Merry Christmas!

Tired of the same old people at your holiday events? Want to change things up a bit? Want some small children to give it that fun holiday feel? Want to show you are concerned about the orphan situation in Africa? Want to be as cool as Madonna and Angelina Jolie without the media buzz and commitment?

Now you too can have your own African orphan, just for the holidays! Pick them up anytime, drop them off when you are finished. No strings attached. No obligations.

I visited an orphanage a few days ago, where I'm thinking of placing an intern next semester. I asked how many kids they have there and the woman answered, "30". I didn't see 30 kids, so I asked where the rest were. She responded that the Boers come and pick some up for the holidays. "Oh, but of course." I thought to myself very confusedly. As I was leaving, I asked if they all are just around for the holidays. She answered, "Yes. We made an appeal for people to come and take some of the orphans for the holidays, but very few pitched up, so here we are."

As I drove off I kept thinking about that. On the one level, "Why not?" These kids are overcrowded in this house, without that much adult attention. If you have a large enough house and not so many people, why not bring an orphan over for the holidays. I thought of my own holiday plans. I'm working most of the time - taking a few days off to run to the beach to chill very briefly. Why don't I just drag an orphan along to the beach with me? Let a shocked four year old travel to a strange city - overcrowded with vacationing partiers - with a woman who's language he probably won't be able to understand. Let her stay in my fancy hotel room with me and eat at some fun splurge style restaurants. Heck, I could even play Santa Claus and get some toys and things for him on Christmas morning. Then, we'll head back to Windhoek, I'll go back to work, and she'll go back to the orphanage. It just sounds like cruel and unusual punishment for these poor children who have already been through so much. If there was a screening process to make sure I wasn't a psychopath, that would make me more comfortable. If there was a commitment to make sure that I come back every few weeks and develop an ongoing relationship with the child, its starting to make sense. But just to pick up some orphans and hang out with them for the holidays and drop them off afterwards? It just sounds soooo odd.

So, anyway, I received the best holiday present from my boss yesterday. He resigned!

Last, Kafunda wants me to help him find someone in the States who is interested in going into business with him. He's drafted a great business proposal. He's well connected here and has lots of plans. He basically wants to start a business venture selling African curios in the States. As many of you know, I used to sell things for him on ebay. I wasn't very into it, didn't do a very good marketing job, but yet the things sold and sometimes for a lot of money. If there is anyone who would actually like to put energy into it and be creative with the idea, I think there is a lot of potential. Just let me know and I'll get you in touch with Kafunda. Or feel free to ask me any questions.

And finally, enjoy your Christmas - whether you are surrounded by small children or not!!!

Inhaling and Exhaling

The semester is finally over and what a semester it was. I now have about two weeks to get myself caught up on everything, before I head off for a travel seminar to South Africa and Lesotho on January 3rd. My sincerest apologies for dropping out of communication for the last few months. I've been quite busy, but hope to be able to resume email communication now.

So, all in all I had a great semester. The students were amazing and fantastic. As I alluded to, I have some serious differences with my boss, which was really the most major challenge of the semester, although it was a MAJOR challenge at times, but I won't dish out the dirty laundry here. Although the students were wonderful, they are tiring. Even on the "day off" in Cape Town, we had two students get lost on Table Mountain, one that had a puffy eye from bug bites and of course there are the never ending random questions that mistake me not only for a mother or a medical official, but now as they were getting ready to go back to the States, they also mistook me for a customs officer and a thousand other things in which I have no expertise.

It was definitely with mixed emotions that I bade them farewell. As much as I loved them, I looked forward to some peace and quiet. So peace and quiet I got. I went directly from the airport to a 3 day retreat at a yoga ashram in Cape Town. Look at the difference in the first two photos. As much as hiking around Table Mountain was certainly one of the highlights of my job, do the yogis not just beam with peace and serenity? Anyway, that was one of the smartest things I've done in my life and I reconnected with a sense of peace, calm, purpose and energy I hadn't felt in way too long. I visited this ashram in 2002 and it had a major impact on me. It was only on revisiting it that I realised how important it had been to my spiritual development. It was also amazing to come back after 5 years, and see familiar friendly faces that remembered me and said, "Has it really been 5 years?"

I just feel the need to share my Friday night because it was again a contrast. I came home from yoga and bumped (not literally) into Martin - my neighbor. He told me that there was a summer concert in Zoo Park with all the biggest names in Namibian hip-hop/Kwaito. As peaceful and sattvic as I was feeling, it sounded like fun, so off we went. Contrast these two photos. Tuesday night rocking out with the yogis and Friday night with The Dogg and Gazza. I love my life!

Okay, I'll post a more thoughtful post when I've had time to sit and process the semester, life, the universe, etc.