Into Exams!!!

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Dear Friends,

We are now on the third day of exams, and they go for another week. I have learned a lovely new word as a result. In Namibia, one does not "proctor" exams, one "invigilates" them. I invigilated history and ICT today. One does not get to invigilate one's own exams. The exams end on the 16th. Learners leave on the 19th (they wait for report cards), and teachers on the 20th. However, Bret (WT field director) is not sending a van for us until the 25th, so we will be here almost alone. We're hoping to get around the area in our free time. I'm hoping a boat tour on the Kavango River to see hippos and crocodiles.

Easter weekend the school got busses and took the kids on a field trip one day. We went to the game park I told about where I saw so many animals. We did not se as many, but still quite a few. I also finally saw Popa Falls, a big spot around here, but really more of a falling rapids. It did remind me of our trip through the Grand Canyon (except for the canyon). Maybe more like the Nenana River by the park. Pretty, though. We also went to see an old military fort and airstrip. I think it was from the time of the Revolution, which would have been late 1980's, but it reminded me of the old one in Tok. This had quonset huts! Of course it is HOTTER here than ever in Tok. Here's a thought: the first time I saw Tok was 1959, only 14 years after World War II ended. It is now 23 years since the revolution ended and Namibia became independent. And so many years in between the two events. I was not actually alive for WWII, but almost. It boggles my mind. Time actually boggles my mind. Another Alaska-like thing was that when we got to the airstrip and stopped, lots of kids hopped off the bus and headed for the bushes. I felt right at home.

Then on the way from the fort home again, we saw two elephants right by the highway. Pretty amazing.

The deputy minister of education was here today (maybe still is). His name is Kabachani. He shook my hand! But he came in like a politician, shaking everyone's hand.

I don't have much more to say. Ian texted a few days ago that my dog, Sienna, died. It was pretty traumatic, especially for Ian, but I am rather stunned. Fortunately my roommate is good at hugs and loves her dogs, too, so I had someone to cry with. I was looking forward to getting home and seeing if she missed me or forgot me. It will be lonesome without her. Anyway, I promise more detail when exams are finished. I'm going to put up a few more pictures--one of Popa Falls.

Love to all,

Wendy

P.S. I went in to the 8th grade yesterday and said, Good morning my little chickadees (you know, American culture) and they all just had hysterics. I haven't figured out what was quite so funny. Annette Funicello died! An era is definitely over.

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Comments

[Guy]

This is so interesting, though I am sorry about Sienna. It is very hard when these persons leave us, especially after years of genuine bonding, play and mutual affection. I never knew Rahab well enough to have been her friend (is that going back far enough?), but our cat Stella is certainly a blessing -- and regularly makes a point of actually herding us to go to bed together with her at day's end. The parts about life in the bush -- hurrying off the plane into the bushes -- remind me of Bethel where everybody had to be weighed before they'd let us get on the Wien flights to Anchorage. There the problem was ....the cold -- honeybuckets freezing and needing to be thawed on the same oil stove that heated the freezer-van; unless it got so cold the paraffin in the oil froze it solid (until you had a torch to loosen it up some to get it flowing again from the oil drums outside). It must be a joy, amid the routine and bureaucratic, to find the elephants and crocodiles and hippos here and there. Nothing says fun like the numen of charismatic megafauna! Thrive!

[Margi]

Exams already? wow how the time dashes by. I\'m dying to know what the chickadee joke is. Language is so intentional in usage and so open to all sorts of mischief when being received. Wouldn\'t it be fun to have english speakers from all over the world share jokes? My kids got to do a bit of this (kids are probably better at it) when we were in Ireland years ago. The Irish kids taught them all sorts of tricks with words they already knew. The south African kids chimed in and they were off to the races, so to speak. Thanks for the photos. That baobab tree must be a thousand years old. Wow. Wow to everything you share. Thanks for carving out the to e to do the blog. I love hearing from you. M

[Donna]

Little Chickadees
Hi Wendy, I'm so sorry about Sienna. I finished tutoring my six little chickadees at Muldoon Elementary a couple of weeks ago.

[joanne]

Invigilation
Yes - this was a term I got in Saudi Arabia. They use it here in Vietnam, too. It is a Britishism, I guess (my university is Australian). It sounds like you are getting your feet wet with expat teaching. Any place the Brits or the Germans have been seems to be very heavy on bureaucracy and paperwork. I do have to say that I haven't much on my job. I have applied and interviewed for a position in Chittagong, Bangladesh, and it looks good for an offer. I love Vietnam. My job is good but I can't say I love it. I may be off to Bangladesh for the fall to Asian University for Women. The students are mostly scholarship - bright and very poor. I have wanted to teach for the sake of teaching for a while now, and I planned on doing that after I started getting Social Security. This is a year earlier than that, but it seems a great opportunity. Will you continue teaching abroad? Keep me posted and I may be able to offer a small bit of help and advice from my experiences. I would LOVE to see you. Let's try to make that happen! Joanne