With all the work I've been doing in the library lately, I've become quite friendly with all the curious children at the school. It's mostly standard 7's who come in to actually help me clean, but there are always at least 10 or 20 standard 2's and 3's who run in and out of the library, laughing at me or watching me through the windows. Just last week, they've started to come "check me" at my house (to be "checked" is a Botswana term, meaning when someone comes to visit you). They bang on my door relentlessly until I open it, and try to explain that during school hours they can't come to see me, they have to stay in their classrooms. Of course they have no idea what I'm saying, so they just giggle and ask to see my pictures. Here are a few of the regulars:

A week or two ago I had two girls, Shady and Onnie, come check me who I had never met before. They just finished Form 5 in Kang, and are about to go to University this coming August but are living in Motokwe until then. Apparently there's a rumor going around the village that I bake a mean chocolate cake (which is true), so they wanted me to teach them how to bake. They are the closest people to my age that I've met so far in Motokwe, and I'm really excited to hang out with them until they have to leave. Thanks to all the great work they did with their PACT club at Senior Secondary School, they are the ideal role models to come in and talk to the PACT club at Motokwe Primary about the importance of this Life Skills curriculum. I'm already anxious to get them in for some activities and inspirational talks with the kids. They took me to their homes last week to show off their amazing, lush gardens. I had no idea you could grow so many different vegetables in all this sand, so I'm excited to get home and let them help me start my own garden!

Look at that little baby watermelon!On Friday, I went to Caitlin's village, Dutlwe, to help her do some health outreach with the clinic there. We started off by playing a game called Lions and Elephants to help the villagers understand and conceptualize how HIV affects the human body. It starts by inviting one person to be the baby elephant -- this represents the human body. Then you invite 4 or 5 people to be the adult elephants -- this represents the human immune system -- and they form a circle of protection around the baby elephant. Then you invite 5 or 6 people go be the lions -- this represents the diseases that can harm the human body. The lions stand in a circle around the adult elephants and, holding balls of paper, attempt to throw them at the baby elephant and hit it. The idea is that the adult elephants will protect the baby so that ideally, no diseases hit the body. The people at the clinic LOVED this game!

We went on to pull in more people to represent HIV and how it affects the immune system's ability to take care of the body, and then to represent ARV's and how they help curb the impact of HIV. It was a lot of fun and I hope they got the message, despite our sad attempts at Setswana (thank goodness for the translator we had). After that we did a few condom demonstrations for the group to explain how to properly use one.

Then we played a game like Hot Potato, where we blew up condoms (to demonstrate how durable they are) and folded up small pieces of paper with questions on them, and put them inside the condom. We sang a song in Setswana as we passed it around the circle, and whoever was holding it when the song ended had to try to break open the condom and answer the question. The group was mostly girls, and there was a lot of laughter but they really knew their condom facts!

And then to cap the day off, we had a condom water balloon toss! This went over really well, and it's a great activity to demonstrate how hard it is to break a condom. They were dropped all over the ground with the rocks and sand, and lasted through a few rounds.

We ended our day around lunch time and headed back to Caitlin's house to relax, but first stopped off at her post office. It's super fancy and brand new, can't you tell?

A fellow Peace Corps volunteer named Maggie recently had her 50th birthday and decided to throw a party. She invited all of us ‘oldies’ to help. At 10am, the children started to arrive, and by the time they had all arrived, there were more than 60 there. Maggie had borrowed chairs, and these children, between the ages of 1 and 12, all sat decorously on those chairs as they arrived. Then the inflatable jumping castle arrived, courtesy of one of Maggie’s friends in the village, and the kids started to behave more like American kids, jumping, giggling, and clowning. We divided them into rough age groups, so that the younger ones were together, and then the older ones. Maggie had water balloons for those who weren’t jumping, and other games as well. These kids are remarkably well behaved. Can you imagine 60 American kids at your house?She had a teen-age function after the young ones left, and then an adult party in the evening. She has my undying admiration for her organization! All went quite well until the end. Maggie had invited another young friend of hers to be a disk jockey for the teens and adults. He arrived with huge speakers and a collection of music, and also with a couple of his cousins – a common phenomenon here. At the end of the party, Maggie found her computer had been stolen. She had put it in the closet in her bedroom and kept the house locked, but had unlocked it for clean-up, after everyone except the helpers, including the disk jockey and cousins, had gone home. On discovering the theft, she went immediately to the police department, at about 11:30pm. There she found two police officers. She told her story, and they began to fill out a report, except none of the pens lying on the desk would work. One of the police officers offered to go home for a pen, except he has no driver’s license. So Maggie’s friend, the disk jockey, drove him home in the police car. Meanwhile the other officer found a red pen and wrote Maggie’s report in English. Maggie wasn’t sure she (the officer) quite captured the facts, but the officer said it must be thus. At the end, the officer said that Maggie must return the next day because reports can’t be official if they are written in red pen – it must be blue or black. Gritting her teeth, Maggie agreed to return in the morning. She did so, found some new officers on duty, pens that worked, and so she repeated the story and the officer wrote, again in English. In the meantime, Maggie had found out that one of the cousins of the disk jockey was a known thief and on probation. She suggested that they go immediately to his house and question him. No, said the officers, the report must go to Lobatse HQ and be approved before they could do so. Maggie and I went back that evening to see what the word was from Lobatse, and of course the report had not yet been sent. Monday morning I left, but got a text message from Maggie that she was sitting in the police station alongside the suspect, who was in handcuffs. But he denied all and was released. There was never a search of his place. Maggie has publicly offered a reward for return of the computer, but so far no luck. Theft is the most common crime in Botswana. Even with that, it was a great party, and a great way to introduce kids here to the way Americans celebrate their birthday.

In other news, the Peace Corps held a regional meeting last weekend, and all the volunteers from this area went. I was able to meet several of the group that arrived last September, who work primarily in the schools here. They are a very nice group of people, with a very nice mutual support feeling regardless of age. Our group doesn’t have quite that feeling of oneness, although everyone is quite nice to me. I am now the oldest in the group, because the three who were older than me have all gone home early for a variety of reasons. So perhaps age has its compensations. It was very interesting, however, to hear the level of frustration in the following group, over logistics, lack of organization, and the pace of trying to get things done here. It is the same as we experienced, but those of us in my group looked at each other and realized that we no longer feel those frustrations. It has been said that at around 11 months of service, things being to ‘click’ and we feel different. The same frustrating things are still present, but we now seem to be able to sail through, or over, them. So it takes about a year to become a comfortable Peace Corps volunteer, then you have one more year to really shine, and then it’s time to go home. It’s a common phenomenon all over the world, I’m told.

Your teeth and gums age along with the rest of you, and before I left the States I was told by a number of dental professionals to be sure to get my teeth cleaned every three months, as I did at home. The Peace Corps pays for only one cleaning, at mid-service. So I asked the PC for the name of a reputable dentist. They gave me one in Gaborone. Things being as they are here, I did not get it arranged to see the dentist for a cleaning until last month. I went to Gaborone, and it was pouring rain. I literally waded through the parking lot to get to their office. When I asked the guard at the gate where the dental office was, she waved vaguely up the stairs. After going up and searching both upper floors I found the office on the first floor, just down from the gate guard. My appointment was for 10am, and I arrived about 9:55am. I filled out paperwork, and sat in their waiting room. I did find an interesting reference in one of the magazines, that I will describe later. At 10:30, I was called into the treatment room. I had a quick exam, and then a cleaning, that consisted of use of the ultrasound scaler and then a polish with the gritty stuff. A rinse, and I was done. I walked back into the reception area at 10:40, and then paid 1,136 pula – which is $157 American. All for ten minutes work. I think that beats even American dental prices. I don’t plan to go back. The reference in the waiting room. One of the African magazines at the dental office had a reference to “The Size of Africa” and a most interesting visual. Africa is as big as the United States, including Alaska, China, India, and a good chunk of Europe combined. If it ever develops the rest of the continent as thoroughly as the oil countries, it will be formidable indeed!

It’s already getting to the end of  February.  To me, that means a few things.   First it means that we will have been in Africa for more than 5 months.   WOW.  It seems like just a month ago that we arrived here at our sites.  Time is really flying by fast, as we … Continue reading »

So I have a few friends in the US who hitch hike regularly. Okay, two friends, both of them boys. I’ve always wanted to try it, but I’ve been torn, because I’ve also always been deathly afraid of serial killers and dying. In the US hitch hiking is mostly illegal and probably dangerous (or at least that’s what the nightly news has led us to believe). In Botswana, hitching is a regular thing. In fact it’s the only way to get to my village. My village is only accessed by a dirt road that is also used for herding cattle. So to go anywhere I have to wait for somebody to pick me up, usually hang out in the back of their truck, and then get to the main highway (only 17km and about 30 minutes away) where I can get on a proper bus. Even though this is common, and everyone does it, I still can’t get the fear of psycho killers out of my head when I do this. Usually some guy is hanging out in the back of the truck with me, and will start asking me out, and I immediately start talking about my amazingly strong American boyfriend in the army who is coming to visit next week. It’s the same conversation every time. I even got my Setswana tutor to teach me how to say, “My boyfriend is a soldier. He is very strong.” So although I probably will go back to traveling only by public transportation when I get back to the US, at least Botswana has shown me what hitch hiking is like!

There is a realization that my twoyears as a Peace Corps Volunteer is gonna be more about a dog, and avillage, rather than about HIV, and Life Skills. Needless to say,Keoki and the village are getting under my skin, but in ways that Ican't comprehend, nor am I gonna question yet. What I do know isthat more and more, waves of deep peacefulness are streaming throughme, and as much as that has been a foreign feeling in the past fewyears, I'm beginning to find it nourishing. Sitting on my porch,watching Keoki lying happily and proudly after herding cows out ofthe yard, he is blending into the red African dirt as dusk descendsupon us. It's a sight I soon won't forget....and then night timecomes. Sometimes I hate the night here, it's filled with bugs,strange noises, people out in the wee hours, and I worry that someonecan just take or harm Keoki, or try to scare me. This isn't alwaysthe case obviously, but on this particular night, I didn't knowwhether to laugh or cry, so I did neither---instead I just froze. Somuch for the wave of peacefulness that was just felt a few hours ago!

