Recap of thanksgiving, trip to Windhoek, and my gratitude

Hello all!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post-- things have been a bit busy here! I just arrived back at site last week after nearly to weeks in Windhoek for a conference/workshop. We had an All Volunteer conference, which got many generations of volunteers together in one room and there were lots of great ideas and resources that were exchanged. The conference was also combined with the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Peace Corps in Namibia. The American ambassador and the Namibian prime minister both were in attendance and made speeches! It was a really cool event to be a part of. The "Reconnect" workshop was only for my training group (group 42) and it was mostly technical teacher training, which was very helpful. Unfortunately I was sick during most of it, so I don't think I took in as much as I could have otherwise! (Fun(?) fact: I got sick for a second time on the day we were going back to the north and had a 12 hour bus ride ahead of me... The runs + a packed bus = no bueno. Now here's the "fun" part... In fact, it equaled a roadside poop. No fun.)

To backtrack a bit (and change the subject now that I've revealed too much personal information), we decided to have a Thanksgiving celebration while on the way down to the AllVol conference. It's not really possible to get out of my village and to Windhoek all in one day (before it gets dark out) when using public transportation and the same is true for many other volunteers. So, we met up in a town in O-land (the big region where I live) that is about two hours closer to Windhoek than my village is! There were roughly ten of us that went to Sarah's house in Ongwediva and we had a great celebration. We did a potluck thanksgiving and had mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, homemade bread rolls, gravy, chips & guac (out of place? Yes. Phenomenal? Yes yes yes.), pumpkin pie, apple crisp, rice pudding, homemade creamed corn, and (last but not least) a TURKEY! Eric, one of the group 40 volunteers, traveled to a nearby town earlier in the week where we had heard they sold turkeys to grab one for us. I'm constantly learning more about "rolling with it" and expecting the unexpected here, and these lessons were learned yet again on our thanksgiving celebration! After the bird had been in the oven for about an hour and a half, there was a city-wide power outage. We weren't surprised at first, and thought it would come back on quickly. As luck would have it, Sarah (the volunteer who was graciously hosting us all) had just bought an inflatable kiddie pool! So, during the outage we chilled in the pool, wine in hand. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon! It was starting to get late, and we feared the electricity wouldn't come back, so we decided that we needed to go to the store to get firewood and we'd grill the turkey (& heat the other dishes over the fire too) and have a slightly more Namibian style thanksgiving! In Natalie's hilarious words, we planned to "hack that mother up!" (the turkey) and cook it over the fire! However, just as we got the fire roaring, the power came back on. I think we were all a bit relieved! It ended up being one of the best turkeys I've ever had in my life and all of the sides were equally phenomenal. And, of course, the company was as great as the food. It was a wonderful evening!

In the spirit of thanksgiving, I'd like to express my gratitude to you all (other amazing PCVs, my fantastic family, & my wonderful friends-- both at home and in Namibia!) for all of your love, support, and prayers. I couldn't do this without you all. I feel so lucky to be here in Namibia, "living my dream," as Natalie reminded me today. While it's hard to ne so far from home this holiday season, I know I am big time lucky. I am so thankful for the amazing network I have supporting me, near and far. The text messages, Facebook messages, audio recordings, cards, and care packages really mean so much... I am one lucky duck. And on a slightly different note, I am feeling very thankful as well that my close encounter with a (poisonous) snake outside my house yesterday was not anything more serious! I am really thankful also for my fantastic colleague's here at Oshikulufitu. I feel so well cared for and accepted into the school community, and for that I am extremely grateful. I can't say it enough, but I'm one lucky girl. So, give yourself a huge hug from me and know that I'm sending you a huge smile along with that hug all the way from Namibia!