A few years ago my college started this ad campaign about the Gator Nation. The idea was every where you go in the world, every profession you can find a representative from the University of Florida. I knew coming into PC that I would be working with one UF grad along side me, but I never imagined in my wildest dreams we would meet someone who was born in Namibia and went to school at UF the SAME TIME we did! Here is the story..

I spent last weekend in Katima Mulilo and to get back to my site, Rundu, we must depend on the generosity of others to give us a lift since we are not allowed to have a car. This transport can come in the form of a private car or a combi (14 passenger van). This Sunday we got lucky and got a ride in a private car. We got in a were introducing ourselves and the man asked where we were all from. When we, my fellow UF grad and I, told him we were from Florida he told us he studied there. When we found out he was a PhD. student at UF my friend and I started bombarding him with questions. His favorite place to eat? Where his classes were? Did he ever go to games? The answers in case you are wondering... Zaxby's, Norman Hall, and of course!! The question and answer portion went on for about 3 hours. He is back and working in Namibia, but still thinks fondly of UF. We were telling him all the changes that have happened to Gainesville since he left in 2006. There is something special about meeting someone across the world who went to the same school as you. Needless to say it was great to see the Gator Nation in Namibia!

We took a picture in Divundu a town half-way between Katima and Rundu!

I have not had any one from America come and visit me yet, until now!! I am very excited for my new visitor who arrived on Friday the 26th. He comes all the way from Tampa, Florida. His name is Flat Stanley. My friend, Ethan, sent him to me. I am excited to show Flat Stanley around Rundu and part of Southern Africa. Since Stanley is my first visitor we wanted to share his time with everyone on my blog…

Dear Mr. Divins’ and Mr. Decker’s 2nd grade classes,

Flat Stanley arrived safely in Rundu (Roon-do), Namibia on Friday the 26th of November. He traveled over one month and 7902 miles just to get here. It was a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, but there is a lot to do and see.

Something I’m sure he noticed right away was how hot it was. Namibia is located in Southern Africa. It is surrounded by South Africa to the South, Botswana to the East, Angola and Zambia to the North and the Atlantic Ocean to the West. The seasons are opposite here than in Tampa. Right now it is summer. The days reach 42 degrees Celsius, which is 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit. We are getting into our rainy season, it only rains from November to May then we get into our winter from May to July, which is very similar to winter in Tampa, cool but not cold. Then we have our autumn July to September where it is mostly windy and hot. It is very hot and I do not have an air conditioner so Flat Stanley would be most comfortable wearing shorts, t-shirt and sandals.

In Namibia we do a few things differently than at home in America. People drive cars on the left side of the road, we measure distance in Kilometers not Miles and we use a different type of money. For every $1 US Dollar it is equal to $7 Namibian Dollars. A liter of milk costs us about $14 Namibian dollars.

Some other interesting facts about Namibia…

1. Namibia has only been an independent country for 20 years, before it was part of South Africa.

2. There are 13 regions in the country, Rundu in the the northeast region called Kavango.

3. While the National Language is English there are over 20 different languages spoken in Nambia. In Kavango the main of the language spoken is Rukwangali (roo-kwan-gaal-ee). A common greeting goes..

“Morokeni” (moro-ken-knee) “Hello”

“Ngapi?”(N-gap-ee) “How are you?”

“Nawa, One Ngapi?” (naa-waa, oon-ey N-gap-ee) “I’m fine, how are you?”

4. While the size of Namibia is 2 times the size of California they entire population is around 2 million people.

5. The capital of our Country is Windhoek (wind-hook)

I know Flat Stanley is supposed to be home by the 13th of December, but since he just arrived I would like to invite him to join me on my Christmas vacation to Zambia and Tanzania. If this is OK with your class.

I am so excited to have him here. I hope you enjoy mine and Flat Stanley’s adventures! If you have any questions about Rundu or Flat Stanley's adventures you can post them as a comment and I will be happy to answer them all!!

Kareni Po Nawa (care-en-knee po naa-waa) This means "stay well" in Rukwangali.

Here is Flat Stanley along the Kavango River. It is hard to see but the river is the border between Namibia and Angola. Do you see that town in the background? That is Angola!!Here is Flat Stanley with our Namibian Flag!!!Flat Stanley and I went to go to the Regional Council, but since we just had elections last Friday no one was there. We will try again to meet the mayor!

As much as I am enjoying things here the 5 month deadline that I have looming over me to get things done only seems to get closer and closer. I feel like there is a lot of wrap up to do and to prepare for my predecessor (who ever gets to do this will be one lucky person)

This weekend… PARK CLEAN UP DAY!! My kids actually chose to spend all day Saturday de-bushing the park so we can get town council to plant grass before the rains come so it can set in. – Pictures to be posted at a later date

Nov. 13th ….. Mr. & Miss Kayec and End of Year KAYEC Celebration- can you believe the school year is almost over?!?

Nov. 20th….. Thanksgiving- Turkey, Friends and fun celebrating my second favorite holiday… Don’t worry Aunt Gladney I am making “Kimmies Last Green Bean Casserole in Namibia”

Dec. 9th….. Christmas Holiday in Zanzibar, Tanzania!!!!!! Perfect end to the year!

Then there is a bit of a gap but the BEST thing to look forward too…

APRIL 17th…. MOM BALAGUER comes to NAMIBIA!!!!! I am so excited to show my mom around. I have already told my kids and we are working on things to do for her (Dance, Drama, etc.) It will be so much fun and I am beyond excited to have my mom over here for a couple weeks to show her my second home!

After a year and a half of talking about this we did it. I ran a marathon relay with my fellow Kavango 29’er. We each ran halves of the marathon. I had first half (I think he had the prettier run). The race was from Walvis Bay to Swakopmund (right in the middle of those towns is where the famous Angelina and Brad had their baby, our driver actually showed us the house and all I could think of was my sister JB). My part was mostly running through Walvis Bay then finished running on the highway between dunes and in the distance I could see the ocean. It was great! I may or may not have been the last person to cross the finish line, but my partner made up for it and hauled it to pass some people. The town of Swakopmund reminds me so much of Jacksonville… I felt like I was back in America just walking on the beach! It made me so happy to get to see the Atlantic Ocean again. In case you’re wondering, it looks and smells the same you are just sitting backwards. I knew I missed the water, but I didn’t realize I missed it so much. Now I just can’t wait to get on the beach again. The race was fun and I am glad we did it. The whole weekend was really enjoyable. There are some fabulous restaurants to celebrate the race being over we went to a nice restaurant and I got a grouper equivalent filet. The people who sponsor the race also have it worked out so kids from all over Namibia come and run. One of my schools went, they had a 4 person relay (the second to last runner was one of my KAYEC kids), they got second place for the boys relay!! The kids who went had so much fun they get medals and for most they get to see the ocean for the first time EVER!

This was taken about a year and a half ago when my partner and I first started talking about running the marathon relay... this is how our training progressed (notice neither of us running)

This is a shot of part of the group who ran the first half... its a good thing there were no pictures after!

It’s officially summertime in Rundu; you can’t even sit in your house with out sweating. I am drinking 3-5 liters of water a day and I am still so thirsty. Obviously, when I go to bed at night I don’t drink water in my sleep and from the time I lay down to the time I wake up my lips are so dehydrated that are super chapped!! Last week we had our first rainy night and we woke up to a cool morning. We are told that the rainy season is coming early this year. We have had some rainy nights since then, but only one really good one. I love the sound of rain on a tin roof. I hope everyone is right about the rain coming early, because I think I blocked the memory of last year’s heat. All I want to do is sit in a pool or be on the beach!! The good news is cold showers feel wonderful and it saves money on electricity!!

Hazards to look out for this summer:

1. I have to keep a fan pointing at my computer so it doesn’t catch on fire.

2. There might be a possibility of me melting this year.

3. I might get banned from the bank! I go into the bank just to cool down because they have air conditioning!! If I keep going in and not doing anything they might start to notice.

I am actually looking forward to summers in the South with a cold glass of sweet tea and being able to run and hide in air conditioning.

I was traveling to Rehoboth for a workshop and after too many people trying to take my bag and yelling at me to come travel in their car. I ended up in a private car (you pay the same amount as you do in the van transport, but they usually get you there faster because there are only 4 seats as opposed to 14). We were about 10 km from Grootfontein, the next closest town to Rundu heading south. All of a sudden, the driver pulls off the tar road onto the gravel shoulder. We get out of the car and looking at the flat tire the driver says “I saw the tire was low when we left Rundu (200km ago!) I should have pumped up the tire”. The driver needed to call someone to bring a spare, because he did not have a extra tire and did not think to pump up the tire before we started. Did I mention that he did not have credit to call so he had to borrow my friend’s phone! When the man with the spare tire came we had nothing to put the tire on because neither the driver nor the man with the spare tire had a JACK!! Some random guy pulled over to help us and turns out the tire the guy brought for us to use was not the right size, so the two of them left us with the car on the side of the road as they went into town. In fast Nam time about 2 hours later we were on the road again after a random man pulled over and yelled at our driver for not being prepared when driving! It was an interesting hike day for sure!

I was sitting in my bedroom getting ready for bed one night and I noticed everyone else congregating in the second bedroom in my flat. I asked them what they were doing and they said they had seen some animal under my pile of sheets. They thought it was a mouse or lizard. Being a Florida girl … I WAS REALLY HOPING FOR A LIZARD!! Lizards I can handle. When the mattress on the floor was moved … there he was running into my bedroom… my new friend LARRY!!! He was such tiny mouse (did you know mice could lay flat and crawl under anything) and he would have been cute if he wasn’t living in my house. Needless to say that night I slept with the light on and my fly swatter! Thinking he wouldn’t come near me with the light on.The next day my two friends went to the store and got mouse traps to put in my house. We only saw Larry a few more times after that. Once a friend was sleeping on the mattress on the floor (where we first saw Larry) and he heard Larry under the curtains by his head. The next time I was cleaning my kitchen and when I moved an outdoor mat. He was there again hiding in the corner in my kitchen. I was home alone and I ran out the door screaming (my neighbors must have thought I was crazy). That was the last night we saw Larry alive L I have not seen any of Larry’s family and I hope I don’t have to see them ever again! From now on my house is only welcoming Lizards and Wall Spiders.

I know I am not the most eloquent when it comes to writing so I am going to do my best here because this of all my blog entries deserves it. A volunteer who was serving in the Southern African country Lesotho was killed. It is a terrible tragedy and while I did not get the honor to meet Thomas I have heard a lot about him since I have been over here. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2008 (the same year I did) and started his Peace Corps service in November 2009 (this was 8 months after I started) he was working as an education volunteer. I have read his blog and the people who know him are so proud of him that I know he was an amazing, strong, motivated, powerful, life changing person. It is a tragedy to lose such a great volunteer. I will be keeping his family and friends in my thoughts and prayers everyday. I can not imagine what the community in Lesotho and back in Florida are going through but I will pray for them to have strength to get through this.

Hearing about this made me so sad for many reasons; while I did not know Thomas personally we were part of a very small family. He was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Even though we may not all know each other we are all part of one big family. We are a small group of Americans who dedicate two years of their life to work in communities where you hope to do even the smallest amount of good. There are many volunteers who are serving or who have served, while we don’t all know each other we are all there to support each other any where around the world. Thomas was a graduate of the University of Florida. There are not many UF PCV’s nearby and when you meet one you immediately start talking about Florida Field, The Swamp, University Ave and the most important person in all our PC lives, our recruiter. When they made those commercials about the GatorNation we all laughed, but it was true. You meet someone from UF and you immediately say “Go Gators.” When I came I was in a group with one other Gator Grad. We knew we were lucky because our recruiter took the time to put us together and helped up get ready for Namibia. It is not just the fact we went to UF together it is that we have a common person in our life who takes the time to make us feel special. I know that Amy, our recruiter, took the time to get us here and she has continued to stay in touch. She has many volunteers and she is so busy, but she takes the time to make us feel like we are her only thing she has to do. It is because of her that our UF Peace Corps family is so close. I know she makes all of us around the world serving as a UF PCV feel special. I also know that Thomas was a very special person to her and that means he was a fantastic person and I wish I could have gotten to get to know him.

I have been thinking about this tragedy all day and it has reminded me to be grateful for the time I have here and how lucky I am to get to be getting to do what I want to do. I am so deeply saddened for the loss of Thomas and in his honor I am making sure I do not take any day for granted.

I hope that all who read this blog will also keep Thomas and his family and friends in your thoughts, prayers or whatever you do!

So I am not sure how we pulled it off. There were many hoops to jump but somehow we did it. With the help of the community, volunteers and people at home we made it happen. EWA (ehh-waaa) was a two day conference where we brought learners from Kavango and Caprivi to learn about gender equality, HIV/AIDS and leadership. It was jammed packed with sessions. Let me try to give a recap.

Pre- Conference:

We had some issues since last year. The conference was supposed to happen and the PCV’s had put together it they had prepared everything for EWA 2009 and they lost the funding. So we had to tell the learners who were invited and the facilitators who were trained that it was not happening It was really sad to see all the hard work that had been put in and then for it not to happen. When the PCV’s who had organized finished their service I said I would step up and make it happen this year. The beginning of the year we had our first meeting and we had it all planned out, we had support and potential funding. Then I spent the next few months focusing on Camp GLOW and my primary job. Once GLOW was over I dedicated all my time to making EWA happen. Our first big blow came when our funders told us that they could not provide funding. I was so tired and I just wanted to give up, but another volunteer, Lee, would not let me. He kept asking “whats up with EWA?” and we worked on getting as much as we could for free. The first thing was getting a place to hold the conference. One of the local secondary schools let us use their hostel facilities free of charge!!! From there things just fell into place. It’s funny how things always seem to work out somehow here, no matter how bad it gets it works out. We had worked out everything planning the conference and before we knew it August 25th had come and it was time for the camp!!

