Final Projects and Semester Wrap-Up

   Ross Peterson & Helena Kruger Week 15

At the beginning of this week we were all scrambling to finish our final projects before Wednesday.  The living room floor was covered almost entirely with papers and posters, and many of us were working, or at least pretending to work, long hours.  When Wednesday morning finally came we all got our stuff together and headed downtown to the American Cultural Center in the Sanlam Center.  As nervous as many of us may have been, everyone’s presentations went great.  Topics covered ranged from HIV/AIDS to Community Based Natural Resource Management to tribalism in Namibia.  It was great to watch the presentations and learn so much about a variety of topics, and it also reminded us just how much we have covered over the course of the semester.  We may be slightly biased, but one group did a puppet show for their final presentation, and it was definitely one of the best puppet shows we have ever seen. 

Our time here has flown by, and looking back at our experiences over the past few months made us realize just how long we have been here and how many opportunities we have had over the past few months.  It feels like we were in Johannesburg just yesterday!  And it definitely does not feel like a month has passed since the end of spring break.

            While we were well aware of the fact that the presentations marked “”the end,” so to speak, of our time in Windhoek, it was not until they were all done that that reality sank in.  Our projects felt like more of a midterm than a final, and it seemed as though next week we would still have classes, just as we have for the past three months.  But after the presentations it became clear that that would not be the case, and since then many of us have been feeling sad that we are leaving Windhoek, but excited to be going to Cape Town.  All good things must come to an end, and Cape Town will undoubtedly be yet another incredible experience to add to the long list that already exists.

            The past few days we have been doing our best to enjoy Windhoek.  We have also been attempting to clean the house, although that has proven to be quite a significant undertaking.  Packing has also been interesting.  Some people seem to be more skilled in that area than others.