Yossarian in Africa

July 8

Cold in Africa? Who'd of thought? Only the daylight hours in the sun are warm. Everyone here loves to complain about the cold – as they do about the heat. It hasn't rained in months, and I didn't realize how much the vegetation has changed until I looked at some pictures of when we first moved into our house. Everything on theground is brown – only the evergreens are green (hence the name). Evergreens here are thorn trees and palm trees. They are not actually palm trees, their leaves look more like yucca spikes, and they startoff as small bushes. Only the older ones are worthy of being called "trees." They're very pretty to look at though and make a nice profile in the colored skies. I can see the river now from our porch and yard. Partly because of the vegetation and also because someonehas been clearing away some trees from behind "our" property. All the parrot trees are still remaining – but the parrots are not. I'm notsure if that's because they've been clearing brush or because they'vemigrated north for the winter. The goats have now been making a dailytrek though our yard (apparently they have to travel further/farther during the dry season to look for food, so that's why we're justseeing them now). Locals hate this. I'm still undecided. I like visitors (like the new kittens, birds, and our house pet: Nelson thefrog who eats roaches). They are eating our trees though! One day Iwent out to chase and throw rocks at them. A particularly stupid goatjumped the fence but got his foot stuck. Goat whining is worse then Grade 9 whining. After a few minutes I got him unstuck. By this opposite side. So, the goat wanted to be back on our side of thefence. I didn't even turn around to walk back to my lunch and he had jumped back into our yard and gotten stuck again. This time he fell over on this side, with the one leg stuck high in the air. At this angle I couldn't even free him. I tried pulling him up by his horns but he wouldn't put his feet under him. I had to go get Mr. Sikwali(pronounced Skwalee) to help me. By the time I returned with him, the goat was bleeding quite badly. Together, we freed him and it limped off. Lesson learned? Doubt it. Sikwali informed me that the problem with goats is that they just don't listen.

So it's Sunday morning. I'm basking in the warmth of my back porch, looking at the river, occasional birds and goat skin (that is still hanging from a tree after our braii and is not a deterrent to goats entering our yard – obviously). I just had some peach and mango tea I scored last weekend in Rundu and a fantastic orange – picked yesterday straight from the tree (in the "dead of winter"). This is the first time I've had to relax in at least a week. Ahh… I was on silent study supervision this week, which is 4-5 and 7:15-9 Monday through Saturday. Yesterday would have been okay, Saturdays there is study 9-11 and nothing from 4-5. At 11, the vice principal came up requesting us to stay around to meet and greet some former learners. The guests addressed the learners and then they addressed the teachers. Yada yada yada I got home at 4:30 instead of 11. It is really nice just to be sitting right now.

This was quite a different Fourth of July. The Fourth is a great holiday because it's so laid back. Independence Days have quite a time, a resolution are fresh in everyone's mind. One of my classes applauded when I told them what holiday it was in my home. People were in awe of being 200+ years old. Some knew that we were fighting the British, others asked "and who was colonizing you?" I have tried to explain (with little success) that America is a melting pot, that "my people" are not native Americans (or Native Americans). It really should be a holiday celebrating succession not independence. Lindsey departed for Ovamboland and was able to meet up with several other Americans for a celebration with rumored to have BBQ, trampoline, and fireworks. There is not 4-5 study on Wednesdays, so I went up to school to play basketball – nothing I'd rather do (to spend a holiday). I played until the sun set so decided to run home instead of walking. As I left the gate, there was a group of longhorns walking in the same direction. As I came running up behind them, I spooked them and they started running. They would run for a little while, then start walking again. I'd catch up we'd repeat the process a few times. Meanwhile, their caretakers are yelling at them to stop from further and further behind to no avail. Eventually I overtook them (passing is called overtaking here). I got about half way home to realize I left my keys at school. As I was running back toward the cows I was worried that they would charge my bright orange shirt. The two caretakers had a look of mixed anger and confusion when I met them running in the opposite direction. Before overtaking them on my second trip toward home, I got a ride from my vice principal. We were talking about my country's Independence Day, and he mentioned that Bush gave a million illegal immigrants citizenship. I was shocked, different meaning here – where memories of apartheid, war, andresolution are fresh in everyone's mind. One of my classes applaudedwhen I told them what holiday it was in my home. People were in aweof being 200+ years old. Some knew that we were fighting the British, others asked "and who was colonizing you?" I have tried to explain(with little success) that America is a melting pot, that "my people"are not native Americans (or Native Americans). It really should be aholiday celebrating succession not independence. Lindsey departed for Ovamboland and was able to meet up with several other Americans for acelebration with rumored to have BBQ, trampoline, and fireworks.

