Hello from Zambia!
I am officially an RPCV (returned Peace Corps Vol)!! Woohooo! I like to say I have traded the "L" (in PCVL) for an "R"--a pretty fabulous trade if you ask me! It was hard to say goodbye to all of my Namibian friends and family (and the wonderful PC staff--they are all so wonderful), but I know it is time to leave and that I will come back and visit in the future.
I have started my COS (close of service) trip with the other PCVLs and our first stop was Livingstone, Zambia to see Vic Falls. It took us 3 days to get here, but all of that travel was worth it!
Zambia is a beautiful country (so green since rainy season just started) and is so friendly and laid back. We have loved our time here!
We spent a day at the Falls walking around the little park that surrounds it and relaxing at the top of the falls. The water is a little low this time of the year, so they were not quite as full as the last time I came (and I was on the Zim side that time) but they were still beautiful. Words can’t really describe how pretty Vic Falls is.
There are a lot of different activities you can do when you are here—bunji jumping, gorge swinging, white water rafting, walking with lions, riding elephants, and tons more. I am a baby and don’t think I could ever go bunji jumping or do the gorge swing (we saw people doing it when we were at the falls—terrifying!) but I was brave enough for white water rafting. Three of us decided to sign up for a full day of rafting (on some of the best/hardest rapids in the world!) and had SO much fun!
When we first got the rafting place, they started with all of these safety talks and demos and I was pretty terrified, but as soon as we met our guide and got on the Zambezi, I was fine. There were 6 of us in the boat along with our guide who was great. You start off on a class 5 rapid (one of the hardest), so that was a little scary, but we all made it through with no one in our boat falling off or capsizing . The guides tell you what to do the whole time—paddle forward, backward, move to one side, get down. Our favourite command was “get down”. Basically, it meant that we were going through a hard part of the rapid and we should all duck down while he finished steering the boat (or ducked himself). It was so funny to see the video of our trip (they have people in kayaks videotaping) because as soon as the guide yelled “get down” panic came over our faces and we jumped into the raft to hide! So funny!
There were no injuries in our group, even though we did flip the raft once (a little scary, but mostly fun) and I fell out another time. The best part of the day was towards the end when we were going through class one rapids and could just jump off the boat and swim through them. I think they should make a tour of just that! So relaxing!
Other than the rafting, we have just been relaxing, eating great food and enjoying Zambia. Tonight we take an overnight bus to a town north of Lusaka where we will take a two day train to Tanzania. We should arrive in Dar on the 23rd and will take a ferry on the 24th for Zanzibar! I can’t wait for Christmas and New Years on the beach!!
I hope you all have a great Christmas and a happy New Year! I miss you tons and can’t wait to be home in less than 2 months to see everyone!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Support Schools in Africa!
http://www.firstgiving.com/alymartin
Since coming to Namibia, I have really gotten into running. I am a very slow runner (and I am not just saying that!), but I don't really mind being slow and just enjoy running. When I lived in the village I would run with learners and village dogs and it became part of my routine.
Last year I ran in my first half-marathon and ran in the same race again this year. I have signed up to run the Indy Mini in May of next year and have joined a fundraising team with some friends. We will be raising money for RISE, an NGO that builds schools in Angola, Africa (my neighbor to the north!). It is a great cause and you can read more about it on my fundraising page at http://www.firstgiving.com/alymartin
If you are interested in helping out, please go there to help me raise my fundraising goal for RISE :). Thanks!
Since coming to Namibia, I have really gotten into running. I am a very slow runner (and I am not just saying that!), but I don't really mind being slow and just enjoy running. When I lived in the village I would run with learners and village dogs and it became part of my routine.
Last year I ran in my first half-marathon and ran in the same race again this year. I have signed up to run the Indy Mini in May of next year and have joined a fundraising team with some friends. We will be raising money for RISE, an NGO that builds schools in Angola, Africa (my neighbor to the north!). It is a great cause and you can read more about it on my fundraising page at http://www.firstgiving.com/alymartin
If you are interested in helping out, please go there to help me raise my fundraising goal for RISE :). Thanks!
Last Weeks in Khorixas!
Well, a week from today I will be celebrating my 4th birthday in Namibia (I came here 22 and am leaving 26...makes me feel a bit old!) and moving out of Khorixas! It is hard to believe that is time to start packing up and leaving. Parts of this year seemed to crawl by, but, for the most part, this year reall has flown by.
So how have I been spending my last weeks here?
