"I kissed the rain down in Africa!.."

February 17, 2009

Happy Birthday Mikey!!

Yay, no more digital T.V. commercials!!!


Just got back from Namibia and had a blast! What a beautiful and friendly country! I love Africa already! I wasn't sure what to expect, but everything that I did expect turned out to be different, but in a good way. Like I said I didn't know what things were going to look like. I knew I was in Africa in Morocco but being in Namibia really felt like "okay, I'm in Africa now!" :)

We got up early on Friday because we we’re pulling into port. After an inter-port lecture from U.S. ambassadors and special agents from the foreign embassy in Africa we were allowed off of the ship. It was a pretty intense lecture. Apparently South Africa is the world’s murder capital and has the highest crime rate. I did not know that nor expect that at all. Once again they have scared you so you question whether or not you even want to get off the ship. But they just want you to be aware and know your surroundings and what’s going on. Some people aren’t so smart though and don’t take what they tell us into consideration.

As a welcome ceremony to us, a small choir of young African girls came to perform for us! They sang and danced traditional music and we’re so good. After there performance we we’re able to talk to them. Each of them was so friendly and gave all of us hugs, they were really excited to be there. Some people sang an American song for them, a sort of call and response song so they could join in. They are amazing singers and they can just start bursting into perfect harmony whenever. I love their voices. We gave them bracelets and stickers and they enjoyed that a lot. After their performance they we’re let on the ship for a tour and a meal I think. It wasn’t till later that I actually found out that they weren’t necessarily from a school, but an orphanage. That made me sad to know, because they we’re so precious.

In Namibia I did the Wild Dogs Safari. I along with 120 others found our different buses and hopped on. I was on bus 9 and it was a pretty good group! Our tour guides were awesome! They knew a lot and we’re so much fun! It was quite a wild bus ride. It was a nine-hour drive that we we’re originally told by the girl that organized it that it would be 4 hours, not! It took us NINE hours to drive to Etosha! One big reason it took so long is because we had to make quite a few bathroom stops on the way for certain people who chose to drink on the way. By the end of the drive people we’re pretty toasted which was annoying at times and somewhat ridiculous and unnecessary of course. I honestly don’t see the need for it at all, why some people insist on being drunk for everything and desiring and feeling that they want or need to be that way. It’s just an embarrassment to the other students and the program, the program SAS, that does NOT support it, but students make their own choices even if they are dumb. We drove by the house of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. I guess they picked up a baby here on a trip down here. So people were excited about seeing where they did that and stayed. Meh…

On the way up we stopped in Swakupmound (sp??) which is a local German town that is very popular. It was really pretty there! We all split up and walked around and went to the banks and hurried back on to the bus and we we’re off. Me and another girl Tiffany went to exchange cash, we were there FOREVER. They are so slow to do anything here, I really worked on my patience and have advanced. I will definitely be a pro when I get home. Things just aren’t as fast paced as America our here. The town was really cute and I wanted to wander some more but we we’re going to stop back in on the way back anyway so we ran back to the bus.

Africa is beautiful from what I saw driving up there. We drove up the coast of Namibia for a little while, which they call the Skeleton Coast because of the shape of the sand dunes which are amazing! We also saw a ship that was shipwrecked on the coast, our guide says that happens a lot here. That ship’s engine went out and it eventually floated to shore and has been stuck there ever since. It was neat to see an old looking ship. We drove from Walvis Bay (pronounced like Wall-vish Bay) to Etosha park way up in the north of the country so we got quite a tour of the country.

Like I said I’ve learned nothing goes according to plan…
We had also made a stop because it started pouring rain on the drive. African rainstorms are really intense, they weren’t kidding when they told us! But they are beautiful. Turns out it rained so hard that the buses were leaking a little bit because of the pop-up roof. Ours didn’t leak all that much but Bus 5’s did and so much so the battery ended up getting wet and died. All nine buses pulled over on the side of the road and we all got out and made the best of our situation finding it kind of enjoyable. A lot of people took pictures while lying in the middle of the road that went on forever into the distance of Africa. Others grabbed their drinks and headed to hang outside. The rain had stopped and the sky looked really cool. Everyone noticed how incredible the clouds looked. The sky in Africa in general always looks so pretty especially the clouds always. In Morocco it was the same but down south in the country it was beautiful to see against the sand dunes and up north with the different variety of vegetation and the mountains. It made me want to go back and visit the mountains in the U.S. The broken bus had to stay behind and get fixed by the mechanic so the people in that bus got split up and put on the other buses. So four people joined our bus, one sharing a seat, one up front with the guides and two sitting on the coolers in front of our bus by me, as if it wasn’t crowded enough already, but they turned out to be really cool and a lot of fun. They joined in on our music, one girl brought an ihome so we played music on the bus and all sang to the good songs. The guides seemed to enjoy it a bit as well. It was a long bus ride but I met a lot of people and tried not to get too annoyed by some of the music choices. Since they we’re feeling good with their drinks, they enjoyed club music, I don’t enjoy rap and gansta music that much in general unless I’m out. But I dealt with the noise and just made friends with other people and joined in on singing the songs I knew.

