I had been accepted to join 2 PC
committees - the HIV/AIDS and VSN (Volunteer Support Network)
Committees – and had been in Windhoek for almost a week. We stayed
in a backpackers' hostel (which I really enjoyed), had meetings
everyday, fast internet access (I was able to video skype my mom –
which was so nice, because it had been a while), malls to browse
through, football (soccer) and world news to watch on the telly,
taxis at our disposal – if we so chose to not walk the pavement,
things to purchase (I bought a guitar!!), nice restaurants and wine
to enjoy and hot showers to take. I felt like a westerner again.
Well, I guess I never STOPPED feeling like a westerner. I guess I've
adjusted to village life so much, that I would even find myself
straying into any patches of sand on the ground, while walking around
town. Or completely comfortable with eating with my hands – with no
napkin. And frustrated with the fact that I couldn't see the stars in
the sky at night, while in the city. Yeah, I guess you'd say I had
slowly integrated into the village life.
But living a “western” lifestyle
for a short time had it's perks. Shaving my legs was much easier in
the shower than while taking a bucket bath. My mom and I were able to
SEE each other – AND I got to see my little Murray (my cat) as
well, and catch up. Life moved quicker – I could get from point A
to point B in no time! I found a guitar NOT at a china shop. I was
able to update the software on my computer and post videos for my
last 2 blog posts. I even ate sushi! And a glass of wine is good for the
soul, at least this soul :)
But now it was time to head back to my
family. Who I really missed! And work. And the puppies – Tet and
Cleo!
Usually, when I leave the village to
head south to Windhoek, I can get there in a day (depending on how
long I have to wait for transportation). But generally, on my way
back up north, it takes me 2 days to get into my village – at
least, if I want to get there before sundown – which is always the
case. So, on Wednesday, Sam and I headed back up north. We finally
got to Ondangwa, which is where the regional PC office is –
internet, mailboxes, etc. It was getting late, and I didn't want to
risk standing on the side of the road into my village in the dark, so
I stayed overnight. The next day, I went to the taxi “hub” in
Ondangwa, where I'm guaranteed a ride, at least to my next stop
(after Ondangwa, I have 2 more stops before getting into the
village). As I sat in the taxi, and waited for it to fill up (the
drivers tend to want their cars full before driving away – so
sometimes, you can wait a while), I suddenly felt sad. It's back to
my hut, and bucket baths, and dirt, and
no-matter-how-much-you-scrub-your-feet-they-seem-to-always-be-dirty(sandy),
and traditional food, and my own small meals I cook that always end
up going bad after a day and so I've wasted the little money I have.
But I am also going back to my wonderful family, and the Namibian
sky. And honestly, I like my hut and home and work. I just make sure
I have a few things that remind me of being a westerner – Starbucks
coffee (with a French Press) and the puppies.
Namibians don't consider their dogs to
be part of the family. They are there to help guard the house.
Although, my family has named our dogs and we feed them pretty well.
But still, they don't pet the dogs or play with them. I tried playing
fetch one time with Snoop, and he didn't quite get the concept.
Anyway, we have Snoop and Penny. And Penny had puppies. I'm not sure
I ever put the pictures up on this blog, but at the bottom, is a
slide show of them. There were 7 total, born on June 7. We gave all
but 2 away – Tet and Cleo. Tet's name comes from “tete”, which
means “first” in Oshikwanyama. Tet was the first-born – right
outside my hut. And I made the thing cry for over a half hour, before
saving her, so I kind of felt responsible for her. So my family kept
her :)
See, while Penny had been pregnant, she
started sleeping at night close to my hut. My family said that when
it was time to give birth, she'd probably do it there. I guess she
felt safe near me. Anyway, this one night, I had trouble falling
asleep. I had gotten used to hearing the donkeys and goats and
roosters and cattle. But around 11:30 that night, I kept hearing this
crying sound that wouldn't stop. It sounded like it was coming from
the field behind my hut. I thought “oh my gosh, will it ever shut
up??” I was trying to sleep! I finally got up, and looked out of
one of my windows. Ok, now the sound seemed to be coming from the
other field across the way, at least I thought. I laid back down. It
would not stop crying. I considered going outside to check on this
animal. But then, I thought “Johanna. What are you going to do if
you find a goat or donkey with some problem?? You have no clue how to
handle these animals! You're from NY – NOT the village.”
