Back to School, Back to School

01.15.13

Back to School, Back to School

Well! Today was the big day!  Today was the first day of school!  I arrived at St. Barnabas around 7 am and waiting for the opening ceremony to begin.  All the children were lined up by grade in their purple, blue and red school uniforms and the principal welcomed them with some warm words, a bible passage and a prayer.  Then, the students were off to the classroom they were in last year and waited to be picked up from their new teacher and waited to see if they had moved on to the next grade or not.  However, this process in Namibian time was extremely slow and I had Mr. Mbai’s third grade class from last year from about 7 to 9:30 am.  With them, I reviewed some of the material and songs they had learned in grade 3 and what they might expect to learn in grade 4 with their new teachers, because in Namibia, you begin to rotate classrooms and teachers for each class, similar to middle school in America.  After that, I began to build relationships with the students and asked some of their favorite things while I told them where I was from.  They asked questions such as, “Is Nicky Minaj in the Illuminati?,” “Do I know President Barack Obama?” and was informed that “Michael Jackson is definitely the King of Pop.” Then, I introduced the children to “Heads Up, 7 Up” and we played that until Mr. Mbai wanted to pick up his new classroom of students for grade 3.  

He got the children situated in seats and went over classroom rules, and from about 9:45 am to 1 pm, when the bell rang, I was literally flying from the seat of my pants and taught the rest of the entire school day with extremely minimal school supplies.  I ended up playing a game with phonics and flashcards, read two books to the class, taught them a Days Of The Week song, and worked on a lot of classroom routines and classroom management strategies that I would be using throughout my lessons.  I did not want to go too in depth because we are going to Northern Namibia this weekend and will not be back in my classroom until next Tuesday.  Nonetheless, I pulled enough tricks out of my magical “teacher toolbox” to survive the whole first day of school without any supplies but some books and my brain.  The children were pretty good and I think were just excited to be back at school.  I knew from the beginning that we would most likely be teaching the first day but after the teacher meetings the day before, I didn’t think that I would be, as Mr. Mbai was very on top of things.  However, as the school day went on, it took two hours to fill up a water bottle and an hour and a half to go to the office.  Oh well, I’m not complaining!

Things I Have Noted Since Living In Namibia: 

• The first animal I saw here? A cow.
• People here drive on the left side of the road…Therefore I will never be driving here.
• Since traffic is opposite, crossing the street is extremely difficult.  Rachel, Suzy, Kelli and I were at the corner of a busy intersection for at least five minutes.  It hurts your brain trying to figure it out.
• Even the lines in grocery stores are opposite—they go from right to left and I quickly figured that out when trying to by a sandwich from the deli.
• The skies here are straight out of Toy Story—absolutely beautiful.
• The winds here remind me of home—they are constantly gusting.
• Sunflowers are the wild flowers here and it is constantly reminding me of home and my great grandpa.  Namibia gives me yet another reason for sunflowers to be my favorite flower.
• Wadadee is a Damara word and is actually spelled “hoadati” and means “ours.” 
• “The Big 5” in Namibia is the most sought after animals to hunt for but is also the hardest to hunt by foot.  The Big 5 animals are Elephants, Leopards, Buffalo, Lions and Rhinos.  
• Fidel Castro is actually a person who is respected in Namibia because he helped them during times of trouble.The bars and 
• Carwashes here have hilarious names such as “Bad Boys Bar,” “The Facebook Bar,” and I saw a place that was literally the “Kinder Garden.”
• Windhoek actually has 4G…they are so ahead of the United States.
• Giraffes actually camouflage in to their surroundings surprisingly well.
• The area of town we live in, Katutura, literally means “place we do not want to live” in Herero.  Yikes.
• I have learned one click in Damara! Ask me what #!oxpe! means and how you say it!
• Lion King is so accurate with the bugs in the movie.  Centipedes here are probably about a foot long and an inch thick and the Dung Beetles are probably about the size of a large AA egg.  Luckily they do not bite so I can (somewhat) tolerate them.
• It is “ideal” to be as light as you can be in Namibia.  Since many of the people here get a darker skin tone the longer they are in the sun, the lighter your skin is tends to represent your “level” in society.  Interesting because we always try to get as tan as we can and many Namibians try to stay as light as they can in this direct sunlight.

(Pictures to come and update from my weekend in Northern Namibia/Etosha National Park.)

A trip to the Tjiramba Farm and School Preparation

01.13.13

This past weekend we had the opportunity to get out of Windhoek and go to the Tjiramba farm, which is the farm of Edwin’s family.  Since before the PLU program to Namibia, one of my professors, Paula, has become very good friends with Edwin and his wife Emmy.  As a matter of fact, Edwin and Emmy have both graduated from PLU! Talk about a small world!

