Well, Year 2 has an entirely different feel than Year 1. If Year 1 is “please let me survive this day,” and “only 43 days til vacation,” and “I can’t believe these teachers!” then Year 2 (thus far) is “I can’t believe the kids are under control!” and “ I never want to leave the village!” and “ I enjoy this meaningless chit-chat!”
Suddenly I’ve emerged as a real teacher. I’ve mastered the trademarks: the look of death, the be-quiet-please tone, the delicate art of passing out and collecting all my materials, and the vast array of threats and rewards. I know what I care about (violence, stealing, disrespect), and what I don’t (tucking in your shirt, papers on the floor, crooked lines and scribbles).
It appears that despite my efforts last year to block out the village whenever possible, (the burden of 50 hellohellohowareyouI’mfineandyou? conversations and the occassional “I need an American wife” being too much to endure after 6 hours of battle with 6th and 7th graders) I have met quite a few villagers. I do recognize faces and sometimes names when I walk to the shop. My relationships with people I see often have fallen into an easy comfort, no longer requiring massive amounts of energy for basic interactions.
The final shift I’ll comment on here is this: I like it here. There have always been elements I’ve enjoyed (night skies, meaningful work, PCV friendship), but they have only been enough to make me say “it’s alright” in response to the “How is Namibia?” question. But the honey-slow pace of life, the goat poots and their slow-motion gentlemanly duels, and the kid voices everywhere have finally gotten to me.
Maybe I will be one of those returned volunteers who is all smiles about their PC experience after all!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Holiday Update
I’m finally back from my very long vacation, and it was just what I needed. What follows is a summary of the trip.
MOM & TOM TRIP
My mother and uncle Tom arrived late to Windhoek. We then traveled to D-town to visit the school and community. I think M&T enjoyed it. Then we drove a long way to Etosha National Park. In Etosha we saw the usual assortment of antelope, giraffe, and zebra but we were especially lucky to see lions and a small leopard. I read somewhere later you are not supposed to make eye contact with leopards, but forgot that at the time. Mom made me put up the window cuz she thought it would eat me! We stayed at the higher end lodges throughout Namibia which was such a treat after a year of cutting corners.
After Etosha we drove on though Caprivi. In Mahangu park we saw different kinds of antelope, the Sable antelope now being my favorite. We also stayed at a house boat on the Chobe River near Impalila Island. From there, we took a transfer to Zambia and saw the Victoria Falls at very low water levels.
We then flew to Cape Town where we went up to the top of Table Mountain, drove down to the Cape of Good Hope, saw the jackass penguins (yes, that’s their real name), and petted a cheetah (yes, you read that right.) One of the wineries hosts “cheetah encounters” where you pay to pet a suspiciously sleepy cheetah. We ended up petting the “cubs” which were bigger than me.
From there, M&T flew back to America. I stayed on to meet my PCV friends in Cape Town. Overall this leg of the trip was all about luxury, long drives, seeing a lot of animals, and spending time with family once more.
SOUTH AFRICA: CAPE TOWN CONTINUED
Julia, Danielle, and Megan joined me in Cape Town on Dec 11. Our major accomplishment: eating. We ate out at a place for Tapas, a Kurdish restaurant, McDonalds!, Chinese food, a smoothie and wrap place—all types of food I have not eaten in the last year. It was a treat. It may explain why I gained weight on the vacation as well.
As for the sights, we saw Robben Island, which did not live up to my expectations. It was worth going to say I went, but was unmemorable really and far, far too rushed. We also saw quite a few museums, which were fun to go to but not as impressive as I would have liked. The National Museum of Art was bizarre; The Slave Lodge was good except for construction; District Six was way too much information.
Also, I was attempted-mugged again. I didn’t even carry a purse! I put my jacket around my waist which had my camera and cell phone in the inner pocket. A street kid tried to pickpocket me but realized he couldn’t get to the expensive stuff through that pocket, so he tried to take the jacket. I was assessing whether he had a weapon or not. It didn’t look like it. Then, a large black man ran across the road, grabbed the kid by the neck and threw him on the ground, cursing him in English the whole time. We like to call him BBS: Big Black Savior. Thanks to him, I still have my camera and cell phone. This was the only safety issue we encountered in South Africa, which is pretty damn good considering it has some of the worst crime records in the world. Then again in Windhoek they just watch me get robbed. Great to see some civic duty in action there.
At night, Danielle and I went salsa dancing twice. I was quite impressed. The crowd was quite similar to its counterpart in America: diverse crowd in occupation and race, middle class, 20s-40s mostly, international community, varying levels of skills, salsa clique of really great dancers, etc. It was also a great way to meet locals, which also makes me totally understand why Namibia felt like a separate entity from South Africa. Namibia is all rural and un-cosmopolitan. In Urban South Africa you can get anything you could ever want. Both Danielle and I had a great time.
SOUTH AFRICA: STELLENBOSCH & GARDEN ROUTE
Really a beautiful city, Stellenbosch is in the middle of the wine lands. So, we went on a wine tour where we each drank about a bottle of wine. Can’t say I could accurately judge which wines I liked better, but I learned that I prefer red wines, and sweet wines suck. We also walked around the University which made us wish we had studied abroad there.
From there, we headed onto Mossel Bay on the fabulous Baz Bus. Mossel Bay was especially overrun by Afrikaaners seeking respite from the heat up North. It’s claim to fame? Bartholomeu Diaz landed there while traveling around the Cape. There’s a museum with a replica of his ship.
The next day we were on the bus the whole day going through the Garden Route, which I think is overrated. It is really developed, and the beaches looked nice, but it wasn’t somewhere I wish we had spent more time.
SOUTH AFRICA: CINTSA & DURBAN
We all did enjoy the beaches in Cinsta on the Wild Coast. A bizarre place, there really was no town at all. We stayed in backpackers close to the beach. There was only one restaurant we found in the whole place. The first day was rainy, so we were miserable sleeping three to a two-person tent. The second day was beautiful, so we spent the whole day at the beach. That night we had sundowners (boxed wine) on a huge dune that overlooks the ocean. A storm was blowing in, so we walked back along the beach. It was bizarre because the wind was blowing so hard it made the sand fly along in patterns. Or I was just tipsy.
From Cintsa we drove through the Transkei which used to be a separate country. I LOVE it—from the bus of course. It’s supposedly one of the poorest places in South Africa, but from the looks of it people were doing pretty good. If I were black, I might have stayed there forever. Since I didn't see a single white person there, although they might be there, I feel it might make me a target for crime. It was really mountainous, green with villages dotting the hillsides. We passed Mandela’s house along the road. According to our driver, he built it as an exact replica of the house where he was kept on house arrest his last days in jail. Funny. Anyhow, the flags were up, which means he was at this home for Christmas.
Our next stop was Durban. It has a totally different feel than Cape Town. CT is very international with the beautiful Table Mountain in the middle of it, and the port below. In Cape Town, on certain streets you might see mostly white people, a few streets over, only black people, and a few streets over, a good mix. Cape Town is diverse in terms of having a lot of white people, black people from many tribes, and having a lot of international tourists, students, and businesspeople. Durban feels more like a city people live in, not just visit. Its city center is huge and filled with sprawling stores. The mix of people was interesting. There were very few white people, and the ones we did see looked like they were homeless. The rest of the population was mostly Zulu, Indian, or Chinese.
In Durban, we went to the Indian market where I bought some jewelry. Had this been at the end of the trip, I would’ve bought some spices that they sell in big baskets, but I didn’t really want to smell like “fruit spice” for the rest of the trip. We also went to the Old Fort and walked around the city center where everything but the shops was closed because it was Christmas Eve.
On Christmas, we made a big brunch of french toast, eggs, bacon, and green beans. It was great. Then, we went to Ushaka Marine World to go to the beach and lay out. Apparently everyone else in Durban and outlying villages had the same idea. I don’t think I could have fit in the water if I tried. We later went for a walk down the beach promenade where there was a police officer literally every 20 feet. Because of this, the girls were not worried. My thought was if there were that many police officers, there must be at least that many criminals too. We didn’t have any problems though.
At our hostel we met South African and Swaziland Peace Corps Volunteers. It appears their programs are far stricter than PC Nam and a large portion of both groups has gone home either because they were sent home for stupid reasons, or they opted to leave. I was really grateful I’m a volunteer in Namibia after hearing about the harassment the SA volunteers encounter and the strictness of the vacation policy for Swazi volunteers!
SWAZILAND
Swaziland is a very small country populated almost entirely by the Swazi tribe. It only takes a few hours by car to cross the country, so villages seem to run into each other along the road. Combis provide the major transport, although we managed to hitch a few times. Basically, we went to a Museum, Parliament, craft shops, and the capital Mbabane. The racial tension of Namibia and South Africa does not exist there. People greeted us all the time in the local language, and apparently whites get along just fine with blacks in this small country. It is also interesting to note that it is still ruled by the traditional king and queen mother.
MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique was colonized by the Portuguese and unlike the German-colonized Namibia and British-colonized South Africa, it has an Iberian feel. Besides the fact that everyone was speaking Portuguese, it had the requisite trash in the street, shoddy roads and side walks, side shops instead of grocery stores, and big churches—all of which made me miss Latin America.
