It’s been a little over 3 months since I was medically separated from the Peace Corps, and it’s taken me that long to readjust to being back. I wonder what I am missing if I were still serving in country, I wonder whether or not the people in my community miss me, and mostly, whether or not it actually happened. When I try to focus on one singular event I can only see a blur where my memories are stored. The various faces of people who I was so close with, the feeling that my view of the world was changing, and experiences that were so intense and clear to me once have all melted into what feels like the longest and blurriest dream I can't quite remember.

It seems unreal to think that I spent over half a year trying to fit in with so many different cultures while simultaneously being forced to question my own. And as an extension, unconsciously asking myself “who am I”? What does it mean to be an American, what does it mean to be white, what about a woman? These questions took me off guard as I assumed I knew who I was before I left. In essence I was right, I knew who I was in America, in South America, and evem im but who I was in Africa? How could I have been so presumptuous to assume that I could carry my identity with me as I tried to integrate myself among those whose views were so radically different from my own? I suppose that is the mistake we make as we bring our idealistic tendencies with us to a foreign country. But, was Namibia as foreign as I thought it would be? It is a confusing land of constant deja vu for me as so many elements of my former life were shoved into my face unexpectedly. A bag of doritos on the shelves of Spar, an empty bag from KFC on the floor of a car I got a hike from, or ordering a coffee at an outdoor cafe and sitting outside enjoying it. However, Namibia is country of stark contrasts, with scenes straight from an independent film. A beat up truck that could be found in any Midwestern state; old, dusty, and surprisingly still running. The difference is the 23 poor and impoverished Namibians crammed into the truck bed just trying to get a free lift to town. Further still, the confusion continues as shiny new BMW’s and Mercedes cut off the slow bakkie full of people. Which car could I relate with more? I've ridden in the back of the same bakkies, squished and uncomfortable. I've also gotten lifts in BMW's with AC and music... yet I had never felt so close to Namibians as those rides in the back when we were all had the same goal of getting into town and being equal.

I know now that I was not prepared to be so kicked in my ass by the utter uselessness I felt in not being able to enact any sort of change. It was this feeling that I had hoped to overcome. I know I was in the process of accepting that the only change I would probably ever see was a change in myself. And, that's ok. I didn't have the typical Peace Corps experience, and I came to Namibia wondering all those questions, but I leave Nam now pondering is who am I now in America.

Once I couldn’t wear make up as it was impractical with the heat, so the desire for makeup was erased. Now I find myself applying mascara and longing for the days when all I wanted on my face was the heat of the sun, or the dirt kicked up from the makeshift soccer field we played on. I can remember waking to that obnoxious roster, who lived (apparently) outside my window, wishing its slow and painful demise only to find that that it’s crow is now replaced by my alarm clock. So it’s funny to think that the words my mother told me as an angry midddle-schooler still ring so true today (and I have a sneaking suspicion for many years to come) Life does in fact goes on. But hey, thanks to all the stored mefloquin in my system, I can still go back to Namibia every night and remember all the the sounds of fornicating livestock, the delicious smell of fatcakes frying in oil, and the feel of all those small hands tugging at my hair.

So, to the many Namibian friends I made, and the families who considered me one of their own: Thank you for showing the importance of sharing this African brotherhood I was always reminded of. Whether that be a drink, a new skill, or simply the numerous conversations we had, I get it now. TIA baby.

Hello all!

Life in Nam is progressing slowly but surely.

I began my official lessons in Jul/’hoansi, and my tutor tells me I am clever… I think he just likes the 20 dollars an hour I pay him. I don’t think I will ever get to a place where I am remotely fluent in the language but I hope to get at least proficient in the next 21 months…. It's also hard as I'm trying to get fluent in Afrikaans, which is possible I think, but I have too many competing languages in my head during the day. So I'm going a bit crazy I think.

The new group of volunteers has come to Namibia. So welcome to Group 32. It’s nice not being the newbies in country anymore. It's very similar to college where you're not a freshman anymore but a sophomore. I still don't know anything.

