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Another visit from the USA

  • Ananais, #1 driver

Sorry, faithful readers, I missed posting last week. I had a visitor from the USA, just barely a week after returning to Namibia and time got away from me. Paula, our neighbor and long-time pet sitter, told me before I left that she would visit me in Namibia. Lots of people said this, but the journey is long and expensive, so I don’t hold anyone to that statement. Paula was serious, and we had a terrific visit.

The highlight was two safari drives thru Etosha. Early in the morning, we had the unique experience of witnessing a cheetah dragging a fresh kill springbok into the bush. Another cheetah was there, and we could see the two of them working on breakfast. It is rare to see a cheetah in the wild , let alone two cheetahs feasting. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of this.

Another highlight of Paula’s visit was getting to know some of my new friends, especially Ananais. Ananais is a local driver and business man. He took me under his wing within the first couple months at site. I saw him regularly on my daily walks around town, and he said if I ever needed a ride to Okahandja or Windhoek to contact him. He has several cars and arranges drives to/from Windhoek almost daily. He or his driver would pick me up at the hostel and drop me off wherever needed, no need to wait at the hike point for the car to fill up and his drivers always call when on their way or if they will be delayed. This service costs a little more but it is well worth it to me. I used his service for the first time when I visited my host family in Okahandja last November. Since then, he always greets me as his friend and lets other drivers know he is watching out for me.

Ananais became our ‘personal’ driver to pick up Paula at the airport, take us around Windhoek, back to Otjiwarongo and then to/from Etosha. We invited him to have dinner with us in Windhoek and we learned more about his family (wife, Sylvia and 5 children) and businesses – he also runs a farm. Driving with him, we quickly realized that he knows people all over, he speaks all the common languages, and has many people relying on him.

He stopped in Okahandja to let Paula see and shop at the craft shops, he stopped so Paula could take photos of giraffes, baboons, warthogs, big termite mounds, and anything else of interest to us,  he showed us Himba people living in Otjo. One day, he brought along his last born, a boy in 6th grade who is struggling in Math. We arranged that I will tutor him this term. We also met his first born, a son who is manager of the Beare’s furniture store in Otjo. Best of all, he took us to his nice home in Otjiwarongo where we met his wife and one of his daughters who is a senior at my school. Now Ananais says, ‘We are family.’

Paula also got to meet and spend some time with Hermine, my friend the matron of the hostel, and my two housemates, and of course the children in my life. She got a good sense of my life here and will let everyone back in the neighborhood know that I have good support and am thriving in my new life.

All for now with all my love  

  • Paula, fascinated with the huge termite mounds
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Integrated

One week ago, I was preparing to fly home to Namibia. Home, home is now Namibia. I referred to Namibia as ‘home’ countless times during my visit to the USA. Every time, it caught me by surprise because as much as I consider the USA home and as much as I enjoyed time with my family, I knew I was away. I was not home.

Peace Corps talks a lot about integrating into our community. They teach us that the more we integrate into our community, then our service will be that much more effective and enjoyable. My time away from my community in Otjiwarongo made me realize that I have fully integrated into my community. I missed matrone, I missed ‘my’ babies, I missed my teacher friends and my learners. I missed my daily walk, often with one of my housemates. I missed relaxing in my hammock and talking to folks as they walked by.

I was humbled by my housemate and hostel girls greeting me before I even got out of the car. They did not know when I would arrive, so they were keenly watching for me. They all gave me big hugs, carried my luggage to my room, saying, “Ms. Bishop, we missed you”. “We worried you would not come back”. “Miss, I am so happy you are here”. “Miss, don’t go any more”.

When my service is complete, I will return to my family and friends in the USA. I will renew my home there, but until then and forever after, Otjiwarongo, Namibia will also have a place in my heart called home.

July 1 Second Everday

Some notes about the video…Many of these are just photos not video and not necessarily in order. I didn’t take video or photos when I was with my sister, Vickie. I was able to attend Sal’s rehearsal and wedding on July 4 and 5, then I was with Vickie until she died on July 21 (the day I was supposed to return to Namibia), attended the funeral on July 26, took a road trip with my niece to see other family in Georgia, and finally back to Philadelphia to fly ‘home’ to Namibia on August 4. Oh yeah, I was treated for asthmatic bronchitis while in the USA, thus the photo of me with a nebulizer.

