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Chicken Run
Palaver Club 17 October 2003 So “Mr. Zac” and I decided to buy the chicken. On Monday Shaanika came into my class and said, “Miss, I brought the chicken!” I was a little afraid he had literally brought it to class, so I asked him where it was. He said he put it in my …
Shoulder Saga Part 2
Shoulder Saga Part 2 17-19 Dec 2003 “No! How the hell can he be better when last night he was groaning with pain? This is not an age of miracles!” —Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard 17 December, Windhoek We’re down in Windhoek now. Last week my shoulder went from “somehow ok” …
Tire meets Road
Where the Tire Meets the Road 13 September 2003 Monday 8 Sept Monday was the first day of school for teachers, which usually consists of us sitting around the staff room waiting for the meeting to start at some arbitrary time. But this time it was different. Well, it was probably the same, but we …
Sardonically Happy
I’m Sardonically Happy! 11 October 2003 First, I feel like I ought to start this e-mail with a disclaimer. I’ve gotten feedback from my loyal readers that a few of you are concerned about the “cynical and bitter” tone of my letters, and have consequently made the deduction that I am not quite happy here. …
Shameless Begging
Half as Naïve 6 June 2003 So school started. And it really wasn’t that bad. It started for the teachers on Monday, and on Tuesday the learners were in their uniforms and almost ready to start classes. By Wednesday things began in earnest and, despite my dread, I soon remembered that I do actually enjoy …
Windhoek
August Holiday to Windhoek & Swakopmund 4 September 2003 Our two-week break between the second and third trimesters is almost finished. We went to Windhoek for four nights and then over to Swakopmund for two nights. The stay in Windhoek was ostensibly to facilitate our mid-service medical exam. But we also took the opportunity to …
Barefeet and Smiles
Bare feet and Smiles 30 August 2003 If I just look out the window, I see the yellow grasses, stubby dust-green bushes dotting the plain, brown-gray mountains in the distance, and a hazy horizon making the whole scene bleak and inhospitable. But if I look out the window and say to myself, “I’m in Africa,” …
Miss Winter
Miss Winter 27 June 2003 The weather here has been getting downright chilly. The hot cocoa and tea that mocked us during the hot and humid days are finally getting used up; I wear my dress blazer to work everyday to stay warm (I had been planning to send it home because I never though …
Taxi Rides
Taxi Rides 27 June 2003 “Glimpses of Namibia” Part 2: Taxi Rides * A bunch of us went to visit our friend who also teaches at a senior secondary school. He lives a long way up a dirt road, off the main road. They are in the process of redoing the road, and so currently …
Computer Training
Double Click 25 July 2003 So. Here we are at the end of another trimester. Exams begin on Thursday, leaving me only three more lessons plans to write and then it’s time for marking madness. We’ve been pretty busy lately because we’ve started to become more involved with the school. We didn’t do much the …