An Adventure Holiday

As some of you know I took what was quite the epic vacation this December.  Last year I explored the East coast from where I stay to Durban in KZN so this year I thought it only appropriate I go in the opposite direction.  Luckily, my friends agreed! 

Our holiday consisted of two parts, traveling to Cape Town along the Garden Route and then Cape Town itself. 

Garden Route/Little Karoo: 

After renting a car in Port Elizabeth our first stop on our trip was a place called Nature’s Valley which boarders the Tsitsikamma National Forest.  We went zip lining in the forest and it was a ton of fun!  Our lead guide was named Yolo and he made me believe that I had to go backwards because I was left handed.  I am apparently exceptionally gullible.  We had a lot of fun doing this and I highly recommend zip lining if you ever get the chance.  Very cool.  

Our second stop was Oudtshoorn in an area called the “Little Karoo”.  This is the land of ostriches.  You can tour one of the many ostrich farms and even ride an ostrich (which is apparently cruel so we decided to not do it despite the temptation).  We came this way to see the Cango Caves and do the “adventure tour”.  Talk about an adventure!  We had to squeeze sideways through “Lovers Lane”, shimmy our way up the “Chimney”, and blindly slide down a tunnel.  These caves were at one point in time shelter for actual cave men – the Khoisan people.  Evidence of this was in rock paintings inside the caves (which have all unfortunately been destroyed).  Again, it was very cool.

Oudshoorn to Mossel Bay – what should have been a short trip – turned into a four hour detour on a gravel road.  Thank goodness we’re Peace Corps volunteers and we “packed our flexibility.”  We stopped a few times for some scenic pictures, a quick dance party, and our sanity.  Upon arrival in Mossel Bay at our train-turned-backpackers accommodation we immediately wanted drinks and food.  *As a side note: a train-turned backpackers (beachfront!) sounds like a good idea.  Not so much a good idea when your dorm is the width of a small train, lined on BOTH sides with bunk beds, and is literally booked full.  There was no floor space because it was covered in massive hiking backpacks so getting to the bathroom, changing, moving at all was literally impossible.  Our sense of humor about this didn’t really exist after again, FOUR HOURS on a GRAVEL road.  Oh and our butter had melted in the trunk and got all over two of our bags.  We laughed at this like insane people for probably ten minutes straight.  It’s all we could do…

 

Anyway, food and drink.  We go to the restaurant/bar attached to the backpackers and take a load off.  This is our interaction with our waiter Mike after we’re seated:

Mike: “Oh, are you from Canada?”

Us: “No, America!”

Mike: “So.  What can I get you.”

Clearly the right answer was Canada.  This was made abundantly obvious over the rest of our stay as we would try and ask him something and he would continue to walk past us as we were mid-sentence.  Oh, and the next morning he fake seated my friends.  He took menus, pretended to walk my friends to a table, yet kept walking and closed a sliding glass door behind him…

It. Was. Weird.  He also obsessively and continuously flipped a towel on/off his shoulder, occasionally switching the shoulders.  It was quite entertaining.  Waiter Mike had no love for us, and unfortunately by the end we had ZERO tolerance for him and his shenanigans.  Who fake seats people?!  We were quite happy to continue our trip leaving Mossel Bay in the rearview mirror.      

 

We hit up the Southernmost Tip of Africa – Cape Agulhas on our way further West.  It’s pretty cool to say I’ve been to the very bottom of Africa! 

Then came my favorite part of the trip – cage diving with great white sharks!  It was absolutely amazing and one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had!  We went out on a boat into Gansbaai (Gans Bay) and I was terrified.  I have a love/irrational fear of sharks.  I’m one of those people who will be in a pool and suddenly have a fear that a shark is going to attack me and I frantically swim to edge and get out (other people do that too right………?).  I blame TBS for having the JAWS movie marathons when I was in grade school.  JAWS 4 did the most damage I think.  Anywhoo my other irrational fear was that the cage would somehow detach from the boat and I’d either have to swim with the sharks to get to safety or sink to the bottom of the ocean.  So basically I’m the perfect candidate to go cage diving right?! 

I was scared and nervous until we saw our first shark; after that it was pure excitement.  My friend Sam and I had just finished putting our wet suits on and we were on the bottom deck of the boat patiently waiting for that first sighting.  The company we were with chums the water and also uses a massive tuna head as bait.  We were discussing how disgusting the tuna head was when suddenly we hear “SHARK APPROACHING FROM THE LEFT!” and at that moment a great white’s massive jaws came out of the water in an attempt to get the bait right in front of us.  It was amazing!  After the first shark they put the cage down on the side of the boat and four people went in at a time to view under water.  Sam and I got to go into the cage for two different 30 minute viewings.  You’d bob in the cage (and attempt to not let your feet float out the back through the bars) and wait for the instructions: “shark approaching from right GO DOWN GO DOWN GO DOWN!”  Then, you hold your breath, go underwater, and look to your right as you watch the shark swim in front of the cage to check out the tuna head.  There was one scary moment when I was looking at a great white straight on as it came towards the cage but it turned before it got too close.  Even though there wasn’t the possibility of danger, there’s nothing like looking straight on at an approaching great white to let you know who the boss is.  If you’re ever in South Africa, and want to go Cage diving you HAVE to go with the “Shark Lady” (previous customers – Brad Pitt and Princes William and Harry) it was amazing! 

There was actually a scarier event that day – having to drive our manual shift car to and from the shark diving which was 40 minutes away from where we were staying.  That was my fourth time EVER driving a manual shift.  Previous times include: 20 minutes in the Oregon State University parking lot, 30 minutes around Alexandria, 30 minutes the night before cage diving just to make sure I could actually do it.  So I was TERRIFIED.  Luckily, we were leaving super early in the morning so there was almost no traffic on the way there.  I only stalled a total of like 5 times at stop signs, which to me, is great!  I still can’t reverse…

Cape Town:

We met up with other Peace Corps volunteers in Cape Town and rented a house with them for the rest of the vacation.  We celebrated Christmas with a gourmet dinner that was simply delicious!  We visited the National Art Gallery, the National History Museum, shopped, ate delicious food, went to a Goldfish concert (youtube them – so good!), Kaulk Bay, an awesome wine tour, the beach and had an overall great vacation!  NYE we went out on the tourist trap Long Street but it was actually really fun and we got to meet up with a lot of other PCVs from other groups who were also staying in Cape Town.  I wore heels for the first time in two years.  Huge mistake.  It was still a really fun night though!     

Besides the house we were renting belonging to a semi-hoarder, there being no curtains anywhere including the bathroom which looked directly into another houses kitchen, and the fact that we were essentially paying to dog-sit, there is one funny story about where we stayed.  The almost break-in! 

