hey there, it has been a while.
things are good here. things were kind of rough the last time i wrote, but some things are better, some are the same and i've adjusted to them, and few new difficult things have popped up. so life is ok.
things that have been going on--my classes are going pretty well. i have some students that are working really hard and getting perfect scores on tests. other students have really weak backgrounds and are struggling and learning. others have weak backgrounds and have kind of given up after some initial excitement. in the battle for the students hearts and minds, we teachers are definitely winning some and losing some others.
i'm feeling more and more part of the community. when i walk around people know me and greet me. people are less likely to walk up and rudely ask for money, although when i walked to try and call my dad for his birthday (the solar-powered pay phones weren't working because it was cloudy... sorry dad) i was hit up for money 4 times, so i guess it is still happening pretty regularly. the best offer i got that day was from the guy who asked me for money so that he could help celebrate my dad's birthday. that was nice of him.
it does happen that the community leaders aren't that fired up about me. i think the problem is mostly that the outside world has taught the people that the easiest way to come buy money and stuff is for outsiders to send it. they aren't too shy about letting me and my roommate know that they would like for us to arrange for outside money and stuff to show up. when stuff does show up, it dissapears. for example, not one penny of the gate receipts from the community campsite has made it in to the treasury--the people working at the gate just keep it. this is ok with the leaders, because they get a lot more money from foreign grants to improve the campsite than campers would ever pay. since last july, N$40000 has dissapeared from the treasury, and it costs N$25 a night to camp. they want my roommate to help them get N$160000 more because they don't have any money and are really struggling to survive as a campsite without money. don't send us money.
i've been to the mountain to camp a couple of times in the last month. i went once after one of the boys in our dorm died. he was hit by a truck, and it was difficult because he'd often been around our house asking for cold water, ice, or food. it isn't ever really possible to understand and accept when a 7 year old boy dies. my tough guy image took a beating in my classes--i had little moments of silence and 'let's remember apollus for a minute' sessions, which my students thought were strange but acceptable. i got teary-eyed. one students asked me "sir, do you want to cry?" and i said "yes, i do." and she said "please don't." so anyway, right after his funeral i hit the trail and walked it off a little. i also decided to try and be a little more generous, but to find some way to do it so i don't see when the students fight a little bit over stuff i give them and so that i have some peace. for example, the other night the girlfriend and i cooked some food for kids who were staying in the dorm while it was closed because they didn't find rides home. i explained to them that these were special circumstances and they couldn't normally come and eat at my house, and they accepted it and have respected what i asked.
that time at the mountain i took my flashlight, in case i wanted a light for some reason, and lost it. luckily, the moonlight was bright enough that i found it easily. after that i put it away. it was a nice night though, lots of rain blew through, and not much landed on me. the kids at the dorm thought that i'd slept in a downpour, and i let them think that by saying "sleeping outside in the rain is nice--if you want to drink you can just open your mouth."
the other time i went with that girlfriend i mentioned. her name is kristin (with two 'i's) and she's from chicago. she's a nice girl--i think as nice as my sister gretchen, which is really nice. she likes to do things like walk 15 miles over loose rock to the mountain then sleep there on some other rocks and cook bread on sticks. she also has low enough standards to accept someone like me, so i'm a fan. she also teaches math and physical science, and lives about 100 km from me, although to see each other we usually end up going 240 km through keetmanshoop.
good things are happening at my school. corporal punishment was really common at the start of the year. now it is rare, and the other teachers have really noticed how effective it has been when i have misbehaving students clean classrooms after school, clean the toilets for more severe things, and come in with their parents if the other stuff doesn't work. that, positive encouragement to behave, and talking to each other like adults, have all been pretty effective. classroom management is a battle sometimes, but i think we're doing well in the war for hearts and minds, which is the important one. also, teachers that used to pray "god, help me somehow to teach these lazy, stupid, ignorant children" now sometimes say things like "god, give me the strength and wisdom to be a good teacher and understand what to do to help these students learn."
i lead prayers too. i really don't think i have any business doing such a thing, but it gives me an opportunity to try and spread feelings like "help me understand how to help these kids," so i think it is worth the risk of being struck by lightning. i'm not that scared of lightning, either.
