3/18
Today has been a very long time coming. We finally found out our site information and where we’re gonna be placed for the next two years. After we met with a training staff person to talk about our mid-evaluation, we waited and waited and finally were told where we were going. When the Peace Corps has important news to tell you, they don’t just tell you, they make it an activity and a big event, which I think is fun. In order to find out what language we were going to learn, we had to make the noise of a certain animal and find other people with that animal noise. So it was only fitting that in order to find out where our sites were, we made it a big event.
Benna, our training manager, brought us to a gravel area near the center, and we saw that there was a giant map of Namibia drawn out with string. The places where we were going to be were marked with rocks. So as Benna read our name and where we were going to be placed, we went and stood where our town was on the map. It was really cool to see where everyone was going to be, by where everyone was standing. Then, they called my name and said that I would be placed in Opuwo. Honestly, I was quite shocked! I thought that one of us would be placed in Opuwo and another might be placed somewhere else, like Herero land, but I guess not. Either way, I’m so excited! Opuwo itself sounds awesome. It’s definitely more of a traditional African experience, with the Himba tribe living there. Opuwo is in the northwest corner of the country and is close to the Angolan border, the Skeleton Coast and the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t think there’s a close access point to the Skeleton Coast or the Atlantic Ocean near me because there aren’t any paved roads connecting Apuwo to that part of the coast, but if I were to travel further down the coast, then I’d be able to go see the Skeleton Coast. Himba women (traditional Herero women) wear this type of red paint that’s made out of the soil on their bodies to protect against the sun & mosquitoes. Supposedly it also acts as a natural perfume because of the herbs they put in it. Pretty cool!
I haven’t done much research on the area yet, but from what people have said, there’s a regular grocery store there and a few other stores as well--yes! If I need to buy other things for my apartment, I’ll need to go shopping in a larger town, but at least I don’t have to go there for groceries!
As for my job, all I know is that I’ll be working for the Ministry of Health doing Special Programs--whatever that means. We were supposed to find out our job descriptions, who our host families were going to be for the first 6 weeks that we’re at our site, and all the other details about our placement today, but they hadn’t finalized everything, so we’ll find out everything else on Wednesday. Hey, at least we know our sites! I’m so excited!! It seems like everyone is pretty well spread out across the country, so it’ll be nice that I can stay with other volunteers when I travel. There’s some people right on the coast, which is pretty amazing! I’m so jealous! And then there’s people kind of near Windhoek (the capital), near Botwana, near South Africa--all over! So awesome! It’s like Christmas....in March :)
Today has been a very long time coming. We finally found out our site information and where we’re gonna be placed for the next two years. After we met with a training staff person to talk about our mid-evaluation, we waited and waited and finally were told where we were going. When the Peace Corps has important news to tell you, they don’t just tell you, they make it an activity and a big event, which I think is fun. In order to find out what language we were going to learn, we had to make the noise of a certain animal and find other people with that animal noise. So it was only fitting that in order to find out where our sites were, we made it a big event.
Benna, our training manager, brought us to a gravel area near the center, and we saw that there was a giant map of Namibia drawn out with string. The places where we were going to be were marked with rocks. So as Benna read our name and where we were going to be placed, we went and stood where our town was on the map. It was really cool to see where everyone was going to be, by where everyone was standing. Then, they called my name and said that I would be placed in Opuwo. Honestly, I was quite shocked! I thought that one of us would be placed in Opuwo and another might be placed somewhere else, like Herero land, but I guess not. Either way, I’m so excited! Opuwo itself sounds awesome. It’s definitely more of a traditional African experience, with the Himba tribe living there. Opuwo is in the northwest corner of the country and is close to the Angolan border, the Skeleton Coast and the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t think there’s a close access point to the Skeleton Coast or the Atlantic Ocean near me because there aren’t any paved roads connecting Apuwo to that part of the coast, but if I were to travel further down the coast, then I’d be able to go see the Skeleton Coast. Himba women (traditional Herero women) wear this type of red paint that’s made out of the soil on their bodies to protect against the sun & mosquitoes. Supposedly it also acts as a natural perfume because of the herbs they put in it. Pretty cool!
I haven’t done much research on the area yet, but from what people have said, there’s a regular grocery store there and a few other stores as well--yes! If I need to buy other things for my apartment, I’ll need to go shopping in a larger town, but at least I don’t have to go there for groceries!
As for my job, all I know is that I’ll be working for the Ministry of Health doing Special Programs--whatever that means. We were supposed to find out our job descriptions, who our host families were going to be for the first 6 weeks that we’re at our site, and all the other details about our placement today, but they hadn’t finalized everything, so we’ll find out everything else on Wednesday. Hey, at least we know our sites! I’m so excited!! It seems like everyone is pretty well spread out across the country, so it’ll be nice that I can stay with other volunteers when I travel. There’s some people right on the coast, which is pretty amazing! I’m so jealous! And then there’s people kind of near Windhoek (the capital), near Botwana, near South Africa--all over! So awesome! It’s like Christmas....in March :)
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