This weekend I went to visit a friend and she decided that she really wanted to ride a donkey cart. I supported her decision and we went into location to find a donkey cart. (location is the poor part of town, usually comprised of shacks) We went around and asked people who had a donkey cart and pretty soon everyone was out of their houses watching the 2 white people in search of a donkey cart. Eventually we found a donkey cart and she hopped on. Well I think that a donkey cart is cute and all, but I ain't getting on. No sooner had she sat on the cart when the driver took off full speed. I am running behind her taking pictures with her camera while the dirt from the road is covering me. The donkeys are racing on this dirt road riddled with pot holes, the wheels are not looking sturdy, and my friend is clutching the side for dear life. HAHA. She disappears somewhere and I'm left standing there with her camera in my hand, in a makeshift dump where the cart was parked. So I'm waiting for her and I see a turkey! A huge turkey, feathers out and it looks mad. Well I snap a photo which of course pisses off the turkey who proceeds to chase me. Yes I got chased by a turkey. Well of course the whole village is out watching and laughing at me. So I run for cover muttering about how in America I eat turkeys like him for Thanksgiving. (Not that I'm counting, but that makes it twice that I've been chased by some animal in Nam)

I try my best to not look like a tourist, but that day wasn't happening. So everyone wanted money from me and normally we volunteers will respond that we don't have money as we are working for free and blah blah. I usually respond with "no, you give me a dollar" and it works just as well. So my friend returns triumphantly, and alive thankfully, with a parade of children following her. I guess she wants to do one exciting thing every month to blog about. So I am going to follow suit. The thing now is finding something exciting to do here.. Keep you posted

Moment of the week: Last week at the soup kitchen there were 3 little boys there hiding behind tables and peeking out at me so I was playing with them and tickling them, so it was very cute. Well yesterday when I was at the soup kitchen, the same 2 boys were hiding behind one of the buildings, jumping around, and making a scene to get my attention. I was playing along by making faces and then one ran up pretty close and blew me a kiss and laughed then ran away as fast as he could to his friend who was also laughing. It just made me smile all day :)

Hope all is well in America! Wishing I was there for the end of summer. Here it is starting to get really hot. Apparently, October is when you won't be able to sleep as it gets too hot. GREAT.

I started my first day at the soup kitchen for Tb patients this morning. It was mostly me sitting around and collecting the numbers from the patients so they could get a plate of food. But, the point of the soup kitchen is to feed the TB patients before they go to take their meds. Around 30 people are signed up, about 10 were kids, but so many more showed up. The people not signed up were just standing around watching them eat. So what was happening is that the patients take a few bites than they take the rest of the food home in containers that they brought. It was sad because everyone is hungry and in the San community food, like everything else, is communal and shared. So the kids were sneaking spoonfuls of rice to their friends under the table and kept looking over at me as if I was going to scold them. Then people were finding ways to reuse the numbers so I lost track of who ate, and the issue is that the food has to last till month end but it probably won’t as the food is being sneaked out of windows in kitchen, and what do you do? Yell at a kid who is shoveling as much rice as he can into his mouth, hoping he doesn’t get caught? Ugh. I wanted to cry, but then what good are tears? They don’t stop people from being hungry. Hopefully this garden will become successful, and more food can be produced. Unfortunately, the plot is small and the garden isn't thriving. Hopefully the Red cross can get more funds out here and get this thing going!

Otherwise I am busy with some more grants, and am trying to get a playground built on an unused plot of land. It would have benches, picnic tables, and paths around it. I feel that tourists would like it and boosting tourism is always a plus. Also, I'd like to plant some flowers common in Nam so that the locals can see some of the plants that they don't ever see. (Most don't ever travel their country) Any other ideas for what could go in there? or comments on this idea? This is something I really want to see happen as it would be something that I could leave behind, sort of as proof that I was here.

Miss you all! Send me letters damn it!

So we will shortly hit our 6 month mark in country. Feels weird. I am currently at a training in Windhoek, for the next 2 weeks. I'm a bit annoyed about this as it's just training and I think my time would be better spent working on my garden, and being at site. Oh well. My CNA (community needs assessment) is finally completed and my presentation went well. I was going to place it on here, but it's about 20 pages. So Nah. But if you are interested in reading it I am interested in sending it to you. It just goes through all the aspects of my community, from health to education to community groups. It's interesting and I tried to remain objective.

OH! Big news, another volunteer and I are planning a 5k run in order to raise money for vital rehabilitation equipment in Otizondupa (my region as well as hers) such as, wheel chairs and crutches. So if anyone wants to sponsor me, remember 15 USD is 105 Namibian. So more info in a few weeks when we have more concrete plans. We're planning it for Early November. I'll keep you all updated.

