"My journey to Namibia" -Written by : SAMY EISSAWI

On the 29th of November 1996, I went to Cairo International Airport to take the plane towards Johannesburg. The plane moved at 12 in the morning on Saturday morning. When the plane took off and became half a kilometer above the airport, the lights down in Cairo were like stars on the earth. The plane went up more and more so that the big things like cars and buildings vanished completely. I tried to read some English newspapers, and then I went to sleep because the plane was not so full with passengers and there were many chairs to sleep on. I got up 7 in the morning to watch the clouds below the plane. Oh, it was a very nice thing to watch. The clouds from the upper side completely differ from watching them from the earth. They were like great mountains and beautiful gardens. It was 8 in the morning when the plane landed on Johannesburg International Airport. I waited 2 hours to get into the second plane to get me there at Windhoek. The plane took one hour and forty five minutes when it landed on Windhoek International Airport. Windhoek, the capital of Namibia is a very good place and it is a piece of Europe, but the things there were very expensive. Then , I traveled to Maltahohe. It is not so good compared with Windhoek. They send me to the hostel to meet the principal of Daweb School in which I worked for 3 years. There, you will find 3 kinds of people, Black, white and coloured. The coloured people are half way between the black and the whites. The black people in this area are few, and the same for the whites. 95 percent of the Namibian people are Christians and the only 5 percent are Moslems. I was the only Egyptian in this area. I was having a room in the hostel in a building next to the building of the principal. Inside his house he asked me if I eat the Pig meat, but the answer was not. Despite that he sent me this kind of meat to eat. Without knowing from me I ate it. After discovering that this meat was for pig, I was so sad and I tried to avoid eating it again.In Daweb School I started my work. They start the school year on the 18th of January not like us here in Cairo. They have 3 terms there not two like us. If it will be Winter there, it will be Summer here and vice versa. The classes were mixed with boys and girls. In this area, I tought grade 8 for the 1st and the 2nd years of my staying there because there was a Namibian teacher who did not want to let me teach the higher grades, why? I did notknow. But later I discovered the reason because on the 3rd year, Mr. Pieter , the principal, told me that I achieved the high marks for the students and it was the 1st time to achieve the high marks for them in Namibia during my staying there. I mean, before my existence there in Namibia, the student marks were very low. She was giving grade 9 and grade 10 Maths. Mr. Pieter replace her grades 3 and four but gave me grades 9 and 10. In spite of that, this man was not so good. All the community there hated him and all the teachers too. In every big holyday he was closing the hostel and I was the only one inside it. He did not give me the key of the hostel. I was the prisoner of the hostel.The most important things in their lives are drinking beer mixed with alcohol, dancing and singing everywhere on the streets and in their houses and also in beer shops. It is rarely to drink wine because it is very expensive for them to buy and most of them are poor. In the hostel when it was the 1st day to school, Renati, who is the daughter of Mr. Pieter , came to my room and knocked the door.I opened to see a nice girl who said to me: Mr. Samy , It is time to school. I said: Oh, thank you, I am ready to go to school. She said: You may come with us in our car. I said: One moment and I will be there. In Daweb school, and exactly in the stuff room of the school, Mr. Pieter introduced me to all the teachers. I talked to them and after finishing my talk with them I found them all were so happy to see me and to be a teacher among them. Also some girls said to me: Thanks God to be our teacher. Also during my staying there I found that they do not like learning but only singing and dancing. One day I got the chance when one of the inspectors was there at the home of Mr. Pieter. I said to him: If you please , I want to be transferred to another place because I am here three years ago, and also the learners are not coming to learn but only to joke and play. They do not care to pass the exams or to fail. He said to me: We know every thing about you and Mr. Pieter told me about you, and therefore I will send you to Mariental High School in Mariental. It will be only a week and you will be there. I said: Thanks sir.

