The Ocean And The Flat World

  So, most of my time since swearing in has been spent in Khorixas.  And I've really enjoyed it.  However, my first day at site, I began filling out the paperwork for a familiarization tour of my region.  And now, over a month later...it's still stuck in bureaucracy.  So, my boss and I decided that since our lodging and per diem has not been approved, we would mostly do it as day trips.  However, our first stop was a weekend in Terrace Bay, on the Skeleton Coast.  This could not be a day trip.  Fortunately, though, my boss has connections there.  So, we left around noon on Thursday, with the plan of spending the weekend meeting with the youths who help the fishermen (since I work at the Ministry of Youth).

  First, we had to cross the vast, seemingly barrenness of the Namib desert.  Massive sand dunes, open spaces; it was a very beautiful sight.  And, after a couple hours of rolling along, all of a sudden, the last thing I expected to see in the desert came into view: a massive body of water and crashing waves: the Atlantic Ocean.  But, more on that in a bit.  We drove another hour or so, and as the sun began setting, we arrived in Terrace Bay.  My boss arranged with the manager of the lodge there to use his house as a place to stay.

Some of the world's largest sand dunes

The Namib

Small oasis in the desert

Oryx

Springbok

  As we crossed the desert, something really blew my mind.  All over the place, I saw empty space and very little vegetation.  And yet, as we got close to the ocean, I felt something wasn't right.  And then it hit me.  This wasn't simply a vast, open, empty space. There were animals all over the place.  Even in such hard conditions, life existed.  The magic and beauty of the world.  Oryx, birds, and springbok everywhere.

  The next morning, we woke up, had breakfast at the lodge (REAL COFFEE!!!!), and met with a couple youths about our idea to help them make some money by training them sell their fish all over the country, and not just in their town (if this is starting to sound like a SEED project, more than CHHAP, it's because there is a lot of crossover).  They then took us out fishing.  We spent the afternoon fishing in the Atlantic and the night eating our catch and watching soccer.

The head of my center

One of our youths

  The next morning, while my boss went to meet with some friends in town, I went for a walk.  I would be lying if I said this thing has been easy.  Of course I miss people back home.  And as I stared out at the Atlantic Ocean, something hit me: I was looking out into the same ocean, the same body of water that a number of my friends will be or have been looking at, swimming in, and enjoying this summer.  It gave me a real feeling of connection with the people back home.  Here I am, thousands of miles from home, thousands of miles from my friends, and I still had this is common with my friends, my family, and my childhood. It really made me realize how small the world really is.  Tom Friedman wrote about how the world is "flat."  Those who know me well know how powerful I found his book.  I disagree with his metaphor, but everywhere I go, I see more and more evidence that his message was as true as they come.  While Friedman was writing mostly about the impact of technology on creating a world where everything and everyone is connected, starring at the ocean, it was so clear to me just how much what we do on one side of it can have a major ripple effect on every country that draws livelihood from it.

The same ocean I've looked at all my life, from the other side

Catfish helps with the homesickness also

  My next couple stops are in Oujo and Kamanjab, where I will be meeting with members from my ministry and fellow PCVs about a leadership conference in a few months.  After that, it will be meetings in the surrounding villages.  Not sure if I will ever get my trip approved by the ministry, but I guess I'll make due.

EDIT: For those of you interested in perspectives or stories other than mine (*insert arrogant joke about mine being the most important in your minds*), I'm and attaching links to a few blogs run by my fellow PCVs in Namibia (most from my training group)

http://williapg.wordpress.com/  This first one is a link to a blog by Pamela Williams, a health volunteer from group 35 (a year before mine), which is representing Namibia in a Peace Corps blog competition.

http://mynamibianodyssey.blogspot.com/ This is Kaitlynn Jones, a girl from my training group who lives in Kamanjab, in the Kunene region (same as me), where she works at the local clinic.

http://theoryxchronicles.blogspot.com/  This is Johanna Jacobsen, a volunteer in what we call "O Land".  Note: her blog contains music.

http://cjspeacecorpsnamibiaadventure.blogspot.com/ CJ Woods' blog from the Kavango region.

http://anamibianexperience.blogspot.com/  Crystal Bright, also in the Kunene region with me, living in the next town over, working for KAYEC, an after school program.

http://aliciainthepeacecorps.wordpress.com/ And, finally, Alicia Martinez, also working for KAYEC, living in a small village near Windhoek.

So, enjoy.