Catching up with life in Namibia

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!

Learning languages!

One of my favorite things to do when in a new place is to learn the local language.  Even though I usually butcher the pronunciation, I still love trying to learn basic stuff.  While in my South African homestay, I learned a bunch of words and phrases in Zulu. Some basics:
-Sonibonani: Hello, how are you (plural)
-Sawubona: Hello, how are you (singular)
-Mamella: listen (which we heard a lot from our 6-year old boy who needed a lot of attention)
-Mkuku: slums/metal shacks
-Isitimela: train

Dumela: Hello (in Sotho)

A typical conversation could go like this:
Sawubona (Hello, how are you?)
-Yebo. Kunjani? (I'm fine, how's it going?)
Ngikhona/Ngiyalaphila (Me, I'm well/I'm alive and well)

Once we got to Namibia, I started teaching myself Oshiwambo at my internship one day when they just left me in the office without anything to do.  The one other girl in the office is a native Oshiwambo speaker, so she taught me a few more words and helped me with pronunciation. Some things I learned:

oshilumbu: foreigner (usually someone with lighter skin)
walala po?: Good morning, & how are you?
wu uhala po?: Good afternoon & how are you?
wa tokelwa po?: Good evening & how are you?
ongeipi: Hi (informal)
onawa: I'm fine
ondjamba: elephant
okambishi: cat
oshingulu: pig
ombaka: duck
ombuku: mouse
ongolo: zebra
onkoshi: lion
ohi: fish
ongobe: cow, ongobe ilai: stupid cow
oshikombo: goat
omwe: mosquito
ondjuhwa: chicken
indapo nawa: goodbye
ombili: sorry

Yesterday we had our first Oshiwambo language class taught by our program intern Ndaku.  We got a big packet full of basic words and phrases that we may need for our rural homestay in a couple weeks.  I'm really excited!

And today we had our urban homestay prep where we found out about our families that we will be staying with starting next week Monday.  I found out my family speaks Oshiwambo and English, so I'll be able to practice even more before my rural homestay in Northern Namibia where our families may not speak much English. Hopefully I'll be able to understand and talk to my family by the time 2 weeks rolls around. Yikes it's so soon!

Joburg

For our second day in Joburg we did another tour of Soweto, but we went into Kliptown, the notoriously poor area of the township.  For this tour, we got to get off the bus and were led around by one of the residents of Kliptown, which I found to be far better than just driving around in the bus looking through the windows.  We got a much more intimate experience since we were able to talk to people and walk into their homes.  The poverty was staggering.  Raw sewage ran through the streets, bathrooms were limited, every metal surface was thoroughly rusted and in bad condition.  Made me think about what kids do to entertain themselves, bc the shacks (mcoocoo in Zulu) were so closely together that there were no open areas for kids to play.  And I would guess that none of them got tetanus shots since those would be a luxury, so I can only imagine the kids running around and cutting themselves on rusted metal.  So we continued on our tour and talk to anyone that was walking around.  At one point, we stopped at this station called "The Kitchen" where people set up grills to cook meat and serve those that couldn't afford their own food.  On the menu: Cow intestines.  Yup, I actually tried it.  I think I was the only person who that it was delicious (at least the first piece- when I went back for seconds it didn't taste so great).  But it was a great experience, and I tried something new.  Also when I was at my Soweto homestay, I tried sheep meat and chicken hearts.  They gave me chicken feet but I couldn't get up the courage to eat it.  Baby steps.

Soweto day 1

Today we went on a tour of the Soweto township, which was especially cool for me to see what it actually looks like after doing my final project on the 1976 Soweto uprising for my class last semester.  But I have to admit.  I felt really uncomfortable when we were on the tour bus driving around the township.  It just didn't feel right to be sitting in this bus taking pictures of people's homes like they were on display for an museum exhibit.  These are their homes, and the way they have to live.  It shouldn't be something that tourists come see for a day.  Because we saw such poverty it parts of the township.  I saw roofs that were made from patches of metal, cardboard, and in one case, the trunk of a car.  I much would've rather been on the ground talking to these people to hear their story, and to see what they believe is needed from their government to raise their standard of living.

