So here we are, three months in-country and one month at site. Only 24 months left to go…24…
I heard there is some worldwide Peace Corps graph that shows enthusiasm over period of service and that one of the lowest points is the period 3-4 months. I guess this would be the stage I am currently in. Unfortunately, I am unsure as to what it is that I will actual do in my office. Originally the DAC volunteers came in to help setup the offices and get them running, but now that they are staffed and been running for 6 years, it is a little unclear as to what to do. The one area that I have noticed a need is getting all data uploaded onto a computer so that we may then chart trends and USE the data to effectively plan. Unfortunately, no one seems too excited about this prospect.
I also need to get out of the office more. I am thinking that I will propose one day a week for me out of the office where I can go around and visit with the various NGOs in an informal catchup. This will help paint a clearer picture of what is going on in my village while at the same time providing a chance escape the cold, fluorescent tomb that is my office!
I had a conversation with a good friend from graduate school once about expectations for the Peace Corps. I lauded that I had absolutely none, circumstances would arise and I would adjust my course accordingly – prepared for anything. He chided that off as foolish, that everyone has expectations, but I stuck to my guns. I think I am now coming to an understanding of the expectations I had. Basically, that I wouldn’t be sitting in an office, dressed in a suit 5 days a week from 7:30-4:30…I had the expectation that this would not be my life in Peace Corps…wrong!
All is not bad though…we are soon to be coming out of winter, which will be a nice reprieve as it has been colder than a mother fracker(I’m on a BSG kick right now) the past month. I also have In-Service Training in a month which will be a nice 10 day break to reconnect with the other volunteers and fervently discuss the trials and successes of the Peace Corps program.
There are also many other things to look forward to. There is a big election in October which, based on whisperings, is going to be a big deal. Apparently, however, people are not allowed to speak out against the very strong, centralized government, a right I hold dear to my little American heart. It seems that the country is starting to approach some apprehention about the future as the market for diamonds declines and programs rapidly run over-budget. Whatever the outcome of the election, I just hope the leaders can move forward to getting Botswana less reliant on foreign imports and developing strong Batswana-run small businesses.
(I hope that last paragraph was bland enough. It is so hard to speak my mind on this blog and still remain totally PC.)
In November, the illustrious Mama Marr is rumored to be making a stop in Cape Town, which will be awesome. Then in December there is Christmas vacation, which should be a great chance to explore more of the country. By that time, too, I should have a clear understanding of what can be done in my office and community and have days which are a bit more filled than they are now. I also have to start working on completing my degree at some point!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Finally a New Post
So it has been awhile since my last entry! There is good reason. For the last two months I have been in Training with very limited access to email. Whenever I did get a chance to logon I only had enough time to quickly respond to emails and update the ever important facebook status. Anyhoo, let’s get this started!
The Politically Correct Entry on Peace Corps Training:
Peace Corps training is amazing…just kidding. People say that it is the toughest and most arduous task before an incoming volunteer. For anywhere from 8-12 weeks you live with a host family, attend 4 hours of language training followed by sessions pertinent to your placement. In my case, this training was on development and HIV/AIDS…exactly what I have been studying in school for 6 years (college and graduate). As some trainees have no schooling in either development or HIV/AIDS, the training is at a very basic level…which led to me being extremely bored in certain hours. With saying this, it is important to note, however, that it is always good to get a refresher in fundamentals.
My host family was amazing. They were an incredibly gracious family who opened their home and their hearts to me. I would, however, like to recount some of the moments that were a bit comical and lessons learned!
