Sunday, I was up earlier than usual….very excited to get to the pool!! We arrived at the center around 10 and the kids were already there. Most of the kids were in the street, running along side the bakkie, but a (wonderful) select handful had already lined themselves up against the wall, in preparation for me handing out the pool tickets. Since we had no idea how many kids were going to come, I sorted the tickets into groups of 50, so we would have an idea of how many I had given out.
I only had to send one kid to the back of the line for pushing, other than him though, the kids were very well behaved. I gave out about 200 tickets, plus the 40 we had given to Beverly for her soccer team on Saturday. After we handed out all the tickets, Ilga, Suzanne, MB and I got back in the bakkie and drove to the pool. We could see the kids running through Katutura to the pool!!
When we got there, a TON of kids were already lined up at the door and were chomping at the bit to get inside. MB gave them a talk to calm them down and remind them to beware of their limits so no one drowned. Once in the pool, I jumped right in with the kids. It had rained the night before, so the water was a bit cold, but the sky was clearing up and being around them was enough of a reason to stay in the water! A couple of the boys and I swam down to the deep end. Even though they can swim, they don’t go unless someone (me) goes with them. I’m not sure if it’s a security thing or what, but we had fun!
I played in the baby pool for a while too, and I had forgotten how big it was. It’s a lot bigger once you’re in it! MB sent Rainey out of the pool for pushing a kid in, and he didn’t put up any fuss. He just said, “OK” took his stuff and left. MB then let him back in! When he came back in the pool to me, I said, “AH! Does Mary know you’re here?!” But, apparently she had been impressed with his behavior. He didn’t throw a fit and say, “One more chance,” or anything like that. The rest of the day he really behaved himself and was pretty helpful. He’s sort of a pool maniac: diving and flipping into the pool all in the shallow area.
Ilga, Suzanne and I took care of lunch, once again to avoid the need for “helpers” who just want to stuff their faces while they are preparing lunch and then hoard as much as they can for later. Kids had started asking MB to be helpers at the soccer fields on Satuday!! We got two bags and some nice pizza bread from Pick N’Pay, so we didn’t have enough to give each kid two pieces of bread, so we gave out one piece and either a stokie (lollipop) or some other candies.
After lunch, I went back in the pool for a while, but ultimately got out, grabbed my sweatshirt, and played around with the kids. A bunch of them lied their stomachs down on my feet while I was on my back and “flew around!” They seemed to enjoy that. They had me taste some plants that grow in the grass! And most of all, I was just dog piled on! Ilga had my camera and took some really wonderful pictures that really captured the insane happiness of the moment!
The pool stayed open until 5:20. The kids always say that the pool closes at 3 unless Mary’s there and then it closes at 5! The lifeguards were really great. Sober, which gave them lots of points right off the bat, and really on top of things. As we were driving out of the pool, some random lady came up to the driver’s window and said, “Give me a ride.” MB said, “No.” Then the lady went into this insane rant about white people, and how we are hypocritical, and how we shouldn’t smile while we were denying her this “simple favor.” MB told her that we didn’t have any room in the back, which was true—we had extra bread and soccer gear. She said, “Will it break? No. So you can give me a ride.” It just went on and on and on for like 5 minutes. She was really insulting MB, calling her a bitch and putting down the work she assumes MB does here.
Ilga was ready to slap the lady! She yelled from the back seat, “Can we please go. Please SHUT UP! Let’s go. We don’t have to hear this!” Charlotte and Antonia were standing right next to the lady, on either side, and Antonia said, “She’s drunk!” As we had a little side conversation with Antonia about her being drunk, the lady just continued! If she wasn’t drunk, she was just down-right insane! It’s this entitled mentality here—this is a perfect example. She assumed that because we were white and we had a bakkie we owed it to her to give her a ride. I kept thinking that if we could fit anyone in the car, it would be the kids, not this crazy lady.
Anyway, she wound up realizing that she was going nowhere and went back to lingering at the pool entrance. She had really just wanted a ride to the road, which is ludicrous because the road is about 20 meters DOWNHILL from the pool entrance. We drove to one of the orphanages in Katutura to drop off the extra bread, and then drove a bit north to see the most amazing Don’t Drink & Drive sign! (See picture)
At home, we were all crazy tired! We had planned to have a braai, but once again it didn’t work out to well. We forgot to pull the meat out of the freezer, so we had to wait until it defrosted. We walked down to the corner store and bought vanilla ice cream and Coke for Coke floats and then waited some more for the meat to defrost. Finally, around 9 we were ready to eat. Since it was dark, and the coals would have taken about another hour to warm up, we just made the burgers on the stove. They were really good none-the-less and the four of us sat around and talked some more. Marc and Ajay were out, so it was just us girls! ☺
I had planned to pack, but Ilga and I got carried away doing things on my computer, and before we knew it it was midnight! So, we all went to bed and got ready for the last minute errands that I had to run in the morning!
So, Monday we woke up around 8 so we could be out around 9:30. I had to go to the craft center and look for a specific pad that Suzie really liked, and then go shopping for a statue for my parents, and try to find something for my brother, and then buy beer to bring back. We went to the craft center first, but I couldn’t find the paper (sorry Suzie!) Then, we walked out on the street to try and find a statue.
I faced a couple of problems though as we went street shopping. First, I didn’t really like the statues, they were pretty ugly. Then I thought I’d get a mask, but I didn’t really like those either. I think that part of the reason I didn’t like any of these items was because to me they were what people expected Namibia/Africa to be like, but they remind me absolutely nothing of my experiences here. My experiences were colorful and loving and full of smiles and laughter, not these wood statues shined up with shoe polish!!
I started to get a bit defeated, thinking I would just go home empty handed for my family. I had also been struggling with what to get Hunter, and as we walked back to Vernhil Mall, we passed a music store that we went into. Ilga showed me around the local Namibian music, and I wound up buying an album by a rapper named Gazza for Hunter. Ironically, he plays soccer with MB at UNAM on Sundays! She said that not only is he a great guy, you know that he’s not getting drugged up with the money he makes. He brings his kid and wife to soccer on Sundays, and he even agreed to do a benefit concert for the BNC kids, despite the fact that he’s so popular he can really only play stadiums!
With my hope rekindled for finding something for my family, we braved the street again. I found this game called Owalla (Ovambo) and //Hum in Damara. Although I’m positive it was shined up with shoe polish, it reminds me of the kids because they will dig holes in the dirt at the soccer fields while they are waiting and play with rocks. (It’s a more complicated version of Mancala.) Afterwards, we went into Pick N’Pay and we all did a little grocery shopping.
At home, MB had printed up tags for Miriam’s dolls that I was bring back to the US. We attached them and I finished packing. We left for the center a little bit before 2, knowing that we would be there until around 6 when we’d leave for the airport. The airport is such a huge thing for the kids, and I’m sure the ones that don’t get to go often get really crushed when they see the same kids going over and over. I had picked 11 kids to come with me this time, and as more and more asked me, especially at the pool, I kept telling them that if there was room, they could come. So, before I had even gotten both feet out of the bakkie, Salome asked me if she could come to the airport with me. I told her the same thing, “if there was room.” About a minute later, Maroldi asked me if Salome could come, I told her the same thing. Then later, Sha asked me the same question, so I gave her the same answer!
Although I would love to say that I spent my last day running the big room flawlessly, I can’t. I started out in the big room, and then a boy named Michael came to me and told me that Keano had grabbed his sweatband off his head and so Michael grabbed it back. I could tell there was more to it than this, but no one was telling me. I took the two boys outside because the big room was too loud to solve anything in, and tried to get the story. Both boys told me their side, Keano said that Michael cursed him and that was why he took the sweatband, but Michael said that he didn’t curse him. There, of course, we a group of boys around thirsting for the drama and they just egged the boys on. Of course, I had no idea what they were saying because it was all in Damara. I sort of sensed this sense of urgency about the situation, but didn’t really know where to go from here.
We were just going in circles and I told the boys that and said that if no one wanted to tell me the actual truth, as one was obviously lying, then I couldn’t really help them except to tell them to stay away from each other. Michael turned to walk into the big room, and I followed behind him, a bit to the right of him. We had taken about 3 steps into the room, when Keano ran up from behind, punched Michael in the base of the head and ran as fast as he could out of the center. I found MB and told her everything that happened and she said, “That’s it. Keano is finished here.” I had all of these kids looking at me, and all I could think about was how I couldn’t solve their problem, and how this was their lives. The kids fought and fought and hit and hit and that was normal.
I just lost it. I cried. The kids looked at me in disbelief for a while, because I don’t think they understood why I was crying. So, I explained to them. I told them that I hated how they beat each other all the time, and how that was the way things were solved. Of course it was much more emotional than that, as their were tears and snot all over me! Some of the kids, like Charlotte were just around me because they wanted to be part of the drama, Salome was just trying to console me, but I felt like some of the kids, Sheola, Dios and Denzel in particular were listening. Before this incident, Dios had told me that Charlotte wanted to fight him after the center, and Sha wanted to fight Sheola. I hadn’t known what to say to him except to try and have a conversation about walking away. He said you couldn’t.
It was a combination. I couldn’t think about all four of these kids fighting each other for stupid reasons. I had never actually seen a fight before. I know that Keano’s lone punch may not constitute as a fight, but it was a malicious act intended to hurt this kid, and I had never seen that before. At first, I thought I could calm down, but everytime I tried, Dios cried and I lost it again. I knew that he knew that I didn’t want this for him, especially after what he told me.
Taura arrived, just in time, and gave me a huge hug and sang to me! I felt so much better, just being in her arms, and being calmed down! I looked at Sheola who had tears in her eyes, and had been weeping for a while, and just went to give her a hug. Then she lost it. She balled in my arms, sobbing and sobbing. For over an hour, I stood there with Sheola as she cried and let it all out. There were times when no one was around us, and times when we had an audience, but all the while, I held her, rocked back and forth and just stayed. I didn’t want to rush her, but after an hour, I asked her if she wanted to go somewhere and talk. She nodded, so we walked to the little hallway by the computer room. Of course we had an audience (Charlotte) but with MB’s help, they left us alone.
Sheola confided in me that what I said got to her. We talked about Katutura and how there are things that just suck about, things that are really horrible, but how she thinks it can be different. I asked her if she knew how good she was. She sort of just looked at me. And I said, “Do you feel it Sheola? You are so GOOD.” We talked about Basanda, who she’s basically raised, and how GOOD he is too. I said that it would take good people like her to help this place change, but that it wasn’t impossible. Basanda came in crying hysterically, I think mainly because his rock was sobbing and he had probably never seen her like this. I tried to explain how it was good to cry, and that Sheola was fine she wasn’t hurt, she was safe. Basanda cried for the rest of the day, basically. So, as I held him, Sheola told me that Sha wanted to beat her and Dios and that someone else wanted to beat Basanda.
I felt really good that she felt comfortable enough to confide this in me. I asked her if she’d like to tell MB, if she thought it would make it better or worse, and she said better. So, we told MB. MB and I talked and she thought that the airport would be the perfect forum to talk about everything, as Sheola, Dios and Sha were all coming.
Denzel had tried to tell me that he was going home because I was crying. I think it was a combination of wanting a bit of attention, but also not knowing what to do with me crying. As soon as Sheola had calmed down, I went to him and gave him a huge hug and thanked him for being so wonderful!
The social worker actually came out of her office to talk to Sheola, it took her long enough!! She’d been crying for hours, everyone knew, but she did come out. Sheola said that they had an appointment to talk in the morning. I really hope that something good comes from that, that this woman can help a bit.
The time came to get ready to go to the airport, and a ton of kids were under the impression that they were coming. It’s so hard to turn them away. Especially kids like McMorris, and Siun, and Esme who I just got close to. But, I couldn’t replace anyone, that would have been so horrible and heart breaking, and I thought that the group we had really did need to have a talk about violence.
The ride to the airport was fine. MB and I talked about college, and getting a job (or two) to save up enough money to come back. I don’t get sad about leaving because I don’t know when I’ll be back, I know I’m coming back, so that makes me feel so much better. I get upset though thinking that I can’t be there. I opened this whole can of worms, and now I was leaving! I just wanted to stay and make everything ok. But, that’s going to take years and years and years.
I checked in at the airport, and then we all sat down and had a little pow-wow. MB very subtly, started a conversation about violence and jealousy. She thought that Sha was upset because Dios, Sheola and Basanda started coming to the center when I got back but don’t come often otherwise. She thought that Sha was jealous of not getting my attention, which was rather focused a lot on those three who aren’t “BNC kids” in Sha’s eyes. MB had the kids look around the circle and see if there was anyone that they had been mean to. Maroldi said that she had been mean to me, and I said that I had been mean to her too. It went on like this, this really honest, safe conversation. We apologized. Then, I told them how I didn’t grow up around fighting, so when I see it, it makes me really upset, and I wish they could try and solve things another way. We all made a verbal pact, however good that word is. I just think it was important for them to see me like this.
The last time I was in Namibia, I found myself, but this time, I found the kids. I connected with them and gained their trust and love even more than I thought I could have.
MB took pictures (which I can’t wait to see!!!) and I got lots of hugs. I think I just want the kids to know how much I love them, unconditionally, no matter what happens, no matter what they do. I’m glad that Set and Denzel got to come. I’m glad that I got to know them. They were both really violent and angry, and I hope that I was able to give them positive love, positive attention. I’ve noticed that the two of them have been less violent and more helpful. I tried to address that whenever I saw it, to reinforce it. When Denzel gave me a hug goodbye I said, “I love you Denzel,” and he nodded into my shoulder and said, “I love you too Erica.” Dios cried in my arms, but he knows that I’ll be back. It was an emotional but wonderful way to leave. The air was cleared, a really important topic was addressed, and there was just a lot of love all around.
So, that was my time in Namibia. As I stood in line waiting to go through immigration, I could see the kids and MB through the window, and I couldn’t help to shed happy tears. I’m so proud of these kids, I envy their strength and courage. I love their clever wits and spirits and passion. I love seeing them really smile, all the way from the bottom of their hearts, and even more, I love to be part of the reason for that smile. I love the way they make me feel: loved.
Until the next time, Denzel’s smile, Dios’ laugh, Set’s hugs, Sheola’s trust, Ruu’s seven-year-old sense of humor, Zavier’s wonderfulness and all of the love will keep me going.
OK....well, after I wrote this post in the Frankfurt airport I went to buy some breakfast. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the plastic bag that had my Euros in it and my bills were missing. Right then, I think I knew it was Dios. He had not only been with my backpack in the back of the bakkie, but at the airport he went into the bathroom with my backpack on. I must admit, I cried for a while in the airport, just getting over the utter disappointment I felt. I really wanted to trust him.
