There's No Place Like Home

My Zulu home - complete with solar panel.

I was a little unsure at first about spending New Year’s Eve in my village, because I was afraid I was going to feel sort of alone; but then I remembered that New Year’s has never really been my thing, and with few exceptions (like in 1995 when I was at the Rose Bowl) they have been pretty boring and usually involve me going to bed way before midnight. Little did I know that this rural village without electricity rings in the New Year like it’s Times Square! The neighbors had a pretty extravagant party, complete with food, candles, car stereo music, and plenty of beer. And at midnight there were fireworks! Now, it was perhaps the world’s smallest fireworks display, but there were fireworks nonetheless. The funniest part was how quickly it ended after the clock struck twelve. I think that most people here, myself included, are not used to going to bed so late. But it was quite a fun surprise to be part of the celebration.

When I walked around the village on New Years Day to say hello and wish people happy new year (which by the way is translated into Zulu as “happy new year”) a woman told me how embarrassed she was at all the noise from the night before. She explained that she celebrated the new year by waking up at midnight and praying for a prosperous year for her and her family and then returning to bed. But she knows that many people in the village celebrate by drinking too much and being too loud. Then she asked me how Americans celebrate the New Year. I thought about telling her that we also wake up and pray, but instead I told her the horrible truth that our cultures seem to have the drinking and being noisy thing in common. She tried not to act disappointed.

All in all, I am really happy that I decided to stay “home” for this holiday, as it was certainly one of the most unique New Year’s experiences I have ever had.

Christmas in Africa

Can’t even believe I just spent my first of two Christmases in Africa. I was lucky enough to spend these past couple of days with three other PCVs at a site in southern KZN, and we tried our best to make it feel like the holiday season, but there were a few differences…

For starters, it was quite strange to be on “summer vacation” from school; no grading to worry about, no lessons to plan, no midterm exams to prepare. Not that I really did any of those things on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in America, but it was nice to know that they were not are going to creep up on me just after the holidays.

This was the first time in 35 years that I was not with my parents on Christmas Day. There were years that I arrived home on the 24^th and there were years that I left on the 26^th, but I have always spent the 25^th with them. I know that they are fine without me and I am fine without them, but it is still strange to be so far from home – I have come to realize that most of all, it is family that makes it feel like the holidays.

As I am from the Midwest, I am used to cold and snow this time of year. The past two afternoons were in the high 80s and then a big rainstorm rolled in and cooled everything down to the low 70s. Although I never particularly enjoyed shoveling the snow, my favorite Christmas days involved waking up to a snow covered ground and trees; it certainly did not involve sweating by 8am.

So as we were all craving some Christmas cheer, we did as much as we could to remind of us home. On Christmas Eve, small decorations either brought or recently sent from family and friends back in the States were hung from the rafters of the house. We spent most of the day listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies – Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, the Grinch, The Holiday, and Muppets Christmas Carol ran at various times. 

Christmas Cookie Time!

After dinner we rolled out cookie dough and cut candy canes, Christmas trees, stockings, stars, bells, and ornaments to bake as treats for tomorrow. For some reason, we also took to trying a few more ambitious shapes, like the continent of Africa, the USA, and the states of Wisconsin, Texas, and Ohio. Pretty sure no one except us would recognize any of them, but who cares, it was fun to try. Safe to say none of us will be opening a gourmet bakery at the end of our service.

Christmas morning, we woke up and exchanged small gifts among ourselves and then with the host family we were visiting. 

Christmas Day with my PCV family.

That afternoon, we were lucky enough to be visited by another group of PCVs who joined the family braai (bbq) as well. There was eating, drinking, dancing, and singing. The people were all new, but the spirit was the same. All in all, Christmas had a slightly different feel, but one I will cherish for years to come…another part of the Peace Corps experience.

Happy Holidays to all!

Highlights from Lesotho

The day after IST ended, I, and three PCV friends, went on a ten-day journey to visit the little country of Lesotho, found completely inside the borders of South Africa. Despite its location, it is geographically and culturally very different, which was part of the reason that I wanted to see it. The quick, quick history is that the Basotho people came to this mountainous region and successfully defended themselves from other African tribes as well as the Boers and the British. Under the leadership of King Moshoeshoe I, they negotiated with the British not to be a state when the Union of South Africa was formed, and eventually in the mid 1960s, they became a completely independent nation. Because it was always just one tribe of people, there are only two official languages in the country – Sesotho and English. In rural areas, the English is poor, but we managed nonetheless.

The route up Sani Pass from South Africa to Lesotho.

We started off in Underberg, South Africa and took a public minibus taxi up the Sani Pass, across the boarder to Sani Top, where we stayed for the night. I don’t think any of us realized just how treacherous the “road” up Sani Pass was, which is probably for the best, or we never would have gotten started. The weather was a bit foggy, but even so, we could tell that it was quite a drop on either side of the gravel mountain trail. After making a few inquiries, we were told that there are only three or four taxi drivers that drive the route since it is so difficult, and the trip is done in special taxis that are four-wheel drive with truck tires. Since it was the summer, we didn’t have to deal with things like ice and snow, which I frankly could not imagine encountering. But locals are said to do it all year long to transport goods from one country to the other: mostly South Africa to Lesotho.

The beautiful view at Sani Top.

On Saturday, we woke up early and traveled by public taxi from Sani Top to Mokhotlong. This was a bit of a disaster as we didn’t realize that the same taxi that comes up Sani Pass travels on to Mokhotlong without anyone really getting off at Sani Top. Luckily we figured this out the day before, and paid the woman at the bottom of Sani Pass to save seats for us the next day, so all four of us would be able to fit on the taxi. After arriving in the main town of Mokhotlong, we realized there is absolutely nothing to do, so we headed to our lodging for the evening, St James Lodge. Getting there was not that difficult, although getting back into town the next morning was not as easy, since it was a Sunday. But the experience at the Lodge was worth it.

Local boys wearing Basotho blankets.

The lodge is part of a missionary that works to support the local community and invites people to come and volunteer with a variety of projects. There was also no electricity at the lodge, so I felt right at home! Mostly we walked around the village and took pictures of the beautiful scenery and children, which is more or less the reason we came to Lesotho, so it worked out nicely.

Our goal on Sunday was to travel virtually all the way across the top of the country to the capital of Maseru. It was supposed to be an eight-hour bus ride, which didn’t sound pleasant, but we figured it would be better than a public taxi. We could not have been more wrong. For starters, the bus was packed with people in a way I cannot even describe. I was standing so that I could not move in any direction as the people in front of me and behind me were so close. And then about two hours into the ride, the bus broke down – for four hours. At first it was almost a relief because we had a chance to get off the bus and stretch out. Unfortunately it started to downpour after about an hour of sitting outside and everyone scrambled to get back on the bus to stay dry. So I basically stood on a bus that wasn’t moving for two to three hours. That was not the most fun I have ever had. When we finally got going again, we drove through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever laid eyes on. It was truly spectacular, although I don’t have any pictures since I was really not in the position to be photographing anything. As we neared Maseru, the bus made a lot of stops to drop people off, which seemed to take forever, but at least a few seats opened up here and there and eventually I got to sit down. I don’t have any idea what time we finally arrived, but it was very late and very dark and we were very lucky we found a taxi to drive us to our backpackers. I think we said two words to each other and all passed out asleep.

Basotho weaving is well-known.

On Monday, we took a day trip to the local craft village of Teyateyanang to get a first hand look at the Basotho women weaving everything from bookmarks to area rugs. They are quite skilled and it was really cool to watch. Then on Tuesday, we traveled to Ramabanta, near the middle of the country, to see the most rural and scenic areas. We had a few days here to relax, hike, and pony-trek – one of the must-do activities if you visit Lesotho. The time we spent in Ramabanta was the highlight of the trip for many reasons. One of which was that it used to be a PCV site. The last volunteer there was Casey, who closed her service in 2008. Since weaving and working with yarn is one of the major cultural aspects of Lesotho, Casey decided to organize a small group of women (about 10) who already knew how to knit, and found a space they could call their workshop. She encouraged them to make just two things, scarves and beanie hats, to sell to tourists that pass through the area. Almost five years later, these women continue to make and to sell their products out of their workshop, as well as out of two very popular hotel/lodges, one in the village of Ramabanta, and the other in the next town of Roma. And, with the help of the lodge in Ramabanta, they are trying to get their knitting into the major gift shop in Maseru. In short, this volunteer did what Peace Corps is supposed to do. She helped establish an extremely functional and sustainable incoming generating project using only local resources, and it has actually grown since she left. It was genuinely inspiring to see, and of course, I bought a scarf and hat, because it’s going to get pretty cold where I live too.

