Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Klein Windhoek
I am living in Klein Windhoek currently. It is an upper-class suburb of Windhoek. It is a quite area with beautiful houses spreading around. I believe it is a white-dominated area and a lot of the residents have German heritage, just like Mrs. and Mr. Ackermann, who are our current landlord. By walking, it takes about 25 minutes from where I am living to my working place, which is right in the heart of the city.
Having moved in for almost one week, I got chances to walk around a little. In addition to the beautiful views, there is one thing I found quite interesting (or disturbing in a way): all the houses are tightly gated and fenced, and many of them are using electricity fences. Moreover, almost all houses are guarded by two dogs, which are normally very barky. When you walk pass the gates, the dogs will start barking crazily and will follow you inside the gate. I was surprised by this phenomenon and found a bit uncomfortable by this fact, especially when you compare this with the openness in the Canadian society. I was told that in South Africa, it is even worse. Not exactly sure why the situation is as what it is, but when you see these things, it makes you nervous. You would wonder Where I am, how safe I am, who I should be careful of, etc.
Dryness and Heat in Windhoek
I have been drinking water like crazy since I arrived in Windhoek. It's not a healthy way of drinking, if you ask me, 'cause I don't really feel thirty and my stomach is really full, but I have to dump in water almost non-stopping - it's just too dry. Before I came here, people told me that we were supposed to drink 5L of water for each day. I couldn't imagine it, 5L, how big my stomach would be after the volume. Well, now, every morning before going to work, I go to the supermarket on the way to get two 1.5L bottles of water - that's for the day. When I finish work and go back to where I live, I will have tea, juice, beer, or just hot water to make my throat feel more comfortable.
I have been having a really sore throat for the past few days. It feels so painful to eat and swallow, even talk actually. To make things worse, because of the fact that my stomach has been accustomed to the big volume, I have a really good appetite and feel like eating all the time. So if you happen to see me eat, I probably look a bit abnormal, 'cause I actually half-swallow my food. Fortunately, I got some anti-inflammation oral rinse from the pharmacy here, it seems to help quite a bit. People say that it's the normal reaction to Windhoek for the first few weeks, I guess I will have to wait my body to get used to the dry and hot weather here. But, it's only the beginning of the summer, it will get worse. I didn't believe when people told me that it's that dry that when you rub your arms, you could see flakes fall. Now, I am just waiting for that day to come.
The UN Day and Visit to the Parliament of Namibia on Oct. 24th, 2006
Today, Oct. 24th, is the United Nations Day. Quite embarrassing, but I have to admit that I don’t know much about this special day, although I am working with the UN at the moment. (Will conduct a bit research later, I promise.) However, I did get the whole day off as a result. So, in order to make this day more eventful, I booked a tour to visit the Parliament Building of Namibia. It turned out to be a really informative and interesting experience, especially when you compare that with what you would expect from the Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The tour around the building was supposed to start at 10am. Me and Fiona were there on time and only found that the person who is responsible was busy, although I did make a phone call to book the tour the day before. Fortunately, he did show up 10 minutes later and we found that we were the only two visitors. Anyways, it was a great tour and David, who was our guide, was very patient and knowledgeable in his domain. The Parliament building is not immense in size and splendid in nature, however, it does provide a comfortable home for 72 members representing seven political parties. The building itself is a book telling the colonized and independence history of Namibia.
The Tintenpalast, now the Parliament building, was designed by architect Gottlieb Redecker and built in 1912 to 1913 as the administrative headquarters for German South-West Africa. The name literally means “Ink Palace”, which honours the ink spent on the typically bureaucratic paperwork it generated. The building was altered (mainly the roof) and extended after the independence since it was deemed as “being too German”. In front of the building, there is a beautiful garden, where various foreign plants live – there are no local plants in this garden, interestingly. On the lawn in front of the building sits Windhoek’s first post-independence monument, which depicts Herero chief Hosea Kutako who is known for his vociferous opposition to South African rule. (The guy I was hugging in the photo.) Actually, the Windhoek international airport was named after him.
