Classes begin... slowly

I have taught my first classes this week, and am enjoying the students very much. While UNAM hasn’t officially started yet for most students, the students in their 4th year (seniors) had a week of classes this week to prepare them for their work in the field. The 4th year students do a yearlong internship in community agencies. They spend 3 weeks working in their agency, and then come to campus for one week of courses (they take 5 courses all year long also). They work a total of 108 days in their agencies. (They have a HEAVY load). They also do a substantial thesis based on original research.

I also did a workshop for their supervisors who came to campus for one day, and got to meet people from the various government ministries (e.g. Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ministry of Gender and Children, Ministry of Youth) and some non-governmental organizations.

In my first lecture I put a map of Namibia up on the board and had the students come put a dot on the map where they were from, and then made sure I understood the pronunciation of their names (I couldn’t). In the 4th year class, which is quite small, there are students from all over Namibia (only 4 are from the capital city – they are also from the coast, the north, and the Caprivi strip), and one student each from Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania and Swaziland.

The students generally call me “Prof”. You have to have a PhD to be called “Prof” – there is only one other in my department. The rest are called “Mrs.” When I told them that my students in the USA generally called me Liz, they were shocked!
I won’t meet the other students for a few more weeks.

... still waiting for an office, phone, etc.