WAD.

As you know (I’m sure all of you know?), World AIDS Day (WAD) is on Wednesday, December 1. I participated in an art exchange program with my fellow Peace Corps volunteers here in South Africa. For the art exchange, children in all of our various projects created art and then we mailed the art from our project to another volunteer. So then everyone gets art from another project to share in their community – all in attempt to teach/share information about HIV/AIDS. Well, I have been pushing to have an “event” in my little area for the community on World AIDS Day so that I can display the art but also so that we can create our own little awareness/education campaign.
So, I couldn't get anyone to plan anything despite my efforts. But, last week, I ran into one of the nurses at the clinic who I have a good relationship with and she was all over helping me. We met at the clinic the next day and created a program (everything has a program here – complete with who is going to do the opening prayer and closing remarks), made posters, wrote letters…it was great. But, too bad the day is less than a week away. I shouldn’t be surprised though as this is pretty normal.  Which is probably why no one wanted to plan anything "so far ahead" in the first place. 

But you must know that in order to have a successful event, food is imperative. I just can’t get over this expectation at events here. It’s the first thing anyone asks. “Will there be food?” Eish. Anyway, because we were planning this very last minute, we didn’t have any food. Or money for food. So we decided to ask for donations. We have been somewhat successful in getting a few supplies which means that tomorrow I will be spending the afternoon baking with the nurse and praying that we can find cups for the juice that was donated.

I will be sure to take pictures to post of the event. And I’ve already said that next year, we plan ahead.

Thank you.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I thought that I should reflect upon just a few of those things that I am thankful for in my ever evolving life here in South Africa.

Piet. Piet is my host father here in South Africa and can make a really crappy day turn around quickly. When I come home he is quick to joke around with me and give me a hard time. Piet inspires me in so many ways.

Time. I’ve never had so much time on my hands in my life. To sit and read. Or talk to Piet. Or write in my journal. Or go for a walk. Listen to the kids play next door (or join in). Sleep. Practice yoga.

Fans (the ones that cool you off). It is so hot and I will never, ever take air conditioning or rainy days (snow, for that matter) or any type of coolness for granted again.

Kind, helpful taxi drivers. Speaks for itself.

Water. The lack of water is one of the biggest challenges in my area (and many parts of rural South Africa). When I have access to water, I am grateful.

My friends and family. I have a deep appreciation for my family more so than I have probably in my entire life. Being away has made me recognize the simplicity of being together with the people you love.

I hope that everyone simply appreciates being with their friends and family on Thanksgiving.

Happy Tofurkey Day.

Ants.

This is trivial but true. It seems that rainy season is upon us here in South Africa. Hot, disgusting, balmy, rainy season. This has created a problem for me (I say for me because it doesn’t seem to bother anyone else). On my way to work (or anywhere else for that matter), I encounter thousands upon thousands of ants. Imagine the ground being covered so thickly by ants that it's hard to see dirt. It is awful.

My problem has become getting from one point to another without them literally crawling up my feet and legs as they bite me in a rage. I now have nightmares of trying to get anywhere without trying to dodge these ants. Sometimes I will be walking with someone and I am literally jumping up and down because ants are biting me and the person is just looking at me strangely.  They seem fine?  It's bizarre.  How are they fine?  I’ve asked why these ants doen't bother anyone else and they say, “We’ve gotten used to it. Our skin is strong.” Amazing.

I really hate the ants.  Dare I say more than the heat. 

Picture this (no, really, I finally have pictures uploaded so make sure to look)

Do I really have to go back to work? I’ve been battling this question for the last 24 hours as I reacclimatize to my surroundings. I had my first African vacation and it was truly amazing. Let me explain.


As a Peace Corps volunteer, you arrive in a country and are whisked away to a small village (in the middle of the night in my experience) and this village didn't quite represent the Africa I had in mind because, of course, nothing ever is like you imagine. So this means that, although I have been in Africa, I have not seen any of the places that have lions, giraffes, or elephants. I have been in a village, with no running water, dusty streets, goats, cramped taxis, ants that never die...you get the picture. But last week, I took my first vacation here and saw a part of Africa that was truly amazing.

