The hourglass spills its sand if only to punish you...
On Saturday MB and I decided that Salome would come over to the house on Sunday to plait my hair. Then Wendy wanted to come, so I told the girls to speak to MB about it. She told them that if any one else were to go, it would be Sha because she was supposed to plait Erica's hair before she left, but Erica didn't have enough time. So MB told the girls that if it was ok with me, all three of them could come over.
They came to me and told me that MB said that they could all come. That was fine with me, but I felt bad about all the other kids. They all kept asking me if those girls were coming, and I just told them I didn't know what would happen, and that they should talk to Mary.
So Sunday morning MB arrives at the house at a quarter to 9 with Salome. Only Salome. Apparently Sha and Wendy were waiting at Salome's house with Salome for MB, and a woman named Auntie Maggie (who used to be a social worker at the BNC) drove by. She stopped the car and told the girls that she needed help finding Lisa, Wendy's cousin, at the single's quarters. This is a place in Katutura with a bunch of shebeens and shacks where prostitute work.
Wendy and Sha agreed, but Salome said, "no way I'm waiting for Mary". A few minutes later MB arrived, and took Salome to the house, not worrying about Wendy and Sha not being there because they made a decision to leave and now they had to suffer the consequences.
So Salome started plaiting my hair, and girls showed up at the gate. Salome checked, thinking it was Sha and Wendy but it was Sanet and Meroldi, who had spent their money on a taxi ride to our house. I gave them gum and told them to go home, that it wasn't fair that they were there when the girls who were actually invited weren't.
Salome was also really upset that they showed up. Ten minutes later, Sha and Wendy arrived. Auntie Maggie had driven them to the house. I let them in, and gave Meroldi and Sanet taxi money to go home. Sanet gave me a hug, but Meroldi wouldn't even look me in the eye.
The girls came inside and told me about what happened. They went to singles quarters to look for Lisa (who is 15 years old) and found her sleeping in bed with an older man. They took her home and then came straight to MB's house.
Anyway, the girls continued plaiting my hair. One would plait while the one listened to my ipod and the other wrote on my blog. My hair was done after about an hour. We left the house and went into town. I needed to finish up my shopping. First we went to the book store in the mall, and then outside to where the crafts are sold. I bought some things, and then Wendy sounded nervous and said lets go, and as we were walking away she told us that the men were looking at us funny, and that she thought something was wring. Then one of the mall security guards came over and told us that the men wanted to take our bags. He escorted us on to Independence Avenue, and told us to keep our eyes open.
Then we went to the Bushman store and another souvenir store, and ten I took the girls out to lunch at Wimpy, which is basically a fast food place, only a bit nicer. I asked the girls if they knew of McDonald's , and they didn't! Can you believe that??!!
After lunch we went back to the house and played games until MB returned and took the girls home.
Later last night we had a good bye party for Ilga and me and for MB's friend Angela. Taura, Nangula, Cynthia, Brian, Shiva, and some other people came. It was soooo fun. Lets just say we were really giddy....
It was hard saying good bye to everyone, but when I put it in perspective, I am so glad I came, and I am happy that I had the experiences I had.
:)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Wendy and Sha and Salome Come to Plait My Hair
my name is salome uiras .i am in grade six . i live with my family in windhoek .my school's
name is people's primary school.
and my name is Wendy Goagoses and i am in grade seven and i live in windhoek and i am going schooling at people's primary school .
my name is sha appoius i am in grade 5 a i live in windhoek
l love windhoek so much it is very good and l enjoy the city of windhoek
and on the last day of katrina we went to winpy in town and we play at the playground at winpy and we just want to say ross are red vilanse are blue and suger is sweet and so you are from wendy and salome and sha
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Emanuel Shafiti High School
Pictures from the week
Baby Ethan who lives at the back of the house, and Brutus, the huge dog! MB thought it would be a good idea to let Ethan ride Brutus. No so much.
Benjamin(in the orange) and his friend dragging a little kid.
Me and my boyfriend Rodney at the pool.
Boys at Emanuel Shafiti High school grade 12 class
Classroom chairs and desks
Friday is free SMS day. Yes, the teacher is SMSing, as are the students.
Emanuel Shafiti between classes.
Girls in class.
Me and some of grade 12 the girls.
The classroom, during "class.
I wrote the notes down. No one else did. I'm not even in that class.
Nice.
Mate. Adorable!
ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Ajay got twins in his hard boiled egg.
Meroldi posting on my blog!
Meroldi, before the dentist.
At the dentist, a bit nervous!
COOL!
Ow.
Meroldi, After the dentist!!!
She's so cute, I'm taking her home with me!!!
SO.
