On a quick note I have a phone that you can call me on and an address you can send me mail to!
Calling me:
Phone #: 071 413 1390
I would LOVE to get your calls! The cheapest way to call me is to use Skype. It’s not free, and you have to use your credit card to purchase credits to call me. From what I understand a 45ish minute conversation is about $10 dollars. Other cheap methods also exist but I’m not super familiar with them. Apparently there are super cheap international calling cards available online. Not sure of the website or brand name but I’m assuming Google could help with that…I’ll look into it and report back.
Sending me something:
Alana McGinty
P.O. Box 316
Alexandria 6185
South Africa
I would also LOVE to still get your letters or packages! I don’t want anyone to think that I’m soliciting packages from them, but I have been asked what I would like to get in the mail so I’m posting this as general information and not as an demand that you send me things! Although I will say that mail in general is a huge morale booster (that is unless it has been intercepted and things have been stolen in which case it is not happy).
ON THAT NOTE! My family was very sweet and sent me a large envelope which was broken into and they took the candy and makeup that was supposed to be in it (I only knew thanks to the customs form). So here are some mail security tips! If you are listing things on a customs form, make the first things be the most boring like “religious materials” or “bibles” (I’m not joking). Also, continue with the Bible quotes on the outside. This isn’t necessary for letters but on packages I think it helps. This is one of the rare situations I condone lying, but LIE, LIE, LIE on customs forms! Say the contents are worth nothing or almost nothing. A suggestion which may not be necessary: if you are sending a large envelope you can put the things inside of it in a smaller envelope b/c if they slice the outside one they won’t take the time to go through another.
Things that I would love to receive in the mail:
-ANY American magazines that you are done with…I’m dying for some celebrity gossip and a Cosmo.
-Any books that you are done reading and enjoyed! I need some good reads – and I can send them back when I’m done!
-Junk food items like candy or trail mix
-Pictures
Internet:
I now have internet! This will be the cheapest way to communicate with me! E-mail is probably the fastest and easiest way to get a hold of me. I have some bad news though. I will not be able to be talking to people via Skype or on Skype video except very rarely. You pay for internet here by the Data and it is not cheap. I have done lots of things to ensure less data usage (stopped: pictures from being loaded (it's weird!), adds from being loaded, automatic updates from happening, and downloaded an offline email thing so I can open internet and it will download my e-mails and I can respond to them offline). As you might imagine live-streaming video is probably the thing that sucks the most data. I did a test Skype the other day and a half hour video chat used HALF of my data bundle that I had just bought (the amount that most volunteers purchase for two months worth of e-mailing/facebooking/blogging!). So, I will take Skype date requests but know I won't be able to do it often.
But like I said - e-mail is the best way to contact me so e-mail me at: alanamcginty@gmail.com. : )
Yay for communication - it's keeping me sane! : )
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Greetings from Alexandria!
As of Friday I have been “moved in” to my new home in Alexandria! This weekend was certainly a whirlwind of events and very busy indeed. I can say that I’ve had more “cultural experiences” in these last 48 hours than I did in a full two months at my home stay in Limpopo. It was really sad to leave my family there on that note. I’m going to miss my Gogo and host sisters but when one door closes another one opens and I have a new host sister and little brother here in the Eastern Cape!
Despite thinking that I was going to be homeless, I was able to move into my new room upon arrival Friday afternoon. I will be staying in a room attached to the main house but the entrance is separate. It already has burglar bars (still need the burglar door) but the door already had a lock and key! I will be sharing the kitchen and bathroom with the family both in the main house. This time around there is not a cockroach or ant problem in my room either! I have seen two cockroaches in my room but that was on the first day and not since then (any they were small) KNOCK ON WOOD. I’m going to have to make sure I keep my room nice and clean, but so far it’s been a very good experience! The kitchen does have a cockroach problem but I’m hoping to take care of that with some good old pest control.
This weekend has consisted of me getting to know my host family, getting as set as I can in my room (which is hard when you don’t have any furniture to do that with), a quick visit to Port Elizabeth (nearest big city) for some essentials shopping, and attending a traditional Xhosa event at my supervisors mom’s house. The following are some of the highlights of this weekend:
-Making some friends! I’ve been meeting so many people and luckily people have been very nice and outgoing!
-Meeting my new family: Host sister, her boyfriend, and their adorable three year old (who I was told is now also my child by my host sisters Aunt(?)). Family terms are commonly thrown around in not completely accurate ways by American standards. Everyone is sister, brother, cousin, aunt, uncle, mother, father…regardless of actual relation. So keeping the family trees straight is not that easy!
-Getting to go to a traditional Xhosa event - the slaughtering of a cow for the ancestors. Luckily I arrived late, after the slaughtering had taken place and was there just in time to try some of the meat. The meat is either cooked in pots or grilled over open flames in the yard of the family. It then must be served on tree branches. No plates or silverware necessary and everyone just digs in, grabbing the pieces they want and going at it. I did try some and it was amazing! The only things they can add are salt and water but it was awesome – any meat lovers should be jealous!
-Being appreciated by attending this event. Many people came up to me and said how happy they were to see “someone like you” at this event and how much it meant to them. They were very shocked to see a white person at a traditional event.
*Side note: I’ve heard the phrase “someone like you” thrown around a lot in the last 48 hours and it means “white person” but is just a more polite way of saying so. This has shown me one of my own assumptions that I didn’t even know I had. I assumed that I would go into the Peace Corps and my defining characteristic would be that I’m American, not necessarily my race (even when I knew I was going to Africa). This will clearly not be the case here in South Africa. Race is THE key defining characteristic so instead of being known as “that American girl” I will be known as “that white girl”.
The following are some of the “cultural experiences” that I had this weekend. What I mean by that are situations I found myself in that I was unfamiliar with. Most are humorous. Some had varying degrees of awkwardness. There weren’t any awkward moments like in the U.S. where both people knew the situation was awkward, it was mostly me thinking to myself “what is happening?!?!”.
-The most humorous to me is the fact that I somehow was designated shot pourer to the group of women I was sitting with at the traditional event. There was no introduction to this role. All of a sudden I was being told to stand up and “pour drinks”. Well, I was thoroughly confused as the only drink around was vodka and three large glasses while there were probably ten women sitting on the floor with me. I stand up, and they inform me I’m pouring drinks – clarified by me “shots”. With probably ten different people yelling instructions at me I squat to pour the drinks. Then I get yelled at to stand up, I must pour the shots standing. I pour shot after shot as the glasses are passed around to all who want a taste of the Smirnoff Vodka. Afterwards I set the bottle down standing and everyone starts yelling “you must lay it!!!”. I asked why, and was told that it’s for the ancestors, and you just must lay it down on its side instead of standing it. I was shot girl for the rest of the night, even when we had to switch rooms so that all the Gogos could come in from outside because it was cold.
-Being stroked/touched/hugged by very enthusiastic people. Not to generalize, but most of these people were drunk. I even had my hand kissed twice by two different Gogos. In two of these cases I had awesome defenders who actually started yelling at the offender that he can talk to me, but is not allowed to touch me. In both cases that that happened it was kind of extreme and actually made me feel even more uncomfortable but I was happy to have people protecting me.
