Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised that I am immensely enjoying the beach as part of my holiday season celebrations. While it is extremely bizarre that it will not be a white Christmas for me – and I spent my birthday at the beach when it’s normally freezing – I can’t say that it’s “bad”. I love the beach, the sun, and warm weather so basically – I could get used to this!
Thanksgiving was so much fun! I spent the weekend at Jeffery’s Bay with my South African friend and two fellow PCVs. We met some cool kids at the backpackers we stayed at and invited them to join in on the feast. It. Was. Delicious. I love green bean casserole so very, very much. It was great weather the whole weekend except for Sunday which was perfect because we didn’t resent having to spend the whole day cooking when we could be at the beach. Jeffery’s Bay is one of the most famous surfing spots in the world and the Billabong Pro happens there every July. I hope to go to Jeffery’s next year during the competition – how awesome would that be?! It is a really cool beach town and has that chill, laid back surfer vibe. It also looks like it’s owned by Billabong with at least five Billabong stores in this one tiny town (including a factory shop which is awesome but still absurdly over priced). I didn’t get to try surfing, but I did get to SEE surfing. It was pretty sweet. All in all an excellent Thanksgiving!
My birthday was also really great! I felt like I was celebrating the whole weekend long (because I sort of was). I had a birthday party on Friday with my family in the location. It was so sweet – they decorated the house and sang to me. We had chips, cold drink (soda), ice cream, and dinner. We just hung out and watched TV but it was so nice to spend time with them. And I got the sweetest birthday card in the world from the youngest of my “sisters”. I had to try really hard to not cry. It was so nice because you can often find yourself on a tough day thinking “who am I even helping?” or “does anyone notice what I’m doing?”. Her card let me know that she has noticed and that felt so good to hear that by just being friends with her she has been impacted by me. It was a much needed message and I’m so grateful to know her. I know someday she’s going to come visit me in the States (I’m personally hoping for her to do a student exchange program) but I can’t wait to show her around!
On Saturday I had SO MUCH laundry to do, but I actually don’t mind doing laundry and it was such a beautiful day that it was perfect. After laundry I met up with my friend and we went out for a small lunch and rented movies for our sleep over. That night we had a delicious dinner with her family and watched one of our rental movies – The Time Travelers Wife (I fell asleep actually but I think it’s because I was so confused). The next day we knew the power was going to be out for the whole day because of some sort of routine power maintenance (on my actually birthday of course!). But it didn’t matter because we slept in and then spent the day at a pool and the beach! It was a lovely and relaxing birthday. Later that night I read some of my new book that I have been so excited for “The Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me” (which is hilarious), and watched Breakfast at Tiffanys. It was such a lovely birthday weekend! Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes – I really appreciate it!
I am so very excited for this weekend when my vacation starts! I was supposed to leave for Cape Town but that trip has actually been postponed and instead I’m going on a four day hike along the coast with my friends that I am traveling along the Wild Coast with! Myself and three fellow PCVs and I will be spending our time around Christmas and New Years traveling up the Wild Coast stopping at different destinations and ending in Durban (another big city I’ve been dying to see) where we meet up with more PCVs. I am so beyond excited for this vacation I can’t even explain! It’s going to be awesome! Am slightly nervous for this four day, “self guided” hike along the coast. I have never done something so intense before but I’m really excited for the challenge! I love hiking so I hope that this is a positive experience! Besides I need to condition myself for if I want to hike the Inca trail someday. Granted we are slackpacking so I’m not sure if it’s going to be all that hard.; )
The holiday season for me here (in my small town) is so different than in the States. Since I don’t watch TV or listen to the radio I have literally seen two indications that it’s about to be Christmas. At the PEP store in town (like an Old Navy) they have a small Christmas decorations section. The other indication is the Christmas tree design on the plastic grocery store bags. That is IT. It is SO weird to think about how Christmas is on steroids in the States and here you would barely be able to tell that there is some big holiday coming up. I can’t tell which I like better. You certainly get so into the spirit in the States but you don’t really have a choice. I’m not sure if that will make sense, but it’s almost like you are forced to obsess about everything holiday at this time of the year. Here – it’s just like normal life only with a long holiday included. This I appreciate…
South Africa celebrates Christmas by basically taking a country wide vacation for a month. Seriously – they basically shut down for weeks (except the tourist things aren’t shut down they are on overdrive). My organization is closed from December 16th to the 9th of January. Can you believe it?! It’s almost a whole month! I am not at all complaining about this I should clarify. Although I’m not sure I know anyone that would complain if they had such a long break from work. It’s awesome! I’ve gotten into the holiday spirit myself by listening to my Christmas music (while doing laundry) and have been watching the Christmas episodes of the TV shows I have and the Christmas movies. I’m most excited for It’s A Wonderful Life and Love Actually – my two favorite holiday movies. I’ve been holding out on watching them waiting for holiday season. I’m so glad it’s finally here!
And this is my Holiday Wish for all of you…
May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours wherever you may roam...
-Irish Blessing
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
When Animals Attack
The last three days of my life have felt like I’m on that show on Discovery? Animal Planet? whatever - where people talk about their bizarre and terrifying encounters with animals. It all started Friday morning….
Friday, 11:00am
I’m at the office, normal Friday. All the staff is gathered around the big table in the main room of our office for the weekly staff meeting. Part way through I get up to use the restroom. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until I flush the toilet. As soon as I do the pink tail and gray behind of a RAT becomes visible as it attempts to not get flushed down the toilet. Let me try and set the stage. Our office toilet has no actual seat, so it’s just the rim. I would not have sat down if a rat was visible. It was HIDING IN THE TOILET under the seat somehow. I could have been bitten for all I know! So, obviously I panic, scream and run out of the bathroom into the main room where everyone is looking at me like - what just happened - and all I can say is “RAT! In the bathroom!” while freaking out. Now everyone groans, and acts like “oh, she’s being so dramatic our wimpy American can’t handle anything” – typical. They think I’m such a baby because I don’t handle cockroach/rat encounters well. So the men go into the bathroom as I hide in the kitchen attempting to find it. My manager assures me that on Monday all the boxes will be taken out and searched for rats. I am amazed at how no one thinks this is a big deal.
So we sit back down as she’s telling me about the cleaning plan and I say “well, in the mean time no one better go to the toilet because it’s hiding IN THE TOILET”. Now this garners what I thought the appropriate reactions should be when I ran out in the first place. Lots of “YYYOOOHH! Zoleka?!?! In the toilet??”. YES. IN THE TOILET. Now people respond with the shock and disgust I thought the situation called for. The men go back into the bathroom, armed with a stick, kill the poor (but gross) thing, and flush(??!!) it down the toilet after attempting to fish it out of the water with wires. I didn’t watch any of it I was too shaken up by my VERY close encounter. I just saw lots of entering and exiting of the bathroom with wires/stick. Man. What a terror. Needless to say, I’m not sure if I’m ever going to be able to use that bathroom again.
Saturday, 1:00pm
In my last blog I told you about the family of birds that was living in-between the ceiling and the roof in my host sisters bedroom. This was not only noisy but also as you may know birds carry bugs like lice and bed bugs. Gross. Well, the only way to get them out was to take off the roof, which our handyman did Saturday afternoon after sealing off all holes that were there between the wall and roof (to prevent further bird nesting situations). Well, as expected the birds freaked out when the roof came off and he tried getting them out. The two baby birds (which were adult sized I might add) haven’t left the nest yet, so aren’t sure how to fly properly. SO. Imagine, I’m minding my own business, reading a lovely column in a magazine about adventurous South Africans, lounging on my bed when all of a sudden a bird is flying through my burglar bars INTO MY ROOM in a panicked state. This was very startling. I also have a tiny room and I didn’t want to be attacked. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs (much more so than with the rat to my surprise…I think it’s because the bird was also freaking out). I jump off my bed, and run out of my room. All the while thinking…how am I going to get it out?! Well the brave Aunt of my host sister runs in as soon as I run out, grabs the bird and throws it out of my room. Poor thing, it was really struggling. What a traumatic first flying experience. I hope it made it somewhere safe! Thank goodness for brave South Africans. I would have needed a broom at least…
Sunday, 10:30am
I’m having a lazy Sunday morning in bed, watching Inception (which I really enjoyed this time – first time I saw it I was just confused). All of a sudden I hear something moving in my ceiling…and I hear chirping. F-in a. All I could think at this point was, are you JOKING?! Now there is a bird in MY ceiling. So I go outside to the party that has picked up where the night before left (it was my host brothers fourth birthday party and it was a rockin’ party Saturday). So, I find my host sister outside and explain that, I think there is bird in my ceiling now. This is when I am told that only one of the baby birds got out of the house yesterday (of course, why only one flew into my room. Duh.). The other one flew to my side of the house. Wonderful. I’m told nothing can be done about it now because of the impending rain and the not so sober state of our handy man. Fabulous. So, all I can do is be annoyed and go back to watching Inception with the occasional chirp added.
I am happy to report that all is quiet on the bird front currently. Hopefully it’s off sleeping somewhere other than above my room. But what’s next? Is a cow going to ram me? Is a goat going to bite me? Chicken attack? I can only imagine. I’m going to try not to think about it because as soon as I do I’ll just draw it to me. I’m hopeful that my animal bad luck streak is OVER. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
The good news is that I had a really fun time at my host brothers birthday party – he is just too cute! I got him a toy monster truck and some strawberry candies. I hope he likes them! I also made some new friends at the party that are my age which is really exciting! I had a blast. And today I made delicious pizza and got to watch Extreme Couponing on TLC for the first time. Have you seen that show before?! A lady had a grocery bill of $600-something and she ended up paying $2-something!!!!! Can you believe it?! On the one hand those people are totally insane and all boarder on just really OCD hoarders…but on the other hand…genius. But mostly insane. All in all a wonderful weekend, except that I didn’t actually do any of the mass amounts of work that I intended/needed to do sooooooo. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, which will be tomorrow morning at 9am. Yay!
Take care, and remember, always check for rats in your toilet!
Friday, 11:00am
I’m at the office, normal Friday. All the staff is gathered around the big table in the main room of our office for the weekly staff meeting. Part way through I get up to use the restroom. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until I flush the toilet. As soon as I do the pink tail and gray behind of a RAT becomes visible as it attempts to not get flushed down the toilet. Let me try and set the stage. Our office toilet has no actual seat, so it’s just the rim. I would not have sat down if a rat was visible. It was HIDING IN THE TOILET under the seat somehow. I could have been bitten for all I know! So, obviously I panic, scream and run out of the bathroom into the main room where everyone is looking at me like - what just happened - and all I can say is “RAT! In the bathroom!” while freaking out. Now everyone groans, and acts like “oh, she’s being so dramatic our wimpy American can’t handle anything” – typical. They think I’m such a baby because I don’t handle cockroach/rat encounters well. So the men go into the bathroom as I hide in the kitchen attempting to find it. My manager assures me that on Monday all the boxes will be taken out and searched for rats. I am amazed at how no one thinks this is a big deal.
So we sit back down as she’s telling me about the cleaning plan and I say “well, in the mean time no one better go to the toilet because it’s hiding IN THE TOILET”. Now this garners what I thought the appropriate reactions should be when I ran out in the first place. Lots of “YYYOOOHH! Zoleka?!?! In the toilet??”. YES. IN THE TOILET. Now people respond with the shock and disgust I thought the situation called for. The men go back into the bathroom, armed with a stick, kill the poor (but gross) thing, and flush(??!!) it down the toilet after attempting to fish it out of the water with wires. I didn’t watch any of it I was too shaken up by my VERY close encounter. I just saw lots of entering and exiting of the bathroom with wires/stick. Man. What a terror. Needless to say, I’m not sure if I’m ever going to be able to use that bathroom again.
Saturday, 1:00pm
In my last blog I told you about the family of birds that was living in-between the ceiling and the roof in my host sisters bedroom. This was not only noisy but also as you may know birds carry bugs like lice and bed bugs. Gross. Well, the only way to get them out was to take off the roof, which our handyman did Saturday afternoon after sealing off all holes that were there between the wall and roof (to prevent further bird nesting situations). Well, as expected the birds freaked out when the roof came off and he tried getting them out. The two baby birds (which were adult sized I might add) haven’t left the nest yet, so aren’t sure how to fly properly. SO. Imagine, I’m minding my own business, reading a lovely column in a magazine about adventurous South Africans, lounging on my bed when all of a sudden a bird is flying through my burglar bars INTO MY ROOM in a panicked state. This was very startling. I also have a tiny room and I didn’t want to be attacked. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs (much more so than with the rat to my surprise…I think it’s because the bird was also freaking out). I jump off my bed, and run out of my room. All the while thinking…how am I going to get it out?! Well the brave Aunt of my host sister runs in as soon as I run out, grabs the bird and throws it out of my room. Poor thing, it was really struggling. What a traumatic first flying experience. I hope it made it somewhere safe! Thank goodness for brave South Africans. I would have needed a broom at least…
Sunday, 10:30am
I’m having a lazy Sunday morning in bed, watching Inception (which I really enjoyed this time – first time I saw it I was just confused). All of a sudden I hear something moving in my ceiling…and I hear chirping. F-in a. All I could think at this point was, are you JOKING?! Now there is a bird in MY ceiling. So I go outside to the party that has picked up where the night before left (it was my host brothers fourth birthday party and it was a rockin’ party Saturday). So, I find my host sister outside and explain that, I think there is bird in my ceiling now. This is when I am told that only one of the baby birds got out of the house yesterday (of course, why only one flew into my room. Duh.). The other one flew to my side of the house. Wonderful. I’m told nothing can be done about it now because of the impending rain and the not so sober state of our handy man. Fabulous. So, all I can do is be annoyed and go back to watching Inception with the occasional chirp added.
I am happy to report that all is quiet on the bird front currently. Hopefully it’s off sleeping somewhere other than above my room. But what’s next? Is a cow going to ram me? Is a goat going to bite me? Chicken attack? I can only imagine. I’m going to try not to think about it because as soon as I do I’ll just draw it to me. I’m hopeful that my animal bad luck streak is OVER. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
The good news is that I had a really fun time at my host brothers birthday party – he is just too cute! I got him a toy monster truck and some strawberry candies. I hope he likes them! I also made some new friends at the party that are my age which is really exciting! I had a blast. And today I made delicious pizza and got to watch Extreme Couponing on TLC for the first time. Have you seen that show before?! A lady had a grocery bill of $600-something and she ended up paying $2-something!!!!! Can you believe it?! On the one hand those people are totally insane and all boarder on just really OCD hoarders…but on the other hand…genius. But mostly insane. All in all a wonderful weekend, except that I didn’t actually do any of the mass amounts of work that I intended/needed to do sooooooo. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, which will be tomorrow morning at 9am. Yay!
Take care, and remember, always check for rats in your toilet!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
My Adventures/Misadventures in October
Molweni friends!
Yoh, things have been hectic (that’s a really South African expression by the way). Where did the month of October even go?! It seems like it just disappeared! So much has happened this is going to be quite the long post but since it’s been over a month – I think it is okay. ; )
I got to go to PE and spend some time with two of my PCV friends that were in town visiting from Kwa-Zulu Natal (the Province that they live in). It was over the school holiday and then I met up with them for the long weekend in PE. We had lots of fun shenanigans in PE. We stayed at a backpackers I haven’t stayed at before and it was great. That was exciting – a new favorite find! We went out dancing with a Canadian and French guy we met at the hostel which was a blast and then got late night McDonalds (hello, were we in America?!). It was also great because we got to cook our food to save money which was actually fun and tasty. Well it wasn’t actually fun because the hostel only seems to believe in extremely, extremely dull knives. Which were then all stolen(?) so the next night we had ONE very dull knife. Not conducive to good cooking, but eh. Whatever. It made for just yet another hilarious situation in our usually hilarious lives. Cutting veggies with a butter knife. Typical.
Sam and Kelley were able to confirm for me that the Eastern Cape really is in its own world compared to the rest of South Africa (although I think the Western Cape is like it too, but there are no PCVs in the Western Cape so I can’t confirm that). SO MUCH about it is just different than at least the other places in South Africa that I’ve been, and the stories that I’m told by other SA PCVs. In a way, it seems like the Eastern Cape is a little more modern and more diverse. Now, I haven’t been into the heart of the Eastern Cape really (the very rural areas) so it might be totally different there but the part that I’m in, and from what all of the other PCVs in the Eastern Cape have said (some of which are really in the heart of it) it is like that all over. It usually shocks other PCVs from different Provinces that we have regular contact with white and coloured people. It’s just interesting when the now five of us that are in the EC have such unique experiences to other PCVs. Each placement within a country will be unique and different but for all of us in the EC we have some group differences in our experiences compared to the rest of SA PC. Sam and Kelley were telling me that it’s true – at least compared to their experience at site.
*Tangent: in South Africa due to their history there are very distinct racial groups just like in the States only they are different which makes sense since race is a social construct which is to mean that it is not a universal – obviously since it can mean something different in different places. Anyway, coloured people are what we would called mixed race. Obviously in the states it’s not okay to call someone colored because of our own historical context but here it is a defined and distinct group of people with their own culture…it was one of a few option to mark you were coloured on the census. Which is another story by the way…I filled out the census and it was so interesting to see the differences between US census and SA census! The sociology nerd is coming out again.
All in all, the visit with Sam and Kelley was so fun, and much needed break! I have a pretty insane life here anyway (for example Tuesday night I went out and ate pizza at a restaurant…another example of my unique PC experience…I don’t really think many people here are doing things like that). BUT sometimes it’s just nice to get to talk to my fellow Americans about life. To hear about different sites, different successes and challenges of other people. We get to share ideas and stories for projects and programs – it’s nice to know that we’re all for the most part having the same things happen. We also have a blast together which makes any get together worth it!
South Africa in the month of October held their 2011 census. I was counted! It was really interesting to me for a couple reasons. One, the race category compared to ones you see that in the States was very short. Then I found it really interesting that if you weren’t a South African citizen they didn’t have a whole section asking what you were doing there, or how you came to be in South Africa. I just had to list that I was in fact not a South African citizen. I did then also explain that I was from the United States because it asked for what country you were from, but no sections about why you are in South Africa. Wouldn’t they want to know that? Maybe not. I’m not sure what the US census is like in that area. I was just surprised I didn’t have to say what I was doing here! The other sections it asked about were I think typical. Jobs, education, normal stuff. It was really interesting because they asked information about your house and you had to say how many rooms you have – but you couldn’t count bathrooms. It was really bizarre to me! I think it was kitchens and bathrooms or something – you couldn’t count those. I was confused about that. It was really fascinating to me.
On to new things. We have finished our first SKILLZ intervention! We had 12 kids graduate. In order to graduate they couldn’t have missed more than four of the 11 practices. So, considering our attendance challenges I was happy with 12! It was a really young group (10-13) and so they were at times a challenge to manage behavior wise. But they were so cute, and a really funny group. This next team starts this week and we have to have three practices a week because we need to finish the second intervention by December 1st. It’s going to be a tight squeeze but we gotta do it. It’s all grade seven learners which is the oldest grade at the primary school. I’m hoping that it can go a bit more smoothly due to the older audience. Plus, they are actually about to graduate in January and go to the secondary school. I’m not-so-secretly hoping they will be easy to manage!
The girls clubs started last month and were AWESOME. Noxolo and I have been so excited about them, and they went so well! We had introduction meetings at each of the schools and had 41 girls come to one and 46 come to the other! It was a great turn out! We’ve realize since it’s so late in the year, and they have exams this month we can’t really meet in November. And then December is school holiday when we won’t be meeting at all. So really, the main clubs will start in January and go all next school year. The school year here is January to December. We got a great package of goodies and supplies for our girls clubs which is fantastic – shout out needed to Dave! Thanks SO MUCH! We have so many things we can do with them now – it’s really exciting!
There has been major drama at my org this last month. I’m not going to get into it, except to say that I have been very, very, very stressed, confused, and worried. I’m finally at a place though that I’m optimistic about the future. We have the opportunity for a fresh start so to speak! Although we always seem to be in a state of small-to-huge crisis at my org. The panic levels correlate with the level of crisis. So, we’re always sort of in crisis/panic mode. It’s exhausting. Luckily I’ve been able to focus on my projects and sort of remove myself from the insanity although I can’t escape it altogether. My dream would be to get us to a place where we in fact are NOT in a state of constent crisis/panic. It’s a matter of setting up systems and organization. There was very REAL example of how we are hindered by our lack of organization. So, there is this amazing funding opportunity that we are eligible for. Of course we found out about it the week before the application was due (typical). Which happened to be the week that our management and lots of staff were out for the week at a training. Well, we were going to have to post our most recent audited financial statements and our NPO certificate to them to London – so we needed to send it ASAP. Now, we have filing cabinets but we might as well not. We simply couldn’t find the most recent audited statements and no one could tell us over the phone where they were. So, we lost the opportunity to apply for $100,000 in US funding that we would have been able to use on OVCs. I explained this to everyone at the staff meeting yesterday in an attempt to point out how the small things – like putting something in the correct place on a day to day basis actually does have a HUGE impact on the big picture of our organization. We lost out on a major opportunity.
I should also mention that we’ve been attempting to re-file since the end of August. We did organize the office in August (you may recall the close encounter I had with a giant rat during that episode) and part of that was suppose to be refilling. Well that didn’t happen and still hasn’t happened. And I refuse to do things like that on my own because what’s the point if I re-file for us – to a logic and system that suits me – and I’m leaving! It’s not sustainable, or useful to set people up with a system that they won’t understand and won’t use. So, I’ve sort of sat back and waited for someone to take the initiative on it. In addition I’ve been so insanely busy with girls clubs and SKILLZ that I haven’t even had the chance to put a fire under anyone to get started although I have voiced remainders. I hope this whole lost chance at funding has shaken some people up and it will get done sooner rather than later.
The REALLY REALLY AMAZING news though is that we FINALLY received our funding from the Department of Social Development. You know, seven months late, but who’s counting. Well, probably the people who have been working and not getting paid for the last seven months!!!! The only thing I can say about that is thank God. Well and although it is good news the Department expects us to spend the money as quickly as we can now so adding to the panic and crisis we have to spend over R200,000 as soon as possible. I don’t even want to think about it…I’m so overwhelmed with the idea of all the planning we have to do and then implement in the next month and a half. I think I have a hectic time ahead of me too.
Things at home have been wonderful! My room is put together in the way I want it – and definitely feels like home. Luckily cockroach sightings in room are very low (two in last couple months although one was on my bed – major negative), and as soon as I finally buy some more hangers for my wardrobe I will have no random excess luggage still sitting around. Our refrigerator is working and has stayed working after months of not working - yay! Thanks to the very generous help from the Smith family and many attempted fixes by the electrician it is finally working! Thank goodness! For so long I was eating so unhealthy because it’s hard enough to cook for one person. But when you can’t keep anything for a long time it’s really hard! I couldn’t buy really anything fresh because it wouldn’t last. But, all that is in the past (hopefully for good!). It does seem like one thing after the other though happens at our house. So my window broke (which I think I blogged about…it was scary). Well the same window broke AGAIN. Only this time the glass thank goodness didn’t and it’s just the wooden frame. So I can’t open one of my windows (the other one already broke but I can still open it, eish). Then, the spring in my door handle has been broken so if the wind is blowing in one direction and my door isn’t locked the top half will blow open (we have those doors where you can have it half open or totally closed). I need to recruit someone to fix those things. Add to all this that we NOW have a family of birds living between my host sisters roof and ceiling in her bedroom. As I’m sure you can imagine that is very noisy and not okay. I’m so happy it’s not in my part of the house! But I feel really bad for her, because they are literally in her bedroom keeping her up at night. I would hate for the only solution to be to kill the birds but I have no idea how else it’s going to be taken care of. Eish. She asked me how I think we should handle it and I told her the only way I know of to get rid of things like that is to call an exterminator. You know…like in the States. Her idea is to put a cat into a hole in the ceiling in the garage and let run free in our ceiling until it kills them. She just doesn’t know where to get a cat, and my question was…well how do you get it out then? I am personally advocating for a human intervention. Also, we need to get something to go around the roof to ceiling line and block the holes so this doesn’t happen again!
It has been SO WEIRD to not have any Fall references in my life at all. Except on Facebook. I really miss Fall – who knew!? I would literally kill someone for a Starbucks drink. I can’t even handle the fact that it’s now “holiday” season and I won’t be able to drink my favorite - caramel brulee latte. It was also really weird with no signs of Halloween – and now Thanksgiving. But I actually have lots of really good things to look forward to in November and December! On Thanksgiving weekend I’m going to Jeffery’s Bay which is about two hours away from here. Jeffery’s Bay is one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world and the Billabong Pro takes place there every July. I’m going with my South African friend and meeting other PCVs there (if they can make it). I’m going to make garlic mashed potatoes and green been casserole – my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I’m drooling just thinking about it! Then, in December I’m going to Cape Town with my South African friend – and then I think meeting up with PCVs to do some things in the Eastern Cape! So, I have lots of things to look forward to! : ) It should be a really great time! YAY. Even though it won’t be a white Christmas it will be a beach Christmas! Yesssssss.
OH! I totally forgot that a man on the street told me he was going to send his Uncles to America to negotiate labola (bride price) and would my family be interested in cows. He was joking, but I was like…well that would probably only work if I wanted to marry you which I don’t. But Mom and Dad…are you interested in becoming cow farmers? I have an idea for a business venture…
“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.”
- Christian D. Larson
Yoh, things have been hectic (that’s a really South African expression by the way). Where did the month of October even go?! It seems like it just disappeared! So much has happened this is going to be quite the long post but since it’s been over a month – I think it is okay. ; )
I got to go to PE and spend some time with two of my PCV friends that were in town visiting from Kwa-Zulu Natal (the Province that they live in). It was over the school holiday and then I met up with them for the long weekend in PE. We had lots of fun shenanigans in PE. We stayed at a backpackers I haven’t stayed at before and it was great. That was exciting – a new favorite find! We went out dancing with a Canadian and French guy we met at the hostel which was a blast and then got late night McDonalds (hello, were we in America?!). It was also great because we got to cook our food to save money which was actually fun and tasty. Well it wasn’t actually fun because the hostel only seems to believe in extremely, extremely dull knives. Which were then all stolen(?) so the next night we had ONE very dull knife. Not conducive to good cooking, but eh. Whatever. It made for just yet another hilarious situation in our usually hilarious lives. Cutting veggies with a butter knife. Typical.
Sam and Kelley were able to confirm for me that the Eastern Cape really is in its own world compared to the rest of South Africa (although I think the Western Cape is like it too, but there are no PCVs in the Western Cape so I can’t confirm that). SO MUCH about it is just different than at least the other places in South Africa that I’ve been, and the stories that I’m told by other SA PCVs. In a way, it seems like the Eastern Cape is a little more modern and more diverse. Now, I haven’t been into the heart of the Eastern Cape really (the very rural areas) so it might be totally different there but the part that I’m in, and from what all of the other PCVs in the Eastern Cape have said (some of which are really in the heart of it) it is like that all over. It usually shocks other PCVs from different Provinces that we have regular contact with white and coloured people. It’s just interesting when the now five of us that are in the EC have such unique experiences to other PCVs. Each placement within a country will be unique and different but for all of us in the EC we have some group differences in our experiences compared to the rest of SA PC. Sam and Kelley were telling me that it’s true – at least compared to their experience at site.
*Tangent: in South Africa due to their history there are very distinct racial groups just like in the States only they are different which makes sense since race is a social construct which is to mean that it is not a universal – obviously since it can mean something different in different places. Anyway, coloured people are what we would called mixed race. Obviously in the states it’s not okay to call someone colored because of our own historical context but here it is a defined and distinct group of people with their own culture…it was one of a few option to mark you were coloured on the census. Which is another story by the way…I filled out the census and it was so interesting to see the differences between US census and SA census! The sociology nerd is coming out again.
All in all, the visit with Sam and Kelley was so fun, and much needed break! I have a pretty insane life here anyway (for example Tuesday night I went out and ate pizza at a restaurant…another example of my unique PC experience…I don’t really think many people here are doing things like that). BUT sometimes it’s just nice to get to talk to my fellow Americans about life. To hear about different sites, different successes and challenges of other people. We get to share ideas and stories for projects and programs – it’s nice to know that we’re all for the most part having the same things happen. We also have a blast together which makes any get together worth it!
South Africa in the month of October held their 2011 census. I was counted! It was really interesting to me for a couple reasons. One, the race category compared to ones you see that in the States was very short. Then I found it really interesting that if you weren’t a South African citizen they didn’t have a whole section asking what you were doing there, or how you came to be in South Africa. I just had to list that I was in fact not a South African citizen. I did then also explain that I was from the United States because it asked for what country you were from, but no sections about why you are in South Africa. Wouldn’t they want to know that? Maybe not. I’m not sure what the US census is like in that area. I was just surprised I didn’t have to say what I was doing here! The other sections it asked about were I think typical. Jobs, education, normal stuff. It was really interesting because they asked information about your house and you had to say how many rooms you have – but you couldn’t count bathrooms. It was really bizarre to me! I think it was kitchens and bathrooms or something – you couldn’t count those. I was confused about that. It was really fascinating to me.
On to new things. We have finished our first SKILLZ intervention! We had 12 kids graduate. In order to graduate they couldn’t have missed more than four of the 11 practices. So, considering our attendance challenges I was happy with 12! It was a really young group (10-13) and so they were at times a challenge to manage behavior wise. But they were so cute, and a really funny group. This next team starts this week and we have to have three practices a week because we need to finish the second intervention by December 1st. It’s going to be a tight squeeze but we gotta do it. It’s all grade seven learners which is the oldest grade at the primary school. I’m hoping that it can go a bit more smoothly due to the older audience. Plus, they are actually about to graduate in January and go to the secondary school. I’m not-so-secretly hoping they will be easy to manage!
The girls clubs started last month and were AWESOME. Noxolo and I have been so excited about them, and they went so well! We had introduction meetings at each of the schools and had 41 girls come to one and 46 come to the other! It was a great turn out! We’ve realize since it’s so late in the year, and they have exams this month we can’t really meet in November. And then December is school holiday when we won’t be meeting at all. So really, the main clubs will start in January and go all next school year. The school year here is January to December. We got a great package of goodies and supplies for our girls clubs which is fantastic – shout out needed to Dave! Thanks SO MUCH! We have so many things we can do with them now – it’s really exciting!
There has been major drama at my org this last month. I’m not going to get into it, except to say that I have been very, very, very stressed, confused, and worried. I’m finally at a place though that I’m optimistic about the future. We have the opportunity for a fresh start so to speak! Although we always seem to be in a state of small-to-huge crisis at my org. The panic levels correlate with the level of crisis. So, we’re always sort of in crisis/panic mode. It’s exhausting. Luckily I’ve been able to focus on my projects and sort of remove myself from the insanity although I can’t escape it altogether. My dream would be to get us to a place where we in fact are NOT in a state of constent crisis/panic. It’s a matter of setting up systems and organization. There was very REAL example of how we are hindered by our lack of organization. So, there is this amazing funding opportunity that we are eligible for. Of course we found out about it the week before the application was due (typical). Which happened to be the week that our management and lots of staff were out for the week at a training. Well, we were going to have to post our most recent audited financial statements and our NPO certificate to them to London – so we needed to send it ASAP. Now, we have filing cabinets but we might as well not. We simply couldn’t find the most recent audited statements and no one could tell us over the phone where they were. So, we lost the opportunity to apply for $100,000 in US funding that we would have been able to use on OVCs. I explained this to everyone at the staff meeting yesterday in an attempt to point out how the small things – like putting something in the correct place on a day to day basis actually does have a HUGE impact on the big picture of our organization. We lost out on a major opportunity.
