Christmas is soon approaching! But this year, instead of feeling loneliness and sadness for being far from home, I am filled with love and joy from all of my experiences here! Of course I still miss my loved ones back home, and it is always especially difficult to be away from family during the holiday season...but with all the joy around me here, it is difficult to be sucked down in sadness for very long!

Over the past several months, I haven't posted the many entries I imagined I would now that I have more regular access to e-mail. Instead, I have been busy with projects and traveling and new opportunities! I still plan to post a more in-depth version of some of the stories from these experiences, but here is some of my joys in a nutshell:

My youth group: S.W.A.P. Students with a Purpose.

In June, Sega and I started up a group with some students at the secondary school to address issues they want to address and to provide more activities for youth in the Charleshill community. Right away these kids wanted to have a games room and regular entertainment. Instead of jumping right in, we tried to get to know them a bit more and do some session using active learning methodologies of games and such to address leadership skills and to really get at what they wanted to do and how we could do it. Over the months, the group changed quite a bit. The first few weeks were awesome and we loved going to the school and had a lot of fun planning creative ways to hold each session but still to carry a message. As time went on, it started to drag a bit and the students started to get less engaged and excited too. We got frustrated and were a bit demoralized, but instead of giving up, we just refocused and restarted anew. We decided that instead of pushing around the idea of what to do and how to do it and to practice all the skills they needed to succeed in whatever they were going to do...that it was time to just jump in and try something! So, for the next few months we worked together to plan an end-of-the-year event for the students and to include the community. They decided that they wanted to put on a talent show. So that is what we did. We had the students plan and carry out the entire thing. They came up with some really good ideas and did some really good work! Of course, there was some prodding necessary at times, but in the end, they did it all themselves--and that was the most important part!

The last week before the show, everything just came together and every day I was more and more amazed at how well "my kids" were pulling together and doing such a great job at everything! All the leadership and responsibility and ownership steps we had taken before totally came out! The show itself was more than we could have hoped for and it had me smiling and singing their praises to anyone who would listen! The community came out and supported them, both in performance and in attendance. And the teachers and school totally saw all the hard work they did and said that they were impressed! We were so ecstatic that it all went so well! AND they even made almost P2000! What is so great is that they did it from nothing but their own drive and motivation and using whatever resources they could acquire! It was a real grassroots programme! And it built up their self-confidence and self-esteem so much that they can hardly wait until next term to start something new! I am so happy for them and to be a part of these amazing kids' lives!

THEN...

Camp GLOW

From there, life couldn't get much better, but it did! I just got back from an amazing week at camp with girls from Form 1 and 2 (ages 14-16). GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World and is a program that Peace Corps sort of developed but plays out a little differently in each country it takes place in depending on the volunteers involved. So...ours was better than we ever could have hoped for. These girls have so much to offer this world and are such deep and caring individuals. It totally breaks my heart to know about some of the difficulties many of them face, but I know that the future will be bright as long as they are in it! It was such an amazing experience to be able to witness the growth and development of each girl that happened right before our eyes in just one weeks time! The girls that were chosen came from 10 different districts around Botswana and were chosen for various reasons according to their leadership skills or room for development. They are now all going back to their schools to start up a leadership club for other girls in their villages to help empower others. I have a million pictures and video clips (that I hear I can post on yahoo...so I will look into that for my other picturs as well...so i can share the experience!) The entire time I totally felt like this is something that I would see on Oprah! Some of us even talked about maybe putting something together to send in to her because she is such a role model to so many of these girls. She would eat this stuff up! So anyway...that was a phenomenal experience with a group of phenomenal young women and peace corps volunteers. I will be sure to share more soon!

AND...if those two experiences weren't enough just to make me want to do Peace Corps all over again...well...it did!

So...a few days before the camp started, I was invited to go on site visits to visit a few NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that Peace Corps will be supporting as part of the PEPFAR (President Bush's Emergency Project for AIDS Relief) as a possible third year extension of service. So...I went to see several orphan care centres and another couple of community organizations and totally fell in love with one of them. The Young Women's Friendly Centre in Mahalapye (on the easter side of Botswana) is an amazing community organization that provides services and support to young women in the area. This opportunity would provide the chance for me to fulfill much of the empowerment and community development aspects of my background and passion in life that I want for my career as well as my personal development. I be able to serve a great group of young women to help them carry out the services they already provide as well as to help them further develop many of the new projects they have envisioned. It would be an incredible opportunity for continued service and I am sure that I have a lot to offer and to gain from this experience. So...I have submitted my request for a third year placement with the centre and am just awaiting the response from Peace Corps. There is another amazing volunteer who has requested for the same position, so it has become competitive. I am totally at peace with whatever the decision is. If I have the opportunity to serve there, I will fully commit myself to going the best that I can in this placement. However, if they decide that this is not the best fit for my continued service, I am completely satisfied with my service in Botswana so far, there is still more time to serve before I am finished, and I am confident that there will be additional opportunities for my skills and my passion back in the states or wherever my path may lead next!

So...there is the big ones in a nutshell! More to come!

Merry Christmas! May your holidays be filled with love, peace, and joy. And as you are saying your Christmas blessings...please don't forget about the little peace corps volunteers here in Botswana and all of the people they are trying their very best to serve in whatever way they can!

Hugs and Misses!

