As a tribute to American Independence, I required my students to answer the following writing prompt: What do you think its like to live in America? Here are some of the more memorable responses:
• They like too much dog.
• They have long hairs.
• In America, you cannot find a person wearing a skirt.
• American people do not know how to steal.
• Elephants like to live in America.
• People from America all have white skin.
• People from America always wear jeans.
• They love wearing trousers.
• They don’t want to see someone who is crying.
• They are having a tattoo.
• I think they are quite good because they respect blacks.
• I think in America there are many criminals like 50 cent.
• Dogs like to live there.
• American people like eating food and watching TV.
• They like running to train the self.
• Americans are like dogs.
• Americans cannot build houses with grass.
• They cannot drink beer like Africans.
Things I have said to myself or someone else that I never imagined I would say:
• There is a dead ant in my loofah.
• I hope Kate Moss does not have puppies in my shower.
• I am just going to flick these ants out of my bowl and then it will be clean enough to eat out of.
• I love Facebook.
• This Paris Hilton song is really good.
• The water is much less brown this week.
• I am craving a salad.
• My house is filling with water.
• It’s too quiet.
• My shampoo is dirty.
• I can’t wait to ride in a car for 15 hours so I can print.
• I am going to wear this outfit all week.
• Never mind the stains, it smells clean therefore it is clean.
• I am not going to care about the dozen flies on my body right now.
• Today’s lesson is on how to say the Lords Prayer in English.
• Let’s bow our heads and pray.
• I dropped my soap in the dirt, picked it up and finished bathing.
• I am sorry someone stole your chicken.
• Can I go to the witchdoctor?
• He has over 100 ticks.
• Did you just take that worm out of his tail?
• If I leave this pot in the refrigerator I won’t need to wash it for weeks.
• Yeah, orange matches everything.
• Why are you wearing a ski glove on one hand…in Africa?
• This bike has no brakes and I can’t change gears, but I love this ride.
• Catching rain in a bucket is really cool.
• Keys? What are keys? I kick my door open.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
A lesson about pants and other exciting additions...
A few Saturdays ago I was rearranging my hut because, well, there is little to do with my life on the weekends. I was rigging up a new shelf when I had a feeling someone was watching me. It’s a common occurrence when you are one of two white women in a village. I turned to see a learner at my door. He was holding a puppy. He held out the fuzz ball for me to take and said he no longer wanted me to be sad about Moe. I took the little one in my arms and he was warm and needy and letting out those adorable little puppy moans and groans. As much as I never wanted to take in another village mutt, I could not help but accept. The puppy smell alone won me over. Not to mention, it was such a kind gesture from one of my students. So, I am once again the owner of an African dog. That responsibility is a slippery slope but I am just going to enjoy the small one as long as we are together. The following Monday, I had my grade 7 learners pick a name. The list was as follows: Billy, Sky, Mulotu (beautiful), Kununu (feces…because he poops so much), and Lifalsi (earth). The hands-down champion was Mulotu. So, my African family loses a member but gains another. Welcome Mulotu!
A humorous language lesson occurred one night when I mentioned to a learner that he should put pants on because it was so cold. He was wearing shorts. He gazed at me with more confusion than normal. I enquired. A 15-minute discussion in three different languages ensued among the kids in the room. It was chaotic but ended in roaring laughter. It turns out when one speaks of pants here one is speaking of underwear. I am still giggling about this blunder and slightly embarrassed. Nobody I associate with in my village has been exempt from information about my pants. I have made endless observations in the last few months about my pants. Want to know what I have been sharing with my new Namibian friends. Check this out: “The Peace Corps told me not to wear pants in my village.” “I like to wear pants.” “I have chalk all over my pants.” “It’s so cold, I am going to put pants on.” “I wish I had pants on today.” “My favorite pants are stained.” “I need to wash my pants.” It was the most hilarious moment of my time here when the grade 7 opened my eyes to what pants really are. Lesson learned. No more pants talk. Now it’s all about trousers, which is the appropriate word.
I have hit a stride and feel more a part of life in Africa rather than an American in Africa. Does not make me miss people any less, but it has enriched my time here. Thanks for all the love via packages, emails or Facebook messages. All the best. Much love.
