Coming from North Carolina, I've become accustomed to questioning the actions and intentions of some people if I feel I'm being marginalized because of my race (or gender). With that said, I take that attitude from the states and magnify it by 100 here. Racism (and sexism) is in my face EVERYDAY! Its just the way things are here in South Africa, rural and urban.

Sunday morning I spent time at a used book stand. Cheap used books are my thing, so I took my time looking through them. After about 20 minutes, I ended up with three novels. One is about an ancient Christian relic stolen during WWII and the modern day recovery of the item. Another involves a murder-mystery during the Medieval Period in the town of Cambridge, England. And the third is an Anne Rice vampire novel (enough said). All three are decent sized. Between 300 to 400 pages (give or take), so nothing I plan to read in its entirety on a 30 minute taxi ride.

As I was paying for the books, one of the owners commented on how much I'm going to enjoy the stolen Christian relic novel. He really liked it and found it to be a good read. The man was very polite, white, and kind of hippy-ish. After saying such positive things about one of the books, he said "if I like these, then I'll probably enjoy a couple of other books he has". So, now I'm intrigued and I follow him over to another table.

He hands me two "thin" paperback books with black female characters on the front. The women are tall, shapely in the butt, small thin wastes, long braids, and wear tight clothing. The owner proceeds to tell me that he knows the two black South Africa female authors who wrote the books. They even personally signed his copies. "I figured you might be interested in these books, b/c ....well....you know....", he said. I cut him off with a polite smile so he didn't have to try to finish the sentence.

Since he was so polite, and in all honesty, meant well, I decided to indulge him and read the book summaries on the back. Both books revolved around the "Angry Black Women" themes of baby-daddy-drama, sex issues, and balancing work with it all. Both leading women in the books were single with children. One book used "slutty" to describe the intentions of the main character.

Its good to know that I can spend almost half an hour at a used book stand buying books that will peak my intellectual interests, to then have the owner hand me trashy dime books as a recommendation for "something I might be interested in". I mean seriously people......SERIOUSLY!?!?

Would the black owner of an African book store recommend his personally signed copy of Fabio's "Forbidden Love" (I made that up) to a white patron who is browsing the books in his store for biographies on great African leaders?

In the spirit of forgiveness and tolerance, I guess I should commend the white owner of the used book store for at least making an effort to bridge a gap by even suggesting a book for me....

....Or maybe I should be absolutely and unconditionally insulted by the fact that his attempt to bridge a gap involved belittling my intelligence and suggesting I'd prefer dime books about sex and baby-daddy-drama (maybe b/c the author is black) over a good long read about murder taking place in a kingdom during the Middle Ages of England, or armed forces trying to steal back a symbolically powerful Christian artifact during WWII?

The owner knows nothing about me or my background. I'm a history teacher. I studied Modern European, American, Classical, and Black American history for four years at university and taught United States History, World History, and World Religions for two. By default, that makes me a nerd, which I known and own. I like long boring books and movies that most of my friends would never read or sit through with me. Thats part of the isolation that comes along with being nerd.

But...

I wonder what the white owner saw when he looked at me spending that time at his book stand Sunday morning. Obviously something that lead him to believe I prefer books about raunchy sex, unhealthy relationships, and single-motherhood....

You know how I felt? Its as if I walked in there to buy an encyclopedia, but the owner felt I might like his latest pornographic novel since I had something in common with the characters and authors. You know.....being black an all.....

I'm surprised its taken me this long to mention Pension Day and Taverns.

On the third Thursday of every month; women, children, and magogos (way older women) head to a local soccer field in a nearbye village to receive their government "welfare" and/or "social security" checks. Men are present as well, but not in as large of numbers as the women and children. They'll pick up their checks, then buy goods (in bulk and on discount) sold out the back of trucks, or off colorful looking blankets on the ground. Stuff like chickens, fruit, vegetables, clothes

If the lack of students in the classroom or the bum-rush of women, children, and magogos doesn't alert you to Pension Day; then the activities at the Tavern will definitely give it away. By the time I'm walking home from school in the afternoon, I can hear the Tavern music. "Tavern Music" consist of several Akon and Lucky Duby songs (on repeat), or 2-3 house songs (on repeat).

I live on "the main dirt road" that runs through my village, and my house sits about 1/4 miles from the Tavern. A large woman named Alphavia (I'm not kidding) owns the joint. During the day, she sells chips (french fries) with a homemade chili sauce. Me and my host sister will make our way down there often. My sister, swears, Alphavia likes me more b/c she always gives me more chips. Ha!

So, on Pension Thursday, and every single Friday and Saturday night, the Tavern will begin its night of repetitive music and drunken debauchery!

Once again, I've been MIA for a while. I have a bad habit of keeping up w/ postings, then falling off the face of the Earth for a while. Guess thats my way of keeping people always wanting more.

I was away from my village for about month while I traveled home to see my family and friends in America. Great vacation! By the time I returned home and got over jet lag, I was back on the road headed to work with a group of new trainees for a week.

Now I'm finally settled back in my village and looking forward to my major goals for my final year here. For starters, it feels REALLY good to say I have only a year of service left. I've made a nice life for myself, and its come to the point where my day's do not drag by. I've found myself very content and comfortable here. Its a good feeling, and I was never really expecting to feel this way after having a rough start (i.e. all of year one).

My Literacy classes at school are going very well. Several teachers have spoken to me about improvements they're seeing in the children. Several have even asked me to do workshops on the teaching styles I use! This truly surprises me, because for a long long long (long long) time, I couldn't get the teachers to approach me about anything. This was one of the main reasons I decided to work closer with the kids.

But now! Ha!

Now I'm planning on putting together a series of 1 hour workshops from a list of ten items or so that I came up with after speaking with the teachers. If they go well, I can present them to other teachers at surrounding schools. For a while now, I've been asked to come help other schools. This will be a good opportunity.

till next time, and hopefully sooner....

Peace Corps is definitely a time for "firsts". I attended my first double funeral Saturday morning. Two young women in their 20s died last week from the #1 killer (or 2nd next to humans murdering humans) in South Africa: AIDS!

The women died on the same day, and were buried a few feet a away from one another. The crowds at the two services meshed together, sang the same songs, and listened to the same prayers by the preachers. It was a daunting experience. I stood their watching the sun come up over the mountains that highlight my village watching every single person in the crowd. Death is such a common component of life here. How can they stand it? I certainly can't. It breaks my heart. I haven't been to one funeral of a person who died of old age or just "natural causes". ALL have been for young adults in the prime, or pre-prime, of their lives.

One woman left behind three children; a baby under a year old, a young boy in Grade R, and a young girl in Grade 4. I teach the Grade R and Grade 4 children. When I went by their house to drop of plates for the reception after the funeral, the little boy (Thebogo) waved with a smile and said "Tama Tasha"! Ha.

I remember his name from the hundreds of other children because Thebogo was the name of a character in a book I read to the Grade R learners. When I asked the name of the little boy in the book, Thebogo raised his hand, smiled, and said "Thebogo!" His teacher smiled and said that was his name too. Thebogo got a sticker for answering the question right. He was happy to show it off to his friends.

It breaks my heart that these young children are motherless now. What I also think about now is the health of Thebogo and the baby......

I'm flying home Saturday to visit my family in America. Its so weird that I'll be able to step out of this world and my life here for three weeks.

Guess I'll see what happens....

"What is a dictionary?" .....silence

"What do you do with this book?" (teacher points to dictionary).....silence

"What is IN a dictionary?" ......silence

I spent the first 15 minutes of my Grade 6 class yesterday trying to explain what a dictionary is. I wanted to make sure the kids understood the words "mystery and crime" before we jumped into reading "The Mystery of the Broken Window" story that I did with Grade 7 earlier this week. Grade 7 knew what a dictionary was for, and could even find the two words (mystery and crime) very quickly. Grade 6 on the other hand......

I was so surprised that they had NO CLUE how to use the dictionary (Sotho to English), that I become frustrated. I tried not to show it, but their teacher (who, in her defense, is sick w/ the flu) was uninterested and didn't seem to notice I was struggling.......struggling really really bad!

I wish I could yell, scream, and stomp my feet at the teachers and school administration: "How do your students not know what a dictionary is?!?!"

So now I'm putting together a "This is a Dictionary" lesson plan for my grade 6 learners. I'll probably play it safe and do this lesson with Grade 4-7. Might as well....

For a few months now, I've been using Shel Silverstein poems with my grade 5-7 learners. We've worked on reading aloud, comprehension, vocabulary, and rhyming. Things went pretty well, but I could tell the kids still "didn't get" what they were reading. The poems were meant to be fun and imaginative but the kids (and teachers, might I add) were taking them literally. So that sucked all the fun and cuteness out of Silverstein's poems. Ha!

This week I took a different approach with building comprehension skills. I wanted to have an lesson that actively encouraged the kids to "think outside the box", use their imaginations, and build the skills necessary to decipher the English they read into something they actually understand.

This is where Kid Detective Sipho Mashile comes in.

I searched the Internet for short and easy to solve kid mysteries. After "Africanizing" (yep...just coined new word) the character's names and locations, as well as simplifying the language, I came up w/ a cute mystery (The Mystery of the Broken Window) that would engage the kids but also encourage them to understand the story so they can solve the crime.

I set up 6 tables around the library (I call these stations, and use this method often). Each had a copy of the story and two questions. They had five minutes at each station to answer the questions, which lead them in the right direction to solving the crime (i.e. clues). Once every group made it to all stations, we came back together as a class to actually solve the crime. It took ALOT of acting out on my part, but before I almost gave the answer away, a learner figured it out! It was great!

The kids got into it, and I saw several boys who are a part of my "Too Cool for School" crew engaged in the story and trying to figure out the mystery.

Anyway, Kid Detective Sipho Mashile is going to make a recurring appearance during Library Time from now on.

**Let me start off by clarifying that I will settle for an "African Winter" over an "African Summer" any day!**

The weather in my region has never been normal. Everything here is exaggerated...

We don't have breezy days, we have monsoon type winds that cause ridiculous dust storms. Its like I'm living in the Dust Bowl in 1920s [history reference :)]

We don't have have light drizzles on a cloudy day, we have torrential rainfall that makes a trip to the pit toilet a physical act only a well trained athlete can survive.

We don't have nice warm days in the summer, we have heat that causes a person to suffocate inside or outside at all times of the day!

And now, I'm getting a taste of what Winter will be like. I say "will be", b/c its not even Winter yet. As I type right now, my fingers are numb. My tin roof has a way of keeping all the coldness inside the house, and any warmth from the sun outside. At night I'm wrapped up like a burrito. I've already decided to invest in a small electric heater when I return from the States.

I never ever ever imagine it could get so cold in South Africa. I didn't come prepared.

oh well, now I know....

Things are getting back to "normal" for me in the village.

Life at home with my host family is awesome, as usual. I've never lived with young kids before (I'm the youngest child my immediate family), so I've never been able to experience the physical and mental growth of young children and babies. Im so intrigued and, more often, annoyed by their actions.

I'll start with the youngest, Thebang, who is 8 months now. She's absolutely amazed by my locks and always gives me the best wide-eyed (no blinking) stare whenever I wear my hair down. When I hold her, she automatically goes for the locks. She likes to try to eat them! She's been doing a lot more baby talk, and we all can't wait for her to actually start talking. I've been joking (but internally being serious) with the family about how I hope Thebang's first word is something in English!

sidenote: I've been speaking ALOT more Sotho on a regular basis. I sometimes find myself unintentionally mixing Sotho and English in my sentences.

