Congratulations to those Valpo students who have been accepted to the Namibia program for Spring 2011!  I know you will have a great time – better than you can imagine right now! I hope that this blog has been helpful in giving you a glimpse of what you’ll be experiencing, as well as what to expect.

Now! You’re probably thinking about how to cram 4 months of your life into just a few bags…so…

Here are a few tips (for you, and for others who are curious as to how I somehow managed to condense my gigantic wardrobe into something so small) that I’ve discovered that will greatly assist in the packing process:

1.) Choose your bags wisely – A medium-size suitcase, a duffel bag (or something of similar size), and a carry-on should do. You’ll want to be able to carry everything you’re bringing around the airport and up a couple flights of stairs. The duffel-sized bag will be extremely useful for longer homestays. The carry-on is ideal for the shorter homestay in Soweto.

2.) Pack lightly – Don’t bring your whole wardrobe. Plan on layering things like tank-tops & cardigans. Bring clothes that can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits. Only bring the toiletry items you will need for the first two weeks you will be abroad. After that, you’ll be able to find a store to purchase more things.

3.) Bring things you don’t mind getting rid of – At the end of the trip, you might want to donate some of the clothes you originally brought because you bought souvenirs or new clothes and need more space in your bags.

4.) Don’t worry about finding name-brands – When I was packing, I was told that there were no (or very few) American toiletry brands available in Namibia. So far I have seen quite a few brands that I use back home: Neutrogena, Opti-Free, Colgate, Pantene Pro-V. Unless you have very specific needs (for example, I have not seen any evidence of Clear Care contact solution), don’t bother bringing loads of name-brand toiletries. It’ll just take up space and put you over the luggage weight limit.

5.) Pack for a variety of temperatures and occasions – It is difficult to do this and still pack lightly. If you’re going to Namibia in the Fall semester, be prepared for some chilly mornings and evenings at the beginning of the semester. In the Spring, it’ll be chillier at the end. It is typically warm during the day, and will get very hot during the summer months (Octoberish – Januaryish).

5 1/2. ) In addition, you’ll need clothing for all sorts of occasions: class, meetings with officials, internships, church, going out at night, activities with your host families (ex: weddings, etc). It is a pretty safe bet to pack several knee-length (or longer) dresses or skirts, a pair of dress pants, some work-out clothes, and some regular everyday casual clothes.

**One other thing I would recommend packing if at all possible would be your pillow from home. The ones provided at the places we stay are not always the most comfortable & it is nice to have one of the comforts of home.**

I hope this helps as you start assembling your packing lists! Good luck!

For our Fall Break, five friends and I chose to go to on vacation to Livingstone, Zambia. We spent 8 days taking a break from the hectic nature of classes and guest speakers and simply did whatever we wanted. We had an adventure planned for nearly every day.

On Monday, we experienced the gorgeous sunset on the Zambezi during a relaxing sunset cruise. We saw a TON of hippos and even an elephant hanging out by the side of the riverbank!

Sitting right on the edge of the Falls. One misstep & it would have been “Bye bye, Christiana”!

On Tuesday, we ventured just up the road to the Zambia side of Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world & revered as one of the world’s Seven Natural Wonders. It is so large that it is located in two countries – Zambia and Zimbabwe. This particular event quickly got to be more thrilling than we anticipated – a private guide took us to a place where we could sit on the very edge of the Falls, lean over the edge and look down, and swim in a natural pool about a meter from the edge of the Falls!

We decided to take it easy on Wednesday, so we spent the day catching rays and reading by the side of the pool at our backpackers’ hostel.

Lizz Mook (Valpo) & Kayla Griffin (Pacific Lutheran) free-falling down the gorge on the gorge swing.

Thursday was definitely the scariest of our adventures. We spent the entire day at a gorge near Victoria Falls doing all sorts of ropes activities – including the gorge swing. For the gorge swing, you get strapped into not one, but two, harnesses, take a giant step off of the edge of the gorge, and free-fall 53 meters in 3 ½ seconds until you begin swinging at the end of the rope until they let you down. It is gut-wrenchingly terrifying, but the view was great!

