Last Days

Pictures: I tried to upload a bunch of learners and whatnot, not really working, so I got this one up. This is me on our first day of the Nauclauft Hike. Stay tuned over the next week for many, many more pictures.

It has been quite a ride but it seems it is time for me to leave Namibia. I made the choice about 8 days ago and much has happened since then.

I decided to leave last Monday. This was the most difficult decision I have ever made in my life, and I spent many hours pouring over every aspect of the decision. There have been many things that haven’t really been described on this blog. If you are yet unaware, I have kept this blog pretty positive on purpose. I try to reflect my overall feeling about my service on this blog, and the numerous small negatives can sometime portray the wrong image. However, now that my service is over, I will now elaborate on some of the things that have been a bit troubling this term. For one, I have not had running water in my house since the beginning of the term in late May. For a while I viewed this as normal; many of my learners live on homesteads with no running water, so why should I complain about my lack of water. There was ample water available from my roommate’s brothers’ house. A house with plumbing, however, should have water running through those pipes. My house started to smell pretty rank after a few days. Buckets baths in a shower stall just don’t have the same feeling as they do out in the open on the homestead. The responsibility falls on the school to keep the water running, and it never really materialized.

In addition to the water, my living situation wasn’t quite ideal. I lived with a roommate who I will miss very much. Two of his daughters stayed with us, both of which I saw every day in class. I was game to give this a try, though it turned out that I was often their only male role model. In the end it was simply too much interaction with learners.

I also had a lot of problems with the actual teaching. I vow to not let this experience effect how I view teaching in the states, however I worry that the same problems I encountered here may not disappear with teaching in the states. I couldn’t do the job, be it planning or marking. I don’t attribute these problems to the lack of achievement among learners. The daily requirements of a teacher are perhaps what I disliked the most about the experience. A bit scary, since I am a trained teacher.

A little aside about being a trained educator coming here as an education volunteer. Many here as surprised when they hear I studied education and am leaving because of the teaching (partly). I have considered this and to some extent feel as though you are at a disadvantage being a trained teacher. As a teacher, I feel I have a mindset that I can coach up everybody, or should be able to. That mindset in this environment is dangerous. Those that have never taught before at least can fall back on the idea that they have never done this before. Maybe a copout?

Combine those major problems with a feeling of lack of productivity, intense homesickness and a general lack of happiness, I started to consider this choice. My entire second term has not been great, and it finally built up enough to get me to start looking this way. Also my parents were beginning the planning of a trip here in December and I couldn’t guarantee I could make it that far, which to me was a flag of problems. If I have been in country for 8 months (exactly when I fly out) and cannot say that I will definitely be here in December, there is something wrong.

I concluded that there were two big reasons keeping me here. In addition to all the smaller reason (the other pcvs(actually not small at all), living in Africa, representing peace corps well, representing Americans well), the two big reasons were A)to prove it to myself that I could do it and B)for the learners, teachers, and Namibians. First things first

I suppose we can all think of a time when you have done something that you didn’t like just because you said you would do it. Well, I could have pushed through my time here, wait for the weekends, wait for the holidays, and finish. Though I would have completed my service, I wouldn’t have been happy and thus my work would have suffered. Now, perhaps things would have turned around, though I simply can't look at the What Ifs of this decision. I decided it was not healthy and wrote if off.

I announced my decision to the learners in one big school assembly. Everyone was crowded around me and my colleague, who was helping translate to Oshindonga. Needless to say they were very sad. Some began crying. It was rough. I would say among learners, teachers, and Namibians in general, the two emotions I felt the most were disappointment and surprise. The learners came to study after I informed them and many were crying. Some came up to my window and would cry, make eye contact with me, then look down and begin crying. For the most part, though, I believe the tears were genuine.

Earlier that day, I announced to the teachers that I would be leaving. They were confused on various levels. They don’t understand that Peace Corps is ok with this. Peace Corps certainly are not happy and they always do everything they can to keep the volunteer in country, but they also understand that sometimes things just can’t be worked out. I also think that teachers sometimes forget that we are volunteers. By many I was viewed as simply a fill in teacher, which can be frustrating when you are trying to do bigger projects and get bogged down in teaching. There are plans to lessen the teaching loads of volunteer teachers during their second year so the volunteer can focus on secondary projects. This is a great option for those feeling burnout. Many teachers commented that they were disappointed; they felt they learned a lot in the time I was there and were excited to learn more. All were surprised. I didn’t let out that I had been thinking about this just incase my feelings changed, so therefore most had no idea. It was difficult, especially looking at two of the teachers I had gotten pretty close with. Until that moment I didn’t fully realize the bond I formed with them in such a short time. In the end, the teachers were mostly supportive and forcing themselves to smile and wish me luck.

I headed into town on Wednesday to print some pictures from a small photo project I did. I got robbed at my hike (hitch) point. The moment I went to move my bag to the trailer, a guy went in my pocket and grabbed my hike money. It could have been much worse and I was most angry with myself.