Then there are Sizwe (boy) and Mpumi (girl). They are both 7 years old. In "South African terms", they are brother and sisters because their mothers are sisters. They're as close as twins as can get w/o actually being twins. A few months ago, Mpumi could stomp Sizwe in anything physical. Well, now the tables have turned. Also, we hear Mpumi crying alot more now, as opposed to Sizwe over something the other did to each other.

My host sister, Nkele, has still remained my closest confidant. Especially since Diakano died. We talk about him alot, and its comforting. Its culturally rude/disrespectful to talk about the dead openly after they pass. You rarely even hear the person's name said out loud. But me and Nkele talk about Diakano all the time. We're able to laugh about stuff he used to do. We can talk about how much we miss him. Its nice.

Its also cool to see her developing more and more into a mom. I've never seen the development of the bond between a mother and her child before. Thebang recognizes Nkele as her mother, even though she lives with 8 other people and is held by them all on a regular basis. And one day my host mother, Mma Theko, took Thebang to a relatives house and didn't return until the next night. Nkele was going crazy b/c she hadn't been able to hold Thebang for a day. I joked with her about that, but it was a beautiful thing. Mother and child.

Anyway.....things at school are also going a whole lot smoother!!! I'm finally getting a handle on how to do this literacy thing. The kids have adjusted to me and my routines, and I've found ways to manage my classroom w/o things getting crazy. Also, the teachers can see that I NEVER raise a hand to my learners, and I've still managed to keep them calmer than they [the teachers] do all day.....

sidenote: I reached to pat a learner who was talking on the back the other week, and he flinched b/c he thought I was going to hit him. I immediately stopped the class and for 5 minutes explained how I would NEVER EVER EVER hit them b/c thats not right and thats not the type of teacher I am. Their teacher was present for half the speech, but I didn't care. I'm so tired of seeing these teachers hit the kids. Its out of their frustrations and anger, not with the intention to discipline the child. Its terrible!!

....I'm also doing a better job of differentiating my lessons. I'm trying to do more artsy lessons with the older learners, and introduce phonics with the younger grades. Yesterday, with my grade 4 class, we spent the entire hour making small booklets ("My Word Families Book") from scratch paper I could find, string, and color pencils. Every week I will introduce a new Word Family to my Grade 4 and 5 classes. They know the English alphabet and how each letter sounds. But the majority of them can not read English. So every week we'll learn a series of new words associated with a particular Word Family. For example, they will learn the sound "ack" and how it will sound with a "b" before it (back), or maybe a "bl" (black).

In less than a month I'll be heading home for a three week vacation. I can't %@&*ing wait!!!

till next time (hopefully sooner than last time)......

The interesting thing about being a Peace Corps Volunteer is that you, honestly, have NO IDEA what you are getting yourself into! Will your 27 months of service be the most fulfilling and rewarding work of your life, or the most extreme disaster you've ever encountered? For me, it’s been an even mixture of both. So much so, that I've never been more challenged physically, socially, professionally, mentally, and emotionally as I've been since stepping foot in the country last July.

I've seen some of the most beautiful landscapes and sunsets.

I've met some of the funniest, smartest, annoying people.

I've tasted some of the most extreme foods (ex. bugs, chicken intestines, homemade wine, etc).

I've smelled some of the most HORRIFIC body odor.

I think what’s affected me the most is how I've experienced senseless violence against people close to me. Last month I lost my 16 year host brother to an altercation with a 17 year old that ended up with Diakano stabbed in the heart. And today I learned that my 39 year old host father from my training village (I lived with this family for 2 months) was shot and killed yesterday.

Chicco and his wife, Lydia, are small business owners which makes them targets in their small village. Chicco was shot several months ago in his home. The shooter wanted his money. I don't have all the details of this shooting, but Im going to go ahead and guess that it involved robbery.

I haven't had a "normal" week in my village in months!

On a (VERY) positive note: I'm visiting home for three weeks during the June/July school break. I can't wait to see my family and friends.

Who would've thought a Southern girl from the suburbs would be living this surreal life in another country. From one day to the next, I'm experiencing a variety of emotions: anger, elation, pain, frustration, excitement, mistrust, confusion.....

I'm so curious (and somewhat scared) to see what’s next......

Its been a long time since my last posting. The past month (and a half, give or take) has been....well..... challenging. I struggled with finding motivation and excitement when teaching my literacy classes with one of my schools for several weeks. I felt as if the village was sucking the life out of me. Teacher apathy and ineffectiveness was driving me mad. And, I was having a difficult time creating lesson plans that kept 30-50 children mentally/physically occupied for 1 hour.

(side note: I had absolutely no idea how to teach kids HOW to read. I'm talking about basics of this is an "A" and it sounds like this ---.Its actually a little harder than I was expecting.)

I then went away for a week of training, which was fun because I was able to spend time with friends that I hadn't seen for a long time. However, on my way home from the training, I received a phone call from my host sister. My 16 year old host brother, Diakano, had been

killed. He was stabbed by a 19 year old boy. They were arguing over a girl. Yep....a girl!

So, the past few weeks (since his passing) have been crazy. I'm actually going to save that information for another posting. I don't want this one to be too long.....

I'm beginning to understand more and more why so many PCVs get frustrated with their service and leave early b/c of the hopelessness they feel. Let me be clear here, I don't feel hopeless about the children I'm working with. I've never felt so optimistic about working with a group of children before. It's the teachers and administration that worries me. How can effective changes be made at a school where the entire staff of adults are apathetic about their work?

The excitement and energy I see in the kids is motivation enough for me to continue with my Library Lessons enthusiastically. But its so FRUSTRATING when the teachers don't pump out the same enthusiasm as the kids. I taught six classes this week in which three of the teachers were present. Of those three...

...one asked to leave and only stayed (for half the class) because of my firm reminder that I don't speak fluent enough Sotho to teach my lesson effectively to Grade 3 without her...

...another fell asleep while I read the children a story that THEY were absorbed in, and I only noticed she was asleep behind me when I asked her a question but got no response (she didn't respond to my verbal wake up call so I had to physically nudge her awake!)....

and another (a new teacher) actually paid attention to what I was doing and was genuinely interested.

What's wrong with that picture peoples?!?!?!?

.

So far this week has been pretty productive. I've taught two days of effective lessons, and FINALLY have a set agenda for my second primary school.

This week my lessons are focused around "the anatomy of books". I figured I need to start from the very very very basics with the kids since I've seen them (on numerous) occasions hold books upside down. I decided to take baby steps and be as simple as possible.

I took some big white butcher paper and made an over-sized book with a front cover, title page, copyright page, and body. The front cover has (in big pretty letters!) the words "Title", "Author's name", and then a cute picture of a family and their house (p.s. stick figures rock!). I also made cards with an explanation in Sotho of each part.

I have the older grades volunteer to come up to the board and match the Sotho description to the English word. I just walk through the explanation of each to the younger grades, but in Sotho. Once they understand (as much as I can see) what each part means, I pick books randomly off the bookshelf and ask them the title, author's name, and describe the picture. For the older grades I use English books and have them give me all the answers in English. For the lower grades, I use Sotho books and (obviously) have them give me all the answers in Sotho.

Once the older grades get a hang of things; I put them into small groups, give them each a book/piece of paper, and have them identify the title, author, and describe the pictures. As simple as this assignment sounds, many of the kids struggled. Obviously its easy to pretend you know whats going on when the class is all together, but in small groups I was able to get a better idea of who really understood what a title is, and where to look for the author's name.

Having the kids present their "findings" to the class turned out to be the most irritating part. They're either too shy or "too cool for school". No one wanted to present, and some boys kept throwing the books around like Hot Potatoes (you know, the game). I got so tired of watching this that I eventually made everyone in the group go up to the front and present the information simultaneously. Ha!

Ive' also thoroughly enjoyed playing the staring game with these kids. When I ask a question and get 40 pairs of eyes staring at me blankly, I just stare right back. They have NO IDEA how much patience I've obtained through all the years of working with kids. I'll wait all day until the silence gets so awkward you don't know what to do. I'm trying to prove that I'll wait until you have time to think of an answer or get so bored of the silence that you just shout something out.

I'll be teaching literacy lessons at my second school each afternoon from now until....well....until I think of something else productive to do at the school. Me and the principal are currently putting my schedule together. It's been a bit tricky b/c I can't get there before noon, and this school is alot bigger than my main primary school. Its a lot harder to schedule ALL the classes (they have multiple classes in several grades as opposed to my 1st school that has one class of each grade) in one week time frame.

We're actually combining some classes and re-arranging some schedules to squeeze me in :) It feels great to have a supportive enough principal who doesn't mind making changes so I can try to be effective. I call my little 1/2 hour time slots "Literacy Time!" I'll create lessons for Grade 4-6 and read stories to Grades R-3. I'm expecting two challenges:

(1) there are THREE grade R classes that I'll be reading to at one time.....can we say CHAOS!!?!?!? and

(2) I have 45 minutes to leave school 1, drop by house to use bathroom (school bathrooms = icky) and refill water bottle (it's still blue-blazing-hot), and walk to school 2.....umm....let's just say when I showed up today I looked like I just ran a marathon

till next time....

Well, I've been ghost again for a few weeks. I attended a week of training back in my training village and then attended a few meetings in Pretoria. The past few days I've been fighting an annoying cold which has kept me caged up in the condo. Its good to be home though....

I always find that I dread coming back to "village life" after I've been around my American friends or even spent a few days in a urban environment. But once I get home and change into my "lounging" clothes (shorts and t-shirt), kick off my sandals (these days I prefer to be barefoot), and start talking with my family (I like catching up on the latest village gossip); I feel comfortable and settled in.

The rainy season has FINALLY started taking its toll on the dirt roads in my village and the surrounding area. The other day, the taxi I was riding on got stuck in the mud....

[side note: Taxi drivers seem to think they are driving 4 wheel drive hummers as opposed to 3,000 year old mini vans]

....and we had to all get out so the men could push it out. On some days, the taxis won't even come to my village b/c they don't want to take the chance of getting stuck. This means we have to walk a good 30 minutes to the next village where the road is better so we can catch a taxi from there, or we remain stranded until the taxis come our way again. The other day, a big bus got stuck in mud and sat there for a few days until it was set free. Ha! Man, I miss paved roads.

On to something more serious, I feel the need to mention an event I'm participating in at the end of March. To save myself time, I'm just going to paste an email I sent out to friends and family. I hope those of you (all three....hi Ma) who read my blog can contribute or at least pass the information on to someone who is interested....

Hello Family/Friends,

Well...I've now been in South Africa for over 6 months! It is so hard to believe; I hear that the longer I am here the faster the time goes; I hope it doesn't slip away too fast!

Things are going well; I just finished my IST (In Service Training) and am ready to get back to working on my projects! I've been focused on a library at one of my schools, and am happy to say being a librarian this past month has been very intriguing (well....and a bit frustrating....but it comes with the job). I've been working very closely with two elementary schools in my village, and find the work tedious but very rewarding, which means so worth while!

With the holiday season now over, I am looking forward to upcoming events. One of these is the Longtom marathon. It's actually a half- and an ultra-marathon, and I plan to participate in the half (obviously walking), which is 21.1 Km. It's happening on March 29 in Sabie, Mpumalanga Province, not too far from Kruger Park. It starts at the top of the Longtom Pass and goes downhill most of the way into Lydenburg.

Many Peace Corps volunteers will be taking part, probably over 70 of us, so it's going to be a lot of fun to get together with them for the weekend and run/walk in this beautiful part of the country. I visited this area during my Christmas vacation, and it's amazing.