I have been spending a lot of time at the senior secondary school here. I think I have written about teaching Life Skills to Grade 11 there, so I wrapped that up last week. Everyone told me Grade 11 was a bad grade, but I just loved them! I looked forward to all of my classes and appreciated how open and honest they were. We focused on romantic relationships, touched on gender roles and, of course, talked about reproductive health/sex (always a theme in any classes in Namibia, and rightfully so!). They are great learners though and I have LOVED spending this term with them.
When I was at the school, I would also pop into other classes who were free (maybe a teacher was sick or just didn't come to the class for that period) for "open talk", which the learners love. It is basically just "ask any question you want" time. A lot of times it is about dating/sex, but sometimes it is about friendship or how your body works (I have done a lot of pregnancy actually happens inside the female body talks). A learner usually asks a question and I throw it out to the class to answer and make sure that the discussion is going in the right direction.
The other project I wrapped up was my Girls Club. This term I only had my junior Girls Club (grades 8-9) as the the senior girls were writing national exams and were busy studying. Again, I just loved hanging out with these girls. They are really sweet and a lot of fun to work with. I think they had a lot of fun this year and hopefully learned some things too :).
Besides that, I have been hanging out with the OYO staff and helping out with school visits and magazine distributions with them. Oscar (one of my favourite colleagues) quit at the beginning of this term, which I was really bummed about. He was like a little brother and we just always had fun in the office together. But, luckily, we have a great new colleague...who is a girl!! All of the OYO (at least the OYO staff I work with and visit our office) are guys. So I was more than happy to have another girl around. Plus, she is great and we get along really well! I am sad that the timing was off in that right as she is arriving, I am leaving.
While I know I am ready to go home and be with my American family and friends, it is still hard to leave my Namibian family and friends. I am not looking forward to all of the Khorixas good byes I will have to say next week. While these good byes won't be quite as tough as the village good byes (just because I spent 2 years there and only a year here), they will still be hard. The OYO boys have really become family to me. I could not have asked for better people to work with--we have a lot of fun joking around and chatting...plus, they really couldn't be nicer to me. And Khorixas is a wonderful little town. One of my Nam friends called it a big village, and that is how it is--traditional and friendly! I will miss kids running up and giving me hugs and everyone greeting everyone with smiles. I have made some wonderful friends here (most of whom are on FB--got to love technology!) and will miss them dearly. But, I know I am ready to go home! And after a couple of months of traveling around Africa (I will save those plans for another post), home is where I will be...can't wait!
So how have I been spending my last weeks here?
I have been spending a lot of time at the senior secondary school here. I think I have written about teaching Life Skills to Grade 11 there, so I wrapped that up last week. Everyone told me Grade 11 was a bad grade, but I just loved them! I looked forward to all of my classes and appreciated how open and honest they were. We focused on romantic relationships, touched on gender roles and, of course, talked about reproductive health/sex (always a theme in any classes in Namibia, and rightfully so!). They are great learners though and I have LOVED spending this term with them.
When I was at the school, I would also pop into other classes who were free (maybe a teacher was sick or just didn't come to the class for that period) for "open talk", which the learners love. It is basically just "ask any question you want" time. A lot of times it is about dating/sex, but sometimes it is about friendship or how your body works (I have done a lot of pregnancy actually happens inside the female body talks). A learner usually asks a question and I throw it out to the class to answer and make sure that the discussion is going in the right direction.
The other project I wrapped up was my Girls Club. This term I only had my junior Girls Club (grades 8-9) as the the senior girls were writing national exams and were busy studying. Again, I just loved hanging out with these girls. They are really sweet and a lot of fun to work with. I think they had a lot of fun this year and hopefully learned some things too :).
Besides that, I have been hanging out with the OYO staff and helping out with school visits and magazine distributions with them. Oscar (one of my favourite colleagues) quit at the beginning of this term, which I was really bummed about. He was like a little brother and we just always had fun in the office together. But, luckily, we have a great new colleague...who is a girl!! All of the OYO (at least the OYO staff I work with and visit our office) are guys. So I was more than happy to have another girl around. Plus, she is great and we get along really well! I am sad that the timing was off in that right as she is arriving, I am leaving.
While I know I am ready to go home and be with my American family and friends, it is still hard to leave my Namibian family and friends. I am not looking forward to all of the Khorixas good byes I will have to say next week. While these good byes won't be quite as tough as the village good byes (just because I spent 2 years there and only a year here), they will still be hard. The OYO boys have really become family to me. I could not have asked for better people to work with--we have a lot of fun joking around and chatting...plus, they really couldn't be nicer to me. And Khorixas is a wonderful little town. One of my Nam friends called it a big village, and that is how it is--traditional and friendly! I will miss kids running up and giving me hugs and everyone greeting everyone with smiles. I have made some wonderful friends here (most of whom are on FB--got to love technology!) and will miss them dearly. But, I know I am ready to go home! And after a couple of months of traveling around Africa (I will save those plans for another post), home is where I will be...can't wait!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Half Marathon and Last Visit to the Bing
Sooo...I started this awhile ago and never actually posted it. All time references are off by a month or so...whoops!
