-----Teaching in Namibia-----: Last Monday in Namibia

This Monday was one we dreaded for different reasons than usual. We were not unhappy to begin our work week, we were looking forward to seeing our learners and teaching them, but we were sad as we knew this was the beginning of our last week in the schools. We dreaded the end of Thursday knowing it was only four short school days away and the time in which we would have to say goodbye to our beloved children.

When we arrived at school this morning, we were greeted by the uncommon morning drizzle (usually it rained later in the day). We were bummed when we found out that the morning assembly would be cancelled and instead the learners would gather in their individual home room classrooms to begin the week. I had planned to take video of some other songs at the assembly including the school song and the national anthem, but instead I had to try and get the footage from just my class. I enjoyed the extra time that I got to spend with my 7A class, but their singing was less than enthusiastic this morning. We had fun nonetheless though as I made faces at them as they sung just so I could see the smallest grin cross their face.

Once we began the regular school day, it was found out that one of the grade 4 teachers was absent. Mrs. Kamahene asked Mrs. Emma to have Molly and I watch over the class. This was saddening to us as we knew we only had so much time left with our learners and wanted so badly to be with them. But, there were other kids who needed us, so Molly and I tagged teamed the class throughout the rest of the day. We began with co-teaching a maths lesson about number sentences with them. This was a fun experience as we impromptu meshed together our teaching styles on played on my strengths in math and Molly's strength in knowing all the learner's names.

Later in the day, I had to teach this group of grade 4's by myself for a few periods while Molly was in the special class. The learners had Afrikaans which I don't know, so I decided to have fun with them and teach them some more about USA. To win them over though, I began with a blazing rendition of A Rista Shaw which is a super silly song that is typically sung at the beginning of tea parties with little girl cabins at camp. The song causes everyone, especially me, to end up looking silly. The kids loved this and ended up listening to me for the remainder of the period because of the fun connection we had created. Luckily this day was the day I had chosen to bring some American money with me, so I was able to spend some time sharing with the learners about what our money looks like, what it is worth, and what is pictured on it. They found this interesting and I found it to be educational in a way they would not be educated otherwise.

At break this day, I got a note from my sweet Ann-Lee that all but made me loose it with tears. It was so sweet and it touched my heart. This note's entirety can be found in my post "The Love of A Child"

After school this day, I was scheduled to do my home visit with Jessica Short's company to my learner Kerly's house. By the end of the day the rain had lifted and we had some nice overcast weather in which to walk in. Paulina and Cindy decided they wanted to accompany us on our mission and walked with us to Kerly's house. We walked for a short fifteen minutes before we reached the gate and Kerly said, "Right here Miss." We walked into a yard that held four small buildings made of stucco. The yard of Kerly's home was shared with the homes of her landlords and there were a few small children running around bare footed in the dirt. Kerly quickly found the key and opened the pad lock that secured her family's home.

She opened the door and revealed the home which consisted of a small kitchen and one small bedroom. The kitchen had a small bench, refrigerator, stove, cabinet, washer, and some jugs of water. The bedroom was filled to capacity with a double bed and some wardrobe type cabinets and suitcases. I asked Kerly about where her family members slept and she explained that her parents slept in the bed while her and her high school brother and sister slept on blankets on the floor. She shared with us some family photos and showed us where she kept her school clothes and hair supplies. I asked her about how she bathed and she showed me a big medal tub that she explained the boiled water in the kettle and mixed it with cold water to use to wash themselves each day. I then asked her about her school uniform and how often she washed it. She explained that she had three shirts and two skirts and three pairs of socks. She said her shirts and skirts were washed in the washing machine on the weekend and that she washed her socks everyday after school so that she would always have a clean pair to wear. I was interested so I asked her to show me how she washed her socks. She took a plastic bin and added some water from a jug and then took it outside. She then sprinkled a powdered soap on each sock and dipped it in the water. She rubbed the sock against itself until the brown marks go away. (See video below)

We hung out at Kerly's house for a little bit longer and met her brother and sister when they got home from school. Her brother is in grade 12 and looking at going to University of Namibia next year and her sister is in grade 9. Sadly I did not get to meet Kerly's parents as they both had to work until 5 or 6 pm, but I did leave them a small gift and a note thanking them for allowing us to come by their home. We walked back to the school with the kids where we found our taxi waiting for us. Jessica Short and I went to the mall and got pictures printed and picked up a few things we would need for our last week and then headed back to Casa for a quiet evening of blogging and hanging out.

Ann-Lee and her friend