School Begins (1-22)

Monday morning I started at school. The school is a small one with about 180 learners in grades 4-10. Learners in lower primary grades go to a nearby lower primary school. Like my Thai schools, better learners often go to school in town after grade 6. There is one class for each grade except grade 8, which has two classes. Grades range in size from 15 to 40. There are a total of 12 staff members including the secretary and the custodian. There are also three student teachers who are here for a few weeks. The school reminds me of Nam Tuam in Thailand in its size and general atmosphere.

Although school started last Wednesday, they waited until I arrived to make the timetable of classes. So that process was started on Monday after they decided what I will teach. They decided that I will teach English to grades 8-10, a total of four classes that I’ll see daily. Since this is only 20 periods (40 minutes each, which is really 35 minutes because the learners have to change rooms during the 40 minutes), I will also help in classes for grades 4-7. Most teachers have about 34 periods, and the principal and HOD have 20.

Wilhelmina is my mentor. She is 50 years old and has been at the school for 19 years, having taught at a more distant school before then. The village is her home, and she has a field here, but she lives in Ongwediva now. She has six children, four of whom are still at home. We have already had the religion discussion. Religion is important in Namibia, and most people are Christian. She asked about my religion, and we discussed why I don’t go to a Christian church and that I get materials on the Internet.

As with most schools these days, there is a lot of paperwork. Each class has to have a Scheme of Work, which is like a syllabus, that follows the national syllabus in terms of skills taught and that prepares students for exams. There is also a term plan for each class that details each week in terms of skills taught. These are kept in a special binder along with daily lesson plans. When I completed one term plan and asked if it was to be submitted to anyone, I was told to just put it in the binder; so I think no one really pays much attention to it, but it is a good exercise to have a general outline for the term. Copies of all materials used and tests are to be kept in another binder. And the binders must be covered with pretty paper and have a typed title sheet and then be covered with clear paper to protect it. Textbooks—for both learners and teachers—are also to be covered.

Monday Wilhelmina took me to town to do shopping. I purchased food staples, food for the week, pans, a broom, and several other household items. When I came home, Sark came over to see what I had bought. Tuesday Helena walked into the kitchen and looked at my food items on the floor. She didn’t say anything, but Sark came over Wednesday morning and said he was sorry he didn’t have another small table for me to keep my food on. Later that day I purchased some shelves, and he thanked me when I showed them to him.

Tuesday I took candy from America for the teachers. I had brought chocolate covered caramels that survived pretty well. Some still had their original shape; others melted into a mass but cut apart pretty well. They were all happy to have the treat. I also gave some to Sark and Helena.

Angel asked to see an American dollar. I didn’t think I had one, but I did and took it to show him on Tuesday. He was quite happy to see and hold a real dollar that he’d seen only in pictures. If I get a few more before I leave, I’ll have enough to give every teacher one, which would be nice to be able to do.

Wednesday Angel took me to town to get my tax ID number so I can open a bank account and arrange to be paid. However, a letter is needed from the regional office; so we didn’t get that done. We did get copies of my passport and visa stamped at the police station so they are officially validated as true copies. This is standard procedure, and many people were having copies stamped. Then he took me shopping to purchase the shelves, a chair to sit on outside, and a fan. When I put the fan together, I was really disappointed to find that a piece was missing. 

The chair is a folding camp chair that is comfortable. It’s perfect for sitting in the shade under a roofed area behind my room, which I do every day.

When we passed a KFC, I asked if he liked KFC. He doesn’t. He asked if we have them in America. When I told him they are American, he was surprised, as he thought they came from Windhoek as does everything. He told me he had just recently learned that Coca Cola is an American company.

Thursday morning we received our timetables and began teaching. It was good to have the learners and get started teaching. My smallest class has 17 students, and the largest has 32. Because the class of 32 fills the whole room and because it is eleven learners more than the next largest class, it seems like a big class, but after China it’s really small.

Tuesday evening Miriam, Helena’s good friend who lives nearby, came to meet me. Thursday we went to her house. A chair was brought out for me, and the other women sat on a blanket on the ground for that purpose. Miriam has fruit trees and gave me a big mango and several lemons.

Saturday I made my first trip to town, which will be a weekly event because that’s where to purchase food. Sark walked me to the road to get a hike (ride). I think he told the young man to take me to the junction, as he returned after dropping me off. Then I got a taxi to the shopping center I’d been to with Angel. I spent a few hours walking around the shops to see what is there and to pick up my supplies, as no one shop had them all. Since I’m settling in, I needed things for the room and for school. After walking around the mall, I walked to the corner and came upon a market where lots of dried goods are sold 

as well as traditional dresses, 

baby carriers, some clothes in piles, and a few personal care items. I got a taxi to the junction, and the driver drove me down the road a bit to where he thought I could get a hike. The corner seemed like a good place to me, but he thought the shade under a tree farther down was where people used to wait. I walked for a bit while waiting for vehicles to come by. The fourth car was going to the village and had room for me. The woman said Helena is her auntie and her mother lives behind the school. She has three children, ages 2, 6, and 8. The older girls speak English fluently, and the 6-year-old was quite chatty. I enjoyed meeting them.

