time flies i guess...

July 24, 2011

Today I went to the agricultural fair for Bobonong. There were chickens, roosters, pigeons, geese, ducks, and rabbits! Haha. they were cute. I went with the Home Based Care group to help them set up and to see what the fair was about. They had prizes for beans, maize, cabbages, jams…all sorts of things. It was pretty cool. There were informational booths, like consumer affairs. I just wandered around and craved maguinya and soup. Finally, I caved in, and it was DELICIOUS. Lol. It was something I had been craving all week. And I had finally had my share. We watch Slizer, which I guess is a Botswana celebrity. She’s like the Botswana’s version of Shakira. The cool thing about her is that she is from Bobobong. So she came back to her home village. It was a fun performance. Then my friend Kers came by, so I hung out with her for a bit, and went to watch her soccer team. Oh did I forget to mention, my head outfit for the day consisted of pigtails, baseball cap, my green sunglasses, and…a band-aid on my face. I looked AMAZING and incredibly sexy. I had a mosquito bite on my face and it was starting to ooze out liquid. It was AWESOME. Haha, I had a few people tell me I looked ugly. Lol. honestly, fine by me, the uglier the better. Lol. To add to the deterrent of men besides my ugly face, I decided to carry around a box of condoms. I figured any guy that tried to approach me, I’d just give them a condom. It worked well, people were a bit taken aback, and left me alone. But the other good thing was that they actually took the condom. Yay! J haha, oh my volunteer with the gay and lesbian center did me well. I am not afraid of handing random people condoms. Others actually would yell at me and be like “do you know what you are holding?!” haha. I would say yes, then offer them condoms. That worked too. Cuz they would just laugh, and take the condoms. I just hope they use them properly!

So in the past week, Kers and I have noticed that there is a small group of children that have been running around, begging people for food, money, and clothes. This is actually incredibly odd to see. Kers calls them “street kids”. They refuse to go to school, and when they are forced to go, they just run away. Apparently, the situation is that their mother has died (most likely from AIDS), and they are being watched by their uncle…who I guess is a bit of a lush and doesn’t really watch the kids. There are about 7 kids, and the ages range from about 5 to 13. Anyways, these kids have been a bit of a worry to Kers and some of the members of the community.

Kers and I decide to pay a visit to where they are staying to check out exactly what the situation is. I want to go, because I want to see what is going on. She wants to go to talk to the people living with these kids…and of course I don’t understand a word, I’m just sitting there observing and really taking in the scenery, which honestly made me very sad and confused. There were about 8 women (if you can even call them that…I think some were as young as 15 years old) and about 25 children just running around. Some of these kids didn’t even have clothes. The women are sitting outside on blankets and cardboard, just breastfeeding babies. A puppy is chewing on a skinned rat. And the houses that they are staying in are basically mud shacks with holes in them. Some of them were even missing parts of their roofs. It was an abysmal sight to see. Their clothes were ragged and dirty. Some didn’t have shoes. Two of the older women had crutches. The government does help them out, being that the children are considered to be destitute, since they have a parent that has died from AIDS. They are rationed food, toiletries, soap, the basics. But clearly they aren’t getting enough, or they don’t know how to manage their rations. We talk to them for a bit and Kers thinks the best way to start with helping them is by helping them with a half built house. We’ll see when that can be done. A bit of a problem with these kids is that they’re not so much into the whole appreciation aspect, making it difficult for people to want to assist them. Which I can understand. But at the end of the day, if they need help, maybe in the long run, something good can come from it. As we were leaving, 2 of the kids run off at top speed, trying to make a run back into town. 2 of the girls or “women” (since they already have children…at the age of 15), chase after them to bring them back. It was baffling to see…children running away as fast as their little legs can take them to go begging. Running away from people that don’t necessary treat them badly, or yell at them…but running because they just want to beg. Sigh…I guess I should start at the social service office to see what can be done…but this was a new sight to me. And perhaps the reason why I wanted to come here to Botswana in the first place.

July 25, 2011

So you want to know what’s been happening in my life here in Botswana? o batla go itse ke dira eng mo Botswana? Not much really. Ke dira sepe. Lol. I go to work at the clinic in the mornings. Ke tsamaya go tiro phakela. Where most of the time I just spend weighing babies. I’ve been peed on about 3 times now. I’m a bit scared of holding babies without diapers now. lol. I just hang out with the people at the clinic. I just talk to people. Most people just talk to me in Setswana. And I normally respond with a confused look, until they repeat it over and over again and then give up. Or they just say it in English. I can actually pick up what people are asking me more times than not. Which is pretty cool. I don’t think I’ll come back fluent, but I’m not doing too bad with the Setswana. So ya, I weigh babies, and talk to people in Setswana, and learn Setswana. Then I normally head to town to hang out with Kers for a bit, and then go to Home Based Care to hang out with the lovely ladies that run the NGO. I watch them make beads. Or help them watch the desk. Help them cook. Whatever they need. Or we just talk. They also try to talk to me in Setswana a lot. So I’m picking up Setswana everywhere. Then I normally go home. Sit, watch a show, eat, read, just do whatever. Ke nna, leba TV, ja, bala, ke dira sepe. Then I hang out with my neighbor, Sego, we just chat or watch TV. Then I cook dinner. Watch another show or read. Take a bath. Tlapa. Then time for bed. Robala. That is my life here in Bobonong. I haven’t been writing much because not much has been happening, besides just what I described. Ga ke kwale ka go reng ga ke dire sepe le ga ke na le sepe go bua fa.

Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself that I am in Botswana. It’s still strange to me. Whenever I say, it still feels incredibly odd. But at the same time, this place has become home. Botswana has become home. I’ve very much fallen into pace with life here. And for the first time in a really long time, I can honestly say that I am happy. I am saying it, and for once I am not trying to convince myself that I am happy. Not to say that I don’t miss home and my friends. But I have really come to embrace life here. Today I walked to the tuck shop to go get airtime. Walking on a dirt road…and I am getting airtime at a tuck shop. Simple. And it made me smile. This is my life in Botswana. This is what we do here in Botswana. It makes me happy to know that something so simple can make me happy. It’s funny because it’s such a simple task here. But in America, 3 of those things aren’t even in our vocabulary or found in everyday life. When was the last time you walked on a dirt road that didn’t involve hiking? In America, most people don’t buy “airtime” which is the equivalent of buying minutes in a way, we buy by a package. When we buy aritime, it’s by pula, and not by minutes. So each text or SMS within Botswana costs 25 thebe (which is equivalent to cents). Each SMS to the states is 1 pula (which is equivalent to dollars). I don’t know how much it costs to make a phone call within Botswana, but I wanna say somewhere around 50 to 75 thebe. And each phone call to the states is 6 pula per minute. So I went to go by 20 pula of airtime for me to use however I like. Now as for tuck shops, well, I already explained that before. I guess I’m just saying that I’m totally enthralled by my simple life out here.

For those of you who know me, when I was at home, I was constantly going out. I had schedules packed for 2 weeks straight. I always had to do be doing something. And it always had to be sometime engaging. Clubs. Bars. Shooting ranges. Beaches. Dinners. And here? What do I do? I sit on my doorstep and stare at the tree. Or stare at the stars. Or stare at the clouds. Watch ants.  It’s funny because, Botswana has given me lots of time to just…think. I find myself often staring off into space for long spans of time just thinking. Before, in the states, it was never a good thing when I started to think. It would lead me to dark places or make me over analyze everything. I would just stress the more I thought about things that were going on or things that were happening. But here, when I think about these things, I’m no longer stressed or upset about thinking. I just think. it has really given me the time to sort things out in my head. Not quite sure what I’m sorting out, but I know I’m finally feeling more at peace with myself. At home, I felt like I was always fighting against something, may it be expectations, society, or people. But here, I’m finally away from all that. And now is the time that I can really concentrate on myself. I have a lot of alone time here. Before that was bad thing. Now, it’s something I look forward to. I like doing nothing, I’ve decided. Which is completely contradictory of who I tried to make myself believe that I was in the states. I hated doing nothing. I think in the states, I was just running myself ragged and didn’t know how to stop and take a break. There was just always too much going on, that I never took the time to sort things out for me. Too many distractions. I just never took the time for myself, because I always felt like I had to be doing something because everyone else was always doing something. But here, I have nothing better or else to do, so I am finally forcing myself to take the break that I need. And at the end of the day, it’s making me more comfortable with who I am and who I want to be. And I love how here, I don’t have to be doing anything, because the way of life is to not really do very much here. It’s so laid back, and people actually just enjoy their time sitting. And it has really calmed my nerves down. I’ve even cut down a shit ton on my drinking. So I thank you, Botswana, for making me a happier/healthier person. And this time, it has nothing to do with a person making me happier, this is just ME making myself happier.

Today I got a package from my parents and Joanne. I was surprised as to how happy I was to get them. I knew it was coming, but I was still super excited to get them. I got an overwhelming feeling of love and appreciation. And I’m not saying this to be corny or anything. It made me really appreciate them for taking the effort to put the package together and send it to me. They sent me everything that I had asked for, and it made me really happy that they would do that for me. I was especially happy to find the picture of my teddy bear from my parents. They took the time to take the picture then go to the store to print out. I love them. I wish I could give them a hug. I can’t though, so I send viral hugs. *hug hug hug* J THANKS PARENTS AND JOANNE. I <3 u!!! J

July 27, 2011

Today I was walking to work, and 4 donkeys were blocking my path. When I walk to work, I normally take short cuts, which involves little pathways in between houses. So, there were 4 donkeys in my path. I literally stood there for 5 minutes…staring at them. and of course, they stared back. I would slowly approach them, and they would shift uneasily. The whole time I am thinking…please don’t kick me…please don’t kick me…please don’t kick me. I had heard of those donkey kicks, and I had no intention of experiencing them first hand. Finally these 2 ladies walked by, laughed, and asked me if I was scared of donkeys. I just told them I didn’t want to get kicked by them. They just laughed and said that they wouldn’t kick me. And just passed right through them. I did the same. Silly me. Haha. anyways, this is what happens in Botswana. At least now I know I can pass donkeys without the fear of being kicked by one.

