The Ogongo Press: Baboon Sighting Lowers Test Scores

Yesterday a wild baboon made its way into the small village of Ogongo. While often spotted in other parts of the country, baboons are apparently a rarity here. I discovered this quickly when I was leaving the office to attend my math period and a herd of teacher quickly ran past me. When I asked where they were going so fast, I got a couple brief but excited responses, “Baboon, hurry!” “It is at the clinic!” “Rachel, let's go!” I contemplated joining the wild baboon chase, but turned them down to go teach my math class. Half of the teachers jumped in the back of a turquoise pick up and raced off towards the clinic. I walked into grade 6 to find all of the learners with their heads out the windows, standing on chairs and desks fighting to get a glimpse of the rumored intruder. Shortly entire classrooms of learners, in the absence of a teacher, are running outside yelling “Baboon!” I attempted to start my math lesson, but was interrupted every few minutes by learners jumping out of their seats claiming they saw the baboon out the window. I taught for about 15 minutes and decided it was a lost cause; the baboon sighting was obviously more important than conquering fractions. I ended the period by yelling “Baboon!” and pointing out the window. All 25 learners jumped out of their seats with excitement to find only a few goats grazing outside their classroom. I can safely conclude that very little learning occurred during that eventful day in Ogongo. The next time I hear complaints about learners' low test scores I am blaming it on the baboon.

Ethano = picture

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Me gusta mi madre

Apologies for the lack of posts this past month. I am going to make an honest attempt at writing small anecdotes daily rather than these lengthy monthly ramblings. Here is the brief update of my life in Namibia. My mom flew into Windhoek on the 18th of May. We spent a few days vacationing in Swakopmund then a few days in Windhoek for my mid service volunteer meetings. She has been living in Ogongo with me now for the past two weeks. She will be here until the end of July! I am so excited for her to experience my Namibian life and for all the incredible things we can accomplish together. She has been nothing short of spectacular thus far – reading to the primary learners, sewing computer covers, organizing the library, decorating my house and keeping me sane!

Check out the blog for the Ogongo Library Project for updates on our fundraising and plans for the library.

Word of the day: book = eembo