Day 1 : Arrival Day: This was not as bad as we thought it was going to be. This is basically a transport day. We rely on the Ministries to help us with transport. We got everything ready and all the kids arrived (except one town because of communication problems). That night we just welcomed and divided the kids. They played the animal game- the kids get the name of animals on a piece of paper and they have to act out the animals until the find other animals who are acting the same some examples are dog, elephant, monkey, etc. This was pretty funny I think the volunteers got more into it than the kids. Then we put the kids to bed. The hostel was really nice and clean and the hostel staff was beyond helpful.

Day 2: Gender Day

The first day the kids were up and knocking at 5 am!! They were ready for the day to start. We started with a good discussion on the difference of sex and gender and then we talked about their views about gender. The day had some really great discussions. We had 7 facilitators, they were trained last year and volunteered to come back and work at the conference, who led the sessions. The facilitators did fantastic they really helped us get the conference to happen. The day continued we played games and did more sessions and the night ended with a HIV/AIDS intro where the kids asked some really good questions. We ended the night teaching the kids about the female and male reproductive systems, how to use a condom and other questions they had about anything.

Day 3: Leadership Day

This was the day where the kids work on communication and how to be a good leader. The idea is that they will go back to their community and start a club. We also invited 6 career panelists to come and talk about how they got to where they were and just to inspire the kids. We had a pharmacist, doctor, lodge owner, accountant, procurement officer and principal. The day went well and the kids really enjoyed the people who came to talk to us.

Day 4: Departure Day

While I enjoyed the camp I was ready to get the next part of my holiday going. We all worked together and cleaned the hostel, washed down the bathrooms and packed everything to go. The transport came on time (this does not happen EVER!) and we were home by lunch time!!

It was a great camp and I am really grateful to all the people who helped. I am glad I got to be part of it and meet some new kids from different villages and regions that I would have never gotten to meet. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE (PCV’s, Facilitators, RPCV’s, family and friends in America and the people in the Rundu Community who donated time, supplies, energy) who helped make EWA 2010 happen!!

Side note: We did not have time to write the thank you cards with the kids so I will be spending this week writing thank you cards to everyone. I apologize for the delay in y are thank you cards if you are getting one.

Over the past couple months I have really missed some special things I love about the South. Sweet Tea, the beach, anything having to do with the Gators, my friends and family…you know the normal things. It was sitting in my flat and I got the urge to watch Gone with the Wind. This is my all time favorite movie! I was telling other volunteers about it and they had never seen it. I even told my mom and Aunt that I wanted to watch that and Steel Magnolias… another one of my favs! As I said earlier I went to Windhoek for a workshop. While I was there I went into the Peace Corps Lounge and saw the book Gone with the Wind. I was SO excited I couldn’t believe that I could finally read the book that the movie I love so much was based on! Then while I was at the workshop in each of the rooms was a TV. I didn’t really turn it on because I was so content on my new book, but one night I choose to turn it on and what movie could just be starting on one of the local Namibian channels ONE Africa…STEEL MAGNOLIAS!! I was so excited that I was going to get to watch it I literally started jumping on the bed. Its amazing how when you really want to watch, do, see, eat something here in someway it works out and in its own way it happens J

This is Nick and Stewart trying to be cool... Nick got the cowboy hat to try and be a country boy...kind of looks like Tim McGraw, right?!?

What you can't tell is that I am in between yelling at people to play a football game :)

This is Katie she is the other Rundu volunteer...dinners and lots of chatting go on with us

Our Nam 29 4th of July decorations!!

I have been trying to get my PC friends to appreciate the great holiday that is 4th of July. Normally we celebrate at House Bavaria, but Patrick was out of town at the World Cup so we did it at my house. This year they made it a joke by wearing obnoxious red white and blue…it was very Gator of them (to be as obnoxious as possible)! We celebrated 4th of July on the 3rd of July and had about 25 PCV’s in town… We had to have a football game, pasta salad, Freedom Pong and fireworks. Man I love this holiday… I was sitting in my front yard in a chair pretending I am on St. Augustine beach with my family. I even had some Firefly that I had sent special to me ;) YUM! Nick and I even made some really good chicken wings with a very good sauce I must say!It was a great time we all needed a reminder of how much fun just hanging out and relaxing can be. The next big holiday is Halloween I think they will be just as good. I can’t wait until next year when I will really be back on the beach with my family and all the new little kids. I made my kids here celebrate it in their own way. They were to wake up on Sunday and yell HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY AMERICA!! When I told them this they came back and told me America is too old to be celebrating her birthday! I told them you can never be too old to celebrate!! It’s true I will celebrate this holiday until I die!

Work is going great my kids finished cleaning their three schools (I will post pictures soon) and the schools have now implemented a program where if you are seen throwing rubbish on the ground you will get what is like a detention. Really they told the kids to slap someone and tell a teacher if they saw them throwing rubbish down, but I strongly discouraged that behavior. At least the schools are staying clean and the schools are supporting and like it clean!! We are now preparing to take 35 kids to Windhoek for a Sports Tournament consisting of Volleyball, Netball, Soccer and Chess. We are going to be spending the next few weeks training and preparing them. My job is to be the cheerleader and teach them stuff I learned in middle school. I have no idea how to play any of the games so I am just moral support! If you know any cheers please send them my way!! I just got back from Windhoek for a PC workshop on planning trainings. I have never written/updated/edited so many learning objectives in my life, but it was done to improve training and I think the new groups will have a better more organized training then I did. It was nice to get to hang out with the staff I really enjoy the Namibians that work in the office, I wish I got to spend more time with them. It was a good reason to get out of Rundu even though I don’t really want to leave….I complained the whole way down. We are still trying to get funding for EWA this week I am working on figuring out how to make it as cheap as possible… fingers crossed something works out!!

It is winter time here, imagine a Thanksgiving in FL warm during the day and cold at night, and my toes are constantly cold! I have worn my sweater almost everyday. I am appreciating the winter since I know in summer I will be dying for some cold weather. I even sculpted my dinner to fit the season. Last week I made Lentil Chili… took some lentils, tomato puree and cumin and it was fabulous!! Then my attempt to make chicken soup was a success!! So for a whole week I would have lentil chili for lunch and chicken soup for dinner! I usually just make one or two dinners for the whole week and live off of that until I need to cook something else. This week is peppers, tomatoes and onions over a bit of pasta. I made a ranch dipping sauce. Did you know you could take a ranch flavor packet and add it to plain fat-free yoghurt and it tastes just like the bottle?? Healthy and inexpensive! I am back on my chicken soup dinners. Its so easy and really warms you up. There is nothing like sitting inside after work with a warm cup of soup and a good book. (I am reading Gone with the Wind)

Let’s see so the last time I wrote the world cup was just starting…everyone is still watching every game…well they were I am not lucky enough to have a TV in my office where I can just leave and watch work so I have only seen a couple of the matches. I have talked to some people who asked why I was not going. I know I talked about it a long time ago but when it came time to buy tickets I didn’t think I would have the vacation time and money. So I made the choice not to go. I am now planning to go to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil…any one down?!? It was a disappointing loss for the US after a deja-vu loss to Ghana…I don’t think that was a good weekend for us. Everyone keeps telling me I need to switch to the African team now since that’s my home. It’s a good thing I gave up after the Americans got out otherwise Spain may have never won! That’s right the Spanish are World Cup Champions!!I found this out last night as I sit in my bed trying to go to sleep and all of a sudden my entire house was surrounded by honking Vuzuvelas!! When it is just one it does not carry that buzzing noise, but this honking noise I can not get out of my head. It took a few hours but people around me settled down and I got to sleep. So now that the World Cup is over I am interested to see what people will do for entertainment…there are always more football matches to been seen.

I have come to the realization that I SUCK WITH NAMES!! There are so many times I have been greeted and I have NO IDEA how I know this person who is so kindly taking the time to ask me how my day is going. I was walking past the post and a friend of mine, Katiku, was talking to a man. So I went up and greeted her and the man. Then he told me “you owe me something, do you not remember” I just stood there because I had not a clue what he was talking about. Finally after what felt like 10 minutes I said “I am sorry can you please help me I do not remember”. Turns out he is a teacher at one of the schools I work with. I felt so dumb I borrowed a dance outfit a month ago! Katiku thought it was hilarious but I was mortified. I have been here a year and I still do not know too many peoples names. I need to come up with a better system!! ANY IDEAS?!?!

So camp GLOW went off successfully. It was a fun, challenging week that I will always remember. You can read about it and see pictures at http://glownamibia.blogspot.com

About a month ago we moved my office. I am now in a three bedroom house. It’s nice! The kids painted the rooms... it definitely looks like kids painted it! I think it gives it charm. Melanie, my counterpart, and I share an office, she stays in the master bedroom, one room for our supplies and games and the living room where the kids meet and play. Since school starts today I am excited for most of them to come back in and see the new place. We don’t have phone or internet but I like it. There is a big yard with squash and mutete (wild spinach) growing in the back so we are going to make a little garden.

We are going to start our community clean up project as soon as we get town council approval. We are going to clean up the local park and make it a place so people will actually use it instead of just passing through it. I am kind of excited to get back and work in the yard pulling weeds and picking up rubbish. It will remind me of home and all the Saturdays we used to spend working in the yard.

We are also putting together our sports teams for a big KAYEC competition at the end of July. A team from each town (Rehoboth, Rundu, Otjiwarongo, Ondangwa and Windhoek) will compete in a tournament of soccer and netball. I have faith that my kids will do OK. We just need to start training so they can live up to all the crap I have been talking to all the other Youth Officers around the country

The rainy season is over and the sand is beginning to get looser and tougher to walk through. Like the sand on the Tampa Beaches EVERYWHERE!! The only thing that makes this OK is that the weather is PERFECT!! We are slowly coming into winter, not really looking forward to winter because I have to wear socks around the office. Right now I am enjoying the weather as much as I can. There are many benefits to it cooling off outside! I don’t use my fan anymore when I sleep and if I sleep with the windows open I get too cold. I don’t sweat walking around town as much which means my clothes stay cleaner longer so less laundry days! Walking around town is enjoyable and since I am not miserable I am nicer to the men who try to hit on me just because they think they will get a free ride back to America. I think this change in weather really benefits everyone. I will say that with the weather the way it is I keep thinking that it is September not May so I keep thinking I can go to ESPN. com and read the football scores, that disappoints me every time!

May is a good month full of holidays!! Every week I have had at least a 4 day week because of national holidays that close my office. I blame that to my excessive laziness when it comes to working. It is hard to stay motivated when I know I can go home and read a book or watch the latest episode of Glee! This month we celebrated:

Cassinga Day on the 4th

Ascension Day on the 13th – it was very hard for people to get that at home we don’t get off for the day Jesus went to heaven after rising from the dead!

Africa Day on the 25th – we should have a North American Day!!

The best part is they all fell on Tuesday’s or Thursday’s so the office gave off the day before or after to make it a long weekend! I am getting back into work and staying in my office more and more. I have had a lot of errands around town for other PCV’s or the things I am planning so it may seem that I am leaving the office at 2 but really I am walking all over town until 6!!

On March 21st 2010 Namibia celebrated 20 years of independence!! I was celebrating at the GLOW facilitators training. It really was a great way to celebrate.The country has so much promise in the youth who are motivated and passionate to make a change for the better. At the training they learned about gender balance, HIV/AIDS, team building and leadership. They had some amazing things to say about the challenges people here face and how to help them combat the challenges. I was sitting with a wise old volunteer who made the observation... With people like this leading Namibia into the future it can only get better! Even being here for only a year, such a short time, I can see the development and growth that is taking place. Namibia is such a great, rich country full of culture, history and friendly faces!!

If you have not read up about Namibia since I have been here here are some websites that may help you understand more what a great country this place is ...

Just a simple profile of Namibia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia

One of our popular newspapers -

http://www.namibian.com.na/

This is the first time in my entire life I have not been in a Church on Easter Sunday. I honestly feel I spent it in a place that was so breathtaking and beautiful some would describe it as heavenly. On Good Friday I headed to the South to a place called Sossusvlei. It is home to the worlds largest sand dunes. I went with 4 other Americans. The dunes are STUNNING in person. If anyone comes to visit (hint, hint) I would love to see it again! It should be something everyone gets to see because my pictures can not capture it. We climbed a dune called "Big Daddy". We only got to climb half because the whole thing would have taken 2 hours and it was getting late for us. When we got to the top point we overlooked an area called Deadvlei- I will explain it later- The dunes are such a bright orange because the sand was carried through the Orange River from the Kalahari! It is amazing to think of how much sand had to be moved to make the dunes. When we climbed down "Big Daddy" (too much fun!!) we literally walked into Deadvlei. I loved it and I loved it even more when I learned about it. The trees in Deadvlei lived for over 200 years and have been dead for over 900!! They have not decomposed because there is no way for things to survive so its like a petrified forest! It was beautiful!

