African Beauty

As you already know, my site is in one of the most topographically challenged places I have ever called home. But don't worry, I promise, you will not have to hear me complain about it anymore. For me, being placed in such a place has only added to the routine ups and downs of Peace Corps service. It is just one more element that has made this a bit more difficult and it is not something that I can just tuck away into the back of my mind. I have to face this flat reality everyday. However, even though nature here is lacking in some features, they are adequately made up for in other ways. With that said, here is some of the beauty I am starting to recognize in my flat home...

The clouds here develop into the mountains I am longing for. The massive formations that grace the skies almost every evening are a welcomed contrast to the grassy plains.

Again, phenomenal clouds. As the sun creeps towards the horizon the vibrant colors that are reflected onto the clouds is amazing. I can easily waste away the afternoon watching the changes in the massive storm clouds.

And then the clouds erupt. The storms are like nothing I have ever seen before. The lightning comes in an unceasing attack on the land and the thunder absolutely shakes you from your seat. In case you are wondering, this picture was taken over the course of 25 seconds, so all this lightning did not occur at a single moment.

There is always lots of fire in the sky. I am a sucker for sunsets and I am luckily in a place where the setting sun always impresses and inspires.

Egumbo Lyandje (My House)

6 weeks now at site and I am finally feeling fully settled in and comfortable in my new house. In Owamboland the typical living arrangement is on a homestead. A homestead is essentially a walled cluster of huts and buildings where a family, and often extended family, will live. A traditional homestead consists of several mud and thatch huts walled in by either logs, sticks, or reeds. From what I understand, the tradition is that the men sleep in the huts nearest the entrance so that if an attack occurs the men can protect the women from being kidnapped. My homestead is instead semi-traditional. The compound is enclosed by a brick wall and instead of mud huts, brick and concrete buildings. However, it is arranged in a similar manner with the male houses nearest the entrance. Also in line with tradition, the homestead has a traditional wood or dung fired cooking area and a small building designed for pounding the millet into flour.

I essentially have my own house. However, there are other rooms in the house that are used by my host mother's grown children when they come and visit. My host mother, Meme Beata Akawa, lives in the main house by herself. I also share the homestead with a revolving line-up of children. There have been three consistent youngsters, Issak, Beata, and Kalinga who are all attending the local school. I am sure that young Issak is my host mother's grandson but I haven't figured out the relationship of the others yet. From time to time, it is not uncommon for other children to stop buy and spend a week or two. So, needless to say, it is an interesting and dynamic living situation, but it has been very enjoyable having the children around and a host mother who treats me like one of her own.

Besides the human inhabitants, there is a variety of animal life at the homestead. There are of course the goats, cows, pigs, chickens, cats, and one dog, which I am told is not ours, but despite that, it spends all of its time around the homestead. And now that the rain has come, our space has to be shared with several clumsy, softball-sized toads. Then there are the snakes... I am learning the art of snake tracking. Every couple of days a snake track has been appearing inside the homestead and thus far we have lost a couple of chickens. This is not taken lightly and each new snake track warrants a thorough investigation. Believe me, when I notice that there is only a single track coming in, with no track going out, I walk around a bit more cautiously. However, we are still to catch the sneaky critter.

Not quite the stereotypical PC mud hut that you might have expected me to be living in. My homestead is considered semi-traditional in that it is arranged in a traditional way but the buildings are not traditional huts. However, it is by no means luxury: there is no running water, no toilet, and when the rain pounds on my tin roof I am reminded of my time spent refueling jet aircraft.

This is my simple kitchen, certainly one of my favorite places to unwind. I am fully equipped with a gas stove and an electric fridge. As you can see, there are two stoves, but only one works, however the other one is being put to good use as a cupboard and counter-top. Cooking is becoming one of my favorite past-times and is a relaxing way to spend my down time.

All Owambo homesteads have a very important meeting place. This area, which is enclosed by logs, is near the entrance and is where any first-time visitor must go directly to after entering. The visitor must sit and wait until the home-owner comes to greet them. I was required to do this my first time visiting the homestead and at every other homestead I have visited since. Even though it may feel a little awkward sitting on a log by yourself in someone else's home, it feels distinctly African, and because if that, it is absolutely wonderful.

The Loo and all its glory. My house may not have indoor plumbing, but who needs indoor plumbing when you have such a charming place to come and take care of business. There are a few tricks to get the most out of the loo experience...despite the nonfunctional looking door, with the right amount of patience and brute strength, one can get the door to hang in such a way to provide a little bit of privacy... at least until the wind kicks up. I have also learned that it is good habit to give the can a couple kicks before sitting down just to make sure the resident gecko knows its time to vacate. I try not to think what else is down the hole.

Reflections

It is often difficult for me to think up what I will compose for each new posting. It’s not there isn’t anything going on, there is a lot of stuff I can write about. There is my living condition; I am sure many of you are curious about how I am living, with who, what am I eating…. Or the school and the students, or any progress I have made on projects in the community. But there is a lot of time for that stuff. The purpose of the blog isn’t necessarily to give you a play-by-play of what I am up to. It is for me too. When I create a post that is going to be available to the public, it forces me to look back on things in a different manner. I have to take a different look at my situation and decide how I want to convey the experience in a manner that is appropriate. Because of that, the blog is a great outlet for me to reflect.

As you have seen from the last post, I have found no point in glamorizing my life here in Africa. My initial weeks haven’t been easy. I have been taken away from the mountain environments that I hold so dear, and put in a place that is flat, I mean seriously flat. The rest of Namibia is at least blessed with the scattered presence of 10 foot termite mounds, but for some reason, Enguwantale is an anomaly; I don’t even have a termite mound to climb to the top of. On top of that, I am an outsider in a fairly isolated community. These are pretty big changes to one’s life.

However, by no means am I disappointed in how this has turned out. Only 3 months into this 2 year journey and I have already sensed things I have never sensed before. There are of course the new sights, sounds, and smells. But there are also all new emotions and new ways of thinking. It doesn’t matter how hard things get, to have the opportunity to get new experiences like this is worth any uphill battle.

I am finding out more and more that my camera is more than just a device to capture and share what I am seeing. It is becoming a valuable tool for reflecting on what I have seen. Going through my pictures from the last two weeks I came to realize that for every moment that I captured there is more going on than meets the eye. So here are a few of my favorite pictures from the last couple of weeks and a bit more on what is really going on.

Learning a different way to do things

This is my host sister, Kalinga, fishing the local mud hole. First, I would have never thought that fish could live in such soupy sludge; there are fish in there believe it or not. Not surprisingly, they are not very tasty, but the people here seem to love them. Second, the idea of fishing with a line and hook does not exist. Kalinga is fishing with a basket that she seems to just throw into the mud uncalculated. But, there must be some calculation; she is often quite successful. A huge part of this entire PC experience is learning how do live in an entirely new way. There is more than one way to do things and this learning process is an amazing experience.

New experiences

Enguwantale Combined School was recently awarded money from the Millenium Challenge Account which is being spent to expand the school giving the students more classrooms, a science lab, and offices for the staff. Construction began last week and that meant new faces and new machinery passing through the community. To the students this was quite exciting. Watching a big truck dump its load of gravel was worthy of skipping out on class for. For us from the states, not too exciting. But to students at an African bush school, priceless. What these children experience and know is so minimal. For the majority of this planet, the world has been getting smaller. However, out here, the extent of this planet is unfathomable. The world is still extremely vast to these learners.

Special Moments

My new living situation is one in which I am living on a small farm. My host mother owns around 30 head of cattle, 50 goats, pigs, and chickens. Living on a farm is something I have embraced. Each evening my little host brother, Isaak, and I make the trek out into the fields to corral the cows and goats. It is something I look forward to everyday and is the perfect way to unwind. Driving the cows home with the big setting sun on the horizon is certainly a special moment.

A contagious energy

I had heard rumors that a culture group existed at the school but could not find out any details about their meetings. Come to find out, the culture group, made up of students from different grades, won a regional competition a while back and at the end of the month will be heading to the coastal town of Swakopmund for a national competition. For many of the students, this will be their first time seeing the ocean. Last week, I got to witness them perform for the first time. It was an amazing performance with dancing, singing, and drumming. The energy that all the children have is so great to be around and is certainly contagious. I am looking forward to my time with them and already they are beginning to take a special place in my heart.