Vacation is for Reading!

Enjoying her time off -

Spoke with Lisa this morning - she's enjoying her vacation a lot - a whole lot! So far she's spent one night at the guest house of one of her Learner's (in town - the family is a bit entrepreneurial and they have this small guest house with bunk beds to rent) and she went to a wonderful Bar-b-que at another Learner's home.

She's spent most of the rest of her time reading, and listening to her cassettes. She doesn't have access to a computer etc. but her little cassette player is working well - so if anyone has any cassettes they could send her she would be delighted - folk, Broadway Musicals, children's, early rock and roll, 50's, 60's, or 70's music, country - just about anything would be a great change of pace for her. If you have old ones you're not listening too instead of tossing them try sending them to Lisa - if the music isn't her style she can trade with other Peace Corps Volunteers. Also AA batteries are a real help since somehow even the brand names that they sell in Namibia seem to run down very very fast! 

Burglar Bars

They put in her burglar bars - on all her windows - so now she feels like her stuff may still be there after her trip to Windhoek for Peace Corps Reconnect. I gather the birds make a racket as she says "they spend all night tap dancing on my tin roof" so she's kept the windows shut most of the time - now just in time for near freezing nights in Namibia's Fall/Winter she can leave them open. (grin) But actually being able to open them after a cold night will let her place warm up faster so she's happy about it all.

Next Term

It looks like at least 2 teachers and maybe as many as 4 or more will be leaving Aroab - and the Principal is hoping that 1) he gets replacement teachers and 2) that said teachers are trained teachers and not as they say "just off the street". So it doesn't look good for Lisa ending up with fewer classes as Peace Corps requested. And worse - one of the exiting teachers was the guy that ran all the sports programs - and thus kept a lot of the boys at least a little calm and sane. And even more crushing to Lisa in particular another of the exiting teachers was Chairman of the Science Fair they're planning to put on about 3 weeks into the next term  - and drum roll please - Lisa's Vice-Chair and hasn't been given any idea of what they expect the fair to be like! She hope someone gives her some idea of what to do (grin). She's learning how to "wing it". Valuable Life Lessons (grin)

Reconnect

Around May 1st or 2nd Lisa will start heading up to Peace Corps Reconnect - where all the Peace Corps Volunteers get together and swap tales of life in their corner of Namibia, get extra training, and in general get a quick evaluation as to how they seem to be doing.

Lisa will head to Keetmanshoop - she has no idea yet as to how she'll get there - but she'll figure it out by mid-week. She'll then go to Windhoek with the "Keets" group (she's again not sure if they'll take the train, catch a ride in a truck or whatever - not being sure is a regular state of affairs in Namibia - and having things work out eventually also seems to be the status quo).  At least 3 Peace Corps Volunteers have left country so far (one left from DC training - she decided then that PC wasn't right for her) so it's quite an achievement for the rest of them to still be there. We wish all of them the best. We won't talk to Lisa most likely next weekend but will touch base the week after that. Will fill you in on how things went when we hear from the kid!

To Shop Or Not To Shop  - That Is The Question!

Lisa will probably shop for a few warm things and for food that isn't available in Aroab. She says it's funny how little she's actually buying - she has a lot of her Peace Corps stipend saved up - but she (and many other Peace Corps Volunteers have reported this too in their blogs) feels funny even buying a few candy bars or treats beyond basic food items etc since everyone then looks at her as "rich" and then the kids start asking for handouts etc. Begging for stuff is a way of life there!

Also being known to have a lot of stuff - by Namibian standards - makes you a prime target for break-ins. Since the assumption is "if you are rich you can replace anything we take". It's a different world and the Peace Corps Volunteers are still learning a lot about it! And trust me - whatever the Peace Corps Volunteer buys, does or says - is known by everyone in town faster than you can imagine! Talk about being in a place "where everybody knows your name. . .". (grin)

The good news is that even though the locals are impressed by the amount of mail she gets ( a few items are a lot more than the zero items most receive) they don't seem to snoop and check out what's inside the boxes etc - so any goodies (granola bars, candy, tea, hot chocolate envelopes, wonderful smelling bars of soap, magazines, books, etc) can be enjoyed by Lisa, and not coveted by the kids.

Thanks For Keeping In Touch 

Thank you all for checking in on Lisa - she loves your cards, letters and small envelopes filled with newspaper clippings are wonderful  she says- She loves getting news even if it's awful to be caught up on the current price of gas etc (grin). Remember even if the news is weeks or months old - it's still new to her! She does miss being able to e-mail and IM you all easily - but she wants you all to know how much your thinking of her means to her! It means a lot to her Dad and me too! Till next time -

Susan Rothman

The Term Is Over

7 months over - 21 to go!

Spoke to Lisa Saturday - she sounded great! Well why not - her first term of teaching is over and she's done with correcting all the exams - so except for a week of Peace Corps Training - she's free till the second week of May. Teachers love vacation too!

We called from her Grandparents on Long Island and Lisa got to chat with a lot of family members she hasn't spoken to in a long while which was a pleasure for everyone involved. I also got feedback that people are actually reading this blog! It's a great way to keep people up-to-date without spending a lot on postage! (grin) And folks are checking in on a lot of the other Peace Corps blogs too. Makes everyone seem a bit closer.

 

Visiting

Lisa told us she was visiting one of her learner's homes Saturday night - she wasn't sure if it was their home in town or out on their farm - the translation got a bit fuzzy but I gather her learner was excited that her Lisa was coming. It's nice to see your kids in their home environments. I think she'll see a new side to her learner's lives.