Now, I did not do a 5 star luxury tour. I still took public taxis and stayed in backpackers (dorm rooms where you share bathrooms – kind of like being in a college dorm room) but it was being a “tourist” which made it feel different. That, and the amazing places we visited. My fellow Peace Corps Volunteer companions (husband and wife, Chuck and Michelle) were gracious enough to let me tag along with them and we had an amazing adventure. Complete with a few mishaps (and mistakes) along the way but I don’t know that I would change a thing. Okay, except the fact that I did not purchase one single thing?! What?! No souvenirs?

Kruger Park was fantastic. We slept in a tent in the park (in a protected area) but still had a hyena stalking us just outside the fence. We saw 5 leopards (apparently unheard of) and one was stalking an impala while elephants and water buffalo wandered by...giraffes, rhinos, and hippos were also abundant. Amazing. There were a few moments of boredom (because you spend a lot of time waiting to see animals) but we took pictures (as you can see from our photos) and were sufficiently satisfied with our adventure.

Then it was off to Mozambique. We decided to save some money and arrived via public taxi – we walked over the border and were asked if we were “scared” to arrive via public taxi. Huh?! It was a horribly hot day but once we found food and a cold drink all was better (and it even hailed the afternoon we arrived which was quite surprising). Sleeping without mosquito nets proved interesting (poor Chuck) but then I had bigger problems when we arrived at the amazing beach town of Tofo where I was eaten alive by some unknown bugs. But, it was again worth the long bus ride and bug bites because the beach here was amazing. Truly. Miles of clear, blue ocean where diving is superb but running along the beach was even better and relaxing was by far my favorite pastime. We even paddled sea kayaks and rode in a traditional dhow boat.

On the way home (sweating in my taxi packed next to my fellow South Africans) I realized why Africa is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Well, because it is.

One step at a time.

During PST (that’s Peace Corps lingo for “pre-service training”) they talk about this integration period after we first get to our communities that will be taking place during the initial three months we start living at our sites. This is the time when we are learning about our communities, our organizations, our host families, the language, etc. I thought that I, of course, would breeze through this integration thing. I have to say that this has just not happened. Okay, I will be fair. This has not happened…in my experience. Integration has taken much longer than three months (and still continues)...After the first three months at my site, I still felt like I didn’t know anything and didn’t fit in at all.
But, the good news is that after almost 8 months here in beautiful (and hot) Limpopo, I am just starting (notice that I say starting) to feel like I am getting to know my community. Okay, there are little chunks of time if maybe not entire days. For instance, I went to work yesterday and on my walk home, I was joined by a girl who knew me from the drop-in center. It felt comfortable. And the day before that, as I was coming home from my run, and the nurse from the clinic came out and we bantered for a while as she joked about coming on my runs with me (I don’t think she really wants to come with me of course). But, again, it felt good.

I say this because I am reminded of my perfectionist attitude about “getting it right” and that this should be easy. It’s not. This really slow integration process has been hard. But, slowly it’s feeling better. It’s still not easy but, finally, I feel like I am making progress.
Of course, I am leaving out the fact that there was a little girl that cried (okay, screamed) when she saw me today at church because she was still scared of me. Hey, one step at a time.

Gardening and Running.

There is excitement in the air…to create a permagarden! My weekend gardening workshop was fantastic and although I am not an expert (at all), I am very enthusiastic which should count for something, right? I hope that I can take what I’ve learned and put it to good use in my community. The idea behind permagardening is to create a small food garden for a family (or shared community garden). So, first, I plan to help my host father build a garden at his house. We’ll see how that goes and then maybe I will move on as my confidence grows (and I actually get a few things to grow). The first challenge is making compost and then “mapping” out the area that you wish to dig. The composting takes a couple of months so I must get started. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Oh, and my other exciting news? With not much planning and preparation, I ran a half marathon this weekend. It was a bit of an unplanned undertaking but I happened to be in Pretoria and learned at the last minute about the race so just kind of ran it? Surprisingly, it went quite well (I’ve been running in my village quite a bit) and I am excited about this newfound love of running which I thought died along with the first signs of my gray hair several years ago. We’ll see. I may now sign up for this insane event that takes place here in South Africa called the Comrades where you run for many, many hours. Sounds like something to look forward to, yes? I need things to look forward to…not quite as exciting as a shower and a cappuccino but you take what you can get.

I can't stop! Peace Corps Graduation Day SA21