"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)

Finding My Inner African

Cooking dinner on the last night - I managed to burn off all my arm hair.
Hardap Dam


"In Namibia you cry twice. Once when you arrive and wonder where AM I? The second time is when you leave."

Right now it's a little chilly and smells like fall in New England (not sure how that happened). I just started the mountain of work I have to get through - plenty to do this week. This weekend we had a travel seminar down south, stopping in Mariental and Berseba, which are not as far south as I traveled on fall break. But we got to see the area in greater depth, stopping to talk to different organizations about how they are attempting to develop their communities. When you drive through Namibia there are huge stretches where there is just NOTHING but farms and mountains and fields. We camped the whole weekend, starting off at a government owned campsite, then a community owned site, and then a private campsite. It was really interesting to compare approaches to development just in terms of the campsites. Despite my socialist leanings I found that the private campsite had the best toilets. Communal land ownership is a lot more appealing when it involves indoor plumbing.

I don't think I gave much thought to this trip before we left, it was just something to check off at the end of the week. But I do feel like I learnt a lot about different forms of development and how different approaches each have benefits, and how it is important that they are all implemented. I think it is important for communities to decide how their land is used (such as the Berseba community) but the Kalahari Anib Lodge (privately owned) had a lot of great ideas for land conservation and education, and has the resources and training to carry it out. Development is never straightforward...what did I get myself into ;)

The quote above was something that the representative from the Kalahari Anib Lodge mentioned, and it stood out to me. I remember landing in Hosea Kutako airport and thinking "This is some sort of joke, we are in the middle of a desert...we are going to refuel and take off again in a minute right? WHERE AM I?" Romanus got a good laugh out of my face when I turned around and demanded an explanation. He then pointed to a hut and said "oh look, we're home!" It was not appreciated.
Skip ahead two months, and I have been reminded that I am capable of adapting. I enjoy internet that is slow enough that I have the time to go and make a cup of tea while I wait for my page to load...I appreciate the view of the stars that you get when you use the outhouse on a rural farm (hopefully that is the only view people were getting)...I will miss going round our house yelling at people to do their dishes. In all seriousness, I realized today as we were driving through the mountains while listening to some traditional African CD that I really love Namibia, and as excited as I am to come home (I already started my list of things to do...of course) I will miss it here. Starting with the unbelievable sunsets...it's like every night is out to top the last. It kind of took me by surprise, because before getting here, Africa was somewhere that I wasn't familiar with and it was not somewhere I had any background in. Once again, I find somewhere else in the world where I feel comfortable...

Homestretch

It is a month and a little bit until I'll be back home - only 4 more weeks in Windhoek. I can't believe how quickly it went by...I am excited to finish up my four months here by seeing Cape Town and I can't wait to see everyone at home! But before I get home, I have a lot of work to get done. We are making up for our 3 weeks of no work, for sure! So there is not too much to report here, just doing the day to day things in Windhoek, lots of going to the gym, enjoying the nice weather, and we have plans to go out to dinner tonight. This upcoming Thursday we are going South for another travel seminar weekend, so we will be visiting development organizations etc until Sunday. Since I have no other exciting news, here are some photos (since the internet seems to be working reasonably well...for once)

A dam that we visited on the border of Namibia and Angola
Naturally I loved the awkward giraffes in Etosha
We saw lots of zebra...look at how funnily-shaped the one in the background is
One of the little girls at my internship - I will be sad to leave them

