hitting the open skies again

Ladies and Gentleman,
for those of you eagerly awaiting my further travels, I will be jetting off in approximately 16 days and will, internet willing, post an update from the land of the newly crowned World Cup champions. Hopefully at that time my sentences will be slightly shorter and less run-on.

"How was Africa?"

I am back in Mass, after 30+ hours of flying, many times of madly checking and double-checking for the passport, much bag carrying, many naps in airport terminals. It is good to be back, and sad to be back. I am happy to see family, to be reminded of what it feels like to be cold, to lie in my bed. But as I unpack my bags (only in piecemeal, now I know that my Amarula survived, everything else can wait) I feel like I am unpacking the weight of four months, and I am not in a rush. I know that I am going to hear a lot of "how was Africa?" and I know I will either want to answer with a 4 hour-long synopsis, or just shrug and say "well, I don't know about the entirety of Africa..." I feel like I have become more independent, my world has expanded just that much more. And I want to share that with people, tell them about my homestay family in Joburg and life in Windhoek and farms in Khorixas and looking out over the sunset in Swakop and canoeing the Orange River and walking through Cape Town. But more importantly than that, I want to carry it within myself, allow those experiences to continue to shape me, even as I unpack or change the time zone on my computer. So while the physical traveling is over, I am reminded that the journey isn't, and I hope that I continue to live a story worth telling.

Cape Town!

Hello all, just letting you know that I made it to Cape Town just fine and am enjoying it immensely. It is beautiful and I am so excited for all the things we are going to see and do. Today we went to Cape Point which is the furthest point in Africa, and then to a PENGUIN COLONY. (they were awfully cute, for being birds and all). Where we are staying is lovely and a block over from Long St, which is the main road. Table Mountain is also really close, it is a beautiful view. Bits and pieces of here remind me of Hong Kong and England, so I feel quite at home. Alright, running out of internet time (I'm at a cafe), see you all shortly!
xoxo

Giving Thanks for Namibia

Today has been a lot of napping, packing, and picking at Thanksgiving leftovers. It hasn't sunk in that we're leaving yet, and I have definitely fallen in love with Namibia, so I don't know if I can really wrap up the last four months here. I know that I have been reminded that I am capable of adapting to new situations and places, I have worked really hard on staying positive in difficult situations and enjoying every moment, and I have had so many different and new experiences that I have enjoyed immensely. I am excited to get home and get to be that girl that talks about Namibia all the time ;) but in the meantime, I thought I'd do a 'things I'll miss about Namibia' photo collection: (I may regret this once I find out how long it is going to take)
The epic sunsets

Bungalow 131 in Swakopmund - after climbing Dune 7

Hanging out in Angola (no big deal)

Struggling along the Orange River

Traditional dances

Of course, kids like Kaita at FHS

Thanksgiving in Namibia

Happy Thanksgiving from Windhoek! We were cooking up a storm, I think Catherine and I were in the kitchen since yesterday and only took a break to sleep and run to the gym. I am reminded of why I am not sold on the traditional American Thanksgiving - sweatpants and a ton of Chinese food sounded most appetizing. But I made the sweet potato fries, cheesecakes and banana bread. Turns out Namibia is not the appropriate climate for inordinate amounts of cooking for 30 plus people, 2 stoves and 10 or so chefs...the kitchen was really hot. It seemed to be successful, tons and tons of leftovers, but we have plenty of internships and places to take them.
Saturday we leave Namibia for Cape Town! It really hasn't sunk in that we are leaving Namibia for good (for now... ;) ) because we've been on the move so much. Even though we have started packing...I am trying to fit all of my newly accumulated belongings into my bag.
Tomorrow we have the whole day off - I don't even know what to do with myself! I am sure that there are places that would be nice to visit one last time, and maybe I will even get to sleep in past 7am. I am really excited for Cape Town, it certainly seems like there a lot of different things to see and I am excited for all the things we get to do. (For those of you that owe me lists of must-do activities, I am still waiting!) I will try and post something pleasantly reflective as a last (again, for now) Namibian blog tomorrow...and then it is off to Cape Town!

My last day at FHS

Today was a reminder of how soon I leave Namibia...I had my last day at Family of Hope, which was also the last day of school. We had a big Christmas party, where each of the classes performed, as well as the care group (a support group of mothers in the area) and the children's choir. The kindergarten class also did a pageant, which was absolutely adorable. It was lovely having all of the kids there at once, and they were all very sweet. I am very sad to leave them all. Being a part of the FHS community for a little while makes me wish I was there to see the older remedial kids through their first year at formal school, see the kindergarteners go to grade 1, things like that. I also am really sad to leave the teachers - they have all been wonderful women to work with and hopefully I will stay in touch with what is going on at the center. I also realized how busy the next few days are going to be - Margaret, Anna and I are presenting on Tuesday. Tomorrow we are having the big festivities for Rachel's birthday, which will be fun! And hopefully getting the project done on Tuesday will give me more days to relax and enjoy my LAST WEEK in Namibia...it is sad to be leaving!

Me and Karembera

Looking festive!


The children's choir

Busy Week

Only two weeks until Cape Town! This week we were back to classes, we have one more week of classes left and then it is Integrative Project Presentations, Thanksgiving, and then packing up! But I am getting ahead of myself. Monday and Wednesday was internship, we are prepping the older kids for their Grade 7 exams which start this week, and the last day of school is the 20th, so we are going to have a last day/Christmas party. Tuesday I presented on my internship, and it was also Hour of Power! Hour of Power is a swimming relay fundraiser that I actually knew about last year, because Clark was involved. It is a fundraiser and awareness raiser in honor of Ted Mullin, who died of Sarcoma (a soft tissue cancer). Ted is actually the brother of Catherine, my good friend and one of my roommates here. Proof of how small the world is! It was great to hear about what other swim teams are doing, and to be involved in our own way. The link to the Hour of Power website is here...:
http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/varsity_sports/mens_swimming_and_diving/hour_of_power_relay/

Wednesday we had what I would say is one of the most interesting classes I've had since being here. With Religion class we went to visit ELCIN, a Christian organization affiliated with the Namibian Council of Churches. ELCIN works hard to provide for those that have recently migrated to Windhoek (usually in an effort to find work) and usually end up living in the informal settlements. The main programs run by ELCIN are for OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children), centered around HIV/AIDs prevention, and income generating projects. We got to tour around to a couple different projects, including a bread baking project and a pre-primary school. It was great to see what religious organizations are active in doing in a developing nation.

We have started work on our integrative projects, Margaret, Anna and I are focusing on the Namibian education system. Yesterday Margaret and I visited two schools, the Steenkamp Primary School in Katatura and a private trust high school in Windhoek. It was very interesting to compare the teaching styles, focus of the schools, and the quality of the education between the two. I was very impressed by the private school, the students were very aware that they were being taught by teachers that were passionate about learning and about the level of understanding, rather than focusing on test scores. The number of children per class was also far less. It is unfortunate that not everyone has access to this quality of education, or to education at all.

Today a few of us attending a talk/discussion on global health, which was given by a professor at the University of Washington and was actually organized through Lizzie's mother. It is a small world! It was very interesting to see how different universities are collaborating and talk about how issues of global health are connected to development, gender, education, and you can go on and on. So you can see that we are finding plenty to fill our days with here, when we don't have work. All too soon I will be home, so I have to fit it all in now!

Hour of Power-ing, unfortunately we are not as intense as some legit teams ;)

The informal settlements, not far from where I intern and where ELCIN runs a bread baking program

Rachel, Ethel, Catherine and me, all dressed up! (Dave came too but was excluded from the group shot apparently)