A Day in the Life of Me

February 14th, 2008

During the Week:
5:30am Wake up, hope clock says a different time, get out of bed to check cellphone just to make sure the time on my clock isn’t wrong. It isn’t.
5:45am Take cold bucket bath.
6:40am Staff Meeting—think awkward silence and funny requests.
7:00am School begins. I love these kids and want to adopt them all.
9:00am Tea Break
9:30-11:00am I am pulling my hair out trying to tone down the kids energy.
12:00-1:00pm I hate these kids and want to murder them all.
1:00pm School is out. I go home and eat leftovers.
2:00pm Naptime!
Afternoons: Afternoon classes, lesson plans, handwash clothes, sweep and mop, regain energy, fall in love with children again when they come visit me.
8:00 Eat dinner, watch the same movie for the 189th time
10:00 Bed time

A Typical Saturday in Windhoek (my shopping town):
9:00am Wake up next to colleague’s random family member who I am sharing a bed with.
10:00am Eat huge meal loaded with butter.
11:00-1:00 Do something. Sometimes read. Sometimes escape to the Peace Corps Office. Sometimes pretend to be interested in the TV programs and African music videos.
1:00pm Eat huge meal loaded with butter, oil, and meat.
1:00-8:00pm See 11:00.
8:00pm Eat huge meal.
9:00pm Climb into bed with lady I just met.

During the Weekend in D-town:
10:00am Wake up. Love life.
10:30-1:00pm Clean (The wind and dust don’t make for clean houses)
1:00pm Cook and eat yummy food. I love making crepes now (in absence of a stove to make chocolate chip cookies.)
2:00-6:00pm Do something. Normally organize something (photos on my computer, books in library, clothes, etc). Sometimes laundry.
6:00pm Cook and eat.
8:00pm Movie Time
10:00pm Bed time

So you see, my life isn’t so eventful. Really I feel like combination old lady/mother of 75 children/entertainment for community/part of the 6am-1pm working world. But for some reason I feel more grown up.

The good thing is everything I’ve ever done in my life can be of use here. If grad school confirmed how much I don’t know, then Peace Corps is confirming how much I do know (in my brain, not in a book).
For instance ….. prepared me for ……
1. A childhood fascination with art: Art class
2. Creativity: Art projects with no resources whatsoever
3. English major: English teacher
4. Salsa dance: something for youth to do instead of contract HIV
5. Learning to cook over the past 2 years: cooking without many options
6. Costa Rican cockroaches: African cockroaches
7. Learning to wash clothes by hand in Mexico: Washing my clothes here
8. Living in rural Mexico: Living in rural Namibia
9. Learning to be alone at Grad school: being alone here
10. Finding out that directors commentaries are actually interesting in Grad school: doing the same in Africa.
11. Tucson desert climate: Namibia desert climate.
12. Teaching spanish 102: teaching younger kids English (many of the activities are the same)
13. Living in another culture in Costa Rica and Mexico: “”
14. Working at a school in Nogales, Mexico: Working at a school in D-town, Namibia
15. Spending a lot of time in libraries: teaching library class
16. Typing papers for 6 years: Helping teach the principal to type

I could go on.

Other Random Thoughts:
One person I just met said it was interesting that I did not feel uncomfortable being here, what with being new and alone in a community. I don’t. Hmm. Guess I’ve travelled too much now. It’s normal to be the weird white lady living in a place few white people come to.
Valentines Day:
Someone is sitting in “my seat” in the staff room. I sit instead by my male colleague (1 of 2 at the school). He says, “Do you know what today means?” There is general laughter. I say, “Yes, it’s the day my mother sends me chocolate.” That ended that.
One of my best learners writes me this note (not corrected):
To Mrs. Leo,
First of all I will great you than I will say that there is a special joy in heaven and even in me.
Happy Valentine day I hope that you will enjoy your day with peace and Happiness.
You are the special teacher I have never had. the smile which is always on your face show me that you like me as well as the others children in the class.
From: Toshline

This is so cute really. I asked her later what teachers she liked besides me. She said noone. This is because teachers here are mean. I mean downright mean to these kids. I can’t imagine the damage it does to their psyches.
I gave valentines with personalized notes to all the kids. They will love me forever.
Kids love books. Every time I am in the library they are practically fighting to get in too. This makes my year.
Bugs: There are some massive bugs here including a 7inch long grasshopper and beetles that are 5 inches long. At least they can’t come in under the door.
I emptied my fridge of cockroaches but they moved into the cabinet. This is war now.
I had a bag of empty cans and yogurt cups outside (so the cucarachas could enjoy them in peace) and someone stole it. What? It was a bag of trash! On a sidenote, in Katutura, apparently thieves steal blankets through open windows off people who are sleeping. I’m changing my locks.
Things kids have eaten in my class: a picture I gave them, paper, piece of eraser, chalk, an entire tube of toothpaste, sweets, stickers, pre-chewed gum, etc. There really is no sense of germs here. I.e. I threw out chicken bones for the goats/dogs. 5 minutes later my neighbors son is eating them. This is a kid who has food. Now I put them in a bag when I throw them out.

I’m finding my place here, but I wish I could get out more in the community. Besides church there’s basically no interaction between me and the town at all. I am so busy all the time with school stuff. And it’s so hard to integrate with this language business. Everybody speaks Khoekhoegowab and Afrikaans, but not necessarily English. And obviously I don’t speak either of the first two. I debate back and forth about which one I will make some effort to learn. Haven’t decided yet.