Reflecting, Part 1: What I Liked Best

  Here we go, the first serious reflection post. Today's topic is what I liked best. Trying to answer this one, like most of these, is going to be tough, so I've decided to break it down into a few things: thing I liked best about my service, favorite place I traveled to, thing(s) I liked best about about Namibia, and thing I liked best about Khorixas. Yes, I could add more categories, but these seem like the most meaningful.

  So, let me begin. The thing I liked best about my service has to be the freedom. This had its drawbacks, as I will discuss, but it also allowed for most of my successes. Teaching volunteers and volunteers paired with more formalized roles at their host organizations do have some advantages. It's easier for them to figure out where they fit in, to figure out what their role is, to know how they will be making a difference in their community. In the US, most employers hire you with certain expectations, filling a specific job posting. For a creative person, like me, this can actually be a big disadvantage. Fortunately, Peace Corps hired me for their community health sector, and I work for the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport, and Culture. While that long name may be annoying to write out on forms, you'll notice it covers a range of topics. This has given me the freedom to, within the basic framework of my Peace Corps assignment, to branch out. Sometimes it worked out well, sometimes it didn't.

  During my training, we focused on HIV. Ways to teach people about condom use, activities for working with youth clubs, which groups were most at risk, other dangers increasing the risk of HIV, getting tested, etc. It makes sense, seeing as our program is largely funded by PEPFAR and HIV is one of the biggest health issues stemming inflicting Namibia. So, if you had told me, coming out of training, that the vast majority of my first year was going to be spent teaching computer skills, I never would have believed you. Of course, that's exactly what happened. I show up on my first day of work and I am asked to help teach these classes, and soon after became the head computer instructor, designing the curriculum, creating the exams, etc. While it didn't exactly fit directly in with Community Health and HIV/AIDS, it certainly made a huge impact, as I will talk about in an upcoming post.

  Another advantage of this freedom has been that, while I am paired with my ministry, I am not actually a full time employee. I am really employed by the whole town. This has given me the freedom to branch out and do work coaching community soccer teams, partnering with the hospital on programs, such as our health club, or teaching English at our town's Traditional Authority. I have the freedom to make my own schedule. While my supervisor expects my work for the ministry to come first and get all that done, I do not have to keep regular hours. I can work from my flat. I can go to other parts of town and work with other ministries and NGOs. This freedom has allowed me to make far more of a difference than I otherwise would have, had I been forced to work 8-5 at our office only.

  However, my Peace Corps experience is about far more than just what I do work-wise. In fact, Peace Corps has 3 stated goals:

  It is in the spirit of that third goal that I feel I should write about my favorite place I traveled to. This one is not difficult: Sossusvlei. Absolutely beautiful. The massive dunes, shifting slightly as the wind blows the sand. Watching the sun rise from the top of Dune 45. Deadvlei. Sesriem Canyon. Camping out in the shadow of the dunes. Honestly, trying to put it into words can never do it justice, and even my photos can't fully capture why I loved it there so much.

  Of course, Namibia is a country of contrasting beauty, and nothing epitomizes this like going from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund. Swakop is a beach town full of gorgeous German architecture. The road between them is almost lunar. I have had several enjoyable trips to Swakopmund. It's a nice place to get away, enjoy some seafood, enjoy being close to a body of water, even it's too cold to swim in.

  And, of course, I can't leave out Etosha. I loved it so much I took a group of school learners out there. While it's about the "luck of the draw," the site of a pack of elephants at a watering hole, or a pronking springbok, those ridiculous looking pajama donkeys, or, if you're lucky, a lion is amazing, especially in a far more natural environment than the zoo. If you make it to Namibia and don't get to Etosha, you wasted your trip to Namibia, in my opinion.

  Outside of Namibia, I'd say Cape Town was the place I liked best. The only truly big city I've been to in a while, with diverse food options, the chance to dive with great whites (a life-long dream fulfilled during the two years I've spent fulfilling another long-term personal dream).

  What do I like best about Namibia? This one is tougher to answer. Certainly not the music or traveling, though I will discuss these in the future. However, there is a lot to love about this country. When they are sober, the people can be quite wonderful. The food, while perhaps not as diverse as I am used to and a bit saltier than I like, is very good. Gemsbok is probably my favorite meat. The beer isn't bad and the wines here are excellent. However, I'd say the contrasting landscapes and cultures are what I would have to say I liked best.

  Oh, and the fact that I'm actually in a country where people enjoy soccer as much as I do.

  And, finally, the thing I liked best about Khorixas. This is the easiest to answer. The people. I've made some very wonderful friends. I was taken in by an amazing family who have taken me in as one of their own (more on that soon). If I come back in five years, or even ten years, I know there are people here who will take me in. Nights at the bar. Weekends playing soccer. Weekend nights watching Chelsea be awesome. The playful (and sometimes not so playful) position of being "Enemy Number One" during the World Cup, especially during the group stage when the US topped Ghana (suck on that one, people at "Package Shop Bar," or whatever it's new name is). The braais. The beers. The last-second pulling things together after everything fell apart and it seemed like the program was going to have to be cancelled. People letting me into their homes to use the toilet or do dishes or fill my jerrycan when my water was cut off. And many more memories. As Elfy, who runs my favorite bar has called me, I feel like a welcome "Citizen of Khorixas." So, thank you all. I could not have been nearly as successful or had the meaningful two years I've had without you, and I hope I can eventually make it back. I will miss you all.

  On a personal level, probably the thing I've liked best has been the change to read. There is plenty of quiet alone time. Nights when there is no power. Days when there's no power. Hitchhiking (in enclosed cars from official hike points, always, obviously...please ignore the blog's title, reader's from head office). Weekends. Days when I have no work to do. Sure, I've taken up some guitar. I go to bars. I watch movies and soccer matches. Or dick around online when I can. But I also read. A lot. And I love it. After 4 years of high school and 4 years of college, during which there was minimal opportunity for pleasure reading, these past 2 years have given me the chance to read all I want. Some books I should've read in school but simply Googled the cliff notes or watched the movie. Books I'd been meaning to read. Books useful to my work. Soccer magazines. Books I enjoyed and wanted to re-read. Some I've read multiple times in that stretch (every time I read Kerouac, I get something new out of it). Thank God for e-readers. It's a chance to escape, to connect intellectually when the language barrier sometimes prevents that with locals, or just to unwind and relax. Hopefully future jobs won't deprive me entirely of the time and energy for this.

  Okay, so, those are my favorite things. Or, at least a few of them. This list could continue from now until I COS, and I'm sure those of you back home reading this will soon be like my dad, sick of Peace Corps stories. So, I apologize now. Honestly, even me, I am tired of Peace Corps stories, and I'm living one. So, stay tuned for tomorrow's post on my "funniest moment." It may take some thinking to narrow it down, by I have a few in mind, and I'm sure some of you will get a kick of it.