Adventures in Namibia

Six Month Update

2010-07-06T16:49:00.001+01:00

July 6, 2010

A quick update : Lisa has a job starting in August with Greenheart - a fair trade organization in Chicago. It's a one year position which she got through LVC (Lutheran Volunteer Corps) and it provides, housing, health insurance, and a small stipend.

LVC supports sustainable living, with an emphasis on simplicity. For example there is no Internet in any of the housing, and TVs, computers, etc are discouraged. The houses have 4 to 7 people in them and as a group they are encouraged to spend time together. There are also several retreats everyone attends. Should be a very interesting (and introspective) year for her.

Hope everyone who checks this blog is doing well!

Take Care - Susan Rothman

A Poem For All PCVs and RPCVs - (with thanks to Clement Moore)

2009-12-24T19:49:00.001+02:00

Twas the Day Before Christmas

Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the house

Every creature was stirring, even the cat's toy mouse,

The stockings were stuffed with 3 years worth of cheer

To celebrate dear RPCV Lisa finally being here.

The family was decorating with green and with red,

While visions of tomorrow's roast turkey danced in their heads

And mamma with wrapping paper, and papa with hot tea

Had just settled down to wrap last minute goodies with glee

When out near the street arose such a loud clunk

The trash-men were tossing the recycling into their truck

I flew out the door to include the last bag

Since the next two week buildup would leave me in a jag

The sun on the dusting of snow from last night

Made our home as wintry as Lisa's grandparents did delight

When what to my wondering eyes did appear

But the cat across the street with a well worn sneer

Our cat in the window was all bluster and huff

Angry at the intrusion of the little ball of fluff

I whooshed away the kitten - so home did he go

My cat licked his paws - content away from the snow

Now cranberry sauce, stuffing, potatoes and corn,

Thanksgiving in December - the idea never gets worn

Home tastes long desired, with family made joyful

A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer dreaming of futures so hopeful

Only two weeks away from Namibia's warm summer days

Our RPCV has contributed to many on her home-front this day

Toys for Tots, food baskets, and Calendars oh my

Lisa's generosity is great enough to light up the sky

Filling out applications, forms high and wide

Her future is coming fast - no time to just slide

Balance is the key, to readjusting to life home

New paths out there to wander, new places to roam.

I may not have enough stanzas, but I'm doing this on the fly

Creating a metaphor for the wonder of having my daughter close by

I'm grateful she's home, not a long distance call away

And am selfishly hoping for at least a little while at home she will stay

So to all PCVs at home or away, to all RPCVs too, old or new

We thank you for your service, impacting the world true

You made much more of a difference than you realize right now

Good luck with your futures, as fate will allow

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice too,

Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, Happy anything that suits you -

As a Peace Corps Mom who blogged (for over two years - wow!)

I turn the reigns over to Lisa - it's up to her to continue now!

Susan Rothman 12/24/09

Lisa's Home!!!

2009-12-11T17:58:00.001+02:00

Lisa and her luggage have arrived safe and sound - will update this later! Just thought you all would want to know immediately GRIN

Lisa Is Coming Home

2009-12-09T18:42:00.001+02:00

Peace Corps Has Lisa's Flight Home Booked

If the airlines, and the weather, cooperate Lisa should be home Friday December 11, 2009 before 10am! She'll be flying from Windhoek to Johannesburg, to Dulles, to Albany. With a few hours in Johannesburg and an hour or so in Dulles.

Now right now the weather here is horrid - almost a foot of snow fell last night and now we have freezing rain, then we're supposed to get rain - most likely to wash away all that lovely white stuff -sigh- Friday looks good according to the weather people so we'll just have to see.

I've got my fingers crossed that Lisa and her luggage all arrive home safely and if possible on time -GRIN- But safety first! We can be patient if we need to! We just hope Lisa's travels go well. Less than 48 hours from when I'm typing this we should be seeing her! I'll blog as soon as she gets home - though that blog may be a very short one - GRIN -

Last Few Days In Windhoek

Other than listing movies she was seeing, TV shows she was watching (including some funny cartoons from Jordan) and nice meals she was eating, Lisa didn't say much about the final Peace Corps close of service red tape. So We don't know how the medical stuff went, or if she got a list of health care providers who accept Peace Corps coverage, or any of a million other things we want to know.

But we're cutting her as much slack as our curiosity will allow. She has some major readjusting to do! Leaving a chunk of your life behind is always bitter sweet! And with the future unsure it will be a time of shifting moods for our dear daughter.

It's hard to believe but Lisa will no longer be a PCV "Peace Corps Volunteer" but will magically become a RPCV a "Returned Peace Corps Volunteer" What a difference one word makes - and 27 months of course!

So with lots of prayers, good thoughts, fingers crossed, major knocking on wood - my next blog should be very short and very sweet! Till then - dear friends - Take Care -

Susan Rothman

Last Week In Windhoek

2009-12-07T05:25:00.001+02:00

Lisa Got Into Windhoek Just Before Midnight Friday Dec. 4th

It was a long trek up - the Ministry of Education brought her from Aroab to Keetmanshoop - they had a flat during that stage of the trip, then they took her and some others to Windhoek - where 2 hours out of Windhoek their car broke down and it took several hours to get it towed back to a town to be repaired with all sorts of problems along the way. I gather they had a lot of tools in the trunk but were missing the 1 they needed to fix the car. Lisa said "that's Namibia for you" while I quietly thought "that's just life".

Lisa said it was Namibia's way of telling her that while she'd miss Namibia - there were bits that were well worth missing. GRIN - She'll be in the Janjonker Apkrtments till she leaves for America. Her sign in says she has the room till Dec. 10th but since the person making the room arrangements isn't the same as the one making the flight arrangements she isn't sure if she'll actually be leaving on the 10th. But we can hope!

Saying Goodbye

It was hard saying good bye - the school gave her an Namibian Dress as a going away gift - she says it's lovely. And Erna seemed to question why Lisa was leaving so much for Irena the new Peace Corps Volunteer and not everything to her. Lisa says she left Erna plenty and was a bit frustrated at her last interactions with some folks.

I explained how I thought part of the problem was those she knew in Aroab considered themselves to be her friends and Irena to be the "newcomer" as far as they were concerned while Lisa considered Irena to be as the new Peace Corps Volunteer someone she wanted to leave a lot of the basics to. In it's own way it made the leaving easier for Lisa.

Final Days

Lisa is near the Peace Corps offices so that will make doing whatever needs to be done easier. I guess there is a long check list of stuff to be done and once everything is checked off she can head home. With luck the flight arrangements will go well. Till that happens Lisa is eating out, seeing movies, and getting used to higher activity levels than she had in Aroab. She's enjoying her final days there. And she's dreaming of a White Christmas and can hardly wait to get home.

My next blog will either be of her imminent plans for departure or will be a joyful description of her arrival home - everyone hold her warmly in your thoughts and prayers till she arrives! Thank you all for thinking of her so often these past 27 months!

Susan Rothman

The Final Weeks

2009-12-01T00:27:00.001+02:00

Soon Lisa Will Be Coming Home

Called Lisa on Sunday since she had a Brai (bar-b-que) to go to on Saturday. She's been doing non-stop packing and is rather sick of it. It's hard since it involves so much decision making - what to bring home, what to leave for Irena the new Peace Corps Volunteer, what to give to her friends like Erna etc. It's driving her crazy - much harder than packing up at the end of college. Also without a scale she can't really be sure if her bags are under the weight limits etc. Just another little frustration for her -sigh-

Thanksgiving and Beyond

Irena's host family had a Thanksgiving Dinner for her and they invited Lisa. Sunday was a Christmas Concert which she wasn't sure if she'd attend depending on how the packing was going. Everything revolves around packing. This is much harder than she expected - every step reminds her how she'll be leaving so very soon. There will be a not so much of a surprise party for her since the kids can't keep secrets very well (GRIN). And it's going to be very hard to say goodbye to everyone.

Elections

There were two days of elections in Namibia which I gather went quite well. Now they count the ballots which will take a few days - and with luck the whole process will have gone peacefully and without complications. The locals didn't seem that excited about the elections - they voted for "their guys" and that was more or less it.

School is Almost Over

The 8th and 9th graders were allowed to leave school last Thursday - Lisa was glad she brought their Christmas cards to school with her - this way she won't have to ask anyone to get the cards to the learners after she's gone. The 7th graders and younger learners may end up being there till the end of this week - but Lisa may well be gone by then. It's all so bittersweet for her. She wants to come home so very much (27 months away is a LONG time!) but the good byes are so very hard.

The last contact she had with the Ministry of Education indicated that they would get her next Thursday and bring her and her stuff to Keetmanshoop. Then Friday she'll head to Windhoek either on the train or with someone from the Ministry of Education. Getting exact plans from them seems as difficult as getting straight answers on healthcare reform. Once in Windhoek she'll deal with her final medical stuff and sometime after her end of service date of December 10, she'll come home. We all can hardly wait to see her!

I will keep this blog going till Lisa comes home - then she can continue it or end it - but it will be her baby then! Till next week -

Susan Rothman

Didn't Get To Keetmanshoop

2009-11-22T02:53:00.001+02:00

Lisa Was Planning To Go To Keetmanshoop Saturday

But the driver of the town's van was tired and he didn't feel like going so he canceled the trip. As Lisa said - you couldn't get away with that in America - if a local bus driver or AMTRAK driver was tired and tried to pull that he/she would likely soon be jobless. Oh well. There were a few things she wanted to get but she said she'd manage. She's good at managing. GRIN

The Adventure Of Coming Home

I gather the most recent information Lisa has about the steps in her return include the Ministry of Education providing her with a ride from Aroab to either Keetmanshoop (where she'd catch an overnight train) or to Windhoek on either December 3rd, 4th or 6th. Isn't it nice they can be so precise! GRIN

She knows that once she gets to Windhoek she'll have to have more blood tests - to check for Schistosomiasis and to get her prescription to have her ganglion cyst checked out when she gets home. And she has to actually sign up for that after Peace Corps healthcare - Corps Care (they haven't been able to do so so far because the new forms and info hasn't been ready -sigh- ). But she has no idea how long that stuff will take.

Some days we think we'll really know for sure what her travel plans are when we get a phone call from the Albany Airport saying she's home. Anything more specific is just speculation. Double Grin. Several Peace Corps Volunteers took the travel home allowance as cash and planned to make their own travel arrangements - hoping to save some money on the deal - but they're discovering making such arrangements from Namibia is more complicated than they expected.

Lisa knew from day one that she wanted Peace Corps to deal with it all since she still doesn't have reliable Internet access and right now it's hard to access her e-mail. So that's one set of hassles she can avoid.

School

Exams end on November 30th, and at the present moment they are expecting to have to keep the learners in school till that Friday - December 4th. But that may change - the teachers hope so - since after finals the kids will really have nothing to do - and unoccupied learners are rambunctious learners!.

Lisa doesn't think she'll miss teaching - but she will miss at least some of her learners - GRIN. I know she'll miss Aroab and Namibia, many of the friends she's made, and just being in the whole different world that is Africa. Coming home will be strange for her. But Computer access, the Internet, and cable TV will help bridge the gap!

Odds and Ends

As her time to come home grows closer Lisa is more and more interested in what's going on locally. She sort of wishes she could really get caught up an 27 months in a flash. We on the other hand have to try and remember which restaurants closed and which opened since she was last home, and what other changes occurred - ie we have a new polling place to vote, some stores have closed, people have moved away, etc. Small changes we probably mentioned when they occurred but which she doesn't quite remember. All the little things that change when you come home again.

Lisa's thinking more and more about what comes next - work or grad school - or both. It's an odd feeling after having a job for two years - even though it had its challenges - it was a known quantity - now it's the unknown again. Funny how Peace Corps made being in Africa seem like a comfortable known quantity.

She's been reading a book she picked up in Windhoek a while back - Richard Wolffe's Renegade : The Making Of A President. It was so funny - she said that as she read it she kept wondering why she missed all these aspects of Obama's campaign for President - then it hit her - she had been in Namibia for most of it! A Duhh moment for sure! GRIN

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Will update next week!

Susan Rothman

A Party

2009-11-14T21:38:00.001+02:00

Omu And Opa Held A Birthday Party

It was for Lisa and Erna - and was held this afternoon. Lisa's Birthday was the 11th and Erna's was the 13th. Irena the new Peace Corps Volunteer was there among others - and they had cake. I gather having cake is a big deal for Namibians! GRIN All in all they had a good time.

Lisa Can't Wait To Come Home.

She's counting the days till she leaves Aroab - since she doesn't know exactly when she'll be flying home she can't use that for a countdown. Double Grin.

It's funny how she's wavering between knowing she'll be delighted by everything at home - and wondering how she'll actually feel. She thinks her home base may seem different and she's unsure about that. I sort of went - ahem "most kids go through that when coming home from college - you never felt funny about your returns you always fit right back into the routine - so all these funny feelings most go through earlier - they are typical!" She sort of went "hmmm - I guess"

In some ways she's always been a late bloomer - from walking to talking - she developed at her own pace and has done rather well (if a Mom can say such things -grin-). She's been very mature in some ways, and has seemed to avoid a lot of the terrible tweens and teens GRIN. So it took 2 years in Africa for her to see herself as separate from her nuclear family. Which is a good thing. It's one thing to always feel welcome when you're home - for as long as you need to stay - it's another to never leave the nest. Ahh philosophical twinges from Mommy world. See what happens when your Mom writes a blog for you! GRIN

Speaking of Philosophical Musings

We spent most of the conversation talking about how best to help those less fortunate no matter where they live. We all sort of concurred that many of the best programs encourage the active participation of those who receive aid (Habitant For Humanity, Heifer International) or they deliver the aid directly to local folks in need who are part of the community (food banks, Meals on Wheels, City Missions)

Lisa discussed the tremendous boost you get from helping someone who appreciates it - (especially the learners who came for extra help and tried so very hard in class) vs. the frustration of working with individuals who don't seem to care no matter how hard you try to help them (some learners who couldn't seem to be motivated no matter who tried to help them - and only seemed to see Lisa as a potential source of food - especially candy!). Challenges most teachers feel at times no matter where they teach.

Odds And Ends

We discussed how the world was supposed to end in 2012 - the end of the Mayan calendar - and how it's tricky to snatch up one bit of an ancient religion out of context, and how many contemporary Mayans are less than thrilled by this notoriety.

Lisa mentioned she's done a lot of reading since exams are spread out and there are times the paper work isn't available to be done (but when it is - it will be in avalanche form!) So she hit book number 123 - for this calendar year! (nice pattern! - don't think 1234 will be hit for quite a while GRIN) - and she may be getting booked out. I think a few weeks home catching up on the computer and zoning out watching TV in between writing job/grad school applications will get her back to a more reasonable reading pace. Although, both her parents have this addiction so dominate or recessive it's showing up in the next generation!

Will write more next week - but as time winds down the info from Namibia seems more philosophical, as medical info pops up and travel plans firm up I'll be glad to list them here. Lisa should be home by Christmas - and we can hardly wait!

Susan Rothman

Happy Birthday Lisa

2009-11-11T17:10:00.001+02:00

Called Lisa At 10:30 Last Night

Which was 5:30 this morning for her. Since she leaves for work about 6am that was the only way to slip in a call on a weekday- GRIN -

She opened the small packages we sent her earlier. We sent her a card indicating a gift made in honor of her Birthday to Heifer International - of "A Basket Of Hope" - and two small packages of edible treats. We have more gifts at home for her to unwrap when she gets back in December! Then we chatted till she had to leave for school.

Peace Corps Medical Update

I gather PC called and told her that her blood work came up positive for schistosomiasis but since she never swam in fresh water while in Africa they think it may be a false positive. They'll do more blood work in December before she leaves and if she indeed has it she'll be given a prescription for meds for it. I gather it's very common in southern Africa. Ahh well - just another issue to deal with.

School

As I said in my last blog - the 10th grade learners are gone but all the other's are in the midst of finals - they spread them out over several weeks. Which makes things easier I guess.

Her Entrepreneur Class got an unexpected break. She had gotten through all the chapters with her class already so while she was at Peace Corps for her medical stuff she assigned them the practice exam in the back of the text book as review.

As it turns out - the exam sent to the school looks a lot like the practice exam. Lisa figures they never expected the classes to get that far - grin - but since the practice exam was right there for any learner to go over she doesn't feel bad about assigning it. Of course she realizes that being exposed to most of the test won't make a big difference - the learners that study will do well those that don't study won't. Sigh - no easy way to reach all the kids all the time.

Speaking of exams - I guess when the state exams come in the teachers have to go over them and check the answer keys to make sure everything is correct. The joys of paperwork!

Irena

The new Peace Corps Volunteer is settling in with her host family - and even though she isn't supposed to - she's teaching already, monitoring exams etc. According to Peace Corps she's just supposed to be observing things. Yeah right - when a school gets a teacher it's impossible to keep them from putting her to work! GRIN

Lisa is surprised how similar they are - Lisa was a bio major, Irena a chem major. They both seem OK being on their own away from other English speakers or other Peace Corps Volunteers (very necessary when you're placed in Aroab!). They're both from the northeast - Lisa from Schenectady, Irena from Long Island. They both have Jewish Fathers and Catholic Mothers . They both like to read in a heavy duty way. And of course they both chose to be Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa. Small world.

I think she'll be very happy to inherit Lisa's stuff when she moves into Lisa's house in January - Peace Corps wants her with her host family till then. But she visits Lisa a bit since she can use her electricity, phone charging, water etc. and it's on the Hostel's nickel - whenever she uses water or electricity in her host home (one of the local Minister's and his family) she's aware of how much is being used since the Minister must go into town and buy more. Something I hadn't thought about before since Lisa didn't pay for electricity or water directly - it was just part of living on Hostel grounds.

Odds and Ends

Lisa finished reading her 120th book of the year.

Will update again this weekend - Take Care one and all - and

Happy Veteran's Day

Susan Rothman

Almost 25 Years Old

2009-11-07T20:19:00.001+02:00

Lisa Will Hit The Quarter Century Mark Wednesday!

It's hard to believe she'll be turning 25 so far away from home! The good news is that she'll be done with her Peace Corps Service in about 4 weeks! Then she'll head to Windhoek and start her journey home. Exact dates are not available - so don't ask! (GRIN) I will post them here when I get them though! She is sooo ready to come home!

The Ministry of Education is arranging to ship up her largest suitcase to Windhoek in a week or so if she can get it to Keetmanshoop. That will help a lot - she'll still have a suitcase and her backpack to get to Keetmanshoop and manage on the train to Windhoek when she leaves Aroab in December. She'd send more via the Education Ministry but she'll need clothes etc for her last month.

School

Well the 10th graders for better or for worse are done. They have finished the state exams, finished their classroom work, and have left the hostel etc for their homes. Lisa's sort of glad they're done - but is a little sad too. She hopes she'll be able to at least find out who passed and who failed - which will take time till the state graders have finished processing the exams. She's really pulling for her learners!

All the other grades start their final exams this coming week - and they run through November 29th. Since that's a Sunday I'm not sure exactly what that means GRIN. The learners then have to stay in school till December 4th - and Lisa isn't sure what they'll do with them between their last exams and their winter break - Ahh well -. The teachers are supposed to be around for another week beyond that- but since Peace Corps wants them to head to Windhoek by December 6th - she'll be leaving early.

It will be a very bittersweet time for her - there's not much we can do to prep her for all those mixed emotions - it's sort of like any ending/beginning, she'll miss the people and places, but she'll be glad to be returning to America.

Other Thoughts

Since she'll be hitting the big quarter century mark she's been philosophizing about what positive changes have occurred over the past 25 years. She wants all of you to be thinking about the good that has occurred in the world over this time period!

The camera she brought to Africa is irrevocably broken - but she managed to get the memory card out so she has the pictures she took! The camera she bought in Windhoek for her vacation trip to Victoria Falls is fine so she can still take a few pictures before leaving. Speaking of cameras - Lisa was invited to a little kids birthday party today - they said they'd like to use her camera and that she could come too! That gave her a good laugh! The camera was top priority - she was second! GRIN

Other Conversational Bits and Pieces

I find it interesting that as Lisa's time in Aroab comes to a close she's talking more about what she's missed from back home and less about politics and national issues - oh she made mention of the progress on the Health Care Reform front - but compared to previous weeks we spent very little time discussing it. There was a lot more talking about her passion for fresh fruit and fresh veggies, and her missing having an oven. And lots of other little things. And of course she's missed us! GRIN

I guess as the calendar ticks down she's starting to realize that she will be home soon and everything she's gotten used to for 2 plus years will change. Sure it's a change back to her home turf - but it's still a major change nonetheless.

It will be a change for us too! A pleasant one - considering how much we've missed her - but still a change. So in less than 2 months we'll be starting a new year with new adventures for all of us. It will be interesting to see what happens!

Enjoy your week! And take Care!

Susan Rothman

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T18:09:00.001+02:00

Lisa Got Back To Aroab Yesterday

She spent the week in Windhoek for her close of service medical review. All went well except for a ganglion cyst on her wrist which is about 5.5cm by 2.5 cm. When she goes back to Windhoek in December, before she leaves for America, she'll be given a form and a list of Peace Corps doctors so she can have it looked at here. The form is good for about 6 months so she'll have time to find someone to check it out. With luck there will be a Peace Corps doctor fairly close to us.

Lisa took full advantage of her time in Windhoek - eating out ALL the time (she loved it!), seeing some movies, watching TV in her hotel room (she caught some True Blood episodes and discovered they are based on a series of books she had enjoyed a while ago) - and in general enjoying time with other Peace Corps Volunteers who were there for the same close of service medical evaluation.

She wanted to buy a few DVDs in order to use up her Namibian money - but they didn't have the right format (-sigh-). Since getting money out of the country involves a Peace Corps bank transfer to a US bank - and a rather large fee - most volunteers just try and spend it all before leaving. They really do get used to living on very little if they end up with extra money at the end of their service!

The rules for exchanging money and leaving the country are complex I gather. So since she couldn't buy DVDs she spent her money on a nice hotel room and lots of food! GRIN

The challenge for her is since she has to bring all her stuff from 2 years home in December she really doesn't have a lot of room to pack potential gifts for people - and while she's had great luck receiving mail (all but that last package from Aunt Anne Marie in Canada -sigh-) the track record for packages mailed from Namibia (by other Peace Corps Volunteers - she herself hasn't mailed anything)+ isn't as good - she really isn't sure she wants to take a chance on it.

So friends and family you may hear from her when she gets back! GRIN

Listening To Her Dad

We spent a good chunk of the conversation with her Dad relating his adventures in London and Paris. Lisa was envious. We had to remind her that 2 plus years in Namibia and visits to Victoria Falls last winter sort of counted as travel adventures too GRIN.

Lisa noted that it was interesting how most of what she knows about other countries comes from literature, and a bit from movies and TV. Interesting. Also she mentioned that she had finished book number 114 and had picked up a few more books in Windhoek. She is going to single handedly fill her local libraries in Aroab! They will always remember her for her legacy of book giving!

Don't Bother Asking

Don't bother asking either Lisa or us about exactly when she'll be returning home - her end of service date is December 10th - which means she'll get to Windhoek around then and after her final Peace Corps meetings she'll be given her airlines tickets. Until that moment she won't know when she'll be heading home. I gather she's tired of saying "I'm not exactly sure" to the "when will you be coming home " question. I don't ask anymore - Double Grin -

But trust me - when she contacts us to let us know when she expects to be arriving - I'll zip it onto this Blog right away! So if we plan on seeing any of you throughout December be forewarned we might back out at the last minute if we have to pick her up!

Life

Lisa's good friend Heba had a beautiful baby boy - Cameron Bullock - Man he is adorable. I remember Heba from 4th grade when Lisa met her. It is amazing how these kids are all grown up now.

It will be a long weekend for Lisa finishing the class grades for her 10th graders - they were due yesterday but since she didn't make it back to Aroab till after school had closed she gets to Monday to finish the paperwork. Then there is review work for the other grades and before you know it the last of the finals then home and bang it will be Christmas. Lisa's been away for 2 Christmases so it will be very nice to have her home for this one!

It Is Most Likely TOO LATE To Mail Her Anything so I suggest if you want to write her - send your cards and notes to her Schenectady address - I promise to keep anything she receives in a basket for her!

Till next week - Enjoy November's crisp beginning - and Vote on Tuesday!!!

Susan Rothman

Away To Windhoek For A Week

2009-10-22T18:04:00.001+02:00

Got to Talk With Lisa Today

Tomorrow is the country's monthly pay day. School is thus dismissed after just 4 classes at 9am. (They start well before 7 each morning!) Then Lisa has arranged to get a ride to Keetmanshoop and later on she'll catch the overnight train to Windhoek.

She called ahead to made a hotel reservation, the call was $10 Namibian for she swore what was just a 2 minute call- (which explains why she doesn't call anyone even in Namibia! She only texts - since that's free at certain times). She had to use her credit card to reserve the hotel so I'm ready in case they call and question why charges are being made both in London/Paris (where her Dad is right now!) and Namibia!

Since she heard there was to be a State Funeral this weekend she thought it was a good idea to get a room for Saturday night early - so she managed to get one in a hotel near the Peace Corps Office! Better than having to find one out in the boonies - which in Namibia can be taken quite literally! GRIN

She'll be in Windhoek for about a week taking the overnight train back to Keetmanshoop Thursday Oct 29th. She won't be able to get to Aroab in time for school, which isn't breaking her heart right now. As the school year winds down teachers are as happy about the upcoming vacation as much as the learners are. Double Grin

School

The 10th graders seem to be doing OK on their exams but since they aren't corrected in school (unlike the regular school exams which are teacher created and teacher graded)- but rather are sent to a central location to be graded, only time will tell how they actually did.

Lisa is concerned that a lot will depend on how they are graded - since according to the guidelines for example if the directions are to "list 4" of something and the learners put all 4 items in a single line they only get 1 point - vs if they put each on a separate line they'll get all 4 points. Lisa feels if they know all 4 of whatever they should get credit for that knowledge! The guidelines seem to give more weight to how the answers are presented than what information is given. -SIGH-

Lisa said the Natural Science exam in particular looked quite fair vs other years - the illustrations were clear, and what actually showed up on the exams was more or less what she actually taught! Yeah!!

The hardest part of exam time to deal with is the time the learners aren't taking exams but have to be there anyway. After tons of review already they really don't want to "just hang out in the classroom" and they get even noisier and more disruptive and troublesome than usual. Something teachers everywhere can commiserate with!

Since the 10th grade class grades (minus the final exam grades which won't be back yet) are due Oct 30th but Lisa will be away - she gets to turn them in Monday November 2nd. So Lisa will have Halloween weekend to finish all that paperwork! Halloween is more religious than fun in her neck of the woods anyway! So she won't be missing much by working all weekend.

For some reason she didn't think much of my suggestion that she bring some of that paperwork to Windhoek with her! Actually she has a point since there will be plenty of Peace Corps paperwork for her to work on.

Odds And Ends

She chatted about Health Care for a while. I felt like humming to "Someday My Prince will come" - "Someday healthcare will pass" - Lisa couldn't hear me over the line which was just as well (SMILE)

She didn't get any packages this week. Since she'll be leaving in early December she doesn't recommend people send her anything to Namibia after Halloween - but you can always contact her at home at her Schenectady address. Anything that arrives after Lisa leaves Aroab will be given to the new Peace Corps Volunteer Irena. So be forewarned! GRIN

All in all she sounded very upbeat and ready for her trip to Windhoek - which by the way is for her end of service medical exams and tests - nice that they want to check the volunteers out to make sure they haven't picked up anything funky in their home away from home these past 2 years! GRIN

Will update next weekend! Have a great week one and all!

Susan Rothman

Wish The Phone Gods Were Nicer

2009-10-17T16:30:00.001+02:00

We Called Lisa This Morning

It took a dozen tries till the call went through - then we were cut off after just a few minutes - sigh - But since we were trying to get through before her Dad headed off on his trip to London/Paris we managed. At least we got to chat for a bit.

It was a long hard week for her. Her learners seem to be divided into the normal groups - those that seemed to work hard all year and who seem to be trying to study for these exams, and those who haven't done either. Guess who seems to be doing better on their tests? Yep - the ones who worked hard and studied will probably pass - the other's not so much. Never would have guessed -GRIN-

One poor learner had Chicken Pox so Lisa got to go to his home and monitor him taking his exams - more peaceful than watching whole classrooms - at least for one day! GRIN Since Lisa had chicken pox as a little kid the only problem she might have being near him for so long is getting shingles - which with luck won't happen.

Reading and Odds and Ends

Lisa's been reading a book her paternal Great-Aunt Joan wrote about family history including Lisa's paternal Great-Grandfather's friendship with Einstein the summer Einstein spent on Long Island and Lisa's paternal Grandfather's friendship with Benjamin Britten. I gather it's a very nice book and Lisa is really enjoying catching up on the bits of family history she didn't know already.

Speaking of reading - Lisa's up to her 111th book. Not much to do this week other than watch learners take exams and correct them - so reading kept her sane (more or less -GRIN -)

Not much else to add since it was such a short call this week - other than Lisa was pleased to hear that at least a little progress has been made in the health care reform process! Sort of like the little reform package that could - hinting at "I think I'll pass, I think I'll pass, I think I'll pass" Double Grin !

Will write more next weekend - I hope! Have a good week one and all!

Susan Rothman

Happy Columbus Day

2009-10-13T16:40:00.001+02:00

Spoke With Lisa Saturday Before Heading To Our Convention

Sorry I haven't been able to Blog till now! Lisa was very excited that Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize - but she said initially she was surprised that he had been awarded it so soon.

She then said that after thinking about it for a while she decided that it was a Peace Prize for everyone in the whole world who had volunteered, who had tried to work with others, who had listened to others - really listened to them. "We all won it. Everyone can take a share of it. It's like in the movies when they take a crown and break it into 3 pieces - we all get a share."

Other quotes from her "He doesn't have a big head - he can handle the honor" "The effort counts, the effort is the accomplishment" "Turning toward a better path, a better approach, counts" As the conversation went on I saw how considered and thoughtful her opinions were - and how they were very close to my own. GRIN

I gather that when she first read about Obama's win she kept looking for a punch line like "only in our dreams did he win" and so and so was awarded it instead, or some such thing. We discussed it all for over 3/4 of our conversation! Then we got to other topics.

School

It was a LONG 4 day week for her. The 10th graders seem to feel they're doing OK on their exams - but only time will tell if they actually passed and can move up to High School. The proof will be in the actual grades - not in how they "think they did". There's another week or so of exams so I hope the learners still feel confident by the time they've taken all their tests! They still need everyone's best wishes and prayers!

Friday night they held another Beauty Pageant - they are REALLY into them in Aroab and while Lisa was never fond of the concept in America she's at the point where if she never sees another one in her life it will be way too soon! GRIN

Odds and Ends

Lisa got a package from her Grandmother - or to be precise she received the mail slip that a package was waiting for her at the post office but she didn't get out of school early enough to pick it up and the post office wouldn't be open again till this week. But it's nice to be able to look forward to picking up a package!

She's getting over her cold - at least she feels she's getting ahead of it now. And I don't think she lost power this week so that helps!

She finished reading her 104th book.

And she's down to a little over 2 months till she comes home again! We can hardly wait! We get to see her again (yippee!), and I get to quit writing this blog - once she's home Lisa can either continue it or start a new one leaving this for future prospective Peace Corps Volunteers to read (like we read older blogs while Lisa was waiting to be accepted into Peace Corps Service!)

Hope everyone has a good week - it's getting warm where Lisa is but it's getting cold here - we even had to turn the heat on - and we try to wait till Halloween most years. Oh well - at least oil is expected to cost us less this winter! Take Care -

Susan Rothman

October Brings A Cold - A Gift Lisa Could Do Without!

2009-10-05T01:06:00.001+02:00

A Long Exhausting Week

Lisa came down with a bad cold this past week. And she wasn't happy about it. She had been sick for 4 days as of Saturday, and it was raining hard, and she was without power - which wasn't helping her mood. It's bad enough to have a cold without having to do without anything hot to eat or drink. Hope she gets the power back on soon!

Busy Busy Busy

One reason Lisa thinks she got sick was her very busy schedule this week. Monday was the 10th grade Awards Ceremony - what they call "The 10th Grade Prestige". If I understood her correctly - as part of the evening 9th graders who were selected to become Student Leaders were sworn in - and they had to swear to do "Nothing Illegal", "Nothing Immoral", and "Nothing Of Public Indecency". Lisa thought those would be good criteria for many positions in this world.

