Dread-less and reporting for duty.

There are some rumors going around that I chopped my dreads off.

And...they're all true! I spent a wonderful Christmas with my host family in Okahandja… but it was incredibly hot. And they had hair clippers… and it was just time to say goodbye.

This decision has brought numerous changes, such as:

- No longer being called “rasta” when I walk down the street (which was getting a bit annoying…)

- No need to carefully avoid Velcro

- Bucket baths becoming a thousand times easier

- Loss of head traction when carrying water

In any case, I’m enjoying the new look, which takes virtually the same amount of morning prep time (approximately 0.5 minutes), and is much cooler!

After Christmas I headed back up north to Kavango. I have to say, it’s definitely good to be back. It was an amazing month of traveling, but I missed village life (and my puppy!). I transitioned back into it by spending a very relaxing New Year’s Eve camping outside of Rundu with an awesome and eclectic group of people. After that a fellow volunteer, Kara, was able to come and visit for a few days, and we passed our time cooking and baking delicious treats, playing with Bekah, watching Smash and getting some ideas together for our classes.

Now…school is about to begin! Teachers started yesterday, learners come on Tuesday! I’ve been helping with some of the transferring and registration and today I got to put my hand tool skills to use. Yesterday I asked about getting another cabinet for the library, and was directed to a stack of flat cardboard boxes in one of our classrooms. Evidently, the Ministry of Education dropped off new furniture for us, but no one knew how to put it together! So, in a Providential turn of events, I used my handy screwdriver (thanks Mom!) and problem solving skills to put together two locking cabinets and three bookshelves. It took a bit of creativity (missing parts, extra parts, incorrectly spaced holes…) but I have secured one of the cabinets for library books, and am now moving forward with my plan to move the library stock we have out of the staff room and into a classroom. More on that to come!

It’s kind of hard to believe that I’m only now, after nearly six months in Namibia, getting ready to begin what I came here to do. But, by the same token, it’s kind of hard to believe how much I’ve learned since coming here. I’m feeling a bit apprehensive, but mostly excited and ready to get started! So, wish me luck… I’ll let you know how my first couple days go!