August 1, 2011

WOW….it’s been 4 months since I left the states. That’s crazy. It has felt ridiculously slow…but when looking back…it seems like it’s gone by fast. I’ve been gone for 4 months. Has the past 4 months felt like a long time to you too? Or did it go by super fast? 22 more months to go!

Thank you to all my friends and family that have taken the time and effort to call and send packages. I know I’m not easy to get in touch with, but it’s ALWAYS nice to hear from you and a good reminder of what I have at home. I love you guys and miss you! J *HUGS*

August 19, 2011

Not much has happened. Went to training for IST. It was nice to see everyone, though the training aspect bored us all to tears. I’m heading back to Bobonong on Sunday, where I will officially be in my house. Which is going to be different…and interesting. I apparently have managed to get rosea, which is a weird skin thing that is going to leave me itchy for the next 2 months. In other words, I feel like crap, and can’t stop scratching, so I look like a crackhead. It’s a good thing we don’t have crackheads here, otherwise, people would think I am a crackhead. Do you think it’s possible for me to get new skin? Cuz that would be awesome. 

Bobs World..and no internet...sorry i'm kind of loving it :)

June 8, 2011

So I guess let me just relay what has been going on mentally for the past few weeks. It will help explain a bit of the disappearing act. 

It’s been a rough few weeks. We had heard that training is the worst part of service. And so far, it has lived up to that reputation.  Though, unfortunately, I had to endure a bit more bullshit than others. I cannot write about it, because it is still under investigation, but let’s just say that I endured hardships that I should not have been expected to endure. PST is hard enough, and I definitely went through even more unnecessary emotional/mental agony than was needed (did I emphasize the unnecessariness of it enough?). I’ll just say that, I am glad I have my group of trainees/volunteers with me. They have my back, unlike some. They are the ones I will depend on to help me through things, unlike some. They are the ones that are going to listen and talk to me, unlike some. So thank you to them, because of them, I am still here. Some people, I wouldn’t trust them to help me any further than my pinky can push them. I would like to have as little contact with some as possible. It had gotten so bad that I wanted to go home.  And it never should have reached that point. And it wasn’t that I wanted to go home because I don’t like it here in Botswana. And it wasn’t that I wanted to go home because I didn’t want to do the job that I came here to do.  And it wasn’t because my resolve to try to do something is world has disappeared. And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to help anymore. It was honestly because of all the unnecessary behaviors I had to endure put onto me by others and their lack of support when it was clearly needed. I’ll let all of you try to guess who I am talking about. Since I am not directly stating it, let’s see if I’m going to get called out and sent home for this. 

Anyways, I am finally sworn in. I AM DONE WITH PST. And I am officially a VOLUNTEER. THANK FUCKING GOD. If I were to get removed from this country (god forbid), and asked to do another PST in another country, I wouldn’t do. I would quit Peace Corps without any regret. I would immediately go home. You could never get me to go through another PST again. It is not worth the hell that it felt like I went through. Though at the same time, I know that it sparked something in me that I haven’t felt or had in a long time. It in a way it gave me clarity, may it be to help me realize that I am here for a reason, and it has nothing to do with Peace Corps or its staff, and nothing to do with PST, but that I came here for the reason to help people. So all in all, with or without Peace Corps Botswana organization’s help, I plan on doing the job I came here to do, and nothing but my own resolve is going to be a deciding factor. Though the minute I feel like this is not what I want to be doing anymore or that I am wasting my time, I will not hesitate to come home. Because now, at the end of the day, I don’t feel like I owe Peace Corps Botswana anything and everything I do here will be based on what I think of the situation and not what Peace Corps Botswana expects of me. I think before I started PST I had an idea of “oh wow, ya…I’m doing Peace Corps…I’m going to be a part of Peace Corps, while helping people,” and now it’s “I’m here to help people, and could really care less that I am a part of Peace 

Corps.” (haha, watch me get admin separated…or basically fired for sullying their grandeous name that they have built for themselves)

So as you can see, I haven’t been writing because I haven’t exactly been the happiest person. I haven’t had very many good things to say. And I really hadn’t encountered anything new or interesting to talk about. The processing of the whole situation has been exhausting, and I just had no more energy to even write about it. So, I will remain vague to mitigate the amount of trouble that I am already in, but try to remain fair to everyone who wants to know what is going on in my life. Because at the end of the day, this is a blog about my life, and this has been my life and my thoughts, so I shouldn’t have to feel censored about describing what is going on in my life or being censored about my thoughts…cuz after all, we are Americans, right? I may LOOK Chinese, but I am NOT Chinese, so I would like to be treated like a citizen of the USA and have my freedom of speech without fear of being censored. Because the world isn’t always rainbows and bunnies…sometimes this world is going to be shitty. And I don’t paint a one sided picture…because that is unfair to everyone. 

June 9, 2011

First full day in Bobonong, and I made a new friend in Bobonong, his name is Zhu. I apparently needed to come to Botswana to get in touch with my Chinese side. Lol. He invited us (me and the other volunteers) to come over with his family to make…DUMPLINGS!!!  BEST DUMPLINGS EVER. FRESH DUMPLINGS. Well, ok, besides Shanghai, but they are from outside Shanghai, so close enough! It was a lot of fun. He owns a China shop in town, he’s 22 years old. It was a fun, relaxing, delicious night. We made pork and vegetable dumplings. It was funny, because the two other volunteers had the best Chinese food they’ve had…in Botswana.  Zhu’s family (sister and friends) were super nice and welcoming. 

June 10, 2011

Tonight, I stepped outside. It is so quiet here in Botswana, you can hear the planes fly over. As they fly across the sky, you can hear them go. Mixed in with the stars. I never knew the world could be so quiet and seem so still. 

June 16, 2011

The week is going. Which is more than I can say about any other week that I’ve been here in Botswana. It’s a GOOD thing. My house is finally coming along (though I am still at another volunteer’s house). They finally put the bath tub and the toilet in. The burglar bars are up. I had to take Zhu with me to explain everything that I needed…uh…ya, cuz he’s a Chinese kid that speaks fluent Setswana. Wtf, right? So I now also have a bed, a dresser, a stove, and a fridge, but no gas or water. So I still can’t REALLY live there. Well, ok, fine I can…but that would mean I would be cooking over a fire, and I have NO idea how to cook over a fire…cook over a fire to make…grilled cheeses?! Ya…right. Anyways, I’ve been going over there every day this week to check on the progress. So I’ve been pretty happy with what I see. Things are moving at least. 

Speaking of moving, I am constantly moving. I think I’ve walked about 25 miles this week…or that’s what it feels like. So basically where I am staying now is about 2 miles away from the clinic that I work at. But on Monday, I walked to the DHT with the volunteer I am staying with, which is about 2 miles away from her house too. I waited for her counterpart to get there, but she never showed, so I decided to make a stride to my clinic. From DHT to my clinic that is another 2 miles. I counted pills that day and just watched people do their jobs. It was my first real day there, so it was interesting to see how the place ran. Oh, and there really is no patient confidentiality really, cuz almost anyone can come in at a time when the nurse is there. And that includes me in the corner counting pills. Good thing I don’t understand a word they are saying. Haha. anyways, so just observed for my first day. Headed back into town…that’s another mile. Shit that’s 5 miles already, and it’s only half way through the day. My counterpart calls me to tell me my furniture has arrived and I need to tell the men where to put it. So I catch a ride back to my house with them. i get my stove, fridge, dresser, and bed. Half the burglar bars are up. That’s a surprise. Cool. But I can’t find the keys to my house. Shit, my new stuff is gonna get stolen. Get driven back into town. I’m freaking out, cuz I’m not really sure what to do about the fact htat I can’t lock my house. And I have no idea where the keys are. Then Zhu wants to see how my house is coming along, so he drives me BACK to my house. Checks it out. Approves. So grateful he was there, he found my landlord and asks for my keys. YAY! Panic avoided. I lock my stuff up and have him drop me back off at my clinic. I am there for about 5 minutes, and I check out. I walk a mile back into town again. That’s 6 miles. Hang out with Kers, the person who took us on the game drive a couple weeks back. Then to the Home Based Care to say hello and check in on the volunteer I am staying with. Back to Kers. I ask her to help me find curtains for my house. She takes me to every China shop there is in Bobs, where eventually I just end up buying them at Zhu’s shop. Lol. but she’s awesome, we have a ton of fun just wandering around. Then I walk another 2 miles back to the place I am staying. 8 miles total. JUST BECAUSE I have to. Wth, man!

