Site Visit!

Hello Friends and Family, briefly recapping the last blog, I talked the 1^st week in Namibs, PST, and my Host family. I also mention not knowing what my permanent site placement was and that my fellow trainees and I were anxiously waiting to know where we would be placed for the next 2 years. Well on Tuesday Aug. 14, we were finally told where we’ve been placed. I WILL BE SERVING IN REHOBOTH at Vooruitsig Junior Secondary School. The anticipation of our site announcements was quite dramatic, I’ll just say the trainers knew how to buildup the moment. They created a large map of Namibia in the backyard of the community center by using rope as the outline of the country. Then placed rocks to mark the towns we would be going to. As they called out our Name and announced our site we received a packet that told us about our specific assignment.

    (waiting for site announcement)                  (standing in our locations on the map)

            The day after our site announcement we got to meet the supervisor at our site or a counterpart that we’ll be working with. Then that Friday Aug. 17, we left to visit our sites. The representative for my site was a man named Jimmy Engelbrecht, I learned that he is a life skills teacher/counselor at my school, he’s also a pastor, and that he and his family would be my new host family for the first 6 weeks at site. First impression of Jimmy: He was a stout man, wearing purple crocs, jeans, and South African jersey.  Note that all other supervisors and counterparts were dressed extremely professional, in suits, slacks, ties and dress shoes. Based off initial impression I had no idea how to take in this man and no clue to what my site was going to be like. I thought this could be a super chill to years or this could mean a completely disastrous 2 years. 

However, on the car ride to Rehoboth I got to speak with him on a more personal level. We talked about our families, I practiced my Afrikaans (he seemed pleased that I was trying). He asked me about why I come to be a volunteer and I talked with him about his experience at seminary. Had to stop on the highway for some baboons crossing. Then continued discussing the similarities and differences in the colonization of America and Namibia.  The more I got to know him, the more at ease I became. Jimmy is a kind and hospitable man and these traits became even more apparent when I met his family. The Engelbrechts welcomed me from the moment I stepped foot in their home. I feel extremely blessed to be taken, especially for the first 6 weeks when I will be settling into site.

Ok so site visit was from Aug. 17-23, during that time I got to see my city, school, permanent housing, met some colleagues, and shadowed a fellow volunteer. So here are some brief descriptions:

·      Rehoboth (my city):

o   Its one of the larger towns in Namibia, pop. ~26,000

o   Its only 87km (~56miles) south of Windhoek (the capitol)

o   Primary ethnic group is Baster, which is a mix of Dutch and indigenous Africans. They are lighter in skin color and are more westernized in culture then the traditional tribal ethnicities

                                         (Rehoboth)                                      (the main intersection)

·      Vooruitsig Combined School:

o   It is in the “location” which is basically code for ghetto. Location is the place where all the black Africans had to live during apartheid. It’d be similar to what we call an inner city  in America

o   It is severely understaffed and under resourced

o   Nearly all the 800 learners are Nama or Damara.(not Baster)

·      My Counterpart

o   His name is Harry Rencs

o   He’s the head of department for Science

o   He seems very helpful and like a good teacher. I’m grateful to have him as a resource.

o   He’s protective over me, which is really sweet.

(Mr. Rencs)

·      My Job:

o   I will be teaching some of the following (not exactly sure yet): grades 7-10 Life Science and Math. 5 grade Computer science. Possibly 7-10 physical science as well, but like I said, not sure

o   Possibly secondary projects: Science club, AIDS/HIV education, or Sports Coach

·      My Permanent housing:

o    It’s part of the teacher housing at Rehoboth High School (not my school).

o    It’s a 3-bedroom modern apartment, has indoor toilet and shower, electricity, and other accommodations.

o    I have the place to myself and the other apartments don’t appear to have teachers leaving in them, as far as I can tell.

(my Permanent housing)

I think that should do it for now. One other fun thing, I might be joining a women’s rugby club when I get to site, idk we’ll see. My blogs are no that exciting but if you care enough to know what my life is like here in Namibs then at least it’s informative. Love you Mom, Dad, Nathan, and Alex. It was encouraging to talk to you yesterday.