Sunday Funday Pictures are back! 13-November-2016

BIG NEWS I forgot to tell you. 2 of my learners applied to Camp GLOW (Girls and Guys Leading Our World) a special camp held by Peace Corps Volunteer in many serving countries. The attended the week long camp in August and absolutely LOVED it!! 

Every blue moon volunteers get to escape to the coast to get fancy and find fun crystals, stones, feathers and shells. 

 (Another PCV taught me how to make dream catchers!)

My latest collage. Reflection time/Down time is always good for the corazon. 

While I was on Med Evac an old friend gave me a new tattoo. Now I have learners drawing their own tatts as well. he he he :)

Broke into the hot cheetos stash!!!! OH YEAH!!!! 

 I just want to throw it out there that I'm almost out;

 Christmas is soon, 

and 

for the most part I was a good girl this year. 

My host niece is such a little cutie. Its never too soon to introduce them to books. 

This girl is 2, and already smart as can be. 

The Goals of Peace Corps: The Bright Side

The past couple weeks have been rather, emotional, for me (as for many).
Don't worry; this is nothing political.

Lets just skip the past week in general shall we?

Peace Corps has 3 main goals, I'd like to highlight goals 2 and 3.


Goal 3:  To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Two weekends ago I received word that a good friend of mine back home had an accident and was in the ICU on life support. Monday morning (my time) I woke to news of his passing. Now if you've read My Story: The Reason you know, death is quite the heavy load for me. However, as The Lion King taught us, it's part of the circle of life. So for today I ask of you. whoever it is you pray to, say a little something for Gary Davenport. That guy, he was just a genuine soul and one heck of a jokester.


However, I did have a rather sweet moment. Later in the day I was sitting under the trees trying to cope, when one of the grade 2 learners came up to me. She noticed I was crying and asked what's wrong. So, I told her "a friend of mine from home died and my heart is broken." She looked at me for a moment, got up and said "Tani wiza" (I'm coming [back]). A couple minutes later she returned with a bag of ice and put it near my chest while she told me about the time she once broke a bone and so her grandma had her put ice on it. I melted. It was a reminder of just how pure and kind people can be. With that moment alone not only did this adorable girl with the sweetest jack-o-latern smile make me feel better, but she inspired me. It was the simplest moment of kindness, and yet I don't think she realizes how much that one moment impacted me. How in that moment, I needed something like that.

So, if there is one thing I want people to absolutely know about my host country Namibia (Speaking specifically of the Kavango region): For the majority, the locals are very kind. They're curious. They're welcoming and  yes, doing an entire greeting is mandatory every time you simply see each other. Overall, there is a astonishing sense of community community.

Rest In Peace Gary Davenport

September 17, 1988

October 30, 2016

Goal 2: To help promote a better understanding of Americans on part of the peoples served.

Let me tell you, being a teacher has some perks. The school year is coming to an end in just a couple weeks and I can guarantee you, the grade 8 and 9 learners learned 2 very important lessons!

1. Chicago is the best city in the whole entire world! Yes, that is indeed a fact.

2. In fact, to go along with that, the Chicago Cubs are the World Series Champions.


Time difference can really affect the news you wake up to, so when I woke up to find messages awaiting in all caps say " WE ARE THE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS", that set a tone for the day. My classes did have an exam scheduled, but being that I'm the teacher, I hold the power to decide to postpone the exam to teach a very valuable lesson to these children. I told them a story about how over 100 years ago a horrible horrible curse was placed on a great team known as the Chicago Cubs. Despite all of the Cubs great efforts the curse could not be broke, until now!! This great triumph was to show everyone not to give up on their dreams and it was basically a holiday, so exams were canceled because we had to all learn a very important song, and dance.


Seriously, this is a video you have to watch! Ms. Tena's very important World Series Champions, The Chicago Cubs Lesson ( https://youtu.be/XniiB8PCLyo )

A gofundme has been set up for the family of Gary. If you would like to donate visit Gary Davenport's Memorial Gofundme page

Sunday Funday Pictures!

It's that time of year where the Learners start preparing for their "Culture Competitions" in the Kavango. Learners collaborate traditional dancing, songs, and dramas together into a skit where they will compete with other schools. 

