Odibo Life

News in about Odibo CS:  Today, Friday, was my first day to actually go to school.  Since they hadn’t provided me with a timetable yet, I spent the first half of the day with Mrs. Olga getting situated.  I am officially teaching grade 9A and 9B English.  That is 95 students.  52 in one class and 43 in the other.  Yikes!  On top of that, I will be teaching BIS for 7B, 8A, 8B, 8C, 9A, 9B, 10A, and 10 B.  That brings me to 21 periods a week, which is not drastically less than last term, but drastic enough that I can breathe and prepare and focus on my new students.  Although I didn’t teach today, I was able to meet with 9A and briefly with 9B.  So far, 9B seems scared, but 9A I can tell will be fun.  We went over classroom rules, which consisted of them telling me what they thought was important.  Then we narrowed those down to 5.  I also explained some things I will be setting up in the classroom.

In addition to that information, I learned that Odibo CS has 848 students!  Holy moly.  Luckily, we have 31 teachers to accommodate that high number.  Side note: I also learned that my principal’s daughter went to university in America and is currently getting her PhD in Canada.  What an inspiration to all of the students in the village.  After school ended, I stayed a bit working on lesson plans and talking with new teachers.  I can already see some friendships forming.  People have been very sweet and very helpful, so that’s been a blessing.  I even have teachers that drive to Ondangwa and Oshakati frequently!

This weekend I am staying in the village though.  I will quickly go to town tomorrow to buy groceries, but for the rest of the weekend, I will focus on doing laundry, reading, and watching too much Hot in Cleveland (awesome show).  Although village life can be a hard adjustment after a month of traveling, I think it will do me good to spend a couple weekends here getting acclimated.

I will keep y’all posted as often as possible on happenings in Odibo.  I am still trying to decide if I have the time and energy to tackle a school project, but that is not my main focus at this time.  As for my parents, they are halfway home to America.  My sister and Mark are also flying to LA, so everyone closest to me is somewhere in the air.  Pray for their safety and their pilots.