It's been a quick three months.

I really can't believe I've not written on here in 3 months.  I think I'm just going to continue and only share it to Google +.  I want this to be more of a space for thought than a place to bitch, moan, or generally complain about Republican thinking.

I'm trying to focus on my being happy because since I have written here last, I have had 3 different spots of skin cancer removed.  Not really digging the Frankenstein look.  But, getting all of these cuts in me have given me some drive to try new things and to make sure that I am not letting anything atrophy.

So, a good friend of mine from DC - who is just as much a language nerd as me - and I are doing a 3 month Esperanto challenge.  She just returned from a trip to Budapest, where she took part in the first ever POLYGLOT Conference.  Many Esperanto speakers were there (one could dare say, the entire Esperanto speaking population) and they said that any linguist can learn Esperanto in 6 weeks.  We are going to try for 12 since we live twelve hours apart.  Tonight was day one.


Mi estas kontenta ke vi lernas Esperanto.

Adventures as an LGBT Traveller...

I am lucky to live in a progressive western country where my sexuality doesn’t come into play in daily life.  Beyond the usual, “should I come out to this person I’m meeting or just stay gender neutral when talking about my family,” thoughts I don’t have to worry about my life or reputation because I am gay.

However, I’ve been living in Windhoek, Namibia since January of this year.  While homosexuality is not illegal in this country, there is an old law from 1927 (written by the then-South West Africa colonial government) outlawing sodomy.  Interestingly, the Namibian Constitution enshrines the right to privacy for all Namibians.  That said, prosecution under the anti-sodomy law is hard to enforce.

There is a marked dichotomy in societal views of homosexuality here.  The young tend to think that there are more pressing problems to address.  If a couple loves each other, who cans top them?  Expectedly, the “old guard” has other views.  Many claim that Namibian culture is deeply religious and conservative.  While they are predominantly Lutheran, the cities do have a definite cosmopolitan vibe: read liberal.

It has been an interesting and exciting time here in Windhoek and Namibia.  This is the first time I have lived, or traveled for that matter, to a country as a completely out, gay, married man.  While I find myself using the non-gender specific term partner, I don’t hide.  Yet, I also don’t announce it.  I was privileged to be introduced into the small LGBT community here in Namibia.  They report a legally frustrating life, yet they say they do not honestly feel persecuted or in danger.

This past week, headlines were rife with the first gay “marriage” ever performed in Namibia.  It was a star studded event at a nice hotel in the heart of the capital.  All newspapers, TV stations and other members of the media attended.  The headlines below provided for some interesting conversations at my book club last Thursday.

http://www.confidente.com.na/2013/04/18/namibia-marks-first-gay-marriage/

http://www.namibian.com.na/news/full-story/archive/2013/april/article/everyday-is-a-honeymoon-for-mr-gay-namibia-and-his-life-partner/

This couple got married in South Africa, where same-sex couples can legally get married.  They have planned to have commitment ceremonies in both of there home countries (Namibia and Botswana) so technically, no laws will be broken.  The students at my book club said “Namibia wants to move further into the 21st Century and this is a way to do it.”

What a fine statement full of such hope.  I’ve pledged to myself that I will take Harvey Milk’s words to heart.  “Everybody knows one.”  So while my sexuality is my business, I feel bound to show people that I am no different from them.  I just happen to be going to pick my husband up from the airport after I post this blog.  :)

"The Struggle"

When Occupy Wall Street was happening, I was definitely caught up in the romantic notion of people's power.  I went down to Zucotti Park with the best of them to see for myself and I even sent pizzas to the park through the internet.  (I actually thought that was a pretty neat way to support the cause.  The pizza shop around the corner did it and would donate a pie for each one bought, if I remember correctly.)

I was getting swept up in the whole idea of it, but tried to remain questioning and critical of ideas brought up.  When I went there, we walked through the park, and I slowly realized that I was not stepping over empty sleeping bags.  There were people sleeping in them.  This was around noon.  One guy poked his head out of his sleeping bag, lit a joint, looked at me and said, "Man, can you give me a job?"  Instantly, the bubble was burst and I hurried out of the park.

Namibia is experiencing its own little Occupy Wall Street right now, except the people are occupying a seemingly empty field in front of the ruling party's headquarters in Windhoek.  The ruling party is located in the former Black Township on the outskirts of town and they are proving to be very interesting in their handlings of this 'occupation.'  Here is an article from the government newspaper.

