Greetings from Namibia. I started a blog entry several days ago & I thought I saved it to finish later, but now I can’t find it. It was a good one, too!
My intent was to tell you about some of the Namibian culture that might give you a little insight into the people here. I think we have begun to take some of these “differences” as the status quo, so before we become totally acclimated, I will try to share these with you.
When someone hands something to us, they always use their right hand (the left would be a sign of disrespect) and touch their right elbow with their left hand. It isn’t important for us to do the same to someone younger or of equal or less social /professional status, but we make an effort to do it when we want to show respect to someone older (that’s a joke!--there aren’t too many older than us) or a school official. Women usually do a little curtsy, also.
They often use what I consider to be an Italian greeting: grasp each others’ shoulders or arms in sort of a hug, & touch right cheeks, then left cheeks. That is most often with people you know fairly well.
They use a greeting that we find very hard to get used to, but if one does not greet in the right way, he is considered very rude & they mught refuse to help you. We did not make a good first impression here because we failed to greet properly. In fact, at our last staff briefing, we got an “indirect” lecture on how to greet, I’m sure because we just are not good at it.
Desmond: Good morning, Ms. Helen?
Helen : yes.
Desmond: Are you fine?
Helen: Yes, and how are you?
Desmond: yes
Helen: Are you fine?
Desmond: yes
It can continue …
Helen: Is your wife well?
Desmond: Yes, Is your husband well?
Helen: yes. Was your weekend fine?
Desmond: yes
And it can go on & on.
And every person has to greet every person. So when we walk into the staff room, we have to go through this ritual with every person there, preferably along with an African handshake (3 part--I’m sure you have seen African-Americans do it, mostly the young “hip” ones. Here, it is traditional. Men almost always use it, and women frequently do, but I notice that men don’t always use it with women--at least not me. It can be awkward for me ‘cause I’m never sure which way they are going to shake my hand). Then, as others come into the room, they go around & do the same thing. It is very time consuming & irritating for me esp. if I am trying to get some work done & keep being interrupted. Our Filipino colleague entered the staff room one morning & said “good morning, everybody”--she was informed that is not acceptable. And just because you greeted someone in the morning doesn’t mean your obligation is complete. See them later & it’s the same song & dance.
I referred to our “indirect” lecture. It is difficult to understand what people are saying, because they don’t always say what they mean. The principal might say “some people are not turning in their lesson plans. I don’t know, maybe there is a problem with the copier, or maybe they forget.” He will not talk to the person/s who don’t turn them in, and he will offer some sort of an “excuse” for them. When we ask questions, we rarely get a straight-forward answer. They will say “maybe it is this way, I don’t know.” and they might tack on “ maybe someone knows.”==but we’re not asking for an explanation for the theory of relativity, we just want to know when we are able to use the computer lab, or do the learners have school tomorrow, or is there a parent meeting Wed.
Our Head of Department is getting married in August. We had a meeting to discuss what we are going to do for her. No one would offer a suggestion. I made the mistake of suggesting that people contribute whatever amount they wanted, then a present could be purchased accordingly. Oh, no, we must all give the same amount. Finally, it was asked what was done for the last wedding, & they came up with N$50 ($7US), but could women contribute less since they have to buy a dress. I nearly flipped my wig--we all have to wear the same outfit! That discussion lasted an inordinate amount of time. I was told a few days later that the outfit has been designed & the seamstress will get together with me “sometime”. I should have an interesting report on the wedding. I do know that if they live in a village, the bride has to leave her village & live in her husband’s parents’ home until he is able to build for them.
Many people live in villages, but if they have a job in town, they might stay in town during the week & go to the village on weekends. I find it rather amazing how they float from one style of living to another. In the village they may very well not have running water (except they run to the nearest water supply & haul it back). Maybe no electricity, mud floors, round mud huts w/ thatched roofs & no windows. No kitchen as we know it, no bathroom…& then they come back to town where people live a more modern life. But I see in their culture far more flexibility than we have. Because they rarely plan anything ahead, they are ready to “go with the flow”--wherever, whenever, however it happens to be.
Time means little to them. While the principal admonishes us to be on time for meetings & classes, he is usually late. Shops close promptly, but opening is another matter. Today there was a meeting with Grade 10 parents at 1:00. At 1:00, teachers headed to the hall to set up for the meeting. This is AIDS awareness week. Today is Tuesday, there is no school tomorrow, but Friday we will have “something” in the hall, so teachers should have their learners do “something” for the “something” Friday. “Maybe ‘some people’ could hang condoms all around the school.”--I kid you not, that was said at our briefing & it was not meant to be a joke. Yea, we are pre-grade (kindergarten) through Grade 10.
Men wear western clothing. Women wear professional clothes if needed for their work. But older women usually wear traditional tribal dress. Here the majority of the people are Owambo (Ovambo) and the dress is very practical. The yoke of the dress fits the woman, is a simple round neckline, sleeves are a little puffed & can be short or a bit longer. The full dress then is gathered at the yoke & is usually about mid-calf in length. Made of cotton, they are comfortable & cool. They often take length of matching fabric (or clashing, if that suits them) & wrap it around their heads. The Ovambo fabric is various shaded of pink stripes. They can wear the fabric as a skirt (full) with a western blouse or as a full dress. Another tribe here, but by far in the minority, is the Herero. They are herders & their lives revolve around their cattle & goats. The women wear several (like 8!) layers of dresses and a headdress that is reminiscent of the horns of their cattle. I wrote of the Himbas before. We rarely see them in our region, but Jim saw one recently, but she had a blanket around her--it was “cold” by their standards.
They are very open in their expressions of their faith. Conversations are peppered with references to Jesus & “my Lord”, prayers are frequent, cel phone rings are often religious songs or a preacher quoting a Scripture passage. Any music played in the Staff Room is religious, (I made the mistake of taking our CD player one day to play the Mamas & the Papas & was drowned out by Gospel music). The music in the taxis is always blaring “church” music (or rap, the lyrics of which I would be too embarrassed to quote).
Unemployment is very high, some estimates run up to 50%. No surprise that theft is a way of life. We had burglar bars put on our door (they are standard on windows) & we have an armed guard at night & our campus is surrounded by chain-link fence w/ barbed wire on top. Any home that has any value at all is walled in w/ barbed or razor wire on top & electric wire along with it. Women keep their cel phones in their bras, men wear their money under their shirts or in their front pants pocket. Computers are concealed in another bag, maybe a grocery bag, or they will be ripped out of your hand. We are constantly being warned to be careful as we are sitting ducks. We don’t stand out as American, however. We are often asked if we are Norwegian, or we will be asked where we are from. They know we are not Afrikkans--we can identify them, now--but can’t pinpoint our country of origin. It surprises me--I thought that certainly we would be recognized as American. Maybe we aren’t the center of the universe, after all!
Well, that’s more than enough. Jim & I ended buying 160 dictionaries for each of our learners. They wanted to know when they had to return them. Decided they should own them--they just can’t believe it.
We need your prayers. We are seriously considering staying for a second year. We have applied, and we are asking God to block it if it is not what He wants. If accepted, we have until Aug. 31 to make a commitment, so we have time, but we need assurance that to stay would be in the best interest of all concerned. Please pray that we know what to do. Right now we are comfortable with the idea.