Thursday was a great day, or at least as good as it could have been. I promised myself that I would be happy. I couldn’t have a day like Tuesday and let them remember me with sadness. I think I got this idea from my parents; when I last saw them and said goodbye, they surprised me and quickly hugged me and got in the car. It was exactly what I needed. I didn’t need a long, drawn out, sad goodbye, and this was the same view I took of this parting. I spent the day handing out pictures, taking pictures, giving away prizes (a momma goodwoman idea), distributing my home address, and smiling. I tricked them into being happy about me leaving. It was nice. After school the staff through together a small brai under the big tree on the school grounds. It was a nice way to go out. I evenly distributed all my teaching materials and stationary. I also printed some pictures for them and distributed them. Some had small gifts for me, which is nice considering it was two days after I informed them I was leaving. It was a relaxing time with the teachers and definitely something I needed.

I packed my life up on Thursday then got scooped on Friday. Headed into town for Friday and Saturday, and then hiked to the capital on Sunday. Saying goodbye to Oshifo was not as bad as I thought it would have been, which is a good thing. Leaving the north wasn’t even that bad. The most difficult thing was leaving the other volunteers in the north. Similar to the trail, we had been through so much together that the bond is strong, so leaving was tough.

I have spent the last two days running around Windhoek. Flight leaves Friday, which means, to the day, I will have spent 8 months in Africa. It’s natural to look back at my experience and see what I learned, enjoyed, and now question.

I learned much about myself. Peace Corps challenges you in ways I never thought possible. I had just hiked much of the AT and felt pretty good about challenges. PC calls upon your confidence, skill, adaptability, sense of self and self motivation. I learned that I need people. I was relatively isolated and hence missed interaction with fellow Americans. I had internet at my school but that didn’t seem to fulfill this need. I learned a whole new culture, one of this is extremely interesting and complex. The remnants of apartheid are difficult to describe and understand if you haven’t lived it. Racism is something that will trouble this country for many generations to come. It still causes issues in the US. I'd like to think that I did something to help this whole situation, albeit miniscule.

I enjoyed much of this experience, and though I am leaving, still encourage anyone to join PC. I have never been around such a likeminded group of people. Its refreshing, especially in this time we are living (I didn’t like the last year of college when nobody could say hello to each other on campus because they were listening to the newest PodCast or something[bad example, there are more ipods here than…well there’s a lot] ….but that’s another post). I saw Africa. Though it was a very small chunk of this amazing continent, I saw it, and it was beautiful. The learners made me smile every day, even on the worst day. I enjoyed them so much.

Dark Star Safari is a great book, I highly recommend it, though if you are getting ready to do any major service work, I might recommend waiting to read it till after you are done that service. I, however, didn’t receive this advice and made it the first book I read once in country. The book is written by a RPCV(returned Peace Corps Volunteer, PC loves acronyms) who travels overland from Cape Town to Cairo. It’s well written, exciting and really gets one excited to travel. However, there is an underlying theme of service and development. He describes returning to the country in which he served and observing that not much has changed since he was there, and in some cases, things have gotten worse. He makes an argument calling for all relief to be removed from Africa, making Africa develop on their own and hence forming a strong, self sufficient Africa. You can see how this book might twist the mind of a young, ambitious PCV. I see some valid points in his argument. Are we not building a culture of reliance? Why must I force my American culture on them and push my way of doing things (either knowingly or unknowingly). I don’t like that the child, with barely enough money for food and proper clothing, wants nothing more in the world then to buy the newest 50 Cent t-shirt. Peace Corps preaches about sustainability, but as much as the PCV strives for this, I feel it’s a lost battle with the way the system is set up. Don’t get me wrong, Peace Corps is doing great things here. People are setting up clubs, teaching classes and building bridges. But wouldn’t this be better if it were all Namibians doing this? Some say the skills are not here to make this happen. From my experience, this is false. Most of the things I was asked or suggested to do could be done by one or more of my colleagues. It’s all dangerous thinking as a PCV, though I feel it is important to evaluate while one is serving here.

So I finally let my true feelings start to show though on this last blog post and get everything out about some of the negatives things I have experienced. So let me finish with the things that I will miss dearly when I fly out on Friday.

-The kids. When children that I have seen daily for the last 6 months still come up and say to me “How are you!?!?!?” and I say “Fine, How are you?!” and they scream “IM FINE!!!” and run off and laugh and continue playing in the sand, it make me smile. To be able to constantly bring someone that kind of happiness with such little effort makes one happy.
-The fires. Every night around dusk thousands of fire spark up all over Africa, and I will think of that for the rest of my life; the three rock formation to hold a pot that’s charcoal black from years of use.
-Kwaito: the music of choice for many Namibians. It has grown on me and whenever I hear it will immediately take me back to this time.
-The National Anthem. Every Monday and Friday at morning assembly, the learners and staff sing the national anthem then have morning prayer. During the anthem, the flag is raised and timed perfectly to reach the top just as the anthem ends. At the very last moment, a cord is pulled that lets the flag unfurl. Kind of over dramatic but nice.
-Everybody I have met. The learners, teachers, fellow PCVs, PC staff, everybody. The relationships I have formed here will be something I cherish very much.
-Speaking Oshiwambo. The tiny bit I learned will quickly fade away as there ain't too many Oshindonga speaking Americans. It’s a complex and difficult language and I will miss listening to it.


It was a good run. It is a run I hope to finish one day. I am very excited for whatever is to come next in my life, be it teaching or not. Leah and I have both independently chosen to ET within 1 week of each other, rather story book. I am excited to see friends and family and try to get my life rolling again. I am excited to have some money, assuming I get a job. I am excited to eat my mothers’ food, I am excited to drive a car. I know that many of these superficial things will fade quickly, though right now they look pretty good. This was a difficult decision, and one that I made without the luxury of knowing what is to come. For me its right, now now.