The weekend before last was the Lucky Star Marathon in Swakop! It is a great race that runs right along the oldest and biggest dunes in the world (just beautiful!). You have the option to run the full marathon or split the marathon with a friend (one runs the first half, the other the second). Then there is a learner race where they run a 4 person relay. I ran the first half of the marathon (21 km!) and my site mate Christine ran the second half. There were probably close to 20 PCVs down there to run/cheer/bring learners. It was soooo much fun! I was actually had a pretty bad cold for the week before the race and had a nasty cough on the day of and was a bit worried about being able to run, but it ended up being fine! I ran a bit slower than usual but made it to the end :).
It is funny, because the adult portion of the marathon starts a half hour before the learner relays start. So you would think you would not see any learners along the way...FALSE! About 45 minutes into the race, all of a sudden you see these little kids with bare feet speeding past you. It really is amazing how fast these kids can run! I can't imagine ever running that fast...let alone in bare little feet!
After the marathon was over, we all had a big dinner and then ended up going out and celebrating our training being over! It was a fun weekend :).
I ended up spending a few days helping out a vol who is teaching an after school program in Swakop. It was fun to hang out with her and learn more about her project. Her kiddos were cute and their English was AMAZING!
After helping out in Swakop I went to the Bing for my last visit! It was great to be back in the village! Everytime I go back, I never want to leave and actually think about staying a 4th year to teach at Da Palm (don't worry though...I am coming home...I promise!).
I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and went to afternoon study to see all of my learners and teachers. I basically just hung out in the classrooms distracting the kids from doing their homework (I am a fab teacher, huh?).
That evening we had a memorial service for a teacher who died two weeks before. The learners and staff lined the road leading to the hall where the memorial was going to be held. As the sunset, we all sang and then followed the car carrying his body down to the hall. It was really a beautiful evening and quite a fitting way to honor Tate.
The staff at my school is extremely close and his death was a bit of a surprise to all of us, so, needless to say, it was pretty hard. His name was Mr. Shimutukeni, but we all just called him Tate (Tah-tay, meaning father). He would always stir up some kind of trouble in the staff room, but it always ended with us laughing! He was just well loved by all of the teachers and the learners--a great teacher who always had the learners' best interests at heart. I was really glad I was able to be there for the memorial service and the funeral.
So, Friday was spent hanging out again and catching up with friends, teachers and learners. I really just spent the whole day at the school! That evening, I went over to the school to hang out with my learners and we ended up playing games and singing under the stars until 10:30pm when they were sent into the hostel for the evening. It was the best way to end a great last day in the village! It is funny, because I know that would never fly in America. These were grade 10-12 learners (boys and girls) playing "kid" games with their teacher on a Saturday night, but we all just had so much fun! I will really miss that about Namibia. These kids go through so much and have to grow up so fast in some respects, but in others, they are still just kids who love to hang out and play games. I really can't say enough how much I love my school, my teachers and my learners. I was so so so so lucky to be able to spend two years with such amazing people!
On Saturday, we woke up early and traveled into town for Tate's funeral (the funeral was in Karibib, the town about 70km away). A few of my teachers had moved away from the village this year, but everyone came back in for the funeral, so it was nice to see all of them. The funeral was sad (of course) and lasted about 5 hours. Then we had the burial, which was another hour and a half (a long day!). While it was long, the funeral was a beautiful way to remember Tate. Lots of tears, but lots of great Tate stories as well.
In Namibia, funerals are almost always on a Saturday and usually a week or two after the person has died. This is so family has time to travel in and the family can gather money to cover the funeral expenses. On Friday night, the family and close friends gather at the family's house for prayers and singing. The body is delivered to the house that evening and the family greet the body with songs and tears. The family sits with the body for the whole evening until the funeral the next day. It is interesting to observe and be apart of the funeral process here. In some ways things are similiar, but in others it is quite different. Everyone kind of grieves in their own way :).
Well, that is about it for my Swakop/Bing visit! I took lots of pictures, which, once in America, I will put in an album and post online (the internet is too slow here/I don't have enough patience). I have lots of great pictures of my fabulous learners though! Oh I am going to miss them (I know, I say that a lot...but it is true :) ).