The noises started, Keoki is barkinghis head off, cows are mooing, donkeys honking, bats are screachingand flying into my window, owls are doing their thing, the strangebirds that habitat my roof are screaming, bugs are buzzing, and nowevery dog in the vicinity is barking. If I were to record thesounds, it would not make the top ten of meditation CD's.

I get up for one second, but all I seeare stars, lots of them lighting up the sky, and for a moment, thiscalms me. Quickly though, back to bed because now peoples voices arearound and that's what I hate most of all—especially when thefootsteps are outside my window. My heart starts to beat hard andfast, I hear Keoki growling and barking right outside my bedroomwindow, and all of a sudden, I hear this horrible sound from him andthen silence. This is when I completely stiffen up...I'm too scaredto peak outside, so I just start talking to the gods. Then, I swear,I hear the roar of a lion. I know there is no wildlife like that inthese parts, but what if a lion decided to take a vacation toMmathethe to see what life is like here....you just never know! After all, my fellow PCV's voted me the most likely to adopt a lion! Soon after my mind has deceived me, Keoki is barking again, and I'mrelieved he wasn't eaten by the visiting imaginary lion. Thesymphony of noises are getting louder though, and instead of enjoyingthe music, I'm getting more and more scared. At least on safari, youexpect these noises, but not in a quiet, rural village. All of asudden, the noises come inside, and I hear this swishing, russlingtype of noise right next to my bed. I totally freeze now... I justknow it's a black mamba...I have to pee...I can't move...I want tocall a friend at 2am now, but my phone is on my dresser...I tuck mymosquito net around me, and just start to pray that morning comesfast and I don't pee in my bed, or get killed by an African snake.

Are we having fun yet? Can meditationhelp in moments like these? Why can't I just enjoy the peace that wasgiven to me earlier? I lay there, stiff as a board, just waiting forthe roosters to start crowing. At some point though, the noisesstop, exept for the strange noise next to my bed, and I fall asleepfor a few hours. Groggy, and glad I made it through the night, Ipeak out of my mosquito net to find that it wasn't a black mambaafterall, but a two and half inch black ugly something lying on it'sback with it's legs fighting to roll over. Ok, so I jumped to theworst possible scenerio, but with all the goings on during the night,it seemed fitting. After getting rid of the bug, I slowly open theback door to find Keoki, happily wagging his tail, and wondering whenon earth he's gonna be served breakfast.

Man, what a crazy night! Was I beingtested on how to stay calm in the midst of chaos, or was it just oneof those things that stirs you into fear and uncertainty and you justhave to wait it out? I don't have the answers for this either, butfor now, my thoughts are that I would rather have a lion outside inthe village vs. a black mamba next to my bed. This is Africa!

With the Maun regional meeting being held last weekend, a lot of new ideas came to the forefront of my mind. Collaboration and teamwork have always been things of value to me in the past, but there’s a certain amount to gain from figuring things out on my own in this experience. Among Volunteers here [...]

I am still alive and kicking, but at a much slower pace without my laptop. Everyone asks me if it has been found yet and seem shocked when I say no. Do they really think this guy who has a record for petty theft is going to suddenly decide to say he took it and give it back? He will end up doing jail time, so he is staying quiet. And if someone else managed to sneak in and take it, they have gotten off scot free. The only hope is that this kid falls on his head and has remorse knocked into him and he brings it back. Not holding my breath on that one.

So now, the good news is, I don’t do much work at home anymore. A less good news part is I also don’t watch movies, listen to music other than with my MP3 or do much writing, other than the scrawls I can’t even read. The music thing is sometimes hard to handle when I have clothes on without pockets, or when I want to listen to music while bathing and without any clothes on at all, pocketed or otherwise. If I want to sing along and have the music drown me out so my neighbours don’t thing I am killing an animal in my house, well, I can’t because I don’t have speakers playing anything loud enough to drown me out.

Luckily, my family just sent me 13 skeins of yarn to knit 13 cute little scarves, and I haven’t read all the books in my house, let alone the PC office, and the kids still want to hang out even though the computer is gone. (This helps reassure me they didn’t take it, or they would be hanging out with it and not me, for sure.)I have more time to plan and scheme for my many upcoming trips. From last June until now, I haven’t done any travelling in Africa due to my heavy workload. Except home for my Dad’s funeral and Germany for 10 days, I have only seen the Gaborone and Johannesburg airports.

Now, while I am still very busy, I committed to two things for the remainder of my service, in addition to my current projects. One was to not carry my laptop to work each day (problem solved!) and the second was to travel more and visit other volunteers in Botswana and surrounding countries.

I have a trip scheduled for Cape Town for the South African International Jazz Festival. Randomly enough, the daughter of Gordy and Joan Camphill lives there, and they will be visiting her the same time I am in town, so I might get to see them there. (Note to mom – maybe they can bring me something...lol) I have another trip scheduled to the other side of South Africa again in June for a Rotary convention in the Drakenburg mountain area. Since that will be a winter time trip, we will see snow and freeze our buttocks. Yippee. I even have a trip scheduled home to go to my BFF’s wedding in late June where I will also get to see as many of my nieces as possible, along with my only nephew on another “cousins” trip. This time, we are doing San Francisco which is one of my favourite places in the whole world! While this doesn’t count as an African trip, I do get to buy a wedding gift from Africa and spend time in the Jo’burg airport again. Oh, and spend ALOT of time in the Dubai airport, which I guess also isn't Africa but it is somewhere I have never been before. (The cheapest route between two points is not a straight line, I can tell you that.)

I hope to travel up north to see the elephant’s and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, though I may end up having to go via the Zambia side if the president of Zimbabwe continues to act in his own presidential way. By then, another winter here will be over and I will be coasting through my last 9 months of service, and may try to fit one more trip in before they lock us down for the last three months. Then, if things go one way I am thinking, I might head to Europe for a Rotary conference in Lisbon and a month or so of studying Spanish in Spain or French in France. Still haven’t decided on which and where.

Or maybe I will sign up for a third year of service. Be still my heart. No, probably not. All the above travelling costs money I am not making, so in reality I would probably have to get a real, paying job to do half of all the stuff I just listed...sigh. So much to do, so little money.

It is nice to have a comparatively open slate or canvas before me even if it is only in my mind. Simply not knowing what I will do after service at this point is refreshing. Maybe when I get closer I will freak out, but now I like the wide open vista. I figure when I finally settle back home, I will be working my remaining buttock off, so I need to do some of these things while I can, right?

So they're a bit delayed, but here are a few photos of the fun we had at our Regional meeting in Molepolole last weekend. Every year around this time, the Peace Corps brings together all the volunteers serving in similar regions of the country to share future projects, current challenges, ideas and support. We get to talk to volunteers who have been here for nearly two years and will be closing their service soon, volunteers who are about a year in and have finally reached that "ah-ha!" moment when things just fall into place (the ever elusive moment that all of us Bots11 can't wait to feel), and volunteers who, like us, just arrived in September and are wadding around like brand new ducks, nervous to really jump in the water.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it a million times in the future, but we have such a phenomenal cast of volunteers in Botswana with all of their skills and backgrounds. It's great to have the opportunity to pick their brains for a weekend! And of course, it's just plain fun...

On another note, I wanted to say thanks to Kristen and Darby for their care packages last week! I never got to post the picture, but all of these supplies will go so far at the school and in my home. THANK YOU!

This post is to all you's out there who read my blog and encourage me

to write-- because write now I really don't feel like writing. In

fact, I really don't feel like doing anything. The past few months

have been a whirlwind of activity, culminating in one hyperintensive

week that included not only a camping vacation, but an overnight

training activity where I had to host 4 local trainers in my house in

New Xade, entertain 400 children, lead a tour of 2 U.S. embassy

officials including the U.S. Ambassador herself (who I think is quite

awesome by the way), and participate in a Peace Corps Training 400 km

away. I finished training with the Peace Corps, came as close to my

home in New Xade as I could get, and have been in a sleepy stupor for

nearly 3 days.

Just so people don't think I've fallen off the face of the planet... I'm going on annual leave this week and will be back in my office March 19 and will have limited internet and phone access until then.

I'll be renting a car and road tripping to Namibia. After studying abroad in Maastricht, next to the Belgian & German borders, and not spending any proper time in either country, I've learned my lesson. Before lock down (after March 12, where Peace Corps Volunteers are not allowed to leave the country, and thus must stay local to close down their projects), I'll be heading to Namibia, which is too close by to pass up.

The first night I drive to Windhoek to have some German Eisbein and good beer. The second day, I go to Sossusvlei to camp at Sesriem, where early the next morning, I'll go hiking along the sand dunes, one of the most remote places on earth. The third day, I'll head to Swakopmund, the town along the west coast of Namibia, where to the north is the skeleton coast, and the south, the national park. There, I'll be enjoying Swakopmund's cold beaches, cold beers, and cold sushi.

After heading back to Maun, I'll be going down to Johannesburg, to fly out to Kilimanjaro International Airport. We spend 1 day/night on the ground to finish up payment and try on hiking gear. The 2nd day, we start the ascent up to Uhuru Peak. After 6 days of hiking and staying in huts, we'll come back to Moshi to spend a night relaxing our sore muscles and sleeping in beds.

After Tanzania, I return to Gaborone, Botswana, where we will have out Close of Service Conference for Peace Corps. Here, we prepare our selves for the last 3 months of service, have a ceremonial lunch with the ambassador celebrating our 2 years of service, spend time with our friends, and take extra time to complete medical exams and produce 3 consecutive stool samples to ensure I am worm and parasite free. If all goes well, I'll be back in Maun March 16. Almost a solid month from now.

Ta ta for now.

Statistics on Income Per capita income is p18,340 (US $3,056) 47% of the population lives below the national poverty line Gini-coefficient is 0.6 Poverty gap ratio is 56.3 Income of the poorest 40% population is 11.7% of the total   Income of the poorest 20% of the population is 4% of total Income of the richest 20% population is 59.3% of total Unemployment is 15.8% Talk about unfair division of health. Talk about the 99%. Also, a lot of the employment is subsistence farming. A lot of people put their position as “herdboy” which means they own a few goats, but still rely on assistance from the government. What will happen when diamond money runs out? God only knows.