When I got home, I wrote MB, Ilga and Suzie an e-mail explaining what had happened. Suzie wrote back telling me that Dios had indeed asked Ilga to change 15 Euros. When I read the e-mail, I guess I knew it was coming, so I didn't completely freak out. I'm just really disappointed that he did that. I'm really just disappointed. MB is apparently going to talk to him, and I'm really interested in seeing what his reasoning is.
So, that's it for now. I continue to hope that the kids' perception between right and wrong clears up, and that they strive to make good choices. I'll miss them while I'm away, but I know that I'll be back! :)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
My Last Couple of Days
So, here's the recount of my last days in Namibia...!
Thursday, Suzanne and I went back to Home Affairs in the morning to retrieve her passport. It was really painless, surprisingly! The lady at the counter was different than the one we had the first time we went, so there was much less attitude. We walked back to the house to meet Ilga, and then took a taxi to Pioneerspark where her former house mates and landlord live.
Her former landlord runs a living museum for the San people up north to preserve their culture and help generate an income for them. A friend from school (Heather!) had asked me to pick her up a piece of jewelry from Namibia, and Ilga told me that her former landlord sells San jewelery and that the money goes right back to them, so I thought that was really great! There is a San store on Independence Ave, but I think it's probably like the craft center where they jack up the prices so much, and the actual San people don't see much of that money.
Anway, our taxi driver was pretty funny! He was talking about stealing in Namibia and how it's wrong, and how there isn't enough punishment for the people who do steal. He said that tourists are going to leave Namibia and think it's a country of criminals...it was pretty funny! Suzanne and I checked out the jewelery, which was really beautiful, as Ilga caught up with her housemates. We met them all, and hung at the house for a while before leaving to return to Windhoek.
We caught a taxi and had it drop us off at Zoo Park because we had wanted to have a picnic! We walked to a little cafe and bought sandwiches and then went to the park and sat in the grass. It was really nice. Though you're watching the cars go by right below you, it's nice to see grass and be able to sit in it. I think the only other place that I've been able to enjoy grass is at the pool, because everywhere else it's dirt and gravel and stones.
The picnic was nice, and we went back home. Ilga wasn't feeling too well, and so she decided to stay home from the center. Ilga and I had promised Ajay that we would make lasagna one night for dinner, and Suzanne (who's family apparently carries the culinary gene) decided to help. While we were at the center, Ilga went grocery shopping to get all of the ingredients. Unfortunately, she couldn't find ricotta, so we had LOTS of mozzarella and some grated Parmesan cheese with herbs that came in some shaker thing! (I declared this "Namibian Lasagna!")
The center was absolutely amazing! Suzanne had developed the computer room into an actual learning center, I've been running the big room, Kenny, a volunteer from Sweden, has been hanging out with the kids outside playing soccer and other active activities, and MB is able to walk around and sort of supervise. It's really wonderful. I think the order and structure that this creates puts the kids at ease, and consequently, things run really smoothly!! It's really wonderful!
When we got home, we started in on our lasagna! We had soooo much meat, like 4 kilos, so we froze half of it! Ajay came home just in time and we pulled it out and all ate together. Although it wasn't the most amazing lasagna, it turned out pretty well!! It's nice to just sit around all together and talk. Conversation is always so interesting, and entertaining!!
After dinner, we just hung out at the house in the living room. Talking some more, using the internet, reading. I think the lasagna made us all pretty tired and we were all in bed by 11!!
Friday morning MB picked Suzanne and I up and we went to a kindergarten called Corpus Christi to give a workshop to the teachers there. We had been there once before, but this time the kids would be at the school, so we would be running a class. When we walked in, there were kids ranging from 2 to 6! In one class! MB started in with songs and that was cute. After about an hour of songs, we broke into small groups and taught the kids games. I had the older kids (!!!) and taught them picture bingo.
We left the kindergarten a little after 11 and went straight to the center. Jim had asked me to ask Salome to make him another bracelet, and so Suzanne and I had to run a bracelet day. Oh my gosh!! It was sort of disastrous! We had a sign up sheet, and called kids in as their turns came up. If the kids had no idea what they were doing, Suzanne and I sat down with them one-on-one and taught them how to make the bracelet, so they had done it all by themselves. Sometimes, we had kids who were experts, so we could have three or four going at one time. One of two kids on their own, and two kids with help. We did all of this in the library so that we could keep out the kids whose turn had not been up yet. It wasn't in the library that was disastrous, it was actually great in there! The kids were able to learn something new, and concurrently make something that they could be proud of! It was all the other kids, who were waiting, that were the problem.
They kept coming in and asking when their turn was, coming in and disrupting. After 50 kids do this, it just gets old--I only have so much patience! Though I didn't loose my cool with them, I did get rather curt saying a bit harshly, "When it is your turn, we will call you. Please go outside and close the door, now." We had been at the center since about 11:30 doing bracelets, and at 5:30 we still hadn't gotten to everyone.
I just have to give one little anecdote. Zavier, Dios' cousin, came in to make a bracelet, and everyone had needed me to hold their middle string for them. But Set also came in at the same time, and he needed help. I had taught Zavier the stitch and he had caught on fast, so when I hesitated as to what to do about helping Set and holding Zavier's string, he said, "No problem." And stuck the string between his toes and continued. I just about pounced on him and showered him with kisses, as he has got to be the easiest most wonderful kid!! It was great! Set was also really wonderful, holding the string between his toes so that I could go bring in a fourth person! :) BLISS!
Maroldi had passed up her turn to come in to go to the computer room instead, but when she was finished in there, she wanted to come and make a bracelet. I looked at Suzanne and told her that I couldn't deal with Maroldi today, so she and MB decided that Maroldi needed to have an attitude change, and then she could come in and make a bracelet. We actually wound up staying a half hour later so she could finish her bracelet, and when I had made the clasp for her, and handed it to her, she was ready to snatch it and run without saying anything. I said to her, "Maroldi, we just stayed a half our later at the center so that YOU could finish your bracelet, and you're not going to say thank you?" I think I said some more, about being rude and she finally grunted thank you and left. GRRRRRRRR....
At home, everyone was going sort of out of it. We were too tired to do anything productive, but not tired enough to go to sleep. It was sort of agonizing. Suzanne and I tried to play war, but it got to the point where we were cheering for her as she was loosing her cards! We went to bed after that!!
Saturday was soccer, and we spent all day at the fields. I really enjoy being there with the kids--watching them play and just hanging out with them. Denzel got pretty attached to me (literally) and had his arms around me constantly. He really has come a long way, just since I've been here. I hope he keeps up this positive attitude. Set, his brother, has also changed. When he arrived at the soccer fields, he came up behind me and said, "Erica, would you like a hug?" I said "YOU BET!!" So great!!
The sky got really overcast and we ended soccer a bit early--around 3. Although I think the kids really wanted to go to the center, MB had really stopped that habit, and she said that we were going home. We didn't even drop the soccer stuff off at the center, we just kept it in the bakkie and went home. Once again, we just sort of bummed around the house. After being with the kids all day, sometimes I need to just clear my head and have some quiet, so I went to my room and read and thought, while MB answered e-mails in the kitchen, and the rest of the house mates were in the living room.
We made dinner and ate together, and then Marc left to go out with a friend. It was just another normal night! Around 10, Ilga, Suzanne and I wound up in the kitchen with MB and distracted her from her e-mails!! We stayed in there with her until about midnight when she left to go to back to her house, and we went to sleep.
Now, we're getting ready to go to the pool!! MB cancelled a workshop she was supposed to give today and asked for special permission to take the kids to the pool today, specifically for me! I'm really excited!! :) My big question at the moment is "The camera: to bring or not to bring?!"
Hope things are going well!!
:)
Thursday, Suzanne and I went back to Home Affairs in the morning to retrieve her passport. It was really painless, surprisingly! The lady at the counter was different than the one we had the first time we went, so there was much less attitude. We walked back to the house to meet Ilga, and then took a taxi to Pioneerspark where her former house mates and landlord live.
Her former landlord runs a living museum for the San people up north to preserve their culture and help generate an income for them. A friend from school (Heather!) had asked me to pick her up a piece of jewelry from Namibia, and Ilga told me that her former landlord sells San jewelery and that the money goes right back to them, so I thought that was really great! There is a San store on Independence Ave, but I think it's probably like the craft center where they jack up the prices so much, and the actual San people don't see much of that money.
Anway, our taxi driver was pretty funny! He was talking about stealing in Namibia and how it's wrong, and how there isn't enough punishment for the people who do steal. He said that tourists are going to leave Namibia and think it's a country of criminals...it was pretty funny! Suzanne and I checked out the jewelery, which was really beautiful, as Ilga caught up with her housemates. We met them all, and hung at the house for a while before leaving to return to Windhoek.
We caught a taxi and had it drop us off at Zoo Park because we had wanted to have a picnic! We walked to a little cafe and bought sandwiches and then went to the park and sat in the grass. It was really nice. Though you're watching the cars go by right below you, it's nice to see grass and be able to sit in it. I think the only other place that I've been able to enjoy grass is at the pool, because everywhere else it's dirt and gravel and stones.
The picnic was nice, and we went back home. Ilga wasn't feeling too well, and so she decided to stay home from the center. Ilga and I had promised Ajay that we would make lasagna one night for dinner, and Suzanne (who's family apparently carries the culinary gene) decided to help. While we were at the center, Ilga went grocery shopping to get all of the ingredients. Unfortunately, she couldn't find ricotta, so we had LOTS of mozzarella and some grated Parmesan cheese with herbs that came in some shaker thing! (I declared this "Namibian Lasagna!")
The center was absolutely amazing! Suzanne had developed the computer room into an actual learning center, I've been running the big room, Kenny, a volunteer from Sweden, has been hanging out with the kids outside playing soccer and other active activities, and MB is able to walk around and sort of supervise. It's really wonderful. I think the order and structure that this creates puts the kids at ease, and consequently, things run really smoothly!! It's really wonderful!
When we got home, we started in on our lasagna! We had soooo much meat, like 4 kilos, so we froze half of it! Ajay came home just in time and we pulled it out and all ate together. Although it wasn't the most amazing lasagna, it turned out pretty well!! It's nice to just sit around all together and talk. Conversation is always so interesting, and entertaining!!
After dinner, we just hung out at the house in the living room. Talking some more, using the internet, reading. I think the lasagna made us all pretty tired and we were all in bed by 11!!
Friday morning MB picked Suzanne and I up and we went to a kindergarten called Corpus Christi to give a workshop to the teachers there. We had been there once before, but this time the kids would be at the school, so we would be running a class. When we walked in, there were kids ranging from 2 to 6! In one class! MB started in with songs and that was cute. After about an hour of songs, we broke into small groups and taught the kids games. I had the older kids (!!!) and taught them picture bingo.
We left the kindergarten a little after 11 and went straight to the center. Jim had asked me to ask Salome to make him another bracelet, and so Suzanne and I had to run a bracelet day. Oh my gosh!! It was sort of disastrous! We had a sign up sheet, and called kids in as their turns came up. If the kids had no idea what they were doing, Suzanne and I sat down with them one-on-one and taught them how to make the bracelet, so they had done it all by themselves. Sometimes, we had kids who were experts, so we could have three or four going at one time. One of two kids on their own, and two kids with help. We did all of this in the library so that we could keep out the kids whose turn had not been up yet. It wasn't in the library that was disastrous, it was actually great in there! The kids were able to learn something new, and concurrently make something that they could be proud of! It was all the other kids, who were waiting, that were the problem.
They kept coming in and asking when their turn was, coming in and disrupting. After 50 kids do this, it just gets old--I only have so much patience! Though I didn't loose my cool with them, I did get rather curt saying a bit harshly, "When it is your turn, we will call you. Please go outside and close the door, now." We had been at the center since about 11:30 doing bracelets, and at 5:30 we still hadn't gotten to everyone.
I just have to give one little anecdote. Zavier, Dios' cousin, came in to make a bracelet, and everyone had needed me to hold their middle string for them. But Set also came in at the same time, and he needed help. I had taught Zavier the stitch and he had caught on fast, so when I hesitated as to what to do about helping Set and holding Zavier's string, he said, "No problem." And stuck the string between his toes and continued. I just about pounced on him and showered him with kisses, as he has got to be the easiest most wonderful kid!! It was great! Set was also really wonderful, holding the string between his toes so that I could go bring in a fourth person! :) BLISS!
Maroldi had passed up her turn to come in to go to the computer room instead, but when she was finished in there, she wanted to come and make a bracelet. I looked at Suzanne and told her that I couldn't deal with Maroldi today, so she and MB decided that Maroldi needed to have an attitude change, and then she could come in and make a bracelet. We actually wound up staying a half hour later so she could finish her bracelet, and when I had made the clasp for her, and handed it to her, she was ready to snatch it and run without saying anything. I said to her, "Maroldi, we just stayed a half our later at the center so that YOU could finish your bracelet, and you're not going to say thank you?" I think I said some more, about being rude and she finally grunted thank you and left. GRRRRRRRR....
At home, everyone was going sort of out of it. We were too tired to do anything productive, but not tired enough to go to sleep. It was sort of agonizing. Suzanne and I tried to play war, but it got to the point where we were cheering for her as she was loosing her cards! We went to bed after that!!
Saturday was soccer, and we spent all day at the fields. I really enjoy being there with the kids--watching them play and just hanging out with them. Denzel got pretty attached to me (literally) and had his arms around me constantly. He really has come a long way, just since I've been here. I hope he keeps up this positive attitude. Set, his brother, has also changed. When he arrived at the soccer fields, he came up behind me and said, "Erica, would you like a hug?" I said "YOU BET!!" So great!!
The sky got really overcast and we ended soccer a bit early--around 3. Although I think the kids really wanted to go to the center, MB had really stopped that habit, and she said that we were going home. We didn't even drop the soccer stuff off at the center, we just kept it in the bakkie and went home. Once again, we just sort of bummed around the house. After being with the kids all day, sometimes I need to just clear my head and have some quiet, so I went to my room and read and thought, while MB answered e-mails in the kitchen, and the rest of the house mates were in the living room.
We made dinner and ate together, and then Marc left to go out with a friend. It was just another normal night! Around 10, Ilga, Suzanne and I wound up in the kitchen with MB and distracted her from her e-mails!! We stayed in there with her until about midnight when she left to go to back to her house, and we went to sleep.
