Learning is fun!

The purpose of living on this mountain, taking six months out of my life to live communally with people from different cultures and with different points of view, is supposed to be to train to be a Development Instructor (DI). Before I got here I imagined that I would be spending six months in an intensive training course – learning the theory behind a diverse range of topics as well as practical, hands on skills that will enable me to both live in Africa and help to make a difference there. I.E. Instruct Development. I pictured dynamic lessons and motivated independent study.

Lesson 1: Reality is ALWAYS vastly different than expectations.

And the reality on the mountain is that it is difficult to learn. You have to fight to learn. And it is not because people here are against learning, it is because, as in life, things get in the way. Fundraising prep takes over the majority of time not spent fundraising. Internet connections whose quality I can only assume are meant to prepare us for the third world hinder any sort of productivity or learning. And then there is just personal and collective laziness.

Which is why last week was such a great week. Last week was a glimpse of the potential of this mountain, a potential which I still believe is possible. It was a week in which I learned both theory and practical information about HIV/AIDS from dynamic, passionate experts in their field. On Monday and Tuesday Justin, a former DI who coincidentally had spent six months in the north of Namibia, paid a visit and gave a full days lesson on HIV/AIDS. I also got to spend a good amount of time just hanging out with him and learned some invaluable insights into the country which I will call home for 2010 and part of 2011. And on Wednesday and Thursday I attended a Sex, Gender and HIV/STDs training seminar run by two amazing ladies. While the information I got from both of the experiences will definitely be useful for my time in Namibia, what I found the most exciting and motivating was in observing how the trainers trained. They were passionate, interactive, and kept things simple. And they made us, the learners, feel good about our contributions to the class. Which, when it all boils down, amounted to making us feel good about our contributions to our own learning.
At the end of the day, whatever the difficulties this place presents, I will be able to teach myself the facts about HIV/AIDS, sustainable agriculture, water purification, and all the other topics that affect life in Namibia. But I won’t be able to teach myself how to lead, how to motivate, and most importantly, how to teach others to learn. Teaching the basic facts is one thing, but motivating people, facilitating knowledge, leading and teaching how to lead others, that can change lives. That is how development is done. That is what I am here - on this mountain where fall is ending and winter is beginning – that is what I am here to train for.

Lesson 2: I guess no matter how hard I fight it, the fact remains that I was born and bred to teach……