So I realize I am possibly the least reliable and consistent blogger, I’m sorry to all of you who do read this. I figure because we are now in the second month of 2012 I should update this blog before we get too far into the new year without a single post. Anyways life in [...]

Sometimes you don’t realize the little things you do or say until someone points them out.  In my case my learners love to copy things that I say frequently.  Apparently I say “Oh my goodness” a lot because they walk around the school yard squealing “Oh my goodness”, they even seem to know when I [...]

Living in Namibia, and more specifically my part of Namibia I’ve become pretty ignorant about what is going on in the world, though after spending the day reading magazines with story after story about the American recession I am feeling like it’s kind of nice being removed from this situation.  Anyways I have managed to [...]

It’s crazy to realize that I’ve been in Namibia and more specifically Iilyateko over a year now.  All I can say is it has been quite a year, to sum up my experience would require me to write a novel.  I’ll spare you all the boredom of reading my novel because it wouldn’t necessarily be [...]

It’s been a while. You can assume generally that if you haven’t heard much from me that is just a sign that everything is going well in Namibia, which indeed it is! So I am now in my 3rd term of teaching which is crazy because besides for the fact I am not scared shitless [...]

Trips to Outapi are always a refreshing break from village life.  It’s nice to be in the company of Americans (and Swiss) from time to time who understand everything you say and just in general the trials of being a volunteer.  I recently escaped marking countless papers to go to Outapi for the weekend to a birthday party.  We had a lovely [...]

Today wraps up my week in Windhoek for July.  Peace Corps called us down to the capital city first to conduct our mid-service training (can you believe it that my service is half way through, I know it’s bizarre), but also for an All Volunteer Conference to celebrate 50 years since the first volunteers boarded [...]

So as a language teacher the one thing that drives me beyond crazy is that my learners seem to believe that they can change the spelling for pretty much any word.  Most of the learners are of the opinion that “l” and “r” are interchangeable, “h” is optional, and that words can be sounded out [...]

Last weekend learners from my school decided to compete in a tournament being held by a nearby school in Tsandi and I decided that I would tag along with the team for support.   My friend’s school was also competing in the same tournament so we met up and were able to chat and hang out [...]

This blogging thing is really difficult to keep up with. Not because I am busy or lazy, but internet access is incredibly limited on my side of Namibia. I go for months using only the internet on my phone which consists of Facebook, Gmail (when it works) and the occasional basic Google search. I have [...]

So it has been nearly three weeks since I have returned from a two month hiatus from the village.  It feels so good to be back or at least felt so good to be back.  I recently had to leave for a couple of days because of an infection.  I am currently in Ondangwa, a [...]

Part 1: A Zambian Holiday I am officially on holiday! I’ve spent the last few weeks bumming around southern Namibia checking out a few of the towns including Keetmanshoop, Mariental, Tses, etc. It was really interesting to see some of the towns and villages other volunteers live in. The amenities were drastically different, as in [...]

Living in Mariental for the time being is certainly different from living in Northern Namibia.  For one the north is more or less homogenous with mostly the Owambo people living in that region.  Where as the south is pretty diverse with representation from nearly all the Namibian tribes.  For this reason you hear more English as it is the [...]

(This is a post from last week…) So today in the middle of class my phone went off and I found out from the Peace Corps that my principal was about to close school because the flood waters have gotten unbearable for many of the learners.  After talking to some of my learners, and yes [...]

As of now I am on the road heading southbound in Namibia for my new temporary site.  I don’t know how many of you are aware what is happening here or how publicized the floods are in northern Namibia, but the rains have been pretty heavy for the last few weeks and the flood water [...]

February 25, 2011 In the past 6 months I’ve learned that there really is much that can be gained from removing oneself from their own culture, transplanting yourself in a new one and then on top of that having massive amounts of time to reflect. Recently I realized just how brainwashed I’ve been from spending [...]

  A few pics of Grade 8B! So it has been a while since I last updated my blog. I am doing well here in Namibia though. School started on January 17th and I have now survived three weeks of school. Two weeks ago was a tad crazy because I went to Ongwediva for a [...]

Lindsey, You had me on the edge of my seat with your story. I would have cried too, if that makes you feel any better. The best part of the story was all the kindness that was shown to you. People are good:) Good luck with your classes this week. Kim

Hi Lindsey, You had me on the edge of my seat with your rain/hospital story. I would have cried too if that makes you feel any better. The best part was all the kindness that was shown to you. People are good:) Good luck with your classes this week. Those kids are going to love you. Kim

As always, I continue to love reading about your tales! Getting excited to hear about your teaching experiences! Best of luck for a great first week! Christine

Before I start this let me acknowledge that I do realize I owe many of you messages, and they are coming it just takes some time to type letters on a phone key pad. Though I’d imagine Peace Corps volunteers from 10 years ago, heck probably 5 years ago would shocked that we have access [...]

I’ve mentioned it before but travelling in Namibia can be quite strange. For one you never really know how long it will take, what towns you’ll stop in or even go to for that matter, and you never know who you will meet along the way. I am currently on my way back to The [...]

