Peace and Serenity Through Hikes

Living in a house with 14 people 7,000 miles away from your home in a completely different place can be overwhelming and emotionally intense. I have found myself struggling to process all my thoughts and have found refuge in trying to journal as much as I can. Sometimes we also feel a little stuck after a week of classes and internships and not much leaving the house. Luckily, there is a good group of us that loves to explore nature and go hiking. Even though I haven't been hiking in awhile, I have always loved nature and decided to join the groups on some different hiking trails around Windhoek. Little did I know that these hikes would serve as some of my favorite moments so far and gave me a real sense of peace and serenity as well as an escape from the emotionally intense things we face everyday here.

The most beautiful views from the Aloe Trail!

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Aloe Trail, a nearby trail that is part of a botanical gardens and nature conservatory in Windhoek. It was extremely hot as we were walking from our house to the rail and I started to regret my decision to go. I'm glad I did not let the heat stop me because I would have missed out on a wonderful day! On our way we passed Windhoek High School and there was a huge track meet going on. All of the classes were competing in three teams of red, blue, and yellow. We decided to sit in the stadium and watch for a little to take a break from the heat. Everyone had so much school spirit! There were face paintings, streamers, balloons, singing, and even huge designed floats for each class. It was fun to be able to watch some of the races and cheer on the teams with the rest of the crowd. When we finally found the Aloe Trail it started to cool down a tiny bit as the sun hid behind some clouds (I was super thankful for that). We hiked for probably about an hour or so and saw so many beautiful plant life and scenery. You could overlook the whole city of Windhoek and I really took time to just take it all in. Everything here is so natural and beautiful and the skies never fail to amaze me. We had lots of fun and I attached some pictures for your enjoyment :)

Purposefully awkward pictures are always entertaining

Me, Margaret, Joe, Jacquelyn, and Jacob 

Friend loving overlooking Windhoek!

Just a couple of days ago we decided to take a day trip to Daan Viljeon, a local game reserve and national park filled with hiking trails and lodging for campers. We left around 9 am and it was the perfect weather. Finally not too hot and the sun wasn't beating down right on us. There was a slight breeze and I woke up smiling knowing that we picked a good day for a hike. After preparing sandwiches, snacks, and tons of water for the day the taxis came to pick us up and the seven of us were on our way! We drove out of the main city center of Windhoek and right past all of the informal settlements. Sometimes because we live in the main part of city you forget about the informal settlements and extremely impoverished neighborhoods right next to you. It was shocking again to see he major inequalities that exist just 10 minutes from each other. I still do not know how to handle it all and struggle with the privilege and status I have in this society just being a white American student. Observing these economic inequalities as well as the racial divide throughout Windhoek is something I have been struggling with and it continues to stump me everyday.

After passing through the informal settlements we drove for miles through hills and trees surrounded by beautiful nature with mountains in the background. We sat in silence as we all just gazed out the windows trying to take in that we are actually here and this is where we live. Even though I have been here for about a month I still cannot fully grasp the idea that I live here and this is my home. We started the hike nice and early in the morning and hiked the 9 kilometer trail (about 6 miles) for about 4 hours. We took our time traveling up and tried to take in everything around us. We paused on rocks and would sit in silence for awhile just looking around. I realized those were some of the first moments of silence since I have gotten here and I really treasured them. 

Hills for miles

Crazy big ostriches we saw

Jacquelyn, Hannah, and I

Epic picture overlooking everything

Jacquelyn and I legit on the edge of the mountain. I was so afraid to move on this rock!

So high up!

Channeling my inner yoga during my alone time on the rocks

Sitting on the edge of a mountain just overlooking miles and miles of hills and trees was when I really felt at home. I realized that this is a completely beautiful place and I was overcome with emotion with the fact that I made it here after many years of wishing and waiting. I am actually in Namibia and I could not be happier. Despite the everyday homesickness and missing everyone I finally started to realize that it is up to me to take this all in and really live in the moment. Maybe it is also the fact that I started doing yoga here and am really trying to connect with myself and my surrounding environment. I have had a tough past couple of months and yoga has really been helping me to remember to just relax, take some moments to myself, and get to know my body. After this beautiful and relaxing hike, I can finally say I am feeling connected to Namibia and everything it has to offer.

**The pictures are all taken by my lovely friends Hannah and Nan! My camera has been missing for the past couple of weeks but I am not giving up! Cross your fingers I will find it soon!