End of term 1 (4-26)

The first of three school terms has ended. Term tests (They are not called exams because these are set by the school’s teachers and exams are set by the regional or national offices.) started on the 12^th for grades 8-10 and on the 15^th for grades 4-7. One subject was tested every day for the first two hours. (Most were finished within one hour.) Teachers took turns, according to a timetable, invigilating the tests. Learners were told they were to stay in their classrooms until 10:00. However, most teachers left the room when all learners were finished with the test. So, of course, the learners went out. I kept mine in the room.

After a post-test break, we were to have classes. Later I was told I could have classes if I wanted to. Since rooms were set up for the tests, teachers could go to the homerooms to have class. It was quickly apparent that the only teachers holding classes were those reviewing for an upcoming test. It was also clear that learners didn’t want to do anything except study for the test the next day. So, since my tests were on the 13^th, I had no classes for the last ten days. I did have from six to twelve learners come to my room to study in a quiet place, as their classmates were noisy in the unsupervised rooms. And the grade 8 classes were keen to do speeches—impromptu talks; so we did those one day. After the 12:15 break, the learners stayed outside running around and talking loudly. I really struggled with the lack of discipline and the way no one did anything to keep the learners quiet and in class. Finally, on the second week of tests, they were told to go home at 1:00. It was much less stressful and more peaceful then.

I learned that the report learners get lists only their test results. Wilhelmina said I could give them their class work marks if I wanted to; so I did that on the last two days. Some were very happy to have a D; a few were disappointed with a B. They do not get a copy of their Continuous Assessment/class work mark, which seems strange to me. These marks are recorded on a form that no one sees except me—and an inspector if one comes to the school and wants to see it. I also learned that the first term test and the second term regional exam don’t count for their final passing mark; only the national exam at the end of term 3 is included in that. The passing mark is the national exam mark plus the average of the class work marks for the three terms divided by two. So, in the end, the class work counts, just not for each term. Grades, called symbols here, are 80-100=A, 70-79=B, 60-60=C, 50-59=D, 40-49=, E, 30-39=F, and 20-29=G. F is considered a passing mark except for English and math and for grade 10 passing mark to go to grade 11. Even with an F in one or more subjects, they can pass to the next grade if the total of their points (A=7 to G=1) is enough.

One of my tour payments had to be made by bank transfer. Since I couldn’t do that from my American bank, I went to the bank here on Friday to get money to deposit and to change dollars so I’d have enough. I learned that money can be changed only at the Oshikati branch, which meant returning to town on Saturday. The woman did, however, link my account and the agency’s account so I could make the transfer at an ATM when I had the funds. Deposits can only be made with a teller, which meant standing in line for 35 minutes last Saturday morning.

Since I was going to be in town on that Saturday, I contacted Kamilia, the Egyptian woman who rescued me after the last bus trip, to see if she wanted to get together. She invited me for breakfast before going to the bank. It was good to see her again. She also invited two other Egyptian women who have been here for several weeks doing their mission work at their church. They are Coptic Orthodox, which is different from Greek or Russian Orthodox. To them, fasting is not eating meat. Now they are fasting for 43 days before their Easter. I find it fascinating that their Easter is different from the mainstream Christian Easter as well as from the Greek Orthodox Easter. I learned later that this is the largest Christian church in northern Africa and that they follow the Julian, rather than the Gregorian, calendar; thus the different dates. The women were quite nice, and we had a good chat while Kamilia was finishing cooking as well as during the meal. They asked me to pray before eating; so I said a couple sentences. I realized that they expected more and were probably a little stunned by my not mentioning God or Jesus. But no one said anything.

That was not a good hiking day; so I got in lots of good walking while I waited for a vehicle to come along and pick me up. It took 40 minutes to get a ride in the morning, which is the longest I’ve had to wait. After half an hour, I met another woman on the road, and we walked together until a truck stopped. When I mentioned to Kamila that it had taken unusually long, she pointed out that people would be out of money because pay day is next week. It took almost an hour to get a ride on the way back. After half an hour, a man picked me up and drove me up the road a bit. Then I walked another 20 minutes till another truck stopped. I shared the back of this truck with a bull’s head.

