Hello Lovely Readers,
Let me update you on a few things that have gone on the past few months. I wrote the last time that I would be going to Swakop for a trip. Just prior to my trip I stepped on my laptop and broke the screen. Go me. I think Africa is the worst place on Earth I could have done something like this..and yet...there are obviously worse things so I've let this go.
My trip was very nice I was able to spend most of my days sitting on the beach and watching the sun go down with my toes buried in the sand. I don't think that there is anything in this world I enjoy more than that. It seems that each long vacation I've had here my main aim has been to relax off the grid for a while and just take in the beauty of the beach scene.
I was also able to eat in some nice restaurants which was a treat. I spent some time wandering around the shops just looking at things. Swakop is a nice town in Namibia that is much more modern than a lot of other places here. I finally found my African charm for my necklace which I now wear everyday. I had been searching for one since last year so I was super excited to find it. I was walking by a shop and was past it and had this strange urge to turn back around and walk in. It was one of the first things I saw when I walked in. If that wasn't fate, I don't know what is.
The trip was pretty low key so there isn't much to really say about it. Let's move on. I posted about this on facebook but I feel it is worth repeating. One day I was sitting outside the market and a lady was selling meat. I asked my friend what kind of meat it was and she said it was dog meat. I laughed and said that was a good joke until she pulled out a piece that was clearly the paw of this animal. I then began to freak out. After I had calmed a bit I was sitting while others were eating the meat. What really got to me was when they were throwing the bones for other dogs to eat after they were done with them. I'm sorry I have been in this culture for a year and a half but I will never get used to that.
Another shocking experience for me happened the other night when I was sitting around a fire while my same friend from the market was cooking porridge for dinner. We heard a man screaming at a woman and then we heard the terrible sounds of him beating her to the ground. I immediately wanted to run over and help this poor woman but thought otherwise because I would probably have gotten hit as well. My friend explained that the man was yelling "Where were you last night?! I know you have someone else!" She then further explained that this man was another girl's boyfriend. A girl that I knew that worked at the market a few months back. So in short, he was beating another woman for cheating on him when in all reality he had another girlfriend. When I was talking to some men and women about this occurrence later they explained that it's mostly acceptable for men to cheat but as soon as a woman does it, it's a terrible offense. Um, excuse me? Some things here I don't think I can tolerate. Even talking about the way men treat women here is enough to make me get up and leave the table of conversation.
This past weekend I visited my friend Indira that was my housemate from last year. Her mother had made me a traditional Vambo necklace which is absolutely beautiful. It was interesting when she put it on me there were mixed reactions. Most said it looked nice with my skin but one girl disapproved because she apparently doesn't like traditional things. I personally find them wonderful. It's nice to have such a rich culture.
Until next time...
Peace and Love,
Chels
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Let it be
I am pretty awful at updating this blog. This time last year I was much better at it. I am afraid that my life hasn't been terribly interesting lately and I don't have very much to say.
Today marks the end of term 1 and the start of the April examinations. I cannot believe that time is flying by so fast now. This is the end of my fourth school term in Namibia. Where was I this time last year? I was still adjusting to my placement and getting the hang of teaching in a foreign country. I was scared to death of how my kids would do on their exams. I had Hunter in my life by this time and I was living with my best friend. A lot can change in a year. I think a lot of us know this fact.
Today I am living with some nice people but none of them to really call a friend. I don't have Hunter anymore and I have to say adjusting to a new school wasn't as hard as it was last year. I knew some of what I was doing this time around and it has been easier to teach and to feel confident that I was teaching the correct material. I have wanted to give Okatope the same chance that I did with Onambutu. I think it's difficult when you build a life around a place and then suddenly you leave. I do like Okatope but it's really not as happy of an experience as I had last year. My friends are all scattered and it makes me feel very alone a lot of the time.
I'm trying to make it a happy experience again. I go out and meet the people around and I have some friends that I see on occasion here. I have tried to start to go walking again and I've even tried to start running. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not one to understand why people run let alone go out and do it myself. However, like many things you do not try for yourself, as I am getting older I do enjoy a good run instead of dreading it as I used to. I find that it relaxes me and gives me a peace of mind that I am doing something good for my body and my health.
I am also trying to eat a bit healthier. It is harder to do because these small bugs seem to get into my food no matter where I put it or what I put it in and then I end up having to throw it away. I have also taken up drinking tea because I enjoy a good cup of hot tea to relax after a long day.
