So far so good. I have organized most things like applying for leave, organizing and training my replacement, booking flights, getting all the shots I need and working out the visa issues. This by the way kind of got me worried, so I decided to cut my time in Namibia short to 88 days in total, because I still believe that the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration might take notice if I spend the originally planned 93 days within Namibia while they only allow you to stay for 90 per year. We’ll see how good their system works, but I rather not find out the hard way…
But there are still little things left to think about before I go…Should I be renting out my apartment? Is it ok to ask a friend to look after my place for 4 months? Where will I send my mail to? What’s definitely going on the packing list and what’s for sure not? Does it make sense to bring a laptop if there is no electricity? Can I charge my camera, phone, kindle…with a solar powerbank? What kind of gadgets could be useful in “the wild”?
And also many questions concerning daily life in Mayana…like where to go grocery shopping, storing food and preparing meals, doing laundry, how to get around, what’s my place like – especially the ablutions. Disinfectants and cleaning agents definitely on my list!
Also at this point I am not entirely sure what my responsibilities within the project are going to be or what MCP is expecting of me and from my stay at Mayana. So far we have established that I will be helping to set up the community office, promoting their services and coaching the project team.
Because there are so many questions left – I have actually started a list on my phone since the most random questions pop into my head at the weirdest times – I am very excited for prep camp next weekend. Not only will I be meeting Monika for the first time, who is the president and founder of MCP and who I only know from the phone so far, but hopefully I will also get all the answers to all those questions.
The countdown to May 1st has started and while 10 weeks still seem to be a long time, I am sure I will need every single day for preparing everything – especially myself – for this exciting adventure and experience!
117 Days in Southern Africa 