We visited our U.S. embassy to speak with two foreign service officers, both in public relations.  They serve as a resource to citizens abroad and do tours in different countries, but also interact with locals and influence foreign policy if they disagree with something.  The position interested me for a moment, but I think I’ll stick to the non-governmental side of things.  I’m skeptical about how much exposure they actually get while living here and the female representative admitted that they could become trapped in a U.S. embassy bubble, but she tried to avoid that.

The embassy was located in a wealthy part of South Africa called Pretoria, which is the reverse to much of what we had been seeing.  We visited a few other monuments in this city: Freedom Park and the Voortrekker Monument.

These two were ironic partner sites connected by “reconciliation road”.  Freedom park is dedicated to all those that have fought for freedom and the Voortrekker Monument was raised for the Afrikaaners (architects of the apartheid).  The Voortrekker museum shared their history and side of the story and the guide drew attention to the fact that in any museum the people that it represents are depicted in a favorable light.  I wondered if there was backlash from the citizens here concerning this museum, but I think if this country is going to move toward accepting allof its people than this monument has a place here—after all, history cannot be changed and the Afrikaaners are a part of South African history, good or bad.

Freedom Park was a very serene place—thus far, my favorite place.  They are in the process of building the five parts to the monument, but the parts that we got to see were incredibly moving.  You make your way through a wall of names (S’khumbuto) of those that have died in the eight conflicts that have taken place during South African history (Pre-Colonial Wars, Slavery, Genocide, Wars of Resistance, the South African War, the First World War, the Second World War and the Struggle for Liberation.) and then through a large natural amphitheater.  There was a sanctuary and eternal flame which invites people to remember those who have fought for freedom and in the hall of leaders some are memorialized for their significant contributions.

The last part and most symbolic is called Isivivane and is a resting place for those who died in their struggle for freedom.  When you enter the stone cul-de-sac you remove your shoes as a sign of respect and in front of you stands eleven boulders that represent each of the nine provinces of South Africa, the national government and the international community.  In the center of these a mist rises to represent purity.

We had lunch in the park and I wandered around a little on one of the many trails (the park is enormous).  It was peaceful, humbling, and the views are really breathtaking.

We got the chance to visit representatives from the two dominant political parties in South Africa.  Really, there is only one—The African National Congress—which grew out of the liberation struggle and who Nelson Mandela represented.  The only significant opposition is the Democratic alliance.  Though the ANC has been in power for 18 years it isn’t clear if this is because people actually agree with their policies and have seen affect from their implementation or if they are simply scared that the Democratic Alliance will reinstate the apartheid.  Most people have resigned to not voting at all, so though the ANC may win the percentage every year by a large amount, the actual number of votes is decreasing.

I won’t go into large detail about the platform of each group, mostly because it didn’t interest me.  I wanted a real view of these parties, not their propaganda   You can see that there is a large amount of corruption in both parties and that neither is really putting people at the forefront of their goals.  However, the ANC is a very interesting group.  It is a democracy within itself and is made up of several groups including communist and capitalist.  This presents some concerns about how quickly and efficiently they are able to get things done with such diverse debates.

We asked each group about prevalent issues we had seen in their communities, but I felt like both representatives danced around the answers or root causes (one of the many similarities between here in South Africa and the United States).  The ANC claims to be the voice of the people, but I worry that with their lack of competition that they could (or have) become complacent.  And the DA seems to think it is acceptable to exploit workers who have no choice but to accept extremely low wages when left unemployed.  They worry that demanding fair treatment of workers will discourage investors from coming to South Africa.  Overall, they gave us a refined and politically correct overview of their parties beliefs

Later on in the day, we went to Nando’s again (the South African chain that sells portugese food).  This place is apparently going to be one of our favorites.  It beats KFC, which is extremely popular (though slightly more upscale than in the US) and a place called Chicken Lickin which is comparable to the KFC that we know.  There are countless other chicken restaurants—meat is extremely popular here, particularly poultry. These restaurants are all located in malls that we have been visiting (there are a lot of them).  I’ve noticed that their grocery stores are connected here, unlike home where malls are mostly clothing, electronics, and food courts.  It’s like Wal-Mart (or here Pick ‘n Pay) is a department store.

