Good-bye summers; hello digestion!

Last week was our midservice in Windhoek. All the semester volunteers met up with the summer volunteers to talk about our experiences, eat too much food, and bond before saying good-bye to all the summers. Before midservice I had been preparing for exams. Writing up practice tests and hoping that my learners are somewhat prepared for their finals. I invigilated (best new word ever) two exams and then headed out to Rundu last Wednesday. Katie, Megan, Mita, Jen and I all went out for pizza for Megan’s farewell dinner and got ready for our big 8 hour trek down to Windhoek. It was a lovely evening and made me realize how much I’m going to miss Megan. It’s been great to have her so close, and I can’t believe the summer is already over.

That night at midnight I wake up to Mita’s alarm clock to wish me a happy birthday and 5 SMS’s from my colleague John, back in Sitopogo. It was a great way to start my big 2-5. The rest of the day was really magical. We met up with our driver, Manfried, at 9am and made great time down to Windhoek. The drive through the country is beautiful. We take the B1 All the way from Rundu down to the capital, passing though Ga bunch of super cute towns. Luckily Manfried had a MP3 CD so we weren’t stuck listening to the same song over and over again, like many hikes. When we finally got down to Windhoek we were greeted by the other volunteers. I can’t believe it had been so long since we last saw them. There were many conversations throughout the weekend/drive about how odd the passage of time is. How it can simultaneously go quickly and slowly…you know that deep philosophical stuff you do on road trips.

Anyways that night the Kavango crew aka Mita, Jen, Megan, and I went out for dinner and dancing for my birthday. We went to a Portuguese restaurant in Klien Windhoek (do we think it’s jewish? Klien?) where I had a giant stick of meat, wine, and crème brulee. It was delicious. The four of us were hilarious during the entire dinner. It was as if none of us had ever seen a restaurant before in our lives. But this was the first time we were going out to a classy establishment in 2 ½ months. At the restaurant there was another woman celebrating her birthday; so we combined our tables and had one large celebration. After a while one of the young gents at the table told us he was the owner of El Cubano (“the club” in Windhoek) so we decided to make our way over there for some dancing before heading back to back packers.

All in all my twenty-fifth was incredible, one of my favorite birthdays ever. It was so special to spend it in Namibia with my new volunteer friends, and we all felt as though we were being so indulgent. I haven’t had a night like that since arriving in Namibia and it reminded me of some of my favorite Boston memories, plus I got a call from the fam and Cassie….What could be any better? I think 25 is going to be a good year.

We spent the next 4 days in Windhoek catching up with the other volunteers. The four semester volunteers met up to share teaching experiences, and get tips for how to address the rest of our year. Though Mita, Jen, and I all knew each others’ stories, it was still very helpful to meet up away from school. Plus hanging out with all the summer volunteers was great! I can’t believe they are already back in the states. I still have 4 months left in Namibia and who knows how long in Africa. They were a great group of kids, and though I only spent a brief amount of time with them it was very sad to see them go.

In Windhoek we finally met the mysterious KJ!!! KJ is Kelly Jo, the assistant program director for WorldTeach Namibia. She was living in Boston before heading over to Namibia, and we actually have a few friends in common. Basically I know everyone. I am starting to embrace that more every day. In the words of Kate Thompson “It’s Rachel’s world and we just live in it”. Anyways KJ is fantastic! She is so nice and it was great to reminisce about Boston with someone. Only in Namibia do you really miss asshole drivers and running down the Comm Ave Mall. Sunday night was Jocie’s, the program director, birthday party. There were 5 volunteers who went and we all ended up wearing KJ’s dresses. We were a sight for sore eyes. Monday we headed back to Rundu with Manfried and hung out with 3 summer volunteers who had extended their trip to go to Vic falls.

Aside from talking about teaching and bonding, we ate, and we ate a lot in Windhoek. I had Chinese, Indian, Mediterranean, pasta, so much food. Needless to say I got pretty sick when I finally arrived back in the village. My body isn’t used to that much variety. I’ve been missing my granola and peanut butter. But now my body is on the mend and I’m back in Sitopogo, and I couldn’t be happier. Windhoek was nice, but there is nothing like the charm of the village.

