Thursday, June 28, 2007

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

Sunday, June 24, 2007

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.

Friday, June 22, 2007

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

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

hmmmmmm

An interesting read....

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

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

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.

Friday, June 1, 2007







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 cafĂ©).

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.