14.11.2008 It didn’t take long for me to decide that I am not the one to give out the sports gear which was brought from Finland. It caused more problems that I could have guessed. I decided to distribute everything through someone else.

There seems to be built in gene in Tanzanians that Mzungu (white man) has it all and he is supposed to give it for them. The only sentence everyone knows in this country is a very good reflection of it. “Mzungu, give me my money!” It is not a request. It has already the status of a greeting.

So I gave a box of shoes to my friend who helps me to coach the girls’ team. He took the best ones to himself of course but that was expected. Then one day he distributed shoes to all who attended the practise. We have kept the attendance so we wanted to give shoes to those who have been practising. I think we succeeded quite well. The next day we had ten new players at practise.

Another issue which we faced was more cultural. When we had distributed the shoes to the players, we expected them to wear them in practise from now on. But the next day we had some of the players running barefoot again. They said their sister or brother had taken the shoes from them since they had no shoes either. Back home this would never happen. Here it is quite normal. So what to do now? Are we supposed to give a new pair for them, or let them run barefoot? We have decided to let them run barefoot hoping that they get the shoes back. Otherwise it would be an endless road, giving shoes out and same people coming to ask for more.

Giving something to someone makes you feel good. I don’t know if it just me but you kind of hope that when giving something to someone, the person would appreciate it. Here it leads to more and more problems. One good example is what happened with my friend. He was kind enough to give his old cellular phone to his friend. At first the friend was very appreciative. After a while he came to him and asked for another battery. The battery that he had was not running long enough. Since he had given the phone to him, it was his responsibility to buy him a new battery. We were wondering if it was his responsibility to buy phone credit for him also.

I am trying to avoid giving out anything directly. I don’t want to increase the reputation that Mzungu will give you everything. I am using my friend instead. He likes being the Santa Clause. It is funny how he likes to have a new status in the village. He goes around telling that he has found a sponsor. They seem to believe him.

So things didn’t really turn out the way I expected. I wanted to give out all these donated shoes and equipment to see people enjoy sports. It turned out to cause more problems and increase the reputation that I will get what I want if I just keep asking for it long enough. No efforts have been made to direction of being self-independent.

Anyway, I still have three boxes of shoes in my room. I will give the rest to our physical education students. At least they are then in good use. I will leave some for the college to be used in practical training.

All together I received more than 100 pairs of shoes, close to 50 balls and lots of other equipment. Thank you all for being generous. I don’t know how long they will last but for sure they will be in use until they burst.

Thank you!

13.11.2008 Competition is a great motivator. Unfortunately it is the only thing that gets people to move sometimes. Well, that is not true. Money is the other thing.

We arranged a college tournament for our zone. We invited five other colleges but only two came. We competed in boys’ football and basketball, girls’ netball, and volleyball in both.

The schedule was very flexible as things are here in Africa. I don’t think any of the games started as scheduled. The games were played during the morning and evening hours to avoid the hot sun. Later at night we had entertainment which the art department had prepared for us. That was probably the best part of the tournament. I enjoyed the traditional dances and plays they had prepared.

Tournament was opened by the Deputy Minister of Education, Mama Kabaka. After a lot of speeches and crowd pleasers the tournament was on its way.

First day of the tournament showed already signs that winning is the most important thing in the competition. Out of the three colleges one was not as competent as the other two. From the beginning it was obvious that the battle was only between Tarime and Butimba.

Tarime had brought drums and was really prepared to cheer for each other. It took a day for Butimba to get its troops in line. The second day everyone was ready and the atmosphere was amazing.

Tournament like this will not get through without some high emotions. Competing to be a tournament winner raised some questionable ways to compete. Organising team used some secondary school students who turned out to be the best players. Well, to their defence, these kids were younger than the others.

Volleyball was probably the sport with the best atmosphere. Spectators didn’t seem to get along and the official received more than his share of feedback. Winners were still found and I think everyone was alive at the end.

