(sorry for the bad formatting...can't seem to fix it)
Upon preparing to leave for Namibia, I was told by a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Glenview that people would get confused about where I’m from. In north-central Namibia, they add the letter O to the beginning of everything and usually put an N before every G. So, in telling people I’m from Chicago (I know, I know...I’m from Nashville now. But no local Namibians have heard of the Nash), they often think I’ve said Oshikango. And no white people are from Oshikango, so it’s very confusing.
Upon preparing to leave for Namibia, I was told by a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Glenview that people would get confused about where I’m from. In north-central Namibia, they add the letter O to the beginning of everything and usually put an N before every G. So, in telling people I’m from Chicago (I know, I know...I’m from Nashville now. But no local Namibians have heard of the Nash), they often think I’ve said Oshikango. And no white people are from Oshikango, so it’s very confusing.
I took my first solo trip to Oshikango this morning – success! It was pretty flawless...from the hikes (aka hitchhiking) both ways to going legit grocery shopping for the first time. Oshikango is a bustling border town at the end of the main B1 road to Angola. It has a fascinating mixture of Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians, Portuguese-speaking Namibians, and random white volunteers from all over the world (since this is the closest shopping town for those of us in the far north). Although I’ve heard many horror stories about how dirty and crime-ridden Oshikango is, it suits my needs and hasn’t been too dangerous yet.
Today’s shopping trip took me to the Pick n Pay – Namibia’s Kroger. Yes, I am a Publix girl myself at home, but when you’re living on a volunteer’s wages, you can’t afford to pay extra for the great shopping experience at Spar (aka Publix). For only N$200, I bought oats, Rice Krispies, crackers, peanut butter, trail mix, brown sugar, chocolate cookies, shell noodles, pencils, cake mix, two pasta sauces, soup, and a mug. That’s $28 USD for several weeks’ worth of groceries. Awesome!
On the topic of new mugs, I love mugs. Especially large mugs. When one of my favorite mugs started growing cracks this fall, I was devastated and spent months searching for a great, unique, new big mug in Nashville. Today, I found some handpainted Namibian mugs. The tag read “large mugs!” Great! Fact is, this mug is no bigger than a teacup. I sure don’t want to see what a regular-sized mug looks like...
And no...I don’t think I’ll be getting that coveted Angolan stamp in my passport, despite being able to see the country every time I visit. I’ve heard it costs $300 USD to cross the border. Yeahhhhh right.
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