Post Title: 012_What is it like in Namibia – # 1
Written Date: 8 Nov 2915
Posted Date: 8 Nov 2915

I’m sure there will be other entries on what it’s like, here, so this is “# 1”.

Namibia (population 2.3 million at the most –  it’s unclear) is almost exactly twice the size of California (population 38.8 million as of 2014). I’ll save you the math: California has 34 times the population density! Imagine an economy in a country twice the size of California with 1/34^th of the population density. More people live in Houston, Texas, than life in ALL of Namibia. Namibia has one of the world’s most uneven income distributions (search GINI index for Namibia). There are a very few very wealthy people, a few well to do people, and a LOT of very poor people.

And it’s dry – very, very dry. One of the most arid countries on earth in fact. I hang clothes inside my house to dry, and they are almost always bone dry in an hour, even at night. Yet it can be very hot and very cold in the same 24 hour period. Generally it is temperate here – much more pleasant than I anticipated from the luxury of the San Francisco area. The climate chart below gives a pretty good picture, but in the last 3-5 years there hasn’t been as much rain as shows on the chart.

(click on the link).Windhoek Climate

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It’s now three hours later than the last sentence. I met a colleague here at Penduka from the Netherlands and we just spent almost three hours talking on the terrace while the sun set, the Pelicans moved slowly along the lake, the Coots and Grebes chased each other around on the water, and the light took on a magical sunset feel that made a tree literally glow next to the water, The overall sense was surreally beautiful. When it got completely dark, my “bottle house” resembled a fairy tale home on the side of a lake, lights showing through the curtains in the windows and sparkles coming through the walls from the light inside. We started making comparisons to “Hansel and Gretel” and imagined a large pot full of children  simmering on the stove. But somehow it was magical.

All I had was my phone camera, and it doesn’t do the pink sunset justice.

This was an Africa evening – something I cannot quite describe and yet have come to appreciate in a way I never thought possible – and I’m used to some really spectacular settings. In spite of the challenges (and I’ll write about those also, eventually. Not tonight.), there is a sense of peace and harmony with nature here that is … African. As Josine (my Dutch colleague) said, “I am beginning to understand why people fall in love with this place.” Me too.

A land of contrasts, sure. Poverty on a scale that is vast in a way that is hard to understand. Scarce populations and a nation trying to build itself on the shoulders of way too few people. 25 years ago, when Namibia became a nation after well over a century of oppression and colonialism, it was handed an infrastructure that was complete – roads, electricity (power), water, and the fundamentals of business all thanks to the Germans and South Africans who built it up for their own profit. But the black Namibians had never been encouraged or even permitted to understand how to work with the economy, to cooperate, to build and be accountable; To have pride in themselves. Sure, there were exceptions, and some of the Namibians are rising to the challenge really well. But the poverty limits many, many of them. Yet they are some of the most positive and friendly people I’ve met anywhere in the world. And yes, there is a lot of crime here.

Land of contrasts – it’s an understatement when applied to Namibia.

I don’t make any claim to being able to compare this place to all of the USA, much less the rest of the world. I just barely scratched the surface of understanding Penduka Village, and that’s 35 people (about 250 total for Penduka throughout Namibia) out of 2.3 million, and a land area of one hectare (Penduka Village) out of the entire country. I don’t make any claim to understand all of the USA. I have lived, worked, or traveled in every state except Alaska (I’m not done yet! I may be able to visit my daughter there when she’s in the Coast Guard. I hope so!). And I certainly don’t claim that Penduka/Namibia is better than anything I’ve experienced anywhere. But it is a Namibian/African “flavor” that is unique. Of course Sausalito is unique, as is Topeka, New York, Ottumuwa, and every place else. In some ways it is special to me because it isn’t something I grew up with – it’s still “exotic”, but at the same time strangely familiar. People are people, wherever they are. And the buildings in Windhoek look very much like the buildings in any reasonably large town (Windhoek population approximately 300,000). I occasionally look around and remark to a companion “you know, we are in AFRICA!” But aside from the cultural newness, this place grows on you, gets into your very being, in a way that is new to me. And I feel like I can finally understand what so many authors have said about Africa.