For a snack one day Wilhelmina brought me some cooked beans from her garden. They were delicious. These are beans in which you eat the inside beans and not the pods. Another day she had some fried insects she had bought from a woman who’d brought them to the office to sell. They are very common in watermelon fields these days. She instructed me to rub them to remove the legs. They were also tasty.

Another new food: gem squash. These are tennis ball sized squash that Rachel introduced us to during training. Last week I baked them myself for the first time. 

Monday was a teachers’ work day. Those whose tests were on Friday were finishing their paper work, and Rebecca was busy inputting their marks on the learners’ reports. Most of the day I did some research for articles to use next term and prepared a couple reading texts.

There was a two-hour meeting with parents. The only part I understood was when I was introduced. Fortunately, the meeting was in my classroom and I was sitting near my desk; so after a while I picked up the textbooks and jotted down some ideas for teaching the next units. After the meeting, a few parents came to greet me and shake my hand.

Since the end of the term is also the end of Memory’s internship with Rebecca, we had her good-bye party after school on Monday. I had thought it would be at 2:00, as the others have been, but they were on Fridays, and this was Monday when we are to be at school till 4:00. So we ate late. Wilhelmina had purchased fried chicken, salad, and vegetables for me since I don’t eat the beef that was prepared for everyone else.

Tuesday morning learners came to school to pick up their reports. First we had to wait while some teachers, mostly primary grades, completed the learners’ reports. Then they assembled to receive reports. 

The top ten learners in the school were announced first and received an exercise book and a pen. 

Then the top learners in each grade were announced, and the first few received a notebook and pen. Grade 9 and 10 teachers announced the total points of the learners. After this, the rest of the learners received their reports.

  

Sunday night Helena brought me a watermelon. They have a friend who grows watermelon and had brought one for me to take a slice of the week before, but this whole one was for me. I think it was a thank you gift for the photos I’d given them. Since I couldn’t eat that much watermelon in two days, I took most of it to school to share with the teachers.

Much of the mahangu is now brown and the seeds are emerging. Some is taller than I while some is waist high. There are also some smaller plants that are just putting out their flower. 

Sorghum is also flowering now. The plant is very similar to the mahangu plant. 

I also found a tiny watermelon on a plant among the sorghum. Part of me regrets that I’ll miss the next month of changes.

One thing I won’t miss is the holiday classes that will be during the last two weeks of the holiday. I don’t know the details; I just know that they are happening and teachers are expected to teach. 

Random Bits of Life (4-10)

Daylight Savings Time ended last Sunday. Fortunately, I’d purchased a newspaper on Friday and had seen the reminder. Otherwise it would have been strange to wake up to one time on my phone clock, which changed automatically, and a different time on my clock, watch, and Kindle. School was much livelier at 7:30 Monday morning, as many learners and several teachers were there. The former did not know that the time had changed and had arrived very early. The rest of the week there were more learners at school early, and a couple of the teachers also arrived earlier than they had before. I guess having it light earlier got them going sooner. Dropping back an hour also means that it’s dark around 6:15 now. If I’m going to cook, I need to do it before 6:00 when the kitchen is dark. Helena has been turning off the lights to sleep between 8:00 and 8:30, which is really early for me. It also means I need to return from town earlier, as it’s not good to hitch in the dark. I’m adjusting.

At the staff meeting a couple weeks ago we were told that observations would be last week. Tuesday we received individual notifications with official school stamps that they would take place on Wednesday. Mine was during grade 10, which is always a good class. But these days, most of the classes have been good; so any class would have been OK. Grade 9, which used to be challenging, has settled down and is usually pretty good these days. Wilhelmina’s observation didn’t happen till Thursday; so she was busy writing the lesson plan forms for two days, which was the first time I’d seen her do that. She even asked if I’d seen her doing lesson plans before, as she doesn’t usually do them.

Last week a cute frog was hanging out in my washing room. 