We also went inside the Chamber, where debates and discussions are carried among MPs. Funnily enough, we were allowed to take photos and even sat on the chair of the Speaker. (As you can see from the photos, I was holding the hammer in my hand and sitting with Fiona in the powerful seat.) We actually came back in the afternoon in the same room, but were up on the second level to listen to the debate of Namibian issues among MPs. The general impression of the process was that Namibians do things in a quite informal and layback way. For example, the session was supposed to start at 2:30pm, while it didn’t until 2:45pm. And, it was hard to hear people in that room, since there was quite some noise around because of people talking or flipping of papers. Even more, two of the four proposed issues for the session could not be discussed, due to the absence of key members. Oh well, and more, after I had a nap on my chair and finally decided to leave and went to the Parliament Restaurant, the MPs followed shortly for their break and didn’t seem to leave even the alarm was ringing to resume the session. And, if you must let me compare the debates between that of Namibian and Canada, I have to tell you that Canadian politicians’ debates are far more exciting and entertaining. However, you really could feel the intimacy of MPs to you, people could just talk to MPs directly almost anywhere in the building, it’s not like MPs are protected from civilians and use their own routes in the Parliament in Canada. Also, you can request to meet with any MP face-to-face if you don’t agree with or want to contribute to issues interested to you in a specified room – Lobby Room – for this purpose. Democracy is a great thing and I am glad for Namibians to be able to finally enjoy this right in their own country.
The tour around the building was supposed to start at 10am. Me and Fiona were there on time and only found that the person who is responsible was busy, although I did make a phone call to book the tour the day before. Fortunately, he did show up 10 minutes later and we found that we were the only two visitors. Anyways, it was a great tour and David, who was our guide, was very patient and knowledgeable in his domain. The Parliament building is not immense in size and splendid in nature, however, it does provide a comfortable home for 72 members representing seven political parties. The building itself is a book telling the colonized and independence history of Namibia.
The Tintenpalast, now the Parliament building, was designed by architect Gottlieb Redecker and built in 1912 to 1913 as the administrative headquarters for German South-West Africa. The name literally means “Ink Palace”, which honours the ink spent on the typically bureaucratic paperwork it generated. The building was altered (mainly the roof) and extended after the independence since it was deemed as “being too German”. In front of the building, there is a beautiful garden, where various foreign plants live – there are no local plants in this garden, interestingly. On the lawn in front of the building sits Windhoek’s first post-independence monument, which depicts Herero chief Hosea Kutako who is known for his vociferous opposition to South African rule. (The guy I was hugging in the photo.) Actually, the Windhoek international airport was named after him.
We also went inside the Chamber, where debates and discussions are carried among MPs. Funnily enough, we were allowed to take photos and even sat on the chair of the Speaker. (As you can see from the photos, I was holding the hammer in my hand and sitting with Fiona in the powerful seat.) We actually came back in the afternoon in the same room, but were up on the second level to listen to the debate of Namibian issues among MPs. The general impression of the process was that Namibians do things in a quite informal and layback way. For example, the session was supposed to start at 2:30pm, while it didn’t until 2:45pm. And, it was hard to hear people in that room, since there was quite some noise around because of people talking or flipping of papers. Even more, two of the four proposed issues for the session could not be discussed, due to the absence of key members. Oh well, and more, after I had a nap on my chair and finally decided to leave and went to the Parliament Restaurant, the MPs followed shortly for their break and didn’t seem to leave even the alarm was ringing to resume the session. And, if you must let me compare the debates between that of Namibian and Canada, I have to tell you that Canadian politicians’ debates are far more exciting and entertaining. However, you really could feel the intimacy of MPs to you, people could just talk to MPs directly almost anywhere in the building, it’s not like MPs are protected from civilians and use their own routes in the Parliament in Canada. Also, you can request to meet with any MP face-to-face if you don’t agree with or want to contribute to issues interested to you in a specified room – Lobby Room – for this purpose. Democracy is a great thing and I am glad for Namibians to be able to finally enjoy this right in their own country.
Trip to Katutura and more on Oct. 21st, 2006
Today was a much fulfilled day. Disappointed at the fact that I wouldn’t be able to go to the Etosha National Park this weekend due to the meeting on Friday, I arranged a half-day tour around Windhoek to compensate for this lost. There are actually not many day tours are available with the travel agencies. Anyways, Celine and I went to visit Katutura, which is a township northwest of Windhoek and resided only by black people. We were told by the tour guide, a local Namibian named Benjamin, that 6% of Windhoek’s population actually live in this place, which is not proportional to its area.
The special thing about Katutura is related to the apartheid history and the current living styles and conditions in the township. ‘Katutura’ means “a place where we do not want to live” in Otjihereto, an indigenous language in Namibia. It was declared a township in 1959 during the apartheid era, when black indigenous people were forced to leave their original residence location, which is called Hochland Park today, to move collectively to the segregated township the South African government established for them. There were demonstrations and fight again this decision, however, nothing could be changed and 10 black people lost their lives for this course. (There is a photo with the tomb for remembering these people in the cemetery.)
Today, after the apartheid has been abolished for more than 15 years, Katutura is still resided only by black people. Many houses still bear the original house numbers that were assigned by the South African government according to their tribal ethnicity – a simplistic way to manage people without considering their feelings and needs – people were not allowed to live anywhere else back then. In the photo, you can see a typical house model.
We were also guided to a local market in Katutura – Oshet Open Market, or officially being called Single Quarter Market. It is a lively market full of bizarre African things. You can find dried worms (the black chunks in the basket in my photos), BBQ skewers without skewers (basically people just throw whatever pieces of meat over the fire), the big disgusting exposed bull heads surrounded by numerous flies under the midday sun (we were told they still would be used for some kind of food later), tailor shops that are full of local costumes, numerous barber shops with people inside patiently braiding their hair, and electronic stores with old and dusty TVs and stereos…
We then went to ‘Havana’, not sure exactly why it is named related to Cuba, which is a black-resided area with endless metal-piece-composed compartments. It is very sad to see people live under this condition, especially with the comparison to the fancy European live styles in downtown Windhoek. However, Benjamin told us that some people preferred to live here even if they have stable jobs, even with the government in some cases, because it is a good way to say money, which can then be sent back to their families back in the villages. We stopped over at a local drink shop, ordered some pop drinks and then sat on the bench in one of those compartments. Surprisingly, it actually didn’t feel as bad as we had imagined – it didn’t feel that hot inside. It was a great experience and Ben took us a photo that I really like – the one with three of us (Celine, me and Matthias) sitting on the bench in front of Coco Cola posters in the dazzling silver metal-composed compartment. It might incur some deep thoughts if you think hard.
Still not the end of the tour yet, our last stop was at Penduka, which is a NGO promoting women’s independence and self-empowerment. ‘Penduka’ means wake up. It was established by a Dutch lady named Christine in 1992. More than fifty local women are currently working here to make handmade crafts of various sorts. From the photo at the craft shop, you can see some of their work. It is great to see people, especially vulnerable women, to find a way to change their lives.
Right after the tour, Celine and I went straight to a famous local spot – Zoo Café, which is located on the edge of the Zoo Park, which is also just across the street of the building where I am working – Sanlam Centre. It is a really nice café with patio on the second floor and fancy menus. While eating, we looked around: there were no others except white foreigners (I was an exceptional case as well I guess); while looking down, there were no others except black locals walking across the park. While getting used to the open and equal society in Canada, it seems a very weird feeling to see the situation in nowadays Windhoek. Maybe the apartheid was abolished, but the line is still quite clear between the white and the black – they simply just cannot afford to eat at a place like this.
Wandering around the park for a bit after the brunch, I spotted a Chinese temple with the name ‘Shanghai Temple’ located at a corner of the park – that must be a symbol of the relationship established between the two cities of Windhoek and Shanghai. Another happy thing for the day was that we both found a pair of sandals that are comfortable, nice-looking and inexpensive. I spend N$60 for this pair, which is less than CAD$10. Just imagine that I have to wear my dirty sneakers with my nice dress to go back and forth work for about 20 minutes each way (with my high-heeled shoes in my bag), it would be good news to get this neural and comfortable one.
Later we did a few other things, including shopping at a huge supermarket (there is almost no difference from those in Canada, except the availability of some local food options. However, I didn’t get beer and wine as I planned, since it’s after 2pm on Saturday and no liquor is sold after that point until Monday, due to religious reasons.), viewing some great sunset scenes on high spots in Klein Windhoek, and eating in the first African food restaurant since I came here. The name is African Roots Restaurant, which specializes in African cuisine with special African cooking methods such as pickling, braaing and drying of food. It has a cosy and fancy atmosphere. I ordered just an appetizer - Baked Black Mushrooms filled with spinach and cheese, and a glass of dry red wine, and really enjoyed it. Interestingly, for the dessert menu, there was one item called Kalahari Sands with an explanation name as ‘Xuxu’, so I had to order it! It turned out that ‘Xuxu’ tasted really good and it was a mixture of ice cream and smoothie. We all had a great time, and it was really interesting to talk to Celine, who is from France and Matthias, who is from Germany. I have a feeling that my next travel destination would be Europe.
