Day 3: So it ends…

Just as quickly as it all began, now our staging has come to an end. We spent a very long day talking about various topics: Coping with unwanted attention, Managing risk, Crossing cultures, Policies, and various logistics.

There were some pretty impressive and humorous group projects today. For our policies discussion, each of our eight groups was given a case study from which to create a public service announcement dealing with the policy issues. The group I was in had to deal with differences in dressing standards. We had a teacher in shorts and a half-buttoned down shirt scoffed by a fellow teacher for not respecting the position. Then a woman with extravagant jewelry was tagged as an “easy hit”. Finally, we had one member sun bathing and completely offending a local. The message was that clothing in Namibia reflects their cultural values, not ours, and we have to respect that.

Another group project was around the PeaceCorps mission and measures of success. We were divided into self chosen groups of artists, musicians, dancers, story tellers, actors, and writers. I chose writers and we came up with a very bland and unexciting letter to the president of Namibia. The music group, however, surprised us all. They wrote words to the “Lean on Me” and performed it with a guitar. The song included a beat-box rap interlude that knocked everyone’s socks off. I’m going to try and get them to perform it again in the airport so I can record it.

I volunteered to be a group leader to help organize and count all of us as we go from here to the clinic to the bus to the airport then hotel, airplane, bus, and finally camp. Whew! I’m not sure if this was a good idea.

By now we have all perfected the art of grouping for food. Random groups slowly coalesce in the lobby during meal times. As a group approaches critical mass, it leaves for a random troll downtown to forage for very expensive food. I got tangled up in an extraordinarily large group that ended up in a pricy Mexican restaurant. The food was great and we all had a blast.

And now it’s packing time again. It’s weird that just four days ago I was doing this. I’ve got a 5:30 am wake up call to meet in the lobby at 5:45 with some of us who need to get a quick breakfast in at the 24-hour pizza place across the street as required by the clinic. At the clinic we’ll get up to three shots and some anit-malarial stuff. Then a three hour bus ride to the airport for a 17 hour flight. The words “fun”, “relaxing”, and “comfortable” won’t exist while “memorable”, “life-changing”, and “challenge” will take on new meanings.

So this will likely be my last post for a while. I’ll keep writing and saving them on my computer until I can get some Internet, which should be about 10 days (next weekend). I’ve got lots of details about training, but won’t post them just yet.

I’ll be posting again soon!

Day 2: So it begins again

Since registration wasn’t scheduled until 1:00, we had most of the day to explore and see some of Philadelphia. It took a little more time (and wondering) than expected to find the liberty bell, but seeing an original copy of the Declaration of Independence was worth it.

After a little sight seeing and flagrant touristy behavior, we decided to stop at a burrito place for lunch. I ordered a rice and chicken burrito fully aware that beans were certainly not going to aid in my desire to make new friends.

Back at the hotel, we had about an hour to get ready for check-in and the beginning of training. This consisted of ironing wrinkled pants and completing registration forms that probably should have been done weeks ago. 1:00 to 3:00 was spent handing in our forms, getting a bank card, and officially “checking in”, or as I like to call it, signing my name. After that, the hallway roared with random getting to know you chatter, facilitated by a single sheet of paper with little tidbits about each participant (all 60) with which we were supposed to find the subject.

The beginning of training was all standard workshop getting to know you stuff. We talked a little about the PeaceCorps approach to international service and our personal goals. Topping it off with some introductory safety discussion, it was a brief four hours. We were informed that our bank cards had $180 on them, and we should withdraw it soon. Not a bad stipend for the three days of training!

I headed to dinner with Jay and Kim, the other two IT people in our group, along with Elissa and Cynthia, where we talked about some of our concerns and lack of anxiety. It was actually a very nice conversation and we all were able to spell out our feelings as we faced two years in Namibia.

After that, Elissa and Cynthia and I went to find a bar that we heard others were meeting at. We have several drinks and long loud conversations, culminating in a three group, 12 person merging at the back of the bar, talking softly about politics and life.

A short walk home and a visit to the room of the person that took the pictures: (gotta get them all on my computer!) then here I sit, on my bed, ready for sleep. We’ve got one more night like this before we go into training, unlikely to have another worry-free night in the next two years.

Day 1: So it Begins...

After what felt like a short flight (due to entertainment from the movie “Must Love Dogs”) through Denver, I arrived in the Phili airport. Once everyone started getting up to get off the plane, two people sitting one row each in front of me realized they were both in the PeaceCorps, after which I joined in the conversation and my first “contact” was made.

The three of us got our bags and crammed into a small cab to head to the hotel. After a 15 minute cab ride with luggage in every available space between us, we learned that we three represented the three types of volunteers that make up our Namibia group. Adam, with a degree in English literature will be teaching, Amber with a degree in Physical Ed will be working on health issues, and I represented the minority of three IT guys.