The majestic “Main Falls” on the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls.

Friday’s adventure was going back to Victoria Falls, but this time we went to the Zimbabwe side. To me it seemed like the Zimbabwe side was more of the touristy side, and the Zambia side was more for the adventure activities. Both sides are absolutely breath-taking!

Our final adventure was our Chobe Safari Day in Botswana on Saturday. In the morning we went on a boat safari on the Chobe River. On that safari we saw lots of elephants, hippos, birds, lizards, and crocodiles. The afternoon game drive in Chobe National Park showed us hippos and elephants out of

Our safari adventure through Chobe National Park was a success!

the water. The hippos are massive creatures – its mind-blowing! Our day in Botswana was definitely a day to remember.

We made it home to Windhoek the morning of Monday, October 24^th. Now we’re getting back into the swing of classes and moving right along. I can’t believe there is only just over a month left of my time here!

Three Himba boys just hanging out on the fence in the village

The first part of our second week in northern Namibia was spent getting in touch with the people of the indigenous people of the Himba culture. The Himba are well-known for their distinctive appearance, which includes a reddish skin tone achieved by applying a mixture of red ochre and cow butter to their bodies, along with clay and elaborate hairpieces on top of their heads. The Himba have thus far avoided (or refused) assimilation into mainstream Namibian culture, and as such have managed to preserve traditional cultural beliefs and lifestyle.

We camped about 200 feet outside a traditional Himba village. We visited the village to learn about Himba traditions and clothing, and also to attend the market they held for us. We enjoyed being able to support the Himba through purchasing jewelry from the market. However, we also felt very torn because our village guide told us earlier in the day that the two things would wipe out the Himba culture in the next 25 years – money and education.

We thought about the effects of education on the Himba culture when we visited a mobile school. The Himba are a nomadic tribe based on cattle herding, so they have created schools that travel with them throughout the seasons.

One of the students at the mobile school working on his studies

The mobile school we visited was little more than two classes sitting under a tree for shade, but we were told that the school had hosted 80 learners in the last year. That is a drastic improvement over the early 2000s, when no children were attending school.

After our visit with the Himba, we drove to Etosha National Park where we spent the next couple of days. We camped in the park, and had a pretty

A herd of elephants quenching their thirst in the watering hole!

relaxing couple of days. We made use of the gigantic swimming pool, went on a couple game drives, and spent some time watching animals drinking from the watering hole that was just up the path. What an astonishing experience it is to have an elephant or a rhino drinking water right in front of you!

After a great week in the North, complete with many questions, sunburns, and photos, we were ready to head off to Fall Break!

I’m back in Windhoek and ready to swamp you with all of the wonderful experiences I have had! Just kidding. I’ll try to keep it brief, but still give you the gist of everything I have experienced these last couple weeks.

When we were picked up for our Rural Homestays in northern Namibia, we were greeted with all of the families singing a song that, translated, means “We are happy to be together”. It was absolutely amazing to see them all so overjoyed to welcome us into their homes. Their happiness made meeting them one of the most memorable parts of my semester so far. Over the course of the week, I even got to learn the song.

For the week, I lived with Tate (Father) Jeremia, Meme (Mother) Opuwo, Magy (age 18, the daughter of Tate Jeremia’s cousin), and my host brother Inekele (age 1 ½, pronounced in-eh-KAY-lah). Just down the path, about a 20 minute walk away, lived Tate Joseph and Meme Fina. They are the parents of Tate Jeremia.

The view from my front gate at Tate Jeremia’s house.

Tate Jeremia & Meme Opuwo’s house was a neat blend of modern and traditional. There was a large concrete structurehe  in the center of the property where we all slept, kept a lot of the food, and ate dinner. The perimeter of the property was fenced off by both metal fences and walls made of sticks. Several rooms outside were made of sticks and used for things such as a kitchen, a laundry area, bucket bath area, and storage. We used a gas-powered generator to watch the news each night, but used a fire to make the dinner.

