Week One: Check.

We have lived to speak of our first week of teaching. While it certainly had a rollercoaster feel to it, I think all in all, it was a success. As I mentioned in my last post, I am still trying to create a new system for measuring success in my new job here, but for this week, the fact that I didn’t come home sobbing every day is a victory in my book. On Monday, I started teaching full time at Omungwelume Secondary School.

I am officially teaching two sections of grade 8 English, two sections of grade 8 Geography, and two sections of grade 10 Basic Information Sciences. While I now have an official schedule, I am still lacking class lists, proper textbooks, and lots of other things that we think of as essentials back at home. I am the only teacher at my school that doesn’t have a classroom of their own, so I am moving about throughout the day.  So far, the classrooms are all equipped with a chalkboard, and most of the time, enough desks and chairs for all of my learners. While my grade 8 classes are only about 25 learners each, my grade 10’s are close to 40 in each section. The classrooms are very bare-bones as you might imagine. They have concrete floors, plain walls, and not much more than that.

I am finding my grade 8 learners to be intriguing, dedicated, and curious. On our first day together, I asked each of my learners to write their name, birthday, favorite subjects, etc. on an index card. After review, I discovered that my 8^th graders range in age from 12 to 20 years old. This in itself is a huge challenge that is completely out of my control. While their English skills are pretty poor, I think that they are more willing to take risks and not always be correct. Learners here are trained not to ask questions, to say yes miss and no sir, and to keep quiet. Creating an interactive classroom is going to be a challenge for me for the whole year. When learners do volunteer an answer in class, they speak so quietly and cover their faces and never make eye contact. It makes me really frustrated in the moment, but after reflection, it makes me more sad than anything. One of my goals in all of my classes is to get my kids to be confident and comfortable enough to speak in front of the class. When I told them all this, they buried their heads in their hands and shook their heads in disbelief. This got me excited.

I wrote my learners a letter for our first day together, and read it out loud to the classes. I told them about who I am, why I am here, and how excited I am to be able to work with them this year. I have a feeling that none of their other teachers have done this sort of activity with them before, as they were all so happy to have each received a printed copy of the letter at the end of class. Simple things make these kids so incredibly happy. For homework, I asked them to write me a letter in response. This would be a good opportunity for me to gauge their written English, and also determine what kinds of lives the kids are dealing with outside of the classroom. Some of their responses were hilarious, and some of them were more serious. Most of my kids said that they love dancing, singing, and making jokes. A lot of the girls said they love modeling, too. One of my more advanced learners wrote, “remember, education is the greatest equalizer”. This brought me great joy.

Something that I found troubling, though, is what these kids are doing before and after school every day. They are working on their farms, watching after animals, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, and caring for their siblings. I get upset when I see that kids are falling behind and it is only week one (some have missed all 3 out of 3 homework assignments) and then I think, wait, how can I possibly give a kid shit for not writing in their journal when they are going to school full time and working labor intensive jobs after that? This is something else I am going to have a very hard time with this year.

So yeah, teaching is going to be a lot of fun, but I think I am in for more of a challenge than I ever could have imagined. I think that I am making perfect sense- speaking slowly, using basic language, etc. and then I look at my kids and see completely blank faces. I ask if they have any questions, and they say no. Can I win? Between the age differences, the poor English skills, the gigantic classes, and the exhausted learners, I am definitely going to struggle. In addition to the all of that, I am having a hard time dealing with the lack of instruction/guidance I am receiving from my school. Their expectations of me are not clearly defined, and being that I have never taught before this, I am finding just planning for the week to be incredibly hard. Hopefully with time, I will get better at being more self-sufficient and expect less in terms of receiving directions. As for now, I feel that I am just going with it and trying to figure out what is going on most of the time. It is a bit overwhelming.

In addition to the difficult school situation, the heat here is almost unbearable. At about 3:00pm here, the sun is so strong and so hot that it has to be near 110F. Even the simplest activity becomes exhausting and takes way more time and energy than expected. Sleeping at night is also a bit of a chore, as we have to keep the windows closed to minimize the number of extra mosquitoes that can come in during the night. We sleep under a net, but I don’t think I have ever been around so many mosquitoes in my life. At night, I literally lay in bed and listen to them buzzing around me to fall asleep. Did I also mention the wall spiders? Some of them are gigantic, but I am learning to love them (as they eat my mosquito population!)

