Happy Labor Day

Back in Aroab

Spoke with Lisa this morning, she sounded great - very bubbly and her cold seems to be almost gone! She's back in Aroab and getting ready for the new term which starts September 1st. They don't celebrate Labor Day there! She had a great break and is ready to roll into the new term! While she likes getting away - she also likes her small community - feels like home when she gets back!

 

American Politics is very confusing to Many Namibians

Erna came over from the hostel when Lisa got back and told her that Barack Obama finally won the election. Took a while for Lisa to explain that this was just a formal nomination. I guess it's hard to understand such goings on in a country with one political party - at least that's how Lisa understands how Namibia's system works - usually the candidate chosen in a one party system wins. She figures that next week she'll be explaining how McCain didn't win yet either. Although she says McCain has had very little coverage in Namibia - most don't know he's even in the race.

 

The National Namibian Debates

After she was done in Windhoek she caught the over-night train down to Keetmanshoop. She then spent a few days visiting David and then she moved into a hostel (across town from where the debates were being held) where the judges for the National Debates were staying (as well as other adults involved in the program). The kids were all in another hostel - being so far from the adults I think contributed to some discipline issues (GRIN). So they all had to keep catching rides to the debates every day - she often traveled with a German woman who held very strong opinions on everything and who didn't understand the effect her views had on others. Taught Lisa a lot about how best to present your opinions to others (or how not to - GRIN - )

She judged the preliminary debates (there were five debates over three days), then she was the time keeper for the semi-finals. There were pairs of Judges and guidelines provided for the judging but she said in most cases one team was obviously stronger than the other and when it came to selecting the best debater from the winning team she usually deferred to the other Judge. She had never been involved in debate before on an organized level like this and she found the whole process very interesting. The final debate (which she didn't judge) was in essence - "Should Namibia be more like the US with the States having a lot of power" Interesting stuff - she didn't mention which side won that one.

Some of the points made made more sense than others. 2 rather odd presentations included a presentation on the Greenhouse Effect and how it meant you kept a lot of plants in greenhouses (hmmm) and one decrying life insurance provided by companies  because it would promote rampant murders by people trying to cash in on the policies (double hmmm) .

She said she now can understand why so many politicians and members of government have extensive  debating experience. She thinks it's great prep for Government work.

 

Odds and Ends

In her travels she found several oddly named and or flavored food items. An Albany candy bar - a mix of dark and milk chocolate by Nestles, and a Pringles Steak and Caramelized Onion chip. Lot's of meat flavored snack foods there. Also many US brands are made in South Africa plants. So even if the name is the same the product may be quite different. And there are almost no plain products - everything is packed with odd flavors. Differences in taste from one country to the next. - Personally I'd try the candy bar vs the chips (GRIN). But Aroab has few of any of these - so she'll have to wait till her next trip to Keetmanshoop or beyond to try them.

Thanks for looking in on this blog and for keeping Lisa in your thoughts. Will add more next week!

 

Susan Rothman

She Made Her Trip

Spoke Saturday with Lisa

After she jumped through lots of hoops she got to Keetmanshoop, got a Combi (sp?) (sort of a 20 person mini-van thing) ride to Windhoek and managed to get to her rescheduled dental exam etc. She had several days of intense shopping (GRIN), intense eating of fresh fruits veggies and ICE CREAM (GRIN GRIN), and some relaxing time catching up with the adventures of other PCVs.

She got the train back to Keetmanshoop and will be there for a bit till she can get a ride to Aroab - If they want to get her to teach they'll have to help her figure out how to get her there (GRIN).

 

Details of her break so far-

She had a few tiny cavities which they dealt with, and the PC medical officer checked out her cough (which has been going on for a while) and said her lungs were clear which was good. Since TB is common in Namibia it's always good to have such coughs checked out.   Unfortunately while he gave her a nice bottle of cough syrup, said cough syrup decided to leak all over her bag of new purchases (including several sale books she found)  All because she dropped the bag everything was in. As Pooh would say - Oh Bother. She cleaned off everything as best she could and forwarded on.

While in Windhoek she saw the new Batman Movie, and got some time on the PC computer so she read lots of her backlogged e-mail but put her priority on reading and not sending answers so she would get through most of them - She asked me to thank everyone who has e-mailed her and she apologizes for not replying to you all but she loved hearing from you! Man she misses having access to a computer! After nearly a year away that is what she misses most!

So far her break has been a great success - food, shopping, friends, and lots of conversation with folk who speak English! No cooking - Ahh restaurants are from heaven,  warm showers, and knowing that slowly the days are showing sparks of warmth - a heavenly time. As we prep for Labor Day and fall - Namibia is waiting for spring and summer heat again.

