Introducing Livingstone. He is a my new partner in crime. A mix between a Jack Russel mutt and what has been described to me as a “wolf.” No idea how big he’ll get. If you do not know Dr. Livingstone, google him, he is actually a pretty interesting guy.
So here is my house. Thank you to the gold mine for financing it and my host mom and principal for getting it going. It is nice to have a place to call home for the next 2 years. With such luxuries as hot water and ceiling fans I know I am really lucky. Still waiting for the power to be connected for the past month so the fans just kind of mock me during the 81 degree nights and a lot hotter days. But it is mine. It is the Namibian dream. I even have a yard to rake. Yes we rake the dirt here, but not in some zen art relaxing technique. We do it to minimize hiding spots for scorpions and snakes. Motivational none the less. You should come visit, I have wood chopped already and we can have a great braai under the African stars.
So I know I have been absent from the internet scene for some time now but here are a few photos to make up for delay. Life has moved on here. I am finally starting to get you used to the role of Mr. Guimont or “Teach.” Now that I have a house I have become to settle in. I do not have electricity yet but I you can read about that above. Anyway, to clarify a few of the photos and what I have been doing, I will not say that I have fully integrated into the community but I now have a role. It is nice to have a role other than the awkward house guest that shows up and fumbles around with a language I have only just begun to understand and unfortunately losing fast ( can get by ok speaking Namlish here). There are still twists and it keeps things interesting. For example getting bit by a spider and struggling to walk for 5 days due to an infection. Saw Namibians healthcare system first hand and they said it was a mosquito bite. Ummm… I have pictures of it without the bandage and I am from MN. Definitely no mosquito bite. Pretty much had to self diagnosis and continually ask for antibiotics. Currently have a chipped tooth and curious to see a Namibian dentist on Tuesday.
But life has pretty much been becoming a teacher. Expected issues of struggling with studies and trying to relate complex information to students who really do not care what a Protist is much less the different classes. To be honest I don’t care much either. Also to issues of drinking, sex and life. I appreciate those times more. Catching students drunk at school with a highly suspicious bottle of sprite was definitely a fun conversation. Especially when they earlier make very obvious parade to the school in the state that they were in. I love teaching secondary school.
We have soccer tournaments, traditional dances at festivals. For independence day there was a whole assembly created by the learners. There were dramas, songs, poems, marches. It was quite the ordeal.
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. I made bunny shaped banana pancakes. I had Jack Johnson stuck in my head. I will type a more organized blog later. Only have a limited battery life.
Here are a few photos from my Christmas holiday. The host family took me to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund on the coast. It was very nice change of pace where you go to the coast to cool off verses see some sun. Had a traditional meal on Christmas with the family. Christmas eve was spent with the host sisters at a Gazza concert that lasted from 6pm til 5am. We were there til 3 until we could not take the cold no more. Went dune sledding the day after christmas. Can’t have christmas without sledding. So i grabbed some cardboard, climbed a 30 foot dune and pretty much through myself off the edge to slide about 3 feet. The locals were not impressed. Pretty much rolled the rest of the way down. Was fun but next time going to get a professional sled. They get going fast. Google it.
I have not died though I have gotten that response from a few friends on facebook. Nope, just been busy with the holidays traveling the country, then a week long workshop in windhoek, then school starting the day I come back. School has actually been in session for a week and a half now. I am at school currently putting the final touches on the class schedule. I think this is the 5th time I have made changes. Sill waiting on a finalization of who is going to be in what classes. That hopefully will be set tomorrow. They weren’t kidding about the differences in the school system. With no class register, no year planner (despite having circuit tests) and changing the schedule constantly you really need to be flexible. Trying to impose an American time schedule has only blown up in my face. Sounds good in theory but “African Time” is something special.
Now that I have my own classes I feel like I am accomplishing something. It is a experience to have a lesson well thought out and see it executed beautifully then check the homework and see that maybe one got it. But that one that gets it makes you feel amazing. Part of the trouble is pushing critical thinking skills. In science that is key. You can memorize the facts but the content needs to make sense. Trying different things all the time to see what works but leaving yet again for another conference this week. But I wanted to keep this message short til I get the pics off my camera. Then I will talk about the holidays and teaching methodology.
Just to give you guys a daily schedule:
5:30 am - Rise and Shine
6:00 am Eat delicious oatmeal, take a hot shower (luxury here)
7:00 School suppose to start, if Monday there is assembly and songs and a devotion, daily staff meetings other days
7:20 School actually starts
Then til 1pm I am teaching several classes of Life Science in each grade 8, 9, 10 and grade 8 Math. There is tea time at 10:30! That is when I get the necessary raisen bun from the local ok mart.