Okay, I am really lucky to have been sent to Botswana in the Peace Corps. I’ve heard stories of PCVs being sent to places that have sudden political unrest and can’t leave their houses for fear of having limbs cut off. Botswana is not that kind of country. Botswana gained independence from Britain peacefully in 1966. It then found diamonds, which are state owned, and profits split from the De Beers company which mines them 50/50. That money goes to build schools, hospitals, and roads. Botswana is unlike other African countries in that there has never been a war here, there’s a working government, and it’s a very peaceful place. However, there are different types of problems here. Not everyone really gets the benefits of diamonds. My community doesn’t have a road. Most people don’t have jobs except subsistence farming. Poverty is rampant. There are some pockets of development, and some places that are kind of left behind in that regard. And this is only going to get worse when diamonds, which are 60% of GDP, run out in 2017.

I have been back in the United States for about two weeks. Many friends have asked if it feels strange or if I am experiencing culture shock. On the one hand, I feel like a fish out of water. I feel out of place--alone--like no one else knows how strange it is to be in the US. Being around other currently-serving volunteers is really helpful because they provide a good foil for this feeling. They remind me that people do understand. On the other hand, I am HOME and I feel the comfort from being in my own culture. I don't have to worry that I will offend someone. I know what to say. I know how to act. This is my country. These are my people.

Recognizing these two feelings was comforting. Peace Corps service has changed me. No doubt about it. But this experience has shown me that I can come back to the United States and function well here. I am no longer afraid that I won't be able to live here because of the changes within me. I will be able to find like-minded people. At the same time, I am so very sure that I am not ready to live here yet. I love my life in Botswana and miss it very much. I look forward to returning and finishing out my service.

I wouldn't say I have experienced culture "shock" since being in the US. Going to London in October was definitely helpful in that regard. However, I have noticed things about how I am relating to Americans and life in DC:

#1: The sheer amount of choices is overwhelming. Almost all of the volunteers who come back to DC have a "grocery store moment," in which they get freaked out/anxious/confused by the sheer size of grocery stores. My moment came when looking at all of the choices of peanut butter. Similarly, it happened in CVS when I was picking out fragrance-free lotion. Why do we need so many brands? It baffles me.

#2: I care more about what people are doing, talking about...where they are going. I have had random conversations with strangers on the street, bonding about common observations. I never did that before I went to Peace Corps. My mom, however, has always been that way. People say that we all eventually turn into our parents and that is clearly true for me. My mom attributes these tendencies to her artistic nature. She is inquisitive. Perhaps that is coming out in me as I become more observant. I also generally crave more daily contact with people, something I acquired from being in Botswana. On the flip side, I also value the fact that I don't have to talk with anyone if I don't want to. I can listen to music, walk down the street and no one bothers me.

#3: I forget that I don't have to greet everyone here.

#4: I still bend my knees and do the "other hand on elbow" thing when handing something to someone. Everyone in Botswana--you know what I am talking about on this one.

#5: I try to refrain from converting costs of goods into Botswana Pula. It just depresses me.

#6: I am more aware of wasting things. I don't feel comfortable throwing food away. I think about composting and the amount of trash that we produce. I also cannot keep the water running through a whole shower. I turn it on to rinse but turn it off when lathering up with soap. Thinking of wasting water really bothers me. Again, something I was not conscious of before Peace Corps.

#7: I donate more money than I used to...to beggars, to people on the street soliciting for their causes, etc. It feels stingy and inhumane not to.

#8: I have noticed that Americans are both individually and collectively self absorbed, which is as true as it has ever been. Going along with this, the issues that are considered newsworthy are laughable. The amount of time spent on analyzing politics and candidates is mind-numbing. It all seems so unimportant compared to what is going on in the rest of the world. However, this does not frustrate me like it used to. I have more compassion for Americans and understand them more now than I ever have.

#9: Continuing from the last point, the fact that 50 states can coexist in this system is unbelievable. I am astounded by the intelligence and fortitude of the founders of America. The First Amendment is so impressive. We are so often caught up in complaining that we forget how beautiful it is to have the right to do so.

#10: I am still amazed by how many people have computers/smart phones/ipads etc. Walking by Starbucks is a laptop commercial. I want to simplify my life. If I can use the black and white Nokia brick cell phone from Botswana when I finish my PC service, I will. I don't want people to have email access to me at all times. I want some distance from the world.

#11: I feel MUCH more comfortable in diverse, less-affluent communities. I spoke about this a bit in past posts, but I notice race much more than I did before. And being in an all-white area makes me uncomfortable.

It is nice to be able to step back and look at ourselves and our culture. I am grateful for the gift of time and space to be able to do so.

Every year at this time PC Botswana holds regional meetings. Volunteers who live in the same general region of the country get together mostly to discuss how things are going at site and get to know other volunteers in our region .My regional meeting was in Kanye, which is the village that I had pre-service training in (and where I stayed with my host family when I first arrived in Botswana). It was nice to get to know some of the Bots11 volunteers better because I didn't really know most of them and also to see the volunteers I already knew and don't get to see often. The Bots11 volunteers arrived here about 5 months after my group arrived here so it was also interesting to listen to their perspectives and remember how I felt 5 months ago and reflect on how different that is from how I feel now. I remember the Bots9 volunteers telling my group that around the year mark things just clicked for them, and now that is how I am feeling. It seems strange to now be at this point. It was also interesting to return to the village that I trained in for the first time in about 9 months. I surprised my host family with a visit because my host sisters had been texting me since I first arrived at site to tell me that if I ever was near Kanye that I was welcome to visit. I was a little worried that they wouldn't be home, but when I arrived my youngest host sister was in the yard cooking in the outdoor kitchen and stopped what she was doing and ran over to hug me. She went and got my host mother, who literally hugged me so hard that she picked me up! My other two host sisters unfortunately were not home, but it was really great to see my host mother and youngest host sister ,Bokomoso. It is strange to see both how much can stay the same and how much can change in just 9 months. In many ways, it felt like I had never left my host family when I was visiting with them because I felt very comfortable around them. It actually kind of surprised me just how comfortable it was being there because I had been a little nervous about seeing them for the first time in so long. I found out that Bokomoso is now in Form 4 at Senior Secondary School, which is often very difficult for many students to get to go to here so this is wonderful news. My host mother also knows more English than she knew when I lived with my host family. During homestay, my host mother was always very kind to me, but communication was difficult. We struggled through most conversations with me trying to use setswana, her not knowing any English, and most of the time my host sisters ended up helping with translating. This time I still tried my best to use setswana, but my host mother was using English too! She made some jokes about my setswana not being that much better than it was when I lived with them, and I actually understood her joking, and she understood mine! It was great! I knew that she had been trying to learn some English during the time that I lived in Kanye because she and my host sisters would ask me questions now and then while I asked them questions about setswana, but it was so nice to have a conversation that was more of a balance of both of us trying to use each others' languages rather than us both needing so much translation. I wish I could better describe how I feel here these days. The best way I can describe it is that I've accepted my life here for what it is. This doesn't mean that I agree with everything that happens or that every day feels fulfilling and is all butterflies and rainbows, but I guess what I mean is that I'm happy here despite the frustrations. Things just sort of are what they are, and I feel so much more at ease and comfortable. When people talked about feeling like this before I got to this point, I didn't get it and kind of thought they may have just been saying it would happen for me to make me feel better.To any future volunteers or volunteers who arrived here after me, I swear that now that I am reaching my 11 month in Bots, things really do feel different in a good way.

So I have unintentionally started a kids running group. I decided the other day to start running around the block near my house, so I got all ready, went outside, and was welcomed by half the kids on my block. This is more common than not, to walk outside and find 10 kids watching my every move.

Anyways, I explained to them that I was going for a run and they all decided they wanted to come with. So here I am with a group of children ranging from age 2 to 12 following me like a pack around the block. Turns out they are great motivators since everytime we found ourselves back at my house they said …”again, more gyming!”. Apparently “gyming” and “running” are synonymous here.

I also had a great excuse to take breaks since the 2 year old running with us could never keep up so if we all got to far ahead she would start crying. So every now and then I would stop, for the sake of the 2 year old of course.

I was telling someone at home about this recently and they said “That would never happen in the states”. Parents wouldn’t just let their kids run around near dark all over the block. Interestingly enough, I am pretty sure most parents here didn’t even know where their kids were. Kids seem to have a lot of leeway in Botswana. As long as they are home for dinner and a bath at some point, they spend the rest of the day all over the neighborhood playing with other kids.

I have always been really impressed by kids here. They are content playing in trees or with small toys they find in the dirt. Not that they really know anything different. They are entirely capable of entertaining themselves without the help of Nintendo or TV or other mass produced products that defined my childhood. Another volunteer here recently said in a conversation when discussing this same topic, “My kids are gonna hate me, all they are gonna get from me to play with is a stick and a rock!”

Hanging out with the kids on my block has become something I really look forward to after work everyday and with this new running club, my 2012 resolution to stay in shape will become a reality!

Trash is everywhere here.  People throw it down without the least bit of embarrassment — on the streets, on the sidewalks, along the rocky paths, it is found in fields and stuffed in every crack and crevice. When we first … Continue reading →

They all sat on the seatThat my grandmother ownedBut they all vacated the seatTo find a proper place to sitBecause the seat was not suitable for them to ownFor the real queen was bornMy only sweet loving grandmother

Short as an infant’s shoeQuick as a gun shotStrong as a Mahindra truckFunny as a qualified comedianAlways smiling like a bride on her wedding dayProudly showing her missing teethWith that twinkle in her eyeWhich shines like a diamond

Some people confuse her to be AmericanBut she is a real African queenA queen who most hateBut loves allHer light colour reminds manyOf the Asian princessesEven her greatest enemiesHave turned up to be her best friendsBecause they just can’t resist her beautyHer god given beautyThe only queen in AfricaMy Grandmother!

By Tsaone Garegae, Form 3 Student

[In English club I like to have writing workshops every now and then. Some of the students' work is cute, funny, and/or impressive, so I'm sharing it with you. Keep in mind that English is these students' second, third, or even fourth language. I am posting these exactly as written, including misspellings and other grammar/language mistakes.]

Here it is:  the inaugural post!  I’d like to kick-off this blog, which I’ll be using to chronicle my adventures, successes, failures, embarrassments, and joys in the U.S Peace Corps.  In October 2011, after a grueling application process, I was invited to serve in Botswana as an NGO Capacity Builder working on an HIV/AIDS Capacity [...]

