June, In Namibia: January 2014

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Sirumbu...

In Rukwangali, Sirumbu is the word for "White Person" it is my "tribe". When you learn about Namibia, one of the first things we talk about are the different tribes, there are very many in Namibia, over 7 in the Kavango Region alone. My tribe, is white.

Before I joined Peace Corps I knew, mostly based on logic but also through communications with Peace Corps that my skin color would make me noticeable anywhere in the world, as a foreigner. When I got placed in Namibia I knew that my skin color would just be a part of my service. Namibia, as I have written about in earlier posts, is a post apartheid country. Apartheid is a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race. Although apartheid came from South Africa, until 1990 Namibia was South West Africa, before this it was colonized by the Germans, for Namibia Apartheid was also the system. There have been white people in Namibia for a very long time, but thanks to Apartheid the relationship between Black Africans and white people, whether African of European has not always been pleasant, and some of these tensions still exist, simply because Namibia is such a young country with apartheid being a recent history.

Examples of apartheid in Namibia are still seen daily. Many white Africans are part of a higher wealth class, which contributes to Namibia having the highest wealth inequality in the world. Whites tend to live in the capital city of Windhoek or they own large farms in the south of the country. Many were not raised with black friends in their schools or communities so friendships between white and black Namibians are not very common. Black people were only allowed to buy homes in certain areas, these are called "locations". Every city, town and most villages have a location. This was the only area that black people could live before independence, and they tend to be more run down areas, with perceived high crime rates.

In the Kavango Region you wont see many white people. There are people from the Colored or Baster tribes, they are Afrikaans speaking but do not identify as White, and they are very few. This makes me and other Peace Corps Volunteers stand out even more. People notice me everywhere especially because I walk everywhere, which most white people don't do, I hang out with Black Namibians, which most white people don't do, and I am learning the local language which, again, most white people don't do.

I get a lot of positive attention because of my appearance, and a lot of unwanted attention. Children love yelling "hello" at me, to which I respond "hello, how are you" and they say very quickly and shyly "fine". When I great an elderly person by saying "morokeni None" they get very excited that I am speaking to them, and they spend the next few minutes speaking to me in Rukwangali... until they learn that my vocabulary is very small... then they laugh and continue walking. Many of the youth know me so I am always being greeted on my walks home or when I am in town, and many business people are starting to get to know me, so they are always excited to talk about their business with me. Many of my friends refer to me as "Sirumbu setu" which is "our Sirumbu", it has become a term of endearment for many here that know me and love me, this is probably my favorite use of Sirumbu. The most amusing thing that happens to me is when someone that I am with calls their family, usually their mother or father and then hands me the phone. I have to talk to them to prove that their child or friend actually knows the white person... this happens more than you would think...

Part of my role here is to help break down walls between black and white people, so I greet everyone I see, even if they don't respond. However, it seems that my friendly demeanor has attracted a good deal of unwanted attention. I average 3 marriage proposals/girlfriend requests a week. At first it was sorta flattering but now, it's just annoying. When I was about 16 I was with my family in Montana and I found a ring in an antique shop with a turquoise stone in it, the stone is my favorite, I have worn it since I found it, and it fits best on my ring finger... men here always ask me what the ring is for. Mostly I tell them it is just for me, but sometimes I tell them I am married, or my boyfriend in the states gave it to me (yes, I have a fictional boyfriend in America)... 100% of the time the response it, you need a Namibian boyfriend... I always just laugh awkwardly... I mean, how do you respond to that. I have gotten marriage proposals and I love you from police officers, government employees, workers on the side of the street... the list goes on. It's just not flattering anymore, you wont win a girls heart by telling her that you want to marry her cause she is white... also it's advised to not propose marriage to strangers.

They think I have some golden ticket for them to come back to America with me... that is the most common thing I hear... "take me back to America when you go", my response... I'll just stuff you in my luggage... they laugh, I worry that they think I am serious.

I have never in my life been so aware of my race... I guess that's a privilege of being white in America. Having this experience of being aware of my race and having it be my identifier is something that not many white people will truly experience in their life, it has certainly been eye-opening, and has contributed significantly to how I carry myself and interact with others. The down side of being known by everyone, even if you have never met them is the inability to turn off. We were warned about this in training but it is absolutely true. Unless I am home, behind closed doors, I am being observed, people are watching to see what the Sirumbu does... and everybody needs to be able to turn off somedays.

