Let me start by wishing you a Happy Holiday. I am thinking of all of you back in the States. Big hug. Big kiss. Now, here is a tidbit about my life. The setting is my homestay family home, where I have been living for three weeks.
This morning there was a spider in my closet. As a result, I decided to remove all of my things and leave it empty until I leave next weekend. I know it’s not a rational response, but I hate spider confrontations. I was collecting my dirty clothes from the floor of the closet when a chicken egg rolled off my things. Odd. I was not sure how an egg made it there, but I decided not to be concerned. There is a two-year-old in the house so stuff tends to get moved around. Plus, the spider was distracting me.
I was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich later when my host mom tells me there is a chicken in my room. Interesting development. I decided to clean my room. I was rearranging my things on the shelves only to locate two more eggs. It turns out, the chicken, playfully known as “lunch”, was flying into my open window when I was out and laying eggs in the closet. Needless to say, the window is now closed. As I write this, Lunch is peering in. Tapping at the glass. It’s searching for a way into my room in order to take care of its eggs. I am ashamed to admit this, but I threw the first egg out of the window. Yeah, I am a chicken killer. It hit the ground with a splatter and one of the other chickens in the yard ate it. The other two eggs were placed outside in a more appropriate place for Lunch to fulfill her motherly instincts. This adventure comes at the end of a week highlighted by a trip to the doctor to get some medicine for pink eye. Yeah, Tina is suffering from pink eye. It's disgusting. Yet, the hardest thing lately isn’t the infectious eye disease or the farm animal raising a family in my closet right on top of my clothes, but it’s struggling with the intensity of my homesickness. I miss familiar faces. I feel the distance. I feel alone, really alone. It’s been a tough three weeks. The Peace Corps has it’s ups and downs and, luckily, I have had many ups to keep me going during the downs.
Since December 4th, I have been teaching at a local school and living with a Namibian family. The Peace Corps set up what is called “Model School” for volunteers to practice teaching in a Namibian school with Namibian learners. I teach 9th and 10th grade English, and I adore the kids. I also adore my host family. They have been so wonderful teaching me how to be Namibian, and helping me as I contend with a severe case of homesickness. I will happily spend Christmas with them and then, next Sunday, head back to the training center to celebrate the New Year with fellow trainees. I have plans to sit my butt in front of the one TV at the center and watch bowl games on ESPN International. Finally, on January 9th, I will become a full-fledged Peace Corps Volunteer at the Swearing In Ceremony. At that point, the Peace Corps will transport me to my permanent site and leave me there for two years. Wow. Heavy.
The following are random thoughts about my last few weeks. Enjoy!
*My Namibian host family eats with their hands for many meals. I like this tradition.
*I went to my host brother’s school one night to watch an end of the year awards ceremony. It is called a prize giving ceremony here. The oddest thing was the award for “Most Tidy”.
*I killed a cockroach and it was a surprisingly disturbing endeavor. It was not all that big, but I hit it pretty hard with the outside of my journal. There was an impressive amount of white stuff that seemed to represent whatever it is that constitutes the inside of a cockroach. I had this skewed vision of a cockroach as being hollow on the inside.
*I washed my clothes by hand again and I officially am the worst at being my own washing machine. I can’t get things clean, and all this hand washing is stretching out everything I own.
*There are chickens that belong to my host family that wander in their large yard. The kids named one of them “lunch” and another “dinner”. Lunch was the one in my room. Dinner is the daddy.
*When I was washing my clothes I left the back door open and all the little baby chicks came in to the room. It was laughable to witness me trying to chase them out of the house.
*I went to a professional soccer match. There was no scoreboard and some random guy on the sidelines ran out on to the field, snatched the ball and proclaimed that the match was over. The match was not over.
*I took my first Silozi language test. It was humbling to realize how much I did not know.
*I made pizza for my host family. They liked it so much we made it two nights in a row. I have never had any group of people want to eat something I made more than once. I had my host sisters help. It was one of my favorite moments so far.
All the best from Namibia and much love to all…
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Photo post...