So I realize that even though I have this blog, most of my friends and family have no idea what I actually do here. So here’s a post describing my daily activities! My primary assignment in Peace Corps Botswana is at Mookane clinic, in the village of Mookane, but as far as I can tell it’s up to me to figure out what that means. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you’re really free to choose and fill out your own job description, and this freedom can be really wonderful, but also really overwhelming sometimes. So really I’m supposed to be a community volunteer, working with community members to mobilize people around issues of HIV/AIDS. This is what I’ve carved out for myself so far. In the mornings I help out in the ARV clinic. ARVs (anti-retrovirals) are the life saving treatment for patients living with AIDS, but our clinic is really overwhelmed in their distribution, so I help with that. In the afternoons I’m in the community. I am doing three afterschool clubs. One is an abstinence/peer education/leadership club called PACT (peer approach to counseling by teens) that I’m doing with a guidance and counseling teacher at the Jr. High. Another is a club for HIV positive teens, who have had the virus since birth and are now reaching puberty, which leads to a host of problems concerning self-esteem, dating, and empowerment for health. Another is at the local library for kids, and we just end up playing lots of games, but I’m hoping we can work in some tutoring time for reading and math.  Other projects include a HIV positive womens’ support group that I’m starting with some health educating officers at my clinic, and I really want to start a soccer club using a curriculum called grassroots soccer, which uses soccer coaching drills to teach lessons about HIV. There are also two NGOs in my village, and mostly they want me to find them grants, and I edit their grant applications. As English is not their first language, but all of the applications are in English, I find myself doing a lot of grammar and editing.  So that’s what I do! A lot of it is just running around having people stare at me because I’m white and then ask me for money, and then I say no and try to give them condoms instead. That’s my life in a nutshell! 

The past week has been a crappy week, full of a few ups and many downs. In the emotional rollar coaster that is the Peace Corps experience, I definitely went down Splash Mountain one too many times during the past few days and vomited. Now on the rebound, I can say that I have already learned many, many lessons this week. Here's a summary.Lesson #1: Poverty sucks. No [...]

#1 Lots of Batswana ask if I am a rapper. Back in the states I really don’t put off a rapper vibe. But here all white people are rappers. #2 The Setswana word “mabele” means sorghum porridge and human breasts. … Continue reading →

I am reading the book, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert again. My first encounter with it was during my trip to Sudan in January 2009; I can remember sitting outside my tukul in Narus, sun beating down on my back as I felt so connected to her words and her vagrant wanderings that I couldn't tear myself away from the pages long enough to notice that lunch was being served. I skipped an entire meal (which for me, is a real statement of devotion) to be encapsulated by her notion of God and what meditation and commitment to prayer can do to one’s relationship with Him. It was a very life-changing moment, on many levels, to be sitting in Sudan wondering how God might reveal Himself to me and how it would affect my life. For many years I've struggled with my idea of faith and how I identify with religion… it’s no secret, I've written about this topic over and over again.

So when I picked up Eat, Pray, Love for the second time a few days ago, it was more out of unconscious instinct than desire to experience the story again. I felt like the book calling my name, urging me to read it in this new context but with the same old questions burning in my mind. I am enthralled by the desperate restlessness of a woman on the search, but for what? It would be too simple to say God, because it’s not an external thing… but something within. And that’s precisely how I feel now; I’m looking for an answer to a question that I don’t know how to ask. Looking for something inside of myself that I know exists, I’ve just yet to identify, much less define, it. One quote in particular has resonated with me…“God dwells within you as yourself, exactly the way you are. God isn’t interested in watching you enact some performance of personality in order to comply with some crackpot notion you have about how a spiritual person looks or behaves. We all seem to get this idea that, in order to be sacred, we have to make some massive, dramatic change of character, that we have to renounce our individuality. To know God, you need only to renounce one thing – your sense of division from God. Otherwise, just stay as you were made, within your natural character.”So I guess what I’m trying to figure out is, how do I use these years to mobilize the characteristics that make me who I am, in order to better myself and this world? How do I let God into my life in a way that won’t force me to do a complete overhaul of my personality, but in a way that will calm my mind and give serenity to my soul? Lately I've made some genuine attempts at meditation after I do yoga, but I really struggle with silencing my mind. I try to focus on images or mantras that sound legit enough, but honestly I don’t know much about meditation so I've found that my mind turns, sadly quickly, to a million other ideas and tasks. It’s as if my thoughts are having a feeding frenzy up there, and I can’t just close the door and shut them out. I would love to one day sit for even 10 minutes and focus only on blankness; to be in peace with the nothingness in my mind.

In light of this dream, with Lent approaching, I’ve decided what I will give up. Or rather, what I will take up. I’m going to give meditation a real shot, with full commitment of body and mind to it this time. My friend Caitlin has a book for beginners, so we’ll see how that goes. Maybe by Easter, I’ll have reached that goal of 10 minutes of pure silence.

Life is sweetLife is adorableLife is expectableIn life there are noSecond chancesOnce you die you willNo longer live againYou will die foreverSo once GodGives you a chance to liveTake care of it

By Agnes Leteane, Form 2 Student

[In English club I like to have writing workshops every now and then. Some of the students' work is cute, funny, and/or impressive, so I'm sharing it with you. Keep in mind that English is these students' second, third, or even fourth language. I am posting these exactly as written, including misspellings and other grammar/language mistakes.]

There have been afew project ideas that I've had since the beginning of my service that arefinally happening. It's funny how things work like that here in the PeaceCorps. Part of me wishes these things would have started 6 months or even a year ago, but developmentwork doesn't always work that way and can be a really slow process. RegardlessI have the support for them now and I am excited to see my ideas transpire.

This past Tuesday,Valentine's Day, I had my first WellnessSupport Group Meeting for the Clinic Staff. Machaneng has a high rate ofHIV/AIDS like the rest of the country.This can cause a major strain on workers, especially on the clinic staff. Withthe high rate comes a high rate of patients coming in for treatment. This cancause a lot of stress especially since the clinic is understaffed. This becomeseven worse when a worker gets sick. All of this stress can lead to unhealthycoping mechanisms and unproductivity. A wellness group can help to supportworkers in this area. With my degree in Exercise Science I have some knowledgeon how to cope and deal with stress in healthy ways and I have some resourceson various aspects of healthy life style living. I thought starting up aWellness Support Group, where the staff can learn about healthy life styleliving, healthy outlets to deal with stress and anger, eating well balanced andnutritious meals, and just having a supportive group to blow off some steam ina healthy way would be beneficial to the clinic staff. I also know that notonly is there a huge problem with HIV/AIDS in Machaneng but there is also aproblem with obesity, high blood pressure, hypertension, and diabetes. Thesediseases become worse when coupled with HIV/AIDS. If some leaders in the community learned moreabout these other diseases and how to counteract or reduce their risk ofgetting them the village of Machaneng could become a healthier community. Icame up with idea back when I first came here and even tried to have a couplemeetings but just didn't really have the support to keep it going. Fast-forwardto now, I have a new counterpart who has an interest in exercise and wellnesswhich allows this idea to become a reality. The first meeting went prettysmoothly. Only a couple people showed up from the clinic staff, but that isbetter than none. We did an icebreaker and then talked about what wellness isand the purpose of a wellness support group. I had them fill out a survey onthe various aspects of wellness and their lifestyle habits. I hope after we'vehad some meetings I can have them refill out the surveys to see if their scoreshave improved or changed. We also discussed what would happen in futuremeetings and how this is their group so in order for it to be meaningful andeffective they have to take ownership in the group. This is very important becauseI will be leaving in a few months, and if no one takes ownership then the groupwill die off when I leave. The plan now is to meet every day around 5pm to dosome sort of aerobics or exercise like running or yoga and then once a week wewould have a 30 minute lesson before the workout on some aspect of wellness(like nutrition, stress relievers, meditation practices, mental health, angermanagement etc). Eventually once thegroup is solid and meeting regularly I hope we can put on some sort of event inthe community like a wellness day or a 5k walk/run or something in that vein of thinking.

Another project Ihave going on is reinstating health talks in the morning at the clinic. Mostclinics in Botswana take advantage of the patients waiting to see the doctor,nurse or whatever they are there for and try to give a health talk of somesort. It's actually a pretty good idea, because you have a captive audience whoisn't really going anywhere since they are just sitting and waiting. MachanengClinic hasn't done health talks with the patients in years because they say thepatients don't want to be lectured to or don't listen to what they tell them.To be more engaging I decided to use some STEPS Videos (STEPS for Life is anorganization out of South Africa who produces videos all over Africa and thefilms are translated into many of the African languages, each video deals withsome sort of HIV/AIDS issue and are used to promote discussions in a community)and see if the patients would be more willing to listen. Who doesn't likewatching a movie?? I had talked about this with my previous counterpart, butonce again she just didn't seem interested or willing to help me. I brought theidea up to my new counterpart, Interview, and he loved it!! So after a fewmeetings of planning and going over with him how to do a screening we wereready to screen a film. On Wednesday I got to the clinic nice and early to makesure the DVD player and TV were working. Patients were trickling in, and Ithink a little confused as to why there was a TV set up in the middle of theclinic. We showed the short 7 minute film and then tried to have a discussion.The audience said they didn't really understand what the video was about andwanted to watch it again. The particular film I decided to show was actuallyfilmed in Botswana, so I think that caught their attention. After watching itthe second time the patients were more talkative. The whole discussion tookplace in Setswana, and my Setswana skills aren't great so I was glad to haveInterview and the Senior Health Education Counselor there helping with the screening.They took over facilitating the discussion portion. Originally I had planned onthe discussion portion to only last 10 minutes but it ended up lasting about30, which is awesome! Later in the afternoon I met with Interview and Blackie(the Senior Health Education Counselor) and they filled me in on what wasdiscussed. Interview thought it went really well and can't wait to show someother films. I also hope we can come up with some other creative ways todisseminate information to the patients in the waiting area, but this isdefinitely a great start!

It's a nice changeto be busy again and feel like I am doing something and making a difference. Itmakes such a different to have someone who is excited to have me around andwants to make use of my knowledge and skills. I just didn't have that support withthe last counterpart. The new counterpart is a refreshing change.

