A Couple Odds and Ends

  So, a while back I mentioned that some of the towns and regions of Namibia were having their names changed.  Well, I came across this little clip discussing it, which I found interesting.  And yes, part of the issue was the colonial past (and it's not surprising that al Jazeera would focus on that element).  It was also a tourism thing, highlighting local populations to encourage tourists to visit these places.  Of course, there are many who found the changes silly.  Several people I work with commented that after a lifetime of calling it "Luderitz," calling it "ǃNamiǂNûs" is just going to feel very weird.  Same thing with calling the "Caprivi" region the Zambezi Region.  I have gone into this discussion already, so I'll just end by pointing out that Namibia seems to be dealing with the same kind of issues many states in the US (especially in the South) have to deal with post Civil War: finding the balance between remembering history (which cannot simply be swept under the rug, since it is part of what this country is) and not wanting to honor those guilty of being brutal to the native population.

  Computer classes have started up again, and a month in, my learners are still having trouble saving, can't comprehend the difference between the highlighter and changing the font color in Word, or the fact that missing a class does not mean I "must" give them extra time to complete an assignment.  It's going slower than last time, and while I understand that these people had never used a computer before the class, the number of times I've had to go over "left and right" and "top and bottom" with a group of adults does not makes me super optimistic.  Then again, there were times I felt this way about my previous class, and most of them would have likely passed the course, had any of them submitted their final exams to be scored.  So, I guess we'll see.

  I took part in a recent program regarding HIV and healthy sex practices.  While it resulted in very interesting discussions which highlighted the difference between Namibian and Western cultures (especially in regard to gender equality), there were also some frustrating moments, trying to explain to the women that there is no situation (unless their lives are under threat, maybe) that they should feel obligated to have sex.  Interestingly, it was actually the men who tended more towards feeling it's okay for a woman to say "no".  Grace and I are talking about a larger program on this discussion, but it was really interesting to get the different perspective on sexual norms, even if I maybe feel they are not particularly healthy (in regards to HIV and youth fertility).