In honor of that expected time of heat and sunshine, Lisa bought one of those little popcicle  makers so she can turn ice tea, fruit juice etc into cool bliss. Assuming the power stays on long enough for the stuff to freeze! (GRIN)

 

The New Volunteers will be coming

It sounds like Peace Corps is splitting the new volunteers into 2 groups, Educational, and Health - and they'll be arriving in different batches. So Lisa might or might not be involved in helping train the new group of teachers. It sort of makes sense since each group needs different training - and the teachers need to be around for the school terms while the health volunteers can be more flexible in their arrival. It sounds like all in all there are fewer teachers coming this year and more health workers.

The unfortunate bit as Lisa understands it, is that Peace Corps has already decided to place all the teachers in the Northern part of the country (last year more went to the southern regions I guess)- Lisa was hoping she might get someone else down in Aroab or another southern town - not going to happen I guess. Her school is interested in getting another teacher volunteer - and I guess it has applied for one from World Teach (I think it's Harvard University based - Google it if you're interested). But just like here - an application does not guarantee you'll receive a volunteer. Lisa is really hoping it works out though - she misses being able to relax and chat with a native English speaker!

She assumes she'll still be in Aroab - but with Peace Corps anything is possible - some of the other teachers have changed schools already. Lisa really likes her school and town she just really wishes it was easier to get the 90 miles to Keetmanshoop where they have trains, combis, and other forms of transportation.

 

Odds and Ends

Next weekend we'll find out if Lisa made it back to Aroab, and how things are shaping up before the next term begins on September 1st. Hope it's a good last week of August for Lisa, for us, and for all of you! Take Care!

 

Susan Rothman

No Luck getting to Keetmanshoop

Spoke With Lisa Briefly this Morning

It doesn't look like she'll get to Keetmanshoop till late Monday - but by golly she's given the whole transportation thing the old college try. She tried the usual group - her Principal, fellow teachers, people at the Hostel next door, her friend Erna and everyone Erna knows in the community - and she even went to the Police Station to see if they knew anyone who might be headed that way. Amazing to be well known enough in your community to even ask the Police for this kind of help. No one is headed that way. Nothing before Monday. Oh well.

You might think - well why doesn't someone just give her a ride - remember it's a 180 mile round trip to Keetmanshoop on dirt roads - even with an offer to pay for the gas - few people have cars but they just don't drive those distances very often. They used to have a bus that ran a few times a week on that route but it was disbanded several years ago. And she's (depending on the transportation) 14 to 16 plus hours from Windhoek - so no one from Peace Corps is going to zip down and pick her up. For some reason except for dire emergencies they never pick you up - I guess they didn't want to run a taxi service for the volunteers (grin). So even though she has a Peace Corps Dental appointment (and isn't just trying to nab a few vacation days) she's out of luck.

Right now - though she loves her town she'd do just about anything to be on a train or bus route or even to be living in an area where people traveled on a regular basis from one small village to the next. We take so much for granted here - transportation wise - even in fairly remote areas we have more options than many do in Namibia. We complain about the cost of gas etc. but we can still find options.

 

Phase Two

Since she won't get to Windhoek  in time Monday Lisa is texting anyone she knows who is scheduled for an appointment after hers to see if they can switch. The Peace Corps Office closed early Friday so she couldn't get through to them. So with luck it will all get sorted out. She isn't having any dental problems but getting her check-up in would still be a good thing. I'll let you know next weekend how the saga unfolded.

 

At Least The Sun Is Out

Yesterday was one of the coldest days Lisa has experienced in Namibia and it was cloudy to boot! At least today is sunny and that makes her feel warmer. Since she can't get rid of her cold she's been more dedicated about taking her vitamins, extra C (which Mommy sent her) and she's been drinking more of the Strawberry/Tangerine Tang we sent her a while back. If it was good enough for the astronauts it should be good enough for the Peace Corps Volunteers (GRIN).

So life goes on and Lisa is dealing with everything with her usual good cheer - I'm glad we only chat on occasion or I'd be driving her nuts with Mommy questions and suggestions. Just like from college when I press too hard I get the classic "Don't worry Mom - I'm dealing with it" And she always does.

 

Susan Rothman

It's Hard to Travel From Aroab

Lisa's Having Trouble Getting To Windhoek

Called Lisa after getting an e-mail from her today - she was less than pleased that she couldn't find anyone heading to Keetmanshoop which is where she needs to be to get to Windhoek for her dental exam Monday. I gather she can get to Keetmanshoop Monday itself, but then it's a long trip to Windhoek and her dental exam is at 11:30am.  So she's trying to sort this all out.She's been working on this for several weeks - ever since she got the date for her dental exam. But it's 90 miles to Keetmanshoop which is the closest place to get any form of transportation to Windhoek and if no one is going there you're out of luck.