My Dutch colleague was saying that in The Netherlands, people from Africa (and other countries and continents) are referred to as seeking the easy life, and are derided as trying to just find an easier way. They only come to take advantage of the better way of life. I hear similar things from some people in the USA. We agreed that they don’t have any idea. The people from Namibia that have the money, and the frame of mind, to go to another country are the winners, the people who have succeeded here and who want a chance to do even better where the opportunities are greater. They are moving to Holland and the USA, and other places, for the same reasons the original people from Western Europe moved to the United States in the 1700’s. It is a different world than the one they moved in 300 years ago, but the types of people are the same. But to us, in an established country, they are, to put it harshly, losers. And it’s so wrong. I know some people here who want very, very badly to move to the USA, or Western Europe, and they are still trying to pull the money together to do it. They are worlds ahead of most of the people here who drive a taxi to feed their families if they can manage to get off the farm, and out of the village, to begin with. Unemployment in Namibia is (I’m beginning to sound repetative, but it’s true) one of the worst in the world. (Almost 30% for Namibia, higher in Katutura.71% percent of the population in Katutura’s informal areas live below the subsistence level of N$860 – less than US$ 64 – per month)  I would welcome these people as neighbors any time. My country, the USA, was shaped by people just like that.

Here are some of the women at Penduka I work with. They are looking at a book of pictures of Penduka from about 10 years ago. I know them all personally, and they are rich and wonderful souls. Left to right: Martha, Helane, Leude, Jennifer, and Lydia.

This is Liina:

Liina is learning to manage four supervisors, and in turn about 11 people total. She is learning to speak up in meetings, to disagree, and to be willing to make mistakes. She is a marvel. Smart, but not with our type of education. She knows and understand people, her people, so much better than I do, and she is already a  better manager in some respects than many I have worked for in the past 45 years. And she is anxious to learn, excited that finally she is being taught how to lead, and schedule, and understand, and she’s in her 50’s.  She spent almost 30 years under apartheid before Independence. She is now in charge of ALL of the hospitality functions: Restaurant, kitchen, convention facilities, lodges (six rooms), backpacker rooms (30 beds in 6 buildings), a commercial sized garden, a poultry farm, and soon to be four pedal boats for rent. Some days she gets so frustrated and overwhelmed she can just hold her head in her hands. But she comes back, talks through it, asks for advice and help, and goes on. And she’s getting better and better, and has really good instincts. It is a genuine honor knowing her and being able to work with her. And she goes home, every evening in a bus, to a home made of tin sheets with no running water, electricity, or sewage. Look up Katutura, Windhoek on Google on that computer you have so available. She’s just learning to use one, and she spends hours struggling with it. But she now schedules guards, kitchen workers, and overtime allocations. AND she dances at cultural shows for the tourists that flow through here.

AND she is trying to teach me the Oshikwanyama language!

I am in awe of these women, these people, and humbled and honored to be able to spend time getting to know them.

Post Title: 011a_What I’ve noticed … redux (short)
Written Date: 31 Oct, 2015
Posted Date: 31 Oct, 2015

This really will be short. Comments (on the blog, and personal to me), but mostly my own reflections about the last post, are worth noting in this redux, but only briefly then on to writing about Africa/Namibia/Cultures, etc.

NOBODY mentioned my batik cover! Rats. Maybe it isn’t as cool as I think it is. On the other hand, I really like it, so that’s what it’s all about, right? It makes my living area seem more like Africa, me, and more like home. And if it isn’t obvious, I’m not going to quit my day job to become an interior designer.

I didn’t read my last posting for three days after posting it, and had decided it was shamelessly, and dangerously (?), self-revelatory, possibly at some people’s expense who saw themselves in my words. I now have a better feel for authors being concerned about publishing works that seem to make comments about, or base characters on, friends and family. Obviously sometimes they do. How else does a person write than from a base of their own experiences?

Having re-read it finally, I’m OK with it. Actually pretty happy with it.

The early conclusion I’ve come to is that what some people (you?) miss is that this is about me, not about you and how you see yourself in my musings.

If you feel like you are one of the close friends that exude love and acceptance, you are right. I treasure you being in my life. And you are welcome to take that personally, but it’s still about me – not you. And if you’ve told me, privately or publicly, that you miss my posts and have done it in an appreciative way, I likewise appreciate your inputs sincerely.