Tuesday, I wake up. Walk 2 miles to my clinic. Then we walk another 2 miles to the Mabumahibidu Primary School (I am STILL saying that syllable by syllable). We are there to register Standard 1 and Standard 7 for vaccines they will be getting this week. I think it was polio, DT, and TT. Kids seem to be scared of me. They aren’t quite sure what to make of me, or how to respond to me. Haha. it’s ok. Either they’ll get used to me, or I’ll just get used to the response. Anyways, we get all the names and birthdates filled in a notebook, and create school health cards for each student so when we give the vaccines later in the week, it is an easier process. And now, I walk another 2 miles back to the clinic. Dude, that’s 6 miles before noon. I get back, and a guy that works at my clinic that has been helping me with my house wants to go look at my house. 1 mile. Yay! They are putting in the bathtub and toilet and the plumbing! Also the curtain rods are going up. More progress! 1 mile back to the clinic…or his house.  We stopped to pick…ya, papaya. Pretty cool stuff. Then walk another mile into town for lunch. WTF…9 miles today. That’s 17 miles in 2 days. UGH. Luckily, Zhu can tell I’m exhausted, so he drives me back to the place I am staying (he’s becoming a bit of a life saver…if you couldn’t tell). 

Wednesday. I wake up. Walk 2 miles to my clinic. Today, I weighed 24 babies. Some cried. Some just stared. Some were pleasant and I didn’t have to tell them to do anything. So I observed the morning child section procedures. Which just weighs babies and marks their progress. Pretty interesting. In the books, you can also see whether a child and mother is HIV positive. Surprisingly, (though it really shouldn’t be) there are a lot of people that are HIV positive. I think I just need to get used to that idea here. After all the babies were done, I walked to my house from the clinic (1 mile). I get to my house, and the curtain rods are all up. The burglar bars are done. The toilet is done. The bathtub is half done. And the pipes for the plumbing are being dug. Hopeful thinking, maybe I can get in by this weekend? Sigh…one can only dream. Lol. I walk into the mall, cuz I’m starving and grab myself a cheese puff…which is just bread with cheese in it (2 miles). After lunch, I hang out at the clinic again to see what happens in the afternoon. Not much. I am seriously…just sitting there staring at people. Haha. oh well, it’s called observing, I guess. So, that is 6 miles today…wow I’m slacking. Total in 3 days: 23 miles.

Thursday. I wake up. Walk 2 miles to my clinic. Today…I get to go back to Mabumahibidu Primary School to actually give the vaccines. Ok, I didn’t actually give them. But I assembled them…meaning I put the needle on the syringe. Scary stuff, huh? Funny, we gave them to the first graders…and we only had 2 criers. 1 refused to take it off her sleeve and screamed when we gave her the shot…but that was like 2 kids of out over 50. THEN, we gave them to the seventh graders…and they were FREAKING out. They all started getting twitchy and scared. I guess, the difference may have been that the seventh graders knew what was going on and the first graders…well, I guess are just doing what they are told. I think about half of the seventh graders cried…and one even ran away. We had to track him down to give him his shot. I would have thought it was the other way around. Interesting….lol. They just give the kids the shots in the front of the classroom. We didn’t get a room. There is no nurse station. We get a chair, and a desk (if we’re lucky) and we just swab and stick em. The nurses don’t use gloves…they just stick em straight up. Crazy….at least it’s effiecient. Afterwards, I walk back to the mall…I’m over checking on my house. I knew nothing was going to be done by today, so I didn’t even bother. Anyways…I had promised Home Based Care today that I would try to help them with their paper jewelry…which is super pretty btw. I am apparently retarded when it comes to any crafts or being artistic. I can’t draw with a ruler, and I can BARELY cut. Lol. not much use to them, I guess, but I think they found it amusing how dysfunctional I am when it comes to dainty things. Lol. After about an hour, my thumb had gone numb, and (maybe it was cuz I had something in left eye all morning), but I had started to grow a bit lightheaded and nauseous, or maybe a lack of sleep…but I was NOT feeling well.  So, my bff Zhu of course, drives me home. SLACKER…3 miles only today! Total in 4 days: 26 miles.

Friday. I wake up. Walk 2 miles to my clinic. I weigh more babies today. I don’t know how many. I’m getting a hang of it. Though one baby almost peed on me, luckily…he just hit the scale. Wetness averted! We were done by 10 AM, and we had gone through way more babies than Wednesday. Felt productive. I went off with the TB counselor to visit some patients that he sees at their homes because they are too sick to make it to clinic. A lot of the TB patients here are also HIV positive, so many are also on ARVs. The reason why there is so much TB going around in Botswana is because of HIV. So they kind of go hand in hand. I will try to get more information, but it has to do with the lowered immune system. The reason the TB counselor needs to do home visits is because TB patients need to be directly observed to make sure they are taking their meds daily. It is a very monitored disease, so meds cannot be skipped. Like ARVs, they need to be taken diligently and strictly. So some people are too sick to make it to the clinic, so in order to make sure they are directly observed taking their meds, they need to go to the patients’ houses. So that is why there are home visits for TB patients here in Botswana. We went to go visit a patient that is 3 months into her treatment (it lasts 6 months, but they may not be completely cured by the end, people can end treatments, but not be cured). The TB counselor introduced me to her, and told me that she was doing a lot better than when he first started visiting her. She was very polite and welcoming and she seemed to be much stronger than he had described her, so that was encouraging. It was a quite check up…I guess he said that he had visited her earlier in the day, so she had already taken her meds, and that he just wanted me to meet him. So, ke itumelele go go itse. It was nice to meet you. 

And we were on our merry way, he wanted to show me a short cut back to the hospital. Along the way, I enjoyed the numerous comments about him being my husband…apparently, you can’t really walk around Botswana with another guy without people automatically assuming that you are with them in any way shape or form. Sigh. Oh well. It’s how life works out here. Get over it. Lol. 

Then I just did laundry. So, 2 miles to work. 1 mile to TB patient. 2 miles back home. So…5 miles.

TOTAL MILES FOR THE WEEK: 31 MILES. Lol. ya, that was a walking week!

June 26, 2011

I weighed babies this week. I am still at the other volunteer’s place. I shoveled dirt and dry grass into trash pit for an afternoon. And I got peed on all down my leg by a baby. SWEET. The best part about the peeing incident was the whole time I was trying to put a sweater back on this kid (as he is WAILING), I was thinking to myself, please don’t pee on me, please don’t pee on me, please don’t pee on me. And LOW AND BEHOLD…the baby does exactly that…pees all over me. The nurses laugh and tell me this is how I am going to bound with the community. So I guess the way to the community’s heart is to let their kids pee on me? Lol. I think I’m good. Then they told me to stand in the sun…the pee will dry. By lunch…I am back at home bathing my legs and washing my pants. Oh the experiences you’ll have. He was lucky he was an adorable baby. Even if he wasn’t…well, haha, it’s ok. Kids pee, right? 

Anyways, to the interesting part of my week. I went on home visits with a health educating nurse. She goes to visit patients to check up on them to see how they are doing. Doesn’t really perform any of the nurse/doctors duties, but more of just talking to people and educating them about certain health topics. Though, on that particular day, there wasn’t so many topics to cover. We visited a patient who had had a stroke. Talked to his mother about his status. Then we visited a 1 week old baby. CUTEST THING EVER. I love babies (as long as they are not mine)! The nurse told the mother that she needed to come in for her post natal appt at the end of July. Then we checked up on another lady and her baby to make sure she did go for her post natal appt. One of her kids was just running around the yard naked. It’s always so baffling to me to see kids running around naked. How free is it? Do they feel dirty? Or is it cleaner? Do they feel like they need to be more careful about what they are doing when naked? I honestly don’t remember the last time I was out standing outside naked and frolicking around. So it’s a completely foreign concept to me as to how that would feel. And not gonna lie, I was kinda jealous of the kid that he was able to get away with it. Then we checked up on a 90 year old man (who I’m pretty sure doesn’t actually remember the day he was born) who had broken a leg and a hip. I was kind of scared of this situation, because he was just curled up in bed under the covers. He was a bit emaciated, when we got in there I was kinda afraid that he might be dead. They have an appointment set up for him at the end of August to see an orthopedic surgeon. This man has some will to live, that’s all I can say. Next stop was a mentally disturbed older woman. Apparently, sometimes she doesn’t talk, or she’ll just laugh, or she’s just talk about nothing in relation to anything. Today, she talked about wanting to drink tea. So at least she was talking. The last stop was an old lady that was almost blind. She is living in a little one room hut, with one window and no electricity. Her floor was covered in dust, in fact everything was basically covered in dust. She had no one living with her or really assisting her. It made me really sad, but there’s not much you can do when people are set in their ways. She’s still surviving, though not as comfortably as I would like to be surviving, but who’s to say that my way is better? So the home visits were an eye opener, just encountering the different situations that are out there in Bobonong. It’s a different experience actually going into someone’s house and seeing how they live, than just walking on the paths and keeping your distance. I got to see how some people really live here in Botswana. I will request to do more home visits. It also helps me to get out into the community more, so it’s a win win situation. 

Lastly, apparently, we are down 3 more volunteers in the span of a week. We are now at 33 volunteers. We have lost 7 volunteers/trainees in 3 months. The Bots 9 group has been here for a little over year and they have lost 8 volunteers, and we are at 7 in 3 months. Crazy. I hope we don’t keep that trend, otherwise there will be no more Bots 10ers in 15 months.  But cheers to the ones who have left, may their life path take them somewhere that makes them happy! 

June 27, 2011

Today was a day that the closet thing of what I had imagined my volunteering experience is in Africa to be. In other words, prior to Peace Corps. Lol. Before I had made the decision to join Peace Corps, I searched long and wide that would allow me to volunteer in Africa just building houses for a year. And don’t say Habitat for Humanity, because they only have week long programs and it would cost me both my arms and legs. So, I searched the web long and hard to find a program…and unfortunately, I could not find one that wouldn’t cost me $10,000 for a year. As much as I love the idea of helping and building houses, I don’t really have that kind of money to just toss around, and *cheers to the American way* it’s just not a smart move to make financially. Yes, I am selfish and care about money. I am not going to deny it, nor am I going to be ashamed about caring about money. Because without money, there is only so much you can go and do. And NO, love cannot conquer all. Fuck love. I can’t help others until I help myself, which I did diligently prior to getting here. 

