I'm still alive

So, I'm still alive and kicking. I've been super busy with work stuff and fun stuff, so I apologize for being such an anti-social blogger. :)  I am doing well here in Namibia. School is officially over for the month so I have been on "holiday" for the past three weeks. The first week of December was spent at a conference for Peace Corps called reconnect, it's basically a week of more training in Windhoek to check in with us all to see how the first two months at site have been.  From Windhoek I traveled to Swakupmond, a beach town where people from all over the world come to spend the holiday, Angelina Jolie had one of her kids in Swakupmond. :)  It was a good holiday at the beach but was too cold to go in the water and I was in a house with 6 twin beds and 21 other people... a little too crowded for my liking.  But fun times were had. 

Hiking from Windhoek to Swakupmond.  I have discovered that dancing while waving down cars is extremely effective.  Also, It doesn't hurt to have boobs.  :)

The sunset over the African Atlantic Ocean. B-e-a-utiful.

  The first hike of the day heading back up north toward home.

My first solo free hike.  It was in the back of a bakki and this was my view for almost the whole day.  Amazing.   Fyi- hitch-hiking is not that bad here.  It's actually safer then most paid transportation.

This past Sunday I traveled back up north to Ondangwa to spend the holiday with a few friends and near my home. It doesn't really feel like Christmas at all and is so wierd to see everyone posting on facebook about shopping and preparing for the festivities. It makes me a little homesick but I am trying my best to keep busy and enjoy life and my time here in Namibia.

I know this sounds super ridiculous but it's so wierd to me that life is actually moving along back home. Today I woke up to find out my best friend is engaged!!! It is really hard for me missing all of this. I'm very happy for them both but very homesick.

I have made some amazing friends here who are taking extra good care of me and even some local Afrikaaners (white Africans/Namibians) who are treating me like a queen (maybe not exactly like a queen but they are taking care of me).

One of my Afrikaaner friends took  me to this awesome tree that has a tiny church inside of it.  God's work at its best.  Amazing!

I also got mail today. I got an envelope filled with birthday letters from my sister Heidi's first grade class... they were AMAZING!!!

I also got my package from my family with the CUTEST pillow case in it... hahahaha... it is covered in old fashioned pin up style guys decked out in christmas underwear... hahaha... it is the greatest!

I am still doing really well here and am excited for the new year. I will actually start working and am a little nervous to start but know that I will find my feet and will work hard to succeed.

This Christmas is gonna be an emotional one but I am happy to be here and know I will be ok. I hate being so emotional at times but I wouldn't be me if I weren't.  :)

I love you all and wish you all the best Christmas holiday and the happiest New Year. 

Ondi hole...

I LOVE...

Walking around my village or town and white people staring at me because I am living as a local...

Greeting people in their native tongue and the smile that spreads across their faces...

My amazing friends and family here mo(in)America na(and) moNamibia...

Explaining to my colleagues that not all Americans are white and act the same...

When kids come up to me and tell me to give them money, I look at them and tell them to give Me money.  They just stare in confusion, I stare at them very serius.  Afterwards, I laugh...

Riverside, California...

Namibia. The whole country...

Learning about a new culture while teaching about mine...

Explaining that Americans do have a culture, not just one but many...

That when it is 'balls hot' and humid outside, that means the rain is coming.  Sure enough it is here by that afternoon...

 No matter how hard I try to speak proper English, Namlish always makes an appearance when speaking to people...

Getting letters and love mailed to me from home... (hint hint ;))...

These are a few of the things that I feel so blessed by and love about my current home and life.

Last Saturday I got to hang out with about 30 others PCV's at a local rest camp to celebrate our new group of volunteers coming to the north/Halloween/and MY birthday and my friend Danny's birthday too.  I had an amazing time.  There was beer and booze consumed by all but I was always safe and used my head(I promise mom and dad, I was smart but still had fun!).  The rest camp we stayed at is owned by some local Afrikaaners (native white people) and one of the groups that was there was a bachelor party.  Once they found out it was my birthday lets just say I didn't have to buy any more drinks and drank some interesting stuff.  Mostly the night consisted of getting to know my fellow volunteers that I will be serving with over the next two years, it was a lot of fun. 

Yesterday, my real birthday, was pretty great as well.  I started it out by talking to some of my family at midnight (happy hour is unlimited internet use from midnight-6am for N$10 for a week, awesome deal).  I woke up and opened some cards that were sent with me before I left home in August and they were all so sweet!  I definitely felt their love from so far away.  I was picked up by my OVC supervisor to attend a meeting about partnering with a local organization, when I came outside she sang happy birthday to me.  Her daughter, who works with us at the OVC, who also happens to be my first Namibian friend and facebook friend, saw it on facebook and they were so sweet wishing me happy birthday along with many blessings.  The day went pretty great, our meeting was very productive and successful.  After work my host family all wished me happy birthday. 


