Goodbye, My Dear Friends, I Shall Never Forget You!

I just got off of a loooonng bus ride from Windhoek to Cape Town. I took the Intercape Sleepliner which is as comfortable as any bus, I suppose, but after 22 hours I was ready to strangle everyone on the bus, especially the guy next to me who had no problem leaning over to take pictures every 20km.

On to the update…

After an awesome time on Saturday night with the boys, Simon and I brought some of the “old timers” to Zoo Park in downtown Windhoek for an afternoon picnic on Sunday. We picked up Milandri, Bonita, Romencia, Esme, and Denzel from Katutura, dropped them off, then I drove over to Concordia High School to pick up Salome, Jennifer, Meroldi, and Susmitha. The volunteer Moretta met us over there as did Nangula. Simon and some of the girls went to Pick ‘n Pay to buy chicken, bread, water, chips and a cake. We stuffed ourselves on three chickens then played cards in the grass. As the time passed we played a soccer game, had a water fight, then watched the sunset. It was a really special time to say goodbye to the kids that have meant the most to me over these four trips. On the ride back to Katutura Denzel was in the front seat I and taught him how to shift gears- he loved it!

Friday night’s concert, Saturday night with the boys, and Sunday afternoon with the “old timers” are what hooks me into coming back to Namibia and why I feel that I will come back again. Being here at the BNC and developing relationships with the kids gives me a chance to immerse myself in their lives and develop deeper relationships. I would love to do these activities with my students in the Bronx but there is such a taboo on a teacher being more involved with his students beyond the final school bell. Volunteering at the BNC is so special because of the love that exists there.

Monday was my last day and I spent the morning running errands and packing. At the center grades 5 and 6 had publisher parties to celebrate their hard work and some of the children shared their pieces with the class. We then had cookies and as I gave each kid a piece of candy I hugged them and said goodbye. I really will miss working with these two grades. There was a real sense of purpose teaching and completing a writing unit together. As I was saying goodbye to the 6th graders MB came marching into the classroom with her guitar and 40 kids in tow singing “Goodbye, our dear friend, we shall never forget you.” (She plays it over and over again for every volunteer that leaves “until you start to cry.”) The day before at the park Denzel and I were sitting alone and he told me he was going to cry when he said goodbye- and he did. Denzel has always been special but I could really tell this time around how much it meant for him to have a friend to come and see every day. More than any other time here, I really connected with the boys at the BNC.

Reflecting on this trip I would have to say it was the most successful, most rewarding, and most entertaining trip so far. The volunteers I worked with were strong, my roommates Simon and Timna were a lot of fun, and sharing time with Katy was special. My housing arrangements were very comfortable, the weekend trips were exciting, and life in Windhoek was at my speed- the right mix of quiet and crazy. Working at the BNC has never been as rewarding and engaging as it was this time around- Grandma Cathy really has worked hard to make the academics a success. MaryBeth has continued to inspire me as a mentor and a friend. I have been blessed in so many ways by her presence in my life and she has a lot to do with where I am at in life professionally and who I am as a person.

Then, of course, are the kids. New friends Bonsekie, Lediana, Wendemi, little Sentia, Giovanni, Rabon, Ronaldo, Simson, Elias, Tia-Zia, Lebby, Ebba, Rivaldo and so many more mixed in with friends from years past have made this trip incredibly fulfilling. You know it is a special place to be when you are sitting in the shadows of Table Mountain, watching elephants cross the road, or riding up the sides of sand dunes and all you keep doing is glancing at your watch and wishing you were back on Hans Uirab Street at the BNC. I have written so much through the years about the BNC… I encourage any of you to consider taking a few weeks to come and volunteer with me (next summer?) to experience it firsthand.

Every time I leave I say “check back in a few days for another post about the rest of my trip” and I have never done it!!! There is more I would like to write about my experiences… so check periodically over the next week or two for other potential posts. Thank you so much for reading along… I look forward to sharing more with all of you in person in the coming weeks. God bless you!

