Holidays and Rain...

Hi all! I know it's been awhile....
After my amazing vacation with my parents, I headed back to the village. I had been gone for a month! I had a few meetings, including our HIV/AIDS Technical Group, here for PC in Nam. We are working on a few things, to help volunteers sort thru all of the information we're given, and find the best programs/activities to use - as well as ones which we can report to PEPFAR. See, every quarter, we have to send in a report to headquarters in Washington, on our activities at our sites. Well, some of this reporting also goes to PEPFAR - since they help fund the PC and our programs here in Namibia. They've recently changed some things, so our group is trying to put it all in laymen's terms for the volunteers, and make life and reporting a bit easier...We'll see if we will succeed....

I have also been talking with our new Country Director and APCD, and we are working on moving me to Windhoek to begin my third year of service early, helping in the PC office! Although we thought it might be December when I begin, it looks as though it may be closer to February...I hope, at least. School, here in the village and all of Namibia, is about to finish their academic year. For most PCVs, this means a lack of work...

So, I was hoping to get to Windhoek soon, to start working there, but until I do actually leave, I've already come up with some ideas for next school year:

• Continue with Grassroots Soccer - at my school, as well as area villages' schools
• Continue to try to get more interest in gardening and my NAWA program
• Bring my counterpart, Daniel, on any other workshops/trainings - he loves learning and is always willing to keep trying and using the ideas we've been taught (even though he struggles with English, I believe it's getting better!)
• And here's the newest....Start a Chess Club at school in January!! I bought a small chess board, and decided to teach my brother. Well, my older brother asked me to teach him, and as we were playing (from what I remember!) he told me that especially here in the villages, kids don't know how to play - and mostly because they think that only white people can play chess. Well, I'm about to change that thinking! I want both boys and girls to join the club, and we'll even make our own boards and pieces out of different color bottle caps, if we must. I'd like to also have a tournament halfway thru the year - and maybe give the winner his/her own chess board & pieces. 

And of course, I'm still working on my Court&Field Project...which will happen sometime next year. We are in the works of an American group coming here and also collaborating with a Namibian group at a college in Windhoek. Let's hear it for Namibians helping Namibians! But I will keep you updated as I get more info and plans become more concrete....(literally!).

But yes, I do look forward to moving up to the next level, and working at the PC office. I want to learn all I can about management, admin, and technical training. And who knows where this will lead..... :)

And so, until January and the start of the next school season, I have a few trips I'll be taking...

First, we are celebrating Thanksgiving the week AFTER because on November 28, Namibia is having its national elections for President, as well as Parliament. Volunteers are not allowed to leave site for about 5 days surrounding this time. They don't expect any problems - Namibia is a very safe, calm country. But just to make sure all volunteers are safe, we must stay in our villages during the time. So, the following week, we are going to try to find a turkey (though turkey is not a huge item in the supermarkets here) and attempt to make our own Thanksgiving feast, in Opuwo, with a few volunteers who stay there. After that, we are going camping at Epupa Falls! It's now the beginning of the rainy season, so we are hoping the levels are high enough to see some nice water falls...

And then the big trip: Around the New Year's Eve time, my friend Crystal and I are headed to Victoria Falls to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend! We'll be there for about a week and a half. Some things we're planning on is a 2 day/2 night camping safari in Botswana at Chobe National Park, a lion, cheetah and elephant walk, rafting on the Zambezi (!), a traditional Zambian dinner, checking out the local markets, volunteering at nearby schools/villages, seeing Victoria Falls, viewing the Lunar Rainbow over the falls, and possibly trying out the gorge swing and zipline! This will be my Christmas/Birthday trip to myself! I can't wait to see this part of Africa, and share the experience with my sister as well!

Well, that's about all for now...but all is good here....
Penny, the dog is not pregnant again. I had my hair braided for the first time (and will probably do it again! I really thought people in my village would laugh, but instead, they shook my hand and said "Thank you!"). I can open a can of tuna with a knife - therefore, it's official that I can survive anywhere! It's hott hott hott here, but it's also the beginning of the rainy season - which means cooler temperatures after the rain. My little nephew (2 years old) is learning how to speak some English - which is the cutest thing ever to hear.

Peace & Potatoes,
Ndapandula

Here's picture of me with braids:

Speaking of Opuwo - 

here's a nice story about the Himbas - who live in the Opuwo area!

Click on the picture below:

And my mother finished making LOTS of videos of our trip! 

If you want to see all the fun you missed out on, click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/user/scdiane1/videos

An Oryx Holiday - Videos

Here are a few videos my mother has been working on from their recent trip (and they weren't quite finished when making the blog posts):

An Oryx Holiday - Part 2 - Kunene River Lodge

Here's post #2, written by my parents....(see the previous post for Part 1)

We stayed here for 3 nights. We arrived at 5:30 just in time to order dinner. Diane drank 2 double gin and tonics and a glass of reed wine because of the drive there. We traveled on a D road which means it was very rocky, bumpy, windy, narrow, and hilly. It was a wonder our undercarriage didn't fall off. We were on this road for 11/2 hours to cover about 25 kilometers. That night when Diane got up to go to the bathroom she saw a cockroach and a 2 inch spider. It freaked her out. She sprayed the spider with supplied Raid, enclosed herself in the mosquito netting, took a sleeping pill and finally fell asleep.

On the first full day we went canoeing and Johanna and Crystal went white water rafting. They began their whitewater adventure by jumping 7 meters from a rock into rapids. TheIr guide was Florian, a 27 year old German who had beautiful blue eyes. As you can imagine, the girls had a fabulous time! The afternoon was hot and we all laid around trying to get on the internet or napping. John took a dip in the pool. At 4:00 Florian took us and ten other people on a sundowner cruise. Scenery was beautiful as were the rapids we approached but didn't go in them.

standing on Angola!

the sun setting on the Kunene River

On the third day we visited a Himba family. It consisted of a grandmother, grandfather, granddaughter, 2 boys, and set of twins. There are about 55,000 Himbas in northern Namibia. The 2 boys attend school and the girl stays home to help with the chores...not because she's a girl but because she is the oldest. When children turn 12 they get their bottom teeth knocked out with a stone and a stick-something they are not looking forward to. The people cover their bodies and hair with otjize- a red paste made from goat fat and a red stone that is ground up. This acts as a sunblock and moisturer. It prevents hair growth so men have no need to shave. The grandmother we saw had no wrinkles. They eat a diet of mahangu (a type of flour) and goat milk. They only eat meat at special occasions.

Johanna getting her face painted by the Himba woman

For the rest of the day, we rested....

Breakfast everyday, was always eggs, bacon or sausage and beans with a slice of tomato. Or granola, yogurt, cut up fruit, cheese and toast. Dinners were your choice of steak, chicken, or pork. Small salad, fries, and dessert was the Kunene special...