So, until next time, may you all take good care of yourselves & know how very blessed you are.
Jim & sharon
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Namibia update
Hello again, from beautiful Namibia. The temperatures are dropping & for that we are quite grateful.
Jim just came back from our school-supply store with 100 dictionaries, thanks to many of you. Not sure exactly how we will distribute them, but we both are on a mission to improve our learners’ vocabularies & spelling, so we might just hoard them for our own! We are going to Windhoek for a 3-day in-service & at that time will visit a larger supply store to see if we can get a couple of sets of Namibian literature for the classes to read & study together. There is very little aimed at upper-primary level, so I may have to settle for American lit. There are a couple of learners who show some writing potential & I’ve told them, the market is open for Namibian authors…dream on.
We are now coming to the end of our Term 1 break. It has been wonderful. Our oldest daughter, Colleen, & my 2 sisters were with us for a week & we traveled to see a very different Namibia from what we live in. Started with a game drive through Etosha Nat’l Park. It’s not the best season for that since the animals still have plenty of food & water available to them, but we saw enough to make our “guests” happy. Went north to the Angola border to visit a beautiful waterfall & discovered a lush, green, hilly area quite unlike our region. Proceeded to visit the Himbas, which Jim & I had done before, but wanted to share it with the “girls”. Colleen had done great research to find accommodations throughout the trip & our first treat was to “camp” provided with large tents on solid floors, flush toilets w/ hot & cold running water added on to each of our tents (found out there is nothing like taking a shower or sitting on the throne while basking in the sun or gazing up at the stars! Wonderful beds w/ lovely linens. Wish you could have been there with us!
We headed south through the Namib desert (oldest in the world) where we saw petrified trees 280,000,000 years old. There we stayed at a lodge in the middle of nowhere, built into cliffs of HUGE rocks. Colleen came upon a cobra snake that reared its head & spread its hood. After quite a long time & the effort of several brave men, a guide raised in the bush was called & he captured it to release it back into the wild. Yes, they are very poisonous. It was exciting, but only because no one was struck or sprayed.
Reminded Jim & I our trek in the Amazon where our group had a close call with a fer-de-lance (extremely poisonous). As long as they don’t strike…
We had to check out Swakopmund, a resort town on the south-eastern coast that took us back to Germany. It’s is a very wealthy town & we felt we were in a different world. The famous dunes are in that area of the coast, & while we didn’t make it to the largest one, we were impressed with what we saw. Time was running out, so we had to head back home. We had rented a Toyota Yuris, thinking it would be okay since we weren’t going to attempt roads that are “restricted” to 4-wheel. We made it okay, bumping along many, many kms of rough, gravel roads, but next time, we splurge for something tougher. My back is slowly recovering. We’ve kept the car to take to mid-service in Windhoek & have enjoyed the freedom it gives us. Mostly got a bit more familiar with the local region. There is a town at the Angola border that is full of China shops--no, they don’t sell China ware, they sell “junk” from China, run by Chinese & they all have the same things to sell--luggage, aluminum pots, clothes, shoes, low-end electronics, earrings, watches, necklaces, purses, tote bags, plastic flowers, curtains, table cloths….it’s amazing. We have a lot of them here in beautiful downtown Ondangwa (tongue in cheek), but that town is much smaller than Ond. & I’ll bet there are 200 of them. But we also found a fantastic pizza place there, which also has a store in the town where we go to church, so now we have a way to satisfy that craving--they said that they would deliver to us (for a price, of course, but when the need arises, it is do-able). Slowly, but surely, we are finding what we “need” here!
We started our break by “closing out” Term 1 & getting organized for Term 2. We learned a lot & are planning better for next terms. The system is quite different here & we have been working blind, but we’re both geared up for school to start again & looking forward to it. Have missed the learners (one of my most challenging ones has enrolled in a boarding school, so that class should be much easier to handle!). I will be anxious to learn of their reactions to their grades--they were very low. I’m not easy. We’re finishing break by preparing some lesson plans so we can hit the ground running. Colleen, Sheila & Sandy came with suitcases full of pens, pencils, frisbees, books & misc. supplies, so we are excited to be able to distribute those things, too. I don’t know about you, but every summer, as the new school year approached, I would organize my new school supplies & admire whatever new clothes I got & battle the butterflies in my stomach--nothing’s changed (‘cept there are no new clothes!).
May God bless each of you for your support of us. If you have any questions about anything over here, e-mail us. I’m sure I overlook many things in this blog that might interest you. Let me know.
Uhala po nawa
Jim & sharon
Jim just came back from our school-supply store with 100 dictionaries, thanks to many of you. Not sure exactly how we will distribute them, but we both are on a mission to improve our learners’ vocabularies & spelling, so we might just hoard them for our own! We are going to Windhoek for a 3-day in-service & at that time will visit a larger supply store to see if we can get a couple of sets of Namibian literature for the classes to read & study together. There is very little aimed at upper-primary level, so I may have to settle for American lit. There are a couple of learners who show some writing potential & I’ve told them, the market is open for Namibian authors…dream on.
We are now coming to the end of our Term 1 break. It has been wonderful. Our oldest daughter, Colleen, & my 2 sisters were with us for a week & we traveled to see a very different Namibia from what we live in. Started with a game drive through Etosha Nat’l Park. It’s not the best season for that since the animals still have plenty of food & water available to them, but we saw enough to make our “guests” happy. Went north to the Angola border to visit a beautiful waterfall & discovered a lush, green, hilly area quite unlike our region. Proceeded to visit the Himbas, which Jim & I had done before, but wanted to share it with the “girls”. Colleen had done great research to find accommodations throughout the trip & our first treat was to “camp” provided with large tents on solid floors, flush toilets w/ hot & cold running water added on to each of our tents (found out there is nothing like taking a shower or sitting on the throne while basking in the sun or gazing up at the stars! Wonderful beds w/ lovely linens. Wish you could have been there with us!
We headed south through the Namib desert (oldest in the world) where we saw petrified trees 280,000,000 years old. There we stayed at a lodge in the middle of nowhere, built into cliffs of HUGE rocks. Colleen came upon a cobra snake that reared its head & spread its hood. After quite a long time & the effort of several brave men, a guide raised in the bush was called & he captured it to release it back into the wild. Yes, they are very poisonous. It was exciting, but only because no one was struck or sprayed.
Reminded Jim & I our trek in the Amazon where our group had a close call with a fer-de-lance (extremely poisonous). As long as they don’t strike…
We had to check out Swakopmund, a resort town on the south-eastern coast that took us back to Germany. It’s is a very wealthy town & we felt we were in a different world. The famous dunes are in that area of the coast, & while we didn’t make it to the largest one, we were impressed with what we saw. Time was running out, so we had to head back home. We had rented a Toyota Yuris, thinking it would be okay since we weren’t going to attempt roads that are “restricted” to 4-wheel. We made it okay, bumping along many, many kms of rough, gravel roads, but next time, we splurge for something tougher. My back is slowly recovering. We’ve kept the car to take to mid-service in Windhoek & have enjoyed the freedom it gives us. Mostly got a bit more familiar with the local region. There is a town at the Angola border that is full of China shops--no, they don’t sell China ware, they sell “junk” from China, run by Chinese & they all have the same things to sell--luggage, aluminum pots, clothes, shoes, low-end electronics, earrings, watches, necklaces, purses, tote bags, plastic flowers, curtains, table cloths….it’s amazing. We have a lot of them here in beautiful downtown Ondangwa (tongue in cheek), but that town is much smaller than Ond. & I’ll bet there are 200 of them. But we also found a fantastic pizza place there, which also has a store in the town where we go to church, so now we have a way to satisfy that craving--they said that they would deliver to us (for a price, of course, but when the need arises, it is do-able). Slowly, but surely, we are finding what we “need” here!