Wow, that sounded like an great Christmas! wish I had a Christmas that good. Happy 2011! -Nat & Nicho Mattner

Lindsey, Is good to hear from you. I am glad that you had a chance to go to Namibia and be back with civilization. Unfortunately, it does show the contrast between the universal battle between the people with wealth and the people without. No social system has been able to address this issue successfully. The answers to the problem are not so difficult but the willingness to implement is usually not there. Nonetheless, I am happy that you have a respit from the meager conditions you and your Namibia family face on a daily basis. It is hard to believe that four months have past since you left the conforts of home. We miss you and hope you could travel back for the holidays and be with your family. However, we are immensely proud for your courage and determination. I know this is openning your eyes to realities of life which you have a chance to change, even if it is in a small measure. The united contribution of all volunteers will make a big difference in the lives of many. We love you and wish you a Happy and Safe and Successfull 2011. Diana

So as I write this I’m sitting in my tent literally a 5 minute walk from the cool Atlantic waters. I am on holiday in Swakopmund with about 30 friends who are also Peace Corps volunteers for both Christmas and New Years. Our campsite looks like a bit of a hoover ville scene littered with [...]

So I’ve made it back from Windhoek just in time to attend a part of a wedding for a teacher at my school and the following day move onto my homestead. The wedding was really nice complete with candles in the shape of a heart in the sand, Christmas lights powered by a noisy generator [...]

Lindsey What suggestions were given? Maybe you need a baseball Bat. That cannot be considered a weapon but can cause damage if you hit someone at the knees or the face. Be careful

we continue to enjoy reading your adventures, thoughts, analysis, and hear your general joy...not least while i am grading capstone papers--how far away does that seem, pal? seriously, you're an inspiration. eric

You are an angel for I can feel what you are feeling and you make me feel very good. Thanks so much for sharing. My daughter is Kim who forward me your note. If you see Ryan Hauptman, he is my grandson there too. May God have mercy on you and you extended family! Robin

I hope it is a safe as they say. You missing your host family, feeling ready to get back to your site, moving in with your family for the holidays, describing your feelings about "brother", "sister" and "mother" warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes. You are a blessing to each other. Keep writing and sharing your experience. I feel slightly a part of the Namibia Peace Corps experience from 8200 miles away. God bless you.

So this is a kind of funny story. We are at ReConnect like I’ve mentioned before and the week began with our Safety and Security Officer asking us what questions we have about safety and security. So I raised my hand because I’ve been wondering about safety strategies for the village because those we learn [...]

A couple of thoughts.... You hit the nail on the head with the last part of your entry. Change will occur if the community that you are volunteering buys into the projects that need to be done. As you look around you see a lot that can be done. I am hoping that other see the need and are willing to roll up their sleeves and help. I am wondering if zinc homes are plentiful because that is what is available for building material. While the homes feel like an oven to you, I wonder if the residents feel the same way? People tend to adapt to what they are used to. 50 years ago central air conditioning was not prevalent in the United States. People must have adapted and learned how to live in the hotter climates. Development is a double edged sword. Having unlimited access to water and electricity are wonderful, however there is a hidden cost to obtaining them that we forget about in our lives. Balancing use of resources while maintaining a healthy Earth is hard to do.

In coming together for ReConnect I have had some discussions with other volunteers about the meaning of development.  In Namibia, the land of contrast, you find people living in huts and shacks North of the red line for the most part and in Windhoek alone you find both larges homes and shacks separated by only [...]

Okay so I am working on uploading videos of my new home to the internet…as of now it is a slow process because I don’t have very reliable internet, but I’ve uploaded 1 video from our Funny Day at Iilateko and these are some of the girls dancing, not traditional dancing, I’ll work on getting [...]

One thing that is so interesting is the learner’s struggles to conceptualize the United States or America.  For many of them me and other volunteers are the only thing that they know of the United States.  I am constantly struggling to explain that in America we live in a pretty diverse country with people from [...]

We are in the midst of Reconnect which completes our training phase.  I have made some realizations over the last few days along the way to Reconnect.  The first thing being that my home in Namibia is officially my village.  Upon leaving I felt sad knowing that I wasn’t going to see the teachers, my [...]

This past week has been one of my better weeks here in Namibia. It also marks my third month here in Namibia (3 down, 25 to go). I am unsure if it actually feels like it has been 3 months. Part of me feels like it was just yesterday that I left, while the other [...]

Uh-oh Miss Lindsey is upset… (11-11-10) Yesterday was the first time I got really angry at any of my classes here.  I was doing a lesson on HIV and AIDS with Grade 7 and the class consisted of an activity where I wrote sentences, both true and false on strips of paper about HIV/AIDS and [...]

So I have officially survived my first week in the village.  So it was my first week here in Ilyateko, my first time to go on a field trip as a teacher, my first time to get lost in the Namibian bush, first time to get crazy dreams from the malaria medicine, my first Namibian [...]

October 19, 2010 I arrived in Iilyateko on Saturday night after a long drive up from Okahandja.  We left Okahandja before 9:30 AM and arrived in the Omusati region around 6:30 PM, and then it was another hour or so before we arrived in the village.  For now I am living in teacher housing right [...]

October 15, 2010 Today we celebrated the Swear-In of Namibia’s 32 group of Peace Corps volunteers and I am finally considered to be a volunteer and no longer a trainee!  I can honestly say that I have never worked quite so hard just for the title of “volunteer,” but I think that what is to [...]

This will be the first of I am sure many opportunities to help my school in Namibia, Iilyateko Combined School.   This first project that I need help with is collecting school supplies.  Before coming to Namibia I participated through my schooling in a number of school supply drives for needy schools but I never quite [...]

Things here are wrapping up as our Peace Corps Training comes to an end on Friday, October 15, with Group 32’s swearing in ceremony.  Today we took our LPIs (Language Proficiency tests), and I don’t know what I scored, but I am happy because this LPI went much better than our mid-LPI back in September.  [...]