Since Peace Corps Volunteers aren't allowed to drive in their host country it wouldn't matter if she had her licence. So it isn't possible for anyone in Keetmanshoop to come and get her and bring her back either. Times like this Aroab being off the travel lanes is a real pain. It's hard for us to understand the problems there are traveling - but such difficulties are common there. Boy does Lisa miss DC and it's Metro system!

She's going to call Peace Corps and tell them she will probably not make her appointment so with luck they'll be able to reschedule. Actually the part that makes her sad is that Peace Corps pays for the night before in a real hotel and Lisa hates the idea of missing that - hot showers -cushy beds - Maybe even a heater! Mmmmmm. The rest of the time they're on their own nickel - so she may miss out on the hotel but at least if she stays at one of the Hostels in Windhoek she'll be able to get to a restaurant and eat out! A real treat!

 

Sick of Being Sick

She's still got a cold, and right now Aroab is going through a real cold snap and she's truly tired of being sick. She's gone through the cough syrup she bought and nothing seems to be working. With luck being able to rest between terms will help, as will getting away for a few days and eating out and just seeing new faces for a bit.

We tend to forget that she has no heat in her home, no hot water, and just a 2 burner hot plate to cook on. So when it gets icy there really isn't any way to warm up and I'm sure that's why she hasn't gotten over her cold. Doing all your bathing and clothes washing with cold water in a sink may be OK when it's hot out but it's not fun when it's freezing out. Also the location of her one room house in relation to the Hostel next door makes for a lot of cold blowing wind - which while nice in summer just adds to the cold right now.

She's managing - She has running water inside so she doesn't have to haul it from a well or stream, and she has an indoor bathroom which is more than many Peace Corps Volunteers have -  I'm just getting Mommy annoyed right now - I want a more comfy environment for her. Enough Mommy venting. (grin)

 

Rest of Spring Break

After dealing with Windhoek she hopes to spend the following week (somewhere around the 24th to the 30th) in Keetmanshoop for a week's worth of National Debates. Her school didn't make the cut so she won't have anyone in particular to root for but if she gets there it should be interesting. This will be the longest she'll have been away from Aroab since she started teaching there.

Then the next term begins. Time just zips along doesn't it. As of September 23rd it will be one year since she left on this adventure. WOW - and according to her count as of August 24th she'll have 500 days to go. That's still a long time. But she's hanging in there!

Will keep you up to date when we know more about how her Spring Break went - Thank You to everyone who has sent Lisa a note or package - It provides support from home and treats for her and her learners. Take Care

 

Susan Rothman

The Term is Coming To an End

Spring Break is Near

Spoke with Lisa today - it's funny hearing her talk about Spring Break coming up with late summer/fall on the horizon here - how easy it is to forget how different things are south of the equator. She's still dealing with that cold - she believes it's partly dry weather induced, partly due to stress (she seems to get a bad cough whenever she's under stress) and partly just a plain old virus. She has a steady deep cough, a nose running a marathon (her image not mine - though I thought it was a good one!) and some good old tiredness. Though after telling me all this she said she was getting better!

She went and got some cough syrup - there were several to choose from so she selected one with an old fashioned remedy list of ingredients in it - camphor, anise extract, menthol etc. It seems to be helping. I think the usual choice of tea drinking actually dries her out more in the desert climate. Staying hydrated is tougher than one would expect. 

It's been a busy week of monitoring exams (both hers and fellow teacher's), correcting them, and doing the tons of paperwork that comes with a terms end. Exams go through Tuesday then all the grades are due Friday August 15th. Not many failed Life Science, many more passed Agriculture than last term but she credits that with the decision to lower the passing grade from 50% to 30%. (GRIN) Business Management is a mixed bag grade wise - but the kids seem to have liked the exam. And the English exams which were finished ages ago went fairly well.

She misses computers that make the grading process so much easier! The final term of the year starts up September 1st with the kids due back on the 2nd.

During the 2 week break Lisa needs to get to Windhoek for her annual Peace Corps dental exam - and she's trying to work out a side trip or an extension of her time in Windhoek - just to get a little break. She asked me if she should stay in Aroab to prep for the next term instead and I told her "Take a break if you can! - It will refresh you so you can teach better!" So she'll try and see if it works out. It's nice she wants to prepare for teaching but keeping sane by taking a vacation will I think help the most!