Some exciting news: there are a few new members of our family that share a birthday week with me.  Yesterday I noticed a cow outside of my window mooing like crazy... I looked outside below my window to see her newborn calf walking around inside our gated homestead.  My family has cows that they bring into a corral at night and during the day let them out to graze, the baby is too little to be outside all day so we have what I like to call calf daycare on our homestead to ensure his safety (I'm assuming it's a boy, I don't see any utters).  So we have a new baby calf and I also stumbled upon 5 new puppies that were born on Monday as well.  I love baby animals so it is the best birthday presents ever!!! :)

I apologize for the length of this wordy blog, but i had a lot to say.

I feel very blessed to be here in Namibia learning and sharing my culture.  Thank you to everyone that supports me and loves me for simply being my perfectly imperfect self.

Keepin it real, Namibian style.

Disclaimer: some of the details mentioned below might gross you out.  Don't judge me, I'm living in a third world country in the Peace Corps.
With that said, here are some of the things that I find very different here in Namibia.

Potty Training:  Lets just say I have been peed on multiple times in the past month.  I had a host cousin that had a baby, he was the cutest 4 month old, but his diapers was a towel.  Whenever I would hold him, the pee magically didn't soak into the cloth but soaked my shorts.  Children(toddlers) here who are not potty trained just pee whenever. For example: I am standing in church singing when my feet are splattered with a liquid. I look over and my 3 year old niece just peed in my sisters arms, they acted as if it were nothing.

BUGS!!! Bugs here have 9 lives just like cats. I have killed many different bugs, mostly cockroaches, with my shoes and I get them good. But, they tend to come back to life, injured and all they try to crawl around. I hit them again and again. It grosses me out and I squeal just about every time!!!

Mosquito's- I HATE you!!!! I am not one to use the word hate often, its a very strong word and I more often strongly dislike something rather then hate. But these blood thirsty annoyances are on my extremely short HATE list. I can hear them flying around me but can't see them so it makes me paranoid. I have five bites at the moment and they itch so bad!!!!
Wall Spiders- We have these giant spiders that lay flat against the wall and move faster then I ever could. They are found everywhere here and are not really killed often because they eat the enemy, Mosquito's!!! I currently have one chilling on my curtain near my bed, I haven't decided if I will let it stay that close to where I sleep. 

Food- I have had traditional fish and regular fish here and they both aren't bad. I kind of like it. Except for the fish heads (eyes and all) and all the bones. Too much work. But seriously, as a new fish eater, I have braved that storm and ventured into new waters. Minus the canned sardines or anchovies. YUCK!!! Too fishy!

Another food no no, is Tripe. I think I dislike it just as much as canned fish. It smells bad and the texture is just to weird for me. I finally had to break down and tell my host fam, I don't like it. It didn't help that we had it every other day, if not every day.
One persons Trash is another kids treasure!!!! I give my trash to my 7 year old cousin and my 3 year old niece to throw away and they carry the bag away and come back to my room with articles of my trash like they are toys.

Did you know that a styrofoam take away container can double as not only a storage devise for more trash but also as a car? A broken mouse is totally a car! Pill packaging is the best to lick! Yup, iron supplement residue must be the new sugar!  My trash is pure gold in their eyes. Last week my host cousin had my razor in his mouth, I wanted to vomit. (It was the handle end in his mouth and the cover was over the blade still, thank God!)

Sweat!
Good lord, I feel like Richard Simmons in a work out video at Krispy Kreme. I am constantly sweating. The only nice thing about sweating so much is that when you move the sweaty area is cool in the breeze. :)   I have never sweat this much in my entire life!  Sorry if that grosses you out, but I'm just keeping it real. It is VERY hot and can get pretty humid. I am excited for the rain but also dreading it. It will flood and will continue to be HOT! That means that it will be miserably humid, good thing I have curly hair! :)

That is all for my randomness... for now.  I'll post some more later.

As for me, site is great.  I live with a family that has 7 kids, one uncle, one cousin, one niece, and a meme and tate (mom and dad).  They are great people and are very close reminding me of my family back home.  School is still boring but that is just because the learners are currently preparing for their end of year exams.  My OVC is great.  I think I am really going to love it here.  :)

I swear...

Well peeps, it's official!  I am no longer a trainee but a Namibia Peace Corps Volunteer.  We had our swearing in ceremony last Thursday and it was definitely bittersweet.  I am so excited to be done with PST but am so sad to have to say goodbye some really great friends (for a few weeks, that is). 

I said goodbye to my Okahandja host family and will miss them dearly.  I have grown really attached to my host sisters and the neighbor girls.  I spent my last week painting their toenails and playing cards with them.  I love them!

 This is KJudy... my married couple friends KJ and Rudi. They are amazing and I am so sad they do not live closer to me.  The wonderful woman in the Damara dress is Kyla, she is amazing as well and will be greatly missed until reconnect in December.

On our trip up to Owamboland our caravan was lucky enough to drive through part of Etosha National Game Park.  Etosha is one of the best safari parks in Africa.  These are actual giraffe and zebra at a water hole, I saw them and instantly started singing the circle of life from the lion king. So cool. We saw tons of giraffe, zebra, deer looking creatures (big and small, sorry I don't remember the names), and we also saw two hyenas!  AWESOME!

