First day back at school 29.05.12

So, the kids are finally back after a long month off. It was nice to see all of their happy smiley faces in morning assembly, and I must say I have missed a lot of them.
The first day back at school when a new term begins, is usually spent organizing classrooms and giving out text books to the children. The principal Riette, therefore asked me to supervise her Grade 7 registered class all day as she had other work to attend to.

Grade 7 is the highest class in primary level and the biggest class in the school. 47 children in total, and last year when they were Grade 6, I did happen to like them a lot. However I do not like them as Grade 7's!
The first task of the day was to remove all furniture from the classroom, completed by the boys, and for the girls to go in and clean it.
Once this was done, we then moved all the tables and chairs back and started arranging them in a new seating order. A complicated task when 47 13 year olds are telling you that no the tables don't go that way and thinking that they know better than you.

Once that little squabble was over and the children and finally obeyed by my boy-girl seating arrangement; there was the lengthy process of numbering all desks, chairs and text books with the students unique number so  that any damaged materials can be traced back to the student.

All was then well until a fight broke out between 2 boys in the class. Frans and Disney. The rest of the class were a BIG help. Not. All standing around and watching. And as usual with classroom fights, I had to throw myself into the middle to break them both up.
I in turn found myself struggling to separate them, especially Frans, a very large, strong boy. Luckily at that moment though the other boys seemed to awaken and come to my aid and helped me assist both boys to the principals office.

And when the drama was done. School was over. And I had the rest of the afternoon to prepare myself for when the lessons begin the following day.

Boeremusiek nag 25.05.12

The 25th May saw the public holiday, Africa day, where everybody spent the day off work celebrating being African. Not that much was going on in Omaruru though.
Fortunately, at the rest camp, they had arranged a boer music night for the Afrikaner locals. Something I didn't know about until the night, but had apparently been widely advertised considering over 70 people turned up, not only from Omaruru but also from Otjiwarongo, Windhoek and some other surrounding areas.
The music was the same throughout the night. The band consisted of several older men, with harmonicas, concertinas and guitars. This style is intended to sound informal and instrumental, so the same beat was played continuously.
All of the white community in Omaruru attended, including the Germans even though it isn't really their thing. But a German friend told me quote 'nothing much goes on in Omaruru, so when something does, it's an excuse to get out see everyone for once'. Everyone was very jolly, getting up and dancing after a fair few drinks and the party didn't stop until way past midnight.

I didn't spend much time at the event, due to lack of money and everybody else was getting drunk. I helped Gary braai the meat for the meals that the guests were able to purchase. And luckily at the end of the night, when everyone was eaten and drunk out, we got to get some of the unsold leftovers of sausage, steak and potato salad. Courtesy of Tante Corrie.

Namibian Mothers Day 13.05.12

This Sunday in Namibia was spent celebrating Mothers day with my Afrikaner boyfriend Gary's, family.
Gary, a 27 year old boer living in Omaruru, to whom I have been dating since December, was raised in Walvis baai until his mother, diagnosed from liver cancer, died when he was 13. He went from home to home, along with his 3 brothers, until his Aunt (Tante Corrie) took his 2 younger brothers under her wing and gave Gary himself a place to stay at the rest camp that she owns in Omaruru.

Tante Corrie is an amazing woman. Taking Gary's 2 youngest brothers into her care and paying to put them through school, housing them and being the mother figure that they need in their lives considering they are only just in high school.
Corrie previously has adopted 2 young black girls that were orphaned at young ages. Firstly, Rosa, who has been in the family now for many years. 23 now, she helps with work at the rest camp and is resitting her exams after failing the first time. Something Corrie has funded as well as a roof over her head and food everyday.
Secondly in Angela age 7. As a baby, Angela was brought to Corrie by her sick mother, just before her death, who begged Corrie to please look after her little girl when she is gone. Corrie did not refuse and now Angela is a happy, energetic little girl, always making everybody laugh at the rest camp.

Corrie also does a lot for charity in the community, and has made me feel extremely welcome here, allowing me to be as you may say 'a part of the family'. Her friendly and giving personality is unlike any other and I know if ever I have any problems, it is worth talking to her about.

So back to mothers day. We woke early on the Sunday and attended the church service at the New Apostolic Church that the family built and fund for the community. Corries husband, Johan, is also a district Evangelist for the Erongo region.
After church, we began preparation for the secret mothers day meal for Corrie, who at the time was in Windhoek with Johan, but they were on their way back.
I helped Rosa and some of the workers of the rest camp to set up the tables, balloons, lanterns and streamers for the meal.  Whilst a big meal was being cooked.
Gary and his brothers, Andries, Pieter and all of the other men were engrossed in a go cart session outside in the rest camp grounds whilst us women were hard at work.

