Wednesday, January 30, 2008
January 30
American Recap
Coming home for Christmas was fantastic. Seeing my family and
friends made this my best Christmas ever, by far. To everyone I saw:
Thank you. It was pretty stressful leaving a year ago, I didn't know
what to expect or how my relationships with people back home would
change. Eventually the stress of leaving wore off, but it wasn't ever
released. But reintegrating (for the most part effortlessly) with my
family and friends was that release. Now a second year seems like
cake.
My taste buds are still recovering from the over-excitement. Every
meal I ate was fantastic. In no particular order, the best were
Hunt's double western cheeseburgers (yes, plural), pumpkin pie, sushi,
peanut butter balls, and, seriously, everything my mom made. Mountain
Dew and Boulevard Wheat were even better than I remembered them. Of
all the amazing American amenities available (4-word alliteration!),
food's really the only thing worth mentioning (and the Mizzou bowl
victory). Nothing else even comes close to comparing to reuniting
with the people.
Sams Anecdote
I went to Sam's one day, which was shocking in itself. At the
checkout register, I could overhear another man talking to the clerk,
"I dropped $20 somewhere in the store. It just fell out of my pocket.
Ha, oh well [cue shoulder shrug]." I am still speechless; it's so
absurd that I guess a shoulder shrug is really the best explanation.
It was sad to see how wasteful people can be. The "throw away"
culture is something that irritates my grandma and me, but not enough
other people. The capitalist solution would be a trash tax. I'm sure
that would go over about as well as a gas tax, which I'd also support.
Books
Lindsey and I have been wanting to add to our schools libraries for
awhile. They had been reading story books like The Three Little Pigs,
which is a great read, but not exactly challenging to our older
students. My parents mentioned this to a few teacher friends with the
hopes of collecting a few books for us take back with us. To our
surprise and delight, the response was immense, we counted over 300
books. We had planned to take only our backpacks back with us, thus
freeing up room for another checked bag each. However our bags were
really heavy (45 and 60 pounds). Lindsey couldn't even put hers on
without my help (hers was 60). So we left the books in Farmington,
but are going to have them shipped soon enough.
We also gave a brief talk to the Lion's Club in Farmington. They
agreed to donate 40 dictionaries and pay the shipping. Imagine
American students receiving the gifts of dictionaries (I can remember
getting one as a child), and no doubt you will hear a sarcastic
"thanks a lot" accompanied by an eye roll. Not so, in Namibia:
learners love them. Now Lindsey will have enough for a classroom set.
This will be a great addition to the library at Nkurenkuru Combined
School.
Returning
Returning to Nkurenkuru was just as easy as returning to Missouri,
but much more laidback. Not much had changed, except that the rains
had turned our sand yard into a jungle of weeds. Greeting is big in
African culture, and the first greeting after a long break or absence
is very important, so everyone was overly enthusiastic to see us
again, which made us feel very welcome. I think it is hilarious how
they continue to wish a Happy New Year the first time they see you,
even if it is the third week of January.
The rains are in full force, which means the river is rising. I'm
hoping it will go way up this year. I think it will be exciting, but
Lindsey thinks it will bring the crocs closer to our house. The rains
have really helped with the heat, though the humidity is out of
control – my socks are still damp on Friday from Monday's washing.
Start of School
Starting school has been a mixed blessing. It's good to be doing
something productive again, but I've been so busy. We are
experiencing an extreme teacher shortage, and I've had to pick up 11
more hours than I had last year. I'm hoping it will be resolved soon,
though I don't know how. I am no longer able to finish my grading and
lesson planning during my off periods, so I do them at home in the
afternoons. Combine that with an hour lunch and an hour exercise, and
its 8 o'clock before I know it. Days are flying by.
It was nice to see my learners from last year again. And most of the
troublemakers were not allowed to return. My register class, or
homeroom, is one of the grade 9s, so I taught them last year. They
are a really bright and well-behaved class. They are certainly the
highlight of my day (I also teach them math), as the other classes
leave many things to be desired. In eighth grade we are doing
multiples and factors, which are very easy, even by Namibian grade 8
standards, but they are really struggling because they can't multiply.
I'm again doing the weekly multiplication tests, which I hope will
help them. One girl missed 49 of 50. At least she can only improve
(unless she forgets 2x2). There are a few new students in grade 9, so
I've been able to see the positive effect of the multiplication tests
last year, which is very encouraging because I didn't notice much of a
change last year.
Non-Profit
Working with Jarrod and Becca on our non-profit got off to a really
good start when I first arrived home. We have assembled an advisory
board, which is a group I'm very happy with, and got a decent idea of
our goals. But after that we kind of stumbled. Mostly, due to
Christmas, but that's not a sufficient excuse. I'm a little worried
that I wasn't able to find the motivation do more when I was home,
because it is surely going to be more difficult now that I'm having
limited communication and a jam-packed schedule. The next few months
will be telling, I think, as to whether we will get off the ground or
crash and burn.
Election
I am finding the primaries gut wrenching (Democratic) and terribly
exciting (Republican). I was the first Christian County voter;
(very) early returns had Obama with a 100%. As I am not able to work
with his campaign effort, I will use this blog to urge you to give
serious consideration to supporting Obama on February 5th. I think
these primaries will prove more important then the general election,
so don't sit on your butt; get out and vote!
Well, that's all I can write right now. I'll try to devote more time
to blogging in the future. It was wonderfully surprising to hear how
many people are actually reading this thing. Until then, cheers.
