Face-Off: Black Mamba vs. Chameleon

Which of these two animals are you more frightened of? On the left we have the black mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world. On the right, we have a chameleon. Both of these creatures inhabited the general area of the youth center where I taught in Divundu, Namibia. (No fully grown mambas, though, thank goodness)

If you thought this one through logically, you would probably give the incredibly poisonous black mamba a wide berth, whereas a harmless chameleon in the wild might be a subject of casual observation and interest.

Now for the typical Mbukushu reaction to these creatures.

All Snakes: Standing Kill Orders

The immediate reaction to any snake is to engage it in mortal combat and destroy it. The only acceptable reason to disengage combat is to search for a weapon (stick, rock, possibly a .22 rifle) or reinforcements. It doesn't matter that this snake is capable of leaping past your piddling defenses to bite your face off and inject enough neurotoxin to kill you 10 times over. People will gather round to watch the show and offer advice on how to deal with the snake (the stick vs. rock debate is timeless)

Chameleons: Widespread Panic

Upon sighting a chameleon, most Mbukushu will run away and get some help to set up an exclusion zone so that no one accidentally bumps into this fearsome beast. The bravest villagers are called upon to monitor the progress of the chameleon from a safe distance until it disappears into the foreboding tall grass from whence it came. People maintain vigilance for hours afterwards lest the soul-eating demon spawn return on its dark shambling.

Okay, so, slight exaggeration on the chameleons, but seriously, I'm not sure why these people are so afraid of them. Something to do with witchcraft? Googly eyes? Color changes? I have no idea, but it's not logic, and it's tons of fun for someone who's willing to pick one up and chase people with it.

Taipei Games Show 2010

So I got to Taiwan just in time for the final day of the Taipei Games Show hosted in the World Trade Center complex. As I understand it, this show is pretty modest compared to Tokyo Games Show, but still sports the ridiculous exhibits the rabid fans have come to expect. This time around, I was most impressed with the racing hardware. They basically built some 1:1 scale cars inside the building (at least I didn't spot a door they could've fit through) and wired them up with screens and such so people could get the complete video game driving experience. Funs!

The other thing that impressed me but isn't pictured here was a VR experience box thingy where you could get a rifle and wherever you pointed it, a projector would track your motion and display the game in front of the barrel. More realistic than mouse aiming, but your arm gets tired.

Okay!

So, it was really hard to update the blog from Namibia and I pretty much gave up after a couple months. Plus I was pretty lazy. You just kind of fall into a different rhythm there. A rhythm that allows people to procrastinate indefinitely. But now I'm out! ... and back to the rush of the workaday world. Desires to tear off my clothes and live an idyllic life in the forest with the animals and various parasitic life forms aside, I will now try to update my blog somewhat more often than once a year. Some of it will be remembering events and posting pictures of my experiences in Namibia. Other times, I'll talk about what's happening with me now (for example, I'm in Taiwan right now for a month). In extreme cases I may offer an opinion on a subject if I think I'm particularly qualified, but I promise that won't happen too often.

More things to do on a Sunday afternoon

Save a goat from drowning in an open septic tank, of course. I took a shower afterward. The photo is courtesy of my roommate, and it's a little blurry because he was laughing so much. All in a day's work for an IT volunteer in Namibia!

Things to do on a lazy Sunday in Namibia

Teach some Hambukushu ladies how to crimp network cables for a rural
youth center's computer lab, of course. Yes, I fully intend to introduce
Counterstrike to the African youth.

