Happy Birthday, Amy!

Anker, Namibia on Google Earth

Google Earth finally posted a high definition satellite photo of Anker. You can compare it to the hand drawn map Amy sent us to see some of the landmarks including: her house, the school and the hostel.

Use this link if you want to download Google Earth (it's free): Google Earth

Use this link to find it if you have Google Earth: Anker

For those who don't have Google Earth, you can link to this same spot on Google Maps by using this link: Anker

Google Earth Image of Anker, Namibia
(click on map to enlarge)

Hand drawn map of Anker, Namibia
(click to enlarge, then click to enlarge again)
(note: north is left on this map)

Happy Birthday Amy!

Send her an email greeting. Click this link

Amy is in Etosha

After Nancy's appointment on Wednesday, we came home and called Amy about 10 AM (5PM her time). I had taken the morning off work so we took the opportunity while we could. The phones had been out all weekend again, which was disappointing because we had tried to call
her from her from one of her Wheaton friend's house on Sunday morning.

She was doing well. She said she was glad we called because they had recruited her as a polling assistant during the school board elections they were having on Wednesday all day and she was glad to get away from it. She thinks they choose her for some things just because she is the different one in town. Kind of like: "who should we get to do this...I know lets have Amy do it."

She left today for a school trip to nearby Etosha National Park (one of the premier game parks in the world). She hoped to see zebra and lion along with the elephant, giraffe, ostrich and oryx she sees all the time. It was going to be 37 7th graders plus 7 adults (she think she was the only female adult for the 16 girls though). They are going to stay in a school hostel tonight, Friday and Saturday nights. They will visit the good places tomorrow and Saturday and return Sunday. She said the budget for the whole trip was $4500 N ($600 US) mostly raised by donations and food from the hostel and that included everything (gas, vehicles, housing, fees and food).

Next weekend, she will be going to Windhoek to buy the copier and, depending on the ride situation, bring it back. October 6,7, she will go to Otjiwarongo to visit PCV's and perhaps celebrate her birthday with others.

Other tidbits she told us:
--she devoured the Christianity Today magazines that G & G sent and downloaded a few more articles from the web.
--she is reading the Brothers Karamazov and loves it
--since prepaid electricity started in Anker many more cook fires are being used. She hasn't had to pay for it yet and thinks it is being covered by the PC
--she text messaged Matt about the teacher that caused her grief last week and Matt TM'ed back and made her feel better about it.
--she tried ostrich meat and found that, instead of tasting like chicken, it is more like beef.
--she helps Mrs /Goageses with grammar and spelling on papers she is writing for a class and a test she will have to take soon for some kind of correspondence class she is taking.
--Dylan, Sandra and Mike have a package for her in Kamanjab for her birthday.
--she got her adaptor back for her computer
--because the oven and refrigerator cords are too short to reach the one (chest high) plug she has in her kitchen, she has to use an adaptor for them too. When she also plugged her hot pot into it the adaptor burned out. She opened it up and soldered it and now she only has her refrigerator plugged in to it.

It was good to talk to her and she sounds like things are going well so far.

Last day of 1st term

Today is the last day of the first term that Amy has taught. (click for school schedule). She will teach six terms all together before she is done in December of 2007. She and her learners now have a whole month off. During that month, all the PCV's from her group will reconnect in Windhoek. I think that starts on April 20th.

Amy is on her way back to Anker

Well, Amy is on her way back to Otjiwarongo today. We talked on her cell phone yesterday while she was still in Windhoek. She was doing much better and felt good. The PC medical gave her an antibiotic to bring with her so that if she gets sick again and they diagnose her over the phone, she can start taking something right away.

On Wednesday evening, she went out with Jason and Megan to the movie, "Zathura". The movie theater was in a typical western style mall. The movies are half price on Wednesdays so the cost of a ticket was $20 N or about $1.50 US. They also played mini golf for $15 N ($1 US). Life in the big city is good. She shopped a bit at the grocery store, a big one and said her eyes must have been big too. She commented again on the great disparity between rich/poor and city/rural in the country.

