Spring is in the air!

I have so many separate ideas I wish to express, I’m afraid I’m going to just have to type up a bulleted list of things to tell you…  So here it goes:

• ·      Namibian history – we’ve had a few sessions on the history of Namibia, as well as the history of the education system here. It’s tough stuff. I think I’ll soon be looking for some good books to further my knowledge on the subject. In short – this beautiful piece of land was claimed first by Germany, who ruled it cruelly. In particular, the Herero genocide stands out in my mind. More than 80% of the Herero tribe was killed off. The men were killed and the women were forced to clean off the skulls so they could be shipped to Germany and studied. This was in an effort to prove that the Herero’s were animals, rather than humans. The country was later given to Britain, who passed it off to South Africa. South Africa imposed apartheid laws on Namibia, forcing the blacks off of their land and into tribe specific groups. Finally, the country gained independence in 1990. They chose English as the official language of the country, in order to unite all of the tribes. They also switched to English as their medium of instruction, meaning the language in which school classes were taught. Now…this all sounds well and good, until you realize the enormous implications it had on the education system. Imagine that in America, there was an overnight change. All of a sudden, every school in the country was to be taught in French. Until this point, French has been offered as a subject – to fulfill foreign language requirements – but now, all of your classes will only be offered in French. Never mind the fact that most of the teachers don’t speak French either. That’s pretty much what happened here. The very first Peace Corps volunteers in Namibia came in 1990, just after independence, to be English teachers. And, no matter what subjects PCV’s teach now, a huge part of our role here is to increase English proficiency in both our learners, and the other teachers at our school.
• ·      Trip to Windhoek – Yesterday, we took a trip to Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia! It was a full day, and there was a ton to take in. On the way there we saw giraffes and baboons! It was awesome! We went to Hero’s Acre, a monument and cemetery dedicated to those who fought for independence. We also went to several markets and a shopping mall. I got to try dried mopane worms! They were…interesting. Strangely fishy in flavor. I wasn’t a huge fan. Haha… but I’ve been told the fried ones are much better, so I’ll have to get some of those next time :). I tried some street meat, which was delicious!
• ·      Part of the Peace Corps’ mission is to promote a better understanding of Americans to the people of our host country. Through one of our cross-cultural sessions this week (we used the iceberg model and it took me right back to my Dr. A classes :) it became very apparent that we give off a skewed perception of what Americans are like. The more I think about it…the more it cracks me up that Namibians must think all Americans: wear Chacos, incessantly carry Nalgenes and backpacks, and don’t seem to shower very often.
• ·      My host home is amazing! I’m already slightly dreading saying goodbye to them all. My host brother adores my hammock, so I usually put it up in the backyard when I get home from training so he can swing in it. They like to play games, so I’ve introduced them to Boggle – and they love it! Everyone was getting in on the action tonight! Haha… We had a braai this afternoon, and my host dad grilled mutton, pork, and sausage. Lots of meat! Everything was delicious though! This evening I learned how to make bread and fat cakes. Fat cakes are basically just pieces of bread dough deep fried in oil. I’m beginning to see why it’s so easy to gain weight while living here! :) I have no complaints though…everything is great. Tonight I set up my laptop and speakers and introduced my host siblings to Quest for Camelot! It was a hit :)
• ·      The weather has been gorgeous! Spring is in the air! September 1^st marks the first day of spring, and I can already feel it approaching. Mornings are gradually getting warmer and pretty soon I won’t need my extra blanket at night.
• ·      Language classes are going well! I can now formally greet an elder, greet a peer with three different slang greetings, and introduce myself, say where I’m from, why I’m in Namibia, and how long I’ll be here. So far, so good. My host mom has informed me that her volunteers are generally at the top of their class, so I’m feeling like I’d better keep up this tradition :) My first LPI (language proficiency interview) is in a week and a half!
• ·      This really isn’t that important, but the Peace Corps is like overly obsessed with acronyms. It’s intense. For instance, in our files we have a schedule of our training sessions. Instead of just referring to it as the schedule, or calendar, they call it our COTE. COTE – calendar of training events. Lol… that’s just completely unnecessary.

Okay…that’s all for now! I’ll try to post more regularly from now on! Pictures coming soon also! :) I promise!