During the day, we had class and then the nights were spent with our families. Throughout the course of the week, I got to experience several new things with my family. Meme Fina, my host grandmother, taught me how to pound mahangu (pearl millet) using holes in a concrete slab and a huge pole with a weight on the end. Pounding the mahangu enough turns it into flour, which is then used to make mahangu porridge, a traditional drink, and a type of traditional bread.

Meme Fina also taught me how to weave a basket out of reeds. I did pretty well, although my basket looks like it could be a resting place for an ant. It was a busy week, so my basket weaving had to take a back seat to other things.

As I mentioned in another post, it has been fun teaching my host families how to cook American foods. Since I’m no expert at cooking anything real over a fire, I taught my family how to make s’mores! They loved it & told me they would do it again for Christmas.

The Valpo girls decked out in traditional celebration clothing. A few siblings jumped in the shot too!

We even had a huge party at the end of the week for all of the families where we did traditional dances, sang songs, and ate some great food!

I had a really great week with my host family. I couldn’t have asked for more. They were so wonderfully welcoming, enjoyed talking to me about their culture, showed me some of they ways they do things, and gave me opportunities to learn things I would have never learned outside of northern Namibia. The rural homestay was definitely a highlight of my trip.

You can check out more photos of my homestay on my Picasa site!

Part of CGE’s program goals are for students to get to experience a variety of characteristics of southern Africa, and this month is all about that!

I will be out of town (and, therefore, unable to post any new blog entries – sorry!) starting early tomorrow morning until October 25^th. Let me give you a little snapshot of what I’ll be doing:

October 4 – 9

• Rural homestay with a family in Outapi, a village in the north of Namibia; I have a mom, dad, a 4 month old little brother, and two sisters ages 18 and 22
• Meeting with different groups, organizations, etc during the day in lieu of class

October 10 – 15

• Spending time with people of the Ovahimba tribe
• Visiting organizations that are related to the Ovahimba tribe
• Spending some time at Etosha National Game Park 

October 16 – 25…Fall Break!!!

• 5 friends and I are going on vacation to Zambia!
• Planning on taking day trips to Zimbabwe and Botswana as well
• Seeing Victoria Falls – one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World!

I am so excited to be having all of these adventures, but it is a little daunting to be leaving the house for three weeks! I will be sure to post lots of updates when I return to Windhoek. Take care this month, and talk to you soon!

I decided to interview Laurie Kenyon about her experience so far in Namibia. Hopefully this will be a recurring feature for my blog because each student has a different perspective and interpretation of every experience.

So here we go!

Christiana: Tell me a little about yourself and why you chose to come to Namibia.
Laurie: I’m a junior from Valpo from Kalamazoo, MI. I’m a Chemistry & International Service double major – I know it doesn’t make sense but that’s what i’m doing. My region of focus in International Service is Africa. I decided to come on the program for a lot of reasons. I knew it would be fun to go to Africa. I also knew that the program would have an impact on my life in a way that I have been searching for. I have an interest in the NGO, non-profit, social justice realm. It stems from my love for service and my involvment in SALT at Valpo. Its a combination of all of my passions put into one program.

Christiana: What has been your favorite thing so far?
Laurie: Normally my answer is the people. I mean that in many ways. Mostly the Namibians I’ve met – at my internship, people we meet when we go out, speakers that come to talk to us in class, just random people I run into. I love being stretched to reach into a different culture. Namibians are all really friendly. I enjoy explaining to people why we are here and discussing what global development means. I also always mention the people that I am living with because I love them too. Every way you can think of to use the word people is what I mean.

Christiana: What were you scared of or apprehensive about before coming to Africa?
Laurie: As silly as this sounds, I would have to say packing. I was afraid of overpacking and forgetting stuff. I spent the summer living out of a suitcase, so I packed from one suitcase to another and it was probably more difficult for me than most others. I also was concerned about what would be happening on campus, with my family, being gone from campus, and just the general nervousness about being gone for four months. Logistics, travel stuff. All that.

Christiana: What has suprised you most about Africa/your experience so far?
Laurie: How normal everything feels. I expected a lot more culture shock initially. I mean, it is definitely there, but it feels more natural. I do a lot of the same things I would do at Valpo – go to class, watch tv, do homework, watch movies, go to the mall. As different as it is, it is all kind of the same. It reminds me that no matter where I am the thread of humanity is the same, it is just played out in different ways.