In addition to having a good time though, the main reason for taking part is to support the KLM Foundation. Their website is: www.klm-foundation.org; please check it out. I won't go into all the details of what they do since you can read that on the site, but I'll just say that the organization was founded by two PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) who served here in South Africa a few years ago. They decided to hook up with the Longtom Marathon as a fundraiser; they fund a worthy, needy child to attend an excellent secondary school in

Mpumalanga - Uplands College. That's why I am so excited about helping them to raise funds; what better way to help this country than to educate a future leader? And the child they choose is very carefully selected, going through a four-tier process of elimination.

The four children who have been chosen so far are excelling in all respects. I hope after reading about KLM you will find yourself as supportive as I am of their work. There may be other projects I encounter along my way here, but this is very worthy indeed, and one for which I am asking your support. My goal is to get a gold medal (in fundraising even if I can't in the run!) and your donation will help me reach that goal. Please give what you can; any amount is appreciated. Even if you can only give $10 or $20, it is much needed. (Of course, we would love larger donations!) And it is tax-deductible.

So please go to the KLM website (www.klm-foundation.org) to make a donation, just click on the 'donate' photo. MAKE SURE TO PUT MY NAME in the white box where it asks for the Longtom person you want to sponsor. The online donation is preferable, but if you need to mail in a check, please make it payable to Kgwale Le Mollo (US) and send it to:

KLM Foundation (US)

c/o Bowen Hsu

461 So. Bonita Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91107

And make sure to include a note that your donation is in my behalf.

Thanks so much for your supporting me, and especially for supporting the child who is chosen next year to attend Uplands. I'll let you know how the weekend goes, and how many funds we Peace Corps Volunteers collected. Also, please feel free to mention this event to other friends or colleagues who you feel would be interested in supporting a good cause.

Ok then...till next time....

My ten year old host brother came up to me the other day as I was sitting outside on my "stoop" reading a book. This wasn't unusual, b/c lately my three younger host brothers/sister have become more at ease around me, and often come sit with me as I read outside. Anywho....that day my ten year old brother sat down and said (in Sotho of course) "Barack Obama, Tuesday". After my usual 30 second look-of-confusion-pause, I realized what he was saying and I just started grinning. I said (in my broken but quickly improving Sotho), "WHAT!?!?" He said it again, and I knew I heard right the first time. I asked him how he knew, and he said he saw an "advert" (what they call commercials or any advertisement) on TV.

The fact that this ten year old village boy who barely speaks a work of English knew Tuesday was a big day for Barack Obama blew my mind away; but, more so, spoke to the magnitude of this icon and this mounmental moment in America's (as well as the world's) history!

Tonight I'll watch the Inaguration with another PCV and her South African family. The pride felt here, by Blacks, for Obama is amazing. It almost makes up for me missing all the festivites back home. I think alot PCVs are more homesick now than we were around Christmas b/c so many of our friends and family are participating in activites and events in celebration of the Inaguration. Its difficult b/c we're missing out on something so big; but then again, I get the opportunity to experience the reactions of this event in a completely unique environment.

Today is a GREAT day! Its raining, and I'll probably get all muddy and wet on the 20 minute walk to my main primary school, where I'll give a library orientation to Grade 7 learners. And I'll more thank likely struggle through the entire lesson like yesterday b/c of the language barrier/ shyness of the students/students' having difficulty expressing their opinions and/or thoughts. But none of that matters....

I'm walking on @$%# clouds today!

Today was the most productive I've been since being in my village! I've been at my site since September. Is it sad that I'm finally having a productive day? Oh well.... regardless, it's a GREAT feeling.

The library is actually starting to look like a library. I can also see where the PCV before me left her mark. She put curtains on the windows and a lot of books were already organized on the bookshelves. But since she's been gone, no one has done anything to the library, so it took on the characteristics of a storage room. But once I got the 50kg bags of maize meal/massive bags of onions/sacks of sugar moved to a corner, box after box of student school supplies bunched together, and pile upon pile of textbooks (outdated and donated from the states) onto bookshelves; the room started looking very "library-esque".

It was a good feeling.

To keep my good energetic mood going, I decided to do some Spring Cleaning in the "condo" and give it a small makeover. After trying to figure out what to do with approximately 30 TIME and Newsweek magazines my friends/family have sent me ; a great thought came to my head. What's the best thing to do w/ a bunch of old magazines with GREAT pictures? Yep...use them as wall decorations. My goal is to see as little white-wall as possible in my "condo" by the time my service is up. I think plastering the walls w/ magazine pictures is a good start.

later....

The new school year is finally here, and I'm honoring this fresh term with a new title: Librarian! For the next few months, I'm focusing on getting one of my school's library up and running. The PCV who lived in my village before me worked with another PCV to get several hundred books donated to one of my schools.

It's now my job to turn her project into a actually functioning library. I spent the past few days putting together a schedule, which was more time consuming than I thought. I went through the School's time table (school-wide schedule) to see what time the English classes, also known as First Additional Language classes, were taught for each grade at my school.

(side note: my primary schools are grades "K"-7)

I then created a weekly schedule where each grade spends one hour in the library each week. In order to fit all eight grades into one week, I created two library sessions for each day, one the hour before lunch and one the hour after. For the most part, I'll be working with two classes a day, and on some days only one class. The scheduling worked out perfectly b/c now I'll also be able to go to my second-assigned school in the afternoons.

(side note: not sure what I'm going to do there yet...)

I'm happy to start this year off working in the library. I noticed a MASSIVE lack of reading skills with the children, even though the Dept of Education (of Mpumalanga) requires schools to set aside 30 minutes everyday for reading. Not to be Negative Nancy, but I rarely (very very very rarely) saw children reading in the classes I observed for three months. I did, however, notice a child looking intently at a book upside down.

So I figure being a librarian for a few months is a great start! And once the teachers, students, and principal get used to the weekly schedule, I'm hoping the library can function on its own so that I can move onto another project. Then again, that's wishful thinking....

Onto a more interesting part of my weekend. I attended a traditional (VERY traditional) baby ceremony called Phasa ("h" is silent) on Sunday in honor of my host sister's 4 month old baby girl. The ceremony is a time for family and friends to come together and honor the baby, as well as to ask the ancestors to bless the baby with good health. The ceremony marked the baby's 4 month birthday which means her mom (my sister) can carry her outside of the yard. Before this time, she never left the yard. A month before that she never left the house. And then a month before that she never left her room (one of the reasons I didn't know there was a baby in the main house until I was at site for three days).

Anyway, I saw my firs goat slaughter at the ceremony. I was really intrigued/disgusted by the whole process. It took about 45 minutes for two men to kill, skin, gut, and chop the goat's meat(btw...a female goat cost about R600, about $50). The family used the ENTIRE goat during the ceremony. They ate the meat and internal organs, hung some of the intestines out to dry for later use as mhuti (medicine), and used the goat's skin to wrap the baby in for some type of ritualistic act.

(side note: No, I didn't try the goat meat or intestines. I'll try anything once, but this wasn't the time for me to try that meat, it didn't smell appealing AT ALL.....so I chowed down on the fried chicken instead!)

Just to be clear. This was a very very traditional ceremony that is uncommon in most South African homes today. My sister's mother-in-law is a Sangoma (traditional healer) who still practices old customs/beliefs from ancestor worship to animal veneration. It was definitely not your average "Baptize-ish" ceremony; never the less, I was honored to be invited to the ceremony!

till next time....

I received an AMAZING care package from my folks back home today! Even though I'm baking like a cake inside my "condo" today from the heat, it felt like Christmas morning as I opened the package. There was chocolate, gummy worms, fruit snacks, slippers, BABY WIPES!, hand sanitizer, TIME and JET magazines, and kool-aid packets!

There's not one thing in this package that won't go un-used.

All the chocolate was melted, but of course that didn't stop me from devouring a Reese's Cup on the spot :)

It's been over a month since I've written my last post. There are two reasons for my absence: (1) I was on vacation and (2) I broke my internet phone.

I'm going to start with the explanation of how I broke my phone b/c, interestingly enough, it's more entertaining. Let me give a little background information first. Some of you may or may not know this, but South Africa has a bit of a crime problem. As a tourist or resident of SA, it’s important to always stay in a constant state of awareness. What I like to do is hide all my valuables (cell phone, money, and chapstick) on me so that if someone does grab my shoulder bag, they'll get nothing that I really care about. And yes....chapstick is VERY important to me.

I keep all my valuables in my bra! Clever but not uncommon. I never ever ever ever thought I would be the cause of damaging my cell phone. I keep very good care of my valuable b/c I know I'm WAY to cheap to purchase a replacement. Well...I should have thought about this, but just because a cell phone looks undamaged doesn't necessarily mean it isn't damaged....on the inside. Did you know that if you hide electronics for long periods of time in places where they could get wet, they will actually begin to erode on the inside and you (the owner) will have no idea until (one day) the item just STOPS WORKING?!?!?!?!?!

Needless to say, my cell phone experienced irreparable damage. I sent it to the village phone repair man (aka the Pakistani man who owns the local mini grocery store and sells days old bread that begins to mold after 2-3 days), but he was unable to fix it. Instead of sending it to another repair man and possibly being w/o internet for another 3 weeks, I broke down and bought another phone.

As for the second reason I've been unable to update my blog: VACATION. Most people are excited and ready for vacation because they've been working so hard and need to time relax. I was excited and ready for vacation b/c I hadn't been working hard and needed something to do! With 7 of my closest friends, I traveled around South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland for three weeks. It was, by far, one of the longest and adventurous trips I've ever been on. I had a GREAT time!

This part of the world is beautiful and so diverse. While in Mozambique; I swam in the Indian Ocean, ate crab legs the size of bananas, purchased fresh prawns at a seafood market then immediately had them prepared in a restaurant, and enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL sites/sounds of Mozambican men and women. While in Swaziland; I camped out near a lion's fenced-in area, listened to this lion roar throughout the night, and pet the same lion the next morning. While traveling around South Africa; I danced the night away to house music, experienced breathtaking views of nature, saw hippos lounging around, and ate amazing food.

Being a tourist for three weeks was great, but now I'm back to reality. School starts in a few weeks, and my goals and ambitions for the new school year must now become a reality.

And to make things more difficult, I’ve been dealing with a serious bought of homesickness. It was fueled by my vacation because I became accustomed to “living a life of luxury” (ex. flushing toilets, showers, restaurants, etc) for three weeks. Those amenities are not a part of my everyday life here, and thinking about them only increases my homesickness.

Till next time or at least sooner than the last time……

There are many things that influence a volunteer's Peace Corps service and experiences. In my opinion, one's host family is the center piece. My host family during training was wonderful, and I wondered how my "new" host family would measure up to the "old". It's not good to compare two families because....well.....apples and oranges. But I'm only human.

My family here in my village is AMAZING. They have opened up their arms and welcomed me into their home and lives. I've become extremely close and comfortable with all the members of my family. My mother only speaks Sotho, and she is very pleased with my progress in learning the language. We can sit and talk about our day, what we plan to do tomorrow, or (as usual) the weather of the day.

My host brothers and sisters keep my life here lively and full of laughter. There English is getting better as a result of our interactions, and my Sotho is improving at a rapid pace. Alot of times, young children are the best teachers. If you hang around them long enough, you'll pick up on their dialect and vocabulary.

When I laid out under one of our big trees this past Sunday (it was blue-blazing hot) to eat a mango and do some reading, my little host brothers and sister (9,7, and 6) came to sit with me and hear me read. Of course they had NO IDEA what I was reading, but I think they just enjoyed listening. They huddled around me yesterday again when they saw me come outside with my book.

