Windhoek: The Beginning

When I first stepped off of the plane in Windhoek I was stunned by heat and the intensity of the sun. Johannesburg had been a lot rainier, colder and cloudier than Namibia. Namibia was refreshing and warm and so green. After we finally got through the long customs line with our student visas in hand we drove to town. This drive amazed me as there was so much foliage and the mountains were so very beautiful! As we got closer to civilization, Kristin, the CGE intern, started telling me about all the fun places to go in Windhoek!

            Then we finally arrived at our home in Windhoek West, a neighborhood. It was so exciting to finally get to Windhoek and what we would call home for the next three months! I quickly moved in and got settled!

            In the coming days we did a myriad of things, such as start class and our internship. We also did team building in a park called Elisenheim, which is German for Elise’s home. This was a very fun day. We were assigned to make road maps of our lives and present them to everyone so we could all get to know each other better. This was an intense day. For many, sharing was difficult and I must admit that it was hard for me to hear people in our group struggle. It also brought up issues in my life which I had not originally thought of presenting. After the sessions a group of us climbed a big mountain. It was so difficult to do, especially when we ran out of path but it was also probably one of the most incredible things I have done on this journey. Climbing that mountain told me “Sam, you made it. It was a long and hard journey to get to this point in your life, but you did it! You made it!” Climbing that mountain is something that I will keep with me forever.

            We settled into our home and our way of life with classes and hanging out by the swimming pool on free afternoons. I am taking an internship at Friendly Haven, a shelter for women and children who have been domestically abused, the internship class, a religion class that focuses on Christianity in Namibia and Southern Africa, a history class which compares the U.S. and Southern Africa and finally a development class. These classes and my internship have presented various challenges to me so far in this trip and I have learned a lot through them. Another way in which these classes have really deepened my understanding of Southern Africa, the U.S. and the world is that we go to listen to speakers everyday. We are very fortunate in that we get to go listen to speakers from the National Planning Committee and other important officials such as, representatives of USAID and World Teach to name a few. We also have listened to a traditional healer and two church representatives which is probably the highlights for me as I am very interested in the role of religion in Namibia.

 

 The weather here is almost always sunny and warm, though it is the rainy season so occasionally it rains. Namibia is a dry country so I don’t think they plan on the rain a lot. For me this was quite evident as you could watch the sheets of water roll down the streets with no gutters to go to. It was a beautiful sight.

 

Oh by the way, the malls here are almost just as big as the ones in Johannesburg and you can smoke in them, bank in them and buy your groceries in them!