I landed in Munich on Sunday afternoon with an extensive layover so I took the train into the city to check out Oktoberfest. I guess Sunday was the last day of Oktoberfest so it was winding down, but it was still exciting to check out the city and do quite a bit of people watching. I tried to purchase a huge pretzel, but the vendor wouldn't accept visa... so no giant pretzel for me.
I arrived in Windhoek on Monday morning around 7am. It took quite some time getting through Namibian customs. I was held up for a little while because of my 90 day tourist visa, but eventually was let through. I was quite relieved and somewhat surprised to find that all of my luggage had arrived (note: I have very bad luck with delayed and/or missing luggage). One of the CDC drivers was there to pick me up. It's about a 40 minute drive into the city of Windhoek from the airport. My first impressions of the landscape: strikingly beautiful, rugged, and sparse. I didn't have a place to stay at first so I headed to the CDC offices to quickly meet everyone and get the hotel situation figured out. One of the CDC drivers took me around to various hotels and guesthouses until we found one with two weeks availability. We found one close to a mall and grocery store (in perfect walking distance). So, I will be here until I am able to find an apartment.
I had my first day of work today. The Namibia CDC office is extremely busy right now because their Country Operating Plan (COP) is due to headquarters 10/16. The Country Director gave me a brief overview of the office this morning. I was then ushered into a team meeting where the COP was discussed in detail. This afternoon I accompanied other staff members to some meetings regarding a new research project that will hopefully begin in December/January. The research project is aiming to reduce risk behavior associated with alcohol use through a behavioral intervention. Alcoholism is a huge problem in Namibia. The meetings were interesting as I could see the differing government and non-government organizations interact. This afternoon I edited some of the various COP budget narratives. It helped give me an idea as to some of the various work that's being done in Namibia.
Other side notes...
-I am not suffering from jet lag. Pretty exciting.
-I had pizza for lunch from a bakery today that was rather delicious.
-I would like to learn Afrikaans and Oshiwambo.
-I will try and take some photos soon.
Straight to work! Does car shopping have to happen soon too?
ReplyDeleteHey you! I love that you have started this blog. I've been thinking about you a lot and am glad that you AND your luggage made it safely. It sounds like they have good (?) food there. That's important. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd this is Annie, by the way, not Luke. I don't know how to change that...
Good Luck Girl! Sounds amazing!!! I'm pissed about the pretzel
ReplyDeleteXOXOXOX
Yeah! I plan to read the blog daily. Are there going to be more posts from Luke as well? Like "still 3 weeks until I leave for Windhoek... today I ate a pound of gouda while staring at Krysta's picture..."
ReplyDeleteGood update. You are doin' it girlfriend! So proud of you!
ReplyDeleteOK, when shall I skype you?
If you learn Afrikaans then you might end up with an accent like the bad guys from Lethal Weapon 2 ... is that really what you want, Krysta?
ReplyDeleteGretchen: yes, a car will come in quite handy I'm thinking. However, it probably will take me awhile to feel comfortable driving as it's the opposite of the US.
ReplyDeleteAnnie: good food is always important! In fact, I just ate a huge and delicious salad. YUM.
Andrea: super pissed about the pretzel!
Emily: you obviously know cheese is always involved. I will let Luke know you request his talents as a guest blogger.
Shelly: will email you to set up a skype time!
Mike: I've never seen the movie so how can I know if this is what I don't want? Or perhaps I do want? You see? Or do you?
Okay, take two. . . Caitlin was typing a message and somehow kicked us out of the first message. Whoops! I'm glad mom stopped by to tell me about the blog b/c the two cheeseheads forgot to tell me about it (didn't even get the e-mail). Silly, silly, silly. . . Anyhow not much is new here. Caitlin has been playing with her pumpkin and refuses to put it down. I still feel awful and will probably have to keep taking more medicine that makes me sick b/c of another sick student. UGH!!! Tomorrow we will help "uke" make room for the car and probably grab a bite to eat with him (M&D too). We're supposed to get snow on Sat. Crazy! I'm so glad that you're doing well. It was great to get your messages on Monday. Becky and I had a great time reading the messages on Monday. Write soon! Love you!
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