The weekend before last was the Lucky Star Marathon in Swakop! It is a great race that runs right along the oldest and biggest dunes in the world (just beautiful!). You have the option to run the full marathon or split the marathon with a friend (one runs the first half, the other the second). Then there is a learner race where they run a 4 person relay. I ran the first half of the marathon (21 km!) and my site mate Christine ran the second half. There were probably close to 20 PCVs down there to run/cheer/bring learners. It was soooo much fun! I was actually had a pretty bad cold for the week before the race and had a nasty cough on the day of and was a bit worried about being able to run, but it ended up being fine! I ran a bit slower than usual but made it to the end :).
It is funny, because the adult portion of the marathon starts a half hour before the learner relays start. So you would think you would not see any learners along the way...FALSE! About 45 minutes into the race, all of a sudden you see these little kids with bare feet speeding past you. It really is amazing how fast these kids can run! I can't imagine ever running that fast...let alone in bare little feet!
After the marathon was over, we all had a big dinner and then ended up going out and celebrating our training being over! It was a fun weekend :).
I ended up spending a few days helping out a vol who is teaching an after school program in Swakop. It was fun to hang out with her and learn more about her project. Her kiddos were cute and their English was AMAZING!
After helping out in Swakop I went to the Bing for my last visit! It was great to be back in the village! Everytime I go back, I never want to leave and actually think about staying a 4th year to teach at Da Palm (don't worry though...I am coming home...I promise!).
I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and went to afternoon study to see all of my learners and teachers. I basically just hung out in the classrooms distracting the kids from doing their homework (I am a fab teacher, huh?).
That evening we had a memorial service for a teacher who died two weeks before. The learners and staff lined the road leading to the hall where the memorial was going to be held. As the sunset, we all sang and then followed the car carrying his body down to the hall. It was really a beautiful evening and quite a fitting way to honor Tate.
The staff at my school is extremely close and his death was a bit of a surprise to all of us, so, needless to say, it was pretty hard. His name was Mr. Shimutukeni, but we all just called him Tate (Tah-tay, meaning father). He would always stir up some kind of trouble in the staff room, but it always ended with us laughing! He was just well loved by all of the teachers and the learners--a great teacher who always had the learners' best interests at heart. I was really glad I was able to be there for the memorial service and the funeral.
So, Friday was spent hanging out again and catching up with friends, teachers and learners. I really just spent the whole day at the school! That evening, I went over to the school to hang out with my learners and we ended up playing games and singing under the stars until 10:30pm when they were sent into the hostel for the evening. It was the best way to end a great last day in the village! It is funny, because I know that would never fly in America. These were grade 10-12 learners (boys and girls) playing "kid" games with their teacher on a Saturday night, but we all just had so much fun! I will really miss that about Namibia. These kids go through so much and have to grow up so fast in some respects, but in others, they are still just kids who love to hang out and play games. I really can't say enough how much I love my school, my teachers and my learners. I was so so so so lucky to be able to spend two years with such amazing people!
On Saturday, we woke up early and traveled into town for Tate's funeral (the funeral was in Karibib, the town about 70km away). A few of my teachers had moved away from the village this year, but everyone came back in for the funeral, so it was nice to see all of them. The funeral was sad (of course) and lasted about 5 hours. Then we had the burial, which was another hour and a half (a long day!). While it was long, the funeral was a beautiful way to remember Tate. Lots of tears, but lots of great Tate stories as well.
In Namibia, funerals are almost always on a Saturday and usually a week or two after the person has died. This is so family has time to travel in and the family can gather money to cover the funeral expenses. On Friday night, the family and close friends gather at the family's house for prayers and singing. The body is delivered to the house that evening and the family greet the body with songs and tears. The family sits with the body for the whole evening until the funeral the next day. It is interesting to observe and be apart of the funeral process here. In some ways things are similiar, but in others it is quite different. Everyone kind of grieves in their own way :).
Well, that is about it for my Swakop/Bing visit! I took lots of pictures, which, once in America, I will put in an album and post online (the internet is too slow here/I don't have enough patience). I have lots of great pictures of my fabulous learners though! Oh I am going to miss them (I know, I say that a lot...but it is true :) ).
Monday, October 11, 2010
Videos from the Bing!
Here is a link to a website with videos my learners and I made last year for a cultural exchange we did. New Hope High School (the school that read Chanda's Secrets around the same time we did at Da Palm) used the videos to help their students and community understand life in Namibia and uploaded them to their website. I wanted to pass this website on so you all could see my kiddos and their life!
Thanks New Hope for putting the video online!
http://nhsreadtheworld.wikispaces.com/Namibia+Videos
Thanks New Hope for putting the video online!
http://nhsreadtheworld.wikispaces.com/Namibia+Videos
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Romario and Luke
I named the kitten Luke...I had watched a little too much Gilmore Girls the day Christina told me to give him a name :).
