General Updates

Care Packages:

Wanted to allay everyone’s fears…all that should have arrived by now have!! Matt’s first envelope full of CDs with a few of my favorite TV shows was sitting on the very dusty floor of the post office the last time I was there. Thankfully there was a long line so I was perusing the packages. So I finally got to watch the season finale of Breaking Bad, which aired May 29 when I was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Like most season finales, it was somewhat of a let down. In the OTHER care package that arrived that day (which is why I went to the PO in the first place), he had sent me a few mini bottles of wine. So I did have a lovely evening with my wine and Breaking Bad.

Andreas:

There has been an outpouring of support for my dear Andreas, so he’s all set. In fact, my friend in Windhoek may have found him a job! The details of that remain to be seen. I will keep you all posted.

Other orphans:

As luck would have it, teachers are supposed to generate a list of orphans and “vulnerable children” for the government. (A vulnerable child is one whose parents are not working or who live on less than $1USD a day.) I’ll soon have many more sponsorship opportunities.

Calculator pool:

Unfortunately, all grades and classes are tested on the same subjects each day. Therefore my 15 calculator pool isn’t going to go very far at all. I’m SOOOO BUMMED! Don’t really know what to do at this point. I’m not sure how the calculator sharing thing works because the desks are rearranged in lines.

Me:

I’ve been feeling better this week. Just had to dive into work, which is nonstop. I added it up, I’m working well over 60 hours a week. At this point it might be more. But a break is a comin! I’m travelling to Windhoek for my mid-service conference next week. I’ll stay an extra night to hang out with my friend there. Then when I return it’s just invigilating exams, so no teaching. I’m not sure if I’m responsible for all the marking though. That could get tedious. But I’m ahead of my grade keeping for the term, so life shouldn’t be too strenuous. I shudder to think what the other teachers do without excel. As it is it sucks that I have to handwrite what excel spits out for 250 learners.

THEN, I’m OFF for 2 whole weeks! I’m going to head east to Victoria Falls and then south into Botswana. I think I’m travelling alone at this point, which will be great practice for my adventuring in November. I have a tent, a sleeping bag, what could possibly go wrong?!

Parents Meeting:

A parents meeting was sort of scheduled for today. Even though it was all going to be in Thimbukushu, I was kind of looking forward to it…getting to see where these kids come from. Unfortunately though, I got a sour taste in my mouth for the whole thing as it was only announced at 7am this morning that classes would be cut to 20 minutes each instead of the usual 40 (in the midst of exam prep nonetheless), so that we could get started with the meeting at 10:20. HA! Fat chance. Things didn’t really get going until oh, 11:45 or so, mostly because there were about 5 parents there. I guess the meeting was supposed to be last week and then it was rescheduled, yadda yadda, in the end, no one showed. BUMMER!

What else can I tell you guys…OH, for those of you that want to contribute to the learners, what’s going to be the easiest way for you? Willing to make deposits at a Chase bank? Or I think I can still do paypal so long as you make the payment through a checking account and not a credit card. Please let me know…email me though, not with comments on the blog.

That’s it for now….SUPER tired as usual and still have two learners cranking away on problems in the staff room.

‘gnight.

Feeling Better

So it was a rough weekend, emotionally, as those of you who got my emails
can attest to. I'm told it's pretty common for volunteers right about now
to have some down times. Muddling through it.



I should have a lot to say today, and I guess I kinda do, but I'm also very
tired and have a long night of lesson planning ahead of me. You see exams
are fast approaching, and seeing as how they're covering the whole year, and
copy paper/ink is limited, well, the reviews get written on the chalkboard,
7 times, by yours truly. Damn I'm going to have nice biceps soon.



Some bright points.