Now, we're getting ready to go to the pool!! MB cancelled a workshop she was supposed to give today and asked for special permission to take the kids to the pool today, specifically for me! I'm really excited!! :) My big question at the moment is "The camera: to bring or not to bring?!"
Hope things are going well!!
:)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Orienting, Joe's Beerhouse, and Dios' Birthday
Suzanne and I have been keeping a list of things that we need to do, and on Monday, we began to conquer the tasks. Last year when I was here, I didn't have to worry much about getting around Windhoek, because I was usually with either Jim or MB. This year though, I've actually been paying attention, and have actually begun to orient myself in this city!
Marc isn't house-sitting anymore, and since Tobi is moving back into the house, Marc has to move into one of the rooms in the back. Suzanne and I went to get an extra key made for him so that he could just come in the back door, and wouldn't have to walk around the entire house. We couldn't find the key store right away so we went into a used bookstore and asked the man working there. After finding the key shop and getting a copy made, we went to the craft store and looked around for a while. We had juice on the balcony of the craft center and then went to find a bank that would actually change my money. The first time I went to a bank, I didn't bring my passport, which you apparently need here to change currency, and the second time, the bank told me I had to go to the main branch. So, Suzanne and I went to Independence Ave, which is the main road that runs through Windhoek and into Katutura, and even beyond that.
We stood in line there for a while, observing client-worker interactions and were appalled! It seemed like each person who walked in was there just to give the bank guy a hard time. The bank workers were getting really frustrated, and it was just sort of weird. I changed my money, and we walked back to the house. Ilga and Marc had made spaghetti for lunch, so they shared with the two of us, and we enjoyed some nice lunch-time conversation! Marc joined us at the center, so the five of us piled into the bakkie and drove to the BNC.
The kids chant "MARY! MARY! MARY!" each day we pull into the center, and they jump on the bakki, hanging on the mirrors, and can't wait until it stops so that they can open the door for you. I fluctuated in and out of the big room, playing Scrabble and other games with the kids. I really really enjoy being with them. I love their spirits and their craziness. Even the attitudes and fighting are tolerable because of their amazing verve for life. I often find myself just wanting to have them in my arms, or on my back, or dancing around on the my feet with me, just being with them!
Denzel used to be a ball of fury, and I'm sure that he hasn't completely lost his anger issues, but ever since he sobbed in the big room with MB about two weeks ago, he's been really different. I think that he's beginning to realize all of the positive attention he gets when his behavior is positive. It's nice to see him happy and friendly and not beating everyone who looks at him sideways. His brother, Set, who MB told me was a bully, has also been really great lately. I enjoy being around both of them a lot!
Christopher is another boy who I've gotten to know better. He's been such a great help to me, and I feel that he doesn't get stuck at the center on just puzzles and dominoes. He asks for Scrabble boards and other games, and will conduct it with a group of kids without ever needing me. I've been trying to nurture his requests, hoping some other kids will see these different games, and want to play also.
It was a really harmonious day at the BNC--everything went smoothly. Towards the end of the day, when kids were trickling out, we had time to spend with the "regulars" and shower them with positive and loving affection! (and get showered in return!!!) After the center, we all returned home, and had more pasta for dinner! It was really nice to sit around and talk with everyone, especially when Marc is around, conversation is so interesting!
After dinner, the four of us as around brainstorming ideas for a tag for Miriam's dolls. There is a large order leaving for the UK and MB thought it would be nice to have tags on the dolls so people would know where they came from. Marc drew up a sketch that we all liked, and he said he'd go to his friend's the next day to use Illustrator and create it!
Tuesday, Suzanne and I went back into town because we had to get some pictures printed up for MB and find guitar strings. The first music store we went to was out of acoustic strings, and the second, and only other one we knew about, was closed. Next, we went into one of the FOUR malls in Windhoek (all within walking distance from each other) and had two pictures of Morris printed up, for his school ID, and a picture of a puzzle printed up, so that the kids would have a reference when they tried to put it together.
We got to the center around 1:30 and Ilga and I both ran the big room. It was a little chaotic. There were two sets of small lego blocks out with the big legos, which were getting all mixed together, puzzles everywhere, kids everywhere, they was absolutely no order! It was insane!
When we returned from the center, I took a shower (what a concept! See, my theory here is that I'm just going to get dirty the next day!) and around 7 Ajay, Ilga, Suzanne and I left to have dinner at Joe's Beerhouse. Ajay insisted that I visit it and it was a really great place! I ordered this sampling of lots of different kinds of meat, and it was extremely delicious! There was ostrich, alligator, kudu, zebra, and chicken all on a kibob. Suzanne ordered a "Game Stroganoff" and we split both dishes. (We still don't know what kind of "game" it was, but it was wonderful!)
During dinner, a group of guys came out to perform. They sang a cappella and stepped and it was really great! They were very talented! Two of Ilga's friends from her former house were also at the restaurant, so we talked to them for a bit. It was nice to be out at night, and doing something, as we are usually gathered in the living room. We sat at the table for a couple of hours and just as we were thinking of leaving, Ajay said, "We could have one more drink," so we stayed for a bit longer!
At home, we had all eaten so much that we went to bed shortly after!!
Wednesday morning was Dios' birthday, and since Ilga and I had been talking about getting some of the kids to show us around Katutura, we thought this would be a good opportunity. Marc also decided to come so he could take pictures (I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but he is working as a freelance photographer here.) So, the four of us caught a taxi to the center, and met Dios and the group he had decided to bring along. Suzanne and I had picked up some sweets for him and I wrapped those up and a little fan and gave those to him. We set out for Macrenne's house because he wasn't at the center, and we were accompanied by Dios, Basanda, Zavier, Wendy and Sannet. As we walked to Macrenne's, Salome, Maroldi and Sha joined us.
I think their addition really pissed Dios off, and when we got to Macrenne's he was really hesistant to come with us, because he apparently knew there would be tension and fighting admist the kids. (I also think that he 1. wanted to be sulky in hopes of getting more attention from us and 2. was worried about leaving his house because things often get stolen by the adults he lives with.) He wound up coming with us, and Marc walked with Salome, Maroldi and Sha, while the rest of us walked in front.
There was a lot of negative Damara talk about the three girls, and finally I stopped "our group" and we had a bit of a pow-wow. Suzanne was able to use her conflict resolution skills to find out what was bothering the kids and try to find a solution. It still is not completely clear to me what happened, but apparently the girls joined us uninvited, and if these kids ever tried to do that with them, the girls would yell at them and chase them away and get angry, but here they were joining us. (I think that "our group" thought they were going to get a huge lunch, and were worried that the amount of people would have an effect on what they would get.)
When we caught up to Marc and the girls, Suzanne had a conflict-resolution session with them as well. I think it was more just going through the motions...nothing was really solved, it just pointed out that we realized there was some tension and we'd like to clear the air. The kids wound up walking us right past Shop Rite and the Hungry Lion, clearly hoping that we'd stop and get them food. But, we'd only been walking around for about a half hour, and we were right back near the center, so I told them I wanted to keep going!
I think they realized that at that moment they weren't getting any food, so they picked up the "tour" part!! Sha decided she didn't want to walk around (obviously she was with us for the food) and went back to the center. Dios walked us to his house, pointing out where others lived along the way. He brought us into his home, and we met his Aunt and some other guy. As nice as it was for him to bring us in, it was a bit awkward. I almost felt bad, a white girl, standing in their courtyard staring at them. The kids were preoccupied with Ilga's camera, but I couldn't get past this feeling of guilt. I realize that there is nothing I can really do about the economic class that I was born into, but still...
We walked across the street to Christopher's house and met his mother and stepfather. His youngest brother, Jonathan, is about 2 years old, but he's really sick. He doesn't talk, doesn't really eat, and cries all the time. The step father told us that Christopher and Rivaldo were at the market, and Claire joined our walk. Wendy sort of took charge and became the tour guide, pointing out churches and schools and locations. As we were leaving the Damara location, she pointed out that we were entering the Nama section, and you could tell because their skin was lighter. We walked all the way to Soweto market, the kids said we were going to a park, but one of them slipped and said that there was a KFC right near there. !!
We stopped before the KFC and I took Dios and Wendy into a grocery store with me. We bought 10 juice boxes, 8 bags of chips and one bottle of water. The water was for Ilga, and I thought Suzanne and I could each have a juice box. Wendy, Dios and I met the others at the park and we began to hand out the loot. Apparently, I had counted incorrectly (we weren't always walking together, kids came and went) and we had 9 kids! Whoops. At first Wendy decided she wasn't going to have chips, but then something was said and Maroldi handed over her bag of chips to Wendy. Wendy asked me if Maroldi could have two juices and I said Sure! But, Maroldi got this attitude and didn't take the juice. Suzanne and I both asked her if she wanted it and she didn't answer at all. So, I put it in my pocket. The kids were all asking for sips of water, and I told them they had chips and juice and the water was for us. Dios asked me for the extra juice and I told him that he had the same as everyone else, and that we would save it for later.
We were already going to be late to the center, since Soweto is a bit far from the BNC and we had little kids walking with us. We left the park at 1:30 and headed back. Salome and Wendy started talking about how this "meal" didn't fill them, and they began asking me for the juice for Maroldi saying, "Can Maroldi have the juice?" I kept telling them that Maroldi could ask for it if she wanted it. Finally, she came up to me as we were walking and said "Give me the juice!" I looked at her square in the eye and said, "Excuse me?" and she repeated herself the same way.
I completely lost it with her. All day I thought we were doing something nice and it seemed as though it was turning into this disaster. No one was satisfied, everyone wanted more. I just lost it. I wound up giving her the juice and she didn't say anything, so I said "Thank you for saying Thank you. That is veeery polite of you." WHHHOOOOPPSS. Could I have picked a worse thing to say? Anyway, the rest of the walk was ok....Wendy was leading and the rest of the kids were just restless.
We arrived at the center around 2, and I went into the big room. Things were more-or-less normal there at first though, so I had some time to clear my head and think about everything. I had originally thought it was a disaster, but I realized that it wasn't at all. I think that it's in the kids' nature to push and push to see how much they can get, because it's a survival instinct. Although it would have been nice for them to be more appreciative of the day, I should have been prepared for that. I realized that they got to show us around their neighborhood, got to spend time with us and got free food. What was wrong with that?! I was also proud that Sha didn't throw a tantrum because she missed out on the food. (maybe she would have had we eated at KFC!) But, it's my hope that she realized that she made the decision to go back to the center, and therefore missed whatever occurred after that.
Ilga and I were both in the big room, and it just became too chaotic. We are different people who run the room differently. Two sets of little legos were out at the same time the large legos were out, so they were getting all mixed together. Little 3 and 4 year olds were given NICE coloring and game books and they just scribbled on a page, and then went to the next. It was just insane! There were kids and stuff everywhere--nothing went back in the cupboards...it was too chaotic for me!!
After the center, Ilga took a taxi home, and MB, Suzanne and I went to give a workshop at a kindergarten. They actually wanted MB to be the principal of the school, the pastor actually got on his knees and begged her, but she told them that kindergarten was not her thing, and she would train the teachers instead. Well, the teachers were really something. When you looked in their eyes, you could tell that there wasn't much going on. We were playing lots of colorful games and singing songs, and they were just NOT into it. We had three women, two of which were kindergarten teachers, and the third was the computer center supervisor. The computer lady was actually the most engaging!! We were there for two hours and left around 7, driving the great computer lady home.
Next, we drove out to see Mirium and pick up a doll order for people leaving for the UK. She had finished making 10 Big Mama's and 10 Big Sisters since the last time we visited her, which was the day Suzanne arrived on the 3rd. We went home Wednesday night, and Suzanne and I just crashed! We had some soup for dinner, and just slept!!
So, things are good, the center is great...and the kids are as wonderful as always!!
Until later....
:)
Marc isn't house-sitting anymore, and since Tobi is moving back into the house, Marc has to move into one of the rooms in the back. Suzanne and I went to get an extra key made for him so that he could just come in the back door, and wouldn't have to walk around the entire house. We couldn't find the key store right away so we went into a used bookstore and asked the man working there. After finding the key shop and getting a copy made, we went to the craft store and looked around for a while. We had juice on the balcony of the craft center and then went to find a bank that would actually change my money. The first time I went to a bank, I didn't bring my passport, which you apparently need here to change currency, and the second time, the bank told me I had to go to the main branch. So, Suzanne and I went to Independence Ave, which is the main road that runs through Windhoek and into Katutura, and even beyond that.
We stood in line there for a while, observing client-worker interactions and were appalled! It seemed like each person who walked in was there just to give the bank guy a hard time. The bank workers were getting really frustrated, and it was just sort of weird. I changed my money, and we walked back to the house. Ilga and Marc had made spaghetti for lunch, so they shared with the two of us, and we enjoyed some nice lunch-time conversation! Marc joined us at the center, so the five of us piled into the bakkie and drove to the BNC.
The kids chant "MARY! MARY! MARY!" each day we pull into the center, and they jump on the bakki, hanging on the mirrors, and can't wait until it stops so that they can open the door for you. I fluctuated in and out of the big room, playing Scrabble and other games with the kids. I really really enjoy being with them. I love their spirits and their craziness. Even the attitudes and fighting are tolerable because of their amazing verve for life. I often find myself just wanting to have them in my arms, or on my back, or dancing around on the my feet with me, just being with them!
Denzel used to be a ball of fury, and I'm sure that he hasn't completely lost his anger issues, but ever since he sobbed in the big room with MB about two weeks ago, he's been really different. I think that he's beginning to realize all of the positive attention he gets when his behavior is positive. It's nice to see him happy and friendly and not beating everyone who looks at him sideways. His brother, Set, who MB told me was a bully, has also been really great lately. I enjoy being around both of them a lot!
Christopher is another boy who I've gotten to know better. He's been such a great help to me, and I feel that he doesn't get stuck at the center on just puzzles and dominoes. He asks for Scrabble boards and other games, and will conduct it with a group of kids without ever needing me. I've been trying to nurture his requests, hoping some other kids will see these different games, and want to play also.
It was a really harmonious day at the BNC--everything went smoothly. Towards the end of the day, when kids were trickling out, we had time to spend with the "regulars" and shower them with positive and loving affection! (and get showered in return!!!) After the center, we all returned home, and had more pasta for dinner! It was really nice to sit around and talk with everyone, especially when Marc is around, conversation is so interesting!
After dinner, the four of us as around brainstorming ideas for a tag for Miriam's dolls. There is a large order leaving for the UK and MB thought it would be nice to have tags on the dolls so people would know where they came from. Marc drew up a sketch that we all liked, and he said he'd go to his friend's the next day to use Illustrator and create it!
Tuesday, Suzanne and I went back into town because we had to get some pictures printed up for MB and find guitar strings. The first music store we went to was out of acoustic strings, and the second, and only other one we knew about, was closed. Next, we went into one of the FOUR malls in Windhoek (all within walking distance from each other) and had two pictures of Morris printed up, for his school ID, and a picture of a puzzle printed up, so that the kids would have a reference when they tried to put it together.
We got to the center around 1:30 and Ilga and I both ran the big room. It was a little chaotic. There were two sets of small lego blocks out with the big legos, which were getting all mixed together, puzzles everywhere, kids everywhere, they was absolutely no order! It was insane!
When we returned from the center, I took a shower (what a concept! See, my theory here is that I'm just going to get dirty the next day!) and around 7 Ajay, Ilga, Suzanne and I left to have dinner at Joe's Beerhouse. Ajay insisted that I visit it and it was a really great place! I ordered this sampling of lots of different kinds of meat, and it was extremely delicious! There was ostrich, alligator, kudu, zebra, and chicken all on a kibob. Suzanne ordered a "Game Stroganoff" and we split both dishes. (We still don't know what kind of "game" it was, but it was wonderful!)
During dinner, a group of guys came out to perform. They sang a cappella and stepped and it was really great! They were very talented! Two of Ilga's friends from her former house were also at the restaurant, so we talked to them for a bit. It was nice to be out at night, and doing something, as we are usually gathered in the living room. We sat at the table for a couple of hours and just as we were thinking of leaving, Ajay said, "We could have one more drink," so we stayed for a bit longer!
At home, we had all eaten so much that we went to bed shortly after!!
Wednesday morning was Dios' birthday, and since Ilga and I had been talking about getting some of the kids to show us around Katutura, we thought this would be a good opportunity. Marc also decided to come so he could take pictures (I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but he is working as a freelance photographer here.) So, the four of us caught a taxi to the center, and met Dios and the group he had decided to bring along. Suzanne and I had picked up some sweets for him and I wrapped those up and a little fan and gave those to him. We set out for Macrenne's house because he wasn't at the center, and we were accompanied by Dios, Basanda, Zavier, Wendy and Sannet. As we walked to Macrenne's, Salome, Maroldi and Sha joined us.
I think their addition really pissed Dios off, and when we got to Macrenne's he was really hesistant to come with us, because he apparently knew there would be tension and fighting admist the kids. (I also think that he 1. wanted to be sulky in hopes of getting more attention from us and 2. was worried about leaving his house because things often get stolen by the adults he lives with.) He wound up coming with us, and Marc walked with Salome, Maroldi and Sha, while the rest of us walked in front.
There was a lot of negative Damara talk about the three girls, and finally I stopped "our group" and we had a bit of a pow-wow. Suzanne was able to use her conflict resolution skills to find out what was bothering the kids and try to find a solution. It still is not completely clear to me what happened, but apparently the girls joined us uninvited, and if these kids ever tried to do that with them, the girls would yell at them and chase them away and get angry, but here they were joining us. (I think that "our group" thought they were going to get a huge lunch, and were worried that the amount of people would have an effect on what they would get.)
When we caught up to Marc and the girls, Suzanne had a conflict-resolution session with them as well. I think it was more just going through the motions...nothing was really solved, it just pointed out that we realized there was some tension and we'd like to clear the air. The kids wound up walking us right past Shop Rite and the Hungry Lion, clearly hoping that we'd stop and get them food. But, we'd only been walking around for about a half hour, and we were right back near the center, so I told them I wanted to keep going!
I think they realized that at that moment they weren't getting any food, so they picked up the "tour" part!! Sha decided she didn't want to walk around (obviously she was with us for the food) and went back to the center. Dios walked us to his house, pointing out where others lived along the way. He brought us into his home, and we met his Aunt and some other guy. As nice as it was for him to bring us in, it was a bit awkward. I almost felt bad, a white girl, standing in their courtyard staring at them. The kids were preoccupied with Ilga's camera, but I couldn't get past this feeling of guilt. I realize that there is nothing I can really do about the economic class that I was born into, but still...
We walked across the street to Christopher's house and met his mother and stepfather. His youngest brother, Jonathan, is about 2 years old, but he's really sick. He doesn't talk, doesn't really eat, and cries all the time. The step father told us that Christopher and Rivaldo were at the market, and Claire joined our walk. Wendy sort of took charge and became the tour guide, pointing out churches and schools and locations. As we were leaving the Damara location, she pointed out that we were entering the Nama section, and you could tell because their skin was lighter. We walked all the way to Soweto market, the kids said we were going to a park, but one of them slipped and said that there was a KFC right near there. !!
We stopped before the KFC and I took Dios and Wendy into a grocery store with me. We bought 10 juice boxes, 8 bags of chips and one bottle of water. The water was for Ilga, and I thought Suzanne and I could each have a juice box. Wendy, Dios and I met the others at the park and we began to hand out the loot. Apparently, I had counted incorrectly (we weren't always walking together, kids came and went) and we had 9 kids! Whoops. At first Wendy decided she wasn't going to have chips, but then something was said and Maroldi handed over her bag of chips to Wendy. Wendy asked me if Maroldi could have two juices and I said Sure! But, Maroldi got this attitude and didn't take the juice. Suzanne and I both asked her if she wanted it and she didn't answer at all. So, I put it in my pocket. The kids were all asking for sips of water, and I told them they had chips and juice and the water was for us. Dios asked me for the extra juice and I told him that he had the same as everyone else, and that we would save it for later.
We were already going to be late to the center, since Soweto is a bit far from the BNC and we had little kids walking with us. We left the park at 1:30 and headed back. Salome and Wendy started talking about how this "meal" didn't fill them, and they began asking me for the juice for Maroldi saying, "Can Maroldi have the juice?" I kept telling them that Maroldi could ask for it if she wanted it. Finally, she came up to me as we were walking and said "Give me the juice!" I looked at her square in the eye and said, "Excuse me?" and she repeated herself the same way.
I completely lost it with her. All day I thought we were doing something nice and it seemed as though it was turning into this disaster. No one was satisfied, everyone wanted more. I just lost it. I wound up giving her the juice and she didn't say anything, so I said "Thank you for saying Thank you. That is veeery polite of you." WHHHOOOOPPSS. Could I have picked a worse thing to say? Anyway, the rest of the walk was ok....Wendy was leading and the rest of the kids were just restless.
We arrived at the center around 2, and I went into the big room. Things were more-or-less normal there at first though, so I had some time to clear my head and think about everything. I had originally thought it was a disaster, but I realized that it wasn't at all. I think that it's in the kids' nature to push and push to see how much they can get, because it's a survival instinct. Although it would have been nice for them to be more appreciative of the day, I should have been prepared for that. I realized that they got to show us around their neighborhood, got to spend time with us and got free food. What was wrong with that?! I was also proud that Sha didn't throw a tantrum because she missed out on the food. (maybe she would have had we eated at KFC!) But, it's my hope that she realized that she made the decision to go back to the center, and therefore missed whatever occurred after that.
Ilga and I were both in the big room, and it just became too chaotic. We are different people who run the room differently. Two sets of little legos were out at the same time the large legos were out, so they were getting all mixed together. Little 3 and 4 year olds were given NICE coloring and game books and they just scribbled on a page, and then went to the next. It was just insane! There were kids and stuff everywhere--nothing went back in the cupboards...it was too chaotic for me!!
After the center, Ilga took a taxi home, and MB, Suzanne and I went to give a workshop at a kindergarten. They actually wanted MB to be the principal of the school, the pastor actually got on his knees and begged her, but she told them that kindergarten was not her thing, and she would train the teachers instead. Well, the teachers were really something. When you looked in their eyes, you could tell that there wasn't much going on. We were playing lots of colorful games and singing songs, and they were just NOT into it. We had three women, two of which were kindergarten teachers, and the third was the computer center supervisor. The computer lady was actually the most engaging!! We were there for two hours and left around 7, driving the great computer lady home.
Next, we drove out to see Mirium and pick up a doll order for people leaving for the UK. She had finished making 10 Big Mama's and 10 Big Sisters since the last time we visited her, which was the day Suzanne arrived on the 3rd. We went home Wednesday night, and Suzanne and I just crashed! We had some soup for dinner, and just slept!!
So, things are good, the center is great...and the kids are as wonderful as always!!
Until later....
:)
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Soccer & "His People"
Saturday was soccer day, and since Brian (the reading guy) was still in Zimbabwe (he returned today, Sunday,) we weren't planning to go to the center...especially considering the negative energy in the air last Saturday. We got to the BNC around 10, and I had told Gideon that we would play chess at the fields. So, as MB got the soccer stuff out of her closet, I got a couple sets of dominoes and a chess set. Suzanne and I were escorted to the fields by Esme, Ruru, Baumbaum, and Macrenne. We set up camp under a tree and I went to fill up the water jugs at the tap with some of the kids.
Gideon "coaches" a team of U-10 boys, and he took the weakest ones, put them in red "bibs" (pinnies), and stuck them on one field, and took the stronger ones, put them in yellow bibs, and stuck them on another field. They played Coach Lemmey's teams of boys about the same age. Macrenne and I went to stand between the two fields so we could watch both, and he pointed out a lot of kids to me. Sydney and Eric refereed the games, so MB got to rest in the shade for a while.
Later, when the older boys were playing Coach Beverley's team, I started to take pictures of the "tocks" (or cleats) that were donated in action. I got some good action shots of attempted goals and guys leaping in the air! It was a great game, but Beverley's boys wiped the BNC boys off the field--they practice 5 days a week, as opposed to the 0 practices the BNC boys have.
Next, the Pumpkins played Beverley's girls team. I was sort of roaming all over the place, keeping the younger kids occupied, getting my butt kicked by Gideon at chess, continuously filling up the water jugs, and stuff like that. Apparently, towards the end of the game, one of the girls on Beverley's team told Maroldi that she had HIV on the field. Maroldi got upset and went to MB who was reffing the game. MB told her to stay calm and finish out the game. As it went on though, the comments to Maroldi just escalated, and she began to get really angry. Thankfully, the game ended shortly after and Beverley, who speaks Damara, took the two girls aside and figured it all out. MB tried to get the other Pumpkins to see how it was really none of their business, and there was no need for them to get involved. The girls really just wanted some drama.
Taura had come to the field with the intention of running the reading program herself after soccer at the center. But, MB felt the same negativity as last week, and she told the kids that she would not be going to the center. I think most of them were very disappointed, but we were all exhausted anyway. MB had been reffing most of the day, I was playing with little kids in the sun, and Suzanne was being crawled all over, not to mention was in charge of our most valuable possessions!
Taura decided to still conduct her reading group in the shade at the fields. She had printed up some handouts and had been really looking forward to it. MB, Suzanne and I headed back the house MB is staying at and enjoyed Coke floats by the pool. We talked about the kids and Namibia in general, and it was really nice to get to know Suzanne better and just enjoy some interesting conversation. We jumped into the pool with all our clothes on, because it was unbearably hot and we hadn't brought bathing suits, but it was sort of liberating!!
A bit later, we had some dinner, and played Uno with Halloween themes Peanuts cards that MB's sister, Suzie, had given her. We headed back to our house on Axali Doeseb Street around 7 and hung out with Ilga, Marc and Ajay for a bit. I was so exhausted from the whole day that I went to bed around 10:30. Suzanne said she came into the room a bit later and I was passed out, not moving at all!!
This morning, Taura had invited Suzanne and I to church with her and then she wanted to treat us to pizza. Now, Taura lives in Katutura with her aunt and uncle and is basically their very own Cinderella. All she wants (and needs) to do is move out of that house, and she was insisting on buying pizza for me and Suzanne. Well, I decided that that was not ok, and planned to come back to our house where we had frozen pizza. (Taura didn't know this yet though, Suzanne and I had been plotting!)
Taura was supposed to meet us at our house around 8:30, but at 9:10 she still hadn't showed up. Ilga called her and Tarua was apparently in the taxi already. We had planned to walk to her church, but Ilga told her that we would meet her there in our own taxi. Our driver took a particular liking to Ilga, who sat in the front next to him, and offered her his number "in case she ever needed a taxi again." She told him she already had "many numbers from taxi drivers!"
Taura's church, called His People, is in an area that is usually the show-grounds, where people can come and display their crafts and goods. We got their before Taura and waited for her, employing ourselves as the Welcoming Committee and saying "Hello" or "Good Morning" to everyone who walked by us! When Taura arrived, we walked into the church with her, and were greeted by the band. Now, this was not an ordinary hymn being sung, accompanied by an organ. Oh no! This was upbeat, rock-like music, played by a quartet consisting of a bass player, a guitarist, a keyboardist, and a drummer! (Behind us in the back of the church was even a guy with a sound board!) As if that wasn't enough, the lyrics were projected onto a screen above the stage! It was exciting and quite a way to start my Sunday morning!
The rest of the service was interesting as well, and I enjoyed being in a place where you can feel the sense of community. Afterwards, we had refreshments (juice!) outside with the other members of the congregation. As we left the church, Taura began to head to Marua Mall to get pizza, but the three of us began to walk in the direction of home. At first Taura was really upset and jokingly refused to move and come with us. But when she saw how serious we were, she followed. A bit later she said, "Erica! This was you! You didn't want me to treat you guys to pizza!" I explained to her that we had perfectly good pizza in our freezer and that if she didn't help us eat it, it would just go to waste. I think she realized that we were trying to help her, to get her out of splurging for this unnecessary food. Then, she began to tell us what a blessing it was to spend time with us, all the while putting home-made carrot cake into our hands as we're walking.
We stopped at the store she works in in Windhoek so she could check her schedule, and then went home through the mall. We walked into Pick N'Pay because Ilga had to get something, and Taura went on a rampage trying to find something she could contribute to our lunch. She wound up buying two boxes of juice and a bag of chips. Outside the store, we ran into two friends of hers. As we were all talking, these two boys came up to us and stood there, waiting for us to hand them money. Taura said to them, all I have left is taxi fare, as she reached into her bag for it. Both her friend and me said "Taura!" and she took her hand out. When she thought we weren't looking, she handed them the bag with the chips in it, and they ran off. We invited one of the girls back to have pizza with us, and she told us she might stop by after running her errands.
