During the second week of reconnect we made a few trips into Windhoek. Mostly it was for shopping, but another volunteer prepared a walking tour of Windhoek which I joined. It was really fun to see more of the city other than just the shopping centers. Namibia had one of the largest meteors to hit the earth and some parts of the meteorites are on display in the city. Then we walked by some statues in the city and went to a museum about village life. In the museum they have different sections for the different tribes throughout Namibia. They had a section about Namas which is the people of my village. We had a picnic outside the museum with bread, cheese, grapes and wine. We also walked by the parliament which had a beautiful lawn - so green and many beautiful flowers. Afterwards we made our way back to the shopping mall to watch the new Harry Potter 7! Glad I didn’t have to wait two years to see the movie!
During the week we had more training sessions to help prepare for the coming year. After sessions some of us would go on hikes around the center. SO MANY HILLS! It was a good work out, and wonderful to have a workout looking at such beauty. One night we had a doppelganger party where we drew names to find out who we would be dressing like. I drew Dan and Kim drew me. It was so funny to see others portraying other people. It also made me have to think what some of my mannerisms are. I do say “y’all” a lot and I also tend to shake my head and/or roll my eyes at inappropriate comments people make. It’s funny to realize the things I do a lot. The party was a lot of fun.
After reconnect I stayed in Windhoek for the weekend for the Diversity Committee meeting. The Diversity Committee puts together the Diversity Tour which involves taking learners from different parts of Namibia and taking them on a tour of their country. This year we are going to go to Etosha, Swakopmund and Windhoek. Some learners never leave the village or only go to neighboring towns, so this tour is an opportunity to show them other parts of the country. I’m glad that I’m going to be able to be a part of the tour this year. It was also nice to stay in Windhoek without a strict time schedule to have to get back somewhere. I was able to go to the craft center and bought a coin purse. They have nice things there, but you aren’t able to negotiate, so it’s not the best place to buy things. I also went to eat at Paul’s which is a restaurant run by people with disabilities; most of the people who works there are deaf. The food was amazing! I would def. return. I also was able to go to a restaurant named Fusion. The owner is the host sister of a volunteer which is how I heard about it. This restaurant could easily be in America. The flavoring was wonderful and unique. Another good place to return to.
After all this time away, I finally made my way back to Tses. It was nice to be back to unpack and relax some. But it was strange to be back because so many people are away. The house was empty because Celeste, Matron and Zia were gone for the holidays too. And the hostel was empty too. I read a lot and watched a lot of TV shows on my computer. I found out that “How I Met Your Mother” is a really good show! I watched all 5 seasons. It was nice having some alone time, but when Matron, Celeste and Zia came on Saturday morning, it was really nice to see them! They left again on Sunday and then I left on Monday for my holiday.
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