Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days I've had... Not only in terms of scenery but of unity of people. We left early in the morni...

Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days I've had... Not only in terms of scenery but of unity of people.

We left early in the morning to go on a mokoro ride into the Okavango Delta and spend one night in the wild... Literally!

The Okavango Delta is one of the biggest deltas in the world and it is where the Okavango river from Angola spreads into rivers and channels in Botswana.

After 40 mins in an open air vehicle we finally reached the shore where the mokoro pullers were waiting for us. 

My puller was called Papillon and I had him answering all my questions the whole hour 1/2 trip. I learned about his training as a guide and a mokoro puller, his upbringing, his family, we even had a conversation about polygamy and monogamy and our take on it. The ride was very interesting to say the least.

I got to learn some words in Setswana such as "Artsamaye" meaning lets go, "gale buja" = thank you, "masari jio monde"=beautiful woman, "kitumelejo jobona"= nice to see you, Tao bona" =come and see, and "tsamajo bona"= go and see, among many others. 

Here are some pictures of my mokoro experience:

Taking the boys with me in my adventure!!!

When the boys left for Hawaii I gave them a kimochi heart, they kept the bigger part and I kept the smaller heart and told them I would take it me with me wherever I went. I also gave them the book "the invisible string" which tells the story of people's heart being united by an invisible string no matter how far away they are from each other. Here I was in the mokoro traveling through a canal that the hippos made so I thought it would be a cool place to get out the adventurous heart and take a picture!

Once we got into the camp I had to set up my tent... With a little help!!!

The pullers set up a nice little bathroom for us... 

The rule was that when somebody had to go to the bathroom he/she had to take the roll of toilet paper so others knew that the bathroom was occupied ;-) ... And always remember to throw some sad down after using it!!!

After setting up the camp site we gathered around, listened to the rules and Janet decided that we should all get Delta names. I ran up to three of the guides and they named me "Letatsi" which means sun.

We had pretty much a free afternoon and we all hung out around the camp site, talking and having a good time. Janet did some henna tattoos and some hair braids.

I had convinced Papillon on our way to the camp site to teach me how to paddle a mokoro but based on my skills doing stand up paddling I was not very sure I really wanted to do it but I gave it a try anyway...

After practicing with the mokoro I spent some time talking to papillon who shared with me the history behind the mokoro, the kind of trees mokoros are made from and why now most mokoros are made of plexiglass instead of wood (pretty much to conserve nature since a mokoro from a sausage tree lasts up to 7 years and uses natural resources and the plexiglass ones can last more than 40 years.) He also taught me about bird nesting and how to tell direction when in the middle of nowhere based on the sun and position of bird nests.

In the late afternoon we went for a nature walk in the wild. First they explained to us what kind of animals we might see and how we need to react in case an animal is ready to attack... With hippos we should climb trees, with elephants we should run to the bushes, with lions... We are pretty much gone! Jajaja

In the walk we saw a lot of bones and carcasses! And not that many animals.

In the pond we saw hippos and throughout the walk we saw many kinds of birds.

Here's Andre, our guide, next to the bones of a zebra!

Stuart from London, Byron, Robyn, Chase, & Claire from Menlo Park, & I during our walk and enjoying the sunset :-)

After the walk came the best part of the day!!!

We had dinner and after that Papillon showed us the stars... We could see the Milky Way right there and the stars were so close... It was spectacular. Papillon pointed out Scorpio and Taurus and explained to us many things about stars and constellations.

After that they had prepared a show for us! 

They first started with trivia questions and then they started singing and dancing... It was FABULOUS!!!!

We all sang out loud with them and danced to their tune.

The highlight of the night was the song on the title of this blog... We would come up with new words such as delta, hippos, springbok, sunset, nature walk, mokoros, pullers, Janet, camp site etc and we would sing like this:

"Beautiful delta... Delta... Beautiful delta... Delta... I shall never forget beautiful delta.. Delta

Beautiful tourists... Tourists... Beautiful tourists... Tourists... I shall never forget beautiful tourists... Tourists"

It was just beautiful how we all came together, the pullers, the helpers, all of us enjoying the here and now... Dancing, drinking, and having fun in unity! I loved every second of it!!!!