If you see yourself in a less flattering light, realize that I don’t hold grudges against you, or how you act, or who you are, or whether or not you wanted me to write more and how you said it. No one specific person is referred to in my writing, and in fact it may be impacted by me making stuff up in my own mind based on my (human, and imperfect) memory of what happened and how I feel about it. And it was also probably affected by my yielding to feeling a little sorry for myself (sorry for doing that publicly), and/or “crossing a line” in my own mind about how much responsibility I tend to accept for your feelings. A lot, as it turns out, and I’m not too pleased about that, about myself. I’m working on it.

Last paragraph, I promise.

Maybe I should just write and stick this in a drawer. But the choice I’ve made is to put it out there. Sometimes not all that pretty, and sometimes clumsy, and sometimes you (“dear reader”) may choose to feel personally distraught at what you see as references to you. I regret if that is uncomfortable for you. But… please bear in mind that this is about me – not a thinly veiled opportunity to tell you how you should be. This place is changing me, and I like it. Let me have that space, please. How you feel about it is up to you. Don’t be too hard on yourself, or on me. I’m OK if it makes you think, regardless of what that thinking consists of. I’m also OK with your sharing your thoughts with me, but I accept those thoughts as being about you – not me or how I should be. But even if you aren’t happy about it, I’m going to do it anyway.

THAT’S where my daughter gets that! Still, I wish she’d write. Sigh….

(postscript: I really need to work on my concept of “short”. Oh well.)

Post Title: 011_What I’ve noticed in three months (about me!)
Written Date: 28 Oct, 2015
Posted Date: 28 Oct, 2015

No photos this time. I decided to stop with what I originally just planned on starting with when it got a little longer than I’d planned. Also, retitled the post. You’ll get the original title soon, but this one’s going out now. (postscript – one photo! At the bottom.)

This is a pretty self-indulgent musing. You won’t learn a lot about Namibia, but you may recognize some of what I say about yourself,or me, or not.

—————

Wow, three months since I’ve posted. I obviously could have found a few minutes here and there, and perhaps I’ll get “better” (?), maybe more regular, with postings. But I honestly don’t feel too badly about it. The past three months are months 4-6 of being in Namibia, and months 2-4 of being at Penduka, and I have been doing a LOT of experiencing, adjusting, and thinkingfeeling on many fronts. For now, suffice it to say it is all worthwhile. This is one of life’s great experiences.

I think one of the reasons I don’t post/write more often is that I usually feel like I should create some sort of complete picture, and I just can’t in the time available, or with the number of impressions that somehow need to be expressed. But I’ll try to write more, with shorter and more specific topics of the moment. No promises! I am “otherwise engaged” a lot over here.

What I notice about life and relationships from the “other side” of what I’m used to:

It’s not only a “foreign” culture (to me) that has occupied my energy, it also gives me an entirely new perspective on friends, family, relationships, and other things I (probably all of us) often tend to take for granted. Note that these are mostly about changes in my own awareness. Very little about others has changed. A few notable notices:

• As I get older (now 66), I love the fact that I keep learning nuances to things I felt I knew about years ago. And the connection/family orientation in Namibia points out some of these things much more clearly than I am accustomed to. Case in point: Friends, and love, is really what it’s all about. Particularly in Sausalito I managed to make a few close friends that to this day accept me for who and what I am, and they let it show in every communication. Even when I’m away and out of touch for a LONG time, every time they write, or Skype, or call on WhatsApp, they are interested in what’s going on with me, and letting me know what’s going on with them. I love it, and I love them.
• Even folks I don’t know as well have gently, and nicely, let me know that they enjoy the posts and would love to see more, and they do it in a way that expresses an interest in what I have to share and say in a way that says “they miss me.” It’s sweet, and thank you for the reminders.
• Some of the people in my life who have been the worst at staying in touch over the years are also the worst at reminding me of how guilty I should feel for not posting more often. I can happily report that guilt has pretty much disappeared from my life. Popeye has become a mentor, much to my surprise: “I yam what I yam.” Love it or leave it alone.
• Many of my own communications in past years have been driven by the kind of “expectation” and judgment inferred from the previous paragraph. I plead lack of understanding, and apologize. Like I said, I’m still growing, and realizing, and learning.
• This is not new, but it is a little more clear than it has been in the past. Just because I live up to a pact in opening up and expanding my personal ability to connect and care doesn’t mean it will be matched by a reciprocating effort by the other party iving up to their part of the pact. Sad, and kind of painful, but true. The “other party” isn’t by definition wrong or to be blamed, but that doesn’t keep it from being uncomfortable and my feeling alone, again. As I told a 23 year old colleague here who is becoming a good friend, just because you’re “old” (I am, apparently 🙂 ) doesn’t mean we don’t have the same feelings we had when we were, say, 23. I don’t know that I could have understood that when I was 23 either. And no, the colleague is not someone referred to earlier in this self-revelatory aside. Why does this belong under the heading of this section? I’m not sure I would have noticed it, or taken the risk, or had the reaction, if I wasn’t in the middle of a foreign culture that values relationship and connection so much more than the cultures I’ve experienced in the USA or western Europe. That’s just me noticing what I experience, not a “truth”.
• This experience is “real life”. There is no “going back to the real world”, or the “real world” back in the USA. It’s real, it’s in your face, and it is a force to be dealt with in unexpected ways. It points out the wonderful things, and the not so wonderful things, in all of us regardless of our color, culture, or beliefs. Talk about being in touch with reality, and noticing when others aren’t. I think saying “back in the real world” is a form of denial.
• I’m closing this section with “I’m getting what I really wanted to get out of this experience in the Peace Corps in Africa.” It looks a little different, takes more time than I figured on, and in most ways isn’t what I thought it might be, but it’s very real and very fulfilling. I’m really, really glad I’m here. I just can’t be in a hurry – the environment won’t let me be. That’s taken some getting used to, and I’m still working on it.

OK, OK, OK, …. ONE photo! But just because I really like the cover, and it was delivered yesterday.

My new Batik cover for my sofa. Made to order by the women here at Penduka! The cover (not the sofa) is definitely coming back with me when/if I come back! It will fit on almost any sofa.

Written Date: 29 Jul 2015
Posted Date: 30 Jul 2015
Revised Date: 31 Jul 2015

The Official Language in Namibia is English. For those of us originating from the USA or other English speaking countries, the reason for this choice can seem obvious.

Not so fast.

There are, of course, different “obvious” reasons for different individuals, but obvious is the feeling of the observer based on their own experiences and predispositions. Many of these predispositions deal with some feeling of English being superior in some way. Personally, I think that’s an experience-centric viewpoint, kind of like thinking the Earth is the center of the Universe. So let’s take a look at some facts. Not to imply that different languages do not have some clear advantages over others in certain circumstances.

Namibia became independent in 1990 – we are in the 25^th year of being an independent country. I’ll write about that event, and the country situation today, in a future blog. But for now, realize that English was NOT the primary language in 1990 – not by a long shot. It was pretty minor, in fact. Still is (as a household language). So why English?

Preface (is that still possible in the third paragraph?):  I am FAR from an expert in Namibian political decisions, or in anything else Namibian for that matter. However, I know more being here than I did in the USA, and I’m giving my impressions and learnings at this stage. The potential “true” story is still unfolding for me. Meanwhile, see the “Disclaimer” page in the menu at the top!

In starting to explore languages in Namibia, it’s important to realize that what we think of in the USA as “Race Relations” exists here also (I’ll write about that in the future), but it’s more like Tribal Relations. In the USA, Race Relations usually has to do with the color of your skin: black, white, brown, “yellow” (I never did understand that one), mulatto, or whatever. Here, there is some degree of black/white/shades that’s only sometimes easy to see, but the Tribes aren’t so much different colors as they are different traditions, different cultures, different areas of origin, etc. and the majority of them are black, or some shade of what we people from the USA call black. People from different tribes don’t always get along all that well, and for sure have tribal prides and prejudices.

To try and give you some idea of one realization that has slowly permeated into me, the last sentence in the previous paragraph serves as an example. I originally wrote “Nonetheless, people from different tribes don’t always get along all that well, …” Note the word “Nonetheless” that just flowed out while I was writing. That wording seems OK, but if you think about it, the underlying belief/assumption on my part was(is?) that they SHOULD get along because they are all, ummm, black. “Nonetheless” means “in spite of” (kind of) some other thing that would imply otherwise. Maybe skin color isn’t as important to race relations as I used to think it was? So I changed the sentence to reflect “what is the case”, without the subtle underlying assumption on my part. Being here has raised my awareness of needing to recognize unstated assumptions that may be, but often are not (like in this case), valid.