Angolan to South African border in a week

Fish River Canyon - amazing

Our group and our amazing tour guides

From the top of a mountain along the Orange River

Mountains at our first campsite

I am back from the Orange River, exhausted and happy to be back in the land of showers and beds and running water. My final week of travel was incredible. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and I am so glad that I got to see the southern parts of Namibia. This past Sunday we left at 5:30am, drove all the way down to Noordoewer which is on the border of Namibia and South Africa and spent time at the base camp. We drove the B1 (which I can now say has the nickname "the road of death" because there are no streetlights and there are only 2 lanes: aka no night driving), which means that we took the highway all the way up to Angola last week and then all the way down to South Africa this week.
The next morning we set off down the river, the mountains were beautiful. The river had occasional rapids which were so much fun, and Larry and I succeeded in not capsizing at any point! The other people on the canoe trip were really great and far more prepared than us- it turns out that being rushed means that we forgot basic essentials such as sleeping mats, utensils and plates. For being so minimalistic we had a wonderful time and did really well. This may or may not have something to do with the ability to scrounge things up from other people. After the Orange River we drove to Fish River Canyon, which is the world's second largest canyon. It was unbelievable how small it made me feel and how quiet everything was. The canyon went on for miles and miles. (As you can tell this trip was filled with beautiful landscapes). Then last night we stopped in Rehoboth, which is south of Windhoek. We camped along a lake, I won't mention the mountains and how great they are. I do have lots of photos, but typical of Namibia the internet is unwilling to upload more than the ones I have above.
It was a great week of relaxing and seeing more of the country. The month of October has meant more sleeping under the stars and less showers than I ever thought I was capable of and I loved it. I understand now how Namibia only has a population of 2 million, because there is so much empty land, which I would have no idea of if I stayed in Windhoek West. Driving back in to Windhoek this morning I felt like it was such a big city - that's when you know you've been in sparsely populated areas for a long time, when you start to feel that Windhoek is big! It is reassuring to get back to civilization, even though I have no desire to get back to work. I can't believe how quickly the month of November is going to go by, I have lots to do with the rest of my time here - starting with working on my list of restaurants to visit!

A Triathalon of Traveling

The last two weeks have been amazingly busy, and I am happy to be in Windhoek for even just a little bit so I can catch my breath. We started out our traveling with the rural homestay, which going into it I was nervous about. It turned out to be an amazing experience and so much more managable than I had envisioned. I loved my host family, they were really welcoming, and my host dad spoke English well so there was at least someone who I could communicate with. I spent a lot of time with my host mum, and she seems to like having me around even though our English communication was a little less. But she did like improving my Damara skills and forced me to use what I had learnt. Our days on the farm I did things like milk the goats, feed the chickens, help cook, collect firewood etc. The middle of the day was so hot that there was really not much opportunity to do anything. At night we would sit around the fire and eat, the stars were amazing every single night and you could actually see the Milky Way really clearly. I am really glad that I could end all my homestays on a good note and that I got so much out of it - there were a lot of times that I looked around and it felt surreal that I was on a farm somewhere in Northern Namibia.

After the homestay we went to Etosha for our game drives!! We were such stereotypical foreigners loving every minute of our safari. We saw so many animals; a rhino, elephants, lions, giraffes, ostriches, warthogs, springbok, kudo, oryx, and zebra. They were all a lot larger in real life than I had imagined, also ostriches are terrifying because they are about 12ft tall. My favorite were the giraffes, I liked the elephants but I had been told too many horror stories on my homestay about how elephants will wander into farms and destroy everything/trample people so I was a little more wary.

From Etosha we went further North, where I proceeded to get sick (again) and spend two/three days in bed, so not much to report from those days except for watching a lot of football. I watched more World Cup qualifying matches in one sitting than I ever thought possible. While we were in the North I was able to go to the Angolan border, so that was very cool. I really liked seeing more of Namibia, because the North is so different than Windhoek and you can see how issues of government and development differ by location. On our way back to Windhoek we stopped at the Osire refugee camp, which was a mindblowing experience. The camp has been there for the last 10 years, and 91% of those living in the camp are from Angola. We stopped to speak to the teachers, who gave us an idea of the political and social limbo that they are trapped in, and that they are more or less reliant on the UNCHR because they are not given any opportunities to support themselves. I really need to learn more about the camp and the Angolan civil war, which was the reason why most of the refugees ended up in Osire.

So now, I'm starting the third week of my crazy traveling. Tomorrow a few of us leave for the South, we are driving down to the Orange River to canoe until Fri/Sat. And then I will be glad to be back in Windhoek West for a while!

