Last week, both of my Grade 8 classes wrote descriptive paragraphs about their favorite foods as part of our unit on food. As you already know, I love food...so it’s been a lot of fun to read about their love for food as well!
Enjoy some cute quotes from my littlest learners:
“Pop-corn makes me feel like it is my opportunity to be self-sufficient. It makes me feel like an Angel is on top of my head. I feel like I am at the sea in future with my family, husband & childrens.” – M
“If I did not eat fat cakes I will just feel like no body’s zebra killed by some one I like fat cakes very much important to me.” – H
“Pizza is good for me and it is the best food in Namibia. Pizza is made of many mixed favours like meat, icing and many other favours.” – E
“When I eat beef I feel like the whole antlantic ocean belong to me, I link my figures and the plate where the beef was.” – K
“Beef pie makes me feel good but gives me a running stomach [Namlish for diarrhea] but I realy dont care with that I just keep on eating it.” – T
This is Africa. Is there a website for TIA? Like FML.com? Or MLIA.com? Maybe there is, but I can’t search for it because the data charges are too expensive. TIA.
Here are my TIA moments from the weekend:
-You spend all afternoon calling your friends’ colleagues’ relatives’ friends to find a free place to stay for a night. TIA.
-You hitch hike in a Windhoek Lager semi-truck. Dream come true! TIA.
-Your taxi comes to a halt when a pack (pride? herd?) of baboons stops in the middle of the road. TIA.
-It turns out two boys with which you’ve just spent the past 8 hours on a combi (bus) were carrying two huge rifles. And didn’t know how to safely put them back together. TIA.
-You almost have a meltdown over real ice cream. TIA.
-You spend almost 30 minute in the shower because it’s your first hot one in weeks. TIA.
-You wait four hours for your pizza to arrive. TIA.
-You freak out when you hear hot hot hits from the past year on the radio. Or when you hear a Spice Girls medley in the grocery store. TIA.
-You can watch the sun set in a spotless sky over Namibia while watching horrendous thunderstorms move across the veldt in Angola. TIA.
-The gas station attendants all gather on one side of the bus to shake it from side to side so it will properly fill with gas. TIA.
-You see another white person and feel awfully confused as to why you don’t know them. You know all white people in this town, right? TIA.
-You eat food that isn’t even that good but rejoice over it anyways. TIA.
-You rejoice when you receive life-update emails from friends and family back home...and cry when you go several days without them. TIA.
-You go to bed at 8pm because that’s when the sun goes down. TIA.
-You field several marriage proposals a day with grace and humor. TIA.
-You eat brownie batter like it’s nobody’s business. Or an entire batch of pancakes. And justify it by saying, “but I’m in Africa.” TIA.
...Mumford & Sons "Little Lion Man" comes on the radio. In a restaurant. At a river lodge. In Rundu. In Namibia. In Africa. While eating pizza. And looking at peacocks.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life...
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
(Proverbs 31:10-12, 25-30)
Happy 56th birthday, Mom! Celebrating from a bus – and later a river lodge – in Rundu. Everyone lift up a birthday prayer to her today. She is so loved and missed!
At Christmas, my family gave me Season 1 of “Lost.” I never caught onto the “Lost” craze. It was way too fad-like and popular. Plus, I knew if I started watching, I would probably get addicted and never get any other work done. With about 12 shows already in my Hulu queue, I made a concrete decision to never watch it.
But when you’re in Namibia for a year and have a lot of free-time...what better place to start watching?
I almost watched the entire season just last weekend. It really was hard to stop! I just finished the first season tonight...but it took a lot of restraint.
In honor of pro/con lists, here are my pros and cons for Season 1 of “Lost”:
Pros:
-Michael Giacchino. The score for this show is brilliant. Incredible. Awesome. I could watch with my eyes closed an enjoy it just as much.
-the moving themes of grief, trauma, coping, hope, temptation, and adventure.
-real-life story lines. Also a con...but it’s pretty hard not to love a show about magical islands that actually makes the people seem real.
Cons:
-watching “Lost” while you’re an international traveler yourself. I’m really grateful that whenever I fly between Africa and Namibia, there really aren’t many tropical islands to accidentally be stranded for life on. I think if my plane crashes, I’d rather go gracefully in the water than be forced to live on a magical island.
-watching “Lost” at night in a new place in a foreign country. I made that mistake the first night and now never watch it past 7pm. Especially when there’s rumbling thunder in the distance, “Lost” is not the show to be watching.