Anyways, today I helped shovel sand from the river bed…all day. We shoveled three truck beds full of sand from the river bed. This sand is going to help us create the concrete mix we’re going to need to make when we starting putting together the blocks for the house. We shoveled a truck bed, then shoveled it out at the person’s plot of land, then shoveled another truck bed, then shoveled it back out again, then shoveled another truck bed, and guess what? Then shoveled It back out again. Basically, we shoveled 6 truck beds full of sand. But I’m happy…cuz it’s all a part of the process of building a house! And for those of you who know me, know that I love building houses.  it’s going to a take way longer of process than what I’m used to (which is a week), but I’m super excited about it. I am sore all over and exhausted, but I’m happy.  So maybe there is hope in this world after all? I may actually be able to do what I dreamed to do? Please universe, give me this one wish? Make me believe that good things can still happen. Please make me believe that I don’t always have to settle. 

WOW, sudden realization…all this brings me back to my freshman year of college. My friend Jordan told me that I should go into architecture, that he thought that I would be good at it. I, of course, didn’t believe him, because I have absolutely no artist ability. But I do love looking at buildings. But…I think what it comes down to…which is close enough…is that I just love BUILDING buildings. Maybe not so much designing buildings, but just the whole building process, but close enough. Building houses for people who need them is my passion. So cheers to you Jordan, once again, you have got me pegged. And I guess you always have. 

Oh and sorry for being so antisocial. It is difficult to get to internet here, so it’s going to take me a while to post, but I will try to be a bit more diligent about it. I apologize. Hope all is well with you! Miss you guys, love you! 

Cattle Post and Site Visit

May 22, 2011

So…this week as sucked like never before. It has basically been a hell that none of us had ever imagined. It just felt like more shit piled on top of more shit with an extra topping of bullshit. I finally cracked yesterday and had no idea where to turn to make it better. But…I guess that’s life, right? To suck myself out of reality, I watched a Jet Li movie…it was all in Cantonese…and no subtitles. It made me feel a bit better to detach myself from Botswana and kind of transport myself to Hong Kong. Then I watched Slumdog Millionare. Love stories are cute. Too bad they aren’t so much in real life. If they even exist at all in real life. Anyways, got a call from my BFF. And for some reason, that was what did it. I actually went to bed somewhat smiling in a good way. So thank you, BFF. You may not always know what to say, but at least you are always there to listen to it, regardless of the time difference and distance. My one and only steady rock. I have no idea where I’d be without you. <3 you.  And for the first time in a week…I finally slept well. Didn’t wake up in the middle of the night. Didn’t have any nightmares. Didn’t wake up feeling shittier than I had the night before.

And today, I woke nice and late at the hour of 9 AM. Didn’t feel so bad, since my sisters were not awake either. Sweet. Hand washed my clothes. I am no longer tearing up my hands…yay! Then we decide to go to the cattle post.

Batswana are allocated plots of land by the government for farming. This is called the cattle post. Some people’s cattle posts are far from where they live, and others may be nearby. Some people may really do some farming on it, but a majority of people have animals that they tend to. Luckily, my family’s cattle post is nearby so I got to experience it.

First, we go and check out a beautiful lake that is near the lands. It is surrounded by hills, then you come over the hill, and there is a lake. It is still. Beautiful and peaceful, with but just a few ducks waddling around. We threw stones in the lake to try to get them to skip.

Then we head off to the cattle post, my host dad, my two host sisters, and a friend of the family (don’t really actually know how she fits in with the whole family dynamic, but hey…no one really seems to care…I’ll let you mull that one over a bit). We take the rooster that has been tied up and rolling around in the trunk out. It is cawing like a rooster…because it is…and it’s pissed that it’s been rolling around in the back of a trunk for the past hour. We let it run free. I am hypnotized by the baby goats and chicks. I creep up to them…(animal senses are so much keener than humans) and they immediately scamper off. I just wanted to pet them! Lol. We feed the chickens. We chase down the baby goats to give them medicine (they had diarrhea). Basically, we chase them down, and corner them. Then as they try to get away, you grab them by the hind legs and they just BAAAAAAAA and twitch as they try to get away. We give them the shots and watch them limp off….crying. poor baby goats…we were just trying to make them better!

Anyways, I wanted to go see the herd of sheep they had. The way we find them is by following the sound of a bell. We find them…they have a good number of them. They are just baaing…and eating grass, cuz that is what sheep do. Then we are off to try to find the goats. My sisters are talking about how they want nama (which is meat). Meaning, they are looking for the goats so they can bring one back to kill it so they can have meat. Wow. I am in a different world. We can’t find them, the second bell we followed lead us to a cow. Not that kind of meat. We are tired and give up and head back to the post. The father is harvesting maize from the field in buckets. I am stuck shucking maize for the next hour. But you know what, it was nice. With all the constant talking and straining to understand for the past 2 weeks, it was a nice break. The family were having a conversation amongst themselves and it didn’t involve me. I got to sit quietly, listening to house music blasting from the car, zoning out, and shucking maize. It was exactly what I needed, just a mental break.

THEN, the goats are found. They grab a brown and white goat. Lay him on the ground, hold his legs down, hold his head straight, then (please stop reading if you are animal killing sensitive…cuz I’m going to go into detail with this)…

…STAB it in the throat. The goat is twitching/choking on it’s own blood. Blood is squirting out of the neck, as it continues twitching/struggling. The two men (they tend to the farm when the family is not around) are holding the goat down. They put a bowl in front of the hole in it’s neck to catch the squirting blood. After about 5 minutes…it is finally still. 3 minutes later, I turn around, and there is a dead goat hanging from a tree by one of it’s hind legs. The two men begin to skin it. They are finally able to get all the skin off about 30 minutes later. There is a goat skin hide just lying on the ground, with blood dripping from it’s head. Now out comes the organs. They are enveloped in a way by a pouch which is bulbous and looks about ready to burst. They cut around the organs by cutting out this “pouch”. And there are the intestines, stomach, liver, spleen…all but the heart and lungs. Shit, bloods, guts are just oozing everywhere, all over the hide. Awesome sight. My family immediately grabs the liver and the spleen…OH A SNACK…this is the freshest fucking liver/spleen I’ll ever eat (not that I really had ANY desire to eat it)…FRESH OFF A GOAT, never even been refrigerated and still warm…because it was JUST killed 1 HOUR AGO.  By the way, throughout this whole process, I am still just shucking maize. Lol. And I guess what really surprised me, was how LITTLE I was disturbed by this whole ordeal. Not quite sure what that means, I think I just figure this is a part of life here in Botswana.

We make a fire and cook up the liver and spleen, with some paleche (basically it is boiled stiff maize meal, that looks like mashed potatoes but tastes like white rice, just uber stiff…you eat it with your hands). You know how in America, we have a ton of different settings for the fire on the stove? Ya…well in Botswana, when you are cooking over a fire…it’s only one setting…FIRE. Lol. We are cooking in black kettles that are placed on stands that are on top of a fire. It’s just crazy to see and understand the evolution of cooking equipment. I am amazed by this whole process. Some people go through life cooking this way and ONLY this way…not just when CAMPING…but every day. And I applaud them, because it really comes down to the basics and proves that at the end of the day, that is really all you need to survive. It was a good reminder to me how lucky I am or how spoiled I am, growing up with what I had. (YAY! One of my self-made goals of appreciating what I have and what I have been given throughout my life has been realized).

We shove the skinned, organless, goat carcass on a plastic tarping in the trunk. Then we go home. I am supposed to meet 2 other volunteers at my house to cook QUICHE…YUM. They come into my kitchen with a nasty surprise on the counter…ad skinned, organless, bloody goat carcass. They were not expecting this (my bad…I should have warned them). We attempt to ignore it, and cook our delicious broccoli, mushroom, cheddar quiche. We are happy. They go home. I watch Boys Over Flowers (the Korean soap opera), then go to bed. That was one African day and exactly what I needed.

SITE VISIT (May 24 – 29, 2011)

Our site visit was postponed. We had had a rough week of anticipation and lack of enthusiasm with training. We were all on our last mental thread. I get picked up on Tuesday morning at 4 AM. I had had a rough night previously, and my morning had just pushed me over the edge. I couldn’t wait to get to site. I catch the 6 AM bus from Gaborone to go to Selibe Phikewe. Get there at 1030 AM. Then catch the 11 AM bus to Bobonong. I am met by another volunteer from Bots 9 at the bus stop. She takes me to where a few other volunteers are helping to construct a concrete slab for a dining room for a preschool (pretty awesome). I say hi, I’ve met a couple of them before and one I was meeting for the first time. They look tired. It’s ok. I go back to the volunteer’s place that I was staying at to drop my stuff off. She takes me around the village, shows me where the grocery store is, where the “mall” or the center of the village shopping is, where the bank is, where the library is, where the police station is, and where the post office is. This is all in the same area. Cool. People just seem to hang out there. There are some china shops there. This is the place to mingle and meet people in my community. I will definitely be going there to sit in the square to talk to new people. We go back to the other volunteers house and hang out with the other 2 who are visitng/helping the other volunteer with the school and make mac n cheese and have a few brews. Watch the stars come out. Have an argument whether something in the sky is a satellite or a plane. And just chill. Just what the doctor ordered. A refresher and a chill night in what will soon be my new home. Head back to the other volunteer’s house and off to bed.

Wake up, head to the DHT, because that is where the volunteer that I am staying with is stationed. I meet her counterpart. I meet the staff, introduce myself as the new volunteer that will be working at the Borotsi Clinic. We head out to the clinic, meet the nurses that I will be working with. But first, I check out the house I will be living in. It is on a family compound. It has 4 rooms. A bed room. A sitting room. A kitchen. A bathroom. Simple. All the doors are outside. To get to the kitchen from my bed room, I need to go outside. Fucking awesome. That was sarcastic. Oh well. Not much of a choice here. There are kids on this compound. I love kids. But not when I want to get some peace and quiet. oh well again. This is life, right? Don’t always get what you want. Clearly, story of my life. I don’t even know why I bother hoping for anything anymore.

Anyways, back to the clinic. It’s small. It has four very small buildings. 1 is for the delivery and distrubting of child health care (weighing, disturbing meds). 1 is for consultation for adults. 1 is the IDCC (Infection Disease Control Center) where people with infectious diseases go to get counseling (this is normally a nicer term for HIV and TB clinic). 1 is for HIV testing/ARV distribution. There are about 5 to 6 nurses working there. 3 are helping with children. 2 are with the adult patients. 2 are in the IDCC. And 1 is in the HIV/ARV distribution center. I think they all move around, but I’m not sure yet. I guess I will have 2 months to figure out their whole system out. They are receptive to me, and I greet them all and tell them I will be working with them. Cool. I’m not too sure if they know why I’m there or what I’m supposed to do, but at least they smile and are nice. As I said…I have 2 months to really figure what is going on and them to figure out what I am all about and why I was sent there (though, I honestly have no Idea why I am being sent there…but…I guess I have 2 months to figure that out too). I eat cheeseburgers with fries for dinner and watch Knocked Up. Go to bed.

Thursday, I am with the other volunteer. He takes me to the DAC to meet everyone that he works with there. I’m introduced as the new volunteer coming in to work at the Borotsi Clinic. They are all very receptive, but many people are missing because of the strike. We attempt to go meet the kgosi, but he;s not around until Monday. Looks like I’m shit out of luck with that. Then we head to the police station to meet the Head of Police, but of course because of the strike he is out and about. Once again, I’m shit out of luck. Oh well, we head to the China shops…I want to meet some Chinese people! I met a kid that runs one of the shops. He is from some place near Hang Zhou. Cool! I’ve been there. We talk. I ask him what he eats. We talk about dumplings. He says his sister makes them. OMFG. YES. He says he will have his sister teach me. YAY! I ask if they make noodles. He hands us 2 things of ramen. So excited. Then I ask if he has chop sticks. And if he did…how much? He says “you are my friends, you no buy, you buy, you no longer friend. Chopsticks for both!” this kid is gonna be my new best friend. He just gave me chopsticks and noodles. HEAVEN. Lol. I’m going to have him teach me Mandarin and I can teach him Cantonese.  When I leave Botswana, I plan on knowing about 5 languages. Haha. right. I have to go to Africa to get myself interested in learning Mandarin. I swear, there is something wrong with my brain. Oh well, something to do! We head back and I somehow make my way back to the girl volunteer’s house (getting a bit lost, and having to ask an old lady where the hospital is in Setswana. Awesome, she understood me and showed me how to get there).

Friday, get taken to Borotsi Clinic. Talk to more of the nurses. Try to get more familiar, but the clinic is littered with children and their mothers. So no time to talk, must get all the patients taken care of. I go to the children building and find 3 nurses weighing babies/toddlers and squeezing Vitamin A into squealing children’s mouths. They ask me to sit, give me a razor and tell me to start squeezing. Lol. Awesome, not even my official first day, and I am squeeze Vitamin A into babies mouths. They are all so cute. Some look at me perplexed…as if I am some sort of alien…which I’m sure I am to some. Some cry. Some wave. Some laugh. Some actually open their mouths without needing someone to pry their mouths open. Some spit it back out. Some give me high fives. I thank the ones that I don’t need to pry their mouths open. I smile. I wave. I ask the kids if it tastes good. And send them on their merry way. I do this for about an hour, and we get through about 100 kids. Not too shabby. Afterwards, I tell them I will try to find my way to the mall on my own. Cinch. No problem. I get there in 15 minutes, without absolutely no harassment.  Now that is a first, and I love it. Though I’m not too sure how long that will hold for, but I’ll enjoy it while I can. I meet the girl volunteer at the Home Base Care Center which is an NGO in Bobonong, and she is teaching a Yoga class. Why not, I join. Get some stretches in. Feels good. We invite the other volunteers in our area (with 2 hours radius) to come make pizzas. 4 show up (out of 6…not bad), and the pizzas are delicious. Hang out, talk for a bit. Then off to bed, waking up early to go to the Tuli Block to go look for zebras, giraffes, and elephants!

Saturday, wake up at 515 AM, make French toast with powdered sugar. We start out (3 volunteers and I) and pick up another on the way. And off we go to Tuli block. First thing we see...impala. herds of them. Pretty cool. Then we find a family of warthogs (PUMBAS!!! Lol). Then we see a baby giraffe. I didn’t get any pics cuz it ran off super fast. Then more impala. Then we had to give the car a break, and wander around the bush. Climbed up some rocks. Amazing views. Exactly how you would picture Africa. End up at the border of Botswana and South Africa. Take a cable cart ride over the river to see how awesome the river is and to see if we can find any crocodiles. We see two eyes in the river, we think it’s a crocodile, but could really tell. We head back to see if we can find any other animals. Found some more warthogs. Then stopped at a lodge. It’s like paradise in the middle of the desert. It was beautiful. huts, a pool, overlooking the river, and GRASS. We wander and find prairie mice (I think), baboons, and more impala. I would love to escape to this place for a few days. Then we head back out…and find an ELEPHANT. She’s at a watering hole just drinking up. We slowly sneak up to it, about 200 meters away. It starts to flap it’s ears. So we…slowly back off, don’t really feel like getting charged by a gigantic elephant. Then we head off to a local village, and then observe some beautiful basket weaving (some of the volunteers bought some…) There were baskets, bowls, vases, pots. There was even purple in the baskets, instead of the normal brown. Pretty cool stuff. We leave, and climb up some rocks to see if we can find more elephants…unfortunately we couldn’t find elephants, but a gorgeous view of green trees and desert, just flat grounds. By 4 PM, we are back in Bobonong. Site visit is over. Good week. Thank you. That was exactly what I needed. J

never mind...we have no idea what's going on...

May 19, 2011
We didn't end up going on our site visit. We got stuck in Kanye because of the strike that is happening.
1) They were worried about our safety while traveling
2) Many of our counterparts or people in the office are on strike so not much is going on at the work sites
3) Other volunteers were suggested to stay away from work

So...we are still stuck here in Kanye, and they're saying we can go on Tuesday. But who's to say it still won't be the same situation then? I'm not holding my breath, but i guess it would be a pleasant surprise if it does go through. Dumb. Until Tuesday....

things awry...

May 16^, 2011

Haha. so today was an interesting day. Just another day in the life of a peace corps. This is an organization clearly run by a government. Haha. so I’m moving to bobonong. I am going to visit on Wednesday. I have no idea how I’m going to get there. Where I am supposed to be sleeping on Wednesday night. I can’t find my counterpart. And there is no housing available yet. Apparently, they were a last minute set up for a volunteer. So quick that they didn’t have time to even send a counterpart down for the workshop. I also find out it was a last minute placement because 2 other placements fell through. SWEET. They sound ready for me. Lol. so of course, I get no help from the PC staff…or people that I will be working with because of the strike cuz no one has any idea about what is going on. So time to take matters into my own hands. I call a few volunteers that are in bobonong already. It’s not like it’s their job to figure out all this for me…but strangely they are the only ones that have nearly any idea about what is going on. And this is what we have figured out ON OUR OWN:

1)  I will be taking a bus from kanye to gabs to catch a bus to selibe phikwe. The earliest bus from kanye to gabs is at 6 AM. Next step…how to get to the kanye bus stop at 6 AM? No idea…hopefully my host dad can drive me..

2) I will stay with a few volunteers on Wednesday night in selibe phikwe. Then Thurs head out to Bobonong.

3) My counterpart’s name is Ma….lol. we have no idea. I guess we’ll just have to hunt for her when I get there…

4) One of the volunteers is helping with the looking for housing. She is going to take a look at a few this week…so I guess that I means I might be going house hunting. Sweet. I might be able to CHOOSE my house.

BAH…thanks, PC for all the help! Ugh. Lol. Oh well. At the end of the day…it will be done. Lol. I no longer take time to worry about things working out anymore. Things are the way they are, no use in fighting. And no use in getting riled up about something I have no control over. Just a bit annoyed and maybe slightly delirious from the large amount of boredom I have been attempting to withstand for the past few weeks. (hm…I wonder if I’m going to get in trouble with PC about writing this….lol…oh well. I’ll just wait for them to tell me to take it down if they don’t like it…)

ANYWAYS…big news within the country…

ALL SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT BOTSWANA HAVE BEEN CANCELLED INDEFINITELY. Yes…they have cut off school here in Botswana. There is a strike happening with all the civil servants. They are asking for a 16% raise due to inflation, where the government is only offering a 5% raise. No side is budging. It’s been happening for the past month. At first, it seemed more of just taking some time off. But now it’s really starting to get heated. When I was talking about the kids being incredibly civil, I still think they have done an amazing job, being that they JUST broke today and JUST started destroying/ransacking schools…A MONTH LATER. In America, that would have happened on the 3^rd day if not the 1^st day. But instead of educating these kids who clearly want to learn since they have been patiently been sitting in classrooms without teachers for the past month, they close all the schools indefinitely and tear gas the rowdy children. My sister has no idea when she’s going back to school. She might not go back to school until January. SERIOUSLY…JANUARY?! You just cancel school until JANUARY?! Dude…it’s fricking MAY…no school til JANUARY?! Wow. I had never even fathomed such a thing ever happening.  Eh…but I guess that’s just how this country works? I honestly have no idea if this is a shock to people are not. People are just shrugging and sighing, but not really making a big fuss about it…accepting the fact of the matter. I’m not sure if they are resolved about the situation or if I am just misunderstanding their level of emotions…maybe they just think school will be reinstated sooner than people are saying. I have no idea. I’m not sure anyone really has any idea. But anyways, I’m glad that this country is a peaceful country. Their strikes are definitely not violent by any means. And unsupervised kids are unsupervised kids anywhere. You can’t expect kids to behave any differently anywhere else.

We will see how this strike will affect everything that is happening in this country. Right now, PC volunteers that are working is schools…well, we have no idea what is going to happen to them.  Are they going to stay? Are they going to wait it out? Are they going to be moved? We have NO IDEA. Now with us…working in clinics…if the nurses and the people who run the clinic are on strike, will we have work to do at the clinic? I mean…apparently we do a lot of work at the schools too…so no clinics or schools? Now what? Am I supposed to hang out at the church? With NGOs? Dude, I have no idea. Haha. phrase of the week. I HAVE NO IDEA. Lol. let’s just twiddle our thumbs for a bit and see….AWESOME.  (shoot…am I too political here? Am I taking a side? Cuz I’m not allowed to…if I am…I may get in trouble for this part too…lol)

May 17, 2011

Nevermind. they found my counterpart. or at least 1 of them (apparently I have 3). they have set up a lodge for me to stay in for wednesday night.so looks like i'll be going into bobonong on wednesday. staying at a lodge. then meeting people on thursday. sigh...see how fast things change?! bahumbug. it's tiring trying to keep track of everything. wish me luck!

where am i going for the next 2 years?!

May 14, 2011

Sorry it’s been awhile. Not much has happened in the past couple of weeks. We’ve just been trying to get through training and things have basically stabilized in terms of our routines. So we basically are just running through our routines. So nothing new to report about daily life here.

BUT

Today was the deciding day. Today was the day that determined the next two years of our lives. It’s a pretty crazy interesting moment to completely understand how significant a moment can be and be IN that moment at the same time. Today we found out our sites. J

I WILL BE IN…

BOBONONG! J apparently it’s clinic work. Oh well. That’s ok. I’ll figure something out. It’s on the east side of Botswana. I think it’s around the same size of Kanye, maybe a little smaller. As you can see…I know very little about it. Lol. they speak Setswana, so yay to that. They do have good grocery stores there, so hopefully I won’t have an issue getting cheese. There is no one all that close to me from the Bots 10 group L. but I will be around a lot of the Bots 9 group. So looks like/hopefully I will be making a few more friends J. I’m pretty sure I will have running water and electricity. It was difficult to get excited or sad about my site, because I know so little about it. I guess I can give more of an assessment on Wednesday when I go to visit my site. I’ll be there for a few days to figure out what my job will be and what I will need to buy/bring.

So it’s real. I have a site. I will be in Bobonong for the next 2 years. BTW…it’s called Bob City apparently. Lol. Bob City. Awesome.

Shadowing in the desert

April 26, 2011

So not much has happened this week. We’ve kind of just been going through the motions. We have a set schedule that we follow, and we just roll through them each day. It’s funny though, sometimes I’ll just stand on the side of the road and think to myself…wow, I’m in Botswana right now. WTF. It’s crazy that it hasn’t hit us that we’re here, even though we’ve been living here in Botswana.

Though on Friday, we finally got our shadowing assignments. I’m heading to Middlepits with another trainee. We’re excited. It’s gonna take us about 5 to 6 hours to get there by bus. We’re finally getting out of Kayne! And it’s about time. Others are going other places. A few of my friends are heading to Maun, others are going to Francistown. We are just scattering about all of Botswana. We’ve all been mad jonesin to get outta here and to get some space from each other. There are some people that I feel like I could live without here already, and we’re starting to really figure out who we get along with and who we are ok with being without. No offense to anyone, everyone just has their preferences with people they like to be friends with. We type A personalities can’t be friends with everyone. In fact, no one is going to be friends with everyone. We aren’t all going to like everyone we meet. And this is no exception. We don’t hate. We just don’t prefer. Lol. Sorry, I can’t lie, and I’m going to be honest that not everyone is going to like everyone. And if you do, then you’re just fake, or have no idea who you are or what you like. And trust me, you’ll know what you like if you’re confined in the same room with the same 38 people every day for 8 hours a day for 3 weeks and everyone is trying to get their two cents in. A little harsh? Sorry…I just say it how it is. Can you sense the bitterness? Lol. Ya…I need to get some space. Excited to take a break. J

This week has been a day by day kinda week. The monkeys are always amusing. I’m thinking about trying to capture a monkey to keep him as a pet. Maybe I can pull on his tail, lol. Then I was thinking about getting a pet rooster also. That way I can have my family with me! J haha…I know I know I know, SO ASIAN. But monkeys and roosters are EVERYWHERE here. I can’t help but think about it! Lol.

Last night, I had to go hunting for someone, cuz my sister’s cousin had run off. So we went out searching for her at night. It was a clear night. And OMG, it was AMAZING. Go lefifi. It’s dark! But…the stars are fricking AMAZING. I remember staring at the stars in Yosemite, and I couldn’t stop staring at them. They were so beautiful. But dude, that was in a national park! Do you understand how awesome it is to be able to step outside of your house and you can see the milky way?! I’ve NEVER been able to experience that. It’s just something awesome all in itself. Even though we were walking around “looking” for someone (we couldn’t really see), I couldn’t take my eyes off the sky. I hadn’t noticed the stars because it’s been mostly cloudy since we’ve gotten here to Kayne (and OMG…I am seriously over this rain…mud…puddles…). But last night was crystal clear, and I felt like I could see every star in the sky that we were meant to see, and it was right in my front yard. Haha…I bet you people who live out on farms think that what I’m saying is funny. And I’m sure it is. I just grew up in a city, went to school in a city…I had never seen in like that in a LIVING environment (as opposed to a camping environment). It made me really feel like I was connected to the universe again, and not just stuck in our own little human technological world.

Tonight, I need to pack. I leave for Gaborone at 530AM. Then take a 6 hours bus to Tsabong. Our volunteer is going to pick us up at Tsabong and then head to Middlepits with us, though we’re not quite sure how we’re gonna get from Tsabong to Middlepits yet. But I guess, I’ll find out tomorrow. Right now, the rain is pounding on the tin roof. I have my music up as loud as it can go, and I can still barely hear it. I’m just trying to move things around on my hard drive, yay! It’s working! But I gotta pack. Then gotta go bath. Tonight I told my host father, ke batla go tlapa. Which means I want to bath. And he understood! Yay! Improvement! I will catch up with you later!

Also, if you want to send something, you can send educational packages for a flat rate as long as it is under 20 lbs. ;)

May 1, 2011

Just got back from shadowing in Middlepits. It’s a village on the South African border in the Kalahari Desert. Like seriously…ON THE BORDER. At the volunteer I was staying with, she is a house away from the border. So this was the journey.

April 27, 2011

We got picked up on Wednesday morning at 530AM at our houses. Was driven to Gabs to catch a 8 AM bus to Tsabong. Another trainee and I slept for a lot of the way. On the way down to Tsabong, we met up with a volunteer in Werda which was along the way to Tsabong. This was a brief meeting, being that he was dropping off a mixing bowl and midsentence the bus almost took off without me, and I had to jump back onto a moving bus as it is driving away. Then we had a 4 year old girl stand in the aisle…and persistently, unblinkingly stare at us for about 20 minutes. There were no seats left on the bus. The mother apparently figured her daughter would be fine just standing in the aisle by herself staring at some “white” people (I put parentheses, cuz I’m including myself in that assessment). After her awkwardly staring at us, I wasn’t quite sure as to what else we were supposed to do, so I asked her if she wanted to sit on my lap. She jumped right on. 10 minutes later, she’s passed out in my lap. In America, this would be absurd, and I would be incredibly uncomfortable about offering my lap as a seat to a child in fear of child molestation accusations. But here, I guess it’s no big deal, and in fact almost expected for someone to just have a random child sit on their lap on a bus ride. They are much more trusting and much less fearful than Americans. Either that, or we have way more creeps in America. 1 hour later, I was finally able to move her to an opened seat next to me (and frantically checked that I was not peed on…thankful not). Yay! We make it Tsabong at 3 PM. We are greeted by our volunteer. She’s cool. J we wait around til 430, then jump in the back of an ambulance (which btw…is just a covered pickup truck with a foam mattress in the middle) with 5 other people, and ride for about another hour along the South African border. We finally made it to Middlepits! We’re in the middle of the desert. There’s 900 people in this village. Where the heck am i?! We make chili. It was yummy. We hang out. We chat. We have a few glasses of wine. We go to bed at 9 PM.