Everyone was downstairs in the backyard when I went upstairs to get something.  I was staying in the master bedroom with a balcony off of it.  As I turned on the bedside lamp I saw a man come out of crouching position on our balcony.  I froze in terror.  I literally couldn’t move and I just remember thinking…do I scream? Do I run?  What do I do?!  That’s when he speaks to me through the window:

Potential robber: “I have asthma.”

Me: “What?!”

PR: “I have asthma, can you help me?”

Me: coming out of shock…”NO! NO I CAN’T %$#&^*@ HELP YOU!  GET THE *#%$ OUT OF HERE!”…followed by other strongly worded statements like: “WE HAVE DOGS!” and “WE’RE CALLING THE COPS!”  After about 30 seconds of me screaming at him he just simply climbed off the balcony never to be seen again.  It is still completely unknown how he somehow scaled his way up our house to the second story balcony.  Especially if he had asthma…

My vacation ended on the 1^st of January but I had a slow reintroduction to life in reality as I spent a few days with the Smith family at the Cannon Rocks Kiteboarding competition.  It was a great time, the weather was lovely, and it was cool meeting a whole bunch of kite surfers and hanging out with new and old friends. 

Life back at site has been great!  I was glad to be home in my comfy bed and back to a semblance of a routine.  There is lots of work to be done in the next weeks as I prepare to leave South Africa.  Finish reports, write a summary of all the work I’ve done that goes on record for 90 years, and make sure that my programs can function once I’ve left.  Not easy tasks to accomplish but I know everything will get done!  In the meantime I’m following some great advice and living in the moment! 

“May every sunrise hold more promise, and every sunset hold more peace.”
- Blessing

 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I hope you are keeping warm as winter approaches, even though I hear it’s been unseasonably warm in Chicago lately!  Here I can finally declare: summer has arrived!  I have to say if I can’t have a white winter, a hot beach holiday is not a bad trade.  The year is winding down here in South Africa which means one thing - vacation!  The school year in South Africa begins in January and ends in November with summer break taking place from now until half way through January.  The students have finished writing their exams that they’ve studied so hard for, and summer holiday has begun!

December break feels like a country wide vacation because it is not just the schools that close for extended periods of time.  My organization for example will close its doors December 14^th and not reopen until the schools do.  In my opinion this is fantastic and I’m sure I will never have this much vacation time at any other job.  The holiday time here isn’t quite like how it is in the States.  Here Christmas things made an appearance in big city stores before October – my friend’s theory is this is because they don’t have Halloween or Thanksgiving to hold it off.  I would have to agree, more evidence of this came when I attended a festive Christmas dinner the day after Thanksgiving. 

Vacation time in the township is a chance for everyone to do things that they’ve put off for a while.  One example of this is the intensive all house cleans where all furniture is removed from the house and every square inch is scrubbed inside and out.  My host sister spent over two full days with hired help doing this!  Many people will spruce up their homes with a new paint job (in awesomely bright colors).  Some have cement or dirt floors that they cover with the floor equivalent of wall paper, and December is the time to replace these papers.  I’ve seen countless people walking back from town with rolls of flooring slung over their shoulder.  This is a time for getting things done! 

Christmas is widely celebrated here as most people are Christian.  While Christmas for some South African’s might be similar to what we are used to in the States, Christmas in my township is quite different.  Looking around in my town you wouldn’t know that it’s Christmas time because there aren’t decorations up (with very rare exceptions).  The Xhosa people I live with don’t set up Christmas trees in their house, hang stockings, wreaths or lights, but they still have plenty of Christmas traditions.  Christmas morning starts with a trip to church in their new Christmas clothes.  After church little children will go around the neighborhood with bags and collect sweets and little toys from their neighbors.  Extended families will come together for a big Christmas lunch and parties afterwards.  Children are familiar with Santa Claus but don’t believe that he brings them gifts.    

Many families in my township are in poverty and can’t afford to give gifts on Christmas day.  Despite this most families will find a way to make sure that everyone at least has a brand new Christmas outfit – “Christmas clothes” are a very big deal.  Another big holiday tradition is to go to the beach on New Years Day.  This is the one day a year that people will go to the beach which is only a 20 minute drive from our township.  At the beach they go swimming, braai (bbq) and party!  You would not believe how crowded the beaches of South Africa are on New Years Day – it is a country wide tradition! 

It has been sort of bizarre coming from 23 years of white, winter, consumer Christmases - to summer with almost no commercial indication that it’s Christmas time – but it’s actually kind of nice!  I look forward to next year when I’ll be home for a winter holiday, but in the meantime I’ll take my Christmas on the beach and not complain!  I’m celebrating the holiday season my own way by watching holiday movies and listening to Christmas music.  I also set out my little Christmas tree thanks to the Smith family!

My big vacation of the year is finally here and begins on this Friday!  The “holiday” kicks off with our PC Close of Service (COS) conference in Pretoria.  I honestly can’t believe that this is here – this is the event that happens to prep us for when we finish our service in March (by the way my OFFICIAL end of service is March 22^nd!).  All of SA23 (the group I arrived with in South Africa back in January 2011) will come together for this final conference.  We will get all the details and logistics of what’s to come.  I haven’t seen most people in this group (with the exception of three people in fact) since back in March – so I am VERY excited to see everyone again! 

The conference will take place at a nice lodge outside of Pretoria (and the last night is my birthday and there is a This is Africa (TIA) themed party which I’m going to pretend is my birthday party!).  After the conference three of my PCV friends and I will head back down to Port Elizabeth to start our journey on the “Garden Route” on a road trip to Cape Town!  We’ll be on the Garden Route in the Western Cape for five days as we make our way along the coast.  We have lots of adventures in store including zip lining and caving!  I’m really, really excited!  We will end our road trip in the beautiful city of Cape Town and there with other Peace Corps Volunteers, and my South African friend Michelle I’ll celebrate Christmas and New Years.  As if that wasn’t enough, after I come back from Cape Town with Michelle I’ll spend the week with her and the rest of the Smiths at the Cannon Rocks Kite boarding Classic – a kite surfing competition.  Pretty much I’m in for a month solid of fun in the sun! : ) 

Happy Holidays to all of you!  I hope you all have a great winter break and whatever you celebrate I hope it’s filled with lots of happiness and joy!

Traditional Xhosa Work

One of the coolest parts of living in another culture so different from the United States is getting to learn about and participate in different traditions.  Here in the land of the Xhosa people I’ve had the opportunity several times to attend traditional events and it’s always a great time!  The first weekend this November was a big deal for my host sister Phakama’s family as they held the biggest kind of “traditional work” you can have – slaughtering a cow. 