I came across a quote that I think is pretty fitting.

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again….who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly…”
-Theodore Roosevelt

I’d like to think I was in the arena, even if it was for a short time.


Keith

Ps, for those future peace corps volunteers coming to Namibia that are possibly reading this. Please get in contact with me (comment with email or something). I can try to answer any questions you may have getting ready for your training in November. They are already starting to get ready for your arrival in country…I hope you are excited!

Some big news...

I have decided to Early Terminate (et) my service. There is nothing wrong with my physical health or safety, I have just decided this is not the right place or job for me currently. It was a difficult and very draining decision, though now that I am going through with it, I am realizing it is the right choice for me. I will be arriving in the capital this weekend, where I will work on much paper work while doctors do what they need to do to me. Time is kinda short here at school so I will post a very detailed and profound (probably not) entry when I am in the capital. Stay tuned...and for those in the states....Ill see you soon.

Keith

Poem

This was written by a grade 9 learner and read at our morning assembly on the Friday of AIDS Awareness week.

My name is HIV

My name is HIV
My real name is AIDS
I don't care whether you are black or white
Rich or poor, young and old. I infect all

So be careful I don't care
what u are
who u are
I kill

I'm waiting 4 u 2 open
I'm knocking on your door

You can choose to be my friend but
surely it
wont last because I'll kill you
you slowly bu t surely will die and
your death will be history in your community

so stay away from sex if you don't
want to be my friend.
so ABC which means Abstain, Be
Faithful and Condomise.

Poem

This was written by a grade 9 learner and read at our morning assembly on the Friday of AIDS Awareness week

My name is HIV

My name is HIV
My real name is AIDS
I don't care whether you are black or white
Rich or poor, young and old. I infect all

So be careful I don't care
what u are
who u are
I kill

I'm waiting 4 u 2 open
I'm knocking on your door

You can choose to be my friend but
surely it
wont last because I'll kill you
you slowly bu t surely will die and
your death will be history in your community

so stay away from sex if you don't
want to be my friend.
so ABC which means Abstain, Be
Faithful and Condomise.

HIV/AIDS Awareness Week

It has been an interesting week. I hit my all time low recently. Things weren't going well and I was just not in a good place. Things have taken a turn though, culminating in today's celebrations of National HIV/AIDS Awareness Week. Very rewarding participating in something like this. I was unaware that the awareness week was this week until last Sunday, so I didn't have really much time to put something together. The week before I had been working to revive the HIV/AIDS club here at school. It turned out to be perfect timing. We ended up have our first meeting yesterday after school. It was like pulling teeth but once they got going it was great. About 15 learners were at the meeting and they decided on numerous ideas for what we could do to celebrate the week. We made posters and practices a 'drama' (role play). I have noticed the dramas are definitely something they really enjoy and get into. They put a funny drama on where one learner chose to hang out at the bar while the other chose to do homework and stay home, quite an applicable subject seeing as I see many of my learners at the local bar in town on a Friday night. Both the learners end up getting sugar daddies and finally getting HIV and falling pregnant, as they say here. It was scary how well the two small boys could play a good sugar daddy. The drama was complete with a condom demonstration, though rushed and not totally accurate, it got the point across. It is funny to listen to both the learners and teachers snicker at the wooden penis. A learner wrote a poem from the viewpoint of being HIV. Overall it was great. The learners really enjoyed doing it too. I have had many requests to join the club so I think I have finally found something I can devote some time to. After feeling pretty good about myself, I went over to the local primary school. Well, I didn't feel so good about myself then. The learners had a half day and they were all nicely seated and listening to songs, poetry readings, and watching performances. It was great. After the assembly was done, they then took the posters they had made and paraded around the town. They stopped in the centre of the town to do more singing and dancing. It was an awesome day to say the least.

I am also getting involved in another project. At the ultimate low of the week, Tuesday night, I was headed out for my first run (training for a marathon in October, at least that is the plan) to let off some steam and think a bit. Well, this person showed up like an angel. She said that she was a volunteer that has been living in the town since September and has really been looking to get involved. She came to me with a plan, kinda, and some decent motivation. I have met with her every night so far, and are planning the first meeting of Youth 2 Youth tomorrow morning. She has brought in a colleague from Rundu, in a far away land, and we are both pretty anxious for it to get going. If it sounds like I am being a bit vague, its because I don't really know what exactly is going on. I am assured that I will understand a bit more about what the club is supposed to do after tomorrows meeting.

I am moving into another house. I am pretty excited about this. My living situation hasn't been horrible, it just hasn't been the best. I am living with two female learners, both of which I teach. This wouldn't be a huge problem except that the tate, which is my roomate, is never really there, hence I am viewed more of a father figure than he is. I figured I would give it a go, but it just wasn't working out. I am hoping to move into a new place as of next week sometime. I think this different living situation will really help elevate some of the problems I have been dealing with lately.

Other than that I am good, I am planning on the next month or so to fly by. Two weekends from now Peace Corps Namibia is welcoming a new director. I don't know much about her, but I am excited to get some new blood, I think it will benefit us as a whole. Then the following weekend is the Northern Girls Conference, then, two weeks from that I am in Windhoek for my MID-Service med check up! Crazy. It is a bit early but wild to be writing already about it. Then two weeks of the term and the second term is over....wild!