We also had some amazing food while we were down in Windhoek. One night we ate at a fellow PCV's host sisters restaurant, Fusion, its a fusion of food from all over Africa. Again, if someone comes (hint, hint!) we will eat there. We had our Easter dinner at a place called Ocean Basket where I got a Publix equivalent sushi roll and a green salad. It was Nam-good for sure! All in all the weekend was very enjoyable and memorable I am SO glad I got the chance to go down there!!

That's right we crossed the Tropic of Cancer!! Next stop Equator than Topic of Cancer... I will work my way up!

We arrived at the lodge just in time to watch the sunset in the mountains... gorgeous!

These are Oryx and the one facing the picture is albino. Who knew they had albino Oryx!

The dunes were huge and it is really hard to capture it in a picture.

This was where we walked up to. The white pan to the right is Deadvlei! The trees in Deadvlei were so magical. It was really cool to see the moon out over the dunes.

Life in Namibia is going well. Nam feels more like home everyday, I may never come home! (lets see who actually reads this), but in reality some days suck! When that happens I do a few things depending on the day. I will either a) watch a TV show- I am really into SYTYCD and Friends- or b) read a book or c) sit down and really try to picture what I would be doing at home right now- every time I try I just can't picture myself at home which reminds me that no matter how crappy the day this is where I am supposed to be and it usually makes it better. or I just go to sleep and wake up on a new day!

I am still going to my job everyday - sometimes it really feels like EVERYDAY! There are about 40-50 kids who attend everyday. It is different groups of kids usually. It is exam time so we are just relaxing, playing games/sports, and watching movies. A lot of times my job can get really stressful, but like with anything you can't appreciate the good if you don't go through the bad.

There is a new health group (group 31) swearing in as I write this update. I am excited for them. We have 6 newbies coming up to Kavango. It will be a nice addition. Some of them have shown an interest in EWA so I am excited to get to work - an pass on this job - to one of them! With 5 of the people coming up being girls I foresee a good chance that my Friday wine days might be coming back :)

Sunday I start my April travel for two weeks away from site. I will be going to the capital and the first week getting first aid training and a general work meeting. The second week is GLOW!!!

Saturday is a friends birthday, We are going to do a whole day of celebrating and relaxing it should be a fun time!

I am getting better at my cooking skills... last night I made some banging guac (it is avo season here!) with Mexican beans for dinner - basically I made burrito less burritos!

I have unofficially started training for the half in October. So any motivational words would be greatly appreciated!

Kareni Po Nawa!! (Stay Well)

This past weekend was my bronze orientation! I did an intake of 100 learners it was chaos, but good chaos. I really enjoyed them. I think they will be a good group of kids. You will hear more about them I am sure. The weekend started on Friday and went until Saturday. We played games like freeze tag, red rover. Sang songs... WOW I am a camp counselor! They are so tiny. I will just post pictures and caption them if I can so its more interesting.

This is a picture of Immanuel and Petrus. They are two silvers who are fabulous and a great help. I asked them to come assist with the overnight because I knew there would be too many kids and not enough adults.

This is a group at the beginning of the day. I did the animal name game with them to figure out their teams. Each learner takes a slip of paper with an animal name on it and they must act like the animal to find thier team .I think this is Team Donkey or Team Goat!

This is a group of the boys doing the autograph signing laughing about something and I happened to catch them in the right moment!

This is the volunteers serving dinner to the kids. I think they were glad to get fed. The volunteers started cooking at 4 pm for an 8:30 dinner time. They got Macaroni salad, rice, soup and oros!

I think this is my favorite picture taken here so far. Hey are playing and having fun and you can see that in their faces!

We also played Red Rover... These kids were intense when it came to the game. I did get some good action shots though.

THE BRONZE BOYS!!

THE BRONZE GIRLS!!

At home, I never used to get sick. Once a year I would get a bad cold and it would go away in a few days. Since my visit home I have had to go to the doctor twice, change my iron meds, and visit the dentist twice.

Dental:

I cracked my tooth on a dorito, yes a dorito. So I have been dealing with that mess since I got back. I finally had my appointment to get my crown put on. I had cracked the temporary filling and it was very sensistive. The doctor gave me two shots and somehow at the very last thing it wore off and instead of getting another shot he asked me if I could stand the pain. I said "yes" like an idiot... it was a TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD EXPERIENCE!!

Doctor:

During this whole dental mess. I developed a rash on my hands. It did not spread and went from swollen and paining to itchy and blistering. I went to the doctor (who is very handsome I might add!) and he said it might be a fungus so I am taking meds for that , but right now it just looks like I am really tan/sunburned on my hands.

I can just hear my mom now, "TMI, Kimmie!" sorry just thought I would give you the whole experience rash and all!!

A few weeks ago I got a couch for my house...ITS AWESOME I sit on it everyday! I will take pictures of my house soon now that it is decorated and lived in :)

I made a dinner with Kathy. Found my Cuban roots. It was like noche de buena in Feb. When I went home at Christmas I found a dry Mojo at Publix -man I love that store!-. So I made pork, black beans and rice! We have talked about doing a Easter/Passover holiday at my house and we are talking about making pork again.

I have actually become a good cook (somewhat!) over this side. I made cookies for my friends. It has been hard because the brown sugar is not like at home. So I have had to practice over the past year and I found that if you substitute 2 Tablespoons honey it works just as well!! I have also made Key Lime Pie and this weekend I made Lima Bean Soup. Man I am a domestic queen!! This is a picture of my neighbor. SHE IS ADORABLE!! She just walks by and asks me questions "Where is your TV?" "Why don't you have one?" "What are you doing?" "Where are your friends?" She is very sharp and can sing to me her alphabet. She even will try to share her sweets. She just makes me smile. There is a little boy, her cousin who lives on the other side of me, and together they are a pair.

It is the start of the new school year (our school year is Jan-Dec) and with the start of the new year comes the annual parents meeting. I went to one of my schools parents meeting. I was supposed to speak in front of all these parents, about 300, about my program and the new intake. I stood up and spoke made a joke in Rukwangali, it really wasn't a joke it was me saying "Edina lyange Kim, Ame mulizambeli koPeace Corps, Ame na hara mutete no mahangu" translated its : My name is Kim, I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, I like wild spinach and porridge! They seemed to find me very entertaining. Point is I did my speech and waited around until the end of the meeting for parents questions.

The last part of the program was a chance for the parents to stand up and ask questions. There was a woman who stood up, honestly I was not paying attention until she turned and pointed to me and said Kayec. I was told after that she was thanking me for changing her daughters(or son, the child changed each time someone told me about it) life. When the child started the program she did not speak good English and being in the program has brought up her grades and brought her out of her shell. The mother said that every parent there should enroll their child in the program and that it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to this school and child.

It was great to hear from a parent of the child. I know I can see a change in my kids, but to hear it from a parent was just the best year anniversary present I could have gotten.

So I was sitting at home in my bedroom around 7pm. It was starting to get dark and I was getting ready for bed (yes I know I am lame!) and I hear this yelling at my door. I go out and see a woman at my window looking in. (not appropriate!) she was at my door asking to be let in so I can help her to find her husband who died, but not in Namibia. She wanted me to escort her to the Ministry (they close at 5 pm!) I sent her on her way becuase I knew I could not help her. It was was strange and I am glad she has not come back but I do not miss her at all!

Since being here I have discovered a beautiful thing called an external hard drive. It is one of the best things I have here. It holds all these movies and TV Shows and pictures. I just thought I would make a record of how much TV I have watched...

Prison Break (all 4 seasons)

Weeds (4 seasons)

90210 (2 seasons)

24 (on season 6, going to watch all 8)

Mad Men (1 season)

Friends (I have all 10 seasons)

The Tudors (1 season)

Its Always Sunny (4 sesons)

Glee (1 season)

Gossip Girl (2 seasons)

One Tree Hill (current season)

The list goes on and I am planning to watch The Wire and How I Met Your Mother!

WOW I am lame and I just shared that with the world... cool!

Two weekend ago I went to Ngepi camp. There was a small group of us so we were always entertained. We all just needed a break and wanted to relax for the weekend. It is in my region so it was only about 200km to travel about a two hour drive. It was everything I could have asked for. We arrived on Friday night just in time to set up our tents and enjoy a cool drink (there is this really good grapefruit fizzy drink that is a very good mixer!). The day we just sat around and enjoyed the scenery and each others company. I sat on the dock reading Confessions of an Economic Hit Man looking out over the river listening to the hippos. It was just what I needed to relax

So it was 12 months ago I left for Nam. I remember sitting in Maria and Mom’s hanging out with good friends and thinking “what the hell and I getting myself into?”. I can say I am so glad I got on that plane to staging. Things have turned out so perfect. I know I have said this, but I really can’t imagine my life any different/better right now.

Here’s an update on what’s going on in my life right now...

Camp GLOW...

This is the camp I am a co-chair on this project. We spent this past week in Windhoek getting quotes, doing inventory, selecting the 80 learners and 25 facilitators that are coming and just figuring some things out that we needed to . I am really excited about the camp and it should be a good time. I am also working as a co-chair on another camp called EWA, it happens in Kavango and Caprivi, and it is almost exactly the same as GLOW the only thing is we take 80 learners from only Kavango and Caprivi. These will all take place over the next 5 months so I am going to be ready for a vacation come July but...

KAYEC

... my work with my host organization is crazy busy also. Come July I will be working 3 weekends a month doing things for my kids until September! My kids will get to go to a sports tournament in Windhoek, a bunch of leadership trainings, and the same camp they went to last year on the river, and a new camp out in Buffalo Game Park. These will all have themes( team building and environmental education) and fun games we play. It should be a good time. I am hoping to also hike Fish River Canyon with some of the kids from Windhoek, Reoboth, Otjiwarongo and Ondangwa (you have to be in the program for 3 years and my kids are not there yet so I am hoping to tag along with those that have). This weekend all the Youth Officers (my job) got together in Rundu to discuss the next year. There are a lot of good things going on with the program and it should be really great for the kids. Over the past year I have made some mistakes and learned from the program so I hope this year will go smoother and better for the kids. Today I am making a large jeopardy board for our Tuesday “Power Hour Study Time”! We will meet every Tuesday and study select topics. If you have any other fun games that I can make into studying with out studying I would love some input. I was starting to feel overwhelmed with all these tasks in my head so I made a yearly calendar and let me say I will be ready for a LONG HOLIDAY come December. I think I am going to go hide on a beach in Mozambique somewhere and read a lot of books and relax!

Personal

As you could have probably guessed I don’t have much personal time. Today I am going home and cleaning my house on my half day (not fun, but I worked all weekend so I don’t have a choice!) I am still pretty lame when it comes to doing exciting things on my own (not much has changed since I lived in the States!)I am just taking advantage of every free day of nothing that I get. I really miss those weeks of having nothing to do. Everything else is great. The new group comes next Sunday or Saturday. There are going to be 30 of them!! There are going to be a handful coming my side I think.I am helping with one of the weeks, the site announcement week! Oceano one of our grocery stores has changed its name to Woreman Brocks. It has not been raining that much, today is overcast so thats nice and not so hot! The river is still pretty high and we still have a few more months to go hopefully the flooding won’t be too bad this year.I got a couch for my house!! Its nice, small, but nice! I am getting a girl from Windhoek, Melanie to help me with my job. She is coming March 1st so that should be good. She is super sweet and she might stay with me for a month until she can find a place to rent. Tomatoes are $17 per bag!!! I think OK foods just bumped all their prices up. Kathy and I made these mint chocolate chip cookies ... YUM I might need another few bags of those chocolate chips when they come out again!

I think that’s all the happenings...as you can tell my life is very exciting these days!

EWA

Since being back from the states I have been thinking about the things I missed while I was gone and the things I could wait to get back to...

Some of the things I missed:

Sunsets- I go outside and every night the sky takes my breath away with how beautiful it is. It is always something to stop and appreciate and I love that even with a bad day you always end the day with something beautiful

My Host Family- They have truly been like a real family to me. It is nice to know you have those people to rely on when you need them. They have taken me in and treated me like I was one of them since the day I walked in the door for my site visit. I am also lucky to have a second host family in Okahandja, my first family. It is very comforting to know that you have people all over the county that care about you and are looking out for your best interest!

The Car Wash- This is a local spot that serves the best Mahangu I have had yet! I remember when I first got here I was so over porridge and then when I left and I couldn't get it the first place I wanted to go was to Car Wash. I have to thank an old PCV, Justin, for introducing me to this place last March! I get one scoop Mahangu, a piece of meat and some mutete (wild spinach)... as we say in Kavango its "Utovara Unene"

It just feels right- I can say that while there are some crappy days and not too fun. Overall, at least once a day I am happy! I enjoy my job, walking around town, greeting people I know, understanding a bit about the culture and feeling like I fit in more than I did months ago. I know I am on the right path. While, I don't know what my next step will be yet (I think this is the first time in my life I don't have my life mapped out to what I am doing) I am fine with just enjoying what I have here!

Its not all fun and games! There are somethings that are not so good that you learn to deal with...