April 28, 2011

Thursday. We get up at 7 AM. We are out the door at 715AM. We make it to a 720AM meeting. We meet the staff at the Middlepits clinic. We get a tour of the clinic. We see where the maternity ward is. There is a woman that had a baby the night previous. They don’t do first births at this clinic, they are sent to the Tsabong hospital in case there are any complications. Though if it is any birth after the first one and they didn’t have complications, they will do the other births here at the clinic. The midwives are the ones that deliver the babies. We check out the medicine store room. Way less medicine than you would find at a pharmacy in the states. We go home to get some breakfast. Then we get picked up to go to Kgare. To get to Kgare, we jump in the back of the ambulance, and this time, we spend an hour riding on an unpaved road, littered with dirt and rocks, going at 120 km/hour. We haul ASS out there. On top of it, we pick up 5 hitchers, so we are jammed packed into the back of this ambulance. We are basically popcorn. It felt like we were on a wooden rollercoaster like Colossus for an hour straight. He would go down hills, and our stomachs would be in our throats. This is the first time I think I have almost gotten car sick…I spent most of the ride staring at my knees, just trying to focus on the nearest “non-moving” object. 

We reach there…we are in the middle of the desert and sand dunes. We hike around the sand dunes. These things are awesome. It’s just mounds of red dirt everywhere. We just walk around the dunes. It’s sand dunes. Sheep. House. Sand dune. Cow. Sand dune. Corn cricket. Dung beetle. Sand dune. House. Goat. So on so forth. Just sand dunes. And what’s funny about these sand dunes…are there are trees just growing out of the sand. Which I’m so confused about. They look like oak trees…clearly they are not…but I didn’t know trees other than palm trees could grow out of sand. I didn’t know anything taller than me could grow out of sand. I was confused. Correct me if I’m clearly just being dumb. Anyways…pictures of the sand dunes will be going up on facebook…so keep your eyes open for them. We walk around for about an hour and half, just wandering around sand dunes and such. We get back to the health post.

Oh…and the reason we were able to hitch a ride there was because one of the midwives from the Middlepits post was out there to weigh and monitor babies. And the way they weigh these babies…you know the old weights they had at the supermarket where they have a hook attached to it? And you hang your produce on it to use the weight to pull down on the hook? Ya…well, you basically wrap a baby in a pouch and hang the baby on the weight. Of course the babies don’t like it…they’re screaming and crying, and the weight is just swinging back and forth from the flailing baby. Lol. It’s ok…eventually they just estimate or the baby calms down. We take a nap in the back of the ambulance for an hour and half as we wait for the midwife to finish his rounds.

Oh another thing about how the health care system works here. So there are hospitals, health clinics, and health posts. Hospitals are located in the cities. Health clinics normally have a doctor and a bunch of nurses and midwives working there. Then a health post is normally for much more remote areas and they are run by one or two midwives. So if something urgent needs to be done, they are normally taken to the hospital. If a check up or a headache or meds are needed, then they go to the nearest health clinic. If you’re super remote, and you are just doing monitoring, you go to the health post.

Finally, we are off again.

Once again….120 km/hour down the unpaved rocky road. This time we pick up 3 hitchers along the way. There were 3 of us (3 girls) and 3 of them (3 guys). It was like an 8^th grade dance…guys on one side and girls on another side…just in the back of a pickup truck. Lol. This time…no car sickness, so I got to enjoy the ride way more. This time I was laughing. WEEEEEEEEEE….boing boing boing. Lol. Never knew how good paved road really works. Haha.

We grab lunch. Finished up our chilli from last night. Went back to the clinic. This time, really showed us more, like where the doctor works. We watched a nurse prepare medical kits, which apparently is sterilized in a pressure cooker. Interesting…never knew they had multiple purposes other than cooking! We went to the post office. They have internet there! Haha. that is the only place in Middlepits that has internet. We walk around the village, check out the tuck shop (a tuck shop is a side shack/tiny building that just sells random stuff, like air time, random veggies, soda), walk past the bakery that apparently sells terrible breads, and make it back to our volunteer’s house. Wow…it’s 430 PM already. That is another day in the life of a PC volunteer...apparently.

We get back to her place…we all need to take a bath. We are seriously matted with a layer of dirt from road we were driving on. So, we take a bucket bath. And I mean a REAL bucket bath in a bucket. I’m beginning to realize how tiny I really am. When I can scrunch up into a little ball in a bath bucket and still fit, and still be able to bath, it makes me feel like a baby. I do the same thing I have been doing, except in a bath tub, I am in a bath bucket. We bath in the volunteer’s bedroom, and mop up all splash that occurred during the process. Haha…sweet, whatever, I’m clean. I’m beginning to just take things in stride. If this is what is needed to be done, then so be it! As long as I feel like the job is done, then it’s a success. J haha.

Anyways, omg, we make PIZZA. We love pizza! J well, we clean first, cuz clearly we need pots, pans, and plates to cook and eat with. We make the dough. Then the tomato sauce. We have an onion, broccoli pizza. We had some leftover broccoli, so we stir fried that up. We devoured that in 1 minute. And the pizza was perfect. Perfect gooeyness of cheese. Omg, you have no idea how much we take for granted at home. I have never been so happy with pizza. We watched some really strange and unnerving movie called Hard Candy with Ellen Page. I’m not gonna get into it, but I’ll just say…I’m surprised she got nominated for Juno and not this movie…OMG she was soooooooooooo creepy and scary in the movie. Lol. We were tired by then…and there we go…I pass out in my mummy bag. I love my mummy bag. J

April 29, 2011

FRIDAY.

We wake up at around 8AM. We make French toast with honey. Yummers. We head out to the junior secondary school. Our volunteer teaches out there. But unfortunately there was a strike going on with all the civil workers, so there were no classes going on for this week. We get there…and there are 3 teachers running about 250 students. WTF. these kids are ridiculous. There are no teachers around. No one supervising them. And…they are sitting in their classrooms, reading, all dressed in their uniforms!!! You have no idea. This is a completely foreign concept to me. Dude, if there was a strike in the US and no teachers were around, we would be running away from school. Kids would be throwing stuff. Kids would be fighting with each other. Trash would be littered everywhere. It would be CHAOS and disastrous. But nope. Here in Botswana, they just sit in their classrooms. Read. Study. Chat. A few were outside playing soccer. Some were outside just sitting in the sun. others were just doing the computer homework in the computer lab (which btw…had even better computers and monitors than ING…wow, that is sad).

 I’m beginning to really see a sticking difference between Botswana and America and how children are raised. In America, it’s always about who’s kid is the best, which one is better, which one is smarter, which one is smarter, which one is bigger, and you can really see where our individualism stems from. It’s all about competition. In Botswana, they don’t care about that. They just help each other. The kids are hungry…they will cook themselves food, along with anyone else that wants some. They just work and coexist together without any resentment and smiles on their faces. They aren’t trying to beat each other down. I have only seen this kind of bonding at one other place…in Tijuana at the orphanage. I find it absolutely astounding. And it allows me to continue to believe that people are born innocent and good and believe in the cause that children are who I want to work with because their intentions are still true and pure enough.  It is all learned behavior…they weren’t born inclined to certain behaviors. And the sooner behaviors are taught in an individual…the sooner behavior changes can be seen and stick throughout the generations, and hence starts the cycle of change. Oh, here my idealism is coloring my naivety. But I’ll keep to it, until proven otherwise. Which I’m sure will be in less than a year. Lol.

Anyways, we gathered a following. So many “white” people in one group! I had about 3 people at a time running their hands through my hair…”Ah! So soft! So nice!” lol. They really love my hair here. It’s such an anomaly here. They always ask me what I put in my hair…and are surprised to learn that nothing goes in it. Haha. I can continue walking and they will continue petting it. Lol. Anyways…they do love asian hair. But it’s funny, cuz some of the trainees do the same. Haha. I think it’s just that everyone loves asian hair. And don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for my hassle-free asian hair. It has made my bathing here, oh so much easier. Sorry, super tangent. We say goodbye and head to the primary school.

Oh shoot, another thing about this junior secondary school. It’s a boarding school. So many of the kids that are at this school are from the surrounding villages and towns and just live at this school. It’s not a private school by any means, it’s a government run school. So many of these kids, though they were dressed in uniform even though they probably didn’t have to, it may be because that is all they have at the school or even at all (which makes me feel bad about having trouble with only having 2 pieces of luggage). Just thought that was an interesting tidbit.

So, we go to the primary school. It is much smaller, because here…it’s is just Middlepits kids that go here. We check out the library that my volunteer had started. It was pretty cool. They had different types of books, from Dr. Suess to Babysitters Club. It was a good variety and the books were in decent shape! Yay! There was a class in the library, well, more like a PTA member standing there with a stick threatening the kids to be quiet and to read or they will get beaten (though it didn’t really seem to scare them too much…being that they continued to giggle and whisper). We leave because we don’t really want to disturb the kids anymore, and we go and see her HIV/AIDS flag project. This project is where she got kids to paint on a flag something about HIV/AIDS, or how it has affected them, or to write a message to someone that has passed from the disease. It was pretty cute. Some messages didn’t make sense. And some were pretty upfront. All in all, at least it got the kids thinking about the disease. So I thought it was a pretty cool project. I may steal/borrow it from her if it can be useful in my community.

We go back to the clinic. Here she opened the HIV counseling building for us to see. Here they have a lot of educational material on the disease and the medicine (ARVs) that people will need that are living or are affected by the disease. There was this really cool book which was basically a printout from a computer that put how HIV works into very very simple terms that help children understand the virus and what it does. They had characters like soldiers and bad guys, where the soldiers are our T-cells, and the bad guys…well, are obviously the virus. Simple. It then proceeds to explain why you need to take the medicine to KEEP you health, as opposed to GET you healthy. So the ARVs were described as protective gear, like a helmet and armor for the soldiers. Our volunteer said that it seemed to go over well with the children and the parents, which was very encouraging to hear.