We also visited a migrant workers museum and saw a South African play in the evening at a place called Market Theatre.  The play was really interesting with funky tribal music and dancing, but many of us struggled with figuring out the symbolism.  I think our brains had checked out at that point—we were cramming a lot of information into them.

We continued our tour through a part of Soweto, called Kliptown, one of the oldest parts of the formerly black township.  I felt a little uncomfortable “touring” here, like an intruder. People were welcoming and politely smiled, but as we entered their township, we heard a man yell stop exposing us.   We were unsure whether the man had issue with us or our tour guide, but this made me uneasy.  As we walked through the village, I felt like we were treating the people there as if they were in a museum, even if unintentionally. I was invading their privacy and homes, without getting to know them. I kept wondering how I would feel if the tables were turned.

We (including myself) justified this by saying we are trying to educate ourselves and exposure is necessary to advocate for people in poor situations, but I’m unsure how much good has come from this exposure.  After all the failed efforts the people in Kliptown have been victim to, I expected a little animosity toward tourists like myself. Nevertheless, we walked through and gawked at their poverty. My group has the best intentions (I truly believe), so my criticism may seem harsh, but I think we need to think deeper about how we try to educate ourselves. Staring at people doesn’t provide you an understanding, it emphasizes a stereotype, but I look forward to digging a little deeper on this trip.

In this town, our tour guide explained to us the many things that these people need and the disappointments from the government. Non-governmental groups have offered some hope for change, but many of my classmates wondered if the requests of the residents were unrealistic.  Their problems might be more easily solved if they were willing to move from their community, but their resistance caused complications.  On one hand, I thought these people shouldn’t have to move after being forced there in the first place, but also grappled with the fact that that may be the only viable solution. Being that our guide was a member of the community, he could only offer his perspective about this issue.  At times his arguments were circular, perhaps because this issue struck him emotionally.  We found this somewhat confusing and frustrating, so later on we got clarification and heard from a man that I can refer to only as brilliant.

Dale McKinley is an economist that works partially in academia. He was enthusiastic, articulate, and could simplify concepts so that we could wrap our heads around them. He emphasized the need to build societies through the lowest classes, investing in communities like Kliptown. This was the only way to redistribute the huge accumulation of wealth found in the majorly white cities of Pretoria and Northern Johannesburg. Though he admitted there was so “silver bullet” to fixing South Africa’s economy, he did suggest that in order to shrink economic disparities the government needed oppose further privatization.

Our discussion of privatizing water companies sent my mind reeling. He made the very good point that water is being taken from where many of these people live and then resold to them through private French companies. They provide no other benefit or maintenance to the community and so the people feel they are deserved free water.  I realized that in the United States we expect things like these. If you have a well, you don’t pay for the water that you use and if someone took that water and offered to sell it back to you that would be outrageous. However, when living in a town you pay for sewage to be disposed of, water to be cleaned, and facilities to be kept up. We don’t object to paying for those services and Dale emphasized that if the people of Kliptown were receiving similar treatment they would be willing to pay also.

He then talked about the relationship between government and large business owners. He mentioned things like the rate that water is sold to people in communities like Kliptown is almost 6 times what is sold to the government. So while people in government may complain about the financial responsibility of providing water to people who are dying in these communities, the government is receiving a discounted rate.

Ironically, located directly across the street from this impoverished neighborhood was a monument in dedication to the Freedom Charter, a document that encompasses the core values of the’ new’ South Africa.  It addressed the rights of all people emphasizing equality among race, gender, and class.  It even states: “The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and the monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole”

For our first few days in Johannesburg, South Africa it remained really cold!  My roommate and I resorted to huddling near a hot place in our room at night and in the morning, but during the day it wasn’t so bad and we were kept busy with speakers, tours, and group discussions.

We started with a lecture from a man named Molefi Mataboge on the liberation struggle in South Africa. He gave us a timeline and a good foundation to start with but also shared his personal testimony—particularly his struggle to overcome his anger and learn to speak. He then accompanied us on a visit to a township called Soweto (standing for South Western Township) and he explained that townships were created to push blacks out of the cities and into these settlements to be kept away from the Whites and Afrikaaners (descendants of Dutch immigrants) and their occupations. Soweto is the largest of these townships and it has been the site of intense uprisings. It is also the home to leaders Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, but faces devastating economic hardships, astonishing rates of crime, and inadequate education. Molefi was patient and humorous as he answered questioned after question from us. He is incredibly knowledgeable and shared his passion for education with us. I felt honored to have learned so much from him in just a few short days.

We visited the house of Nelson Mandela and coincidentally were in a tour group with his daughter and grandson. Though a little ‘star-struck’ some of my group members managed to ask for a picture and struck up a conversation with his grandson.

Then we visited The Hector Pieterson Museum, dedicated to a passionate young student who marched among his classmates to stop the forced teaching of all subjects in Afrikaans in their schools. Here is a little background that I had learned and that was shared by Hector Pieterson’s sister, Atoinette Sithole (who we were lucky enough to hear speak): Afrikaans is a derivative of the Dutch language. The language of the people who brutally pushed blacks into townships, made them prisoners to the apartheid, and the people who are responsible for many deaths of blacks. In other words, the language of these students’ oppressors. Many of the teachers could not effectively teach in this language and this law would only further benefit Afrikaaners and marginalize black students. This was the last straw for the unfairly treated students. After long planning, hidden from parents, they organized a march, but were met with police force who opened fire on students. Hector Pieterson, a 13 year old boy, was the first to be reported dead and the image captured of him being carried alongside his confused and horrified sister has been an iconic symbol of the liberation struggle. Atoinette does not view her brother as a hero or matyr, but appreciates the museum as it gave her an opportunity to cope and comfort that he did not die in vain.

Finally, we visited the Maponya mall, named after the man that owns it and adorned with an elephant (the symbol of his tribe). He owns other car dealerships and ensures that they all stay in Soweto. We had lunch here at a South African chain called Nando’s, which had Portugese chicken and mealie (grilled corn).

This was just our first day!

Hi everyone!  For my first couple blog posts, I am going to go back an update you on what we’ve been up to for the past six weeks in Southern Africa.  We’ve gone to so many interesting places and learned so many things that I couldn’t leave it out.  I hope you enjoy and I hope these get your mind going!

Let’s start from the very beginning with the seventeen hour flight we had to take to get to Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was actually more enjoyable than expected.  Between the company of the people in our group, the entertainment system on the plane, and the constant flow of food, I kept busy (the time that I was awake).  Before I knew it I was lugging off all my luggage into the incredible airport of Johannesburg.

We were greeted by Janessa, our resident advisor, and Nespect a professor and guide for Augsburg College’s Center for Global Education.  It was a group effort to make it out of the airport and I must say I was the weak link.  (When they recommend you pack light, you should listen).  But, we finally made it outside and were hit with a surprisingly cold air.  It was still winter in South Africa and just days before we arrived it had been snowing!

We piled into the vans and headed to St. Peters Place—our home for the next week, an old brick building with dorm style rooms, a center court yard, library, and dining area.  It was really cute, but had no heat.  That night, we settled in wearing several pairs of socks, huddled together under blankets and clinging to cups of hot tea.  Not at all what I expected , but an extremely intense game of “mafia” helped keep our minds off the cold and I was happy to find that our group felt very natural and we seemed to “click” immediately.

I just got back from “the north” and I’ve posted some pictures from our time in Etosha so I won’t say a lot, but want to tell you guys about some of the cool things we got to see.