At home, we heated up the pizza, and Cynthia (the lady we met in the mall) arrived just as we brought it out to eat. She is Nigerian, from the Ibo tibe, and was impressed that I knew of "Things Fall Apart!" She was actually born in New Delhi, India, and has been living in Namibia for about 10 years. I had told Taura that I could record her singing on my camera and then convert it to an audio track and put it on a CD for her. She was really excited about this, and brought her guitar with her! We recorded her for about an hour or so and MB and Ajay even joined in on the action!
Since Taura recently had a very scary incident with a taxi, she's nervous every time she has to take one. MB offered to drive her home, but she refused. So, Suzanne and I went outside with her to catch her a taxi. I made sure that I stood right in front of his car, in the middle of the street, writing down his license plate number. Then, I said to her, "Ok, we'll be waiting for your call when you get home." And as Taura got into the taxi, Suzanne said, as she was standing right next to the driver, "Ok, well I'll see you tomorrow at the shooting range!" HA!! Needless to say, we got a call from her about 20 minutes later!
Ajay and I had been planning to go driving around Windhoek for a while, so after Taura left, we got in his bakkie and he showed me around. We went to see the state house first. It's absolutely ridiculous! There is this giant fence around an entire hill/small mountain where the building is being constructed. Since it's still being worked on, Poamba doesn't even live there now! AND! It's costing them more than it cost to build the White House! (Though the White House was built some years ago...!) To add insult to injury, there are no Namibian people employed to do the construction, they are all Chinese people. So, in a country with extremely high unemployment, we're importing Chinese to build the state house for the President!
Next, we went to two areas where you can see the entire city. At the water tower, which is, as Ajay says, "The most accessible highest point in Windhoek" we found our house, which was pretty cool. We drove through different residential areas that I'd heard about but never seen, passed the Country Club, the biggest hotel in Windhoek, and even drove out to see University of Namibia. Afterwards, we stopped at Pick N'Pay because MB is getting her hair cut soon and she wants to dye it. She said that she'd like a red-ish color, but it was up to me.
As Ajay and I walked through the Pick N'Pay, we got a lot of stares. The two minorities?! I don't know...it was sort of strange! But, we hunted around the store for shoe laces for the soccer tocks, and then we stood in the hair aisle for some time, trying to find a good color. This is a major responsibility, choosing a hair color for someone else, so we didn't want to rush it! We decided on one that was not too red, but not that purple-y color either.
We checked out and then drove home. We went to show MB the color we had gotten, and it was exactly the same color as she had used the last time she dyed her hair! (She kept the box!) So, if you need a hair color, Ajay and I are your people! :)
I began to work on this project for Taura. Then, Suzanne asked if I wanted to play cards with her, so I said sure. Ajay had given me a glass of mango juice that I was savoring, and before cards I went to make myself a PB sandwich. Suzanne, MB and I were joking around, and I accidentally dropped my glass and it shattered everywhere! OOPS! I actually wound up stepping on a piece of glass that went straight into my foot, and Ajay brought me some concentrated alcohol antiseptic! He diluted it like crazy before I put it on my foot. There was blood everywhere, but I couldn't even find the cut itself! I hobbled into the bathroom to rinse myself off, and apparently I clot very easily, because I stopped bleeding!
So, I taught Suzanne how to play Crazy Jacks, and after the two of us were finished with that game, we played Rummie 500 with Ilga. It took some explaining, as I guess it can be sort of complicated when you're first learning, but it was really fun! Suzanne went to bed around 11, and then Ilga and I stayed up, listening to some German R&B and just talking. Then, Ajay returned from Harish and Shiva's house a bit after Ilga went to sleep, so we talked for a while, but decided to go to bed soon after. Ajay's vacation is over now, so he has to get up early and go to work!! Anyway, that was the weekend!
Hope things are going well!!
:)
Gideon "coaches" a team of U-10 boys, and he took the weakest ones, put them in red "bibs" (pinnies), and stuck them on one field, and took the stronger ones, put them in yellow bibs, and stuck them on another field. They played Coach Lemmey's teams of boys about the same age. Macrenne and I went to stand between the two fields so we could watch both, and he pointed out a lot of kids to me. Sydney and Eric refereed the games, so MB got to rest in the shade for a while.
Later, when the older boys were playing Coach Beverley's team, I started to take pictures of the "tocks" (or cleats) that were donated in action. I got some good action shots of attempted goals and guys leaping in the air! It was a great game, but Beverley's boys wiped the BNC boys off the field--they practice 5 days a week, as opposed to the 0 practices the BNC boys have.
Next, the Pumpkins played Beverley's girls team. I was sort of roaming all over the place, keeping the younger kids occupied, getting my butt kicked by Gideon at chess, continuously filling up the water jugs, and stuff like that. Apparently, towards the end of the game, one of the girls on Beverley's team told Maroldi that she had HIV on the field. Maroldi got upset and went to MB who was reffing the game. MB told her to stay calm and finish out the game. As it went on though, the comments to Maroldi just escalated, and she began to get really angry. Thankfully, the game ended shortly after and Beverley, who speaks Damara, took the two girls aside and figured it all out. MB tried to get the other Pumpkins to see how it was really none of their business, and there was no need for them to get involved. The girls really just wanted some drama.
Taura had come to the field with the intention of running the reading program herself after soccer at the center. But, MB felt the same negativity as last week, and she told the kids that she would not be going to the center. I think most of them were very disappointed, but we were all exhausted anyway. MB had been reffing most of the day, I was playing with little kids in the sun, and Suzanne was being crawled all over, not to mention was in charge of our most valuable possessions!
Taura decided to still conduct her reading group in the shade at the fields. She had printed up some handouts and had been really looking forward to it. MB, Suzanne and I headed back the house MB is staying at and enjoyed Coke floats by the pool. We talked about the kids and Namibia in general, and it was really nice to get to know Suzanne better and just enjoy some interesting conversation. We jumped into the pool with all our clothes on, because it was unbearably hot and we hadn't brought bathing suits, but it was sort of liberating!!
A bit later, we had some dinner, and played Uno with Halloween themes Peanuts cards that MB's sister, Suzie, had given her. We headed back to our house on Axali Doeseb Street around 7 and hung out with Ilga, Marc and Ajay for a bit. I was so exhausted from the whole day that I went to bed around 10:30. Suzanne said she came into the room a bit later and I was passed out, not moving at all!!
This morning, Taura had invited Suzanne and I to church with her and then she wanted to treat us to pizza. Now, Taura lives in Katutura with her aunt and uncle and is basically their very own Cinderella. All she wants (and needs) to do is move out of that house, and she was insisting on buying pizza for me and Suzanne. Well, I decided that that was not ok, and planned to come back to our house where we had frozen pizza. (Taura didn't know this yet though, Suzanne and I had been plotting!)
Taura was supposed to meet us at our house around 8:30, but at 9:10 she still hadn't showed up. Ilga called her and Tarua was apparently in the taxi already. We had planned to walk to her church, but Ilga told her that we would meet her there in our own taxi. Our driver took a particular liking to Ilga, who sat in the front next to him, and offered her his number "in case she ever needed a taxi again." She told him she already had "many numbers from taxi drivers!"
Taura's church, called His People, is in an area that is usually the show-grounds, where people can come and display their crafts and goods. We got their before Taura and waited for her, employing ourselves as the Welcoming Committee and saying "Hello" or "Good Morning" to everyone who walked by us! When Taura arrived, we walked into the church with her, and were greeted by the band. Now, this was not an ordinary hymn being sung, accompanied by an organ. Oh no! This was upbeat, rock-like music, played by a quartet consisting of a bass player, a guitarist, a keyboardist, and a drummer! (Behind us in the back of the church was even a guy with a sound board!) As if that wasn't enough, the lyrics were projected onto a screen above the stage! It was exciting and quite a way to start my Sunday morning!
The rest of the service was interesting as well, and I enjoyed being in a place where you can feel the sense of community. Afterwards, we had refreshments (juice!) outside with the other members of the congregation. As we left the church, Taura began to head to Marua Mall to get pizza, but the three of us began to walk in the direction of home. At first Taura was really upset and jokingly refused to move and come with us. But when she saw how serious we were, she followed. A bit later she said, "Erica! This was you! You didn't want me to treat you guys to pizza!" I explained to her that we had perfectly good pizza in our freezer and that if she didn't help us eat it, it would just go to waste. I think she realized that we were trying to help her, to get her out of splurging for this unnecessary food. Then, she began to tell us what a blessing it was to spend time with us, all the while putting home-made carrot cake into our hands as we're walking.
We stopped at the store she works in in Windhoek so she could check her schedule, and then went home through the mall. We walked into Pick N'Pay because Ilga had to get something, and Taura went on a rampage trying to find something she could contribute to our lunch. She wound up buying two boxes of juice and a bag of chips. Outside the store, we ran into two friends of hers. As we were all talking, these two boys came up to us and stood there, waiting for us to hand them money. Taura said to them, all I have left is taxi fare, as she reached into her bag for it. Both her friend and me said "Taura!" and she took her hand out. When she thought we weren't looking, she handed them the bag with the chips in it, and they ran off. We invited one of the girls back to have pizza with us, and she told us she might stop by after running her errands.
At home, we heated up the pizza, and Cynthia (the lady we met in the mall) arrived just as we brought it out to eat. She is Nigerian, from the Ibo tibe, and was impressed that I knew of "Things Fall Apart!" She was actually born in New Delhi, India, and has been living in Namibia for about 10 years. I had told Taura that I could record her singing on my camera and then convert it to an audio track and put it on a CD for her. She was really excited about this, and brought her guitar with her! We recorded her for about an hour or so and MB and Ajay even joined in on the action!
Since Taura recently had a very scary incident with a taxi, she's nervous every time she has to take one. MB offered to drive her home, but she refused. So, Suzanne and I went outside with her to catch her a taxi. I made sure that I stood right in front of his car, in the middle of the street, writing down his license plate number. Then, I said to her, "Ok, we'll be waiting for your call when you get home." And as Taura got into the taxi, Suzanne said, as she was standing right next to the driver, "Ok, well I'll see you tomorrow at the shooting range!" HA!! Needless to say, we got a call from her about 20 minutes later!
Ajay and I had been planning to go driving around Windhoek for a while, so after Taura left, we got in his bakkie and he showed me around. We went to see the state house first. It's absolutely ridiculous! There is this giant fence around an entire hill/small mountain where the building is being constructed. Since it's still being worked on, Poamba doesn't even live there now! AND! It's costing them more than it cost to build the White House! (Though the White House was built some years ago...!) To add insult to injury, there are no Namibian people employed to do the construction, they are all Chinese people. So, in a country with extremely high unemployment, we're importing Chinese to build the state house for the President!
Next, we went to two areas where you can see the entire city. At the water tower, which is, as Ajay says, "The most accessible highest point in Windhoek" we found our house, which was pretty cool. We drove through different residential areas that I'd heard about but never seen, passed the Country Club, the biggest hotel in Windhoek, and even drove out to see University of Namibia. Afterwards, we stopped at Pick N'Pay because MB is getting her hair cut soon and she wants to dye it. She said that she'd like a red-ish color, but it was up to me.
As Ajay and I walked through the Pick N'Pay, we got a lot of stares. The two minorities?! I don't know...it was sort of strange! But, we hunted around the store for shoe laces for the soccer tocks, and then we stood in the hair aisle for some time, trying to find a good color. This is a major responsibility, choosing a hair color for someone else, so we didn't want to rush it! We decided on one that was not too red, but not that purple-y color either.
We checked out and then drove home. We went to show MB the color we had gotten, and it was exactly the same color as she had used the last time she dyed her hair! (She kept the box!) So, if you need a hair color, Ajay and I are your people! :)
I began to work on this project for Taura. Then, Suzanne asked if I wanted to play cards with her, so I said sure. Ajay had given me a glass of mango juice that I was savoring, and before cards I went to make myself a PB sandwich. Suzanne, MB and I were joking around, and I accidentally dropped my glass and it shattered everywhere! OOPS! I actually wound up stepping on a piece of glass that went straight into my foot, and Ajay brought me some concentrated alcohol antiseptic! He diluted it like crazy before I put it on my foot. There was blood everywhere, but I couldn't even find the cut itself! I hobbled into the bathroom to rinse myself off, and apparently I clot very easily, because I stopped bleeding!
So, I taught Suzanne how to play Crazy Jacks, and after the two of us were finished with that game, we played Rummie 500 with Ilga. It took some explaining, as I guess it can be sort of complicated when you're first learning, but it was really fun! Suzanne went to bed around 11, and then Ilga and I stayed up, listening to some German R&B and just talking. Then, Ajay returned from Harish and Shiva's house a bit after Ilga went to sleep, so we talked for a while, but decided to go to bed soon after. Ajay's vacation is over now, so he has to get up early and go to work!! Anyway, that was the weekend!
Hope things are going well!!
:)
Friday, January 4, 2008
Our New Volunteer
First, here is a picture of Maroldi's teeth--taken especially for Jim...and the dentist! :) 
On Wednesday, MB dropped me off at the center, left me with all the keys, and went to pick up our new volunteer, Suzanne from DC. Gideon took care of the food, and most of the kids sat outside playing soccer or dominoes. In the big room, the kids just wanted puzzles or memory cards...so it was pretty easy. MB tried to encourage the kids to get out of their domino/memory card/puzzle rut and try something new, so when a group of kids came up to me and asked me for this set of train dominoes, I didn't want to shut-down their request. Despite the fact that I had no idea how to play, I thought we could set it up and try to figure out how to play. Thank God Ruru came in and said he knew, and taught all the kids. (Ruru has been wearing his Christmas outfit since Christmas, so today I finally got a picture of him!)
Just as they began to play, I noticed that Basanda was bleeding. It wasn't a lot of blood, but it was on the floor and on the dominoes. The kids were understanding of the fact that we should clean everything up before continuing to play. Sylvester, the volunteer (hoping to get a paying job) who cleans up the center and keeps it tidy, happened to walk in and I asked him for a band-aid and some alcohol to clean up the floor and dominoes. He took Basanda with him but about 2 minutes later, Basanda came back in without a band-aid. So, I walked him into the office and said, "I need a band-aid and some alcohol please, this boy is bleeding." The two people standing at the desk, who work there, just stared at me and nodded, not moving. I was a bit annoyed at the lack of response, but then I saw Sylvester running through the hallway yelling, "I am coming Erica!"
