Changing of the Guard

Good morning everyone...
The past few days I have been trying to enjoy where I am at a little more and enjoying the company around me. At home I have spent time with Michael, Sebastian, and Mark which has been nice. Last night Mark and I staye dup till about 130am talking and listening to music. Hopefully the three of us and Steve will be able to go out Thursday night and hang out together. I have made some nice friends here and consider myself lucky to have been here at the time I was and living with the roommates I have had.
Yesterday before the BNC I walked into the city of Windhoek to do some window shopping and walk around Independence Avenue which is the main drag. I have driven through it a few times but never really spent anytime downtown so it was nice to browse the shops, stop in a park for a coffee, and just look around a little more. That section of Windhoek is somewhat cosmopolitan. It was nice spending time there alone and just wandering around.
My "replacement" just arrived from the Netherlands yesterday. Her name is Marloes and she is about my age. Talking with her in the morning, she had a few questions about what to expect at the BNC and I told her the kids were fine and that after a few weeks she would get used to them running up to her with spears screaming "White Devil!" and that it actually becomes endearing after awhile. In the evening we gathered in the living room with chips and drinks to officially welcome her to the house but she was so tired from the flight that she ended up going to bed soon after.
The BNC has been nice the past few days. Yesterday I taught Brian, Daniel, Ricardo and a few other boys the basics of baseball and I pitched a little ball to them and they practiced hitting it with a stick. They were enthusiastic about it and now I wish I would have brought a wiffle ball bat along with me.
I have invited the seven kids I will be taking to the airport with me and all were happy to be invited. I am worried that their excitement will result in them telling other kids and then the rest will be upset so I have asked them to keep it quiet. "Don't tell a soul, not even God in your prayers tonight," I told each of them. When I told Salome that she said with a straight face, "But God already knows." There are many other kids I would like to take but I had to draw a line in the sand somewhere.
Everyday when I ride my bike into the BNC I am greeted with shouts of "Scooter!" and "Hello!" and receive many hugs on my walk up the path. I have not reached MaryBeth status yet, but it is so nice to turn in eight different directions and see smiling faces. I do feel I have made a memorable impression on many of these kids, but I do wonder whether they will remember me as long as I will remember them. I don't say that looking for sympathy or words of encouragement, but the reality is that people come and people go in their lives, and I am one of those people. Leaving them behind will be sad but it is inevitable- whether it be Saturday or nine months from now, eventually I would have had to leave. Regardless of how long their memories last, mine will be with me for a lifetime. Returning home allows me to help these kids in other ways too, like sending equipment to MB, making money to send down for pool parties and supplies, and improving my education so I might be able to help these kids (and kids like them) on a larger scale. That being said, nothing beats giving Salome a huge hug at the end of the day and whispering in her ear "Nam si da" (I love you) knowing I will see her tomorrow...

In preparing to leave, I have written a list of computer room rules for which ever volunteer is running the room. These are just a few basic rules that help the computer room run a little smoother. Aside from a few minor changes, these are the rules as the stand:

1.) Please arrive at the time you have been given. You are responsible for arriving at your time, if you miss it or arrive late, sorry. It’s called responsibility… look into it!

2.) Please stand up from your computer and leave quietly when your time is up.

3.) Please keep the volume of your voices and the computers to a minimum.

4.) If you have a problem with your computer, it is probably because you broke it so please tell whoever is in charge of the computer room.

5.) Not everyone will be given the opportunity to go to the computer room everyday, there is just not enough space for all you little bastards.

6.) Leave the computer room as you found it, you mangy scavengers.

7.) First come, first served with the games. If you do not like the games available to you, that is fine, there is someone else waiting outside who will gladly play the game for you.

8.) Don’t like your time? Tough shit.

9.) If you hang around the computer room before or after your allotted time, your name will be erased from the list. You must find something productive to do in between your computer time. Possible activities include, but are not limited to reading, playing a puzzle, playing soccer, peddling stolen goods, vandalizing the property, and tormenting the neighborhood.

10.) No fighting, pouting, yelling, swearing or complaining, unless your aggression is directed towards an ugly child.

11.) If you are not willing to share, then do not come to the computer room.

12.) ABSOLUTELY NO food, drinks, soup, candy, ices, or any other sweets are allowed in the computer room at any time!

13.) White children are given priority over colored children, colored over black, and Damara over Herrero.

14.) Females are second class citizens everywhere in Namibia, even in the computer room at the BNC.

15.) If you smell funny, you will be escorted out of the room.

16.) All children are equal, some more than others.

17.) Have fun!!!!!!!!