The language barrier- I will be the first to admit I have not gone over and beyond learning my language. Rukwangali is hard and I do not speak it often. I will find myself in many situations where people are just speaking a foreign language and I do not understand anything! I feel like I am missing out on things because I do not understand what is going on around me. If there is no one there to translate I am in trouble! People do communicate with me in English, but you can tell its not as simple for them as Rukwangali. There are things that just don't translate over

The heat!- I am from Florida and it gets hot there but I realized the difference. In the summertime in FL you are always going from an air conditioned car to an air conditioned house to a pool! Here you are lucky if you have Air Con and on top of that you walk everywhere and its usually in the hottest part of the day! During the summer I could not step out of the house with out breaking a sweat. You just sit in the heat too hot to move! Now the rainy season is coming but that brings mosquitos... YAY for malaria medicine!

An Ocean Away I think the hardest thing about coming back was leaving my family again. If I could bring my family and friends over to this side I would never leave. It was so great to spend time with them and get back in that crazy family routine we Balaguer's have. I wish I could share this experience with them and have them here with me. I miss so many things about home and most of them all go back to family and the good times we have had. I even miss working in the yard on the weekends! Sometimes I just want to get up and plant some pretty plants and flowers in front of my house and then I remember "oh yeah I can't afford that stuff"

A little more complicated...

The best and worst part of my day- I adore all my kids that I get to work with. They are all wonderful and have great attitudes and are just good kids. I enjoy coming to work knowing I will get to read with them or help them understand some hard math problem a little better. When they are with me it is always a great time. We laugh, learn and just enjoy the time we have. When they are not with me is when it gets hard for me. I don't know if they are being fed, taken care of or loved. The kids here are faced with so many issues I could not imagine facing at their age and it breaks my heart to think about them with out home, food or family to support them. Their positive attitudes are truly amazing. They may have the worst possible home situation, but you will not hear them complain about it to you. They will just come and enjoy their time with you.

Best Christmas Present Ever! One of the questions you have to ask yourself everyday is "Am I even making a difference?" It is so hard to answer that question because of some of the things you see. Is the impact you hope to have going to be lasting? Am I even making a positive impact? What can I do better? When I first started working with my kids last April they filled out an application to join the program. One of the questions asked them "What do you think the IYA Program will do for you?" Most responses fell under a dew of these... They will pay my school fees, They will give me food to eat at night, They will buy my school uniform, They will help me (insert something of monetary worth here). I knew I could not pay every learners school fees so I did not try to I just offered them a place to come in the afternoons where they can play, study and learn about anything they want. In December, we had our Christmas party and I gave the kids a questionnaire to help me plan for this year. I asked the same question as before "What can the IYA Program do to help you?" and the responses were the best thing I could have asked for most fell under these categories... Help me get better English, tutor me in Math, Help me with my sports. It was so rewarding to know that these kids don't look to me for just money they come to me to help them improve their skills. It truly was the best present I could have asked for. I just hope that I can do more for them this next year.

I found an application on Facebook that compiled all your status updates...I just took 5 minutes to read through them and they made me laugh and remember some good times! You can see the good, bad and ugly days I have been through so far!I like that it can only go back as far as when I was counting down to Nam... ENJOY!

Mon January 25, 2010, 7:11 am: Had my toes in the sand... Wish i had my @** in the water bc my shortcut i think just put third degree burns on my toes... Ouch!

Sat January 23, 2010, 11:51 pm: Sunday Morning... Pj's, extra large cup of coffee, and Jack Bauer... Dang it's a good morning!

Fri January 22, 2010, 2:39 am: what about "free hour" means you can take my last dollar MTC!!! How am I supposed to send SMS'es when I keep getting "you have insufficient credit" messages!

Mon January 18, 2010, 7:33 am: Translated it was...'I'm telling you that white lady understands you'... I love the little kids who have faith in my rukwangali skills :)

Sat January 16, 2010, 9:21 am: EWA meeting = excitement and success :)

Wed January 13, 2010, 5:26 am: disappointment of the day: the orange I brought for lunch tricked me ... the beautiful, round fruit I longed to eat was moldy and rotten on the inside. I still tried to eat it, but it was too far gone :(

Tue January 12, 2010, 1:17 am: where did this nauseous feeling come from and why won't it go away :(

Mon January 11, 2010, 8:07 am: I think my new coffee mug is too much big... I am still wired and I drank the cup at 7:30 am :/

Sun January 10, 2010, 10:13 am: Its time for the holiday to end... Work starts again tomorrow morning bright and early!

Tue January 5, 2010, 12:26 pm: Home sweet Namibia! It was a great visit home but I am glad to not be on a plane or in an airport for a long while... Thanks everyone who made it great :)

Fri January 1, 2010, 1:18 pm: It's gameday!!!! Going to watch the gator game on a big screen with a glass of firefly! Happy New Year this is a great way to kick it off :) GO GATORS

Tue December 29, 2009, 9:28 am: hanging out in Jacksonville :) first thing on my list is see the beach!! second is get ready for Ashley Bridwell's wedding and watching a LIVE GATOR GAME!!!

Thu December 24, 2009, 5:09 pm: Christmas with the REAL LIFE Griswalds!!!

Tue December 22, 2009, 6:11 am: and the travleing goes on... heading to Gainesville for the day to chop off my hair, eat some YUMMY sushi and see WONDERFUL people!!!

Mon December 21, 2009, 8:13 am: tampa bound!

Thu December 17, 2009, 12:40 am: America Bound! Excited to touch my feet on American soil in 24 hours :) The best way to get in touch with me is to call my mom at 8132054958

Tue December 15, 2009, 7:10 am: All my bags are packed i'm ready to go ... Two days of travel starts tomorrow!

Mon December 14, 2009, 12:55 pm: Flying roaches?!? What's next Namibia?

Mon December 14, 2009, 4:52 am: just looked at the weather for home... why is it going from 80's and 70's to 60's and 40's just in time for me to arrive?!?! Cold Weather, what??

Sun December 13, 2009, 9:00 am: Nothing like playing with 4 adorable little girls to cure a hangover ... Seriously we baked a cake and are coloring and I feel much better

Sat December 12, 2009, 3:34 am: Its officially holiday! Enjoying this beautiful but hot day poolside soon to be in great company:)

Thu December 10, 2009, 8:18 am: Listening to some country getting excited to head home in a week!

Mon December 7, 2009, 12:03 pm: What happens when you put ostrich, crocodile, kudu and zebra on a plate washed down with a stella... HEAVEN!

Mon December 7, 2009, 3:57 am: End of Year Workshop... Looking forward to getting on a plane in 10 days!

Sat December 5, 2009, 6:54 am: In all lines of weather we'll all stick together for F-L-O-R-I-D-A! Go Gators! Wedding ceremony over now its time to celebrate!

Fri December 4, 2009, 2:15 am: last day in the office until the new year, last thing marked off my to-do list , last Friday Wine-Day with Rachel :(

Wed December 2, 2009, 5:41 am: Looked at some pictures from college today and 90 percent of them were somehow related to Gator sports... Some would say I have a problem, I say its a healthy obsession!

Tue December 1, 2009, 12:31 am: World AIDS Day!

Mon November 30, 2009, 1:42 pm: I'll be home for Christmas :) until then spending as much time with my family and friends here!

Sun November 29, 2009, 6:14 am: Starting the wedding week of my cousin at the flag raising... Kavango wedding number 2 Bring on the mahangu and nyama :)

Fri November 27, 2009, 3:02 am: Christmas Party with my kids :) I love my job!

Wed November 25, 2009, 12:48 pm: I am thankful for all the blessings in my life...my family at home and in Kavango who are more supportive and loving than I could ever imagine, my friends who understand me even when I don't and my kids who make me smile everyday even on the worst days! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tue November 24, 2009, 11:16 pm: Why can't I be the one who never loses anything? If anyone has an old ipod they want to donate to the dumb Kim lost her ipod in the rain fund let me know!

Tue November 24, 2009, 2:47 am: what would happen if I held the Kavango volunteers hostage and never let them leave?!?

Sat November 21, 2009, 5:21 pm: Is so lucky and grateful for the life i have and people that surround me

Sat November 21, 2009, 12:21 am: Give a cheer for the Orange and Blue waving forever! Get it Raider Regiment... Good Luck at State today rock the Trop! Happy Rundu Thanksgiving :)

Fri November 20, 2009, 12:48 am: Award Ceremony Day!!! Congratulations to all my Bronze kids!! (even though none of them have a computer to be able to read this I am still REALLY proud of them!!)

Wed November 18, 2009, 11:52 am: Do you believe in a one in one hundred billion billion chance?

Wed November 18, 2009, 12:05 am: realized this morning that I get distracted too easily if I don't have a daily to-do list written out...its OK I will be back on track after I go buy a cool drink!!

Mon November 16, 2009, 9:09 am: Has 3 offical weeks of work left this year! Where does the time go?

Sun November 15, 2009, 10:37 am: Now Understands why people at home are so excited about Glee!

Fri November 13, 2009, 11:06 pm: Daa, daa, da da dada GATOR BAIT! Gameday in SoCo... Its a visor throwdown

Fri November 13, 2009, 9:38 am: It was Carolina blue skies all the way to Katima :)

Thu November 12, 2009, 10:34 am: Had to move on to christmas music because there is no thanksgiving music ... Thats a lie i love Christmas music ... So excited for the holidays :)

Tue November 10, 2009, 7:48 am: Just walked into a moving SWAPO rally ... Whoops!

Mon November 9, 2009, 10:02 am: Is really proud of my orange and blue bookshelf made from care package boxes :)

Mon November 9, 2009, 3:37 am: loves checking things off my to-do list... means I am one thing closer to a much needed vacation with my family and friends!!

Sat November 7, 2009, 11:51 pm: Had a 6 legged walk spider in my house... Thought all spiders had 8

Sat November 7, 2009, 2:48 am: In all kinds of weather we'll all stick together for FLORIDA... Go Gators!

Fri November 6, 2009, 12:31 pm: I don't want to if you don't want to...

Fri November 6, 2009, 5:50 am: Friday :)

Thu November 5, 2009, 4:37 am: gets really defensive when people talk crap about my team and our fans ... don't make an assumption because you met one drunk obnoxious fan! I guarantee I can find at least one who wears your school colors too!!

Mon November 2, 2009, 9:30 am: Is so excited to be home! Please let the weekend come fast I need a Friday Wine-Day!

Sat October 31, 2009, 11:37 pm: was so glad to wake up and see my boys were back! I am SO PROUD to be a FLORIDA GATOR!

Fri October 30, 2009, 11:15 pm: Our love shall never fail, there's no other name so glorious... ALL HAIL FLORIDA, HAIL! subbing my traditional capt and coke and mayhem for a nalgene and workshop!

Fri October 30, 2009, 1:29 pm: Knows that my gator loves are showing those silly bulldogs how to party! Best weekend of the year!

Fri October 30, 2009, 2:08 am: is going to make the best out of this weekend ...

Thu October 29, 2009, 1:16 pm: Falling asleep to the grinch because Halloween movies are not my favorite but i still want something festive :)

Thu October 29, 2009, 3:05 am: what do you get when you mix finding nemo with really cute kids, pumpkin carving, fake fall weather and a box-o-wine... A WONDERFUL THURSDAY!!!

Wed October 28, 2009, 1:12 pm: My friends at home are going to be at fl/ga and my friends here will be celebrating halloween Nam style... Why do I have to miss both?! There better be some good pictures from both occasions

Mon October 26, 2009, 6:59 am: Feels like the wicked witch at the end of wizard of oz!

Sat October 24, 2009, 8:12 am: Come on Gators get up and go!

Thu October 22, 2009, 7:57 am: loves my sister and her random phone calls about my crazy family and happenings at home... they are my favorite!!

Wed October 21, 2009, 6:12 am: Loves the progress her book club is making

Tue October 20, 2009, 9:26 am: Is dreaming of the salt air breeze and the sound of waves crashing on the shore!

Mon October 19, 2009, 3:22 am: I know I'm not going and I shouldn't be counting down but I can't help it... 12 DAYS UNTIL FL/GA!!!

Sun October 18, 2009, 9:03 am: Is hoping my kittens can find their way home :(

Sat October 17, 2009, 7:57 am: Where palm and pine are blowing. Where southern seas are flowing....there's no other name so glorious ALL HAIL FLORIDA, HAIL!

Tue October 13, 2009, 11:48 am: Is hoping for good hiking karma

Mon October 12, 2009, 4:25 am: is really nervous to walk to the school right now...I was sweating walking to the office at 7:30 am!!

Sun October 11, 2009, 4:19 am: I think watching little kids dance can make anyone smile :)

Sat October 10, 2009, 3:43 am: Da da da da dada...GATOR BAIT!

Wed October 7, 2009, 10:57 pm: loves mornings when I wake up and I am 100% happy with where I am and what I am doing!!!

Wed October 7, 2009, 4:59 am: Damn its freaking hot here!

Tue October 6, 2009, 7:18 am: Is loving this afternoon... First one of my kids is remarkably better on her reading then when we first started book club 2. My host cousin who is maybe two years old saw me for the first time in 5 months and remembered me then got sad he had to leave me and 3. I am waiting in the que to get a package from the Searcy's :) tuesday afternoons are good to me!

Mon October 5, 2009, 5:10 am: Is thinking that my kids took the no school day to a no kayec day :( lets hope some come

Sun October 4, 2009, 3:39 am: Loves my secondary projects ... I love little girls when they do ballet!

Fri October 2, 2009, 10:03 am: Home sweet home!

Wed September 30, 2009, 10:46 am: The smell of rain on the road always makes me think of summertime

Mon September 28, 2009, 10:53 pm: whats going on outside is not helping the motivation that needs to go on inside! This water falling from the sky and making me just want to go home and lay in bed and watch my two favorite men Scoffield and Bauer!!