Finally, everything was prepared, and everyone waited for Tante Corrie to arrive back to surprise her. She was trilled and many of us sat down together and ate a wonderous meal and presents were given out to all of the mothers there and Gary's son Ethan and brothers read Afrikaans poems.
At the end of all of it, everybody went back to their places to take a long afternoon sleep and then gathered again for a buffet type meal in the evening.

It was a nice thing to be a part of and was nice to feel like part of a family when I am so far away from my own. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to share the day with such a big, welcoming family.

We're off on holiday! ZAMBIA 02.05.12

So, after our fails at Christmas time to get to Zambia and enjoy the falls, we decided to try again!
On the Wednesday all packed and ready I waited at the rest camp for Tyche and Simone (all the way from Luderitz) to arrive so that we could set off.
At the hitch hike point around 12 we first got a lift with a man driving all of the way to Otavi and jumped in the back of his bakkie, sleeping most of the way until we got there. 3 hours later we arrived and were then lucky to receive a lift from another guy travelling to Grootfontien and so then proceeded with him. He was very interested in England and was making casual hints of how he really wants to go but needs somebody to stay with. I DON'T THINK SO! haha.
Finally reaching Grootfontien 2 hours after, it was now around 5pm. We decided to try and get a lift to Rundu although it was almost dark and after some time of nothing, gave in and went to stay at the Pondoki rest camp there where we pitched our tent and enjoyed some nice chicken cheesy bites and chips then went to bed.

6am was an early wake up. Everything was packed up in minimal time and we walked up to the road to wait for a lift. By 9 we still hadn't got a lift, so the owner of the rest camp gave us a lift to the service station to try and were picked up straight away.
At Rundu peterol station i asked around every car for a lift but everybody wanted money. Two old guys travelling to Katima Mulilo agreed to offer a lift, but for a small sum of money. We ended up paying N$50 each, around 3pound 80pence for a 500km trip. Not to mention all three of us had very heavy luggage. It was dark when we arrived in Katima and we did debate going to the Zambia boarder but then decided against it and stayed in a complex, in our tent for the night. Dinner was a chicken burger from the fuel station, my first meal of the day and we hit the pillow at 7 ready for the early wake up again in the morning.

The boarder opened at 6 and we were there at 7am excited to be crossing into Zambia. Once in, we sat by the road for an hour trying to get a hike to Livingstone (home of the falls). We ended up getting picked up by an oak who said that he would drive us into the town of Sesheke where we would find a lift much more easier.

Another hour later in the town of Sesheke we were still waiting for a lift. Many people had stopped and many people wanted money, but we continued to wait for a free ride. A man stops and says that he will be able to give us a lift for free. However, he is going to Namibia for 2 hours to reful. We wait for 3 hours and see no sign of him. At this point we then decide that it is time to give in and pay for a lift. We all bargain with a mini bus driver and convince him to give all 3 of us a lift for N$200. We leave off for Livingstone at 12.30.

The ride from Sesheke should take around 2 hours. 3 hours later we are sat at the side of the road having been stopped by a police road block. Other stops had been made along the way to pick up various other people along the road and also because the driver wanted to buy some fish, but this stop took the longest.
This also happened to be my first physical sight of corruption in Africa.
From what we were told sat in the back of the mini bus for an hour and a half; as the car had driven by, the police had seen myself, Simone and Tyche sat in the back. 3 white girls in Zambia mean a lot of money and the police were under the impression that we had paid the driver a lot of money for him to drive us to Livingstone. They made up a false accusation that the car was not insured, not registered, the driver didn't have a license, and that the car was pirated. This however was not true, as the driver did happen to prove all of this accusations false.
The police would not budge, and continued to find fault with the people we were travelling with and demanding large sums of money. Something that happens very often in Zambia, a Zambian passenger told us, because people are so broke they abuse their authority in order to cheat people out of money, just so they can feed their families. Quite sad really.
Finally, the driver was issued a large fine and we were able to drive on. Nothing else was said.

We reached Livingstone at 4.30pm and were relieved to be welcomed in to the Jolly boys backpackers. The tent was pitched. We headed out to town to buy some food shopping and then spent the night chilling there and deciding what we wanted to do the following day. The backpackers was dead cosy, with a bar/restaurant, outdoor pool, gift and internet shop and not forgetting the amazing chill out area, filled with cushions to just spread out and relax on. Complete with a cosy tree house just above to view the vast milky way during night time.