'Struggle Kids' Saga Continues

These struggle kids were all born to parents outside of Namibia - mainly in the refugee camps of Angola - who fought in the liberation struggle.  They have come from all over Namibia, mostly walking, to hold the government to task on their promises.  Now, they have addressed the ruling party with their grievances, but they say they are a political party and not the government.  Rightly so, if you ask me.  The government has addressed the struggle kids and says that they should go home and put their energies to better use in their home communities - my  thoughts exactly.

Have a read of the article and let me know what you think.


More soon

Chega! Now is the time

Now is the time to show the world that America backs up her talk with action.  It has always been very interesting to me as someone who has worked abroad as much as I have to talk about rights comparisons.  I've heard too much, "Well in America, if you are this they don't treat you like scheiße."  True, sometimes they don't.  But, also sometimes they do.

With the legal stance of some aspects of my future up for discussion in the legal corridors of Washington, D.C. I got to thinking about some things today.

1. I am grateful for the sea of red when I pull up my Facebook account.  This may seem trite or unimportant to some of you reading, but it's the little actions that create change.  According to many polls, a majority of America supports extending marriage equality to the LGBT community.  With all these little actions, we are so close to a tipping point, it is SUPER frustrating to have to wait until June.

2.  It is the weirdest feeling to have the validity of my love deliberated in courtroom by 20 some odd people I don't know and don't know me.  To have to sit here MILES away, 'powerless' and praying for a good outcome ramps me up to no end.  Who are they to judge?

3. Namibia is an interesting case when it comes to LGBT rights.  Officially, sodomy is illegal.  Lesbians are okay and generally there are no laws on the books about them.  Technically, homosexuality is not illegal.  They can't arrest you for being homosexual here, the can get you for sodomy though.  However, the legacy of Apartheid has caused Namibia to ensure an ironclad right to privacy is enshrined in its constitution.  So... the question is....  :)    LGBT individuals exist here, they are generally left alone and even blackmail is unheard of when it comes to homosexuality.  Yet many LGBT Namibians I have met do ask me what it's like in America.   I have to admit, I'm a New Englander through and through.  The furthest I've lived outside of NE is Pittsburgh, PA.  So I can't talk about Mississippi.  Yet after the story about the first LGBT candidate's killing, I would say Namibia is doing better than parts of my own home country.

4. We need to clean up our house at home before we can go out to other countries and tell them 'like it is.'  I'm not advocating for a complete halt on working on LGBT rights abroad, or a halt at all.  I'm saying, let's ride the wave of public opinion back home and turn this country around!


I remember I came out on this blog.  As I said then and will say now, nothing has changed with me.    When I was in the process of coming out, I thought everything.  I thought it was a phase, I thought it was not normal.  But then something just clicked and I realized it is normal, it's not a phase and I'm happy.  I hope nothing less than society and anybody who reads this who isn't pro-equality will see the day when it just clicks....

An Important Lesson

Many times, a Westerner will come to Africa with the view that he or she is the expert and others have to learn from them.  Often times it is the locals who teach the Westerner something. 

When I was in Mozambique, the greetings protocol used to make me INSANE.  This especially happened when I wanted to get something done.  I really didn’t care how your goats were, I wanted to get in, get what I wanted from you and get out.  There were important things to do in Mozambique which didn’t involve sweating it out in some dark meeting room.

However, time has changed my view on the protocol required in African contexts.  Yesterday is my case in point.  As many of you who have followed me on Facebook or talked with me recently, you know that I am helping out a Namibian friend here with the social media requirements of her business.  It’s proven a daunting task.   She’s sometimes very mistrusting of people she doesn’t know (me) and technology she doesn’t completely understand (Facebook).  So it’s taken almost a month to even get her to trust me.

Yesterday, we had 2 hours set aside to work on her Facebook page and put together a fundraising campaign.  However, the first hour was spent just catching up.  This is something that I only noticed later worked very well for us.  She now trusts me so much that she is sending me her banking information to get her all set up with the fundraising campaign.  All we had to do was ask each other how we were.

Interesting what happens when you slow down.

Ian

It really is all about the little things...

Sometimes in the land of cheap and plentiful (America) one can lose track of the little things that make life so sweet.  I know I am guilty of that.  In America, I usually have a screen blaring at me most of my waking hours.  Unfortunately, it comes as part and parcel of being a social media coordinator.  I would even go so far as saying it is part of 21st Century American culture.

