Mid Service Reflection: Improvisation

I had to do a mid service reflection and I thought I would share it with everyone. As mid service approaches I have reflected on the first months I have spent in Namibia. The first word that comes to mind is improvisation. I have mastered the true definition of this word in verb, noun, and adjective form. Improvisation is a creation written or spoken composed extemporaneously or without prior preparation. Key phrase in this definition is “without prior preparation.” Other volunteers who have visited my house know that this is the motto of my household and my life in Namibia. A couple of circumstances come to mind when I think of the improvisation I have done in the past months. Day one at my school: my first time meeting fellow colleagues and future learners. My principal decides I should make a speech in front of the entire school. Now, this was no informal introduction where I tell them my name and where I am from. He wanted a full length introduction about my past, my present, and my future. I do the best I can and try to speak slowly pronouncing every word of my English. Fail. After I stopped speaking there was dead silence and then simultaneously, the entire school: learners, workers, and colleagues alike roared with laughter. One small learner even stood on top of his bench and clapped for me. I was mortified.

When your school tells you that you are going to be the judge for a beauty pageant hours before the event... what do you do? Improvise. I had no idea what I was doing. I had never seen a live beauty pageant, let alone judged one. When your school tells you that you will be speaking at the parents meeting the morning of when no one understands English... what do you do? Improvise. I used the little Oshindonga I knew to introduce myself and then winged it from there. What do you do when your school tells you that you will be presenting at a staff meeting the minute before... Improvise. My school has thrown me a lot of curveballs, but I have learned to just deal with it. Every day in Namibia is a surprise. Not a day goes by that I do not learn something new.

Even if I plan everything out minute by minute in the classroom something always throws the plan off and results in improvisation. Many times, I have been pulled out of class for meetings or to do an errand for another teacher. I have to be quick on my feet to come up with an activity for the learners to do while I am gone. Other times, learners do not grasp the topic at hand and I have to think of a new way to get the point across. I do not have many teaching resources which forces me to be creative in my teaching styles. There are not enough books for every learner and they are not allowed to take them out of the classroom so I have to think of different ways of giving them homework and learning the lesson in groups.

Not only do I improvise in the classroom, I improvise in my house. I live alone so I have been slowly building up my household belongings and utensils. My first week at school I did not have any pans so when I had to cook things in my oven, I used the tops of pots as baking pans. I did not have a spatula so I made my own. I got a piece of cardboard, wrapped foil around it, and stuck a pencil in it. It worked for a while, but not very well. I had to make an indoor clothesline because the line in my backyard only holds about five shirts and two pants. I did not have any string though. I took a piece of ethernet cord left lying around my house, tied one end to a window, and the other end to my closet door. I have formed a bedside table from the packages I have received from home. Cooking has also proved to be a great arena to use improvisation. Namibia does not have many familiar spices so when making food, one improvises with ingredients he or she can find. That is one of the many lessons Namibia has taught me: to be resourceful.

Through all of this, I have learned that my life in Namibia is never going to be planned, not even close to being planned. Life is spontaneous and chaotic. Things happen and plans change. Namibia has taught me to deal with the cards I have been dealt. If all else fails, improvise.