The rainy season has begun! Its not as hot as it was before :-) but it is extremely humid :-(
Last night I did not sleep very well. I kept waking up. When the sounds caused by the wind were not waking me, my hair was; sporadically blowing across my face and imitating the movement of a deadly bug.
Tomorrow we have a big planning meeting at work. I think we will be discussing our potential activities for 2006.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
Happy Day
Today, some of our colleagues were headed into town. To our sheer joy, Shoni and I were able to tag along and get a free ride!
An unexpected free ride to town, especially during business hours, is a gift from heaven. In Namibia die son brand, and we are a 45 minute walk from town.
We were able to check our post office box, connect our laptops to the Internet at the local Internet cafe, and do our weekly grocery shopping. We were both so happy that we were officially giddy.
Shoni and I must walk to most places, and have to time things so that we are back before dark, because of safety concerns. We take a taxi when we we must, but work hard to avoid it because it would quickly eat up all of our Peace Corps allowance...a taxi ride into town costs $6 Namibian, or about a $1 USD...
As a point of reference, 30 minutes of Internet time at the cafe costs $20 Namibian.
An unexpected free ride to town, especially during business hours, is a gift from heaven. In Namibia die son brand, and we are a 45 minute walk from town.
We were able to check our post office box, connect our laptops to the Internet at the local Internet cafe, and do our weekly grocery shopping. We were both so happy that we were officially giddy.
Shoni and I must walk to most places, and have to time things so that we are back before dark, because of safety concerns. We take a taxi when we we must, but work hard to avoid it because it would quickly eat up all of our Peace Corps allowance...a taxi ride into town costs $6 Namibian, or about a $1 USD...
As a point of reference, 30 minutes of Internet time at the cafe costs $20 Namibian.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
It's Clear to Me Now
I just realized why its been so hard to send email back home (besides the fact that it is very difficult to get Internet connectivity):
To my friends and family, thank you for being patient with me. I am getting better.
When I write home, I realize how much I miss my family and friends, and then I feel deeply heartseer. For the longest time, it was to hard to even thinking about writing home...Heartseer is an Afrikaans word that means deeply sad or heart-sore.
To my friends and family, thank you for being patient with me. I am getting better.
First Week of Work
My first week of official volunteer service is now under my belt!
I spent much of the week organizing the Youth Center's computer lab. I restored the network and standardized the 5 PCs. After the lab was online, I worked with my Namibian counterpart to create a proposal to upgrade the lab. We submitted the proposal, and then were asked to acquire cost quotations for our recommendations! We gathered the quotations, and will be submitting them this coming week.
I met with a computer center near my house, and worked out an awesome deal with them. If I fix and then perform routine maintenance on their computers, they will give Shoni and I free Internet access! I hope to spend time on their four computers this week.
There is a great hunger for computer knowledge and support here in Namibia. I am constantly being asked to help people and organizations with their computers -- I love it!
I spent much of the week organizing the Youth Center's computer lab. I restored the network and standardized the 5 PCs. After the lab was online, I worked with my Namibian counterpart to create a proposal to upgrade the lab. We submitted the proposal, and then were asked to acquire cost quotations for our recommendations! We gathered the quotations, and will be submitting them this coming week.
I met with a computer center near my house, and worked out an awesome deal with them. If I fix and then perform routine maintenance on their computers, they will give Shoni and I free Internet access! I hope to spend time on their four computers this week.
There is a great hunger for computer knowledge and support here in Namibia. I am constantly being asked to help people and organizations with their computers -- I love it!
Monday, January 09, 2006
Attack
Tonight is attack of the bugs night. For some reason tonight, a swarm of strange little bugs have begun to invade Shoni and my house. I think they are some sort of winged termite. They are about the same size as a black carpenter ant. They are brown, and run around with their butts up in the air. I was outside playing harmonica, and had to rush in because they kept landing on me.
They are attracted to the light, and enter the house in small groups of 3 or 4 (we have no screens on our windows). They run around on the floor like crazy looking for things. I was typing on my computer when I felt something tickling my foot. I looked down, and three of the little critters were zooming around under the arch of my foot (I was barefoot).
There is another set of bugs that have also arrived. They have wings that are about an inch long, and after they land in the house, their wings fall off. The bugs are pretty big; the good thing is they seem to disappear (to someplace I can't see) very quickly. The only reason I know they are here, is because I see their wings scattered about on the floor.
They are attracted to the light, and enter the house in small groups of 3 or 4 (we have no screens on our windows). They run around on the floor like crazy looking for things. I was typing on my computer when I felt something tickling my foot. I looked down, and three of the little critters were zooming around under the arch of my foot (I was barefoot).
There is another set of bugs that have also arrived. They have wings that are about an inch long, and after they land in the house, their wings fall off. The bugs are pretty big; the good thing is they seem to disappear (to someplace I can't see) very quickly. The only reason I know they are here, is because I see their wings scattered about on the floor.
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