Things I love about Namibia!
July 23, 2010
Chinatown: it’s nothing like what you find in other countries, but the two grocery shops in the northern industrial area of Windhoek provide a variety of fresh vegetables not available elsewhere, in addition to bottled sauces, noodles, Thai and Japanese rice, and the all-important rice cooker to prepare it in! And the long line of trashy shops with low quality plastic goods and replica football jerseys give the market side a true African feel not present in the centre of town.
Dairy products: the fresh milk tastes just like Canada or Vietnam, the yogurt can be found sugarless, with different bacteria cultures and textures including Greek style and Bulgarian. The local drinks like Oshikandela (a sweet flavoured drinking yogurt) and thick, filling Oshitaka (a fruit flavoured mixture of dairy and maize meal) add delicious variety to the options. This is most certainly the food product I’ll miss the most..
Fashion: some of my friends visiting Africa for the first time commented that the people here seem to dress ‘normal’, meaning normal by European standards; that is not normal in most parts of Africa. Here I’d compare much of the women in town (whether in business or casual clothes) and the men with their funky hairstyles comparably dressed to those in Japan and China. Made me feel like a complete slob most days..
Franco Namibian Cultural Center (FNCC): you’d find me there every Wednesday night for cinema, and for any other exhibition or event happening. They’ve got a collection of films and books in their libraries, and as with many other developing countries, the French cultural centre is a leader when it comes to promoting and sharing culture from both close and far.
Kapana: little pieces of grilled beef served with salty chili spice, and an easy way to strike up a conversation with the people huddled around the grill.
Oshifima: This maize/millet mix turned into a smooth pap-like porridge has a texture and taste that goes great with spinach, sauces, and small pieces of meat. So good. So Namibian.
Parks: Look for any patch of green grass around town in the middle of the day, and you’ll almost certainly find people sitting down and socializing. There’s the beautiful ‘zoo park’ in downtown Windhoek, and another lively park by UN plaza in Katutura. Wish I could have found more!
Rhythms: From 90s American R&B and soul music on the radio, to South African-inspired Kwaito, African house, and ethnic music from a variety of tribes, it’s pretty hard to sit or stand still. And the videos are pretty good quality too! Now if producers would only start selling hit compilation CDs and DVDs..
Traffic: The roads are better maintained than in many Western countries, the low population makes rush hour a joke, and Namibians have to be the most effective users of 4-way stops that I’ve ever seen in this world (now if they could only replace the unsynchronized lights on downtown Indpendence Avenue with something that works..). The one challenge is that there’s no true public transportation service running, leaving taxis as the only option. An expensive one at $1+ USD per ride on a main route, or $2 USD from door to door (which is a much better deal when compared to other countries).
You have probably realized by now that there isn’t much lacking in Windhoek in terms of infrastructure, and I could go on about the walkways, malls, nightlife (and the empty streets from 5:01pm until 10pm, when the clubs start moving), but the above list includes the first things that come to my mind when I think about my eleven months in the country. Hope you have the chance to come up with your own list too!
