The Last Week in PreServiceTraining

December 27, 2007
The clock is now ticking. Our two years has officially begun. We’re still in training and haven’t been sworn in yet but our projected COS (I warned you about the acronyms...it means Close Of Service) date is December 27, 2009. Whew, because we don’t start until January 9 and I couldn’t deal with COSing in 2010- it just seemed too far away. The feeling that things have already commenced is a good one. I’ve been drained by the heat, the inanity of the rules and regulations, and the lack of real down time unsullied by guilt. I kept thinking that I couldn’t believe that I was still standing on this side of 2 years. I wasn’t sure I could do it. Sometimes it feels like we’ve been here an eternity already and that we can’t take it anymore. Other times so many things are fresh and new and we can’t wait to discover all that is out there.
As we were coming in Nam25, the group 2 years before us, was looking at us in envy that we had this great adventure ahead. It’s funny because I was looking at them and wishing we could trade places. Not that I am looking forward to the end of service but they have already been changed for the better, they have already put in their hard work and come out better on the other side. I’d love to be going home and share in these wonderful times in my family’s lives. I’d love to be going on the amazing trip I’m planning to take on my way out of Africa. (Hey, I live in Africa. Sorry, I was just struck by that as I wrote the word. It’s been 2 months and it’s all still so unbelievable.)
I’m looking forward to this. My experience will be my own and different from every one that I’ve heard about. My adventures are still ahead of me waiting for me. Whichever side of the line we stand on, it will always be bitter sweet. In 2 years as I’m writing my final Namibian entries I’m sure I’ll be saying the same things as I help welcome Nam29 in.



December 28, 2007
Happy FTF! It’s Free Text Friday, the happiest day of the week. Actually here they call them by the technical name, SMS but who really has time to say all those syllables (another reason I’m lagging behind in my language- the words are just too flippin’ long!). So all day long we’re sending each other messages about everything and nothing. It’s the day we all catch up with each other and share about our week, vent our frustrations, and make each other laugh. This thing is so huge that they keep extending it. We love it so much that on Thursday we’re sure to put our phones on the charger and clear out our inbox- on Fridays we often get the dreaded “memory almost full” warning.
My first Friday SMS is always from Emily- cheers for that Em. I decided to preempt it today because I know she’s been having a tough week so I sent her one first. Other than sending love and sharing we pass along these hilarious messages written in awkward English and that are often overly dramatic: “If you count every grain of sand in the desert, add every drop of water in da ocean and multiply it by every single star in da sky u’ll knw how much you mean to me.”
“A candle may melt down and its fire goes off, but my love 2 u will remain a glowing flame that will never go off, til the day I leave this world.”
We’ve also gotten into writing our own: “If you were a Spar and I was a PCV, I would never miss a chance to buy a cool drink.”
(Spar is a local grocery store, cool drink is Namlish and we’re almost PCVs- get it? Nah, you had to be here.)
“If you were a telenovela and I were a Namibian, my world would revolve around you.”
(The obsession of “The Gardener’s Daughter” is ridiculous. I told you already that it’s a telenovela that has been dubbed into English and comes on every night. The way people run to the TV is hilarious, they must find out what is happening with Louisa Fernanda and Carlos Edwardo. If we eat dinner around show time and we’re not finished my host family always apologizes for leaving me at the table alone as they rush to the tube.)
An ode to our homestays during CBT: “I hide food in my room and keep money in my shoe, but I always have you in my heart.”

What will we do when they end it? We’ll all probably ET (early termination) in protest or out of boredom.


December 29, 2007
It was our last night in The Bing and that’s about all I can say. As far as my language group, we got off to a rocky start this evening but really it ended on a high note with hugs and wishes to see each other tomorrow. We discussed our lives and thought-provoking issues such as race. It was good. I’m glad I decided to hang out. We’re going back to Planet Peace Corps tomorrow but our Otjiherero group of Otjimbingwe has really bonded and loves each other, even though at times we need a break. Today was the Host Family Appreciation dinner and there were nine cooks in the kitchen all day. It was quite a bit to take. I simply stepped back when someone else felt comfortable or entitled to a certain job in the kitchen- I didn’t need any glory, there were many things that needed to be done. In the end I made the rice and contributed to other dishes as well as the cookies and prep and clean-up.
We’re not sure how much more of Camp PC we can take after having had so much freedom. There are people we want to see and we are ready for CBT to end for various reasons.
We’re going swimming on New Year’s Day I think and trust me, it’s been hot enough for too long. I’m actually really glad to be wrapped in a perpetual summer- I’ll take the heat over the cold and 10 inches of snow in Chicago any day.
We’re going to get t-shirts made that say, “I Survived The Bing” and “Nam27” on the sleeve. On the back we’d like to put a few of our favorite quotes (BriAnne is keeping a book of them- brilliant). “You know”, “Shall we”, and “You’re out”. Yeah, you kind of had to be there but we think it’s a fantastic idea.
For all of our winge-ing, we had a great time- the kids at school were awesome, we enjoyed the simple things in life and we laughed more than we ever have.
Adios Otjimbingwe, The Bing.


