Back in the saddle again!
The end of the 2016 school year was tiring but quite
rewarding. There was the rush to administer, correct and monitor exams for
grade 8 and some grade 9. My students did a bit better by the end of the year
with 6 A’s and 4 B’s and a passing rate of 30%. Compared to previous years,
this was a slight improvement. Even if most of my learners didn’t pass, they
get pushed up to the next grade because of the strange Namibian education
system which allows them to repeat a year and then if they still don’t pass,
they are transferred up to the next grade (!!) Yeah, I don’t get it either and
I see many of the slower, goofball learners in my class all over again! It’s
confusing and I’m not sure when the vicious cycle will end. Not much I can do
about it so we teachers just adapt and plug along, hoping to offer a different,
more-stimulating style of teaching and motivating the kids at the same time.
I want to share some of my Dec 2016 holiday photographs in
this post as it was the highlight of my Christmas break. Mom flew to Cape Town
and we stayed for 10 days. What a lovely city! It is so vibrant, full of
friendly people, great food and so much to see and do. The weather was fabulous
and we managed to cover a lot of ground. We went to Cape Point, Robben Island (the
prison where Nelson Mandela was held), Table Mountain, the Waterfront,
Stellenbosch wine tour, Kirstenbosch Garden and I even got a chance to do some
zipline an hour from Cape Town. Whew! I’m so proud of Mom and all the
adventures we did. There was lots of shopping and historic tours around the
city too.
We then took the bus back to Namibia where we rented a car
and drove into Botswana for another 9 days. We stayed in some hotels and
beautiful lodges where we were treated like royalty. The safari activities were
already organized and we had the chance to see the Okavango Delta, Chobe
National Park and Victoria Falls! We got shots of many animals and lovely flora
and fauna. The adventure into Zimbabwe was amusing and the Falls were
magnificent! It was low season but still, what a sight! We had to wear
raincoats as the spray gets you ALL wet during the walk through the park. I can’t
imagine during high season.
We drove back into Namibia through Katima, Rundu,
Otjiwarongo and then to Swakopmund by the ocean to spend New Year’s with some
PCV from California. Then we drove down to my site in Gibeon and Mom got to see
how I live in Africa. I can say she was relieved to see that my place is not so
remote and I have all I need. Too bad she couldn’t meet any kids or my
colleagues but we did stop by the orphanage and she met some of the children
there.
Now, into my last year of service I have better insight into
what I can accomplish and what projects deserve my attention. I will still be
working at the library, newspaper and my reading program. I started up 2 penpal
projects and my efforts at the orphanage and encouraging those kids to learn
English and love reading seem to be paying off. This year, I will also contribute
to the Girls club and a study skills program. Along with grade 9 English, I’m teaching the Art classes this
year so that’s another opportunity to let my creative juices get going! Any
suggestions from family or friends are welcome!