-Being invited to the wedding of the tavern owner’s daughter happening next weekend approximately five minutes after meeting him.
-Having multiple people ask to take my picture or just start taking them with their camera phones.
-Getting asked for money by quite a few people ranging in amount from ten rand to 10 cents rand.
-Being told by multiple people that they love me. Not like, LOVE. Everyone from a Gogo, to the man who came by to ask if he could have two rand for a smoke.
-Being laughed at. This is something that I’ve already accepted and become accustomed to. I have been renamed Zoleka (which means “with calmness” in Xhosa). EVERYONE has the same reaction when they ask me my name and I tell them Zoleka. They do one of several things: laugh hysterically, tell me I’m lying, ask for my real name. Usually it’s all three reactions in one. To some people I say my name is Alana but you can call me Zoleka. That gets less of a reaction and they are satisfied because it doesn’t really matter how slow I say my name the first time they think I’m saying Ivana.
-Being hit on. And it’s important to mention that subtlety is not the way things are done here. I have decided to tell a small fib and to all that pursue me “I’m taken” by an American. I would leave it at that, but “I’m taken” is not a satisfactory response when being pursued. Am I married? Engaged? NO. But I’m not interested – sorry. Eeeish! (My new favorite South Africa phrase). I might invest in a ring for myself but I have a feeling that wouldn’t really stop anyone from asking anyway.
I think that covers most of the things that have happened to me in the last 48 hours. It’s been quite eventful to say the least! Tomorrow I will walk to work (by myself like a big girl!) and it will be the first time I’ve walked the neighborhood on my own. It’s at 8:30am so it should be fairly easy, but I’m not sure what to expect! Lots of people already know my name and I hear “Zoleka!” anywhere I go, even if I have NO IDEA who the person is.
Can’t wait to see what this week will bring! Tomorrow is my first official day of work and I’m nervous in some ways. I realized the other day that this is my first job after college and I’m the one who has to come up with the job description, work, projects, and define what I’ll be doing with minimal guidance. Kind of terrifying, but I’m trying to take it slow at first. Good thing the first three months are all about getting to know your community, I can ease into what will be the next two years!
Despite thinking that I was going to be homeless, I was able to move into my new room upon arrival Friday afternoon. I will be staying in a room attached to the main house but the entrance is separate. It already has burglar bars (still need the burglar door) but the door already had a lock and key! I will be sharing the kitchen and bathroom with the family both in the main house. This time around there is not a cockroach or ant problem in my room either! I have seen two cockroaches in my room but that was on the first day and not since then (any they were small) KNOCK ON WOOD. I’m going to have to make sure I keep my room nice and clean, but so far it’s been a very good experience! The kitchen does have a cockroach problem but I’m hoping to take care of that with some good old pest control.
This weekend has consisted of me getting to know my host family, getting as set as I can in my room (which is hard when you don’t have any furniture to do that with), a quick visit to Port Elizabeth (nearest big city) for some essentials shopping, and attending a traditional Xhosa event at my supervisors mom’s house. The following are some of the highlights of this weekend:
-Making some friends! I’ve been meeting so many people and luckily people have been very nice and outgoing!
-Meeting my new family: Host sister, her boyfriend, and their adorable three year old (who I was told is now also my child by my host sisters Aunt(?)). Family terms are commonly thrown around in not completely accurate ways by American standards. Everyone is sister, brother, cousin, aunt, uncle, mother, father…regardless of actual relation. So keeping the family trees straight is not that easy!
-Getting to go to a traditional Xhosa event - the slaughtering of a cow for the ancestors. Luckily I arrived late, after the slaughtering had taken place and was there just in time to try some of the meat. The meat is either cooked in pots or grilled over open flames in the yard of the family. It then must be served on tree branches. No plates or silverware necessary and everyone just digs in, grabbing the pieces they want and going at it. I did try some and it was amazing! The only things they can add are salt and water but it was awesome – any meat lovers should be jealous!
-Being appreciated by attending this event. Many people came up to me and said how happy they were to see “someone like you” at this event and how much it meant to them. They were very shocked to see a white person at a traditional event.
*Side note: I’ve heard the phrase “someone like you” thrown around a lot in the last 48 hours and it means “white person” but is just a more polite way of saying so. This has shown me one of my own assumptions that I didn’t even know I had. I assumed that I would go into the Peace Corps and my defining characteristic would be that I’m American, not necessarily my race (even when I knew I was going to Africa). This will clearly not be the case here in South Africa. Race is THE key defining characteristic so instead of being known as “that American girl” I will be known as “that white girl”.
The following are some of the “cultural experiences” that I had this weekend. What I mean by that are situations I found myself in that I was unfamiliar with. Most are humorous. Some had varying degrees of awkwardness. There weren’t any awkward moments like in the U.S. where both people knew the situation was awkward, it was mostly me thinking to myself “what is happening?!?!”.
-The most humorous to me is the fact that I somehow was designated shot pourer to the group of women I was sitting with at the traditional event. There was no introduction to this role. All of a sudden I was being told to stand up and “pour drinks”. Well, I was thoroughly confused as the only drink around was vodka and three large glasses while there were probably ten women sitting on the floor with me. I stand up, and they inform me I’m pouring drinks – clarified by me “shots”. With probably ten different people yelling instructions at me I squat to pour the drinks. Then I get yelled at to stand up, I must pour the shots standing. I pour shot after shot as the glasses are passed around to all who want a taste of the Smirnoff Vodka. Afterwards I set the bottle down standing and everyone starts yelling “you must lay it!!!”. I asked why, and was told that it’s for the ancestors, and you just must lay it down on its side instead of standing it. I was shot girl for the rest of the night, even when we had to switch rooms so that all the Gogos could come in from outside because it was cold.
-Being stroked/touched/hugged by very enthusiastic people. Not to generalize, but most of these people were drunk. I even had my hand kissed twice by two different Gogos. In two of these cases I had awesome defenders who actually started yelling at the offender that he can talk to me, but is not allowed to touch me. In both cases that that happened it was kind of extreme and actually made me feel even more uncomfortable but I was happy to have people protecting me.
-Being invited to the wedding of the tavern owner’s daughter happening next weekend approximately five minutes after meeting him.
-Having multiple people ask to take my picture or just start taking them with their camera phones.
-Getting asked for money by quite a few people ranging in amount from ten rand to 10 cents rand.
-Being told by multiple people that they love me. Not like, LOVE. Everyone from a Gogo, to the man who came by to ask if he could have two rand for a smoke.
-Being laughed at. This is something that I’ve already accepted and become accustomed to. I have been renamed Zoleka (which means “with calmness” in Xhosa). EVERYONE has the same reaction when they ask me my name and I tell them Zoleka. They do one of several things: laugh hysterically, tell me I’m lying, ask for my real name. Usually it’s all three reactions in one. To some people I say my name is Alana but you can call me Zoleka. That gets less of a reaction and they are satisfied because it doesn’t really matter how slow I say my name the first time they think I’m saying Ivana.
-Being hit on. And it’s important to mention that subtlety is not the way things are done here. I have decided to tell a small fib and to all that pursue me “I’m taken” by an American. I would leave it at that, but “I’m taken” is not a satisfactory response when being pursued. Am I married? Engaged? NO. But I’m not interested – sorry. Eeeish! (My new favorite South Africa phrase). I might invest in a ring for myself but I have a feeling that wouldn’t really stop anyone from asking anyway.
I think that covers most of the things that have happened to me in the last 48 hours. It’s been quite eventful to say the least! Tomorrow I will walk to work (by myself like a big girl!) and it will be the first time I’ve walked the neighborhood on my own. It’s at 8:30am so it should be fairly easy, but I’m not sure what to expect! Lots of people already know my name and I hear “Zoleka!” anywhere I go, even if I have NO IDEA who the person is.
Can’t wait to see what this week will bring! Tomorrow is my first official day of work and I’m nervous in some ways. I realized the other day that this is my first job after college and I’m the one who has to come up with the job description, work, projects, and define what I’ll be doing with minimal guidance. Kind of terrifying, but I’m trying to take it slow at first. Good thing the first three months are all about getting to know your community, I can ease into what will be the next two years!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Visiting the Eastern Cape
Last week was the much anticipated, exciting, and extremely overwhelming SITE VISITS!! My Xhosa-learning friends and I boarded the 15 hour overnight Greyhound to the Eastern Cape to meet with our Supervisors, and visit our permanent sites for a couple days. A lot happened on this site visit and it was information overload so I was mentally and physically exhausted afterwards, but I can’t wait to go back and actually get started!
Here are some details of my site visit:
Organization: I will be working with the Ikhwezi Support Group. I was able to meet everyone, and I really like my supervisor(s)! They work with OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children), provide food to families living with HIV/AIDS, and other services that I have yet to observe. It was hard to grasp everything they do in the two days that I was with them. I’m looking forward to my first three months at site that are meant to be the time where we get orientated to our organization and don’t start any projects. I’m expecting that it will take me a while to be aware of everything that they are doing in the community.
Site Location: If you look on a map of South Africa, find Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, go to the right along the coast, you will find the small town of Alexandria. That is where I am! Very coastal, I’m only about 25 minutes away from a little beach town called Kenton-on-Sea. I am SO excited about this! Because there are only five other volunteers going to the Eastern Cape with me, and we are the first ones to ever be placed there we are all pretty spread out from each other. The closest volunteer to me is Will, and he is about an hour away staying in Paterson. He is very close to Addo Elephant National Park which is really cool! My “shopping town” is supposed to be Port Alfred, but there isn’t really regular transport there so I’ll probably be meeting up with Will in Port Elizabeth for any big shopping trips I may have to make.
Housing: Where to begin? To explain briefly, the organizations that we work with are responsible for finding and arranging our housing. They have guidelines that they are required to follow when it comes to this. I stayed in the second house they had arranged for me, because the first had been rejected by the Peace Corps. I will preface this by saying that this housing has also been rejected – so I am currently homeless when I arrive to site. As nerve-racking as this new development is, I am extremely relieved that my housing was rejected.
There were several reasons why the housing was rejected. For Peace Corps the biggest requirement is that a volunteer is safe. Their basic requirements are that our housing be “burglar proof”, have a locking door/windows, be private, have a separate entrance to the area (so you don’t have to enter a main house to enter your space), and a clean toilet/pit latrine. They do not require that we have running water or electricity. This house did have a clean, flushing toilet in an outhouse structure, a tap with running water in the front yard, and electricity so I was good on those counts. It was not secure however. When I arrive the door was only able to be locked from the outside (but my host dad fashioned me a temporary solution), and the windows had no locks whatsoever. It wasn’t quite private because the wall that separated my room from the renters room next to me didn’t actually go all the way up to the roof (there was no ceiling). This led to light/music/cooking sounds/smells being shared between the two rooms as though we were in the same room. We could hear everything that the other one was doing, and light went between the rooms. This was another issue Peace Corps had – the fact that there were renters and it wasn’t a family. My host dad rented a room in his house to a male high school teacher, and the room next to me to a female security guard.
Something that made me very uncomfortable was not something that Peace Corps has any requirements on but the fact that my room had an ant infestation, and at night was overrun with large and small cockroaches. I was unaware of the cockroaches on the first night, but woke up the second night to a bizarre sound. I could hear something scurrying around my room, in multiple directions. It sounded to me like mice. I turned my flashlight on and it immediately showed a large cockroach on the wall at the foot of my bed. I jumped up, turned the light on and went on a cockroach killing spree. There is this wonderful product called DOOM which kills any and all bugs. This was reserved for the large cockroaches which I didn’t want to kill with the bottom of my flip flop.
After killing all cockroaches in sight, I turned off the light and attempted to fall asleep again with my headphones on. At this point my brain was obsessed with the cockroach noises though and I could hear them moving despite the music. I was fully awake, completely terrified of cockroaches walking on me as I slept (two were spotted on my bed!) and turned the light on, killed a few more that had come out with the light being off for five minutes, and decided to read. I read until about 3am when I finally fell asleep with the light on. It was horrible.
The next night was fine because that day some of my new friends helped me hang my mosquito net which tucks under the mattress so I had a cockroach proof bed. I did wake up and hear the lovely sounds of scattering cockroaches, but was able to fall asleep knowing they were unable to reach me. (I’m sorry, but I feel like I shouldn’t be able to HEAR a bug walking around my room. That may give you some indication of their sizes). I have struggled with if I’m being high maintenance about this particular subject. I mean, I’m in Africa in the Peace Corps after all...but I’ve decided I am fine with the fact that I DO NOT want to have cockroaches wherever I am living.
Anyway it’s irrelevant now because I’m moving somewhere else. Well, it probably won’t be irrelevant and I’ll probably have to use my cockroach net wherever I am but at least now I know to set it up from day one. As long as I’m protected I’m fine! I’m not the only one who's homeless for now though. In the Eastern Cape alone only half of us have housing that has been approved. For many PCTs in my group things are up in the air as we finish our last week of training. Several people are having to switch housing, or have to get completely new sites altogether (new organization and housing).
Now to the positive! The Eastern Cape is beautiful…where I am it’s very coastal, and kind of reminded me of the Northern California/Oregon Coasts (minus the big trees).
There are so many cool things in the Eastern Cape! Third to Cape Town, Kruger National Park, the EC is the place where tourists go! I’m part of the Sunshine Coast (supposedly because it sees more sunshine than anywhere else in South Africa…which I actually find hard to believe since it rained every day I was there…). There is also the Wild Coast (which sounds AMAZING), the worlds highest commercial bungee jump in one of the National Parks, lots of National Parks, lots of historical sites, some of the best surfing beaches in SA/world, it is the birthplace of Nelson Mandela, where he went to college, etc. Also, for all you nerds out there we have Hogsback which is right between me and the three volunteers that were placed around Queenstown north of me. Hogsback is the exact place that inspired Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. It has mountains and an ancient forest and is apparently a magical place! So you “Lord of the Rings” fans now have an excuse to come visit me. I would love to write more but I’m on a restricted time limit! I will be getting my own internet (YAY!) within the next two weeks so anticipate me actually being able to reply to you’re e-mails and facebook messages (which I LOVE getting by the way!). ALSO. I have a phone!!!!! I of course have forgotten my number so I can’t post it now. The next time I’m on the internet I will let you know both my phone number (and cheap ways to call me!) and my new address.
Stay well!
ps. I didn't have time to edit this so if there are lots of errors don't judge me!
Here are some details of my site visit:
Organization: I will be working with the Ikhwezi Support Group. I was able to meet everyone, and I really like my supervisor(s)! They work with OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children), provide food to families living with HIV/AIDS, and other services that I have yet to observe. It was hard to grasp everything they do in the two days that I was with them. I’m looking forward to my first three months at site that are meant to be the time where we get orientated to our organization and don’t start any projects. I’m expecting that it will take me a while to be aware of everything that they are doing in the community.
Site Location: If you look on a map of South Africa, find Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, go to the right along the coast, you will find the small town of Alexandria. That is where I am! Very coastal, I’m only about 25 minutes away from a little beach town called Kenton-on-Sea. I am SO excited about this! Because there are only five other volunteers going to the Eastern Cape with me, and we are the first ones to ever be placed there we are all pretty spread out from each other. The closest volunteer to me is Will, and he is about an hour away staying in Paterson. He is very close to Addo Elephant National Park which is really cool! My “shopping town” is supposed to be Port Alfred, but there isn’t really regular transport there so I’ll probably be meeting up with Will in Port Elizabeth for any big shopping trips I may have to make.
Housing: Where to begin? To explain briefly, the organizations that we work with are responsible for finding and arranging our housing. They have guidelines that they are required to follow when it comes to this. I stayed in the second house they had arranged for me, because the first had been rejected by the Peace Corps. I will preface this by saying that this housing has also been rejected – so I am currently homeless when I arrive to site. As nerve-racking as this new development is, I am extremely relieved that my housing was rejected.
There were several reasons why the housing was rejected. For Peace Corps the biggest requirement is that a volunteer is safe. Their basic requirements are that our housing be “burglar proof”, have a locking door/windows, be private, have a separate entrance to the area (so you don’t have to enter a main house to enter your space), and a clean toilet/pit latrine. They do not require that we have running water or electricity. This house did have a clean, flushing toilet in an outhouse structure, a tap with running water in the front yard, and electricity so I was good on those counts. It was not secure however. When I arrive the door was only able to be locked from the outside (but my host dad fashioned me a temporary solution), and the windows had no locks whatsoever. It wasn’t quite private because the wall that separated my room from the renters room next to me didn’t actually go all the way up to the roof (there was no ceiling). This led to light/music/cooking sounds/smells being shared between the two rooms as though we were in the same room. We could hear everything that the other one was doing, and light went between the rooms. This was another issue Peace Corps had – the fact that there were renters and it wasn’t a family. My host dad rented a room in his house to a male high school teacher, and the room next to me to a female security guard.
Something that made me very uncomfortable was not something that Peace Corps has any requirements on but the fact that my room had an ant infestation, and at night was overrun with large and small cockroaches. I was unaware of the cockroaches on the first night, but woke up the second night to a bizarre sound. I could hear something scurrying around my room, in multiple directions. It sounded to me like mice. I turned my flashlight on and it immediately showed a large cockroach on the wall at the foot of my bed. I jumped up, turned the light on and went on a cockroach killing spree. There is this wonderful product called DOOM which kills any and all bugs. This was reserved for the large cockroaches which I didn’t want to kill with the bottom of my flip flop.
After killing all cockroaches in sight, I turned off the light and attempted to fall asleep again with my headphones on. At this point my brain was obsessed with the cockroach noises though and I could hear them moving despite the music. I was fully awake, completely terrified of cockroaches walking on me as I slept (two were spotted on my bed!) and turned the light on, killed a few more that had come out with the light being off for five minutes, and decided to read. I read until about 3am when I finally fell asleep with the light on. It was horrible.
The next night was fine because that day some of my new friends helped me hang my mosquito net which tucks under the mattress so I had a cockroach proof bed. I did wake up and hear the lovely sounds of scattering cockroaches, but was able to fall asleep knowing they were unable to reach me. (I’m sorry, but I feel like I shouldn’t be able to HEAR a bug walking around my room. That may give you some indication of their sizes). I have struggled with if I’m being high maintenance about this particular subject. I mean, I’m in Africa in the Peace Corps after all...but I’ve decided I am fine with the fact that I DO NOT want to have cockroaches wherever I am living.
Anyway it’s irrelevant now because I’m moving somewhere else. Well, it probably won’t be irrelevant and I’ll probably have to use my cockroach net wherever I am but at least now I know to set it up from day one. As long as I’m protected I’m fine! I’m not the only one who's homeless for now though. In the Eastern Cape alone only half of us have housing that has been approved. For many PCTs in my group things are up in the air as we finish our last week of training. Several people are having to switch housing, or have to get completely new sites altogether (new organization and housing).
Now to the positive! The Eastern Cape is beautiful…where I am it’s very coastal, and kind of reminded me of the Northern California/Oregon Coasts (minus the big trees).
There are so many cool things in the Eastern Cape! Third to Cape Town, Kruger National Park, the EC is the place where tourists go! I’m part of the Sunshine Coast (supposedly because it sees more sunshine than anywhere else in South Africa…which I actually find hard to believe since it rained every day I was there…). There is also the Wild Coast (which sounds AMAZING), the worlds highest commercial bungee jump in one of the National Parks, lots of National Parks, lots of historical sites, some of the best surfing beaches in SA/world, it is the birthplace of Nelson Mandela, where he went to college, etc. Also, for all you nerds out there we have Hogsback which is right between me and the three volunteers that were placed around Queenstown north of me. Hogsback is the exact place that inspired Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. It has mountains and an ancient forest and is apparently a magical place! So you “Lord of the Rings” fans now have an excuse to come visit me. I would love to write more but I’m on a restricted time limit! I will be getting my own internet (YAY!) within the next two weeks so anticipate me actually being able to reply to you’re e-mails and facebook messages (which I LOVE getting by the way!). ALSO. I have a phone!!!!! I of course have forgotten my number so I can’t post it now. The next time I’m on the internet I will let you know both my phone number (and cheap ways to call me!) and my new address.
Stay well!
ps. I didn't have time to edit this so if there are lots of errors don't judge me!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Life in South Africa...the first few weeks!
The first few weeks in South Africa have been a whirlwind, mix of excitement, anticipation, longggg days, and the surreal realization that this is my home for the next two years.
I could write forever about all of the details of what have happened and would probably bore you to death so I’ll try to focus on some of the more important things, and the things I know you all have questions about.
COMMUNICATION (or lack thereof until the end of training)…
At this point, you have probably figured out that in my 8 weeks of training I have very limited communication capability. I got on the internet for the first time this last weekend – the beginning of week “4” after 25 days of ZERO internet. (I’m pretty sure that’s my personal record with the exception of maybe when I was in second grade when we didn’t have internet at my house…) We discovered the internet café that’s in town though so hopefully over the next 3 weeks I’ll have some additional access!