Back at the homestead, Helena’s friend was visiting and she brought her to meet me. When I was returning from the toilet, Helena called me over to one of the small buildings to help grind. This was the small hut that I didn’t know the purpose of. I noticed that are three holes in the floor, and they were pounding millet in two of them. I realized that this was what I’d seen at the market and hadn’t known what it was. (Addition: I learned several weeks later that I really didn’t know what it was. I thought it was millet, but it was sorghum, which is used to make a traditional alcoholic beverage.)
 

Helena wanted me to try; so I did. I could do it but not as strongly or quickly as they do. After the grain was pounded, they scooped it out to a pile on the floor. 

Then Helena sat down and started shaking the ground bits on a flat basket so that the large pieces were returned to the pile. The remaining powder was put into a large basket. It took me a while to realize that the powder was the finished product. After completing the process, the larger bits were ground again with a bit of flour and water added. 

The process was repeated until all the grain was ground, which took about 2.5 hours. It was a good way to hang out with Helena and bond with her a bit. Helena mentioned a few times that this was tradition; it is the traditional way to thresh millet. I was hesitant about taking photos since that’s not a common practice here like it is in Thailand and China; so I thought I’d wait till the next time. Then I realized that there may not be a next time since we were doing so much and I got the camera. The women were happy to have me take photos. 

Later I noticed that the ground powder was drying on plastic on the ground, which reminded me of all the rice I've seen drying that way.

Helena even told me to take one of her and took off her hair covering to let her hair hang out for the photo. Later I noticed that the ground powder was drying on plastic on the ground.

I washed my clothes afterwards and hung the hangers along the fence since I didn’t have a line. When Sark saw them, he decided that I needed a line and we made a plan for where to put it. While I was reading in the shade, he put a pole in the ground and put a wire between it and the fence. I hadn’t realized that he was doing it right then and was surprised when I went around the corner and saw my clothes hanging on the line.

Early mornings (6:30) are now so cool that I need a jacket to walk to the toilet. Sark wears a sweater and sometimes a hood every morning. He also wears a sweater in the evening.

I continue to enjoy the sunsets but have stopped taking photos of them since they are pretty much the same.

Arrival in My Village (1-20)

Sunday morning at 8:00 a driver from the Oshana Regional Office of Education picked up Abby and me to take us to our sites. We took a different road out of Windhoek that passed a section of shanty huts (tin) outside the city. Then we connected with the same road we took to Oshikunde, which was rather familiar after traveling it twice. About two-thirds of the way, we turned west onto a different road that quickly entered the flat, dry desert. 

At 4:00 we arrived at the meeting point in Ongwediva where Abby’s principal was to meet her. However, she was 40 minutes late, which made the driver quite irritated and which meant that the man meeting me had to wait almost an hour in the afternoon heat, which he wasn’t happy about. But we both got met and taken to our sites.

Ompundja is fifteen kilometers south of Oshakati. The first couple kilometers are paved and the rest of the road is gravel. Off the gravel road, the roads to many parts of the village are sand. Unlike Thai villages and villages in many places, the villages here do not have a central area. Homesteads are scattered with lots of space between them. In fact, there is often not a homestead in site or it is far in the distance. There are several small shops around, but they don’t have much—a few canned foods, some personal care items, and some drinks.

Angel, who met me, is the school’s Head of Department, which he said is like an assistant principal since there is only one HOD. He delivered me to the homestead that will be my home for the rest of the year. When we arrived, my luggage was taken from his pickup to my room. The 50-pound suitcase was put on top of the woman’s head, and she carried it to my room. Wheels are not useful on sand.

My “room” is really three rooms—

a bedroom, 

a living room, 

and a kitchen. The Office of Education provided a stove with an oven and a refrigerator. The men hooked up the gas for the stove, and it works well. I was especially happy to see the stove, as I had anticipated a hot plate like I had in China. Having four burners seems luxurious, as did the oven until I realized that it doesn’t have gas. I was really happy to have a way to cook a bit of food for dinner and was glad I’d purchased a few items as it quickly became clear that I was expected to take care of dinner myself.

