Wedges and Namibian Sand- Their Tragic Love

Prior to living in Namibia, people don’t tell you how fashionable locals are.  How much they too are driven by fashion and new trends in the clothing world, technology, music, etc.  Because I didn’t really think about these things, I planned for my climate and living conditions when I packed.  Therefore, for 2 terms, eight months, I have dressed the frumpiest and most casual I have in my life.  I went 240 plus days without ever putting on heels, which if you know me, is a crazy thought.  In addition to that, on most days I wear simple cotton pieces, and I am lucky if I do my laundry after four times of wearing a specific piece of clothing.  I have taken casual to a level I did not know was possible.   I think a lot of volunteers fall under this category.  We packed and planned for clothes that could get ruined by the sun and hand washing.  We made sure to bring clothes that we would not be sad to see get ruined or to leave behind because of better purchases (i.e. African baskets, wooden craftwork).

With only about 2.5 months left here, I branched out of the wardrobe I bought.  Since I have an upcoming wedding to attend, I figured purchasing a cheap pair of wedges was not a ridiculous thing to do.  In fact, it was probably needed because my Namibian friends dress beautifully.  They wear heels regardless of the sand.  The men dress in dress trousers and button down, collared shirts.  The women are in nice dresses, skirts, and slacks.  They look put together every day, and well, I get ready in 30 minutes, far from put together.  So with all of that, wedges were purchased.

Now fast forward from the purchase to this week.  In my brave, ambitious mind, I thought it would be fun to feel fancy for a day.  I strapped on those wedges and headed out to school…in the sand.  After walking a couple feet, I instantly started to second-guess my decision, but I had to push through and make my decision the right decision.  I arrived at school, and instantly you would have thought I was wearing a crystal tiara.  The students were making comments about how nice I looked.  In their exact words, “Missss, you are looking !na today,” which translates as good.  The girls tell me this from time to time, but today was different…I won’t give a lot of details.  Just know it was different.  Flattered I was, but uncomfortable may be a better way to describe the day.  Something I did for me, turned into a bigger distraction for the students.  I had established myself as casual with them, and the second I stepped outside of that, their little worlds were rocked.

As I was walking home, again regretting this brazen decision because I nearly twisted my ankle, one of my 10^th grade boys who is not afraid to speak his mind and ask an endless amount of questions about my personal life (i.e. miss, do you have a Namibian boyfriend?  Miss, how many kids will you want?), politely screamed across the sand, “miss, you were looking beautimous at school today.”  I got a chuckle out of the word beautimous, but decided shortly after that these shoes will stay at home until the wedding I attend.  They are officially retired from Namibian days, mainly because of the sand and frightening experiences I faced while walking to and from school (NAMIBIAN WOMEN ARE HARDCORE).  They will probably make a debut in South Africa and then again at home, but for my remaining 2.5 months in the village, this girl will continue her attractiveness in Birkenstocks and Chacos…SEXY!