I probably should have written this entry long ago when all of these situations were still new and scary. But it is starting to be "bug season" again so it seemed fitting and I felt like I had to share this part of my life here. The working title of, “Doomed to Death” is something that a few Peace Corps Volunteers came up with and decided that it would have to be the title of the book or at least a chapter in the story of our Peace Corps experience. DOOM is a spray insect killer like Raid, but it is seriously lethal and used for everything. Literally anything that you don’t want, people just spray like crazy until it dies or at least slows down enough to kill another way. One day, Melissa walked into the clinic to find the FWE—family welfare educator—running around with a stick and a can of DOOM. After the commotion died down, as did the little critter, she says that he had been spraying a bat. A bat! A mammal! Small pesky mammals can now added to the list of things that DOOM was successful at extinguishing. Living in the Kgalagadi Desert, one should be prepared to cohabitate with a number of creepy crawly type of things. Before leaving from the states when I had no idea what kind of housing I would have I remember talking about some of my fears or things that I should prepare myself for with my dear friend Joanna. I was having images of snakes being all around and that there would probably be some in my house. I was wondering what I would do if I was sleeping and one crawled on my or fell on my face. I imagined that Peace Corps would probably train us in how to manage those types of situations. Now, after surviving Pre-service Training and more than a year of service I have to laugh at that whole idea…Its funny to think of what I thought training would be—more like a survival course of sorts when really it is more like useless lectures in a summer camp format. But also, I have only seen a few snakes: I saw two cobras on the road on my way to another village in government transport. Both times, the driver—nicknamed Killer—swung the bakkie around to run over the thing, which took several attempts and also included my counterpart screaming and gripping onto my arm for dear life—she’s terrified of snakes. All the other times I only knew they were there but never encountered one face to face. Due to my previous perceptions of what my living conditions may be like, you can believe that I was pleasantly surprised to find that I would have my own little two-bedroom cynderblock house. Needless to say, however, it was not completely void of all things creepy and crawly. But it was a newly built house so I imagine that it was better than most. The first few months were ok. I am straining to think of a time without mosquitos though. I remember thinking that malaria wouldn’t be a problem for me because I was in the desert and there was no water around whatsoever. But one day it dawned on me that if there were still mosquitos than there would still be malaria mosquitos—that’s the day I became more conscious of taking my malaria prophylaxis on time… During the first few months the insects were pretty calm. I don’t remember exactly when it started to happen, maybe little by little at first, but before we knew it they were everywhere and in all shapes and sizes. Millions of insects that I had never seen or even heard of before. Sega and I had to make up our own names for them in order to refer to them. And by the time the heat came they were so plentiful that these new critters became a regular part of our conversations. We were obsessed! I remember quite vividly one evening encounter with a strange new species that totally shook us up. We were still in our experimental stages of cooking and were trying out a new pasta dish that we were really excited about. I don’t remember what the food was anymore, just that we were really hungry and this was something we were really proud of. We were just about finished and just doing a few last touches on the meal when in comes this recklessly flying thing that was loud and buzzing and seemed to crash over and over again through the kitchen. It totally took us off guard and we both screamed and ran around each other and out of the kitchen in circles. It was quite a sight that made us laugh even in the moment! Even funnier was that one of us ran back in to rescue the food and bring it to safety to the other room. You could see where our priorities were! So…once we and the food were safely out of harm’s way, I slowly krept back into the kitchen to see just what it was and to grab a can of DOOM out from under the kitchen sink. When we saw what it was we were even more grossed out and didn’t know what to do with it, or even worse, how it got in! It appeared to have fallen once again but couldn’t get back up because its long, fat, larvae body seemed too big for its thin wings. I still don’t know exactly what it is because we have only ever called it the “big larvae bug” although we have since seen hundreds more—just not around our food preparation, thankfully! I have thought it might be a gigantic termite a few times but have never had any confirmation on that one…The body of this disgusting thing is a light brown-orangish colored larvae-type worm that has no real distinguishable head or other segments. It also has two silver-grey thin wings on each side that as I stated before, obviously aren’t enough to carry its weight so it sort of staggers around wherever it tries to fly. The first time we saw it fly into my kitchen we thought that it had come in and was dying. We came to find out that is what it always looks like since its larvae body is about the size of my pinky finger but maybe even a little longer because it slightly curls a bit whenever it crashes. When that first one came flying into my kitchen we didn’t DOOM it to death because it was so big we didn’t know what to do with it and we were cooking afterall. Instead, we opened the nearby window and tried to get it to fly out by coaxing it with the empty pasta box. Seemingly too worn out from the many attempts at flight that brought it this far, we ended up having to scoop it up and fling it out—and then follow that with the heebie-jeebie motion to shake off all the grossness factor that had tormented our previously calm and enjoyable night of cooking. Of course we weren’t phased for long because our hunger soon resurfaced and we finished our final preparations and sat down to eat and laugh at ourselves once again. The other really freaky thing that we have encountered here we have named “The Hybrid”. It must always remain in proper, uppercase format because of the seriousness of this thing. The Hybrid is named such due to the appearance of being one of the creepiest spider-type things anyone has ever seen with the front pincers of a scorpion. We have never been able to get any confirmation on what it is actually called or if it is dangerous or not. The closest thing we have been able to find in a bug book is for something called a Red Roman, but that wasn’t exactly it. Many local people call them “Sand Runners” or “selali” and even though they don’t react as freaked out as we do, and instead say, “we just live with them” some have actually admitted that they don’t like them either. When they are small they just kind of look like an almost transparent brown-orange colored spider that moves really fast, but once you kill it or find it immobile you see that it really doesn’t look much like a spider at all. The big ones are gigantic and ugly and hairy and about the size of my hand. I have so far seen two that size inside my house and quite a few more outside of my house and each time they catch me off-guard and make me scream and jump and run for the can of Powerfast Instant Killing Action DOOM faster than I have probably moved for anything! The extra bonus on these things is that they are the fastest running thing you will ever find in Botswana besides the cheetah and they will run over anything. Some local boys dare each other to stand in the way of a selali to experience the thrilling sensation of one of those creepy things running over them. I have yet to see this and think that it is all just folklore to provide even more evidence of how silly we seem as Americans when left to survive in the desert, but who knows!? In any case, when one of these things crosses your path, you either step aside or run the other way, or grab a can of Powerfast DOOM and unload the whole can on the sucker! I am not sure that I am quite encompassing the full fright of these things since I am limited by my prose, but believe me they are scary! Well, in addition to those larger scarier things in and around my house, there are also several others that I am not sure what they are but they don’t reach the magnitude of a short story—at least not anymore—because they are either DOOMed or squashed immediately or else we just live together in peace. The flat spider is an interesting one though because it appears to be almost paper flat against the wall and doesn’t move at all for days if unprovoked. But when provoked, however, it springs up the the tips of its legs and runs nearly as fast as The Hybrid. These can be useful to keep a few of around the house because they may help to kill some of the smaller insects that may find their way into your house. But in all things moderation, because it can soon appear as if you live in a spider colony. And although these things are harmless, you don’t want everyone in Peace Corps talking about how you cohabitate with spiders or how they are your favored house guests! The lizards are also a harmless addition to the home; but again, in moderation. One of the other Peace Corps Volunteers was horrified of how anytime a lizard came into the house all the Batswana women would get out a broom or anything they could get their hands on and smash the poor cute little thing to death. She kept saying, “it’s just a little lizard” and forbid anyone from killing them in her house. After several months, however, in addition to several months of living in filth, she ended up with a house that had turned into a little lizard resort community. She could hear little squeaks from time to time and after a while they even would come out in the open when she was around and play around right in front of her. Eventually things got more serious and not only was there little lizard droppings all over the place, but she came back from a long weekend away to find that they had laid little lizard eggs that had since hatched under the warmth of her refridgerator. That finally broke her of her need to stop the lizard killings in her community and they were all gone within a week or so. True story. So, I must end this with the story of my favorite bug in the bush. The dung beetle. These are the fattest, cutest, most determined little insects that you never knew you could admire so much. These things are seriously amazing! They lay their eggs inside of dung and then roll and roll and roll to protect the egg. They roll it into a perfect ball and can actually move the ball of dung for several kilometers that is over ten times their body weight! Seriously, these things are amazing! These beetles come in a variety of species, but my favorite is the horned dung beetle that looks like an overfed armoured soldier strutting out to battle and willing to throw himself in the middle of the firing squad—or in most cases my brick wall underneath the porch light. Each time, these little beetles, horned or otherwise, just pick themselves back up and ram into the wall again. They flip onto their back and struggle till they’re back on their legs, they fall into the bowl of water and swim and swim until they can get back out. These things are my heros and a perfect model for perseverance. Against all odds, they just keep on trying until they manage. No matter how many times they “fail” they just pick themselves back up and try again. Several evenings have been spent out on my front porch sitting on the brick wall talking with the other Peace Corps Volunteers in my area or other local friends. There is not a whole lot of action taking place in the middle of the Kgalagadi Desert, but especially not in the small, remote village of Charleshill. Unless, of course, you count the swarm of activity taking place around the porch light right outside my front door. In the middle of summer heat when the insects are at their peak, you can’t keep your lights on in the house after dark because it attracts too many insects. Even the low flicker of candlelight brings in a few bugs too many and when we decide to watch a movie on the small screen of the laptop the picture is always slightly altered by the interference. But outside, sitting on the porch, we just sit and talk and watch them all. A bowl of water left out for the dogs is filled with hundreds of different types of bugs by morning—something we like to call “breakfast of champions”. But during the night, occassionally some Deet is necessary to avoid too many mozzy bites, or you might want to beware of if one of the little black ones with blue-green irredescent shells or a yellow outline around the body lands on you because if it pees on you it will leave a blister that feels like all of your skin is burning off—it actually does burn you with its pee or some type of fluid it excretes. Other than that, we just sit and talk and watch the dogs appear crazy as the night grows darker and the insect grow thicker. Of all the insects, the dung beetle is the favorite for most of us. We love the spirit and sit and contemplate ways we can learn to mimic their behaviors here from time to time. We sit and talk and laugh and think about a time in the near future when we will look back on this time when we could just sit and talk and watch the insects and miss it all dearly. For now, however, I’ll keep my can of DOOM nearby! :-)