1. American’s do not know how to do anything!
a. The first day I went to wash my clothes my host sister told me that I was doing it entirely incorrectly. My method of handwashing clothes is to put the soap on the garment and then rub the dirty area between my knuckles. After chuckling at my ignorance she said that “NO! You must do it like this!” This led to her doing, what I initially thought was the exact same thing. Upon, further observation however I noticed that she used her knuckles on one hand and wrist of the other hand. “Is this not accomplishing the same thing?” I said to her…”No, no…you must do it like this.”
b. Cooking…I made chips one day (French fries to us Yanks). Simply heated the oil and threw in some cut up potato. I like my fries super crispy and delicious… My host sister found this to be totally inappropriate and decreed that I was a lazy cook! We battled back and forth a bit with me saying that I was cooking them the American way and, afterall, Americans INVENTED French fries, so we sure as heck knew how to cook them! Upon finishing, I tested the perfection of my creation and then had my host brother try some. He loved them! One point for me!
2. Fun With Pit Latrines!
a. We had a super awesome pit latrine. It was clean, not smelly and all around pretty great. I had no problem visiting the throne for a few minutes to get down to business. One day, however, I arrived home a bit late as it was getting dark out. Having to use the facilities, I retired to the building in the corner of the yard. “Reading” a magazine, doing my thing, I was immediately confronted with a terrible pain in that one special region! Thinking that I had just scratched myself on the rock I looked down to see…ants…everywhere. For some reason, and it was the only day I ever saw them, the ants had decided to invade the latrine and ME! I jumped up screaming and frantically slapping myself trying to get rid of them! Terrible news….
3. Botswana Gets Cold!!!
a. People had told me…it will be cold…I did not believe them. I did live in the Northeast for many years afterall….that being said…I AM CURRENTLY FREEZING and have been for the past three weeks!!!
And Now for Something Completely Different:
The other volunteers in my cohort are amazing. Botswana is an interesting Peace Corps program in that it is slightly different than any of the others. As the program was asked to return to Botswana to solely focus on HIV/AIDS, many of the volunteers have tremendous experience working in the field. Almost everyone has at least a master’s degree with a doctor, nurses and a lawyer thrown in for good measure. They are all awesome people and I feel I have made life long friends in just the two short months we have been together!
Some Other Stories From Training:
Around the third week of training we left our training village and went all over the country to shadow different volunteers. The volunteer I shadowed lived in a town called Bobonong in the eastern part of the country. It was great to get out and chill with volunteers currently serving. We ended up going to a woman’s ranch in the Tuli Block. The volunteer is trying to work with her to set up workshops around HIV/AIDS when she hosts orphans for a two week camp at the ranch. She is an American woman who lives 6 months of the year in this very isolated section of bush…and who is incredibly interesting! We ate kudu, wildabeast and impala which were all DELICIOUS!
Site Placement was a very nerve racking day. We had received a list of possible sites the week before and had all made little tallies in our head of our top choices – even if we outwardly said we didn’t care! This was afterall, where we would be living for two years of our lives! We arrived to find little numbers under our chairs. These numbers were the order we would go up and receive our placement. Upon calling my number, I went up to a table filled with cookies baked by our country director. In the bag with the cookie was a quote (mine: “Do not let great ambition overshadow small accomplishments”) and a number that corresponded to a town on a big map. I first looked at the one place I did not want to go….not my number “phew!” Then I looked at the place I really wanted to go…”no number? Odd…” Finally, looking south I found my town….Kanye! It had not even been on the list previously, but from what I heard it was a pretty chill place. I was happy, especially since I ended up being close to some trainees that I have grown close with.
Okay, enough for now…Now that I am in the office, I have regular access to internet so I should be able to update more regularly.
The Politically Correct Entry on Peace Corps Training:
Peace Corps training is amazing…just kidding. People say that it is the toughest and most arduous task before an incoming volunteer. For anywhere from 8-12 weeks you live with a host family, attend 4 hours of language training followed by sessions pertinent to your placement. In my case, this training was on development and HIV/AIDS…exactly what I have been studying in school for 6 years (college and graduate). As some trainees have no schooling in either development or HIV/AIDS, the training is at a very basic level…which led to me being extremely bored in certain hours. With saying this, it is important to note, however, that it is always good to get a refresher in fundamentals.
