We're Finally Here!

Disclaimer: Because time is valuable, I am not really proof-reading for mistakes. I apologize for the mistakes ahead of time.

There’s a LOT to write about now that I’m finally in Africa! I’ve been jotting down stream of conscious notes in order to be able to remember. Because of this my posts may be a bit scattered. Anyways, we left the hotel at 2:30am. I could not sleep even though I had been up all night. We got to the airport three hours before it opened. Many of us were sleep deprived but I still had a ton of energy. We finally got to check-in our luggage. One important note for future volunteers; do NOT go over 50lb in one bag. Some people had to pay extra fees of $100. The flight was so longgggg, 15 hours, but I was the ONLY one who could not sleep more than 2 hours. By the time we arrived in Johannesburg, I had slept two hours in a 48 hour period (roughly). It began to get more real that I was in Africa, but it still was not totally real. I did learn a cultural thing in JoBurg. You should tip the bathroom attendants; I only picked up on this after four trips. Anyways, the airport was fancy! They were better than the American airports I’ve been in. I sent a few postcards because we had a 6-7 hour layover. I tried to sleep but I felt sick after. The food on the airlines was great; my favorite was the Chicken Tikki Masala. One note about South African Airways; they must recruit only the most attractive and professional attendants ever. The accents also were amazing.

We got on our flight to Namibia, and travel problems quickly developed. We left 2 hours late because of a lightning storm. We were told to go to three different runways, but then had to turn back because we needed fuel. It was interesting how the plane was full of Germans. I wasn’t expecting that even though the Germans had colonized Namibia a long time ago. We started to land and it hit almost all of the volunteers…we were in Africa! My first thought was “It’s so barren!” We saw only a few houses and roads over miles and miles of terrain. The airport was beautiful and was in the middle of nowhere. The weather was hot, but it got cooler later at night. We met a bunch of PC people and we had a wonderful couple hour ride to Okahanjda, where our training is. It was unfortunate that we stumbled upon a very serious car accident on the way back. We met Edward, a really cool PCV. Some things I learned from him was to never poor a man’s drink in Namibia and always say hello to everyone! We were so thankful when we got to the conference center that they did not make us train, but let us eat some tasty beef stew and rice and go to bed. The rooms were nice. There are only four guys in our group, but they are really cool. We’ve gotten along great.

On the 14^th (the next day), I woke up at 2am. By this time I had only 6.5 hours of sleep out of 72. My stomach was feeling pretty poorly at this time too, but it was a manageable challenge. I was able to use the red light on my geeky headlamp during the night! I also got up to read my Bible; it was so peaceful at 5:30 in the morning. It was our first day of training and they greeted us with song and dance. I wanted to join in right away. All the staff here are wonderful! I have met every single one and we get along great. They are really fun people. (Just a random note, as I was writing this just now, songs came on the cafes radio system that I have heard on K-Love.) Our country director introduced himself and he is impressive. He has worked with the UN, the US State Department, and internationally. It was extremely exciting to me as one of the reasons I had joined the Peace Corps was to form international connections.  One note, one of the other staff told us that 18 out of the 45 PCVs in his group had ended up marrying. That was quite a lot different than what I had expected, but hilarious.

On the 15^th (today), we had medical and program interviews. After looking through materials and talking with the staff, I feel so prepared for this. Most of the teachings are about things I have previously learned. As I have been speaking to people, more and more things come back and I have ideas and numerous strategies that I cannot wait to hash out. I have never been so confident in my professional life as now (we’ll see I feel when I get thrown into a Namibian context). They asked us about what we wanted, and I told them a few “ideal” situations. Overall, I told them I want them to put me where they need me. I believe it will be difficult no matter what, but I have faith in God and in their judgment that I will go where I fit best. We were also given shots today and have free time until tomorrow. It’s 4:05pm here by the way.

 Most people went to get internet at the café, but Nay Nay, another male PCV, and I went to explore. We went to a local market and did a quick walkthrough because it was almost lunch time. It’s definitely interesting being a non-Namibian here. People speak to me often; ask for things; offer me goods; or they just want to chat. Being an extrovert is a huge asset here. But I do feel it will be a challenge in the future because I stick out like a sore thumb. After lunch I went to the cafe. It was like PC headquarters with PCVs everywhere using the internet. To my surprise and my pleasure, there was an American girl who walked into the place who was not with PC. She is a missionary from California. Of all the things in the world, she said she was going to grad school where I graduated from with my Bachelor’s, Azusa Pacific University. We spoke for a while about a number of things and I am going to visit her church on Sunday. I feel fortunate that she will introduce me to her church and its members, which will be great for finding my personal church, but also for making new friends, as well as helping my work. It was entertaining when she said you could tell PCVs by their nice backpacks. Anyways, I’m caught up until now (March 15, 2013 4:53pm). I will most likely not be able to have internet like this or be able to post such a long post with all the busy training coming.