Polka dot umbrella & pink galoshes

This was a going away card that a friend made for me and it's actually quite accurate! Today I surely did use the polka dot umbrella! It has been raining all day! Unfortunately, I left the pink galoshes at home. If I had them, I would be wearing them right now. They would be quite handy walking through town since most of the streets turn into shallow rivers when it rains. Ah, but Namibia needs the rain.

My perspective on rainy days has completely changed. At home in the U.S. a rainy day usually means that you feel a little gloomy, you just want to stay in your bed and read or whatever. Here I find myself saying things like, "Wow, I it's going to be a good day because it looks like it's going to rain!" That's not just me, but many people that I've come in contact with today were in particularly good moods because it is raining!!

If only I had the pink galoshes...

World Map Project

One of the first community proejects that I helped with when I first arrived at site was painting world maps at local schools. We painted two maps in the first two weeks and learners from each school helped. The learners also decided on how Namibia should be painted and then they got to paint it how they wanted. Here are some photos of one of the map projects in Mariental. As a result of this, we've been requested to paint at another primary school in Mariental and a library in Aranos.

Am I really in the Peace Corps?

It's Sunday night and I feel like I have just returned from holiday,
but I've not even left Mariental or spent any money! This weekend I
went swimming in two different swimming pools, watched three movies,
gave myself a pedicure, and slept in an air-conditioned room! While
floating around on a tube in a pool, our friend's child brought us
delicious peppermint tart! WHAT?!?! Dani (fellow PCV) and I looked
at each other and said, "Are we really in the Peace Corps?"

No, I did not book myself into the bungalows at the Hardap Dam or the
River Chalets here in town. Instead I spent most of the weekend with
an awesome Namibian family, the Labuschagnes! This is the family
that took us to the Lily Pan and also to the Hardap Dam. They are
the ones who had us over for pizza on my birthday. They've
introduced us to many of their friends and made us feel included here
in Mariental. They are wonderful, welcoming, caring people and have
truly become my Namibian family! I know that I could call them any
time day or night if I ever really needed to. They've been an
amazing blessing to me here in Mariental and I am truly grateful for
them!

Praise God for a LEKKER weekend of rest and relaxation with wonderful
people!

NAM 25 blogs

A previous post includes some other NAM 25 blogs to check out. Here
is a link to a blog that has a more complete list. You will probably
be able to find all sorts of interesting stories and photos of NAM
25's experiences so far in Namibia if you read through some of these.

http://wideopenspacesamy2.blogspot.com/2005/11/amys-teammates-blogs-
from-namibia.html

This link was sent to me by a fellow volunteer's parents who are
keeping their own blog of info and stories as they follow the
adventures of NAM 25.

http://wideopenspacesamy2.blogspot.com/

Lily Pan Excursion

In Afrikaans a "pan" is like a shallow pond that is formed in a low area after a lot of rain. About 200km from Mariental is a field (veld in Afrikaans) that grows these gorgeous lilies. People here say that these special lilies only grow here and only if there is enough rain to flood the field. On the years when this is enough rain, it's an amazing event! Along with the lilies come these huge, interesting beetles! I've never seen bugs like these before! People come from Windhoek and from even greater distances just to see this field of lilies. After walking around in the lily veld and taking many photos, visitors then travel further into the farm where there is a smaller dam to swim in and places to braai (Americans would say grill or bbq). There is a fabulous family that has taken good care of us PCVs. They invite us along to see special events like the Lily Festival. This Sunday was one of the most fabulous, relaxing, wonderful, refreshing days that I've had so far in Namibia. I never thought that I would see something like this is Namibia. It was the second weekend in a row that I went swimming...AND the braai was of course very delicious!

Hardap Dam opens!

Many of my new friends in Mariental have told me that they have not seen this much water in a VERY long time! One farmer said that in the past six years the average rain fall has been 104mm per year and this year he recorded 104mm in one night's rainfall! I've been told that the Hardap Dam is the largest body of water in Namibia and it was so full that the sluice gates had to be opened. These photos are from the day that the dam was first opened. Recently the dam was at 100% full and all four gates were opened at once! The Fish River is now full and flowing beautifully through Mariental! It was really neat to see so many people stop what they were doing and leave work to go see the dam open or go check the level of the river in town.

NAM 25 Swearing-in Ceremony

I gave a speech in Afrikaans at the swearing-in ceremony.



NAM 25 is now official! We're about to begin our sixth week of service as Peace Corps Volunteers!