On Saturday we awoke with many plans in mind, most of which didn't get done. In the morning we prepared our own breakfasts and then headed out on the backpackers free bus to the falls. We simply went down and checked out Simone doing her bungee jump off of the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Afterwards there was no time to head to the falls. We had to hurry back to the backpackers in order to be picked up for mine and Tyches gorge swing experience. With half an hour to kill before the pick up, we meet a English woman, Hannah, staying at the backpackers, waiting to begin her volunteer work in Zambia. We invite her to come along with us to watch.
At the Gorge site, myself and Tyche are briefed for a short while about what we can do, go together, or go alone. Also about how to avoid whiplash and informed of the long, uphill hike we will have to endure after, to get back. In the end, we decide to go together and wait whilst we are harnessed up and chained together.
Standing at the edge, it suddenly felt real, and it was a LONG way down. My heart was pumping at twice it's normal rate, and as the man began to count down, I just wanted a moment to breathe. On one, we both rocked backwards and a sudden gust of air filled my lungs to an amount that caught my breath completely. And then it was over, and we both screamed in sync and were swinging back and forwards across the valley. It was truly beautiful, but my whole body was shaking like crazy.
10 minutes later we were hoisted down and endured the 20 minute long walk up the side of a mountain. But it was worth it.

The rest of our afternoon was spent cooking some dinner and then we decided to take a taxi, with Hannah, down to the falls to see the lunar rainbow during full moon. A spectacular sight, although the falls were not fully visible, however the rainbow caused from the moons reflection on the mist was as bright as ever. It was like nothing I have ever seen before.

The next morning we returned to the falls again. This time to see them in daylight. We went down to the boiling point, and got soaked crossing the bridge over the falls. We swam at the top of them, drank the water and sunbathed there for most of the early afternoon. The rest of the afternoon was spent at a local orphanage, with friends we had made at the backpackers, playing football with the orphans. Something that the backpackers organizes for travelers every Sunday.
Finally, we ate out in the evening at a superb Italian restaurant called Olgas. I thoroughly enjoyed my Carbonara pizza.

We spent our last day in Zambia chilling! Walked around a few of the food markets. Brought ourselves the odd souvenir and the relaxed in the pool at the backpackers. The evening was spent playing card games with friends we made and getting ready for our 2am bus back to the boarder. We didn't go to sleep.

So originally we were told that the bus back to Sesheke would leave at 2am. And were therefore there and ready at 1.30am. Big mistake! Considering it didn't arrive until 3 and didn't leave off until half an hour after that. We were starting to feel the sleepless night by this time.
When we finally departed, we were put onto a huge, cramped coach between the smelliest men I have ever smelt! Luckily we caught some Z's though and arrived the moment the boarder opened and passed through back to Namibia without any problems. By this time it is 7am.

The journey back to Omaruru was a blur, but it was also very long. I can recall being sat at the road in Katima for 6 hours waiting for a lift before we finally got one. And being harassed in Grootfontien by taxi drivers who wanted money or for us to sleep with them. A very upsetting and revolting situation to be in.
But when we did eventually get back to Om, it was such a relief. Just to be home, with friends and to not have to sleep on the floor anymore. But I really did enjoy Zambia. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go. And I would never have had the opportunity if it wasn't for my mums generous funds. Thank you, to her and her boyfriend.

Last week of school and exams 16.04.12

Almost time for the school holidays and the last week is always a mad rush.
Children from all grades in Upper primary (Grades 5-7) sit exams in all subjects and the marks are put together to give them a grade for the term.
I spent the week supervising in the exams and emphasizing the importance of rules in exams to the children who are very ill disciplined in this area. In the end the only way I got the message that they could not talk through to them was by taking a students paper when he was talking and physically putting it into the bin. (I did later take it out though, and luckily he had already finished his paper)

Once exams were over, all of the students parents were outside ready to take them home for the holiday and then us teachers had the long grueling task of marking, moderating and giving marks for the exams. These marks totaled up with others for the year and were then calculated to give the students a grade.

I am happy to say that 4 people in my English class(31) received an A grade. Unfortunately 6 did also get E's meaning that if they do not improve their grade next term then they will fail the year but the rest were comfortable B's and C's.

Agriculture was not as impressive with the majority getting a C or a D grade.

O.P.S. Parents day 05.04.12

Friday all of the parents of the learners were invited to visit the school and talk to teachers about their children's educations. Myself and Tyche were therefore put in charge of keeping the children occupied whilst this happened. I took all of the boys Grade4-7 in the school and Tyche took the girls.

For the boys I arranged lots of different sport activities for them to take part in. I set up volleyball, football, basketball, rugby and high jump. The system was that they could do what ever they wanted but had to spread themselves evenly. Luckily I had a couple of parents helping me with this so we were able to supervise each activity effectively.

Tyche did painting and dancing with the girls. This all occurred up until 12 when school was out and everybody went to enjoy their Easter holiday.

Luderitz 05.04.12

The school takes a long weekend for Easter every year, so we thought, why not travel 1000km down to Luderitz for it.

We set off on the Thursday around 12 as soon as school closed and began the long hike south. As soon as we arrived at the hitch-hike point we were automatically picked up by a man travelling to Windhoek. We got there at about half past 2 and then we had a long struggle trying to find the ideal spot to go to to hike further along.

