Namibia 2006 - 2007

Culture Shock!

2007-07-13T16:25:00.001+02:00

I have now been in Sweden for two weeks and am emotionally starting to land on planet earth again. I’ve felt not good or bad but strange, very strange the last couple of weeks (well, strange in a quite bad way). In the beginning I had nightmares and felt dizzy but now I sleep like a stone and feel ok. The reason why I have been felling like this is simply because it has been very hard to leave all my friends and my life in Oshivelo.
But that is also a good sign that I have had a wonderful year and I am very happy to have been through all I’ve been through. Many stories to tell to the grandchildren!
I will return to Namibia soon.

Thank you for checking in on my blog during the last year and until we meet again: Enjoy life!

Jonatan

2007-07-13T16:23:00.000+02:00

04.07. Afterparty.

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2007-07-13T13:48:00.000+02:00

Me and Hofni.

Leaving Oshivelo

2007-06-18T21:46:00.000+02:00

I now have two nights left in Oshivelo. I run around and say bye to all my friends and constantly feel like throwing up. I think I’ve never felt more fucked up in the head.

Check out: www.p4.no, choose “Hør P4”, "Programmer i opptak", "Gelius og Hvermann", "17.juni" – Interwiev with me (in Norwegian (almost))

2007-06-01T00:21:00.000+02:00

2007-06-01T00:19:00.001+02:00

Me on first belay of Winds of Dispair.

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Kristoffer is leading Bonzai.

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Maja is abseiling down to safety.

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50 m from the top.

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2007-05-31T23:58:00.001+02:00

We disposed two hot water showers and two flushing toilets in the middle of the bush! It felt not just a little strange to flush an outside toilet with miles and miles of nothingness surrounding you. Campsite luxury at its peak.

2007-05-31T23:49:00.000+02:00

The campsite at Okonjima Lodge. We had the bush pretty much for our self.

2007-05-31T23:46:00.001+02:00

Breakfast by the river. (This is how rivers look like here.)

2007-05-31T23:41:00.000+02:00

Back from the village. You can see how unnecessary it is to wear clothes in a Himba village – they only get dirty. (And this is not Lenas cutest model face)

2007-05-31T23:22:00.001+02:00

We didn’t meet any Himba men – they were all out in the bush looking after the cattle.

The Himba is an amazing people but I didn't find any good infomation source about them on the net (please post if you find), here is a few lines.

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Lena is...er... reading the map.

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Pierce bought a motorcycle. Then a ceremony is needed. Dance and singing. And blessing of course. Pull the leg for good luck. All his three wives attended. My favourite ceremony so far.

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2007-05-31T22:48:00.000+02:00

The bridge between Zam and Zim. The very same bridge we jumped from with only a rubber band tied to our feet. 111 m freefall. Yeeehaaa!

2007-05-31T22:42:00.001+02:00

Fly brotha, fly.

2007-05-31T22:39:00.001+02:00

A “lunar rainbow” is created at the falls from the full-moonlight.

2007-05-31T22:35:00.001+02:00

“I want a picture with all the yellow people!” Among all the raincoats you can see Terje, Madeleine, me and Lena (it’s not her kid). (And yeah, it is the Victoria falls in the background.)

Back on track

2007-05-31T22:28:00.000+02:00

Yebo!!

Back from weeks of travelling and a lot of new impressions! Started with a trip to Zambia with the original “Norwegian-Namibia-Crew” me, Lena, Terje and Madeleine (who is now in SA). We met up with the hard boiled Zam-crew Anders, Laila and Lusanda for a weekend of fun and a short bush trip by 4x4. It was very nice seeing old friends and meeting the Zambian people.

Back in Namibia Me, Terje and Lena took a hitchhike trip around the north with a short stop in Opuwo; home of the indigenous Ovahimba people.

I had the pleasure of having three of my Norwegian friends coming down to visit me. We had a real “Power Tour” with rented car and activities every day. It takes more than 12 days to see Namibia but I think we came pretty close…

It’s nice to be back in Oshivelo with solid ground (sand) under my feet and now I have a lot to do before leaving my home and my friends for the past year. Tears are already gathering behind my eyes...