The people where I stay refer to their traditional ceremonies that are centered on giving gifts to their ancestors as “traditional work”.  There are many kinds of ceremonies that a family can do.  While each one can have a different specific purpose, the general reason for having traditional work is to please the ancestors, which in turn should result in good luck for the family.  The most common traditional works are either the brewing of traditional beer (called umqomboti pronounced: um-com-boat-ee), or the slaughtering of a goat or cow.  A cow is the biggest deal because it is the most expensive (around 1,000 dollars which here is a BIG deal!).

 

In the case of Phakama’s family, she herself had purchased the cow, but the weekend long event would take place at another family member’s house.  The preparations for the event took the entire week.  A particular Aunt had to come into town and sleep at the house where the event was taking place because she was responsible for brewing the umqomboti which takes a full week to make.  Phakama spent a lot of time at the house cooking for her other family members that had come into town to help with the other preparations like setting up the family’s yard.  In the front yards of Xhosa families you will find a wooden post with animal horns attached to it.  This is the place where the offerings to the ancestors are given.  When a traditional event is going to take place a fence is put up around this area, and the branches of a particular tree are added to the fence, almost like a screen. 

These and other preparations take some time, and by Friday close family members have begun to arrive for the big day which is always on a Saturday.  On Friday night the cow arrived, and on Saturday at noon the ceremony began.  A male member of Phakama’s family conducted the ceremony (it is always a man) with the family sitting around the inside of the fence in a semi circle.  The Tata (a respectful way to refer to an older male) gave an impassioned speech to the family and the ancestors.  When it came time to slaughter the cow, other male relatives joined in helping to tie the cow down.  Things were very tense for several minutes because the cow would not moo. 

In Xhosa tradition if the animal to be slaughtered doesn’t “cry”, as they call it, right before it is slaughtered there is a very serious problem in the family.  It is a very bad omen, and extremely bad luck if the animal won’t cry.  Our cow was not crying and the family was starting to get upset.  At last it did and everyone jumped up and was crying with happiness and relief.  I even felt a huge sense of relief, and was really happy for Phakama that everything turned out okay. 

After the cow was skinned and cut up, they began to cook it.  At this point lots of family members and people from the community start to show up waiting to eat the meat.  No formal invitations are given out for these events but throughout the weekend many people from the community will stop by to partake in the festivities.  Anyone and everyone is welcome to come to one of these events, and no one gets turned away.  The meat gets cooked in very specific ways during these events.  It can only be cooked with water and salt in huge iron pots over fires or over the coals directly.  At the front of the house the men cook, and at the back of the house women are also cooking over a different fire.  As the meat becomes available it is distributed to the family and the people who have come to be part of the celebrations.  It must be served on a specific kind of branch with leaves.  This was the third cow slaughtering I had been to and the only one where I actually saw the cow being slaughtered.  I did eat a little piece of meat, but I am very picky about what meat I eat anyway.  My friend Noxolo came with me to the event and we were given a plate full of all liver pieces.  I let Noxolo who is a self-described meat lover eat the whole thing.  The only down side is you can’t request a fillet at these events! ; ) 

A common thing taking place in my community (and undoubtedly around the world) is the blending of Western culture with traditional ceremonies and rituals.  Alcohol plays a large part in these events and in addition to supplying the food, the family is responsible for supplying people with drinks.  In the old days the only alcohol consumed would have been the umqomboti, now days because of people’s preferences there are all kinds of alcohol served at these events.  Another blending of modern culture and tradition is the clothes you must wear.  For the family – the women will generally be wearing traditional dress.  The levels of how traditional the clothes are vary on the family, but it always involves either a skirt or dress.  For older women who are married they will wrap their head in a scarf.  I’ve noticed the men at these events tend to wear whatever they want (unless the family is very traditional which I’ve only seen once).  The youth take these traditions less seriously and some girls will wrap a towel around their jeans and call it a day. 

Even with the “modernization” of some parts of these ceremonies, the Xhosa tradition and culture remains very strong.  I really enjoy getting to experience these unique parts of South African culture.  It’s a privilege to be able to see how other people in the world live and get to experience first hand what they believe. 

Girls Leading Our World :: Camp GLOW

Last September as Noxolo and I were coming up with the goals for our Alexandria Girls Clubs one of them was “to hold a Camp GLOW”.  That goal finally became a reality this October 1^st – 5^th as six counselors and twenty learners from Ukhanyo Secondary School and Alexandria High School joined us at Bushbuck Adventure Camp for a week like nothing we had ever experienced! 

Planning Stages

As soon as I heard of Camp GLOW (a program that was started by PCVs in Romania in 1995) I knew it was something I wanted to do with my time in the Peace Corps – and I knew it would be my biggest project.  I worked in the Leadership and Service office at ISU – leadership development is kind of my nerdy thing.  After participating in a life-changing week long leadership program myself (and then working as the Student Coordinator of it for three years) I knew how immensely impactful, wonderful, and fun a week long leadership camp could be – and my standards were set high.  Using my experiences in the Leadership and Service office, including things from Alternative Spring Breaks I began the task of putting together a week long leadership camp focusing on four things: leadership (obviously), HIV/AIDS & wellness, personal discovery and growth, and female empowerment.  These four overarching themes directed each and every lesson and activity that we did. 

The week was put together to follow daily themes: community, the value of you, challenging the status quo, leading with your values, and taking it home.  Each day we had a goal which correlated to the daily theme as we worked through our lessons and activities.  The Camp GLOW curriculum took me a looooooooong time to put together and in total was 144 pages.  The counselor’s manuals were a detailed, step by step guide for staff.  They included: facilitator training, the daily to do list, the daily curriculum, inspirational materials, and ice breakers and energizers. 

The Camp GLOW [Rock Stars] Staff

Starting in June the planning committee (aka the Camp GLOW staff) started meeting to prepare and plan.  Putting together our staff was something that came together amazingly easy.  I needed a group of committed women, who were already positive role models in their community that would be willing to not only spend an entire week working for free, but also spend four full months planning and meeting.  I had my eyes open for good counterparts and was able to find an AMAZING group of women for the camp.  Our lead facilitators would be Noxolo (an employee of the local Department of Social Development, and Alexandria Girls Club leader) and me.  One of my best friends in the Peace Corps Sam offered to come down and help out and she served as our site coordinator.  She was my right hand woman throughout the whole week and helped to make sure it all went smoothly (which it did thanks to her!).

Our Sister Leaders – the women who would be interacting with the girls on a much more personal level as their small group leaders (aka Sister Teams) were all made for this job!  Phindiswa and Nelly both work for the Department of Education as “learner support agents” comparable to social workers at the local schools.  Elgene works as a monitor at the Alexandria Christian Academy and runs the youth programs at the church I attend.  She got her sister Kaylynn to fill in as our fourth Sister Leader – unfortunately Kaylynn was unable to actually come because she got a new job that began on the same day as Camp; but she was an invaluable asset to our planning committee in the months leading up to GLOW. 