He brought a yellow medical kit into the big room, and sat Basanda in a chair. We went through the med kit, but all of the ointments were expired. So, I think that Sylvester just stuck some gauze on Basanda. It wasn't a huge gash that needed a big dressing, I just wanted the bleeding to stop. Anyway, I cleaned up the blood with some weird smelling expired stuff. So, once that was all cleaned up, Ruru and the kids played the game, no problem. After this, I was called outside to a group of girls (Sha, Edelsein, Lisa and some girl I don't know) who had apparently taken over a domino game from two boys. I tried to talk rationally to them, but they just kept playing so I had to say "I don't appreciate you playing the game while I'm trying to talk to you. Can you please pause your game for a few minutes so we can figure this out?" Anyway, it worked itself out and the kids seemed happy. Then later, Sha and Maroldi ran into the big room, and Maroldi hid behind me. She was holding Sha's domino "cards" and Sha tried to bite her hand to get them back. So I did what my mom used to do when my brother and I fought, and asked each of them to tell me what happened without the other interrupting, because both of them would get their turn. It worked, and after another trip outside, we all decided it was best to just put the dominoes away for a while, as they were just creating fighting.
MB and Suzanne arrived around 3:30/4:00 because there was a bit of complication with Suzanne at the airport. She got acquainted with the kids and MB told me that Suzanne had checked "Volunteer" on her entry card, and she was detained for a while. In the end, she got a visa for 7 days, so we had to make a trip to Home Affairs the next day. We closed the center a bit later and went out to Miriam to put in an order for more dolls. There is a woman leaving for the UK on the 10th of January, and MB wants me to bring some back to the US, especially for this store in Cold Spring that sells crafts made only by women and the money goes directly back to them. We then introduced Suzanne to the house, Ajay and Marc. Marc and Ajay were in the mood for a movie, so they put on "Behind Enemy Lines" and made White Russians (apparently those go well with movies?!) When the movie ended, we all just went to bed. Ajay loaned me and Suzanne his fan for our room to try and aid me in my war against mosquitoes.
It worked, this fan/bug spray combination seemed to work, because Thursday morning I had no new welts. Suzanne and I got up and dressed and went out to Home Affairs, the Post Office, and Pick N'Pay. The lady we got at Home Affairs was rude and mumbled so we really didn't know what we had to do. Suzanne asked her to borrow a pen and the lady made this huge stink, so I just said that we should go to the post office and find a pen there. I mailed my stuff and a security guard lent Suzanne his pen which she used to fill out her form. We went back to home affairs, stood in the line for the rude lady only to find out we had to go stand in the line to pay first. So, we stood in that line, paid N$138 and got back in line for the rude lady. She took Suzanne's passport and told her to come back in a week.
Next, we went to Pick N'Pay where Suzanne stocked up and I bought peanut butter! Back at the house, we got ready to go to the center. First we stopped at Father Rick's office to drop off a sexual harassment report that MB wrote up regarding Sylvester. Apparently, sometime on Wednesday, after MB had returned from the airport, Sylvester said to Wendy, who was being mopey, in Damara "What happened? Were you f***ed over the weekend?" Wendy, Sha and Charlotte told MB who had a bit of an intervention with Sylvester, using Tabo (a new employee) as a mediator. Sylvester agreed to having made this comment, as a joke, he insisted. But, Tabo said that if Wendy's parents wanted to, they could press charges on him. MB told Rick that she didn't think Sylvester should be banned from working at the center anymore, because he keeps the center really clean, and he was great with helping me, but she did suggest that he get a warning.
At the center, I played chess with Gideon the ENTIRE day. The first 5 games or so, my brain was NOT working. I wasn't thinking ahead and made dumb moves. Finally! FINALLY! Around 5 o'clock I got my act together and beat him. Interspersed with our games, we taught Dios and Quinton how to play, so at least I was a bit productive. But, when Suzanne and I returned to the house from the center, we did nothing. Just sat around all night until we were tired and we just went to sleep.
Today, I woke up early, and tried to peel the newspaper off of my art project gone wrong! (I did manage to get the paint off of the wooden floor which was good!) I wrote some e-mails, made a bracelet, and taught Suzanne how to make bracelets as well. Ilga returned from South Africa, so it was good to see her again. She stayed at the house to rest and Suzanne and I left with MB for the center.
MB had picked up bread from the Pick N'Pay, and the security guard for One Africa/PC Center came over to the bakkie, expecting food. MB gave her a doughnut and a cheesy bread. We also packed the bakkie with clothing that we planned to give away at the center. Jurgen from Hotel Uhland had called MB telling her that the German mayor who donates money for fresh fruit was back in Namibia and wanted to come to the center, and he wanted to follow us there. We were at the hotel at 1:30, but at 10 to 2 he still had not come back to the hotel, so MB left directions and we went ahead to the BNC.
MB taught Suzanne how to open and run the computer room, and I ran the big room. I'm starting to get the hang of it now! A bit later, the mayor, his girlfriend and another guy came to the center, and MB showed the around, talking about her book. The girlfriend works at a Waldorf school, and she played with the kids. The other guy that came with them took his shoes off and started playing soccer with the older boys! The mayor discovered a little boy pooping behind a wall and came to tell me and ask me for some toilet paper. As I was handing the toilet paper over to the boy's older sister, the mayor found the kid's underwear and handed it to me! He later told MB that he didn't know how she ran the center...I wonder if this poop incident had anything to do with it?!
MB took over the big room, and I went outside with Dios to play Curios George Scrabble. I asked him to read the story that went along with the game to me, and at first he told me that he couldn't read, but then I suggested that he read a page and then I would read a page, and we would switch on and off, and that seemed agreeable to him. He was a wonderful reader, and didn't have much trouble at all. When we finished with the book, we began to set up the game, and a group of kids surrounded us. The game was a success, new kids learned how to play, and no one tried to cheat at all. When the game was over, all of the kids wanted to read the story, so I read it to a crowd of them who gathered on a table! When we put the game away, MB and I got the rest of the games finished up and put away so that we could start distributing the donated clothing. It's never been so easy for me to stop a dominoes game. Usually the kids won't put the game away until they finish, but all I had to say was, "We have some donations to give out and we'd like to put the games away right now" and it was done! The big guys got the kids to line up against the wall in the back, and Suzanne, MB and I spread out the clothing on the ground. There were pants, shorts, shoes, boots, socks, underwear, hats and some other good stuff. Each kid was called up to pick one item and then leave the area.
They were all really good, there was no bickering over items and everyone seemed satisfied. We began to put the remaining clothing away, but then we thought it would be good just to give away as much as we could, so we did a round two! The kids were great this time too, and it was really wonderful! Some of them even said "Thank you!" What a concept!! We cleaned up the few items we had left and as MB got the bakkie, we walked down to the street with the kids.
We drove to the house MB is staying in and had ice cream and Cokes! Then, we geared up to take the dogs to the dam, because they had a "date" with another dog named Brutus. Oh-my-gosh...Brutus is the absolute best name for this dog!! He is GIGANTIC. When he was explained to me, I thought he would just be a tall dog, but he is solid too. He must weigh AT LEAST 150 pounds...probably more. Happy and Lucky were completely insane, especially Happy. She had some sort of affinity towards me and felt the need to jump up and run into me at every chance she got. Brutus is like the barrier dog, and he often puts himself between you and Happy to prevent her from "attacking" you. We were at the dam for about an hour and a half and then MB dropped us off at the house.
Ilga was up from her nap and Ajay was here too. Ilga was still pretty tired, so she went to bed early, but Ajay taught me Indian phrases! Thu pagl hei mens "ARE YOU CRAZY?" in Hindi! :)
I've also added to my Damara vocabulary: "Bye-Bye!" :)
On Wednesday, MB dropped me off at the center, left me with all the keys, and went to pick up our new volunteer, Suzanne from DC. Gideon took care of the food, and most of the kids sat outside playing soccer or dominoes. In the big room, the kids just wanted puzzles or memory cards...so it was pretty easy. MB tried to encourage the kids to get out of their domino/memory card/puzzle rut and try something new, so when a group of kids came up to me and asked me for this set of train dominoes, I didn't want to shut-down their request. Despite the fact that I had no idea how to play, I thought we could set it up and try to figure out how to play. Thank God Ruru came in and said he knew, and taught all the kids. (Ruru has been wearing his Christmas outfit since Christmas, so today I finally got a picture of him!)
Just as they began to play, I noticed that Basanda was bleeding. It wasn't a lot of blood, but it was on the floor and on the dominoes. The kids were understanding of the fact that we should clean everything up before continuing to play. Sylvester, the volunteer (hoping to get a paying job) who cleans up the center and keeps it tidy, happened to walk in and I asked him for a band-aid and some alcohol to clean up the floor and dominoes. He took Basanda with him but about 2 minutes later, Basanda came back in without a band-aid. So, I walked him into the office and said, "I need a band-aid and some alcohol please, this boy is bleeding." The two people standing at the desk, who work there, just stared at me and nodded, not moving. I was a bit annoyed at the lack of response, but then I saw Sylvester running through the hallway yelling, "I am coming Erica!"
He brought a yellow medical kit into the big room, and sat Basanda in a chair. We went through the med kit, but all of the ointments were expired. So, I think that Sylvester just stuck some gauze on Basanda. It wasn't a huge gash that needed a big dressing, I just wanted the bleeding to stop. Anyway, I cleaned up the blood with some weird smelling expired stuff. So, once that was all cleaned up, Ruru and the kids played the game, no problem. After this, I was called outside to a group of girls (Sha, Edelsein, Lisa and some girl I don't know) who had apparently taken over a domino game from two boys. I tried to talk rationally to them, but they just kept playing so I had to say "I don't appreciate you playing the game while I'm trying to talk to you. Can you please pause your game for a few minutes so we can figure this out?" Anyway, it worked itself out and the kids seemed happy. Then later, Sha and Maroldi ran into the big room, and Maroldi hid behind me. She was holding Sha's domino "cards" and Sha tried to bite her hand to get them back. So I did what my mom used to do when my brother and I fought, and asked each of them to tell me what happened without the other interrupting, because both of them would get their turn. It worked, and after another trip outside, we all decided it was best to just put the dominoes away for a while, as they were just creating fighting.
MB and Suzanne arrived around 3:30/4:00 because there was a bit of complication with Suzanne at the airport. She got acquainted with the kids and MB told me that Suzanne had checked "Volunteer" on her entry card, and she was detained for a while. In the end, she got a visa for 7 days, so we had to make a trip to Home Affairs the next day. We closed the center a bit later and went out to Miriam to put in an order for more dolls. There is a woman leaving for the UK on the 10th of January, and MB wants me to bring some back to the US, especially for this store in Cold Spring that sells crafts made only by women and the money goes directly back to them. We then introduced Suzanne to the house, Ajay and Marc. Marc and Ajay were in the mood for a movie, so they put on "Behind Enemy Lines" and made White Russians (apparently those go well with movies?!) When the movie ended, we all just went to bed. Ajay loaned me and Suzanne his fan for our room to try and aid me in my war against mosquitoes.
It worked, this fan/bug spray combination seemed to work, because Thursday morning I had no new welts. Suzanne and I got up and dressed and went out to Home Affairs, the Post Office, and Pick N'Pay. The lady we got at Home Affairs was rude and mumbled so we really didn't know what we had to do. Suzanne asked her to borrow a pen and the lady made this huge stink, so I just said that we should go to the post office and find a pen there. I mailed my stuff and a security guard lent Suzanne his pen which she used to fill out her form. We went back to home affairs, stood in the line for the rude lady only to find out we had to go stand in the line to pay first. So, we stood in that line, paid N$138 and got back in line for the rude lady. She took Suzanne's passport and told her to come back in a week.
Next, we went to Pick N'Pay where Suzanne stocked up and I bought peanut butter! Back at the house, we got ready to go to the center. First we stopped at Father Rick's office to drop off a sexual harassment report that MB wrote up regarding Sylvester. Apparently, sometime on Wednesday, after MB had returned from the airport, Sylvester said to Wendy, who was being mopey, in Damara "What happened? Were you f***ed over the weekend?" Wendy, Sha and Charlotte told MB who had a bit of an intervention with Sylvester, using Tabo (a new employee) as a mediator. Sylvester agreed to having made this comment, as a joke, he insisted. But, Tabo said that if Wendy's parents wanted to, they could press charges on him. MB told Rick that she didn't think Sylvester should be banned from working at the center anymore, because he keeps the center really clean, and he was great with helping me, but she did suggest that he get a warning.
At the center, I played chess with Gideon the ENTIRE day. The first 5 games or so, my brain was NOT working. I wasn't thinking ahead and made dumb moves. Finally! FINALLY! Around 5 o'clock I got my act together and beat him. Interspersed with our games, we taught Dios and Quinton how to play, so at least I was a bit productive. But, when Suzanne and I returned to the house from the center, we did nothing. Just sat around all night until we were tired and we just went to sleep.
Today, I woke up early, and tried to peel the newspaper off of my art project gone wrong! (I did manage to get the paint off of the wooden floor which was good!) I wrote some e-mails, made a bracelet, and taught Suzanne how to make bracelets as well. Ilga returned from South Africa, so it was good to see her again. She stayed at the house to rest and Suzanne and I left with MB for the center.
MB had picked up bread from the Pick N'Pay, and the security guard for One Africa/PC Center came over to the bakkie, expecting food. MB gave her a doughnut and a cheesy bread. We also packed the bakkie with clothing that we planned to give away at the center. Jurgen from Hotel Uhland had called MB telling her that the German mayor who donates money for fresh fruit was back in Namibia and wanted to come to the center, and he wanted to follow us there. We were at the hotel at 1:30, but at 10 to 2 he still had not come back to the hotel, so MB left directions and we went ahead to the BNC.
MB taught Suzanne how to open and run the computer room, and I ran the big room. I'm starting to get the hang of it now! A bit later, the mayor, his girlfriend and another guy came to the center, and MB showed the around, talking about her book. The girlfriend works at a Waldorf school, and she played with the kids. The other guy that came with them took his shoes off and started playing soccer with the older boys! The mayor discovered a little boy pooping behind a wall and came to tell me and ask me for some toilet paper. As I was handing the toilet paper over to the boy's older sister, the mayor found the kid's underwear and handed it to me! He later told MB that he didn't know how she ran the center...I wonder if this poop incident had anything to do with it?!