I’m going to write about tribes later. For now (while concentrating on Languages) I’m just going to list some, not all, of the tribal groupings that have a history and presence in Namibia.

In no particular order, there are 13 ethnic groups: Herero, Damara, Nama, San (Bushmen), Whites, Caprivian, Kavango, Topnaars, Tswana, Himba, Owambo., Basters, and the Coloureds,, These last two are full of innuendo for our western sensibilities, and for good reason based on the culture I grew up in decades ago when “Coloureds” was an accepted, but negative, term in many parts of my country. Now, “Coloureds” is a term that is just not OK in the USA. But in Namibia it is not at all charged, it is simply the name of a tribe of people originating in the area that is now known as South Africa. Same with the Bastars, which sounds uncomfortably close to the western “bastards”, a derogatory designation. Again, not here – it is simply a tribe. While there is some historical basis in both the Bastars and the Coloureds evolving from racial mixes a long time back, the negative connotation we have in the USA just doesn’t exist here to any significant degree. Some individuals, of course, are exceptions.

Think of this as an exercise in really understanding that people don’t always think the same way. “Leaving your preconceptions and prejudices at the door” isn’t so easy when we don’t even recognize that we have them. I wrote “Nontheless” without even thinking about it.

Here is a map of some of the major ethnic groups in Namibia.

Given those major ethnic groups, let’s talk about language, now.

• Oshiwambo (7 or 8 sublanguages), Otjiherero, Kovango languages(5 of them), Afrikaans, Caprivi, and Khoekhoegowab are groups of languages spoken by at least 5% of the population. Most of them have multiple dialects that are actually different languages.
  Note that English is not on the list. That’s because only about 3% of the population speaks English at home. Less than that in 1990. But it’s the national language? Read on.
• Other relatively important languages (even though less than 5% of the people speak it at home) are: English, Deutsch(German), Dutch, Portuguese, Setswana, and the “Bushman” languages (five of them).
• Depending on where you look, there are somewhere around 13-30 (or more) significant different languages spoken in Namibia, with a current population in all of Namibia of about 2.2 million.
• There are four CITIES in the USA with greater populations! And the land area of Namibia is almost exactly twice the size of California (CA population about 39 million.) Let’s compare a little bit. The top 13 languages spoken in California are:
  • 60.5% of Californians speak only English (Arguably the native language to California residents, and only if we don’t look back farther than 200 years).
  • 39.5% speak another language (either instead of, or in addition to, English)
    • Spanish and Creole Spanish 25.8%
    • Chinese 2.6%.
    • Tagalog 2.0%,
    • Vietnamese 1.3%,
    • Korean 0.9%.
    • Armenian, Japanese, German, and Persian 0.5% each.
  • Note that the other languages are all from non-USA countries (although English was one of those 200 years ago.
  • One other interesting fact. The list above (from a prominent web site) doesn’t list the native American language AT ALL! If you add up the “another language” group that comprises 39.5%, it is short 5%. Which means that 5% of the residents speak something other than English or the languages listed. Ie: Native American would be in this 5%.
  • From http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~survey/languages/california-languages.php, note that there are/were 76 (yup – seventy six) Native American languages spoken in California.

Back to Namibia

• Within Namibia: Oshiwambo languages 48.9%, Nama/Damara 11.3%, Afrikaans 10.4% (common language of much of the population and about 60% of the white population), Otjiherero languages 8.6%, Kavango languages 8.5%, Caprivi languages 4.8%, English (official) 3.4%, other African languages 2.3%, other 1.7%
• Namibia has 13 recognized national languages, including 10 indigenous African languages and 3 Indo-European languages (2011 est.)

Hang on a minute: Did you notice the last bullet, above?

• TEN (10) of the language of the top 13 in Namibia (2.2 million people) are indigenous African/Namibian languages.
• Compare: ONE of the languages (English) in California (half of the land mass, 39 million people) is only arguably indigenous if viewed within a 200 year window.