I should also mention that we’ve been attempting to re-file since the end of August. We did organize the office in August (you may recall the close encounter I had with a giant rat during that episode) and part of that was suppose to be refilling. Well that didn’t happen and still hasn’t happened. And I refuse to do things like that on my own because what’s the point if I re-file for us – to a logic and system that suits me – and I’m leaving! It’s not sustainable, or useful to set people up with a system that they won’t understand and won’t use. So, I’ve sort of sat back and waited for someone to take the initiative on it. In addition I’ve been so insanely busy with girls clubs and SKILLZ that I haven’t even had the chance to put a fire under anyone to get started although I have voiced remainders. I hope this whole lost chance at funding has shaken some people up and it will get done sooner rather than later.
The REALLY REALLY AMAZING news though is that we FINALLY received our funding from the Department of Social Development. You know, seven months late, but who’s counting. Well, probably the people who have been working and not getting paid for the last seven months!!!! The only thing I can say about that is thank God. Well and although it is good news the Department expects us to spend the money as quickly as we can now so adding to the panic and crisis we have to spend over R200,000 as soon as possible. I don’t even want to think about it…I’m so overwhelmed with the idea of all the planning we have to do and then implement in the next month and a half. I think I have a hectic time ahead of me too.
Things at home have been wonderful! My room is put together in the way I want it – and definitely feels like home. Luckily cockroach sightings in room are very low (two in last couple months although one was on my bed – major negative), and as soon as I finally buy some more hangers for my wardrobe I will have no random excess luggage still sitting around. Our refrigerator is working and has stayed working after months of not working - yay! Thanks to the very generous help from the Smith family and many attempted fixes by the electrician it is finally working! Thank goodness! For so long I was eating so unhealthy because it’s hard enough to cook for one person. But when you can’t keep anything for a long time it’s really hard! I couldn’t buy really anything fresh because it wouldn’t last. But, all that is in the past (hopefully for good!). It does seem like one thing after the other though happens at our house. So my window broke (which I think I blogged about…it was scary). Well the same window broke AGAIN. Only this time the glass thank goodness didn’t and it’s just the wooden frame. So I can’t open one of my windows (the other one already broke but I can still open it, eish). Then, the spring in my door handle has been broken so if the wind is blowing in one direction and my door isn’t locked the top half will blow open (we have those doors where you can have it half open or totally closed). I need to recruit someone to fix those things. Add to all this that we NOW have a family of birds living between my host sisters roof and ceiling in her bedroom. As I’m sure you can imagine that is very noisy and not okay. I’m so happy it’s not in my part of the house! But I feel really bad for her, because they are literally in her bedroom keeping her up at night. I would hate for the only solution to be to kill the birds but I have no idea how else it’s going to be taken care of. Eish. She asked me how I think we should handle it and I told her the only way I know of to get rid of things like that is to call an exterminator. You know…like in the States. Her idea is to put a cat into a hole in the ceiling in the garage and let run free in our ceiling until it kills them. She just doesn’t know where to get a cat, and my question was…well how do you get it out then? I am personally advocating for a human intervention. Also, we need to get something to go around the roof to ceiling line and block the holes so this doesn’t happen again!
It has been SO WEIRD to not have any Fall references in my life at all. Except on Facebook. I really miss Fall – who knew!? I would literally kill someone for a Starbucks drink. I can’t even handle the fact that it’s now “holiday” season and I won’t be able to drink my favorite - caramel brulee latte. It was also really weird with no signs of Halloween – and now Thanksgiving. But I actually have lots of really good things to look forward to in November and December! On Thanksgiving weekend I’m going to Jeffery’s Bay which is about two hours away from here. Jeffery’s Bay is one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world and the Billabong Pro takes place there every July. I’m going with my South African friend and meeting other PCVs there (if they can make it). I’m going to make garlic mashed potatoes and green been casserole – my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I’m drooling just thinking about it! Then, in December I’m going to Cape Town with my South African friend – and then I think meeting up with PCVs to do some things in the Eastern Cape! So, I have lots of things to look forward to! : ) It should be a really great time! YAY. Even though it won’t be a white Christmas it will be a beach Christmas! Yesssssss.
OH! I totally forgot that a man on the street told me he was going to send his Uncles to America to negotiate labola (bride price) and would my family be interested in cows. He was joking, but I was like…well that would probably only work if I wanted to marry you which I don’t. But Mom and Dad…are you interested in becoming cow farmers? I have an idea for a business venture…
“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.”
- Christian D. Larson
Friday, September 23, 2011
You Can Just Call Me...Whatever...
Baba, sisi, mama, ntombi (girl), MyZo, Zozo, Zoey, Zolekaaaa, sweatheart, girl, sweetie, lady, mam, madam, miss, lumkazi (white lady, sp?), umlungu (white person), Alana-ee, and sometimes Alana.
Those are the many names that I have gotten used to hearing. I find it funny that I get everything from baby to mama. I am getting more and more well known throughout the community. We have a lot of people here – but when I’m gone for a week like I was recently many people ask me where I have been. I am the queen of greeting – waving from very far away at anyone and everyone so as not to offend (people have asked me – why didn’t you greet me?). I get my name called from all directions (usually by kids) and they are the automatic alarm that I’m coming down the street.
They are the funniest because they each say my name about 10 times and are not satisfied with a general “Molweni!” (hello plural)…they each want individual “hi!”. Usually I do not pay attention after the first two hellos and just let them scream my name over and over as I walk by waving and smiling at them. Greeting is a VERY important custom in South Africa. If you want to be rude – jump into a conversation without saying hello and how are you? If you think about your daily interactions (in the States I mean), it is not always necessary to greet someone fully before launching into whatever story it is, or problem you have to share with them. Here – store clerk, co worker, random person on the street – you don’t say hi? You are running the risk of seriously offending them. This has been something that I’ve really enjoyed HAVING to focus on here in South Africa.
Coming from the mindset that I need to get things done, and get them done efficiently and quickly I don’t normally take the time in the States for a full greeting before launching into whatever it is I’m thinking of. I like to think that I have manners – so I think I usually begin a conversation with at least “hi” but I’m sure I’m guilty of skipping even that when for example at a store, in a rush, trying to find the aisle with the shampoo – “where can I find shampoo? K, great, thanks!”. I did that once here – walked up to the movie ticket counter at a mall only to ask about price “how much are movie tickets?” I asked. After literally shooting daggers at me with her eyes, the clerk took a long pause, and said “hello, how are you?”. I apologized, greeted her and then asked again. It was actually really embarrassing and an “ah ha” moment.
I knew that it was going to be something I was going to learn in South Africa – how to be more relationship focused and friendly – even with random strangers that I will never see again. I’ve been working really hard at taking the time to do that. I know that it’s not just an American thing, but also an individual personality thing. I tend to be a direct person so sometimes slowing down to take the time to ask how someone is can be last thing on my mind. Knowing that about myself, I hope to come back to the States with a little more patience and a little less rush.
On the work front I’m less frantically rushed to get everything done as I have been the last few weeks. I held the Strategic Planning workshop (which went SO WELL – yay!). I applied for a grant from the MTV Staying Alive Foundation which funds youth led HIV/AIDS prevention projects around the world (pray for me that I get it!). I have this really cool idea for an all youth conference on HIV/AIDS and healthy behaviors. It would be awesome. Our pilot program for HIV/AIDS education SKILLZ has started and is so much fun! The kids really seem to enjoy it (despite the ever present problem of attendance). A lot of them were able to tell us what HIV and AIDS stands for! And they are 9-13! I mean it’s a good thing but also kind of crazy to think about. They are apparently giving really great answers to all of our questions (I can’t understand anything that’s happening because it’s all held in isiXhosa). I’m kind of excited to work with older kids so I can participate and help lead some of the sessions. Right now I just am sort of there to see that everything goes according to plan. And I always facilitate this one session called Fact/Nonsense and then the coaches in teams translate for me.
This was my first week back from the Peace Corps Life Skills training in Pretoria. I brought two of my counterparts with me and it was GREAT. We all got a lot out of it, and the whole week was really productive and helpful. I was very impressed with the Peace Corps, the facilitators, the smooth logistics, and my counterparts for their excitement and willingness to learn. We also got to know each other better which was really fun. I brought an extra bathing suit for my girls clubs co-facilitator Noxolo so she could go swimming. We also worked out together once (well they worked out more but I only did once haha). We also had a chance to just sit and chat about work, the office, and all kinds of stuff. I loved it. The two counterparts I brought are really fun and we have a really playful relationship. It was a good time. On the last night I bought them each a drink at the bar. All in all – a very valuable experience. Funniest quote of the week: during a “recap” of the day before which was taking wayyyyyy too long my male counterpart Figo leans over and says “borrow me a gun”. Maybe that sounds horrible but it was hilarious. Good times in PTA…
I’m really excited to have my first visitors at site – my two PCV friends who stay in KZN (Kwa-Zulu Natal) are coming to visit! They’re just going to be at my site for one night but still – so excited! Then I’m going to go with them to spend the night in PE before they head back. One of them studied abroad here in college and she’s going back to talk to the new study abroad kids about the Peace Corps. I would have gone to that also but I have SKILLZ that week so no such luck. While they are here we’re going to prepare for the World Map Project so that we can all each do it at our sites. It should be a great time!
Funny story: for the last two days these children have come to my house and demanded I give them biscuits (cookies). They just say it over and over. I told them I only have carrots thinking that would deter them and then they demanded carrots. I was shocked by this clever strategy of theirs so then I could only say…well if I give you my carrots what will I eat? That was about the extent of our conversation besides them demanding things from me. Like – go to church, go home (which I was), give me biscuits. “ZOLEKA! Give me biscuits!”. Please let this not be a daily thing…
“Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible”.
-Cadet Maxim
ps. If you are interested in helping me out with my girls clubs just see below on how you can help us out!
Those are the many names that I have gotten used to hearing. I find it funny that I get everything from baby to mama. I am getting more and more well known throughout the community. We have a lot of people here – but when I’m gone for a week like I was recently many people ask me where I have been. I am the queen of greeting – waving from very far away at anyone and everyone so as not to offend (people have asked me – why didn’t you greet me?). I get my name called from all directions (usually by kids) and they are the automatic alarm that I’m coming down the street.
They are the funniest because they each say my name about 10 times and are not satisfied with a general “Molweni!” (hello plural)…they each want individual “hi!”. Usually I do not pay attention after the first two hellos and just let them scream my name over and over as I walk by waving and smiling at them. Greeting is a VERY important custom in South Africa. If you want to be rude – jump into a conversation without saying hello and how are you? If you think about your daily interactions (in the States I mean), it is not always necessary to greet someone fully before launching into whatever story it is, or problem you have to share with them. Here – store clerk, co worker, random person on the street – you don’t say hi? You are running the risk of seriously offending them. This has been something that I’ve really enjoyed HAVING to focus on here in South Africa.
Coming from the mindset that I need to get things done, and get them done efficiently and quickly I don’t normally take the time in the States for a full greeting before launching into whatever it is I’m thinking of. I like to think that I have manners – so I think I usually begin a conversation with at least “hi” but I’m sure I’m guilty of skipping even that when for example at a store, in a rush, trying to find the aisle with the shampoo – “where can I find shampoo? K, great, thanks!”. I did that once here – walked up to the movie ticket counter at a mall only to ask about price “how much are movie tickets?” I asked. After literally shooting daggers at me with her eyes, the clerk took a long pause, and said “hello, how are you?”. I apologized, greeted her and then asked again. It was actually really embarrassing and an “ah ha” moment.
I knew that it was going to be something I was going to learn in South Africa – how to be more relationship focused and friendly – even with random strangers that I will never see again. I’ve been working really hard at taking the time to do that. I know that it’s not just an American thing, but also an individual personality thing. I tend to be a direct person so sometimes slowing down to take the time to ask how someone is can be last thing on my mind. Knowing that about myself, I hope to come back to the States with a little more patience and a little less rush.
On the work front I’m less frantically rushed to get everything done as I have been the last few weeks. I held the Strategic Planning workshop (which went SO WELL – yay!). I applied for a grant from the MTV Staying Alive Foundation which funds youth led HIV/AIDS prevention projects around the world (pray for me that I get it!). I have this really cool idea for an all youth conference on HIV/AIDS and healthy behaviors. It would be awesome. Our pilot program for HIV/AIDS education SKILLZ has started and is so much fun! The kids really seem to enjoy it (despite the ever present problem of attendance). A lot of them were able to tell us what HIV and AIDS stands for! And they are 9-13! I mean it’s a good thing but also kind of crazy to think about. They are apparently giving really great answers to all of our questions (I can’t understand anything that’s happening because it’s all held in isiXhosa). I’m kind of excited to work with older kids so I can participate and help lead some of the sessions. Right now I just am sort of there to see that everything goes according to plan. And I always facilitate this one session called Fact/Nonsense and then the coaches in teams translate for me.
This was my first week back from the Peace Corps Life Skills training in Pretoria. I brought two of my counterparts with me and it was GREAT. We all got a lot out of it, and the whole week was really productive and helpful. I was very impressed with the Peace Corps, the facilitators, the smooth logistics, and my counterparts for their excitement and willingness to learn. We also got to know each other better which was really fun. I brought an extra bathing suit for my girls clubs co-facilitator Noxolo so she could go swimming. We also worked out together once (well they worked out more but I only did once haha). We also had a chance to just sit and chat about work, the office, and all kinds of stuff. I loved it. The two counterparts I brought are really fun and we have a really playful relationship. It was a good time. On the last night I bought them each a drink at the bar. All in all – a very valuable experience. Funniest quote of the week: during a “recap” of the day before which was taking wayyyyyy too long my male counterpart Figo leans over and says “borrow me a gun”. Maybe that sounds horrible but it was hilarious. Good times in PTA…
I’m really excited to have my first visitors at site – my two PCV friends who stay in KZN (Kwa-Zulu Natal) are coming to visit! They’re just going to be at my site for one night but still – so excited! Then I’m going to go with them to spend the night in PE before they head back. One of them studied abroad here in college and she’s going back to talk to the new study abroad kids about the Peace Corps. I would have gone to that also but I have SKILLZ that week so no such luck. While they are here we’re going to prepare for the World Map Project so that we can all each do it at our sites. It should be a great time!
Funny story: for the last two days these children have come to my house and demanded I give them biscuits (cookies). They just say it over and over. I told them I only have carrots thinking that would deter them and then they demanded carrots. I was shocked by this clever strategy of theirs so then I could only say…well if I give you my carrots what will I eat? That was about the extent of our conversation besides them demanding things from me. Like – go to church, go home (which I was), give me biscuits. “ZOLEKA! Give me biscuits!”. Please let this not be a daily thing…
“Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible”.
-Cadet Maxim
ps. If you are interested in helping me out with my girls clubs just see below on how you can help us out!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Our Dream: Girls Clubs
My counterpart Noxolo and I just arrived back from a week of Peace Corps Life Skills Training in Pretoria and are more ready than ever to get started on our girls clubs! She and I have been talking about them since August and have been waiting for the end of the October school break to start our clubs at each of the local secondary schools. We are each SO EXCITED for these girls clubs! It was great getting to know Noxolo even better in Pretoria because we are actually really similar in our beliefs and values. I think we will make a great team to facilitate these girls clubs.
Our Vision is: Our vision is to see young women empowered to be confident and strong, able to make healthy life choices and ultimately become positive role models for their community.
Our Mission is: To educate, empower, and engage the young women of Alexandria to make healthy and positive life choices in all aspects of their lives.
Our Goals:
• Promote positive self image and confidence
• Teach the importance of making healthy choices
• Promote the Seven Dimensions of Wellness
• To provide important information in a creative, fun, and engaging way
• Educate about HIV/AIDS
• To encourage young women to take control of their future
• Hold a Camp GLOW with group participants.