After around half an hour a man stopped his car for us and said that he had a friend travelling in our direction and contacted him to find out whether he could give us a lift.

Luckily his friend was leaving straight away and we were well on our way again to Luderitz.

The man we was travelling had traveled well and we enjoyed the stories that he told us about what he had seen and done, all the way to Mariental.

We reached Mariental by dark and decided to try for another lift to Keetmanshoop before calling it a night. This way we would only have to travel the road to Luderitz the next day.

Our final lift was with 2 young guys on their way to Cape Town for a party weekend. They agreed to give us a lift to Keetmans because it was on their way and we spent that part of the journey getting in the party mood. It was also nice to find out that one of them had schooled with some of our friends in Omaruru and when we finally got to Keetmanshoop they brought us a meal at wimpy before heading off.

Now we had to find a place to stay for the night, so we asked at wimpy whether we could stay there and were turned down; and Tyche didn't mind pitching our tent at the side of the road, but I insisted that we stay at a close by lodge, remembering stories that we have been told of the B1 Butcher. A notorious serial killer that dismembers hikers.

The next morning we woke early and were at the top of the road to Luderitz by 6am. We got a lift just before 7 with a family and their friends riding in 2 cars. At half past 7, they stopped on the road. The driver asked whether we drank, and stupidly Tyche said yes. We had our first drink at half 7. 15 ciders later we arrived in Luderitz. Pissed. At noon. Every 50km or so, the family stopped the car to top up drinks and have a chat. They even stopped to Braai, so we also got a nice breakfast of boerewors.

I was hungover by 3 and feeling very sick.

When we arrived in Luderitz, we were greeted by Alex. The ever so loveable Scottish lass. Taken to Diaz coffee shop, we met everyone else. Including Simone, Tyches fellow Dutch company. It was the opening day of the coffee shop, so I can now proudly say that I tried one of their very first milkshakes and bacon and banana toasties.

Later on everyone made a move to the beach and we spent the rest of the evening there drinking and braai'ing.

Saturday we woke early and dressed to go and enjoy the delights of the yearly Luderitz cray fish festival. There was lots going on down at the water front. Lots of drinking, many different stalls selling cray fish, or you could attempt to catch some yourself. Down at the Nest Hotel there was a fun day with volley ball, a bouncy castle and food so we sunbathed there for a while and then went for a brief afternoon nap.

The night was lively, spent in Barrels a cosy bar that Alex and her boyfriend work at. There was also a short trip to the beach to watch the sun go down. We ended up running into the family that had given us a lift there and was stuck with them buying us drink after drink after shot for the rest of the night.

Sunday was our last day spent in Luderitz. All morning we enjoyed a drink with the girls and enjoyed the views of the sea at the yacht club. Another trip to Diaz coffee shop for lunch then the evening at a friends flat where we all did some baking and watched films.

On Monday morning, it was agreed that we would be at the hitch-hike point by 5am. We got there and spent 2 hours singing and dancing, failing to get a lift. Finally, a woman stopped her car and informed us that she would be leaving in an hours time and we could get a lift with her. She said that she would take us back to the flat and pick us up from there when she was leaving. We wanted to stay at the point to see if we could get an earlier lift but she insisted.

At 8o'clock she picked us up and demanded that if we were to ride with her then she wanted money. When told by us that we didn't have any money, she moved on to say that she would go to the hitch-hike point and if there was anybody willing to pay then we had to get out. We were furious. 2 extra people were squeezed into the car and we were allowed to stay. But not that we wanted to in the end. The woman drove 65km per hour along the road out of Luderitz. We needed to get back to Omaruru that day. If we stayed in the car with her then we wouldn't even reach Windhoek. An hour and a half later she stopped at Aus (100ish km from Luderitz), to fill up on petrol. We got out of the car and just walked off.

After an hour of waiting we jumped in the back of a backkie somewhere along the road and were finally on our way again. It was not long until we passed the woman still going at 65km in her car. We were glad to be out of there.

By 12o'clock we had reached Keetmanshoop and stayed in the back up till Mariental at around 2o'clock. The rest of the journey we hopped for car-to-car and were home in Omaruru by 9pm. It was an enjoyable weekend. The journey there and back though was a killer.

What I love about Namibia so far:

Beginning off here in September was really tough for me and all I wanted to do was go home to my family; however I wouldn’t change this experience if ever given the chance. There is too much I love about the place that I now feel as if I have an attachment to it.
There is so much to admire. The school times, how the work day is over at 1pm and you have the whole afternoon free to do as you please. The friendliness of everyone whether you know them or not. Nobody fails to greet you in a day. The way the children are. Just like Europeans kids when it comes to learning, and I was expecting Africa to be grateful. The fabulous array of languages and cultures. Bakkie’s and how powerful you feel driving one. When the river runs. The way it smells when rain is coming. The freak thunder and lightening that makes you want to curl up and hide somewhere. Braai’s. Savannah dry cider. Sand everywhere. How half of the country is majorly westernised and the other half, close to poverty. Animals. Plakkies. Weird insects. Sundowners. Teaching. The feeling of doing something worthwhile.
I already can’t wait to come back. ♥

Easter Egg Colouring competition 04.04.12

Towards the end of March, Myself and Tyche arrange an Easter Egg colouring competition for the children. We handed out sheets containing an Easter egg template and they simply had to colour or designing it however they wanted to try and win some prizes.

