A month in
on Marika VSO-ing in Namibia (Namibia), 21/Feb/2010 13:45, 34 days ago
It has finally clouded over, rained and cooled down here– phew - if only it would stay like this.I have managed to make my first (and I'm assuming last) appearance on national TV earlier this week, as the Namibian Broadcasting Channel (nbc) news recorded last Saturday's event, so this has had a consequence of at least two people approaching me and saying hello (hopefully no more). It is odd having the feeling that even just by word of mouth here in Katima, others know who I am before I know who they are. I didn’t manage to see it myself but if anyone else finds it, do let me know.Last week, a neighbour passed away. There were many cars as people gathered to support the family. It reminded me of how things were in the village in Crete, but what was even more moving here, was to hear the mournful singing in the evenings by the women. Such beautiful, comforting singing.I helped out with the first Maths workshops of the year, run by the reputably bone idle South African Maths Advisor. (He has already asked me to take over from him on one of the days). The workshop was for the Maths teachers of 3 other circuits, outside Katima, where most the teachers were quite young. The days emphasised to me the lack of subject knowledge the teachers have here, mainly due to their lack of own education. It was wonderful meeting them though, despite, the advisor’s lack of motivation and attendance, they were quite happy to continue on with the tasks at hand, which mainly involved them solving maths problems to help increase their understanding of certain topic areas. Their discussions were very insightful from my perspective and some keen for me to visittheir schools – I must arrange transport.I also helped out with the timetabling workshops. Again, it’s shocking to imagine, some schools are still running without timetables, 2 months into the year. So it is asked that each school sends the most computer literate teacher to do this. There are still some that have barely used a computer before. I also seem to be the ICT expert at Mavuluma. Who would have thought!?Part of our roof fell in this week. So the house appears nice and big, but much is falling apart. The Ministry seem to have us low on their priority lists (understandably as Vivien recently went to a school with no classroom, instead the class sitting under a tree, and learners having to share chairs), so a temporary solution via a local labourer might need to be sought. We also had a few consecutive days without water. That was difficult, but gratefully, housemates have prepared back up bottles for these times.I met a dozen teachers from Tower Hamlets visiting during half term. It was good hearing that London accent again. Next time I find anyone from the home, I think I will try sending post back with them. I hear things take around a month to arrive here from the UK, have yet to work out how long it takes the other way, but it takes at least 45 mins of queuing at the post office (even when it’s not pensioners’ payday).I spent the evenings reading‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini, the same author of ‘The Kite Runner’. I was totally gripped and moved by it. I recommend it to all.Pay day was due yesterday, but as warned, it would be very unlikely for me to get paid for at least two months. I have to resort to my home bank account until my lucky day. Other local volunteers stay clear from town these days as teachers and police get paid, there is an influx of drinking in town. This repeats itself as many others get paid at the end of the month. The problem is that, every month this cycle repeats itself; the Caprivians spend too much once paid and are hungry by the end of the month. There is a general theme of poor planning ahead in the culture here it seems.Yesterday, we had a house gathering as Peace Corps and VSO volunteers will not all be around until again in June. 4 Peace Corps vs 4 VSO, 4 Americans vs 2 English vs 2 Aussies...A good excuse for some bad footy in the stoop to join the music, food, games and dancing.Local food here seems to revolve around chicken, beef, rice, chips and pap. I think I see chicken somewhere almost every day and veggies don’t taste as nice as I’m used to. I am beginning to miss some foods already, but I will not go on a rant yet and will try not to think about it too much...As I’ve only been here a month, I will also refrain from expressing my frustration at the continuous comments one gets as a ‘makuwa’ being out and about, especially as a female, on a bike, despite taking extra care of my dress code. I am proud to say though; I’m getting close to having mastered the art of cycling in a skirt...