Pony-trekking is a common activity for visitors and locals.

View of Ramabanta from our pony-trek.

The markets in Maseru.

On Friday, we were headed back to Maseru, happy with all that we did. Since we got back so early in the day (for once there were no issues with public transport) we found some time to walk around parts of Maseru and see the markets as well as the large cultural center that is in the shape of a giant Basotho hat. Along the way, we noticed a few Christmas decorations as well, which made me laugh since I almost forgot it was that time of the year.

The main Cultural Center and gift shop in
Maseru - in the shape of a Basotho hat.

The next morning, we were up early and out the door to travel by public taxi all the way around to Qacha’s Nek (found in the Southeastern part of the country) and back to South Africa. As Maseru is in the Northwestern part of the country, we knew we were in for a long day, but it went relatively smoothly, and were made it back to South Africa before it was dark. It probably would have been smarter to cross back in at the main bridge in Maseru, but live and learn. Overall, it was quite an adventure that I am happy to say that I had.

A Happy Reunion

The Battlefields crew at In-Service
Training 2012.

After the few days of workshops with our principals in Richard’s Bay, the twelve other PCVs that were also in attendance, headed out on Sunday morning to Pietermaritzburg (PMB) to meet up with the other 24 members of our cohort as well as new counterparts from our schools, for another week and half of meetings and training sessions. As with all trainings in every sector of the workforce, some sessions were quite well done and some sessions had me wishing for a stick to poke my eyes out just so I would feel better. But it was nice to be reunited with the rest of the volunteers, and we stayed at a beautiful hotel with an amazing buffet provided three times a day. I think I gained something like 10 pounds in the last two weeks. Given that I otherwise live on peanut butter and ramen noodles, I thought it was fantastic.

The days were filled with sessions on how to lesson plan, tips for starting a library, implementing a successful secondary project, and the like. Most of the evenings were free to watch TV or movies. There was a small plaza shopping center about a 20 minute walk away and it had a video store that actually let us check out movies. Passport not required. And on this, our last day, we had no sessions at all – the day was completely free! One of the volunteers made arrangements for us to go to a nearby mall, which means….I finally bought a new camera! I was so happy, and just in time for my upcoming vacation. Pictures will be now accompany most of my blog posts.

Since I didn’t have money to buy anything else (I didn’t actually have money to buy the camera either, but whatever), I decided to go see a movie after my big purchase. I really wanted to see “Skyfall” and luckily it was still showing, so that worked out nicely. Perhaps the strangest part of the experience and the reason I mention it at all, is that in South Africa you buy an assigned seat to see a movie. No joke. When I bought my ticket, which cost the equivalent of only $5 by the way, they showed me a screen with a seating chart and asked me where I would like to sit. I was a bit surprised, so I just picked somewhere in the middle. I cannot even imagine trying to implement this system in the US, but everyone there found it perfectly normal. I find it pretty funny that of all the crazy things I have experienced here, one of the oddest happened in the “first world” as opposed to my village. I guess surprises can happen anywhere.

After a great day of shopping and movie-watching, we had small holiday party complete with gift exchange. From what we figure, it will be the last time we are all together as a group until September of 2013, when we come together again for our mid-service training. I hope all goes well between now and then.

Under the Iceberg

On Thursday of last week, the future principal of my school and I headed to Richard’s Bay, a medium sized city on the coast of the Indian Ocean, for a Peace Corps workshop to help us plan for the next school year. For me, it was the beginning of nearly two weeks of meetings and training sessions of various sorts with various people at two different locations, although my principal left yesterday to be back at school today.

In general, the goal of the few days was to make sure that we were on the same page as far as what was to be expected of each other. How many classes would I teach? When would those classes be scheduled? What procedure should be followed if I am not able to come to school? Those sorts of things. I would also have a chance to share some of the observations that I made during my first three months at the school. It was a time for us both to reflect on the past three months since I arrived and to plan ahead so that the rest of my service is as useful to the school as possible and as successful as possible for me.

At one session in particular, I remember an analogy being made that I really took to heart and wanted to try to remember as I move forward in this journey. It was said by the Peace Corps staff member that ran all of the sessions that right now we only see “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to knowing about each other. That we should not be fooled into thinking we obtained all the information there is to know in three months. If you think about an iceberg, there is far more of it hidden under the water than what we can see above the surface. This does not mean we should be scared or worried, but that we should not be surprised that in the coming weeks and months after the new school year begins we will continue to learn new things about the ways we operate and communicate. I just need to keep this in mind when things creep up on me that I may not like or want to deal with.