I don’t want to make this all sound negative, as in reality, I think I am having a pretty good time here so far, and I am thankful and happy to be here. We had a few victories this week (I am learning quickly that the smallest victories are the greatest moments of satisfaction here). Ted and I treated ourselves to a new frying pan this weekend- the one that was left at our house had NO HANDLE and everything stuck to it and burned. My love for cooking was a bit scarred while trying to make an omelette in a pan with no handle, as you might visualize. We also treated ourselves to a few Tafels, a delightful Namibian beer, and Savannahs, a lovely hard cider, also made here. Our kitchen is now well stocked, and we are enjoying learning about all of the unfamiliar products in the supermarkets in town. We have cleaned the yard, gotten the house pretty clean, and are finally feeling a bit more organized and at home. Every night, we sit outside in awe at the sunset. We laugh when a tiny boy walks by with a herd of 20+ cattle. We enjoy the music, especially the school kids singing, and look forward to sharing dinner and chatting about our day every evening. Waking up with the sun (and roosters) is a fantastic feeling every day. Did I also mention that guavas are now in season? That is pretty spectacular, too.

Appreciation is the thing that has made me smile this week. Even though most of these kids are so shy, they have gone out of their way to tell me “we want to know you”, “will you be my best friend”, and other cute things. They will come and find me at my seat in the library just to say hello. I think that these special moments are going to be the ones that keep me motivated this year. Some of the community has made me feel the same way. Yesterday afternoon, we hitched a ride into town to pick up some groceries. I was talking with the man driving, who has four children and also lives in our village. We talked for a bit about my work, his kids and their education, and he said, “I appreciate you coming here. My kids are suffering because they are struggling in school. The children in our community are not succeeding in English. Thank you for your work.”

I am missing my family and my friends and a lot of the conveniences of life back home. Please know that I am thinking of you all and wishing I could share some of these moments with you. If you have the chance to visit, please do. I would love for you to feel what life is like here for yourself, rather than read about it. Love to you all.

Walelepo, Omungwelume

On Thursday afternoon, after another ten hour drive north of Windhoek, Ted and I were dropped off at our new home in Omungwelume, Ohangwena, Namibia. Our house was still too dirty to live in by our OCD standards, so even though we were beyond exhausted, we spent the rest of the night attempting to clean and get our lives in order. We had to get up at five the next morning to be on time for our first day of school, so time was appearing to move all too quickly.

Friday morning, we parted ways at around sunrise. Ted walked across the yard to his new school, Eengedjo Secondary School, and I took about a ten minute walk across town to Omungwelume Secondary School. Neither of us had a schedule, class list, books, or any of the “normal” things that we associate with the first day of school (keep in mind, the learners fist day was last Tuesday). Just about everything in this process was unfamiliar and seemed out of sorts. Everyone assured us that this was ok, and we should just “go with it”. So we did.

My new commute consists of walking down winding sand roads, passing cattle, chickens, donkeys, dogs, countless kids, lizzards, and a few goats, too. Arriving at school, everyone was staring at me as though I was a creature from Mars. I kept my cool and tried to greet as many faces as I could as I made my way to the Principal’s office.

I had my first “what the hell is going on” moments while working with my Principal to figure out my schedule, what syllabi I needed, my textbooks, etc. I attended the morning devotion, where the learners sing, pray, and announcements are made. After, I worked with him to get all of the documents I needed to secure a Tax-ID to get paid here. Ted came and met me at noontime, and we hitched a ride to Oshakati, the nearest town with a ministry of finance office. All of this went very smoothly, as I went in expecting all things administrative to function in the same out-of-sorts way as the procedures at my school. So we got everything done, and even managed to get some grocery shopping done while we were in town. The supermarket is pretty well stocked, the vegetable and fruit selection is decent. Getting the food home, however, is not so pleasant. The trip from Oshakati to Omungwelume is only 30k, but takes forever, as it is a bumpy sand-covered road connecting the two. The afternoon sun is deadly, and the only ride we could get back was in the back of a pickup truck. Here is the picture: two, pale white kids with bags of yogurt, vegetables, eggs and bread. Baking in the sun. Bam. We were not a pretty sight by the time we returned.

