WalvisBay, Namibia - Survival Mode

Well, we were off to a rough start here in Namibia.  Our first house was beautiful and spacious. However, after only two days in the place, we had to deal with fried breakers, leaking tubs, and a water leak under the slab.  The latter resulting in workers busting up the marble tile and the slab in our utility room and digging under the house to fix it.  So, our agent refused to let us stay there.  We found another house, smaller but more our style, right off of the water in Walvis Bay.  It would not be ready for a few days so we were moved into a hotel for five nights.

 

Our house was finally ready and we moved in over the weekend.  On the second night, we had a break-in.  Our computers and some other electronics were stolen.  As a result, a brand new security company was hired to come in and revamp the security system, complete with lasers all around the house. 

The last couple of weeks have mainly consisted of getting further settled in to our new life here in Africa.  The husband has spent countless hours at work getting things in order for crew changes and getting the rig ready to work. 

The pace of life is MUCH slower here.   The people here are not really in a hurry about anything.  IF you happen to lock your keys in your office or such, don’t expect the locksmith to show at 6:30 PM on a Thursday. It ain’t happening!

The food here is decent. Of course, it is not the southern home cooking type restaurants we are used to but it is good nonetheless.  They eat a great deal of seafood here as well as wild game native to the region.  I think my favorite would be the kudu steak as far as game is concerned. They have fish in various restaurants they call kabeljou, hake, and kingklip that are very good. 

It is very relaxing to have dinner by the water and watch the seals swim around just out from the jetty or watch the birds feed on schooling fish.  Our little boy and I had a “feed the birds” project and we put a bird feed out near our back steps.  Here are a few of the pics we were able to get when we sat close but really still.  J

Our little boy attends Montessori school here and loves it.  It is only half a day so that took getting used to since he went from 10 Am to 5 PM in South Korea.  They have gymnastics available to school children here, so he enjoys that immensely.  We also have him enrolled in swimming lessons. However, I don’t see myself allowing him in the ocean around Walvis Bay as I have never seen so many jellyfish in all my life.

We found a church to attend that we love.  We have been twice so far and are planning to continue attending there. We are also joining one of the churches life groups and Bible study as well. The people here are very friendly as a whole. 

One of the coolest things I have ever done was ride ATVs in the desert.  My husband and I, along with our son and a couple of guys from the rig went out riding one Sunday afternoon. The place we rode was a few miles from our house.  I was a bit nervous about it as some of the dunes are very tall and I do not particularly care for heights.  However, I was astounded by the amazing views and all of us had a great time.  It never ceases to amaze me the intricacies of God’s creation, how it all fits together, and its beauty. I mean the beauty of the desert running into the ocean. Before now, I had never even thought of such or how beautiful it could be.