Winter in Africa (not exactly what you would think)

Well, it is winter here in Namibia and I'm freezing my butt off. And although my butt could probably stand to lose a little bit, I am not enjoying it. I started off my day on Friday by washing my hair, which only happens about every 5 days or so. (Some of you may think that's gross, but honestly my hair has never been healthier.) Anywho, I left my flat around 7 that morning and started walking to town. Within maybe 10 minutes, my hair was frozen. Like individual strands were now icicles attached to my head. My Nini always told me to never leave the house with wet hair and I, now at 25 years old, will begin taking her advice. I will make sure I wash my hair at night and let it dry in front of the heater before I make that mistake again. At night, I sleep with a heater pointed at me on high and 4 blankets. I don't sit in my living room unless the heater is on. I have actually started wearing pants to sleep. Yes friends, you heard that right, I am wearing pants. Sometimes even socks. And I absolutely hate it.  I am now glad that I made room in my suitcase for my onesie, fake uggs, North Face, and Nini's quilt. To everyone that asked me why I was packing sweaters to go to Africa, you have your answer. I mean in another volunteer's site, it is actually snowing several days a week. Who would have thought? 

My cozy bed

Anyways, now that I have explained what winter feels like to me and my bitterness towards it. I should probably tell you about my weekend so far. 

On Friday after work, I went to the local pizzeria and got my usual Friday night pizza. I have started making this a routine for a few reasons. One, I want to have a place where people expect to see me and start to know my order. It's always been a dream of mine to have a place like Cheers. Big aspirations, I know. Two, I happen to like the pizza here. They don't use marinara and I can get chicken and mushrooms. And three, I like to treat myself for making it another week. So after I picked up my pizza, I went home where I was greeted adorably by Miley. (For those of you that don't know, I adopted a cat a few weeks ago from the SPCA) She was meowing and running to get in my lap. It's nice to have someone to come home to. Then I put on my onesie and ate my pizza while watching several terrible movies. It's not unlike a Friday night I would have back in the states and that's very comforting to me. 

Just two gals being pals

On Saturday, I was invited over to the other volunteers house for brunch. They made some great omelettes and hash browns and politely listened to me vent about Peace Corps, work, stuff back home, etc. They also helped to enlighten me about some of the finer points I was not aware of about my site. Like apparently it is known as "Stab City" in other parts of Namibia. Here I was thinking I lived in a nice little town and really I should have been practicing my shanking skills in case the scenario arose that I needed them. To be honest, I haven't seen any of that violence myself yet. But that is probably because I do not go out at night and have not been to a bar yet. Now I am thankful for my hermit tendencies, because I haven't been stabbed yet. 

After brunch, I went to run a few errands. Like picking up some cat litter for Miley and going in search of a pill container. You know, like one of those that has the days of the week and little compartments for each? Because I have about 8 pills I am taking everyday- thyroid, vitamins, asthma, doxy for malaria, etc- I wanted to get something to help me keep track of everything. I thought this would be a fairly simple task, since there is a pharmacy and large grocery store right next to my flat. But neither had anything close. The shopping attendant did suggest a large metal makeup case to keep all the bottles in, but I was not going to go that far. I don't want to look like some sort of crazy person or mob man. I just wanted to keep all my pills organized like the 75 year old I feel like. 

When I gave up and admitted defeat in my quest, I went over to my co worker's soccer game. It was mid afternoon and the sun was still out, but again I was not prepared for the cold. Very quickly I was shivering and regretting my decision to not bring a warmer jacket. But I made it through his game and enjoyed it, other than the cold. It was nice to be at an event and get to see a sport I enjoy played a little differently. Plus I think he appreciated me coming, since they really only had about 5-6 drunk guys watching them. After that, I went back home and curled up with Miley to watch more Mad Men. 

Today, I'm going to take it pretty easy. I already did a bit of grocery shopping and had my standard chocolate dipped ice cream cone from Hungry Lion. So my day is off to a solid start. I'll do a little cleaning later and then maybe make some food. The menu for the week includes tacos, chickpea bruschetta, fried rice, and omelettes. I'm going to try to eat a bit healthier, but refer to my weakness a few lines up if that doesn't work out. My goal for this week is to try to find some funding for my project and to also find out where I am supposed to be putting my trash. I still have no idea, so that's a little bit of an issue. 

My living room and hermit hole

My supervisor also mentioned taking me on a vacation for 5 or so days in the next couple of weeks. I hope she tells me more about that this week, since I'm so ready to travel and see more of Namibia. Luckily, this would be Peace Corps approved, since it's with my supervisor and we would be doing some work stuff while sipping on fruity beverages. But I'm sure I can give you the full rundown once that actually occurs. 

Until next time kids!

How I feel about the cold