Magical May Part 2!

PART 2!!

A few days after the departure of my friend Susan, my Uncle Dennis arrived in Namibia. We had 10 fun-filled days of driving around mostly the northern part of the country. We started in Okakara where another Peace Corps Volunteer, Russell lives. I knew Russell and Uncle Dennis would get along as they are athletic, hard-working, ex-military AND had lived in the Washington area. They  swapped stories and had some good laughs. It worked out great! Russell joined us for the trip. We hiked Waterburg Canyon, stayed in Otjiwarongo and visited a crocodile farm and even ate croc meat! Yes- it DOES taste like chicken! Then we took a game drive at the Erindi Game Reserve and saw all kinds of wildlife. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the lodge, overlooking the waterhole. We spent the night in Omaruru at a lovely guest house. We drove on to Swakopmund and stayed for 2 days. We went to Walvis Bay and hiked Dune 7 and then lunch along the sea to watch the flamingos. Russell took us to some eating spots during our stay at the seaside. It was nice to have great food and REAL coffee in such a pleasant atmosphere.

We left Swakopmund and dropped off Russell along the way to Windhoek. I had promised a Namibian family in Rehoboth that I would have visited them when my Uncle came so we drove straight on down and arrived at the Shabaz family in the afternoon. Uncle Dennis fit right in and we enjoyed a curry meal with Shaheeda and her family. Namibia is a big country and the drives are long so it was great to have quality time to talk with my Uncle during the long journeys. Uncle Dennis had very generously offered to rent a great 4x4 vehicle and it was perfect driving along many of the gravel roads. I got to do some driving on the left and once you get into it, it’s not too difficult. We drove back up to Windhoek for the last 2 days and did some shopping and eating out at the Cultural Centre. We saw the display of the Gibeon Meteorites in the Tower Mall. It was fantastic! The weather was good, there were no hassles and I was again treated like a queen!

I am now back at my site and the second term is in full swing. Today is Saturday and some students have Saturday classes so I will go open the library and be available for other learners. There will be many events this term: more sports competitions (soccer and netball), Mr. and Mrs. Oaseb (a sort of pageant), a Gala event (farewell party for the Grade 12 learners), a celebration for the African Child Day June 16 (which is a national holiday but we must put on a celebration, ie parade, speeches and such) AND a regional Cultural event which will include our school and the village. Whew! And on top of all that, we must teach, administer tests and I will continue my reading program!!

I am doing well…hair is getting long, don’t shower so often (cause water is too cold and am too lazy to dunk my head in bucket bath), have a new feline addition, name’s Gigi (kids brought him to my classroom during a lesson) and I manage to keep in shape with my 15 min stretching in the morning. Sad to say, am not making much progress with the language and hope to find a reliable tutor shortly.

Here are some photos from my time with Uncle Dennis…more to come!

Magical May!!

The school term ended 29 April and the following week, I met up with my best friend, Susan from New York. We have been friends since childhood and she was supportive and encouraged me the whole way on this journey through the Peace Corps. We traveled all over Namibia and I was treated like a queen! We covered a lot of territory in 2 weeks: Etosha National Reserve, Opuwo and the Himba tribes, the Skeleton Coast, Swakopmund, Sossusvlei, a quick visit to my site, Gibeon, then up to Windhoek for the farewell. Whew!! The weather was great the entire time and we had no problems.

I have selected a few photos to highlight the trip. I think the pictures speak for themselves!

I want to thank Susan again for such a great trip and being the best traveling companion ever!! 

It's finally COOLING down!

So you thought I’d say “Spring is here!”…..Well no, down here, we are just starting the cooler weather. Amen! I’ve been in hot weather since June of last year!! The hottest months here are December, January, February and then winter kicks in May. I’m still wearing my shorts and T-shirts and its usually in the comfortable 80s. They say it will get ‘real’ cold! We shall see….!

The first school term ends next week and we have been busy marking, moderating and invigilating exams. The school photocopier and printers have gone on strike and our Principal has had to appeal to the local village council to make copies of exams. My last exam is Monday and I’ll be spending next week correcting and calculating the final marks for my classes. It’s all a lot of work and number crunching and the test results REALLY matter over here. And naturally, if the results are bad, it’s the teacher’s fault and she’s not doing her job!

I am on the newspaper committee too and we have had to put together an issue before the end of this term. I’m the official photographer…Hah! Okay…stop laughing! I seem to be the only one with a camera on those occasions we need to document some event or news story. We created an interview section where we inserted pictures of the kids along their comments. Oh boy! Do they LOVE to have their photo taken! They squeal with delight and want to do it again and again! The issue is still in the making as we speak. We will have a ‘soft’ copy to present to the Principal but we can’t print yet. Hopefully, next term there won’t be so many other projects to get in the way and we’ll be able to get the paper out mid-term.

I had requested some books for our library from a US organization back in Dec and they have arrived! About 35 graded readers and story books to put on the shelves! We will have to guard them like gold as new things tend to go missing around here…..hmm. We have elected Library Prefects and they are being trained to run the library. (I have included a photo of them here...adorable and hard-working!) The idea is to have the library completely in the learners’ hands. It’s not easy to make them understand the importance of library policies and following procedures but many of the older students are keen to take on responsibility.

I want to post some photos of the school kids to give you an idea of the features of the Nama and mixed or‘coloured’ people here. They look very different from Namibians in the North. Nama people have defined, sharp facial features and eyes. They are not dark black. They are lean, strong, stoic people who don't always smile...but when they do...ooh boy! What charmers!! They originate from the San people and their languages are similar. As I’ve been taking many pictures of students, I have become fascinated with the ‘look’ of the true Nama. You will see many more photos of these people as my blog continues. I have added some pictures of my dear colleagues from the language department. What a great bunch of dedicated, hard-working young teachers! 

Next month, travels in Namibia…stick around!!