Please Don't Tap on the Glass

If you ever want to know the feeling of overnight fame, move from the US to a small town in Namibia -or have a common name like Joe and do something common like plumbing as a profession. Everyone notices when I come outside my house. They notice what I'm doing, what I'm wearing, where I'm going and they're talking about it. It must be a lot like being a newly purchased fish in a fish bow. I'm confined by my limited knowledge of the area and I can't escape the stares, but eventually, just like that the fishbowl, as time goes on, I'll becoming less interesting and fade into the background.

One day, after hours of sitting on the front proch and staring at nothing with my grandparents, I decided to take a short walk around the block. Meanwhile, Ryan, another PCV in my town who has already been here a year and knows most of the town, started getting text messages,"Who is the new American girl? Why is she walking in location (the outskits of town)? I saw here with the entire city council!" He told me this story a few days later saying, "ya, they're watching you."

Who ever was watching me was right, I had met with the city council, I met the mayor and a number of community leaders. My supervisor drove me from church to church on Sunday morning and interrupted services, which made me very uncomfortable. This was all so I could stand up infront of hundreds of eyes and say, "My name is Lindsay. I come from America and I am a health volunteer. I look forward to becoming part of your community," and then I would just stand and smile as the pastor would translate this into the Nama tongue, a clicking language. Now, when I walk down the street, people are waving to me and when I meet others they say, "I saw you in church."

Having such little alone time and having so many people looking at me all the time, has been one of the most exhausting aspects of my experience. I used to spend time alone to recharge but without the ability to get away, I've had to adjust. Homestaying is great because it really gives you a good sense of the culture, plus it's just nice to have family here now, but the downside is that you have to do live on their terms and adjust your own habits. Though I have my own room, it's considered very antisocial for me to keep it shut, but if I don't I am inviting guest (i.e. the children and their grabby hands and a knack for breaking things.) I do shut my door, though for short periods of time to do things like write this blog, but they always look somewhat concerned that I have spent so much time in my room.