We started our break by “closing out” Term 1 & getting organized for Term 2. We learned a lot & are planning better for next terms. The system is quite different here & we have been working blind, but we’re both geared up for school to start again & looking forward to it. Have missed the learners (one of my most challenging ones has enrolled in a boarding school, so that class should be much easier to handle!). I will be anxious to learn of their reactions to their grades--they were very low. I’m not easy. We’re finishing break by preparing some lesson plans so we can hit the ground running. Colleen, Sheila & Sandy came with suitcases full of pens, pencils, frisbees, books & misc. supplies, so we are excited to be able to distribute those things, too. I don’t know about you, but every summer, as the new school year approached, I would organize my new school supplies & admire whatever new clothes I got & battle the butterflies in my stomach--nothing’s changed (‘cept there are no new clothes!).
May God bless each of you for your support of us. If you have any questions about anything over here, e-mail us. I’m sure I overlook many things in this blog that might interest you. Let me know.
Uhala po nawa
Jim & sharon
Saturday, April 24, 2010
no more school, no more books, no more learners' dirty looks
Hello, everyone!!! I wish I could say that we had some distinctly "African" experiences this past month, but school was our one & only life.
Oh, my goodness, it has been nearly a month since our last blog.
It has been extremely busy here. But first of all…THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
We could not believe the money that was sacrificed to benefit our school. Our plan was to get the textbooks & dictionaries, but now we have so much more to spend!!! At this point, not sure how to use the extra. Our Lord will have to direct us. There are so many things we could use it for…a car, trip to Northern Africa…just kidding. Books for the library, whole sets of literature that English classes could study together (THAT’S a dream!). They want a soccer field, volleyball court & netball court. Although I am not a sports fan, I can see the need for it here, & to be able to join w/ other schools for competitions, would be very nice for them. But then, the desks are downright safety hazards, there is absolutely nothing in the classrooms except 40 desks & chairs. Bookshelves would be nice, cork strips on which to hang their best efforts, waste baskets (dust bins, as they say), an in-school store where they could buy the supplies that they never have & to buy somewhat nourishing food. The executives are making some improvements--we now have sidewalks outside a block of classrooms & one running from the staff room to the upper-primary rooms--Yea!!! I will no longer have to negotiate the mud & water puddles when I go to classes (or balance precariously on the broken pallets they put over some of the larger puddles). Anyway, your concrete support is greatly appreciated.
Easter was different for us this year. We made it to the Good Friday service which included a re-enactment of the passion. It was very disturbing to both of us because there was so much laughing--the “actors” were friends of the church members & our guess is that there might have been some inappropriate casting. It seemed, however, to hit both of us at the same time: this is what it must have really been like, with a lot of laughing & jeering and seeming disrespect by the locals. It was painful in the all-too reality. Jim was asked to read for the Sat. vigil, but we could not go. It started at 8pm & we would never have been able to get a taxi at 10pm. Sunday morning we had about a 3+ hour downpour. It seldom rains like that. Usually heavy wind & rain come blasting through very suddenly, & don’t last more than an hour. So, we were unable to get up to the road & we doubted the road to the church-town was passable. Sometimes we seriously question if this is really what God had in mind for us!
Once the Easter weekend was over we went into full-swing exam prep. We were unable to get any information on exactly how exams are handled. They are over now (today is our 1st free day--yea!!!) we still don’t know how they are handled. Somehow we muddled through. My English learners received VERY low grades from me. Jim, on the other hand gave out 27 A’s in his Grade 7. Next term he won’t be so easy!! He can’t be, Grade 7 takes National Exams at the end of the year. That puts a lot of pressure on him. The last two weeks were very stressful. The learners were fighting, teachers were belligerent & rude. If Jim & I didn’t have each other, we would have never made it through intact.
Our founder/owner came by the school a few days ago. We had met him in passing in Windhoek during orientation, but he hadn’t been here. I think he was sick. He asked for a meeting w/ teachers & staff. After grumbling that they weren’t going (it was after “knock-off” time) nearly all the teachers were there. He & the exec. Treasurer, whom we talk to frequently, extolled the virtues of the “Americans” and how we do so much to help raise the academic excellence of the school & how we must stay for another year--or more. They are personal friends with the Minister of Ed. & the President, they can pull strings. However, the words were nice, but it was very embarrassing & the next morning the staff room was a bit chilly. Fortunately our colleagues didn’t know that we went out to dinner with them after the meeting, or we would not have been able to show our faces. I really can understand their resentment toward us, but if they don’t have some native-English speakers around their children, the country will continue to sound like an uneducated, backward country. Teachers’ English is deplorable & that’s what the learners hear, day in & day out.
We are wrapping up Term 1, filing all the paperwork & getting ready for Term 2. It will be better, we are sure. At least we won’t be starting out behind on day 1. We learned a lot & have plans that we hope will improve the classroom environment. One of the plans involves the use of duct tape and glue. As much as their talking drives us crazy, we love these kids.
Our first-born & my 2 sisters will be arriving May 4. We will be traveling from 5th to 12th. Then we have nearly 2 weeks before school begins again. Not sure what we will do or where we will go. We have a 4-day in-service in Windhoek from May 20 so maybe we will check out the central-south regions.
Oh, I hear the taxi outside. Jim must be back from running errands. Oh yea, he came with the Exec. Treasurer & two daughters, and here I sit in my ‘jamies & bed-head!!! And the house is filthy. Oh well, life goes on.
Our best to all back home.
sharon
Oh, my goodness, it has been nearly a month since our last blog.
It has been extremely busy here. But first of all…THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
We could not believe the money that was sacrificed to benefit our school. Our plan was to get the textbooks & dictionaries, but now we have so much more to spend!!! At this point, not sure how to use the extra. Our Lord will have to direct us. There are so many things we could use it for…a car, trip to Northern Africa…just kidding. Books for the library, whole sets of literature that English classes could study together (THAT’S a dream!). They want a soccer field, volleyball court & netball court. Although I am not a sports fan, I can see the need for it here, & to be able to join w/ other schools for competitions, would be very nice for them. But then, the desks are downright safety hazards, there is absolutely nothing in the classrooms except 40 desks & chairs. Bookshelves would be nice, cork strips on which to hang their best efforts, waste baskets (dust bins, as they say), an in-school store where they could buy the supplies that they never have & to buy somewhat nourishing food. The executives are making some improvements--we now have sidewalks outside a block of classrooms & one running from the staff room to the upper-primary rooms--Yea!!! I will no longer have to negotiate the mud & water puddles when I go to classes (or balance precariously on the broken pallets they put over some of the larger puddles). Anyway, your concrete support is greatly appreciated.
