Cheers Moe.

Moe passed away yesterday. For those who don’t know, he is my lovable village mutt that I adopted the moment I got here in January. I came home on a Friday from a workshop to find he was struggling to walk. By Saturday evening he was not walking at all and spent the next five days in the same spot on the floor of my hut. We are uncertain about the cause of death, but I did all I could to make his final days as comfortable as possible. It was certainly a sad moment in my life. I will miss his energy and selfless love.

My Nano (which happens to be the greatest running partner a gal could ask for) got covered in Coke by accident. RIP running partner. No More Nano.

The learners (students are called learners here) have such unique personalities, which are slowly emerging from the thick fog that characterized the language divide the first term. I am working with a few kids who want to apply to attend a weeklong trip organized by Peace Corps Volunteers for 40 Namibian youth. It’s called the Diversity Tour. As I watch them work on their projects I can’t help but notice their quirks. One learner’s finger is frequently in his nose and one of his pant legs is frequently in his sock, but he maintains the most brilliant smile in recorded history. He hikes his pants to his chin and tucks his shirt to his toes and cinches his belt snug around his tiny frame. Every button on his shirt is buttoned and his collar is up. It’s village fashion at its finest. When he speaks in English he gets so embarrassed he will cover his mouth. I let him type his letter for the application on my computer. He is a fast learner, although in fifteen minutes he managed to type two sentences. His focus and determination were fascinating. Each time I would share a computer trick with him (like how to save a document in Word) he would gasp and his eyes would shine brightly. This reaction made my day perhaps my whole year. One of the many struggles facing this life I chose is feeling like I am actually doing something for someone. The majority of my time here is spent stumbling around trying to act normal when I feel so out of place, so lost, so useless. In this one moment, my months of uselessness ceased to matter. I felt needed.

In the same day, I was visited by three extremely adorable first graders: Kahimbi, Namwi and Twala. I gave them a pile of markers sent by those of you in America and they created some fine art that is now adorning my walls. They are little sponges. They mimic everything I say and pick up on English words quickly. Now they will see me across the village and start yelling my name over and over.

In my grade eight and nine classes I asked them to share what they did over their holiday break. However, since some still struggle with forming the correct English words I told my grade eight learners they could talk or even sing about anything. This led to an impromptu hip-hop jam from a couple of the boys in the class. It was amazing. They love Tupac…may he rest in peace.

Walking out of my wash area one afternoon, I noticed I had a tiny visitor. His name is Baepi (pronounced vai-p) and he is the younger brother of the nose-picker from above. He said, “Tina, I love you,” and quickly turned and ran away screaming in laughter.

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the summer. I am doing well, despite Moe’s absence from my life. There will be a photo update in another week or so.

Much love.