"love"
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2353825&id=7702107&l=3ff323c900
"last days in nkurenkuru"
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2353819&id=7702107&l=e9d8d78ff4
"sunrise breakfast"
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2353824&id=7702107&l=f84dfe1274
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
.JPG)
Farewell Nkurenkuru
It’s hard to believe I’ve come to this blog post. When I look back at
my journal and at these entries I’m filled with laughter and joy
thinking about all of the ups and downs, the intense emotions
felt/expressed, the challenges and success- all how they have shaped
my entire being. Already the ‘bad’ is fading away and the good,
powerful, and awe-some memories are finding a permanent place in my
heart and soul.
Friday we had a farewell party- it was one of the most amazing
experiences of my life. The setting was beautiful, three lilac
breasted rollers flew into a big tree in Selma’s yard to set the stage
for a great night :) She had her place all decked out with tables and
chairs, wine glasses with napkins folded up beautifully in them, we
prepared all of the food earlier that day- a goat, lots of chickens,
macaroni, rice, salad, soups, and many many drinks. As the sun was
setting the people were arriving, it was a full house of friends from
Nkurenkuru and surrounding villages. Lots of speeches were given,
tears flowed and laughs too. I got through my speech even though I
was crying throughout. Three friends came up to stand with me and hold
my hand as I read and another friend translated. Then lots of gifties
were presented, woven baskets, wooden spoons, other carvings, knitted
clothes and woven grass bracelets, two live chickens and even a baby!!
:) Baby Sarah :) I carried her on my back after dinner for the rest
of the party, it was wonderful :) I felt overwhelmed with gratitude
and blessings, friendship and love and respect- both received and
given to those present. It’s hard to imagine all that was wrapped up
in these two years but Friday’s party was a beautiful summary and
closing of it all.
Today I woke up at 5:20am and met some friends for breakfast at the
river while we watched the sunrise. It was a perfect start to the
day. I came home and after getting a few things in order I headed
west to a few villages over to start a series of goodbyes. First I
stopped at Baby Sarah’s house and helped feed her her morning bottle.
I gave some gifties and hugs. Then to Sam and Otillieas place where
their son “Little Buffie” helped present me with a live chicken for
the road %-) It’s called “podkos” ….road food :) hehe so I put the
chick in my backpack and rode off to the next homestead. I said
goodbyes, gave hugs and cards and some small gifties and otherwise
been running around like a crazy lady! I played “headman” for a
conflict at the bike shop, sold my computer, gave away my clothes, now
cooking dinner for 4 and later saying goodbye to my neighbors!!
Ahhhhhhhhhh and packing sometime before we depart at 5am :)
I will share more reflections when I have more time…
My heart is full and my love for people here and at home is
overflowing. I will be in the capital for two weeks then I start
another wonderful journey of vacation with friends- Tanzania and
Zanzibar, then off to Thailand. I’ll return to America on 15 January
and perhaps you’ll hear more stories and reflections in person but I
will be posting more here as well.
Below is the speech I gave at my party. Pardon the broken English :)
With love and goodness….
Peace,
Sarah
As I sit down to write this farewell speech I am filled with so much
joy and so much sadness. My tears begin to fall because I will be so
sad to leave all of you- my neighbors, my colleagues, my fellow
volunteers, community members- all of you, I consider my friends. I
am so thankful and blessed to have so much love surrounding me here in
Nkurenkuru. And this is why I am also filled with so much joy.
Two and a half years ago I decided to join the Peace Corps. When I
applied and was accepted I didn’t know where I would be going. I
didn’t even know on which continent. After many months of
volunteering and medical check-ups I was finally told my placement- I
would be leaving for Namibia in November 2007. I was very excited to
receive this news but still I didn’t know where my new home would be.
After two months of training in Okahandja we were told our site
placements and mine was Nkurenkuru.
I did not know then that this place, and all of you, would become such
a special part of my life. It’s hard to imagine my life without these
two years. What I have learned about life, myself, love, pain,
culture, language, tradition, Namibia, Africa, friendship and the
goodness of the human spirit is more than could ever be taught in
school or read in any book. The experiences I have had here will
continue to shape me even when I am gone. The people I have met and
grown close with will continue to influence my life long after I leave
this place. And for both of these facts, I am so grateful.
I am thankful to all of you for accepting me into your community, I am
thankful for your friendship and kindness that you showed me. I am
thankful for all you have taught me about your culture, your region,
your foods, and traditions. I am thankful for the hugs you embraced
and the laughs we’ve shared. I could probably say something about
everyone here and how you have impacted my life but I know we all want
to eat sometime before no time :) I want to take time though to thank
a few people.
