So much has happened so I don't even know where to start. I've been in Namibia for 1.5 months now, but it feels like years. We just got back from Swakopmund (the coast) last week which was phenomenal! Probably my favorite part of the trip so far. The first day, we went on a tour of Swakop and the townships. We went to a kindergarten which was actually more like a community center/safe house that youth of all ages could go to when not in school to hang out and stay out of the streets. When we got out of our bus, the young ones started shouting "shilumbu! shilumbu!" which translates to "white foreigner" which was really fun to hear them all chanting. They were so happy and so curious. They gathered around us and some just wanted to touch our hands and see the difference. Then we got to go inside, where they sang some traditional songs which was really cool. Once they finished singing, they said they would show us traditional dances...on the condition that we sing a song for them. We ended up singing Row Row Row Your Boat in rounds- it actually came together pretty nicely for all of us being terrible singers. Then they started dancing...it was INCREDIBLE. These kids could really dance. I'll try to put the videos up that I took, but they really won't do them justice. Sadly we had to leave right after they finished dancing- next we visited an orphanage that housed ~ 30 kids from infants to teenagers. It was really moving because the coordinator was telling us how many of these kids had been brought to the orphanage as babies that had been dumped in toilets or trash cans, or come from abusive family situations. I was actually really impressed with the center's facilities; the bedrooms and living areas were very spacious and comfortable. We learned that they were funded completely off of donations (a bunch of students from the group donated money before we left) and that it was a struggle to keep the center running since the government provided zero funding. Shocking, considering how the center helps kids from all over Namibia and provides everything they need.
So after that, we toured some of the homes in the townships, and then went to dinner at a famous lighthouse restaurant on the water. The next day, we went to a few lecturers to learn about the economic relationships for one of the biggest ports in Southern Africa @ Walvis Bay. After an exhausting day of tours and climbing Dune 7 (the 3rd tallest sand dune in the world), we were released for the rest of the weekend in Swakop. Our entire group decided to go quadding and sandboarding on the dunes which was absolutely fantastic! Definitely my favorite day of the trip so far. We were able to spend three hours zooming through the dunes...I almost fell of my four-wheeler a couple times but I still loved it. And sandboarding was slightly terrifying because we went on our stomachs, face first, down huge dunes. On the third run, I completely wiped out and went flying, but at least I wasn't the only one. NO REGRETS. I would definitely love to go back someday. The girls and I were talking and a bunch of us decided we want to move to Swakop someday for a couple years since it's the most amazing little town.
We finally had to return to Windhoek to get back to classes, but they were really great this week. One thing I love about my program is that they bring in incredible speakers to talk to us. In my history class, we met the man that coined the name for Namibia, Professor Kerina. He taught us about the Herero Genocide of 1904 which was really powerful. We also got a speaker that was a former detainee in SWAPO'S (the liberation movement party) internment camps during the liberation struggle. She is a representative of the Breaking the Wall of Silence movement which aims to educate about SWAPO's human rights abuses during the independence movement that is so little publicized. The thing that really struck me was that international organizations like the United Nations participated in covering up SWAPO's human rights abuses since they had labeled SWAPO as the "sole and legitimate representative of the Namibian people," and so sought to save face. So it was rewarding to hear her perspective on the liberation struggle when SWAPO still enjoys enormous popularity in general as being the liberators of the Namibian people.
It was interesting today because we had the opportunity to go to the University of Namibia (UNAM) to speak with Namibian students about the education & political systems, development, etc. It was great to hear their different perspectives, especially on what they thought was necessary for future development of Namibia. Once we finished with all of the pre-arranged questions, we were able to ask each other questions about our countries. The one thing that sticks out to me every time I talk with youth about American culture is how much they follow our TV shows about celebrities like Jersey Shore and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. And especially the misconceptions they have about our culture based on rumors that people tell. For example, there is a really strong belief here that many of the celebrities/musicians like T.I., Jay-Z, Rihanna, and even Justin Beiber are members of the Freemasons- everyone tells each other not to buy their music b/c they would be supporting devil worshipers. Similarly, a lot of people believe Lady Gaga is in the Illuminati. I'm still not sure they believed us when we tried to reassure them otherwise. Either way, it was a great afternoon of intercultural exchange, and we all made a lot of friends that I hope to keep in touch with when we return from our rural homestay in the north and from spring break in Zambia in 3 weeks!
