Namibia: Week 4

I’m going to be honest on the outset here and say this blog post feels harder to write than ones previously.  It’s not that anything particularly tough has happened, but this week’s been a bit different and I feel as though I have fewer day-to-day stories and musings this time.  I’ve also missed home a lot over the last couple of days and certainly feel a change in mindset as I now look towards my final 4/5 weeks and the things I may want to do or change.  So to shake off writer’s block and hopefully give me some inspiration, I’ve decided to write this like an acrostic poem… 

I think these Wednesday primary school lessons are getting to me…

N is for “nature”

Yet again, I have been blessed with more of Namibia’s incomparable scenery and wildlife that surrounded us during the CCC staff retreat.  We stayed on a farm which was miles and miles long and I’ve already decided I want to come back here on my honeymoon (ONE DAY… before any rumours arise and Dad rings me up hahaha).  I hope the photos at the bottom of this post give you an idea of how beautiful it was.  We saw Golden Oryx while on a game drive too which was really exciting, as they’re quite rare - sadly my pictures weren’t brilliant so maybe you could google them if interested.  On the wild cat front, I’m still yet to see one on my adventures.  I really don’t know if that’s a good thing or not!!

A is for “afternoon tea” 

Perhaps England will feel a little closer tomorrow as I join the Shaves on a trip to the British High Commission for the Queen’s Birthday (the Queen shall not be attending by the way).  I literally have no idea what to expect from this but I miss my lovely home… and who could say ‘no’ to free scones, tea and cucumber sandwiches?  I promise I’ll take pictures if allowed.

M is for “Miss Cheesman’s fab English lessons” 

I really enjoyed teaching the Grade 4’s last Wednesday.  They’re a great bunch of kids and share my love for Disney films, so the Finding Nemo lesson starter went down a treat.  I don’t know if they actually learnt anything useful from me, but I suppose I’ll know for sure after I’ve marked all 60 summaries of ’The Spiderwick Chronicles’!  Kudos to all teachers reading this; I have never before realised how much creativity teaching requires!  I’m already stuck for new ideas for tomorrow and this is only week 3… help, please.

I is for “I can barely contain my excitement”

Yeah that one was a bit desperate, haha.  BUT, news broke yesterday that Prince Harry is coming to Namibia … and he’s coming before the end of the month, people!  Yes… I know I live in the same country as him and yes… he may just be too busy to visit on this occasion (though I’m sure my name features on the proposed itinerary somewhere).  However with a population of less than 3 million in Namibia, surely my chances of meeting Harry are statistically far higher here than in the UK?  Right..?  I believe there is hope yet for a Charis Cheesman/Royal-family-member selfie.

B is for “battle, blood and brilliance”

Just to clarify before I write any further, I am not inferring here that battle, blood or war is brilliant or worthy of any praise.  While on the staff retreat we were studying the book of ‘Judges’ in the Bible.  This book is gruesome and if you have read any of the stories yourself, you’ll know what I’m talking about (Ehud and the belly fat anyone..?) I really couldn’t have imagined at the start how we were going to understand a deeper meaning behind these ancient stories of violence and toilet humour.  However Simon, who is the principal of the Bible college here in Namibia, did an absolutely brilliant job of leading us through the spiritual and moral issues that underly this book and I have come away utterly dumbfounded by the things I have learned.  It was a fascinating study of humility, transformation and faith and I have such a different appreciation for the Old Testament.  I’m really looking forward to delving deeper into more of these books.

I is for “incident”

On the way home from our retreat we were forced to stop suddenly as three large warthogs ran out into the road.  With what felt like such a small bump, I hadn’t really processed that one of the hogs had been hit by our car until I looked back.  Sadly with the blessing of so much wildlife here, accidents on the road are in turn difficult to prevent.  We were grateful for our friend’s calm manner and skill in stopping the car so quickly, as it dawned on us the accident could have been so much worse.  I won’t go into details of what had to be done, but I struggled to relax as we drove the rest of the way home and naturally, I know the memory will remain at the forefront of my mind for a little while.

A is for “amazing grace”

This week I stepped right back to look at some of the basics of my faith as a Christian, as I was reminded of God’s grace that lies at the beginning and at the centre of my life.  Goodness I could go on about this one… perhaps another time.

Until next week,

Lots of love,

Charis