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Life is short, so let's go live it.

**all opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the Peace Corps or any official US or Namibian organization.**

Monday, August 27, 2012

Heroes Day


There is a national holiday in Namibia called Heroes Day. It’s basically a second independence day, thrown specifically by the Herero tribe, where the country recognizes the people who fought for independence back in the 70s-80s. So everyone (besides us…) had off of work on Monday 27 August, and there is a huge national celebration every year in Okahandja, the town where we are now for training.

BUT.

This year, things went a little awry. Apparently the man who lights the ceremonial fire (I’m not clear on whether he’s actually an acting tribal chief or anything, or if he really just lights the ceremonial fire) died earlier this year. They haven’t replaced him yet, so the two factions of the Herero tribe—the red and the green—have been fighting over who will now control the ceremonial fire. This fire is really important to the Heroes Day celebration, and they have two separate proposed locations for the fire and everything.

So while the town of Okahandja and many individuals went about setting up for the Heroes Day celebration/festival (big tents in the middle of this huuuge field we walk past every day on the way from the location to town—kind of like a fairgrounds location, bringing in horses and things for the parade), things were still kind of up in the air. The government eventually banned the Heroes Day celebration from happening in Okahandja, which means the national celebration basically didn’t happen this year.

So the festivities, the {football, netball, rugby} matches that were planned, the parade were all cancelled and it seems like a lot of people were pretty upset. But, in true Namibian fashion, there were still a ton of people in Okahandja so there were still a ton of parties at individual houses. I think the bars must make more money on Heroes Day weekend than in most months, which is crazy because they are never unpopular locations…

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Tses! (pronounced something along the lines of "chess")


Tuesday marked a big day in the lives of all 35 PCTs! Not only did we take our first language proficiency exams (I’m officially a novice-high Afrikaans speaker), but we also received our permanent site placements!! I’m going to Tses! https://maps.google.com.na/maps?hl=en&q=tses+namibia&ie=UTF-8&ei=_YErUMvrMcOChQfk_IGgDg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg
Tses is a small village in southern Namibia. I will go to Keetmanshoop (only 80 km away—yes, this really is “only” since some volunteers’ shopping towns are several hundred km away) to do my shopping. I will be the only volunteer in Tses, but there is a volunteer from another group in Keetmanshoop (who I just met in Okahandja where she stopped for a night). From group 36, we will also have 2 volunteers in Aroab and 2 in Ludderitz (both a few hundred km away from me). So definitely some opportunity to hang out with fellow PCVs!

I’ll know more after I spend next week at my site and nail down some details, but I’m replacing a current volunteer in Tses. I’ll be teaching grades 8-10 math and science, as well as helping with some art classes/clubs, BIS (basic information science = setting up & running the computer lab, helping with the library), etc. I’ll be living in teacher housing that’s associated with the hostel at the school. Our school is very small—230 learners and 8 teachers—which I’m psyched about! I hope that the small size will mean I can create closer connections with the teachers and many of the learners, giving us more of a community more quickly.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Pictures!

(Sorry, it's rare that I have enough time and enough internet to upload pics)

Group 36 trainees at the local internet cafe

Our trainers demonstrated how to bucket-bathe and do laundry in the yard of the town hall... Which was silly but also super necessary!

At the top of Pride Rock!

Well, Toto...


Definitely not in Kansas anymore. Our recent trip to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, was a huge eye-opener for me. 

On the one hand, the mall and the memorials that we visited felt very western and very similar to comparable places in the US. Downtown Windhoek is definitely really nice, there are areas with lots of $$, nice places to shop, and the whole city is really clean! (I was surprised. One of our trainers says it's ranked as one of the cleanest cities in Africa.) 

But, on the other hand... there is an insane difference between downtown Windhoek and the outskirts. There are a lot of locations around Windhoek, "locations" being the local term for any sort of poor suburb-y neighborhood, ranging from clusters of small houses to true shantytowns (one-room shacks made out of corrugated metal, no bathrooms, etc.). I live in one of the locations of Okahandja, but there are tons of these locations just outside of Windhoek, each of which has its own history.  It seems like nearly every part of Windhoek/Namibia has its own black vs. white historical drama, whereas all of the different tribes who live in Namibia seemed to manage to live together more peacefully (maybe by necessity, but still). Major events involving locations include the 1959 massacre, where a whole community of blacks were forcibly removed from a neighborhood sitting on land that some whites wanted, and the occasional bulldozing of really poor, illegal locations by the Windhoek police. These settlements are illegal, feature lots of shebeens (small local bars), and are presumably breeding grounds for disease, alcoholism, and other unfavorable traits; but what scale do you use to weigh these negative qualities against the fact that these locations are the only homes that thousands of people have/can afford? 

We also went to a pretty big market somewhere in Windhoek, which was a new experience for most of us. I hate American tourists who go to "cultural" places to gawk at things they don't understand and make a big deal out of everything. But this weekend, I was totally that person. Notable experiences in the market included eating a mopane (?) worm, walking past a row of very recognizable cow heads for sale, and trying a sip of some sort of fermented milk beverage. These things were interesting to try and I'm glad we did, but it also makes me cringe to think about the faces that some of us made in the process, and the way that our actions could have come off to others watching us. (There were definitely lots of people watching the large group of white people walking around the marketplace looking confused.) I think that it's important that we are learning about the local culture, which does include markets like this. But it's a new feeling, for me and I think for many of the PCTs, to know we're being seen as little more than privileged white tourists. And, I guess, to know that at this point that's basically still what we are.

