by LaurelC-19, 24 July 2009

Laurel took a year off before heading to university. Read about her here

A NIGHT IN THE SLUMS OF NAMIBIA

Arriving in Swakopmund, Namibia, my British co-backpackers and I stumbled out of possibly the most cramped bus in the world. It had taken an 8 hour journey from Namibia's capital, Windhoek. Above all, I was grateful that our legs had survived the ride despite minimal, if any, blood circulation. If the city names don't sound quite Ouagadougou or Timbuktu-esque, it is because Namibia is a former German colony and still retains much of its cultural heritage.

One day we did a tour of the township - the slums just outside of the quaint town of pumpernickel-serving cafes. It was a lovely tour! Some people are put off by this idea of voyeurism into the lives of slum-dwellers, but I saw it as what it was: a business transaction for tourists. I got to experience the culture and people in a way that I could not have without the tour guide, and the community benefited economically while hopefully, learning a bit from us too.

In fact, we got along so well with the people of the township that we got invited to come out for a few drinks that night. We casually agreed, and when the time came we met up with him at our hostel's bar. We didn't actually think we'd go anywhere - we all wanted to go to bed but thought we might as well have a drink or two with him downstairs. Upon us showing up he said: "Alright, ready to go?" We gave him a mildly horrified look, glanced at each other for the shortest of seconds, then shrugged. And so we went to the township.

It was the most random, unplanned night ever - a night of drinking in the slums. The people were incredibly friendly, and some were undeniably weird, but it was definitely an adventure to somewhere that foreigners never go. There was the one rotund woman who taught me how to shake my hips the way they do, and the man loyal to Manchester United to the death - it always fascinated how wherever I went, British football leagues seemed to captivate die-hard fans tucked away into the nooks and crannies of the planet. The bars were so ghetto - they had metal bars through which they served the drinks and the jukeboxes played music from at least a decade ago, with the exception of one local artist whom we had the pleasure of meeting! Plus the drinks were cheap. It was a pretty fun and humorous night in general, and most likely one that will never be mentioned to my parents.

Wikipedia - Swakopmund BBC - Namibia country profile