This week is the last week of exams so I’ll be marking a ton, but in two weeks I’m heading out to Victoria Falls and Botswana for break. It’s going to be a hoot!

Sitopogo...In My Pocket!

Note to readers: I wrote this blog entry about three weeks ago. Please keep that in mind as you read. I finally have steady internet, and I will try to resume my once a week postings.


So I know it’s been a long time since I’ve updated the blog, and for that I apologize. Life has been busy, and with limited internet access I haven’t been online in over two weeks. It’s actually quite nice. I’m sad about not being able to be in contact with everyone in the states, however, on the plus side, no internet access allows me to really focus on Sitopogo and create a life for myself in the village.

I finally moved into my house almost two weeks ago. The house is much better than when I first got in. We gathered all my furniture including a full sized bed, fridge, and stove, and Mr. Julius (the primary school Head of Department at Sitopogo) helped me move them into the house. Though it’s a small house I’m a little in love with it. We have hot water which makes it feel like the Ritz, and since it’s the only concrete house in my village, it becomes quite the social hang out. Teachers come over every day to shave, shower, and cook.

Cooking here is quite different than in the States, and I have had so many conversations with both teachers and other volunteers about it. I was thinking of having an entire blog entry just about the mentality behind eating in Namibia, but it seems quite fitting to discuss it now. Everyone here eats meat and porridge every day. Well sometimes they switch it up and make meat and macaroni or meat and potatoes, but it’s pretty much the same every day. They eat one big meal a day for lunch and eat white bread and butter for breakfast and dinner.

This is quite different from the life of the volunteer. We talk about food all the time. What are we going to eat for dinner? What recipes are we excited to try out, or what are we going to eat when we get back to the states. It often feels as though our lives revolve around food. I don’t feel as though I’m talking about food any more or less than I would in the states, but it just makes me think about what a huge role food plays in our culture. Also here, not everyone can afford enough food. Food is a necessity and not a luxury. Despite this differing attitude, I have found myself becoming quite the Betty Crocker. I’ve made pizza (from scratch) twice, and last night I even attempted cinnamon sugar bread sticks. They were quite tasty if you ask me. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything really good.

Now onto teaching, it’s tough. Not only do I have to deal with teaching a subject I haven’t studied in 5 years, but none of my learners know English that well. So I am facing all of the normal first time teaching problems a long with some major language issues. We had our first Learner/Teacher meeting Friday during which I was told that I am simultaneously going too slow and too quickly. It’s difficult. I have to try to slow down my speech a lot (which will be a huge challenge) and give tons of examples. The learners here aren’t really taught to comprehend anything. They can recite the formula for the Area of a circle but they have no idea what “radius” means. They have only been taught what to do and not why they do it, which makes teaching high school math extremely difficult. At first I was really upset that I wasn’t doing the best job, but then I realized that all I can do is my best. My first attempt didn’t work so I’ll try again. All I can do is give my best. I’m only here for 6 months, and maybe teaching isn’t the career for me. That’s ok; I never really thought it was. I was not the biggest fan of high school, and I am very ok with not returning to it. I just hope I don’t let these kids down too much. My goal for Namibia is to not beat myself up about trying my hardest and not succeeding. If I can do that, I think I’ll be a more successful teacher and enjoy my time more, plus it would be a great skill to take back to the states.

So teaching has been kind of a roller coaster. I would never call it horrible, but at the same time I would not say I love it. I am content. My colleagues are really nice, and having Mita around is wonderful. We vent a lot and talk strategy constantly.

Life outside of teaching has been great. I went into Rundu last weekend for the fourth of July and met a bunch of other volunteers. Megan and I walked into OK Foods on Saturday morning and nearly flipped out because there were something like 9 white kids hanging around. It was overwhelming to say the least. But we met them all again and it was wonderful. The nati was totally representing with 3 volunteers from my home town. It was incredible. I’m surprised we didn’t all shout who-dey. We actually all live within 100K from each other. Who Kavango would become the hot spot for natians?

Last weekend was my colleague and office mate’s birthday. It was a nice weekend in the village. Mita and celebrated with John on Friday night and cooked pizza on Saturday. In general life is very quiet out here. Nothing too exciting to report. Sorry it’s been so long. I’ll try to post more often…till next time!