Hi, my name is Ida and I first came to Namibia in july 2014. I was a volonteer in an orphanage and lived there for a year. I totally lost my heart in Namibia - to the nature and the people. I came to Namibia with the intention to support the kids, but soon I realized, that they gave me more than I could ever give them. Something I learned from them my first day there: in Namibia we share! At first I thought it was just some random saying, but after a while i realized that they really meant it. The kids share the littlest things. One gets a little piece of cake and still divides it in many small pieces to share with the others, without any complaint.
One time, when I visited Namibia again, I lived at a friends house. I was out for the day and when I came back, I saw that someone had cooked. So I asked if i could eat some of the food in the kitchen. My friends response was suprising for me. "Don't ever ask again. You just take. My food is your food. My house is your house." Namibians know a different kind of hospitality. During the year in Namibia I learned to appreciate the little things. I learned that the most important things on earth are the ones you can't buy. The feeling of helping, sharing and caring for each other is more important than material thinking. Which I obviously learned as a kid from my parents, but my time in Namibia showed me just how important those things really are. The namibian hospitality always made me feel welcome. Whenever I am back to visit my second home, there are so many people offering me their house to stay at. I try my best to take this generosity as an example and be generous to others as well.
But not only did i fall in love with the lovely, wonderful people in the land of the brave. The nature and different landscapes will take your breath away! Everytime it impresses me all over again. Driving the endless roads through nowhere takes away all your worries for a while. Namibia has many different landscapes - all of them beautiful in their own way.
This country has so much to offer, that I don't even know where to start. So I will just name some of my favourite spots and share them with you:
To see gigantic, beautiful rocks you should visit the Bulls Party in the Erongo mountains, near Usakos.
For a long hike to the top of one of the highest Dunes on earth, you should visit Sossusvlei.
For an adventurous hike including a beautiful view, you should visit the Waterberg near Otjiwarongo/Okakarara.
I read your article and I cannot change your perception and experiences of Namibia of course, as they are your experiences, but I would like to give you a tipp: You, as a Volunteer or visitor in Namibia, are for many people in your circle at home and people who visit this site the source to get information about the country, although you are not Namibian. YOu have a big responsibility in how you present Namibia to others who have never been there and only know it from mostly stereotypical media and books. So here we come to the problem: When those people read your article, they will not at all think different about Namibia as the stereotypical Media has…