 

No more Newsweeks

She got a package of info from the Peace Corps and learned that at the end of the year there wouldn't be any more Newsweeks sent out to the Volunteers. She thought Newsweek was donating old issues (they sure were old by the time they arrived) but it turns out that the Peace Corps got discounted subscriptions for them and that due to cost cutting they were being eliminated. Oh well. She really liked reading them then being able to put them in the back of her classroom for her learners to go through. So if any of you have old News Magazines or any old magazines of any kind you could send her, they would be of great use in her classroom!

 

Kids

Well there has been a big meeting of the 8th, 9th, and 10th grade parents to discuss the poor behavior, attitude, work ethics and grades of the learners. The good news is the outrageous behavior ("pretend" threats to kill each other, destruction of property, failing classes etc) isn't limited to Lisa's classes - the bad news is that it's school wide. Lisa didn't understand much of what was discussed since it was all in Afrikaans - but it wasn't hard to get the gist if it all. The parents of the 10th graders in particular were upset that their kids weren't doing better and might not pass the exams needed to get into High School. Universal issues with kids everywhere!

I guess the upside of it all is that the parents care - and want their kids to continue on in school. Often in the smaller villages the need for education beyond the basics isn't really accepted - so it's more of an uphill effort for the teachers there. At least here the parents and the school are on the same side.

 

Two down Four To Go

So another term is ending, 4 left in her Peace Corps Service, time is going by faster than I expected, yet she still has 16 months left. Hard to believe she's been gone nearly 11 months. How life changes.

We were talking about the Olympic Opening Ceremonies (which I thought were magnificent!) and I mentioned that while I usually just looked for the USA team (and Finland's - where I taught 32 years ago)coming in - this year I looked for 4 African Countries - South Africa where she landed heading into this big adventure, Mozambique - where she spent her first month and a half, Swaziland where she went to get working papers and Visa's for her transfer to Namibia - and Namibia of course. It was all so very interesting.

 

That's all for this week - Take Care

 

Susan Rothman  

A Week of Giving Exams

A Long Week

Lisa sounded much calmer when we spoke to her today than she did at the end of last term when the whole test giving process was driving her nuts! She's getting into the swing of things now! It's been a full week of giving and correcting exams with 1 and 1/2 more weeks to go. While she monitors the tests Lisa's sits there praying for them - that they do well. She's sure the learners don't have a clue how much all the teachers want them to succeed!

In general she thinks the learners are doing better this term based on the exams she's corrected so far. At least in English.  The 8th graders did 1/2 their English exam which went fairly well except for the kid who wrote both of the essays in Afrikaans. He was supposed to do them in English so he failed. Even if she understood Afrikaans well enough to read them you don't get credit for writing in the wrong language. Oh well, - teachers do care about such things - no matter what the learners think!

In general it was a tough week for the boys - they as a group were acting even wilder than normal - so one afternoon all of the 8th and 9th grade boys were hauled out of there classes for a good talking to. It was reassuring that Lisa wasn't the only teacher having issues with the kids - and the classes that afternoon with just girls were a lot easier to work with!

 

So hard to Categorize a Typical Peace Corps Experience

Many of the blogs I've read from teachers indicate how super busy they are - like teachers everywhere. But some blogs by volunteers working in areas other than education are more mixed - some seem super overworked and a few comment on how boring things are a lot of the time. When I mentioned this to Lisa she said it would be nice if the volunteers with less to do could help out in the classrooms (especially those in the health care fields - since they could provide the teachers a break and do some of the AIDS education that goes in in every subject!).

No matter what, everyone's learning a lot in this process. It's just so interesting to read all the different perspectives in the blogs. No wonder Peace Corps couldn't get more specific before the volunteers left - I think they did an incredible job considering how different each placement turns out to be.

 

Growing up Robin

Lisa's Dad filled her in on the progress the Robin family has been making in our back yard. We saw the nest getting built, then Momma and Poppa Robin flying back and forth from the berry bushes to the nest (they squawked like crazy when we did some harvesting of raspberries and blueberries for ourselves - grin -), then we saw little heads poking up from the twigs and leaves, and now  there's some beginning flying going on. Chuck startled a bird in the shrubs and it had a very unsteady launch before it got it's wings under it. It made it to the shed roof then used the roof as a runway to get aloft. That's when he realized it was a baby (though bigger than a chick) practicing. Lisa's response was Cool!

 

Thank You for Mail

She wants us to thank everyone who has sent mail from home it makes the whole week more cheery when she gets something! This week she wants to thank Grandma in particular for the beautiful sweater since it's still cold there at night! She says it's super soft!

 

Till next week

 

Susan Rothman