Anyway, we had a pretty relaxing weekend. We were able to clean up our house and it is starting to finally feel like a home that we can enjoy and spend time in together. We picked up some cheap South African wine, which we have been enjoying as the sun sets every night. We have a new and improved system for doing the laundry, and we are starting to figure out what is going on here in our town. We shared some fresh mangoes from one of our neighbors who sells them door to door. We spent our Sunday morning sitting outside listening to the school children sing and dance in a chorus.

The teaching part is a bit overwhelming, as I feel that I am carrying a huge weight since these kids are really depending on me for something tremendous- my biggest fear is to let them down. I am working on trying to figure out how to measure success, as I think that is the missing piece in figuring out if I am being effective in my job here. My first day of teaching (today) was a good start, and I am just hoping to continue on a positive path. I had my first sessions with one of my 8^th grade English classes and one of my 10^th grade BIS classes. I was most impressed and excited to be working with the 8^th graders. Today I learned that all of my kids speak at least three languages (!!!) hence why English is hard for them.

Being the center of attention (lots of stares and whistling and such) is pretty hard when you aren’t in the mood, but all in all, the people here are really nice and usually just so curious about who you are and why in the world you are in Omungwelume. The scenery is breathtaking, the birds are beautiful and are constantly singing at sunrise in our backyard, the kids are fantastic, and just about every day, I have at least one overwhelming moment where I have to stop and say to myself, wait, is this real life? Don’t get me wrong though, I spend about 90% of my day here pretending to not be confused.

The challenges ahead are grand and are constant, but I am hoping that I can find the strength to endure and bring something positive to this great little community.

Just Call Me Ms. Jessie

Language lessons are over, our first load of hand-washed laundry was done, and we are officially a week through our Orientation. We had our second braai on Saturday night, and enjoyed local beers and music at the hostel.

At 8:00am on Sunday morning, we packed up our belongings and embarked on an eight hour drive to Omungwelume in the Northern region of Namibia to begin our teaching practicum week (our Field Director was a teacher here for the last two years, so he wanted us to experience his village and see how different the Northern region is). All fifteen volunteers (plus luggage) packed into two government vans and made the long and beautiful trip north. Ted and I were so incredibly excited that the teaching practicum week would be taking place at our village this year, so we would get to see our home, Ted’s school, and our new village before everyone else! More to come on what we found…

The landscape was stunning. While a lot of the trip was covering mostly barren land, I was amazed by the beautiful mountain ranges, the endless horizons, the wide variety of brightly colored birds, and the well paved highways. Warthogs, ostriches, countless butterflies and dragonflies made the drive so much less painful.

Several hours into our trip, we crossed the Red Line- a physical line (checkpoint) that divides the south from the north. This is a veterinary line which prevents cattle farmers from the north from selling their cows in the south, and visa versa. This line is extremely controversial, and I would suggest that you read a little more about it on your own. Anyway, being that we were in a government van, we had no issues.

We arrived at about 5:00pm in the town of Oshikati, which is the closest town to our village. We stopped at Spar, the local supermarket, to pick up groceries for the week. We have been cooking dinner in teams and needed to get food for the week. Surprisingly, the supermarket was well stocked and the selection was not terrible. I am still feeling really excited to taste and learn about all of the different fruits and vegetables here that I haven’t seen at home! All of the cashiers and security guards welcomed us so warmly and gave us a really nice first impression of hospitality here. Anyway, we got everything we needed and got back on the road to Omungwelume, which is about 30k from Oshikati.