I think the world of my daughter, and her strength of character. I also think that while she's a great kid and not prone to such indulgences - her success rate may be more due to a lower level of temptation exposure than total saintliness. Just saying - upholding such "vows" over a lifetime may be more complicated than she expects.

Anyhow - on with her week -

Tuesday was a school talent show and on the spur of the moment she was asked to sing something. So she sang Amazing Grace - she says she likes that song because she can remember at least 2 or 3 verses off the top of her head and then she can repeat the first verse and it's a long enough piece so everyone's happy. And I think many of the kids know the tune from Church. Never really thought Lisa was such a heavy weight singer but "they love her in Aroab!"

Thursday was a Teacher's talent show and Lisa sang the "Disney does Peace Corps" song she created for the Peace Corps talent show during their training session- I think I went over it way back around January 2008 in her blog if you want to search way back and read about it! It was a hit! Again with the singing - She always enjoyed singing and maybe she sings like an Namibian!

She skipped whatever was going on Friday night to sleep and try and recover. It's a 3 day weekend for her since Monday is International Teacher's Day or something - never heard of it - but it's great timing so Lisa can rest up. I have my fingers crossed she gets power so she can sip hot tea and soup while she recovers.

Speaking of Lisa's Learners

Lisa is requesting everyone send good thoughts, prayers, meditations, or whatever life force you are in tune with to her 10th graders. They need all the help they can get to pass all the exams they need to in order to advance to High School. Last year 11 out of 33 made it (not many make it as far as 10th grade without dropping out to begin with) and her school dearly wants at least as many as that to pass this year.

Dreams of a higher percentage of passing learners exist among the teachers but they really don't have a lot of hope that they'll come true.

Lisa cares so much - she wishes she could do more to prepare them, but it's getting down to prayer time. It sounds like she really has gone above and beyond trying to help them so far!

Speaking of the Teachers

I guess several of the teachers are pregnant - and the school is wondering how that will effect the next term in January. At least they'll have the new Peace Corps Volunteer to help! Lisa was thinking about it since a dear High School friend of her (a West Point grad) Heba is expecting her first - a boy - in a little over a month. All the best Heba!

I've seen the ultrasounds and man - you can see his cute little face and everything! My one poor little ultrasound of Lisa looks like a blur - a sort of misty tornado. But she came out great! GRIN They simply have come a long long way in ultrasound technology over the past 25 years.

Odds And Ends

We discussed Health Care for a while and some of the more outrageous of the anti-health care - anti-Obama - folks. Lisa decided what we need is brain health insurance - and that what all the Senators and Congressmen need are "full time brains". And they need to "stop leaving their brains in the cloak room, they need to bring them to the floor of the house or senate ALL the time." An interesting thought Double Grin! Sometimes I really love how she thinks!

She finished her 103rd book. And since she may not do much other than sleep and read this weekend - she may get another one or two read!

And she wishes to apologize to her Great-Aunt Anne Marie in Canada - but she still hasn't received the package that she mailed at the begging of July. She promises she'll let me know if it comes but she's afraid it may be the first postal casualty of her time in the Peace Corps. It's the longest time that's gone by from sending to receiving mail so far. I've got my fingers crossed that it arrives eventually!

Next Week is our local Science Fiction Convention Albacon - which will tie up our whole weekend - we'll be able to fit in a call to Lisa but I may not be able to Blog till early the following week - just warning you all! As if your weekends are "made" by reading this blog - GRIN

Have A Great Week!

Susan Rothman

Better Late Than Never

2009-09-28T22:05:00.001+02:00

Sorry I'm Late With This Blog Update

For all of you who check over the weekend for my updates - we called Lisa early Saturday (7:30 am our time) and when we finished we dashed off to Hancock Shaker Village for their annual fair (members - which we are - were able to get in early and actually park close to the entrance!)- which was Great!

We invested in a really nice large thick solid maple cutting board! We would have bought more stuff from him (a wonderful woodworker) but he didn't accept credit cards! Which in turn cut back our additional spending - but we were able to look at some wonderful stuff! After that I never got back to the computer till now to update! Sorry!

Three Universe Lessons

Friday night was the big 10th grade Farewell Dinner Dance and Lisa was delighted to go and celebrate with her learners. She wanted to take some pictures of the event and even though she was sure she had some AA batteries left she couldn't find them anywhere so she went to the store to pick some up.

This wasn't supposed to be a big deal. But no one had any AAs. No One. None of the stores she usually goes to, none of her friends in town, not any of her friends friends. As she said this was a triple lesson from the universe - in planning, which she should have done - double checking she had batteries, perseverance - she spent several hours searching all of Aroab, and patience - since she at last found some in a small shop she didn't know existed till now. Actually since Aroab is so small I was surprised that there were any shops she didn't know about by now - maybe it's a new one or something.

She had to buy a ton since she swore that each set only took a half dozen pictures before dying. I gather the batteries there are not of an overwhelming high quality. And it was odd - most of the store owners didn't seem to know what sizes they had in stock. But she found some!

Other Odds and Ends

We talked a lot about President Obama coming to Hudson Valley Community College, his Middle East progress, his dealing with Iran and North Korea etc. Being so far from home she is much more aware of national and international issues!

She told us she finished her 101st book for the year, and how she's sure she won't have enough time to do that much reading when she gets home. But when we pointed out that would be because she had lots more to do here - she agreed it wasn't such a bad thing after all GRIN.

She's now past the 2 year mark - she left for Africa September 23 2007 - it is so hard to believe it's been that long since we've seen her! And now each week we feel so much closer to when she comes home in December! We can hardly wait!

Oh if anyone wants to send her anything before she leaves - like a card or note for her 25th birthday November 11, I suggest you mail them by the end of October. The mail is very very slow right now at her end and if you send anything later it will most likely end up going to the next Peace Corps Volunteer Irina. I'm sure Irina will appreciate anything that comes after Lisa leaves! Double Grin

Till Next Week - Take Care One and All!

Susan Rothman

Only Three Months Left

2009-09-20T18:17:00.001+02:00

The Week Zoomed By

After her Peace Corps Meetings Lisa got back to school on Monday and discovered lots of stuff due Wednesday! GRIN such is life!

Lisa is still busy with Peace Corps Close of Service paperwork - I sort of think that will be on-going till she gets home in December! (maybe beyond?) GRIN. She's busy writing DOS (description of service) forms, info for a Peace Corps recommendation, and tons of other stuff. Since this week was pay week Lisa managed to get a ride into Keetmanshoop and she was able to e-mail us what she'd written so we could proof it and touch it up.

Waldo - the Namibian Peace Corps Education Supervisor for her area suggested they get someone to look the forms over since after 2 years speaking a blend of Afrikaans and English he's found that many of the Volunteers don't write as well as they did upon arrival in Africa GRIN. And as Lisa said there was no one in Aroab that could proof it in terms of it's English any better than she could - so that left good old Mom and Dad. And since she can't access her e-mail from Aroab and it will be a while till she gets back to Keetmanshoop . . . so . . . - after we proof it we're going to e-mail it to Waldo directly.

Other unusual forms - they need to fill out are monthly ones on how many people (of any age) they've provided AIDS education to. They refer to it as "Teaching AIDS" which to me sounds odd - sort of as though they were teaching people how to contract AIDS rather than how to avoid contracting it. Ahh well.

Now these forms are on line to be filled out - Lisa (and many other volunteers) hasn't been able to get access to them every month. Waldo brought some on a site visit on disk form - but there really aren't any computers in Aroab with old disk drives - so that didn't help. When she did manage to deal with things in the library in Keetmanshoop it turned out that Peace Corps Headquarters really didn't want the info on disk anyhow etc. I guess they have trouble processing it in that form or something. On and on around the Merry Go Round of bureaucracy -GRIN- And one wonders how accurate various "numbers" that get reported by various agencies in general are. Hmmm.

Well you sure learn to come up with different options and ways of getting things done in the Peace Corps! We forget that while it's a small world - not all of it is easy to navigate - electronically or physically!

The New Peace Corps Volunteer

I gather her name is Irina, and she's very nice. Lisa really didn't get to spend much time with her this past week since she was with her host family. That was an experience in and of itself! I guess she'll be staying with a local Minister and his wife and daughter. The problem was said wife and daughter were away most of this week.

So while the Minister is a really nice guy - and was very welcoming and kind - he was clueless as to domestic issues. Irina was more or less given free run of the kitchen (being a woman he assumed she'd figure everything out) and told she could cook anything she wanted. OK When they ran out toilet paper Irina had to figure out how to buy the stuff - I don't want to think about how the Minister would have dealt with that issue if Irina wasn't there!

Lisa figured it was a good sign that Irina's response to such circumstances was "hmmm - that's an unusual way to proceed" and then she figured things out. Those are skills she'll really need to cope in the Peace Corps in general! GRIN

Winding The School Year Down

Even though it's only September there are a lot of end of school issues that need to be worked on now. Lisa didn't have 10th graders last year so she missed out on a lot of the "fun". This year she has several groups of them and it is very interesting!

First off the 10th graders start their exams early - in early October - there are a lot of national exams they must pass to move on to High School. Since Education is important to Namibia in general, and to her school in particular - many steps are taken to try and get the passing rate to improve. It's quite low right now.

At the start of 10th grade each teacher in the school is assigned a 10th grader to mentor - they are supposed to help keep the learner on track, checking on their grades etc all year long. Now the first grade and other primary teachers can do this on a basic level, but near the end they divide the learners into groups of five or more and the 10th teachers each get a group to check on.

This week Lisa visited the homes of her group 5 learners and went over their individual grades with them and their families - trying to help them understand what they have to achieve in their classes and how they have to do on the state exams if they hope to pass. She had to remind them when the different tests were being given and what they would involve etc.

Lisa said most more or less knew where they stood - but things didn't look very good for many of them in terms of passing unless they wake up tomorrow with a very different attitude.

Lisa's doing her part as best she can - staying after school, and coming into school on weekends to run extra classes and workshops for her 10th graders. She hopes it's enough for some on the border between passing and not passing. She really is pulling for them - and so are we!

Odds and Ends

Even though the town now has access to a Van - since they won't run it unless it's full (14 plus passengers) often it's unavailable. So Lisa says she still feels like a door to door salesman whenever she needs to get anyplace - checking to see if any one is going where she needs to go. Now if this experience only motivates her to come home and learn to drive - a Mother can hope! GRIN

We forgot to mention to Lisa that President Obama will be visiting Hudson Valley Community College Monday - which isn't too far from us. It is expected to be a brief visit and only a few invited guests will hear him speak - then he'll visit some of their classrooms - but to try and cut back on traffic all the local TV stations are covering the entire visit live - and on line. Should be interesting.

It's been a beautiful week getting ready for fall - hope all of you are having good weather and are enjoying the change of seasons - As Lisa moves into her spring/summer in Namibia she's dreaming of a white Christmas - hasn't seen one in a few years - snow or not we're all waiting for her return -three months and counting!

Susan Rothman

Back From Windhoek and COS

2009-09-12T22:03:00.001+02:00

We Spoke With Lisa This Morning

It was a long fruitful conversation. I'll try to put it in some semblance of order for you all.

First off Lisa is back from the COS (close of service) meetings in Windhoek. Things went well - Lisa mostly rambled on about the TV in her hotel room, meals out, and the movie she saw in Windhoek - she sees more in theatres than we do (GRIN) but then she doesn't have computer or TV access most of the time so it's a good indulgence. She also bought herself a few treats.

So beyond the joys of being in the "big city" she really enjoyed seeing her fellow Peace Corps Volunteers - though it was bittersweet since she'll probably not see many of them again. They did some paperwork and she still has lots of paperwork left! She thought there was a lot of paperwork signing up for Peace Corps - it seems like there is even more as you leave it! GRIN

She'll be back in Windhoek in October for her final medical review - with luck they'll have the new info on Peace Corps health insurance - it sounds like there are 2 levels they can sign up for - and the odd thing is that some things are covered better on the less expensive plan - others on the expensive plan. Her gut instinct is to go for the more expensive plan but she'll try to get through the medical fine print in October (assuming they have the new info by then -sigh -)and decide. I wish her luck. Silly me - I thought she might have actually been able to sign up at this point!

Lisa's Official Close of Service Date is December 10th

Now - all that means is that she has to get to the Peace Corps offices a few days before that to do last minute paperwork then she sits around and waits from December 10th on - till Peace Corps gets her airline tickets to her. That's when she'll know exactly when she's getting home, on what airlines etc. So while there is an excellent chance she'll be home for Christmas (as Lisa says Peace Corps won't want to pay for a hotel room for her for too long - GRIN) we won't know exactly when she'll get home till she's handed the tickets and so she's asked us not to keep asking. - Sigh - I understand - but man I'd love more specifics!

Some Volunteers are taking the cash option instead of airline tickets and they plan on traveling a bit before coming home - but Lisa said without a computer making arrangements would be too complicated and since she traveled to Victoria Falls last Christmas when many volunteers stayed at their sites or went home to the USA for a visit, she's just ready to come straight home!

Other Interesting Bits and Pieces

One day while leaving the Peace Corps offices she was stopped and interviewed by someone who was creating a booklet or writing an article or something (Lisa wasn't quite sure which) on Volunteering in Africa - Lisa has no idea if any of her comments will be included. But she requested a copy of anything that might make it into print!

And of course while in Windhoek she bought some "incentives" for her learners, though they're told they shouldn't bribe learners. Whatever gets her through the last 3 months sounds like a plan to me GRIN.

She was also contacted via e-mail by someone from American University's Methodist Ministry asking her about what she's been doing - they might include her in a "what are they doing now" article. If she learns more I'll pass the info on! The turnaround for e-mail info is long since Lisa can't check hers except from Keetmanshoop or Windhoek. So whatever she didn't get to this trip she probably won't get to till late October. I really wish Hotmail would communicate with her cell phone again!

In November Namibia is having elections and while Peace Corps doesn't expect any problems they just let the Volunteers know they're keeping tabs on the situation and if any action needs to be taken they'll contact them. Elections seem quite peaceful in Namibia vs other African countries. Lisa thinks it's because there are too few people too spread out to create much trouble - at least in a major organized fashion!

The New Peace Corps Volunteer In Training

Aroab has a new volunteer in training assigned to it! Lisa ended up meeting her in Keetmanshoop on her way home and that turned out to be most fortunate since Lisa had to catch a ride with her to Aroab since the ride Lisa had arranged before hand with the local police fell through - the policeman left without her - Sigh -

They got to Aroab today. The girl's name starts with "A" Lisa thinks - she didn't really catch it clearly - and she's from Western Long Island, having spent time most recently in NYC. She was a Chem major and minored in Irish Studies, and has recently graduated. She's supposed to be teaching Physical Science next year but Lisa knows all about how those plans can get changed (GRIN)

Lisa says she seems very nice.

The process is as follows - the new volunteer in training will be spending the next week with a host family in Aroab, then she'll be going back to Windhoek for I believe language and cultural training. Then she and all the new volunteers will be sworn in in October as full fledge volunteers and she'll return to Aroab to live with the same host family till Lisa leaves in December. At least I thing that's how it's working.

Lisa only spent the time traveling from Keetmanshoop to Aroab with her - then she was off to get acquainted with her host family. Should be interesting.

Final Thoughts

So I think that's about it for now - I sort of was hoping I'd have more specific info for this blog - but I guess as Lisa would say "the Universe is teaching me patience!" And as I tell Lisa - "I'm sort of sick of learning that lesson" GRIN

For those remembering those lost on Sept 11, 2001 - may they all be remembered forever and may they all RIP.

Susan Rothman

Lisa's On Her Way To Windhoek (We Hope)

2009-09-06T19:11:00.001+02:00

Spoke With Lisa Yesterday

Her plans were to get a ride to Keetmanshoop today around noon (please Universe may that have worked out - she thinks she has transportation but all her other expected rides haven't worked out) then she was going to take the overnight train to Windhoek with David. While her town has gotten a van it only goes to Keetmanshoop once in a while - it's a 14 passenger one - and unless it gets enough passengers (meaning at LEAST 14) - it doesn't go anywhere. Ahh well.

They're having their final Peace Corps meeting (the Nam 27ers). Just when the schools open Monday. Sigh. But when Peace Corps calls they answer. So with luck she'll manage to get to Windhoek by 5pm Monday one way or another. Then she'll be heading back Wednesday or Thursday. She hopes to be back by Friday since the 10th graders are having a farewell ceremony then - and she'd really like to be there - she's grown quite fond of them all! It's bittersweet for her - knowing that as they will be moving on so will she!

Lisa had to write up a description of everything she's done in the Peace Corps thus far - so we listened to what she'd written and made a few suggestions of what to include based on what she's told us over the past 2 years! - Of course not knowing exactly what Peace Corps was asking for complicated the process - but all in all I think we helped! It's funny we see all she's done and are amazed - she sees all she hoped to do and feels like she's just scratched the surface! GRIN

They'll be filling out lots of forms - paperwork like crazy and with luck will find out if that inexpensive Peace Corps Health insurance is still available - and how to access it! It will be the last time they'll all be together since logistics spreads out their trips home - they can only send so many volunteers home at one time. We can hardly wait till we can see her again!

Mail

Lisa got a envelope/package from her Grandmother - she sends her thanks. I guess said envelope came in a postal service "body bag" repackaged in the USA - (I guess often they come taped up as though they had started to pop their seams in Namibia) with a note saying "In order for this not to happen again please don't overstuff". A lot of stuff came in it so Lisa thinks she got most of what was sent!

Lunch with Erna

Saturday she had lunch with Erna - Erna just came over and invited herself for lunch - asking what Lisa had in her fridge. Erna protested "You don't have the right stuff". But she managed to find something even though Lisa never has meat on hand. At least Erna did the cooking!

Not having large chunks of meat (that's what Lisa calls it cause she's never quite sure what animal produced said chunks!) on hand drives her Aroab friends crazy - but Lisa complains that they are the ones who just don't get it. Lisa has one single hot plate burner to cook on - no oven etc. And meat is sold in huge "legs" or other very large pieces. Lisa has not managed to learn how to combine the two easily so she sticks to sausages etc she picks up in Keetmanshoop.

Odds and Ends

Today (Sunday) they put their clocks ahead in Namibia. - Remember it's the opposite of us in the Southern Hemisphere. So the time difference will be 6 hours vs 7 and in a few weeks when we go back an hour it will be a 7 hour difference.

She's finished her 96th book this year.

Knock on wood - she still thinks they will be sending a replacement Peace Corps Volunteer to her school!

Insect Suicides

And while doing some heavy duty cleaning she found a family of big ugly cockroaches all comfy in the bottom of a box. Lisa wasn't happy. She's in the process of evicting them with a vengeance.

The cockroach incident reminded her of how she's tired of the ants committing suicide in her kitchen. We said "excuse me? Details!" And she explained that - probably because they're attracted to the water in her tea kettle she often finds her pot is full of drowned ants. So if she forgets to check before boiling water she has to dump them out and start over.

This is NOT one of the moments she'll miss from her Namibia experience. GRIN But we reminded her it will make a great "Gross Story" to share with people in the future. Right now she'd be happy to give up a potential story if she never had to see another ant!

We'll let you know next week how her week went. Till then have a Happy Labor Day Everyone!

Susan Rothman

September First

2009-09-01T15:16:00.001+01:00

Just A Quick Mid-Week Update!

Lisa heard from Sarah (I'd ben dropping the h all this time - sorry!) the Canadian World Teach Teacher who was in Aroab for a few months. Sarah was letting Lisa know that returning home was more of an adjustment than she had expected. And that Aroab and Namibia are special places filled with special people - very hard to forget.

I'm sure Lisa will feel the same way when she returns in (cross your fingers) December. I know I missed Finland after a year of teaching there back in the 70's - still do every once in a while - I miss the quiet peacefulness. And the kids who were so sweet. But then I taught Nursery School - I think that age is more adorable than middle school. We'll see how much Lisa misses her learners - GRIN

Less joyful news was that Sarah had her camera and cell phone stolen on her trip home. It's a shame she lost many pictures. Sorry Sarah!

One Term Left

In less than a week Lisa will be in Windhoek and the new term will be starting. I bet all the volunteers will be dealing with the very mixed feelings of being ready to head home immediately and knowing they'll miss Namibia more than they can anticipate!

It's Lisa's last term teaching in Aroab. Hard to believe. It must feel strange for her, to be winding down after 2 years in Africa. We can hardly wait till she comes home!

Have a good start to September one and all!

Susan Rothman

A Good Week

2009-08-29T18:05:00.001+01:00

Training Went Well

Lisa said she learned a lot of great info at the training sessions for 10th grade teachers in Keetmanshoop this past week. Too bad she'll only get to use the info for a short time. When school starts up in September on our Labor Day - the 10th graders will only have 3 weeks of classes till their multi week period of exams start on October 6th. Long before the other grades I guess the final set of exams for 10th graders begin.

This is a threshold grade - those who don't pass the exams can not go on to High School - so it's a big deal and I guess they have lots and lots of exams. And on top of it all Lisa will miss that first week of teaching since that's when all the Peace Corps Volunteers in the Nam 27 group will be getting together for the last time.

Ahh well. I wish her 10th graders all the best! Lisa hopes they beat the odds and many of them have the chance to move on to High School. From past experience - not many do, sad to say.

Not Sure When She'll Be Coming Home

It seems like all the Peace Corps Volunteers want to get home as soon as possible (after 27 months away - I wonder why? - GRIN - )- teacher's are required to stay till their school terms end - but the other's I gather are more flexible - as long as they stay till that first week in December. If they don't stay that minimum amount of time they won't be classified as RPCV's - Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

Lisa was hoping for an early to mid month slot but there are a lot of volunteers to process and send on their merry ways and I guess Peace Corps can only arrange for so many at a time.

I guess it depends on the available flights, each volunteer's destinations etc. I'm under the impression they'll send Lisa all the way to the Albany (New York I hope!!!) Airport - so that will make picking her up easy! With luck she'll have more info after the meetings in Windhoek. - then again. . . who knows! She promises that she'll know what flights she's on and when the final leg will arrive at least by the time she gets on the plane! GRIN

I'm also hoping that the Swine Flu problems everyone is preparing for don't develop and that nothing interferes with her flight home. From her science background Lisa really doesn't see why this swine flu is creating such a panic - she says from what she's read following normal flu prevention strategies should take care of most of the issues. As she says "yes the flu can be dangerous if not treated but I don't see what makes this flu different from all others". We'll see.

Senator Edward M Kennedy RIP

We talked a lot about all the Kennedy family. And Lisa mentioned how even the weather was in mourning - it was overcast in Namibia both on the day he died, and today the day of his funeral. Lisa felt it was appropriate.

He was part of a remarkable family - and Lisa knows that she owes her experience in the Peace Corps to JFK's efforts. Such a sad time. But it's a sign of his strength that he managed to live with his brain cancer this long - and it gave him time to work on projects that were important to him. He also had time for people to say goodbye to him - unlike his brothers.

Somber Thoughts Turn To Thoughts Of The Peace Process

Lisa has been reading Leap of Faith by Queen Noor and says she's gained some insight to the workings of the Middle East. We were all ears - good insights to the Middle East are worth contemplating! Lisa said she always had a nagging feeling that the various peoples of the Middle East really didn't want Peace - which is why attempts at it always failed but she got a new perspective from Queen Noor's book.

She now believes that when the question is posed - "Do you want Peace" almost all the people there - on all sides (there are definitely more than just 2) say "Yes!" The problem is what comes next - they all want Peace as long as something else happens - they get land, or resources, rights to a city or area, rights to return to former lands etc.

They all want Peace but only after something else happens - and Lisa believes that if they could only put Peace first many of those other problems could be resolved much quicker and much easier. Our little diplomat. She's sort of always been this way - Lisa never could understand fighting or arguing about stuff even when she was tiny.

Once when she was 2 or 3 her Dad and I were grumbling about something and Lisa took her Dad's hand walked him to where I was and took my hand then put our two hands together - we were so touched by our little peacemaker we smiled, laughed and hugged. Lisa nodded solemnly and went back to play - her job was done. Now if we could bottle that! . . . Enough nostalgia - Mommy could get get very mushy over these memories!

Odds and Ends

No mail this week - Ahh well. Lisa's trying to decide if she'll bring home her cell phone as a memento - she thinks there may be a way to replace the internal card with one that works in the US but she isn't sure.

Made her think about Sara's tech issues - I guess her Canadian credit cards didn't work in Namibia - even though US ones do. And mail from Canada takes almost twice as long as from the US. Lisa thinks Namibia is miffed by Canada somehow - but she can't for the life of her figure out what dear Canada has done to annoy Namibia! GRIN

And for those of you who may be planning to send Lisa a letter or package - It's probably safe to mail stuff till early October - but much later and she may be gone! - And just a reminder - Lisa turns 25 on November 11. I can't believe she's almost 25!

Have a good week everyone!

Susan Rothman

Shopping Day in Keetmanshoop

2009-08-22T06:08:00.001+01:00

Spoke with Lisa Friday

She had just gotten back from a very successful day in Keetmanshoop. In addition to buying all sorts of goodies, including frozen pizza (NOTHING like American pizza - but any crust in a storm!) which she refreezes when she gets home - and as she says it hasn't made her sick yet - she was able to spend a lot of time in the library on the computer. She had real Internet access and was able to read the tons of e-mail that built up in her Hotmail account. She can't access Hotmail from her cell - and can't get anything but text on it etc so it was a real treat to spend time catching up electronically.

Lisa also got to see David - whom she hasn't been able to cross paths with for months! Usually her ride back to Aroab leaves before he gets off work! So they had a real nice chat. David applied for and was approved for an extension - a third year in Peace Corps - and he learned he'll be working in Windhoek at some Namibian Ministry. Should be interesting, but he was sort of happy working in Keetmanshoop - so he'll have to adjust to a new work environment.

At this point David plans to attend the Peace Corps End Of Service Conference - but he isn't sure if they expect him and whoever else is staying for another year to attend. He would like to see all the Nam 27 Volunteers one more time!

The Term Is Over

Lisa's done with exams - the learners did horribly - not only hers but it sounds like from the other teachers, all of them did much worse that on their previous terms exams. - Ahh well. With luck they'll be able to get their acts together over the last term! Sunday she's going back to Keetmanshoop for the training sessions for regional 10th grade teachers. While the learners are gone for the break - the teachers have to be in school Monday and Tuesday - so she gets to miss that since she'll be in Keetmanshoop. She's not too unhappy about that -GRIN.

The town now has a van for transport - so it costs Lisa $20 Namibian less each way than she paid previous drivers- every little savings helps! She said it worked very well for shopping day - wasn't overcrowded and nobody threw up on her. I hadn't heard of this before but apparently she has had the experience of drunk passengers tossing their cookies on her backpack etc. Ahh the things she mentions when they're "history".

I guess one drunk passenger kept asking her for her American address - and he kept calling her Natasha. Reminded her of Rocky and Bullwinkle - GRIN - I guess most folks get the Rothman part of her name right but do rather odd things to her first name. Just in case you were wondering - Lisa did not share her American address with this gentleman. Wise woman my daughter. DOUBLE GRIN

Next Term

The next term starts September 8th - this is their "short break - The others are much longer. It's more of a "winter break". Of course that's about when she'll be at the Peace Corps Conference. Ahh well. At this last conference - knock on wood - she'll get the info she needs about the health insurance (see past blog) and she'll be filling out "what I've done in Peace Corps" forms sort of a resume thing, and sorting out lots of details about coming home etc.

She can hardly wait. Though it's starting to sink in that she'll actually be leaving - and she'll miss Aroab, Erna, and the other friends she's made. She'll miss just being there. I think it will take a little time for her to decompress when she gets home! Endings are always bittersweet!

We'll be off on a short vacation to Schroon Lake Saturday through Tuesday - cross your fingers for us that we get at least a little time without rain! Till next week - Take Care one and all!

Susan Rothman

A Busy Week

2009-08-14T20:49:00.001+01:00

Giving, Correcting, and Monitoring Exams

It was a week long and busy, and a little bit disheartening, considering how "horribly" Lisa says her Learners are doing on their exams. She really hoped that they did better on today's exams. Next week she gives exams Monday, Wednesday, and another exam on some other day I forgot to write down. So it will be one long weekend of correcting exams.

So many exams to correct - and so many stages the teachers have to go through - they turn in the original exams for approval, then their corrected exams are checked over, then their actual final grade sheets are reviewed. So many layers of bureaucracy. Amazing how red tape is the first thing to be adopted by a group or system. GRIN

The biggest problem is not that the learners don't know anything (though they could know a bit more she feels), but that they have no study skills to speak of, and they "can't think through things" which after listening to Lisa for a while I determined meant they had trouble making connections, interpreting material, extrapolating, had problems with reading comprehension, and they simply rarely stopped to really read the questions. Such is the life of a teacher. What frustrated Lisa the most was when they answered parts of questions correctly but in the wrong places and in the wrong ways so she couldn't give them credit.

More Education Info

Next Sunday, (the 23rd) till the following Wednesday (the 26th) the 10th grade teachers are going to Keetmanshoop for some regional teacher training. Lisa isn't sure how well it will go based on past training sessions. She is going to bring up the fact that the learners need help with reading comprehension, study skills, and motivation. She'll see how it goes - with luck some good suggestions will come out of it all.

Next Friday (the 21st) is the monthly payday and Lisa will try to get a ride into Keetmanshoop even though she'll be there 2 days later. Since it's unlikely she'll be able to shop during the teacher training (they really don't plan these things well - that's what happened during the regional Science Fair competition last month) she'd really like to get some extra food, and a few treats for herself.

As I mentioned in a past blog - the first week of school in early September is when Peace Corps is holding their End of Service Conference. Great time for teachers to be away from the classroom. Lisa plans on putting together packets of study materials for all her learners (talk about extra work!) She thinks that will hold them till she gets back. It will be the last time all the volunteers from her group will be together before they leave in December or January. I'm sure it will be very bittersweet for them all realizing that their service is almost at an end! That's also when Lisa hopes to get the most up to date info about her return home.

Great Peace Corps Info!!!

Not to jinx anything - but according to some partial information Lisa has been finding on the Peace Corps web site (the one for Volunteers vs the general public) it looks like based on last years arrangements (have I put enough conditions on this upcoming statement yet? GRIN), Lisa should be able to get up to 18 months of "Corps Care" ie Peace Corps Health insurance at what was $155 a month last year - though it may be more this year. But still that's a great price! It's about 1/3 the cost of COBRA that she paid to cover graduation from college till Peace Core coverage took over!

Lisa's says she can arrange for the premiums for 1 to 18 months to be deducted from her readjustment allowance. This seems to be the best plan since I gather if you miss or are late on one payment you loose all options to participate in the plan. And since you can, if you manage to get a job with insurance before you've used up your coverage, apply for a rebate of all unused time you really can't lose from my perspective.

So though it will make a huge dent in what Peace Corps will deposit in her bank account back home at the end of her service - having Health Care in place for up to 18 months takes a lot of pressure off her - and makes Mommy feel more secure. GRIN - I think it surprised her how excited I was by this bit of news! I only hope it all holds true for this years returning volunteers!

Odds and Ends

Lisa is still frustrated by the anti-health care reform folks. She had many unkind words to describe them which I needn't go into in this blog -GRIN-She found it interesting that they may have discovered a gene that in part explains why some people need a lot less sleep than others (reminded her of the science fiction story Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress).

And she was delighted with the entire list of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients - including Desmond Tutu whom she had seen while she was in College at American University. She was so sorry to hear Eunice Kennedy Shriver died (and she reminded me the Eunice received the Medal of Freedom from President Reagan). And she was glad that Sen Ted Kennedy also received the honor this year.

Lisa says Thank You to Grandma Rothman for the envelope of really cool stuff! Oh - note to Newsweek (What? Newsweek editors aren't reading this blog faithfully? - GRIN -) Lisa isn't really very pleased with your new format - she suggests you look at the Economist and copy them!

Since mail is only delivered to Aroab once a week now (that may be summer hours or just permanent new ones she isn't sure) if a package isn't delivered in one batch it's a whole week to wait till it may show up.

So all in all Lisa is well and managing quite nicely. When she comes home if she visits you - Pizza is what she craves - with real pepperoni!

Till next week - Take Care everybody!

Susan Rothman

Goodbye Sara, Goodbye Cara

2009-08-08T18:12:00.001+01:00

Sara The World Teach Teacher is Leaving

Both Sara, Aroab's World Teach teacher, and her friend Cara a fellow World Teach teacher who transferred to Aroab from another town in Namibia (where she was having some difficulties with getting the teacher's to come to her computer sessions at her site), are leaving. They both kept telling Lisa what a great site she was at - for all its problems. Lisa will miss them both.