We got to the camp late and it was already dark and pouring rain. Yes, I’m learning how to be very flexible! The guide suggested we take off our shoes which I was surprised about but she said they wouldn’t be dry in the morning so most people took off their shoes and walked around barefoot and set up everything in the rain and mud. I was wearing flip-flops and had brought extra shoes so I didn’t take any off and I’m glad because there were HUGE beetles everywhere, I would have flipped if I stepped on one, haha. I actually wasn’t feeling that great because I’d hadn’t the chance to eat anything really all day. If I don’t eat regularly I’ve noticed that I get a stomach ache and start to feel like I could be sick just because I haven’t eaten. It was already 10pm or so and they still had to make dinner.

We had to put up our own tents in the dark and pouring rain. It was quite an experience! I’m glad I brought my poncho and flashlight! I shared a tent with two girls that I had met up on the bus ride and hung out with, their names are Christine and Steph. All three of us got along great and I found big things in common with both of them and I. We set up our tent in the pouring rain and got all of our things in there, we we’re soaked! The guides made us dinner after everyone’s tent was set up. We didn’t actually eat dinner until 11pm. We we’re supposed to get to the camp before 7:30 but things never work out as planned, I have been learning on this trip. The dinner was fabulous! Some sort of pasta with traditional African sauce and other side dishes! I wasn’t sure I would like the food but I loved what they made us. I was really glad to get some food because we hadn’t eaten since lunch, dinner would have come earlier if we didn’t get there so late so I was excited to eat and was pleased it was so good.

Our guides were amazing! Their names are Lezinda and Jason and I loved them. They we’re so nice and helpful and they seemed to really enjoy hanging out with us and joking around. If there was something we wanted to do then they would try and make it happen. They were very down to earth and very real, we could talk about anything with them and I enjoyed hearing their stories of past trips and experiences that they’ve had. They were awesome!

After dinner our group chatted around the fire and others mingled around the campsite to other bus groups. II met a lot of really nice people and had a good time. It was a huge campground and so nice. There was our camping area, an area of cabins and condos and even some seasonal houses that people could live in. They had great facilities there and even a really nice restaurant and pool/bar area. Not too fancy like U.S. but fancy in the African style. It was real neat to stay in. The camp was located in the reservation set off for the animals to roam. There was a watchtower that you could climb and watch and also a waterhole that had benches around it so you could watch the animals. It was awesome!

Everyone got up at six to get ready and get breakfast. It was still dark outside but by the time we left the sun was out. We drove around all day looking for animals and saw a lot! We stopped for lunch at another campsite. Some of us took a hike around the site and went to the waterhole at this site to take pictures and chat. Afterwards I went to the shop to buy some gifts with people, It was really crowded with SAS-ers. A lot of us went and we were in line for almost 2 hours because the service was so slow. The cash rep. had to look up each individual item in the computer and select its price so it took a LONG time. I have gained so much patience from being on this trip and respect and appreciation. I was not feeling well because I was so dehydrated because of not eating much for breakfast and it being so hot outside. Where I was sitting on the bus the sun was always shining on me the whole time. We got back to the camp and they had made hot dogs for us. They we’re good and I liked them a lot because they were boiled. I was careful about what I ate. We couldn’t drink the water there for the same reasons as in Morocco so we could only eat and drink things that we boiled or heated and not rinsed in the water. You could eat and drink whatever you wanted but you risked getting sick with traveler’s diarrhea, food poisoning, throwing up and whatever else. I had a hot dog and drank a lot of my water bottle I brought. I brought two large bottles that I refilled for this trip. I’m gonna need a couple more for India because I know we can’t drink at all there, and I’m not sure about the food. Last voyage I heard, everyone got sick in India. I’m going to try my best to not do so.

We left again for our afternoon safari. It was so pretty outside! The clouds look amazing and it reminded me a lot of Iowa. I’m starting to notice it more, but a lot of the world and its geography isn’t that different from home. I love traveling and seeing knew things but there’s always something somewhere that reminds me of home. I can travel all I want but I know that the one place I will always want to come back to and love the most is little ole’ Iowa and my neighborhood and home. We saw a lot of animals. One group said that they saw a Lion catch a Zebra and eat it! That would have been sweet to see! Our bus saw two giraffes mating. No one could resist the temptation to burst out in song singing “The Circle of Life”. I had a great time on the safari and was glad to see a lot of animals. I would have liked to have seen more, it gave me a real desire to go back to one of the big Zoos back home, that’s something I really want to do when I get back.