NFA Dinner, Mommy Soccer, and Guys Night

Simon and I were driving home tonight from Shaun’s house (more on this later) and we were talking about how special the last few days always seem to be on a trip to Namibia. I don’t know if it’s that we tend to do more fun things in the end to savor every last moment, or whether we just appreciate every little memory more in the end. Whatever the truth may be, these last few days with the kids have been a blast. Get ready, I’m about to gush some more…

Friday afternoon I met with Debbie, one of the women from ladies’ doubles, to help her brainstorm ideas for a child she is tutoring. As it turns out, the child is 10 years old and just moved to Namibia and only speaks Spanish… my specialty! We met for about an hour with the girl and I modeled a lot of different ESL strategies she could use to help the girl. It was fun talking Spanish with the girl, too. She seemed happy to have someone to talk to for a bit. (I just can’t remember her name!!)

At the center it was Friday Fun Day- the kids were running around playing four square, reading, playing legos, and just being kids. The last of my students were finishing up their stories and I decided to take the opportunity to clean up the classroom I had been using so I recruited about ten kids and we scrubbed the room down. Tables, chairs, floors, windowsills, shelves- everything! The room looked sparkling when we finished. What’s amazing is that the kids CLEANING were having as much fun as the kids playing… they just love being at the center.

Friday night MaryBeth was invited to a going away dinner for a man who had been working for the Namibian Football Association and women’s soccer for the past year. Naturally, MaryBeth invited ALL the Pumpkins (the girl soccer players from the center) and they sang some songs for Kevin. I got a few videos of the girls singing. We brought Denzel along and on the way home I pushed Denzel’s wheelchair while giving tiny Beula a piggy back ride. The whole walk back I was pretending like Beula was choking me while swerving Denzel’s chair- he was laughing hysterically the whole way!

Today was soccer day. MaryBeth has the girls playing on a beautiful grass field these days and today the mothers were invited to play as well. About eight moms showed up and played a few games with the girls. The entire soccer program has grown so much and MaryBeth (along with the NFA) has done so much to empower these young girls. The girls are so polite and joyful when playing. Some of the girls that started with MaryBeth are competing on a national level and two are on the women’s national team!

I invited the 6th grade boys to hang out on Saturday afternoon to say goodbye and have some “guy time.” Rivaldo, Simson, Ronaldo, Rabon, and Elias have been so much fun to rough house with, joke with, and teach this summer. I wanted to show my appreciation by spending time with them. I also wanted them to spend some time with Shaun. He is the 27 year old Namibian guy who owns a house a few blocks away that many of the volunteers stay at. He is young, cool, and respectable and I am hoping he will mentor some of these boys on a regular basis when I go. There is such a need for these boys (and all boys) to have solid, reliable, moral, male role models. It is something that I am becoming more and more passionate about and something I want to start back home at PS 103. Having read John Eldredge’s book, “Wild at Heart”, recently has inspired me even more. One of Eldredge’s main ideas is that masculinity breeds masculinity and that boys need to be shown how to be men. I highly recommend the book.

Anyway, Simon and I picked up some pizzas and sodas and the boys around 4:30pm then headed over to Shaun’s. The boys were amped up and ecstatic to be hanging out. It was such a cool evening. We pulled up to Shaun’s house (about 2km from the center) and the boys jumped right into his freezing cold pool! Then we popped open the pizzas, shot some baskets and ran around outside until the sun went down. Afterwards we went inside and watched The Incredibles. By 8pm the boys were back outside running around and rough housing with me and Simon. We just dropped them off and got back home a few minutes ago. The experience was so rewarding- for the boys and for us. It’s a great memory for all of us.

Simon and I are meeting up with Nangula, Scobi, and one of Simon’s german friends for drinks tonight. Tomorrow is another jam-packed day… full of good memories, I’m sure. I hope you are well … God bless you!

The pix are of Mommy Soccer, Singing on Friday night, Cleaning the center, and tonight with the boys.

Etosha and Katy's Last Days

I just dropped Katy off at the airport a few hours ago and she should be on her way across the Atlantic. She was really impressive as a volunteer- she was always up for anything they needed at the center and she made a lot of rewarding relationships with the kids. On top of all that it was nice to have her here as a roommate and travel companion- she is a wonderful young lady.

So... on to the update...

Saturday morning we loaded up the car and the four of us set off for the North. The car was packed with camping supplies and our bags. Simon and I split the driving duties through the wide open country. Our first stop was Okahandja, an hour north of Windhoek for more souvenir shopping. Then we drove 2.5 hours towards Omaruru where we stopped for a few hours to hike and see prehistoric rock paintings at Ai-Aiba Lodge. It was pretty mesmerizing to stand in front of such old history.

Late in the afternoon we drove up to Etosha Safari Camp just outside the park and camped there for the night. The lodge had a lot of character but we were too exhausted from a long day of travelling to take advantage of it.

We awoke before sunrise, packed the car in the dark, and headed the last 10km to get to Etosha. Etosha is a HUGE game park known for its variety of animals and good animal viewing- especially this time of year. I had been there in 2006 but then it was the rainy season so there was not a lot to see. Different story this time! The idea is to drive from water hole to water hole looking for game. Some prefer to pick a water hole and stay for hours others hop from one to the next taking their chances. We did a little of both.

Early in the day we saw a herd of elephants (two babies!) crossing the road right in front of us!! They are the most enchanting animals to watch- they are absolutely massive! We continued to drive seeing zebra, springbok, wildebeest, giraffes and many other animals. Around noon we pulled up to a watering hole with lots of cars where two lionesses were sitting in the grass hunting springbok and zebra!! We sat for about an hour hoping to witness a kill but it never happened. Still, just watching "the dance" between predator and prey was fascinating.

The rest of the day was spent between different waterholes where we saw some hyenas which are somewhat uncommon. At night we camped at Halali Camp which is in the middle of the park. It was unimpressive but a place to rest our head. There is a water hole there and after sunset we walked to check it out where 5 rhinos (2 babies!!) were drinking.

The next morning we got up early for the 6 hour ride back to Windhoek. On the way out of the park a leopard walked right out into the middle of the road!! It was an amazing (and rare) sight to see. The leopard showed no fear and sauntered slowly to the side of the road where it sat in the bush and stared at us. We got very lucky to see lions, elephants, leopards, and rhinos in such a short trip!!

The ride back home was long and uneventful but we got back quick enough to spend the day at the center. As nice as the travelling is, there really is nothing better than a day at the center. Monday night Tara and her boyfriend and Nangula came over for hamburgers. Tara is a Namibian girl who has been involved with the center through the years but she now runs her own program in the northern region. MaryBeth joined us after her rotary meeting finished. It was a nice evening but we were pretty exhausted from the long weekend.

Tuesday was Katy and Timna's last day. Katy, Simon and I went into town to have breakfast and to get Katy some last minute souvenirs. At the center the 5th and 6th graders are almost done publishing their pieces- they should all be done by tomorrow and we will celebrate their work on Monday. At the end of the day at the center, the kids gave 1,000 hugs to Katy and Timna as the said goodbye.

Tuesday was my last evening of ladies' doubles. They have been a lot of fun. Afterwards I met Simon, Timna, Katy, Amoretta (a volunteer from Maine), MB, Shaun and Scobi for pizza.

So that's where I've been these past few days... all good times! Now that it's just Simon and I in the house, things are pretty calm and quiet. There are a few days left here... I catch a bus Monday evening for Cape Town, leave for Amsterdam on Wednesday, and fly home on Friday... it's gone so quickly!

I hope all is well with you... God Bless you!

Amani Lodge

Katy, Timna, Simon and I are leaving for Etosha National Park tomorrow morning and we will get home sometime on Monday. It is six hours to Etosha, plus hours of driving in the park, but it will be worth it to see an elephant or a pride of lions.

Thursday night we brought Katy out to a club to go dancing. We met Nangula and some of the volunteers there and danced until early in the morning. It was cute to see Katy out on the dance floor- but not so cute when dudes tried to dance with her! Fortunately most people here think we are dating so the guys were respectful.

Today Katy, Simon, and I went to Amani Lodge which is about 30km southwest of Windhoek. Our friend Shaun recommended it to us and it was amazing! It is situated in the mountains with stunning views of the horizon. Oh, and they have cheetahs, leopards, and lions!! We took the “Sundowner” game drive. The drive starts with the feeding of 5 cheetahs. The cheetahs are being raised to be released in the wild. Next we saw the leopard. I saw cheetahs and leopards at another lodge in 2006 and the leopard has always impressed me with its agility, beauty, and strength. It is amazing to see them scale a tree to get food. Finally we saw the lion and his lioness. The male lion is incredible- truly the king of the jungle. He walks with purpose and we could hear him roar for kilometers. All three animals are absolutely stunning. The drive ended back at the lodge which is a luxorious African retreat, complete with a warthog hanging out by the bar. The sunset was beautiful (as they always are here) Pictures and words don’t really describe the experience … I would definitely spend more time at Amani

Have a wonderful weekend… God bless you!!