Friday, October 1, 2010
Last Few Months!
I only have less than 3 months left in Namibia! So so crazy! It is hard for me to think about it. Namibia and PC has been my life for the past 3 years (I came to Namibia 22 years old and will leave 26! How crazy is that?), but I know that I will be ready to go in December.
In these next couple of months, I am trying to stay busy with things I just love doing. I am teaching Grade 11 Life Skills classes at a local senior secondary school. We are focusing on relationships (a favourite topic at the secondary schools) and discussing healthy relationships, controlling relationships, talking about sex/condom use with your partner and anything else along the way. I am also planning on adding in some gender/cultural norms in there as well. The learners really seem to like the classes (we meet twice a week) and I do too. I always walk out of the classes smiling--I just love teaching and really like the Grade 11's. Today when I was in one of their classes some boys made up a rap about me--I feel cool :).
I am also thinking about planning a workshop for a secondary all boys school in a village about 20km away. They have a lot of problems with drinking and drugs, so I thought we could maybe do a 2-day workshop on self-esteem/drinking and drugs. We will see though! I still need to run the idea by my counterpart, and I am not really sure what the calendar of events are for the rest of the term, so I am not holding my breath yet!
I also have a trip planned to the Bing! I am soooo excited to see my learners, teachers and friends. The only sad part is that this will be my final goodbye. I am pretty sure there will be a lot of tears from me. Last year when I said goodbye (knowing that I would be back to visit just a couple of months after saying goodbye) I was a total mess! I am just bad with farewells. Always have been! It will be really hard to leave Otjimbingwe and Da Palm though. It will always be my second home and is definitely my Namibian home. As much as I like Khorixas, your first site is always home.
The other big thing I have to look forward to is the Lucky Star Marathon! I am splitting the marathon with my site-mate Christine. I will run the first half and she will run the second half. I am really excited! There are quite a few PCVs running and even more coming to support. Plus the marathon ends in Swakop--my very favourite Nam holiday spot!
Nothing else really big has been happening around here. It is insanely hot in Khorixas already. I forgot how hot it gets here! Oh and we have two new volunteers coming to teach at both of the secondary schools. They are a married couple and one will be teaching English at the senior secondary school and the other is teaching Math at the junior secondary school. They came for a visit last week and were really excited and happy to be here! I am really excited that Khorixas is going to have 2 more wonderful PCVs :).
Well, that is all! I hope life is wonderful on your side of the world!
In these next couple of months, I am trying to stay busy with things I just love doing. I am teaching Grade 11 Life Skills classes at a local senior secondary school. We are focusing on relationships (a favourite topic at the secondary schools) and discussing healthy relationships, controlling relationships, talking about sex/condom use with your partner and anything else along the way. I am also planning on adding in some gender/cultural norms in there as well. The learners really seem to like the classes (we meet twice a week) and I do too. I always walk out of the classes smiling--I just love teaching and really like the Grade 11's. Today when I was in one of their classes some boys made up a rap about me--I feel cool :).
I am also thinking about planning a workshop for a secondary all boys school in a village about 20km away. They have a lot of problems with drinking and drugs, so I thought we could maybe do a 2-day workshop on self-esteem/drinking and drugs. We will see though! I still need to run the idea by my counterpart, and I am not really sure what the calendar of events are for the rest of the term, so I am not holding my breath yet!
I also have a trip planned to the Bing! I am soooo excited to see my learners, teachers and friends. The only sad part is that this will be my final goodbye. I am pretty sure there will be a lot of tears from me. Last year when I said goodbye (knowing that I would be back to visit just a couple of months after saying goodbye) I was a total mess! I am just bad with farewells. Always have been! It will be really hard to leave Otjimbingwe and Da Palm though. It will always be my second home and is definitely my Namibian home. As much as I like Khorixas, your first site is always home.
The other big thing I have to look forward to is the Lucky Star Marathon! I am splitting the marathon with my site-mate Christine. I will run the first half and she will run the second half. I am really excited! There are quite a few PCVs running and even more coming to support. Plus the marathon ends in Swakop--my very favourite Nam holiday spot!
Nothing else really big has been happening around here. It is insanely hot in Khorixas already. I forgot how hot it gets here! Oh and we have two new volunteers coming to teach at both of the secondary schools. They are a married couple and one will be teaching English at the senior secondary school and the other is teaching Math at the junior secondary school. They came for a visit last week and were really excited and happy to be here! I am really excited that Khorixas is going to have 2 more wonderful PCVs :).
Well, that is all! I hope life is wonderful on your side of the world!
HOME!
Well...I am not home anymore. But I was home about a month ago! It was so great to be able to spend time with my family and friends. I really do miss them!
