Friday, May 22, 2009

Safe and Sound in Namibia

Well, I'm in Namibia...I arrived Friday afternoon and have been having a grand ole time so far. Internet has been a little hard to come by, but I am hoping to find an internet cafe sometime in the near future so that I can spend an ample amount of time in the world of communication...

So far since I've been here I have met tons of local Namibians and have been offered an exorbitant amount of food and tea everywhere I go...this is always the dilemma, being rude or just going with it...I don't know what the right thing to do is, so I just smile and eat pig intestines. :)

The weekend was spent moving in and recovering from jet lag, and then on Monday I went with a woman who I will be working with for the next couple of months to complete some surveys in an area south of Windhoek called, Walvis Bay. We visited a Bicycle Empowerment Center that is starting up there and completed surveys to collect some baseline data that can be followed up with the life of the center...I have some great pics from the week that I will upload sometime soon...the trip was great. Namibia is beautiful and the geography is so diverse. The people I have met are very friendly and welcoming, but those that we surveyed are truly suffering and are surviving on very little...It's a little disheartening, but offers lots of opportunities...

Today is my first real day in the office at BEN Namibia. I will be helping them plan their first conference that will take place at the end of July. There is much to do, but I am super excited and so very glad to be here...

That is all for now. Much love.

3 comments:

  1. It worked!!! I couldn't post at school at first! (Mary gets her "working hard at work and not e-mailing" ways honestly!) Anyway, I can't wait to see your pics and hear more about your work and life there. But pig intestines......good thing you come from a long line of hog farmers!

    Love you,
    Madre

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  2. I'm glad that you made it safely there.I enjoyed reading your update on everything. Your mom sent me 3 pictures of you; in London and also Namibia (I believe).

    Hope all is well, and I'll be checking in on your progress from time to time. :)

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