What I Did on My Thanksgiving Vacation, Part 6

On Saturday, we visited a snake park. It was interesting and educational, but there was always a part of me just waiting for one to jump out at me. They even have a Black Mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world (yay!). It was creepy. But, you know, I am up for trying almost anything once.

One of my favorite parts was the sign that said “We only have 3 Puff Adders, and they are very important to us. Please watch your step.” We found out later they only have 2, but they like to see people’s reactions. Hee hee : )

This is a type of poisonous tree snake. It was behind glass (they all were), but it freaked me out because it seemed like its eyes followed you all over the room.

Don’t look at this next one if you are squeamish. It is a _______ snake (no idea what the name is- I was distracted), feeding on a rat. I am no fan of rats, but I even felt a little bad for it. The snake kills its prey by squeezing it to death. I have video, but I think it’s too graphic for this blog. By the way, he swallowed it whole. Yum.

This is a black Mamba, eating a rat. Sorry for the reflection, but I didn’t trust the glass enough to be any closer. I think he looks evil. These guys are super-scary and hyper-aggressive. Sometimes people say they can fly, because they will jump from tree to tree to chase after you. My goal is to never encounter one in real life, because I think I would just wet my pants.

This is a Boomslang (or something like that). It is a poisonous tree snake, but I think its coloring is rather beautiful. Can’t say that for most of these specimens.

The highlight? We held a boa constrictor. For real. And of course I caught it on film, because I need to have visual proof to show people. It actually wasn’t that bad, but once is probably enough for me.  I am smiling on the outside, but the camera caught how I really felt for a second:



My husband, the snake handler:

I think I am really more a giraffe and zebra kind of girl.

What I Did on My Thanksgiving Vacation, Part 5

When the place that you live in is so hot it melts candle wax (yes, our taper candle is now laying perpendicular to its holder (formerly a tuna can), beaches become…beautiful havens of God’s grace. Swakopmund is about the only place to escape the heat here, and even just looking at these pictures brings relief.

Swakop is the only place that I have seen overcast or cloudy in Namibia. I love the sunshine, but even I enjoy a break every once in a while.

On Friday night, Josh and I did some exploring at the beach. I have discovered a new love for tide pools- they are so cool! I love finding the little surprises in each one.

This sunset was particularly stunning, and I felt privileged just to witness it. This is all God, completely unedited.

I love how He sends us reminders of how amazing and powerful He is. I am so quick to forget.

What I Did on My Thanksgiving Vacation, Part 4

Did you know that Namibia has flamingoes? I really had no idea, but after we were done on the sand dunes, we were half way to Walvis Bay, where they congregate, so we took a little drive and a few photos.

What I Did on My Thanksgiving Vacation, Part 3

While we were getting ready to come to Africa, we spent a lot of time in prayer- A LOT. We thought and prayed about our service, the meaning of sacrifice, our team, our families and friends we were temporarily leaving behind, our marriage…it would impact every facet of our lives. It was very intense, and very serious, and very necessary, as it prepared us for what we would need to do here. In addition, we took a bit of time to think of some fun goals we had for our time here, things we wanted to learn or experience in another culture. My three were to see a giraffe, try African drumming, and go sand surfing (called sand boarding here). Check, check, check. Sort of.

On Friday of our Swakop adventure, we went sand boarding on one of the dunes found outside town. It’s so amazing- you are standing on a mountain of tiny grains, and yet you don’t sink in (I just can’t comprehend that!) You can see the Atlantic ocean literally across the road from the dune.

As we got there, we saw some parachutes landing (look closely)

Although Josh, Kitty, and I knew we wanted to sandboard, we thought we would need to go with a tour company (which is a bit expensive). While in a store on Thursday, we saw they were selling kits for sand boarding for really cheap, which meant we could avoid tour fees. We bought one kit, and split it three ways, so that was perfect. The only problem is that you have to use these sitting down, because you have to lift the front of the board up as you go. That’s probably okay though, as sand boarding while standing up is a lot more dangerous than snowboarding (have you ever heard of snow burn?  I didn't think so).

Here is a picture of Josh’s first attempt…



…and the resulting battle wound:

In spite of the hazards, there was a line of people ready to give it a try. What can I say? We live in Africa; we have adventurous spirits : ) Love these people!

Since the hardest part of the whole undertaking was walking back up the dunes, Jessa and I decided to take rides together, 2 for the effort of 1. Oh yeah, and it was REALLY windy.


Making memories with my best friend.

Love this

What I Did on My Thanksgiving Vacation, Part 2

Africa is just…so different. I am pretty sure I can’t even describe it to someone who has never been here. Everything is bigger, and with less pretense. It is very raw; it can be beautiful, painful, challenging, and incredible all at once.
But without a doubt, Africa’s visual crowning glory is her sunsets. They are so…without description. Film doesn’t even do them justice. At the end of the day, they are the reward for withstanding another arid, brutally hot day.

What I Did on My Thanksgiving Vacation, Part 1

You know how teachers always want you to write “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” on the first day of school? I thought, being that it’s actually summer here, I would tell you about what we did on our Thanksgiving vacation (although they say “holiday” here). To say the least, it was unorthodox.

On Tuesday that week, we arrived to stay with some friends in Arandis. Our travel plans were a bit complicated, because the national presidential elections were taking place on Friday and Saturday. It had the potential to be a challenging situation, so our unit director did not want us traveling for a few days before or after. In the end, praise God, everything was fine.

Our first “main event” was traveling to Swakopmund (about half an hour away) to stay in the Finnish Guesthouse, a really cheap, nice place that gives discounts to missionaries (YAY!!!). Together, under Karrie’s leadership, everyone was able to prepare a dinner very closely resembling those from home. Our one downfall? Cranberries- there didn’t seem to be even one in Namibia. Shame. Here are a few pics from our day:

The beautiful turkey. I have know idea where they found it, as it is not common here.

Josh carving the turkey. He did a terrific job.

A candid, timed shot of our dinner. Other friends came over from Arandis for the meal itself, and it was a full house.

Traditional? No. But, we were still able to celebrate God’s graciousness, even from a continent away. He is good, all the time.

Public Service Announcement

A while back, I wasn’t feeling right. I didn’t feel sick, per se, but just…off. I attributed it to the heat, and left it at that.

Then one night, I couldn’t sleep at all. Not a wink. I felt very dizzy, almost as if I had vertigo. We decided I must be really dehydrated. We looked it up and, sure enough, insomnia can be a symptom of dehydration. The fact that we live in the desert supported our conclusion.

I made a concerted effort to drink more. A lot more. I had my water bottle with me everywhere I went. It worked for a few days, and then I felt sick again.

Being that doctor’s visits are costly, Josh convinced me to get a scan that we had seen advertised. Although I was less than convinced of its accuracy (and still am), I agreed. We trekked to Windhoek, only to find it looked like there were no clear answers.

It wasn’t until we were almost ready to go that the technician asked why I had answered that I drink 15 or so glasses of water per day. (Umm, hello? This is Namibia). I told her it was to stay hydrated. She looked at my chart again, and said that was the problem. Apparently, you can be too hydrated (hyper-hydrated?), and all the minerals in food are washed right out of your system. I just needed to take a second multi-vitamin each day.

Easy answer? I am so not used to those! I got over that really fast though.

Consider yourself warned ;)