Then there is the phone dilemma. I have a calling card and our village is actually really lucky and we have a pay phone with international capability right in our village. Before we got to our village though PC staff would have to drive us to phones in groups so you can imagine how annoying that was. It took three weeks alone to get a hold of my family due to the 8 hour time difference. Add with my early curfew and it’s a recipe for communication disaster.
Then there are the letters. Thank you SO MUCH for anyone who has sent me a letter/package in the last few weeks!!! I wish I could express to you how much your letters have meant to me and made not only my day but week(s)! I have not been able to send all my letters like I would love to, since Peace Corps can sometimes be challenged when it comes to logistic planning (more to come on this topic I can assure you). I have been able to purchase four stamps, and send two aerograms so I promise you have mail coming, it’s just going to be about 2 months late. I’ll make up for it in e-mails promise! : ) So I’m “over it” but let me just say the lack of stamps in my life has probably been one of the biggest things that has been difficult for me to deal with. Here I am COMPLETELY cut off from my family and friends and I can’t even send them a freakin letter in the mail?! The one system that’s been around since almost the beginning of time?! Okay, I’m done.
WEATHER (it’s no 24 inches of snow that’s for sure!)…
It is HOT. Training is in Limpopo the “hottest Province” in South Africa and so far I’m willing to believe that. It’s been not so bad lately because it’s threatened to rain (yet only sprinkled once in four days) so it has been cloudy. It rained our first day and a half in country and since then has been cloudless and hot 24/7. Also, most of us sleep with our windows closed due to bugs, and in my case the noise around my house which means I’m sweating at all points in my day.
TRAINING…
So Peace Corps training (PCT) can be described as really fun, supportive, really stressful, and exhausting. Many of us have been confused that we are SA23 (the 23rd group of trainees to come to South Africa) and with some things it just seems like “did you NOT know that we were coming?!” (Today someone said to be “you would think we were SA -1) This mainly applies to seemingly obvious things that any PCT class before us has probably requested. Examples: adequate # of stamps (you know how I feel about this…), adapters (SURPIRSE! SA has its own special unique-to-only-South Africa plugs so you need special adapters), hand sanitizer (pit latrine + no running water = really wanting hand sanitizer).
It is fun and supportive in that we are all living in the same general area, we get to see each other on a daily basis and we are each others sanity at this point. It is also supportive because you have Peace Corps staff around you to ask questions to face to face. Despite my complaining, they are very helpful and want to help us learn as much as we can during this time.
It is exhausting and stressful because of the long days, which can often be “hurry up and wait” but add the heat, the walks to where we need to go (in the heat), learning a new language, not necessarily uplifting informational sessions, and all of the cultural changes – they are BOTH mentally and physically exhausting.
We are on such tight leashes in training and have the personal support of other PCTs that today I was thinking of how nervous that makes me for my transition to my permanent site. There is basically zero direction by the Peace Corps at that point, and at this time I have no idea how close I’ll be to another PCT. A lot of things have been really helpful though and I now feel like I’m starting to understand some ways that I can be an effective PCV (pc volunteer).
Some interesting things I have learned about PC SA in training….
-Most of PC Africa gets medically evacuated to South Africa so I’m in the right spot if I have a serious medical issue!
-South Africa has one of the highest (if not THE highest) rate of ETs (early terminations) in the whole PC. We have kind of been asking everyone why this is and yesterday we got a good answer. If the PC knew why, they probably wouldn’t have one of the highest rates. For example the group that is getting ready to be done with service this year is ending with 10 out of the original 25 volunteers that started two years ago. (Not that comforting of a statistic).
-“African time” is alive and well. Someone came up with the “statistic” that for every 1 African minute it’s 7 American minutes. Might as well get used to it now I suppose.
HOST FAMILY…
I am staying with a lovely family – the Mokonyane family in the village of Maroteng which is only a 10 – 15 minute car ride from the town Mokopane (lots of M names I just realized). My family consists of my 60 year old Gogo (grandma) Christina, and her 8 year old granddaughter Nikki. Every other week Nikki’s 30 year old mom Mashela comes home from her rural clinic nursing job as it is 7 days on 7 days off. But usually it’s just me, Gogo, and Nikki. Nikki has a best friend Palesa who lives with my friend and fellow PCT Sam. He is the closest PCT to me, across the street, down a house. There are two other PCTs on our street besides us.
To say that I have been having the stereotypical PC experience would be a bold faced lie. I have more “luxuries” here at my home stay house then I do at my own home in Illinois.
My life in the village…
-two TVs with satellite TV
-Wii game system
-Trampoline
-running water
-flushing toilet (inside)
-bath with shower head hose
-cleaning/cooking/washing lady Mon-Fri
Needless to say, I am the envy of many other PCTs. My situation is by no means “normal” for the other PCTs in our group or village. Most have pit latrines, and if they are lucky a spigot of water in the backyard. But many even if they don’t have running water have TV so the thing that people are most jealous of is that I can take a “shower” and have a flushing toilet. I’m not the only one, but we’re pretty rare.
My room is situated in a separate area than the main house (but very close to it) and in my little compound I have my own bathroom which is awesome! I get locked into the compound at night, and have burglar bars so I feel really safe.
My feelings about not having to take a bucket bath/use a pit latrine/do my own laundry is that I’m not really getting trained on the things I will mostly likely have to do at my permanent site. So, not only will I be adjusting like everyone else, but I’ll also have to be dealing with adjusting to all of those things which aren’t even bad just take some practice and getting used to. While I am defiantly NOT complaining AT ALL, a small part of me is a little worried for that initial shock I might face when it comes to my accommodations for two years.
LEARNING XHOSA (or attempting…)
I am SO EXCITED about this aspect of training, however challenging it is. Within the 46 PCTs myself and 5 other people are learning Xhosa. This is exciting because that means that we are moving to the Eastern Cape!!
Moving to the Eastern Cape is exciting for a variety of reasons…
-It’s a Cape, therefore ocean, therefore beaches….etc.
-It is beautiful!
-We are the FIRST group of volunteers to be placed in the Eastern Cape EVER! We are the pioneers of the CHOP (Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Project) program in the Eastern Cape!
-Everyone is going to want to come visit us because the Eastern Cape while not as popular as the Western Cape for tourism, is probably the second highest for tourists and includes such awesome things as the Addo Elephant National Park and the Garden Route which is a “must” in South Africa! Whooo hoooo!
Learning Xhosa itself is another story. At this point I would not call myself conversational at all, but it’s only been 2 ½ weeks. And funny story – so I do not consider myself to know any Spanish, but all of a sudden I’m speaking Spanish because I don’t know how to say words in Xhosa.
