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!