A few fun facts about Kasote

Hello all! Don't you just love the adorable learners I get to work with. On Thanksgiving we did this fun art project. :) Naturally, Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Namibia so we did still have school.  I apologize for the quiet past week, I have been attending conferences for Peace Corps 25th anniversary serving in Namibia and it has been rather busy. Keep an eye out for a future blog about the fun stuff and exciting stories about our conferences/celebration.  Not to mention a bit of music. However, in the mean time I thought it would be fun to share a few fun facts about Kasote (the village I am serving in).

• Kasote was discovered by the Nyemba peopleIt was named after the animal “kasote” because at the time there were several in this area. From what I am told kasote is an old Nyemba word meaning Springbok, the animal displayed on Namibia’s ten-dollar bill. A woman named Elina Menavava and a man known as Kanyonga discovered the village. In 2013 a tree in my village for some reason fell, roots and all out of the ground. The tree stayed sitting in the road for over a day blocking the small gravel pathway. It is completely unknown how, but one morning the tree was found standing perfectly planted and upright, as if it had never fallen. The tree is of decent size so in order for a person to replant it the aid of machinery would have been need. The mystery of how the tree stood again is still unknown. 

• In 2013 a tree in my village for unknown reasons fell, roots and all  completely out of the ground. The tree stayed sitting in the road for over a day blocking the small gravel pathway. It is completely unknown how, but one morning the tree was found standing perfectly planted and upright, as if it had never fallen. The tree is of decent size so in order for a person to replant it the aid of machinery would have been need. The mystery of how the tree stood again is still unknown. 

• Most homesteads have families of 3-4 generations living in the compound. The average homestead size is 15-20 people. (The homestead I live on has 12 people)

• Kasote is located along the Kavango River which is the boarder between Namibia and Angola. 

Again I apologize for the lack of activity but I pinkie promise the posts will pick up! Be ready for stories/photos of the 25th Anniversary, a post about traditional foods, and a little something I learned being away for Thanksgiving