Arrived in Namibia

Well, there is sooo much I could write since I am operating out of my comfort zone and everything seems new and different! But, I think I am coping pretty well.
I think a little background info on Namibia is important before I launch into my experiences. Namibia is a new country, formed in 1990. It was part of South Africa before, and even before that, it was a German colony. Both of these experiences definitely left their mark on Namibia and its people. There are many German-inspired buildings, words, and cultural events i.e. today is Oktoberfest! (I will not be joining in the festivities though :P And from South African "occupation" there are many Afrikaans (white south africans that speak afrikaans-about 30% of Namibia speaks it actually). While this tie to South Africa has helped NAmibia economically, it also means they too suffered through apartheid and the evidence of this is still very obvious. Whites (the germans and afrikaans) and blacks are wary of each other, and many of the apartheid ideas still exist to some extent i..e even in Windhoek, which is the capital and should be most liberal (and it is!), has a black "location" as its referred to here. I visited it yesterday, actually :) and generally felt safe, though there are definitely areas that are not safe. note: everyone is comfortable using these terms of "black, white, coloured, etc." so do not feel that I am discriminating, unfortunately it is the reality that this is how people think and categorize people as soon as they see them. Fortuntately, the tides are changing, and more integration is occuring (and by this I mean blacks moving into white areas, rarely if ever the other way around). I will only understand this more the longer I live here.
For me, I am Canadian, but to the average NAmibian that sees me on the street, I am a "coloured (child of a white and a black person)" or even worse, a "baster" (child of a white and black person that LOOKS white and tried to pass themselves off as white) In some ways this is good, since some people might think I actually belong here! In some ways it is not, since people will try to speak to me in Afrikaans if they think I am coloured or will not treat me with much respect (or certainly the high respect I deserve :) if they see me as Baster.
It is really hard to write this blog, there is soo much I could talk about, how I had trouble at immigration (trying to get into the country was a problem, and still is, but its a long story!) I like the Namibian people so far, they have all been very nice and treat me with respect. Especially the people I have met during my (brief!) training the past 2 days in the capital city of Windhoek. There is a definite need for my services here, it is almost palpable how badly they need human resources in this country. There are many reasons for this, including the small population size (onnly 2million people), poverty, the country is still new, and apartheid did not allow many blacks (the majority) to get proper training.
There are NO pharmacy schools in Namibia. There are NO medical schools in Namibia. Imagine if in Canada, we had to send people to other countries to get a professional designation (i.e. South AFrica - the ties between the 2 countries run deep). The vast majority of Namibian professionals never came back once they are trained, or if they do, go into private practice for the rich whites only! I think there are at most 5 pharmacists working in the government in the WHOLE country. Maybe only 150 in the private sector, in the WHOLE country. Most work is done by under-trained pharmacy technicians. I will go into the pharmacy aspect, and my job another day, suffice it to say, I have my work cut out for me! But, the poeple I met at the Ministry of Health, the Central Medical Stores (where all governement drugs come from) and ARV Medical management systems have all been intelligent people and they have impressed me. They all have way too much work and not enough qualified people to do it. They might know HOW they are supposed to be doing things but they do not have the resources to practice their profession the way that they were taught.
I will be heading to Outjo tomorrow (where I will be the district pharmacist, and work in the hospital for the Ministry of Health and Social Services) . I am not sure of the internet avail;able there. Since the moment I arrived, literally, at the airport even, I have had to scramble and problem solve to get things done. The worst part is that as soon as I think I have resolved a problem, 3 other issues come up, and my original solution is no longer valid. It can be very frustrating, especially when it comes to communication with the outside world i.e. Canada. What do I do when my plan D doesn't work and there is no plan E? lol
This is Africa light, so is a good start for me, but it is definitely not Canada!
Windhoek is very modern, and clean. Security is an issue in that it means I have to totally change my way of thinking. I have to consider security, CONSTANTLY, which is not something that I am used to in safe, quiet Canada! To enter the residence I am temporarily staying in now (sorta like a motel or university campus), I have to go through the electric barbed wire fence, once I get to my room, I have to de-alarm it, unlock the barred door, then unlock the real door. I do not feel unsafe, just that I have to be on high alert all the time, in case something happens. Most of the crimes are non-violent ie.e. stealing clothes or money, etc. and since I am earning $3640 Namibian per month (minus tax of about $148/month), which works out to $500/month canadian, I am trying to budget my money as much as possible. i.;e. a meal out costs at least $60 NAmibian.
I will try to post to the blog as much as possible, since it seems that there is no shortage of things I could talk about, driving, culture, food, people, language, blahblahblah. Let me know if any topics are of interest to you.
Miss everyone there already!