Community at Work

People in Namibia are friendly and supportive of each other. That is the aspect of my life here that I will miss the most when I return to the States.

For instance, I missed school last week because I got some flu from the learners. Out of ten teachers, two stopped bye the house, three called/SMSed me to check in, and another two asked my new housemates if I was all right. Granted, I felt and looked like shit and all I wanted to do was sit in bed and ignore the world… but still, you can’t even begin to suggest that they aren’t looking after me. A ton of learners also stopped by to check in, and this weekend they all greeted me super enthusiastically, asked after my health and told me how much they missed me! It’s enough to make you feel loved.

Then today, I asked for the help of one boy. ONE! Dad brought me an audio recorder and I was hoping he could sing one of the local songs for me to remember. When he really understood the project, he returned with a posse of eight. Half an hour later, there were about 20 other faces pressed against my windows, singing along.

People here aren’t isolated. They talk too much, anything. But the thing is, they make the best of it and there is always someone there if you need to shout for help.

Learners, teachers and community members working together to prepare food for the school 'culture day' in Term II

One of the recordings my learners made... I hope this link works?

my kids are awesome

Last weekend, my kids got banned from playing soccer in the hostel yard and they were bored out of their minds. One of them came asking me for something to do and I convinced him to write an essay (it was "fun" because he got to do it on the computer, never mind that it took him 2 hours to type a few paragraphs)... here's a look into his head.

What is the meaning of life?

Life is a journey, a trip no one will ever dream of coming to an end .Life is full of obstacles which of some can be very devastating at times .At times as a person you can have a thought of giving up life not that life is being unfair to you ,but because of what people that are your own kind are wishing for you .But if you consider your life as a gift from God you will live it to it ,s full potential. Life is like a race if you are eager to win you will make a success out of it .And the life span of your success will be long and enjoyable ,if you consider it the most precious reward towards your hard work.

In life we make mistakes and if you are a wise warrior you will learn from them, but a fool will never noticed making the same mistake over and over .Life is not about who you are ,but who you are certainly going to be .If you think you can go on and impress others with what you have or  what you can do life will be awkward for you .My advise will be like use what you have or what you can do to give success a room in your life ,and in the end your rewards will be  huge .Wishing and hoping will be your key drive aspects in life if you are a visionary person .

Live life as if it is going to end tomorrow ‘’REGRET FOR YESTERDAY, LIFE FOR TODAY AND WISH FOR TOMMORROW’’, we are just human beings never were we perfect and never will we be perfect, but try to be the best in what ever you do. We’ve choices in life, which we are not certain of being right or wrong, but lets try exploring our choices and we would be sure that one will be well in advance for our thoughts. We can compare life with a math sum, you ain, t got a clue of what the turn out of it will be like but in the end you will either be thank full or disappointed that ,s the reality of life.

An Ancient Community

One cool thing about the trip to Epupa Falls was that we hired a local guy to drive us. Since it’s about a 3 hour drive each way, we got to spend a lot of time talking with him in the car. He was very friendly and interested in sharing his knowledge of local cultures with us. We learned some really interesting things about the traditional cultures, especially the Himba, and Mariah got into a great conversation that I’d like to share.

Himba women are empowered. Once married, they are recognized as the head of household – they control the buying and selling, they have a significant say in what the children do and who they marry, and they can basically send their husbands around to chase after stray goats, cattle, etc.

In other ways, Himba women are treated as property. Himba communities are not monogamous. Even if a woman marries a man. For instance, if a man hosts a male visitor, the husband will sleep outside for the night so that his friend can sleep with his wife. If the woman becomes pregnant, the child still becomes the “property” of the original husband-wife pair. Modern women sometimes refuse to sleep with some men, but traditionally they have not been allowed to do so.

On the one hand (here comes Tevye, watch out), this trading of husbands and wives is pretty … crazy. To us. Although our driver said that jealousy is not common in these communities, it is hard to imagine! How would you feel if your wife up and slept with someone else, and maybe ended up with his child? (And conversely, how would you feel if your husband abandoned you to his friend, regardless of your own feelings?)

On the other hand, maybe this sort of society avoids a lot of common problems. If you are not worried about cheating between husband and wife, then perhaps jealousy can be curbed. From an evolutionary standpoint, the Himba are a fairly small group of people and different Himba villages can be separated by hundreds of kilometers. Perhaps allowing visitors from far to mix their DNA into the gene pool is a way of providing “hybrid vigor,” as my dad would call it! Mixing genes creates stronger offspring, and maybe this ensured the longevity of the Himba tribe by minimizing inbreeding.

On the OTHER hand, what about STIs? HIV? Allowing sex between anyone and everyone seems like a brilliant way to spread disease and create problems for everyone…

Then again, how do you think traditional Himba would feel when comparing this sort of traditional lifestyle with “modern” values that are exhibited if they travel in to town? Apparently jealousy has increased among Himbas, and it is now common to see “traditional” Himbas in town drinking with “modern” men in bars… and following them home for the night. Totally an insane/interesting/unique situation that I have never encountered before!!!

To Opuwo

I traveled with another PC Volunteer, Mariah, to Opuwo this week. In the far northwest of the country, and far removed from most other towns and settlements, Opuwo hosts a unique mix of cultures: old, new, Namibian, Angolan, etc. Prominent cultures include Himba, Zemba, Herero, Wambo, and Damara. The Himbas are one of the most-recognized tribes of Namibia because of their adhesion to traditional ways.

While in Opuwo, Mariah and I visited a traditional Himba settlement (note the traditional/modern-dressed women all living there together).

We also visited Epupa Falls, which is a series of small waterfalls that comprise the Namibia-Angola border for something like 1.3km. They are incredibly beautiful and unlike anything I’ve seen. Scenic falls overlooked by huge baobab trees on one side of the river, juxtaposed with the normal aridity of Namibia on the other. Just incredible!

swimming in the Kunene under the falls… apparently with crocodiles! Oops!

Close to Home

The first week of August holiday, Dad, Louise, and Aunt Pamela came to visit! It was so extraordinary to see people from home, to talk about things from home, and just to have family around again.

While they were here, we traveled a bit around the Hardap Dam area, Sossusvlei, Naukluft, Walvis Bay, Usakos.. and then they traveled on and I headed back to Windhoek. I have to say, the places were beautiful, the places we stayed were fabulous, the food we ate was delicious! I felt so spoiled the entire time.

The really incredible thing, though, to me was the extreme difference in worlds I get to experience while here. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I am in an extremely unique position to see “both sides” of this country. First, I stay in a small village with not much money, and get to see how life is here, how people survive, how the community really functions. THEN, I get to travel around with family and friends, stay at pretty ritzy places, try out fancy binoculars and cameras, eat the wonderful food, have someone make up my bed every day. It is a crazy juxtaposition of two totally different worlds.

Unfortunately I didn’t take many photos since Dad and Aunt Pamela have such nicer cameras… but I’ll get my hands on them at some point!

A huge THANK YOU to Dad, Pamela, and Louise for coming, and to everyone who sent "stuff" with them for me and my kids! It is so amazing to have all of the support from you guys and I can't explain how much I appreciate it.

A taste of local Culture

One of the best things about living in Namibia is the huge variety of local cultures. I'm uploading a series of videos to give you an idea of some of the great songs, dances and skits that I've gotten to see in the last few months! Blogger won't let me put extremely high quality videos, but it can give you a sense.

My school choir is absolutely phenomenal. The acoustics are a bit funny here, but it gives you an idea of the enthusiasm they have for singing, and the raw talent some of them have (they don't practice often at all!)

Every year, schools host a Culture Day where learners are able to perform traditional dances from various cultures. Here is one of mine: the Nama culture (traditional in the area where I am staying), check out some of the boys' footwork! The red facepaint is a traditional ochre of some sort. Traditionally all of the clothes would be in a specific patchwork pattern (like the girls and the one really noticeable pair of pants) but not all of the kids have it, so they're wearing school uniforms.

Down the Drain

I've decided to try to write smaller shorter posts on random stuff so I can get my blog alive again! Usually this type of decision works for me for about a month and then I fall off again... but I'll try.

It's exam time at school. Again.

More specifically, exams finished last week, and this week we have only grade 10s at school to help them prep for their upcoming JSC exam series (if they fail, they are out of school for good...). It is also marking time for all of the teachers - we have to mark all of the exams of our kids and put out progress reports by tomorrow.

There is no time like exam time to make you feel like all of your efforts are for nothing! I was mildly saddened that only 19/105 grade 8s passed my maths class this term. I made the exam a LITTLE harder than it could have been (my theory being that they would be overprepared for the November Regional exams... I think I just scared them). Still, the 27% pass rate bothers me much more than it would have 2 years ago. Settling for complacency, or something like that.

The thing that REALLY bugged me was the marks of the grade 9s. I taught them last year as grade 8s, and worked the hardest I ever have at teaching to try to help them recover some of the basic skills they were lacking and also master grade 8 material. Now, in the first term of grade 9, those kids did great. Almost 50% passed grade 9 maths. Now in term 2, only SIX passed out of the entire grade!!! I am incredibly frustrated. I know my frustration will solve nothing... BUT I WORKED SO HARD WITH THEM LAST YEAR and it seems like all that work is down the drain. They told me last year that math was becoming "less scary" and "more fun." Now, when I talk to those same kids, they tell me that they dodge class and "hate the class and the teacher." AGH. What is the point of my working hard if they only go on to continue hating/failing maths!!!

In other news, my dad and Louise and Aunt Pamela are coming to visit next week. We're going to tour around Namibia a bit - it will be nice to get out of Tses and to see some faces from home. If anyone needs anything sent with them from Nam to the US, let me know!