Something that makes me really proud of our GLOW is that not only was it empowering the learners we had from the schools, but also our staff.  This was such a unique opportunity for them to learn and grow professionally and personally.  These women are passionately committed to seeing the people of their community empowered – and it is truly inspiring to see all the hard work they put into their roles as Camp GLOW staff.  I am so grateful, blessed, and inspired by them continually!  My expectations of them were extremely high and they were there ready to rise to each and every challenge I put in front of them.  They did an outstanding job and I’m so proud of all of them!

The Camp

After four months of Saturday planning committee meetings, me stalking the participants and their schools, three shopping trips to Port Elizabeth for supplies, and endless hours of preparation the week finally arrived – Camp GLOW!  All of our participants showed up (I was worried that someone would forget despite my mass text messages of last minute reminders) and the camp began!

At first the girls were shy and quite, a little apprehensive and not quite sure what to expect.  That quickly changed and by day two we could see the girls coming out of their shells.  By day three we were astounded at some of the transformations we were seeing.  Girls that hadn’t said a single word were suddenly speaking up in the big group discussions – it was so encouraging.  The following are some of the highlights of the week…

Day Two:

A LOT of girls cited learning about their values on day two as one of their favorite things about Camp GLOW.  The focus was on learning about who you are, what you value – your “core values” and then congruence between your values and actions.  I think this message really impacted them! 

The challenge course – was not only hilarious but a great workout!  A lot of girls enjoyed this part of the day and working on their team building – doing activities like the human knot.  The key message of the day was that each of us has our own value that we bring to the table but it’s also critical for leaders to be able to work well on team!   

Know Your Epidemic – this was one of the only times that we actually discussed HIV/AIDS at Camp GLOW.  Part of the reason is – all of the youth in my community know what behaviors are risky and put them in danger of contracting HIV.  They know what HIV is, they understand how it can affect you, and that it can’t be cured.  What they don’t know is exactly what HIV looks like in South Africa as a nation.  It is not widely understood that HIV is actually a pandemic in South Africa and exactly how widespread it is here (and that it is not how it is in the rest of the world).  In my opinion – you cannot fight something if you don’t really understand it.  If the youth of this country don’t understand that they have a unique challenge to overcome in regards to HIV they will not be able to see an HIV free generation.  We showed the comparison to statistics on HIV in the United States and South Africa.  The small group discussions that took place as part of this session were amazing!

Day Three:

Why Gender Matters: we talked about the difference between sex and gender, did an activity that demonstrated how much influence gender stereotypes have on us, and discussed why this is important for us to talk about and relevant to them. 

Dream Big: Vision and Goals Development: Each participant went through the process of developing a vision and goals.  A vision was something that was “others focused” – an improvement that they wanted to see in their community.  The focus was not on individual desires and goals – by going through this process they could apply it to their own personal lives, but we wanted to encourage community involvement and active citizenship.  This was very powerful to many of them, especially at their age (15-19) as they generally aren’t used to thinking about how they can impact their community.  The visions and goals that they developed were so incredibly inspiring!  These ladies have big dreams and hopes for their community!

Challenging the Status Quo: The main activity addressing this was group discussions on the following things: women’s rights in South Africa, caring for the environment, racism in South Africa, and HIV/AIDS.  These discussions got them thinking about the tough questions and the attitudes and circumstances that people generally just accept as “how things are” here.  The conversations that ensued were extremely interesting.

Women Leaders in Our Community: Guest Speaker Panel.  Three women from Alexandria that are leaders in their community were invited to speak about what it’s been like for them as women leaders in the community.  The HIV/AIDS Coordinator of Ndlambe Municipality, the Ward Counselor of Alexandria, and the Project Manger of Ikhwezi Support Group all attended and shared their knowledge with us.  The girls engaged the guest speakers by asking insightful questions.  Having living examples of women from their community that have become leaders was so important for the girls – and I think made a lasting impression on them. 

Day Four:

Outdoor Adventure: Hiking.  Part of our day consisted of a two hour hike through the bush.  It was along a stream and so much fun!  Several girls’ citied hiking as one of their favorite things about the Camp.  Most of the girls don’t ever get to go hiking so it’s a rare and fun opportunity for them! 

Embracing Failure: in their Sister Teams the girls talked about new ways to look at failure.  We were encouraging them to dream really big with their visions and goals - “great leaders have a healthy disregard for the impossible” after all.  In order to prepare them for the challenges that lay before them we wanted to provide them with a new outlook on failing.  The following quotes were just some of the inspiration we provided for the new viewpoint: 

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly” – Robert F. Kennedy, former United States Congressman

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”  –Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of England

Juggling Life: Stress Management.  This was a session that a large majority of girls cited as being something they had learned at Camp GLOW – how to manage their stress in positive ways. 

Seeing the Possibilities: I Can’t Funeral.  After their final sister team reflections where participants got to meet one on one to share each others positive qualities we held an I Can’t Funeral.  Each of us wrote down things that others have said to us, or that we say to ourselves that are negative.  We each then read these things out loud to the group (it was optional but everyone chose to participate) and then threw the paper into the fire “burying” those negative messages.  This turned out to be an extremely emotional activity with a lot of girls letting out things that they had clearly been holding in for a long time.  Sharing these deep things with each other allowed them to finally release that burden and find the support that they needed to prove their own self worth to themselves.  It was extremely touching and empowering.

Day Five:

Taking It Home: we discussed the different ways they can apply what they have learned at Camp GLOW at home, the potential challenges they thought they might face, and how they could address each one of those challenges.

Celebration: Silent Thanks – as one of our last activities we all got a chance to anonymously thank one another.  With our eyes shut and back facing the inside of the circle five girls came into the middle at a time and touched the shoulders of people for statements like “someone that always makes you laugh”, “someone you liked getting to know better”, and “someone you want to thank but haven’t”.  It’s a very feel good activity! 

Acknowledgements and Certificate Ceremony: I surprised the staff with gifts – picture frames, water bottles, and bracelets for all of their hard work.  To our huge surprise the Sister Leaders and the girls had organized gifts for Sam and me – also pictures with an African scene and really cute necklaces!  It was such a surprise I couldn’t believe it!  We all got our certificates and then it was time for the final activity before Camp was over. 

Touchstones: everyone got a small glass pebble to remind them of their time at Camp GLOW.  I gave a final speech which ended with the quotation by Robert Kennedy: “It is from numberless acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.  Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends out a tiny ripple of home, and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Feedback

One of the great things about such a long program is you can see the transformation in many of the participants.  Yet it can be very difficult to actually assess how successful a program was besides qualitative stories.  As part of our monitoring and evaluation of Camp GLOW each participant filled out a pre and post camp survey to assess their knowledge and skills gained.  We also had feedback forms which asked: what did you learn about yourself this week at Camp GLOW, and what was your favorite part of Camp GLOW.   

