Driving in Namibia

24/2/13

This weekend, Wendy and I went back to Omungwelume to see a whole lot of the WorldTeach volunteers for Jessie’s 25^th birthday! It was awesome. 

                Travel arrangements could not have been easier.  Mr. Simubali, the history and geography (which is really like earth science) teacher, was travelling to that side to visit his girlfriend and friends, so we rode with him right after school on Friday afternoon.  We got to Omungwelume by 10, just in time for birthday cake! The ride back was perfect, and Simubali let me drive for a long time!  Mom, I feel your pain with driving on the left, but luckily, Namibia is super flat and empty, so I didn’t have to worry about going off at all, and the roads were really wide.  Two lane roads, 75 mph, and cattle walking, standing and sleeping in the road.  Exciting! It was really nice to drive though. I miss driving.

                We arrived at the party to hugs and delicious vegetable chili! There were a whole bunch of volunteers there, and it was great to hear stories about other schools and their experiences.  Their classroom management horror stories made me feel really lucky to be at this elite school, where we’ll just send kids home if they’re not behaving as expected.  Additionally, we definitely have the brightest of the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) at Vision School, based on the marks the other volunteers are giving.  Their kids are not qualified as OVC, but are scoring very very low on tests.  I wish I could spend some time in a “normal” school to see what it’s like there. 

                The stories made me really happy that Vision is happening.  Even if the changes to the education system that are being made aren’t always the ones I would make, and changes happen slower than I think they should, these changes are helping raise the chances that these kids will get the support they need to get to university and get into a good career path.  I would just love to see more counseling and student centered teaching in practice, not just on paper. 

                We got burgers for lunch on Saturday! We haven’t really been eating any meat, without a fridge, so that was amazing! Then we went to Bennie’s Park, which was like a resort/water park in Ongwediva, and hung out until it was time to hike to Jamie’s site in Onamutai, where we got hot dogs and fries and Hunters. Then we watched Dr. Who and ate cookies.  Overall, I’ve been a fatty all weekend. 

                But now we’re back to Divundu.  Under the advice of Nora, a PeaceCorps volunteer in Oshikati, we got lentils, to hopefully get more vitamins and protein into our diet.  So maybe some good cookin’ will be happening soon! 

We have computers!

                We have one whole class set of computers! We’ve been getting the learners onto the laptops this week, and making pictures in Paint.  Usually, we set up the projector, and then have the children work in pairs or groups of three: one who is more experience acts as the teacher, and the novice(s) is (are) their learner(s).  It’s going pretty well, and I think everyone is engaged and feeling empowered to use the computers.  The first day, I think many were afraid they would break the computer by pressing the power button too hard, but they’re getting used to it now, which is really nice to watch.  I’m taking a page out of Kristen’s book (she’s volunteering over near Oshikati), and giving them all a printed out keyboard.  I hope that will help them become familiar with the layout.  I will probably have them label the functions of some of the special keys, on it, so that they know. 

                Overall, classes are going really well, and the learners and teachers are settling into the routines and rhythms of the school. 

                One of the learners came to the teachers with an idea for a play to teach students how to take advantage and not waste this opportunity.   I have taken him up on the idea, and we (that learner, three other learners and I) have been writing the script for the play. Hopefully writing the script will be done by Sunday, and we can start to plan out and rehearse with play.  There are about 40 learners who want to help, so the interest is outstanding! I’m just trying to figure out a way to get everyone involved fairly.   Big, middle school style chorus numbers, anyone?! It’s bringing me back to my Mr. Putnam days! I love it.  Hopefully we can perform it one weekend coming up for a Saturday evening activity. 

                I also really want to have a cultural dance exchange one Saturday night.  I’m learning a lot of dances in the art classes, and I’m thirsty for more!

Cooking in Namibia (still without a fridge)

            We still don’t have a fridge, but we are getting paid this weekend, and the fridge is on its way.  We’ve been eating a lot of pb&j, canned veggies, pasta and eggs.  A pretty typical meal: Cheese omelet and french cut green beans from a can. Don't forget the water!

My first purchase once our paychecks and fridge arrive will be fruit, juice and a blender.  Smoothies galore! And meat.  So much meat will be had with Peri Peri spices.  We also need to get some staples, like flour, baking soda, butter, sugar.  We have garlic and salt, but that’s about it.  I want to make breads I think.  Maybe a pizza! 

A Post of Pictures!

 The Rukonga Vision School Choir performing at the debate night on Saturday, between debate rounds.

