Friday night had me going to the grand opening of Paul’s Coffee Shop in Windhoek. One of the volunteers, Claude, has been working to help establish the coffee shop over the last 3 months. What is so special in this case is that the coffee shop is operated entirely by persons with disabilities. The coffee shop will operate as a working school for persons with disabilities to learn about the food and hospitality business in a non-threatening environment. I have to say that the place is amazing and the food I had was wonderful. If I were around Windhoek more often I’d certainly stop in a couple times a week.
Last Day in Windhoek
Today was my last in Windhoek and I decided to forgo doing things that I needed to do and went exploring. I grabbed my camera and ipod and started walking toward the hills. The neighborhoods here are very nice and very safe to walk around in. The only drawback you find is that each house is surrounded by a gate and there are usually 2 angry dogs waiting to get their chance to bark at you. My exploring led me to a hidden trail that led up a mountain where I was sure to get some excellent views. I was right. A quick 30 min hike and I was able to see what I’ve posted here.
I promptly was rained on by the cloud you see to the right of the picture and retreated to my luxury suite. A quick shower and off to buy the things I really needed to get today…bedding, etc. In my infinite wisdom and luck everything closed at 1pm while it was now 5pm. Dinner and a walk back home…we’ll see what I plan for tonight…could be a hang out night.
Transportation in Windhoek
Windhoek has no official public transportation. Taxis are available and cost only 7 namibian dollars which is equal to $1 US. It doesn’t matter how far you go, still $1. Now the catch is that they’ll often drive around and pick people up until the car is full…somehow it works. Traveling around Namibia is another story. There really doesn’t seem to a be an easy way to get anywhere so they have hitch hiking stations around the country. Each distance from town to town has a set rate that anyone who has a car can charge. The government relies on private car owners to help provide transportation…again, somehow it works.
Windhoek Region
I know that I mentioned it before, but there really is nothing around Windhoek, but rock, dirt and low growing trees. I find it magnificent, but it also explains why no one lives there. It’s as green right now as it’s ever going to get and with no rain for the next 6 months it’s going to get pretty dry. Most of the land is used for cattle grazing with little land available to be used for farming. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the country.
Windhoek Visually
Windhoek turns out to be quite a modern city. Good food, good shopping and all at a decent price….better than Cincinnati I dare say. Traffic doesn’t exist and feels extremely safe…basically the opposite of Nairobi.
And what city would be complete without a KFC? Again, though, McDonald’s is mysteriously absent just like in Kenya where it is not allowed.
$5 Haircut
So I had to get my haircut and picked a random roadside barber. For $5 I was able to get a sweet clipper cut with a shampooing, conditioning and scalp massage. I am now the proud owner of a Namibian style of it’s own.
Update: Barber also took the liberty to give me a terrible goat-tee which I did not want.
Miss Reid’s Class Questions
It appears that I’m an interesting guy and a wealth of knowledge as Miss Reid’s 3rd grade class has some questions for me and I have some answers:
Do you like michigan or osu? (you should say michigan because that’s what miss reid really likes)
One more than the other, definitely michigan; however, I believe it’s sacrilegious to say either as I’m a penn state grad.
Do you like cheese, chocolate and pumpkin pie?
Cheese if it’s melted, chocolate if it’s milk chocolate and pumpkin pie all the time.
Do you like horses?
Of course, beautiful and scary at the same time. First time I rode one I nearly, well kind of did, wet my pants because my cousin kept cracking jokes about his gassy horse.
Do you have friends in Egypt?
I do now. I met some great people when I visited and hope to keep in contact and see them again soon.
What’s your favorite animal in mason?
Does Miss Reid count?
Rain
Tonight we found out that rain does in fact hit a country that averages 300 days of sun a year…it apparently hits it pretty hard with hail. It’s always fun sprinting down the road in a downpour…even better when your buddy doesn’t have a rain coat…sorry Tim.
The Woodruff’s Strike Again!
My program manager quit after one day of my being here. The Woodruff boys really do ruin Africa. This should be fun.