I had more pictures to post but my internet was being crappy so I am now in our local PC office finishing this blog. 

Site is amazing.  My new host family is awesome.  They definitely make me feel at home!  :) 

School is pretty boring so far but will hopefully pick up.  All the learners are preparing for their end of year exams so there isn't really too much to do. 

Namibia is amazing and I really love it here.  The bugs, not so much.  They are huge and don't just die when you smash the crap out of them, they come back to life about three more times before calling it quits.  I however am a champ when it comes to flicking them off of me or not freaking out when they are on me.  Though the crunch they make when they collide with the bottom of my shoe still grosses me out pretty bad, I squeal and run away after I smash them, then come back for clean up duty.  Rainy season is on it way.  We have a had a few showers but mostly its just clouds and HEAT!!! I am constantly sweating here.  Oh well, I live in Namibia. :) 

I love you all and will update again soon!  Peace out, girls scout!

Is it?

This is usually how people respond to things here.  I reply with "it is!" and it throws them off, I find it fun.  :) 

So, life is about to change again... crazy fast!  I'm pretty nervous and excited, mostly excited.

Training ends pretty much tomorrow.  We swear in as official Peace Corps Volunteers on Thursday, woot woot!

As for this last week of training:
We had my final presentation for our small business partners last week and it went really well.  I had such a great time working with the most loving women who happened to be my counterparts at my SME (Small/Medium Enterprise).
Yesterday was my last LPI (language proficiency exam) and today I received my results!  I passed!!!!  You must score an Intermediate Low to pass and not have to retake the LPI in a few months. I received.... drum roll please.... Intermediate Mid!!!! I feel like I have learned quite a bit in just 6 short weeks.  I love the feeling of being able to piece together a sentence in Oshindonga, it feels great!  My only downfall is my OshiSpangLish.  Yup, its totally a language!  It's Onshindonga mixed with Spanish and English.  It's quite funny when you are making a sentence and you throw in a tango or a por favor.  Hahahaha.  My language trainer just looks at me funny and then I explain to her what I said in Spanish.
Today (Tuesday the 18th) we will tie up all our lose ends of PST before our swearing in ceremony tomorrow (Thursday)! I can't believe how fast the past two months have flown by. I can't believe I have lived here that long and that short as well.  It feels like we have lived in Namibia for 6 months or really forever, I have definitely adapted to PST life.  (PST-Pre Service Training.)
I move to site on Friday.  :)  I am a bag of mixed emotions.  I am sad to leave my current host family but am excited to meed my next.  I will be living with my next host family for the next two years of my service.  I have never met these people and hope I make a great connection with them.  I am hoping for either parental figures or people that I will feel at home living with.  Pray all goes well.
Here are few of the highlights from my PST

10- My host sisters and I frantically swatting at the monstrous insects flying around my room... HILARIOUS!

9- Kukuri Center where we all stayed for our first week in Namibia.  It feels like we were there for so long and that is was light years away, but in reality it was only a week or so and it was only 7 weeks ago.

8- Dr Shit (please excuse my language, but he was awesome) He ran the Habitat Resource Center in Windhoek and was hilarious and innovative.  He recycles everything and has the most beautiful facility.

7- My awesome SEED group. I don't think any PST group has laughed as much as we have.  There are only seven of us, but we are an awesome group of seven!  We have the best APCD and Tech Trainer, I am sooooo lucky!

6- AMAZING friends.  I cannot believe we have only known each other for 8 weeks!  It seriously feels like we have known each other forever.  We have endured some crazy hilarious moments as well as some crazy weird ones together, the great news is that we have made it!

5- Host family.  It is really a great way to learn about a new culture quickly.  I have only lived with my host family for about 6 weeks and I have grown to love them. 

4- Skype dates with the people I love back home. So blessed to have an awesome family and awesome technology to not only talk to them for free but also to see their faces.

3- A good head on my shoulders. I am so happy to say that I am pretty strong and confident in who I am. That is a great feeling. :)  Of course I am still a work in progress but I think I am moving in a pretty great direction.

2- My site visit.  I get to work with two amazing supervisors at site and am going to be blessed with all the people and children I get to work with for the next two years. I am so excited.

1- Realizing that this is exactly where I am meant to be at this point in my life! Incredible feeling! I have made it! 

I am so close to finishing my training, I can see the finish line.  I can happily say, I have survived 8 weeks of emotionally draining and intense training. I have made so many memories and learned so much. 
Next step, living as an actual Peace Corps Volunteer!

Cheers to Group 34! 
We truly are the exception, not the rule.
Is it?  It is.

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad, that i'm not a fool"

Only 9 days more until I am no longer a Peace Corps Trainee and am sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Woohoo! Where has the past seven weeks gone?  Next week I will move up to Ondangwa and that will be my permanent home for the next two years. Crazy exciting!

