A great weekend trip and progress at school...

Just so you know I will be posting pictures asap.  I couldn't wake up last night when the internet is free from 1-5am.  I will try to get them up tonight.

Wow! Has it really been a month since I last posted? The answer is yes. I apologize for the delay and hope you enjoy reading what has been going on. It has been an interesting few weeks. I took an incredible and refreshing weekend trip to Raucana Falls and have had a variety of emotions regarding teaching and the work I am doing here. Overall, things are going well and I am glad to have finally got the ball rolling on some extra projects I have been wanting to do. Time is flying by and it has been a challenge to keep up.


 

I'll start with the first weekend following the last post when I went to Raucana Falls. Raucana is located about 140km (?) west of my house and is said to be a rival to Victoria Falls, another large waterfall in Africa. It definitely did not disappoint. I left my house for Oshakati right after school on Friday and met with my friend Karen, another volunteer stationed in Ohangwena. Once we met we grabbed a hike to Otapi, the last 'major' town (a very relative term) before Raucana, where we grabbed our food for the weekend and met up with another volunteer, Hannah. From there we weren't sure how to get out to the falls, but, as usual, we attracted quite a crowd and soon found a driver willing to drive us the rest of the way, about 70km.

Where most of us live the surroundings are very flat and consist of open, grassy areas and small brush and trees, but as we neared the falls the landscape changed dramatically. All of the sudden we were going down a huge hill into a large valley and were surrounded by hills. After being in a flat area for so long it seemed like we were in a completely different place and we could hardly believe how beautiful the area was.

It was getting dark when we arrived at our campground Hippo Pools. No one was around so we decided to just find a place to camp and go to sleep for the night. It was exhilarating being completely alone. We could hear the waterfall in the distance and slept soundly that night.

We woke up the next day and discovered the campground was quite nice. It had running water to each campsite and was right on the river. It also had very nice showers that were solar heated and provided the first hot shower since orientation. To say the least, it was amazing! Apparently the campground is operated by the local tribe and provides them revenue. I believe it is some sort of partnership or initiative through the Ministry of Tourism.

After breakfast we set out toward the falls. From our campsite it sounded like the falls were right around the corner but after talking to a man walking around the campground we were told we had to walk back up the road and follow the sign that said “Angolan Boarder Post”. It would have been quite a hike, but a man with a truck picked us up for free and dropped up off right at the boarder. We had been given conflicting reports that we would have to cross into Angola, but this was not true, although we did reach through the fence to touch Angolan soil. From the boarder post the sound of the waterfall was much louder and we realized we were in for a treat, having thought the sound at the campground was loud. As we approached the sound became louder and louder when finally, through the trees, the waterfall appeared. It was breathtakingly stunning and we looked around for better views. After hanging out for awhile we found a path that led us right to the edge of the waterfall and then found a staircase leading to the bottom. The pictures are cool, but really don't do the falls justice. The mist from the falls soaked us and the noise was loud enough that we had to raise our voices.

After a few hours exploring the area we decided to return to camp. That afternoon we relaxed all day reading and listening to music. In the evening we cooked dinner over the fire and had a great time watching the sun set and talking as darkness surrounded us and the stars came out. I may have said it before but I never realized how many stars there are until now. It is amazing.

Our return wasn't quite as easy because their weren't many cars near the falls going to Otapi. Luckily we had caught the attention of some South African men who had come by our campsite drunk the night before after hearing there were some girls in the area. They didn't stay long, but in their stupor agreed to give us a ride the next day. When we finally decided to use them after walking without ever seeing a car, they weren't as trilled to help us out but did end up driving out of their way to pick us up. From Otapi it was pretty easy to catch a ride.

For me this trip was much needed. The past few weekends after traveling I had felt more tired and unprepared entering the week, but the falls seemed to refresh me and I entered the week with my energy restored.

Since that weekend I have not traveled. I am trying to conserve the money I have because I have not received my stipend yet. One problem so far in Namibia is the inefficiency and poor performance of some government offices. I'm not really sure the real reason for the delay, but have been told my paperwork has been lost at least twice, maybe even three times. I have resubmitted everything and am hoping I receive a check soon. Luckily money does go a long way when the highlight of an evening is having a “cool drink” (soda pop). There isn't much to do in town and it's not even possible to go out to eat. Cooked food does not exist so, you don't eat if you don't cook and I am becoming a much better cook out of necessity. At first we were eating the same things over and over but have branched out thanks to the internet. I have become great at baking sugar cookies, which I do about once a week, and have learned to make a cream sauce (bechamel sp?), something I always wanted to know. I never imagined these things would be part of the things I would learn here but am very happy for the opportunity. I can't imagine being here 5-10 years ago with no internet and eating spaghetti, tuna salad, grilled cheese, canned beans, and other easy items week after week.

School has been going great over the last few weeks. I was having some discipline problems in my classes, mostly kids talking too much or not participating, but have pretty much solved that by implementing a learner of the week. I felt like I was constantly punishing bad behavior and not rewarding good behavior so the students can earn points by doing their homework, participating in class, and speaking English when working with partners or in groups. They lose points for bad behavior. I am rewarding the winning student in each class with a prize up to $N10 (about $1.50). I am allowing them to choose between an item they need for school or something just for fun like a few cool drinks or sweets, but so far every student has chosen something for school. This has surprised me, but I'm happy I am able to reward them with something useful.

I have also been working on the library with a few students. It still needs a lot of work, but should be ready to use soon. I don't know who decided to organize it the way it was (I don't think they had ever been in a library), but I have pretty much moved every book in the whole place. A few students who had worked in the library last year were mad at me but I hope they will see that the new organization makes the library a little better.