Thanks to a late donation to my program fee, I got $50USD that I had to
spend on the school or the learners. So this weekend I purchased 15
scientific calculators that I will let my learners use during exams. I did
2 regular classes and 2 extra classes with them today. The learners were
THRILLED!! And seriously, to see them all punching in the problems
themselves was fantastic. I asked them which other subjects they could use
extra calculators for and was quickly told Physical Science and Geography.
So I'll make sure they'll have them when the test rolls around.



I gave my grade 9's a surprise quiz today, just like the quiz last week but
with different numbers. So far, most of their scores have improved, so
that's something.



Some less bright points.

Sounds like I won't be taking over the grade 10's English afterall. There
is some internal drama with the circuit office that has something to do with
someone higher up wanting to do a favor for someone and appoint them here
(sound familiar?). There's another outside teacher who is qualified too,
but the transfer would be difficult. Either way, there seems to be an
aversion to getting someone in the classroom RIGHT NOW. Hello??!! Sigh.
There's nothing I can do about it really, except offer help to the learners
in English too.



I'm dog tired.Shebeen music was super loud last night and barely slept.



Thanks to all who desperately tried to cheer me up, offer condolences, words
of wisdom, etc. It all did help.



All for now.

Ugh, just one of those days

TOTALLY felt like quitting and coming home today. I didn't sleep very well
last night, so I was tired this morning. Then my grade 8's were blatantly
copying from each other during a quiz. I'd been warning them for a while
now so I finally broke down and wrote COPY in red ink at the top of one's
paper. (Later on I couldn't bring myself to give him a 0, because I knew he
didn't copy the *whole* thing, so I divided his marks by 2.)



Then there was the grade 9 quiz. Oh good lord. Simple simple algebra.
Most failed, miserably. I'm talking 0 out of 10. I just don't know what to
do. I've been slowing instruction WAY down. I wrote this quiz so that no
calculators would be necessary. I moved the timestable to the front of the
room so all could see. I drew a numberline on the board. We're talking 3a
+ -2a here. And the answers were all over the map.



I guess I just need to drink more on marking days, haha! Sigh.



On a completely different note, computer instruction for teachers started
yesterday. Most have never touched a computer, so we're starting from the
beginning. This is the mouse. This is the keyboard. But so far I got 2
beginners turning the thing on, starting a new word document,
finding/editing the document and shutting down. We'll see how long
enthusiasm lasts once they find out there's no printing or internet for the
foreseeable future.

More teachers are signing up though.now it's 4 more hours a week that I'm on
the hook.



I'm tired. And clearly not in the best of moods. I probably shouldn't be
blogging, but then again I figure you guys want to know about the ups and
the downs of living and teaching in Africa, right? Least no one has died
this week.

Time keeps on slippin slippin.

Not too much to report on this side of the world. The funeral services of
our English teacher were this past Saturday in Katima (the far far eastern
town in the Caprivi Strip). I did not attend, though I was invited. It
would have been a 6 hour round trip and transportation was severely limited.
I decided that it mattered more to others to go so I didn't want to take up
space.



I have offered to take over his English classes if someone will take my
physical science classes, simply because the grade 10's NEED more
instruction for their national exams. I should know the outcome of that
tomorrow hopefully.



Thankfully the learner who lost his father 2 weeks ago returned to school on
Friday.



This weekend I went to "that side" of Rundu, a full 4 hour trip for me, to
visit Rachel and Mita. It's beautiful over there, but at the end of a very
very dusty and bumpy gravel road. The trip was exhausting, but it was nice
to see the other side.



Next weekend I'm back in Rundu for Megan's last weekend there. I'll be
soooooo sorry to see her go.



All for now folks. Email me!!

Black Cloud

A teacher was out sick about a month ago; he left before I arrived. This
morning we got word that he passed away over the weekend. Apparently he
only went into the hospital a week and a half ago, maybe less. He taught
English to Grades 8-10.



Death is such a way of life here, as odd as that sounds. Teachers and
learners showed the gamut of emotions. Some were openly crying, others
silent tears, and still others stony and cold.