Where I'll be in October

...to remind both myself and others:
5th-10th Rural homestay
10th-12th Etosha (safari!)
12th-16th North
16th-17th Back in Windhoek
18th-23rd Fall break...the Orange River!
And then I'm in Windhoek again and will probably need a good long nap.

Education In Namibia - Some Thoughts

The rainy season has really started here in Namibia, making me really glad I packed a raincoat. The rain will come out of nowhere and absolutely downpour, complete with thunder and lightening. It's respite from the heat though, so it's more than welcome.

Today I had my internship, I took a taxi (taxi rides in Namibia - never a dull moment) to get there early so I can work with the remedial program. I sort of fell in to working with that class, because it has been hard to determine where I can be the most useful since I am here for such a limited amount of time, and only speak English. The remedial class is made up of students that are between 14 and 19, and most if not all are not in formal school. This is for a lot of different reasons- they were prevented from going to school when they were younger, they don't have birth certificates which prevents them from registering, they can't afford school fees (even though education is supposed to be free, this is often not the case) to name a few. These students work really hard, are really attentive, and really respectful. This past Monday I had the class on my own, which was rather daunting for the five minutes I had to think about it before class started, but they were really great. Usually I work one on one with them on reading or math skills, their teacher is trying to prepare them for the grade 7 exam but really the goal is to simply educate them as much as she can.

My students have really poor English reading and writing skills, not only because of the lack of education but because they aren't exposed to English regularly. It can be really heart breaking some days, because they've missed out on so many years of education that they very badly need. Also it's me, so I really want people to enjoy reading and have it not be such a struggle. Left out of the educational system, and with very little vocational training that doesn't require you to be a high school graduate, I worry about what will happen to these students and their peers in the future. At the same time, I am loving getting to spend time with them and even though I know that it was a miniscule victory in the grand scheme of things, when one of the girls told me today that she understood dividing fractions I was so pleased. Especially because goodness knows the last time I divided a fraction.

Having another, different experience with education really makes me think about its role in development and eradicating poverty. And makes me wonder why I always end up in teaching positions when I get volunteer and internship placements. I feel like I am learning a lot from my internship, and the amount that I am giving back is far less. I can't reconcile how an educational system can fail so many students, and I wonder how many similarities there are to inner city schools in the US, where obviously the situation is very different but there are still a lot of missed opportunities. It is hard not to be discouraged! And of course, I am left with the very familiar question of what can be done to solve such a multi-layered problem...

My weekend in Swakup!

Dune 7, I climbed all the way to the top!
Some seals, hopefully I got closer photos on my disposable camera
Rachel and I at the beach!
This weekend was very busy, and very cold (comparatively) but it was great to see more of Namibia. The landscape changes pretty quickly once you head towards the coast, or at least it felt that way, because I woke up from my nap and thought I was watching scenes from Aladdin as we drove. This is not particularly politically correct of me, but that's what it reminded me of! We stayed in funny little A-frame bungalows that are a fabulous shade of pepto pink, Lauren and I were great roommates. Thursday and Friday were filled with meetings, including the Walvis Bay Municipality, an Export Processing Zone (super interesting), a fish factory (I got to wear some great protective gear complete with little booties), an uranium mine, and we also toured the former township of Swakupmund, Mondesa. There we saw a community project school that is not unlike my internship, got to meet one of the first female Damara chiefs, and went to Mondesa Youth Opportunities (mondesayouth.org) which is an awesome after school enrichment program that definitely gave me ideas as to what I would like to do when I 'grow up.' We definitely learnt a lot in Swakup and Walvis Bay, which I appreciated, because it's typically pegged as just a tourist area (there are certainly a lot of Germans around to justify this).
We also did a lot of fun non-academic things, like climbed Dune 7, which is 100 metres high and one should always bring and inhaler when climbing it. There were lots of great places to eat, the sunsets were always amazing, I did yoga on the beach on Saturday, and sea kayaking was amazing. There were SO many seals, who are very noisy and also very smelly. We also saw little dolphins, which I believe are called heavy side dolphins. So all in all it was a great trip, if tiring, especially knowing that I have three papers due this week! I'm glad to be back in Windhoek, we have a lot to do this week including planning fall break before we head out next Sunday for 2 weeks up North which includes our rural homestay (!). I can't believe that this is week 7 and next week I'm halfway done with my trip...the rural homestay is definitely what I am most nervous about. But I am excited for this week, being a little settled, having internet (have to admit it) and possibly going to the Old Mutual Jazz Encounter this weekend. CGE certainly keeps us busy!

