Typical Namibian Farewell

Today is Saturday, and I leave Opuwo for the last time Monday morning. It feels extremely weird, though I know it's stranger for my Peace Corps friends that have been here for two years. And with departures comes goodbyes...

All year, there had been rumors about how the national election would affect the school calender. Mostly, everyone thought we would finish early to allow people to travel home to vote. However, a few months ago all the schools in the country received a memo from the Ministry of Education stating explicitly that the schools would not close early, they would close on Dec. 4th as planned.

So this Monday rolls around, and I figure I have a solid 5 days in which to say goodbye to learners, give away gifts, etc. Monday morning at about 11 am, all the teachers were informed that a decision had been made: the kids would write their last exam on Tuesday, not Friday, and be sent home. Not sure what happened to the edict from the ministry, but ah well.

Tuesday, the kids wrote their last exam, and were sent to the hostel to pack their things. It was utter chaos, as usual. Most of the kids just started leaving to go to the hike point to catch a ride home. About an hour later, the bell was rung so we could have an assembly, and maybe a third of the kids were still around. I got to say goodbye and thank you to this small crowd, and some of the kids simply waved as they walked away. Not quite the farewells I had planned. Alas, this is typical of the way things happen here: very little notice is given in regards to important decisions...

Last night, the teachers at my school had an end of the year/farewell party. It was excellent, lots of fun, and I had my fill of goat meat. Pictures of that event I will try to post soon; I got to see some great formal Herero dresses.

By next Thursday I will be in Cape Town. Then home for Christmas and snow. I am excited to travel, and sad to say goodbye to my home and friends from the past year. As I said to the members of my school, the best I can say to them is simply thank you.

Time to Vote

So as everyone I'm sure knows, Namibia has an election coming up on the 27th-28th of November. While not quite a political junkie, I am applying to get a PhD in political science, so I am understandably interested. Political science in many ways is the study of how individuals and groups of people make decisions. Seeing these decisions take place in a country so new to democracy is fascinating. [Side note: when I tell my students that the US declared independence over 230 years ago I am met with silent disbelief].

Without getting too much into the details or taking sides, it seems clear that SWAPO, the ruling party since independence, will come out on top again. They seem to be apprehansive about some of the new opposition parties, and accusations of corruption fly back and forth daily. I try to avoid stereotypes, but I must admit that I have seen some of the "typical" African corruption going on (or is it just developing areas in general?), as well as examples of so-called African "big men." I would say that some members of my staff would qualify for that role: so charismatic and charming that it is sometimes hard to remember that you disagree with them on fundamental issues.

Living here and trying to explain how things work back home has made me think that it will be equally challenging to explain Namibian experiences when I return home. Trying to answer the question "Sir, what tribe are you?" has been frustrating me for the last month. When you start talking politics, oh how much more difficult it becomes. Of course, this is exactly what I find interesting, and ultimately what I want to study. What sorts of local traditions, values, etc. affect the way countries interact with each other at a global level? This is both a source of conflict but also of the great diversity of people on Earth.

Enough philosophizing. I have enough stress and excitement trying to write my statement of purpose. Anyway, with the Namibian propensity to switch r's and l's, the big election coming up will be sure to surprise and entertain.

Achievements of the Past Month

- A debate dinner, during the course of which I realized that pizza is surprisingly easy to make.
- I used duct tape to fix an actual duct, for the first time ever
- I started PhD program applications… key word being “started”
- Let my nerdy side loose by playing far too many games of Citadels… highly addictive
- Read six books
- Taught roughly 115 periods, give or take a few
- Convinced some kids that my Herero nickname (Rakutuka) was in fact my real surname
- Realized that Facebook is just not all that exciting now that I have had such little access to it the past 10 months
- Played (rough estimate) 200 games of minesweeper
- Received the first glimmers of hope in regards to my running fitness
- Posted two letters, one to the US and one to Guinea
- Managed to somehow go to the bank and not spend forty-five minutes in line
- Spent a total of several hours anticipating the pleasure of cold weather
- Reveled in the return of rain
- Decided that a reliable, constant source of water is one of the things that makes life easy for me in the US
- Saw the sunrise over the plateau 30 times. Won’t ever get tired of that one
- Had my hopes raised yet again by the Twins, only to have them dashed by the Yankees. Sigh
- Started wearing sunscreen again
- Decided that the next five years are up for grabs

Cha Cha Cha Cha Changes

It’s nearly the end of September, which is a bit mind-blowing. Second term flew by, and the last trimester promises to do the same. At the beginning of the year I predicted that the second term would drag and that it wouldn’t speed up until the last few months, but I was off by 3 months or so. The holiday after the term ended was spectacular (somehow we managed to pack more into that time than into the much longer May holiday…), and Carmen has posted about it here, including pictures. I don’t have too much to add, except for saying that Fish River Canyon was one of the coolest hiking experiences of my life, and that elephants are just all-around impressive.