Hope everyone is well and enjoying a balmy east coast summer. The days are already starting to warm up here. One year ago yesterday, I was hiking through the mountains on hike naked day with some guy in a bandanna, ha.

Keith

hmmmmmm

An interesting read....

http://mattnamibia.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-development-thing.html

Its back...

The electricity bill somehow got paid at my school so hence we have the computer lab up and running again. I am gonna try not to get so addicted to blogging/chatting/emailing and the like this term, though it is great to be back, ha. On that note....here are some pictures, pre and post shave.

Trying to put some pictures up, we shall see....

Many of my learners are applying

The Peace Corps Diversity Committee Needs Your Help!!

Namibia is truly one of the most unique places you could ever hope to visit. As a guest in this country, the number of indigenous tribes along with the shear variation of languages spoken here is overwhelming. The goals of the Peace Corps Diversity Committee are to share Namibian culture with Americans as well as American culture with Namibians. Along with this, the Diversity Committee works to educate Namibians about various cultures that exist in their own country.
One of the biggest and most rewarding projects that the Peace Corps Diversity Committee is responsible for is the Annual National Educational Tour. This tour is open to Namibian Students in grades 8-12. Each year the students are presented with a theme and encouraged to enter the Cultural Expression contest. This is an opportunity for the students to reflect on their own cultural practices and to share their creativity and cultural with both Namibians and Americans.
The theme for this year’s Educational Tour is “Diversity within Namibia’s Environment.” The Namibian youth must express their own understanding of the environment they identify with through art such as writing a poem/story, composing a song, or drawing/painting a picture. The idea behind this prompt and this year’s National Diversity Tour is that if you can recognize something positive and stable in your life to live for than you will be more apt to make constructive and healthy choices about your own future and those people, plants, and animals around you.

The Peace Corps Diversity Committee is requesting your help in making this year’s tour a possibility. We are currently seeking funds to allow us to proceed with the project. The committee hopes to invite 30 students to attend the Educational Tour that will include topics focusing on Namibian cultural diversity, environmental education, and HIV and AIDS. If you are interested in sponsoring a child to attend the tour, we are requesting a $30 donation. Checks can be made to the following:

John Phillips
6302 15th Ave NE
Seattle WA 98115 USA
Attn: Diversity Committee

Donations will be accepted until August 1st. Every person that donates the suggested $30 will receive a card from one of the Namibian students that attends the tour along with a copy of one of the winning contest entries. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Beth Phillips; chair person for the committee at the following email address: bethinnamibia@yahoo.com. Thank you for your time and support to help this year’s Educational Tour a success!

Face and Projects and other misc.

My beard is gone. Yes, school has begun and many ups and more downs have happened, but I feel this is my big new: I ditched a huge part of me just a short week ago. I was with some friends and the last beard trimmer I knew I would see for a while so I took advantage. It was odd, to say the least, to run my fingers over my chin and not have them disappear. Being beardless also bring to attention how ridiculous my hair has gotten. These days I am posting at a computer lab at the teacher resource center at the ‘town’ next to my school, so I don’t know if I will be able to get pictures up but if I do, you all will see how wild it is. I decided not to go to the razor with my whole face for the fear of looking like a woman, and am glad I did. I nearly got to 200 days of beard growth….wild. I still got some good days going on the hair though, haven’t had a proper hair cut since two Christmas’s ago, ha. K, down to some serious, you know, volunteer issues. School started this week, finally. This is considered the most serious trimester of them all so I am anxious to see how it goes. The schedule is set, and we actually switched classes the first day which I considered a minor miracle. I have spent the better part of the week reasserting myself, since I kinda got a little lax toward the end. I had 12 learners going around the school grounds picking up trash for minor infractions of my newly installed discipline plan. I think it will work, and I vow not to use pointless punishment like hole digging. A major focus of my plan is to have learners explain, in English, what they did and why it is wrong. We shall see. I am planning on not worrying to much about the success of my students and focusing more on my secondary projects, one of which I will kick off tomorrow. People are obsessed with pictures here, not unlike we are in the states, its just they don’t really have access to any here. With this project, I will take their pictures, collect slightly inflated printing costs, get them printed on one of my many trips to town, and put the proceeds toward school supplies. Hopefully, after a successful round with the learners, I will open it up to the community. I am also starting a remedial math ‘club’. This is in response from my principal who is looking to improve the basic math skills of those performing low in math. I will basically focus on fun math activities that teach them something at the same time. Suduko, 24, and other generic games will basically be all we do. Those two things, in addition to trying to start up a running club will be most of my time this term. There is also an Education Diversity Tour happening during the August break, focused on showing learners the wide range of environments Namibia has to offer. They go to the coast, Etosha (the awesome game viewing park), and a Cheetah Reservation. 30 learners get picked, and I think it’s all paid for….somehow. All learners have to do is answer a writing prompt and send in the application. I am hoping to mail many of those next week. I am also involved in something called the Northern Girls Conference, designed to bring 80 girls from the four O regions in the north together to focus on women’s empowerment, goal setting and HIV/AIDS awareness. Its basically two workshops, one to train the Namibians that will run the actual workshop a month later, which we also help with, sustainability….eyang. I and another guy are basically the token dudes, with us throwing our two cents in every now and again. Ha, no I am actually very happy to be involved. Sounds like a lot going on, but you have to keep in mind that there isn’t really much to do here most of the time, so I am still pretty relaxed. The weather is cool, in fact this week I pulled out the fleece I thought I would never wear. It’s actually cold at night. I am not the new guy in school anymore; we finally picked up the three teachers we were missing all last term. The learners are happy they finally have something to do. The goodwoman is not enjoying her time in the DR, from the last email I received. The harassment combined with a poor working environment (an understatement) is really pushing her. It’s a very difficult time for both of us right now; we haven’t spoken for more than a total of 4 or 5 minutes since she has been in country (Feb 15). In the future, we will laugh and smile talking of these crazy days we are living, but right now it’s difficult. On that high, I am gonna write some more emails. I hear some are sending packages. I cannot overstate how great those are; I really look forward to getting them. Letters are also so great to receive, and to the card pumping family: Thank you Goodfellows. Here is a new wish list if you are interested (cause I cant really update the blog properly via internet café).