Eventually, the crying went away. I tried to fall asleep. Then it
started back up. I couldn't take it. And then I remembered – Penny
is pregnant. Now, I've never been around a pregnant dog, have no clue
how long the pregnancy lasts, and definitely had never seen puppies
being born. So, around midnight, I got up, grabbed my flashlight, and
opened the door to my hut. The crying was coming from my right side –
right next to my hut. I turned the flashlight in that direction, and
there she was. A tiny little puppy, struggling in the sand – with
the sac still attached! She was the only one. And where is Penny??
Maybe it's another dog's baby?? All of a sudden, Snoop came up to me,
wagging his tail like he always does. So I whispered for Penny. And
here she comes – jumping up on me like she always does! Ok, this
doesn't look like a dog who just gave birth. And to just one??
There's got to be more! And then I thought, I don't know much about
animals, but I remember hearing that if a mother senses a human's
touch on their baby, she may not go back to it. But again, I have no
clue. I decided to wake up Nafimane. I knocked on his door, and said
“Nafimane, I think Penny just had a puppy!” He followed me over
to the puppy, and tried to get Penny to go to it. She wouldn't. So he
wrapped the puppy and sac up in a shirt, and carried her to a spot on
the homestead, and again, tried to get Penny to go to it and clean
it. She wouldn't. So, we brought the puppy into his hut and he put a
rope around Penny's neck and dragged her inside. Finally, she started
cleaning it. Then, all of a sudden, Nafimane said “here comes
another”! And Penny proceeded to have 3 more! They were precious!
With their eyes shut, and shaking from the cold, they were crying and
trying to huddle together near their mother. And Penny was actually
really enjoying being a mom. She became very protective. This was my
first dog birth!! It seemed she was done, so I left and went to bed –
with a huge smile on my face! I couldn't wait to see them in the
morning!
That next day, I went to Nafimane's
room – Penny had 3 more – a total of 7 puppies!!! Some white with
black or brown spots, 2 all-black, 1 black with some brown. How sweet
they were! Over time, we named all of them –
Bear - Nafimane thought it looked like
my dog from home, so we named her after my Bear
Ngwan – as in “ngwangwana” -
which means “confused”. This poor puppy always seemed lost and
confused!
Black Mamba – the all-black one.
Nafimane chose this name after the deadly snake, here in our neck of
the woods
Cleo – he was white with brown
spots, acting like a little devil – barking at everything. He was
learning lots from following Snoop around, and how to be a guard dog.
My little brother, Hedimbi, and nephew, Junior, named him
Johanna – well, we joked about this
name. She was white with pale brown spots. She was the “oshilumbu”
of the gang. “Oshilumbu” means “white person”
Tet – as explained earlier – the
first-born
#7 – we gave him away very early on,
before we could come up with a suitable name
We all pitched in to feed these
puppies, because after a while, they were sucking the life out of
Meme Penny, and she was becoming extremely thin. So, we started
feeding them milk, and eventually soft porridge. All but 2 were given
away to other family members. Only Tet and Cleo were left. They
greeted me every morning, jumping up on me, and getting in the way of
my feet, to the point where I felt like I was constantly kicking
them, by mistake of course! They would greet me when I came home at
the end of the day. And at night, while sitting by the fire, they
would lay down under my legs. I guess they felt protected. And Tet
would always try to jump up on me. Really, all she wanted was my lap.