It’s Friday and there is a strike. We go home. Make lunch (lentils and rice). Then attempt to watch Dexter, but end up napping for a couple of hours. I wake up…need to pee. Go to the pit latrine...which is like almost a block away and out of the compound of the volunteer’s place. Awesome.

And…I’m gonna go into the whole pit latrine experience. I know you’re super stoked to hear about this. Lol. So, being the spoiled American, I try as hard as I can to avoid using pit latrines. And this trip to Middlepits gave me my first pit latrine experience. Let me start with…it is WAY better than using a portapotty in US. You bring a roll of toilet paper with you, so everyone knows that you are going to the bathroom. When you get inside, basically, it is a concrete block, with a toilet seat (which I think is an added luxury from other pit latrines already). It is strategically placed over a LARGE hole in the ground. How large? I honestly have no idea. I just know that it at least takes over 2 years to fill the hole…with shit…literally. But if you are sharing this pit latrine with someone or just a few people, you can keep it clean. I can get into so much more detail about this subject…haha, but I’ll spare you. Lol.

Anyways….i pee. Haha. like that? Haha. I go back, they are still sleeping. I don’t want to be the creepy person watching them sleep, so I decide to go outside and go on a walk to follow the ominous clouds. I follow them down a dirt road (which most of Botswana is), then decide to turn towards the border (since the clouds were clearly moving too fast for me to follow). However, in between the two borders is a huge river valley, with of course…no river. I just keep walking. I want to walk into the valley, but figured since I had no cell phone service, it probably wouldn’t be the best idea since no one knows where the fuck I am. In the valley I see a maize field. Interesting, in no man’s land, there is a maize field. Who owns it?! Botswana or South Africa?! Haha. Apparently, it’s a Batswana’s family, and no one really cares about what is going on down there. I head back, they wake up to me opening the door.

We clean the kitchen. Then head out to the bar 5 minutes away that is BUMPIN. And when I mean BUMPIN…I mean, their music can be heard from about a quarter of a mile away. The funny thing is…there is no one there. They have a pool table and an outside patio. I order a Black Label, which is a South African beer. The bartender just stares at me, hesitantly.  I try to order it again. He asks me “are you sure?” and stares at me strangely…”ya…I’m sure.” He gives it to me. I ask my volunteer later what was with the strange exchange…and she says “oh…ya, it’s the cheap beer. And when a girl orders it…it normally means they are…well a bit trashy because it has a higher alcohol content.” Oh shut…whoops! Haha. shush to all you out there who I know is laughing….but hey! I just like that beer, nothing else to it. Haha. oh well. We chill and just chat it up. And watched the most awesome sunset, it had EVER color imaginable. The sunsets here are breath taking. They go on and on and come from all directions just from the reflections. I have seen some awesome sunsets. And this one is definitely up there. We head back to the volunteer’s house…we walk into the house….*drip drip drip* it starts raining. PERFECT timing. We make mac-n-cheese. Our volunteer invites a friend over from the clinic, and we devour our mac-n-cheese and Russian (which is a beef sausage that basically tastes like a pork sausage). It’s so good, the other trainee and I, are at the pot and serving spoon scraping the cheese with leftover macaroni. Wow, we are awesome. Lol.

It was a strange sensation, and I’ve felt it a few times here. It’s hard to watch something on TV and see home…all the time. I’ve watched The Hills, I’ve watched a few movies, we watched Valentine’s Day. 1) it’s hard to believe that I am watching my home city from Botswana. 2) it makes me miss home and everything I used to do there. It just reminded me of all the memories I have of LA and everything I used to do there. I saw Venice Beach. I saw downtown LA. I saw Hollywood. These were all things I used to do on a regular basis. And what makes it so much stranger now is that is so far away, when before it was my everyday life. It made me miss home a bit, but it also transported me out of where I was at that moment, so it a bittersweet feeling.

After the movie…bed time.

April 30, 2011

SATURDAY.

We get up at 8 AM. Pack. Clean up. Sit on the side of the road. We are trying to hitch a ride. People are either drunk. The police. Or just sticking around Middlepits. We’re hoping that we can use me as bait to snag a ride with the Chinese men, but they didn’t come around. I’m curious to see what I can do with my Chineseness (or more like my looking Chinese…lol). We end up hitching a ride with a family in the back of their open pickup truck. In America, I would normally have called this the perfect convertible day, but here in Botswana…it’s the perfect hitching a ride in the back of a pickup truck day. J The weather was amazing. Just the right amount of wind and the right temperature. I was in a tank top. And it was probably one of the best rides I have ever taken in my life. Life was going at the right pace right then and there. It gave me time to think. It gave me time to reflect. The sun was perfect. The wind was perfect. Fresh air. I am in Botswana in the back of a pickup truck that I had just hitched from. All I could think of was TIA (This is Africa), but very much in a GOOD way. J We ride for about an hour, then we get off in Tsabong.

We get there, and we decide to grab a chicken pie. So something interesting about here and their meat. The chicken pie was delicious. And it’s basically like a chicken pot pie. Unfortunately, there are many a times where you end up with inedible/unchewable pieces of chicken in your in pies or shredded chicken. The week earlier, I had gotten a chicken mayo sandwich, and spent half of my bites pulling out little crushed chicken bones. Well, this pie, was no different. I remember back in the US, I would just stop eating or just end up gagging from food like that. But here…well, haha, I guess I’ve just gotten used to it and pick it out, or just spat until the little piece comes out (I know, attractive, huh?), and continue eating. It’s funny how some food things just are ok now. like onions, green peppers, and small chucks of cooked tomatoes, and crushed bones in my meat. Haha…as I said before I left…if I’m starving, I’ll eat it. And so be it. That has happened. Though I may not enjoy what I’m eating. Lol.

We stop at the grocery stores and grab a few snacks for our bus ride for the next day, then head to the lodge that we are going to be staying at for the night. Our room has 2 full size beds…AND…a SHOWER!!! What what?! (lol…our how our standards have changed a little since we’ve started). We are so excited…a SHOWER!!! Lol. We are teeming with anticipation for our shower for the night. But we head out. Hitch a ride from some guys that our volunteer knows. Get dropped off. Head to another volunteer’s place. She lives in government housing, with a kitchen, running water, a bath with hot and cold water, 2 bedrooms, and a living room. Pretty sweet deal. Most government housing is the same. Not too shabby, hopefully that is something I can look forward to in the near future. And on her coffee table, what does she have?! Apple cinnamon muffins, crackers, and CHEESE SPREAD.  We pig out, and eat some chips and bean dip. Delicious (yes…all us trainees are obsessed with American food, or more like non-setswana food). We end up hanging out, and the other volunteer that I was mid-sentenced with the few days before joined us. We hop into the truck bed, and head out to the camel farm. No one is there. No worries, the volunteer from Werda doesn’t cease to amuse us. He is attempting to feed then camels with cut grass, then manages to herd them into a corner of the pen, the manages to get a hold of one by the reigns. We get to feed the camels and pet one all under the taming of ourselves. Lol. The man in charge of the camels arrive and we get to ride them. Sweet. I rode a camel around in 2 circles for 15 pula. Haha. we went on a hunt for the baby camel, so small and cute. Then ride back just to see an enormous rainbow. Beautiful. we make vegetarian tacos for dinner. Hang out some more and just talk. Eat a yummy chocolate cake. Then head back to the lodge. SHOWER TIME. OMG…SHOWER!!! J best shower EVER. Lol. Never knew I could be so happy with something so simple. My goal to learn to appreciate what I have is being duly tried right now, and it’s ringing very true. Lol. Congrats to me, I pat myself on my back. Lol. Nice and clean…and off to bed. EXHAUSTED.

May 1, 2011

SUNDAY.

We head out at 545 AM to catch the 6 AM bus. Of course, Africa time, means 645 AM. We get on the bus, only to be kicked off 5 minutes later. Haha. apparently, there really isn’t a concept of customer service here. The 6 AM bus didn’t come til 645 AM. The 7 AM bus was mad. They are 2 different bus companies. The 7 AM bus stops our bus, calls the police, and accuses the 6 AM of stealing all their customers. So we all get kicked off the buses to be redistributed. Haha. wtf is going on?! At this point, it’s just funny. We just sit and wait. Not much else we can do. We have a few laughs. And of course 10 minutes later, we just get right back on the bus we were originally on. Though, now we’re SUPER late, and since the other bus took the other half of their customers, our bus decides to circle around Tsabong 2 more times to see if there are any stranglers they can pick up. Haha. we don’t leave Tsabong til about 8 AM. Lol. Oh Africa time. 6 hours later, we “miss” our Kanye stop, and end up back in Gabs. Shucks. Well, we’re hungry, we go to game city to scour for food.  PIZZA!!! YUM. We conjure up a gathering. And manage to get a PC driver to drive us back to Kanye.

Finally get home. Ke lapile. I meet my host mom for the first time. She’s very nice and laughs a lot. They make dinner. We watch Jandi!!! Yay! I love Jandi! J BEDTIME. Shadowing is over. The next checkpoint…SITE ANNOUNCEMENT in 2 WEEKS!!! AH!!! J CAN’T WAIT…and I’m super nervous. Please don’t put me in Middlepits!

April 2, 2011

Back in Kanye and training. We process our shadowing in groups. Then we start gardening. We learn how to garden. Fun times. Then we find out we are losing one more from our group. L For personal reasons, she wants to go home. We’re gonna miss her! Now we’re down to 37. Dropping like flies. How many more? Who knows…I guess we’ll find out. Send me good wishes! Miss everyone!