I was in B-town with Irene for a week shadowing her to see what PC vols really do. We:
1. Made brownies several times for dinner
2. Went to Windhoek to go shopping
3. Watched the entire first season of Lost on DVD and several movies
4. Helped the first graders make crafty christmas trees
5. Sat around and found out the scoop through the PC rumor mill. (Everybody knows I got robbed even tho I didn;t tell many ppl at all)
6. Relaxed, but I am officially an old lady now. I wake up automatically at 6am and go to bed at 10pm. I mourn my old years as a night person.
7. Read books. Fun, great fun.
Nothing else of interest to note. Really glad her school is not mine, altho the sunset was amazing and we met the nicest Afrikaner in Namibia there. Ok, that is all for now.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
D town
Hello all,
Life in Namibia is good. The last week of training was long and tedious, but useful. Khoekhoe is so-so, sometimes the most difficult language ever and sometimes so easy it is funny. Or sometimes I think it is a made up language (I.e. mapa xu du ra ha ta ha (where are you from)).
The most exciting part of training thus far was when we found out our permanent site. The trainers drew a huge map and then put us on our spot where we were in the country. My site will hereby be known as D-town and is within an hour from Windhoek, the capital. On Sunday our supervisors came to pick us up in Okahandja and take us to our permanent sites.
D-town is pretty much what I expected, but a little overwhelming to be confronted with all at once. I was there for a week and witnessed the following things:
1. Teachers who were super-nice to me, cooking my meals and letting me stay in their house, but a few minutes later beating students with belts, whips, sticks, or just pinching or punching them.
2. Child abuse--two 1st graders came to school with black eyes and huge scatches on their face. Apparently they had gone to eat sap off the tree because they were hungry and their drunk uncle beat them for that.
3. Weird buearacacy. We had to stay at school til 1 each day for the kids to review for the exams. Instead they proceeded to throw chairs and beat each other. Why did we keep them?
4. Inequality--There are three white people in the town (one family) and they own all the land, the store, most peoples jobs, a ranch for german tourists to come and shoot wild animals, and a car. The black people besides the government employees live in shacks (you know, the ones you’ve visualized when thinking about Africa--cardboard and tin houses) on land that isn’t theirs. And nobody even second-guesses it.
5. Unemployment--there are few jobs and they can’t do anything with the land because its not theirs. So they do what they can to entertain themselves, drink to oblivion, have sex, and watch the funny white lady.
6. High death rates from AIDS and other diseases.
7. Total lack of services (electricity, trash, latrines, water).
8. High failing rates. You have to have under 30% to fail, and most kids fail.
Despite all this, the town is in a beautiful area of Namibia by a major game park. On the drive there we saw tons of warthogs, kudu, springboks etc. which was neat. The people have over all been quite friendly. It will be hard to be lonely because if I just walk in the squatter camp I attract about 20 kids who proceed to follow me. The students are so cute and actually quite obedient when you give them things to do and give them praise.
Anyhow, I really do feel like I can do some good here, if only because I represent a different future and a different point of view than these kids are used to. Basically they have been told their whole lives that they are “naughty” failures deserving of a beating, plus they are black, which must mean that they are stupid, worthless, and doomed to failure (obviously I’m being sarcastic, but whites here definitely have that idea.)
I gotta hand it to the US--we definitely know right from wrong and make sure the kids know it too--here that’s not the case.There are just so many problems to deal with (bad education, child abuse, coporal punishment, corruption, inequality, racism, poverty, hunger, malnutrition, AIDS and all its implications including orphans, young children as head of household, etc., beauracracy, unemployment, lack of services, lack of clothing and shoes for the kids, no government assistance, rape, pedophiles, domestic violence, etc etc.) I don’t even know where to start. I’m starting to realize why we had a session on coping--because our realm of responsibility is large in the US, but here the impact we can make is quite small. As much as I’d like to personally tackle these issues, it is really the responsibility of the government, the police, the health workers, or the Namibians to deal with them.