Since I've been here in Namibia, I've fallen in love with this continent all over again.  Namibia is quite different from Mozambique, which will always be my terra africana, but there are hidden gems woven into Namibian culture that I am learning to appreciate every day.

My first example just happened to me.  I am here in downtown Windhoek having a beer and doing some internet work.  Some guy walks by me and speaks to me in Afrikaans.  I answered in Afrikaans, saying it's not my mother language but I can understand.  We procede to talk (in Afrikaans) and of course he is selling something.  But he was selling the marulla nut pendants that I've only seen in Namibia.  We got talking further and he wanted N$50 per pendant.  I told him he is gek (crazy) and he started laughing that an American would know a word like that.  I had some fried on my table so I offered him some fries and now I have both pendants with Adam and my names carved into them for N$50.

The other wonderful thing - dare I say miraculous - happened earlier.  I went to a book store in Windhoek that I've passed on a regular basis.  The rainbow flag is outside, so I knew I had to check it out.  I went in and started talking with the owner.  He is a middle aged German-Namibian and offered me tea.  I took it and spent the afternoon chatting with him and some of his friends in German.  I was looking for an old book about Windhoek, which he had for only N$58.  I paid N$50.  While I was helping him shut down the shop, I chanced across some plays from around the world.  I noticed some Shakespeare so I looked for Twelfth Night.  AND I FOUND IT!    The price tage was N$50 and he gave it to me for free.

Now I am off home, because the Germans are coming to pick me up in an hour for a Braai (Southern African BBQ) at their house.

More soon,

Ian

825232821

I’ve been toying with the thought of writing a book about my time in Africa.  My experiences today have a lot to do with the title and with my desire to write about Africa.  It has felt VERY good to start up this blog again.  I feel like it is a place where I can put my experiences down on ‘paper’ to process them more and also feel like I’m talking to people back home.

The title of this blog is my phone number from Peace Corps Mozambique.  It was my connection to the outside world and my lifeline for making things work at site.  To me, over the corse of the 3 years I spent there, I felt like it was a barometer of my time in Moz.  I started out at 8 (out of 10) because I was nervous about what was ahead of me.  I then went to a 2 when I was dropped off at site and given the keys to my house.  I was in the middle of nowhere!  Or at least so I thought.  I then slowly made my way up to a 5 when things normalized for me.  After my first project spectacularly failed, I was down back to 2.  Got used to the failures, and I moved up to 3.  After I really started getting used to Mozambique, made friends and made it feel like home.  But it still wasn’t really ‘home’ (where was that?)  So I got back to an 8.  Then I was leaving and sad.  I got pushed down to a 2.  Yet Africa was under my skin and I went back home one.

I’ve felt all those changes today.  THis morning was wonderful with the National Botanical Gardens and a trip to the farmer’s market.  Then I went out to another cafe to try out the wireless internet.  It didn’t exist.  I went across the compound to the wireless internet I could find and I put myself there for a couple of hours.  When I got home, I tried to get some of my checklist done.  But the house was too quiet and I couldn’t get motivated.  But, after some more food, I was able to get motivated and I found out all the movies that my friend gave me play on the television in my living room through a USB connection on the DVD player.  I’m definitely living a very 1st world existence here in the Namib Desert.

It’s the little things right?

Out of Practice - or am I?

You have to have a certain type of chutzpah to make it in Africa.  There is just a constant bombardment of the senses that if you are not 'always on,' you might just get ripped off.  I think it's similar to the feeling you can get on stage when you are required to be completely on for the the course of the show.

My Peace Corps Country director said to me once in a dive bar near the border of Zimbabwe, "Volunteers have a 24/7 job.  The minute you wake up to the minute you go to sleep, you are working, representing America and that might be the toughest job you ever have."  I think people may also be curious on how we sleep!  But, I digress.

I was walking to downtown Windhoek today after work and passed by a section where the majority of registered hawkers set up shop to sell you all sorts of Africana.  Alot of it is the same that you'll see in Namibia, South africa, Swaziland or Mozambique, but I stopped by a stall because I saw something that comes from Mozambique.  I know it as 'pastas de palha' or palm wallets and like using them for the abundance of coin I get when traveling in southern Africa.  It's also very nice because it stops the coin from jingling in your pocket.  I asked the person at the stall how much and she said N$180! (20 USD). This is for something I would buy for 5-10 Meticais in Mozambique (20-40 cents)  I laughed at her out loud and said I felt insulted she thought I would be so stupid to pay that amount.  She immediately dropped her price to N$120 - which is still too high.