We traveled to Maputo on a local combi with two Brazilian girls. After only taking one semester of Portuguese, I could understand quite a bit of what people were saying. In Maputo, we traveled to the backpackers and went out for Chinese food. We walked around the mall which seemed just a little bizarre being all fancy and new with top-end stores like Gucci while everywhere else looks run down, like maybe a bomb hit it at some point. Then again, maybe one did. It hasn’t been long since the war in Moz stopped anyway.
On New Years Eve, we walked around a bit, visited the small art museum, used the CHEAP internet, and ate out. That night we walked to Dolce Vita bar, which was strangely unpopulated. We arrived at 11, but apparently that was too early. Or everyone was at Coconut where an expensive party was going on. Anyhow, we nursed our drinks (a vodka martini for me) for a LOOONG time. And just to remind us that we were still in Africa, the countdown for New Years started late! An older Italian man shared his champagne and sangria with us and practically the rest of the bar. What was crazy was the amount of interracial couples! In Namibia I’ve seen maybe 2 interracial couples this entire year. In South Africa, I can’t remember a single case. In Moz, there were 5 or 6 at the same bar!
The next day we slept in and went out to eat at an Indian restaurant with maybe 5 billion choices of dinner on the menu. On January 2nd we went to Costa do Sol, the beach area. The beach was littered with trash, but the water was super-warm and calm like a huge bath for all of Maputo. This means the Indian Ocean is by far my favorite Ocean (the Caribbean Sea is my favorite body of water). In the night we traveled to Pretoria. It was a shame to not see more of Moz, but we were all tired of traveling by that point. We plan to go back after service is over.
SOUTH AFRICA: PRETORIA
In Pretoria we stayed at a hostel that was pretty much empty. The owner was out, so his friend or something was running it in his absence. Our first order of business was to eat because we were starving. We went out to the News café and had a big American style salad. Later, we just slept in at the hostel.
The next day we went to the Transvaal Museum which was a decent Natural History museum, but as I’ve seen several, wasn’t really that interested. We also visited the beautiful Union buildings, and walked around the town a bit. Upon arrival back at the hostel we were challenged by a British-descended South African and a Dutch man who was traveling around the world by car to name the 50 states in 22 minutes or less. I thought this was stupid as it was clear we could do that, so I suggested they make it a bet. I would’ve been happy with 10 rand, but they said two bottles of wine. So, we wrote down the fifty US states in about 5 minutes and won. Sad to say this is all we had to do to shock them—they fully expected we’d take hours to come up with all fifty. Well, 2 bottles of wine turned into 5, which was not a great idea when we were traveling at 5 am the next morning. Talk about a hangover.
SOUTH AFRICA: NORTHWEST PROVINCE
We actually missed the bus that morning because we were looking for a taxi or a combi and arrived at the station a half-hour late. Luckily we could take the bus to Jo-burg and catch our Intercape leaving for Upington. I spent most of the drive dozing. When we arrived to Upington it suddenly felt a lot more like home—dry, hot, veld with white Afrikaners giving us a ride to our hostel. The hostel was probably one of the more bizarre I’ve been to. It was basically a hick Afrikaner’s backyard they decided to turn into backpackers. It was also evident no one had been there lately. Turned out to be very cheap as well.
From Upington we managed to get a hike back to Mariental with a trucker. He was South African and had been in Baghdad for 2 years working as a security officer. Apparently, Iraqi guys also working as security officers hate Americans (big surprise there) and love South Africans (also big surprise there-I didn’t know till now that Iraq was attracting labor from all over the world because of contract work).
MARIENTAL
In Mariental we just read all day and adjusted to the HOT country that Namibia is. Later, we headed up to Windhoek to go to the Mid-service Peace Corps Conference. The same old stuff, nothing new, except more motivation. This will be another year of trial and error, hopefully less errors though.
THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
School got off in the usual way for D-town primary: more teacher drama, more kids running wild. This year there are only 20 seventh graders and I hope it stays that way because that would be great. However, there are 42 sixth graders! Eek. I still have to train them to adjust to my ways too. Another eek.
This year I’m going to try to get a girl’s club going. It’s worked at other places, maybe it will work here. I do feel more motivated than I did last year. Plus, there are 3 upper primary classes and 5 teachers, so there will be less periods over all considering there were 2 grade 5’s last year. I’m trying to get out of teaching math now. We’ll see how it goes.
A BIG THANK YOU
I’d like to give thanks to everyone who sent packages to me over the last year. Whether they contained school supplies or fun stuff for me, you can be assured they were put to good use. I’ve been known to dance around my room holding a package of M&Ms, and the kids can use all the supplies you’ve sent. Thanks entirely to your kind donations, I now have enough construction paper, glue, scissors, markers, certificates, crayons, colored pencils, pipe cleaners, and stickers to last the year.
If you’d like to send a package with school supplies, I could still use prizes for the kids. I’m dividing the kids into teams, and the team that behaves the best for each week gets a prize. Teams will be 5-7 kids. I have quite a few things I can give away still, but not a lot of the same item for all the kids on the team. For this reason, I still could use prizes like: pencils, pens, sharpeners, toys, bookmarks, candy, old clothes—really they enjoy anything. As for myself, I would enjoy any kind of chocolate sweet, but especially M&Ms and Reeses Cups. Also, reading material can be scarce here. As such, I can guarantee you I will read any book you send to me!
Thanks a lot!
Here I come, Year 2!
MOM & TOM TRIP
My mother and uncle Tom arrived late to Windhoek. We then traveled to D-town to visit the school and community. I think M&T enjoyed it. Then we drove a long way to Etosha National Park. In Etosha we saw the usual assortment of antelope, giraffe, and zebra but we were especially lucky to see lions and a small leopard. I read somewhere later you are not supposed to make eye contact with leopards, but forgot that at the time. Mom made me put up the window cuz she thought it would eat me! We stayed at the higher end lodges throughout Namibia which was such a treat after a year of cutting corners.
After Etosha we drove on though Caprivi. In Mahangu park we saw different kinds of antelope, the Sable antelope now being my favorite. We also stayed at a house boat on the Chobe River near Impalila Island. From there, we took a transfer to Zambia and saw the Victoria Falls at very low water levels.
We then flew to Cape Town where we went up to the top of Table Mountain, drove down to the Cape of Good Hope, saw the jackass penguins (yes, that’s their real name), and petted a cheetah (yes, you read that right.) One of the wineries hosts “cheetah encounters” where you pay to pet a suspiciously sleepy cheetah. We ended up petting the “cubs” which were bigger than me.
From there, M&T flew back to America. I stayed on to meet my PCV friends in Cape Town. Overall this leg of the trip was all about luxury, long drives, seeing a lot of animals, and spending time with family once more.
SOUTH AFRICA: CAPE TOWN CONTINUED
Julia, Danielle, and Megan joined me in Cape Town on Dec 11. Our major accomplishment: eating. We ate out at a place for Tapas, a Kurdish restaurant, McDonalds!, Chinese food, a smoothie and wrap place—all types of food I have not eaten in the last year. It was a treat. It may explain why I gained weight on the vacation as well.
As for the sights, we saw Robben Island, which did not live up to my expectations. It was worth going to say I went, but was unmemorable really and far, far too rushed. We also saw quite a few museums, which were fun to go to but not as impressive as I would have liked. The National Museum of Art was bizarre; The Slave Lodge was good except for construction; District Six was way too much information.
Also, I was attempted-mugged again. I didn’t even carry a purse! I put my jacket around my waist which had my camera and cell phone in the inner pocket. A street kid tried to pickpocket me but realized he couldn’t get to the expensive stuff through that pocket, so he tried to take the jacket. I was assessing whether he had a weapon or not. It didn’t look like it. Then, a large black man ran across the road, grabbed the kid by the neck and threw him on the ground, cursing him in English the whole time. We like to call him BBS: Big Black Savior. Thanks to him, I still have my camera and cell phone. This was the only safety issue we encountered in South Africa, which is pretty damn good considering it has some of the worst crime records in the world. Then again in Windhoek they just watch me get robbed. Great to see some civic duty in action there.
At night, Danielle and I went salsa dancing twice. I was quite impressed. The crowd was quite similar to its counterpart in America: diverse crowd in occupation and race, middle class, 20s-40s mostly, international community, varying levels of skills, salsa clique of really great dancers, etc. It was also a great way to meet locals, which also makes me totally understand why Namibia felt like a separate entity from South Africa. Namibia is all rural and un-cosmopolitan. In Urban South Africa you can get anything you could ever want. Both Danielle and I had a great time.
SOUTH AFRICA: STELLENBOSCH & GARDEN ROUTE
Really a beautiful city, Stellenbosch is in the middle of the wine lands. So, we went on a wine tour where we each drank about a bottle of wine. Can’t say I could accurately judge which wines I liked better, but I learned that I prefer red wines, and sweet wines suck. We also walked around the University which made us wish we had studied abroad there.
From there, we headed onto Mossel Bay on the fabulous Baz Bus. Mossel Bay was especially overrun by Afrikaaners seeking respite from the heat up North. It’s claim to fame? Bartholomeu Diaz landed there while traveling around the Cape. There’s a museum with a replica of his ship.
The next day we were on the bus the whole day going through the Garden Route, which I think is overrated. It is really developed, and the beaches looked nice, but it wasn’t somewhere I wish we had spent more time.
SOUTH AFRICA: CINTSA & DURBAN
We all did enjoy the beaches in Cinsta on the Wild Coast. A bizarre place, there really was no town at all. We stayed in backpackers close to the beach. There was only one restaurant we found in the whole place. The first day was rainy, so we were miserable sleeping three to a two-person tent. The second day was beautiful, so we spent the whole day at the beach. That night we had sundowners (boxed wine) on a huge dune that overlooks the ocean. A storm was blowing in, so we walked back along the beach. It was bizarre because the wind was blowing so hard it made the sand fly along in patterns. Or I was just tipsy.
From Cintsa we drove through the Transkei which used to be a separate country. I LOVE it—from the bus of course. It’s supposedly one of the poorest places in South Africa, but from the looks of it people were doing pretty good. If I were black, I might have stayed there forever. Since I didn't see a single white person there, although they might be there, I feel it might make me a target for crime. It was really mountainous, green with villages dotting the hillsides. We passed Mandela’s house along the road. According to our driver, he built it as an exact replica of the house where he was kept on house arrest his last days in jail. Funny. Anyhow, the flags were up, which means he was at this home for Christmas.
Our next stop was Durban. It has a totally different feel than Cape Town. CT is very international with the beautiful Table Mountain in the middle of it, and the port below. In Cape Town, on certain streets you might see mostly white people, a few streets over, only black people, and a few streets over, a good mix. Cape Town is diverse in terms of having a lot of white people, black people from many tribes, and having a lot of international tourists, students, and businesspeople. Durban feels more like a city people live in, not just visit. Its city center is huge and filled with sprawling stores. The mix of people was interesting. There were very few white people, and the ones we did see looked like they were homeless. The rest of the population was mostly Zulu, Indian, or Chinese.
In Durban, we went to the Indian market where I bought some jewelry. Had this been at the end of the trip, I would’ve bought some spices that they sell in big baskets, but I didn’t really want to smell like “fruit spice” for the rest of the trip. We also went to the Old Fort and walked around the city center where everything but the shops was closed because it was Christmas Eve.
On Christmas, we made a big brunch of french toast, eggs, bacon, and green beans. It was great. Then, we went to Ushaka Marine World to go to the beach and lay out. Apparently everyone else in Durban and outlying villages had the same idea. I don’t think I could have fit in the water if I tried. We later went for a walk down the beach promenade where there was a police officer literally every 20 feet. Because of this, the girls were not worried. My thought was if there were that many police officers, there must be at least that many criminals too. We didn’t have any problems though.
At our hostel we met South African and Swaziland Peace Corps Volunteers. It appears their programs are far stricter than PC Nam and a large portion of both groups has gone home either because they were sent home for stupid reasons, or they opted to leave. I was really grateful I’m a volunteer in Namibia after hearing about the harassment the SA volunteers encounter and the strictness of the vacation policy for Swazi volunteers!
SWAZILAND
Swaziland is a very small country populated almost entirely by the Swazi tribe. It only takes a few hours by car to cross the country, so villages seem to run into each other along the road. Combis provide the major transport, although we managed to hitch a few times. Basically, we went to a Museum, Parliament, craft shops, and the capital Mbabane. The racial tension of Namibia and South Africa does not exist there. People greeted us all the time in the local language, and apparently whites get along just fine with blacks in this small country. It is also interesting to note that it is still ruled by the traditional king and queen mother.
MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique was colonized by the Portuguese and unlike the German-colonized Namibia and British-colonized South Africa, it has an Iberian feel. Besides the fact that everyone was speaking Portuguese, it had the requisite trash in the street, shoddy roads and side walks, side shops instead of grocery stores, and big churches—all of which made me miss Latin America.
We traveled to Maputo on a local combi with two Brazilian girls. After only taking one semester of Portuguese, I could understand quite a bit of what people were saying. In Maputo, we traveled to the backpackers and went out for Chinese food. We walked around the mall which seemed just a little bizarre being all fancy and new with top-end stores like Gucci while everywhere else looks run down, like maybe a bomb hit it at some point. Then again, maybe one did. It hasn’t been long since the war in Moz stopped anyway.
On New Years Eve, we walked around a bit, visited the small art museum, used the CHEAP internet, and ate out. That night we walked to Dolce Vita bar, which was strangely unpopulated. We arrived at 11, but apparently that was too early. Or everyone was at Coconut where an expensive party was going on. Anyhow, we nursed our drinks (a vodka martini for me) for a LOOONG time. And just to remind us that we were still in Africa, the countdown for New Years started late! An older Italian man shared his champagne and sangria with us and practically the rest of the bar. What was crazy was the amount of interracial couples! In Namibia I’ve seen maybe 2 interracial couples this entire year. In South Africa, I can’t remember a single case. In Moz, there were 5 or 6 at the same bar!
The next day we slept in and went out to eat at an Indian restaurant with maybe 5 billion choices of dinner on the menu. On January 2nd we went to Costa do Sol, the beach area. The beach was littered with trash, but the water was super-warm and calm like a huge bath for all of Maputo. This means the Indian Ocean is by far my favorite Ocean (the Caribbean Sea is my favorite body of water). In the night we traveled to Pretoria. It was a shame to not see more of Moz, but we were all tired of traveling by that point. We plan to go back after service is over.
SOUTH AFRICA: PRETORIA
In Pretoria we stayed at a hostel that was pretty much empty. The owner was out, so his friend or something was running it in his absence. Our first order of business was to eat because we were starving. We went out to the News café and had a big American style salad. Later, we just slept in at the hostel.
The next day we went to the Transvaal Museum which was a decent Natural History museum, but as I’ve seen several, wasn’t really that interested. We also visited the beautiful Union buildings, and walked around the town a bit. Upon arrival back at the hostel we were challenged by a British-descended South African and a Dutch man who was traveling around the world by car to name the 50 states in 22 minutes or less. I thought this was stupid as it was clear we could do that, so I suggested they make it a bet. I would’ve been happy with 10 rand, but they said two bottles of wine. So, we wrote down the fifty US states in about 5 minutes and won. Sad to say this is all we had to do to shock them—they fully expected we’d take hours to come up with all fifty. Well, 2 bottles of wine turned into 5, which was not a great idea when we were traveling at 5 am the next morning. Talk about a hangover.
SOUTH AFRICA: NORTHWEST PROVINCE
We actually missed the bus that morning because we were looking for a taxi or a combi and arrived at the station a half-hour late. Luckily we could take the bus to Jo-burg and catch our Intercape leaving for Upington. I spent most of the drive dozing. When we arrived to Upington it suddenly felt a lot more like home—dry, hot, veld with white Afrikaners giving us a ride to our hostel. The hostel was probably one of the more bizarre I’ve been to. It was basically a hick Afrikaner’s backyard they decided to turn into backpackers. It was also evident no one had been there lately. Turned out to be very cheap as well.
From Upington we managed to get a hike back to Mariental with a trucker. He was South African and had been in Baghdad for 2 years working as a security officer. Apparently, Iraqi guys also working as security officers hate Americans (big surprise there) and love South Africans (also big surprise there-I didn’t know till now that Iraq was attracting labor from all over the world because of contract work).
MARIENTAL
In Mariental we just read all day and adjusted to the HOT country that Namibia is. Later, we headed up to Windhoek to go to the Mid-service Peace Corps Conference. The same old stuff, nothing new, except more motivation. This will be another year of trial and error, hopefully less errors though.
THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
School got off in the usual way for D-town primary: more teacher drama, more kids running wild. This year there are only 20 seventh graders and I hope it stays that way because that would be great. However, there are 42 sixth graders! Eek. I still have to train them to adjust to my ways too. Another eek.
This year I’m going to try to get a girl’s club going. It’s worked at other places, maybe it will work here. I do feel more motivated than I did last year. Plus, there are 3 upper primary classes and 5 teachers, so there will be less periods over all considering there were 2 grade 5’s last year. I’m trying to get out of teaching math now. We’ll see how it goes.
A BIG THANK YOU
I’d like to give thanks to everyone who sent packages to me over the last year. Whether they contained school supplies or fun stuff for me, you can be assured they were put to good use. I’ve been known to dance around my room holding a package of M&Ms, and the kids can use all the supplies you’ve sent. Thanks entirely to your kind donations, I now have enough construction paper, glue, scissors, markers, certificates, crayons, colored pencils, pipe cleaners, and stickers to last the year.
If you’d like to send a package with school supplies, I could still use prizes for the kids. I’m dividing the kids into teams, and the team that behaves the best for each week gets a prize. Teams will be 5-7 kids. I have quite a few things I can give away still, but not a lot of the same item for all the kids on the team. For this reason, I still could use prizes like: pencils, pens, sharpeners, toys, bookmarks, candy, old clothes—really they enjoy anything. As for myself, I would enjoy any kind of chocolate sweet, but especially M&Ms and Reeses Cups. Also, reading material can be scarce here. As such, I can guarantee you I will read any book you send to me!
Thanks a lot!
Here I come, Year 2!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
End of Year 1
RANDOM UPDATES
I’m counting the days until vacation. What more can I say? I never thought PC would involve so much counting days and general “survival” but that’s what it is.
Thank God Obama won! I knew Americans weren’t as stupid and proud as we sometimes act. The rest of the world finally agrees with us. I ate the broccoli I grew myself to celebrate. Woo!
Toby, my dog back at home, died. I knew he would die before I got back. I made Mom adopt him a long time ago. It doesn’t feel right that I was there at the beginning but I wasn’t there at the end.
My emotions are all over the place lately. I’m down, then I’m up. I’ve lost all hope that my kids will ever get out, then I regain it. I feel like the oppressor, then I feel that I’m doing good things.
Coping Mechanism 1: Writing my novel.
I’m too bored to do nothing. So I turn that boredom/feelings into a creative work. I hope it turns out to be good in the end, but I have my doubts.
Coping Mechanism 2: Altering my “Plan for Post-PC Life”
This plan has changed dramatically over the last year. It started as extend to PC Latin America, move to Latin America and work, work for the UN, and now its move to DC, get a decently paying job that requires no weekend work or emotional commitment, and write my novel in the down time. I wonder what it will be next month?
The rains came. I’ve hated rain my whole life. But now, suddenly, I love it. Even when the wind knocks out the electricity, and I have to do everything by candlelight. It feels like I’m a “real” volunteer.
LEARNER WISDOM
I thought I’d let my African kid speak for themselves. Here’s what they wrote in a dialogue about Dordabis:
Why Dordabis is a good place:
You can see wild animals.
It has a clinic, school, shop.
There is lots of meat.
Why Dordabis is a bad place:
People are throwing away rubbish in the street.
Big men take small girls.
The childrens are drinking.
The people drink too much alcohol.
Dordabis School is bad.
Here are some of the best Haikus we did in 6th grade about HIV:
If I get AIDS my
mother and father will beat
me. I will go die.
Condom prevents AIDS.
I must go and take condom
If I get boyfriend.
Condom prevents AIDS.
HIV and AIDS can kill.
Safe sex all the time.
I get HIV.
My sister got HIV.
HIV killed her.
Also, some of my more cherished learner bloopers:
1. Werewolves look like normal people during the day, but at night they turn into bohemians. *Correct answer: wolves* (If you’re wondering why my 6th grade kids know the word bohemian, it’s because I was dressed up like a bohemian for halloween—the best I could do with given wardrobe constraints).
2. Americans are used to seeing people of different tacos each day. *Correct answer: races*
3. The kangaroo is a nice animal. It does not beat the white man.
4. HIV attacks your lunch. *Correct answers: white blood cells / immune system*
December is more than going to make up for these doldrums. I’m traveling through Namibia to Cape Town with my mother and uncle. Then, I’m meeting with the girls and traveling across South Africa to Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, and perhaps Botswana on the way back. I’m thinking New Years on a beach in Moz and Christmas somewhere in-between. Should be just the break I need. I've been here for a year and each day the progress is just not there. But then sometimes something will happen, and I'll be like, wait a minute. You learned that? From me? I didn't think anyone was listening that day. Or I'll read a letter the kids wrote, and it will say that they love me more than their mother. Or that they love me as a teacher because I know everything and teach them everything. Oh, kids: I love em and hate em. But when I leave here, I have a feeling all I'm gonna remember is the love.
I’m counting the days until vacation. What more can I say? I never thought PC would involve so much counting days and general “survival” but that’s what it is.
Thank God Obama won! I knew Americans weren’t as stupid and proud as we sometimes act. The rest of the world finally agrees with us. I ate the broccoli I grew myself to celebrate. Woo!
Toby, my dog back at home, died. I knew he would die before I got back. I made Mom adopt him a long time ago. It doesn’t feel right that I was there at the beginning but I wasn’t there at the end.
My emotions are all over the place lately. I’m down, then I’m up. I’ve lost all hope that my kids will ever get out, then I regain it. I feel like the oppressor, then I feel that I’m doing good things.
Coping Mechanism 1: Writing my novel.
I’m too bored to do nothing. So I turn that boredom/feelings into a creative work. I hope it turns out to be good in the end, but I have my doubts.
Coping Mechanism 2: Altering my “Plan for Post-PC Life”
This plan has changed dramatically over the last year. It started as extend to PC Latin America, move to Latin America and work, work for the UN, and now its move to DC, get a decently paying job that requires no weekend work or emotional commitment, and write my novel in the down time. I wonder what it will be next month?
The rains came. I’ve hated rain my whole life. But now, suddenly, I love it. Even when the wind knocks out the electricity, and I have to do everything by candlelight. It feels like I’m a “real” volunteer.
LEARNER WISDOM
I thought I’d let my African kid speak for themselves. Here’s what they wrote in a dialogue about Dordabis:
Why Dordabis is a good place:
You can see wild animals.
It has a clinic, school, shop.
There is lots of meat.
Why Dordabis is a bad place:
People are throwing away rubbish in the street.
Big men take small girls.
The childrens are drinking.
The people drink too much alcohol.
Dordabis School is bad.
Here are some of the best Haikus we did in 6th grade about HIV:
If I get AIDS my
mother and father will beat
me. I will go die.
Condom prevents AIDS.
I must go and take condom
If I get boyfriend.
Condom prevents AIDS.
HIV and AIDS can kill.
Safe sex all the time.
I get HIV.
My sister got HIV.
HIV killed her.
Also, some of my more cherished learner bloopers:
1. Werewolves look like normal people during the day, but at night they turn into bohemians. *Correct answer: wolves* (If you’re wondering why my 6th grade kids know the word bohemian, it’s because I was dressed up like a bohemian for halloween—the best I could do with given wardrobe constraints).
2. Americans are used to seeing people of different tacos each day. *Correct answer: races*
3. The kangaroo is a nice animal. It does not beat the white man.
4. HIV attacks your lunch. *Correct answers: white blood cells / immune system*
December is more than going to make up for these doldrums. I’m traveling through Namibia to Cape Town with my mother and uncle. Then, I’m meeting with the girls and traveling across South Africa to Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, and perhaps Botswana on the way back. I’m thinking New Years on a beach in Moz and Christmas somewhere in-between. Should be just the break I need. I've been here for a year and each day the progress is just not there. But then sometimes something will happen, and I'll be like, wait a minute. You learned that? From me? I didn't think anyone was listening that day. Or I'll read a letter the kids wrote, and it will say that they love me more than their mother. Or that they love me as a teacher because I know everything and teach them everything. Oh, kids: I love em and hate em. But when I leave here, I have a feeling all I'm gonna remember is the love.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
SEPTEMBER
September 14, 2008
WINDHOEK CRISIS SOLVED
Well, I solved my Windhoek crisis. Now I just hitchhike in and out the same day. No awkwardness from staying at someone’s house. Nobody spying on what I do in town.
No being in Windhoek after dark at all. No paying money to stay in town. Besides the rush to get everything done in a few hours, the slight risk of hitching, and the waits on both ends, it’s fabulous!
Side effect: intense lethargy and burnout. I literally felt like a ghost for two weeks before I spent a weekend out of the vill. Then, like magic I return to my former self.
QUESTION BOX
I started a Question Box because I’m teaching them sex ed right now. I got like 2 questions about sex so far. Mostly the kids have put in letters to me telling me how they are not getting enough to eat and “Dear Special Teacher, I love you!” Because the word “love” is used loosely around here, I wasn’t sure if I should believe it. Turns out they really do love me. See down further.
SCHOOL TOUR
This past weekend D-town had its first school tour ever to Swakopmund. In my primary school, field trips were happening several times a year and overnight trips on occasion. In Namibia, field trips are costly, so they normally just take the kids for a few days to the coast and to Windhoek. This tour was entirely due to the HOD’s effort and connections. He managed to raise an amazing amount of money from his friends in a short period of time. It was a wonderful example of hope for Namibia just when I was feeling really, really down about the stuff here.
I was surprised that of 65 students, only 2 had been to the coast before. The coast is about 4 hours away. I’ve already gone there twice before. So this really was an amazing trip for them.
The bus was scheduled to arrive at 5 am. But since were in Namibia, it didn’t arrive until 11:00am. In the meantime, there was general chaos in school. A baby of a hostel matron called me “auma” which means Grandma. That’s a first.
It took an hour to load the bus, then we headed out to the airport. Apparently the airport never got our letter, but they were great and arranged to have the school visit anyhow. We went through the whole process of baggage check, security, and even boarded a plane that was being cleaned for later that night. We saw the fire engines they use to put out fires and they even sprayed the water to show us how far it could go.
Only in Namibia.
Then we drove to Windhoek and took some pictures of the kids. But mostly we just waited around. The bus driver dumped the 50 odd kids and teachers at the arts college and asked us to wait for 2 hours which turned into 3 hours while he picked up another group and dropped them off in Katutura. Only in Namibia.
When the bus finally came, it still took awhile to get on the road. We didn’t get to Swakopmund until 2:30 am and I didn’t get to sleep until 3:30 in the morning. Kids piled in, two to a prison mattress, which is standard for hostels. That’s one good thing no one is fat here. Teachers of course get a prison bed to themselves.
The next morning we took a long time to get going, but we went to the shore. I still can’t get over the fact that my kids will do back flips off 10 feet high walls and climb up flagpoles no problem, but they won’t go past knee deep in the ocean water. That’s probably a good thing since none of them know how to swim. Then, we took the bus to Walvis Bay to see a fishing company. Unfortunately, that did not work out, so we came back to Long Beach and braaied (barbequed). That’s a Namibian food tradition I can get used to!