Hmmm. How can you compare the USA language experience to Namibian?

We have only listed the major groups, mind you! For instance (only one example), within the Oshiwambo group, the following are distinct dialects that are considered different languages, only two of which have a written form:

• Oshindonga
• Oshikwambi
• Oshingandjera
• Oshikwaluudhi
• Oshimbalanh
• Oshikolonkadhi
• Oshikwanyama
• Oshiunda

While the dialects are significantly different (enough that they are considered a separate language), one can understand the other when they are in the same group. For instance, I am now learning Oshikwanyama, and can be understood by (and eventually understand) Oshi…., all of which are considered Oshiwambo languages. However, when two people are speaking to each other from a subgrouping of Oshiwambo, they most likely will speak their own language in reply to the other person’s language. It becomes a lively/normal discussion where the two people are using different languages! This is not unheard of in European languages of course, but it is a daily, normal, and unremarkable event here. Situation normal. When I mention it to some of the women here at Penduka, they look at me as if to say “yeah, so… I don’t get your point?” It’s kind of like saying air is transparent. Doh.

Namibians are virtually all multilingual. It is the norm here for a Namibian to speak at least three languages: Their native (home) language, English (learned in schools and on the job/in life), and Afrikaans or an Oshiwambo language.

This doesn’t mean a few words in other languages, this means conversational fluency! Many, many Namibians speak four or more languages. A small percentage only speak two languages. I have yet to meet anyone, or hear of anyone (native to Namibia), who speaks only one language – with the possible exception of some of the San Bushmen who live in extremely remote rural areas.

As an aside: I, and probably all of you, have been aware of “click” languages on TV programs from Africa. The San Bushmen (in the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy”) spoke with clicks being a part of the vocabulary. It always seemed odd to me, and I know it was to many others. I’m actually getting used to it, here. It is not only not rare, it is everywhere, and is part of the “Khoekhoe…” (pronounced kwe-kwe”) language group. It is also very common with the Damara/Nama language(s). I’ve almost stopped noticing it – almost.

Back to English as the national language.

When the country was being formed (only 25 years ago, remember!) one of the more significant issues they faced was how to transact national business and politics. If they chose one of the native languages,  they would irritate  the language groups not chosen. So, they chose an uncommon (for the country) but common (for the world of business and international politics) language: English. I suppose a cynic would say then everyone was equally irritated – but it’s worked well, if imperfectly, so far. There are very significant challenges to educating the children in English, but the efforts continue and English is, in fact, widely spoken in the country, now.

By the way, my explanation for the choice is not any kind of “official” explanation, and might be argued against by any number of people and sources – possibly roughly the same number that would argue that it’s accurate. But who knows.

The plethora of Languages is one of the most difficult challenges the country faces. And that is not a contentious opinion.

I spent two months learning Afrikaans in Peace Corps training, but found it to be almost useless in my current site even though it will be very useful in the country as a whole (particularly southern Namibia) over a prolonged period of time. So while continuing studying Afrikaans with a tutor, I’m also starting to learn Oshikwanyama (also with a tutor) which is very useful in the North of Namibia.

Where I live, at the “lodge and craft” location of my post, there are (roughly) three Afrikaans speakers, 12 Oshiwambo speakers, 7 Otjiherero speakers, and a smattering of Damara/Nama, Khoekhoe, and others. But they ALL speak 2-4 languages, and the vast majority has some useful English, many are quite capable in English. Plus there are 6-7 deaf women, so sign language also has to be mixed in there at least for this post.

That’s all on languages for now.

• Back to work!
• Terug na werk!
• Terug aan het werk!
• Zurück an die Arbeit!
• De volta ao trabalho!

Written Date: 24 July 2015
Posted Date: 24 July 2015

The “Bottle House” – that’s what everyone else calls it. To me, it’s home for the next two years, maybe more.

The walls are made of rows of beer and wine bottles, laid side by side and alternating necks and bases by row. The space between is filled with a clay/concrete mixture that is hard and pretty durable, but crumbles fairly easily with directed effort.

