Hey guys!
Sorry I haven’t been in contact for a while. First, the internet was out for a few days and then… wait for it…
I WAS SENT TO WINDHOEK TO A TOURISM EXPO!!!!!
So, okay. It’s a little exciting because I got to go to Windhoek, which is both civilization and means that they trust me at least a little to get things done. So, here’s how this came about. My overall project here is the Fundraising Gala Dinner thing that CCF is holding at the Windhoek Country Club in July. It is a HUGE event. The interns’ (well… mostly Claire and I) is to find donations for the silent auction portion of the evening. Thus, I have been phoning potential sponsors for days.
Anyways, Laurie asked Claire and I to go with Juan (the head tourism guy at CCF) to garner interest for the gallery at the Namibian Tourism Expo. So, we gamely got up at 3:30 AM to take a 3 hour drive to Windhoek… and upon our arrival found out it didn’t start until 3pm and we didn’t need to set up… ugh. I was SO TIRED. But it was still fun. It was a HUGE event. There were SEVEN halls filled to the bursting with vendors. There were loads of resort houses, lodges, wineries, organic fooderies, supply shops, crafty places, and conservancies on display. Claire and I talk to about ¾ of EVERY hall. We had mixed results: some people were really interested and some wanted nothing to do with us. But we tried our best.
The other interesting thing about this expo was… the wine tasting. It was EVERYWHERE. The expo went from 3pm to 10pm and everyone was AT LEAST tipsy by 8pm… yeah, Claire and I were the most sober people at the whole expo INCLUDING the vendors. (Though we did have to taste this beer that Juan wanted info from around 6pm… it actually wasn’t bad… I guess… for beer.)
It was also funny to see everyone’s faces when we got back and told them that we ate at restaurants, but that is neither here nor there.
We also stayed at Juan’s house in Windhoek, which I thought would be weird, but it oddly wasn’t. It was a gorgeous house and FREE! (best price!)
Besides the gala, I’ve mostly been filling the position of “Laurie’s private secretary” as she tries to figure out things upon her return from a two month trip… I think she drafted me since I was the one to organize her office… eh. Anywho, I hope to do some fun, interesting things soon. I’ll keep you posted!
And how did I get drafted to working on ANOTHER silent auction?!? I SWEAR I will be an expert at these things by the time I die without ever having an OFFICIAL silent suction setup position or career. Lol.
Tschuss!
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ReplyDeleteWell, this all sounds fun and interesting to me! Who knew there were that many people in all of Namibia! :-) Did you and Claire try any of the wine? I knew there are lots of wineries in South Africa, but are there some in Namibia now, too? Was this a Namibian tourism conference, or southern Africa or something? What were the restaurants you ate at like? (Enquiring Minds want to know everything, lol!) Did it all make you think more on that Ecotourism paper you just finished a couple weeks ago?? BTW, did you catch the part where Harry Potter opens the same weekend as the Gala in Windhoek? Assuming it opens the same time everywhere, there are movie theaters in Windhoek... :-) Continue with the having adventure now!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having a good time. We need to skype at some point 'cuz I miss your face. I can sympathize with the weird hours though. Turtle tracking is all dependent on the tide and weather, so you have to play by ear! The turtles here are so funny its like watching people. Say hit to Laurie and the cheetahs for me!
ReplyDeleteWill do. Sadly skype doesn't really work here. Basically, we can hear you, but you can't hear us. The expo was a namibian tourism expo, but there WERE a few comapanies/ tourism places from SA, Botswana, Zambia, etc. The restaurants were very like American ones. At least, the breakfast cafe we went to was. The pizza place was in the expo and served pizza unlike american ones. They were very thin crusted and a little less greasy/ healthier which was nice. We had dinner at a place called Nandos. It's a fast food chicken place QUITE unlike KFC. Everything is vaguely spicy and the chips were very good. We did not get to try the wine because no one wanted to give free wine to people begging for charity. We did try camelthorn beer though, which was nice. (because Juan desperately wanted to have their contact info for later use) and we tried Gluhwein, which is warmed wine with sugar. That was very nice. :) And I did not realize about Harry Potter, though i doubt they'll give us time to go see it since most of us are going back to the states shortly thereafter. D: I probs will have to see it when I get to Botswana.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Harry Potter thing... I imagine Laurie will be attending the Gala, and y'all will have to stay the night in Windhoek since it will be too late to drive back, (unless Juan has a hankering for springbok again), and it's rumored that Laurie is a HP fan.... So it might just work out! You might be able to see a Saturday marines before heading back north to CCF!
ReplyDeleteThat would be Saturday matinee. Not calling out the marines. Stupid phone keeps wanting to change gala to gals, too. *sigh*
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