In America and Africa, I hear one thing in common. Apparently we are all limited by the money we have. We cannot do, we cannot help because we do not have enough.

That’s why I like Peace Corps. We are trained to work with community members to appreciate their accomplishments, to identify issues that can be fixed, and to train/capacity build them in areas they identify they need assistance.

Commentary by Finda

Here is a recipe that I use almost every week to make homemade bread. Try it at home, and take photo's, and lastly comment below and let me know how it went. Diphaphata (Dee-pa-pat-ta) is very popular in Botswana because it tastes great. Happy cooking :D

-Finda

Diphaphata - Botswana Homemade Bread

Diphaphata is a great tasting bread that be eaten as hamburger bread to dinner roles. There are many creative ways to use this bread. Additionally, extra ingredients can be added to give Diphaphata a different taste, look, etc. Ingredients: 4 cups of white or brown flour 10g or 1 pack of yeast Salt Sugar 1.5 cups of warm water

Directions: 1. Add flour, yeast, salt and/or sugar in a mixing bowl. a. Note: Add enough salt and sugar to your personal preference 2. Add warm water to your mixing bowl and mix ingredients into a dough 3. Continue to add warm water until the dough is soft and without any bumps 4. Let dough sit for 10 to 15 minutes in order to allow the yeast to raise the dough 5. Separate dough into 8 to 12 round balls 6. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees 7. Lightly grease your baking pan and place dough balls onto the pan 8. Bake the dough for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough is lightly golden brown 9. Serve with butter, jelly, tea or by itself

Coming from an African Family, and being first generation African American the food from Botswana has not drifted too far from my diet back in the states. Check out some of the awesome local dishes some of us volunteers get to experience:

Phaletšhe is pictured on the left, chicken is pictured at the top right, and morogo is pictured on the bottom right Morogo (mo-row-ho) Morogo are leaves from beans that are cooked similar to spiniach. Tomatoes and onions are normally added to the dish to provide additional flavour.

Phaletšhe (pa-lay-she) Phaletšhe is pictured on the left in the photo above. It is made out of corn and tastes similar to foo foo. Corn is the staple crop in Botswana, which is similar to the United States. Unlike the United States, sugar is still used in most products in Botswana

Motogo(mo-toe-ho) Motogo is porridge made out of sorghum. According to Wikipedia, sorgum is a genus of grass that is raised for grain. It can be found in countries with warm weather. Motogo reminds me of oatmeal, rice pap, or porridge made in the states.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum)

Kabu is pictures on the left,

dithotse is pictured at the bottom right,

manoko is pictured Kabu (Ka-bu) Kabu is dried corn. It is cooked than air dried in the sun.

Dithotse (dee-clo-say) Dithotse are dried and salted watermelon seeds. They remind me of sunflower seeds.

Manoko (ma-no-ko) Manoko are peanuts...enough said :D

Dikogbe (di-kho-bey) Dikogobe is a dish made from beans and sometimes kabu. The dish reminds me of cooked black eyed peas. In fact, sometimes black eyed peas are used to make this dish.

Magwinya (Ma-gween-ya) aka Fat Cakes Fat cakes are like donuts. They are made out of dough, sugar, and yeast. They are an awesome dessert and taste great with soup.

Speaking of animals you have to chase out your yard, I would like to introduce exhibit A, the donkeys.

Unlike Eeyore on Winnie the Pooh, these donkey's (in simple terms) just don't care. Donkey pregnancy is rampant, and people rarely use their donkeys. With this in mind, they are free to roam wherever and whenever they want. Additionally, donkey meat is the lowest quality type of meat you could eat. So on my side of town they run things, and they know it.

Example 1:

Unlike other animals, donkey's have somehow found out it is a fine or even jail time to kill another persons animal. They have decided with their new found knowledge to stand in the middle of the street, or to start crossing nonchalantly across the road. Yes sir, these donkey's are smart, and they look at us as if we are stupid.

Example 2:

Why might you ask why I would need to chase donkey's out my yard. Well it's for two things. The first reason is that they like to eat grass and other shrubbery. While this is fine, donkey's also have no problem pooping where they eat. This is my first issue with having donkey's eat the grass in my yard. The second less obvious reason is that they will turn on your tap outside, crowd around the tap, and have a small party all night long. Once again they are aware they are doing wrong. How do I know? Well because when you wake up in the morning and see the remnants of the donkey party which include water running all night and tired donkeys they will quickly run outside the gate. Even though most donkeys will run, they are some donkey's (in simple terms) that just don't care, and will only leave your yard after chasing them out your yard. Outside your gate, these donkeys tend to look at you as if you did something wrong.