One of the CGE professor’s got married this past weekend, which was our main purpose for traveling to the city of Ongwediva.  It’s about 10 hours north of Windhoek and we stayed at the Rural Development Centre where we got to see some of the new technologies they’re working on to help farmers and improve sanitation.  The ceremony and wedding receptions were in Okatana and Onampira the home towns of the bride and groom.  And yes, wedding receptions, there are two!  It was a traditional catholic service with hints of tribal rituals.  The bride wore the big white dress and veil, there were bridesmaids and groomsmen, and they went through a typical Christian ceremony with church service following.  The exciting part was that you got to relive the reception the very next night, which is always the most fun part of the wedding.  We had lots of food, even cow intestine, and on the second night had a blast dancing with a group of kids.  (It was strange to us that not many people danced at these receptions and the DJ ended soon after dinner).

We spent time at the local trade fair, which was a lot like many of the local fairs we students are used to.  There were vendors from all over Namibia selling tractors, handmade goods, and other accessories, lots of food, booths for government departments and also university advertisers.  So we bought a few of our favorite pieces and had lunch.  “Black and Yellow” came on while we were eating and this had me pretty excited.

I noticed here and in many parts of the north that people are curious about our being here and often stare.  For the most part if you smile and wave it’s received fairly well, but a few times people just continued to stare and I had to brush it off.  I also had to realize that white people were really uncommon in this area and I can imagine that people who are “different” in the United States are also stared at—it’s humbling to be on the other side some times and I think throughout this trip I am going to need to get used to it.

Finally, we headed to Etosha National Park!  It’s a fenced in park where animals roam and within it there are places where people can camp.  The park is almost 9,000 square miles and includes elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, lions, springbok, kudus, so many types of birds, and many other animals.  The first evening we arrived in a camping ground called Halali and had a braai (barbecue).  There was something really homey about a being with the group, taking the time to prepare the food and then roasting marshmallows for smores (using the can opener as your stick).  Overall being at the park was comforting.

We slept at another park called Okaukeujo the second night.  A few of us went swimming and in the evening relaxed by a waterhole where you could watch the animals.  This was definitely my favorite part and I think the pictures will do a much better job of describing how amazing this place is.  This park had a nice restaurant where we tried some Kudu and lamb, which some of us were a little turned off by after having watched Kudu a few hours before.

After one last game drive and some final views of the animals, we headed back to Windhoek to start our classes for the semester.

By Samantha Frisk, more blogs to come soon!

Though I have truly loved all of my experiences here so far, I think I finally have an answer to the “favorite part” question… Spring Break! Our Spring Break trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe was one of the most amazingly fun experiences I have had in my life.  Seeing God’s creation in such a magnificent form, meeting so many interesting people, and getting the chance to encounter another part of the world made the trip so great and I wish I had time to go back before I left Africa.

When I got back from my rural homestay, we had the next ten days for spring break.  Ironically everyone in the program decided to spring break at Victoria Falls, but some stayed in Livingstone on the Zambia side, while four others and I stayed on the Zimbabwe side.  We endured a twenty hour bus ride from Windhoek, a ridiculously unorganized border post in Zambia, and our friend being attacked by a baboon before we finally made it to Shoestrings backpackers lodge in Vic Falls, Zimbabwe.  The lodge was great; it had a pool, a little outdoor restaurant called the Garden of Eat’n, a huge bar, lots of space to relax outside, and so many awesome people to talk to.

Shoestrings!

During the days we tried to fill our time up with your typical fun tourist activities.  The first day we woke up early to go elephant riding which was amazing!  The elephants were huge, way larger than I had anticipated in my head.  The trail was about an hour long and it was so cool to be riding though nature on an elephant.  We then spent the afternoon at the falls.  Remembering a family vacation to Niagara Falls several years ago, this did not even compare.  It was the most vast display of natural beauty I had ever seen in my life.  Neither words nor pictures, can adequately describe it. The clouds, the blue sky, the trees, the wildlife, the rainbows, and the mist – everything just pointed to God’s incredible power and magnificence.  Seeing the falls also made me realize how truly small I am in this universe, but that God still cared enough about me to send Christ to die and save me from my sins.  I’m not small; I’m not unimportant to him.

Victoria Falls!

