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Hi all!

How are things?  It’s been pretty busy here in Namibia and summer is definitely here…AZ heat without the air conditioning! J

To catch you up….the community garden project took a strange turn. The same week I sent my proposal and got funding, some large company or ministry (I still can’t get a strait answer from the social worker) came in and funded and had a huge garden built in one week on the same plot our garden was to be on. I want to be happy about this but I was kept out of the loop on the whole thing and now there stands a finished structure (the mesh part of which has collapsed already) and from what I can see, no plan. I fear that there will be no regulation of who works in the garden and can plant and harvest and benefit from the garden. Therefore, I’ve stepped back completely. Until I can be assured that my support group ladies can work in the garden and will actually get part of the harvest they work on, it’s just not worth my time or energy to be involved. If all else fails, we will plant a few beds at the craft center and just have a small garden that only they have access to. There is more to the story but I’ll leave it that. It’s been frustrating to say the least.

We closed down the workshop part of the craft center on November 18^th for the rest of the year. Although myself and the staff will work through next week, the ladies that work in the workshop are done for the year and can enjoy the festive season (the month of Dec). We had a nice braai for them on the 18^th and I’ll include pictures of them and their children dancing and enjoying the party.

It’s been quite busy for us staff at work. The Czech volunteer I mentioned in my previous blog has kept us busy learning new business things and basically starting from scratch in putting together a work guide. It’s been long days and many hours as he is trying to fix it all as much as he can in the three months he is here. It’s been quite stressful really as I’m trying to learn a whole new role and the structure is not there the way it would be in the states. It’s been a true test of patience and taking it one day at a time. J

I’ve been at a “Made in Namibia” expo up in Windhoek (the capital) for the past two weeks. I was one of about three white folks out of the 130 participants. I got a lot of strange looks at first until I started to meet everyone and they found out I am a volunteer helping a craft center in their country. Then I quickly became one of the group. A group of lovely Herero ladies (one of the tribes here in Namibia) took me under their wing and made sure I didn’t eat alone, etc. I’ll also include pics of them from the gala dinner we had on Thursday night to close the expo. Their hat is meant to resemble a cow’s horns and when they wear this traditional dress, they walk slowly and sway, much like a cow or bull. They are quite impressive and stunning! It was great to meet so many talented small business owners from all around Namibia…shoe makers, potters, welders and the like. The bad part was having diarrhea the last four days I was there! Anything I ate or drank ran right through me! I purposely didn’t eat or drink anything yesterday since I had to travel back to Keetmans (5 hours). I was doing well the first hour or so but then I had to ask the combi (van) driver to pull over on the side of the highway as I couldn’t hold it. He was nice enough to drive to where there was a bush amongst the tall grass. I tell ya….I’ve done things here in Namibia I thought I’d never do in my life….like squat behind a bush on the side of the road while a van full of people waited. J  Luckily I’m feeling better now that I’m back home and have taken some medication (medication that by the way…I will be packing in my backpack from now on when I travel!).

One more week of work and then I travel. Since most of Namibia shuts down in December for the festive season, PC has been gracious in giving us 4 weeks to travel in-country without taking leave. I’ll head up north first and stay in Tsumeb and meet up with other volunteers and then we will camp in Etosha for a few days (big game park…wish me luck that I see lots of animals as there aren’t really any here in the South), then to Swakopmund on the coast (where Brad and Angelina go), then back down to Keetmans for a few days of alone time while the others travel to Luderitz. We will then meet up again on the 27^th and all head to Cape Town, South Africa until the 4^th of January. I’m very, very excited about this travel and much needed time off!

Here is wishing all of you a happy holiday season and New Year! I’ll be sure to blog after the New Year and include some pictures of my travels. For now, enjoy some pictures of our workshop ladies and their children dancing at the braai and the lovely Herero ladies I met and hung out with over the past two weeks.  The best to all of you and thanks for the emails and being in touch! It means so much! Miss you all!