I'm Thankful For...

In the last ten to fifteen years, I have not spent that many Thanksgivings with my family in Ohio. Every couple of years I did the drive home; otherwise, I celebrated with friends in New Jersey. This, however, was the first time in my life that I was out of the country for Turkey Day. It was also the first time in my life that I went to work! While I only stayed at school for half the day, it certainly made me appreciate people that regularly work on Thanksgiving year after year.

By mid-afternoon, I met up with four other volunteers in the area, headed to a nearby guesthouse, and for the first time, I helped to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily, I got lots of recipes and suggestions from friends and family back in the USA, as even the most basic items I (or any of the others) had never cooked before last Thursday. We spent several hours in the kitchen stuffing the turkey, mashing potatoes, boiling corn, and preparing a host of additional side dishes and desserts that are found at a typical Thanksgiving feast. The food was great…well, the food was edible, but the real joy of the afternoon and evening was sharing a great time with the other volunteers and sharing our American traditions with some new South African friends.

During the day, I also had a chance to think about what I am most thankful for in my life right now…as most people do on Thanksgiving. My list is the same as most years, but this year it seems to mean a little more. I am certainly thankful to be here in South Africa serving with the Peace Corps. But I am also very thankful that all my friends and family back in the US are happy and healthy and able to keep in touch with me on a regular basis. It is strange to think that if all goes according to plan, at this time next year, I will still be here, perhaps even celebrating in a similar way.

How Much Sleep Do I Really Need?

It has come to my attention that one thing I do a lot more here than in the US is sleep. Not sure if it is a good thing, a bad thing, an adjustment thing, or just the new way of life. In the US I would try (and usually fail) to get seven and a half to eight hours of sleep each night. The goal was always to be in bed by about 10pm or 10:30pm and then get up around 6am. It was hard to do this in the winter when it was dark for longer and I would want to stay in bed in the morning. It was hard to do this in the summer when there was no school and no real reason to pop out of bed at 6am. I think in reality I got about six hours of sleep a night. I don’t specifically remember feeling tired all the time, but I certainly remember having bags under my eyes. Here, it is almost impossible for me to get less than eight hours of sleep, most nights I get nine, and I can recall a few ten to twelve hour nights as well. Without electricity, when it gets dark there is really not enough light to keep me fully awake, and by about 8:30pm I’m truly exhausted. I actually try to keep myself awake until 9pm most nights, but there are days when that is simply more effort than it is worth. My wake up time is consistently 5:30am and it has gotten to the point where the sun is up so early that I don’t even need an alarm. And most importantly, I have this routine every day – not just Monday through Friday when there is school, Saturdays and Sundays run the same way. There are occasionally still days that I feel tired, but I can say with confidence that there are no more bags under my eyes. I can’t even imagine being able to sleep this much when I return to the US. The lifestyle almost doesn’t allow for it. So I’m going to enjoy it while I can, and see what happens 21 months from now.

Election Coverage

I know that the election has been over for almost a week now, but I think it is worth noting a few things from this side of the world. First off, I am so glad that I missed the ads. The constant stream of negative campaign ads, robo-calls, tweets, updates, etc, that I am sure were littering the airways day and night was never pleasant. Second, in my rural village (the one without electricity) nearly everyone was aware of the fact that November 6^th was Election Day in the United States. I spent the day visiting people in the community, and I was astonished at the number of people that asked me about the election. Many asked how I was supposed to vote if I was here in South Africa. A few asked whom I would be voting for. One or two asked how I would find out who won. I explained that many, many months ago I started the process of applying for an overseas absentee ballot so I could exercise my right to vote and that I would use my phone to keep me updated on the status of the election.

The most incredible part, though, happened the next morning. When I woke up, I checked a few news websites to get the latest on the election. At that point, Obama had been declared the winner. When I got to school, almost every teacher asked my how I felt about Obama being re-elected. Good thing I checked! Despite the news being only hours, perhaps even minutes old, it had been announced via a few standard media outlets (TV but most especially radio) that Obama would serve another 4 years as president. Even with all of the technology that I had, I did not have any more knowledge on this particular subject than anyone that I worked with or lived near. I realized that when the news is deemed valuable or important, people will find a way to get the info, with or without all the latest and greatest gadgets.