My camera is not functioning right now, so I don't have a ton of photos, and it costs more to download photos so I did not put up many. However, enjoy these few photographs of my flight into Namibia and my first two weeks here.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
A chicken in the shower and a lion in the road…
Over the past two weeks I visited my permanent site and shadowed a current PCV. I spent the first week at my permanent site (in Peace Corps lingo that represents the village where I will spend two years). As a side note, on our 12-hour journey to the village we saw giraffe, ostrich and baboons. These animals were not in a zoo when I saw them, but hanging out on the side of the road. Ashley (the health worker who will be in my town) and I were received into our village community at a meeting at the school. It was interesting when the Khunta (who is a traditional tribal leader) welcomed us and expressed the importance of our work. At that precise moment, the reality of my placement here set in. This is my home. I have a new community of people who are prepared to help me maintain a life in a place so remarkably different than Boulder. I only hope I can offer them tools to help build positive, sustainable practices in the school and community.
The indoctrination to village life began when I had the opportunity to assist building my mud hut because it was not complete yet. The construction of a mud hut is like nothing I have ever experienced. Dirt and water were blended to the perfect consistency and then we grabbed it with our bare hands and created the final wall of my house. We removed our shoes and eventually I had a layer of mud caked to the bottom of my feet. The mixture felt like clay. It was rewarding work for me because I have never been that involved in constructing my permanent shelter. The house has two rooms divided by a wall. I have no windows, but two doors. The walls and the thatch roof do not connect, so there is a gap for air to move through (and for spiders, which we have already experienced). The space maintains an exceptionally cool temperature. It reminds me of the pueblos in the Southwest. I have a wash area, which consists of a grass fence tall enough to create a private area to dump water on my head. It sounds like the worst way to bathe, but it is just the opposite. I have enjoyed showering outside. It is refreshing and tends to be the only time the heat is bearable. There was a chicken in there the other day, which was one a memorable experience for Ashley, who was taking a shower.
Other highlights:
*I will be teaching 6-9 English and I will be revamping the library. The library is basically a closet and they have a rather small selection of books and magazines. I also have the task of getting the kids to read books in English.
*Over half of the kids in my school are orphans.
*I ate 7654 crackers with peanut butter on it during my permanent site visit. The peanut butter is called Yum Yum.
*Thanksgiving dinner? I had a cold Coke and a bag of chips.
*Mango flavored Tang does wonders for water that is, well, less than tasty.
*Elephants walk through our village during certain times of the year.
*I went to the Botswana border, which happens to be closer to me than the town where I buy my groceries.
The second week, we visited with a current Peace Corps Volunteer and shadowed him. It was nice to stay in a home with electricity and running water after a week in the hut. We had many interesting experiences during our visit. One of the most amazing was the safari. We spent the day at an amazing lodge. We had lunch (grilled cheese, which might not sound exciting, but there is not an abundance of cheese eating happening here, so I am going into dairy withdraw). After lunch, some of us went swimming in a pool, because swimming in rivers here is a death sentence because of crocs or hippos. After relaxing for a bit, we hopped into open air Range Rovers and headed into the game park. We spent about four hours traveling through the park. We saw giraffe, hippos, turtles, monitor lizard, water buffalo, zebra, ostrich and a bunch of other things that I can’t remember. Yet, the most amazing moment happened as we were heading out of the park. We turned a corner to discover a lion in the road. We rolled up on a pride that stayed within 10-15 feet of us for much of the time. Lions are impressive creatures with gigantic paws. After the lion sighting, we headed back for dinner by the river. We could hear the hippos grunting in the water. Those massive creatures are so cranky. We lingered at the lodge until late talking and laughing about all that has happened in just one month. The whole day cost me about $65 (American).
Other highlights:
*I got to proctor the end of the year exams at my PCV’s school. In Namibia, proctoring the national exam is called “invigilating”.
*I ate fat cakes, which taste a bit like doughnuts, but not as sweet.
*I attended a mourning at the home of a local man who died. It was at dusk outside, and the sunset was breathtaking. The whole countryside seemed to be on fire because the sky was a brilliant orange.
*Toured a hospital…it was a tough experience
*Learned about a Marathon in October on the Namibian coast. I have plans to run it with some other people.
There is so much more to be said, but I doubt anyone would read it all. I am back at the training center for a few days, then we head out for a month with a host family. I finally got the Internet and Bluetooth working on my phone, so I can have Internet on my computer again assuming I have cell service.
The indoctrination to village life began when I had the opportunity to assist building my mud hut because it was not complete yet. The construction of a mud hut is like nothing I have ever experienced. Dirt and water were blended to the perfect consistency and then we grabbed it with our bare hands and created the final wall of my house. We removed our shoes and eventually I had a layer of mud caked to the bottom of my feet. The mixture felt like clay. It was rewarding work for me because I have never been that involved in constructing my permanent shelter. The house has two rooms divided by a wall. I have no windows, but two doors. The walls and the thatch roof do not connect, so there is a gap for air to move through (and for spiders, which we have already experienced). The space maintains an exceptionally cool temperature. It reminds me of the pueblos in the Southwest. I have a wash area, which consists of a grass fence tall enough to create a private area to dump water on my head. It sounds like the worst way to bathe, but it is just the opposite. I have enjoyed showering outside. It is refreshing and tends to be the only time the heat is bearable. There was a chicken in there the other day, which was one a memorable experience for Ashley, who was taking a shower.
Other highlights:
*I will be teaching 6-9 English and I will be revamping the library. The library is basically a closet and they have a rather small selection of books and magazines. I also have the task of getting the kids to read books in English.
*Over half of the kids in my school are orphans.
*I ate 7654 crackers with peanut butter on it during my permanent site visit. The peanut butter is called Yum Yum.
*Thanksgiving dinner? I had a cold Coke and a bag of chips.
*Mango flavored Tang does wonders for water that is, well, less than tasty.
*Elephants walk through our village during certain times of the year.
*I went to the Botswana border, which happens to be closer to me than the town where I buy my groceries.
The second week, we visited with a current Peace Corps Volunteer and shadowed him. It was nice to stay in a home with electricity and running water after a week in the hut. We had many interesting experiences during our visit. One of the most amazing was the safari. We spent the day at an amazing lodge. We had lunch (grilled cheese, which might not sound exciting, but there is not an abundance of cheese eating happening here, so I am going into dairy withdraw). After lunch, some of us went swimming in a pool, because swimming in rivers here is a death sentence because of crocs or hippos. After relaxing for a bit, we hopped into open air Range Rovers and headed into the game park. We spent about four hours traveling through the park. We saw giraffe, hippos, turtles, monitor lizard, water buffalo, zebra, ostrich and a bunch of other things that I can’t remember. Yet, the most amazing moment happened as we were heading out of the park. We turned a corner to discover a lion in the road. We rolled up on a pride that stayed within 10-15 feet of us for much of the time. Lions are impressive creatures with gigantic paws. After the lion sighting, we headed back for dinner by the river. We could hear the hippos grunting in the water. Those massive creatures are so cranky. We lingered at the lodge until late talking and laughing about all that has happened in just one month. The whole day cost me about $65 (American).
Other highlights:
*I got to proctor the end of the year exams at my PCV’s school. In Namibia, proctoring the national exam is called “invigilating”.
*I ate fat cakes, which taste a bit like doughnuts, but not as sweet.
*I attended a mourning at the home of a local man who died. It was at dusk outside, and the sunset was breathtaking. The whole countryside seemed to be on fire because the sky was a brilliant orange.
*Toured a hospital…it was a tough experience
*Learned about a Marathon in October on the Namibian coast. I have plans to run it with some other people.
There is so much more to be said, but I doubt anyone would read it all. I am back at the training center for a few days, then we head out for a month with a host family. I finally got the Internet and Bluetooth working on my phone, so I can have Internet on my computer again assuming I have cell service.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Ku Cwani!
First off, I have a cell phone now.
Country Code: 264
My cell phone number: 0813642888
I can receive text messages, as well.
If you would like to help me with my teaching, please send any of the following, although the priority would be any sort of reading material appropriate for grades 3-8. Ship anything in a padded envelope or taped up REALLY well. Write in red marker “Sister Tina Greene” along with “Jesus is watching” or other religious statements.
Grade 3-5 short reading passages
Grade 3-8 novels
Picture books
Magazines
Stickers
Word search puzzles
Any sort of games
Pencils
Pencil sharpener
Printer
And now, a little bit about my experience so far...
Greetings from Namibia! I am currently typing this under the clear African night sky watching Goonies on a projector screen. One of my fantastic roommates is the movie night brainchild so we could all have a small taste of home while soaking in the glorious spring weather.
Departure from DC was not without interesting twists and turns as I got a shot for yellow fever and started Malaria medication. I then spent fifteen and a half hours in a center seat. I don’t do well in confined spaces and I struggled to maintain my sanity after about seven hours. In fact, another fantastic roommate of mine and I started to watch the blinking light that was outside the plane. We could see this light from a camera feed to our monitor in each of our chairs. It was a long flight, but worth every minute.
