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I'm writing from my school's computer lab right now. I have been in here for the past three hours under..unusual circumstances. As you read on, keep in mind that I, as well as everyone else to the best of my knowledge, am fine. A few weeks ago I mentioned that a lion was spotted and killed just outside of Okahao. There are very few sightings of large wild animals in these regions of Namibia because most of them are in the national parks. For the most part all of the real "wild life" in Namibia can be found in those reserves. For the most part.

Today, while I was in the computer lab preparing April exams for my English classes the bell came on in the middle of the period. Not altogether unusual. On and off..on and off..on and off.. There was shouting and I could hear the frantic patter of feet on the walkways outside of the classes. It seemed like ten minutes of bell-ringing, feet-pattering, door-slamming chaos, but in reality it was probably less than one. The principal, Mr. Kamati rushed into the lab and started speaking in frantic Oshindonga, something very uncharacteristic of a man who prides himself on always speaking English in professional settings. He addressed Mr. Kangotue, the computer teacher, in his mother tongue and then rushed out of the door, closing and locking it behind him. Needless to say, at this point I was completely worked up and terrified. The learners all rushed to the windows, chatting fervently amongst themselves as Mr. Kangotue yelled at them to back away from the windows. It took a full five minutes before I was able to corner Kangotue and ask him what the hell was going on. Evidently a meme working at the school had burst into school office, a frantic mess, after narrowly escaping an elephant encounter in the school garden. She said that, in addition to the large male that charged at her there were at least another four in the family nearby. Note, that while elephants are often heralded as friendly giants back home, they are very unpredictable and can be frightfully territorial and temperamental creatures if they feel in any way threatened. More people die from elephant attacks each year than from all attacks by big cats (lions, jaguars, cheetahs etc) combined. The principal and one of the male office workers immediately set off to put the entire school on lock down. Thank god for cellphones (and teachers' propensities for using them during class time) because they have been our one method of communication between teachers in each classroom. The learners in classrooms without functioning doors have been urgently moved to other classrooms for the time-being. There really is no plan in place, other than the fact that we are all to remain in our respective classrooms until we have been assured that the elephants have migrated a safe distance away from the school grounds.

Like I said, it has been three hours so far, and we have yet to receive any news. Toilet breaks, and any reason to leave the rooms which we are in are strictly prohibited, which has caused some spirited arguments among the learners and between Kangotue and the learners in terms of whether or not we are going to have an area of the classroom for going to the washroom if necessary. With the windows closed it is damn hot, and the room seems to be getting smaller by the second. Because of the heat, and much to the learner's rancour, we are going to turn off the computers and the lights in the room, so as to reduce heat output. Hopefully this won't last for too long and I will be able to blog a follow-up shortly. For the time-being I am going to busy myself with entertaining and placating the 38 frenzied learners I have on my hands.