Last weekend was one of my best experiences to date in Namibia. I spent the weekend in Owamboland, about 2 hours north of Tsumeb. I stayed in a village just outside Ondangwa with a friend. By the end of the weekend I didn't want to leave.
The trip began a little ominously as we sat in the back of a taxi watching modest homes being taken over by flood waters. This is the second straight year Northern Namibia has experienced dangerous flooding. Many people have had to vacate their homes leaving furniture and other ruined valuables. Even a few Peace Corps volunteers were evacuated for precautionary measures. The village I stayed in, while impacted by the flood, did not pose any real danger. Still, to reach the homestead where I stayed we did have to cross an oshana with water at a depth of about 2 feet. Oshanas are like small valleys where the water collects. The water surrounded the property, taking over a piece of the farmland where healthy mahangu (like millet) had been growing. You can see the water and the mahangu field in this picture, as well as my friend Aune. She is one of nine living on the homestead. The family consists of Meme, Tate, children, grandchildren and cousins... a normal mix for a village family in the Owambo culture.
After crossing the oshana we arrived at the homestead and I was soon greeted by the Meme, a super kind woman... I don't speak her language, but sometimes you can just tell. Then I met Tate. He does speak some english. In fact he speaks a lot of it, broken but spirited. I managed to understand him most of the time. He would probably say the same about me. Then I quickly met some cousins who came flying in holding the fresh fish they just caught in the flood waters. We ate them the next day, although I had only a small piece of fish for worry it could make me sick. Luckily that didn't happen. As evening set in that Friday night I remembered I'd be spending the weekend with a million friendly mosquitoes and without electricity. I also remembered there was no toilet or shower. Imagine that, I got to spend one weekend roughing it like a real Peace Corps Volunteer. The only real problem were the mosquitoes... thank God for a mosquito net. I don't know how I could've slept without one.
On Saturday I got to work in the field hoeing down weeds. Then I got to pound
Mahangu, as shown in the second picture. This is the process of turning the mahangu seeds into flour. This is traditionally a woman's job but they allowed me to give it a try. I wasn't very good at it. The girls proved to be much more efficient. After a little work I helped prepare lunch. This is also usually a woman's task but they understood I was one of those crazy new age Americans and humoured me. In the afternoon the girls were back to pounding the mahangu. They had to make a batch of extra fine flour to prepare a special sweet bread called Oshikwida (sp?). I spent a couple of hours just watching them pound. I was completely entertained. It's amazing how much work they put into pounding. As the sun was going down I grabbed a bucket and filled it with water to bathe. It was one of the best baths I've ever taken. The mens' bathing area was at the corner of the homestead looking west. I peered out over the mahangu fields and palm trees watching the sun come down... while bathing. When's the last time you can say you did that?
On Sunday we went to their church. It's about a 30 minute walk from the homestead. I knew we'd have to cross the oshana again. How was I going to wear church appropriate attire and do that? Well I carried most of it. I walked across in my dress shirt, shorts and sandals. The ladies had to hike up their dresses. Really it was fun. If I had to do it every weekend it would probably grow tiresome. The service was all in Oshiwambo... except when the pastor spoke english to personally greet me in front of the congregation. That was really nice. The whole thing was enjoyable. I just kind of sat in my own world appreciating all the joys the Lord had given me that weekend. I was supposed to leave right after church but I didn't want to. I stuck around for
lunch, a couple more conversations with Tate, and some time under the shade tree. When I finally reached Tsumeb it was already dusk, but I'm pretty sure people could still see me smiling as I walked to the house. Some experiences just leave you giddy inside. I can't wait to go back.
This last picture is of one of the many huts as well as some of the squash growing on the homestead walls. While mahangu is their main crop they also have mango trees, guava trees, and pumpkins growing on the premises. In the corrals they had about 20 goats, maybe 10 chickens and 4 donkeys for plowing.
