August 24-30

August 24

I did NOT sleep well at all. However, two of my closest friends from college (Azusa Pacific University) sent me a voice recording through whatsapp! They were at my best friend from college’s wedding and they said they really missed me and that they wished I was there. It felt so good and came at a good time. I woke up feeling really good. I walked to the office around 545. I love my morning walks in Rundu. It is one of my favorite things to do in Namibia. It is quiet, beautiful, deserted, and the air is crisp and a bit chilly (in winter). I also love going to the office early because I get the internet all to myself AND my parents are still awake at that time. I smsed my friend “A” and had a wonderful conversation with her. Then, I skyped my best friend in Germany. After that I hung out in the office and played with my camera. I had a really good talk with two male PCVs. I walked back to my place then went to the store to buy some stuff. I hung out in the office most of the day. I worked on a bunch of stuff for the health camp too. For dinner, we had lasagna, garlic bread, and chocolate chip cookies. It was awesome and reminded me of hm. The five other people I was with went out that night, but I was too tired and I also didn’t feel like going out. I smsed back and forth with my friend A, at my friend’s wedding, and she sent me a bunch of pictures. One of the most meaningful things was when she said “we really did miss you a lot today. You and three others were all not there and it was sad.” It really touched me. I also read a letter from one my best friends from Graduate School. It was also very sweet and touching.

August 25

I didn’t sleep well. I walked to the PC office around 540 and skyoed my parents again. Then I did a bunch of stuff for the health camp. I skyped my friend Germany again too. I called my learners to see if they were on their way to Rundu. I was so proud that they were! I was the only PCV chaperone for all the learners we were taking to the camp on the bus. The bus was 2 hours and 40 minutes late. I was glad the bus was late because my learners were very late as well. We left at 1130. I slept and read on the way. We got to Divundu around 340. I probably should say a bit more about the camp. The camp was a health camp organized by two PCVs. We took two learnes from  10 schools and brought them to the camp to teach them about health topics such as Malaria, HIV/AIDs, and Alcohol & Drugs. The learners are meant to go back to their schools and work with their PCV to form a health club. The program is called Youth Exploring and Achieving in Health, aka YEAH. Anyways, we took the learners on a tour of the camp and then we did tie-dye. I taught the learners a few games such as Ninja and Signs. They loved the games. I was really proud of myself because I was interacting really well with all of the learners. We had spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread for dinner. I enjoyed meeting and talking to an older PCV whom I had only seen once before. She is great. She told me about her projects and some of the challenges she deals with. After dinner I taught a bunch of the learners how to play UNO. They loved it. I had another really good talk with the older PCV. We had a staff meeting and then I went my room to journal.

August 26

I woke up early and walked around the camp and took pictures. Fyi, I was the main photographer for the camp. I took over 900 photos and videos from the 24-30. We played more games with the learners then went to the education sessions. The sessions were really good! One of my learners was amazing. I was very proud of her. We talked about what a health club is and what the different people involved do. We played an animal sound game, which was fun. We tried to get the learners to critically think and not just memorize. That’s one big problem with Namibia. Teachers in Namibia mainly just write things on the board; learners write things down and memorize. There is almost ZERO critical thinking. Another big issue is that the learner culture makes fun of those who ask questions or get wrong answers. I HATE it. The questions may even be good, but the learners still laugh. I loved how, throughout the camp, the PCVs focused on praise and encouragement as well as encouraging people to ask questions and challenge. We told them there are NO stupid questions. They did marvelously throughout the week and became more and more confident. I know I jumped ahead to the end of the week, but I don’t want to forget. The learners were so different at the end of the week than at the beginning. Anyways, the PCVs had to be okay with silence because it took the learners a bit to be able to tell what a health club is, but after a few tries some did brilliantly. We had bratwurst, rice, and chakalaka. We did an activity where one puts the steps of making a health club in order. It didn’t go very well, but we learned a lot. Today was Heroes Day, when the Namibian people had their first battle against the German colonists for Independence. Then, I took most of the learners and the two Namibian counterparts to the soccer field and we played for an hour. The teams tied 4-4. I went and showered after we got back. I sat down for a few and fell asleep because I was so tired. I woke up a few minutes later and walked to the dining area. I played Egyptian Rat Screw (or Slap, Killers, however you call it). We had chicken, potatoes, and cole slaw for dinner. One of the PCVs severely cut her finger. We were fortunate that the lodge owner next to the camp knew how to take care of the injury. I did the dishes. Then the PCVs got together and debriefed. We also ate a ton of ice cream, which became a nightly routine. I took over 2 gigabytes of pictures and video in two days alone!

