Camp GLOW and Reconnect
About 6 days after school let out, we had Reconnect which was a training with Peace Corps that brings all of Nam25 together to catch up, discuss issues in PC, Namibia and the things going on at site and with our job, and to use each other as resources. For the first part of Reconnect, I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in Camp GLOW. GLOW stands for Girls and Guys Leading Our World. It is a camp run by PC volunteers but facilitated by young Namibian adults. Eighty learners are selected though an application process from all over the country to attend. It is a 7-day camp focusing on the empowerment of the learners. Each day has a different topic and goal concentrating on ideas like character development, the future, team-building, the future, HIV/AIDS, and leadership. The idea is that these learners will be able to gain something from the camp and bring back new skills and ideas to share with the learners at their schools. Group 24 (the group that arrived a year before us) was facilitating the camp overall so it was an opportunity for me and another 25er to observe and participate as needed in order to experience the camp to see how it runs for next year and to get ideas on what works and what does not. It really was such a wonderful place to be with so much positive energy, learners exchanging ideas and learning from each other, and having an opportunity that they would not have otherwise. I am looking forward to being a part of it next year.

After GLOW ended, I returned to Reconnect to take part in the sessions and discussions.. It was definitely a good opportunity to hear about everyone’s experiences, to have the outlet to express concern, hesitation, doubt, frustration, and success; to see how each of our experiences have similar trends but are still very different from my own-both issues at my site and my job. It was also a time for reflection on the first term, thinking about how things went both personally and professionally and then to have the chance to start thinking about the upcoming term- what I could I do differently, in what direction I wanted and needed to move, and what others things I could continue to work on in addition to teaching. Despite hesitations, I felt as though it was an overall positive experience in terms of what we were able to take away from it.

We were located at a conference center 10km outside Windhoek and in the mountains. It was really beautiful and after session we would often hike around some of the mountains to enjoy a beautiful view of Windhoek with the setting sun.