In this entry I'll talk about my trip up to the Northern border of Namibia that I took during a five-day holiday weekend for Namibia's independence day (March 21st).
Independence day is an event that is joyfully celebrated by every citizen of the country. There is some sort of event or activity that takes place in every town and large village. I think part of the reason that Independence is such a big thing is because it's still a pretty new things. This year is the 17th birthday for Namibia, and March 21st happened to fall on a wednesday, so the Ministry of Education decided to give the school thursday and friday off as well. Who am I to complain. I, along with my good friend Jay and my neighbor Lindsay (both fellow Peace Corps volunteers) decided to take the time to go to the Northern part of Namibia which is quite different then the flat, dry, desert that covers the middle and southern regions. The North starts to become tropical with more rainfall and more diverse plant and animal life. It is also a place that not inhabited by the German's during the colonial days and as a result, it has less infrastructure, more population density and almost no white people (other then volunteers from various organizations).
It is also mostly inhabited by a tribe of people called Owambos, which speak Otjiwambo as oppossed to at my school which is comprised completely of Hereros that speak Otjiherero. The two languages derived from the same place and there is a lot of similarities, and in many cases the same words are used, however the difference was just big enough to make me really confused every time I heard Otjiwambo.
Anyway, Jay, Lindsay and I headed up North together. The total distance from my school to Rucana Falls (the place in the North where we were staying) is about 700 miles, and we don't have a car and aren't allowed to drive. That leaves us with two options: (a) we can try to hitch-hike or (b) we can take the somewhat organized public transport system, which more or less consists of a group of guys with run down Toyota Corollas parking their cars in a particular location in a particular city and then for a set rate driving you to another city. Option (b) is entertaining because whenever you walk up to the street corner where all the cars are parked the potential drivers will jump all over themselves trying to get your business. A lot of times this will result in 2 or more drivers getting into an all out screaming match over why they deserve my business. This allows me to then go and get a ride from the 3rd driver who is quitely sitting to the side with his car door open for me. There is one downside to this method, it costs money, and if I were to travel 700 miles via this method, I would be broke, so that means that most of the time we hitch-hiked.
Hitch-hiking, or just "hiking" in Namibia is very different than in the states. Most people can't afford cars or public transport so hiking is a very common way to get around and as a result there is a system of hand signals that are commonly used to communicate between the driver and hiker. For example, the traditional thumbs up sign that is used for hiking in America is definitly NOT the sign you would want to give to a potential lift. That sign means I'm OK and that you don't need to stop. The sign that you are asking for a ride is as follows: extend your arm straight out, perpindicular to your body. Then rotate your wrist up and down as if you are bouncing a basketball. When I driver sees this he/she will either point to the left or to the right, indicating that they are about to turn, pound their fist into their hand, meaning that the vehicle is already full, point their finger toward the ground and make a circular motion, showing that they are only going around town, or if they are a middle aged white Afrikkaner, drive past you without making any sort of signal in their brand new Audi. To any of these actions, the correct response of the hiker is to say some sort of curse word and try to shoot the driver a dirty look that they will see in their rear-view mirror.
This usually went on for 20 minutes to 30 minutes before some kind person will pull over and ask us where we are going. At this point we would all stuff our Ipods in our pockets, run up to the driver and explain where we were headed and that we are volunteers and didn't have enough money to pay for a hike. This statement was true, but some people didn't quite believe it. That could possibly be because we all had backpackers backpacks, nice shows and we were white, however eventually some driver would take pity on us and let us ride with them.
Unfortunately, there is a rather big line to use the computer right now, so I'm going to have to cut this entry short. I'll try to finish it tomorrow and to also add some pictures of Rucana if I am able to upload them. Hope all is well.
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