I just completed my first term of teaching! The end of term exams were pretty much standard for Namibia. They didn't send the exam timetable until the second week of exams, then they didn't send any of the exams on time so it was pretty much chaos for 2 weeks. I finished recording all of my term marks which meant I had to track down just about every learner and force them to hand in their work, which took about 2 weeks, only to find out that we don't count the term marks, or continuous assessment first term. And actually the April exams don't count at all. Yup, makes a lot of sense. But in marking all of this work I did come across some gems so I figured I would type them up now for your reading pleasure.
Grade 7 composition about what happened when a boy got a dog for Christmas, written by Nchindo Mukaya:
"last christmas i received a dog called banana. banana is a good dog. it is have colour that i like most in my life. Its colour is blue, green, yellow, it have long tail and it have four legs and big eyes." The composition ends: "but sometimes my dog is very bad. It can kill someone."
A composition I assigned for grade 7 asked them to write a letter to someone from another country. One kid wrote to me in South America, one wrote to Jacob Zuma and one wrote to Robert Mugabe.
Philosophy Lutaka Mutamezi: "How are you? robert mugabe it seems to me you are fine me two i am fine just like that life goes on.
Given Thikukutu: Diversity Tour application, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?:
"I would go to north america to visit miss emily brown's family and i would love to meet miss emily brown's family because miss emily brown is like my friend. I always stay with him and she always tells me stories about his family thats why i want to go to north america."
Things to work on next term: punctuation and pronouns.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
America the Beautiful
A funny thing happens when you're a Peace Corps Volunteer and you're nearing your 8 month mark of volunteer service. You start to love America and all things American. Now, I don't consider myself overly patriotic. I don't have an American flag sticker on my car in America. My learners have been bugging me to sing them the American national anthem but I've been refusing because 1. i don't want to humiliate myself so thoroughly by singing in front of my class, and 2. I'm afraid I'll forget the words.
But after about 8 months of service, I find that I day dream about the simplicity of owning a car (PCVs can't drive), and being able to just get into that car, drive on the right side of the road (here they drive on the left hand side, or, sometimes, the middle) and go to the store. And even if you don't have a car there's reliable public transportation. Like, you know there's a bus that stops here, wait here and in a reasonable amount of time there will be a bus. Here if you need to go to town you can wait anywhere from 0 to 3 hours. And even if I do get a ride right away there's no guarantee that we won't make multiple turns and take an extra hour and a half, getting to town, by which time I have to turn around and go back to the village. If I run out of toothpaste in the middle of the week I pretty much have to wait for the weekend. And even then there's no guarantee that I'll get a ride into town. In America when you want to do something you can just do it. You don't have to think about it. Here, going to the bank can take 6 hours of waiting in line only to have the window close when you're the next person up. In America you can get a haircut, go to the bank, go to the post office and go shopping in like, a MORNING! Here that would probably take at least 2 weeks.
What else is amazing about America? The food. Oh the choices! The quality! If you want to go out to dinner you have SO. MANY. CHOICES. Indian food, Thai food, Mexican food...a fellow volunteer who extended for a 3rd year recently went home for her 30 days of leave and while she was there she ate 18 burritos. Burritos! Sometimes I would give my right arm for guacamole. And beer! Oh I miss a good microbrew. Alas our choices in Namibia are quite limited. Sometimes on a friday evening I just want to kick back with a nice cold magic hat #9. If I'm in town I can settle for a Windhoek or Black Label but in the village it's inappropriate for me to drink because I always have learners around. But even a Windhoek just ain't the same.
Also, in America it's not hot all the time. Sure it gets cold, but then when it's cold you can take hot showers and wear sweaters and thick socks and cuddle up into bed. Here when it's hot, which it has been nonstop for the last 6 months, there's nothing to do but sweat. And showers, well those are nice if you don't live in the village. I'm stuck with a bucket bath. With the combined dust, humidity and heat I haven't been clean in 8 months. Sometimes I think I'm clean, after I just took a bucket bath, but then after wiping my face with a tissue I realize I am actually just as filthy as I was before.
Don't get me wrong. I like Namibia (most of the time). It's just that being here has made me appreciate all America has to offer. So this weekend I want you to eat some good food, take a hot shower and crack open a cold one. While you do so think of me.
But after about 8 months of service, I find that I day dream about the simplicity of owning a car (PCVs can't drive), and being able to just get into that car, drive on the right side of the road (here they drive on the left hand side, or, sometimes, the middle) and go to the store. And even if you don't have a car there's reliable public transportation. Like, you know there's a bus that stops here, wait here and in a reasonable amount of time there will be a bus. Here if you need to go to town you can wait anywhere from 0 to 3 hours. And even if I do get a ride right away there's no guarantee that we won't make multiple turns and take an extra hour and a half, getting to town, by which time I have to turn around and go back to the village. If I run out of toothpaste in the middle of the week I pretty much have to wait for the weekend. And even then there's no guarantee that I'll get a ride into town. In America when you want to do something you can just do it. You don't have to think about it. Here, going to the bank can take 6 hours of waiting in line only to have the window close when you're the next person up. In America you can get a haircut, go to the bank, go to the post office and go shopping in like, a MORNING! Here that would probably take at least 2 weeks.
What else is amazing about America? The food. Oh the choices! The quality! If you want to go out to dinner you have SO. MANY. CHOICES. Indian food, Thai food, Mexican food...a fellow volunteer who extended for a 3rd year recently went home for her 30 days of leave and while she was there she ate 18 burritos. Burritos! Sometimes I would give my right arm for guacamole. And beer! Oh I miss a good microbrew. Alas our choices in Namibia are quite limited. Sometimes on a friday evening I just want to kick back with a nice cold magic hat #9. If I'm in town I can settle for a Windhoek or Black Label but in the village it's inappropriate for me to drink because I always have learners around. But even a Windhoek just ain't the same.
Also, in America it's not hot all the time. Sure it gets cold, but then when it's cold you can take hot showers and wear sweaters and thick socks and cuddle up into bed. Here when it's hot, which it has been nonstop for the last 6 months, there's nothing to do but sweat. And showers, well those are nice if you don't live in the village. I'm stuck with a bucket bath. With the combined dust, humidity and heat I haven't been clean in 8 months. Sometimes I think I'm clean, after I just took a bucket bath, but then after wiping my face with a tissue I realize I am actually just as filthy as I was before.
Don't get me wrong. I like Namibia (most of the time). It's just that being here has made me appreciate all America has to offer. So this weekend I want you to eat some good food, take a hot shower and crack open a cold one. While you do so think of me.
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