Week 113: Goodbyes are Hard

As of October 13, 2015 I am an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer). This may be just another acronym to many but for me those four letters hold countless memories of dust storms, bus rides, cups of tea, and experiences that I will always carry. There were many times I did not think I would make it to this moment but I am happy and proud to say that I have. 

Ke a leboga Botswana.

Thank you Botswana.

 

Week 112: Constantly Oscillating

One moment I am going out to the lands with my landlady and her family and I cannot imagine saying goodbye to the people who have guided me on this difficult journey and then the next I am wondering why I am in the bush, when all I want to do is eat dinner and be in the comfort of my own home. As my time wraps up here my mood is constantly oscillating. I am both incredibly sad to leave, excited for my next adventure, and full of love for the people I have met and the people I will see again soon. It can be challenging to hold all of these truths at once. In the meantime I will continue to make brownies, run, and lay on my floor hoping that the water comes back on before I attempt to do my dishes with some of my precious stored water. 

A photo from one of the going away parties. 

 

Week 111: Kindness

The past two years have been filled with many challenges, misunderstandings, and heartbreak as I tried to work in an arguably broken education system. However, I cannot begin to count all of the moments of laughter, love, and kindness that I was a part of and that were shown to me. Grading papers and looking at end of term test results can make me want to throw my hands up and admit defeat. Then I go home to find my landlady in her beautiful garden insisting that I take some fresh greens. Her definition of ‘some’ turns out to be enough greens to have me eating Merogo (Setswana vegetable) all week and I am reminded again why I am not ready to give up. I want to do the best I can for her children and her grandchildren. I want to repay the kindnesses shown to me in the best way I know how, through reading. The end of term test results may not show the work I have done but I know my time in Moshana has been beneficial to those around me and most significantly myself. 

The 'greens' my landlady shared with me, and Lefa being sassy in the back.

Week 110: Lefa, Lungile, Tetlo, and Kate to Name a Few

It was not until I arrived in Botswana that I came to the realization that I am not a kid person. I have babysat for many families and always loved the kids and translated those specific relationships to broad statements about how I like kids. However, I have had the privilege of forming close relationships with a few kids here that will make it incredibly hard to say goodbye. Lungile and Kate have both been born since my arrival and now I cannot imagine my days without their smiling giggling faces. We have full conversations with only noises that always end in giggles. Tetlo has lived in the house behind mine but only recently started to trust me and Lefa has been my friend longer than I have been hers. These four children always make me smile, laugh, and of course drive me a little crazy but they are a part of my day and I do not know what I will do without them. 

Lungile on a regular Monday afternoon, hanging out in my doorway while I do the dishes and surreptitiously take his photo.

Week 109: A New Baby

In so many ways I will always be an outsider here and yet this is my community. I am accepted and I am loved. On my run today a few neighborhood kids ran after me telling me about a woman who had a baby. Between their English and my Setswana there were a few holes in the story. It wasn’t until I was on my way home from the run that the story came together and I paid a visit to my friend who just had a baby and who sent the kids to find me. As I sat in her home holding her new baby and hearing about her first reactions to motherhood I felt like I had been invited into an intimate moment. Her accommodation may be modest but her priorities are seen in the new fuzzy cloths for her baby and her smart phone. I left feeling grateful to the people who have let me into their hearts.

Week 108: Village Pictures

My House!

The Clinic

The Kgotla (Traditional Meeting Place)

Week 107: Weddings

This week I had the privilege of attending a friend's wedding and here is a photo of me in a traditional skirt that married women wear to weddings. It was made as a gift for me, even though everyone is aware that I am not actually married.

Week 106: Sister Visit No. 3!

I am extremely lucky to have had each of my family member's visit me at various times in my service. This week brought the last of my sisters!

Week 105: “Runnin Runnin…”

I believe that is a Black Eyed Peas song I was trying to sing there…

Back in June I was going through a rough time and felt that I needed to set some long-term goals to keep me energized and purposeful. Running to my shopping village, Kanye, became that goal. Kanye is only 10 kilometers from my home and this weekend I was able to make the trek. It was incredibly satisfying to be walking around Kanye knowing that nothing but my feet and the air in my lungs took me there. Admittedly running along a highway that Semis use was rather less enjoyable than running in the bush, where I usually run, which reminded me that its about the journey not the end result. Although it was great to not have to wait for a combi to take me to Kanye, I can recall many more pleasant runs after work in June and July than this one. Regardless of how the final run felt, it did the trick, two months have gone by and I am in a drastically different headspace. I am happy to have two more months with the people I care about here and grateful that I did not leave in June as I had considered. My knees may be telling me to ease off the running and so my next goal is to reread Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, as I did when I first arrived.

Week 104: Meeting the New Trainees

This week 76 new Peace Corps trainees arrived in Botswana. When I close my service (COS) on October 14^th they will be swearing in as new volunteers. I had the privilege of meeting these folks at the airport where there were more smiling faces than I expected after such a flight. I then stayed with the group as they spent their first night with their new home stay families (who they will live with until they move to their sites’) fielding questions about how to navigate different religious views and the names for the different types of bread.

