Friday, January 15, 2016

Back in Windhoek (1-16)

Sunday morning we headed back to Windhoek, another ten-hour drive. Most of the day was overcast; so we didn’t have the brilliant, blue skies. Toward the end of the trip we could see rain in the distance. Having made the trip twice now, I feel an affinity with the landscape. It has drawn me in. The phrase “Under the African skies” now has meaning to me. I do love the wide expanses and the blue skies, especially with bright white clouds.

Back in Windhoek, we enjoyed the cooler temperature. We were given Sunday off. A half day off was scheduled, and Rachel decided to have the rest of the day off as well and squeeze the sessions in during the rest of the week. This was a much-needed break for all of us. The others went to see Star Wars, which was the second time for the women. Since I wasn’t interested in seeing it again, I relaxed and read in a comfortable chair at the hostel and then went for a wander. 

First I wandered through the nearby mall, as we didn’t really have time to do that on our first visit and we were jet lagged then. Sunday I had time and energy; so I wandered through a few of the stores to see what is there. Since our first trip was during the week-long holiday between Christmas and New Year’s when “everyone” leaves the city and goes to the coast, the mall was pretty empty then. With the holiday over, it was crowded with many people shopping. While wandering around, I realized that I had become accustomed to seeing dark-skinned people as the norm.


Then I wandered along the pedestrian mall. On Sundays, most stores close at 1:00, but a couple were open until 2:00. I found it interesting that they open during church hours and close in the early afternoon. I ended out purchasing my first Namibian clothes—a skirt and top.

Next I headed for the museum that was my destination. The guide book stated that it is open from 3:00 to 6:00 on Sunday, but when I arrived at 2:30, the door was open. The woman said she hadn’t closed for lunch and always opens at 10:00. This was the Owella Museum, which focuses on culture. There is a section on each of several of the main ethnic groups in Namibia. Unfortunately, most of the information is outdated, with references to articles in 1975, making it a museum of past cultures for the most part. I found myself wishing all of the women in the dioramas weren’t bare topped or that it was clearly stated that these were past traditions, as only one tribe continues to dress that way traditionally. A particularly good section was the one on the San tribe, otherwise known as Bushmen. It explained how their image as “uncivilized” people has been exploited over the years and that they no longer live that lifestyle. Unfortunately, though, most are poor and on welfare.

As always, I enjoyed the pottery, jewelry, and baskets in the displays. 
The last section has models of women from several tribes wearing traditional clothing.



















Next I headed to the National Museum, which was described in the guide book as being in one of the oldest buildings (1890) in the city and as having a good exhibit of replicas of rock art. Neither is currently true. The building is very modern and the museum is called the Independence Memorial Museum. 














No rock art replicas, but the ground floor does have some cultural exhibits in which I enjoyed the beaded bags. 


















The next two floors are all about the war for independence from South Africa. I hadn’t realized that so many Namibians left the country during that time and returned when it was over. 










A special part of the building is the glass elevators, only one of which was working, on the exterior from which there are exquisite views across the city and valley.





Across from the museum is Christuskirche, known for its beautiful architecture. It is stunning against the blue sky. I thoroughly enjoyed my alone time wandering as I like to do.















Monday it was back to training and orientation for the last week. Content is pretty much things I knew or have known, but it didn’t hurt to review and bring the ideas back to the front of my brain.

Tuesday we had an outing to the Single Quarter Market, which is a local market. 


One section has fresh meat lying on the tables. The back row has people grilling beef. 
There are a few stalls with vegetables—green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. There are tables where people can eat food they have purchased. I tried a fat cake, which is fried, unsweetened dough, that was quite tasty. Another section of the market has barbers, hairdressers, and tailors.








After visiting the market, Rachel drove us past the President’s house on the way to 













the Parliament gardens where we picked up a catered lunch to eat in the garden. This was a nice treat.











Our other outing of the week was to the National Library from which books are sent to schools. Many are donated from organizations such as Book Aid, but some are purchased. When books are purchased, they are purchased for all school libraries in the country. Donated books are divided so that every school receives the same number of books.

We split up after the library visit, and I walked back while the others took a taxi. On the way I found a fabric store. I’d been looking for one so I could purchase fabric to use as a top sheet. The store had special sheet fabric; so I bought a length. I also bought an African-style print I liked to use as a top cover. I was happy.

Friday we went to the Peace Corps office for a brief orientation. It was interesting to learn what they are doing here—about half education, a third health, and the rest community development. We learned that 20,000 learners recently sat for the university entrance exam, but only 6000 had qualifying scores due to lack of English skills since the exams in all subjects are in English. Even if more had done well, there were only about 7000 openings.

In the afternoon we had time to do some shopping in preparation for leaving on Sunday; so we went to the new, more upscale mall that the others had been to on Sunday. Most of the people shopping there were white, and there was definitely more of a mixture than at the other mall. When checking out at one store, we were given a free copy of their magazine, mostly advertisements. I looked through it to see what the models looked like, and, as anticipated, there were very few really dark skinned models. There was a balance between white skin and milk chocolate and lighter skin tones. As in Asia, light is better/ more beautiful.

Since Saturday was our last day in the city, we had much of the day to prepare to leave. I headed out for a final wander and some shopping. On the way to the museum, I stopped at Tourist Information where I chatted with a woman named Racqueline and picked up a number of maps, which I was excited to get. Looking at the map of the North, I finally got some of the place names and locations sorted, as I had been confusing them because the names sounded similar to me. I returned to the National Museum to check out the old building, as I had figured out that it was the museum described in the guide book. It is indeed an old fort, but it is closed now that the newer Museum of Independence has taken its place. Next I stopped at the art museum where there was a special exhibit of student creations that I enjoyed. They have a permanent exhibit that was not on display due to this special exhibit. There is a nice shop, too, that features mostly Namibian products—mainly baskets from the North. These are made from palm leaves and remind me of Southwest Native American baskets. I bought a small one for N$75/$4.50. (N$ is how Namibian dollars is written.) I also fell in love with a stone carving that turned out to be from Zimbabwe, but I bought it anyway.

On the way back to the hostel, I stopped to purchase supplies for the first couple days in the village—a small pan, canned beans, granola bars, instant soup, and toilet tissue. As at many stores, the checkout line is one line, rather than individual lines for each cashier. You go through the long line and then go to the next available cashier. The line always winds through aisles of candy and sweets to tempt shoppers to make impulse purchases.

Public toilets cost N$2/$.12, which includes a big wad of tissue.

Our final session with Rachel was personal conferences. Then we went to her home for a celebration dinner prepared by her and her boyfriend. The featured meat was oryx, which I decided to try. I’m sure it was delicious, but four bites was more than enough for me. We enjoyed the view across the city from their apartment. Before leaving, we watched distant low lightning that brightened the clouds on the horizon.









1 comment:

  1. Seriously, the Travel Channel should sign you up! Fred

    ReplyDelete