2:00 pm - pb and j lunch and half hour nap
3:00 pm -back to Study to answer questions
4:00 pm -head to the athletic field to have the learners run around the track a few laps
6:00pm- head back to school to finish some assignments
7:00pm - Get home, prepare lessons for the next day, eat dinner with the family
11:00pm - “Sleep” - thanks to the lovely malaria medicine we are on
The next 2 years are going to go quick with also being subject head/librarian/science fair director/2 peace corps committees and whatever else they throw at me. So let’s just say my posting is going to decrease a little bit unfortunately. But I will do my best to try and post the big events. As always email me questions or comment questions and I will answer. Geniet jou dag!
A collection of photos of some animals seen so far. In connection with post below detailing adventures.
I would just like to preface that I am writing this while listening to Christmas with Dean Martin. Let it Snow has a whole new meaning when there is absolutely no chance of it happening whatsoever. School is officially out today and I thought might be good to update you with what has been keeping me busy as of late. I have officially declared war on the giant bugs of this country. When I said I was tired of the routine Africa must have heard and decided to mix it up by sending these delightful creatures for my amusement. Some of the local fauna are absolutely amazing. I went hiking and ran into a meerkat checking me out from a far. Manage to run into a family of baboons. They are really cool. I at first heard what I thought was a human yelling but inaudibly. This caused minor concern because technically I was on a farmer’s property and neglected to ask permission. My host mom said it would be all right though. Then coming down from the peak I ran into this grey furry thing rather unexpectantly. It was a baboon! It ran around the peak to its family, its enlarged pink buttocks flailing in the wind. Spent the rest of the afternoon just stalking them and enjoying their antics.
That was about 2 weeks ago. I was feeling pretty adventurous having gone out into the wilderness and surviving. Well, last week nature came inside. I was just chilling in my bed playing Chrono Trigger on my laptop. A sweet old SNES game for those interested. And I heard this clicking sound. Now, I thought nothing of it because I had a fan blowing and my shower curtain in that direction makes a similar noise in the breeze. Then a movement caught my eye. Instinctively I swatted at this giant spider/scorpion thing (I have to decide what it was for it cannot climb walls all that well but I don’t remember seeing a tail) Anyway the thing literally was the size of a small mouse and I wound u chasing the thing all over the house with futile attempts to kill it. It finally ran under a cabinet that I could not quite reach and resorted to trapping it there. The next morning I found it escaped. Two days later another friendly spider wandered out while I was watching TV. Staring at me from its lofty perch I saw my chance for revenge. Roughly the diameter of a pool ball he presented a formable opponent for I managed to twist my ankle and almost take out some curtains in my attempts to kill it. Only the next day did I manage to survey the scene and see I was successful in my campaign. Later that night the spiders kid brother visited me in the kitchen and that was a little easier of a battle.
Upon talking to my host mom apparently they will only get worse as the rain continues. Yippee. Though all those ones apparently aren’t dangerous. It is the ones the size of quarters you have to watch out for. Well lucky for me my cat was patting at my pants laying on the ground. Upon investigation a black spider the size of a quarter came scurrying out. Of course my good for nothing cat was about as helpful as all the other campaigns and merely watched as I chased this one until I eventually got this one as well.
Two things I have learned from this, when I move out get a cat that is not lazy and two sleep comes a lot harder when you know what bed bugs are actually crawling around when one is trying to rest.
Happy studying to those still in school. ; )
It is amazing how one could wish for rain. I will definitely appreciate it more stateside. Maybe I’ll live in Seattle for a little bit to make up for it.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends. Me? I am baking a pie tomorrow to celebrate. Also gives me something to do to wait out the elections. Not that there is an expectation for anything to go wrong, just playing it safe. It is weird being in a place that does not have thanksgiving. It does not even feel like that time of year with it being 107 degrees outside. All I am holding out for is the rainy season. There have been storm clouds in the horizon for the past 3 days but no rain fall. Apparently when it comes it is not going to let up. School is wrapping up here for the holiday season. We actually close on December 4th. There has been nothing but exams however for the students for the past two weeks. And people in the states think standardized testing is bad. There are cluster wide tests three times a year in every subject. These tests lasts and hour or two each! I have to admit I feel for the learners. Anyway I am also corresponding with some lovely students in MN through a exchange program that is set up. Below are some questions that they have asked.
Sorry but how old are you?
- I am 22 years old and considered past my prime in Namibian standards. The median age of the country is only 20-21!
What kind of food do you like to eat?
- I generally love Mexican food but that is in rather short supply here in Namibia. I am learning how to make tortillas and salsa. No easy Ortega mixes here. In Namibia I have grown to love the rusks here. Think of them like a gram cracker cube. They are absolutely delicious but terrible for you. I am not a big fan of their spoiled milk but some other members swear by it.
Are there any cool animals their?
- There are some pretty sweet animals here. Lizards are everywhere in my town. While driving I have seen warthogs and kudo (imagine a an exotic deer). Both which are quite tasty. I run on a baboon-infested road but I have yet to see any. I hear them howling however. There is a cheetah conservatory that I hope to check out an hour north of here where you can pet cheetahs. The largest concentration of cheetahs is located in Namibia. There are also the big 5 African animal here but they tend to be found in the game parks. They include rhinos, elephants, leopards, lions and cape buffalo. There supposedly have been sightings of leopards on the mountain I hike so I am a little leery of that now. I figure there are goats in the same vicinity that are a little easier prey. Some of my colleagues have seen giraffes on their trips as well as flamingos. I will see more as I am allowed to travel. There are also snakes! One of my friends here had a dangerous spitting one in her hut that awoke her one night. She was very lucky.
What kind of words did you learned?
- I have learned parts of two tanguages here, Khoekhoegowab which is a language using 4 clicks and Afrikaans, a variation of Dutch. I can speak more Afrikaans just because it is a lot easier but KKG is fun to listen too. “Matisa?” means “Whats up?” in KKG. You would then respond !Gaia. The ! is a click. Hou gan dit? Is the Afrikaans version of the above.
What are the main sports?
- The main two sports here are soccer and rugby. Everyone here has their favorite soccer team, though a lot seem to favor Manchester United. There is a lot of excitement surrounding the 2010 world cup in South Africa. A lot of commercialism geared up for it. At school there are also leagues in place for netball, a variation of basketball that generally girls play, and volleyball. There is some softball with funds from the USA supporting it.
Do you have any body wash there?
- Yeah there is body wash here. A little expensive though. The weird thing though is the deodorant. There is no stick deodorant. It is this roll on gel thing. Kind of hard to explain but it is very necessary here with the heat.
Is there any Honda cars up there?
- There are Hondas and Chevys and Toyotas, BMWs, Fiats, Tatas, Hundai, and Volkswagens. The 5 door coupe though reigns supreme. You see them everywhere. There is also a general trend of smaller cars. People tend to not buy as big here. Definitely opposite of Texans. If you have ever driven through there trucks are huge!
How hot is Nambia?
- It is currently 107 degrees and supposed to get hotter but not that much. It cools off at night though because there are no bodies of water acting as an insulator to moderate the temperature. Sorry I am a science teacher. Is it ever a little cold in Nambia? - They do have winter here, which happens during what would be summer in the states. I can get below freezing during those times but no snow. It is cooler by the cost all year.
What happens when the lights go off?
- The lights do go off here whenever there is a thunderstorm. This occurs for seemingly one month straight during the rainy season. During that time people just use there gas stoves and use fires. Although a lot of Namibia does not have electricity at all or at least reliably. I live where in town, but in the location the electricity is a little more sporadic and people there are reliant on the daily schedule of the sun and candles. We hold study hours at the school to give students who do not have access to electricity a place to study but it is a pretty long walk for them, twenty minutes there and back. They make this round trip journey at least twice a day.
Is there any lakes or rivers near Nambia?
- There are some lakes and rivers but they are few and far between. They are mainly to the north. There is a cool river called the Kunene River, on the northern border, that flows into the middle of Africa instead of an ocean and just evaporates into the Okavango Delta in Botswana. You can see this highlighted in the Planet Earth Series. Wildlife flourish around here during select times of the year.
Is there a lot of people living where you are living?
- There are very few people in Karibib, around 2,000, and in Namibia in general. There are only around 2 million people here total. Most are in the capital city and in the northern regions. That is 2 million people for an area roughly twice the size of California. That is 6.8 people per square mile. There is a lot of open space here.
What weapons do the military in namibia carry?
- Well as a member of Peace Corps I do not have much dealings with the military here but during one of my runs I ran past some guards carrying AK 47s. I made a memo to myself to come home arrive home sooner after that.
Please feel free to send any questions you may have. Happy Holidays.