Oh Donkeys :/

-Finda

So I didn't really believe it when I first heard it, but seeing baboon's in my yard the other day was unbelievable. I woke up early, expecting to have a regular Monday morning when I decided to looked outside the window. They were running as a pack, and I nearly panicked. "Oh my gosh" I said to myself and ran for my camera. I started to take pics from the safe distance of in my house. I then decided I wanted to see this with my own eyes. So I searched for my glasses, but first I wanted to tell someone. So I searched for my phone. In between searching for my phone and glasses, I asked myself, "Why am I not just experiencing this?" Who knows when I will see them again. They looked so cute, until they started jumping fences. Then I realized I had another animal who is a pest in my yard. As cute as baboons look far away, there is something scary about them when they are in your yard.

- Finda

I don't have to go far to be reminded of America. By simply turning on the radio I can hear some of the most popular songs that are currently in the states. House music, Pop, Hip Hop are very popular in Botswana, but outside of House Music and the Top 100 I wanted to highlight four types of music that is also heard in Botswana.

Kwasa Kwasa/Rumba: Kwasa Kwasa and Rumba can be easily be identified here because the beat encourages people to dance with their hips. It has more guitars in the music. Normally when people dance at parties and even traditional dancing there is a focus on the feet. I find this to be an interesting observation because in some West African countries there is a focus on the hips, and in some East African countries there is a focus on the shoulders. Beyonce's music video "Girls" is a great example of a mixture of various different dance styles that have originated in Africa. Kwasa Kwasa/Rumba originated in Northern Sub-Sahara Countries.

Artist: Franco

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMAhbztQ_hA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDszY0cjoS8

Disco: Disco has never left Botswana, and I strongly think it never will. There are many music classics in this genre. Evonne Chaka Chaka, a world renowned singer, can be heard on the radio.



Artist: Evonne Chaka Chaka

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9lwA3sfWQ0

Kwaito: Similar to Kwasa Kwasa, Kwaito music can encourages people to dance with their hip. It has more of a hip hop flavor when it comes to the sound. Check out some of Vee's music linked below to get a taste of Kwaito.

Artist: Vee

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pw9f7-OE7Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtGWHq6YydA

Traditional Music: Traditional Music is music unique to Botswana. It utilizes traditional instruments but with modern technology Traditional Music can easily be mixed and remixed to have a hip new flavour. Culture Spears is a popular traditional music artist. Check out some of his video's below:

Artist: Culture Spears

Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvHj-x9e8XM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmc9gajd_n4

I have been in the country for officially 7 months (Victory Leap :D). In late January, my fellow volunteers and I attended our In-Service Training. Prior to these two weeks most of us were in our communities learning as much as possible in order to understand the issues and opportunities our communities currently face. Our training was held at a hotel, and I must admit hotel amenities were a wonderful get away experience for all of us.Workshops were held each day to provide an opportunity for us to learn about each other’s site, collaborate, learn about current services offered in Botswana, and learn new skills (Strategic Planning and Project Management and Design).

Leaving IST has made me excited and a bit fearful of what lies ahead. Surprisingly, I remember having this same feeling when I graduated high school. There are many choices/opportunities that I have today and for my remainder of my time here. For example, I have the choice to be my best, or the choice to be lazy; the choice to live out of my new comforts or the choice to grow as a person. One thing is for sure, I like my choices :D

-Finda

I have gained some new and restarted some old hobbies since I have been in Botswana. I thought I share with you some of those hobbies.

Making Preparations for Having a Chicken - For some odd reason I feel I will not get as attached to a chicken as I would a dog or cat. Yet, I have made a bed for my chicken. Thought of names for the girl and guy, and even talked about getting one with close friends.

Update: I was able to successfully buy a chicken last week (March 16, 2012). Her name was Chicken Patty. Unfortunately, I am unable to find her :(

Making Yogurt - Yeah I said it! Somehow I am infatuated with trying to make yogurt with the right consistency as the ones we buy in the store. I love that I am getting closer

Cooking - I once again do not have a microwave, but this time I am in a country where its a norm. I find myself cooking a lot. I miss fast food, but when I start craving hamburgers, french fries, or pizza, I just make them.

Working Out - Ok, maybe just dancing around my house in cute clothes is what I consider working out. I enjoy watching Zumba on my laptop, and I have even mastered jumping rope in my living room.

Drawing - I always hated coloring, but luckily I have a sweet neighbor who color's all the pictures I draw. So I enjoy drawing for her. Sometimes I even allow her and her friends to provide me with requests.

All and all, I have no issue living by myself. My biggest fear here is actually meeting people since I have to force myself to use Setswana. Luckily, I am an outdoor person, so it is a matter of just pushing myself to do it.

So I have attended three beauty pageants and have been a judge for one, so I thought I would make a blog entry on this topic. I am sure many of you have seen Beauty Pageants on TV. In my village, Beauty Pageants are a wonderful past time shared by the community. There are individual competitions and partner competitions. In both cases, participants showcase their best walk, knowledge, and sometimes even talents to the judges and community members. Kids even imitate beauty competitions by merely walking around like a model. I find this amusing and even sometimes participate in these games.

There is a lot of excitement that goes on around beauty pageants as a DJ is invited and community members are excited about who they want to win. At the beginning of the event there is an initial walk around the stage by all the contestants. Normally they wear the same colors or the same article of clothing. Participants must try extra hard to stand out from the crowd, whether its by their walk, smile, or slight pose.

The next round is normally the formal wear. Each contestant gets a turn on the stage to show off their outfit and model off their features. Once this round is over, it is usually followed by a traditional attire competition. Afterwords, the judges combine their scores and determine the top five contestants.

The top five contestants are asked questions by the judging panel to see the contestant’s knowledge on a particular topic. Once the top five contestants have answered their questions the judges deliberate and the winner is announce.

Unlike in the United States, I have yet to see a swimsuit competition, and the talent portion is not an often occurrence. Similar to United States, participants bring out their best to showcase themselves (clothes, make-up, etc.). It’s a good time, and provides the community a great time to be together.

P.S: Photo’s Featured Here are from our Cross Dress Beauty Pageant Fundraiser. Funds made for this pageant were used to build a home for a destitute person in the community. AND YES IT WAS HILARIOUS: D

His name was Jack. He was illegally living with me for two weeks. I had no idea he was living here until I decided to clean one weekend.

We met each other screaming and running from each other. Him running because he got spotted and me running because I spotted a lizard.

There is a lizard in this picture can you find him? After calling friends and calming myself down. I realized his stay wasn’t so bad. He could eat all the bugs, but he wasn’t. He was a lazy lizard. I am not sure what he was eating or maybe I was too fast in cleaning the bugs.

But all I know is one Saturday morning I had the door open and he walked out. He looked back at me and I looked at him, no longer being afraid of his presence, and he walked away.

Dear Ex-Roommate, If you should one day read this, I just wanted to say I hope you didn’t leave any lizard poop anywhere because I am never going near the box I found you in again.

-Finda

During the New Year I got the wonderful opportunity to spend New Years and the day following at the lands. The lands refer to the plowing lands here in Botswana. Most families own lands and a cattle post. A cattle post is a farm where families keep their cattle. Cattle are highly valued in Botswana.

During Holidays, most families head to their lands and cattle posts to do some plowing or to watch the cattle. During the regular days, most families have family members or hired headmen to watch over their property.

The life at the lands is very simple. There is little to no electricity, and water is very precious. We got water from neighboring villages and transported them in barrels to the lands. We slept in a house located on the property. Houses or homes vary at the lands, from a traditional house to a regular housing structure. I got the opportunity to cook in a Batswana traditional kitchen, see a goat slaughtered, and to cook the meat afterwards.

On New Years, I attended a party on neighbor’s lands. There was a DJ, food, a bomb fire, and lots of dancing. At midnight we shot fireworks and danced the night away.

The following days we visited the local villages, gathered more waters, and watch the local choirs. We drove around to the various choirs presenting the village. The choirs normally set themselves up

I enjoyed my time at the lands. At the end of the day it gave me perspective about the Batswana people.

Happy New Year Everyone, I thought I start the New Year with a tech related post.-Finda

I was always taught to be mindful and remember people who have slow internet connections, but it seems that mentality has gone our the door for many companies.

It is sad, but it provides many opportunities to those who are mindful of their users. Facebook is a great example of providing the same internet experience anywhere you go. While I may struggle to access my email, Facebook is probably the most accessible site since I have been here.

While I may encounter some soft errors, the overall functionality is still there. The interface is still the same and I am able to upload photo’s faster then I can on my blog.

As developing countries become more connected via internet, companies need to be mindful of internet speeds. Success comes when you can accommodate a variety of audiences.