When we talked to Lisa on Friday she explained how she saw the pro's and con's of both the long term placement of Peace Corps Volunteers and the much shorter terms of World Teach teachers. Many World Teach teachers are around for a short enough time period that they are still very much sure they can forge tremendous change in their communities in short time periods - while many Peace Corps Volunteers see how real long lasting change must come in small increments and be drawn out of the local community. At least it needs to if it has any chance of lasting.

Lisa sort of misses the brand new "I can do almost anything to help this community" level of excitement she felt at the beginning herself. But she feels she's learned a lot about what questions to ask a community if you really want to help them forge ahead with change.

After 2 years one's view of what can be done and how long it will last mellows a bit, and that realization is quite sobering. I wonder how broadly people who work in these environments for decades have had their perspectives change over time. Lisa will also miss their friendship and the fact that they were native English speakers! After 2 months she had really gotten used to hanging with someone (then with two of them) who understood her language without having to constantly translate it.

Last weekend they (I believe the 3 of them) spent time on a local farm and had the chance to walk on the dunes. We sometimes forget how near the desert Lisa is - it's not only dry and dusty - but true desert! I gather the dunes were beautiful. Lisa wishes Sara and Cara well!

School

This past week exams were being given - but not many of Lisa's classes had them. So except for a few sessions she had to monitor - Lisa had most of the week to catch up on paperwork etc. Next week most of her exams are being given (also the following Monday) so it will be a long crazy week for her. She'll be going crazy correcting all those tests!

Change Can Be Confusing

Peace Corps representatives visited on Thursday - since they do plan on placing another Volunteer in Aroab for next year after Lisa leaves. That's assuming the volunteer they select makes it through the pre-training period which will start soon. Yes, instead of arriving in early November, training, and getting sworn in as full Peace Corps Volunteers in January - they arrive in August, train including a week in their prospective sites (meaning whoever will be chosen will be living with Lisa in her small place for that week)- then return to Windhoek for 8 weeks of intensive language training, after which they'll be sworn in as full time volunteers in October.

They then actually start their volunteering in October - and since they won't actually have classes assigned to them they will probably sub a lot and help cover exams etc. It would be nice if they could actually be assigned to a teacher (like Lisa) sort of as a student teacher - but while that may be Peace Corps idea I think the various schools may look at it differently.

They will be at this point be living with a local family till school starts in January when they will either live with the same family or in Lisa's replacement's case, move into the places former Peace Corps Volunteers lived. Peace Corps is really big on trying to find local families to host the volunteers but in some areas that is very hard to do. I mean 2 years is a long time to commit for those host families!

Also in some northern areas all the teachers live in a dorm like building and the volunteers just get rooms there. Lisa is pleased with this overall since she'll be able to leave most of her hard acquired pots, pans, rugs, towels etc with the new volunteer. No way could she fit all that stuff in her allotted baggage to come home - nor would she be able to afford to mail it all home.

Now there is one little catch to this new system.

The term of service for this new crop of Volunteers will end in October of 2011. A few months shy of the end of the final term in the schools. And so far Peace Corps hasn't gotten Congressional approval to extend the dates of service to 30 months up from the 27 months after the 3 months of training that is the current practice.

Peace Corp's response is 1) that's 2 years from now - something will work out; and 2) If they don't get approval to extend the terms - they're sure most of the volunteers will be happy to end their formal service with Peace Corps then just stay on as unpaid volunteers till the school terms are over; or 3) something else would work out - it is over 2 years away after all.

I thought that was very funny. I haven't laughed so hard in a long while. I asked Lisa if after 27 months she'd just feel like hanging on for an extra 2 or 3 months without getting any extra pay, or any extra money in the stipend they receive when returning to America. She went - "hmmmmmm" GRIN. Mommy also wondered how it would effect their health care coverage which ends at end of service - if they'd have to pay COBRA for the extra months they spent in Namibia etc. I can't help but ask those questions - it's a curse - just ask Lisa (or Chuck) GRIN

Should be interesting. DOUBLE GRIN

Odds and Ends

Back when Lisa's group placed second in the Science Fair Competition I forgot to mention that 3 from her school made it past the regionals in Soccer and that they'll be going to Windhoek for the Nationals. Soccer is a big deal there!

No mail, It's still very cold at night, and the learners are still behaving like any kids around exam time -sigh-. Till next week -Take Care.

Susan Rothman

July Ends, Exams Start

2009-07-31T20:38:00.001+01:00

Parts of Two Exams Were Taken This Week

The rest of the Exams will be taken next week. But all in all this was a very long week for Lisa. The learners were not very cooperative all week. Exam time often brings out the rambunctious side of kids around the world.

In fact one day she warned them that if they didn't settle down she would hold them after the bell - and she did. She kept them from exiting the room by blocking it and when they caught on they really would have to return to their seats and get quiet they did - with a bit of help from some learners yelling at others to get quiet.

When she finally got them settled she let them move on to their next class where they promptly got yelled at by their next teacher for "not listening to Miss Rothman" Of course as is always the case - when the Principal spent Thursday sitting in her classroom - all day long - her learners were much better behaved, actually answering questions, staying in their seats, and being quiet. Lisa would love it if he'd stay in her classroom all the time. Ahh well. She just doesn't feel like the kids respect her.

When she was shopping with Sara - some of her learners accused her of "not having a heart" Lisa wasn't sure if this was because she had held them after class or if it was because she wouldn't buy them candy bars. But for those of you reading this blog who know Lisa - accusing her of not having a heart really wounded her. She knew intellectually that they were trying to guilt trip her but it still wasn't a pleasant experience. Exam time is stressful for teachers too. So Lisa suggested that if you all know any teachers out there you should go out and give them hugs! Or at least say something nice to them! GRIN

No Time For Shopping

Last week was the monthly pay day/ shopping day which Lisa missed out on because although she was in Keetmanshoop she couldn't shop since she was busy with the kids and the judging of the Science Fair regionals. Things were held away from the center of town and she wasn't free till after the stores had closed anyway.

The next shopping/pay day is at the end of August when she'll also be in Keetmanshoop - this time for the tenth grade teacher seminars which are held far enough out of town that no one will be able to shop then either. Oh well. At least knock on wood the ATM is working in Aroab so she can take out money and shop there. But she really misses the variety of foods she can buy in Keetmanshoop.

News From Home

Lisa likes how the cash for clunkers program is so successful that they are looking for more money to fund new car purchases (we'd think about it ourselves but our old Saturns get far too good mileage to qualify).

She isn't as happy about how Health Care Reform is running into so many roadblocks.

She was happy to hear about how successful the "Beer Summit" seemed to be, and that VP Joe Biden doesn't drink alcohol since she doesn't either. Though she doesn't hold President Obama's drinking against him. GRIN. And she laughed to hear how William Shatner put some of Palin's tweets to Beat music.

Odds and Ends

It's getting to the coldest part of her "winter" just as the rains flood our Northeastern part of the world. But she's managing to cope. No mail this week. And as we were cut off Lisa was happy to be starting her weekend getting ready to relax.

August begins tomorrow. That will start my 20th month of blogging for Lisa - I didn't start till January 2008 - Wow - glad you all are still checking in on Lisa's experiences! Till next week - Take Care!

Susan Rothman

The Science Fair Team Got A Bronze

2009-07-26T16:01:00.001+01:00

They Managed To Get Transport To Keetmanshoop!

She had just gotten back from with the Science Fair Team and they were overall quite happy - having received a bronze medal at the regionals. They left Aroab early Thursday morning and got back around 8pm their time Friday.

Though Lisa was happy that the learners had worked hard and had presented well - the whole regional science fair was an exercise in chaos.

Oh For A Little Planning

Things started out with massive confusion - originally this was supposed to be a regional educational fair - with competition for the science fair, debate teams, history presentations etc - lots of different categories since expanding education is so important in Namibia.

They changed their minds - and it turned into Science Fair only. But they never told the schools - so many schools sent students with non- science presentations. They presented anyway and the teachers (including Lisa) were judges. They were supposed to judge on a science fair rubric - which surprise surprise many non science based presentations didn't score well on.

But the Judges did the best they could only to be told later (isn't that always the case) that a minimum number of points would be needed for each category of medal (gold, silver, bronze) Now the judges were under the impression that X number of medals would be awarded at each level so they graded the presentations accordingly - not harshly but not paying a lot of attention to the number of points each group received - rather more to the over all ranking from best to poorest.

If they had known - they would have awarded many groups a few more points to bump them up to a higher award. Ahh well. So getting a bronze was nice but Lisa though her school should have qualified for a silver. But the learners had the chance to present and get to Keetmanshoop so overall it was good.

The Rest Of The Chaos

There didn't seem to be much organization at all. There was no dinner for the kids Thursday night so Lisa and the male teacher who came along had to go out and buy the kids food out of their own pockets. Sleeping - didn't happen Thursday night - typical kids away noise - other adults yelling at the kids, all sorts of issues. They didn't have all the medals, there were issues with losing the coupons for a boxed meal they sent home with the learners who were traveling - since they assumed locals could get home for dinner Friday. Etc Etc Etc

And worse of all - there was absolutely no time to shop for food or check out the Internet! - SIGH -

Lisa was very glad to have gotten home to say the least. In a way she was almost glad they didn't have to prep for Nationals in Windhoek since the Shell Environmental Competition is coming up and that will take up a lot of her mentoring time.

Who knew Peace Corps would prepare them so well for real life - GRIN

Other School Issues

For the previous 2 weeks Lisa had been helping her learners prep for the fair, type up tons of sheets for their poster presentations etc. Putting in 2 to 4 hours after school every day. And to top it off she spent the week getting bugged by another teacher in her school who kept saying how nice it would be if she could get them a van since transportation is so hard to come by.

Lisa knows she's rich in comparison to her fellow teachers but she can't afford a van - we can't afford to send them money for a van - and though we know people who in terms of the dollars involved could afford to send them the cash for a van - said people have plenty of local causes to give their money to - including their own families. It just really started to bug her.

Now from other Blogs I think it's quite common for local communities to try and get their volunteers to provide such items or at least connect to groups in America to fundraise such things - most can't, a few can raise at least a little money. Most of the Volunteers have a "Yeah Right" view when asked for such major items. And they manage to ignore the requests that are for the most part impossible.

It's presented over and over that "We won't be able to let our learners compete in these sorts of things if we can't be sure there will be transport to get them to Keetmanshoop or Windhoek". Ahh these teachers live in the community - it would be nice if they came up with some ideas of how to get the town to provide a van for all the schools to share or something. (Which Lisa has suggested)

Lisa had been so excited by all the copies of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory she had received from so many of you that this nagging sort of took the edge off for her.

We reassured her that the learners, and future teachers who would use these books did appreciate what she had accomplished and that there were always people who were never satisfied and that truly if she could conjure up a van for them there would be a long line of other schools in her community asking for their own vans. Sort of like how we treat government I guess - we always want more from it. Ahh well.

It's a fine line - giving what you can without giving more than is possible. A tough lesson to learn. Sort of pisses Mommy off though with Lisa giving over 2 years of her life to help them, that a few are pushing so hard. (Like you couldn't tell from the tone of this Blog)

Bits And Pieces

We chatted about politics (national, state, and local), the weather, books, and just how ready Lisa is to come home. All she has left is a little more than the equivalent of a college term - it's hard to believe she's been in Africa for over 22 months! WOW.

Take Care - Till Next Week -

Susan Rothman

July is More Than Half Over

2009-07-18T19:21:00.001+01:00

Time Flies, But Getting To Keetmanshoop Is Hard

Next Thursday Is the Science Fair competition in Keetmanshoop. (Which Lisa is the Faculty Advisor for) That is if they get a ride. Ahh the joys of life with little transport. As of Friday the powers that be had not been able to arrange for a ride for the 11 Science Fair and 9 Debate Team members to Keetmanshoop. They said they'd try over the weekend - and that Lisa should check back on Monday. Swell. Getting 20 people 90 miles is like getting them to the moon sometimes (sorry all those clips on TV of the moon and the late Walter Cronkite are on my mind).

The Learners work so hard for both Science Fair and Debate and may end up not being able to compete at the next level, all for lack of any kind of transportation. It may be tough to arrange sometimes here in the states - but if push comes to shove usually a bunch of parents can arrange to drive kids wherever they need to get - or they can fundraise for bus costs etc. In Namibia 1) almost none of the parents have any sort of car, 2) there are no buses to rent/hire/whatever you want to call it, and 3) there is no private or public transportation going between Aroab and Keetmanshoop. The one bus line that went through was eliminated 5 or 6 years ago.

Now things may work out for them - I'll know more next weekend - but I keep dwelling on these things because even I tend to forget how different things have been for Lisa. Here we tend to complain that it's inconvenient, or expensive, or that we have to wait for a ride, or have to run errands for others (or ourselves - we are big on complaining here I notice). But most of us can if it's important arrange to get 90 miles to somewhere - again paying with our time, money, energy, or patience. Lisa's learners may not have that opportunity - and in lives studded with things they don't have access to - that would be a shame.

Other Thoughts on Namibia

It's interesting how much more difficult Sara (World Teach teacher) finds working in Namibia vs. China. The ways teachers are viewed and the ways students are treated are very different - and Sara is trying to come up with ways to change how Namibia teaches and learns. Lisa sees a lot of herself in Sara - at least in how Lisa viewed things nearly 2 years ago when she was just stating out. In China there is a lot more respect for teachers and students are expected to keep in line. As a country they are working on incorporating more creative thought in the process, and while there certainly are issues they have to deal with, classroom discipline isn't a major problem.

It's quite a challenge to move (or even influence) an already set up vast bureaucracy even a small distance. You have to start wherever you are, working within the system, trying to help wherever you can however you can. All without giving up.

The trick is to keep working within a system without becoming so frustrated that you stop your effort. That's harder than people give credence to. Considering she had no background in teaching I think Lisa is holding her own quite well in this regard. But it's challenging and coming home in December/January looks better and better to her!

Thank you all for those copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - I think teaching that unit has been wonderful for both the learners and for Lisa. And knowing that the books will remain in the school for other teachers to use in the future has been a great joy for Lisa.

David in Keetmanshoop applied to work for another year and he just heard his application was accepted. I think Lisa sort of wishes she could stay on too - but 27 months is a long time to be in Africa. Also David is retired and is on his second "tour of duty" in the Peace Corps - the first having occurred in the 60's.

Odds and Ends

It looks like the Peace Corps End of Service Training session will be in September - after the third term starts. It would have been nice if they could have scheduled it during the break between terms - thus giving them more time on break in Windhoek - but life didn't work that way. And since the whole country is on the same schedule - it will affect all the teachers and their schools. Ahh well. Some things are universal. GRIN

Till Next Week - May Summer weather treat you well -

Susan Rothman

Catching Up

2009-07-13T20:06:00.001+01:00

Spoke with Lisa Friday and Sunday

We were away at a very enjoyable Science Fiction Convention over the weekend (Readercon in Burlington Mass - near Boston) so we got a short call in to Lisa before we left and a longer one when we got back.

Lisa spent the weekend (Friday evening through Sunday afternoon) away at the farm of a local family - whose granddaughter has subbed at Lisa's school once in a while. She was going to go with Sara (the World Teach teacher) but Sara was in Windhoek for training and she didn't get back. Travel is much more challenging in Namibia than in the States!

Lisa had a great time - someone else cooked 3 meals a day - and they have a wood stove to cook on so it was much warmer at night than Lisa's small unheated house is. It may be hot in summer when they use the wood stove but in winter it's heaven! And they may be able to cook outside in summer - Lisa couldn't get a clear answer to that question. GRIN And we discovered that since the beginning only 1 of the 2 burners of Lisa's hot plate work. I can't imagine cooking with just 1 small burner for over 2 years. My daughter has gone through a lot of cooking challenges in Namibia! And on top of everything else on the farm - she got to sleep in a real bed with a mattress - much nicer than her cot!

Lisa joked that she'll seem crazy when she gets back in winter going "ooh central heat!, ooh ovens, ooh pots and pans and the ability to bake again!, ooh a real mattress, ooh computers" etc. Her lack of Internet is really getting to her! She had sooo hoped that Sara would not only train the staff in computer usage but would magically get an Internet connection to the school. No luck - though they hope to connect "some day soon" Lisa figures maybe it will be in a year or 2 - long after she's left! Double Grin

Back to the farm - In addition to the usual farm animals the family has several cats and dogs as pets - it made Lisa homesick for her cat back in the US. And one of their cats has a love for vinegar and salt potato chips! Blew Lisa's mind - that did! Her cat back here wouldn't touch stuff like that - though I reminded Lisa that as a tiny kitten he was more experimental - grabbing pepperoni off a pizza slice or lapping up a bit of yogurt. And we won't discuss what he did to a stick of butter in an uncovered butter dish. Now he's much more into Fancy Feast moist and dry foods. At 15 he has the right to be more picky! GRIN

Keys - Can't Get Into Your Home Without Them!

The big lesson of Lisa's past week was "Don't plan to leave your tote bags in your classroom overnight if your house keys are in them" You see where this is going -

Lisa was staying late at school working on various projects and decided to leave 2 large tote bags in her classroom overnight since she didn't need what was in them and she didn't feel like lugging them home. They were heavy - she was tired - and she wanted to get home fast to crash. So she blissfully locked them away and set off for home only to realize half way there that there was something she needed in one of those bags. Her house keys.

This discovery did not bring joy to her heart. She walked back to the school - in the dark - to find the main gate to the school locked. She managed to work her way through a space in the fence (she didn't think it spoke well for their security - don't ask what I thought!) and got into the school. The History Club was still there getting ready for a trip to Windhoek the next day so they called someone who could get a master key and waited with her. Her cell phone was home charging itself quite happily in her locked house.

Someone came - unlocked her classroom and she got her key. He then drove her home because it was very late then (it's winter so by 5 ish it is pitch dark out, and it was 8 ish when she finally had her keys) and there just aren't many homes with lights on, no streetlights and no ambient light - astronomers eat your hearts out - you should build your next set of telescopes in Africa - the heavens open themselves to those who look up! So all in all it was a three hour trek - if you don't get it Google Gilligan's Island.

So she was home - later than she planned - tired, hungry, and really ready to crash. She's going to work real hard not to leave her keys anywhere again! If she couldn't have gotten her keys she would have gone to the hostel and slept on the floor there or something. I sort of thought that someone like hostel security should have had an extra key to her house - but Lisa didn't think so. Such an American perspective I have. Ahh well. She coped - she always does.

The Past

Lisa mentioned now - after nearly 2 years - that the night reminded her of when she got lost in Mozambique. We cleared our throats and said "when you got lost? In Mozambique?" and she sort of laughed and said "oh yeah I guess I never told you" words that did not make me jump up and down with joy.

Then she explained that early on when she was still in Mozambique and in the middle of language training which was located in a building a fair distance (a few miles) from the home of the family with whom she was staying at the time - she left after dark and without street signs, or even much in terms of roads or anything with names or directions printed on them - she got lost. And I gather it took a while for them to find her. For some reason she didn't make clear if it was the family that found her or Peace Corps or who - and I didn't really push for more info. It seemed like the best thing to do. But . . . (GRIN)

Lisa did sort of wonder out loud if that episode encouraged Peace Corps to find a spot for her in the Namibia group when her Portuguese wasn't coming along quite fast enough to allow her to teach HS Biology and Chemistry easily in it. Since, from the moment they asked her if she'd consider switching to Namibia where the teaching was to be done in English - on a Friday afternoon - to Monday morning when they said she was all set to go and just had to pick up her new Visas etc in Swaziland - seemed to go a bit faster than normal red tape would predict.

But I think things have worked out well for her in Namibia all in all. For all the challenges she speaks with much affection for her town, school (though some learners elicit more affection from her than others), and community.

School

This week the 9th graders will be gone all week on a field trip. So Lisa will have 2 fewer sets of classes and thus time to catch up on grading papers preparing for the rest of the term etc. The learners kept asking her to come with them - telling her they'd miss her and asking her if she'd miss them! She told them she wasn't selected to chaperone and that while yes- she'd miss them she was sure they'd have a good time.

I think the concept that teacher's might want a break from the darlings sweet faces and interesting personalities never enters the learners minds. Double Grin

It's hard to believe that exams start August 4 - and that Lisa only has one more term to teach after that! Then she'll come home! We can hardly wait!

Odds and Ends

Lisa has finished book number 81 for the year! The learners seem to be really enjoying Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - THANK YOU all who sent her copies! Especially those who sent more than one - you all are truly educational angels! And everyone should send warm thoughts Lisa's way - it is COLD there at night right now!

Till the next blog - enjoy summer no matter what the weather!

Susan Rothman

Fun at "Marketing Day"

2009-07-05T21:11:00.001+01:00

Spoke With Lisa Friday Night

She said Marketing Day was a lot of fun! The Administrator booth selling all kinds of cool foods sold out early so she didn't have to man it very long and she had a lot of time to wander around the other booths and sample foods and look at all sorts of handcrafted items etc.

The whole theme of the day was entrepreneurship and starting small businesses on an individual or community level. The learners sold all kinds of foods and handmade items. This kind of day is a big deal in her school and community since unlike other parts of Africa or other countries in general - they don't have regular farmer's markets, craft fairs, or individuals selling things on the side of the road.

Lisa was talking with Sara (the World Teach Teacher) and I guess whenever Sara or Lisa bring up the idea to the kids about creating stuff and trying to sell it to make money the kids look at them like they have 3 heads and sort of go "why should we?" They just don't seem to have any initiative at all. Nor do the other members of the community - as far as starting small businesses go. Now as far as asking for stuff - from Lisa or Sara or anyone at all who has more than they do - that the learners are experts at!

Sara who's been to more places is very surprised by this attitude since everywhere else people are hustling all the time trying to sell food, crafts, or services to any takers.

I wonder if it's the location - there is almost no "drive through" traffic at all (just ask Lisa about that!) and it seems like the locals come into town to get needed supplies but don't "hang out much while there". Unlike even Northern Namibia where there are more small villages and people go between them on a regular basis by donkey cart or whatever - in the south there aren't as many different folks to mix. It's sort of like having a US lemonade stand out where just your family is around to buy the stuff - sort of a why bother feeling sets in. Well it's just a thought.

The Teachers Played Soccer

As Lisa put it - Soccer was played and she was on the field. But she had fun running around a bit. Speaking of running around - a chicken came from who knows where and was running around the field before they started to play. I was nice and didn't ask if they turned him into a snack -GRIN - We joked that it wasn't a typical way to start a game - then decided that her cousin Justin should be the final arbitrator in the matter since he is an excellent HS Soccer player on Long Island!

Even though it's winter down her way, Friday afternoon was fairly warm and so after her sweaty game she was happy to go home and take a nice shower and not freeze immediately after stepping out of it! She then changed into warm clothes because as the sun set (around 5ish) it got cold again. Then she enjoyed some hot soup and tea!

Odds and Ends

Lisa finished her 78th book this year and that included War and Peace! She mused that she probably wouldn't be able to keep this level of reading up when she got home - but that it's been a great experience catching up on the classics she missed in College - Bio Majors read lots of stuff but War and Peace and Shakespeare aren't top on the list! GRIN

Not sure if we'll be able to chat with her next weekend since her Dad and I will be attending a Science Fiction Convention near Boston - and even if we do I probably won't get to update this blog till later on - till then enjoy Summer and Happy Day After the 4th to one and all!

Susan Rothman

Marketing Day Is Tomorrow

2009-07-02T22:56:00.001+01:00

I Bet You Think You Know What That Means

But you may just be wrong. GRIN - Talked to Lisa today and she mentioned that tomorrow was Marketing Day at her school. It's a giant fundraiser where tons of stuff is "marketed" instead of holding classes, and the profits benefit the school's programs. They sell food, and hand crafted items and just about everything under the sun! And there are sports going on too - in fact Lisa has been added to the teacher's soccer team - so we'll see how that goes! But for some reason a day without teaching brought out the joy in her conversation. Double Grin

A Busy Week

She had dinner at Omu and Opu's and they served chocolate cake! Lisa thought she was in heaven!

Since I last blogged - the Beauty Pageant went well, the kids were their typical selves -sigh- and Lisa got what may be good news - the 9th graders may be going on a field trip week after next - which would lighten her teaching load for the better part of a week. She has all her fingers crossed that this trip doesn't get canceled like so many others have. I'll cross mine for her too!

She received another copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Grayce Burian (Many Thanks) - did I mention last blog the 3 she received from her great-aunt Anne Marie in Canada - if not I mention it here! Also from Anne Marie were some Nestles Noir Dark Chocolate envelopes - since it's very cold in Aroab right now she's enjoying them - and Lisa says they are excellent! So on days when a lot of learners are absent there are almost enough copies to go around (24 I think)! In any case no more than 2 have to share a copy. Bliss!

Things are going OK with Sara - the World Teach Teacher - I guess Lisa doesn't see her much - but at least no problems have popped up!

Planning For Life After Peace Corps

Lisa's been trying to work on some of the GRE practice materials we sent her. She's decided she has a long way to go to get ready for the GREs - 2 years out of college and she feels like she's out of the test taking loop. I think it will get easier to prep when she gets home and has access to a computer, DVD's etc. And she can pick up more study guides - we just don't feel like mailing them to her only to have her leave them on the other side of the Atlantic!

Odds and Ends

We talked about national, state, and local politics - she was more up on the SC Governor and his escapades than she was on what the NYS legislature was up too - or our local Schenectady City School District - all were beyond comprehension for her. Her conclusion was that all three were good examples of how not to behave.

It's been very very cold for her - but she's enjoying all the soup mixes, tea, hot cocoa mix, etc that people have so generously sent her. She wishes to thank you all! Till my next blog - Bye!

Susan Rothman

No Internet Blues

2009-06-24T20:39:00.001+01:00

Chatted With Lisa Today

She want's to apologize to all the Father's out there who she would have sent Father's Day e-greetings to - but her cell phone Internet has been down since last Saturday. It's still down and she isn't very happy about it. At least the cell is handling phone calls (thus we got to talk to her) and within country text messages - so if Peace Corps wants to get in touch they can. But still - she's not happy. I hope she gets it back soon!

Still Running Around Like Crazy

The local Science Fair was Monday, and I gather it went well. Next step is the regionals in Keetmanshoop. We'll see how her school does then! Tomorrow night is the Beauty Pageant - and Lisa is shall we say quite tired of hearing how important it is to walk a certain way and move a certain way etc. A model's life she was not cut out for (GRIN). I hope the pageant goes more smoothly than the talent show when I guess a ruckus occurred over one learner getting stabbed by another and having to go to Windhoek for treatment.

Now I never mentioned this to you all in earlier blogs- since Lisa never mentioned it to us. I guess enough time had gone by so she decided to share the info with us. I'm trying to decide if waiting to tell us was a good thing or a not so good thing. -sigh- Lisa will be very glad when Friday comes and she has a weekend to relax.

Today was a long one (not even counting Pageant practice!) She sent seven boys from her classes down to the office. They just wouldn't stop talking. All the boys came back and apologized to her. Which while nice didn't really seem to change their behavior much at all. -SIGH-

Writing Exams Already

Teachers are supposed to be done writing their term final exams and they are supposed to be turned into the Principal by Friday - though most of them may not get them in till Monday. Seems like they've just started the new term but exams start August 4th and it takes time for the exams to be approved!

Sara

Lisa has been enjoying talking with Sara - the World Teach teacher from Canada. Sara looks cool, collected and as if she has it all together but while she's bubbly and very enthusiastic believing all children can be taught and that they are all good at the core - even she is finding teaching in Africa challenging. She seems to feel their Education System is broken and she wants to figure out how to fix it! Lisa understands the concept but after working there for almost 2 years knows that taking small steps is worthwhile too.

I gather Sara is the "I want to take these kids home with me to give them a better life with more opportunities" kind of volunteer. Admirable but not always practical. SMILE

It has been interesting to learn about her though. When Sara taught in China - that program required that the teachers pay for their own airfare and other transportation to and from China, but all their expenses in country were covered.

And at least in her neck of the woods in Canada all the classes (up beyond elementary school) seem to have teacher assistants - which makes teaching easier - someone can go round and keep tabs on the kids. Since many of our local schools seem to be cutting back on teacher aids to cut costs this seems almost a dreamlike concept!

And while things seem to be going well for Sara she's had technology disappointments too. She bought some super 3G PDA or such that was supposed to get Internet in Namibia - but Aroab is too far from the beaten path and she can't pick up a signal. Even things on networks designed to work in Namibia don't work in Lisa's neck of the woods. Ahh well. Lisa's learned that lesson well.

Odds and Ends

At home here in America, Lisa got a Juror Questionnaire for Jury Duty. So I called them since Lisa wouldn't be making any trips back from Africa in the near future - and they said they'd take her name off the list for now. In college several kids had to jump through hoops when called to Jury duty several states away - going to college out of town wasn't a good enough excuse to get off but I guess Peace Corps Service is! GRIN

Since Lisa hasn't had any info about the outside world for a while we filled her in on Iran etc. and her comment was - "America can still be the bull in the china shop and it sounds like Obama is trying to keep us from breaking all the china!" Our daughter thinks interesting thoughts in interesting ways! We miss her!

Hope all is well in your worlds - Take Care

Susan Rothman

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-19T21:05:00.001+01:00

Lisa Spent The Day In Keetmanshoop

It was nice talking to her today. She sounded great - very happy and upbeat! She said getting away to Keets was very good for her since life has been very very busy. Lisa described it so well -"When you're still walking around after you've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off it's quite an accomplishment."

She got in a good hour plus of Internet time - and it was heavenly! She doesn't get any graphics on her cell phone so going to web sites and seeing the pictures and graphics we all take for granted was a lot of fun for her. Since she can't get her e-mail anymore on her cell phone she spent a lot of time catching up on that too. She doesn't know why she's having so much trouble with Hotmail - but it's hard to troubleshoot such things in Namibia - and she's extra cautious since she doesn't want to wreck her cell phone and lose all communication abilities! Since she wouldn't be able to get a new cell phone till she got to Windhoek in August - she's managing to do without e-mail.

A bonus was that since today was June 19th and since most people get paid in Namibia on the 20th the shops were still full of goodies (she had a great selection - the best so far!) and low on shoppers - she picked up lots of different kinds of cheese, some frozen stuff that kept everything cold when she came home (even if it sort of defrosted on the way back) and another towel since she wants to shower once in a while and it's hard to dry towels out when it's so cold and you have no heat! She doesn't want her cold to get worse by getting wet and staying that way.

School Is Keeping Her Busy

Among the activities keeping her on the go are the school's local Science Fair - which is Monday, the Debate Team, and the school's Beauty Pageant which is Thursday. She really doesn't understand the appeal of Beauty Pageants but the school gets very excited about them - the whole town does! And they're for both the girls and boys!

The Regional Science Fair has been a real pain since the learners were trying to fill out required elements that asked computers and printers to talk to one another and they weren't playing together nicely at all. A real headache. I think the computers were behaving worse than her learners on a bad day!

Sara - the World Teach teacher is busy fixing the school's computers and working on the teacher's computers - only a few teachers have computers so it isn't a large number to work with. Lisa wishes Sara had the ability to bring Internet to the town - but that's beyond World Teach's ability! -SIGH- Do any of you readers of this blog even remember when computers were used without being connected to the Internet for instant Google searches and e-mail, blogs and Face Book etc.?

Odds and Ends

Lisa is still working on War and Peace - she's really getting into it and wants to know all about the Russian History behind it! Keeps Chuck busy answering her questions! I just listen - I always found Russian History a bit confusing, myself. GRIN

She got 3 more copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Anne Marie in Canada - many many thanks! She's now up to 23 for her 42 learners to share! And she got a package of magazines we sent her. We try to keep her up to date on the world with the Atlantic, the Economist, the Nation, and assorted other magazines including Dr Who Monthly - to keep her up to date on the TV she's missing (smile).

Lisa chatted about Obama and his push for Father's to step up and act like Father's - telling her Dad how great he was! Something Dad's always like to hear - GRIN

Then we were cut off -SIGH- but we had a good chat all in all.

Take Care - and Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!

Susan Rothman

Happy Flag Day (2 Days Early)

2009-06-12T21:15:00.001+01:00

It Was A Good Week All In All

Lisa sounded much better this week - she just has a slight cold left. When we called today she filled us in on her flu shot saga.