Dancing two by two

My favorite part if the day is sunrise and sunset and papillon offered to take some of us on a morning walk to see animals and the sunrise! Of course I jumped at the opportuty and by 6am this morning I had packed all my stuff and was ready to go.

On the walk we managed to see a bunch of zebras and a couple of hippos in the water but the most breathtaking part of the journey was the amazingly beautiful sunrise!!! The sun was orange and just fabulous... I just wanted to sit and watch... And I couldn't help but say to myself "enjoy every second of it, this is amazing!!!!"

After the walk we quickly had breakfast and head back...

Janet Planet :-)

Julian in a foot and mouth disease control point! 

Now I'm sitting in Elephant Sands writting this in front of a fire overlooking elephants 10 feet away from me... Pictures to come tomorrow :-)

(Well, here's one I just took with my ipad!)

Today is my grandma's birthday, she is my #1 fan (along with my mom and aunt) and i know she is following my blog and checking out all m...

Today is my grandma's birthday, she is my #1 fan (along with my mom and aunt) and i know she is following my blog and checking out all my pictures so i didn't want to head into the wild without first saying 

                 "FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MAMA!!!!! TE AMO!!!!!"

Miles de besos y aqui le quedan un par de fotos del baúl de los recuerdos!!!!!

AMAZING!!! Today I flew over the Delta on a teeny tiny plane. I have found my new Stephen for this leg of the trip so I focused on enjoying ...

AMAZING!!!

Today I flew over the Delta on a teeny tiny plane.

I have found my new Stephen for this leg of the trip so I focused on enjoying the ride without having to take pictures... Only mental ones!!!

To be honest I had a hard time on the plane, it was very little and very shaky. Sitting in the front made it a little bit better since I could open the window and get fresh air... I made sure to do a lot of deep breathing! 

I tried to focus on the scenery which was totally SPECTACULAR!

The first animals we spotted were some elephants, I can't describe how cool it was; we saw many of them in groups of up to 50-100, some of them crossing the water... Just spectacular!!! Imagine opening up a national geographic magazine with elephants and that's exactly what I saw... No words to describe it!!! I loved the ones that were walking alone and we could see their ears flopping... So freaking cute!

I will have to get pictures later because everybody deserve to see the magnitude of the Delta and its beauty. We spotted zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, and some horny (as in: they have horns in their heads) ones that I do not know their names.

I am kind of bummed that I was so sick and I had to concentrate more on not throwing up rather than looking down but for what it's worth it was an amazing experience to get to see all the animals in their natural habitat from high above!! :-)

Some pictures from Byron:

After our amazing flight we came back to the hotel and we were treated to a complimentary boat ride down the river.

 During the ride we spotted warthogs, impalas, lots and lots of baboons (which made me think of Hunter Z!), zebras, qudus, and even a baby crocodile.

At night we all had dinner together at the hotel's restaurant but to be honest I kind of miss my last group and having a small intimate dinner in front of the fire cooked by Joseph! Jaja

I've had a harder time adjusting to this group! First of all 12 of them started the tour in Cape Town 2 1/2 weeks ago so I feel like the new kid at school. Everybody had their selected seat and I am in the back of the bus pretty much by myself. Then I'm an uneven number so I have all the accommodations  by myself (which is not at all a bad deal since I didn't pay single supplement and I get a king bed all for myself) but I do miss having people around me. I get energized by making connections, talking to people and I'm just feeling a little lonely. 

Now I'm off for two days in the wilderness, taking mokoros (canoe like boats) for 11/2-2hours into the delta and camping in the bushes... Should be fun!

Well, not really but just a little. So on our way to Maun stopped at a gas station and I got a SIM card but it would not allow me to use dat...

Today I started a big organized tour with Gadventures that goes through Botswana and ends in Livingstone. For a couple of days I have been a...

Today I started a big organized tour with Gadventures that goes through Botswana and ends in Livingstone. For a couple of days I have been a little scared of being disappointed by this tour since I've had amazing experiences so far with safari companies from Africa.

We are 20 people in the bus including the guide and driver. It seems like a lot of people but I bet I will adjust. So far it looks like a good crowd. The ages in the group vary from like 14 to 60's and I really haven't found anybody that I like and really click with... I'll give it some time!

So we crossed the border from namibia to Botswana and it was amazing to see ostriches all over the street, I think they have in ostriches what El Salvador has in street dogs. It was actually pretty cool to see them running freely on the street.

The bus ride was actually fun, we play a travel quiz game and it was entertaining. Janet, the tour guide, seems like a lot of fun and the tour itself sounds pretty amazing.

After being stopped by the Botswana police and given a speeding ticket for going 5km/hr over the speed limit we finally reached our destination... The Kalahari desert!!!

We are staying at the "Ghanzi Trail Blazers"where we got to see the San bushman.

 The tour comes with the traditional huts for san bushman but we were upgraded to nice little bungalows. Out of 20 people I was the only one who wanted to actually stay in the traditional sand bushmen hut despite the upgrade. I kept saying "this will be the only time in my life I get to experience this" and then Janet kind of convinced me to stay in the nicer place, she said "you are on vacation, enjoy the luxury!" So I gave in... Well, I didn't need all that much convincing since the bungalows have their own bathrooms, nice bed, and towels :-)

I'm kind of a princess... Jajajajaja and its my mom's fault! She has called me princess all my life so don't blame me for internalizing what I've been hearing for 29 years!

After settling in our rooms we visited the San bushman who showed us how they use roots and plants as medication. We all chewed a very bitter root that helps prevent malaria. 

Chris, one of the boys from the tour, was feeling sick and the oldest lady from the tribe started touching him stomach and it was rather hilarious! Then she proceeded to tell the translator that Chris had a six pack and he pulled Chris' shirt up! I think there was zero healing done but the old lady had a good time rubbing her hands on Chris' six pack!!!

Here are some pictures from the San bushman

The fire was my favorite part!!!

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about the whole experience. The guys were so animated that it felt like it was a parody of how they live. The translator even said "the most important part about this tour are the pictures"... Mmmmm.... I would think that the best part about the tour was to learn about a different culture and how some people in Botswana live so that got me thinking about the whole thing and how much tourism has destroyed their culture. One of the ladies told us that alcoholism is destroying their tribe, that teenagers decide to leave the tribe and live in a city... well lady, i would not blame them... I would pick a warm bed and a fleece over a hut and an underwear made of cow skin anytime!!! Oh my! I feel bad even saying that but it's the truth! Jajaja

At night they did a dance performance that to my taste was monotonous and a little too long. Don't get me wrong, the experience was great and their dancing was amazing but deep in my heart I really felt bad that these people had to perform for an audience and they were half naked in a cold night for our entertainment. 

After the way too long performance we were ready for bed... I looked up in the sky and I have never seen the stars so close!!! The sky was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!!!!!!!! I wish there was a way to capture the view and share it with each one of you!!! The sky was well worth the hour long of chanting and coughing!!! 

Today I'm sick! I've been kind of fighting a cold for a couple of days so I decided to take it easy, sleep in and relax before headi...

Today I'm sick! I've been kind of fighting a cold for a couple of days so I decided to take it easy, sleep in and relax before heading to Botswana!

Last night I shared  a room with four older men and one very nice woman, Amanda. All night long I was coughing and blowing my nose, this morning Talli, one of the man, made sure I was doing fine and he said "in South Africa we say that u need to cover yourself up and sweat the cold out" and then I tried to re do the covers and he said "wait, I'll take care of you" and he put the blankets on me and said "you are the yellow rose of Texas"... I had no idea what he meant by that, and then he said "You are so kind, so nice and beautiful, you are unique." Those words reminded me of the importance of being kind and genuine with everybody. The fact that I smiled at him when he got in the room and I made small talk made all the difference. 

