Weekend Update
Good evening, everyone...
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog, I have been running around like crazy the past few days- it has been a great weekend and I am enjoying the little delights that come with each day. It is almost 1am my time but there is a lot to write about so this could be a long blog, depending on if I can keep myself awake.
Let's begin...
Friday was another great day at the center. Things are running smoothly. Aunt Gert returned from her trip to Cape Town and really seemed to enjoy herself. Cape Town is gorgeous apparently so the NEXT time I return to Namibia I will fly through South Africa and check it out. After the center closed I decided to stay late with some of the kids again and spent the next two hours sitting on the curb with Romachell, Salome, Eric, Bonitha, Jerome and a few others. The handle bar on my bike came loose so I had to walk the bike home- which is about an hour walk. It was quite enjoyable though as the sun was setting and I listened to my music. The sunsets in Namibia are beautiful. Friday night Katarina, one of the German volunteers living at the house, made a German dish for dinner and we had a nice evening. Then the chaotic weekend began.
Saturday morning I got up early with MB and rode out to the soccer fields. I only stayed for an hour because we (Aunt Gert, the volunteers, Ajay, Suzie, Aunt Pat, and Emi) decided to drive an 30km north to Okapuka which is a game lodge outside of Windhoek. The game drive is a popular daytrip for visitors to Windhoek
who do not feel like making the 5 hour trip to Etosha National Park. At the lodge we went for a hike in the mountains. The view was spectacular but we probably should not have walked it in the middle of the day with no sun. Before the game drive began I treated myself to a Sprinkbok Salad which was out of this world. The game drive was a lot of fun. We saw white rhino, giraffe, kudu, oryx, and a bunch of other game. The rhino were exciting- they really look prehistoric. This game park doesn't have elephants so I am still anxiously awaiting seeing a herd of wild elephants. We did pay to see the lion feeding which was pretty cool. Even behind a fence the lions are massive and powerful. I think we all enjoyed ourselves at the game park. Saturday evening a huge group of us, including all of MB's family that is visiting, went over to Barbara's house for Indian food. (Barbara is MB's best friend- a delightful Australian woman who is married to Uli, a German guy who is the vice-provost- or vice-something- at the PolyTechnic University) The dinner and atmosphere were very nice.
Sunday I brought all the sinners to mass up at Brakwater (a town north of here where Fr. Rick, MB's close friend gives mass) Since I was there, I figured why not go in and sit through mass and the homily was actually very good- it was about loving our enemies. After Mass we all went to the swimming pool for another pool day with the kids. It was another enjoyable pool day though it did rain a little bit and the pool was a little chilly. Being with the kids at the pool is one of the best experiences of being in Namibia. Sunday night the Maryknoll sisters came over to the house for a bra
ai. We must have had about 25 people crammed into the house but it was a good atmosphere with singing and good food. One thing I have really come to appreciate about my two trips to Namibia is the number of wonderful people I have met here- old and young- who are all genuinely good people with big hearts. I have met people from almost every continent here and every one of them has impressed me with his or her warmness and giving spirit. They inspire me to be more open minded and compassionate.
Today was errand day. I was up early and went to get a much needed haircut. From there I ran to the post office and brought the bike in to get fixed, developed some pictures, and brought the rented van in to get the sideview mirror repaired. Running around doing errands all day really made me feel like a resident in a foreign country and not just some tourist. I find I really enjoy living in a new environment and learning about new cultures and immersing myself in the day to day tasks.
With so many people in town visiting I have found it to be a great opportunity to spend time with people and see things that I might not normally be doing on a day to day basis. Admittedly, having so many people in the house is a frustrating at times and coordinating other peoples' desires and agendas gets tiresome, but there have been many good conversations and memories made in the past few weeks. I find enjoying each moment and each day is very important- and that projecting into the future or worrying too much about when this might end is of no use. There is so much to be thankful for in each day. Mostly the kids. I really love the kids.
So there is the abridged version of a super busy weekend. This evening we went to MB's rotary club meeting but that deserves its own blog entry so I will write about that soon. Hope all is well with everyone. Good night.