 The Multicultural group doing a traditional Ovambo dance between rounds of debate on Saturday.

Grade 11 boys dancing Kwaito.

 The dining hall/school hall, where we finally have chairs!!

Sun rising over RVS.

The deck at Divava.

Song and Dance

For art class this week, I asked the learners to tell me about three songs that they know.  They are telling me about how gospel music makes them feel closer to God, how Mariah Carey makes them miss their father who died a few years ago, how house music makes them want to dance, and how songs they have written make them feel happy.  These kids have such a good grasp on their feelings, and they write pages and pages about it.  Music is their main source of self and emotional expression. I think I'm going to just have so much fun with this class. Culturally, they are raised to be able to set any words to rockin' Gospel 5 part harmonies, and dances to the songs. It is so awesome!

I'm going to post video soon of my kids dancing. There is a five year old son of a teacher who pops and locks better than anyone I've ever seen. He laughs at me when I dance.  And he thinks he can grow up to be Spiderman. Buddy, you can be anything you want!

Huron, Seneca, Mohican... better watch out! Just sayin'. These talented kids are going to teach Miss Mayer how to dance next week.

Youth filled country

Namibia is a super young country, population wise. Something like 50% or some ridiculous number are younger than 30. The life expectancy here is around 50 years old, so leadership turns over quickly.  It's sort of like a summer camp, on a country-wide scale, where leadership ages-out soon after they reach the point of understanding the system well enough to really make a difference. 

And babies are everywhere. It will be interesting to see what happens here as life expectancy (hopefully) increases. I hope birth control becomes more normalized. And we need to get rid of hospitals that don’t give it out. That’s just not OK here. When health risks associated with pregnancy are so high, and socially, girls often feel the need to have sex with sugar daddies. At least socially, it’s not completely ostracizing to have a baby out of wedlock. Many of the teachers here had children when they were very young, but are not married.  They even found ways to finish school and become highly qualified teachers, which is really cool.  

I was talking to one of the teachers, who is from Zimbabwe, and he said that single parenting is not as common there.  I was hoping that it was because Zimbabwe is more up-to-date with their birth control methods, but it is more due to social pressure from families to marry once you have created a pregnancy. Parents of the baby-daddy strongly encourage him to marry the mother in Zim, because “she is someone else's child, and doing that to someone else’s child means you need to help her.” I kind of like it because it doesn't put all of the "blame" for the pregnancy on the mother, but the forced marriage thing is not ideal in my mind.  But I’m glad the dads and their families are involved and supporting the child’s life.  I'm often impressed at how many single dads I meet, and how well they look after and care about their children, here in Namibia. 

Sunrise

I wake up every day at 5:30, work out, shower, then have coffee and watch the sunrise. 

A trip to Rundu

                Getting anywhere (Rundu) takes ~4 hours each way. And a lot of patience. Thank goodness I can sleep in kombis. The back gravel roads, where we stop to pick people up and drop them off takes forever, and the drivers sometimes stop to chat with friends etc. You do meet some fun people though! And we stopped at a ferry launch which crosses the Okavango River to Angola, where you can look right across. That was pretty cool!

We got to Rundu and finished our banking business-I have an ATM card now! And then we got milkshakes! Yum!! AAAAAND there were women selling MANGOS! And plums! Gonna be a great week!

                We watched the Jungle Book as a school tonight. The kids laughed a lot, and the speakers were much more functional than last week, when we watched Pirates of the Caribbean. Afterwards, as per instructions of the principal, girls went back to the hostel first, and the boys, characteristically, complained.  But then I played some PDK (a Namibian band) for them, and they danced and had fun. Then I sent them home.  I try not to make it feel like I am punishing them for being born boys.

                Hopefully next week, other teachers will be prepared not to have a movie night on Saturday evening, but instead do something more interactive, fun and educational.  I think one teacher wanted to plan a debate night.  I’m planning a play night for the grade 8s to present their term’s work from Arts in Culture for the end of the term.  And at some point, I want to get together with Nathan, a Peace Corps volunteer from Chicago who is stationed 7 k away, and have a leadership workshop with the grade 11s.

                Teaching is going well, and Mr. Fungo and I are working out the logistics of the term and who will be teaching what.  I think we need to function a bit more as a team, and I want to work more student centered/cooperative learning strategies into both of our teaching.  Technology installation began this week, so hopefully computers will be here, and school wide wireless internet will be up and running very soon! 

Study Duty Week Has Drawn to a Close!