The prize categories were as follows:

1. Under 15 1st and 2nd prizes
2. Under 12 1st and 2nd prizes
3. Under 9 1st and 2nd prizes
4. The eggiest egg award
5. The most colourful egg award
6. The most Easter like egg award

Prizes consisted of coloured pencils, bouncy balls, chocolate and Easter eggs.

We had the prize ceremony during the morning school assembly and you could see the children crossing their fingers and listening carefully hoping to win.

It was something that they all enjoyed and experienced for the first time. Before myself and Tyche arrived, the previous volunteers had not done anything like this with the children and before for any volunteers, nobody thought about arranging such a simple competition to get everyone into the Easter spirit.

Omaruru Bike Rally 30.03.12

Every year, the Omaruru Rest Camp hold the famous bike rally. People from all over Namibia travel great distances to take part in the fun.

The weekend saw the whole of the Rest Camp transformed. A huge tent was erected to hold around 300 people. The bar was extended. Live music was constantly going and entertainment acts such as a fire-eater.

The majority of the people that turned up were white Afrikaaners in their leathers, with their Harley Davidson's etc. These people are ridiculously heavy drinkers and they know how to party hard. Something I witnessed over the whole weekend. The bar was open from 6 in the morning and I was surprised that it was not empty at that time. There were loads of burn outs; a display around town on the bikes and then some serious partying in the night, complete with copious amounts of fire-crackers.

It was nice to be there, even if it was a bit loud. The sounds of wheel spins constantly through the night.

Grade 2 computer lessons 30.03.12

So a new time passer that I have now arranged at school on a Friday between 2 and 4 is computer lessons for the Grade 2's.

The children from Grade 4 on wards are given the chance to take computer lessons at the library in town, so I thought that I would give some simple lessons to the younger children so that when they finally reach the age to go and take them at the library, they will already have some basic skills.

I have been teaching them how to turn a computer on and off. How to click, type and navigate around the screen with the mouse; and so far how to open Microsoft Office and type words. It is very enjoyable, especially to see how their little faces light up when they manage to do something.

Project Trust Desk Officer visit 24.03.12

March was the month arranged to have our project trust visit, to check that all things are running as smoothly as they hope down here. So on Saturday evening we were presented with John as company for a wee few days.

Treated to a slap up meal at our favorite restaurant Kashana, myself and Tyche enjoyed hearing all of the stories of the other volunteers around the world. Who's been naughty, who's had to go home etc ;) haha, and then the tricky topic of VISAS. Yes at this point.. we still didn't have them.

After much talk, John reassured us that the problem does not lie with project trust, it is simply home affairs and the incompetence to simply stamp 6 passports. We had the visas, just not the stamps. Luckily he had meetings with people toward the end of the week so all would presumably be sorted.

On Sunday we sped off up north for a couple of days to visit the two volunteers Chelcie and Ottile in Otjikondo. We were allowed to have a look at them at work and were very surprised how they pretty much have everything. The school that they volunteer at is a semi-private school and it was opened some years ago by a budding British woman, Gilly, who traveled to Namibia back when she was a student and fell in love with a monk. She went home, and kept coming back until finally he was given the right to marry and they built the school together and the small village, Otjikondo, around it. What a fascinating story.

The organisation at the school and withing the school hostel is exceptional. There is a specific programme set up that the volunteers run every year where kids have the opportunity to take part in many of the school theater productions, have music, arts, and sports lessons/training. There is a wonderful library with very recent books that the children can enjoy everyday and much help and guidance with study. It actually made me quite jealous I must say, considering in our hostel, there is very little space and near to no materials for arts, very little sports equipment and definitely no musical instruments.

Seeing this though has definitely given me the motivation to try and change this at O.P.S. Even if me and Tyche can make a small change like appealing for sport donations, setting up clubs, whatever it takes, then the next volunteers will be able to carry on this development after us.

After visiting Otjikondo, we drove 20km down the road to St Micheal's where a new volunteer, Sam, since January is now staying. He is on the project trust participate program, so he only spends 8 months here instead of 12. The school that he is teaching at is very much like the Otjikondo one as they are partner schools.

After our visit, John agreed to treat myself, Tyche and Sam to a quite day trip to Etosha. Unfortunately Chelcie and Ottilie were unable to come because of there busy timetables.

