Twenty hours, one ocean, two planes, three Xanax, and four True Blood episodes later, I'm in the Windhoek airport, utterly drained and unable to remember my reasons for coming here.
My driver is a 30-year-old Namibian named Vania. He’s attractive and has awesome style, so I’m surprised to hear he’s from a northern tribe and has only left Namibia once, on a road trip to South Africa. He asks what it is like to ride on a plane and wants to know if we have different tribes in the U.S. He can’t comprehend what the subway is, but he says it sounds dangerous.
The rocky dirt road to Dusternbrook goes for miles with no animals or people in sight… only desert trees and brush. I realize Vania is taking me to the middle of nowhere. He asks why I am staying in the bush for four weeks and I have no answer.
At the farm, I’m greeted by Johann and Sabina, who run the place. Both are warm and very welcoming. Life on the farm seems slow, at least today, and the lack of noise is completely distracting. Sabina shows me my room and I immediately fall asleep. Two hours later, I wake up scared to realize that I'm not in Brooklyn.
After my nap, Sabina gives me a tour while a giraffe follows at a distance. There are antelope and warthogs everywhere and two very happy dogs. At sunset it’s time to feed the hippos. I stand in the back of the jeep as Johann drives fast down a bumpy dirt road. I have to grip the handlebars tight and bend my knees to absorb the shocks of the bumps and twists and inclines of the road. The wind blasts my face, but I keep my eyes open to watch the antelope and warthogs running away from our headlights. I hope we do this every day.
At the hippo pond, we put out hay, and the four Germans and I enjoy our “sundowner” drinks while listening to the night sounds and watching the hippos eat in the dark. Back at the farmhouse, we have dinner and I take questions about the U.S.’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. But these are easier than the questions about my work and why it's important. Everything I say about software, simulations, and mental health training seems so silly in this setting and--in my mind at least--begs the question, “So why are you here?”
Finally we discuss my major task as a volunteer: re-establishing the kindergarten for the staff members’ children. They stopped having kindergarten almost three months ago, when the last volunteer left. Now I have to figure out how to resume teaching English to a group of 4- and 5-year-olds. First class is Monday morning, and I have two days to prepare.
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