late night ponderings

I posted pictures! YAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2243&l=95dd9&id=505442150

It’s 4am and I can’t sleep after waking up and having my sheets and pillows sticking to my body. Mrs.Venter said it was up to +40C yesterday! (and I don’t think the night has barely cooled!) blech…..how I miss my air conditioning now!
In my tired/heat delirious state I’ve just been thinking about some things though… namely Mondesa, Narraville, Kuisebmond and the other little suburbs of Swakop and Walvis Bay. I don’t know too much about these areas yet but I have now visited a few. It seems like almost everyone from Mascato lives in one of these areas.
When we first drove by them on the way home from the airport they kind of reminded me of that township we drove through in South Africa (I think the one that Thulani lived in….if you don’t know what I’m talking about check out the pictures on the kokopelli page) Now that I’ve been to these places though, they aren’t nearly as bad as that. Some of the houses are actually quite cute.
The thing that I can’t wrap my head around though is that people I actually know live there. This is just something we just never see in Canada…. Dirt floors and just basic stuff you need. There’s no clutter anywhere or anything up on the walls. At Rodney’s house I had to use the bathroom and in my naïve little mind I just assumed it would be inside the house. But it was in the backyard, almost like an outhouse but with an actual toilet. There’s no light though, I couldn’t tell if there was a lock on the door, and no flusher on the toilet. I had a little stage fright before I could actually relax enough to go.
Night time is very different here as well. It seems like Swakop just shuts down when it gets dark out. Lex and I were walking back from the internet café last night at about 8pm and the streets were literally deserted. But the night before when we arrived in Mondesa just after 10pm the streets were crawling with people. (and stray dogs!!)
It’s such a different world; Canada to Namibia and even Swakop to Mondesa which is under a 5 minutes drive away! I hope all the people coming this time who are staying with people in Mascato are really mentally prepared. Honestly, my first time there - just days ago - I don’t think I was. And at this point, and don’t even think I would be able to stay there…. I just had no idea how spoiled we are at home and how we take everything so much for granted.
I always just seem to assume that everyone has the same quality of life that I do.
I’ve been in music lessons since I was 4 years old and have had so many interesting and rare opportunities to see/hear/play/sing and at so many amazing venues. In the past 2 days I have met some of the most talented people I have probably ever heard and it’s all completely raw talent. I don’t even think any of them read music! I just finished 2 years of school learning how to play jazz music and any of the guys that played for me the past 2 days could play circles around me….and here I thought people in Africa didn’t even know much about jazz music!

I have so much learn.