Hello from Namibia!

Hello from Namibia!

I’m writing this up as I watch the opening ceremony for the Olympics with a couple Namibians and some other volunteers!  This is pretty cool b/c I never thought I’d get to see any of the Olympics this year!

Staging happened in Philly on Monday afternoon.  There I got to meet all the volunteers that will be here in Namibia with me (they are all great!) and we did a couple briefings on Peace Corps (PC) Core Expectations, a history of PC, and a little more.   We finished at 7:00PM and were free to do whatever.

Now the story of the seriously long trip over…  I arrived safely in Namibia on July 25^th after taking a bus from Philly (at 2:00AM) to JFK (at 5:00AM), a flight to Johannesburg (from 11:15AM EST to 8:30AM GTM +1), another flight to Namibia (from 1:20PM GTM +1 to 2:30PM GTM), and finally the last bus to our training site in Okahandja (at 6:30PM GMT).

It was a long and tiring journey and I was very glad to finally get to sleep in a bed for more than 2 hours.

Pre Service Training (PST) started on the 26^th with introductions to the staff, a lovely rabies shot, and our first meeting with our sector directors.  Our group (I’m group 36) is made up of Education and Business volunteers.  I am a business volunteer and will be a part of the SEED (Small Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development) program.  The three areas that the SEED program focuses on are youth entrepreneurship, Small/Mid Enterprise (SME) Development, and Commercial Planning Management.  My main job will be to work in one of the first two (youth or SMEs) with secondary projects involving the commercial planning management.

After the day of training we headed back to where we are staying to have a traditional meal of meat, porridge, and sauce on the side.  The interesting part is… you eat with your hands!  The porridge tastes a little like grits but is very thick so you can pick it up.  You pick up a little porridge with one hand and make it into a ball.  Then you dip the porridge in the sauce and eat.  The meat is eaten with two hands.  It was very fun!

Today we had medical interviews, sector interviews, and got another shot.  I had the afternoon off, so I went to get a sim card for my phone, a 3G USB antenna, and some stamps for postcards.  I also found this very cool café run by an American couple.  They serve American food and have free wifi (VERY UNCOMMON IN NAM!), so I took advantage of that to read and send some emails.

On Monday we will find out what language we will learn and Tuesday we will move in with our host families.  We will stay with them for the rest of our time in PST.

The weather is surprisingly FREEZING at night and in the morning, but gets nice during the day.  I was warned that it would/could be cold but did not expect it to be this cold.  I’m very glad I packed a lot of long sleeves, sweaters, jackets, and socks!

That’s all I can think of for now!  Hope everyone is doing well back in the states!  I’ll post again as soon as I can J