Deja vu

The new term has started and everything is getting right back on track. This year seems to be starting a lot better than last year. I’ve given up trying to motivate the all kids by becoming a mentor to them. The overwhelming majority just don’t care. I have a few that seem to be following my example though they aren’t in my classes anymore. This year I have grade 8 physical science and math, and a grade 10 physical science. My classes are pretty well behaved so far but it’s early in the year. Last year I made a rookie teacher mistake by being too lenient in the beginning. It’s a lot harder to be a hard ass to a bunch of people you don’t know than you’d think. After getting a taste of undisciplined children last year, it’s become much easier to be a hard ass to the kids. I see the ones who are most likely to cause problems and try to stop it early. Everyone in Peace Corps says your second year gets easier and it couldn’t be truer. I know what to expect from the staff and from the learners. I know what to do if the power goes out. I also know what to do when everything completely changes in the middle of the day for no apparent reason. Last year I tried to be the model of professionalism and certainty, always being on time to classes and being annoyed when a staff meeting went over or started late. I was trying to be the rock in the middle of the river. Slowly, over time, I’ve learned to be a piece of drift wood instead and just go with it. It’s not easy to do. In the US we are so used to the rigidity of our educational system that it’s hard to break into a fluid system.
This rainy season is not like last year’s rainy season. Last year it rained nearly every day and once or twice I woke up to find a seasonal river going through the town. This year the rain has been more sporadic. It will rain about four or five times in a week and then it won’t rain at all for a week. I love the rain here. It slows everything down and cools everything off. The only problem with the rain is when the power goes out but even then you just eat a can of beans and read by candle light.
Athletics (track and field) has begun for the year. The entire school is broken into teams and forced to compete against each other. Even if you hate sports its compulsory. I don’t quite understand why they make it compulsory, but they do. I see the same problems this year that I saw last year. For instance, no one hydrates. Before races the runners are given sugary juices and maybe a Gatorade, but not water. As a result some of the competitors collapse upon finishing the race or right before the finishing line.
Within the first three weeks of school starting we have had two teachers resign from their posts. One was a grade 6-8 math teacher and the other was grade 8-10 life science teacher. This creates a rather large dilemma because both were put on the time table (schedule) and now all the other teachers will have to cover for them. Hopefully we will be able to replace them soon but I’m not overly optimistic. Most likely all of their classes will be given to other teachers and we will continue as normally as possible. However, the other problem is, I leave in October and all of my classes will also need to be divided amongst the teachers. Imagine needing to split three teachers’ workloads on the rest of the teachers at a school. It’s not fun for anyone.