Sun September 27, 2009, 7:49 am: Sunday = 24 day!

Sat September 26, 2009, 11:31 am: Give a cheer for the orange and blue waving forever! GO GATORS!

Fri September 25, 2009, 8:12 am: Feels like the mom from troup beverly hills at the end of the movie when they walk across the finish line :)

Thu September 24, 2009, 4:14 am: getting ready for the 1st annual Rundu Bronze Expedition!!! 50 kids, 20km hike, 2 hour boat ride and tons of fun!!!

Wed September 23, 2009, 5:14 am: Wonders why almost all the new music i got sounds like stuff taken from an old song?

Tue September 22, 2009, 9:32 am: Is so excited there will be ANOTHER girl in our family come Feb. I hope she gets her parents style and the my good looks ;)

Mon September 21, 2009, 6:46 am: Was really impressed to see the police stop to get the trash off the road until he threw it to the side of the road and drove off

Mon September 21, 2009, 3:33 am: Namibia's morning radio show: Soluja Boy, Talk about Sirumbus, Georgia on my Mind and wrapping up the session with Kwaito music!!

Mon September 21, 2009, 12:32 am: Now instead of breaking everything I touch I just lose it...I knew I should have named my camera maybe it wouldn't be hiding from me now if it had a cool name

Sat September 19, 2009, 3:24 am: Grace's olympics :) then on espn mobile the rest of the night :) GATOR BAIT!

Wed September 16, 2009, 5:50 am: Wants a old yellow rocking chair sitting in the sand with a firefly and lemonade in my hand

Tue September 15, 2009, 5:22 am: Has the sunshine but i am missing the ocean and a cold drink in my hand!

Mon September 14, 2009, 4:56 am: Really wants to spin something preferibly a rifle but my broom stick at home might have to do

Sat September 12, 2009, 7:16 am: 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits a dollar... All for the Gators stand up and hollar!

Fri September 11, 2009, 8:59 am: Is finally attempting the harry potter marathon with peggy :)

Thu September 10, 2009, 6:07 am: My kids always make the days so much better ...'usili' 'what does that mean?' ' its true' 'whats true?' 'usili' ... Oh our conversations make me laugh

Thu September 10, 2009, 12:16 am: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to two of my favorite people... BIL and my PC Namibia Gator!!! I love you George and Peggy!!!

Wed September 9, 2009, 4:43 am: Is thankful for a life of florida summers they were just a warmup ... Its Almost 100 out and the summer is just beginning

Wed September 9, 2009, 4:39 am: Is thankful for a life of Florida summers because it is almost 100 degrees out and the summer is just beginning

Mon September 7, 2009, 8:46 am: Watching my favorite Christmas movie ... The Grinch! I blame it on a mix of looking at flights for christmas and living with a dr. suess themed glow for a week :)

Sun September 6, 2009, 2:40 am: Loves lazy sundays with the kittens and prison break

Sat September 5, 2009, 5:46 am: The only thing that could make not being able to watch the season opener... I have a flight and i will be home dec 18

Fri September 4, 2009, 10:01 am: Gators got that ramma jamma ohh Ahh!

Mon August 31, 2009, 11:25 am: Is at the state hospital with a learner and some dude with a massive gash just broke down a door and came at us like a zombie...wtf!

Sun August 30, 2009, 4:12 am: The gator nation is everywhere ... Some one just said don't tase me bro!

Sun August 30, 2009, 3:24 am: Some one just said don't tease me bro ... The gator nation is everywhere

Mon August 24, 2009, 1:55 pm: Is really disappointed that with the time difference the first game of the season is at midnight here... Freaking night games I liked you more when I was in The Swamp at noon sweating my face off!

Mon August 24, 2009, 6:48 am: And kerri are amazing party planners :) Grace's olympics 2009

Fri August 21, 2009, 1:28 am: is going to make her half day of work a quarter day!

Wed August 19, 2009, 3:01 am: does not understand Namibia cell phones how can predictive text recognize MVEMJSUNP but not something simple like absolutely?!?!?

Tue August 18, 2009, 11:18 am: Oh Armageddon how do you get me everytime

Tue August 18, 2009, 5:31 am: maybe got a little too excited about my French Press and drank too much coffee this morning!

Mon August 17, 2009, 9:16 am: Is really excited to have the first night alone in my house!

Sat August 15, 2009, 6:25 am: Vacation was amazing and I am really sad such a perfect week has to end

Wed August 5, 2009, 1:38 am: I miss my Gators... The fall won't be the same with out those Saturday's!

Sun August 2, 2009, 5:48 am: I just paid 50 to see harry potter...it might be the best money i have spent here :) i heart windhoek and superspar(its a grocery store but no comparison to publix)

Thu July 30, 2009, 1:57 pm: Happy Birthday Jess! I love you!!

Sat July 25, 2009, 11:07 am: Is sooo excited I can't wait for Feb to come :)

Fri July 24, 2009, 10:48 am: Kavango was cute until he shit on my clothes, but i still love him :)

Wed July 22, 2009, 5:19 am: Takes it back ... 2 days of work

Wed July 22, 2009, 4:33 am: FML!!!!!!!!

Wed July 22, 2009, 4:24 am: Hump Day!!! 2 more days of work!!!!

Mon July 20, 2009, 12:02 pm: Is already in love with little Kavango...I will be the best aunt in the whole world :)

Mon July 20, 2009, 4:37 am: is keeping busy to distract myself instead of watching the minutes pass by :)

Fri July 17, 2009, 2:03 pm: Camping and getting ready for capture the flag tomorrow :) Go red bulls

Thu July 16, 2009, 6:43 am: Is getting pumped about extreme capture the flag!! Any tips or suggestions would be very helpful :)

Tue July 14, 2009, 2:32 am: reason 256 I need to learn Rukwangali...communicate with the people in the post office to see if they are laughing about my empty piece of cardboard or the silly white lady who has hope I might actually find my book!!

Tue July 14, 2009, 1:05 am: Namibia postal workers could make it a little less obvious when you steal from my packages... just cutting me the top of the package...Who would mail a piece of cardboard for $20.... uggghhh!!!!!!

Mon July 13, 2009, 2:50 am: Monday... how did you come back so fast???

Fri July 10, 2009, 6:55 am: is going to do absolutely NOTHING this weekend and I can't wait :)

Wed July 8, 2009, 12:50 am: wants to be on the beach with a glass of firefly in one hand in a good book in the other!!!

Mon July 6, 2009, 4:25 am: how do the weekends go by so fast?!?

Fri July 3, 2009, 7:15 am: Is so excited i can't contain it ... Happy 4th of July!

Tue June 30, 2009, 4:35 am: I want to work, but I don't want to be at work ...

Mon June 29, 2009, 3:52 am: just updated my to-do list and my calendar and somehow I got really busy!!

Sat June 27, 2009, 6:32 am: Is treating myself to a harry potter marathon :)

Fri June 26, 2009, 8:53 am: Why is fourth of july still a week away :(

Fri June 26, 2009, 5:36 am: is working late on Friday and coming in tomorrow too!! I am going crazy!!

Thu June 25, 2009, 1:00 pm: Is watching Twilight AGAIN! Dang you Rachel for forcing me to watch this again and making me want an Edward! You suck but I love it :)

Wed June 24, 2009, 8:23 am: finally found a book I have been looking for since high school that I read in 4th grade... The Worldwide Dessert Contest GREAT KIDS BOOK I recommend it !!!!

Tue June 23, 2009, 6:11 am: Is inspired by my kids to shave my head!

Mon June 22, 2009, 8:35 am: Something about this monday is just not right

Sun June 21, 2009, 11:20 am: Is really proud of my dinner tonight in honor of my dad... If peace corps teaches me anything it will to be a good cook!

Sun June 21, 2009, 5:28 am: Wishes I wouldn't have accidentaly erased my dads new number... If someone has it please share it with me so I can be a good daughter and wish him a happy fathers day!

Fri June 19, 2009, 3:16 am: is ready to get back to Prison Break... how dare work interfere like this!

Thu June 18, 2009, 12:35 am: needs a good long running playlist...any suggestions?!?

Tue June 16, 2009, 7:52 am: does writing letters to people and coloring birthday cards count as a productive day?? I vote yes!!!!

Fri June 12, 2009, 2:03 pm: Is finally letting my inner dork come out :)

Fri June 12, 2009, 2:38 am: is listening to Jimmy Buffett... makes me want to be sitting on the beach with a margarita in my hand!!!

Thu June 11, 2009, 4:11 am: how is it not the weekend yet?!?

Tue June 9, 2009, 12:02 am: thinks its worth it to get up at 5 am to see the sunrise this morning!!

Fri June 5, 2009, 4:47 am: really needs to keep up with the news!!!

Wed June 3, 2009, 6:16 am: Wishes i could have some of my dads chicken soup

Tue June 2, 2009, 1:54 pm: Can't fall asleep because the all dog alert going on outside ... No one here would want to steal a hundred puppies unless they were going to eat them and for that to happen i would have to be on the east side of the country so what the heck is going on!

Tue June 2, 2009, 2:29 am: feels discriminated aggainst... how can you only rent to Namibians?!?

Sun May 31, 2009, 11:51 pm: is sad the weekend is over :( counting down until Vic Falls/Chobe Trip!!!!

Sat May 30, 2009, 4:58 am: Is sitting by the pool with a capt and coke enjoying good times with friends ... Happy birthday brother!

Wed May 27, 2009, 11:41 pm: is it the weekend yet?!?!

Wed May 27, 2009, 4:39 am: dinner two nights in a row... I LOVE my job!!!

Tue May 26, 2009, 9:35 am: If Imitation is the nicest form me flattery i am so happy... My little host brother is making a sandwich 'just like kem' and he is not eating it with porridge

Sat May 23, 2009, 10:15 am: Macaroni and cheese, chocolate covered pretzels and 24 hours of Jack Bauer... Nothing else needs to be said

Fri May 22, 2009, 8:47 am: Has found her movie watching soulmate :)

Tue May 19, 2009, 2:23 am: is wondering why we stop playing games like capture the flag and crab walk soccer?? Its a good thing I work with kids and still get to play :)

Sun May 17, 2009, 3:07 am: Is inspired to do a top 5 and a bucket list!

Tue May 12, 2009, 12:24 pm: Pretty much has the best job in the world... Climbed okondeka and went on a game ride with some cool namibians :)

Wed May 6, 2009, 9:38 am: Has made passion fruit rice krispie treats(i didn't know the marshmellows were flavored) for her family, hand washed a load of clothes and is about to make dinner ... Who would have thought i would become domestic when i moved to africa!

Tue May 5, 2009, 10:11 am: Is sad they don't celebrate cinco de mayo in namibia but glad we celebrated workers and cassinga day which gave me a long weekend with good company!

Fri May 1, 2009, 3:44 pm: Asked 'would you rather eat your cooked finger or your raw eyeball?' Nick replied 'depends if there are spices' ... Would YOU eat your eyeball for a million dollars? This is why I love nam 29

Fri May 1, 2009, 1:51 am: Is excited for the long weekend...a visit from Friends and a family wedding!

Thu April 30, 2009, 1:43 am: Needs help with my computer... It says i am connected to the local area connection but when i pull up the internet it won't open and it says its not connected ... Help!

Wed April 29, 2009, 7:42 am: Is in a much better mood after watching the kids have so much fun :)

Sun April 26, 2009, 9:38 am: Is excited i just killed a wasps nest with twenty tenants outside my bedroom door!

Thu April 23, 2009, 9:06 am: Is starting the countdown until reconnect with camel paks :)

Fri April 17, 2009, 7:35 am: Officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! Yay nam 29

Mon April 13, 2009, 10:38 am: Is super happy that my brother just put the theme song from this years fl/ga on my phone...now i can listen and think about my favorite college friends:) oh good times makes me miss home a little though

Mon April 13, 2009, 6:18 am: Is speaking rukwangali at an intermediate low ...clearly a mistake on the part of the tester

Sat April 11, 2009, 12:30 pm: Sitting under the african stars with the best group of people ... Big brother, my northern girl, the boyfriend, snake and mopey :) my favorite people in the world

Sat April 11, 2009, 12:25 pm: Is looking at the stars with the best group in africa ... Love nam 29 and my big brother :)

Thu April 9, 2009, 11:46 am: Is skipping sunrise service with the fam... Sunrise service means starting at 8 o'clock until sunrise

Tue April 7, 2009, 10:28 am: Ame kwa kulironga Rukwangali... I'm studying rukwangali every possible chance i get before the language test on thurs!

Mon April 6, 2009, 10:59 am: Is actually excited about porridge tonight:) good old maize meal and water ...yum!

Sun April 5, 2009, 5:32 am: Is lying in bed sick :(

Sun April 5, 2009, 5:30 am: I'm at my host families in okahandja,namibia...finishing training in two weeks then we get sworn in and can start our jobs

Sat April 4, 2009, 11:43 pm: Is not a fan of being sick...at least it happened on a sunday where i can lay in bed all day! Darn flu shot

Sat April 4, 2009, 10:34 am: Enjoyed the host family appreciation day ...mac and cheese, fresh farm goat and a horrible attempt at a thank you speech in rukwangali but i enjoyed the after party so much more :)

Fri April 3, 2009, 4:59 am: Enjoying a cup of REAL coffee thanks to ashleys family in the states :)

Wed April 1, 2009, 5:22 am: Is sitting in the dentist office in windhoek with half a numb face wishing i was at training... What a horrible april fools (i found out this morning that yes they do celebrate it here)

Sat March 28, 2009, 12:54 pm: is excited I didn't get too lost in Windhoek today...got some sun, met some cool people, took my first free hike!!

