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Published: November 11th 2007
Getting started
The Grade 7 girls...we got these shirts donated :)Phew...
Another very hectic and busy couple of weeks...
Two weekends ago was our World Teach End Of Service meeting where all the volunteers got together to debrief the year...it was interesting to hear and compare everyone's feelings on the year/ leaving in a few weeks / plans for the future...I would say most people are pretty excited to leave and actually 4 out of the 18 volunteers from my group have decided to extend another year!
I have to say that I definitley contemplated extending for some time...it has been an extraordinary year for me...and I really don't feel ready for it to end...but I think a big part of it being so great for me was that I gave it my all knowing that it was only for a year...I mean, if I was going to stay for 2 years...I don't know if I would have pushed myself as hard as I did with all the extra things that I did.
With that said, last weekend was the Grade 7 Farewell Tour. It was a class trip for the Grade 7's who are all leaving and going separate ways next year for high school.
To the pool...
We got there around 6pm and all the kids wanted to go swimming so we swam at night... (I explained this in another blog that when the kids go to school, the parents/kids choose where they go and need to apply...kind of like we do for college...it's not automatic that they go to the school in their town...although it would be the easiest...that's why there are so many hostels here).
So we went to this town called Okahandja where they had these Hot Springs and we camped for 5 days. This place was perfect for the kids because there was a big swimming pool with warm water. Now, most of these kids have never been in a pool before let alone know how to swim...and I was the designated life guard since none of the other teachers knew how to swim either...I tried to give lessons on swimming and some of them really go the hang of it by the end of the weekend but most were just happy to be jumping around. (I taught them how to dive for pennies...although we used Namibian coins...not pennies😉
We also went to the capital, Windhoek, and went to The Namibian headquarters, (the big newspaper here...oh, I was completely recognized by one of the writers there...he's like, "Were you
Swimming...
It was really nice to swim...there are no public pools in Usakos...so it felt great! the one who dressed up in the Herrero dress a couple of weeks ago?") went to some museums, a mall, and China Town (a strip of really cheap stores were the kids bought a lot of crap.)
It was very fun and now we are just winding down at school...finishing up with the teaching this week and then it is review time for the final exams...I know I keep saying this but I really can't believe it is almost over...
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Judy ern
non-member comment
Homeward bound
But not yet! I can relate to your mixed emotions about leaving, but I think that once you get back into your own house, your own bed and sleep for a week, that's the time you'll begin true reminiscing. And from a more objective viewpoint. So enjoy the evening of your adventure, remember that there are lots who love you and can't wait to see you, and whether you choose to return or not, nobody can take away the memories of this adventure of a lifetime. So enjoy the adulation and know that it was a job well done in a place where it needed doing. [Almost] welcome home.