Hello!

How is life back in the states? I imagine fall is arriving and for you back in the Midwest that means cooler weather and leaves starting to change and those of you in AZ…just not as hot! And I think you’re getting some rain too, yes?

Here is Southern Namibia all is well. It’s trying to be summer but a cool wind blew in on Saturday and it’s been mostly cold ever since. I know the heat is coming so now it’s just a waiting game.

The latest two Czech volunteers that were here left at the end of September and a new Czech volunteer arrived a few days before they left. Unlike the previous volunteers, this man is in his late 30’s. He is now studying social work and he has successful businesses back in the Czech Republic.  He has come here to help my boss at the craft center with his business insight. I think this is his way of giving back. It’s very different than the previous student s who were in their early 20’s. It’s much quieter and calmer around the suite now. J

We had a nice reception at work last week with the Governor of the Karas (southern) region of Namibia as well as business people from Old Mutual, which is an insurance company here in Namibia. They donated a large sum of money to the craft center that was used to buy an industrial embroidery machine that we can use to embroider shirts and caps, etc. I think it will really help the center grow and gain revenue. I’ll be sure to include some pics from the event including one of the governor coming out of the room that has the embroidery machine as well as one of my boss showing everyone a cap that was embroidered. Also one of me and two of my favorite elders from the workshop…..sweet ladies!

Work continues to stay busy and the garden project is slow moving. The social worker from the hospital sent a proposal about a month ago and we haven’t heard back yet. If there is no good news by the end of this week, I’ll be sending another proposal to a woman from the states who helped to fund a garden project for another PC volunteer in the north. I will stay committed to helping the hospital find funding for a garden because food security is such a big issue around here and this garden will benefit women from the center as well as their children. That is very, very important to me as these folks are becoming like family and I want something sustainable that will continue to help them into the future.

What else is new……making time on the weekends to rest and also get out a bit with fellow volunteers. Here in town there are only a couple places we will go after dark due to safety issues and only if we have someone who will transport us there and safely back home (PC volunteers in Namibia are not allowed to drive unless we are on leave).  It is fun to get out though and see how differently Namibians socialize. The men here love to sing and dance! And aren’t afraid to show it! I’ll share a picture of a guy dancing at one of our hangouts! Good stuff! J

Hey, some o f you have “friended” me on Face book and I thank you for that but also must decline. I have made it a standing rule to keep Face book for family and friends and to keep it separate from my professional life as a counselor. Do feel free to send me an email (bectomaszewski@aol.com)  as I would love to hear from you guys and hear about what is new in your world. It might take a bit for me to write back but I will.

Know that I think about all of you…friends, family, former clients and the like. Thanks for following this blog and I wish you well!

Hello!

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog. I’ve been away from site for about a month and just returned for good this past week.

Back in mid-July we had All Volunteer Conference in Windhoek and then my group’s reconnect training followed, which kept us there until Aug 10^th.

The All Volunteer Conference was nice. There were over 100 volunteers from Namibia who attended. It was nice to meet volunteers from other training groups and learn about where they are in-country and what they are up to. One of the evenings Wanda Nesbit, the current US Ambassador to Namibia had all of us over for a reception at her home where she served pizza and drinks. What a treat! Very cool to hang out at the home of an ambassador!  Quite the set up!

Reconnect was good. It was great to see everyone from my training group and to hang out together. We stayed at a “lodge” (I use the term loosely because the place was pretty run down) up in the mountains and entertained ourselves at night by playing doppelganger (dressing up like someone else in the group) and having an 80’s dance party. I cut all of my hair off before reconnect (it will make bucket bathing easier and hey, it has two years to grow out!) and I tried to shape it in a faux hawk for the 80’s dance party but I didn’t have the right products! Pretty funny stuff.

