Sound Bites

Every few months the very good people at Newsweek International ship off a few hundred thousand of their most recent back issues Peace Corps volunteers around the world. Those of you who are familiar with Newsweek are probably also familiar with their Perspectives section containing quotes from famous and some not-so-famous personalities. Inspired by this, I decided to compile some of my own quotes, these from the not yet internationally renown Aranos community.

“I am so pleased to be here today with all the beautiful female and male teachers of Aranos, to discuss the issue of under-performing, and over-performing schools in this region...” These were the opening remarks at an assembly of teachers and administrators. In his defense, the speaker did go on to say he believes there is no such thing as an “over-performing” school.


“The people of Namibia are poor, but they do not want to work.” An observation by Hans, a twenty year old Namibian out-of-school youth from the Nama tribe, comparing the amount of homework American students might do with what is expected of Namibian high schoolers. Hans completed schooling up to grade 10, but like most Namibians who make it so far, he failed to pass the examination tests for entry into grade 11. There is no work for him in Aranos, and for several years now he has been slowly working towards earning the equivalent of his GED by correspondence, with the aim of possibly, eventually, attending university to become a teacher himself. He is not taking any courses this year however, because he neglected to register on time in January.


“If you are drunk, then you do not feel it when someone is hurting you.” One of my seventh grade students, telling me about how he saw a former classmates (who left school in grade 5) falling down drunk outside the bottle store one weekend.


“Miss, my heart is beating,” Comment which one of my seventh grade students makes to me, pretty much every time he sees me, at least once a day for almost the past year.


“Somebody's Caroline” ambiguous lyrics to a song the seventh grade girls sing when they pass by my house. They have written different songs for all their teachers, though mine is the only one with any English.


“You are a F***ing Grampa! Get off the field!” Jeer shouted repeatedly at a tall twelve year old soccer player on the opposing team, by several (very much inebriated) teachers from my school, during a tournament in which our under-13 boys team won the trophy for the second year running.


“Peace Corps will have to give us a new one. Every school gets three.” Response of a teacher, when I asked her if she thought the school would apply for another volunteer to replace me when my service is done. Apparently there is some misunderstanding of the Peace Corps policy which stipulates that no school will be assigned more than three volunteers, and I am only the second volunteer at my school.


“Ek sall trou in Januarie maand, asseblief nie sny nie,” (Translation: “I will marry in January, please don't cut.”) Me, making what I'm pretty certain is my best use of Afrikaans to date and convincing the nurse at the local clinic not to cut off the hair in the front of my head before giving me the stitches that I needed, after accidentally walking into the corner of an outward leaning window at school.


“You must come and register at my office, or I will send the police to your house and put you in jail.” Instructions given to me by “the magistrate of Aranos” when I ran into him for the very first time while grocery shopping one afternoon (just this month). Later, when I did turn up at his office to “register” he told me the whole thing was a joke and asked me for my phone number.