what else? you can volunteer to help make new railroad tracks in the north, and the railway company will give you a train ticket and room and board while you're working. i want to do this and sing "i've been working on the railroad." i will try to do it during our may school break, but it might not happen because one of the other volunteers wants to go hike fish river canyon (the 2nd largest canyon in the world, behind our own grand canyon), and the girlfriend and i also want to hike the canyon. it might be better to work on the railroad when it is hot anyway.
i'm still enjoying running. i go on 40 minute runs with packs of barefoot 10-16 year old boys. you might think that sounds a little brutal, but i take them on the sandiest road that we have, and they are a little brutal when they joke about how much faster they are than i am, so i think it is ok. it is a nice thing to run in africa with barefoot boys as the sun is going down. a really nice thing. we do out and back runs, and i joke that i feel lucky to see them again by sunday after they turn around to run home on friday night.
we moved in to a new house. it has been really nice to wake up and not have students looking in the window. they renovated it really nicely for us, including new wiring, outdoor security lights, new doors and locks, etc. we really just wanted the broken windows fixed, but when you ask a government for something you usually don't get exactly what you want.
it also turns out that we are paid really amply. some current volunteers told us during training that we'd always be scraping, so i was a little worried. it turns out that i really only need to buy food and rides to town. the food i eat is still pretty cheap here in namibia, and i can gorge myself regularly and still have a lot of money left. so don't worry about me going hungry or anything. the roomie and i are going to spring for the internet at our house with some of this ample salary, but i don't know when it will happen. the story is that an important piece of equipment that provides telephone service to our village is broken and that the replacement needs to come from some foreign country and may arrive at any time or not at all. in any case, when we get it we should be able to stay in much better touch.
i think that's it for now. next time i will try to post some of the questions you've asked in emails and the answers. if you have questions about my life here, please ask. as i tell my classes, if you're wondering, someone else probably is too.
do write and stay in touch. many, many thanks to those of you who have. it has been really nice to hear from you.
things are good here. things were kind of rough the last time i wrote, but some things are better, some are the same and i've adjusted to them, and few new difficult things have popped up. so life is ok.
things that have been going on--my classes are going pretty well. i have some students that are working really hard and getting perfect scores on tests. other students have really weak backgrounds and are struggling and learning. others have weak backgrounds and have kind of given up after some initial excitement. in the battle for the students hearts and minds, we teachers are definitely winning some and losing some others.
i'm feeling more and more part of the community. when i walk around people know me and greet me. people are less likely to walk up and rudely ask for money, although when i walked to try and call my dad for his birthday (the solar-powered pay phones weren't working because it was cloudy... sorry dad) i was hit up for money 4 times, so i guess it is still happening pretty regularly. the best offer i got that day was from the guy who asked me for money so that he could help celebrate my dad's birthday. that was nice of him.
it does happen that the community leaders aren't that fired up about me. i think the problem is mostly that the outside world has taught the people that the easiest way to come buy money and stuff is for outsiders to send it. they aren't too shy about letting me and my roommate know that they would like for us to arrange for outside money and stuff to show up. when stuff does show up, it dissapears. for example, not one penny of the gate receipts from the community campsite has made it in to the treasury--the people working at the gate just keep it. this is ok with the leaders, because they get a lot more money from foreign grants to improve the campsite than campers would ever pay. since last july, N$40000 has dissapeared from the treasury, and it costs N$25 a night to camp. they want my roommate to help them get N$160000 more because they don't have any money and are really struggling to survive as a campsite without money. don't send us money.
i've been to the mountain to camp a couple of times in the last month. i went once after one of the boys in our dorm died. he was hit by a truck, and it was difficult because he'd often been around our house asking for cold water, ice, or food. it isn't ever really possible to understand and accept when a 7 year old boy dies. my tough guy image took a beating in my classes--i had little moments of silence and 'let's remember apollus for a minute' sessions, which my students thought were strange but acceptable. i got teary-eyed. one students asked me "sir, do you want to cry?" and i said "yes, i do." and she said "please don't." so anyway, right after his funeral i hit the trail and walked it off a little. i also decided to try and be a little more generous, but to find some way to do it so i don't see when the students fight a little bit over stuff i give them and so that i have some peace. for example, the other night the girlfriend and i cooked some food for kids who were staying in the dorm while it was closed because they didn't find rides home. i explained to them that these were special circumstances and they couldn't normally come and eat at my house, and they accepted it and have respected what i asked.