I think it’s fair to say that Xhosa is a difficult language to learn. First, I can barely pronounce the language itself due to the X being a click sound. Awesome. There are some other clicks in Xhosa, the main ones being x, c, and q. Individually I can pronounce all of them. Add other sounds around them…not so easy. In fact my feelings about the “q” click is it’s impossible. Additionally Xhosa is nothing at all like English, so “normal” sentence structure is out the window. Then come the “rules” of the language, which is more accurately a LACK of rules. EVERYTHING is contextual, has multiple meanings, and is irregular, yet there is no “rule” to explain why it might be irregular. (You may think I’m just exaggerating – since I have a tendency to do so…but I swear I’m not). Nkosi is our teacher and awesome – he’s hilarious! But he has said multiple times when we are confused about why something is…”you can’t ask why, there is no reason that’s just the way it is! Don’t worry you have two years, you’ll get it”.
And I’m not sure what this could be described as, but it is mostly roots of words, and then to change the meaning, you prefix and suffix things. I have a great one word sentence to demonstrate. Ndiyazikhusela = I protect myself. Khusela means to protect, so the Ndiyazi is all things that you add which give it the context. Ndi = I, ya = present tense, zi = reciprocal. I hope you were as confused by that as I am. The good news is I’m only expected to get to the “intermediate low” level of the language and then I’ll be assigned a tutor. Yessss.
We are also staying with families that speak Sepedi sooooo living with host families during training, while extremely useful for cultural immersion has not helped me one bit with language. Except with my greetings in Sepedi…Thobela! Other than greetings we don’t learn the other languages.
CULTURAL STORIES…
The following are some examples of what I’ve encountered that’s stuck out in my mind.
1) First day with my host family being offered chicken feet/heads/intestine at dinner. I ate the entire time with my head down because I couldn’t even watch it happen. Oh, by the way, I’ve decided to remain mostly vegetarian while in SA. AKA I refuse to eat any meat unless it’s boneless which is none (unless it’s from a restaurant). I’m willing to eat things that were made with meat juices, but if I can see that it was at one point living…no dice.
2) Being proposed to/asked to be brought back to America. This has happened on several occasions at this point. I’ve even had some girls tell me to bring them back. I usually respond “but I don’t think I could fit you in my luggage…”
3) Drunkenness at all points of the day, any day of the week. Unemployment in South Africa is rampant, in some areas (especially rural) you almost can’t believe how high the rates are. This leads to lots of down time, which turns into alcoholism. (This public drunkenness only applies to men where I am. I have yet to see a woman drunk, and I’ve only seen one even drink in public).
4) Being called “Hannah Montana” (Disney character) by my host sister and her best friend.
5) Being told that if I drink beer, especially straight out of the bottle I will be grouped with those that are “hopeless in society” since I’m a woman.
That’s all I have for now! We only have one more week until we go visit our permanent sites for a week! Training is flying by! Miss you all, nisale kakuhle
I could write forever about all of the details of what have happened and would probably bore you to death so I’ll try to focus on some of the more important things, and the things I know you all have questions about.
COMMUNICATION (or lack thereof until the end of training)…
At this point, you have probably figured out that in my 8 weeks of training I have very limited communication capability. I got on the internet for the first time this last weekend – the beginning of week “4” after 25 days of ZERO internet. (I’m pretty sure that’s my personal record with the exception of maybe when I was in second grade when we didn’t have internet at my house…) We discovered the internet café that’s in town though so hopefully over the next 3 weeks I’ll have some additional access!
Then there is the phone dilemma. I have a calling card and our village is actually really lucky and we have a pay phone with international capability right in our village. Before we got to our village though PC staff would have to drive us to phones in groups so you can imagine how annoying that was. It took three weeks alone to get a hold of my family due to the 8 hour time difference. Add with my early curfew and it’s a recipe for communication disaster.
Then there are the letters. Thank you SO MUCH for anyone who has sent me a letter/package in the last few weeks!!! I wish I could express to you how much your letters have meant to me and made not only my day but week(s)! I have not been able to send all my letters like I would love to, since Peace Corps can sometimes be challenged when it comes to logistic planning (more to come on this topic I can assure you). I have been able to purchase four stamps, and send two aerograms so I promise you have mail coming, it’s just going to be about 2 months late. I’ll make up for it in e-mails promise! : ) So I’m “over it” but let me just say the lack of stamps in my life has probably been one of the biggest things that has been difficult for me to deal with. Here I am COMPLETELY cut off from my family and friends and I can’t even send them a freakin letter in the mail?! The one system that’s been around since almost the beginning of time?! Okay, I’m done.
WEATHER (it’s no 24 inches of snow that’s for sure!)…
It is HOT. Training is in Limpopo the “hottest Province” in South Africa and so far I’m willing to believe that. It’s been not so bad lately because it’s threatened to rain (yet only sprinkled once in four days) so it has been cloudy. It rained our first day and a half in country and since then has been cloudless and hot 24/7. Also, most of us sleep with our windows closed due to bugs, and in my case the noise around my house which means I’m sweating at all points in my day.
TRAINING…
So Peace Corps training (PCT) can be described as really fun, supportive, really stressful, and exhausting. Many of us have been confused that we are SA23 (the 23rd group of trainees to come to South Africa) and with some things it just seems like “did you NOT know that we were coming?!” (Today someone said to be “you would think we were SA -1) This mainly applies to seemingly obvious things that any PCT class before us has probably requested. Examples: adequate # of stamps (you know how I feel about this…), adapters (SURPIRSE! SA has its own special unique-to-only-South Africa plugs so you need special adapters), hand sanitizer (pit latrine + no running water = really wanting hand sanitizer).
It is fun and supportive in that we are all living in the same general area, we get to see each other on a daily basis and we are each others sanity at this point. It is also supportive because you have Peace Corps staff around you to ask questions to face to face. Despite my complaining, they are very helpful and want to help us learn as much as we can during this time.
It is exhausting and stressful because of the long days, which can often be “hurry up and wait” but add the heat, the walks to where we need to go (in the heat), learning a new language, not necessarily uplifting informational sessions, and all of the cultural changes – they are BOTH mentally and physically exhausting.
We are on such tight leashes in training and have the personal support of other PCTs that today I was thinking of how nervous that makes me for my transition to my permanent site. There is basically zero direction by the Peace Corps at that point, and at this time I have no idea how close I’ll be to another PCT. A lot of things have been really helpful though and I now feel like I’m starting to understand some ways that I can be an effective PCV (pc volunteer).
Some interesting things I have learned about PC SA in training….
-Most of PC Africa gets medically evacuated to South Africa so I’m in the right spot if I have a serious medical issue!
-South Africa has one of the highest (if not THE highest) rate of ETs (early terminations) in the whole PC. We have kind of been asking everyone why this is and yesterday we got a good answer. If the PC knew why, they probably wouldn’t have one of the highest rates. For example the group that is getting ready to be done with service this year is ending with 10 out of the original 25 volunteers that started two years ago. (Not that comforting of a statistic).
-“African time” is alive and well. Someone came up with the “statistic” that for every 1 African minute it’s 7 American minutes. Might as well get used to it now I suppose.
HOST FAMILY…
I am staying with a lovely family – the Mokonyane family in the village of Maroteng which is only a 10 – 15 minute car ride from the town Mokopane (lots of M names I just realized). My family consists of my 60 year old Gogo (grandma) Christina, and her 8 year old granddaughter Nikki. Every other week Nikki’s 30 year old mom Mashela comes home from her rural clinic nursing job as it is 7 days on 7 days off. But usually it’s just me, Gogo, and Nikki. Nikki has a best friend Palesa who lives with my friend and fellow PCT Sam. He is the closest PCT to me, across the street, down a house. There are two other PCTs on our street besides us.
