Local Traditions

August 20, 2010
The past two days have been quite awesome. I tried mutton for the first time… I think. It could have been goat but I have a feeling that it was mutton. Either way there were many layers of fat with thin slices of meat in between and it was quite foul. I have been trying to be flexible with the meat eating and I admit I am getting better. Ground up meat is hardly terrifying now like it was 3 days ago. Probably because they serve it three times a day. My digestive system has felt good so far but it hasn’t been real Namibian food exactly yet.
In the mornings we have had sessions on various things but my favorite is in the beginning when our staff will sometimes sing us traditional songs and chants. We sing it with them because we have the words. It is then when I start to feel like I am really here. They sing their national anthem and we sing ours, symbolizing our partnership. It’s a nice start to the day.
We are waiting to hear what language we learn. We had to do an interview process about where we want to be placed which was very surprising to me. They give you a packet so you can express your interests and concerns such as whether you prefer water or not, electricity or not, isolated/rural/peri-rural/urban, and then hand it in during the interview. The interview focused on you as a person and your preferences of sites. I decided to pick one with no electricity in the home but at school, although I am not sure I will get that one. Altogether I could not go wrong with the science housing for some reason. We got some pretty great choices. All except that one have electricity and water, and the farthest one was 200 km away from a town. I specified that the only thing I really wanted was a homestead. A homestead has a something like a separate hut for the volunteer and then a community hut and kitchen hut, etc. They can differ though, to being a nice western-style home. So everything is really up in the air. I am learning to be patient to hear where to go already! I find out the language at least on Monday which is relieving.
Today we went to a Herero War Memorial event. It was in honor of the Herero men who died during the war against the Germans. Apparently during colonization the Germans were trying to take over Herero land and they resisted. So the Germans ordered that any Herero seen should be killed so that the Herero race be exterminated. Sound familiar? Anyway half of the Herero people were wiped out and the other half retreated to Angola, Botswana, and South Africa. The ceremony is a memorial to the chiefs who died as well as the men. The Herero people are really astounding. The women wear full Victorian dress and a hat on their hat that has two horns symbolizing the significance of cattle in their culture. I had a really strange moment when I was in a typical cheap clothing store like Target called “Pep”. It was pseudo-air conditioned and there were all Namibian people in there. Many were looking at me standing there with my new Indian-American friend because they knew we were outsiders. Then I looked behind the counter and all the cashiers were Herero women, in full Victorian garb with their hats, handing over change and I was like, am I having a vivid malaria-medication -induced dream or is this Africa? Where am I?The ceremony was really cool. They took all these stones and put them in a huge square to give the impression of a fort. There was a place in the middle called the “sacred fire” and our guide, who will be one of our language trainers named Angelica (I think) and is Herero, told us to watch the demonstration. She knelt before a man wearing an old military outfit, he sipped some water and then spat it all over her. Apparently they do that so they can tell the ancestors that she arrived at the ceremony. We also watched about 30 younger boys doing a military march which definitely had some swagger. Haha it is hard to explain in writing, but it was pretty incredible. There were also men in military garb on horses that would circle the encampment in the middle of the “fort”. Finally we got to watch a traditional song and dance they do at this memorial. There were about five Herero women singing and clapping (we clapped too) and one of them had a board attached to their foot like a snow shoe and would hit the board at certain moments. I am sure it would have been very moving if we understood what they were saying.
Once we left, we went into town and it was nice talking to a few cute kids. I’m looking forward to teaching altho I don’t know what language or site. We then went and got a beer for the first time at a place called Rhinos. We tried the Camelthorn which was fabulous and was made in the capital. Camelthorn and Windhoek Lager are the best beers here so far, which I know you guys will need to know when you visit me. We learned a lot about the trouble with alcoholism here. It seems to be two extremes, either you drink a lot or not at all with no in between. I guess a lot of people are unemployed and spend most of their time buying booze and drinking all day. It is a real problem in Namibia and so I won’t be having a causal drink with my family, because I do not want to be looked at like I’m a “drinker”.
Tomorrow we go back to the Herero ceremony. It will be my first Sunday here, which in the future will matter more. Because most of the country is Christian, we will have the opportunity to go to church with our host families on Sundays. Here church can last up to 3 hours or so, but it is great community building and I want to see what is like. We leave for our homestays, which is when we live with a host family in their house for six weeks, I believe on Tuesday. I’ll catch you up on more then!