Anyhow, I will be teaching 6th and 7th grade English as well as some other periods, most likely life skills, or science b/c I refuse to teach math, although it is apparently the easiest. The Teachers are so eager to have less periods, so whatever I do they will be happy. There are 300 learners at my school and about 700 in the town. Most are Damara speaking (so that Khoekhoe will come in handy). Two of the teachers are herero which means that all the teachers converse with each other in Afrikaans or English--this is going to be seriously complicated b/c I would have to learn two languages. Sucky. Although Afrikaans is pretty easy.
My ideas so far: start a health and environmental club and do fun projects, make English fun and improve the quality of education, survive two years here.
Oh yeah, on my first night in Windhoek I was mugged. Some guys came up behind me as I was returning from the store with my supervisors sister, and cut my purse strap. I lost my wallet, cellphone, and a little cash. But they found it, so I got my liscense and ATM card back (In Namibia they are called BOB cards). I bought a new one.
Life in Namibia is good. The last week of training was long and tedious, but useful. Khoekhoe is so-so, sometimes the most difficult language ever and sometimes so easy it is funny. Or sometimes I think it is a made up language (I.e. mapa xu du ra ha ta ha (where are you from)).
The most exciting part of training thus far was when we found out our permanent site. The trainers drew a huge map and then put us on our spot where we were in the country. My site will hereby be known as D-town and is within an hour from Windhoek, the capital. On Sunday our supervisors came to pick us up in Okahandja and take us to our permanent sites.
D-town is pretty much what I expected, but a little overwhelming to be confronted with all at once. I was there for a week and witnessed the following things:
1. Teachers who were super-nice to me, cooking my meals and letting me stay in their house, but a few minutes later beating students with belts, whips, sticks, or just pinching or punching them.
2. Child abuse--two 1st graders came to school with black eyes and huge scatches on their face. Apparently they had gone to eat sap off the tree because they were hungry and their drunk uncle beat them for that.
3. Weird buearacacy. We had to stay at school til 1 each day for the kids to review for the exams. Instead they proceeded to throw chairs and beat each other. Why did we keep them?
4. Inequality--There are three white people in the town (one family) and they own all the land, the store, most peoples jobs, a ranch for german tourists to come and shoot wild animals, and a car. The black people besides the government employees live in shacks (you know, the ones you’ve visualized when thinking about Africa--cardboard and tin houses) on land that isn’t theirs. And nobody even second-guesses it.
5. Unemployment--there are few jobs and they can’t do anything with the land because its not theirs. So they do what they can to entertain themselves, drink to oblivion, have sex, and watch the funny white lady.
6. High death rates from AIDS and other diseases.
7. Total lack of services (electricity, trash, latrines, water).
8. High failing rates. You have to have under 30% to fail, and most kids fail.
Despite all this, the town is in a beautiful area of Namibia by a major game park. On the drive there we saw tons of warthogs, kudu, springboks etc. which was neat. The people have over all been quite friendly. It will be hard to be lonely because if I just walk in the squatter camp I attract about 20 kids who proceed to follow me. The students are so cute and actually quite obedient when you give them things to do and give them praise.
Anyhow, I really do feel like I can do some good here, if only because I represent a different future and a different point of view than these kids are used to. Basically they have been told their whole lives that they are “naughty” failures deserving of a beating, plus they are black, which must mean that they are stupid, worthless, and doomed to failure (obviously I’m being sarcastic, but whites here definitely have that idea.)
I gotta hand it to the US--we definitely know right from wrong and make sure the kids know it too--here that’s not the case.There are just so many problems to deal with (bad education, child abuse, coporal punishment, corruption, inequality, racism, poverty, hunger, malnutrition, AIDS and all its implications including orphans, young children as head of household, etc., beauracracy, unemployment, lack of services, lack of clothing and shoes for the kids, no government assistance, rape, pedophiles, domestic violence, etc etc.) I don’t even know where to start. I’m starting to realize why we had a session on coping--because our realm of responsibility is large in the US, but here the impact we can make is quite small. As much as I’d like to personally tackle these issues, it is really the responsibility of the government, the police, the health workers, or the Namibians to deal with them.