As Ndadi mentioned, I was involved with several projects- you
volunteers and project members that are here, I want to thank you. We
struggled together- to communicate, to work together, to accomplish
our goals- some we reached, some we fell short, but what we
accomplished together is very amazing. You should all be so proud of
yourselves for the time and energy you put into our projects- even
when things didn’t go well you kept coming back and trying to work
together and even when we stopped meeting as a group I never felt like
I lost a friend. Our connection and your involvement in our work and
my life here has been so meaningful. You are the reason I am here and
wanted to work so hard and I hope you know how much joy you have
brought to my life.
To my neighbors, especially all of the kids in the neighborhood- my
heart is so full of happiness and love for all of you. Even some days
when I just wanted to rest, you would still come knocking and ask for
paper or colors, even coming to my window when I was trying to sleep
:) I loved it though. Even if I was having a bad day if you came to
my house and spent time with me I became happy and everything in the
world was good again. I will never forget you, your laughs, your
smiles, your dance moves, and all of the beautiful pictures you drew.
Thank you for being my friends.
To Selma- so many nights I have spent at your house with you and your
family. You welcomed me as your daughter, as your sister, as your
mother and as your friend. We shared the same plate and the same
glass, we ate new foods, ones you shared from your culture and ones
that I shared from mine. You told me stories and we have laughed for
hours. You hosted us when Obama was being elected and when my parents
came you hosted a beautiful party. I feel truly free with you. You
have been my best friend and I could never fully express how grateful
I am to you. I love you so much.
Tate Ndadi- I think I am the luckiest volunteer in all of Namibia.
As a supervisor you have always been 100% supportive of me and my
work. You have offered transport and land, water and time, your
guidance and suggestions, you have always provided a listening ear and
culturally appropriate advice. I’m sure even at times you could have
told me certain things to make the job a bit easier but instead you
let me figure things out on my own so I could grow and learn from
mistakes. All of your teachings have been invaluable. Apart from
being an incredible supervisor you have been a great friend. Not a
single day went by that we were together and I wasn’t laughing. You
always made me laugh and feel free and at home. I know that when
everything else seemed to be going wrong I could just walk into your
office to check-in and you would truly brighten my day. Thank you for
being so kind and warm, funny and open, an amazing mentor, teacher,
supervisor and friend.
All of you here, and even those who could not attend- I thank you from
the bottom of my heart. To walk around the town and hear “supa-dupa”,
to greet in Rukwangli and even Nyemba, to shake your hands and share
smiles every day-these are some of the things I want to thank you for
and that I will dearly miss.
I will hold all of you close to my heart for the rest of my life.
Mpandu.
It’s hard to believe I’ve come to this blog post. When I look back at
my journal and at these entries I’m filled with laughter and joy
thinking about all of the ups and downs, the intense emotions
felt/expressed, the challenges and success- all how they have shaped
my entire being. Already the ‘bad’ is fading away and the good,
powerful, and awe-some memories are finding a permanent place in my
heart and soul.
Friday we had a farewell party- it was one of the most amazing
experiences of my life. The setting was beautiful, three lilac
breasted rollers flew into a big tree in Selma’s yard to set the stage
for a great night :) She had her place all decked out with tables and
chairs, wine glasses with napkins folded up beautifully in them, we
prepared all of the food earlier that day- a goat, lots of chickens,
macaroni, rice, salad, soups, and many many drinks. As the sun was
setting the people were arriving, it was a full house of friends from
Nkurenkuru and surrounding villages. Lots of speeches were given,
tears flowed and laughs too. I got through my speech even though I
was crying throughout. Three friends came up to stand with me and hold
my hand as I read and another friend translated. Then lots of gifties
were presented, woven baskets, wooden spoons, other carvings, knitted
clothes and woven grass bracelets, two live chickens and even a baby!!
:) Baby Sarah :) I carried her on my back after dinner for the rest
of the party, it was wonderful :) I felt overwhelmed with gratitude
and blessings, friendship and love and respect- both received and
given to those present. It’s hard to imagine all that was wrapped up
in these two years but Friday’s party was a beautiful summary and
closing of it all.
Today I woke up at 5:20am and met some friends for breakfast at the
river while we watched the sunrise. It was a perfect start to the
day. I came home and after getting a few things in order I headed
west to a few villages over to start a series of goodbyes. First I
stopped at Baby Sarah’s house and helped feed her her morning bottle.
I gave some gifties and hugs. Then to Sam and Otillieas place where
their son “Little Buffie” helped present me with a live chicken for
the road %-) It’s called “podkos” ….road food :) hehe so I put the
chick in my backpack and rode off to the next homestead. I said
goodbyes, gave hugs and cards and some small gifties and otherwise
been running around like a crazy lady! I played “headman” for a
conflict at the bike shop, sold my computer, gave away my clothes, now
cooking dinner for 4 and later saying goodbye to my neighbors!!