It stayed in an indentation in one of the corners. One day there was a fingernail-sized frog in place of the bigger one. It has reminded me of the frog that lived on the corner wall of my first Thai house. On Saturday there were frogs of all sizes hopping all over my yard, and a few even came into the house. Now they’re gone. This happened with frogs in the fields after the first big rain, too. I heard them for only a few nights, and then they were gone. They must have moved on or have a very short life cycle.

The hornet and big ants that were in the house when I left have moved on, which is nice. I didn’t mind the ants, as they just did their thing and moved on out, and they stayed in the living room and kitchen. The hornet had built a nest in the bedroom. I didn’t realize what it was for a few days. Then I knocked it down. One has flown in, circled around, and left a few times, but there are no new nests, which I think is good.

It’s weeding time in the fields. Last Saturday I joined Helena, Kamongwa, and another man and woman for two hours. Weeding is more intense than thinning because you are constantly hoeing, not stopping to pull out small plants. Helena and Kamongwa do this for six to eight hours a day every day except Sunday. After my two hours Saturday, I was done in for most of the rest of the day. Kamangwa thought more photos were necessary.

Last Sunday morning I decided to do some hoeing in my yard, as it is now covered with the weeds. The green weeds don’t blend in with the sand, so they stand out much more than they do in the grass. This Saturday I decided to spend my hoeing time in the yard instead of in the field. Hoeing there is easier than hoeing in the field, as there are no good plants to work around; everything gets hoed up. When Helena saw my work, she said it was nice and said I have qualifications.

Last Sunday I noticed that Kamongwa was hoeing in the area next to my yard that was full of tall weeds. After he took them out, I could see corn plants. This is the maize garden. He had often referred to his corn, which was confusing me. I finally figured out that he is calling mahangu “corn” instead of “millet.”

Some of the millet flowers are starting to emerge from the plants.

The donkeys are enjoying the grass growing in the lake beside the homestead. They are often there, and I can hear them braying even at night.

The resident cat finally sat for a moment when it saw me—long enough to snap a photo. I seldom see it, and it has always run immediately upon sighting me in the vicinity.

On our journey I had Rachel point out the Southern Cross. When I returned home and went out one night, there it was directly across from my door. Now I enjoy seeing it when the night sky is clear.

Angel drove me to town one Friday. When we passed a homestead with its fence, he pointed to it and asked, “You don’t have those in the U.S., do you?” When I told him about gated communities, he was surprised. His comment was “So there are thieves in the U.S., too.” He said he had thought there were only thieves in Africa. I added that some of them are white and that there are thieves in every country.

Thursday evening we had the first good rain for a couple weeks. I was sitting outside when it started. When I rounded the corner of the house, there was a brilliant, semi-circle rainbow. I got a photo just before the downpour began. It rained again Friday night.

On the way to town Friday, Wilhelmina told me to drive on the gravel road, as she wasn’t feeling well. Since I hadn’t driven a stick shift for over twenty years and had been wondering how long it would take me to learn again, this was a good opportunity. It took no time at all to get the feel of the clutch and gears, and I didn’t even think about shifting with my left hand. I practiced staying on the left a bit, although driving in the middle is standard on that road. When we got to the tar road, she took over, which was fine, as I’m not ready to drive on the left in traffic yet. But I’m ready to have more practice. It was exciting to be driving successfully here.

Sunday I was itching to buy my bus ticket to Windhoek at the start of our term break in two weeks. So I hiked into town and bought the ticket. While there, I decided that it would be a good day to buy blankets for the upcoming cold season since I had time and didn’t have other shopping to do. I also looked at some clothes. I find it interesting that, while in China and Thailand, I struggled to find clothes in my size—L or XL—here I struggle to find clothes in my size—M. There is an abundance of L and XL, and they really are large. People come in all sizes here, and many of the women are large. As in the U.S., my size is common, and there isn’t always a big selection.

On the way back I sat in the back with a family with five children ages 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10. The three-year-old hardly took his eyes off me. It was nice of them to squeeze me in, and I enjoyed chatting with the woman. They live in Oshakati and were going to their village home 60 km down the road to check their mahangu. That’s a long way on that gravel road.

When I returned home, Helena came to see me and was pleased to show me her traditional dress that she had worn to church. Then she went home and returned wearing another traditional dress. I could tell that these are special clothes because they are not worn out like most of her clothes. When she left, she said she told me to take photos. (I’m getting used to her telling me what to do, rather than asking as we would do. It’s typical Namibian, not just Helena.) She returned home and put on a necklace and two bracelets, telling me they are traditional. We went to the field for the photos, and she got into posing, which was fun.

In my house, she noticed my plush jacket that I keep on the end of the bed for use in the cool mornings. I’m sure shhe’s seen me wear it on the way to the toilet. She told me to give it to her when I leave. The fact that it fits me snugly and her belly and breasts are much bigger than mine didn’t bother her wen I told her it’s too small for her. I think she wants it because it came from the U.S. 

The path to the toilet is now through the field. There is a well-worn path across the rows and then we walk between the rows to the building.

Sunsets continue to awe me. 

Mountains and Rock Art (3-28)

Last Monday evening I left Oshakati for Windhoek on the night bus. It’s a comfortable bus with cushioned seats that recline a little. The bus left at 7:00 and arrived at 4:30. After picking up all the passengers in Oshakati, Ongwediva, and Ondagwa, the welcome video was played. It started with a prayer for a safe journey. After the announcements, a very Christian movie was played. Since I was sitting near a screen, I listened to it while I read. The bus stopped for half an hour at 1:00. Between the movie and the stop and after the stop, I managed to sleep for several hours.

When I arrived at the guesthouse, I slept more on the couch. Then I walked around and did a little shopping. I was excited to find a pan for cooking in the oven. Last month I finally figured out how to light the oven. There’s a small cover that swings out to expose the hole into which you drop a match. I had looked at the stores here and couldn’t find any baking trays or pans. Both stores I went to in Windhoek have them. I realized that most people in the villages do not have an oven; so such pans aren’t needed here in many homes. I also bought a 100% cotton sheet to replace the mostly polyester one I had to buy here. I think that shop is the only one in Namibia that sells 100% cotton sheets. After walking around the mall, I found the shops that sell crafts and enjoyed looking at their goods. Most are rather expensive. I liked one necklace that was $40, which is not a bad price for it, but I realized that I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing something so expensive here because other teachers can’t afford it.

Wednesday I found the craft center where there are stalls at which various groups sell their crafts. Each stall has a poster telling about the group and how the profits are used. I enjoyed walking around and looking at everything for a couple hours. I picked up a couple ostrich shell necklaces that I will enjoy wearing to school. I also had a nice lunch at the café there.

Thursday morning Rachel picked me up for our three-day road trip. When she was here for her observation, she had asked if I had plans. Since my plan had fallen through and I had not yet made a new one, she offered to travel with me because she likes the area I was planning to go to. It worked out well. We rented a car which she drove because she couldn’t add me as a driver without my physical license. Since I haven’t driven a stick shift for over twenty years and have no experience driving on the left, that worked out well.

Thursday’s destination was Spitzkoppe, a mountain known for its red rocks. As do many rock formations in the Southwest, Spitzkoppe juts out of the desert and is visible for many kilometers. Being there reminded me a lot of the parks in southern Utah. 

We walked up to a rock pool that Rachel hadn’t been to before. 

Then we ate lunch under an arch. 

After lunch we hired a guide to take us to a section of the park that can only be visited with a guide. It was Rachel’s first time to do this, and it was nice to be able to do some things that were new for her. First he took us to Small Bushman’s Paradise, a small cave with rock paintings that are 2000-4000 years old. The paintings were made with ochre, animal blood and a white poisonous plant. 

They feature men hunting and several animals—lion, elephant, eagle, ostrich, rhino. 

Outside the gate to the next area, the guide pointed out leopard paw prints in the sand. 

On the way to our destination, we saw three zebras. The red rocks made a stunning background for them. 

We stopped at a rock pool to enjoy the water and the view. 

