Peace Corps Journals

Free-time

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Namibia goes Vromantic... or not

2012-06-01 23:14:00

One of the difficult aspects of being a PCV is: what can I do in my free-time? Before coming to Namibia, I projected hundreds of scenarios in which I somehow figured out what to do with myself. The funny thing is - I still don't know the answer. Free-time is one of those things where one constantly rediscovers what to do. Peace Corps would probably tell me to work on my secondary projects once I am comfortable enough with the initial demands of being a teacher in a foreign country. VSN (Volunteer Support Network) and most volunteers would recommend one or more of the following activities: read more (bring a kindle!), exercise (bring running shoes!), lift weights (make them out of concrete and random plastic bottles!), buy phone-credit and call people, learn to cook/bake, write a blog, start a knitting project, learn to play a new instrument (don’t buy a violin and never play it…. *cough*PCV IN BETHANIE**cough*), play hop-scotch with street kids, or start a secondary project.

If you are a future or aspiring PCV, it is impossible to predict how you will deal with entire afternoons or weekends of free-time. I did not know that I would have access to a solar-cooker. I also could never have predicted that I would learn to brew substantial quantities of traditional Ovambo beer and non-alcohol brews like oshikundu.

Here is a picture of the solar cooker on our homestead.

No one knows how or when it got there. I saved it from total destruction when one of the girls on my homestead had no idea what it was, and used the center pot-holder as a CHAIR. I took care of it, cleaned it, and taught the family how to cook using the sun’s heat. Does this count as a secondary project? I hope so.

The final product: lentils, rice and onions in a curry flavored brew

Aside from cooking beans and legumes during my spare time, I also re-discovered the joys of baking. (Don't judge me - this carrot/raisin cake was delicious. Just ask Rick!) Unfortunately, my oven is out of commission; I had to travel to Ondangwa (54km from my village) to use Rick’s.

Carrot/raisin caaaaaake!

I'm pretty sure that 'brewing' does not fall under the category of secondary projects, though cultural integration is an integral aspect of being a PCV. I wrote an article about oshikundu, but it is quite out-dated now. Here is a picture of a fresh oshikundu brew (left) and tombo (right), an alcholic beverage.

Aside from discovering new foods and beverages, I am currently in need of new books as well as the third season of Dexter!

Since I have been gone this song has become really really...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Where in the World is Flick?

2012-05-31 11:36:35

Since I have been gone this song has become really really popular. I heard it everywhere in Windhoek, and blasting out of the shabeens as I walk by.

Reinstatement!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Where in the World is Flick?

2012-05-30 15:58:07

As I am sure you have already figured out, I had to leave Namibia in the last part of October. I...

thefluffingtonpost: SURVEY: 86% of Americans Think Cats Are...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Trevor WENT to Namibia

2012-05-30 02:56:32

thefluffingtonpost:

SURVEY: 86% of Americans Think Cats Are Weirdos

The latest Pew Research survey finds that a whopping 86% of American adults think cats are strange.

“We found most people are disturbed by their odd sense of comfort,” explains Linda Cornish, who led the study. “Cats squeeze into tiny containers or sleep in an upside-down ball and still seem as snug as ever. What’s up with that?”

Merlin, submitted by Trevor Sudano.

Our kitty is famous!!!

Owambo Traditional Dancing

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia 8200 Miles from Home

2012-05-30 07:49:49

In Southern Africa it’s all about the feet, so here are a few pics of my learners dancing at our Independence Day celebration at school.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia DEAR KENYA,

2012-05-29 08:14:00

Dear Man in front of me in line at breakfast,

I like your fancy suit. You made me a little self-conscious about what I was wearing (reefs, leggings, long skirt, t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, smock, scarf) so I made a joke about looking homeless (which is pretty accurate).

Then you said I just looked like I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. Which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Then you told me you were the Director of the Office of Global Health and HIV for the Peace Corps. Which made me feel like I wish I was wearing something nicer when I met you...

Maybe next time. But probably not.

This is pretty standard,
r

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia DEAR KENYA,

2012-05-28 19:02:00

Dear Kenyan Professor,

Remember when you wanted to know who was from Emory and who was from Kenya? And it went something like this...

"Can everyone from St. Paul's raise their hands?" [[all the black people raise their hands]]
"Can everyone from Emory raise their hands?" [[all the white people raise their hands]]

That felt a little awkward. And unnecessary.

But mostly unnecessary,
r

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia DEAR KENYA,

2012-05-28 19:08:00

Dear Namibians,

You'll be happy to know that you are not the only ones who let your cell phones ring during important things (i.e. while you're lecturing during class or during the opening ceremony of a prestigious conference).

Apparently little progress has been made on this issue in the past 3 years.

Millenium Development Goal #9, anyone?

Hopeful,
r

Brief Notes on my Vacation

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia No Ceiling

2012-05-28 13:50:22

Just 50km from my site rise the Naukluft mountains which boast zebra, springbokke, leopards, baboons and a 120 km seven-to-eight day hiking trail. I won’t say much about this other than to highly recommend it to your average African-adventurer-masochistic-tourist because it was essentially an endurance suffer-fest crossed with a safari. On the fourth day, the [...]

Fish River Canyon

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Namibian Rob

2012-05-28 04:28:00

After nearly dying (I’m not being melodramatic) on the Naukluft hiking trail; myself and eleven friends decided to go Fish River Canyon, which is the world’s second largest canyon. I wore my running shoes instead of my hiking boots hoping that my feet would fare better than they did at Naukluft. The first day we made the descent into the canyon I learned a very important lesson. I don’t rock climb because of a horrible fear of heights. At Fish River Canyon I learned that heights are a relative term and I don’t like places that are great depths either. I was one of the slowest people down the near vertical descent. The first day involved a lot of light bouldering over large rock slides. After a few hours of hiking it became very apparent that twelve people might be too much diversity in hiking. By the end of the first day the six of us who also hiked Naukluft had descended and gone 10km. The rest of the group had not and didn’t meet up with us at night. This creates a problem because I was sharing a tent with a person who didn’t meet up and food with a girl who didn’t show up. I had the stove, gas, and Martin had food so we ate but she had to bum food off another group member. Day two came and we took a leisurely morning waiting for the other group. They caught up and we agreed on a hiking strategy. The front group would stop at 11am and wait for the others to catch up (likely around 12) so we can all eat lunch together. The group started hiking and this time broke into three groups. Three members sped ahead, myself, Martin and Kim held back and helped the final six who were having problems with blisters, pack size, and bad knees. The three of us hiked in front but always stayed in sight and were always careful to help and give advice about easy paths to those behind us. The three of us made it to the front group at 12:15pm after leaving the back group at a river crossing. The back group caught up at 1:30pm because they decided to stop for lunch. It was decided at lunch that four people (the four fastest were a food group) would finish the hike in four days and the rest of us in 5. Martin and I stayed behind in the slow group because of our other food group member. By the end of the day the slow group had made it to roughly the 27km point of a 90km hike. Day three I realized there were several people in the group I didn’t want to hike with. I have no problem carrying food or gas or anything that will help that will help the group but, if someone has packed too many personal/unnecessary items, I won’t carry that for you. At that point it’s your own fault for your problems. By the end of day three I was worried. We hadn’t made it to the 50km marker and we only had two days of food and gas left. Some in the group talked about turning it into a six day hike and I was very against that idea. Had they tried I would’ve walked alone and done it in five if I had to. Luckily for us day four had several short cuts and we were able to take those all the way to the 80km marker though we really only walked about 18km. Day four was great because it put us all at ease. I wasn’t the only one worrying and we nearly split a second time. At the end of day four we found a nice sandy beach that we camped on and I went for a swim. Day five was an easy hike about 10km to Ai-Ais. We were in by about 9:15 The first group was supposed to wait and meet us to discuss transport out. they were gone by the time we arrived because they got a ride with some people from NWR (Namibia Wildlife…) and arranged for a combi to take the rest of us. Some people were pretty upset they didn’t wait for us but I didn’t care much. I was pretty happy that we made it to the end without me skipping any meals. However after Naukluft and Fish River Canyon I seem to have lost another 10 pounds or so. It’s hard to keep up caloric intake if you have to carry all your food. On the other hand, I’ve been eating like a mad man since coming back. On another awesome note, my friend Matt Flick has return to Peace Corps after being medically separated for seven months. We’re all pretty happy to have him back.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia DEAR KENYA,

2012-05-27 18:56:00

Dear Winter in Kenya,

I did NOT know I was going to be meeting you here. I am woefully unprepared. The warmest thing I packed was my sleeping bag and I don't think that's appropriate business-wear.

No offense but I'm hoping for a Global Warming miracle.