Climate Change

It is still cold here. I guess cold is slight exaggeration, but according to everyone I work with, it is certainly colder than normal. Whenever I ask any of the teachers or anyone in my family when it is going to warm up, they simply say that it is usually warm by November, so any day now. I’ll believe it when I feel it. In the mean time, though, most of the Zulus love to use the phrase “climate change.” I hear it all the time. Everything about the weather is because of climate change. The terrible lightning that we have all the time – climate change. The hail storms that comes out of nowhere – climate change. The amount of rain in the past two months – climate change. The fact that it was one of the coldest Octobers on record – climate change. Definitely all climate change. I can’t help but laugh at the fact that this particular phrase has become such a constant in the Zulu language; although they do really like to talk about the weather. I certainly don’t want to argue the point – I am sure that climate change has something to do with the crazy weather that I am living with here. But when I ask anyone to go a little deeper and explain what climate change means or what may be the cause, I do get a lot of blank stares. I’m thinking of a few activities that I can do with the learners next year in Natural Science class to try to bridge this knowledge gap. With my luck, by then the weather will probably be back to normal.

Happy Halloween!

This has always been one of my favorite holidays; partly for the candy and partly for the decorations. I tried to explain the idea of dressing up and trick-or-treating to my host family here, but as I started to speak about it, I realized how silly it sounded. They said there was certainly nothing like it in South Africa. I miss carving pumpkins and apple pie, but I know that it will be there when I return in a couple of years.

I tried to do some online research on the origins of Halloween. While there are some commonalities in the explanations I found, overall, no one seems to be sure. Maybe next year when I am teaching, I will try to find a few more details and have a little Halloween party with my learners. I’m sure I can find some ways to incorporate maths!

Practice Teaching

After about six weeks of interviews and observations, I am finally able to start “practice” teaching! Even though I have had quite a few years of teaching experience in the US, it would have been foolish to assume that I would have been able to just step into a South African classroom and start. It was important for me to begin to become familiar with both the culture of the school as well as the culture of the students in the classroom. While there are certainly quite a few similarities (after all, kids are kids no matter where you are in the world) there are some important differences that I observed as well.

• In the vast majority of cases, the learners do not take any notes or write anything down. They simply listen to the teacher’s explanation or watch the work that is being done on the chalkboard. The writing does not come until they are asked to do their own class work. Therefore, if you look through a learners notebook, all you will see is a few problems here and there from various days when they had an assignment to either do in class or complete at home.

• The learners do not except to be singled out. They expect to be asked yes or no questions and respond as an entire class rather than individuals. The question that they seem to hear the most often is “Do you understand?” The answer from all sixty students is simply “yes.”

• If you do make a learner answer a question on his or her own, he or she must stand up when giving the answer. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is amazing how much time is wasted when you have to wait for a learner to get up out of their chair and then sit back down again. Especially when all you want is for them to say “five.” And it is especially frustrating when the answer is given is wrong – which it often is.

• Materials in the form of published workbooks are provided to the learners, but they are not given textbooks that have explanations and examples…at least not that I have seen. Truth be told, there are a lot of locked cabinets in the back of many of the classrooms.

• Neatness is extremely important in every learners exercise notebook – almost too important. An abundant amount of time is wasted finding rulers to draw perfectly straight lines under the heading at the top of the page, or the line at the end of an addition problem, etc. I of all people value being neat and organized, but this is an extreme that overshadows the actual content being taught.

There are other differences, too, but these were the ones that caught my attention the earliest. I need to tread lightly as I try to modify some behaviors and just try to adjust my own mindset to some others. But in the end, I think it is going to be a great couple of weeks of sample lessons. I know that both the learners and I are excited to get things going!

