Final Thoughts

My journey home began at 10am on a Saturday May 5th in Cape Town. Of course, the weather was beautiful the day we were leaving, and you could even see the top of  Table Mountain, which was tantalizing. We had been unable to climb it the day before because the clouds cover, I mean "Tablecloth," was too heavy. We checked our bags successfully, and somehow everyone managed to stay under the weight limit which was remarkable. After a short wait, we hopped back to Jo'burg, a two hour flight. Then the fun really started. After another lay-over, we boarded our enormous jet back to the US via Dakar, Senegal. I was extremely lucky to have an aisle seat in the middle section with no one sitting next to me! After 9 hours, we landed in Senegal to let off some of the passengers and board others. After a tedious two hour wait on the tarmac, that was punctuated by events like cabin sanitation spray downs and random security checks, we were up in the air again. This time, there were only two of us in in the four seater middle section, so I actually got to lie down a bit which was a welcome change of positions. Though it was a 19 hour flight, it was made bearable because 13 of us CGE students were seated in the same two rows, so we got to spend a few more hours together. Additionally, there were tons of recently released seatback movies to watch, so we were able to catch up on four months of American pop culture all at once! We landed at Washington-Dulles at 630am East Coast time. After going through customs, and assuring the agent that I did not bring back biltong (beef jerky) or "leather products with bits of fur attached," I was out into the fresh air. After enjoying the morning sun, I rechecked my bag and headed back to the airport. I ran into a bit of trouble at security when they opened up my duffle with souvenirs and took out my can of "Shakalaka spicy vegetables." They said there was too much water content to carry it on, but I could rush back and see if I could still put it in the bag I was checking. I tried this, but alas, my bag had already been taken to another terminal. So, I offered it to the agent helping me, who took it with a huge smile. If I couldn't enjoy it, at least someone else could. After a 6 hour layover and a 6 hour flight to the West Coast, I landed in Seattle and got picked up by two of my friends who were very sympathetic of my somewhat delirious state. I had been awake for about 45 hours and had been traveling for 38.

     Being at school for that first week back was really nice. The weather was warm, high seventies and low 80s which was a good way to adjust. And several of my friends had just returned from spending 9 months in Asia, so we were able to go through culture shock together.

   

Now, it's been 6 weeks since my return to the US. In some ways, it feels just yesterday I was parting ways with my fellow CGE students, but in other ways it feels like my time in Africa was a far away dream. It's amazing, and somewhat frustrating, how easy it was to adjust back to my life here in the states. Aside from looking the wrong way when crossing the street, being shocked by speedy internet, and general nostalgia, I did not experience as much "culture shock" as I thought I would. However, I find memories of Namibia popping into my thoughts many times a day, and I get so much joy by sharing pictures and memories with family and friends.

 

Many people told me that studying abroad would change me. I'd like to think that it gave me a set of tools for my future. I was put in situations that challenged my beliefs, my body, and my comfort level. As a result, I would say that I have gained confidence, independence, and assertiveness. I saw some of the most pure and untainted natural beauty, and that has given me a greater appreciation for the world's vastness and for my relatively small role in a very large place. I interacted with people who lived in extreme poverty, and from that I learned the importance of hope and strong community support and family bonds. I met people from around the world who traveled passionately and without an agenda, igniting an interest to continue exploring and exposing myself to new environments.

 

This summer, I am continuing to pursue my interest in all things international, by being an International Trade intern for Business Oregon, a state agency promoting business development. In the past few weeks, I have had the chance to attend meetings with my supervisors, and have been given a variety of challenging projects to work on. After several months focused on development, it is an interesting change to throw myself into the business world.

 

A big thank you to all who followed my blog throughout my semester abroad. I truely appreciate all of your support and enthusiasm.

Final Week: Cape Town!