Classes today sort of happened. They were supposed to anyway. I think I
was the only teacher that went to any. I put off my lesson plans for the
day and just went over some old work for those that wanted to listen. The
rest of the time I let the learners do as they pleased. Afternoon study was
cancelled.



There is no word yet as to when or where the funeral will be. However,
tonight there was a service in the dining hall. It was all in Thimbukushu
so I don't know what was said, but the school choir and another choir both
sang numerous times.



Today in the staff room the male teachers were talking about why it seems
the men always die. I pointed out that it's actually married women who are
the group as of late with the alarming infection rate, because husbands go
out and get girlfriends and bring the infection home. They said, yes, this
is true. But then proceeded to tell me there's something about the
chemicals and men that kills them.? I didn't understand. Then I was told
that women like money too much and often kill their husbands. That if I
wanted proof I should go to the banks in Rundu and I'd see many women in
black (mourning), but nonetheless collecting money for the death of their
husband. A young male teacher who is not yet married said he's scared to
get into a marriage as it might kill him.



Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

How can YOU HELP?

A few folks have started asking me, "how can I help?" There are TONS of
really easy ways.



1. Tired of not having enough space in your closet? Been saying to
yourself for months or years, damn, I need to drop this stuff off at
Goodwill? SEND CLOTHES HERE!! Seriously! People DO NOT CARE what things
look like. If clothes are in tact, they will get worn until they are not.

Send to: Sister Jennifer Jackson

Divundu Combined School

PO Box 5071

Divundu, Namibia

Declare contents as "clothing" with the lowest dollar amount.

2. Send school supplies!! The junk that is available here is a
disgrace, and what is somewhat decent quality is out of reach of most of the
learners. Items most needed:

a. PENS (the cheapest of the cheap bic, etc. pens, black/blue. DON'T
send the fancy inky ones goes they dry out instantly.
b. PENCILS! Mechanical pencils are best, but also send lead. If not
mechanical than normal pencils are great too!!
c. Pencil Sharpeners! They don't really exist here of decent quality,
that I've seen, anyway. Most of the kids sharpen their pencils by scraping
the lead on the floor. Some try to chisel away the wood with little
makeshift knives. An electric sharpener would be a gift from the gods.
d. Extra erasers! The kind that go on top of pencils are good and the
hand-held brick-like ones are great. (They call them "rubbers" here. It's
hysterical. "Madam, do you have a rubber?"

My new son

I think I've found someone to adopt. Our field director said she had one,
and there was a decent chance we'd come across someone too.you come across a
kid who's bright and motivated, but who has just been dealt a raw hand, and
you take care of a few things for em.



I was just thinking to myself today, man, I'm just not going to ever get to
really talk to someone here. I mean I've been in Divundu a month, but no
one really seems to want to sit down and talk to me (it's why I'm on my 6th
book in as many weeks). There are the learners that hang out constantly in
my house, but whenever I try to talk to them all I get is
"fine/good/thank-you madam". I realize it's a language thing, but it
doesn't make the loneliness any easier to deal with. But today a friend of
one of the house-dwelling learners was over, Andreas. He saw me sort of
tuned out from the constant stream of Thimbukushu and started talking to me
in English, pretty darn good English! We got to chatting and turns out he's
in my Grade 9 math class. The house-dwellers left after a while, but
Andreas and I kept talking.



He's 22 (and yes, in the 9th grade). His parents both died shortly after he
was born. After we'd been talking for a while I asked him how they died.
He said he didn't know. He's been looked after by his grandparents. A few
years ago they ran out of money so he had to sit out from school for a few
years. When he returned he failed the 8th grade a time or two. Now he
wants desperately to pass grade 9. But history and math are hard for him,
mostly because there's no textbook available for the learners. (Yep, it's
true, my grade 9s don't have a textbook. So I have to write the notes very
neatly on the board, and write out each and every homework problem
everyday.)