Updated Wish List:
Food (any, cause I prob aint got it here)
Mac and Cheese Packets
Coffee
Fun things for the kids (stickers, pencils, erasers, anything really)
Any school supplies (they are here, but I am poor J)
Did I say food?
New Pictures
New Music (college dudes, get on it)
A news paper, pref sports page and front page, pref Washington post (but it would all be news to me)
Can you send beer?....if yes, then good beer. Don’t really remember what it tastes like.

For sending details, check previous posts. I think the blog is misbehaving (there’s some Namlish for ya) and you have to click on a post to get the side bar. If not, I dunno.

Cheers till next time.

Old Post

Written roughly 10 days ago...

Reconnect

Hello all, sorry it’s been such a long time since I last updated. Things have been moving pretty quickly and I haven’t really had access to internet so allow me to fill you in on the events of the last week and a half. Reconnect was held at a place called Greiters, located about ten minutes outside of the capital. I cannot begin to describe how great the location was. The conference center was literally built at the top of a mountain (hill) and overlooked the city. We had a great view of the sunset every night and after that show was over, we could watch the city lights shimmer. It was great. It was also forced bonding and budgeting, with the city being fairly difficult to get into. It was exactly what we all needed…and it didn’t hurt that the place had two pools. It was a bit cool though for the pool. Which brings me to the weather; I can honestly say that it is legitimately cold at night. I was skeptical at first, but after sleeping outside a few nights I can say it does get cold. The staff at Greiters is great, they can accommodate at least 100, maybe more. They fed us great food, dessert with every meal. It was nice. Sessions began on Monday. We spent most of the first two days talking about teaching, and what has worked and what has not. There were a good amount of 25er’s there so they led some sessions on how to be a bit more effective as a teacher. It was also nice to hear their perspective on what we have to look forward too in the second term. They say that the first term is the most difficult and goes the slowest, and if this is true, I am in for a quite an experience. I felt as though the first term flew, I felt good bout what was happeneing at the school, so if it gets better, that is great. The only thing I was a bit worried about this past term was secondary projects, and the last three days were pretty much devoted to implementation and processes. Learned about a 25er’s project in which he A)founded a NGO, B)raised enough funds to send 4 Namibian students to a summer camp in the states, and C)has everything in place for it to be sustainable after he leaves. Amazing, especially since that’s all I hear from some of my students….’how can I get to america’. And I never know how to answer this question. This PCV took it on himself to just make it happen. Great. There were other really great projects, and with the initial setteling in time coming to a close, we are all very excited to get back and get some projects up and running. My most probable projects to get going are A)a running club with the goal of sending members to the marathon in Swakop, B)a school newspaper displayed on the computer lab, C)make the school bizarre that happened last year bit and more lucrative. They are smaller scale projects, but I feel they are things I could get motivated about, which I feel is a huge factor to the success of the project. Thursday afternoon we traveled to a place call The Habitat, a development facility devoted to re-useable energy. It was really interesting. The whole structure is made of trash or recycled products: some walls made of sands, Styrofoam, bottles, some roofs of old oil drums, solar panels all over the place, traditionally thatched roofs. It was really great. Their major product is selling solar ovens; they are place in the sun in roughly 5 hours, you have cook just about everything. We had chicken(very good), rice, and veggies. I think it’s a great idea, however I worry that Namibians would have a hard time adjusting to something different. The director echoed this concern, explaining that the biggest problem has been marketing of their product. He encouraged us all to purchase one ($N800) but for me it’s a bit out of my budget, and those that I work with/for. And I think on of the best part, they brought An Inconvenient Truth to the conference center Friday night and we all viewed that. Most hadn’t seen it so it was a really nice way to spend the night. Again, great movie if you have yet to see it.

Some really productive sessions, some of the most productive I have been to yet as a PCV, and some really great bonding time with some that I haven’t seen in a few months made reconnect great. Traveling now begins. Just from our group we have members going to the states, Paris, Turkey, among other places in southern Africa. Needless to say, its exciting to be around so many people that love traveling as much as I do. For all of you that are thinking about coming, there are currently two friends of volunteers that are here and its great to meet them….so…..visit. Just know that ill be poor.