    We landed in Cape Town when it was dark, but we could already tell that we were going to be experiencing a much different environment than we had been for the past 4 months. For starters, it was downright cold! After living in Nambia's dry desert climate, Cape Town's wet, windy ocean breeze chilled us straight to the bones, and continued to do that for the entire week. I wore, on average, two sweaters and a raincoat everywhere I went... definitely looking as unfashionable as possible in a very cosmopolitan and style-conscious city!  Another difference was the sheer number of people, cars, and things surrounding us. Cape Town and the surrounding area has a population of 3.5 million, while the entire country of Namibia hovers at about 2 million.
   Our guest house was in the "city bowl," which is the area in between the giant and majestic Table Mountain, and the ocean. We were about two blocks away from Long Street, the main drag with tons of restaurants, bars, and backpacker's lodges. For the course of the week, we toured with the program most days, but we were also given ample time to explore on our own and slowly adjust to a different pace of life, a pace more similar to our cities back home in the states.
   A few highlights of the week included: visiting Robben Island, which is where political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela were housed during apartheid, a trip to Cape Point to see the farthest most south-west tip of the African continent and where the Atlantic and Indian oceans converge, wine-tasting in the fertile Cape winelands, and a brief visit to a penguin colony.
   Another fascinating aspect of the week was learning about the "Cape Coloured" identity. When the area was just a colony, the Dutch East India company imported slave labor from the West and East coasts of Africa, as well as Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka,  Malaysia and other South East Asian countries. After generations of intermarriage and intercultural blending, the result is the "coloured population." During apartheid, they were given slightly more preferential treatment than the black population, but were second class citizens to whites. In the 1970s, the apartheid government razed the neighborhood of "District 6," which was home to working class coloured people, because it was located in the desirable real estate of the city bowl. They moved the displaced population to an area called Manenberg, which was little more than a swamp land on the other side of Table Mountain. The effects of this move caused strain on families. Parents had a longer commute into the city for work and could not keep as close an eye on their children, and children had no safe places to hang out and play and began creating gangs and turning to drugs. We visited an organization that is working to reverse some of the problems facing the community by improving youth employment. While this provides hope for the future, the fact remains that people are still living in squalid conditions and unsafe neighborhoods, and that the poorest demographics are still largely separated by race, despite the end of legal sanctions enforcing racial segregation.
     A fun discovery for me was the Eastern Food Bazaar, located on a side ally near Long Street. Essentially, it is a large food court specializing in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine at rock bottom prices. You order at a central cashier stand, and then wait at the various counters for your food to be prepared. I particularly enjoyed masala dosas, which had been recommended to me by a friend, as well as a medley of curries. Mango lhassies and masala tea were a perfect way to cool down my mouth in between spicy bites. Needless to say, I think I visited this place at least three times during my week in Cape Town.
    Overall, Cape Town was an interesting change from our lifestyle in Namibia. Lush parks, a beautiful harbor, fancy restaurants, and an abundance of white people, made us feel like we were perhaps in Montreal or Vancouver, BC. It was also a strange time of feeling as if we were in limbo. We had already had an emotional goodbye to Namibia, and we were carting around all of our possessions and living out of our suitcases. It definitely felt like a time of transition.

Table Mountain from the Waterfront

Friends at Cape Point

The Point itself

Penguins!

The colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood

    On May 5th, we headed to the airport and hopped on a place to Jo'burg. I'll explain my crazy travels back to America in the next post...

The end of an era

     The last few weeks in Windhoek were spent working on our final projects, trying bargain for souvenirs, and eating out at restaurants we had always wanted to go to.  Our integrative projects were designed to incorporate concepts we had learned in all of our classes by picking a topic and analyzing it from different "lenses," or class subjects. I chose to focus my research on international trade in Namibia, and specifically the role of the Namibian Ports Authority in Walvis Bay. In February, we visited Namport, and I was still very fascinated about the role and strategic location of this port in attracting investment into the country. I discussed the history of the port tracing its roots all the way back to when the Dutch East India Company used it as a small stop off on the way down to South Africa. I also talked about the political diplomacy issues surrounding the port. When Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990, South Africa made a concession that they still owned the Port of Walvis Bay, making trade much more profitable for them and much more harmful for Namibia. Since 1994, Namibia has owned the Port and is capitalizing on its location: companies use the port to import products to Zambia, Zimbabwe, the DRC, and Angola, as well as parts of South Africa. I also talked about future development plans-- the port's work with the Namibian universities to build capacity and future leaders, as well as an increase in trade with emerging strong economies such as Brazil, China, and India. All of us presented our projects to all of the staff and a few guests at a fancy conference room downtown, and everyone did a wonderful job. We covered a variety of issues, from land conservancy, to gay rights, to tribalism.
   Another highlight from my last week was heading to the outskirts of Windhoek with the Young Achievers for Global Youth Day. They organized an amazing program for kids and adults living in the informal settlement of Kilimanjaro to discuss pertinent issues such as staying in school, having goals and dreams, safe sex and healthy relationships. I was so proud of my Young Achievers friends who organized such an inspiring outreach event. It was so wonderful to see Namibians helping fellow Namibians as well. Often times, outreach events are organized by NGOs that have ties with the European Union or a foreign aid organization. There was something very special about seeing local youth working to empower their peers.
   I had some very heart-felt goodbyes with my Katatura host family, my dear fellow intern friend from the Ministry, my friends from Young Achievers, other locals I had met throughout the semester, and the CGE program staff. We cleaned and packed up the whole house and headed to the airport on April 29th. The drive to the airport was nice because we drove all the way across town, giving us the chance to say goodbye to favorite shopping centers, restaurants, and old hangouts.
    Culture shock began when we entered the airport in Windhoek. When we landed there in January, I thought it was kind of a small, unimpressive place in the middle of nowhere. When I used the restroom those many months back, I even believe a roach scuttled across my foot. When we arrived this time, we were impressed by how slick and modern everything felt...there was even air-conditioning! The bathrooms felt luxurious because there was: a door that locked, a toilet that flushed, toilet paper, a sink with running water, SOAP, a mirror, and papertowels. Paradise! Usually, we found ourselves with some strange combination of those services, but never all at once!