These are a couple of the traditional drums typically played by boy students. 

Since the Culture Competitions are a big deal in the area, and the drums can be heard through out the village, it attracts people to come watch their practices.

Little Miss Mariah here is one of my grade 8 English Learners, and one of our Culture Team's secret weapon. This girl can dance!!

Back to school! Term 2 of school has been back and at it for about 2 weeks. Winter is also upon us so people are layering up.

If you even (slightly) know me, you know I have a serious hot Cheetos addiction! Luckily my friends rock my socks and send me happiness in a box! If you haven't tried hot Cheetos with marshmallow cream, go try it, now! Lol trust me, it's great!

Flashback!!!

One of the local bands here Kolesa and my host sister invited a couple friends and I to their End of Year party last December. And recently sent me some of the photos they took. 

They are a GREAT band, I'm hoping to upload some of their music soon!

(Isn't my host sister so pretty? I'm couldn't ever ask for a better host sister!) 

Sunday Fun-day Pictures 17-April-2016

So if you read my last post, I had a bit of a rough couple weeks. This past Thursday I woke up a bit on the wrong side of the bed so I instantly popped in my headphones for the walk to school. The moment I arrived to school I'm greeted with a crowed of grade 0 (kindergarten) learners adorable as can be just wanting to say hi and give high 5's. That's all it took to turn my frown upside down and bring my day to a brighter start. I mean look at them. How can you not smile back at these cuties?

FLASHBACK!!!!!!

Some of you may have seen in my post a few months ago that my host family surprised me with a puppy. At the time of the post I thought Hafa was a girl. Turns out Hafa is a boy. He's healthy, happy, and has an unending amount of puppy energy. I would compare his to one of those spastic cartoon squirrels. We're working on breaking his jumping and food stealing habit. He's a very faithful walking buddy. He drives me nuts, but I do love him never the less

With exams = marking alllllllllllllllll day. Sometimes learners say some funny things though

Question: Write down a word that has the opposite meaning of the word threaten?

Answer: Rhinoceroses 

Question: Find a word in the text that has more or less the same meaning as "a set of laws about something"

Answer: Fewer people on earth

From being an interpreter, to needing an interpreter: the lesson I didn’t expect to learn while serving in Peace Corps

Thanks to “Facebook memories” a funny reminisce of a status I posted 5 years ago as an American Sign Language(ASL) Interpreting student  came up saying – “The more and more I go through this interpreting program the more I question how well I actually know English.”

 

Languages are, crazy to say the least. Its like we spend our entire lives exposed and learning this thing that we don’t even realize we are learning, yet at the same time no one ever perfects it. How could we? Language is ever changing. I’ve been speaking, listening, reading, studying, and constantly exposed to English. Yet, while in my Bachelor’s I questioned if I was really was a master of English. Studying to be an interpreter requires endless hours studying another language, while challenging your skills in your own language. It took learning not just words, but meaning. Yes, textbooks help, to an extent, but not like getting out there and talking. When it came to getting a message in one language and then exporting that into another language all while not changing meaning was tough! It really made me question how well I knew how to control my use of language.

 

Now, as I’ve experienced Teaching English as a Second Language or Foreign Language, I again find myself questioning what I know. English has some silly rules. Namibia isn’t the first foreign country I teach in and one common factor I would fear is learners asking “well why do we do ___________?” “ Wait why don’t you say that letter”. Grammar is very tricky. I give people who learn English as a language other than their native language A LOT of credit. I giving anyone learning a language or languages in general a lot of credit! It is not an easy task at all. Trust me, I know!

 

After, I completed my B.A in ASL – English interpretation I found myself working as an interpreter for a few years. Working as an interpreter brings a vast variety of situations that call for you. In some situations I can admit, my rookie shoes had me at times thinking “how do I interpret this with what I know and what I’m confident I can do” , sometimes giving a summarized version of a sentence, or pausing for a moment trying to think of the best way to say what needs to be said. There were a couple times clients would get frustrated with my processing time. I don’t blame this for one-minute, it’s an awkward situation. Most of my clients knew I was new on the scene and gave me some leeway but that by no means that should have been their responsibility.