-real-life story lines. I could almost convince myself that this could really happen. I’m too jumpy and gullible about dramas. Reality check, Karen.
Are any of you “Lost” fans? I only have Season 1 in Namibia, so unfortunately I’ve already exhausted my supply. But come December, I may have to watch a few more seasons...
Two closing thoughts:
1) What happened to Walt??? That’s the ending I’m most concerned about right now. Holy moly.
2) And what’s in the hatch?? Mr. Giacchino certainly made it sound ominous.
Lastly, my Grade 12 learners. Some of them are older then me, and while they do not yet know my actual age, it creates for an interesting dichotomy of teacher and student. English is THE most important subject in Grade 12 – if you do not score highly enough on your final exam in December, you cannot go to any university or college in Namibia. It’s a huge deal and these learners know it. Unfortunately, they’re still kids and are just ready to be done with school like seniors in the US.
Three adjectives: motivated, inspired, hopeful
Age range: 17-24
Average number of learners: 40
Most common first name: Ndamononghenda
Favorite annoying habit: not taking English class seriously despite knowing how important it is – aka sleeping on their desks or dilly-dallying in doing in-class activities
Best lesson: a week-long project on family trees that culminated in them creating their own – fascinating!
Quotes: “We can sing and dance with blessed and happy hearts.” – R (best holiday – Christmas)
“I will also build up centers for orphans because I know that orphans are hte ones who form a big part of street kids...I want to heal the people like Michael Jackson did to most people in the world.” – L (dream job – and yes, she meant THE Michael Jackson)
"We have a new teacher for English from America that I had been praying for since I came at this school." - M (journal entry)
“One holiday me myself and I and my friends we had a party titled ‘Drink beer to save water.’ Oops! I just can’t tell how I went into the bed that evening.” – B (on his first big exam where the prompt was “write about the best day at school last year” – he nestled this hilarious tidbit in the middle of a genuinely awesome essay)
And now...for a profile of my Grade 11 learners. You must pass Grade 10 to enter Senior Secondary School, which is why many of them are new to our school and very proud of their recent accomplishments in passing their exams.
Three adjectives: spunky, testing, confident
Age range: 16-21
Average number of learners: 43
Most common first name: Johannes
Favorite annoying habit: calling out “et cetera” when we’re brainstorming to try to end the lesson early and act like smartypants
Funniest spelling error: “glandmother” instead of “grandmother”
Quotes: “and that time I was fly to cloudy nine which mean that I was very happy” – P (best holiday)
“My dream job is to be nurse not just because in Our Country Namibia we do not have enough nurse at our clinic and also hospital. I want this so that I can help those who are sick especial those who are infected by HIV/AIDS and also for me to get income to help my family...I want to be a nurse so that I will pay taxes to government to building enough clinic, hospital and schools in Our Country Namibia.” – R (dream job)
“The most problem we have in our country is for those people who are killing each other for nothing and also raping the young ones. So I promised and I want those people who are doing such a crime to be locked into the Zaire even for 80 years because we are very tied to the maximum now.” – M (problem in Namibia – should anyone tell him Zaire doesn’t exist anymore?)
“I want to be an Englisian person” – S
“I realy enjoy my first day in school on my own and I didnt over enjoy it.” – L
After five weeks of school, it’s time for some class profiles! I’ll do one for each of my three grades because they’re all so very different from each other.
The first grade I would like to feature is Grade 8. I teach two Grade 8 classes and they couldn’t be more different from each other. This is their first year at a secondary school (except those learners who are repeating Grade 8). Enjoy some tidbits about these goofy learners!
Three adjectives: squirrely, motivated, inquisitive
Age range: 12-18 years old; biggest age range of all my classes
Average number of learners: 35 per class
Average number of chairs/desks: 15 each
Most common first name: Fransina
Best lesson so far: America day – they had so many hilarious questions; many of them thought I was already married with children
Quotes: “One day when I was moving to church I one boy he told me that there is no church, and he ask me, ‘why I use to [Namlish for “usually”] go to church’ and I answer that ‘I woudl like to her the word of living God.’ The boy started laughing to me and he take sand and put it in my head, and we start quarreling and I bit him like I was not going to church and I go back hom saying the church is over.” – V (Favorite memory from last year)
“I loved playing netball to train my self from getting to old.” – H (Favorite memory from last year)
“Ok I just want to say God bless our English teacher to be the most in grade 8” – S (journal entry)
“I like to read my favorite is to read.” – (expectations for English class)
“The massager to my follow learners is they must enjoy their lifes but they must not over enjoy because there is HIV and AIDS on the world.” – M (journal entry)
There are many reasons to love pancakes. They’re delicious. They’re nutritious. They’re easy. They’re good at any time. They even make for a good dance...