Easter was different for us this year. We made it to the Good Friday service which included a re-enactment of the passion. It was very disturbing to both of us because there was so much laughing--the “actors” were friends of the church members & our guess is that there might have been some inappropriate casting. It seemed, however, to hit both of us at the same time: this is what it must have really been like, with a lot of laughing & jeering and seeming disrespect by the locals. It was painful in the all-too reality. Jim was asked to read for the Sat. vigil, but we could not go. It started at 8pm & we would never have been able to get a taxi at 10pm. Sunday morning we had about a 3+ hour downpour. It seldom rains like that. Usually heavy wind & rain come blasting through very suddenly, & don’t last more than an hour. So, we were unable to get up to the road & we doubted the road to the church-town was passable. Sometimes we seriously question if this is really what God had in mind for us!
Once the Easter weekend was over we went into full-swing exam prep. We were unable to get any information on exactly how exams are handled. They are over now (today is our 1st free day--yea!!!) we still don’t know how they are handled. Somehow we muddled through. My English learners received VERY low grades from me. Jim, on the other hand gave out 27 A’s in his Grade 7. Next term he won’t be so easy!! He can’t be, Grade 7 takes National Exams at the end of the year. That puts a lot of pressure on him. The last two weeks were very stressful. The learners were fighting, teachers were belligerent & rude. If Jim & I didn’t have each other, we would have never made it through intact.
Our founder/owner came by the school a few days ago. We had met him in passing in Windhoek during orientation, but he hadn’t been here. I think he was sick. He asked for a meeting w/ teachers & staff. After grumbling that they weren’t going (it was after “knock-off” time) nearly all the teachers were there. He & the exec. Treasurer, whom we talk to frequently, extolled the virtues of the “Americans” and how we do so much to help raise the academic excellence of the school & how we must stay for another year--or more. They are personal friends with the Minister of Ed. & the President, they can pull strings. However, the words were nice, but it was very embarrassing & the next morning the staff room was a bit chilly. Fortunately our colleagues didn’t know that we went out to dinner with them after the meeting, or we would not have been able to show our faces. I really can understand their resentment toward us, but if they don’t have some native-English speakers around their children, the country will continue to sound like an uneducated, backward country. Teachers’ English is deplorable & that’s what the learners hear, day in & day out.
We are wrapping up Term 1, filing all the paperwork & getting ready for Term 2. It will be better, we are sure. At least we won’t be starting out behind on day 1. We learned a lot & have plans that we hope will improve the classroom environment. One of the plans involves the use of duct tape and glue. As much as their talking drives us crazy, we love these kids.
Our first-born & my 2 sisters will be arriving May 4. We will be traveling from 5th to 12th. Then we have nearly 2 weeks before school begins again. Not sure what we will do or where we will go. We have a 4-day in-service in Windhoek from May 20 so maybe we will check out the central-south regions.
Oh, I hear the taxi outside. Jim must be back from running errands. Oh yea, he came with the Exec. Treasurer & two daughters, and here I sit in my ‘jamies & bed-head!!! And the house is filthy. Oh well, life goes on.
Our best to all back home.
sharon
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Himba tribe
Fix yourselves a cup of coffee or a glass of wine & enjoy:
Hello, everyone! I want to share with you a fantastic day we had last Sunday. We had a 3-day weekend in celebration of Namibian Independence which took effect March 21, 1990. We had ½ day of school on Friday, rented a car & took off Sat. morning. We were headed to Epupa Falls in the Himba area of Namibia. If you have never heard of the Himba tribe, look on the internet to see their pictures & get a little background. This was our first venture on our own, but felt quite confident--we had a new car & 3 road maps. Oh, to begin, Jim had talked to someone who said that there is a Roman Catholic church in Ondangwa. So, with our own wheels, we set out to find it before heading out of town. Namibians do not give directions. They wave their hand in a general direction & say, “Oh, just go this way & you will find it.” We saw parts of our town that we didn’t know existed--corrugated steel shanties of the obviously poor. We wonder how many of our learners live in that area. Anyway, we found the church, now we have to find out when they have Masses or some sort of service.
Headed out of town. All was fine ‘til we looked for a certain road that would take us directly to out destination. Again, asking was an exercise in futility, getting different responses from different people. It appeared that one town’s policeman didn’t know how to read a map. He tried sending us back home.
Anyway, after many delays & turn-arounds, we made it to the lodge. We had been unable to secure reservations, but had gotten one message telling us no problem, they had plenty of rooms open. Yea, but they were all luxury rooms, along w/ luxury prices. We signed up for a tour to the falls & Himba settlement. We had been told that we would need a 4x4 to get there & we couldn’t find one to rent. Had to pay an exorbitant price ‘cause it was just the 2 of us wanting to go. And we had to eat there, there was nowhere else to eat & those prices were awful. But we were celebrating our 2 birthdays & anniversary. But it was worth every bit of inconvenience & penny spent.
Left 8:00 Sun & got back to lodge at 6:30. We could have driven it ourselves w/o 4-wheel drive, as it turned out, but one never knows for sure. Stopped at a couple Himba settlements before we found one where the people were home & not out in the garden or tending their herds. Himba women are working very hard to maintain their heritage. They wear only animal skins as little skirts. They never use water to cleanse. Twice a day they cover their bodies with a mixture of butter & ochre powder. They put milk in a pumpkin, hang it from a tree & swing it back & forth for 2-3 hrs to make the butter. They take a reddish colored rock (the land there is red) & grind it down into powder. They start this practice when they reach puberty & continue it for the rest of their lives. They spread the mixture on their hair, “style” it, usually into something that looks like ropes, using extensions which sometimes are made out of the children’s hair that has been cut off, or they buy them in town. After 2-3 months, they take their “do” apart, chipping the mud-mix off their hair. They clean their hair by spreading cow dung on their hair followed by white ash from a fire that burns continually. Then they re-apply the butter/ochre mixture & style it again. They do all of this, because water is so sparse, they don’t want to waste it on themselves. The mixture protects them form the sun. They use water to drink & occasionally wash the children. A young girls demonstrated how they cleanse their bodies. They take small coals from the fire (it is probably something like incense) & hold it so the smoke rises up to their arm pits & then they crouch over the smoke to deodorize the groin area. The butter ochre odor, while not exactly unpleasant, seemed to permeate the entire settlement & I had a hard time washing it away when we returned to the lodge.
A settlement is a family group--could be 20-30 people. Tree limbs are stuck in the ground to form a fence around the kraal. There is a central area surrounded by the same type of fence where the holy fire is kept burning & where their cattle are sometimes kept. The Chief & his wife have a hut, then each of his additional wives have their own hut & her children stay in her hut until about age 7 or 8 when they leave their mother’s & join a hut that is all girls, or one for the boys. They sleep there, but are out & about mixing in w/ everyone else during the day. The Chief’s sons also have their own huts, again one for each son & his 1st wife, & additional huts for each of his other wives & children.