On Sunday, I needed some personal space, so I went for a walk in the morning. Bumped right into an American movie shoot. Jim Caveziel and Ian Mckellen are here shooting some film for TV. Funny that the closest I ever get to “stars” is in Southern Africa. Couldn’t spot anyone though. On an equally exciting note, SPAR stocks nerds candy and Laffy Taffy from America! Woo!
I went back, ate breakfast, and then we headed out to Walvis again. We drove around a bit until we found the shipping company we were to visit. We didn’t get a chance to go on board the boat, but we did walk on the pier and see a seal and jelly fish. After that, we went to the lagoon to take pictures, which is gorgeous, and boarded the bus again for Swakop. After some stops and aimless driving, we headed back to D-town. The drive could have taken 4 hours. Instead it took 12 hours with stops, riding around in Khomasdal, and pee breaks.
MORE IMPORTANTLY:
On this trip, I had a number of important realizations. Now everything makes so much more sense:
I am living with a tribe.
Ok, so it’s kind of a stupid realization at this point, having been here 11 months, but still. I suppose I’ve been brainwashed a bit as to what I thought tribal life would be, so I didn’t recognize it in this form. I thought tribal life meant harmony, group decisions, appreciation for life, traditions like dress and dance and language, watching out and caring for your people. What I thought I encountered was chaos, violence, gossip, drama, German traditions and dances, hedonism, low self-esteem, and selfishness. I couldn’t see that that TOO was tribal life.
It’s both really, just in a different way than expected. Living with a tribe feels like:
--a total lack of personal space—warm bodies next to yours, playing with your hair, bonded at the hip, wanting to know everything you do or think or say, seeing everybody of your sex naked, bathing in the same tub.
--group responsibility for the welfare of the smaller children;
--towing along the whole family on the field trip;
--no concept of someone else’s time because what is important is the tribal time—personal interaction is preferable to rushing about; you’re only as fast as your slowest tribal member; you can take your time because they won’t leave you behind.
---fighting, power squabbles, gossip, violence (also attributed to poverty)
--sharing everything: food, cool drink, jewelry, underwear, hair ties, radios, chargers, shoes, cups, plates, seats, [sexual partners];
--gobbling something down that you really want before someone can ask you for a piece. As a tribe member you’d be obligated to give them some.
--not doing anything alone. You definitely don’t live or travel alone. You don’t stay anywhere you don’t have family. Hotels are out of the question.
--oppression. You are expected to act in specific ways which are sometimes destructive, and like in all small town settings, people can be cruel if you don’t conform. I think this contributes to the HIV epidemic.
--tension between what is personal and what is communal. Perhaps this only existed after the bringing of capitalism and personal property, but I do think it is a source of violence in the community.
2. Despite my very strange ways, somehow I managed to be part of the tribe.
So then here I am. I:
--am independent, even by American standards;
--need personal space of all sorts;
--never was responsible for a small child in my life (not even as a babysitter);
--have a clear concept of inconviencing others;
--am so anti-violent I never even hit kids as a child;
--like to savor my food;
--love to travel to places I’ve never been and have no family;
--do not think about sharing (even by American standards);
--break the mold (even by American standards),
--value personal property.
No wonder it is so hard to make friends. But I’m adapting to this tribal environment:
Already I can see some changes in myself. I routinely hide things I don’t want to share; I like kids and watch out for them; I’m better with being around people all the time; I’m distant when talking about death.
I do every possible thing opposite from what the tribe does. Yet, I’ve managed to become part of it. How I know:
BREAKDOWN OR BREAKTHROUGH?
On Monday after the tour, I was teaching Grade 6. Things were a little hectic as usual, but not out of the norm. Someone knocked on the door, but because our door is broken and the handle is missing, you have to stick your finger in between the door and doorframe to push back the doodad that keeps the door shut. I did that, and the kid outside decides to bang the door as hard as he can. My finger hurts and starts to bleed everywhere. One 6th grader tries to help me with my finger. Another 6th grader approaches us and beats her with his home-made whip (a common occurrence—they’re just following the example of the teachers and parents). He misses, and hits me on the arm instead. I lose it, demand an apology, and then for some strange reason I start to cry.
Then everything goes downhill. I don’t even know why I’m crying. My finger doesn’t even hurt that bad. So, I know the cardinal rule of teaching is never cry in front of your students. I grab my things and leave. But my kids of course notice. No American kid would have known the difference; but my kids notice every detail. About 20 of them follow me to the library and another 20 follow them, trying to see what is going on. I shut them out. Then within about 20 seconds the entire school, all the teachers, and probably the entire village know I’m crying in the library because my finger was slammed in the door. Except that’s not really why I’m crying and I can’t even put the reason into words. The teachers all come one by one to apologize and comfort me and offer to take me to the clinic. They leave and then the kids flood into the library, some just staring because I’m the first white person and probably the first teacher they have ever seen cry. I try to get them to go away, remembering the cardinal rule. But if I shut them out, that tells them I’m not with the tribe. So I let them in. Most of them tear up too and tell me that I and one of the hostel matrons are the only people they love in D-town, and I’m crying too much. I am crying too much. I can’t stop crying for 2 hours. I still don’t know why, but I have a suspicion it’s because I made it in. Somehow, despite everything I’ve done to sabotage my inclusion in the tribe (simply being me); I made it in. And the kids really do love me. And I really do love them. Weird, huh?
WINDHOEK CRISIS SOLVED
Well, I solved my Windhoek crisis. Now I just hitchhike in and out the same day. No awkwardness from staying at someone’s house. Nobody spying on what I do in town.
No being in Windhoek after dark at all. No paying money to stay in town. Besides the rush to get everything done in a few hours, the slight risk of hitching, and the waits on both ends, it’s fabulous!
Side effect: intense lethargy and burnout. I literally felt like a ghost for two weeks before I spent a weekend out of the vill. Then, like magic I return to my former self.
QUESTION BOX
I started a Question Box because I’m teaching them sex ed right now. I got like 2 questions about sex so far. Mostly the kids have put in letters to me telling me how they are not getting enough to eat and “Dear Special Teacher, I love you!” Because the word “love” is used loosely around here, I wasn’t sure if I should believe it. Turns out they really do love me. See down further.
SCHOOL TOUR
This past weekend D-town had its first school tour ever to Swakopmund. In my primary school, field trips were happening several times a year and overnight trips on occasion. In Namibia, field trips are costly, so they normally just take the kids for a few days to the coast and to Windhoek. This tour was entirely due to the HOD’s effort and connections. He managed to raise an amazing amount of money from his friends in a short period of time. It was a wonderful example of hope for Namibia just when I was feeling really, really down about the stuff here.
I was surprised that of 65 students, only 2 had been to the coast before. The coast is about 4 hours away. I’ve already gone there twice before. So this really was an amazing trip for them.
The bus was scheduled to arrive at 5 am. But since were in Namibia, it didn’t arrive until 11:00am. In the meantime, there was general chaos in school. A baby of a hostel matron called me “auma” which means Grandma. That’s a first.
It took an hour to load the bus, then we headed out to the airport. Apparently the airport never got our letter, but they were great and arranged to have the school visit anyhow. We went through the whole process of baggage check, security, and even boarded a plane that was being cleaned for later that night. We saw the fire engines they use to put out fires and they even sprayed the water to show us how far it could go.
Only in Namibia.
Then we drove to Windhoek and took some pictures of the kids. But mostly we just waited around. The bus driver dumped the 50 odd kids and teachers at the arts college and asked us to wait for 2 hours which turned into 3 hours while he picked up another group and dropped them off in Katutura. Only in Namibia.
When the bus finally came, it still took awhile to get on the road. We didn’t get to Swakopmund until 2:30 am and I didn’t get to sleep until 3:30 in the morning. Kids piled in, two to a prison mattress, which is standard for hostels. That’s one good thing no one is fat here. Teachers of course get a prison bed to themselves.
The next morning we took a long time to get going, but we went to the shore. I still can’t get over the fact that my kids will do back flips off 10 feet high walls and climb up flagpoles no problem, but they won’t go past knee deep in the ocean water. That’s probably a good thing since none of them know how to swim. Then, we took the bus to Walvis Bay to see a fishing company. Unfortunately, that did not work out, so we came back to Long Beach and braaied (barbequed). That’s a Namibian food tradition I can get used to!
On Sunday, I needed some personal space, so I went for a walk in the morning. Bumped right into an American movie shoot. Jim Caveziel and Ian Mckellen are here shooting some film for TV. Funny that the closest I ever get to “stars” is in Southern Africa. Couldn’t spot anyone though. On an equally exciting note, SPAR stocks nerds candy and Laffy Taffy from America! Woo!
I went back, ate breakfast, and then we headed out to Walvis again. We drove around a bit until we found the shipping company we were to visit. We didn’t get a chance to go on board the boat, but we did walk on the pier and see a seal and jelly fish. After that, we went to the lagoon to take pictures, which is gorgeous, and boarded the bus again for Swakop. After some stops and aimless driving, we headed back to D-town. The drive could have taken 4 hours. Instead it took 12 hours with stops, riding around in Khomasdal, and pee breaks.
MORE IMPORTANTLY:
On this trip, I had a number of important realizations. Now everything makes so much more sense:
I am living with a tribe.