WARM regards,
r

to get to zambia from botswana, we had to take a rather sketchy...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-27 11:43:21

to get to zambia from botswana, we had to take a rather sketchy ferry across the river. we shared it with several other passengers and a lorry (namibian term for a semi-truck).

the first picture is the bridge over the river just below...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-27 11:56:00

beneath the bridge

the crazies: gio & alex

the sane: me & sam (& shannon)

alex.

gio.

the first picture is the bridge over the river just below victoria falls. to the left is zimbabwe and to the right is zambia. that small house in the middle of the bridge is the place where, if you so choose, can take part in several bad decisions involving a harness, rope, and dangling yourself above the rushing river. well, some crazies in our group decided that they wanted to go bungee jumping. watching was enough for me.

the trails around mosi-oa-tunya national park bring you right...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-27 12:08:51

the trails around mosi-oa-tunya national park bring you right next to the falls. RIGHT next to the falls. since we went at the end of the rainy season, the river is high. so the constant mist rising from the crashing water made it seem like it was raining. we got soaked.

my dry camera and wallet brought to you by ziploc.

fun in livingstone livingstone is a great town—food, open...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-27 12:25:00

fun in livingstone

livingstone is a great town—food, open market, night life, taxi drivers, second-hand stores are all great. yes, we managed to find a few second-hand stores. they sold clothes that have presumably been donated from the united states. so essentially, we shopped in a couple Zambian Goodwills. that evening we had an all-inclusive river cruise scheduled, so we decided we needed classy outfits for the event. photos from the event to follow…but yes, sam did in fact fall in love with and purchase that shirt.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia DEAR KENYA,

2012-05-25 21:43:00

Dear Kenyan woman next to me on the plane,

Thanks for the abrupt introduction back into African culture (i.e. when you shoved your hand under my butt in order to hand me the pillow I was sitting on).

I'm baaack,
r

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia DEAR KENYA,

2012-05-25 21:45:00

Dear Taxi driver,

The ride from the airport to our hotel took about 15 minutes. During this period, you used your wiper fluid 24 times. (Seriously, I counted.) Is that really necessarily? Especially if it's already raining?

Just wondering,
r

Fish River Canyon

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Adventures in Namibia

2012-05-24 23:15:00

Over roughly the last 4 days and 5 nights, we finally got to go backpacking in the Fish River Canyon. (The second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon.) After descending, you reach an 86-km trail (before factoring in the shortcuts) that follows the riverbed. And I have to say that I was quite pleased to have escaped this hike with few blisters and zero painkillers- unlike last year's Naukluft hike!

Here is a view outside the canyon:

And here are some more shots during our hike inside the canyon. It's pretty cool because you start forgetting you're actually in a canyon in the first place.

Wildlife we saw included wild horses, baboons, and this snake that we can't quite identify. Maybe an adder of some kind? It has horns!

Especially since this was our last Peace Corps holiday, it was nice to spend the time with a bunch of fellow volunteers. Telling teaching stories. Trying to figure out the remaining mysteries of Namibian culture. Playing Truth-or-Dare around the campfire. (Kevin's Dare had to be the best and most hilarious, the details of which I will not post publicly, leaving them in the hands of your imagination! Why he chose Dare in the first place, I do not know!)

And now it's just about back to school for us!

Zanzibar Continued

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia My Adventures in Africa

2012-05-23 15:37:00

Once we arrived in Dar es Salaam, we took a taxi to our hotel. Since we were a day late for our reservation, I was a little worried they might not have our room, or would make us pay for the previous night, but the owner was super nice! I definitely recommend staying at Jambo Inn on Libya Street.

The hotel has a restaurant downstairs where we ate that first night. It was delicious! Such variety on the menu. I had Indian food - don't remember which dish though. But I do remember the watermelon juice. I could not get enough! We had dinner with our friend Muhammed whom we met on the train and his friend who lives in Dar. After dinner they took us to a restaurant/bar and we had some drinks there. It was empty except us, but it was a nice low-key night after so much traveling!

The next day we woke up and started exploring the city. We had a limited time because we were scheduled to catch the 3:30pm ferry to Zanzibar. The city is full of people. It's mostly a Muslim country and many of the women wear the head scarves. The different materials are so beautiful. We looked at some shops and I bought a pair of earrings. I also enjoyed a lot of different street food, such as kabobs, fried bananas, sugar cane juice, pastries/donuts. They were all very tasty and inexpensive.

The lady that makes jewelry including the earrings I bought.

Sugar Cane Juice - YUM!

That afternoon we took the ferry over to Zanzibar. It's about a two hour ferry ride, and was a very nice ride. The wind blowing, the sound of the water...reminded me how much I really love being around water! We stood outside the whole time and enjoyed the fresh air. We arrived in Stone Town and had to go through immigration again. And we had to show that we had a yellow fever vaccination. Glad PC keeps us updated on all our vaccines!

We arrived in Stone Town late, so we stayed at the hotel that night. Our hotel had a great roof top terrace where we relaxed. The next day we went on a Spice Tour and a tour of the Jozani Natural Forest Reserve. We had a driver and tour guide just to ourselves, and it really made the day special.

The tree above is located in the area of the Red Colobus Monkey (pictured below). It is dead now because the monkeys eat all the leaves which eventually kills the tree. But it really looks beautiful to me.

These monkeys are not scared of humans - but I was a little scared of them. They are relatively small creatures, and seem to be harmless. They are not afraid of humans at all and jumped in front of us multiple times to get to new leaves to eat. The thing that scared me a little was seeing their teeth - they looked very sharp and when they screeched and bared their teeth - I was ready to keep my distance! But it was great to see animals up so close. We also took a tour of the Mangrove Swamp. Such an interesting place! When the tide comes and goes, this area's water rises as well. The tree roots are all over the place! This area helps with flooding of the main land, keeping the water from flowing too fast to do damage.

Below is a seed of the trees. We were able to plant it just by dropping this seed into the mud below. It sticks into the mud and then starts growing in the trees. I wonder how many survive to adulthood since there area a lot of little saplings.

After our tour of the forest and swamp, we enjoyed a delicious meal before starting our Spice Tour. The Spice Farm we visited is just for tours and has many different plants to show the variety of spices that are produced on the island. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and a very good guide. His assistant would go ahead of us to gather leaves and such. He would climb up the trees with such ease.

Our tour guide with a piece of star fruit on his forehead.

They gave us leaves made into cones where we were able to place the leaves and roots of the different spices. We saw turmeric, lemon grass, cinnamon, nutmeg, among others.

This plant is called Touch-Me-Not. The leaves close up when you touch them. It was very entertaining - I don't think we left until we had touched all the leaves!

They made us many things from leaves including these glasses, a frog necklace, a ring and bracelet. We also were given crowns and a hand-basket. They made us feel like Queens!

This is nutmeg.

There is also a plant that is used as a natural lipstick.

This guy climbs all the way to the top of the trees to get the coconuts. He was very entertaining singing and playing as he climbed up. He used a special "rope" around his feet to help him climb.

And afterwards, we got to enjoy some coconut juice/water.

The Spice Queen in front of the Indian Ocean.

Before the tour was over, we made a stop at an old Persian Bath.

Then we went to the open market back in Stone Town to enjoy street food for our dinner. They had such variety including all types of seafood. You picked what you wanted and they heated it up before serving it to you. We had more sugar cane juice as well.

Wanting to eat with us were many, many cats. They were all over the city!

They also had pizza - I had this one with banana, chocolate, and nutella. It was delicious! And the guy that worked at the stall happened to be at the spice farm we went to earlier in the day - small world.

The next day we went out exploring Stone Town. There are many old buildings with beautiful doors.

And small alley ways that you walk through. It's so easy to get lost. But then you turn a corner and there are tons of shops! I bought some art work and some clothes. I wanted more time to spend in the city. But we had to leave to go to the East side of the island to spend a few days on the beach.

Dressing up for dinner our first night on the East side in my new dress.

BEACH!

I went snorkeling for the first time. It was so great. We were met on the beach by our captain and we walked over to the boat. It was a homemade boat that was very narrow and was weighted on both sides to keep it from tipping over. The ocean in this area is very shallow for a long ways - you can see the waves breaking far away - maybe a km or so. The captain moved the boat by using a long stick that he stuck into the sand and pushed the boat along. It looked very tiring to us, but he said it was not hard at all; he's been doing it all his life. Once we were in the spot we jumped overboard to begin snorkeling. I was trying to go too far below the surface at first and choked on the salty water. But once I just floated on the surface I really enjoyed the experience. I saw a lot of different coral and fish. My favorite was this starfish I kept seeing. It was grey with red and orange along the tips. It was so beautiful. I wish I had an underwater camera - but I found an image of the starfish online:

The next day was spent on the beach in the morning and then just in the lobby area in the afternoon - it rained every day we were at the beach which wasn't ideal, but I guess that happens when you go during rainy season. But it was still a great relaxing way to end the trip. Then the next day I had to go all the way back to Dar es Salaam because I was flying back the following day. It was a relaxing morning and then we left to back to Stone Town. I really could have used more time in all three places - Dar, Stone Town, and the beach.

The ferry ride back to Dar was not fun - it was raining again and it was a VERY bumpy ride. They started handing out sick bags to everyone which made me get very worried. I'm thankful I have a strong stomach and I was sitting by the window to stare out at the horizon. I made it back to Dar safely and went to bed early since I had an early flight the next day. But I did have another watermelon juice!

I had a long layover in the Johannesburg airport. As I was waiting, a couple sat down next to me and asked where I was traveling. I told them Namibia and the man was born in Namibia (or South West Africa as it was before independence). I explained that I'm a volunteer teacher in the South. He asked where and I said Tses - which he knew where it was! His family had/has a farm very close to where I'm living. Small, small world!

I really enjoyed my time in Tanzania and wish I could have stayed longer. It might be a stop on my way back to the States after I'm finished with my service.

Zanzibar

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia My Adventures in Africa

2012-05-22 15:40:00

I have to say - it's really nice being a teacher - having a whole month off to travel! My holiday began by helping facilitate Southern Girls Conference. I plan to do another post regarding the conference because it was really wonderful and I had a great time attending. Also, five of my learners attended and seemed to really enjoy themselves. More on that later.