Most of the students have left the hostel for the duration of the term break. Lisa's looking forward to getting away too - even if it's just training she'll at least get to hang out with the other Peace Corps Volunteers - and I'm sure they'll all be comparing notes.

 

Burglar Bars 

 

Lisa expects to get her burglar bars installed this week - she believes on the 24th. I hope she gets them since she would like to keep her few possessions safe and secure while she's away. She may not have much - but she'd like to keep everything she does have.

Oh as for other "house" news - she bought a 40 lieter basin to supplement her small sink - it will make washing clothes and taking sponge baths much easier! And it only took her 7 months to get one! (grin). - and I'm not sure if I put it in a past post - but she did get a new window a few weeks ago.

 

Mail

Waldo (Peace Corps - head of country supervisor) did come to observe her - and he brought a big batch of packages that had either been mailed to her at the Windhoek address, or had been sent to her when she was in Mozambique - all the big stuff that Peace Corps wasn't going to pay to have forwarded - so she has been enjoying Birthday and Christmas gifts - it's been great - she says she's getting spoiled by this influx of mail and she hopes she continues to get stuff. (grin)

Waldo felt she shouldn't be teaching so many classes - but since 1 or 2 teachers are leaving her school the chances of her getting fewer classes are slim. It would be nice if she could switch the Agriculture ones for English or Living Science since the next term covers Animal Husbandry which she knows nothing about! We'll see how it goes.

One of the teachers who is leaving is one of those "do everything in the school that needs doing" kind of person - so they'll be sorely missed.

 

Lisa Quote

Lisa has been reading a copy of Wuthering Heights - and she said it was "Just like Hamlet -except it's death by disease not sword or poisoning" I just thought that was a cool observation and a nice way to end this post! Till next time!

 

Susan Rothman

April Updates

Time Change

Now Namibia is only 5 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Savings Time – it’s heading out of the rainy season into what passes for fall (and soon winter) in Lisa’s new home. I gather that while the days will still be very hot, the evenings and early mornings will actually be quite cold. Ending the rain is a blessing for those up North since a lot of illness has been spread with the overabundant rain this year. It hasn’t been too bad at all in the South for Lisa.

Life

Things have been busy for Lisa (so what’s new about that – grin - ) She’s been working on finals for her learners – since she’s teaching grades 8 and 9 she gets to create all the exams and deal with correcting them. There are country wide exams for grades 7, 10, and 12. She’s not sure which is harder – teaching for standard tests - or doing all the test creation herself. She’s managing in any case. She teaches 9 groups of learners but only in 4 subjects (English, Business Management, Agriculture, and Living Science) so she only had to make up 4 different exams – but she still gets to correct nearly 300! I see all you teachers out there wincing – yes this is the trial by fire way to learn how to teach!

This week she initially had 3 things scheduled for Wednesday – an observation by Waldo the PC country supervisor, a workshop in Keetmanshoop on using Debate in the schools, and a court appearance over her break-in. But some things are universal – the workshop was moved to Friday and she hasn’t heard when the court appearance will actually be held – so that’s on hold – so she’s down to her supervised visit – not sure what can be told about watching her during study sessions and exams but she’ll sort it all out I’m sure.

House and Home

Lisa finally got the glass replaced in her window – no burglar bars yet, but with luck they’ll come eventually. So she’s feeling a bit more secure considering how in a few weeks she leaves her place for a week of Peace Corps training in Windhoek. She may not have much, but she’d like to come back to everything she left there! She is Soooooooo – looking forward to her time away – she feels she needs a break!

Also – if anyone has simple recipes for dark meat chicken (thighs and drumsticks) she’d appreciate them – she can’t find a chicken breast in Aroab to save her soul - and she never cared for dark meat to begin with (so much like our nearly 14 year old cat Lighting who only likes white meat himself) and she considers all her attempts at chicken cooking dismal failures so far. There is a ton of meat available but I gather that in her town it’s only sold in VERY LARGE hunks – and she doesn’t want to attempt cooking something that will leave leftovers for 20! On a hot plate to boot! (grin). She doesn’t get eggs either since they’re sold in crates of 24. That’s a bit much for one especially since she doesn’t even have an oven to bake stuff in. (She couldn’t make an Easter or Passover sponge cake or a batch of macaroons if she wanted too)

Mail

It seems like the Mozambique Peace Corps Post Office has been cleaning house since Lisa’s been receiving a lot of forwarded mail from her brief stay in Mozambique. It’s been loads of fun getting Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cards, notes and letters. Quite a pile has been forwarded to her. She wants to thank all of you belatedly and tell you how much she’s enjoying all the bits of communication – being late hasn’t cut back on the enjoyment quota one bit! In fact it makes the missives all the more sweet.

Odds and Ends

Lisa’s been asked to judge a spelling contest – quite a hoot considering that spelling isn’t her long suit (to put it mildly) – but as she puts it – judging is fine as long as the correct spelling is in print in front of her. It was just a surprise to be asked. It seems like she’s doing more and more in the school – which is a good thing.

So all in all things are going well – she’s only 2 weeks away from being in Africa for 7 months – time is sailing along. But she still has 21 months left! She misses everyone and wishes she could see you all in person to share all these adventures with you – but for now my clumsy attempts at keeping you up to date will have to do. Take Care – keep thinking of Lisa!

Susan Rothman