I am leavingtomorrow to use up my last days of vacation time before I have to go back on"lock down" in March. I am going with another volunteer and herfriend from home to Durban and St. Lucia, South Africa, Lesotho, andMozambique. I am really excited for this trip. Lesotho is supposed to have someof the most beautiful mountain ranges and I get to experience it on a horse!!The rest of the trip will be spent working on my tan, enjoying the beaches andocean(I get to mark off a new ocean --I've never seen the Indian Ocean before),and eating some good seafood!! Will postabout the trip when I get back in March.

Two friends were walking throught thedesert. During some point they had an argument, resulting in onefriend slapping the other in the face. The one who was slapped washurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand “today my bestfriend slapped me in the face.” They kept walking until they foundan oasis where they decide to go bathing. The one who had beenslapped got stuck in the mine and started drowning, but the friendsaved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on astone “today my best friend saved my life.” The friend whoslapped and saved his best friend, asked him “after I hurt you, youwrote in the sand and now you write on a stone—why?” The otherfriend replied, “when someone hurts us we should write it down inthe sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but whensomeone does sonething good for us, we must engrave it in stone whereno wind can ever erase it.”

The moral of the story is not to valuethe things you have in life, but value who you have in life!

This leads me to talking about twospecial friends here in Mmathethe, and what they demonstrate about friendship on a daily basis. These two gals found each other earlyin primary school and have had a growing friendship since. In manyways they are complete opposites, but as they say---oppositesattract, right. One is vulnerable, the other strong, one is shy, theother shyer, one lives without electricity or water, the other hasboth, one has an intact family, the other doesn't, both are highlyintelligent, but one has to work harder in school. When one looks inthe mirror and thinks she's ugly, the other tells her she'sbeautiful. When one got in trouble for not doing well in school, theother told her to try harder and see the good in everything. Theyboth tell each other to respect life, not to fall into the traps ofpeer pressure, and both want to help find a cure for HIV. I've grownto love these two beautiful teens who fit together like a glove, andhave shared their friendship with a stranger.

I know these two not by coincidence,one is my direct neighbor who came knocking on my door my first nightin Mmathethe, scaring the heebeejeebees out of me, but in the softestof voices told me not to be frightened. The other came knocking atmy door with her older sister after seeing me at our first assemblyin school, thinking I could help her sister who works diligently withAIDS victims. I had not known then that these two kids wereconnected to each other until they both came over together a fewweeks later to talk. They asked many questions about the States andabout life. Instead of the typical “can you take me there,” they humbly took information in, and with wonder, just asked for moredetails. Through the coming weeks, I taught them how to play UNO,backgammon, other card games, and they have been here on Saturdaynights glued to movies on my computer. When there was a fierceAfrican thunderstorm, it was my porch they took refuge in. I'vetrusted these kids to take care of Keoki when I go to trainings orovernight to Kanye. When Kesego visits me, they tenderly teach herthe games I have taught them. Innately, knowing that my birthday wasspent so far away from home, these kids, who barely have anything,thought enough of our friendship to present me with a beautifulAfrican basket---you bet the tears starting rolling down my cheeks. There are many stories of friendship with more depth and dimension,but these two understand the art of giving and receiving in a placewhere that is not always the case---and it is that which makes thesetwo kids and their friendship special.

I've not always been a goodfriend....I've not always known the art of sharing....I've not alwaysvalued what was most important....but now, at the age of 55, being inthe Peace Corps, and seeing these two kids together with theiroutlook on life and friendship, can show anyone that with a friend inhand you can see the light---with a friend in hand, everything willbe alright!

Today I tore down my garden. It is sad to think that it is all coming to an end so quickly. I remember the very first thing I did when I came to Mmadinare was scope out a site for the Thomas family vegetable garden. I nearly broke my back digging down through the incredibly hard soil and it seems that within the matter of a weekend I had the whole garden just the way I wanted it. So many wonderful meals came out of that garden. It connected me to my neighbors as I would stand outside tending to it around 5 o'clock each night when everyone was out and about on their way home from work. Envious women of the neighborhood would stop by on a weekly basis to see what was growing or even to see if I would give them some fresh veggies for dinner. This was truly one of my fondest memories of my time here and I will truly miss it. Although we have a little over 3 months left in the village the summer heat has beaten down anything I have attempted to grow and whatever the sun left the chickens were sure to clean up. Between the chickens constantly flying over the fence to mow down any new shoots and termites constantly turning my fence posts into saw dust I decided I have had enough. The rusted chicken wire fence and all of my remaining seeds went across the street to our neighbors house where she will attempt to provide fresh vegetables for her family.

In the remaining days I find myself more busy than ever. I am official managing two building projects, both of which are going really well. At the pre-school I am in the final stages of my garden project. The shade net is nearly up, over the 300 square meter garden and all of the supplies for the rain gutter drip irrigation system are ready to be assembled. With any luck I will have the whole thing finished in 2 weeks! Secondly, I have been spending most of my afternoon time at Home Based Care either overseeing the construction of Lindsey's new conference center or I am traveling to the building supply store to buy more materials. This project is moving really fast and it seems like we will be able to hold several meetings in the new building before we leave.

I keep saying that I am ready to go home because I have truly accomplished everything that I originally set out to do. When I first arrived at my NGO I spent some time getting to know the issues, then I worked to set some goals of what I wanted to accomplish before I left. Well as of Wednesday that list is complete! I wanted to see that our teachers were certified, purchase a school bus for income generation, and secure licensing for the pre-school. Actually, we only obtained a conditional license until April so I am now working hard to make updates to the school that have been requested. They are easy things like replace door handles and such; most of which I accomplished today. So I guess I will get this garden built, make sure the license comes through and then basically sit back Botswana style until June.

Now doesn't that sound like a lot of work... And you just thought all we did is go on exotic vacations!

Mark

I want to share a couple things that I have noticed in my time here. They are in reference to some absolutely adorable revelations made by kids here that I bet you'd never think of. Prepare to say "awww"!Flush ToiletsThis is a pit latrine. It is essentially the same sort of pit latrine that is found all over Botswana. For many of my readers, it is most easily defined as an outhouse. In America, this sort of toilet is very uncommon (except at music festivals or major outdoor events when we set up porta-pottys). Here, however, it is very widespread, as many families do not have indoor plumbing. Totally normal. This is a flush toilet. It is essentially the same sort of flush toilet that is found all over the United States. It has also been adopted around the globe, including in Botswana. Most households that have running water and indoor plumbing have similar toilets. Both of my homes in Botswana were among those with flush toilets (albeit with their own idiosyncrasies - another story). Because I am so accustomed to having a flush toilet, I thought nothing of it when the kids that came over to my house asked to use the toilet. At first, they would creep into my bathroom and sit on it, do their business, and leave without flushing. After a while, I figured this out and decided to show them how to flush. The first time I flushed the toilet, the kids went running out of the bathroom screaming. They were scared of the sound and didn't want to stick around to find out what that sound indicated. This made me giggle. Once they got used to it, however, they found the flushing to be so so so aweeesssoooommmeeee! And then the kids would venture into the bathroom, to use the facilities I assumed, and then I wouldn't see them again for fifteen or so minutes. But I would hear the toilet flush a half dozen times at least. They were absolutely fascinated by the flushing action, watching the water spin around and go down the drain then fill back up again. It was almost like a game. Now, this could be misinterpreted as a fun game or entertainment and perhaps not quite the revelation I imagined. I asked at my new NGO if that was something they dealt with too when the youngest kids (around 3 or 4-years-old) started coming to the preschool for the first time. My question was met with a resounding YES. It turns out that this humorous process was not just followed by the Kums Kids but rather by kids all over Botswana that are being introduced, for their very first time, to the magic and wonderment of the flush toilet.EscalatorsOne day, when I was still living in Kumakwane, I heard a story from the other PCV that lived in the village of three little girls who were very dressed up and excited about something. When she asked them what they were so excited about, they responded that they were going to Gaborone to see the "flying stairs". Of course, the image of stairs with wings on it were the first things that crossed her mind. Where were these mythical stairs? She inquired further. They told her that the new mall at the bus rank had flying stairs and that they were going to go to Gabs to ride them. It suddenly dawned on her that they were referring to the escalator that had recently been put in. Wow. How precious!So there you have it - two absolutely adorable revelations made by children in Botswana. Things we take for granted having grown up with them but which are amazing discoveries here.

Have you ever wondered what a Peace Corps Volunteer does?

While this is mostly satirical, it isn't completely off in the (albeit exaggerated) perceptions of what a Peace Corps Volunteer does. It made me laugh hysterically, which is why I wanted to share it. I decided to share it now because I'm about to tell you about a particularly productive day in my life (yesterday to be exact) and the development in my projects in Gabane.

My new house in Gabane has an electric stove. This was much to my DAC's dismay because the country is plagued with significant power outages. Being the motherly type, she worried I would go hungry for days on end if the power went out in Gabane (Ha! She obviously hasn't spent enough time with me! Allow myself to starve? I think not!). As such, she made me bring my gas stove from Kumakwane with me to the new village (I now have a second stove and a gas cylinder in my living room). Unfortunately, the attachment for the cylinder lost a piece so it leaks out gas when turned on so I'm unable to use it until that gets fixed. Fortunately, I haven't had a problem with electricity yet. That being said, yesterday morning I set my kettle up to boil water for coffee (thanks again Mom!) when POOF - my power went out. I felt my heart whimper a little bit. I looked longingly at the gas stove, realizing I couldn't use it but wishing that a small gas leakage into the house wouldn't kill me (because not having coffee just might!). But fear not my fellow coffee drinkers, it was short lived. Unlike my previous 5+ day stints without electricity, this one lasted less than five minutes before I heard the hum of my refrigerator return. If this wasn't a sign! This was going to be a good day!

At the NGO, I was greeted by 41 smiling children eager to do our secret handshake and get underway with the lessons for the day. They were smiley and chipper and very very happy to see me. (This, of course, makes my day all on its own because the kids are so precious.) The morning lesson was English - my speciality - and the kids were excited to show off how well they could identify the window, door, chair, and a sundry of other things around the classroom. It is at this point that I would like to brag about how wonderful the Head Teacher is at the NGO. She is an older woman, retired from her previous life in the primary school system, and passionately dedicated to these children. She approaches each lesson with patience, kindness, and percipience. I mention this now because the children are flourishing under her tutelage. I am constantly amazed at how these children, none older than 6, are able to understand and communicate in both Setswana and English (and succeed in other subjects as well). Even those that are having a harder time grasping the lessons, are comfortable in trying and giving their best effort since she supports them so beautifully as they learn that "E" comes before "F" or that "chair" and "table" are two different objects. It is a joy to watch her teach, especially in a country where teachers are not always as diligent. This is a blessing for those children, but also for the other teachers at the NGO who are watching and learning from her and for me in getting to work with her.