Six hours in Etosha, we didn't see a lot due to the heavy rainfall this year. But the day was still enjoyable and after dropping Sam back, we drove back to Omaruru.

Greeted by Riette we went out for another slap up meal. This time now at the Rest Camp and spoke about how we are doing here and John also met my partner here, Gary.

The next day John observed a few of our lessons, had private chats about how we are doing out here and then rushed back off to Windhoek for his visa meetings.

Visa outcome.

So our passports have no finally been stamped, 7 months after we arrived here. But now there is another glitch. They are only stamped until June th. Meaning now that project trust are trying to arrange an extension for us. But worst case scenario, we'll be going home in June. More stress!!

Erongo Athletics in Swakopmond 03.03.12

I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to spend a weekend, along the coast with some of the gifted athletics students at the school, attempting to qualify for the Country finals next month. The regions greatest, took part in order to decide the best that will represent us at Windhoek against all of the other regions.
I helped supervise on the journey there and back, also in the hostel by which we were accommodated and finally at the event; making sure each child was at their event at the right time.
We were very lucky to have 6/10 of the children qualify, although 3 were also disqualified which was disappointing for them.
It was a fun filled day with many laughs and some tears also, which took part from 7am-7pm. Tiring!
We also spent some time at the beach and eating ice-creams which were lovely, then travelled home the same evening, returning at midnight. What a long day it was.

The Swedish people visit 27.02.12

Omaruru Primary School is currently on a programme where they have a partnership school in Sweden that sponsors certain school things, vulnerable children and also visit every year to monitor the progress of the school.
In the week leading up, everybody had been busy preparing decorations and welcome presentations in aid of the Swedish arriving. On the day, the school choir and teacher choir put on a performance in assembly and the visitors were welcomed with a special song from the whole school. Tea, biscuits and cakes were served at break times where the teachers and visitors got together to share culture and experience and the visitors enjoyed spending the evenings in the hostel with the learners. They left a week later by which the evening before we spent having a nice meal with them and all of the staff.

Tour de Omaruru 26.02.12

Every year Spar and other local companies partner up to hold the famous Omaruru cycle race. A race that has been going for now a couple of decades; sees people travelling from all over Namibia to take part.
Professional, as well as amateur cyclists’ takes part, entering themselves into 1 of 3 races: 100km, 60km or 25km. Top prize money this year was N$40,000 and there was also a wide range of runner up prizes too.
The weather was great to see the cyclists set off and to also follow their progress along the road in the back of a friend’s bakkie. Finally, after battling it out in the wind and burning sun, all cyclists were back by 1o’clock and attending the prize-giving ceremony at the Rest Camp.

Omaruru Primary school modelling competition 11.02.12

The Grade 7 girls at O.P.S hostel decided to organise a modelling competition within the hostel on a Saturday night. They made posters and sold tickets to children and parents for N$ 2 and used the money to buy prizes such as crowns and sweets. The show went very well despite being arranged to start at 7 but finally starting at 9pm in the end (that’s Africa time for you!). Both girls and boys modelled and there were a number of categories such as evening wear, beach wear, swim wear, casual, swim and underwear. All of the models looked beautiful; however it was somewhat inappropriate to have Grade 1’s (6-8years) modelling underwear. But they definitely didn’t see what the problem was with it.
The girls were very happy with how it went, after they prepared most of it themselves within a week and only allowed us to help with making the tickets and taking them to town to display the posters.

Omaruru Primary Athletics 10.02.12

A fun filled day of some head-to-head competition between the 4 main schools in Omaruru: Omaruru Primary School, Paheye, Ubasen and Walfriden. Students took part in many of the main athletic sports such as short and long distance running, discuss, javelin, shot-put, high and long jump and not forgetting relays.
Ubasen took an early lead; but it was quite clear from the beginning that there was a strong rivalry between Ubasen and O.PS. You could practically smell it in the air!
But the rivalry wasn’t just on the sports field; it was also in the stands. The children from each school spent the whole day sporting banners and screaming victory chats at the others. I’m sure a few times I saw small fights break out and children being dragged away from each other.
Ubasen excelled in the long distance; however O.P.S. gained on them quickly when the field and short distance items arrived. With the change of circumstances, the Ubasen teachers decided to take matters into their own hands and when found to be cheating there were some stand-offs between the male and even female teachers in front of all of the children (can you believe it!)
Finally, after arriving at 7am, the day finished and the winners were announced at 2pm.

Omaruru Prison college cultural event 28.01.12

Omaruru is also home to an excellent prison college, where hundreds of students come from all over the country to professionally train to work in a prison. Every year they prepare a cultural evening celebrating the many different cultural groups/tribal people that study at the college.
The groups performed traditional dance, songs, displayed their foods and also acted out special elements of their culture. Traditional dress was worn by all and the show was truly spectacular!

