Watch out Onayena!

My home for 2009 will be in the village of Onayena, in the Oshikoto Region of North-Central Namibia! I will be one of nine teachers at Lano Primary School, which serves about 250 students (“learners,” as they are called in Namibia), grades K-7. Because the area is so sparse and spread out, the school is a “hostel school”, which is like a boarding school, and most of the students (and teachers) live there. I will have my own room in the hostel with a bed, fridge, and hot plate! I don’t know what my Grandma is gonna do with all those 2x3 ft. quilts she made for the “cot” she was convinced I’d be sleeping on in Africa…

Onayena (you pronounce it Oh-Nigh-Na) is a 6km walk to the nearest tar road! I get a kick out of that. Once there, it’s about 20 km (about 12.5 miles) from Ondangwa, which is a town where I’ll be able to get supplies. You can see Ondangwa at the very top/center of Namibia. I'll be close to Etosha National Park, which is a world-famous wildlife preserve. I don't know if you know this, but somebody, maybe me, probably me, kinda likes animals. A lot.

(This is actually from Etosha!)