Diversity Tour - 30 Kids + One Bus Driving around Namibia

Again, it's been too long since I've posted anything so I'm backtracking some to catch up!

During the August school break I helped out with the Diversity Tour. Each year Peace Corps Volunteers put together a tour around Namibia for learners that would otherwise not have an opportunity to see different parts of their country. We choose 30 learners from around Namibia adding to the diversity of the tour so that the learners are able to meet other kids from around the country.

Our tour started with everyone meeting in Windhoek. We stayed in school hostels in each town and it was interesting to live as a hostel learner for one week. I'm very thankful for not having to live inside a hostel! During the first few nights in Windhoek, some boys upstairs decided to flush their boxers and clogged the pipes causing them to burst and have raw sewage all over the girls floor downstairs. It was disgusting! I was thankful we were leaving the next day. While in Windhoek we took the kids to see One Africa television station, Polytech (a university), Parliament, and the airport. The airport was my favorite part! We were given a tour of the inside of the terminals and then went out to the fire station where we were able to ride on these enormous fire trucks. Our fire truck driver turned on the hose of the truck and we saw all the water spraying out. Some of the kids were on top of the truck and got soaked...but they were having a blast. We also were able to inside one of the large airplanes and see the flight controls and all the different sections. To fly first class on one of these large planes would be amazing! I wouldn't mind the 15hr flight so much riding in a seat that completely reclines!

After we left Windhoek it was just a day of traveling. We drove to Tsumeb and stayed there over night to be closer to Etosha for the next day. We left early in the morning to drive the remaining part to Etosha. Then we entered the park and we were all very excited to see lots of animals! We did see a giraffe right away so I thought we would have a full day of seeing animals, but then we drove for a few hours with not seeing anything! We stopped at a lodge to have lunch and then we were able to go to the watering hole where we saw a group of elephants playing and drinking the water. The kids were so excited - and so was I! I love elephants! The kids were so quiet which we were happy about since there were other tourists watching as well. Afterwards we got back on the bus and started our drive out. On the way out we saw another HUGE elephant and a male lion hanging out watching the watering hole where the elephant and some other animals were. Since it was the middle of the day I was very surprised to see a lion out in the open. Then we stopped at another watering hole where there were tons of zebras and wildebeest. After a very worrying start to the day, we ended up seeing a ton of animals and had a really great day.

We then drove to Otjiwarongo for another overnight stay. The next morning we woke up to drive to Swakopmund where some of the kids saw the ocean for the first time! It was so much fun to see how excited they were to see the ocean and then even though it was cold outside and the water is freezing, they all jumped in and played for a long time. A lot of them wanted bottles to fill up with ocean water and sand to bring home with them. Then we ate lunch by the ocean and enjoyed some rest time (and warm up time for the kids who were wet!). The next day in Swakop we drove out to Dune 7 - one of the worlds highest sand dunes. I've made the trek up this dune once and told myself once was enough b/c it is challenging to climb up. Every two steps you take you slip back one. But since I was there I decided to make it once more to the top. While I slowly climbed the kids were racing up and running down and racing back up again. They probably made it up three times to my one! It is worth making it to the top and coming down is a lot of fun! I just wish it were a little easier to climb.

I think Swakop was the best part of the trip. It was a lot of fun seeing the reactions of the kids to these new things that are so amazing right in their own country!

The trip was exhausting since almost every night we were in a new place and we had to prepare all three meals plus snacks for 30 kids and 10 adults. I'm helping plan the trip for next year, but am going to let someone else have the experience of the trip. After teaching for a full term - I need my week off to relax!

I'll add pictures soon and post more events from this last term soon as well!