Ok, so it’s kind of a stupid realization at this point, having been here 11 months, but still. I suppose I’ve been brainwashed a bit as to what I thought tribal life would be, so I didn’t recognize it in this form. I thought tribal life meant harmony, group decisions, appreciation for life, traditions like dress and dance and language, watching out and caring for your people. What I thought I encountered was chaos, violence, gossip, drama, German traditions and dances, hedonism, low self-esteem, and selfishness. I couldn’t see that that TOO was tribal life.
It’s both really, just in a different way than expected. Living with a tribe feels like:
--a total lack of personal space—warm bodies next to yours, playing with your hair, bonded at the hip, wanting to know everything you do or think or say, seeing everybody of your sex naked, bathing in the same tub.
--group responsibility for the welfare of the smaller children;
--towing along the whole family on the field trip;
--no concept of someone else’s time because what is important is the tribal time—personal interaction is preferable to rushing about; you’re only as fast as your slowest tribal member; you can take your time because they won’t leave you behind.
---fighting, power squabbles, gossip, violence (also attributed to poverty)
--sharing everything: food, cool drink, jewelry, underwear, hair ties, radios, chargers, shoes, cups, plates, seats, [sexual partners];
--gobbling something down that you really want before someone can ask you for a piece. As a tribe member you’d be obligated to give them some.
--not doing anything alone. You definitely don’t live or travel alone. You don’t stay anywhere you don’t have family. Hotels are out of the question.
--oppression. You are expected to act in specific ways which are sometimes destructive, and like in all small town settings, people can be cruel if you don’t conform. I think this contributes to the HIV epidemic.
--tension between what is personal and what is communal. Perhaps this only existed after the bringing of capitalism and personal property, but I do think it is a source of violence in the community.
2. Despite my very strange ways, somehow I managed to be part of the tribe.
So then here I am. I:
--am independent, even by American standards;
--need personal space of all sorts;
--never was responsible for a small child in my life (not even as a babysitter);
--have a clear concept of inconviencing others;
--am so anti-violent I never even hit kids as a child;
--like to savor my food;
--love to travel to places I’ve never been and have no family;
--do not think about sharing (even by American standards);
--break the mold (even by American standards),
--value personal property.
No wonder it is so hard to make friends. But I’m adapting to this tribal environment:
Already I can see some changes in myself. I routinely hide things I don’t want to share; I like kids and watch out for them; I’m better with being around people all the time; I’m distant when talking about death.
I do every possible thing opposite from what the tribe does. Yet, I’ve managed to become part of it. How I know:
BREAKDOWN OR BREAKTHROUGH?
On Monday after the tour, I was teaching Grade 6. Things were a little hectic as usual, but not out of the norm. Someone knocked on the door, but because our door is broken and the handle is missing, you have to stick your finger in between the door and doorframe to push back the doodad that keeps the door shut. I did that, and the kid outside decides to bang the door as hard as he can. My finger hurts and starts to bleed everywhere. One 6th grader tries to help me with my finger. Another 6th grader approaches us and beats her with his home-made whip (a common occurrence—they’re just following the example of the teachers and parents). He misses, and hits me on the arm instead. I lose it, demand an apology, and then for some strange reason I start to cry.
Then everything goes downhill. I don’t even know why I’m crying. My finger doesn’t even hurt that bad. So, I know the cardinal rule of teaching is never cry in front of your students. I grab my things and leave. But my kids of course notice. No American kid would have known the difference; but my kids notice every detail. About 20 of them follow me to the library and another 20 follow them, trying to see what is going on. I shut them out. Then within about 20 seconds the entire school, all the teachers, and probably the entire village know I’m crying in the library because my finger was slammed in the door. Except that’s not really why I’m crying and I can’t even put the reason into words. The teachers all come one by one to apologize and comfort me and offer to take me to the clinic. They leave and then the kids flood into the library, some just staring because I’m the first white person and probably the first teacher they have ever seen cry. I try to get them to go away, remembering the cardinal rule. But if I shut them out, that tells them I’m not with the tribe. So I let them in. Most of them tear up too and tell me that I and one of the hostel matrons are the only people they love in D-town, and I’m crying too much. I am crying too much. I can’t stop crying for 2 hours. I still don’t know why, but I have a suspicion it’s because I made it in. Somehow, despite everything I’ve done to sabotage my inclusion in the tribe (simply being me); I made it in. And the kids really do love me. And I really do love them. Weird, huh?
Monday, September 1, 2008
August Holiday (a.k.a. The most awesome holiday ever!)
Part I. Off to Zambia
In classic Peace Corps fashion, we planned our vacation about 6 days in advance. Ashley, Megan, Danielle and Julia joined me in our hitchhiking adventure. Julia, Ashley, Megan and I left from Windhoek on Saturday. We were conned into taking a taxi, since we left late from Windhoek, so we agreed to pay up to Otjiwarongo. From there, we got a free hike to Grootfontein with a German family. Ashley and I met up with Danielle at the gas station in Groot and went out to the highway to hike to Rundu. After an hour or so of waiting, we scored a hike to Rundu with a couple. The man was from the Congo and the woman was from Zambia.
In classic Peace Corps fashion, we planned our vacation about 6 days in advance. Ashley, Megan, Danielle and Julia joined me in our hitchhiking adventure. Julia, Ashley, Megan and I left from Windhoek on Saturday. We were conned into taking a taxi, since we left late from Windhoek, so we agreed to pay up to Otjiwarongo. From there, we got a free hike to Grootfontein with a German family. Ashley and I met up with Danielle at the gas station in Groot and went out to the highway to hike to Rundu. After an hour or so of waiting, we scored a hike to Rundu with a couple. The man was from the Congo and the woman was from Zambia.
They dropped us off at a strangely unnamed gas station out in the middle of nowhere. We walked to town a couple of kilometers and managed to stay at a hotel owned by a former PCV who married a Namibian. He gave us a great deal for the night and we enjoyed hot showers (one very nice thing about vacations!). In the morning we headed out bright and early to the hike point. Julia, Danielle, and I piled back into the Congo couple’s van and headed off to Katima. The drive was long, but neat because we saw elephants along the road.
Namibia is divided into two sections: the North which is above the “red line” and consists of northern Kunene, Ovamboland, Kavango and Caprivi. Basically, white people claimed the fertile southern grasslands for themselves and put most of the black population above the red line. From what I understand there were virtually no white people above the red line before apartheid was abolished. Therefore, people in the north felt the effects of apartheid less than in the South. The north is far more populated than the south, and it shows. As soon as you cross the red line you see houses along the side of the road, a rarity in the south. Most of the houses are mud huts, as opposed to the tin shacks of the south. People walk along the side of the road all the time, while in the south you can drive for hours without seeing another person.
In Katima we stayed at Kaitlin’s new house. She has two cats which are cute but to which I am allergic to unfortunately. We decided to chill in Katima for the next day because we were tired from so much travel. The next day we went to the craft fair where I got a basket. Then we went to Thea’s town about 20km from Katima. It was really interesting to see her village. She lives in a mud hut with thatch roof and cement floor. She fetches water from a pipe about 20 ft from her house and she has two light bulbs. Really besides the lack of water, the only differences between her hut and mine are the sink and the bugs. Thea also lives with a family and loves it. It’s cute her relationship between her and the village. It makes me think that things would have been better if I lived with a family or in the north. Physically it would be more demanding, but maybe I would feel less distant from the people. There seems to be gulf between me and my villagers composed of language, class, race, background, education, culture, and sometimes gender and age. I still don’t know how to bridge that gap or even if it is possible.
The next day we left some things at Kaitlin’s house and took a taxi to the border with Zambia. The border crossing was the fastest border crossing I’ve ever been through. No lines, just a stamp and we were on our way. The Zambian custom office was a bit difficult to find considering it was off the road, but we got our stamps (having paid our expensive! visas while in Windhoek). We took a taxi to Sesheke and an extremely long combi ride to Livingstone. We learned later that we could’ve taken a higher class bus and cut about 3 hours off our trip.
The next day we left some things at Kaitlin’s house and took a taxi to the border with Zambia. The border crossing was the fastest border crossing I’ve ever been through. No lines, just a stamp and we were on our way. The Zambian custom office was a bit difficult to find considering it was off the road, but we got our stamps (having paid our expensive! visas while in Windhoek). We took a taxi to Sesheke and an extremely long combi ride to Livingstone. We learned later that we could’ve taken a higher class bus and cut about 3 hours off our trip.
Once we arrived, we checked in at Jolly Boys and walked to Subway to eat. Just like the US. It was amazing, but no cookies unfortunately. That afternoon we chilled at the hostel and set up the tents we borrowed from other PCVs. Ours were identified as the ones that looked like they would fall over at any moment. Actually Ashley and my tent fell over on us the last night.
The next day we decided to go white water rafting. Considering the other options (abseiling, bungee jumping, skydiving etc) rafting seemed like the less scary option all 5 of us could do together. We were given a nice breakfast, but since I was nervous having never been rafting before, I didn’t eat that much. Of course they have these videos of professional kayakers going over waterfalls as you eat which kind of freaked me out. I visualized myself speeding down the rapids and over waterfalls at frightening speeds. After that, we hiked down into the canyon at the base of Victoria Falls. The rapids did not look bad at all, so I was less concerned. Then we had to jump into a rapid and find our raft, scary but I made it. Some kayak guys joined a caravan of about 8 rafts and they helped people reach their appropriate boat.