He said he's been wanting a calculator for a few years now but his
grandmother doesn't have the money. I asked how much the scientific
calculators were here and he said about $25NAM. (USD 3.13). I started
encouraging him to come over any time he had trouble understanding the math.
After a while I switched it up to, just come over for extra help with
anything. Thing is, this kid's English is pretty outstanding.better even
than some of the teachers. Plus he's got a fire in his eyes that is
noticeably absent from so many. I complimented him on his English and he
was thrilled.



We started talking about his plans for the future. I asked if he thought he
would fail this year, and he said NOOOO WAY. But then he backed off a
little and said he might not fail but he might have to take another break
from school. He can't afford the 3rd term. It's $60NAM in school fees and
$85NAM for the hostel. That is about $18US.



The conversation moved back to math.I told him how I'm coaching my grade
10's in their multiplication tables, and would he like to learn? YES! So I
grabbed a sheet of paper and started drawing the times-tables. It took a
little while, but we filled in rows 1-6. I could tell he was getting tired,
so I stopped, but he prodded me onward, no madam, I want to finish. At this
point it was 8pm on a Saturday night, and two sets of his friends had
already stopped by trying to get him to leave. We crawled through the rest.
Then another set of friends came in and I said, go on, "get out of here".
But he was proud of his work and showed them what we had made.



In the midst of all this I pulled out my computer to check on his scores in
my class. He was fascinated with the computer so I taught him out to use
the mouse and double click. Sheer amazement. Turns out he's borderline.he
may very well pass my class. I said, look, you come by anytime, all the
time, and we will work through stuff till you understand.



I've made up my mind that if he comes by even twice more I'm buying him a
calculator. And if I see more effort beyond that I'm buying his 3rd term.
However if anyone there wants to "sponsor an orphan", for a whopping $25US,
I will buy them a calculator and a term in school. Email me if
interested.you can just make a deposit in my account at any Chase (formerly
WAMU) and I'll withdraw the money and pay the class fees directly to the
school in cash. In my register class of about 25 learners, there are
approximately 9 orphans. And as you read in an earlier post, more are
orphaned every day.



Anyway, we'll see how Andreas does. My hopes are high.

To the Bush!

I decided to "stay home" this weekend. I just couldn't deal with yet
another weekend of horribly dirty feet in Rundu and the 3-4 hour trip BACK
from Rundu which should take 2 hours max (though I must admit I did miss my
weekly Kavango River Lodge fine dining experience). Anyhow, home sweet home
this weekend.



I woke up and made myself a lovely breakfast. I swear my culinary skills
are improving out of plain necessity. I browned potatoes and onions with
salt, pepper, and some unknown spice called Origano? NOT oregano, I checked
at least 3 times. Then scrambled an egg with some tomato. Added some hot
chutney sauce to the lot and wallah, Top Chef here I come. My newly
purchased instant coffee was the highlight though.



Anyhow, I needed fuel for my planned morning adventure into the bush.



To backtrack slightly.

When I first announced I was moving to Namibia, a few people popped up with
friends or friends of friends that had some sort of connection to the
country. One friend of a friend in particular was living in Namibia, and we
fast became facebook friends. Brita is from Germany (very German) and has
more or less moved here with her two kids. She splits her time between
Windhoek and her farm, about 2 hours out of the city. We had meant to meet
up while I was in orientation, but couldn't sort it out. Randomly last week
she texted saying she'd be in Divundu this week and would I like to grab
coffee. Well, there's no place for coffee I told her, but I'll certainly
meet you at the gas station.

Sure enough, she called this week and was in the area! Oh how exciting. I
almost felt like I was back in San Fran again (ok, not really). So I
hustled over to the Engen a full 30 minutes early I was so excited. Brita
and family were awesome. Her two kids are nothing short of charming and we
sat and talked for quite a while. Quite a story they have.



Anyway, Brita anticipated meeting me here and that I was in a very poor
area, so she packed up a lot of clothes that the kids had outgrown. So now
here I was sitting on a huge pile of high quality clothes and shoes.