The climate in Namibia is mild right now. It feels similar to Colorado’s summer because it is incredibly dry, and endlessly sunny and hot. At night, it cools down and I can throw on a jacket and gaze at the stars. I woke up yesterday morning for a jog at 6:30 am and there was a cold drizzle, which made me feel like I was home as I ran head on in a stiff wind. The landscape reminds me of Western Colorado, but the mountains are not as tall. I must admit I have not seen much of this country, but it is exciting to start learning about so many possibilities for adventure here. Windhoek is tremendously clean and surrounded by mountains. Many people claim they saw baboons and giraffe on our ride from the airport. I did not see any baboons until a few of us hiked to the top of a local mountain, where we heard and saw them.
I do have more news on my teaching assignment. I am headed to the northeast corner of the country to live out my two years in a thatch hut. I will be in an area that has not had a Peace Corps Volunteer in several years, and my understanding is they have never had an education volunteer. The four teachers going will be the first. I feel privileged to have the opportunity. I am cautious, but ecstatic, to try something entirely different than what I am used to. It is a good thing I spent so much time in the woods, huh. I will be schmooing in the woods for quite awhile. I don’t know my exact assignment right now, but I am hoping it will be teaching English and remedial reading to 8-10th graders. At then end of this week, I will find out for certain. In addition, I will be gone for six weeks starting at the end of this week. My time away from the training center will include a home stay with a Namibian family, shadowing a current PCV, and continued language and cultural training.
I think about you all when I count the hours back to figure out the time in Colorado. I hope to hear from everyone and I hope you are all doing well. I run most mornings (and see several Dachshunds on my run), and some of us have been playing soccer in the afternoon at a local field. I am really sore since I have not actually played soccer since college. We have met some precious kids in town who are teaching us their local dialect, and everyday I walk to the store and get a Coke and a skoetsol, which is this amazing pastry that I am almost positive I am spelling wrong. However, it tastes oh so right! Last night, a bunch of us went to a local pizza, yes pizza, place here for a celebration of my birthday. I enjoyed a Windhoek Lager with my ‘za, and it was the largest beer I have ever had. Overall, it was one of the most memorable birthday’s of have ever had and I have my fabulous roommates to thank for it all.
This is an amazing country with interesting people and I am excited to one day leave the confines of training and start life in my permanent site. I will write again when I can. In the meantime, take out your favorite pad and pen and write me about all I am missing back home.
Country Code: 264
My cell phone number: 0813642888
I can receive text messages, as well.
If you would like to help me with my teaching, please send any of the following, although the priority would be any sort of reading material appropriate for grades 3-8. Ship anything in a padded envelope or taped up REALLY well. Write in red marker “Sister Tina Greene” along with “Jesus is watching” or other religious statements.
Grade 3-5 short reading passages
Grade 3-8 novels
Picture books
Magazines
Stickers
Word search puzzles
Any sort of games
Pencils
Pencil sharpener
Printer
And now, a little bit about my experience so far...
Greetings from Namibia! I am currently typing this under the clear African night sky watching Goonies on a projector screen. One of my fantastic roommates is the movie night brainchild so we could all have a small taste of home while soaking in the glorious spring weather.
Departure from DC was not without interesting twists and turns as I got a shot for yellow fever and started Malaria medication. I then spent fifteen and a half hours in a center seat. I don’t do well in confined spaces and I struggled to maintain my sanity after about seven hours. In fact, another fantastic roommate of mine and I started to watch the blinking light that was outside the plane. We could see this light from a camera feed to our monitor in each of our chairs. It was a long flight, but worth every minute.
The climate in Namibia is mild right now. It feels similar to Colorado’s summer because it is incredibly dry, and endlessly sunny and hot. At night, it cools down and I can throw on a jacket and gaze at the stars. I woke up yesterday morning for a jog at 6:30 am and there was a cold drizzle, which made me feel like I was home as I ran head on in a stiff wind. The landscape reminds me of Western Colorado, but the mountains are not as tall. I must admit I have not seen much of this country, but it is exciting to start learning about so many possibilities for adventure here. Windhoek is tremendously clean and surrounded by mountains. Many people claim they saw baboons and giraffe on our ride from the airport. I did not see any baboons until a few of us hiked to the top of a local mountain, where we heard and saw them.
