Finally! Something Respectable!

Ok, please forgive me –Once again, Yes, It’s been quite a while. The first post you see here was written a while ago. Enjoy.
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Well, it certainly has been a little while – and certainly more than enough has happened since we’ve spoke last. Let’s see, I’ve since successfully negotiated handling my Staging, lasted the 15.5 hour flight to South Africa, and am now currently lounging about in my mosquito net in Okahandja, Namibia. First, let’s go over the basics.

Staging was held in Washington DC, where the Peace Corps put us up in the Georgetown Holiday Inn ( which wasn’t bad by any standards.) Basically, it was three days of varying lectures on how difficult this journey would be, basic security, traveling logistics, etc. There’s 69 of us in total, all either teaching, or doing what’s called health extension (HIV/AIDS, sanitation, nutrition…) Basically, any time I had off I went with new friends in search of dinner.

It was a rather exhausting 15+ hour flight, but we knew it was worth it once were begun to fly over Angola. We reached and landed in Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon meeting our Peace Corps liaison, Waldo, we proceeded to gather our bags and venture towards the hotel – where we were pleasantly surprised. Evidently, no group prior had ever had lodgings so good.

It was an amazing experience to see how our cultures differently. I think it was most noticed when a rather large group of us decided to go out for dinner. There were about eight of us, and I ended up splitting a dish with Loren, one of my fellow trainees. She and I ended up ordering 2 beers, and a special South Africa steak. (About 80Ran, the currency of South Africa. Currently, its about 1$=6.3R) About a half hour later, no exaggeration, the waiter returns to tell us that they are out, and implores us to order something else. Loren and I eventually decided on a chicken curry, at about 23R. When our check came at the end of the evening – it was for the steak. We calmly explained that we didn’t end up getting it, but rather we ordered 2 beers, and the chicken. He ended up bringing a receipt for 3 beers, and the curry. When we corrected him again, he brought a receipt for only 2 beers. Upon our final attempt, he looked at us and told us he would have to reenter the order into the computer, handed me the receipt for the two beers. “Well, Chief?” Dinner for two = 30ran ($4.80)

The next morning we departed for Namibia – with the good and the bad. Let’s start with the bad – the flight attendant made me check my carryon (Because it weighed 19.9 kilos – nice!) but it had my expensive camera in it. They then proceeded to LOSE THE BAG, AND MY BACKPACK. All my expensive stuff. Both cameras, my DVDs, all my contacts and glasses, easily everything I never wanted to lose. In the Johannesburg Airport.

But quite literally, as I wrote this, the airport delivered both bags – with everything in it. I can now go to the bathroom again. Quite an interesting Saturday night. Tomorrow I have my interview with the Health Extension placement officer to see where in the country I’m placed – and what, by chance, I’ll be doing. We’ll see.
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November 11, 2007

And here we are now, more than a week later. It really is an amazing experience thus far. As I wrote before, I’ve started my language lessons. Afrikaans, and Khoekhoegowab (Pronounced Quay-quay-go-wab.) And yes, it’s a clicking language. Theres four different kinds of clicks, each coming from a different spot in the mouth. So far the lessons are going well. Hopefully I should be able to converse with my neighbors when the time comes.

So here’s the schedule for the next couple of weeks: This upcoming week is basically loaded with language classes. Not really much else, apart from additional shots (which we call, “candies”,) safety and security seminars and general health lectures. After that, we’re going to our permanent site locations alone for a week. Basically, it means they’re dropping me off in some backwater village in Africa and it’s my job to survive for a week straight, using only a week and a half’s worth of language lessons. If you’re following along with a calendar, then you’ve discovered that I’ll be alone in a strange place for thanksgiving. Needless to say, it’s a very interesting situation. Assuming I survive that far, I have to then HITCHHIKE to another volunteer’s location to shadow him for a week to further understand a “week in the life of a volunteer.” After that, I have to “find” a way back to Okahandja. (Key word for hitchhiking again.)

From there, all of us volunteers are broken into smaller groups which are sent throughout the country to finalize our training. From what I’ve learned so far, there are about 8 or 9 volunteers, including myself, that are going to the town of Tsumeb, which is just outside of Etosha National Park. Yay animals! Other towns people are going to include Olukonda, Grootfontein, Outjo, and Khorixas. We’ll be in our respective towns for about 3-4 weeks to finish everything up. After that, we all come back here for a weekend to celebrate our training and to be officially sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers.

Oh, and I think this is a good a place as any to mention that I saw a wild giraffe. And for some reason, I was pictured Andy riding him.

I would like to take this moment to send a Thank You to a “Sister Karen,” from the “Blessed Church of Jesus,” for the card and gifts she sent. You see – Karen sent a card, candy, and plastic bugs. Now normally, there would really be no use for such toys… But as it turns out, when you’re in a country where scorpions are an everyday occurrence, leaving one in a bunkmate’s bed yields a better-than-average reaction. We were actually awoken by the cries and cursing of one said bunkmate. Thanks Karen!

That being said, my roommates are really incredible. Check it out, we’ve got David - a 30-year-old business advertiser, Rosh’n, Obie – a 34 business man that we terrorize for being “old, Paddy – a 22 year old that I actually met on the Amtrak leaving Penn Station on that fateful, Kengo, and Milan. All amazing guys, all amazing people.

Forgive me for this update jumping all over the place – it’s a lot to recall and to write down chronologically. To finish this update, I’ve decided to make some points that I couldn’t really fit in anywhere else.
- My mosquito net makes me feel like a Disney princess.
- When you haven’t eaten anything real for about 6 hours, the stomach of anything sounds appetizing.
- You never know how much you miss Bounty TriplePly™ until you no longer have it.
- “Your Mom” jokes in foreign lands aren’t as funny as they are at home.
- It’s almost impossible to click appropriately for class when you had peanut butter for breakfast.
- If a bunkmate mislabels both their Imodium and laxatives, hilarity will ensue.
- Its difficult to explain to every teenager why they can’t “meet Tupac”
- Playing “I spy,” on a 15-hour plane ride are grounds for homicide. No one would commit me.
- If a bunkmate catches you switching their labeled Imodium and laxatives, they have every right to duct tape you the ceiling.
- If you’re reading about the history of Jews, you get pissed when you get to the part about them wandering the desert, because they didn’t have to wear Khakis and ties.
- You know that all the vaccinations are starting to take their toll, when you discover a volunteer digging a hole in the back yard of the training complex because he’s “digging for diamonds.”
*Note – that’s a true story.
- Colbert needs to know that there are bigger threats than bears.
- Listening to Toto never gets old.
- However, listening to people singing to Toto gets old very quickly.
- If there is an ample source of water nearby (or running water for that matter,) you don’t need to acquire drinking water by squeezing it out of elephant turds like they did on SurvivorMan. The locals will make fun of you.
- If anyone’s thinking of something I would need…Blistex. A desert, as it turns out, is a very, very dry place.
- The Bugs here are the size of Volkswagon Beatles.
- There WERE pictures to post with it, but the Internet is too slow to accomidate. :(

I think that’s about it for now. Until next time…