Namibia!!!

If you haven't heard of it please google it right now! It is a beautiful and young country sorrounded by beautiful dessert dunes and coast line.

I had a great time in Namibia. I will begin to tell you that they love Cuban culture there...I went to a club called El Cubano where the waiters wore Che t-shirts and the walls were decorated with Cuban newspaper articles (real ones). Don't get me started on how I felt about it...I actually gave some of the waiters a little lesson on how many Cubans feel about Che and how horrible Communism is...they were amazed, educated and grateful for the truth!

Women in Namibia are sooo friendly which was refreshing considering that in the states there seems to be this huge concept of competition and envy. At El Cubano's restroom women will walk in and genuinely ask you if you were having a great time, what was your name, etc. I loved it, It was beautiful!

I purchased a lot of things in Namibia: a hand made carpet, original art work (signed by the artist), wood work, a silver bracelet with elephant hair for good luck, just beautiful...and other things. We SAS accouted for 10% of their tourism for the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crazy...I'm glad we were able to help their economy!

I went to the beach in Namibia but did not get in the water...freezing! I missed my 4x4 dessert adventure...long long story!!!! That sucked...as I watched the trucks drive off as I was getting to the port...late...and upset only to laugh it off with my friend Sassa who also missed her trip and pack up our stuff and go to the beach and we had a wonderful time...we made the best out of a bad situation and it worked out well! ;) Positive thinking...the only way to go! ;)

I also did a Township in Namibia...Townships are neighborhoods where the "black" people (which tend to be the poor people) of Namibia live. These neighborhoods are right next to one another though they are very different, they have their own schools and speak different languages. I walked around with a local guide and drank some of their home made energy drink, spoke to the people, played with the kids, visited a few homes and watched them in their daily lives. The people were friendly and loving, specially the kids. What amazing children! The homes vary from tin shaks to concrete new small homes being build by the government whose goal is to build all new homes...that will take a long time. I also gave a donation to our guide who took us to his home at the end. I definitely want to return some day and help out the community...they really need some education of the world and some entertainment...they don't have any movie theaters or form of entertainment. One of our guides said she feels they really need that. They depend on outsiders to come in and build such things for them.

I loved Namibia and look forward to returning one day. The downtown is a sharp contrast where the downtown shows the German influence of the past through its building and middle class/high class passerbys and the poor, native black community with their tin shaks and crumbling old buildings. Still they manage to live together...however although I did see the blacks hang out in areas where the whites also hung out I did not see any whites in the Townships whatsoever. Our guided tours are a phenomenon that was created by our guide, a local that wanted to show people/tour their homes and their way of life. At the beginning he said people thought the visitors were employers looking for workers...they eventually understand the meaning of the tours and have gained a lot from it; they sell their goods (food and crafts) and tourists buy them, so it helps the local community and they also see that other people are interested in helping out. Most things that get done such as a movie theatre are all done by visitors that felt they wanted to extend their hands to the community which they really appreciate and respect. One lady actually spent like 2 million or more on a football (soccer) field for the town!!! Lovely! So the outcome has been positive.

I must go, I hope I have left you with a positive light on Namibia! ;) It is lovely!

Peace and Light,

Yai