2007-05-15T20:20:00.000+02:00

I'm now on vacation, will return soon with pics and text from my adventures! Enjoy the day!

Jonatan

2007-04-18T21:48:00.000+02:00

The party never stops!

2007-04-18T21:43:00.000+02:00

In the round container they keep traditional Owambo beer, tastes like yeasted water…I think I'll skip this round…

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During the wedding days it is ok to burst into a spontaneous dance chanting “lelelelele” as loud as you can and swing your horsetail in the air. It is also ok to wear a dress even if you are a man.

Wedding! (Again)

2007-04-18T21:33:00.000+02:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of my friend’s brother. Like the weeding last year it was a traditional Owambo wedding in the bush. Because the bride is from the Herero tribe a traditional Herero ceremony took place the weekend before at the bride’s village. Owambo and Herero is the two biggest tribes in Namibia and weddings crossing the tribe borders occur but are still many times controversial. In this case for example the mother of the bride had big concerns about the wedding because she was afraid the husband would kill her daughter when he got tired of her; that’s what Owambos do… There are lots of preparations and ceremonies before the actual wedding; approval from the parents, speaking with the elders, announcement in church, etc. During the wedding party big tents are used to accommodate all the people invited, singing, dancing, holding speeches for three days. In this case there was three more days because of the second ceremony, plus a couple of days for pre-parties held the weekend before “to accustom some of the guests to the village”. It’s a whole lotta partying!

The elders play a very different role in the community down here; they are highly respected and are often consulted when important decisions are made. When we visited his uncle, Jerry (the groom) even looked down when speaking with the elder and the air was thick with respect. The elders often stay in the family village together with a couple of younger family members. I feel very ashamed when I tell the people here how we treat our elders at home; locking them away and forgetting them, almost denying that we all will be old one day.

Family village: Almost all Namibians (at least in the black community) have a home village somewhere in the bush. They can be working with laptops in nice suites in the big city but still often visit their “village” located far out in the bush – often with no electricity available. There they help with farm duties as harvesting, cattle care and collecting wood as if it was the most natural thing on earth (which it kind of is…). The village works as a “hub” connecting the family spread over the country. A traditional Owambo village is more like a big house than a village; a fence made of big wooden sticks surrounds a couple of huts and many times a small house made of concrete. Additional “rooms” (without a roof) is created with wooden sticks within the fence, all having their specific use; kitchen, “elder men conference room”, “newly mother room”, “relaxing room”, etc.

2007-04-18T21:31:00.000+02:00

2007-04-18T21:25:00.000+02:00

Kaino, my friend Magano’s mother. She is a very beautiful and funny woman. She feel sorry for me because I am staying so far from my mother.

2007-04-18T21:24:00.000+02:00

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Omahangu is feeding many people in Namibia (especially in the north). The big things on the top are containing the grains which is dried and then pounded into meal.

2007-04-03T21:03:00.000+02:00

Prayer before the game.

2007-04-03T21:01:00.000+02:00

2007-04-03T20:55:00.000+02:00

The term “second floor” is unknown in Oshivelo…

2007-04-03T20:44:00.000+02:00

These girls always sit under the tree when I'm passing in the morning.

– Good morning Mr Jonatan! How are you? (On my way to school I hear it at least 10 times.)

Last week one of the girls said to her teacher who was passing together with me:

- Ms Nantanga, I’m not coming to school tomorrow.

- Why?

- My father died today.

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The gigantic Baobab Tree.

2007-03-11T19:19:00.000+02:00

2007-03-11T19:15:00.000+02:00

Crocs and hippos!

2007-03-11T19:11:00.000+02:00

I spent my birthday looking for hippos and crocodiles on the Okavango River (nice to see some open water!) in Mahango national park far east in the country. We found them all right! When the BIG hippo are staring you in the eyes as he is slowly sinking, disappearing in the water, you are sure he will soon be flipping your small boat over like a coin and snap your spine in his enormous hole of a mouth. He didn’t though.

We also had a close encounter with the crocodile. I could hear some bones shaking as we almost hit him with the boat. He was not interested in us and soon disappeared with a big splash (after a young boy on the boat threw something in his head!) leaving us soaking wet.

