New site in Omaheke

We have moved!  And we are thankful that Peace Corps made this happen basically as quickly as possible.

Realizing many of you may be anxious for information about our new site, we can give you that. We are still lacking a bit in the photo department though, but they will come oh patient ones.

So our new site is in Namibia's Omaheke (pron. Oh-mo-heh-keh..?) region 6-8 miles outside a major town, called Gobabis. By “major,” I mean much bigger and more developed than Khorixas, but not as large as Windhoek (the capital). Gobabis is about a 2-hour drive east from Windhoek. And you say the “G” the German way, like you're clearing your throat. :-)

The drive:

View Larger Map

In the center of it all is the school grounds, which consists of a primary (grades 1-7) and secondary school (grades 8-12). Then you have the hostels where all of the schools' 800+ learners stay, as well as the dining hall, community-type hall, and sports fields. Finally, there is some other housing off to the side for teachers. The place exists solely for and because of these Roman Catholic schools and the education and extracuriculars that take place there. And so all this is simply plopped in the middle of the “bush” with nearly no other development for miles. No shops, and I am happy to report there are no shebeens (small, family-operated bars). (I will add that in many villages, despite how isolated they may be, there often still manages to be a shebeen or two, sadly.) Here, it's just the schools and us people who teach and learn there. It sort of has the feeling of a college campus! With lots of beautiful bush enclosing us in. A college campus inside a campsite!

We continue to stay in small, modern-style housing with (cold) running water and electricity (... and a washing machine, um, YAY!!!!) and neighbor with several colleagues from our schools. Our other colleagues live in Gobabis and commute daily.

 (We all marveled at the wonders of this contraption!

Patches was quite startled by the sight of his first washing 
machine in action and was sure to vocalize his hesitation about it!)

It's really just a quiet and pretty place. The soil is an appealing rust color, contrasting nicely with the plentiful green grass and trees (so nice to have trees and the shade they provide) that come from the frequent rainfall the region receives during the (current) wet season. A bit cooler weather in general is also a plus (*sigh of relief*), though it still gets good and hot in the summer and apparently quite cold in the winter.

 

Stay tuned! Will post more about our schools soon.