Are you ready for this??

So this post serves a couple of different functions. First off it branches the amazing four days in Swakopmund with the rest of my life in Windhoek and it details how I won’t be around much in the month of March as we have quite a full schedule. I figure if I put all this in writing before my post I can live up to those expectations.

So when we got back from Swakopmund everyone made a mad dash for the washing machine (we only have one). Let me tell you Swakop is wet and salty and you feel it!

Then we had a regular week in Windhoek. I went to classes and my internship. In internship class we spoke to a speaker from World Teach about the program and about resume writing. In religion class we spoke to Reverend Thys of the Dutch Reform Church. This was a very interesting session in religion class as he talked about the history of the DRC in Namibia and contemporary issues. In history class we had two speakers. One we went to UNAM for and he spoke to us about apartheid history. This was really interesting because he gave the history from an Afrikaner perspective which we often do not receive in class. Then we also had a speaker talk to us about racism in the U.S. In development class we went to USAID and heard about what they are doing in Namibia and globally.

Friday we ate s’mores and got excited for the North!

Saturday night we went out to see Alice in Wonderland which was very cute and creative. Then we went to Primi, a bar and Chez Ntemba a club, where we danced the night away. I was so glad to go out with my new friend from work, Olga! She is a great girl and a UNAM student.

She invited me to UNAM yesterday to help judge the preliminary round of Miss UNAM first year! It was SO fun. We got to see first year UNAM students in bikinis and cocktail dresses and ask them questions about themselves. It was SO much fun. I also got a chance to get more familiar with UNAM which was nice. Olga is an intern at Friendly Haven too. She is studying to become a social worker and is an awesome girl!

So that’s my life in Windhoek, as it is currently.

Today I am preparing for the north as we leave tomorrow, very early. In the north we will be on an insane adventure! We start off making our way to our rural homestay families. My family is one of 7 people. Three girls and three boys, but two of the girls are older. I am so excited for the homestay! I can’t wait to meet them. I know that it presents itself with some challenges but I hope I am prepared for them, or at least as much I can be. For example, six days of no showers or bathing, no toilets and maybe no running water or electricity. I can handle it though. During the day at our homestays we are going to go to various speakers around the area. Then after six days we leave for Opuwo, another village in the north, and spend sometime there. Finally we make our way to Etosha National Park which is going to be amazing! We are going to get to see animals there. I am SO excited!

After all that adventure in the North we drive back south to Windhoek and there is where we start our spring break! Jenna and I and two of her co-workers are going to Skeleton Coast Park which will be amazing! We will spend two days there and then go to Swakopmund for the rest of the week. I’ll get back to Windhoek on Thursday, March 25th or Friday, March 26th! Then there is only one more month before my sister Britt comes to visit me!

Anyway that will explain why there will be no more posts for about three weeks, but I will have so much to report on when I get back! Wish me luck!

P.S. Check out Skeleton Coast at http://www.namibian.org/travel/namibia/skeleton.htm !