Arriving in Omungwelume, my heart was racing. A first glimpse at our home was only moments away! We arrived at Eengedgo Secondary School, which is the school at which Ted will be teaching. It is a really quaint little campus- it is a gated school with lots of open spaces, nice shade, a common area in the middle of the campus, and lots of smaller buildings that are dormitories. We pulled up to our house- I hate to romanticize everything, but it is adorable. We have a fenced in yard, a clothes line in the backyard, and a sink out back to wash our clothes. There is also a spicket out back (garden will be coming soon!!!) The house itself is nice and spacious- it has two bedrooms (one of which we will be transforming into an office) a kitchen, dining room/living room, and an extra small room which we will be using for yoga!

Upon our arrival, we walked up to our door, turned the key…and as I peeked inside I nearly had a heart attack. The house was in THE WORST most disgusting condition that I think I have ever seen. The place was literally covered in spider webs, garbage, dust, dead insects… it literally looked like the last person who lived here just got up and left in the middle of the night (literally. They even left their underwear all over the floor in their bedroom!)While this was a bit discouraging, we were lucky to have a dozen other people here with us to help us tidy up and prepare for the week. All week, we are using our house to cook, and share meals, so it needed to be in decent shape. Let me just say that it is HOT here. Like really, really hot. It is very dry, which makes it more manageable, and it rains at night during this time of year.

So, after a shocking first look at our house, we settled in for the night. We knew we had to be up early on Monday morning to begin our first day of teaching practice!

Monday, we got up early to run with a couple other girls before our day started. The temperature at 6:30am is just perfect. Watching the sun come up and listening to the birds singing and the cows roaming is just a great feeling. Here in the village, we ran past a lot of our new neighbors. This time of year is when all of the farmers are sowing their seeds, so most of them are out and about at that hour. It is really important to say hello to everyone you pass in town, which is something that is going to take me a while to get used to (I have turned into a bit of a blaisse faire New Yorker). It was so energizing to interact with a lot of the kids in town- all of whom were so excited to see us and were waving and smiling at us- some even started running alongside us down the long, sandy roads.

We began our first day of teaching. Lots of local kids from the neighborhood (some will be my students at the other secondary school, and some will be Ted’s students at Eengedjo) came to study at our mock-school. We divided up the kids into two age groups- grades five to seven, and grades eight to twelve. I am working with the older kids, as I will be teaching high school. It was really impressive to see so many kids come to this “summer school” just for fun, especially after learning that many of them had already been up since the sun came up working on their farms, caring for their cattle, and cooking for their families. These kids are really quite inspiring.

My first lesson on Monday I partner taught with my colleague, Jamie, who is a math teacher also from the east coast. We decided to teach a lesson on breaking down boundaries between American vs. Namibian culture using a Venn Diagram- discussing food, what we do for fun, and things that are important to us. The kids had so much fun discussing the differences between America and Namibia, and were quite shocked to find out that we aren’t all that different, after all. I was really pleased to see such a high level of English in these kids and to see their enthusiasm. I haven’t had the opportunity to work with kids of this age very much, but I found myself feeling comfortable and at ease around them, which was reaffirming.

Teaching was off to a great start, and was followed by several more hours of sessions, debriefing, and discussion. While days like these are exhausting, watching the sun set here really can make you forget how stressful your day had been. Ted and I took a nice walk around the village. We found a few fig trees that are out of a fairy tale- you could probably stand ten people around them with arms spread wide. While some of our neighbors have concrete houses, many have thatched-roof huts on their plots. Seeing this way of life is surreal. I have thought so many times of people back home who say that “they have nothing”, then I see this and I think wow, this really is the definition of nothing. The simplicity of life here is so unfamiliar.

Tuesday was pretty similar. We got up with the sun to go for a nice run before the heat came. Jamie and I taught our second lesson, which involved creating a business card for your dream job (all of our students on Monday had agreed that getting a job and working hard were important, so we played off of their ideas). We taught this lesson twice- and surprisingly, both of our classes chose dream jobs that were very realistic- doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, and pilots. Again, we were impressed by the creativity and energy in the classroom. When we asked the students to create their own business cards, they expressed a lot of interest and were eager to participate, which again, was reaffirming.