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2007-02-25T19:05:00.000+02:00

I end with a picture for the future: Barney’s two crazy kids who always smile to the world. Vicky is now speaking in four different languages. She calls me “Nonatan”.

2007-02-25T19:04:00.000+02:00

My brother Barney.

2007-02-25T18:57:00.000+02:00

The biological father of the boy, Barney's brother.

2007-02-25T18:40:00.000+02:00

Beautiful singing from the school kids.

2007-02-25T18:39:00.000+02:00

Dephnie with her son. She was often coming to our house to clean when Barney was staying here.

Funeral

2007-02-25T18:38:00.000+02:00

The funeral of Willanton took place outside the house where he used to live, also the house Barney grew up in. There were many kids singing and it was a very emotional event. The coffin was carried to the nearby cemetery and he was buried beside his grandmother. As the children sang and the men filled the grave of the young boy his grandfather, Barney’s father, could not bear it and ran crying towards the grave. Barney who is very professional but also a very emotional person held a speech not showing the tears behind his eyes. Back at the house we hugged and he cried briefly before pulling himself together again. After giving everyone at the funeral food he had to rush to Grootfontain to prepare the funeral of his wife’s aunt who past away the same day as Willanton. Death knows no timing.

2007-02-18T20:59:00.000+02:00

Joseph and Joseph are providing good entertainment with their duels in 1500 m and 800 m. Joseph to the left (who is the best student in grade 9) is unfortunately always one step behind Joseph to the right (who neither care too much about school nor training).

2007-02-18T20:54:00.000+02:00

The fastest girl under 12 years in 100m uses a special "speed suit".

2007-02-18T20:52:00.000+02:00

2007-02-18T20:45:00.000+02:00

Jackie, a.k.a. Jackson, 13 years old, is a strong athlete. He excels in sprint, long jump and volleyball. He is also a very nice kid.

2007-02-18T20:43:00.000+02:00

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2007-02-16T21:26:00.000+02:00

Today Barney’s brother’s son got hit by a car passing trough Oshivelo and died. He was 10 years old. Hofni who I am now staying with (Barney is with his family in Grootfontain) had lived together with the boy for seven years, they were like brothers and Barney was their father. The boy sometimes came to our house to visit us. The kids were crying in school today. Too many people die too early in this country!

2007-02-07T22:38:00.000+02:00

Ameb's older brother. He can not write his own name but he can cook nice food. Many times that is more important.

2007-02-07T22:35:00.000+02:00

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Messa, 5 minutes before he is running 1500 m.

He has put his tongue were he is missing one of his front teeth.

2007-02-07T22:17:00.000+02:00

Iiyambo, the teacher. He is serious about sport and my biggest asset in Oshivelo.

2007-02-07T22:13:00.000+02:00

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2007-02-07T22:07:00.000+02:00

I was promised a (live) goat (300$) delivered in the morning on Saturday but because “yes, don’t worry I will take care of it”, “yes, yes, of course” and “trust me”, even if it’s told to your face by your friend, doesn’t mean that it will happen, the goat was not delivered. Everything went well in the end and the participants got their meat and Ameb (the genitor at the school) and his brother came and cooked for us.

2007-02-07T22:05:00.000+02:00

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2007-02-07T21:59:00.000+02:00

Workshopping

2007-02-07T21:57:00.000+02:00

Hello! I haven’t been writing for a while now. I have actually been busy with assignments and reports (yeah, my work is not all practical:) ). Now I have some more pictures for you and I promise to write something very soon (to be creative in front of the computer is not easy in this heat (and no, it is not cool in the nights)). I and my SCORE colleague and friend Pemiah from

Zimbabwe

(who was here for a week) held a workshop for youth in the local community this weekend. Some of the topics were self-confidence, to be a good role model, leadership and planning sport activities. We had a good time all of us and already in two weeks will we do a follow up workshop dealing with “sport administration”.

2007-01-24T21:07:00.000+02:00

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Now when I got a new camera I don’t want to work any more; I just want to take pictures. People are so beautiful here.

2007-01-17T20:36:00.000+02:00

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