The pictures above refer to everything I am about to say. Wednesday night Brutus, the dog MB is dog sitting for, came over to our house for a playdate. We introduced baby Ethan to Brutus. Brutus had a lovely time licking Ethan's feet, and then MB forced Ethan to sit on Brutus, except then Brutus was nipping towards Ethan and it was about to be a baby massacre.
Thursday morning MB brought Meroldi over to the house and then left to pick up Paul, the new volunteer from the UK. He is maybe in his mid 40s. He loves WWI and he thinks that maned space flights are a great idea, and that I should get a one way ticket to mars before they build the mars station. He also thinks that cricket should be introduced into the Unites States, and that it would civilize us, and that American Football should be banned, or even better euthanized And he also thinks that I don't want another bowl of ice cream because I don't want to be called lard bucket. And the says right this second that he can "see your blog book just flying off the shelves". Unfortunately he doesn't know how cool I actually am.
[21:33] redhead at 53: todays blog is (again) incredible
[21:36] redhead at 53: paul is boring ... give me the link to HIS BLOG
Anyway. So Meroldi and I had breakfast together and I let her post on my blog. That was really cute, but it took her forever to type up. Then we left for the dentists office, which is right across from Pick and Pay. We went inside and waited a few minutes for the dental hygienist to take us inside the room. Meroldi seemed a little nervous. She sat down on the chair, and we waited for the dentist to come in. Then he did. He looked at her teeth and then injected her inner lip and gums with novicane. I held her hands and she squeezed them. She was really brave. Then the hygienist took the suction tube and put it in her mouth, and she jumped, and it took a few seconds for her to let them suck up her spit. They put it on her hand so she could feel the suction.
The whole process took about thirty minutes, and afterwards, Meroldi's teeth looked beautiful. Her lips were still swollen, and she kept asking when they would go down. We walked back to the house, and I made her a peanut butter sandwich. About ten minutes after we got home, MB returned with Paul. We sat in the living room and talked for a while. I went into my room and got my huge North Face duffel into the living room. Meroldi got inside, and I told her that she could come with me back to the US in my luggage. Then MB suggested that I have one bag for girls, and another for the boys. She wants to take her finance, Ruru, and I want to take my boyfriend Rodney.
MB and Mark and Paul then took off for the center, and Jessie and Meroldi and I walked to the CLASH (a organization for the deaf children of Namibia) office so that I could buy a shirt. After that we went to the mall and I bought a book, and then we went back to the house. We left for the center with Ilga, Bianca, and Kirsten for the center. Everyone was really excited to see Meroldi's teeth! She really does look gorgeous, not that she wasn't adorable before.
Thursday night Taura was holding a Men's Forum across the street at NICE restaurant. She invited a bunch of guys and a few women to sit and discuss the treatment of women in Namibia and around the world. On Wednesday she had asked me to come, and told me that she thought I am an assertive girl with strong opinions, and that she thought I would have good things to share. So Ajay and I walked over to NICE together. It was a bit to long for my taste, but it was good to be there supporting Taura.
Friday morning Jessie and I left with MB for Goreangab high school to sit in on grade 12 classes for a few hours, but when we got to the school all the kids were missing, because apparently every teacher is out at workshops, so they closed the school for the week. It was no big deal because there is another high school, Emanuel Shafiti, just down the road.
We got to the school and asked permission to sit in on the grade 12 classes. They were happy to let us observe the classes, and even paired us with the Head Girl. We first sat in on an English class. There were probably 15 kids in the class, maybe less. The teacher was really nice. When we got in the classroom, he let us introduce ourselves and then let the kids ask us questions. I told them about school in NY and what the classes are like. Then they continued on with their schoolwork. They are currently reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. I was actually really surprised with their reading; it was pretty good.
The second class was Geography. Jessie was talking to some boys when the teacher was trying to start class, and the boys knew the teacher was waiting for Jessie to be quiet. The whole class thought it was so funny, but Jessie was really embarrassed. The class talked about water conservation and management, discussing ways to save water. After telling the students to cop the questions down off the board and answer them in their notebooks, the teacher disapeared out of the classroom and never came back. So we just sat around talking about the United States and school in Namibia.
After geography was a 30 minutes break. The kids who have money go to the school kiosk to buy hot dogs and other snacks, and the "poor" kids go to the gate where vendors sell gum and candy for $.50. After the girls I was with bought their sweets, we went into a classroom and sat around talking. They explained that Saturday morning they were going to a meeting about an aupair program. After graduating grade 12, they can be accepted to be an aupair in the United States. I think a lot of them want to do it because it's a much easier way of getting to the US than trying to do it alone. We also talked about boys, and they wanted to know how boys int he US were. I basically had nothing good to say. I asked them about boys in Namibia, and we agreed that boys are boys, and should be avoided at all costs.
