On the Farm

On Thursday we headed to the farm to see the grandparents. It is also the school holiday, though just started, in Namibia and so there are many kids – around 15 – on the farm. That is what they do during the three school holidays per year as there is nothing for them to do home alone and in the city. We left Windhoek around 10 and headed for Gobabis, where we would pick up the Transkalahari if we were heading back to Gaborone. There we stopped by Jet Mart to say hello to Auntie Albertina and then met Uncle Otniel and his red truck at Shop Rite where we would be doing the shopping for the farm, things like sugar, oil, rice, milk, bread, potatoes and lots of other provisions to add to what is already there (and goes very fast with so many people). About half an hour beyond Gobabis we turned off the tarred road onto the dirt road to Rietfontein headed for Talismanus, the town, or really village, nearest to the farm. The road was not bad for us to drive on in our Toyota Verso. After Talismanus, a couple of hours later, we turned off onto a dirt road which was much more difficult for us to drive on as we were riding a little low. By the time we arrived at the farm it was quite dark and we found everyone gathered around the fire where Shikuu was serving tea. The kids were thrilled to unpack all of the provisions, especially the bread that would serve as the evening fare along with the tea. Auntie Justina had made a special treat in honor of Mave, vetkoekies – which we were delighted to eat with our tea. It quickly became very cool though the fire kept us warm. Kuno fell asleep early and the rest of us turned in a bit later.

This morning we all awoke around 6 am, and crawled out of our small house around 6:30. Many people were already up and tea was being brewed. We had a leisurely breakfast and then the kids started on some serious playing. There were races, including relay races, dodge ball, horseback riding, cards, hunting, sling shots and, of course, soccer. About mid morning it was time to think about the mid day meal and so a goat was found and ‘prepared.’ That did not take long and before we knew it we were enjoying the first delicacies of the goat - liver and kidney. Lunch of meat and rice followed. In the meantime we also watched as a horse was being trained; a few horses are kept on hand in the event that it becomes necessary to go out and find a stray cow or two. We also watched as Shikuu and Auntie Justina prepared the ‘Herero fat’ or butter, by shaking up a huge calabash of milk that had stood overnight. At some point the fat would be scraped off the top and the butter, which everyone loves, prepared.