I think figuring out things that make you happy however simple they may be is just the ticket to turning a sour attitude around. Only I can make myself happy and I am doing everything in my power to do that for myself right now. I have also found that I am and have always been too concerned with others happiness (not that it's a terrible thing to want for others to be happy) over my own. You need to start with yourself and that way it's easier to spread the happiness through your own light shining from you. I have always found this to be true with my mother. She has a certain glow around her that everyone finds infectious. She exudes happiness and positive attitude. I hope to one day be able to do just the same.
Well onto my plans for the next couple of weeks. I am sad to say that I will have absolutely nothing to do at school since at this particular school, only class teachers give the exams and since I am not one of those, I am now sitting in the computer lab planning for next term and trying not to be bored. I will be doing this for the next three weeks. I'm happy to say that my friend Casey who also extended is making a trip to see me this weekend which should be an excellent break and some much needed American time. After exams are over I will be travelling to Swakopmund where I am renting a room so that I can have some much needed beach therapy. I plan on spending my entire vacation there getting lost in a good book and eating excellent food at their yummy restaurants by the sea.
Crazily enough I started missing having a pet around the house and considered looking for another dog or even a cat. However, I don't know how often I will be out on the weekends and I find that this isn't fair for the animal and I end up stressing. I must find some other ways to cope with the hole that Hunter is leaving in my heart. Don't get me wrong, I know he is happy and healthy and making the little boy I gave him to very happy; however, I do miss him very much. He was the first pet I had on my own and he got me through some tough times last year.
Oh I posted this on Facebook but it made me laugh so I'll post it here as well. The other day I was sitting in the classroom while another teacher used it for his class. Naturally I wasn't paying attention to his accounting lesson. At the end of the period, three or four boys from the class came up to me and said, "Miss one of the girls stole your pen. You should pray that God returns it to you" I was put off at first kind of angry that someone would steal from me. This is not the first time. I told them "Well, God didn't steal my pen so you had better point me in the direction of the girl who did". I don't think any of them wanted to be the one to rat her out so I said "Oh, never mind just have a nice rest of your day boys". I think that the girl needed the pen more than I do and I need to let it go. Some things you just let be and move on to things that are more important to worry about or care about.
Until next time...
Peace and Love,
Chels
Today marks the end of term 1 and the start of the April examinations. I cannot believe that time is flying by so fast now. This is the end of my fourth school term in Namibia. Where was I this time last year? I was still adjusting to my placement and getting the hang of teaching in a foreign country. I was scared to death of how my kids would do on their exams. I had Hunter in my life by this time and I was living with my best friend. A lot can change in a year. I think a lot of us know this fact.
Today I am living with some nice people but none of them to really call a friend. I don't have Hunter anymore and I have to say adjusting to a new school wasn't as hard as it was last year. I knew some of what I was doing this time around and it has been easier to teach and to feel confident that I was teaching the correct material. I have wanted to give Okatope the same chance that I did with Onambutu. I think it's difficult when you build a life around a place and then suddenly you leave. I do like Okatope but it's really not as happy of an experience as I had last year. My friends are all scattered and it makes me feel very alone a lot of the time.
I'm trying to make it a happy experience again. I go out and meet the people around and I have some friends that I see on occasion here. I have tried to start to go walking again and I've even tried to start running. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not one to understand why people run let alone go out and do it myself. However, like many things you do not try for yourself, as I am getting older I do enjoy a good run instead of dreading it as I used to. I find that it relaxes me and gives me a peace of mind that I am doing something good for my body and my health.
I am also trying to eat a bit healthier. It is harder to do because these small bugs seem to get into my food no matter where I put it or what I put it in and then I end up having to throw it away. I have also taken up drinking tea because I enjoy a good cup of hot tea to relax after a long day.
I think figuring out things that make you happy however simple they may be is just the ticket to turning a sour attitude around. Only I can make myself happy and I am doing everything in my power to do that for myself right now. I have also found that I am and have always been too concerned with others happiness (not that it's a terrible thing to want for others to be happy) over my own. You need to start with yourself and that way it's easier to spread the happiness through your own light shining from you. I have always found this to be true with my mother. She has a certain glow around her that everyone finds infectious. She exudes happiness and positive attitude. I hope to one day be able to do just the same.
