Here we are. 13 of us on our way to the Kavango region. For those of you that need to brush up on your geography, it's in the north eastern part of the country, right underneath Angola. Yea...I didn't know where it was either...but two of us, Lacy (that one girl I mentioned in that one entry) and I, got sent to a tiny village called Tondoro.
Oh yea...I guess I should tell you why we went here to begin with.
September 4-7ish was dedicated to shadowing previous volunteers in their live habitat....a good way for us to see what our job could potentially be like and also just to get an idea of what the volunteers have been through.
So....that's Tondoro. Or at least an idea of it. There are a lot of homesteads with mud huts. And less trash on the ground than in our training town of Okahandja.
And that's Kyla, my shadow volunteer. Lacy and I creepily stalked her for a few days to see how she did things...like teach...and picked her brain about what we should and shouldn't do when we move to our site.
I don't want to spend too much time talking about my shadowing experience....because honestly I'm not in a story-telling mood. All in all, we had a great time with Kyla. We cooked good food, had great conversation, and learned a lot as far as what it's actually like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer at work. We took the time to speak to locals (I even got a love letter, typed and printed, delivered to me by a male teacher at Kyla's school) and experienced local Namibian transportation (hitch hiking....don't worry, mom, it's safe here considering that's most people's way of getting around). One of the nights all of the volunteers, old and new, gathered on the river to enjoy each other's company...but I'll have to keep those pictures to myself for now.
So that's that...but lately I've been in a rather pensive mood. A friend of mine inquired about how I feel about life lately. So, Henrik and anyone else is who may be curious, this is where Real-Talk Time #3 comes into play.
I had about 7 hours to myself on the drive to Tondoro and also on the way back. Most of this time I had my headphones in... all 8,500 ipod songs on shuffle with fate deciding what i should hear next as I stared out the window at the passing Namibian landscape. As most of you know, with music come memories, and with memories come emotions. I went through an array of thoughts and feelings on this drive. Which was good. Because I haven't had much time to do that yet since I've been here. Sheryl Crow made me miss my dad...Band of Horses had me missing my mom....the New Pornographers induced memories of my brother and I....almost every other song had me thinking of my closest friends back home...and within these songs I would reflect on as many memories I could of each person. But instead of feeling sad about missing my family and friends, I was overcome with intense joy. Because they're the reason I was lost in music staring out at the beautiful rocky hills of Namibia passing by my window. They helped get me to where I am today. Words can't describe that moment of clarity and gratitude. And with each passing landscape I was reminded that time progresses as well...meaning one day I'll hug my family and friends back home again. But for now I'm here. This moment is Now. And this moment is nothing short of Beautiful, even when it's not easy. And trust me, it's not always easy.
Pre-service training can be stressful at times. While I've managed to maintain a stable and content baseline, it hasn't always been the easiest thing to do. They keep us very busy...without much time to just sit and collect our thoughts. Right now, as I'm typing this, I'm also looking at the clock, tapping my foot nervously, because I'm on a strict time limit to get everything done before swearing in on the 19th.
And with all the work we have to do, we're also all dealing with interesting emotions.
I didn't expect to fall in love with everyone in my group so quickly. Well, okay, yea I did, because I love just about everyone I meet...but I didn't expect it to feel this deep so fast...and we only have 8 days left.
8 daaaays.
What?! Where the hell did the time go? And all of these people I've grown to care about so much are going their own way. Yes, we'll be in the same country...but the 19th is going to come with a lot of mixed emotions. I'm so ready to go to my site. I'm anxious, excited, nervous, thrilled, intimidated, happy....everything.....
But damn....I'm going to miss the rest of my group.
Anyway...I know a lot of these feelings I've poured out in this blog sound heavy. And they are. But without that heaviness, the light weight of pure happiness wouldn't be appreciated. I am exactly where I need to be :) and that's something I will never lose sight of.
Thanks again for reading :) here are some pictures from my trip to the Kavango region:
Chicken feet all over the school grounds.
Kyla and Lacy
Here I am playing study games with Kyla's 10th graders.
Lacy was sad because of her suitcase lol. We had an adventure by ourselves walking almost 4km to meet the other volunteers.
Morning time on the river.
I love my crazy life.
kyla i was your host family. hit me up when you're free. enjoyed the blog. rkambango@gmail.com
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