Just Take it all in

We just got back from a trip to the coast for a five day weekend. We stayed in Swakopmund and also visited Walvis Bay. The trip was pretty amazing. I got to climb a huge sand dune, kayak with over 50,000 seals and some dolphins, swim in a freezing cold Atlantic Ocean, tour a uranium mine, and experience a different part of Namibia. It was definitely a fun trip.
The kayaking with the seals was by far the highlight of the trip. They would come right up to our two person kayak and play with us. If you stuck your paddle out, they would bite on the end of it. They also liked it when you scratched them with the paddles. Some of the seals would do handstand type maneuvers where they would stick their butt in the air. I think they were farting at this moment, because it smelled pretty awful. However, I did touch 3 of the seals on the butt. That was a pretty cool experience.

When we went out from the shore a little ways into the deeper water, we saw dolphins swimming and jumping. If you came up along side of one of them that means that you could start racing it. At one point, Melissa and I were racing two dolphins on opposite sides of the bow of our kayak. It was one of the most incredible things I have seen. The dolphins were about a meter and a half long, and there were a good 30 playing out in the water where we were. It was so nice to be in a kayak on the water enjoying God’s creation. I bet the people who were in motor boats watching for dolphins and seals were jealous.

Once again there was much inequality in these two towns. The blacks lived on the edge of the townships right next to the desert, while the whites lived on the coast in beautiful, huge houses. I just cannot believe that there are two completely different worlds less than four kilometers from each other. What can be done? The whites and a miniscule upper class of blacks own all the land. It feels like there is no hope. As long as people with resources are content where they are, not thinking about others, this situation will be in place. Maybe someday things will get better. All I know is what I can do. I can choose a simpler lifestyle and not to ignore the poor and oppressed. It is too easy to just hide in our bubbles that we have built, in which we do not see or think about the harsh plight of others.

The Beginning of Home-stay Two: Katutura

So the last couple of days have been really busy. We started classes yesterday with history, and then we went on our home-stays last night. This home-stay should be interesting. We had liver and onions for breakfast this morning along with some eggs and bread. The culture is definitely different than what I am used to and that makes it hard. It’s easy to be around the American college students here because there isn’t much culture to overcome. However, living with an African family is tougher simply because it is such a different culture. It is exhausting just socializing because I have to put in lots of effort to really partake in conversation, while if I’m with someone of the same culture, we don’t have to put in so much effort because we understand each other better. But I also really respect the fact that my family knows English and many other languages, whereas I know none of the Namibian languages.
My host family is great though. They are Oceavambo. It should be quite an interesting weekend. My parents are Oscar and Hilma, and their children are Matthew (15), Anna-Marie (12), and Sarafina (9). Tonight we are going to a memorial service at a Lutheran church for an elderly person in the congregation who died. Then tomorrow we will actually go to the funeral service. On Sunday we will go to church. So my weekend is pretty well planned out. I’m hoping for some down time to relax and read, but we will see if that happens. I won’t be able to be on the internet, but I am sure that I will post sometime next week with a more enthralling update.