They eat 2 times/day. Both meals consist of porridge & milk. Even though they have very large herds of cattle, sheep, & goats, they only slaughter a goat every 10-14 days, so they then eat goat until that meat runs out, then it’s back to porridge & milk. They only grow the grain for the porridge in their “gardens”. Fruits & vegetables require too much water. They don’t slaughter the animals (except for deaths & wedding celebrations--both last 2 weeks.) because the herds are the men’s wealth. Some of our Americans hoard their money, Himbas hoard their animals. The men tend to the herds & that’s about it. They leave for 2-3 months at a time to take the herds to better grazing land. They also build the huts: they take thick tree limbs & form a tee-pee shaped frame. Then the women cover the frame w/ cow dung. No hole at the top, no windows or other openings--just a “doorway” that is very narrow & low. They sleep on animal skins. The one we entered was maybe 10’ in diameter. They usually cook outside or in one of the special huts made for cooking. The temperature stays constant, not really hot, but very stuffy!!!
When someone dies, they are wrapped in leather & buried. Above their grave they put a tree limb stuck in the ground & from there they hang cattle horns--pointing up to signify a man & down for a woman (or vice-versa). They are also beginning to put stone markers similar to our plain ones.
When the children have all of their permanent teach, the Chief has them lay on their backs on the ground, then he goes to each w/ a stick & a stone & knocks their 4 bottom teeth out. The only explanation I got for that is it’s a tradition.
Women & children may not say their husband’s/father’s sur name. So if we were Himba, & I wanted to refer to Jim, I would say, “Colleen’s father” (or one of the other 15 children’s father). The women want many children. If one has only 3,4 or 5, she is mocked by the other women saying she’s not a woman. One asked me how many I had (our guide was the translator) & asked why only 3. I couldn’t come up w/ a reason! If the 1st wife (who has a greater place of honor than the other wives) cannot bear children, the husband will have one of his brothers impregnate her. If she gets pregnant, then obviously he’s infertile & she remains his wife. If she doesn’t, then she’s infertile, & while she may stay, he takes a second “1st” wife to produce his first off-spring.
The women wear very heavy metal rings around their ankles up to their calves; partly to protect them from snake or scorpion bites. The rings that she wears on her right leg are given to her by her father, the one on the left leg from her mother. When one of them dies, she removes that parent’s rings during her mourning period.
The women who are married wear a metal belt around their waist. If they are married to the Chief, they have special hair ornament that they wear on top of their head--makes them look like roosters.
The 1st wife is chosen by the boy’s father. The boy & girl are not told until a few days before their marriage & they probably have never seen each other. Girl is taken inside her mother’s hut & for 4 days she doesn’t leave it. She is totally cleansed & polished. All the ochre butter mixture is removed. Then she & her family walk to the boy’s settlement where there is feasting & celebrations for 2 weeks. Chief says words of marriage for the ceremony. The boy’s father has to pay cows & goats for the girl. The boy chooses his next wives himself. Usually marries additional wives every 2-3 years.
We asked the chief’s wives how old they are (looked OLD). They didn’t know, just that they were born a long time ago, maybe 1000 years. We stopped to talk to 4 women along side the road. They were collecting water from a well that the government drilled for the area. It had been broken since January, but water was trickling out, so they caught it to carry back to the settlement--they have all the time in the world. Asked them where they live & they waved their hand around & mentioned a name. When the guide asked what country they live in, they looked puzzled. He asked them if it might be Namibia. One said she heard that word, but didn’t know what is was. Didn’t know America (very few Americans visit that area--most of the white visitors are from Europe).
The Himbas hate education. It is a waste of time. The children are needed to tend the cattle. But the government has a policy that all are to go to school. Mobile schools are at a few settlement areas, but the most that go to school are 8-12 year olds & then only if they are not needed at the settlement. When we went inside the one hut, I saw some letters written on the wall along w/ a picture of a house which is typical of a kindergarten or 1st grade student. The girl of that hut who was going to school followed us to the gate (along w/ most of the people ) & she got my attention & announced very proudly “My name is Lucia” Oh my, I wanted to take her home with us!!! There was a little boy (about 2 I think)--who picked up a filthy enamel cup that was all chipped & rusty. A little girl poured filthy water into the cup & drank it! His nose was runny, his body dirty. I wanted to take him back to the lodge & bathe him & give him some safe water!!! But they rarely get sick. Many babies die shortly after birth, though. HIV-AIDS is not an issue among the Himba. They don’t mingle outside their own.
The men don’t use the butter/ochre mixture. They usually wear western clothes. They are not concerned w/ maintaining the Himba traditions. There are many tourists, so the Himbas will probably not exist as such in another 30 years. We were cautioned not to give them candy or pop or anything “western”. But, of course, they are gradually picking up our ways. And as the government makes headways w/ education, that will definitely be the beginning of the end. They are friendly, warm, peaceful people. They have no stress in their lives. If they go 2-3 days w/ no water, it’s okay, they will survive.
I think that is all that I can remember. They are among the earth’s most primitive peoples. We felt honored to be among them, even for only a few hours.
That’s all for now. Sharon
Hello, everyone! I want to share with you a fantastic day we had last Sunday. We had a 3-day weekend in celebration of Namibian Independence which took effect March 21, 1990. We had ½ day of school on Friday, rented a car & took off Sat. morning. We were headed to Epupa Falls in the Himba area of Namibia. If you have never heard of the Himba tribe, look on the internet to see their pictures & get a little background. This was our first venture on our own, but felt quite confident--we had a new car & 3 road maps. Oh, to begin, Jim had talked to someone who said that there is a Roman Catholic church in Ondangwa. So, with our own wheels, we set out to find it before heading out of town. Namibians do not give directions. They wave their hand in a general direction & say, “Oh, just go this way & you will find it.” We saw parts of our town that we didn’t know existed--corrugated steel shanties of the obviously poor. We wonder how many of our learners live in that area. Anyway, we found the church, now we have to find out when they have Masses or some sort of service.
Headed out of town. All was fine ‘til we looked for a certain road that would take us directly to out destination. Again, asking was an exercise in futility, getting different responses from different people. It appeared that one town’s policeman didn’t know how to read a map. He tried sending us back home.
Anyway, after many delays & turn-arounds, we made it to the lodge. We had been unable to secure reservations, but had gotten one message telling us no problem, they had plenty of rooms open. Yea, but they were all luxury rooms, along w/ luxury prices. We signed up for a tour to the falls & Himba settlement. We had been told that we would need a 4x4 to get there & we couldn’t find one to rent. Had to pay an exorbitant price ‘cause it was just the 2 of us wanting to go. And we had to eat there, there was nowhere else to eat & those prices were awful. But we were celebrating our 2 birthdays & anniversary. But it was worth every bit of inconvenience & penny spent.