There is not 4-5 study on Wednesdays, so I went up to school to play basketball – nothing I'd rather do (to spend a holiday). I played until the sun set so decided to run home instead of walking. As I left the gate, there was a group of longhorns walking in the same direction. As I came running up behind them, I spooked them and they started running. They would run for a little while, then startwalking again. I'd catch up we'd repeat the process a few times. Meanwhile, their caretakers are yelling at them to stop from furtherand further behind to no avail. Eventually I overtook them (passingis called overtaking here). I got about half way home to realize I left my keys at school. As I was running back toward the cows I was worried that they would charge my bright orange shirt. The two caretakers had a look of mixed anger and confusion when I met themrunning in the opposite direction. Before overtaking them on my second trip toward home, I got a ride from my vice principal. We weretalking about my country's Independence Day, and he mentioned that Bush gave a million illegal immigrants citizenship. And the next day at school none of the other (regularly well informed) teachers had heard anything like that. I'm doubting its validity now?
We found out that instead of starting our own non-profit organization, there is a lot less red tape going through the Peace Corps Partnership. Similarly, I don't know anything about that. You would have thought that the Peace Corps would have given us some information on that. Or maybe they did? The great news is that we found someone trustworthy and hardworking interested in helping us from back home. The great thing is that he had already started thinking and doing some preliminary research before I had even shared our plans with him. Great minds think alike?

Or maybe it's a collective conscious. I watched Waking Life last weekend in Rundu. Ethan Hawke's character mentions a study in which people were isolated form the general population and given daily crosswords puzzles. Then one day, they were secretly given day-old crossword puzzles that had already been completed by "millions" of people. Their scores were dramatically improved, "something like." Everyone's had those moments where they are thinking the same things as someone else, and you just know it, too, without vocalizing it. Lindsey and I have those moments all the time about seemingly random and unrelated things. I've been considering the possibility of a "collective conscious" for a few years. The question is whether it just seems like telepathy exists because we remember these moments and delighted and confused. I was on the internet for a spilt secondlater that night and didn't see anything at cnn.com. And the next dayat school none of the other (regularly well informed) teachers hadheard anything like that. I'm doubting its validity now? We found out that instead of starting our own non-profitorganization, there is a lot less red tape going through the PeaceCorps Partnership. Similarly, I don't know anything about that. Youwould have thought that the Peace Corps would have given us someinformation on that. Or maybe they did? The great news is that wefound someone trustworthy and hardworking interested in helping usfrom back home. The great thing is that he had already startedthinking and doing some preliminary research before I had even sharedour plans with him. Great minds think alike? Or maybe it's a collective conscious. I watched Waking Life lastweekend in Rundu. Ethan Hawke's character mentions a study in which people were isolated form the general population and given dailycrosswords puzzles. Then one day, they were secretly given day-oldcrossword puzzles that had already been completed by "millions" of people. Their scores were dramatically improved, "something like 20%." Everyone's had those moments where they are thinking the samethings as someone else, and you just know it, too, without vocalizingit. Lindsey and I have those moments all the time about seemingly random and unrelated things. I've been considering the possibility of a "collective conscious" for a few years. The question is whether it just seems like telepathy exists because we remember these moments and is certainly the norm). Reminds me of a person who thinks they are lucky at gambling because they remember the "hits" and forget the "misses." There's a lot we don't know about the brain. I have to thank Paul Kennedy for recommending that movie. It has no plot, but is just a series of discussions about many topics including adulthood, evolution, time and God.

Here's an excerpt from one of my favorite conversations: Almost all human behavior and activity is not essentially any different from animal behavior. The most advanced technologies and craftsmanship bring us, at best, up to the super chimpanzee level. Actually the gap between, say, Plato and the average human is greater than the gap between that chimpanzee and the average human. The realm of the real spirit, the true artist, the saint, the philosopher is rarely achieved. Why so few? …So what are these barriers that keep people from reaching anywhere near their real potential? The answer to that can be found in another question and that is this: which is the most universal human characteristic, fear or laziness? I watched the movie with Cedar and Cobra. I'm going to make Lindsey watch it soon. I'm sure it will make for a few really good back porch conversations with Cobra and Lindsey.

Cobra and I decided we need to acquire a grill. We have a great house and setting and we need to utilize it more, and there's no better way than ice cold drinks and grilled meat, maybe goat. Lindsey is returning today from Ovamboland where she spent a few says getting trained. She should have learned some tips for writing grants and was supposed to sign me up for an alternative energy project. We'll see.

June 16

We are now three weeks into the second trimester. I made up most of the problems on the spot, this was myfavorite: Kim's extensions were 27.6 cm long. Her real hair is 76% shorter. How long is her real hair? This came right after the vice principal decided on a (seemingly) whim to "punish" (read: manual labor) all the girls with extensions and make them remove them (He's not even able to recognize extensions, he made a girl undo her obviously-real-hair braids as proof. Girls at my school are lucky, real hair can be as long as they want, but the rest of the Kavango has a no hair policy.)

I had to reteach two digit multiplication, then reteach decimal multiplication. For the few that were able to jump those hurdles, even fewer could remember to do the second step of the two step problem after a week and half of the same types of problems. Eventually we had to move on. Thank goodness the next topic was rounding. They told me they had done it before, and since it is sooooo easy, I figured they'd be masters. I gave them a quick lesson and a homework assignment that was admittedly somewhat difficult, but it was still only rounding. After a disastrous performance on the homework, I realized I needed to start fresh. The second time I skipped the conceptual framework and went straight for mindless algorithm on how to round. I called it the "new and improved method for rounding," they called it "the easy method." I figured we better practice rounding for a few days before moving on, so I went back to the increasing-by-a-percent word problems, this time making them round their final answer. They had no idea. Now they wanted an easy method the zone I was starting the term.