December 30, 2007

We Survived The Bing
Today was our last morning in Otjimbingwe. It was bitter sweet. I knew that I would miss our time together. We didn’t have outside entertainment like some of the other groups who had cafes and other awesome places to hang out. We had each other and we had a ton of laughs. I’ll miss that. There was also the less than excitement of going back to Camp Ok (Okahandja...I’m here now, Google Earth me!) and once again being surrounded by at least 70 people. We’ll go back to dorm rooms and jumping at the sound of a bell for food/sessions and late night gab fests about our feelings. Going back and forth like this is a bit jarring. For the past month I’ve been living a life that will closely resemble the one that waits for me at Epukiro Post 8 (minus the 8 other Americans).
There were definitely people that I wanted to see- Amanda of course, who greeted me with “Rolly!” (it’s a Room 30 nickname, also “Hot Dish”) and that’s what I had missed. But then there’s the social aspect where you feel like you have to talk to everyone about their experience and it just gets tiring and overwhelming when you have so many group members.
One of the funny things about today after we got back was that I kept checking around for my people from The Bing. We were all engaged in conversation but often talking to different people. We’ve started doing impressions of our language trainer, so we called out some of the funniest lines across the tables to each other and we’d laugh hysterically. It was our inside joke and we knew that we were still connected.
It feels so crazy to think that this is almost over. We are less than 2 weeks away from swearing in as official PCVs. No one has gone home since arriving in Namibia, and this may be the first group for which that is true. I hope we all make it across the lines and get sworn in as well as COS together. As different as we all are, we are all here and so we must have a little something in common.



December 31, 2007
It is the last day of the year- unbelievable. It’s always strange when settling in to a new place, it takes a while to feel like you are really there. This has not felt like the holiday season at all. I didn’t even realize it the day that was Thanksgiving (but thankfully I had 2 Thanksgivings while I was in The States and one of then just before I left). Christmas was blazing hot in the desert and didn’t really have any special feel to it for me. My host family graciously stayed in Otjimbingwe instead of going to the farm as usual but it was a day like any other. Personally, I am so glad to have been away from home for the past 3 holiday seasons and to not have that to deal with along with all of the other things we are going through.
While I’ve never had a warm Christmas, I usually try to have a warm New Years’ Eve so being in Namibia is perfect for me. We’re going down to the riverbed (there’s no water of course) after dinner and we’ll have a bon fire- I’ve been trying to roast marshmallows since The Bing so I’m excited.
As 2007 comes to a close, I consider all of the things that have happened this year and it’s been a whirlwind- from Japan to Vietnam/Malaysia then California/Chicago to NY/DC then Chicago/Philly to California then to DC and now Namibia. I’ve wracked up a ton of miles and cherish each step on this journey as I ponder what this year has been about. Since I’ve been living abroad but more importantly since I’ve been seeking God and paying attention, he’s been teaching me in themes. 2005 was about peace. 2006 was about freedom. 2007 was about relationships. This is such an on-going theme but most recently I realize that I want to be more open to more people. I tend to be introverted and would like to step outside of my comfort zone more. I want to enjoy people for who they are and welcome them to come along. As my language group learned from our time in The Bing, I do not like big crowds. I get claustrophobic. I prefer smaller intimate groups where you can really get to know each other and form a lasting bond. Seriously, how many people have 70 really close friends? Even as I write this I find that that is ridiculous. If you were to maintain that many friendships you wouldn’t have time for anything else in your life. There are other people here that I could connect with and if we are meant to be real friends I’m sure we will. Besides that I think all the Nam27ers will support each other any time we need. And I am very happy with the relationships that I’ve forged so far and hope to add new ones to my circle of friends.
What the theme of 2008? Only time will tell. From what we’ve done at model school I do know that it will be challenging to work with these learners but when we get through it will be so satisfying and humbling. I know that it will be frustrating to work with and for the government and many things we try to get done will most likely be met with resistance from most sides but we’ll keep trying. I also know that my group in Namibia will be here to support me, share ideas, and encourage me to continue on. My friends and family at home will send me love through the mail, the internet, and the telephone. The last thing I know is that it will be hot in this desert but I hope the winter won’t be too cold and that the rains will come.
May God bless you in this new year with health, love, and peace. May he open every door that needs to be opened and close every door that needs to be closed as he directs your steps and you continue to grow and change more into the person you were created to be.