After break we had development. The teacher came in late, and then instructed the kids to copy down probably four of five pages worth of notes, or "summaries", written on the chalk board. Of course they didn't do it. The kids got on their cell phones, as did the teacher. Apparently Friday is free SMS day in Namibia and so that's all anyone ever does all day, including the teachers. After a few minutes, the teacher got up and just left, not coming back.
Then we had English again. There are eight periods a day, and six classes. There are always two classes repeated a day, but not blocked periods. The English teacher didn't show up. After English was History. The teacher sat in the back of the classroom and read a magazine and then after a few minutes got up and left.. Halfway through the period, the office called Jessie and I. MB came to pick us up. We told her all about how school was while we sat in the Pajero for a few minutes eating garlic bread and cheesy bread. Then we went to the center.
I sort of had the day off at the center because it was my last day, because it was my last day. Basically this just meant that I did' have to facilitate any games or manage the computer room or big room, so I got to just sit with some of the kids. Then I sat in on Taura's choir for the last time. I really do love listening to the kids sing.
At the end of the day I said a last goodbye to the kids who I knew I wouldn't see over the weekend. Friday night MB, Ajay, Mark, and Paul went bowling. I stayed home so that I could work on packing and getting ready to leave. But Kirsten, Ilga, Bianca, Jessie, and I, ended up watching a really bad Bollywood movie and making jewelry with beads and bottle caps, and eating a 5 liter container of vanilla ice cream.
This morning Jessie and I left to buy souvenirs near the Wernhill mall. We left the house around half past eight. I got so much stuff! It was crazzzzzy. We spent 3 1/2 our shopping, and then came home for lunch. She didn't feel so well, so she stayed home with Kirsten and Bianca instead of going to the center with Ilga and I. I wanted to go to say goodbye to the kids. I gave them stokies and bracelets that I made for them, as well as some pictures I drew for some of them. It was a nice good bye. I almost cried.
The only thing that kept me from crying was knowing that MB is driving Sha, Wendy, and Salome over here tomorrow morning so that they can plait my hair. I am going to take them into town after they finish, and maybe get them ice cream or something.
Then tomorrow night MB and Ajay are hosting a goodbye party for me, Ilga, and MB's friend. They are going to make us an Indian dinner. Taura and some of her freinds are invited, and it should be a lot of fun. Plus MB went out and bought tons of wine and beer today. In Namibia, you cant buy any alcohol past 2pm on Saturdays, and none on Sundays.
Monday I leave Namibia on a 3pm flight. I'm preparing for the tears to fly out of my eyes nonstop. Ughhhhh. I don't want to leave!
:(
Baby Ethan who lives at the back of the house, and Brutus, the huge dog! MB thought it would be a good idea to let Ethan ride Brutus. No so much.
Benjamin(in the orange) and his friend dragging a little kid.
Me and my boyfriend Rodney at the pool.
Boys at Emanuel Shafiti High school grade 12 class
Classroom chairs and desks
Friday is free SMS day. Yes, the teacher is SMSing, as are the students.
Emanuel Shafiti between classes.
Girls in class.
Me and some of grade 12 the girls.
The classroom, during "class.
I wrote the notes down. No one else did. I'm not even in that class.
Nice.
Mate. Adorable!
ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Ajay got twins in his hard boiled egg.
Meroldi posting on my blog!
Meroldi, before the dentist.
At the dentist, a bit nervous!
COOL!
Ow.
Meroldi, After the dentist!!!
She's so cute, I'm taking her home with me!!!
SO.
The pictures above refer to everything I am about to say. Wednesday night Brutus, the dog MB is dog sitting for, came over to our house for a playdate. We introduced baby Ethan to Brutus. Brutus had a lovely time licking Ethan's feet, and then MB forced Ethan to sit on Brutus, except then Brutus was nipping towards Ethan and it was about to be a baby massacre.
Thursday morning MB brought Meroldi over to the house and then left to pick up Paul, the new volunteer from the UK. He is maybe in his mid 40s. He loves WWI and he thinks that maned space flights are a great idea, and that I should get a one way ticket to mars before they build the mars station. He also thinks that cricket should be introduced into the Unites States, and that it would civilize us, and that American Football should be banned, or even better euthanized And he also thinks that I don't want another bowl of ice cream because I don't want to be called lard bucket. And the says right this second that he can "see your blog book just flying off the shelves". Unfortunately he doesn't know how cool I actually am.
[21:33] redhead at 53: todays blog is (again) incredible
[21:36] redhead at 53: paul is boring ... give me the link to HIS BLOG
Anyway. So Meroldi and I had breakfast together and I let her post on my blog. That was really cute, but it took her forever to type up. Then we left for the dentists office, which is right across from Pick and Pay. We went inside and waited a few minutes for the dental hygienist to take us inside the room. Meroldi seemed a little nervous. She sat down on the chair, and we waited for the dentist to come in. Then he did. He looked at her teeth and then injected her inner lip and gums with novicane. I held her hands and she squeezed them. She was really brave. Then the hygienist took the suction tube and put it in her mouth, and she jumped, and it took a few seconds for her to let them suck up her spit. They put it on her hand so she could feel the suction.
