Otandi kala mNamibia

15th November 2008

Mwa tokelwa po aantu! Good evening everyone! Africa called to me and now I am alive and well in Namibia! It’s only been a week and half since I left home but bunches of happenings have happened. I’m a bit at a loss as to where to start with everything so I’ll just try give you some of the highlights:

I am learning how to speak Oshindonga! The Owambo people live in the northern part of Namibia and collectively speak the Oshiwambo language of which there are seven dialects that are apparently distinct enough to warrant their own names. That being said, my language teacher, named Victory (how sweet is that!), says that when I speak Oshindonga with someone that speaks Oshikwanyama (another one of the seven) we will be able to understand each other almost perfectly. The main differences are spelling changes and slight pronunciation variations. We have had just three days of language class so far but already I can tell that my time spent speaking Kiswahili has given me a good head start with Oshindonga. About 16% of the words are either exactly the same or a spelling variant. Also, the grammar is very similar. I am turning my mind onto hypermemory mode so that I can pick up on new vocabs I hear in class and from my host family. I already know a bunch of random nouns and also how to count to ten: yimwe, mbali, ndatu, ne, ntano, hamano, heyali, hetatu, omugoyi, omulongo. With all this talk of new languages, we really haven’t been that challenged yet because all the staff speak awesome Namlish. Namlish is the local way of speaking English that ends up being a mixture of Afrikaans, British English, Oshiwambo, Rukwangali, Oshiherero and countless other words that just fall in the category of Namibian slang. Namlish is wonderfully creative and funny and creates for some hilarious communication mishaps. I’m collecting some examples for a future megaposting of linguistic revelry…

Half of the twenty volunteers in PC-NAM 28 are learning Oshindonga with me and the rest are learning Oshikwanyama or Rukwangali. Just one volunteer, Lori, is learning Thimbukushu. These separations somewhat determine are permanent site placements as these languages are all spoken in the northern part of Namibia. In about a week, each of us will find out exactly what city or town or village we will be living in for the next two years. It’s a bit nerve wracking not knowing, but it helps one get into the stressfree-chillzone-you’re-in-Afrika-relax-noworries-mode. The 20 volunteers are a pretty diverse group… most of us are doing the immediate graduatecollegestraighttopeacecorps transition but there are some that left solid jobs, one married couple (avid game players I might add so I’ll just give them a !), and a few that don’t fit any standard profile. There are four or five other math teachers like me and the rest will be teaching English, physical sciences, or general computer skills.

We were all placed with homestay families two nights ago. I spent tonight playing with my Namibian sisters in my new house in the Location area of Okahandja an hour outside the capital city of Windhoek. The Location might be called a ghetto in the states but in Namibia it is just a ‘suburb’ neighborhood of Okahandja which was formed during the ridiculously evil times of apartheid that have caused so much pain in Namibia (and still do to some extent today). More on that major topic some other time… I have a meme with nine children who are all grown and away, but there are three girls (4, 10 and 16) living in the house with me. I’m not yet quite sure how the branches of this family tree connect… Lola (the youngest one) is very funny and cute but also a handful as 4 year olds can be. Today I played their drum (similar to a djembe) and her dancing was so funny. She and Noko spent an hour last night combing my hair trying to get it to go straight to no avail. Kelsey is on break from her secondary school and really likes riddles and jokes so send me some good ones! I showed them my mini photo album of family and friends and pets which they really liked looking at. They (along with most of Namibia) watch this Spanish soap opera (dubbed in English) called Catalina and Sebastian which the girls love. “Amelia is such a stupid snake!” (True beans x2k8) The whole family is really nice and welcoming and are really trying to help me learn Oshindonga. It’s been a great few days with them!

Today was extra special foodwise because all the families and volunteers got together for a traditional cooking day. Live chickens were slaughtered (I ended up passing on the chicken soup…), millet was pounded by alternating-manpowered-treebranch-pestles, ground nuts were shelled, fat cakes (AKA Kenyan mandaazi or American donuts) were deep fried in oil, mopane worms were cooked (they taste like wood), and lots of meat was grilled in the Braai (bbq) area. The Braai is traditionally the men’s job even though just one guy is in charge of flipping over the various nyama. This means that all the other guys sit around and laugh and tell dirty jokes until it’s time to eat. That was definitely a highlight of the day. For all of my fellow LC EA07 buddies, they have Stoney ginger soda but the additional title of Tangowizi must be just a Kenya/Tanzania thing.

And you knew it was coming… Juggling! I have already taught several fellow volunteers the awesome skill of infinitely-self-‘prop’agating-object-manipulation and am in the process of teaching some of our Namibian PC staff members as well as my host sister Noko. I was helping in the kitchen and saw my chance with the tomatoes… Noko and Kelsey were surprised but Lola just stole a tomoato and started eating it.

Tomorrow we travel to Windhoek (an hour or so south) to buy cell phones. So between now and when you have my phone number, get some international phone cards, or figure out how to use Skype, or just save a little extra moolah aside for me as ALL incoming calls are FREE (for me that is hehehe)! But in the meantime, you should send me a message or email and in it you oughtta/could/might address these topics:
A – good riddles or jokes (filthy, dirty, or tame – the whole spectrum)
B – What you want to know how to say (or want me to know how to say) in Oshiwambo
C – Any specific questions about life in Namibia
D – Any major news (national and/or personal)
E – What you did that day no matter how awesome or mundane

Indeni po nawa! Go well!

Love, Parker