Omaruru River flows! 21.01.12

Raining season is here and finally the Omaruru River runs after being dry since last year. Myself and my partner Tyche took a trip there with some friends that we have made in town and spent the afternoon braai’ing Boerewors and swimming in the very dirty looking water. Very weird to see when one is used to the rivers of England that aren’t exactly clean either!
It was very fun to float along upstream and enjoy something such as a river flowing here; which is very much celebrated when it doesn’t happen very often.

Death of the Herero chief and burial 16.01.12

December the 26th saw the death of the Herero chief Wilhelm Zeraua. The week commencing 16th January, his burial ceremony finally began in Omaruru. From the 16th – 20th his body was constantly driven back and forth from the mortuary, around town with the Herero men and women in precession. In the evenings, the body would be taken to a specialist church where the casket was opened and people could come and pay their respects (meaning they were free to dramatically cry over his body and declare the love for their dead chief).
Hereros also spent evenings eating humungous feasts in memory of him. These feasts may accommodate up to 50 people in one house and many donkey or goats would be slaughtered and eaten. Finally, the chief was buried on the Sunday afternoon (22nd) after being dead for 27 days.

Back to School

School re-opened for teachers on the 12th and for learners on the 16th of January. We were informed by Riette straight away that we would be needed for a lot of teaching this year and when we were finally presented with our full timetables it was a relief to know that we would be busy all year. I especially was every excited about the lessons I would be teaching. However, teaching did not commence properly until 2nd of February due to the handing out of books and covering them. Very frustrating to endure when you want to begin with all of you classes but that’s African time and that’s how it works!
I am now teaching 4 subjects: Agriculture, English, P.E and Religious studies to grades 5-7. I barely have any time to myself now with the entire lesson planning and running around after the children. But I am definitely enjoying it so much more.
I and my partner are still managing the school library, taking in a lot of book donations and also turning it into a small media centre, now including a music system and television to watch educational films.

Christmas and New Year

After our trip to the North, we arrived back in Omaruru for a few days to prepare for Cape-town., although our dreams were soon crushed when we were told by project trust that our visas had been rejected and we could not leave the country. Brilliant!

Furthermore, we spent Christmas at a friend’s farm, feeding kudu, riding quad bikes and swimming. We also enjoyed a Christmas meal but there was no Turkey unfortunately.
I remained in Omaruru through New Year whereas Tyche went back to Luderitz with all of the other volunteers. Omaruru was very nice and I celebrated with the majority of my friends in town attending a party that was held at the Rest Camp.

North Namibia 15.12.11

After some time in Omaruru we are all becoming somewhat agitated and what to begin our travels, so we formulate a plan to go north and potentially cross into Zambia. We leave one hot afternoon, after many arguments with each other over forgetting things and not locking doors etc, something Tyche is prone to doing! And we get our first hitchhike to Otjiwarongo. After only minutes of waiting, our next hitchhike takes us to Tsumeb where we spend the night at pleasant backpackers in our 4 man tent. Tsumeb is a cosy town, not much bigger than Omaruru but it has many more shops, not to mention a Wimpy (the best fast food ever!) which we all enjoyed visiting.
The locals were somewhat a pain though, harassing us every 5 minutes because we were clearly tourists and we MUST give them money. I however concocted a nice little story to tell them in the end, of how I am Namibian and I have been studying in the UK since I was 11 because my Father is English and now I’m back in Namibia and everyone now thinks I’m English. But with the very little Afrikaans I know, I was able to translate this and it fooled everyone! Good times.
Onward we then hiked up to Rundu and spent a cosy night in the tent along the Kavango River and played some pool at a friendly local bar. We didn’t stay long due to the long hike ahead of us that we had planned to Katima Mulilo the next day; but, hitchhiking was a problem, and after many hours stood at the side of the road trying to get a free lift, we decided to give in to getting a combi there instead. The driver originally wanted to charge us N$200 for the 600km trip, but after some serious negotiations, he finally let us board for N$150.
The journey was extremely long and cramped. The driver had managed to get 19 people into a 15 person combi and the 4 of us were cramped at the back on 3 seats, barely able to breathe and with flies buzzing all over our faces (not pleasant).
After many hours of driving past mud/wooden huts, catching glimpses of various Caprivian tribes and almost crashing into the back of a lorry, we finally made it. Alive.

Katima was lovely alongside the Zambezi River. It was exactly how I imagined an African town to be. It was grimy; the streets were littered with rubbish, water polluted and not suitable to drink. Everywhere we went there was someone either missing some of their clothes, or begging for money/food, there were flies everywhere. My face could not escape them! But it was truly beautiful, and it made me feel for the first time since being here, that I am in Africa.