They have also heard me playing my guitar in "the condo", and have consistently asked me to play for them. I broke out a few tunes for them yesterday as they excitedly danced and clapped their hands. I then let each one of them hold the guitar and strum it. Ummm...I'm not sure how often I'll them play with the guitar. I had a LOVELY time removing all the sticky fingerprints :)

Life here with my family is great, and I'm absolutely positive there love and warmth will make my service-time here memorable.

I'm so grateful...

I haven't posted a blog in several weeks only because I, seriously, haven't experienced much to blog about. The school year, for the children, has officially ended in my village. This means more downtime during my days; time to spend with my family, myself, or other PC friends.

There are a number of difficult parts to "PC Life", but one of the most difficult is dealing with friends deciding to go home to America. Our group is slowly getting smaller and smaller, and I was personally effected this past week because a very close friend of mine decided to go home. It was actually bitter sweet. Bitter because I'm loosing someone I've built a bond with and, more than likely, won't see for another two years. But sweet because she is very happy with her decision AND she gave me ALOT of good stuff that she couldn't take home with her. Examples: Microwave Oven!, plastic shelves, canned food, school supplies, DVDs, exstension cords, lifetime supply of baby wipes!, and other things.

The microwave oven is going to completely revolutionize dinner time for me! To be able to bake ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is so exciting for me right now that I'm having a difficult time deciding what to bake first! It also helps that she loved mac n' cheese as much as me, and supplied me w/ enough to feed an army (well....maybe me for a few weeks).

This was the first Thanksgiving in all my twenty-six years that didn't involve turkey, stuffing, ham, candy yams, mashed potatoes, etc. I was, however, able to spend the holiday with other Americans, which is always nice. And for that....I am very thankful.

till next time...

Before I came to South Africa, I did a variety of research on the country. The one thing I was most curious about was what the Rainy Season would look like. Would it be non-stop rain? Torrential rain showers? Wickedly scary thunderstorms? Days and days of continuous light drizzle?...

Well over the past few weeks I’ve begun to understanding what “Rainy Season” means? It is non-stop rain, torrential showers, hella-scary thunderstorms, and days and days of on-again-off-again drizzling. All is fine and dandy, but let’s add to the equation my stylish and trendy tin roof. It accentuates the sound of ANYTHING. It’s like a natural sound system. Thunderstorms in “the condo” sound like tornados back in North Carolina. There have been times when I thought the roof was going to fly off the house, like in some type of Wizard of Oz scenario. Rain on the tin roof (that sounds like the name of some Broadway play) has kept me awake many nights. However the roof is ridiculously sturdy, BUT more importantly (and to my shear joy and happiness), it doesn’t leak!!!

While visiting one of my friend’s village, I survived a near drowning experience. Well...not exactly...I was sleeping on her couch during a CRAZY thunderstorm and rain leaked through the roof onto my face. I thought (for about 5 seconds) that my friends were playing a trick on me by throwing water on my face as I slept. It scared THE MESS out of me, and for the rest of the night I kept thinking I was getting sprinkled with water. Just another situation where my mind was playing tricks on me.

With all the rain lately, I’ve been introduced to some new South African wild life, specifically mosquitoes and wasp-like bugs called “dinhlaw”. I don’t see the mosquitoes but I do see their trade mark signs all over my arms. Yep…mosquito bites…oh joy! Thanks goodness for Malaria medication. The dinhlaw are harmless insects. As a matter of fact, humans cause more harm to them than they do to us. That’s because they are a tasty post-rain treat. People eat them raw, or cook them in a frying pan with water and salt. When I travel abroad, my motto is “try anything once”. The dinhlaw are actually pretty tasty, but its difficult to get over the “I’m chewing a bug” gag-reflex. I ate a handful, just enough for my family to be proud.

My two primary schools began their “end-of-year testing” this past week. I have to be honest, I was really surprised because the last day of school is December 5th. I was (well...I still am) confused as to why they are testing so early. The children go to school, like any other regular day, and spent most of the day playing outside and socializing. They take tests for each subject throughout the day. This will be the schedule from now until December.

It frees up my daily schedule because the teachers are no longer teaching the kids. I’m currently trying to find small things to take up my time at each of my schools, but I prefer to be in the classrooms. However, I’m not interested in staring at children take tests for the next three weeks.

I’m sure I’ll find things to occupy my time, like staring at the mountains after a rain storm. They are so clear and green, it's gorgeous!...

Wednesday, November 5th around 4am was the date and time that I learned Barack Obama would be America's next president, and first Black American president. The emotions that flowed through me are indescribable. Actually, I know I don't even need to try to explain them, b/c those of you reading my blog probably felt the exact array of feelings.

I am not what people would call "a cryer". But all that went out of the window early Wednesday morning when me and my friends (other PCVs) realized we'll be serving as Peace Corps Volunteers under President Barack Obama come next year. At the same time, I was crying tears of pride and joy. I'd never felt so proud before to be a Black American. I thought about the YEARS and YEARS of struggle that Blacks have gone through in America (and are still in many ways still going through). I thought of Martin Luther King Jr, W.E.B. DuBois, Fredrick Douglass, Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Huey Newton, Fred Hampton, Assata Shakur, Stokley Carmichael, my paternal grandparents, and my mother and my father. I thought of all the Black Americans who fought(and lost their lives) for The Struggle. The ideology and principal behind equality. It existed in law, but not in practice. The idea of a Black president was usually the punchline of a joke. Now its my reality. Our nation's reality. It's the proof that our country is moving in the direction of equality...and that, to me, is such a beautiful thing :)

President Obama may step foot in the White House next year and not change anything. It's possible (doubtful...but possible). But the fact that he worked his way into the soul's of millions of Americans to become president of the United States of America is worthy of adoration, respect, and now a place in the history books. I can't believe this day has come, and I've never felt so proud to be an American. I feel I can say that, because for all 26 of my years...I've never felt this type of emotional pride for my country. What a great feeling!

At the same time, I'm so proud to be a North Carolinian. All the voter registration drives, speeches, canvassing, phone calls (and begging) FINALLY paid off. Obama did the unthinkable...he turned North Carolina blue. Of course NC had to be one of the last few states to get there votes in. (Side Note: I'm actually not even sure its been announced the he won the state). I continuously checked up on the status of NC, only to receive the EXACT same outcome: "to close to call right now".

The whole world is watching America right now. Throughout the election coverage, I thought how fun it would be to be in my home state celebrating w/ everyone else. But then I thought about how amazing its been seeing the different reactions to Obama's election here in South Africa, by both blacks AND whites. As I bought a cup of coffee this morning, a white South African woman (I'm not sure if she was Afrikaans or English b/c I have a difficult time hearing the difference between the accents) walked up to me and my friend smiling. She actually walked up on us so fast that we thought we were getting in trouble for something. Strangers....well, let me be more specific..... white strangers don't EVER approach me here, so it caught me off guard. Anyway she noticed my NC for Obama t-shirt (I wore it three days straight) and wanted to congratulate us, and let us know that Obama has inspired her and the whole world and she can only imagine the emotions we're feeling. It was great! Just like that, Obama was the bridge between two strangers of completely different cultures/ethnicity/nationality/languages. It's an amazing thing.

On the taxi ride back to my village, a young Black male was reading a newspaper w/ the First Family on front and a few passengers started talking about Obama. He became the center of conversation for complete strangers crammed in a taxi heading into the rural depths of South Africa. How trippy is that?!?!

I look forward to watching this man evolve into an awe-inspiring leader of the United States of America.

till next time....

I spent another week teaching one subject to different grades at each of my schools. I'm working my way up through Grade 3 this week, but in all honesty....my heart/mind aren't focuses on the little ones this week. All I can think, dream, talk, and write about is tomorrow. November 4th. Election Day! The moment of truth!

It's hard to believe this day has finally come. Even if you can't stand politics, this election season has been so long that everybody (I think) has been drawn in. Peace Corps has given us permission to take a few days off and spend time with our friends enjoying the election results. I'll be heading to my Provincial capitol tomorrow to watch the results with other PCVs in my area.

The enthusiasm, optimism, pride, and yes....HOPE that Senator Obama brings with him is unexplainable. The man has motivated an entire nation (well...alot of people) to get involved in politics again and actually give a damn about what's going on. His family, for me, is a model of what I hope to accomplish as a young Black American. Michelle Obama is an example of a strong minded, successful, and determined mother/wife/professional. She is today's modern woman with a kick! During this campaign, she has developed into a role model for me and so many other young women, she'd be an amazing First Lady.

My next blog posting will be emotional....let's just hope it's full of happy sentiments and not explicit words that I probably shouldn't write on my blog anyway.

Si se peude.....

This was a pretty uneventful week here in my village. I decided to create a schedule for myself and my principals so that they (well...and myself) have a clear idea of what I plan to do now until the end of the school year (in Dec). I never realize how much of a teacher I’ve become b/c I find myself miserable and unorganized if I don’t have a weekly schedule or at least some set plans for my week. So to fix the problem, I sat down Monday and mapped out a 7 week schedule. I tweaked it from the one PC gave us :)

I decided to begin team-teaching w/ each grade at both of my schools. I’ll spend between 3-4 days with each grade and continue to observe the teachers, but also teach a few lessons w/ each class. One day a week, Wednesdays, I do work in my community which always involves Girls Club in the afternoon. Friday was my first day of teaching a lesson, and it’s really crazy….but I’ve really missed teaching. I didn’t realize how much until I was doing my lesson. With a Grade 1 class at each of my primary schools, I taught a Maths (not a typo….that’s just what “math class” is called here) lesson counting 1-10 (in English). I was curious if the students could count 1-10, write the numbers, but more importantly recognize the numbers, especially out of sequence.

But before I teach a lesson w/ any of the students in both of my schools, I plan to explain where I am from (AGAIN) but with a map this time so I can point, and act out, my exact whereabouts so there is no more, or at least less, confusion about where I come from. The list now includes: Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Jamaica, and Cape Town. The Cape Town guess threw me off too. I sound funny to them when I talk; especially when I speak Sotho. And so they all know I’m not from around here. A lot of people know there is a Black American woman living in the village, but they aren’t exactly sure what to expect when they see me. For starters, most believe only White people live in America. But then they are TOTALLY thrown off when they meet me and see that I’m Black (like them) but sound white. On numerous occasions I’ve heard people say “she speaks Sahowa (English) but looks like us”, and a lot of people call me a “lehowa” (white person).

Anyway, for one class I was alone w/ the kids for the introduction part and it was…..well…..interesting. Grade 1 students are taught in their native tongue, so none of them speak English. So I attempted to teach them about where I’m from by pointing, gesturing, and speaking the little SothoI actually know. It took me a very long time just to get them to answer my question “Where are you from?” with South Africa, instead of saying their village’s name. I forgot how to say “country” in Sotho. Thankfully, after repeating the same question and getting the same answer, one kid blurted out South Africa! Then I said, “And where am I from?”, and that just got a whole bunch of blank stairs….haha. Anyway, the small introduction eventually worked itself out.

I built the Maths lesson around the game B.I.N.G.O., the kids played in groups and then I showed them how to make their own cards, and we played individually w/ the winner of each round getting to come to the front and call out the number. The kids had to recognize the number I called out (in English) and then find it on their card (if it was one of the numbers they wrote on their cards). Things went very well, and I’m grateful for the teachers' help in explaining how the game works. I spent lunch (eating stamp….chunky/creamy/corny-type porridge) talking w/ the teacher about the lesson and other educational issues, like a need for a Remedial Education-type program at the school and dealing w/ disciplinary issues.

It’s pretty cold today, so I’ve spent my day inside which hasn’t been too bad b/c I enjoy the alone time (every once in a while). I’ve also got’n myself in a little predicament. As I mentioned in previous posts, I pay for my internet by the megabyte. My time limit on using all the megabytes is 30 days, and my limit is up on Monday. Well…I’m having a hard time using up all my MBs and I don’t want them to go to waste. Its funny how when you don’t have regular access to internet there are so many things you need to use it for. But now that I have more than enough (and it will go to waste in another day), I can’t think of anything to use it for. I just keep reloading the news websites (haha).

Anyway…..till next time…..

When I decided to blog my experiences here in South Africa, I contemplated on how negative I would get with my posts. Because we ALL know my Peace Corps service is not simply crazy adventures and wonderful rosy experiences. It involves those two things, as well as, learning to cope with culture norms that I COMPLETELY disagree with, sitting in classrooms and watching educators teach in a manner that goes against everything I’ve been taught and believe in, seeing (first hand) dependency on government institutions and the negative effects of this dependency, hearing racial and sexist comments w/o being able to....well....curse those people out and tell them how I really feel.

I’ve been here for three months and have already experienced things that I never came across in the States. Some of these experiences have been wonderful while others have made me question the natural goodness that I believe all people have somewhere (however deep down) within themselves.

I’ve seen teachers talk on cell phones while their class goes out of control...I’ve broken up 2 boys kicking each other while the same teacher continued to talk on her cell phone...I’ve listened to a teacher explain how stupid and useless a young girl is as the child STOOD there and listened...I’ve watched a teacher sleeping on the floor in the back of the room while class was in session (in his defense…another teacher was teaching the students)...I’ve watched a teacher get angry and yell at Grade 1 students for not being able to do division problems...I’ve seen the same teacher flick, thump, and smack the heads of these learners b/c they were unable to do these division problems (by the way...I don’t know of any 6 year olds who can do double digit division....do you?)....I’ve watched teachers sit in the teacher’s lounge while the students hangout in the classroom doing...NOTHING!

The magnitude of the work ahead dawned on me last week...

Yesterday morning I was awakened at the bright and early time of 6:30am by a local Community Development Worker (CDW) I met a month ago when I first moved to the village. He wanted to know if I would come along with him for the day to do some work with an organization called Disabled People of South Africa (DPSA) in surrounding villages. The CDW is interested in creating a Assisted Living Facility in our ward (my village and 4 other surrounding villages) for people with disabilities.

I spent the day helping register the information of people in a village near mine and getting to know people in DPSA. It was a VERY rewarding experience. The DPSA volunteers were informing the people of their rights as disabled citizens here in South Africa. They wanted the people to know they have the right to equal opportunity, and if they are experiencing discrimination because of their disability, they have legal rights too.

The turnout for the meeting was big and the people were very interested in the help from DPSA. The CDW had gone around in the community (door-to-door) informing people of the meeting, and his grassroots efforts were very effective b/c alot of people attended. The CDW has A LOT of ambitious ideas for how to help disabled people in our community, and I'm looking forward to helping out any way I can.

Sadly, too often people with disabilities are taken advantage of or even abused by their own family members. If an Assisted Living Facility is built in our community, these individuals will have a place to go. Sort of like a refuge where they can be cared for and live peacefully with others. I'm looking forward to see how this all develops. I plan to continue to be involved in the meetings and planning.

I never thought I'd be involved in working with disabled people in my village, but I go and help where I'm needed. I'm very happy for the opportunity!

I've still been observing teachers this week, and today I was back at it again. I wanted to get a chance to watch all the teachers at my two schools teach at least once class, and by tomorrow I'll have accomplished that goal. Starting next week, I plan to begin team teaching with the teachers. I can honestly say that I'm feeling more and more welcomed at both of my schools each day I go! It's a very nice feeling.

I have A LOT of work ahead of me though in regards to helping improve the teaching at my two schools.....A LOT of work indeed.....

Girls Club this afternoon went well. I taught a session (w/ the help of the two other women who run the club) on women's health. I titled it "Keeping Our Bodies Healthy", and we went over four topics. (1) Cleanliness in regards to what types of products women use when menstruating and how they use them. My demonstrations during this part were.....interesting. (2) Breast exams and how women should get into the habit of checking themselves every month. I then explained why and how. (3) Yeast Infections in regards to the symptoms and what to do if experiencing the symptoms. I explained yeast as a type of fungus, like a mushroom, but then I had to go back and explain that mushrooms won't grow on your private area, just ANOTHER TYPE of fungus. And then (4) Safe Sex, dealing w/ what actually is considered safe sex, what's birth control, what types of birth control is there, and how do you get it. Birth control is free here in South Africa, so I'm always encouraging the sexually active young people to take advantage of the free service. I haven't figured out why so many choose not to.

Till next time....

I finally did something Saturday that I've been waiting to do for almost a full year now. VOTE!!! It felt great to fill out my Federal Write-In Absentee ballot. I placed my ballot in the mail Saturday, and now I'm saying extra-crispy prayers every night to make sure the ballot arrives safely in the hands of the people at my home Board of Elections. It is now, officially and technically, out of my hands. But it still felt GREAT to mark the ballot box for this historic elections.

As many of you may or may not know, I was highly involved in Senator Obama's nomination before I left for my service here. It has been VERY difficult being here and out of the "political loop", but THANK GOODNESS for internet news. I went from having my television tuned into MSNBC at all hours, to reloading Google News, MSNBC's website, and the "Huffington Post" to keep up with the politics going on back home.

What has been great and refreshing is the excitement for Senator Obama over here. I've been surprised at the number of SAs who ask me if I like Obama or think he is going to win. It's been a great excuse to talk politics, which I miss doing. Thankfully alot of volunteers in my group enjoy political conversations. Several of us held our breath as we waited to hear who Obama and McCain chose for their running mates.

It's been one month since I've been here in my village, and I have to admit, it feels like I've been here A LOT longer :) I had a very relaxing weekend. Saturday I spent time with other volunteers in our shopping town taking care of business like buying my two staple foods: cereal and peanut butter, dropping off my absentee ballot, receiving political magazines in the mail from a friend back in the states (THANKS MARK!!!), receiving a copy of Obama's Democratic Convention acceptance speech in the mail (THANKS TREVOR!!!), and enjoying some chips and chicken dust at a local food hut while catching up w/ friends. French fries are called chips here. And chicken dust is chicken cooked on an open braai (grill). It's delicious!!!

I spent today reading my gifts, the TIME and Newsweek magazine while sitting under a tree in my yard with my sister, and just shooting the breeze. The afternoon was interesting b/c a snake was spotted in my year, so my family had an adventurous time trying to find the snake and kill it. It was spotted by a neighbor, and my buti (brother) found that it was hiding in a tire against our barbed wire fence. As I (obviously) stood back (a distance) and watched, the snake was jolted from its hiding spot and went under the nearest banana tree. The family then tried to smoke it out. They lit the banana tree (no banana's were on it) on fire in the hopes that the snake would come out. I guess the snake was took scared to come out b/c by the time the fire went out....there was no snake.

The family wanted to make sure the snake was dead b/c we have little kids playing in our yard and chickens running everywhere. The snake, possibly poisonous, could cause some serious harm to someone or something. All-in-all it was an adventurous 30 minutes ordeal.

So lately I've been hearing the difference between my Sepedi and the native speakers. They speak with more of a guttural tone, as opposed to me speaking more through my nose (at least that's how my sister humorously explained it to me, I just hear a difference). I'm trying to mimic my sister when she speaks, but its difficult. People hear that I sound different but don't automatically think I'm from America. They just hear how different I sound. I've been accused of sounding like I'm from Zimbabwe and Malawi! Today someone guessed I was from Cape Town (I didn't correct him). Maybe in a year or so I'll be able to mold my Sepedi speaking accent into the local dialect. We'll see....

Tomorrow begins another week of observing teachers at my two schools. I'm still working on building trustful relationships with the teachers and developing ideas of where I'm needed and how (exactly) I can help during my two years of service here.

Till next time...

I started this week off observing teachers at my two primary schools. It was a rude awakening into the challenges that lay ahead of me. Depending on the administration, English is supposed to be the language of instruction starting in the lower primary grades (2-4); but the classes I observed used a lot more of the native tongue than I expected. Not that I blame the teachers. As an ESL teacher in the States, I would always fall back on speaking Spanish if I had a difficult time explaining something in English to my Spanish-speaking students. For my non-Spanish speaking ESL students, it was challenging for me to teach. BUT……finger pointing, jesters, and acting out events goes a long way. I always found a way and managed. In the classes I observed, many teacher spoke a mixture of Sepedi and English (but more heavy on the Sepedi than English). Not that I blame them….English is the teacher’s second (or maybe 3rd) language.

I also found that my presence as an observer was often a distraction. I purposely sat in the back of the classroom, but that didn’t stop the students from trying (inconspicuously) to sneak peaks at me whenever they had the chance. I’m still trying to adjusting to all the staring, so what I’ve started doing is “beating them at their own game”. If I feel eyes on me, I turn and play the staring game. I’m usually the winner! I don’t stare in a malicious way, but I do make it obvious that I see them looking at me. The teachers also had a tendency to explain to me what they were doing and why. I really wanted them to pretend I wasn’t there.

By Wednesday I was struggling b/c I hadn’t felt like I was completely welcomed at one of my schools. At one point, I was in the situation where people were talking in a room but become (obviously) quiet when I entered. At another time, after I greeted the teachers, they said something in Sepedi and all started laughing. I felt like I was in high school all over again. Building relationships with the teachers I’m here to work with is going to be my first MAJOR challenge. What I’ve decided to do is fall back on the one thing that I’m really really good at……SUCKING UP!!!

Today I purposely engaged one of the teachers in a conversation that I knew he was interested in: Teacher Unions. I also ate lunch in the teacher’s lounge today, even though yesterday I was (honestly) embarrassed because I felt as if they were laughing at me, but I didn’t know why. I went to school today with a different attitude. I decided to do whatever I could to make them like me. That means smiling A LOT, engaging them in conversation no matter how difficult, speaking their language as far as my knowledge will take me, and asking them questions about themselves as much as possible.

I’m even getting creative by making cards for all the teachers in celebration for World Teacher’s Day tomorrow (Friday). I plan to hand them out tomorrow, and I hope it doesn’t blow up in my face. But after inquiring about what they (the teachers) were doing for celebration, I found out they had no plans or activities. So the purpose of the cards is two folds: (1) show them I care by hand making cards for each one of them and (2) show them that I think they are important enough to have something special on a day of celebration for them. Well....and of course to make them like me :)

I had a successful session with Girls Club this week, which was a great motivation booster for me. On Wednesday I did a lesson on the Woman’s Body, specifically on the menstrual cycle. I had the girls popcorn read a story about two girls around their age. The girls are friends, and one explains the menstrual cycle to the other who experiences it for the first time. We then took a look at a picture of the female anatomy while I walked through, step-by-step, what happens every month for women. To conclude the lesson, the girls were split into groups and had to write down two questions they have about their bodies. One of the young women in the village, who also helps with the Girls Club, did the lesson with me so that she could translate for me when necessary. The questions the girls came up with were GREAT!!! However, me and my friend did have a difficult time answering some of them. We had some good laughs :) In the end I felt satisfied with the fact that even if they still did not completely understand the menstrual cycle, they ATLEAST have a better idea of what happens and why. And by the end of the session, I felt better in regards to interacting with the girls. I'm beginning to learn more of their names, but more importantly, I can actually pronunciation the one’s that were so difficult for me a week ago.