Tonight is the dinner for the debate club at Putuavanga, which I have been the mentor for this year. At the beginning of the year English club was going much better, and I felt a bit lost running Debate. I have never done debate before, don’t really like speaking in front of groups (except students for some reason), and attendance was less than spectacular. However, over the course of last term and this term, debate club has grown into a very important part of my week and what I do. The group consists of 11^th and 10^th graders (some younger kids initially as well, but they have disappeared). These are some of the kids I taught at the beginning of the year, and who I miss teaching now. We generally meet once a week on Thursday evenings to debate a random assortment of topics. I admire the students for trying their best to express themselves in a foreign language, and I hope the club is helping them to improve. My goal is to make the club truly student-run, so that it will last after my departure in December. Pictures from the dinner to come soon…

The above-mentioned flight home in December is looming quite large now. I’ve thought about it all year, but now it is much closer to being a reality. I still have mixed feelings about leaving Opuwo (especially with my future prospects back home far from certain), but I am also excited to see everyone again. I am equally excited to visit Cape Town in the ten or so days before we depart (though the temperature change going to MN is going to be rough to say the least). From all reports Cape Town is a place everyone needs to go to at some point. It will probably also act as a sort of transition back to the US, as the city is a tad more developed and fast-paced than Opuwo is.

I am also trying to get my act together to apply to PhD programs for next year. At the beginning of this year I couldn’t stop myself thinking and planning for the future. Now it’s hard to pull my head out of the present long enough to download an application or two…

25 on the 18th

Last month I turned 25. A quater century... yikes. Anywho, my register class (think homeroom class) got together to throw me a party. They were super excited to do it, and managed to contribute N$5 each. That may not sound like a lot but it's a huge amount to some of my kids, so I appreciated the sacrifice. They set jobs for themselves: some went to the store with me to buy food, some helped prepare the food, some were decorators, etc. Here are some pics:

1) Five learners from 8A, my class. Yes, that is a drawn-on goatee on one of them.



2) My entire class, minus I think only one boy who couldn't come. Ages range from 13 to 19.




3) They got me mostly chocolate ( they know me well), but here is me opening a present from one girl... an orange bunny.

4) Cutting banana bread. This delicacy has become a huge hit with my kids.

Hiatus + Travel

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Sorry for the long delay. Carmen’s internet was down, and it took and epic journey on her part to actually get the modem fixed. If you thought a part like that could be fixed within a two hour car drive radius, oh boy you don’t know Kunene region.
Term two has come to its chaotic end. There were of course issues with exams, marking, syllabi, etc. I was told the region would set the exams, then told they weren’t coming (I should make my own at this point). Then later I was informed that the exams had in fact arrived, and that I should use them regardless of any mistakes or inappropriateness for where my learners are on the syllabus. Fun stuff.
Term two went by quickly with few breaks, but we did manage to make one trip to Epupa Falls, almost 180km north on the Angolan border. I went up with Carmen, Ayoola, Tomas, Chris and Chloe for a night. We had a wonderful view of the Kunene river and the falls, a great campsite, two flat tires (another happened after some of us got out in Opuwo), and overall a great time. It was pretty amazing to drive for hours through dry scrubland and to suddenly come upon a huge river surrounded by palm and baobab trees. Didn’t see any crocs, but that’s probably a good thing.
I feel pretty lucky to have been able to travel around Namibia and southern Africa this year. Despite the fact that I will likely miss out on some of the big things (Vic Falls, Chobe River, etc.), I have seen a decent amount of the area, and some awesome hidden gems.

Hmm

Last Wednesday we invited parents to come visit the school and inspect the work their children are doing. I was pleasantly surprised to have about a dozen parents come in to see me (more than I saw at my HS in VT last year). They spoke a mixture of English and Otjiherero, so I had another teacher interpret sometimes.
An older gentleman came in with his daughter who is in one of my classes. Through another teacher, he asked how she was doing. I said fine, and added that she sometimes talks a wee bit much in class. He then encouraged her to follow my directions and obey all the teachers. He then told me that he wanted a good education for his daughter for when he passes away. As easy as that, I was reminded, as I too often am, of how frequent death is here, especially to what I consider young people. It is hard to schedule activities for weekends, because there are funerals almost every weekend. It is a tough life for most people here, and HIV certainly has not helped things.
All in all I was impressed with the level of involvement and caring shown by the parents/guardians that came in. Many people here truly see education as their key to escaping a life of poverty and uninspiring work. This frustrated me last year in the US, as I often encountered an attitude of entitlement rather than appreciation.
Of course, this was followed on Thursday by a parents' meeting where only 4 showed up, but hey you can't win them all.