So, here I am. Starting my second week of work at the Khorixas Youth Center.
I guess I'll start with the difficulties, just to get them out of the way. On Sunday night, we had no electricity. Honestly, that was no big deal. A bit annoying since it suddenly went off while I was reading, but otherwise, not really a problem, just something I knew would happen from time-to-time. The real problem came in the morning, when I needed coffee. My host parents have been away for about a week, leaving me and the older siblings to take care of the little ones. This meant that the gas tank for the stove hasn't been refilled. So still, no coffee. And to make things worse, Namibians have no concept of respecting personal space or not being loud at 1am, and when my host mom came in, the noise just kept me awake. So, I lost sleep and no coffee. Awesome.
I am also trying to teach a class on Microsoft Word at the Center. After 3 classes, I gave my learners an assignment to see what they had learned. Turns out, it was very little. Very few of them had actually retained anything, and they just wanted me to give them answers, getting very frustrated when I tried to make them work out the steps instead. It also didn't help that they'd spent a total of 1 day learning to type before I arrived. Once we finish Word, before we move on to anything else, I am going to have to write up an instruction guide and spend a full week on typing, I think.
Now, onto more interesting happening. On my second day, a guy came into the Center to try and get help starting an Environmental Club for the youths of the local schools. While he's all over the place and is struggling to comprehend the concept of coming up with a budget ("you don't just come up with a number, you have to make a list of what items and materials and other costs you need and get a price for them" "so, N$12750?"), he has some very good ideas, and once this gets more organized, I see it turning into a very good club. Admittedly, some of the ideas and resources I am coming up with to help him are straight out of BSA materials.
It also seems like GrassRoot Soccer is going to happen. I talked to a co-worker who plays for the local club, and he and some of his teammates are interested, which is great, because that would mean it's the kind of thing I could start and then pass off after a while. They also want to incorporate a tournament for youths of the town and nearby villages into the program, which sounds like a lot of fun, but also a lot of work (getting the field, arranging to have the youths, getting food to entice them to come, getting water, getting people to referee, etc.), so we'll see. That one may have to wait until I've been here a bit longer.
The other thing I will be participating in will be starting a tourism center. Our Center got a donation of computers, printers, scanners, and fax machines from UNESCO. The guy I share an office with is trying to take those and start a tourism center in a nearby village. The idea is to help the people keep some of the tourism money coming in from people going to Etosha and Skeleton Coast and Twyfelfontein. So, I'm going to be helping him with the setting up and training stages.
Khorixas is very dry, very dusty, and very hot. I've been coughing quite a bit since I got here, not being used it breathing in this must dust. The problem is, my host family just assumes I'm sick, and don't understand that no, I'm just not used to breathing air this dusty. It's getting better, the more time I spend here (though it can be really brutal in the morning while I try to work out), and hopefully I'll adjust soon. I played soccer with some Namibians this weekend. It was a lot of fun, and our team had a massive advantage: rather than just trying to dribble past everyone, I was actually able to distribute the ball, making us harder to defend. As much fun as it was, the pain in my knee that night and the next day was agonizing, so I mostly stayed in bed and did some reading or watched TV with the host kids (I can confirm that America's number one export is still the lousiest elements of our culture, like Hannah Montana and those tween Nick shows). I did manage to get out for a bit and watch the Chelsea/Everton match at the home of co-worker (also a Chelsea fan, unlike everyone else at the office, who root for Arsenal). Also enjoyed seeing Lukaku spoil (sort of) Sir Alex's final match. I may respect the man, but I still hate him and his club.
So, all-in-all, it's been a challenging start with its share of bright spots. Got to have dinner with some other volunteers in my town and one who was visiting. I have a bar owner who wants to throw me and the volunteer leaving my town a braai. I have some leads on projects. I got stuff so I can soon start planting some seeds (I got peppers and okra, and when the season is right, I'll try some pumpkins and other squashes). I got super tasty Russians at the gas station (a type of sausage). So, sure there are challenges. I didn't expect much less. But a week+ in, and I'm ready to start moving past them.
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