As
November began, I was aware that my teaching days are winding down, in general not
only here in Namibia, since this is my last teaching position. Last week was
the final week of classes, and I found myself feeling nostalgic, thinking about
my 40+ years of teaching in New Mexico, Iowa, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Arizona,
Thailand, China, and Namibia. And about the many schools, teachers, and
students I have encountered over the years. It’s been a wonderful career.
A few
of the grade 8 boys hung out with me when they didn’t have classes, which was
nice. Sometimes it’s surprising who hangs out with me. They had me take photos,
which they enjoy posing for even though they don’t want them.
Final
exams for grades 8 and 9 began on Friday. They have one subject a day for two
weeks. My reading and writing exams were on Tuesday; however, the listening
exam isn’t until the 29th, the last day of exams and two days before
final marks need to be turned in to be entered into learners’ reports. Fortunately,
listening exams are easy to mark and I can have everything else ready so I’ll
just need to total the exam sections for the final exam mark and then calculate
the final marks, which include class work for all three terms as well as the
final exam (50% each). Class work was not part of the term marks for the first
two terms.
Two
weeks ago Hollyanne had her fundraising gala. Since she asked for help, I went
to assist her. Abby was also there. My job was bartender, which meant giving
free drinks that came with the dinner and selling additional drinks. A high
school learner assisted, and all went well. The event was disappointing to
Hollyanne since only about 60 people of the potential 150 showed up. This meant
that not many pledges for the new ICT building were made. But all went well
otherwise. It was interesting for me to observe the teachers and learners who
are much more sophisticated than the ones at my school. Her school is a private
school, and the grade 4 learners are fluent in English. The teachers and
learners are very “townie,” compared to the village people at my school.
Holyanne
was very appreciative of my being there, especially since the parent who had
promised to be a bartender didn’t show up. Saturday morning the three of us
went out for breakfast to a place they frequent. I had the most delicious pizza
I’ve had for years. We had a good time chatting while we waited and ate. All in
all, it was nice to spend time with Hollyanne and Abby as well as to be able to
help out. Since it was the last time we would be together, Hollyanne took a
selfie.
When I
went to the big Walmart-type store, I was surprised to see Christmas
decorations. I just learned that the store is owned by Walmart, thus the
Walmart-like appearance. The grocery stores also have them, but not as many
yet. Workers at the grocery store are wearing read vests and Santa hats.
One
Sunday after church Kowmongwa and Helena came to have me take photos of them
dressed in their church attire. They both changed clothes once, and Helena
changed twice for the series of photos.
It
has rained several times, and once there was enough rain to leave small puddles
for a couple days. But nothing green popped up after the rain. There's so little for animals to eat that Wilhelmina is buying cardboard boxes to feed her cattle. A good benefit
for me is that the top layer of sand is now crusty, which means that my toes
have been white for two weeks because they are not covered with sand every
step. Another benefit is that the temperatures have dropped back into the 90s.
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