Life here in Keetmanshoop, Namibia is a weird mixture of so many
things: modern, old, Western, traditional, English, Afrikaans, Khoekhoegowab, Mercedes-Benz,
donkey carts, a mall, dirt roads, restaurants, cooking over a fire, beautiful
homes, shacks made of tin. This juxtaposition
of culture makes our days quite interesting in our town.
We live in a modern flat that has all of the basic
amenities, only lacking a few comforts from home (such as an iron, a microwave,
a washer/dryer, internet, T.V., etc.)
Otherwise, we enjoy a standard of living similar to what we had back in
the U.S. This came to us a
surprise.
In our town of approximately 18,000 people, you will see:
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Open fields that stretch for miles, and in them
an occasional donkey, horse, or springbok (great places for running with the
dog!)
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Paved roads through the main part of town
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Dirt roads throughout the rest of the community
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An upscale neighborhood with tall fences, scary
guard dogs, and beautifully landscaped yards
·
Locations
(this is the name that refers to the other neighborhoods in town – they were formally the
settlements where the blacks had to live during the apartheid regime) which
include a variety of homes – ranging from a modest modern style house with
electricity and running water, to squatters who have built homes of tin/other
materials & have no water or electricity, and everything in between
·
People: Nama, Coloureds (referring to people of
a mixed European/African race), Ovambos (a tribe that largely lives in the north of Namibia, but
some have come south for work), White Namibians (usually from
German, Dutch, or English decent), Italians (contractors who are working on a multi-million dollar dam project), Irish (working on an affordable housing project),
other international volunteers/students, and some other Namibians representing
a number or other tribes/ethnic backgrounds.
South Africa is often referred to as the “Rainbow Nation,” but I
certainly think that term is applicable in Namibia. There is a broad spectrum of races and
ethnicities represented in this small town.
·
A new mall!
And with it, some chain restaurants!
(Very un-Austinite of me to appreciate restaurant franchises, but now we
have pizza delivery. Can’t argue with
that).
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| One of our grocery stores, how exciting! |
·
Four public high schools and one private
school. Most of the white Namibians
attend the private school, so there is definitely still social segregation
here.
·
Five grocery stores. Not American style, where you have 100 different
cereals to choose from, but we are fortunate to only have to walk 10 minutes to
do our shopping.
·
An Olympic sized public pool!
·
The major stores/services that any town would
need: police station, care repair, cell phone store, hospital, hotel, etc.
·
The best night sky in the world! On clear nights
we see the Milky Way from our yard.
So, what is Africa like?
Yes, some of my students come to school hungry. Kids run in their bare feet during track
meets. Women carry incredible things
(truly, truly impressive quantities of items) on their heads through the town. You will hear four part harmony in the songs
sung loudly and enthusiastically at local soccer games. But, our town is certainly not the “Africa”
that is shown in the commercials in America, asking to donate money with a sad
song playing in the background.
Aaron and I do have to walk or ride our bikes everywhere. We usually stay in after dark (nothing by way of entertainment going on really – only two cities in all of Namibia have a movie theater). We hand wash our clothes in our bath tub. But, we aren’t roughin’ it out in the bush, living in a mud hut, fighting cobras and fetching water 5 km away. Oddly, some volunteers in the north of Namibia really do live that life. But we are in an urban setting, and though it has come as an unexpected reality, it is ours. And it is home.
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| Big skies & beautiful sunsets |
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| Soraya loves long walks and scaring people in town with her blue eyes |
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| Our kitchen |
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| The hallway as you enter our flat. We live in a teacher's flat on one of the high school's property. |
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| From our kitchen window, we often observe this: |
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| Kids throw any objects they can find at the palm tree, to knock down some dates to eat |
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| We sleep under a mosquito net, but malaria isn't a problem in the south (I just hate all bugs) |
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| Driving through one of the locations in town |
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| Women wearing traditional Nama clothing |
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| Our mall |
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| What you see across from our mall |
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| My school |
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| Outside our flat Behind us is a Quiver Tree, typical here in Southern Namibia |
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| In front of our flat. The building also houses three other teachers' flats and the 12th grade boys at that high school |
