Finally Back in Windhoek

August 20th, 2009

My internal time clock is slowly catching up.

Its now 4:30 AM Namibia time and I can’t sleep, but this is pretty typical for one’s first week of jet lag. You’ll feel extremely tired around 8 or 9 PM and will be sleeping away, then something inside says, “Wait! Something is not right here! Wake UP!” And there you sit on the bed looking at your watch and anticipating when you’ll see the first sunlight crease its way across the floor through bedroom windows.

There are some benefits. It allows one to see some nice sunrises and slowly wake up with chirping birds normally missed from normal sleeping schedules. I also kept thinking about my short time back in the states and how much fun it was to be back. So I decided it was a good time to blog.

Last time, it took me about 4 days to finally have a normal sleeping schedule, which was substantially helped by large amounts of caffeine. This time it doesn’t appear I’ll have to go on any large caffeine benders. I did purchase my favorite green tea just in case.

The Journey: [Omaha => Detroit => Amsterdam => Johannesburg => Upington => Windhoek]

I spent a total of 60+ hours of traveling when one combines both plane rides [to the states and back] and my bus ride from Johannesburg to Windhoek. Totally exhausting.

And in a two-week period, this almost pushes the limit.

The bus ride and spending extra time in Jo’burg allowed me to rest up and slowly adjust. It almost kills me to be 6 foot 6 inches and have to be balled up in coach for hours on end. Luckily, the guy seated by the window on the Amsterdam to Jo’burg flight had some type of stomach issue and was relieving himself frequently. It gave my legs a chance to feel blood flowing again.

But its good to finally be back, united with my colleagues again, and meeting some great new room mates from Germany. Two are doctors finishing up their in-house practice requirements in the state hospital in Katatura. To pick Katatura shows a lot of passion about their field of work. I’m going to help volunteer on the weekends with them when I’m not in the field.

The Flights:

I was a little disappointed I couldn’t explore Europe when I landed in Amsterdam’s airport! It was all I could do to just go buy coffee and not look at the Amsterdam calendars and postcards showcasing the city’s beauty. All the promotional films in the plane didn’t help either, especially seeing people renting bikes and just cruising around. I only had 3 hours and wish I had at least two days!

There will be another day Europe! And I will explore my family’s roots and all the history soon!

Johannesburg was such an interesting experience for me. I’ve never been in a city that can completely scare the sh!t out of you, yet strike such wonder and curiosity. You have to be totally aware of things at all times. I shot some great HD video with my Flip, but sadly it will probably have to wait till I return to the states to upload all the files to youtube and the blog.

[Just a little side note pitch for Flip: totally amazing machine. Its so small it looks like a cell phone and allows one to shoot more candid shots without people knowing they’re being filmed. And from a journalism standpoint I see big things happening now when people can carry around their own cameras and produce high quality footage. If you’re traveling anywhere, you should purchase one of these and you won’t regret it!]

My first time through Jo’burg was such a surface attempt at experiencing the city, and this time around I was not going to pass up the opportunity to go out and explore.

It never ceases to amaze me about the various reactions people have when you start talking about this city. Many immediately chop it off as a dangerous place [the statistics do place it as one of the most violent cities in the world] where one should never leave the airport. Others, feel its perfectly fine if you play it safe and take proper precautions. I tend to fall in the second camp.

There is some concern about the World Soccer Cup being hosted and the safety of fans. I’m not sure what is going to happen. Its too late to rebid the hosting country and the stadiums are already built and ready to go… Sadly, it still feels like apartheid is well and alive in this city. Segregation is still easily seen and the wealth distribution is also extreme, so crime is going to happen with these extremes.

I hope for South Africa’s sake that the World Cup still occurs and that its safe for people. It’s a great opportunity to showcase a beautiful country.

Touring Jo’burg:

Cab fair is pretty outrageous in that city and drastically cut down the places and ect. where I could go in two days time. One of my big goals was accomplished and that was going to the world famous Apartheid Museum. Sadly, one still see’s large traces of segregation in Jo’burg’s society, especially when one compares the different township living conditions.

One of the strengths in this museum was making the “human experience” of apartheid the first step one takes upon entering the building. Its so easy for one to just purchase a ticket at other museums and not have a clue or context about what you’re going to experience.

At the Apartheid Museum, you walk by pillars with pictures of living relatives who’s families were impacted by apartheid rule in negative ways. The mirrors in the pillars positioned behind the life size photos places the contemporary history right at your feet before you walk in.

Once you enter, many ID cards fill the area showing how people were classified and terms and law were defined that allowed apartheid to occur. It was a moving experience to start a museum tour in this fashion. The original signs also added to the intensity with the words “whites” and “colored” leading you into the building.

The Bus:

For 100 US dollars, I can’t complain much about taking 20 hours to make it from Jo’burg to Windhoek.

Upington, ZA is a nice little community with amazing wine and grape fields. Luckily, I was able to see lots of ZA during the day on this trip and a large part of Jo’burg leaving for Upington. Now, I just need to travel to Cape Town for a nice Rugby football weekend when time allows me to go.

Customs was a pain this time and took forever to work through the system. There were five guys from Pakistan who were traveling with us. They were profiled quite extensively and held up the border transition, but everything eventually came through for them and we were all on our way.

I had the privilege of sitting by one of them and piecing together his story. Luckily, that morning I bought a condensed World Atlas book, so I showed him where I was from and he showed me where in Pakistan he was from. He told me many stories about traveling around in the region, what life is like in his homeland, and the struggles his family faces there.

Initially, I figured they were from the Afgan border region. I was right. They’ve been on the run for 25 years now avoiding all the conflict. I couldn’t imagine being away from home and family for that period of time. Yet, they were extremely friendly and open about their culture and country with me. It would seem to me it would be painful to talk about certain things, but maybe all my questions takes them back to that place in their minds and heart they call home.

The wreck:

And until yesterday, I could say I was never involved in a motor vehicle accident. Now, it’s a badge I can wear. Our bus rear-ended a van full of 20+ people in the wee morning ours just outside of Windhoek. I’m not sure what happened. I only heard the bump noise and the screeching impact. Luckily, everyone appeared to be fine from the accident.

I immediately exited the bus and went to the back where all the luggage was sitting and dug around till I found my two bags and immediately called Helge to come and pick me up. Things were turning chaotic fast and I just wanted to go to my hostel apartment.

Regardless of the rough start in Windhoek, I’m excited about my new roommates, being relocated to my first hostel apartment again, the survey, and the 4 months I have waiting in front of me.

Thank-you for reading and I look forward to talking more about the conservancy system in Namibia, my research, and ect. in further depth. There is so much to be learned here about community development and working landscapes incorporating wildlife and other ecosystem goals into the management plans. Rubber is hitting the road with the survey and I can't wait to share my experiences and stories from the freehold land farmers.

Cheers,

A.E. Price

PS: Here are some photos from Jo'burg. Enjoy!

The World Cup Soccer Stadium:



Driving Around To Park Station: