sand shenanigans!

Namibia was an adventure for sure... I climbed, played and jumped on sand dunes, ate unpronounceable flavors of ice cream that came in funky colors, had three different run-ins with the Namibian police and swam in the ocean- which was COLD. I got to visit an outdoor market where everyone asked me where I was from (United States) and then asked whether I was from California or New York- obviously New Hampshire isn't that well known worldwide :) Short story: One guy named Eric seemed very pleased that we were all there (this was the first time Semester at Sea has ever visited Namibia) besides the obvious fact that we were probably doubling their economy just from staying there five days. Unlike most of the people at the market he was not pushy about selling me something after I told him that I was just there waiting for a friend to be done shopping. Eric was interested in the U.S. and pleased to hear about the things I had seen and liked in Namibia, and then he told me about the market and how he gets by working there. So that was a cool conversation to have- it was nice that many people in Namibia spoke English, it made things a lot easier :) Lots of exciting things happened while riding taxis around- whether it was getting pulled over for having too many people in the backseat (oops), having people following us to stick their heads in the car to try to convince us to get out and into their cabs, getting pulled over and having the car searched for firearms, listening to a Dolly Parton tape for half an hour or having the police tell our driver that his license was expired... things were never dull! With the sand dunes stretching on forever on one side and the ocean on the other Namibia was a beautiful place to be.

So that's the short version of my time in Namibia! We arrive in South Africa bright and early tomorrow morning so I will have to keep you posted on that as well!!! I always love to hear from you all and I hope that you are enjoying lots of sunshine, laughter and ice cream! May God bless and keep you and give you peace...

-Bethany