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.