OPUWO

Yes this is on the side of the road and these are cows AND GIRAFFE. haha.

After a long 10-hour drive, we finally arrived in Opuwo (A smaller town up north). As we were driving in, Paula said to us, “We are not in Windhoek anymore,” we asked why and she said, "You will see"…

We did see.

It was an amazing experience, but one that made me think about different cultures and people at a deeper level. As we drove through town there were small huts and market areas everywhere.

There were lots of people walking up and down the streets as well. We were told that once we get out of the van we shouldn’t take pictures without asking and many will want you to pay them to take their picture, especially the Himba and Herero people. It was amazing to see the traditional/tribal people all around.

Himba woman

The Himba cover their bodies in this red paste stuff, which they use for beauty and to keep their skin oily and moisturized. They wear traditional clothing and various kinds of jewelry. Their hair is also covered in the red paste and some have very distinct and beautiful hairstyles and headpieces.

The Herero wear very beautiful and traditional dresses with a headpiece that looks similar to cattle horns. I would have to look more into the meaning behind why the cattle horns are so significant, but it was very interesting to see.

Once we got to our hotel a few girls and I wanted to go to the store across the street to get some things, so we headed out having no clue what to expect. This is when I began toexperience why Paula said what she said…As we walked out of the store, there were some women wanting us to buy their things they made. We said no thank you and began to walk away, but the women kept putting their baskets against us and saying, “Please, for my baby.” We continued to say no and walked away, which was so hard to do. Then as we walked down to another store, we realized that these women and others were following us and I’ll be honest, at first it was really scary and made me feelreallyuncomfortable. As we walked by a gas station Uanee, our driver, asked us where we were going then offered us a ride. We took the offer and he drove us there and back. As we were driving we talked with him and I realized then that He was from this town and knew everyone. Things were said that made me feel bad for beingscared. After a long timeprocessing and talking with others, I realized that it is ok for us to be on our toes and aware of what isgoing on around us, but there is no need to be scared. These are people, God’s creation, God’s children and so am I. As the 3 days we were there went on, I became much more comfortable and I actually loved experiencing this new culture. I bought many bracelets from various women and learned a lot. Although still a heart wrenching experience, Opuwo is a home for somany people and I loved being a part of it for the 3 days we were there.

Mobile school that is now a perminent structure and changing to a government school.

We also went to two mobile/tent schools while in Opuwo, one of which was a school that is a now permanent structure. Learners sang and danced for us, we gave supplies in which they loved and used right away, and we just got to see how education works in and around Opuwo. It was amazing. The tent school we went to actually wasn’t in session at the time because there was no food, but as we drove up kids followed and joined us in the tent. I learned thattheteacher lives on the site of the tent school and that these schools start and end according to the needs of the community around them. Some learners have morning chores they must complete before attending school so school starts later. The schools also move according to theparents/families mobility. There is so much to say about the schools, but if I shared it all now this blog would be the longest ever.

Tent School

New Supplies!

Overall, the experiences in Opuwo were eye opening and amazing. They were much different from the ones we had had already in Windhoek. People were much more aggressive and traditional wear was everywhere. It was obvious that Opuwo was a much more rural town then Windhoek. I am so thankful for the experiences and all the things I saw throughout the three days there.

Small huts that are all along the roads up north.

Video of Mobile School Learners Singing to us! :)

Sunday FUN!

Went to church this morning in Katutura...

Worship words written on an overhead projector :)

It was AMAZING! It truly was and I love that The Lord is the same here as He is at home as well as everywhere else.

I have always known that but to really experience it was so amazing. Namibians are so welcoming, so loving, and sooo passionate. They dance, sing and shout with a joy that overflows and bubbles out of them! AMAZING...thats all I can say! I will be going back...thats for sure!

After church we headed to Edwin and Emmie's house (my professors friends) and had SO MUCH AMAZING food! I am pretty sure it was the best meal I've had since we've been here. Dinner lately has consisted of crackers, cheese, and lunch meat :) So it was a great treat! They had a ton of their family over as well and we swim and playing with the kids all day! It was so fun.

Tomorrow is the first day of school then it is off to the north on tuesday, where we will not have internet for 5 days. So its early to bed tonight :) Miss everyone!!

First teacher days of SCHOOL!!

The first two days at school....success! The last two days I have attended teacher work days and they have been amazing. Yesterday we started the meeting an hour later then scheduled (Namibian time as we call it :)) and began with WORSHIP! Yes, we began a TEACHER meeting AT SCHOOL with worship and scripture reading!! It was amazing and they worshipped in English, Afrikaans, and a language I dont know how to spell but definitely involves clicks which was amazing! I loved it.

