If you do not remember, Rehoboth is
my shopping town and my nearest fellow volunteer. YES CIVILIZATION! But not
really because this is still Africa. After Thursday needless to say I was ready
for seeing another American. The unfortunate thing is my village is horrible to
get in and out of. I didn’t think it was too bad coming in the first time
because I had the comfy front seat right next to my supervisor the whole way.
This time I wasn’t so fortunate, figures as much so his wife trumps me so I had
my first experience in the back of a truck (don’t worry! It was covered!). I
think the more dangerous part though was the enormous lunch my host mother fed me
before I jumped in the car. WORST.IDEA.EVER. I now know what people mean when
they say like roller coasters make them sick. For those of you who have been to
the glorious place of Cedar Point, I may be slightly off but this was like
riding the Mean Streak without the breeze, without a seatbelt, and no hills,
going sideways. Like I thought the fat was going to shake or bounce off me (No
luck with that though.) Unfortunately the China Shop mattresses and decorative
pillows found at Grandma’s house in the 80’s did not give the intended refuge
to my butt, hips, lower back or head.
The fellow riders in the back with
me were the institutional (janitorial) workers from my school. They are so very
nice however our conversation has never gone further than Hi Goodmorning and Do
you have _______ key? This is because they primarily speak KKG, the click
language. Even if there was a chance of me figuring out what they were talking
about to join the conversation (I do know some phrases in KKG from training) I
still can’t make all the different click sounds so I didn’t want to try to say
something like I like your shirt and instead say Look at that butt or something
more embarrassingly vulgar. Throughout training many language groups learned
that saying something with an “a” sound instead of an “e” sound was the
difference between words like door and prostitute. So needless to say I kept my
mouth shut and just stared out the window. To top it all off I was in a skirt
(A WHITE ONE OF ALL COLORS) so I had to strategically sit so I wouldn’t flash
the others my underwear but also let my legs not touch long enough to produce a
gross pool of sweat. Note to self not to wear a skirt when transporting. So
hopefully I get used to that or just make friends with drivers that don’t have
wives or daughters that would trump me for the front seat.
The ride back was just as eventful
but in the back with me was now my supervisor, his daughter, all my groceries,
and his son’s luggage (who was driving). Thankfully though I did not eat and I
made sure to pee before I left. So that was a positive however while I tried to
strategically brace myself for the various bumps (I made sure to wear shorts
this time) my supervisor tried to make himself as comfortable as possible which
resulted in him falling across my legs
as his son slammed on the brakes to let a herd of goats cross the street. I
wish it would have been something cool like giraffes or zebras, then I wouldn’t
have felt so awkward as he pushed himself back up, I would have been more
preoccupied crying because I live in Africa were zoo animals cross the road. Oh
well, maybe one day.
Rehoboth was nice. It was great to
see Lau, compare notes, share stories, and talk about our fellow groups
members. It was nice to get out of village life for a hot second. Rehoboth is
one of the larger towns in Namibia so when you walk around you don’t feel the
need to stop and talk to everyone. Although I did run into my host mom’s mom
and dad who live in another town and a co-worker said he saw me tried to say Hi
but wasn’t heard. You can leave the village but Namibia is still a small
place….
Rehoboth is actually a really weird
place. Like its nice because its where I get money out of the ATM, pick up
mail, buy food, real life things but it has this weird vibe. I described it as
a janky-beach town without the beach. Lau said this was dead on. To start,
Rehoboth is the Baster capital of Namibia so there are a lot of white people
here but most of them aren’t white white they’re permanently tan and beautiful
white. Like what most girls strive to be in America. So yeah, everyone is tan
and the boys in particular wear bright colored board shorts, obnoxious neon
colored hats and shirts/tanks that say things like “Too many girls, so little
time.” The town is like all sand, lots
of pam trees, and bright colored houses. Just no beach….. But it works because
there is a grocery store where I can buy things that grow out of the ground and
are green. More adventures in Rehoboth
to come!
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