The hotel was wonderful, tall as a downtown hotel ought to be. Seconds after checking in (and learning that we all had roommates) we were met by a group of five PC’s on a hotel recruiting mission. All eight of us went out to dinner after what ended up being a half-hour meandering downtown, half-lost, half-sight seeing, looking for the restaurant.

We ate at Cosmopolitans, an international cuisine restaurant. We had (among other things I don’t remember the names to) crab mac-and-cheese, sushi, and several noodle dishes that were as tasty as their prices indicated ($107 for the seven of us that ate).

After a quick photo op on the strange frog chairs in the corner of the restaurant, we headed back to the hotel, stopping to grab some ice cream and play in the brief rainstorm.

Later, we met in one of the volunteer’s room for about an hour, adding two more to our group and swapping application and medical clearance stories. A 9 AM meeting time was agreed on to find the liberty bell, then we all headed to unpack and unwind.

I met my roommate, Mark, an education volunteer with a degree in Physics. We chatted until 1:30 am, then hit the hay. What a first day!

Everyone I’ve met so far has been awesome and has had a different life story. About the only thing we have in common is this huge unknown that sits in front of us. I can’t wait to get going!

One Week

In one week, I will be getting ready to leave...

Facing the unknown,

A journey to fear and fear.

Places yet to roam,

Tasks yet to come near.

 

Just one week from now,

and then two years past that,

I'll be back in town,

Then sitting here, where I sat.

 

Day 4 - Travel

It's been a long trip. We started the day getting breakfast at a small dinner across the street at 5:30. After that, we headed to the click for various sticks, draws, and pills. It wasn't until 3:00 that we made it to the airport (after a 3 hour bus ride from Phili to New York).

The international terminal at JFK was really different. There were people from all over the world there, speaking different languages and wearing different clothes. The plane we got on was a huge Boeing 747, with eight seats across and two isles. Myrial traded me seats after overhearing me complain about being stuck in the middle with my long legs. I put up a very pathetic fight, after which I had a window seat the was very comfortable.

We had a stop in Dakar, where we sat for an hour while they loaded food and fuel. I got in three movies: Wedding crashers (funny), Bewitched (bad- didn't make it all the way through it), and The Island (alright). I also played at least an hour of chess against the computer and got through a good chunk of my Stephen King novel.

After a second, 7-hour leg of our trip to Johannesburg we stood in line at passport check, customs, and claims. We met up with our site supervisor who directed us to the hotel and gave me some juicy details.

He said that we will be getting western-style housing with electricity, showers, and toilets- Yeah!! He also said that most towns have internet, and some volunteers pay to have it in their homes!

I still have a group dinner tonight, then tomorrow we're off to Namibia, flying to Windhoek (pronounced vind-hook), then bussing to Omaruru: our home for the next week.

Johannesburg-

The excitement is finally starting to trickle in. More and more of us are starting to talk about the near future with a tinge of exuberance, replacing the gossipy malaise that seemed to fill the air in between the sharing of our lives with each other.

Shortly after meeting Waldo, our first official PeaceCorps employed Namibia native, and otherwise great man, the information started flowing like sweet wine. First we learned that western-style housing was a near standard for all education and most health volunteers in the southern regions (unlike our northern counterparts who often live in huts with limited electricity). Next we learned that electricity, plumbing and showers were standard. It seemed that elation would have peaked once he mentioned that Internet access would be easy to come by, but when the conversation drifted to the Namibian perceptions of Americans, we hit our high. Not only is the Namibian government a strong and committed partner with the PeaceCorps, sighting this partnership as center to its diplomatic interactions with the US, but the Namibian people have a good and friendly rapport with volunteers. He admitted that it’s the smaller towns that have the best relationships with PeaceCorps volunteers: the larger towns have groups of Namibians who work closely with the volunteers, but some don’t know about the program. Regardless, the news was all good.

Waldo let us know in no uncertain terms that we were going to have great experiences working in supportive communities with friendly people.

As if that weren’t enough to spike our interest and put us in a right mind, our first experience in Africa has been very positive. Our hotel is very nice, and everyone here has gone out of their way to get to know us and extend their friendship. I haven’t seen an instance of negativity since our arrival 12 hours ago! The weather is perfect- near 80 degrees in the evenings with mostly clear skies. The air feels fresh and alive with the plethora of opportunities that await travelers here.

To summarize, we are all in good spirits and excited. I can only imagine that over the next two months we will feed off each other’s positive energy and translate this awesome environment into a truly amazing experience. I can now finally say that I feel something- a moderate but definitive anticipation for what surely will be a great experience.

I want to extend my thanks and appreciation again to my family and friends who have supported me through this decision and experience. It is in the strength of my relationships with you that I am able to do this huge thing. And as life in the next two years starts coming into focus, getting bigger and more pronounced, I feel more ready for it each day. Like any great adventure, crossing into the unknown toward beautiful new horizons; all these journeys begin with one step, then one more after that. My steps are now placed more confidently, and their growing number has started a momentum that will carry me back home two years from now changed and renewed. I can’t wait.