The whole process took about thirty minutes, and afterwards, Meroldi's teeth looked beautiful. Her lips were still swollen, and she kept asking when they would go down. We walked back to the house, and I made her a peanut butter sandwich. About ten minutes after we got home, MB returned with Paul. We sat in the living room and talked for a while. I went into my room and got my huge North Face duffel into the living room. Meroldi got inside, and I told her that she could come with me back to the US in my luggage. Then MB suggested that I have one bag for girls, and another for the boys. She wants to take her finance, Ruru, and I want to take my boyfriend Rodney.
MB and Mark and Paul then took off for the center, and Jessie and Meroldi and I walked to the CLASH (a organization for the deaf children of Namibia) office so that I could buy a shirt. After that we went to the mall and I bought a book, and then we went back to the house. We left for the center with Ilga, Bianca, and Kirsten for the center. Everyone was really excited to see Meroldi's teeth! She really does look gorgeous, not that she wasn't adorable before.
Thursday night Taura was holding a Men's Forum across the street at NICE restaurant. She invited a bunch of guys and a few women to sit and discuss the treatment of women in Namibia and around the world. On Wednesday she had asked me to come, and told me that she thought I am an assertive girl with strong opinions, and that she thought I would have good things to share. So Ajay and I walked over to NICE together. It was a bit to long for my taste, but it was good to be there supporting Taura.
Friday morning Jessie and I left with MB for Goreangab high school to sit in on grade 12 classes for a few hours, but when we got to the school all the kids were missing, because apparently every teacher is out at workshops, so they closed the school for the week. It was no big deal because there is another high school, Emanuel Shafiti, just down the road.
We got to the school and asked permission to sit in on the grade 12 classes. They were happy to let us observe the classes, and even paired us with the Head Girl. We first sat in on an English class. There were probably 15 kids in the class, maybe less. The teacher was really nice. When we got in the classroom, he let us introduce ourselves and then let the kids ask us questions. I told them about school in NY and what the classes are like. Then they continued on with their schoolwork. They are currently reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. I was actually really surprised with their reading; it was pretty good.
The second class was Geography. Jessie was talking to some boys when the teacher was trying to start class, and the boys knew the teacher was waiting for Jessie to be quiet. The whole class thought it was so funny, but Jessie was really embarrassed. The class talked about water conservation and management, discussing ways to save water. After telling the students to cop the questions down off the board and answer them in their notebooks, the teacher disapeared out of the classroom and never came back. So we just sat around talking about the United States and school in Namibia.
After geography was a 30 minutes break. The kids who have money go to the school kiosk to buy hot dogs and other snacks, and the "poor" kids go to the gate where vendors sell gum and candy for $.50. After the girls I was with bought their sweets, we went into a classroom and sat around talking. They explained that Saturday morning they were going to a meeting about an aupair program. After graduating grade 12, they can be accepted to be an aupair in the United States. I think a lot of them want to do it because it's a much easier way of getting to the US than trying to do it alone. We also talked about boys, and they wanted to know how boys int he US were. I basically had nothing good to say. I asked them about boys in Namibia, and we agreed that boys are boys, and should be avoided at all costs.
After break we had development. The teacher came in late, and then instructed the kids to copy down probably four of five pages worth of notes, or "summaries", written on the chalk board. Of course they didn't do it. The kids got on their cell phones, as did the teacher. Apparently Friday is free SMS day in Namibia and so that's all anyone ever does all day, including the teachers. After a few minutes, the teacher got up and just left, not coming back.
Then we had English again. There are eight periods a day, and six classes. There are always two classes repeated a day, but not blocked periods. The English teacher didn't show up. After English was History. The teacher sat in the back of the classroom and read a magazine and then after a few minutes got up and left.. Halfway through the period, the office called Jessie and I. MB came to pick us up. We told her all about how school was while we sat in the Pajero for a few minutes eating garlic bread and cheesy bread. Then we went to the center.
I sort of had the day off at the center because it was my last day, because it was my last day. Basically this just meant that I did' have to facilitate any games or manage the computer room or big room, so I got to just sit with some of the kids. Then I sat in on Taura's choir for the last time. I really do love listening to the kids sing.
At the end of the day I said a last goodbye to the kids who I knew I wouldn't see over the weekend. Friday night MB, Ajay, Mark, and Paul went bowling. I stayed home so that I could work on packing and getting ready to leave. But Kirsten, Ilga, Bianca, Jessie, and I, ended up watching a really bad Bollywood movie and making jewelry with beads and bottle caps, and eating a 5 liter container of vanilla ice cream.