I do have more news on my teaching assignment. I am headed to the northeast corner of the country to live out my two years in a thatch hut. I will be in an area that has not had a Peace Corps Volunteer in several years, and my understanding is they have never had an education volunteer. The four teachers going will be the first. I feel privileged to have the opportunity. I am cautious, but ecstatic, to try something entirely different than what I am used to. It is a good thing I spent so much time in the woods, huh. I will be schmooing in the woods for quite awhile. I don’t know my exact assignment right now, but I am hoping it will be teaching English and remedial reading to 8-10th graders. At then end of this week, I will find out for certain. In addition, I will be gone for six weeks starting at the end of this week. My time away from the training center will include a home stay with a Namibian family, shadowing a current PCV, and continued language and cultural training.
I think about you all when I count the hours back to figure out the time in Colorado. I hope to hear from everyone and I hope you are all doing well. I run most mornings (and see several Dachshunds on my run), and some of us have been playing soccer in the afternoon at a local field. I am really sore since I have not actually played soccer since college. We have met some precious kids in town who are teaching us their local dialect, and everyday I walk to the store and get a Coke and a skoetsol, which is this amazing pastry that I am almost positive I am spelling wrong. However, it tastes oh so right! Last night, a bunch of us went to a local pizza, yes pizza, place here for a celebration of my birthday. I enjoyed a Windhoek Lager with my ‘za, and it was the largest beer I have ever had. Overall, it was one of the most memorable birthday’s of have ever had and I have my fabulous roommates to thank for it all.
This is an amazing country with interesting people and I am excited to one day leave the confines of training and start life in my permanent site. I will write again when I can. In the meantime, take out your favorite pad and pen and write me about all I am missing back home.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Dead Cow and Malaria Pills...
I just finished packing up my stuff and I figured it was a perfect time to write one last note before Internet access becomes less of a reality in my life. My final evening here in the States was spent laughing with a bunch of other future Volunteers. I love my new family. We come from all over the country and bring such unique strengths. I look forward to getting to know everyone better over the next two years. Tonight, some of us went and ate big, greasy cheeseburgers. It was the first time I have ever ordered a double cheeseburger. I was unable to eat that much dead cow, but I gave it my best shot. It was a fitting sendoff as we depart from the old red, white and blue.
I am convinced that tomorrow will be the longest day of my life. We have to check out of our hotel at 5am, then by 7am we will be waiting at “the clinic” for varied shots and our first dose of malaria meds. The flight to Johannesburg leaves late tomorrow afternoon and arrives Thursday afternoon (that is fifteen and a half hours of airtime). I will officially be in Namibia on Friday at about 5:30pm (Namibia time), and that is when the good stuff begins. I am ready to get this started. It has been great to hear about being a Peace Corps Volunteer, but I am ready to experience it on my own.
Well, it is time to crawl in bed and enjoy my final night with air conditioning. I must admit I do miss Colorado. I miss seeing mountains with snow. I miss everyone at home, but I am really thrilled that I am outta here. Please write me and send me music and books and anything else. Bye for now.
I am convinced that tomorrow will be the longest day of my life. We have to check out of our hotel at 5am, then by 7am we will be waiting at “the clinic” for varied shots and our first dose of malaria meds. The flight to Johannesburg leaves late tomorrow afternoon and arrives Thursday afternoon (that is fifteen and a half hours of airtime). I will officially be in Namibia on Friday at about 5:30pm (Namibia time), and that is when the good stuff begins. I am ready to get this started. It has been great to hear about being a Peace Corps Volunteer, but I am ready to experience it on my own.
Well, it is time to crawl in bed and enjoy my final night with air conditioning. I must admit I do miss Colorado. I miss seeing mountains with snow. I miss everyone at home, but I am really thrilled that I am outta here. Please write me and send me music and books and anything else. Bye for now.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
We interrupt this regularly scheduled life…
I am off to the airport today for my three days in Washington then 15+ hours on a plane to Southern Africa. It is not certain when I will be able to check email or get a cell phone number, but my understanding is that it will be after November 3rd. I have learned that once in Namibia I will spend my first two weeks in Okahandja, which is about 45 minutes from Windhoek. It is going to be a hectic couple of months until I graduate and take my place at my permanent site on January 10th. I will write when I can, but it does not mean you folks can’t write me. Anyway, I will miss everyone and I wish you all the best. Go Gamecocks! Go Rockies (although I must admit that I am not much of a baseball fan it has been fun to watch lately)!
