First Day of School!

Ready for another lesson in Thimbukushu?

* Water – meyu

* Toilet – kandhugho

* I'm a teacher. – Ame mitili (sounds like mitiri)

* Good Morning - Moro

* I'm sick. Ame tjutju (sounds like choo-choo)...which I am :-(

Ok, where I left you all was on my first night actually in Divundu. My time there was short-lived, though, as I was set to return to Rundu the following day (last Saturday). Before leaving though I went to the cultural competition that my learners were so diligently rehearsing for the night before. It was Africa's version of a county fair! (Ok, without the animals...that'd probably be dangerous.) People were streaming in (on foot) from miles around. There were food and craft stalls (ok, food and crafts for sale were laid out on blankets on the ground). There were even popsicles (actually, it was watered down juice frozen into a tied sandwich baggy). Kids from several area schools were buzzing around getting their costumes on and I'm sure getting nervous...especially after seeing the very serious faces of the judges underneath the judging tent. Once the performances started, I couldn't see a thing; I'd gotten there late and all the prime real estate was taken. But one of my learners recognized me from the night before, gave me an enthusiastic greeting, and insisted to someone else with authority I be given a good viewing spot. Before I knew it I was in the front row...a little behind the stage (ok, sand pit), but still pretty darn good. The performances were all very similar to the one I described on my last post. Entry dance/song, lots of shoulder shaking, dramatic interpretation, another dance/song, and finally a lot more shoulder shaking.

I watched several performances and then had to get going. My kids got 3rd place! (Though I'm not sure which area their medal was in, it might have been the drama part.)

Then it was back to Rundu, on my first official "hike" (this is Namibian for "hitch-hike"). Before you freak out, this is the way *everyone* gets around here. There are simply not enough cars. So you stand usually at a gas station and watch for cars pulling in in the direction you want to go. You approach, ask where they are going and if they have room for you. Hikes cost money, usually pretty standard rates. A hike from Divundu to Rundu (200km) is N$60-$70 (USD $7.50-$8.75). Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a while to find a driver. This time it took an hour and 20 minutes. Then the drive took 2 hours. By the time we arrived, I was beat!

I won't go into every detail of the weekend as it was mostly errand based, but here are some highlights:

* Sunset drinks and dinner with Megan at the Kavango River Lodge – overlooks the Kavango River, Namibia on one side, Angola on the other.

* Morning "hike" to a gorgeous mission, also on the river, about an hour away to visit a couple of year long WorldTeach volunteers. Saw first "canoe-er" that goes back and forth from Namibia and Angola. (A boy, about 11, in a hollowed out log that constantly took on water.)

* Going through the very bureaucratic but necessary steps to get my paycheck (I budgeted a full day, it took about 3 hours.)

Unfortunately I started getting sick on Monday. At first it felt like just a sore throat, but it quickly progressed to a fever. "GREAT", I thought, "I got malaria...and in record time". (I had gotten a few mosquito bites at dinner on Saturday night).

Tuesday I had to trudge home alone with about a thousand pounds of groceries and feeling like poo. The hike was MISERABLE! I swear I got the slowest moving car on the road. His speedometer was broken, but by watching the torturous signs tick off the kilometers, I estimated 45-50mph. And he sure packed in the passengers, before long my bags were in my lap. Did I mention I still had a fever? When I got to Divundu I had to carry my groceries about 500-600 yards. I made it maybe ¼ of the way, stopping every 10 steps to rest. Thankfully a few kids appeared and helped me the rest of the way. They seemed puzzled when I hugged them :-) You'll be pleased to hear that after some vitamin C and rest my fever abated. I still have a cold, a really sniffly one, but it's not malaria.

Wednesday (today) was my first day of school! My god I was nervous. I barely slept last night (though that might have been the cold medicine). Thank goodness I really only had 2 classes on my hands, as James needed to wrap up a few things with 3 other periods. In my 2 classes I introduced myself and pulled out a world map to show where San Francisco is. This is the first country that I've travelled where people don't know "California" right off the bat. I told them it took me two days to get here...they didn't seem impressed. Now that I think about it, that was pretty dumb. It takes two days to get to Southern Namibia. I had them make little paper nameplates for themselves so I have a fighting chance of learning their names. Then I opened the floor for questions..."what do you guys want to know about Ms. Jackson. You have one day only to ask away." The highlights:

* Do you know 2Pac? (did I spell that right? The rap artist..)

* Do you live by ___? (insert some other rap artist name here)

* How old are you? (they do NOT believe I'm 30)

* Where are your children? (everyone has children in Namibia)

Tomorrow I have several more of these intro sessions. But I actually have 2 real class lessons too. Man I'm nervous again. I came home from school and dove into writing my 2 lesson plans. In math I'll be introducing polygons and interior/exterior angles. In science we're going over physical and chemical changes. Then Friday, no more fluff, all periods will be full on lessons. AHH.

A little info on my classes...

Class size ranges from 20 something to 40 something. Boy/Girl ratio is about 3/1 it seems. The classrooms have no teacher desk/chair. There are enough desks/chairs for the learners, but they are falling apart – seriously. The rooms are dirty and there are no garbage cans – instead trash is swept/thrown in the corner. There are a few tattered posters on the wall, and of course, broken windows. There are chalkboards in all rooms though, thank goodness! The learners carry their MANY composition books (2-3 per class) in plastic bags for the most part. A few have cloth bags. The learners stay in the same room and the teachers rotate. The bell is rung manually, so sometimes it's on time, sometimes not, and sometimes it's not rung at all. In the timetable (schedule), there's no time allocated for changeovers, so if period 1 ends at 7:50, period 2 starts at 7:50. Nice, huh? Teleporters are on order.

I have 32 periods over the week, 40 minutes each. I'm teaching 2 classes of grade 10 math, 2 of grade 9 math, and 3 of grade 8 physical science. They meet 4-5 times a week. The day starts at 6:55am and ends at 12:50. There's an afternoon study session for the learners that stay from 2-4, and an evening session from 6-8. I'm responsible for supervising the afternoon session one week a month. On Mondays and Fridays there is a staff meeting at 6am. But this morning, it started around 6:45.

I of course am flooded with impressions, thoughts, observations, etc. on school and the learners here, but think I'll let them all percolate for another few days before diving in.

Some logistics:

* I know you're dying for pictures. Internet is free here from 1am-5am, so I'm going to get up one of these nights and upload some. I may also try to freeload from a new friend who teaches at the computer lab in Rundu, but remember, that's a 4 hour round trip.

* Please forgive the lack of sending personal emails up until next week sometime. I'm finally to a point where I can settle into a schedule, so hopefully I'll have time for more than just blog blasts. The blog is my attempt to reach as many folks as possible in a single spot.

* Care packages... I've gotten some requests for items. I need to figure out some nice-to-haves and I'll get back to you. Unfortunately, shipping rates are not cheap, so want to make sure it's stuff that can only come from home. OH WAIT, I've got one thing right now...PRINTED PHOTOS of YOU! My room has concrete walls, so I can't hang anything, but I can stick photos everywhere. And envelopes are CHEAP to mail!! So print out some good ones and send them my way!! (If I'm in them too, I can give them to my learners when I leave, but not required! They can also be PG-13+ and I'll just keep them to myself.) The mailing address is on the blog on the left here...

Till next time...