Left 8:00 Sun & got back to lodge at 6:30. We could have driven it ourselves w/o 4-wheel drive, as it turned out, but one never knows for sure. Stopped at a couple Himba settlements before we found one where the people were home & not out in the garden or tending their herds. Himba women are working very hard to maintain their heritage. They wear only animal skins as little skirts. They never use water to cleanse. Twice a day they cover their bodies with a mixture of butter & ochre powder. They put milk in a pumpkin, hang it from a tree & swing it back & forth for 2-3 hrs to make the butter. They take a reddish colored rock (the land there is red) & grind it down into powder. They start this practice when they reach puberty & continue it for the rest of their lives. They spread the mixture on their hair, “style” it, usually into something that looks like ropes, using extensions which sometimes are made out of the children’s hair that has been cut off, or they buy them in town. After 2-3 months, they take their “do” apart, chipping the mud-mix off their hair. They clean their hair by spreading cow dung on their hair followed by white ash from a fire that burns continually. Then they re-apply the butter/ochre mixture & style it again. They do all of this, because water is so sparse, they don’t want to waste it on themselves. The mixture protects them form the sun. They use water to drink & occasionally wash the children. A young girls demonstrated how they cleanse their bodies. They take small coals from the fire (it is probably something like incense) & hold it so the smoke rises up to their arm pits & then they crouch over the smoke to deodorize the groin area. The butter ochre odor, while not exactly unpleasant, seemed to permeate the entire settlement & I had a hard time washing it away when we returned to the lodge.
A settlement is a family group--could be 20-30 people. Tree limbs are stuck in the ground to form a fence around the kraal. There is a central area surrounded by the same type of fence where the holy fire is kept burning & where their cattle are sometimes kept. The Chief & his wife have a hut, then each of his additional wives have their own hut & her children stay in her hut until about age 7 or 8 when they leave their mother’s & join a hut that is all girls, or one for the boys. They sleep there, but are out & about mixing in w/ everyone else during the day. The Chief’s sons also have their own huts, again one for each son & his 1st wife, & additional huts for each of his other wives & children.
They eat 2 times/day. Both meals consist of porridge & milk. Even though they have very large herds of cattle, sheep, & goats, they only slaughter a goat every 10-14 days, so they then eat goat until that meat runs out, then it’s back to porridge & milk. They only grow the grain for the porridge in their “gardens”. Fruits & vegetables require too much water. They don’t slaughter the animals (except for deaths & wedding celebrations--both last 2 weeks.) because the herds are the men’s wealth. Some of our Americans hoard their money, Himbas hoard their animals. The men tend to the herds & that’s about it. They leave for 2-3 months at a time to take the herds to better grazing land. They also build the huts: they take thick tree limbs & form a tee-pee shaped frame. Then the women cover the frame w/ cow dung. No hole at the top, no windows or other openings--just a “doorway” that is very narrow & low. They sleep on animal skins. The one we entered was maybe 10’ in diameter. They usually cook outside or in one of the special huts made for cooking. The temperature stays constant, not really hot, but very stuffy!!!
When someone dies, they are wrapped in leather & buried. Above their grave they put a tree limb stuck in the ground & from there they hang cattle horns--pointing up to signify a man & down for a woman (or vice-versa). They are also beginning to put stone markers similar to our plain ones.
When the children have all of their permanent teach, the Chief has them lay on their backs on the ground, then he goes to each w/ a stick & a stone & knocks their 4 bottom teeth out. The only explanation I got for that is it’s a tradition.
Women & children may not say their husband’s/father’s sur name. So if we were Himba, & I wanted to refer to Jim, I would say, “Colleen’s father” (or one of the other 15 children’s father). The women want many children. If one has only 3,4 or 5, she is mocked by the other women saying she’s not a woman. One asked me how many I had (our guide was the translator) & asked why only 3. I couldn’t come up w/ a reason! If the 1st wife (who has a greater place of honor than the other wives) cannot bear children, the husband will have one of his brothers impregnate her. If she gets pregnant, then obviously he’s infertile & she remains his wife. If she doesn’t, then she’s infertile, & while she may stay, he takes a second “1st” wife to produce his first off-spring.
The women wear very heavy metal rings around their ankles up to their calves; partly to protect them from snake or scorpion bites. The rings that she wears on her right leg are given to her by her father, the one on the left leg from her mother. When one of them dies, she removes that parent’s rings during her mourning period.
The women who are married wear a metal belt around their waist. If they are married to the Chief, they have special hair ornament that they wear on top of their head--makes them look like roosters.
The 1st wife is chosen by the boy’s father. The boy & girl are not told until a few days before their marriage & they probably have never seen each other. Girl is taken inside her mother’s hut & for 4 days she doesn’t leave it. She is totally cleansed & polished. All the ochre butter mixture is removed. Then she & her family walk to the boy’s settlement where there is feasting & celebrations for 2 weeks. Chief says words of marriage for the ceremony. The boy’s father has to pay cows & goats for the girl. The boy chooses his next wives himself. Usually marries additional wives every 2-3 years.
We asked the chief’s wives how old they are (looked OLD). They didn’t know, just that they were born a long time ago, maybe 1000 years. We stopped to talk to 4 women along side the road. They were collecting water from a well that the government drilled for the area. It had been broken since January, but water was trickling out, so they caught it to carry back to the settlement--they have all the time in the world. Asked them where they live & they waved their hand around & mentioned a name. When the guide asked what country they live in, they looked puzzled. He asked them if it might be Namibia. One said she heard that word, but didn’t know what is was. Didn’t know America (very few Americans visit that area--most of the white visitors are from Europe).
The Himbas hate education. It is a waste of time. The children are needed to tend the cattle. But the government has a policy that all are to go to school. Mobile schools are at a few settlement areas, but the most that go to school are 8-12 year olds & then only if they are not needed at the settlement. When we went inside the one hut, I saw some letters written on the wall along w/ a picture of a house which is typical of a kindergarten or 1st grade student. The girl of that hut who was going to school followed us to the gate (along w/ most of the people ) & she got my attention & announced very proudly “My name is Lucia” Oh my, I wanted to take her home with us!!! There was a little boy (about 2 I think)--who picked up a filthy enamel cup that was all chipped & rusty. A little girl poured filthy water into the cup & drank it! His nose was runny, his body dirty. I wanted to take him back to the lodge & bathe him & give him some safe water!!! But they rarely get sick. Many babies die shortly after birth, though. HIV-AIDS is not an issue among the Himba. They don’t mingle outside their own.
The men don’t use the butter/ochre mixture. They usually wear western clothes. They are not concerned w/ maintaining the Himba traditions. There are many tourists, so the Himbas will probably not exist as such in another 30 years. We were cautioned not to give them candy or pop or anything “western”. But, of course, they are gradually picking up our ways. And as the government makes headways w/ education, that will definitely be the beginning of the end. They are friendly, warm, peaceful people. They have no stress in their lives. If they go 2-3 days w/ no water, it’s okay, they will survive.
I think that is all that I can remember. They are among the earth’s most primitive peoples. We felt honored to be among them, even for only a few hours.
That’s all for now. Sharon
Saturday, March 13, 2010
It's been awhile
Hello to everyone! I understand that you are beginning to feel that winter is coming to a close. It is still hot here, but the extreme temperatures might be over.
I wrote an entire entry a week ago, but somehow the computer couldn’t post it & I lost the whole thing.
Now, I am finally getting smart. I am writing this in Word & I will just copy onto the Blog & save internet time. We have run out a couple of times--I am spending a lot of time looking up information. Since I am teaching Social Studies, I have to learn about the history & government here. I am glad we came to Africa a year ago--I actually had picked up a fair amount of information then, so this isn’t all totally foreign to me.