Namibian Names

So, most Namibians have Christian names because they actually have lots of trouble pronouncing names of people from other tribes or other language groups. These Namibian Christian names are sort of pseudo-Roman, Latin-esq, and straight out of fantasy novels. I may have to use one of these next time I'm playing D&D. Here's a sampling:

Male Names:
Eusebius
Faustinus
Augustinus
Esegiel
Adriano
Kosmas
Amadeus
Vallentines
Pascalius
Bonifatius
Romanus
Thimotheus
Athanasius

Female Names:
Venansia
Sandrina
Engelbertha
Fransina
Therisia
Herlinde
Eufransia
Sabina
Rosalia
Letticia
Leocadia
Gergensia
Constantia
Eleotheria
Rheinhilde

Transportation

For the 2nd least densely populated country in the world, roads are very easy to come by in Namibia. There are well maintained, paved roads between every major population center in the country.`Cars and transportation, however, are another story, especially for the Peace Corps Volunteer (beggar). Here's a rundown on the options:

Rent a Car
This is easy to do in Windhoek and is the most convenient option for anyone traveling in Namibia. Of course, you may need to drive manual, and you will have to drive on the left side of the road. This option is not possible for Peace Corps Volunteers, since they're not allowed to drive, and I suspect it wouldn't be in our price range anyway.

The Intercape
is a humongous box-shaped transport vehicle otherwise known as a bus. Besides some other ill-run services which are poorly advertised and impossible to contact, the Intercape is the only bus service in Namibia, and its only function is to ferry tourists to hotspots in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. This pretty much means a cushy ride between Cape Town and Victoria Falls or any of the places in between, meaning Keetmanshoop, Windhoek, Otjiwarongo, Rundu, Katima Mulilo and any podunk village in between. I believe the Cape runs to Swakopmund as well. Tickets must be booked ahead of time. If you don't do this physically at their office in Windhoek, then the process is straight out of a time before credit cards and e-tickets, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. First, you have to call and make a booking. Then, you have to go to your local Bank Windhoek branch (mine is located conveniently 200 kilometers away) and wire the money to them. After that, they will fax you a ticket. An e-commerce consultant could go far in this country. As usual, this option is too expensive for regular use by a Peace Corps volunteer.

Combis (Kombis?)
are small vans piloted by entrepreneurial Namibians. They tend to congregate in designated areas of town, usually a gas station or an appropriately sized patch of dirt. I'm told you actually need a license to operate a combi and that there exists a union, but looking at a group of combis, you would never know it. There are no signs, and the combis themselves generally lack any markings identifying a company or phone number. A combi area essentially looks like a bunch of guys standing around their vans waiting for something. While the prices of rides between destinations are set and non-negotiable, the timing of that ride generally depends on fate. A combi leaves when the combi is full. A combi can semi-comfortably seat around 9 people. A full combi typically consists of 11 fat ladies, their screaming children, and myself. In their defense, however, combis are fast, cheap(er), and reliable, insofar as you will get to your destination sometime on the day you leave. You can also get the phone numbers of combi drivers and if you have a large enough group to make it worth their while, you can usually get them to ferry you and your companions almost anywhere you want. A viable option for the volunteer in a hurry.

Hiking
does not mean strapping on your boots and walking the 800km to your destination. If a Namibian says they are hiking, they mean hitchhiking. The process is simple enough. Walk out to a road, wait for a car, then wave it down. There are some hand signals you can use to expedite the process. The height of your hand is a general indicator of the distance you wish to travel, and if there's a turn coming up, you should indicate which direction you will want to go in. Surprisingly, the prices for hikes between destinations seem to be standard, as if all Namibians had a meeting to decide them. Hike prices are lower than combi prices, the rides are usually infinitely more comfortable, and Peace Corps Volunteers often get lucky and receive free hikes from wealthier curious people in nice cars (a foreigner hiking is a very rare sight). Obviously, hiking can be risky business. No, not from a security standpoint - the hitchhiking culture is so ingrained that crimes related to hiking are very rare. The problem is simply that you might not get a hike on the day you want one, or your hike might not be able to take you all the way to your destination. Fortunately for volunteers, there is always a friend nearby willing to let a stranded colleague couch surf for a night. I've heard of Peace Corps Volunteers who travel internationally this way, staying for free with other volunteers, even those outside of their own country. Inexpensive, and makes for excellent stories.