This morning Jessie and I left to buy souvenirs near the Wernhill mall. We left the house around half past eight. I got so much stuff! It was crazzzzzy. We spent 3 1/2 our shopping, and then came home for lunch. She didn't feel so well, so she stayed home with Kirsten and Bianca instead of going to the center with Ilga and I. I wanted to go to say goodbye to the kids. I gave them stokies and bracelets that I made for them, as well as some pictures I drew for some of them. It was a nice good bye. I almost cried.
The only thing that kept me from crying was knowing that MB is driving Sha, Wendy, and Salome over here tomorrow morning so that they can plait my hair. I am going to take them into town after they finish, and maybe get them ice cream or something.
Then tomorrow night MB and Ajay are hosting a goodbye party for me, Ilga, and MB's friend. They are going to make us an Indian dinner. Taura and some of her freinds are invited, and it should be a lot of fun. Plus MB went out and bought tons of wine and beer today. In Namibia, you cant buy any alcohol past 2pm on Saturdays, and none on Sundays.
Monday I leave Namibia on a 3pm flight. I'm preparing for the tears to fly out of my eyes nonstop. Ughhhhh. I don't want to leave!
:(
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Meroldi's Post!
hey lucian and ann marie and genevieve and all of katrinas friends:
my name is meroldi i am the coolest kid in the bnc!!!!!!
i did came to marys house to fix my teeth. so 0ne day we want to the swimming pool
and i was play with a little boy his name is ruru so he catch my leg
and i just fell down and my teeth broke thats how my teeth broke
my god bless you all the days of your life
love meroldi
my name is meroldi i am the coolest kid in the bnc!!!!!!
i did came to marys house to fix my teeth. so 0ne day we want to the swimming pool
and i was play with a little boy his name is ruru so he catch my leg
and i just fell down and my teeth broke thats how my teeth broke
my god bless you all the days of your life
love meroldi
I Got Here Yesterday, And I'm Leaving Tomorrow.
Or that's what if feels like at least.
Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I have been super busy trying to get a ton of things done before I leave. I'm pretty stressed, and I feel like there is so much that I need to do but won't be able to. For example, I started making friendship bracelets for the kids who I got really close to. Then I realized that there were 30 of these kids. In four days I made 15 bracelets, and my fingers and motivation has are totally exhausted. Oh well, those other 15 will have to deal with only getting a stokie lacker.
So I posted last...Friday? Sorry about that... Here is a super long update:
Saturday
On Saturday, MB gave new uniforms to the BNC under 10 boys team and the Pumpkins. She had received these uniforms in a huge crate, the kind that travel overseas on barges. They were sent from Canada. Now, there were three huge crates. One of them was specifically for MB and her soccer kids. The others were also donations for MB, but were not from the same woman she had been in contact with for the past few months. Side note- let me give you an idea of how much STUFF was sent. Thousands of dollars worth of new NEW tocks and hundreds of uniforms. So much that MB decided to send a ton of the stuff up to the north and just keep some of it for her kids and some of the other teams here in Katutura- So. The lady who had organized this eight months fundraiser to send on these things to MB sent her an email, asking for pictures of the kids in the uniforms she had sent, so that she could show the donors. So Saturday MB and I went to the soccer field and put the kids in the new jerseys and I took pictures. Later that night MB sent some of the photos, and the woman wrote back saying that those were not the jerseys that they had sent, and those must have been from one of the other containers. OH NO. Well, turns out that the jerseys that this woman wanted to see on the kids were planned to go up north, because MB didn't want to hog all the stuff to herself, nor do the BNC kids need all that stuff. She told this to the lady, and the lady said that if her donors didn't get the pictures of the kids in their jerseys, that they would not be motivated to donate again. Crazy, right? Plus, this woman also wanted a picture of two kids with their arms around each other in jerseys from rival teams that kids in Canada I guess are always fighting about. HOW FAKE. Luckily, the stuff hadn't been sent up north yet, and MB was able to retrieve the jerseys she needed for the pictures.
Besides this fiasco, the kids looked adorable in the jerseys that we put them in. The under 10 boys now have green jerseys and black shorts, and the Pumpkins have new orange jerseys.
Wendy, one of the girls on the Pumpkins team, always plays as number eight. Plus, MB once gave her a Wendy's t-shirt (the fast food chain) and so sometimes we call her hamburger. WELL GUESS WHAT. There was an orange jersey with a burger on the front and a number eight on the back. Wendy went bananas. MB went bananas. I went bananas.
So Saturday I was taking pictures of the kids playing on the field, and after I had taken a bazillion photos, Jeniffer and Jane took me over to see what is left of that house that the kids had built. So much for simply cooking for the boys and playing house...there were shorts strew everywhere, a torn apart mattress, and a little stove. You can put that together, there is no need for me to tell you what was actually going on in that shack.