Hey Everyone,

Happy Holidays, I have updated my contact information and will be updating various parts of my blog. I hope you all are doing well, and as I find improved internet connections, I will be uploading more pictures (Go Pictures!). I have been at my site for about a month now, and I have much to share. Until then stay tuned.

-Finda

Dear Mom

I know you and grandma taught me how to wash my clothes by hand, and shower with a bucket. But I miss you. We both knew if I avoided cleaning my clothes you guys would jump in and save me. I have decided to take on researching teleportation as a side project. In the mean time I have sent you a gift that will be coming in two to three weeks with a note attached to it saying "Please Clean".

Love,

Finda

Botswana Livin'

An important words that I have learned in Botswana is pula.

Pula =Botswana Currency

This word can be used for just about anything. For example:

Give me my pula?

Where is my pula?

Heck no, I'm not giving you my pula.

This word has been crowned my new favorite word.

Cheers,

Finda

Without Pula :(

My weeks have been filled with training, spending time with my host family, studying, and exploring my village. Out of all of these things most of my time is spent in training. Training is from Monday to Saturday and covers a breadth of topics that will be key to assisting us in our roles in our communities. On an overall, most of training can be grouped into five main topics.

SecurityIn comparison to previous Peace Corps training sessions, security sessions have been increased. These sessions equip us on how to prevent crime, where to go, what to do, and who to call if crime does happen.

Botswana Culture and LanguageIt is essential to our roles as volunteers to integrate into our communities and adapt to our new homes. In addition to living with our host families, we are provided language lessons and cross cultural workshops. These workshops provide us the opportunity to exam cross-cultural differences and similarities between the Batswana and Americans. Additionally, our group goes on mini field trips to cultural events around town in order to gain an appreciation of the Batswana culture, customs, and traditions.

HIV/ AIDSEvery country works with Peace Corps for different reasons. While all of the volunteers have different backgrounds and skill sets, our core goal is HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Volunteers. With this in mind, our training focuses on educating the causes of HIV/AIDS within Botswana, and what we can do as volunteers in our various roles.

Personal HealthIn addition to learning a new culture, language, etc, we have the luxurious opportunity of encountering new bugs, new climate, and new sicknesses and disease. With all this in mind, sessions are incorporated into our training that teaches us how to cope and overcome things we have or will encounter. Personal Health includes emotional and physical health, which is very important as there are many potential stress factors that a person will encounter living in another country for two years.

Peace Corps PolicyLastly, policy is also stressed during training in order to ensure that we promote the three missions of Peace Corps in a safe manner.

In Botswana, having toilet paper available in the bathroom is not the norm. People normally carry or keep the toilet tissue with them to the bathroom. Coming from a culture that is discreet about their time in the bathroom, walking around with toilet tissue feels like a walk of shame. Each time I pick up the toilet tissue and carry it to the bathroom, I feel like people are staring and whispering “You know where she is going.” Luckily, I am happy to say I am not the only one who feels this way. One of my fellow trainee’s took the time to inform us of her destination to the toilet, after grabbing the toilet tissue. This was very helpful as there was no doubt in our minds where she was going.

In honesty, my feelings are paranoia, but I will like to say if I have to carry around toilet tissue, it would be nice to make it an accessory. So please send me toilet tissue covers.

-Finda

Today I cooked for my host family. I am sure my close family and friends are gasping right now. I am also shocked myself. When I met my host sister she raved about how she liked to cook and how she knows Americans are great cooks. I then informed her that I could not cook.Still the idea of cooking continued and my host mother requested that I make an American dish. An American dish? Most of my day was spent thinking about what is considered an American dish, and what can I cook using the ingredients that I have. I originally wanted to make honey mustard chicken, but to my dismay I could not find honey or honey mustard. So after reviewing the ingredients that were available, I settled on making deviled eggs, apple and homemade caramel. My host sister assisted me as I prepared the dish. She added bread and salad to the dish to make it more fulfilling. I served my host mom first, and then everyone else. I waited and finally asked what did you think. My host mom responded, “I am satisfied, I am happy to have my first American meal.” Deep down I smiled and responded, “ke a leboga” (thank you).