Anyhow, I will be teaching 6th and 7th grade English as well as some other periods, most likely life skills, or science b/c I refuse to teach math, although it is apparently the easiest. The Teachers are so eager to have less periods, so whatever I do they will be happy. There are 300 learners at my school and about 700 in the town. Most are Damara speaking (so that Khoekhoe will come in handy). Two of the teachers are herero which means that all the teachers converse with each other in Afrikaans or English--this is going to be seriously complicated b/c I would have to learn two languages. Sucky. Although Afrikaans is pretty easy.
My ideas so far: start a health and environmental club and do fun projects, make English fun and improve the quality of education, survive two years here.
Oh yeah, on my first night in Windhoek I was mugged. Some guys came up behind me as I was returning from the store with my supervisors sister, and cut my purse strap. I lost my wallet, cellphone, and a little cash. But they found it, so I got my liscense and ATM card back (In Namibia they are called BOB cards). I bought a new one.
Monday, November 12, 2007
NAMIBIA! Land of the brave!
Reflections on Namibia
Yes
Toilet Paper
“Click” Languages
Weather like Tucson (big blue skies, no rain, hot)
Do-rags
Bright houses and dresses
White people who are very tan and dutch looking
Western-style grocery stores
Oprah Magazine
Rap music
High HIV-AIDS rate (1 in 5)
Big wildlife—just on the way from the airport our group collectively saw a giraffe, several different types of antelope, wild boars, and babboons.
Multi-lingual people (everyone speaks 2-8 languages)
Spanish!!!!! (Many Namibians went into exile into Cuba and are quite fluent in Spanish)
Sand—it’s everywhere. Actually Namibia feels like one large beach town without the beach
No/few
People—where are they?
(Namibia is one of the least populated countries in the world)
Traffic
Malaria (well, at least in the south)
Mud huts (I’ll be in a concrete house)
Public transportation (hitching is the name of the game)
Big cities, or really even Medium-sized cities
Lions outside my house (yay!)
Mosquitos (in the south)
Salsa dance (if it’s here, I will find it)
Reflections on Peace Corps So Far:
Staging: Mostly the same old information we got before or found out on our own. What was nice was to bond with our Nam27 group. So far everyone is extremely friendly and nice, and I get along with pretty much everyone, which is a shock.
The flight: Not nearly as painful as I thought it would be. Watched a few movies, slept much of the time, talked to Lily.
Jo’Burg: Very nice hotel, free wine and cheese, yay. Loopy from the malarial medication.
Shots so far: Polio, Tetanus & Diptheria, Rabies #1, Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever, Meningitis.
Getting jabbed, or as Namibians say, getting candies: It’s becoming normal now.
Shots to come: Hepatitis A, Rabies #2, Rabies #3, Flu #1, Flu #2, Gardasil
Namibia:
I thought Namibia would be a lot like the places I’d been. It does have the weather and scrubby, rocky landscape of Tucson (minus cactus), the cement style homes and greeting habits of Latin America, and some convienences and body types you find in the US (western style grocery stores, flushing toilets, etc).
However, from the time we stepped out onto the tarmac in the bright sunshine and could only see flat, scrubby desert without a house or a person or a car for miles, Namibia gave me a very different feeling from anywhere I’d been before. They weren’t kidding when they said this country is the land of wide open spaces. We really knew we were in Africa when we stepped off the bus in Okahandja and were greeted by our trainers singing songs in several different languages they had known since forever. Yes, this is a place I’m supposed to be.
