First Day Jitters

Thursday was our first day at school. It was a teacher work day and was the first day back since they had taken their winter holiday. Unlike in the United States, the school year starts here in January and let me tell you there are many more differences than just that. I hope this post gives you a little bit of an idea of what my first experience in the school was like.

While I was eating breakfast before our departure, I could feel my stomach churning with nerves. I had no idea what to expect. I had heard everything from “the teachers are amazing,” to, “Don’t expect people to necessarily approach you.” I got into the van and it was not until we stepped off the van and into the school that the churning stopped.

As soon as we walked into the school, we were welcomed by one of the teachers, Ms. Marenga, who showed us to the principal, Mrs. Kamahene’s, office. Mrs. Kamahene knew exactly who we were as soon as we entered her office, which made me feel calmer. She asked for a “team leader” and I volunteered. She asked me to write down all of our names and what our specialty areas were. Later on during the staff meeting she introduced us. After meeting the principal we joined the rest of the teachers in the staff lounge.

A. I. Steenkamp is a joyous place to be. Watching the teachers greet one another after having their break was a wonderful experience. They were laughing and hugging and telling stories to one another in Afrikans. They all seemed to be so happy. The teachers and principal were all extremely welcoming. The teachers spent about an hour talking with one another (truly running on Namibian time), while we introduced ourselves to a number of the teachers. After the group was brought together, they began singing songs in Afrikans. The music was beautiful. After they sang a few songs in Afrikans, they sang a song in English and a few of us were able to join in.

Once we got into the meat of the meeting, it became clear to me that the staff truly cared about each individual learner. They went through how students did in each subject at each grade level from the previous year and talked about how if they had students that were failing, it didn’t fall on the learners, but it was instead the responsibility of the teacher.

Aside from the staff, the school looked like it was in good shape and was extremely clean. The principal informed us that they had been blessed to be able to paint all the classrooms and staff room the year before. She also told us that the governor had come to visit last year and said that Steenkamp was the cleanest school he had visited. Today we were only able to see the principal’s office and the staff room, but I am extremely excited to see the rest of the school and meet the students.

Everyone seemed extremely grateful to have us there and I felt extremely blessed and grateful to be there. After the meeting, we loaded into the van and headed home. Along the way, I couldn’t help but feel excited in anticipation of our return on Tuesday.