On Cultural Acclimation

I have now been in Namibia for about three months, so I am pretty much an expert. Or at least I feel like I have a better grasp on things here. I am picking up more of the language (including the deciphering of mumbling in Otjiherero by older folks), Carmen and I have hitchhiked successfully a few times, and I am getting to know the school system. Yet there are still surprises, which is both exciting and frustrating.
The latest development has been the total restructuring of classes I am teaching. I went from English and Math grade 11, English grade 10 and Physical Science and Life Skills grade 8 to all grade 8 classes. These include Physical Science, Math, Life Science and BIS (Basic Information Science). Yeah. So, three months into the school year, I get to learn lots of new names, jump into classes already in progress, and hope not to fail the students miserably as exams are fast approaching. It is super frustrating on the one hand, but good on the other. I was establishing good relationships with my kids, especially grade 10 and 11, and now have to start over. I hope some of those relationships will be maintained through English club and such. Of course, now I get to know and teach more of the kids, which is good, and grade 8 is an important year here in terms of passing exams. The switch-up of classes is also better for the school as a whole, as it aligns teachers a little better with what they should be teaching. We have some new teachers, including a man from Zambia who is taking over my grade 10 and 11 classes, and I think he will do a good job. I will also be teaching a little less now, which will make it easier for me to open the library soon.
And so, life continues. Carmen, Adam, Rachel and I hiked our way over to Ongwediva this past weekend and had a nice, relaxing, long weekend for the Independence holiday. Speaking of which, it is interesting how often I have to remind myself of how recent Independence was for this country. I mean, this year is the first election where there will be voters born after independence, and most of the older teachers went to school when all the instruction was in Afrikaans and the teachers were all white.
Anyway, Ongwediva was great. We had some real restaurant-level meals, including pizza (!). We also got to go to a concert, which was delightfully Namibian. We saw Gazza and Tate Buti, two of the biggest stars here, and had to endure a rather awkward duo of MC’s. There were Tafel Lager ads everywhere (a local ale), and pickpocketing was a big issue. Luckily we had been warned of this, and I left all valuables at the hotel.
On the way back, we serendipitously met Carmen’s host mom in Oshikati, and got an easy hike back to Opuwo. Of course in a country of less then two million it wasn’t that much of a coincidence, but still, we were 4.5 hours away from home. We drove back, and on the way I noticed that driving on the left side of the road felt close to natural. When I first arrived, it was a novelty. Then it became an annoyance, as I always forgot which way to turn and look when crossing the road. Now I am almost used to it, though I am sure it would always be a bit strange for me. Pretty much a small example of adjusting to a new place in general. Maybe soon I will begin incorporating local ways of doing things into my own routines. Let’s hope I can drop this whenever I return home, at least in terms of driving on the correct side of the road.
We now have a few weeks of teaching before the Easter Holiday. I am trying to learn about my new students as quickly as possible, and figure out what the heck to do in Life Science. The current plan is to go hiking for the next holiday, possibly Spitzkoppe or Brandberg, the tallest point in Namibia. I’ll try to post some more pictures soon, cheers.

Thanks

I wanted to just say a small word of thanks to everyone who has sent/is sending things here. I love getting packages in the mail, and any supplies for the school are very welcome. The maps I got this week are perfect (thanks everyone in MN), and I know that there are books coming from various people, which will greatly help the library here. As I said, I love getting the mail, just don’t spend too much sending stuff here! I know it’s expensive, especially sending books. My current idea is to send some books myself when I return home, so hopefully the library will continue to grow.
Nothing too much new here. Carmen, Ayoola and I are going to Ongwediva next weekend, which is a long weekend because of Independence Day. Should be lots of fun, we are meeting other WT volunteers there. I hear there is a legitimately good Italian restaurant there, so there are calzones in my near future…

Settling in/The trials of being an Engligh teacher

We have been in Namibia now for over two months, and I am finally getting used to some of the various systems of interactions. These include working with teachers and learners, talking to people on the street, meeting new friends, grocery shopping, transportation, etc. This has made everything a little easier, though there are still big challenges. I have relooked at my goals for the year, and I am now excited about a few projects, especially the library and English club.
I have not yet made any decision about next year. Some volunteers choose to stay longer than a year, and I want to keep that option open. I must admit that I am leaning in the direction of returning home, but I gave myself a deadline of June to make a final decision. Who knows if there will be jobs left when I return…
On an unrelated note, it is very fun to teach English. There are some local idiosyncrasies, however, that can be a bit frustrating. I will share two. The first is pronoun usage. “Me myself, I don’t think this homework is difficult.” Or, “The girl, she is not serious.” Very unnecessary. My favorite, and subject of recent tirades, is the use of the phrase “used to.” Along with being spelled incorrectly, this is used here to talk about things in the present tense. For example, if you play soccer every day here, you might say “I used to play soccer every day.” Needless to say, this leads to some confusion on my part. I explained how it really means an activity is complete, and it was like dropping a grammar bomb on my learners. Fun times.

Some Belated Pictures

Some late pictures, in backwards chronological order. Sorry for the quality, I had to crop.
First, me at Ruacana Falls:

Some learners sitting on classroom steps during orientation:

James B., one of the other volunteers:

And finally a host of other volunteers at the traditional Herero dinner during orientation. This is when we ate goat head: