Conclusions

SORRY
I am just awful at this whole blog thing. But I thought I’d write some closing remarks seeing as how my work in Namibia for the summer has already come to a close. Looking back I’ve decided to approach this in a very un-Crowley-Buck-child way (omit David of course) and approach the expense of my time in Namibia in as a business venture. Therefore, the following is an incident report detailing different pros and cons of my time and its overall value in the greater long-term efficiency, significance, and preparedness of my pre-professional time in the world. (I know right?). Lets investigate shall we?

Nights that I got sick: 14
Amount of times I had to eat meat straight from the carcass with my pocket knife: 7
Times someone got my name right: 4
Number of German swearwords I now know: 5
Times I got mugged: 3
Number of kids I fell in love with: 23
Namibian handshakes received: 14
Number of times I was attacked by guard geese: EVERYDAY
Tears: 5
Times I got the local dancing right: 0
Times I tried: 20 +
Caught the flu: 1
Languages attempted: 5
Not ending this list like a MasterCard commercial…..priceless.

With all this accounted for I can sincerely say that these were some of the most exhilarating weeks of my life. Everything just feels different in my life. And I don’t even know if I made a dent! Things just move differently in Africa. Its like time goes by the beat of your heart and the pace of the sun more than dials and ticks. Its moments not minutes. It is more likely that you’ll see a smile looking at you one the street than ahead bowed or someone on a cell phone. You’re more likely to be confronted with good company and a sincere curiosity in a person when you‘re asked how your day was or why you’re smiling, then the usual polite indifference. I think I learned more patience and compassion from my class than I think any other opportunity life has given me for it.
It has not been ‘all-fantastic’ though. And seeing as how the two countries I have found myself in lately have no thought for Human Rights added to the fact that the path I’ve chosen to pursue will be a frustrating and lonely one. And that’s the trick of Human Rights. There are no quick fixes. It’s a lifetime of trying to change ideology, not policy. All I could hope for is the knowledge that it is possible that somewhere along the line I could have helped plant the seeds of change or set something in motion. Or that I just didn’t make things worse. We never know the ripple effect of our actions right? Oh well! If nothing else I’m blessed with the opportunity to have spent time in such an amazing country as Namibia. With its noble past and promising future, I’m happy to have had a chance to have been a part of it. Well, onto Doha!