One month later

Now, imagine reading this as if it’s mid-September and I’ve spent about a month in Namibia:

We are now in the practicum phase of training, school-based training (SBT). I have been observing, co-planning, and teaching two sections of a grade 4 (4th grade is not said in Namibia) science class for the last 2 weeks, and I have one more week with them. The learners (term for students in Namibia) are learning about personal health; so we’re overviewing healthy behaviors regarding sleep, food, exercise, hygiene, and the environment. I have about 45 learners in each section and periods last for 40 minutes. Another PC trainee is working with me and the same Namibian teacher to cover another grade 4 science class and a grade 6 math class. Our Namibian teacher has given us almost complete freedom on how to teach our classes, which has given us an awesome chance to try to practice lots of different tools and management techniques we have learned in training. We also had the opportunity to write a topic task (essentially a low stakes quiz), a practical investigation (mini project), and a topic test (what it sounds like) which has also taught me a lot about my teaching (like the importance of teaching with consistent vocabulary). I’ve had lots of good days teaching my grade 4’s (cute notes, curious questions about America, playing review games), as well as a few low points (classroom management issues– I forgot how hyper 10 year olds are!). It’s been nice to be in a classroom for a short time, and since it’s the last term of the year (the school year starts in January), my learners are used to a certain set of routines and procedures. So, I’m just really excited to start fresh with my own group of learners, learn all of their names and more about them, and be able to create the tone I want in my classroom. Site will of course have its own set of challenges. For example, my learners for SBT have been taught in English since grade 1, and I live in a large town where English is very prevalent in the community. Although English is the official language of Namibia (changed after independence in 1990), schools are not required to use English as the language of instruction until Grade 4, utilizing mother tongue in the lower grades (which varies in both school and region). So, I will likely run into more linguistic challenges at site (which will make my Silozi learning useful!). I won’t have any idea of the subjects or grades I will teach at site for a few months, so for now I’m just trying to get a hang of this whole teaching thing in general. I will say I am very grateful for my subbing experience. I’ve still had my management issues, definitely, and I am much less intimidated with 40 children staring back at me than I would’ve without it.

All 54 trainees are divided up at different schools in our town by language group. So when we’re not teaching or planning, we have group and individual language sessions. This is how my typical day plays out:

6:00 Picked up in my neighborhood
6:45 Staff meeting (a teacher reads a scripture/prays and then we sing a prayer in Afrikaans and the principal makes announcements)
7:10 School starts
9:50-10:20 Tea time (yes, my favorite time. Apparently this is ubiquitous throughout Namibia–YAY)
1:00 School ends; we walk back to the PC training center and eat lunch
2:30-4:30 Afternoon technical session/announcements
5:00 Dropped off home. Then I usually go for a walk/jog (there’s a school track right down the street), eat, study language/lesson plan/reflect, do a quick workout circuit in my room, journal, and maybe watch a South African or Turkish soap opera with my host family. I go to bed at like 9:30 these days…those grade 4’s tire me out even if it’s only 2 periods!

Now let’s talk about food! Every PC host family provides breakfast and dinner everyday, and I’m really fortunate that my host Boma also packs a lunch for me (it’s really cute). So I haven’t cooked at all– it’s always done when I get home. I’m hoping to use my next few weekends to learn how to cook some traditional foods. Meat is a huge part of the diet in Namibia. I wasn’t a vegetarian in the states, but I usually only had a small amount of meat once per day. Now it’s a large portion of meat with almost every meal. Not that I’m complaining–it’s delicious and always seasoned so wonderfully. My favorite meat so far has been oryx (type of antelope), which tasted like a really good cut of beef. Biltong (the name for jerky here) is also really delicious. Usually with meat we have a large portion of a carb like rice or pap, a very thick porridge made from maize. When we eat pap, we eat with our hands. It’s the perfect thing to soak up sauce from the meat and end a meal with (plus, you know me and my love of carbs). Mayonnaise is also a huge staple here. Most vegetables/salads/macaroni are tossed with mayonnaise and my Boma always asks why I don’t add any to my rice. She also told me when I moved in that she wants me to get fat before I leave in October. Meaning I have almost 2x the portion size of everyone else for every meal. And of course you know I eat it (hence walks/runs and room circuits everyday). I don’t think I’ve taken any pictures of food (last think on my mind when I’m eating) so I’ll try to take some, especially of pap.

Any other updates…

Yes and no. There’s so much to say so I’ll just add more shorter posts. If you have any specific questions, please ask!

Next up is one more week of SBT, then I have an exposure visit to see another education volunteer in action at his/her site, then I find out my own site on October 5th! Time is flying…

Love and miss you all!

Of course, here’s a few pictures (trying to take more!):