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Vickie’s Eulogy

Since you are here today, I assume each of you knew my sister, Vickie. Maybe you worked with her, maybe you volunteered with her, maybe you were a neighbor of hers, or maybe you were part of her family. In fact, I’ve heard many of her friends say they thought of Vickie as family, they thought of her as their mother, their aunt, their grandmother, their sister. I was the luckiest because she was always my big sister and she became my best friend.

Our Dad was in the Air Force, so we lived in many places. Home was not a location, home was where we were all together. Vickie and I always shared a bedroom and often the same bed, so for me, home was with Vickie.

I think Vickie judged her many boyfriends and friends by how they treated her younger brothers and sister. Or maybe my parents said, “Sure, you can go out, as long as you take Ellen”. All I know is that Vickie took me on many outings with her dates and friends. I always felt welcome by her, not so much by some of her dates.

Bert, the love of her life, took me and my brothers, Eric and John, to the beach, hiking up waterfalls, fishing and then cooking our fresh catch. Bert made the final cut and I lost my room mate when they married in 1966.

Throughout high school, I spent my summers with Vickie and Bert, my niece Andrea, nephew Bert, and eventually niece Pam. I met many of you during these summers when I went to work with Vickie, went to church or camping with the family, went fishing, or walking the kids around town. I also followed Vickie’s lead of welcoming everyone who walked through her door. I witnessed how special she was to her friends and family. I hoped I would have a life as rich and full as hers.

Vickie also gave me a love of reading and learning. She read to me as a young girl and we often fell asleep reading in bed. She taught me to cook her family’s favorite meals, bake bread, can and preserve food during those summers that I lived with her. She taught me how to balance a checkbook and make a budget.

Vickie was many things to many people but most importantly she was kind, smart, faithful, patient, easy to laughter, and always looked for the good in others. I will miss Vickie, my big sister and my best friend. Mostly I am grateful to have had in her my life. I know she is in the best place possible, in eternal peace that passes all understanding.

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Vickie’s at rest. July 21, 2019

Last Monday was the beginning of a very tough week, ending with my sister’s passing early yesterday morning. Despite the sadness of witnessing Vickie’s decline, it has been a special time of joy and grace as we all cared for Vickie, sharing memories and our love for her. My brother, Eric, came over from Pittsburgh and my other brother, John, brought my Mom up from Florida this week, so along with her own family and friends, Vickie has been surrounded by love. She passed peacefully early in the morning with her two daughters at her side.

While grateful to be here, I am also aware of what I am missing back at my site. I prepared reading assignments, worksheets, textbook activities, and summaries for my learners to continue their studies in my absence. I hope and pray they worked hard since now they are writing (taking) their final exams. I also prepared marksheets for each class so my counterparts can just enter the final exam mark into a spreadsheet and along with other pre-entered assessment marks will automatically calculate the final term mark.

It will be hard to leave my family again, but I am eager to get back to my Namily and my learners. I dedicate the remainder of my Peace Corps service to my sister since she was especially excited and proud of me for pursuing this dream.

All for now with all my love  

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Vickie, my hero

My sister, Vickie, has been living with ovarian cancer about 7 years. Mostly she’s had good quality of life, largely due to her faith, positive attitude, and personal strength. I’ve been fortunate to be part of her journey through the ups and downs of cancer treatment – multiple surgeries, rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, immune-therapy. Deciding to serve in the Peace Corps was difficult, knowing I would not be around to support her or her family as this journey continues. She encouraged me to serve, saying it would make her feel guilty and sad if I did not follow my dream due to her circumstances. She always has been, and continues to be, a pure example of selfless love.

She is now on home hospice since her disease is terminal and there are no more treatment options for her. She is very weak, often confused or groggy from the medication that helps keep her comfortable, but her personality still shines through.

Recently, when Vickie was still able to go out, my niece, Andrea, took her to get her nails done. Vickie picked out the color, gave it to the technician and promptly fell asleep during the mani-pedi. The technician noticed it was glitter blue and asked for confirmation from Andrea since it seemed an odd choice. Andrea agreed since her mother had never been that adventurous and picked out a non-glitter blue. As they were walking out, Vickie looked at her nails and said, “Where’s the glitter? This is not what I picked.” Later, when a friend commented on her pretty nails and asked about the color, she sarcastically said, “I don’t know, ask her (pointing to Andrea)”.

In recent days, she can’t walk unassisted, or so we thought. Who knows how or why but Andrea’s husband found Vickie on all fours, a relaxing position for her, on their dog’s bed in the living room when he was leaving for work. Andrea took her back to bed and she had no memory of it. My brother commented later in the day, “Vickie, do you remember taking a little trip last night?” Without missing a beat, Vickie replied, “No, but I hope it was a fun vacation.”