A humorous language lesson occurred one night when I mentioned to a learner that he should put pants on because it was so cold. He was wearing shorts. He gazed at me with more confusion than normal. I enquired. A 15-minute discussion in three different languages ensued among the kids in the room. It was chaotic but ended in roaring laughter. It turns out when one speaks of pants here one is speaking of underwear. I am still giggling about this blunder and slightly embarrassed. Nobody I associate with in my village has been exempt from information about my pants. I have made endless observations in the last few months about my pants. Want to know what I have been sharing with my new Namibian friends. Check this out: “The Peace Corps told me not to wear pants in my village.” “I like to wear pants.” “I have chalk all over my pants.” “It’s so cold, I am going to put pants on.” “I wish I had pants on today.” “My favorite pants are stained.” “I need to wash my pants.” It was the most hilarious moment of my time here when the grade 7 opened my eyes to what pants really are. Lesson learned. No more pants talk. Now it’s all about trousers, which is the appropriate word.
I have hit a stride and feel more a part of life in Africa rather than an American in Africa. Does not make me miss people any less, but it has enriched my time here. Thanks for all the love via packages, emails or Facebook messages. All the best. Much love.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Picture Post of Moe and the Library...
Here is a tribute to Moe. The other dog is Kate Moss, his mom.
Here is the morphing library...
A daily occurance at work...
Here is the morphing library...
A daily occurance at work...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Six Months on the African Continent
The Trip To Botswana...
We got a ride out of our village after a four hour wait. The ride was in the back of a closed bakkie (term for a truck). We were not the only thing in the back of the truck. There was a multitude of dead fish. It’s common to have these smelly passengers because of our site’s proximity to the water. The odor was oppressive. Luckily the ride to the Botswana border was short.The only impovement made for our ride in to the town of Kasane was the smell. I was in the back of a closed bakkie where I placed my backpack on top of a dead cow and then sat on top of my backpack the whole ride.
Below is a picture of elephant dung, which you can burn as a mosquito repellent. It's African Citronella!
This is the entrance to the Chobe National Park, which is all 4WD, dirt roads.
We met up with four other PCVs on Sunday and did a boat drive in Chobe National Park, which is home to the highest concentration of elephant in the world. We saw plenty of elephant, crocodiles, baboons and hippos.
We camped right by the Chobe River and heard hippos each night. We were safe thanks to the electric fence.
Self-portrait of me at sunrise in Kasane...
Our campsite at sunrise...
After a few days we traveled to Maun on a dilapidated bus that drove over an even more dilapidated road. Once in Maun, we spent a few nights with a Botswana PCV making and eating delicious food like a Greek salad with feta cheese. We also ate at amazing restaurants. If you are ever in Maun Botswana you have to eat the cheese toast at Hillary’s.
Here is the Botswana crew eating...again.
This was on the wall at a restaurant in Maun. I screamed. It was a happy scream.
On May 1, we moved to a backpacking lodge to celebrate our “Six Months in Africa” anniversary. We took a sunset boat trip in the Okavango Delta. Saw more hippos. Saw more crocodiles. Saw more tremendous views.
After a great trip we slowly worked our way back in to Namibia and to our “Reconnect” with the rest of our Peace Corps group. It was held at a conference center in the hills outside of Windhoek. We had incredible views and the air was crisp. It felt like Fall in Colorado. I actually wore a scarf. Wow.
This is from the back seat of a truck on our way to Ghanzi in Botswana...
It was a tight fit in the back...
The view from my room at Reconnect. Windhoek is in the distance.
This is what PCVs do when they are bored...cut hair. Yeah, it's odd.
A final thought…
As I look back at the past six months I am amazed at how much has happened. I am also amazed I am still here. It would be a lie to say I have not considered returning home early. But I am still here…somehow. So, I will see you in 2010. As always, stay tuned for more.
We got a ride out of our village after a four hour wait. The ride was in the back of a closed bakkie (term for a truck). We were not the only thing in the back of the truck. There was a multitude of dead fish. It’s common to have these smelly passengers because of our site’s proximity to the water. The odor was oppressive. Luckily the ride to the Botswana border was short.The only impovement made for our ride in to the town of Kasane was the smell. I was in the back of a closed bakkie where I placed my backpack on top of a dead cow and then sat on top of my backpack the whole ride.