Lisa called the Hospital in Keetmanshoop and explained how Peace Corps wanted her to get the flu shot but that she had a cold etc. She arranged for her Principal to pick up the vaccine on Tuesday. She gained an ice pack in the process since the vaccine had to be kept cold! She stored it in her fridge till today (Friday) and took it to the Aroab clinic since someone is there I'm not sure if it's every Friday or every other Friday to see people.

She went to the clinic to have someone administer the shot, which at first they wouldn't do since they're not supposed to administer vaccines of "unknown" origin, ie stuff brought in by anyone other than an authorized person. Since it was properly cold and in Keetmanshoop medical packaging they eventually decided it was OK.

All in all it went fine and Lisa figured it would have been much more complicated in the States - what with having someone just picking up the stuff. And I agree - if someone just showed up at the average hospital and said "I'm here to pick up some flu vaccine" - there would be quite a bit of paperwork to deal with! I gather Lisa was well enough to teach which is why her Principal went off to pick the vaccine up himself rather than giving her the day off since she wouldn't be getting the shot till today.

There really are no subs other than the Principal - let's see - the Principal could let her classes go unsupervised all day, teach them himself, or drive into Keetmanshoop and be cooperative as far as Peace Corps is concerned. He made the logical choice! (GRIN)

Right now anything Peace Corps requests gets her school's full attention and cooperation. Boy they really want another Volunteer next year! GRIN - too bad Lisa can't finagle a raise out of this desire of their's to be seen as good guys - but her school doesn't pay her - Peace Corps does.

Since she's never had a bad reaction to a shot of any kind (knock on wood!) Lisa figured that getting the flu shot even with her very slight cold wouldn't be a problem.

World Teach Teacher - Sara

Sara - the World Teach teacher has arrived. She's from Canada, is 26, and married (hubby is home in Canada). She taught in China for 6 months, is an ESL teacher, and is working on teaching computer skills to the school's teachers. She'll be there for around 3 months.

Lisa says her accent is interesting and she's still getting used to it. Lisa notes that every English Colony "took English and played with it" each country ending up with different accents, different word usage, and different terms for things. It's almost hard to believe that they all are called "English". As Mark Twain or Henry Higgins would attest to! SMILE

So Sara is living with a family in town and Lisa hopes to run into her now and then. Sara I gather is very upbeat and eager - sure she can do a lot to teach computer skills in Aroab etc. Lisa after nearly 2 years wonders how long that enthusiasm will last - SMILE- Amazing how Lisa considers herself such an old hand at living in Namibia! My thought is if Sara managed 6 months in China she'll probably do quite well! I wish her well!

Other School Stuff

There was supposed to be a debating competition tonight but since the powers that be only got around to telling the schools this past Monday - everyone complained there wasn't enough time to prepare so it was postponed! I'm not sure till when - I don't think they've been told.

This is a 4 day weekend - I lost track of what Namibian holidays were included in it - but Lisa will be at the school Tuesday anyhow. Her Science Club members need to work on some projects and they really want Lisa's help. So good teacher that she is - Lisa will go in and help them. GRIN But she'll still get some rest in - and since she has tons of grading to do she assures us she will keep quite busy.

Reading War and Peace

Lisa is working her way through War and Peace - which since we're being honest here - her Dad and I have never actually read ourselves. Sending it to her just seemed the right thing to do since it's known to be rather long and since she has a lot of time to read right now! GRIN

So she keeps trying to talk to us about the novel and we're doing our best - but it's like trying to cope in class discussions after a brief skim of Cliff Notes (I honestly never used them myself - I was one of those students who read the books as soon as they were assigned - and I started my papers as soon as they were assigned too - Chuck on the other hand was more normal I believe -grin-)- Chuck is using his knowledge of Russian history and literature (with lots of Google support) to answer her questions - and I listen (DOUBLE GRIN)

While really enjoying it she has some editorial suggestions - since large chunks are written in French she thinks these passages should be translated in footnotes. And she finds it very funny to read things written so long ago that terminology and language have changed the meanings - ie performing one's toilet -while she understands what it meant then she still finds seeing the term as used in the book amusing.

War and Peace does seem to be living up to it's name as a "LONG" book. She says it feels like several books squished together. But at least there is a lot of restating "X who is son/daughter/whatever of Y" etc. So it's easier to keep everybody straight!

Odds And Ends

She didn't receive any mail this week, and we ended our call (before getting cut off -sigh-) with a chat about the Iranian elections and politics in general. Oh - she lost power for a while this week which as it grows colder is less and less convenient - but she managed OK. She's down to about 7 months before heading home - I can hardly wait!

Have a good week - and Happy Flag Day!

Susan Rothman

Ending The Week With A Bad Cold

2009-06-06T21:59:00.001+01:00

When School Starts Colds Soon Follow

Lisa assumes it's because she's hanging around the kids again - and because it's fall going into winter in Namibia - but the bottom line is she has been hit with a bad cold.

We talked to her Friday - she had come home from school and had gone to bed so she was feeling well enough to chat for a bit. She originally asked us to call Friday because she had planned to go to some horse racing - a ways out of town on Saturday so she wouldn't have been around for our usual call - but as it turns out she's planning to skip the races and sleep in all day. Probably a good idea to nip the cold in the bud. The cash machine was working so Lisa got extra soup, treats, and ice cream! They don't often have ice cream and it's expensive so she rarely splurges but she used her sore throat as justification for the indulgence!

Busy Busy Busy

This term has started out extra busy - Lisa not only has all her classes but has picked up a lot of extra curricular activities to cover. She picked up three from the Science teacher who left - Running the Science Fair, Science Club, and the Shell Environmental Competition. The main problem with the Shell one is that though it's supposed to be held in June or July the topics haven't been given out yet so it's rather hard to organize from Lisa's end.

In addition to those activities, Lisa is supposed to be involved with the Debate Team, the Beauty Pageant, and there is always the school library and any other assorted projects that come up.

All these activities are popping up because of regional mandates that every school must offer at least 42 activities. The aim is to make it a nation wide requirement - and her school is trying to be as cutting edge as possible so the activities are multiplying like mayflies!

And Then There's Maude (sorry if the joke goes by you all!)

On top of all this Lisa is arranging to hold additional classes for her 10th graders to help prep them for the major end of year 10th grade exams - since those exams determine if they can go on to High School or not. Lisa says she simply needs more time to cover the science needed for the test. She isn't much happier about the extra classes than her kids are but she really feels they are necessary for her learners to succeed. A good approach for a teacher to take but it's wrecking havoc with her energy levels.

She really feels like she hasn't gotten enough sleep this week and since it's getting COLD out she's finding it hard to stay warm. Even with hot water and a shower she says the water runs cold for a long time then there isn't that much hot water so she doesn't shower much when it's icy. No heat inside her place makes a shower less inviting. And it's getting below freezing some nights already.

She shared how rare her hair washing was last winter but I refuse to freak you all out by telling you exactly how few time she washed it over the whole season. She promises to wash it more regularly when she's in a heated home again. Next topic (GRIN)

Waldo - The Peace Corps Education Supervisor Visited

He was checking out the possibility of placing another PC volunteer in Aroab next year. I guess there are 19 schools requesting volunteers and so far 20 PC volunteers scheduled to come to Namibia in the next group. So assuming all the volunteers come and make it through training there is at least a chance that Aroab will snag one! They really want one (hey - an extra teacher almost anywhere is welcomed with open arms!)

Lisa hopes it works out since she really wants her school to get another teacher, and she'd really like another volunteer to leave all her accumulated stuff to. After being in the "newbie" position herself she knows how her accumulated pots and pans, spices and blankets etc would mean to someone who has just arrived in country! Since she wouldn't be able to bring much of the stuff home with her she'd have to divide it all up among her teacher friends, Erna, and other friends in the community, and while she plans to give each a few special items to remember her by she didn't just want to parcel it all out wholesale.

We'll see how it works out. The cement house she's living in, without exposed wiring, and with electricity, running water, and the shower all right next to the hostel are plusses. Being so far from Keetmanshoop (the nearest town) with very very little travel between the two towns is a big negative. Whoever they would place in Aroab would have to be able to deal with the isolation - and it was tough in the beginning for Lisa - PC wouldn't want to put anyone in there who would leave early because it was too tough on them.

More Peace Core Mandates

Lisa was told she had to go to Keetmanshoop to get a flu shot - of course the day they told her to go there was absolutely no transportation going that way - then PC asked when she'd be in Windhoek - and she said August for final meetings before the end of service for this group - As Lisa said looking at a map if she couldn't get to Keetmanshoop there was no way she could get to Windhoek- Ahh well.

So she talked to her Principal and after explaining that PC was requiring they get the flu shots he arranged for her to go with The Bank Of Namibia Competition group next Tuesday to Keetmanshoop. Since the school wants to be on PC's good side and since PC says the volunteers MUST get the shots or risk being sent home to the USA for not following the rules and regulations (though Lisa thinks this is more a threat than a certainty since if this was placed as a request none would bother to get one). So Peace Corps told her to report to the Hospital and see a certain Doctor on Tuesday.

So Lisa will go, and hopefully find said doctor at the hospital, and then she'll tell him about having a cold to see if that countermands the flu shot and if it does hopefully she'll get him to call Peace Corps and tell them that since Peace Corps will listen to a doctor more than a volunteer about such matters - and then after it is all sorted out she'll try to visit people and shop in Keetmanshoop before coming home.

An all day trip for a shot which she might or might not get. But it's a day off from teaching so she's looking on the bright side of the whole thing!

Think of all this one and all - when you have a little old hour or two wait for an appointment! DOUBLE GRIN

Next Week Will Come One Way Or Another

So with luck next week will ease Lisa's cold, arrange for her trip to Keetmanshoop to be productive, and will bring the World Teach Teacher to Aroab. Should be busy again. If nothing else Peace Corps is never boring!

Oh Lisa want's to thank her Grandmother for the package with the Obama T-shirt (which she says is GREAT!!!) and us for our box filled with instant oatmeal, granola bars and extra vitamins! How did I know that's what she'd need? I'm a mother! That's how! (GRIN)

Have a good week everyone!

Susan Rothman

Lisa's Started A Busy New Term

2009-05-29T21:53:00.001+01:00

The New Term Has Begun

And it's been a busy week. It went well, and went quickly for her. Some of the learners haven't returned yet - Lisa expects most to show up by Monday. Of course what surprises her is that many of the learners who haven't shown up yet got A's and B's - those who got 0's last term all seem to have made their way back. Who can figure!

The eighth grade boys are proving to be a major challenge already - Ahh well. Lots of fights - and Lisa has been warned by her fellow teachers not to get between the boys who are fighting - they worry about her! Of course they don't have a lot of suggestions as to how she can reduce the number of fights - that would be asking too much I guess (sigh).

Today (Friday) Lisa had what she called a "Lab Day" lots of hands on activities, and experiments. The learners seemed to have a good time and really enjoy themselves even though it was "total chaos" and quite noisy. But often a lot of learning goes un under those conditions. GRIN

She did limit their exposure to the iodine she bought in Keetmanshoop (bless the pharmacy for finding some for her to buy) - calling them up in small groups to test for starches - she didn't want the first group to use the whole supply up and spread it everywhere (it does stain things very nicely)- so she did the actual application of the iodine. All the other stations were 100 percent kids hands on. She seemed to cover a lot of turf with them - measuring length, area, and lots more.

She's Teaching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Already

Lisa wants to thank everyone who has sent her a copy (or more) of Charlie - since the copy machine hasn't been working she's just had the books to teach with and the learners have had to share. They really seem to like the book so far and are thrilled to have real books not copies from the old copy machine that are very hard to read.The machine doesn't work that well but hey - it's all they have to work with usually. So few books for so many students - well now there will be a lot of Charlies!

It will take them a while to get through the entire novel so if any of you have some copies on the way they will still be very much appreciated and well used! I know some of you have sent a copy or two that haven't arrived - when they do I promise to let you know! And again many many thanks - Lisa has 20 books so far - you are all wonderful for sending them her way!

Sending a copy or few copies may not seem like much to you all - but it's making a huge difference to her learners and her school! YOU are making a huge difference! Thank You!

World Teach

A World Teach Teacher is due in to her school Monday June 8th. Her name is Sara (Sarah?) and she'll be in Aroab for 3 months to teach the teachers computer skills. She'll be living with a local host family but that's about all Lisa knows so far. Lisa has no idea if she's just arrived in Namibia or if she's been working in other schools already. Lisa isn't even sure how much time she'll get to spend with her - she hopes it's at least a little since another English speaker would be nice to chat with!

Her school's "Computer Room" has about 15 computers (which they consider a LOT for the whole school) and the school is transitioning from teaching typing on old typewriters (manual ones I think) to working on computers. Of course 15 don't provide a lot of time for each learner. And there still is no Internet connection. Baby steps baby steps - they are happy for each step forward.

From what Lisa said - I think World Teach is a Harvard University based program and has teachers from many different countries participating. I believe there are many from England and possibly Australia - (though those could be from a different volunteer program). You all can Google it if you're interested! (DOUBLE GRIN)

I believe it's a volunteer based program but unlike Peace Corps the volunteer pays for their training and their own transportation costs to whatever site they're sent. A lot of World Teach teacher blogs talk about the fundraising they had to do to pay their way. Once they are on site they do receive a living stipend - but I'm not sure how much that is.

Providing paid training and transportation puts Peace Corps in a good position as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure if Lisa would have managed to volunteer if she had to pay her own way. Lisa may not come home rich - but at least she didn't have to fundraise her way to Africa! GRIN

I'll be able to share more info in 2 weeks assuming Sara arrives!

Odds and Ends

While Lisa has been reading like a house on fire all through her break (not having a lot of alternatives encourages reading!) she realizes that with the new term up and going her reading will slow down a bit. Teaching has that effect on one's life - DOUBLE GRIN.

But she made it through Shakespeare's Complete Works in less than a year - so she's very pleased with herself! And our weekly phone calls indicate she's really read each play - because she's been able to discuss then in depth! WOW - come to think of it - I'm pretty impressed with her myself! I hope this will be a good term for her. And I hope this has been a good spring for all of you! Enjoy your last week of May!

Susan Rothman

More Copies Of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Have Arrived - And A New Term Is Starting

2009-05-22T20:20:00.001+01:00

A Trip to Keetmanshoop

Lisa managed to get a ride to Keetmanshoop to pick up some school supplies (all on her nickel of course). She picked up Iodine to test for starches, scales (not sure if her school doesn't have any or if she just can't get a shot at using them) and her most important purchase - balloons -

I was surprised that they ranked so high but Lisa said she was tired of using condoms. Yep - in an AIDS ridden land they are common and plentiful and are the usual Namibian teaching balloon. I think it may be a challenge for these Peace Corps teachers - coming home and not being able to use condoms on a regular basis in their classrooms (GRIN). I have read about this phenomenon on other Peace Corps Volunteer blogs. It becomes very commonplace and they may forget that American schools may view their use differently (DOUBLE GRIN)

Lisa went to the Pharmacy to get the Iodine and was greeted with a willingness to sell her (or order for her if necessary) "whatever the Peace Corps teacher needed" for her class. She thinks the warmth was due to the fact she was white - but she was just glad they had the stuff and didn't have to order it (since she had no idea when she'd get back to Keets to pick it up anyway) and she liked being treated nicely. Felt a little guilty about being treated so nicely - but enjoyed it nonetheless.

School Will Be Starting Soon

The learners come back to the Hostel Monday and classes start Tuesday. So Lisa is getting ready for the next term. It's hard to believe that this is her next to last term - only 2 more before she returns home to America. In some ways it's as though she's been gone forever, in others it's as if she just left. It has been 20 months since we've seen her!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Lisa was delighted to receive 5 more copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Aunt Laurie, Uncle Steven and Rachel in Orlando. She now has 20 in total, and knows a few more are on the way. You have no idea how great this is for her. To teach a book in her school, if she wants the learners to actually read it and not just listen to her read it to them ,- requires that she make copies chapter by chapter for everyone in the class. This requires her using her money to buy the copy paper, (assuming the store doesn't run out) and then she tries jockeying for a chunk of time at the school copy machine. Her largest English class has 42 in it so that's a lot of copies using a lot of paper.

Now Charlie is longer than most of the books she tries to teach so it would be quite a challenge to do that much copying both in time and cost of paper. So by having 20 copies she can give half the class a real book to hold and the rest a copy of the day's chapter. The next day they'll switch so it's a double plus. The learners actually get to read real books (even half the time is great) and Lisa only has to make half the copies. Win Win.She couldn't have done this without all your kindness and help! So she wants me to say:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, VERY VERY MUCH !!!!!!!!!!!

She was more expressive than simple keystrokes can show - but I'm sure you all get the point (GRIN). It will truly be a major legacy - leaving that many copies of the book for the school to use in future years.

Odds and Ends

Since we last spoke - Lisa read 6 more books. She finished Hamlet and is working on King Lear among others. She loves Hamlet - and has decided that most of the common quotations we all know and remember by the Bard come from Hamlet. A lot do - if one thinks about it.

She is enjoying a South African radio station that goes through different cycles and is currently playing a lot of the equivalent of Bubble Gum/Silly/Odd music - reminding her of American 60's bubble gum music. She really gets a kick out of it - and I guess the kids do too. She's requesting a resurgence of nonsense type music when she comes home - we told her we'd do our best but she shouldn't hold her breath (GRIN).

It's fairly warm though it's roughly November there - she says the cold hasn't hit yet. So it feels more late September early October-ish. Which is nice. But thanks to Aunt Laurie she's ready when that cold hits with a new sweatshirt! After a bit of chatter over some magazines we sent her, and some discussion of the news we were cut off - but it was a nice chat nonetheless.

Have a nice Memorial Day Everyone!

Susan Rothman

Lisa's Break Has Been Restful

2009-05-16T20:08:00.001+01:00

It's Different Than Last Years First Term Break

Unlike last year when Lisa sort of went stir crazy during her first term break this year she's much calmer and is enjoying the rest. In part that seems to be because she's been in her community for another whole year and she has friends to visit and the locals are inviting her to lunch and dinner more often - because they know her better too! Time has a way of doing that!

Also she has a good handle on this whole teaching thing so she's getting more planned for the next term and is doing less panicking than she was last year. She received another copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - now she's up to 15 I think - Thank You Grayce Burian! And she's excited about teaching it to her classes.

So the break hasn't been boring, or stressful, it's just been relaxing.

Reading Shakespeare

Lisa finished her 60th book - Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. She's on track to finish the Bards complete works within a year by June 16th. T and C was a bit too bloody for her but she said she liked it because she could follow the story easier than some of the Histories which while she enjoyed them she felt a lack in her knowledge of British History. Knowing bits and pieces wasn't really enough for her. Her Dad told her T and C was Shakespeare's most popular play at the time. I've actually never read that one myself.

While Lisa agrees that reading all of the Bard in a year is an accomplishment, she's slowly coming to accept that not everyone eventually reads every word the Bard has written. ( Mom and Dad have mentioned this to her before! GRIN) I think that she's mentioned her goal to other Peace Corps Volunteers who shall we say are surprised by her devotion to old Will. He's not usually considered light relaxing reading.

And before we leave Will Lisa decided that though she didn't think much about Romeo and Juliet when she read it in HS she's decided it wasn't that bad - the story beyond the two kids was interesting. And that brought her to realizing that they were 14 - they really were kids! She said that really was like a light going on for her - "that's why they acted so stupid! they were 14 year old kids!" She said in Middle School the kids she hung out with weren't that much smarter about love either. Of course the Middle School crushes they had didn't end up deadly - "R and J were whiney little kids because they WERE little kids!"

Lot's of books are different when read at different ages - Ahh life experience! At 24 Lisa is looking at these tales a whole new way! It's a lot of fun listening to her relate these discoveries.

Home

This week she made chicken stock and going by Food TV terms it was a success - when chilled it "jelled" so she knew she simmered it long enough. GRIN She only got a bit less than a quart but considering she had a small pot on a hot plate it was still a success! Of course since her power kept going out on and off it took a bit longer than she planned.

I guess though it's fall going on winter in Namibia the weather has been nicer than usual - a bit more rain and a bit warmer than would be expected. Which is nice because when it gets cold it gets cold there! And without heat one needs a lot of layers.

Oh a last comment - one of her "big accomplishments" has been teaching the little babies in "The location" Peek-A-Boo. The "location" is the term they use in Africa to describe what you might see in a "Save the Children" ad - the poor side of a town. Shanty town vs the newer areas. Lisa's school is sort of on the border to her town's "location" and I gather all the tiny kids loved learning Peek-A-Boo. One never knows where one will leave an impression. GRIN

Till next week -

Susan Rothman

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T18:29:00.001+01:00

Spoke To Lisa

Talked a bit yesterday but we were cut off, and when we tried calling back we couldn't get through. So we called again today and chatted a bit more.

It turns out that after we were cut off Lisa went out visiting several friends (she's been visiting a lot of friends I gather) some teachers, some learners, some friends of Erna from the Hostel etc. So she has been busy joining in the community during the break between terms. Which is good - her socializing and getting involved in her community is important - from a Peace Corps perspective. When she's not doing classroom stuff that's what she's supposed to be doing. GRIN

In fact today we heard dogs barking in the background - whoever she was visiting had them as pets. We never got to ask what they fed dogs in Namibia. My guess is that it doesn't come in little cans or bags, GRIN.

There is Still Work To Be Done for Next Term

Lisa is working on lesson plans for the next term, and she's re-reading Charlie and The Chocolate Factory so she can make it "come alive" for her learners. Thank heavens that as she re-reads it she finds herself remembering why she liked it so much herself. So far she has 14 copies in hand and more are coming in the mail - she's overwhelmed by all your thoughtfulness and generosity!

Other Things Accomplished

Lisa is going over a GRE review book we sent her - for some reason thinking about GREs and grad school is a bit daunting at times. But she is thinking about all kinds of possibilities for when she returns - now if only President Obama's vision of America's future could be up and running by next January with jobs - money for college etc available to all who desire it- hmmm - I wonder who would be more surprised at that achievement - Lisa or Obama? GRIN

Lisa is also finishing up several books that she started, and is spending time relaxing to tapes we have sent her. She is enjoying her nice hot water, and shower - things she didn't have last winter in Namibia. And she is trying to write - she's flexible - she'll try poetry, short stories, even a novel - whatever works! She just isn't happy with her attempts at any of them yet. As writers ourselves her Dad and I sympathize.

A Raise

Seems like Peace Corps has granted them a raise. Approximately $100 Namibian - or about $10 US a month. Yes a month. Not exactly big bucks here - considering that the Peace Corps Volunteers are sort of on duty 24/7 in their communities. But in this day and age even a tiny gain is better than a decrease - and not losing benefits like that paid flight home at end of service is very very nice!

With luck we'll have more time next week to chat with Lisa - and thus more info for this blog - till then Enjoy Mother's Day and May!

Susan Rothman

Lisa is Getting Copies of Charlie!

2009-05-06T16:14:00.001+01:00

The Books are Arriving!

Lisa let us know that she has received copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from her Grandparents, friends, and us this week. All in all she has 10 copies so far and more have been sent. When she hits the magic number of 21 she'll have enough for her class of 42 to share. If even more arrive some will have their own individual copies to read in class. A very unusual experience for her learners. And one they will truly appreciate!

Lisa wants me to thank you all so very much - it's still several weeks before she'll start teaching the book - in fact she'll be on winter break till the end of May anyhow - so most of those already mailed books should arrive in time.

There is still time for anyone who has been considering sending Lisa a copy - The closer to a full classroom set she receives - the easier it will be for her to teach it!

I will let everyone know as the books arrive - but the mail tends to come in clumps - 9 of the 10 books came this week! So we all need to be patient - but it is good news that they are coming slowly but surely!

Again THANK YOU VERY MUCH everyone who is helping Lisa out!

Susan Rothman

May Is Here!

2009-05-02T17:58:00.001+01:00

E-Mail Update

Just so you know - Lisa is having problems getting into her Hotmail account and doing the normal e-mail stuff. So if any of you e-mail her she may not be able to read or open your messages - and if she does manage to do that she may still not be able to respond or send you a message back. Just so everyone knows that right now things are not working properly for her.

Lisa Turned in Her Last Exams on Wednesday.

She's on vacation finally. It was a good week all in all. All the learners and the teachers are gone for the break. The Hostel is empty and so she's on her own for a few weeks.

She was invited to a Boer Dance last night, by Erna's friends, Omu and Opu. It was a dance for the local whites. Descendents of the Boers (South Africans), I assume. - Lisa didn't realize how many whites there were in her community. There were about 100 ranging from children to Grandparents. She said It felt odd to be among so many whites at one time. With the learners and teachers gone the whites are mostly who's left in town I gather.

Lisa found it easier to learn the dance steps in Afrikaans than she found conversing in Afrikaans to be. But she also has learned that while she likes dancing more or less on her own - free form - she doesn't seem to quite follow the dance steps when she's supposed to be actually dancing with someone.

A World Apart

It has been interesting for her hearing about the Swine Flu from Namibia. She says she finds how the scientific information, explanations, etc is presented by the media in odd ways. She says "They just don't get science" Which may be true. At least in the sense that Science uses a different language when discussing things. It made her appreciate her background in Biology.

She said it was like watching parallel universes unfold in the news with one side hinting at total Armageddon from a pandemic and the other indicating how minor the virus has been so far compared to other flu viruses. With a few brave souls trying to find objective middle ground.

She also mentioned how Peace Corps sent out messages reminding them to in general watch for flu symptoms and to contact them if the volunteers feel ill. They were reminded that in their Peace Corps med kits they have Tamaflu already - it was put in there for possible Bird Flu issues - but it would work if Swine Flu hit them. Sort of makes a parent more confident about the medical situation there. (GRIN)

Holidays and Lack of Mail

She hasn't received any packages recently but having the Post Office close for holidays like Workers Day which was May 1st, and Cassinga Day on May 4th doesn't help. Cassinga Day is in remembrance of the Cassinga massacre in 1978 - and that's all we know about it. One can always Google it if one wants more info! (GRIN). The mail can only be picked up 4 days a week as it is, in a normal week there! And we are miffed that our Post Office wants to cut back to 5 days a week from 6 - ah well. We should count our blessings.

Politics

Lisa was wondering if President's first 100 days always made the news! Lisa really doesn't remember back in High School - Bush's first 100 days - but then realized that politics doesn't make her as "queasy" now (her word - honest!) as it used to. She keeps following politics wherever she can. Part of that is she's still excited about President Obama.

But part is probably because as she grows up (a parent's view) she's more interested in the world, but I personally think the biggest reason is that she's living in Namibia. When you're that far from home for so long you start to see the world in a more global way and are more interested in how the US fits into the world.

Or that's at last how it went for me in Finland after Jimmy Carter won (GRIN). I Just realized that I voted for Carter absentee ballet and Lisa voted for Obama absentee ballet. And they both won! I hope Obama has better luck over the long haul!

She thinks a woman would be nice for the Supreme Court, a minority would be nice to represent more of the country, but mostly Lisa thinks President Obama should pick someone "good" - someone who is smart, pragmatic, who doesn't "piss everyone off" (her phrase - honest!) who is liberal leaning and who knows the Constitution! Not a bad summary in my humble opinion (GRIN)

Out on The Town

Tonight she's going to a Gospel Concert, and Sunday she's been invited to Omu and Opu's for lunch. Which leads me to . . .

Similar Yet Different

Lisa has discovered great sympathy for the little boys in movies and novels who get their cheeks pinched and get hugged by all the elderly "Aunties", since in the white community - it seems to be a cultural thing to kiss one's elders on the lips. Not so much in the local black community.

She really hasn't spent that much time with the local whites but she's been asked to visit Omu and Opu (Grandparent aged friends of Erna) for lunch since all her school friends are off to their farms, so she has to deal more with these issues. She seems to really like them as people - and I guess they try hard to understand her Afrikaans - but it's still strange for her that as she becomes more like "family" to them she's included in such kissing rituals. Ahh well.

Odds and Ends

Lisa read us 2 short poems she'd been working on after reading Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress. As a poet I like that she's writing one or two. Maybe she'll work on something she really likes! I think I liked her poems more than she did. (SMILE)

She's taking a break from the Bard - she was hoping to read the complete works of Shakespeare in 1 year - but we reassured her that accomplishing that goal before she comes home would still be great! I hadn't managed that by her age myself so I'm very impressed with her!

To all of you who have sent her a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Thank You Very Very Much! I will let you know when they arrive in Aroab. She has over a month before she'll actually start teaching the book so there is plenty of time for the Post Office to deliver your precious gifts! And there is still time if you wish to send her a copy and haven't done so already. Again Thank You for your kindness and support of her teaching project!

Oh - she has a working ATM for the moment! Hope it stays that way!

Till Next week - Enjoy May

Susan Rothman

Exams Are Over

2009-04-25T17:07:00.001+01:00

But Correcting Them Goes On

The learners have all left - they won't be back till the new term starts on May 26th. Yesterday Lisa was able to get a ride to Keetmanshoop on Pay Day so she was able to pick up food and a warm fleece blanket and slippers (both purple of course) since she's fighting a cold already and it's just starting to get cold in Namibia! She also picked up a mat/towel since she has a hot shower she hopes to take warm showers and fight the cold germs this year- but she needed something to step on after coming out of the shower since her floor will be unheated and Icy!

Turns out she has to pay ATM fees when it's been over 4 weeks since her last withdrawal, and though it isn't much ($14 Namibian) it's still annoying to her. As she complained "It's not my fault I can't get to an ATM every 4 weeks - they need to put one back in Aroab!" It's a different word she's growing accustomed to. She really hopes she'll get back to Keetmanshoop over the next 4 weeks before the next term. If only to stay sane!

Exams Were A Mixed Bag

With only 2 more sets (I think that's all she has left) to correct by next week - Lisa has noticed an unusual pattern - not a nice regular bell curve but sort of a reversed bell curve - with a fairly large number of learners doing very well and a fairly large number almost getting zeros and very few in between.

What a surprise - the A learners study, behave, ask questions and participate - the near zeros include many students who Lisa claims would still talk even if she "taped their mouths shut with many layers of tape". She feels nothing would halt their talkativeness one tiny bit.

She's going to try and match up some of the top learners with those needing help in a mentoring/tutoring relationship and see if they can work together. It's sure worth a try! The biggest problem may be finding matches for the, shall we say, least performing learners, since they don't rank high on the popularity scale among the other kids. I wish her luck!

In general her 7th graders did well - only 3 failures in her classes, the 9th graders did great on Life Science - over 1/3 got A's so the test she created may have been a little to easy (though there were those bottom dwellers too), all the English learners did well, but 10th grade was a real mixed bag. But her learners told her they thought the test was fair!

Seems like 10th grade separates the learners who will make it from those who won't. Both the course content becomes much tougher than 9th grade level work, and the grading scale changes - you need to do 10 percent better just to pass - a tough combo for those on the edge. Notes went home with the kids as they left for the break indicating that the learners really have to apply themselves more if they want to pass the 10th grade exams and get into 11th grade - ie High School.

Odds and Ends

Lisa is reading Shakespeare's Henry VI - so she and her Dad talked a lot about the history of that time period. She still considers Henry V her favorite - but is getting into this play too. She's finished 47 books so far this year. But she says after she gets through the Shakespeare she'll probably slow down - for her Shakespeare is easier to read than many novels - all her former English teachers everywhere must truly be delighted! -GRIN- I blame all those PSB British Dramas etc. - GRIN -

Hotmail Issues

Since Hotmail has changed it's format she can't read or send e-mail at all from her cell phone. Her Dad tried giving her a link that should work from mobile devices but only time will see if she can still connect to the world that way. It is so funny - we grow used to one level of technology, then we can get used to a lesser standard when required (ie when living in Africa - GRIN) but when the simple connections we have grown accustomed to are tampered with it's a real kick in the gut.

It just reminded me how during my year after college teaching in Finland I only had snail mail - I didn't even speak once with my parents since long distance was EXPENSIVE then and my family would have been shocked if I had even tried to call. Of course I wrote home weekly which is something Lisa would never do. We've just gotten that one very short note way back from Mozambique (mommy is whining - sorry - GRIN -)

I was thinking about Finland this week since I ran into my college roommate who taught there the year before I did - twice. Once at the Russian Ballet Theatre at Proctor's and once at an Earth Day Concert at Siena. Small world.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is Arriving!

Lisa has received one Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - my friend Debbie (who taught in Finland the year after I did - the world is even smaller than we think!) sent her own childhood copy to Lisa. Lisa was very very touched and will make sure her learners appreciate the generosity of these book's donors!