Namibia is beautiful, and amazing, and hilarious.
Being a larger white woman makes me the cream of the crop here in Namibia.  That is, once people realize I am an American and not an Afrikaner.  People here believe that being an American woman who is not skinny is very rich and very beautiful, so I receive quite a bit of attention from the men around town.  I usually just ignore them or laugh.  I have no doubt that if they were to confront me I will show them my serious side.  :)  For most people that know me or at least have met me, might find this a little hard to believe.  I am a very easy going person who smiles a lot, and giggles a whole lot more.  But rest assured, I can be mean and hold my ground when I need to.  A local kid, who I have named "Bossy-pants" learned this the hard way.  Lets just say he will no longer be threatening my fellow female volunteers to play soccer with him. :)

Housing at site is still a mystery to me.  I had a house arranged for me but due to some circumstances I had to be assigned to an alternate home in the same community. Once I know more about that home, I will definitely post pictures and details.

As for mail anyone is wanting to send my way I have a new address to start sending stuff to.  :)
Sister Melissa Nicks
c/o Oonte OVC Org
P.O. Box 1022
Ondangwa, Namibia
Africa
Its good to put 'sister' and bible verses on packages because it is less likely to be tampered with. :)  Also, on most care packages you are asked to list what is in the box, please don't list valuables... maybe put that you are sending books and magazines or stuff that people wouldn't want to steal as much as valuables.  :)  The bible verses will be nice to read as well.

This past Sunday I went to church with one of my friends and it was a great sermon. There were maybe about 20 of us in the church and the pastor was nice enough to do the sermon in both Afrikaans and English so we would understand his message.  It made me miss Sandals church a ton!   My host family here at training doesn't really go to church so I have to find people to take me with them to their churches.  The good news is that my supervisors at my permanent site are Christians and are very excited to take me to church every Sunday with them. :)  I am excited for the next few weeks but nervous as well. 
This next week and a half will be pretty stressful.  I have classroom observations and co-teaching for entrepreneurship, a group presentation for our SEED small business partners, and my final LPI (language proficiency exam) on Monday.  It's all drawing to a close.  It's very bittersweet.  I will miss all of my new American friends but look forward to my adventure starting.  :)

Just call me Tangeeni!

So this past week I traveled from Okahandja to Ondangwa for my site visit.  I traveled for about 8 hours for a pretty eventful ride.  Here is how our day went:
8am- left in a two combi caravan headed north
845am- pulled off the road to check the tires because the car is driving weird
10ish am- stopped in Otjiverongo at the SuperSpar (what up?!?!)
1230pm-ish- dropped some peeps off in Tsumeb, went to pay an outstanding petrol bill from our supervisors trip down south, had to get petrol at a different station, our card did not work so we had to wait over an hour for them to try again, meanwhile we went into another Spar grocery store to do some prime time shopping for our host families
130pm-ish- finally get to leave Tsumeb
145pm- get pulled over for speeding and I swear they took our driver in their cop car but they didn't
3pm- cross over the red line and officially enter the north
4pm-ish- finally arrive in Ondangwa my new home :)

 The beginning of our journey.

 Renee, one of my fellow trainees, while we were stuck at the petrol station #2.  She was excited about our adventures along with me.  Renee will live about 15 mins from me at site. (15 minute drive, that is)

 This was the view from my site visit house.  It's very sandy up in Ondangwa.  The school I will be working at is in the background.

This is from our journey back to training.  It was about a 6 hour combi ride with Rick and Renee. Rick is a fellow SEED volunteer and lives in Ondangwa as well.  These two will most likely be the ones that I will see the most.  Great peeps.  :)

As for my new name.  I am working for an OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) organization called Oonte.  My supervisor meme Shiimi is one of the most loving warm people I have met in Namibia so far and I love her.  She is a Christian and has been praying for my arrival and what I should be called.  She chose my new Oshiwambo name to be Tangeeni, meaning praise God for his many blessings.  It is pronounced Tan-gay-nee.  It is so cute, all the children at the OVC call me by this name and are such amazing children despite their hardships.  Many are orphaned due to AIDS/HIV.  It is heartbreaking but Meme Shiimi is sharing the love of God with them and they are truly beautiful. 

I am doing really well and have made many lasting friendships.  Thank you for your many prayers and support.  I love you all!  :)

Mopani worms, fire extinguishers, and site announcements, oh my!

So I know it has been a while but I still have limited internet access.  Please forgive me. :)

