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Dislocated Halloween
Dislocated Halloween 31 October 2003 “Three days later the District Commissioner sent his sweet-tongued messenger to the leaders of Umuofia asking them to meet him in his headquarters. That also was not strange. He often asked them to hold such palavers, as he called them.” —Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Today was a …
One Year in Namibia
A Reflection on One Year in Namibia 30 October 2003 “In this way the moons and the seasons passed.” —Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Hello! So I imagine you’re all being inundated with trick-or-treaters. They don’t have Halloween here, but I’m sure I could introduce the idea. So tomorrow in class I’m going …
Fundraising Failure
Fundraising Failure 28 September 2003 It started with a snake. A teacher and a learner went into the staff room around 5 pm on Friday evening trying to find me. When they looked in the room, instead of Sera, there was a snake. Most snakes in Namibia are poisonous. Namibians don’t like snakes. They kill …
Baby Chickens
Baby Chickens 28 November 2003 Hello! Not too much is happening over here in our little corner of Namibia. Sera got back up here just in time to be buried up to her chin in exam papers to grade. I, on the other hand, have had an easier than normal exam time because my twelfth …
Final Thoughts in Namibia
Final Thoughts in Namibia 23-24 December 2003 23 December, Windhoek In a poetic, literary sort of way, my Peace Corps service started and is ending with a shoulder dislocation. On October 23, 2002 I tripped down the stairs in the DC hotel and dislocated my shoulder on the first day of pre-departure training. That was …
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 …