Several more copies are on route and others are planning to send a copy or two. I'll make sure to keep you all up to date on their arrival - since Lisa won't start the novel in class till the end of May early June there is more than enough time for the sent books to arrive. And anyone else who wishes to help her out still can! Your donation will become part of a class set that will remind Aroab of America generosity! And since they are supposed to be teaching British English in Namibia Charlie is a great choice for them.

That's about all for now - Enjoy spring wherever you are!

Susan Rothman

The Books Are Arriving!

2009-04-22T19:29:00.001+01:00

Lisa Is Excited!

She let me know today that she received the first copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory today! Thank you Debbie Battista!!! Many of you have told me you plan to send her a copy of Charlie - or have already done so - so I just wanted to let you know they are getting through!

There is still time to send her the books if you haven't been able to do so yet. - She won't be starting Charlie till late May - and even if the books come after she's begun they will help! Every book means that an additional learner will have a real book in hand - and that will also mean there will be one fewer chapter Lisa will have to make copies of with paper out of her own pocket (GRIN)

Ahh yes - in case you didn't realize - when there are only a few copies of a book the teachers want to use (that's most cases if not all) the teachers have to buy the copy paper themselves and make copies in the office. So they make a few - and learners share (we don't mention the fights over who gets to hold the copy or whose turn it is to read it) Or they pass a book (or few books) around and learners take turns reading it/them. And just having books is rare - Lisa knows how lucky she is to be in a school that works hard to get materials together!

A Peace Corps Legacy

Lisa's goal is to not only have (with luck) enough copies so at least half of her learners at a time will be able to read a "real book" - that's 21 for half her 42 learners- (yeah, nice small classes she has) but it will be a wonderful gift to her school to remember their Peace Corps Teacher. She tells me doesn't even dare to hope for enough for every learner. She is grateful for every single one! - I think she's the first Volunteer her community has ever had and since Peace Corps seems to be placing Volunteers in the North rather than the South - she may be their last for a while.

21 is a lot - but she has a great support system out there so she may come close - and since several absolute angels are planning to send multiple copies it may really happen! I feel like I'm working a PBS pledge drive here - but I really do think having these books in the school's library will make a lasting difference in these kids education.

I'll keep you all posted!

Oh and : Happy Earth Day!

Susan Rothman

Exam Time

2009-04-18T18:52:00.001+01:00

Lisa Is Right In The Middle Of Exams

Spoke with her this morning - It was a short week after the Easter Break (if a 4 day weekend can be called much of a break!) So it's Exam time! Right now she's only had a few of her own exams to correct so she's mostly monitoring other groups. The one large exam she corrected must have been too easy since about 1/4 of the learners got A's -a bit more than would have been expected. Lisa hopes nobody notices and complains her exam was too easy.

All in all it's about as much fun for her as for the learners. GRIN But next week she has 3 large groups of tests to correct. That will keep her busy -grin- . When exams are finished and corrected she'll have a few weeks until the next term starts.

Lisa was hoping to get to Keetmanshoop with Erna but it turns out that Erna will be going to a conference then in Keetmanshoop and there's no room in the transport for Lisa. Too bad - it's so hard to arrange for a ride Lisa thinks she'll probably end up spending the whole time in Aroab. Ahh well. With reading, writing, planning for the next term, and practicing for the GREs (if the review book we sent her arrives!) She figures she'll have plenty to do.

The Hostel

Last night the kids in the Hostel next door were watching the movie Saw IV - Lisa left quite early - there was too much blood and gore for her taste and she was worried that the little ones would end up with nightmares! She couldn't believe there had been a Saw I. II, and III. She never was into slasher/horror flicks. I think everyone is kind of restless around the end of the term and movies like that sort of get their minds off everyday stuff. But I'm sure glad I didn't have to watch it! (GRIN)

Writing

We spent a long time talking about the process of writing. writer's block, turning an idea into a story etc. I gather Lisa has lots of ideas but is having trouble getting them from her imagination to the printed page. We sort of told her "join the club". At her stage of writing she says she's concerned that she's not improving fast enough and she's reusing the same themes over and over just with different "window dressing".

Our view was - if she can identify such weaknesses in her writing all on her own she's ahead of the game compared to writers who make those mistakes but can't see it in their stuff! I'm not sure it was enough consolation for her. She sort of wanted the magic code that turns ideas into stories or novels. As her Dad said - "If we knew how to do that - it would be obvious since we'd both be selling like crazy".

Knowing you're not going to get a magic answer doesn't make it less frustrating when you don't. The best advice we could give her was Practice Practice Practice, Write Write Write! She changed the topic of conversation. Double Grin

Politics

It's still interesting talking about politics with her in Namibia. She heard about the T.E.A. parties, and was curious about how Obama was doing in Mexico/South America. Sometimes I wonder which has had the most influence on her political interest - The Election with Obama winning - or being so far away in Africa. Probably it's a bit of both. Also growing up and moving beyond college - thinking about the world as a whole - not just concentrating on a narrow portion of it.

Trying to keep her up to date on the world has encouraged us to subscribe to more magazines than we usually get (about 10 usually). We've added The Economist, The Atlantic, Scientific American, and I just sent in a request for a 20 week trial subscription to The Nation. We get them then mail them to Lisa who reads them then puts them in her classroom for free reading. Lisa likes the different points of view and her learners are getting a whole lot to think about too! Talk about broadening their horizons!

Lisa's widening thought processes may be influencing her interest in specific grad school programs. She's eager to get home and work on the next stage of her life (computer access, tv, fresh fruit and veggies, and everyone speaking English has nothing to do with her desire I'm sure - GRIN- ) Have a good week one and all - Enjoy spring - for all of you not shoveling the late spring snow that's fallen!

Susan Rothman

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Spring

2009-04-13T18:51:00.001+01:00

Spoke with Lisa Last Friday

But we were going away for Easter/Passover to visit family on Long Island (all of whom miss Lisa and can hardly wait till she returns!) so I didn't get to update the blog - so here goes!

Lisa was planning to attend Holy Week and Easter Services at both the Lutheran and Catholic Churches - since they only had Friday and Monday off she felt that would fill up her long weekend nicely. She was going to skip the Easter Sunrise Service though because it was being held across town at 4am and no one near her was going - she wasn't sure wandering around in the dark alone at that hour would be such a great idea.

She also mentioned that while she has a small fridge/freezer the point is she has one - so hers has sort of become the community freezer this holiday season. - Erna and others I gather asked if they could store things in it for Easter - so it had little space for her own stuff - but she managed. Everyone has been so nice to her she feels it's appropriate to reciprocate when she can. GRIN

Speaking of freezers - Lisa said she treated herself to a large bag of frozen mixed veggies - a bit more expensive than what she usually gets but worth it for her Easter dinner! Sometimes little things like that just hit me - a world where frozen veggies are a treat worth celebrating - it's a very different world!

Science

First up - the science club held a fundraiser last Thursday - they sold a lot of food and managed to earn $268 Namibian. Which is about enough to sponsor 1 and 1/2 learners to Keetmanshoop for a day field trip. So if they actually want to go anywhere they will have to do a whole lot more fundraising! GRIN The learners are excited about the whole idea so they might actually figure out how to earn enough money to make it work!

Second up - The teacher who was head of the science department has arranged for a transfer to a Keetmanshoop school - Lisa isn't sure if it has anything to do with the altercation he had with that learner - but the end result is they're losing him and he was running the Science Fair (the most recent one went very well Lisa said), Science Club etc - so now Lisa will be more or less in charge. She's hoping for some help (DOUBLE GRIN)

Being in charge for the time being will give her plenty to do during the break that comes up soon after the term's finals she'll have 4 weeks off. Right now she doesn't have any plans so it will be a lot of time to work on the library, community projects - and of course figuring out how to run the science stuff!

There aren't any Peace Corps meetings for that time period so she'll probably try to visit Keetmanshoop at least once! Wish her luck in getting a ride there!

Word Creation

Lisa finds it all quite interesting how Pidgin Languages create words - for example in most of the AIDS education programs in Namibia they use Condomize - and she complained to us that in her book condom isn't a verb or an adjective or adverb it should just be a noun. But language has a way of developing all on it's own - it doesn't always pay attention to what folks expect!

Odds and Ends

We chatted about grad school/job prospects (this week she's feeling optimistic!), the economy, President Obama (boy she loves talking about politics right now -), and that while it's still quite hot during the day it's cooling off at night now!

To everyone who is in the process of sending Lisa a copy or 2 of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Lisa wants to say

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

She really appreciates the efforts you're making for her Learners - they really are quite excited that some of Lisa's family and friends from America are doing this for them. As much as it will help Lisa it will boost the self esteem of all her kids - it's sooo important for them to believe they are worth people's attention and support! Again Thank You - the anticipation of her learners alone, is making teaching easier for Lisa right now. This is probably a bit disjointed as far my Blogs usually go but I'm still recovering from a busy weekend! I'll Blog again next week!

Take Care - and enjoy Spring - If it ever warms up! GRIN

Susan Rothman

Update on Book Request

2009-04-06T19:23:00.001+01:00

Managed To Get In Touch With Lisa Today

She explained that she plans to teach Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in early to mid May so for those of you who are planning to help her out by sending a copy or two - you have more time for it/them to get to her.

Every copy helps more than you can know! Several folks have gotten in touch with me, some with a bit of concern that the books they hope to send might not arrive in time - so this update is to let you know that even with the very long mailing time - if they're sent out by late April they should arrive in plenty of time.

Again Lisa sends a huge "Thank You Thank You Thank You !!!!! " to all who are able to help her out!

I Thank You Too!

Susan Rothman

Request for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Books

2009-04-04T18:25:00.001+02:00

Lisa would like to use Charlie and the Chocolate Factory : by Roald Dahl

In her English classes next term (starting late April). She has 41 learners in her largest class - and the more copies she can get a hold of, the easier it will be for her classes to share. If anyone would like to send her a copy or 2 she would be most appreciative - her address is

Lisa Rothman

Peace Corps Volunteer

Box 26

Aroab

Namibia

Anyone who wants to send her a copy - that would be great! Thanks in advance!

Now That That's Out of the Way

Lisa has been busy as this first term ends and she's getting ready for the next term. But the kids are getting a bit cranky and there have been a few fights. I guess the last fight involved compasses in Science. Lisa sent the boys down to the office.

The problem with the School's system is that the "rule" is that a fight yields a 40 day suspension so usually the Principal just gives them a warning and he sends them home. Surprise surprise - the learners know this and thus don't take the "rule" that seriously. Since the 2 boys fighting were 10th graders if they were out of school for 40 days they would end up failing and thus wouldn't have a shot to get into High School. Though Lisa isn't sure how good their chances are to begin with. Oh well.

Permission Has Been Granted

By the School Board for the Science Club to do some fundraising for a possible field trip. The club was very excited till it sunk in that fundraising involved work! (GRIN) The first project will be a fair selling all sorts of - as Lisa put it - edibles! I have no idea if they will be sweet or savory or both (GRIN). But in Namibia - like here - food sells!

The Future

Whenever Lisa wants to take a break from work she spends time managing to worry about her future after Peace Corps. Many of the Graduate Programs that look interesting are at private schools that are expensive (her beloved American University has several great ones but we're talking well into 6 figures for a dual degree that looks particularly good) and while some have special deals for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV) the numbers still add up to the "ouch" level.

While Obama is doing a swell job of instilling hope that things will work out Lisa isn't sure how that will tally up in actual jobs when she returns and the Peace Corps Volunteers are being warned that the old benefits that used to be available to them are fewer and further between and what remains are being spread very very thin among more and more Volunteers who wish to try and take advantage of them.

Again Obama hold out Hope for more volunteer possibilities and support for all sorts of volunteers including Peace Corps ones - but . . .

We did a lot of "hand holding" over the phone but it's hard to know what to tell her. We'll just have to see how it goes when she comes home. At least she doesn't have any undergraduate loans to pay off or credit card debt so that's a plus. It's a tough world out there and Lisa is going through a period where she really misses home. But things will work out one way or another for her.

Final Thoughts

If you can send her a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that would be great - if not it would mean a lot if you could send a card or note just wishing her well. It's slowly getting colder in her part of the world - cool nights - hot days still - it's moving into her fall now - and life goes on for us all!

Susan Rothman

Trying To Transfer Pictures

2009-03-28T17:22:00.001+02:00

Trying to Get Pictures From Camera to Computer to CD

It's been a challenge for Lisa. One of her learners now has a computer and wanted to have all Lisa's pictures downloaded so she'd remember Lisa, their Peace Corps Teacher, for all time. The download went fine but the photos are no longer on her camera. So she's been trying to get them transferred to a CD from the computer but that hasn't been working well.

Since Lisa doesn't have a computer herself she really wants to both get the pictures on a CD to bring home and get them back on her camera or she won't be able to look at them again till she comes back to America (unless she uses her learner's family computer - which is inconvenient if you just want to go through memories before bed - one of many reasons I really prefer good old snap shots in printed format)

Her Dad has been trying to help but not having Internet access and not knowing the software involved makes his job harder. Pray to the Camera Gods that it all works out - personally I'd love to see the pictures she's taken one way or another.

She really doesn't want the learner to accidentally erase all her memories. So we'll just have to see how it plays out. Having a little technology but not all the bells and whistles of the newer systems makes "simple" transfers of images much trickier.

Speaking of Computers

There may be a flock of computers coming to Lisa's school. Like 20! There probably won't be any Internet connection but it should still be nice. Even if they get Internet access it would be the country wide School Internet connection which is "slower than dial up" much more expensive, and it has a tendency to go down for days or weeks at a time. Ahh well. Baby Steps - Baby Steps!

The only glitch is that in order to have a computer room Lisa's room may be taken over for another class and she may end up moving from room to room for her classes. She's gotten used to having a room of her own. Ahh well. She'll see how it goes.

Tonight Is The Talent Show

The learners are all excited about performing in their talent show tonight - many have spent the week perfecting their "talent" so it should be a fun evening for everyone. Not much was done in her other clubs or in the library this week since the talent show plans kept everyone busy.

Odds and Ends

Lisa's garden has been hit by the double whammy of lots of heat and little rain. The sandy soil really doesn't forgive much for the poor gardener either. But there are a few pumpkin plants among others that have survived - so she'll see how things go.

Lisa is looking into potential Grad School Programs through the Peace Corps Fellows Program - different programs provide various levels of assistance from full coverage of all costs (very few - highly competitive) to paying in-state tuition vs out of state tuition, offering internships etc. Some look very interesting to her. Now she has to study for the GREs. Oh joy! (GRIN)

She's also looking into potential jobs in the DC area - that Peace Corps service gives you a leg up on getting - though that leg is getting more slender all the time (GRIN)

We talked a bit about politics, economics, etc. She may end up wanting to study Economic Development in Grad School - who knows! Environmental Sustainability is another phrase that slips off her tongue more and more! We'll see where the Universe opens doors for her.

She finished Shakespeare's Comedies, and has hit book number 35 for the year. She's doing OK all in all. Till next week - enjoy spring!

Susan Rothman

Happy Independence Day Namibia with a little March Madness thrown in!

2009-03-23T18:15:00.001+02:00

Lisa and I Don't Really Follow Basketball But -

In the NCAA's American University (her beloved college) made it to the playoffs though they lost in the first round, and Siena College (where her Dad works) made it in winning their first round but losing in the second to the number 1 ranked team in the nation. And they held their own - fighting to the end! So though we aren't sports fans we did pay attention to those 3 games (GRIN). Congrats to both for doing so well.

Sorry I didn't update this blog earlier, but Lisa's Dad and I were away attending a Science Fiction Convention - Lunacon - in Rye Brook NY - it was very enjoyable! There was no free Internet in the rooms and being cheap we just did without for 3 days!

Before leaving last Friday we called Lisa so I have lots to fill you all in on.

Namibian Independence Day

Friday was Namibian's Independence Day - it's just their 19th Anniversary of independence! So they all had Friday off and on Thursday it was a day full of assemblies and presentations - so in essence that was another day without teaching (GRIN).

The major theme seemed to be how wonderful it was that all the children present were "Free Born" - born after Independence. It made her appreciate the fact that we've been free so very much longer in America - even waiting till the Civil War to emancipate the Slaves is a lot further back than Namibia's 19 years. Also the idea that this generation in Namibia will take freedom more or less for granted since with luck, it will be all they ever know. Sort of like her generation taking computers and the Internet for granted. Or my parents taking electricity for granted. (My grandparents started out without electricity everywhere).

Lisa wrote a play on Apartheid for the learners to perform in the assembly - and while she wrote it in English since most of the presentations were in English already that day, they decided to let the learners translate it into Afrikaans so that the community leaders - and townspeople who attended would understand it better. So to introduce it Lisa created a two sentence introduction in Afrikaans - and when she asked around the consensus of her friends was that she had done very well and hadn't called herself "a jelly donut" (GRIN).

Her Dad finally explained how that worked - When President Kennedy did that - he was using the wrong tense or form or such so it would be like the difference between calling yourself a danish vs a Danish citizen. I really didn't understand the grammatical bases for that before - learn something new every day.

She found it very interesting how her learners really got into the mini play and took off on the subject ad libbing and expanding here and there. And they were much more enthusiastic. She decided that it was like the difference for an American class performing in another language vs doing the same performance in English. Being more comfortable in one's native language lets everyone relax more and get into the spirit of the play.

More School Info

Lisa is still working on the school library. I gather when they packed it all up over a year ago (before she arrived) lots of books lost their library cards or they got mixed up in other ways. So while they seem to be making a lot of progress it will still take a bit of time to get everything set up. It seems to be using the Dewy system. Though why I even considered they might use LOC heaven only knows (SMILE).

There is also a lot going on with both the Science Club and Science Fair - lots of meetings, lots of coordination to accomplish their goals etc. But the learners seem quite excited by everything and Lisa feels she's contributing to the process. I guess that Science Teacher who had the altercation with the learner is still teaching.

An Unexpected Ride To Keetmanshoop

Lisa wasn't planning to go to Keetmanshoop this month - she has plans to head there next month on pay day with Erna from the Hostel next door. But at the last minute last Thursday a ride fell into her lap. One of the teachers asked Lisa if she wanted to head there on Friday (everyone had it off for the Namibian Independence Day) so she said Sure! An opening materialized in the car going there and you never make a long drive like that without a full car in Namibia (90 miles each way remember!) The driver charges for a cut of gas etc but it's only about $14 US for her.

It turned out great! Lisa was able to get more cash out of the ATM (still no ATM in Aroab - sigh -) and do a lot of grocery shopping on her own. Now normally we think shopping with friends is more fun but for Lisa shopping alone is more - shall we say - flexible. When she shops with others she is always aware of what she's buying and she doesn't want to "show off her comparative wealth" In fact she says shopping with Erna can be quite a challenge since Erna is always saying things like "Why do you need that?" or "You're buying that?" etc. Not unkindly but it's sort of like not wanting to order a huge meal when you're with someone on a strict medical diet who can't enjoy the same thing.

So the upshot was Lisa picked up lots of relatively expensive stuff - more fruits and veggies, meats and cheeses than she'd ordinarily pick up. She also got some fancy baked goods - muffins, rich breads etc. which she froze when she got home.

It's a different world where treats are fruits and veggies - GRIN - . I do wonder what she'll want most when she comes home at the end of the year! When I came back from Finland it was cheddar cheese and peanut butter (no not together) both of which were unavailable to me there.

Anyhow - the trip was a success - but it was an odd drive home. I gather one of the riders was drunk and decided to talk politics mostly in Afrikaans - which elicited a fair amount of laughter from the other passengers. Lisa didn't get a lot of the conversation (other than the constant use of Obama) but I guess the overall tenor was relatively good natured. Other PCV's have had far more unpleasant rides throughout Namibia so she counts her blessings in such matters. And at least he wasn't the driver! Don't laugh too hard - many Peace Corps Volunteers have had to deal with inebriated drivers - my mommy side shivers!

Other Odds and Ends

Lisa finished reading her 30th book - it's been so busy she hasn't read nearly as much as usual. It's 3 weeks till Easter - she'll get Good Friday and Easter Monday off - but she doesn't plan to do anything but go to all the Church and Community Easter Celebrations around Aroab. and about 2 or so weeks after Easter (April 28th she thinks) the first term will be over. Time is just zipping by!

It looks like Aroab will be getting a World Teach teacher for the second term (just for 3 months) - World Teach draws teachers from many different countries not just the US - but I think most if not all speak English as their native language. Lisa is looking so forward to another native English speaker in town! I hope it all works out! She'd love a Brit who enjoys Dr Who and other British Science Fiction as much as she does - but that may be too much to hope for (GRIN).

That's about all for now - Hope you all had a Great St Patrick's Day!

Susan Rothman

The Rest Of The Day's News

2009-03-14T18:15:00.001+02:00

Got To Speak For a Little Longer Till We Were Cut Off Again

Sounds like Lisa was trying to make a more comfy spot, sort of a lily pad in a plastic container - for her frogs/toads when they escaped - Lisa indicated that since the critters don't know English or Afrikaans her pleas for them to return weren't very effective.

So they're hiding in her place gobbling up bugs till they decide to make a break for the great outdoors. She sort of liked having them hop around her place. Oh well. Unlike stereotypical little boys with their passion for amphibian friends I don't think Lisa will spend much time trying to garner more frogs as pets.

Other Home Front News

Lisa had a large fan which is now broken and according to her friends who help her fix such things - needs parts that may arrive before she leaves next December/January. Or if she's very luck when the cold snap hits come June or July (GRIN).

So till then the only source of coolness on hot nights is a battery operated fan her Aunt Laurie sent her. Since the D batteries it requires are impossible for her to get in her slice of Namibia she's rationing the fan's use to nights when it seems extra hot so she can sleep - if you want to send her a treat send D batteries! Thank you Aunt Laurie - you are keeping her from totally melting (remember it's summer in Namibia!

She's getting some interesting stuff on her hand cranked radio - a South African station plays all sorts of odd combinations from a long stretch with songs like "Lemon Tree" "Itsy Bitsy Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and other classic bubble gum songs, to times where they play great Jazz, or show tunes. Often this music is late - after her bedtime - ah well. Also she listens to the BBC and is very disappointed that they've changed their line up from news in the 5 to 6 am slot, to music. She liked listening to the news while she was getting ready to head to school. Oh well.

School Is Full Of Activity!

The Library is being renovated, so while it's closed now, it should open with new shelves and a much better organizational system. (Dewy? LOC? or something African?) Lisa has been spending a lot of time working there with some of the learners.

Drama Club will pick up after this week since they're spending most of their time right now working on pieces for the Namibian Independence Day which is Friday. They have the day off which is very convenient for us since her Dad and I will be attending Lunacon - a Science Fiction Convention next weekend and we would find it even more expensive to call her from the hotel - so we'll try getting in touch with her Friday! The learners are excited about starting Drama Club up again.

The Science teacher who got into that altercation with a learner (check a few blogs back) is still teaching - Lisa has no idea what may have gone behind closed doors as to disciplining him and no one seems to be talking much about it. But he's working hard on both the upcoming Science Fair and developing a strong Science Club.

Lisa is very busy with these. As to the Science Fair - it's a national thing - her school had to submit 2 potential ideas to the, I guess National reviewing committee - ideas needed to be submitted and no one else was doing anything so Lisa wrote up 2 for them! She's much more involved in the process than she was last year - in a hands on way. Now she's trying to get the other Science teachers involved more.

Odds and Ends

As I noted earlier - next Friday is the Namibian Independence Day. Lisa received at last a St Patrick's Day package we sent what seems like ages ago - but since it came before St Pats Day I'm happy. And we were up to our necks in economic chit chat before the phone lines cut out again - so that's all for this week. Enjoy March just Beware the Ides! (GRIN)

Susan Rothman

Frogs or Toads

2009-03-14T16:24:00.001+02:00

Thought That Title Would Catch Your Attention!

Spoke with Lisa briefly after many attempts to connect this morning - but the connection didn't last long - we'll try again later. But she packed the few minutes we had before the phone gods severed our connection -with info.

For one of her classes the learners were supposed to collect insects - many brought in birds and frogs/toads. The birds were sad only partially feathered creatures when they made it to class. Lisa wasn't very happy at their sad condition. After talking about the differences among insects and other living critters most were released, but Lisa has decided to keep 3 frogs/toads as pets. William 1, William 2 and Jack.

She misses having a pet - I don't think our cat Lightning would appreciate the trip over to visit so ---. (GRIN) She's letting them feed on the insects in her place and really dear readers of this blog - the Mommy side of me really really really hopes Lisa doesn't have enough insect life in her place to keep 3 frogs/toads hale and hearty. Really!

Without any reference books or access to graphics on the Internet she can't tell what her little pets are for sure. Boy the things we take for granted. In our home even if we lost power and thus had no Internet we still have zillions of books to look info up in. Having spent an adult lifetime in libraries and doing my best to create a mini Library of Congress in my own home it's hard to imagine a world with limited books.

I'll post again later - we just got Lisa back on the phone (Yipeee!)

March Has Come In With A Hot Shower! How Will It Go Out?

2009-03-07T18:20:00.001+02:00

It Was a Great Week!

Lisa finally has a hot shower! (At least she does when she has power -GRIN) It is very exciting - she didn't have anything beyond a sink to wash in till a few months ago - and now they have put real electricity into her place so she has a hot shower, and both her tiny bathroom sink and the sink in her main room have hot water too! She also has lights in both her tiny bath room and her main room, as well as one by her front door. She only has 2 outlets to plug things into but with the lights on a separate circuit she can see and keep her fridge plugged in and run her hot plate - all at the same time - such decadence! GRIN

While she doesn't have actual heat - I gather no one does in her community, as the hot season changes to the cold season in Namibia at least she'll be able to do her hand laundry, wash her hands, and take showers with hot water. That will make things feel so much better and with luck cut back on all the winter colds she got last year!

As Lisa is quick to remind us while she still misses lots of stuff from home (computers, computers, computers, oh and TV, good mass transit, fresh fruits and vegetables, and us of course!) she is grateful for these improvements in her living standard! SMILE.

Still Doesn't Have A Chair

I guess she started out with one but the Hostel got more learners and they needed it back a long time ago - so she sits on her cot or on the floor. I can't imagine what it's like to miss chairs. Or sleep on a cot for 2 and a half years.

She's managing without access to an ATM, but still misses it. Ah well.

School

It was a pretty good week - the learners were all fairly good. She'll be half way through the term on Wednesday. And the learners are all using the school library more and more - could be that they're seeing all those new books she's added that we (and you dear friends and family) have sent her to build up said library!

She's actually "caught some learners reading" and that feels good - sort of like she's actually accomplishing something for real! Turning kids anywhere on to books is a great accomplishment!

Drama at the Hostel

Seems like there is some sort of chaos going on at the hostel next door. Her friend Erna who works there doesn't even understand what's going on but the net result is that 2 of the supervisors/teachers may be leaving Monday. Will let you know next week how that turned out!

Thinking about that reminded Lisa of Obama being "No Drama Obama" and she sure sees the positive side of lack of drama in general. "Drama belongs on stage" is her thought! She's pleased that Obama is still getting good ratings in the polls, and she hopes he can do the impossible and bring Democrats and Republicans together.

Odds and Ends

March 20th is a day off for the Namibian Independence Day, and for Easter she gets Good Friday and Holy Monday off. Not a lot of "vacation time" but a day off here and there helps you catch your breath while teaching.

She didn't get any mail this week but the hot shower made up for it (GRIN) maybe next week she'll get something - we have 2 packages and one white envelope in the pipeline so something should arrive eventually!

Have a Good March everyone - since ours is starting out so nice weather wise perhaps there will be a surprise or two by the end of the month! Who knows -The Shadow? - GRIN -

Till Next Week -

Susan Rothman

A Short Month

2009-02-28T21:14:00.001+02:00

February is a Short Month

But all in all it was a full one for Lisa. I spoke with her briefly yesterday and then again this morning. After the usual conversations about the political and economic state of our country, and an update on her reading - she finished book number 28 for the year on the 28th! - she mentioned a few things she could use currently for her learners - plain yellow (or plain wood tan for you environmental folks) pencils. The cute fancy decorated ones make great rewards - but for handing out on a daily basis to kids who have "lost, used up, forgotten, eaten them (I made that one up - at least I don't think they eat them)" the plain ones are best. First off she doesn't want to reward those who come unprepared and second the plain ones sharpen much much easier!

Surprises in School

At one point Lisa heard a commotion a ways from her room in school and many of her learners took off to investigate - she yelled at them to come back but didn't work too hard to round them up. It turns out that the other Science Teacher and one of her learners had gotten into a fight. A physical one. And the teacher may have started it - with provocation - but still - . She doesn't know all the ins and outs of the situation but said learner is what we'd call "a problem child" to put it mildly so everyone including the learners are leaning toward a favorable view of the teachers behavior. Of course even in Namibia teachers aren't supposed to sink to fighting the learners - so we'll see how it all turns out. The teacher was called to the office with the disruptive student and it's in the hands of the school board etc.

Next week she'll be observed teaching in all of her classes by various department heads, the Principal, etc. She'll have to be on her toes for the week (GRIN).

Drama Club is up and running and there is a lot of excitement among the learners. They want Lisa to write another play - this one about Teen Pregnancy - last year she did one on AIDS which was a great success! She isn't sure why they want her to do all the writing - but my guess is beyond her doing a good job last year - she actually does it! The classic view that the most important thing you can do on a job or task is show up and actually do what you've been asked to, has a lot of truth to it. She learned that well in HS and continued the behavior in college and she's as surprised now as she was then how just doing what you're supposed to impresses people.

Science Club is happening for real this year - one of her former learners Claudia (her Mom fixes the teachers occasional breakfasts) is Chair-person so Lisa feels confident that the club will accomplish a lot of what it sets out to do. Lisa just hopes that the Issue with the other Science teacher - who is Department head and teacher guide for the science club - doesn't foil their plans.

Home Life

Think about the cliche' of things going at a much slower pace say in the Southern US vs the busy Northeast, or DC areas - and slow that pace down - way down - and then you'll get close to African speed. After well over a year in her home the powers that be are finally looking into putting an independent electrical source in her place so she won't be dependent on the extension cable linking her to the Hostel next door. I never thought that was the safest approach but that was my inner mommy channeling. They came last Monday and said yes they were going to do it - when the weather allowed.

It's been rainy and the dirt roads between Aroab and anywhere are muddy, rutted, and on some days impassable (Thank you Universe for allowing Lisa to get into Keetmanshoop a week ago to shop, get cash, and Tango (the phone cards which have to be bought in order to use the cell phones in Namibia).

They haven't been back.

Now - this whole "get the place updated for you" song has been sung since November 2007 when she first visited her future teaching site. And when they gave her a cold water shower and a second sink and a ceiling months ago the electrical bit was promised to be done "soon". So Lisa hopes it happens before the Namibian winter. Or at least before she returns home to America next winter.

It is nice to have that ceiling - I don't think she's had bat issues since then, and that shower even if just cold water beats the year of bucket baths she took. The tile floor is easier on her feet etc. So she appreciates the improvements that were made - but she is hoping for the few more they have promised.

She doesn't have a light in her bathroom so she uses candlelight. In order to have the fridge running she used to have to unplug her light in order to use her hotplate or charge her phone. She found some plug adapter for the extension cord (her electrical umbilical cord to the Hostel) so now she can have 3 things plugged in at once but it would be lovely to have a separate light in her main room as well as one in her bathroom and two real outlets to plug things into. And we think camping is roughing it.

Books

As I noted earlier - she's read 28 books so far this year. She's working her way through the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, and she is so happy that she's almost through the Comedy's and about to hit the History's which she much prefers. Well she didn't get that preference from me - I'll take his Comedy's any day over the other plays - GRIN

I have to admit - I've sent her more adult books and literature volumes for her older learners. I haven't sent that many early readers and picture books for the little ones at the Hostel next door who come to visit her all the time to giggle and borrow books. So if any of you have books for younger readers you want to send her they will be most appreciated!

Ten or Eleven Months To Go

And already her friends in the community are calling dibs on her possessions! They know she won't be able to bring much home - the cost would be too insane! So many are already saying "I'll take that skirt" or "I'd like the large paper Christmas Tree" or "I could use any spices you have left over" etc. Lisa is a tiny bit put out over all this - after all she's still got most of a year to go and it almost sounds like they're ready to get rid of her. She knows that isn't the case but it still makes her shake her head.

