Week One Reflection

This is VERY late being posted... But I thought I would post my week one reflection that was an assignment for my professors; it may interesting to read about my thoughts after the first week in Namibia.

I have been in Windhoek/Katutura for only a week and I feel as though all of my expectations are shattered, manipulated, and morphed on a daily basis.  All the talking, reading, researching, and preparation for this week could never have provided me with an accurate expectation of what I have experienced.  I am amazed at the people of Namibia.  It seems that in general most Americans have the preconceived idea that we, as Americans, are disliked in other parts of the world.  Thus far, I have yet to feel anything other than sheer excitement and curiosity from the people we meet.  The Namibian people, from the small exposure I have had in this past week, are friendly, hardworking people who are proud to share their history with us and get to know why these twelve Americans are in their country.  Similar to the United States, Namibia is full of diversity, something I had not quite expected.  We had spent some time discussing the differing tribes in our meetings prior to departure, but I had not expected the diversity to manifest the way it does back home- distinct groups of people with diverse traditions, dress, language, and way of interacting with each other. 

This weekend on the farm was one of the most eye-opening experiences for me.  I loved observing the interaction between siblings, families, and the extended family on the farm.  It seems as though each member of the family knew their place in the family and effortlessly moved around each other.  I was in awe of the children in regards to their respectfulness and how well behaved all fifteen (if I counted correctly) of the children were.  The entire time that we were at the farm, I never saw the children acting up or misbehaving.  The moment any of the kids were asked to do something, there were no responses other than doing exactly as they were asked.  It was also incredible to watch the amount of respect the children had for the elders, an evident tradition/expectation of the culture.  As soon as any food was available to us, the kids would jump up and leave us so we could eat; I never heard a complaint out of any of their mouths.  Going along with this, we all noted the amount of self-reliance and independence.  The children entertained themselves, took care of themselves, and I never saw them complain or bother any of their elders.  While the Herero culture is supposed to be patriarchal, from the power and influence of the grandmother on the farm it seems as if it is a matriarchal society disguised as patriarchal.  I also cherished the experience of washing the dishes with McKenzie and Casey, near the other women on the farm.  I gained a greater understanding of the culture and the amount of work that goes into being a part of the family.  It also provided me with a concrete example of how giving the family is, as we McKenzie and I sat and washed all the dishes for the farm: serving dishes, personal dishes, and cooking dishes for an hour and a half.  What a personal growth experience to actually put myself in someone else’s shoes!

Experiencing all these traditions has been quite meaningful and helping me understand the culture more and more.    It was quite interesting to observe the parenting techniques of the parents of the children.  From what I have seen, as I have said, the children are so much more responsible for themselves than in the States.  The parents have the expectation that the children will take care of themselves and their younger siblings as needed.  At one moment, we saw one of the young girls (3 years old) fall quite hard on to the cement.  Back home parents/adults would have jumped up to see if the child was okay, but not here.  No adults jumped up, no one checked in with the girl, no one even paid attention except those of us from the States that noticed.  The girl got up, looked at her knees and continued on her way.  I have also noticed these parenting differences in the neighborhood around the Wadadee House, as the children play and roam the streets without a parent in sight.

I am thrilled that I have been exposed to a different way of life once again.  It never ceases to amaze me how different parts of the world live and experience their lives so differently than home.  I cannot get enough of experiencing how others live in different parts of the world, and this trip has already exceeded my expectations.  Over the course of this week, Namibia has become less of “Africa” and more of “Namibia,” and I cannot imagine how this place will be anything other than home by the time we leave.