I love pancakes.
a) Circa 2006, I ate 17 pancakes in one sitting at a pancake breakfast
b) Our suite and the guys next door made ~215 waffles in one semester (okay, not pancakes...but made from the same batter)
c) My last roommate can attest that I could eat pancakes at any meal
d) Pumpkin pancakes...‘nuff said
I’ve quickly fallen into a food routine here that mostly consists of oatmeal for breakfast, peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, and some combo of pasta/sauce/veggies/eggs for dinner.
Being my first weekend home in a while, I woke up this morning and decided to attempt something a little fancier than oatmeal. I found a recipe in the WorldTeach cookbook and was filled with excitement and disappointment. I had all the ingredients! But...I’ve never made pancakes with anything other than a just-add-water box mix (I love taking the easy way out...and they’re still delicious).
Low and behold...these pancakes were DELICIOUS. Being 8,000 miles from the northeast, there is absolutely no maple syrup here. But these were good plain. How ridiculous is that? Hallelujah.
Rejoicing in pancakes!
Peace Corps Pancakes
3 T butter
½ c milk
1 egg
1 c flour
½ t salt
1 t baking powder
3 T sugar
½ t cinnamon
Melt butter in frying pan. Mix eggs and milk in a bowl. Tilt the frying pan pan so that butter covers the bottom, then pour remainder into the egg mixture. Add remaining ingredients. Mix lightly. Make yo’ pancakes!
“My child, I have a message for you today. Let me whisper it in your ear so any storm clouds that may arise will shine with glory, and the rough places you may have to walk will be made smooth. It is only four words, but let them sink into your inner being, and use them as a pillow to rest your weary head. ‘This is my doing.’
“I want you to learn when temptations attack you, and the enemy comes in ‘like a pent-up flood,’ that ‘this is my doing’ and that your weakness needs My strength, and your safety lies in letting Me fight for you.”
“I am the God of circumstances. You did not come to this place by accident – you are exactly where I meant for you to be. Have you not asked Me to make you humble? Ten see that I have placed you in the perfect school where this lesson is taught. Your circumstances and the people around you are only being used to accomplish My will.”
(“Streams in the Desert,” February 1)
I haven’t been real with y’all, and I said I would be. Only a handful of you have heard the real story about life in Namibia. As supporters and faithful friends, you deserve an update and honest insight into the realities of my adjustment in Namibia.
Today marks one month in Ohangwena. Hallelujah! You should know that I can now confidently say that these days are good. It’s important to give away the ending of this post.
Things did not begin this way, though. The first two weeks at my site were really hard. Every fiber of my being wanted to jump on a plane home.
I was adjusting to life in Namibia really poorly. All of my usual methods of coping and finding hope in unfamiliar situations were failing. I had no enthusiasm about anything and felt like I was losing the core of my being. I cried (a lot) and woke up every morning feeling like this was the end of the world. Eventually, I realized that I had to physically fight those thoughts and feelings; that despite how real they were, they were not healthy or true. Clearly, God is still here – and nothing is too big for us to handle with Him leading us.
After a week, I sent out a desperate email to some of my closest girlfriends back home. There are few times in life when we realize how completely powerless we are to conquer our own giants. Certainly, God is there to fight for us. But He purposefully puts people and community in our lives to support us, pray for us, speak truth into our lives, and carry us when we can no longer stand. In my email, I explained that while I could recite a whole list of God’s promises that should get me through, none of them were changing my life. I admitted, “it’s a terribly discouraging feeling to know the Truth and be completely unable to apply it in my life. So...I don’t even know what my prayer requests are. I struggle to even put words to my prayers, so usually they end up being ‘umm...as;ldkaf;skjdfl;kj;lwkjwe...please just get me through today.’”
The encouraging, God-filled responses they sent me were completely humbling and comforting. Over the next few days, I could physically feel the prayers from home. I received many unexpected emails from friends around the world saying that I’d been on their hearts and they were praying for me. The outpouring of unprompted support was crazy. There’s no other way to explain it other than the sovereignty of God.