Today we went for another few hours and helped around school a little as well as talked to one of the head of departments to start to figure out our placements. In the process we met three really cute boys who were playing outside: Jonas, Ben and Lorenzo. They loved getting their picture taken and playing with us. It was so fun talking with them and just loving on them. That is exactly what I came here to do...love on the people of Namibia, especially the children any way I can: teaching, hugging, playing, talking, etc. :)

I will say that it is starting to get a little harder for me here though. I am beginning to miss friends and family, but it will just help me grow more! I cant wait for Monday when we get to meet all of the learners we will have!

SAFARI!!! :)

Well today was amazing and crazy all at the same time. We went to Okapuka Ranch, where we went on a safari and saw various wild animals up close and personal. It was amazing…weclimbed in our zebra safari truck, just like you see on TV and headed out into the wild in search of rhinos, crocodiles, giraffe, and more.

We first spotted giraffe out in the distance, then a lot of springbuck. As we continued we saw wildebeests, impalas, giraffes within feet, a mongoose, jackals, oryx, red hartebeests, warthogs, vultures, crocodiles and rhinos! The oryx were pretty shy and ran away a lot, but the rhinos came right up to the truck…I COULD HAVE JUMPED ON AND RODE IT AROUND!! It was pretty scary at first, but super COOL! We also got toseebabies:babyrhino,warthogs, springbuck, and wildebeests. It was amazing!! I have yet to see a lion; at the ranch we were at they kept them in a separate place so they wouldn’t kill all the animals. They did have cheetahs and panthers, but we didn’t see them. They are very shy and are active all night and early AM. The safari was amazing and seeing all the animals in their natural habitat was breathtaking as well as seeing all the beautiful animals that I have never seen before.It was truly amazing!!

Warthog Family

Giraffe!!!

Springbuck...B-E-A-UTIFUL!

Pic with a Rhino...OK :)

After the safari, we headed to Okahandja, where we experienced our first bargain shopping. There were so many handmade crafts, all so beautiful. I didn’t buy anything yet because we are going back there on the way back from up north. I just looked and took notes of everything that I want. J SO FUN! Its actually almost overwhelming to think about buying stuff because there is so much and I don’t even know what I REALLY WANT…it’s really weird. A highlight though was seeing a really cute little boy who had the best smile ever and followed us down the road a bit. Every time I smiled and waved he got the BIGGEST SMILE on his face. He definitely captured my heart J. Once we went through all the shops there we headed back home. It was a full day, but worth it all!

Tomorrow its our first teacher work day...finally get to meet my teacher and see my school. I'm actually kind of nervous!

Katutura Videos

Here are the videos I talked about on my last post...it takes forever to upload videos so I have to have lots of time and patience. LOL.

Katutura and a tour

Shocked, heartbroken, and amazed all at once…

We toured Windhoek yesterday, where we looked out over thecity, traveled through the city, and drove through Katutura, where we will be teaching. Katutura is the rural area of Windhoek and while going through it seemed like the tin/metal houses never ended. Adults and kids were walking everywhere. It was amazing how joyful the people were while living in what we consider very poor conditions, but after debriefing we learned that some people have themoney to move but choose to live there. While going through Katutura, we stopped at Moses Garoeb, one of the schools some of us will be teaching at. It was amazing and a group of kids come by us while leaving and posed for pictures.J They were so cute and it made us all super excited to start teaching and meet all of our students. I really don’t even know what else to say…I am still pretty speechless about everything. Hereare a couple videos of Katutura and some pictures from the day that probably speak louder than anything I could write.

Once we finished the tour of Windhoek our professors took us into town to exchange money and then let us explore. We went shopping at their mall and markets, mainly just looking around. Some of the girls needed purses/bags and some of us needed sunglasses...the sun is real bright and real hot! We then come back “home” and hung out for a while. I went to take a nap at 7ish and ended up waking up at 10pm, getting ready for bed and going right back to sleep. You could say I was a little exhausted. J I have been waking up around 6-6:30 every morning though and love that. It gives me time to watch the sun finish rising and have some quiet time! I love it.

I think for the most part we are settled, but I am still trying to take everything in and adjust to the new culture. We have to be really quiet here, which some of you may know is really hard for me. Everyone is so nice here and we have met many new friends.

I HAVE ARRIVED after lots of traveling adventures!

WoW! So two days ago I finally headed out in a plane to Namibia! I have so many crazy adventures and fun things to share already starting from the Seattle airport, through Frankfurt, Germany, and then finally to Namibia Africa!

First off, my parents take me to the airport Friday morning...we stop to see Gramps and my aunt Cindy then have a great family breakfast out in Spanaway and realize we are going to be way early to the airport so make a random stop at the Verizon store to set up skype on my mom'sphone. We still got to the airport early but come to find out Jessica Edwards another classmate did the same thing and was there before me even :)lol. It was actually good because there were no lines to check in...can I just say that the internationalsection of the airport is sweet :) Anyways we weighed my bags and all cleared, besides taking afew things out ofmy carry on...who knew there was a weight for that! lol. Oh and lets not forget that a third bag, which we thought would only be $50 was $250!!!! Sorry mom and dad :/ and thanks! Once I was checked in and ready Shan and Teri showed up to see me off which was really great!

I just realized how blessed I am to have amazing family and friends that really care and will miss me.

Once checked in it was off to Germany...

10 HOURS LATER we finally hit land again :) I watched 3 movies, talked and slept a totally of 30 min (yeah I know not much at all...I tried a lot but I just couldn't get comfortable). Now the lack of sleep really didn't help in Germany, but we still headed to the train and added to our many adventures...

it was obvious we were tourists when: first, we couldn't figure out how to get tickets, second we got off on the wrong stop and ended up walking down this really sketchy underground walkway

and past a Harley store to find a Eurocar shop where we asked for directions (thankfully we had Katy, who majored in German! Life Saver!). So we headed back through the sketchy walkway and back onto the train...

I have to say though the highlight of that part was MJ coming off the train with her rolling bag just as the doors closed and her bag was stuck...hahahaha... Steve Paula's husband came to the rescue and tried to pry the doors open enough for MJ to pull it out, but she pulled and pulled and I thought for sure her bag was going to the next stop without her, but we all yelled turn the bag and she finally got it out...haha we had a good laugh about that one!

...Anyways back on the train and went to the right stop which took us into a German city that was beautiful. There were giant old cathedrals

and markets, mom there was even a Starbucks haha. We walked around a lot looking for a great German restaurant and just exploring, and finally found a great little place. Now this was a whole nother experience. My professor and I ordered the same thing, a clod cut sandwich that had an assortment of cold cuts...well we get our plate and it is a dish full of cheese with no bread and no meat...we just thought it was theGerman way of making an opencoldcutsandwich...thankfully she came back and told us she had given us the wrong dish (after we had ate several bites haha). The sandwich was still very different with one small slice of bread and a LOT of cold cut meats.It was actually fairly good, although traveling really messes up my tummy.

After eating we headed back to the airport to relax for a while..we were all EXHAUSTED and TIRED!! Paula told us not to sleep yet though because we would be flying through the night and needed to sleep then to get on Namibia time! So I tried SOOOO hard to stay awake and was pretty successful minus the fact that I was nodding of the whole train ride back to the airport. I was definitely sleep deprived. Finally after waiting several hours at the airport we boarded our final leg of the trip...Namibia Air flight that took us another 10 hours to our final destination! I SLEPT LIKE A ROCK! Passed out right when we sat down haha!

So FINALLY, we made our descent into Namibia, Africa!! After 36 hours of traveling we finally made it! The coolest part...when we were flying in I sat by a window and it was beautiful! I actually got to see a Giraffe and lots of gazelles and other deer like animals (don't know the names) running in their natural habit!! IT WAS AMAZING!!!! But don't worry the adventures don't stop here...

We landed and walked our way into the airport (VERY SMALL) where we went through customs...well we got stuck. They held us at customs because they thought we were working and said we needed a work permit! Crazy, but after Paula worked her magicand we explained further what we were doing in Namibia, they let us go! GOOD THING :) lol.

So then we loaded all our baggage (MOUNDS!!) and met our cab drivers that we will have for the next 2 months: Grant and Shane. They are great people! They then drove us to our "home", Casa Blanca. Another highlight...WE SAW A BABOON CROSS THE ROAD IN FRONT OF US!!! lol. A baboon I said...a real one!!! haha..crazy! It was a beautiful drive and as we pull up to Casa, it is AMAZING!

Just completely beautiful! The people here are amazing and our rooms are fantastic! The rest of the day I went on a walk with Katy, visited the grocery store down the road, went on a second walk, laid by the pool, hung out and waited for the Internet to start working (there was a big storm last night that completely wiped it out for a while). We are having a braai tonight, which is a big barbecue! We are all trying to still stay awake so that we can get a GOOD nights rest tonight!

So for now that's all, but I know there will be much more to come. It is beautiful here and I can't wait to meet kids and more people from the area! I also cant wait to see more animals roaming around!! :) Tomorrow we will eat breakfast and head into Windhoek to explore the mall and other great things as well as have a mini orientation to the town! That's all I know....I really have been missing everyone, but its been amazing here. I love you all and can't wait to share more adventures as I experience them. I'll post pics and videos soon.