I officiated the basketball games. Boys’ game was the opening game so there was quite a lot of tension in the air. I think it all went well anyhow. Women on the other hand had totally different problems. Tarime was the only team in the competition so we had organised a secondary school team to play against them so that they didn’t have to leave without playing a single game. That wasn’t why they had come here for. Their only goal was to bring the trophy home. Well, I tried to explain that they were already the winners of the tournament but let us play this friendly match in order to have at least one game played in the tournament. Tarime demanded that we would announce them as winners before they would play any friendly game against anyone. Well, I agreed and announced that Tarime is the winner of the college tournament. The crowd started celebrating and it took ten minutes to clear the court from outsiders. That wasn’t enough though. Now that Tarime was announced as a winner, they decided that there was no need to play any game. And I thought winning wasn’t the most important thing.

Well, rest of the tournament went ok. Each game had its peeks but in the end everyone seemed to enjoy. Tarime left home with volleyball and football trophies while Butimba kept the netball and boys basketball trophy. Bunda received some free equipment to prepare themselves for next year.

It was a great happening. To have even better tournament next year we have to learn from mistakes though. First of all rules should be known to all participants. Making up rules on the way is not very professional.

Another thing is to make sure that everyone agrees with the goal of the tournament. Along the tournament there were many signs of unsportsmanlike behaviour which was unfortunately agreed by tutors. We have to make sure that being enemies on the court does not equal to being enemies outside the court.

How to loose the competitiveness is another challenge. When the game is on, everyone is after the win, of course. But if you know beforehand that the other team is better, you should not give up and refuse to play the game. If that was the meaning of sports, we could play all games in the cabinet.

The final conclusion is that no matter where you are, the competition is always there. Well, that is probably why I like sports also. I just wish that people could see the bigger picture sometimes.

Everyone around the world knows that Obama was elected. One thing that is hard to realize is that Africa celebrated his victory like it was their own. Some ways it is. Kenya has announced the Election Day a public holiday but also here in Tanzania everyone is celebrating.

I watched the morning news which was a live coverage from the announcements of the results. There were ten other people watching the news. When the results came people got crazy.

Through out the day people were congratulating each other and hand shaking who ever they met. I even found myself congratulating most of them.

Two weeks ago we had also elections in Finland. They weren’t followed quite so internationally like the US elections. I wonder why. Anyway, I did my civic duty and went to the Embassy to vote.

It was the first time for me to do it outside Finland. I have voted as absent before so the procedure was familiar. I still find it quite weird that I am supposed to have anonymity in voting and still they put my name on the envelope. Well, who cares? It is not a secret who I voted for. Most embarrassing is to admit that I had no idea who to vote before walking in the Embassy. There I found a book of all candidates and after going through it I found a person I had voted before. So I still thing everyone should not be able to vote. I am one of them. There should be some requirements for voters. And I would be first not to pass.

5.11.2008 I had had stomach ache for ten days so I decided to go to see a doctor. I decided to go to the same doctor I had used before. I was tested malaria and typhoid and the result for malaria was positive. This time I had two parasites. 

I got the medicine and left home to rest. Two days later my condition hadn’t changed. My stomach was still aching and I had an enormous headache. They were both symptoms of malaria. So after finishing my first dose of medicine I went back to see the doctor.

More tests, still malaria. The doctor suggested injections since the first medicine hadn’t helped. I agreed since I didn’t know any better. I got first two injections at the hospital. I was supposed to get one every following day for four days. I decided to take the other injections with me since the hospital was so far.

Now I have been suffering of malaria for a week and things seem to get better. I am not fully recovered yet but at least some signs of improvement are there. Since my stomach is not any better, I have a feeling that there are some unwanted guests there again. I better go back and test it again. The doctor was very reluctant to diagnose amoeba even though all the symptoms were there. Maybe the third visit will ensure him for the other problem.

The visits to local hospital are always quite entreating. Many would think that the cleanness would be something to worry about. Well, it doesn’t reach all the western standards but it is clean in some sense. The bigger difference is the lack of privacy. The doctor’s office – or corner covered with a curtain - is some kind of meeting place. While I was telling about my symptoms at least ten people came in and interrupted us in three minutes time. Not to mention those who decided to wait inside for their turn. I think sharing the pain with all other patience is common here.

I have received now four injections. So far I have had two in the hospital waiting room while everyone was watching. One was received in the neighboring house around all family members and yesterday I went to a school nurse to be stared by students waiting for their turn. Well, at home I would say if they haven’t seen a butt before, now it is about time. But here I can’t say it since I think none of them have ever seen a white butt quite like mine. So at least I am offering some entertainment for everyone.

