Welcome to Namibia!

Hi Everybody!
My hope is that I will be able to share a little bit of my Peace Corps experience with you during the next 27 months through these blog posts and periodic updates on life. I’ve been here for almost 2 weeks now and don’t even know where to begin my story. My first post will be more general to give you a little info about Namibia (pronounced Nah-mi-bee-uh in case you were having trouble), my job and what I’m doing for the next few months, then I’ll get into the fun stuff!

My Namily on our first hike up to what we call "Pride Rock"

The Peace Corps is a US government organization that sends volunteers to developing countries to help communities meet their needs with “skilled manpower” (that’s me!!) and to promote cross cultural understanding between nations. Until October 20^th, I will be in pre-service training with the 54 other volunteers in my training group. We are Group 44, which means we are the 44^th group of volunteers placed in Namibia. After October 20^th, I will be an official volunteer and begin working at my site for the next 2 years. One of the most fun things about the Peace Corps is that they love to test your flexibility by keeping things a mystery. During my second day here, each of us had an interview with some of the program staff to help guide them in placing us in a site, where we were allowed to indicate our preferences for type of school, housing, rural or urban environment and the type of projects we were interested in doing. From there, we are placed into language groups based on the region we will be placed in and then the rest is unknown until the end of training in October… So basically other than my language and basic Namibian culture I have no idea what I’m getting into for the next 2 years, but regardless I’m pumped!

Now for Namibia:

In case you were wondering where I am

Upon my arrival to Namibia I immediately realized that this country is very different from my experience in Uganda. First of all, Namibia is a desert. It is currently winter here and the climate is so dry that it can change 50 degrees over the course of a day. I honestly think I’ve but on more lotion in the last week than in my entire life. That being said, 90 degrees doesn’t feel nearly as hot as it does in Florida. There is sand everywhere: just like home except its orange and all of my stuff looks dusty because of it.

Because Namibia was once part of apartheid South Africa the population is very diverse, yet segmented. Other than the fact that I can’t speak a lick of Afrikaans, I could blend in completely in certain parts of country. Most of the traditional tribes live in the North as they were forced to move during apartheid. The central and coastal regions contain the majority of the white Namibians who are mainly of German and Dutch descent (these are also the main tourist areas). The south is very sparsely populated as most of the land is uninhabitable desert (like the pictures of sand dunes you see when you google Namibia) or reserved parks for diamonds and mineral resources. Although a lot has changed in the past 26 years since Namibia gained its independence in 1990, the individual cultures of each tribe remain very distinct.

During the training period we are staying in Okahandja, a town about an hour and a half away from Windhoek, which is the biggest city in Namibia. You can easily walk across town in about 15 minutes, but there is a lot packed into this area despite its small size. The town serves as a commuter town and is very diverse being so close to Windhoek. There is electricity almost everywhere in town and normal looking toilets, which is a definite change from my experience in Uganda. I have access to running water that is safe to drink (although it tastes a little bit funny and can be cloudy from the chemicals). Wifi is also a thing here sometimes… One of the things I’m quickly learning about Namibia is that internet is everywhere, but not at all reliable.

Overall, everything is going great so far and I am looking forward to the experience I have ahead of me. Over the next months I will be experiencing the rollercoaster feelings that go along with culture shock, but for every low moment I have there will be another great moment to even it out as I adjust to the lifestyle here. Stay tuned for more updates about my homestay, languages, food and more!

The view from my neighborhood at sunset