As I said in my Day 40 post, I reached a turning point ten days ago. I actually wrote in my journal that morning, “Today is going to be a GREAT day!” I’ve made a lot of conscious decisions in my life – deciding that piano would be my passion at age 6, deciding to love math in 3rd grade – and this one seemed like the craziest of all. But it wasn’t. Life has taken a 180 spin since Day 40. Some days are still really, really difficult and it’s easy to feel discouraged. But I am learning to lean on God and trust Him despite my human emotions and reactions to situations. I am slowly learning what it means to be content in all situations. I have to constantly make a decision between giving into worry/fear/despair or trusting that God’s purposes are bigger than my moments.
Faith needs to continue despite our circumstances. God does not change – whether you’re working in Nashville, still in school, or living in Namibia. “Faith that believes it will see, will keep us from becoming discouraged. We will laugh at seemingly impossible situations while we watch with delight to see how God is going to open a path through our Red Sea.”
Each day is still a battle and while the last ten days have been a major improvement, I know there will be challenging days on the road ahead. But for now, I am grateful for small joys, the sweet encouragement of friends, and the grace of God. And if I ever doubt that, I just have to look to the Namibian sky to remember how great He truly is.
When you enter your bedroom after a long day away and find a mostly dead cockroach lying tummy-side-up in the middle of your floor, you have to ask yourself a lot of questions:
Did he fall from the ceiling?
Did another creature catch him and leave him for dead?
Is he faking it?
Which shoe do I sacrifice to ensure it’s dead?
After a mostly flawless first four weeks at home, I have dealt with three of these buggers in the last 24 hours. Which begs the question...where did they all come from?
Re-adopting my mantra from NOLA Fall Break Clean-Up 2006: “they cannot hurt me...they cannot hurt me...they cannot hurt me!”
This weekend, Hannah, Bret, and I visited Ruacana Falls in northwest Namibia. First long hike! First time seeing a really huge waterfall! First campout in Namibia! First night in my new tent!
My trusty Lonely Planet: Namibia guide told me, “it’s no exaggeration to say it rivals Victoria Falls.” I haven’t been to Vic Falls yet, but Ruacana was AWESOME.
Ruacana Falls is part of the Kunene River. At the top of the falls, the river “splits into several channels before plunging 85m over a dramatic escarpment and through a 2km-long gorge of its own making.” In former years, it was apparently even more glorious...before Angola’s Calueque Dam was build and NamPower built its Ruacana power plant. In addition, you can explore the ruins of the old power station which were “destroyed by Namibian liberation forces” and “are pockmarked with scars from mortar rounds and gunfire,” as well as “bombed by a Cuban airstrike in 1988 during the Angolan civil war” (according to the Footprint guide).
All that to say...Ruacana Falls surpassed all my expectations. I did not look at any photographs of it beforehand and, having never seen any substantial waterfalls, I really had no expectations to begin with. Plus, we got to cross over into Angola to go there! No passport stamp, but at least I can say I’ve been to Angola.
This will surely be a place to revisit!
crossing the border!
glorious Ruacana Falls
the falls, the gorge, and the Kunene River
ravages of war
"Life is your ability to breathe out every time you breathe in" - African proverb
I had my first dream about Nashville last night since arriving in Namibia. Fuchs picked me up at the airport, we went to visit Jon in his couch-filled house, slept over with Kiely, snuggled with Shannon, went out to dinner with the whole Nashville crew, and went to Mallory's wedding. Weirdest part? Discovering that Nashville is not home right now...realizing that I had to return to Namibia at the end of the weekend - it's where I'm meant to be (and maybe even where my heart is).
According to Namibia, I am an orphan. Does that knock the wind out of you like it did for me?
A few weeks ago, I was introduced to the Ministry of Education’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Register. Starting in 2010, schools are required to register any learners that qualify as orphans or vulnerable children.
Almost anything can make you an OVC...lack of either/both parents, living in a child-headed or grandparent-headed household, having any sort of disability (physical, learning, mental...any severity), having glasses, lacking money...the list goes on.
As a registered class teacher (aka homeroom teacher), this gives you additional responsibility. You are the one to gauge if any of your learners are OVCs and then include them in the register. Let me tell you...a lot of the learners here qualify as OVCs. Since the Register is so new, the Ministry only uses it for statistical purposes. Schools can use the information to waive school fees or provide free meals where applicable.