To say that I have been having the stereotypical PC experience would be a bold faced lie. I have more “luxuries” here at my home stay house then I do at my own home in Illinois.
My life in the village…
-two TVs with satellite TV
-Wii game system
-Trampoline
-running water
-flushing toilet (inside)
-bath with shower head hose
-cleaning/cooking/washing lady Mon-Fri
Needless to say, I am the envy of many other PCTs. My situation is by no means “normal” for the other PCTs in our group or village. Most have pit latrines, and if they are lucky a spigot of water in the backyard. But many even if they don’t have running water have TV so the thing that people are most jealous of is that I can take a “shower” and have a flushing toilet. I’m not the only one, but we’re pretty rare.
My room is situated in a separate area than the main house (but very close to it) and in my little compound I have my own bathroom which is awesome! I get locked into the compound at night, and have burglar bars so I feel really safe.
My feelings about not having to take a bucket bath/use a pit latrine/do my own laundry is that I’m not really getting trained on the things I will mostly likely have to do at my permanent site. So, not only will I be adjusting like everyone else, but I’ll also have to be dealing with adjusting to all of those things which aren’t even bad just take some practice and getting used to. While I am defiantly NOT complaining AT ALL, a small part of me is a little worried for that initial shock I might face when it comes to my accommodations for two years.
LEARNING XHOSA (or attempting…)
I am SO EXCITED about this aspect of training, however challenging it is. Within the 46 PCTs myself and 5 other people are learning Xhosa. This is exciting because that means that we are moving to the Eastern Cape!!
Moving to the Eastern Cape is exciting for a variety of reasons…
-It’s a Cape, therefore ocean, therefore beaches….etc.
-It is beautiful!
-We are the FIRST group of volunteers to be placed in the Eastern Cape EVER! We are the pioneers of the CHOP (Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Project) program in the Eastern Cape!
-Everyone is going to want to come visit us because the Eastern Cape while not as popular as the Western Cape for tourism, is probably the second highest for tourists and includes such awesome things as the Addo Elephant National Park and the Garden Route which is a “must” in South Africa! Whooo hoooo!
Learning Xhosa itself is another story. At this point I would not call myself conversational at all, but it’s only been 2 ½ weeks. And funny story – so I do not consider myself to know any Spanish, but all of a sudden I’m speaking Spanish because I don’t know how to say words in Xhosa.
I think it’s fair to say that Xhosa is a difficult language to learn. First, I can barely pronounce the language itself due to the X being a click sound. Awesome. There are some other clicks in Xhosa, the main ones being x, c, and q. Individually I can pronounce all of them. Add other sounds around them…not so easy. In fact my feelings about the “q” click is it’s impossible. Additionally Xhosa is nothing at all like English, so “normal” sentence structure is out the window. Then come the “rules” of the language, which is more accurately a LACK of rules. EVERYTHING is contextual, has multiple meanings, and is irregular, yet there is no “rule” to explain why it might be irregular. (You may think I’m just exaggerating – since I have a tendency to do so…but I swear I’m not). Nkosi is our teacher and awesome – he’s hilarious! But he has said multiple times when we are confused about why something is…”you can’t ask why, there is no reason that’s just the way it is! Don’t worry you have two years, you’ll get it”.
And I’m not sure what this could be described as, but it is mostly roots of words, and then to change the meaning, you prefix and suffix things. I have a great one word sentence to demonstrate. Ndiyazikhusela = I protect myself. Khusela means to protect, so the Ndiyazi is all things that you add which give it the context. Ndi = I, ya = present tense, zi = reciprocal. I hope you were as confused by that as I am. The good news is I’m only expected to get to the “intermediate low” level of the language and then I’ll be assigned a tutor. Yessss.
We are also staying with families that speak Sepedi sooooo living with host families during training, while extremely useful for cultural immersion has not helped me one bit with language. Except with my greetings in Sepedi…Thobela! Other than greetings we don’t learn the other languages.
CULTURAL STORIES…
The following are some examples of what I’ve encountered that’s stuck out in my mind.
1) First day with my host family being offered chicken feet/heads/intestine at dinner. I ate the entire time with my head down because I couldn’t even watch it happen. Oh, by the way, I’ve decided to remain mostly vegetarian while in SA. AKA I refuse to eat any meat unless it’s boneless which is none (unless it’s from a restaurant). I’m willing to eat things that were made with meat juices, but if I can see that it was at one point living…no dice.
2) Being proposed to/asked to be brought back to America. This has happened on several occasions at this point. I’ve even had some girls tell me to bring them back. I usually respond “but I don’t think I could fit you in my luggage…”
3) Drunkenness at all points of the day, any day of the week. Unemployment in South Africa is rampant, in some areas (especially rural) you almost can’t believe how high the rates are. This leads to lots of down time, which turns into alcoholism. (This public drunkenness only applies to men where I am. I have yet to see a woman drunk, and I’ve only seen one even drink in public).
4) Being called “Hannah Montana” (Disney character) by my host sister and her best friend.
5) Being told that if I drink beer, especially straight out of the bottle I will be grouped with those that are “hopeless in society” since I’m a woman.
That’s all I have for now! We only have one more week until we go visit our permanent sites for a week! Training is flying by! Miss you all, nisale kakuhle
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Singama Xhosa
"We are Xhosa" is what Singama Xhosa means...and pretty soon I will be Xhosa (or in theory!)
So much has happened since I landed here 4ish weeks ago and I have a ton I could say! I wrote out a blog on my computer and forgot to save it to my flash drive so I'll have to save the details for later because internet minutes are expensive but I have been learning Xhosa which means I should be placed in the Province of the Eastern Cape (whoo hoo that's where Nelson Mandela is from! : ))
I wish I could say more but just know I'm safe and sound right now with a family in the village of Maroteng in the Province of Limpopo for only several more weeks! I'll give you lots of details later!
Sala kakuhle! (Stay well).
So much has happened since I landed here 4ish weeks ago and I have a ton I could say! I wrote out a blog on my computer and forgot to save it to my flash drive so I'll have to save the details for later because internet minutes are expensive but I have been learning Xhosa which means I should be placed in the Province of the Eastern Cape (whoo hoo that's where Nelson Mandela is from! : ))
I wish I could say more but just know I'm safe and sound right now with a family in the village of Maroteng in the Province of Limpopo for only several more weeks! I'll give you lots of details later!
Sala kakuhle! (Stay well).
Monday, January 24, 2011
Last Night In the USA
So it comes down to this! In a few hours I will be waking up to head off to South Africa. My flight is 15 hours non-stop which is nice...I plan on sleeping through a lot of it (thank you to dramamine and my ability to fall asleep at anytime, anywhere, in any position).