Turns out homes and other smaller buildings made of recycled materials are fairly common in Namibia (and elsewhere). Several visitors have commented on seeing buildings made from beer/wine bottles and clay or concrete throughout Namibia, particularly in the rural areas. This one was built in 1999, and I coincidentally met a Dutch man last weekend that was here, then, and helped construct it! He is away this week, but will be back mid-week and we plan to get together and get to know each other before he returns to Holland next month.

So here is a quick tour. Photos appear a little farther down after an initial description. It is one of most interesting and comfortable of the homes my Peace Corps colleagues are occupying throughout Namibia. I feel very lucky to have this particular dwelling. There are many PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) with more modern housing, some including washers, some are air conditioned, and many have drywall or stone construction and would feel at home in any modern US city. Some of the PCVs live in mud huts with no running water, electricity, or indoor toilets, not to mention no internet!

The common phrase associated with my home is that is provides a real “Africa Experience”. And that it does. And it’s roomy – a real luxury. While it has been occupied over the years for brief periods, and spent major time as a storage building, it is turning into a genuinely welcoming residence and home. The floor (tile) was replaced just a month or so before my arrival in anticipation of long-term occupation.

One of the truly outstanding things about this place is the peaceful setting. Penduka is located inside the city limits of Windhoek in an area known at Katutura, a very poor area of a very tough city. Yet, I open the door to this view, taken from my small porch, facing south towards Windhoek:

Turn around and step back a few steps and you see the Bottle House:

The window is just above the kitchen sink/counter. The door has “burglar bars’ as a gate. Steps leading off the picture to the right lead up to the rest of the Penduka compound that I’ll cover in a future blog. The orange LPG tank feeds my range/oven and there are a couple of mosquito net frames next to it that I’m messing with to try and put netting on the windows. The bugs can be a problem here in the summer (Sept – March. Southern Hemisphere).

Incidentally, Malaria is not a concern in the Windhoek area and southern Namibia, so I don’t need to take Malaria prophylaxis or sleep with mosquito netting around the bed as I did in Okahandja, about one hour drive north.

Step inside the door, and you see:

My bed is in the back right corner, and just five days ago the couch/fold down bed (for guests) was delivered, and is just at the bottom of the picture. The steps to the loft are on the left, and I turned the area under the stair landing into a “closet”. The wicker shelf units (right side and back), and the bureau on the right, were put in the building just before I arrived. They are in pretty rough condition, but serviceable, and I’m very fortunate to have shelving at all!

Turn slightly to your left inside the door and see:

This is my desk, with temporary desk lamp deliberately left pointing into the camera for “artistic effect” (ha!). I bought a desk chair since I’ll be spending a LOT of time working at the computer at the desk, which is actually a small dining table with a student desk from a nearby school set up for the laptop. This is a good view of the stairs to the loft. I could put my bed in the loft, but it is likely to get really hot up there in the summer.

Now we walk over to the desk, at my chair, and look towards the front (south) of the building into the bathroom. Note the refrigerator on the left (the kitchen area). The toilet is just to the left of the shower behind the wall in the center of the photo It’s pretty exposed at the moment, but the craft shop is making me a batik curtain to hang at the entrance to the bathroom. That should be finished next week. Note the stack of papers on the desk – this job is already very involved. More on that in a future post.

Now move over to the bed area, and look towards the door,:

The refrigerator and gas range/oven are on the right, window  with a view of the lake is just above the sink,and the door on the left. I’m extremely fortunate to have a gas range/oven! There was no range or oven in the building when I arrived and I was planning to get a small countertop unit that has two electric burners on top and a “toaster oven” below them. BUT, when I was visiting the TB Program office with Penduka, they had a brand new but two year old unused gas range/oven sitting in the corner they didn’t need, so they gave it to me! I bought an LPG tank and some hose, punched a hole in the wall for the host so the gas bottle would be outside, and now I have an absolutely fabulous five burner gas range with a full size oven!  And I love to cook! Omg.

Final view is of a Batik Apron the craft shop gave me, and which I use as a wall decoration at least temporarily. This is made here in the Penduka Craft center as part of the operation I am working with.  I’ll also have them make a large Batik “curtain” to hang around the “bedroom” area to provide privacy for me and for a possible house guest staying on the couch.

I love this place. Friends who have visited have said it just seems perfect for me, and I agree. I’ve only been here five weeks, and it feels very homey – with more to come.

Andy