This week, I’ve been doing this awesome family tree project with my 11th and 12th graders. I have learned a lot about my learners’ families and would estimate that almost a third of them qualify as orphans. So many of them have had one or both parents die...and they’re only teenagers.
Just last week, the mother of a girl in my homeroom passed away. She walked in the school gates one morning, handed me this note, and walked away: “Dear Madam, Am sorry for bothering you, I just want to let you know that M will not be coming to school this days due to her mom’s death.”
How do you react? I still will never know. But let us rejoice once again in the great sovereignty of God in my life – in blessing me with past experiences, sorrows, and healing that enable me to comfort and listen to others.
“Praise be to God...who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:4
My soul was rocked by last May’s Nashville Floods. Maybe it was my foolish decision to drive for several hours in the height of the storm. Maybe it was the horrific real life images of houses, cars, neighborhoods, and landmarks under water. Maybe it was the unbelievable outpouring of support/community/volunteerism that resulted among Nashvillans in the weeks after.
Rainy season is nothing short of outrageous in Namibia. When I talk about rain, I don’t mean a shower. I don’t even mean a thunderstorm. I’m talking storms of hurricane proportions...trees bending over, flash floods, living things dying, villages swept away, and no drinkable water. And maybe even cholera if the season is wet enough.
The rains in Ohangwena this week have been amazing. I love a good storm! Snowstorm, thunderstorm, hailstorm, you name it. But storms in Namibia are crazy!
Remember how Namibia is all desert? Well, the ground’s first reaction to sudden rain is flooding. It can’t soak up the water fast enough. Twice this week the entire school grounds have flooded in 3-5 inches of water, making it impossible to walk without being submerged to your ankles in mud and dirty water. And twice this week, our water has gone out...which is just a terrible inconvenience (but as always, TIA).
Crazily enough, after a few hours most of the water here soaks into the sand. Unfortunately, this does not remain true outside of school. A lot of these rains completely flood fields, oshanas, streets, and villages. Many roads get washed out this time of year, sometimes making it impossible to travel. We are warned to always have nonperishables and water around in case we get flooded into our villages.
As a teacher, I find the rains pose their own challenges. Tthe learners typically stay in their classrooms all day while the teachers go from room to room. If it’s raining, I still have to walk to my next class. This is Africa, so all the rooms are outside; no protection.
(Side note: I still don’t know the protocol during these heavy storms. So far, I’m the only one who seems to be switching classes at the appropriate time when it rains. Are you just supposed to stay in one class and miss your next one because of rain? That seems ridiculous, but maybe.)
Additionally, all of the roofs are made of tin. Put a monsoon on top of a tin roof and you have a deafening din. Without fail, I cannot teach when it rains. My voice is simply not loud enough to shout over the rain. Here's to patience and flexibility in your lesson plans.
But the best part about the rains in Namibia is that no one gets upset about them! Rain is seen as an incredible blessing here. It brings much needed water for drinking, bathing, and laundering...it allows the crops to grow...and it refreshes the land and makes everything beautiful. It doesn’t rain outside of these few months, so everyone is grateful while it does. Even if a village washes away...even if your house gets flooded...even if people and animals get sick or die. Rain is a blessing from God in Namibia. It really puts life/nature into perspective.
Tonight, I am grateful for the rain because the air is cool, the sunset was indescribable, and I’m listening to a symphony of frogs and insects right outside my window as I fall asleep. You can’t find this in Nashville, that’s for sure.
On November 18, 2010, I began a Word document entitled “40 Days Until Namibia.” In it, I took note of the important things that happened each day – some big some small – in the days leading up to Namibia.
Guess what today is? 40 days since arriving in Namibia!
In honor of 40 and its significance, I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the 40 days before Namibia and the 40 days since Namibia.
In the days leading up to Namibia...:
Day 40: life-changingly delicious dinner at Puckett’s Grocery and NEEDTOBREATHE concert
Day 39: flat tire, misery, and rescue by Rooms, followed by Pei Wei (typical dinner in these 40 days)
Day 34: our 6-gallon turkey brine exploded in the fridge the night before Thanksgiving; general shambles and laughter ensued
Day 31: a particularly great day – “picked up Christmas tree; Caribou Coffee; set up for Christmas; ‘Elf’ in bed with Jen”
Day 29: wrote an 18-page database manual in one day from Roast Inc, Crema, and Fido – three favorite Nashville coffeehouses
Day 28: first real breakdown about Namibia
Days 27 and 12: Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God”
Day 26: last women’s Community Group gathering
Days 25, 22, 19, 18, 17, 13, 12, and 11: many glorious Christmas parties
Day 24: crisp winter day hiking the ridge at Radnor
Day 22: first real excitement about Namibia
Day 18 (or was it 17 at this point?): 2am Opryland adventure
Day 16: last morning at Grace
Day 14: last Fido-turned-Bongo breakfast
Day 12: last Krispy Kreme breakfast
Days 12 and 11: the big goodbyes to friends
Day 6: bridesmaids’ dress shopping for Mandy's wedding
In the 40 days since arriving in Namibia...:
Day 2: learned about the W curve and wrote limericks; celebrated new year in Namibia
Day 3: started two awe-inspiring devotionals since it’s Jan 1
Day 5: first Namibian roadtrip to Tsumeb
Day 6: first day of practicum; no kids showed up
Day 9: felt more at peace about post-orientation fears after great talk with KJ
Day 10: first communication with home! Dad & Jen on the phone, and Skype with good friends
Day 11: saw a lion. Remember that time we saw a lion? That was the best.
Day 13: first fat cakes & kapana
Day 14: “today is the first day that I actually think I will be ready to go to my site soon.”
Day 15: four hour prep for traditional dinner
Day 16: celebratory goodbye dinner at African Fusion; got to eat chapati
Day 18: arrived “home” in Ohangwena
Day 20: start of the low points of the W curve; strongly doubting my decision to come here
Day 22: girls’ choir singing; peace that God is still with me, even here
Day 24: first KFC in Namibia – America in my belly; Ohangwena already feels like home
Day 25: first day of teaching (I didn’t die like I thought I would)
Day 28: first tolerable day!
Day 31: first solo trip to Oshikango
Day 32: first run in Namibia – marathon, here I come!
Day 38: reunion with 7 vols in Okalongo
Day 40: first day that I feel GREAT being here!!!
Coincidence that Day 40 in Namibia is the first great day? Definitely not. All our sweet Lord’s provision. Can’t wait until I can find the words to share with you the personal and spiritual stretching that has occurred these past 40 days!
I love roadtrips. Like, LOVE roadtrips. I would choose to drive between Nashville and Chicago over flying. One time, I drove a friend from Nashvill to Virginia and back all in one day just to drop off her puppy. I joyfully went on two Alternative Spring Break sites that had 20+ hour drives. I.love.roadtrips.
Let me tell you: roadtrips in Namibia are an adventure!
Please enjoy the following account of my weekend's roadtrip adventures. I think this gives a pretty accurate view of a typical roadtrip in Namibia.
Saturday morning, I set out to travel to Okalongo to visit Bridget's school, where seven of us were meeting up this weekend. My route went from Ohangwena south to Ondangwa (estimated travel time: 45 mins), west to Oshakati (est: 35 mins), and then northwest to Okalongo (est: 30 mins). Clearly, I do not own a car, so my travel was completely reliant on the rides I could receive.
I left my house at 9am and caught a taxi all the way to Oshakati. We drove only 5 minutes down the road and stopped at the B10 to Eenhana. Why? To try to pick up more passengers. There were none, yet there were maybe five taxis waiting. Ours kept circling and circling and circling, aggressively trying to get passersby to join our taxi. Eventually, he leapt out of the car to run to a shop and pick up credit for his phone. The woman in the front seat turned around and told me she had already said we would get out of the car if he didn't get going. Sometimes drivers will wait for hours to get more passengers, so as a passenger, your best choice is sometimes to get out of the car and just look for a new ride. What's maddening is that these drivers waste their time circling at one location when they could probably find a passenger five minutes down the road, or at least get to their destination and pick up a new car load sooner. After 45 minutes, we left with two women and a newborn baby.
Upon arriving in Ondangwa, we stopped at one of the hike points where one woman got out. The woman with her baby also got out, but left the baby in the back seat with me! What?? The baby and me just hung out for a while. I tried making faces or cooing at him, but all he would do is stare. Chances are, I'm the first person with white skin he's ever seen. Probably pretty terrifying.