On the move again!

The CGE crew is on the move again, even though we have really only been at the house for maybe a week and a half, I think we are all really excited to get to Swakupmund. The car ride is about four hours, we leave tomorrow afternoon after class. Apparently it is fairly cold (by this I mean 60-70 degrees, really not anything to complain about - but it is such an adjustment to make!) Some of the things that are on the schedule for this upcoming weekend: going to a fish factory (we get to wear stylish protective suits), an Export Processing Zone (very excited about this because of all of the critiques I have learnt), and climbing a dune. And then of course my sea kayaking! I am excited to see more of Namibia, now that I am feeling that Windhoek is more familiar.
I am having trouble defining my role and project at my internship, but have definitely been giving a lot of thought to the Namibian and South African educational system since being here, and definitely after the time spent at FHS thus far. I would like to see a formal school, because FHS works as an enrichment and remedial program. It is very hard for me to see 13 and 14 year old boys that have never had formal schooling, and are working hard to get in to an educational system that doesn't have the resources or ability to help them. I have been thinking a lot about my role within educational systems that leave so many children with no opportunities. I haven't come up with any answers yet! But this article was recently in the NYT (I am very grateful for any time I have to check the news), it sums up the obstacles facing the South African educational system: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/world/africa/20safrica.html?_r=2&ref=global-home
Another note is that this upcoming week I am doing the academic blog that all students have to do twice during the semester, and which counts towards our class grades. It's a little behind because the posts have to be graded before they're posted, but it gives you an idea of what we're doing academically: http://cgenamibia.blogspot.com/
I was going to post a photo as a reward for all of the reading, but it didn't work. But I did update my Picasa website, and will have photos of Swakup soon!

Weekend in Windhoek

Hello, it's a lazy Sunday morning, I slept until 8:30 today! Which honestly is quite a feat here, between the sunrise and having 5 other roommates. I would like to go to church here, but thus far haven't found one that is in English. Yesterday Julia and I went to the Namibian National Art Gallery, it was really nice and I'm glad that we went. Museums here are usually not very well funded, but thankfully this one was. While it wasn't very big, they had some nice pieces of art and a great display that was made up of photos from the community, 100 years after the Herero genocide. After the museum, we had lunch and walked to Parliament Gardens. The Gardens are really beautiful, and actually the one place I've seen in Windhoek with grass (the advantages of manicured lawns in the desert). I did take some photos, so I will post those soon. It is actually hard to take photos here, because a lot of the time I don't feel safe carrying it around. But I am trying!
Today is a serious homework and gym day, this Thursday we are leaving for Swakupmund! I am so excited to get to the coast...I have been feeling to far away from the ocean lately. And yesterday I booked my sea kayaking - apparently there will be lots of seals! I can't wait!

CHINA!!