Thu March 26, 2009, 10:49 am: needs to practice her Rukwangali so I can pass my language exam tomorrow morning... all I can say is my name is and I like peanut butter because it tastes good :) wish me luck!!

Wed March 25, 2009, 10:25 am: Really has got the balaguer curse of breaking things... I just chipped my tooth :( what's next ?

Mon March 23, 2009, 2:15 pm: is happy she got to talk to some people from home tonight!!!

Fri March 20, 2009, 1:10 pm: will be half way done with training this time tomorrow... one month down 26 to go!!!

Thu March 19, 2009, 10:14 pm: Working on independence day?! Absurd!

Tue March 17, 2009, 12:27 pm: Had a good st.patty's day but thinks its sad that all i could tell namibian's was we year green and drink green beer...

Sun March 15, 2009, 9:54 am: Has mixed feelings about sitting in training for 5 weeks!

Thu March 12, 2009, 9:21 am: Is sad i can't be with my family during this sad time for my sister and her new family

Wed March 11, 2009, 12:47 pm: Is living the cycle of ups and downs and i am glad to end the night on an up!

Sun March 8, 2009, 9:33 am: Is in rundu excited to start an after school program :)

Sun January 25, 2009, 7:45 pm: has a plane ticket to Africa in 25 days!!!!

Mon November 17, 2008, 8:38 pm: is leaving in 3 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I survived the long trek home and back... even with the week of travel it took to get there and back I am so glad I got to go home and see my family. It was a crazy, busy,relaxing, fun time with my family and friends and I would not have wanted to spend my holidays any other way. I did a lot of traveling around FL and made it up to South Carolina. The weather was cold but I have already forgotten how cold since it is hot and humid back on this side! Tank tops and skirts are back again! A lot of people went out of their way to make a special trip to see me and I can not express how grateful I am to those people. I am so lucky to have such great friends who I love unene!! I did learn when I was home a few things... 1. people can not read Rukwangali (roo-kwan-gal-e) so I am going to phonetically spell out my words from now on so hopefully this will help you. 2. Now matter how far or long I have been away some things will never change. 3. The Beer is so much better on that side!!

Some fun events that made going home special...

1. Getting off the plane to my dad telling me I need to keep up with the music scene because there are some good songs that I am missing!

2. My first American beer at Sticky Fingers and me grossing my family out at the table when I licked Ketchup from the table...some things in life you just don't waste!

3. My "last" Christmas with the Cherrys... I promise you will get a year off from me NEXT year!

4. My friends from GA driving 4 hours (both ways!) to come visit me for a few hours. Charlotte, Jenny, Kristen, Stephen and Mrs.Young...That meant the world to me to get to see you guys and I can not thank you enough. You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for!

5. All the yummy home cooked food (thanks Aunt Gladney, Maria, Mom and Jenn)I think I will have to fast for the next two weeks to detox from American cooking!

6. Dinner at Dragonfly (YUM!) with some of my college friends and my favorite old students! THANKS FOR COMING OUT GUYS I LOVED SEEING YOU!!

7. Jenn putting the bag of marshmallows on the oven and them getting melted to the door!!! CLASSIC!

8. Mom giving me a big butt jar of change she has collected with Maria for the past year... thanks for the $88 bucks please keep collecting!

9. Seeing Mimi in the nursing home looking happy and alert! She remembered me, always a plus!

10. Sitting on the couch with Amanda, Justin and Chris cracking me up... man I miss long practice days with you guys!

11. Watching a live GATOR FOOTBALL GAME!!!!

12. The oyster roast and starting the fire "all by myself" (the logs were wet it was not my fault!)

13. Being able to watch Urban Meyer change his mind 50 times on LIVE TV!!

14. Spending time with the Castanoody's in the car... "He is a D something, something K" - Johnny "I see" -Jamie :) "You are getting my daughter is going to listen to Bob Marley, that is scary" - Jamie "That is great"- Me

15. Not being able to stay up until midnight on New Years... WOW that will have to change I am only 23!!

16. Drinking FIREFLY when ever I got the chance!! YUM,YUM,YUM!!

17. Driving a car to Gainesville for the day all by myself!!

18. Eating everything on my "I want to eat when I get home list" (thanks for everyone who helped me complete that list)

19. Ash and Pete's wedding @ the library

20. Spending my last few minutes with my family in a circle of rocking chairs just laughing and enjoying our time together!

It was a great trip home and it was a nice break and really helped me to appreciate my job and life here in Namibia. Again thanks to everyone who I saw and made some more great memories for me to think about on those lonely days over this side.

Thanks even more to MOM and JB for getting me home.. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

My last few weeks in Nam at the end of the year were very busy. Somehow my schedule was filled with family events and work events up until the time I left. One of my cousins got married in a village right out side of Rundu(Roo-un-du) called, Kaisosi (Ka-e-so-si), it was a good time. This time no one is my family was in the immediate wedding party so there was not all the craziness there was last time for Aunt Betty's wedding. I will start from the beginning since this time my family took me to ALL of it!

A week before the ceremony...

My family picked me up at my flat to take me to Church. It was a Catholic Mass and even though it was in Rukwangali (Rook-waan-gal-e)I still knew what was going on thanks to the many masses I have attended. I would answer in English and I think my host mom was proud that her daughter knew when to kneel and stand. I am not a total heathen! At the end of mass they announced the wedding of the bride and groom! After church we had a celebration procession (this happens a lot at weddings) to the brides homestead. We got here at 10 and we were just going to hang out until 4 to start the next event. My mom offered to take me home and pick me up, but I wanted the full experience so I sat around on the homestead and listened to people talking about different things. At 4:00 the meme's who were cooking snuck me into the room to feed me. Then we took a procession to the bride and grooms house and hung the flag outside to symbolize the start of the celebration! After a lot of dancing and cheering I went home at about 9 or ten at night. The food was good, the people were great!

The next Saturday...

My family picked me up at 8 am for a day of festivities. We went to the same Catholic Church for the wedding had the ceremony which was a few hours then went to a lodge nearby to take pictures. The reception took place at Rundu Secondary School (I got a little mixed up and went to the wrong wedding reception.. whoops! At least it was a wedding reception!) The ceremony was hot b/c it was in a small room with bad ventilation and about 200 people. It was a great wedding I think the pictures show it better than I can explain it.

It is already time for the 26 and 27'ers to finish their contract and leave. They are slowly leaving a few at a time. Kavango is going to be losing 7 volunteers. It would be OK if these people sucked, BUT they are great people and have been great friends. Since I first arrived at the airport they have been so supportive and understanding. It is hard to imagine this place with out them. Its like they were my parents teaching me about Namibia and now they are making me fly on my own. To say goodbye to the townies we went out to Kavango River Lodge to have a nice dinner and watch the sunset... it was a great place to spend some time together.

Rachel, Kerri, Kathy and Me

Kerri and I ... I can not begin to put into words how much this girl has done for me!! She is hands down the most amazing, kindest, positive person I know!

One of the best views in Rundu

Thank goodness Kathy is not leaving me too!!

I can't believe it is the end of term!! On the 20th of Nov. my first group of Bronze members graduated to SILVER!! We had an awards ceremony and celebrated their completion of the year with medals, certificates, mama bears and cake!! The picture is of my first class. They are wonderful kids and I have loved working with them I can not wait to see what next year will bring for us. They will become the mentors to a group of new learners who will take on the role of Bronze participants next year. They make my life in Rundu so much better. I was telling another volunteer, Peggy, that I can't imagine my life here with out those kids. I don't think I would be half as happy as I am. They are a wonderful reminder everyday to smile and be thankful for all that I have. Most of my kids go with out food, new clothes and both parents to love them, but what I love most is no matter what life is throwing at them they are always respectful, positive and motivated. Did I mention that I LOVE these kids??

The week after the awards ceremony we had a Christmas party with the kids and I let them do a photo booth type thing so here are some of those pictures... how can you not think these kids are so cute??

It is tradition to have a Rundu Thanksgiving and we did not forget that tradition this year! There is an RPCV, Patrick, he was in group 12 or 13 and met the love of his life, Terri, and has stayed here to raise his beautiful family. He owns a lodge and hosts the volunteers for Thanksgiving. The deal is he provides the turkey and the volunteers make the sides. We had cornbread, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, apple pie and of course turkey. After everyone ate we played a game of football. I was on team "High Five" and even though we did not win it was too much fun. A few days after we had Thanksgiving #2 where we ate the leftovers...then on REAL thanksgiving we had another one!!! Its no wonder my pants are too tight this week!! It was a lot of fun and it reminded me how thankful I am for the life I have been given. I love the path that I am on right now and can not imagine being anywhere else!!

Some of my favorite girls!!

Me and Rachel with one of Patrick's beautiful daughters, Grace

Before dinner we played at the pool :)

After dinner we played at Backstage!

When you are standing in line at the post or at the bank if your phone rings you step out of the room and come back into your place when you are no longer on the phone. You don't have to worry about missing your turn because the line moves so slow you could make 5 phone calls before its your turn!

When you are walking down the road you must say hi to everyone who you pass. When you pass people nod their head but where I nod my head down they nod their head up. There has been some confusion to my politeness because I go down not up. Some people get your attention by whistling, honking the horn or yelling white person. You must always say hello and greet people.

There is a special language here called Namlish... When you talk to people it is helpful to know what these words mean otherwise you might be waiting for a long time or go to the wrong place.Namlish-Translation in EnglishLearners- Studentskoki- Magic MarkerSilly- Stupid/DumbHelp Me- PleaseBakkie-Pick-Up TruckCombi- VanLorry-18 wheelerFoot- To walkIs It? - Really?I'm Coming Now- I'm going/I'll be backNow- It is happening in an hour or twoNow Now- Will happen sooner than now (maybe 1/2 hour)Robot- Streetlight (Rundu does not have any of these)Queue- Line Make a Turn- Stop ByThis Side- Where you areThat Side - Over There

I was at Etosha National Park with my host organization and while we were taking a break from the game drive the kids got to go into the pool. There were tourists sitting in the pool and asked us "where are these kids from" which started a conversation on everything! Finally, the conversation is over and I stand up to walk away. They see my massive dirt stain on the seat of my pants and asked me what happend. Not thinking how dirty I would sound I said, "I got a ride in a dirty bakkie a few weeks ago and I haven't washed my clothes since then" They looked completely grossed out!!

I noticed a change in myself right then... when I was at home I would wear something once maybe for a few hours and I would throw it in the dirty clothes pile. It was such a waste of washing powder and water. Now I can go at least two weeks with out washing anything. I do the smell test. If I can smell myself I know its time to do laundry :) kidding... well kind of!

The weather is so hot now that I feel like I can never stay clean. The minute I get out of the shower and get dressed I have already started sweating. Now it is just normal feeling for me to never feel clean. Now I know what it feels like to be the smelly kid.

My friend Kathy wrote this entry in her blog and I loved it ... She has been working here on and off for 5 years now and I think she has a wonderful personality and outlook on life

The Namibia I know….

is a place where children walk miles through rain, piercing sun, and soaring temperatures to get to school.

is a place where people always say good morning.

is a place where children who have nothing are happy and joyful.

is a place where mothers are superwomen.

is a place where people live in the moment, in the day.

is a place where family is central to life.

is a place where zebras, elephants and lions roam free

is a place where people take the time to know and help their neighbors.

is a place where friends are welcomed like family.

is a place where grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even strangers take in orphaned children.

is a place where villagers greet health workers with smiles and waves.

is a place where children recognize and are thankful for the small things.

is a place where there is no shortage of smiles and laughter.

is a place where clear nights bring skies filled with a million sparkling stars

is a place where children take care of their ailing parents and siblings

is a place where the elderly are valued for their experience and knowledge.

is a place where parents dream of better lives for their children and try to make that happen.

Namibia is also….

a place where children go to bed hungry.

a place where alcoholism is an epidemic and men spend their family’s money on beer.

a place where nearly 1 in 4 adults (15-49) is infected with HIV/AIDS.

a place where teenage pregnancy is extremely common.

a place where only primary education is free.

a place where women have little power in relationships.

a place where rape is common.

a place where poverty is the norm and % of people survive on less than $2/day.

a place where few people have more than secondary education.

a place where orphans and other vulnerable children are turned away from school because they cannot pay for fees or uniforms.

a place where funerals, especially of young people, are too plentiful.

a place where hundreds of people are made homeless each year by flooding.

a place where 40% of people are unemployed

a place that has the highest income gap in the world.

So I love Namibia and my town and I think some of the things that make me love it so much are its little quirks...

R-E-S-P-E-C-TIt is respectful and just a common practice that someone does not walk in your property with out your permission. In theory its a great idea, but in reality you have someone standing out side your fence yelling your name until you answer and allow them to come to your door. I first experienced this when I was with my host family still and my brothers friend came over when I was the only one home. I was sleeping in my bed and I was woken to a little boy yelling "Chief" for a while until I realized that he would just keep yelling there until I went and told him no one was home but me and then he went home. It does not happen all the time if you are family with the person or don't have a fence they just come to your house and knock on the door or yell "Morokeni"(in my experience). I have learned that if someone is yelling for me I will go right away or they will keep yelling at me they will not just leave and go home.