After the conference I started my journey to Tanzania. It took a total of 7 days to go from Windhoek to Dar es Salaam! But as one of my fellow travelers Allie said, "the journey is the destination". We stopped in Rundu at another volunteers place where we were treated to a delicious meal and a nice place to rest. But we did not rest for very long; we woke up early the next day because we wanted to travel all the way to Livingstone. It was unclear if the train we were to take was going to leave Thursday or Friday. Luckily it was Friday it left, so we had a day to enjoy Victoria Falls.

This was my second time to see Victoria Falls and it was worth it again! The park is so beautiful and the falls are so much fun to get soaking wet under! There are many baboons in the park, and we were warned to keep food away from them. So we put all our food into a backpack and went on our way. However, one of the baboons decided to mug Julie! I was behind her, so I saw the baboon come up, reach up on its hind legs, and take the backpack! Luckily there were some guys around who knew what to do. We let the baboons take out the bread and apples and then they dropped the rest of the stuff. These creatures are so smart - they were able to take the camera out of a plastic bag, and unzip the case and remove the camera! That is why they scare me some.

After the baboon attack, we walked across the bridge where you get completely wet because of the spray from the falls. It seemed like there was less water this year than last, but I still was completely soaked! At one point, there was a group of guys singing in the "rain" from the falls and we joined in their group. They were singing "shake your bum, bum"; it was very entertaining.

After the falls, we boarded our bus that would take us to the train station. The bus ride was long and overnight. One interesting/frightening thing was that on the road, a lorry (semi) truck stopped in the middle of the road blocking both sides. It was told to us he did this because someone had messed with his trailer hitch and he was afraid he was going to be robbed. It caused quite a disturbance on the road. I was glad when we were finally able to pass. Other than that, our bus ride was non-eventful.

We arrived at the train station early in the day and had to wait a few hours before we could board. During this time, a few of us went exploring around the town. We ended up talking with some locals and learned a lot about Zambia, including the different tribes and languages. We were told there are 72 different tribes/languages in Zambia...hard to believe! We also played with the children and sang songs with them. It was a great way to pass the time!

We boarded the train at 2pm on Friday and spent the next four days on the train. It sounds like a really long time, but the time really passed quickly. It was enjoyable. The train is old and makes a thousand stops, but I'm really glad I took it. I was able to see so much of Zambia and Tanzania which are both really beautiful. And watching all the locals come up to the train to sell things like nuts, bananas, avocados, meat, etc. was a lot of fun. The kids all ran up to the train too. It was interesting that they kept asking for pens. Unfortunately I didn't have any extra pens to give them, but if anyone else goes - bring pens!

The train had a lounge car and a dinning car. They served breakfast, lunch and dinner. Which were all good - but after day 2 having the same thing for lunch and dinner started getting a little old. They served rice or porridge with fish, beef or chicken all served with a tomato "soup"/sauce. It was tasty and cheap. They also served cool drinks and beer. I tried two new kinds of beer and a new flavor of Fanta. It was passion fruit flavored and was delicious! I only had it twice on the train and then couldn't find it once we were off. Very disappointing.

Our train ride was only supposed to take 3 days, but because there was an accident further up the tracks, we were stuck in one spot for 14 hours! It wasn't terrible...except for the bathrooms. The toilets (or holes really) just went straight out of the train. Which is fine when it's moving, but a problem when you are standing still for so long. Not pleasant!

Finally we arrived on Monday at 2pm in Dar es Salaam. More of the trip to come in the following posts!

Last International Holiday

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia 8200 Miles from Home

2012-05-22 07:48:38

How weird is that, this most recent trip to Cape Town was my last long holiday that I will be doing any international traveling. I don’t like to think of the remainder of my time as a countdown of time in Namibia but instead think about the fact I still have two more terms at [...]

i just got back from an amazing holiday. myself and a few other...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-20 17:44:32

i just got back from an amazing holiday. myself and a few other volunteers went to chobe national park in kasane, botswana and victoria falls in livingstone, zambia. on our way out of the country, we stopped in katima mulilo to camp at the super fancy protea hotel. by camping, we got all the perks of the fancyschmancy (delicious cobb salad, hot shower, flush toilet, etc.) but didn’t have to pay the fancyschmancy price of a room. this is the sunset over the zambezi river right next to our campsite.

getting from namibia to botswana without our own car was...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-20 17:53:00

getting from namibia to botswana without our own car was interesting. after taking a taxi to the namibian border post, we had to walk 2km across the border to the botswana border post. the view was too pretty for us not to take a time out/picture break. the first picture is alex, shannon, and me. the next is sam over there chillin.

chobe river game cruise. (click on the picture to enlarge)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-20 19:06:24

the crew

hippo

fish eagle from afar

fish eagle

pretty bird

croc

monitor lizard

egrets

water buffalo

chobe river game cruise.

(click on the picture to enlarge)

the chobe river has hippos like whoa. when they’re in the...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-20 19:13:47

the chobe river has hippos like whoa. when they’re in the water, they’re really difficult to get good pictures of. but all of those rock looking things in the water is a big happy family of the big guys. i took some pictures of other boats to give you an idea of how close we got.

chobe national park has one of the highest populations of...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-20 19:28:00

chobe national park has one of the highest populations of elephants in the world. that evening, we easily saw over 100 elephants. but even more lucky for us, as we were cruising, an elephant family decided to swim across the river to an island of reeds. at one point, our boat was surrounded by elephants. it was definitely one of the most spectacular things i have ever seen.

Free-hiking Memoirs: A Foundation

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Namibia goes Vromantic... or not

2012-05-20 20:05:00

I made it a habit to record my hitch-hiking activities (and regular combi-rides or train-fare) in order to keep track of where and when I travel. The following are notes which were saved in my phone - with comments in brackets [ ] for your reading pleasure. The dates are omitted because I did not record dates until recently.

1 - Namibian police officer driving to Windhoek with his wife and daughter (in a Benz) with Alex, [not free] from Ondangwa to Okahandja (610km or 380mi)
[This was mine and Alex's first hike EVER; It was our way back to training from site visit in September 2011. Our principals gathered around to arrange combi's to transport us, the Ovambo-land volunteers, back to Okahandja, but Alex and I wanted to be gung-ho and get this hiking thing out of the way. When we walked down the street towards the hike point, the taxi drivers harassed us by pulling our bags and trying to lull us into their taxi/combi. Little did we know that the 'real' hike point was 7km away from where we were. Alex's principal ended up taking us and we didn't have to wait too long!]

2 - Daryl (a Afrikaner/Namibian living in Ondangwa) drove Carrie, Chelsea and I from Ondangwa to Omuthiya (81km or 50 miles) for free.
[This was the first leg of the journey to Re-connect in Windhoek, in December 2011. We had already been at our sites for 6 weeks and were anxious (?) to be re-united with the rest of our group. Very happy trip.]

3 - Benz, Meme Hilya's brother. Omuthiya to Otjiwarongo (350km or 219mi) for free.
[This was my third hike ever, and my second hike ever in a mercedes. After 30 minutes of small talk, I mention to the driver that my principal's name is also 'Paulus'. He says "Hmm that's funny; my sister's principal is also Paulus". Upon closer investigation, his last name is the same as my co-worker....because he is her brother. He called her and gave me the phone so I could confuse the bejeezus out of her for a few minutes. We somehow convinced her that we've been friends for years. Towards the last 100km stretch, he fed me beers. I'm very happy with my luck at this point.]

4 - Silver Benz with Joe. Otjiwarongo to Windhoek (250km or 156mi). Free.
[This was after staying in Otji for a night and seeing a LOT of my long-lost group-34'ers. Joe and I walked to the hike point after getting my second (first? I don't recall...) tramazine from the SuperSpar in Otjiwarongo. It was heavenly. The first car that stopped at the hike-point was a mercedes with a woman about our age. She had just finished school, quit her job, and sold her coffee-shop in Otji, and was on her way to the Netherlands to pursue her music career. We caught her in a veeeeery 'free' moment in her life, which was fun.]

5 - Windhoek to Swakopmund (361km or 225mi) with Nora in an SUV with no A/C. N$75 each.
[This ride occurred immediately following re-connect last December. The ride sucked (it was hot, we were antsy) and the guy got pulled over for speeding not more than 10km outside of Windhoek. We had already waited in Windhoek for about 2 hours while other PCVs were getting rides at the same time. We implemented a 'buddy'-system of hitch-hiking since there were 8 of us. We drew straws to see who would get the first hike out. This system failed miserably.]

6 - Swakopmund to Okahandja. Benz. Swakop Golf Academy and Olives. Free.
[This ride was after our escapades in Swakopmund. We were tired from sleeping on the floor; this inevitably happens when 37 PCV's are crammed into two bungalows designed to hold 6 persons each. At the hike-point (which is veeeeeeery far from town) the other volunteers got a ride in the back of a closed bakkie. There was just enough room for me to NOT fit. I waited a bit longer while some other PCV's piled into a bus to Otjiwarongo. I went to the Engen station to get some grub, and I asked a guy in a mercedes if he'd take me to Okahandja. He says sure. He's opening a Golf Academy and has an olive farm. He drives 170-200 km/h the whole way to Okahandja. My hiking record at this point is impeccable. I had traveled almost 1000km (600mi) for free in Benz's. Later hitch-hiking quests to follow!]

Time to say goodbye

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-19 16:59:00

There is less than 24 hours left for me in
Namibia and the Peace Corps. So, it is
time to say goodbye to both.

This was a great tour. It was all that I hoped
it could be when it was in the dream stage
over three and a half years ago.

But it is also the moment to reflect back from
the beginning on 5 September 2000.