Right now: I’m in a confrerence center and hostel in Okahandja typing on my laptop. There is electricity, flushing toilets, nice rooms, mosquito nets. There are many Namibian trainers who speak great English as well as many other languages. There are 69 other Americans with me at the compound. There is pasta, beef, chicken, porridge, cereal, instant coffee, tea. There is a great grocery store 5 minutes down the road. There are big wild animals around here, but it’s safe to walk around. There is safe drinking water from the tap. There are hot showers and hot water in the sinks.
Am I really in Africa?
Cultural misunderstanding #1:
Several of us put instant coffee in our porridge, thinking it was cinnamon.
Placement:
Because of medical reasons (???), I am not allowed to be placed far from Windhoek, which means I will be placed within several hours of the big city on the central plateau. Not exactly what I wanted, (I’d ideally like to go far from any city, near South Africa, perhaps), but I’ll take it. I’m trying not to have any pre-concieved notions. I was promised that Afrikaans would be the language I would learn.
Language:
We finally got our language placements, and surprise of surprise, after being promised Afrikaans as my major language, I was placed in the Khoekhoegowab group. Actually it did not come as much as a surprise considering (1) PC’s random-as-hell placement strategy (2) my language experience (3) languages found near Windhoek.
For the non-linguists of the group, Khoekhoe (KKGW) is a Khoisan language that is one of the oldest languages in the world and not related to any other language group. It is popularly known as the “click” language, but unlike common sterotypes about Africa, a small, small minority of Africans speak the language. Actually, click languages are only found in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa among minority tribes.
KKGW is a combination of Nama and Damara. The most-made-fun-of click language is San which has many more clicks than KKGW. Lucky for me, there are only 4 clicks, but you must bear in mind that they are all pronounced differently when paired with vowels and consonants and depend on which of the 4 tones (I’ve only learned three) the vowels are.
For instance /a, /ā, /â, //ā, //a, //â, !a, !â, !ā, ≠a, ≠ā, ≠â are all pronounced differently and with different “clicks.” Most of these are also words ranging from squeeze, hang to dry, and slaughter a goat.
/ is pronounced as a ‘tsk’
// is a sucking sound in the back of the throat
! is the loud pop sound typical of click languages
≠ is a high pitch sharp pop I am incapable of pronouncing as of yet.
My language training site is Oshimbingwe-where the community based training will take place.
I am excited to be one of the few people on earth who will speak this language, but I highly doubt that I will be fluent in KhoeKhoe when I return, which for me is a great dissappointment. Why live somewhere for 2 years and not be fluent!? I base this on former volunteers experiences, but I guess things could be different with me (?).
This is going to be hard, but if I can do the clicks that will be a great accomplishment right there.
Yes
Toilet Paper
“Click” Languages
Weather like Tucson (big blue skies, no rain, hot)
Do-rags
Bright houses and dresses
White people who are very tan and dutch looking
Western-style grocery stores
Oprah Magazine
Rap music
High HIV-AIDS rate (1 in 5)
Big wildlife—just on the way from the airport our group collectively saw a giraffe, several different types of antelope, wild boars, and babboons.
Multi-lingual people (everyone speaks 2-8 languages)
Spanish!!!!! (Many Namibians went into exile into Cuba and are quite fluent in Spanish)
Sand—it’s everywhere. Actually Namibia feels like one large beach town without the beach
No/few
People—where are they?
(Namibia is one of the least populated countries in the world)
Traffic
Malaria (well, at least in the south)
Mud huts (I’ll be in a concrete house)
Public transportation (hitching is the name of the game)
Big cities, or really even Medium-sized cities
Lions outside my house (yay!)
Mosquitos (in the south)
Salsa dance (if it’s here, I will find it)
Reflections on Peace Corps So Far:
Staging: Mostly the same old information we got before or found out on our own. What was nice was to bond with our Nam27 group. So far everyone is extremely friendly and nice, and I get along with pretty much everyone, which is a shock.
