Week 57: Shadowing

The tables have turned and this year it was my turn to host a shadow. My shadowee has been in Botswana for a little over a month and is halfway done with her training.  As I showed her how to bath, do dishes, and collect water all using various buckets, I thought about how much I have grown since being in Botswana. These daily tasks are no longer anxiety producing but instead just a part of my day-to-day. Even the prospect of running out of water is no longer stressful because I know that my Moshana family will always look out for me and when that fails I know that my peace corps family is there.

Communication is crucial to getting things done, maintaining relationships, and general daily functioning. Introducing my shadow around the village, I realized just how much I have learned to be an effective communicator in my village. My Setswana is still sadly lacking and a variety of hilarious (or unfortunate) miscommunications still inevitably arise, but after nearly a year of living in Moshana I am quite proud of my Tswana English. This is not “broken” English, but simply a different kind of English where “too much” is used to say very, where “akere” is sprinkled in frequently (similar to saying “you see” or “you know”), and where one has to ask very direct questions to get answers (for instance, instead of asking “Is there anything going on today?” it is best to ask, “Is there a guidance meeting today at tea time?”). These are lessons and mannerism that have come with time in the village and continue to show me that there are always a variety of ways to approach a situation.