Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start

It is hard to believe that in 4 days I will be leaving for Namibia for 2 months. This started with me sending in an application to the program all the way back to spring of last year.

When I tell people that I am going to Namibia, I generally get asked a bundle of follow-up questions. So for my first post, I would like to write some of these questions and answers out for your reading pleasure (and education?). Here we go.

1. Where is Namibia? 

I have to admit, I did not really know exactly where Namibia was either when I first applied to the program. However, I know now! Namibia is in the Southwest corner of Africa, right above South Africa. (See Map)

2. Where will you be going in Namibia? 
The majority of the time I will be in Namibia I will be in Windhoek (it is German and is pronounced Vint-huuk), which is both the capital and the largest city in Namibia with about 300,000 people in it. Windhoek is where we will be doing our student teaching. However, we will be also be travelling to different places in Namibia, like an excursion up North where we will be going to a wildlife reserve called the Etosha National Park.

3. Uh, how do you say where you are going?
It is pronounced Nah-mib-ia.

4. What will you be doing in Namibia? 
I will be doing part of my student teaching in Namibia. I will be placed at a school in Windhoek and then I will be teaching there for six weeks.

5. So you are going to be teaching English?
No. English is actually an official language of Namibia. I will be teaching the regular subjects in a classroom as I would in the United States. I do not know if I will be teaching a specific subject yet or not. From past years I have heard that you might be asked to teach any subject at anytime, including Afrikaans. Yikes!

6. What grade will you be teaching?
I do not know yet. It is sort of up in the air until we get there. Our professors have told us to prepare to teach anywhere from third to fifth grade.

7. Are you going by yourself? 
No, I am thankful that I am going with a group of fifteen other students and two professors because it is part of a class. I already know the majority of the other students, because they are in the education program with me. The two professors that are going I also know because they teach in the Education Department. However, the professors are leaving after January, which is a little bit scary to think about right now.

8. How long will you be there?
I will be there for about two months. We leave on January 6 and get back on March 2.

9. Are you done with school after you come back from Africa?
No, after I come back I will be completing the rest of my student teaching in the United States at Bryant Montessori with the wonderful students at teachers I worked with last semester. :)

10. Are you excited? 
Yes! I am very excited, but also nervous. I love to travel and meet people through travels. I know that it will be very rewarding and that it will be an unforgettable adventure. I am nervous about the uncertainty. There is so much that is unknown like what I will be teaching, what it is going to be like. I am not quite sure what to expect. It also worries me that I will have about forty-five students in my class, which seems like a lot. I am nervous about managing a class of that size. But I am excited. I am mostly all packed and ready to go! Yahoo!