Arandis, Namibia: 2006-12-31

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Running around

6 Jan 2007

I have in front of me, a small pile of cables, connectors, CD's, converters, instructions and a book on learning how to speak Afrikaans. I have two suitcases packed downstairs that are each nearing the 50 pound limit that I am allowed for checked luggage. I have a list of personal items I think I will be my carry on luggage. And, I am still trying to figure out if I will be able to get three laptops on to the plane with me as part of my "personal" item.

Although my two pieces of checked luggage are packed, I know I will be unpacking, taking another look at what I have packed so far, and trading things off for other items that might be more important to bring down. I keep getting requests from Brenda that I can't seem to ignore. For example, yesterday in an email she mentioned how they had no more toothbrushes or toothpaste to hand out to the HPOM families. Now I know that some of the things that I've packed and thought it would be nice to bring down are not as important as toothbrushes. So, unpacking and repacking it will be until the day I leave. I think part of what makes this hard is the fact that I am going alone and not in a group of people that might be able to bring down an assortment of things, like in July. But I want to bring as much as I can. I am hoping all goes well with customs, etc. because there is no way that anyone would believe that the children's clothes, videos, DVD's, CD's, medicine, games, books, etc... were all personal items for me to use while in Namibia.

I can appreciate more the logistics of planning and coordinating these trips. The fact that it is just me, and not an entire group has its trade-offs when it comes to trying to make sure things are all in order. People keep asking me if I'm getting nervous about traveling and doing this on my own, as oppose to with a group. As I stated in my last post, I guess the answer would, in some respects, be yes. If I do end up thinking about or dwelling upon all that could go wrong, then I do get nervous. But I try to put all that aside and remember the reason why I am going. I then remember that I need to keep placing my faith in this reason and know that what ever happens is not in my hands, but that I will be in good hands every step of the way.

posted by Don @ 10:28 PM 0 comments

Thursday, January 04, 2007

I'm going where? Alone?

4 Jan 2007

Happy New Year

Four days later....

The countdown has started. Two weeks from tonight I will be at Dove's Guest House in Johannesburg, South Africa. It will be my napping spot before my final flight to Windhoek, Namibia. From the pictures, it looks quaint enough and well worth the money, as compared to the exorbitant priced hotels adjacent to the airport. I've been busy here finally starting to figure out how to pack the things I know I want to take for others and deciding what to bring with that I will need. I know I brought too much with me last July so I hope to bring only the bare necessities this time. I am hoping Nan's house has a washing machine!

I have recently begun thinking about what I am doing and where I am going...and that I am going alone. I sometimes lie awake at night, or wake during the night wondering what it's all about. What is it that is driving me to make my second trip to Africa in six months? I know part of me is still there. How will this trip be different? Will I come home and think it was all worth it? What will I think, this time, when I come home? After my return in July, and in retrospect, there were things that I had hoped to do on a relational level with others that I didn't. I sometimes found myself too busy trying to do Internet and blog stuff. I want to go with a different perception this time, a different set of eyes and ears than when I was there in July. Yes, I've got Internet and computer things that I want to accomplish, but this time, I don't want that to be my focus. I want to really listen and understand where the people I will be interacting with are coming from. I want to put aside my biases or understanding of how my world is and step into theirs; if only as a spectator.

How can I help? What can I show them how to do? What can I teach them? What will they teach me? It is my hope and prayer that my time in Namibia is spent seeing and feeling life not through my eyes, but through the eyes of those around me.

posted by Don @ 10:43 PM 0 comments

About Me

Name:Don (& Chandre)
Home:Nashua, NH (Arandis, Namibia)