Today was another snow day here (as was Monday) so we called her about 7:45 AM (3:45 pm her time). We talked about an hour. She was just hanging out in her flat next to the PC office and was planning to go out to eat with Jason Thursday evening. Then today, she is going with Megan to Otjiwarongo and will probably hang out there for the 4 day holiday weekend. This is Namibian independence celebration and not only will there be few if any rides into Anker until Tuesday, but there will be almost no one in town. She has Monday and Tuesday off and will probably hook up with some other PC's for a party sometime.

We might get to talk to her sometime again over the weekend while she is in cell range. She is still thinking that the PC HQ will be getting cell antennae for all the rural PC's. We did get her principals phone number. Interesting fact: she looked in a phone book (there's only one for the whole country) and found that there are only 15 personal phones numbers listed for the Anker region (not counting government, utilities or schools). That's not many for an area of a few thousand people.

Thanks to all who expressed their concern and prayers while Amy was sick.

Amy is in Windhoek

We got an e-mail today from Amy. She is now in the capital city of Windhoek, about 350 miles from her town of Anker. After being in Otjiwarongo with flu-like symptoms since last Thursday, the Peace Corps medical staff decided they wanted to check her out at their HQ in the capital city. We got a hold of her cell phone this morning at 6:30 AM (2:30 PM her time) to see how she was doing. She said she was feeling much better and sounded good over the phone. She said that they were being extra careful with her being so far away from medical facilities. She arrived on Monday in Windhoek and will be staying until Friday.

She is staying in a medical flat attached to the PC HQ in Windhoek. They think have eliminated all things except what she originally thought (i.e. tonsillitis) and want to continue to check that out today and tomorrow. They have done blood and other tests and she does not have malaria or any other major illnesses. She wanted us to know that she is feeling much better. In fact, she said she is feeling so good today that she might go to a movie with Megan and Jason (other PCVs) tonight because Wednesday is half price day at the only movie theater in Namibia.

Megan (PCV from Otjiwaraongo) actually has a driver for the health and community program she runs and that is how Amy got to Windhoek. She will go back to Otji on Friday with Megan and her driver and then try to get a ride back to Anker after that.

She actually sounded quite upbeat and had a few new ideas to try out with her students. One was to use "The Namibian" newspaper articles and classifieds for some activities. It is only about $1.00 N (.15 US) so she could buy several copies to cut things out. She said she is worried about her kids and expects that they are having to hand copy pages from their textbooks into their notebooks. She doubts that they will have any substitute teachers for her.

Mopane worms

Mopane Worm

Last week, Amy was offered a Mopane Worm to eat by some of the kids in her school. She turned it down. Turns out it is a very important food for people in southern Africa. Who knew?

Links to some pages about and recipes for Mopane worms:

Mopane worms - African cuisine

Edible Namibian Mopane worms

Recipe for Mopane worm stew

Big 12 African insects

Wikipedia on Mopane worms

We spoke to Amy!!

Well we finally got to talk to Amy after 3 months of not hearing her voice. She called about 11 AM and left a message on our message machine with a phone #. We got home from church and lunch about 1:30 PM and tried calling the number. It apparently was missing a number but after many tries, I finally got through at about 2:30 PM. We talked about an hour.

She stayed in Otjiwarongo again today because she had some diarrhea and the Peace Corps nurse, Clara, wanted her to stay there another day. She says she will go back to Anker tomorrow if they let her. They still think it is "the tonsillitis" and maybe a virus. She got sick on Tuesday evening and I think she said she missed W,Th, and F (though maybe it was just Th F). Her fever was low grade but was up to 101 at one time. She thinks she may still have a little fever and her throat still hurts. She said she is doing fine though. She isn't sure if she can find a ride all the way to Anker tomorrow, so may stay in Kamanjab with Clementine. It didn't sound like she knew what the school was going to do, maybe just have the kids sit in class.

A summary of some of the things Amy said on the phone:

-- She really likes Anker. She said teaching is hard because she is new at it and doesn't have lesson plans. Discipline can be challenging sometimes but she thinks that is going okay. She doesn't dislike teaching, but likes the other things better, like library stuff. The other teachers are supportive of each other and it seems they work together. Our impressions of a more organized school seems right.