Well onto my plans for the next couple of weeks. I am sad to say that I will have absolutely nothing to do at school since at this particular school, only class teachers give the exams and since I am not one of those, I am now sitting in the computer lab planning for next term and trying not to be bored. I will be doing this for the next three weeks. I'm happy to say that my friend Casey who also extended is making a trip to see me this weekend which should be an excellent break and some much needed American time. After exams are over I will be travelling to Swakopmund where I am renting a room so that I can have some much needed beach therapy. I plan on spending my entire vacation there getting lost in a good book and eating excellent food at their yummy restaurants by the sea.
Crazily enough I started missing having a pet around the house and considered looking for another dog or even a cat. However, I don't know how often I will be out on the weekends and I find that this isn't fair for the animal and I end up stressing. I must find some other ways to cope with the hole that Hunter is leaving in my heart. Don't get me wrong, I know he is happy and healthy and making the little boy I gave him to very happy; however, I do miss him very much. He was the first pet I had on my own and he got me through some tough times last year.
Oh I posted this on Facebook but it made me laugh so I'll post it here as well. The other day I was sitting in the classroom while another teacher used it for his class. Naturally I wasn't paying attention to his accounting lesson. At the end of the period, three or four boys from the class came up to me and said, "Miss one of the girls stole your pen. You should pray that God returns it to you" I was put off at first kind of angry that someone would steal from me. This is not the first time. I told them "Well, God didn't steal my pen so you had better point me in the direction of the girl who did". I don't think any of them wanted to be the one to rat her out so I said "Oh, never mind just have a nice rest of your day boys". I think that the girl needed the pen more than I do and I need to let it go. Some things you just let be and move on to things that are more important to worry about or care about.
Until next time...
Peace and Love,
Chels
Friday, March 8, 2013
Reposting a Deleted Entry (Onambutu Visit)
Normally I wouldn't care about a post that I accidentally deleted but this one was one of my favorites
Here is Hunter my "baby boy" as I always call him. The first photo is from one year ago and the second photo is from yesterday during my visit to Onambutu. I love this little man so much and I miss him all the time but I know that he is enjoying himself and the little boy that I gave him to is totally in love with him.
Like I was saying, I visited Onambutu yesterday and was challenged with many different emotions during the few hours I was there. I was happy to be back and sad to leave again. I was able to see many of my learners from last year and many were very excited to see me. I was also able to say hello to many of my friends from last year that work at the different shebeens. I had a wonderful reunion with this little boy Boyke from last year that I fell in love with when he would jump into my arms every time he saw me. I got to see some of my colleagues from last year when I went to pick up my last remaining items from storage at the school. Overall I had a really great visit I just realized how much I have missed the place and how hard it will be to call Okatope my new home. I'm definately trying but you know that saying "home is where the heart is"? Well I think I left a piece of my heart in Onambutu and it still remains there. But I guess that's what we do in life. We spread ourselves thin moving on and trying new things that we end up leaving behind small pieces of ourselves.
I'm sure that Okatope will win me over just as Onambutu had but it's hard to let go of something that meant so much to me. Onambutu really was my home away from home and visiting there was very difficult. Everyone was asking me when I was coming back and I assured them that I would soon. The boy that I gave Hunter to was my learner for English last year and as I was hiking at the road to come back to Okatope last night he told me that the other learners often say that they miss me and wish I was still their English teacher because they learned things with me and I was understanding. Just about broke down crying when I heard that.
Farewell for now Onambutu <3 I have to give Okatope a fighting chance.
Peace and Love,
Chels
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Not all those who wander are lost
I realized that I've been so busy lately and I had forgotten all about blogging. I have found that in the second year i've been less preoccupied with thoughts of connecting back home because i'm more comfortable in my abilities to move around and be here. No offense meant, it's just a reality i'm facing this year. Speaking of moving around and the reason for this blog entry is that I've been doing a fair amount of that in the past few weeks.
First trip was to another village to visit the new WorldTeach volunteers for this year. They were all very nice and very enthusiastic. I found it so fun to hear their stories and I could totally relate to where they are from my experiences last year at the beginning. One thing was pretty clear to me, we are in totally different places in our volunteer experiences. That's not a bad thing because i've moved past a lot of the assumptions I had from the beginning that they might be having now about Namibia. I did my best to be helpful when answering any questions they might have had regarding my experience and why I extended. I had a really great time hanging out with them and meeting them I just know that i'm not a part of the 2013 WorldTeach group i'm an extender. This means that their bonding will be with each other and not necessarily with someone who has been here.