Since then there have been countries called
El Salvador, Senegal, Romania and of course,
Namibia. There have been villages called
Sihuanango, Goundaga, Nadlac and Omega.
They've been people called Osmin, Segnor Jose,
Demba, Amadou, Pisti, Ioli, David and Susanna.
They've been volunteers like Karen aka Karina,
Bene, Pat, Brendan, Big John, Sam and Peggy.

All those countries, villages, counterparts and
fellow volunteers have been part of my life over
the years. All of these, pieces of the puzzle in
the mosaic of life.

I leave feeling at peace and as of now, there are
no future plans, just ideas.

It will be home and after this amount of time away,
a period of adjustment. I've changed as I spent
day after day with Mayan, Fulani, Roma, Romanian
and San/Bushman people. I've taken bits and
pieces from each culture and made those
pieces, part of me.

Everything between the fire flies of Sihuanango
in El Salvador to the Southern Cross in the
sky over Omega in Namibia have been magical
and precious.

But it is time and I found the picture above of the
kids in the San Cultural Group waving goodbye
and I thought it a good last picture to post.

As this will be my last blog post I thank everyone
who has come to this blog over the years.

Maybe the adventures are over or maybe not. My
heart says no but the future holds the answer.

So the ride that began 5 September 2000 ends on
20 May 2012.

And ... it has been a good one.

Moçambique

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Adventures in Namibia

2012-05-16 20:37:00

We spent about a week and a half in Mozambique where we hit up Indian Ocean beaches, ate seafood, and went snorkeling. All of which are activities we have not been able to do for some time now.

View Larger Map

The highlight of this trip might have to be our 2-day, 1-night sailing excursion to the Bazaruto Archipelago and Two Mile Reef.

The picturesque views of the amazing beaches make it hard to believe your eyes; being there was such a dreamlike tropical paradise. The rich aqua-color of the sea in contrast with the pristine sand is just as perfect as the photos captured.

Meals on the sailing trip were included too. My favorite was the crab and Kevin's the King fish.

We also loved the snorkeling and concluded once and for all that snorkeling must be one of our favorite activities of all time, especially together. (We've snorkeled before in Australia's Great Barrier Reef and I in Fiji and Australia's West Coast.) The intimate experience with the colorful life under the ocean's surface among the diverse coral reef is just unparalleled in beauty and serenity. How we wish we could go for a snorkel every day!

Left is Lauren, our good friend and fellow PCV

The following are not our photos since we didn't have the capability of bringing our camera under water with us, but here are some images of our favorite sea creatures that we saw (upper-left: Mantaray; upper-right: Blue-spotted ray; lower left: Threadfin butterfly fish; lower-right: Moorish idol):

We can't help but feel that, overall, Mozambique and Namibia (especially where we are in the south) are worlds different, Mozambique being more of the untamed "Africa" of the two, in terms of terrain and culture. Mozambique is much greener and more jungle-y and the people more boisterous but perhaps also friendlier. And public transport was more, um, crowded... At one time we were 25 adults plus 5 children plus (live) chickens in a 15-person capacity minibus/ combi/ chapa. But that was one that didn't even break down on us so we aren't complaining! Speaking Spanish in place of Portuguese was also interesting.. beats Khoekhoegowab in our opinion!

Honestly, the photo does not due our packedness justice!

Yeah, that guy is holding a chainsaw. No worries.

Also done in Namibia of course, but just not quite to such an extreme.

Boys fishing and having themselves a grand ol' time.

Naukluft

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Namibian Rob

2012-05-15 04:24:00

For the start of the holiday I hiked with some friends on the Namib-Naukluft hiking trail. It’s a 120km hike in the Desert Mountains with searing hot temperatures during the day and freezing temperatures at night. The first day was pretty easy with some light hiking (15km) around some hills. There’s a shelter between 14 and 18 kilometers each day hike. The shelters are four foot high walls with a roof but a noticeable gap between the walls and the roof. Day two is when the trouble started. I had a few hot spots (spots that will likely blister) on my feet at the end of day one but nothing too bad. I had one on the back of my heel and the balls of my feet each had one. Day two is when I noticed that my hiking boots from Florida might be great for hiking on the soft ground in Florida but they weren’t up to standard for a semi dried river bed full of sharp, jagged rocks. By the end of day two I had two popped blisters, one on each foot. I started taping my feet to provide a bit more protection but the chains were difficult. When I say chains, I’m referring to chains set up by the park service that help you climb up and down rock faces. Most of these inclines are about a 75 degree angle and the chains aren’t entirely necessary but they’re helpful for people like me who are terrified of heights. The rest of the days passed without incident. We woke around 430am everyday and broke camp by 530am so we could hike before it became too hot, we finished before noon most days. However, we decided to do the eight day hike in seven days by combining the last two days into one 30km day. We woke at 330am and left camp by 430am. We started up a mountain and nearly reached the top by sunrise. This is considered one of the hardest days because it has one kilometer of chains to assist you going up the mountain. We agreed no chains in the dark but the sun was rising when we reached the first set. The only difficult one was up a waterfall. It wasn’t a fast flowing waterfall but it made the chains wet and there was slippery green moss on the rock making foot holds difficult. To add to our problems, baboons were occasionally dropping rocks down on us. None of us got hit but it certainly scared us. We pressed on for several more hours. I started struggling when we reached a dry river bed for (what seemed like) the hundredth time. The sharp volcanic rocks were cutting my feet. To make matters worse it was hot. Really hot. I drank four liters of water that day but by the end of the hike I was down to my last 1.5 liters and I needed to conserve some. I became pretty dehydrated. When I finally walked into the shelter (I was the last person) I had difficulty walking a straight line, felt like vomiting, and felt extremely cold despite the hot sun. I drank oral rehydration salts and rested. I was, by far, the worst off in the group, though we all had aches and pains on the last day. The following day I noticed that one of the blisters on my left foot looked infected. I was still pretty dehydrated so I got a second opinion and she agreed it looked infected. So I sliced it open with my pocket knife and drained the pus out. When I got back to Rehoboth I soaked my foot in a bucket with salt water. I’m supposed to hike Fish River Canyon (a much easier hike) in about 4 days but I’m not sure if I will. I need to see if my feet can recover fast enough.

Blogging from the streets of Okahandja

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-14 13:27:00

In the picture you can see what is basically downtown Okahandja. I am waiting for one of the home stay family members then we head to the capital. I also stopped by the Garden Cafe to say goodbye to Tony and Catherine. We have the transportation reserved ( a friend of the family's car) and ready when we are. I do have to say that Okahandja is a nice place to live. It isn't too big and it has anything anyone needs. If not, the capital Windhoek is only 45 minutes away. In Namibia 45 minutes away is considered kind of close. So soon it is Windhoek and another world. It probably is a good thing as I am slowly becoming adjusted to city life again. After 3 years in the bush with no stores and intermittent electricity, easing into the life of everything for me, is best done slowly. I don't want to lose the simple way of life I've grown to prefer. I think it will take an effort at first to maintain that frame of mind when I am back in the States. But I will live a simple life there ... somehow. So, now it's away to Windhoek. One more step to go.

Baptism in Okahandja

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-13 15:54:00

While I was visiting with the home stay family,
one of the girls had her baby girl baptized.
In the picture you can see the baby with her
godmother who's name is Maria.

The baptism was held at the Ovambo Lutheran
Church. The Ovambo people are the majority
tribe in Namibia. In this church Oshiwambo
(the name of the language of the Ovambo people)
is spoken which meant that I understood about a
total of zero. I was in a majority San village and
the difference between the Ovambos and the San
are, to use a worn out phrase, night and day. They
are about as polar opposite as opposite can be.

There were 8 babies baptized and I took a video
clip and so when Martha (name of baby girl) is
older she'll have something to see.
I was the only white person in the church which
always leads to some interesting looks. After
all these years of being, the different person, it
isn't a problem. More like business as usual.
One funny thing did happen that Sunday at the
end they had some kind some of collection.
Africans have pretty extensive expanded family
relations and a church collection consisted of a
person from that family lineage standing in front
with a bag in their hands. Then each one from that
family would go up and put change in the respective
bags.
There was a young man from the family sitting
next to me to kind of translate but he got bored with
church and split.
One lady in a bench ahead of me pointed to me
(while smiling) and told me to stand up. I did not
knowing what I was standing up for. The whole
church burst out laughing.
When I sat down someone explained to me that I
just pledged to give to that family just like I was a
family member.
I have to admit, it was funny.

At home afterwards they had enough food to feed
almost the whole church and I told them, this is
way too much. But of course I was wrong because
I didn't know the Ovambo customs. There were
people falling out of the sky, literally. It was a two
day thing with every person coming eating like
heck.
And ... plates sent out by kids to the neighbors.
I didn't understand much as they spoke Oshiwambo
so I just was there.
Despite just being there it was a great experience
and even after all these years of being in places
like this, there is always something new to see and
learn.

But that time is coming to an end soon as tomorrow
it is off to the capital Windhoek to begin the
out-processing.
This time next week I will be on my way home.

Life Changes and Surprises

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Renee in Namibia

2012-05-12 23:05:00

Alright, here we go. Many of you might have noticed some abnormal behavior on my part during the past couple of months. I have posted NOTHING in MONTHS, and have been on the internet way more than normal. This is because I have been enduring some rather LARGE life changes and needed some time to sort things out, and have some serious fun.

Firstly, I am no longer in Namibia and I am no longer in the Peace Corps. I decided at the start of April that being in the Peace Corps wasn't the right fit, it wasn't for me, and this is for many reasons. I don't want to get into the reasons here because they are very personal and not appropriate to place in such an open forum. But I derived after thinking things through and through that I wanted to leave, so I came home to see where life takes me in America. Now, you might be wondering why I have kept this a SUPER SECRET until now, and I will tell you.