 Anyway, we drove 5 ½ hours or so to eastern Namibia where we met Edwin on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  That’s when all of us piled in the back of his pick up and continued on to the farm the way Namibians do.  It is very common here for there to be 2-15 extra passengers in the back of a pick up in Namibia—needless to say there are not very many laws here! 

After this weekend, I have found that farms in Namibia are extremely important to families and play a big part of the culture here.  Since we are on the Southern Hemisphere and opposite side of the world, it is summer here and families were just ending their holiday breaks and “the farm” is where entire extended families go to spend their break.  The Tjirambas arrived at their farm the day holiday break began, were there through Christmas and the New Year and came back to “the city” with us (Windhoek) the day before school started.  I thought the farm was so amazing because there were multiple buildings—a large, main house with a kitchen that Edwin’s mother lives in when she’s there (Namibia is a matriarchal society and therefore, Edwin’s mother is the “queen bee” and what she says definitely goes around there) along with a building for each of her children and their spouses.  There were a couple extra buildings used for guests as well as a very small toilet building.  Aside from the close-knit farm that shows how important family is in their culture, there are plenty of cattle, donkeys, goats and large moths, centipedes and dung beetles.

When we first arrived to the Tjiramba farm, they all greeted us with “Welcome Home!” and I was able to get an idea of how proud they were of their farm and how excited and welcoming they were to have us at their home.  There were swarms of children all around waiting for us to jump out of the pick up.  Once our car finally came to a stop, we were greeted with huge smiles and attacking hugs from children decked out in their own PLU gear.  We spent the rest of that day playing soccer, Frisbee and football with the children in Edwin’s family.  Finally we ate dinner and was spoiled with sausage they had made themselves, that day, (we actually saw remnants of that animal hanging and drying in the tree when we arrived—you know that’s fresh!) along with buns to make our own “hot dogs” out of.  Well after dinner was finished, Edwin brought out a plate of potjie kos, or lamb, and it was absolutely delicious!  It was so tender and fresh and confirmed again how great Namibian meat is. 

The second day we got up early and went on an hour walk that landed us at the border of Botswana and Namibia!  Unfortunately, we did not have our passports along so we could not get the official stamp but we were able to suck in our guts and squeeze through the fence between a building and the fence!  This put us in to the strip of land bordering the countries called No Man’s Land before we reached the soil of Botswana.  We were able to touch it, pick some flowers and look at the landscape as the sun beat down on us before we made the trek back to the Tjiramba farm. 

Later on that day, we were all tied up playing with the Tjiramba children on the farm.  All the children had one “BFF” PLU student that they attached to, but it was great to get some kid time in again before teaching started.  Again, for dinner, we were loaded up with chicken and lamb along with carrot salad and potato salad.  Along side the tender lamb, the favorite food I had all weekend was Emmy’s homemade Herero bread.  I think I could eat a whole loaf! 

That afternoon, we rode in the back of Edwin’s pick up to another farm about 45 minutes away from his farm where he had hundred of cattle.  Edwin wanted to dedicate a cow to Paula as a gift, and this little excursion was for Paula to pick out her cow, named Tiffers.  Once she spotted her special cow, we were all able to milk a cow! It was my first time ever and I was successful!  

Sadly, the next day (Sunday), we had to leave the farm back for Windhoek.  I don’t think any of us wanted to leave the farm, the children or the simplicity of life there.  Unfortunately, we had no other option and packed back in our van for the 2 ½ hours of gravel roads and 2 ½ hours of tarred roads. 

Passing a family with a donkey cart on the way to the Tjiramba Farm. 

 All of us in the back of the pick up!

 Paula, Emmy and Jan

 In No Man's Land between Namibia and Botswana.

Touching Botswana!

Meeting Tiffers, Paula's cow.

 Hard work pays off! Our milk.

A few of the buildings on the farm.

 More of the buildings on the farm--our tents are in the middle!

The children anxiously awaiting our arrival!

Driving down the road to the Tjiramba Farm.

We were finally able to shower after a weekend at the farm!

My little trouble maker boy, Equa, and me

My precious BFF Dolly and me

01.14.13

Today, I woke up early and went in to the school I will be teaching at, St. Barnabas, as there were teacher meetings.  Mckenzie, Josh and I walked in at 7:45 and there still was not a principal to lead the meeting.  (Namibians are very laid back and do not worry about time and schedules like Americans do.)  Nonetheless, we walked in to the staffroom and felt so very welcome and as 8:00 rolled around, the principal came in and started talking about the new, free education in grades 0-7 in Namibia, what to expect for the first day of school and about the different committees the school has.  We were told the meetings would go from 8 to 12 and Paula would pick us up at noon, however, everything the principal had to say was done and over with by 8:25.  I had a mini panic attack because I was not sure what to do, as I had no way of contacting Jan and Paula.  However, as Mckenzie, Josh and I sat in the staff room and listened to the sports committee meeting, I noticed one of the head of department’s office was open and went in to have a discussion with her about which classrooms we would be put in.  After a few minutes, she led me out to Mr. Bob Mbai’s classroom.  He teaches grade 3 and he told me his classroom was now my classroom as well and that I would be teaching Mathematics and The Arts (which includes singing, acting, dancing and art) while he teaches Language 1 and 2, which are English and Otjiherero (a native African language). 