Smell ya later...
Smell ya later...
Monday, October 22, 2007
Firsts and lasts...
A North Carolina Recap: On the flight from Denver, Warren and Chris "classed it up" by hooking me up with First Class seating. I felt "G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S" (minus the champagne, which came later). The Wake Forest game was the ultimate football experience. It was at night, it was cold and there was a trashy fight in the stands (wtb, baby, wtb). Chapel Hill is a beautiful town despite the fact that most people look as if they just stepped out of an advertisement for Ralph Lauren. Della is officially the cutest Carolina fan of all time. Too bad her first game was not the Gamecocks finest football hour as we barely squeaked out a win over the Tarheels. Welcome to Gamecock Football, you never know what you are gonna get. I just hope she missed the Vandy game. Anyway, I also spent some time with Dawn and Mandy, who are long lost favorite cousins of mine. I loved getting to know Dawn and Jon's little ones Lucy and Harris, and I am certain Ford will fit right in with this new batch of Greene young ones. I hope the three of them can have as many fond memories as I have of my time with Dawn and Mandy. Can you recall the lip-sync contests, the easy bake oven, or fighting over who got to comb Mandy’s amazing locks of blonde hair.
Since my return from the Dirrty South, I have been negotiating many firsts and lasts. Today was likely my final sub job at Casey Middle School, which is my favorite place in Boulder (and where I taught). I did not have the chance to say goodbe to everyone I wanted to, but I managed to get some of my students from last year to record video clips to show to my future students in Africa. Of course, this assumes I have the capability to show the clips to them. In addition, I am thrilled that my favorite teacher (the 8th grade LA teacher at Casey) agreed to correspond with me through a program the Peace Corps offers called the Correspondence Match Program. It will be a nice lifeline to a place that is incredibly special to me, and I will miss terribly.
In other news, the reality of what is happening in a few short days is rapidly setting in, and I find that my life is already far removed from the status quo that defined life pre-Peace Corps. As the snow begins to collect in the mountains, my focus would normally shift from mountain biking to shredding some powder on my snowboard. However, this year I sold both of my bikes and packed away the snowboard gear. Hibernation for my winter outdoor goodies is one of the only things that is certain as I prepare for the uncertainties that await. Instead of a season pass, I made some high quantity toiletry purchases at Target that seem odd when taken out of context. Who else can say they bought six boxes of tampons and a mess of razor blades? I am curious what MacGyver might craft from those two purchases. Any thoughts?
Anyway, the tricky part is trying to crack the how-to-pack-for-two-years code. My first round of packing was an exercise in futility. It is fortunate I have wasted many hours mastering Tetris, because it will take some advanced skill to make it all fit by Sunday. Kidding aside, packing has forced me to consider how much I really need in life. There is something liberating about making the decision to let go. I appreciate the challenge of shedding material possessions and replacing it with a more simplistic vision of life. Perhaps it is one of the reasons I joined the Peace Corps.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Halloween at 30,000 feet...
In a little more than 20 days I will board a plane for Washington, DC for what the Peace Corps deems as three days of “staging”. I imagine being herded from meeting to meeting where I will receive more information than I can humanly retain. Yet, I am thrilled to spend a few days back in the town I called home for a few years. I hope to get to Dupont Circle to see the old homestead, and grab some first class Italian at Pasta Mia in Adams Morgan. Oh, but while in DC one must not ignore the greatest Spansh restaurant ever...Lauriol Plaza. Yummers!According to the official Peace Corps staging schedule, my group (Namibia27) has an appointment at “the clinic” for a round of shots on Halloween morning and then we are whisked to the airport for a 15-hour plane ride to Johannesburg. It’s a unique way to celebrate Halloween, right? We will spend the night of November 1st in South Africa and board a plane to Windhoek, Namibia the following day. After that, it is 27 months of, well, stay tuned because I have no idea what to expect. I do know I am ready to be teaching again. I have been subbing at my old school, and at other schools in Boulder, and I miss having my own classroom. Speaking of things I miss, I am having Tilly and Katie withdraw and I have not even left yet. I am trying to wean myself off my attachment to my dogs, so they are living with Tibi more often. But, I am taking lots of pictures and making lots of little movies of them sleeping, barking, eating and pooping (OK, perhaps I do not need footage of either of them having a bowel movement) so I can experience Tilly/Katie moments while in Namibia.