I’m proud to report that there were great improvements on the post Camp surveys which showed that after the Camp all of our objectives were successfully met.  Yay!   

Feedback Forms:

The following are a few examples of what the participants of Camp GLOW had to say…

What did you learn about yourself at Camp GLOW?

I learned how to make healthy decisions for my self.  I learned how to resolve conflict, about leadership, and my values.  I also learned about how HIV/AIDS affects my country and the youth. 

I learned that I can achieve my goals and visions and I can be what I want to be in life.  I learned how to make important decisions and that I can be a leader in my community and I shouldn’t let anyone discourage me.  I should have faith in myself if I want to change the way my community is.  I can work with people and everyone should be respected no matter what our age group is.

I have learned how to: communicate with people and teammates, my values as a person, how to look at failure, and how to manage my stress.  I have the ability to be a role model for my peers, and finally I have learned that I can be a leader and I will be a leader. 

In this week I learned everything about community.  I learned how to manage stress and how to live with my values.  Mostly I learned about how to behave as a girl, how to make good choices, and how to handle peer pressure.  As a young teenager you must follow your dreams.

What was your favorite part of Camp GLOW?

My favorite part was the challenge course because there I faced my fear of failing and heights.  So I enjoyed it a lot and it has taught me to not fear failure because it is how you learn and it makes you stronger. 

My favorite part was when the Sister Teams were together.  We learned that everyone is special in different ways, and we laughed together. 

My favorite part of Camp GLOW was the making and understanding of new friends.  The best part of Camp GLOW was the learning part because I was asking the Lord, let this Camp give me something to live for and instead of something you guys gave me a lot to take home and apply in my own life.

My favorite part of Camp GLOW is when we were talking about our values because I never thought our values are so important and that they make you who you are.  You should respect others values and you have to lead with your values as a person so that you can succeed. 

The following are notes I wanted to share that I got in my Happy Bag.  Two of them make my life and two of them are just hilarious:

“I want you to know you are the best thing that ever happened to me I LOVE YOU!!!”

“You have a lot of energy you don’t get tired, you always teach and talk but I like you……..”

“You’ve showed me what humanity means in so many ways.  I have changed as a young person: Thank u”

“Thankz to you & Noxolo this camp is very nyc [nice] I thought it would be boring love u a lot”

: )

I want to say a HUGE thank you, dankie, and enkosi to the following people and organizations for making Camp GLOW possible:

Noxolo, Phindiswa, Nelly, Elgene, Sam, Kaylynn, Almare, the Bushbuck staff, Ukhanyo Secondary School, Alexandria High School (special shout out to Mr. Meyer and Mr. Wentzel), Ikhwezi Support Group, Life Christian Center, Sunshine Coast Charity Trust, SA Chicory (thanks Henry!), all the local businesses who donated (there were lots!), all of my lovely friends and family in the States who after countless times of me harassing them for money for this or that - they STILL donated, and last but absolutely not least the participants!  I’m so grateful to all of you – a thank you will never really express exactly how much I appreciate a community coming together to try and make a positive change in the world!

After all…

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world..." - Gandhi

Back to Bucket Baths

Well my friends it is back to my trusty bucket baths after two weeks of visitors from America (and mostly hot showers)!  I want to state for the record that I’m not complaining about this.  I don’t mind bucket baths…I have a great system.  It’s not very efficient in regards to time or resources but I realize it could be worse (like a COLD bucket bath!). 

I had two great friends visit me for the last two weeks.  The first to arrive was my college roommate and Phi Sig sister Allie.  Two days after her Dani my Leadership and Service bestie arrived!  We had a BLAST and the time passed by in a blink.  Before I knew it I was sending them off at the Port Elizabeth airport. 

We had a crazy schedule when they first got here – trying to find a good balance between showing them my life at site and seeing the local sights (which there are a ton of!).  Here are my highlights of the trip…

Fourth of July Traditional Dinner

We went across the street to my South African family’s house for a traditional dinner and celebrated the 4^th with some ‘Merica themed temporary tattoos, fancy straws, and American Flag banners.  One of the goals of the Peace Corps is to share American culture with the host country nationals and I believe that goal was achieved fully in this night!  My favorite part was when my middle aged mama requested a temporary tattoo of an American flag on her face.  It was great.  They cooked my favorite traditional food which I can’t spell (or say) the name of.  It’s supposed to be made with a plant that is collected out in the bush but can be substituted with spinach.  It’s made of spinach, mealie meal (a form of corn that in this case looks like a smaller version of couscous), onion, salt, and if you want, chilies.  It is delicious and the girls thought so too!  

National Arts Festival in Grahamstown

We wandered around the huge arts market and were temped by many cool things!  All of us came away with something unique.  We also ate at the “famous” pub Rat & Parrot which has been on my bucket list since I saw it!  It looks like an old British pub…which in reality it kind of is, just in South Africa. 

After the festival we went back to the Smith’s house where we proceeded to mix cultures some more with a traditional braai in honor of the 4^th.  We made traditional BBQ foods from the States (potato salad, fruit salad, and a spinach dip with taco chips) and they braaied the meats.  Dani literally fell in love with warthog fillet.  When I say fell in love…I really mean it.  Someone find a specialty store in the States and get that girl some warthog.  We had a great night and all ate so much we had stomach aches (or at least I did). 

Addo Elephant Park

This was simply amazing.  We were able to drive through the park at our own leisure and choose our route.  We saw so many different animals!  Tons of elephants along with zebra, warthog, kudu (like elk only with spiraling antlers), meerkats, monkeys, cranes, other birds, and other kinds of buck (deer-like animals).  The elephants were so amazing and came SO CLOSE to the car.  There were three separate times that we were in the middle of elephant crossings on the road and more than one time that I was slightly concerned if I should roll up my window.  You are not allowed to get out of your car expect at designated points in the park.  We did get out at one point in one of the designated areas despite the signs “BEWARE OF LIONS – Get out at own risk”.  Luckily, no lions were present at that point in time.  The whole experience was incredible, and I’m so grateful I was able to finally visit there!  It’s an absolutely breathtaking place – with beautiful blue rolling hills as the backdrop to herds of elephants.  Can’t ask for much more than that.  

