Acceptance

At home, things were different.

When somebody did something stupid or got himself fired from a job, I sometimes associated that action with the person. I might not ask them for help on another project because I know they have flaked out before, or interact with them differently because I feel I have some new insight into their person.

But I find that the way I interact with people has changed.

There was a security guard at my school. He was, quite honestly, a pretty bad security guard. He slept on the job, left the gate unlocked while he was sleeping, and sometimes just missed work for no reason at all. He got fired a few weeks ago. A year ago, if I had seen him after these events, I might have thought to myself “he deserved that” and “why should I bother with this person when he can’t even keep his job?”

But I saw this particular man this morning, when I was out for a run. Not only did I stop to greet him, but the first thing I said was “we miss you over by the school.” And I surprised myself, because when I thought about it, this was true. He’s a great guy who, regardless of his work ethic, really cared about the kids. I invited him to visit me at home sometime this week so that we can try to work out a sports program for our learners. Because even if this man isn’t a great security guard, he’s loves soccer and is interested in helping out. And if I have a reasonably good person who is eager to help out, well, I’m certainly not going to turn that away.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, when it comes down to it, you just have to be grateful for the people in your life. Whatever they are willing to do, and wherever and whenever they happen to be motivated to help out others, well, I’m learning to be grateful for those small things.

AAAAAnd we’re back!

Today marked the first day my 2^nd full trimester as a Namibian teacher! Today was just the teachers, so we spent a few hours in a staff meeting discussing plans for the new term as well as results from the first term. Our most impressive result: a 2% pass rate from our grade 9 learners. WHADDUP NAM EDUCATION?!

Ok but really. This, plus the results from a big regional education conference that happened during break, led to a conversation this morning about what is going on in our school. First off, we are approximately the last choice in secondary schools due to our results.. the good schools accept only the top tier of learners, and so on until we are left with those who have not been successful in the past. We talked about home life, parent support, and teacher support as major influences on learners, as well.

We also discussed the lack of educational alternatives for learners who are just not cut out for “normal” schools. 99% of our learners qualify as needing extra classes, but we simply don’t have the teacher-power to provide them with the extra classes, in small groups, that would be required. Many of our learners have undiagnosed (or even diagnosed, but what can you do about them?) learning disabilities or other problems that may even be preventing them from ever being successful in a standard classroom setting. One of the things we are wondering is: is there a way to get a vocational or “special” school in Karas? Our region currently lacks any of these options for learner support. Why should the learners from our region be prevented from having these resources?

Anyway, at the end of the day we decided it comes down to the teachers doing the best they can given what we have. So, back to the grind – at least we are once again a full teaching staff and can try to help each other make it through the term! 

lions and cheetahs and nelephants!

Since term 1 ended in April, I spent the last few weeks traveling around. I spent a week at Gobabeb with Noah, a few days in Windhoek for a Peace Corps conference, and then about 2 weeks traveling north.  To get there, you spend a day getting to Rundu, a day getting to Katima Mulilo, I spent a night in Matt’s village (Sangwali) in Caprivi, and then we went across the border to Livinstone, Zambia (home of Victoria Falls).

Here’s how Google Maps shows the trip from Tses to Sangwali to Livingstone.  Total trip ~2,000 km.

For the details, I’ll leave you to the photos on my Facebook because even photos can’t capture everything we saw. The highlights, though:

Life in the North. Everything is made of mud and reeds! Ok not everything, but most structures in most villages. So different from the south. We think there might have been an apartheid rule banning traditional houses below the Red Line, but we’re not sure. Matt’s house is a huge mud hut with no electricity or water – a totally different experience from where I stay!

There’s lots of interesting food to try. When we went to the market in Livingstone (the “not-tourist” one), we tried fried fish, African bubble gum, chinga chinga berries, termite mound (yes, they eat the dirt that makes up termite mounds), and baobab fruit.

Victoria Falls. It’s amazingly huge and there is SO MUCH WATER (especially for those of us who have been living in a desert!)

Matt has the photos, but we also went for a canoe trip on the Zambezi. We saw a herd of elephants in the water, a few crocodiles from far away, and jillions of birds!

Elephant/Cheetah/Lion encounter. totally worth the cost. When else will I ride an elephant, cuddle a cheetah or walk a lion?

At the end of the day, it’s always the sunsets in Africa that leave you speechless. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of them. Watching the sun set over the Zambezi sitting next to friends was one of the best things ever.