Ok, this isn't crisis mode and I'm not completely losing my mind. I realize that I don't completely deserve to hear from most people because I am really bad at keeping posted and keeping in touch...But with that said, this is a really difficult experience and requires constant support and love to continue to try every day to build up myself as well as to build up others.

My life is really great here and I am very thankful for this experience, but it is still one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Knowing that this is what I have always wanted to do and knowing that the challenge and growth and learning that goes into "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love" which was the Peace Corps slogan for years, doesn't make it any easier to go though. And seriously, the type of person who would sign up for something that promotes itself by saying it is tough, you kind of have to question a bit...but that has always been part of the draw for me. With that said, it IS a great experience and I am learning loads and loads of things that will help me thoughout life. I am touching lives here as well, although it often feels like not much is happening and that some days it feels like I am not doing any good here. But still, I am...but I need to be reminded.

So, in talking to a few people and uncovering the fact that this experience in itself is often a grueling (yet still rewarding) feeling of self-doubt and frustration, and also is filled all too often with words and thoughts about my personal approach and style and who I am as a person is often questioned and threatened. Its tough.

I have realized many times over, but especially during my time here that I need people. I cherish my relationships with others above all else. Furthermore, although my relationships here with people who have become a source of support, have been great, they just don't measure up to my relationships with friends and family back at "home". I have begun to admit that despite my independent nature, I fully depend on others to build me up and to fill me with the empowerment that I then can pass on to others. So I am sending out a plea...Send me love. Send me back my confidence and motivation. Remind me what is good about me and what I am doing, because I have a tendency to forget some of that when it gets beat out of me time and time again here.

So, although I have a few journal entries to post about updates on things going on here in Botswana, I really just need some love. So please send me some. In any format. Even though I can't check my e-mail that often, it is still nice to get some new messages when I do open it up. Of course letters and packages slow down quite a bit over time, as have mine, but those always brighten my day too!

I am thinking a lot of home--especially when my only view of home right now is the incredible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, but I am also starting to think about next steps and what lies ahead since I am starting to transition into the close of service thoughts a bit (only 7 months left! I can't believe it!) I have missed many weddings and births and other big special events, but I have especially missed the one-on-one time that I cherished so much and realize I depended on for my processing of things and generation of new ideas. Like I said, I have it here, its just not the same...

Ok, so with all that said, things are still going relatively well here and it is still a great experience. It is just hard and I need to acknowledge that and learn to ask for help and support when I need it so I am. Anyone who still reads this please let me know by sending me a quick e-mail to peacecorpskmu@yahoo.com or send me a letter or something to:

Sethunya (K. Unzicker)

Box 129

Charleshill

BOTSWANA

Lots of love!

Hugs and Misses!

~ME

I can't believe that it has been a whole year (actually 13 months now...) since I left the states and arrived in Botswana! So much has happened back home in the states and here as well...but yet it still seems as if I just left (sometimes it feels like I have been here forever though too!)

Life here in Bots is going well. There has been a lot going on but still it has been a nice balance much of the time also. After the AIDS Fair finished, the next week was my 27th birthday and also my 1 year mark of being gone and so I have been doing a lot of reflecting and mental evaluation and I am really happy with the way things have gone (for the most part, there has been a lot of growth and learning...so I am happy with that at least) and I am really looking forward to the year ahead. It is really nice to not be so new and unsure all the time and to just be able to work with so many great people to help us all grow together! Some of the things I have been thinking about are:

1) The time and distance apart from friends and family hasn't changed how much I miss people and how important everyone is in my life. I thought that after some time I might start to miss people less, but that isn't so...I just can't wait to come home and sit together and talk and share stories from the time we were apart!

2) I am a very poor correspondent when I don't have e-mail access or reliable phones (or the money to call back to the states)...My letter writing and journal writing has been extrememly neglected but I am getting better so I hope that will also improve some of the places where communication has started to wane...

3) I am also trying to start a new personal project (one of many) to take account of more of the stories and experiences that I have had here...not the big ones necessarily, but the small things--interactions or exchanges that are often commonplace now, but the things that make me really appreciate my time here and the things (feeling, thoughts, situations, etc.) that I never want to forget and that I want to share with people back home. I have started to jot down a few ideas so will see how far that goes...

4) I have come to realize just how much I need the support of people important to me and how much that positive reinforcement affect how I work and live. Everyone knows that I am a fighter and a perfectionist (and also a procrastinator!) but that there are different things that people have appreciated or priased me for from time to time. As I have grown accustomed to getting positive reinforcement in some way or another from people in my life, I have never really understood how much I NEEDED it, because I then take that and push myself further (most of the time...) and have the support of loved ones along the way...But here, I have not had the same level or type of support and positive reinforcement is few and far between. Also, I have found that when I don't get the positive reinforcement from people here, but instead get pushed by them or have my "isses" or struggles pointed out or made more obvious, I instead then have to find that support within myself and almost nurture the wounded child and end up not pushing myself in the same way as I do when I get that support externally and then have the drive internally...just a thought I have recently understood. But now that I have learned to see both the weaknesses and strengths myself, and am also getting more accustomed to others seeing those and pointing them out, I am finding that I am able to grow in ways that I never would have otherwise! Also, I am finding that my instincts are becoming even stronger which will serve me well in almost any setting! (But I still miss the support and positive reinforcement too! :0)

5) There has been a lot that has happened here in the community, but most of it is undetectable or seemingly insignificant. Much of these changes and developments would happen at some point or in some way whether I, or Peace Corps was here or not. But at the same time it is so great to be a part of that growth and to be able to contribute in small ways--some of which make a difference and some of which do not and to see how that affects us all as individuals and as a community. For instance, community activism and participation are serious problems in this remote village and people often feel left out or uninterested. Some of the things that have happened have helped to move that forward and consequently there have been some fun things or positive things that have taken place within the workplace, community and through the relationships that we have formed that hopefully will help to carry that out. I am excited for the year ahead and some of the projects or ideas that are in the making!

6) I have been able to travle to so many great places so far and have so many more journeys in my future plans. It is so great to be able to see so many incredible places and to be able to experience them somewhat from the inside to share the experience on that level rather than just as a traveler!

7) At the same time, it has been so fantastic to be able to have so many visitors from the states to be able to share this experience with and to be able to explore new places with them as well. Some of it is sharing what I get to do and see and to let them experience part of my life here, and also to extend that to other places as well! It is amazing how many people are willing to come here and are share this! So far I have seen Beth, Alison and Jackie, Danielle, Mary and Alisa, and...I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY BROTHER AND PARENTS TO COME HERE IN ONLY 2 WEEKS!!!!! Kris Kooiman will be coming in September to hopefully stay for a while and I have also just heard that Joanna is planning to come to this region in January! It is also amazing that I have been able to work out the leave time to travel with them and hopefully will continue to be able to work it all out! I am so blessed to be able to share these experiences with so many of my favorite people!

With that said, there is much more that has happened, much more that I have learned, and much more that lies ahead...but with the balance of the good with the bad, the strengths with the weaknesses and the challenges and the growth, this had been an incredible year and I am so thankful for all that I have and all that is to come! And I am looking forward to sharing as much as I can with all of my friends and family! As much as I am missing that breaks my heart back in the states, I am also gaining more than I could ever dream!

A Day in the Life…

Today I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. It is December 22nd so everyone has gone away to the farms or to their families for the holidays and Charleshill seems like a ghosttown. But if there is one thing I have learned in my nine months here in Botswana, it is that it is amazing what can happen when it appears as if nothing is going on!

The ways in which I feel more like a PCV today are threefold based on the goals of me being here: To step outside of my comfort zone to experiences new challenges that will help me to learn and to grow; To serve the people of Botswana in whatever way I can but especially within the parameters of preventing HIV and providing opportunities and available services; and To share my culture with others and to have others share theirs with me.

1) Since it is Christmastime the distance of just how far away I am really sinks in. Christmastime feels so different here. I am sitting in my house with a slight breeze blowing through the open windows to allow a small relief from the unbearable heat. It is hot (in the 90s or 100s every day sometimes it feels even hotter! and sunny, though when it rains occassionally it cools off for a few hours and it brings the blossoms of life throughout the desert and little yellow flowers and creeping plants sprout across the sand and fields. Christmas carols like, “I’m Dreaming of White Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” take on whole new depths of meaning for me this year.

Although Botswana is predominantly Christian, Christmas doesn’t seem like much of a big deal here. People don’t exchange extravagant gifts or have big dinners or anything that seems particularly special except that they take advantage of the slow time to take extended leave to the farms to work or to go back to their families—often for as long as a month! It is also the end of the school year and summertime here so it is almost more like just a summer vacation. It feels really strange…definitely out of my comfort zone of familiarity, but I’m making the most of it.

2) Today the people from Ghanzi who do rapid testing for HIV (“Tebelopele”) were here for their scheduled visit so we were busy mobilizing people in the community to come for testing. Many of the clinics in Botswana, but especially the Charleshill clinic has a serious problem of confidentiality which greatly affects stigma, discrimination and peors ples’ willingness (trust) to come for testing or any services for HIV at the clinic. Tebelopele offers a great service because it is a private organization, it is not linked with the clinic, and it does completely confidential and anonymous testing of HIV by rapid tests that provide results within 30 minutes. (It may be the fastest process for anything in this country!)

So I have been working closely with the Ghanzi director of this organization to have them come to Charleshill more often and have been working with the community to encourage them to test—to thnk about if they are ready to test, to acknowledge and address their fears that are holding them back, and to take action steps to prepare to test and to ultimately deal with the results. Today I talked with a few more people that I have some time with and a few others to encourage them to come with me to Tebelopele today. Many people provided excuses and so we planned for more times to talk, but a few also decided today would be a good day to know their status and came with me for testing. I always offer to go with people for testing for follow-up appointments or to check out whatever services they need to help offer support and encouragement and to take that opportunity to get to know them more and talk to them about “positive living.”

Today one of my close friends came with me to test and I stayed there with her the whole time and sat with her while she waited, talked with her about what she was afraid of and how she was going to deal with it, and then finally celebrated an HIV negative status afterwards! We were both so happy, but spent the walk back talking about how important it is to remember how it felt before knowing your status, how powerful you are in the moment you decide to test and take action to actually go and carry it out, and most importantly how scary it was overcoming your fears preventing you from testing, walking over there, and then waiting for the results. We discuss how important it is not to forget that and to share with others to help give them support and encouragement to overcome their fears to ultimately take control of their lives by knowing their status. We went for tea at my house after and just talked about many things but those ideas and examples just kept coming up. The best part of it all was that she called her husband and sister immediately to tell them what she did and they both agreed to go for testing now too. Sometimes all it takes is one strong person to lead the way—and that is what she is! She told me that I helped to give her the extra push that she needed and the support and encouragement to “walk the walk” (she is a peer educator) and if I didn’t keep asking her maybe she still wouldn’t know her status. As good as that makes me feel, what is more important is that she went, regardless of who helped her to find the strength and to point her in that direction. As much as I may have helped her, she helped me to see my purpose here again in everyday words and actions and in sharing our lives together.

3) So after she left, I was on the phone with mom and dad talking about Christmas plans and opening gifts when a little girl named Goitsemang lightly knocked on my door. I went over to her. She looked up at me and smiled and softly said, “Ke kopa metsi” asking for water. This is something that many of the kids around us do to have an excuse to come visit us. Sometimes I give them their water and send them on their way, but today was a good day and I wasn’t feeling particularly in possessive of my private space so I invited her in, asked her a few questions in Setswana about where she is from who are her parents, where she lives and we just chatted a bit. I shared some lunch with her and then I was going to have her leave and was telling her I was getting ready to go but she adamantly told me that she wanted to stay for a few hours. I figured it could be fun. She doesn’t really speak English and since I don’t really speak Setswana we talked about how it would be good for us to learn together and that maybe she should come over more often. She sat on my couch and colored and drew pictures of different items and them writing their english names by them, we listened to music and danced a bit, looked at some pictures and then it was time for her to go. It was so nice to just relax and share that time with her trying to communicate but just enjoying each others company. She hung her picture on my fridge and we parted for the holidays agreeing to meet up again after the new year.

It was a good day. A few months ago I felt as if I was just getting through each day watching time pass until I would feel good again and counting how long I’ve been gone and how long until people visit or I go back home again. Now, although I am still so far away and as long as I have been gone, it feels good to be here and I can hardly imagine what it will be like when I HAVE to leave all these people in this new home…

World AIDS Day

December 1st marks the day where everyone worldwide unites to acknowledge a terrible disease, to remember the lives lost or those that it infects and affects, and to join together in action to do something about it. Until public health school I can’t say that I really knew it existed and since then I’ve learned that many people don’t know about it either and think of it as any other commemoration day like secretary’s day (actually there might be more people that know about secretary’s day…). I’ve heard of benefit concerts where artists like Bono perform with special guests like Nelson Mandela and events where there is a designated time set aside for candlelighting ceremonies and moments of silence.

Here in Botswana we celebrate everything with a “fair”. So in honor of World AIDS Day there is a commemoration fair held in one town or village every year where there are key dignitaries, speakers, drama performances, traditional dances and tents where national and community AIDS organizations present something. Despite how it might sound, these fairs are not a fun-filled day of juggling clowns and games and rides, but instead are filled with the protocol Botswana is famous. Protocol is very important to Batswana and so it seems like almost every event is exactly the same after a while since the program never changes (Opening Prayer; MC; Introduction of Important Guests; Welcome Remarks; Performance; Guest Speaker by Someone Relevant to the Topic; Performance; Key Note Speaker; Speech by Organization Rep; More speeches, more performances, etc. etc.; Vote of Thanks; Closing Remarks; Closing Prayer) All of the speeches go on and on and are almost always completely in Setswana so it gets difficult to sit though it all at times.

However, this year Ghanzi was chosen as the location for the National Commemoration of World AIDS Day so it was all very exciting to have something so big on our side of the country that is usually ignored and to hold it all in a village rather than a town in or near the capitol. The planning process was a joke. The Gaborone people were much more disorganized than anyone with such important jobs should ever be—even for Botswana. And it was kind of funny to sit through some of those meetings and to hear what people actually ask for and think. A lot of people think that way too much money is wasted on these kinds of events instead of going towards the actual programs or people that they talk about. But that’s just how my job here is. We do our best to help those with whatever means we have.

The actual event came off just fine even though everything wasn’t planned until the last possible second. That is often how things are here. It used to stress me out or frustrate me because some of the issues were so simple to solve…but now maybe it is part of the assimilation process or something…but now I don’t worry about it and just know that whatever happens will be fine and will happen one way or another. Just like gatherings of groups of people anywhere in the world, people will always complain about something, something will always be forgotten, but there will also be just as many things that go unexpectedly well and many people who turn out to make the event a success. So that is what happened in Ghanzi this year. It was combined this year with the campaign for the 16 Days of Activism for Against Violence Against Women—which matched well with the designated AIDS Day theme of “Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS”. Which meant that the speeches mentioned as part of their address that women are more greatly affected by this disease for many reasons and that issues that affect women like violence and power, etc must also be addressed in order to effectively address HIV. Good plan. President Festus Mogae even came out for the event and addressed the crowd saying something about that idea, at least that was what I was told—Setswana learning has kind of hit a plateau for now... There were a few famous Batswana artists who came out to perform for the event too. At the organization tents I met some great people who are doing some great things. I actually shook hands and spoke with the president too. It was a good day. I guess this is what its all about right?

In honor of World AIDS Day, Charleshill also had events for our own community as a way of getting people involved in a way that is fun and active. That is really the focus of most activities we are trying to do. Enough of these long programs that don’t really reach anyone except for the free food, t-shits or key chains that people receive for attending…In Charleshill we are focusing on the youth in the community and providing things that get people active and together. So the AIDS committee decided to hold the “Charleshill Fun Day for HIV/AIDS” as a way of commemorating the cause. As part of this Fun Day we would have a march, a girls vs. guys football (aka soccer) game, activities throughout the day and a candlelight vigil at the kgotla in the evening. Just like all event, planning didn’t really happen until the last minute and we were all doubtful if anyone was going to attend, but everyone came together to make it all really awesome!

The day began at the crack of dawn with the march. People all met up and then rode on the back of an open cargo truck to the Mamuno border with Namibia. We all had banners and posters and walked the 8K back to Charleshill while singing and laughing. The energy was high and the momentum kept building as our pace quickened and we actually ended up running part of the way back. It was a lot of fun and many more people turned out than we had expected. At the end of it our spirits were all high and most of us renewed our hope and motivation to continue to work together for this effort in whatever way we can. Lately many of us (me as well as many of the people in the offices and community) have been losing our motivation and this is just what we needed to unite together again and to see the possibility of what we can do here.

We were very lucky to have a drama group visiting for the weekend to perform their show on the PMTCT program and on educating us on HIV/AIDS. Immediately after the walk (they also walked/ran the whole 8K with us) they performed their show at the central area in front of the shops. Drama is very effective here in Botswana because it is done by youth that bring a lot of energy and creativity to present the stories back to the community in a way that they relate to and have fun as well as learn something. It is amazing to watch the crowd grow throughout a drama performance in the village. This group was fantastic and they also participated in all of the days events with us. They added so much to the day!

The soccer game took place in the afternoon on the field showgrounds near my house. It was supposed to be men vs. women but not enough women showed up in time and so we competed as co-ed teams, Charleshill community against the drama group. The whole week while we were advertising everyone was asking me if I was going to play and then they would act shocked and say they HAVE to see that! I played most of the game and everyone was shocked and applauding at how aggressive I was, how fast I ran, and every time I got the ball and did something with it. It made me think that it would be nice to go back to my high school days and play as well for real as I did for fun. I played almost the entire game but there were tons of people, both males and females, who played and came in and out and we all just had a blast! There was someone there who was saying that he was trying to get the community together to play every Sunday just for fun and to see how many people were interested so that we could create mens and womens community teams. Many people were playing and many people also turned out to watch and cheer. Again, it was a great success. But after the game most of us were exhausted from playing in the hot sun after the march and drama and all the excitement. The game ended with a huge thunderstorm that sent us all back to our homes to rest.

The candlelight vigil was supposed to begin at 7pm, but only if it wasn’t raining. I was still sleeping when the other Peace Corps Volunteer came to tell me it was time to go. You can see the road to the kgotla from my front porch so I looked out to see if I could see anyone coming that way. I reminded her that we said it would only happen if it wasn’t raining and the light drizzle still coming down was my excuse to go back to bed for a little while. I got up shortly afterwards though and decided that I needed to see if this was still going to happen and not just let it fail. I drove over to the kgotla to see if anyone was there and sure enough there were a few die-hard participators there! Together we made a few calls and went to pick some of the other up to finish off the day properly. With all the fun and excitement that the days activities held, it was nice to finish off the day actually commemorating the event in a way where we came together and sang and prayed and reflected and remembered why we were all here. There was no protocol and no program—jjust singing and sharing under the shelter of the kgotla with candles of hope burning in the night darkness as the rain came down around us. As I sat there and listened to people’s personal testimonies of how HIV has affected their lives or those of loved ones, and looked out at the glowing faces I was filled with hope and happiness for the day and the days to come. I felt complete in that space and time truly feeling the heart of my purpose for being there. I was asked to close the event and the night with closing remarks of summation and direction and then close in prayer. What I chose to say is:

I want to take this time again to thank everyone who came out today and participated in the days events. I especially want to thank our friends from the Ghanzi Artists drama group who joined us for their energy and enthusiasm—we couldn’t have done this without you. And to everyone who came and participated, this is what it is all about. When there are no answers on what to do or say to stop this terrible disease, this is where it starts. When we are united together in action, that is when we all find the strength and the hope to continue to fight and to do whatever we can to make a difference. May we continue every day as we have today.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for bringing us together today. Thank you for your never-ending love and support that provides us with our every need during this battle against HIV/AIDS. Continue to guide us in your way and to continue to serve you by serving others. Renew our hearts with the hope to continue your will every day. Be with as we part until you bring us back together again. Amen.