August 27

I woke up at 545 and journaled. Side note: EVERY single morning, N’s dog, Kapuka came in and woke me up by finding my bed out of all the 40 people at the camp and cuddling with me. It was wonderful. It reminded me of home where my mom would send our dogs to wake me up. We had breakfast then started today’s program. We played a bunch of games. I took the learners to Shametu Lodge and we skyped with one of the foremost experts on Malaria on Namibia. It was a wonderful experience for the learners because they had never seen such technology. We were very proud of the questions they asked. We went back to the camp and had our sessions. We had a presentation by the Andara District Health Inspector. I did a mosquito net ski with some of the other PCVs. It went well! Then, I ran Malaria Jeopardy and girls won. The boys had to serve the girls for lunch. One of the boys is extremely traditional and later that night, and through the rest of the camp, we had discussions about female and male roles. It was crazy to hear some of the things he said. He said things like “The man’s only job is to make money and then sit back and watch tv. Women are making men slaves.” One of the other PCVs was really bothered by what the boy was saying. One of the girl learners was there and did not reject what he said. She just said “It’s our culture.” I really  appreciated one of the Namibian counterparts who was on “my side” and was very good at engaging the youth. We did not have time to get into the discussion much. I also knew that behavior change takes a LONG time.  I went into the gym and found a very touching thank you from one of the learners. It was only day two but the learners were immensely enjoying themselves. We had small group work with our learners we had brought and came up with ideas about what events a health club could do to teach people about malaria. I taught one of the learners how to shuffle. Fyi, Namibians are amazed by shuffling and bridging. Sorry, my thoughts in this post are jumbled because there was so much that went on at the camp that I journaled about things out of sequence. Lunch was very traditional and I didn’t eat any of it. The learners LOVED it though. They had fatty cow leg, mutete (spinach), and yisima (porridge). Before dinner we taught the learners how to play Spoons (the game you play with spoons and playing cards) and UNO. We had over 23 people playing. It was so fun. Then, a spontaneous dance party broke out. It was so much fun to have the PCVs and Namibians dancing together. After dinner we sat around the campfire for a few hours. We debriefed after the learners went to bed and at a ton of ice cream. One more thing, earlier in the day, the learners were given a choice of playing a game or having free time. They chose a game with ME! I was very happy.

August 28

Kapuka came in at his usual time and cuddle-woke me up. I went to breakfast, but the learners were late. After breakfast we recapped from the day before. Then we went on a field trip to show the learners how the Malaria teams spray the houses with DDT. Lunch was good. We had hot cheeto-like chips, PB&J, chilli, cornbread, and deli sandwiches. On a side note: no meals really taste AMAZING anymore. Food is more of a fuel for me now than an enjoyment, although I still enjoy it IMMENSELY. I think it’s mainly that the food is not home cooked by my mom or brother and that it is not from America. After lunch we had an alcohol and drugs presentation. The learners asked a lot of good questions. I went and took a nap because I was exhausted. I went back to the sessions just to find that one of the speakers was apparently really boring and very opinionated. The person said that any drinking is wrong. It doesn’t matter if you drink one drink or ten. All of the PCVs were not happy. Our intended message was that alcohol, like all things, should be taken in moderation and that it is a personal choice. After we let the learners out of the session, several of the PCVs got together to discuss a trend that really made us uncomfortable. The N word (a derogatory term for black people) had been heard several times in the camp from learners. The word was not just a problem at camp, but is a problem that Namibia deals with. We had not scheduled time to discuss the word with the learners, but we thought it was important enough that we address it. We decided to widen the N word problem to the greater issue of stereotypes. Our activity involved taping stereotypes, both positive and negative, to the backs of the learners and having them walk around and look at others tags. Some of the stereotypes were “Doctor,” “Teacher,” “Teen Mom,” “China.” Fyi, any Asian in Namibia is called a China. They would not know what they had been tagged with, but others were supposed to act according to the stereotype on the person’s back. After the activity we were going to discuss how people felt. We struggled with explicitly telling the learners not to use the N word. As a social worker, I hate it when people use words such as the N word or when people joke in sexist ways because it perpetuates racism, sexism, etc. Some of the PCVs wanted to tell them to stop saying it at the camp at least. I was proud that they ended up agreeing with the message I ultimately came up with. I was also proud that they wanted me to handle the issue because “race relations was something CJ’s good at.” Anyways, I decided to inform the learners about what the N word means to many, maybe even the majority, of people around the world. My definition was a derogatory word that signifies someone being as “less than human or equal.” Rappers and other “role models” who use the N word, are either ignorant of the word’s meaning or have some misinformed idea that using the word is a form of “taking back” the word and empowering themselves. I believe that using the N word will send the message that black people are OKAY with being less than equal. The point of whether the word is meant to empower or degrade is moot. I planned to tell the learners about the meaning and how it could be miscommunicated to others. The activity was more about awareness than telling them they were wrong. To them, the word has connotations of being cool, free, and rich. That may be the meaning of the word in their culture (although I have met a few Namibians who hate the word), but they need to be aware of how they represent themselves to others who do not share the same cultural ideas. That was my ultimate question: Keeping in mind the different meanings of the word, how do you want to represent yourselves? Anyways, it was going to be a great activity, but we ended up not having time to do it because of a time crunch. As you can, I am a bit passionate about this subject. Anyways, 7 PCVs, who are leaving Namibia in October after having been her for two years, came to the camp for about 30 minutes to visit. I went and napped for a while. Group 38 found out their work sites today and it was very exciting! One of my favorite Group 38 trainees is going to be where my best friend is and I am so excited! The PCVs met and tried to decide how to restructure the camp because we were having time issues. We had squash, chicken, cole slaw, and noodles for dinner. We tried to do an HIV activity with the learners, but decided that it wasn’t working as intended. Everyone was really tired. One of the PCVs had to kill a snake on the path to the bungalows.