I on the other hand couldn't stop laughing when she told me. It just struck me so funny that I howled with laughter and couldn't catch my breath. Lisa was not that amused by my reaction. But I still find the image of everyone dividing up her things with her right there so outrageous. It reminds me of the Scrooge watching them sell off his possessions in a Christmas Carol. Some things just strike one's funny bone. Lisa has nicely told them that she's still using these things but will be happy to share whatever she doesn't bring home with them.

Odds and Ends

It's funny but we almost always get cut off near the end of our conversations with Lisa each week. We thought it was just a fluke but when the international phone bill came this month (no don't ask how much it was - I'll only whimper- We do the best we can but most plans that sound cheap cost more to contact cell phones which is what we have to do. No land phones around for her!) we noticed that all our long calls ended at 1 hour 1 minute. So we're guessing it's a shut off with our 1010 international plan.

We we commenting on this to Lisa today when the phone cut out but it had only been about a half hour! then I realized that yesterday I had chatted with her for about a half hour - and I wondered if perhaps it was something more? Could it be that the Universe thinks an hour a week is enough? or just a coincidence that today's call cut out early. Lisa's Dad just looks at me when I ponder such things - but I do wonder. . .

Till next Week - Enjoy your last hours of February then Enjoy the start of March!

Susan Rothman

Back From Keets

2009-02-21T18:29:00.001+02:00

Pay Day

Spoke with Lisa this morning, yesterday - it was pay day when they get out of school early (after just an hour - she still can't figure out why they go in at all - oh well) in order to trek into Keetmanshoop (90 miles away for new readers) to get cash and do major shopping. With the local ATM shut down for the foreseeable future the once a month trip will be Lisa's only path to money etc. It is different for her, having to plan things out for a month at a time. But she's managing.

Lisa sounded happy, her day went well and she returned with her backpack filled with lots of cash, food (cheese, salami, rolls, fruit juice, canned fruit etc.) , and tango (the phone calling cards that allow her to use her cell phone). She managed to see David a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, catch up on his life, (I gather he's going through a stretch where he feels like he's accomplishing a lot! Go David!) and read some current magazines before her trek home.

In addition to healthy food and snacks she got a small dictionary (I didn't realize she didn't have one - sigh-) and an outlet adaptor so she could run more than 2 things at a time in her place - so now she can keep the fridge running and run both her hotplate and her cell phone charger or a light. WOW! GRIN I will never get used to the fact that her only source for electricity is an extension cord from the Hostel next door. Ahh well. A very productive day - and a non-teaching one to boot! (GRIN)

Today

She got a lot of school work done, and she read a bit of a Peace Corps library book - a mystery set in Washington DC which made her reminisce over her college years there. It's fun for her, reading a novel set in what she considers home turf.

It's cool (sort of) with that damp feel that rain will soon be coming. It's been rainy on and off - everything is green with lots of yellow flowers. Very pretty! But with all this rain I gather her gardening projects haven't been going well - there are no shovels to be found -from what she's seen people either use large scale (well bigger than she could use comfortably) farming equipment or do things by hand - literarily by hand. And while her turf is sandy it also holds a surprising amount of rocks and stones. So she's still working on it.

School

School is going OK - she's 1/3 of the way through the first term. Unfortunately her 10th grade class did very badly on their first Life Science test - in Lisa's words they did "abysmally". she had these learners last year and they did quite well - the problem is that she has to prepare them to answer the kind of questions they'll find on the major state wide exams at the end of the year and they are not transferring their knowledge to the new exam format very well. Lisa hopes she can help them in this by the October exams. Since the exams are brand new - the other Teachers are having as much trouble as she is in this endeavor.

Some of her classes are huge! She teaches English and Life Science to 42 (yes forty two) 9th grade learners without enough desks for them all. The reality is that even though everyone in the school recognizes that this is a very large group - there is no way they can afford to split the group into 2 classes of 21 - by local standards that's way too small to run. Her smallest class is 10th grade Entrepreneurship which has around 26 or 27 - but they will be adding more soon she thinks. It would be lovely if all her classes could at least be under 35!

Lisa recalls the year her Grandmother had an exceptionally rare group of only 8 to teach. Sounds like heaven to her. There is a private school in her town that has much smaller classes - it's called the White School by the locals - she's not sure if that's due to formal segregation of learners or just due to the fact that only whites can afford to attend. But the net result is that they have very small classes and Lisa is envious - she wishes that school could take just a few of her school's learners!

Secondary Projects

Lisa will be involved in this years Science Fair, and the head of the science department is trying to organize a Science Club which he hopes will in addition to broadening the science fair will serve as a major fundraising group. The goal being to collect enough money to arrange a trip around Namibia to see science oriented spots. Lisa would love for that to work out - she'd love to tour Namibia to see the sights as it were - but based on how things work even if a good deal of money gets raised her guess is that the trip won't occur till next year or later after she's left. Sigh. But she's going to work very hard to try and make it happen!

Right now her challenge is to get the teachers to tell her when the meetings about it are running. They always forget - or discuss it in the teacher room in Afrikaans forgetting that even if Lisa is in the room she's not hearing (ie understanding) the details of when the meetings will occur. So now she's asking some of her learners to tell her when other teachers have mentioned that a meeting will occur. In this regard the learners seem to be more dependable than the teachers GRIN.

The 10th grade LRC's - sort of the equivalent of Student Council Members -want this to work so maybe it will! GRIN

The learners want her to start up the Drama Club again - I guess they really enjoyed it last year. She'll probably start with some short one act plays - and she'll see if they get excited enough to handle the work involved in putting the kids version of The Wizard Of Oz that her Grandmother sent her last year.

Final Thoughts

We ended our conversation with Obama talk, and her rambles over what life after Peace Corps might involve. Even with all the good things President Obama is achieving it will still be a tough economic world to return to. We'll just have to see. The Mommy in me is happy - Lisa has food, cash and phone cards! All is well in her world! Smile.

Susan Rothman

Happy Valentine's Day Part Two

2009-02-14T21:39:00.001+02:00

Well I'm Gad I Posted That Last Blog

I did have a bit of trouble doing it though - there was a little box that popped up with "Server Error" in red - I was not amused and my wail reached up from the basement to the bedroom upstairs where Lisa's Dad was trying to nap away a cold. He came downstairs to make sure I was still alive and in one piece. I was afraid to click on anything after last week - but he just told me to do it and it worked. OK - now I'm less stressed so on with the blog.

Cold Transmission Via The Phone

Seems like Lisa has been fighting a cold all week and she laughingly blamed it on our call last week - she swears she "caught it from us over the phone" Hope hers is shorter lasting than ours since both Lisa's Dad and I still don't feel up to par. We wake OK but run out of steam far too early in the day.

Books Glorious Books

But Lisa forgave us since she received a rather well packed box we sent her with a few Valentine's Day theme items, some treats, some healthy food (since we didn't know how her cash flow would be working for a while) and more books - We're thinning our bookshelves (and they do need thinning - think spring and a whole packet of carrot seed in a square foot plot - that kind of thinning) and when we find sale books we pick them up all the time.

The books she'll leave in Africa in either her school's library, the hostel next door's library, the community library or the Peace Corps Library in Windhoek if the books don't seem to fit into the other locations. Sometimes I feel like we're trying to provide reading material for the whole country (GRIN). But Lisa really only has reading as a recreational activity so she appreciates every book - from children's books to Shakespeare. She just finished her 23rd book of the year this morning (Dealbreaker). She knows it's an addiction but without a computer, TV or any place with plays, concerts, or movies to see, it's the only addiction in town. GRIN. She's aware there are others but she won't consider them - Double-GRIN -

History and Politics

We talked about Lincoln's 200th Birthday and how you can't flip through the cable channels without seeing Ford's Theatre round the clock. It reminds us of how Lisa was an Usher there when she was in DC and how we saw 2 plays there - plays that she treated us her dear parents to. We miss visiting her in DC - and to think we thought she was far away then! Little did we expect she'd be in Namibia for 2 plus years.

She also talked about the stimulus plan getting voted for and her hope that it will help. She's sort of surprised how carefully those in her community are still paying attention to US politics. We tend to forget how what we do here in the US effects the rest of the world. She did think it was odd timing that Congress seemed to be taking a Valentine's Day break - though she hoped that the spirit of love would help keep things cooperative in DC.

Cats and Kittenhood

To leave on a warm note - our cat will be turning 15 this summer - and since he's had a heart condition for over 13 of those years his just being here is pretty amazing. But lately, while jumping is still hard for him - and a long snooze curled up by the radiator is his favorite way to spend the day - he has gotten a bit more energy late in the evening. He seems to feel spring is in the air (50 degree temps this weeks fooled all of into believing we were skipping right to April avoiding March with its iffy weather totally) and is desperate to be carried out to sniff the air after dinner (and most other times too -GRIN) Actually it's our idea that he remain an indoor cat - He reminds us of when he was a kitten - it seems like a sort of a second Kittenhood for him. He makes us smile - and that's always a good thing.

Till next week - Enjoy your week and remember to smile at your bank teller - and be nice to your ATM - GRIN -

Susan Rothman

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T20:53:00.001+02:00

It's Been A Long Week

First the fun stuff -when we spoke to Lisa this morning she told us that yesterday there was a Valentine's Day Assembly and a Valentine's Day Dance and tonight is a Valentine's Dinner for the adults. Since she was supposed to bring someone - friend or "other" - and didn't really have anyone to ask (she didn't wish to randomly ask someone from the town she hardly knew) she's decided to "bring" her Teddy Bear.

Back in college she brought said Teddy Bear to a mock wedding where in support of Gay and Lesbian rights the college kids "married" anyone of their choosing (I think in some cases whole dorm floors "married" each other)- I gather her Teddy Bear was a big hit then - worth a lot of laughs - so it will be interesting to see how her choice of dining partner is taken by the folks in her community. Since they seem to have great senses of humor it will probably garner her a good laugh or two. You can't accuse Lisa of worrying too much about what other people think of her - she follows her heart and lets the world take her at face value!

Now for the less happy news.

The Loss Of The ATM

The official word is that Aroab will no longer have an ATM. The Store Owner has decided that it isn't worth the trouble and has decided not to keep it going in his store. I explained in detail the story in the blog that the computer ate last week (sigh) The short story is that the Store Owner had some problems keeping the ATM filled and someone who was pissed called a National Radio Station and complained (she had done this before) and the Store Owner said "Nuts to this hassle" (my terms not his -GRIN-)and now the ATM is but a memory.

Lisa wants all of us in America to be grateful that we (she assumes all of us) live less than 2 hours (each way) away from our nearest ATM, bank, or store that accepts plastic. She now will have to go to Keetmanshoop to shop for her major food shopping and to take out cash up to the ATM max. She'll also have to get her phone cards there so she'll be able to check her e-mail and get our weekly phone calls.

A trip to Keetmanshoop costs $140 Namibian -($14 US) and the only regular time she can try to beg a ride is on the 3rd Friday of the month which is payday for everyone - not just the teachers. While she can't charge anything in Aroab she can in Keetmanshoop - so she'll do heavy duty grocery shopping on these trips. What she charges doesn't count toward her ATM withdrawal. - I guess because she has to sign for it so the Namibian bank feels like it's a safer way to spend money. The daily maximum that can be taken out of the ATM is $1,000 Namibian ($100 US) She'll need to live on that for the month - or at least till she can get back to Keetmanshoop.

The trip to Keetmanshoop will cast over 5 percent of what she receives from Peace Corps as her monthly stipend. A high cost to get one's pay or even a few extra bucks from the ATM. No wonder she didn't want to make the trip that often.

Juggling Real Life

I guess many Peace Corps Volunteers live in towns or villages without ATMs and have to travel to their "shopping town" to get cash or more than the basics for groceries etc. Lisa just hates to lose the few perks she's grown used to. But she will manage to juggle everything - it will just take more careful planning since a trip to the ATM for cash is now over 2 hours each way - four plus hours in total.

Ahh well. Peace Corps Volunteers are paid every 3 months - with their pay being deposited in a bank account that they can access through ATMs etc. They receive about $6,000 Namibian ($600 US) for the 3 months. Lisa hasn't been spending the whole amount of her pay over each 3 month period - though her vacation in Livingstone did make a hefty dent in her reserves which was worth every penny! (GRIN) So the amount of cash she'll have to last a month should be fine - it's just that she'll have to hide it well in her home and keep careful track of what she has left so she can get that ride to Keetmanshoop when she needs to go.

We do take our banks and banking system for granted here.

All this discussion of money doesn't take into consideration that her town is providing her room, electricity and water at no charge to her, and each month that she serves in Peace Corps a stipend is put away for her which she receives when she returns at the end. And sorting out which bits are pay, which are traveling expenses, which are time off etc is crazy - her Dad gets to handle her taxes - amazing how complicated they are when she's earning almost nothing (GRIN).

And all this talk of money is put in perspective when you realize that from what Lisa understands the seniors at least in her community receive a pension of $400 Namibian a month to live on - yes that's $40 US - Less than a quarter what Peace Corps Volunteers receive and with a whole lot more expenses. But it's so much better than nothing - I have no idea how old you must be to get this but just thinking about it is sobering.

I am going to post this now then continue with another post - I don't want to lose it all like last week (SMILE)

Susan Rothman

February Tale

2009-02-08T21:58:00.001+02:00

Not My Lucky Day

Spoke with Lisa Saturday for over an hour and then wrote a very long meaty blog which I thought was excellent if I may say so myself, but somehow after all my hard work the system crashed - which Lisa's Dad says was most unusual since it didn't save any of my blog - even though I had clicked "Save Draft" several times along the way.

I was not a happy camper.

It took till today for me to face the computer without doing very unkind things to it which would have compromised it's usability permanently. I had to find printable terms to describe my outrage and frustration. It was such a good blog (sigh), and I was too mad to replicate it.

Lisa's News

Well the point of this blog is to keep you up to date on Lisa which I will do briefly since I'm still pissed at this computer. She now has access to her ATM and money again. She spent from 7am to 3pm Saturday at a School Sports Festival where her team - the Greens won. And she's happy with how President Obama is handling things even though she wishes Congress would make things easier not harder for him. She feels he was prepared for this though.

I'm going to publish this brief blog before it decides to crash again - some of you may prefer the condensed version this week - if I forgive the electronic gods I may try for a longer version later this week. Till then - enjoy your February.

Susan Rothman

The Real Story - I Think

2009-01-31T20:52:00.001+02:00

New Info

I knew I should have checked my e-mail before creating that last blog - (GRIN) Lisa just sent a 1 line e-mail saying she should be able to get cash from the ATM later this week - I guess the ATM had just run out of money and hadn't been refilled and it was a real pain for people (like Lisa) and some people called a National Radio station to complain that this has happened before. Lisa said she'd e-mail more later. I'm not going to try and spin this because who knows - there may yet be another chapter to this story! (GRIN GRIN)

Bye

Susan Rothman

Tales of an ATM

2009-01-31T20:43:00.001+02:00

Lisa Would like all your good thoughts and prayers that a resolution to her town's ATM soap opera occurs soon.

The story as she understands it - told through several people and translated into English for her (a la rumor, the veracity of the details set forth here may be far off the mark - but it is the situation as she understands it - ) :

Part One - Her town has one ATM - (and no other form of Bank) - it had been empty for over a week and a half (since the start of the new year)- people complained - then they called the Bank complaining about the situation. They were told that the Bank sends the money to the store owner on whose property the ATM resides and it's up to the store owner to fill and maintain the ATM.

Part Two - The store owner heard that they had called the bank and he was unhappy that they had "tattled" (Lisa's term -GRIN-) so he told everyone that the ATM would stay unplugged for a month to punish the town! So there local tattle tales! The people in town are shaking their heads at his "Hissy Fit" (Lisa's term - GRIN -)

Part Three - Now for people who depend on the ATM for cash (like Lisa) the well is dry. She's out of money (she made her cash last since coming back from Peace Corps training which wasn't bad all in all)- no one in her community accepts credit cards of any kind. And the nearest alternative ATM or Bank is in Keetmanshoop - 90 miles away. All you regular blog readers know how hard it is to get a ride to Keetmanshoop - read past blogs for more info on that little soap opera!

Now the fall out - Part One - Peace Corps had just given them new vitamins and we had sent her some Calcium tablets and Tang so that should provide a little nutritional coverage and since many of you kind souls have included small edibles along with school supplies Lisa has a large enough supply of food to hold her for a few weeks. Not much variety - she'll have lots of soup which when it's so hot makes you long for a bit of cool cheese or yogurt but she figures she'll manage.

Fall Out Part Two - She'll fight hard to get a slot in a car that goes to Keetmanshoop on the next pay day (February 20th) or she'll have to find someone she trusts to give her bank card and PIN to - (I know - I know - she doesn't want to give her PIN to anybody but she may run out of options - she's trying to come up with a better alternative) in order to get cash. Very few have cars to begin with and so there are few slots for passengers! And I'm not sure that everyone has the same concerns about giving out PINs etc as we do.

Fall Out Part Three - Lisa hopes something resolves itself soon - the Hostel next door is almost out of food - none of the adults are getting any till their next delivery, and anyone who uses the bank and doesn't work on a cash only basis is running into trouble. They all seem more pissed than panicky though. The Mommy side of me is more concerned than Lisa is - she figures if things don't resolve in a pinch she can get some assistance from her Principal or as a last resort from Peace Corps - she just wants to ride things out and she's confident everything will work out fine. Me - I feel as frustrated over my inability to step in and help as I was when she was little and was getting teased at the bus stop in the mornings. She's all grown up coping with life- but I'm still a mommy (GRIN).

Lisa is still getting breakfast from Claudia's Mother - and she now can see how getting a reduced cost or free school lunch can make a big difference in a person's day. Ah, nothing like a little first hand experience to provide empathy! She also sees how growing your own food can come in handy!

Lisa just wants you all to keep her, and "the grumpy man", in your thoughts - sending wishes that he finds whatever he needs to, to bring peace to his life and cash to his ATM.

Since the way the cell phone company works in Namibia Lisa will have a limited amount of cell phone time until the ATM spits out cash again. I gather you have to buy a card with cash that gives you cell phone time - there is no "fill up" from a credit card or bank source. Thank goodness there is no charge for receiving calls in Namibia - just making them, and texting within country is free after 7pm - so we can keep in touch with her even if she can't check her e-mail or make calls herself. I'm not sure what happens if she totally runs out of money on her phone card - I hope they don't simply shut it off. Ah well - End of ATM rant.

School Is Up and Running

The week went well in school - she now has 42 desks and chairs (enough for her largest class of 9th graders)- all of which have seats, backs, and are nailed together. So everyone has a desk and chair and they aren't spending a lot of time fighting, playing "musical chairs" with everyone complaining that they don't want a broken one!. Based on what Lisa said about many of the kids not staying in their seats at all last year we'll see if it was because they were broken or because the learners enjoyed disrupting class. I gather they have been spending a lot of time repairing all the school's furniture over the Christmas break.

Of course there isn't an extra chair when people come to observe her teaching - she said either the visitor will have to sit in her seat or with luck at least 1 learner will be absent and the observer will be able to sit in their chair. Of course if she gets any more learners she'll be back at square one. So we'll see how it goes.

Her new classroom has a cantankerous lock - I gather last year's was cranky but Lisa learned the magic secret to make it work (something about locking it from the inside then wiggling it closed from the outside or some such ritual)- this year's lock takes from 2 to 10 learners helping her and she thinks it isn't buying her attempts to pacify the god of locks. The school is telling her that when all the furniture is repaired someone will check out her lock and fix it. She hopes so.

There has been progress - on the first day the ninth graders were horrid - and Lisa feared for her sanity - but after being thoroughly yelled at they settled down. But she's learning herself how to handle things - that first day she told her first class to come up one at a time and get their textbooks. She discovered that they thought one at a time meant crowd in all at once like a plague of locusts making a ruckus. So her next step was to have them all count in English then come up in numerical order to get their materials. Much better. GRIN

New Year, New Syllabus, New Learners

Lisa was amused that her "new course" 7th grade Natural Science and Health had changes in the curriculum that now have the teachers combine units 1 and 9 - I was less surprised by such reorganization GRIN. She also discovered that she has one or the Principals daughters in her 9th grade class. She sort of feels a bit funny about that - though the girl is very nice I gather. Lisa thinks it must be odd to have President Obama's daughters in class too - I told her it's something teachers in high profile schools get used too. But I see her point.

Lisa was less than thrilled to discover that part of this 7th grade course is teaching sex ed - teaching about AIDS she's used to -but ah the joys of trying to teach sexual mores to 7th graders. I told her if there was one thing she could convey to these kids it's how important respect is - respect for themselves, for their partners, and for society in general. I think she's more concerned that they'll ask questions she has never even thought of herself! It will be a learning experience for them all. Oh - by getting this class she had to give up Art - oh well, she was kind of looking forward to that - she thought it would be fun. I mean face it dear readers - which would you rather teach a large class of 7th graders - art or sex ed? And if it isn't Art I don't need to know that (SMILE)

Sports Day

Next Friday is Sports Day - it used to be held before school but this year the powers that be are trying something new. So after a full day of school, lunch, a staff meeting, then a short break, everyone has to come back to school for Sports. She'll see how that goes - and how many learners come back for it.

To Discuss or Not To Discuss, That Is The Question

On one hand the entire ATM soap opera would make an interesting example of business practices for her Entrepreneurship class - discussing if the store owners behavior will have positive or negative effects on his business etc. On the other hand she doesn't want to base a class discussion on rumor and innuendo and let it "get out" that she's "on one side or another" Not having all the correct data or knowing how the fabric of the town is woven makes her wary to bring the topic up. Not a good idea to muddy the waters or blow things up bigger. She wants that ATM working again.

Odds and Ends

Believe it or not after discussing all the above we still had time to chat about Lisa's Dad's novel, a local play we're going to se tonight, and how to celebrate Schenectady's Bicentennial they're having a "Restaurant Week" with Prix Fixe menus of $20.09. We went out to one place and had a lovely 3 course meal. But doing this too often is too rich for our blood (not counting what our Doctor would say about the portions and nutrition -GRIN-).

That's all for now - will keep you up to date as Lisa's adventures continue!

Susan Rothman

Anticipation

2009-01-24T20:04:00.001+02:00

It's Been a Slow Week

Lisa's school is still waiting for 2 teachers who are supposed to join them but who haven't shown up yet. I believe the school has determined that regular classes will start Monday with or without them. Lisa hopes they arrive since there is a good chance that she'll end up with more classes to teach if they don't (Sigh).

But we finally discovered just how quiet things have been for Lisa. This morning when we called Lisa explained how the learners have been sitting in their "homerooms" all week and since Lisa doesn't have a "homeroom" (I forgot the Namibian term) after supervising the kids at their early morning sports/gym time for a while, she's been alone in her new classroom. So she still has no idea exactly who she'll be teaching and how her classes will work together - but she hopes they are better behaved than last years crop! I think after getting a years teaching under her belt her classes will be easier to work with no matter what. There is something to say for experience no matter how limited. If nothing else you have a better perspective on things.

She's been able to do some planning but since the ATM isn't working in Aroab (yes they only have one) she can't buy any materials or more copy paper to make copies of classroom materials that she does have on hand etc. So she's a bit antsy waiting for things to start up. The Mom in me worries that she'll run out of food before they fix the ATM and she can buy more since the only alternative is to try and get to Keetmanshoop to use the bank there. Readers of this blog know how nearly impossible that is most weeks. Plastic doesn't work at all in Aroab - a strange notion to most Americans addicted to their wallets full of little multicolored rectangles. -GRIN -

But Lisa assures me that she has enough food to cobble meals together for a while and that in a pinch she could arrange for an invite to someone's home for a meal or Erna could manage to get her an egg or 2 from the Hostel. I keep reminding myself what a capable young woman she is and that she can work things out. But I'm a Mom so what can I say - I worry. I think that was part of the Mommy job description though both Hubby and Lisa say that isn't true. (GRIN)

Cell Phone Internet

Fortunately Lisa's 24 year old eyes are better than my 54 year old ones - so she's able to read a fair amount off her tiny cell phone screen when she can connect to the Internet - it's keeps her up to date on world events like President Obama coming up with a way to keep a version of his Blackberry, which delighted Lisa - just thinking about him winning a compromise in that particular battle between national security and communication brought laughter to her voice! She sort of felt Obama's Blackberry was a cross between a Teddy Bear and Dr Who (a British TV character Lisa particularly likes) for him. And she understands Teddy Bears since she took hers to Africa with her and it has been a great comfort at times! She does say it sounds like this new Blackberry is a bit James Bond like - a rather interesting thought!

Keeping up with the soap opera that is Illinois politics, and NYS working out it's replacement for Hillary does make her shake her head a little. She does think it's cool that an upstate New Yorker will be heading to the Senate - and the fact that she's a woman, and a local one at that, is cool also! As for the rest of the political nit picking she feels (and I agree) it was more fun to watch the previous administration get nit picked than it is to see the present one be chewed over so unkindly. But as we reminded her - That's Politics!

Too Much Time On Her Hands

Since school is still in limbo she's had a lot of time to worry about the economy, the job market, and in general what her options will be like when she returns to life after Peace Corps. I gather at the Peace Corps Training/Reconnect at the beginning of the month - several volunteers who are in contact with recently returned volunteers indicate that the "gold ticket" that Peace Corps returnees used to have making it easier to move into government jobs is sort of fading away. A lot of the positions that used to be available don't exist anymore and as the economy and market tighten more and more people who would qualify for such positioning or consideration are trying to grab the smaller and smaller number of spots open. So while Lisa still plans to apply for anything she can when she returns she's being warned by those who have an updated perspective, that the pool of opportunities is shrinking.

Well she'll apply to grad school too - those programs should be easier to get into with her honors degree in Biology and her Peace Corps experience - all they'll ask for is money! And those pesky GREs that she'll have to take - oh bother (GRIN) At least she didn't exit her undergrad education with any loans - and her savings, and Peace Corps stipend which she will receive when she comes home, should help make a start on a Masters Degree in something. (what exactly she isn't sure - but I think she want's to really look at the possibilities before she commits herself to one program or another)

I hope she starts teaching soon - all this worry about what will happen a year from now can make her crazy if she's not careful - and as a professional worrier - believe me I know! (Double Grin) Besides worry can be catching - and I can come up with plenty without adding hers to my plate! (GRIN-GRIN-GRIN)

Odds and Ends

In a week or so when she has a better idea what art materials will be most useful I'll update her wish list (on the right side of the blog screen) - till then what she can use no matter what is colored copy paper - bright colors which are impossible to find in all of Namibia - yellow, pink, blue, etc. really add punch to class work and can be used as a base for art projects and origami etc. Special Origami paper or leftover sheets of wrapping paper you may have kicking around also would add a colorful note to her classroom.

Markers, colored pencils, crayons, chalk, yarn, pompoms, buttons and beads etc are always useful too! Pipe cleaners, toothpicks - the multicolored kind are great, and stickers of all kinds work well on many fronts. - If you want to send a very useful treat - those packages of different colored stars would be fantastic - since in addition to grading papers, and using them in craft projects Lisa uses them to color code the books in her class and Hostel libraries - so the kids know what reading level the book is at! If you need to pad a small box or envelope - small cotton balls, Q-tips, etc will serve the purpose and provide more art materials at the same time!

For when that ATM is on the fritz (and any time actually) - minute rice (white and brown), instant soup mixes, gravy mixes, low salt bullion cubes, granola bars, small individual packages of dried fruit, nuts, etc are always good. small cans or pouches of tuna, chicken, deviled ham etc add variety to meals also.

In general since things to buy in any category are so limited - anything you send for school or pantry will be greatly greatly appreciated. Lisa is truly learning how to make creative use of Anything she receives! And in a world of limited surprises anything unusual or interesting she receives in an envelope, letter or box takes on great significance (what's just a small newspaper clipping to you is a connection to the rest of the world to her!)- reminding her that she's not alone in the universe -that people remember her and are pulling for her. That is the nicest thing of all! Thank you for thinking of her - and caring!

Till Next Week -

Susan Rothman

School Has Started - Sort Of

2009-01-21T20:14:00.001+02:00

Lisa's on Cloud Nine

We spoke with Lisa this morning - as we were getting up and she was home from school for her lunch break. She was able to visit the Hostel next door to watch some of the Inauguration last night on MSNBC via Botswana TV - the image kept breaking up - but she heard most of his speech and was very impressed. Everyone watching with her was delighted to see Obama take the oath of office - it was a very proud moment for our country! Africa celebrated with us!

It was a most auspicious day for Lisa - she was reading a book about Obama and she finished it yesterday - the 14th book she's finished since January 1st - as she said "not quite 44 for his Presidency but it looks close enough when listed in my Journal!". When there isn't much else to do a lot of reading gets done! Every time she's in Windhoek she both borrows more books from the Peace Corps library (returning the previous batch that she had borrowed) and she buys as many as she can from local bookstores.

She's sure boosting their book sales! Those bookstores will sure miss her next year when she comes home! GRIN GRIN All the books she either buys or we (and you faithful blog readers) have sent her will enrich the School, Hostel, and Community Libraries when she's done with them. Aroab is striving mightily to increase it's literacy on all fronts for both the learners and the adults in town and Lisa will be much more influential in that development that she realizes!

School

Her school is still waiting for 2 teachers to show up - so missing all last week due to her Peace Corps Training and trip back to Aroab doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. They still are running the equivalent of study halls till they know for sure if the teachers are coming or not.

Lisa explained that as to her classes there was good news and not so great news. The good news was that she would have 24 weekly classes vs the 36 a week she had last year (each class meets 4 times a week - with some variation with double periods and other exceptions to the rule) so she went from 9 courses to 6 - assuming the teachers they expect arrive - otherwise she'll be given another class or 2 most likely.

This reduction brings her more in line with what she's supposed to be teaching via Peace Corps guidelines. It also will give her more time to work on the secondary projects she's supposed to expand on during her second year as a Peace Corps Volunteer. (The school Library, Community Literacy etc.)

Her schedule right now is teaching 7th grade Arts - she has 2 groups; 9th and 10th grade Life Science - she gets to move up with her 9th grade learners from last year which made her very happy though now she'll have a group to prepare for the National Exams!; 9th grade English; and 8th grade Entrepreneurship - which is a reasonably new course that's being taught.

Teaching Arts sounds interesting but she's not sure if there are any materials for it she doesn't think they even have scissors and doing something with 60 plus learners requires a lot of anything! - So in addition to regular school supplies any art supplies readers of this blog may be moved to send her will be greatly appreciated. Since the Arts curriculum is rather fluid (maybe nonexistent) she's at a point that "If you send it she will create a project to use it" colored paper, origami paper, markers, colored pencils, scissors, chalk, graph paper, stickers, etc - anything you have kicking around or that you think of would be useful and would make her life a bit easier!

Also any books or idea/project sheets you may have using few or found materials that would work with 7th graders would be helpful Most of my art experience was with preschoolers - not sure if those projects will go over well (GRIN)

The downside is that she has a different smaller room without a TV or sink - she'll miss both - the TV for distracting and rewarding her learners and the sink was quite useful for Life Science. She'll have to find another faucet to get water for her garden! Ahh well. As compensation this room has more desks so with luck the learners won't have to share and they won't have the room to run around as much - and she's closer to where the bell rings so she'll hear it ring much better.

Thank You's

To Grayce Burian, Ann Bogdan, and Mom and Dad (aw shucks - GRIN-) for cards and letters she received when she got back to Aroab. She does appreciate all your good wishes!

As always - have a good week one and all - I'll Blog again this weekend!

Susan Rothman

Back in Aroab

2009-01-17T17:13:00.001+02:00

Spoke with Lisa this Morning

She got back in Aroab last night - she managed to get a ride back finally with an Aroab Police Officer who was in Keetmanshoop. It's an odd feeling for her that much of her travel between Aroab and Keetmanshoop is via Police Officers or Government Officials. Not many others travel back and forth from Aroab to anywhere. So she'll finally be able to start teaching Monday after missing the whole first week of school between Peace Corps Training and trying to travel back. Oh well.

She texted her Principal that she was back at last and if she read his text back to her correctly it looks like she may be teaching a few fewer sessions per week. Which would be good since in their second year the Peace Corps Volunteers are supposed to be working more on their secondary projects. Lisa hopes to work on a mentoring program between 10th graders and 8th graders who need a lot of help since they already are repeating the year. And she wants to work on the school library, a garden, and other programs.

She still doesn't know exactly what classes she'll be teaching - she'll discover that Monday. And as to the number of class sessions she'll be teaching - she'll be thrilled if she has fewer than the 36 periods a week she taught last year!