After the morning lessons, the Head Teacher (who is also the Center Coordinator) took me around Gabane to introduce me to our key partners. This included the Head Nurse and staff at the Community Clinic and the Health Post, Peer Educators, volunteers that work with our Support Group for HIV+ individuals, teachers from the primary schools in the village, and, finally, the Kgosi (village "Chief") and his staff. I had nearly six straight hours of meetings. I was warmly received along the way - meeting so many new people, learning about the work they are doing, and being invited to help in a plethora of ways. It was during this time that I really began to feel a part of this community and began to understand all the issues that the NGO and community faces. What's more, I started to see where I could fit into the mix and how best I can help in all these areas.

When the day was through, I sat down to plot out a schedule and figure out where to allocate time to assist (gasp) everyone. If I am to do all that I hope, there is very little way I will be lounging around in my bath bucket (as pictured above). My days will be filled with capacitating the NGO staff, assisting with lessons plans for the Early Childhood Education Program, working with the Clinic and Health Post, leading a PACT Club at the Junior Secondary School, developing a better M&E system between the NGO and Gabane Primary School, teaching basic computer classes, working with the Segoditshane Scouts Troop, and revising Reneetswe Happy Home Care Center's Constitution and its organizational documents. Phew. To say I have my work cut out for me is an understatement. Am I excited about this change of pace? You betcha!

Moral of this story? What this Peace Corps Volunteer is doing falls somewhere in the middle of all the pictures above, probably with some elements of each (except of course the CIA thing... and the monkey backpack!). And it looks like I am in for many more busy and happy days ahead!

Every year, worldwide, the month of March is dedicated to women – more specifically, to the pursuit of gender equality and women’s empowerment. March 8th is the particular day for celebrating these efforts.

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is: Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures. Quite fitting, considering some of the projects I’ve been involved in over the past year. I’ve had my girls’ club, and they have all become fast friends. In fact, every single one of them was just elected to the Student Representative Council (I was so proud). Also, with the help of CDC, we piloted a new life skills program at my school, which was all about identifying with your future self, in order to make better choices today.

To commemorate the day, my counterpart (the senior teacher of guidance and counseling) and I are disseminating information to every student through our “weekly theme.” On Thursday, March 8, at our house assemblies, students will present on the information we’ve given them.

The more fun commemoration will come on Saturday. I’ve been working with a women’s group called Mma Sechaba (Mother of the Community). We’re going to organize a march starting at the kgotla, marching through the village, and ending up at the junior school (my school). We will then have an afternoon of refreshments, music, and sports and games. We’re going to do relay races (I’m pulling for three-legged and wheelbarrow races), football games, and netball (similar to basketball) games. While men and women, girls and boys will be participating in the march, the games are only open to women and girls, to let everyone know that the ladies can kick some ass, too.

I want to take this post a step further.I want to encourage you, my dear readers, to do something about International Women’s Day.

To the right of my page, I have a graph of Women’s Day planned activities around the world. Please go to the website, look at what’s good, and get involved! If you’re in an urban center, there’s probably something being planned. If you’re not – take the initiative! Post something on your facebook/twitter/other ridiculous social media, put flyers and posters out at your workplace, call your family, send a mass email, or if you’re a girl – have a sleepover and talk about all the amazing things you will do with your lives (while braiding each others’ hair)!

Really into the idea? Hold a fundraiser of some kind and donate the money you raise to your favorite women’s empowerment non-profit organization or UN Women USA.

The ABCs of Fundraising*:

• Afternoon tea/morning tea: have your family, friends or fellow students bring a plate of food and charge an entry fee to all participants.• Artwork sale or auction: hold an exhibit for your family, friend or work colleagues to showcase and sell the artwork created by their own family and school community.• BBQ: hold a BBQ at your school or for friends and family and charge an entry fee or charge for each item consumed.• Benefit performance: organize a concert in your school hall where students perform and charge an entry fee.• Caption competition: get a photo of your school principal or your boss doing something unusual and charge for participants to submit a caption.• Casual day: hold a casual day at your school or workplace and charge each of those who join in.• Contacts: Write to your family, friends and contacts asking them to support International Women’s Day by making a donation

Most importantly, celebrate being a woman or having women in your life, and all the women around the world who work so hard but never get recognized for it.

Resources:Visit http://www.internationalwomensday.com/resources.asp*Read http://www.unifem.org.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=109789

My fourth granddaughter came into this world on January 3. My 92-year-old father left this world on January 27. Birth is an almost universal celebration—every culture responds to the birth of a child with joy and hope. My Botswana friends were thrilled to hear of the birth of a granddaughter. Death is another story.

Every culture, every family, every person, has their own way of dealing with it. My father had lived as long as he wanted to, and had plenty of time to make preparations. He donated his body for study at Boston University Medical School. He chose the minister he wanted to lead his memorial service. He wrote an outline of what he wanted in the service. Then he waited for death. It took longer than he expected. Years longer. The minister moved to Florida. The grandchildren who were to play the piano and guitar no longer did so. My father was a stubborn man. He discussed end of life plans with his doctor, saying he was going blind. The doctor pointed out that going blind does not mean the end of life. “You can adapt to this,” the doctor said. “You have probably already adapted, haven’t you?” Well, my father admitted, he did give up his weekly dart games…

Although it was a long time coming, my father’s death came faster than we expected. Our family held a memorial in ‘celebration’ of his life. The minister came from Florida, the grandchildren spoke, someone else played the piano and a friend of the family sang. We will miss him deeply, but we know he had a good life, he was ready to leave, and his final wishes were respected.

The people I have met in Botswana do not talk about death, much less celebrate the end of someone’s life. This is a country where death stalked the young, the innocent, those in the prime of their lives, where death is never mentioned in the age-old hope that not speaking of it will keep it at bay. When I told one of my colleagues that I expected to be going home because my father was at the ‘end of his life’ he was shocked. When I returned to my village this week after my father’s death, people were welcoming and comforting and willing to talk. “Ninety-two years” they were astonished. “He lived longer than he needed,” they said without irony as they hugged me and offered me their condolences.

The first time I saw a Botswana graveyard I thought it was a community garden. I saw a field of rectangular plots with green sunshades over them. When my father’s ashes are returned to us, they will be interred in a drawer in a garden area of the cemetery. No need for sunshades, but still a rectangular place of rest within the beauty of the earth.

This is dedicated to everyone in Bots 10 - those still in Botswana and those who have gone home to pursue something new. You all inspire me. I am so grateful to know you and to call you family. Here's to making the most of our experiences (wherever and whatever they may be)!

My name is Refilwe Simane. I am a girl who is short and clever. I live in Mahetlwe but I board in Motswakhumo Junior Secondary School.

I am cool like a cool cat. I like to pass my exam very much. When I was doing standard seven I was take number 1*. When I tell my mother that she smile with white teeth that look like a snow.

I have improved to speak English when I meet my friend. She told me that practice makes perfect. I also like English. Nowadays when I speak English I speak it like Africans.

I want to be English teacher when I grow up.

By Refilwe Simane, Form 1 Student

*Taking "number 1" means that she got the best grades in her class.

[In English club I like to have writing workshops every now and then. Some of the students' work is cute, funny, and/or impressive, so I'm sharing it with you. Keep in mind that English is these students' second, third, or even fourth language. I am posting these exactly as written, including misspellings and other grammar/language mistakes.]

This past weekendwas the time when the Peace Corps Volunteers in the region get together forsome refresher training. This year my regional meeting was held in Francistown (also known as "the ghetto" even though it's a really nice town, I personally like it better than the capital, Gaborone) at the Adansonia Hotel. It was super nice and a great weekend away from thevillage life. The hotel had messed up our booking so all of us got rooms toourselves! This never happens, we usually have to pair up, which isn't a bigdeal, but it was super nice to have my own room and be able to crank the acon (air conditioner) full blast so I could cuddle up under the blankets for once :) And have the freedom to skype friends from home into the wee hours of the night and not disturb anyone. The weekend was spent lounging by the pool soakingin the rays, eating good food, taking advantage of showers, basking in airconditioning, sitting through a few training sessions, and hanging out withfellow volunteers.

cool waterfall that was on the hotel groundsThe trainingsessions were much like last year. Going over our reporting tool, PC ProjectFramework, the Emergency Action Plan, and Strengths and Challenges at site. Attimes I had a hard time paying attention, even though the actual sessions wereonly one day. I guess I am kind of checked out and my mind is elsewhere. Butfrom what we were told in some of the sessions, it seems like PC is improvingand is continuing to improve in their training plans. They have this new thingthat they are calling "Focus In, and Train Up". It seems like thefuture volunteers will have better trainings when they first come in, with moreof a focus on what they should be doing than what we had when I first camehere. I think this will be a good improvement for PC as a whole. I feel likeour training was very vague and spread really thin making it difficult to graspwhat exactly it was we were supposed to be doing at site. Hopefully with thenew training packets PC has made and the new Project Framework PC Botswana hascome up with, future volunteers will be more focused, more useful at sites, andbe better able to report back their projects to headquarters.

going over HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Project Framework...clearly I was more interested in doodling..It was great to bearound fellow volunteers, especially the still excited spirits of the newerones. Their energy was great and actually made me a little bit excited aboutthe few projects I have going on. The whole weekend I wondered if I still hadthat fresh glazed excited look across my face at last years regional meeting. Iremember last year being jealous of the Bots 8ers who would be leaving soon,but this year that was me. It was weird to be the "senior" in thegroup. The one who had been there and done that, experienced it and knew whatworked and what didn't. The one who was counting down the few days left incountry and eager to be home soon. There were many discussions about plansafter Peace Corps among us Bots 9ers. It will be great to have so manyconnections all over the US when I get back. I am excited for the RPCVcommunity I will be apart of upon my return to the States.

me and lucie by the waterfall :)

The death of Whitney Houston shocked the United States this week. I am lucky enough to be in the United States to watch the news and star tributes after her untimely death at the age of 48. I arrived in Washington, DC on February 4th. I will return to Botswana sometime within the next month. Since I have not written about this trip, I will address it briefly before I get back to Whitney.

Peace Corps supports its volunteers in many ways. As you can imagine, many things happen to volunteers during service. They can become lonely, depressed and disenchanted with their work. Some volunteers actually become injured. People break all sorts of bones, deal with sprains and other ailments. Sometimes medical issues (including those related to mental health) can be dealt with while the volunteer is at site. Sometimes, the volunteer needs to be transported somewhere in his/her region or back to DC to heal. Many volunteers are frustrated that they have to postpone time at their site to heal a broken leg or get an operation. Others are given the option to come to DC after they have become a victim of a crime--to get whatever support they need in order to carry on their service. The latter is what happened to me.

I do not wish to get into details on this blog. I am not physically hurt and I will be absolutely fine. That being said, I chose the option to come to DC and work through some things necessary in order for me to continue my service in Shoshong in the way that I want. You must help yourself before you can help others. That is what I chose to do.

Throughout this entire process, Peace Corps has been amazingly supportive of me. I thank PC staff in Botswana for their flexibility to support me in the ways that I needed. I am grateful for all of the emails and facebook posts of my family and friends in Botswana and in the states, who have helped me make the decision to come back for some R&R. I am happy that I have already been able to see my parents and some friends in the states. That has been amazing. I thank my local friends in Shoshong who listened to my needs and acted accordingly. And I have felt unwavering support from the Office of Medical Services in DC as well as other volunteers from around the globe who have also been Med Evac'd.

I look forward to returning to Botswana. And when I do so, I will be able to reflect on this experience more fully.

Until then, I want to talk about a woman I greatly admire: Whitney Houston. Listening to her music represents an essential part of my childhood, like the Beatles and the Everly Brothers.

For those of you are not familiar with her music, she was originally a church gospel singer from New Jersey discovered by a famous record producer named Clive Davis. She was a huge star in the 1980s and 1990s especially, known for her larger-than-life voice. Some of her most famous songs are from the movie "The Bodyguard."

My favorite album of hers is pictured left: Whitney.

Of course those who are at the top have the farthest to fall, and that was true with Whitney. She was plagued with a rocky marriage, drug and alcohol addiction throughout the 2000s. Regardless, she was loved by all for her talent, attitude and infectious spirit.

When I was in the PC Building a couple days ago, I noticed a photo spread of notable African Americans. I was talking to the security guard, telling her that we should put Whitney up there. She said, "A drug addict? I don't think so." I was taken aback because Whitney means so much more to me, as she does to so many others.

I said to the guard, "That's sad." She agreed with me. I smiled and continued, "No. I mean, it's sad that you feel that way." The guard said, "Well, that is how she is going to be remembered." I countered, "No, I don't think so. There are many aspects to a person."

It was indeed sad to me that this woman would look at Whitney Houston and simply see a drug addict.

We can learn so much about ourselves from our interactions with others. This dialogue reminded me how easy it is to judge other people and forget that we may have similar struggles. And if we somehow are able to overcome those struggles, are we to judge those who have a harder time? I sure hope not.

Once a good friend of mine reminded me of this quote by Plato, and I like to remember it often: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Today I met with one of my teen clubs...and since its a new school year; there's a whole new set of Form 1 students!

I was slightly overwhelmed when I walked in to find 112 students sitting and waiting for me!! Believe it or not...that was ONLY the Form 1s and 2s!! AH!!!

I LOVE that there are SOOOO many students; but at the same time its way too many for me to handle!! I was constantly telling them to stop talking and listen. We didnt exactly get done what we were supposed to. But we'll have to wait and see how things span out.

So in case you were wondering what that photo of that guy is doing with a dead leopard skin on his back I posted earlier, here’s the deal. So I was walking by the kgotla yesterday and someone waved me over. To my surprise I found a dead leopard skinned and hanging out in the kgotla structure. Apparently it had been killing cattle, so they went to take care of business and kill it. The herders hunted it for days, and when they found it they sent their dogs on it, but the leopard didn’t go down without a fight. One guy and his leg ripped opened. The other dude shot it. Badass! Killing a leopard is a pretty big thing in Botswana, since it is a prerequisite before someone can become the kgosi (or chief) of the village. We already have a kgosi, so these guys didn’t usurp anyone, but it was still some big big news! PS Killing a leopard for its skin is illegal poaching in Botswana, but these guys got the go ahead because it was attacking livestock. How you prove that, I’m not sure, but that’s the rule!

Planning ahead in Africa works like this: Even when you make Plan B and Plan C, you will find out that you will need to resort to Plan D. Even when you make Plans B, C, and D, you will end up with Plan F, because something out of left field was lobbed into the game play.

Of course, last minute planning is not advisable, but with all development work, plans need to have a level of flexibility. With Child Welfare Day tomorrow, I went to Dorcas's office to print the Child Welfare Day Agenda and the Children's Right's Flyer. From past experience of making Plans B, C, D... I decided not to do any of those, just knowing that I'll tackle whatever comes up - I had devoted my whole day to just these 2 tasks.

This morning, I called up Dorcas to see when I could come to her office, knowing we're all busy and I was subject to her schedule. She said come by as soon as possible. However, I was waiting for editing from one last committee member to the agenda.

An hour later, of not going to Dorcas's office, she asks when I'm coming. And that there's a problem with the toner. (Usually Plan B planning would begin here in the U.S.) In Africa, it's more like, "come here now so we can trouble shoot this now."

Dorcas runs across town to get another toner cartridge.

I finally get to her office and start printing.

The hugest lightning storm starts after printing page 132. Power goes out.

Luckily, today was not like yesterday when the power went out the whole day (of course, also a cause of last minute things).

Of course, it's advised that printing should not be left to last minute. But, when working with many many people and stakeholders and having to get more than 5 OKs on 1 document... with intermittent power outages... it's a necessary evil.

Back in Maity

We really enjoyed cooking

My bro may be older but I can still teach him a thing or two!

On Safari

There was a hilarious article up on Peace Corps.

http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2012/02/12-reasons-to-date-a-returned-peace-corps-volunteer/

12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer By Erica Burman on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 (credit: http://laurapruittdesign.blogspot.com) It’s Valentine’s Day! A day when we celebrate friendship, love, and romance. Through the years here at the National Peace Corps Association, we’ve heard countless stories of Peace Corps romance. The couples that met at the airport on the way to training. The couples that met while serving. The Peace Corps Volunteers that fell in love with a host country national. And the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers that connected back here in the States, discovering that the shared bond of Peace Corps service was the spark that led to a relationship. Peace Corps is a life-changing experience that develops a unique set of skills and attributes. So it goes without saying: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers make GREAT dates. And just to prove it, we’ve started a list. 12 reasons to date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer: We can woo you in multiple languages. Who else is going to whisper sweet nothings to you in everything from Albanian to Hausa to Quechua to Xhosa? That’s right. Only a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.We’re pretty good dancers. Yeah, we don’t like to brag, but after 27 months in Latin America or Africa we know how to move it.We’ll eat anything. Seriously. No matter how bad your cooking, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have had worse and will eat it with nary a blink. Sheep’s eyeball? Water buffalo gall bladder? Grasshoppers? Bush rat? Bring it.We know all about safe sex, thanks to our very thorough Peace Corps health training. In fact, there’s a chance that we’ve stood unblushingly in front of hundreds of villagers and demonstrated good condom technique with a large wooden phallus.We’ll kill spiders for you. Well, actually, we’ll nonchalantly scoop them up and put them out of sight. Same goes for mice, geckos, frogs, snakes. Critters don’t faze Returned Volunteers.We have great date ideas: wandering a street market, checking out a foreign film, taking in a world music concert, volunteering…. Romantic getaway? Our passport is updated and our suitcase is packed. With us, life is always an adventure.We like you for “you”… not your paycheck. Especially if we are freshly back from service, a local joint with “character” will win out over a pretentious eatery. Living in a group house? No problem. Does it have running hot water? What luxury!You won’t get lost when you’re with a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Navigating local markets on four continents, we’ve honed an uncanny sense of direction. Or else we’ll ask for directions. We’re not afraid to talk to “strangers.”Waiting for a late train or bus? Don’t worry, we’ve been there, done that. We can share lots of funny stories about “the bus ride from hell” that will make the time go quickly and put it all into perspective.Our low-maintenance fashion style. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer guys are secure in their manhood and don’t mind rocking a sarong. Women often prefer flip flops to high heels. We don’t spend hours in front of a mirror getting ready to go out.Marry us, and you won’t just get one family — you’ll get two! When we refer to our “brother” or “mom,” you’ll want to be certain we’re talking about our American one or our Peace Corps one. You might even get two wedding ceremonies, one in the U.S. and one back in our Peace Corps country.And last but not least, we aren’t afraid to get dirty.

In the spirit of Valentines Day I wanted to re-blog this post from National Peace Corps Association. I thought it was great! Although I'm not an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) yet I will be in less than 4 months and I am pretty sure I meet all of these requirements and more:

12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

By EricaBurman on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

(credit: http://laurapruittdesign.blogspot.com)

It’s Valentine’s Day! A day when we celebrate friendship, love, andromance. Through the years here at the National Peace Corps Association,we’ve heard countless stories of Peace Corps romance. The couples thatmet at the airport on the way to training. The couples that met whileserving. The Peace Corps Volunteers that fell in love with a host countrynational. And the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers that connected backhere in the States, discovering that the shared bond of Peace Corps service wasthe spark that led to a relationship.

Peace Corps is a life-changing experience that develops aunique set of skills and attributes. So it goes without saying: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers make GREATdates. And just to prove it,we’ve started a list.

12 reasons to date a Returned Peace CorpsVolunteer:

We can woo you in multiple languages. Who else is going to whisper sweet nothings to you in everything from Albanian to Hausa to Quechua to Xhosa? That’s right. Only a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.We’re pretty good dancers. Yeah, we don’t like to brag, but after 27 months in Latin America or Africa we know how to move it.We’ll eat anything. Seriously. No matter how bad your cooking, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have had worse and will eat it with nary a blink. Sheep’s eyeball? Water buffalo gall bladder? Grasshoppers? Bush rat? Bring it.We know all about safe sex, thanks to our very thorough Peace Corps health training. In fact, there’s a chance that we’ve stood unblushingly in front of hundreds of villagers and demonstrated good condom technique with a large wooden phallus.We’ll kill spiders for you. Well, actually, we’ll nonchalantly scoop them up and put them out of sight. Same goes for mice, geckos, frogs, snakes. Critters don’t faze Returned Volunteers.We have great date ideas: wandering a street market, checking out a foreign film, taking in a world music concert, volunteering…. Romantic getaway? Our passport is updated and our suitcase is packed. With us, life is always an adventure.We like you for “you”… not your paycheck. Especially if we are freshly back from service, a local joint with “character” will win out over a pretentious eatery. Living in a group house? No problem. Does it have running hot water? What luxury!You won’t get lost when you’re with a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Navigating local markets on four continents, we’ve honed an uncanny sense of direction. Or else we’ll ask for directions. We’re not afraid to talk to “strangers.”Waiting for a late train or bus? Don’t worry, we’ve been there, done that. We can share lots of funny stories about “the bus ride from hell” that will make the time go quickly and put it all into perspective.Our low-maintenance fashion style. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer guys are secure in their manhood and don’t mind rocking a sarong. Women often prefer flip flops to high heels. We don’t spend hours in front of a mirror getting ready to go out.Marry us, and you won’t just get one family — you’ll get two! When we refer to our “brother” or “mom,” you’ll want to be certain we’re talking about our American one or our Peace Corps one. You might even get two wedding ceremonies, one in the U.S. and one back in our Peace Corps country.And last but not least, we aren’t afraid to get dirty.

Do you have a story of a Peace Corps romance? Other reasons to add? Share in the comments sectionbelow!

So as you can see Peace Corps Volunteers are pretty good catches! Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day! And if you are looking for a date, why not try an RPCV! ;-)

This week has been insanely busy so far; I wake up around 6am and don’t get back to my house until about 7:30 or 8. I came home from Regionals on Sunday afternoon around 6:30 and fell asleep almost immediately on my couch… I’m turning into such a party animal here.

Monday morning started on the wrong foot, to say the least. Let me preface this incident by saying that Corporal Punishment, although widespread throughout much of Africa, is not something I’ve had to encounter much since being here. I’ve been told that it happens, and sure enough I’d witnessed it once or twice during pre-service training, but it’s never been very extreme and my reaction was usually no more than a wince. Typically it entails a teacher slapping a student on an open palm with a stick, or something along those lines. Many volunteers are faced with corporal punishment on a daily or weekly basis; their schools practice it frequently. I am fortunate enough that at Motokwe Primary, I’ve never seen it happen. Until Monday, that is.

During the morning assembly, while all the students were supposed to be singing a song, a few girls in Standard 3 were giggling and not paying attention. I watched as my School Head (equivalent of a principal in America) stared them down, until finally he interrupted the song by shouting something in Setswana. Then, to my horror, I watched him make a fist with his left hand, raising his index finger just a bit so the knuckle stuck out, and punch two of the girls in the head. Punch is perhaps not the right word to use, because it’s not like he wound up beforehand… but there was certainly some force behind it. Rage bubbled up from my gut as my eyes started to mist over, and I unknowingly let out a shriek. The teachers standing around me just laughed at my reaction, saying I was not accustomed to seeing that sort of thing. Your damned right I’m not, and no one should be, I thought. I didn’t know what else to do, so I turned on my heel and walked straight into the library as a tear fell down my cheek. I was embarrassed for reacting so emotionally, but I was furious with what he did.

Later on in the day I went into Mr. Monnane’s office and, when I was able to suppress the instinct to haul of and give him a swift uppercut, sat down to discuss what happened with him. I explained that I’m absolutely not on par with corporal punishment, and that he will gain nothing but fear from the students if he continues to practice it. I tried to help him understand that these kids are simply too young to know better, and that sometimes they will misbehave, but it’s better to talk to them about it than to just resort to physical violence. None of the other teachers utilize that sort of thing, so he should take a lesson from them. He seemed genuinely open to my opinions and what I was trying to explain, so I left his office feeling a little better. I hope to never have to witness that again.

On Monday afternoon, to get my mind off of all the drama of the day, I decided to go for a run. My typical run entails being followed closely by a gaggle of children or community members who jog for a few feet and then stop and yell at my retreating backside. I try to go a few days a week here, but sometimes it’s simply too hot so I opt for working out in my house. Ever since I arrived to Motokwe, my neighbor Dimpho comes outside to laugh at me when I go for runs, telling me how crazy I am. I always invite her to join along, but her excuses are many and they are varied. However on Monday I was standing and talking with a new teacher who had just arrived to Motokwe Primary last week (to replace the beloved Mr. Kgati), and when I invited Dimpho she agreed! So I also invited the new teacher, Methe, and to my shock she also agreed! I was so excited to have running partners I could barely contain myself. I raced back to my house, geared up in my exercise clothes, and met them at the gate.

The goal was to go 2km down to the junction with the main road, then turn around and come back for a total of 4km. We got hardly even 1Km out of the gate before their lungs were bursting and they were knelt over panting, laughing at me as I jogged in place waiting for them to be ready to pick up the pace again. Finally Dimpho said, "Neo, we are not made for this. Stop torturing us". So we decided to walk the rest of the way, and despite the fact that I missed out on a workout, I thoroughly enjoyed the long walk.

Our conversation turned to the struggles facing teachers in such remote villages as Motokwe. They lamented over indifferent parents, friction with the School Head and other administrative leaders, and students who don’t do their homework because they are too drunk (may I remind you that I work at a primary school – kids between the ages of 7 and 15). It was good for me to hear their side, because for a long time I had been bothered by the apathy of the teachers in Botswana and how they constantly tell the students how stupid they are. Now, after this conversation I’m still not going to stand behind them and defend their words, but at least I can respect their frustrations.

To my surprise, as I was walking back to my house this afternoon I saw Dimpho and Methe sitting on my front stoop, dressed for another run! I gladly hurried inside to change and let Dimpho set the pace, which not surprisingly lasted about 5 minutes before we gave up and walked for an hour. But, I am it thoroughly and we have a lot of fun. Mostly, it’s just fun for them because they spend the whole time laughing at me, but I’ll take what I can get. Who knows, maybe some day soon I’ll start a running club for all the teachers to join!

I’d also like to thank Kristen Weir and Darby Dozier for some pretty rad care packages!! I can’t upload the pictures at the moment but I will be sure to do so soon. Darby, you literally read my mind with everything you sent—from the Biotin vitamins to the face wipes to the headbands, it was exactly what I’ve been wanting lately. And Kristen, I can’t begin to tell you how excited the teachers were when I showed them all the school supplies you sent. Especially the paint – we haven’t had an art class at Motokwe Primary in years, and they went through the roof when I told them they could share the watercolors. Thank you so much, you are amazing!

On that note, I want to mention a special email I received yesterday from a complete stranger. A very sweet couple who now lives in Connecticut visited my home church, Green Tree Church of the Brethren, around Christmas time and apparently saw a posting (on the bulletin board, I’m guessing?) about me and the work I’m doing in the Peace Corps. Upon reading it, they decided to send me a package filled with school supplies and things for the children I work with! Once again I am touched by the love that Green Tree spreads to all the people involved in their works, and I am astounded by the generosity of the human spirit.

Yesterday I had my first PACT Club meeting at the Jr. Secondary school (equivalent to Jr. High in America). PACT is a peer-counseling after-school club, where kids are supposed to be trained on how to counsel their peers (and urge them to be abstinent), and is popular around Botswana. Although my Guidance Teacher Counterpart cancelled at the last minute to go to an impromptu meeting, I still had fun hanging out with the kids! I decided to go with a Valentine’s Theme. I had some red construction paper that I had planned to use to advertise a couple’s HIV testing event on Valentine’s at my clinic (which won’t be happening), I decided to have the kids make Valentines. We talked about Love, Dating, Relationships, Good ways to treat those you love, and abusive ways. They loved it! Although I didn’t mention sex or HIV, I’m hoping that we can eventually build our conversations to that point. I’m also hoping to have a school counter part there at the next meeting, you know, so I don’t cause a scandal by mentioning the word condom or anything.

For the past 3 weeks, the Peace Corps has been dragging Bots 11 around the southern half of Botswana for trainings. The sessions are boring, but spending time with my friends is fun! Here are pictures! [...]

For the past month, my village has been suffering from water shortages. When I left for in-service training (IST) in mid-January, I had had limited access to water for two weeks. When I returned home, two weeks later, there was still no water. It just returned yesterday, after a whole week of being absent; well it sort of returned. Water does not gush through the pipes like you would expect. Rather, it tric [...]

I arrived at Hatsalatladi with no idea what to do or where to go, but with a clear mission in mind. Although the roles of Peace Corps volunteers in their communities vary according to the person, program and village, I had starting concocting project ideas before ever seeing my site. When I arrived, I was determined to start a pre-school. The main motivation for my project was a conversation that I [...]

Or Becky Chanis: King of the BatsSunday night, I walked into my living room after brushing my teeth and discovered a bat circling my living room. I screamed, as my gender is wont to do, and retreated into a corner. Panicked and unsure of what to do, I called Supriya and explain [...]

School let out at the end of November, and with it went a lot of my work. December is summer in Botswana and, as Americans do in June, most people in Botswana take leave. Entire offices shut down, and what work there is slows to a snail-like pace. Everything I want to plan inevitably gets deferred to January because so-and-so is out of town or such-and-such office is closed. The summer storms have come late [...]

A week before Thanksgiving, I was contacted by the Peace Corps office and asked to help facilitate a youth camp run by the Ministry of Education. I was told that several Peace Corps volunteers had been asked to attend, and we would act in a role similar to camp counselors. It would be ten days long, with the first day being devoted to planning the forum, and almost all of the volunteers were from my training gr [...]

Dumela friends, family and strangers! I realize that I have left you all hanging as to what happened to me once I moved to site. Let me take these next few moments of your lives to debrief you.I'll start with my village: Hatsalatladi (pronounced Hatsa-la-tla-dee) is a small, rural village teeming with donkeys, goats, chickens and a few people. As far as I can gather, the population of Hatsalatladi is [...]