My New Home

Hello Readers,

I have just arrived today at my school in the Onambutu village. I was supposed to arrive yesterday however, after the 8 hour drive from the backpacker there were complications with our rides to our schools so five of us stayed in the town lodge in Ondangwa. This was a secret blessing in disguise because not only was this going to be the last hot shower i'm getting for a while, we were also paid for by the Ministry of Education in Ondangwa. They paid for our accomodation and dinner and in the morning there was a buffet for breakfast! I got to have a cup of coffee which was really exciting. Not only did the Ministry do all of this for us, but they also met us personally and had their drivers bring us to our sites.

So this morning we set out bright and early and I arrived at my school. I was so overwhelmed with how excited I was to see all of the learners running around that I teared up. A lot of them tried to get my attention from their classes yelling "MISS! MISS!" and as I waved and said hello they burst into laughter. I met with the Head of Department here Mr. Emmanuel and he showed me to my apartment. I have a kitchen (with no working stove) and there is a resident salamander that lives in my cupboard. I will have to name him. I also have the entire building to myself which includes a common area with a fridge and a non-working bathroom and shower. My room is pretty large with a closet, a bed, and a chair. One thing i'm kind of sad about is leaving my pillow I bought at the lodge in Ondangwa on accident. I guess i'll live without for a while. I will also be living off of a tap water system that I have to fill buckets and bring them to my house for bathing in the outside enclosed tin building. I also have an outhouse...which a salamander and a rather large spider live in.

After the tour around Mr. Emmanuel walked with me around the village to show me the few shops that are here and where the "hike point" is so that I can catch a ride into one of the nearer bigger towns. Yes I really do have to stand at the side of the road and hitch hike out of the village on the main road which is dirt of course. I know it probably sounds like I am complaining about the accomodation but in all reality I love it here and I think with some adjustments and practice hitch hiking I will be very proud to be a resident here for the year.

I will take some pictures of my new home soon to show everyone and I will try to post some on here. Until then, I hope everyone is nawa nawa (very good).

Peace and Love,
Chelsea