Windhooked!!

I leave Namibia tomorrow. I can not believe how quickly my time in Windhoek has flown by. I have been here for 3 and half months but, at times, it feels like moments. We will spend a week in Cape Town before travelling back to the States. While I am looking forward to coming home I am sad about leaving Namibia and the 'family' I have created here.

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving by cooking the meal for our staff as an appreciation dinner. The meal was incredible since everyone made their favorite dish from home. It was quite on experience to have 24 cooks in one kitchen! Thanksgiving was also a little bizarre because of how hot it was! Its summer here and the flowers, trees, and bushes are in full bloom. But the day was pretty perfect and it made me realize how much I have come to love the people I have spent the past months with. We are a truly diverse group of individuals but have somehow managed to forge incredible friendships. I thought clicks would form and that it would be impossible for all 24 people to get along. This group proved me wrong. There were some skirmishes through out the semester but nothing substantial.

We have had so much fun together. You can only imagine the ways we created to entertain ourselves this semester! We played games, sang, told stories, danced, swam, went out, and just enjoyed walking around Windhoek. I will really miss the people I live with!

I came to Namibia not knowing what to expect. I had done a lot of research about the history and politics of the region but nothing could have prepared me. Namibia is a gorgeous country and it is filled with incredible people. However, it is facing serious challenges. The World Bank and IMF have declared Namibia a middle income country and with that declaration a lot of aid is leaving Namibia. However the GNI, which determines income level, does not take into account that Namibia has the highest income inequality in the world. The rich are uber rich while 40% of the people can not meet their basic needs every month. The poverty and the wealth stagger you equally. Development is slow and politics has become a dirty word.

The ruling party, SWAPO, has complete control over the country. There is no clear or strong opposition party and the people are very concerned about this. However, SWAPO was Namibia's liberator and the people vote based on history and not issues. It is the failure to address issues that will cripple this fragile democracy. Namibia needs a strong opposition party to act as a watch dog and ensure issues are addressed.

The history of Namibia is violent and turbulent. The people were oppressed for over a century and Namibia is just beginning to recover from Apartheid. Namibia is a fragile democracy with a weak civil society. But the hope and intelligence is present to ensure its triumph as a nation. The country is only 18 years old and has done well for its self since Independence.

Today, I walked through downtown Windhoek for the last time and, as always, forgot I was in Africa. It is a beautiful city with all the modern convinces. But 10 minutes outside the city center people live in tin shacks and scramble for water. If I have learned anything this semester it is that nothing is simple. Development and democracy are complex issues that can not be prescribed but have to be experimented with and studied from every angle. I truly believe Namibia will become one of Africa's greatest success if it can create a solid opposition party and move past its colonial and apartheid history.

Namibia has changed me in ways I can not even begin to describe. I have seen what poverty and despair look like. I have seen children dying of HIV/AIDS. I witnessed democracy in action. I have seen communities striving to do better. I have seen people working tirelessly to protect their democracy and their way of life. I have seen people find hope in the face of despair and to live off of nothing. I have been in awe of the spirit of this nation. The philosophy of UBUNTU (I am because you are) resonates in every aspect of daily life. People matter here. Perhaps that is the greatest lesson I have learned; the importance of every person.

I will write more about my adventures in Cape Town but I can not wait to see everyone when I come home!