Further adventures with African wildlife...

Mamiko really wanted a pet, so she caught a chameleon (fimbi in Oshikwanyama). Namibians (teachers and learners alike) are deathly afraid of chameleons. That chameleon escaped so she was looking for a new one. My 11H class found one in their classroom one day so they caught it for Mamiko. When I mentioned that I thought chameleons were cool, and admired Mamiko’s, some of my learners went on a mission to find me my own. 11H offered to sell me one for $50, but one of my grade 12s (Johnny…he wants to marry my sister and move to the US) caught one and brought it to me as a gift. He wanted me to name it John after him, but I named him Bartholomew instead. Some grade 12 learners were carrying some stereo equipment to my place to store and when I mentioned the fimbi I swear they all screamed like little girls and ran away as fast as they could. They all clearly think I’m crazy. Barty hung out on my front window curtain for about a week, before he made his great escape. I felt bad keeping him cooped up in here, so it’s all for the best. But he will be missed.

Even the copier is tired...

I’ve needed to make quite a few copies since I’ve arrived. At first I wasn’t sure of the protocol…I was told to give papers to meme Monica in the office, not realizing that really I can make my own copies whenever. So I gave her a large stack of things I needed to be copied, and she asked me if she could do them tomorrow, since the copier had been working hard and was too tired to do them that afternoon.

A Bug's Life

I am living in relative harmony with a variety of bugs. That’s not to say that I haven’t been killing them, but you just get used to them. I had to kill a massive beetle (and I’m not exaggerating, this thing was almost as big as my fist) not really because I wanted to, but because it was making so much noise running around. I had a spider friend, named Fred, but he died in a freak accident when my map fell off the wall. R.I.P. Fred. He was survived by his cousins, Watson, in the bathroom, and Sid and Nancy, in the kitchen. But my leniency led to more spiders and they started to take advantage of me and run all over, so the cease-fire ended this week and if it’s not fast enough, then it dies. The totally sweet bug tent that I got at one of the China shops in Oshikango is the most amazing thing. Every night I zip myself in and sleep peacefully knowing that the bugs and spiders can’t get to me. And as a bonus I feel like I’m having a grand camping adventure, but with the comfort of a mattress.

Oddities

My friend Jena is teaching primary school in Swakopmund. Swakop is on the coast and is vastly different than the north. I haven’t been yet, but from what I’ve been told it is more like a colonial Germany than Africa. She’s had some interesting encounters…like the learner that heiled Hitler one day! I haven’t had anything like that, but there have been two questions that I’ve been repeatedly asked…do I know where Osama bin Laden is and is Tupac really dead? It’s rather bizarre.

Finally!

Hi everyone! Sorry that it has taken me so long to post an update…my internet connection has not been cooperating! But I finally got a chance to get on and I have a lot to say so here goes…

I’ve made it through 4 weeks of teaching! I can hardly believe it. They have me teaching grade 11 English and grade 12 Life Skills. There are eight 40-minute periods in a school day and most days I’m teaching for at least six of those periods. It’s exhausting…by 1:30 I’m usually ready for a nap.

My schedule has been set since I arrived up north, but some of my friends at other schools are still waiting on a final schedule. I have to say that overall I seem to be faring pretty well in my placement. Not only is my school pretty organized, but my living situation is very satisfactory too. I’m not living at the Ritz, but I have running water (it’s cold, but it’s kind of nice since it’s always hot) and that counts for a lot. My biggest problem was a fridge that actually got hotter when plugged in, but the ministry has since brought me a new fridge that keeps my food cold.

***update…my schedule has actually now changed, twice, and I think it’s going to change again next week. I spoke too soon.

This past week has been especially busy. Two weekends ago I had some learners help me clean up the library, which has made me the de facto librarian. So every afternoon after school I have to be in the library until around 5. The learners have a mandatory after school study hour from 2:30 to 3:30 and the English Club started meeting on Thursdays during that hour. Somehow I ended up being in charge of fundraising activities for the debating club so that they can travel. So we’re going to do some movie nights, a bake sale, a raffle…any other ideas that I’m missing? Also, I woke up too early on Saturday morning and am now in charge of the women’s basketball team. I have absolutely no basketball skills, so this should be interesting. If nothing else they’ll be fit, since I’ll make them run and do lots of push-ups (that’s a shout out to you, Uncle Sean!).