(That is what all the little kids at my internship scream when they see me)
Things have been busy, which is why I haven't posted in a while. This week we have been back from homestays and at the center, which has been really nice because it has been relaxed and given us the ability to do more independent activities. Today I don't have class, right now I'm sitting on the balcony, the weather is fabulous :) Later today a group of us are going hiking, which I have been looking forward to for a while. This weekend I have lots of plans, such as going to Parliament Gardens or the Namibian National Art Gallery, we'll see what happens! Classes have kept us pretty busy because they are 4 hours long, but the work hasn't been overwhelming and certainly not what I'm used to at Clark so that has been great.
This week has really been pretty relaxed, but next wednesday we go to the coast (Swakupmund) and I am looking forward to that. I think I'm going to go sea kayaking, and I'll get to see seals! It is nice to be settled and able to really enjoy things here. It really makes me excited for the next trip I'm going ot take, whenever and wherever that may be. I do have to say that Namibian air has really caused problems with my breathing and given me a cough and stuffy nose. Should have packed a humidifier...
Additionally, I miss my chiropractic appointments, recycling, and knowing where to get a haircut (not sure how to handle that issue, my fringe is getting rather long...)

This is an example of a beautiful Namibian sunset, even though the photo isn't that great, I plan on taking many more while I'm here. The sunrises are also pretty spectacular too, I can report (unfortunately I have been a witness to them many times). I am currently eating almonds and chai (excellent snack) and trying to do some homework...which is proving to be difficult in a house of 25 people whilst doing a homestay. Though I can't really complain, our papers aren't very long. We only have two more days of homestay-ing, then we have about a week and a half at the house before we go to Swakupmund. I can't believe that come Sunday, we will have been here for 4 weeks already.
Yesterday we had history class, and I think it has been one of the most insightful experiences I've had here so far. We learnt about the Herero (a tribe here) Genocide, which took place during 1904-1905. As it was enacted by German colonizers, it is considered the precursor to the Holocaust, yet it is not something that we are ever taught. Many of the tactics used during the Herero genocide were reused during the Holocaust, and is an equally intentional killing of thousands of people. The documentary we watched is here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXgIhSjWGhE and I would really encourage people to watch it. It is pretty shocking how little history we truly know, because we are so often misinformed or not informed at all. So that has been a pretty incredible learning experience...I'm interested to see where it goes from here.

Namibian men love their bucket hats

...At first I thought it was just our driver, Passat, but nope. It's all of them. In fact, if I had thought of it earlier, I would have started a photography book on hat wear in Namibia. I started my homestay Thursday (more on that later), and when we went to church I felt uncomfortable because I was the only woman without a hat. But then I realized I was the only non-black person there, so whatever attention I was going to draw to myself was not going to be because of my lack of headgear.
So it has been homestay since Thursday, which I am enjoying even though it is very different from our Soweto experience. I love that Lizzie is up the street, and we have been able to go to the gym a couple times as well. I love having host siblings my age, Saturday we went to a football match (Swaziland vs Namibia's Brave Warriors), which ended 1-all. Saturday night we had a family braai (bbq) which was a ton of fun, and Sunday was church and a 2 hour nap. I think that CGE students (or at least our group!) are nortorious for falling asleep everywhere, on sofas, in cars, going to bed at 8pm. It is only a matter of time before the jetlag/time change excuse is no longer applicable...
This week is also our first full week of classes, so we come back to the center in the morning and Lizzie and I take a taxi back at night. It means we've been pretty busy, today we had political science and our internship class. Tomorrow I have religion class for the first time, and we have to do a creative project/presentation on how we feel about religion and social change. It was actually a very interesting project to do (I still haven't decided what I'm going to say though...) because both topics are very relevant to me. Hopefully the class is equally interesting...
As for my internship, I have been getting more of a background to the organization the last couple of times I've been, and hopefully tomorrow I will be able to nail down what my specific project will be. It's a learning process, definitely!
Hopefully I will be able to update more coherently when I am in one place for a longer period of time....I am feeling very scattered!