One last thing…Go Gamecocks! I will attend my final Gamecock football game next weekend as they travel to Chapel HELL to play North Carolina. In the same trip, I will attend my first Wake Forest game as they host Florida State on Thursday night. I am trying to talk Chris into painting his face for the game. Chris, paint your face!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Thou Shalt Not Forget Sister Tina...
As the time for me to depart draws ever so near, I wanted to share some interesting facts about mailing packages to Namibia. Thanks to current PCV’s in country, I have included some steps to follow (and some to avoid) when trying to mail me goodies. The first person to figure out how to properly and successfully mail either my dogs or a piping hot Chick-fil-A sandwich (with waffle fries and a cold Dr. Pepper) will immediately be crowned my hero. Check out the info below….
The best method for sending a care package is by simply using the US postal service. I've found that packages sent in a big padded envelope get here much quicker than a box. Boxes take anywhere from 1 month to 5-6 months. It really varies on this one. I think as a rule of thumb, keep it small. My experience with packages has been diverse: 1 padded envelope sent from California got here in 10 days using regular ground mail. Another package sent from NYC using the
more expensive way to send it, got here in exactly 1 week. Other packages took anywhere from 1 month to 2 months.
If for some reason you need something shipped that is expensive or important, I know people have used DHL (there is a DHL office in Windhoek). They take 3 days! But, it's really expensive.....
Anyhoo, the only other thing I wanted to add is that in sending packages via the post office, we've found that it's helpful to "holy" them up -- address them to Father Joe Schmoe, or Sister Jane Smith, and say that they're coming from the Sister [whatever] at Blessed Church of Jesus. Writing holy phrases ("Thou shall not steal," "Jesus is watching," "We miss you at church, Sister Jane!" etc.) on the package helps too. That said, I never got a package or two for the Reverend Mother Elizabeth, so it's not 100% effective, but it helps. On the Contact Info section of my website --
http://www.geocities.com/perkykoalapc/contact.html -- I have more details there. If something's REALLY important (laptop, plane tickets, etc.), then definitely don't send it through the post office.
Use DHL (it's way more prominent there than UPS or FedEx) or... if you hear that another PCV is getting a visitor from the US, have your parents or whatever send the important item to that person in the US, and then he/she can bring it over to you (you can meet in Windhoek or whatever). Bring US postage stamps too -- this way, you can slap them on mail to the US and send it back with a visitor (who just needs to drop it in a mailbox). True, you don't get the funky Namibian stamps or postmark, but at least you know it'll get to your destination!
The best method for sending a care package is by simply using the US postal service. I've found that packages sent in a big padded envelope get here much quicker than a box. Boxes take anywhere from 1 month to 5-6 months. It really varies on this one. I think as a rule of thumb, keep it small. My experience with packages has been diverse: 1 padded envelope sent from California got here in 10 days using regular ground mail. Another package sent from NYC using the
more expensive way to send it, got here in exactly 1 week. Other packages took anywhere from 1 month to 2 months.
If for some reason you need something shipped that is expensive or important, I know people have used DHL (there is a DHL office in Windhoek). They take 3 days! But, it's really expensive.....
Anyhoo, the only other thing I wanted to add is that in sending packages via the post office, we've found that it's helpful to "holy" them up -- address them to Father Joe Schmoe, or Sister Jane Smith, and say that they're coming from the Sister [whatever] at Blessed Church of Jesus. Writing holy phrases ("Thou shall not steal," "Jesus is watching," "We miss you at church, Sister Jane!" etc.) on the package helps too. That said, I never got a package or two for the Reverend Mother Elizabeth, so it's not 100% effective, but it helps. On the Contact Info section of my website --
http://www.geocities.com/perkykoalapc/contact.html -- I have more details there. If something's REALLY important (laptop, plane tickets, etc.), then definitely don't send it through the post office.
Use DHL (it's way more prominent there than UPS or FedEx) or... if you hear that another PCV is getting a visitor from the US, have your parents or whatever send the important item to that person in the US, and then he/she can bring it over to you (you can meet in Windhoek or whatever). Bring US postage stamps too -- this way, you can slap them on mail to the US and send it back with a visitor (who just needs to drop it in a mailbox). True, you don't get the funky Namibian stamps or postmark, but at least you know it'll get to your destination!
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