So lack of privacy is one thing. There are other things which could make you worry. Like the school nurse’s visual impairment. She says that she used to see but she doesn’t see anymore. What can I say? Sorry for that. Just try to find my butt when sticking the needle in. Fortunately my butt is quite big, so she can’t really miss it.

25.10.2008 It was great to have her over. It has been more than 9 months when we saw each other last. She is also the world’s biggest worrier so it is good to show her that her daughter is doing fine in Africa.

I went to Dar to pick her up. It was already dark when the plane landed so the taxi drive home was done in total darkness. That was probably the best for first timer in Africa. She couldn’t see everything right away.

We stayed in Onnela, the Finnish compound, which also helped her to have a soft landing for her three week visit.

First four days we took time to get to know the city of Dar es Salaam. Onnela is located in Masaki where all white and rich live. It is totally opposite of the real situation in the country. Again it was the best start for someone like my mom.

After a while mom had gotten used to the heat and humidity. Well, she was complaining all the time but I think she enjoyed it though. We took a bus to Arusha to the zoo of safari goers.

The bus ride took ten hours. We got stuck with a local bicycle race. There was no place to over take them so we had the “front seat” to follow them. Their bicycles aren’t the latest style, the roads are in poor condition and only few were helmets. We saw many accidents but surprisingly none of them were as bad as they looked. Anyway, I don’t think that race would pass any international regulations for any kind of race. Driving between cars, on the road which is full of pot holes with tiny tires will only mean trouble. Not to mention the so called staff cars. Old pick up trucks which are over crowded with people and spare tires or other bicycle equipment. Well, after one hour we were safely in front of them.

I had booked us a car to pick us up from Arusha. I had planned a three day visit to Ngorongoro and Serengeti National Park for us. It turned out to be great.

We were lucky with the animals, we even saw three rhinos. The elephant and the giraffe stay still in number one position and I was really happy when we run into both herds which we followed for over an hour.

We stayed in nice lodges which was again a good decision. I don’t think my mom would have been ready for camping safari. And I have to admit that I also preferred some luxury after being here for so long.

Three days flew but each night we felt like we had done a long day of manual labour, and all we had done was sit or stand in the car and look for the animals. Doing that in a direct sunlight makes you tired but I think the anticipation and excitement was the real cause for our tiredness.

We finished the safari to Mwanza which was quite convenient. My mom and her friend were welcomed to live in our house with us. Our house has two bedrooms and since the boys were out we had the house for ourselves.

Mom got to see where I lived and worked and hopefully realised that it isn’t such a bad place after all. Seeing me happy there was probably the only thing she was after.

One day I took them to see a traditional dance show with 15 of my friends. The show was spectacular but I think what made it special again was to share with my local friends. Seeing them enjoy something they couldn’t experience without us, and like it, made us feel good. Of course it didn’t hurt that we enjoyed the show also.

Last part of her visit we decided to spend in Zanzibar. We took a ferry over and spent three days at the beach on the Eastern coast and one day on the Western coast in Stone town. We relaxed, sailed in the Indian Ocean and enjoyed the village life of a Muslim Island of Zanzibar.

Three weeks flew by fast. That is also the reason why I haven’t had even time to write my blog. Anyway, it was great to have mom over. She seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. I love you mom – Karibu tena!

The joy of gymnastics!

My "material". Let me tell you, there is a lot of hidden talent there. I just need time to find it.

I used to believe the old wisdom ”it is better to do things that you can do today, instead of postponing them for the next day”. Well, in Africa it is the opposite. “Kesho (tomorrow) is the best” is my new motto.

For few days I might have felt a bit down since things hasn’t proceeded the way I have wanted. But like always. After all tomorrow is another day.

I have found new energy from the students. The topic which I am teaching now is gymnastics. So for past week I have been teaching students the secrets of forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, headstands, handstands, flips, kips and so on. I love it. My friend Sari, being a former Finnish Champion in gymnastics, is probably a bit worried now since the future of Tanzanian gymnastics lies on my shoulders, but don’t worry. There is a little “jumppakärpänen” living inside of me, which nobody new.

So this week and next week I will keep doing the flips. If you don’t hear from me, it is because my neck is broken and I am in the hospital somewhere recovering from some work hazard. Until then, Jani Tanskanen, be aware!