While English is spoken in Botswana, Botswana does have differences from America. Botswana is mainly a desert. Animals (chickens, goats, cows, donkeys) have free reign. Normally in the early mornings you will see them returning to their homes for food and late at night they are partying like its 1995 (or at least it sounds like it).At the house I am staying at we use pit latrines and must fetch water outside for showers, washing dishes, and to get regular drinking water. Our water comes from a faucet in our backyard. These facets are similar to the ones that are used to water your grass or wash your car in the states. I must admit certain things like pit latrines, bucket baths, and washing our clothes by hand sound adventurous and exciting to me. So when I encountered these tasks, I happily oblige.My room is like a regular bedroom in the United States. One thing unique about my village is that families live in a compound. A compound usually consists of a main house that has a kitchen, sometimes a bathroom, and a couple of bedrooms. In addition to the main house, there are smaller houses that contain only a bedroom and sometimes a place to shower. For example, my hose mother and I stay in the main house, and my host brother and sister’s bedrooms are the smaller houses on our compound. We eat and hang out in the main house, but at night we go to our separate spaces.While only being at my homestay for about a day, I feel like I am integrated into my family. My host mother has already given me a new name, Mpho, meaning gift.

Today, we did our homestay (host family) ceremony. Peace Corps Homestay Matching Ceremony is a ceremony where trainees meet their homestay or host family for the first time. The ceremony is filled with wonderful speeches, food, and prayer. Distinguished guests within the Botswana government are invited and as a trainee we are provided the opportunity to sit and mingle with our new host family as well as meet host families. The day prior to ceremony we are given the names of the head of the household and are told to practice their name. During the ceremony, trainees and host family state each other’s names to the public as a way of introducing each other.This all happened after being in the country for two days. Having practiced little to no Setswana, I was slightly panicked. The thought of spending a 3 days with a family and only knowing Dumela (Hello) made me quite nervous.To my pleasant surprise my host sister knew English and was very comfortable with foreigners. She is very friendly and has only made great strides to assist me with getting familiar with Botswana. On my first day at my new home, my host sister and I walked around our village and I met several of her friends. I greeted them all with the only word I knew in Setswana (the most common language of the Batswana people), Duemla. Fortunately, most of them also spoke English.

Joining the Peace Corps is a dream come true, so it is very important that I bring along me, myself, and I. Adapting to a new culture and learning a new language will be tough, but by bringing my genuine personality I am removing the difficulty of being someone that I am not. My expectation is to be no one, but myself (under the context of the culture). I understand that I am coming to a new culture, and I will need to observe, adapt, and learn. This experience will provide me the opportunity to grow as a person, and to push myself. It will question many parts of my personality, identity, and values, but I know this will make me a stronger and better person.

I am ready.Update 09.15.2011: After a 16 hour plan ride, I am happy to say I have arrived safely in Botswana with my fellow trainees.

The Starfish Storyadapted from The Star Throwerby Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, so he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

As if he hadn't heard, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he turned, smiled and said, "It made a difference to that one!"

Strength & Perverseness

As a future volunteer you are constantly reminded that your work may go unnoticed or the fruits of your labor may not always be seen during your tenure. This is understandable, think about the Women's Rights Movement or the Civil Rights Movement. The ability to change or positively impact a group of people doesn't happen over night. And once you have a majority of the people on your side, there will still be some hills to climb. For example, women are still not always being paid equal to their male counterparts, and racial profiling and police brutality is still alive and well. With this knowledge, I have decided to pack a lot of strength and perseverance. I am a highly motivated individual, but I know there will be days where I will not want to get out of bed. While I pray this is few and far between, I am aware it will happen. That's when I will open up a can of strength and perseverance.

Whatever it may come from, where ever it may come from, it will be that reality check that makes me aware that all I can be is my best, this has been my dream since I was young, and that sometimes its helping one person that can mean so much more.

Note: This post was sparked by a twitter comment by my friend, I hope you find it entertaining and useful

After learning about the awesome experiences of Peace Corps, you have realized that you too would like to save the world. This task isn't easy, it's probably as hard as taking over the world. (Even Pinky and the Brain have yet to figure out this feat) But I applaud your efforts for realizing that the world needs to be saved. Some of you reading this post may be thinking, "how can the entire world need to saved?" Well there is pollution, homelessness, poverty, and the crying child who wants candy. Why you might ask, well we are all a part of this world and sometimes in our lives we find that we need someone to save us. Saving can come as donating, smiling at another person, a hug, listening, volunteering, etc. We can all make this world a better place by actively participating in it and helping one another. It's that easy. And I bet you thought this blog post would be extremely long. No sir, you too can start now at helping to save the Earth. So what is stopping you?