A man came over to me and asked how much I was willing to pay, I said N$4 because that is equal to MTn10.  He laughed at me.  Taking some words of advice from a friend in Vermont who had been to this part of the world since the recession of 2008, I asked if I paid N$100 (which he wanted), what would he give me?  He pointed to some small tschaky and I picked out what I actually wanted.  So, long story short.  I walked away from the market with a bag full of curios as presents for people for N$150.  All were happy and I don't think I'm as out of practice as I previously though.

Now, why would I say I am out of practice?  I lived in the Mozambican bush for 3 years after all.  But, the thing is, I've lived a cushy existence in America since then.  I felt particularly out of practice when my friend Lauren came to visit from South Africa.  She's lived in SA and Moz for the past 5 years save for a 6 month break back in PA.  We had gone out to a bierhaus on her last night in Windhoek and took a taxi home.  Naturally, most taxi drivers think that everyone coming out of this bierhaus is a tourist.  We asked for a taxi and were told it would be N$50 dollars for a 2 kilometer ride.  That ride is normally N$9 a person.

We eventually found a normal taxi and gave them a N$20 for us to get home.  But, on the ride home I thought things were bad.  I couldn't understand the driver and thought he was slurring his words.  I later realized he only spoke nominal English.  I admired my friend because she was just a chatty Cathy with the drivers and had them laughing with her or at her.  I felt that night I couldn't do things like that anymore and would rather stay home than have to deal with it.

Needless to say, we got home safely and after the experience in the curio market today, I might not be in such bad shape after all!

More soon,
Ian

Sandboarding in the Namib...

'Nuf Said... (In the Namib Desert 2/24/2013)

Trekking up

72 kph going down

Trekking up from the bottom

We survived!

Land is in Art

I used to make fun of my brother Noel and his obsession with land in his art, but not anymore.  Two weeks ago, I went to a wonderful exhibition af the National Art Gallery of Namibia called "Legacies of a Colonial Town."   The exhibition was built into a faux township shack and chronicled the life of Windhoek from a colonial German city through the South Africa occupation from 1920 to 1990 and then as the independent capital of the Namibian Nation.  2 things stuck out at me, well 3 if you count the mosquitos.  :)

1. Windhoek was originally founded by the local tribes in 1840 ish with help from some missionaries.  The locals liked the area around Windhoek because it has fresh water bubbling up from the //Ae //Gams below the city.  Pretty much below where I am right now.  Also, the city is 1,700 meters high so there are NO mosquitos.  Let me say that again, there are NO MOSQUITOS.  As someone who has had Malaria multiple times, that's nothing to joke about.  So, the local Namibians recognized a good piece of land, the Germans took notice and it's been the art of the Politic every since.

Christuskirche and the Independence Museum

2. A sacred space is well hidden in downtown Windhoek.  The above picture is pretty much the center of Windhoek.  That church is a Lutheran church, built in 1910 by the Germans.  I do want to go to service there because it's beautiful AND in German.  But I digress.  The big 'golden tooth' you see is situated on perhaps the most hotly contested part of Windhoek.  Just by the two palm trees in the right part of the picture there is a small building (well small in comparison to the 40 meter tall North Korean beheamouth) called the Alte Feste/Old Fortress.  It was the first building built in Windhoek as the German Administrative center.  During the wars of 1904-1908, the Germans had a concentration camp for the Herero and Nama people.  Almost 8,000 people 'lived' in an area the size of the Commons in Brattleboro ie NOT very big.  When the war was over, the Germans built a twice life sized equestrian memorial to all the German soldiers who died fighting the 'native rebellion.'  It was built right near where many of these natives perished (mostly women and children) at the hands of the Germans.  The monument stood at that place for almost 100 years.  However, 2 years ago - to celebrate 20 years of independence - the monument was moved.

Moving the Reiterdenkmal
  

The German-Namibians were up in Arms because they thought it would be destroyed.  It wasn't.  The Namibian government knew that it was a valid piece of Namibian history.  Yet now, the tallest building in Windhoek, arguably a work of art, called the Independence Museum, is built on a spot where the colonizer tried to wipe out the independence of the colonized.  One thing, it's not open yet....

