This poem just seemed fitting...

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

It's off to the clinic we go!

Yesterday, we went to visit a few clinics to evaluate what they have been doing and to see if they need any support from the regional office. Our first stop was the Orumana clinic, which was about 30 km south away from Opuwo. And about 15 km away from Opuwo, we began the bumpity ride on the gravel road to the clinic. The clinic itself looked pretty organized—more so than even the Okahandja hospital! 

Elizabeth at the Orumana clinic

As of September 2007, there were 1,632 people in Orumana. From what the enrolled nurse at the clinic told us, the common ailments that affect the people of Orumana include diarrhea, respiratory problems, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Surprising to me, the village doesn’t have any issues with malaria, which IS a common disease in Opuwo.  In the clinic itself, there was a room for intake and counseling, an HIV testing room, and a room for emergencies. And in the room that we were in, there was an entire case full of condoms. I was so happy to see that the clinic wasn’t relying on abstinence as the only method of prevention. Not seeing any female condoms, I asked about the use of femidoms/female condoms in the clinic. My counterpart, Sr. Shiningwa, said that the Ministry of Gender used to lead that project to make sure femidoms were available, but they have since phased out that project. She didn’t know which ministry was in charge of it now though. I think that it’d be a great project to get going again—a way to empower women.

After finishing our visit at the first clinic, we drove back to Opuwo to drop someone off at the Opuwo district hospital and to grab some lunch. While at the grocery store, I saw this massive fat cake for sale at the prepared food area. For anyone that does not know, a fat cake is like a giant ball of fried dough. And this fat cake was gigantic! Inside of it I was told was ground beef, onions and sweet peppers. For only N$12, it sounded delicious! Halfway through eating it though, I had to stop and pace myself. It was just too big to eat in one sitting. 

Me with my massive ground beef filled fat cake

Elizabeth with her huge fat cake

With my belly full of fat cake and Oshikandela, we set out to see the second clinic which was in Ohandungu about 50 km north from Opuwo. When we arrived, we had just gotten there about 5 minutes before everyone’s lunch break, so it was just barely enough time to introduce ourselves to the nurse before he set out for lunch. While he had his lunch break, we wandered around the clinic, looking at the various posters they had hanging up and seeing what medications had expired or were soon to be expiring. The nurse at this clinic didn’t seem to speak much English and so it was hard for me to ask questions about the clinic and the population of Ohandungu itself. While wandering around the clinic though, I did see that it was much newer than the Orumana clinic, with this clinic being constructed in 2003. 

After driving back on the bumpity, gravel road, we made our way back to Opuwo, just enough time for me to have about an hour left of work before the day was done. With all this traveling and outreach at the clinics, I was exhausted! It was definitely nice just to have a quiet night before another day at the office.

C'est la vie

During a recent holiday, a few volunteers and I decided to visit Epupa Falls (waterfalls that border Namibia and Angola) for the day. After filling the car up with petrol/gas, and stopping to grab some food for lunch at OK Grocer, we set out for Epupa Falls. And a few hours and cow herds later, we were at Epupa Falls. I wish I could say that it was a magical place and the waterfalls were amazing, but out of all the waterfalls in Namibia or even out of all the waterfalls I've seen in my lifetime they were probably a 6.8 out of 10. But regardless of all of that, it was still nice to get away from Opuwo and just relax. 

Some goats we saw at Epupa

I've realized that life is what you make of it. Even if you might not be snapping pictures at the Taj Mahal or sipping a pina colada in the Caribbean, you can still make it fun. Life is about the people you meet, the experiences you have and "the glass is half full" mentality. C'est la vie, right?

Oshikandela makes everything better

I can’t believe it but this is my third week at site, so crazy to think that I’ve already been here for almost three weeks. At times it feels like I’ve already been here for three months and at other times, I feel like I’m still moving in. 

It is very challenging knowing that when I get to work every morning, my “work” consists of Facebooking, checking my email and seeing what the latest news is back home in the US. Right now, I spend my hours of many days trying to understand what I’m supposed to do here. As a health volunteer, I have heard time and time again that your service and your job assignment is what you make of it. That being said, it can be very frustrating not having a clear cut assignment handed to me on a silver platter. I’m not saying that I want it handed to me on a silver platter, a china platter would do just fine :) 

 

On second thought though, I’m also able to see the upside of this. There are not many times in your life in which you are able to actually create your own job. And I, ladies and gentlemen, have been handed just that. It is definitely an opportunity in disguise. If I want to start a garden for HIV patients at the hospital, I can do it. If I want to see how social work is done here in Namibia, I can also do that. My possibilities are endless. 

And usually, these possibilities and opportunities do not happen when I am sitting at the computer in an office. At least, that’s not how they happen for me. They happen in the community…when I’m going grocery shopping or when I’m trying to find where to buy a rug or when I just want a cold drink on a hot day. 