Let's start with this last Saturday.  It was our cultural cooking day and was quite an event.  All of our host families gathered to make us PCT's traditional meals from the different regions of Namibia.  There were worms, stomach, smiley's, dried fish, porridge, chickens feet, and many other interesting foods.  I, Melissa Nicks, ate a worm!!!  It is eaten a lot in O-land (where I will be located after swearing in) and I was told I had to try at least one.  Let's just say it may have tasted like chicken but my mind and body were dry heaving... yuck!  I ate a piece of a smiley (Goats head), it was pretty tasty.  I wasn't brave enough to try the cow's stomach, the texture freaked me out just looking at it.  My host mom and sisters came and it was pretty fun.  Definitely an experience. 
That same afternoon my host sister, host cousin, and few straggler trainees and I took the combi home,  It was a very tiring day so we were all ready to go home and take naps and then hang out a little later.  Well, everyone got out of the combi in front of me and as I was getting out I hit my hand on something, little did I know, that something was the fire extinguisher!!!  The car began to fill with pink smoke/powder!  I was trying to turn it off but couldn't breath so I had to back away.  Erwin our driver jumped out but forgot to put the car in park so it began to roll back.  As he jumped back in to put the car in park one of my friends, Jessica (the smart one), pulled the fire extinguisher out of the combi so she can try to stop it from blowing out fire retardant everywhere.  Meanwhile, my little sister and cousin are laughing hysterically, I am across the street apologizing for my clumsiness and giggling a little, and everyone starts laughing hysterically.  Long story short, I am not the first person to set off a fire extinguisher in the combi, someone set one off while the doors were closed and everyone had to shower off because they were completely covered in the dust.  We all had a great laugh and I think the fire extinguisher needed to be replaced and re-placed somewhere out of my reach. 

Site Announcements!!!!
So Yesterday was the day most of us PCT's have been patiently awaiting.  I knew I was going to O-Land but didn't know where or if there would be another volunteer near me.  Well, we went outside to a string outline of Namibia and papers scattered throughout the outline with schools and locations on them being held down by rocks.  I was the first name called by Linda my amazing APCD.  Everyone was watching me as I moved over to... Ondongwa!  I will be in a major town up north with Rick, one of my fellow SEED volunteers!  I am so excited!  I have PCV's all around me and am in a great place.  I will be working at a junior secondary school training the teachers on how to teach entrepreneurship and will also be working with an organization that works with Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC).  This job is perfect for me and I have I mentioned how stinkin excited I am?  I am on cloud nine.
We meet out supervisors this week and this weekend we travel to a week long site visit.  I can't wait.  I will live in a three bedroom house on a family compound.  So exciting!  I'll have to post pictures when I get back from site. 
As for now, I am running out of internet time.  I send all my love to you all back home.
BTW- Feel free to send me some love in the form of snail mail! :)

melissa.nicks' photostream

melissa.nicks' photostream on Flickr.

Here are some photos from my time in Namibia so far. I am extremely bad at actually taking photos... I will work on taking more. :)

Oshii li ngiini?

That means "Hi, how are you?"
I am doing pretty well here in Namibia. 
We are already on week 3 of training!  I feel like I have been in country for 3 months rather then three weeks!

I moved in with my host family and have inherited two little sisters- 4 and 10.  I also have inherited two dogs and four brand new puppies!  :)  They were born Sunday.

The food is still pretty good minus the canned fish/sardines.  Blech! 

I started language training and will be learning Oshindonga.  I love it so far.  I have an awesome language trainer named Meme Vicky.

The people in my group are pretty awesome. 

I have actually had an awesome amount of contact with back home.  I ended up buying an internet stick to use the internet on my computer but it gets kind of pricey.  I am currently taking advantage of a promotion called happy hour.  Its were you pay $10 and you have free internet access from 12am-5am.  It's hard on me but perfect for back at home.  I got to talk to all of my siblings and my parents within the past few days.  My love tank is overflowing!

Sorry for how jumbled this post may seem (It's 2:10am!)  :)  I am pretty sleepy but wanted to update my blog.  I am working on uploading pictures online so people can look at my adventures.  I'll let you all know when I get it all up there.  As for now you can check out the photos on my facebook that people in my group are posting.

It's crazy how I went from having no readers to having quite a few checking me out.  :) 
This is a special shout out to Steven V's dad! Hi!!! :)  Hope you are doing well.  Steven is awesome, you should be proud of him.  :)

Ok.  I am using too many smiley emoticons.  I'm going to take that as a sign that I need sleep.

Hope everyone is doing amazing!  I know we are here in Namibia.  :)
Peace Out!

PS.  I would LOVE to receive some snail mail aka letters

Update!

I am officially through one week of PST (pre service training)!  :) 

I found out I will be learning Oshindonga and am pretty excited about it!  I had my first lesson today and the vowels and stuff are very similar to spanish. 

We learned how to wash laundry and bathe out of a bucket last Saturday, we even had a real demonstration of both! 

We also took part in the Herero commemoration celebration.  It was pretty awesome!  We walked in a parade type walk to the grave sites of the different chiefs and also got to meet a bunch of different people.  :) 

I'd post pictures but unfortunately I am currently on one bar of internet and the pics wont post. Once I go to visit my permanent site in a few weeks I will determine how the internet access will be and whether or not I will buy an internet stick.  Until then, my internet access will be sporadic. 

We move in with our host families tomorrow!  Wish me luck!

Miss and love you all!

I'm finally here

Hi from Namibia

We have arrived!  Weds morning at 5am a group of 38 of us Peace Corps Trainees stepped off of our plane and set foot on our new home, Namibia.  It was quite cold, a chilling 30 F (-1 C).  The first few days went by pretty slowly but the trainers and staff are pretty great. 