The special thing about Katutura is related to the apartheid history and the current living styles and conditions in the township. ‘Katutura’ means “a place where we do not want to live” in Otjihereto, an indigenous language in Namibia. It was declared a township in 1959 during the apartheid era, when black indigenous people were forced to leave their original residence location, which is called Hochland Park today, to move collectively to the segregated township the South African government established for them. There were demonstrations and fight again this decision, however, nothing could be changed and 10 black people lost their lives for this course. (There is a photo with the tomb for remembering these people in the cemetery.)
Today, after the apartheid has been abolished for more than 15 years, Katutura is still resided only by black people. Many houses still bear the original house numbers that were assigned by the South African government according to their tribal ethnicity – a simplistic way to manage people without considering their feelings and needs – people were not allowed to live anywhere else back then. In the photo, you can see a typical house model.
We were also guided to a local market in Katutura – Oshet Open Market, or officially being called Single Quarter Market. It is a lively market full of bizarre African things. You can find dried worms (the black chunks in the basket in my photos), BBQ skewers without skewers (basically people just throw whatever pieces of meat over the fire), the big disgusting exposed bull heads surrounded by numerous flies under the midday sun (we were told they still would be used for some kind of food later), tailor shops that are full of local costumes, numerous barber shops with people inside patiently braiding their hair, and electronic stores with old and dusty TVs and stereos…
We then went to ‘Havana’, not sure exactly why it is named related to Cuba, which is a black-resided area with endless metal-piece-composed compartments. It is very sad to see people live under this condition, especially with the comparison to the fancy European live styles in downtown Windhoek. However, Benjamin told us that some people preferred to live here even if they have stable jobs, even with the government in some cases, because it is a good way to say money, which can then be sent back to their families back in the villages. We stopped over at a local drink shop, ordered some pop drinks and then sat on the bench in one of those compartments. Surprisingly, it actually didn’t feel as bad as we had imagined – it didn’t feel that hot inside. It was a great experience and Ben took us a photo that I really like – the one with three of us (Celine, me and Matthias) sitting on the bench in front of Coco Cola posters in the dazzling silver metal-composed compartment. It might incur some deep thoughts if you think hard.
Still not the end of the tour yet, our last stop was at Penduka, which is a NGO promoting women’s independence and self-empowerment. ‘Penduka’ means wake up. It was established by a Dutch lady named Christine in 1992. More than fifty local women are currently working here to make handmade crafts of various sorts. From the photo at the craft shop, you can see some of their work. It is great to see people, especially vulnerable women, to find a way to change their lives.
Right after the tour, Celine and I went straight to a famous local spot – Zoo Café, which is located on the edge of the Zoo Park, which is also just across the street of the building where I am working – Sanlam Centre. It is a really nice café with patio on the second floor and fancy menus. While eating, we looked around: there were no others except white foreigners (I was an exceptional case as well I guess); while looking down, there were no others except black locals walking across the park. While getting used to the open and equal society in Canada, it seems a very weird feeling to see the situation in nowadays Windhoek. Maybe the apartheid was abolished, but the line is still quite clear between the white and the black – they simply just cannot afford to eat at a place like this.
Wandering around the park for a bit after the brunch, I spotted a Chinese temple with the name ‘Shanghai Temple’ located at a corner of the park – that must be a symbol of the relationship established between the two cities of Windhoek and Shanghai. Another happy thing for the day was that we both found a pair of sandals that are comfortable, nice-looking and inexpensive. I spend N$60 for this pair, which is less than CAD$10. Just imagine that I have to wear my dirty sneakers with my nice dress to go back and forth work for about 20 minutes each way (with my high-heeled shoes in my bag), it would be good news to get this neural and comfortable one.
Later we did a few other things, including shopping at a huge supermarket (there is almost no difference from those in Canada, except the availability of some local food options. However, I didn’t get beer and wine as I planned, since it’s after 2pm on Saturday and no liquor is sold after that point until Monday, due to religious reasons.), viewing some great sunset scenes on high spots in Klein Windhoek, and eating in the first African food restaurant since I came here. The name is African Roots Restaurant, which specializes in African cuisine with special African cooking methods such as pickling, braaing and drying of food. It has a cosy and fancy atmosphere. I ordered just an appetizer - Baked Black Mushrooms filled with spinach and cheese, and a glass of dry red wine, and really enjoyed it. Interestingly, for the dessert menu, there was one item called Kalahari Sands with an explanation name as ‘Xuxu’, so I had to order it! It turned out that ‘Xuxu’ tasted really good and it was a mixture of ice cream and smoothie. We all had a great time, and it was really interesting to talk to Celine, who is from France and Matthias, who is from Germany. I have a feeling that my next travel destination would be Europe.
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