Do You Remember? Dancing in September?

In case you missed the reference I was just quoting the greatest wedding band song of all time. “September” by Earth Wind and Fire. Great song, it’s impossible to sit during that song; you just have to move.

Unfortunately, September in Namibia wasn’t as catchy and upbeat as the song, and in fact it was the hardest month I have faced thus far in Kavango. Joci warned us that term three can be really difficult for volunteers, and it’s very common to get homesick. I went into the month knowing that and preparing for some quality time in the village.

When I returned to Sitopogo on September 6, I was happy to be home. It was nice to stop living out of my backpack and get ready for what I knew would be kick ass term. I started making my various lists, lesson planning, calendaring, and all those various organized things someone does during the beginning of a new semester. My compulsive list making lasted a good two weeks before I reverted my normal lesson planning schedule, and teaching go in the way.

My teaching schedule during the month of September was hectic. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but hell I’ll boast again about my teaching schedule. Every day I taught 6 out of 8 periods; I started 7AM and didn’t have a break until 11:30. The schedule was definitely a mixed bag. The pros were it forced me to be very organized and prepared for my classes, and I got to see every class every day at the same time. That amount of structure is wonderful for my ADD self. The cons were that I was in my store room every night till at least 10 PM planning for the next day, and when I finally finished teaching for the day all I could do was stare off for the last two periods.

During those crazy weeks I was really working my ass off, and despite the exhaution, I loved doing my work. It was fun to be in my store room coming up with statistics games or creative ways to understand Algebra (my favorite lesson was when I made my learners in 9A act out an algebra equation in which I was the equal sign). Not many of my lessons succeeded as much as I would like, but at least they kept the learners entertained and a few of them really started to understand. (funny side note. Grade 8 9 & 10 have a really difficult time with Algebra, and while I was teaching it I was also reading a book in which the narrator would often vent about how difficult and useless Algebra was. It was comforting to know that learners everywhere hate Algebra not just Sitopogo Comined). I even have one learner, Olavi in 9B, who now comes to me asking for extra homework, but we’ll talk about him in a later post.

The hardest times in September surrounded grade 10. Though I finally felt like my lessons were making sense and I was connecting with the learners, Term 3 is really stressful for them, and the teachers. There is tons of paperwork and various things to get in order before their exams start during the beginning of October.

Two weeks into the term I was informed that all my marks for grade 10 were due by the end of the day. I thought, great I have all marks for term 1 & 2 done; all I have to do is copy them, but no, they wanted ALL marks including term 3, which had only just begun. I flipped out and got really stressed, because I had only collected their books once since the beginning of the term. I, insanely, thought I could test them more throughout the term. My colleagues, however were helpful and understanding, and after some alone time in my store room, Hakusemebe (the roommate and HOD) helped me fill in all the required paperwork. We had a few good laughs and got through it. It was also great to hear that both Mita and Jen were freaking out about the marks too. We were all taken off guard. I sound calm now, but during that week I was very seriously contemplating jumping on the next plane back to the states. I felt completely lost and that I wasn’t doing my job.

The other “highlight” of September was the parent teacher meeting with grade 10 parents. Now that was a FUN day. All the parents gathered at school to air their grievances about the exam results and teacher activity. The parents chose two subjects to focus their anger: Life Science and Maths. Pretty much all of Grade 10 failed the Maths Exam, and the parents weren’t too happy. They blamed my contract and me for their kids failings, but that’s when Mr Gabriel (the best principal ever) stepped in. After I responded to the parents (Mr. Julius had to translate into Rukwangali) Mr Gabriel took the floor and told all the parents that I was the hardest working teacher at the school. He said that I am always the last one to leave the school and you can see me from far away with my torch going to and from my store room every night. He reminded them, that I have only been teaching them for a few months and their math exams cover a few years. It felt so validating to have my principal’s support, however being talked about in a completely foreign language for a few hours was not that great for my ego. It’s a very odd experience to be sitting infront of a large group of people and know that they are talking about you, and I couldn’t understand a single word. I was not a happy camper after that meeting, but I still worked, maybe even harder. I decided there that the parents could vent all they want about me, but there is no way they would be able to say I didn’t work hard.

But September wasn’t all bad. I finally ran past Kahenge which is about a 15-20K run, which felt fantastic. I also made Challah for Rosh Hashannah and Jen came in to visit for a weekend. Overall September was definitely the hardest month, but in some ways it’s good it was so hard. I was able to do a lot of reflecting and look at how much I love my people at home, and what an incredible life I have.