travel bug

i have woken entirely too early. 630 am? i think this is even before i would wake up during my dear old high school days. what has gotten into me!?

this has definitely been a good week thus far, save for the crapload of homework i keep hacking away at. i mean, i guess all my learning can't be "experiential," but come onnn.

sunday evening a boy in our group, jason, had the opportunity to play saxophone at one of the local theaters! it was so cool and jazzy and fun. he had met the band that was playing at a documentary viewing last week, and they offered for him to come and make a special guest appearance when they performed at the warehouse! he learned 6 brand spankin new songs in just two hours of rehearsal - talk about amazing. very lisa simpson of him.

monday i was able to meet with the Windhoek municipality and talk about housing plans. it was really interesting, and she was so hopeful and kind. she was trying to explain to me the government's involvement in the low income housing projects. it kind of frustrated me because the government thinks its okay for 400+ people to share 1 communal water tap and 1 communal toilet, which they don't even install for 2+ years because of the long process to get the plans approved. people here live without these needs turned luxuries for more than 2 years waiting on some signature? i think that is so wrong.

wednesday was just the same. i met with another group of shackers turned house owners and heard their stories. they are so tragic and beautiful at the same time. the settlements are so mind blowing. how can 5 pieces of scrap metal be a home? how can children play in dirt and litter and broken glass with no shoes?

in the afternoon, i was given the amazing opportunity to hang out with orphaned children and take them to the windhoek annual fair. it was all out of pocket, and we limited our spending to 10$ each, but i was willing to spend so much more for this little 7 year old girl. her name was mectilda (took me awhile to figure out how to pronounce that), and i tried to give her a 4 star experience. we looked at the huge livestock, got our faces painted, rode rides, jumped on the moon bounce, played games and won prizes! oh and ate cotton candy in excess. i could not think of a better way to spend the afternoon. i am going to try to volunteer at the orphanage more often (chi omega's- look for an article about this orphanage in the upcoming eulysius magazine!)

last night we attended a poetry slam/spoken word that is held the first wednesday of everymonth at the local cultural arts center. 5 americans from my group performed. danielle is a black woman with a lot of attitude and alot to say - you always want to be on her good side. she had two striking poems, one about the american government's apology for slavery, and the other about the stereotypes of a "ghetto girl." latrease recited her poem about "lyrical tissue," and how she is a phenomenal black woman, and how everything that comes out of her is worth writing down. both of them made it clear that no man is worth ruining their future for. melissa showed us a softer side. john made me laugh, talking about being "lost in katatura." heidi made me homesick for lakes and pine trees and cardinals. everyone did an amazing job, even if the namibians were kind of sore over our ample participation. meh. maybe they just don't speak up enough?

some of the other acts were definitely FLOWS rhymes spits whatever you want to call them, they were awesome... and kind of reminded me of mr. deeds and his greeting cards...

i guess i wish there were easy answers to all of this hate in the world.

go cubs.