First Impressions

It’s been just over 2 weeks since I’ve arrived at site. The dust (sand, here) is settling, I’m adjusting, life is good.

My first Monday, during the weekly morning assembly, I was introduced to the 674 learners at my secondary school, lined up in orderly columns wearing uniforms of gray pants/skirts, black shoes and white/yellow shirts. A few snuck glances and pointed “discretely” at me after whispering to their friends. Whatever they were saying, it seemed light-hearted in nature, and my identity as a makuwa (white person) did not seem to be overlooked. I got even more glances and giggles during the singing of the Namibian and African Anthems, because I sang along with them (thanks PST for the 3x/week singing practice).

Shortly after the assembly and brief introductions to a good portion of the 27 members of the teaching staff, my principal called me into his office to ask if I could attend a physics conference in the neighboring region. The Namibian Education system has been busy reforming curricula and implementing testing changes, and in 2019, Grade 10 changes will be implemented. My school, starting next year, will teach only Grades 10-12 (instead of 8-12 as it is now), so there’s a high chance I’ll be teaching physics and maybe math to the 10s and 11s (who will only take internal exams, not external, national ones like the Grade 12s). My principal thought familiarizing myself with the upcoming changes would be helpful not only to me, but the school as well since I could share the info with my counterparts. As I am currently in what is called Phase 2 of my service–from swear-in until February–my role as a volunteer entails observing lessons and school norms, integrating into my community, and establishing banking/shopping/transport routines. Which comes down to basically quite a bit of free time. So, of course I said yes to attending the conference. I have another 5 weeks to observe my school before I start to teach, and another 2 years to get acquainted with my village. He told me to have my bags packed in an hour, when I would be picked up by a van of teachers coming from the next town, and we’d start the 5-hour journey to the Kavango region to the east.

We arrived at our conference location just before dinner. The other teachers and I were accommodated at a local lodge near the river, with our sessions also taking place on site. While I am fortunate to have modern housing with electricity and running water at my site (keep in mind I’d only lived there for 48 hours), this was something else. Pool, restaurant, fluffy pillows, gardens, Wi-Fi… it’s what some PCV’s would call Posh Corps. It’s one thing to discuss syllabi, physics topics, and write exams while being blasted by air conditioning, being fed every 2 hours, and utilizing plenty of Wi-Fi/paper resources; it’s another to go back to my village to teach 35+ learners in a hot classroom with broken chairs, to use 1 textbook for every 5 learners, and to write on a chalkboard when I still can’t manage to stop making that awful scratching noise. It also felt strange being a foreigner attending this conference. It made a little more sense, though it didn’t completely assuage my out-of-place feeling, when I realized my colleague from my school could not make it and was therefore able to stay back and continue teaching, while I could still fill him in on the changes. I will also be able to help disseminate the information to other PCVs who will teach Grade 10 and 11 at their sites.

Overall, I learned a lot. The details are nuanced to my teaching in Namibia, so I won’t bore you too much. I feel like I gained a better grasp on the physics curriculum in general and the specific syllabus objectives. I also realized topics I need to refresh on myself (I can’t lie and say that physics was ever my favorite class; though theoretically, I guess I did learn all this stuff once or twice). In Namibia, education is nationalized and based on the Cambridge education system; every Grade 10 learner (or any learner for that matter) is taught using the same syllabus. Previously, Grade 10s and 12s took the same national exams to determine if they pass on to the next grade (failing language or math means an automatic grade repeat). Starting next year, Grade 9s and Grade 12s will be tested nationally instead, with Grade 8s, 10s, and 11s tested regionally. The conference also discussed exam writing and the types of questions and formatting– down to details like making sure my multiple choice answers are listed in alphabetical order. This was super useful, because at the end of the day, my learners will need to be able to succeed at these types of tests in order to move on in their education; so I can start assessing them in ways they can expect on formal exams. The best part of the conference was meeting other Namibians and education officers from my region that I can go to for support, questions, and advice. All these will help me set up my learners (I hope!) for success.

At the end of the week, I found myself back at my village. The beautiful thing about having to travel to and from my region is that the main road drives right through 100 km of Bwabwata National Park. So on our way back, since it was later in the day and not so hot, I saw three different herds of elephants, 30+ total. So cool! There are many elephants in that park and lots of opportunity to spot herds…Just throwing out some incentives to come visit!

On Saturday, I left again, this time to go to “town”, Katima Mulilo, the capital city of my region and my shopping town. The volunteers of previous groups were welcoming us newcomers with a braii at the river. It was so nice to meet everyone! Besides other education volunteers, there are also several health and business volunteers in the Zambezi region. They have so much wisdom and PC life hacks so it was awesome meeting them! And, since we were next to the river, I got to see hippos for the first time in the wild (how about that incentive?). They were so cool too! There were also crocodile warning signs, but we didn’t see any. Maybe next time (from a safe distance).

Before heading back home, I bought a ton of groceries and a few more “homey things” that I will continue to amass in the coming weeks. I’d been using my sleeping bag during training (didn’t know the size of my bed at site) so sheets were a priority, as well as cooking utensils and cleaning supplies. I will try to come to town only weekly/bi-weekly, so I’m stocking up my pantry and trying to figure out my system of buying produce, since I can’t get any in my village (unless I start a garden…).

I was so happy to finally be back home. And even though I really hadn’t spent any time there yet, it did feel like home. And that’s a nice feeling to have already. It helps me forget all the miles and time change back to Pagosa and makes the world feel a little smaller.

I’ll fill in more details about my day-to-day, school, colleagues, etc. in future updates!

Got lots of reading done at this spot during the conference

The Kavango River. Stone’s throw to Angola!

Bwabwata NP (we drive on the other side here!)

I hope to look back at this picture and laugh at the poor quality because I’ll have so many better than this…

Zambezi River. Zambia on the other side and if you have really keen eyesight (or a good imagination) those tiny black dots close to Zambia–straight up from the middle of the canoe– are a few hippos! I’m also expecting to have much more visible hippo pictures in 2 years time.

I love mornings at site!