Later…
Arrive in Windhoek, Namibia. Is there even a town? I see nothing from the plane…cool with me. I’m one of the first in line for customs. I have a slight problem. I have been told by my organization to come in as a ‘tourist’ as the work permit is not ready. I try this. No address means that doesn’t work. I tell them reality, they take my passport and make me wait. When I say wait, that means that all passengers must pass through and then they’ll acknowledge me. Add 45 min. They give me a receipt for my passport and tell me I can get it when I have my work permit.
I get my bags and look for someone who is picking me up. No one. Apparently I’m a surprise visitor…lucky me. Get some money out. Buy a sim card for my phone. Ring the org and after 2 more hours I get a ride. The ride is another 45 min.
All in all, I’m here.
The Journey Begins
Find myself on a plane from Johannesburg, or Jo-burg, to Windhoek, Namibia. Also find myself upgrading from the lowly seat 17A to a much more prestigious 10C…take that world.
The trip so far has been comprised of a few cat naps, some obscurely small beverages and airplanes full of people.
1. Leave Cincinnati on Saturday. Say goodbye to parents and Shannon before shooing away Shannon before having a wet face…success; however, not satisfying. Proceed to wait 30 minutes before plane arrives. Here we go again.
2. Chicago is awesome because I get to leave the airport, take a 10 min ride from one terminal to the next and arrive at another security line. Fortunately, the line does not exist this time around and I do not wait. Unfortunately, I get to wait inside the worst airport terminal, period. I ‘treat’ myself to day old yogurt and granola and receive a reply of silence when asking the clerk how her day is going…. did i mention i love Chicago?
3. 747 plane ride to London is quick. ‘I Am Legend’ and latest installment of Nicolas Cage’s overacting feature, ‘National Treasure’, help pass the time. Cheesecake is good. Mini Cokes are better. I’d like to see the mini factory some day.
4. London is awesome…especially from inside the airport for 14 hours. Savior…Yotel. Don’t let the name fool you…this no Foakley hotel…it’s pretty sweet. Little cabin, little shower, great bed…I smelled and looked like roses after a full ‘nights’ sleep and a shower. On to the brand new Terminal 5…just a couple of free train rides…they have nice trains…and I was basking in the glory that is Terminal 5.It’s wawesome! Coolest feature: automatic trays for security lines. They feed through a bottom track, you put all your stuff in one bin, and the bins are sent through automatically by a feed mechanism that moves things quickly but never allows the separate bins to touch….gotta see it to appreciate it. The Terminal is one large open area under a dome and is essentially an upscale shopping center with top tier restaurants. Thai green curry for me. I buy a tshirt. I buy some cds. So far so good. I go to my plane happy.
5. I get on plane and become unhappy. 1. Flight to JB is 10.5 hours. 2. No on demand video means if I miss the beginning I have to wait for it to start again. 3. Bulk head seating: no leg room and bags have to be up top. 4. Flight is delayed 2 hours, 1 hour 55 min 59 secs spent inside the airplane. Good news isn’t far behind though. I manage to squeak in some sleep. Don’t let this fool you because the best is yet to come. I spend the next 2 or so hours watching and enjoying ‘There Will Be Blood.’ Lucky me, we have to land. The flight attendant physically pushes my screen down as the last 5 minutes of the movie are playing…clearly didn’t trust me to turn it off…for good reason I’ll admit. Now I need someone to tell me what happened at the end so I can appreciate the deep and no doubt, meaningful message.
6. Johannesburg. Well…we wait for buses to take us to the terminal. I wait for the one clerk to hand out boarding passes to the mob at the desk. When you’re dealing with a mess of foreigners in a foreign country there will be no line…I offer $5 guarantees on this one (not really *legal note). I’m uninspired by the building and get to wait for another bus to take me to a more uninspiring 737 straight out of the 80s…yippee.
7. Fly to Windhoek and type what’s going on. Have another delicious meal of lamb cheesiness. Feel blood flow slowing after 4 airplane meals within 48 hours. As Jerry Seinfeld once so eloquently put it, why the used razor blade slot in the lavatory? Ooh, fun turbulence on the way down. More to come later…