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Published: February 20th 2010
Well, the title says it all, even if it is a slight exageration. This week I had an offer of a 2 year volunteer placement in Namibia from VSO, my former employers from way back.
I'd re-applied to volunteer back in November after we found out that the wait time was 2 years plus for my Australian visa, and in-spite of them telling me they wanted me back, when they hadn't come across with anything concrete after 2 weks of my badgering phone calls, I decided not to chase them any harder. And what do you know, 3 months later an offer arrives in my inbox.
I looked into the placement description, and being experienced in the ways of VSO, took everything with a pinch of salt, as, back when I was a volunteer, placement descriptions were about as accurate as British weather forecasts, for the non-uk among you thats not very accurate at all.
Fortunately in this situation, I am a lucky man, as I count among my very good friends the VSO Program Director for Nambia. One Skype chat later and I had a bit more info and some excellent advice. I had also spoken to Mr Martin, the
wisest of wise men in the ways of Namibian NGO's (non government organisations) and my former housemate and general partner in New World crime! He's lived there since 1997 and knows all there is to know!
I never really considered it seriously, but I felt given my emotional attachment to Namibia, and the great sounding job description, that it bore at least some discussion, and that we shouldn't just dismiss it straight away. I had a long talk with Verlie, and we spoke about the possibilty of a refund on our flights to Australia (no hope) and what she might get up to while I was off cruising around northern Namibia. The last thing we wanted to do was be apart for long periods of time, and the job description I was looking at covered a large area, and lots of travel and stays away from home would be required. It was quite a quick and easy decision in the end, but like I said I just felt it deserved at least some discussion.
As you can see from the pictures I have posted, it's a beautiful country but I've had my time in Namibia and they were some
Dunes
Sand Dunesof the best days of my life, and I'd like to remember those days as they were. It wasn't just the country that made those days so great, it was the people, and the experiences. It was being driven through town at 2am siting on the roof of my pick up, from a party to the pub to watch Lennox Lewis' outrageous draw with Evander Holyfield and falling asleep on the bar. It was walking for 3 hours while trying to hitch a lift 100km's back into town after I rolled my pick up truck, and eventually being forced, as darkness fell, to knock on some strangers door, ask to use their phone and break up my housemates romantic evening to ask him to come and get me. It was sitting on the doorstep of our house with him, sharing a case of Tafel lager someone bought me for my birthday. It was seeing the face of the roadside trader, when I swapped my favourite green Reebok classics and South Park T shirt for some badly made tat (both were too big for him......by some considerable margin). It was dancing like an idiot....(yes me...dancing) to Dire Straits. It was looking
Okumbahe Campsite
5 Star Accomodation through the pub window and seeing the sky turn from black to school trouser grey, another all-nighter. It was waking up later that day, hearing the familiar Australian accent, that meant it was donut time It was getting stoned for the first time at a party and re-creating the ashes cricket in Aussie Dave's back garden. It was about sleeping under the stars, then getting lost in the desert. It was about playing pool for shots and getting drunk for free. And It was about making friends for life, that I don't see as often as I'd like.
It would be wrong to take the new placement to try and recapture those heady days, I should be looking forward to new horizons, making new memories and making new friends for life. I will take Verlie back to Namibia one day, because I want her to experience the Africa that I know and love, and I hope that it will in some small way balance out the slightly less positive experience she had in Africa hersef.
Some day.....just not today
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Richard Hankin
non-member comment
Namibia
Must have been very tempting, but I think you made the right decision for the right reasons. All the best with the Oz planning. Dick.