Eventually the woman returned and we spent 45 more minutes driving around Ondangwa trying to find more passengers. The windows in the car didn't work, it was a hot hot day, and Namibians typically don't bother about body odor. Awesome. When we're on our way, I rejoice in the fact that we will be in Oshakati shortly, where I can get out and stretch my legs. No way, Jose. Our first stop on the road was so one of the passengers could talk to an older meme walking by (10 minutes), our second was for one of the men to relieve himself behind a giant termite hill (2 minutes), and our third stop was to buy raw meat at a roadside stand. The woman with the baby handed the driver N$10, he bought a bag of raw meat (aka a torn old plastic bag that kindly dripped raw meat juices in the car), brought it back to the car, and the woman and driver proceeded to nibble on the raw meat the rest of the way! They offered it to me and I politely declined.
We finally reached Oshakati but not without one more adventure. I received a marriage proposal from the driver, which is not unusual at all, but his tactics were intriguing. He handed me a ring (that is unusual. He probably had it because he's already married. But one American wife won't hurt, right?) and started trying to convince me to be his wife. Selling point #1: "I'm really struggling." Not what I want to hear. Not a good selling point to an American woman. Selling point #2: "I don't want to marry an Ovambo woman. They have sisters and brothers and parents and I want someone with no attachments." As if I don't have a family back home. So if you know of any American women who have no families and are looking for struggling men, send 'em this way.
I sure am frustrated with whatever woman came to Namibia and married a Namibian man simply to take him back to America. She has ruined it for the rest of us.
After the driver could not find the Spar in Oshakati (aka...biggest hike point and one of the largest grocery stores), I got out by the KFC. After two hours of driving, I felt I was justified rewarding myself with some popcorn chicken. Then I walked to the store to pick up some groceries for our weekend.
Thankfully, I immediately found a taxi leaving for Okalongo right outside the Spar. I asked him if he was leaving "now now now now" (even threw in an extra "now" for good luck). "Oh yes, yes," he assured me. I got in the car with a kind woman who also teaches in Okalongo. I ate my entire large popcorn chicken and still had to wait 30 more minutes for us to leave. As if, "now now now now."
The drive to Okalongo was smoothe. We drove through a torrential thunderstorm and my sassy friend up front demanded that the driver get off his cell phone, drive more slowly, and play a CD she just bought. Way to go, sass! An hour or so later, I arrived in Okalongo and got dropped off right at Bridget's school.
Four hours of travel. Phew.
The weekend was awesome. More on community, food, and thankfulness later.
While we were looking at a map and planning travels, we discovered that there's a road that practically goes directly from Okalongo to Ohangwena - my town! Not only that, but it passes right by the road that Bernie and Bret live on. So, on Sunday morning I left Okalongo with the two of them to try a new route home. After waiting 20 minutes under a tree on a dirt road, a bakkie (pick-up truck) stopped to pick us up. It turned out he was going all the way to Ohangwena. We loaded into the back of the pick up truck and sped down the dirt road. It was a gloriously beautiful day - sunny with only a few clouds, a nice breeze, and flooded oshanas that reflected the sky perfectly. Needless to say, with the wind in the hair and the sun on my back, the ride was incredible.
We dropped Bernie and Bret off at their point and I continued in the bakkie. The driver insisted that I sit up front in the truck with a woman and her baby. I almost said no because I really love riding in the back of pick-up trucks (makes me feel at home in TN!), but I acquiesed. Thank goodness I did. The rest of the ride was horrifically bumpy because of the damage the rains have done to the roads. Riding in the back would not only have been uncomfortable, it would have been scary.
We made it to Ohangwena in only a little over an hour and it only cost me N$30! Such a big difference from my initial ride of 4 hours that cost N$73.
Welcome to Namibia! Can't wait for more adventurous roadtrips in this country and am already dreaming about arriving back in the States and driving Route 66. Who's with me?
I take pride in the lessons and skills that I have learned over the years - in school, in odd jobs, in my travels - and I like to think I'm generally a well-equiped, independent woman. Unfortunately (fortunately?), Namibia has been very humbling experience thus far.
Take today, for example.
A little background: I once spent five glorious months working as a Copy & Print Center Associate at Staples. Yes, the office supply superstore. The one that is always better than Office Max or Office Depot. The one Dwight worked at for half an episode of "The Office." I donned my oversized blue polo and black apron every day to work and always made things easy for people. I became exceedingly well-versed in the art of copying, printing, laminating, cutting reams of paper, binding, stapling (duh), making business cards, and completing all sorts of odd orders (did I tell you about the 45-page bound color booklet I did for a coffin catalogue? Yes, that is a catalogue of coffins. Everything from basic wood box to leopard print and princess pink). I took care of those machines like they were my babies. On the day that I broke the laminator, I cried. I am very proud of my ability to use office machines correctly and not make mistakes (or if I do, I always know how to fix them).