Jet Airliner

Before I left for America, I embarked with several friends on a trip through northern parts of Namibia in a rented bakkie (truck). The first day started in Rehoboth and ended in Ruacana Falls on the border with Angola. This is where we found out our map was not entirely accurate. It stated that Rehoboth was 900km from Ruacana, its closer to 1100km. After a full day of driving we camped for the night and relaxed. The next day we went down to the falls and looked at the trickle of water that barely peaked through the rocks. It was a bit disappointing. Since it’s been dry season so long there’s almost no water in the falls. However, the mountain man of the group had a good idea and we went bouldering on all the rocks that would be covered in water and inaccessible come rainy season. After Ruacana we traveled to Epupa falls. This drive was spectacular, through mountain terrain, dried river beds, and near traditional Himba villages. Here the falls did not disappoint. Though they are along the same river, Epupa Falls is not as seasonal as Ruacana.
From Epupa we traveled south through some crazy mountainous terrain to Sesfontein (6 springs) and Fort Sesfontein. Now, something I’ve learned, driving is not the same everywhere you go. Imagine driving down a mountain, 7 people and gear for a week, on a dirt road, without anti-lock brakes. Luck for the group I learned on the fly and only lost control a handful of times and never in a serious way. Sometimes we slid a little. We saw the fort (now a hotel) but were unable to stay due to the expense. We drove on the next day to Twyfulfontein (doubtful springs), organ pipes, and the burnt mountain. We spent the night at a campsite that had a nice little restaurant and bar. The cool thing about this place is that they also had lots of bats. On more than one occasion we thought we might get attacked. I already had plenty of rabies shots so I wasn’t too worried. Finally we went to Brandberg, Namibia’s tallest mountain. Though this is a beautiful area, the guide (who was required) was a complete jackass and attempted to spoon feed us bullshit about the history of the place. Here one of our spare tires was stolen from our truck. It put a damper on the end of what was an amazing trip. We went back to Rehoboth, dropping people off along the way, and it was good to be back in my flat relaxing.
Two days later I boarded a plane and took the 30 hour journey back to Gainesville Florida. The plane ride was awesome. I wore my Peace Corps polo shirt and met a lot of cool people, some were former PCVs and others who just finished service or were still in Peace Corps. The 17 hours from Johannesburg to Atlanta was close to miserable, the over the counter, natural, organic, sleep aid did nothing whatsoever. In fact in my 30 hours of travel I slept maybe four. Once back in Gainesville I called people, hung out with my family, and made plans for later in the week. I never really believed much about jet lag, but that me hard for the next few days. I would go to sleep around 5pm and wake around 2am. It was strange but eventually worked out. I had a lot of fun seeing people and hanging out with family. I traveled back to Namibia starting three days ago and finally made it back to Rehoboth. Tomorrow I’m going to make enchiladas. Also, Air Namibia is not a fun airline. By far, the worst food of the trip and all the seat belts say “Air France”.

Racism, sometimes it's awesome?

After being in Namibia for well over a year, I have noticed all sorts of prejudices. Most are tribal related and date back several hundred years. The Damara and the Herrero have been fighting off and on for nearly 1000 years, though with no written record of when the conflict started it’s difficult to know when it actually started. Everyone just knows those two hate each other and always have. Occasionally though, it is extremely helpful to be white. Why? You say. Well, as many of you know I’ve been working on a school renovation project with money that was donated by my church (thanks Trinity United Methodist Church) and we finally went to Windhoek to buy paint, brushes, sealant, and a few minor things for classroom repairs. I went with my vice principal (Mr. Bock) who is a Baster (colored). We spoke with the people in the paint section about prices and inquired about a school discount. They sent us to the manager who was an Afrikaner, white people who are known for establishing apartheid. I speak with him instead of my vice principal and he sends me to a contract manager, who is another Afrikaner. The second guy barely spoke but gave us a large discount. I mean he took off about N$2000, about a 35% discount when we were just hoping to get 10% off. My vice principal is convinced it’s because I’m white. I think it’s more likely because I’m American. People here are fascinated with Americans. I’ll never actually know why they gave us such a large discount, but I know we’re going to take advantage of it for the next year.
Also I have decided that one rabies post exposure treatment was not enough and decided that I should obtain a dog so I can receive more rabies treatments. In reality my new roommate wanted a dog so I agreed and ended up getting a dog from another volunteer. He’s about four months old and his former name is “Polony,” but it has been decided he needs a new one. We decided to rename him “wicket,” not after cricket or croquet but after the ewok adventure movies of the mid 1980’s . Yes, I found a roommate who is a nerdy as I am. Sometime Peace Corps is awesome.
School has been hectic and crazy since the start of term three but I’m just going with it. Only one more week of teaching and then I can sit back and watch learners take exams. Then it’s off on a whirlwind adventure around northern Namibia followed by time in the states. I’m using all my vacation time to do these trips. It’s ok though, my only other planned trip is Cape Town next April. My garden workshop had to be postponed for a few days. If it happens again I’m just going to dig the whole thing myself. It’s easier than trying to plan around the constant cycle of weddings and funerals.