The energy and enthusiasm of this group was contagious. I feel content with my past two years and what I have and have not been able to accomplish and was delighted to share this with the new group. The timing was excellent, as I know that at other points in my service I may not have had as many nice things to say. As much as I enjoyed the energy I was reminded that adjusting back to the faster pace of life in the States will no doubt be a challenge. However, I am confident that just as I adapted two years ago, I can do it again and in fact I am excited to.

Week 103: Red Lipstick and Water

Water is essential to life, however the access to and quantity of water that one has can vary. When I was away at my conference something happened to a pipe that brought water to a third of the village. Since this happened I have continued to hone in on my ability to wash my body, essential clothing items, and my hair all with the same liter of water. Even though my house does not have running water, there is a standpipe 10 yards from my front door that only my landlady and I use. However, since the trouble with the pipe my landlady and I now travel further to a neighbor’s house to get our water.

Recently a package came for me that contained red lipstick and as it was a Saturday where I had no plans I decided to try on the lipstick. Immediately following this my landlady knocks on my door with two wheelbarrows saying its time for us to collect water. So there I went following my landlady as we traipsed through the village with our buckets and my red lipstick. I left simultaneously absurd and like there is no better reason to celebrate with a little red lipstick then getting water.

Week 102: Lock Down

The final three months of Peace Corps Service are to be spent in the volunteers’ village, lovingly referred to as, Lock Down. A part of me is feeling sentimental about leaving and eager to spend time with the friends I have made in my community. Then this morning I went into work, only to find the place deserted and no one having communicated this to me. To be fair the kids are on break and it is the morning after a public holiday that the teachers had off so I should know better then to expect my coworkers to be at work bright and early. It was also a good reminder that although my life is about to undergo a serious shift, my coworkers and friends lives will continue with the same natural highs and lows. I may be eager to be with people, however, that does not stop their family members from getting married, their kids from getting sick, or their cars from breaking down. I know that over the next three months there will be many more tea times, meetings, and even a few parties to allow us all to say goodbye and in the meantime I guess I will enjoy my surprise day off.

Week 101: Close of Service Conference

The time has come for my Close of Service Conference (COS). I have been in Botswana with my fellow Bots 14 intake group since August 2013, we arrived at 61 and 42 of us have made it to our COS conference. I am told that this is considered high or on par with other Peace Corps Countries retention rates. I am proud to have made it this far but support all of my friends and peers who have left for various reasons. I applied to Peace Corps on a whim three years ago one Saturday as I avoided writing a paper for one of my then classes. It was early in my final year at University and I was stressed about what my next step would be. Having been involved in community based social issues theater projects, I felt that solutions needed to come from the community itself and I believed that as a peace corps volunteer I would become a part of what ever community I was living and serving in. Oh how I could not have been more wrong. After two years I am still an outsider and know that after twenty more years I will remain an outsider, however, I am loved and respected and I am grateful for the community of Moshana and the people who patiently shared their culture and way of life. I am clear that it is time for me to move on to my next chapter however; I will miss the friends I have made and the families that took me in as one of their own.

Week 100: GLOW Camp No. 3

 After many meetings and debates over what would be served for tea, the teachers and I pulled off a GLOW (Girls/Guys Leading our World) camp for the standard six students. Our camp was held over two days and Modisi teachers taught sessions on HIV and high risk behaviours, leadership, and gender. Sustainability is the name of the Peace Corps game, however, more often then not that is an impossible standard. Although I took the lead on organizing this camp I am confident that my coworkers could have succeeded without me. Initially we tried to get funding from an outside source, which fell through, however, the organization promised to put room in their budget next year for a GLOW camp. At this point that is only a promise and the budget will not be made until the end of the year, but regardless I am proud to say that I had a hand in that and that my coworkers will continue to make these camps happen, or at least I can tell myself that. A job well done Modisi teachers!

Week 99: Sir Seretse Khama Day

Sir Seretse Khama was the first president of Botswana and the father to the current president, his Birthday, July 1^st, is a national holiday. Khama was born to the paramount chief of the Bangwato people who reside primarily in what is now the central region of Botswana. As a child he was sent to South Africa for schooling and attended university in the UK. It was in the UK where he met his wife a white English woman by the name of Ruth Williams, this interracial marriage led to Khama’s exile. The British adhered to Apartheid South Africa’s pressure to refuse Khama to return to his home since they did not want to lose goods from the mines in South Africa. The British had this power since Botswana was a British Protectorate known as Bechuanaland. In order to return home, Khama had to renounce his tribal throne, which he had held since his father's death when he was four (Khama's Uncle was acting as regent). After a five year hiatus from politics Khama formed the Bechuanaland Democratic Party and helped Botswana gain independence, September 30^, 1966. Botswana is made up of many different people groups each with their own tribal chief, called a Kgosi. These tribal systems are still in place and work in conjunction with the democratic system that Sir Seretse Khama helped to install. Happy Sir Seretse Khama Day!

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.

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.

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