On Wednesday, I had my internship until noon and then my friend met me downtown and we went shopping and got big bowls of gelato for the equivalent of 66 American cents. Malls are very popular here in Windhoek-- I can think of five off the top of my head, that I have been to so far. Within the mall is the usual array of chain stores and department stores as well as internet cafes, nice restaurants and grocery stores. Part of the appeal is due to transportation- people who drive can park their cars in a safe and well guarded parking lots, and people who rely on taxis can always find an available driver nearby to get them home. Despite their popularity, most of the shopping centers close at one o'clock on the weekends making them overwhelmingly busy on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It felt like a luxury to go shopping mid-week when there were less people around.
Thursday evening, I wandered around the craft center- a large complex selling all sorts of handicrafts, went out to dinner at Mugg and Bean- a South African chain restaurant akin to Applebees, and attended an improv show at the Franco-Namibian cultural center. It was put on by University of Namibia theater students and was quite the experience. I would say that improv comedy is a new art form here, because the shows I have attended on my campus back at home were of much higher quality than this one. Nevertheless, it attracted a big crowd of all different nationalities and they were well received.
Friday night, a big group of the girls on the program walked downtown to a cute little outdoor restaurant tucked away behind one of the malls and ordered fancy desserts. Then afterwards a few of us went to one of the more upscale hotels (located in where else? a mall.) and visited their casino. Neither of us had gambled before and we had fun trying to play the slot machines, and watching the more skilled clientele play poker and blackjack. Walking back home, a short 15 minute walk, we noticed that their was hardly anyone out on the street. Perhaps it was because it was drizzling, but it seems like people tend to go out in their neighborhoods more than in downtown, and that downtown is the business and commerce hub during the day, but not very lively at night.
On Saturday, we went for an urban hike in a nature preserve that overlooked the city. The views were great, and it was interesting to see new varieties of plants- most of them had spines and thorns on them, so at times it was slow going on the trail!
Finally, today I took a cab to a place called the Chinese Mall. It was a series of warehouses housing Chinese business owners selling cheap import products, from clothes to carpets to electronics. We had a lot of fun looking around and made a couple purchases for a grand total of 7 USD. In general, the Chinese are not treated very well here- people criticize them for selling cheaply made goods, and also disapprove of them in the role of small-business owner. There is definite racism towards them in many conversations I have had with Namibians here. There were many small cottages next to the warehouses, which I assumed meant that many Chinese lived right next to their warehouses in their own little community. The local cell phone companies had translated their adds into Chinese characters and put up posters all around the complex- a true integration of cultures. I'm very interested to hear a Chinese perspective on life here- and what made them decide to travel across the world to sell a handful of products. More to come on that as the semester progresses, I hope.
That's all for now, I have a full week next week: two internship interviews for this summer via Skype, and a trip to Swakopmund and the Atlantic Coast on Thursday!
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