When we got back to camp for dinner we had some free time before dinner would be ready. Some people went to the pool to hang out and have some drinks at the bar. I decided to go to the top of the tower with people and watch the sun set. It’s not everyday you can watch an African sunset. It was gorgeous and I took a lot of pictures. I talked to some friends up there and we enjoyed the beauty of everything together. After awhile of being up there, Christine, Steph and I walked down and headed over to the waterhole because we would have a great view of the sunset from there too. We took a lot of pictures there also and by that time the colors had darkened because the sun was lower and it was gorgeous. Our guide told us that in 2005 a man fell asleep at the waterhole and overnight a lioness and her cub somehow got through the barbwire fence and ate him because the next morning the security guard was making his rounds and found the man being chewed by the lions still. Scary! They’d fixed the fence so now its not as easy for the animals to get through anymore! Good thing. The only animal in camp was Jackals and they we’re pretty cute I thought and very skiddish so we weren’t too worried about them, they just wanted our leftover food. At dawn and dusk is when the bugs come out so once we got out pictures and enjoyed the sunset we headed back to camp to take our Malaria pills and load the Deet bugspray on.

We had a really nice dinner and I made some more friends and chatted with them for awhile. The skies were clear that night so some of us walked out to the waterhole to stargaze. It was incredible! I’ve never seen this many stars before. At home you see a lot when you go into the country but they are all spread out. Here, there are layers and layers of stars and it was the Southern Hemisphere so maybe that made a difference but it was neat to see different constellations. We could even see part of the Milky Way. There were trails of dust rolling across the sky. It was so beautiful I love the stars! We had to get up early the next morning so after stargazing we walked back to the campsite. Some people chose to hang out all night and celebrate someone’s 21st. I went back to the tent with my tent mates and we chatted till we fell asleep.

We got up at 5am to pack up and eat and get on our way. A group of us walked to the tower to watch the sun rise. When the suns rays hit the ground, of course we started the intro to “Circle of Life”! What an amazing site to see!! It was gorgeous! The colors of the clouds and sky were so pretty I took so many pictures and was inspired to paint such a beautiful site. Nothing compares though and the pictures as always just don’t do it justice. I love Africa and I just want to share it with everyone. I wish my family would take a vacation here, it’s Amazing here and beautiful not to mention incredibly cheap for Americans too!..

Our buses picked up those of us who were at the tower and we all got on our busses and were off to go back to Walvis Bay. We didn’t stop too much on the way back because we didn’t have time for another 9 hour ride. Some of us wanted to do extra things and noone wanted to be late and get dock time. On the way back we stopped in Swakupmound again which was really nice. Our tour guide on the way back called an ATV place and booked us for ATV-ing in the desert on the Namib sand dunes! How awesome is that!! We then went to the street vendor markets in town and were able to barter prices down on hand-made African items. The artwork, carvings and jewelry were beautiful and so intricate and the locals were really nice. It was so much more comfortable than in Marrakech and bartering in the Souks, that I did not like so much. But Africa here, I loved. I got this really pretty marble statue thing of what is to be a man with no face, he has his head resting on his hand and in the other he is holding his face. I like it because it tells a story to me, I love things that tell a story. I walked by it a couple times and it was like calling to me, I couldn’t stop looking at it and hearing stories in my head about what was going on. Why was he holding his face? Was he happy or sad? Was he hiding? Did he not want to put on the face? Was it fake? Does he just want the world to see who he really is? Many things came across my mind. It tells a story and it spoke to me personally as well and I felt connected to this piece. I know you think I’m crazy ha, but I’m an artist and a dreamer at heart. You just have to see it I guess and maybe the same wonder will arise in you too as it did to me.
I had a fabulous time in Africa!!! After everyone was joined again, our tour guides took us for a short walk on the beach to end our trip. We walked out to the end of the dock and back. It was so pretty outside and the ocean was beautiful. What a great ending to a great trip!! We got back to the ship and thanked our guides and bid them goodbye with hugs. They we’re awesome and I had such a great time with them! It was a long line to get through security and onto the boat again, a ton of us we’re waiting but it went a lot faster than expected. From talking to other people at dinner it sounded like everyone had such a great time in Namibia and loved everything they did! I wish we had more time there, I would have loved to have done some of the things the others did. Nora camped out in the sand dunes with locals and Courtney stayed with the Ovahimba tribe (one of the remaining traditional African tribes), which sounded incredible! Maybe on another visit! I had a great time in Namibia and would love to come back some day and do the things I didn’t. It would be a great vacation destination for sure!! Maybe my family can come do it someday. Next stop is South Africa tomorrow for a 5 days, I can’t wait!! ☺