Blogger: Katie Karstensen

Program: Windhoek, Namibia

Twyfelfontein → Etosha National Park → Luderitz 

Twyfelfontein

Have you ever had a day planned out so perfectly you feel assured it will go as planned? Our study abroad group thought so too, but getting to Twyfelfontein (try saying that five times fast) ended up being an adventure all in itself. Namibia has been in a drought for the past two years, but as soon as we arrived, there has been a sudden appearance of lots of rain. The day before we were supposed to go to Twyfelfontein, it rained and rained and rained. We began our travels as anticipated, but thirty minutes into our journey we came to a spot in the road covered in water to deep for our van to get through, so we turned around and went back into town. We planned to try again the next day, but when we called the lodge where we were supposed to have lunch, they said the food was already prepared, and we would have to come eat it. So we switched to plan B, and the directors of our program went around the grocery store asking if anyone knew of a different route to Twyfelfontein. A local told us about another route that would be a bit rougher, but assured us we would make it there. The van was shaking the entire time, and on some hills and in some valleys, the bottom of the van scraped the ground. For awhile the van made a noise that sounded exactly like when you’re in a roller coaster slowly being pulled uphill right before the big drop. We came to another spot in the road with a small river flowing across it and locals swimming in it, happy to see so much rain for the first time in so long. Our trusted driver went up the river farther to where it looked a tad more shallow, paused, clapped his hands together saying “Let’s try this!” and sped forward into the water, successfully making it across only to get stuck in the sand immediately after exiting the water. All the students exited the vehicle, and with the help of locals, we pushed the van out of the sand and back onto the main road. About five kilometers away from the Twyfelfontein lodge, at this point two and a half hours late to our scheduled lunch, we saw a sign for the lodge! And then came upon the largest body of water we had seen yet running across the road, with more people just swimming around in the water. Our tactic to go up the river farther to a shallower area was quickly defeated when we got stuck in more sand, cue more locals helping us push the van back onto the road. We accepted defeat in getting there by vehicle, so we grabbed our stuff and walked across the very, very muddy river and were picked up by vehicles from the lodge. We finally arrived only a few hours late to our delicious meal at the lodge with views that were worth the wait. The trip back contained far much less uncertainty, besides the minor hiccup of the van breaking down at a gas station five kilometers from where we were staying to top off the day.

Etosha National Park

Luderitz

Luderitz is one of the most remote areas of Namibia, which could be told by an hour flight with views of nothing but sand. It used to be one of Namibia’s main ports until Walvis Bay was discovered to be much better. After being in Luderitz for four days and not seeing a single cloud in the sky, we asked a taxi driver how often it rains. The response we got was, “It doesn’t.” It maybe rains in Luderitz once every ten years.

Luderitz is home to the Kolmanskop Ghost Town, originally a diamond mining town. Residents lived a life of luxury. Germans were searching for natural minerals. They made it across the desert and found millions of diamonds that could be picked up with their hands. Soon large groups of Germans settled down, and Kolmanskop was born. In the main hall, there was a restaurant, gymnastics and exercise room, the first library in Southern Africa, a champagne bar for ladies, and next door a cigar room for men. There was also a bowling alley and shopping mall frequented often by residents. During our tour, we visited the ice room where water from the sea was taken and frozen for residents’ ice boxes(refrigerators). Fresh water was only used for drinking and as a “final rinse” as it was expensively imported from Capetown. For a time the town tried a desalination process for sea water, but water ended up being the same price as beer, and people were not about it. There was a train that ran through all the streets of town every morning at 6AM bringing residents their complimentary half a block of ice, a few liters of lemonade, and a few liters of water. The shopkeeper of the town imported anything residents wanted from Germany: cheeses, bon bons, champagne, clothing, etc. The mining town would hire two hundred Namibians to help with diamond collection and production, and workers became creative in thinking of ways to sneak out diamonds. Workers would make extra compartments in their shoes or even sneak diamonds in their sandwiches right before they left and wait for them to work their way through the digestive system. The Germans installed a policy where 48 hours before any workers left they had to be in solitary confinement with a toilet that had a diamond filter and drink castor oil. Workers even began making small slits in their skin and holding a diamond to it until skin grew over it. This led Germans to purchase Southern Africa’s first x-ray machine.

When diamonds began more difficult to find, everyone up and left. Walking through the ghost town was definitely eerie. In some houses the original wallpaper was completely intact, and you could walk upstairs in some of the houses. In other buildings, a sand dune may be all that is holding a structure up. Hardly any windows still existed in the town, and sand was coming in some windows almost all the way to the top. A strange moment was walking through the old hospital’s hallway, and when looking around it appears like you’re in a building, but it feels like your feet are walking on a beach in the sand.

Sossusvlei

There is an International Windhoek Facebook group for people that are traveling through Windhoek from other countries. People usually post about travel details asking for companions, or help traveling from one place to another. I returned to Windhoek from Luderitz Tuesday night and saw that a group of women were heading to Sossusvlei for the next couple of days and still had one extra seat. I called to see if they were still looking and then met them at a car rental place Wednesday morning at 7AM. So two women from Germany, one from Holland, one from Switzerland, and one from the United States packed a rental car full and headed to the sand dunes at Sossusvlei. And during the journey we only received one traffic ticket for accidentally driving on the right side of the road as opposed to the left as is the law here in Namibia, which I would argue is pretty good for none of us having experience driving on the left side of the road before.

