The next post is coming. I suppose it's going to be of a low language quality as I started to hate writing a couple of days ago... :))
So Day 9... Waking up at 6 am, after a night under the Namibian sky without any tent. :) That was nice. Very nice. We left the camp site at 7, stopping at a gas station on the way (with funny toilets... I must say I felt sick... Jan, the driver, said later: "The first two hours of driving were so exciting!" That explains why I was sick. But at least Jan had fun for which I'm happy now :)). We also stopped somewhere where local women were selling hand-made dolls. I liked them so much and still regret I didn't buy any. (And they had lovely colourful dresses. One of the ladies told me she really liked my clothes because of the colours I was wearing: orange trousers, the ones Jill likes so much, haha, and green T-shirt... but still... their clothes were so much better :))
And we saw our first giraffes!
Our final stop for Day 9 was the Himba Camp. Himba is a local Namibian tribe that is, from what the guide there told us, not among the government's favourite ones. I think he said something about them having fought against the government that's in power now. But I must admit I should study the history of Namibia much more to be able to tell you something.
First of all, we went to see a house that was built kind of in a rock by some French film makers who made there a movie whose name nobody knew because it was in French. :) The house was amazing! It was without windows, therefore open and therefore when it rains and you stay there, you get completely wet. But it was amazing! It's actually a 'hotel' now but they let the people who stay in the camp site to go in and see it all, so we did.
Then we went to visit the Himba tribe which was very interesting but also weird a little. You know how it feels - you know it's good to go there, learn something about a completely different culture, you know that they actually earn money this way and that they need the money... But you still feel that it's not right, you're looking at them as if they were animals in a zoo, they're looking at you, you'll never find out what they think (I actually believe that they don't care at all because their life style seems to be like that), you'd like to talk to them but you can't because you don't speak their language. And because you can't talk to them you can't really learn so much about them. We went, anyway.
So I'm going to tell you something more about the red-looking people. :) They are so different from us! They put ocher on their bodies (that's why their skin looks rather red than black) which protects their skin from the sun and which also substitutes a razor :) They seriously have no hair on their bodies at all! Isn't that amazing? There's so much that our Euro-Atlantic civilization can learn from these people, that some Europeans/American would call undeveloped.
As there's not enough water in their region, they don't use any water at all for hygienic purposes. They put some herbs (they use them as a personal perfume - every person uses different herbs) together, put them on fire, or something like that, and thus they get a kind of sauna - they put the burning herbs into a ceramic pot, sit on it and as they are sweating, they're actually getting clean. If it doesn't make sense, I can't help you (or maybe I can, just ask :)). But it really works! I mean - they really don't smell bad or anything! :) Ok, this all takes several hours. It's like a ritual. They need to sit on the pot for one hour, but to prepare it also takes time. That's why they wake up every day at 4 am. When they're done with their hygiene, they wash their clothes pretty much the same way.
The last thing I remember about the tribe is that there's also some kind of ritual for boys to become men. One part of it is to "lose" (probably in a rather more violent way :)) four teeth - one is the tooth of beauty (they don't need to be beautiful, probably), another one is for being able to speak their language well and the rest I don't remember... (Jill, Susan, help! :)).
We learnt all this from a guy who's definitely not Himba by origin :) and who was a bit weird. Ha said he lived there and tried to help them and I think he actually had a child with one the women.
We could also buy some bracelets and stuff like that which they're supposed to make there. So we did. And then we left earlier than the rest of our group because it was getting too weird to be there.
Then we washed our clothes using a biodegradable washing soap. :) And took shower in cold water because it took some time to warm the water and we didn't want to wait. It wouldn't be that bad if they weren't outside showers and it wasn't windy... :)
Oh, I'd forget to complain almost! :) I stepped on a little twig which was, however, big enough to got stuck in my foot. It was very painful and bloody, I guess I had at least 1 centimeter of it in my foot. I think I said some words that one shouldn't say in public (but almost nobody could understand me anyway :)) - and no, Jill, I didn't say "Drz hubu" as it wouldn't make any sense :)). And I was limping (I have no idea if this is really the word I want to use, but probably it is :)) for like three more days. Oh yeah... The lesson learned was - don't enter the tent without your shoes on. :) Ha, I guess I should stop now, this post is spinning out of my control. :)
And sure, the photos will come later. And I'm really sorry for my English. Unfortunately, I can't promise it'll get better. :)
So Day 9... Waking up at 6 am, after a night under the Namibian sky without any tent. :) That was nice. Very nice. We left the camp site at 7, stopping at a gas station on the way (with funny toilets... I must say I felt sick... Jan, the driver, said later: "The first two hours of driving were so exciting!" That explains why I was sick. But at least Jan had fun for which I'm happy now :)). We also stopped somewhere where local women were selling hand-made dolls. I liked them so much and still regret I didn't buy any. (And they had lovely colourful dresses. One of the ladies told me she really liked my clothes because of the colours I was wearing: orange trousers, the ones Jill likes so much, haha, and green T-shirt... but still... their clothes were so much better :))
And we saw our first giraffes!
Our final stop for Day 9 was the Himba Camp. Himba is a local Namibian tribe that is, from what the guide there told us, not among the government's favourite ones. I think he said something about them having fought against the government that's in power now. But I must admit I should study the history of Namibia much more to be able to tell you something.
First of all, we went to see a house that was built kind of in a rock by some French film makers who made there a movie whose name nobody knew because it was in French. :) The house was amazing! It was without windows, therefore open and therefore when it rains and you stay there, you get completely wet. But it was amazing! It's actually a 'hotel' now but they let the people who stay in the camp site to go in and see it all, so we did.
Then we went to visit the Himba tribe which was very interesting but also weird a little. You know how it feels - you know it's good to go there, learn something about a completely different culture, you know that they actually earn money this way and that they need the money... But you still feel that it's not right, you're looking at them as if they were animals in a zoo, they're looking at you, you'll never find out what they think (I actually believe that they don't care at all because their life style seems to be like that), you'd like to talk to them but you can't because you don't speak their language. And because you can't talk to them you can't really learn so much about them. We went, anyway.
So I'm going to tell you something more about the red-looking people. :) They are so different from us! They put ocher on their bodies (that's why their skin looks rather red than black) which protects their skin from the sun and which also substitutes a razor :) They seriously have no hair on their bodies at all! Isn't that amazing? There's so much that our Euro-Atlantic civilization can learn from these people, that some Europeans/American would call undeveloped.
As there's not enough water in their region, they don't use any water at all for hygienic purposes. They put some herbs (they use them as a personal perfume - every person uses different herbs) together, put them on fire, or something like that, and thus they get a kind of sauna - they put the burning herbs into a ceramic pot, sit on it and as they are sweating, they're actually getting clean. If it doesn't make sense, I can't help you (or maybe I can, just ask :)). But it really works! I mean - they really don't smell bad or anything! :) Ok, this all takes several hours. It's like a ritual. They need to sit on the pot for one hour, but to prepare it also takes time. That's why they wake up every day at 4 am. When they're done with their hygiene, they wash their clothes pretty much the same way.
The last thing I remember about the tribe is that there's also some kind of ritual for boys to become men. One part of it is to "lose" (probably in a rather more violent way :)) four teeth - one is the tooth of beauty (they don't need to be beautiful, probably), another one is for being able to speak their language well and the rest I don't remember... (Jill, Susan, help! :)).
We learnt all this from a guy who's definitely not Himba by origin :) and who was a bit weird. Ha said he lived there and tried to help them and I think he actually had a child with one the women.
We could also buy some bracelets and stuff like that which they're supposed to make there. So we did. And then we left earlier than the rest of our group because it was getting too weird to be there.
Then we washed our clothes using a biodegradable washing soap. :) And took shower in cold water because it took some time to warm the water and we didn't want to wait. It wouldn't be that bad if they weren't outside showers and it wasn't windy... :)
Oh, I'd forget to complain almost! :) I stepped on a little twig which was, however, big enough to got stuck in my foot. It was very painful and bloody, I guess I had at least 1 centimeter of it in my foot. I think I said some words that one shouldn't say in public (but almost nobody could understand me anyway :)) - and no, Jill, I didn't say "Drz hubu" as it wouldn't make any sense :)). And I was limping (I have no idea if this is really the word I want to use, but probably it is :)) for like three more days. Oh yeah... The lesson learned was - don't enter the tent without your shoes on. :) Ha, I guess I should stop now, this post is spinning out of my control. :)
And sure, the photos will come later. And I'm really sorry for my English. Unfortunately, I can't promise it'll get better. :)
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