The other SEED volunteers and I (7 total) finally found out Friday what our job will entail.  Our job will be split into two parts, the first half will either be working at schools training the Namibia teachers on how to teach entrepreneurship or we will be working with an NGO helping people start businesses.  The second half of our jobs will be supporting our local communities and assisting them with start businesses and also training them on how to make their businesses succeed and make a profit.  Our SEED APCD (Associate Program Country Director) and technical trainer are pretty amazing and they have created an exciting training course for us.  I am so stoked! J

Life here is pretty cool, different, but cool. 

Today we learned how to wash our clothes in a water basin and also how to bathe out of a water basin as well.  It was pretty awesome. 

We move in with our host families this next week.  It will be different but I am excited to integrate into the community more. 

As for the internet situation, I am currently sitting in a local café owned by Americans using their wifi for a small fee.  It is really nice but on my small stipend I don’t know how often I will be able to log on to the internet.  I do enjoy your messages on Facebook and on here so PLEASE do continue to send me love!  J (I might end up coming here more often, they are playing Christian music that I really like.)

Until next time, peace out!  J

I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...

Here I go! I am currently sitting in the JFK airport waiting for my flight to Frankfurt. 
This weekend was a roller coaster of emotions.  Saturday I left my parents from LAX and cried my eyes out.  It was very difficult leaving them and realizing I wouldn't be seeing any of my family or friends for over two years.  Once I arrived in Philadelphia I was still emotional and then I met a few of the others in my group and felt better.  I think knowing that the others in my group are experiencing the same emotions makes me feel like I am ok and am in the right place.  I felt nervous int he airport but now I am still not that nervous. 
Staging yesterday went really well.  We got a brief overview of what is expected of us, the Peace Corps expectations, and what to expect.  Our group has 38 volunteers and only 6 of us are business volunteers, the rest are all education.  We all get along great and I am excited to be starting this journey with them all. 
Thank you for all of your prayers and good wishes, I really appreciate them.  I really feel blessed to have so many people supporting me.  I love you all!  :)

Address

So I have been asked by most people I have talked to what my address will be while in training.  Today I finally received that information.

Keep in mind I will not be in Namibia until after August 24th.

You can send packages to

Melissa Nicks
P.O. Box 6862
Windhoek 9000
Namibia

If sending something through an expedited service such as FedEx or DHL send it to the street address of the PC office.

19 Nachtigal Street
Ausspannplatz
Windhoek
Namibia

This address will only be for training.  Once I am sworn in on October 20th and move to my new site I will put up a new address.  Also remember that all mail can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to make it to its destination.  (That includes mail sent to you here at home too!)

With that said, feel free to send me all that your heart desires! :)

Hoe gaan dit? Mi re? Ngapi? Wa lala po? Ngepi? Kora? Ku cwani?

You might be asking yourself, What does all that written up above mean?  I would tell you if I knew!  Hahahahaha.  Today I received a TON of information preparing me for staging and for the most exciting two years to come!  That included a letter with these questions or phrases written on it welcoming me and congratulating me.  I'll let you know when I find out what it really means, it probably says something in a language found in Namibia but I have no clue.  :)

So over the past month or so I have been wrapping up work.  Tomorrow (August 5th) is officially my last day at Odyssey Hospice.  I am so excited but sad at the same time.  I love the people I work with but know I have an incredible journey ahead of me. 

I am also preparing to move out of my apartment and back home.  Another bittersweet experience.  I have LOVED living with my roommate Carrie and will be sad to split apart but am happy for her and the direction God is taking her at this time in her life. 

I am selling my car (Sandie). :( She is the best car a girl can have (or guy!)  :)

So now I am working on packing up my place, moving, finishing training my replacement at work, and packing up my life for the next two+ years. 

I also had my going away party last weekend.  WOW!  I am pretty sure I had over 100 people there at one point, it was amazing!  My love tank is so full! 

Thank you to the worlds best family ever!  My Family is simply the best and puts on the best parties.  They support me so much and love me for being me.  Have I mentioned out amazing they are?  They are! 

I leave in two weeks!  I'll post at least once more before then.  As for now, so long!  :)

Times, they are a changin'

So I have officially sent in my letter of resignation and my last day of work will be August 5th, woohoo!
-That's only 9 work days away! :)

I also received my staging information last week and booked my flight to Philadelphia, PA!  I leave the 20th and we for Namibia on the 22nd!
-That's only 26 days until staging and 28 days until the flight to Namibia!

I cannot believe how fast time is flying by.  I have so much to do but feel like I cant really do all that much until after I am done with work.

I will be selling my car Sandie.  She's in great shape and needs a loving home.  She is a 2005 Honda Civic LX, a sandy gold color (hence the name), and has about 90,000 miles under her hood. 

This is Sandie with her friend Skelly.  Skelly was visiting last October and she and Sandie totally hit it off.  :)

She is currently for sale.

On another note, I am currently preparing/consolidating all of my stuff in my apartment to move back home into the attic.  My stuff, not me! :)  I'll probably share a room with either my sister or my niece. 

I also have my going away party coming up and am so excited to see some of my favorite people there!