I have a friend, well I have many MANY friends, but one friend in particular who means a whole lot to me. This person and I went to college together and they were very sad that I would not see them graduate this year. SO I decided to keep my returning home a secret so I could surprise them at UMF the night before graduation, which was today, and last night's surprise was GREAT! My friend Ducky was speechless with glee and everything was WORTH IT. The five weeks of waiting, the lying to friends to keep it a secret and the anxious anticipation was perfectly fine when I saw the look of absolute surprise and happiness that came from this boys eyes.

There have been many other surprises along the way since I have been home. There were a few on the streets of Brooklyn, after an impromptu road-trip from a surprise in the Westfield, Mass Applebees, and several in living rooms across NH and Maine. I have made people cry, go into shock, and scream out with happiness upon seeing their friend out of the blue. Maybe some day I will go into greater detail about all of this, but for now this will have to do, because to be perfectly honest I am exhausted. It has been a really long 5 weeks since I decided to come home, but I have had AMAZING friends and family help and support me - most notably my father, our family friends Linda and Bob, my Uncle Peter, my friends Lucy, Katie, Nancy, Jacob and Ryan. You have all helped me so much, and I honestly don't know what would have happened if you all weren't so supportive, understanding and patient with this sudden and unexpected shift in plans.

So, recap - I am not in the Peace Corps, I have been home for a little while, just a few weeks after all of the paperwork was done, and I am okay. I realize this is a HUGE shock to most of you and you probably have MANY questions, which you are more than welcome to email me but there are absolutely no guarantees that I will be able to respond anytime soon.

I am in a whirlwind of reverse culture shock and life readjustment for sure, but I have some super amazing friends who are helping me out while I start anew in Portland, Maine - which is where I am. I have no idea how any of this will work, but that's okay, because I am definitely supposed to be here now, and not unhappy doing something I didn't love.

Thanks for supporting me on the journey, it's been a hell of a ride, but it's time to end. This blog will most likely not be posted on by me unless I decide to reflect or go into greater detail about the last few weeks.

It's a quick ending to a shortened experience, but it doesn't make it any less meaningful or extraordinary; I've just taken a turn on the road of my life, as I assume I will do countless times in the days ahead. And let's be honest, it's not very "Renee" unless there's a twist.

Farewell visiting and good works

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-12 19:10:00

I am spending a few days in Okahandja which
is on my way to the capital and which will
eventually lead me to home.
I am visiting with the home stay family that I lived
with when I first arrived in Namibia back in February
2009.
When we are trainees we stay with a family
which can last anywhere between 8 to 10 weeks.
I have stayed in touch with the family over the years
and have visited with them several times. I was
invited to the baptism of a baby girl from one of the
family members. I will post info on that a little later.

The main topic of this post is shown in the
picture posted above.
In the photo is Tony and he is sitting within his
restaurant right here in Okahandja. It is called
the Garden Cafe and I first went there in February
2011. At that time I was spending a week at the
training of a new group of volunteers. I heard about
the cafe and since then, every time I am in town, it
is a must stop ... daily.
The cafe was opened and managed by Tony and
his wife Catherine. They opened it in November
2010 and have seen it grow and prosper ever since.
The cafe is more than just a cafe and it is actually
the foundation of what would best be described in
the USA as an ... 'inner city project'.
The project is religious based and I am not going
to write on that aspect but instead, I will focus on the
developmental side of it.
The project that Tony and Catherine are offering is
one that which takes youth between ages of 19 to 29
and gives them training and skill to become workers
within the restaurant/lodge industry.
Here in the cities of Namibia it is very difficult for
the youth to find a job and let alone get any work
experience to be able to develop any form of CV
(resume). It is the proverbial catch 22 and a huge
challenge for the youth.

The course is a 12 weeks course and it consists
of improving English, mathematics, hospitality,
cooking and basic restaurant management plus
some time for the bible and character building.
Also upon completion they have a chance to
work in the restaurant and build up the CV a bit.
It has been an overwhelming success with three
groups completing the course and another one
soon to finish. With that a total of 34 youth with
only 1 dropping out that have attended. The one
that did not complete the course had a life
situation and not because of a lack on interest.
The number of participants is limited to a maximum
of 10 per course, more or less and this insures a
quality learning experience. Tony and Catherine
say that they prefer to have their program
emphasize quality over quantity.
With the struggle of finding employment and
in essence, a path in life, some of those that have
completed the course have mentioned that before
they joined that they were contemplating suicide
due to frustration and despair. Their vision of
life hadn't a component of hope in it.

The news of their course has reached the
capital and a few of those whom participated
have gotten jobs in lodges. Also, the reputation
of their project is expanding and many businesses
are inquiring and are ready to accept any of
the youth, virtually sight unseen. An incredible
compliment for their program.

It is funny how we meet people. They are from the
mid-west of the USA and if they weren't here and
of course, I wasn't here, we never would have met.
We both have the same goal of helping and it is
refreshing to meet people who are concerned
about the youth of Namibia.

I only will put my reputation on the line for people
or projects that I feel are good, run well and have
the honest goal of helping. Well, this is one of those
projects.

They do have a blog address which I received
from them and 'Click Here' if you'd like to visit it.
It is religious based but there is some contact info
if anyone is interested or have inquiries.

It has been a great honor for me to have met
Tony and Catherine.
It is a good feeling to see people such as these
doing the good work they do, selflessly.

Jo'burg

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Adventures in Namibia

2012-05-11 17:08:00

Johannesburg, South Africa was not a destination we were excited, or
even planning, to see while in southern Africa. We've been strongly
cautioned by locals of all backgrounds of the city's crime and danger.
Not to mention, it's where we've personally had packages from home
tampered with before they've reached us, and passengers' luggage at
the JNB airport is known to be no different. But when we had to go
there to drop off Patches for his flight home, we ended up seeing a
different side of this city that we'd been avoiding.

I suppose especially after being in the sparsely-populated, less
developed Namibia for this long now, the tall buildings, multi-lane
highways and freeways, selection of restaurants, and HUGE shopping
malls were really something! (Maybe it's just my fading memory, but I
could swear the King of Prussia mall would have some competition!)
The TREES were amazing also! Anyway, it's certainly not what you
picture when you think of Africa.

While there, we took up a couple of (white) South African business
guys' offer to show us around Sandton one night, and the upscale area
truly impressed us. Not to say that we weren't careful and aware, but
after the scared, looking-over-your-shoulder paranoia wore off a bit,
we came to enjoy our visit in the big city. (I guess I should add
that one of those South African guys used to be in the special forces,
so that probably helped relax us too!)

Despite feeling more at ease about our immediate safety, we were not
about to knowingly make ourselves targets by carrying around a camera,
so we therefore have no photos of our own of Johannesburg. At least
there's always Google Images!

Out of the village

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-09 07:05:00

The time came to depart the village after three
years. It was rise at 5 then sitting with Bob the
Romanian guy to drink a cup of tea and
reminisce.
Then at 6:30 a.m. I left the Bob's mission
(in the picture, window of left was my room)
to walk the one and a half kilometer to the
road to catch a hike out.
Bob walked along and after about an hour
a person stopped and I hopped on.
At that moment, all references to the village
began to be spoken in the past tense.

I have to say that out of the four tours I have
had in different countries, this one was the
most challenging. It was challenging for many
reasons and for that, I am happy. I was in a place
that had needs.
The main reasons were HIV/AIDS and the issue
that many people didn't seem to take it seriously
despite the fact that they've seen people living
with it, dying from it and still, they contract HIV
though they know everything about it.
Another big reason was the degree of alcohol
abuse to the point that people would buy it
over buying food. Some wouldn't eat for days,
just drink.
Another central point was the change in life style
of the San from hunter gatherers. The situation is
so similar to that of the native Americans over a
125 or so years ago. It has resulted in a social
crisis.

I am not fooled to think that I saved the world there
and I know ... they were surviving before I
arrived and will continue after my departure.
I have found that it is about moments in time. It
is about living those moments, realizing and
enjoying that it is all fleeting. It is about doing one's
best, never giving up and caring for the people.
I have left it all on the field so to speak in
that village.

A few people said some nice words before I left
and I was totally surprised of what they spoke.
One said, that it wasn't only the physical or
financial help that he felt was important but the
ideas that I gave to help make his people better.
Another who was a soldier during the time the
South African Defense Force used the village as
a military base said that during that time there
was an apartheid treatment and segregation
in the living areas. The black Africans in one
place and the white in another.
Through that experience and since he never
thought that he would see a white person ever
take time for black people. He said that I was
the first white that he'd seen that would go over
to a black person's house to sit, talk and
socialize. He stated that I changed his mind
concerning white people.

I was really surprised with these statements.
Always wondered if anything would come out
of my time here. I am blessed to have heard
these words. I have a kind of a going out on
top feeling to take with me.

So, as that moment in time has receded in the
rear view mirror, my thoughts are that of
gratitude to have even had the opportunity
to experience it all.

Now, it is off to Okahandja.