The next day we went white water rafting on the Zambezi River.  The rapids were so crazy and for only having 6 of us in the raft (including the guide). I was surprised we never flipped, although we came close multiple times!  Besides having to climb all the way down and all the way up the gorge, the trip was really fun and well worth the asthma attack.  Later in the week we also went fox flying, which is basically like zip-lining except on your stomach.  While it was a little nerve wracking, it really did feel like you were flying over the gorge, and the adrenaline rush was awesome!  After that, we took a sunset cruise down the river and the colors were stunning!  The sky is so clear and unpolluted that the sunset was more breathtaking than any sunset in the United States.  Little did we know that this was a fan favorite among the senior citizens.

About to jump across the gorge!

Thursday, we took a day trip to Botswana to visit Chobe National Park.  In the morning we went on a river tour down the Chobe River and saw so many cool animals.  We saw lots of hippos in the water, a crocodile, so many beautiful birds, some springbok, and impala. Then, in the afternoon we went on a game drive through the park and I saw more elephants than I have ever seen in my life! There were at least 50 in the river. They were playing, bathing, eating and doing whatever else elephants do.   One came right up to our truck and almost sprayed us with mud.  It was so neat to just sit and watch them live their lives, how they interact with each other, how they clean themselves, how they take care of their babies.  And again, the scenery was beautiful – the sky especially.  It went on for miles and miles.  I could have sat and stared for hours.

Elephants on the Chobe River

While all those events were the main things that took place over spring break, our other days were spend relaxing by the pool, walking around town, and meeting so many cool people.  Every night at Shoestrings new people would come in and it was so great to talk to them and hear their stories.  We met people from Norway, India, Germany, Canada, Tanzania, South Africa, Finland, the US, and lots of locals from Zimbabwe.  Hearing new thoughts and perspectives about life and travel was so interesting and definitely one of my highlights from the trip.  Its one thing to go somewhere and see new things, but getting a chance to talk to the people is when I really was able to learn and grow and better understand myself as well as people different than me.

All in all, my spring break was amazing.  I wish it were longer. I wish I had more opportunities to meet new people and go more places. But I’m really thankful for the experiences I did have and the people I did meet.  Seeing God in such amazing ways was also really refreshing for me and just proved even more how incredibly powerful and loving he is.  Hopefully, I will have the chance to make it back one day, but until then, I have great memories to last me a lifetime.

After a little over three weeks of traveling to various parts of Southern Africa, learning and seeing and experiencing many things, I am finally back to Windhoek about to start my last month in Africa.  While time has gone by so fast and I don’t doubt that April will bring many great things as well, the past three weeks have definitely been my favorite part of my experience here.  From the rural homestay in northern Namibia, to game drives in Etosha National Park, to Spring Break in Victoria Falls, It has all been a wonderfully enlightening few weeks and I’m blessed to be able to have had opportunities so great.

Because I’ve been so busy the past month, I’ll split up some of my experiences into different posts, but I’ll start with our rural homestay and trip to the North.

Tuesday, March 6 we left for Outapi, which is a town in the very northern part of Namibia, almost to the Angolan border.  When we arrived that evening we met our host families right away.  My host mother’s name was Albertina and she was basically the mother of the community.  I called her Meme (mother). She was 76 years old, had about 10 teeth and was one of the most joyful, loving people I have ever met. She spoke no English, only Oshiwambo, which made communicating quite difficult, but luckily some of her grandkids spoke some broken English which really helped a lot.

When we got back to the house, I met everyone I would be living with during the week.  Somehow they were all related, but I could never keep track of who actually lived at the house and who was in Albertina’s immediate family.  Everyone was wonderful though.  I lived with Sacky, who was about 30, Ndategako and Paulus who were both in high school, Albertina and Johnny who were both in primary school and two little ones, Saara and Ephraim.  They gave me Sacky’s room to sleep in which was really the only room with four walls; everyone else slept in huts, which were beautifully crafted of sticks and straw. At first I thought my room was lovely, until I woke up to a snake crawling on my pillow and I then wished I was sharing a hut with someone.

The kiddies and I!