This trip made me miss my group from last year very much. Whenever I was having a bad day they were always there to tell me a funny story about their site like how they drove a donkey cart around or had a goat walk into their classroom for the millionth time. The comfort of having other Americans around is something people who are surrounded by Americans and familiarity might not understand. It's a taste of home that reminds you of who you are and where you come from. You forget that you are talking slow and changing your words so that the Namibian people understand you. Being able to get together with a New Englander and say "it was wicked hot" is probably one of the best things after not being able to. You forget you have New England quirks and let me just say that realizing this is devastating.
So this brings me to my second and most recent adventure from this past weekend. I made the trip to Bunya to go visit another extender from last year. She and I were friends last year but very far from each other and it's difficult to travel that far for one weekend. I spent most of the week debating on going since I've been sick for 2 weeks now. Finally on Friday morning I decided that I needed a dose of American friendship and comfort in my life and packed a bag. I left around noon time after I finished teaching all of my classes for the day. First I took a taxi to Eenhana and then another to Okongo. In Okongo I took a truck...yes I said truck to Bunya. When hiking that side you take almost anything you can get because the hikes are so unpredictable. Another girl who was Namibian was also hiking with me when I got to Okongo so don't worry I wasn't alone. The trip took a total of about 5 hours. When I got to her site I was so excited to see her I visited her once last year but that was on our way to Zambia during our April and May break.
The first night we went to her local shebeen and played pool (Namibians call it snookah) and drank a few ciders. There was also a free braai going on for all customers so while I was playing snookah I was also eating meat with my hands. Yeah they put it on a plate and you just grab and go. I also wanted a tooth pick so Casey ran to the bar lady to ask for one. She came back with a match and said to use the stick end of it. Needless to say a match is not the same as a tooth pick and that's just how it is! On our way home from the bar we ran into some kids from her village. They chased us down the road trying to talk to us. It was honestly very creepy that these kids were out so late at night.
The next day we went to Rundu which is the town that is nearest to her in her region. She is in the Kavongo region and i'm in the Ohangwena region. We call my region "O Land" or "Ovambo Land" where there are mostly "O" names to be found. Oshakati, Ongwediva, Onambutu, Okatope, Ongha, Oshikango, Ondangwa...you get the idea. So in Rundu we did a little shopping in the open market and bought some ingredients for home made pizza for that night. When we arrived back at her site it was about 6:00 in the evening and I quickly got ready to hike to another site where we were meeting with a Peace Corps volunteer. There were three of us hiking (Casey, myself and another PC Vol). We got to the road and we waited for transport going "that side". We got a bakkie going about 5 minutes away and took that to a shebeen to hike from there. When nothing else came we chose to walk to the next shebeen which was about 1 km away. Still nothing. So we walked to the next one which was another km away. Long story short, we got stuck hiking in the dark and a government car for electrical workers picked us up because they felt bad and dropped us at the PC Vol's house.
The volunteer we were meeting with is a health volunteer at a health clinic. She is at the end of her two year service and will be leaving in 2 weeks from the PC. She plans on travelling for 2 months before returning back to the U.S. We had a nice time there and chatted about being in Namibia for a second year and watched Pitch Perfect. We made home made pizza and cake and chowed down American style. It was an awesome time and I really enjoyed my American dosage to last me for a while.
When hiking back to Okatope it took me 5 different rides to get home. I was so exhausted but my travelling was not over. When I arrived home I had to pack another bag to go to a BIS (Basic Information Science) workshop in Ongwediva for three days. After the workshop I arrived back home yesterday and was greeted by one of my grade 8 learners who ran up to me and said "welcome from the workshop miss, we missed you!" I couldn't think of a better way to be welcomed back.
Thus ends my exhausting few weeks. I can't wait to relax a bit this weekend and zone out.
Peace and Love,
Chels
Friday, February 1, 2013
Daily Update
You would think after being back for a few weeks I would get used to this heat but it's so brutal! It's a constant battle to try and keep cool here. I just keep telling myself winter is coming. Yeah that was very "Game of Thrones". In a few months I will feel cold again. I think that it's funny that I am complaining of heat while people back home are praying for summer time. I guess you always want what you don't have. I would kill for some cool weather right now. It rained this morning which was a short relief but then it shot right back up in temperature after it stopped.