Blogger: Katie Karstensen

Program: Windhoek, Namibia

I am incredibly grateful to my rural homestay family for welcoming me into their hearts and home for a week in Khorixas. My family consisted of only incredibly strong and empowering women. My grandma, or Ouma, was the Village Pastor, and I had two host sisters, one who had a three year old daughter. We also had many pets including five cats, one dog, three goats, one pig, doves, and chickens at our farm on Waterfal Post Three. My family came from the Herero tribe, and all spoke Herero and Damara on a daily basis, only my oldest host sister speaking English enough to translate most things for me. I was thankful my family treated as one of their own and allowed me to help with some daily tasks such as milking and herding the goats, hunting for wampani worms, serving Ouma food, and doing the dishes.

Though there were more differences than similarities in the lives we lead on a regular basis, being with a family reminded me a lot of my own home and family. Things that most reminded me of home were farm chores such as herding and feeding various types of animals, watering the garden(both their garden and my own having lots of sweet corn), being able to see a sky full of stars at night, and flat landscapes allowing you to view beautiful sunsets and the land going on for miles(though the flat landscape I’m used to is filled with corn instead of dirt and sand).

As my Ouma was the Village Pastor, religion was a large part of our daily routine. Ouma had no theological training through a certification program or through a university; she said she studied the bible everyday, which she did. Ouma said a prayer for us in the morning when we woke up to thank God for the day, for our meals to fill us, and a prayer in the evening for all of us before we went to sleep to keep us safe throughout the night. Her interpretation and preaching on the Bible came from a very literal interpretation of scripture. One afternoon, the other study abroad students being hosted on the same farm were brought over by their host siblings to our house, and they talked about their history and let us ask questions about their culture and beliefs. One point of confusion was Ouma’s belief of Jesus being white. She said in her bible there was a picture of Jesus depicting him as a white man, a very Westernized notion. From my interpretation of the conversation with Ouma, she took the Bible’s word as the whole truth directly from God, not as written by man. We held two different services while we were there. The first was in the evening at our farm sitting next to the campfire in rows of chairs, and Ouma sitting at the front. The message conveyed was meant solely for us, as it was us and a few host siblings in attendance. The service was spoken in Damara(a click language) and translated by our host siblings into English. Ouma reiterated how thankful she was to God for us being there. When they asked us our spiritual beliefs, it was not apparent they knew how to respond when one of the students said they grew up Jewish, but were happy to hear the rest of us grew up in Christian households. Ouma allowed time for us to ask questions, and she spent time later on in the week looking for scripture and asking me to look up the same scripture in an English bible so she could use scripture to answer other students questions later in the week. On Sunday, we also hosted a service. I enjoyed how personal the services were with such a small group of people, and it was reiterated for me how worship can be done everywhere, even sitting on chairs in a circle while chickens and cats are walking in between everyone’s legs. Ouma and my host sister practiced their faith more than during services, but were great examples of living out their faith through their actions.

The week as a whole for me was a very intense privilege check. At many times I felt like I was camping, and I felt comfortable. Then I did a lot of reflection on how my own family in the U.S. goes camping for fun often, leaving our luxuries at home for the weekend and enjoying ourselves. But the farm I stayed at in Khroixas as all the family has. I brought a few outfits to wear for the week, and my host sister rotated a few articles of clothing throughout the week as well. I had more articles of clothing I had left at the study abroad house, and even more clothes I left behind in the U.S. But the clothes my family wore were the only clothes they had. My house in the U.S. uses an unknown amount of electricity per day, and we depend on it very heavily, so much so we have a backup generator in case the power were ever to go out. My host family had a small machine they hooked up to a car battery, so they could plug the TV and their phone chargers in, and that was all the power they used. They’re content, and the lack of power usage is incredible for the harm they aren’t doing on the environment. There were many things I could think of that are a part of my daily life that would make their lives so much easier, but are not accessible to residents of Khorixas. Though much wasn’t accessible to them, it was exciting to see they were able to have a little electricity to keep up with politics, listen to music, and watch television (which is how my host sisters learned English, despite not going to school.) Their days are based around preparing meals, caring for the animals, and taking naps.

During a get together with all of the study abroad students and their siblings, and my Ouma, they told us about some of the history they had been a part of. They said they were thankful we were there to visit them as there was a time when black and white people were not allowed to be in one another’s company, or even on the same property. They said there is a big difference between now and then, as now black and white people are allowed to visit and come into one another’s homes and continually learn from each other. We were also there during a time that rained more than it had in years. Ouma talked about how everyone used to have much more cattle, but because there was no rain and no food, they lost most of what they had. With recent rain, plants began growing again, and there were small patches of greenery everywhere. Ouma is very hopeful her garden will be successful, so they can add more variety to their diet. It sounded like they receive cornmeal from the government for their main source of food. When I asked about the flag flying on the roof of one of the houses, my Ouma told me it was the Namibian flag, though it was the Swapo political party’s flag. When I asked what her political views were, she said, with her fist held in the air, that Swapo was the Namibian political party, and they were doing good for the people, and that is as far as she was willing to elaborate on the subject.

When I was by myself with my family, I felt included and enjoyed their company. During the last day we were together at the family party with everyone from Waterfal Post Three, we were made out to be the guests of honor. Our families dressed us in their traditional dresses and covered our heads with scarves, and felt proud to have us wear their clothing. We were served first out of everyone and had our own special table with a tablecloth, place mats, and a bowl of candy. Everyone else sat around in chairs and ate on plates out of their laps while the kids sat on the ground and ate with their hands out of a bucket. We asked to help prepare the food and were given minimal tasks to do. We had to ask again to do more. It was uncomfortable to be a guest of honor, but I could tell the families were proud to show us their best and serve us.