When I start to get really comfortable and forget that I am a tall, blonde, white lady living in Sub Saharan Africa something always happens that makes me very much aware that I am a Sirumbu.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

A re-cap from the first few months at site

Once Peace Corps volunteers swear in and take our Oath of Office we scatter across the country to our new homes. We then spend the next few months doing what Peace Corps calls "Phase 2" activities... PCV's refer to this lovely few months, as Phase 2. Teachers observe classes being taught, work in the library or computer lab if their school has one, and doing anything and everything they can to feel productive. CED Volunteers usually start working in their offices, or agencies helping with small projects as a way to get a better understanding of their organization, but the bottom line is, we are not allowed to teach or start projects or travel out of our general area, the focus of this time is getting to know the new culture better. This is a very boring time for most PCV's being that we get here and are pretty gung-ho about starting projects, and then we spend the first 6 months sitting, and listening, and sitting... and listening.

About 3 months after we get to site, we go to what is called re-connect. This is a great time for us to all get back together, fill each other in on what is happening at site, spend some time together since we haven't been able to see eachother for a bit... this is also when we get more training and finally the thumbs up to start officially working.

It has over the years become a Peace Corps tradition to go to the coastal town Swakopmund and spend a week enjoying an early Christmas holiday in the sun and sand. Swakopmund is like a little slice of Europe in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a very touristy town, and therefore has a lot to offer the PCV on holiday. Group 38's trip was pretty wonderful, full of delicious food including Mexican at "3 Namigos", loads of Pizza, Italian at "Neopolitanos" and endless amounts of seafood... I even ate some Sushi. We spent everyday at the beach, playing beach football, crashing in the waves and catching some sun. We hiked the dunes, some people went sand boarding, or the aquarium... we enjoyed everything that Swakopmund has to offer.

All of us enjoying a "sundowner" on the beach in Swakopmund... A sundowner is when you drink a beer and watch the sunset... didn't know that till I moved here.

Sunset over the Atlantic at Swakopmund

Derek and I at the beach... looking adorable as always.

Julia and I at the Sundowner

Alex and I enjoying our beers on the beach

I drank so much coffee at the best coffee shop in Swakopmund, Slow Town

Dolphins playing by the coast... most of the coast looks like South Beach (I have never been to South Beach but that's what people kept saying...)

Otters playing on the rocks at the Mole

Weaver birds in their nests... my favorite bird in Namibia.

Ali, Derek and I at the coast

After a wonderful week in Swakopmund was over, I headed back north to Rundu for my first Christmas away from home. The best thing about being in Peace Corps is that we are not here alone, in fact there are over 100 PCVs currently in Namibia. This means that we never have to spend holidays alone, and we are all going through the same emotions of homesickness and missing our traditions, so we are able to share those with one another and home seems not so far away.

The holidays were pretty hard for me, and there were a few times where I wished that I could just close my eyes and wake up at home but no matter how many times I tried it didn't work. I missed the snow, and my dogs, Christmas parties with friends, and Christmas morning with my mom, eating orange rolls around the tree and drinking coffee before we open presents... mostly I just missed my mom. Thankfully we now live in and age of technology, so she was only a facetime away. I was fortunate enough to have a house full of people for the holiday, we were able to keep eachother company, and we got in some good games of risk and monopoly. I am also very lucky to have wonderful Namibian friends which made home seem less far away this holiday season.

The Christmas package sent from home, full of wonderful, wonderful Christmas goodies!

Playing in the rain on Christmas day, we didn't have a white Christmas we had a wet Christmas... almost the same thing, right?

PUDDLE JUMPING!!!

New Years was spent in Otjiwarango with friends, and then some time in Windhoek for the Diversity Committee meeting. After almost 6 weeks of traveling, eating, drinking and spending time with Americans, the holiday has officially come to a close. I am now back in Rundu, in my office working on programs and planning for the new year, my first official year as a Peace Corps Volunteer. As usual I have loads of ideas and a lot of work to do... but, if I learned anything during Phase 2, it's that Namibia has it's own agenda. People here work on their own schedule and somehow things just end up happening and working out. If I am going to be successful at this I need to learn to go with the flow, something that I have never been able to do successfully, but here goes.

As a very wise old man at a bar told me one day, "I am not going to change Africa, Africa is going to change me". I guess there is only one way to find out....