Monday, June 29, 2015

Week 98: On the Banks of the Zambezi



I spent my week in the northern part of Botswana catching up with friends, trying Elephant biltong (jerky), and watching the sunset over the banks of the Zambezi River. It turns out Elephant meat tastes like grass and far more delicious was the “We Carrot About You” cake that my friends made to continue the birthday celebrations. My mittens of last week were replaced by bare feet in the sand of the Zambezi river as we spent a few days on an island in Zambia where I became aquatinted with the calls of Hippos and how to use my core strength to not tip the mokoro boat we road in to get there. Mokoro boats look similar to canoes, except the bottom is flat, they are made from a hollowed out tree, and only one-person paddles while standing in the back. I have been intrigued by these boats and eager to ride in one, until I sat down and noticed just how close I was to crocodile infested water… Antoine, the man paddling the mokoro and taking us to the island seemed unconcerned, I on the other hand was reminded of when I learned to drive and how I had a bad habit of overcorrecting the steering wheel as this time I kept throwing my weight from side to side, rocking the boat far more than was necessary. As it turns out everyone seemed to be more comfortable in the water then I was as I saw even the Elephants enjoy a good swim!

Week 97: High Tea



I have two of the best Peace Corps Volunteers as neighbors (in my shopping village). These two individuals are thoughtful, giving, and never fail to brighten my mood, no matter how happy I was when I arrived at their place, I always leave happier. In honor of my Birthday and with a nod to my inexplicable enthusiasm for all things British they threw me a High Tea! This tea was complete with crust less triangular cucumber sandwiches served on a MacGyver styled three-tiered tea tray made out of plates and bowels. We watched a video of stately homes and castles, listened to British music artists and got caught up in conversation that we did not have time to watch any of the British movies they picked out. Not only did they throw me this party, which was definitely the only high tea happening in Kanye that day, they also bought me a thoughtful gift that was complete with Broccoli! This is my favorite vegetable and not always easy to come by. A trend was started as all the other birthday gifts I received outside of a hand crafted basket, were food items. Teachers at my school gave me fruits and chocolates and from home I received a slew of Trader Joe’s treats. I am never underfed here nor is giving food a common gift, all of these friends just know where my priorities lie.

As a side note, winter hit hard this week and it is now time to wear mittens to bed and really I don’t see a reason to ever remove them.

Week 96: Scheduled and Rescheduled



Much of my time this week was spent scheduling meetings and workshops and rescheduling. By the middle of the week this became more frustrating than I could take. It’s a small thing but in the moment it felt like the end of the world. I have four months left in my service and at this point I believe that I will be unable to see some of the projects I have been working on to the end. In the moment this was simultaneously devastating and yet I also felt apathetic, which scared me more. Every time I was told a meeting was canceled I lost a little bit of faith. Ultimately I do think there is value that I went to the social workers office every week and tried to talk about Gender. Although I have yet to see these conversations converted into an event for the community. I know that at least on some level the conversation is being had. Although the workshop on Emotional Intelligence is going on its third reschedule and I believe this one is indefinite, I am grateful for the opportunity to have put that workshop together and maybe the next volunteer at my site will get to put the workshop on. No doubt this will happen moments after they arrive and lead to a comical story for that volunteer for years to come. I’m lucky to understand that my service is so much more than these canceled meetings and rescheduled programs. I always knew that I was going to take more than I could give and this week was a prime example. This experience has allowed me to grow in ways I could not have imagined and for that I am grateful. These discomforts and frustrations are simply growing pains, they are just part of the process.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Week 95: No Goats Allowed



Shhh don’t tell because it’s a surprise but I found out that the Kgosi (traditional leader of the village) called a Kgotla meeting to discuss my leaving. I was informed, secretly, that at this meeting he asked for a committee to be formed to start planning my going away party. The important parts of the meeting that made their way back to me included the Kgosi’s advice that no one was to gift me any of their chickens or goats since I would not be able to take those back with me.  Previously that would have struck me as funny however now I am just grateful to him that he saved me some potentially awkward situations. I also feel honored that this meeting happened. Regardless as to whether this party comes to fruition, the intention was there and that is something I will carry with me, which consequently will be much easier to get past airport security and even fit in my carry on.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Week 94: A Lesson in Setswana


Dumela mma/rra         Good morning/day madam/sir         The most common way to greet
someone

O tsogile jang?             How are you?                                    Literally, How have you risen?

Ke tsogile sentle           I am well                                            Literally, I have risen well. This is
  rude to ask people older than you in  
  some parts of the country.

Le kae?                      How are you?                                        Literally, Where are you? The “you”
  is plural in this greeting however it can  
  be used to address a group of people or  
  a single individual. If it is used for a 
  single individual it is assumed the asker 
  is inquiring after the person’s family.

Re teng                       We are fine                                            Literally, We are here.

Go siame                   Goodbye or Alright                      

Ke kopa…                 I am asking for…

Dijo                            Food

Metsi                         Water

Week 93: All Volunteer Conference


This week there was an All Volunteer Conference for Peace Corps Volunteers in Botswana. I spent three days surrounded by more Americans than I have seen in months. This is usually a source of some anxiety for my and leads to some inevitable comparisons amongst volunteers. However, with less than 5 months left of my service and only two more working moths (the last three months I am not supposed to start new projects but simply stay in my village and start saying goodbye) my attitude was very different this time. I was able to celebrate the accomplishments of my peers, provide stories of both my successes and my failures and mostly just have a great time catching up with people. It was the first, and probably the last, time that I saw some volunteers who were not in my intake group. I was able to make new friends and catch up with old ones. For many people in my group who do not live near me, I will see them one more time at our close of service conference in July (before we are all commanded to stay put in our villages until we leave in October). I am so grateful to have shared this experience with so many amazing people. Through out our service there has been a lot of talk of the “Peace Corps Family” which I did not necessarily buy into and was more of the mindset that these were some “government mandated friends” however after over 21 months together and a multitude of shared experiences, even if they were happening on opposite sides of the country, I know that this is my peace corps family. These people will be my Peace Corps family no matter where in the world we are.

Week 92: A Compliment



Change takes time. I have been living in Moshana village for 19 months and working regularly with 14 teachers. Many of these teachers have come and gone, left to have babies, and returned, however there are a few that I have been working alongside since I arrived. After my initial push to get to know my co-workers and my new community, I identified people that I felt I could work well with and simply tried to keep up a polite relationship with the others. One teacher specifically appeared to only ever want to talk about my physical appearance and although I also think about my physical appearance, I wish I didn’t and consequently I have tried to keep my distance. I did not feel like this affected my performance since how I look on any given day did not appear to me to be of vital importance to the education of her students. However, in recent months, this teacher has started to bring her kids to the library regularly, where I teach reading comprehension to them for one hour a week. Even more exciting is that this teacher has started to stay for the lessons which gives me hope that she will continue to utilize the library after I am gone. I know she is there of her own volition as it has taken her over a year to decide that the library is a useful place for her kids. This week the teacher even complimented me on my teaching style and told me I am doing good work. Those few words took me months to earn and felt like the biggest victory. I wanted to sing and dance and say, “see I am more than this week’s pimple or yesterday’s cute outfit.” Which reminded me, I may be doing some good things in the classroom but I still need to work on not taking it personally or being vindictive.