Ahhhhhhhhhh and packing sometime before we depart at 5am :)
I will share more reflections when I have more time…
My heart is full and my love for people here and at home is
overflowing. I will be in the capital for two weeks then I start
another wonderful journey of vacation with friends- Tanzania and
Zanzibar, then off to Thailand. I’ll return to America on 15 January
and perhaps you’ll hear more stories and reflections in person but I
will be posting more here as well.
Below is the speech I gave at my party. Pardon the broken English :)
With love and goodness….
Peace,
Sarah
As I sit down to write this farewell speech I am filled with so much
joy and so much sadness. My tears begin to fall because I will be so
sad to leave all of you- my neighbors, my colleagues, my fellow
volunteers, community members- all of you, I consider my friends. I
am so thankful and blessed to have so much love surrounding me here in
Nkurenkuru. And this is why I am also filled with so much joy.
Two and a half years ago I decided to join the Peace Corps. When I
applied and was accepted I didn’t know where I would be going. I
didn’t even know on which continent. After many months of
volunteering and medical check-ups I was finally told my placement- I
would be leaving for Namibia in November 2007. I was very excited to
receive this news but still I didn’t know where my new home would be.
After two months of training in Okahandja we were told our site
placements and mine was Nkurenkuru.
I did not know then that this place, and all of you, would become such
a special part of my life. It’s hard to imagine my life without these
two years. What I have learned about life, myself, love, pain,
culture, language, tradition, Namibia, Africa, friendship and the
goodness of the human spirit is more than could ever be taught in
school or read in any book. The experiences I have had here will
continue to shape me even when I am gone. The people I have met and
grown close with will continue to influence my life long after I leave
this place. And for both of these facts, I am so grateful.
I am thankful to all of you for accepting me into your community, I am
thankful for your friendship and kindness that you showed me. I am
thankful for all you have taught me about your culture, your region,
your foods, and traditions. I am thankful for the hugs you embraced
and the laughs we’ve shared. I could probably say something about
everyone here and how you have impacted my life but I know we all want
to eat sometime before no time :) I want to take time though to thank
a few people.
As Ndadi mentioned, I was involved with several projects- you
volunteers and project members that are here, I want to thank you. We
struggled together- to communicate, to work together, to accomplish
our goals- some we reached, some we fell short, but what we
accomplished together is very amazing. You should all be so proud of
yourselves for the time and energy you put into our projects- even
when things didn’t go well you kept coming back and trying to work
together and even when we stopped meeting as a group I never felt like
I lost a friend. Our connection and your involvement in our work and
my life here has been so meaningful. You are the reason I am here and
wanted to work so hard and I hope you know how much joy you have
brought to my life.
To my neighbors, especially all of the kids in the neighborhood- my
heart is so full of happiness and love for all of you. Even some days
when I just wanted to rest, you would still come knocking and ask for
paper or colors, even coming to my window when I was trying to sleep
:) I loved it though. Even if I was having a bad day if you came to
my house and spent time with me I became happy and everything in the
world was good again. I will never forget you, your laughs, your
smiles, your dance moves, and all of the beautiful pictures you drew.
Thank you for being my friends.
To Selma- so many nights I have spent at your house with you and your
family. You welcomed me as your daughter, as your sister, as your
mother and as your friend. We shared the same plate and the same
glass, we ate new foods, ones you shared from your culture and ones
that I shared from mine. You told me stories and we have laughed for
hours. You hosted us when Obama was being elected and when my parents
came you hosted a beautiful party. I feel truly free with you. You
have been my best friend and I could never fully express how grateful
I am to you. I love you so much.
Tate Ndadi- I think I am the luckiest volunteer in all of Namibia.
As a supervisor you have always been 100% supportive of me and my
work. You have offered transport and land, water and time, your
guidance and suggestions, you have always provided a listening ear and
culturally appropriate advice. I’m sure even at times you could have
told me certain things to make the job a bit easier but instead you
let me figure things out on my own so I could grow and learn from
mistakes. All of your teachings have been invaluable. Apart from
being an incredible supervisor you have been a great friend. Not a
single day went by that we were together and I wasn’t laughing. You
always made me laugh and feel free and at home. I know that when
everything else seemed to be going wrong I could just walk into your
office to check-in and you would truly brighten my day. Thank you for
being so kind and warm, funny and open, an amazing mentor, teacher,
supervisor and friend.
All of you here, and even those who could not attend- I thank you from
the bottom of my heart. To walk around the town and hear “supa-dupa”,
to greet in Rukwangli and even Nyemba, to shake your hands and share
smiles every day-these are some of the things I want to thank you for
and that I will dearly miss.
I will hold all of you close to my heart for the rest of my life.
Mpandu.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