Teaching is going okay but it's very hard to teach computers with no actual working computers. They told me to teach "theory". Honestly, I am not going to be able to get creative here with computer theory. I taught the different parts of the computer and beyond that they need practical experience. As for the english class that I have i'm teaching the same lessons I taught at the beginning of last year which are the boring get up in front of the board and learn that you add an 's' here and not there. The fun lessons are coming up.
Other than school stuff I have found that i'm very stuck here. I don't know anywhere to go to meet people other than the shebeen right next to the school. I want that village feel back. I miss going out into the village and feeling like a part of it. It was nice to be in the middle of nowhere most days. Here i'm right next to the road. Yes it's a convenience for when I want to go somewhere but it feels a little weird.
Daily life goes on as usual, the water has been fritzing out lately and I have had to resort back to bucket bathing occasionally. This is no big deal. The big deal yesterday is that I left my laundry for a few weeks and finally got around to doing it yesterday. I had SO many things to hand wash it was ridiculous. It took me a good few hours and my hands were so sore afterwards from wringing the clothes out. Then the wind picked up and the clothes kept falling off the line into the sand. Imagine my dissapointment that after all that time spent washing the clothes they just got dirty again. Why didn't I use clothes pins you ask? Well I left them in Onambutu and my one housemate with clothes pins was out while I was doing laundry.
I purchased a phone here that has an application calls whatsapp on it. It is literally the coolest thing ever. It allows me to text with people from home with the same app for free. It's nice to be able to chat with people so far away as if I was in the US and carrying on with life there.
That's a short update for now! I'll update when I have some stories to tell.
Peace and Love,
Chels
Teaching is going okay but it's very hard to teach computers with no actual working computers. They told me to teach "theory". Honestly, I am not going to be able to get creative here with computer theory. I taught the different parts of the computer and beyond that they need practical experience. As for the english class that I have i'm teaching the same lessons I taught at the beginning of last year which are the boring get up in front of the board and learn that you add an 's' here and not there. The fun lessons are coming up.
Other than school stuff I have found that i'm very stuck here. I don't know anywhere to go to meet people other than the shebeen right next to the school. I want that village feel back. I miss going out into the village and feeling like a part of it. It was nice to be in the middle of nowhere most days. Here i'm right next to the road. Yes it's a convenience for when I want to go somewhere but it feels a little weird.
Daily life goes on as usual, the water has been fritzing out lately and I have had to resort back to bucket bathing occasionally. This is no big deal. The big deal yesterday is that I left my laundry for a few weeks and finally got around to doing it yesterday. I had SO many things to hand wash it was ridiculous. It took me a good few hours and my hands were so sore afterwards from wringing the clothes out. Then the wind picked up and the clothes kept falling off the line into the sand. Imagine my dissapointment that after all that time spent washing the clothes they just got dirty again. Why didn't I use clothes pins you ask? Well I left them in Onambutu and my one housemate with clothes pins was out while I was doing laundry.
I purchased a phone here that has an application calls whatsapp on it. It is literally the coolest thing ever. It allows me to text with people from home with the same app for free. It's nice to be able to chat with people so far away as if I was in the US and carrying on with life there.
That's a short update for now! I'll update when I have some stories to tell.
Peace and Love,
Chels
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Year Two Begins...
Sorry for the lack of blogging my lovely readers! I was in the United States for a few weeks visiting with my family and friends before coming back to Namibia for a second year. Before I left my village I dropped my things at my new school and met all of my new colleagues. I then said goodbye to my beloved Onambutu and was on my way home. It was a sad day leaving my school and my life in Onambutu but I believe that I will be just as happy with my new school in Okatope. I know i've mentioned this before but there's RUNNING WATER. Whoa, let that sink in for a minute there.
Okay so let's backtrack a little bit to my wonderful vacation in the U.S. I arrived in New York City after travelling for a day to my father and an iced coffee. How could you go wrong there? We travelled home to NH together after having lunch with one of my cousins in the city. When we got to the house my mother came to the door crying and hugging me. Behind her were the very excited puppies of the house. What a great welcome.
Soon after I was home my brother and sister came home as well. It was a strange feeling because i hadn't seen my family in a year. I had a wonderful time catching up on their lives and filling them in on some of my life from the past year.
Being home around Christmas time was a blessing when I was home and a curse when I went out anywhere. You forget how much hustle and bustle happens around the holidays especially with driving. The first time I went into a mall I did a few spins around and promptly left and chalked it up to culture shock on steroids. Baby steps my friend.
