Ongoing lessons....

One year in Namibia...

This past weekend marked my one year anniversary in Nam. As part of our volunteer quarterly report, there is a section which asks volunteers to highlight what they have learned. I wrote the first things which came to my mind, and I will share them here now.

I have learned....

that in Africa, things will never happen "on-time" but they will happen in their own time. That I must just be patient. That flexibility is key. That just because something doesn't happen the way I think it should does not mean it won't happen exactly the way it's supposed to. That sitting through 5 hour meetings is an excellent opportunity for personal growth through meditation. That this too shall pass. That an inherited copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (circa 1979) is a wonderful read, and an endless source of inspiration for my culinary growth. That grocery stores in America are ridiculous with their 20 types of cheese, 50 kinds of bread, and other endless packaged food choices (thats the jealousy talking). That I can make from scratch or grow almost everything I truly need. That my definition of "edible" has expanded greatly. That watching my dog run around, watching my garden grow, watching children play a pick-up game with rocks, watching a storm blow in, and watching the landscape change with the seasons are all exponentially cooler than watching television. That family is the greatest gift. That water should never be taken for granted. That I am fortunate, because whether the water is off for 8 hours or 8 days, it will eventually return; it may not come when I need or want it to, but eventually it will come. That I must trust in the Universe...it has cared for me up to now, and I hope that it will continue to do so. That Peace Corps Volunteers are the greatest; they will come and beat-box original songs for you when you are too sick to move, share awesomely bad diarrhea stories, and are capable of devouring a giant tub of ice cream in a matter of seconds. That time moves incredibly fast. That I have so much still to learn...

Mother Bear

I just wanted to share some photos of the Mother Bear distributions I recently facilitated. Mother Bear in a Non-profit in the USA which sends beautiful, hand-crafted bears to children in Africa who have been affected by HIV. Volunteers knit and crochet the bears in the States, then Mother Bear packages and ships them around the world, so that they can be distributed to children in need. Mother Bear asks that the bears not be associated with any religious or political messages, they simply want children to know that there are people in the world who love and care about them.

I learned about this program through the Peace Corps grape-vine, and about a month after contacting the coordinator, two huge boxes arrived full of beautiful bears. They were distributed to the children in the Omapitiro Weyuva OVC class in Opuwo, as well as to the Sunshine OVC orphanage in Khorixas. Participating in this project was wonderful. It was humbling to watch the children's faces light up. Some had never had a doll or toy to call their own...

Sunshine OVC Orphanage:

Omapitiro Weyuva After-School Class:

Special thanks to Folo and Ernst for assisting with the distributions, Dave, my awesome driver, and Amy from Mother Bear for making this all possible.

Cheers! :)