Onward and Upward

Term is pretty much back to normal after the initial confusion and craziness. Or maybe I adjusted my definition of confusion and craziness; I’m not sure which yet. The garden is coming along nicely though we won’t be planting until November 5th. It’s supposed to be a garden workshop but I’m not too optimistic that teachers will give up half a Saturday to dig in the ground so I may end up doing the whole thing myself. I don’t actually mind because it gives me something productive to do in the afternoons. Two of my classes have been combined into one massive class which is creating most of the current problems. 8C and 8D were combined which puts somewhere around 55 learners in a class. There aren’t enough chairs or tables, or even space, but no one really seems to care.
I played soccer this week with some learners from the hostel next to my flat. They’re pretty good but completely undisciplined when it comes to tactics. Mostly they rely on an individual or two to do all the scoring and work while everyone else tries to get in the way. I tripped and landed on my left while playing and decided it was best to pull myself out. I put ice on it, elevated, and called Peace Corps. The next day I went to the Rehoboth School Spelling Bee and was impressed with some of the learners. My school was out in the first elimination round (like always) but other schools had to spell words like lymphocyte and aborigine. Some 20 rounds later a winner was crowned. Otherwise there’s not much going on in my life. Oh I might also be getting another puppy from a volunteer. This one has all its shots and hopefully won’t give me rabies.

Term 3

The start of term 3 has been riddled with problems and annoyances. After coming off of a wonderful break, the learners have decided that being a mutinous, whirlwind of insanity is an excellent way to kick off the new term. The problem is similar to that of senioritis, except with more violence. The learners who are going to pass, know they are going to pass, and don’t care. The learners who are going to fail (most of them) know they are going to fail, and don’t care. Most of this term is spent doing review for the end of year exams. So the learners don’t have anything new and the smart ones know everything already. The ones who are demotivated because of the last term’s grades give up trying to learn the old information. So you have two completely separate groups of disinterested people. This creates a huge headache for the teachers.
Now before you go thinking that everything is bad, I’ve developed a new hobby to release my stress. I’ve finally started digging my garden. It’s 6m x 6.5m x 10cm roughly. I posted some videos on facebook but for those of you who are not my friend on facebook, I will explain the process. The entire area was full of dead grass left over from the previous rainy season. This grass is 2.5 feet high and with roots that go down a few centimeters. The grass has adapted to be resilient and grow back quickly. I cannot simply plant over it, so I have to dig it all out. I’ve spent at least ten hours on it already and its coming along nicely but I need to spend about another 10 hours or so on it. This is all just preparation, we haven’t actually planted anything and we won’t be planting anything until the beginning of November.
Also this week I met my new roommate Sam. He’s from Georgia and seems like a nice guy. He won’t move in until December because he has to do a homestay with a family in Rehoboth. He will work at Rehoboth Primary School teaching English. It was awesome meeting his principal, Paul. Paul is actually interested in making sure the volunteers are comfortable and he’s committed to painting part of the flat, as well as moving in some comfortable furniture. This is a small miracle. I slept on the floor for three months because my bed was so shitty (only accurate word) it hurt my back. My principal (and the inspector) wouldn’t do anything for me. It good to see that there are some principals who see volunteers as more than just free labor.