As I leave I'm thinking about how excited I am to meet my host family, how cool everyone is that I have met here at staging, and how I can't wait to get to know people better. It's an absolutely AMAZING feeling to know that everyone else was having the same close-as-you-can-get to nervous breakdown as I was about packing. How we are all essentially worried about the same things, and looking forward to the same things.
It's an exciting thing to be around so many people who care about the same subjects and topics that I do, and are interested in doing the same type of work that I am. It's an immediate comfort in many ways.
To everyone that has been so supportive to me I want to say a thousand times THANK YOU. My family and friends have been beyond amazing in their love and support and I don't think I could be here if it wasn't for you showing me how much you care! I love you all, and will miss you immensely.
You may discover that I LOVE good quotations, and I found this one and it made me smile and be happy with my choice knowing that I'm about to embark on a several dreams that I've had since high school. 1) join the Peace Corps 2) live in Africa for part of my life. Now they are coming true and I couldn't be more excited!
"Don't follow your dreams, chase them" - R.D.
As I leave I'm thinking about how excited I am to meet my host family, how cool everyone is that I have met here at staging, and how I can't wait to get to know people better. It's an absolutely AMAZING feeling to know that everyone else was having the same close-as-you-can-get to nervous breakdown as I was about packing. How we are all essentially worried about the same things, and looking forward to the same things.
It's an exciting thing to be around so many people who care about the same subjects and topics that I do, and are interested in doing the same type of work that I am. It's an immediate comfort in many ways.
To everyone that has been so supportive to me I want to say a thousand times THANK YOU. My family and friends have been beyond amazing in their love and support and I don't think I could be here if it wasn't for you showing me how much you care! I love you all, and will miss you immensely.
You may discover that I LOVE good quotations, and I found this one and it made me smile and be happy with my choice knowing that I'm about to embark on a several dreams that I've had since high school. 1) join the Peace Corps 2) live in Africa for part of my life. Now they are coming true and I couldn't be more excited!
"Don't follow your dreams, chase them" - R.D.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
T-Minus 5 Days!
In five days my adventure begins with a flight to Philadelphia!
Philadelphia is where I will have "staging" aka orientation (the Peace Corps decided to rename everything in their own lingo...presumably to confuse anyone who isn't involved directly??).
After a day in Phildelphia I get on a bus at 2:30 am, drive to JFK airport in NYC ,fly to South Africa,get off the plane in Johannesburg and immediately get into another bus for 3 hours. The final destination is where I will be for the first week of my training: Mokopane College of Education in the Limpopo Province.
After those one or two weeks in the dorms I'm moving in with my training host family in rural South Africa. Most likely I will not have running water, and I have been told that internet access during training is limited. Part of this is our location and the other part is they don't want us to use the internet while we are supposed to be focusing on assimilating to South African culture. SO - if you e-mail me or message me on Facebook and I don't reply it's just because I can't get on the internet.
During training we focus on many things including language, safety, health, South African culture, and have hands on experiences in the community. I'm hoping that I can be like a sponge and soak up everything they have to teach during my training period! Slightly nervous about the whole learning the "basics" of FIVE languages...I'm sure I'll have some stories about that part. Until March 24th I am in training and am not considered a "volunteer" but a "trainee". A couple weeks into training I will find out my assignment and location for the 24 months of service! I can't wait to find out this information!!!
For those of you interested in sending me letters/packages...
***MY ADDRESS DURING TRAINING***
Alana McGinty
Peace Corps
PO Box 9536
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
**Note about the mail: Any mail I get during training will be forwarded to me by the Peace Corps. Mail is supposed to be reliable in South Africa. Letters should take about 2 weeks to get to me, packages take longer. I read that if you want to send me a package if you can fit it in one of those bubble wrap envelopes it will get to me faster because it will be treated like a letter. I've heard that you may want to put religious messages on the outside of packages to avoid theft. I guess people don't want a whole bunch of Bibles, but the Cosmos and US Weeklys I hope to receive must be a hot commodity! ; )
I'm at the point where it's still surreal to a degree and I just want to get there! The anticipation of something like this is overwhelming! I'm feeling really good about leaving, but have a few worries. I'm imagining that all the other volunteers (there are 43 of us leaving on the 26th) are going to be South African language experts, know everything there is to know about HIV/AIDS, and be well versed in anything to do with South Africa. If that is the case they better be willing to share some of that info with me! : ) In seriousness though, I'm assuming I won't be the only one who has a hard time learning the basics of 5 languages and hasn't worked with HIV before.
When I get internet I will update my facebook/blog to let you all know that I'm still alive and have made it to South Africa.
Until then...my only expectations are to be surprised everyday by myself and others.
Life is calling...and I'm about to answer!
Philadelphia is where I will have "staging" aka orientation (the Peace Corps decided to rename everything in their own lingo...presumably to confuse anyone who isn't involved directly??).
After a day in Phildelphia I get on a bus at 2:30 am, drive to JFK airport in NYC ,fly to South Africa,get off the plane in Johannesburg and immediately get into another bus for 3 hours. The final destination is where I will be for the first week of my training: Mokopane College of Education in the Limpopo Province.
After those one or two weeks in the dorms I'm moving in with my training host family in rural South Africa. Most likely I will not have running water, and I have been told that internet access during training is limited. Part of this is our location and the other part is they don't want us to use the internet while we are supposed to be focusing on assimilating to South African culture. SO - if you e-mail me or message me on Facebook and I don't reply it's just because I can't get on the internet.
During training we focus on many things including language, safety, health, South African culture, and have hands on experiences in the community. I'm hoping that I can be like a sponge and soak up everything they have to teach during my training period! Slightly nervous about the whole learning the "basics" of FIVE languages...I'm sure I'll have some stories about that part. Until March 24th I am in training and am not considered a "volunteer" but a "trainee". A couple weeks into training I will find out my assignment and location for the 24 months of service! I can't wait to find out this information!!!
For those of you interested in sending me letters/packages...
***MY ADDRESS DURING TRAINING***
Alana McGinty
Peace Corps
PO Box 9536
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
**Note about the mail: Any mail I get during training will be forwarded to me by the Peace Corps. Mail is supposed to be reliable in South Africa. Letters should take about 2 weeks to get to me, packages take longer. I read that if you want to send me a package if you can fit it in one of those bubble wrap envelopes it will get to me faster because it will be treated like a letter. I've heard that you may want to put religious messages on the outside of packages to avoid theft. I guess people don't want a whole bunch of Bibles, but the Cosmos and US Weeklys I hope to receive must be a hot commodity! ; )
I'm at the point where it's still surreal to a degree and I just want to get there! The anticipation of something like this is overwhelming! I'm feeling really good about leaving, but have a few worries. I'm imagining that all the other volunteers (there are 43 of us leaving on the 26th) are going to be South African language experts, know everything there is to know about HIV/AIDS, and be well versed in anything to do with South Africa. If that is the case they better be willing to share some of that info with me! : ) In seriousness though, I'm assuming I won't be the only one who has a hard time learning the basics of 5 languages and hasn't worked with HIV before.
When I get internet I will update my facebook/blog to let you all know that I'm still alive and have made it to South Africa.
Until then...my only expectations are to be surprised everyday by myself and others.
Life is calling...and I'm about to answer!
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