January 1, 2008
It’s 2008 I live in Namibia and we have about a week until swearing-in as volunteers. It all seems so unreal. I’ll let you know when any of it has sunk in.

January 5, 2008
Since we realized that there would be a talent show at the end of our training I’ve been telling my friends that we should do something. We’d been through so much and felt like more than PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) but we aren’t official PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) so I thought we should sing our own version of Britney Spears’ “Not a Girl, Not Yet A Woman”. Yesterday we downloaded the song and began playing with the lyrics. So many hilarious things have happened. Oh it turned out so well and we just couldn’t stop laughing while we practiced. I’d post the lyrics here for you but it probably wouldn’t be as funny to you. As you might have guessed the chorus was “not a PCTs, not yet a PCV”. Amanda, Beth, Emily, Leah, Sarah, and I sang our version over Britney while wearing sheets (an ode to the recent sheet “borrowing” investigation). People laughed and want us to print the lyrics in our next newsletter.
Another high light of the evening was that The Bing girls were presented an award for having the best (by best they mean most optimistic, least problematic, most successful in model school/host family integration, and most pleasant overall attitude) CBT site (Community Based Training)! “We Survived The Bing” t-shirts still on the way.

January 8, 2008
I’m packing up and leaving…for the sixth time. It will be good to finally settle in and stop living out of a suitcase or in a situation that is temporary. I must admit that although I’m not big on crowds, I’ve learned how to navigate through this situation and I’m going to miss having PCTs (not yet PCVs) around me. I will be on my own, not another American for 50k. Is that about the length of a marathon? Well that’s a bummer. At least I get to go hang out with BriAnne for the next few days at her sight before completely diving into mine. I have a bit of an easing in. We’ve complained about lots of hand holding along the way but this is a different kind of place than most of us are used to. I live in the 3rd most rural country in the world!!! (Third to who- probably Russia and Mongolia…lots of people leave Monoglia early I hear because it’s too cold) I’ve already begun enjoying the simple things in life. Ice makes me so happy. It’s great just to have something cold in the blazing heat of the day and usually nothing is cold enough. I’m babbling now because it’s the night before swearing-in and I still can’t believe it. We’ve been through so much and haven’t even begun our service yet. I feel some kinda way. Two have left and even if they hadn’t I’d still feel good about making it this far- they say that training is the most stressful part. Please keep me and my learners in your prayers as we start down this road together.

PS. I’ve decided that I want to read “The Outsiders” with my grade 7 and “Charlotte’s Web” with my grade 6. I need to get 35 copies of each shipped here. If you’d like to help please let me know, even just one would be great.

January 9, 2008
Today is the big day. I’m writing this before the ceremony because afterwards it seems that we’ll be whisked off to our sites as soon as possible.
I’ll have internet access at least once a month. I will probably write and then post once at the end of the month so you’ll have it all at once.

Thank you all so much for your support in prayer, through letters, packages, and emails. I can get Facebook in the village on my cell phone if you want to sign up. You can text me from an AT&T or T-Mobile phone. The occasional package is always appreciated. Please send it to Sister Catherine and with scripture/blessings on the package. My address is PO Box 1022/ Gobabis, Namibia/ Africa.
For my kids I’d love to get some board games; something fun like Candy Land and word games that are not too difficult.
For me: Whole Foods Cranberry Trail Mix (pre-packaged), Pepperidge Farm Brussels Mint cookies, Secret Solid deodorant (Vanilla Chai or other yummy smells), DVDs, good books (including crossword puzzles).

When we came from DC to South Africa, I left my camera on the plane. They couldn’t “find” it. It hasn’t been so bad without a camera actually, except that so many of you guys are missing my fabulous pictures (^_^). We went shopping in the capitol yesterday but the selection is really pretty limited and electronics are extremely expensive. The advice I’ve gotten is that it’s best to get one from The States. So if anyone is coming to visit me that may be when I get a camera. Or if anyone wants to help me out and find one for me and ship it via DHL that’d be pretty awesome too.

God bless you... and at the time of posting, I'm official!