The flight: Not nearly as painful as I thought it would be. Watched a few movies, slept much of the time, talked to Lily.
Jo’Burg: Very nice hotel, free wine and cheese, yay. Loopy from the malarial medication.
Shots so far: Polio, Tetanus & Diptheria, Rabies #1, Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever, Meningitis.
Getting jabbed, or as Namibians say, getting candies: It’s becoming normal now.
Shots to come: Hepatitis A, Rabies #2, Rabies #3, Flu #1, Flu #2, Gardasil
Namibia:
I thought Namibia would be a lot like the places I’d been. It does have the weather and scrubby, rocky landscape of Tucson (minus cactus), the cement style homes and greeting habits of Latin America, and some convienences and body types you find in the US (western style grocery stores, flushing toilets, etc).
However, from the time we stepped out onto the tarmac in the bright sunshine and could only see flat, scrubby desert without a house or a person or a car for miles, Namibia gave me a very different feeling from anywhere I’d been before. They weren’t kidding when they said this country is the land of wide open spaces. We really knew we were in Africa when we stepped off the bus in Okahandja and were greeted by our trainers singing songs in several different languages they had known since forever. Yes, this is a place I’m supposed to be.
Right now: I’m in a confrerence center and hostel in Okahandja typing on my laptop. There is electricity, flushing toilets, nice rooms, mosquito nets. There are many Namibian trainers who speak great English as well as many other languages. There are 69 other Americans with me at the compound. There is pasta, beef, chicken, porridge, cereal, instant coffee, tea. There is a great grocery store 5 minutes down the road. There are big wild animals around here, but it’s safe to walk around. There is safe drinking water from the tap. There are hot showers and hot water in the sinks.
Am I really in Africa?
Cultural misunderstanding #1:
Several of us put instant coffee in our porridge, thinking it was cinnamon.
Placement:
Because of medical reasons (???), I am not allowed to be placed far from Windhoek, which means I will be placed within several hours of the big city on the central plateau. Not exactly what I wanted, (I’d ideally like to go far from any city, near South Africa, perhaps), but I’ll take it. I’m trying not to have any pre-concieved notions. I was promised that Afrikaans would be the language I would learn.
Language:
We finally got our language placements, and surprise of surprise, after being promised Afrikaans as my major language, I was placed in the Khoekhoegowab group. Actually it did not come as much as a surprise considering (1) PC’s random-as-hell placement strategy (2) my language experience (3) languages found near Windhoek.
For the non-linguists of the group, Khoekhoe (KKGW) is a Khoisan language that is one of the oldest languages in the world and not related to any other language group. It is popularly known as the “click” language, but unlike common sterotypes about Africa, a small, small minority of Africans speak the language. Actually, click languages are only found in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa among minority tribes.
KKGW is a combination of Nama and Damara. The most-made-fun-of click language is San which has many more clicks than KKGW. Lucky for me, there are only 4 clicks, but you must bear in mind that they are all pronounced differently when paired with vowels and consonants and depend on which of the 4 tones (I’ve only learned three) the vowels are.
For instance /a, /ā, /â, //ā, //a, //â, !a, !â, !ā, ≠a, ≠ā, ≠â are all pronounced differently and with different “clicks.” Most of these are also words ranging from squeeze, hang to dry, and slaughter a goat.
/ is pronounced as a ‘tsk’
// is a sucking sound in the back of the throat
! is the loud pop sound typical of click languages
≠ is a high pitch sharp pop I am incapable of pronouncing as of yet.
My language training site is Oshimbingwe-where the community based training will take place.
I am excited to be one of the few people on earth who will speak this language, but I highly doubt that I will be fluent in KhoeKhoe when I return, which for me is a great dissappointment. Why live somewhere for 2 years and not be fluent!? I base this on former volunteers experiences, but I guess things could be different with me (?).
This is going to be hard, but if I can do the clicks that will be a great accomplishment right there.
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