Life in a day of camp.... condoms and bibles and HIV, OH MY!

In a previous article I told you a bit about "Secondary Projects" which are exactly what it sounds like. Secondary Projects are the other things you do outside of the main reasons/role you were hired to do, mine being teaching English.

Well, as you know one if my "Secondary Projects" is Camp YEAH! (Which you will know more about in a blog very soon.) However, I just have to share this story now now!

Today was day 4 of camp: we've spent the past few days teaching about HIV/AIDS, safe sex, STIs, Teen Pregnancies, stereotypes, Healthy relationship... You know, that fun stuff. So let me tell you about this very day!

Woke up, started the day in a dining hall full of Namibian teens eating breakfast. After having way too much coffee and hot chocolate we began the activities for the day.

First activity: teaching the Learners how to put on male condoms. 

Second activity: Use Tupac and Justin Beiber to explain how we can use the Bible as guidance, specifically with HIV related topics.

We needed to get the work done before moving onto the TALENT SHOW!!!!



And so my day ended by being in a WWE skit as Lady Loca

Signature move: The Chola Choke-Out 

That's alllll bad nuh 

(If you're from NM you'll get it ;) 

And so that my blogging community, is how one may spend their day in the life as a PCV hosting a camp for learners.

Legends from the Kavango: Things to be aware of when crossing the river in a canoe

For many residents of the Kavango regions (East and West) life is lived along the Okavango River. The miles upon miles of river bring plenty of (the most delicious) fish you could hope to catch, memes doing their laundry, kids spashing and flipping into the river, people around every curve enjoying a nice, and several watos (canoes in English) coasting through the waters.
The watos are not only useful for travel, fishing, and having fun; their beautiful hand carvings decorate the river quite nicely. However, according the legend, there can be danger riding in a wato depending on what you were up to the night before.

Also enjoying the gifts of the river are many hippos. What you may not know about the hippos are they have extra senses that can recognize if you were sleeping with someone other than your spouce the night befor. If you've been behaving the hippos will let you ride along the river in the canoe in peace. Unfortunately, if you have been a bit scandalous the hippos will provide you with your karma. Somehow the hippos are aware of what your life is like between the sheets and if you're unfaithful, and try crossing the river in a canoe a hippo will come out of no where and attack you!! If you are willing to admit the adultery to the people your with though, you can break off a piece of bamboo to place in the front of the wato. That piece of bamboo will then keep you safe from the vengeful hippos as you travel in the waters.

So next time you plan on getting in a wato to enjoy a ride, make sure you're practicing honesty... or it just may be the last thing you do before the hippos make you pay!

Sunday Funday 24-April Kids say the darnest things

So with term one coming to an end, countless amounts of paper have been marked (graded). Sometimes the marking seems never ending, and sometimes it's super funny, or just sweet. Check out some of the fun stuff I came across this semester:

 Question: give the antonym of the word "happy".

Answer: hungry 

 Well, I mean she has a point....

Sex: a human 

What is the nationality of Mrs. Calment?

A human 

Ha ha ha this kid is kinda onto something. 

We watched The  Lion King  as a listening activity with fill in the blank from the scene with adult Simba and Rafiki befor Simba returns to pride rock. 

Rafiki said to Simba "Yes, the past can *hurt*, but the way I see it you can either run from it, or *die* from it. Ahhh see! You learned!"

Hmmmm.... Talk about the past haunting you! 

He he he being a teacher is like being President. I guess this could mean Ms.Tena for President? ;) 

For the start of class everyday we have a warm up. On this day the prompt was "Tell me something that makes you feel good"

The thing that makes me feel good is when ms Tena she teaches like I am eating chicken.

 .... I'm gonna take that as a compliment. Chicken is good. Lol

In a counsling group I was once apart if we did "visual journaling" and it's activity that really stuck to me. It's really relaxing to just throw on some music, clip away and break out the glue. I must admit this is something I really enjoy doing! Sunday morning collaging :) This was what I did this weekend 

These were the other two I made since being here

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. 

21-Feb-2016 Sunday Funday pictures

Dance lessons under the eucalyptus trees. In from of my homestead are some big, beautiful eucalyptus trees that not only smell good but give off some nice shade. This past week I went outside to journal, but instead some local kids decided to make it a dance party and [tried] teaching me how to do some cultural dancing. 

This adorable little chameleon was wondering in my yard. As much as I wanted to keep the little guy I figured he would be much happier in the trees next to the pond where there's plenty of Mosquitos for him to eat. He sure was beautiful! 

Side note/fun fact: Many locals are afraid of chameleons. I've been warned not to get near them. I guess this means I love life dangerously lol. 

This week I decided to take a walk down to the river (it's about 5km) from my house. And wow!!! It's so much fuller than the last time I was there, and really made me wonder why I don't spread nearly as much time at the river as I use to. The scenery is just, spectacular!!

I wish pictures could do justice of what I see. This past week we had some really fun morning fog. (This is the area where I left my little chameleon friend)

This little beauty came by "to learn more" even after she spent 6 hours at school (starting at 7am), 1 hour at study (an after school program where Learners study for exams and do homework together) and an hour at athletics (track) practice, under a very hot Namibian sun. Now that is dedication!  

Working till the cows come home

Some fun pictures of some of Learners. They LOVE getting pictures taken!