Hello! It's been an exciting week here in Namibia-- the two main events being the election and a trip to Southern Namibia. But first, the election: All of us here were biting our nails and hanging on to every news tidbit and wishing that we were back in the homeland for the momentous occasion. However, it has been an exciting and interesting experience to witness such a historical event as an American overseas.
We all stayed up into the wee hours of the morning watching CNN until 6am here, when they announced Obama as the winner. We all sat and watched both candidate's amazing speeches and cried and cheered together! Regardless of who I thought should have won, I feel compelled to share with you the reaction here in Namibia, as it has been incredible. It's as if in a matter of hours, our reception an Americans has gone from both friendly and somewhat wary, to absolute acceptance and enthusiasm. Namibian's I've talked to have seemed genuinely proud of Americans in their decision to elect an African American to be the leader of our country, despite its history of divisiveness and racial tension. It has given Namibians hope for their own country that they too can overcome their own issues along the race and power divide.
There has been many stories from students of post-election receptions by Namibians. Some students received free newspapers on election morning from happy street sellers. One girl had a woman stop her in the street and kiss her on each cheek, telling her how happy and proud she was of America. While buying ice cream on the 5th, the girl behind the counter told me how excited she was to have a black man as the leader of America and how much hope gave her for Africa. It has certainly been difficult to be away on such an important occasion, but nonetheless rewarding to experience it from another vantage point as another kind of experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment