A Visitor From America!

Choosing only one picture of an elephant to post was a very difficult task

My holiday started off with a bang by a visit from one of my friends from college, Norah. I think it would be safe to say that the whole thing [living/traveling like a PCV] was a jump out of her comfort zone, and definitely a huge shift from life in New York City! We started with a couple days of safari activities, which were amazing, as to be expected. So many elephants, water buffalo, hippos, and other assorted animals! 

So lucky to have gotten another visitor to Nam!

After that though she got a real taste of Namibia when: we couldn’t find an ATM that worked* for three towns so she had to rely on me to pay for a couple days (luckily I had enough cash!); the water had been turned off unexpectedly in Divundu at a PCV’s site we were visiting, so we didn’t shower for several days; two of the combis we rode stank of rotted fish or something similarly unpleasant; the last combi we took only played three songs the whole 5 hours, Celine Dion songs, that were also skipping; and our last ride into Windhoek was with a man who had his own homemade biltong resting on the backseat - of course he shared some with us, and it was lekker! In Divundu, along with a group of other Volunteers we ate a delicious breakfast at a nearby lodge on the river, relaxing there for the rest of the morning! That night we were invited to the Volunteer there's neighbors for a braai! This South African couple is in the midst of building what looks like luxury campsites, and their hospitality towards this group of American strangers [not just the amazing braai but also letting us use their showers!!] was incredible. In Rundu we enjoyed some traditional Owambo food at the open market, where Norah sampled porridge and traditional spinach, and of course fat cakes! On our last day we managed to visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund 30k outside Otjiwarango for half the day, hike to Okahandja where Norah could pick up some souvenirs at the craft market, and get to Windhoek to our hostel for the night. The week went by so fast and she got a bit of a sense of life as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Hopefully she enjoyed it :) 

This sundown view from the Kavango River Lodge, where we ate in Rundu, is one of my favorite spots in Namibia.

*it was the end of the month so everyone had just been paid, therefore a couple of the ATMs we tried to use were just out of cash. 

Happy Africa Day!

So I actually have lot of things to write about, but I’ll get to backtracking later. For now, Term 2 is back in swing full force after a month long holiday. We have a new principal, and the changover to his leadership has been… interesting. Staffroom dynamics, I hope they will improve. The kids had a nice holiday as well, and it only took until the third day of classes for the antics to return. 

The Grade 7s led the other girls in the dancing

On Thursday, as I watched the lines of 6C enter my classroom, I did not notice the as-yet-unidentified culprit who unloaded a rather large hat filled with very much alive spider-beetle-esque bugs all over my desk/one side of the classroom. Unfortunately, none of the learners noticed either, that is not until everyone had already entered and started to sit down. Mass chaos proceeded amongst the 35 learners, as well as the highest of pitches of screams I have ever heard, really my ears were ringing. To be fair, I also had to stifle my own scream, these bugs are actually really nasty looking. It took all I had to remain calm when I discovered two strays that hadn’t been dealt with near my desk after I had already quieted everyone down. Let’s just say that one of the morning devotions that my principal led this week may have been directed at me – it had a message to the effect of those who shout or lose their patience are stupid. The sound of my yells might just have to be something that he will get used to… despite it being located right next to the office [which should encourage good behavior], there is never a dull or really subdued moment in Classroom #1 at DPS. To be honest, that’s kind of how I like it.

On Friday it was the 50^th anniversary of the OAU – Organization of African Unity. After break we had a small program to celebrate as a school. I was so excited because I finally had another chance to film some traditional Owambo dances!! I filmed a fair amount of things last year from the cultural groups, but I was extremely far away/my camera was half-broken so the quality wasn’t good enough, but now I have redeemed myself! Happy Africa Day everyone!

These girls are awesome! Martha, Nelago, Julia, Mekondjo, Ndeshihafela, Veronica, Nalitye, Dorothea, and all the others who are Grade 5 or younger J

Recap of a Month of Activities!

I have been slacking at this blog lately. I just can’t really think of new things to write about anymore. Nothing ever seems to strike me as unusual now so I’m having a harder time deciding what is interesting to be talking about. Any suggestions welcome!!! With that, I will recap all the goings-on in Luderitz. 

This past month we wrapped up Term 1. In it was my 24^th birthday, which was very nice, and filled with SO many cards from learners in Grade 6 and 7. I also took a video of ‘Happy Birthday’ sung Namibian style by my learners. I will definitely upload it at some point when I decide to be patient with the internet, because I now prefer this version to the standard Happy Birthday.

My neighbor/South African dad Douglas had Maria [Group 35 Volunteer who has been living with me] and I over for a crayfish braai and altogether feast. It was delicious!!! I cannot wait for the Crayfish Festival at the end of May.

Teaching-wise, nothing new happened. I made my exam really hard because the kids started acting up towards the end of the term and they deserved it! But at the end of the day, my exam actually tested what they had learned in English class, versus so many common English exams here that I kid you not illiterate people can still receive up to 10/30 on.

In my Girl’s Group we finished up the term with a field trip to Shark Island [I also have a good video of this with 60 girls singing their way through town on our walk, maybe it’ll show up on this blog eventually], a fun day of Easter sweets and coloring activities, and a day where we made girl's group shirts with fabric paint and cut-outs that Maria and I made from cardboard.

Our picturesque spot on Shark Island, making crazy faces of course. This was before the girls all got in the water and I proceeded to freak out that someone was going to drown with only me supervising everyone [thankfully it was all fine!] 

