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
Monday, October 11, 2010
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!).
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