Hope everybody is well, I may be offline for a while until I reach site. Have a good may. When May 6th comes around, ill have been in Africa for 6 months….wild

cheers

quick update

Just a quick update because I am in the PC lounge and others are waiting for the cpu. We are now in windhoek, my first time being here since before we were sworn in, kinda weird. The reconnect workshop was great, it was held at a place called Greiters Conference center and the location was beautiful, in the mountains. The workshops and sessions were really great, some of the best I have had yet in PC, which also made the whole week great. I am looking forward to some more exploring of the country and overall just relaxing a bit before 2nd term begins...should be nice, and much needed. Must get going but hope everybody is well in the states........

keith

ps I am locked out of my sim card on my phone until I get back ( I tried the wrong pin code numberous times and it finally just locked me out), so if you need to get a hold of me and I dont answer....thats why....

Small animals, small people, and small victories.

These guys took stuff from our campsite, they were cool to watch though. Wonder if they are saying the same thing on their blog about me?





This is my garden....the maize is no longer there.





They call me Jesus round here....thats alotta wine








Can I just be this guy?


Its 4:23 and I am just eating lunch. That can mean one of two things, either I had a really good day where I just forgot to eat, or I had such a bad day I didn’t have time to eat. Well, luckily, today was a good day. It started off by an email from the goodwoman. She’s acquired a kitten, who would have guessed that would have happened? She returns from CBT on Saturday and is very excited. Her language is leaps and bounds ahead of mine, she tells stories of thinking in Spanish and getting stumped when it comes to English. Quite a good start to the day. Then I began the quite daunting task of trying to get my end of term test printed. I had it typed, it was just a matter of printing and copying, which isn’t such a small deal when I have 160 “plus minus” (namlish) learners taking my math exam. After some exchanging of printers and many times where I didn’t think it would actually happen, I walked out of the village counselors office with a copy of my exam. Our school has yet to see value in purchasing a printer and/or copy machine. They are both hefty purchases, though ones that I feel could actually happen soon. Anyway. Copying was the next task. The primary school that feeds to ours has a copy machine that we use. I am just finding this out….yes I have been here for a full 1/3 of the school year. It was great to see this different school. And let me say, the goodwoman says she has some cute Dominican kids….well I don’t think she has anything that compares to how cute the little Namibians are. Standing outside of the principals office, there was a game going on between the kids about who could walk closest to me, or who could look me in the eyes for the longest before they looked away, laughed, and ran. It was also very exhilarating for them to practice their newly acquired English skills. “Hello, how are you?!?!?!?”….”IM FINE”. It was awesome. Got my prints done there, 160 copies, 2 pages each. That’s a large amount of printing by Namibian standards. It made me realize just how much we take for granted our resources in the states, where we have rooms built just to hold the bricks of paper we can’t live without. The principal of the school told me this paper was from 2004, when their brother school (a UK school that donates and flies teachers to the UK to visit and vice versa) brought them a bunch of stuff, probably where this copy machine comes from. I don’t know if I am doing this justice, but it is a minor miracle that tomorrow my learners will “write”(namlish) my exam on two stapled, typed, printed sheets of paper that they will then hand in, that I will then use to write them encouraging messages, their “symbols” (namlish for grades), and any missing work. Crazy. Then, after school, I had scheduled a meeting/workshop for some members of the school and community. Well the highlight is that, even though it started 30 minutes late (Africa-time), people came! We had 11, enough for two good sized groups. An aside about workshops in Africa. From what I have seen, they are not quite workshops, they are more like meetings held by one person. So when I asked the group to write stories about times when the school community was working well and things were being accomplished, they were a little put off. They did it though, and both groups wrote about a bizarre that happened here last September. As soon as they were done sharing about the bizarre, I explained that even if nothing more happened with this meeting, it was beneficial for me, cause this bizarre sounds awesome. They had members of the community donate items to the school and then sell them. They had music, traditional food and drink, a braii, and local businesses were involved. I mean….sounds definitely like something I am gonna try to make huge. Then we spoke about the external and internal factors that contributed to the success. Well, I didn’t even have to guide them to think all about the internal factors; they listed way more internal factors than external. Almost like my job is done, huh. I sometimes think that, but then most of the time don’t….so yeah. Had each group write their dream statement for the school community and then we were done. All in all, people came, they talked and wrote, and I did see a smile and hear at least one laugh…so it was a total success in my eyes. I write when I am happy, if you have not noticed, and I am very happy right now, hence the length of this update. It does present a very skewed version of the country however I think it does provide an accurate depiction of my overall experience. On the emotional roller coaster that is Peace Corps Namibia, I am at the top of a hill…I am gonna ride it, cause I know that it will come down soon. Hope everyone is well. I am gonna go read a book, watch my garden (the goats ate my maize over the weekend), listen to the kids yell and scream in some language that I don’t understand, and think about being in Africa.

Killed a Goat....

Picture 1:The whole crew. Some of work with, though it turned into quite the get together, so some of which I hardly knew. They liked the whole timed flash thing.
Picture 2: It was a beautiful day, like many here (see my new perspective of nice weather below). I am, however, beginning to feel winter coming on. It is still by no means cool during the day, but I do notice some cooler temps rolling in, especially at night.
Picture 3: Kachele, Philip, and me. Philip is half of the reason for the party, he is leaving for the big city life in Oshikati for another job.
Picture 4: Salvado Shiminengenni and his wife. He was the first one to take me to Ruacana Falls, pretty much the first person I knew in Oshifo. He was the other half of the reason we were having the party, he is accepting a promotion in another circuit....bummer, cause is he is really good teacher. They both had mixed feeling about leaving Ombuumbuu.
Picture 5: Colleagues...they are awesome.
Picture 6: Namutanya, she is so cute, comes up to me, greets me, and then just points to things and says "....and this one?" and waits for me to say the english word for it, then she repeats it. The kids here are pretty much the definition of cute.