All for now with all my love  

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January to June

Since January, I committed to using a phone app, 1 Second Everyday (1se.co) to produce a short video for each month. Today, I am including a compiled video from January 1 to June 30. Historically, I am not much of a photographer, let alone a videographer, so this is a very big commitment for me. As challenging as it is for me to remember to take photos and videos, looking at these monthly videos and now this 6month video has made it well worth the effort. I see things that I had already forgotten and it brings back memories in that one second, actually 1.5 seconds.

June 30 also marks six months as a secondary school teacher. I came to my school in October but my actual teaching status started with the new year. It’s been a huge learning curve, with much still to learn, as I strive to be an effective teacher for my learners. As much as they can drive me crazy with their incessant talking, taking forever to get settled into their seats with their required textbooks, workbooks, pens (“Miss, can I borrow me a pen”, “Miss, my textbook is in my bag outside”, “Miss, I didn’t think I need my textbook today”), they are good hearted, smart, and they seem to like me. Liking me is not my top priority, it is similar to parenting in that my job is not to be their friend or buddy, my job is to teach them and for them to master the syllabus objectives. However, this is done best when the learners (or your own children) trust and respect you, know that you want what is best for them, and that you are there to help and guide them. I think I am succeeding at this with most of my learners and will continue working at it.

Update: I must have angered the internet gods since I can’t download video or photos. I will try again later in the week.

Update 2: here is january to june 2019, one second a day

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Celebrations

Oshiwambo girls and a multi-culture choirIt is Sunday and I slept in to 7:30am. I usually wake up between 5:30-6:00 with my alarm set for 6:30 on school days. During the winter, now, I am expected in the staff room by 7:30. The rest of the year, teachers report at 7:00. My body clock makes me earlier and so it is especially nice when it allows me to sleep in. I guess my body was saying, ‘rest’, due to this busy week.

Tuesday was filled with many events combined into one day of celebration with no classes. It was Entrepreneurship Day where the learners set up tents to sell food/drink, one group brought in a pool table and another set up a Photo Booth. The money goes to the school clubs/groups that raise the money. All during the day, there was a powerful art exhibit about emotions made available from the local German organization.

After break, and there is always a tea break, we all moved to the Hall for the Day of the African Child celebrations. This included music and dance and short skits from the various cultures , including Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, Nama/Damara, Afrikaans, and German. The learners out did themselves with fun and laughter.

We returned in the evening for a professional pianist concert who then played/conducted our Brass Band. This was followed by a multi-choir event which included an Internationally awarded German school choir that we were hosting. Our school choir performed as well as several local youth choirs that also include some of our learners. The finale included a couple songs with all the combined choirs. It was awesome!

Wednesday found me watching the girls’ win the Netball Classic Clash against Etosha for the 4th consecutive year. Thursday, I had dinner with PCV Sam and his parents who are visiting from Chamblee, GA. It felt somewhat like a visit from home. Sam’s mom is a Returned PCV, she served in Lesotho about 30 years ago. It was especially interesting to hear her positive perspectives on our country and service.

This weekend has been dedicated to preparing for the end of the term, making sure that I am covering all the required syllabi. I still manage to play with the babies, go for my daily walk, and I am finally rewatching/watching Stars Wars since I only watched the original 3 episodes back in the day. This is a multi-week task.

I am expecting an overnight PCV visitor today. I will prepare dinner, something that is not time sensitive since travel times are very unpredictable, especially coming from a rural village.

All for now with all my love

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Random happenings this week

  • Claudia’s little girl
  • Claudia’s son
My DIY jar sewing kit with pin cushion in the lid

A couple months ago I met young Pastor Gerson thru a mutual friend. He said he would be in touch to tell me about a youth camp he was organizing for September. As promised, he invited me for coffee last week. His youth camp will be a career counseling camp and he would like me to do a presentation on my career in technology and now as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The camp is geared for 10-12 graders and it is real camping. He would like me to stay the whole weekend if possible. They will also discuss goal setting, time management, tips for studying, and other life skills to set them up for success. It sounds like Peace Corps’ Camp GLOW – Guys and Girls Leading Our World. I am honored and humbled that he reached out to me and I committed to helping.