The refrigerator was moved to the bedroom because that’s where the only electric outlet is. My room has no electricity. The outlet is on a long extension cord from the hosts’ room. I’ve purchased a plug with three outlets so I can have more than one item at a time receiving electricity. The first night, they turned the outlet extension off when the lights were turned off, which meant that the refrigerator was off all night. I talked to people at school about that, and they arranged for me to pay the electric company N$100/$6 to keep the outlet on always. There are light bulbs in the bedroom and living room that are attached to lines from the hosts’ room, as are other bulbs around the complex. They turn the lights on after sunset, around 8:00, and turn them off between 10:00 and 11:15, and it’s always a surprise when they go out. It’s good that I can use the computer and Kindle without the overhead light.

My hosts are Sark, the short name he gave me when I needed more practice saying his longer name (partly because I have difficulty understanding him), and Helena. They are an older couple and have been quite solicitous. He brought a couple containers of drinking and cooking water as well as a large bucket of water for bathing. He also brought a tub to put water in for washing and gave me matches so I could light the stove. In the morning, he brought a big pan for cooking porridge, which I didn’t have but which is a standard breakfast food. 

When I went for a walk Sunday evening, they came to meet me on the way back, saying they were terrified that I would get lost. Monday evening when I walked toward a shop Helena had pointed out to me, she told two boys to walk with me. Monday and Tuesday Sark made sure I was awake and ready to go to school on time. He asked if I had washed my whole body on Monday and instructed me to do so on Tuesday; so I guess morning washing is the thing to do here. They also stop by in the afternoon to check in with me. He is a security guard at the clinic, which is around the corner. She works at an office having to do with agriculture that is also within walking distance.

The washing area is a separate building close to my room. I think Angel said they had just finished it. It may not be totally new, but I can tell that some work was done on it, and the roof is new. There is a column on which the big tub sits for washing. Water is brought to the area in a large bucket that I refill daily at the tap in another part of the complex. I was glad I had bought a camping kit of dishes that has a small bowl that is perfect for throwing water on my body. And the cup is perfect for brushing my teeth.

The toilet is outside the building complex, as they are not usually in the “house.” It is 150 steps to get there from my door. Needless to say, it is not a flush toilet, but the hole is quite deep and doesn’t smell too much. 

There is a square-shaped concrete seat to sit on in such a way that the body hangs over the hole. It didn’t take long to learn how to sit appropriately. I take my tissue with me. The hosts use newspaper.

The homestead is divided into several small areas. 

These include their outside kitchen, a storage area with baskets to store the grain (millet), a food and wood storage hut, and a few other buildings. 

Another area has the water tap and lots of buckets of water and their washing area. There is also a covered area where their car is parked. The whole area is surrounded by a stick fence.

Chickens run around inside and outside the homestead, and goats are outside the complex but within the fence.

Monday night we had the first rain of the season. A couple people had mentioned that they were waiting for the rain, which was late coming. It definitely cooled things down, especially in the mornings. The rest of the week was overcast, but it was still plenty hot in the afternoon. More rain occurred Tuesday night.

Back in Windhoek (1-16)

Sunday morning we headed back to Windhoek, another ten-hour drive. Most of the day was overcast; so we didn’t have the brilliant, blue skies. Toward the end of the trip we could see rain in the distance. Having made the trip twice now, I feel an affinity with the landscape. It has drawn me in. The phrase “Under the African skies” now has meaning to me. I do love the wide expanses and the blue skies, especially with bright white clouds.

Back in Windhoek, we enjoyed the cooler temperature. We were given Sunday off. A half day off was scheduled, and Rachel decided to have the rest of the day off as well and squeeze the sessions in during the rest of the week. This was a much-needed break for all of us. The others went to see Star Wars, which was the second time for the women. Since I wasn’t interested in seeing it again, I relaxed and read in a comfortable chair at the hostel and then went for a wander. 

First I wandered through the nearby mall, as we didn’t really have time to do that on our first visit and we were jet lagged then. Sunday I had time and energy; so I wandered through a few of the stores to see what is there. Since our first trip was during the week-long holiday between Christmas and New Year’s when “everyone” leaves the city and goes to the coast, the mall was pretty empty then. With the holiday over, it was crowded with many people shopping. While wandering around, I realized that I had become accustomed to seeing dark-skinned people as the norm.

Then I wandered along the pedestrian mall. On Sundays, most stores close at 1:00, but a couple were open until 2:00. I found it interesting that they open during church hours and close in the early afternoon. I ended out purchasing my first Namibian clothes—a skirt and top.

Next I headed for the museum that was my destination. The guide book stated that it is open from 3:00 to 6:00 on Sunday, but when I arrived at 2:30, the door was open. The woman said she hadn’t closed for lunch and always opens at 10:00. This was the Owella Museum, which focuses on culture. There is a section on each of several of the main ethnic groups in Namibia. Unfortunately, most of the information is outdated, with references to articles in 1975, making it a museum of past cultures for the most part. I found myself wishing all of the women in the dioramas weren’t bare topped or that it was clearly stated that these were past traditions, as only one tribe continues to dress that way traditionally. A particularly good section was the one on the San tribe, otherwise known as Bushmen. It explained how their image as “uncivilized” people has been exploited over the years and that they no longer live that lifestyle. Unfortunately, though, most are poor and on welfare.

