Dry Dunes and Dry Faucets

27-9-09

We had a school holiday in August that I’m just recovering from now. It was a lot of fun. I spent a few days in Okakarara with Peace Corps friends, I finally traveled to Sossusvlei and then I went Peace Corps group 27’s COS conference. COS? Close Of Service. Scary, Huh?

Let’s start with Sossusvlei: It’s a giant sand dune a few hours south of Windhoek. It’s actually a whole park full of sand dunes. Two Peace Corps friends and I decided we needed to see the famous dunes before we left Namibia in December. The only problem was that getting into and out of Sossusvlei is challenging. It’s hard to hitchhike there because only tourists go that way. Peace Corps volunteers who have tried to hitchhike have gotten stuck on the side of the road in the desert for a few days. And, the other option, renting a car can be a bit risky because regular four door sedans don’t fair well on the rough roads (renting four wheel drive vehicles is a little out of a PCVs budget… and by little, I mean a lot). So, the three of us went with the only other option: an organized tour.

To reassure us that we made the right decision, about two hours after our tour left Windhoek the combi hit a large rock in the road, punctured the fuel tank and broke the gearshift box. Why was this the right decision? Let me tell you. Because, in all of this vehicle chaos I didn’t have to worry about a single thing except what kind of sandwich to make while enjoying the view. Ahhh, the life of tourists. After this initial hiccup in transport, we had two more incidents of vehicle trouble: first, the tour group had to band together to push the combi out of sand drifts… a couple times… but it was fun so I barely noticed it was supposed to be work. And, second, we blew a tire. I do believe there was a roadside dance party during that event, however, so it doesn’t really count as traumatic either.

our camp

Other than combi trouble, the rest of the tour went off without a hitch. We had an awesome tour group, the camp we stayed at was beautiful and our tour guide was nice. At sunrise, we all climbed Dune 45. Dune 45 is 150m high and, according to a tour book, is called “Dune 45” because it’s 45km from Sesriem canyon and 45 dunes from Sossusvlei dune (300m high). Then, we toured Dead Vlei – a very interesting dry pan with very old trees. It’s such a strangely beautiful and quiet place. So strange, in fact, one of my PC friends and I decided it was the time to catch our new Facebook profile pictures… Unfortunately, we failed to realize how sweating our faces off is really an unfavorable aspect of pictures in the desert. Oh, well. Next, we spent some time hiking around in Sesriem Canyon (literally translated from Afrikaans to mean “six” um, “riems”. Well, just know it’s the length of rope they used to need to get water from the bottom to the top of the canyon). It became exciting in the bottom of the canyon when we decided to rock climb around a small puddle… I’m not a rock climber. Hell, I’m not even a pebble climber. I’m more likely to stub my toe than successfully walk around. But, I survived and I’m a more adventurous person for it.

take number 23

Our tour was three days and two nights. We arrived back in Windhoek just in time for our COS conference. Peace Corps did us a favor and put Nam27 in a really nice hotel in Windhoek for our two-day conference. There was a pool, a nice double bed, a refrigerator in my room and an electrical outlet adapter built right into the wall. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice those because I was too busy noticing the free buffet. I’m so ashamed. Anyway, our conference was short and sweet and sad. We chose our final days in Namibia, were given medical and administrative instructions for leaving the country and said goodbye to a few volunteers in our group that we may not see before they leave for America. We took our final group photos and then left for our last three months at site.

Nam27 Group shot

Side note: On the way back to site, I had a plush Peace Corps ride up to Otjiwarongo. Then, in Otjiwarongo, Jill and I got a taxi that was literally tied together so that it wouldn’t fly apart. In this taxi, a little girl peed us on. Yes, peed on. Not a little - a whole bladder’s worth. Then, we got charged 10 extra dollars each. Never join the Peace Corps.

When I got back to Khorixas, school had been in session for a week already. Four of my science fair learners had been in Windhoek for THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FAIR. I’m so proud. This year we only came home with participation certificates but it was one of the times in my life where I can honestly say I was just proud to be there. All I have to say is: never underestimate a kid because he lives in a tin shack! My learners are awesome.

I had approximately one day of quiet and then my replacement volunteer arrived. My school is so excited to have her here. It was just her site visit so she was only here for a week and then she’ll be back after her group’s Swearing In ceremony. The week got me thinking about my site visit in 2007. I looked up my blog posts from that week. It’s completely strange to read my posts from back then. Sometimes, when I think back on my thought processes from that time, I feel naïve and childish. I’ve learned so much.

Things I used to think were a big deal don’t really faze me anymore. For example, our water went out Tuesday in the nighttime and was out until Friday at 12pm. I didn’t feel like bathing on Tuesday night and figured I’d do it on Wednesday instead. So, when the water went out, I hadn’t bathed since Monday night. Jill had about 3 liters of drinking water and I had about 3 liters of drinking water and that was it. All this was only a minor problem until we remember that Wednesday was the national payday for all workers (except teachers, who get paid on the 20th of every month). Payday means that bills are due. This means that most people skip out on work sometime mid-morning to go get their money from the bank and pay their bills around town. As a result of it being payday, the Ministry of Works employees (who would have come to the school where I live to fix the water) were out on the town (hopefully) paying their bills and (probably not, because I have faith in them) getting drunk. Unfortunately, when we woke up on Wednesday morning, there was also no cell phone reception. This later affected the bank (though I’m unclear of how) and people were unable to get their money. So, Wednesday was a loss. Thursday, however, the bank and cell phones were back in working order. Woo! Unfortunately, this meant that the Ministry of Works employees were back out on the town (hopefully) paying their bills and (probably not, because I have faith in them) getting drunk.

So, there I was, on Thursday night, not having bathed since Monday, and I came to the very real possibility that I would not see water come out of my faucet until next Tuesday and this is why: Friday is basically a half day anyway and people would take off early from the Ministry of Works. Saturday and Sunday nobody works for the government. And Monday is a school holiday, so no one from the school would be around to call and bug the Ministry of Works guys to come out and fix the problem. Hence, Tuesday. This is where the differences between my 2007-self and my 2009-self came into play. I distinctly remember 2007-self having serious problems with water being out for 6 hours. And 2008-self complained bitterly every time the water went out. But 2009-self made it two days without really caring and only being mildly dehydrated. And then, 2009-self decided that 4 days without bathing was gross in this type of heat. So, as a perfectly normal solution, she paid some grade 6 boys in bouncy balls to go and fetch water for her. See, problem solved.

I could have made it till Tuesday. I really could have. There are more bouncy balls – I would’ve been fine. But as luck would have it, my neighbor went down the Ministry of Works and basically kidnapped a worker until he fixed the problem. So, Friday afternoon my clean 2009-self celebrated my faucet being turned back on. But, 2009-self doesn’t trust amenities anymore and she filled all her water bottles promptly.

All that is to say, nation-wide paydays are a bad decision. Oh, and two years is just enough time to make you a more patient and understanding person – even when it comes to the necessities of life, like water. Just chill out. It’s all going to happen sooner or later. Maybe ;)