 

Now that I’m Namibia, a land of many languages I find myself taking on a new language, Rukwangali. Though we are at the 7-month anniversary of this experience, I am nowhere near fluent. I am still learning and practicing the language every day. This has placed me in a position where I find myself needing an interpreter at work meetings or clinics. However, that isn’t exactly something supplied by the Peace Corps. I mean we gotta learn somehow right? Luckily, there is usually a colleague willing to help tell me what is going on in the meeting or announcement, or whatever it may be. Keep in mind these are people are doing this to be nice, not professionally trained, simply kind hearted individuals. Since their attendance is also required distractions are easy to come by.  Sometimes I would be sitting for a few minutes of the presenter talking and then when I ask if anything has been said I get a message like “oh yeah, she is talking about the plans”…. Or something like “Its about that one boy and girl who live that side Rundu”. Very vague summaries. This is nice because it gives me some guidance, but no content. This would sometimes make me anxious, uncomfortable, or even annoyed.

 

To walk into a situation, and put what information you will get in the hands of another person takes a lot of trust. How do I know if I’m being lied to? Is this all the information I need or was that just the parts you needed? If everyone else is laughing why am I not? What’s so funny!? ….. I do have to note, English is not the first language of my colleagues helping me out. Sometimes English is even their third language. So why am I so, temperamental with their assistance? What this has really brought me to realize is: To be an interpreter, or even the person trying to help out someone is a lot of work, verbally and mentally. To be the person awaiting an interpretation or message is a lot of work, verbally and mentally. It’s a dynamic that demands a relationship. There must be trust to some extent, and empathy from all ends. Neither chair is an easy seat to sit in, but both positions deserve respect. Serving brings me humility constantly. Its good to be in a position where you are surrounded by opportunities that expand you, yet gives a closer look all at once.

Don't you miss your family and friends?

A couple questions I’ve been asked regularly are “is it hard to be away from your family?” or “Don’t you miss your friends?”. Or often I’m asked what’s the hardest part about being in Peace Corps? Well of coarse its being away from loved ones. In my short seven months of service, back on the States side I’ve had one of my longest known friends get engaged to her high school sweetheart and they have been together over 10 years! I’ve had births enter the world. My niece Savannah (who is my everything) had her very first volleyball game, where she also made the team captain, and though I once made it a priority to be at every game I possibly could, I was now on the opposite side of the world. And though it hurts, I also lost people. I’ll be honest, yeah; it is hard to be away from your family.

            Call me lucky though, because even through the nostalgia, (not to mention an ocean and vast distances of land) I don’t think I could feel any closer to people back home. Where I once went many days with out talking to family, we now make it a point to talk once a week. Don’t get me wrong, internet isn’t always reliable, but the fact that we each put in the effort is priceless. I have friends I hadn’t seen in months or years sending letters. Any volunteer can tell you, getting mail is one hella good feeling.  I’m even more beyond fortunate to have a supportive circle shooting me messages on Facebook or email saying “hey girl what can we do to help, is there anything you need”. A couple times some of my learners or host family member have been able to be featured in FaceTime and Skype calls, and boy does it turn into talk of the school for a week. Yeah, I miss my family and friends, but I’m also with my family and friends.

            See nothing can every replace friends and family from “home” but one of the greatest gifts of service is the relationships gained while serving. Today my host mom (who is a member of the school board) and toddler niece had to come by the school I’m teaching at. Well, when I walked back to the offices for my free period my host niece saw me and with a huge cheesy 4-teeth smile and wobbly steps came at me. My heart seriously melted. Some of the friendships I’ve made both in the network of volunteers and locals are relationships I could never forget.  I get eager to visit my Bunya host mom telling people, “yeah this weekend I’m going to visit my mom”. My host sister is seriously one of my best friends. Just as my sister back home is. This, this is magic. There is a certain amount of sacrifice with serving in the Peace Corps and living over seas, but the rewards that come along with service are incomparable. 

DIY: Kasote Namibia

Drive through Kasote

A nice little clip of what a drive through the village looks like.