Each club will meet every other week (one week Ukhanyo, next week Alexandria High) and will be open to girls from grades 8-11. Every other week will have an activity that corresponds with our topics on the weekends. So for example one we will be talking about the environment and the activity will be a community clean up. We already have over a years worth of topics to discuss and do activities on!
The good thing about my girls club is that most of the things require no money to do or facilitate. Some of the activities that we hope to do however do require some money or supplies. We have the basics of what we need (we can borrow from Ikhwezi), but there are still a lot of things that we would like to be able to do with the girls. We have no budget for the girls clubs (although I hope to apply for a VAST Grant for it) I’ve put together a “wish list” of some things that we would love to have in order to do some of our planned activities until we can secure some kind of funding. We also have planned activities of fundraising in our community and we want to get the community involved (hello – sustainability!) so donations will be asked for within the community as well.
If there is anything that you see on this list that you would be interested in sending to Noxolo and me for our girls clubs, please let me know via email so that I can alert others that someone is getting it – you can e-mail me at alanamcginty@gmail.com.
GIRLS CLUBS WISH LIST:
• Post Secret Book (for an activity that we are going to do about self esteem and overcoming personal challenges)
• Stationary (plain white cards)
• Any educational materials (if you know of any local non profits/government agencies that deal with health or youth if you could stop by them and pick up educational pamphlets and send them our way – any topic would be great but especially on things like sexual health, “changing bodies”, nutrition, etc!)
• Markers, crayons, sharpies, colored chalk
• Old magazines (magazines about any topic would be great – they are for our Vision Boards when we talk about our future and our goals…Oprah anyone?)
• Colored string for friendship bracelets
• Duct tape/clear packing tape/scotch tape
• Color paper
• Spool of yarn
• ANY random arts and crafts things that you think we might be able to use/you want to get rid of (beads, string, buttons, scrapbook papers, stickers, whatever!).
How to send me a package:
Cheapest method depends on the weight of the items. At the post office the flat rate boxes are the cheapest if whatever it is will be heavy. If it’s not heavy it might be cheaper to just send it in your own box. I have not had ANY issues with receiving all of my mail. I have gotten some really big boxes of things and nothing has ever been opened or tampered with. For good measure if you want to put Bible verses on the box it can’t hurt. My address is:
Alana McGinty
PO Box 316
Alexandria 6185
South Africa
If you are interested in helping Noxolo and me with our project and want to send us some items please let me know so that I can update people so as to not get doubles of things. Please email me at alanamcginty@gmail.com if you are interested in supporting this project (financial contributions are also always welcome – please inquire via e-mail if you are interested)! : )
Thank you so much in advance for any help you can be – if you are unable to send physical things - any information if you can think of that would help us achieve our vision and mission (like an interesting article, a great website, or an organization that I could apply to for funding – PLEASE don’t hesitate to pass on the information). Your prayers and good thoughts are always appreciated as well!
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it" - Goethe
Our Vision is: Our vision is to see young women empowered to be confident and strong, able to make healthy life choices and ultimately become positive role models for their community.
Our Mission is: To educate, empower, and engage the young women of Alexandria to make healthy and positive life choices in all aspects of their lives.
Our Goals:
• Promote positive self image and confidence
• Teach the importance of making healthy choices
• Promote the Seven Dimensions of Wellness
• To provide important information in a creative, fun, and engaging way
• Educate about HIV/AIDS
• To encourage young women to take control of their future
• Hold a Camp GLOW with group participants.
Each club will meet every other week (one week Ukhanyo, next week Alexandria High) and will be open to girls from grades 8-11. Every other week will have an activity that corresponds with our topics on the weekends. So for example one we will be talking about the environment and the activity will be a community clean up. We already have over a years worth of topics to discuss and do activities on!
The good thing about my girls club is that most of the things require no money to do or facilitate. Some of the activities that we hope to do however do require some money or supplies. We have the basics of what we need (we can borrow from Ikhwezi), but there are still a lot of things that we would like to be able to do with the girls. We have no budget for the girls clubs (although I hope to apply for a VAST Grant for it) I’ve put together a “wish list” of some things that we would love to have in order to do some of our planned activities until we can secure some kind of funding. We also have planned activities of fundraising in our community and we want to get the community involved (hello – sustainability!) so donations will be asked for within the community as well.
If there is anything that you see on this list that you would be interested in sending to Noxolo and me for our girls clubs, please let me know via email so that I can alert others that someone is getting it – you can e-mail me at alanamcginty@gmail.com.
GIRLS CLUBS WISH LIST:
• Post Secret Book (for an activity that we are going to do about self esteem and overcoming personal challenges)
• Stationary (plain white cards)
• Any educational materials (if you know of any local non profits/government agencies that deal with health or youth if you could stop by them and pick up educational pamphlets and send them our way – any topic would be great but especially on things like sexual health, “changing bodies”, nutrition, etc!)
• Markers, crayons, sharpies, colored chalk
• Old magazines (magazines about any topic would be great – they are for our Vision Boards when we talk about our future and our goals…Oprah anyone?)
• Colored string for friendship bracelets
• Duct tape/clear packing tape/scotch tape
• Color paper
• Spool of yarn
• ANY random arts and crafts things that you think we might be able to use/you want to get rid of (beads, string, buttons, scrapbook papers, stickers, whatever!).
How to send me a package:
Cheapest method depends on the weight of the items. At the post office the flat rate boxes are the cheapest if whatever it is will be heavy. If it’s not heavy it might be cheaper to just send it in your own box. I have not had ANY issues with receiving all of my mail. I have gotten some really big boxes of things and nothing has ever been opened or tampered with. For good measure if you want to put Bible verses on the box it can’t hurt. My address is:
Alana McGinty
PO Box 316
Alexandria 6185
South Africa
If you are interested in helping Noxolo and me with our project and want to send us some items please let me know so that I can update people so as to not get doubles of things. Please email me at alanamcginty@gmail.com if you are interested in supporting this project (financial contributions are also always welcome – please inquire via e-mail if you are interested)! : )
Thank you so much in advance for any help you can be – if you are unable to send physical things - any information if you can think of that would help us achieve our vision and mission (like an interesting article, a great website, or an organization that I could apply to for funding – PLEASE don’t hesitate to pass on the information). Your prayers and good thoughts are always appreciated as well!
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it" - Goethe
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Oh.my.goodness
Ohmygoodness I have so much work to do! August, September, and October seem to be THE months that the action is happening – for both my org and myself! I myself have four major projects that I am focusing on, all which require a LOT of prep work and planning. The first one is now over (yay!). It was a Strategic Planning Workshop that I planned and then facilitated. It went REALLY well, and I’m so proud of the staff for all their hard work and enthusiasm! It was inspiring to me to see them so excited for everything. I would say it was a major success (not without minor hiccups daily of course but that is what I’ve grown to expect!). No matter how prepared I am nothing ever seems to go the way I planned. That is a challenge that I personally struggle with. I always used to say that “being flexible” was one of my strengths. Well – yes in the United States I would say I am flexible. But the level of flexibility required here is a whole different level. It’s like I was minor league flexible in the states and here – you have to be the VIP of the major league in your flexibility. At least by the end of two years I will be able to say that I really AM flexible…aka – nothing could go the way I planned or thought and hey – just gotta go with it. Oh, Africa!
Despite that, things have been going great at work and with my projects. We have had nothing but excitement and welcome from the community for the projects we want to do. In September we will be launching our two support groups, and starting our Skillz pilot program. We have already created our first “team” of learners – 20 of the kids from our after care program. They range in age from 10-13 (with one nine year old). This last week my counterpart and I were giving them the pre quizzes of the program to gauge what their knowledge and feelings are about HIV and related issues before they do the program. The same quiz is given after the full 11 “practices” to see how far they’ve come. We didn’t call them quizzes of course and just said we had some questions to ask since we verbally ask them the questions and record their answers. The only thing that really shocked me was the amount of children that said they agree with the statement “At times, it is okay for a man to hit his girlfriend”. It was definitely majority opinion that it was okay. Eish. Let’s just hope by the end the majority say DISAGREE – that is NOT okay! That’s one of my goals!
In October our two girls groups will be begin – and I am SO SO SO excited for that! I’m also super excited about Skillz but this one I really cannot wait to begin! More updates on that to come. I can’t wait to have some cool stories to share from both of those projects. Speaking of cool stories, I helped two boys from the secondary school apply to University of South Africa a couple weeks ago! I had offered to help one of them with it when he said he was going to apply and then he brought a friend along. I was so happy to help them with that and I really hope that they get the opportunity to attend.
In two weeks two of my counterparts and myself (one is doing the girls group with me and the other is assisting with Skillz and our OVCs) are going to a “Life Skills Training” for a week in Pretoria through the Peace Corps. I can’t wait for that because it the timing and topic is extremely relevant for us – especially for the girls clubs. Yesssss. Then, the first week in October two of my fellow PCVs are coming for a quick visit and do work on a project with me. We hope to do the World Map project done by PCVs all over the world where you paint a map of the world and then the host country on a visible wall somewhere. Not sure if it will happen due to me having zero time to plan it – but I’m hoping we can at least do prep work.
Last update, today I went to my first Xhosa funeral. For those of you that remember, I had one sad post a while ago about HIV/AIDS. I mentioned two stories that had really touched me. Well, the young girl (my age) that I mentioned in that story passed away on the 17th of this month and her funeral was today. Such a sad thing, but I am happy that she is no longer suffering like she had been for such a long time. The funeral began at 8:00am at the family’s home. Neither of her parents are living so it was at the house of my Granny. From 8:00am until 10:00am we were at the house and people were praying and singing and preparing for the part that comes after the church.
Then there was a church service and program from 10:00am until 1:00pm. This is not a joke. It was a full mass first (it’s a Catholic church) and then was a program where various people got up to speak. And there was a lot of singing. In between basically every speaker or prayer there is a song, it’s actually really beautiful. I do have to be honest and say that I was struggling through this since it was three hours of not a word I understood. After the church we went straight back to the house, but most people went the cemetery as is customary to bury the body. Afterwards everyone comes from the cemetery to the house and is given a meal. After the meal most people leave except for immediate family and good family friends or neighbors. I left after a lot of people had left because I stayed back to help clean up and since it was my Granny I got to stay and sit with the family for a while. It makes me sad that such a young life was lost due to HIV/AIDS. She was such a sweet girl, and I hope she has found peace.
The only last thing I have to add is I had an amazing surprise and got a phone call from one of my best friends last night (who also happens to be a fellow PCV serving in Ecuador)! It was SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD to actually hear the voice of one of my friends. Not to sound too much like a desperate girl after a first date, but can you please call me?! That’s all! : )
“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit light a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it...”
- Wilfred Peterson
Despite that, things have been going great at work and with my projects. We have had nothing but excitement and welcome from the community for the projects we want to do. In September we will be launching our two support groups, and starting our Skillz pilot program. We have already created our first “team” of learners – 20 of the kids from our after care program. They range in age from 10-13 (with one nine year old). This last week my counterpart and I were giving them the pre quizzes of the program to gauge what their knowledge and feelings are about HIV and related issues before they do the program. The same quiz is given after the full 11 “practices” to see how far they’ve come. We didn’t call them quizzes of course and just said we had some questions to ask since we verbally ask them the questions and record their answers. The only thing that really shocked me was the amount of children that said they agree with the statement “At times, it is okay for a man to hit his girlfriend”. It was definitely majority opinion that it was okay. Eish. Let’s just hope by the end the majority say DISAGREE – that is NOT okay! That’s one of my goals!
In October our two girls groups will be begin – and I am SO SO SO excited for that! I’m also super excited about Skillz but this one I really cannot wait to begin! More updates on that to come. I can’t wait to have some cool stories to share from both of those projects. Speaking of cool stories, I helped two boys from the secondary school apply to University of South Africa a couple weeks ago! I had offered to help one of them with it when he said he was going to apply and then he brought a friend along. I was so happy to help them with that and I really hope that they get the opportunity to attend.
In two weeks two of my counterparts and myself (one is doing the girls group with me and the other is assisting with Skillz and our OVCs) are going to a “Life Skills Training” for a week in Pretoria through the Peace Corps. I can’t wait for that because it the timing and topic is extremely relevant for us – especially for the girls clubs. Yesssss. Then, the first week in October two of my fellow PCVs are coming for a quick visit and do work on a project with me. We hope to do the World Map project done by PCVs all over the world where you paint a map of the world and then the host country on a visible wall somewhere. Not sure if it will happen due to me having zero time to plan it – but I’m hoping we can at least do prep work.
Last update, today I went to my first Xhosa funeral. For those of you that remember, I had one sad post a while ago about HIV/AIDS. I mentioned two stories that had really touched me. Well, the young girl (my age) that I mentioned in that story passed away on the 17th of this month and her funeral was today. Such a sad thing, but I am happy that she is no longer suffering like she had been for such a long time. The funeral began at 8:00am at the family’s home. Neither of her parents are living so it was at the house of my Granny. From 8:00am until 10:00am we were at the house and people were praying and singing and preparing for the part that comes after the church.
Then there was a church service and program from 10:00am until 1:00pm. This is not a joke. It was a full mass first (it’s a Catholic church) and then was a program where various people got up to speak. And there was a lot of singing. In between basically every speaker or prayer there is a song, it’s actually really beautiful. I do have to be honest and say that I was struggling through this since it was three hours of not a word I understood. After the church we went straight back to the house, but most people went the cemetery as is customary to bury the body. Afterwards everyone comes from the cemetery to the house and is given a meal. After the meal most people leave except for immediate family and good family friends or neighbors. I left after a lot of people had left because I stayed back to help clean up and since it was my Granny I got to stay and sit with the family for a while. It makes me sad that such a young life was lost due to HIV/AIDS. She was such a sweet girl, and I hope she has found peace.
The only last thing I have to add is I had an amazing surprise and got a phone call from one of my best friends last night (who also happens to be a fellow PCV serving in Ecuador)! It was SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD to actually hear the voice of one of my friends. Not to sound too much like a desperate girl after a first date, but can you please call me?! That’s all! : )
“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit light a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it...”
- Wilfred Peterson
Friday, August 26, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
This Is What It's All About
So, since arrival in South Africa people have been asking me about what projects and programs I’m working on. And I am BEYOND excited, stoked, thrilled, and joyous to say that actual progress has been made on several of my projects! This makes me so unbelievably energized I can’t even really explain it. And I need something stronger than excited…ecstatic, elated? Not even that does it! It’s so exhilarating to see my ideas actually coming together in a real way!
I have been plenty busy over the last four months at my organization – don’t get me wrong. But for the first three months it was mostly trying to soak it all in and learn about my community so that I would know what the needs and wants are. After countless conversations, observations, and “data” collected I began to have my own ideas for what I wanted to work on over the next two years. The projects we focus on are obviously supposed to be things that the community wants and needs (hence will be sustainable once the PCV leaves after two years– there will be a commitment and interest in continuing the project or program). I do have a requirement for anything I take on though. In order for me to take on any project I have to feel strongly about what it is. I can’t take on a project that doesn’t stir my heart and drive me to do anything and everything I can to make it happen. The bottom line – if I don’t fully believe in it, I won’t give it my everything. Luckily I have no shortage of projects that I really want to do!
I think those of you that know me well, can attest that if I set my mind to do something, and I REALLY, really, really want it – it usually happens. Not in an “I’m so great I can do anything way” but in a way that is “I will be extremely focused until the end result is achieved to my satisfaction” way. You can ask my parents. I’ve never been more technology savvy as the time I was a young teen and the phone/internet lines were screwed up in our house. No one else seemed concerned about this travesty, so I took charge. That problem was fixed in less than an hour. Kind of a lame example…but I did not know what I was doing and I was dealing with wires in my freaking basement going from one room to the other under the floors. That’s commitment. ; )
So…my projects are finally taking off! Most of what I want to do focuses on the youth. I’ve always loved working with kids, and young adults and these kids deserve my hard work. I also love the idea of empowering youth to become aware of their potential – and believe in themselves. I guess you can say that I’ve long had a weak spot for the underdog. That is after all the core of why I wanted to join the Peace Corps. I also believe that working with HIV/AIDS – getting the prevention messages to the youth is going to be one of the many keys needed to slowing down and eventually ending this epidemic in South Africa.