However, I am not allowed to touch the copy machine at school.
This week, we just received two new copy machines from the school board. Yes!!! We were all psyched because the old ones were, well...old. Though the new machines look sleeker and don't jam as often, they are nothing to write home about. They don't even have a feeder at the top for multi-page jobs! There isn't even an option to print double sided! And I'm pretty sure those are options you can still get in Africa...
Our secretary, however, will not let me (or anyone else) near it. Today, when she was having to copy a couple hundred pages for me (one by one by one by one...on and on), we were having some good Namlish small talk. I kindly told her about all my years of experience with office machinery - at Staples, as a secretary, in life. She just laughed and said "ohhh but you don't know."
In Namibia, you have two options. You can get furious/frustrated/flustered or you can muster up the humility and patience you need for the moment. I took the latter road today and decided to blog about it instead. I hate it that people think I can't do anything here, especially when it comes to things like technology (ohhh don't even get me started on computers/internet). The selfish, terrible side of me wants to scream, "but I'm from AMERICA! I use office machinery every day! I am far more technology-literate than you! I learned to type at age 7 and can freaking type at 120 wpm!" But clearly, that would put me in Step One of cultural adjustment, which is a very bad place to be - more on that later.
In the meantime, I'm learning to accept humility and navigate the unfamiliar waters of Namibian culture. Now off to watch "The Office" and see other people using office technology to its full potential.
I know the start of Namibia Journey 2011 started out with some craaazy foods, but now that I’m shopping and cooking for myself on a volunteer’s budget, things have subsided. A week’s meals generally consist of oatmeal with brown sugar, peanut butter sandwiches, rice krispies with sugar, pasta, trail mix, scrambled eggs, and occasionally cookies or brownies (if we’re getting fancy!).
Unfortunately, I’m missing some favorites from my diet. Namely cheese. I really, really miss cheese. Parmesan on my pasta, baked brie on crackers, smoked gouda, eating Publix grated parm from the tub, queso, fresh mozzarella, taking a bite out of a hunk of cheddar. I miss it all. The other night, I was eating a big bowl of pasta with a tomato and herb sauce and got really homesick for cheese.
Time for a change.
In walks Odd Food Combination #1. After a long run on the B1 today, I just started throwing foods together for dinner. I ended up with macaroni pasta, tomatoes, Italian herbs, scrambled eggs, and freshly diced onions. All together in a bowl. Guess what? Eggs satisfy almost as much as cheese in a bowl of pasta! Hallelujah.
FYI: there is cheese in Namibia. Way more than in Tanzania. I can usually buy cheap cheddar in any large town like Oshikango. And if I’m willing to splurge, I can find some fancier cheeses in Windhoek. But let’s face it; cheese will be a delicacy this year.
If you can figure out how to ship me cheese, please do. I will be anxiously awaiting my reunion with it come December.
Now that our time tables are (basically) set, I can announce that I am teaching five English classes this year: two Grade 8, one Grade 11, and two Grade 12. Talk about a big teaching load, a ton of grading, and a lot of names & faces to learn!
We operate on a seven-day schedule here at my school. So, the first day of classes on Monday was Day 1, Tuesday was Day 2, etc...so that next Tuesday will be Day 7 and then we will restart with Day 1 on Wednesday. Confused yet?
We have eight 45-minute periods each day. Day 1 and 4, we have an assembly during Period 1. Day 6 and Day 7 we cut off early after Period 7.
Period 1: 7:30-8:15
Period 2: 8:15-9:00
Period 3: 9:00-9:45
Period 4: 9:45-10:30
Break: 10:30-11:00
Period 5: 11:00-11:45
Period 6: 11:45-12:30
Period 7: 12:30-1:15
Period 8: 1:15-2:00
The learners are assigned a classroom and the teachers move from room to room when the periods change. The school buildings are all outdoors so when it’s raining, you’d better not forget your umbrella.
As you may have noticed, there is no passing time between periods. And the bell (aka air raid siren) usually doesn’t ring on time. So...you really only have about 35-40 minutes per period.
Starting today, the learners have mandatory study hours after school during which they have the opportunity to do their homework or get extra help from teachers. With all the responsibilities they have at home, homework will not get finished if they don’t have time at school.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the structure of my school, comment with questions!