Otherwise I'm busy training for my marathon in October, 13.2 Miles. Yikes. I'd like to do it in about 2 hours, but we'll see.

I wish I had more to report, but I'm just bored at reconnect and looking forward to going home to Tsumkwe (I can't believe it actually feels like home now)

Miss you all!

I’m a big fan of mushrooms but they are expensive so I buy them in a can for about 17$. Well worth it to me. I don’t have a can opener so I use my pocket knife (Thanks Joe) Well I end up getting tired and too eager for my mushrooms that I usually only open it half way, and it’s ragged. On this occasion I only opened it about a 1/3 because I cut my hand on the ragged edge and was too angry to keep opening it. So I just dumped the mushrooms in the pot, and tried to fish out the remaining ones, then tossed the can. Later on I then threw out the garbage.

Well this morning I went behind my apartment and there was the same mushroom can only opened a lot more and empty. I stared at this can for about 5 minutes and tried to justify to myself my mushroom habit. Also, I was a little disturbed that my trash is being leafed through.

Anyways, it was just a reminder to me of where I am. I was thinking how badass I am opening a can of mushrooms with a knife and the injury I sustained to get said mushrooms, when I realized that no one eats mushrooms here as they are 17$ a can and are a luxury. And also that people are so hungry they will go through the trash to eat. Is it that I am really so American that, to me, it wasn’t worth it to get the last 2 mushrooms from the can so I tossed it and that the community knows that so they will go through my trash?? Oh the mushroom can, I took a picture of it and I want to print it out and hang it in my room.

Otherwise some new projects that I am working on are: A garden for TB patients, and whatever is left over they can sell for profit. Well I have no skill in gardening and am hoping that won’t be a problem. Maybe we can grow mushrooms??

TB is the major illness in my region and it seems ridiculous that people are still dying from it every year, as it is completely treatable. However, the medicine is not supposed to be taken on an empty stomach as it makes you sick. So no food= people not wanting to complete their TB treatment. Along the same lines I’m working with the clinic here to have a soup kitchen for TB patients as well.

I began coaching netball and soccer after school for the primary and secondary schools, and am now teaching a life skills class (How in the world am I teaching?) So I am starting to get really busy which is nice. And in 2 weeks I have reconnect which is a time to get together with my group for trainings and general mischief :) Afterward is time to start all my projects, as the first 3 months at site are supposed to be observation, but I started anyways as I’d be too bored to just sit and observe. (I can’t believe its been 5 months already) So life is good for me, except that it is really cold (we are in winter after all). I moved to Africa to be warm… don’t they know that?

I am so sorry I haven’t written sooner. The internet provider, MTC, has been down for like a month, so I apologize.

The biggest development with me is that there is this really cool American anthropologist, Meghan Biselle, who is here in Tsumkwe. She speaks fluent Ju/’hoansi so I feel like if one white woman can do it then so can I. I can greet and say goodbye. Oh and the word for orange. Lol I’m getting there.

Right now I am starting to get involved a bit with the San land rights issue. So check below for more info :) Miss everyone... and taco bell.

The San are the poorest and most marginalized group in Namibia. This marginalization is resulting from a series of events mainly the migration and colonization from South Africa. The San were pushed by the southward migration of Bantu cattle herders, starting around the 16th century. Ovambo, Kavango, Damara, and Herero peoples spread out over the northern half of Namibia with enormous amounts of cattle. These cattle destroyed the areas and drove game away that the San depend on. Additionally, the Bantu peoples pushed the San further outward to unlivable areas, and the San fought back. Many were killed during this period. In this German colonial era, the San were presumed to be bandits; eventually many San would come to work for cattle herders, first black, German and finally Afrikaner.

South African colonial policy would then disperse the San into “homelands” of the other groups in Namibia. Bushmanland was constituted for the San on the edge of the Kalahari, only a few hundred San lived there and it was never given self governing status. So really, this homeland was primarily for South African political purposes. The South African plan was to relocate all San from wherever they lived to Bushmanland. This is the basis of apartheid; severe racial separation for both whites and blacks. This was the purpose of these “homelands” 1

Devastatingly, during the Namibia war of independence many San enlisted in the South African armed forces, where they fought against SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization- the current governing party). So although the end of the war SWAPO initiated land reform, not much has happened 20 years after independence. Most black Namibians still live in these “homelands” though they are now designated as “communal lands”. Between 3,000-4,000 white Namibians occupy ½ the country’s farmland, while over 1 million blacks own the other half. Since independence thousands of blacks have moved from the communal lands to informal settlements on the edges of every city in the country. 2

Nyae Nyae Conservancy:

The vast majority of San settled at Tsumkwe, where they are living off government food. Because this area is remote and these communal lands were set aside for the Ju/’hoansi, these are the only San in Namibia living uncontested on their own lands, lands administered by their own government-recognized Traditional Authority, headed by our own chief. (His name is Chief Bobo- and he is really a great leader, more on this later)

While many Ju/’hoansi still live in Tsumkwe, more live in about 20 surrounding bush settlements, most with just a few huts and a few dozen people. There is no economy for these villages, while some traditional hunting and gathering still goes on it is mainly for hunger. Most hunting is illegal because game in the conservancy is reserved for trophy hunting.- Isn’t that nice?-

Where does that leave us today?

The claim of aboriginal title of the Ju/’hoansi is probably the strongest in Namibia. Since the San have lived in this region, since before time, and these lands were set aside as the communal lands of the Ju/’hoansi, it seems highly doubtful that even the government could make any sort of claim to these lands.

In 1993, the resettlement of more than 1,000 Herero from Botswana, with their cattle, at Gam, south of Nyae Nyae created considerable encroachment of cattle into the conservancy. The government then put up a cattle gate together with game rangers to stop this spread. Well today, we still have this problem where the Herero’s are coming into this land with their cattle. A couple years ago, they cut a hole into this fence and came in. The government then confiscated these cattle, and now the Herero’s want compensation. They are also asking for the government food supple (Drought relief). They have this available to them at Gam. Chief Bobo has said that they are not welcome here and he will not allow them to come into his land. We had a meeting with the Herero Tradional Authority and the Ju/’hoansi Traditional Authority where for me, it was so interesting to see the politics behind it. Everyone was smiling and shaking hands with each other. To me, this seems like an act of war; invading another’s territory to take over. I can’t imagine this is how world leaders would handle the situation. The issue is not resolved, and some of the major problems is that: there is not enough water or land to sustain these cattle. Their cattle are wandering the streets at night, unmonitored (keeping me awake), there are reports of violence being committed against the San, as well as reports of theft from clothing, bedding to firewood.

For a group that has suffered so much it seems only ridiculous that another group is trying to take their land from them. As I understand it legally, the people can come but their cattle cannot. Therefore it up to this government to do something.

________________

1 “Our land they took, San land rights under threat in Namibia”, Legal Assistance Center, 2006, pg 2

2 Sidney L. Harrung, “Indigeonous Land Rights and Land Reform in Namibia, in Robert Hitchcock and Diana VInding, Indigenous Pople’s Rights in Southern Africa, WIMSA, 1004

FOR MORE READING:

“Our land they took, San land rights under threat in Namibia”, Legal Assistance Center, 2006

John Brohman, Popular Development: Rethinking the Theory and Practice of Development, Blackwell, Oxford, 1996

James Suzman, An Assessment of the Status of the San in Namibia, Legal Assistance Center, 1996

Alan Barnard and Justin Kenrick, Africa’s Indegenous peoples: First peoples or Marginalized Minorities, Center for African Studies, University of Edinburgh, 2001

Robert Gordon, The Bushman Myth: The Making of a Namibian Underclass, Westview, 1992

So Namblish is a lot like English, but not. For example:

1. Nay? Said at the end of any sentence. Ex. So you're coming tomorrow, nay?

2. Is it? Ex. person 1: "I like to eat elephants." person 2: "Is it?" It's like saying really? (Although, I have found that it can just indicate that the person isn’t listening to what you’re saying. Plus a lot of volunteers use this one, and it’s the name of our Peace Corps newsletter here)

3. Learn me: Instead of teach me how to.. ex. "Miss, learn me to sing"

4. Borrow me: Instead of loan me.. ex. "Miss borrow me 5 dollars."

5. Must: "Miss you MUST cook", "Miss you must give me your ipod", "Miss you must write this." It is because in Afrikaans the word should/must are roughly the same.

6. Having: Ex. He is having many books.(And nobody knows that it's grammatically incorrect to say this)

7.Help me: Example: "help me some bread" "Can you help me your pen?". It's the polite way of asking for something.

