And so it begins...

And they are off!

Our final days in Lincoln were a lesson in procrastination. As in, you really shouldn't procrastinate. But, we are skilled purveyors of the sport, and it caught up with us. Living on a short amount of sleep, I will refrain from a long posting, as they say sleep-deprived driving is the same or worse than driving drunk. The same may apply to blogging.

We are half-way to Namibia, with a few days scheduled to enjoy our mid-way city over the New Years. We arrive in Namibia on Jan. 3.

Trivia question to tide you over until we have more to post (and catch up on sleep): which city are we in? Hint: see photo of Tristan.

Last minute questions and ponderings

Overheard at the Powell household during the last couple days:

What is the exchange between pounds and kilograms? Do you mean British pound?!
What is the exchange between Namibian dollars and kilograms?!
Where did you put that ______ [fill in blank with pretty much everything]?
So, this is why not everyone leaves the country for a year...
Do you think Joel would like this ______ [fill in blank with pretty much everything]? (Joel is our housesitter)
Boy, the house looks good when we clean it. Too bad we're leaving for a year.
Why doesn't Air Namibia pay someone to answer their phones on the weekend?
I thought you were going to write the Christmas newsletter.
What do you mean the mattress won't fit up the stairs?
Did you notice it's 2 a.m.? Is that Lincoln time or Windhoek time?
This is the most someone has ever gone through to get a couple weeks in England.
Remember, dear, I love you [dodging assorted items hurled through air]...
Remember, dear, the goal of the Fulbright program is world peace--think globally, act locally...please [dodging more items]!
Garbage man: "Holy trash cans, bat man...if they have this much stuff to throw away, I'd like to see what's left in the house."
Do you seriously think we can fit our lives into 9 suitcases?
Dad, can I go buy some more stuff to take?

Winter wonderland

The weather gadgets on the left side of our blog allow comparison of temps and precip in Lincoln, NE and in Windhoek. It's summer in southern-hemisphere Windhoek, and Mother Nature is helping to make the transition to Namibia as drastic as possible. In the past week, a mix of icy rain and snow hit Lincoln--enough to cancel Tristan's last day of school. Wonder how many snow days Windhoek has?!

Although is it theoretically possible to see snow in the Windhoek weather forecast (see here to see how it can be 71 degrees F and snow at same time), we're guessing we won't see our Windhoek house covered in snow and icicles.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to NTN readers. Next report will be from London or Namibia. We're headed to London for New Years Eve and arrive in Windhoek on Jan. 3. Imaginative readers can grasp the chaos that is actually happening inside this serene winter depiction of our Lincoln home--9 suitcases lying about with assorted piles strewn from one end to the other. On the flip side, my office at UNL has never been so clean.

The University and lint in your pocket

Readers of NTN will have to pardon a bit of reflection in this week's posting. For several reasons, this has been a week that has caused me to think about what it means to be a University professor. Obviously, I love my job--to see several photographic reasons, go here.

So, the past week's events and how they are all related...

First, it's been a week (or more) of good-bye's, which are fun and not-so-fun at the same time. Among the most fun of the events was the UNL Wildlife Club's Game Feed, which featured multiple dead animals cooked to tasty perfection by some great students. Students invited the advisors and their families, which was nice (considering we invaded a student party). And, they gave our family a going-away card with some funny thoughts about our trip to Africa. Advising the Club is a great adventure, and we'll miss UNL students and especially Wildlife Clubbers.

Second, it's been final exam week. I had fun with my exam this week--giving each student 1/4 of the exam and then having them work in groups to finish the exam and make sure the other 3 blokes (or blokettes) did their part correctly. A great learning exercise. I hate exams worse than students (believe it or not), so I had fun watching their interactions. Who cares if the average score was high? I bet they learned something.

Last, Kelly and I heard this week that one of our undergraduate professors from Graceland passed away. Dr. Gaylord Shaw was our Histology instructor, as well as Anatomy and Physiology. Suffice it to say we stayed long hours in his lab watching slides and memorizing tissues until it was very dark outside. He was also the professor that encouraged us to 'petition' if we thought we got a question on an exam right--but we had to do it in writing and prove we were right. I am not sure I ever won a petition, but I do this with my students, now. Professors have a way of living on in the lives of their students, and Dr. Shaw (right) is no exception. Lots of us Histology students out there. Kind of like lint in your pocket--you may not remember where it came from, but it stays with you.

Professors and students. It's what the University is about. I'm looking forward to experiencing Polytechnic's environment--for comparison. We'll sure miss our UNL friends and family. But, just like professors that leave us, friends and family have a way of staying with you when you leave them. Like lint, but a bit sweeter memories.

I warned you. Next post will not be so reflective. I might even swear if packing is not going too well. It turns out there's a lot to do to get ready to leave the continent.

Where are the Powell's going?

I'm rearranging the blog today to get rid of too many gadgets and help it load faster. This has been posted before as informational gadget to the left. Here is the information in 'post' form:

You're not alone if you didn't know where Namibia is. It wasn't an independent nation until 1990, so when we 40-year-olds were in school, it was called South West Africa and was administered by South Africa. Before 1915, it had been a German colony, and was called German South West Africa. My mom found National Geographics from the 1980's that have stories 'pre-Namibia.' Evidence of our changing world. Learn more about Namibia by clicking on the image.

See our previous post about 'how we got to this point' to answer the question, "Why are the Powell's leaving the US?"

Background about the Namibian flag:

The main colours were taken from the flag of SWAPO (South West African People's Organization), the most important liberation movement. That flag was adopted in 1971 and comprises diagonal stripes of blue-red-green, the most important colours of the Ovambos, the largest ethnic population. The national flag combines the colors of the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO), which liberated Namibia in 1990, and those of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, another Namibian political party. The gold sun, which is similar to that on the flag of Taiwan, represents life and energy. Red, white, and blue were the colors of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, and blue, red, and green the colors of SWAPO.