How to make Kasote:

•  3 heaping views of the most beautiful skies you could imagine (Seriously, imagine the most beautiful sunrise, sunsets and night skies)
• Crowds of friendly locals curious to know who you are and what exactly you are doing here
• 1 Kavango River which seems to reflect everything in its view as if painted with glitter
• Miles of thick beach like sand, blinding at noon from the brightness of the suns bright rays
• Literally free range animals; chickens, cattle, and goats know no boundaries
• A sky full of birds of all types and colors just waiting to capture your eye
• 1 sun hot, and unforgiving
• A splash of hippo and crocodile views 
• Aroma of campfires made for cooking dinner
• Laughter of children climbing on trees
• 2 Shebeans playing music through all hours of the night
• 1 rooster crowing to awaken the sun
• 2 years of hope and a lot of fun

Mix all together, wrap it in falling in love. Then you'll know what it feels like to live under the Kasote Namibian sun.

My Story: The reason

The year of 1999 was coming to an end, a year I could never forget even if I tried. I had turned 10 midway through the year and by the time we were approaching the winter break of 5th grade I had seen more counselors for the year than I care to admit, and been through one traumatic event after another falling on each like dominos. When the year began I had my first experience with death when my best friend had passed away suddenly. Continuing into the year I joined a program at school that taught students how to ski with different public schools in Santa Fe. It was an activity I really enjoyed over a few months, it was a get away gone bad. The bus company that took us up and down the mountain of curvy roads weekly didn't maintain their buses properly and on March 2 while on our drive down the mountain the brakes to the bus gave out ending in a bus full of 32 elementary student and 3 chaperons wrecked and flipped. In the midst of the bus rapidly going around curves, as the bus driver tried to keep the bus under control we were instructed to cover our heads with our bags, but my bag was no where to be found. That was when one chaperon gave his bag to me. Not long after that I woke up to a mangled mess of metal and blood everywhere, quickly followed by an ocean of sirens and flashing red and blue lights. Some how my parents found out about what happened and barged through police lines and made it to the accident scene. However, we were quickly separated when they paramedics began loading students into ambulances to take us to a hospital. The next morning I awoke to find out my cousin Eric, and the chaperon Gary who sacrificed his bag for me had passed away. Many of my friends were ok, but some still in hospital beds hook up to machines and/or under going surgery. That event made me suddenly look at adults as if they were enemies. I thought the world was safe but suddenly it became dangerous. I thought events with school had this bubble that protected us, this proved to only be half true. I still look to Gary as a hero, he saved me that day, but guilt followed me for years (and at times still does). I blamed myself for why 3 boys no longer had a father, and a wife left a widow. And I blamed my school and the bus company for doing this. 

Just a month later a very close uncle had a stroke he survived but not long after that a more sever stroke hit him. It was May 6th, my 10th birthday and there I was in yet another hospital watching another person I love hooked up to machines and putting up what I thought was an unfair fight. Just a few days later he as well passed away.  I had just hit double digits in age and every one around me was dying. I began fearing the world, fearing any kind of relationship. I began thinking that being around me meant you would as well die and I started pushing everyone and everything around me away. I spent the following several years of my life with a similar attitude, occasionally haunted by the same nightmare as friends through out the years moved on to other worlds or heavens or reincarnation.

However, even with what sometimes felt like a rugged storm of a life, the sun did also shine. A couple years following 5^th grade a wildfire ran a muck in Los Alamos, a town not too far from Santa Fe leaving many with out homes and in needs of good. One day my mom decided to take my younger sister Amy and I to a charity goods drive. People donated a variety of items, from food to clothes, household items to toys. We worked for the day sorting out the variety of items to be administered to the families affected by the wildfire. I remember there was a Beanie Baby that I had been wanting for my collection, and I asked my mom if I could have it. She explained to me how the families these items were going to were for people who had nothing left, a Beanie Baby going to one of the families affected may be the only toy another girl may have. I knew I had my own share of not only Beanie Babies, but also other goodies at home. Suddenly it didn’t make sense to me why I deserved this, and not another girl. That moment was when it finally clicked to me why my mom had us there sorting through piles upon piles of various things.  My first moment of volunteer work that later lead to a passion I never saw coming.

