It's Finished. Finally.

A year ago I helped to write a grant proposal which funded a new building for one of the centres I support. It’s been a year of ups and downs as this building has been constructed. From getting the land donated from the induna (who is like the chief of the village) to working with the local municipality to get the building plans approved and then finding all of the materials and supplies. Buildings and construction (especially in a rural South African village) was not something I had a lot of prior experience doing?! It’s been a long year. But the staff and volunteers did an amazing job of putting in the time and work needed to get the building completed. They were able to move in to the new centre last week which will provide 85 orphans and vulnerable children with meals and after school activities. The children that come to the center have little means for food or enrichment and are put at a disadvantage in pursuing future goals which is the purpose of having the center...and I’m so happy and excited it is ready for use!


We still have many cosmetic features that need to be completed (curtains, more office furniture, shelves, more toys and books would be nice along with much needed burglar bars for security) but I am really proud of the work and time everyone put in to get the building completed.

My heart is full.

I have been really happy these last couple of weeks. Usually, when I get back from a long vacation, I go through a deep depression acclimating back to village life (back to taking bucket baths, eating bland food, slow days, hot weather, limited conversations, blah, blah, blah…poor me). Anyway, this time, I haven’t really felt that way. It’s been easier for some reason. For example, last night, I played a rousing game of UNO until late (okay, late is relative but it was darkish?) into the night with three of my favorite kids. They have a somewhat sick addiction to the game and I find many of my nights eaten up playing this game of my childhood. But I do enjoy it. I don’t know if it’s the nostalgia now that I am near my end of service or finally feeling like this place is my home. Either one, my heart feels really full.

Saying goodbye is going to be hard.

P.S.  If anyone can (quickly) post another few decks of UNO cards...you would be a saint. :)

Last of last month. Or something like that.

December has come and gone. It is now January and I am completely overwhelmed. There is too much to do and too little time...because I will be coming home in 3 short months!!!


But back to December. Well, at the beginning of December I was able to enjoy some time with my fellow Peace Corps volunteers at what was called our ‘Close of Service’ conference. We all reflected on our 2 years of service, talked about what it would be like going back to the US of A, and just generally reminisced. One of the volunteers put together a slide show with many of our group photos which was an amazing collection of shared memories that I will cherish.  Oh, and we also had a dance party (see below). 

After the conference, I immediately faced having a root canal. Yes, I survived my first (and hopefully last) root canal. It was questionable there for a while but with the help of some heavy duty drugs and some hand-holding by a few friends, it is done. Thank goodness as this had caused many sleepless nights for me.

With the root canal behind me I travelled to Johannesburg where I met my Phedisang AYG (Achieve Your Goals) Interns (the group of 12 high school learners I have been working with for the past year). I had planned the trip for the interns to visit several companies in Johannesburg and learn about different careers. We had an amazing few days and it was by far the highlight of my month. We got to spend some time visiting a logistics and transport company where the interns learned about various career paths (human resources, accounting, IT, etc). Then we got to tour one of their warehouses and meet several of the management staff. We also stopped by the zoo and met another young intern who was attending college while also interning at the zoo and she was able to give us a tour and share her experience about going to school and working/learning while helping at the zoo. It was a great trip (and I’m hoping it provided motivation for the interns)!

Then, it was finally time for vacation! With my extended family (the Possins), I was able to explore Northern Mozambique and Tanzania (including several nights on the amazing island of Zanzibar). We flew to Northen Mozambique and then set off for the “Isle de Mocambique” where we enjoyed a fabulous couple of days relaxing on the beach (and by the swimming pool). We also took a dhow boat to another even smaller island and did some swimming and snorkelling. The only challenge was the heat – excruciating. But if you stayed near water and jumped in every once in a while then survival was possible. After leaving the island we had quite the adventure traveling to our next destination near Pemba. I won’t go into the details here but sometime over a drink or a large plate of hummus or a big fruit salad or some chips and salsa (oh, I miss good food), remind me to tell you this story. In Pemba, we stayed with an Italian couple at a beautiful beachfront resort basically doing nothing (seriously, I put on my swimming suit before breakfast and it stayed on until the evening). I have learned that I am incredibly good at relaxing by the beach. Can I include this skill on my updated resume?

Then, we went into the town of Pemba (still in Northern Mozambique) for a couple of days. One of these days was Christmas Eve and we had a great dinner of Indian food – I ate probably one of the best cashew curries of my life (do you see food is a recurring theme)? On Christmas day, we travelled from Northern Mozambique to Tanzania (and ate our Christmas meal of pizza and beer)! We weren’t really sure of our plans for the next few days but decided to head to Arusha where we signed up to do a budget safari to see both the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater. Even though it was a budget safari (leaking tents, no showers, not the greatest guide, etc.), the landscape and animals were beautiful. No, spectacular. This is the Africa you imagine. Wide, open spaces with animals everywhere. We witnessed the beginning of the wildebeest migration where herds of wildebeest move across the Serengeti from Kenya (just google ‘wildebeest migration’ and you will learn all about it). We saw baboons, giraffes, leopards, a cheetah, monkeys, lions, elephants, water buffalo, rhino, and hippos…I really can’t describe how beautiful these areas are and am grateful I had the opportunity to visit.

Then we headed to Zanzibar for our last few days of vacation. We had to take a ferry to get to the island of Zanzibar (or if you aren’t a Peace Corps volunteer you can fly). The island of Zanzibar is another amazing place. There are beaches that stretch for miles (literally, they go on forever) and the most amazing resorts (from extremely high end to the budget backpacker). We celebrated New Year’s Eve on the island with people from around the world (Tanzanians, Americans, Italians, Greeks and Egyptians) with a bonfire on the beach and then decided to head to a local hangout. We recovered on New Year’s Day by relaxing on the beach (yes, my newly acquired skill). As if that wasn’t enough, we finished our whirlwind tour in Stone town (on the opposite side of Zanzibar) which turned out to be a shopping mecca (as well as a food lover's heaven).

I feel very lucky to have been able to take this time to see some of the magnificent places here in Africa. I wish I had more time (and money) to go exploring. But I know that I will come back to Africa someday to do some more exploring. I still have so much to see?!

Now, though, I am back at home in my village. Even though I returned to dead bats in my room, disgusting heat, and those darn ants...I am happy to be home. I missed my host family and the community and am looking forward to enjoying these last few months with them. Happy New Year, by the way!

(And I am putting my vacation photos up...so click over there to the right).

Training.

Sometimes I forget what I have written about and what I haven’t so forgive me if this is a repeat. One of the projects that I have been helping with at my drop-in centers for the last several months is training, training, training! During my community needs assessment way back in 2010 (ugh, it’s been a long time), training was identified as a priority. Although the staff and volunteers at my centers work with children, they do not have any training about how to care for or really work with children so training definitely seemed like a viable project to pursue.


We were able to work with a South African donor to assist with this training project and last June we received funding to train almost 40 of our staff and volunteers. Since August, we have been bringing the staff and volunteers from the centres together for a monthly training workshop so they can learn about things like the basic rights of children, the difference between discipline and punishment, hygiene and nutrition for children, and the importance of letting children make mistakes in order to learn (i.e., trial and error learning)! For some of the women, it’s been quite a challenge as they haven’t been in a classroom setting for 20+ years (and their attention span is like that of small child!). They have also had to write their assessments in English (which is not easy for many of them) and learn new, and oftentimes challenging, concepts. Mostly, I have been quite pleased with their progress and willingness to try. I know it isn’t easy. In January, they will submit their assessments for review and (cross your fingers) most of them will pass and receive a basic child and youth care certification. And if they don’t pass?! Well, I hope they have at least benefited from being in the training and learning something about how to work with children. Through my time here I’ve come to believe that sometimes the learning is in the process not in the end result...

Here they are working on writing an assessment, eating lunch (believe me, this was an important part of the day) and one of our group photos in front of the church where we held the training.

Giving Thanks (Again).

Today is Thanksgiving although it doesn’t feel like it much (again…yes, this is year two of celebrating yet another Thanksgiving alone). But, your American Peace Corps volunteers are trying to keep their holiday spirits high by sending texts to each other with holiday greetings and dreaming of stuffing, pie, and (in my case) tofurkey. I did, though, want to make sure to share with you (again) just a few of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.

A new pit toilet at my house!
Rainy days during the summer heat to cool things down (like today)
Little kids screaming my name when I’m having a bad day, “Lethabo! How are you?!”
My mom and dad always supporting me no matter how crazy and non-conventional my choices
Vacations to beautiful African places
Good books
Watching cows stubbornly stand in the middle of the road just daring a car to try to hit them
Being able to wear flip-flops almost every day (except for the stepping on the nail incident this week)
Mango trees in almost every yard here
Dancing in my room and calling it a “workout”
Letters and packages from home (seriously, I love getting mail)
My family and friends, new and old

I miss my family and friends at home terribly and think of you every day but am so grateful for my new, extended family here in South Africa. The family that has let me stay in their home for two years (Piet and Ester and Kagiso). The community of Ga-Sekororo that has embraced me including people like Sheron, Olga, Charity, Spokes, Malepe, Motsatsi, and Sara. And also the Peace Corps Volunteers that will forever be part of my family because of this shared experience. I love you all and hope that everyone has a happy, happy Thanksgiving! And, if there is any way you can send me Christmas candy in my next package…I would be thankful for that too!?

Toothaches and Hiking.

So I had to take a little trip to the city to visit the dentist. I have been experiencing some problems with my tooth. Oh, you know, a little toothache. Well, the poor dentist here in South Africa had to deal with me fainting in his chair to get out some decay under an old cavity (I don’t particularly like the dentist and this combined with my fear of needles tends to lead to some problems when I visit the dentist). After this horrible visit I left hoping I would be toothache free. Well, I was not. So, I decided to go on a hike to see if putting a little time and space between me and the dentist would help.


So, off I went on an amazing hike in the Drakensburg mountains – it is a truly spectacular area in Kwazulu-Natal Province that I have not had the pleasure of visiting since my time here. Along with three other volunteers we braved hiking without a guide and “didn’t die” which was my one request before we set off. We did get slightly lost but it was worth it as we stumbled upon an amazing camping spot and cooked our rice and beans as the sun went down. We swam in some beautiful water pools and enjoyed the wide open space (we didn’t see one other person during our hike). It was a wonderful little vacation and I didn’t even think about my tooth…too much.

But, alas, I returned for another dreaded dentist appointment upon my return and was told that I probably have to get a root canal. Hopefully they can heavily sedate me. But, at least I got to go on a hike (and I have pictures...of my hike, not my tooth!)

Sweating.

I really do not like summers in Africa. And, yet, it’s that time of year again and I am enduring yet another summer here. Today it was almost 100 miserable degrees. Now I can hear my fellow Arizona friends saying, “We’ve had higher temperatures. That’s nothing to concern yourself with?” Okay. Let me explain the many differences. Most of you live in insulated houses with lovely air-conditioning. You do not walk long distances carrying water or wood or just getting from place to place - you have nice, air-conditioned cars. You also have running water to take a shower when you get all sweaty and smelly and disgusting.  Nope, we do not have these luxuries.  When it is 100 degrees it is just, well, awful. Most people try to find a small piece of shade and simply plant themselves in that spot for the rest of the day. And, then you sweat and sweat and sweat. And then talk about how hot it is…while sweating some more.


I tried to participate in life today during this heatwave. I walked to work…getting bitten by the many ants who also inhabit the dirt paths this time of year (remember my awful horror of the ants last year...well, the ants are back..also another reason I dislike summer here).  Then, I sweated while working.   Oh, and I sweated while walking home from work and I sweated while I sat outside talking to my friends and family waiting for it to cool down a bit (it didn't) after I got home from work. And I am now sitting in my little room. Sweating.

Ahh…summers in Africa. I can’t wait until tomorrow.