This week started off a bit rough, but ended on an upward slope. In Peace Corps, it’s the little success stories that keep us volunteers motivated about our projects and purpose of being here. I definitely experienced that this week.

My one main concern about leaving PST (Pre Service Training) was having too much down time, and I have to say this week, even though it was for a only few days, the down time had a scary effect on me. For the first time in a while, I was...LONELY! Even though I have a GREAT family here in my village, loneliness hit me full force in regards to missing some of my American friends.

This week was the inter-quarter break at all the schools, so all the students and teachers had a one week break, which meant (I thought) I’d have a great week of just hanging out. I spent Monday and Tuesday with other volunteers in my region, but Wednesday was when the magnitude of being in a rural area hit me pretty hard. I didn’t have easy access to a movie theater, bars, a concert hall, the beach, or any other leisure activity that I would normally fall back on in the States during school breaks.

It didn’t help that Wednesday night I heard the world’s most disgusting noise! Who would of thought a bug can make so much noise scurrying across your floor in the middle of the night. The sound was so loud it woke me up. I thought I was dreaming, but when I dozed off, I heard it again! Well, I had two choices: (1) get out my flashlight to look and see what animal was possibly making that noise or (2) wrap myself in the fetal position until morning and not get a wink of sleep.

I picked choice #1, and discovered the scurrying noise came from two huge roaches (at least I think they are roaches). I armed myself with my flashlight in one hand and my bug spray in the other and began the battle of killing the bugs w/o stepping on the floor (you know…in case there were more and they scurried towards me to protect their friends). I was victorious in the battle, but the bugs conquered me in another way. For the remainder of the night, I flinched at the slightest of noises. I slept MAYBE a total of two hours. I’ve been on edge every night since. I know I’ll calm down, but I keep waiting to hear that nasty/disgusting noise.

Today I went and bought Blue Death, an insect killer powder that has received raving reviews from other PCVs. I just sprinkle it around my “condo” and I should see no more ants and roaches.

I did have a pretty cool highlight on Thursday. I saw my first chicken slaughtered! My Mma Mokgolo (literal translation is “Big Mom”, but it really means my mother’s older sister who is by default my older mother, but actually my aunt) who lives next door sells chickens for people to slaughter and eat. She makes a pretty good living b/c I ALWAYS see people leaving her house swinging chicken(s) by their feet. She charges about R35 (equivalent to about $5) for each chicken. Pretty good price for a whole chicken if you ask me.

Anyway, my Mma (like an expert) held the chicken down by its feet and wings, and quickly sliced its neck. Umm….the chicken’s body being separated from its head didn’t seem to register with the chicken and it continued to jerk around for about 15 seconds as my mother continued to hold it down. I guess that’s where the saying comes from “running like a chicken with its head cut off” b/c if she didn’t hold the body down; it would still flap its wings around even though it was headless.

Then my sister placed the chicken (head included) in a bowl of boiling water. This allowed her to pluck all the feathers off real quick and with ease. After that, she washed the chicken several times to make sure all the feathers were gone. She took the feathers off the head as well, and removed the tongue.

Then my Mma cut up the chicken and cooked ALL the parts (minus certain innards) including the head, feet, intestines, gizzard, and of course the breast, thigh, wings, and legs. I tasted the end product and it was DELICIOUS. There’s nothing like fresh chicken. I haven’t been “gansta” enough to try chicken feet b/c…..well…..their feet. But I have taken a like’n to chicken intestines. Believe it or not, they are pretty tasty. They are cooked with a little salt and onions. Apparently my little sister (she’s 7) likes the head, so they always save that part for her.

I admire South Africans when it comes to slaughtering animals b/c they are not wasteful with ANY parts. The entire animal is eaten one way or another, and I believe that’s the way it was intended to be. My family, of course, would like me to slaughter the next chicken, but I told them baby steps. Let me first pluck the feathers and then MAYBE I can work my way up to the actual slitting of the throat.

That’s what I told them, but to be honest, I don’t think I have the guts (no pun intended) to actually kill a chicken. I feel bad enough killing roaches in my “condo”, how I can physically put a knife to an animal’s throat and go through with it. Mmpm...maybe I’ll become immune to the whole process...one day.

I went to a village soccer game Saturday. The Flying Bats, my village’s team, won by breaking the draw during the penalty kick round. I had a great time building up allegiance for the local Flying Bats. My host brother plays on the team, but had to sit out this game b/c of a red card earned in one of the last games. I think the Flying Bats move on to the semi-finals, but I’m not sure when they play. I never know when there is a game until it is actually being played :)

Today I’m laying low and spending time planning for a trip I’m taking with some friends during the Holiday Break and watching some DVDs. Till next time...

I had a pretty chill weekend. I went to Girls Club on Saturday to watch the girls practice dancing, which was GREAT! They practice traditional and modern dances and they sometimes perform to different groups. They asked me to join them, but I was perfectly fine with watching :) They danced to music called Kwaito music, which is like a mix between house and go-go music. I like it!!! The girls were very good.

Once a week I’ll be doing sessions on Life Skills stuff. This past Wednesday I did a session on self esteem. The girls were shy at first, but eventually participated a lot. One question I posed was what they like most about themselves. The answers were very good. I like: my body, that I’m successful, that I’m healthy, that I’m kind, that I'm intelligent, that I’m respectful, etc., etc. The last PC volunteer did a lot of great things with the girls, and they already have very positive views of themselves.

I made No Bake Cookies yesterday and shared them with my family. I know the kids liked them, and one of my host sisters said I need to teach her how to make them. I’m turning into a Betty Crocker over here...

On Sunday I went to church (Church of Nazarene) with a friend in the village. It was a good experience. I didn’t want to be introduced to the congregation as a visitor, but of course it happened anyway. Also, throughout the service some parts were explained to me in English, so of course everyone turned around to look at me. I really enjoyed the singing and dancing, and it was (all around) a good experience.

Other than that, I’ve been spending time with my family. I taught my teenage host brother the card game Gin Rummy so we’ve been playing that a lot. I’ve also had time to practice my guitar and can now official play Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” all the way through which is a personal accomplishment for me :)

Till next time...

Well…

I thought my only concern with creepy crawlers would be the kind with eight legs or wings. I was sooooooo wrong. Today I had an unwanted visit. A LIZARD!!! Just the other day I was telling one of my host sisters how lizards don’t bother me because they are beautiful to look at and don’t bite. Well, I spoke to soon.

As I prepared to do some light reading this afternoon on my hammock in my office/kitchen/living room, I noticed some poo on my hammock. Before I could ask myself “what is that and how did it get there”, I noticed the lizard (the size of a gecko). It scared me so bad, and I was contemplating what to do. I obviously couldn’t/wouldn’t kill it b/c it had done nothing to me. At the same time, I wasn’t going to be able to pick it up because it was way to fast and that’s just “icky”. The next logical thing was to call for backup.

I called my host sister, who quickly called my 16 year old host brother to come help us out. I told him I didn’t want to kill it, but I was afraid if he didn’t move fast enough to catch it, it would move somewhere in my “condo” and we’d NEVER find it. Of course as he lunged for it, he missed and we had to then meticulously look through everything in the area where we thing it went. After searching long and hard and moving things out of the way, we STILL couldn’t find it. The only logical place it could have gone was into my bag-o-bags. My brother searched through the bags outside and out came the lizard.

Needless to say, I thought something was crawling on me the rest of the day!

This morning and Tuesday morning was like Christmas and my birthday all in one b/c our water came on each of those mornings! My host mom woke me up to let me know I should bring my buckets to refill while the water was on. It was on super duper low pressure, so I just left the buckets there while I drank my morning coffee and ate breakfast. I didn’t care how long I had to wait, I was just happy the water came on.

The alternative to running out of bucket water is putting as many buckets as one person can into a wheelbarrow and pushing it to the nearest house that has running water, wherever that may be. Then you must wait in line for you turn to fill up the buckets, and then use all your energy in the world to get the wheelbarrow of buckets back to your house. So as you can see, I’m always VERY excited when our water comes on. I’m not looking forward to the tedious task of “going to fetch water”.

Till next time ….

E tla!

That means "whats up" in the local slang in the area. Anywho...today was a pretty cool day. I went to one of my assigned high schools this morning to begin this week's assignment, which is interviewing teachers at my two schools one-on-one to get to know them better. This is kind of a bad time to do this assignment though b/c the teachers are preparing for the end of the quarter this Friday. Thankfully my principals fully support me in all that I do, so they nudged (aka forced) the teachers to take a little bit of their free time to talk with me. I felt bad, but then got over it b/c I REALLY enjoyed getting a chance to talk to them. I think in the end, they saw that it was harmless too.

This afternoon I attended a circuit-wide principals meeting. The Circuit Manager (which is the individual who is the head of my school district) has taken a liking to me and wants to make sure all the area prinicpals know why I'm here. She created a circular about me and what I'll be doing here for the next few years. She didn't clarify that I've only been assigned to two schools, but she did make it clear that if other schools want to "use my services", they must speak with my principals first. I'm actually pretty happy with everyone in my circuit wanting to work with me, b/c this (HOPEFULLY) means more teacher will be interested in attending the workshops I'll be putting together sometime next year (when the new school year starts in January). Also, I prefer to be busy than just sitting around twiddling my thumbs.

Anywho...I was given the opportunity to introduce myself to the circuit principals at the meeting. The Circuit Manager asked me to briefly introduce myself, but I had NO IDEA she was talking to me. The meeting was in English and Sepedi, so I kept zoning out when people spoke Sepedi and then payed attention when I heard English. Thankfully one of my supervisors was sitting behind me and nudged me to say "sweety...she's talking to you". Haha...I think I'm getting better at understanding Sepedi, but only when I'm paying attention :)

So I've got'n more creative with fixing food for myself b/c pasta, potatoes, and fish patties can get pretty old pretty fast. Today my host sister (and now friend) gave me an advocado the size of an eggplant (I'm not kidding) and it was ready to eat. The ones I laboriously plucked from the trees a week ago aren't ready to eat yet. Anywho, with the one she gave me I decided to make some guacamole. And I didn't want to eat the quacamole with bread, so I decided to make some homemade tortillas. Yep....that's right....I said tortillas.

Peace Corps provided all of us with a cook book (I think I mentioned this in a previous post) and one of the recipes was how to make homemade tortillas. Not to float my own boat, but THEY ROCKED!!!! Once I was finished I took some to my mom and one of my sisters. I showed them how to dip it in the guacamole, and they liked it! I told them that people in Mexico (I haven't found a clear way to explain what Latin America is) eat tortillas with the majority of their meals like they eat bogobe with every meal. My mom liked it so much that she had me put some on a plate for her to eat more later.

Let's just say it was a great moment for me. Even though guacamole and tortillas aren't necessarily a part of "my culture", they did become a HUGE part of my diet in America. I felt good sharing the dish with them. It made me feel warm and gooey on the inside.

Later...

Afternoon....

Yesterday was a nice day because I met the Girls Club that I'll be working with for the next few years. There was a SA 15 volunteer living in my village before I came her (note: I'm SA 18), and she completed her service once I began mine here last week. Anyway, she helped start a girls club in the village with girls from the local primary school that I'll be working with. Since she left, I've been designated her replacement in regards to teaching the girls about Life Skills. Life Skills refers to a variety of topics like self esteem, making the right decisions, physical health, safety, etc, etc.

