Common Sense Manual for your first week in Namibia.

If you haven’t spoken to my family, I’ll sum up my first week here as a consistently horrifying panic attack. I had a very hard time adjusting and really being on my own for the first time in a third world country. I have now burst into semi-unprovoked and spontaneous tears 4 times: The first was when I got detailed e-mails on how to survive from my brothers, the second was after seeing the devastation of the site I would be working at, the third was when I heard that my grandfather was flipping out because I was here flipping out and my mother hadn't come to get me yet, and the most recent was when I finally got a chance to check my e-mail and the second thing in the inbox was a special offer at Ruth Chris Steak House. But I digress.
When I wasn’t adjusting, I was learning some quick tips for getting around/living on your own in Namibia. First, NEVER be by yourself after dark. Especially if you are a woman. If you are on your own during the day, walk like you know everything and have been thru everything. A few getting around tips if you are not walking: taxi’s anywhere in the city during the day are 7.50 rand (less than a US dollar), the two times taxi’s are allowed to charge you double are when you get a taxi after 10:00 pm or if you have the cabbie drop you at your door. i.e. Drop me on the corner and its 7.50, drop me at the door; 20 Rand. Also, Namibians share taxis. There will usually be about 4 people in and out of the cab I get into to get to work in the morning. Cabs are always full and you look for the one with an empty seat. But don’t worry about flagging one. Every cab that passes you will always honk at you if you are walking, standing, or existing near the street. It is their way of asking you if you need a ride. But if they don’t want to go where you are going they will tell you to get out. Moreover, cabbies don’t actually know where they are going or most street names so you have to direct them. But there is not ‘left’ or ‘right’ in Namibia so you just have to use your hands and say ‘this way’ or ‘that way’. And say ‘stop’ about 5 minutes before you need to…. no joke. Then they drive up on the sidewalk and off the street to let you out. But know what you should be paying because they will screw you.
Word Changes: when answering a ‘how are you’ question, answer “Fine” because to say “Good” doesn’t translate right. On that same note, never ask ‘CAN I have that’ or CAN I do that for you’. If you ask with can, no one will understand you. Compliments you may receive: 'Your cheeks are full!' or 'Your smile has the holy spirit in it!'. There are 5 main languages in Namibia, all spoken in the Capital, so if you’re game, learn the basics of all of them. Traffic lights are “Robots”, when you look tired you are “Bushed”, no one is shy about swearing, even in business or if they have just met you. You should be honored if you get a Namibian handshake which is a little more complicated then a regular one (I’ve only gotten two). When it is 85 Fahrenheit Namibians will be seen in winter parkers and hats, nothing shorter than your knees for trousers (it’s British English by the way) and sunglasses suggest tourist.
Finally, when eating…be brave. Any meat you get is hunted game and there is never a boneless cut of meat. Most use their hands and its expected that you eat the bones as well. You’ll be munching on those for a while. The special meal made just for me? A BushMan's Kebab which is made up of Zebra, Oryx, Ostrich, Springbok, and Crocodile with milk DIRECTLY from a cow (chunks and all).
But its only been a week right?