New Hair

I think the picture pretty much says it all.

My host sister did it with hair extensions. It was painful but I think it looks awesome. Feel free to compare me with The Predator.

Namibian Wildlife: Road Hazards

In Namibia, the main roads are very well maintained and would feel
normal to any US driver, excepting the fact that they drive on the left.
Even smaller gravel and sand roads are well packed down and safe. And
since Namibia is so sparsely populated, there are hardly any other
drivers to worry about. The primary road hazards of Namibia are the
various forms of wildlife that jump or run in front of vehicles. As in
the states, prime time for wildlife is dawn and dusk.

Kudus are agile, deer-like, moose-sized animals with long curly horns.
For some reason, it is the kudu's instinct to jump in front of, or into
moving vehicles. Combined with their size, this makes them the number
one wildlife road hazard in Namibia. Crashes with Kudu are so common in
Namibia that almost every Namibian I've spoken to has had this
experience. I have been in a car which only just clipped a kudu's tail,
thanks to our Peace Corps driver's reactions and 6th sense for detecting
kudu.

Oryx are slightly smaller than kudu but look very similar. Their main
distinguishing feature is perfectly straight horns. I was told it is
their instinct is to jump parallel with moving vehicles so it is more
rare for them to be involved in accidents, but their size still makes
them a danger.

Springbok are about the size of deer in the US, and look very similar to
deer, except that the males don't have the distinctive antlers of bucks
in the US. I have yet to get a good look at one, and it seems like they
are very wary of moving vehicles. That said, I ate springbok meat for
dinner today so they must get hit once in a while.

Warthogs in Namibia are about the size of large cats, but they are often
grazing by the side of the road in groups. I'm told they're hit
relatively often when they wander into the road. Because of their small
size, they're not a major hazard, although I'm told that they have more
mass than it seems.

Dik dik look exactly like deer sans antlers except they are the size of
a large dog. Yes, they are absurdly cute and the subject of many
inappropriate jokes. Unfortunately, they share instincts with the kudu
and are hit often. Due to their size and mass, they are not a major
hazard. They also fit conveniently into a large plastic bag (pictured)
and are delicious.

In Namibia, it is technically against conservation laws to personally
transport, prepare, and eat roadkill. People are supposed to report
roadkill so it can be donated. I can understand that this is to prevent
people from trying to hit things for a free meal, but the culture of
Namibia seems to be that it is acceptable to keep roadkill as long as
you share it. Practically speaking, nobody would purposely hit even a
dik dik because of possible damage to the vehicle.

Culture Brief: Handshakes

Namibians have a particular handshake which is used across the entire
country. The handshake begins normally with a single firm pump, then the
thumbs are hooked with the fingers wrapped around the other person's
wrist. Finally, the handshake is finished by bringing the fingers back
down into the normal handshake position and giving another firm pump.
Always use the right hand to shake.

After the handshake has ended, some people will continue to hold your
hand for a while as the conversation continues. This is relatively
common in Namibia. Note that this handshake appears to be for Namibians.
If you attempt this handshake and you are obviously not Namibian, they
may hold their hand still during the wrist-grab phase. However, if a
Namibian initiates this style of handshake with you, it is a sign that
they accept you and are comfortable with you. An additional sign of
respect I have observed in the Kavango region is to touch your right arm
just under the elbow with the fingers on your left hand.

test

Just a test post for posting by email. If I can do it this way, I'll
be able to update more often!

Staging and Orientation

Just finished with staging and tomorrow, we get our shots ("the pincushion treatment") and fly to Johannesburg for an overnight layover before flying to Windhoek.

Staging was tons of fun, and facilitated meeting and getting to know all (70!) of my fellow volunteers as well as learning about various Peace Corps policies. There was also a lot of reinforcing different approaches to being a successful volunteer such as being flexible and patient and being aware of one's own culture to start understanding others. I was generalizing there, but we did have some specific, practical case studies and people were asking lots of good questions, which were answered honestly to the best of the staging peoples' abilities.

There were summer camp style group activities and I usually take those kinds of things with a grain of salt but the staging people really tied it in well with what they were trying to get across to us.

Good start! Gotta be up at 4:30 tomorrow -_-

New Camera, New Shades

Who is that mysterious, handsome man? C'est moi, of course. I am wearing my new prescription shades from Opticus, a darn fine lens crafting service, where I had to call and talk to an actual person, who was genuinely knowledgeable and concerned about getting me what I needed. So, besides making me look like a cliched movie villain, what do these specs do for me? Well, my poor computer-scientisty eyes are quite sensitive to light and Namibia is mostly desert and steppes, so I went as dark as possible and got side shields for even more protection. The frame model is by Mountain Shades and is called Zermat.

As for the camera, it is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 and I have been very happy with it these past few days. It's packed with the features you expect from an SLR-like camera, but the menus are easy to navigate, and there are quick buttons for all the common options. It's 7 MP, which is plenty, IMO, and image quality is excellent. 12X zoom, light, sturdy, image stabilization - I could go on, but anyway, good camera. Hope I get plenty of chances to be a shutterbug in Namibia.

I'm going to Namibia

Yup. For the Peace Corps. It's that country on the west coast of Africa, just northwest of South Africa. Angola's to the north, and Botswana's to the east.

If you want to know more, the Wikipedia article is great, but here are some fun facts:

• Namibia is the 2nd least densely populated country in the world, after Mongolia. It is about twice the size of California, but only has a population of about 2 million.
• Most Namibians are Christians, and most of them are Lutherans! I'll fit right in.
• Namibia has a diverse ecology, with the south being mostly desert, a central plateau, and forests and grazelands in the north.
• Besides native languages, many Namibians also speak German, and Afrikaans.

As for what I'll be doing, it should be something along the lines of teaching computer literacy in the 6th - 12th grades. I'm sure other things will follow (if retired Peace Corps volunteer stories are any indication), but that's the job description for now.

Edit - oh yeah, I leave October 29th so, still got some time in the states.

Housekeeping

This blog has been created as a personal journal, but also as a way of letting people who know me see how I am doing. The primary reason this blog was started, is because I will soon be a Peace Corps Volunteer, and hopefully I will be able to document my experience for my friends and relatives.