MB took over the big room, and I went outside with Dios to play Curios George Scrabble. I asked him to read the story that went along with the game to me, and at first he told me that he couldn't read, but then I suggested that he read a page and then I would read a page, and we would switch on and off, and that seemed agreeable to him. He was a wonderful reader, and didn't have much trouble at all. When we finished with the book, we began to set up the game, and a group of kids surrounded us. The game was a success, new kids learned how to play, and no one tried to cheat at all. When the game was over, all of the kids wanted to read the story, so I read it to a crowd of them who gathered on a table! When we put the game away, MB and I got the rest of the games finished up and put away so that we could start distributing the donated clothing. It's never been so easy for me to stop a dominoes game. Usually the kids won't put the game away until they finish, but all I had to say was, "We have some donations to give out and we'd like to put the games away right now" and it was done! The big guys got the kids to line up against the wall in the back, and Suzanne, MB and I spread out the clothing on the ground. There were pants, shorts, shoes, boots, socks, underwear, hats and some other good stuff. Each kid was called up to pick one item and then leave the area.
They were all really good, there was no bickering over items and everyone seemed satisfied. We began to put the remaining clothing away, but then we thought it would be good just to give away as much as we could, so we did a round two! The kids were great this time too, and it was really wonderful! Some of them even said "Thank you!" What a concept!! We cleaned up the few items we had left and as MB got the bakkie, we walked down to the street with the kids.
We drove to the house MB is staying in and had ice cream and Cokes! Then, we geared up to take the dogs to the dam, because they had a "date" with another dog named Brutus. Oh-my-gosh...Brutus is the absolute best name for this dog!! He is GIGANTIC. When he was explained to me, I thought he would just be a tall dog, but he is solid too. He must weigh AT LEAST 150 pounds...probably more. Happy and Lucky were completely insane, especially Happy. She had some sort of affinity towards me and felt the need to jump up and run into me at every chance she got. Brutus is like the barrier dog, and he often puts himself between you and Happy to prevent her from "attacking" you. We were at the dam for about an hour and a half and then MB dropped us off at the house.
Ilga was up from her nap and Ajay was here too. Ilga was still pretty tired, so she went to bed early, but Ajay taught me Indian phrases! Thu pagl hei mens "ARE YOU CRAZY?" in Hindi! :)
I've also added to my Damara vocabulary: "Bye-Bye!" :)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
New Year's!!
New Year's eve was just like any other day here. I attempted to tidy up the house, and previewed more CD's for the computer room. I'm not sure if I explained this, but MB and I are trying to find CD's that would be good in the computer room. We have tons of disks, but not all of them are conducive to the computer room. So, out of the 5 r 6 I looked at, I only liked one! Franklin learns math. :)
MB got caught up fixing the pool at her other house, and she wound up picking me up a little before 2. With her, she had her friend Andrine's mother who was coming to help with knitting at the center. We got there are the kids all looked very excited, probably because they'd been sitting outside waiting for a while!
MB went into the computer room, and Lynn and Dorthea (I think is Andrine's mother's name) knit with the girls for a while. I was in the big room, reading stories to Dios and Rainey while simultaneously "running" the big room. We stayed until 7 o'clock cleaning out one of the large cupboards in the big room. It had, over time, become a mish-mosh of games, arts and crafts supplies, and other odds and ends. Dios, Sheola and Basanda stayed and helped us lug everything we didn't need at the center anymore into the bakkie. MB gave Dios a new pair of cleats, Basanda a pair of shorts, and Sheola got some cute little toys.
She dropped me off at "my" house and I did some little things that needed to be done. MB has made a verbal list of things that she's needed done for a while, so I've slowly been chipping away at that. Ajay came back from an interesting day and he sort of collapsed on the couch. We rang in the New Year by looking at pictures from his fishing trip to Okahandja.
On New Year's day, we didn't go to the center, instead I started another project MB had asked me to do. Last February, a kindergarten teacher asked MB to make her a form of Twister, and supplied a shower curtain. MB had drawn up a sketch of what she wanted it to look like, and had even made templates for all the shapes, so I began that. I had traced the shapes onto the shower curtain with a marker but it never dawned on me to put anything under the curtain, so.....now we have faint shapes on our wood floor. Then!!! I started painting each shape with fabric paint, and had put paper down. MB came to the house and helped me finish paining. When I returned home later that night, I found my shower curtain stuck to the newspaper and some of the paint on the floor! AHHHHHHHHH! That's my next project! Jeeze!
When MB and I finished painting, we stopped at Pick N'Pay to get dessert and drinks for the Maryknoll dinner we were hosting. We got to her house (the one she's housesitting) and Father Rick arrived shortly after we got there. He cooked dinner while MB and I swam in the pool!!! The Maryknoll people arrived, 4 sisters, and Father Dick. The sisters brought Filipino spring rolls which were delicious and we all spoiled our appetites for dinner! But, we ate it anyway! Father Rick had made chicken breasts, broccoli and potatoes. Everyone shared stories and it was a really great night!!
The sisters drove me back to "my" house and they also gave me the left over spring rolls! :) When I got home, Ajay was there and he was getting ready to go to Harish and Shiva's apartment, so I tagged along. He was bringing them the photos they had taken while fishing, and eating dinner. Since I couldn't stuff another ounce of food into my body I sat with them. There was a Tamil movie on, which is Shiva's language, and it was sort of funny! Of course I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but it was exciting anyway! Harish and Shiva live with the other cool at Taal named Ragu.
It's funny listening to the four of them talk because Ragu only speaks Hindi. Shiva only speaks Tamil, but he can understand Malayalam. Ajay can speak Malayalam and Tamil and only a bit of Hindi. And Harish can speak all three. It's like this roundabout of "How do you say..." and English words thrown in all over! We left their flat around 10:15 and came home.
My family was calling me between 11 and 12 Namibian time, so Ajay stayed up with me keeping me awake! The second my family called, he passed out on the couch! It was nice to talk to them and hear their voices. When I got off the phone with them, I went to bed.
Night after night I've been at war with the mosquitoes. Thank God we don't have malaria here! I have these giant welts all over my body because of these dumb mosquitoes! Finally, I found some bug spray that I keep with me once it gets dark!! I put it on before I went to bed, and during the night I was woken up by the buzzing sound right in my ear, so I jumped up, grabbed my bug spray and went crazy!! It left me alone after that!
So, that's it! :)
MB is dropping me off at the center while she goes to to the airport to pick up a new volunteer. So, it should be interesting, me "running" the center for a while! :D
MB got caught up fixing the pool at her other house, and she wound up picking me up a little before 2. With her, she had her friend Andrine's mother who was coming to help with knitting at the center. We got there are the kids all looked very excited, probably because they'd been sitting outside waiting for a while!
MB went into the computer room, and Lynn and Dorthea (I think is Andrine's mother's name) knit with the girls for a while. I was in the big room, reading stories to Dios and Rainey while simultaneously "running" the big room. We stayed until 7 o'clock cleaning out one of the large cupboards in the big room. It had, over time, become a mish-mosh of games, arts and crafts supplies, and other odds and ends. Dios, Sheola and Basanda stayed and helped us lug everything we didn't need at the center anymore into the bakkie. MB gave Dios a new pair of cleats, Basanda a pair of shorts, and Sheola got some cute little toys.
She dropped me off at "my" house and I did some little things that needed to be done. MB has made a verbal list of things that she's needed done for a while, so I've slowly been chipping away at that. Ajay came back from an interesting day and he sort of collapsed on the couch. We rang in the New Year by looking at pictures from his fishing trip to Okahandja.
On New Year's day, we didn't go to the center, instead I started another project MB had asked me to do. Last February, a kindergarten teacher asked MB to make her a form of Twister, and supplied a shower curtain. MB had drawn up a sketch of what she wanted it to look like, and had even made templates for all the shapes, so I began that. I had traced the shapes onto the shower curtain with a marker but it never dawned on me to put anything under the curtain, so.....now we have faint shapes on our wood floor. Then!!! I started painting each shape with fabric paint, and had put paper down. MB came to the house and helped me finish paining. When I returned home later that night, I found my shower curtain stuck to the newspaper and some of the paint on the floor! AHHHHHHHHH! That's my next project! Jeeze!
When MB and I finished painting, we stopped at Pick N'Pay to get dessert and drinks for the Maryknoll dinner we were hosting. We got to her house (the one she's housesitting) and Father Rick arrived shortly after we got there. He cooked dinner while MB and I swam in the pool!!! The Maryknoll people arrived, 4 sisters, and Father Dick. The sisters brought Filipino spring rolls which were delicious and we all spoiled our appetites for dinner! But, we ate it anyway! Father Rick had made chicken breasts, broccoli and potatoes. Everyone shared stories and it was a really great night!!
The sisters drove me back to "my" house and they also gave me the left over spring rolls! :) When I got home, Ajay was there and he was getting ready to go to Harish and Shiva's apartment, so I tagged along. He was bringing them the photos they had taken while fishing, and eating dinner. Since I couldn't stuff another ounce of food into my body I sat with them. There was a Tamil movie on, which is Shiva's language, and it was sort of funny! Of course I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but it was exciting anyway! Harish and Shiva live with the other cool at Taal named Ragu.
It's funny listening to the four of them talk because Ragu only speaks Hindi. Shiva only speaks Tamil, but he can understand Malayalam. Ajay can speak Malayalam and Tamil and only a bit of Hindi. And Harish can speak all three. It's like this roundabout of "How do you say..." and English words thrown in all over! We left their flat around 10:15 and came home.
My family was calling me between 11 and 12 Namibian time, so Ajay stayed up with me keeping me awake! The second my family called, he passed out on the couch! It was nice to talk to them and hear their voices. When I got off the phone with them, I went to bed.
Night after night I've been at war with the mosquitoes. Thank God we don't have malaria here! I have these giant welts all over my body because of these dumb mosquitoes! Finally, I found some bug spray that I keep with me once it gets dark!! I put it on before I went to bed, and during the night I was woken up by the buzzing sound right in my ear, so I jumped up, grabbed my bug spray and went crazy!! It left me alone after that!
So, that's it! :)
MB is dropping me off at the center while she goes to to the airport to pick up a new volunteer. So, it should be interesting, me "running" the center for a while! :D
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Weekend!
So, Saturday we had soccer, and then we spent the rest of the day at the center. Coach Beverly met MB about six months ago, and she started bringing her teams to MB's soccer days. MB told me that prior to coming, Beverly's teams used to play other teams in the street for money, and then they'd go buy Coke's, or maybe save the money so the next time they could bet N$20 instead of N$10. I guess Beverly got wind of MB and wanted to challenge her BNC team to a game. When she asked MB how much money she was willing to wager, MB told her that she does not play games for money. In the end, MB told her that if her kids come for a certain amount of time, they get jerseys, and then they will receive shorts and socks, and after a year, tocks. When Beverly asked how much they'd have to pay, and MB said nothing, she said, "Oh yes! We're interested!"
The first game was the Pumpkins vs. Beverly's girls team. The Pumpkins wanted me to play, but I didn't think that was such a good idea, considering that I scored a goal for the other team last year when they asked me to play! Plus, there were all these younger boys who wanted to play, so they put on a jersey instead and played for the Pumpkins. I guarded MB's "MoonBag" as she referred, which has the keys to half of Windhoek! After the girls, the BNC boys played Beverly's boys team. I was trying to pay attention, but I have no clue who won either game! The kids sitting with me were climbing the tree that was providing us shade and gathering these hard pods that grow on the tree. They bite off a piece of the pod and suck out its sweet juices, then they spit it out, rinse their mouth out with water, and take another bite. I didn't know you had to rinse after taking a bite, so when I finished trying a piece, I took a sip of water and the kids said "No! No! You have to rinse!!!" Something about a bad stomach?!!
Anyway, gathering the pods was not the only thing the kids were doing from the tree, they were throwing things and jumping. And, someone brought a sling-shot, so that was a problem for a bit. At first all I could do was ask them to stop, but then I decided that if they weren't listening, I could tell them that if they didn't stop, they had the choice not to go to the pool the next day. That pretty much put the kibosh on any "bad" behavior.
When soccer was over, we walked back to the center. I've gotten the kids hooked on thumb wrestling! When I play with my brother, I can NEVER win, but I'm a champion over here! I'm actually just waiting until they get the hang of it, then I don't think I stand a chance. (Well, the fact that my thumb is exceedingly larger than most of theirs gives me an unfair advantage!) While walking back to the center, I was thumb wrestling with my right hand with Macrene and with Ruru with my left hand!
When we got to the center, we just played games like any other day, except it wasn't like any other day, for some reason everything was just off. The kids were fighting and yelling at each other so much that I took the games, put them away, and went outside. There was a whole problem with Sha and Maroldi and money. They returned bottles, so they should have gotten an equal amount of money, but then Sha asked a man for a dollar and he gave it to her, and Maroldi insisted that they should both have an equal amount of money. MB really wanted to solve this with them, and she diplomatically sat down with them and tried to work it out. But, apparently Maroldi was just incredibly insistent and MB got fed up. She told Maroldi that if she really needed the extra dollar, that she would give it to her herself. When MB held out the dollar, Maroldi wouldn't take it, which was very big of her.
Later, the kids were playing soccer in the back and something must have happened between Denzel and Wendy. Instead of coming to MB and telling her that Denzel was bothering her, Wendy grabbed him by his shirt, shoved him against the wall and slammed his head again and again while yelling, "Mary. Talk to him! Mary! Talk to him!" MB ran outside and separated them. Denzel was so angry at Wendy that he tried to punch her, but he hit MB instead, causing him to break down and sob. MB blew up at Wendy, and then brought Denzel inside. The two of them sat in the big room crying for a while. Juliana, Sana and Tete who were drawing pictures made MB cards that said things like "Thank you for giving us food and for loving us. Please don't cry Mery. When you cry I want to cry." Meanwhile, Wendy wrote on a piece of paper, "I can never forgive you for yelling at me. My heart is still crying" or something like that.
MB and I sort of looked at each other around 6:30 and told the kids they needed to go home! I was tired of keeping kids from fighting, and MB had just had it. There must have been something in the air. Also, I think we were both exhausted and since we weren't up and assertive, the kids just went wild. Anyway, we went home and sat in the living room just talking. I thought it was interesting that Maroldi forgave MB for getting mad at her and didn't hold a grudge, but Wendy tried to play a guilt trip, despite the fact that she completely deserved to be yelled at. It's disappointing, because Wendy was one of the kids at the center who we relied on to set a good example and help out, and here she is beating a kid up.
MB left to go back to her house and I laid in the living room for a while. I cooked some dinner and then Ajay came home. We talked for a bit and I began to tackle a project MB had asked me to do. She got a donation of a HUGE box of crayons, and she wanted to divide them up to distribute to different kindergartens. I began dividing all the crayons by color and after about an hour and half a box left, Ajay said, "Maybe I should help!" We finished dividing the crayons quickly, and then we put them into HUGE mayonnaise jars. We filled up FIVE to the brim! It was amazing, so we have tons of crayons to give away now.