I spent most of the time up at the Lake--the perfect way to spend a summer holiday. We did a lot of reading, boating, sun-soaking, laughing, chatting and wine drinking :). It really was the perfect holiday! Not much else to say!
It was sad saying good-bye (as it always is...especially when you are so emotional (like me!). But I guess I just feel so lucky to have so many people I am sad to say good bye to :). And, it was great to know that I would be home for good in 6 months!
Yipee! It doesn't quite feel real that the next I am home, it will be for good. Exciting but sad at the same time.
I will try to post some pictures on here from home (and by "I", I mean getting my sister Mad to post them for me...thanks in advance sis!).
I spent most of the time up at the Lake--the perfect way to spend a summer holiday. We did a lot of reading, boating, sun-soaking, laughing, chatting and wine drinking :). It really was the perfect holiday! Not much else to say!
It was sad saying good-bye (as it always is...especially when you are so emotional (like me!). But I guess I just feel so lucky to have so many people I am sad to say good bye to :). And, it was great to know that I would be home for good in 6 months!
Yipee! It doesn't quite feel real that the next I am home, it will be for good. Exciting but sad at the same time.
I will try to post some pictures on here from home (and by "I", I mean getting my sister Mad to post them for me...thanks in advance sis!).
Monday, July 5, 2010
Going Home!
Well...it is official...I am going home for a little holiday at the end of August! And I am bringing my cat Crunch!
I know it is a little silly to come home for a visit when I was just home (last December) and will be finishing up my service (this December), but my parents wanted me to visit and offered to pay, so how could I turn that down?!? Plus, it is a great opportunity to bring home the Crunch-man. He will officially be an Nam-American! He is very excited about his dual citizenship.
So...mark those calendars! I will be home from 22 Aug to 10 Sept. I plan on spending most of my time at the Lake with some FW and Indy visits squeezed in. Of course, all my plans have to be run by my mom (who only allows me to be out of her sight for a select few minutes a day ;), but hopefully I will be able to see as many people as possible when I am home.
After I fly back to Nam, I will finish up my service and leave Nam and PC for good in early December. It will be really hard to say good bye and officially leave my second home, but I think I will be ready (please remind me of this statement when I am saying my final goodbyes and cannot stop sobbing--I can be pretty emotional when it comes to saying good bye!). Once I COS (close of service), some friends and I will backpack around Africa a bit and I will hopefully be home for good in February. I will update you on the whens and wheres of that big trip once we sit down and do some planning..I have begun to realize that planning is not a PCV's strongsuit after 3 years of chaotic non-planning, one of the many joys of living in Nam :).
See you in America soon soon!
I know it is a little silly to come home for a visit when I was just home (last December) and will be finishing up my service (this December), but my parents wanted me to visit and offered to pay, so how could I turn that down?!? Plus, it is a great opportunity to bring home the Crunch-man. He will officially be an Nam-American! He is very excited about his dual citizenship.
So...mark those calendars! I will be home from 22 Aug to 10 Sept. I plan on spending most of my time at the Lake with some FW and Indy visits squeezed in. Of course, all my plans have to be run by my mom (who only allows me to be out of her sight for a select few minutes a day ;), but hopefully I will be able to see as many people as possible when I am home.
After I fly back to Nam, I will finish up my service and leave Nam and PC for good in early December. It will be really hard to say good bye and officially leave my second home, but I think I will be ready (please remind me of this statement when I am saying my final goodbyes and cannot stop sobbing--I can be pretty emotional when it comes to saying good bye!). Once I COS (close of service), some friends and I will backpack around Africa a bit and I will hopefully be home for good in February. I will update you on the whens and wheres of that big trip once we sit down and do some planning..I have begun to realize that planning is not a PCV's strongsuit after 3 years of chaotic non-planning, one of the many joys of living in Nam :).
See you in America soon soon!
Visit to the Bing!
I finally got to go back and visit the Bing! The last time I had been there was in January--way to long to go without seeing my Nam Fam!
I ended up traveling there on a Sunday. It took about 10 hours to hike there, but was well worth the hells of hiking! I got there and made a quick trip to the school for hugs from my old learners and a few teachers.
I stayed with the new volunteer (who replaced Colleen at the primary school). She so sweet and fun. It was grea to be able to hang out and catch up with her! It was a little odd to be back in my old house and sleeping in my old room. As crappy as that house was (NOTHING worked right), I still missed it. I miss how close it is to my school, our front porch and how quiet it is (I swear it is never quiet now that I live in the primary school's hostel--never ever quiet!). But, then there are things I don't miss--the fridge with the door that falls off all of the time, the drains that don't drain, the toilet that doesn't flush...the list can go on and on.
