Happy New Year from Namibia

Disclaimer: all of the opinions and views expressed in this blog belong strictly to the writer and are not officially associated with WorldTeach in any way!

The flights over to Africa and to Windhoek, Namibia were wonderful! South African Airlines were so hospitable! We even got a full meal on the 3 hour flight from Jo’berg to Windhoek.  And even though the flights were long and that kinda stunk, we had no problems with passports, visas, tickets or lost luggage, which was super lucky! Everything with that trip went pretty seamlessly.

The first half of the group of teachers this year met up and got to know each other over ice breakers then dinner.  Everyone is really great! And the rest of the group arrived this afternoon.  Overall, the group is really positive, excited and realistic about this experience! We have a lot of experienced service people and travelers, as well as a number of certified and experienced teachers. 

Our training over the next two weeks is going to be super comprehensive, I think.  Brett, our field director is very on top of things, so we’ll be covering a lot of culture, lesson planning, working within the Namibian education system, and language.  Whirlwind, for sure, but should be great!

We don’t have phones, yet, but there is internet at our hostel (Back Packer Unite), which is REALLY awesome! Both having the internet, and the hostel itself. So far everyone here has been really nice, the food has been delicious (pizza is a little different than the States, but easy and yummy!), the water has been totally potable, and there is a small swimming pool to keep cool!

One shocker moment was that when were flying into the airport, which is pretty far out, we literally couldn’t see anything, and kind of thought we were just landing on the plain of Namibia.  Windhoek was hidden by some mountains, and there was just. nothing. This is definitely an indicator of what life in the village will be like. That will be interesting. 

Once we got into the city, though, Windhoek is a very small city, with gated communities and business along the roads outside of the center of town.  Walking the streets of the center of town was a lot like walking around in a small city in the States.  People dressed pretty much the same, there was a huge, really green park, and businesses and shops, with people trying to sell you newspapers and hand you fliers.  It was definitely a familiar feeling! Even a five minute walk out of the center, though, there is a lot more sand and the roads narrow, and you walk along the side between the walls and the road (usually like a five-ten foot gap). We did go into the city of Windhoek this morning to try and buy phones, and holy-first-world-Batman, there was a mall!! Like a full on, air-conditioned, cleaner than Eastview Mall! That was almost reverse culture shock, right off the bat, but it was also nice not to have to transition completely to village life right away.  

We’re having a braai for New Years Eve tonight.  Braai are barbeques (ours will be chicken and sausage) that are very common all around Namibia.  We’ll also have lettuce salad (not very common here), pasta salad (basically the Namibian definition of salads are this style—think lots of mayo on noodles, potatoes or… anything. It’s not a salad without mayo!), and corn on the cob.  Plus Hunter’s hard cider, of COURSE!

The party’s getting started! Happy New Year everyone! I love you all very much, and miss you like crazy, but so far, I think 2013 is going to be a WONDERFUL year, full of life-changing events and interactions, lots of teachable moments, lots of teaching, lots of assimilating, hopefully effecting some changes, and lots of helping others.

Cheers! 

Flight Tomorrow

I am at the hotel, checked in, and waiting in my room to meet my roommate, who is around here somewhere.  We have a pre-departure meeting in an hour downstairs.  I have had four glasses of water.  Either I am starting to get antsy or I'm trying to over-hydrate before I get there.

The drive down to NYC was pretty seamless.  Zach now has my car, which I think is making me more nervous than the fact that I am flying to Africa tomorrow.  Perhaps I am redirecting my nerves. Whatever the case, please drive carefully!

Tonight is the start the first, of what will hopefully be many, trips to developing countries to help fight against poverty, corruption, oppression, sexism, racism and illness.  Lofty.  But it works.  According to Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in Half the Sky (the book that inspired this adventure and introduced me to WorldTeach in the first place), educating women and poverty stricken families is proven to be the most effective way of raising a country's status, and that country's citizens' quality of life.  I am being given the opportunity to help access to technology, and apply the technologies in business ownership, personal and community health, personal and community advancement, and environmental protection.  AND I'll be continuing to hone and develop my own teaching style, so that I can come back with more skills, applications and connections to educating and helping people.

So. Here goes nothing!

Divundu, Kavango Region, Namibia

Morokeni. Muna zuhwara po! (Hello. Good afternoon!) I received my official placement yesterday! I will be working at the Divundu Vision School in the Kavango Region of Namibia.  The people of this region speak Rukwangali, but classes will be taught in English. This region is along the Okavango River, between Angola and Botswana, in Safari country!! Cool!!

The Vision Schools are part of the Namibian government's Vision 2030, to "join the ranks of high-income countries and afford all its citizens a quality of life that is comparable to that of the developed world." This school is the very first of the vision schools, and will hopefully be a model for all Namibian schools in the next 18 years.  All students and teachers will live on school grounds, which should function to foster a sense of community, and alleviate the burden of feeding, clothing and housing the children of poor parents and orphans, allowing for more access to education by all! (Run on! Sorry, I got excited!) The website by the government about this school has a lot more information and pictures!

Our group of 14 teachers leaves for training in 15 days and 23 hours! We will be in Windhoek for two and a half weeks, at Back Packer Unite (which has a pool! Thank goodness I won't have to stop swimming!) for cultural, curricular and practicum teaching training. Another volunteer and I will be departing for Divundu on the 17th of January to open the brand new school with its teachers. Ntaantani ni ka tengure! (I will be back!)

T minus 22 days

This week, it has struck me that not only will I be teaching in Namibia, a country whose culture will be altogether new to me, but that I will also be running my very own classroom for the first time.  I will get two weeks of training to prepare for a new curriculum for a new country in a new school.  But at least one thing will remain the same; I will make sure to dedicate time in the beginning of my semester to setting up routines and classroom procedures to help the students know what my expectations are of them every day and every class.  We will work together to develop goals and expections of everyone in the class.  Because I believe that mutual love and respect between teachers-students is the pulse that drives success in a classroom. So at least my first day of school is sort of planned.