Then, as corny as it is, I led us in the closing song, “This Little Light of Mine,” that sang more slowly than it is usually sang in order to keep with the mood and to quickly teach them the simple words. We then added our own candles to the candle outline of the AIDS ribbon we placed in the center of the kgotla and hugged and parted ways. As simple as it was, this day was quite possibly my best yet. I am so thankful for the ways in which we are constantly reminded of our purpose and the renewal of our hearts to carry that out with joy and service.

Life is a series of peaks and valleys. No matter where you are that holds true. Although I have always been aware of these times in my life, over the years I have tried to hold on the peaks and revel in them just a little bit more, while trying to acknowledge the valleys as just that and shorten the time I spend down so low. In Botswana as a Peace Corps Volunteer the peaks and valleys seem more dramatic than any other time I’ve known (and for a drama queen that says a lot!) The good times are higher than anything you can imagine, but the low and lonely times of fear or hopelessness and lower than I could have imagined…But just like every other series of these peaks and valleys I try to keep perspective on what it is that I am learning and all the ways that I am growing to be able to overcome even more and to be that much more compassionate—with myself and with others. I knew that I would eventually come out of this sad, sickening, slump but crawling out was painful.

I can’t even fully explain what was “wrong” but general feelings of lack of direction, the weight of just how little I can actually DO here to “make a difference”, the homesickness and inability to see and hear and visit loved ones when I want to, and then the whole process of culture shock, assimilation and adjustment just tends to weigh on a person I guess. Also, since this was always something I wanted to do, the realization that it was hard and I was struggling was a difficult picture to face some days.

I understand now, however, that that experience is necessary to make this an even richer experience and so that I can better learn and grow and serve to my fullest ability. Without the low times we often can’t reach as high. Thanks to the amazing support of our APCD and all of the PC staff and other volunteers, as well as so many of my wonderful Batswana friends I was able to see my place here and to come out of it even happier than I came in. I found inspiration from many places, one of the biggest of course was knowing how many people are back in the states praying for me and thinking of me and people who believe in me at times when I no longer can. The hardest part of all of this was that I began to doubt myself which is the most dangerous thing to do.

I’m not even sure when it all changed, but little by little, I found enough sources of inspiration that reminded me that there is something bigger going on here than my own experience and through that realization was able to see the beauty in the struggle that eventually gave me the strength to climp out and experience this place in a whole new light. Then before I knew it I was where I am now looking back on it all as that time and place necessary to get me to where I am. Thank God for time to get us through whatever we are going through!

One night I just poured over every resource I had or could get my hands on to feed my soul with the nourishment it was craving. In my neighbor’s yoga magazine of all places, I found these various quotes that I pieced together to describe part of the picture:

If we recognize our situation we can begin to be open to what is.

We have to prepare ourselves to see and hear—and to be there when we are called.

We can do the divine will when we do not do our own.

I live, yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me. (Galations 2:20)

Then, I also found these passages on service to help direct my path:

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was duty. I acted and behold, duty was joy! ~great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore

Feed people, serve people, love everybody, tell the truth. ~Maharajji

We can only work on ourselves to keep another person in our heart: to be there, open, waiting, loving, spacious, nonjudging, appreciating…and listening.

When you offer yourself in service it opens your own heart so that you may once again taste the sweetness of your own heart’s innate compassion.

So these are some of the many sources of inspiration (at least the ones that I can relay in words) that helped me out of that awful slump to be able to enjoy this experience even more…and much differently now! Unfortunatly, I have very few journal entries during this time (part of why I wanted to write this…) because I just was so sick of myself and my thoughts that I never wanted to put them down on paper. So now as I look around and see all that I have and all that I love and realize just how far I have gone and how much I have grown over these past few months I realize that I don’t have much of a record of this process. I shared countless conversations with a few other volunteers, that I wished I could replay on tape, because together in our stuggles we were able to find wisdom and strength to pull through it together. These conversations really served as our external journals and sounding boards and it is difficult to imagine what it would have been like without that. But many times all I wished for was that I could have the people back at home with me to talk to and hug and just experience all the highs and lows together. But now as sit here on the other side, I can feel the power of those bonds even greater than before and I am even more thankful and hopeful for what lies ahead…

I am in Gabs (the capitol city) right now at the Peace Corps office because I had a bit of a "breakdown" this week (one that has been perpetuating for about 2+ weeks) so I had to get away and talk to someone...but barring no other outbursts, my internet connection will still be very infrequent for the time being...

My lack of connection to friends and family has left me spiraling into a mad bout of homesickness mixed with a bad case of frustration with work. Due to my exorbitant mood swings I have been unable to write letters home because when I most need it all I can do is cry or complain and that is not at all the message of my life here and one that I refuse to portray to loved ones at home.

When I am not feeling like that I don't feel like sitting still to write a letter because I am finally out of my slump. This roller-coaster emotional ride is giving me motion sickness. Apparently, this is "normal" to feel at this stage (6-9 months) but that doesn't make it any easier to get through or make me miss people any less.

The issues that I'm dealing with now are big ones some days and little ones other days, but its real and its life and its just the way it is. I have a good support system of friends and co-workers in my village and peace corps around the country and of course I know that I have friends and family back at home who all want the best for me...All 3 of which really want to know what I'm really doing here...that question will become more evident in time...but for now I am just being.

Today I am taking some time to reflect and refocus and am planning to spend the weekend at a peace corps party with a bunch of friends. Should be just what I need to hold me over until I hear more about lovely people coming to see me here or until the phones start working regularly enough to hear those much misses voices and until the letters start flowing again... Despite my moodiness, every day I am reminded of how fabulous my life is and how lucky I am to be able to share it with all the amazing people I know around the world. For that I am truly thankful.

The whole time I was applying to Peace Corps and then preparing to come here, I never really thought of it like a sacrifice. This is something that I’ve wanted to so for so many years and it always just seemed like such a perfect program for me: one of adventure and travel, challenges and opportunities, the perfect forum to actually practice what I preach and all that I’ve studied, written and spoke about for years.

The first several months I was here I was constantly overcome by the euphoric state of contentment of being exactly where I am supposed to be doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. People from home wrote to me about how exciting it all was and how much I was doing and various comments about “changing the world” and “serving the Lord”. As much as I needed to receive these letters and packages and sentiments, I honestly never felt like I was doing much of anything.

Everyday I was just living my life—only I was living it in Botswana. I have a cute little brick house with friendly neighbors. I have an office (but no office equipment and no office supplies) and a place to “go to work” with (mostly) wonderful people who laugh and smile with me and make my days worth getting up for. I have great friends—from Peace Corps and Botswana that help the time to pass by pleasantly or who help to make this into the crazy adventure of living somewhere far away from home.

But day to day, I never really felt like anything I was doing was all that special and that I was almost afraid to tell anyone at home in fear that it might shatter their ideas of my life here or their dreams that I needed to much to be able to keep going. In all honesty though, it never really felt that tough. Sure there were minor inconveniences and things that make life difficult—like water going out for hours or days at a time (usually just when I was about to clean or cook or bathe…) or constant transport uncertainties or inconsistent and unexplainable phone connections or lack thereof or a number of other things that now just have melded into “the way life is”…

The thing is…now that these minor inconveniences have just become normal (and honestly most of the time, my life seemed somewhat “normal”) now it is the REAL things that are starting to get to me…and now I am realizing just how tough this all is. Now I have to learn how to deal with the loss of friends, co-workers, and people in the community (due mostly to traffic accidents or because “they were sick for a long time” because of course no one ever dies from AIDS or at least never talks about it…). I’m also trying to figure out just what I can say to someone who is pregnant (and may be HIV+) but won’t get tested because her husband won’t let her or else he will leave her—what can I say that will actually help her and her baby? Or how can I be there encourage someone who is HIV+ and has been waiting for the ARV drugs but doesn’t have anyone in his life—close friends or family—that can help him through this process? How can I encourage and empower these people and actually “build capacity”? What can I REALLY do? There is no manual for these types of things. No matter how good or bad a pre-service training is, one can train us on how to do this.

Before swearing in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer we all have to meet with the director and talk about our thoughts and feeling and challenges and plans. I was so sure of it all and so confident that when asked about my commitment to serve as a volunteer I stated, “I am completely committed to Peace Corps for 2, maybe even for the 3rd year. I believe in it. I have wanted to do this for most of my life and have been trying to get here for many years. I feel like this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now. At this point, you are going to have to force me to go home. I’m not going anywhere, nothing is sending me home—go ahead and try!” I felt like I was asking for trouble with those statements…like I would be eating my words someday…But still, I said it with conviction.

Although I still feel like this most days and I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be and I am doing just what I want to do…now my confidence and assurance aren’t quite so confident and assured. Now after 6 months, it is tough. Now I really feel the weight of this sacrifice and really understand why people make a big deal out of this. For the first time, I really feel like this is a sacrifice. I wonder some days why I signed up for this self-imposed poverty, this constant state of uncertainty and lack of access to almost everything, for this place so far away from everyone I know and love. The old Peace Corps slogan used to be, “The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love”. I really liked the idea of that. As mom has said to me on more than one occasion, “Kristin, nothing in your life has ever been easy” and that’s just the way I like it. I love a challenge. I love adventure. I love trying to things. And most of all I love—and live for—learning.

Here I am continuing to learn everyday. I’m learning things about myself that I thought I had all figured out. And I am also learning that I did have some of it figured out right. But most of all I am learning just how much through all of it, I really miss people and miss a lot of things. But it is through the connections at “home” and the connections we continue to make as we set out on each of our journeys in different directions (hoping to converge our paths again)—that is the place where our hearts and characters grow and the place where we become and are able to be who we truly are. On good days and bad days, we really are all united across the world and it is our duty to do something every day to make it just a little bit better in whatever way we can. Every phone call and letter and package I have received has helped to make my world better in many ways. Every smile I have received and every hopeful word I have heard (and understood!) has provided just a little more encouragement to keep me here and to keep me going. I just hope and pray that I can do enough to instill the same encouragement and hope to make a difference in other people’s lives the way they all have in mine.

My Peace Corps friend received this statement in a letter from home. Thankfully, she then shared it with me. It has been an ongoing source of encouragement to me:

Just by being there you are accomplishing something,

and by the time you go, you will have done much more

than just BE there.

So for now I am just “being”. And in the meantime I am sharing my life with people who are sharing their lives with me and together we are all trying to just live together—healthy and happily. That’s all I can ask for and more than I could ever hope for.

Fellow Peace Corps People

I feel like I haven’t ever really talked much about the people I spend my time with and that is what this whole experience is all about—relationships and personal impact. Most of my pictures are of the other Peace Corps people so I should tell you a bit about them for when you finally see some pictures...for now its just for your information. I’ll share info on all of the Batswana friends I am making here very soon. The other Peace Corps people have been great! We are all so diverse but have come to really form some great bonds over time!

Four people went home now from when we started in Philly back in March. The first one left before we even met our host families or really began training. The 2nd went home in the first few weeks because she realized that she really didn’t want to do this (Those 2 were the oldest and the youngest in the group). The third one to leave unfortunately couldn’t be sworn in because she was injured during the site visit when she fell into a ditch and broke her leg! Pretty sad! She spent several weeks in South Africa and had surgery and never was able to swear in. I think she is back in the states by now. I actually hear that she is coming back here to Botswana though. It is a miracle that she was medically cleared because she was pretty badly hurt! The last one that went back to the states broke my heart…she was my best friend here and everyone adored her. She was everyone’s favorite. Jean had to leave because of medical reasons but is hoping to come back within the year to finish out her service. She had some unexplained problems that they originally thought was parasitic, but then they thought she might have a chronic disease so they sent her home to figure it out. Very, very sad…

Of the other 35 of us that remain, there are a lot of different personalities, ages, experiences, ethnicities, and other things that make us all very unique. But we are all here together in Botswana throughout the country and are all working on HIV/AIDS. There are 3 different programs that we are divided amongst: Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), Home-based care and Orphan Care (HBC/OC), and my group who works with the District AIDS Coordinators (DAC) in the government offices.

There are 3 different groups that I have been a part of since I got here and just as an added reflection on how this is exactly where God wants me to be right now, somehow they all involve my favorite number/holy number 7. I didn’t realize it at first, but over time it has been cool to see the Divine involvement in my experiences since I arrived…

AND THEN THERE WERE 7: During training, I got to know a number of people pretty well when we all realized that at the end of the day it was the group of us that always remained together hanging out and talking. We named it “and then there were seven…” because there were always 7 of us that ended up together. There is really 8 of us though, but 2 of them would somehow not be there one day or the next. This is still some of my closest friends here. They are me and the following 7 others:

ü Peter Ellwell, 24, from Minnesota and proud of it! He is the only other DAC person and therefore is my “tandem buddy” because he is on the other side of the country. He’s gives the best hugs of anyone in the group and is always available to lend a friendly ear or go for a walk when needed. He also has a great perspective on life and is just a great friend.

ü Michael Gillette, 24, from Texas who studied music composition and is a very talented artist. He decided he wanted to do Peace Corps one day and just signed up and here he is! He is now stationed on the east side of Botswana.

ü Jean Milam, 28, from San Francisco is actually of one my closest friends here. Her site is clear on the other side of the country (despite our request to be near each other). She was a social worker/counselor back in the states and is really just a really cool, laid-back, awesome person to hang around. She cracks me up and also seems to understand and love me similarly to some great people back home. She keeps me sane here much of the time. However, now that she is home in the states we are just hoping and praying that everything turns out ok she will get to come back within a year, but we’ll see. :0(

ü Shannon Lorenz, 24(?) is just awesome. She is from Minnesota which is an automatic bonus point, but is just great regardless! She has done some really cool stuff including motivational speaking to school kids. She is hilarious and a ton of fun, but also someone who is very compassionate and fantastic at just listening and providing good advice. She makes great connections with people! One of our favorite common phrases of hers is “I’m not scared…!”

ü Denise Prendergast, 34 from Detroit and California and was my partner in crime throughout training. She also was a social worker/counselor in the states and was a DeadHead back in the day and is still very cool and laid-back. She is one of those people that I could always rely on to stick by my side back in training or now that she is many hours away in the south of the country to send a funny text message whenever in need. Friendship and respect are very important to her and she is therefore an excellent friend and would do just about anything for her friends.