During our time in Katima (about 4 days) there was a lot to do like visiting the many craft shops containing woodcarvings and weavings and many other wonderful handcrafted souvenirs. We took a boat trip along the Zambezi River, spotting some Crocodiles and Hippos and enjoying the delightful raining season that was taking place there. Throughout the 4 days we camped directly next to the river in the grounds of the luxurious Protea Hotel. The views were beautiful, there was a nice swimming pool and we also got a discount 3 course meal because we were volunteers. Result!
Halfway through the week we made a short attempt to cross the boarder into Zambia and finally visit Victoria Falls, however after crossing out of Namibia, there were problems going into Zambia; the visa was N$500 and 2 of us weren’t prepared to pay that because of lack of money. Therefore, we had no choice but to turn back.
Crossing back over, we were questioned about our over stay in Namibia and the officers were not prepared to let us back in. But finally, after long discussion we were told to re-enter, keep our heads down and not leave again. Not exactly something I would have thought I would experience during my gap year.
On the day of departure from Katima to travel back down south and home, we managed to get a hike with a couple who were travelling all of the way to Otavi and we spent a harrowing 12 hours in the back of their bakkie and finally laid down to sleep at a small bed and breakfast around 11pm. That night was the best night’s sleep I have ever got in my life!
Onwards the next day, we moved on to Otjiwarongo where we stayed in a 4 bedroom chalet in aid of Simone’s (Luderitz volunteer) birthday and cooked ourselves a nice meal and went for some drinks. We also had the pleasure of visiting a crocodile ranch.

The holidays begin 11.12.11

With school closed, finally mine and Tyche’s Christmas holidays begin. We leave late afternoon to hitchhike to Windhoek and meet up with the volunteers from Luderitz who are already waiting for us. The plan is that we are to get onto the intercape bus and travel to Zambia the next day and visit Victoria Falls for 3 days. Everything is booked and we are all extremely excited; but there is just one problem. We don’t have our passports.
We had handed them over to Robert (our rep) in October in order for them to be stamped for our work visas, but hadn’t received them back. We receive information that he has left them with a work colleague whilst he is on holiday in Cape Town so we go to pick them up from her, however, they are not stamped! She tells us that we must either stay in the country or go home, we cannot leave and come back, we won’t be allowed in. So all four of us girls start panicking and trying to contact project trust and Robert, who aren’t answering the phone. Finally we decide to cancel our bus to Zambia, only for Project Trust to contact us minutes later and tell us to go. Except this isn’t an option and neither is going to home affairs to see what the problem is as we were already 10 days over our holiday visa and would instantly be deported. We end up travelling back to Omaruru very distressed and upset, hoping that everything will be sorted by the time we need to go to Cape Town for Christmas. We at least were able to spend some time in Omaruru visiting the wine farm, chocolate factory, drinking delicious milkshakes at our favourite café Kashana and spending time with local friends partying.

Brandberg camping 18.11.11

In Omaruru, we have been blessed to meet some very nice people. And after many weeks of getting to know new friends, we were invited to join some of them on a camping trip to Brandberg.
They arranged food, tents and transport for the weekend and we set off on the Friday and returned on the Sunday afternoon, exhausted.
During the weekend we let our hair down, had some drinks, braai’ed an awful lot, went hiking up the mountainsides, did some shooting, 4x4 driving and played some camp fire games.

Erindi Private Game Park 05.11.11

After moving around town and getting to know everybody, we finally meet a gentleman, De Vries, who works at the local Game reserve Erindi, and offers to take us there for free for a weekend.

He planned an eventful weekend for us where we slept out in the bush in tents and heard Hyenas and Rhino outside whilst we were sleeping. Scary.
We went on a number of different game drives and saw a wide range of different animals; and enjoyed some traditional outdoor Afrikaans food in the form of a braai. All in all it was a good weekend and we didn’t have to pay a penny.

Omaruru Library colouring competition 18.11.11

We were lucky enough to assist the Grade 1 and 2 children to the community library for a day long colouring competition where they competed with other schools and got some sweet prizes.

Luderitz Project 28.10.11

For the weekend we were allowed an extra few days off in order to travel down south and meet the other 2 volunteers in Luderitz along the coast. So after a 24 hour hitchhike, we finally arrived there and was greeted in the form of a Halloween party, held by a large number of different volunteers from Peace core, world teach, project Trust etc. After an enjoyable weekend of meeting the locals and getting used to the new surroundings (was very cold), on Monday morning we had a chance to visit the other PT volunteers project, at a pre-primary school and producing a local newspaper. I think that after this I am very satisfied with my own project, as theirs is in the middle of nowhere.

School prize giving 27.10.11

An evening of celebrating the schools success with certificates and prizes for the academic achievements of children from grades 1-7. Dozens of parents showed up to watch and assist in the praise of the children. A professional photographer was present; we held a cake sale with Riette (Principal and our host) and there was a lot of dancing and singing in the 20 minute interval, to entertain the audience.
Money from the cake sale has gone towards new equipment for the school for sports. Everyone who attended commented on how much of a success it was.