Wednesday and Thursday we continued with our lessons, followed by sessions with our Field Director. On Thursday, the learners who attended “Holiday School” this week were awarded with certificates, sweets, and new pens to start the school year. They were all very eager to have their photographs taken and were so proud of themselves! It was beautiful.

Thursday night, we traveled about 45k from Omungwelume to see the homestead of our Field Director’s girlfriend’s family. They treated us to a tour of their compound-style home- all of the family members build a small home for themselves within the compound as they enter adulthood. They also have traditional huts for cooking, meal preparation, prayer, and pounding of the millet, sorgum, and maize flour that they produce from their farm. We learned a bit about the process from seed to harvest to production, which is extremely long and labor intensive. After our tour, we were introduced to a traditional Owambo meal- small chickens that are roasted in gourds in  a sort of stew (tomatoes, onions, carrots, and oils from the mahungu trees) and served with a sticky bread. All of the eating is done with your hands. There are no plates on the table, and everyone shares the sticky bread and stew (one by one, you break a piece of bread and use it as a spoon to ladle the chicken from the gourd).

After dinner, we returned to the school campus. Ted and I went to town with our Field Director and his girlfriend to get a feel for the local bars. “Dumpies”, or what we would call a “40” of beer costs N$10, which is equal to a little more than $1.00 USD. Incredible. Also incredible was our government vehicle escort to the bar. This is the good life.

Some thoughts on Omungwelume- the village here has a bunch of small houses and huts. There are countless cows, goats, dogs, birds, and butterflies. On “the strip”, the main road, there are at least a dozen different shabeens (bars) which serve local drinks, coca-cola, and even some fruits and vegetables. I am noticing that a lot of these small shops and bars are multi-purpose! There isn’t any sort of a restaurant culture here. I did notice a bakery though, which I thought was really exciting! It looks as though we will have to go to Oshikati by car if we want to do any sort of grocery shopping or run errands, but I think we should be able to get fresh bread and fruit here in the village.

Right now, it is the season for guava and mangoes, which is basically a dream come true. Harvest here is year- round, and varies by season. Soon, we should be seeing lots of spinach, squash, and pow-pow (papaya). I am really hoping that I can get close with a few of my students who can take me to see their family farms- I am hoping to learn as much as I can about the agriculture here.

My emotions so far are mostly positive. While adjusting to life in the village is going to take time, I think this experience is going to have an impact on all roads I choose in the future. So far, my experience in the classroom has been fluid. I feel totally in my element.  Perhaps this will be an opportunity to fill in the gaps as far as what direction I should go in next in terms of my own education, job, etc. and to figure out new ways to make a positive impact in the world I live in. I am finding so much inspiration in the children that I have met here so far- many of them travel great distances to attend school, work on their family farms from sunrise until class time, and have great amounts of responsibility beyond anything we can understand (for example- a 5^th grader in school this week was bringing her 18 month old sister to class with her every day, as she was her caretaker during the day)

Being a spectacle is hard, but it is forcing me to constantly think and reflect on why I am here. Ted and I will clearly be the only whites living in the village, and standing out in such a way is somewhat uncomfortable at times, because everyone is so curious about who you are. While most of the children are really curious and excited to meet us, some of the adults are a bit more mocking. I hope that in time, and as we get involved in the community, the residents here will learn (just like my students this week) that Namibians and Americans aren’t necessarily all that different. I am really looking forward to building relationships here and helping out where I can in the community.

Adjusting to cold showers has not been an issue at all. When it is 100 degrees F every day, taking a cold shower is just about the most refreshing thing in the world.

Adjusting to the meat-filled plates, however, has not been so easy. No one was lying when they said that Namibians love their meat. If I were to draw you a diagram of what a Namibian plate would look like, it would be 90% meat with 10% mayo-filled pasta salad on the side. I am missing tofu and Dunkin Donuts and sushi pretty hard right now. Two weeks deep and I am amazed to say that I have managed to not eat meat yet.