Fast forward to the awkward years of High School and I was still holding on to the fear that people I care for were just going to die if I let them too close. As I said, that nightmare of losing people sometimes played like a broken record of curses as I lost a few friends and family members very important to me during the first couple years of High School. I resorted to once again pushing away the people who cared about me most. Sometimes with my mom and dad enduring the biggest lash of that. I can admit, I was a brat as a teen. Until one person changed that all for me.

One day while attending a career fair I met a girl who served in Peace Corps Kenya and was a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. She talked about her stories while serving. Tales of what she did and the people she met. I swear the fair around me stopped; her story was magical! Then she said something that complete changed my world though the quote “The world is filled with good people, if you cant find one, be one”. Up to that point, people in my world were a curse not a blessing. But that moment… all it took was a bit of time with this girl, and suddenly, the world became hopeful. From that moment I knew I want to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. For the first time in several years I believed that maybe I have a “reason”. I knew darkness better than I knew light; maybe my “reason” was to find light in the darkest of moments. Crazy I know. However, from that moment on I swore I WOULD be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I WOULD be the “good” person.  A fire ignited with in me.

Keep in mind this moment came over 12 years ago, so when I was approaching graduation in 2006 my parents weren’t exactly thrilled about the idea of me wanting to take off to some random country. They wanted me to go to college. Long story short, I made a bet with my family that I lost, and off to college I went. It wasn’t long though for my wonderlust to kick in and I ventured off to a new place, Chicago. Little did I know, Chicago would become my home. I have absolutely nothing negative I can say about Chicago. To this day when you ask me where is home, I will say Chitown. I made friendships that exceed past friends, but into family. I felt, at home. However the wonderlust didn’t stop there.

          I graduated with my degree American Sign Language-English interpreting in 2012. One thing still stood after all these years, I wanted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I honestly connected that to being my “reason” what ever that should mean. I met with a recruiter and before you knew it, I was signed up to go to South America.

I absolutely fell in love with volunteering in schools abroad. I love working with children. I have no desire to have and of my own, but there’s something about working with students that makes me feel like, you know what, I’m doing something right. I love the innocence of children. I enjoy how silly they can be. I’m silly and strange myself. I toured South America as a volunteer teaching English as a second language for a bit. While this happened, my heart found a special place in Peru and I found myself seriously debating staying in Peru rather than returning to the States. Up to that point I had never experienced so much euphoria in life as I did volunteering in Peru. That was when the planets of my world aligned. Maybe this was my “reason”.

That’s all it took. All it took was one girl to make me believe. It took one trip to make me believe in me. Just one. I never saw it coming but for once I thought I understood the reason for something happening for a “reason”. I took that trip to South America with intent being to gather experience to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I went to teach, but I left being the one who learned. I knew, I knew exactly what I was aiming for. Maybe it was for that “reason” or maybe it was just because, but I knew I had to do it.  Where darkness once filled my world, now optimism took over.

I had a game plan. I would volunteer in South America, and once I returned to the States I would begin my Peace Corps application. My recruiter and I had it all planned out. However, an unfortunate hostaging situation put my application on a bit of a pause. As many prior events in my life, this took a moment to recover from. But, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right?

Later I met someone who introduced me to a whole new world. My roommate introduced to a place that built up people more than anything.

Though through this story I’ve ben extremely selective in incorporating names, there are a couple I have to mention. One being Fred Martinez. He convinced me to push myself beyond limits I thought were way beyond my range. He saw me in a broken moment and rather than let me dig a deeper hole, he taught me to climb out. With out any clue what I was doing, I joined the Superior Fitness family in Santa Fe. With the guidance of not only Fred, but other members of my gym fam (*cough cough* Deanneza, Laura, Pops and Carrie) I became the strongest Jamie (emotionally, mentally, and physically) I could ever imagine being. Like I said though, I’ve ben selective in the names I mention. However this is a moment where I have to call out a few people. See it takes a village to make something happen, and I’ve very fortunate to have an amazing support team that has helped me in my story. Amy, my baby sister who I looked up to since we were little; Landie, the most amazing best friend I could ask for; Marinda, my guardian angel; Beatrice, the one who believe in me more than I did; Fred, who pushed me; Heather, who opened up new doors; Sonja, who stood by me through so much; Mrs. Brooke and Ms. Dianna, two lovely ray of sunshine with hearts of gold, and most of all my parents… I finally became the best version of Jamie I had ever been in my life.