I spent all of Monday at school. It was great to see that some things don't change. The school is still pretty chaotic, which was perfect for me because I could just float from teacherless class to teacherless class to catch up with the learners. I got lots of hugs and heard lots of stories from the year. It was just great to be back! I also got to catch up with my teacher-friends--I really miss them a lot!
Probably my favourite part of the visit was going to a Girls Club meeting. My old girls club decided to start a new girls club on their own--without any help from another teacher! They had been texting me about the progress of the club and telling me what a success it has been, so I was really excited to see it in action. I was so proud when I attended the meeting--they keep attendance (with a pretty strict attendance policy),have a secretary and a plan of action for each meeting. They requested that I send them some lesson plans to teach from, but other than that, they have it going on! It makes me feel so great to see my girls so empowered and excited. They are just fabulous! I miss them so much!
I ended up leaving the village on Tuesday. It was a pretty short visit (especially since it took me 12 hours to get home!), but totally worth it. It was just great to visit with Lauren (the new vol) and see all of my learners and teachers. They really are my family here in Namibia. I hope to get back to visit again at least once or twice before I leave for good (so weird to think about leaving for good!).
I ended up traveling there on a Sunday. It took about 10 hours to hike there, but was well worth the hells of hiking! I got there and made a quick trip to the school for hugs from my old learners and a few teachers.
I stayed with the new volunteer (who replaced Colleen at the primary school). She so sweet and fun. It was grea to be able to hang out and catch up with her! It was a little odd to be back in my old house and sleeping in my old room. As crappy as that house was (NOTHING worked right), I still missed it. I miss how close it is to my school, our front porch and how quiet it is (I swear it is never quiet now that I live in the primary school's hostel--never ever quiet!). But, then there are things I don't miss--the fridge with the door that falls off all of the time, the drains that don't drain, the toilet that doesn't flush...the list can go on and on.
I spent all of Monday at school. It was great to see that some things don't change. The school is still pretty chaotic, which was perfect for me because I could just float from teacherless class to teacherless class to catch up with the learners. I got lots of hugs and heard lots of stories from the year. It was just great to be back! I also got to catch up with my teacher-friends--I really miss them a lot!
Probably my favourite part of the visit was going to a Girls Club meeting. My old girls club decided to start a new girls club on their own--without any help from another teacher! They had been texting me about the progress of the club and telling me what a success it has been, so I was really excited to see it in action. I was so proud when I attended the meeting--they keep attendance (with a pretty strict attendance policy),have a secretary and a plan of action for each meeting. They requested that I send them some lesson plans to teach from, but other than that, they have it going on! It makes me feel so great to see my girls so empowered and excited. They are just fabulous! I miss them so much!
I ended up leaving the village on Tuesday. It was a pretty short visit (especially since it took me 12 hours to get home!), but totally worth it. It was just great to visit with Lauren (the new vol) and see all of my learners and teachers. They really are my family here in Namibia. I hope to get back to visit again at least once or twice before I leave for good (so weird to think about leaving for good!).
HIV Testing Program
I have been really bad about writing a proper post for the blog. Sorry!
Here is a little update about what has been going on around here.
Last year, I wanted to do an HIV testing competition at my school, but the timing was just off and we were not able to plan it. So, I decided, since I have a lot more free time and resources here in Khorixas, it would be the perfect time/place to have an HIV testing program. I modeled it after a program done in Erongo region (my old region), made some changes and proposed it to OYO (my new host organization). They loved the idea, so we worked on making it happen!
The idea for the competition was to educate the secodary learners on HIV testing and then send them out into the community to mobilize the community to come and get tested (the learners were also encouraged to get tested as well--as long as they are 16, they do not need parental permission). We partnered with a few other organizations (the main one being an HIV testing centre in location) and came up with a 3 week program in hopes of getting Khorixas tested!
The first two weeks, my colleagues and I, along with New Start (the testing centre), went out into the two are secondary schools to do lessons on HIV testing. We explained what would happen before, during and after a test, what happens if you test negative/positive, how there is hope after testing HIV positive and answered every and all questions they had (and trust me, they had a lot!). I had so much fun being back in the classroom! My responsibility was at the senior secondary school (grades 8-12). I taught almost every class twice in the two weeks, so I was pretty busy, but I loved it. It was great how excited the learners were and how open they were with their questions.
At the end of the two weeks, we split the learners into teams (two classes per team) and each team had a specific color. They all recieved tickets in their color and their job was to use the tickets to get tested themselves (if they wanted) or to go out and promote HIV testing amoung family and friends. They give the tickets away, and then the people they give them to go to the testing centres and turn the tickets in when they get they tested. At the end, we were able to see which team brought in the most people to be tested by counting the tickets.
