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!