Top 10

Caitlin and I often talked about this, but never actually got around to writing it. We came up with the Top 10 Moments of our visit. They aren't in any real order, but here are some of the things we came up with.

1) When I got off the plane and Caitlin was on the phone with dad, mom got on the phone and the only thing we could hear on the other end was sobbing

2) The 24 hrs from when we got to the hotel at Raucana on Friday night to the next evening on Saturday, it was full of delicious food, TV, running water, real beds, beautiful landscapes, and Himbas!

3) The first three breakfasts at Caitlin's homestead which were only packets of camping food but they were so good. Pasta with alfredo, teriyaki rice, and beans and rice.

4)The baby goat.

5)All of the girls in Girls Club. Especially the athleticism and poetic skills of Sesilia, the intensity of Manoria's flared nostrils, and the enthusiasm and passion Paulina displayed when talking about sweets.

6) Watching Grade 6 do traditional dances.

7) Watching "Freedom Writers", starring Oscar Award winner Hilary Swank, in Caitlin's shack and then watching those scenes play out in real life with Caitlin and her classes. It was weird how Caitlin's classroom experiences paralleled the movie.

8) Touching a crocodile

9) Baby O...Caitlin's youngest host sister, Cecilia, who looked a lot like Oprah. I could watch that child for hours.

10)F...I can't think of #10...oh well

In Other News

Well it seems as though "Where the Wild Things Are" is the popular kid. Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it too.

Hello!

Wow, it has been some time since I've been on here, but now I have access to the internet, a comfortable bed, indoor plumbing, and so on. These are nice things to have, but it was also a nice experience being away from all of these luxuries. Well, I have lots of photos and lots to say, but I'm not quite sure how to organize it all.

Here is a map of Namibia (I don't really know what that side bar action is, but this map had all of the cities I drove through to get to Caitlin's village). Right, so I arrived in Windhoek sporting two lovely back packs that looked like bumble bees. Caitlin was there to collect me, she was wearing one of the backpacks, I had the other. And we were off! I felt like I was on the Amazing Race what with our matching gear and semi matching outfits and being in a foreign place and all that. Anways, we got in a taxi and drove through Okahandja to Otjiwarongo were we spent the night. At the time I didn't realize it, but Caitlin made the off hand comment about how German the city looked, having been to Germany I was all like, "Umm, no. It looks pretty dang African to me." Later I would understand what she meant. It was in Otjwarongo that we saw the crocodiles tear through some dead chickens. It was awesome! Next we kept on our path north through Otavi and Tsumeb (home of the Copper Festival!). These were the last of the "German" looking cities before we crossed the Red Line into the "Real Africa" as the Afrikkaner man in short shorts put it when we were in Otjiwarongo. Within Namibia there's a border crossing called the Red Line, I don't know a whole lot about why it exists but once you cross over it is a totally different place. Now you are seeing goats, cows, and donkeys wandering all over even in the road. Here is were you see the Shebeens or bars with names like the Y2K bar. Homesteads are everywhere and access to resources is not what it's like in the south. It's harder to find Cadbury chocolate. Ok, so then it we went through Ondongwa and Oshakati. From Oshakati we headed west towards Tsandi which is the last town on the map before going to Elando, which is definitely not on any map and in the middle of nowhere. Caitlin and I got there by pick up truck. We were in the back with 7-9 ladies in their traditional get up, we were all crammed up on each other for the bumpy ride to Elando. So, that was our journey from Windhoek to Elando.

Then for the next two weeks I helped Caitlin with teaching English at the Nambula Combined School. While I was there we taught the Learners about antonyms, synonyms, and adjectives. I believe they are having a test on this material right now. The only other touristy thing I did while I was there was to visit the beautiful town of Racauna which is right on the border of Angola. They have an awesome waterfall that we saw, only it was all dried up and we also got the chance to tour a Himba village. And of course we got to stay in a fancy hotel with real beds, running water, TV, and food that had no sand in it!