I first thought I'd distribute around school, but quickly realized that that
would probably hurt feelings left and right. Plus, the kids that come to
school have at least some means, else they wouldn't be in school. In
contrast, I've seen children coming out of the bush in rags, literally, that
will never be able to afford an education. So, I decided I would set off
into the bush and distribute what I could.



I packed up about half the clothes, filled up my water bottle, and set off
on a walking path I'd seen the children come out of. It wasn't long before
I started thinking to myself, um jen, you're about to turn into one of those
"I shouldn't be alive" stories. It was hot, really hot, and the thorny
bushes were everywhere. But I had a vague sense of my direction, plus if I
listened hard enough I could usually make out the highway, so I wasn't all
that concerned. I passed a couple of villages but they had electricity so I
figured they weren't so bad off. I got deeper and deeper and finally found
a suitable homestead. It felt a little funny walking in, crazy white lady
and all. But a plastic lawn chair was quickly pulled out for me and I
opened my bag. I pulled out a woman's light sweater and gave it to the
grandmother type.trying to pay deference to the elder. Then I saw a few
things that would fit the children and pulled those out as well. I must
have an eye for sizes because everything I pulled out and handed to someone
fit them perfectly. We made happy gestures and then I showed my camera and
sort of asked for permission to take a picture. I did and then had my
picture taken with the little ones. They loved seeing the pictures.



I went to two more villages and distributed what was left. Those
clothes/shoes will be worn for years and years till they are nothing more
than tattered rags. Thank you Brita and family for enabling such an amazing
experience.



I still have another bag full to go.next time I'll hit up "that side".

Christmas!

I've been pestering the school secretary about checking the PO box for the
last couple of weeks, anxiously awaiting my care packages. The first, I
believe, was sent by my darling matt, the day after I left. I think he said
he sent another one a few weeks ago. My mom sent one upon hearing of my
food situation sometime in the middle of June, and another just two weeks
ago.



Today I got word during one of my classes that not one but TWO boxes had
arrived for me. They required ID at the PO, so I bided my time. I could
barely contain myself, seriously, as I headed over. I had to tell myself to
SLOW DOWN because the office wouldn't open until 2 and it was only 1:30. I
still got there with 15 minutes to kill, so I meandered around the
"that-side" store (in Namibia there are only two directions, "this side" and
"that side") and bought a $20NAM bottle of wine. $2.50USD. By this time I
had convinced myself that one box was Matt's and the other my mom's.



I forced out a "hi/how are you?" before shoving my slips over the counter.
He returned with two quite heavy and very dusty boxes. SUCCESS! Both had
my mom's handwriting on them, so I was a little bit bummed, as was I about
the prospect of lugging them back in the heat of the day. But a lovely
South African man with a car saw me lumbering and offered me a trip home.
Turns out he works at/runs/owns a lodge nearby and invited me over sometime
soon. He also asked if I wouldn't mind tutoring his kids. Sure I said!
Anyway, I tore open the boxes (don't worry mom, I was careful) and my
goodness you should have heard the squeals! My favorite protein bars,
skittles, beef jerky, SOUR JELLY BELLIES, trail mix (mom, the NUTrition can
was BRILLIANT (and half gone already!!), little cans of ready-made chicken
salad, crackers that didn't fare so well but who cares..what else.oh, a few
microwaveable meals that had me scratching my head as I haven't seen a
microwave in a month, but there are directions involving boiling water so
that should work. Um, cold medicine, Ziploc bags that actually work,
breakfast bars. Yum Yum Yum. I said to myself outloud, "now Jen, you're
going to get sick if you eat too much right now." Well, that didn't stop
me, I gorged. I paid for it later, but it was worth it.



All this being said, I was really bummed that Matt's box wasn't here. Where
the hell could it be? I'm told there is no rhyme or reason to what gets
here when, but that doesn't help with the disappointment.



