Monday 30 May 2011

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 2nd 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!












Saturday 7 May 2011

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!