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 !
Showing posts with label homestay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homestay. Show all posts
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The Geseibs
As soon as we got settled CGE scooped us up and took us outside of our comfort zones again! This time they were taking us all over Windhoek for our Urban Homestays. They lasted 10 days in which we live with a family. Most of us were placed in homes in Katutura or Khomasdal. My family is Trudy and Sam Geseib and their four week old baby Tandago. I was so excited to learn about my family!
Then the final day came where we left our Windhoek west home or a new one. Sam came to pick me up at the house. I liked him immediately but was still a little shy. We drove back to their home in Katutura. There I met many family members along with Trudy, little Tandago and Petrine their niece. I later met Mercelline their other niece and Obas, their nephew. The three young people, all my age, are staying with Sam and Trudy to go to school at UNAM, University of Namibia, and a new banking school that just opened.
It was very different for me to go from the CGE house to a structured family again. I helped cook and wash dishes almost everyday. This reminded me of home. It was so nice to have a family feel again. Also Sam and I hit it off and talked about a lot of issues concerning the world and Namibia. Sam is my go-to-guy! Whenever I have questions from class, he’s who I go to for a new perspective, a lot like my dad at home.
The first weekend I was there on Sunday we went to their farm outside of the city. It was so incredibly beautiful there! They are growing fruits and veggies and have cattle, goats, pigs and chickens! It was so nice to see the piggies! We had lunch there and just sat and marveled at nature for a long time. It was so peaceful and serene. It was also really interesting to talk to Sam about how they managed to obtain the land and keep up the farm. It’s a very complicated process to run the farm as they do, especially because they both live and work in Windhoek. Right now they have finished drilling a hole for water and all they have left to do is build a pump for the well and they will have their own source of water there. Currently they use their neighbor’s pump and pay him for it. To show you how dynamic and strong Trudy is, two weeks after Tandago was born she was on the phone getting people to come out and start drilling the well!
On our way back Sam and I talked at length about issues such as unemployment, government, HIV/AIDS and history on the drive back. Also we almost hit a warthog and her babies! They are the equivalent to our deer on the road. I was excited because I had never seen them wild before! The babies were so cute!
Then Sam left for Sweden for work which was a bummer. The week was good, I took classes and had some afternoons in the CGE house. The next weekend Petrine, Mercelline, Obas, Desmond (another cousin) and I all went to the movies at Maerwa Mall. The boys saw Twilight, which I think is pretty funny, and we saw Valentine’s Day. After that we hung out for a bit there. Then we went to the pool but we were quickly rained out.
On my last day of my homestay Mercelline and Petrine braided my hair! It was fun! It actually didn’t even hurt until hours later. My homestay was so wonderful and I love the Geseibs so much. They are my family in Namibia and that comforts me greatly.
Also a week later I turned twenty one! Trudy and Sam held a braai for my birthday. It was the highlight of my week. They made it so special for me. All of our family was there and some of my CGE friends came! We had such a wonderful time. The food was brilliant, as usual (thanks Obas, master grillers!). Some people made toasts to me and the one that touched me the most was the one from my dad Sam. He talked about how my parents in the U.S. must envy Trudy and him for being allowed this time with me. He talked about the time I had spent at the house and how we all learned so much from each other. Finally he talked about how I was a woman in the world and a part of their family. I love Trudy and Sam and all of their family so much. When I think about my life in Namibia they are a huge part of it and they probably mean the most to me out of everyone I know here. I know that I always have a place, a home and a family here.
Thank you Trudy and Sam for everything you have showed me and given me. I love you guys.
Then the final day came where we left our Windhoek west home or a new one. Sam came to pick me up at the house. I liked him immediately but was still a little shy. We drove back to their home in Katutura. There I met many family members along with Trudy, little Tandago and Petrine their niece. I later met Mercelline their other niece and Obas, their nephew. The three young people, all my age, are staying with Sam and Trudy to go to school at UNAM, University of Namibia, and a new banking school that just opened.
It was very different for me to go from the CGE house to a structured family again. I helped cook and wash dishes almost everyday. This reminded me of home. It was so nice to have a family feel again. Also Sam and I hit it off and talked about a lot of issues concerning the world and Namibia. Sam is my go-to-guy! Whenever I have questions from class, he’s who I go to for a new perspective, a lot like my dad at home.
The first weekend I was there on Sunday we went to their farm outside of the city. It was so incredibly beautiful there! They are growing fruits and veggies and have cattle, goats, pigs and chickens! It was so nice to see the piggies! We had lunch there and just sat and marveled at nature for a long time. It was so peaceful and serene. It was also really interesting to talk to Sam about how they managed to obtain the land and keep up the farm. It’s a very complicated process to run the farm as they do, especially because they both live and work in Windhoek. Right now they have finished drilling a hole for water and all they have left to do is build a pump for the well and they will have their own source of water there. Currently they use their neighbor’s pump and pay him for it. To show you how dynamic and strong Trudy is, two weeks after Tandago was born she was on the phone getting people to come out and start drilling the well!
On our way back Sam and I talked at length about issues such as unemployment, government, HIV/AIDS and history on the drive back. Also we almost hit a warthog and her babies! They are the equivalent to our deer on the road. I was excited because I had never seen them wild before! The babies were so cute!
Then Sam left for Sweden for work which was a bummer. The week was good, I took classes and had some afternoons in the CGE house. The next weekend Petrine, Mercelline, Obas, Desmond (another cousin) and I all went to the movies at Maerwa Mall. The boys saw Twilight, which I think is pretty funny, and we saw Valentine’s Day. After that we hung out for a bit there. Then we went to the pool but we were quickly rained out.
On my last day of my homestay Mercelline and Petrine braided my hair! It was fun! It actually didn’t even hurt until hours later. My homestay was so wonderful and I love the Geseibs so much. They are my family in Namibia and that comforts me greatly.
Also a week later I turned twenty one! Trudy and Sam held a braai for my birthday. It was the highlight of my week. They made it so special for me. All of our family was there and some of my CGE friends came! We had such a wonderful time. The food was brilliant, as usual (thanks Obas, master grillers!). Some people made toasts to me and the one that touched me the most was the one from my dad Sam. He talked about how my parents in the U.S. must envy Trudy and him for being allowed this time with me. He talked about the time I had spent at the house and how we all learned so much from each other. Finally he talked about how I was a woman in the world and a part of their family. I love Trudy and Sam and all of their family so much. When I think about my life in Namibia they are a huge part of it and they probably mean the most to me out of everyone I know here. I know that I always have a place, a home and a family here.
Thank you Trudy and Sam for everything you have showed me and given me. I love you guys.
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