Course along with care packages comes a hefty dose of homesickness. Sigh.
Miss you guys. Write more emails!

Heartbreaking

Last night I was walking to the staff room to mark about 200 learner books,
when I noticed one of my Grade 10 learners (and one of my favorites),
Erastus. He didn't look so good so I asked him what was wrong. His father
passed away yesterday; he had just found out. I asked if he had been sick
(the polite way of asking if someone has AIDS) - yes. I asked if his mother
was still alive (it's common that one or both parents have passed) - no. So
now my dear Erastus is an orphan, at 17 or so. Oh my god. I nearly started
crying on the spot. I gave him a hug and sat with him a while. There
really aren't any words in those times. A bit later I'd asked if he'd eaten
(of course not), and invited him over to cook him dinner. It was the best I
could think of.



Later on though I found he'd already left for home, so he didn't come by. I
have no idea when or even if he'll come back. This is crushing for him
though, not only emotionally, but timing wise it's terrible (like it's ever
good). This guy has a real shot of getting promoted to grade 11, and if he
misses the next few weeks, sigh, I just don't know.



Thinking of him and his siblings constantly.

A Fat Cake a Day Keeps the Skinny Away

The problem of my losing weight has been solved.FAT CAKES! Fat cakes are a
Namibian staple - they are simply balls of fried dough, about the size of a
small fist. A few ladies come to the school every day at break time and
sell them for 50 cents (Namibian). (USD$0.0625) At first I was walking
back to my house and grabbing a piece of bread with peanut butter for a
snack. But then I realized not only was I being anti-social, but I was also
not supporting my local vendor. So to the fat cake woman I went. They're
kinda greasy, but all in all pretty good. I started out buying a couple
things because this particular lady had small cakes. So I'd get a fat cake
and a sweat bread sort of thing. Then a different lady started showing up,
with nice big fatties. So one was plenty.



But a funny thing happened yesterday, the lady said, "I bought for you one,
so take two." Wow, ok, thanks! So I had two. But man, that's just one too
many. So I resolved to only have one from then on. Today though, she said
it again! I politely said no thank you. Later it dawned on me, she WANTS
to fatten me up! See, skinny is a sign of being sick (HIV/AIDS) here. So
this lovely girl simply wants to give me a little plump. I think, however,
that one fat cake a day will work just fine. I'm feeling plumper already.



In other food news, I'm sort of settling into a routine now, and what I feel
like cooking/can cook in my "kitchen". So I'm finally not feeling hungry
all the time anymore. That being said, my mouth is watering for whatever
wonderful things you folks have sent so far. Damn NamPost - HURRY!!

Happy 4th of July, Namibian Style

So while you all were enjoying your beer, barbeque and fireworks, I was TOO!
Us "hamukuwa" (white people) came from hundreds of miles away to Rundu where
the Peace Corps volunteers hosted a party. Man there are a ton of PC folks!
But it was great to meet everyone, despite being a little weirded out by how
many white people were in town for the weekend. We had yummy yummy food,
meat from the BBQ you could actually eat without breaking a sweat (Namibians
for some reason love to cook the hell out of their meat.think thick-ass beef
jerkey), and even chocolate cake! Towards the end a few fireworks were set
off in the parking lot. About half of them worked (kinda), the other half
not so much. Course the dog only went sniffing around the ones that
eventually worked.



It felt great to be able to talk at normal speed and to sit and gripe about
whatever.And of course to compare notes on accommodation. The PC has a
policy in Namibia that for the first three months the volunteer must stay
with a host family. So many end up in the mud huts. There's a part of me
that's jealous, but I think that sort of thing would get pretty old after a
week or two. Plus I like being able to not be social if I don't want to be.
So I guess you could say I'm happy where I am.



All told, it was a great time. And though everyone is still pretty far
away, I feel a little less alone.

Pics uploaded!

A few anyway...check them out at http://picasaweb.google.com/heyjenjackson