Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
ALEC Abroad

Aggies Under African Skies

by Leighton James

A few days ago I realized I have a problem:  I have to write the final blog for Namibia Study Abroad 2012.  I should probably be happy about it.  Everyone always wants the last word.

What I didn’t realize was how difficult it would be to write about this trip.  How can I possibly tell you how absolutely amazing this trip was in a blog or at all really?

I could talk about the places we went or the projects we were assigned.  Of course, that has already been done.

Along with the places we went, came the amazing people:  the Schneider family, Dr. Mary Seely, Eugene Marias, the fabulous Dr. Laurie Marker, the Ogongo students, the staff at the University of Namibia’s Neudamm and Ogongo campuses, Gobabeb Desert Research and Training Centre, and the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), our bus driver, Ephraim, and everyone else along the way.

Perhaps I will talk about the billions of stars in the night sky or the multiple colors of the sunrise.  They were both breathtaking.  One of my favorite moments was climbing to the top of the dunes (which also took my breath away, literally) at sunrise with Jessica Guerra and Tray Heard.  I was so excited and in such awe of the beauty that I almost started squealing and jumping up and down. I could’ve stayed there for hours.

Then, of course, there were the animals – my favorite, by far, being the cheetah (thanks CCF).  Their anatomy, precision and beauty is fascinating.

There are so many things we did and experienced, constantly moving and changing.  All of these places and people make it difficult to say goodbye.  However, there was a  constant that I was also fortunate to have – the other 12 Aggies on this trip.  Everyone contributed in their own way.

We never had to wonder about what Josh Hardcastle was thinking; he let us know frequently, and we humorously coined the phrase, “It’s just Josh.” I admire his hardworking personality that shined through in all of our groups.  (You can thank him for keeping this fantastic blog updated.)

Brooke Brock, whom I gained a respect for early on, not only constantly applied her scientific knowledge but was also almost always the first to talk to the local people.  Her willingness and ability to converse came so naturally, and I loved watching her do it.  I can’t wait to (hopefully) visit her in Washington, D.C. during the Thanksgiving break!

I have to thank Samantha Alvis for all of the hard work she put into the planning of this trip.  We appreciated her input on all that we did as she knew a lot about the places we were going.  By the way, I hope Sam’s niece knows how much she loves and adores her.  It was adorable seeing her excitement when she got to Skype with her for her birthday.

Brandy Dangelmayr never stopped surprising me.  The humor she provided in almost every situation was much appreciated.  As Dr. Rutherford said at dinner, it was fun seeing her in her element as she was truly intrigued by the goat operation at the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Her partners in crime (and in humor) were Holly Van Groll and Jessica Guerra. Jessica brought insight on new ideas and beliefs.  She always seemed to perfectly “fit in” with all of the nature aspects of our trip. 

Holly is one of the most down-to-earth people I have met, and her laugh is so contagious.  I also enjoyed listening to her talk about the Peace Corps, through which she will soon be pursuing her master’s degree.

That brings me to Lauren Cockerell.  You can tell she adores her family through the way she talks about them.  She is incredibly driven by her work.  She and her husband are in the process of joining the Peace Corps, which I find admirable.  (Mom and Dad, don’t be surprised if all of this Peace Corps talk inspires me to join, too.)

I don’t think I could describe Beth Alexis any better than Dr. Wingenbach did.  Her “wonderment” in everything we did struck us all.  I wish I could capture her wide eyes and huge, beautiful smile.  It would be nice to look at her face when I lost sight of the value of “wonderment.”

Amy Heartfield’s excitement made me giggle many times.  I wish I could include a recording of her enthusiastically saying, “I’m so excited!”  Her loving nature makes me doubt that she has a mean bone in her body.  I know her words and actions are genuine  and kind – something that is truly refreshing.

Then, there is Tray Heard.  I had the pleasure of receiving his insight on many things about life.  This was in between the times he was enlightening the group with all of his useful (random) information and making us laugh with his witty remarks.  His passion for his future goals and powerful voice makes me believe that he will exceed even his own expectations.

Lastly, our trip would not have been possible (literally) without our professors, Dr. Gary Wingenbach and Dr. Tracy Rutherford.  Dr. Wingenbach’s stories and insights gave me new perspectives on agriculture and leadership.  He also helped me further develop my own ideas.  I think I learned something or was challenged to think almost every time he spoke.  I appreciated his efforts in trying to push my buttons.  He continuously gave me a hard time, which always kept me on my toes.

I give Dr. Rutherford credit for a lot of things, including my decision to officially change my major to agricultural communications and journalism (which I have gradually been doing since I met her).  She epitomizes the feeling I have of a family at Texas A&M. I appreciate her ability to silently observe everyone in the group. She was the first to point out the “pure joy” she saw me develop on the trip.  I’m not even sure I had identified my own feelings until she pointed them out.

I hope these two individuals know the immense positive impact they have on all of their students.

I will never forget this trip or the people on it.  Now, don’t get me wrong, put 13 strangers in confined spaces with limited resources for a month, and you’re bound to come across some conflict.  However, the conflict doesn’t come close to outweighing the positives.

I appreciate them for every late night talk, shedding light on ideas and experiences during reflections, the laughs (I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time) and helping me understand myself a little deeper.

I’m fortunate because some of the best parts of my trip get to come home with me.  Although I may never cross paths with these individuals in Africa again, I can’t wait to see them back at home, hear about their success and learn even more from them.

This is my Aggie family, and we’ll always have the times we spent under African skies.

Tradition and Transition

by Samantha Alvis

I’m excited to have the opportunity to share this country with my fellow students. I was lucky enough to travel to Namibia last summer and promptly fell in love with this country.  With a landscape that reminds me of my native Arizona and wonderful, welcoming people, what’s not to love about Namibia?

When I opened the map in front of the group and traced our journey over our first 15 days, I think it’s safe to say that everyone was surprised by just how much of Namibia that we have seen in our time here.

Currently, we’re in a region I was lucky enough to visit in 2011.  Three days ago, we arrived at the University of Namibia Ogongo Campus*, in the far north of the country.  It’s quite the change from some of our earlier locations.  We viewed the city life in Windhoek, the desert life at Gobabeb, experienced a bit of the seaside in Swakopmund and had a taste of tourism as we journeyed through Etosha National Park.

The north is different.  Most of Namibia’s 2.1 million people live in the north.  We began to notice this as we drove through towns like Ondangwa and Oshikati and experienced rush hour for the first time.  We saw it the number of people enjoying a beverage at the 100s of tiny shabeens (bars), with names like New Paradise and New Life, that line the highways and towns.

A large majority of the north is communal lands, with a communal farming and ranching system. Namibia’s north country gives a new meaning to open range … we realized this as we stopped multiple times for cattle, goat and donkey to cross the highway.

And in these communal lands, you also see communal living.  We stopped at the Nakambale Traditonal Homestead and Museum on our way to Ogongo to learn about life in a traditional homestead.  In a homestead, you may find 3-4 generations of a family living together.  Different family members have huts to sleep in, the kitchen is outdoors and at night, the livestock are brought in for safekeeping.

As you drive along the roads, you’ll find that many of the homesteads are in transition.  Among the traditional thatch huts and wooden fences, you’ll find cinder block structures and aluminum fencing.

Tradition and transition – these are two common themes I see in this country I love.  While Namibia is a young country (gaining independence from South Africa just 22 years ago), it is still a country rich in tradition.  It’s also a country in transition, trying to set an example for the continent in how to manage lands, educate people and create opportunities for future generations.

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*If you’re trying to follow us on a map, find the Angola-Namibia border and look for Ogongo along the C-46 highway between Outapi and Oshakati.

Gobabeb, My Love

by Jessica Guerra

When family and friends asked what excited me the most about studying abroad in Namibia, I always mentioned being able to study outside the classroom, being immersed in a different culture, doing meaningful work, and of course, being on the African continent.

Although those are still true, the unexpected has happened; that is, I have fallen deeply in love with the Namib Desert surrounding the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre.

When we weren’t working, we were exploring the Gobabeb grounds. We got to go on a nature walk with some Namibian high school students participating in Gobabeb’s training program. Being a horticulture minor, I was thrilled to learn about a tree teeming with ants inside it; the ants provide protection from herbivores, and the tree provides a habitat for the ants.

Sitting with about twenty other high school students, we used the scientific method to come up with a way to compare the plants and animals living at the intersection of three different ecosystems at Gobabeb – the gravel plains, the sand sea, and the riverbed.

Though I enjoy the challenging, fulfilling work we are doing in Namibia, something else will draw me to this great country again and again; it is the Namib Sand Sea, or the countless sand dunes stretching across the entire horizon.

As we made our way up the dunes, each step sinking into the deep red-orange sand became increasingly meaningful. Though we may have been panting, barefoot, and grasping our water bottles as we reached the top, the trek was absolutely worth it.

All the photographs of sand dunes featured in National Geographic and on your computer desktop could not compare to standing atop the crest of a Namib sand dune at sunset. With outstretched arms and wide smiles, we stood on top of the world and soaked in the last of the African sun.