January of 2015, nine months after submitting my application to Peace Corps, I received a set in stone official invitation to serve in Namibia as a Secondary Education English Teacher.  To be honest I had to do a bit of research on Namibia. I believed I would be sent to South America so I hadn’t done much research on African countries. I was a bit unsure but I took the jump. The moment I received my invitation my dream came true. I was so excited I literally ran out of the classroom I was working in. I waited for the moment for so long and there was no way I'd pass it up. Now, January 2016 here I am living in Namibia, a country so beautiful that words and pictures don’t give it justice. I miss my friends, family, and gym family but I also now have a great Namily consisting of my fellow volunteers, host family, and Bunya host family.

Perhaps I did have a reason, perhaps everything has a reason. I’m sure this reason will take a lifetime to reveal, but there is one thing I do know.  Whether or not I ever figure out what that “reason” I found my passion. Life is something good, and though sometimes tough, its beautiful! I don’t think reason ever dies, and I’m still young. Maybe life happens for multiple reasons. Each reason leading to a new reason.  Maybe we’re not here for a reason, but a collection of many reasons. As for now, reasons have lead me to where I am right now, and I cant wait to see what other reasons unfold or where the reasons lead me as I experience this little thing called life.

Just a little piece of my time in Peru

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

"Where do you picture yourself 5 years from now... 10 years from now?"

Sometimes I wonder if anyone actually knows the answer to that question, or maybe its just me. I definitely doubt I would say "Oh you know I picture myself spending Thanksgiving in the Kavango region doing arts and crafts with grade 2 learners", "Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Peace Corps serving in Namibia", or "Buying an Orange Fanta to share with a random stranger in a small African village". I definitely didn't predict myself saying "I will be living along rivers in Namibia and learning how to speak Rukwangali." or "Sitting in the VIP section of a gospel concert with my sister". None of this could have been foreseen, but you know what, I'm sure glad its happening.

Last week I returned from a two week trip to Windhoek, the capitol of Namibia. In Windhoek we had an all volunteer conference for all 143 volunteers currently serving in Namibia. We also got to join together to celebrate 25 years of Peace Corps Service in Namibia. Namibia gained their Independence in March of 1990 and only 7 days later, before they even had a letter head, they requested service of Peace Corps Volunteers. Fast forward a bit to September of that same year, the first group of volunteers arrived in Namibia ready to serve. I am happy that 25 years later I have the privilege of being apart of the "Namily" and also get to have the experience of serving in Namibia.

The all volunteer conference ended and us newbies of group 42 had to stick around for some additional training. Over all I enjoyed it, I learned some interesting facts, got some info on applying for grants, got to reconnect with some lovely faces and make new friendships. A lot of time was spent debriefing and sharing stories about our sites and experiences. Many volunteers had positive stories, others have had a few speed bumps to over come since spreading our wings and beginning our 2 years of service post completing PST(Pre-Service Training). This time to tell each other really made me realize how thankful I am about this experience. Overall, I feel like my time in Kasote has been great. Yeah some culture shock aside and a few cultural differences have thrown a curve ball or two at me, but I really think I'm beyond lucky to have received my site. This isn't my first rodeo volunteering abroad, I know what its like to live with a just plain mean host family and that was not fun to say the least. The host family I'll be staying with over these next two years is amazing! I would get excited when people would ask "Whats your family/living situation like" and I could respond with telling them how awesome of a host sister I'm living with and the children of the homestead and village I get to hang out with. When it came to language training it was with out hesitation that I could say a teacher from my staff helped me out everyday in trying to battle learning Rukwangali, sometimes two. I enjoyed bragging about how on top of things the principal has been. I couldn't brag enough about how welcoming the community has been over all.

There are both pros and cons to living with a host family in a small village, and in my case the pros definitely out weigh the cons. Being that I've spent a lot of time living alone I had my reservations about living with a family, but now I am very thankful that is the case. On Thanksgiving I was having a bit of a sore spot missing my family. I made a post on Facebook wishing friends and family a Happy Thanksgiving back home and how I was sad about not being there with them. One friend posted a comment say "You may be missing one Thanksgiving, but the impact you are having there will last forever". This really centered me. Maybe I am making an impact on the people I've met here, perhaps not. One thing I do know though is they are impacting me, in several good ways and ya,  that will last forever. I am living my dream, that is infinite impact of its own. And you know what I am hoping I'm impacting people here because it would be selfish of me to be the only one privileged of receiving their grace.