Baby Animals

As I did not grow up on a farm or in any proximity to animals besides dogs, cats, and squirrels, I am simply not used to seeing the variety of baby animals that currently live around me. And I have to say that they are really cute. Just about a week or so ago, one of my family’s cows returned from being ‘lost,’ and right beside her was a brand new calf. I could not believe how taken I was with this little cow. I mean, it’s a cow, not a golden retriever. But it is a beautiful brown color with a white mark on its forehead and legs so thin I can’t believe it can really stand on them. I don’t know how long it will take to grow out of this ‘cute’ phase, so I’m enjoying it while it lasts. The baby animal that I truly love the most, though, is a baby goat. In general, I have absolutely no interest in goats. As my South African mama always says, “Goats are chaotic.” Apparently my family used to have goats, but over time they either died or were slaughtered and the family was not interested in replacing them. Turns out they can be difficult to manage and you are responsible for damages they cause to any fields and crops that they destroy! But lots of other families have small herds of goats, and mixed among them are always one or two little ones. It sounds ridiculous, but they are just adorable. Whenever they sneak into the yard, a few baby goats always play just outside my front door, as it is usually shady in the afternoon. Since the goats are not really welcome in the yard (they are notorious for finding their way into the garden and eating the vegetables), my visitors are never there too long. But while they are around, it is fun to see them dancing and jumping. Perhaps when I return, I will see about getting a new type of pet. 

What's For Dinner?

I have come to realize that I am more or less going to eat the same thing everyday for the next two years. In some ways, it is not bad – it certainly makes shopping and cooking easier. But of course, there are a few things that I already miss. For breakfast I usually have a peanut butter and banana sandwich. It seems to fill me up more than cereal and I don’t have to worry about milk spoiling because I don’t have a refrigerator. I take an apple with me to school and eat that along with whatever the school serves for lunch. The choices are usually rice with a soupy vegetable mix or a grainy porridge with cooked cabbage. Sometimes there are beans (brown not green) instead of cabbage; sometimes there are pilchards (basically canned sardines) in the vegetable mix. I don’t always finish my lunch to be honest.  When I get home from school I will frequently make popcorn or boil an egg. Then my dinner is usually a Ramen-noodle like dish called 2-Minute Noodles. It comes in a variety of delicious flavors and only takes two minutes to cook. Can’t beat that. On the weekends I try to spice things up by having eggs or oatmeal for breakfast and making a real pasta or rice dish that includes some chopped up vegetables and sometimes even chicken. There are definitely volunteers (mostly the ones who have electricity) that have no problems cooking here. But as I stunk at cooking at home, and now have even less to work with, it has not really been a good scene “in the kitchen.”

Some of the things I miss are good for me, and I really do wish were here, like peaches and eggplant and strawberries and asparagus and blueberries and yams and raspberries and yogurt.  Some of the things I miss are total garbage and I probably should be thankful that I am giving my body a rest from them.  Cool Whip, Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, honey mustard and onion flavored pretzels, cupcakes, pudding, this list could go on.  I can buy a number of American brand candy bars here – including Snickers, thank god – so that will just have to be enough! But the next time you are enjoying a slice of pumpkin pie, know that I wish I was there with you.

End of Term 3

No school this week! The third term ended last Friday, so schools are closed for both learners and teachers. I am planning to visit many of my new neighbors and just explore the terrain in general. Hopefully the weather will cooperate! The end of the term was marked by a serious of high stakes tests from both the state (country) and province (state). There were actually so many different tests being given that I honestly could not keep track. All learners in grades 1-7 took state exams (called the Annual National Assessment) in Maths/Numeracy and Home Language (isiZulu), and learners in grades 4-7 also took an exam in their First Additional Language (English). Grades 4-6 also took a whole serious of tests from the province for other subject areas such as Natural Science and Arts & Culture. And there may even have been some “end of term” tests written by the individual teachers thrown in the mix. It took nearly two weeks for all of these tests to be written (taken) and marked (graded) after which the results needed to be sent to the appropriate education office. Not an easy job (no scantrons here!) and an enormous amount of paperwork. I’ll be interested to see if and how the results are used to guide further instruction. 

Solar Panel Success

Living without electricity has definitely presented me with a new set of challenges.  For the most part, it did not take long to figure out how to make many of the adjustments.  Table lamps and overhead lights were replaced with the sun (when available) flashlights, candles, and oil lamps.  The electric stove and kettle were replaced with a gas tank complete with cooker top.  But charging my electronic devices – namely my computer – did not have quite the same quick fix.  Things like my cell phone and iPod don’t really need to be charged everyday.  I can take them to school once early in the week and once just before the weekend and they are good to go.  The computer, however, has a much more limited battery life, and it is the device I certainly use the most.  I was starting to get a little nervous about how I was going to make that adjustment.  But this past weekend, I read through the notes and advice given by the PCV here before me and I got a little help from my family, and there is now a pretty nice solar panel up and running outside my house.  The panel sits outside my front door and is connected to a 12V battery.  The battery is then connected to a 12V to 230V inverter that has several types of plugs as well as a built-in radio and light.  I use the inverter as if it was just a regular wall socket and can either charge or run things as normal.  So my excuses for keeping in touch are becoming ever more limited!

