A Sad Reality Starting to Set In

So... yesterday I found out that one of my friends/teachers (from when I studied abroad in Equatorial Guinea) had passed away... Claudio Posa Bohome. We all just called him Posa. He was on the Caldera expedition (the two weeks in the forest counting monkey's deal) but fell very ill. A boat was sent for him which took him back to Malabo to Guadalupe Hospital, but he was transferred again to La Paz in Bata on the mainland where he passed away on January 14th 2010.

Claudio Posa Bohome

Posa will be missed by many. He was a wonderful teacher at UNGE (Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial) and an employee of BBPP (Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program).

This sad event makes me realize that this could be just the start. I know that in the Peace Corps I will be working with some very sick people. I am going to see death many times before I return to the US. It's something that the Peace Corps has already warned me about, but it really didn't hit me until now. It's very sad to think about and reminds me of another friend who passed away last year... Dr. Isabel Wright. She was the doctor that I worked for at Clinica Esperanza. She was amazing with children at the clinic! Unfortunately, she passed away while visiting her children in the US. The final diagnosis was liver cancer.

Sorry for the sad post, but I wanted to let you know the realities that are setting in for me.

We Will All Miss You Posa!

Drum Roll Please...

It's official! I am going to Namibia! On Feb. 16th I will be attending staging (in Washington D.C. I think) which is like a few days of training in the US, and then I start my in-country training in Namibia on Feb. 19th. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! I will be working as a Health Extension Volunteer in Community Health and HIV/AIDS.

Here you can see where Namibia is located -- above South Africa and on the West coast. It is bordered by Angola to the North and Botswana to the East (in addition to South Africa to the South). 

 

This is the flag of Namibia...

  

Here is a closer look at the country. It is mostly desert with some coastal weather. The seasons are opposite of what we have here in the States. From what I have read so far, winter is from May-September and summer is from October-April. I use the term "winter" loosely. The coldest it has ever gotten (so I've read) is around 45 degrees F. It can get up into the 90's during the summertime though! With the desert climate, it will be hot during the day and cool at night. Namibia shares the Kalahari Desert with Botswana and South Africa. It also has the coastal desert and Namib Desert.

The official language of Namibia is English, although Afrikaans and German used to be official languages. Oshiwambo is also a well known language. I will probably have to learn Afrikaans during my in country training (which is 9 weeks long). 

I will officially start my service on April 23rd 2010 and end on April 23rd 2012.

I will update my page with a mailing address as soon as I know. Please write me!!! But know it will take a few weeks for a letter to reach me and a few weeks to return.