A small sampling of girls with their shirts on the last day of exams!

We also finished another intervention of PC Skillz!

The Graduates of 7C, aka the 'Shining Stars'

Love these two colleagues, Frieda and Esme!

Yesterday, the last day of the term, I sent off two of my Grade 7s to Camp GLOW [Girls and Guys Leading Our World] in Windhoek, a week-long leadership camp run by volunteers and Namibian facilitators. They were SO excited, and I can’t wait to hear what they learned at the start of next term. We also had our end of term staff party yesterday. We had it at a little café on the Luderitz Waterfront, and we lucked out on the weather, managing to avoid wind for the most part! We had a great time eating, drinking, and celebrating the end of the term as we said goodbye to a colleague who, with the exception of maybe 5 teachers, had been at DPS the longest [9 years!]. Holiday is beginning now, and it is going to be an incredible month, during which a best friend from college is visiting Nam, Peace Corps Namibia is having an All-Volunteer Conference, and I will be exploring South Africa with some awesome volunteers in my group. Basically, namlife is awesome, and I'm making everything count now that I'm nearing the end of service!

Peace Corps Skillz!

After Graduation!

Towards the end of last year, the volunteers of Peace Corps Namibia received an e-mail about a program that had been developed for PCVs to use in their communities regarding HIV Education. It had been developed in conjunction with a nonprofit organization called Grassroots Soccer by Volunteers in South Africa, where they had just finished piloting the program. The basics of the program looked similar in structure, but WAY more fun, inclusive of boys, and focused in information retention, than a program I had helped facilitate that the Ministry of Education offers in schools here [Window of Hope], so I immediately said I was interested. When I got home from America in early January a box was waiting for me with our coaches manuals and, most intriguing to the kids, a neon yellow indestructible soccer ball!

The program consists of 12 one-hour [or more like 2 our case, when dealing with lots of naughty behavior] sessions in which participants learn the key facts about HIV and how to prevent yourself from getting infected. The best part about it is that it uses soccer comparisons, drills, and various other fun activities to relay all the information. I just finished my first six-week session with the first of the four Grade 7 classes, and it was awesome! The program really reinforces about 5 key messages throughout the program. I almost thought it was too repetitive when I first read through the manual, but in the end that’s what the kids needed for the information to stick, and we found out that it really did stay with them by the time the program ended. These messages were:

• ·      The most common way HIV is spread in Africa is through unprotected sex
•      There are many risks in life that can lead to HIV including: unprotected sex, multiple sexual  partners, older partners, and mixing sex and alcohol
•      Build your team in life with strong supporters to help you abstain from sex or to practice safe sexual behaviors/stay strong in life
•      Not having sex is the safest way to avoid HIV
•      If you do choose to have sex, you can protect yourself by using condoms and having 1 mutually faithful partner that is HIV-negative

 The boys listen to the girls' views on gender roles in the "Gender Stadium"

In order to convey these messages, we did a bunch of games with the soccer ball, and made a lot of references to soccer terms. For example, when talking about a sexual network, the kids went to three different famous stadiums [which they chose the names of]. At each stadium each person had to ‘meet’ someone different. Then we chose three random kids and said they had HIV, and anyone who met them [which represented having unprotected sex] now had HIV as well, and had to come link their arms. Then anyone who met those people who met the three with HIV had to come and link up. So of course, everyone was linked by the end and had HIV. In the program we also talked about the difference between gender and sex, and the roles expected of males and females in the community.

During one of the sessions we learned about ARVs and how they help the body when it is infected with HIV. I took a video of this game because the kids got really into it and definitely understood how HIV affects the body by the end of it. In it, the person in the center is the body. The girl around him is the immune system, and the boy holding her hands behind her back is HIV. The rest of the people around those three are germs/diseases/illnesses that are trying to get into the body, represented by the ball getting thrown at the human. The immune system is trying to protect the body, but can’t because it’s occupied by HIV! See how the kids cheer when they bypass the immune system and infect the human! Eventually we added another learner, representing ARVs, who held the arms of the HIV, putting him to sleep, allowing the immune system to get back to doing its job.

Everyone was psyched about their certificates!

I loved this program because, as with all my secondary projects, it allowed me to get to know a different side of my learners – especially these kids who I don’t have to teach anymore. It’s so refreshing to get to interact with them when they are no longer trying to destroy my sanity in the classroom setting. In particular, this program had half boys and half girls by the end, which is incredible since getting boys to do lifeskills programs like this is very rare.  Over the course of the 12 sessions, three normally shy boys opened up and starting actively participating in discussions. For them alone I know that the time spent on this was worth it. I can’t wait to do this again with the next class. I’m doubling up on the sessions each meeting time now so that we can get through another rotation before the term ends. Otherwise we won’t be able to get through the 4 classes of Grade 7 by the time I leave [crazy that I can see the end from here already!], and the kids are all SO excited/anxious to be the next class to have SKILLZ. These Grade 7s are going to be stopping HIV in its tracks over here!!!

Herero Traditional Clothes

I just saw this article about an ongoing exhibit in the US about Herero traditional clothes! I posted about these clothes a long time ago [August 2011, wow I've been in Nam a long time] back when I was in training and had the chance to go to Hero's Day festivities, celebrated by Hereros who traveled from all over the country to attend. There really aren’t any Hereros at all in Luderitz, however, the town where we trained had lots of Hereros and the women really do wear these dresses every day! These are striking photographs, I wish I could see the full exhibit!

The Show-Stopping Fashion of the Herero Tribe