Below is a picture of elephant dung, which you can burn as a mosquito repellent. It's African Citronella!
This is the entrance to the Chobe National Park, which is all 4WD, dirt roads.
We met up with four other PCVs on Sunday and did a boat drive in Chobe National Park, which is home to the highest concentration of elephant in the world. We saw plenty of elephant, crocodiles, baboons and hippos.
We camped right by the Chobe River and heard hippos each night. We were safe thanks to the electric fence.
Self-portrait of me at sunrise in Kasane...
Our campsite at sunrise...
After a few days we traveled to Maun on a dilapidated bus that drove over an even more dilapidated road. Once in Maun, we spent a few nights with a Botswana PCV making and eating delicious food like a Greek salad with feta cheese. We also ate at amazing restaurants. If you are ever in Maun Botswana you have to eat the cheese toast at Hillary’s.
Here is the Botswana crew eating...again.
This was on the wall at a restaurant in Maun. I screamed. It was a happy scream.
On May 1, we moved to a backpacking lodge to celebrate our “Six Months in Africa” anniversary. We took a sunset boat trip in the Okavango Delta. Saw more hippos. Saw more crocodiles. Saw more tremendous views.
After a great trip we slowly worked our way back in to Namibia and to our “Reconnect” with the rest of our Peace Corps group. It was held at a conference center in the hills outside of Windhoek. We had incredible views and the air was crisp. It felt like Fall in Colorado. I actually wore a scarf. Wow.
This is from the back seat of a truck on our way to Ghanzi in Botswana...
It was a tight fit in the back...
The view from my room at Reconnect. Windhoek is in the distance.
This is what PCVs do when they are bored...cut hair. Yeah, it's odd.
A final thought…
As I look back at the past six months I am amazed at how much has happened. I am also amazed I am still here. It would be a lie to say I have not considered returning home early. But I am still here…somehow. So, I will see you in 2010. As always, stay tuned for more.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Self-Portraits, Elephants and Flavored Water....
So, my fancy new Mac Laptop has this little camera on it and a program called Photo Booth. Every few days since I boarded the plane to Africa, I have snapped a shot of myself to document my changing moods or whatever. I have heard, mostly from my parents, that they never see pictures of me. As a result, I will start sharing some of my Photo Booth photos on this site. The first was late one night after an especially difficult day. This is the face of a very, very troubled PCV. The second was a different night when all was right with my PCV world. This should give you an idea of the tremendous ups and downs of this sort of life.
Thanks to my learners, I can share the most unique sentences ever written:
I have one dog and sex cow.
She baked a baby.
My heart started to pound in 1992.
Because I swim like a fish, Ms. Greene bought music disc from America.
Some dogs hug each other.
I was running the other night when I came upon a group of women who were waving me down. I stopped to discover five or six elephant in the trees right next to the road. The interesting part was when they trumpeted. Wow. I was scared to be so exposed to such a tremendous animal. Once again, Africa leaves me speechless. Wow. Once again, a moment I will never forget.
I have adopted another village mutt. It is Mo’s mother. Mo loves his mom, so I felt obligated to take care of her. I named her Kate Moss (after the grossly underfed supermodel). Kate Moss, the dog, (who is also grossly underfed) is often the target of violence. For instance, I saw her get nailed in the back with a hoe for no reason. Despite being the village punching bag, she has a loving temperament and always wags her tail when she sees me…or food…or me with food.
I want to give special thanks to Jim and Marguerite who informed me that if I left my water jug in the sun, I could have a hot bucket bath. I did it. It was the single greatest thing I have ever experienced.
There is this little boy who can’t be more than like five years old. He runs with me for about two minutes nearly every day that I run. Most of the time, he is wearing tighty whitey underwear. Nothing else. However, since we are heading in to winter he sometimes wears an adult long sleeved dress shirt. It’s completely unbuttoned and oversized. Tighty whitey’s underneath. I want to snap a picture of the enormous grin on his face as his shirt flaps like Superman’s cape. Either that or I want to pack him in my bag when I come home.
There is little girl who always wears a skirt with her shirt tied around her waist. She never actually wears the shirt, which obviously means she is topless. Yet, she always has a shirt with her it’s just tied around her waist. Adorable.
