well....

herero couple at the commemoration for those namibian lives lost during the genocide of 1904 okahandja!!!!

where we eat. nice, right?

herero men putting coins on a man's grave who used to do something funny with coins. don't really know.

herero people at the celebration

me and benna (our cross cultural coordinator or something)

arrival

so, i had this nice blog post all set up and ready to go but it's not reading the file correctly, so i guess i'll have to improvise. i'm here in okahandja and everything is fantastic. i just found out i'll be learning afrikaans, which probably means i will be in a bigger town. this is a LITTLE disappointing, mainly because afrikaans is basically a european language and the language of the colonial oppressor. BUT it is spoken all over the country and i will even be able to communicate with some people in south africa. anyways, i'm just excited to get started so we can get this thing rolling.

seriously though this place is amazing and i couldn't be happier. i probably won't come home next winter because i'm just pretty obsessed with it here. what this means for you guys is you will a. either have to come visit me or b. let me know you cannot make it and i will find a sufficient african replacement for each and every one of you. some of you have actually already been replaced. sorry!

but i do love you all. i'm going to post some pictures to make this blog exciting. so um, here goes.

I LOVE YOU THIS COMPUTER IS SLOW

washington dulles int'l airport

there are currently 33 namibian peace corps volunteers in a strange huddle squatting in this airport waiting for the arrival of a south african airways representative to check us in and send us on our way. i just looked around and realized how funny we must look with a million (rough estimate) bags and band-aids in identical spots on the back of our left arms from our lovely yellow fever vaccines. it's too bad i'm a moron and misplaced my yellow WHO card with proof that i received the vaccine two years ago because i had to get the shot AGAIN. oh well, better safe. and of course i find it right when i get back to my bag. wanna know where it was?? secret pocket in the moleskine journal! damn you kimmie and ben.

this is all very exciting. i guess it's really happening now. as i said before, there are 33 of us traveling to namibia in group 30, which is a really good number in my opinion. they dropped us off at the airport at 11:30 and said see ya later. only then did we find out we would be sitting around until 2 waiting on a chance to check in. i'll be on this damn plane for 17 1/2 hours!! let's hope i avoid deep vein thrombosis!!! scary.

i just had a killer last american meal (roasted red pepper/tomato/crab soup and a spinach salad with feta and walnuts). i'm excited about getting on the plane and settling in so that it all finally comes together. we're meeting a guy named waldo (where?) at jo'burg and he's going to show us to our hotel.

well, we got a good group here. i'm holding on to the hope that all 33 of us will make it to the end of this crazy journey, but all signs point to the fact that that won't happen. not that we're going to die!! just get frustrated and drop out!

i love you all and i'll miss you, but i can't wait to get on with this part of my life.

i'll be in okahandja for the first couple of months, and as soon as i get a chance i'll post some pictures and update you on what's going on in my life.

SEE YOU SOON
shannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnon

countdown: 3 days!

I realized you all might (?) want to know some more things about what exactly is going to be happening for me over in Namibia. I found out some additional information a few weeks back that I'll share with you so I'll feel a little better about being semi-out of touch.

Here is a summarized schedule of events during training. Exciting stuff, huh?

August 21 Trainees arrive in Windhoek and travel straight to the
training center in Okahandja

Week 1 & 2

August 21 - 29 Orientation at Andreas Kukuri Center, Okahandja
August 28 Move in with host families
August 31 – Sept 5 Intensive training (all components)

Week 3

September 7 – 12 Intensive training (all components)
September 12 Meet your Supervisor & sessions

Week 4 & 5

September 13 Travel to permanent sites
September 14 – 19 On-the-job training
September 20 – 25 On-the-job training
September 26 Return travel from permanent sites

Week 6

September 27 – Oct 3 Classroom observations at local schools

Week 7

October 4 – 10 Intensive training (all components)

Week 8

October 11 - 16 Final Language Proficiency Interview
Final Evaluation of PCTs
October 16 Swearing-in ceremony at NIED, Okahandja

End of PST
Depart to permanent sites

It's all happening!

P.S. I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO

A new blogger

Hello all (no one so far).

This is my blog. I have no idea what I'm doing, as evident by my empty blog page and ugly layout. I'm going to try to figure this all out as we go along.

I am leaving in 12 days for Namibia. Right now my mood is best described as : excited + stressed (about packing/being prepared). It seems as though everyone else is all ready to go. We'll see.

I like you all.