I think it is one of those days. I should be used by now for this African mentality but I guess I am not completely changed yet.

Today I was supposed to have a morning class. Well nobody told me that we had student elections on the way, and that the class would be cancelled. That is ok. I just waited for my student for an hour and cleaned the indoor hall while waiting. You are probably thinking that smart person would have realised something was wrong after waiting for half an hour. But that isn’t the case here. It is usual to wait for half an hour so just after waiting for an hour you start thinking that something can be wrong.

Anyway, while waiting for the students I thought I could help another project which is going on in that indoor hall. We really have an indoor hall here. It has room for three badminton courts so it is quite big. We have decided to repaint the floor since the lines have almost worn out. Two weeks ago we taped the lines for the painters to come and paint. Well, that was two weeks ago and nothing has happened.

I started by sweeping the floor. There was dust everywhere. The tapes are almost gone and people have carried desks and chairs around the hall. So all that work we had done was wasted, not to mention the money for tapes. But here nobody cares if it isn’t your money.

After cleaning the hall I talked to the responsible people about the painting. They said that they couldn’t have done it because the students had gone to town that weekend they were supposed to do it. Then I asked what about the last weekend. The answer was that there was no money for the paint. They all knew that we had bought the paint for them and it was at the office. So like always, nobody cares. So the hall remains not painted. I have decided not to care.

Another interesting project is the football field. Six months ago we planted new special grass on it. Since then it has gone through some huge setbacks. Sometimes the problem has been the weather, sometimes the pump, sometimes the cutter, sometimes the students, but in most cases the ignorance of the college staff. They just don’t care. After six months the college remains with a bush that can not be called a football ground. I stopped caring.

So three year project is ending here in Butimba Teachers College in December this year. Through the project lot of sport grounds have been built, equipment bought and teachers educated. In one way you could say that the project has been successful.

On the other hand, what has also happened; more students have failed their exams, college has stopped doing anything without getting money, and tutors have started to be lazier than ever.

So have we wasted lot of money and energy? Hard to say. Every day I see kids from the college and outside coming to use the grounds. They are in good use during the free time. In that way you could say that the project has been successful. At the same time the gab between the college staff and the project has widened. College faculty sees that there is no more money coming from the project so there is no need for cooperation anymore. It hurts me a lot. I think this shows the biggest problem that we face in this country.

People from “West” come here to Tanzania to do some good. We think that by coming here with our ideas and money we can actually change the country. At the same time the country doesn’t want to be changed. So people come and try to do what they came to do. After a while they get tired and go back home. Next people come and same cycle continues.

If we look back last fifty years, when the development programmes started in this country, and then we look what the country looks like now, I am quite sure that there isn’t a big difference. The problems country was facing then are the same today.

Who should we blame it on? Tanzanians of course. We could say that they haven’t used the chance what we have given to them. Or we could look at the mirror and blame it on ourselves. All we have done is come here with our ideas and money and believed to make a difference. At the same time Tanzanians have seen it differently. Money is coming. Let’s take it.

If we look at the development of the country for past fifty years, or if we look at the project that has been here in Butimba for past three years, the results listed are the same. Of course we can say we have done something good. But the reality remains, nothing has changed. A lot of time and energy has been spent on something which probably looks good for a while. But after a short while things will be forgotten and everything continues just the way it was before.

I might sound very negative with my thought now but it is not just the project that we have been working on while I have been here. So it is not just us Finns who have failed. The exact same thing happened with the ICT project which was run by the Swedes. They put millions of euros for five year project. The idea was to get internet and computers to all teacher training colleges in the country. Then hand it over to the Tanzanian government and keep spreading the knowledge further so that by the 2012 all secondary schools would have computers also. Well, what happened? Lead of the project was handed to the government in July and now things have stopped. Computers are missing, those found in the colleges are not maintained, and government is not allocating any money for the planned development. In other words, money given by the Swedes was gladly taken, but no sustainability or commitment from Tanzania was given.

Like I said, this is one of those days. I feel desperate. Things what we are doing to this country are not showing any good results. We have just spent huge amount of Finnish tax money for what. USA and George W. Bush brought USD 600 million to the country while ago, and no results. The infrastructure is bad, gap between poor and rich keeps widening and corruption blooms. Maybe we should just pack our bags, take our money and leave. I don’t know.

