Hello from Okahanja!

Hey guys, sorry it has taken a while to write from here, but internet access is a little bit limited. There’s one internet café in town, and the guy pretty much just opens up for the peacecorps volunteers… he’s extended his hours for us! So basically, here are the facts: we’re in Okahanja, which is a town about an hour outside of Windhoek (pronounced Vindhok). Apparently I can’t be too specific on this blog, but I guess if you want more details you can email me. Namibia is really beautiful… pretty much like all the pictures with dust. There are 67 of us training to be volunteers in Namibia, 45 education and 22 Health volunteers. Last week, we spent an entire week over viewing all the things we are going to start doing later on… apparently making lists of our goals and objectives on flip chart paper is a Namibian tradition. Besides that, everything has been great. Our training staff is really nice, and many of them are very close to our age. We start each day by singing the Namibian and American National Anthems, and two other songs (although now that we are in our technical week, we took of the two songs, which were actually really awesome). Then we have sessions… broken up by two very awesome tea times, lunch, and dinner. Unsurprisingly, it only took me a day to adjust to tea time—now I am hungry at 10:30 on the dot everyday. Maybe I always hungry then and didn’t know for what… tea time where have you been all my life? Unfortunately, the other food eaten here is mostly meat… a lot of meat. Ah well. Anyways moving on to more serious things, our technical week has been amazing! We’ve met with really prominent gov’t officials, doctors, and also seen two hospitals, a traditional healer, and a home based care center for HIV/AIDS in the location (here the word “location” means what traditionally were black townships/slums… they’re not necc slums, b/c some are nicer than others, but they are usually poorer areas). Namibia is a really exciting place to be in terms of HIV/AIDS work because of the combination of the high rate of infection and co-infection with TB and also the government’s willingness and helpfulness in attacking the program. Everyone in Namibia can get free ARVs and counseling if they qualify and free testing. That is amazing for a country with a budget of like $2 mill. But I’ve also realized that I have a lot to learn and my job could be really really frustrating b/c of cultural differences. I had this great convo with one of my favorite trainers, and basically she told me that in Namibia, it is not only socially acceptable, but expected for a man to date more than one woman at once (one of the problems leading to AIDS I guess). I mean, its not necc a bad thing (I am working on being culturally open…but it doesn’t mean I am gonna be ok with it in my own life!), if women know and protect themselves, but if they don’t it’s a problem. Also there’s not really a concept of time, but that is better for me as I am always late everywhere. The language I am learning, the Oshindonga dialect of Oshiwambo, is primarily spoken in the north, so I am guessing that’s where I am. All the health volunteers will have running water and electricity… although everyone is trying to scare me by telling me about very long and thick millipedes. UGHHH. I had a larium (the malaria propalaxis (sp?) we’re taking, which gives us vivid dreams and hallucinations, among other side effects) about bugs last night which I will spare all of you. But really I have been very good about bugs… they’re kind of everywhere and I’ve dealt with it! I haven’t screamed once. Amazing if you’ve ever seen me around a bug. But anyways, back to Oshiwambo, all I know is greetings, so Walala Po! (good morning, sort of, but that is not a literal translation). What is amusing is really the Nomlish, or Namibian English… an example is… I am coming means, I’ll be back in 20 minutes. just now means some time soon, and now now means now. It seems like what a lot of ppl speak, although the universal language is really still Afrikaans among ppl that don’t speak the same dialect. Although a lot of the black Africans say they will not speak it to a white person no matter what. I guess they are still dealing with the legacy of apartheid here but, things are getting better it seems, and the Namibian government is doing a decent job even though there are problems like unemployment and alcoholism. One example of something they are doing right is the clean water that the majority of the country can safely drink from a tap! Ok sorry that is a ton of information… its so much, I didn’t know where to start, and now it was kind of coming out all in one breath. Or that is what it must seem like, but I honestly don’t even know how to edit it, so sorry guys! Next blog may or may not be more organized… be flexible… (aka the motto of the peacecorps!). kala po nawa!