Hello 2017!

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!

I MADE IT!!!

The end of the school year is here! We have finished exams, all the corrections are done, the symbol distributions and reports are in. The children left and the school officially closes in a few days. I am spending my weekend getting ready for my long-awaited adventure in South Africa and Botswana with my mom. She will arrive in Capetown and we will spend Christmas and New Years traveling around this amazing part of Africa! Of course I will take lots of pictures and post them to my blog and on FB.

Our village has cut off water since October because the bills haven’t been paid (both by the community and the village council) so water is turned on/off randomly and we have learned to fill up the buckets and bins for washing and flushing. They don’t announce when water is on and I only know from the occasional drip, drip, drip from the bathroom pipes. I have learned to ration very well and have become a pro at bucket baths and washing everything by hand! (I rarely wash my hair, hence why I keep it up!) 

It has now officially been over a year that I moved to this site and there have been many ups and downs. Looking back over the year, there are many things I would do differently, but all in all, I feel I have accomplished a lot. I may not be able to check off the projects I initially started with Peace Corps, but I have started others and I am confident that in 2017, I can prioritize and focus on programs where I can be effective and make a difference. I keep going back to the language thing too. My ability to speak KKG is nil…a few greetings but that’s it. The only way I’ll learn is if I get motivated and study on my own. Not sure if that will happen…but…I’m okay with that.  

I want to be sure to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! To my friend Liz and all the lady friends in Italy for sending boxes LOADED WITH BOOKS AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES!! Not sure how they pulled it off….but…what an awesome gesture! I received the packages just as school was ending so the school children didn’t get to see all the amazing books and items. When we return in 2017, I’ll be sure to take photos and have the kids write thank-you notes. Being grateful and saying thanks are things these kids REALLY need to learn…Heck! Even the adults here need to learn that!  

In this last post of the year, I’m including some events from Halloween. I went to the orphanage and explained to the kids about the history/purpose of this strange holiday and we made masks and sang a fun song.Another photo shows the kids eating their lunch/dinner of meat and porridge. No utensils and they love it! They were thoroughly entertained and the best part was taking photos and scaring the adults. There are also some random school photos, mug shots of the kids at the orphanage and the retirement/birthday celebration of one of my colleagues, Mr. Isaacks. He is an English teacher and has a very interesting story. He lived in exile in Europe for 15 years before Namibia gained its independence (1990) and he was a war correspondent and journalist for the Namibian Resistance against apartheid South Africa. Naturally, he also teaches history here at school. A very sweet, humble man who is finally going into his well-deserved retirement! We wish him well!

September-October! It's gettin' hot in here!

September and October! Reaping the rewards of hard work!

The third school term started in September and after a short break in August (we had our Mid-Service conference and medical checkups so not much time off to travel!), the school activities and events were in full preparation swing. The most important event was the Readathon and it was my duty along with the teacher librarian, Ms. Handima, to organize the week-long event at the end of the month. In the meantime, I went to Tsumeb up north for 1 week as a PC Resource Volunteer. I worked with another Volunteer to help train the new PC group 44 in technical training. We assisted and helped coordinate Namibian teachers and the PC trainees in lesson preparation and co-teaching sessions. It was great to see other Namibian schools and meet teachers and get to know the new trainees. There are about 50 new PC trainees in this group but about half of them were doing training in Tsumeb while the rest were to the north in Oshivamboland. What a great group of bright, talented and enthusiastic people! They were also learning their new language and staying with host families. I remember my PST training last year and it is probably the most difficult and overwhelming part of your PC service. I’m sure this group will nail it and I look forward to seeing some of them in the south south (as we are fondly called) as many will be sent down this way, south of Windhoek.

Back to Gibeon! Apart from the Readathon, there were also many teacher workshops (for the Namibian teachers, but this means they are absent and you must cover for them!), a Gala event (a dinner fund-raising evening), my reading program (still chugging along), the library and setting up all those great new book donations (thanks Liz and our Italian lady group!), a pen pal exchange (thanks Diana in Italy!) AND I got back in touch with the orphanage and am meeting the kids twice a week to read stories, color, set up a reading-craft area in their home. I want to identify the older kids at the orphanage who are having reading problems and assess the young ones who are starting English at the primary school.

I’m including a variety of photos: my Readathon helpers, 8A English (I missed getting a group picture of these kids), kids at the orphanage posing (Oh! so proud!), some of our school’s Readathon events and some various motivational events and awards ceremonies at the school.

It is getting warmer…we are in spring, going into our summer. I’m well, get lots of peaceful rest, and have learned how to fix lentils in a variety of ways! Can’t get enough of them! We have a pending teacher strike (warnings started in September but between voting on whether to strike and negotiations with government…it may happen mid October. We PC must not participate so we are told to stay home and not interact with teachers or learners. When the strike does come, I’ll spend time with kids at the orphanage and in the community…away from the school. OH! I also recently attended a senior citizens of Gibeon luncheon and hope to get involved with them. I just happened upon the meeting and the organizer acknowledged me (only white non-clicking person present!). I was told they are doing evening English classes for the old people….hmm…right up my alley, no? If anything, it will improve my Khowkhowgowab, I’m sure.

End of Term 2

END OF ANOTHER SCHOOL TERM….AND ONE YEAR IN NAMIBIA!!

Well, August marks one year that I have been in this beautiful, interesting country working for the US Peace Corps! I have certainly had my ups and downs but I firmly believe it was the right thing to do at this moment in my life. While teaching English and working on my projects, I have been able to have LOTS of time to reflect about events in my life and to put things into perspective. One year also marks the time when Volunteers generally start thinking about what to do when they finish their service. I’m still not sure but am beginning to put together a plan for work and life in California. Let the research begin!

Back here at site…things are quiet as Term 2 just finished and we have about 10 days break. I plan to stay in the capital Windhoek for some days and then to attend a cultural event near my village. There isn’t enough time to do much traveling so I’ll gear up for Term 3, make preparations in the library for the Readathon event in September and just plan ahead for the new term as new projects always seem to fall in your lap and you need to be prepared to take them on.

Want to thank friends and family who have donated soccer balls and goodies for me! It is so great to receive things over here! Our mail comes only twice a week and so getting these big boxes after such anticipation is a wonderful feeling. I will give the balls to the kids when they return…they will be so pleased to have such quality equipment!

Have had some water issues for weeks (my flat was flooded and I missed an important school event in another town!) but it was just restored and now it’s only the leaky toilet to fix. People recognize me on my walks in the village and I greet them in local language but I’m afraid I still haven’t made progress. I plan to memorize some basic phrases at least just to be cordial but I really don’t need to speak KKG for my service and work. I should have learned Afrikaans…it would have been easier because it’s similar to Anglo-Germanic languages and doesn’t have those darn clicks!

I’m including some photos of my students…many good kids and some very naughty ones! There are also shots of my village in the Spring, our newly completed village Tourist Center (hopefully, there’s a project brewing up there too…) and a strange photo of some of my garbage that I found on my walk in the village. Kids go through the garbage heap to find food or look to recuperate anything. I guess my notes for lesson plans weren’t to their liking….!