"Why are you in Namibia?"

Wow! Namibia was absolutely incredible! It was such a pleasant surprise to everyone. This was historic first visit for Semester at sea…(and for Walvis Bay, Namibia!) haha the locals were shocked…it was a large fishing port, but no cruise ship has ever sailed in and it was hysterical….One of the biggest questions we got asked was “ You are from America? why in the world are you here in Namibia?” The first day was pretty cold and foggy but it cleared up as the days went on. The first day I went on a 4x4 jeep tour of the Namib Desert and it was really fun! Our tour guide was hysterical…he was barefoot the whole time and reaching into the dunes pulling out snakes and lizards…I held a chameleon! That was pretty cool! Haha….The desert was so beautiful and then we went to the beach nearby and saw a shipwreck that washed up just a few months ago (not really a lighthearted thing to see while you are traveling the world on a ship, but it was cool anyway)…That night we went to this popular spot (actually the only popular spot) called the raft, and it was PACKED with SAS students and staff….the locals usually keep it open till midnight…and the last SAS person probably left around 3….they made bank while we were there haha….it was awesome, great food and right on the water.

The second day we went to the town about 25 minutes north called Swakopmund, which was where it was happening in Namibia…it was the cutest little town and you felt like you were in Germany because of the previous colonies. All of the architecture and food was completely German, pretty random but fun place! We had dinner right on the pier and watched the gorgeous sunset. We went back to the raft that night and hung out with the locals haha, they were so interested in talking with us…they didn’t understand what we did on the ship at all, we confused them greatly.

On Sunday 3 of us wanted to go to church so we got all dressed up (and bundled up!) and walked half an hour into town only to find that we were an hour late and church was done…so after that disheartening adventure we decided to go to the store and get a newspaper and essential items we needed for th ship, the biggest hit were the flame grilled steak with caramelized onion flavor Pringles (which are horrible and when they come to America DO NOT by them) But it was hysterical to try them…that afternoon we went ATVing with some of the guys. One of the BEST and things I have ever done in my life! It was breathtaking in more ways than one! The dunes were beautiful and it was the coolest thing driving the ATV up and down the dunes….insane….we then went back to Swakopmund and went out to dinner and drinks…we stayed at the cutest little bungalow and had great night….

The 3rd day we needed to recuperate from staying up all night from the night before so didn’t do much haha…we all went out to dinner and dancing that night which was extremely interesting and full of many long lasting memories that I will never forget but probably can’t write here, being one of the only sober people has its benefits (I actually can remember everything haha)…ask me when I come home hahaha….

The last day was probably the most eye opening…we visited a couple of the townships outside of Walvis Bay and it was amazing. We visited a kindergarten and I think we were all crying by the end….we visited a little market where they were playing games, music, and food…they were playing mancala with stones in the ground and it was funny to hear everyone say, “hey! They know how to play mancala here!” lol umm….I guess a lot of people didn’t know that this is where it came from! The tour guide laughed a lot about that one….we went to a women’s home where she taught us the click language (super hard) and the local food. Yes I tried caterpillar....oh! and I had zebra the other night at the raft too! The zebra was great….but I don’t think I will have caterpillar again….outside the women wore beautiful dresses and were playing music and dancing in the street…Michelle and I were the only ones brave enough to dance with them so we did and it was so much fun (I took lots of video this day, I wish I could put them on here!)

We now only have two days of classes before we are in Cape Town, South Africa for a week! Everyone is really excited for that…unfortunately the seas around south Africa are some of the choppiest in the world and we are expecting 12-15 footers tomorrow, so that will be fun…I have a great appreciation now for my desk in class….its great to hold on to when we are moving back and forth….its funny to see the teachers attempt to stand up and walk around the class room…the dining halls are the worst when you have to keep holding your glass otherwise it will spill…but its all part of the adventure and so amazing up till this point! I believe I am 9 hours ahead of home right now and will be for awhile, my phone works while I am in port so feel free to text me then….or email me at ayallen@semesteratsea.net because while on the ship, that’s pretty much all everyone does :) love and miss everyone! Talk to you soon! :)