Christiana: What have you learned about yourself?
Laurie: Oh gosh. This could be like 7 pages. I’ve learned a lot of things. First of all, practically, this program has made me question what I thought I wanted to do with my life career-wise. I’m getting different ideas and its opening up new thoughts for me about my career path. It is making me think about my own life in the States in a different way too. I always thought I spent a lot of time thinking about the privileges I have, but now I realize I didn’t really get it all. My house in Katatura during the urban homestay had four people in a space that was less than 1/4 of my house in the States. They were living comfortably in the space. They were happy to have a home, whereas my family back in the US would have complained that we’d all have to share a single bathroom.

Christiana: What would you say to someone interested in the program?
Laurie: YOU SHOULD DO IT! But I think that it is a different program than your stereotypical abroad experience. If that’s your thing, do it. There will be things that you’ll need to prepare yourself for. There is a different dynamic on this program. You have to come in with expectations, but you also know that they’re probably not right. That is something I’ve been discovering lately. But, really, if you’re considering it, check it out.

Laurie’s quick-facts:

Favorite Namibian food: spatzle, porridge, lentils. fat cakes
Favorite Place You’ve Visited: Swakopmund – The city was so cute and German and the ocean was AMAZING!
Favorite Language to Listen to in Namibia: Oshiwambo – I actually understand some of the words because of our Oshiwambo lessons!
Favorite Thing About Windhoek: Going out and having fun while venturing around the city
Favorite Thing About Our House: The pool! And the mongoose that lives in the backyard!

A lot of people in the States are surprised when I tell them that I have only 5 cousins. In turn, they’ll tell me they have 10 or 12, sometimes quite a few more. I never really thought my family was all that unusual, but hearing about families here in Africa is a whole different ballgame.

First, most everyone I have met have several (think 7 or more) siblings. Their spouses have the same amount. Then those siblings usually all have kids, most often several. You can see how quickly that adds up! In addition, families typically live very close to each other. Therefore, cousins grow up as siblings & aunts and uncles often function as second (and third, and fourth) sets of parents. The family works as a team to instill culture, values, and norms in the children.

Alright. So we have the blood relatives. Then, add some non-blood relatives into the mix. Many places you automatically become relatives after getting to know the family well. For example, during my urban homestay I became family right away. My host sister’s son has been lovingly calling me “Auntie” all week.

It is interesting to observe the dynamics of Namibian families. As I type this in my bedroom, there are several cousins running around outside playing basketball, a couple aunts chatting over “cold drink” (a southern African phrase for what is usually a soda), and uncles chatting in the corner: just a typical Saturday in Windhoek.

You might have guessed by now that I am really interested in the eating habits of people around the world (I’ve only posted about it 3 times!). Namibia is no exception. From my experience, South African and Namibian food is blander than American food. That is not to say that it doesn’t have flavor, it is just that the flavors are on a smaller scale with fewer extremes. In my opinion, food here tastes more “natural” somehow. Things in general are less processed. It is not unusual to pet a chicken in the morning and the eat it for dinner.

Fatcakes on the top, then macaroni salad, fish, and potato salad – all homemade by my host mom!

I’ve found that many people here don’t let many things go to waste. It is not unusual for people to eat every part of the chicken, including the feet and insides. Luckily people are also very understanding that those parts are not in the typical American diet.

I have also found some of my favorite foods here. I mentioned in an earlier post about the amazing ice cream. I have also had some delicious stews and potato dishes. Just the other night my host-sister and I made something that was a cross between a French fry (called “chips” here) and a potato chip (called “crisps” or “crispies”) by slicing potatoes into coins and frying them in oil. YUM!

One last comment about food: THERE IS A LOT OF IT! Especially at my homestays, I was stuffed full at all hours of the day. During my Soweto homestay, there were a couple times where I was having multiple lunches and multiple dinners in the same day. People love to cook for guests and serving food is one of the ways people welcome you into their home. You’ll never go hungry at a homestay!