Brian had his group on Saturday, and it was just me, Brian, Taura, Cynthia, and Miss Muffin (Brian's older friend). We talked to the kids about making decisions and the consequences that come from making certain decisions. They seemed to understand what we were telling them about self control and listening to advice from adults even if they didn't want to, and what happens when you make a bad or wrong decision. Then Brian realized that he left the remote for the alarm to the building inside the big room, and someone had just left the CAA office and turned the alarm back on. The the kids remembered that there was a kid still in the library, and they all wanted to run to tell him to not move and set off the alarm. Brian told them to not say anything to him, and just to stay outside where we were sitting talking. The kids ran to the big room anyway, and while Brian was on the phone with MB trying to figure out what to do, the kids just went in the big room and guess what happened? The alarm went off. Ironic. Well, it made a good example to continue our discussion with.
Sunday POOL DAY! It was only me and MB for the first part of the day, because Ilga was at church, Mark didn't feel like coming early because he had been out late the night before, and Kirsten and Bianca were up in the north visiting Etosha and the Himba. But there weren't that many kids there anyway, so it was really fine.
Around noon I went over to the picnic area and started preparing the bread for the kids. I pulled out all the cheesy breads and sweet rolls, and then separated some of the regular brochen. Then Mark showed up, and hung around with me for a few minutes. MB then let the kids into the picnic area and they all sat on the grass as she called them up to get bread. She always calls up the BNC kids first, so I gave them each a sweet roll and regular brochen, and then the kids that followed got either cheesy bread and brochen or two plain brochen.
We left the pool a bit earlier than usual because there weren't that many kids there anyway, and the clouds were looking pretty ominous, plus it had been drizzling on and off.
After the pool we went into Okahanja Park which is an unofficial settlement, one of the worst parts of Katutura, and picked up more dolls at Miriam's house. I played with her kids a bit. They are really sweet!
Monday
No idea what I did. I really truly can't remember.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning MB drove me to a restaurant called Luigi and the Fish, to meet up with Emma ( a 15 year old volunteer from NC) and her mom. I went to school with Emma Tuesday at the Namibia Waldorf school. It was very strange. I felt like I was going to school 200 years ago. And there are chickens and dogs running all over the place. Emma's teacher didn't like me very much, and thought I talked too much during choir. Whatever, I really didn't.
The kids at Emma's school are cool, but they asked me if I ever met any celebrities in NY! Even them! It's crazy!
After school we went to the center, and later on that evening MB and I went to the airport to pick up the new volunteer Jessie and then MB dropped me off at Emma's house for a sleepover. That was so fun! We realized the both of us have picked up South African/British English here, like using a totally different tone with the questions we ask. Example: American way- Is your shirt BLUE? SA/UK- Is you SHIRT blue? Does that make sense? Probably not. And then I realized that I have been picking up little things the kids do, like raising my eyebrows instead of saying "yes", just like Meroldi.
Emma and her family eat Black Cat peanut butter. You know the Skippy-Jiffy rivalry int he US? Well it's the same here, only with Black Cat and YumYum. Of course YumYum is better.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning we woke up and went to school again. I was sure to not talk at all during choir. School was good. After school was even better. We stayed for the Namibian Sign Language club. It was really interesting comparing signs and learning about deaf culture in Namibia.
Then Emma's mom took me back to the center, and I listened to the BNC Choir, lead by Taura, practice their songs. I want to cry every time I hear them. They sound so beautiful! I wish I had a CD of them singing so that I could listen to them even at home.
Thursday
Thursday was today. I woke up and MB brought Meroldi to the house. A few months ago she was tripped by Ruru at the pool and chepped her two front teeth. I brough her to the dentist to have them capped this morning. She looks great now! You can't even tell where th cap and real tooth meet. CAA is paying for the treatment.
When we got back we ate some lunch, and MB arrived back at the house with Paul, the new volunteer from the UK. He seems really cool. Then MB, Mark, and Paul left for the center, and Jessie, Meroldi, and I walked to CLASH so I could buy a t-shirt, and made some stops at the mall. Then we got in a cab and went to the center. Maybe around 3, it started pouring...and guess what?!?!? HAILING! The kids went crazy. I WENT CRAZY. We were running around catching the hail and eating it! I played in the rain with the kids for a while, basically until it stopped. I was soaking wet and cold for the rest of the day, but I had a wonderful time splashing around, and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
I just got back from NICE, where Taura lead a Men's forum- basically a discussion about the role of men in Namibian and world society and the problems/challenged created by them. It was a tad boring so I taught myslef how to bend the first joint of my right ring finger without bending the rest of it.
Times I feel most alive:
1) On the top of the tallest sand dunes in the world in the pouring rain, with a rainbow behind me.
2) Listening to the BNC choir.
3) Playing in the rain.
I have a million things to do before Monday.
Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I have been super busy trying to get a ton of things done before I leave. I'm pretty stressed, and I feel like there is so much that I need to do but won't be able to. For example, I started making friendship bracelets for the kids who I got really close to. Then I realized that there were 30 of these kids. In four days I made 15 bracelets, and my fingers and motivation has are totally exhausted. Oh well, those other 15 will have to deal with only getting a stokie lacker.
So I posted last...Friday? Sorry about that... Here is a super long update:
Saturday
On Saturday, MB gave new uniforms to the BNC under 10 boys team and the Pumpkins. She had received these uniforms in a huge crate, the kind that travel overseas on barges. They were sent from Canada. Now, there were three huge crates. One of them was specifically for MB and her soccer kids. The others were also donations for MB, but were not from the same woman she had been in contact with for the past few months. Side note- let me give you an idea of how much STUFF was sent. Thousands of dollars worth of new NEW tocks and hundreds of uniforms. So much that MB decided to send a ton of the stuff up to the north and just keep some of it for her kids and some of the other teams here in Katutura- So. The lady who had organized this eight months fundraiser to send on these things to MB sent her an email, asking for pictures of the kids in the uniforms she had sent, so that she could show the donors. So Saturday MB and I went to the soccer field and put the kids in the new jerseys and I took pictures. Later that night MB sent some of the photos, and the woman wrote back saying that those were not the jerseys that they had sent, and those must have been from one of the other containers. OH NO. Well, turns out that the jerseys that this woman wanted to see on the kids were planned to go up north, because MB didn't want to hog all the stuff to herself, nor do the BNC kids need all that stuff. She told this to the lady, and the lady said that if her donors didn't get the pictures of the kids in their jerseys, that they would not be motivated to donate again. Crazy, right? Plus, this woman also wanted a picture of two kids with their arms around each other in jerseys from rival teams that kids in Canada I guess are always fighting about. HOW FAKE. Luckily, the stuff hadn't been sent up north yet, and MB was able to retrieve the jerseys she needed for the pictures.
Besides this fiasco, the kids looked adorable in the jerseys that we put them in. The under 10 boys now have green jerseys and black shorts, and the Pumpkins have new orange jerseys.
Wendy, one of the girls on the Pumpkins team, always plays as number eight. Plus, MB once gave her a Wendy's t-shirt (the fast food chain) and so sometimes we call her hamburger. WELL GUESS WHAT. There was an orange jersey with a burger on the front and a number eight on the back. Wendy went bananas. MB went bananas. I went bananas.
So Saturday I was taking pictures of the kids playing on the field, and after I had taken a bazillion photos, Jeniffer and Jane took me over to see what is left of that house that the kids had built. So much for simply cooking for the boys and playing house...there were shorts strew everywhere, a torn apart mattress, and a little stove. You can put that together, there is no need for me to tell you what was actually going on in that shack.
Brian had his group on Saturday, and it was just me, Brian, Taura, Cynthia, and Miss Muffin (Brian's older friend). We talked to the kids about making decisions and the consequences that come from making certain decisions. They seemed to understand what we were telling them about self control and listening to advice from adults even if they didn't want to, and what happens when you make a bad or wrong decision. Then Brian realized that he left the remote for the alarm to the building inside the big room, and someone had just left the CAA office and turned the alarm back on. The the kids remembered that there was a kid still in the library, and they all wanted to run to tell him to not move and set off the alarm. Brian told them to not say anything to him, and just to stay outside where we were sitting talking. The kids ran to the big room anyway, and while Brian was on the phone with MB trying to figure out what to do, the kids just went in the big room and guess what happened? The alarm went off. Ironic. Well, it made a good example to continue our discussion with.
Sunday POOL DAY! It was only me and MB for the first part of the day, because Ilga was at church, Mark didn't feel like coming early because he had been out late the night before, and Kirsten and Bianca were up in the north visiting Etosha and the Himba. But there weren't that many kids there anyway, so it was really fine.
Around noon I went over to the picnic area and started preparing the bread for the kids. I pulled out all the cheesy breads and sweet rolls, and then separated some of the regular brochen. Then Mark showed up, and hung around with me for a few minutes. MB then let the kids into the picnic area and they all sat on the grass as she called them up to get bread. She always calls up the BNC kids first, so I gave them each a sweet roll and regular brochen, and then the kids that followed got either cheesy bread and brochen or two plain brochen.
We left the pool a bit earlier than usual because there weren't that many kids there anyway, and the clouds were looking pretty ominous, plus it had been drizzling on and off.
After the pool we went into Okahanja Park which is an unofficial settlement, one of the worst parts of Katutura, and picked up more dolls at Miriam's house. I played with her kids a bit. They are really sweet!
