America the Beautiful

A funny thing happens when you're a Peace Corps Volunteer and you're nearing your 8 month mark of volunteer service. You start to love America and all things American. Now, I don't consider myself overly patriotic. I don't have an American flag sticker on my car in America. My learners have been bugging me to sing them the American national anthem but I've been refusing because 1. i don't want to humiliate myself so thoroughly by singing in front of my class, and 2. I'm afraid I'll forget the words.

But after about 8 months of service, I find that I day dream about the simplicity of owning a car (PCVs can't drive), and being able to just get into that car, drive on the right side of the road (here they drive on the left hand side, or, sometimes, the middle) and go to the store. And even if you don't have a car there's reliable public transportation. Like, you know there's a bus that stops here, wait here and in a reasonable amount of time there will be a bus. Here if you need to go to town you can wait anywhere from 0 to 3 hours. And even if I do get a ride right away there's no guarantee that we won't make multiple turns and take an extra hour and a half, getting to town, by which time I have to turn around and go back to the village. If I run out of toothpaste in the middle of the week I pretty much have to wait for the weekend. And even then there's no guarantee that I'll get a ride into town. In America when you want to do something you can just do it. You don't have to think about it. Here, going to the bank can take 6 hours of waiting in line only to have the window close when you're the next person up. In America you can get a haircut, go to the bank, go to the post office and go shopping in like, a MORNING! Here that would probably take at least 2 weeks.

What else is amazing about America? The food. Oh the choices! The quality! If you want to go out to dinner you have SO. MANY. CHOICES. Indian food, Thai food, Mexican food...a fellow volunteer who extended for a 3rd year recently went home for her 30 days of leave and while she was there she ate 18 burritos. Burritos! Sometimes I would give my right arm for guacamole. And beer! Oh I miss a good microbrew. Alas our choices in Namibia are quite limited. Sometimes on a friday evening I just want to kick back with a nice cold magic hat #9. If I'm in town I can settle for a Windhoek or Black Label but in the village it's inappropriate for me to drink because I always have learners around. But even a Windhoek just ain't the same.

Also, in America it's not hot all the time. Sure it gets cold, but then when it's cold you can take hot showers and wear sweaters and thick socks and cuddle up into bed. Here when it's hot, which it has been nonstop for the last 6 months, there's nothing to do but sweat. And showers, well those are nice if you don't live in the village. I'm stuck with a bucket bath. With the combined dust, humidity and heat I haven't been clean in 8 months. Sometimes I think I'm clean, after I just took a bucket bath, but then after wiping my face with a tissue I realize I am actually just as filthy as I was before.

Don't get me wrong. I like Namibia (most of the time). It's just that being here has made me appreciate all America has to offer. So this weekend I want you to eat some good food, take a hot shower and crack open a cold one. While you do so think of me.