pinch me

post date:
friday, march 19th - 12:00 PM

current weather:
73 degrees, sunny

so as you might have noticed, i've added this little 'post date' up top. this is because i write all my entries in a small word doc, and i upload them whenever the internet is nice to me. usually it ends up with me writing out my blog, and then not posting it until about 5 hours later. it's like a surprise, really.

today marks one full week since i've left the US for namibia! for some reason i really feel like i've been here much longer than that, i guess it didn't take long for me to get used to this culture. aside from the fact that i obviously don't fit in appearance-wise, i don't mind the area, and it slightly reminds me of being in both taiwan and costa rica. the only difference is that i can use english to communicate with people :)

after work yesterday, we walked through the mall again and had to pick up a few things from the grocery store. i wandered into an urban clothing store and saw that a bunch of sports jerseys were on sale! they had some lakers and nuggets jerseys, as well as a bunch of different soccer uniforms. i'm still debating whether or not i want to buy one - they're on sale for $N350, which is a little under $50. i think that's cheaper than the ones in the states? someone pleaseeee help me out on this.

we also encountered our first random stranger on the street! he was one of those street vendors and followed us for an entire block while carrying small keychains and talking his head off to try to get us to stop walking. slightly sketchy.

i've also started noticing that since people here drive on the left side of the road, they also like to walk on the left side. there have been so many times when i was walking on the sidewalk and then i look up and realize someone is walking right at me on the same side. i even got stopped once by a kid who told me to be on the other side. i didn't even notice how natural it was for us to walk on the right and pass on the left. it's little things like these that make me remember where i am, haha.

yesterday afternoon was really chill. me and janine visited the poly library so i could test out the wireless over there. the library is beautiful, i'd much rather be in there than the one at wpi. it's just very aesthetically pleasing, with large glass windows and what seemed to be brand new furniture. we stayed for an hour or so, enjoying the AC.

the evening was just the usual - cooking dinner, chilling outside, playing some cards. seems like nights just fly by, and i always find myself just sinking into a couch and getting bitten by mosquitoes. i have noticed that i've been taking fewer pictures though, so i should probably get on that.

as for today, i woke up at 8:30 to get to work by 9. we've been lounging around in the acre again, doing a little bit of research and killing time. my work really isn't exciting at all, i don't even know why i write about it in the first place. but yeah, that's where i'm stuck at right now.

i also just checked my bank statements today. counting the $100 i brought in cash to namibia, i've already spent $330 in one week. even though about a third of it is on groceries alone, i still think that's a lot of money to be throwing around, haha. whoops.

51 days and counting... i'm sure there'll be plenty more stories (and hopefully pictures) to come :)