Okay So…

I have been in Namibia for about a week. I have enjoyed my time here very much. The interviews I have conducted for my job have been some of the highlights of the trip. There’s been a bit of a learning curve with communication though. It turns out that most people speak 3 languages- English, Africaans, and their own tribal language. Their accents, while beautiful, can be veery difficult to understand. One of our Namibian colleagues calls it Namblish. But it is easy to adjust quickly to communicating and understanding, and Namibians are very open when I ask for clarification. I also love hearing the local languages that use clicks. I have learned how to make the 3 types of clicks used by one language using the front, middle, and back of the mouth. Apparently another language has a greater variety of clicks. I have also seen a number of Herero women. They look dignified in their traditional garb.

Today we finished our work early and toured Windhoek. There are some very nice area and some with terrible conditions. Apparently Namibia has one of the greatest income disparities between the wealthy and the poor of any nation in the world because of the gem and mineral wealth. We passed one of the large informal settlements where people live in shanties made of corrugated steel (we even saw people with a small cement mixer building one of these). In this area, there are many, many shebeens (speak-easies, also in shanties), which is not surprising given the terrible conoditions in which some people live. We also visited Penduka, a women’s workshop. The women produce handmade goods to get finances for a better standard of living . I bought a couple of embroidereed gifts to support them.

I have had some interesting experiences in Windhoek so far. Oddly, we are here during a 100 year rain. There have been heavy thunderstorms. The country is unusually green. One tour guide told us that locals don’t know what some of the blooming flowers are because they have never seen them.

Today the team I came with started our work. Our goal is to assess the current state of nursing education in Namibia and to make recommendations for improving the capacity to train nurses. Namibia has only 2 million people spread over a land area bigger than Texas. Delivering healthcare to the entire nation is a huge challenge. To start the assessment, we interviewed program directors in the Ministry of Health. They told us that the biggest problems here are maternal death, HIV, tuberculosis, and nutrition. Tomorrow,we will visit hospital clinical sites to observe clinical training.

This evening my work group went to dinner at Joe ‘s, a very kitschy local safari-themed restaurant. I had a kabob with oryx, kudu, crocodile, zebra… and chicken. The other night, I tried springbok. One thing I have learned is that Namibians love meat and eat lots of it. Game meat is really good- flavorful, but not obnoxious. The food is definitely influenced by the German colonization. There are hearty breads and a real European continental breakfast (meats, cheeses, etc).

On Sunday, my colleagues and I walked down to the local craft market. There are a lot of beautiful goods made by local artists. Using the ATM was unnerving though. I watched several men scoping out my colleagues as potential theft victims as they were at the ATM. Alertness is crucial.

Sunday afternoon, Susanna and I went to Duesternbrook, a game reserve about 1 hour north of Windhoek. A van took us there, then we went out in safari cars. We saw oryxes, springboks, and a herd of wildebeest all wild in the bush. At the reserve we saw semi-wild leopards and cheetahs. The reserve is a very large fenced in area where the cats are kept, and it is illegal to have game in with the cats (because the game can’t get away). So the cats are fed by humans- not entirely wild, but still pretty cool. The leopard was especially gorgeous. Also, the driver of the open safari car had a talent for swatting spider webs before they hit us in the back. Since I was in the front seat, I was very grateful to not end up with a two inch (!) spider in the face.

March 3, 6:38 PST

I am on the first leg of my trip to Namibia. I watched Red, which was a fun movie to watch on a plane. I’ve watched part of Charlie St. Cloud without sound on my neighbor’s monitor, which is enough to know I’ll never actually watch it. I’ve napped, made 2 music playlists, and read through the entire University of Namibia BNSc curriculum. And I still have over 2 hours until I get to Amsterdam. I am glad to be traveling with my colleague, who I can walk down the aisle to bug. I am also grateful that my mom loaned me her amazing noise-canceling headphones. I must admit that I am a somewhat high-maintenance traveller. I will never be a gal who hops on a jet with a small purse and a book. My carry on is heavy, but the time is passing reasonably quickly and I am content.

I was a little worried about having expertise to offer on this trip. We will be assessing the nursing baccalaureate curriculum at UNAM and making recommendations. In reading through the curriculum, I gained confidence that I have a good bit to offer, which is a good feeling. I am very excited to be using my own knowledge and skills in a way that contributes to global health. I feel so blessed that God has given me opportunities like this one, where I can fulfill a lifelong dream (going to southern Africa) and and the same time use my education and preparation to help people.

March 4, 7:23 am Amsterdam

5118 miles covered from Seattle. Sunrise over Europe is beautiful.

March 4, 18:11 Jo’burg

Made it through the first leg ok, but I am not real happy to be doing this again. I took an Ambien and slept several hours. But sleeping was making me stiff and uncomfortable. I got enough rest to get me through, but will stay awake now for a while.

I sat next to an interesting fellow who lives in England but is originally from Zimbabwe. We spoke a lot about various cultures and languages, how places differ. It was interesting to learn that it was not terribly difficult culturally for him to move to England because of Zimbabwe being a British colony. He said that the schools and infrastructure were much the same, just the weather was a big change. That, and the British food.

March 5, 17:46, Windhoek.

I have safely arrived in Windhoek. All of my luggage arrived and I am all settled in at the hotel. I feel that I stick out like a sore thumb in this town, which is an interesting experience. Being aware of that, I am being sure to be safe about getting around.

We arrived in Jo’burg last night. Interestingly, everyone was examined by infrared camera on arrival- I guess they were checking for persons with a fever. First time I have seen that. Susanna (my colleague) and I flew to Windhoek this morning. I am terribly jet lagged, but c’est la vie.

My employer hired a cab to drive us from the airport (well outside Windhoek) to our hotel. On the way, there was not a lot of wildlife, but the first thing I saw was a baboon perched atop a street sign. I saw several baboons after that. Tomorrow Susanna and I will take a half-day tour of a game reserve and see some African critters. I can’t wait!