Happy Independence Day Namibia!

Friday March 21 was Independence Day for Namibia – more later –

Break In

Wednesday Lisa was teaching when another teacher walked into her classroom and asked her if the camera and Swiss army knife she had were Lisa’s. Lisa checked and said yes they were. She was surprised since she had just been looking at the photos in the camera the night before and didn’t understand how they could be missing. The Principal called the Police and Lisa filled out police reports etc. She was glad to get her stuff back before she knew it was missing. I gather one of her kids was the little thief but as of this moment she doesn’t know who. She sort of doesn’t want to know since she feels it will be awkward seeing them in class and knowing – I on the other hand would want to know but it’s not my call. (Sigh – the price we pay for our children becoming adults – they make these decisions – we don’t)

It turns out after careful inspection that there was a small hole in a window in Lisa’s place which had been broken and boarded up long before Lisa arrived and some souls had spent a fair amount of time working to make the hole big enough to slip their hands in and flip the latch holding the window closed. As Lisa said if they spent that much effort studying, they could all get into Universities. So now the plan is to replace the window, add a better lock, and add burglar bars. I only hope this occurs before anyone else tries to break in. Lisa is taking this in stride – considering it another Peace Corps rite of passage. Other Blogs have noted thefts and a break-in Tuesday of another PCV’s place - so it does happen.

Her friend who works at the Hostel – Erna – took her visiting in town after she learned about the break-in and I gather the general consensus was “kids – what are we going to do with them” Lisa didn’t understand everything that was said in Afrikaans but she sure got the general drift of the conversation. It was nice to know her community was now looking out for her!

Saturday

We chatted with Lisa a few times this week – often the calls were short because the reception wasn’t very good! Friday was Namibia’s Independence Day and in honor or that the school had an assembly Wednesday – on very short notice Lisa learned her class had to present a song so she decided to teach them You’re A Grand Old Flag – which worked perfectly by simply changing the Red White and Blue to the Green Red and Blue – Namibia’s flag’s colors. The learners did very well and she was very proud of them!

She’s on “vacation” Thursday the 20th through Monday the 24th between Easter and Independence Day. Five Days off! Most of the kids have gone to wherever home is for the holiday so Lisa is alone and enjoying the peace and quiet! She’s attending the many Passion Week services the Church she attends is holding (It’s tough figuring out everything in Afrikaans though). And she’ll be having dinner at one of the Minister’s homes on Easter I think. So she won’t be totally alone the whole time. Nobody she knew of was going through Aroab over the break so she’s staying in her new community. It’s tough being 90 miles from anywhere with very little traffic moving through. But since privacy isn’t a big concept in Namibia she is sort of relishing the down time.

Odds and Ends

She’s catching up on correcting papers, planning, and re-reading the notes and letters friends and family have sent. Man she loves looking over the mail! Oh, anyone who wants to send her current event info is most welcome to – she only yesterday managed to catch a little TV and learn that Castro had retired – we forgot to mention it to her – Ooops. Amazing the info you forget she just isn’t picking up every day without computer access or even newspapers or TV. So newspaper clippings, photos, etc are a delight to her!

She may be chaperoning a field trip to a local mine – or maybe not – they school hasn’t decided if they’re taking the kids there – so different than her HS where field trips had to be approved over a year in advance to get into the budget! I’ll let you know if it happens!

She also mentioned that Peace Corps has matched her up with an Elementary School in Rose Valley PA – and she’s supposed to write them and keep them up to date on life in her school in Namibia. And they’re supposed to write back to her. Of course she’s only actually written us once in 6 months (back in Mozambique) we mostly call her for contact. She’s sent a few e-mails, and has called us twice. Not that I’m complaining (deep sigh – hand on forehead – eyes closed) (grin) but I have a feeling that her minimum writing will now be sent to PA. Oh well.

Rest of the Term

If Lisa has it straight (and she’s not positive she does) (grin) there is one week of classes left when the get back from Easter Break. Then 3 weeks of testing – where they study, have a break, then take tests, then have another break, then are supposed to have 2 classes each day on a rotating basis. Then the term should be over!

In the first week of May they’re supposed to have some Peace Corps training in Windhoek – (she’ll have to figure out how to get their on her own – Peace Corps is very good at forcing independent thinking in their volunteers) (grin) then the next term will start I guess the second week or so in May. So much has happened so quickly it seems – a whole term of teaching almost done. Wow.

And Now for Something Completely Different

We were able to tell her that Siena’s basketball team won an upset against Vanderbilt in the NCAA first round. Her Dad works at Siena so the college is very happy! They play again Sunday – Lisa’s hoping that playing on Easter will be good luck for the Catholic college since they won on Good Friday. We’ll just have to see how it goes!

Well I’ll fill you all in with more info later – Say a little prayer that this is the only break-in she’ll have to deal with – with so many friends pulling for her I hope the Universe is kind to her. I’m amazed she sounds so happy when we talk to her – she really loves Namibia! A love of teaching 8th and 9th graders is something she’s still working on – and it’s coming very slowly! (grin – grin – grin)

Susan Rothman

Stormy Weather

March Is Coming In Like a Lion

Spoke with Lisa eventually today but there were a lot of storms moving through at her end so the connection wasn’t very good. The power was out Friday evening from 8pm through Saturday afternoon Namibian time. So when we tried calling our usual time early on Saturday we couldn’t get through. We just have to be happy we got through at all – and as Chuck says –“it will cost less” since the call was about ¼ as long as usual. So after an awful drought now Namibia is being hit by more rain than it’s seen in years! The North has been hit particularly hard – with massive flooding and some fatalities.

Lisa’s been hanging out with Erna – a woman who works at the Hostel next door to Lisa’s place – and today the two of them went to visit “the grandparents” not blood relatives – but close older friends of Erna’s – we were curious how the visit went but the phone reception didn’t cooperate so we never heard.

Odds and Ends

Lisa mentioned that another of the Namibian Peace Corps Volunteers has decided to leave – Jenn – who was teaching somewhere near the South African border – it sounds like homesickness and missing her boyfriend were factors in her decision. I can see where it could get to be too much for the Volunteers. We wish her all the best.

I sent out Easter/Passover/Spring letters to Lisa’s family and friends getting them up to date on her adventures. If you’re reading this blog you’re as up to date as you can get! (grin). It’s hard to believe that Lisa will have been on this great adventure for 6 months on Easter itself – she got a head start on the other Namibian Volunteers with her time in Mozambique! Then it will be just 22 months to go! Wow – they’re working so hard to be US Ambassadors of Peace and Good Will. We should all be proud of their efforts.

School

Lisa’s past the ½ way point in the term – and the teachers are as happy about that as the learners are! She’s learning a lot about teaching – and while some days are more challenging than others - over all she’s doing quite well! While she more or less always thought well of her teachers over the years – this experience has given her an even greater appreciation for the challenges they face and the difficulty of their work loads. She’d like to thank all of them here and now in typical Lisa fashion – “Thank You – Thank You – Thank You – Soooooooooooooo Much”

I’ll update again when I have more news.

Susan Rothman