I'm excited for the opportunity to get directly involved with girls in my village, and it's GREAT that the volunteer before me already established this club because usually the most difficult part is the actual process of getting it started. They meet 1-2 times a week, and do other things like put together dance routines (traditional and non-traditional dances), and then perform them for area organizations. They are excited about teaching me some routines :)

Yesterday was fun because I began the tedious process of learning the girls names. But when I kept asking them their names, several gave me the English version of their Sepedi name. I told them I want to learn their Sepedi names, but I still think they were trying to appease me by telling me their English names. I also taught them a few American games, like Red Rover and Down By the River. They got a kick out of them, and they taught me some South African games as well. Being a part of this girls club is going to be a great experience and allow me to be involved in something outside of my school "duties".

The girls are pretty intrigued with me as well. When I told them I'm learning to speak Sepedi, one outgoing girl started quizzing me by asking me what shirt, head scarf, and other articles of clothing were in Sepedi. I also spent most of the session having each one want to be my partner in the various games we played, or simply standing a few inches from my face and analyzing EVERY part of me. I'm looking forward to getting to know the girls over the next few years!

I'll be giving my first Life Skills lesson this Wednesday, so I need to think of something good and creative to start off with....

Later...

Evening Folks....

It's interesting how much my lifestyle and standard of living have changed within these past few months. What I mean by that is how easily I've adapted to a totally different lifestyle than how I lived back in the states before I came here. A few examples:

It's interesting.....how I actually thought I was conserving water back in the states by not leaving the sink water running while brushing my teeth, as opposed to now when I have almost mastered bathing in one pitcher's-worth of water....how I can use three cups of water to wash two pots, a plate, and silverware from dinner....how I can then look at that bowl of water and then say to myself "mmph...that's not dirty enough to throw out, so I'll save it till the morning to wash my breakfast dishes".

It's interesting .....how in the states I'd see one ant and ignore it but here I search for the source so I can make sure my "condo" isn't infested with the little suckers.....how I used to scream at the site of one baby spider but here I only worry about killing the big ones b/c I don't want to waste my energy or bug spray....how if/when I do kill that spider I MUST put it outside b/c the "cannibal ants" will somehow find it and devour it right then in there in the middle of my floor.

It's interesting....how while in the grocery store in the States I never noticed something like a box of mince on the shelf but here I stock up b/c I know it's something simple I can cook w/o actually buying real meat and keeping it in my tiny freezer in my mini fridge.....how I can actually eat the EXACT same pasta dish that is absolutely horrendous (b/c I cooked it completely wrong) four days in a row b/c I don't want to waste the food I used.

It's interesting....how a peanut butter sandwich with sugar sprinkled on it has become my new "sweat snack" as opposed to Reese Cups or Oreo cookies with milk. And speaking of milk...it's interesting how I'm now drinking something called "Long Lasting Milk" that can sit unrefrigerated and unopened for months w/o going spoiled, taste DELICIOUS to me.

It's interesting....how an orange has become a major source of "refresh-ness" as opposed to a soda or Gatorade, or water for that matter b/c I'd rather conserve the water for something else, like one of my weekly baths (yep...that's right...i said WEEKLY).

It's interesting....how loud bass from the music of a next door neighbor in my apartment could keep me awake for hours, but now I sleep soundly with the sound of (LOUD) roosters/

chickens and house music from the Tavern down the road from my home.

It's interesting....how I used to not be able to use the bathroom with other people in the stall next door, but now I go with the door open in the pit toilet b/c it won't close all the way, and even if it did, the flies would drive me crazy too much....and deep down, I enjoy the view :)

And lastly....it's interesting that no matter where I am; Mexico, Korea, America, or South Africa, I must ALWAYS start my day with my cup of coffee!

Anywho...just a few thoughts....till next time...

Morning...

Let me first start off this post with a clarification from my last one. When I said I won't openly tell people I'm an American because right now I see more cons than pros, that (by no means) doesn't mean I'm "ashamed" to be an American here. I want to blend in as much as possible in my new village, and in many situations when I tell people where I'm from, I get the same responses: "oh...you must have alot of money", "really....then why come here, we all want to go to America", "mmph....you're such a nice young lady, we should find you a husband here". I do enjoy explaining why I'm here, and what I'm doing as a volunteer here, but often times the conversation doesn't necessarily lead that way. So....even though it's obvious that I'm not from around here, I've decided to try a little experiment. When people ask where I'm from, I'm just going to tell them the name of my village. I'm curious to see which direction the conversation will lead. They clearly hear that my Sepedi is different, but not so different that they can hear an American accent.

I just wanted to make that clarification. Interestingly enough, I've actually grown more patriotic since I started traveling overseas several years ago, and I see it happening here as well. Being in a foreign country, and engulfed in a completely different culture, helps me feel more connected to my own country and culture in America. Traveling opens my eyes to the good and the bad of ALL countries, but it always leads me back to being proud of who I am and where I come from. That's not to say I have all positives to say about my country, but I do begin to understand it more....for better or worse (if that makes any sense).

Yesterday I spent more time with my family and host brothers and sisters. I'm so blessed to have a family that openly invites me into their home. There is a show here called "Jiga Ma Jiga", and it's like a dance version of American Idol; except they choose a winner every night and the young people are dancing a unique style of dancing. It's like a mixture between break dancing, crunk dancing, and street dancing. IT'S AWESOME!!! Some of the dances are so trippy. It's a very popular show, and several of us (volunteers) are picking up on some of the styles.

I've also begun to watch nightly soap operas (called soapies) with my family. I began to do this during training, and the shows are pretty addicting (like all soap operas). The most popular one is "Generations". It takes place in Jo'burg and revolves around the lives of Black South African professionals. I LOVE the fashion on the show, even though the acting can be bit cheesy at times. Sad to say....I'm hooked and it's a great opportunity for me to spend time with my family every night at 8!

There is another soapie that comes on later at night called "Muvango" and I love this show because it is a great example of South Africa's traditional and modern worlds colliding. It revolves around several Venda families struggling to keep family ties close, traditions strong, and business relations powerful. It's pretty cool.

One last thing....I ran into two young girls at the bus stop yesterday in the nearby (big) town with the most unique English accents. The young South African girls lived near me in my village, but there English had a very distinct British-ish accent! It was so crazy. After speaking with them for a while, I found out they attended a private school in the (big) town and there teacher was Afrikaans. They couldn't be more than 12 years old, so they've obviously picked up their teachers English accents over the years. Sometimes when I speak with Afrikaners, I'm not sure if they are British or not. But these young girls definitely had a British accent, and it was tripping out me and my other volunteer friend. One of them was reading a novel as she waited for the bus, and that was the first time I saw a child here leisurely reading a book. Anywho....we had a nice conversation while waiting for the bus.

It will be interesting to see if the young students I work with will pick up my American accent over these next few years. I've already been told I have a "deep American accent". I had no idea what that meant, but my training host family had some difficulty understanding me because they said my "O's" sound like "A's". Like when I said "hot" they thought I was saying "hat", and this caused a lot of confusion and laughter. They understood one of my other volunteer friends better, and she was from Wisconsin. I had to learn to speak my words more clearly.

Children at young ages absorb so much, which is probably why it's easy for them to pick up a second language if they are around it all the time. In the past, Peace Corps has gone to villages to see some volunteers, and they'll run into a young kid with a distinct Southern accent. Come to find out, the volunteer who'd been working with them was from Kentucky (hahaha). I also remember while I was in South Korea, one of my friends was taught English in Britain so spoke with a British English accent; while another was taught English in Germany, so had an interesting guttural-ish sounding English.

Anywho...till next time......

Hey....

This week I'll spend time getting to know my village. Each week I have an assignment to follow that Peace Corps has given us. Some people aren't big fans of the assignments, but being the nerd I am...I actually enjoy the structure. Each week builds on the next. Anywho... I've finally finished unpacking and setting up my "condo", well except for my clothes which are still in my suitcase until my wardrobe is delivered.

Yesterday and today I went on walks with my host sister around our village and the surrounding ones. There are no signs that signal when one village ends and the other begins. It's pretty much left up to landmarks like a spazaa (small street shop) or a small bridge. It's interesting. I'm starting to recognize my own landmarks though. I have to draw a map of my village with landmarks included, so I'm glad to be walking around and getting more acquainted with my surroundings.

I decided today that I won't openly tell people I'm an American if they ask where I'm from. I'm just going to tell them the village I live in, which isn't technically lying because that's where I'm from.....now. Being an American in a foreign place has it's pros/cons and I decided that right now the cons slightly out weight the pros. I want to fit in as much as possible, and claiming to be an American doesn't necessarily help. Clearly I'm in a different situation than some of my friends because it's obvious they are not from the village. But for me it's a little different. I speak decent enough Sepedi where you can't hear my American accent so I'm going to see it goes for a few days.....

I'm actually enjoying cooking for myself again, but I can already see that I'm going to get tired of pasta and peanut butter. It looks like I'll need to learn to cook something else. Thankfully the Peace Corps provides us with cookbooks that help us use ingredient we actually have access to. Last night I made tuna fish patties, which may sound nasty but was actually pretty tasty!

Mmmmm....

Thama!

That is just another way of saying "hello" in Sepulana, a dialect of Sepedi. I want to start off this post by thanking all of you who've left comments on the blog, they mean ALOT to me. Especially the comments from my students back in Jordan. I miss Jordan ALOT more than I expected and I hope the 400 wing is holding it's self together without me. It warms my heart to know that some of you are reading my blog.

I've spent the past few days buying basic necessities for my "condo". I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but that's what I'm calling my two bedroom house. It sounds so much more trendy. I've had to shop for a big plastic bin to bathe in, buckets, a hot plate, an electric water kettle, more buckets, cups, basic food items, silverware, did I mention buckets! Buckets are a hot commodity here in my village and amongst those of us who don't have regular running water.

For instance, today the water was running in the outside spicket so my host mother (whose AWESOME) came knocking on my door to let me know so I could fill up anything and everything I could find with water while it was on. I'm still not sure why, but sometimes the water is shut off at various homes so you live off your reserves or go to the neighbors house if they have water.

I had a great time today plucking my first batch of fresh avocados off our tree in the back. The tree is VERY tall, so the family uses a ridiculously long stick with a hook on the end. You then break your back and neck reaching up as high as possible to the avocados and try to wrap the hook around them. My little brothers and sisters stood under the tree with a blanket to catch the falling ones. The family has a make-shift tarp set up under the tree to catch the ones that fall once they are ripe. The avocados here are the size of a small cantaloupe. IT'S RIDICULOUS!!! I can't wait to start eating them. My neck/back is killing me though (haha...)

I attended an interesting workshop today with two of the principals I'll be working with on School Budgeting/Financing. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of financing workshops, especially when they are in a language other than English. But it was great opportunity for me to meet other principals in my school district (we call them circuits here) so they know who I am and recognize my face. It was also interesting to hear about some of the circuit's policies on finances.

I'm trying to get my condo organized, but it's difficult w/o some pieces of major furniture, like a wardrobe for my clothes. My province's Department of Education will provide me with a bed, desk, two chairs, and a wardrobe. I know....pretty cool eh.....except for the fact that they haven't delivered them yet. Thankfully my host family is letting me borrow one of their beds. I don't mind living out of a suitcase for a few weeks. The key word for Peace Corps Volunteers is P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E.

I spent a few hours today laying in my hammock (yep....I said hammock) reading a book and listening to music. It was very relaxing. Tomorrow I'll head to my shopping town to pick up some more items, like a pot for cooking, string to hang my clothes on in my "condo", an iron, and....can you guess the third thing?....you got it....more buckets! I'm lucky because a PCV who has lived in my village the past year just ended her service and gave me ALOT of her stuff. So she gave me a great jump start.

Time for me to cook "LaTosha's Famous Pasta", which is pasta cooked with random spices until it smells and looks pretty.

Sepela Gabotse Bagweras! (aka...goodbye friends)

Go Bjang!

WARNING: THIS WILL BE A LONG POST!!!

Well....the past few weeks have been incredibly crazy and busy. I've been receiving all yall's comments on my blog and it is soooooooo good to read them! It's hard to explain how good it is to receive letters and thoughts from back home. At the same time it can be difficult because it makes me a bit homesick....BUT KEEP SENDING THEM!

As for packages that have been sent to me. Umm....I haven't received any which probably means I won't get them. Not to bash this lovely country, but the postal system is not very reliable, especially when it comes to packages. If you want to send me a package, please do one of the following:

(1) buy insurance for it

(2) label it as "Religious Material Inside"

(3) label it as "Education Material Inside"

(4) don't claim it as expensive

This will help decrease the possibility of ....umm....well....sticking fingers. Also, don't send me mail to the "Pretoria Address" anymore. I officially have my own PO Box at my new permanent site:

PO Box 3749

Acornhoek 1360

South Africa

Oh yes...I'll start having regular access to the internet because I bought an internet phone a few days ago. South Africa (SA) is an extremely interesting country because it's like 1st and 3rd worlds coming together. EVERYBODY has a cellphone, even in the most rural of areas sometimes. It's really neat because that means you get service in some of the most remote places. So what we (Volunteers) do is buy internet phones and then we're able to hook them up to our computers and get internet service. I know what you're thinking..... "isn't that expensive"? Not at all....SA has a prepaid system for their phones, and the phones aren't nearly as expensive as they are in the States.

So today is a big day. I'll no longer be a Peace Corps Trainee. This afternoon I'll become a Peace Corps VOLUNTEER! Cool eh?!?!? This past week we took our language test, which I passed with flying colors. I scored an Intermediate High, which is fancy for "I Rock"! Just kidding. This week was also difficult because we had to say goodbye to our host family's that we've been living with for the past 8 weeks. I grew extremely close to my family, and it was very hard to say goodbye (yep....just like the song). I'm going to miss them alot, but I know I'll be able to visit.

Today after our Swearing In Ceremony, we'll head to our new sites. That is where I'll be living and working for my two years of service. Finally, I won't be living out of a suitcase or bookbag. I've been assigned to two primary schools that are grades Creche (Kindergarten) through seven. There are about 350 kids at each school with a teaching staff of 10-15. Peace Corps is cool because it allows you to focus on areas that are your strengths. I want to focus on teacher training and working with youth in the community with HIV awareness. In 2005, the New Curriculum Statement was implemented in all schools across the country, and ALOT of schools/teachers/principals are having a difficult time moving into the "new system". And that's where I come in...

My two supervisors are the principals of the schools, and they are very excited about me. It's actually a bit overwhelming, because they have alot of expectations. And at the same time, the community was expecting a white volunteer. But they seem to be happy with me because I'm "one of them". Not to go to the "Race Thing", but I feel so welcomed here because people like the fact that I sound American but look like them. Its interesting... anywho....

My new village, Mokhululine (yea...it's a mouth full), sits right up against the Drakenburg Mountains and it's beautiful. I watch the sunset behind the mountains and its awesome. There's a large variety of animals and vegetation, different from where I've been training. My yard has mango, guava, avocado, and banana trees! I've been given a small two room house in the family compound of a widow and her children/grandchildren. I'm very happy for the space, especially since some volunteers were given one room inside the family's house or one room that sits off to the side. I can't wait to move in and turn it into my own space.

The one downer is that the village speaks a dialect of Sepedi that has bits of Xitonga mixed in, it's called Sepulana. So I'll have to learn a semi-new language. My family speaks Sepedi, so atleast that won't be a problem.

Anywho....now that I'll have regular internet access, I'll be able to update my blog more frequently AND begin to tackle the massive number of emails that I haven't checked in months. Sorry for the long post but alot has been going on.

Till next time....

Thobela!!

It's been a while since I've been able to post a blog. There is an internet cafe in the closest town to me, but it is usually closed once I'm finished with class and it is a SUPER DUPER slow connection.

So yesterday we recieved out site placements, so my nervousness/excitement/anxiety is finally over.....well almost. Next week we will visit our new homes, I can't pronunciate the village and I don't have the sheet with the name on it. My shopping town Acornhoek sits right next to Kruger National Park!!! Which means I'll be in (pretty much) the most beautiful part of South Africa, next to The Cape. I'm very happy! My village is not near Acornhoek, but that is where I'll go to buy my basic necessities.

So next week will consist of me meeting my new supervisor, my new host family who is providing me with a room seperate from the main house, the village chief, the schools/teachers, and other things that need to be taken care of. I'm also excited about getting to see more of this country. My site is very far from where I've been training the past month.

The one bummer about my site location is that I'll be required to take Malaria medication because of my close-ness to Kruger National Park :(

Once we get back from out site visit, we'll have two more weeks of training which will also include my Language Test. I've really picked up on the language and I try to speak it as much as possible with my family and friends. All the pieces are starting to fall into place. It's a good feeling, let's just hope I can pass the test :)

My host family here is still AWESOME and I'm going to miss them alot. I know that I'll be able to come in visit them which is a comforting feeling. The food is still good and I'm learning how to cook some of the local cuisine like bagobe (pap), potato dishes, mashed pumpkin, and maize rice (which tastes JUST LIKE GRITS so you know I'm loving it!). I'm also getting alot better at hand washing my clothes and taking bucket baths. Hand washing clothes is a very tedious and arduous back-breaking task. My 16 year old cousin says I need to "not be so lazy" when washing them. I guess I wasn't scrubbing hard enough, but my back and hands didn't feel that way.

My internet time is running out. I hope I'll be able to get to an internet cafe some time next week so I can post some of my pictures.

I miss all of you and hope all is going well in the States. I'm staying healthy mentally and physically.

Gabotse!!!

Thobela!

I have about 10 minutes or so to sum up all that's been going on with me the past few weeks. I live in a somewhat large village with my two host parents, Lydia and Chico who are absolutely wonderful. They own a supermarket and tavern (bar) in the village, so I consider them entrepreneurs. I am living very comfortably with my own room, and have made it my own space by putting my poster from home on the walls. Also living with us are my two bobutis (brothers), two cousins (I don't know that word yet), and my Makoko (grandma).

The food has been very very good, but different. I have adjusted well to life here in my village. Everyday I have language class (I'm learning Sepedi) and then I go to the local teaching college to attend classes that are preparing me to work in the field starting in September. I won't know where my permanent site will be or what my responsibilities will be until the end of August. I will either be a teacher trainer, work with school management, work the school governing board, and/or work with youth in schools/communities. It all depends on what is needed at my site.

I am turning into a mini superstar b/c people are surprised to see a Black woman with an English accent! While walking home, the village kids call my name everyday and shout "how are you" even though I'm no sure if they understand what they are saying. People ask me the same question all the time "how is America compared to South Africa?"

My family has named me Lerato, which means "love", so that is what the village has started calling me. All-in-all, I'm very happy to be here and I'm loving village life! Letters from home take a while (3-4 weeks) to get here, but please please please write. It's a great moral booster since I don't get a chance to call home or get to the Internet on a regular basis.

gabotse!

P.S. this country is breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL!!!

Well....

I've finally settled into the country and have about 10 minutes to describe whats been going on this past week. We left DC Monday at 5:40 and got into Jo'burg at 4:40 on Tuesday. The flight was close to unbearable at one point, b/c the lovely air conditioner decided not to work. We fell asleep nice and cool, but woke up in our own sweat :).

Once we arrived, we drove about an hour and a half to our training site, and since then we've been geting to know each other and our trainers. Today, we found out what our target langauge would be. As you can tell from the title, I will be learning Sepedi (along with bits and pieces of Afrikaans and Setswana). This means I'll be placed in Limpopo. We have also been interviewed so the local staff can get an idea of where we'd like to be placed for our two years. I hope I get what I want, which is as rural as possible. All locations have electricity, but some may have to walk a short distance to water or will atleast have water outside their home.

Tomorrow we go home with our host family and I'm really looking forward to meeting them. That's about it for now. The other volunteers are awesome and the local staff are GREAT.

Shala Kabotusi (spelling?)....this means "bye" ....

Well....I'm currently on a two day vacation in Florida with my mom and a few other family members who will be here tomorrow. My goal is to do absolutely nothing.

It was difficult saying goodbye to my father as he dropped us off at the airport this morning, but I know he and my mother will make a trip out to see me, so I had that to fall back on. Plus he's very proud of my decision to serve in the Peace Corps :)

Packing turned out to be way way way more difficult than I originally thought, and now I'm lugging around a 70 lb bag (my 2nd 70 lb back is waiting for me in Washington D.C.), a loaded down backpack, and my guitar which is getting heavier and heavier by the hour. I decided that I'd rather pay the "excess weight" fee than to try to figure out which clothes and shoes to take out to bring the weight down. Plus, it doesn't help that it's winter in South Africa which means warmer (aka heavier) clothing. Oh well...I'll either pull, break, or build up my arm muscle.

I wanted to post my address in case those of you reading my blog want to participate in some "old school communication". Yep....you guessed it....LETTERS! We've been told that we won't have consistent access to internet during our three months of training, so they advised us to write letters home and have our friends and family write to us. I received a great going away gift of postcards and stationary (thanks E), so I have plenty of writing material. But it'd be really nice to hear (or read) what's going on back in the States. So for those of you who have decent penmanship and the patience, you can write me letters (or send me care packages with newspapers, TIME magazines, or anything that involves Stateside current events) to the following address:

LaTosha D. Parker

Peace Corps

PO Box 9536

Pretoria 0001

South Africa

I leave for staging in two days, and my nervousness/excitement is rapidly increasing!

Paz...

I'm down to the last two days at my apartment, and I'm using every free moment to finish packing up my place. It has been an extremely tedious task. I'm also down to the last three days of saying goodbye to my friends. Luckily, I'll have a few more days to spend with the family, but saying goodbye is going to be difficult for all of us.

Oh yea.....and I'm also discovering how difficult it is to pack all the items I need w/o going ridiculously over the airline weight max or w/o making my bags so heavy that I can't comfortably carry them. It is also necessary for me to organize my belongings into two categories: "essential and non-essential". The "non-essential" bag needs to be full of items that I won't need during my three months of training, while the "essential" bag stays with me.

I'll spend the latter half of this week on vacation with my family in Florida, and then it's off to Washington D.C. for three days of staging. Once we arrive in Jo'burg next Tuesday, we will travel about an hour and a half north of the capital (Pretoria....I know, I thought it was Jo'burg for the longest times too) to our training site at Marapayne Education Center near the town of Bela Bela in Mpumalanga Province. We'll be assigned to our host families later on in the week, and I'm really looking forward to meeting the people I'll be living with over the next few months. I hope they like the gifts I'm bringing from the States.

We've been informed that we won't have access to internet on a regular basis during training, so we'll be relying mostly on old-fashion communication: writing letters. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update my blog during training. I'm hoping atleast once a week like I'm doing now, but we'll just have to see.

Oh well....back to packing up my dishes.....till next time......