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.