It feels good to be in Namibia

Hello to you all from Windhoek (pronounced as wind hook), Namibia!

The long wait is over and I have arrived in Windhoek, Namibia. I will be here till mid-April 2013. As promised, I will be writing about the city of Windhoek, the country of Namibia, its people, the culture, and much more. I will also share the progress of my work as we go along. I hope you will enjoy reading this blog and please let me know if you have any questions.

Geography and Weather

Namibia is a small country in southern Africa. It borders Angola and Zambia in the north, South Africa in the south, and Botswana in the east. The whole west side of Namibia borders the South Atlantic Ocean.

In size, it’s about 20% bigger than Texas but with a population of only 2 million people. Windhoek is the capital city and is home of about 250 thousand residents. Although it has a long coastal line with the South Atlantic Ocean in the west, and two major rivers on the northern and southern boarders, most of country is a desert. Water is the most valuable commodity here. Water is so scarce that the city of Windhoek’s water department reclaims water from wastewater treatment plants and after purifying and sanitizing it, mixes it with the drinking water supplies. I have been drinking this purified water for the past week and doing fine. Despite of such an acute water shortage, all homes have clean running water 24 hours a day. I will talk more about drinking water in my future postings on this blog.

Because Namibia is located in the southern hemisphere, November and December are the peak summer months. Summer in the desert is generally not very pleasant. Namibia is no exception. Daytime temperatures runs around 95 degrees (Fahrenheit) but the nights are a comfortable 65-70 degrees. Don’t run to lower your thermostat; most homes in Namibia have no air-conditioning. Natural wind is the only cooling system. Most new office buildings and malls are centrally cooled just like in the US.

People, Language, and Driving

For someone coming from the US, driving can be very confusing. Namibians drive on the left side of the street. I am slowly trying to undo 26 years of spotless right-hand driving experience in the US, and learn how to legally drive on the wrong side of the street.

Windhoek is a very clean city. I haven’t seen a single piece of trash on the street. People are very conscientious and use trashcans installed on the streets every 100 yards or so. I can say with confidence that this is one of the cleanest cities I have ever visited, including those in the US. People are proud of their country and are committed to make their country one of the most advanced nations on the African continent. People are very polite and soft spoken. Sometimes it appears that they are just whispering while talking. African hospitality is visible everywhere.

English is the official language today, but until its independence from South Africa in 1990, people spoke only Afrikaans; a language derived mainly from Dutch. People were discouraged from learning or speaking English under South African control until 1990. So the older generation can speak or write only Afrikaans while the younger generation is fluent both in English and Afrikaans. I intend to take some classes on Afrikaans so I can communicate with the locals while here and impress you all with my command on Afrikaans when I return home next year.

Next Time

Next week I will write about the Polytechnic of Namibia where I am working. There is so much to talk about this country; the culture, wildlife, landscape, challenges faced by the younger generation, and more. I will also keep you informed about the progress of my research activities. Please let me know if you want to know more about any aspect of this beautiful country. Just post a question or comment on the blog and I will find an answer for you. More to come next week so stay tuned.

Achal

November 19, 2012

Here are some pictures of the city of Windhoek from the balcony of my apartment on 7th floor. You might have noticed that the City is surronded by hills. Click on the picture for a larger view.

Looking north from my apartment

Downtown Windhoek

Another view of downtown. The blue building on the right

is the Metropolitan Namibia building. It's equivalent to our City Hall.

Blue sunny skies in Windhoek. Looking south from my apartment.