And the prizes?? First prize for the winning class was a goat! Americans may not understand, but goats are a pretty big deal here. Everyone is obsessed with meat and loves goat! Learners went crazy when they found out about a goat being first prize. Second prize were pens and pencils (also, a big deal). We also had a raffle for those who were tested. They could win 2 springbucks (a deer like animal) and a bike.
We had about 3 full days of testing and had around 95 people tested (which is a lot!). I was so happy! The best part was how many learners went for testing. Everytime I was at a testing centre to see how things were going, a group of learners were there. Close to half of grade 12 was tested! It was a great feeling to see learners walk out of a testing centre releived to know their status.
We ended the testing week with our Day of the African Child Celebration. We had songs, dances, skits and speeches done by learners from the 6 area schools. Then, at the end, we announced the winning class for the testing competition. Grade 12 won! It was so cute to watch them go crazy when they heard they won. They came running up to the stage, dancing and screaming and hugging the goat.
The whole program was a lot of work, but in the end it was worth it! It was great to see so many learners and community members tested. And to see how excited Grade 12 was to win the goat! I was so proud of them for working hard to get people tested.
Here is a little update about what has been going on around here.
Last year, I wanted to do an HIV testing competition at my school, but the timing was just off and we were not able to plan it. So, I decided, since I have a lot more free time and resources here in Khorixas, it would be the perfect time/place to have an HIV testing program. I modeled it after a program done in Erongo region (my old region), made some changes and proposed it to OYO (my new host organization). They loved the idea, so we worked on making it happen!
The idea for the competition was to educate the secodary learners on HIV testing and then send them out into the community to mobilize the community to come and get tested (the learners were also encouraged to get tested as well--as long as they are 16, they do not need parental permission). We partnered with a few other organizations (the main one being an HIV testing centre in location) and came up with a 3 week program in hopes of getting Khorixas tested!
The first two weeks, my colleagues and I, along with New Start (the testing centre), went out into the two are secondary schools to do lessons on HIV testing. We explained what would happen before, during and after a test, what happens if you test negative/positive, how there is hope after testing HIV positive and answered every and all questions they had (and trust me, they had a lot!). I had so much fun being back in the classroom! My responsibility was at the senior secondary school (grades 8-12). I taught almost every class twice in the two weeks, so I was pretty busy, but I loved it. It was great how excited the learners were and how open they were with their questions.
At the end of the two weeks, we split the learners into teams (two classes per team) and each team had a specific color. They all recieved tickets in their color and their job was to use the tickets to get tested themselves (if they wanted) or to go out and promote HIV testing amoung family and friends. They give the tickets away, and then the people they give them to go to the testing centres and turn the tickets in when they get they tested. At the end, we were able to see which team brought in the most people to be tested by counting the tickets.
And the prizes?? First prize for the winning class was a goat! Americans may not understand, but goats are a pretty big deal here. Everyone is obsessed with meat and loves goat! Learners went crazy when they found out about a goat being first prize. Second prize were pens and pencils (also, a big deal). We also had a raffle for those who were tested. They could win 2 springbucks (a deer like animal) and a bike.
We had about 3 full days of testing and had around 95 people tested (which is a lot!). I was so happy! The best part was how many learners went for testing. Everytime I was at a testing centre to see how things were going, a group of learners were there. Close to half of grade 12 was tested! It was a great feeling to see learners walk out of a testing centre releived to know their status.
We ended the testing week with our Day of the African Child Celebration. We had songs, dances, skits and speeches done by learners from the 6 area schools. Then, at the end, we announced the winning class for the testing competition. Grade 12 won! It was so cute to watch them go crazy when they heard they won. They came running up to the stage, dancing and screaming and hugging the goat.
The whole program was a lot of work, but in the end it was worth it! It was great to see so many learners and community members tested. And to see how excited Grade 12 was to win the goat! I was so proud of them for working hard to get people tested.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Da palm girls club
I went to visit Da Palm for a couple of days and got to meet with the new girls club! The girls started it up by themselves. I'm so proud of them! Two of the girls went to Camp Glow and were inspired to go back to school and start up the girls club again. My visit back to the Bing was pretty wonderful. It was great to hug all my old learners and catch up with the teachers. I miss everyone so much. As much as I like Khorixas, Da Palm is my Namibian home and the learners and staff are my family. I hope to go back to visit at least 1 or 2 more times before I leave in December (so crazy to know I will be leaving at the end of the year!).
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Khorixas GLOW kids!
They say hello to Miss Jill, Miss Jessica and Miss Julia. And they are having a fabulous time!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
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