August 29

I sleep talked a lot last night and woke up really tired. The PCVs met and planned the rest of the camp before breakfast. I made up another Jeopardy for Alcohol and Drugs. The girls won this game later on in the day. The learners surprised us with a skit that went for 25 minutes. A girl was peer pressured into doing drugs, drinking, and having sex. She got HIV, went to the witch doctor then the hospital, but she died. It was AMAZING. They only practiced for one hour the night before. It was also awesome because this story is REAL for them. After the skit we talked about World AIDs Day and what activities we could do with our clubs. After that I worked with my learners on a plan for an alcohol related mural. I was so proud of my learns because they came up with the idea to draw two brains that showed what a responsible drinker’s brain looks like and what an alcohol abuser’s brain looks like. It was amazing and I took the drawing with me. I didn’t eat the meat, but I had rice with the meatsauce, sweet chilli, and peri peri hotsauce. On another side topic; I don’t really like meat anymore. I used to, but Namibia has turned me against most of it. It is ironic because this country is meat heaven. However, most of the meat is fatty or tough. The reason for the state of the meat is that Namibians don’t have the luxury of just eating “pure” meat. Food is food/fuel. (Reference to Pixar’s Ratatouille movie). Namibians have just had to survive, whereas Americans can afford to be picky. Anyways, we walked to Nunda Lodge for a boat ride. I talked with one of the Namibian counterparts on the way and had a wonderful conversation. Nunda Lodge is BEAUTIFUL. It hangs partially over the river and is diagonal from where a bunch of hippos hang out. Nunda Lodge let ALL of our learners and PCVs go on two boats for FREE. It was the highlight of the time for many of the learners. I LOVED having my camera. I took over 200 pictures. The pictures turned out beautifully. We saw a lot of birds, crocodiles, and hippos up close. Oh, one of the lodges had asked if their 22 year old son, who was visiting from Germany, could come see how we were doing our camp. He loved the experiences. I also made another contact. Who knows when I’ll visit Germany?! I walked back with one of the Namibian counterparts and two learners. We had another wonderful conversation. Now it’s time for me to rave about the counterparts. The first one, P, is 23 and a first year teacher. He was awesome. He was hilarious, fun, creative, and enthusiastic. You could tell he cared about the learners. The other one, E, was the most amazing Namibian I have met. He cared more for the learners and Namibia than anyone else. He was proud of his country. He was a fountain of ideas. He was serious about his goals, but he was absolutely fun. Most of all, her cared, cared, cared for the learners. He works for KAYEC, a faith-based Anti-HIV organization, but I dearly wish I had him as a counterpart. He inspired me so much. I am excited to keep in touch with him in the future. After the boat ride I went and showered and read. We took group pictures in all of our tie-dyed camp shirts. Dinner was pretty good! I went and made sack lunches for the trip back home. We introduced the learners to the American tradition of roasting marshmallows and making S’mores! They loved them! Then, we presented the learners with certificates and gave them praise and encouragement. We also recognized the E and P for their wonderful contribution and for giving up their holiday week to spend with us at the camp. Some of the learners made the PCVs thank you cards. It was very nice. The night was wonderful. All of the PCVs felt really good and we relaxed around the campfire and ate ice cream. I went to bed at ten, but others went to bed at one. It was a wonderful way to end camp.

August 30

Today’s blog is really short. I woke up and packed. I gave all my pictures to N and then went and got the lunches and my stuff in the bus. Before we left, the learners wrote encouragements on a paper, one for each learner. There was a lot of hugging and we did an end-of-camp cheer. The bus ride home was irritating because the driver kept making personal stops. It took us 4.5 hours to get home when it should have taken 3. It was so good to be back in Rundu. I skyped mom and dad and two of my best friends. I hadn’t talked with one of them in months and it was amazing. My mom and dad had some good news too! A bunch of PCVs came into the office and we hung out for a bit. I hung out in the office for the rest of the day. Then we went to Omashare for pizza. I went to bed early because I was so tired.