My first day at Family of Hope Services

Today was my first day at my internship...it has been a long time coming! I was actually really nervous, I think because it was truly my first time to do something completely without the group or anyone from the group. I fought back the feelings of abandonment, good practice for my homestay tomorrow! The schools in Namibia are on recess right now, and don't go back until the 8th, so most of the center's programs are on hold until then. That means that I don't get to jump right into whatever project I decide to work on, but hopefully next week that will become more clear. For today, I mostly talked to the administrative assistant and I met my supervisor in the last hour I was there.
Even though the center doesn't have official programs running during school break, they still do feeding and youth programs. So I helped out with that today, per usual I played with kids! One little girl took a nap on me for 2 hours and I read Bible stories aloud. I feel fairly overwhelmed because I don't know a whole lot about the organization yet, or what I will be doing, and I don't know Katatura very well. But I am sure all of those things will come to me eventually, and hopefully next week will have more clarity.
Tomorrow we start our homestays in Windhoek, which is another transition. I am apparently staying with a single mum and her 3 kids, (all around my age) and she is a schoolteacher. It is going to be hard doing a homestay for 10 days and without someone from the group, but at least we will see each other during the day for classes. I am also hoping to fit in some gym time! Also, today I got my first piece of mail in my little mailbox, it was very exciting...thank you Calli :)
So I will have updates about all of that as things happen...miss you all!

Photo Albums

Here's a link to my Picasa photo albums. Hopefully I will have more photos of Windhoek soon!
picasaweb.google.com/ihaveawaterbuffalo

Life in Windhoek

It doesn't feel like we've been here that long, but I guess we have because it is Monday already. Saturday a bunch of us girls woke up early to walk to the mall (40 mins away) to look at two of the gyms. I decided to join the third, which is the closest. I went to the gym today, which felt great and I am happy with. It is in a plaza with a few cafes and clubs, and the NAMIBIAN CRAFT CENTER. Which will be the place I will spend all my time and money. It is all fair trade and locally made by Namibian women who then have a little section in the center to sell their stuff. There's beautiful artwork and bags and clothes and jewelery.
This weekend was really laid back, and so was today because I don't start my internship until Wednesday. I did get some reading to do for classes this week, and tomorrow we have a team building retreat. So things have been a little more laid back than Johannesburg, and I am enjoying getting to know Windhoek. I hope that the transition into our urban homestay is smooth, because we leave on Thursday and I am not quite ready for living somewhere else for 10 days.
I am working on getting photos up on Picasa, but I do have some on Facebook for those that didn't see!

Ubuntu (Zulu: I am because we are)

Hello...so it is our 3rd day in Windhoek, I like it so far and am excited to get to know the area better. Yesterday we had a tour around the city that was in our vans and led by a local tour guide. A lot of our group was very uncomfortable with the tour, and I felt like it was the first time that I felt like a tourist. Which meant feeling uncomfortable, singled out, like an outsider, and like we were simply showing up, privileged college students, to observe other people's lives. Of course we reflected (a lot of reflection takes place in the CGE house) and talked about all the different sides of why we would feel that way. I had my first internship class, it was definitely a wake up call that school is about to start!! But while most people are starting their internships for a full day Monday, I don't start until Wednesday because the children in the area are out of school. And then last night I just hung out at the house, I did my pilates video and washed my clothes, both things that were very, very necessary!!

Today was very different. We were in the same area of Windhoek, Katatura, which is the former black township (and where I will be doing my internship). But we were broken up into much smaller groups and assigned a tour guide, who was actually a student our age who lived in Katatura. So it was a much more personal, welcoming interaction with the area, and we learnt useful things like how to get a taxi. It was great to talk to a Namibian our age, and we went to an "incubation centre", which is where local businesses can rent a space from the municipality in order to have a place from which to run their business. So I felt a lot more at home today, and less like I could never belong here (even though being a foreigner, particularly a white one, is definitely noticiable). This weekend I have lots of errand type things to do, and am hoping to check out the local gym. So hopefully we can be a little more settled in, even though we move to our Windhoek homestays on Thursday...no staying in one place for too long ;) I will hopefully take photos of the house and neighborhood really soon, so people can see where I am staying!

Hello From Namibia!