8. The concept of time: ex. "We are coming now." Roughly 5 hours later they will show up. To counter this you may ask: "wait, now now?" See, Now now means sooner. So when arguing and I need something immediately I've taken just to add a couple nows to the end of the sentence to convey that I want it now. "I want you to go away NOW NOW NOW NOW!!!"

And some fun vocab I've picked up:

Our first born/last born- The oldest/youngest sibling/offspring

Colleagues- Can be used to refer to peers, friends, coworkers, relatives

Cuca shop- small shop selling beer and other things like cookies, candles, sweets

Bakkie- pick-up truck

Combi-large van type thing capable of holding a driver and 12 passengers

Dustbin -trash can

Rubbish -trash

Stiffy- floppy disk

Robot -traffic light

Diary -year planner/daily calendar

Ministry- the government

Ministers -high-up government officials

Trousers-pants

Cattle post -a place way out in the middle of nowhere where rich men keep their cattle.

Biltong- beef jerky, that everyone is nuts about.

Gotta love it :)

Hello all!!

So right now I am working a couple different things:

-I start computer trainings with the CLDC Community Learning and Development Center next week. This will be for about 10 hrs a week. There are 3 computers so I will take 3 people of the same skill level and work on: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and internet. This is exciting because it is something that is very needed and wanted.

- I am writing a grant right now to get a projector, screen, bulbs, and some movies so that I can do a movie night, in our office library, bi weekly, followed by discussion. Right now the topics are varied but for example: Teen pregnancy: I'll show JUNO, and then we will discuss it.

(I'm really excited about this, as there really are no venues for youth to go to on the weekends, so they just go to the Shebeens (local bar) and get trashed. I doubt they will ever stop going to the shebeens but my hope is that one person will watch one of these movies and listen to the discussion and then feel empowered to make better choices for their health.

Also a projector and screen can be used to show presentations on various topics like CV writing. So fingers crossed that we get this!!!)

- I have a Mural painting competition going right now. The office library is so dreary and needs some color. So I decided that the kids could all submit a drawing and the winner would get to paint the wall. I think this will lead to a feeling of ownership of the Youth Office, and as the youth become more comfortable there, it will be easier to plan activities. (like movie night)

So other than that, life is good here. I got chased by some cows last week while I was going for a run. I didn't think it would be a problem to run towards them but then they started charging and I started screaming. So I climbed up the nearest tree and called for help... Eventually the cows left. (All I could think was, where am I?)

I'm still battling with Telecom to get internet access in my office. This is week 3. I was told we would get a quote from them week 1. We'll see.

Totsiens :)

This Friday April 16th is Swear-in! It marks the end of training, and we become official Peace Corps Volunteers. We have our final language proficiency exam on Wednesday. It is a source of major stress for many. Swear-in will be attended by our supervisors, all Peace Corps Staff, various government officials, and the Vice President of the country might be there. No stress. Oh yeah, we have to sing and dance. Awesome.

Coincidentally, swear in is where we take our vow of service:

“I, name, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, domestic or foreign, that I take this obligation freely, and without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps.”

It feels really serious, for me, all of a sudden with this pledge of service.

Friday also means that we move out of our homes here and move to our permanent sites. There is a high likelihood that I am going to cry my eyes out. Living with this family for the last 6 weeks I have grown to truly love them and saying good bye will prove to be very difficult for me. They are some of the most generous and caring people I have ever had the privilege to know, and boy am I going to miss my mama making me lunch every day! (Peanut butter, honey, and butter sandwich is possibly the best thing of my life right now)

But, I have left my mark on this family; their new puppy’s name is Carla. Oh yea beat that volunteer who comes after me :P

-Pictures of you!!!

-Your favorite recipes

-Flavored water packets

-Books, books, books!!!! Please I’ve read 6 books since I’ve been here.

-Ziploc bags

-A hole puncher

-AA Batteries

-Cliff bars/Luna bars/ Granola bars

-ANY fiber 1 product (especially the pop tarts)

-Dried fruit

-Mac and cheese

-Ramen noodles, lipton noodles (chicken flavored)

-Spices! Adobo, oregano, cumin

-Mate cocido tea, dulce de leche spread, dulce de la batata.. C’mon family!

