What the four months?!

Oof is that bizarre to say!  It's been four and a half months by now, but that didn't fit as nicely.  Again, here's a random smattering of pictures.  Some new, some old, all fittingly us!

Found this guy in the office, he probably just wanted some tea?

Some of the Center Service Staff dance during Gobabeb's Open Day

Wherever he's going, I hope he brought water

Sebastian really likes catching lizards

Ouma Anna outside her house at the Topnaar settlement of Soutriver

Natab, one of the closest Topnaar settlements (as seem from the dunes)

Joaquin joins the crew from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology as they work on their tower

Auspicious Thoughts and Golden Moles

Hi everybody!  Just some pictures this time, they're all pretty self-explanatory.  Much love from the central Namib!  (Remember, you can click on them to make them bigger.  Still not convinced it's not magic?)

They don't seem terribly concerned...

...Neither did he

This was after we managed to offend the Finnish Embassy by leaving them off.  Whoops?

Nom.

I've grown a whole new appreciation for succulents.  They're so cool!!

On computers, and other mysterious life forms

At the risk of incurring penalties for copyright infringement, I've not only stolen my own words, I've stolen Noah's idea to steal my own words. My first Grinnell Corps Report appears below.

Sorry Noah. By way of appeasement, I've inserted this adorable picture of you.

Since arriving in Namibia on the first of July, I have had scores of new experiences, most of them good or at least comical and very few of them predictable. From these experiences I’ve come to new realizations and learned some important lessons. The most recent lesson is that you should never allow your hair to be braided by four Namibian kindergarteners with small, yogurt-covered fingers. Not unless you wish to look like Einstein electrocuted for several days. I have also come to realize that, over the past three months, I’ve become a tremendous nerd, and that this is a good thing.

Call it goofy, call it downright strange. Call it what you will, this game, which goes by the name "entertain yourself in a confined area by jumping up to catch a small blue ball using butterfly nets", is unique to Namibia. The lesson here is that you should never be afraid to look stupid, as long as you're having fun.

It is nearly impossible to live and work at Gobabeb without sounding (and often looking) like a geek in the extreme. There are several reasons for this. The first is my job description. I work as the Research and Information Technology Support Services Fellow, which translates into “computer guy [or in this case, girl]”, and means I can usually be found sitting in a nest of Ethernet cables and extension cords, paging through the Windows Server 2008 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant and attempting to wipe cyan toner from my hands. Before I became Gobabeb’s resident IT support, I agreed with one of my favorite writers, Dave Barry, in saying that “I am not the only person who uses his computer mainly for the purpose of diddling with his computer.” Now I diddle with more purpose. 

Additionally, the strong tendency to speak in acronyms at Gobabeb has replaced half of my vocabulary with abbreviations that sound more complex than they really are. For instance, the GRTC hosted SAAG and SASQUA conferences on two consecutive weekends; masters students at Gobabeb are studying the HSL and working with NERMU on LTER projects; my job involves a fair bit of time on the phone with MWEB to repair our VSAT connection. My personal nerd factor increased one day recently when I looked in the mirror to find myself wearing a NASA trucker hat, a Dartmouth shirt, and a flash drive (loaded with a digital dune atlas) as a necklace. I will mention that all of these items were gifts from visitors to Gobabeb. But when it comes down to it, I think the most significant reason for my perceptible dorkiness is that I cannot describe the landscape surrounding Gobabeb without referring to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or both. 

Gobabeb Research and Training Centre is at the intersection of three ecosystems, two of which are named in a way that suggests the presence of water, but this is for the most part misleading. They are the dune “sea”, the Kuiseb (an ephemeral river), and the gravel plains. This situation is ideal for Gobabeb, as it provides a unique opportunity for comparative research across environments. Additionally, each environment provides its own opportunities for adventure. The sand dunes, for instance, are the perfect spot for a sundowner with friends and for sandboarding, which is lots of fun provided one remembers to shut one’s mouth when crashing. There is also great potential for someone to provide a little entertainment for nearby Star Wars geeks by climbing the closest dune at dusk, dressed in an appropriately-hooded brown robe, and uttering the sandperson (or Tusken Raider, if you prefer) cry. 

The crest of nearby Station Dune

Northward movement of the dunes is halted by periodic flooding of the Kuiseb River, which separates the dune sea to the south from the gravel plains to the north. There is much to love about the sandy riverbed, which remains dry most of the year. The Kuiseb is home to fluorescent scorpions, a wandering collection of goats and donkeys belonging to the nearby Topnaar communities, and sand volleyball courts, among other wonders. 

