Nearing the End

As the end of my time here is approaching, I am trying my best to make sure I am not going to leave with any regrets about living in Namibia. Of course I’ve been trying to do this the whole time, but when your days are numbered it is a lot easier to see the things you want to do before you leave. There are few things I still want/need to do (buy a traditional dress, eat Mopani worms, bake for my colleagues, etc), but it is quite satisfying to think of all the things I have done already. Since my last post about weekends, I have had three more a-typical weekends. Here we go:

Weekend 7: Caught up on Galatians, made chocolate drop cookies, did laundry, went to the open market, cleaned the flat, explored a new shopping center, went to the fabric stores, went for a run, read, rode in the back of a truck, bought groceries for a colleague’s family, visited said family at the village, pounded muhangu, sifted muhangu flour, made porridge from said flour, ate said porridge, held a baby chicken, took photos.

Weekend 8: Caught a taxi to Okalongo, rode in the back of a truck again, set up a tent in the backyard of another volunteer’s house, went to dinner, went to a club, left the club because a drunk learner was bothering us, went to a bar, saw a dance party, went to Raucana Falls, put my hand in Angola, was rejected from a border patrol station, went to a market, went with Americans to a birthday braii, took a taxi back to Oshakati, went to a Namibians house-warming braii, went to the Miss Erundu pageant, went to a charismatic church with Meme Koko, made caramel corn, read about the Appalachian Trail, talked to my Granny on the phone, and marked homework

Weekend 9: Read, finished puzzle, participated in my schools Big Fun Walk 10K from the neighboring town to our school, sold Mary’s chili and Rice Krispie treats at the school exhibition, rested at home for a bit, read, went back to the exhibition, went to student “dance club,” had mini-dance party outside, cleaned out my suitcase, went to church, had lunch at Koko’s, cleaned my room, marked papers

This upcoming weekend will be spent traveling to and in Windhoek, debriefing with the other volunteers about our Namibian experiences, going to the airport, getting on a plane and flying and flying and more flying, and then I will be back in America this time next week.