-Various candies… butterfinger, Reeses, :D

-Grant/proposal writing books

-Little presents for children (even dollar store stuff, they’ll love it)

-Craft idea books

-Any kind of math help/tutor things, all grades

-Chutes and ladders – fun games to learn with

-Jewelry making projects

-funky nail polish

-lotions!!!! (money and lotion are the among the top things women have sex for here)

-Any little thing you would get for young girls (lip gloss, hair crap)

-Pens/pencils/ school supplies that can be given as prizes

-Toothbrushes for kids

If you are planning on sending anything, send the things for the kids. Also throw in a bunch of tampons on the top of the package, and write things such as: Thou shalt not steal, Jesus loves you, Jesus loves menstruation… Stealing mail is a reality unfortunately and since the robbers won’t touch any female products we can counteract them.

THANK YOU!!!

-What I have gathered is that the men here are very aggressive when interested in a woman. Partly because women here will say no even if they are interested, it says that she’s virtuous to say no first. (Makes it hard for us when we say no, but it means that we have to be very firm, almost rude, when stating that we are not interested)

-Domestic violence is a huge problem here. Open up the papers and there is some story of a boyfriend who murdered his girlfriend because she tried to leave him. It is not a hidden issue either. Some women believe that if her husband is not beating her then he doesn’t love her. (Common)

-Men are expected to have more than one woman (you’re not a man if you don’t) and

-When asked by their girlfriend about having another girlfriend, they ‘lie because they respect you’.

-Men and women are not really able to be friends like in the States, if you are seen with a man repeatedly it is because you are dating.

-Men are typically not allowed in the bedroom of a woman. Sitting on the bed is a huge no-no. (Side story: a fellow volunteer came over to visit me and he sat on my bed… my mama’s face was so funny. Oh cross cultural exchange)

-Accepting a drink from a man at a bar is an invitation for sex. (I do not plan to go into a single sheebean--bar)

-PDA is not common, it is something very private here. For example, a man will not hold his wife’s hand in public, but he can hold another man’s hand (for like 10 minutes) and it wouldn’t be a problem. Which leads me to:

Homosexuality:

Not an open topic at all. There is a push from some organizations to get condoms distributed to prisons, and several parlimenatry members, are against it and quoted as saying that if men were having sex with other men then they deserved to be infected with HIV.

So we have a long way to go for Gay Rights in Namibia

1904: The Herero extermination order is issued.

“I, the great general of the German troops, send this letter to the Herero people... All Hereros must leave this land... Any Herero found within the German borders with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I shall no longer receive any women or children; I will drive them back to their people or have them fired upon. This is my decision for the Herero people.” Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha, October 2nd, 1904

This widely unknown genocide is regarded as the century’s first example of genocide.

1905: Nama extermination order is issued.

1905: Survivors were placed into concentration camps, such as Shark Island.

It is these concentration camps that became a model for Hitler.

Dr. Fisher’s book, Human Hereditary Teaching and Racial Hygiene, where he determines that the Africans are inferior to Whites and should not be mixed with, was read by Hitler when he was imprisoned, and partially inspired him to write Mein Kampf.

Dr. Fisher student was Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, one of the drafters of Apartheid and 7th Prime Minister of South Africa.)

According to the 1985 United Nations Whitaker Report, some 65,000 Herero (80% of the total Herero population) and 10,000 Nama (50% of the total Nama population) were killed between 1904 and 1907.

The effects of this are still widely felt, but what is most surprising is that a lot of Namibians don’t know about it! When asked about it they will reference the statue in Windhoek. The Reiterdenkmal, statue is actually of a German general on his horse that was placed there as a monument to the German invaders.

One of the best trainings we have had so far was the last week, when we spoke about Race relations in Namibia. All of our Namibian trainers got into a circle and were told a certain ethnic group, then had to say the first thing that came to mind. Here are some of their responses for my people, The San:

Marginalized, Drunkards, Hunters, 1st Namibians, No land, Primitive, Vulnerable, and no vision.

Some of the things they said about some of the other ethnic groups: Drunkards, thieves, drunkards, like to fight, proud, drunkards…see a certain common denominator?

Then the most interesting, to me, was what they said about Americans:

Think they’re VIP’s, Rich, Want to rule the world, Love war, Exploiters, Hard working, Rich, pimped out cars, Dominating.

It was a really good session, take from it what you will. What do you all think?

-MCP; Multiple and concurrent partners.

