Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Tanzania schools and a barefoot lecture

Today, like every day since we've been here, was a good day. We learned about the Tanzanian schooling system, visited the markets, got a barefoot lecture, and worked out some fluid mechanics problems involving pump and gravity-fed systems.
Today, like every day since we've been here, was a good day. We went to diocese and learned about the Tanzanian schooling system. It was interesting to learn that primary school is taught in Swahili, while secondary school is taught in English. The pastor said that this tends to be a challenge for students, as you can imagine.

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Once back at the Lutheran Center, Professor Strykowski taught us how to pace our steps effectively, which will be an essential skill in evaluating the land in the villages. After pacing, we proceeded to the markets to purchase Maasai paintings, carvings, baskets, and other unnecessary gifts. We all seem to have improved on our bargaining skills.

Back at the ranch, Professor Strykowski gave his first-ever barefoot lecture to us in the courtyard. We worked out some fluid mechanics problems involving pump and gravity-fed systems and proceeded to write scripts in Engineering Equation Solver (EES). We will be able to use this code later to quickly assess the various situations we will encounter in the villages.

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After the lecture, we went back to the Maasai market to collect some custom-made gear we ordered from the craftsmen earlier in the day. Some of us continued to explore the endless shops around Iringa, while others returned to the Lutheran Center to get ready for a run.

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We all congregated once again and took a bus to a pizzeria where we ate large amounts of pizza, especially Justice. In other words, Justice was served. On the bus ride back to the Lutheran Center, we shared stories and highlights of the trip so far.