The first term of school ends this Friday and I am finalizing grades using the calculator on my cell phone. We have a three-week break before the next term begins and I am in need of time to recharge. There are about nine volunteers, including me, going to Botswana for seven days. I planned the whole trip, so I sort of feel like a travel agent. We are heading through Chobe National Park and then to the Okavango Delta for a Mokoro Trip (a mokoro is a traditional canoe). We will then reunite with all the volunteers in our group in Windhoek for what the Peace Corps calls “Reconnect”. It is three days at a real nice resort-type place where we catch up with how the first six months have been. Yeah, as of May 1, I will have been here for six months. Wow.
Two special requests:
I have fallen in LOVE with those Lipton Green Tea packets that flavor my water. I am especially fond of the Cherry Blossom, Citrus and Mango flavor. In addition, the Propel packets kick booty and I used those up weeks ago. If you are looking to send me something, send me any of those.
I have started to recycle through the TV shows and movies I have. In fact, on Sunday I watched Cast Away (starring Tom Hanks and a volleyball named Wilson) TWICE. If you have anything to send…SEND IT. The same goes with books. I am burning through books, too.
Can you mail cake, brownie or cookie mix because that would make me weep with happiness?
Well, as always, stay tuned for more. Next up will be pictures from Botswana…
Thanks to my learners, I can share the most unique sentences ever written:
I have one dog and sex cow.
She baked a baby.
My heart started to pound in 1992.
Because I swim like a fish, Ms. Greene bought music disc from America.
Some dogs hug each other.
I was running the other night when I came upon a group of women who were waving me down. I stopped to discover five or six elephant in the trees right next to the road. The interesting part was when they trumpeted. Wow. I was scared to be so exposed to such a tremendous animal. Once again, Africa leaves me speechless. Wow. Once again, a moment I will never forget.
I have adopted another village mutt. It is Mo’s mother. Mo loves his mom, so I felt obligated to take care of her. I named her Kate Moss (after the grossly underfed supermodel). Kate Moss, the dog, (who is also grossly underfed) is often the target of violence. For instance, I saw her get nailed in the back with a hoe for no reason. Despite being the village punching bag, she has a loving temperament and always wags her tail when she sees me…or food…or me with food.
I want to give special thanks to Jim and Marguerite who informed me that if I left my water jug in the sun, I could have a hot bucket bath. I did it. It was the single greatest thing I have ever experienced.
There is this little boy who can’t be more than like five years old. He runs with me for about two minutes nearly every day that I run. Most of the time, he is wearing tighty whitey underwear. Nothing else. However, since we are heading in to winter he sometimes wears an adult long sleeved dress shirt. It’s completely unbuttoned and oversized. Tighty whitey’s underneath. I want to snap a picture of the enormous grin on his face as his shirt flaps like Superman’s cape. Either that or I want to pack him in my bag when I come home.
There is little girl who always wears a skirt with her shirt tied around her waist. She never actually wears the shirt, which obviously means she is topless. Yet, she always has a shirt with her it’s just tied around her waist. Adorable.
The first term of school ends this Friday and I am finalizing grades using the calculator on my cell phone. We have a three-week break before the next term begins and I am in need of time to recharge. There are about nine volunteers, including me, going to Botswana for seven days. I planned the whole trip, so I sort of feel like a travel agent. We are heading through Chobe National Park and then to the Okavango Delta for a Mokoro Trip (a mokoro is a traditional canoe). We will then reunite with all the volunteers in our group in Windhoek for what the Peace Corps calls “Reconnect”. It is three days at a real nice resort-type place where we catch up with how the first six months have been. Yeah, as of May 1, I will have been here for six months. Wow.
Two special requests:
I have fallen in LOVE with those Lipton Green Tea packets that flavor my water. I am especially fond of the Cherry Blossom, Citrus and Mango flavor. In addition, the Propel packets kick booty and I used those up weeks ago. If you are looking to send me something, send me any of those.
I have started to recycle through the TV shows and movies I have. In fact, on Sunday I watched Cast Away (starring Tom Hanks and a volleyball named Wilson) TWICE. If you have anything to send…SEND IT. The same goes with books. I am burning through books, too.
Can you mail cake, brownie or cookie mix because that would make me weep with happiness?
Well, as always, stay tuned for more. Next up will be pictures from Botswana…
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