Hasha ira mbadiko

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-07 06:03:00

What that means is ... 'better than nothing' in
the Thimbukushu language.
The village is majority San (Khwe) but there
are also quite a few Mbukushu people and
of course, Thimbukushu is their language.
I used the Thimbukushu language because
I know how to say ... better than nothing ... in
the language. The Khwe language (Khwedam)
I am not too sure of. I asked and they told me,
I have forgotten but if I use my word for word
translated English to Khwedam then it would
come out something like hasha (the Khwe use
the same word as the Mbukushu) ghambe hru.
The hru (don't know if it's spelled right) is
pronounced like who but with a small rolling 'r'.
But to translate it direct hasha ghambe hru then
it means better nothing thing.
Ok, all that jive about language but the real point
is as you can see in the picture, a one-third
finished traditional San/Bushman hut.
David the cultural group leader and his brother
Paulus whose real last name is 'Rambo' (really),
worked hard to just get it to that point with the
limited time they had.
So here's how I see the construction:
First, they dig holes around a predetermined
circle to anchor the poles in the ground. Also,
it gives a foundation as later they will have to
bend the poles and they need the resisting force
to keep it from moving.
Then they tie two poles together from opposite
sides after they have been bent to the desired
shape and height.
Then, they tie thinner more flexible poles around
like you see on the outside but also on the
inside so when they put the grass on it won't
fall in.
Then they add a few more layers and the top
is grass that is centered then bent over where
the ends are on either side so the water won't
leak in.
David also said that at night they make a little
fire in the center and with the heat that the
house retains, the people can sleep inside even
on the cold nights, without a blanket.

Despite the fact that the hut wasn't finished by the
time I left, I am totally happy to be able to see even
that. I have to thank my time in the Peace Corps
for teaching me to accept things the way they are
much better. It taught me to not stress about those
little things and not to get attached and caught up
in an idea.

As you can see the blogging has been a bit fast and
furious the last few days and that's only because
all these things are happening all at once. But it
should slow down as the last few days are just going
to be reflecting and preparing to depart.

Despidida - bush style

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-06 18:39:00

Despidida is a Spanish word and it means
a going away party / present.
That's what happened the other night, in fact,
it was a surprise despidida.

As mentioned in some of the recent blog posts,
we were trying to get the djwara project finished
but it just didn't work out.
There was a flurry of situations in the village that
took David's (cultural group leader) time. But he
did make a great effort and in the next blog post
I will show you a picture of a one-third finished
traditional hut.
The other night David called and told me to go to
the djwara and bring my camera. I figured that
maybe there was some progress on the traditional
hut because that was the last thing we needed to
do and which I wanted to see. I thought that maybe
it would be my last chance to see one in person.
When I got to the djwara I could see that something
was up and found out that in fact it was a despidida
for me.
I really don't like despididas and really prefer to walk
out quietly with my thoughts. But this time I had no
choice and I am glad that I didn't
As you can see in the picture, the kids danced in
the night the traditional way with the two fires.
It was truly a night to remember. The kids danced
especially motivated and energetic and in fact, it
was the best that I've seen them.
The drums were beating, the kids were singing and
dancing and the place under the dancing tree was
aglow with the light of the two fires.
This time, I have no words that I can use to describe
exactly what it was like.
I am so grateful to have been able to experience a
pretty close to the 'Old Way' traditional night of the San
(Khwe) people.
I usually don't get this way but it was a bit emotional.
The project of the San cultural group has been one
of my favorites. No matter how the kids in the group
end up, either good or bad, all we can truly say is that
... we tried. Leaving that project behind will just make
me wonder if we've done anything good.

But, as all things must end, and this one ended in a
way that I can probably describe as magical. To be
able to see something resembling what the Khwe
had practiced for thousands of years, how can it
get better?

Probably could guess that I am going to write this at
this point but, yes, it was a farewell party but to me
it really was ... a present that I will never forget.

Hiking tips

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Namibia goes Vromantic... or not

2012-05-05 13:03:00

One of the happiest things I associate with being a PCV is traaaaveling. Traaaaaaaaveling is like travel, except you stretch it out as far as you can; usually the only limit to one's travels (aside from fatigue - which can be pushed through) is moolah. Money. When you are a PCV, money plays somewhat of a role. When we try to hitch-hike, we throw on our collared shirts and say "we are having no moneys" (which is usually true) and see how far that gets us.

One day I was leaving Karibib with my host brother, on my way to hike approx. 650km back north to O-land. I (randomly) saw Rob, a PCV from group 32, at the hike point. We hopped on the same combi and he conveyed some crucial hiking tips, which I will share with you.

When free-hiking, keep a COLD cool-drink (soft-drink) handy. Tell the driver that you have no money and are a volunteer, BUT you do have this very cold (point out the condensation dripping off the sides of the bottle/can) cooldrink to offer. The immediate satisfaction can sometimes result in a free ride. This doesn't work if you cannot suppress the urge to drink the cooldrink yourself. This also would not work if you are hiking in a hot climate for over an hour or two (i.e. Keetmanshoop to Luderitz or Bethanie... sorry Claire and Brett)

Tip number two: take a small (clear?) plastic ziplock bag with COINS (small). Make sure there are a LOT of coins. If the driver does not accept your cooldrink (whaaaaat?), tell him that you do have SOME money; take out your plastic ziplock bag and count (slowly) the money. Over-estimate after looking confused at some of the types of coins, and say that you only have $10 or $20 bucks. Stress that you are bad at counting (don't tell them you are a math teacher if you are) and really don't know how much money you have in coins, but that you'll give all of it to them if they take you. If you get a ride, sure maybe it will cost you something, but it will almost always be less than normal AND that's some weight off your shoulders (if the driver accepts).

Hope this helps some of you to rack in some free mileage. If all else fails, help to chip in a few bucks for gas. Or offer to buy the driver lunch (I once offered a driver some of my tramazine. They declined and I was ecstatic).

Safe travels!

A taste of the Old Way

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-05 10:48:00

In the Old Way of the San/Bushman (Khwe)
people, at night the kids would sit around the
fire while the elders passed out the societal
wisdom.
The elders would pass the information out in
the form of stories.
In the picture you can see such en event. The
other night we went to the almost completed
djwara and just kind of hung out.
They started a fire as the night was cool
seeing as the southern hemisphere is entering
it's winter time.
I am not sure what they were talking about but
I think that they were passing out some wisdom
as to the benefits of staying in school and
studying seriously.
Despite the fact that I've been here three years
there are still activities like this that are a first
time see.
This type of passing of knowledge doesn't happen
anymore in the 'New Way' and I am kind of lucky
to have seen an example of it. Maybe it isn't as
authentic as it used to be because the people
would be wearing skins and the such.
But it is ok, I am still tickled to have at least seen
a facsimile.
This life living in places such as here just gives one
the opportunity to see and experience things like
this first hand.
It's just amazing to be able to.

OH-SIX-6 and the 4 ONE ONE

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia the [dirt] road less traveled

2012-05-04 19:45:00

066 and 411. the 2 most important numbers in my life. the former refers to the town code for rundu. the second refers to the best day of my life. but instead of giving details on that, i will highlight everything that happened before 4/11 and after since my last post :)

so heres the deal: don't really feel like trying to tie my life together in some concise [vocabulary word] fashion. and i already used the insert transitions idea. so…im just gonna have a bunch of random subtopics. enjoy.

"uhhh what time is it?"

i suppose that one bit of information that i ought to divulge before i get to the crux of this post is that i don't know what time it is. its not cause my watch was ripped off my arm or that my cell phone suddenly stopped working. so day light savings occurred last week. and in typical fashion (since winter is approaching) we fell back an hour. seems simple enough. but despite that it was widely known that this was happening, i was still a bit apprehensive. so it was sunday night and i went to bed not sure if i ought to fall back or not. in the morning i texted some of the teachers to get an idea of what time they had. then i found out the following bit of information: our school will set the time back at the start of next term. meaning the end of may. meaning our school has defied the international time standards. pretty baller. and pretty confusing at the same time. but ill just leave it at that.

[re]uniting. now that i mention it, in more ways than one.

reuniting with SUPRIYA. many people envisioned (or at least tried to) just what that might look like. some adjectives could surely be attached to the moment: beautiful, emotional, life-changing, heart-pulsing. it was better. so "my friend at the time", sydney, and i trekked along to botswana a tad unsure of how to navigate the terrain, where the town we were meeting up was located (or how to pronounce it for that matter) but no worries because kupi drew a map for us on a spare piece of paper that essentially would determine our fate.

-------kupi is also one of my fave people in the village who cannot be described in a mere post…but heres a quick visual: one night about a week ago when we were just finalizing the final exams and entering in the marks, he came knocking at my window (as he normally does) and beckoned me to the staffroom to work together. later i approached the staffroom, flanked by kiara, and there i saw him, Kupi: sitting in a revealing navy robe with NOTHING underneath (and yes it became quite obvious that that was the case) and he sat with an empty bottle of wine to his left and a loaded gun to his right. clearly the necessary tools to mark exams. also i ought to mention that kiara spent the night in the staffroom)

many apologies for the tangent cause i was just about to explain reuniting with SUPRIYA. so syd and i managed to hike our way across the border and through botswana. we also noticed that despite the fact that namibia and botswana are neighboring countries, the differences were apparent. consider: the roads were more narrow. the huts were more circular. the trees were taller. and the cows were fatter. this is all truth. and once you've spent as much time in nam, you'd notice these nuances as well.then we reached maun, and more importantly our hostel. syd and i walked towards the front gate. i was shaking. i was nervous and ohhh so excited. and then we made eye contact. i doubt i could truly articulate what was going through my head, but just know that the reunion was better than i ever could have imagined. and then we did a shot.

so we hung out at the hostel. sup and i got some necessary bonding time. as did sup and syd. and one other thing i ought to mention is that we saw the most brilliant spider ever created. ill just leave it at that. everything else that happened is better as memory than a blog post ;)

so predictably, we had to leave bots. before we did i found a gigantic leaf and gave it to sydney. i told her that if we can procure a use for this leaf than she has to give me N$100. well, she left it behind eventually…it just became too big to carry. sadly, we later did procure a use for it--a souvenir! cause we never got one in bots. although, ultimately, we did end up getting something much better than a leaf.

