Towns and Locations

In Namibia, cities are divided into sections called Town, and Locations. In a city, Town refers to the area with established businesses, chain stores, hotels, and modern homes. If a person lives in Town, it's pretty much a guarantee that they're wealthy and connected. In a single city, there's only one Town area.

Locations are the areas outside of town where blacks were forced to live during apartheid (now there are also many blacks living in Towns). A Location is laid out similar to a suburb in the US, but the housing is mostly cement and corrugated tin, with some all-concrete buildings used for small businesses. Some people may also run small businesses out of their homes. In the Locations I've seen, the roads are mostly packed dirt, which is actually good because children are almost always playing soccer in the street and the dirt forces cars to drive slow. I hesitate to compare Locations to ghettos or tenements, because all Location houses have electricity, running water, and modern conveniences (I've yet to meet a Namibian who doesn't own a TV), but people in Locations are undoubtedly poorer than those in Town. However, Locations are complete communities with schools, parks, and churches. I can't speak for all cities, but in Omaruru, the Locations are safe at all times of day. The worst problem in Locations I've seen has been public drunkenness. In each city there can also be multiple Locations, always segregated by ethnic group (I'll talk about the ethnic groups in another post), although it doesn't seem to generate any great animosity if a member of an ethnic group settles in a different group's Location.

Towns are generally nice and comfortable. Stores have air conditioning; there are roads, sidewalks, and plants; buildings are very clean. As an American, Towns feel familiar to me. But Locations are way more interesting. In the Location in Omaruru, children are play together in the streets (when school's out), and people are go about their business or visit each other. In Location, it's ok to just talk to people and make friends, or drop by the houses of people I know for quick visits. Every house and business also has a lot of individual character. In Omaruru, one man built a white two story castle on his land in the Location. While that example is extreme, it gives a good sense of the diversity and fun one can find in Locations.

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.