that time at the mountain i took my flashlight, in case i wanted a light for some reason, and lost it. luckily, the moonlight was bright enough that i found it easily. after that i put it away. it was a nice night though, lots of rain blew through, and not much landed on me. the kids at the dorm thought that i'd slept in a downpour, and i let them think that by saying "sleeping outside in the rain is nice--if you want to drink you can just open your mouth."
the other time i went with that girlfriend i mentioned. her name is kristin (with two 'i's) and she's from chicago. she's a nice girl--i think as nice as my sister gretchen, which is really nice. she likes to do things like walk 15 miles over loose rock to the mountain then sleep there on some other rocks and cook bread on sticks. she also has low enough standards to accept someone like me, so i'm a fan. she also teaches math and physical science, and lives about 100 km from me, although to see each other we usually end up going 240 km through keetmanshoop.
good things are happening at my school. corporal punishment was really common at the start of the year. now it is rare, and the other teachers have really noticed how effective it has been when i have misbehaving students clean classrooms after school, clean the toilets for more severe things, and come in with their parents if the other stuff doesn't work. that, positive encouragement to behave, and talking to each other like adults, have all been pretty effective. classroom management is a battle sometimes, but i think we're doing well in the war for hearts and minds, which is the important one. also, teachers that used to pray "god, help me somehow to teach these lazy, stupid, ignorant children" now sometimes say things like "god, give me the strength and wisdom to be a good teacher and understand what to do to help these students learn."
i lead prayers too. i really don't think i have any business doing such a thing, but it gives me an opportunity to try and spread feelings like "help me understand how to help these kids," so i think it is worth the risk of being struck by lightning. i'm not that scared of lightning, either.
what else? you can volunteer to help make new railroad tracks in the north, and the railway company will give you a train ticket and room and board while you're working. i want to do this and sing "i've been working on the railroad." i will try to do it during our may school break, but it might not happen because one of the other volunteers wants to go hike fish river canyon (the 2nd largest canyon in the world, behind our own grand canyon), and the girlfriend and i also want to hike the canyon. it might be better to work on the railroad when it is hot anyway.
i'm still enjoying running. i go on 40 minute runs with packs of barefoot 10-16 year old boys. you might think that sounds a little brutal, but i take them on the sandiest road that we have, and they are a little brutal when they joke about how much faster they are than i am, so i think it is ok. it is a nice thing to run in africa with barefoot boys as the sun is going down. a really nice thing. we do out and back runs, and i joke that i feel lucky to see them again by sunday after they turn around to run home on friday night.
we moved in to a new house. it has been really nice to wake up and not have students looking in the window. they renovated it really nicely for us, including new wiring, outdoor security lights, new doors and locks, etc. we really just wanted the broken windows fixed, but when you ask a government for something you usually don't get exactly what you want.
it also turns out that we are paid really amply. some current volunteers told us during training that we'd always be scraping, so i was a little worried. it turns out that i really only need to buy food and rides to town. the food i eat is still pretty cheap here in namibia, and i can gorge myself regularly and still have a lot of money left. so don't worry about me going hungry or anything. the roomie and i are going to spring for the internet at our house with some of this ample salary, but i don't know when it will happen. the story is that an important piece of equipment that provides telephone service to our village is broken and that the replacement needs to come from some foreign country and may arrive at any time or not at all. in any case, when we get it we should be able to stay in much better touch.
i think that's it for now. next time i will try to post some of the questions you've asked in emails and the answers. if you have questions about my life here, please ask. as i tell my classes, if you're wondering, someone else probably is too.
do write and stay in touch. many, many thanks to those of you who have. it has been really nice to hear from you.