***also i have to give a disclaimer to explain that "procure" is my new favorite word.

important fact: the nam-bots border closes at exactly 6pm. after some strategic bargaining and negotiating, we reached the border literally at 5:59pm. phew we made it. but then we were asked the following question.

"do you guys have a car?"

"uhhhhhh no"

"well hopefully you have blankets cause looks like you'll be sleeping in the bush tonight"

"uhh huh..."

but then, as things tend to do here, luck bent in our favor. just as the gate was about to close its unforgiving self, a truck approached it. and it just so happened it was the same people who had driven us in the first place. we rode all the back to my village. listening to our music. watching the sunset. (rumor of a lion siting occurred) and then…well, ill just say once we reached my village, we were hoping that the ride would never end.

[re]uniting with kate. so almost immediately after we came back from bots…syd and i…….. kate came to NAM! kate is one of sydney's best friends and she got to stay in kavango for 3 weeks and immerse herself in our region. so obviously, i learned how to rear a goat with kate around but i wont get into the details. on kate's first night in rundu, vegas also came up and we made some friends. im not embarrassed to say that these friends were 50 year old women. cause they were. they invited us to a braii and we went the next day. the following weekend, we all went to popa falls a "waterfall" east of my village. the only thing was was that you cant access the waterfall during this season cause the river was too high. oops. instead we procured some friends and while we sat on the bridge i also did what i do best--faciliated love via text.

here are some texts i received from some nam friends:

"kativa (thats me) can you organise nangura (thats kate) for me. i have a black lady for you"

"matthew i need a husband to marry. do you think you could find me a soul mate to marry later today?"

[re]untiting with sydney….woops. sorry lost my train of thought. let me just continue.

people of ndiyona, GLOW yourselves.

so you know the deal. GLOW--its our afterschool club mostly made up of the grade 9 and 10 learners at school. the ones who are a bit more outspoken, confident, and lets be real…cool. we planned a social event for the whole school run by our club. the event had a few purposes: educate the school community about things we have learned, let the kids in the club take a leadership role and plan it, and also give the 220+ kids who live at school and cannot leave on weekends SOMETHING TO DO.

one thing all of us wanted to do was to perform a drama that touched on teenage pregnancy and the danger of sugar daddies. so one meeting, a few weeks before the event i wanted to get a feel for how the kids act. i told them to prepare something to perform. expectation: kids would be socially awkward, shy, not into it, stutter, just like any kid would in that situation. reality: i was immediately enrapt in the play. not even realizing it was in one classroom with my grade 9 learners. it was realistic. there was side movement going on. props. and passionate, real acting. i was so impressed. although part of me was somewhat disheartened by the fluidness of the performance--it essentially showcased that these issues (teenage pregnancy, underage drinking, and sugar daddies) are all too common in our village.

as for the social event itself, it looked like this:

sydney helped the kids with decorations. they were especially impressed with her "people of ndiyona, GLOW yourselves" poster (i hope you get the how to lose a guy in 10 days reference)
T-Pain (a grade 9 learner) was the emcee. and he rocked the place.
there were a few eating competitions. try 562. and every time a new one was announced, it was as if
it was probably 124 degrees inside the hall cause we had to cover the with sheets to prevent kids from climbing through the windows
we had chugging contests (juice, don't worry) and my chugging skills came into play when i BEAT one of my learners who challenged me
we danced a bit. and when i danced, place got insane.
also the one baby in my village who is afraid of me because she thinks im a ghost, FINALLY LET ME HOLD HER. #winning
we had bobbing for apples. but only used one apple to bob with. i later realized that the kids had been hoarding them in the back.

"does anyone know what cat feces smells like?"

staff meetings. they're either the best (or worst) way to start a morning. we start each morning with one and they often dip a bit into period 1. i would normally love skipping time away from school…but as a teacher, its the worst. it would be ok if the discussions were substantive. well, ill just let you decide.

so one morning 2 weeks ago (better known in nam as "last of last week") there was poop found on my learner's bed in the hostel. reaction that you'd expect: a cleaning crew cleans and sanitizes the area. a new blanket provided. not too much publicity made out of the incident. but this is nam. so that morning. the poop began to harden while our discussion commenced. was it human or cat feces? valid question, i presume. then, the hostel manager asked the teachers, "does anyone know what cat feces smells like?" but heres the thing. even if i (or anyone else for that matter) could distinguish between various animal feces…it probably wouldn't become common knowledge. and so there we sat. silent. waiting for the mess to be cleaned. but more importantly, for the culprit to be caught.

now the latest drama encapsulating our staff at school. so witchcraft. its quite common in our village. while some of you might merely roll your eyes and read ahead. consider that perhaps its equally valid as any religious explanation that has also yet to be "proved." but relax and delete that drafted email cause im not saying i believe in witchcraft ;) anyway, heres the deal some male teachers have been complaining that they've been having sex dreams about one of the female teachers at our school. they soon discovered that it was the same female teacher. and that she was quite "aggressive" in all of them. so what could explain dreams about a hot girl? well, witchcraft of course. so the female teacher is yet to be called out but she was warned. and our staff meetings have been contentious eversince. example: our head of department walked out of school. in search of a witch doctor. this is the real deal.

"so we'll be fluent in a few weeks, true??"

as a teacher, its easy to get consumed by the learners and your school. but as a volunteer its important to engage with the entire community. thus thanks to heightened interest, i decided to start an english class for the adults in our village. a simple after school activity soon became my biggest challenge in namibia. at our first meeting, 20 adults sat eagerly awaiting the start of FREE english classes. soon after our introductory meeting commenced i realized that the gap within the class was WIDE. some adults were parents who had not completed grade 4. others had completed grade 12. others were workers in the hostel. but what was clear was that i had some decisions to make. and one thing ive learned as a teacher is that you must be decisive. and more important than that, you need to look decisive.

i divided the class into 2 and then decided to have 2 sessions. one would be for adults who have little no to experience with english and thus need to start essentially fresh. the second would focus on the following: resume writing, preparing for interviews, writing business proposals, and perfecting their english. for the first class, my host brother, mashie, works as my interpreter which, in turn, helps him enhance his english skills. one thing that needed to be clear to all of the adults though, was that despite that their teacher was american, they would not become fluent in english or rich from an incredible business plan in a matter of weeks. expectations are sometimes insanely high when an american walks in. which is why its important for reality to be imposed on the class before you get started.

once the classes did finally commence, it became so rewarding. engaging with the community, those eager to find work, some who had to leave school due to an early pregnancy, or those who are inspired by their high achieving child inspire me daily. and not only that, but i made a friend named thimoteus who is in a BAND.

my second home

sydney and i have adopted eachothers villages as our unofficial second homes. most people who join peace corps get the chance to intimately understand and connect with one village. which is incredible. as for us, we get 2.

mavanze (sydney's village) weekend looked like this:

i helped put the water tower some structure after a casual walk around the village
one of syds host brothers gave me 5 dollar coin (granted it was plastic…no qualms)
we went to the homestead where kiara was born. i met her mom and bro. ill just say im glad i didn't leave her there.
played a soccer game with the boys and then it started raining…syd advised me to shower quickly so i wouldn't get struck by lightening. so i showered in the rain right after she did. and it was magical. and no lightening strikes.
we had to locate kankala (again) who had ran off with my ipod due to his obsession with bedrock
we pounded muhangu (video to follow)

"lets call her lily"

i had my first experience in a southern village! school is over and i finally did what i shoulda done awhile ago--visit LAINE. perhaps its cause we live here and know our villages intimately, but laines village couldn't be any different from mine. the biggest difference: the concentration of homes which are made of corrugated iron and crowd a small farm settlement is truly unique. mountains encircle the small settlement and make for a spectacular view. but what was better than observing the village, was bonding with laine! for several reasons. she taught me spite and malace (my new favorite game…we have to finish our tournament btw), we got to watch gory movies, puff a bit together, but most IMPORTANTLY we (temporarily) rescued a baby puppy (that was perhaps redundant) and we decided to name her lily inspired by black swan. despite the fact that she peed almost as much as laine, she became one of my best friends in nam. we cuddled with her. and fed her milk. then she disappeared. oops.

then laine and i headed to windhoek. we split a bottle of champagne. need i say more? bonding session. check.

theres not a problem with having favorites…right?

as most of you know, the first term has come to an end. and as i alluded to in my previous post, teaching has been more enjoyable than i could have imagined. but what i love most about teaching here would never exist in an american school. like the kids and teachers essentially living together. the relationship between learner and teacher that is uniquely nam. and the lack of a mentor, or adult who believes in the kids, and so providing that, well, rewards everyone exponentially.

my grade 8 math classes surpassed their goal for the term. the goal for the class average was a C. the average this term was a B. and as a side, last year, the average grade in math was an E.

grade 9 english reached their goal, as the average grade was a C. additionally, the average for english last year was an E.

but now its time to showcase my faves. but what makes a favorite is not just "liking them" but their sheer motivation, work ethic, and performance, and leadership in the class. being a teacher makes me appreciate the kids who are inquisitive more than anything. the ones who, when pushed, reach further than ever imagined.