Honking is the new WaveThere are many taxis in town and they are constantly looking for people to get in the taxi. I walk to my school and home everyday and everyday I get at least two horn honks. I used to make the mistake and try to ignore them, until I learned that they will keep honking until they either pass you or you turn and shake your head no. Sometimes it makes me laugh like today a taxi passed me a laid on the horn and I turned around to see a full taxi. So basically he was just honking to be honking!

KIND HEARTSI think the most special thing in Namibia that I appreciate the most is peoples kindness. You will constantly meet people who greet you or offer to help you. As I said earlier I walk home from my school every afternoon and at least once a week I have someone (private car or taxi) pull over and offer to give me a free ride into town. Then they thank me for working in the schools and drop me off at my destination. It just makes me think when I was home if I saw someone walking and was heading the same direction would I have stopped for them and given them a ride? I like to think I would, but I know I was usually too busy to even stop and look at what was going on around me.

Global Warming?It is SOOO hot here! Today was a cool day so I am not as worn out as I was before. The Namibia sun is BRUTAL!!! I don't understand when I see kids playing soccer in the middle of the day I try to hide in the shade or by a fan whenever I can. The rainy season is supposed to start in the end of Nov. however I am pretty sure the weather is all screwed up this year. Winter was colder than in the past, the wind didn't come until a month late, and the rain started in Sept. granted its not everyday, but it rained at least 3 days last week. Even some of my co-workers do not understand it ... who knows what the actual rainy season will bring!

So I have been trying to keep up with the Gator games on my phone...the time difference is a little hard. For the LSU game I set my alarm for 5 am so I could look at ESPN mobile the last few minutes of the game.I basically sit with my phone on the internet refreshing the screen every 30 seconds for the play by play. Not as good as real life especially when I did not know some of the players and I got confused during the Troy game which player was which team, but my sister and brother in law are recording them for me so I can watch when I am home. I am glad the Arkansas game was at 9pm my time because I don't think I could have handled the stress that I am sure all my fellow Gators were feeling that night. I miss the feeling when the boys score a touchdown and I miss tailgating all morning, screaming in the game all afternoon then celebrating all night! I miss singing in the end of the 3rd quarter. I miss screaming the fight song or yelling orange and blue across the stadium. I miss dressing in the most orange and blue I can find in my closet.

Fall is my favorite season of the year. In one season you get the cooling of the weather, pumpkin carving, Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream (aka night roller coasters!), Candy Corn Pumpkins, Thanksgiving which means great time with family over too much delicious food, and GATOR FOOTBALL!!! How can this not be your favorite time of year???

I must say "Its GREAT to be a FLORIDA GATOR"!!! I can't wait to see what the rest of the season will bring!

This month has been a lot of travel for me. I have had to go to the capital twice now for different meetings. Let me put you in the mind set of a hiker... Your day starts at 5 am when you wake up, shower and eat a filling breakfast then you walk to the "hike point" which is where you will try and flag down a ride. Since many people here do not have cars this is how most of the population gets around the country by depending on the people who can afford cars to give them a lift. So you wait on the side of the road until you can get a lift either to your town or the destination of the driver. There are 3 main towns in between Windhoek and Rundu so it is very likely I will be dropped off in each town and have to do the process all over again. Windhoek is 700km from Rundu so it should take about 6-7 hours to get down, but you have to give your self at least 10 hours. Sometimes you get lucky and get an air conditioned car going 120-140km (maybe more?!?) and other times you get a hike in the back of a truck where a little girl pees on you...all depends on your hiking luck!

It is nice to hike with other volunteers because then you can take turns talking to the driver or watching your bags in the back of the car when one person goes to the bathroom. I have debated when I come home if I will get a car or just try to free hike it across america!

So it has been a while since a post. I have been here for 6 months! I keep hearing how fast it goes after you reach a year and that scares me because it is already going so fast. I have moved out of my host families house and I am now staying in a flat on my own. It is a little far from the school but the walk everyday is good. I am just working on my tan walking about 15k in the middle of the afternoon. I bet come the middle of the summer I will be singing a different tune. My kids are in the middle of taking their exams so they are pretty busy. Today we are going to study for their English exam which is on Wed. They will get a two week break and then go until Oct. or Dec. There is a rumor going around that schools will close in October to prep for the Presidential elections. This is a Namibian rumor and I will not believe it until I see it happen.

I was given a puppy, Kavango and I passed him onto another volunteer with the promise that they will come see me a lot. Two kittens will move in with me soon!! I am currently living with out any appliances, but I do have a bed!! My Gator flag is flying on the wall so when you walk in it is the first thing you see!! I have warm running water and yellow curtains in my room... what more could a girl want! Some of the volunteers in the town are going to come over to my house for our Wed night dinner, well they are cooking at their house we are just going to hang out and eat the finished product at mine.

I just got back from vacation ... IT WAS AMAZING here is a recap with some pictures (DISCLAIMER: below is just a copy of the email I sent out)RECONNECT:This was awesome... Our group (20 volunteers) were all together for the first time since swearing in. It was great to see everyone. We spent a lot of time just hanging out or watching movies and sharing some of the crazy things that have happened to us while we are at site. This was a great prelude to the real vacation just relaxing and enjoying some time with great peopleJess, Ashley and Me sitting by the fire #1 after a day of sessions!

This is my attempt to cut Clay's hair... We got to shave it afterwards!

Me, Jess and Clay blinded by the smoke from the Fire Night #2

Me and Ashley watching the Night Rise and listening to some amazing guitar playing

This is how me and Nick train for the marathon... I stretch and pick out good music and he smokes a cigarette! The sad thing is he still kicked my butt!!PART 1: Kasane, Botswana – Chobe National ParkWe started out going to Kasane in Botswana. We arrived around 11 o’clock in the morning and checked into our campsite (PS this was my first REAL camping trip, not Balaguer style with a TV and vacuum). We booked our 5:45 am game drive for the next day and the sunset boat cruise and then we went to a nice lodge and had a good margarita before we went back to the camp and cooked dinner. It was a good night with some good liquor…note to travelers: don’t start out the trip my mixing your cocktail in your Nalgene bottle… the smell of rum and coke just does not want to come out This is the girls hanging out around the fire… I don’t really remember what we cooked but it was yummy. So the next morning came around and we were regretting the decision to wake up at 5:30 in the morning.It was cold and we were all a little hungover. IT WAS WORTH IT!!! Right when we got into the park we saw a family of giraffes (my favorite animal of ALL time)! It was too dark for the pictures to come out so this is just something that I will get to experience but we saw a ton of elephants, hippos and baboons and even a lioness. At one point we were surrounded by a family of elephants. It was a little scary since there was a baby elephant in the group and we kept being told how protective the moms are.

This is a Baobab tree ... they are all over Botswana and in some parts of Namibia (my region and Caprivi) they are stunning to see in person!!

This is the sunrise over Chobe National Park

This was on the boat drive they were fighting/cleaning each other in the water. Did you know elephants can swim? Learned that as we watched the big one swim across the river.

The hippo was a little pissed that we were floating in his water. These things are HUGE I was waiting for him to charge the boat!

This picture does not do justice to the sunset... guess you will have to come visit to see it yourself

This picture does not do it justice either. In fact none of these do it was one of the most beautiful, serene things I have ever seen!We did not get too much time in Botswana I think we were really excited about Livingstone so we just spent our extra time chilling at the pool.So in my time here I have learned that I tend to “jump to conclusions” as Nick and Clay like to point out to me. I just start doing something right away or assume something… yeah sounds about right. Well on the last night in Kasane, Botswana we had to go to the store to get food and beer. They sent me to get the beer (BIG MISTAKE) they told me to get enough for 5 people for one night. I come out $300 later with 48 beers!! In my head I was thinking that we could just finish them through the week not thinking we are going through two borders (Namibia and Zambia!) Well it is not too funny when I write it down but it was pretty dang funny while I was sitting with 48 beers on my lap in the car. Lesson: Kim plans ALL the parties!! PS- We drank 9 beers that night, but come Friday afternoon they were all gone!! PART 2: Livingstone, Zambia- Victoria FallsWe got to Livingstone on Wed morning, checked into our hostel, Jollyboys backpackers (AMAZING!!) and we decided since we weren’t going to go rafting until the next day we should go see the falls. The guy at the desk told us to hike to the Boiling Pot and see…Supposed to be a great view. We go thinking that we will have a small hike and see a pretty view… we hiked to the bottom of the Gorge!! I was not ready for this I was wearing a sundress and my reefs!! On the way down the thong of my flip flop broke so I finished the hike down and the killer hike up barefoot. This is what we hiked over after the hike down the gorge!! This is also the exact spot that we jumped in the next day for our rafting adventure

This is the bridge that connects Zambia to Zimbabwe!!

And this is what we got to see after we hiked down. The falls are right in the middle, Zimbabwe on the Left and Zambia on the Right (yes that is what we hiked down). We passed a ton of Baboons on the way down. It is amazing to see so many animals in their natural habitat.

“Go Hard or Go Home”On Thursday, Nick, Jess, Ashley and I decided to go White water rafting down the Zambezi. We had perfect timing since the first half (the hard part) opened on Monday and we rafted on Thurs!This might have been a crazy idea especially because we were rafting Class 5 rapids (Class 6 is considered commercial suicide). IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! We had the four of us and one brit and one irish guy plus our guide, Steve. Steve was a drill Sgt. For sure. He went down the one class 6 rapid by himself, head first in our raft while we walked around it (on the Zimbabwe side). He also told us the week before he was going down and showed us the rock where he hit and got his front tooth knocked out!! When we got in the raft I asked if he was a go for it guy and he told me his favorite motto was “go hard or go home” so the whole day we were the first to go down and he made sure to take us on the hardest path. Going right through the middle :)

This is the rapid where Nick got flipped out (it was a class 5 called Gullivers Travles) he was out and under the water for a really long time… it was scary at the time now its funny becasue we have pictures of him floating down the rapid and we even have it on DVD!! However, Right after Nick fell out we flipped our boat… completely capsized!! We think he flipped us on purpose because we messed up the rapid that Nick fell out on. We were supposed to go down the center but we went down the right side between two rocks Our crew kicking butt going down the river... I am in the back left corner!

The scenery was beautiful there was a lot of down time the second half of the day to relax the harder rapids were in the morning before lunch.

Friday we spent the morning to go see the falls from the top. This is a view at the edge. We could not walk any further the other side is Zimbabwe. People Cliff jump off of this!!! Crazy Right??

Our group shot in front of the falls. Take note this is the ONE AND ONLY group picture we have together (L-R: Me Ashely, Clay, Jessica, Nick and Victoria Falls!)

This is just one of the amazing views we got to see ... it is the start of the dry season so they are not as full as they were a month ago when there was just a white blanket of water coming over the falls.

So that was our trip! I have found a new love for being outdoors ... hiking, camping and rafting. I don't think I have ever been so calm or at peace. It was a great feeling. It was a lot of fun and I am sure there are so many stories but I can’t remember them all and I am sure you don’t want to read them so you can just wait until I get home to tell you or you can come experience it for yourself JI will leave you with this one story (as told by a rafting guide):There were two Japanese tourists who took the rafting trip. They could not speak very good English so the guide put them in the middle behind two Brits. He told the Japanese tourists to do whatever the Brits did (ie paddle forward, get down, etc.). They came up on one rapid and it knocked the two Brits out and the next thing the guide saw was the two Japanese JUMPING out of the boat!!! Silly Tourists!!!So that is pretty much vacation. GOOD TIMES will have to do that again. !

So I am sitting in my office not feeling so well today... I think it was a long weekend coupled with a lot of cheese. I never eat cheese anymore (very expensive) and then this weekend we make Macaroni and Cheese, Cheese Bread, Cheese Doritos and Pizza... ugghh can you tell I am training for a half marathon?!?

This weekend was a lot of fun but its nice to know that tonight when I get off work I will be able to go home and relax. I have been working with a group of learners and this week is when the program actually starts so it will be fun and interesting to see how it goes. My job is working with kids at an after school program to give them a place to go. One of the problems here is that there is not much on the entertainment side. Most people just sit in their homestead and drink. The kids do what they can but when they are not helping their parents cook dinner they have nothing to do but entertain themselves.

I will try and paint a picture of most of the kids homes that I work with...

They live in a home stay which is a cluster of mud huts if they are lucky they have a boar hole which means they do not have to walk to the river to get water. Usually this is divided by women on one side men on the other. The kitchen in on the women's side. They have to walk 30 minutes to school everyday where they are in class from 730 until 1pm. They usually have porridge to eat. Porridge is a traditional meal made of maize meal and water that you cook over a fire. There is not much taste or nutritional value to it, but it fills you up and gets the job done. During school the kids are taught in English,their second language, which they barely understand but they try. When they get out of school they will either go home or try to do something to keep themselves busy. It is hard to have a ball to play with 1. because they are expensive 2. they pop because of the thorns and broken glass everywhere. So they take plastic bags and make a small baseball size ball and play with that. They have to get their homework done before it gets dark because a lot of people do not have electricity. They come home and if there is enough food the kids will get a meal. In the culture it is respectful for the older people to eat and if there is not enough for the kids they will not eat. A lot of people have dogs, but not like we do. They are there more for protection not companionship. There are dogs everywhere!