3/2/2013

This week, I was on supervisory duty for study sessions in the afternoons, evenings, and on weekends.  Every week day, the learners study from 3:00-4:30 and from 6:30-8, then on Saturday from 10-12, 3-5, and 6:30-8 and on Sundays from 10-12 and 6:30-8.  They work very hard at homework and studying for exams. And I have to be on campus for all of those times in addition to class times from 7:15-1:25 Monday to Friday.  Today is my last day!! YAY! And last night, we watched Pirates of the Caribbean instead of having study.  The kids (and some teachers) laughed so much, and it was really relaxed and refreshing.  Even though our speakers weren’t very loud, and the English was often old fashioned and fast, that movie is hilarious in any language! The kids deserved a break, and I’m happy I could give it to them.  Now I just hope they don’t expect a movie night every week.  I think in two weeks, we are having a Valentine’s Day Pageant or something or other. Mr. Fungo is organizing that one. 

I got the movie from Nathan at the malaria control research camp down the road.  Man that place is so cool! It was set up as a research facility, with bungalows for people to stay in, a gym, pool and dining facilities, but it has been left unkempt for almost 15 years.  It’s sort of Great Expectations-esque going in there.  Like the old lady Haversham (or whatever)’s house.  But Nathan is setting up a garden, and there are a lot of boys that go there as sort of a community center, so he’s getting life back into the place.  It’s pretty awesome.  And he has two dogs as pets (American style), so that was really nice to love up on some puppy dawgs for a bit!

Mr. Kapisi teaches agriculture, and he and I have gotten to be really good friends! I am really hoping that he starts a garden soon, and that I could help with that at school.  I feel like that would be a really worthwhile project.  Plus I just want to be doing something physical.  His (Mr. Kapisi’s) family came to visit this weekend, and he took us to Divava Lodge.  Before a light lunch, I taught his daughter some swimming basics in their pool.  Holy Goodness Gracious, that was unbelievably awesome.  I snuck in a number of laps and it felt so, so, so (so so so so so so so so so) good.  And his daughter, who is six, just had an absolute blast.  And I got to teach through play, which is my all-time favorite way of teaching anything ever. 

I’m struggling with the teaching style here.  I am a firm believer in “I hear (or read once), and I forget. I see, and I remember.  I do, and I understand.” That is not so much the general educational practice here.  I try to work it into my teaching as much as I can, though.  It’s especially hard in computer classes, because we don’t have computers yet. Right now, I’m doing a lot of having the kids pretend to be different parts of the computer.  This works best when I can show them, at least on the projector, different programs etc.  At least we have the projector.  But I don’t want to rely on it too heavily. 

I also want to get extracurriculars started—like the garden, and a drama club.  One Saturday evening toward the end of the term, I want to have the Grade 8 art classes perform plays, and maybe a Grade 11 drama club or something also perform.  Or maybe that’s two separate Saturdays.  Spreading it over two weeks means that they have two weeks of Saturday evening events.  Two Saturdays it is.  Thanks for helping me settle that one!!

Namibian Cooking 103

31/1/2013

Since we don’t have a refrigerator, we eat mostly dried goods of some kind.  We did buy some gouda cheese, though, and yesterday I made pasta with canned peas, carrots and corn, with some onion and gouda cheese.  Mac and Cheese plus veggies, basically.  It was pretty yummy.  And there are leftovers today for lunch.  Mostly, we’ve just been eating pb&j. I’ll come back to this topic once we get a fridge! It should be this week.  Then we can make other things, like chicken! And beef. And I can make real portions to save for later.  Soup! Great. Now I’m excited to cook. Oh! Nathan, a guy in PeaceCorps nearby, says it’s pear season! I love pears! I’ll have to get some. 

Democracy, a general rant and thoughts on the matter

30/1/2013

Democracy is hard.  It is hard to implement in an effective, balanced way.  The balance between discussion, and taking the opinion of everyone, and making decisions that get things done is very sensitive.  Americans are often more on the side of getting things done quickly, rather than discussing small issues for days on end.  And this can be our downfall sometimes.  Rash action can get us into tough situations.  And efficiency can hurt peoples’ feelings.  Sometimes, the decision which is come to is not going to be liked by everyone.  But at some point, that will always be the case, and a continued discussion about this is not going to go anywhere. 

On the other hand, democracy is taught from a very young age.  How we make rules for schools and classrooms in the US often involve the students (or at least pretend to let the students feel some power and input).  This helps them learn how to deliberately deliberate about what is needed in a classroom or social structure, critically think about necessary guidelines, and effectively implement the rules and consequences for infractions.  In actuality, by involving students in the rule making and writing process, they are learning how to operate in a democratic society in a thoughtful way.

