Now, there are a few ways you could look at the fact that THEY are writing these stories:
1. I'm too lazy to write about it
2. I've become so adjusted to Namibia and Namibia's way of life, that I forget to tell the little stories of details surrounding Namibia and my life here.
I'd like to think it's #2 - and I truly believe I've adjusted, and when that happens, I don't think of explaining the small details. Even my mother pointed that out to me one day on the phone - when I didn't have much to talk about.
So, if you don't mind, the next bunch of posts will be our experiences on our holiday - written by my parents, from their point of view - from 2 people who have never been to Africa, or a developing country, and were even a bit worried coming over here, as to what to expect.
I'd like to think that, even in a small way, this has changed their way of thinking of Africa, Namibia, developing countries, and other cultures around the world....
p.s. You are all welcome to come visit me as well! And I'd HIGHLY suggest you visit my village :)
POST #1
We left JFK at 11am for a 14 hour flight to Johannesburg. After a 4 hour layover we took a 2 hour hop to Windhoek. On deplaning we were struck by the endless horizon, bright sun, and blue sky. Johanna greeted us and we immediately got our rental car..a Hyundai Tucson...new! John had the fun of learning to drive a stick shift, shifting left handed with 6 forward gears and the windshield wiper and directional controls just the opposite of what we have in America. Needless to say there were many turns made with the wipers running and you drive on the left side of the road here. Added to that we couldn't find reverse gear until the next day.
We went directly to a B&B where we saw our first meerkat and then to Joe's Beer House for dinner. Johanna and John shared a barbecue of oryx, kudu, crocodile, zebra, and ostrich. Diane ate a vegetable wrap which was more like a quesadilla. We went back to the B&B and crashed.
We then picked up her Meme (who had just gotten back from a trip to Cape Town with other teachers from her area - she was VERY excited about this trip!) and took a 9 hour trip north to Johanna's village, Onamunhama. She lives on a homestead which is about an acre that is fenced in completely with branches and small tree trunks. It was sandy but very clean and raked often. There were a few small houses and 4 round huts. These were referred to by the family as their rooms. Johanna's room (hut) is about 10 feet square and the door into it is only four feet high. But you can stand up inside and the ceiling is about 9 feet in the center. She has set up a kitchen area, a gym, a bathroom, an office and a bedroom-all in 100 h roofs. square feet. The larger houses are used by the meme and the older children who are not in school but work. These have cement floors and walls. Linoleum or tile often covers the cement. The roofs are hand made thatch. The huts are used by the younger children.
Anna, a teacher, let us stay in her room (house). It has a queen size bed and we only had to go 75 feet to go to the bathroom which had running water...this a toilet and shower. This area is used very sparingly by the family to save money. They take bucket baths every day. This consists of an 18-24 inch plastic tub. First heat the water in a big pot then pour it into a paint bucket and then over to the tap, to fill up with cool water. Then bring that over tithe bucket bath room, pour it into the plastic container and scrub.
Two of the houses had solar panels but the electricity was used for lights and the stereo system and a tv which has a screen about 10 inches big. They have a gas stove which is used sparingly. Most meals are cooked on an outdoor fire. They eat on the ground as there is no table.
One of the more remarkable things on arrival was the night sky. There were no clouds in the sky and no lights on the ground so the Milky Way was very easy to see.
On Sunday morning we were awakened by the rooster, dogs barking and boys playing soccer at 7 am. The family had an outdoor fire and had cooked their breakfast (meat, this particular morning) and sat either on logs or the ground. Johanna made us breakfast, and we had granola and a form of powdered milk. We sat on the steps to eat it. Shortly after breakfast meme (mother and/or grandmother) and the kids and the dogs were gone to the homestead next door, where the wedding was taking place.
The wedding...they were preparing and cooking food for the wedding. The morning of this celebration a brown cow was shot and the men butchered it for the wedding which would feed meme's family and friends. Other food included carrots, potato salad, cole slaw which was warm, a green salad with the newly discovered feta cheese. Surrounding the homestead were tents set up by the different families who came to the wedding.
Women were preparing food for their family who would be in their tent.
Johanna bought a special shirt for John which she calls a tate shirt and a dress for Diane which Johanna ended up wearing. All the older women wore these dresses and many of the men either wore suits or these tate shirts. Some men even wore jeans.
We were the only white people there...many of these people had never seen a white person. Kids stared at us in bewilderment and many adults glared at us thinking we were Afrikaans. Still there were many who came up to us and shook our hands or asked if they could take a picture of us. Diane took a photo of some boys who were very excited to see themselves. John was approached by an elder gentleman who could identify with him because of his white hair. He insisted that John was German even though his son tried to explain we were from America. Johanna said we were celebrities. This was the second day of the wedding. The first day was a church ceremony followed by a reception at the bride's homestead. The second day was a civil ceremony and a party at the groom's homestead. The bride moved into her husband's homestead. The bride and groom had a special tent decorated in purple and white with greenery and a three tiered wedding cake. This tent was for the bride and groom (who, by the way, were dressed in western wedding attire) and their immediate family. This all took place within the fenced area of the groom's family homestead.