You may recall from an earlier post that I went to a wine tasting with colleagues and we danced the night away. A couple weeks ago Ha Lin, one of our group, prepared a Vietnamese dinner for us and this week was my turn to prepare dinner. I made a  cheese/olive/cured meat platter as our antipasto, lasagna for the main dish with a cucumber/onion salad, and garlic bread. Claudia made waffles with blueberry cream for dessert. It was another night of fun and laughter. Unfortunately, our group is coming to an end since Ha Lin and Anna, another German volunteer, will move back to Germany in July. Claudia and I will miss these young women, but we look forward to welcoming the next set of German volunteers for their 6 months of service.

After lasagna, empty dish!

Note, I haven’t found ricotta cheese here, not even in Theo’s Super Spar which is one of the largest grocery stores in Namibia. However, the Mali Peace Corps Cookbook, which I downloaded from our Peace Corps resource website, has a homemade ricotta cheese recipe that is easy and decent. I do love Peace Corps ingenuity.

All for now with all my love  

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Piggybackriders

Whew, I’ve been busy and let this blog post get behind. Last week’s excitement was arranging for 3 cyclists to do a presentation at our school about their world travels.

Manu and Magda, both 28 years old, left Germany in April 2018 to bicycle through Austria and Italy, then through parts of Eastern Europe, over to Iran, Dubai, Oman and finally into Africa, riding through Tansania, Zambia, Botswana, and now Namibia.  Jack,  19 and a British citizen, recently joined Manu and Magda until they reach Windhoek.  He’s been cycling for a couple months through Africa and enjoys having cycling companions now.

They shared their stories about why they are cycling, how they pay for it, and some of their adventures while traveling. Manu and Magda believe that everyone should follow their dream, even if others think they are crazy. They like telling young people, school children, to pursue their own dreams, so they try to arrange school presentations in the places they visit.

If you want to know more about Manu and Magda, their travels and their school project, check out their website https://manuandmagda.com or search google for piggybackriders.

I ‘met’ Manu and Magda via https://warmshowers.org a website that connects cyclists with hosts throughout the world. I signed up to be a host and these are my first guests. They did not spend the night with me since I can only accommodate 2 but they came to my house for a nice meal. It was delightful to be with them.

All for now with all my love  

After lunch of spaghetti and meat sauce, cucumber salad, bread, and ice cream cones. Manu, Magda, me, Martha (the nanny), Jack, and our little man in the high chair.
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Good times!

Ascension Thursday is the fortieth day after Easter, believed by Christians as the day Jesus ascended to heaven. Over 90% of Namibians are Christian so Ascension Thursday is a national holiday. The schools then take Friday as a holiday. Since last Thursday was Ascension Thursday, I had a long weekend holiday. Yay!

I purposely did not plan any travel or other activities, so I could just relax and do whatever I wanted. I was industrious but also made plenty of time to read, lay in my hammock, go for long walks, and simply relax. My most industrious activity was making myself a cross-the-body hobo bag. I had to sew it by hand, so I hope my stitches will hold. I must say that I love my finished product and it is just what I wanted.

My hand-sewn hobo bag

I also found a YouTube channel (Rob Plevin) with some nice tips and training for classroom management. I watched several each day in hopes of being a more effective teacher.

My housemate, Blessing’s nanny, expressed an interest in joining me on my daily walks. Her mother-tongue is Oshiwambo and even though she knows English, our conversations are often very confusing. It’s usually over pronunciations. As we were walking one day, she asked “way is lail lay’ or something like that. I tried and tried to understand but no luck. The next day, we were walking by the rail road tracks and she said, “lail lay, this I was looking”. She wanted to know where the railway was in town. We both laughed.

One day, I had coffee with a young, local pastor. I met him a couple months ago thru a mutual friend. He mentioned that his church runs a weekend camp in September for 10th-12th graders to help them plan for career/vocations. He asked if I would be interested in attending the camp as a mentor and talking about my career in technology and now as a Peace Corps volunteer. I said sure and gave him my contact info. Now he is following up on it and we are planning on my participation. I am looking forward to it and hope it all works out.

I got a call late Sunday morning from Ginny saying she was at our Super Spar, killing time while waiting for Lyndsey to arrive from Khorixas. They were going to stay at a local lodge and travel on to Rundu the next day. Ginny and Lyndsey are PCVs from my group and they serve way up North. I met up with Ginny and ultimately invited her and Lyndsey to stay with me if they wanted to save their money. Long story, short, we wound up having a slumber party with Ginny, Lyndsey, also Maggie and Nikki who were traveling with Lyndsey and are also PCVs from my group. Ginny and I prepared dinner for the travelers since they had such a long, hard day getting a hike from Khorixas.

My holiday weekend was relaxing, busy, and with some surprises. Good times!

All for now with all my love