I am not very good with words and sharing what I feel towards people and many times I even consider myself shy, but one thing that I can guarantee is that I will give people a nice warm smile, treat them politely and most importantly treat them as equal. Treating people equally has made such huge difference in this trip! Every time I get into a cab (after negotiating the price, of course) I sit in the front, I ask their name, shake their hand, ask them about their day and try to be that person that makes their day at least a little bit better. My mom gave me a cd that talks about "el valor agregado" (. the added value) it's about adding a little extra kindness to your conversations, to use friendly statements... I really believe that there are those little things that make a big difference.

For example, when camping in Sossusvlei Joseph, the camp helper, was cooking and I said to him "thanks for cooking, I admire a man who can cook" of course we all laughed but I bet that what I said made a difference. The next day I was going for ice cream and I made sure to ask Gabriel and Joseph if they needed anything from the store and brought each of them a coke. This morning while having breakfast I made sure to touch the waitress' shoulder and asked her name, from then on I called her by her name and thanked her for her service... It does not hurt to be kind...  I always remember: treat others as you would like to be treated... i love this phrase from that same cd my mom gave me "Lo que uno siembra, uno cosecha, si usted siembra limon, atengase a chupar limon y no piña dulce" (whatever you plant you will harvest, if you plant lime then be ready to suck on lime and don't expect to eat sweet pineapple)... To every action, a reaction.... Everything that goes up must come down...

I will go the extra mile for all my friends and people I care about. My friends used to call me "mama Andrea" because i'm always looking out for others. I show love and appreciation through actions, that being taking care of somebody when sick, driving an hour to give a friend in crisis a hug, helping with school stuff, painting a rock for them etc.

 

Of course I don't want to say I'm an angel, there are people that rub me the wrong way and they can get the ugly side of me, the Andrea that does not smile, ignores you and sometimes unconsciously can make ugly faces but I see this reaction as a teaching moment...  As my mom says: "SOY ESPEJO Y ME REFLEJO" (I'm a mirror and I reflect myself) and when I have a hard time with people I try to evaluate myself and see what reflection I'm seeing that is getting to me and try to work on it.

Wow... How did I go off on that tangent?!?! Jajajajaja 

Anyway... Back to my relaxing day...

At around 9 I woke up and Amanda asked me how I was doing, she gave me some cough medicine and I asked her if she had any plans and decided to go back to Penduka. I had some money left and couldn't think of a better organization to support with my last couple Namibian dollars.

Once at Penduka, while looking around I found the PERFECT Andrea doll!!!

It's purple, with pink, smiling, and has a big heart!!!! I totally identified with it and I knew I had to buy it!!!! 

Amanda and I sat for a long time at the Penduka cafe and had tea and carrot cake while we talked about Cape Town and she showed me some pictures of her travels.

The time spent at Penduka was perfect! When it was time to pay I had to go to the kitchen and found 3 women there cooking, dancing, and singing... It was magical! They transmitted energy and happiness... It was simply beautiful! Of course I clapped and I asked their permission to take a video of it! So if you have me in Instagram (dreagram) go check it out! ... But I think u had to be there to feel the energy :-)

Now, off to Botswana!! :-)

Jajajajaja the title of this blog alone makes me laugh! I've been vegetarian for 10 years but when in Namibia do what Namibians do, righ...

Jajajajaja the title of this blog alone makes me laugh!

I've been vegetarian for 10 years but when in Namibia do what Namibians do, right?

Well, Jason and Stephen decided to go Joe's for dinner and Tessa and I decided to join them. Joe's menu is well known for having exotic animals such as ostrich, oryx, zebra, crocodile etc. 

We only live once... So I decided to give exotic food a try! So not Andrea... I'm the kind of person who asks for my tacos to be put in a different plate than the meat ones so they don't come in contact! I'm letting myself experience a little more.

 So as appetizers we had oryx carpaccio and some oysters

To be honest, the oryx didn't taste that bad and even Jason said to me "Not bad, right? You keep going for more!" Jajajajaja I actually did go for more, it was quite yummy! Jajaja

Then Both of the guys ordered a skewer with game on it and I just had to try some of it. I didn't think I would be able to but then I thought "God knows when you will have this opportunity again! Trying a bite won't kill you" so I did!... For the first time in my life I had zebra and crocodile!!!! (Super sad! :-( ) and I made sure to chew it well so my stomach could handle it!!

I'm feeling brave!!!! Jajaja

It would be silly to come to Africa and don't get involved in the community. Before I left to sossusvlei I asked in my hostel where I co...

It would be silly to come to Africa and don't get involved in the community.

Before I left to sossusvlei I asked in my hostel where I could go and volunteer Friday and Saturday because I really wanted to work with kids. During the tour I met Eileen who happened to mention that her sister Mary Beth runs an after school program in Katutura called the Bernhard Nordkamp Center. After my bike tour I decided to call Mary Beth to see if I could volunteer that afternoon and she said yes and I am SO HAPPY she did.

When I arrived at the center with Mary Beth the children were all waiting outside and were more than excited to see her... And I want to believe that they were excited to see me too! Jajaja

From the moment I got out of the car my heart melted, the kids were so cute, they all tried to hug me and asked my name. So super sweet.

The after school program focuses on helping children with school work but Fridays are for fun activities so I got to be part of a less structured day.

I was quickly grabbed and taken into the library where I sat on the carpet reading to probably ten children. One of them, John, sat next to me and touched my hair the whole time. Children would come in and out and say hello, and since I have a cold I had to stop reading after 30 mins and they took me over to the world map to show them where El Salvador is.

Since the moment we left the library John held my hand and took me over to the map and then to the garden where he showed me all the plants and vegetables. Before the garden he noticed I was wearing a ring and he said "are you engaged?" I said "no" then he asked "are you married?" I said "no" and then he said "so this ring is just a ring" and I said "yes! My mom gave it to me!" Then while we were walking on the garden holding hand he started to hum the traditional wedding song... OMG! I wanted to die!!! It was so cute!!!

Then he took me over to the tennis courts with racquets in hand... Jajaja me playing tennis in Namibia?!?! that was something that would have never crossed my mind before! Last time i played tennis i think i was 10! jaja I didn't want to sound like an idiot and say "I don't know how to play tennis" so I grabbed that racquet and I owned it! We played for half hour and it felt great to be part of this children's lives.

Here are pictures from our tennis adventure:

I love the lower left picture!!! In the shadow you can see the amount of kids that it took to take a picture!

Back at the center I spent the afternoon playing "teacher" (well, I was the student of two very bossy teachers) and a full hour playing chutes and ladder!

The whole afternoon was simply beautiful! Being surrounded by kids it's what I love the most, I truly see it as my calling. I have come into this world to leave it at least a little bit better than how i found it and the way for me to do that is through children: working with them, giving them love, teaching them, being a person that does not hold judgement for their actions but instead lovingly help them see their potential and help them discover the best part of them.

I've said it many times and I'll say it again... I'M NOT A WRITER... It is really hard for me to sit here and write my feelings in a piece of paper (virtual paper in this case) and even though I have written many words there is nothing I can write that really truly reflect what my heart feels right now.

I have been here for only a week and it has made me think of what I want to do with my life. I see so many opportunities to really help people here in Africa, it makes me want to move here and do what I do best... But my mom would die if I move to Africa!!! Jajaja

Last week in swakopmund I met a girl who is volunteering as a counselor in Cape Town and told me about paid jobs as counselors here in Africa... So so so tempting! Then I think about how hard it is to stay in the US and I wonder "Is it possible that my time in the US has run out? Should I move on? What should I do with my life?!" And I can't help but have this feeling of "why should I fight so hard to stay in a country where they make it so hard for me to stay and seems like they don't want me when the rest of the world is waiting with arms wide open for people like me?!?!" I will leave it to the universe to give me exactly what I'm meant to be doing... 

Anyway, if you would like more info about Mary Beth's program here is a video of her center:

http://vimeo.com/12618632

Her funding was recently cut so if you want to donate I am sure the kids and Mary Beth would appreciate it, it is such a great program and she does it with so much passion and love that I feel people should support it :-)

This picture came out blurry but there is something about it that I totally love!!! <3