Coming to Africa.

So for the past two weeks, I’ve had a visitor in my South African home. My Mom! Yep, my wonderful mom came all the way from the US of A to see her youngest daughter (who is not so young anymore)…me. It was so good to have her here. I dragged her all over this country. We took a bus, a public taxi (called a kombi), an airplane, a lift from someone who was a friend of a friend, rented a car, walked, took the gautrain (like a subway) and even hitchhiked (sorry, mom, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone but, really, everyone needs to hitchhike in their lifetime)? 

She got to see my village, meet some of my amazing South African friends and spend some time with my host family. The kids in my community loved her up just like they do me. Holding onto her hands and treating her like a celebrity. I’m sure it was a bit overwhelming (because it definitely has been for me at times).  She even got to teach (well, it was kind of teaching?) at the primary school. 

We also visited Kruger Park where she was like the “giraffe whisperer.” I've never seen so many giraffes at once. It was insane (they are her favorite animal though so I guess it was meant to be)? The Indian Ocean was beautiful and we even spotted some Southern Right whales (not her favourite part of her trip due to a little sea sickness) but even then it was still so wonderful to have her here with me.  Even if we were just hanging out watching TV (yes, I got to watch TV which was a perk of the vacation for me along with taking long showers and washing my clothes...in a washing machine)!!  

I must say, though, that I was a bit?  Out of sorts? I was talking about this phenomenon with a couple of volunteers after she left (I cried and cried as she was getting on the plane). I was sharing this feeling with other volunteers about how wonderful it was to have my mom here but it was also a bit strange. Like I didn’t always know how to act?  Luckily, I wasn’t crazy. At least they all said they felt the same way when they had their families come to visit. Having your family here is amazing but I think we’ve all come to be so independent and self-sufficient that sometimes it’s strange to have someone from home here? Also, as a volunteer, you have all of this time to try to get used to another culture and our families don't get that time.  They are just immersed in this strange world of ours?   

So, mom, I loved every minute of your visit and if I wasn’t myself completely myself just know that I am the same person with just a little bit of Africa in my heart. :)  I love and miss you.  Already.  And it's only been 4 days since you left.  Oh, and I'm working on putting up some of the pictures.  Keep checking back! 

Babies!

My friend had a baby last week. I have been waiting for her to have this baby for months (which is kind of how it works, I suppose)? She is probably one of my closest friends here and I am happy to introduce you to Reuben Motsatsi…is he not the cutest (but notice how he is crying when I am holding him but not when his mom is holding him)? 

A few interesting facts you might want to know:

Reuben’s father will not see him until he turns 3 months old (it’s not permitted) – he will only get to see pictures of little Reuben.

Reuben’s grandmother (on his father’s side) went to the hospital and selected his name (even though his father wasn’t allowed to be there or have any input into what his name would be).

Reuben’s mother and father can’t see each other (they can’t even be in the same room) until Reuben is 3 months old. And it will be another 6 months before they can…well, you know.

Reuben and his mom aren’t permitted to attend their church until after he is 3 months old.

And there are lots of other rules that I didn’t really understand (or couldn’t translate that well) - some of them are cultural and some of them have to do with the religious beliefs of the family. 

But, other than that, he’s perfectly happy and healthy and as cute as can be. I’ve even offered to take him back to America with me. Unfortunately they didn't agree to this...so, I'll just take lots of pictures. 

For Bob.

I can't be there to celebrate the life and mourn the passing of my friend, Bob, but I wanted him to know I am thinking of him today. And always. I haven't quite reconciled the fact that he won't be there when I get back - I have so many questions I need answered, advice that he was supposed to give me, discussions that we were supposed to have, experiences that I wanted to tell him about. You see, I thought of Bob as my guru. My teacher, advisor, and counselor of sorts (although I was the one who was supposed to be teaching him some yoga and meditation and what a guru is)? But, you don't really get to pick your guru - they just show up one day.

I love you and will miss you. Namaste, my friend and guru.

A Beautiful Mess.

I believe that I have mentioned I am helping to create a library at the primary school where I help out. Well, let me explain the reality. We started with a room filled with junk. And a whole lot of books. The principal asked me to survey the situation and see if I could “create a library” out of the mess. So, for the past several months, I have been sorting through massive amounts of junk which has been a task that I don’t wish to do ever, ever do again. There were files from the 1980s, old socks (don’t ask), bills, copies of registers, scary spiders, and massive amounts of dirt and dust. And the problem? The staff/teachers don’t want to get rid of anything? I will ask, “Oh, I found these old empty registers from 1993. I can throw them away, correct?” “No, no. We don’t use them but go ahead and keep them. We might need them someday.” I have almost started crying on several occasions. Don't they understand this stuff needs to be THROWN AWAY?!  But my biggest challenge? Waiting for shelves to arrive (remember African time)? The principal and I talked about these shelves and he made it sound so easy…I should have known. After asking him every day for several weeks, I finally just stopped asking.