Hello...
After what has felt like a long hiatus from internet connection, we arrived in Windhoek at the house today and are slowly creeping along online. I had a very busy and enjoyable weekend in Soweto with my host family. I had my host parents, Jean and Mapule, and then host brother Tshepiso (22), and host sisters Nandi (19) and Thato (8). I absolutely loved them, and it was so nice to be in a nice, warm, comfortable house. They fed me and Anna SO MUCH. They had this belief that I was 'afraid of food' and that I needed to get bigger before I left their house. The food was AMAZING, including the braai (bbq) we had on Saturday night, but the quantity was incredible. It got to the point where I was giving Thato my leftovers on the sly because I couldn't eat everything. I want to post a photo of my family but I don't want to push the internet speed to breaking point.

So aside from eating, Friday night when we got there we went to pick up a cousin, Tshidi, who stayed for the weekend, and that translated into visiting lots of different family members in a part of Soweto called White City. We did more visiting on Saturday before the braai, I loved how welcoming and happy to see us everyone was. Mapule kept introducing us as her 'white children.' Sunday we went to Mass at a nice, very diverse church. Later in the day we went to Mandela's house, which was very meaningful to me because neither Mapule or Jean had been there before. Sunday night we had a HUGE meal that Nandi cooked, and I ate everything! (Exercise is very necessary at this point if only for my mental sanity)

Yesterday we went to Pretoria and saw the Vortrekker monument, and met with people from the US embassy and University of Pretoria. The embassy meeting was the most interesting for me, we spoke to a Political Officer that focuses on Domestic Politics. He talked a lot about what his job involved and what the US' involvement in South Africa is. I asked him how he deals with potentially having to promote and carry out US policies that he potentially doesn't agree with...I think that confirmed I can't work for a government agency! He said that he has faith that as elected representatives, those in government are carrying out policies that are in accordance with the wishes of the US people. Which in theory is true, but I don't necessarily think that the US public is always so active to inform and demand that their representatives carry out what they think is best. Also Julia and I had panic attacks at the top of the Vortrekker monument because of the sheer drop from the top...it was really funny we had to crawl back to the stairs.

Ok, so this is a very long post. Other than all those things I got a cold on my homestay and the air is really dry and so my respiratory system isn't happy. Hopefully that improves soon. As for the house, it is bigger than I thought, though I am sharing a room with 5 other girls. I put some Georgia O'Keefe paintings from Vogue on the wall by my bed so it's a little cheerier. I am sure I will be reporting back on life in Windhoek shortly!
xx hannah

First homestay this weekend!

Hello,
Tomorrow we leave for our first homestay, in Soweto! Anna and I (hopefully we don't through them off with the similar names) are staying with a family, not sure of the members yet but I think they have an 8 year old girl so that is exciting. Today and yesterday we have had a lot of speakers, which I have enjoyed, and we also went to the apartheid museum which had SO MUCH information. Aside from that not a whole lot to say this time, the cold isn't much good for my nose because it has been runny but at the same time the air is really dry. Sure that everyone really wanted to hear about my nose. Today I found out that we are missing Joy of Jazz, which is Johannesburg's big jazz festival, which is disappointing! Apparently this semester is 4 months of missing live music. Perhaps I will be able to dig some up in Namibia. I will post after the weekend with photos and everything about my homestay!
xx

A few photos

I just thought I'd put up a few photos of the last few days. The first one is me (as you can see) and the girl that showed us around the school yesterday. She would like to be a botanist when she grows up. The second is me in Kliptown, which is a slum area in Soweto, and the last is a monument outside of Kliptown, that is made up of the tin buildings in which they wrote the Freedom Charter. Not sure if the formatting is what I want it to be but never mind. Goodnight all!
xx

Sanibonani! (hello in Zulu)

Hi all, I am sitting in bed with my sweats under the covers...it is COLD. I got an adapter today so I feel like I can post properly without worrying about tying up someone's adapter. Today was another busy day, we started off at a local semi-private school going classroom to classroom in small groups. As you all can imagine I loved that, the kids (grades 8-12) had so many questions and I had lots for them. The one that was most confusing was why the US has states AND a president...I wasn't sure how to answer that one, it doesn't seem to make sense to me either. Another class requested that we sing the national anthem but I wasn't much help there. The best part was being called the Chinese girl and lots of people wanted photos with me. That was a riot...some things never change. (Several 14 year old boys offered to marry me because they said they like Chinese girls). It was great to see a school, because I am really interested in that area and how it might tie into what I end up doing.