Since I began preparing to leave I have been trying to do as much fun stuff as possible.  I think I have been pretty successful!

- Went white water rafting for a week on the American River.  AWESOME!

- Did a mud run.  Crazy tough and dirty, but so fun!

- Spent the day at the beach with my second family, the Rich's.

- Went to the Orange County Fair.  Ate fried food and bought some super funky but cute shades.  Lets just say they will be going to Namibia and people will be jealous of how cute they are.  hahaha.

I've probably done more but those are my highlights for right now. 

Hope you are having a blessed week!  :)

Namibia?

So I have done a fair amount of looking around and haven't found anybody going to Namibia (except for one :)) in the blogging world? 

Anyone out there going to Namibia in August with me?  Or is it just the two of us?

Just thought I'd throw it out there.  :)

Namibia, here I come!

Ahhhh... My invite has finally come and I have officially accepted.

It arrived last Monday while I was up in Nor Cal White Water Rafting for the week.  My roommate called me Monday night and told me it had arrived, I was bummed but super stoked it finally arrived!

Friday night when I arrived home my parents, brother, and sister were all there to watch the opening of the Big Blue Packet, otherwise known as the INVITE!

We were right about Namibia!  I will be working as a business advisor in the SEED (Small Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Development) program.  The program began in 2010 so it is a fairly new program.  :)

Mom was so excited she made me pose for a photo.

I leave for Washington DC on August 18th and will travel to Namibia on August 21st.

For those who know me we will be having a going away party!  Email or Facebook me for details, I'd love to see you before I leave!

ahhhh... INVITE!!!

I received a voicemail from my PO this morning saying she found a position departing in mid/late August and would like me to please call her back sometime today.  I was so excited that I called her right away and was bummed to get her voicemail... all SIX times I tried :).  I finally received another call from her and we discussed the opening.  It is a small business development position in Africa with a focus on a new program educating entrepreneurs and their teachers.  I will also be responsible for finding secondary work creating activities for youth educating them on AIDS and HIV awareness!  She asked if I would be interested leaving earlier and I told her "HECK YES!" maybe not in those exact words but I am sure my excitement said it all!  :)  We ended the call with her saying my invite is going in the mail today!  My mom did her research and thinks I will be going to Namibia!    I can't believe I will be leaving in less then two months to live in Africa.

Woah... Peace Corps? Yes, please!

Well, since my last post the following has happened:

• My blood count is at a normal level over 12... the infusions worked!
• I cleared medical a few days after I received the results of my blood test.
• I was contacted by my placement officer that day asking for an updated resume of my work and volunteer history as she does the final review of my application!
• I sent in my updated resume the following week
• I got an email a few days later asking for a good time to schedule a phone call with my Placement Officer to go over the final review of my app. 
• I had a 15 minute convo with my PO yesterday and was told she is looking into a program in Africa departing for early October doing small business development!  She said I should be hearing from her in 1-2 weeks with a possible invite! 

This has all happened in two months.  It took 6.5 months for my medical review to be completed! Crazy!

Here is my LONG timeline of this process... It looks like it will most likely be 1 year from start to invite! 

7/1/10- Application Submitted.
8/10- Contacted by a recruiter.  Got fingerprints done... FBI card status! 
9/13/10- Interview over the phone with my recruiter.  Nominated at the end of the interview for Sub-Saharan Africa doing Business Advising departing late May/early June 2011.
9/14/10- Toolkit states I am officially a Peace Corps Nominee and my Medical/Dental Kit are both in the mail.  Legal clearance was completed.
10/10- Had various dental and doctors appointments completing my  kit.
11/17/10- Received a notification that my Medical/Dental kits were received. Also received my dental kit back saying dental work needs to be completed and new x-rays.
1/11- Got three crowns, one fillings, and x-rays. Thank God for dental insurance and for blessing me with the funds to get it all done at once.  Sent info off the the Dental office and was cleared at the end of January.
2/17/11- I got impatient as I realized I hadn't heard anything from the medical office and my nominated trip was approaching and emailed them asking if they had started reviewing my file. 
2/18/11- Received work that "my file was just assigned a nurse and I will be hearing from her in 4-6 weeks". 
3/26/11- Received a letter from my MO asking for a follow up blood test and a new PAP smear.  My blood count was low and my PAP was over one year old. 
4/11- Found out my blood count dropped even more.  Was placed on iron supplements.  Faxed a letter and repeat blood test back to my MO.  Received another letter stating the information was incomplete, my doctor did not specify when I began the iron supplements and they want another blood test.
5/11- Realized my iron isn't raising fast enough.  Underwent Iron Infusions.  Completely free thanks to Kaiser and my awesome insurance through my work!   
5/18/11- Received an actual phone call from my MO asking how I was doing and if I had finished my infusions.  I told her yes and I was going to get my blood drawn the next day to see results.  Had a blood test and my iron was over a 12 (which is good!) and there was a LOT of iron floating around in me.
5/26/11- Received notification via my toolkit that the MO made a decision and I will be receiving a letter in the mail stating what they decided.  Received an email from the Placement Assistant about 1 hour later asking for an updated resume so she can pass along my my application to my placement officer.  Guess that means I passed medical!!!  Woohoo!  I also received an email from my placement officer stating I am not going to make my original nomination.  (I already knew that) 
6/1/11- Sent my resume over.  It was hard fitting all my work and volunteer experience onto two pages. 
6/7/11- Received an email from the PO assistant saying she is passing along my application to the PO and I will hear from her in 4-6 weeks. 
6/9/11- Received an email from my PO asking what time would be best for her to call me and to discuss the final review of my app.  AHHHHH!!!!!   I told her Monday or Tuesday at noon during my lunch break. 
6/14/11- Had a 15 minute conversation with my PO and was told that she is looking at a trip departing in early October for Africa doing Small Business Development!  She also said I'll here from her in 1-2 weeks about this trip.  Possible Invite?  I hope so!