3. Katutura - The Place We Do Not Wish To Settle.

There is a road in Windhoek called the Western Bypass.  It was built by the Apartheid SWA regime to skirt around the city and make travel north and south in the country much easier.  That was 50 plus years ago.  Now, the bypass is still a bypass but it passes right through the city. 

Windhoek is encircled by mountains on all but the western side and that is where the SWA government decided to move the 'dark spots' on 'white' Windhoek.  They moved people from a location relatively close to the city - at least within walking distance for all the day laborers who worked in town - and put them ten kilometers out.  Interestingly enough, it is right over a hill and out of sight from town.  Now, Katutura is the home of the majority of musicians, artists and culture in Windhoek.

I don't think I will ever question the importance of land in Art again.

More soon.

Ian

Two sides of a coin. (Take 2)

I had tried to write this on my iPad earlier but it didn't work. Yet for some reason, I wrote that first sentence on my laptop, now I'm on my iPad and it saved.... Oh the joys of piggy backing on any and all signals I can get!

I found a new cafe closer to my house than where I have been going. I think I'm going to give that other place a rest because of the story I'm just about to tell you.

My Internet at home is a USB stick that I buy vouchers for, punch in codes and get to use the Internet until the money runs out. I have had to severely modify my Internet use habits because the age of unlimited use with a very good bandwidth in America has spoiled me. There is no such thing as streaming, that'll eat up my credit in NO time as I found out my first week here when I wanted to finish the last episode of HUNG. It took 30 minutes to load and the credit was gone. (I can do Skype though, and voice calls through the Internet don't seem to be bad... As long as I'm doing NOTHING ELSE) So if anyone wants to Skype. Hint hint. The annoying part of it is that I have only found one place that sells recharge vouchers for over N$50. They only sell them for N$200 and most people I ask them for seem VERY confused. I've tried to develope a habit of buying at least a N$50 whenever I'm out.

I will be glad to return to the land of plenty in April if not for the mere fact that I've become too accustomed to having the Internet just at my fingertips.

Now, I've been going to a little shopping center around the corner from me. Near the DVD store and my local supermarket. There is a little cafe in there where you can get small snacks and good coffee or tea. There is also outside seating that they share with a fast food joint called Wimpy's. They are kind of like a cross between Denny's and Friendly's. The people there a nice and I've gone there a couple of times for coffee and a chance to upload some things to the Internet without taxing my connection too much. Once, when I first sat there, a guy came up to me and sat right down. He asked what I was doing, (reading on the kindle app) said his name was Peter and immediately asked for money. I stupidly gave him N$2 and he went on his way.

But fast forward to this past Friday - two days ago - and there was a different situation. I decided to get a coke at the Wimpy's and sat there soaking up the Internet. Peter came and sat down and immediately launched into a sob story about the tragedy at home. His grandfather died and he was the only bread winner at home. He then asked me for N$30 bucks. I said no. I didn't have it. He said well what about $30 USD - nearly 9 times the price! I got mad and told the waitress he was bothering me. She got a waiter who then proceeded to shoo him away for me. The manager asked if I could come inside to help her settle my bill, but she was really on the phone to security. They wouldn't let me go until Peter left. He was sitting just outside staring me down at this point. I ignored him.

M phone rang and a colleague from the embassy said she had some time to take me around town and show me spots where I could go work on other people's Internet without anyone bugging me. I was to meet her outside of the International Apotheke on the other side of the center. Not really very far away. The waitresses said she would escort me to the guards there and I could ain't there but she wouldn't leave me until Peter left. He didn't. He followed and started grabbing my bag and me, saying 'my brother, you promised me N$5!' I didn't. He wouldn't stop and so I made a scene. We were right in the local supermarket and it was pretty funny. Peter left cursing at me as he went.

My friend was there to pick me up, but her car was not yellow enough for the waitress who I had told I would be picked up by a yellow car. So she wouldn't let me go until my friend rolled down the window, said my name and I swore it was safe for me to go.

So, I'm not going to get upset about a local indecent person around here. I'm going to focus on the bright side that the waitresses like me and I feel safe with them around. I'm definitely enjoying my new place here at Utopia's Fresh n Wild cafe here. :) the coffee is better too.

Ian

Teach a person to fish....