As soon as I put her there, she would calm down. And one cold night,
poor Cleo was shivering. So, while we were sitting at the fire, I put
him inside my hoodie to keep him warm. My family would roll their
eyes. They couldn't believe I was treating these dogs this way! So,
after realizing that these dogs are THEIR dogs (although I would LOVE
a dog, I had NO intention of taking one back with me to the States),
I decided that I'd better calm down with the love. These dogs needed
to learn how to be a dog in a village. For this family. But every
once in a while, when no one was watching, I'd pet and play with Tet
and Cleo! And actually, the day I left for Windhoek, Tet followed me
all the way to the clinic. I decided I'd better take her back, or she
may never find her way back. And when we got close to the house, I
could tell she realized where she was – and started running faster
and further away from me. And then she would stop, and turn around to
make sure I was still coming. What a cutie!
Ok, back to my taxi ride....
We finally left. And as we were
driving, we passed something laying in the road. The driver turned
around to go back and see what it was. Actually, all the cars started
turning around. It was a dead puppy in the middle of the road. It
broke my heart! And everyone in the car was laughing. So now, here I
am, numb with emotion – having to go back to the village, and just
heart-broken now from the puppy that had been hit – and having to
mask my emotions because the Namibians were all laughing, and just
wouldn't understand this oshilumbu's reaction. Thank God for my
sunglasses.
And so onto the next taxi ride –
after being pulled in every direction by the taxi drivers to go in
THEIR car. I eventually made it back to my homestead. I really did
miss this place. But a part of me felt somewhat down. I'm sure this
would change – after a day or 2 being home, I'd be back in my
groove.
I greeted my Meme, Nongula, Tuuli and
the 2 little ones – Tuuli (little Tuuli) and Jaden. It was really
nice to see their smiles again. We quickly caught up on each others'
week. Then, I asked where the puppies were. Meme said “They are
dead”, in a very nonchalant sort-of way. I thought she was joking.
I smiled and said, “Meme – this is not funny!” She said “Yeah,
they are dead. They died a few days ago.” WHAT??????!!!!! I asked
what happened! Still in shock that she was serious. Still waiting for
the punchline. I thought she was playing a joke on me! And here is
where the language barrier can become very frustrating. Between Meme,
Nafimane and Anna, I believe I got the whole story. Apparently, a few
nights ago, some animal got to them. I asked “What kind of animal?”
They said “A bear.” A BEAR??? In the village?? I asked some of my
co-workers, and apparently there is some sort of “bear-like”
animal that is around this time of year. Anyway, it got to the
puppies – probably because they were not fast or strong enough to
get away. And I think it bit them, or something. Nafimane said maybe
it was a poison. I thought, ok, maybe a snake??? This American is
lost, when it comes to getting this whole story. Well, the next day,
Cleo was vomiting blood and then died. On Wednesday, the day before I
came back, the same thing happened with my sweet little Tet.
Ugh. Ok, it's official. I was sad. Very
sad. And I had to hold back my tears.
And everything I was doing on the
homestead for the rest of that night and the next day, reminded me of
them. Even when I went to sleep, I swear I heard little high-pitched
barks – like Tet and Cleo always made at night.
I couldn't let my family know how sad I
was. They just wouldn't understand. They would probably laugh at me.
And I know that they're laughing wouldn't have been out of being mean
– but instead, just making light of the situation, and kind of
making fun of me. They would think it's funny that any human would be
upset over the loss of a puppy, or animal, for that matter.
It's now my second day back to the
village. I'm feeling better about the village life, itself. And at
the clinic yesterday, a Prevention (HIV) Officer from the nearby
hospital stopped by to talk with me. He wants my help with some of
the projects! So work has got my mind re-focused again – with even
more possible exciting things I can do.
And Tet and Cleo – well, you are very
missed by this oshilumbu....
And even Snoop and Penny seem a little
down these days...and Nafimane told me Snoop has been looking for
them in the mornings....
And apparently this bear-like animal
came back the other night....
But there ARE really good things going on in my world as well... :)
And such is life. I just hope Penny
doesn't get pregnant again.....
Here is one of the last pictures I took
of the 2 cuties! (I'll post more pictures of the puppies once I get better internet access :)
 |
| Cleo is on the left, and the black-spotted one is Tet :) |
~ Oshi ya
twa numwe noshima ~
Translation:
A
fish is cooked with a tortoise.
(i.e.
You have to take the bad things with the good.)
.jpg)