I will have fond memories of Namibia, but I know this will be one of the fondest.

Until next time…

The Namibia Phenomenology…

by Dr. Tracy Rutherford

This trip has been filled with -ologies, much more than any of us anticipated: anthropology, paleontology, archaeology, geology, technology and zoology.  Brooke has had many opportunities to demonstrate that she paid attention in class while many of us wish we had done more than memorize the information for the test.

That’s what I have learned on this trip – it is about the experience and applying what you’ve learned, not the grade on your transcript. Neudamm reminded us of the importance of agriculture, Gobabeb challenged our research skills, and Etosha brought Africa to life (as the elephants blocked the path of the bus and later intimidated a young lion pride), I can only wonder what lessons we’ll learn in the final days of our adventure.

Jack Elliot told me Namibia is his second home because it reminds him of Arizona. I think all of us appreciate the similarities between this country and the United States, while enjoying the hospitality of our hosts and the abundance of excellent chefs. We have definitely received the red carpet treatment, and I am grateful that our students have the chance to give back to this country – the chance to leave a legacy that will guide this program for years to come. 

My hope is that the legacy of this program is for our students to learn beyond the book, apply beyond the test and do something with their education.

We started this experience with the study of agricultural communications and leadership at Neudamm preparing to translate scientific information based on the research at Gobabeb. Now we are fine-tuning those skills to emphasize education about science as we prepare to work with the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

We are still exploring all those -ologies and have added two more, sociology and psychology, as we continue to learn about ourselves, our group and the people of Namibia.

With Open Arms and Kind Hearts

by Tray Heard

Before coming to Namibia, we all knew we would constantly be traveling, and that’s what made this opportunity so exciting. Moving often allows us to meet many people from different backgrounds and experience multiple regions around the country.

What we didn’t realize is how hard it would be to say goodbye and move to the next destination.

Leaving the Neudamm campus of The University of Namibia was a difficult task, for we had made it our home for a week and the people there were amazing surrogate parents for us. Amanda, Maggie, Imms and the entire staff made us feel incredibly welcomed while providing us with everything we could ask for.

Martin and Gabi Schneider also made a huge impression on our entire group; they welcomed us in to their home and prepared an amazing meal that we enjoyed as we watched the sun set over Windhoek.

Their cousin Bernd served as our incredible tour guide around the city after the original tour plans fell apart. We can now all understand why ALEC’s department head, Dr. Elliott, continues to come back to Namibia to spend time with their wonderful family.

As we settled in at Gobabeb, we all probably had thought that we wouldn’t be able to find wonderful people like those we had met in our first week. Of course, we were mistaken.

After being able to celebrate a birthday for our bus driver, Ephriam, and meeting the entire staff at Gobabeb, we have all come to the realization that every new person we meet in Namibia will be just as kind as the one that came before.

This is a country filled with amazing people who welcome each of us with open arms everywhere we go.

They have done whatever they can to make our experience here as carefree as possible. With each new relationship we make, we know it will continue to be hard to say goodbye.

Although we may feel a little down as we drive on to a new destination, we will never complain about having too many people care about us.

Our Time at Gobabeb

by Brandy Dangelmayr

The Namib Sand Sea desert was nominated by Namibia to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. World Heritage Sites are unique places of cultural or natural significance. It is the World Heritage Center’s mission to encourage international cooperation in the conservation of the world’s history. By establishing these sites, countries invite the world to experience their heritage.

The Namib Sand Sea was nominated as a natural site that meets all four specific World Heritage criterium, which puts it in the ranks of sites like the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef.

If the Sand Sea is adopted as a World Heritage Site, the local population would experience an influx of tourists. This increase would directly benefit job growth and the economy. The natural and spectacular dunes would also have better protection for future generations.

The Namib is also home to Gobabeb Training and Research Centre, which has been in operation for over 50 years. The center has a science-based education program for primary and secondary schools and wants to begin training teachers and community members in leadership. A three month research internship program for post-graduates is also offered.  Currently, nine research topics are underway. They focus on the unique plants and animals and ways to preserve the environment.

So, you may be asking yourself, what the heck are we doing in a desert in Namibia? Well, we are actually spending most of our time in the computer lab at Gobabeb.

While in the Namib, we were asked to help the center advertise and educate Namibians about the benefits of becoming a World Heritage Site and the uniqueness of the Namib Sand Sea.

Hopefully, next year we will see Gobabeb on the UNESCO World Heritage list as one of their new World Heritage Sites.

Keep following to hear more about the exciting adventures of the Namibian Wild Thornberrys!