First Weekend in Iilyateko

October 19, 2010

I arrived in Iilyateko on Saturday night after a long drive up from Okahandja.  We left Okahandja before 9:30 AM and arrived in the Omusati region around 6:30 PM, and then it was another hour or so before we arrived in the village. 

For now I am living in teacher housing right next to the school, the same place where I came when I came for a visit.  It is nice I guess, we have water and electricity (except when it cuts out, which it did during site visit and for the first day when I was here).  I also have my own stove and my own fridge.  I am pretty much completely unpacked in my new digs.  The Peace Corps gives us a settling in allowance so I was able to buy things like a pot for cooking and a plate and bowl and mug and utensils.  When I was in Windhoek I kind of went crazy I’ve realized because I have a 3 cutting knifes and 6 sets of utensils, but then I only have one plate, one bowl, and one cup (soon to be two once I finish my Nutella!).  It does feel really good though to have a space that is finally my own and also to be able to cook my own food.  I haven’t had much meat, I wouldn’t have had any but they noticed that I had none so I’ve been offered meat now and then.  The last piece of meat I ate was goat, and I don’t know what part of the goat I ate, and I am pretty sure I don’t exactly want to know, it looked pretty sketchy.

On Sunday one of my co-workers drove me to Outapi so that I could buy things like food and other household items that I had yet to purchase.  I knew going to the North that there wouldn’t be the selection that Windhoek offers, but for some reason or another I kind of though Outapi’s selection of stores would be similar to a town like Okahandja.  Outapi after all is the regional capital in Omusati, and Okahandja is just a large town in Namibia, but not even the capital of anything.  I was mistaken though.  There is one grocery store in Outapi, Shoprite, which is kind of like Walmart meets the Dollar Store, except they simplify things and there aren’t exactly the same amount of choices that Walmart offers.  I wanted to buy Dish Soap and there were two brands, both with the same scent, but different sizes.  When I went to buy shampoo my choices were egg or apple scent.  Maybe eventually I will try the egg scent, but I went more American and chose apple.  When it came to flour or sugar there was only one brand and various sizes.  I couldn’t find many spices, including cinnamon, so I am hoping when I eventually make it to Oshakati (the biggest Wambo city) I will be able to find more choices.  I feel like when I make it into Windhoek I am going to have to stock up on my American goodies and just buy essentials up here in the North or I am just going to end up simplifying my diet a lot while I am up here.

School has been nice.  I really do like the people that I am working with, they are all so nice.  I have spent my time organizing our library, which literally is 3 bookcases (if you have books you want to get rid of we can definitely use them here in Namibia), and then I went through the curriculum for the arts class and the life skills class, because I will be teaching both starting tomorrow.  In arts class I am going to have them draw self portraits of themselves that represent how they see themselves, including drawing their strengths, interests or including pictures of things that make them happy.  Another thing we don’t exactly have is art supplies so we are using notebook paper I cut out of old notebooks and crayons, so that is another thing if you want to send art supplies, the learners I know would appreciate it a lot.  In life skills we are going to talk about goals and different paths you can take.  I anticipate this taking a while, but I want to start by reading Robert Frost’s “The Path Less Traveled”, then I am going to have them draw a picture of themselves in 10 years, and then in 50 years and write a caption for both pictures.  We are then going to talk about what is necessary to accomplish in order to achieve these goals.  For example they take a big test in grades 10 and 12, so doing well on that, and then continuing on to further their education, and what are the consequences of not doing well in school.  I think I will probably end class by letting them interrogate me about where I have come from.  Life Skills also includes lessons on citizenship, good and bad habits, values, health (including HIV/AIDS, which should actually be incorporated into every class), the environment, responsibility, and it also serves as their sex ed. class.  I am really excited about teaching, but to be honest really nervous about the language barrier.  These kids really don’t know English very well, and I don’t know enough Oshindonga to talk to them, plus I am not here to speak Oshindonga with them.

Village life really is something else though, I am looking out my window and pretty much the only thing I see are chickens pecking around looking for food, trees, and occasionally a bakkie passes by.  There is just a lot of sitting around involved, which really isn’t bad, it’s just different, I am not constantly running off to something else.