Sometimes in Africa, you get a lot of time to think about things in your life.  I've had the pleasure of going 'back to Mozambique' this past weekend.  I knew that I had to get out of 'white' Windhoek so I didn't go crazy starting at walls.  So, I went to this place called Katutura, the location or township for Africans north west of the city.

Katutura (The place where we wish not to settle) is 10 kilometers outside of downtown Windhoek, but it could be another world.  As I took a taxi into the location, I noticed immediately that the sights, smells and sounds changed and I was transported to Mozambique.  I went out there to look at a project called KATU TOURS.   The project received some funding from the office I'm working in now and I wanted to work out some of the details of the project in order to help with some of the social media marketing.  Since, according to a recent CNN article, most Africans access the internet through cellular technology, it makes perfect sense to put your marketing there.  Also, when you're a start-up with little capital, it works to your advantage.

KatuTours is run by Anna from Angola.  She takes people from the city around Katutura to foster communication and some understanding.  The ride is 10 kilometers and you stop at shops, the market and other spots throughout the location in order to get a better view.  The best part for me was when we stopped at the Shebeen of Tate Buti.  He's one of the biggest singers in Namibia and I'll be looking for a CD soon.  While we were at the Shebeen, people were sharing with me beyond belief.  The meat was delicious and kept coming, the beer was cold and the conversation was great.  You need anything more?

What I like the most about this project, is that for N$350, I got 6 hours of a wonderful time with a woman who really cares about her community.  She lives where she works and teaches others how to ride bicycles.  Hopefully, she can get just a little bit of help because she is definitely learning how to fish.

Back to the beginning, I said in Africa you get alot of time.  It shows you what is important.

More soon.

Ian

A photo of me with Anna

And so it begins...

Malaria Dreams can be good and can be bad.  Mine have tended to be funny.  I'm grateful for that aspect because I've heard of some that are positively terrifying, mine not so much.  They always tend to involve different people in my life in rather strange ways.  I have the following book at home in Vermont and will be reading it AS SOON as I get home.  I'm curious what made this book so good - or so I've heard.

They've started.

My sleep schedule requires me to wake up at 5:30.  I know you can laugh all you want, but for the past year plus, I haven't been awake before 7 unless I was going somewhere and if I did, I would usually be back to sleep within the hour.  :)  Last night was weird.  I couldn't fall asleep right away because the altitude difference (300 feet to over 5,000 feet) has made the jet lag last longer than I'm used to.  That and my absolute willingness to read and or watch EVERYTHING might lead to some craziness.  Case in point tonight is a movie that, well, I wouldn't watch in America.  I doubt I would watch it here if I were living with someone.

So, I finally got to sleep around 11:30 and got a good nights sleep until about 4:30.  I had to get up because the alarm went off, but I was able to go back to sleep.  That's where the dream began.  Malaria dreams (I'm not even taking the medicine yet, Windhoek is Malaria free) for me tend to be in HD and this one was.  The entire SIT Admissions team had started up a little tuck shop/bodega here in Klein Windhoek.  They had to run the entire shop but for some reason, even though Namibia is an English speaking country, English wasn't useful in the dream.  I was speaking Afrikaans and helping them run the shop.  The thing that makes this dream a Malaria Dream for me, is that the colors of the Namibian currency in the till was in TECHNICOLOR.  Also, I woke up before the dream could be resolved.

If dreams are starting and I don't have to take the medication until I head up north, what's it going to be like there?

More soon.

Hello from the Windy Corner

Christuskirche & the as-yet-to-be-opened Independence Museum brought to you by the DPRK.

I am writing to you from //AE //GAMS.  A place you and I know as Windhoek.  There is a small shopping center here in Klein Windhoek with that name.

It reads

Klein //AE //GAMS Mall.    

There are two clicks in there.  They kind of sound like a horse call out the side of the mouth.  There are 3 or 4 different languages in that title alone, depending on who you ask.  Others will say it is only one ie Namibian English - which is proving to be an interesting version of English to master.  I know I definitely can't speak it, I don't know if I will be able to after 3 months, but I'm finding it easier to understand.  I think if I tried to speak like a Namibian though, it would come out VERY weird.

Positives today

Did it all by myself
everyone is so friendly
retracing some old steps from 4 years ago.
getting people to talk with me by saying just

hawayu!

More Soon.

Ian

Last Days in America....

I haven't written a post like this in awhile.  But tonight is my last day in Vermont before I head to the airport (JFK) to fly to Namibia.