So, here are the projects that are currently in the works. For all of them my organization is involved in some way or another which I think is really great. I’m so grateful to have the organization that I do!
Restarting the support groups we have for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and foster parents. Ikhwezi did used to have these but they have fallen to the wayside. There is currently no support group for PLWHA in our community! Hard for me to believe!
Grassroots Soccer Pilot Program. Grassroots Soccer and the Peace Corps are teaming up to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. Grassroots Soccer is a youth focused HIV/AIDS education program that brings sports into the mix. I applied (along with two of my counterparts at Ikhwezi) to be a part of this pilot program and was selected to participate (YAY!). Through the work we do we will be helping to create a solid partnership and permanent program for PCVs in the future to use in HIV/AIDS youth education.
Curriculum for our OVC center. First on the agenda…coming up with another name so we don’t have to refer to the children we help to their faces as “orphans and vulnerable children”. Drives me crazy. Just thought of a great idea today! Every Friday we will chose a different child and while sitting in a circle we will each say something positive about them (thanks ASB!). Currently they come after school and get a meal and get to play outside or inside our center but that is it. There is no set schedule or plan – and so many things that we could be doing to help these kids out!
Girls Clubs/Camp GLOW. This one I’m REALLY excited about! Well, I’m actually really excited about all of them, but this one has really started rolling lately. My counter part for this project is one of the new caregivers at our organization and used to be one of the OVCs that we cared for (what an amazing success story!). She is FANTASTIC and I am really looking forward to working with her! Here is our vision for the girls clubs: “Our vision is to see young women empowered to be confident and strong, able to make healthy life choices and ultimately become positive role models for their community”. LOVE IT! We brainstormed enough ideas in one meeting of topics to discuss that they will last us OVER a year. And that’s with two topics a month! Can’t wait to get this off the ground. And Camp GLOW is a camp held by PCVs all over the world and stands for Girls Leading Our World. It. Is. Awesome.
Peer Educators/Alexandria Youth HIV/AIDS Conference. I also want to partner with a South African organization called loveLife which focuses on youth HIV/AIDS education and health. (I should mention the age of “youth” in South Africa is 18(?)-30. Yes. THIRTY. (TOTALLY different from the States obviously). So sometimes when I say youth I mean young children/adolescents (my definition) and sometimes I mean it in the SA sense (like for loveLife). This project consists of identifying volunteers to become peer educators, they go for training and when they successfully matric (graduate high school) they are able to get paid for what they have been doing! THEN – we would hold a huge, awesome, totally cool youth conference. I’m imagining something REALLY hip. DJs, bands, dancing, sports, cool ways of presenting HIV/AIDS prevention messages – the works. I can see it now….
I have more things I’m working on as well (like how I’m planning our week long Strategic Planning Workshop to be held at the end of August), but the above projects are the biggies right now. I haven’t started work on all of them yet (I think that would be quite overwhelming…) but the seeds have been planted and I am ready to get started. The first ones to be up and running will be Grassroots Soccer, Girls Clubs, and the Support Groups. Although everyday I want more and more to work on the OVC center curriculum. I have a lot on my plate that’s for sure – but I’m not alone. I’m working with wonderful counterparts who are excited to make a difference and open to new ideas. Stay tuned my friends, and also if you have any ideas for any of the above projects I would LOVE to hear them!
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. -Eleanor Roosevelt
Ps. this week marked my six month anniversary living in South Africa! It’s hard to believe, but I can’t wait for my dreams to begin turning into reality.
I have been plenty busy over the last four months at my organization – don’t get me wrong. But for the first three months it was mostly trying to soak it all in and learn about my community so that I would know what the needs and wants are. After countless conversations, observations, and “data” collected I began to have my own ideas for what I wanted to work on over the next two years. The projects we focus on are obviously supposed to be things that the community wants and needs (hence will be sustainable once the PCV leaves after two years– there will be a commitment and interest in continuing the project or program). I do have a requirement for anything I take on though. In order for me to take on any project I have to feel strongly about what it is. I can’t take on a project that doesn’t stir my heart and drive me to do anything and everything I can to make it happen. The bottom line – if I don’t fully believe in it, I won’t give it my everything. Luckily I have no shortage of projects that I really want to do!
I think those of you that know me well, can attest that if I set my mind to do something, and I REALLY, really, really want it – it usually happens. Not in an “I’m so great I can do anything way” but in a way that is “I will be extremely focused until the end result is achieved to my satisfaction” way. You can ask my parents. I’ve never been more technology savvy as the time I was a young teen and the phone/internet lines were screwed up in our house. No one else seemed concerned about this travesty, so I took charge. That problem was fixed in less than an hour. Kind of a lame example…but I did not know what I was doing and I was dealing with wires in my freaking basement going from one room to the other under the floors. That’s commitment. ; )
So…my projects are finally taking off! Most of what I want to do focuses on the youth. I’ve always loved working with kids, and young adults and these kids deserve my hard work. I also love the idea of empowering youth to become aware of their potential – and believe in themselves. I guess you can say that I’ve long had a weak spot for the underdog. That is after all the core of why I wanted to join the Peace Corps. I also believe that working with HIV/AIDS – getting the prevention messages to the youth is going to be one of the many keys needed to slowing down and eventually ending this epidemic in South Africa.
So, here are the projects that are currently in the works. For all of them my organization is involved in some way or another which I think is really great. I’m so grateful to have the organization that I do!
Restarting the support groups we have for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and foster parents. Ikhwezi did used to have these but they have fallen to the wayside. There is currently no support group for PLWHA in our community! Hard for me to believe!
Grassroots Soccer Pilot Program. Grassroots Soccer and the Peace Corps are teaming up to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. Grassroots Soccer is a youth focused HIV/AIDS education program that brings sports into the mix. I applied (along with two of my counterparts at Ikhwezi) to be a part of this pilot program and was selected to participate (YAY!). Through the work we do we will be helping to create a solid partnership and permanent program for PCVs in the future to use in HIV/AIDS youth education.
Curriculum for our OVC center. First on the agenda…coming up with another name so we don’t have to refer to the children we help to their faces as “orphans and vulnerable children”. Drives me crazy. Just thought of a great idea today! Every Friday we will chose a different child and while sitting in a circle we will each say something positive about them (thanks ASB!). Currently they come after school and get a meal and get to play outside or inside our center but that is it. There is no set schedule or plan – and so many things that we could be doing to help these kids out!
Girls Clubs/Camp GLOW. This one I’m REALLY excited about! Well, I’m actually really excited about all of them, but this one has really started rolling lately. My counter part for this project is one of the new caregivers at our organization and used to be one of the OVCs that we cared for (what an amazing success story!). She is FANTASTIC and I am really looking forward to working with her! Here is our vision for the girls clubs: “Our vision is to see young women empowered to be confident and strong, able to make healthy life choices and ultimately become positive role models for their community”. LOVE IT! We brainstormed enough ideas in one meeting of topics to discuss that they will last us OVER a year. And that’s with two topics a month! Can’t wait to get this off the ground. And Camp GLOW is a camp held by PCVs all over the world and stands for Girls Leading Our World. It. Is. Awesome.
Peer Educators/Alexandria Youth HIV/AIDS Conference. I also want to partner with a South African organization called loveLife which focuses on youth HIV/AIDS education and health. (I should mention the age of “youth” in South Africa is 18(?)-30. Yes. THIRTY. (TOTALLY different from the States obviously). So sometimes when I say youth I mean young children/adolescents (my definition) and sometimes I mean it in the SA sense (like for loveLife). This project consists of identifying volunteers to become peer educators, they go for training and when they successfully matric (graduate high school) they are able to get paid for what they have been doing! THEN – we would hold a huge, awesome, totally cool youth conference. I’m imagining something REALLY hip. DJs, bands, dancing, sports, cool ways of presenting HIV/AIDS prevention messages – the works. I can see it now….
I have more things I’m working on as well (like how I’m planning our week long Strategic Planning Workshop to be held at the end of August), but the above projects are the biggies right now. I haven’t started work on all of them yet (I think that would be quite overwhelming…) but the seeds have been planted and I am ready to get started. The first ones to be up and running will be Grassroots Soccer, Girls Clubs, and the Support Groups. Although everyday I want more and more to work on the OVC center curriculum. I have a lot on my plate that’s for sure – but I’m not alone. I’m working with wonderful counterparts who are excited to make a difference and open to new ideas. Stay tuned my friends, and also if you have any ideas for any of the above projects I would LOVE to hear them!
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. -Eleanor Roosevelt
Ps. this week marked my six month anniversary living in South Africa! It’s hard to believe, but I can’t wait for my dreams to begin turning into reality.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
"Marry Me Milo" and Double Band-Aids
“Marry me Milo” is my three year old host brother’s rendition of the super popular house song in South Africa that actually says “marry me my love”. He is just too adorable. And is like a broken record since the two things he will say to me are “ZOLEKA!” (my name) and “Zoleka, How. Are. Youuuu? I’m fine”. He yells my name because that is what all the other neighborhood kids do, and he asks me how I am because that is the only phrase he knows how to say in English. I am excited though because right before I left for my PC training in Pretoria he finally warmed up to me and didn’t seem scared anymore! Success! Andddd apparently when I was gone he kept asking when I would be back. Aw. Little buddy.
As I mentioned I recently got back from a week and a half training/mini-vacation in the big city Pretoria. Pretoria is near where our training was, and happens to take me over 20 hours to travel to and from. It is horrible. Luckily this time around I was on InterCape bus line instead of Greyhound. InterCape bus I have discovered is 100% more comfortable than Greyhound. It is also about R200 more each way. Good thing this one was on Peace Corps tab! It was actually a fluke that I was on InterCape, and while I was at the time really happy I was on it, it’s almost a tease because I’m probably not going to be able to afford it on my own. So next time while I’m on the uncomfortable Greyhound with my seat barely reclining, and ZERO leg room, I’ll be fantasizing about the time I took the bus where the seats reclined so far back you were essentially laying down. AND they had lots of leg room…
Training in Pretoria was really exciting. Peace Corps brought together all the 44 other PCVs from my SA23 training group and our supervisors. This was a really great week for my supervisor to get to chat and network with other supervisors, and for her and me to work on planning a project together. It was great practice for the next two years and all the other projects we will work on! It was also GREAT for me because I got to hang out will all my friends again! YAY! It was SO GOOD seeing everyone and learning about their sites. It’s also a good chance to just let off some steam, and my favorite - share stories of all kinds. The stories can involve anything but always center around the cultural differences (that’s what makes them so entertaining and makes us realize no matter how different our sites are…we are basically all experiencing the same things). The funniest ones are usually about harassment (that sounds weird but I'm not talking about scary harassment...). That reminds me – for the first time yesterday I had a stranger literally RUN up to me and ask to touch my hair. I couldn’t help it and replied “Well, that’s kind of weird…but yea go ahead”. Apparently my hair is really soft. I replied “It’s actually really tangle-y right now...but thank you...” only because I didn’t know what else to say. And then I felt stupid and she ran off. This is a great example of the harassment that most of us deal with. It’s not dangerous or hurtful…just sort of weird and (can be) annoying to deal with.
I actually don’t get harassed much. This is partially due to my proactive strategy (at least that’s what I think). I came into the situation (aka my site) with this attitude – I was simply NOT going to tolerate harassment. And, I am not worried AT ALL about “being nice” to potential harassers. I’m not rude, but I have a completely different attitude and persona when dealing with any males that are of an age that would try and hit on me. By attitude and persona I mean I will still greet them on the street (as is polite) but I won’t do it with the huge smile that I have when greeting a Gogo (grandmother) or even in the same tone. I can’t be sure if it’s entirely my strategy or a combination of reasons but it has been effective so I don’t really care what it is! (I talked to my friend at training who has the same attitude about it as I do and she doesn’t get harassed really either so I think it’s our strategy!).
This doesn’t mean that I don’t get harassed by other people though. As we all know, I was having some issues with small children. That has long since stopped (thank goodness!). I guess they finally realized that I am – in fact – extremely boring to watch. It was actually pretty weird once I realized that I didn’t have an audience to watch me make dinner every night. No little kids ever bother me now (besides being the neighborhood alarm for me coming down the street as echoes of ZOLEKAAAAAAA can be heard from places I can’t even see).
And then there is the occasional woman on woman harassment. Like the time a lady stopped me in the street, tried to sell me a “gold” chain, and when I politely explained that “oh, I just really like silver jewelry” (not even true but I panicked!) she told me she loved me and kissed me on the NECK. The only thing I can do when a lady tries to get to close is laugh because I’m so taken aback by the situation. Lady on lady harassment was one of the fun issues we got to talk about together in training. It’s so unexpected (and for the record I'm not implying that these women are actually interested in me - I'm pretty sure in 100% of the cases it is just a different way of expressing platonic friendship-type love). Then there is the thing that really, (as an American who values her personal space) really freaks me out. When a woman is talking to another woman, it seems not only acceptable but normal that she at some point rest her hand on the other lady’s chest. I, thankfully haven’t really had to deal with this…but it’s one of those “cultural things” that we are SO different with in the US. Actually as we all expressed at training – personal space IN GENERAL is something that is culturally different in the US. Don’t even get me started on standing in “lines” (or lack of usually). : ) These are all the kinds of things that make it so fun and interesting to move to a new place! Just seeing how people interact differently. My inner sociologist has been having a blast!
I have found that having a sense of humor (about everything) has helped so much! I have also drawn so much from my studies in sociology (I’m kind of a sociology nerd so I love being able to see it in action!). Before I forget - the last story I have involves me, several concerned women, and my laundry. Since I have been at site I have been hand washing all of my own laundry. Now, I have SOME experience with hand washing laundry…although all of it involves items too delicate to be put in the washing machine at home like silk tank tops. Regardless – I’ve handled it just fine thank you very much (can you tell I’m slightly defensive about this…I’m trying not to be!). Well, this last weekend I had to laundry and it had been three weeks (due to being out of town, etc) so there was quite the pile.
Just as I was getting started my host sister had a whole bunch of guests over to eat lunch. I had two different ladies come up to me and tell me I was doing it wrong while demonstrating the “correct” way to do it. (Which I honestly still don’t see the difference. The only thing is when I do it I don’t splash so much and the clothes don’t make this squishy noise). So I said thank you, but I’m just fine – I tried doing it their way but like I said I thought I was - so I just kept on washing. A little later some neighborhood girls came looking for my host sister who wasn’t there. A girl that is approximately 11 then began to tell me I was doing it wrong and show me again. At this point ANOTHER woman had already lectured me on how it was wrong (and the first two had criticized my method for what seemed like forever) so I was a little annoyed. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and I said “Do I come to YOUR house and tell you how to wash YOUR laundry? No, so please don’t tell me how to wash mine.” She apologized (and so did I) but she made sure to tell me I was still wrong. Well, for a while I was brewing about this injustice in silence and the humiliation of a child lecturing me on proper laundry methods when my fingers started to really hurt.
Turns out they were all correct as it got increasingly harder and harder to finish the laundry as I had rubbed part of my knuckles on six fingers raw with my method. Well. Flash forward to later that day as it was a burning pain whenever my fingers touched water. THEN flash forward to me having to put a band aid on each hand to avoid the pain that came when my fingers brushed against anything (which happens a lot more than you realize I promise you). I really could have put three band aids on each hand but decided to just do one on each ring finger as that was the finger most affected (this decision was based on the fact that in my PC Med Kit there are only enormous size band aids so it would have been impractical). Now, three days later they still hurt a little bit, but I can touch water without pain. Today was the first day I went without the double band aids, and I have been applying antibiotic like mad. It looks like I have burns on six of my fingers. I am now committed to learning the “right” method to clothes washing by hand. Until I hear the squishy noise I will stop at nothing to achieve this goal!
