
diseases besides that effective mostly
malaria nutrition with three
diseases that were prevalent in the village malaria
from the waterborne the skaters aids was
everywhere I think mostly affecting
we were the older people not so much younger children
but non nutritional really affected the the younger kids
three teachers who I worked with
their children died wanna
to their children died with neighbors little girl died
and then a teacher who I live next door to
on the second last day with it middle child died
I think that was the toughest one because being six-month
attached he one available
shadows was always that was really set
with was supposed to be
you know happy and then we were leaving
everything was good that'd
while you were there did you get healthier thing
I stayed about the same
I didn't get sick occasionally some didn't go so well
that's to be expected when you travel on the whole
you outside all day
walking everyday walks weekends
through the jungle I think of Public Health
if you can rain your top three memories
what do you think they'd be okay talk about
4 o'clock in the afternoon
just before the thunderstorms would hit we would have what we call the 4 o'clock
life I don't know how it works
scientifically just wherever the Sun was
it would be a golden glow
the cholera this can
the color of the corn reflecting
it make the most beautiful photos some of the best photos I took while
or of people in the cornfield 4 o'clock in the afternoon
it was just glowing that was
just that this man with the landscape seeing a line
dancing with mass I worry is
at the gamers
Samia that was amazing mass I
considered like that native tribe Africa us
that was just
really really fun with their favorite memory
would have bean waking up in the middle the night
with people scratching on my
wall and I had no idea what was going on until
I open my door and standing in the courtyard
was everybody he lived
in the media area they all had back its
and dishes containers what a pitches
all in their pajamas catching
insects that this is something that
I don't know what's going on so I ask my neighbor
what is this and she said once a year
is flying termites will come out of the ground
they will fly around they will fall back down to the earth and
borrow underground again she said we have one night to collect as many as we
can
so what full to eat and very nutritious
so okay so we're up in like 3 o'clock in the morning
catching flying insects called when
of course I had to try to eat them
role and then the next day after they were
washed and dried and crispy
I had them cooked as well so I think that what is being
one of the funniest memories that I have and one of my favorites because that's
not something that happens too often
yes you spent 23 clock morning
tell time watches had what they have watches
no clocks swatches so how
would ace an average student
can see them so successful with their goals for life okay
average student would probably just trying to finish high school
not everybody in my family is going to get that chance
so I think that's one of the goals of
every family would be to have at least one of their children
finish high school am they tend to just
go back to their village and work there
some might start up their own businesses if they can go to the Polytechnic
they could be a dressmaker or the boys could learn how to do masonry or cap
entry
and the lady next door to us
had no job before we left we
gave her we bought her a huge big bag of corn
which she then sold so she made a profit by selling
little cups corn on the side of the road so I mean there are jobs in the village
for for students to to do after they finish school or if they don't finish
school
but those that do finish school probably try to go onto
become educated in something else or another field on
continue education you become a nurse or teacher
or they would have to travel to a city like a similar Nairobi to get a job
but most either stay in the village
102 like I said way
all the wonderful people die who you think influence you Ste
would say influence that's a may be inspired would be
I don't go the little girl who live next door
she works so hard she went to school
half a day every day and then she would come home and spend the other half of
the day
looking after her cousins she was adopted then so
they would be her brother's she would look after them
she would work in the gardens she would collect the water
and the firewood she would make the meal
cook the mail feed the soul because her parents both worked
and I actually wrote a children's book
about her want to preserve her memory
and two hoping that it's a good idea to teach
other students those here in America
back in Australia about life in Africa
what's it all about its it's called marry a Dongo
and it's all about what she does in her daily life
the thing to remember with Mary a donde was that she had a little catch phrase
every question you asked her she would deny knowing anything about it shooting
me
I don't know me did you get the file
don't know and she would laugh she would smile that she would never tell you the
straight answer so in this story
after she does the work everybody asks what she's been doing or who did this
standard response me I don't know
it makes a cute if story
with it height'18 is a person after all
fishing experience I think I'm still the same person
same same person yeah no more conservative with
sources are you are you that way to get it now I was
tending to what's being conservative I turn the water off when I brush my teeth
I don't take long showers because every now and again when I do I think
yeah what if I had to go collect my own water on
make my children eight what this served we don't have leftovers in our house and
if we do eat them
the next day I just try to teach I think my children
good morals probably based on what I learned in Africa
and the question of the hour do you plan on going back I would love to go back to
africa
it's so far away and now I'm married with children so it would be more
difficult
kept in touch with a couple of people from the village
some have moved away some I have it's hard to keep in contact when
not many people have computers electricity
mom so you rely on the mail
post office boxes change in they change jobs
I would love to go back and with the right back to the same village where I
was in
see if anybody remember me I remember them
so Afghan troops over what is your after
right after Africa I ain't got back on the plane
and went to London England
I've had my to you working holiday visa approved
so my plan was to
live in England work and travel throughout Europe
which I did I worked at the Australian High Commission
as a migration officer issuing visas
and in the winter I got a name
boson travel around Europe for three months
i think im total up into about 30 countries
which seems like a lot but some of them are all squished together and you go
through them in an hour and
that was Andorra om
so travel throughout Europe after Europe
I ended up going back to Australia to
spend Christmas with my family and was
told have an opportunity to
teaching China so I when
back to England finished up working now
went to China which is where I met my husband
teaching at the same university so
after China was america yeah
whose favorite country so far favorite country
apart from africa it's likely that once close to my
I'll the Czech Republic with
beautiful yet proud would have to be my favorite European city
there's also a little town called Chesky crime love
which has a castle and amo with black bears in it
in the middle of the Czech Republic that would be me
favorite small town in your so I so many countries
when you get an Australian see what you can because it costs a lot to get out
strenuous are removed from the rest of the world
we Australians 10+2 ones where out we see whatever we can before we go back
how did you end up in Mount Carmel now how
I'm I don't live in Mount Carmel I live in Pitman
but my husband is from Central PA so
when he asked me to marry him alright well I'm already out of Australia I
don't need
there I men's will come in Olympia we settled here now
we were actually living in ceilings go first and then he applied for teaching
job at tri-valley
so we found yeah sleepy Valley in
montando Valley extending it to Pitman
which has even fewer people in Mount Carmel yes it
did you to merit was on your list NHA
sorry to say in america when I was growing up america was not on my list of
countries to visit
I had no desire
whatsoever just like still to go to America
it was so similar my thing to Australia that
I didn't think that there would be enough to interest me of course there's
beautiful places in cities and
landmarks but to live
that never crossed my mind you know
languages not no just English
yes its u-verse yeah I think most people think australian English is different
than American English
actually that happened in China where we were teaching
my students were very upset when
I would say things the Australian Way
and not the American Way because they wanted to learn
American English to succeed in business in america
and I would trying to joke with them and say I'm sorry
I can teach you American English can teach was training
Shin that did not go over very well
evolve these amazing experiences help you teach
others to be more
open open culturally
I am I'm having my books will do that I have
written two books one's been published the second one is
in the process is being published should be out any week
and and of course the third one about marry a ***
migrating to kids and telling them I stories
that's my way sharing information that I've gathered and
the experiences I've had in different countries
it's been an amazing thank you so much for coming I really hope that
people can learn a lot of pressure thank you thank you for coming