Otjiwarongo, the crossroads

My town, Otjiwarongo, is the crossroads to those heading to the far North, or
going South to Windhoek, or to those going West, i.e. to the coast, or East. Prior
to Reconnect, the volunteers in Group 48 were not allowed to travel except for
work, to collaborate/train with other volunteers for work, or if we were
traveling with a local national. Now we can travel more freely but we still must
get permission and/or inform Peace Corps of our plans. Peace Corps is very serious
about our safety, so we must inform them of our where-abouts any time our head is
not on our own pillow at our own site.

Back to my town and what the expanded travel means to me. Many Peace Corps visitors come to town and it is fun. Last weekend, a bunch of volunteers from the North came to town for various reasons. One of my Group 48, Alex, who lives in a remote village came to get a key made for her school. Otjiwarongo is the closest town for this so she was able to come for the weekend. Two other volunteers from my
group came because they knew Alex would be in town. There were also volunteers
from Group 46, following a similar pattern where one volunteer came to town so
more came to be able to hang out together. Most everyone wound up staying at
volunteer Will’s place because he has lots of space to accommodate many people
and he lives alone. I stayed there too because I didn’t want to miss all the
fun.

This weekend, Maggie came to town from way up North to check out a puppy that she
wanted to adopt from the SPCA in our town. She went home with Tuna, named for
Big Tuna from The Office. He is adorable, very good tempered, and already
wanting to please his new ‘Mom’. Maggie also enjoyed shopping at our Super Spar
and prepared fish tacos with mango salsa. Yum!

(The regional track meet was this past weekend. Note the barefoot runners)

Maggie, Tuna, and me

After Maggie left, I received a text from another volunteer that she and 3 other
volunteers would be in town for a quick stop on their way to a workshop in Okahandja. Did I want to meet for a quick milkshake and hugs? And today, Sara, who was in town over the holiday break, is here for a workshop all week.

As you can see, Otjiwarongo is a crossroads, at least for Peace Corps volunteers.

All for now with all my love