Our guide instructed us how to paddle and “get down” which means face the outside of the raft, hunker down, and hold on for your life. We went over the first two rapids with no problems except I lost my paddle. Then we came to the third rapid and our guide told us we had 50/50 chance of having the raft tip over. There was also a three meter drop. I was so glad I had left my glasses onshore at that point. We “got down” and went through the rapid. But you can’t really see what’s going on. It feels like a car wreck in the sense that your being tossed and turned all over the place and you are trying to hold on to the rope, but you can’t assess what is happening around you. Then you reach calm waters, get up and realize half of your rafters are in the river! Ok, well that time, I did get tossed into the river, but I held onto that raft for dear life, and the guide hauled me back in pretty much immediately. At that point I was glad I left my jeans on land.
We continued to go over a series of class 4 and 5 rapids for most of the trip. On one particularly bad rapid, our boat flipped and we were all in the rapid. I was proud of myself because I managed to hold on to the boat. It took about 10 minutes or so to get through the rapid and even though we had on life jackets, it was really difficult to breathe. You were trying to hold onto the raft, which was difficult because you were being sucked down into the water. So the exercise made you breathe harder, but you could never get a big breath because the water sucked you down before you could. None of us were too excited to keep rafting after that. One girl in front of me was thrilled to raft the Zambezi before that rapid because it was supposedly one of the highest rated rivers you could go on as an amateur. After that, she was finished. The water is very deep so you do not hit any rocks or get stuck like in some other rivers. It took quite a while for the boat to get flipped and for all of us to get in it again. One guy from another raft went into shock and refused to paddle any more for the rest of the trip.
We finally reached the last rapid, and I was exhausted. Paddling was hard work as was holding on for your life. I popped out of the boat on that rapid just because I was too tired to hold on. I couldn’t reach the boat because the current swept me away, so a kayak guy came and saved me. He took me to shore, and we climbed out, thankful to be on land again. Then we climbed back out of the canyon which was basically straight up. Ashley, Megan, and I were some of the last to arrive at the top. The guides carried up the deflated rafts on their shoulders, then came back down to give us water before we made it to the top. Shows how not in shape we were. I couldn’t have done the full day trip if I had wanted to. On the way back to the camp we saw elephants on the side of the road. Days like that I remember I'm in Africa!
The guides gave us some lunch and then we saw the pictures which were very good and freaking hilarious. There was one where I’m being popped out of the boat like popcorn and another where our face expressions were funny. The one that cracked me up the most was a picture of foam with Ashley’s head sticking out gasping for air. There’s another picture of our raft, but all that turned out was foam. You couldn’t even see the raft at all. Then we watched the video of our rafting expedition. It looked pretty intense on the video. I was proud of myself that I did that, but never again!
That afternoon, we went to the museum where we saw the history of the falls, and at night we went to an African restaurant with nice décor, ok food, and crappy service. My arms were sore for the next week!
The next day we watched Danielle and Ashley zip slide, bungee jump and do the swing. I took photos from afar and chatted with the border police person and the official videographer. Then, we went to the Victoria Falls Park so we could actually see the falls. There were large baboons everywhere and they would take your bag if you had one. We walked along the falls and took lots of pictures. Really is impressive, even in dry season when there was not much water. Then we walked on top of the falls to see some children playing in the water meters from the falls edge. Oh, Africa.
We turned back and took a combi back to Livingstone. That night Danielle, Megan and I went on a booze cruise. Drinks were strong, and we saw hippo, elephants, crocodiles, and kudu. The elephants even crossed the river in front of us. It was fun and totally worth 35$ US. The next day we hung around the hostel for the morning then headed out to the border on the bus. We crossed on foot and made our way back to Kaitlin’s for the night. It was great to get back to Namdollars because Kwatcha are so hard to deal with. It is 3300 Kwatcha for one american dollar and the Kwatcha bills all look the same, so you end up trying to pay US$ .05 or 50$US for one drink. We had problems the whole time with the currency, but most people seemed honest.
From Katima, we headed to Divundu and stayed two nights with Chris and Paul. It was great to watch movies and chill for a day. They also scored an awesome house complete with washing machine, hot water, and river right by it. No swimming tho, too many crocs!
Megan hiked out to go back to her site from Divundu. Ashley managed to get us the best possible hike ever which leads to:
Megan hiked out to go back to her site from Divundu. Ashley managed to get us the best possible hike ever which leads to:
PART II Etosha
Ashley asked a white couple if they could take us to Grootfontein and they agreed. We all piled into their safari truck and were excited to get all the way to Groot and possibly farther in one day. Our plans had been to get up to Ondangwa and from there to Opuwo. That all changed within the first 5 minutes of our trip. Once the couple found out that we were volunteers they invited us to stay at their lodge in Etosha for free. Of course we eagerly agreed. Turns out the lodge was quoted as one of the most exclusive luxury lodges in the Etosha area.
Ashley asked a white couple if they could take us to Grootfontein and they agreed. We all piled into their safari truck and were excited to get all the way to Groot and possibly farther in one day. Our plans had been to get up to Ondangwa and from there to Opuwo. That all changed within the first 5 minutes of our trip. Once the couple found out that we were volunteers they invited us to stay at their lodge in Etosha for free. Of course we eagerly agreed. Turns out the lodge was quoted as one of the most exclusive luxury lodges in the Etosha area.
It was amazing.
We stayed in luxury tents, basically cabins with tent material on the outside. We had solar electricity and fire-heated water. The bed was so comfy. The dinner area overlooked a water hole that was no more than 30 feet from the small fence. You were really in the wild. But, the food was great! It was buffet style and we had food we hadn’t had since America: cold cuts, eggs and bacon, roast potatoes, argula salads. The schedule was, we woke up in the morning at 6, then ate breakfast. At 7 we went on a game drive or nature walk through the concession or in the Etosha park. That lasted till lunch and then we ate a great buffet lunch. After that we had an hour or so to chill, watch the water hole, or shower. Then, we went on another game drive or walk in the afternoon, or just chilled at the lodge. Dinner followed those drives; I think we gained five pounds! We got to hobnob with all sorts of rich Americans, Swiss, Italians, and Brits. It was normally great fun. I got lots of great pictures of the animals. The only animals we did not see were cheetahs, leopards, meercats, and moongeese, but it’s hard to see them anyways. I can’t believe the couple was so nice. We calculated that the 5 nights we stayed there would’ve cost nearly our entire year’s salary in the Peace Corps! It was US 500$ a night all inclusive. There will be no hike that will beat that!
We stayed in luxury tents, basically cabins with tent material on the outside. We had solar electricity and fire-heated water. The bed was so comfy. The dinner area overlooked a water hole that was no more than 30 feet from the small fence. You were really in the wild. But, the food was great! It was buffet style and we had food we hadn’t had since America: cold cuts, eggs and bacon, roast potatoes, argula salads. The schedule was, we woke up in the morning at 6, then ate breakfast. At 7 we went on a game drive or nature walk through the concession or in the Etosha park. That lasted till lunch and then we ate a great buffet lunch. After that we had an hour or so to chill, watch the water hole, or shower. Then, we went on another game drive or walk in the afternoon, or just chilled at the lodge. Dinner followed those drives; I think we gained five pounds! We got to hobnob with all sorts of rich Americans, Swiss, Italians, and Brits. It was normally great fun. I got lots of great pictures of the animals. The only animals we did not see were cheetahs, leopards, meercats, and moongeese, but it’s hard to see them anyways. I can’t believe the couple was so nice. We calculated that the 5 nights we stayed there would’ve cost nearly our entire year’s salary in the Peace Corps! It was US 500$ a night all inclusive. There will be no hike that will beat that!
ANIMALS SEEN ON VACATION & NUMBER SEEN:
Crocodile (6)
Hippo (2)
Elephant (20ish)
White Rhino (5)
Black Rhino (1)
Steenbok (1)
Klipspringer (1)
Kudu (tons)
Eland (3)
Oryx / Gemsbok (tons)
Springbok (tons)
Giraffe (tons)
Water buck (tons)
Black-faced Impala (30-40)
Red Hartebeest (20ish)
Hartman’s Mountain Zebra (10ish)
Burchells Plain Zebra (tons)
Wildebeest (tons)
Warthogs (30ish)
Grey jackal (2)
Black-backed jackal (2-3)
Guinea Fowl (tons)
Red-eyed bulbul (tons)
Hornbills of all kinds
Lilac-breasted ? one of the prettiest birds ever
Corrie Buster (sp?) (10)
Ostrich (10)
Vulture (10)
Rabbit (5)
Ground Squirrel (5)
Tree Squirrel (1)
Porcupine (1)
Rock Dassie / Hyrax (1)
Baboon (tons)
Monkeys (5)
Lion (8-10) Heard a lot more!
Spotted Hyena (1)
After 5 days at the lodge, I got a hike with Wendy back to site and got another hike to D-town. I’m going to try to hike in and back the same day for grocery shopping from now on. If I need to get out of town I’ll go to Mariental, since Ruth in Okahandja was sent home. If I need to do errands in Windhoek, I’ll stay with colleagues or with the nice couple in Windhoek (still haven’t contacted them) or in a backpackers. I really hate Windhoek so I’m going to minimize my time there. But sometimes I really need to go out and get a dinner I didn’t cook.