A Perfectly Normal Day

Today, like most days lately, was a day that was perfectly pleasant from beginning to end. As usual I was out of bed early, I grabbed some Cocoa Puffs and spent the morning editing the 5th and 6th graders’ writing pieces. It’s a lot of work editing all of their stories and, given more time, I would have had them do more editing and revising on their own, but with time winding down I want to make sure they publish their stories before I leave. I am excited to get the stories finished and help the children create beautiful books.

Around 11:30, MB showed up with the car to drive us to the center. She is soooo full of energy and constantly running around- this morning she was going school to school dropping off applications for a Rotary event for youth in Namibia that she is running. At the BNC, Bonita and I had a great tutoring session… we studied mountain folds in Geography, the rise of nationalism and political opposition in Namibia, and the circulatory system. As the best days tend to go, we joked and teased each other along the way.

We finished around 1:30 and as usual Denzel was hanging out in his wheelchair and I spent some time with him- hugging him, sharing my Clementine, and making him laugh. Denzel is 19 and he has a disability- I’m not sure what it is, exactly, but he has the cognition and maturity of a young boy. As I was tutoring Bonita, he was sitting with us and whenever I’d get up to write on the Dry-Erase board, he’d grab my back pocket and “trap me” from getting to the board then he would let go, sending me “crashing” into the board while laughing hysterically!

During lunchtime, MaryBeth usually reads a few stories to the kids while they eat their sandwiches and fruit. Today she brought 10 kids to the dentists (for FREE!!) so Cathy asked me to read the little rug rats a story. I read them “Guess How Much I Love You” (one of my favorites) and “Mia Hamm: Quitters Never Win”. The kids love being read to- even the big kids.

In class, the 5th graders were totally engaged in writing their second drafts and they worked so hard and efficiently! We talked about how all authors make mistakes and how good writers are constantly fixing their mistakes, whether they are the author, or me, or someone famous like Kevin Henkes. (We have been reading Kevin Henkes’ books as a mentor text for their writing… kudos to Mr. Toro for that idea.) I was able to conference with a few kids and continue editing their pieces.

The 6th graders were just as engaged. This group has really been a blast to work with- they all have spunk and personality. I’d love to take the boys in this group (Rivaldo, Rabon, Ronaldo, Simson, and Elias) and make a Guy’s Club with them if I had more time. I was not able to finish editing their work so we just read “Chester’s Way” by Kevin Henkes.

Near the end of the day, Meroldi, one of my all time favorites showed up from the boarding school she is staying at to get some extra help in Math. She is in grade 8 with Salome and Jennifer at Concordia which is on the other side of Windhoek. (Susmitha goes there, too- see the pix below) She needed a ride back to school so Timna, Simon, Katy, and I drove her back to the school and surprised Jennifer, Salome, and Susmitha. They were very excited to see us and we hung out in the parking lot until past sunset. These are the kids I fell in love with in 2006 and who still have my heart!

At night I made dinner with Katy- pasta with meat sauce- then we went with Timna, Simon, and Nangula to a Spoken Word performance at the art college in town. The poems/verses were enjoyable and it was a nice cultural experience. I particularly enjoyed a poem by a young Namibian who talked about the pride of being a father. (“There’s pep in my step, a slide and glide in my stride, a grown man, my son’s yellow teddy in hand, a father’s pride…”) I also liked the title of another guy’s: “Why walk when you can fly?”

Today really was nothing special- it’s a typical day for me but I feel like I have been in more aware of each little moment lately. I truly enjoy the day to day routine, be it here or back home. There are so many little moments to be grateful for if we just stop and see.

“Earth’s crammed with heaven
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”

Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Thank you for reading… enjoy your day… God bless you!

The pictures are of (1) me tutoring Bonita, (2) me reading "Guess How Much I Love You?" during lunchtime, (3) me and Salome, (4) me and Susmitha, and (5) Jennifer, Meroldi, Salome, and Susmitha at their school