--She really wants to get out and see other PCVs more often and may just visit nearby ones despite the "rule". She said they really won't mind much and they are far away. Because she missed getting groceries last week, she was really low and ran out of alot of things. She will return with about 6 bags of groceries tomorrow. She is eating well but mostly has canned stuff, pastas or breads. She said there is a community garden and she might be able to get some fresh stuff soon.

--Her washer woman and her don't always understand each other, but she is helpful and even does her dishes when she lets them pile up.

--She has received some regular mail but didn't get a package we sent on Jan 9 yet. She just sent letters to the publishing companies today because she hasn't been able to get to a printer.

--She seemed to think that she could connect the Internet now that she has a phone card. She would have to go to the Geiseb's and connect to their phone line to download and send stuff. She loves getting email and liked all the blogs I sent, but hadn't read some of the most recent ones. She laughs at Matt's from the town near her. She has just missed seeing him both times she came to Otji. She is trying to talk the computer guys in coming up by enticing them with the prospect of seeing some wild animals and going to Etosha NP. Patrick O (at the house she is staying) says he thinks she is getting a real PC experience as opposed to some others in Namibia.

--There is a 4 day weekend next weekend and there is a party in Okakara (have to look it up) at another PCVs house and she and others will be there. She's looking forward to that. She does keep in contact with some of the PCV by email.

--She really likes her language, Khoekhoegowab, and gets brownie points for reading and speaking it. Most adults can't read KKG because apartheid discouraged that. It is mostly a spoken language. The pastor points it out to everyone in church when she sings from the KKG hymnal. Church is a long affair and begins with singing until everyone arrives. The sermon, testimonies and other things for a couple of hours. She said she likes it though.

--There are times when she just doesn't want to go out because of everyone looking at her. She said everyone knows at all times what she is doing and where she is going. Kids are always saying "Hello, hello, hello Miss Amy" often repeating it over and over because they know those words. The hostel kids are so bored that they sit and stare at her when she reads because that is more exciting than being back at the hostel. Kids used to look through the window and say, "Miss, we're hungry" or "give us money" but now they seem to know her rule of no food or money giveaways. This week when she was sick, some kids were making noise outside on her front porch so she came out and sternly said, "What!". Turns out they had made her a bottlecap necklace because they knew she was sick. She felt very bad about that. They also offered her a "mopane worm" but she said those are not real safe to eat, so she turned them down.

--She will get us the Geiseb's phone and we can call there on the weekends. They won't mind sending a kid down to get her and we can then call back in ten minutes. All the teachers live next to each other. She seems to like the Geiseb's best. Her friend, Rob is sending her instructions on making a homemade cell phone antenna from wire and tin foil. Then we could call her more often.

--She said that she often comes over to help a kid with something in class and feels them touching her hair or her arm. They really like it's color and texture. She takes a shower only in the afternoon after the sun has warmed up the water. She doesn't nap much but doesn't mind "lying" to the kids to tell them she is sleeping in order for them to leave her alone some.

There was much more and, of course we filled her in on stuff happening here. But, we started to wind things up at about 3:30 PM (10:30 PM her time) and then we got cut off. I tried calling back but couldn't get through. I guess you have to be ready to say goodbye at any time. It was a great feeling to hear her voice and to get instant response and feedback instead of waiting for an email to return.

Amy starts teaching today - her schedule and teachers

Today is the first day of the first term for learners in Namibia. Amy is now in Anker at her home and today she was at school for what was probably a teacher prep day. Learners start to register on Wednesday. The first term goes through April 13 with a short break in March.

Namibian 2006 School calendar:

And here are the teachers and class schedule for the first term:

Here's a list of the teachers at my school (the strange symbols in the names are various click sounds)

Ms. ≠Goậgases

Mr. Zemburuka

Mr. /Uirab and Mrs. /Uiras

Mr. !Naruseb

Mr. //Guibeb

Mr. Tivahe

Mr. Ndjitezeua

Me

And the headmaster- Mr. //Geiseb

Each Day has eight periods and two breaks

Period One- 7:00-7:40

Period Two- 7:40-8:20

Period Three- 8:20-9:00

Break 9:00-9:30

Period Four- 9:30-10:10

Period Five- 10:10-10:50

Period Six- 10:50-11:30

Break- 11:30-11:40

Period Seven-11:40-12:20

Period Eight- 12:20-1:00

On Fridays there is no period eight or supervised study time.