Now, I’m back at site for the first day of school. Hard to believe my first year in Namibia will be over in 2 months, and my mom comes to visit in just 3 months! I can’t wait for this year to be over and go on vacation. Current plans are to hit up Etosha, Caprivi and Botswana with Mom and Uncle Tom, then go to Cape Town and across South Africa to Mozambique with Megan and Danielle. Should be awesome.
My garden is still alive, surprise of surprises!
Also, my keyboard isn’t working. I think the dust got in. So I’m borrowing the school computer’s keyboard until I can buy one in Windhoek. Namibia enjoys destroying electronic devices. So far, I already had to get my camera repaired and it is still not doing well. Now my keyboard went berserk and my cd rom drive only works if I’m persistent. I just hope they last the next year!
Crocodile (6)
Hippo (2)
Elephant (20ish)
White Rhino (5)
Black Rhino (1)
Steenbok (1)
Klipspringer (1)
Kudu (tons)
Eland (3)
Oryx / Gemsbok (tons)
Springbok (tons)
Giraffe (tons)
Water buck (tons)
Black-faced Impala (30-40)
Red Hartebeest (20ish)
Hartman’s Mountain Zebra (10ish)
Burchells Plain Zebra (tons)
Wildebeest (tons)
Warthogs (30ish)
Grey jackal (2)
Black-backed jackal (2-3)
Guinea Fowl (tons)
Red-eyed bulbul (tons)
Hornbills of all kinds
Lilac-breasted ? one of the prettiest birds ever
Corrie Buster (sp?) (10)
Ostrich (10)
Vulture (10)
Rabbit (5)
Ground Squirrel (5)
Tree Squirrel (1)
Porcupine (1)
Rock Dassie / Hyrax (1)
Baboon (tons)
Monkeys (5)
Lion (8-10) Heard a lot more!
Spotted Hyena (1)
After 5 days at the lodge, I got a hike with Wendy back to site and got another hike to D-town. I’m going to try to hike in and back the same day for grocery shopping from now on. If I need to get out of town I’ll go to Mariental, since Ruth in Okahandja was sent home. If I need to do errands in Windhoek, I’ll stay with colleagues or with the nice couple in Windhoek (still haven’t contacted them) or in a backpackers. I really hate Windhoek so I’m going to minimize my time there. But sometimes I really need to go out and get a dinner I didn’t cook.
Now, I’m back at site for the first day of school. Hard to believe my first year in Namibia will be over in 2 months, and my mom comes to visit in just 3 months! I can’t wait for this year to be over and go on vacation. Current plans are to hit up Etosha, Caprivi and Botswana with Mom and Uncle Tom, then go to Cape Town and across South Africa to Mozambique with Megan and Danielle. Should be awesome.
My garden is still alive, surprise of surprises!
Also, my keyboard isn’t working. I think the dust got in. So I’m borrowing the school computer’s keyboard until I can buy one in Windhoek. Namibia enjoys destroying electronic devices. So far, I already had to get my camera repaired and it is still not doing well. Now my keyboard went berserk and my cd rom drive only works if I’m persistent. I just hope they last the next year!
Friday, July 25, 2008
A Namibian Birthday
A Namibian Birthday
So I’ve been having a series of weeks where I’m tired, been traveling too much, and just want to spend time with American friends. I’ve skipped school twice (once unsuccessfully—yes, they came to my house looking for me), and I’ve been disillusioned with my secondary projects. As I suspected, they flourished in the beginning only to disspate within, oh 2 weeks. Sigh. Guess salsa club is a no go. However, they still like the Spanish and English classes.
Just when you think noone really cares you’re here, including yourself, you have a birthday. I’m 25 today and here’s what’s happened so far.
7:00 Went to school late teachers sang happy birthday to me as I came in.
7:40 Kids sang happy brithday to me.
9:00 Ate cake (Mr. K made for me), cookies (yes, chocolate chip—I made them myself), cookies somebody bought for me. It was nice.
9:30 performance by community AIDS group that I am not a part of, nor did I know existed
Also received several homemade cards from the kids.
2:00 Played cards with about 20 kids. Damn they are SO good at memory, they kicked my ass. A few girls combed my hair into the ‘fro it gets when it's combed, while another child kept plucking out some of my arm hairs and putting them on his arm. Oh, Namibia.
4:00 Sent the kids away for some solitude. Am online now.
7:00 Dance—haven’t gone yet tho. It's only 5pm here, but I fully intend to teach them the electric slide. Woo.
Overall, not depressing at all. Except that my 20s are half over! (And this whole year of my life, I'll be in Namibia! That's the only thought that makes me want to leave . . .)
Tomorrow is Sport day, and then on Sunday I have to hike in to Windhoek again for medical check-ups.
So I’ve been having a series of weeks where I’m tired, been traveling too much, and just want to spend time with American friends. I’ve skipped school twice (once unsuccessfully—yes, they came to my house looking for me), and I’ve been disillusioned with my secondary projects. As I suspected, they flourished in the beginning only to disspate within, oh 2 weeks. Sigh. Guess salsa club is a no go. However, they still like the Spanish and English classes.
Just when you think noone really cares you’re here, including yourself, you have a birthday. I’m 25 today and here’s what’s happened so far.
7:00 Went to school late teachers sang happy birthday to me as I came in.
7:40 Kids sang happy brithday to me.
9:00 Ate cake (Mr. K made for me), cookies (yes, chocolate chip—I made them myself), cookies somebody bought for me. It was nice.
9:30 performance by community AIDS group that I am not a part of, nor did I know existed
Also received several homemade cards from the kids.
2:00 Played cards with about 20 kids. Damn they are SO good at memory, they kicked my ass. A few girls combed my hair into the ‘fro it gets when it's combed, while another child kept plucking out some of my arm hairs and putting them on his arm. Oh, Namibia.
4:00 Sent the kids away for some solitude. Am online now.
7:00 Dance—haven’t gone yet tho. It's only 5pm here, but I fully intend to teach them the electric slide. Woo.
Overall, not depressing at all. Except that my 20s are half over! (And this whole year of my life, I'll be in Namibia! That's the only thought that makes me want to leave . . .)
Tomorrow is Sport day, and then on Sunday I have to hike in to Windhoek again for medical check-ups.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Hard Days
June was not an easy month.
--Only other white people were assaulted and robbed.
--Kindergardener was killed (possibly by own mother) and thrown in sewage tank.
--I was robbed at knifepoint (again) in Windhoek. I’m on cellphone #3.
--My mirror broke. I bought a new one and someone sat on it, so it broke before I could even get it home. Not a good sign.
--My toilet is not functioning properly.
--Still haven’t got any reimbursements for electricity.
--Suitor # 3 is in love with me even though I said, “Don’t waste your time, I don’t like you” to the kid’s face.
I came to Africa for several reasons:
1. Learn another language
2. Challenge myself
3. Experience something new
4. Figure out what Africa is about, like with AIDS etc.
5. Find out if I like all of the 3rd world or just Latin America
6. Eliminate any subconscious racism
Here’s the Verdict:
1. Nope. Not going to happen. I’m done.
2. Yes. In many more ways than I ever thought. Like how to deal with constantly being a victim of crime. Or how to live in a dangerous city. Or how to deal with Namibian crap all the time.
3. Yes. In many more ways than I ever thought.
4. Yes. I get it now.
5. Yes. I love Latin America. Namibia is just too hard to really love. But that’s not to say that there won’t be some things I will truly miss.
6. No. If anything I am becoming more racist. When I see black men I just want to avoid them because chances are they are going to rob me or hit on me.
On another note:
Secondary projects are coming along ok. English class is so far a success. AIDS club, not so much, mainly because I don’t know what I’m doing. Dance club is tomorrow. Woo.
--Only other white people were assaulted and robbed.
--Kindergardener was killed (possibly by own mother) and thrown in sewage tank.
--I was robbed at knifepoint (again) in Windhoek. I’m on cellphone #3.
--My mirror broke. I bought a new one and someone sat on it, so it broke before I could even get it home. Not a good sign.
--My toilet is not functioning properly.
--Still haven’t got any reimbursements for electricity.
--Suitor # 3 is in love with me even though I said, “Don’t waste your time, I don’t like you” to the kid’s face.
I came to Africa for several reasons:
1. Learn another language
2. Challenge myself
3. Experience something new
4. Figure out what Africa is about, like with AIDS etc.
5. Find out if I like all of the 3rd world or just Latin America
6. Eliminate any subconscious racism
Here’s the Verdict:
1. Nope. Not going to happen. I’m done.
2. Yes. In many more ways than I ever thought. Like how to deal with constantly being a victim of crime. Or how to live in a dangerous city. Or how to deal with Namibian crap all the time.
3. Yes. In many more ways than I ever thought.
4. Yes. I get it now.
5. Yes. I love Latin America. Namibia is just too hard to really love. But that’s not to say that there won’t be some things I will truly miss.
6. No. If anything I am becoming more racist. When I see black men I just want to avoid them because chances are they are going to rob me or hit on me.
On another note:
Secondary projects are coming along ok. English class is so far a success. AIDS club, not so much, mainly because I don’t know what I’m doing. Dance club is tomorrow. Woo.
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