1st from Namibia

Hey all,

This is my first post from Namibia! We arrived at the Windhoek (the capital) airport Wednesday July 22 in the afternoon and took a bus directly to our training site, Okahandja, about an hour north of Windhoek. We were greeted by Peace Corps staff and trainers as well as a choir who sang us some songs.

At our training center we are sleeping in dorm rooms. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided. It has been very cool staying with all the other volunteers. We are Group 40 (the 40th group to go to Namibia) and there are 49 of us (one of the larger groups that has gone). Pretty much every corner of the Continental US is represented which is pretty cool. The training program is 3 months long and so far we've just been doing introductions, getting to know what we can expect in the near future. Tomorrow we will all get our language assignments. There are 7 languages spoken here and each volunteer will be assigned 1 to learn. On Tuesday we move in with host families. Every volunteer  stays with their own host family for the rest of training.

Moving in with a host family definitely makes me a little nervous, but I am also extremely excited. It will be an incredible experience and will help tremendously with integrating into the culture. As for what I will be working on after training, I still have to wait a month to find out. I got to read some position descriptions and pick preferences, but its pretty much out of my hands. I'm not to worried about it, because I'm confident that wherever I end up will be an incredible experience.

We've had a lot of downtime the past couple of days. Its given us a chance to hangout and get to know each other. We've explored town, went on a hike, been tossing frisbees and footballs, soccer games, yoga, running, card games, and so on. So pretty much we've just been having a great time. There is also a bar across the street. The beer is nothing special, but a draft is 17 Namibian dollars or roughly 1.70 USD...No complaints here.

The real training and cultural integration starts this week, so our downtime is going to decrease, but I'm looking forward to everything. We've only been here for 5 days, but its been amazing and best (and probably the worst) is yet to come.

This was our plane from JFK to South Africa.

This is Group 40 having just arrived at Windhoek Airport. This picture made its way into newspapers.

What I'll Miss Most

As excited as I am to get to Namibia and start an incredible adventure, I can't stop thinking about all the things that I am going to miss when I am away. In no particular order here's a few of them:

Good Beer
Going to Concerts
Late Night Tasty Burger
Skiing
Watching Sports (mainly football and March Madness)
Fenway Park
New England Seafood
Cannolis from the North End
The White Mountains
etc...

But of course what I'll miss most is the people. The best part of wherever I've been has undoubtedly been the people that I've been lucky enough to surround myself with. Whether in Westboro, Boston, Poughkeepsie, NYC, Australia, etc. I always have amazing family and friends to turn to. The past four weeks is evidence of this.

My college buddies surprised me in Boston and left me with some truly unforgettable memories. Went to Denver and had a great time drinking beer and rock climbing with my brother. Had another amazing 4th of July cookout with the Blois family where I had the best clams and lobster that I'll have for a couple years. Headed down to NYC for some good times with some good friends. Then lastly, had a spectacular going away party where family and friends came to see me off  on my journey.

I'm truly going to miss people more than they know. However, while I'm going to miss family and friends, I can't wait to meet my fellow Peace Corps volunteers. I look forward to forming amazing relationships with some amazing people.

Packing List

Here's a brief run down of what I've stuffed into 2 checked bags and a carry-on.

Work Clothes:
Dress Shirts
Khakis
Dress Shoes
Dress Socks
Ties

Regular Clothes:
Polos
T-Shirts
Jeans
Shorts
Workout Clothes

Footwear:
Sneakers
Running Shoes
Chacos
Flip Flops
Hiking boots

Electronics:
Laptop
Tablet
Cameras
MP3 Player
Smartphone
Small speaker
External hard drive (loaded with movies)
Extra batteries

Other:
Toiletries
Camping/backpacking gear
Workout gear
Kitchen knife
Taco seasoning (apparently a luxury)
Small gifts for host family
Ukulele (to learn)

Probably some stuff I'm forgetting to list but you get the idea.

Expectations

So while hiking solo for 3 days in the White Mountains, I had quite a bit of time to think about stuff. Among other things, I thought a lot about what my expectations are for my Peace Corps service.

When I first got the invitation to go serve in Namibia I started forming all sorts of expectations for myself in terms of what I wanted to accomplish and what I wanted to learn. It was exciting to think about all of the possibilities and opportunities. However, as I thought about it more I started cutting back on my expectations. It's not that I don't think I have a lot to give and to learn (because I know I do). It is because I want to go into this experience with a completely open mind.

It is hard to have  expectations when you don't really know what to expect. My living and working situations are largely unknown to me right now. If I go to Namibia with lots of expectations, I am going in with a fixed mind set. Open mindedness will better enable me to adapt to the environment that I am placed in. I think this essential to being a successful volunteer.

That said, I do have "big picture" expectations. First and foremost I expect to make a difference. I can't say how big of difference I will make, but I will leave the country confidently knowing that I helped in some way. I also expect to learn. There is no doubt that I will come away with more knowledge and skills than I arrived with. I expect to be challenged. I don't expect there to be too many easy days, and I know I'll have to overcome many unique obstacles. Lastly I expect to come away with experiences and relationships that I will happily carry for the rest of my life. I've yet to step on Namibian soil but I know that the entire 27 months will be incredible.