Despite the snake incident, I loved spending time with my family.  While during the day I traveled around with the program, I would arrive back with my family around 3 every day.  When I got home, I would either work in the fields with the kids, (They were impressed with my skills, said my mother had good hands and raised me right. Props ma!) or we would play soccer.  I brought them a soccer ball and they absolutely loved it.  They could play for hours and it was so neat to see them get so excited over one thing.  I let Ndategako braid my whole head one day.  It looked….nice.  I also taught the kids how to play the card game UNO.  They loved it and we would play for hours until the point that our candle burned down to about an inch. They never let me help cook dinner or anything because I was their guest, but I wished they would have because I wanted to act as part of the family.

Johnny playing soccer!

One of the last days we had a cookout with all of the other students and families.  It was so fun to get together and see everyone and eat lot of delicious food.  Each family gave us a traditional Oshiwambo skirt or dress to wear and we all looked so great.  During the party there was dancing and singing and it was such a nice time.  Our host families wanted us all to sing a song, so naturally we chose the National Anthem.  Not the best idea on our part, but nevertheless they loved our discordant voices.

The group!

Staying with my host family really made me think about a lot of things.  It made me think about the idea of poverty, and that although they had no electricity or running water they were perfectly content with their lives and didn’t really see the need for those things.  So in my American mind, I considered them to be living in poverty, but in their community, they were perfectly blessed and happy with their life.  Its really all a matter of perspective and I learned it is so important to keep an open mind when going into situations like this.

It also made me really think about the importance of non-verbal communication and how impactful it can be. Because my Meme didn’t know any English and the kids only knew a little, at first it was difficult to communicate, but by the end of the week I had learned some of their language and we had found a way to communicate. Also, even though I could never really understand my Meme’s words, I could always understand her actions.  She was always so kind and generous, loving and joyful to me that I was so grateful to be living with her.  She would always give me the biggest smiles and hugs and I could tell she loved that I was there and that I was trying my best to engage with her and her family.  She really touched my heart when she gave me a special necklace at the end of the week and really showed me the meaning of the phrase, “Actions speak louder than words,” through her enthusiastic love.  I will never forget my Meme and this experience with my host family.

MEME!

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The past ten days have been filled with many adventures for me that it is crazy to think that February is almost over!  Though I’ve been enjoying (mostly) all of my experiences here, it is hard to believe that Spring Break is just around the corner.  Hopefully I will get the opportunity for many more exciting trips during my ten days off, but until then, I’m still reminiscing on my adventures of late.

Two weekends ago some of my friends and I took a little camping excursion to a campsite about an hour outside of Windhoek.  We were so excited to get out of the house for a bit.  After loading up on lots of food and water and grabbing our trusty, rusty tent, we were ready to go.  When we got there, we set up our tent and got everything situated.  The campsite was beautiful and sat right in the valley of some small mountains.  The weather was perfect and so we decided to take the hiking trail up the mountain.

I hadn’t been feeling too well in the morning, but I figured it would pass with time and water.  Well, as we started climbing up the mountain, I started to feel sicker with each step.  At about the half-way point I could hardly take 10 steps without having to stop.  It was awful.  My poor friend Helena waited and walked with me the whole way.  This supposed thirty-minute hike to the top ended up taking two hours.  When I finally got to the top, well, I actually did get sick, but after I let it all out, my stomach felt a whole lot better.  The view was beautiful and I was happy to be at the top.  When we finally made it down, everyone else was waiting for us and we were able to enjoy the res of our weekend cooking out and sleeping under the stars.

View from the top!

The following week we only had three days of classes because Thursday morning we left for the coast! Shortened weeks are always wonderful and when you top if off with a trip to Swakopmund, you can’t get much better than that!  We arrived in Swakop Thursday afternoon and spend the day touring the cities and the surrounding townships.  Friday we did the same in Walvis Bay all while soaking up the beautiful African sun.  During those two days we visited a Kindergarten, an informal settlement, met with a small business owner, watched a male singing group perform, ate dinner on a pier, toured NAMPORT, went to a halfway house for orphans and vulnerable children, saw pelicans in a lagoon, climbed Dune 7 (the third largest dune in the world!) picnicked on the beach, and swam in the ocean!!  It was one of the most fun “learning experiences” I’d ever had.

Climbing Dune 7!

Saturday was a free day and we were able to do whatever we wanted to during the day.  While skydiving was my first choice, I was quickly outvoted and had no one to go with.  So, I decided to go dune quading in the Namib Desert with everyone else.  I was not disappointed for long; IT WAS INCREDIBLE! We were out on the dunes for about 3 hours – half was spent 4-wheeling at up to 60 mph and the other half was spent sand boarding, basically sledding down the dunes.   Though it was not fun climbing up all the time, the view and the experience was so worth it.

Even though my past few weekends have been full of adventures, I am still so looking forward to the rural homestay in the north next week, our time in Etosha State Park, and spring break!  Then I only have one more month in this beautiful continent!  Time sure flies when you’re having fun!

X-TREME SPORTS! right before 4-wheeling on the dunes!

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Throughout this study program in South Africa and Namibia, I get to experience three homestays.  My first one was in Soweto, outside of Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was only for a weekend and my family was really boring, so was not that interesting of an experience.  My second homestay, however, was last week and it was one of the best weeks I have had since I have been in Namibia!

During this homestay, I lived with the Kadinda family in Katutura, a black township outside of Windhoek.  Though the parents had eight children and many grandchildren, I only lived in the house with the parents and their 16 and 18 year old daughters.  When I pulled up to the house, I was greeted with so many excited and smiling faces. Even though the house was small, the bathroom was outside, and the family didn’t have much, I really didn’t care.  Their joy for my arrival let me know that it was going to be a great week.

My House!

Our days were still spent at the house where we normally live because our classes are there as well. So, we would get dropped off in the morning and then picked up by our families after classes.  In my case, however, no one from my family could ever pick me up so I got very familiar with the taxi system.  I’ve become quite the pro – ready to take on NYC.  Anyway, every night when I came home my family would always cook a DELICIOUS meal for me.   Chicken, beef, noodles, rice, vegetables,  “pop,” everything! I was always served way before everyone else and so I never knew if I should start eating, but eventually I learned that they were always waiting for me to start eating before they got their food!

In the evenings, I would spend time talking to the family about their life, what they enjoy doing, how they like living in Namibia, their and it was really neat to get a broader picture then just what I would be experiencing in my week long stay there.  They were so open with me and loved talking to me about America as well.  However, also at night the daughters and I would have some dance sessions – probably my favorite part of the week. They were under the impression that white people can’t dance (don’t know where that comes from….).  But when we started dancing, they were quite impressed with my repertoire of moves and were awed that I actually could “shake it.”  I felt proud to represent my light skinned people.  Nonetheless, they laughed at me a lot attempting some of their crazy moves, but loved that I was trying.  It was so much fun and miss dancing with them!

My beautiful family!

My family was really religious and so the majority of our weekend was spent going to some type of church related function.  Friday night, I went with my two host sisters to their youth service.   It was at GTM (Gospel Tent Ministries) and it was basically a big party under a tent.  There was singing, dancing, rapping, clapping, and it was crazy! I was the only white person there so naturally I was called up to the front, had to introduce myself, and give a HALLELUJAH TO JESUS! Everyone cheered. It was one of most awkwardly wonderful things I’d ever felt in my life.

Then Sunday, my last day with the family, was basically spent entirely at church.  When they asked me if I wanted to go to church with them, I responded with an eager “yes!” However, I was assuming that church would be an hour, maybe two if I’m lucky.  Nope.  I got me four hours of Jesus.  It was, again, another big party, but it was so great to see how church was enjoyable to these people.  They love going because they get to sing and dance and rejoice.  The best part about going to church, however, was the fact that I got to wear a traditional Nama dress that my host mother made me.  All the ladies from her tribe wear them and I felt so special being apart of that group!

My host mom and I before church!

After living with my family for a week, I learned so much from them and was so thankful that they welcomed me as joyfully as they did.  It was such an enjoyable week for me and I will definitely never forget this experience. I cannot wait to stay with my next family when we travel to the North!