Last week I quizzed my ninthgraders on increasing and decreasing a given number by a percent; avery simple two step problem, solved virtually the same way everytime. I made up most of the problems on the spot, this was myfavorite: Kim's extensions were 27.6 cm long. Her real hair is 76%shorter. How long is her real hair? This came right after the viceprincipal decided on a (seemingly) whim to "punish" (read: manuallabor) all the girls with extensions and make them remove them (He'snot even able to recognize extensions, he made a girl undo herobviously-real-hair braids as proof. Girls at my school are lucky,real hair can be as long as they want, but the rest of the Kavango hasa no hair policy.) I had to reteach two digit multiplication, then reteach decimalmultiplication. For the few that were able to jump those hurdles,even fewer could remember to do the second step of the two stepproblem after a week and half of the same types of problems. Eventually we had to move on. Thank goodness the next topic was rounding. They told me they had done it before, and since it issooooo easy, I figured they'd be masters. I gave them a quick lessonand a homework assignment that was admittedly somewhat difficult, butit was still only rounding. After a disastrous performance on thehomework, I realized I needed to start fresh. The second time Iskipped the conceptual framework and went straight for mindlessalgorithm on how to round. I called it the "new and improved methodfor rounding," they called it "the easy method." I figured we betterpractice rounding for a few days before moving on, so I went back tothe increasing-by-a-percent word problems, this time making them roundtheir final answer. They had no idea. Now they wanted an easy method

I kind of lost it in one class. I tried to guilt/scare them. "There is no easy method for problems like this. Sorry, but you have to use your brains. If you are able to pass ninth grade, you'll see that math only gets more complicated in grade 10, more in grade 11, more in grade 12. You have to learn how to think." That's certainly not true, a lot of people are able to do very difficult math without understanding it at all (like me in differential equations). But if they do not make a conceptual understanding, it's like I'm just teaching to be teaching. So, I'm getting further behind in the syllabus. My 8th grade math and science are the same way. In 8th grade we are working with fractions, and I'm integrating BODMAS (the order or operations – I think I've ranted about this before, so I'll refrain) into them. They can multiply fractions or add fractions or subtract fractions or divide fractions or take fractions to exponents perfectly, but they can't add and multiply, or mix an exponent with subtraction. In science I was just given a scheme of work issued by the government. A scheme of work is the schedule of topics for the year. What I'm teaching now (atoms) they have for the second week of the year. I'm just hoping there won't be a confrontation or blame game at the end of the year when I am not half way through the syllabus or next January when we look at the exam results. I've been giving optional extra classes some afternoons that seem to be helpful to those who attend. Those are pretty enjoyable even though they are remedial because everyone wants to be there.

Enough about school. I was able to catch the 2nd half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals yesterday on tape delay. What is up with Drew Gooden's "hair." I've never seen anything so ridiculous. Tony Parker must for these problems.

It's almost laughable to hear about how poor the Cardinals are doing. If they had this year last year, and last year this year, I would have been sick.

June 17

I got distracted from that last entry by a game of rummy. I lost. We receive Newsweek and my school gets an occasional TIME, so I have been able to get somewhat up to date news. I can't get enough of the election coverage. I assume that it is over bearing back home, but>here it's just right. Lindsey heard that Hillary is leading in the polls. I'm still endorsing Obama, but I think Al Gore would be the best option for the country. They mentioned in Newsweek that a Gore-Obama ticket would be unbeatable. That would be awesome. I'm predicting Gore will announce his candidacy at his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in October. Although McCain and Guliani would be considerably better than any other GOPs, I would be heartbroken if the Democrats lost it. We are in serious need of a political makeover, and Gore and Obama are the only ones who seemed to have acknowledged that a problem exists.

Do you remember the goat braii? After that we went to the local barin town. The bar here consists of a few people sitting at the bar drinking in silence, two busy pool tables, and four or five roulette machines that poor saps pour coins into and a juke box. The juke box has 10 burned CDs, so probably a little more than 100 songs. The most popular 3 or 4 songs are replayed over and over again, at unbearable volume. Anyway, after the braii, a large group of us went up there. Shortly after we arrived, some people started dancing. Our friend Alex hates dancing. He has a warped since of humor, and thought it have been the MVP, right? He was dominating the small part I saw.It's almost laughable to hear about how poor the Cardinals are doing. If they had this year last year, and last year this year, I would havebeen sick.

He has a warped since of humor, and thought it of people that actually think dancing is fun and enjoyable. The Namibians loved it. Cobra's roommate copied his every move. One of the most popular dances he created was shaking your hands below your knees for a few seconds, then over your head, and repeat (it also helps to have an absurd look on your face). Lindsey's co-teachers loved it. When we were at the bar recently, they were doing it again, and Alex wasn\'t even there. We started talking about Alex and dancing, and they said they displayed his dance at a club the last time they were in Rundu.