I know much more about what I'll be doing when I'm in Namibia now. During the day, I will be teaching at the Combretum Educational Trust School. One of their teachers (Peter Omura: also American) requested paternity leave for two weeks so I will be filling in for him teaching 8th - 11th grade math. This is not exactly the same as 8th - 11th grade math in America; the 11th grade is learning trigonometry currently. Also, many of the students do not go to school past 9th grade, so I was told to expect much smaller classes the higher the grade. I'm very excited!!! :) When Peter returns, I will be co-teaching with him and the science teacher. The Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit University offered a free e-mission to us while we are there so I will also be running that with a class or two.

In the afternoon I will be working with the Physically Active Youth program (PAY). PAY works with students to boost their self-esteem and confidence in a way to prevent HIV and AIDS. They've found that programs that just teach about HIV and AIDS are not helping the spread as much as teaching them leadership skills. They also offer career exploration classes and academic tutoring. In addition, PAY sets up many sport teams to keep the kids active, healthy, and social.

I'm hoping to work with PAY's new learning resource center to set up a video conference with The Pittsburgh Project (where I work in the summers usually). I think it would be very educational and fun to set up long term communication between PAY and TPP. Both programs work with youth and are designed to teach them leadership and academic skills in a fun environment. It should be interesting to see how they interact. :)

It is currently winter in Namibia so I am struggling with what to pack. Winter in Namibia feels like a cool summer day here in Pittsburgh only dropping down in the 40s occasionally at night. Also, I'm trying to learn more about the culture in Windhoek. I recently watched a BBC video about the genocide that took place there in the early 1900's. I had no idea. I would have expected to learn more about this before we learned about the Holocaust. They are tied very closely together. In addition, there have been more recent events dealing with this past genocide. I hope to learn more about it while I'm there.

I'm going to go pack for now....I'll get back on either during my travels or when I get to South Africa on July 7th. Have a good 4th of July weekend!

Shannon