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Published: August 18th 2013
Hello, Everyone,
I am in Windhoek on holiday. We have two weeks off, and I haven't any idea what I am planning to do, but lots of possibilities. We finished exams and paperwork. The kids left Friday, we had one more meeting Saturday (yesterday), and are free. I had been planning to come to Windhoek just to shop, and to check out printing companies. I've been planning with a colleague to travel to Windhoek with him and his family on one of the plush busses. We had it all worked out and then they were all booked! So late Saturday he let me know we were leaving this morning at 6:00. I didn't do badly packing with so little time, but I forgot my Lonely Planet book. So first stop will be a book store.
Anyway, we got a ride into Rundu with the school counselor and his wife. We were five of us and Niyo's baby in this small car about the size of a Ford Focus. I was starting to cramp up, but made it. Then the way it works is we go to this lot with lots of kombis. Basically vans with bench seats. You find one you like that is going to Windhoek and sign up. The trick is to find one pretty close to full because they don't have a schedule, they leave when they are full. Fortunately, Niyo made a good choice so we only waited about an hour and we were across the road from the big gas station that has a Wimpy's and a shop. So I got a large coffee. The kombi we got had seats like a bus rather than the hard seats in the kombi I ride in to Rundu, so we did okay. And they go from Rundu to Windhoek, no stops on the way. Or one for gas, food, and restroom, but no people getting on and off, and no freight. While we were standing around waiting for two more people, I had another nice moment, just thinking how much I will miss all this. It seems a ridiculous way to do things, but it seems so normal to me now, I just do it. Just standing in this dusty lot, I didn't feel white, no one looked black, I didn't worry about the dust or the litter, it was just comfortable.
Only one tiny disaster. Because of our change of plan, I didn't get to reserve a room and it is the high season and the school vacation. Backpackers where I usually stay was full. But there is a hotel (a B & B really) right around the corner that I have walked by a lot, so I came here and got their last room. A bit more than I need, but it was getting dark. I have a double bed and two singles. I'll move over to Backpackers tomorrow. I feel more at home there and lots of people sit in the kitchen and chat which is nice.
You all will not believe this! My principal told me that Mrs. Eises, who is the circuit inspector under the regional ministry, and who is the one who finally "lent" me a refrigerator, wants it back in September. They are getting their own volunteers who will need the frig (we are under the national ministry, so not technically their responsibility, so they don't have to give us a frig.) . So during winter I had a frig. and just as it is beginning to get hot, I won't. Fortunately, my new roommate Ms. Kanyenge, has a little refrigerator in her room. She says we can move it into the kitchen and share. But it is smaller than mine was, and mine was small. So I won't be able to keep much in it. But when it gets really hot, cold water is a lifesaver, so I'll keep water in there.
Did I tell you all about my cabbage? The agriculture teacher came into the staff room one day carrying three very large (not quite Alaskan) cabbages. They were right off the farm which he has a connection with. Anyway, I admired them and told him how much I loved cabbage and shamed him in to giving me one. So I made cole slaw. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but I had got a lovely green pepper in Rundu and had some carrots, so I went to the shop and got vinegar and poof. It feels like a great event. I used a veggie peeler to peel small pieces of carrot. It turned out quite lovely, so I kept recreating it and ate that whole cabbage in about three days. I did give some to Kapisi, also, (my supplier). I get so excited over fresh vegetables these days. Last night I cut up all the vegetables I had (since I was leaving), a cucumber, a yellow pepper (both from Rundu) two tomatoes, then I made some couscous and mixed it all together with some mayo and ate it all. Really there is everything one needs, so I don't know why it is such a big thing for me. I guess it is that I have one pot, one large yogurt container which is my mixing bowl, one knife, and one vegetable peeler, so I feel like I am roughing it and being super creative. Maybe I could write a cookbook called, "One Pot, One Knife, One Yogurt Container, and One Vegetable Peeler Two Hundred Miles from Nowhere." My friends call kilograms "cages" because they always see Kg. (Upon rereading, I see that the last comment was a little off-the-wall, but it seemed to go with cooking.)
It is getting late and cold. I have to sit outside to use the wireless, and my battery is running low. So I am going to stop. Since I am on holiday, I'll try to write more frequently. I don't want you all to forget me.
Love, Wendy
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Guy
non-member comment
No one is going to forget you Meantime, as you settle into summer we're settling into our new home on Whidbey, and it's been a delight. Weeks of sunny and clement and not too hot. Over the weekend we visited the County Fair and at one point I was suddenly moved to tears among all the different domestic animals -- farm, barn and living room people -- and the fact that so much of our lives the past centuries is lived far apart from them. And here they were in all their furred, feathered and unpretending beauty. We were so glad to see Stella, our cat, back at home we celebrated all over again.