As I mentioned I recently got back from a week and a half training/mini-vacation in the big city Pretoria. Pretoria is near where our training was, and happens to take me over 20 hours to travel to and from. It is horrible. Luckily this time around I was on InterCape bus line instead of Greyhound. InterCape bus I have discovered is 100% more comfortable than Greyhound. It is also about R200 more each way. Good thing this one was on Peace Corps tab! It was actually a fluke that I was on InterCape, and while I was at the time really happy I was on it, it’s almost a tease because I’m probably not going to be able to afford it on my own. So next time while I’m on the uncomfortable Greyhound with my seat barely reclining, and ZERO leg room, I’ll be fantasizing about the time I took the bus where the seats reclined so far back you were essentially laying down. AND they had lots of leg room…
Training in Pretoria was really exciting. Peace Corps brought together all the 44 other PCVs from my SA23 training group and our supervisors. This was a really great week for my supervisor to get to chat and network with other supervisors, and for her and me to work on planning a project together. It was great practice for the next two years and all the other projects we will work on! It was also GREAT for me because I got to hang out will all my friends again! YAY! It was SO GOOD seeing everyone and learning about their sites. It’s also a good chance to just let off some steam, and my favorite - share stories of all kinds. The stories can involve anything but always center around the cultural differences (that’s what makes them so entertaining and makes us realize no matter how different our sites are…we are basically all experiencing the same things). The funniest ones are usually about harassment (that sounds weird but I'm not talking about scary harassment...). That reminds me – for the first time yesterday I had a stranger literally RUN up to me and ask to touch my hair. I couldn’t help it and replied “Well, that’s kind of weird…but yea go ahead”. Apparently my hair is really soft. I replied “It’s actually really tangle-y right now...but thank you...” only because I didn’t know what else to say. And then I felt stupid and she ran off. This is a great example of the harassment that most of us deal with. It’s not dangerous or hurtful…just sort of weird and (can be) annoying to deal with.
I actually don’t get harassed much. This is partially due to my proactive strategy (at least that’s what I think). I came into the situation (aka my site) with this attitude – I was simply NOT going to tolerate harassment. And, I am not worried AT ALL about “being nice” to potential harassers. I’m not rude, but I have a completely different attitude and persona when dealing with any males that are of an age that would try and hit on me. By attitude and persona I mean I will still greet them on the street (as is polite) but I won’t do it with the huge smile that I have when greeting a Gogo (grandmother) or even in the same tone. I can’t be sure if it’s entirely my strategy or a combination of reasons but it has been effective so I don’t really care what it is! (I talked to my friend at training who has the same attitude about it as I do and she doesn’t get harassed really either so I think it’s our strategy!).
This doesn’t mean that I don’t get harassed by other people though. As we all know, I was having some issues with small children. That has long since stopped (thank goodness!). I guess they finally realized that I am – in fact – extremely boring to watch. It was actually pretty weird once I realized that I didn’t have an audience to watch me make dinner every night. No little kids ever bother me now (besides being the neighborhood alarm for me coming down the street as echoes of ZOLEKAAAAAAA can be heard from places I can’t even see).
And then there is the occasional woman on woman harassment. Like the time a lady stopped me in the street, tried to sell me a “gold” chain, and when I politely explained that “oh, I just really like silver jewelry” (not even true but I panicked!) she told me she loved me and kissed me on the NECK. The only thing I can do when a lady tries to get to close is laugh because I’m so taken aback by the situation. Lady on lady harassment was one of the fun issues we got to talk about together in training. It’s so unexpected (and for the record I'm not implying that these women are actually interested in me - I'm pretty sure in 100% of the cases it is just a different way of expressing platonic friendship-type love). Then there is the thing that really, (as an American who values her personal space) really freaks me out. When a woman is talking to another woman, it seems not only acceptable but normal that she at some point rest her hand on the other lady’s chest. I, thankfully haven’t really had to deal with this…but it’s one of those “cultural things” that we are SO different with in the US. Actually as we all expressed at training – personal space IN GENERAL is something that is culturally different in the US. Don’t even get me started on standing in “lines” (or lack of usually). : ) These are all the kinds of things that make it so fun and interesting to move to a new place! Just seeing how people interact differently. My inner sociologist has been having a blast!
I have found that having a sense of humor (about everything) has helped so much! I have also drawn so much from my studies in sociology (I’m kind of a sociology nerd so I love being able to see it in action!). Before I forget - the last story I have involves me, several concerned women, and my laundry. Since I have been at site I have been hand washing all of my own laundry. Now, I have SOME experience with hand washing laundry…although all of it involves items too delicate to be put in the washing machine at home like silk tank tops. Regardless – I’ve handled it just fine thank you very much (can you tell I’m slightly defensive about this…I’m trying not to be!). Well, this last weekend I had to laundry and it had been three weeks (due to being out of town, etc) so there was quite the pile.
Just as I was getting started my host sister had a whole bunch of guests over to eat lunch. I had two different ladies come up to me and tell me I was doing it wrong while demonstrating the “correct” way to do it. (Which I honestly still don’t see the difference. The only thing is when I do it I don’t splash so much and the clothes don’t make this squishy noise). So I said thank you, but I’m just fine – I tried doing it their way but like I said I thought I was - so I just kept on washing. A little later some neighborhood girls came looking for my host sister who wasn’t there. A girl that is approximately 11 then began to tell me I was doing it wrong and show me again. At this point ANOTHER woman had already lectured me on how it was wrong (and the first two had criticized my method for what seemed like forever) so I was a little annoyed. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and I said “Do I come to YOUR house and tell you how to wash YOUR laundry? No, so please don’t tell me how to wash mine.” She apologized (and so did I) but she made sure to tell me I was still wrong. Well, for a while I was brewing about this injustice in silence and the humiliation of a child lecturing me on proper laundry methods when my fingers started to really hurt.
Turns out they were all correct as it got increasingly harder and harder to finish the laundry as I had rubbed part of my knuckles on six fingers raw with my method. Well. Flash forward to later that day as it was a burning pain whenever my fingers touched water. THEN flash forward to me having to put a band aid on each hand to avoid the pain that came when my fingers brushed against anything (which happens a lot more than you realize I promise you). I really could have put three band aids on each hand but decided to just do one on each ring finger as that was the finger most affected (this decision was based on the fact that in my PC Med Kit there are only enormous size band aids so it would have been impractical). Now, three days later they still hurt a little bit, but I can touch water without pain. Today was the first day I went without the double band aids, and I have been applying antibiotic like mad. It looks like I have burns on six of my fingers. I am now committed to learning the “right” method to clothes washing by hand. Until I hear the squishy noise I will stop at nothing to achieve this goal!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
HIV/AIDS
Consider the following statistic. In 2007 South Africa had 0.7% of the world’s population and 17% of the global burden of HIV infection (Karim et al).
The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in South Africa in 2009 was 17.9% (UNAIDS). In 2008 that meant an estimated 5.7 MILLION people were HIV positive (UNAIDS). 5.7 million out of a population of 49,000,000. That is a staggering figure. Then if you take into consideration the other social issues that exist – it is an uphill battle. Another part of the HIV/AIDS epidemic here is that tuberculosis (TB) is now also an epidemic in South Africa. Someone can get TB without being HIV positive obviously, but it is the most common opportunistic infection that occurs in people living with HIV/AIDS. Again despite the small population of South Africa in 2006 they had the fourth largest number of TB cases in the world (Karim et al).
In my couple months in South Africa I have certainly interacted with people who have been HIV positive, but not necessarily known who they are. There are two exceptions though – and two stories that have really touched me have been emotionally challenging.
My first weekend in Alexandria my host sister was driving to Port Elizabeth (PE) and it was my chance to see the big city and grab some groceries. Part of that trip was to stop at the tuberculosis hospital to visit some community members. We were visiting two people – one was a girl my age (23-24) and the cousin of my host sister. The other was the father of my Granny’s next door neighbors. These neighbors - two children who I met for the first time that day had already lost their mother to HIV. They were living in their house on their own but sleeping and eating at my Granny’s house. This was my first encounter with people who were extremely sick. After that trip I hadn’t heard anything about either of them since. That changed recently.
Two weekends ago when I stopped by my Granny’s on my jog as I normally do I found her niece there. I decided to postpone my jog for a visit with this girl since I had met her before to see how she was doing. She was doing well enough to have been approved to come home and visit her family for the weekend. I found out that she had been in that hospital since last October. We talked about what it’s like for her there. She doesn’t like the food they give them – sometimes plain veggies with nothing on them. She said that it’s hard because so many people in her ward have died – and sometimes you don’t even get to say goodbye because it’s so sudden. And when I asked if she was able to talk to anyone like a counselor she said that there is no one except a church group that comes to pray with them sometimes.
To describe her as skin and bones is not an exaggeration at all. Something was clearly wrong with her eye and I asked her what happened to it since I had seen her two months ago. One day – the “white thing” just started to move down her eye, and it was really red. When she went to the hospital about it they told her that she should just get the eye removed but she didn’t want to do that. She is now blind in that eye. I was amazed that you could just go blind in one of your eyes suddenly with no explanation. I can’t imagine how scary that must have been. I was also shocked that she was in a hospital and sees nurses daily and there had been no “early intervention” with her eye issue. During our conversation she had to take her pills – and had no less than 10 different pills she was supposed to take daily. She doesn’t take all of them because some of them make her vomit. She knows which ones to avoid. She ended up taking six pills all at once! She said she is trying so hard to get better because she doesn’t like staying in the hospital and would rather be at home eating all of the good foods that she likes. In October she will have been at this hospital for a year. I hope she gets out and better before then.
In the course of our conversation I asked her how the father of her neighbors was. She told me honestly that he was very, very sick. This made me extremely worried for the two little friends that I have. It’s hard enough to imagine being in elementary school and losing your mother. But to have your father so sick he’s in the hospital far away and you can never see him – it’s so difficult.
That same week that their father passed away. I really don’t even know what to say. I’m heartbroken for them. Parents are losing their children before they reach adulthood – and children are losing their parents in the time they need them most. This is reality and this is life. This isn’t new or shocking to anyone here – it’s just the way things are.
-Karim et al. “HIV Infection and Tuberculosis in South Africa: An Urgent Need to Escalate the Public Health Response”. September 12, 2009. www.thelancet.com.
The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in South Africa in 2009 was 17.9% (UNAIDS). In 2008 that meant an estimated 5.7 MILLION people were HIV positive (UNAIDS). 5.7 million out of a population of 49,000,000. That is a staggering figure. Then if you take into consideration the other social issues that exist – it is an uphill battle. Another part of the HIV/AIDS epidemic here is that tuberculosis (TB) is now also an epidemic in South Africa. Someone can get TB without being HIV positive obviously, but it is the most common opportunistic infection that occurs in people living with HIV/AIDS. Again despite the small population of South Africa in 2006 they had the fourth largest number of TB cases in the world (Karim et al).
In my couple months in South Africa I have certainly interacted with people who have been HIV positive, but not necessarily known who they are. There are two exceptions though – and two stories that have really touched me have been emotionally challenging.
My first weekend in Alexandria my host sister was driving to Port Elizabeth (PE) and it was my chance to see the big city and grab some groceries. Part of that trip was to stop at the tuberculosis hospital to visit some community members. We were visiting two people – one was a girl my age (23-24) and the cousin of my host sister. The other was the father of my Granny’s next door neighbors. These neighbors - two children who I met for the first time that day had already lost their mother to HIV. They were living in their house on their own but sleeping and eating at my Granny’s house. This was my first encounter with people who were extremely sick. After that trip I hadn’t heard anything about either of them since. That changed recently.
Two weekends ago when I stopped by my Granny’s on my jog as I normally do I found her niece there. I decided to postpone my jog for a visit with this girl since I had met her before to see how she was doing. She was doing well enough to have been approved to come home and visit her family for the weekend. I found out that she had been in that hospital since last October. We talked about what it’s like for her there. She doesn’t like the food they give them – sometimes plain veggies with nothing on them. She said that it’s hard because so many people in her ward have died – and sometimes you don’t even get to say goodbye because it’s so sudden. And when I asked if she was able to talk to anyone like a counselor she said that there is no one except a church group that comes to pray with them sometimes.
To describe her as skin and bones is not an exaggeration at all. Something was clearly wrong with her eye and I asked her what happened to it since I had seen her two months ago. One day – the “white thing” just started to move down her eye, and it was really red. When she went to the hospital about it they told her that she should just get the eye removed but she didn’t want to do that. She is now blind in that eye. I was amazed that you could just go blind in one of your eyes suddenly with no explanation. I can’t imagine how scary that must have been. I was also shocked that she was in a hospital and sees nurses daily and there had been no “early intervention” with her eye issue. During our conversation she had to take her pills – and had no less than 10 different pills she was supposed to take daily. She doesn’t take all of them because some of them make her vomit. She knows which ones to avoid. She ended up taking six pills all at once! She said she is trying so hard to get better because she doesn’t like staying in the hospital and would rather be at home eating all of the good foods that she likes. In October she will have been at this hospital for a year. I hope she gets out and better before then.
In the course of our conversation I asked her how the father of her neighbors was. She told me honestly that he was very, very sick. This made me extremely worried for the two little friends that I have. It’s hard enough to imagine being in elementary school and losing your mother. But to have your father so sick he’s in the hospital far away and you can never see him – it’s so difficult.
That same week that their father passed away. I really don’t even know what to say. I’m heartbroken for them. Parents are losing their children before they reach adulthood – and children are losing their parents in the time they need them most. This is reality and this is life. This isn’t new or shocking to anyone here – it’s just the way things are.
-Karim et al. “HIV Infection and Tuberculosis in South Africa: An Urgent Need to Escalate the Public Health Response”. September 12, 2009. www.thelancet.com.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Life Moves Pretty Fast...
…If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. A quote from one of my favorite movies – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I thought of it when writing this entry because it seems to me that life DOES move pretty fast! I can’t believe that it’s almost JUNE. Unbelievable. I’m still loving life here in SA. In the past few weeks so much has happened that it’s hard to figure out what to focus on! I’ll start with a much needed update…
I need to give a cockroach/pest update since so many were concerned after learning about my issues. Thank you for all the support. You can rest easy now though. Right after that blog was written the weather got consistently colder SO – I haven’t seen ANY cockroaches in my room since that blog (maybe one small one I can’t remember). BUT I also went to the local hardware store bought sealant and a caulk gun and went Tim-the-Tool-Man-Taylor (from the show Home Improvement for anyone who missed that reference) on my room sealing off anything that even resembled a crack or hole. That also included my entire ceiling to wall boarder. It was quite the project – lucky for me I have a tiny room. There has also been a very noticeable decline in cockroach sightings in my main house. I asked my host sister if this was due to the weather and she said “yes”, followed by “But yyyooouuuhhhh – in summer – there are SO MANY”. Great. I can’t wait.
Side story: I thought that cockroaches were my biggest pest problem until I discovered that an army of ants had made my windowsill their indoor ant hill (I didn’t notice right away because of the full wall lace curtain that I can’t move covering my window). This situation was quite alarming as there appeared to be thousands of ants (and their larva - yuck) on my windowsill! I have to tell this full story because in retrospect it is quite hilarious and depicts perfectly the kind of things that I’m dealing with that make me occasionally say: “I can’t believe this is my life”. So I get my powder “DOOM” called Blue Death which keeps all kinds of pests away. I begin to sprinkle it on my windowsill thinking that it will gradually kill the ants.
Well it sort of did – BUT it made the whole hill go into full panic mode and ants started running in all directions. The ants it did kill that tried running were falling off the edge of my windowsill INTO my shoes. I decided that was not the best route to proceed. So I grabbed my trusted spray DOOM and killed them that way. At this point it was getting dark outside and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get the thousands of dead ants/larva off my windowsill, so I decided to wait until the next day, and remove my full wall lace curtain. But before I left them I went outside to discover exactly how these ants were getting into my room. By a tiny crack in the wall by my window of course. WHY ants would walk up a wall to find a small crack to make their city INDOORS is beyond me…but it happened. The trail of ants along the wall of our house wrapped pretty far before they got to my window. (This hole was sealed the next day with my trusty sealant I might add).
Cleaning up the mess the next day was not what I would describe as pleasant. I have burglar bars on my windows so there is a physical barrier to cleaning the windows, let alone getting thousands of ant corpses out from the tiny space between the actual windowsill and burglar bar. The “best” method was knife. I spent a good half hour attempting to clean up the evidence of the ant city. It was really gross, and I felt really bad for all the dead ants and their larva that I had killed. But at the same time – they brought it on themselves when they decided to make my windowsill their home. This room is not big enough for me and thousands of ants.
Moving on - I want to talk about the weather because it has been SO COLD here. The weather reminds me a lot of Oregon and Northern California. It is coastal weather here – cold nights, cool mornings and evenings, and warmer during the day. The climate in the Eastern Cape is extremely varied – and it is the only province in South Africa to have all seven ecological zones. It is currently winter and has been getting colder and colder. And then I convert the temperature to Fahrenheit on my phone and realize it’s not actually all that cold. But – temperature is completely relative so it feels really cold. In the US we’re so used to the fact that even if it’s cold/hot outside; indoors it’s not the same temperature. Well here there is very little difference between indoor and outdoor temperature so at my work it feels freezing on a day that is 55 or less because it is that cold inside too. Imagine trying to work in an office that is colder than 60 degrees – it’s hard. Thank goodness we have our trusty space heater. Last week it was rainy and when we looked up the weather it said that it was 12 Celsius but felt like 7 (which is 46 degrees!). Luckily we’ve had some sun – so it’s been nice and warm in the sunshine.
Work has been so busy lately (in a great way!). We have so much going on – and I’m hoping that I can just get everything done by the time that it needs to be done. I’m currently working on helping to plan an internal assessment we have to do, and am also putting together a strategic planning workshop! I’m trying to get these things done before the end of June. I have In Service Training (IST) at the end of June which I’m really excited about because that means I get to see all of my fellow PCVs from my group!
On an annoying/sad note Congress passed the budget recently and reduced the Peace Corps budget by $25 MILLION while at the same time increasing the budget by more money than what has sustained the Peace Corps for the last 50 years. SO that directly affects PCVs in the reduction of services that we are able to have access to while in service. It also has drastically reduced our travel allowance that we get quarterly (at least in PC South Africa) to an amount that will barely get me to the nearest big city (along with other budget cuts)! This has also resulted in the ending of two whole Peace Corps programs – one of which is PC Romania. I have a friend from ISU who is a PCV in Romania and he is so disappointed and upset about this (currently serving volunteers are ending their services as planned they just aren’t taking any new volunteers). Such a bummer.
I have an update about friends! I have basically been adopted by a family that lives on the next street from me. They have three girls who are all in high school but close enough to my age and they are my new friends! We dance to music videos, watch celebrity reality shows and Generations (my favorite soap opera), and they feed me…a lot. It is the family of the founder of my organization and the HIV/AIDS coordinator of the Municipality. They are a great family and I love hanging out with them! They tell me I am one of their sisters and part of the family and so it’s nice to have a place where I can hang out! The other day was the 20th birthday of one of the girls and we had a little party – it was so much fun!
Random News: I’m very excited for one of my best friends who is going to be joining me in the world of PC when she leaves June 1st to serve in Ecuador! Apparently in Ecuador they use the dollar which means she will have a very real understanding of how much money she’s making each month. Potentially really depressing, but other than that I’m so excited for her to begin her work with HIV/AIDS (just like me!) so we can share stories!
I spent last week with one of my fellow PCVs at his site while our organizations did a combined training. It was great to hang out with a fellow American! I also should add that he is staying essentially in a hostel. He gets to stay where the park rangers would stay at a big game reserve which now serves as the volunteer housing for the (loaded) foreigners that come to volunteer on this game reserve. All I cared about was the shower! Washing my hair in a bucket = really annoying.
The situation with washing my hair in a bucket is the perfect segue way (which ps I thought was spelled segway and I had to google it) into my closing thought. I recently got a card from my cousin with this amazing quotation on it exemplifying this whole experience:
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” – Neale Donald Walsch. I agree completely.
I need to give a cockroach/pest update since so many were concerned after learning about my issues. Thank you for all the support. You can rest easy now though. Right after that blog was written the weather got consistently colder SO – I haven’t seen ANY cockroaches in my room since that blog (maybe one small one I can’t remember). BUT I also went to the local hardware store bought sealant and a caulk gun and went Tim-the-Tool-Man-Taylor (from the show Home Improvement for anyone who missed that reference) on my room sealing off anything that even resembled a crack or hole. That also included my entire ceiling to wall boarder. It was quite the project – lucky for me I have a tiny room. There has also been a very noticeable decline in cockroach sightings in my main house. I asked my host sister if this was due to the weather and she said “yes”, followed by “But yyyooouuuhhhh – in summer – there are SO MANY”. Great. I can’t wait.
Side story: I thought that cockroaches were my biggest pest problem until I discovered that an army of ants had made my windowsill their indoor ant hill (I didn’t notice right away because of the full wall lace curtain that I can’t move covering my window). This situation was quite alarming as there appeared to be thousands of ants (and their larva - yuck) on my windowsill! I have to tell this full story because in retrospect it is quite hilarious and depicts perfectly the kind of things that I’m dealing with that make me occasionally say: “I can’t believe this is my life”. So I get my powder “DOOM” called Blue Death which keeps all kinds of pests away. I begin to sprinkle it on my windowsill thinking that it will gradually kill the ants.
Well it sort of did – BUT it made the whole hill go into full panic mode and ants started running in all directions. The ants it did kill that tried running were falling off the edge of my windowsill INTO my shoes. I decided that was not the best route to proceed. So I grabbed my trusted spray DOOM and killed them that way. At this point it was getting dark outside and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get the thousands of dead ants/larva off my windowsill, so I decided to wait until the next day, and remove my full wall lace curtain. But before I left them I went outside to discover exactly how these ants were getting into my room. By a tiny crack in the wall by my window of course. WHY ants would walk up a wall to find a small crack to make their city INDOORS is beyond me…but it happened. The trail of ants along the wall of our house wrapped pretty far before they got to my window. (This hole was sealed the next day with my trusty sealant I might add).
Cleaning up the mess the next day was not what I would describe as pleasant. I have burglar bars on my windows so there is a physical barrier to cleaning the windows, let alone getting thousands of ant corpses out from the tiny space between the actual windowsill and burglar bar. The “best” method was knife. I spent a good half hour attempting to clean up the evidence of the ant city. It was really gross, and I felt really bad for all the dead ants and their larva that I had killed. But at the same time – they brought it on themselves when they decided to make my windowsill their home. This room is not big enough for me and thousands of ants.
Moving on - I want to talk about the weather because it has been SO COLD here. The weather reminds me a lot of Oregon and Northern California. It is coastal weather here – cold nights, cool mornings and evenings, and warmer during the day. The climate in the Eastern Cape is extremely varied – and it is the only province in South Africa to have all seven ecological zones. It is currently winter and has been getting colder and colder. And then I convert the temperature to Fahrenheit on my phone and realize it’s not actually all that cold. But – temperature is completely relative so it feels really cold. In the US we’re so used to the fact that even if it’s cold/hot outside; indoors it’s not the same temperature. Well here there is very little difference between indoor and outdoor temperature so at my work it feels freezing on a day that is 55 or less because it is that cold inside too. Imagine trying to work in an office that is colder than 60 degrees – it’s hard. Thank goodness we have our trusty space heater. Last week it was rainy and when we looked up the weather it said that it was 12 Celsius but felt like 7 (which is 46 degrees!). Luckily we’ve had some sun – so it’s been nice and warm in the sunshine.
Work has been so busy lately (in a great way!). We have so much going on – and I’m hoping that I can just get everything done by the time that it needs to be done. I’m currently working on helping to plan an internal assessment we have to do, and am also putting together a strategic planning workshop! I’m trying to get these things done before the end of June. I have In Service Training (IST) at the end of June which I’m really excited about because that means I get to see all of my fellow PCVs from my group!
On an annoying/sad note Congress passed the budget recently and reduced the Peace Corps budget by $25 MILLION while at the same time increasing the budget by more money than what has sustained the Peace Corps for the last 50 years. SO that directly affects PCVs in the reduction of services that we are able to have access to while in service. It also has drastically reduced our travel allowance that we get quarterly (at least in PC South Africa) to an amount that will barely get me to the nearest big city (along with other budget cuts)! This has also resulted in the ending of two whole Peace Corps programs – one of which is PC Romania. I have a friend from ISU who is a PCV in Romania and he is so disappointed and upset about this (currently serving volunteers are ending their services as planned they just aren’t taking any new volunteers). Such a bummer.
I have an update about friends! I have basically been adopted by a family that lives on the next street from me. They have three girls who are all in high school but close enough to my age and they are my new friends! We dance to music videos, watch celebrity reality shows and Generations (my favorite soap opera), and they feed me…a lot. It is the family of the founder of my organization and the HIV/AIDS coordinator of the Municipality. They are a great family and I love hanging out with them! They tell me I am one of their sisters and part of the family and so it’s nice to have a place where I can hang out! The other day was the 20th birthday of one of the girls and we had a little party – it was so much fun!
Random News: I’m very excited for one of my best friends who is going to be joining me in the world of PC when she leaves June 1st to serve in Ecuador! Apparently in Ecuador they use the dollar which means she will have a very real understanding of how much money she’s making each month. Potentially really depressing, but other than that I’m so excited for her to begin her work with HIV/AIDS (just like me!) so we can share stories!
I spent last week with one of my fellow PCVs at his site while our organizations did a combined training. It was great to hang out with a fellow American! I also should add that he is staying essentially in a hostel. He gets to stay where the park rangers would stay at a big game reserve which now serves as the volunteer housing for the (loaded) foreigners that come to volunteer on this game reserve. All I cared about was the shower! Washing my hair in a bucket = really annoying.
The situation with washing my hair in a bucket is the perfect segue way (which ps I thought was spelled segway and I had to google it) into my closing thought. I recently got a card from my cousin with this amazing quotation on it exemplifying this whole experience:
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” – Neale Donald Walsch. I agree completely.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Cockroaches.
The time has come. Did I ever think I would be writing a blog dedicated to something that I despise so much? No. But - it needs to be addressed and I will tell you why! Last night at approximately 6:30pm our electricity ran out. At this time it is already fully dark (since it’s winter here). All of the local shops where you can “buy” electricity were “out of it”. I do have to explain this briefly…I don’t understand how electricity works here. All I know is that people buy it as they go (like cell phone airtime) and get a “pin number” that they punch into this contraption in their house and magically more electricity comes. The kicker is that sometimes the shops that sell it are “sold out”. How that is possible I do not understand – but it is. So anyway – we were going to be without electricity for the whole night. WHICH leads me to cockroaches…
I have discovered that I have split personalities when it comes to cockroaches. Personality One comes out when I see a cockroach outside (which hadn’t happened until today actually), inside my main house that I share, or in another building. This personality is so used to seeing cockroaches that she doesn’t even flinch anymore (unless they’re extra big). I don’t bother killing these ones, because if I did – I would be killing an insane amount of cockroaches a day. Cockroaches of all sizes roam the main house freely – and especially love the kitchen. I do have to say that despite being immune to them – this personality insists on airtight sealing all food items both in the cupboard and in the refrigerator. Oh. And she can sometimes still freak out a little (like last night when I was using a flash light to go to the bathroom and I picked up the roll of toilet paper, thought there was a cockroach on it, and dropped the whole thing INTO the toilet…opps).
Let me just give a good example to the extent of how infested this kitchen is hence why I have become immune. The other day I went to use the microwave (they love microwaves because they are so warm). Well, I was about to push the start button when I stopped because I could see a cockroach right by the start button…but then wait…realized that the cockroach was blocking the digital clock from INSIDE the microwave not the outside! Silly me.
Personality Two only comes out in my personal room. This is the crazed cockroach killer. I spent five minutes last night trying to trick a cockroach out from under my bed with my flashlight (I got him with my flip flop don’t worry!). I will stop at nothing when it comes to killing cockroaches in my room. And until lately – this has been relatively non-issue. My only conclusion is that because of the cold weather, they are seeking shelter and my room is fair game. My hypothesis is that they come in through the crack between my wooden ceiling and the roof area (which I’m sure isn’t sealed off). So – the plan is tomorrow to go to the hardware store and buy a caulking type sealer/instrument and attempt to cockroach proof my ceiling.
Despite this, I am actually lucky. Considering how many cockroaches live in the main house the small amount I’ve seen in my room is actually very surprising. Until two days ago I hadn’t even seen a big one in my room. I classify a cockroach as “big” if I can 1) hear it walking 2) it would take up a good length of my palm. The big cockroach sighting happened at 1:22am when I woke up and heard the sounds. Then I turned on the light and was able to get it with DOOM. Last night – there were three cockroach sightings in my room. Two small, one big. One of the small ones was ON MY PILLOW…which lead to a pretty much sleepless night…and a big one near my bed (it had somehow been knocked onto its back which made it very convenient to spray with DOOM). I will kill small to medium cockroaches with my flip flops but big ones must be sprayed with DOOM. This personality exists because the thought of a cockroach walking on me as I sleep is too much for me to handle.
I was thinking about my split personalities last night as I lay in bed – listen to my iPod trying to fall asleep and not let myself listen for cockroach sounds (unsuccessfully I might add). It is one of those things that once you think about it, you can’t stop. Due to the electricity being off I was feeling extra vulnerable because even if I DID hear one I might not be able to find it with just my flashlight. (Do you see why I have to describe this personality as “crazed”?). Oh well – I’m hoping that after I can seal off my ceiling I’ll have way less cockroach sightings. I’m not sure where else they would come in. Then again – we’re talking about cockroaches so I’m sure they’d figure out a way…
I have discovered that I have split personalities when it comes to cockroaches. Personality One comes out when I see a cockroach outside (which hadn’t happened until today actually), inside my main house that I share, or in another building. This personality is so used to seeing cockroaches that she doesn’t even flinch anymore (unless they’re extra big). I don’t bother killing these ones, because if I did – I would be killing an insane amount of cockroaches a day. Cockroaches of all sizes roam the main house freely – and especially love the kitchen. I do have to say that despite being immune to them – this personality insists on airtight sealing all food items both in the cupboard and in the refrigerator. Oh. And she can sometimes still freak out a little (like last night when I was using a flash light to go to the bathroom and I picked up the roll of toilet paper, thought there was a cockroach on it, and dropped the whole thing INTO the toilet…opps).
Let me just give a good example to the extent of how infested this kitchen is hence why I have become immune. The other day I went to use the microwave (they love microwaves because they are so warm). Well, I was about to push the start button when I stopped because I could see a cockroach right by the start button…but then wait…realized that the cockroach was blocking the digital clock from INSIDE the microwave not the outside! Silly me.
Personality Two only comes out in my personal room. This is the crazed cockroach killer. I spent five minutes last night trying to trick a cockroach out from under my bed with my flashlight (I got him with my flip flop don’t worry!). I will stop at nothing when it comes to killing cockroaches in my room. And until lately – this has been relatively non-issue. My only conclusion is that because of the cold weather, they are seeking shelter and my room is fair game. My hypothesis is that they come in through the crack between my wooden ceiling and the roof area (which I’m sure isn’t sealed off). So – the plan is tomorrow to go to the hardware store and buy a caulking type sealer/instrument and attempt to cockroach proof my ceiling.
Despite this, I am actually lucky. Considering how many cockroaches live in the main house the small amount I’ve seen in my room is actually very surprising. Until two days ago I hadn’t even seen a big one in my room. I classify a cockroach as “big” if I can 1) hear it walking 2) it would take up a good length of my palm. The big cockroach sighting happened at 1:22am when I woke up and heard the sounds. Then I turned on the light and was able to get it with DOOM. Last night – there were three cockroach sightings in my room. Two small, one big. One of the small ones was ON MY PILLOW…which lead to a pretty much sleepless night…and a big one near my bed (it had somehow been knocked onto its back which made it very convenient to spray with DOOM). I will kill small to medium cockroaches with my flip flops but big ones must be sprayed with DOOM. This personality exists because the thought of a cockroach walking on me as I sleep is too much for me to handle.
I was thinking about my split personalities last night as I lay in bed – listen to my iPod trying to fall asleep and not let myself listen for cockroach sounds (unsuccessfully I might add). It is one of those things that once you think about it, you can’t stop. Due to the electricity being off I was feeling extra vulnerable because even if I DID hear one I might not be able to find it with just my flashlight. (Do you see why I have to describe this personality as “crazed”?). Oh well – I’m hoping that after I can seal off my ceiling I’ll have way less cockroach sightings. I’m not sure where else they would come in. Then again – we’re talking about cockroaches so I’m sure they’d figure out a way…
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
What Does That Mean?
“I have no idea what you’re saying…” and “What does that mean?” have been my signature phrases the last month. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been living here a month – it has FLOWN by. So far I am loving it. Sometimes I’ll be walking and just get the thought that…I’m living in Africa. I’m in Africa right now! And it makes me unbelievably happy as I take that quick second to realize I’m living my dream!
I have a pretty regular routine down, which will probably change as I get more familiar with my surroundings. I go to work, come home, cook dinner, bucket bathe, and sit on my computer e-mailing and looking at Facebook minus the pictures (probably more than I should). Just recently I have thrown going on runs into the mix. I had been working out regularly in the States but then I got mono and had to stop working out. I think I’m finally “over” mono though and I’ve been really enjoying the runs. Running is a great stress reliever for me – so it serves multiple purposes. Side story: today when I went on my run some neighborhood kids joined me! It was great and gave me a good idea for a possible secondary project since sports teams don’t really exist at their schools.
I had what I consider a breakthrough at my work when I met and interviewed the founder of Ikhwezi Support Group who was recruited two years ago to be the HIV/AIDS Coordinator of the whole Municipality. A job she deserves – she is an AMAZING woman. I talked to her for a good two hours – and met her awesome daughters. And then I got to watch the E! Channel on their satellite TV…it was pretty much a dream come true. Only in this dream the girls favorite show is “Jerseylicious” (similar to the Jersey Shore only about a hair salon)…if you haven’t seen it DON’T, and if you have you will be mourning for society like I am at the fact that TV like Jerseylicious exists. No wonder people have crazy stereotypes about Americans. But they redeem themselves because they also like Keeping Up With the Kardashins (which I fully support). ; )
I have been able to meet with, and set up meetings with a lot of the other important people I need to in order to write my Community Needs Assessment due in two months. A teacher at the secondary school, the Clinic, the Councellor, and the list goes on. The story about the police station is pretty funny though. So – I had already been to the police station to interview them about crime and let them know who I was, where I was staying, etc (it was my first interview!). Well, I met another police officer at my “introduction to the community” and he is on the leadership team of the station and picked me up the next day, gave me a big tour, introduced me to everyone, and then we took some pictures! I do have to say though I wasn’t really in the mood for pictures because my morning started with waiting outside in the rain for a full hour to be picked up. I tried not to be annoyed the rest of the day but when your day starts with waiting in the rain for a full hour…maybe you can agree that it’s not easy to get over.
I have been enjoying my home life – despite some of the terror children that like to torture me. That’s exaggerating a little BUT there are two little boys that I swear try to make me mad. They play a game of “who is brave enough to touch her” while I’m trying to do something as simple as eat my dinner outside, or do my laundry. And when I yell at them to go away they just laugh and imitate me. I’m trying to be patient with them – and I love the majority of the little kids that stand at my back door to watch me cook dinner nightly, but these little boys are slowing ruining it for the rest. The other day they actually punched me and kicked me as I tried to chase them out of my yard. The only reason they went away is when I started actually yelling in English (I was over trying to be mature and nice) the neighbor girl came over and was able to yell at them and chase them away. Thank God.
At my organization we had a long weekend for Easter and I decided to head into Port Elizabeth (PE) one of the big cities in South Africa (and the biggest in the Eastern Cape) for a little R&R. I met up with two other PCVs from the Eastern Cape and stayed at a backpackers (aka hostel) that was two blocks from the beach! It was perfect because every Easter weekend there is “Splash Festival” in PE which is where they have a couple stages with music and shows, lots of water sports competitions, and a beach volleyball tournament. Also – there was a big market so for the first time since I’ve been here I was able to see anything that was slightly touristy! This whole festival was taking place on the beach we were staying two blocks from! And the weather was PERFECT all weekend nice and sunny. I was also able to do some exciting things – get a haircut, see a movie, use wireless internet (without data restriction) to upload photos, skype, take a SHOWER. It was all so magical! I also ate at McDonald's for the first time since being here, and got to point to a plaque in honor of Ray Kroc and say “I’m from there!” when it talked about Illinois and the first McDonald's. YAY! Pretty sure the lady didn’t understand what I was talking about/or care.
The weekend was so nice getting to catch up with the ladies, meet some cool people, eat some great food, spend lots of time on the beach, and just do what we wanted! PE is a really nice city and I enjoyed the backpackers we stayed at. There are lots of other backpackers though so I think I’ll do some exploring and then decide on my favorite. I have two years after all! It’s only an hour away from me, but PE is WORLDS away from Alexandria. It will be tempting to escape to this urban paradise often, however my bank account and the poor transport options there will stop me. But it is comforting to know that when I NEED it it’s there.
I’m not sure when I will need it. I’m sure I’ll have low points, but for now I’m enjoying it and trying my hardest to live in the moment! After all – I live in AFRICA!
I have a pretty regular routine down, which will probably change as I get more familiar with my surroundings. I go to work, come home, cook dinner, bucket bathe, and sit on my computer e-mailing and looking at Facebook minus the pictures (probably more than I should). Just recently I have thrown going on runs into the mix. I had been working out regularly in the States but then I got mono and had to stop working out. I think I’m finally “over” mono though and I’ve been really enjoying the runs. Running is a great stress reliever for me – so it serves multiple purposes. Side story: today when I went on my run some neighborhood kids joined me! It was great and gave me a good idea for a possible secondary project since sports teams don’t really exist at their schools.
I had what I consider a breakthrough at my work when I met and interviewed the founder of Ikhwezi Support Group who was recruited two years ago to be the HIV/AIDS Coordinator of the whole Municipality. A job she deserves – she is an AMAZING woman. I talked to her for a good two hours – and met her awesome daughters. And then I got to watch the E! Channel on their satellite TV…it was pretty much a dream come true. Only in this dream the girls favorite show is “Jerseylicious” (similar to the Jersey Shore only about a hair salon)…if you haven’t seen it DON’T, and if you have you will be mourning for society like I am at the fact that TV like Jerseylicious exists. No wonder people have crazy stereotypes about Americans. But they redeem themselves because they also like Keeping Up With the Kardashins (which I fully support). ; )
I have been able to meet with, and set up meetings with a lot of the other important people I need to in order to write my Community Needs Assessment due in two months. A teacher at the secondary school, the Clinic, the Councellor, and the list goes on. The story about the police station is pretty funny though. So – I had already been to the police station to interview them about crime and let them know who I was, where I was staying, etc (it was my first interview!). Well, I met another police officer at my “introduction to the community” and he is on the leadership team of the station and picked me up the next day, gave me a big tour, introduced me to everyone, and then we took some pictures! I do have to say though I wasn’t really in the mood for pictures because my morning started with waiting outside in the rain for a full hour to be picked up. I tried not to be annoyed the rest of the day but when your day starts with waiting in the rain for a full hour…maybe you can agree that it’s not easy to get over.
I have been enjoying my home life – despite some of the terror children that like to torture me. That’s exaggerating a little BUT there are two little boys that I swear try to make me mad. They play a game of “who is brave enough to touch her” while I’m trying to do something as simple as eat my dinner outside, or do my laundry. And when I yell at them to go away they just laugh and imitate me. I’m trying to be patient with them – and I love the majority of the little kids that stand at my back door to watch me cook dinner nightly, but these little boys are slowing ruining it for the rest. The other day they actually punched me and kicked me as I tried to chase them out of my yard. The only reason they went away is when I started actually yelling in English (I was over trying to be mature and nice) the neighbor girl came over and was able to yell at them and chase them away. Thank God.
At my organization we had a long weekend for Easter and I decided to head into Port Elizabeth (PE) one of the big cities in South Africa (and the biggest in the Eastern Cape) for a little R&R. I met up with two other PCVs from the Eastern Cape and stayed at a backpackers (aka hostel) that was two blocks from the beach! It was perfect because every Easter weekend there is “Splash Festival” in PE which is where they have a couple stages with music and shows, lots of water sports competitions, and a beach volleyball tournament. Also – there was a big market so for the first time since I’ve been here I was able to see anything that was slightly touristy! This whole festival was taking place on the beach we were staying two blocks from! And the weather was PERFECT all weekend nice and sunny. I was also able to do some exciting things – get a haircut, see a movie, use wireless internet (without data restriction) to upload photos, skype, take a SHOWER. It was all so magical! I also ate at McDonald's for the first time since being here, and got to point to a plaque in honor of Ray Kroc and say “I’m from there!” when it talked about Illinois and the first McDonald's. YAY! Pretty sure the lady didn’t understand what I was talking about/or care.
The weekend was so nice getting to catch up with the ladies, meet some cool people, eat some great food, spend lots of time on the beach, and just do what we wanted! PE is a really nice city and I enjoyed the backpackers we stayed at. There are lots of other backpackers though so I think I’ll do some exploring and then decide on my favorite. I have two years after all! It’s only an hour away from me, but PE is WORLDS away from Alexandria. It will be tempting to escape to this urban paradise often, however my bank account and the poor transport options there will stop me. But it is comforting to know that when I NEED it it’s there.
I’m not sure when I will need it. I’m sure I’ll have low points, but for now I’m enjoying it and trying my hardest to live in the moment! After all – I live in AFRICA!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"This is John Deere Country"
Who knew I would leave one John Deere Country only to land myself in another? That is the sign that all visitors to Alexandria see as they drive out of town. Hilarious. That along with KFC are probably my two favorite American-things-that-they-don't-realize-are-American things! KFC here is SO GOOD by the way. The "sprinkle pops" aka popcorn chicken are my fave. I might be a vegetarian in my own house but give me fast food and I'm lovin' the chicken! Despite my assumptions that McDonalds would be the most popular fast food export (anywhere really) there are tons of KFC's here. And I have taken it upon myself to make sure everyone knows it's from America. They have to appriciate all the great things we've given them! ; )
I've had lots of people ask me about my work so I want to explain in a little more detail what exactly my "job" is. I've been assigned to work with Ikhwezi Support Group to do "capacity building". In addition to my work that I will do with Ikhwezi, I can pretty much take on anything I want in the community. The way that the Peace Corps works though is for the first three months you're at your site, you are in what's called the "community integration" period and working on a community assessment report. So, I won't be able to tell you about all my fun projects - because I'm not allowed to start any projects during this time.
This is because one - I don't know anything about this community. I need to spend some time learning about the strengths and gaps that exist here to know what I can work on (hence the community assessment). Secondly, I don't have any credibility in this community yet(besides that I'm white, so that does give me some automatic credibility, which is of course not warranted but that's SA!). So in order to start effective and lasting projects I need to have the trust of those involved and have counterparts that want to continue the things that I've started once I leave. That's the whole point of why I'm here. Which will probably be a challenge because I'll have the things that I think are good, and I think the community needs. But in the end, if it doesn't come from within this community as something THEY want, and need it won't be sustainable after I'm gone. I don't have a problem though trying to convince someone that a project I want to do is needed and valuable. For example - I REALLY want to start a girls group at the local secondary school. So, I'm going to be pushing for that one!
I've had a week and two days at work so far and it has been good! I REALLY like my co-workers and it's clear that they are all really passionate about what they are doing. I have been able to identify some things that will be challenges for me to deal with. We just had an all day assessment by one of our funders - Starfish wish is an organization that disperses funds from the United States coming from USAID/PEPFAR to HIV/AIDS organizations here in SA. It was REALLY helpful both for me and my coworkers to see the places for opportunity and growth within our org. That was actually on my first day of work and was a GREAT first day! I learned so much about Ikhwezi in one day! My whole job right now is assessment so that worked out great! I'll be doing my own assessments within the organization but it was good to know that they don't mind doing assessments and afterward are able to appriciate that process. Makes my job easier for sure.
I'm doing great here - enjoying meeting lots of people, getting to know the area, and exploring bit by bit.
"live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering!"
-crosby
I've had lots of people ask me about my work so I want to explain in a little more detail what exactly my "job" is. I've been assigned to work with Ikhwezi Support Group to do "capacity building". In addition to my work that I will do with Ikhwezi, I can pretty much take on anything I want in the community. The way that the Peace Corps works though is for the first three months you're at your site, you are in what's called the "community integration" period and working on a community assessment report. So, I won't be able to tell you about all my fun projects - because I'm not allowed to start any projects during this time.
This is because one - I don't know anything about this community. I need to spend some time learning about the strengths and gaps that exist here to know what I can work on (hence the community assessment). Secondly, I don't have any credibility in this community yet(besides that I'm white, so that does give me some automatic credibility, which is of course not warranted but that's SA!). So in order to start effective and lasting projects I need to have the trust of those involved and have counterparts that want to continue the things that I've started once I leave. That's the whole point of why I'm here. Which will probably be a challenge because I'll have the things that I think are good, and I think the community needs. But in the end, if it doesn't come from within this community as something THEY want, and need it won't be sustainable after I'm gone. I don't have a problem though trying to convince someone that a project I want to do is needed and valuable. For example - I REALLY want to start a girls group at the local secondary school. So, I'm going to be pushing for that one!
I've had a week and two days at work so far and it has been good! I REALLY like my co-workers and it's clear that they are all really passionate about what they are doing. I have been able to identify some things that will be challenges for me to deal with. We just had an all day assessment by one of our funders - Starfish wish is an organization that disperses funds from the United States coming from USAID/PEPFAR to HIV/AIDS organizations here in SA. It was REALLY helpful both for me and my coworkers to see the places for opportunity and growth within our org. That was actually on my first day of work and was a GREAT first day! I learned so much about Ikhwezi in one day! My whole job right now is assessment so that worked out great! I'll be doing my own assessments within the organization but it was good to know that they don't mind doing assessments and afterward are able to appriciate that process. Makes my job easier for sure.
I'm doing great here - enjoying meeting lots of people, getting to know the area, and exploring bit by bit.
"live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering!"
-crosby
Monday, March 28, 2011
Calling South Africa
I forgot to mention this important information for calling South Africa! If you are calling from a land line or cell phone you will need to dial 011-27 BEFORE my number. I have been told that you then leave the FIRST ZERO out of the rest of my phone number. So you would dial 011-27-71-413-1390. I'm not sure if this applies when calling me via Skype as I believe they automatically do all of that for you. But I'm not sure so you may have to experiment some when first trying to call me! Also let me know if you are planning on calling me so that I can make sure that I have my phone on me and ready! Hope to talk to you soon! : )
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