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!