But when I go to teach my class, see those eager student eyes asking for information, I find peace. Then I walk home passing village people going home from their daily activities, some carrying water, some trying to sell bananas and some just greeting and asking how my family is doing. Then and there I feel that I am where I belong. These people deserve all the help we can give them.

What a contradiction. What happens in between? Why whatever we do does not reach to those who deserve it? Again I come to a solution that by trying to change bigger things, which you would imagine would help to change more lives, is not doing as much good as, by changing little things. So by giving a pair of basketball shoes to thirteen years old boy makes a bigger difference in life than by building a basketball court for the village. Why? Maybe because by building a basketball court, you have to involve many people into the process which increases the possibility of people thinking how they can gain something through the project, so in the end you have lost lot of money somewhere and caused more problems than solved. But when giving those shoes directly into hands of a kid, you see the result right there and nothing has disappeared on the way.

So this was one of those days. I will have another class in few hours so I am sure I will see the lighter future there in the faces of the students again. But for sure, next time when the possibility occurs to help one person instead of a cause, I know to whom I will turn to. And if I can help without having any money involved, even better. So until next time – Let’s keep the hope alive!

After game drinks - soda of course!

12.9.2008 Today we had a football game. Students had challenged the staff so of course I had to join the team. We didn’t have any preparations so our team seemed to be a bit out of shape. That didn’t slow us down though.

College has received uniforms from the Finnish Football Federation so at least we looked good. It is not that often you get to play in the flag shirt, you know.

The game was supposed to start at four PM but like always in Africa, it started when most of us were ready, that being close to five. Not everyone managed to be there even then. People were coming even after six to join the game.

There isn’t much to tell about the game itself. We lost 3 to 1. I played for half an hour without getting hurt so I think it was successful even in that sense.

Playing under the sun was the toughest part for me. I never seem to get used it. But having the college band playing on the side gave me enough energy and I managed to do my part.

I was the only woman on the field. That attracted lot of people to come and watch the game. It is interesting how conservative this country still is. Women don’t usually play sports, and if they do, they don’t wear shorts. Well, by now I thought they would have gotten used to me. But since we have a new load of students, there seemed to be a big number who was still shocked.

Shaking the minds of the people hasn’t bothered me so far, and it didn’t this time either. The best thing is that after my appearance other ladies are now more comfortable to wear shorts during sports.

Like always after any sports, the after games were the best. But instead of drinking beer and going to sauna like they do back home, we were having soda and sitting in the shadow. The heat was probably the same, but at least the drinks were better.

Ramadan is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during September, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to Angel Gabriel, to deliver it to Prophet Muhammad. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset every day. This means not to eat, drink or smoke during the daylight hours. For married adults, it also includes refraining from marital relations during the hours of fasting.

The fasting person is expected to do his best to practice self control and discipline, not to get angry easy, refrain from using harsh language or insults and to tolerate, forgive and respect others. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of God, and to offer even more prayer than usual.

Did I ever think that it would have an effect on me – no. Well, it does. Our houseboy Ali is Muslim. His daily schedule is to wake up before the sun rise and pray. Then he prepares the breakfast for us and goes back to sleep. When I get back from office, he is sleeping again. I would do the same if I wasn’t aloud to eat or drink during the day.

The sun goes down at seven which is approximately the time for my evening classes to be over. So when I get home Ali has prepared himself a meal which is called Futari. It includes cassava, sweet potatoes, peanuts and coconut. It looks like baby food which is the main purpose. Anything stronger would give you an upset stomach after fasting. I usually join him for Futari.

So past two weeks my diet has been a good breakfast and Futari at seven. Of course I could ask Ali to cook something different for me, or cook it myself but seeing him fast makes me to refrain of heavy food also.

Another “problem” is the awaking hours during the Ramadan. By the time I eat Futari at seven after coming from long work day I am usually so tired that I go straight to bed. Well, that is the time for Muslims to start living. So Ali starts cleaning up, goes to buy more food, or does laundry. When things are finished it is already midnight. At two in the morning Ali prepares himself another meal before going back to sleep.

Praying has never caused me any problem. I sometimes run into middle of his praying session which makes me to back down fast trying to give him privacy. During the Ramadan these session have increased. First I thought that Ali has increased talking by himself, which he does quite a lot by the way. But now I have realised that he just prays more often these days. Sometimes I even wake up in the middle of night to hear him mumble something in the other room. I am beginning to get used to it though.