We walked to and from the wedding across a very sandy and dry mahongu field for maybe a half mile. Getting back home as a little harder because there was only the light from Johanna's and Crystal's cell phones.
First full day of Namibia - check!
We left JFK at 11am for a 14 hour flight to Johannesburg. After a 4 hour layover we took a 2 hour hop to Windhoek. On deplaning we were struck by the endless horizon, bright sun, and blue sky. Johanna greeted us and we immediately got our rental car..a Hyundai Tucson...new! John had the fun of learning to drive a stick shift, shifting left handed with 6 forward gears and the windshield wiper and directional controls just the opposite of what we have in America. Needless to say there were many turns made with the wipers running and you drive on the left side of the road here. Added to that we couldn't find reverse gear until the next day.
We went directly to a B&B where we saw our first meerkat and then to Joe's Beer House for dinner. Johanna and John shared a barbecue of oryx, kudu, crocodile, zebra, and ostrich. Diane ate a vegetable wrap which was more like a quesadilla. We went back to the B&B and crashed.
We then picked up her Meme (who had just gotten back from a trip to Cape Town with other teachers from her area - she was VERY excited about this trip!) and took a 9 hour trip north to Johanna's village, Onamunhama. She lives on a homestead which is about an acre that is fenced in completely with branches and small tree trunks. It was sandy but very clean and raked often. There were a few small houses and 4 round huts. These were referred to by the family as their rooms. Johanna's room (hut) is about 10 feet square and the door into it is only four feet high. But you can stand up inside and the ceiling is about 9 feet in the center. She has set up a kitchen area, a gym, a bathroom, an office and a bedroom-all in 100 h roofs. square feet. The larger houses are used by the meme and the older children who are not in school but work. These have cement floors and walls. Linoleum or tile often covers the cement. The roofs are hand made thatch. The huts are used by the younger children.
Anna, a teacher, let us stay in her room (house). It has a queen size bed and we only had to go 75 feet to go to the bathroom which had running water...this a toilet and shower. This area is used very sparingly by the family to save money. They take bucket baths every day. This consists of an 18-24 inch plastic tub. First heat the water in a big pot then pour it into a paint bucket and then over to the tap, to fill up with cool water. Then bring that over tithe bucket bath room, pour it into the plastic container and scrub.
Two of the houses had solar panels but the electricity was used for lights and the stereo system and a tv which has a screen about 10 inches big. They have a gas stove which is used sparingly. Most meals are cooked on an outdoor fire. They eat on the ground as there is no table.
One of the more remarkable things on arrival was the night sky. There were no clouds in the sky and no lights on the ground so the Milky Way was very easy to see.
On Sunday morning we were awakened by the rooster, dogs barking and boys playing soccer at 7 am. The family had an outdoor fire and had cooked their breakfast (meat, this particular morning) and sat either on logs or the ground. Johanna made us breakfast, and we had granola and a form of powdered milk. We sat on the steps to eat it. Shortly after breakfast meme (mother and/or grandmother) and the kids and the dogs were gone to the homestead next door, where the wedding was taking place.
The wedding...they were preparing and cooking food for the wedding. The morning of this celebration a brown cow was shot and the men butchered it for the wedding which would feed meme's family and friends. Other food included carrots, potato salad, cole slaw which was warm, a green salad with the newly discovered feta cheese. Surrounding the homestead were tents set up by the different families who came to the wedding.
Women were preparing food for their family who would be in their tent.
Johanna bought a special shirt for John which she calls a tate shirt and a dress for Diane which Johanna ended up wearing. All the older women wore these dresses and many of the men either wore suits or these tate shirts. Some men even wore jeans.
We were the only white people there...many of these people had never seen a white person. Kids stared at us in bewilderment and many adults glared at us thinking we were Afrikaans. Still there were many who came up to us and shook our hands or asked if they could take a picture of us. Diane took a photo of some boys who were very excited to see themselves. John was approached by an elder gentleman who could identify with him because of his white hair. He insisted that John was German even though his son tried to explain we were from America. Johanna said we were celebrities. This was the second day of the wedding. The first day was a church ceremony followed by a reception at the bride's homestead. The second day was a civil ceremony and a party at the groom's homestead. The bride moved into her husband's homestead. The bride and groom had a special tent decorated in purple and white with greenery and a three tiered wedding cake. This tent was for the bride and groom (who, by the way, were dressed in western wedding attire) and their immediate family. This all took place within the fenced area of the groom's family homestead.
We walked to and from the wedding across a very sandy and dry mahongu field for maybe a half mile. Getting back home as a little harder because there was only the light from Johanna's and Crystal's cell phones.
First full day of Namibia - check!
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| the meerkat |
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| me cooking in the kitchen at my homestead! |
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| at the wedding, with my nephew, Junior |
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| The bride and groom |
 They were celebrities! Everyone wanted to take their picture |
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| A shirt found in one of the stores here |
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