Kahenge Rocks!
This week I finished my first full week of teaching at Kahenge and about 3 weeks of being at my site. I'm staying with a Peace Corps volunteer who teaches in Rundu, the capital of the Kavango region. She let us into the computer lab, again, precious internet access!
The last 3 weeks have been pretty intense, to say the least. After model school in Grootfontein we returned to Okahandja for the wrapping up of training and swearing-in of volunteers. The last two weeks went pretty quickly, a lot of 'how to live indenpendently for the next two years' seminars and angst, emotion and partying. Two highlights for me: writing a song about being a Trainee in Namibia and playing it at the talent show, and giving a speech in Rukwangali at the swearing-in ceremony. And then they put us on a big bus with our stuff, a full bank account, and we were scattered to the wind.
When I reached my site I facedmy first challenge as a Peace Corps Volunteer: The locks to my house had been changed, there was nothing inside except a stove, and my principal was nowhere to be found. Luckily, two volunteers, Scott and Lindsay, live in Nkurenkuru, a small town 10 km away. I stayed in their house for a week while we tracked down the principal, making french toast, sleeping in, and playing scabble. Is this the Peace Corps or is it an extended college weekend?
So now I am at my site, in the swing of things as they say. It's been a lot of work the past few weeks. I am making all of my lesson plans from scratch and, of course, I have never taught before. Suddenly I am on the opposite side of the coin. I have to create and enforce the rules. I have to make the classroom a place where people would want to learn. I have to bring the energy to classroom. And I have many other things to do besides teaching. I'm trying to meet the people in my community and to become more than a novelty. I'm trying to learn Rukwangali. I'm cleaning my house and cooking for myself every day, just the millions of things that you don't think about having to do when you are a dependent. I am the decider and I make the decisions. Every day the place feels more like home.
I think that the best description is just that it is really intense. Everything seems new. My emotions are just all over the place, from lonely, to ecstatic, sad, and perfectly content. Previously unremarkable events have now become major endevours, such as walking from home to school (and being stared at by everyone (and also enthusiastically greeted)). Today I found a non-stick frying pan, easily the highlight of my week. At the very least, the Peace Corps and Kahenge are never boring. Here are some of the more interesting things I have done in the past few weeks:
Helping to slaughter a goat
Successfully hitch-hiking with complete strangers (hitch-hiking is the only mode of transportation and is very safe)
Being stuck in the shower room with a nosebleed
Helping to investigate charges of witchcraft at Kahenge
Running around outside in the torrential rain
Elephants at Etosha game park
Kicking two goats out of my classroom
It's really been an interesting few weeks. I miss all of you. I feel like I am in a new and seperate world.
From Namibia with Love
Ben
The last 3 weeks have been pretty intense, to say the least. After model school in Grootfontein we returned to Okahandja for the wrapping up of training and swearing-in of volunteers. The last two weeks went pretty quickly, a lot of 'how to live indenpendently for the next two years' seminars and angst, emotion and partying. Two highlights for me: writing a song about being a Trainee in Namibia and playing it at the talent show, and giving a speech in Rukwangali at the swearing-in ceremony. And then they put us on a big bus with our stuff, a full bank account, and we were scattered to the wind.
When I reached my site I facedmy first challenge as a Peace Corps Volunteer: The locks to my house had been changed, there was nothing inside except a stove, and my principal was nowhere to be found. Luckily, two volunteers, Scott and Lindsay, live in Nkurenkuru, a small town 10 km away. I stayed in their house for a week while we tracked down the principal, making french toast, sleeping in, and playing scabble. Is this the Peace Corps or is it an extended college weekend?
So now I am at my site, in the swing of things as they say. It's been a lot of work the past few weeks. I am making all of my lesson plans from scratch and, of course, I have never taught before. Suddenly I am on the opposite side of the coin. I have to create and enforce the rules. I have to make the classroom a place where people would want to learn. I have to bring the energy to classroom. And I have many other things to do besides teaching. I'm trying to meet the people in my community and to become more than a novelty. I'm trying to learn Rukwangali. I'm cleaning my house and cooking for myself every day, just the millions of things that you don't think about having to do when you are a dependent. I am the decider and I make the decisions. Every day the place feels more like home.
I think that the best description is just that it is really intense. Everything seems new. My emotions are just all over the place, from lonely, to ecstatic, sad, and perfectly content. Previously unremarkable events have now become major endevours, such as walking from home to school (and being stared at by everyone (and also enthusiastically greeted)). Today I found a non-stick frying pan, easily the highlight of my week. At the very least, the Peace Corps and Kahenge are never boring. Here are some of the more interesting things I have done in the past few weeks:
Helping to slaughter a goat
Successfully hitch-hiking with complete strangers (hitch-hiking is the only mode of transportation and is very safe)
Being stuck in the shower room with a nosebleed
Helping to investigate charges of witchcraft at Kahenge
Running around outside in the torrential rain
Elephants at Etosha game park
Kicking two goats out of my classroom
It's really been an interesting few weeks. I miss all of you. I feel like I am in a new and seperate world.
From Namibia with Love
Ben
posted by Complacently Neurotic at 5:34 AM
1 Comments:
Ben!!! more updates!!! I want details on the goats, and the witchcraft, it's great to hear from you, and I'm glad that you sound like you're doing really well in Namibia. Write more! And also figure out how I can call you, it's tooooooooo too complicated for me. Keep writing, and good luck with teaching, kids can be a pain, but they can also be really cool. Hope you're having fun!
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