Monday
No idea what I did. I really truly can't remember.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning MB drove me to a restaurant called Luigi and the Fish, to meet up with Emma ( a 15 year old volunteer from NC) and her mom. I went to school with Emma Tuesday at the Namibia Waldorf school. It was very strange. I felt like I was going to school 200 years ago. And there are chickens and dogs running all over the place. Emma's teacher didn't like me very much, and thought I talked too much during choir. Whatever, I really didn't.
The kids at Emma's school are cool, but they asked me if I ever met any celebrities in NY! Even them! It's crazy!
After school we went to the center, and later on that evening MB and I went to the airport to pick up the new volunteer Jessie and then MB dropped me off at Emma's house for a sleepover. That was so fun! We realized the both of us have picked up South African/British English here, like using a totally different tone with the questions we ask. Example: American way- Is your shirt BLUE? SA/UK- Is you SHIRT blue? Does that make sense? Probably not. And then I realized that I have been picking up little things the kids do, like raising my eyebrows instead of saying "yes", just like Meroldi.
Emma and her family eat Black Cat peanut butter. You know the Skippy-Jiffy rivalry int he US? Well it's the same here, only with Black Cat and YumYum. Of course YumYum is better.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning we woke up and went to school again. I was sure to not talk at all during choir. School was good. After school was even better. We stayed for the Namibian Sign Language club. It was really interesting comparing signs and learning about deaf culture in Namibia.
Then Emma's mom took me back to the center, and I listened to the BNC Choir, lead by Taura, practice their songs. I want to cry every time I hear them. They sound so beautiful! I wish I had a CD of them singing so that I could listen to them even at home.
Thursday
Thursday was today. I woke up and MB brought Meroldi to the house. A few months ago she was tripped by Ruru at the pool and chepped her two front teeth. I brough her to the dentist to have them capped this morning. She looks great now! You can't even tell where th cap and real tooth meet. CAA is paying for the treatment.
When we got back we ate some lunch, and MB arrived back at the house with Paul, the new volunteer from the UK. He seems really cool. Then MB, Mark, and Paul left for the center, and Jessie, Meroldi, and I walked to CLASH so I could buy a t-shirt, and made some stops at the mall. Then we got in a cab and went to the center. Maybe around 3, it started pouring...and guess what?!?!? HAILING! The kids went crazy. I WENT CRAZY. We were running around catching the hail and eating it! I played in the rain with the kids for a while, basically until it stopped. I was soaking wet and cold for the rest of the day, but I had a wonderful time splashing around, and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
I just got back from NICE, where Taura lead a Men's forum- basically a discussion about the role of men in Namibian and world society and the problems/challenged created by them. It was a tad boring so I taught myslef how to bend the first joint of my right ring finger without bending the rest of it.
Times I feel most alive:
1) On the top of the tallest sand dunes in the world in the pouring rain, with a rainbow behind me.
2) Listening to the BNC choir.
3) Playing in the rain.
I have a million things to do before Monday.
Friday, February 22, 2008
At Least We Aren't Having Sex With Old Men in Shacks.
On Sunday, a 16 year old boy named Ramashal told Sha that he had found a man who wanted to have sex with her (keep in mind Sha is 12) and would pay her for he. "Don't worry," he told her. "We will just go there and take his money and run before you have to do anything". So they went off to some discrete location and Sha took the man's money and ran.
On Monday Sha and Michelle were teasing Rodney, Usho, and Set. The boys were ignoring them, but the insulting started to escalate. Sha called Rodney a bushman, and soon thereafter Rodney got so upset that he shouted out "Well at least we aren't having sex with old men in shacks like you, Sha!". Sha ran and told MB what he has said, and then at the end of the day MB called a private meeting with Sha and the girls and some of the boys.
The boys were under the impression that Sha was being paid for sex. She cleared things up and told them "No, no! Ramashal and I just trick the men!". MB explained to them how dangerous doing this is, but she doubts that will change their minds the next time the opportunity arises.
I cannot believe this is happening here. I think about the eleven and twelve year old girls I know back i the states, and I think about myself at the age of 12. I don't think I will ever understand the lack of caution and respect these girls have for their own bodies and well-being.
Salome's Aunt runs a whore-house type operation right in the house, so Salome (11), who acts very promiscuously, has grown up around prostitutes and sex and strange men her whole life.
Namibian prostitutes get paid $10 when a condom is used, and $100 when a condom is not used.
Yesterday I let Tete use my camera (see previous post) and then I let Rozein use my camera. Rozein took a picture under her skirt, and then put the camera under Tete's skirt and took a picture. Tete was really upset, understandably. Luckily, I think, her 9 year old little brain has not yet begun to want sex and boys.
I spent 15 hours making a board game for the center the past three days. It's clue, but I called it detective, and instead of murders, it's stealing (who stole what where). Here are pictures.
And here are some more pictures of me and the kids
eleven days.
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