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Published: October 24th 2013
Hello, All,
I am giving a mandatory test (every two weeks we have to give a test). Since we have to give them, we call them exam practice, because the exam is the only thing that counts for grade 11.
There is quite a bit going on right now. We had another bout of witchcraft!. There was a knock on the door at about 1:00 a.m. and my roommate, who is supposed to be the hostel (dorm) supervisor, never hears anyone knocking. It was three girls. They said another girl had had some kind of dream about a man in black (with white under it) and when she woke up the man was there beckoning to her. She started screaming and woke up others. One of them saw this man as well, so they came to get us. When I got there they were all standing in a tight circle not knowing what to do, but scared. I tried to tell them that she was just seeing him from her dream, but that didn't do any good. So I asked the girl what she wanted to do, and she said she wanted to pray. So I said, "Sure." So the whole group started praying aloud, and it must be what it sounded like when people were speaking in tongues. It got louder and louder, but finally they stopped.
However, then the girl who had had to be rushed to the hospital the first time we had a witch, whose heart had stopped beating on the way, started to collapse. She would breathe really heavily, then stop. And her legs wouldn't work. So I was hugging her trying to hold her up and get her to breathe. I sent the kids for Rachel and for Kanyenge. Someone brought a chair. So we got her sitting, but her breathing was still erratic. The kids couldn't wake Rachel (she is the CPR person), so I said to try to keep her breathing and I ran to Rachel's window. As soon as I said it was Sandrina she was out of bed and upstairs. Eventually we got her to the hospital, where they kept her overnight and sent her home. She seemed fine, but even now she has to walk carefully and has an ace bandage on one knee. She is a really nice, conscientious girl who just keeps smiling and trying to walk.
The scary part is that the next day, Ms Kanyenge, my roommate, told me that she had been talking to one of the girls who said that she had moved downstairs because her mother told her one of the girls was a witch. She said this girl had been kicked out of three hostels already because of that. (I am wondering how an orphan or vulnerable child ever managed to pay to go to three hostel schools, and I don't think there are three others in Kavango.) I asked her if she believed in witches and she said yes, and then said, "Don't you?" I said that no, I didn't. For several days, she was a little distant. But I was imagining Salem, and trying to prepare myself for defending this girl. She would not say who it was. I'm glad of that on the whole. However, by that afternoon, everything was normal. It is so weird. I don't know if there is a conspiracy of silence because of the white people, or if they don't want to talk about it, because it is dangerous and shameful. I am paying attention, but haven't seen anyone ostracized. I hope I can make it through the year with no more outbreaks.
I am learning that Kavango (the region we are in) is quite different from the other parts of Namibia. It is sort of more everything--more rebellious, closer to their traditional ways, I think considered more backward by other Namibians. And it borders on Caprivi which actually tried to be its own country. All the 11th graders are from Kavango, and they are the ones most fearing witches. Eighth graders are more into the devil and
Revelations if they get weird. When Ervina said she believed in witches and that doctors cannot cure what witches do, I got a little scared, I must say. These girls are so easily infected by hysteria, and if the teachers believe it too, it could be really bad. Ervina (Kanyenge) is supposedly a Roman Catholic!
On a lighter note, we had a talent show and "talent" contests, so I was watching and being an adult presence. One of the contests was a typing contest. The winner typed 12 words a minute. Then they called me up to demonstrate. For some reason they are very impressed with my typing. Rachel is much faster, but they don't believe it. So I had to go up and type for a minute amid loud cheers (which, of course, was lovely). They all applauded, and as I was going back to my seat, the emcee said, "And she didn't even look at the keyboard." I think the fastest I ever did when I took typing was 45 wpm and I am not that fast now. And it seems easier to make mistakes on the computer because you know you can just back up!!
Our school magazine is coming along, although we will print it here. But the computer teacher is pretty enthused, and the principal came in while we were working and also approved. He suggested to me that I should stay another year. It was flattering, but I am ready to retire again, and I want to spend time with my granddaughter, Mia. So, I hit New York on Dec. 10th. Probably Anchorage on the 15th. I hope not everyone is leaving for Christmas.
We go tomorrow to Tsumeb (near Etosha Park) for our last in-service for World Teach. It is about going home. They apparently have found that people have a harder time with re-entry than they do coming here. I did not have a hard time adjusting, although we have a cushier position than most. The most frustration comes from the school and education system. I have noticed, however, that I haven't really settled in. I think it is because I know I am only here for a year, and because this school is such an artificial environment. I haven't bought a lot of things that I would have if I were really living here, like furniture, more utensils, pillows, sheets (I have one set of sheets and one towel and face cloth), pots and pans, etc. I have virtually no furniture, so it is a bit like living out of a suitcase. I think if I'd been in a village, I might have settled a bit more, but here all my friends or acquaintances don't consider this home either. I will miss Namibia, though.
Two weekends ago I gave myself a treat and spent the night at a lodge in Rundu. It was wonderful. A swimming pool, air conditioner, and tons of peacocks. Plus I ate a whole mediium pizza and had a beer with it. Bliss! It is going to be pretty flat out until the end now, though. The play is next weekend, the magazine has to be done before exams begin on the 15th of Nov., I have tons of homework and these tests to mark, and I feel like I am teaching all the time.
Anyway, I will write another when my magazine is finished. Wish me luck! And thanks for all the support through the year.
Love, Wendy
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Guy
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The theme of bewitchment reminds me of the evenings in the living room with your Dad talking Jung, and then of his hejira to Cochise County. I suppose by virtue of having all that in the family DNA, you're as well prepared for the work as anyone who hasn't had formal shaman training. In fact, as unfamiliar as it seems, it must be at work all over the country even if your area is the most notably traditional. For that matter, and in who knows what forms, it probably is all over everywhere. Was it scary for you? Or is your sense of self and reality untouched by the frisson of hysteria. I'm not sure I'd be impervious. In any case, I'll probably be more interested in the chool magazine when it comes out. And I look forward to having you back on North America. Will you pass through the Seattle area?: we'll be glad to see you. Otherwise, Greta and I are talking (as we often do) about when we might see Alaska--she's never been, and I am always attracted. Be well and enjoy summer in the south!