Here are the classes I teach

Monday

Period One and Two-English 6B

Period Three and Four-English 6A

Period Five and Six-English 7

Period Seven-Natural Science 7

Tuesday-

Period One- English 6B

Period Two-English 6A

Period Three-English 7

Period Four-Natural Science 7

Period Seven-Basic Information Science 7

Wednesday-

Period One- English 6B

Period Two-English 6A

Period Three-English 7

Period Four-Natural Science 7

Thursday

Period One- English 6B

Period Two-English 6A

Period Three-English 7

Period Four-Natural Science 7

Period Eight- Basic Information Science 6B

Friday

Period One- English 6B

Period Two-English 6A

Period Three-English 7

Period Five-Natural Science 7

Period Six- Basic Information Science 5

Period Seven- Basic Information Science 6A

Where Amy is right now -Karibib

(Full map of locations in Namibia for reference)

While we haven't heard from her, this is where Amy is doing her training right now in comparison to Omaruru and Windhoek. Maybe if we could just zoom in we could see her.

Excerpts from a Thanksgiving Day e-mail from Nancy

Dear Amy,
I hope you had a good day on Thanksgiving . I'm sure you didn't celebrate as it isn't a holiday in Africa, but you were a huge part of our Thanksgiving so I'll just tell you how it went. First off, we are dying to hear from you. I know God is working on patience for me through all of this. We didn't really expect to hear from you, but when the phone rang during lunch my heart raced. It was someone else. We got up early to get the turkey ready and read Jason & Brock's blogs. That made us feel closer to you. Jason had a touching description of how discouraged he was his first day at the apartment in Windhoek, so Dad had commented to encourage him and let him know we are praying for him. We feel a kinship to all of your partners and are praying for them too. When the cousins came all three were wearing your scarves that you made them for Christmas last year, that brought tears to my eyes.


Then we all went over all that we had read and thought about from the blogs. Grandpa & Grandma and Di all keep up on them daily & feel like we know especially Jason as he writes most often. Grandpa says I don't need to worry about you at all because Grandma is keeping track of concerns and thinking praying for you all day long. We are all worried that you won't have email or phone service in Anker. And the other big item of prayer is you hitchhiking back to Omaruru on Sunday. I know this is common there, but you are my baby, so I'll keep praying. Brock wrote about making a Risk game out of rice and skittles, and that there was talk of making a Settlers of Catan game. What a hoot! I'm sure this time of checking out your location is really helpful for you.

The girls got sad seeing you in your room through your books and things, and yet not having you here. You are so much a part of our holiday, but we never realized it until you weren't here. Alena cried on your bed before they went home. She's so sensitive... I don't know if it's good or bad to tell you we are sad, but know we are also laughing about how different everything is, and are so happy for you too.

We haven't sent your first package yet, If you think we should send it to Anker let us know if you get to email us this week. Also any needs you have. Alena sent a snail mail letter so you may get that soon.

Love, Love Love and prayers always!

Mom:)

We wonder (excerpts from an e-mail from me to Amy)

Amy,
It is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. You are in Anker on your second day of your site visit. I have tried to find it on the web without any luck. We have found Kamanjab on the map though. What direction and distance are you from there? There is one page on the web describing the playgroud that was built last May at your school. We have learned a lot about the Damara people from the web. They sound like an interesting group.

We think about you a lot. We wonder what it is like? Will you be happy there? Is it going to be difficult? Will you have any friends? You don't have to answer any of these questions right now or whenever you get a chance to read you e-mail. Just know that we think about you a lot and pray for you almost every day...


We have had seasonable weather - 30's and 40's. Most of our first snow has melted. Not much in the news. Bush is still frustrating us, but he remains the president.The Vikings beat Grreen Bay (who cares).

We still haven't mailed you anything. Sorry.

We love you!

Dad

excerpts from a Sunday email from Nancy to Amy

Hi Amy,
It's Sunday night at 4:30 pm...We are reading all Namibian blogs so we get your news as well as Jason's and Silas, Pam and some others. You folks are very busy. It sounds like you are excited about your site. You will have to plan shopping since there aren't many options in Anker. You won't believe it but today in church as Paul & Ben had pizza they sat by a guy who is applying to be an interim youth pastor. He was in Africa with the Jesus movie. Not too far from Anker. How weird is that. We bought an international phone plan so we can call you back cheaply if you are at a location with telephone service...

