Contact Info While Abroad

Phones

In the case of an emergency, your family and friends can call the emergency cell phone: 612-817-2830. One of our Minneapolis staff members will monitor this cell phone and assist you as soon as possible.

Phoning within Namibia:

The cellphone which the students can borrow from CGEE can be used to call the US.  It costs roughly US$1/minute however, so it’s usually more affordable to either use an internet based voice service, or have friends in the US call you (see below).

Phoning from Namibia to the U.S.:

Calling the U.S. from Namibia is very expensive—over $1/minute. Almost all U.S. calling cards will not work as you cannot dial a 1-800 number from Namibia. The best option is to arrange a time over email for your family and friends to phone you at the house number or your cell phone. We recommend that you visit www.comfi.com to purchase a calling card that is used from the US to Namibia (on the website, type in US to Namibia.  The “Jupiter” card usually works well.) Generally, late evenings or early mornings are the best times to reach you.

The CGEE – Namibia center has reserved two laptop computers and a data processing computer with a printer for student use. The house is equipped with wireless internet.   Students, however, should be forewarned that the internet is not as fast as at their home and/or university, and can be unreliable.

Internet cafes are available in Windhoek and in most South African cities. Though we understand student frustration with the limited computer resources, this is part of the experience of studying in a developing nation.

If you are accustomed to having a laptop with you at all times, and don’t think you can manage without one, you may want to consider bringing it with you. Students have found them to be useful for writing papers, and you will have the freedom to use it when you wish, and not have to wait for one of the three computers we have on-site for student use.  If you are concerned about bringing your laptop with you, you could bring an older, less expensive one, in the event it becomes damaged or stolen.

If you decide to do so, bring one that runs on 220-240 volts (most do). The plug itself can be adapted to the Namibian style easily for a couple of dollars once you’re here. Voltage adapters can be purchased if your laptop can only run on “U.S.” current (see the section on Electrical Current).

When you travel, bring it in your carry-on instead of packing it in your luggage to prevent theft or damage. Please keep in mind the risks. It will be your responsibility should damage or theft occur while traveling, and you should consider getting some kind of insurance. CGEE cannot reimburse you if your computer is lost, stolen or damaged.  You may also consider bringing a laptop computer cable lock to make your computer a little more secure, especially when traveling.

The best way to communicate with family, friends and loved ones at home is Zoom or any other internet based service, although it can get very slow during peak time.  There may also be a few times when the internet is down; in that case, students can go to an internet cafe downtown. But do not rely only on Zoom alone to reach family and friends as the internet connection here will not always support it.

Every week there is a designated “on call” staff member who carries with her/him our “on-call cell phone.” This staff member can be reached at any time of the day/night to assist in any urgent situation. The phone number for the ‘on call cell phones' are +264818144923 and +264814422996  and are widely distributed (signs around the houses, listed on participants schedule and emergency contact cards, taught at orientation, loaded into student cell phones, etc.). Students will also have all staff’s personal cell phone numbers in case the emergency cell phone does not work.

In developing countries like Namibia cell phones are now more in use than landlines because they are cheaper and more convenient tools of communication than landlines. It is free to receive phone calls and text messages from anywhere in the world on a Namibian cell-phone.  Placing phone calls to the US is very expensive on a cellphone.

For a cell phone to work here, it must be a GSM dual or tri-band phone and have a removable SIM card, as well as be unlocked.  The dual-band GSM cell phone supports (either 850/1900 MHz in the Americas or 900/1800 MHz in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East) for calling capabilities needed in rural areas, or in developing metropolitan areas where phone service is simply not available to all residents.

The most useful cell phone is the GSM tri-band model that comes with 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz.  This phone will work in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. In other words, this tri-band GSM phone is useful for world travel and can be used at home in the United States before and after travel. If you wish to bring a phone from the States here, make sure it meets the above description.  We also have cheap no-frills phones available here that students may rent for the semester for US$20 or N$150 deposit.

For service, a contract is not required.  There are a variety of cell-phone providers which offer prepaid (pay as you go) service.  Upon arrival in Namibia, a prepaid starter kit that comes with a SIM card must be purchased for about US$1. Then, prepaid airtime can be purchased in various dollar amounts to  ́ recharge your account.  The phones which can be rented from CGEE come with a SIM card.

Additionally, as you meet people and exchange phone numbers in Namibia, it is important to note that on US cell phones when calling Namibian numbers you MUST include the +264  country code before the local number. This is true even if you have a local SIM card in a US telephone. 

Find more information in this article by the Federal Communications Commission.

We do not recommend that you have mail sent to you in South Africa, as we will be moving around so much.

During the program, your mailing address in Namibia is:

c/o Center for Global Education

P.O. Box 21377

Windhoek, NAMIBIA

The street address for DHL or FedEx only is: (Do not use this for regular postal mail!)

5 Simpson Street,

Windhoek, NAMIBIA  

However, regular airmail should always be sent to the post office box, and not the street address, as there is no regular home mail delivery. The postal service is slow; allow at least three weeks for delivery of letters and small packages. Even though the post office may tell your family/friends that if they send the letter/package by priority mail that it will arrive in 6-10 days, the reality is that it will take at least 2 weeks – often much longer. If you use the US Postal Service to send a small package, ask for flat-rate packaging, about US$48. Mail these packages to the post office box. (Warning: packages don't always arrive so we caution you about having anything valuable sent through the mail!) Although reliable, express mail services are expensive and must be sent to the street address.

The US Department of State has information on Absentee Voting Information for U.S. Citizens Abroad here. Please request your ballot before your arrival to ensure you can vote while abroad!