Homestay


DESCRIPTION
Homestay, living with a host family for 7 weeks, is an important part of PST. We learn how to live with a local family, practice speaking a local language with them, and get to know part of the community. 

SPECS
Regularly in my house are my host mom, Alta (51), her daughter, Esme (27), and HER son, Cayleb (turned 8 months old on Sunday, and just learned to pull himself up to a standing position!). Alta has another daughter who lives in town, who has a 3 year old daughter. Alta was born in South Africa but is now Namibian, and her kids are Namibian. None of these women has ever been married.

We live in a location (poor suburb neighborhood) called Nau-Aib, about 3 miles from the center of Okahandja. I think I have about the best setup of any of the PCTs, featuring a hot water heater that can be turned on before bathing, a real bathtub that I can fill up, a washing machine (you have to rinse and dry clothes by hand, but still), and the most wonderful host family ever.

DESCRIPTION
Let me tell you, homestay is a lot more than just part of training.

My host family is amazing. I am already part of the family and I feel totally at home here. Alta has hosted volunteers before, and is an expert on providing guidance while realizing I'm an adult and giving me lots of freedom to do what I want. She's also spoiling me rotten--letting me think I'm helping with the dishes and laundry, but really doing everything she can to make me happy and comfortable. She's also awesome at listening to my horrible Afrikaans with minimal laughter, a kindness which I think basically speaks for itself.

Esme is also really great. We've already spent several hours talking about this, that, or the other thing. Today after my Sunday long run, I brought home a friend unannounced so that we could finish up our conversation (yeah, long runs provide the same wonderful opportunity for airing out grievances here in Namibia). Esme chastised me just for apologizing afterwards, because "this is your home" and "you should feel comfortable" and "ti's not a big deal." Absolutely wonderful!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

A brief history lesson, and its relevance to education today

As a part of the SUPEP (Secondary and Upper Primary Education Program) within PC Nam, we've been getting some lessons on the history of the region of Namibia, as well as the educational history of the country. I realize that's kind of a boring topic for a blog post, (so if you're not interested, stop reading now!) but I think that it is really interesting and will really strongly effect the experience that we have here. It's very, very intriguing the ways that the recent colonial history of Namibia continues to affect the everyday lives of the people here.

I won't go through a thorough history of Namibia, since it's probably pretty boring to anyone who isn't living here! Suffice it to say that the entire region used to be inhabited solely by the San people (commonly known as "Bushmen," but that's now considered a derogatory term). Other tribes slowly moved in, and the local culture was also influenced by different colonial powers and missionary groups.

I always think of Namibia as a peaceful country--at least for Africa, it's been pretty stable for awhile. Namibia is something of a melting pot of cultures, since there are so many different tribes and groups of people living in one state. However, the last century or so was quite bloody. While the tribes tended to stay pretty isolated, colonial powers (Germany before WWI and South Africa after) imposing their will on locals led to many conflicts. The influence of Apartheid during South African rule can still be felt today, especially since Namibia only gained political autonomy in 1990.

Despite the existence of many different groups of people, Namibians now are very protective of their culture. Just 2 years ago, the body of a woman named Sarah was returned from a French museum. Her body was taken to France in the early 1900s as an example of the uncivilized African people and the physical differences exhibited in an African woman's shape (she was one of over 300 individuals collected by Germans on whom to perform "scientific experiments").

The culture of education in Namibia has also changed drastically over the last 100 years. Following the political history, English only became the national language 20 years ago. "Mother tongues" are still used to teach grades 1-5. Usually these languages are divided by physical region, and cities like Windhoek tend to exhibit isolated communities of different racial groups and mother tongues. The classroom language in Namibia abruptly switches to English in grade 6. It's hard for students to pick up English, because using English outside the classroom can be seen as an attempt to appear high-class. Additionally, many of the older generations do not speak English well and cannot help their children to improve this component of their education.

Colonialism, racism, and Apartheid in Namibia also have resulted in nonuniform education across the country. Missionary schools in the late 1800s did not teach advanced math or science, but simultaneously limited the amount of traditional education passed down from parent to child within some communities. Schools have been segregated, with white students receiving many more resources, through independence in 1990. The Education for All Act effectively demanded a reform of the entire educational system and an end to discrimination. Most recently, Vision 2030 is tied to the UN sustainable development goals and strives to promote social justice, science education, and health and development.

As PCVs, we will work within this educational structure to try to help Vision 2030 become a reality. Still, other issues like alternative teaching strategies, classroom management, and student motivation need to be addressed by schools before the idealistic, if commendable, goals of Vision 2030 can be realized.

That's it for now! I'm going to go enjoy a steaming cup of coffee that my host mom, Alta, just made me since it's a little chilly in the house right. I'll post an update on my new "homestay" living situation soon!