Shashipapo Moses

he's in my grade 8 register (homeroom) class. he's the most modest and soft-spoken boy there. most learners in my register class are loud, outspoken, and enjoy the moment they can show off. moses, on the other hand, sits in the back and cruises through school at an unprecedented pace. he calmly and confidently exceeds all expectations and, most importantly, treats all of his peers (regardless of ability) with the respect that they all inherently deserve. no judgment, just quiet guidance. he received a 99% in math. often when im walking around the village with a moment to just think (perhaps while gazing at the stars a bit) i ponder, "where will my kids be in 5 years, 10 years, in the future?" i ponder because im truly curious and excited but also anxious that they harness their obvious potential. moses is always the first i think about when pondering that thought. purely because his future is unbelievably bright.

Mbambo Kaveto

kaveto is also in my grade 8 register class. like moses, he excels and received a 97% in math this term. thats where the comparisons stop, however. kaveto is an outspoken leader in the classroom. he was elected to the learner representative council (LRC) and has made his foot print on our class quite obvious. he is the first to ensure that all learners understand their assignment and urge them to seek help from either him or a teacher if thats not the case.

Ndumba Hellena

hellena transferred to our school just this year and she, also, is in my register class. she came in having no friends. she is bigger than all of the other girls and her lack of self-esteem was evident. so, as the teacher, it was my role to ensure true immersion in the school community. she was one of the first learners who reached a comfort level with me to inquire about education, ask questions about america, and seek help in her social and academic realms of life. now? she was elected to the hostel representative council and to chair the math club that i also run. she was one of the top 5 learners in grade 8 and she even has a vibrant social life. basically, she's smart and popular. perfect combo.

Mashika Basilius

mashika is a grade 9 learner. and the second best english learner in all of grade 9. he is the most inquisitive learner that i have ever encountered. from day 1, he took advantage of the purpose of having an american teacher--he engaged in cross-cultural dialogue asking about airplanes, schooling in america, my family, and careers. he's ambitious but his confidences hovers at a level that one would never expect based on his academic successes. he lost his mother at the start of the school year and instead of conceding and falling through the cracks, he's pushing himself and challenging himself despite that he sometimes loses faith. thus as his teacher and mentor, im working with him to restore that.

Marembo Prisca

prisca is 15 years old. a grade 9 learner and undoubtedly the brightest learner in all of grade 9 and perhaps in the entire school. she's a leader, she actively engages in class discussions, and she is confident. she refuses to subscribe to the gender norms that she easily could have inherited. she aims to be a doctor and i have no doubts that she cant reach that goal. she's the one that i can always rely on to engage in provocative discussions in english dealing with peer pressure, self-confidence, teenage pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS. she doesn't merely speak, she engages, provokes, challenges, and her convictions are more than apparent. she is also a leader in our GLOW club and is the learner that all teachers rely on to excel, motivate others, participate, and make the school more than a school but a community.

peace.

The last run

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-05-04 06:19:00

In the picture you can see Bob the Romanian
guy finishing today's run.
I have been running at the village's old runway
for about a year and a half just to stay fit.
(The village used to be an old South African
Defense Force Base and that's why there is
the runway.)
A few weeks ago Bob decided to start running
with me so he could also stay fit.
So, as my time here is coming to an end
activities like this are also having their last hurrah,
so to speak, and today was the last run.

As I was running I was thinking of how life just
sometimes has a path for us.
I believe I've written about this in a prior blog post
but I am going to write about it again here.
Before I arrived in Namibia I spent two and a half
years in Romania. There is a link on the right hand
side of this page to the blog I wrote when I was
there.
Upon leaving Romania in December 2008 and
while in the airport in Bucharest with another volunteer
named John, we both agreed that it was probably
going to be the last time we will ever speak a word
of Romanian.
Fast forward to August 2009 and while living 70
kilometers out in the bush of Namibia, a pair of
white guys show up in the village. The crazy thing is,
that it was Bob and another guy and guess where
they were from, yup, Romania.
It's just difficult to understand how this could be. I am
probably the only American in the area that can speak
Romanian and here they come.
I have to say that during the three or so years that my
Romanian has improved greatly as I have always
spoken to Bob in Romanian and he has spoken
English to me.
So I am wondering that when I told Bob that as I am
returning to the States and that I will probably never
speak another word of Romanian again, that it would
be true. But as experience has taught me back in
Bucharest, who ta hell knows.
But also, it has been a great time working with Bob
over these last three years. I was there when they
started their mission in a building that had been
abandoned for over 20 years. I saw the resurgence
from the ashes just like the Phoenix. I also helped
him as much as I could and felt that by helping people
who are helping other people, then I am helping
development of the village.
It has been an honor to be able to have worked with
Bob and there is the memory of that special certain
time of seeing progress go forth throughout the village.
As I am leaving all I can do is wish Bob and his
mission all the luck in the world as they continue to
help the people in the village.

pumpkins from katwitwi…made into pumpkin muffins, pumpkin...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia nəˈmibēə

2012-05-03 18:30:31

pumpkin butter!

pumpkins from katwitwi…made into pumpkin muffins, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin seeds. not to mention pumpkin ice cream!!! (not pictured)

Officially African American

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Adventures in Namibia

2012-05-01 19:43:00

Patches made it to the other side! He's just getting settled and used to his new family and new, well, everything. God really answered our prayers with making this whole process safe and straightforward (even though my Mom gave us some scares, but that's another story..!).

My brother was sending us a play-by-play of their journey picking up Patches with his iPhone, including photos and videos. While they were still in the car on their way, he said he could hardly sleep last night because he was so anxious to get Patches, the same feeling you get as a child on Christmas Eve. (Awww.)

Patches with Uncle Stevie

Steve said Patches gave him a ton of kisses and basically just wanted to cuddle on him the whole car ride home. Which is exactly what we explained to my family that we knew he would do!

It seems Patches is in-love with his new family already, and they with him. It will be difficult for us to be away from him for a while, but it makes it a whole lot easier knowing he's safe, happy, and giving and receiving lots of love!

Can't wait for the rest of you to meet our African American pup too!

"Goodby Patches"

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Adventures in Namibia

2012-04-30 00:11:00

One letter written by Monica and Sunete, Grade 6, to bid Patches farewell:

We warned our learners that they would not see Patches when we return to school next term after this holiday because he is going to America! Many, many boys and girls expressed that they would miss him. But perhaps a stronger emotion they felt was a bit of jealousy… Patches is living the dream of every Namibian! If we are bringing our dog to America… why not a learner?! (Understandable point.) Kevin’s principal (warmly) said what everyone is thinking: “Patches is one luckydog.”

We did the best we could explaining it all to them, and I truly think our learners understand as much as they possibly can. After all, they already know he is no ordinary dog! And they see how much we love Patches and how much he loves us, and many have even said they believe Patches would die if we didn’t bring him home. So… that’s what we’re doing! “But if it doesn’t work,” many said, “I’lltake him!!!”

Patches will be staying with my parents and brother until we come home, starting on May 1^st when they pick him up from JFK at 6:20 in the morning! (Thank you, thank you again!!!!) We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for his safe travels and for our peace of mind and aching hearts (longing to reunite with our boy).

Djwara update

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-04-29 18:16:00

The djwara project continues and today we
finished the platform which you can see in
the picture.
David the cultural group's leader is in the
forefront with Mavandje (one of the girls
from the group) in the back with the pink
shirt cooking on the fire.
The platform isn't exactly authentic and that
is regarding the height. The one in our djwara
is about 6ft of 2 meters. Normally it would be
something like 3 meters.
The platform's purpose was to store food/meat
and when the young members of the San/Bushman
group would go out to hunt or gather, they would
put the elders on top.
The reason for the elders staying on the platform
was for protection against hyenas or lions. From
the platform they had an advantage as the could
thrust downwards with their spears to ward off
the attackers.
We still have the house to build and hopefully
tomorrow we will be able to complete it.
The djwara is starting to come together and is
really looking good. With that house it should be
just about complete.
Then I think it is the going away get together. Only
a few days left.

home again

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia learning and loving in Africa

2012-04-28 23:18:23

A beloved friend sent me a book of poems in a care package. One of the poems was “America for Me,” by Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933). In the style of that poet, I leave you with one last post…my own adaptation of his words: ‘Tis fine to see the desert at the far Atlantic shore, … Keep reading →

It's the little things

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Back To Africa

2012-04-28 18:31:00

That seem to pop up kind of frequently that just
make being in these villages and living within
different cultures, interesting.

Today when we were working on the djwara
project I saw a few of the young girls fastening
a few vines together then all of a sudden, they
are jumping rope (or vine).

I just enjoy seeing these little innovative things. No need to
spend amounts of money to have fun, just got to think
a bit.

the vine (above)
after stripping leaves and fastening several together ....
the girls are jumping vine (below).

farewell song

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia learning and loving in Africa

2012-04-27 23:19:58

My 10th grade girls sang this for me on my last Saturday at site. It says, “Our Sarah…go well….” Later in the song it says, “You left the school with sadness/pain.” I first heard this song at a funeral for a special neighbor and staff member at our site. Perhaps partly due to that, it … Keep reading →

John Dawid

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Namibia Adventures in Namibia

2012-04-27 20:22:00

Kevin's pride and joy, John Dawid, is running this weekend in a southern Africa Athletics competition. Namibia is hosting the event in Windhoek, and athletes from 13 countries will attend! John is a great kid who has been working hard; he deserves such a great experience so that makes it even sweeter. We hope he does well, and are proud no matter what place he finishes.

(The metal is from his second place finish at the National competition for the 800m.)