Coming home for Christmas was fantastic. Seeing my family and
friends made this my best Christmas ever, by far. To everyone I saw:
Thank you. It was pretty stressful leaving a year ago, I didn't know
what to expect or how my relationships with people back home would
change. Eventually the stress of leaving wore off, but it wasn't ever
released. But reintegrating (for the most part effortlessly) with my
family and friends was that release. Now a second year seems like
cake.
My taste buds are still recovering from the over-excitement. Every
meal I ate was fantastic. In no particular order, the best were
Hunt's double western cheeseburgers (yes, plural), pumpkin pie, sushi,
peanut butter balls, and, seriously, everything my mom made. Mountain
Dew and Boulevard Wheat were even better than I remembered them. Of
all the amazing American amenities available (4-word alliteration!),
food's really the only thing worth mentioning (and the Mizzou bowl
victory). Nothing else even comes close to comparing to reuniting
with the people.
Sams Anecdote
I went to Sam's one day, which was shocking in itself. At the
checkout register, I could overhear another man talking to the clerk,
"I dropped $20 somewhere in the store. It just fell out of my pocket.
Ha, oh well [cue shoulder shrug]." I am still speechless; it's so
absurd that I guess a shoulder shrug is really the best explanation.
It was sad to see how wasteful people can be. The "throw away"
culture is something that irritates my grandma and me, but not enough
other people. The capitalist solution would be a trash tax. I'm sure
that would go over about as well as a gas tax, which I'd also support.
Books
Lindsey and I have been wanting to add to our schools libraries for
awhile. They had been reading story books like The Three Little Pigs,
which is a great read, but not exactly challenging to our older
students. My parents mentioned this to a few teacher friends with the
hopes of collecting a few books for us take back with us. To our
surprise and delight, the response was immense, we counted over 300
books. We had planned to take only our backpacks back with us, thus
freeing up room for another checked bag each. However our bags were
really heavy (45 and 60 pounds). Lindsey couldn't even put hers on
without my help (hers was 60). So we left the books in Farmington,
but are going to have them shipped soon enough.
We also gave a brief talk to the Lion's Club in Farmington. They
agreed to donate 40 dictionaries and pay the shipping. Imagine
American students receiving the gifts of dictionaries (I can remember
getting one as a child), and no doubt you will hear a sarcastic
"thanks a lot" accompanied by an eye roll. Not so, in Namibia:
learners love them. Now Lindsey will have enough for a classroom set.
This will be a great addition to the library at Nkurenkuru Combined
School.
Returning
Returning to Nkurenkuru was just as easy as returning to Missouri,
but much more laidback. Not much had changed, except that the rains
had turned our sand yard into a jungle of weeds. Greeting is big in
African culture, and the first greeting after a long break or absence
is very important, so everyone was overly enthusiastic to see us
again, which made us feel very welcome. I think it is hilarious how
they continue to wish a Happy New Year the first time they see you,
even if it is the third week of January.
The rains are in full force, which means the river is rising. I'm
hoping it will go way up this year. I think it will be exciting, but
Lindsey thinks it will bring the crocs closer to our house. The rains
have really helped with the heat, though the humidity is out of
control – my socks are still damp on Friday from Monday's washing.
Start of School
Starting school has been a mixed blessing. It's good to be doing
something productive again, but I've been so busy. We are
experiencing an extreme teacher shortage, and I've had to pick up 11
more hours than I had last year. I'm hoping it will be resolved soon,
though I don't know how. I am no longer able to finish my grading and
lesson planning during my off periods, so I do them at home in the
afternoons. Combine that with an hour lunch and an hour exercise, and
its 8 o'clock before I know it. Days are flying by.
It was nice to see my learners from last year again. And most of the
troublemakers were not allowed to return. My register class, or
homeroom, is one of the grade 9s, so I taught them last year. They
are a really bright and well-behaved class. They are certainly the
highlight of my day (I also teach them math), as the other classes
leave many things to be desired. In eighth grade we are doing
multiples and factors, which are very easy, even by Namibian grade 8
standards, but they are really struggling because they can't multiply.
I'm again doing the weekly multiplication tests, which I hope will
help them. One girl missed 49 of 50. At least she can only improve
(unless she forgets 2x2). There are a few new students in grade 9, so
I've been able to see the positive effect of the multiplication tests
last year, which is very encouraging because I didn't notice much of a
change last year.
Non-Profit
Working with Jarrod and Becca on our non-profit got off to a really
good start when I first arrived home. We have assembled an advisory
board, which is a group I'm very happy with, and got a decent idea of
our goals. But after that we kind of stumbled. Mostly, due to
Christmas, but that's not a sufficient excuse. I'm a little worried
that I wasn't able to find the motivation do more when I was home,
because it is surely going to be more difficult now that I'm having
limited communication and a jam-packed schedule. The next few months
will be telling, I think, as to whether we will get off the ground or
crash and burn.
Election
I am finding the primaries gut wrenching (Democratic) and terribly
exciting (Republican). I was the first Christian County voter;
(very) early returns had Obama with a 100%. As I am not able to work
with his campaign effort, I will use this blog to urge you to give
serious consideration to supporting Obama on February 5th. I think
these primaries will prove more important then the general election,
so don't sit on your butt; get out and vote!
Well, that's all I can write right now. I'll try to devote more time
to blogging in the future. It was wonderfully surprising to hear how
many people are actually reading this thing. Until then, cheers.