I wouldn't have pictured this be my life even a year ago, and yes there has been some sacrifices that have had to be made, and in my opinion it couldn't be a better way of living. Any one else thinking of just, going for "it" whether that definition of "it" meaning join the Peace Corps (which you should), taking on a challenge, or anything else, do it! Lets face it, no one knows what life will be like 5 years from now, and just in case that zombie apocalypse does hit us, its best that we are living life since now. The scariest thing that can happen is you look back at your life and tell yourself "I should have ________ when I had the chance."

Storytime

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”   - Dr. Seuss

Last weeks instagram post:

"They say attitudes are contagious... If thats the case I want to infect the Learners at my school with a love for reading and books. What better way than with story time" -Me :)

Reading, in my opinions is one of the most amazing gifts a person can have. Reading expands the mind and opens up worlds beyond what we can travel. It gives hope and creativity. Reading brings a sense of a million lives lived, and a million more to be lived. Anything is possible with literacy. So when I found out helping establish a reading culture at my school was one of their hopes I was both ecstatic and a bit heart broken. When I arrived to my school I came to find we have only a small "library" tucked away in a storage room which also doubles as the office of a couple teachers. There are books, but not many at all. An attempt at alphabetizing had been made, but not enforced by any means. Almost all teachers expressed one of their desires of me is to increase to reading abilities of learners, aid in English development, and help establish an actual library. That is a loaded request, but not impossible. 

A Grade 10 teacher who uses the "library" as an office and I had the opportunity to chat a bit over a library concept and ways to get learners excited about reading. After the two of us spoke with our principal a bit we came to the conclusion that we could utilize school space a bit better by moving the library to a place where we can also have room for learners to sit and read. We also discussed building hammocks outside under the trees with the rule of the hammocks being that if you want to lay in the hammocks, you must have an open book in your hands. Just a little something to appeal the idea of opening a book to learners. 

So after learning about this desire I decided to really look into what the library has and needs. First thing I noticed was they need an organization system, and that knowing the levels of books would be beneficial as well. I figured once I have things organized I would have a better idea of the inventory. Little by little I began carrying books from the "library" to my desk to dust them off and google what the book's reading level is. During one of my trips one girl would lives close to me asked what I'm doing. I told her I was trying to help the library because I love books and were suppose to take care of the things we love. I asked her if she likes books and she nodded. So I handed her a children's story that looked to have some fun pictures. She is only a Grade 1 learner but she has amazing English! She told me she didn't know how to read all the words so I asked if she would like me to read to her. This made me super excited, so I put down the pile of books I had and sat with her to read. Children here, as in anywhere are very curious. One little girl turned into two, which turned into four, and later to about 20. Lower Primary learners leave earlier than the rest of the school so they caught me on their ways home. We read a couple short simple books and they went on their way. The following day they requested another story when they saw me in the school yard. This thrilled me to know they wanted more story time so naturally I agreed. There was down side though. As I mentioned before lower primary learners are excused from school early so a heard of us outside reading caused some distraction to other classrooms. One lower primary teacher then requested that I come to her class to read the following day to learners, a request I has happy to fulfill. 

I knew I would be with them for about 2 class periods so I decided lets make a project to go along with reading. We read a story about a tortoise whom in short lost her shell after taking it off and it being stolen by monkeys. Those tricky monkeys! Eventually the tortoise's friends help her to retrieve her shell and they had a party  dancing and playing. We read the story, then all the learners were instructed to draw their own picture of animals having a party, they could use the same animals in the book or add new animals. Being that they were Grade 1 learners I was skeptical about how much they would understand. With some aid needed from the regular class teacher story time along with the arts project after went much better than I had hoped for. The learners were so into the story, and even helped me pick up a few new words in Rukwangali! One learner even invited my tattoo to her party and drew it into her picture. It was a great experience, and I hoping for future opportunities to have more story times with learners.

follow me on instagram : jamiet06