Port Elizabeth

At different points in time we spent the night (or nights) in Port Elizabeth.  Sometimes for airport proximity and other times because it was raining for days straight and we had nothing else to do (sorry Dani)!  We went out to my two favorite places dancing – Balizza and Aqua, and had a great time chatting with the locals and the international crowd at the backpackers.  Also, Dani and I saw Snow White and the Huntsman one particularity rainy day and couldn’t believe that it ended with a solid minute on a close up of Kristen Steward making awkward faces.  Seriously?!   

Nature’s Valley

We spent two nights on the Garden Route near Tsitsikamma (10 points if you can guess how it’s pronounced correctly) in a cool place called Wild Spirit Backpackers which boarders the Tsitsikamma National Park.  We got to do some cool hikes in the area (the weather was a little bit rainy while we were there) so we also swung down to the posh Plettenberg Bay (which reminded me of an outlying LA beach town along the lines of Santa Monica).  We also saw baboons which was really cool/terrifying.  They are CRAZY.  We had lots of shenanigans at this place and it is where we discovered our love affair with Amarula thanks to my friend Matt.  I highly recommend a double on the rocks.  Absolutely delectable.  Also, we saw a lot of fire-twirling performers (it was fully of hippies) and I seriously think that my brother needs to take up this hobby for multiple reasons.  

The Billabong Pro

From Nature’s Valley we made a pit stop in Jeffery’s Bay for the Billabong Pro which was totally rad.  I have never seen professional surfing and it is so impressive – they make it look extremely easy.  I couldn’t believe how good they were (although they should be since it’s an international competition I guess…).  It was so cool to see.  We were able to watch several heats and see some really great surfing.  There was an American for which were cheering and I tried to say hi when we saw him on the beach and all I managed was a “Go America…YAY!”.  It was slightly embarrassing and he did not seem to appreciate our US pride.  Oh well.  Maybe if we had offered him a temporary US Flag tattoo he would have taken us more seriously…

We ate out at this restaurant/bar The Mexican which actually has pretty good “Mexican” food by South African standards (they have sour cream/guacamole which is a big deal).  Hilarious moment ensued when the waitress brought me my “burrito” which was in fact two hard shell tacos.  Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, I ordered a burrito”.  Waitress: “Yes.  This is a burrito”.  Okay.  They were great tacos though.  

American Time

It was really great getting to spend time with old friends, catching up, and hanging out.  I was laughing constantly, and enjoyed being able to share this huge part of my life with two great people!  Now that I’m back at site I’ve been catching up on sleep, eating healthy, and trying to motivate myself to work out.  I was so unhealthy for two weeks – it’s time to get back on track!  

I have been getting a little nervous at the thought of coming back to the States after two years over here in my own South African/American world.  Dani and Allie’s visit made me realize that I have very little to worry about going back.  At least when it comes to friends I know that I’ll be able to pick up right where I left off (after a few hours of catch up and wine that is).  Before their visit I was also nervous that somehow their trip would make me homesick.  That didn’t happen although any mention of great (or horrible food places ie. Taco Bell) made me super jealous but it’s fine! 

All in all, I’m happy to still have time in South Africa.  I look forward to the lessons, challenges, and successes ahead of me in my service.  I also can breathe a little easier and look forward to the stage after Peace Corps and my return to the States.  And, even though I can’t believe it myself, I don’t even mind coming back to the bucket bath. 

I feel so content and grateful in this moment. 

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery…today is a gift” – Roosevelt. 

Good Things

The last few months seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Although I have to say that some big things have happened and are about to happen!  

Camp GLOW
I applied and have received a VAST Grant for a program called Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)! Camp GLOW is a program that was started by a group of PCVs in Romania in 1995. Since then Camp GLOWs have been held by PCVs all over the world – a lot right here in South Africa! The core idea is as relevant today as it was in 1995. I am absolutely, over-the-moon, totally stoked for this program! Our Camp GLOW will take place over five days of the October school holiday and will cover four main themes: HIV/AIDS and wellness, leadership, female empowerment, and personal development and growth. We will be taking 20 girls from our girls clubs out to the “bush” for the experience of a lifetime! With five local female counterparts, my PCV friend Sam, and myself – I’m confident we will be able to hold an outstanding camp and reach our four main project objectives.

I’m in the process of developing the full camp curriculum and I have to say that even though it’s an extremely long and detailed process – I’m absolutely LOVING IT. I have found that I really enjoy the development process and even though I didn’t think it was possible it’s making me MORE excited as I imagine us doing all the things I’m planning. The process has made me realize how grateful I am for my previous experiences and connections. Thanks to my work with LeaderShape and the Leadership and Service Office I have an endless amount of ideas for the camp – and also the most outstanding example I can think of – LeaderShape. If there ever was a leadership camp to aim to be even half as good as – LeaderShape is it. I also am just so grateful to the Leadership and Service Office at Illinois State and my old colleagues. On day two of the camp we will be doing leadership/personality assessments to find out “our style”. I needed something basic – with not too high a level of English. I wasn’t finding anything on the internet at all that fit the requirements (basic, easy, printable). With two emails I had 30 attachments of EXACTLY what I had been looking for! I’m so glad and I can’t wait to find out who in our group is a North, South, East, or West when we take the Personality Compass!

I can’t lie – I’m pretty proud that I have successfully written a grant. I just need to say a huge thank you to my Aunt Kelly, Aunt Pat, and my Mom! Their feedback, corrections, and suggestions helped me so much. Thank you! While I am so pleased that we have received this grant – there is still a lot of fundraising work to be done. I’ll be posting more about Camp GLOW as the weeks go by, but if you are interested in supporting Camp GLOW – please consider going to the following website and donating http://fnd.us/c/cJeG1. While the VAST covers the majority of our costs there was a cap on the amount of money we could request for food/lodging. Obviously four nights and five days of food for 26 people isn’t cheap! We are fundraising like mad-women in our community but need your help as well!  

Cape Town
I was given the best surprise last month when my good friend Michelle’s boyfriend Mark contacted me with a special idea. He wanted to surprise Michelle by bringing me out to Cape Town for a week that he was going to be away on business (talk about a great boyfriend!). I don’t ask questions when it comes to free travel so my answer was a very speedy – absolutely!

I had a blast in Cape Town hanging out with Michelle and just relaxing! It is a truly beautiful city. It’s the most dramatic, and unique looking city I’ve ever been to. With Table Mountain at the center of the city it’s breathtaking. My friend Michelle was working during the week but we still got to see and do a lot of cool things. The waterfront, beaches, wine country, shopping, eating great food – it was perfect! I really enjoyed the city, and can’t wait for when I go back in December with my PCV friends as well. We didn’t do a lot of the big things you do when in Cape Town because the weather is so much more ideal for them in December when I’ll be back (liking climbing Table Mountain!).