Getting to know the other volunteers has been a very positive experience. All of them are intelligent, energetic, selfless and enthusiastic about making a difference in our short time here in Namibia. These girls are all an inspiration. I admire their braveness- being strong enough to travel here alone and embark on this journey is admirable. Many of them left behind quite a lot- their boyfriends, families, jobs, and lots of other things they care about. I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know people who care about so many of the same things that I feel so strongly about.

So, in closing for now, this last week of orientation, we will be back in the capital to wrap-up our sessions. Next Thursday, we will all depart for our sites and begin school next Friday. I’m feeling pretty excited and happy to be here. I don’t think that it has officially sunk in yet that this is my new home, most of the time I am feeling as though I am on an extended vacation. I just can’t seem to convince myself that this is real! I also have a slightly modified teaching assignment- it looks like now I will be teaching 8^th grade Geography and English, along with Basic Information Sciences. I’m stoked about the Geography!!!

My first week as a Namibian

Greetings from Windhoek, Namibia!

Ted and I arrived here on Sunday afternoon with five other volunteers (we are seven hours ahead of all of you folks on the east coast) after a 15 hour flight to Johannesburg, a 6 hour layover, a 2 hour flight to Windhoek, and a one hour bus ride to our hostel in the capital.

The second half of the volunteers arrived on Monday evening after enduring an equally painful voyage here, and now we are all officially settled into our temporary housing here.

We are currently staying at a Backpackers Hostel in the outskirts of the city until this Sunday, when we depart to begin our teaching practicum in the northern region. Ted and I are lucky to have our own room here, but are still adjusting to sleeping in two separate twin beds, haha! The hostel is really charming though with a nice outdoor area for our meetings, a shared kitchen, small pool, and HOT SHOWERS!

On Monday we began our training, which so far has been really quite wonderful. So far we have been talking quite a lot about dealing with culture shock, acceptable behavior in our new communities, and what our expectations are for our new job/ what our jobs will expect from us. Today, we had our first lessons in Oshikwanyama I am learning so much already, and I'm feeling really excited to see how much I can evolve and grow over the next year.

OK, so... first impressions of Namibia...

...flying from J'burg to Windhoek we were in the final stages of our descent, maybe only 1,000 feet above the ground. I had a window seat, and I was attentively screening the landscape, trying to figure out where in the world this pilot was planning on landing this plane. All I could see for miles was low brush and rather large mountains and one road. Not a single car or animal or human in sight. For a brief moment I was sure that the pilot was making an emergency landing somewhere because there was just NO WAY that this was Windhoek. Well, I was wrong. It turns out that the airport is about a 40 minute drive from the downtown area, which made me feel a bit better. Anyway, the lack of population here is really remarkable. Even in the city center, the streets are not crowded, the traffic is non-existent. Windhoek is a really beautiful city with lots of German influences (all of the street names are in German). I am most amazed at how immaculate the city center is... there is no trash whatsoever, no cigarette butts littering the streets. It is really pretty neat.

I am also really amazed by the already contrasting landscape. While my airport experience may lead you to believe that I'm in the flatlands, the city is built in the middle of these beautiful mountains (I will get back to you with the name of the range, I'm not quite sure what they are).

Food.... We had our first braai (BBQ) on New Year's Eve which was really neat. So far, I can see that no one was kidding when they said that Namibians love their meat. We are in for some trouble on this front for sure. Also, food wise, I learned that "salad" doesn't mean what I think it does. "Salad" here is either pasta or potatoes or rice smothered in mayonaise and sliced hot dogs. Yes, this is my greatest nightmare.

People... The people here are wonderful so far. There is an interesting mix of Europeans, South Africans, and natives among the city-dwellers. Today in town I saw my first Himba woman. She stunned me with her beauty.

...So many unfamiliar plants and birds and vegetables that I am excited to study

...all while trying to learn how to be a teacher, how to deal with my new identity as a Namibian, how to fit into my new community.
We began our language lessons this week which are pretty intense. Oshikwanyama is the language of our village, which is going to take me quite a while to get the hang of. All of it is hard for my English-speaking brain!

Anyway, we are enjoying ourselves so far, and trying to soak in all that the city has to offer and orientation can teach us before we depart for our site. I know that we will be living in a remote location so we have to take all we can get!