The riverbed, below the station

The gravel plains are something else entirely. During my first month in Namibia, as we drove through a particularly desolate-looking section of the gravel plains where black rocks jut from the earth at odd angles, my thoughts turned, as they are wont to do, to Lord of the Rings. I remember thinking that Frodo’s walk through Morodor could have been filmed in this area and was relieved to find that the pair of eyes staring out from behind a large rock belonged to a donkey rather than an orc. However, it took just one afternoon in the gravel plains for me to develop an appreciation for their singular beauty and that of the surprisingly diverse biota which inhabit the gravel plains. I was running along a road so as not to disturb the delicate biological soil crust when, to my left side, I witnessed a young springbok pronking (a sort of hilariously stiff-legged, head-down bouncing accomplished by lifting all four feet off the ground simultaneously) while several ostriches ran headlong in the opposite direction. When I turned around to head back to the Centre, I was just in time to see the silvery full moon hovering above the setting sun, red over the dunes. It was too perfect; I couldn’t help feeling like Luke Skywalker in the famous scene from A New Hope, looking out at binary stars on the horizon of the desert planet Tatooine. I think even the least Star-Wars-obsessed of you would’ve found it strikingly beautiful, too.

The plains northeast of Gobabeb

My point in all of this is that Gobabeb has something for everyone, nerds, sports enthusiasts, and stargazers alike. If you’re a language person, you might amuse yourself by picking up on the conglomeration of words and accents used by station employees and interns, most of whom are from Southern Africa or Europe. Be warned that if you do this, you will begin pronouncing “plant” the British way and refer to traffic lights as robots. Animal lovers could venture to Walvis Bay for a dolphin cruise, during which a seal may board the boat and flop his way across your lap in pursuit of the food table. Movie buffs and geology enthusiasts are encouraged to visit nearby Mirabib, a large rocky outcropping (or inselberg) rising out of the plains, which Stanley Kubrick used as the background for his famous opening scene “the dawn of mankind" from the film 2001- A Space Odyssey. All told, one year will seem a very short time in which to experience everything that Gobabeb has to offer.

Mirabib in the movies! (2001: a Space Odyssey) Apparently Kubrick thought Mirabib provided the ideal setting for the Dawn of Man. (http://fogsmoviereviews.com/2011/10/02/movies-that-everyone-should-see-2001-a-space-odyssey/)

Mirabib in real life! I guess I can spot some similarities...

Stealing My Own Words!

Ok, ok, so I'm just reusing my GrinnellCorps report as a blog post.  But I added pictures!  Oh, and I forgot to mention in my report that this event actually took place at the end of August.

"Sir? Sir!" Two months after starting to work with learners in Namibia, I still hadn't trained myself to respond to that seemingly misplaced title. "Sir, seriously, I really need to come up with a name for this plant. It looks like it's been eaten. Let's call it 'Scar'." Not an unfitting name, considering the spiky nature of the plant. But even though this was one of the few plants that I was absolutely sure I could identify at that time, I kept my mouth shut as the learner diligently recorded that plant as Scar for the next several hours.

Site near Gobabeb where copper prospecting has occurred recently.  Perfect spot for a practice EIA!

The exercise was part of the first full day of Gobabeb's first-ever Youth Environmental Summit (YES!; how convenient), a six-day programme for 30 grade 11 learners from the Erongo Region. The goal of the programme was to investigate and understand the impacts of mining in the Namib Desert, with an emphasis on research-oriented, data-driven analyses of environmental issues. During that first day, an entourage of Gobabeb staff led the learners through the theory and practice behind an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a crucial step in considering how a mine might impact an area. I wasn't keeping the name of the plant from the learner mentioned above to be cruel; rather, our purpose in that first day was to guide the learners towards developing what they thought to be important elements of an ecosystem. We nudged them in certain directions if they strayed too far from reason, but above all we wanted them to understand what ecologists face as they try to navigate the daunting complexities of an ecosystem.

They probably would have appreciated it if I had helped them instead of taking pictures

When I say Gobabeb entourage, what I really mean is a majority of the Gobabeb staff. To pull off a successful Summit, the training section enlisted the help of at least one person from every area of Gobabeb. The Summit learners benefitted from the almost undivided attention of the station, a rare phenomenon at Gobabeb. It was an impressive display of the diverse skills possessed by various Gobabebians; one of our master's students even managed to make hypolithic cyanobacteria an exciting topic for increasingly dehydrated secondary learners. I feel like I also owe Laura, my predecessor, a HUGE thank you for planning and organizing a large portion of the Summit.