It was so nice to see my friend Michelle and get to hang out. She was in the process of moving into her apartment in Seaside and I was able to help her. We also explored her new neighborhood together which was so fun. And besides Chinatown in San Francisco I have NEVER seen so many Asian food restaurants on one short stretch of neighborhood! There were well over 10 in a matter two miles. I’m more than a little jealous.  

Visitors! Visitors! Visitors!
For the first time in over a year I’m going to have visitors to my site! One other PCV has seen my site – my friend Will and that was less than a minute when we got a ride back from PE together. This time they are here to stay! Recently I found out a fellow PCV will be visiting me for a few days which should be really fun.

My other visitors I have had a countdown for them to get here for months! In EIGHT DAYS my dear friend and “roomie-for-life” Allie will be arriving in PE! Two days after her Dani, my bestie from the Leadership and Service Office will be arriving! I can’t wait for all the adventures we are going to have! Having people visit me almost has me a little nervous and it definitely has me noticing all of the things I do daily that are so normal to me, but may not be to other people.  To name a few:

Taking 10 tries to unlock the back door – when I do nothing different at all…it just WON’T OPEN.
 
Having to use all of my body strength to close the refrigerator and lock it since the ice block in the back is so huge it makes the drawers stick out. Last night – I called my host sister and asked what to do because after - no joke - FIVE solid minutes of attempting and failing to close it I had given up. I let it open for a while, washed a few dishes and then managed to close it (that luckily is being fixed today though – we’re unplugging it and letting it melt).

Bucket baths. Enough said. This is going to be a time consuming and tricky process when more than just me needs to bathe…

My “chamber pot”, if you will. I'm sorry if this is TMI but once I’m locked in my room for the night – I’m in. So…I sometimes pee in a bucket. You might be wondering why I would do that. Well, this would be my process to go inside after I’m in for the night: Unlock room door, unlock burglar door, lock room door, unlock house door (which as I stated above can take me multiple tries), lock house door, go to bathroom, unlock house door, lock house door, unlock room, lock burglar door, lock room door. So – it’s just so much easier to skip all that. Especially when it’s dark and cold and I’m lazy.

My complete disregard or reaction to cockroaches/bugs. Although lucky for them it’s winter and the cockroaches go away for the most part. I haven’t even seen any in the kitchen lately which is pretty amazing.

That’s all I can think of now but I’m sure there are a million other things that are totally NOT “normal”, that I don’t even notice at this point. Regardless – I CAN NOT WAIT for them to get here and to share my PC life with them! It’s going to be such a blast! We have some really cool things planned – seeing Addo Elephant Park, visiting the National Arts Festival, seeing the local beaches, celebrating the 4th of July (that’s my request) with a traditional South Africa braai, and whatever else we can come up with!

Unfortunately for Allie and Dani who both love service and were looking forward to doing some projects with me – nothing is happening! All the schools are on a three week school winter holiday. That means that none of my programs are taking place as normal. Hopefully we will be able to do some fun things with the local youth regardless. I’m sure I can gather some kids – even if it’s just the neighborhood kids that always play at the park on my street. It will be great!

I’m looking forward to so many parts of Allie and Dani’s visit. I’m looking forward to sharing the most basic parts of my life, having people to talk to non-stop for two weeks that have the same context and references I do, and hearing what they have to say about South Africa. I’m looking forward to seeing familiar faces after a year and a half of new faces. I haven’t seen anyone that I knew before January 2011 in OVER A YEAR. That is such a bizarre realization to have. In addition to all these things - I’m most excited to introduce all the people that have been a part of my life for the last year and a half to my American friends! It’s going to be so much freaking fun!  

Fun Thing
I am the June Alumnae Spotlight for Phi Sigma Sigma! I was featured in their June newsletter Connections and my story is on the website! I was even on the homepage! : ) You can read my spotlight here: http://www.phisigmasigma.org/phisigmasigma/inaction/alumnaspotlight/profiles/alumna/AlanaMcGintyEpsilonAlphaChapteratIllinoisStateUniversity/.

As a parting reminder – please consider donating to Camp GLOW! If you could share the link to the page on your Facebook/email/twitter I would really, really appreciate it also – the more people know about it the closer I can get to my fundraising goal http://fnd.us/c/cJeG1. Huge thank you to my Uncle Rick - my first donor! : )  

“Live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering!” -Crosby

Challenges

“Most obstacles melt away when we make up our minds to walk boldly through them.”
-Orison Wett Marden

I haven’t written in a long time! The time since January has flown by, and I literally cannot believe it is April (I always say that don’t I?). This time I mean it. I have multiple times now thought to myself “the weather was not this cold last March!” and then I remember that we’re half way through April. Unbelievable. From January until the end of March I was exhausted between all of my new projects and training for Longtom. I was too exhausted to do much else besides just collapse on my bed every night.

March was an exciting month because we had our Mid Service Conference (MSC) in Pretoria. You may remember me talking about how I had been in South Africa for a year back in January. A few weeks ago marked the one year anniversary of being in my community. It is really exciting and also alarming to think about it. The clock is now ticking and I have less than a year to accomplish all of the things that I still hope to do! It’s a lot of pressure (self imposed) to get things done. At our MSC we had doctors’ appointments, dental appointments, and did some reflection. It was also my first time being able to meet the new people in charge of PC SA – our new Country Director and our new Director of Programming and Training. It was AWESOME to get to meet them and hear all of the exciting changes they have in store for PC SA.

I was really impressed (as I think we all were) with their plans to improve the program that I am a part of – CHOP (Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Program). The way the program is currently designed is that PCVs get placed with partner organizations and are supposed to focus on “building capacity” of those organizations. Well, as most of us realize after some time, for a variety of reasons that I won’t get into, that mission is admirable but extremely difficult (dare I say impossible?) for many of us. Therefore we shift focus, and redirect to different things. For example starting in December I shifted my focus to be on reaching out to multiple community organizations, largely the schools. The new CHOP program will look like basically what all CHOP volunteers are already doing – which is working with whatever community organizations we can to see an impact. Basically, PC SA is changing its program to be what it already really is in reality. From now on when they report back to PC it will look like they are actually reaching the targets they are aiming for! : )

Other changes are to refocus onto two (possibly three) Provinces instead of all the ones they are in now (I believe it’s seven). This means that my EC group (the six of us that are currently in the Eastern Cape) are the first and last to be sent here. I am personally sad about this, because I know how much the Eastern Cape could benefit from a long term partnership with the Peace Corps, but I also understand where PC SA is coming from. They want to really start to see an impact in South Africa and have seen great success from the Provinces they are planning to work in. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to serve in this amazing Province and I already look forward to the day that I can come back with my children to South Africa and show them where I used to live. I love the Eastern Cape!

