We made it!

Well, we've been here in Namibia for about 4 days, and I think I'm in love with it.

Since day 1 in Philly, my training group of 35 members has been absolutely wonderful. It was crazy to meet so many strangers from very different backgrounds, and still being able to connect with them almost immediately.

After our LONG day(s) of travel, we got through customs in Windhoek, Namibia to be welcomed, with song, by about 10 of our training staff. We took a ~2 hour bus ride through Windhoek, through lots of desert, to our hostel in Okahandja (a reasonably big town of 14,000).

We've already been spending pretty full days in training, although so far it's felt like the first day of school where you get introduced to each teacher but don't really do anything... Our training staff is wonderful, though. They're very friendly and easy to talk to, and most of them are Namibian, so they're really knowledgeable about all of the cultural stuff.

We start language training on Tuesday - yesterday we each had individual interviews with the staff so that they could decide our placements. There are 7 placements for math teachers, most of which have secondary projects involving computers/technology, library development, and other after school clubs. Sadly, none of the Group 36 members are being placed in areas using Nama or the other click languages.

Right now, we're off for the morning, so about half of our group is in the Garden Cafe, a western-style cafe just down the street from our training site (free internet if you buy something!) Yesterday, one of the locals working here introduced himself to my roommate, Marie, and me, wanting to know all about the Peace Corps and why we were here. So many people in this town already know who we are!

It's interesting being in a town. It feels much more modern than I imagined, although not having phones or internet most of the time is .. well, honestly, kind of a nice break. Okahandja has a nice little downtown and several markets that we haven't made it to yet during the day. We've been running through the town early in the morning, which is a cool way to see what's there before it gets busy. Being in town does mean that we haven't seen many of the barren desert landscapes that show up in pictures of Namibia, or that we hear about from the GrinnellCorps fellows!

We meet a member of our host families on Monday, and move in with them on Tuesday. I'm interested to see what my new family is like, and how it is living with them for the next 2 months!

Thanks so much to everyone who's been staying in touch, I love hearing from you all!

Namibia-bound

It's my last day in Collegeville! Spent with family and friends, as it should be...

My schedule for the next few days looks pretty horrendous, but in case you're curious, it should look something like this:
-Tomorrow (Monday), meet up with my fellow Peace Corps Namibia trainees in Philly around noon. (Some of them had to fly in today from around the country in order to make it on time!) We have a few hours of orientation and paperwork, then they put us up in the hotel for a few hours.
-Tuesday, 2am, leave the airport and drive to NYC
-hang out in the airport for something like 6 hours
-15 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa
-5 hours in the Joburg airport
-1 hr flight to Windhoek, Namibia
-bus/shuttle/car/some form of transportation to Okahandja, where our 2 months of pre-service training (PST) will be held
-promptly begin training, meeting host families, etc.!

I'm definitely nervous to leave home for so long, but mostly just excited to meet all of the other folks who I'll be going to Namibia with, and to finally experience this country I've been hearing so much about!

Getting Ready

Hi everyone! I'm writing this post from home as a kind of test for my blog. I'm about one week out from my staging (July 23 in Philly) and departure (July 24) dates. After such a long application process, it's mind-boggling that I'm actually about to leave for Africa. I'm insanely excited as well as terrified, since it's hard to know really what to expect.

As you might expect, though, I'm starting to contemplate the big chore that packing will be... We're limited to 2 suitcases and 80 lbs. of luggage, and while it doesn't look like I'll probably hit that weight limit, it's interesting to see what sorts of items wind up being important enough to make the cut. I'm grateful for the advice of current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) in Namibia, and I look forward to actually meeting these wonderful people who are already looking out for us!