My host family was amazing. They were an incredibly gracious family who opened their home and their hearts to me. I would, however, like to recount some of the moments that were a bit comical and lessons learned!
1. American’s do not know how to do anything!
a. The first day I went to wash my clothes my host sister told me that I was doing it entirely incorrectly. My method of handwashing clothes is to put the soap on the garment and then rub the dirty area between my knuckles. After chuckling at my ignorance she said that “NO! You must do it like this!” This led to her doing, what I initially thought was the exact same thing. Upon, further observation however I noticed that she used her knuckles on one hand and wrist of the other hand. “Is this not accomplishing the same thing?” I said to her…”No, no…you must do it like this.”
b. Cooking…I made chips one day (French fries to us Yanks). Simply heated the oil and threw in some cut up potato. I like my fries super crispy and delicious… My host sister found this to be totally inappropriate and decreed that I was a lazy cook! We battled back and forth a bit with me saying that I was cooking them the American way and, afterall, Americans INVENTED French fries, so we sure as heck knew how to cook them! Upon finishing, I tested the perfection of my creation and then had my host brother try some. He loved them! One point for me!
2. Fun With Pit Latrines!
a. We had a super awesome pit latrine. It was clean, not smelly and all around pretty great. I had no problem visiting the throne for a few minutes to get down to business. One day, however, I arrived home a bit late as it was getting dark out. Having to use the facilities, I retired to the building in the corner of the yard. “Reading” a magazine, doing my thing, I was immediately confronted with a terrible pain in that one special region! Thinking that I had just scratched myself on the rock I looked down to see…ants…everywhere. For some reason, and it was the only day I ever saw them, the ants had decided to invade the latrine and ME! I jumped up screaming and frantically slapping myself trying to get rid of them! Terrible news….
3. Botswana Gets Cold!!!
a. People had told me…it will be cold…I did not believe them. I did live in the Northeast for many years afterall….that being said…I AM CURRENTLY FREEZING and have been for the past three weeks!!!
And Now for Something Completely Different:
The other volunteers in my cohort are amazing. Botswana is an interesting Peace Corps program in that it is slightly different than any of the others. As the program was asked to return to Botswana to solely focus on HIV/AIDS, many of the volunteers have tremendous experience working in the field. Almost everyone has at least a master’s degree with a doctor, nurses and a lawyer thrown in for good measure. They are all awesome people and I feel I have made life long friends in just the two short months we have been together!
Some Other Stories From Training:
Around the third week of training we left our training village and went all over the country to shadow different volunteers. The volunteer I shadowed lived in a town called Bobonong in the eastern part of the country. It was great to get out and chill with volunteers currently serving. We ended up going to a woman’s ranch in the Tuli Block. The volunteer is trying to work with her to set up workshops around HIV/AIDS when she hosts orphans for a two week camp at the ranch. She is an American woman who lives 6 months of the year in this very isolated section of bush…and who is incredibly interesting! We ate kudu, wildabeast and impala which were all DELICIOUS!
Site Placement was a very nerve racking day. We had received a list of possible sites the week before and had all made little tallies in our head of our top choices – even if we outwardly said we didn’t care! This was afterall, where we would be living for two years of our lives! We arrived to find little numbers under our chairs. These numbers were the order we would go up and receive our placement. Upon calling my number, I went up to a table filled with cookies baked by our country director. In the bag with the cookie was a quote (mine: “Do not let great ambition overshadow small accomplishments”) and a number that corresponded to a town on a big map. I first looked at the one place I did not want to go….not my number “phew!” Then I looked at the place I really wanted to go…”no number? Odd…” Finally, looking south I found my town….Kanye! It had not even been on the list previously, but from what I heard it was a pretty chill place. I was happy, especially since I ended up being close to some trainees that I have grown close with.
Okay, enough for now…Now that I am in the office, I have regular access to internet so I should be able to update more regularly.
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