if you're traveling the north country side

I started my journey heading north on the B1 (main road) to Tsumeb to meet up with my friends Quinn and Gretchen. I’ve been to Tsumeb before but it is one of the nicest areas in Namibia. It has some of the most fertile land and looks well maintained by the population. Of course, I did not visit the location (ghetto) where most of the problems are. After that I headed north (still on the B1) to Ondangwa. The landscape along the road is reminiscent of Paines Prairie, with long stretches of flat grassland with only a few trees no taller than a two story house. Along the road sprawls mud huts and tiny villages every few kilometers. Nearly half the population lives in the area, we call, the four O’s, or Oland. This area is populated by the Owambos and is largely homogeneous. I made my way to Eenhana (silent “h”) and then on to the village of Okongo to see my friend Edward.
Just north of Ondangwa the landscape changes, the grass is greener, the trees are taller, and a real feeling of Africa overcomes you. Edward and I cook in his brick house on a homestead. A homestead is an enclosed area with several huts or houses living under the same patriarch, many PCVs in the north live with a family on homesteads. Edward introduces me to the family and we decide that we should go to Oshikongo, a border town between Angola and Namibia. Oshikongo is one of the strangest places on earth and I determined I was 64% more likely to die in that town than anywhere else in Namibia. It’s not exceptionally dangerous or anything, there’s just a ton of taxis and people. Taxis in this area do not drive by any sort of rules. The just simply drive and try to get more people for more money without any regard to other cars or pedestrians. Now the crazy part about Oshikongo is the china town area. I didn’t expect to find a china town outside of Windhoek but right on the border is a china town with restaurants, housing, and shops, for the Chinese only.
I went back to Okongo but left the next day for Tsumeb. I met my friend Min, who was traveling to Victoria Falls, and went to a really nice country club with Quinn. Nothing of real excitement happened. I left and went on to Okahandja, meeting up with Shannon, Brian, Diana, and some of the new group, who arrived a week ago. While in Okahandja I am told of an opportunity to head to Spitzkoppe and I leave the next day heading east.
I meet up with my friends Adam and Jeanine, and their friends Spencer and Mel from America. We camped in the Spitzkoppe mountain range. It’s a good thing I always bring my tent (and food) while traveling. Spitzkoppe is an absolutely gorgeous mountain range complete with technical climbing routes, or if you’re like me, hiking routes. We spent much of the afternoon and early evening just climbing around on massive boulders and mountains before watching sunset over desert. We made a fire and slept well that night. The next day they dropped me off in Karibib and I heading for Rehoboth, making it home around 4pm, completely exhausted. I covered between 400 and 650 kilometers everyday without rest for 6 days.


Also the title comes from a Bob Dylan song.

Entrepreneurship Day

This past Friday my school had its first entrepreneurship day of the year. It was a pretty big success. The learners and teachers all had fun. My group made a pizza, cake, pancakes, potato salad, cookies, and we had colored pencils, string and other items for sale. The pizza was the first to go lasting less than 20 minutes before being devoured by learners and teachers alike. I didn’t know it would go over so well. Often American (and foreign) food don’t go over well unless it’s covered in meat and grease. My pizza had only the necessary amount of grease and meat. Teachers are now asking for the recipe and to come over and watch me make it so they can do it for themselves. I don’t know how my teaching impact is, but if nothing else I can show everyone here how to make a good pizza. I also allowed the teachers and learners to cut my hair for N$2 per cut. It went over well with the teachers but the learners spent their money on the bounce castle or food. One of the highlights for a few learners was when I let them shave my beard with an electric razor. They enjoyed it and left me with a nice mustache. It was good to “let my hair down” with the learners. Most of the time they see me I’m very serious and work oriented. The teachers have all seen me have fun and make jokes but it’s not a side I show to the learners too often because I want them to be as serious about their education as I am about teaching them. During the festival I spoke with my HOD and we want to put on another one in October. This time I will make more than one pizza.
After the festival, Ricky and I went to judge the Mr. and Mrs. Ruimte (pronounced raim-ta) pageant as a favor to Anna, the other world teach volunteer in Rehoboth. These pageants are a big deal here and they are sometimes corrupt. That is why Ricky and I were brought in as impartial judges from America. In the end winners were crowned but that was not the highlight of the night for me. There was a section of the contest called “recycle” wear. The children were supposed to make a dress out of old everyday items and they were extremely creative. There was a dress made entirely out of old ties and several unique skirts made out of burlap sacks. The one that won though was a dress made completely out of Xrays from the hospital. The chest piece was even a chest Xray. Needless to say Ricky and I were blown away when we saw that dress.
I’m still sick but hopefully getting better soon.