See that yellow bubble in the top middle there? Closest to that other green bubble? Yep, that's where you can find me as of the new year. We woke up to some super exciting news today- our Field Director in Namibia wrote us with our teaching assignments and placements!
I am very excited to announce that Ted and I will be living in Omungwelume, Namibia in 2013. We will be living among people of the Kwanyama tribe, a sub-tribe of the Owambo. We will have the great pleasure and challenge of learning Oshikwanyama, a dialect of Oshiwambo. Our home is about 30km North of Oshikati, a larger town in the Northern region of the country.
Ted and I will be living in teacher housing on the same property as the Eengedjo Secondary School where he is expected to teach grades 8-12 English and Physical Education. We have been set up with a three bedroom (!!!) house which includes a sitting room, a small kitchen with a gas stove, and a bathroom. We will have running water and electricity, although no hot water (I will be taking as many hot showers as possible over the next two weeks).
My school, the Omungwelume Secondary School, is about a fifteen minute walk from our home. It has about 500 students in grades 8-12, and only about 20 staff members (eek!). It looks like I will be teaching English, Life Skills, and Basic Information Sciences, which I am so incredibly thrilled about! My school has an updated library and laboratory, which sounds very exciting.
We also received a bit more information about what to expect for our Orientation period, which begins as soon as we arrive in Windhoek on the 30th of December. This training period will include cultural training, language learning, and teacher training/ practice teaching. It will also serve as a general introduction to life in Namibia and how to adjust to our new homeland!
We will be staying at Back Packer Unite (BPU) in the capital for the first six days. It is a cozy, hostel-style place with a communal kitchen and a pool! While orientation will be a really busy period of time, I'm hoping that we will still be able to explore the region a bit. Next, we will travel north to begin our teaching practicum. Lucky for us, the school that Ted will be teaching at will be hosting us for this time! We will partner up and work on practice teaching for four days, all while living in the dormitories that Ted's students will arrive at shortly after we leave. We then head back to Windhoek to complete one more week of training, and we will take a few trips to some fun locations around the city.
We will officially depart from the capital to our permanent site on Thursday, January 17! Then to begin the school year!
Continue to read your pre-departure materials before arriving, as it will give you some idea of what teaching and living in Namibia is all about! Although I am hoping for an exciting, informative, and fun Orientation, please mentally and physically prepare yourself for a busy and intense period of time from the moment you arrive. It’s a good representation of the adjustment process to living in Namibia in general. You will likely be living outside of your comfort zone and taking in a lot of new information, all the while fighting jet lag and getting to know 14 other volunteers. As always, patience, flexibility, and a positive attitude will help tremendously with your adjustment.
So, now that I am absolutely, positively, 100% distracted and excited and anxious, I am going to begin working on my language studies. I will also be indulging in all of the things I will be missing while I'm living abroad- like tofu, a washer and dryer, a hot shower, and an oven. If you need me, I will be baking as many vegan cookies as possible for the next two weeks. And also trying to fit in my TEFL observation hours, packing, and Christmas shopping. Edina lange o Jessie. Ame omulongi omuliyambi. My name is Jessie. I am a volunteer teacher. Repeat x3.
IS THIS EVEN REAL LIFE?! I just don't know anymore. When I sit down to re-read and edit my blog entries, I feel like I am reading the fictitious tale of a very fortunate woman. Then I proceed to ask myself, wait, is this real life? Yes, yes it is.... See you in only seventeen days, Namibia.
Wow a gas stove, internal running water, AND electricity? you two are indeed fortunate to be living with such luxuries. If Omungwelume is a hot place, you won't mind not having hot water.
ReplyDeletegetting clean water is the biggest concern anyway. Question for you: what will your ability to connect with the rest of the world be like? (I apologize if you addressed this elsewhere in your blog). Although those comforts you listed will make your transition into your stay easier, there is still a strong sense of isolation that comes from difficulty in communicating with friends and family in the western world combined with such a huge difference in cultural experience. How can you really describe your experiences to your loved ones back home? What life is like where you're living, both for you and for the Namibians you live with? When someone some day asks you, "How was Namibia?" it will always be a challenge to answer. I am thankful for you that both you and your husband will be going through this life-changing experience together. After living in Namibia for so long, it will indeed change your perspectives on a number of things, just as East Africa has for me and for my friends that have/are living/working there for extended periods of time. Some of those changes in perspective are going to be quite surprising. Still, you are going to love teaching there and the entire experience (both the good and bad parts of it). Good luck to both of you, stay safe (and healthy), and make the most of this incredible new adventure you are undertaking. I'd be surprised if you did anything but that.
best,
grace
Oh, and on a less serious note- I'm going to try to go to Zambia next December to go bungee jumping off of Victoria Falls. Karibu!(you are welcome to come too).
ReplyDelete-grace
Grace,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. I think it is really interesting to hear your perspective on all of this- how can one truly sum up these kind of experiences into just a few sentences? I am really thankful that I know I can communicate with you about these sort of issues, as you know, most people just don't understand the changes that you're dealing with, etc.
We are quite fortunate- not only do we have water, but it looks like most of our region has potable water (!!!) which I am so excited about!
AND- ted and I have been talking about making our way to Victoria Falls at some point during our time abroad- perhaps next December too after school gets out. If so, we will gladly (at least) come and spectate!
sending love and hugs