Swakomond, Namibia

Sorry I haven't written in so long, internet has been down.

For those of you keeping track I am having a very hard time in Rundu, a tiny city where English is rare. One thing that I think is also making it very difficult is the lack of children. Not that there are not children in Rundu, just none that I am in daily contact with. Children are one reason why I have gotten involved in both international studies as well as education. Even at home, in Seattle, I work at a school. I love being aroung children, especially when abroad because they are the most willing to help you learn their language. I'm continuing to plug away and try to maintian a positive spirit.

Additionally, I am spending the week in Swakomond. Minus the 9 hour drive and the emptiness of the Namib Desert, it is beautiful! I am staying in a guest house with 4 african women who all mostly speak their tribal languages, which is difficult, but hopefully they will connect some how. Swakomond is on the west border with the Namib Desert along with Antlatic Ocean. Our guest house is beautiful. As I have never touched the Antlatic Ocean, I plan to take a walk to night along the beach. Our living room looks out over the ocean and the house has a rooftop rest place which I might try to check out this afternoon which the rest of the house settles in to watch some horrible African television... which includes Mexican soap operas with Africaans voice overs. haha...

(Also, I was told that this is the city where Angelina Jolie came to give birth to her baby.)

Current Status

This is just a brief update from Rebekah(via her dad) and she has been kept busy. She called her PC support line last night, which was early Saturday morning for her, because she was trying to post on her blog, send some emails and was going to try and use an application called Skype to use the internet to call home. The problem was she could not access the internet even though everthing worked yesterday for her. After awhile on the phone with her we were unsucessful in getting her connected.

She also talked with her mother and older brother while we tried to get her connected to the internet. Unlike her last trip to Africa where Uganda had many internet cafes she has not found any in Rundu.

She will be heading to a town on the coast which is about 10 hours on Sunday for a conference. She will be there for a mumber of days before returning to Rundu. She will attempt to get on the internet once she gets to the conference.

Safe In Rundu

I am here safe and sound in Rundu, Namibia after an 8 hour drive from Windhoek, the capital of the country. I thought I would take some time and describe Rundu, it shouldn't take long. I quote Maria, "You could drive all the way through town and cover each road and be finished in ten minutes." It has one paved road through the town. I did go to the open market today, just for a wander.

This trip is a bit different for me since I have never traveled without another American with me. I am use to having someone to talk with and I do not yet understand the local languages. I am sure with time I will begin to understand the accented English and be better able to communicate.

My room is quite nice and after I unpacked all of my stuff I felt much more at home. The room is slightly larger than my upstairs room at home. It has a matching dresser and night stand. The bed is too large for my mosquito net, but since my room is separate from the house I control airflow. They have given me a fan and with that I will be able to keep all windows closed at night and therefore keep the critters out. The room has a common wall with the back side of the house but can only be accessed from walking around the house. Once you walk in there is a door off to the right, through it there is the bathroom; sink, toilet, and shower.

I have a several day conference on the coast so I may not have internet access for several days.

Joburg, South Africa

Sorry to make this short, I must go pack and sleep before I get picked up for the airport tomorrow morning.

It is currently just after ten pm and I have spent the last two days and nights in Johannesburg. I am staying with my friends relatives. They live in a beautiful home in a suburb called Waverly, with a gated street and a gated home. They have been extremely hospitablity to me and I thank them very much.

Yesterday we joked that it was my day to experience the 1st world of Johannesburg. I went to some very up-scale areas of the city including Melrose Arch, Rosebank, The Grace Hotel and Nelson Mandela Square. Additionally, I also wandered through an African Craft Market and drove past Nelson Mandela's Johannesburg residence very near where I am staying.

Today was slightly different. While I did stop to wander the Hope School, which is a school for disabled children of Southern Africa and rests on the side of a lovely hill overlooking the whole city. The land was donated and now the school, while public, has become one of the most exclusive in the area. The rest of the day was spent exploring historical events and places of Johannesburg and furthermore, South Africa. I went to Constitution Hill. This is were many blacks were thrown in prision during Aparthied, including Nelson Mandela. I recieved a tour from a very nice young women and was taken throughout the prision. Additionally, I also was able to very the chambers of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the counrtry. Following this I was picked up and headed to the Aparthied Museum. Here they have established a beautiful museum, full of mixed media exploring all the implications of the riegn of Aparthied. Unfortunately after these activities I was exhausted as the jet-lag finally cahgt up to me. On Thursday I survived a ful day, 8am to 11 pm. However today, after waking up at 6am I took a 4-5 hour nap and only just awoke for dinner at my friend's grandparents home. It was a wonderful meal and we had great fun discussing all sorts of matter.

I depart tomorrow for Namibia and hope to write again once I reach my destination in Rundu.

Departure

I leave for the airport in about one hour. After connecting in Amsterdam, and a total of 21 hours in flight, plus airport time I will be in Johannesburg for a few days. I will try to post at some point during that stay, otherwise I will touch base when I reach Namibia.

Love to all, Rebekah