At MSC we did a lot of reflective activities on the last year, and the year to come. There is a PC life cycle chart which shows the “typical” ups and downs of PC service (the mental/emotional rollercoaster so to speak). This chart we reference at every PC training/conference and it’s supposed to help you anticipate your feelings and also know that you’re not alone if you are feeling one way or another. There is a “slump” at MSC usually which I can sort of relate to. Lately, I think I have been having my first feelings in my life of “homesickness”. It’s funny to me that I have to put that in quotes, but this feeling is so bizarre and new to me that it didn’t even dawn on me that it WAS feelings of homesickness until a few days ago.

I can honestly say that I can never in my life remember feeling homesick – not that I don’t love my family, friends, and home. Traveling is probably my favorite thing in the entire world, and being off and experiencing new things is what I live for! But, I think that the realization that I haven’t seen my family, best friends, and home in over a year (and won’t again for another year) is sad to me. I miss all those things so much! It started back in February with me thinking an abnormal amount about the United States and all of the wonderful foods (and other things but mostly food/drinks) I could get there (I fantasize about a food…A LOT…). Lately I’ve been missing football games? I don’t think I ever actually really enjoyed a football game – this is what my mind wanders to though. Eish. While I have been feeling homesick, but I also think of this as my home and I can’t even think about leaving and the goodbyes I’m going to have to say without tearing up. It’s such a bizarre feeling. I think also, once you hit the year mark, the charm of the restrained life you live gets less and less charming.

I’m not talking about the simple things like getting used to bucket baths or cockroaches…I’ve gotten used to that and don’t even MIND the things like that. Its other things like not being able to leave your house by yourself after dark. Or, not having easy to access (basically ANY in my case) transportation options. Peace Corps Volunteers are free, but we have a restricted and restrained freedom that after a while loses ANY of the charm that it might have at one point held. The other thing that begins to lose charm is specific parts of the cultural differences. Each PCV has a different cultural thing that really impacts them and is difficult to deal with. Again, I’m not talking about the quirky things that South Africans do that we might think are silly or funny, but we get used to right away. For example the fact that random women strangers may occasional kiss me on the lips or people are consistently late is not a big deal to me, nor does it bother me. Those things are easy to get used to. I’m talking about the fact that gender inequality is all around me, all the time, in covert and overt ways. It is these types of cultural things that make you feel absolutely helpless that are the hardest to deal with.

I have no qualms about calling myself a feminist. I have what I would consider liberal views in this area and I’m not claiming that America is the land of gender equality by any means. However it is strikingly different here and having to see gender inequality all around me causes so many different emotions: anger, sadness, helplessness, annoyance, shock, and disbelief. Mostly it encourages me to try and figure out a way that I can reach both females and males to empower them to not allow these things to continue. Today I had a very disturbing experience that relates directly to this. As I got back from my run, I witnessed a very public fight between a couple on my street. The parents of the children that stay next door to me (they stay with their grandma) were fighting. The father wanted the mother to come back to my neighbors house (the couple doesn’t stay there just their children). Well she didn’t want to go. This did not matter. He was grabbing her arm, hitting her, while she was using all her weight to stay on the ground to not be dragged back. Eventually he picked her up by the throat and began to drag/push/pull/hit her back to the house while screaming at her. I was watching this in absolute horror, and really felt at one point like I was going to throw up. I watched a little bit longer to see him get her into the yard and continue to hit her with all his strength. I have never in my life felt so completely helpless.

I spoke to my host sister about it a little later and was so happy (and honestly surprised) that she said that if they are doing that then someone must call the cops. She told our other neighbor about it who basically shrugged it off saying that they always do that when they are drunk. I have to be honest and say that I don’t believe that anyone would ever actually call the cops on them, and multiple people witnessed this scene probably thinking what our neighbor thought “they are always like that when they are drunk”. Why? Because abuse of women is so unbelievably common and accepted that it’s normal. I have not ever witnessed a beating until today, but I have seen the outcome of abuse too many times and heard many survival stories.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, I generally like to keep this blog happy and upbeat but I also think it’s important to be honest and share the things that I struggle with, and PCVs all over South Africa (and most certainly all over the world) face as serious challenges. Things like cockroaches are insignificant when it comes to facing things like restricted freedom and gender inequality. And, for me, these things have taken a year to really sink in. They were always there, it’s just when you realize that they are there to stay for the rest of your service when it gets a little bit harder to bear. I’m so lucky though to have an amazing support system both in country and out. I don’t even want to think what I would do without my amazing PC friends!

The other big challenge I’m facing is knowing that I’m not going to see most of my friends again until December. This is a major bummer. My sites location might as well be on the other side of the world from most of PC SA. Also my South African besite Michelle is moving to Cape Town this Wednesday. I’m so excited for her because she’s wanted to move there for so long and this is an exciting new adventure for her, but selfishly I’m sad and wish she could pause her adventure until next March. And then finally I broke my external hard drive which compared to all of these things is ridiculously unimportant (except the potential loss of ALL pre-PC photos) but felt like the last little punch. Eish. Luckily I have my Eastern Capers to get together with! And I absolutely CAN NOT WAIT for my visit from my “roomie for life” Allie in July. I cannot wait to share South Africa with one of my best friends from the States!

For a happy ending: I did really well on my first ever half marathon! I got to see Sabie, Mpumalanga which is beautiful (minus all the clear cuts…sad day), and got to meet tons more PC SA volunteers from other groups. I ran 21.1 km (13 miles) in exactly two hours and ten minutes which I was totally stoked about. I couldn’t walk properly for three days, but it was worth it! The braai after the race was so delicious and a great party! PCVs are a fun bunch when you get us all together! I’m planning on keeping up a running routine but also adding some exercises in. I’m running a 5km race with Michelle’s sister in PE in May which I’m looking forward to and will be a breeze after 21.1 km!

Winter is upon us (even though it was 82 degrees today) earlier in the week it was in the 50s. It’s definitely getting colder and I’m just hoping it’s not such a wet winter like last year. I’m in the planning process of my Camp GLOW that we hope to hold in September over the school holiday. I’m getting ridiculously excited for this Camp even in the planning stages! Now I just need to buckle down and REALLY plan since the funding proposal is due in May. Eish. Otherwise all else is well. I’m re-reading my favorite book “Gone With The Wind” (which if you haven’t read you should) and loving it even more this time around. I am also SO excited that my kindle is finally up and running thanks to access to wireless internet (FINALLY) and thanks to sharing and giving nature of my fellow PCVs I have an absurd amount of ebooks to choose from. I’m really looking forward to starting the Hunger Games series, after that all the Harry Potters, and then the Lord of the Rings. Should keep me busy for quite some time!

My Inspiration:

“The adventure of life is to learn. The goal of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The secret of life is to dare. The beauty of life is to give. The joy of life is to love!”
-William Ward