While Kanda, my house mate, is now away for two weeks, we are living two separate lives with our houseboy Ali. I try to keep up with my schedule while considering the timetable Ali has. At the same time Ali is trying to do his “responsibilities” while I can really see it is tough on him. Imagine working in the 35 degrees hot weather without eating or drinking anything.

To get through this Ramadan, I have decided to do my part. I am doing my own laundry and I am trying to cook every now and then. Cleaning the bathroom is still my job since I seem to know better the magic of VIM. Of course now that school has started it is actually very hard to fit everything into timetable. But there is no choice for me now. Seeing a grown man trying to manage his daily duties while he has no energy of any kind, makes me be more considerate and concentrate on my duties even better.

Cooking though is a tougher challenge. Since the things I prefer or even know how to cook are things which he can’t eat at the time of dinner. So in any case it seems to be the best solution that Ali cooks, and I eat the baby food he prepares. Not like it is a big change in my diet here in Tanzania. My menu keeps on staying boring as usual. That is the price you have to pay when leaving home.

Another challenge is the physical education classes. Big number of my students is Muslims. We have all classes during the day hours, which mean that they join the classes without having eaten or drunken anything during the whole day. I feel sorry for them. But what can I do! It is not like I can start teaching after dark. That would be impossible. I will just keep on teaching to empty faces which adapt something but what, we will find out later.

This Ramadan will take close to five weeks. It is followed by three days of partying. I can hardly wait. Maybe in October we can have something else to eat and I can continue sleeping at nights instead of hearing Ali clean or cook in the middle of the night. But to be honest, waking up for Ali’s prayers is a nice change over the neighbouring chickens.

8.9.2008 We finally started the school year. We are about two months late, students will have one month long holiday during the Christmas, and then they will have lot of other public holidays during the year, so there is only twenty weeks of teaching left. That means that after twenty weeks of teaching they will graduate as secondary school teachers. I think we all agree that there is a big problem in the educational system in this country.

There is no use of wining. So I decided to roll up my sleeves and made a yearly schedule for our department. By the way, that is the first they have ever seen. I made it quite simple. I put down all the remaining weeks and added the topics which need to be taught in each week. The syllabus is made for two years, and yet we have only one year of studies, it meant that we can concentrate two weeks on each topic, one theory and one practical topic at the same time.

Trying to cover the syllabus in six periods the academic office gave us, would have been impossible. So I added evening periods for our department. Now we have six periods during the day and evening periods each day. Students were happy but the teaching staff was worried. They realised that it would mean extra work for them. Instead of teaching six periods per week, they would have to teach 16 periods, and still it would be divided between all four tutors. Imagine that work load.

So the department was in a bit shock at the beginning. Now that they have realised that I am doing most of the work, they are acting like it was a good improvement. My next goal is to get them more involved. I would also like to learn from them, so I am trying to introduce team teaching. So far I have won one teacher on my side. The other two are less interested.

So from now on I am quite busy with teaching. I have some theory classes during the day, but mainly I concentrate on evening classes with each sport. This week is the second week of basketball. After these two weeks and 16 periods of teaching, they should be professional basketball teachers. If they are, I have to say I really am a magician.

We have 54 names on the list in physical education department. So far only thirty have showed up. The others will join us when they have fulfilled all necessary requirements by the college, such as buying the school uniform, mattress, mosquito net, bucket, broom, notebooks, and pens. When the academic officer approves that student has everything he or she needs they will be approved to enter teaching. Just imagine the University of Helsinki asking for students to buy buckets before enrolling to schools.

College decided to bring back the uniforms. All students in primary and secondary schools wear uniforms. So far at the higher education level students have not needed to wear uniforms. Now they changed it. So people, even older than me, are now wearing uniforms. For men it is ok, their uniform includes black straight pans, white shirt, tie and black shoes. In other words almost the same they would wear in any case. But the ladies, huh, they have to wear a skirt, white shirt, neck tie, white socks and black shoes. And let me tell you that skirt with the white socks do not look good on anyone. I am glad I am not a student.

If I have to find one good thing about wearing uniforms, it is that it helps me to differentiate students from tutors. So far I am still mixing them. Maybe the uniforms will change it for me.