After returning from reconnect, the two Czech volunteers, two other PC volunteers and I went to hike and camp in Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon after the Grand Canyon. It’s crazy how similar it looks to AZ in terms of the landscape. It was quite an experience being in the canyon for 4 nights and 5 days of hiking! Climbing boulders, scaling rock walls, walking through lots and lots of sand and crossing the river more times than we could keep track of. Needless to say I’m still recovering.

It was good to be away but it’s also nice to be back at site. I really started to miss my counterparts and the women from the workshop. They didn’t recognize me with my haircut and it took two days to convince many of them that it was really me. There were lots of giggles and hugs once they warmed up to the idea that yes, it really is me and I’m back from being away for a month.

I hope to begin working with one of the social workers from the hospital on a community garden project on the hospital grounds. I gained a lot of good insight and resources at the conference and hopefully we can begin the process of getting some funding to make it happen. Food Security is a real problem throughout Namibia.

I hope that all is well back in the states and with you! Take care and be well.

Hello!

I hope this finds you well!

I’ll keep the writing short as I finally took pictures of my walk to work. I also have a bike now and Lucie, Aya and I rode our bikes to Quiver Tree Forest yesterday (Sunday). Quiver trees look like trees topped with Agave plants. I’ve shared a picture from our outing (which also included going inside the Cheetah pen during feeding….that was enough to make my heart race!).

Just an update on things…work is going well. There is quite a lot to do at the center so I’m keeping very busy indeed. I also broke a tooth on a Cliff bar (of all things right?) so I’ll be heading to Windhoek next week to see a dentist there and hopefully they can repair it. I may also be heading to Rosh Pinah this weekend with a coworker for an expo where we again will have a chance to show off the wares from the craft center.  Rosh Pinah is far south and is a mining town. Should be interesting. Although I’m not doing much counseling I’m learning a lot about marketing! I may come back with a new career! J

Okay….for the pics…the first one is looking South from the 2^nd floor of the nurse’s dorm. That is the direction I head to go to work. The second is heading out of the hospital complex toward the guard stand. The next one is down the road a ways… (my host mom saw me walking and took me down the road where she dropped her grandson off to school so I missed a few blocks). As you can see there are homes and then some small businesses along the way and then a field before the church. Once I pass the church, I’m in Tseiblaagte, the poorest part of Keetmanshoop, which is also where I work.  Head down the road to the dead end, hang a right and there is Karas Huisen Crafts!

Okay…enjoy! I hope all is well..winter is quickly approaching here and they were right…it’s cold in the south! ;-)

Missing all of you and the heat!  Be well!

Okay, I know I promised some pictures of Keetmanshoop. I do have pics of the adorable kids that live in my host family home. There is Dylan, who is 6, Ethan who is 2 and Jeven who is one. They are all adorable and fun. I enjoyed staying at the host family but have decided to move out a few weeks early to give my host mom her room back and to also get settled and finally, after 3 months, unpack all of my luggage!

I have now moved into the nurse’s home which is really more like a dorm. I’m getting settled in and share a suite with Helen, Lucie and Aya, who are volunteers from the Czech Republic, along with Will, who has been in PC Namibia two years and decided to extend for a third year and come to Keetmanshoop. It’s nice having him here as he knows the ropes a bit and is very good at speaking Afrikaans!

Last weekend I was in Luderitz which is an old German town on the Ocean. There are two volunteers from my group there and two other volunteers who have been there for a while.  The craft center I worked for was fortunate to have a booth sponsored by the governor at the Crayfish Festival in Luderitz. It was their first fair and was a good chance for us all to learn together for future fairs.

It was great to spend a weekend away and with other volunteers in such a fun town. I’ve shared some pictures of Luderitz along with pics of my new digs! As most of you can imagine, I deep cleaned my room before moving in and setting it all up. What you are seeing are before pics.

So far things are going well. I’m getting to know more people in the community and although the hospital and nurse’s home are out on the edge of town, I’m sure I’ll still find ways to keep getting more and more integrated to make Keetmanshoop home.

