ok a quick catch up

I wrote a blog entry on my laptop, then couldn't upload it to the blog. I am annoyed and writing a shorter version of what you would have got. The Conference in katima i went to was a joke. It had important people, but they have not grown in the way they think. Many were important when HIV was still a mystery, but now they sound the same as they did 15 years ago. The conference made demands of people and didn't offer any ideas, or things that were helpful, just people need to give us A B C. They complained that Namibia doesn't have universal health care, and need to get better access to drugs (Namibia is above their target goal, and some of the people complaining were making like 10,000 and mad they had to pay for their more expensive drugs). Oh and not every clinic in every area has drugs yet, but the ministry is working on it and has shown a lot of improvement. They tried to make the point that if you have been taking drugs for X years it is X experience and qualifies you as a nurse........ oh and the final straw that broke the camels back was on the last day when they realized no one understood what was happening and suddenly we had to have 5 translators say everything. I couldn't take it any more and just left with another guy from the capital in my org that was there.

Then there was Livingstone since my trip to Windhoek was canceled. It was nice to see Livingstone and some of the people there were a lot of fun. Though the actual conference was not so good. They started by having people say their name, where they were from, if they were single, and their favorite body part. Yeah great way to set a tone for the conference. Oh and don't worry inappropriate was the word of the day most of the time. We had one guy tell how he had 5 kids but was still single, (very proud of that) and proceeded to hit on all the youth at the conference (like whould have probably had 5-6 restraining orders if he was in the states just form the conference). Oh and most people were not single but available? Oh and i got to say how Imbuche has informed me that I'm engaged. The regional program person in the region Imbuche is normally a huge pain, but this conference he was cracking jokes and just not being serious. His favorite topic was picking out wives for me. I believe he had me marrying about 4-5 girls after 3 days, apparently my talk about how having multiple concurrent partners didn't happen soon enough in the conference. Lets see, oh yeah and everything about the actual conference was terrible, i believe we got 10 min of a karma sutra video for i have no idea why? Oh and there there was the audience people who talked for like 15 min about how they though something on a topic that the presenter didn't cut off. It was like 15 min of here how its probably 30% men and 70% women and they why............. I was annoyed. Other then the conference though i got to see the falls, and meet a bunch of people, We had tons of food, and played some pool. Oh and the people from the capital that come up..... never saw them at the conference after they dropped us off, they had a huge 3 day part at some hotels nearby, I went one night, but it was like they had a vacation paid for by the ministery and was really annoying to think about.

Then I had some time in Katima and did a Namibia holidays with the host family. Everyone from namibia floods the north for the holidays, and goes back to the village, well except PCV's who normally take off to travel, but i canceled cape town for a trip to Zambia to visit Katie an old camp friend. I ran around town and took some time off, it was crazyness. I did finally have people realize i am not an Afrikaner. I went out to a club here called club Africa. After telling one of my sisters friends that I have no clue how to do this African dance, I have a handle on Latin but its really different. Well she wanted to see, and I went into my salsa spins on a song that worked and cleared the dance floor. That was fun, I haven't danced in a long time, but the next day walking around town Pas my bro said everyone was talking about me all day. I guess living and working in town and walking around for 8 months and its assumed im always some guy who was on the inter-cape traveling to Livingstone, but one night at club africa and everyone knows i am the white guy from club Africa. To be fair there were like a thousand people and I was the entire white population. Still though it would have been nice to think that people noticed me before i went out to a club.

Oh and X-mas Namibian style we had lunch together as we packed up and sat it eat in the middle of nowhere, and were at the village for a bit, then went out to a club for the night with the bro's and sis's. Oh and church service that i skipped started at 1, though people got there at 9PM and went till 6 am........ sounds like hell so i sleep on x-mas eve.

Then I moved on to the visit with Katie, but that will be my next post i should probably do work some day.