This is the flag of the country which has been independent since 1990.  I'm very excited because independence day is March 21st (1990) and I will be there for the 23rd anniversary of independence.  I know this is a fanciful comparison, but I wonder what America was like in 1799 - 23 years after our independence from Britain.


I know the answer to part of this question.  I'm also not trying to compare Namibia to America or vice versa.  I'm just trying to process that I WILL BE GOING BACK TO AFRICA after an absence of 4 years.  It's going to be a different experience because I'll be living in the "best" neighborhood of Windhoek.  For those of you that may know Windhoek, I'll be staying in provided housing in the Klein Windhoek or Ludwigsdorf section of the city - depending on who you talk too.  I've also heard, that Klein Windhoek is the original settlement, i.e. the entire eastern section of the modern city and then Ludwigsdorf is the actual neighborhood.  Ahhhh Africa!  I'll let you know when I get there.


Some things I'm looking forward to the most about Africa:

-Heat , especially last night after sliding back down to the railroad parking lot by the river.  Man it was cold and slipper.
-Color
-Spicy smells
-Smell after it rains It'll be the dry season. :(
-Cheap, fresh food
-Music
and lastly, MOST important

GETTING ADAM CHRISTOPHE TO AFRICA!!!!!

My next post will be coming from Windhoek.  I love the fact that I am going from weather that's in the 30's Fahrenheit to 30's Celsius.

More soon.

Step by Step

I heard once that you learn with age.

I don't think so!

I remember when I was living in England for the first time.  I had wanted to go visit Germany and some of my friends from my exchange year there.  But my plane ticket back to America was from London so that presented a problem.  I was SO cheap, I wouldn't head back to London before I needed to leave for the USA.  So, I booked a flight from Germany back to London the morning of when I was supposed to fly back.  The catch was that the flight was from Switzerland.  I was in Germany....

So, my friend's mom woke me up at 4:30 and we went by car to Lake Constance where I traveled by boat over the border to Switzerland.  I then forged my EURAIL pass to get on the train to Zurich where I would get to London by plane.  The trip to London brought me to Gatwick and I was flying out of Heathrow.  I had 2 hours to make the transfer and got to Heathrow barely in time.   I was the last person on the plane and happy to be flying over the Atlantic.  I got picked up by Mag at JFK and drove to Connecticut.  This is still my personal record where I went through 4 different countries in 18 hours.  (Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the US)

So now, as I am writing a blog and not writing my capstone proposal, I am questioning my reasoning about accepting an intern position in Windhoek, Namibia so soon after I finish a position in Brattleboro.

I know it will be worth it, but... gulp!

More soon...

Back From The Dead

I'm 30, it's 2013 and I'm in my 2nd year of a Master's Program at SIT Graduate Institute.

Every aspect of that sentence has made me realize how quickly time has gone by.  Many times, when I am talking about Peace Corps, I'll say,  "Oh yes, I just got back...." four years ago.  I realized quickly, I had to rectify that.  Four years away from Africa is just too much time for me. 

Since I have been back, there has been alot going on, but I'm not going to bore you with that.  I'll just start in 2012.  I've been working with the marketing department at my school as an intern for the past 6 months.  The title of my job has been SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR and I've learned alot.  Most of my day is spent monitoring social media feeds and what not online.  It's proven fun and difficult.  Fun because I am learning new things and meeting many people online.  The difficult part is that I am online all day, so when I get home I don't want to be connected and don't do school work.  Thankfully that has changed.

December and the month of January up until yesterday were rough times here.  Long story short, my body realized I am going back to Africa so the thyroid and some skin on my back decided to act up.  I guess it is my way of saying that I can't do anything lightly and really had to ramp up the stress level before I left.  So, with a benign thyroid goiter and a scar from a remove melanoma on my back, I'm leaving for Windhoek, Namibia on January 31st.

I'll be living in Windhoek for 10 weeks and hopefully be getting back to Mozambique before I leave to come back to America.  I've decided to start up this blog again because I'm going back to Africa.  Also, my brother Noel is currently working in Barbuda down in the Caribbean.  So please follow him at www.noelhefele.com/blog as well.