Mining in the Namib Desert may seem like an uninteresting subject to present to grade 11s, but it was chosen because of its conspicuous pertinence to the present and future inhabitants of the region (and all Namibians, really). For better or for worse, mining is fundamental to the current economic vitality of Namibia. Uranium mining in particular plays a vital role in the Erongo Region, and it's not uncommon to see uranium company logos on schools, T-shirts, and even the rubbish bins at a National Park campsite. It brings much-needed revenue to a potentially fragile economy, but the trade-offs are equally as critical. The process of uranium exploration and mining can be frightfully destructive, and adolescent policies regarding mineral exploitation in Namibia extremely worry environmental activists.

Since mining is such a controversial topic in Namibia, we decided to invite stakeholders from all sides of the issue to present their perspectives to the learners. We tried in vain to create a panel-type discussion consisting of both mining activists and representatives of the mining companies, and were rather expectedly shot down. Instead, we had guest lecturers present individually, on a variety of topics. Over the course of the week we heard arguments from, mining activists, spokespeople from the Uranium Institute (a coalition of mining companies), a representative of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, an environmental lawyer, and ecologists with decades of combined experience working with EIAs in Namibia.

Poor Arnold from MET wasn't expecting the endless questions...

We couldn't have predicted how voraciously the learners critically absorbed what they were being told. After they got over their initial shyness, the learners questioned and debated every speaker, regardless of their position on mining. They were even successful in slightly rattling the lawyer. The discussions didn't stop after the lectures, either. I'd often hear the learners, during dinner or in the free time, continuing to challenge on another on what they had learned (albeit with a slightly less...formal air).

Another unexpected result of the Summit was how the activities and discussions throughout the week simultaneously enthused the Gobabeb staff (myself definitely included). After the learners had gone to bed, and the staff finally had a change to relax in Old House, the conversations often drifted towards what we had observed and learned during the course of the day. Seeing the learners take their place in the debate surrounding mining in Namibia resonated with our work at Gobabeb. It's not always easy to see the effects of what we do here, both the research that we undertake and the training we offer. Watching the learners progress through the week and leave with their critical tools a little sharper, I think we all felt prematurely proud of the difference, no matter the size, that these learners would make on their communities.

Why yellow.  Why?

Saturday Afternoon's Alright for Hiking

The weather two weekends ago was fabulous and we needed to stretch out legs outside of the Gobabeb fence, so on Saturday four of us got dropped off at a geological formation called Homeb (crazy cool silt deposits) east of the station and hiked back!  We followed the river for a lot of it, then hopped up on the gravel plains that border the river to the north for easier hiking.  Trudging through river sand, while pretty, takes a toll on the calves pretty quickly.  With totally (un)intentional detours, the hike came out to about 23km.  And here are some pictures to prove it!  We were berated (and justifiably so) for not really putting any pictures of us up here, so hopefully there are enough snapshots of us to remedy that!

(Oh, definitely noticed the other day that you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.  Y'all probably knew that already, but I'm catching up)

See, 'rents?  That's sunscreen, and we're wearing it!

Felix thought he was SO clever taking a different route, and look where it got him

It's hard to get lost, just follow the river

This is sure to get the geologists reading all hot and bothered

That's no moon, it's a research station!

Sorry for the overused Star Wars reference as the title, but for once it's appropriate seeing as 1) this actually is a station of some variety, and 2) Gobabeb can seem oddly extraterrestrial.

Another apology is in order for not updating since, well, we started the blog.  August was an exceptionally hectic month here at Gobabeb, and the end of September has the makings to give August a run for its money.  I wrote this blog post about three weeks ago and have utterly failed at braving the slow internet to post it.  We have some backlog to catch up on, so you can actually bother to start checking this blog if you so desire!

Before we write any other blog posts, we should probably cover the basics: where and with whom we work (that’s too many words that start with the letter w). 

So, first the Gobabebians! About 15-25 people call Gobabeb home at any given time, which at least makes it easy to remember names.  We range in ages from late teens – grandparent status (I’d rather not risk guessing exact years), and stay here for varied amounts of time.  Some of the interns are only here for three months, while our interim director, Mary Seely, has been affiliated with the station since the 60s (it was founded in 1962, for perspective) and quite literally wrote the book(s) on the Namib Desert.   The Grinnell fellows’ tenure of a year doesn’t seem very long, but with relatively high turnover rates (especially for young staff), that will put us among the more permanent residents.

