Next stop: Namibia! (Only 3 layovers and 48 hours)

I left Escalon on Monday, March 23 at 9:30 am full of excitement and energy.  At 2:00 pm, I was officially in the air.  By 7:30 pm/10:30 pm I was at my first layover in New York City.  At 8:55 pm/11:55 pm I was east bound to London.  I landed in London at 4:00 am California time/11:00 am London time Tuesday morning.  With only two hours of sleep, I was surprised that I was still excited and moving after going through customs.  Upon finding my friend Jordana, and discovering that we dressed like twins, we were ready to take on our 7 hour layover.  First things first, we had to check in.  It was then that the grey clouds rolled in and Virgin Atlantic burst my bubble of joy.  I was given the news that although American Airlines allowed me to check in 2 bags, Virgin Atlantic only allowed one.  The attendant, in a not so polite way, informed me that it would only cost £350 (aka $650) to check in my second bag.  In the end, I mailed home 20 pounds of clothes, shoes, and books for the bargain price of $100.  Note to self: always read the fine print before purchasing an airline ticket.

With this set back behind me, I plunged ahead.  At 11:00 am Cali time/6:00 pm London time I was back on the plane for the 11 hour flight to South Africa.  With about 4 hours of rough sleep, I arrived to Johannasburg at 10:00 pm Cali time/6:00 am South Africa time (Wednesday).  Here we had another pleasant 8.5 hour layover.  Fortunately we found access to showers for $13/person.  After a hot shower, light lunch, and 45 minute nap on the airport benches, we were off to Windhoek around 6 am Cali/3:00 pm South Africa time.  We arrived safely to our final destination at 8:30 am Cali/4:30 pm Namibia time on Wednesday evening.  So with 48 hours of travel, 3 layovers, one post office visit, and 6-7 hours of patchy sleep i'd say the trip went well.  Right?

So with 48 hours of travel, 3 layovers, one post office visit, and 6-7 hours of patchy sleep i'd say the trip went well.

Now to the good stuff! We are staying at the Casa Blanca Hotel, which is a bit outside of the main city center. I live in a two bedroom hotel apartment with Jordana and Caeli.  We have wireless internet, cable, a washer machine, amazing back patio, and daily maid service.  (We don't even have to wash our dishes....pathetic I know)! Am I in Africa?  In addition, we get free breakfast every morning (compliments of Stanford).  Egg white Wednesday (scrambled) being a highlight for me.  And we have a conference room set up with all of our work related needs.

Our first weekend was part relaxing part getting to know the area.  Some days we lounged by the pool or went to the "puts my gym at home to shame" Virgin Active gym in Maerua Mall. For example, I went to a hip hop class one day.  We also did a walking tour of Windhoek.  It is extraordinarily small city, and the streets are named after various leaders. The intersection between Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe being my favorite.  I'm still looking for Hitler street.

On Friday night we went to a Beatles Love tribute concert which rocked, and followed it up with a dance a thon at El Cubano! Saturday was spent touring Katatura, which is where the real Namibians live.  Before Apartheid, Windhoek city center was for the whites, the next closest living area was for the coloreds, and the outer area was for the blacks.  Unfortunately, land has been passed down over the last 19 years to relatives, leaving these stark divides intact.  The worst area is the fourth area, known as the informal settlement.  This is where non local Namibians and international immigrants set up temporary shacks in hope of pursuing employment and better education for their children.  Sadly, these "temporary" locations usually end up being "home" for many of these people.

During our Katatura tour, we did a quick stop at the local market.  We all tasted a milky drink out of a bucket and ate fresh steak off the grill.  Never mind the fact that the very same meat had been on the butcher table behind the bbq covered in dozens of flies.  We all browsed the shops, and my friend Katrina bought zebra fur sandals.  Our last stop was a local shebeen (bar) for a nice cold Windhoek Lager.

On Saturday night, we went to a local concert where Pink Chocolate Lady May was headlining.  Every act lip synched, and I'm pretty sure Lady May was clinicly crazy. But she was entertaining and cocktails were only $12 Namibian dollars (U.S. $1.20).

At last, work began on Monday morning.  The week has been spent diving into our projects.  My project partner, Julian, arrived yesterday afternoon.  We are both eager and ready to learn as much as we can about mining and protected lands in Namibia!

So far, no animals...except for a lizard in the park.  Worry not my friends, for we are off on our first animal tour this weekend.  We are going to leave the city and search for Simba. Until then, have a fantastic week!