I'll write another post soon!  Hopefully with a picture of me with my BBP!  BBP- Big Blue Packet, i.e. invitation!

RAS! Restless Applicant Syndrome or Really Annoying Stuff?

As I began the application process of joining the Peace Corps I began reading other applicants and volunteers blogs and their journey to getting to their assignment.  Well, I came to find that there is one common term applicants have coined called RAS, otherwise known as Restless Applicant Syndrome.  This is what we call getting antsy and mostly occurs during the waiting period.  When I read about RAS I often thought to myself, "I am so lucky that I don't have RAS, I know the Lord will place me where he needs me in his timing".  I thought I was being really patient until recently.  I was nominated for departure in Late May/early June and was also asked to be a bridesmaid in one of my best friends weddings this coming March.  Peace Corps Volunteers are not allowed to leave the country or travel in the first 6-7 months.  With my nomination I didn't have a doubt that I would be able to come back for her wedding but as time ticks away I am still not cleared medically.  I am kind of freaking out that I might have to miss her wedding!

I submitted my medical kit in October and they barely began reviewing it in early February.  Three months later?  Really???  I was still feeling good then because I thought they would speed through it and get me cleared, I had plenty of time to make my original nomination.  Wrong!  I feel like more and more things are coming up prolonging my departure date even more. 
First they needed a followup blood test and a new PAP because mine was over a year old.  Done.  Wrong again.  My blood test came back saying I was more anemic then my original test.  My doctor decided to put me on Iron pills boosting my iron levels.  I submitted a letter from my doctor about the iron count and also my new medical info they requested.  Yes, I am good, I sent it all in and maybe they will clear me now.  Wrong again!!!  They sent me another letter stating my paperwork was incomplete, my doctor and I forgot to state when I began taking the iron pills and now they wanted another blood test showing my iron count from after the pills.
Okay, I do that! My iron count has not gone up very much at all.  I have been taking horse pills for iron... they are a lot of iron!  Today my doctor decided I need to have iron infusions so my iron will be at an ok level... I am currently at an 11.6, the standard in 12-16.  I start in a week and a half and it will be a three week process. 

I'm hoping that after this process and my iron count will be good, they will clear me medically and I will not be WRONG again about my medical kit being complete.  I pray they have a spot for me departing before mid August.  It has always been a dream of mine to serve other people in a foreign land and to share my education with them. 
I know the Peace Corps is right for me and pray for patience.  It will all work out in the long run!  :)

Peace Corps update!

So I have some good news!

Over the past two weeks I have spent a lot of pretty pennies to finally finish all of my dental work so I can complete my dental file for the Peace Corps. That included getting new xrays, three crowns, and one filling.  I finally finished last Tuesday night and sent off my revised dental packet Weds, and was cleared for dental on Sat!  Woohoo!

I hadn't heard anything from the PC office in months, so it feels great to know that I am not forgotten!  Now the wait is on the Medical office to clear my medical file.  I want to do this so bad and I have been doing really well at the whole patience thing, but it gets scary not hearing a peep for months at a time. 

A few weeks ago 20/20 did an expose on women in the Peace Corps that have been raped and "forgotten" by the Peace Corps and also on a volunteer that was murdered in country.  I have gotten quite a few people coming up to me telling me they are extremely worried about me going to Africa with the Peace Corps.  My response to them is that it could happen here in our own backyards.  I am choosing to join the Peace Corps knowing the risk of possible danger.  Since I do not have TV (cable) I didn't get to watch the special, but I did read a lot of articles about it and understand why people are so scared, I kind of freaked out the weekend it showed and was questioning myself if it was worth it.

I came back to the realization that I am in God's hands!  I cant 100% prevent myself from being a victim.  I can be overly cautious, which I believe myself to already be, and I can make smart decisions keeping myself out of threatening or sketchy situations. 
I also feel that the more I integrate and build solid relationships with my community and host family the more I will become like a real family member and they will protect me as they would one of their own flesh and blood. 

One of the things that I most look forward to is building those relationships with my future village and helping to share my knowledge and education and learn from them as well. 

I feel like right now all I can do is hand it all over to God because everything is done according to His plan and in His timing.  All I can do is have faith and patience.  Which thankfully I do have.  :)