WINTER EVENTS AT C//OASEB

This month has raced by! There have been so many events going on here at the school and I’ve been trying to keep busy at the orphanage and children’s community center. Can’t believe June is over! Most of the projects at the orphanage are reading stories to the kids and learning songs and chants. Most kids marvel at being read stories! I’m not sure adults take time here to READ to/with their children. I thank Diane Favre in California and Mary McMahon and friends in Italy for the material and books. They are greatly appreciated!

The main events at school this term are the African Child Day (June 16), Culture Day, Mr. & Miss Oaseb and the Entrepreneurship Day. Most things take place during the school day so lessons are cancelled. I feel the Culture Day was the most successful as there was a variety of things going on: traditional dances and drama performances, food and educational displays of what the different tribes here in Namibia are all about. I was part of the Oshiwambo group…lovely pink and black skirt! The Nama group is dressed in the patchwork costumes and naturally, these locals put on quite a performance. There was a lot of braai meat (donkey meat, too!) and porridge, spicy spinach and bread cooked in the potjie (cast iron pot). I will include a lot of photos of the kids and my colleagues!

My teaching is going along well…I know all my students and we manage to make progress in their English skills. We have developed a routine and they know what to expect. Most of them try to work hard but of course, there are the troublemakers who disrupt class for attention. I’m not a good disciplinarian and try to reason with them and explain why bad behavior isn’t in anyone’s favor. Sometimes it works…sometimes it doesn’t. The kids and teachers here are accustomed to old-fashioned ways of disciplining students (Yes, corporal punishment) but I tell them it isn’t an option for me. I don’t always get the respect I deserve but I know I have affected and convinced some kids about a positive, respectful learning environment.

I have fewer than 4 months here in Namibia and hope to plan a last trip before I leave the continent….maybe Zanzibar or Kenya!! There are some important PC training and workshops to attend in this last period and I look forward to thinking about life back in California post-Peace Corps.

Heading North!!

This term break I didn’t have any visitors or important trips planned so I stayed around my site for some days and got organized for the next term. There were no teachers and the learners had gone home so it was very quiet and relaxing. In my two years service, I’ve seen quite a bit of Namibia but I hadn’t traveled to the Oshivambo-speaking area up north. The Peace Corps places many volunteers in this densely populated area for our Education, Health and Community Development programs. So what better time than now to pay my colleagues a visit?

I planned a trip to visit Natalie Lopez (fellow Californian!) who teaches in a small village about 50km from Outapi. Outapi is near the Angolan border and the trip probably takes over 15 hrs straight from my site in the south. I decided to break it up and spent one night in Windhoek. Then it was a 9 hour kumbie ride up to Outapi where again I spent the night at another Volunteer’s place before heading out to Natalie’s village. In Windhoek I decided to splurge and spent the night at the Hilton!(maybe no biggie for YOU but for this gal.."Hmmm..shower or bath..? How about BOTH?!") Drinks poolside, hot water, real comfy bed AND TV! And the best part was breakfast! It wasn’t cheap but I’d go there again just for the awesome breakfast!

The next day it was 2 more hikes out to Natalie’s village called Iilyatek. When we finally arrived, it was real quiet and the landscape is so different from my area: green, low-lying trees, shana ponds, lots of cattle and some goats. Two other Education volunteers joined us: Emma and Hannah….and Hannah’s cat, Fella. This kitten was the mascot of the trip! Because the school breaks are 4 weeks long, it’s not so easy planning what to do in the break time and sometimes volunteers are not allowed to remain in the school hostels. So we are encouraged to go visit other volunteers around Namibia. It was fun spending time with these young ladies. We exchanged experiences and complained about the Peace Corps and all the inconveniences that serving in the Peace Corps offers. Natalie’s flat is comfortable and pretty spacious. We watched movies and played cards. Natalie has to fetch water and the toilet is a pit latrine so washing dishes, clothes and bathing can be challenging but it was satisfying to see another volunteer’s perspective on living and working in Namibia.

Some photos are from our visit to Outapi and the gigantic Baobab tree. It is estimated to be over 1000 years old! It was once a bar, store, church AND post office! Other photos are from Natalie’s place and her school. There is also a mission in her village and some learners live there during the school year. I was also treated to a local meal of mahagu (porridge/polenta), grilled meat (capana) and spicy tomatoes and roasted nuts. We ate at the local market and everything is eaten with your hands…no utensils. It was delicious but spicy hot!! Meats and food here in Namibia are always prepared with spice or other hot flavors. They are not big on veggies but boy!  Do they LOVE their meat!!

I am back at site now and the second term is off to a slow start. Many kids are still on the farms and won’t get here till probably next week, even though today is the official first day of school. I have a PC training this weekend and then the following weekends in June and July will be filled with school events and I’ll post photos. Its winter here now so it’s gotten colder at night and early morning but the cloudless sky and bright sun warm you all up. I’ve gotten into a routine here but am also preparing myself for the end of my service. 

THE NAMIBIAN COAST IS EXTRAORDINARY!!

 April marks the end of Term 1. It went by pretty smoothly and I was well-organized with all my tests prepared so even when they announced last minute that the last days of exams would be crammed into the next two days, I was ready! I marked all my exams and moderated others and then helped out with completing the reports and class schedules on the computer. We managed to finish all and now the learners are gone, most teachers have left and I’m spending a relaxing weekend alone.

In the past month I have taken a trip to Luderitz to see the magnificent coast! What a grand time I had! I want to thank Travis Matthews for having me at his place for my stay. He was so welcoming and included me in all his weekend activities. He is a PCV and works in CED (Community Economic Development) and collaborates with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses. I met his local friends and they showed me all around town. It was great to be near the ocean again and this place has a much more low-key feel to it. The weather was great, went out to breakfast, had coffee and cakes in the afternoon and the braai (BBQ) on the beach in the evening! I even had some yoga lessons on the beach as Travis has started teaching yoga to some locals. (the photo with kids in water shows how resourceful kids are here…they use condoms as floating devices!!)

What a lovely time! I met some wonderful people, Phil, Alna, Liz and Paul and learned a bit more about Namibia. It is refreshing to get another perspective about life here and discuss some of the serious issues facing this country. Up till now, most Namibians I’ve met aren’t interested to discuss these things. Liz and Paul have transformed some old boats into apartments and decorated their property in true beach style with colorful succulents and collections of bottles and shells. It all reminds me of Santa Cruz.  Alna works for a TV station in Windhoek and travels with her crew covering stories in Namibia. She was in town to cover the installation of wind turbines for a new wind-powered energy station in Luderitz. Phil was my private cabbie; so generous and he had some fascinating stories to share for such a young man!

They also took me to Diaz Point where the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias erected a cross in 1488 upon his arrival from Good Hope in South Africa. The bridge to get to the point was destroyed by the mighty waves on this coast so you must hike up the short path at low tide. We also went to Kolmanskop, the sandy ghost town where diamonds were once mined. It was a thriving town before WW1 but by the 1950’s, it was totally deserted. It’s really eerie with lots of great photo opportunities. It was Easter Sunday so the gift shops were closed but I really enjoyed the tour and I had my own private tour guides! We went to Agate Beach to have a proper braai and BOY! do these Namibians love their meat! They are ready to brave the sand dunes with their bakies and braai at a moment’s notice!

Back here in the village, winter is soon to be upon us. I’m still wearing short sleeves and shorts but I put the fan away. Stay close by for the next adventure!