... Have you had luck washing clothes yet? Do you do it by hand? One guy said he washes his undies in the shower every morning. Who are the people you feel close to? What is the church service like?...

I have so many questions, but I know you'll answer when you can. We'll be praying for you as you travel to your new location and find housing and other details. It sounds like you are doing really well, good luck with that click language. I know it's your kind of challenge.
Mom

We tried (excerpts from an email from us to Amy)

Amy,

(Written at 1:45 pm Sunday just after trying to
call you)

We tried calling the number you gave us
but the recording said I didn't need to dial a 0
after the country code.So I tried that and the
recording said that "your call cannot be
completed in the country you are calling at this time,
please try your call later" . I kept trying and
one time it said " all international circuits
to this country are busy, please call later"

I guess we tried. Maybe next time.
Interesting though, Mom stayed in town after
church to see her Mom and to shop at Walmart.
Ben and I came home in the other car.
All of a sudden she had a feeling she should
come home. When you called back the
second time, she was just walking in the door!


We have been keeping up on many of the
interesting things you are doing and seeing
through Jason Sears' Blog. He has posted
something every day including a couple today. He has
told us about your camp and the town and even
some about the birds (the wild ones and the annoying ones).

It sounds like you might have had an interview
today to find out more about your placement.
You also sound like you might have a busy week.
We loved hearing your voice even if it was short.
And we liked hearing that you are doing well.
I'm sure it was frustrating to try and connect but then
that is the motto isn't it.

We got your letter from Philly. I sent a note
about your blog to a number of other people and told
them if they wanted to get on your group mailing
list to email you or me. Several people have said
they liked your blog and would keep following it.

I have tried calling several more times now and
the same thing has happened. It is now 2:10 PM
(10:10pm your time). So I think I'd better give up.
You are probably not waiting any more anyway.
We'll get in touch sometime. And we'll keep emailing.
We will also write too.

Love you, Dad and Mom

A very brief call from Amy

At 1:15 or so this afternoon, Amy called. I had been home from church with Ben for a short while and Nancy had stayed in town to visit Mom and to shop for a few things. The phone rang and Amy said, "Hi, Dad, quick write down this number and call me right back. I can't stay on the line any longer because it costs too much". I called the number right back and a recording came on saying I didn't need to dial a 0 after the country code she gave me. So I called again and the recording said "all international circuits to this country are busy please try later". I kept trying and got the same thing.

After about 10-15 minutes, Amy called back. Just then Nancy walked in the door. I quick waved her to the phone. We explained quickly what had happened and she said something about having less than a minute to talk. We quickly asked how she was and how things were going. A brief answer was everything is fine and she was healthy and doing okay. She suddenly said she was going to get cut off and to try back again. A quick goodbye and that was it.

I tried calling back until about 2:30pm (10:30 pm her time) with no luck. All circuits busy. So I quit trying and wrote her an e-mail. She said something about internet connection and maybe she meant she will try to email us.

Nancy had been in Walmart and all of a sudden had a feeling she should get home, thinking that if Amy was going to call, it might be now. I guess she was right. It was frustrating, but good to hear her voice and to know, even though brief, that she was okay.

Leaving the United States

Amy called tonight on her last night in the United States. She said that the staging has been good and she has gotten to know some nice people. Now they have a real marathon the next few days. Tomorrow morning they are to be in the hotel lobby with all their bags packed at 6:30 AM. Then they are bussed to the clinic where she will probably get shots for Yellow Fever and Polio. She thinks that she will not need any other shots. After that they are all bussed to JFK airport in New York. Their flight leaves at 5:55 PM Eastern time.

They leave on Wed night and arrive on Thursday night in Johannesburg. The time zone is 7 hours ahead of their departure time so the flight is about 17 hours long. Their luggage (other than carryons) will continue to Namibia and they will stay overnight in an airport hotel. They will not be allowed to leave the hotel.

Friday morning, they will take a two hour flight to Windhoek and then a bus to the Omaruru Rest Camp a few hours northwest of Windhoek. There they will stay for 6 days. She said they told her not to expect to get a hold of anyone until at least Nov 12 or later.

It was almost as hard to say goodbye to her on the phone tonight as it was in the airport on Monday. I think that the idea of her leaving the country and not being in easy communication seems more real. There may not be many times like tonight to easily converse on the phone and fill each other in on all that has been happening. We'll have to see what happens with phones, calling cards, internet and/or letters. She said she would love to get any kind of mail. I guess we won't know how long before she gets something until we try it out. She had something written to publish to her blog, but wasn't sure if she could find an internet connection tomorrow.

Leaving the United States

Amy called tonight on her last night in the United States. She said that the staging has been good and she has gotten to know some nice people. Now they have a real marathon the next few days. Tomorrow morning they are to be in the hotel lobby with all their bags packed at 6:30 AM. Then they are bussed to the clinic where she will probably get shots for Yellow Fever and Polio. She thinks that she will not need any other shots. After that they are all bussed to JFK airport in New York. Their flight leaves at 5:55 PM Eastern time.

Here is a sheet with the schedule from the last few days and their flights at the bottom. Click on it to make it bigger:


As you can see, they will leave on Wed night and arrive on Thursday night in Johannesburg. The time zone is 7 hours ahead of their departure time so the flight is about 17 hours long. Their luggage (other than carryons) will continue to Namibia and they will stay overnight in an airport hotel. They will not be allowed to leave the hotel.

Friday afternoon (they are 8 hours ahead of us so Friday morning our time), they will take a two hour flight to Windhoek and then a bus to the Omaruru Rest Camp a few hours northwest of Windhoek. There they will stay for 6 days. She said they told her not to expect to get a hold of anyone until at least Nov 12 or later.

It was almost as hard to say goodbye to her on the phone tonight as it was in the airport on Monday. I think that the idea of her leaving the country and not being in easy communication seems more real. There may not be many times like tonight to easily converse on the phone and fill each other in on all that has been happening. We'll have to see what happens with phones, calling cards, internet and/or letters. She said she would love to get any kind of mail. I guess we won't know how long before she gets something until we try it out. She had something written to publish to her blog, but wasn't sure if she could find an internet connection tomorrow.

Goodbye weekend with Amy

At Tea with Dr. R

Coral Nancy and Jewell

Baby George at Mikasa

Baby George in a bowl

Baby George

After the play on Friday night

Paul and George

Amy and Coral

Walking in Wheaton

Baby George again

Mom and Amy

Miah and Amy

Amy and George

Goodbye to Jewell

Goodbye phone call

Goodbye in the Airport

Last day at our house

Well this is the morning of the day we take Amy to Chicago. This will be the last time she will be here until December of 2007. Of course we are spending the next 4 days in Wheaton with her. It is also her final goodbye to Ben. Ben is taking all this with a calm manner. He tells Amy not to leave, but he hasn't been sad, mad or acting out. I have been having many mixed feelings this week and I'm sure I will continue to feel more these next 4 days:

--Happy for her future that she has been planning for a long time.
--Sad that I will miss her being with us.
--Frustrated that she put off so many things to the last minute and didn't finish getting her stuff in the garage organized.
--Worried for her safety, health and the challenges she will face.
--Depressed because of the losses I will feel
--Concerned that she knows what to do in so many new areas.
--Helpless that I cannot protect her or give her advice as things happen.
--Excited that she will be independent
--Distracted by all the things here and at work.

I walked last night and thought of what she'll miss:

--3 Thanksgivings
--2 Christmases, Winters, Springs and Summers
--2 Birthdays
--2 High School Graduations of her cousins
--Plays, church things, a new movie, a friend getting married, maybe a birth
--Perhaps a funeral of Grandma and an aunt or others I don't know yet.


She has been working all week to finish all the things she needs to do:
--Banking
--POA
--Insurance
--Packing
--Organizing
--Communicating.

She put a blog together and has sent E-mails out. She worked until who knows what time last night to finish. She has two suitcases and a backpack full of everything she will need for two years. Did she bring enough? Is she bringing things she will not need? Will she forget something? Will she be able to buy the things she doesn't have there? Her trip will tell and when she gets done she will know answers to all these things.

Well its time to get started with our day now and the beginning of a new phase in ours and her life.