The final stop was a cave in which we saw the Golden Snake, a painting of a snake and a man. Both are missing their heads because the medicine man had been ill and then was cured; so the heads were scratched off.

I loved being in the park with its rocks and desert. Rachel had been there several times before, as it’s a good place for rock climbing, her hobby. I learned a lot about rock climbing as she shared her enthusiasm. 

And I loved riding through the desert on the way there and back.

We spent the night in Uis, a very small town. Friday we went to Brandberg Mountain to see the rock paintings. 

At 2573 meters/8442 feet, Brandberg is Namibia’s highest mountain. The paintings are in a shelter that takes 45 minutes to walk to with a guide. 

On the way, I enjoyed the trees and plants and was introduced to the beautiful Shepherd’s tree.  

We also saw a number of rock hyraxes, called rock gusties here. 

Our guide pointed out a couple trees with elephant damage. 

Namibia’s most famous rock painting—the white lady— is here. 

The painting is actually a medicine man but was mistaken to be a woman by the European who discovered it, and the name has stuck. It is about 5000 years old. 

The surrounding paintings, mostly animals, are 2000-5000 years old and were made with ochre, blood, and a poisonous white plant.

After finishing at Brandberg, we drove to Twyfelfontein, a site famous for its petroglyphs. I had read about it and knew I would have to find a way to get there; so it worked out well that Rachel was willing to go there again. At the junction to go there, children stand by the road holding out empty water bottles to ask for water. Having been there before, Rachel was prepared. On the way back we gave the remainder of our bread to a boy.

Twyfelontein has about 2000 rock pictures, mostly animals, that are 2000-2500 years old. 

One rock features animals and their tracks. It was used to teach children about tracking, an important skill for the ancient bushmen. 

One has a dolphin and penguin. These would have been seen by people who traveled to the coast, returned and drew pictures to show everyone what they saw. 

At the end of the tour, one of the other men asked if there are any paintings at the site. When the guide said there are only a few, he asked if we could see them. They were only a couple minutes away; so we go to walk there and see the paintings, which was pretty special.

After a second night in Uis, we headed back to Windhoek on Saturday. In one town we stopped at a café Rachel had been to that often has carrot cake. That was lunch. Across the street there are market stalls; so we walked around them for a short time. I bought a PCV piping bracelet. I’d seen them in Windhoek as was fascinated by them. This one cost N$100, which seemed like a lot, but he had reduced the price from N$150; so I agreed to it. At the craft center in Windhoek, they sell for N$30. So that man knew he had a naïve tourist and made a good profit. I figure he needs the money more than I do. And I like the bracelet.

Since the return bus on Sunday was also a night bus, I returned to the craft center to buy some dolls. Then I relaxed at the hostel until it was time to go to the bus. Leokadia called to ask me to take a bag of food to Kamongwa; so she met me at the bus station. She gave me a small present—two caps to cover my hair at night. I guess women wear them here. Since I was taking the bag to Kamongwa, Leokadia said she would ask him to ask someone to drive me to the village. His idea was that I could wait until 6:30 or so and then it would be easy to get a hike because many people would be going to the funeral in Ompundja. Since the bus arrived at 5:00, I wasn’t enthused about this plan, as I would have to wait in the shop if they let me or outside if they didn’t allow me to sit inside for over an hour. Fortunately, when I got off the bus, the woman I’d met in line who had said she would help me found me and took me to her house to sleep for a while. I had a good sleep for two hours and read while she slept two more hours. Kamilia and her husband are Egyptian and have been here for 26 years. He teaches at the university, and she is an architect working for the government. He prepared an Egyptian breakfast—tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and fava beans with Egyptian seasoning. After eating, we chatted for over an hour until I needed to return home. It was really nice to meet them. A nice finish to the holiday except that their dog got into my bag when I went to get some water and met the husband and started talking. When I was leaving and wanted my eye drops, I realized that the dog had removed that small bag. We found it in the yard—emptied. All was fine except the camera battery which was chewed beyond recognition. I’ll have to buy a new one before the next holiday.