Teaching a class on Art and Culture is interesting, because it makes me think critically about what Americans value. Like when we are in school, we are taught to ask why things are the way they are.  In fact, and maybe this is just a personal learning technique, when I know more about why things happen the way do, and there is justification for the reasons, I know them better. I like knowing the background.  But here, what the teacher says should be believed and not questioned. Holy major cultural differences, batman!

Democracy, a general rant and thoughts on the matter

30/1/2013

Democracy is hard.  It is hard to implement in an effective, balanced way.  The balance between discussion, and taking the opinion of everyone, and making decisions that get things done is very sensitive.  Americans are often more on the side of getting things done quickly, rather than discussing small issues for days on end.  And this can be our downfall sometimes.  Rash action can get us into tough situations.  And efficiency can hurt peoples’ feelings.  Sometimes, the decision which is come to is not going to be liked by everyone.  But at some point, that will always be the case, and a continued discussion about this is not going to go anywhere. 

On the other hand, democracy is taught from a very young age.  How we make rules for schools and classrooms in the US often involve the students (or at least pretend to let the students feel some power and input).  This helps them learn how to deliberately deliberate about what is needed in a classroom or social structure, critically think about necessary guidelines, and effectively implement the rules and consequences for infractions.  In actuality, by involving students in the rule making and writing process, they are learning how to operate in a democratic society in a thoughtful way.

Teaching a class on Art and Culture is interesting, because it makes me think critically about what Americans value. Like when we are in school, we are taught to ask why things are the way they are.  In fact, and maybe this is just a personal learning technique, when I know more about why things happen the way do, and there is justification for the reasons, I know them better. I like knowing the background.  But here, what the teacher says should be believed and not questioned. Holy major cultural differences, batman!

The bustling town of Divundu

29/1/2013

I’m making friends! (That sounds like a third grader. Whatever.) Scott Karrell, a previous WorldTeach volunteer in Divundu was here, and introduced me to some people who live in Divundu.  Other people in Divundu got my phone number from his hand when he didn’t have a paper or his phone to put it in.  Either way, my phone is blowin’ up! There is also a guy from Chicago doing PeaceCorps less than 10 k away, who is really great! I’m trying to set up a movie night for the learners with his projector and movies.  That could give them a nice break! The teachers are all getting along pretty nicely (brought together by short water and electrical outages), and there is a lot of joking as well as effective work done in the staff room. 

I found a spot.  It’s in the middle of the bridge crossing the Kavango River, and it’s only ½ kilometer away, and it is beautiful.  I went there the other day for sunset over the river.  Unreal.  This place is breathtaking. I think at some point I will go there so that I can think about some of the bigger issues.  I find myself getting lost in some frivolous, day-to-day drama or annoyances so I don’t think about what really matters—the children’s education and emotional resiliency. My own, too.  I didn’t bring my camera the other night, so to tide you over, here is a picture from the Kavango River at Davava Lodge and Spa.

 

Being in a new structure and school comes with its own set of trials.  Water pumps don’t always work quite right; fuse boxes are overly sensitive at times; air conditioning units leak; furniture and teaching materials are slow in arriving.  But this school is built around two things: providing a free, safe education to vulnerable children, and teaching the best and the brightest of Namibian children.  I think the combination of these two attributes in one set of students leads to a very interesting group of learners.  They are super driven to succeed, but they need a lot of support in their struggle to make their dreams attainable.  It’s super rewarding to see achievement in these students.  As this school gets onto its feet, I think these learners are going to soar, if given the chance.  Soon, the student leadership will be elected, and I am curious to see how they are given powers in the school, and what will fall under their domain. 

These students are curious and creative.  I have taken over the Art-in-Culture classes, in addition to supporting the Information and Communication Technologies/Computer Studies classes.  For the first day, we talked about two things: culture and identity.  I stole a lesson from the practicum teaching at Eengadjo from Jessie and Jamie.  First, I went around the room and had everyone share a word that describes them to emphasize ourselves as individuals. Art is self expression.  Then, we began applying the cultural aspects of art, and we compared Namibian culture to American culture, starting with food, then values, then art expression.  The coolest part was that since the Grade 8 students come from all over Namibia, and are from different regions that have different tribal backgrounds, their own internal cultures sometimes differed.  I’m really excited to see where this class goes—I’m going to give a lot of it to the learners to decide and direct. They don’t get enough of that in their school day, so I’m excited to see how they use it.  And I will never grade their work with red pen.