Need a good laugh???

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Oh, I thought you would all get a kick out of this!! So, no, I have not gained 100 pounds...I'll explain...

On Thursday we had our Prize-Giving Ceremony at our Town Hall where all the kids get awards and certificates for thier hard work and academic accomplishments. My Principal had invited the Prime Minister of Namibia as the Keynote Speaker and he accepted, which was really great. Now, this is really a big deal...not every day does the Prime Minister of all Namibia come to a small town Prize-Giving Ceremony, especially because we are a Primary School and not a High School. He was actually really nice and friendly and I felt lucky because I got to spend about 5 minutes chatting with him. He did his Master's degree at Columbia and lived in New York for about 5 years so we had lots to talk about.

Anyway, my Principal thought it would be fun if all of the teachers wore traditional dresses from all of the different cultures and tribes of Namibia. So, she thought it would be fun if I dressed as a Herrero woman because thier dress is probably the most outragious of all of them. So, I thought why not, and I decided to be a good sport and wear it for the day and see what it is like since the woman really wear this all the time.

So not to complain, but this dress was sooo uncomfortable. Luckily it wasn't too hot that day or else I would have fainted because it was so heavy! They padded the dresses to make me look fatter, because also in their tradition, the fatter the woman, the more beautiful you are. I had on about 4 undergarments and literally sheets on my butt to make me look bigger. The style of the dress is actually from the Victorian Era when the English were here. Also, as you can see, I was wearing this hat that looked like horns. The hat actually represents the horns of a cow. The Herrero people are all cattle herders and their lives revolve around cows...they eat them, work with them and pray to them. So I learned that the longer the horns the better.

Phew! It was funny, because all day people kept coming up to me to tell me how beautiful I looked and I was like,"are you crazy?!?!" But they were serious! It was fun, and the kids got a kick out of it but I could not wait to take it off by the end of the day.

Anyway, it was a great day and the kids did great, considering it was almost 5 hours long! I didn't get to give the camera because it went so long, but my Prinicipal said we will have a Parent's night next month where we'll do a slide show from the year so that should be fun.

So, this weekend I am going to a gymanastics tournament for the kids...didn't I tell you that I am the gymnastics coach too? Oh, and next week I am starting Computer Classes for some parents of the kids who have never used a computer before...can you tell that I am trying to go out with a bang?!?

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Photos

Me as a Herroro Woman
Oh, so fun!

Getting fitted
Phew...you can't see my butt, but it looked huge!

All the teachers and staff
So here all the teachers and staff dressed in thier traditional dresses with me smack in the middle ;)

The Prime Minister
His speech was great...he was down off the stage totally interacting with the kids. You could tell that he was a teacher in the past and was once the The Minister of Education.

Grade 2
They looked so cute!

Grade 6'er
I like this pic!

Comments

[stacy]

so cute
love the look!!! very cute :) you are doing a great job my dear!!!

[nikki]

SO Funny
the picture of you between all those other women dressed up really made me laugh! between the library, computers, and gymnastics... looks like you're a teacher who has MANY titles in that town. HAVE FUN!

[Sara Lima]

ha ha!
You ARE a great sport, and this is hilarious! I'll have to shop the "sheets on the butt" beauty trick to the salons around here and see if it can catch on! Keep the blogs comin' Jess. We're thinking of you!

[Lisa]

Wow!
Hi Jess! You have done so much more recently. Wow! I love the costume pictures. You are such a good sport. I am sure the children love that you participate in everything. You are such a positive role model for them, they are lucky to have you. I can't believe you've been there almost a year. Incredible! You are definitely leaving your mark! Can't wait to talk to you. xoxo Lisa