Evicted!
Tonight is my last night here... I have been evicted from my house in the hills to a modest 3 bedroom 3 bathroom apartment with cable TV, wireless internet, and a Mercedes Benz parked in the driveway for my personal use. Someone call the US Embassy and get me airlifted out of here immediately!
After staying a week house sitting for one of Marybeth’s friends, I have moved a few blocks over to Fr. Rick’s apartment as he is on vacation abroad for the next few months. This apartment is right near a main road with bars and restaurants. I think I should fare just fine… In addition, there will probably be two other volunteers staying with me (Timna, she’s from Canada; and Simon, he’s from Germany) Depending on the mood I am in, I might let my cousin Katy stay with me when she arrives, too… :)
I have really been enjoying the pace at the center. The days go much quicker since I am up and out by 9:30am to tutor Milandri and Bonita. The afternoon kids are great- the 5th and 6th graders remind me a lot of my students back in the Bronx. They are sweet, eager, and respectful. They also have a good sense of humor and they laugh with (or sometimes at) me. We read and discussed “Julius, The Baby of the World” today and though it was a little below their maturity level, they really seemed to enjoy it. Interestingly they have a lot of the same reading issues my kids at PS 103 have. Then again, both groups are bilingual (actually trilingual here) from low-income, high needs areas so it's really not too surprising.
I try to put on the “teacher” hat during the study hours to maintain consistency and to set certain expectations. Most of the children respond well to that, though I have noticed Tete and Innocentia try to get away with things since we have been buddies for so many years. Innocentia is one of the sweetest kids I have ever met in Namibia but I have noticed in the past few days that she has brought a little bit of an attitude, possibly trying to get me to pander to her. I pulled her aside yesterday and told her how much I rave about her back home and how I’d hate to have to tell people how she’s changed from the lovely girl I once knew… that was all it took for her to lose the attitude.
Cathy has asked me to help redo the website for the BNC (www.volunteer-namibia.com) to make it more attractive to potential volunteers. She referred me to the Mondesa Youth Opportunities website (www.mondesayouth.org) which is a fantastic program that operates on the coast at Swakopmund. Hopefully we can jazz up the BNC website a bit. Any suggestions?
I hope all is well back home… God bless you!
After staying a week house sitting for one of Marybeth’s friends, I have moved a few blocks over to Fr. Rick’s apartment as he is on vacation abroad for the next few months. This apartment is right near a main road with bars and restaurants. I think I should fare just fine… In addition, there will probably be two other volunteers staying with me (Timna, she’s from Canada; and Simon, he’s from Germany) Depending on the mood I am in, I might let my cousin Katy stay with me when she arrives, too… :)
I have really been enjoying the pace at the center. The days go much quicker since I am up and out by 9:30am to tutor Milandri and Bonita. The afternoon kids are great- the 5th and 6th graders remind me a lot of my students back in the Bronx. They are sweet, eager, and respectful. They also have a good sense of humor and they laugh with (or sometimes at) me. We read and discussed “Julius, The Baby of the World” today and though it was a little below their maturity level, they really seemed to enjoy it. Interestingly they have a lot of the same reading issues my kids at PS 103 have. Then again, both groups are bilingual (actually trilingual here) from low-income, high needs areas so it's really not too surprising.
I try to put on the “teacher” hat during the study hours to maintain consistency and to set certain expectations. Most of the children respond well to that, though I have noticed Tete and Innocentia try to get away with things since we have been buddies for so many years. Innocentia is one of the sweetest kids I have ever met in Namibia but I have noticed in the past few days that she has brought a little bit of an attitude, possibly trying to get me to pander to her. I pulled her aside yesterday and told her how much I rave about her back home and how I’d hate to have to tell people how she’s changed from the lovely girl I once knew… that was all it took for her to lose the attitude.
Cathy has asked me to help redo the website for the BNC (www.volunteer-namibia.com) to make it more attractive to potential volunteers. She referred me to the Mondesa Youth Opportunities website (www.mondesayouth.org) which is a fantastic program that operates on the coast at Swakopmund. Hopefully we can jazz up the BNC website a bit. Any suggestions?
I hope all is well back home… God bless you!
posted by Jim | 3:52 PM
1 Comments:
Sorry that you've been evicted from a nice house to begin with (I saw the pictures!) I'm glad to hear you're rolling right along. Despite their struggles, these are the perfect kids to work with. I love the underdogs that are eager to learn! It makes all the more worthh it. And you're right...it reminds me of our bilingual population. I hope you enjoy your new home and the Mercedes (don't worry - I won't tell you hot red BMW that you're cheating on her).
TTYL...Lucia
P.S. Our softball team got its butt kicked yet again last week although we had a terrific comeback. We were rained out last night. There's a game this Friday to make up for a previous rain out but I won't be there. I'll be at Kelly's bachelorette party in AC with Rizzo, Jaime, and Murray. Yay! Some shots are in order!
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