Where am I again?

July 30, 2013

After a 9 hour German flight any other trip would seem light hearted in comparison. 

But there was something different about the flight to Johannesburg and also the flight to Namibia. Everyone was talking, laughing, and enjoying each others company, even with strangers. The easy flow of communication lifted my spirits as I came to the realization that I'm going to get along with just about everyone here. 

And as soon as that plane landed in Namibia...I fell in love. 

I never thought there could be so much beauty in desolation...or at least desolation compared to where I'm from, with thick forests, giant lakes, and clear flowing rivers. Instead the flat desert land outside my plane window was scattered with bush and seemed to stretch farther than the eye could see. On the horizon were desert mountains that I later noticed grew in size and quantity as we travelled to Okahandja. 

Derek and I were picked up by Uncle Joe, a Namibian employee of the Peace Corps. He took us to Windhoek to talk to a few people and then we continued the trek to Okahandja, where we would meet with not only the rest of the volunteers that arrived the previous Monday, but also the host families we would be staying with for the first couple months. 

Okay, so...Imagine being dropped in an ocean without a boat or anything around you to grab onto. Yea....that's what it felt like to come onto the training site and into the middle of the homestay meeting. It hit me all at once that not a single face in the room was familiar to me....all 70-ish faces. But instead of drowning I embraced it (as I knew I would) and welcomed the foreign feeling with a smile on my face. Plus, I had no time to be nervous because I was about to meet my host family. 

I met a beautiful woman named Theresia (on the right and that's her daughter, Jolene, on the left). We spoke for a few minutes and acknowledged the correct time for me to be picked up the following day after class. 

Now it's time to meet the rest of the PCVs. They all knew Derek and I would be arriving and welcomed us as if we'd been there the whole time. Everyone took the initiative to introduce themselves with handshakes and hugs and gave us tours around the town. Despite my exhaustion and jet lag, I accompanied a handful of the group to a local bar (the only bar...) called Rhino's, where Adam kindly bought me a beer because I had yet to get money in the form of Namibian dollars. After that night I knew we'd all be family as we go through this journey together. 

Fast forward through sleep (the best sleep EVER because I was finally out of the air) and get into the classroom. We are all assigned a language to learn, and that all depends on the area they are most likely to send us. I was given the language Silozi, which means I will most likely be placed in the Caprivi area (the arm of Namibia on a map). I was excited to hear this because it's the "jungle" of Namibia, where it's a lot more humid and there are rivers....yes...I know....all of my friends and family are upset as they read this because they told me to stay away from wildlife...but hippos, crocodiles, and snakes are plentiful in this region. But so are elephants! And elephants are cool. Anyway, I'll give more info on that when I'm actually assigned my region. Silozi is a beautiful language that uses certain hand gestures with particular words as a sign of respect. It's comprised of the same sounding vowels as Spanish but with a lot more consonants grouped together (ex: "mpye" means ostrich). I'm going to pick it up just fine. 

After class, vaccinations, and a presentation on how to maintain our sanity, we all headed back to the dorms to gather our things and await our host families arrival. 

They thought this was a good time to model for us with confidence, dignity, and grace....lol

Rouchelle is creepin' in the background...lol

We finally got scooped up by our families. I haven't got enough pictures yet, but there will be plenty eventually. I couldn't be happier with another host family. Theresia, her twin sister and her husband, another man and then Jolene, all made me feel so welcomed. We went to the store and got groceries and later gathered in the living room for dinner and drinks (salad, lamb, and pork...namibians eat a lot of meat...good thing I am no longer a vegetarian!) Conversation flowed in both English and Afrikaans. We talked for hours about some of the differences between our countries and laughed a lot...sometimes at me...but most of all together. I also met Theresia's grand kids and gave them some toys I brought for them from the states. At first they were shy and wouldn't look at me, but by the end of it they were jabbering in Afrikaans and couldn't quite understand why I had no clue what they were saying. 

Oh, and here's the first spider I've seen here:

Yea. I know...

You can't tell in the photo, but that thing is huuuuuge. We're okay with each other though...he keeps to himself in the bathroom as long as I stay in the bed. 

As you can see, their house is beautiful and pretty spacious compared to a lot of houses ive seen around here. There are a few things around the house that give it character, like no hot water, or a few broken things, but they're very happy and I'm fortunate to be here. I better soak it up because come September, Ill most likely be living in a hut. We'll see :)

Random thought of the day: I hope Madame President (my guitar) isn't too sad at home without me. Hey, Dad, you need to give her some attention while I'm gone. I should have brought her...a few other volunteers brought there guitars. But that's okay; I'm sure I'll find one somewhere. 

Frankfurt, Germany

July 28, 2013

Whoops. Derek and I got separated (the PCV that got his passport stolen, aka my flight buddy). So, we're both floating around somewhere in an airport in Germany probably simultaneously running circles around each other wondering where the hell the other could have went...I mean, the airport is only so large. But I'm tired....so this McDonald's booth will have to do for now. 

It's funny how different other countries look from the perspective of an airplane window. I wonder how the view will be as we fly into Africa. I can't help but hope to see it how I did as a child watching the Lion King. Maybe I'll witness a baboon lifting a lion cub to the sky with Elton John blaring in the heavens, or a wild herd of wildebeests trampling over the grounds in a panic. Okay, yea, I know that sounded ridiculous. And obviously the latter is more likely...by, like, 100%...but nonetheless, I know whatever I see from up above will be gorgeous. 

I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to meet everyone. I'm trying my hardest not to rush time, but I wouldn't mind if I fell asleep and woke up in Namibia. 

Anyway....I better go embark on my present quest: Operation Derek Location. 

(Random thought of the day: I wonder if English sounds as strange to foreigners as German does to me. I sure hope not....but it probably does...)

And So It Begins...

Not even a year ago...if you'd have told me I would be sitting in the Nashville airport on July 26, 2013 waiting to board a flight to DC to begin my adventure in serving with the Peace Corps in Africa, I'd have asked you what you'd been smoking. 

And here I am. Sitting nervously and alone at the gate waiting for the one-way-ticket plane ride to Washington DC. This is my first time to fly alone....you see, I was supposed to leave with the whole group last Monday....but some cosmic force decided I should get severely ill just days before my leave date. I go with the flow pretty easily, so of course this didn't get me down. Fortunately, I won't have to make the trek all the way to Africa alone because another volunteer had passport issues (yea, I feel guilty using the words "fortunately" and "passport issues" in the same sentence....but come on, it's better to have someone next to you when you're about to change the rest of your life), therefore we get to fly together. 

All of this has become very real now. Before today the concept of leaving home for 27 months hadn't quite solidified in my mind. Now I feel like I can reach out and grab it. With the tears of my mom's goodbyes, my day's stoic composure yet heartfelt hug, and the look in Tim's face as he finally understood he had to let me go, my dream to travel and help people has become a reality. 

I feel an incredible amount of appreciation for my friends and family and even for a few strangers that helped me get to this point in my life. There are no goodbyes, just see ya laters. And I can promise that after this experience I will have even more to offer the world. This blog entry is the first of many to come, and I hope that all of you will be interested in my journey delivered in the most raw and realistic way. 

See ya later, Nashville. You've been good to me.