Weather you like it or not...

I have always had the feeling that my general mood is loosely tied to the weather conditions.  But I have now realized that I need to separate those two things as soon as possible or it is going to be a long two years.  It is colder here than I expected – it is not colder than normal, just colder than I expected it would be at my final site.  It is also very rainy – which is actually great news for the area as rain is desperately needed after an extremely dry winter – but being cold and wet is not one of my favorite states of being.  On Saturday I gave in to the weather and barely stepped outside the whole day.  I was grumpy and annoyed and accomplished nothing in the process.  When I woke up Sunday to find the same conditions, I decided that I it was not going to make things better to have a repeat of the day before.  Instead, I got ready for the day in my usual fashion and made breakfast and started to clean things around the house…all tasks that I skipped on Saturday when I opted only to lay in bed.  I started to feel quite a bit better and even though it was still very cool, very gray and very wet outside, there were things that I could do that did not make the day feel like a waste.  Even though I could not get my “outside” things done (laundry, trip to the store), I found a few “inside” things to keep me busy – and as a bonus, I discovered that I can listen to several local radio stations on my cell phone.  One of them is even an English-speaking station that plays popular American and South African songs from the “80s, 90s, and today!”  While I am sure that I will continue to lose the weather v. mood battle from time to time, this one small victory makes the rainy days to come seem a little brighter.

Greetings

Of the MANY new and different things that I have experienced this past week, one of the first that I want to make note of is the importance of greetings in the Zulu culture.  No matter who you see, what time of day you see them, or where you see them, it is imperative that you greet each other by saying “Sanibonani” or “Sawubona.”  There are standard replies that take only a few moments to say back and forth, but their significance in building relationships in the village and community are substantial.  The two words mean something along the lines of “I see you / we see each other,” so to walk past someone without saying anything is the equivalent of saying “you are invisible to me.”  It makes me wonder how many times I walked past people at work or just walking along the street and did not bother to acknowledge them.  I’m not talking about on the streets of NYC, as in the big cities in South Africa these greetings are not common practice either.  But when it is just you and one other person, is it really that taxing to say “hello?”  Something I will certainly be more aware of when I return to the US.

Swear-In, then Peace Out

Yesterday, September 2^nd, I became an official PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer).  730 days to go.

With my Language Training Group and teacher
at our Peace Corps swearing-in ceremony.

For logistical reasons, immediately after the swearing-in ceremony in the province of Mpumalanga, I and four other volunteers who will live nearby, hopped on the Peace Corps van with all of our luggage to head to our new homes in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN).  For the next two years I will be living in a very rural area (no electricity, no running water) where everyone speaks Zulu…and not a whole lot of English!  Time to see if all that studying really worked.  So far, the little that I have seen of the area is stunning – natural beauty is abundant in this part of the world.  Tonight I meet my new host family for the first time, and I begin the real adventure of being on my own in a new world.

2 Weeks In

I have arrived in SA and all is quite well. 

Language learning is slow - I am learning Zulu (Ngifunda isiZulu!)which I knew would be the case, but it is frustrating none the less. 

I am currently living with a wonderful family in a village near Siyabuswa.  I wake up around 5:30am so that I have time to get everything ready (including boiling water for bathing) and walking to either the local school or college where I have language classes.  This may sound difficult, but I am pretty much in bed by 8:30pm!  Not my normal schedule for the end of July/beginning of August.

I walk almost everywhere - on dirt roads - and p.s., having clean shoes is REALLY important, so I have learned to have a dust rag with me at all times ;-)  I am learning to cook - which for those of you that know me well is a HUGE challenge.  I had to ask how to hard boil an egg.  Sometimes my family cheats and uses a microwave (a luxury here), but I am okay with that.

Animals are everywhere - chickens, cows, goats, sheep, dogs, cats - they just wonder around the streets, your yard, etc, the same as squirrels back home.  It is awesome.

Sorry for the short post, but time is short :-)  I miss everyone very much and hope to touch base again soon!
Monica

(almost) Ready to Go

Just a couple of days left in the US before I leave for South Africa.  Flying to Atlanta on July 10th and then on to Johannesburg on the evening of the 11th.  Looking forward to starting this adventure and sharing the ups and downs.