Greetings From Namibia

Hello! I have been traveling since Wednesday and I am still not to my final destination (that will be happening later today). Right now I am in an Internet cafe sort of thing in Oshakati. Caitlin says "Whoop!" by the way. I asked her if she had anything to say, and that was what came tumbling out of her mouth.
So far Namibia has been really nice. Caitlin picked me up in Windhoek then we traveled up to the town of Otjiwarango. It's really nice there. We went to go see the Nile crocodiles that they have there. It's called a crocodile ranch where they breed and kill crocodiles for meat and leather. It was so cool. I really faced one of my biggest fears on that adventure. They have about 40 adults and 200 babies. Caitlin and I got to hold a baby croc. That's right I've touched a shark and a crocodile. We also watched them being fed dead chickens. The chickens were whole and all that and you could hear their bones crunching as they were being eaten. We spent the rest of that day traveling to a place that I can't remember the name, but it was a peace corps volunteers house. There was a peace corps get together their. And now today, more traveling!
Right now, in the north it is very sandy and flat and has lots of palm trees. In the south (between here and Windhoek) it's got a lot of mountains. It's like flat for a while and then there are just these huge mountains sitting in the distance. And there are more trees, not palms, I don't know what they're called. Besides crocodiles I've also seen oryx, kudu, a giraffe (but it was in captivity) and lots of goats, cows, and dogs.
I look forward to the rest of my stay here. Perhaps I will find the internet again at some point.

One last thing before I go

I've started doing polls, you know in an effort to make my blog a bit more interactive. They are located to the right of my postings. My first poll had two participants and that was really exciting that someone besides myself voted! Check out the new poll, and if you aren't familiar with the movies check them out on the google. Those were just the first four I could think of. Anyways, enjoy!

Gone for a Bit

So, I should be sleeping and resting up for my upcoming three days of travel. That's right, Namibia is just around the corner. I'm so excited to a) See my sister and b) Get out of Dayton for a little bit. By the way, I'm not hating on Dayton, I love this city, but sometimes you just need to get away.

I feel that it's time for my weekly shout out...This week I want to give a shout out to Direct TV. Yes, we just got Direct TV set up and plugged in and all that last Wednesday and it is awesome. I especially want to give a shout out to my top three stations 1) The Food Network 2)Bravo and 3) Logo. There's so much going on out there in the vast space of Direct TV. But no worries, I don't just sit around in my sweatpants all day watching the television, I do other stuff too. I'm just really enjoying all of these fancy channels right now. Top Chef on Bravo is totally the best thing ever.

Big Ups

Well, I'm done with the Holiday @ Home Craft Fair, and I'm happy to say that this was probably the best I've ever done at a craft show. Thank you to everyone who came out to the event, I hope y'all had a good time. I personally enjoyed all of the people watching as well as dog watching. There were some interesting little nuggets, especially this one Italian greyhound that was wearing an OSU shirt.

PS

For a good time google Italian Greyhound

Labor Day Weekend is the Most Exciting Time of the Year

If you happen to be in the greater Dayton region this weekend (and I don't know why you wouldn't be...it's great in Dayton!) you should come to the Holiday at Home Craft Show. I will be there, set up at booth B1. Yeah, so you should come and check it out.

In more exciting news, hints of Fall are all around. I was walking about the Sugarcreek Metro Park this evening and was happy to see some leaves turning color. I also saw a deer. It wasn't changing colors or anything, it was just prancing through the woods. What I'm trying to say is that you should support your local metro park as well as your local artists and crafts people.

Hometown Pride

I was just on the Wikipedia looking up Namibia's Skeleton Coast. I don't plan on going there during my visit, but I think it sounds like a fascinating place and wanted to learn a little more about it. According to Wikipedia the Bushmen of Namibia call the Skeleton Coast "The place God made in anger". That is a pretty heavy title to give a place. The Portuguese too were impressed enough by this place to call it "The Gates of Hell". That's a strong visual image. I feel kind of dinky now being from Ohio.

"I'm from the 'Gates of Hell', you know 'the place God made in anger'"
"Oh yeah? That's pretty cool...I'm from the Buckeye State"

Springbok

I'm looking forward to seeing some of Namibia's majestic animalia.

The Final Countdown

I now have less than ten days until I leave for Africa. That kind of snuck up on me. I haven't really hyped this event at all, but I am super psyched to be able to go to Namibia. I started thinking of all the stuff that needs to get done and there is much to do between now and then. Time to lace up my sneakers.

Eyes on the Prize

I just wanted to give a shout out to the hard working folks in Radiation Oncology at Kettering Hospital. I know you have a busy week this week and just wanted to say you guys rock, stay strong, K 4 Lyfe!!

ps
I'm thinking I should have a weekly shout out. It would give some structure to this blog.