Training

Her Peace Corps mid-service training went well. She enjoyed seeing her fellow volunteers and swapping stories about their adventures so far. It felt odd to realize that the next time they're likely to see each other will be at their End Of Service Meeting (which is actually held 3 months before they all leave) That time will come sooner than they expect!

Among the odds and ends of conversation she heard that only 7 volunteers have left so far from her group - I gather by mid-service 15 of the previous years volunteers had left - so all in all it's a good track record for them.

Everyone who went away for the Christmas break returned, and it looks like all of the Volunteers plan on returning home at end of service. None of the volunteers have decided to apply to stay for an extra year so far. Lisa says she believes that if you stay for a third year PC places you somewhere else - you don't get to stay in your current site. I think more might try to stay if they could remain in their current location. But that's just a guess on my part.

The Volunteer who "took off" without telling Peace Corps where he would be - staying away for over 6 weeks etc was removed from PC service and though they took away his PC Passport and gave him a plane ticket home (which according to people who knew him he tore up) he's still in Namibia. I guess he's living with a family there and doing a lot of traveling - not sure how he's managing without the needed Visas etc but he is. I gather he got back into Namibia without his Passport by pointing to the wall where his picture was hanging as a "wanted" individual. Peace Corps worked very hard to locate him - they were genuinely worried about him! A rather confusing situation - the Peace Corps Volunteers don't understand exactly what's going on.

Odds and Ends

We chatted about the soon to be Obama White House, the plane that went down in the Hudson, and the weather. Mostly Lisa sounded happy and in pretty good spirits she joked that she wished every week of teaching would go as smoothly as this week when she wasn't there (GRIN)

We're Off to Visit Family on Long Island

I'm ending this quickly since we're heading out the door to Long Island for a very belated Hanukkah/Christmas/New Years - and it's COLD!!! Well below zero here! I wish we could swap 30 or so degrees with Namibia - they could stand a breath of cool air and getting up to near freezing would be nice for us! (GRIN) We'll try to call Lisa this week and chat about her new school year and the Obama Inauguration etc - will update this blog then - Bye

Susan Rothman

A Peppermint Mood

2009-01-13T01:15:00.001+02:00

We talked to Lisa Saturday

Since I was battling the flu I didn't get a chance to update this blog till today. I'm a little better - Lisa seems to be doing very nicely - considering. This is her training time where they meet in Windhoek and then go to wherever Peace Corps has arranged training to do whatever Peace Corps has planned for them. Lisa has no idea what's going to be included - as she put it "I'll let you know when it's over" OK Fair enough.

She got a ride to Keetmanshoop January 7th - and before taking the overnight train to Windhoek - was able to spend a lot of time in their library on a real honest to goodness computer connected to the Internet - and thus she started to get caught up on the world. When a computer beckons she rushes to her favorite web sites - BBC, MSNBC, her British TV favorite on Dr. Who, and she devours all the current Obama, Economics, Politics, (with that hint of TV normalcy). And after breathing a huge sigh of relief that it wasn't all a dream and that Obama is still President-Elect, and giving a different kind of sigh that the world's economy is still spinning out of control, she tackles her e-mail. And checks what she can before the library closes down for the evening! (GRIN)

She wants to thank everyone who keeps in touch with her, or includes her on her old favorite mailing lists, and she apologizes that she doesn't e-mail you all back for your thoughtfulness - so I'm thanking you here for her. She does appreciate everyone's efforts to keep in touch and keep her in their thoughts.

Windhoek

When she arrived in Windhoek Thursday, there was a mix-up with her rooms so as it turns out she spent her 3 nights there in 3 different rooms. She had made reservations for Friday and Saturday night but had not been able to arrange for Thursday night so she knew she'd have to sort that out when she arrived - which she did. But she hadn't expected a problem with her reserved room - somehow her reservation had gotten lost and rather than turn her away (since she had stayed at this hotel before) the owner managed to arrange for her to spend 1 night in a double that currently had one person staying there and the 2nd night in a spare room of her own home. Lisa laughed and said "she didn't want to send me to a competitor!" Lisa feels like a regular there I guess.

Peace Corps only arranges for (and pays for) the hotel stays during the training period itself - all the cost of getting to Windhoek and staying there before or after falls on the Volunteers shoulders. Every time I hear about another cost the volunteers have to cover out of their tiny stipends I remind myself that at least Peace Corps covers the cost of flying them to and from site and they pay them during their training - I gather from what I've read on line that organizations like World Teach charge their Volunteers for such expenses. Enough Mommy speak.

With accommodations taken care of she hung around Windhoek - taking in a movie (I forgot which - and I didn't write it down - the flu does that to you folks!) and she picked up lots of books, teaching materials, and stickers for her learners. She picked up some Roald Dahl books she thought her learners would enjoy. She plans on creating units on Dahl (they loved Fantastic Mr Fox last year) and on Obama no matter what courses or levels she's teaching. It's a bit disconcerting to still not know what you'll be teaching at this point but that's life!

But she complained that places like Windhoek get real old real quick since after seeing the movies in town, eating out and walking in a different place all there was to do was shop and spend money. Still not her favorite activities. She liked spending money on her boat rides and Safaris in Livingstone and on her vacation in general, but just hanging out in a mall type environment does nothing for her. In addition to her lack of enthusiasm for shopping in general she feels a great sense of "keeping down with the Joneses" while in Africa. It just doesn't feel right to her to buy a lot of stuff those in her community don't have access to.

A Peppermint Mood

She would like to thank her Aunt Laurie for one bit of her Christmas gift in particular - the Peppermint soap. Lisa explained how peppermint bridged Christmas at home and in Namibia perfectly - it reminds her of candy canes and the colors and smells of Christmas from winter home and it ties into lots of hot and iced mint tea that works so nicely in the heat and dryness of her African home. So the scent of the soap was perfect! She loved everything else she received too - but I think it's important to share whatever really "clicks" since in the long run it's the tiny memories, which truly sparkle, that last the longest in our minds.

Odds and Ends

Lisa has determined from her Internet viewing that Obama seems to be a calming influence on the world stage so far - he seems thoughtful, and prone to really listen to people - not just give the idea of listening "lip service". So far the world wide News Blogs seem to like him and considering he hasn't been sworn in yet it's nice that he's still instilling a good feeling world wide.

She really wishes she was still in DC now that the Inauguration is almost upon us - though she knows it will be such a mad-house she'd probably actually watch it from her Dorm TV if she was still in college for a better view. Lisa is still a very happy political camper. She's bound and determined to stay that way for 4 years - preferably 8 years. (GRIN)

I'm still recovering so I'll end this now - be back blogging next week!

Susan Rothman

A Good Year So Far

2009-01-04T03:15:00.001+02:00

It's Been A Good Year So Far

Though it has just started! Lisa told us Saturday when we called that so far she's read 2 books this year. Since she's cleaned and organized her place top to bottom there wasn't a whole lot else to do right now! She wanted a sure fire way to keep her place looking so perfect - I said "Move?" "Go on another vacation?" (GRIN) I don't think I provided the response she was looking for. (Double Grin)

A New Term Is Around the Corner

Thursday or Friday she'll be heading to Keetmanshoop then to Windhoek by Saturday. It all depends on when she can get a ride out of Aroab. Then it's Peace Corps training till she heads back to Keetmanshoop on the 14th and back to Aroab on the 15th or 16th.

Now all of this is in spite of the fact that the teachers are due back on January 12th for the new term and the learners should be there on the 14th. Peace Corps training trumps showing up on time for work (GRIN). She won't have any idea what she'll be teaching till she gets back, but considering 4 teachers have left for sure and up to 4 more may be leaving - a lighter course load does not seem too promising. But it will grant her a bit of seniority so she's hoping she has a chance on some upper level classes. And she'd love to "keep" some of her best classes as they move up.

At one point Lisa thought all this rampant changing of teachers from district to district was the norm - but now she thinks having just 1 or 2 teachers change over a year is much more common. She still hasn't figured out why her district has such heavy duty turnover but that's life.

She is trying hard to switch from Agriculture to almost anything else since that's the subject she knows the least about and as far as she can tell it isn't even on the list of courses Peace Corps has approved for their volunteers to teach in Namibia - which are English, Science, and Math - with the ability to teach "non academic" classes such as art, music, health etc allowed. Again as far as she can tell she's the only PC Volunteer in Namibia teaching it. Her school just slipped it into her schedule I guess (GRIN).

Cooking

She spent several hours today caramelizing a very very large onion - very very slowly so it wouldn't burn in her wimpy pot on her poor little hot plate. She wound up with a huge pot full! Now she can add interest to a lot of what she's cooking over the next few days before she leaves for PC training. She claims she's slowly getting the hang of cooking starting mid-December. As to how her meals were the past year - I'm not going there one of those places where "Don't Ask - Don't Tell" works for the mommy in me. Maybe she's just picking up tips from Erna etc. I guess Erna did a wonderful job grilling the meat Lisa had bought. It was done in a large rectangular outdoors grill.

Too bad such a thing would likely "walk" if Lisa tried to fashion one by her place. Of course Hostel rules prohibit it too begin with. Ahh the joys of living on "State Property".

Political Challenges

With everything going on in the Middle East she mused that if only those with deep roots of hostility could forget the past, and those who do not want to recognize one group or another suddenly were "blind to them and thus literarily saw no enemy to shoot at" things would be calmer. I mentioned that while living in one's past may cause grief at times remembering the richness and beauty, strength and courage of what our cultures have lived through usually makes up for it in the long run.

But it makes me think of the mantra I grew up with "What if they held a War and Nobody Came" It was a very appealing concept when I was young. And I think it's one that resonates with Lisa right now. Deep down she'd love to treat everyone's military (sanctioned or unofficial) like 2 year olds and yank away all their weapons, send them to their respective corners and tell them they can't come out till they can apologize and promise to play nice again. Not likely but I do think she could write a nice Science Fiction Story about the idea!

She hopes President-Elect Obama manages to encourage less fighting and more cooperation among all the various groups. She hopes he's a "good friend" to them all telling them what they need to hear not just what they want to hear. We shall see.

Humor on the Internet

In the spirit of believing that the Universe wanted to inject some humor into the world - she did find some political humor on-line with a report that seems to be serious coming out of Russia predicting that the US will be divided into 4 areas - by mid 2010 with the West Coast becoming part of China, the South becoming part of Mexico, the East Coast becoming part of the EU and part of the Mid-West becoming part of Canada. The whole idea brought forth a belly laugh or two from her. And her biggest laugh was the idea of Canada "overpowering" the Mid-West and taking it over. She just couldn't see Canada in that role. They just seem to her to be too civilized to do that.

I suppose that in a world of shifting borders and changing political and economic alliances it's nice to feel so secure in the integrity of the country you're living in - no matter what the current problems it's facing. And we are facing a doozy of a set of problems right now. I think we take that for granted about the USA - and we shouldn't - we need to appreciate what we have a little bit more. - End of Mommy lecture.

One Big New Year's Resolution for the Planet

Lisa has made a resolution for the country in particular and the planet as a whole - she would like both to "Un-crisisify" (her word) themselves. First off she'd like the Economy to fix itself before Obama takes office so he can concentrate on other things. (I bet that would thrill him too! GRIN). I think the environment fixing itself is next on her list. Ahh - well if you wake up tomorrow and find all "the bad stuff" of the past few years is gone and the world is a kinder gentler place you'll know she was a very good girl and has a heck of a lot more sway with Santa than I do!

Till then we'll just keep on doing what we can to make this world a better place one day at a time! (enough clichés and mixed metaphors for one blog? -GRIN) Bye till next week!

Susan Rothman

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T21:13:00.001+02:00

Called Lisa Early This Morning

She had a nice New Year's Eve - though it was mostly spent in Church. It still surprises her that almost all the social contact people have in Aroab seems to revolve around Church, School, or Work. Of course at home most of her social contacts were based in the same three places - but college seemed different, than school as a workplace does, and work was Chem Department Work Study mostly, and her main Church contacts were the Methodists on campus and the Quakers in DC. So while it seems similar to me it feels different to her.

She was surprised that small fireworks could easily be bought in her local store - as a New York State resident she's used to considering all sale of fireworks illegal. And very naughty - since people manage to get them and setting them off within hearing distance scares her cat Lightning! The poor cat really does hate them! We explained that in some of our glorious states you can actually buy fireworks legally.

While it isn't as super hot as it will get - the rainy season hasn't come to Aroab and she'd love to trade some of our snow and cold for a few degrees of her warmth and dryness - I told her I was more than willing but that she'd have to clear it with Mother Nature who doesn't seem so inclined to make weather trades like that.

End Of Year Comments

Lisa told us that she read 99 books last year (yes she kept track and yes while some were YA, most others were Shakespeare, long novels, or other more weighty volumes.)

She wrote 228 pages in her journal, wrote several drafts of one short story she's been working on and she started I believe another story. No letters you notice, no postcards, and just a fist full of e-mails. Not that the Mom in me is complaining exactly (GRIN) But Maybe 2009 will bring forth something printed from her! Sent via the mail from her town to ours. I can hope!

That's life in the Peace Corps - work, secondary projects, socializing in your community and lots of reading and writing.

Tonight

Erna invited her over for a New Year's Day cook-out and Lisa arranged that she would buy the food and Erna would cook it. A more than fair trade off to Lisa. Folks I could be wrong - but Lisa is not showing any signs of being interested in becoming the next Top Chef. In fact I think the first thing she'll do when she gets home is master the art of the slow cooker (GRIN) I forgot who but in my youth someone wrote a "I Hate To Cook Cookbook" I think it was a Peg someone or other - Lisa would approve of the concept!

I must give her credit - I guess she's had luck on several occasions cooking chicken - so she's very pleased with her culinary development.

But the cool thing was in the process of trying to find meat for the cook out she finally discovered a butcher that sold individual portions of meat (vs the half a whatever size hunk of meat) She's not sure what she bought exactly but in her opinion "red meat is red meat". ( Again not a Top Chef sort of perspective)

Now how a butcher could hide in her small town the whole year she's been there is beyond my ability to figure out - but the bottom line is she now has a place to buy small amounts (the feed store sort of place she shops is more the "whole side of whatever" kind of place. She probably won't buy a lot - but it should provide some variety in her diet. And who knows - some other store may be hiding away in her town.

New Year Hopes

Lisa is still riding high on Obama's election and the hope he can do something to sort out our many problems. She in particular would like some of his proposed "corps" to be formed - sort of before she gets back from Africa next December or January - so she'll have work options (GRIN) not that such proposals get in place that fast under the best of circumstances.

She thinks he'll be the hit of the Press Corps if he keeps vacationing in Hawaii - following him there to report is a sandy surf filled job but some brave journalist has to do it! (GRIN-GRIN) Nothing against Texas, Arkansas, etc. but come on - Hawaii is Hawaii! Especially in winter! GRIN

She hopes the New Year is a good one for all of you who check on her blog - and for everyone else too!

Happy New Year!

Susan Rothman

Visiting Claudia's Family

2008-12-28T23:46:00.001+02:00

Spoke with Lisa Saturday

We tried a few times to get through but her cell went to voice mail - eventually we got an e-mail from her that she was home and we called. It seems that she spent the whole day with Claudia (one of her learners) and her family.

The day started early - they picked her up at 7am and she joined them at a family Tombstone Unveiling - which lasted longer than she had expected. Then they returned to Claudia's in town home and watched TV for a while (a real treat for Lisa) and just about when Lisa thought she'd be heading home for the day they took off for the family farm and had a Namibian Bar-B-Q (never can quite catch the Afrikaans word for it - sorry) So she didn't get returned home till 8pm. A very long day!

It's both nice and unsettling to be included in such family moments - like the unveiling. But being invited along does show she's considered part of the community.

More Vacation Details

Finally found out that Lisa wasn't able to use Julie's bus ticket to Livingstone. She had to pay for her own. I guess either Julie had to be there in person or at least had to be able to be contacted by cell phone to transfer the ticket and since Julie was on her way home and her Namibian cell wouldn't work out of country there was no getting in touch with her. Too bad she couldn't use the ticket but that's life. None of the Peace Corps finagling influenced the folks running the bus.

But if Julie hadn't started the ball rolling for Lisa with the offer of the ticket in the first place Lisa probably wouldn't have jumped through the hoops necessary to travel to Livingstone and see Victoria Falls etc. So even though she couldn't use the ticket it still provided the incentive to take the vacation. I think if Lisa had been in Aroab the whole time with the learners and teachers gone she would have gone a bit crazy! (GRIN)

Lisa is still enjoying the warm glow of a vacation well spent. I hope she manages to go somewhere else on her Spring Vacation next year - it would be great if she could see more of Africa before returning home!

We asked Lisa what format her DVD was - the one from the Elephant Safari - and I gather it's in the proper format for US viewing. Which is a good thing - it would have been too bad if she got it home and we couldn't watch it! It will be a year before we see her runaway elephant escapade but I think the wait will be worth it (GRIN)

Odds and Ends

Lisa talked about the heat and how she would probably spend New Years Eve celebrating with Claudia's family - I gather there is a big celebration with a Bar-B-Q and some sort of bonfire all evening.

She also discussed the economic situation both in the US and world wide. She keeps comparing it to a British science fiction character we enjoy watching on TV - Dr Who - she does a good job too! It's too complicated a comparison for me to put in her blog - you'll have to ask her about it yourselves next year! (GRIN)

We told her about a cool festival of trees that we went to in Pittsfield MA at the Berkshire Museum - where the theme was "Green" and "Recycling" and many of the decorations and even the trees themselves were created from used packing materials and assorted throwaway stuff. They were all very creative!

We'll probably post the next blog next year! GRIN on New Year's Day since we'll be attending First Night in Saratoga Springs and we'll be spending the night there. So unless something unexpected happens I'll blog again Next Year! Have a Happy and safe New Years!

Susan Rothman

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T20:53:00.001+02:00

Called and Wished Lisa A Merry Christmas this Morning

She was doing well. Told us she'd been "Church Hopping" this Christmas Holiday. Yesterday - Christmas Eve - after attending Lutheran Services with Erna - Erna said the equivalent of "The night is still young" so they went to later services at the Born Again Church where her Principal is Pastor. She was wondering when "We Shall Overcome" became a Christmas song - and her Dad and I didn't have a clue as to that one! So she was in Church from about 6:30 to nearly 11:00. They almost attended more services at the Catholic Church but by then Lisa was much too tired. (GRIN)

This morning Christmas Day - she attended services at the Lutheran Church and was whispering/singing very quietly to herself when someone took her arm and drew her up to join the Choir - they were singing Joy To The World! - in English! Then other hymns some in English, some in Afrikaans. She then was asked to do one of the readings - and since it was from one of the Bibles that was written in both English and Afrikaans she managed quite nicely with the English (Double GRIN).

It all reminded her of the various services she participated in at American University. She really misses all the friends she made there - and the wonderful group spirit of their Methodist Community. (Not to mention the pizza, cheese, retreats and movie nights - Ahh religion at college - it's quite wonderful! (GRIN) - )

She opened presents she had been saving from various packages she'd been receiving and was delighted and touched by them all. She managed to find a bag of chicken parts that included some breast meat (which she prefers to dark meat of any kind) so she managed to cook a few things "that came out OK" - to use her words. So all in all it was a nice Christmas for her even though she misses home a great deal.

A Time of Miracles - GRIN -

Lisa believes the Christmas spirit is alive and well in her container garden - she planted some seeds I had sent her this past Monday and as of this morning she's spotting tiny plants all over the place! Mostly radishes and other quick to germinate veggies but even so it felt miraculous to her - she's never had that much luck growing things outdoors. Germination in less than a week qualified as a miracle to her!

She'll see how it goes - with luck she can nurture them along well enough so when she heads back to Windhoek Jan 9th they'll survive without her watering them for a few days. The soil is almost pure sand so she isn't sure if she can create enough compost from her tea leaves and veggie parings to fortify it. As is much of life in Namibia - it will be an experiment.

If anyone wants to send her veggie seeds to experiment with she'd be delighted! Any extras beyond what she can use at home and in her classroom - she'll share with other teachers at school for use in their classrooms. Watching things grow is miraculous to most people the world over no matter what their age.

Life in her Kitchen

She managed to obtain some lemon juice and not having that much cooking experience she added I gather enough for several dishes at once. She tried to moderate the tartness but it was still very high on the pucker scale. So many of the quick fixes we have in our kitchens either don't exist in Namibia or are simply not available where she's living. The mommy in me felt bad that I couldn't present her with workable suggestions using ingredients she could obtain easily. It was so much easier to play "rescue chef" when she was in college just a college shuttle away from a lovely Whole Foods Store.

Oh, at some point some dear soul sent her some low sodium bouillon cubes and she's out of them - they were wonderful from what I gather - since the closest things she can find locally seems to be pure salt with hardly any flavor. If the bouillon sender recognizes their gift she would be delighted to receive more. It's truly amazing what constitutes a terrific gift when you're in Africa! (GRIN)

Lisa misses good pots and pans (that don't encourage everything to burn and stick to them) and the mere idea of a microwave, toaster oven, or slow cooker makes her heart go all a flutter. Ahh love in the kitchen. I didn't dare mention ovens, blenders, and broilers - it might have been too much for her! (TRIPLE GRIN) Why do I think the first things she'll want to do when she gets home next year are roast a turkey, broil a grilled cheese sandwich and veg out on the computer for hours staring at a screen bigger than her cell phones! She'll also probably want every veggie in the store as well as every fruit they have in stock!

Living In "The State of Denial"

She is pointedly not thinking about having to start a new year of teaching in January. This Vacation thing then time hanging with friends etc is very easy to get used to. In some ways she's lived a life that was always busy with school, summer classes and projects, and spending time with family etc. She's never had a solid year of working without family/home time and her vacation pointed out to her how tough the past year was. It made college seem like a breeze in comparison.

But she is determined to continue her Peace Corps Service and she really hopes she's making a difference in her community. I don't think it's so much that she's not happy about staying as it is that she'd like regular access to visiting us in the US and better electronic toys and the ability to use them! Being so far away for so long is the tough bit.

Odds and Ends

She enjoyed talking about the Obama transition and her hopes for his new administration. And her delight in seeing Obama T-shirts popping up in Namibia, and Zambia. Everyone in Africa seems hopeful and excited about his election. She hopes it continues to be a hopeful sign to these countries for the foreseeable future. Right now it's "Fun to be an American" in Africa - everyone congratulates you when they discover where you're from.

Another note - in addition to AA batteries she could now use D batteries if anyone wants to mail a heavy package to her (GRIN) - the D's work in a wonderful battery powered fan she was sent by Laurie, Steven and Rachel. And while we're still digging out of snowstorm after snowstorm - Lisa is hitting a long hot spell!

So have a Happy Christmas, and enjoy the end of the year festivities. Take Care - and Till I have more news - Bye

Susan Rothman

Home in Aroab

2008-12-20T19:06:00.001+02:00

Spoke To Lisa This Morning

Lisa got back to Aroab Thursday Night. That was a very long vacation! - she was away for 15 days! After catching the overnight train to Keetmanshoop Tuesday she spent Wednesday night there and spent Thursday arranging for a ride to Aroab. Erna thought she had arranged a ride for Lisa and told her to go to the Police Station and wait. Lisa has spent more time in Police Stations in Africa than she ever would have believed - they seem like community centers where people meet up all the time. Or at least it seems that way (GRIN).

Anyhow - that ride fell through and eventually Lisa got a ride in with a Town Councilman. Waiting she's gotten used to - but the biggest disappointment was she had planned to do a lot of shopping for food before heading back to Aroab and she didn't end up having the time to do so. Oh well. It's just that she hardly ever gets to Keetmanshoop. But she is living in Africa so such things occur.

Speaking of food - she's discovering the growing seasons in Namibia - the local store has changed over from having lots of carrots to having lots of green peppers. Local seasonal eating is the normal routine there! It's amazing how "Green" you can be and how "Local" you can eat when you have no other options! (GRIN)

Quiet Time

After her busy exciting vacation in Livingstone, the quiet of Aroab is a great contrast. The Hostel is closed down (I'm just grateful she still has electricity in her place over the break) and is locked and the fence around the Hostel is also locked so Lisa has to hop the fence to get to her place since she couldn't get keys for either from the powers that be. I guess the fence is low at some places so it isn't too bad. The Mommy in me is disappointed - I was hoping she could get a key so she could get in and watch some TV over the break - just as a distraction. But it wasn't to be.

But folks have been keeping an eye on her place for her - just after she got back and she had opened some windows and turned on her one light she heard a voice call from outside "Lisa? Lisa? Are you home?" They were just checking! Didn't want anyone breaking in. Now that makes a Mommy feel a bit more secure! It's nice to know others are looking out for your kid.

School

The school is also locked down so she can't get in to get her classroom set up for next term (Assuming she has the same classroom) or use their TV either. Ahh well.

Lisa heard some statistics about the final exams - not very good ones at that. 11 out of 31 passed 10th grade. - Erna's son was one that passed! He's on to High School in January! From her Hostel among the 6th through 10th graders only 2 passed. I guess the other Hostels had more who passed.

Lisa is hoping that next term she's able to continue teaching her Life Science learners as they move up from 9th to 10th grade. Life Science was a real problem for this years 10th grade learners since as Lisa understands it they had a new curriculum and the teachers had no idea what was going to be on the test. (Sound familiar?) And it turns out that the material from 8th, 9th, and 10th grade was included. Would have been nice to warn the teachers.

Some of her current learners saw the test (I'm not going there) and said they thought it was easy - that she had taught them most of the stuff on it. So Lisa felt she was doing something right. She mentioned she wanted to teach that group next year but all the class assignments are up in the air and won't be finalized till right before the next term starts. Of course that's when Lisa will be in Windhoek for Peace Corps training so she'll find out what she's teaching when she gets back. Isn't that often the way things work out. (Sigh)

Time

So Lisa has about 2 and a half weeks before she has to return to Windhoek for training. She's not really supposed to be leaving her site during that time unless she takes more formal vacation time. But as she says it's almost impossible to get from Aroab to anywhere easily so she won't worry about it till she has to return for PC training.

She's decorated her place with Christmas stuff and will spend the time cleaning, organizing, and finishing the paperwork from last term on the curriculum for each of her classes that she didn't complete before taking off on her vacation. She also has books to read, and journal's to fill, as well as a story she started to write to work on.

There isn't much Christmas music on the few radio stations she can pull in and she only has a few Christmas cassettes. She misses Christmas music 24/7 at this time of year - she can't download any on her cell phone - it just freezes up on her. Namibian cell service keeps us in touch with her but doesn't allow many of the other perks we're used to in our "Can you hear me now?" universe. But she's managing. There are are lot of things going on at the local Churches so her Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be busy.

Presents

It was lovely for her when she arrived in Aroab to find gifts from so many people at the Post Office - some Birthday (which she opened immediately -GRIN -) and some Christmas ones which she's saving to open on Christmas day.

Thank you's go out to :

Grandma Rothman - all the goodies are wonderful! as are the stickers, the book The Color of Water, and the book "Have a Green Christmas";

Laurie and Steven - the battery operated fan in particular is wonderful since it's so hot right now! And all the National Geographic magazines were a delight, as was the Magazine about elections around the world - it should be great for school! The book and edibles were lovely etc.- the Christmas gift she's saving;

Alice M - the 2 envelopes were a delight - with books, loose leaf paper for her learners, great music (she loves your taste in music! and yummy stuff;

and Mom and Dad - hey that's us! (GRIN) with magazines etc.

Odds And Ends

Thank you all for holding Lisa in your thoughts and prayers - it's an amazing time in her life and knowing you are all back home pulling for her helps her get through the rough patches. May your Holidays be bright ones and may Peace fill your New Year!

Susan Rothman

Lisa is Back in Windhoek

2008-12-16T17:26:00.001+02:00

Her Vacation is Coming To An End

I haven't updated in a bit since we lost power for a few days - the Northeast had quite an ice storm move through - 5 days later some are still without power - my Brother included. So I'll play catch up now.

Spoke with Lisa early this morning before her Dad headed off to work. She took the overnight bus late Sunday from Livingstone to Windhoek - arriving Monday. She caught 2 movies in Windhoek (The Day The Earth Stood Still, and Madagascar 2 Back to Africa) and spent some time on the computer in the Peace Corps lounge. After spending last night (Monday) there she heads back to Keetmanshoop tonight (Tuesday) on the overnight train where she'll stay with David (fellow PCV) till she gets a ride back to Aroab.

She keeps running into other Peace Corps Volunteers in Windhoek but most are just starting their vacations or they're heading back to the US if it's the end of their term of service. She sort of wishes she was doing either - she's not really ready to return to Aroab just yet. Vacations are fun! (GRIN)

She hasn't done the math yet as to how much this vacation cost her but she's decided not spending much money for a year allows you to spend tons on a vacation. She ate out just about every meal and splurged on nice places as well as cheap ones, took more tours than she planned to and bought more stuff than she knows what to do with. You'd think she'd lived under a rock all her 24 years - never spending money on anything always using "do I really need it" as a guide to putting out $ etc. But she was very happy to have all that $ now. I think when she finally spent her $ she spent it very well indeed - that's from a Mommy point of view (GRIN)

What A Different Perspective A Year Makes

It was strange yesterday, about the time we were guessing she'd be crossing into Namibia the oddest thought passed through my mind - "Well at least she should be back on home turf now". Never thought I'd consider Namibia her home turf (GRIN). But after a year it sort of is at least more familiar territory.

And the currency is much easier to sort out! It's $5,085 Zambian Kwacha to $1 US - so she had to keep careful track of those decimal points! (SMILE) But I guess Zimbabwean currency is even wilder $731,425 New Zimbabwean Dollars (Z$) to $1 US and each New Z $ is worth 10 Billion old Z $. Now that's inflation! She didn't really need to use that info but since Zimbabwe was right across the river she heard about their money woes. In comparison the Zambian currency was a breeze to figure out. (GRIN) I guess the local joke is that you use old Z$ to paper your walls since they are cheaper to use than wallpaper would be.

Lisa ended her vacation in Livingstone on a cool damp note - but that was OK since she had fit a lot in already. She managed to finish several books which was very relaxing! In addition to the animals she saw which I mentioned in previous blogs - she said she saw a lot of alligators - which were pretty impressive when viewed from her cruise boats!

Life Imitating Art

I gather she liked her Hostel - Fawlty Towers very much but they were in the middle of remodeling (isn't that always the way things work out) so things were a bit discombobulated. But not nearly as chaotic as in the British TV series by the same name. (GRIN) Compared to her Aroab place it was great though!

Elephants

She gave us more details of her Elephant Safari - where they rode the Elephants with a guide - most had 2 plus the guide she was alone with the guide. They were in a a basket sort of thing I guess. They were warned that if they ran into wild Elephants (which didn't happen that often) they would fire off a gun to frighten away the wild ones since the trained ones were used to the occasional shot and wouldn't run. The wild ones can be very dangerous since after all they are huge and powerful!

Well they didn't run into any wild elephants but her elephant ignored the guide and decided to go away from the path and have a snack then he decided to race back to join the others who had moved on ahead. A very exciting "jog" from Lisa's point of view (GRIN).

That's where the comment in a previous blog came from about the elephants being like her learners - always hungry and not prone to listening to those in authority. But boy it was memorable and as she said has provided her with one heck of a story to tell! (DOUBLE GRIN)

Odds And Ends

Now she has 3 weeks back in Aroab, then she has to travel to Windhoek again for Peace Corps training then back to Aroab to start her second year of teaching. With all the learners and most of the teachers gone (except for those who live in town) it will be very quiet. Hope someone invites her over for Christmas!

Lisa will get to do nice things she never gets to - having tea and meals with local families, and socializing with them. That's one Peace Corps activity she hasn't spent enough time on - community involvement beyond her "job" ie teaching and school related activities. As she moves into her second year she's supposed to do more in the community. She'll have more time to read and catch up on her journal too. And she wants to start a garden while she's around to water it. Yes it's hot there - summertime in the southern hemisphere!

She'll also get to the stuff that we all put on the bottom of our lists, cleaning, mending anything that needs mending, prepping for next years classes, finishing off a little bit of paperwork for last terms classes that didn't get done before her vacation etc.

It's been a long year without her but in a little over a year she should be back! I can't wait! Till then I'll just keep blogging for her - heck when she gets home she'll be able to do what she wants to with this blog so maybe I'll have to start my own blog - can you make a New Years Resolution over a year in advance? If you can that will be my resolution for next year!