As always, I enjoyed the pottery, jewelry, and baskets in the displays. 

The last section has models of women from several tribes wearing traditional clothing.

Next I headed to the National Museum, which was described in the guide book as being in one of the oldest buildings (1890) in the city and as having a good exhibit of replicas of rock art. Neither is currently true. The building is very modern and the museum is called the Independence Memorial Museum. 

No rock art replicas, but the ground floor does have some cultural exhibits in which I enjoyed the beaded bags. 

The next two floors are all about the war for independence from South Africa. I hadn’t realized that so many Namibians left the country during that time and returned when it was over. 

A special part of the building is the glass elevators, only one of which was working, on the exterior from which there are exquisite views across the city and valley.

Across from the museum is Christuskirche, known for its beautiful architecture. It is stunning against the blue sky. I thoroughly enjoyed my alone time wandering as I like to do.

Monday it was back to training and orientation for the last week. Content is pretty much things I knew or have known, but it didn’t hurt to review and bring the ideas back to the front of my brain.

Tuesday we had an outing to the Single Quarter Market, which is a local market. 

One section has fresh meat lying on the tables. The back row has people grilling beef. 

There are a few stalls with vegetables—green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. There are tables where people can eat food they have purchased. I tried a fat cake, which is fried, unsweetened dough, that was quite tasty. Another section of the market has barbers, hairdressers, and tailors.

After visiting the market, Rachel drove us past the President’s house on the way to 

the Parliament gardens where we picked up a catered lunch to eat in the garden. This was a nice treat.

Our other outing of the week was to the National Library from which books are sent to schools. Many are donated from organizations such as Book Aid, but some are purchased. When books are purchased, they are purchased for all school libraries in the country. Donated books are divided so that every school receives the same number of books.

We split up after the library visit, and I walked back while the others took a taxi. On the way I found a fabric store. I’d been looking for one so I could purchase fabric to use as a top sheet. The store had special sheet fabric; so I bought a length. I also bought an African-style print I liked to use as a top cover. I was happy.

Friday we went to the Peace Corps office for a brief orientation. It was interesting to learn what they are doing here—about half education, a third health, and the rest community development. We learned that 20,000 learners recently sat for the university entrance exam, but only 6000 had qualifying scores due to lack of English skills since the exams in all subjects are in English. Even if more had done well, there were only about 7000 openings.

In the afternoon we had time to do some shopping in preparation for leaving on Sunday; so we went to the new, more upscale mall that the others had been to on Sunday. Most of the people shopping there were white, and there was definitely more of a mixture than at the other mall. When checking out at one store, we were given a free copy of their magazine, mostly advertisements. I looked through it to see what the models looked like, and, as anticipated, there were very few really dark skinned models. There was a balance between white skin and milk chocolate and lighter skin tones. As in Asia, light is better/ more beautiful.

Since Saturday was our last day in the city, we had much of the day to prepare to leave. I headed out for a final wander and some shopping. On the way to the museum, I stopped at Tourist Information where I chatted with a woman named Racqueline and picked up a number of maps, which I was excited to get. Looking at the map of the North, I finally got some of the place names and locations sorted, as I had been confusing them because the names sounded similar to me. I returned to the National Museum to check out the old building, as I had figured out that it was the museum described in the guide book. It is indeed an old fort, but it is closed now that the newer Museum of Independence has taken its place. Next I stopped at the art museum where there was a special exhibit of student creations that I enjoyed. They have a permanent exhibit that was not on display due to this special exhibit. There is a nice shop, too, that features mostly Namibian products—mainly baskets from the North. These are made from palm leaves and remind me of Southwest Native American baskets. I bought a small one for N$75/$4.50. (N$ is how Namibian dollars is written.) I also fell in love with a stone carving that turned out to be from Zimbabwe, but I bought it anyway.

On the way back to the hostel, I stopped to purchase supplies for the first couple days in the village—a small pan, canned beans, granola bars, instant soup, and toilet tissue. As at many stores, the checkout line is one line, rather than individual lines for each cashier. You go through the long line and then go to the next available cashier. The line always winds through aisles of candy and sweets to tempt shoppers to make impulse purchases.

Public toilets cost N$2/$.12, which includes a big wad of tissue.

Our final session with Rachel was personal conferences. Then we went to her home for a celebration dinner prepared by her and her boyfriend. The featured meat was oryx, which I decided to try. I’m sure it was delicious, but four bites was more than enough for me. We enjoyed the view across the city from their apartment. Before leaving, we watched distant low lightning that brightened the clouds on the horizon.