So over the past few weeks, that’s what I’ve been doing. Just getting out and exploring at every chance I get. One afternoon, my supervisor, Sr. Evard, brought Elizabeth and I to a few organizations in town so that we could introduce ourselves and see which organizations we might be interested to work with. We went to various organizations, including:

·         Namibian Red Cross

·         Regional AIDS Coordinating Committee (RACOC)

·         Ministry of Information Technology

·         Ombetja ye Hinga (http://ombetja.org/)

·         Kunene Regional Council

After meeting some of the staff at Ombetja ye Hinga and hearing what they do, I got really excited. Ombetja ye Hinga Organization (OYO) uses creative and performing arts to teach young people about HIV/AIDS. It sounds like an awesome organization and I can’t wait to go back there to work with them! No matter what age you are, it’s hard to absorb any kind of information with someone just lecturing to you. But the way that OYO is set up, is a great way for people to learn about healthy sexuality education, HIV prevention and care. It’s great! 

Also, just recently, I met up with John, another PCV in Opuwo, and he was able to connect me Ben & Anna from the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN). Check them out at: http://www.benbikes.org.za/namibia/ Ben & Anna are both from Germany but are in Namibia to work with BEN and begin a women’s empowerment project through bike riding. BEN itself seems like a really cool organization to work with. The organization takes used bike parts from overseas (such as Canada, the US, and the UK), rebuilds them, and then sells them at an affordable rate to locals...and of course, to Peace Corps Volunteers :) Ben & Anna were hoping to start this women’s empowerment project, but will be going back to Germany and aren’t able to continue the project. Sooo in walks Alison, a PCV who is just dying to start a project...or something to at least get her into the community.

Through Ben & Anna I also met Mrs. Mutambo, a woman who works with the Namibian Red Cross. She also seems like a dynamic woman and a great person to work with. I briefly met her today but hope to have a longer conversation with her later on to see what ideas she has floating in her head and what ones she wants put into action.

In some regards, I’m really trying hard not to start a lot of projects now, because if I start projects now I will burn out waaay before my two year service is over. But it’s also nice to just get a feel for what projects are out there and what I could be getting my hands into in a few months down the road. It’s a tough thing to balance. There are many more organizations in Opuwo and I’m sure in due time I’ll be able to visit more of them, but for now, it’s a good start. 

And then last Friday, Elizabeth and I did some more exploring on our own. We decided that it would be good to get out of the office and actually walk around the town during the weekday. Plus living and working on the hospital grounds don’t exactly warrant much time in the community. My commute is literally two minutes away. So much for practicing my Otjiherero greetings with the locals! After telling our supervisors that we’d be gone for the day, we set out into town. 

After realizing that it was the end of the month and everyone was waiting to withdraw their recent pay, we stood in the 20 person line and waited to get our recent pay as well. Knowing that 20 people were in line at the ATM is definitely a good thing here. It means there’s actually money in the ATM! After stopping at the ATM, we wandered around town window shopping at the millions of china shops in Opuwo….okay, maybe not millions, but there’s still a whole heck of a lot! And for a quick explanation, china shops are stores that are filled with products usually made in China. Think of it as those cheap products (like the fake Gucci purses) from New York City or Chicago. For a poor Peace Corps Volunteer, it’s a great place to get cheap dishes or cups, but it’s not a good shop to always go into. For one, since the products are coming from China and the stores are usually owned by Chinese people, the money isn’t going back into the local community. Instead it’s going back into the pockets of the Chinese. 

For lunch, we were going to have lunch at a cafe next to OK Grocer (the main grocery store in town), but it was a little overpriced and all patrons were white, and honestly, we just didn’t feel like feeding into racism. So instead we picked up lunch at a street vendor for N$5 per piece of meat. It was so good! I was a little weary of buying meat off the street, especially with my stomach issues and all, but it was really good. Well seasoned, and cooked really well. I would really like to do this once a week or something because I have a feeling I’m not going to be buying and cooking meat on my own because of the high price of meat here. But knowing that I can get a good size piece of meat for N$5 is awesome. After eating the meat, we went to the wholesale market in town and looked around. Looked like a Namibian version of Costco which was pretty cool! We bought some Oshikandela and enjoyed the yummy yogurt drink. I really like the guava version, it’s just enough sweetness and fruity taste for me. And now I know where I can get things in bulk, (e.g. shampoo, soap, chicken necks….you know, the usual :) ) And sometimes OK grocer doesn’t have Oshikandela and when I really just want a cold, yogurt drink, now I know where I can get it.

After doing some food shopping, we headed home for the day. After such a long day of walking around town in the hot sun, I was exhausted and decided to take a nice long nap before a dinner & movie night with a few other volunteers. It felt really good to just be with other people. With all the stress of housing issues, job assignment issues and just adjustment to life in Namibia, it was good to just not have to deal with any of that, that night.

Peace Corps: Seussical the Musical?

I've always thought of my Peace Corps service like a Dr. Seuss story. So, here's my reflection for today.....
Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU
are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With
your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too
smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that
case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener
there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as
brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll
pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever
you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and
Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang
will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for
a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come,
or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind
to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil,
or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul.
On you will go though your enemies prowl.
On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike.
And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!