Me and Fenny at the Ministry

                                                  Young Achievers and youth in Kilimanjaro

                                                           Integrative Project Presentation

Friends out to dinner in Namibia!

    After running around the airport trying to spend the last of our Namibian dollars, it was off to Cape Town we went.
 

Adventures in Eating

I haven't talked much about the food I have eaten in Namibia mostly because it is fairly similar to what I eat back at home, with a bit of a British influence and with less fruits and veggies because they are difficult to import. However, now that I am leaving in 7 days, I am starting to realize that I have grown accustomed to certain foods and dishes that I will miss eating back in the States. Here is a small sampling of the culinary treats I have had here:

Oshikandela: By far, the item I will miss the most, Oshikandela is marketed as "thick milk," but I think it tastes more like drinkable yogurt. It comes in a pint sized carton and there is an array of flavors such as guava, pineapple, strawberry, and sweet. I like to mix the guava flavor with orange juice and create a smoothie!

Beef Chips and Nik Naks: I have never been a chip eater but Namibia has changed me. Beef flavored chips that taste vaguely like salty bacon have turned me into a potato crunching addict--at least on long car trips. Nik Naks, are a close second, made from maize and with the cheesiness of cheetos.

Dessert Yogurt: I like this mostly for its title, but it is raspberry flavored yogurt with, surprise, chocolate sprinkles spread throughout the carton.

"Pudding": Our cooks make this dessert for us at CGE. It is comprised of sweet, cracker-like biscuits, Ultra-Mel (liquid vanilla custard from a carton), and canned fruit cocktail. The custard and cocktail makes the cookie mushy. It sounds and looks gross, but the taste and texture is delish.

Fresh Guava: Need I say more? Although they smell like stinky socks after sitting out for a while, nothing beats biting into a juicy, sugary guava.

Fat Cakes: Om nom nom nom, these bad boys are simply scrumptious. Imagine an elephant ear, but the size and shape of a large donut hole. They are crispy on the outside and doughy on the inside. Sold for about $1 Namibian dollar (13 US cents) on the roadside and in informal markets.

Rooibus Tea: Apparently it is only grown on the Eastern Cape of South Africa and is therefore the tea of choice in this area of the world. It has an earthy flavor and tastes great with or without milk and sugar.

So that's the short list, I'm sure more will come to me later on. Looking at the list, you might think that I have gained 100 pounds while I've been here, but I can assure you I have been balancing these taste treats out with salad, meat, and tons of beans and lentils!

Wish me luck these next few days as I prepare my integrative project and presentation! It is designed to look at one issue through the lens of all of our different classes. I will be talking about the role of international trade in Namibia before and after independence and specifically the role of Walvis Bay and the Namibian Ports Authority.

Trip to the South

Last weekend, CGE took us down south for a long weekend to learn about community-based natural resource management and tourism. We stayed at three different campsites for one night each. After driving about an hour out of Windhoek, the landscape changed dramatically. The lush, rolling hills were replaced by a dry, flat desert landscape. The first night, we stayed at a community run campsite that overlooked the very dried out Fish River and, in the distance, the Brukkaros Mountain. They had been given funding by the European Union in order to establish bathrooms and camping facilities. The community cooked us a delicious dinner of lamb, bread, and a variety of salads. We later found out that we were the first visitors to ever stay at their campground! It was quite an honor, and the whole experience was wonderful, with the exception of an infestation of "needle snakes," who were the size of worms that had a very poisonous bite! The next day, the community leader took us to a nearby natural hot spring and a waterfall, which was quite a treat. If only the campsite had access to better marketing materials so that more tourists could know about this hidden gem!