Another project I have started is an English club. Part of the inspiration for this club came from my Principal who would like to identify a select group of learners and have them work on their own to make sure they pass their national exams. I wasn't sure how to pick amongst the learners so I decided to open the club to all of the learners. Out of the 500 students at school, 50 joined, much more than I was expecting. I hope they stick with it, part of that being my job to keep it interesting, but I'm sure many will drop.

I am extremely excited about the club because I think this group is my opportunity to impact the school outside the classroom in many different ways and will allow me to have a small group of students to help with any project I come up with. Because the club is so large, I am trying to let the students have some choice in what activity they want to be a part of. So far debate, newspaper, and drama are the smaller groups they can choose to join. There is also a monthly writing competition and there will be a reading rewards program (like summer reading in the USA) and pen pals to the US. I think that once I see the students who want to put in the extra work I will be able to have some sort of academic, goal orientated group like my Principal wants.

I was a bit disappointed when none of the kids in the club wanted to help start a recycling program, but I have not given up on this. In all honesty, I don't think the kids even knew what recycling was. The trash situation is very different from home. There is trash service but it is very informal, being picked up by a few guys in a pickup truck, and is dumped somewhere locally. At school some of the trash is just piled in a far corner of the school area. In general littering is the norm. Much of the trash probably can't be recycled, but I am hoping to start with paper. A recycling place in Oshakati will buy it for N$.45 a kg. Not much, but something. Instead of doing this through English club I am going to try and get the science teachers on board. We'll see considering the teachers don't have much initiative for going above and beyond but I am hoping a little bit of money for science related items might grease the cogs.

So, again, things are going very well. For a time I felt like I wasn't doing enough and only had the energy for teaching, nothing else. I also felt like time was flying by and I was rushing through everything from my daily lessons to long term plans. Since Raucana I have felt much better about things. I have learned that it's OK to spend a few days on a topic as long as it is still benefiting the students and no matter how much I want them to understand something I think is simple quickly at times it will take a long time. Being more relaxed about my classes and settling into my routines for them has allowed me more energy to devote to extra items. Although I may never accomplish every idea, it feels great to start and see a lot of potential.

Although I have not traveled for four weeks in a row, I have had some exciting weekends. The first weekend some volunteers were over and for the first time we stayed out late, or late by Namibian standards. They finally kicked us and the handful of Namibians out at 12:30. It was a great night to cut loose, act like a pool shark (they really want to beat us) and talk to some people who had seen us around and were curious to learn more.

The next weekend there was a parents meeting on Saturday. The best way to describe it would be to equate it with a PTA meeting. All the parents were supposed to come but only about 150 showed up. The staff went thorough our agenda and then the parents had an open floor to respond or voice their opinion on any of the issues that were presented. There were 12 items on the agenda and included the school uniform, health and safety of the students when drinking out of 2 spigots available, and, the most important, school fees. The meeting started at 10 and lasted until 3:30! Although it was a bit boring, partly because it was all in Oshikwanyama (a teacher who sat next to me helped me understand the main points), it was nice to see the wide variety families and concerns. For example, it currently costs N$120/year to attend school which we increased to N$300 through popular vote. This increase was debated for 2 hours and brought some parents who felt they could not withstand the increase to tears. Others would have paid any amount to hopefully help the school provide more for their children.

Probably the most exciting aspect of the past few weekends was after the parents meeting when I was invited over to my principal's house to drink a traditional drink called mogongo. It is made from the juice from the fruit of the marula tree. They collect the fruit which are smaller than limes, squeeze the juice out, filter it through a cloth, and then let it ferment for three or four days. It is said to make you really drunk so I took it easy, but it really just tasted mostly sweet, a little sour, and has a yeast like smell. It was delicious and didn't seem too alcoholic, but if you drink it like a few of the other teachers at the house maybe it could get a bit dangerous. Two women teachers prepared fish and traditional porage, the staple of everyone’s diet, which was delicious. I am continuing to get to know my principal and build a good relationship with him. I like him a lot on both a professional and personal level and am so grateful for my placement.

Last weekend I worked on the library and was able to build and plant a garden in the front of my yard. I am going to try and grow tomatoes, jalapenos, beets, carrots, lettuce, swiss chard, radishes, and watermelon. We'll see if this works, but I'm hoping that with the mild, hopefully nonexistent winter I can keep many things on rotation throughout the year.

Although it is summer here, the rainy season falls during this time so, the weather is great. For a few weeks after the first week of school it was really dry and hot, but since then it has been very wet. The rains causes a lot of flooding in the north where the natural landscape creates oshanas which are small, natural ponds that will dry up once the rainy season ends, but right now even have fish. I would say on average it rains 4 of the 7 nights, clears off almost everyday in the afternoon and then clouds over. It's great because it does keep it much cooler than if the sun were out all the time. When the sun is out it is very intense and is quite hot. I wear pants at school but change immediately when I get home. No one has really been able to tell me exactly the temperature in the winter, but it never is cold enough to freeze water. The hottest months are November and December before the rains come. The rainy season should end in April.

That pretty much wraps up what has been going on. This is the first post that is not play by play which I hope is a more enjoyable reading experience. As always, if anyone has questions please post them in the comments section or email me and I well do best to answer in a timely manner. They can be about anything I have mentioned, but also things I haven't talked about you are interested in.

If anyone is wanting to help out already a package of school supplies or fun rewards would be great for my learner of the week and other upcoming competitions. If you are also interested in other ways you can be involved, stay tuned. I have some ideas in my head, but don't have the logistics worked out all the way.

Again, thanks for reading, feedback is welcome, and check back soon. I will do my best to get back to regular weekly or biweekly updates.