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!