FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF LUDERITZ

To see the sea after eight hours of dry, desolate desert and scrubland was such a relief. As we wound our way down the tarmac road into Luderitz our eyes feasted upon the vast blue, hungering for it as a starving man would for a simple meal of hot soup and bread. Before we entered Luderitz I turned around and looked behind me; grey rock and golden sand dunes. I turned back around to face our new home. I have been living here for nearly three weeks and every morning I still wake up to marvel at the view that greets me. We have said that if we were not on the coast here and the desert just carried on we would feel isolated, but the sea is a form of escape which we are very glad of.

Luderitz, we have found, is a place of communities, a place of friendships and a place of welcome. It’s a small town, but it’s also a fascinating one that’s full of character because of its architecture, but even more so, its people. We have learned that Buchters make for stimulating conversationalists and that if you’re in the middle of an interesting discussion then time is not an issue.

It’s rare to find a

 

place where everyone you pass in the street greets you, and it was a little odd at first, but now I find myself smiling at strangers as I walk past. We’ve had alot to do since we arrived, from finding out all the local gossip and stories to put in the paper, teaching at three local schools, making friends and settling into our new home. It’s very different from Yorkshire and Kilkenny, but we like it!  

We’ll soon get used to ‘NamTime’, and getting up before sunrise for crazy school hours, and the ever changing wind. Neither of us are computer geniuses, to say the least and our first few weeks have been tinged with frustrating hours at our desk arguing with the computer, hopefully this is one more thing we’ll get used to and improve upon.

We’re sure there’s still lots to explore in and around Luderitz, and we can’t wait to discover it all. Thank you for welcoming us and we hope you are enjoying our first issue.