Day 23

I am writing this from my new room, a rather large one at that. My host family is great. Bessie (my “mother”) is an inspector for the Ministry of Education. She is responsible for checking in on several dozen schools in the area, ensuring they are following rules and doing their jobs. Joseph, Bessie’s boyfriend, works for the city, implementing a new data system that connects residents, utility companies, and the city. It’s a pretty interesting idea and seems to be working well. Bessie has two kids, eight year old Hermanas who is excited about everything and very interested in everything I own. Marcella is twelve and seems to really enjoy a tattered keyboard which is missing most of the black keys. She is on holiday from school in South Africa and will be returning home after Christmas. Hermanas goes to school here in Omaruru.

The house is located just a few steps from the TRC, one of the training sites we will be using over the next month. It’s also pretty much downtown, within a short walk to the store, bank, a stones throw from the police office, and just a twenty minute walk from the rest camp the PeaceCorps group has taken over. This is a very nice setup for me since I can leave most of my valuables locked up at the rest camp while keeping them readily available. The house is a typical western-style house with four bedrooms, a dining area, sitting room (with the satellite TV), and kitchen. The two kids share a room, and my room has a lock on the door which I’m happy to have. The yard is very nice and manicured. The front yard hosts a large desert garden with a variety of cactus and other dry-climate plants. The back yard contains a small house that is rented out, a patio, and (of course) the barbecue. The whole house is very clean and inviting, they even have a washing machine! I’m going to be very comfortable here, and I can tell that my hosts are a good personality fit for me.

My first day here was a fun one. I didn’t get picked up until 17h30, after which I got the tour and met the family. I then took the kids on a walk back to the rest camp to pick up some items I left in my bunk. After the long walk, I sat with Joseph at the barbeque and talked for a while. We watched a very popular Spanish drama (dubbed in English) which closely resembled a daytime soap opera but seemed to captivate the whole family. Dinner was steak, grilled cheese sandwiches (with onions and tomatoes), and beans; all very good. But the evening was too short and now I’m very ready for bed.

Earlier today Jay and I spoke with Naf (our Education and IT coordinator) about what we will be doing for training over the next few weeks. He proposed that we spend some time at the TRC in Omaruru this week training their staff on computer skills. The next two weeks do model school, which means we will teach some formal classes to kids who are out of school but need to do some remedial work or want to earn a certificate. Jay and I will coordinate computer classes for the youth as well as adults in the community.

We spoke with Naf about the importance of visiting other computer room sites to get a feel for how things are run here, we think we made a good case. If we get what we really want, we’ll spend two days in Windhoek visiting the SchoolNet HQ, Microsoft, the Ministry, various other computer and internet companies, computer education service organizations, and some schools with labs. We’d also like to spend three days visiting other school sites with labs to talk to the teachers and find out how they are being used. Hopefully we’ll be able to do at least some of that.

Today was a completely lazy day. Other than a very informative morning session on the history of the education system in Namibia, nothing needed to be done. We napped, packed, played cards, and otherwise blew time. The rest of the week will be pretty laid back as well. Tomorrow Jay and I being the classes for the TRC employees, but not until we’ve fixed all their computers.

It’s going to be very strange living with another family. It’s a bit awkward since I’m supposed to be treated as a member of the family, but don’t know these people very well yet. Bessie has assured me that the entire house is now mine, and to make myself at home, to help myself to any food I want, and to come and go as I need. The kids are great, although Hermanas is defiantly a seven-year-old, still learning patience. It’s fun living with kids. At least it’s fun now.