The majority of the 'young' staff

Since Walvis Bay (the closest town) would be more than a bit of a commute, almost all the staff stay on site for extended periods of time.  Some leave for days or weeks at a time to travel to Windhoek, Walvis Bay, or Cape Town for business and leisure, but always find their way back down the dusty road to Gobabeb.  We come from all over, as well! Right now, countries represented are Namibia, South Africa, Germany, Spain, and the U.S., and previous (and future) residents would make that list much longer. 

But we all rally together for the common cause, Gobabeb!  Staff is generally divided into the research section, training section, the library, and center service staff.  The training section is relatively small, consisting of me (Noah), two other staff, and a supervisor.

A sad farewell to Tina, who left us to return to Germany

While no section here is large by any measure, the research section makes up the bulk of the staff.  There are several research technicians, interns, a new GIS specialist, and couple master’s students.  The master’s students are mostly conducting their own research at Gobabeb, retaining a certain level of autonomy and escaping from some of the tedious tasks.  Anna, while partially fitting under research, also kind of single-handedly runs the IT side of the station, and therefore gets her own office.  It’s the least they can do.
 

The main station gate

Our library isn’t quite big enough to warrant more than one permanent staff and an intern, although they do enlist the help of the rest of the station from time to time.  Then we have the center service staff and site staff, who work tirelessly to ensure that everything runs smoothly administratively and physically.  Blowing sand is just about as bad as mud when trying to keep a building clean.

Speaking of buildings, we have them!  Gobabeb’s whitewashed, single-story structures rise (with the exception of our majestic water tower) unceremoniously from the gravel plains, yet these unassuming buildings house almost all aspects of our daily lives.  Our lives, both at and outside of work, are condensed by the Gobabeb microhabitat.  By the time I’ve walked out my door in the morning, walked to the kitchen to the kitchen to make some breakfast, then headed over to the office, I’ve traveled probably no more than 400 meters.

The office...complex?

Most of the offices are clustered around an open courtyard, with the library and lab protruding from one side to make an L-shape.  Another L-shape of rooms and buildings, which mirrors the offices, houses maintenance, storage, and our energy centre (again, we’ll post more on that later).  Beyond the immediacy of the main station are several out buildings, including the resource center and multi-purpose hall where I work with school groups, and our rather odiferous trickle filter.

We live in apartment-type housing, caravans, and small houses dispersed throughout different parts of the station, and since most of the housing for young staff doesn’t have kitchen and/or lounging amenities, we take refuge in a white brick building aptly named ‘Old House.’  I could, and probably will, write a whole blog post on Old House, but I don’t think I’m wrong in calling it the hippest (only) social scene at Gobabeb.   

...Yep, that's about all of it

More to come, we promise.  We’ll get better at updating, at least with pictures!  Hope all is well state-side and around the world, love from Gobabeb!

Really, once you get it going, it drives...kind of fine?

I thought it was a good idea to go up until I realized I had to go down

Our New Back Yard

 Namibia

 

Erongo Region

Our new back yard

So, we're finally getting around to writing the blog that we promised. We've been in Namibia for almost a month already, so we won't try to summarize all that has happened since we arrived. Instead, here are a few highlights.

 

 

First, on the way here, Noah made his flight to Johannesburg with only 16 minutes to spare, nearly giving Anna a heart attack. Otherwise, things went smoothly. We were excited to see Laura and Christine waiting for us at the Walvis Bay airport. Spent the first day and a half kicking around Walvis Bay and Swakopmund before making the hour and a half drive to Gobabeb.

Our first week was spent getting oriented to the desert and the station. A steady flow of meetings and presentations was interrupted by several excursions to the dunes. The senior staff took us on a camping trip to Tsondab Vlei, and later to Khommabes, an interesting geomorphological and archaeological site.

Tsondab Vlei

Oryx (aka Gemsbok) on the way to Tsondab Vlei

Anna and Christine ponder Khommabes

The next two weeks were busy with handover: the process by which Christine and Laura attempted to convey to us a year's worth of knowledge and experience. It went as well as could be expected. Many thanks to Laura and Christine for their patience!! Sadly, they departed on Sunday, leaving us to figure the rest out for ourselves. We'll let you know how that goes.

Laura, Christine, Noah, and Anna atop the Gobabeb spaceship (aka, the water tower)

For now, we're adjusting well to life here at Gobabeb. Everything about this place is extreme in some way: the landscape is almost otherworldly, we receive on average 28mm of rain per year, and the sand surface can reach 70°C during the day. But the people here are wonderful, and we've made many good friends already. We'll do our best to keep you updated as life in the desert progresses.

The sun sets behind screens used to collect fog water

Sandboarding is fun! Provided you keep your mouth closed and avoid dune grass...

Driving on the dunes is fun too! But sometimes one gets stuck...