Classes are getting better. I am writing out the text information on newsprint, then the learners copy it into their exercise books. It’s okay for the sharp ones, but those who are struggling have a harder time with copying correctly. Texts are on order. The store called a few days ago, but we couldn’t understand them. Asked them to fax the information, but apparently they didn’t understand us. We will need to make a trip there as soon as we have time.
Jim is gone on a 3-day trip with the Grade 7 learners (science, I think). They went to see some falls & I don’t know what else. I’ve seen enough falls, so chose not to go. Besides, I didn’t want to miss my classes. I took Jim’s Grade 5 English for him. He has so much trouble with them, but they were absolute angels for me. I still have my struggles with the learners, but they are becoming less & I think that they really are trying to behave. There are several student-teachers here now & I have noticed that the severe punishments have subsided…wondering if their presence is making a difference. Quite a few in Grade 8 are beginning to show interest & ask questions. They will even catch me outside to clarify points. Grade 6 is asking if they can get books to read. I think I will check some out of the library for them, but they are in such terrible condition. They are yellow w/ age, falling apart, not at all appealing. Most have another school’s stamp in them, & frequently it is an American school. Apparently used books are donated. That’s fine, but like everything else here, they are being used beyond what is reasonable.
I’ve been looking into the possibility of getting desks & chairs. Most are broken. It’s not unusual to be interrupted during class by a learner from another class looking for an extra chair. Or an eraser or cloth to clean off their chalkboard, or a pen or pencil or ruler. They borrow them from each other & when they don’t return them, they have to scrounge.
Last Sunday we finally connected with the nearest Catholic community. We had to take a flashlight at 6am to find our way though the mud from our house to the road & then hail a taxi for the ½ hr trip. When we got to the town, we thought we knew how to find the church, but we didn’t, so after driving up & down several streets, we happened upon it--& the service was just about ready to start. I was so excited! It was so wonderful. It was in English. The deacon led us through everything in the Mass, except for the Consecration. When we received the Eucharist, I realized just how much I had missed it. I couldn’t stop the tears, which became embarrassing when the deacon asked us to stand & introduce ourselves. We will be going there every Sunday, & occasionally there will be a priest. There is supposed to be one on March 28--Jim’s birthday. What a way to celebrate.
Next week we will be celebrating Independence Day. Each class is asked to perform. Hoping to see some interesting tribal clothes, dances & songs. Several have been practicing behind our house. These kids are really talented in music & art. One tradition that I am aware of is that when a young person gives something to, or receives something from an elder, they do so with their right hand. It is a sign of respect. They usually take their left hand and touch their right elbow as they are handing off with the right hand. The girls also do a little curtsey--haven’t noticed if the boys bow or not.
I‘ve rambled on long enough. Keep the prayers coming.
sharon
I wrote an entire entry a week ago, but somehow the computer couldn’t post it & I lost the whole thing.
Now, I am finally getting smart. I am writing this in Word & I will just copy onto the Blog & save internet time. We have run out a couple of times--I am spending a lot of time looking up information. Since I am teaching Social Studies, I have to learn about the history & government here. I am glad we came to Africa a year ago--I actually had picked up a fair amount of information then, so this isn’t all totally foreign to me.
Classes are getting better. I am writing out the text information on newsprint, then the learners copy it into their exercise books. It’s okay for the sharp ones, but those who are struggling have a harder time with copying correctly. Texts are on order. The store called a few days ago, but we couldn’t understand them. Asked them to fax the information, but apparently they didn’t understand us. We will need to make a trip there as soon as we have time.
Jim is gone on a 3-day trip with the Grade 7 learners (science, I think). They went to see some falls & I don’t know what else. I’ve seen enough falls, so chose not to go. Besides, I didn’t want to miss my classes. I took Jim’s Grade 5 English for him. He has so much trouble with them, but they were absolute angels for me. I still have my struggles with the learners, but they are becoming less & I think that they really are trying to behave. There are several student-teachers here now & I have noticed that the severe punishments have subsided…wondering if their presence is making a difference. Quite a few in Grade 8 are beginning to show interest & ask questions. They will even catch me outside to clarify points. Grade 6 is asking if they can get books to read. I think I will check some out of the library for them, but they are in such terrible condition. They are yellow w/ age, falling apart, not at all appealing. Most have another school’s stamp in them, & frequently it is an American school. Apparently used books are donated. That’s fine, but like everything else here, they are being used beyond what is reasonable.
I’ve been looking into the possibility of getting desks & chairs. Most are broken. It’s not unusual to be interrupted during class by a learner from another class looking for an extra chair. Or an eraser or cloth to clean off their chalkboard, or a pen or pencil or ruler. They borrow them from each other & when they don’t return them, they have to scrounge.
Last Sunday we finally connected with the nearest Catholic community. We had to take a flashlight at 6am to find our way though the mud from our house to the road & then hail a taxi for the ½ hr trip. When we got to the town, we thought we knew how to find the church, but we didn’t, so after driving up & down several streets, we happened upon it--& the service was just about ready to start. I was so excited! It was so wonderful. It was in English. The deacon led us through everything in the Mass, except for the Consecration. When we received the Eucharist, I realized just how much I had missed it. I couldn’t stop the tears, which became embarrassing when the deacon asked us to stand & introduce ourselves. We will be going there every Sunday, & occasionally there will be a priest. There is supposed to be one on March 28--Jim’s birthday. What a way to celebrate.
Next week we will be celebrating Independence Day. Each class is asked to perform. Hoping to see some interesting tribal clothes, dances & songs. Several have been practicing behind our house. These kids are really talented in music & art. One tradition that I am aware of is that when a young person gives something to, or receives something from an elder, they do so with their right hand. It is a sign of respect. They usually take their left hand and touch their right elbow as they are handing off with the right hand. The girls also do a little curtsey--haven’t noticed if the boys bow or not.
I‘ve rambled on long enough. Keep the prayers coming.
sharon
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Fundraising
This makes me feel like we are a charity case! Another experience in humility. I just hope no one feels obligated in any way. We had decided to go ahead & buy the books, but since many people sounded as if they really wanted to be part of this adventure of ours, we thought that we would offer this opportunity:) Really!
I had response from someone asking how to send the money. You do no want to send money here. Cash would never make it; we would not be able to cash a check. Maureen is taking care of our financial business while we are gone, so any contributions could be given to her, deposited in our account & when she receives the bill she will pay it. It's so wonderful, we charge things here & she foots the bill! We have such devoted children!
Thanks, Sam for offering your organizational skills.
Just sort of a funny story. Jim has had alot of trouble w/ his Grade 5 learners (English). Today as I was working in the staff room (don't picture anything too great!), I heard him holler "I said sit down & be quiet! How many times do I have to tell you?!" We have been talking about various techniques to address this issue, so I knew he was at the end of his rope. I went to his class, the learners politely greeted me, & I simply walked around the room, taking non-English materials from them, giving them the teacher "look", and generally scaring them out of their wits--without saying a word! They were wonderful! The few that came up to his table to ask a question tried to skirt around me, but I stopped them & told them to just sit down & follow his directions. As I left, I told them how Mr. Jim comes home every night & tells me how awful this Grade 5 is, but they seemed quite wonderful to me. Mr. Jim must have something wrong with him if he thinks they are so horrible. Class was almost over, but Jim said they stayed pretty quiet 'til the end & wanted to know if Ms. Sharon was coming back--she was so nice! These children are so cute!!