I got to eat all of the food I had been missing while I was away and gained around 5-10 pounds. For once in my life I didn't care about the gain because I would be returning to Africa and will probably lose it in a few months.
I went out for drinks with friends, went to the movies, drove my car and spent some quality time with many of my loved ones. Overall, this was a very nice break for me. Now let's get back to where I am now. I travelled with another returning volunteer from Boston to Johannasberg where we realized the travel agent had booked different flights to Namibia. Way to go on that one. I had to run through the airport in South Africa for the third time in two years. Yes, that would mean that every time I've been in that airport I've had to run for my flight.
Once we got to Windhoek we relaxed for a day in a backpackers and the next day parted ways to travel to our sites. Casey is just outside of Rundu which is about 4 hours away from me. I got to the hike point to go up north at about 12:30 in the afternoon. The combi didn't fill up until about 2:00 and then we were on the road. With all of the stopping and picking up random people when others got off, I got to Ondangwa at about 12:30 in the morning. Normally this trip up north should take about 7 hours. I got another combi to take me to oshikango to spend the night. I had to wake up the reception at a hotel to let me in because I had nowhere to go. Unfortunately in all of this craziness I left my nice new pillow and all my DVDs I had brought from the US on the combi. Won't be seeing those things again.
I had to spend a few days in Oshikango because the Ministry of Education hadn't delivered my be or anything else for my room. I was told ther was a "miscommunication in the procurement of the furniture". Yeah, very Namibian. It gets here when it gets here. I finally got the furniture yesterday (Monday) after having been back up north since Wednesday night.
My housemates all seem very nice and my school seems great so far. I will be teaching computers to grade 8-10, English to grade 8, and running the computer lab and the library. There are 13 computer classes and 1 english class. Yeah, lots more to do than last year.
I'll keep you updated!
Peace and Love,
Chelsea
Okay so let's backtrack a little bit to my wonderful vacation in the U.S. I arrived in New York City after travelling for a day to my father and an iced coffee. How could you go wrong there? We travelled home to NH together after having lunch with one of my cousins in the city. When we got to the house my mother came to the door crying and hugging me. Behind her were the very excited puppies of the house. What a great welcome.
Soon after I was home my brother and sister came home as well. It was a strange feeling because i hadn't seen my family in a year. I had a wonderful time catching up on their lives and filling them in on some of my life from the past year.
Being home around Christmas time was a blessing when I was home and a curse when I went out anywhere. You forget how much hustle and bustle happens around the holidays especially with driving. The first time I went into a mall I did a few spins around and promptly left and chalked it up to culture shock on steroids. Baby steps my friend.
I got to eat all of the food I had been missing while I was away and gained around 5-10 pounds. For once in my life I didn't care about the gain because I would be returning to Africa and will probably lose it in a few months.
I went out for drinks with friends, went to the movies, drove my car and spent some quality time with many of my loved ones. Overall, this was a very nice break for me. Now let's get back to where I am now. I travelled with another returning volunteer from Boston to Johannasberg where we realized the travel agent had booked different flights to Namibia. Way to go on that one. I had to run through the airport in South Africa for the third time in two years. Yes, that would mean that every time I've been in that airport I've had to run for my flight.
Once we got to Windhoek we relaxed for a day in a backpackers and the next day parted ways to travel to our sites. Casey is just outside of Rundu which is about 4 hours away from me. I got to the hike point to go up north at about 12:30 in the afternoon. The combi didn't fill up until about 2:00 and then we were on the road. With all of the stopping and picking up random people when others got off, I got to Ondangwa at about 12:30 in the morning. Normally this trip up north should take about 7 hours. I got another combi to take me to oshikango to spend the night. I had to wake up the reception at a hotel to let me in because I had nowhere to go. Unfortunately in all of this craziness I left my nice new pillow and all my DVDs I had brought from the US on the combi. Won't be seeing those things again.
I had to spend a few days in Oshikango because the Ministry of Education hadn't delivered my be or anything else for my room. I was told ther was a "miscommunication in the procurement of the furniture". Yeah, very Namibian. It gets here when it gets here. I finally got the furniture yesterday (Monday) after having been back up north since Wednesday night.
My housemates all seem very nice and my school seems great so far. I will be teaching computers to grade 8-10, English to grade 8, and running the computer lab and the library. There are 13 computer classes and 1 english class. Yeah, lots more to do than last year.
I'll keep you updated!
Peace and Love,
Chelsea
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