After the school we went to Robby's Place, the first restaurant to open in Soweto (which is a big deal because it was a black-only township). We then went to the Hector Pieterson Museum (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Pieterson), which was meaningful to me because I did my presentation on the '76 Soweto Student Uprisings in my Revolutions and Political Violence class last fall. Hector Peterson's sister spoke to us, she is the one next to him in the famous photo, so that was very powerful. It is exciting to see and experience the places I have learnt about, and talk to people that were there. There was lots of beautiful art outside the museum to buy, but I am waiting til I transfer more money. My most important purchase today was an adapter.

Big news for those that I told about my internship...it has arrived! As you can imagine this is great for me. I'm working for Family Hope Services, whose mission is "to restore hope, joy and dignity and bring socio-economic stability to families affected and infected by HIV/AIDS through empowerment and capacity building programs." It's linked to the Namibia Family of God churches, and they "aim to empower and build capacity for disadvantaged orphans and vulnerable children and their caregivers" (aka particularly women) HOW PERFECT IS THAT. There are a few different projects I could be doing, but I am going to see what it ends up being. Things always change and aren't what you expect but I am happy it's in my interests. I'm so excited about it. By the way I thought I lost my post because I closed the screen...thank God for auto save.

I have been drinking a lot of African red tea, which I drink a lot anyway but I find it very exciting that I am drinking it in Africa. I keep making this comment, it is probably irritating those I am around all the time :) We drove by the main World Cup stadium today, makes me wish I would be there! There are photos I want to post but the internet is slow, probably because all 25 of us are online at once...

Ok that is all for now...wish I could talk to you all individually!
xx

My birthday/I am alive!

Hi all, I made it to Africa! The flight was really long, so it was up for debate whether I would get here in one piece. We stopped off for an hour in Dakar, but I didn't get to see any of it. When I went through immigration the official wished me a very happy birthday. Today was our first full day, it was so busy that I am struggling to remember all that we did! A little things were different about my birthday - first of all it is freezing so I am wearing a coat, second we had our first speaker today so I am in school!
We went around Soweto today, seeing the former male-only dorms, former black-only townships, Regina Mundi (a church that the SA police stormed during the liberation struggle) Kliptown, a house where Nelson Mandela used to hide. It was a memorable birthday, even though I miss everyone at home. We had a guide that experienced the liberation struggle, and that was really moving because he is pretty young and it happened so recently.
Tomorrow we go to the Hector Peterson apartheid museum, which I am very excited about. I have been really tired, which makes it hard to adjust, but everyone is in the same boat and hopefully it will just get easier from here on out. Our group is really nice, and from all over the place. It has also been really nice to have Rachel here with me :)
We are staying at a guest house until Friday, where we go to our homestays with a family in Soweto. We then go up to Pretoria and Alexandra, which are further north from Johannesburg, and then on Wednesday we fly up to Namibia and our homebase.
That is all I have for now - I am missing you all very much!

Contacting me

(an idea of what my life has looked like this week)

I thought I would leave my contact information up here before I leave...

Address:

C/O Center For Global Education

P.O. Box 21377

Windhoek, Namibia

Phone number for the house is (011-264-61) 250-737 for those of you in the US that would like to arrange to call, and of course I'll be checking my email!

Almost there!

I leave in 2 days! I thought that this would be an easy way for people to check up on me while I'm gone, I was going to do an email list, but I realized it would be annoying to send photos that way. Not that I know how to post them on here either...I'll work on that one.
I'm getting ready for the 17/18 hour flight, I have lots to read! I'm looking forward to looking through Rachel's travel guide because she has been giving me daily updates. I have been giving a lot of thought to packing and my room is a mess but nothing is in a bag yet...
Next time I write I'll be in AFRICA....
xx hannah