Take Care

Susan Rothman

Busy Vacation Time

2008-12-11T17:11:00.001+02:00

Lisa Has Been Very Busy

On Wednesday she saw Victoria Falls and wandered around seeing lots of baboons on the paths. Thursday she went on a walking safari and loved it!She saw a lot more animals - giraffes, rhinos etc. This bit - seeing all the animals is very impressive to her since she's living in the desert area of Namibia and except for bats and birds sees very few animals other than a donkey or horse. So now she feels like she's experiencing "classic Africa" and it's GREAT! She's taking a lot of pictures - but since she can't upload them onto a computer it will be over a year before we see them (sigh).

I think she's felt a little left out compared to other Namibian Peace Corps Volunteers who see (or at least hear) elephants or goats or other African wildlife every day. So playing catch up is fun. She hasn't mentioned any other animal misbehavior (beyond the elephants who were in a running mood) so she thinks maybe Africa has improved her luck with wild critters.

She's not sure what else she'll be doing - maybe something else on the water tomorrow then soaking up the sun by the pool Saturday before she heads back Sunday - first to Windhoek on the bus, then the train to Keetmanshoop - then whenever she can get a ride she'll head back to Aroab. All in all this seems to be a great vacation for her.

When I hear more I'll blog more!

Susan Rothman

Lisa On Vacation

2008-12-09T22:38:00.001+02:00

We Finally Got An E-mail Today From Lisa

As we expected her cell phone doesn't work from Zambia, and the Internet was down in her Hostel till today - she's not sure if it goes in and out a lot or not. But the important bit was that we got a brief up-date on her vacation.

Her Week So Far - The Weekend

She arrived Saturday and mostly rested and got in a quick swim at the Hostel. Sunday she walked around town a bit and visited the Livingstone Museum which she found interesting. It was inexpensive (just $5 US) which is always good, and they had some of Livingstone's original letters which I gather were very hard to read yet still quite interesting. They also had part of a skeleton - now she doesn't explain whose skeleton so I'm just guessing it was part of Livingstone's. (GRIN)

Monday

Monday she was going to try and exchange some money at the local bank but after waiting in line for an hour without making much progress, she was hot and experiencing a bout of dizziness - she guessed was from being dehydrated, she figured she had enough cash for meals and anything else she could charge, so she left the bank. This trip is the first time she's used her credit card since arriving in Africa! She's been a true blue Peace Corps Volunteer living off what they pay her.

She then went out on a 2 and a half hour cruise on the Lady Livingstone. She got a deal - it cost $50 US vs $60 US and she didn't know why -maybe exchange rates were new - whatever - she was happy. She enjoyed snacks, chocolate truffles and the company of an interesting group of people - 2 from Briton, 2 from Germany, and 2 Americans who were former Navy people currently living in Texas and working at a nuclear power plant. The cruise was a lot of fun and very relaxing.

Tuesday

Today (Tuesday) she believes she spent more on a fun activity than she has ever done so in her life (as you will notice she's not used to spending vast amounts of money on herself -GRIN-) She rode an Elephant - it's some sort of Safari on elephant back - and between that and buying the $40 US DVD of her adventure to prove it happened - she spent about $200. I'd be far richer today if that was the most I had ever spent on a fun activity. Ahh well.

I loved how she described it "It was really Cool!! My elephant was just like my learners - hungry - and it would not listen. I ended up having it take off on a run - I don't know how fast but it seemed fast and a bit scary but not bad."

She also commented on her relationship with animals - she once had a "tame" goat at a petting zoo nibble her finger, while visiting her Grandparents on Long Island a "tame" pig who "never bit anyone" bit her when she was feeding it a strawberry, and a hornet popped up from no where and stung her when she was on Long Island watering plants for her Grandmother. She feels she doesn't have a good track record with wild creatures (but her cat Lightning loves her!)

But you notice she doesn't give up - she still gave the elephant ride a shot! (GRIN - GRIN)

She ended that bit saying that while the ride was nice she couldn't imagine Elephants as a major form of transportation and she figures Hannibal must have been very silly indeed to do so.

Tomorrow

Wednesday she plans to visit Victoria Falls and she's not sure what else. There are a lot of things to do I gather! Every day so far she's been reading, and swimming in the pool - she's getting to like this vacation life a lot. It's actually her first vacation on her own - she's gone places with family, or to visit family, trips with HS and College groups, and spent her college years in Washington DC, but she's never taken off on her own before on a vacation. I guess when you're in the Peace Corps doing such things just comes naturally! (GRIN)

She's not sure when or if she'll get a chance to e-mail again but knowing how well things are going thus far has cheered the mommy side of me a good deal! If we hear more - I'll Blog more. Take Care!

Susan Rothman

Quick Up Date

2008-12-06T18:20:00.001+02:00

Hi all - Just a quick Up-Date

Lisa sent a 4 word e-mail yesterday "The Bus Is Leaving" so we knew she managed to get on the bus to Livingstone. And this morning I woke to a brief e-mail - "In Zambia : )". We then tried to call her but couldn't even get through to her voice mail so she may be out of communication for a while. But it sounds like things are working out for her.

Thank you to everyone who responds to my e-mail up-dates where I link to this blog - It keeps us all connected and it's good to know my messages are getting out!

One Last Thing

If you get a chance go to the website of the Peace Corps Namibia blogs -

http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/wa.html

a few listed at the top are from the new Volunteers - after a year of blogging about Lisa's experiences it's fun to see Namibia with fresh eyes from the brand new crop of PCVs. Very nostalgic - Lisa is half way through but they are all just starting out! What an adventure they all are on! Much luck to them all!

Susan Rothman

Livingstone Here She Comes

2008-12-05T17:25:00.001+02:00

Quick Call

We made a quick call this morning to Lisa before her trip to Livingstone / Victoria Falls since we weren't sure her cell phone would work when she moves into another country. She gave us a fast update on things.

After several days of no luck finding a ride to Keetmanshoop no matter who she asked - she lucked out and on the spur of the moment caught a ride there with a member of the Town Council - so she was then able to catch the overnight train up to Windhoek.

Thursday was spent getting her Visas, exchanging money, trying to sort out her bus ticket to Livingstone etc. she still doesn't know if she can get her friend Julie's transferred to her or not - she may have to pay for another one - Ahh well. She was told to show up to get the Visa at 2 but the guy didn't make it to the office till 4 - From something I saw on line he may have had an excuse - I think he was driving around Namibia's Founding President whose Mother died and will be given a State Funeral tomorrow (Saturday). Lisa agrees that assignment was more important than arranging her Visa (GRIN).

She ended up leaving Aroab in a hurry so when she got to Windhoek she discovered she forgot her camera - but since there isn't anything to spend money on in her town other than a bit of food - she had enough in her bank account to buy another camera for the trip. It cost about $1,600 Namibian (about $160 USD including a memory card) She still expects to have plenty of money to enjoy herself on this vacation but will then join the rest of the world with a lean mean bank account.

She Feels Like Her Vacation Is Finally Getting Started

After getting most of the paperwork done, and getting her camera she's finally starting to relax and get in the vacation spirit. In Windhoek she saw the latest James Bond movie - she said she got to a point where she felt sorry for the buildings and cars since everything seemed to be getting destroyed. It seemed to be one long car chase with a few brief interruptions for something resembling a plot. She also made the observation that in recent "super hero / adventure movies it sucks to be a good guy". Interesting - (sorry if this info spoils things for those who haven't seen the movie yet -GRIN-)

She picked up a few books for her trip - and got some guide books for the area too. She brought her backpack and that wonderful multi pocketed tote my cousin Diane sent her and she thinks they will work perfectly for her adventure.

Right now it's sunny and hot in Windhoek - which is a good thing since it's the start of the rainy season so she's got her fingers crossed she'll have decent weather this week!

Not Sure When The Next Update Will Be

Since we won't know if her cell works out of country and if she'll find Internet access from the Hostel where she'll be staying - and in 2 weeks when she'll be back in Aroab we'll be visiting her Grandparents on Long Island it may be a while till I can let you all know how her vacation went! But whenever I know something I'll post it here!

Boy am I spoiled - we get to call Lisa every week and the prospect of going 2 or more weeks without talking to her seems like forever! I didn't speak to my parents for over a year when I taught in Finland in the 70's! No one in my family would have even considered making an overseas phone call - it was far to expensive - and there was no Internet.

Of course I wrote weekly and they wrote to me - and Lisa has sent us 1 (one) note from Africa - and that was over a year ago when she let us know she was moving from Mozambique to Namibia - But I'm not complaining - just commenting. (GRIN - GRIN) The phone calls are nice - if expensive. Of course we pay for them - this is probably why she has money for this vacation - hmmm - well she deserves it after a full year of teaching! Anyhow I'll stop rambling here and let you all get back to your holiday preparations! Have a great week or so!

Susan Rothman

Vacation Time Is Around The Corner

2008-11-29T19:43:00.001+02:00

The Learners Are Done For The Term

All the learners and kids from the Hostel have left for home. Only the teachers remain. So now it's just correcting the last of the finals and doing assorted piles of paperwork and the term will be over for Lisa too. She is really glad the school year is over, and while she's been preparing for next year in her school - the break in between is something she's looking forward to.

Vacation Plans

Her "break" will be about five and a half weeks - and since she's accrued about 24 days of leave (she thinks) she's trying to get out of country for a bit. Fourteen days worth to be exact! I gather Peace Corps Volunteers get 2 days of leave for every month they have served from the date of their swearing in. Lisa isn't sure if some of the extra travel days she needed to get to Peace Corps training over the past year are deducted or not but she thinks she has plenty to fit in a vacation. ( She also says she thinks you can "borrow" up to six extra days if you need to based on the expectation that you will be serving out the rest of your term of service.)

Lisa is in the middle of trying to arrange a trip to Victoria Falls - she has Peace Corps approval and hopes to have transportation set soon. If the Universe allows she'll be getting out of school 2 or 3 days early.

Bless her Principal for giving his OK to this since it's just time the teachers need to be in school for extra paperwork etc and I think he wants to keep her happy so she'll return for the next year - which she is planning to do! Then she'll head for Keetmanshoop (please Universe may the transport work out) then she'll take the 16 hour train to Windhoek then get a bus to Livingstone Zambia. She'll get the necessary Visas at the Embassy in Windhoek. Then Universe willing she'll spend 8 nights in a Hostel type Hotel called -

wait for it John Cleese fans -

Fawlty Towers - HONEST!!! How could she not choose a place with that name! GRIN

She has no idea what she'll do beyond satisfying a real hunger she has to lounge around their pool for a while - but from her limited Internet research (and our more extensive research) it looks like there is no shortage of options - including many that are very affordable. Our only advice was for her to try anything that sounded "Cool" and we've suggested she spend some of her saved up money.

Yes even in the Peace Corps she's managed to accumulate a fair amount of $ - Considering they pay the Volunteers such a small stipend to begin with - I can only assume she's eating something and since there isn't anything else to buy in Aroab she's saved the rest - Now she should lecture when she gets home on the difference in buying things because you need them vs because you want them - she is a pro at that. Spending however is a skill she needs to work on. Well she never was a typical kid -GRIN - GRIN!

If all goes well she'll be able to contact us by next weekend to tell us she's arrived - it will be at least a week after that before we get details of her adventure! She doesn't think her phone will work out of country but she hopes she'll be able to fire off an e-mail from an Internet Cafe that's supposed to be next to the Hostel. I have my fingers crossed that all goes well for her - but I reminded her that no matter how things go it will be a great adventure!

Other Things in Her Life

Friday the 28th her Drama Club presented the play on AIDS that she wrote. I gather that it went over extremely well and that Lisa is most satisfied with her inaugural leap into the role. She enjoyed creating the play and seeing it through to performance! I think the Drama Club will be continuing next year! Anything educational that the learners, Lisa and the school like is hitting pay dirt!

When she gets back from her vacation she'll have a few weeks before she has to head back to Windhoek for more Peace Corps Training. The local Church will have some activities planned for Christmas and I'm sure some family who is around will welcome her but it will still be hard. She'll miss us as much as we miss her. It's her second Christmas away.

The Peace Corps training unfortunately occurs on the first few days of the school term - the days just the teachers are supposed to come in - but still - Since she won't be there to get the classes she'd like so she'll end up with whichever ones they have left. So much for a years seniority.

During that in between time she hopes to work on the school Library, help her friend Erna who is building a house in Aroab over the break, and visit a lot of people in the community for tea and attempts at conversation. She keeps meaning to do this socializing but is usually too busy with school projects!

So she won't be too lonely. The Peace Corps Volunteers only have limited Vacation time so during the time between school terms they are supposed to be working on their secondary projects - but if said secondary projects involve the learners who aren't there - - - well you get the picture. It's different for those working in the health or other fields since they don't get such large blocks of time off at one time. Feast or Famine when it comes to the workload. Ahh well. Peace Corps wants them to be both Creative and Productive!

Final Thoughts

Lisa hopes you all had a good Thanksgiving - and that your Holiday Season will be filled with Joy and Peace She sends her prayers to all those killed or injured in the Tragedy in India over the past few days. Till next week - I wish you all the best also -

Susan Rothman

Almost Thanksgiving

2008-11-22T19:20:00.001+02:00

It's Almost Thanksgiving Here

Which is something Lisa misses in Namibia. Ahh turkey and all the fixings! She even misses dealing with flights from College home! Especially as finals start to wind down and Christmas is coming ever closer. Hard to believe that her last day of the term is my Birthday - December 5th!

Lisa is trying to arrange some sort of mini-vacation over the "Summer" break (remember it's warm in the Southern hemisphere now!) Making plans without a computer and having to get everything approved by Peace Corps adds to the challenge! Nothing is ever simple or boring in Africa! But she really doesn't want to spend 6 weeks in Aroab with all the learners and teachers gone.

She reports that she's already tired of waking up hot and sweaty. Now if we could only swap some of her heat for some of our cold over the next few months - Ahh well -that's still just science fiction (GRIN) but the thought is so very appealing as we prepare for oil bills that will still be high even as the global price of oil drops.

But all in all we have a lot to give thanks for - Lisa is doing well and is learning so much from her time in Africa. Her Dad and I are managing to survive the financial meltdown that's flowing all around the US and the rest of the world. And we're all part of a larger network of family and friends who help keep us sane!

Politics Is Still Interesting and Not Depressing

Lisa was excited to hear that the Obama girls plan to attend Sidwell Friends Quaker School in DC since when she was attending American University in DC she went to a small Sunday Meeting that was held at Sidwell Friends. The kids went home for the weekend so she didn't actually meet many current students there - but it was still cool to attend Meeting at then - the former school of Chelsea Clinton. So now with the Obama connection it's even cooler. I think it sort of made Lisa miss her 4 years in Washington - life in Aroab is much much different! (GRIN)

Lisa also is pleased that the political news is interesting not annoying. And even though we still have major problems to deal with as a country she feels there is a lot of Hope wafting around that things can get better if we all work at it!

Thoughts About Teaching Next Term

Lisa has been giving a great deal of thought to how she wants to manage her classes next year and she's decided that she wants to try and start a garden - perhaps if she's ambitious 2 gardens (one at the school and one at the hostel) so if any of you have leftover vegetable or flower seeds from this past summer (or recent summers - since many seeds last a while) and you'd like to help - send them on to her. Any she doesn't use can be shared with other teachers.

I'm guessing seeds for plants that like heat and dryness would be best - but Lisa is planning to try growing some in containers so even if they need a lot of water she may be able to keep them going! (and growing - GRIN - ) And in the name of science even seeds that "shouldn't grow" in her environment might if nurtured with care - and seeing that some seeds aren't destined for Aroab soil would teach the learners a lot too!

Other News

Friday Lisa's friend Erna was taking her son to Keetmanshoop to get new glasses and get his eyes examined so since Erna had arranged for the ride to Keetmanshoop she asked Lisa to come along. - with exams going on the daily schedule is different so Lisa was able to go. It was great just getting away for part of the day since Lisa realized she hadn't left Aroab even once all term! No wonder she's going a little stir crazy - it wasn't all from finals! (GRIN)

She had a nice day and got to spend some time on the Internet to get caught up on life. She still doesn't have computer access in Aroab - boy that's one thing she really really really misses! Most people contemplate deals with the Devil for money, power, fame or revenge - Lisa's weakness would be the promise of high speed computer service (GRIN- GRIN) cable TV, and a DVD player! She never thought about how dependent she was on these things and how much she would miss them.

A year of no showers, now cold ones, and even being 90 miles from the next town are easy for her to deal with compared to not having her Internet connection!

Happy Thanksgiving To One And All

Lisa wishes you all a peaceful and blessed Thanksgiving - and reminds all of you to appreciate your family and friends. And your Internet Connection! - that last one was from me!

Till next week!

Susan Rothman

Happy 24th Birthday Lisa

2008-11-15T21:15:00.001+02:00

November 11 was Lisa's 24th Birthday

Thank you to all of you who sent Lisa e-mail birthday wishes on or near her birthday - she was delighted by all the good wishes. It was so nice to be remembered by so many from back home. Lisa also received presents! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa - thank you Aunt Madelyn, Uncle Ron and Gregory and Rebecca, and Thank you Mom and Dad (aw shucks - GRIN -)

One of the birthday gifts we sent her was an early Christmas gift of a "Christmas Tree in a box" - a kit to make a 2 foot tree out of paper - with decorations and everything. Lisa said she was in a holiday mood and there were a batch of kids from the hostel in her home so they helped her put the tree together - it was one of those cases where she felt old since the kids got the knack of putting tab - a into slot -a - much much quicker than she did - they were quite nimble! Anyhow - she hummed "we need a little Christmas" and she felt quite happy. Everyone had a grand time. Boy will they have great memories of the "Peace Corps teacher who lived in their town!"

School

Exams are going well - her Agriculture learners seem to be doing a little better than they did previous terms. Considering some classes need a grade of 30 percent to pass, and some 40 percent, - she sort of thinks most of them should pass. But it's sort of depressing to her when learners miss some of the easiest questions.

And she discovered she had to re-grade the English exams - they found a rubric that she was supposed to be following (couldn't find it before she graded the exams could they - oh well). She was doing roughly what they wanted but since these are end of the year finals and since the school is trying to improve standards etc she needed to grade with more precision. She managed - but 90 English exams are a lot to re-grade. And that's only a third of the classes she teaches. Man it's a hard way to learn how to teach!

Since it looks like the rest of the Grade 8 to grade 10 English teachers are going to be moving to other schools next January at the moment Lisa will be the senior English teacher. Of course they may get replacement teachers with experience but then again they may not. She's hoping that she'll have enough clout to follow her 8th grade English Learners to 9th grade - that would be 2 English classes vs 3 to teach - but who knows what will happen.

It sounds like teachers move around a lot in Namibia - those assigned to rural or distant schools try to get placed in larger school districts in bigger towns or in schools closer to their homes as time goes by. And since Aroab is so far away from everything it's hard to retain teachers. The school is very nice from what Lisa says - it just would be nicer if it was in a more populous location!

So the next few weeks will be filled with finals, correcting them, monitoring them, wishing they were over (both Lisa and her learners wish for that - GRIN -)

Politics

We still spent lots of the phone call discussing the election and what's ahead for Obama. She's reading every scrap of info she can get on economics - from assorted magazines we've sent her over the past year etc. And she noted that one of the biggest problems seems to be that to improve each individual's economic situation they need to spend less and save more but to improve the nation's economic outlook we need a lot of spending! Hmmm - one sides solutions create the other sides problems - or at least exacerbate them!

Odds and Ends

Lisa's still not sure what she'll be doing during the term break - the end portion will be most likely spent in Peace Corps training but that still leaves a few weeks - now in general the volunteers are supposed to be working on their extra projects when their "official jobs" are on break - but they do get a few days of "vacation" allocated to them. They just have to figure out where they want to go since they have to turn in their request for leave from their site something like 2 or 3 weeks in advance.

I hope she manages to travel somewhere - to at least visit some other Peace Corps Volunteers - even if she doesn't do anything fancy. I can't believe I typed that - as if living and teaching in Namibia isn't "special" enough. Man how quickly we take situations for granted!

Again thank you all who sent her Happy Birthday e-mails! Take Care - I'll update again next week!

Susan Rothman

A Good Week

2008-11-08T19:11:00.001+02:00

Lots of Happy News

We called Lisa this morning and spent much of the call going over election results. (about 45 minutes - that will be quite a phone bill! ) She was a very happy camper. It was great for her - being able to tell everyone that this time he hadn't just won a primary, or the nomination - but had actually won the election. Her friends in Aroab are happy for us - and someone she didn't know stopped her in the supermarket and thanked her for electing Obama. This election means a lot world-wide!

Whenever she's by a TV she's caught up on the news - from Obama choosing Rahm Emanuel to offer the chief of staff position to, to the search for the perfect White House puppy that won't set off Obama's daughter's allergies. She saw somewhere that Emanuel graduated from a dance school and that Lisa thought that was perfect training since politics was one huge dance! - I haven't heard about the dance connection myself - but it's amazing what Lisa hears about in Namibia that isn't covered here! (GRIN)

School News

Friday was Bible Day in school - all the 7th and 8th graders received Gideon Bibles - something Lisa guessed would cause a huge commotion if done here! It was a big deal for the learners I guess. They had the choice to receive their Bible in either English or Afrikaans - and it was a mix, some learners preferred English some Afrikaans. Each classroom also received a Bible - just one per classroom - but those Bibles were in both English and Afrikaans - so Lisa figures that by going through it she'll be able to pick up more Afrikaans - she's looking forward to it. I was pleased to hear she's working on her Afrikaans since she really hadn't talked about her progress language wise in a long while.

This week formally starts final exams - though Lisa is already correcting the written part of the English exam which was given early. She doesn't like all the time it takes to correct papers, tests etc. All you teachers out there can empathize I'm sure (GRIN). And the paperwork in general is overwhelming at times. I can't think of a job out there that couldn't do with a reduction in paperwork. (DOUBLE GRIN).

The Surprise Party

way back last weekend Lisa was brought to her "surprise party" by some of her learners - which was held in one of the school rooms - it was very nice - with some of her learners and fellow teachers wishing her an early Happy Birthday. They had snack stuff, pasta salads, and cake. It was very nice for her to be remembered!

Lisa's Birthday

Remember - if possible please send Lisa a brief Happy Birthday message Tuesday November 11th - her 24th Birthday! Again her working e-mail is :

Lisa_rothman@hotmail.com

remember that underscore between Lisa and Rothman! I think receiving a few messages will brighten her day a great deal! It will be her second birthday in Africa! Man how time flies! - If you don't get to send the message on the 11th you can send a belated message later - whenever you do get around to it - in Africa late is often on time! (GRIN) and being remembered is always nice - no matter when it occurs!

That's about it for now - will update again next week! Thank's for checking in on this blog and for keeping Lisa in your thoughts!

Susan Rothman

Congratulations President-Elect Obama

2008-11-05T08:10:00.001+02:00

Excitement Is In The Air

Just after 11pm EST when Obama was announced by all the major networks as the new President we called Lisa who was getting ready to leave for school (it's 7 hours later in Aroab)- she was VERY EXCITED to hear the status of the election and said she'd be walking to school with a skip in her step.

She had sort of been holding her breath, and had been afraid to jinx things by being too optimistic - (sort of the way Toby on the West Wing refused to allow celebrating till the votes were recorded) but she had been very hopeful. The only sadness was that Obama's grandmother hadn't lived to see this moment.

After so long and so much explaining to her Namibian friends she can finally say - "this time he really did win the Presidency - Obama is our next President" It has been weird for her explaining how winning primaries and eventually the nomination just meant he had secured the Democratic spot to run for President not that he actually was President. So now it's finally settled!

To Everyone - THANK YOU For Voting !!!

Lisa wants to thank all of you who voted - she hopes her absentee ballet managed to arrive safely and gets counted - at least we saw her listed as voting absentee in the book we signed in at our polling place. So that was a good sign. And our line wasn't long at all but I gather there had been more people casting ballets than usual so that also was a good thing.

If for whatever reason you didn't vote - please do so next year - or whenever your next local election or primary pops up - If Lisa can manage to jump through the hoops to vote from Namibia we can do it from our hometowns!

I have to get some sleep myself, though I'm almost as excited as Lisa is about Obama's victory - Will update next weekend!

Susan Rothman

November's Here

2008-11-01T18:04:00.001+02:00

Phones Don't Always Connect

Spoke with Lisa this morning - our first call didn't go through - which annoyed Lisa since she had her cell phone charged and on and then got a message that she missed our call. Sometimes calls go right to voice mail for no apparent reason at all. Ahh well - what counts is that we finally talked to her. For an hour! (GRIN)

Back In Her Place Again

Lisa is finally back in her house - it's beautiful she says though there isn't any hot water and she still has the old extension cord connecting her to the hostel for electrical use - but it's nice to have privacy again! Being around the kids was nice - BUT. . . (GRIN)

It's summer in Aroab so even though she doesn't have hot water except when the sun shines (GRIN), if she takes a shower right after work the water tank is still warm from solar energy, lukewarm but at least not cold water. Of course on hot days cold showers don't feel that bad (GRIN) - maybe by the time winter comes to Namibia again the hot water heater will be up and running (we can hope).

The hostel is upgrading it's facilities at least in terms of repairing and replacing border fences, gates etc. Which, as do all things - has it's pro's and con's.

The good side of the equation is stronger and better security for the hostel and for Lisa's place. The not so good side is that her "short cut" gate is now permanently locked up ( she moaned "what did the poor gate do!!!" - sometimes we anthropomorphize a bit when we have time to think too much -GRIN- ) so she has a much longer trek around to get out and thus walk anywhere - from school to the store. It's just the equivalent of a few blocks extra - but when you walk everywhere it adds up! It really makes a body want to walk the way the crow flies (a mixed metaphor - please forgive me)

School - Busy As Usual

Yesterday was tree planting day (they were going to do it a few weeks ago but didn't get to it) so everyone planted trees and watered them well. Lisa thought the whole things was "Cool" and she hopes they get a good start before the Christmas break or they'll all come back to dried out sticks since she isn't sure anyone will water them over the break!

At least in her part of Namibia they don't celebrate Halloween at all - so no one got dressed up or carved anything etc. She could have tried dressing as a princess or something but decided she didn't want to keep explaining why she looked so silly all day. And she didn't want to take a chance dressing up as a witch or anything since though Namibia isn't really into the older religions she didn't want to take a chance that dressing like a witch would change peoples opinions of her. She saw no reason to ask for trouble.

Lisa was disappointed to learn she wouldn't have as much free time to correct tests in school this exam cycle - since she didn't have a register class (what we know as homerooms) after monitoring her exams she had the rest of the time free to correct them - now all non-register teachers will trade off and help monitor other classes' exams so that those teachers get a break and can do some of their own grading on school time. In the earlier grades one teacher teaches everything to one class and thus gets no time off to correct exams otherwise etc.

While a much fairer situation she already misses the extra grading time and she isn't looking forward to keeping more classes of learners quiet during their exams. Sometimes fairness isn't much fun.

An Early Birthday Party

She's been invited to what she believes is a surprise early Birthday Party for her! (since her birthday falls during exams holding it early seemed like a smart plan) It's being arranged by some of her her learners and her fellow teachers. I gather the 9th graders have been very good about keeping the surprise element a secret but her 8th graders keep asking if she's coming to the party for her.

Now she's a good sport and has been playing clueless so she can act surprised when she arrives but as she said it's tough to claim plausible deniability when the kids keep asking if she's coming. (GRIN) I guess It's tough to keep a party a secret in her neck of the woods. I thought it was rather sweet of them to plan a party for her. We'll find out next week what actually transpired!

She Wants It Over With!

The Election that is. And we agree. It's been long enough and we all want to shout Enough Already! With luck by next weekend we'll know the results (Hope it's not like 2000 with a long drawn out unhappy ending) She (and her Dad and I) are supporting Obama so we wish him luck in the final days of the campaign.

We chatted about various items on various ballets like the NYS one changing the name of the Veterans organization that has to approve various benefits - since the state constitution says X must approve and now it's called Y. It's wild that it takes a proposition to deal with a name change. And Lisa has decided that instead of calling non traditional marriages Civil Unions they should be called "Heart and Soul Unions" I don't know where that came from but I agree with Lisa that it sound's much nicer.

Wasn't Selected

She wasn't chosen to be part of the teacher training sessions for the new Peace Corps Volunteers - I gather many offered but few were needed - only 2 trainers per session I guess. Mostly she had tried to volunteer in order to fill in some of the 6 week Christmas Break. She isn't sure what she'll be doing but with all the kids gone from the Hostel and most of the teachers at their farms it will be mighty quiet. She's thinking about trying to visit some other Peace Corps Volunteers who are in the same position or having them visit her. So we'll see what works out.

Odds and Ends

It's hot right now but the rains haven't started yet - I guess they've started in the north but Lisa's dry little desert town is still - dry!

She ended one cold but now is getting congested again so it looks like a new cold is beginning. Oh well.

And Remember - Please Try and e-mail her a simple Happy Birthday on her 24th Birthday - November 11th! her e-mail again is -

Lisa_Rothman@hotmail.com

(remember the underscore between Lisa and Rothman please)

Will Update next week! Make Sure You VOTE!!!

Susan Rothman

Happy St Crispin's Day

2008-10-25T18:34:00.001+02:00

She Sounded Healthy!

Spoke with Lisa today and she sounded great! No cough and her cold seemed almost gone! Knock on wood maybe she'll stay that way for a while. As to this weeks blog title - Chuck discovered online that it was St Crispin's Day - the focus of one of Lisa's favorite Shakespeare speeches from Henry V. Ahh Lisa loves trivia almost as much as her parents! (GRIN)

Not Quite In Her House

All the work has been done in her house except for getting the power up and running - so she hasn't moved back in yet. She's waiting to hear when said power will be put in since she's sorely tempted to move all her stuff back in anyhow. The place looks beautiful I guess - and the idea of a hot shower is wondrous! And she has a kitchen sink - so she can do dishes and wash her clothes somewhere other than in the tiny bathroom one. May not seem a big deal to others but it's almost magical for her!

Living in the Hostel does not allow for any privacy and she's really ready for some alone time. Her concern is that if she moves everything back in - after the workers come to put in the power supply there may be stuff missing thanks to sticky fingers. She really likes her townspeople but one can never tell if they'll be tempted to "borrow" some of her things. If it will be a while before the power gets put in she may take the chance and move in anyhow - we'll know more next week!

She Voted !!!

She never made it to Keetmanshoop to get that Federal ballet - but low and behold Schenectady got her absentee ballet to her in time to fill out and send off! Hurrah -to the Schenectady Board of Elections! Since it's already postmarked before the election it only has to get there within a week of Election Day - and she thinks there is a good shot of that. So she's very excited that she'll get her vote counted!!

School

By Friday she has to turn in Schemes for all her classes - with a full course outline - full lesson plans, explanations of planned activities etc. She still doesn't understand why she needs to do this for classes she hopes she won't be teaching again - (like Agriculture) but I explained to her that it makes sense for the teacher who is currently teaching the course to prepare these Schemes for whoever is teaching them next year. She's just afraid that it will make it easier for the school to assign the same classes to the same teachers. We'll see how it works out.

Right now they are in review mode - and even though the learners need the review they don't want to spend time in class bothering with it. Ahh end of term blues. And with summer coming on in full force there it's hard for the learners to concentrate on mundane stuff like classes (GRIN)

Politics

We spent a long time chatting about the economy, the state of the political campaign, and how whoever becomes President will have a messy situation to reckon with.

She sees Obama's coolness in the face of the mud slinging as similar to the coolness of the first black major league baseball player Jackie Robinson who had to stand above the racial epithets thrown at them - Being steady and not fighting back on the nasty level of the attackers shows strength and maturity. She hopes the undecided see that in Obama's character.

Odds and Ends

She got a couple of small packages from us - but wanted to thank again all of you who have sent her packages, letters, and e-mails. She wishes it was easier to respond to each one of you - I only hope I'm doing an adequate job in her place!

Lisa's birthday is November 11 - she'll be hitting 24! If you're reading this blog you're got computer access so I'm hoping everyone will send her a short simple Happy Birthday on the 11th - since she can't read this blog easily it will surprise her if she gets a whole lot of wishes on her birthday - Thanks in advance for your e-mail to her at

Lisa_Rothman@hotmail.com

note - you need that underscore between Lisa and Rothman for it to get to her - I know you all know this but I still need to remind myself to put it in (SMILE)

And have a very Happy Halloween - since it will be November when next I blog!

Till next week -

Susan Rothman