Ate breve,

Ian

Trying to find the wow moments

started this blog over six years ago. I believe it was in March 2005, as I was winding up my life in the UK. Less than six months later I was going to Africa. When I started typing here, I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I was going. I was 22 and very naive (I see NOW!) but I was on the ride of my life. I started this blog as a way to mentally process where I was going and as a handy way to keep in contact with people "back home" whether in Germany, the UK or the USA. Sadly, I've been back over 2 years and have been pathetic at keeping this blog up and running. I admit, I got nervous at how scary the instant connectedness of the first world can infiltrate your life. But now as I've been thinking about what the Internet does I can make comparisons with Africa in a heart beat. There's this phenomenon in Africa called the Bush Telegraph. I distinctly remember hearing from people in VILLAGES in the interior that I was doing such and such on such and such night. I realized quickly that people were watching me where ever I went. It's similar with the Internet. Think about it. How many times in your life have you heard the "Oh yeah I saw that on Facebook..." or some variant thereof. It's just a bush telegraph with optical fibers instead of coconut fibers and fofoqueira.

Now on to the title, I've been called an adrenalin junkie before in my life. I tend to take that as a compliment. Nothing excites me more than to try and figure out life in some far flung corner of the world. Doing it in Pittsburgh has not had that rush. Unless I'm trying to understand Yinzer speak or this language they speak up in the mountains of West Virginia. But, I've been trying recently to find the "wow" moments of everyday. The past couple of days have been just that.

Starting a few days ago I had a two hour session at work where 2 of my students left early, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. So I sat down with the other woman who stayed for a little bit. She turns out to sit on the board of a charity in Zimbabwe. It is run (partly) by this ethnically Swedish woman who is from Finland. So this book is written in Swedish and I found with my German background I can work out some of the roots of words for the meanings and now I'm helping her translate it. After we got talking, she said there is an RPCV from Zim who also lives in my neighborhood here in Pittsburgh. She served under the same Country Director in Zim that I served under in Moz. That just made me yelp with excitement. The best is yet to come though. She said they send some Americans over to Zimbabwe every July and August to teach and work about 100 miles outside of Harare. It would be all expense paid. I need to do an internship for grad school and my internship seems to have fallen into my lap!!

SO, I'm translating a book, have a trip back to Africa on the horizon and saw someone randomly in Pittsburgh who I went to high school with. Oh yeah Freshlyground is coming to America as well.

The Universe is Smiling.

Ian

Preperation

I've spent a lifetime going through preparation for major life experiences. I think it may have come from a certain major life experience that I had no preparation for that changed my life. It happened on 10.5.1990 so I guess I didn't want to be caught unaware anymore. The list is quite staggering and someone actually pointed out at work the other day, "You know, for being 28, you've accomplished quiet a lot." There were a few more expletives than that, but you get the idea.

His comment actually made me go home a sit down to see what I have done. It started small but has been growing ever since. I prepared for various shows (which at that time I THOUGHT were life changing experiences) before I was 16. But at 13 I experiences London for the first time. Let me tell you I am STILL hooked. Went there last year and just loved it. Like always. Then came Germany (life changing) and hopefully A will gain as much of an appreciation for the country and the language as I have. Then came Friend's World (need I say more) but the "crowning" achievement would have to be Peace Corps. Africa is always going to be in my heart. It is what is pushing me for the Foreign Service Test.

Now off to salt the driveway! 6 inches of snow on the way!

More soon

Let it snow let it snow let it snow?

Growing up I thought Pittsburgh was always the back of beyond. I remember a certain 7th grade science teacher telling me that it was never advisable to fly into Pittsburgh in the winter. 3 different weather streams pass over the city. That just seems like a perfect storm to a 12 year old. Well, I've lived here since April of 2010 and have been HIGHLY disappointed by the snow we've seen so far. Today, we were supposed to get SNOWPOCALYPSE. It didn't happen. Not after the 76 inches we got last year in Philadelphia. But I will say, Pittsburgh is so much better at cleaning the streets than Philadelphia, or New York for that matter. It's been snowing maybe 6 hours and the street I am on has been plowed twice. Pittsburghers also know how to drive better in the snow. I'll never forget the winter I was in London and it snowed three inches. The city was shut down. :) I think they are getting better about it now. Are they Liz?

Last thing I want to talk about tonight is Global Warming. It was sooooooooo slow at work today we spent most of it on our computers. We were looking at the impending doom rolling across the country. She made a side comment "Well, I guess that means no more global warming,.." The stupidity of this country is sometimes astounding....

More soon