Bob is a very young teacher that has been teaching at St. Barnabas for three years and graduated from the University of Namibia (UNAM).  I hung out with him in his classroom for the remainder of the evening and he told me he was from Northern Namibia, was one of nine siblings, had two brothers living in Connecticut and two in the UK (as they had all married women from there) and already had around 40 to 45 nieces and nephews.  He also told me there would be about 39 students in our classroom but only about half of the students would be there for the first day, as some of them were still at their farms on holiday break. 

It was so great to bond with the teacher whose classroom I am going to be teaching in for the whole morning and I was anxiously awaiting to see how the first day of school was going to go.

The BNC

01.10.13

Today we woke up around 7 am because it is the first day back to work from Holiday break in Namibia.  We went in to the schools we will be teaching at for a few minutes.  I will be teaching at St. Barnabus Primary School so I got to walk around the main building of the school.  We did not get to stay there long because the principal (headmaster) was in meetings.  However, we are going back on Monday morning for teacher meetings. 

Uanee (our guide) and Shawn (the guy that owns the Wadadee house we’re staying in) were both explaining to me that neither public nor private schools in Namibia are free.  However, that is changing now.  Uanee was telling me that children who are in Grades 0 (kindergarten) up through Grade 7 will now receive free public education and once they reach high school at Grade 8, they will have to pay for education, school supplies, boarding, etc.  Shawn was telling me that this is not standard in Africa as a continent though because Botswana (which borders Namibia to the east) has free education for children but they do not have the infrastructure that Namibia has.  Therefore, each country has its pros and cons. 

The children that live in the house across the street from us have been playing outside nonstop since yesterday and were outside waiting for us when we got back from our meetings at the school.  There are about 5 or 6 children that live in the house and they absolutely love us.  One of the girls, Abigail, is 7 years old and will be starting Grade 1 next week and she lights up every time she sees me.  As I write this, it is only 9 am and I have received more than five hugs from her.  She will just stand next to me in the street and hold my hand.  The other two older children are in Grade 0 and Grade 3; one is a boy and one is a girl.  Then there are at least three children that are still in diapers and probably no older than two years old.  Nonetheless, all of us Education majors are getting our “kid fix” before school starts next week. 

This afternoon we went to Berner Norcamp Center, or the BNC.  (The kids refer to the BNC as the “Best Namibian Children.”)  It is an after school tutoring program where children in Grades 1-7 can go after school in order to study and better understand math and phonics.  We will be volunteering there at least one day a week and will be at Dolem another day a week.  A woman named Mary Beth Gallagher runs BNC and she is absolutely amazing!  After three years of this program, there are 185 kids who go there everyday after school and there are over 200 on the waiting list.  She is very strict but it is so evident that she is so passionate about what she is doing.  For example, she preaches “disciplining with dignity” because many teachers and schools still have corporal punishment although it is technically illegal in Namibia. 

At the BNC, the rules that are put in place focus on love and empowerment for all students.  The rules include, no hitting, no yelling, no swearing or threatening and do not raise your voice.  The students there are also expected to help out around their “Secret Garden” as well as help cleaning, organizing, etc.  Since the waiting list is so long for the BNC, students are enrolled right in the beginning of the school year (next Tuesday) and are expected to come every single day after school.  Once they drop out of the program, they cannot come back, whatsoever.  However, once the student has been in the program for a year, they are rewarded with school supplies and school uniforms funded by the BNC. 

Mary Beth has her hands absolutely full—she is not paid for what she does and lives as simple as anyone I have ever met—truly an inspiring woman.  Among volunteering and teaching in countries such as El Salvador and Bangladesh and several more, she has set up a NPO in the United States called KINDLE.  It stands for Kids in Namibia Deserve Love and Encouragement.  Now can you see why I think she is so amazing?!

During our time at the BNC we were able to spend the afternoon with the children at the center and I made plenty of friends.  If there is anything I learned from today, it is two things.  1.  I am horrible at tennis.  2.  It’s confirmed that I am absolutely in love with children.  I spent the afternoon with my new little friends, Giovanni, Donovan, Emily, Michalin and another Giovanni.  They were all kids who ranged from Grade 5 to 8 and were all way better at tennis than I was.  They thought it was quite comical and cannot wait for me to come back next week so they can win again.  I also learned their favorite singers of which included Beyonce, Ciara, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber. How funny!