Shelves!

But, amazingly, like everything in Africa, one day out of the blue, the shelves arrived!? It was magical and there was no warning but there they were…a bit out of sorts (meaning not exactly like we had discussed) but I have stopped being too picky. I’ll take what I can get. And, now I have been busy putting these piles and piles of books into some sort of order (along with the last remnants of the crap I can't seem to get anyone to agree to throw away).

I am not finished (even though all the teachers keep coming by and saying it looks beautiful so imagine what it looked like pre-cleaning) but will be glad when the hard labor is over and we can actually start letting some of the learners use the books!?  And if you are interested in making a book donation (?!) just give me a call.  I would love to have more books! 





Notice the remnants of "crap" (lawnmower)



Embracing my work



 



Don't forget.

What happened to my yoga practice?!  So I must confess that it started getting increasingly difficult to stay motivated to pratice alone.  I mean, it's okay once in a while but every day? Or, I would find a spider on the floor and become distracted. You know, all the typical excuses. So, for the past few months I have just kind of stopped practicing.

But I’ve missed it. So this weekend, I stepped back on my mat. My body was tight but my mind was still. It felt really good. I blocked out the noise outside my room and just breathed. And I reminded myself that wherever you go, there you are.

And I am in Africa.  Which is pretty amazing (as shown by some of my recent encounters).

The reality.

The reality of day to day life in the village can be a bit? Boring? Socially Isolating? Depressing? I have been having a hard time lately for some reason.  I am actually quite busy with work projects – teaching at the school, helping to set-up a school library, working at the centers, my internship program, this building project, training for the staff and volunteers…anyway, I have enough going on at work. But, the reality of my “social life” is that, well, it doesn’t really exist. After I finish with work, I go home and am alone. Okay, okay, I do hang out with the kids who stop by to visit or my 16 year old host sister or my host father but the idea of “friends” in the village is a bit cloudy. Beyond a few friendly one-liners (and everyone is generally very friendly) the deep, meaningful conversations are quite limited. I mean how many times can I talk about the cost of airplane tickets to America or if I know Beyonce with someone? And my Sepedi still can’t get me the surface stuff?! Plus, when the sun goes down, it's time to go inside (people don't typically linger outside after dark). 

In the beginning of my service, all of this alone/quiet time was quite nice. Coming from a world of being busy all of the time, it was wonderful to just have some time and space to be alone. But now?! I sure am looking forward to going out to a movie or getting a coffee with a few friends everyone once in a while. 

But just remind me to read this when I’m complaining about a busy social life again one day in my unknown future…the grass is always greener, right?

Yes, I am.

It's been a while since I've said this…but I’m tired.  I just finished another week with an amazing group of girls and I need a vacation.  From being a volunteer.  Just for a little bit. 

I just had 17 girls (all in grade 11) visit the community as part of a weeklong social awareness project which a school called Roedean puts together in partnership with my project, Phedisang. The girls all live in Johannesburg and go to Roedean which is a private, all girls school so to come to a rural community with long drops (pit toilets as we call them here) and no running water was a bit of a shock. With the help of another Peace Corps volunteer (thank you, Megan!) the girls all survived the week.  As I mentioned in my last blog, I was here last year when the group of girls from Roedean came but, this year, it felt particularly busy. We visited the primary school where I have also been volunteering and the girls helped in the classes, presented a drama and dance, planted trees and picked up trash with the learners. We stopped by a local bakery, Taposa, and the girls decorated some enormous cakes (and we proceeded to help eat one)!  We hiked up the mountain on a particularly cool morning to eat sweet potatoes and sugar cane with an amazing family living in the hills (I have a picture of Mr. Malepe’s pass book which blacks used to have to carry anytime they left their homes - they were arrested if they didn’t have their pass book). We had dinner at my host father’s house where the girls sang beautifully for Piet. Then, there was the Women’s Day March which was organized by the Phedisang Leaders and Roedean Girls. Oh, and while I don’t have any pictures (I was too enthralled in the moment to take pictures) but we also visited a sangoma who told us about living underwater with a snake – it was an exceptionally busy and eye-opening week for so many reasons!


So that’s why I’m telling you…I’m tired. But maybe I am just getting old?  I do have a few more gray hairs since I’ve been in Africa.  Yet, there is no time.  I am now preparing for my meeting on Saturday with my Phedisang Interns...

But I must send my love to the girls from Roedean. You were all AMAZING and it was a wonderful week (and make sure to look at some of the pictures I posted as well as their updated blog journal from this year's week)! 



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