Hope all is well in the states! Miss you all!

I am now officially sworn in as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer! The ceremony yesterday was very nice. There was a musical group that was outstanding and speeches from the U.S. Ambassador to Namibia, the Peace Corps Country Director and others. Helen and I ended up leaving Okahandja after the ceremony instead of this morning as was originally planned. That was a bit tough as it meant quick goodbyes to people that have become our family over the past 8 weeks. We also packed in a hurry and were then on our way.

I was greeted in Keetmanshoop by a lovely host family who welcomed me with open arms even though they have never met me and had short notice about taking on an American volunteer. I spent today getting my bearings and walking to the craft center with my host niece. She knows her way around the area and I was thankful to have a Namibian showing me the ropes! Although Keetmanshoop is very different from Okahandja, which really felt like home, I will spend time making this my new home and doing what I can to become a part of this community as well. I’ll try to take some pics of the area in the next week or two so you can have a better idea of my new surroundings.

Thanks for thoughts and prayers and I hope all is well in the states!

Last Saturday night in Okahandja

So tonight was our last night Saturday night in Okahandja. This night comes with mixed emotions. We are excited to move on to our sites and begin our real volunteer work, yet this also means losing the comfort of each other as a trainee group. We spent the morning and afternoon preparing American food and feeding our host families to thank them for hosting and putting up with all of us for these 8 weeks of training. We then had an “after party” at Kelly’s host family’s home. Not all of the volunteers could make it but a good number of us showed up to let our hair down and hang out till the evening came.  Kelly and Leah, I will miss you! We are the three musketeers of Veddersdal!

I will surely miss all of my fellow volunteers as we all head off to different parts of Namibia. It will be great to see each other again in three months at reconnect for more training. I’m sure we will all have so many stories to share from our sites. I’ve shared some pictures not only of the great evening but the first photos are from an orphanage we visited earlier this week. What a bunch of beautiful children…many o f whom have lost one or both parents. Whenever I feel like I’m having a bad day, I just look at these pictures and lovely faces and it puts it all into perspective.

Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers this Thursday as we swear in as Peace Corps Volunteers.

Many thanks! Miss you all!

Keetmanshoop

I returned from Keetmanshoop yesterday. I will definitely be busy! The craft center is great and I’m excited to help the organization try to increase their marketing in order to be able to keep the women employed by the center very busy and therefore generating income to help them and their families stay fed. Right now a big challenge is selling enough of the great crafts they make to keep the women busy and employed. They have also started doing screen printing of t-shirts which will also help to generate a lot of income.  

There are two other women who are new to the center’s staff, Keshia and Claudia. I believe I will be working closely with them on marketing ideas as well as helping to organize some production materials in the center. Since I am only here for two years, I need to be sure that what I do is tied into what they are doing so that the work is sustained and understood by someone other than me. Otherwise it is pointless if it falls to the wayside when I return to the states.

Keetmanshoop has a high rate of alcoholism and the craft center is located in an area of town that is quite poor. There are some beautiful people in Keets and I look forward to getting integrated into the community as that will help keep me safe and will help to explain who I am and my intentions for being around and working at the center.  There are some other volunteers in Keets that have been there for a year and have offered a lot of insight. I am also joined by another woman from my training group who will be working at the hospital and we will be joined by Will, a current volunteer who is extending his service for one more year and will be coming to Keets to do so. It will be nice to have a male presence around!

The pictures below are from a gala I attended while there where the women showed off some of the items they make at the center. Sorry the pictures are fuzzy. The scenery is from the drive down…a lot like AZ huh? I’m back in the desert! J

I now have a PO Box too so feel free to be in touch! My PO Box is:

Becky Tomaszewski

PO Box 83

Keetmanshoop, Namibia

I hope this finds you all well! Geniet die dag! (Enjoy the day!)