'til next time,
sharon
I had response from someone asking how to send the money. You do no want to send money here. Cash would never make it; we would not be able to cash a check. Maureen is taking care of our financial business while we are gone, so any contributions could be given to her, deposited in our account & when she receives the bill she will pay it. It's so wonderful, we charge things here & she foots the bill! We have such devoted children!
Thanks, Sam for offering your organizational skills.
Just sort of a funny story. Jim has had alot of trouble w/ his Grade 5 learners (English). Today as I was working in the staff room (don't picture anything too great!), I heard him holler "I said sit down & be quiet! How many times do I have to tell you?!" We have been talking about various techniques to address this issue, so I knew he was at the end of his rope. I went to his class, the learners politely greeted me, & I simply walked around the room, taking non-English materials from them, giving them the teacher "look", and generally scaring them out of their wits--without saying a word! They were wonderful! The few that came up to his table to ask a question tried to skirt around me, but I stopped them & told them to just sit down & follow his directions. As I left, I told them how Mr. Jim comes home every night & tells me how awful this Grade 5 is, but they seemed quite wonderful to me. Mr. Jim must have something wrong with him if he thinks they are so horrible. Class was almost over, but Jim said they stayed pretty quiet 'til the end & wanted to know if Ms. Sharon was coming back--she was so nice! These children are so cute!!
'til next time,
sharon
Fundraising effort
Sam here.
I'm hijacking the blog for a quick post to try to make sure that any efforts made for fundraising are organized. I've already talked to a couple people who are wanting/willing to help. A few more phone calls to make, and I'm sure a few things to sort out - but when it gets set I'll gladly post something so that everyone is aware of it.
Until something definite is set in motion, if anyone has questions, feel free to email me at smbka_1@yahoo.com
Monday, February 22, 2010
More from Namibia
I hope everyone is doing well at home. Enjoy the cold for me, please. Yesterday it was 124* F. in the sun. The top so far. Today we received our air conditioner & it's quite lovely--84* feels like heaven.
We still have not found a faith community. Jim met a Coptic Orthodox priest at the grocery store. He stopped by our flat to visit & it was a very interesting time. I did a little research & had high hopes that this would be what we were searching for. We went to Mass Sunday. There were only children there. After awhile not more than 10 adults arrived. While they believe in transubstanciation, the service seemed to be over & Father mingled among the people w/ a plate of flat bread (not flat like our hosts) & tore pieces off to give to people as they chatted. Somehow I invisioned something closer to our Communion. We somehow have to figure a way to get to a nearby town for 7AM mass on the 1st 2 Sundays of the month--it will even be in English!
I will be sending out a mass e-mail, but thought maybe this would be a good venue...many people told us before we left that if there is something we need to let them know. Well, my Grade 8 English class of 40 learners has 13 text books which they share. Their command of English is deplorable. Some days I want to cry. My Grade 6 English class (also 40) is blessed with 18 ( but about 4 of them are an older edition & things have to be adapted for them). We are doing okay in Social Studies (same Grade 6 class) with 2 learners per text. What I would love to do is buy 40 texts for Grade 8. The text that they do have is boring & of course there is no teacher's guide, but I found a test that is much more appropriate for 14 year olds.
I would also love to be able to buy each of my 80 learners their own dictionaries. The library has a few, but of course they are reference books & cannot be checked out. In fact, right now, the librarian is on sick leave & no one is able to use the library (I get books occasionally, but it is risky--there is no quarantee that the learners will return them to me).
So, this is my wish list. Both the textbooks & dictionaries run about $15 each (US $). If there is someone out there who would like to spearhead a fundraiser, that would be great. I don't expect to get all that I want...my first priority is the Grade 8 texts. I believe I will order them soon & figure out the finances later.
Jim bought texts for his Grade 5 English class--they were sharing 2/text & driving him crazy! This class is quite a challenge, & sharing didn't help. My Grade 8 is also a great challenge. I am not saying the texts will make everything wonderful, but I can't believe that they won't make a difference.
I hate asking, but these kids are winning my heart! Some are beginning to confide in me, some are asking questions about class material, some give me the biggest, most beautiful smiles you can ever imagine. And when I discipline them, they still talk in class, leave the room without permission, pass notes, paint their fingernails, tell me 15 min. into the lesson that they left their book at home (meaning that at least one other learner is also without a book!). But I love them,
and don't believe that they are getting a fair shake.
We ran out of internet time a few days ago, & at this rate, we will run out again, soon. So I will sign off. We are very thankful for your prayer support. We have needed each & every prayer---some days we can't even pray for ourselves!
Grateful for you,
sharon
We still have not found a faith community. Jim met a Coptic Orthodox priest at the grocery store. He stopped by our flat to visit & it was a very interesting time. I did a little research & had high hopes that this would be what we were searching for. We went to Mass Sunday. There were only children there. After awhile not more than 10 adults arrived. While they believe in transubstanciation, the service seemed to be over & Father mingled among the people w/ a plate of flat bread (not flat like our hosts) & tore pieces off to give to people as they chatted. Somehow I invisioned something closer to our Communion. We somehow have to figure a way to get to a nearby town for 7AM mass on the 1st 2 Sundays of the month--it will even be in English!
I will be sending out a mass e-mail, but thought maybe this would be a good venue...many people told us before we left that if there is something we need to let them know. Well, my Grade 8 English class of 40 learners has 13 text books which they share. Their command of English is deplorable. Some days I want to cry. My Grade 6 English class (also 40) is blessed with 18 ( but about 4 of them are an older edition & things have to be adapted for them). We are doing okay in Social Studies (same Grade 6 class) with 2 learners per text. What I would love to do is buy 40 texts for Grade 8. The text that they do have is boring & of course there is no teacher's guide, but I found a test that is much more appropriate for 14 year olds.
I would also love to be able to buy each of my 80 learners their own dictionaries. The library has a few, but of course they are reference books & cannot be checked out. In fact, right now, the librarian is on sick leave & no one is able to use the library (I get books occasionally, but it is risky--there is no quarantee that the learners will return them to me).
So, this is my wish list. Both the textbooks & dictionaries run about $15 each (US $). If there is someone out there who would like to spearhead a fundraiser, that would be great. I don't expect to get all that I want...my first priority is the Grade 8 texts. I believe I will order them soon & figure out the finances later.
Jim bought texts for his Grade 5 English class--they were sharing 2/text & driving him crazy! This class is quite a challenge, & sharing didn't help. My Grade 8 is also a great challenge. I am not saying the texts will make everything wonderful, but I can't believe that they won't make a difference.
I hate asking, but these kids are winning my heart! Some are beginning to confide in me, some are asking questions about class material, some give me the biggest, most beautiful smiles you can ever imagine. And when I discipline them, they still talk in class, leave the room without permission, pass notes, paint their fingernails, tell me 15 min. into the lesson that they left their book at home (meaning that at least one other learner is also without a book!). But I love them,
and don't believe that they are getting a fair shake.
We ran out of internet time a few days ago, & at this rate, we will run out again, soon. So I will sign off. We are very thankful for your prayer support. We have needed each & every prayer---some days we can't even pray for ourselves!
Grateful for you,
sharon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)