A week later, I went to Marienal High School as the inspector promised me.They gave me a very big flat in which there were three american people, 2 girls one of them has the name " Janevar" and the American man was a Science teacher in the same schoolthat I work in and his name is " Jush". hese American peole welcomed me and gave me the very great part of the flat. But in the school where most of the people and students were white , there was a miss teacher her name is " Marleen". She was a very nice and beautiful woman, exactly like the actress " Marleen Monro". The first time she was very nice with me. Butthere was a problem there when she entered me her class where she explains the Maths lessons. There was a printed mistake in a Maths sheet. And they sent me to that school to direct the teachers there. When I found that mistake, I told her and thestudents about it. But what a pity, she misunderstood me. Also, when she explained her lesson, she did a mistake. For example, when she wrote -3A+2b, she said minus 3A instead of saying negative 3A. From that moment I encountered problems with her. But outside the class and very near from the stuff room, she said to me: Look! You must know that, all the pupils love me, and if you will tell them, they will tell me what did you say to them. I said: I don't mean that, but you are my friend, and I don't like you to have the very bad appearance among them, and I talked about the printed mistake among them, but the mistake you did, it was only between me and you.She said: I'm a very good teacher. I said: I didn't say that you are bad, but I mean that we are friends in the same field,and perhaps I will do a mistake, then you must tell me not to do it again, or if you didn't do, then I will hate you and not to deal with you again.
But outside the school, tere were many pupils from grade 11 who said to me: Miss Marleen is not a good teacher,and we didn't understand the Maths lessons that she explained to us. I hated Maths. But when you started with us, every thing in Maths was very clear to us, and instead of feeling that we will fail, you gave us the great hope to pass the exams and succeed.
Another thing that happened from " Janevar" that nice american girl. She was responsible for the library in the TRC which is a center for training teachers. She was joking with me every time. But when the manager of the TRC wanted me to repair the printer of the TRC computer,I repaired it quickly, and she was very glad to do so for her.At night, I wanted to do some changes on the computer which they don't know how to do the same like them, where I was alone with the computer at night. I wanted to show them my skills about computers. Therefore, I wrote a text on the screen saver. That text was" Oh my dear "Javevar" I love you Javever" I will beat you "Janevar". But when it was the next day in the morning, where it was the time for the people to come to there work, I found a problem. When I met "Janever" she was frowning and was so angry: I said toher: Why are you so angry? She entered a room and slamed the door in my face after saying: Go to the computer's room and you will know.I went, and it was a very funy thing for me. The lady- who is the TRC manager- was sitting at the computer and seemed to be so afraid, that one who was joking also with me all the time and I didn't expect form her to do so. She said: What is that on the computer screen Mr. Samy? I said: You don'know? She said: No. But bring back what did you write. I did so. She said: I'm realy so scared.I'm so afraid.
It was only a few seconds and Mr. "Topnnar"- the Maths inspector of Mariental reagon- appeared in the room> He asked me: Oh Mr.Samy,What did you do on the computer? I was loughing when I said: Nothing at all but only to show you all my skills about computers. He said: But what did you mean when you wrote: I will beat you Janever? Did you mean the word itself, or you ment another thing? I laughed again and said: Nothing at all but I was joking , and Janevar used to joke with me. He said: But that is not allowed to say a word like this.I discovered that they will make some problems to me, and at once I said to Mr. Topnnar" If someone will beat another one, ofcourse he wouldn't declare that for all the people pn a computer.And to be out of the problem I said: Do you want me to delete these words that I wrote Mr.Topnnar ? I didn'texpect that he will say yes, but he said it, and quickly before he may change his mind and say no, I went to the keyboard and deleted all the words I wrote. Mr.Topnnar said: Are you expert in computers? I said: yes. He said: May you teach me how to deal with the computers well? A very great smile appeared on my face because it was an opening to escape from the problem, and I said at once: Of course yesMr. Topnnar. He said: What is the time? I said: You may determine it and you will find me any time you want. He said: that's ok. Bu inside myself and without any voice from me to beheared I said: That's O.K. I mean It's o.k. to be out of the problem that fell suddenly from the sky on my head.

That's one of African people.
Samy

One day , when I was there in Namibia, I was sitting in the stuff room of Daweb School in Maltahohe-which is a farm not a city in Namibia - there was a very nice teacher her name is Mariyana fesser. Mariyana wanted to learn some Arabic. She said to me : If I want to say to you I hate you , how can I say it? I said : It is " Ana bakrahak" . She said it , and it was very nice from her to say. Of course she didn't mean the word, but the opposite. Also. Miss Petro Nella was an English teacher from Namibia who worked with me at Daweb School. One day she came to my room in which I was living and said: Mr. Samy.... where is the toilette? I said : It is up there. She said: Do you have a key for it? I said: Yes. She said:Then , give it to me. I said: No. She said: Why no Samy? I said: How can you allow yourself to enter the toilette and you are having your food on your hands. It is forbidden to enter it with food. She said angrily: Samy, give it to me. I said: Not before leavingthe food. She said: that's the food, then where is the key? I said: That is it. She said : Where is the toilette? I said: Go straight ahead, then turn left and you'll find it. She said:Thanks Samy. All those events happened without knowing that I was recording to her.

This was the same as my flight to Namibia.
Samy.

You'll see so many rocks and areas like this in Namibia.
Samy.