-Finda

ictpc.blogspot.com

Telling other people that I have joined the Peace Corps have caused many reactions. Some that I have not anticipated, and others that have been really receptive. I have a wonderful career as a Software Engineer, and I can understand why to some this change can be surprising so I thought I write this post.

It wasn't for the money

As I get older, the importance of money has become more evident in my life. Bills are surely the luxury of being an adult, but that's not why I joined the Peace Corps. I am sure that is obvious to everyone who reads this post It wasn't for the benefits

While the Peace Corps provides many benefits (loan cancellation, re-adjustment allowance, the opportunity to travel to another country). The benefits were never the reason that encouraged me to join.

I was in middle school when I wanted to join the Peace Corps. At that time there was conflict in Sierra Leone. Before the blood diamond conflict became news to the media, my mom would receive BBC tapes from London that aired the conflict. That day my small world got so much bigger. I realized that we don't hear all the news. I felt helpless...

It was my sister who told me about Peace Corps. One day I had expressed to her how I wished I could do something, and she shared to me that there are global organizations that I can join and all I needed to do was research. That night I did that and actually attempted to join the Peace Corps that day. Unfortunately, you can't be in middle school to join. So I made it a life goal.

I will admit goals do change, and after being differed, the goal became to help Africa, join another organization to help Africa, etc. But through my journey I have learned that no one knows God's time.

So why did I join the Peace Corps:

Simple, I felt I have been very fortunate in my life, and joining Peace Corps would provide me the opportunity to help others who may not necessarily have the resources to succeed readily available to them. America is a great country, and sometimes we fail to realize how great our opportunities are in this country. I hope my time in Botswana I will have the opportunity to share and equip others the knowledge I have gained through my experiences in order to make an impact in their goals. I don't want to save the world, but my goal is to help where I can and make friends along the way.

I hope those reading this post in Botswana will be open and willing to share their culture and knowledge with me, and that along the way we are able to learn, grow, understand/respect, and most importantly create a long lasting friendship.

ke tla go bôna kgantele-Finda

Item #3: Humor(Laughter and Jokes)

I am aware that by accepting my invitation to Botswana I will have the opportunity to learn a new culture, language, tradition, history, and experience AWESOME Adventures. While I will make sure to be open minded and not to bring any assumptions (Item #5), I will be bringing my sense of humor and sometimes lame jokes. As ridiculous as things may seem in my eyes, I will learn to laugh and be in the moment. The Peace Corps is a wonderful opportunity, and I personally think humor will be key for me to assist in helping me with stressful situations. Smiling, laughter, and jokes is a great way to connect with people. Whether its sharing past memories that make a person laugh, to moments I may find myself, humor will definitely be key.

-Finda

ictpc.blogspot.com

Having a computing background, I have become the automatic technical support to family and friends. This is a blessing and a curse. This helpful guide has been created in order to assist current and future volunteers who are considering purchasing a new laptop or external hard drive. Helpful General Advice: While I have my own biases on electronics, I would recommend bringing a device that you

As I prepare for my journey to Botswana, I have discovered five important items that will be necessary for me to pack. Each of these items will come in handy when working with other people, but most importantly, these items will be a consistent reminder of why I have always wanted to do Peace Corps. Item #5: No Assumptions When I think of my time in Botswana, my mind draws a blank. After being

Hey Soon to Be and Currently Serving 2011 Botswana Peace Corps Volunteers,

So I noticed there wasn't a Peace Corps 2011 Group on Facebook. Shocked at this amazement, I took the liberty of creating one so we could all connect.

Join me as we share our experiences, stories, advice, and tips, on the Peace Corps Botswana 2011 Group

Site Address: http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_167075986682983

Cheers,

Finda

Photo of me once receiving my package

Oh my GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!! My invitation is finally here. I woke up at 8am in the morning and drove my dog and myself to UPS. My mind was racing on the potential places I could go, and the various things that I could potentially do. Once I returned home, I made breakfast. Yes, I made breakfast, I was hungry :D. I waited 2yrs for an invitation, a couple of minutes wouldn't hurt.

Finally, once Charlie (my dog) and myself were fed, I opened the package.

BOTSWANA!!!!!!!! BOTSWANA, BOTSWANA, BOTSWANA (I like saying the name). I will be going to BOTSWANA to work as a District Community Liaison. I am so thankful for my placement and I can't wait to start. But until I leave for staging, I have a huge list of things to do.

It took me 2yrs. Yes, 2yrs to get into the Peace Corps. Coming this far is bitter sweet. I look forward to my upcoming journey. Until then, I need to prepare.