That’s right, I killed a goat yesterday. It was wild but definitely not as hard as I was expecting. The two killings I had seen before this were done with a fairly dull knife so when I was handed a machete (pangar) to slit the throat I was kind of relieved a bit, since the rest of the work, after I was done, was completed with a pretty dull knife no bigger than a regular table knife….crazy. I had some help from my principal and a fellow teacher; they were holding the goat as I slit the throat…and you don’t just slit the throat, its more akin to cutting off the whole head….wild. I am definitely not regretting doing it at all, but at the time I was a little weirded out. However, I think I earned much respect from my colleagues, so that alone for me makes it worth it. After I killed the goat, we hung it up in a tree and began the cleaning process. Again, it is amazing to see how skilled Namibians are when it comes to butchering. My job was just to hold hooves from time to time to make carving easy. I also helped with cutting most of the meat into bite size pieces. The goat was great tasting of course, and a good time was had by all.

So yeah, I guess I never explained why exactly I was slaughtering a goat. We had a party for two teachers that are leaving for jobs at other schools. We went to the river side, down stream from the falls. It was great, even took a dip in the possibly crocodile and schistosomysis infested river. I was assured by the Namibians that the crocodiles aren’t around at this time of year (I dunno) and the water was moving to quickly for me to get schisto I think/hope. I swam out to a little island/sand bar type thing, and everybody was going crazy that I was going out to far. If they only knew my river swimming experience. It was a really great day. I have a great staff at my school, and I really feel like I am starting to fit in there. It’s tough to see two of our teachers go, both of which are talented and devoted teachers.

Here are some cultural items that I feel I have gotten so accustomed to that I have failed to mention….

-men usually always drive if its an option, in fact walking around town we saw the bread delivery truck and my buddy commented that the only reason a woman was driving was because the truck was carrying food. Otherwise, it’s usually men driving.

-I have had many questions inquiring about my religious beliefs. I have yet to be to church here in Oshifo and I feel like it is a huge problem with the community. I am going to try to go to Easter service next weekend but may be out of town for the holiday.

-I bring a 1.5L bottle of water to school everyday and a few weeks ago I was asked by a colleague if I have a lot of those bottles at home…do I just store them up. I said ‘no, I just fill it up every night, why do you ask’. ‘Oh I didn’t know if you would drink the same water as us’………..and this is one of my fellow teachers, so just imagine what the community must think of me. And that is just one example of how a) everything I do is documented by the community talk and b) every one of my actions can (and often is) be misperceived.

-Culturally it is relatively accepted for men to have more than one woman. I was told I need to get an African girlfriend by one of my teachers, I responded with I am a one woman man, which was then laughed at.

-‘In Africa we share’. I have heard this many times referring to many different items; money, food, resources (teaching), woman (see previous). In fact if you have a high paying job, you are pretty much expected to support your family, which in most cases are at least 6. This causes a huge problem where nobody is really saving much money. I have had a constant battle with how to deal with this. Even my colleague talks about how it’s hard to do the tough love thing for your family, but that if one is always relying on others for food/money they become dependant. Don’t even let me get in to the constant battles I have had with myself debating about if really all these NGO’s in Africa are the best for the continent.

-Wealth is measured in cattle and goats. The Himba people are apparently pretty wealthy because of their livestock.

-‘Nice weather’ is when it’s overcast and cool and maybe or maybe not raining. When I first got here, I was constantly commenting on how nice the weather was (when it was sunny and slightly breezy). I now love when it’s not sunny…

-Oshifima porridge is eaten by most people in Namibia at least 4 or 5 times a week. It is pretty much like baking flour cooked in boiled water till it turns in to a kind of paste. This is usually dipped in some sort of sauce that may or may not be made with meat. I have been asked numerous times what the American ‘staple’ food is. I usually answer some sort of pasta product.

…and I could keep going. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t learn something about me/Oshifo/Namibia/Africa/language/culture/teaching. I journal everyday and it still doesn’t even come close to documented all the crazy little things that happen here. It’s that constant reminder of where I am and what I am doing that I love. This is Africa and I am loving it. Hope all is well on the other side of the pond.

Keith

p.s. We had daylight savings today, so we are now 5 hours ahead of the east coast…for all those calling me, hahah.

Packages, Falls, Party!

A quick update....

I have received two packages from home. So great; books, a new cds (country, which I have found I cannot listen to over here cause it makes me miss home), koolaid mix, Gatorade mix, skittles, gobbstoppers, some of that old school popcorn you cook over the stove or fire (gonna be over the fire), an AT calender, magazines, gold fish, Pringles (which exploded all over, but were good). It was like Christmas. Thanks for thinking of me...it is amazing how such little things like knowing the amount of calories are in items, instead of joules, can remind you of home.