The second night we stayed at another, more established community run site at the base of the Brukkaros mountain. We met with the community leader who was a school teacher and the former mayor to the nearby village. He arranged for us to climb the 1800 foot mountain with several dozen of his high school students. After a BBQ dinner, some stargazing and a night of sleeping snugly in our tents as a thunderstorm rained down on us, we arose at 6am to conquer the mountain. The trail was rough at times, and definitely involved some clambering over boulders, but after a few hours we all reached the summit. It was worth it. As far as the eye could see in all directions was flat desert landscape untarnished by human settlement. After being physically challenged by the trek up, seeing the stunning view for the first time was a simultaneously refreshing and invigorating experience.

The last campsite we staying at was run by a company that owns a chain of mid-scale lodges throughout the country. Most of the managerial staff there were South African expats. Because they are a well established business, have higher quality amenities (read: reliable tap water and toilet facilities), and can afford to market themselves, they receive about 24,000 tourists a year. The two community run sites we visited were lucky to get 50 people a year. It was a very real way of learning about the challenges and competition that fledgling community run tourist attractions must endure. It was a bit depressing because I greatly preferred the first two campgrounds, they had must more natural beauty and local charm, yet so many travelers do not even know they exist. A highlight of this visit was sampling coconut flavored marshmellows, and making a delish s'more with them!

We all returned to Windhoek on Sunday, a bit smellier, but very pleased to have gotten to experience such a different and distinct part of the country. This week, we finished up our internships and are preparing our final projects. I'm sad to say we only have 10 days left in this beautiful country.

Shopping: A cultural experience?

While traveling on spring break, I had a few people tell me that by living in Windhoek, I was not experiencing "real Africa." And when I returned to Windhoek after living in the North and traveling to a few different countries, I started to internalize that sentiment as well. I started feeling like living here wasn't challenging or exciting anymore. It is true that many parts of Windhoek are well-developed and westernized and easy to live in. However, I also forgot to give myself credit for how well-adjusted I have become to the differences here. It is not just the fact that Windhoek is a "unAfrican city," (a snobby and untrue statement) it's the fact that I have been living in town for three months and have gotten used to various cultural nuances here. It took a solo trip to the mall to fully realize that.

I only had my internship for a half day today, so on my walk home from downtown I decided to do some clothes shopping. Malls are very popular in Windhoek, and on my walk home I pass by two shopping centers. I had planned this out and was looking forward to it because the malls close at 2pm on weekends and are so crowded it is unbearable. Usually only one cash register works at a given store and so even if you manage to try something on, the wait in line is easily a half an hour. Wednesday afternoon was a much more relaxed atmosphere, the only other people around were those shopping on their lunch hour, or a trickle of high school kids out for the day. I visited Mr. Price, Legit, and Jay-Jays, all South African owned stores that offer cute clothes for reasonably cheap. Since it is turning to Fall here, there were a lot of winter coats, boots, and sweaters...it actually does get chilly here! I caught myself humming along to some of the music in the store, it was mostly American music but there were a few Namibian ones thrown in that I knew the words to. While purchasing a very cute dress (for only $16 USD) I was aware that the woman standing behind me was very close, so close that she was leaning on the counter by the register as if we were buddies and she was waiting for me to finish paying so we could leave together! It reminded me that personal space bubbles are much smaller here. I have gotten cut in line a few times because I have not been standing close enough to the person ahead of me to "mark" my space. Leaving the store, like at all stores, I was asked to present my receipt to the guard and she checked my in my bag to make sure the items were accounted for. Upon entering the next store, my bag was taped up so I could not sneak any items into it. As I was walking through the mall to exit, I looked around at the other white people. Now, it is so obvious for me to spot the white Namibians from the tourists. The tourists were not dressed as well, were stopping to look at the souvenir trinket stands, or were clutching their purses. Sometimes I look like a tourist and other days I look like a local. Today, people treated me like a local because I was dressed professionally and I was by myself, not in a herd of American students. I don't clutch my purse because I rarely keep my money in there, I keep it in my shirt and then take out the amount I need when I am in the dressing room. Oftentimes people assume I am German, the newspaper sellers on the street usually start waving to the German/Afrikaans newspaper when they see me walk by.

On my walk home, I was bombarded by taxi honks...I remember our first week in Windhoek we thought they were honking at us and we were a bit horrified. We quickly realized that they honk when they see any pedestrian because it signals that their cab is available for passengers. Cabs charge by the individual seat, so it is common to share a cab with strangers who happen to be going the same way. After saying "no, thanks" to the cab drivers, I continued my walk home, past the Polytechnic University and down the hill to my house. I had missed lunch and most of it was eaten, so I had a meal of leftovers: pap (porridge made from maize meal, I think), some veggies, and "dessert yogurt" (cherry flavored with chocolate sprinkles).

Tomorrow, we go to the south for a weekend camping trip and a seminar about community based tourism and natural resource development. Should be fun!

Spring Break Pictures