I live in a town so it is different for me, we have modern amenities like grocery stores and electricity, but there is still a lot of development that could be done. We have two tar roads in town and the rest are sand.

This weekend a lot of volunteers came in town from all the groups to prepare for a conference I am helping with. It was also a volunteer from my groups birthday so we spent Saturday at the Omashare Lodge having a cool drink and relaxing by the pool then watched the sunset over the Kavango River and went home and made a yummy birthday dinner. It was very nice and I enjoyed getting together with them. I am starting to forget how to talk. Since English is most peoples second language I have to talk slow and short. This is very hard for me but I am getting better at explaining what words mean to a lot of people. The shorter the better.

I am starting to get to know people. The other day I was walking around town and I got stopped by a few people just to say hello. It is different living in the town because we have a lot of people come in from the villages especially at the end of the month (pay day) so when I see someone they are usually family, a teacher, or another volunteer. It is a great feeling when you walk down the street and you hear your name and turn around and someone recognizes you... makes you feel more like your at home! I have a great support from the volunteers who are here also most of them have been here for over a year so they are really used to a lot of things and help me understand and feel more comfortable.

The search for my permanent housing is still going hopefully it will happen soon so I can be sure I have a place to live for the next two years.

So I am starting week 3 as a volunteer and I am very thankful that I have things to do. There is not much but I am making it. My site is good it is absolutely beautiful in this region. My first day here I got to go to the river and look at Angola. I am starting to get really comfortable with my new host family. They have really welcomed me in as a daughter. I got to go to a wedding this weekend with them... SO much fun!! It competed with my sisters wedding...Africans know how to party (sorry Jenn)! The bride and groom kept telling me that they wish they were having a village wedding so I could see the differences. I thought it was really nice I met them on the pre wedding party on Thursday and I spent the whole time with the wedding party and my sisters. I forgot to mention that the bride was my aunt (who is my age!) which made my weekend even better because I met a lot of people around my age so I am excited to get to know them and hang out! A lot of them are teachers too so that will help me at my job! The schools are out so most of the volunteers are taking their vacation which is fun for them, but not fun for those of us who have to stay at site. It is VERY good for adaptation! I did notice that I do not like being around large groups of people. This past weekend was a 4 day weekend and pay day so town was SWAMPED! I was going to buy some groceries but I turned around and went back because I could not handle all the people. Looks like I will not be going to NYC and I will be living in a small town when I come home. I have no problem with that.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to every single mom I have ever had... I hope you guys enjoy your day of rest. I know my mom will be enjoying herself at TPC sitting on hole 17 with her second favourite daughter and son because her first favourite hasn’t mailed her mothers day’s card yet. I will put it in with Jenn and Raijas birthday card! (Come to think of it I haven’t mailed any letters yet) I have some written and I will send them soon. They say when you come into the Peace Corps non readers become readers, readers become writers, and writers go crazy! I can honestly say I am behind on my reading I have only read three books and I haven’t written in my journal in a month! I am just a slacker. Its funny back home all I ever wanted to do was just sit and do nothing now when sometimes there is nothing to do I can’t sit still I just leave work and walk around town because I don’t like sitting on a desk.

This weekend me and my brother decided we are going to run a marathon (I will do half and he will do the other half) it will be interesting to see me train for that but it gives me something to do and give me a reason to take a weekend beach trip to Swakop and Walvis Bay!

You may be wondering how my language is going... its scary how my mind is not working like a sponge! My mom greets me every morning and I can never remember what to say! A lot of the kids I am working with don’t speak good English so they will force me to learn I guess. I will try that is the most I can promise!

Happy Easter everyone!!! Easter was different this year… no eggs to dye, no new spring dress to wear, no massive feast at my Aunts house, but it was a good holiday. I got up went to church for 4 ½ hours , came home and ate lunch with my family. It will be the last weekend I have here. Next week I move to my permanent site and I will officially start my two years of service. We have our swearing in ceremony on Friday where I will not only have to read a thank you letter in Rukwangali but also the oath thing will be in our target language. It’s a good thing I am now a master in my language and I am tested at an intermediate low. I am just hoping that my language skills do not go down over the next two years.

I will miss my host family here so much…they let me help cook and clean really I just get up and help otherwise I think they would wait on me hand and foot. Today I got home from school and my mom was still feeling sick so I offered to help so she could go sit down. I cut an onion WITH OUT crying and I peeled a potato with a knife. These may seem small to you but they are huge for me.

Every night we watch this show called Camila. It is a dubbed Spanish soap opera. Its absolutely horrible but so good at the same time. I will not lie I think I have gotten addicted. Here are the highlights… Camila is a widowed fiancé. Two men made a bet that one of them would take her virginity they bet half a million dollars. Then you meet Alejandro who is the love of her life and they fall madly in love, but because of this loser guy who has the bet about her the two love birds never seem to make it work out… hopefully soon they will get together and it will all be happy!! They keep getting close but there is always something that happens. It is totally a Chinese movie where the peoples lips don’t match with the words.

I have found that some people in Namibia, our trainers, like to play jokes on people. It was completely fine on April Fools Day when one of them sent me and Anika to Spar looking for our TM and then we waited for about ten minutes before someone told us it was April 1st. However today I was sucked into believing that they extended training for a week!! Do you know how horrible that would be, I mean I love the other volunteers and I will miss them SO much, but to have to wait another week to be sworn in … horrible!! So now I will have to question almost everything they tell us.

I have met some great people and hopefully I will not lose touch with them when I move away, but I am excited to work. It seems there are so many people in the community who want to help the youth here. I don’t think it will be easy but it is reassuring to know that there are people out there who will do a lot to help the kids.

We went to church on Sunday and I took my camera so I could video tape the childrens choir and the adult choir. They sound so great I only hope that my camera captured them the way I hear it. Everyone here is so talented musically because they can just hear the songs. I am hoping that I will pick up some of that talent and bring it home!

There is a commercial that comes on TV that has a catchy beat and a woman singing in it. Everyone you ask has seen this commercial. The funny thing is my year old sister, no matter where she is will come waddling into the room and start dancing to the beat of this commercial. Tonight she was sleeping in my dads arms and she heard the commercial, woke up and cried to be put down so she could dance and sing to the music. After it was over she walked back to my dad and fell back asleep… it was really cute and I am not doing it justice right now!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

I was not sure how I wanted to write this one and I am not very eloquent so I will do my best to get my point across back home. There have been some big realizations that have happened to me over the past month. In training we are learning all the methods that are being taught in Namibia. One of the methods is a “choose to wait” program. Obviously, they teach abstinence only. It is hard to see how this teaching method could be effective in a country that has a problem with HIV infecting about 20% of the population. People are having sex, how can we ignore that and only talk about abstinence. I knew today would be a hard session not to have judgment right off the bat, even though I have chosen to wait I have chosen that path for my own reasons. Most of the Namibian population is Christian, almost 90% from my view. While there are different levels of devotion some are devout and go to church every Tues, Thurs, and Sunday while some just believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is still that belief and faith there that many hold onto. The “Choose to Wait” model has been proven effective in many African countries. I can see how giving girls and boys this program and teaching them why it is worth it to wait for the right person can be effective. Some of these kids are begging for a way to not follow the people before them. Kids have to watch their parents, relatives, and siblings die from HIV/AIDS and they do not want to be next.

As I am sure many of you saw the Pope came to Angola and made some controversial comments about HIV and condom use. As a volunteer who is here to help stop the spread of this disease I just got frustrated feeling like we are taking steps backwards not forwards in the fight. While discussing the “choose to Wait” model one of our Namibian trainers brought up such a good point that I think made all of us stop to think why we are here and how we can help. He said that all of these people from the outside are telling us what we should not hear, but we are the Africans so isn't it our choice to decide the best way to eradicate HIV?. Then one volunteer followed up with four simple words that I think sum up everything I was feeling and how I would like to help these people…”It’s Not About You!!” We are not here to enforce our beliefs on them, we are here to learn about their beliefs and from that find a way to teach and inform about what is going on. I think a personal struggle for me is letting go of everything I think is right. I am coming to their home to offer help they asked for. I knew things were going to be different, but who am I to come in and say abstinence is not the only way. If that is their belief then that is my passage into the community and I will use that outlet to spread the education and information I have learned.

Another thing we discussed that made me think for a long time. As you may know Namibia is a post-apartheid country. They were oppressed for many years and are still growing since they are a very young country of 19 years and where you can still see the remnants of the past almost everyday. We are trying so hard here to help a country who is so fresh out of the separation not only among the white, colored, and blacks but also between the different tribes. Divide and Conquer is the only way to describe what people tried to do here. I was having a discussion with a volunteers and he said “If you compare the history of Namibia to the history of America, Americans could be the Afrikaners”. I understand history is written by the winners, but we as Americans can be so arrogant. Why do we as Americans celebrate the killing and forcing people out of their land and not see a problem with it? We have done some appalling things to a lot of people and there are still people who have that close minded view that America is the best place in the entire world and it can do no wrong. Please don’t get me wrong I love being an American and I have gotten such a great opportunity growing up in a free country where I am allowed to express these views and am now able to share some of the good things I learned with others who are so anxious to hear anything I have to say, but it was one of those comments that stuck with me. It is hard to hear first hand experiences from the people who went through the oppression here have to say about how they were treated. It was one of those moments that made our history a little more clear and real for me.

I really hope this came out alright I do not mean to offend anyone; please if I have I apologize I meant no harm.

DISCLAMIER: I am horrible at grammar as I warned some of you before I left. I do not boast to be some amazing linguist I am just writing as it comes out from my brain to the keypad. I rarely make sense when I talk so why would you think that when I write it would get any better? SO on that note if you are going to send me an SMS to my phone, please do not try to correct me on my grammar, while we enjoyed a laugh (thanks mom) I would much prefer a good joke to share!!

I am starting to get into the training routine… get up, language, technical, lunch, more technical, and more language, come home cook dinner, watch a horrible Spanish soap, go to bed. I might go a little crazy when I don’t have training everyday from 8-5. We have our mid LPI tomorrow… it’s a language test but really its just a practice for the end of training LPI. To be sworn in you have to score an intermediate low. For tomorrow’s test I am shooting for an novice-low!!! Edina lyange Kim. Ame kwa tunda koFlorida. Ame muliziambeli goPC gokanguki. Ame kwa ku nondongo morwa utovara. (My name is Kim. I am from Florida. I am a PC helath volunteer. I like Peanut Butter because it tastes good) I think if I say that I will have the novice-low in the bag.

Today I got a special surprise from home… a care package from my mom, Maria, and Katherine!! I think it was voted the best care package so far because there was a box of thin mints that I shared with the volunteers and training staff. I might have hyped it up to the trainers a little too much by saying they were the best cookies in the whole world, but in my opinion they are pretty bangin! It was comical to see the volunteers faces light up when they saw either the green box or just the sleeve of cookies and they immediately knew what I was offering. So thank you Katherine for the wonderful surprise you made 21 volunteers, 10 trainers, and my 6 family members VERY HAPPY today! You are probably wondering why I would share such a wonderful cookie with everyone… there is one thing in Namibia that I love almost as much as the being late everywhere thing… In Namibia we share!! I mean everything one day I was talking to my language trainer and another one came and opened her lunch box and he took her sandwich. It is seen as a sign of friendship if you eat off someone’s plate. My mom did it to me at dinner last night, at least she likes me!

So in case you didn’t hear I cracked my tooth last night while I was helping cook dinner I was eating a piece of raw macaroni and I felt something hard that was not macaroni. Sure enough I have cracked my back upper tooth and I have a dentist appt. on Monday to get it looked at. It doesn’t hurt too bad just a little pain. This will be the first of a few trips to the dentist over the next month. Before I left Uncle Carson sent out a letter not to let Jennifer come visit me because she might break the continent. I thought that was silly she should come visit its not her fault she breaks things, but after all this I think it is safe to say that I am doing enough damage here that maybe she really shouldn’t come over who knows what will break next so far we have been lucky. I might have to start sitting in the corner alone in training because I am “the girl who breaks things”. The other volunteers keep saying that I am just getting it all out during training, I hope they are right!

So I found out that my Namibian grandfather is the president/bishop of one of the churches in Namibia. He came into town last night and things got a little crazy!! My sister and I were cleaning the entire house with bleach(this is something big because we rarely use dish soap) and church members were bringing food to us to make sure they had what they needed. It was fun he was a really nice guy and I am totally in on the church thing. For those of you who were worried about me during college when I was not attending church regularly God is making up for it every Sunday I sit in church from 8:30 until 1ish. Today I got to get out early so I could come home and help make the bishops lunch!! Good Times!!

On another note I am halfway done with training! We took out Mid- PST evaluations yesterday morning and I am pretty sure everyone got a perfect score. Afterwards to celebrate we went down to the riverbed and just hung out with each other. While we were there we started talking about trips and fun adventures... I think we have our COS trip planned. I know its over two years away but what we are planning is huge we need to get on it. The plan now is to hike our way up Africa Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Egypt jump to Spain take a Mediterranean cruise to Miami the RV our way cross country until we hit Seattle then I will fly back to FL... sound really great right!! I think I need to make it through the two years before I think about a COS trip. I am going to enjoy my lazy day Sunday and take a nap just thought I would give an update to mark training is half way over YAY!!!