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog, I have been running around like crazy the past few days- it has been a great weekend and I am enjoying the little delights that come with each day. It is almost 1am my time but there is a lot to write about so this could be a long blog, depending on if I can keep myself awake.
Let's begin...
Friday was another great day at the center. Things are running smoothly. Aunt Gert returned from her trip to Cape Town and really seemed to enjoy herself. Cape Town is gorgeous apparently so the NEXT time I return to Namibia I will fly through South Africa and check it out. After the center closed I decided to stay late with some of the kids again and spent the next two hours sitting on the curb with Romachell, Salome, Eric, Bonitha, Jerome and a few others. The handle bar on my bike came loose so I had to walk the bike home- which is about an hour walk. It was quite enjoyable though as the sun was setting and I listened to my music. The sunsets in Namibia are beautiful. Friday night Katarina, one of the German volunteers living at the house, made a German dish for dinner and we had a nice evening. Then the chaotic weekend began.
Saturday morning I got up early with MB and rode out to the soccer fields. I only stayed for an hour because we (Aunt Gert, the volunteers, Ajay, Suzie, Aunt Pat, and Emi) decided to drive an 30km north to Okapuka which is a game lodge outside of Windhoek. The game drive is a popular daytrip for visitors to Windhoek
who do not feel like making the 5 hour trip to Etosha National Park. At the lodge we went for a hike in the mountains. The view was spectacular but we probably should not have walked it in the middle of the day with no sun. Before the game drive began I treated myself to a Sprinkbok Salad which was out of this world. The game drive was a lot of fun. We saw white rhino, giraffe, kudu, oryx, and a bunch of other game. The rhino were exciting- they really look prehistoric. This game park doesn't have elephants so I am still anxiously awaiting seeing a herd of wild elephants. We did pay to see the lion feeding which was pretty cool. Even behind a fence the lions are massive and powerful. I think we all enjoyed ourselves at the game park. Saturday evening a huge group of us, including all of MB's family that is visiting, went over to Barbara's house for Indian food. (Barbara is MB's best friend- a delightful Australian woman who is married to Uli, a German guy who is the vice-provost- or vice-something- at the PolyTechnic University) The dinner and atmosphere were very nice. Sunday I brought all the sinners to mass up at Brakwater (a town north of here where Fr. Rick, MB's close friend gives mass) Since I was there, I figured why not go in and sit through mass and the homily was actually very good- it was about loving our enemies. After Mass we all went to the swimming pool for another pool day with the kids. It was another enjoyable pool day though it did rain a little bit and the pool was a little chilly. Being with the kids at the pool is one of the best experiences of being in Namibia. Sunday night the Maryknoll sisters came over to the house for a bra
ai. We must have had about 25 people crammed into the house but it was a good atmosphere with singing and good food. One thing I have really come to appreciate about my two trips to Namibia is the number of wonderful people I have met here- old and young- who are all genuinely good people with big hearts. I have met people from almost every continent here and every one of them has impressed me with his or her warmness and giving spirit. They inspire me to be more open minded and compassionate. Today was errand day. I was up early and went to get a much needed haircut. From there I ran to the post office and brought the bike in to get fixed, developed some pictures, and brought the rented van in to get the sideview mirror repaired. Running around doing errands all day really made me feel like a resident in a foreign country and not just some tourist. I find I really enjoy living in a new environment and learning about new cultures and immersing myself in the day to day tasks.
With so many people in town visiting I have found it to be a great opportunity to spend time with people and see things that I might not normally be doing on a day to day basis. Admittedly, having so many people in the house is a frustrating at times and coordinating other peoples' desires and agendas gets tiresome, but there have been many good conversations and memories made in the past few weeks. I find enjoying each moment and each day is very important- and that projecting into the future or worrying too much about when this might end is of no use. There is so much to be thankful for in each day. Mostly the kids. I really love the kids.
So there is the abridged version of a super busy weekend. This evening we went to MB's rotary club meeting but that deserves its own blog entry so I will write about that soon. Hope all is well with everyone. Good night.
posted by Jim | 5:45 PM
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