The schedule coming up is pretty exciting. We have this full week of school, which is now pretty much over, then a four day week next week. We have Good Friday off as well as the Monday following Easter. That Tuesday, end of term exams start. I feel I have been going much slower than many of the teachers, so I was happy to hear that for this exam I get to make my own test. For the end of term exams for term 2 and 3, they are set by the circuit office....which I am not looking forward to. We have school/marking till the 20th, then from there I head down to Windhoek for RECONNECT, which you may realize I am kinda excited for. It will be amazing to be able to talk to other volunteers and confirm some of the crazy thoughts that go through your head as a volunteer. Overall, I think a huge part of talking with volunteers is just boosting your confidence and realizing that this is a tough job and you are not alone. In addition, though I have been seeing people a fair amount, maybe once every two weeks, there are many that I haven't seen since January when we swore in. It will be great to see everybody.

I realize that many of you may not know the details of Ruacana Falls. Here they are:

-Its about 25k from me, and maybe a 10 dollar hike (hitch-hike) for me to get there.
-Its beautiful. You can hike to the very bottom of the falls and enjoy the mist (which is like rain at the bottom) and swim looking directly up at the huge waterfall in front of you. It is amazing.
-the Hippo Pools camp site is down stream from the falls. It is within walking distance (a relative term) to the falls. There are many sites right on the river. Apparently you can see hippos from the camp sites. In addition, swimming is at your own risk because of crocodiles.......
-the waterfalls are dam controlled so it soon will stop falling. The hydroelectric plant there is the biggest producer of electricity in Namibia, hence I have electricity.
-about 50k on a bad dirt road and you get to Kunene River Lodge, and Epupa Falls, both supposed to be even more amazing than Ruacana. That is next on the list hopefully.


Spoke with the goodwoman yesterday for the first time since she has been in country. She sounds good. I practiced my Spanish....kinda (yo necesito hablar Leah) and it worked. A N$20 phone card bought me about 3 minutes from here to the DR. Amazing though that I can call that far and talk without a delay. She is having one of her lessons observed by the training director on Thursday so that is the big event going on for her now, in addition to..oh yeah, living in the DR.....

We have a farewell party this weekend for two of the teachers here. They are accepting promotions in other school districts. It is kind of discouraging because teaching here is viewed as a transitional career, people basically put in their time and move on. It is not too common to find teachers teaching because they enjoy teaching....however, we do have 2 of those kind of teachers at my school....so maybe it is common...I dunno. Anyway, two teachers are leaving. The staff is also taking this chance to officially welcome me. So it will be a big party. Goat, beer, cool drinks (soft drinks/pop/soda/cola), potato salad; all the ingredients for a good time. I may even be the one to slaughter the goat, who knows. Bout all for now, its hot, and I hear the 'rainy' season is just bout over....what rainy season??? All you over there making the globe a hotter place, just think of the Africans who are hot enough already....enjoy the week....

Oshili nawa

Ruacana Falls

This is my backyard.

Independence Day Weekend

Happy Independence Day! Wednesday is the big day. Our school lets out early tomorrow so that everyone can travel safely and be home by Wednesday. For this particular holiday, most everybody heads back to their family; homestead, town, where ever they are. I will be staying in Oshifo/Ruacana with plans to visit Ruacana Falls. Travelling is prohibited by the Peace Corps and with travelling during this holiday being quite dangerous, I chose to stick around town. School is going well, I am very much ready for this break in teaching. It is such an exhausting job and I will appreciate some rest and break from the routine. I have been giving a bit more group work as of late and have been really happy at the results. Asking questions is a huge problem here, so with group work the learners feel free to ask and investigate. Physically it is a bit easier as well, rather than lecturing for 4 or 5 periods a day. Had some interesting discussions about corporal punishment with my colleagues over the last couple of days. They all pretty much agree with the idea that if it was done to me and I am fine, then what is the problem with it. Also, it is very difficult to argue (which I am horrible at anyway) when most are against you. The conclusion I came to was that even just suggesting other means of punishment/management goes along way, and, as Peace Corps told us, we may not see results until we are long gone, if ever. Planting the seed is the important thing I suppose. Life is good otherwise, my garden is coming along nicely. I am a little worried about the fence. It seems I possibly made it tall enough to keep out animals, but not quite tall enough to keep out small boys. Small boys, by the way, is a term for basically anybody (usually boys) smaller than you, ha. Small boys are everything from couriers of messages and parcel to scapegoats. Example, when I want to buy some fat cakes (like funnel cake in ball form) from the local memes who sell them though the fence during out break to the kids, I send a small boy. And I know it sounds bad, but it really is the culture. I tried to get my own cakes a couple of times at the beginning of the year and basically got laughed at. I do give the small boy I choose for this errand some of my cakes, however. Currently, the 'upper management' of the school, basically the principal, secretary, head of department(vice principal) and half of the teachers are currently interviewing canidates for two teaching vaccancies. We have had an absent Agriculture teacher since the beginning of the year and also have another teacher leaving in April. It has been interesting to watch the hiriing process. Basically the school put in an ad in the paper, we have had the applicaitons rolling in ever since. It will be nice for the learners to finally have all their teachers present so they dont have to just sit around during their free periods.

If you cannot tell, my verbal and overall language skills are becoming extremely poor, so I appologize for this scattered and typo-filled update. I hope everybody is well. This will hopefully be accompanied with pictures...who knows.....

keif