Picture me rollin'

February 3, 2011

Dune 7 is the Sahara by the sea. In Owamboland, all I see is flat. Flat flat flat and land for days. Now I know why Christopher Columbus thought what he did. This world definitely ends over there, and I can fall off on ‘that side’. When you ask a Namibian where he/she is from, he/she will answer by giving a name of a village and pointing in the direction the village is and usually saying ‘that side of ___’. Oh New York? Oh that side. (pointing NW)

So for me, Dune 7 was something I had never encountered, having not been flat. Outside of Walvis Bay, next to the same Atlantic, lies this enormous sand dune that is a great tourist attraction. Allie and I were the last of the group to trudge up there and it was no joke. Under the steaming sun with the heat bouncing of the sand and stinging us in the face, 20 of us pushed our calves into the sand separately, counting the steps until it would end. Allie stopped at the bottom to pick up trash. While collecting the garbage I heard her say, “Really, people? Really?” I pretended not to hear and continued my trek. I had one goal and I wanted it to be over.

I climbed a dune. Haha! With my face wrapped with an oshitenge in Islamic-fashion and my sunglasses on, I pose for the camera while my friend is puking behind me. “Let’s pretend that Rob is not ruining this for everyone.” Then we walked along the ridge of the dune and onto the highest point. Miley Cyrus, “The Climb” came to mind.

In silence we all acknowledge what is happening around us. Looking out into the distance, whether you are from Nevada or Montana or have gone to South Africa, we know that we have never seen this before. And words are too trite for that feeling. So we gaze.

Time keeps on ticking into the future and it’s time to leave. With this cloth wrapped around me, I hear people discussing the prospect of rolling down.

“I was thinking about rolling down, but then I’d get my clothes all sandy and I don’t feel like washing off.”
“It looks too steep. I wanted to but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

So I wrapped that piece of cloth we call a oshitenge around my upper body and I start tumbling without joining in the discussion. Round and Round my head is spinning at rapid speed as I hear crazy Allie in the distance, “No, Jeannine! Don’t! It’s too muchhhhhhhhhhhhh!” But it’s too late. I am already rolling. And the only thing stopping me is myself.

Rolling down that hill was a natural non-pharmaceutical high. I felt like a kid on a merry-go-round! I spun so fast my brain could not keep up so joy was just running through my veins; maybe joy is my default feeling for when chaos ensues (we will see in 2012 when the world ends). I thought I was going to reach the bottom soon so I slowed myself down, the way you slow down when you are swimming with your eyes closed and you think you have reached the end of the pool. I stopped myself on the sizzling sand by digging my limbs deep into the sand. It has to be the end. My brain spun for another 10 seconds. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t think. I felt like I was upside down. I looked around and realized, I was only two thirds down the Dune and then Allie rolled up behind me. (pun) I was happy and surprised to see her trailing behind (another pun). We sat there in silence for a moment trying to grasp normal orientation, trying to see straight.

“Maybe we should walk down?” “No we gotta finish this.” “Yeah, you’re right.”

So we let our bodies fall into the hands of nature/physics and allow our brains and bodies to spin into oblivion down the rest of Dune 7. And wouldn’t ya know, our paths crossed. Two star-crossed lovers that had to pull handfuls of sand out of their socks, back pockets, front pockets, brassieres lol, underwear, hair, etc. on the verge of vomiting. But we wouldn’t have had it any other way.