-Low/ incorrect condom use

-High alcohol use

-Intergenerational sex, and extended from that are; Sugar daddies, and Suger mamas

-Transactional sex, and

-Low MC: male circumcision (circumcised men are ~60% less likely to become infected)

These are behavioral, except for MC, which is why they are so hard to change, but that is what the government is starting to target. There is a national media campaign, ‘Take Control’ that is really getting out there to spread the message, and it is estimated that 90% of Namibians know what HIV is and how to contract it.

The population of Namibia is ~2 million. In 2008 there were ~204,000 PLWHA (People living with HIV/AIDS). So that is a 15.3% in country.

Every 2 years the Ministry of Health and Social Services conducts a National HIV sentinel Survey. The sentinel study general objective is to estimate the HIV infection in pregnant women aged: 15-49. The 2008 results were 17.8% infection rate. Interestingly, HIV prevalence in Urban and Rural areas is the same as the national one of 17.8%

Treatment in Namibia:

In 1996 HAART (Highly active anti-retroviral treatment) is created, HIV is no longer a death sentence.

2003: HAART is made available in Namibia

Currently, there are 86,000 Namibians on HAART. And 85% of those in need of treatment are receiving it. ARV is (currently) free of charge in Namibia.

---For clarity sake: ARV (Anti retroviral) medicine is not needed until your CD4 counts drop below 200---

Namibia Land of the Brave

Music and text by Axali Doeseb

Namibia land of the brave

Freedom fight we have won

Glory to their bravery

Whose blood waters our freedom

We give our love and loyalty

Together in unity

Contrasting beautiful Namibia

Beloved the land

Of savannahs

Hold high the banner of liberty

Namibia our country

Namibia our motherland

We love thee.

We sing this and the American national anthem every day. Humorously, I get a little emotional every time we sing our anthem. “Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there” gets me every time. Partially being in another country and missing home, but also because it is a strong reminder that we are here as Americans and hold onto our own identity. Also, there is just something really powerful about Namibian and Americans uniting and all singing both anthems together. It’s cool.

Last week we found out our permanent sites and I am officially moving to Tsumkwe in 3weeks. I will be working with the San-people (more commonly called the Bushmen)! It is a really exciting opportunity to work with a group that has been so marginalized, isolated and impoverished from the rest of the world and from in country. I went for a site visit last week and it took about 10 hours to get there from Okahandja. Now this trip should have taken about 7, but such is life when others are driving you. The major town is Grootfontein which is 3 hours from Tsumkwe. It is a long dirt road with many potholes in it. So not much fun when you’re in the middle of 2 men in the front seat. My supervisor is a Bushman, and we work for the Ministry of Youth. I am a Regional Youth Officer, but I have no real job description. What he would like to see is me work on; computer trainings, HIV/AIDS, TB, teen-pregnancy, and alcohol/Drug abuse. This is both slightly overwhelming and exciting as I will be able to work on any project that I want to start. As of now I am most interested in starting an after school girls club, with a possible girls soccer team. However, the first 3 months I want to observe and do a “community needs assessment”. In a community so isolated from the rest of the country, I anticipate many challenges trying to integrate myself among them. Firstly, my Afrikaans is lacking, and the majority of the community speaks Jul’Hansi- a clicking language with 7 different clicks. Secondly, they are very, very traditional and are wary of outsiders. This poses its own unique challenges as I wonder how I will be received. For the Peace Corps, I am the first volunteer in 10 years to that region simply because it is so harsh (from what I gather) and because of its isolation. My accommodation is in the community center, it is an apartment (really nice and large) but it is apart from the community, gated, and has security 24 hour security. I wonder what they must think of me living there. Will they understand it, or see it as me trying to separate myself?

Well I have 3 weeks to do research and try to get better at Afrikaans… totsiens for now!

I have limited access to internet so I am very sorry for the delay in the post. Well Namibia is HOT!!! I am training in Okahandja, about 45 minutes north of Windhoek, I will be sworn in as a volunteer on April 16th. So now I am in administrative hell, aka PST (pre-service training) My schedule is as followed: 7:00-8:00 morning announcements, 8-12 Language. 1-5 technical training. 5-8 time with host families. 8-10 Studying then bed. Every day same schedule :0

My host family is incredibly nice and generous with me. It has been very humbling to live with a family that has so little yet gives so much. Other than that, I'm always busy and always "on". Everything we do is watched and talked about. So that can be challenging, and personal space is something to be desired. I will update soon.

Carla Dominguez

Peace Corps office

PO Box 6862

20 Nachtigal St.

Ausspannplatz

Windhoek

Namibia