But then we got to the Hector Pieterson museum, which was really emotional at times.  We started off by getting to hear from Antoinette Pieterson, Hector's sister who is seen running alongside him in the famous picture that has become iconic of the Soweto uprising.  It was an interesting experience to hear directly from her since I had previously watched interviews of her while researching for my final project for my class.  Then we were allowed to explore inside the museum.  Reading all of the personal accounts from the event, seeing videos, looking out the window where the students first met: it was extremely emotional.  The story really came alive for me.  I think the Soweto uprising really showcases how brutal the apartheid regime was when responding to resistance.  It made me think a lot about how many were affected by the violence during that uprising.  It's just a shame that we were only given 30 minutes because I wasn't able to see all of the exhibits.

Next we went to NELSON MANDELA's old house before he went to prison.  It was unbelievable to stand in the house where he had once lived.  We saw letters he had written, his chair that only he is allowed to sit in, his boxing championship belt that he took from Sugar Ray.  It was unbelievable!

Some pictures from Africa: day 2

My first few days in Joburg

Things have turned out better than I ever could have imagined.  I was pretty nervous about traveling by myself to South Africa, since everyone kept telling me it has one of the highest rates of violent crime, rape, etc in the world.  Every time I told people I was going, I would see this look on their face that was far from reassuring.  I'm thankful that I have had no problems so far.

When I landed in Joburg, I was exhausted from the flight.  Got a little lost in the airport (as usual), but managed to get down to customs only to find out that my duffle bag never made it on the flight and was still in the States.  At least there wasn't much important stuff in it :) Went through customs without a problem but then had no idea how to get a hold of a phone so I could call my hostel for my airport pick up. This was where I first fell in love with the people of Africa.  I asked people at an information desk where I could find a phone and a nearby taxi driver overheard and escorted me to the phone card place, even making the phone call for me to the hostel since I had no idea how to use the phone.  Then he walked me upstairs to the waiting area and gave me his information so he could show me Johannesburg properly.  He truly was one of the nicest people I had ever met.

I got to the hostel and settled in, then met everyone.  People at hostels really put you to shame if you haven't done much traveling before.  I met Aussies, Kiwis, Brazilians, Brits, and more that have been all over the world! One 26-yr old has been to 29 countries already, and plans to get to 40 by the time he's 30.  Most of the people from Oceania had done a big East Asia tour and talked about it like it was pretty common to do.  They have also been all over Africa already, and Europe of course.  They had amazing stories, it was so great to just sit in the common room and talk through the night.  And most of them travel by themselves all the time which was really reassuring!

Only thing was I didn't know the extent of how dangerous Joburg actually is before I came.  I mean, no one I've talked to at the hostel has had a problem themselves, but they all told me stories.  Some fun facts about Joburg: apparently it's one of the most dangerous cities in the world (maybe top 3); the downtown area (which you do NOT want to go in during the weekend since there are no cops) is the most densely populated area in Africa next to maybe Cairo; it's fairly common for people to carry guns on them constantly therefore lots of violent crime.  I heard stories about muggings at gunpoint that happen frequently, even during the middle of the day in public areas.  My host was saying how you never want to yell at a taxi driver because he might just pull out his gun and shoot you.  Stuff like that ACTUALLY happens.  Some general rules: never walk around Joburg at night, especially by yourself; if you're in a car, don't have your purse or camera or anything valuable visible or on the seat next to you- if you are ever at a stop light, people will look in and break your window and steal it without a second thought--> hence why Joburgers are notorious for running red lights and creating their own driving rules :) you quickly learn to follow suit!

Joburg is the financial center of South Africa, and as such, has more millionaires than even Germany.  The mansions are HUGE. We went to this really wealthy suburb Sandton.  The cars there were ridiculous.  I've never seen more BMWs, Audies, Porches.  But then it's mind-blowing because you see this juxtaposed with all these black South Africans standing on the side of the road trying to sell stuff to drivers.  It has the greatest (or one of the greatest) inequality gaps in the world, and it's really visible.

But it's still an amazing place.  I can't wait to see Cape Town at the end of the semester, everyone at the hostel has been telling me it's way better than Joburg.

PS. Bob's Bunk House is the best! It's a home away from home where this nice older couple help out with everything and are fantastic sources of information on what life is actually life in South Africa.  Really eye-opening to hear multiple perspectives on the whole post-apartheid society.  But more on that later.

Things I can cross off my list of life goals

-Pet a baby wild animal: LION CUBS
-Meet Nelson Mandela: on my way...I'm in the same country as him and my friend drove past his house on a tour and took a picture when the flag was up which means he was home. I'm so close!