After the crayons we talked for a while, and then just went to sleep!
Sunday morning I made sense of box that's been sitting in the living room for a while that was full of clothes and games that had been donated from Germany. Then, I changed into my swimsuit, and put sunscreen on every inch of my body that I could reach! MB arrived around 9:50 and we decided what we were going to do about the bread and then drove to the center. MB went into the center to find knives, and I gave out the little Snoopy cards to the kids. I must have given out 200! There were so many kids! We drove to the pool and parked inside again. We went to the gate where the kids were all lined up, but they weren't allowed in because the lifeguard wasn't there yet. (He was 45 minutes late!) After waiting about 15 minutes, they were allowed in and I stood at the door collecting tickets, which was chaos!
MB got out the orange floaties that a such a hit! It was just another normal at at the pool, playing around in the water. But, Dios and I began to swim to the deep end, and a little boy began to follow us. I actually didn't even notice him and Dios said, "That boy is drowning." He said it so casually that it didn't register, and he turned around to drag the boy back to the shallow end. The kid's eyes were incredibly wide and Dios carried him all the way to the wall, lifted him up, and got him out. Later, the same kid was heading for the deep end again, and the lifeguard had to jump in and save him. MB told him that he was only allowed in the baby pool or he could go home.
The lifeguard was really great, really assertive. There were some older boys that weren't with us that would pick any little kid up and throw him or strangle him. A boy went to MB and told her that those boys had strangled him and so since I was in the pool already she asked me to bring the boy over and talk to the older kids. I tried, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference because 10 seconds later they were holding some other kid by his neck. So, MB went to get the lifeguard and he came and warned them. Then he stayed outside just watching them. They stopped!
When it was time for lunch, MB thought it would be easier for her and me to prepare and distribute the food. She had already had about 50 kids ask her if they could help. They all love to be helpers because they just sit there and eat all of the best stuff in the bags, or they hoard it away for later. They wind up giving out just the crappy stuff to the rest of the kids. So, we decided that we were going to do it ourselves, which pissed most of the regular BNC kids off. When we started giving out the food, MB tapped all the kids that she knew, and I handed out one piece of sweet bread and one plain roll. Many of the regular kids like Wendy and Salome asked me if they could have a cheese roll instead. Or, they asked me for the little styrofoam plates that some of the sweet bread had come on. If I give them a choice of what they want, then everyone should get a choice, AND the styrofoam plates wind up on the ground and then me or MB pick them up. Of course this made them mad and they stood there like they expected me to change my mind. I said, if you have your bread, please leave and eat it outside, otherwise you can give it back and I'll give it to someone who wants it.
When we finished feeding all the kids we knew, there were still about 75 kids sitting in front of us. MB said to them, "How many of you should I recognize?!" None of them raised their hands. Then she turned to me and said, "Do you recognize any of these kids?" I looked up to very unfamiliar faces and saw some kids raising their hands!! It was really cute! I actually did recognize one boy from soccer the day before, but that was it! So, we fed the girls first, and then the boys anyway! We still had enough left over for the center on Monday, which was good.
When we were finished giving out the food, we went back to the pool and played around again. This boy Set and I were having races across the pool, that was funny! After we swam freestyle, breast, and backstroke, we ran across the pool. Then hopped on one leg. It was cute. I got out of the pool around 3 for good. I was tired and needed to sit and relax. So, I warmed up with the kids on the cement and then went to find my towel.
Maroldi was wrapped up in it sitting next to MB. Turns out, she and Ruru had been playing around on the side of the baby pool and for some reason Ruru picked up her feet and she fell face first into the ground, chipping her two front teeth. MB and I were trying to figure out if she had a nerve exposed and would need to get her teeth capped, but we thought that if a nerve was exposed, she would be in agony, and she seemed ok. So, we thought it was probably just cosmetic. MB decided that she would find a dentist and bring her to get her teeth fixed. "That's what donations are for," she said. I thought Maroldi was a real trooper about the whole thing. She wasn't angry or crying, she just accepted it and was thankful that MB was going to fix her teeth.
Taura came a bit later and so we talked for a while, until she left. The pool closed around 5 and we collected all the floaties back! Not one of them was stolen!! Dios, Sheola and Basanda were the last to leave and they even went around the pool to open the gate for us in the bakkie. As they began to walk down the trail back to Katutura, MB stopped the bakkie, got out, unlocked the back and took out three rolls for them. "I love doing things like that!" She said! It was cute because they didn't expect it at all, we actually had to call them back. Usually, when the bakkie stops, the kids run back expecting something!
We returned home and soon after Ajay, Shiva and Harish arrived. I had actually already eaten dinner before they got back because I was starving, but they began to cook egg curry and chiapati! I sat with them and MB as the four of them ate, talking about marriage in India. Harish was telling us about his wife and how he met her and stuff. MB drove them home around 10:30 and Ajay and I talked for a bit, but I was exhausted and went to bed soon after.
This morning, I woke up to the smell of chiapatis! YUM! I had chicken curry leftovers and chiapati for breakfast!! Delicious!! :D
So, that's about it! Maroldi wanted me to take a picture of her teeth for Jim to see, so I'll try and do that today and post it. She actually looks adorable with her little fangs!
Hope things are well!! :)
The first game was the Pumpkins vs. Beverly's girls team. The Pumpkins wanted me to play, but I didn't think that was such a good idea, considering that I scored a goal for the other team last year when they asked me to play! Plus, there were all these younger boys who wanted to play, so they put on a jersey instead and played for the Pumpkins. I guarded MB's "MoonBag" as she referred, which has the keys to half of Windhoek! After the girls, the BNC boys played Beverly's boys team. I was trying to pay attention, but I have no clue who won either game! The kids sitting with me were climbing the tree that was providing us shade and gathering these hard pods that grow on the tree. They bite off a piece of the pod and suck out its sweet juices, then they spit it out, rinse their mouth out with water, and take another bite. I didn't know you had to rinse after taking a bite, so when I finished trying a piece, I took a sip of water and the kids said "No! No! You have to rinse!!!" Something about a bad stomach?!!
Anyway, gathering the pods was not the only thing the kids were doing from the tree, they were throwing things and jumping. And, someone brought a sling-shot, so that was a problem for a bit. At first all I could do was ask them to stop, but then I decided that if they weren't listening, I could tell them that if they didn't stop, they had the choice not to go to the pool the next day. That pretty much put the kibosh on any "bad" behavior.
When soccer was over, we walked back to the center. I've gotten the kids hooked on thumb wrestling! When I play with my brother, I can NEVER win, but I'm a champion over here! I'm actually just waiting until they get the hang of it, then I don't think I stand a chance. (Well, the fact that my thumb is exceedingly larger than most of theirs gives me an unfair advantage!) While walking back to the center, I was thumb wrestling with my right hand with Macrene and with Ruru with my left hand!
When we got to the center, we just played games like any other day, except it wasn't like any other day, for some reason everything was just off. The kids were fighting and yelling at each other so much that I took the games, put them away, and went outside. There was a whole problem with Sha and Maroldi and money. They returned bottles, so they should have gotten an equal amount of money, but then Sha asked a man for a dollar and he gave it to her, and Maroldi insisted that they should both have an equal amount of money. MB really wanted to solve this with them, and she diplomatically sat down with them and tried to work it out. But, apparently Maroldi was just incredibly insistent and MB got fed up. She told Maroldi that if she really needed the extra dollar, that she would give it to her herself. When MB held out the dollar, Maroldi wouldn't take it, which was very big of her.
Later, the kids were playing soccer in the back and something must have happened between Denzel and Wendy. Instead of coming to MB and telling her that Denzel was bothering her, Wendy grabbed him by his shirt, shoved him against the wall and slammed his head again and again while yelling, "Mary. Talk to him! Mary! Talk to him!" MB ran outside and separated them. Denzel was so angry at Wendy that he tried to punch her, but he hit MB instead, causing him to break down and sob. MB blew up at Wendy, and then brought Denzel inside. The two of them sat in the big room crying for a while. Juliana, Sana and Tete who were drawing pictures made MB cards that said things like "Thank you for giving us food and for loving us. Please don't cry Mery. When you cry I want to cry." Meanwhile, Wendy wrote on a piece of paper, "I can never forgive you for yelling at me. My heart is still crying" or something like that.
MB and I sort of looked at each other around 6:30 and told the kids they needed to go home! I was tired of keeping kids from fighting, and MB had just had it. There must have been something in the air. Also, I think we were both exhausted and since we weren't up and assertive, the kids just went wild. Anyway, we went home and sat in the living room just talking. I thought it was interesting that Maroldi forgave MB for getting mad at her and didn't hold a grudge, but Wendy tried to play a guilt trip, despite the fact that she completely deserved to be yelled at. It's disappointing, because Wendy was one of the kids at the center who we relied on to set a good example and help out, and here she is beating a kid up.
MB left to go back to her house and I laid in the living room for a while. I cooked some dinner and then Ajay came home. We talked for a bit and I began to tackle a project MB had asked me to do. She got a donation of a HUGE box of crayons, and she wanted to divide them up to distribute to different kindergartens. I began dividing all the crayons by color and after about an hour and half a box left, Ajay said, "Maybe I should help!" We finished dividing the crayons quickly, and then we put them into HUGE mayonnaise jars. We filled up FIVE to the brim! It was amazing, so we have tons of crayons to give away now.
After the crayons we talked for a while, and then just went to sleep!
Sunday morning I made sense of box that's been sitting in the living room for a while that was full of clothes and games that had been donated from Germany. Then, I changed into my swimsuit, and put sunscreen on every inch of my body that I could reach! MB arrived around 9:50 and we decided what we were going to do about the bread and then drove to the center. MB went into the center to find knives, and I gave out the little Snoopy cards to the kids. I must have given out 200! There were so many kids! We drove to the pool and parked inside again. We went to the gate where the kids were all lined up, but they weren't allowed in because the lifeguard wasn't there yet. (He was 45 minutes late!) After waiting about 15 minutes, they were allowed in and I stood at the door collecting tickets, which was chaos!
MB got out the orange floaties that a such a hit! It was just another normal at at the pool, playing around in the water. But, Dios and I began to swim to the deep end, and a little boy began to follow us. I actually didn't even notice him and Dios said, "That boy is drowning." He said it so casually that it didn't register, and he turned around to drag the boy back to the shallow end. The kid's eyes were incredibly wide and Dios carried him all the way to the wall, lifted him up, and got him out. Later, the same kid was heading for the deep end again, and the lifeguard had to jump in and save him. MB told him that he was only allowed in the baby pool or he could go home.
The lifeguard was really great, really assertive. There were some older boys that weren't with us that would pick any little kid up and throw him or strangle him. A boy went to MB and told her that those boys had strangled him and so since I was in the pool already she asked me to bring the boy over and talk to the older kids. I tried, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference because 10 seconds later they were holding some other kid by his neck. So, MB went to get the lifeguard and he came and warned them. Then he stayed outside just watching them. They stopped!
When it was time for lunch, MB thought it would be easier for her and me to prepare and distribute the food. She had already had about 50 kids ask her if they could help. They all love to be helpers because they just sit there and eat all of the best stuff in the bags, or they hoard it away for later. They wind up giving out just the crappy stuff to the rest of the kids. So, we decided that we were going to do it ourselves, which pissed most of the regular BNC kids off. When we started giving out the food, MB tapped all the kids that she knew, and I handed out one piece of sweet bread and one plain roll. Many of the regular kids like Wendy and Salome asked me if they could have a cheese roll instead. Or, they asked me for the little styrofoam plates that some of the sweet bread had come on. If I give them a choice of what they want, then everyone should get a choice, AND the styrofoam plates wind up on the ground and then me or MB pick them up. Of course this made them mad and they stood there like they expected me to change my mind. I said, if you have your bread, please leave and eat it outside, otherwise you can give it back and I'll give it to someone who wants it.
When we finished feeding all the kids we knew, there were still about 75 kids sitting in front of us. MB said to them, "How many of you should I recognize?!" None of them raised their hands. Then she turned to me and said, "Do you recognize any of these kids?" I looked up to very unfamiliar faces and saw some kids raising their hands!! It was really cute! I actually did recognize one boy from soccer the day before, but that was it! So, we fed the girls first, and then the boys anyway! We still had enough left over for the center on Monday, which was good.
When we were finished giving out the food, we went back to the pool and played around again. This boy Set and I were having races across the pool, that was funny! After we swam freestyle, breast, and backstroke, we ran across the pool. Then hopped on one leg. It was cute. I got out of the pool around 3 for good. I was tired and needed to sit and relax. So, I warmed up with the kids on the cement and then went to find my towel.
Maroldi was wrapped up in it sitting next to MB. Turns out, she and Ruru had been playing around on the side of the baby pool and for some reason Ruru picked up her feet and she fell face first into the ground, chipping her two front teeth. MB and I were trying to figure out if she had a nerve exposed and would need to get her teeth capped, but we thought that if a nerve was exposed, she would be in agony, and she seemed ok. So, we thought it was probably just cosmetic. MB decided that she would find a dentist and bring her to get her teeth fixed. "That's what donations are for," she said. I thought Maroldi was a real trooper about the whole thing. She wasn't angry or crying, she just accepted it and was thankful that MB was going to fix her teeth.
Taura came a bit later and so we talked for a while, until she left. The pool closed around 5 and we collected all the floaties back! Not one of them was stolen!! Dios, Sheola and Basanda were the last to leave and they even went around the pool to open the gate for us in the bakkie. As they began to walk down the trail back to Katutura, MB stopped the bakkie, got out, unlocked the back and took out three rolls for them. "I love doing things like that!" She said! It was cute because they didn't expect it at all, we actually had to call them back. Usually, when the bakkie stops, the kids run back expecting something!
We returned home and soon after Ajay, Shiva and Harish arrived. I had actually already eaten dinner before they got back because I was starving, but they began to cook egg curry and chiapati! I sat with them and MB as the four of them ate, talking about marriage in India. Harish was telling us about his wife and how he met her and stuff. MB drove them home around 10:30 and Ajay and I talked for a bit, but I was exhausted and went to bed soon after.
This morning, I woke up to the smell of chiapatis! YUM! I had chicken curry leftovers and chiapati for breakfast!! Delicious!! :D
So, that's about it! Maroldi wanted me to take a picture of her teeth for Jim to see, so I'll try and do that today and post it. She actually looks adorable with her little fangs!
Hope things are well!! :)
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