ü Veronique Ortiz, 25 from San Jose and is now my neighbor in Charleshill. Her Setswana name is Segametsi (which means water carrier/bride). She gave the speech at our swearing in ceremony and has since been in tons of articles and is therefore famous around Botswana! She is Vietnamese Peruvian and beautiful with long dark hair that everyone is amazed by. She is super into yoga and studied it at an ashram back in the states a while back which changed her life. She has a radiant smile and really sees the best in people and is a great person to share my site with. We both feel like we are very blessed to have each other most days!

ü Melissa Shouse, 29 from San Francisco and Oklahoma. She has a very interesting family and past and tells the best stories! She is the other one who is in my area, although she is about 80 kilometers away. We both share our stories and laugh together but also spend a lot of time having some really in-depth conversations about life. She is very creative and likes to play but also is very serious about what she is doing here.

All of us had a lot of fun and laughs together but also really have been able to discuss some real life topics throughout it all. I really believe that all of us have the ability to really make a great impact in our communities. We are learning a lot from each other through continuing to share our stories over text messages on our cell phones since we can’t afford to actually call each other very much! We plan to travel together on breaks and many of us are talking about probably living near each other back in San Francisco after 2 years! That is far, far away from now…but it gives us something to hold on to and to get through tough days and something new to think about…

TEAM GHANZI: There is another group of Peace Corps people that I share a lot with—Team Ghanzi. There are 7 of us assigned to the Ghanzi District. We are all in very different villages far away from each other, but we are all about an hour or so away from Ghanzi—except me and Sega in Charleshill who are about 2 hours or so away.

So, first of all, I am in Charleshill with Sega as I mentioned above. We spent some time getting used to each other in the beginning because we realized that we really don’t know each other very much, are very different people in some ways (although very much the same in several ways too…) and we were kind of thrown in together—right next door—and expected for everything to just be great. It is and we are so happy to have each other here to share our experiences, but it took both of us a little bit of an adjustment period. Now we really can’t imagine doing this without the other and are great support for each other as well as partners in crime for some of the more fun times! Malebogo is the other person I am closest to and the three of us get together quite often. She is working with the PMTCT programme in Tsootsha which is in my sub-district, so we have many excuses to get together or just talk about work-related stuff. This helped both of us a lot in the beginning when we really needed to just talk work things over with someone and now we are a powerful team that shares our experiences to work with our communities better. We also have a lot of fun together.

The others in the group are Nate “Mpho” who is in a tiny village (only ~400-500 people) named Qabo. He is from Cody, WY and totally awesome! He is super laid-back and has a great perspective on things which helps to balance out the group a lot. He never gets caught up in drama but just kind of casually laughs or simply says “Is it?” which is the big phrase here in Southern Africa. We all say it non-stop but Nate has it mastered. His Setswana name is Mpho which means gift, but usually goes by is nickname which is Poster (“posta!”). Somehow nicknames in Setswana tend to be longer than the actual name…go figure!

The other 2 people are Joanna and Jeff who are in New Xade. Both Qabo and New Xade are predominantly Basarwa villages which means that they have to learn to speak Sesarwa which is a clicking language and the most difficult language to learn. There are also several different dialects of the language which adds another level of difficulty. I have only learned one word and I can’t even pronounce it correctly most of the time! I hear that this is making their assignments even more difficult too. The final person in Team Ghanzi is Matt Onega (he doesn’t have a Setswana name) who was a PCV from last years group. He is doing the same job I am doing in Ghanzi and he kind of plays the role of big brother to all of us new PCVs and also acts as the host when we all meet up in Ghanzi. Together the 7 of us are one heck of a group! We are all pretty separated from the others so we have to be pretty flexible and adaptable and be up for just about anything. So far our many Team Ghanzi adventures have provided many opportunities to put us to the test, but also have formed us into a pretty close group.

There are many other people in the group that have been awesome or others that I haven’t had as many connections with, but all of them have impacted my experience so far. I won’t go into as much detail just because I feel like it would end up into a book, but here are the others…Now that we are all spread throughout the country I don’t have as much contact with all of these people but over time I am sure that new stories will help to paint a better picture of the people I am here with…

CLUSTER 7: In training we were clustered into groups of 3-4 for language learning within our different programmes. All of the groups got pretty close because we all adjusted to this new place together and the clusters were the first point of communication for any and all issues—including the challenge of learning a new language! 3 of us really excelled in our language learning, but Mary Beth always struggled just a bit. Our group had a few struggles to get over in the beginning but we all communicate well and just got it all out in the open and worked through it all. Many other groups had conflicts later as training went on, but by then our group was a strong cohesive unit! We all were pretty dedicated to training and Peace Corps and also liked to have a lot of fun together—a great combination!

~Mary Beth Hunt, 45 has been a CEO of a nursing home and also for United Way for many years and comes with a great deal of experience. She was the one who lived closest to me and I spent a lot of time with her and her host family during training. She is really great! She has a great sense of humor and kept our group laughing every day. She struggled a lot with the language but more than made up for it in her personality! She is now as far away from me as she can get and still be in the same country in Tutume near Francistown. We still get in touch over text messages from time to time to check in.

~Harmony Caton, 29 is from DC and also in Public Health and we have been hanging out since Philly. She lived in Namibia with Foreign Service for 2 years and said that over time she felt herself loosing part of that person she had become there and wanted to get back to it and be involved with Peace Corps with public health back in Africa. She is a great friend but also was pretty high strung for most of training. Over time others saw how great she was too. During the last week of training she switched from the DAC programme to PMTCT because we were asked if there were any volunteers and she felt like this was a better fit for her afterall.

~Jabeh Peabody first introduced herself to the group as a Liberian American. She just finished her Masters in International Development and has a lot of knowledge from her studies that she is now getting to put to use. We always liked to make fun of her because her host family was an older woman who was like her Nkuku (grandmother) and liked to spoil her. We also liked to take advantage of all of her cooking and hospitality too! Jabeh, along with the others is a great friend.

THE OTHERS

All of whom have impacted me in some way, some whom I am still getting to know better…Together we make up one heck of a powerful group of people!

-Bonnie Orton. From Peoria, Illinois and is now the oldest one in the group at 66. She is smiling and very good at making good one-on-one connections and just an great person. She has great, positive things to share all the time and really just has a great perspective.

-Brenda. From Georgia. We had a few moments of friction during training for no reason really, but now are great! She cares very much about people and just tells it like it is.

-Kate Freeman. The Buddist. In her 40s. Worked for the government in various positions for the last 15-20 years. Has had a very interesting and diverse past. Things you would never guess! Has been trying to get to Africa for quite some time and is very happy to be here and to find herself some more again.

-Rodney Paul. Rodney likes to talk. A lot. Kind of rambles a bit but also has some good stuff to say every once in a while. A little and random and seems a little arrogant at times but really is a very positive person that really

-Janice. Fellow public health person who just finished her masters. From Florida. Is kind of the high-maintenance princess of the group but seems to also be doing just fine!

-Jim. Ex AirForce and father and grandfather. Also gives great hugs and provides great nuggets of wisdom from time to time. He is stationed in the north middle part of the country in a very isolated area that is noted as the best fishing in the country and is therefore ecstatic!

-Nicki. From Cadillac, Michigan, Just graduated from college and is very emotional but also always likes to joke around and have fun.

-Amanda. Has the worlds best laugh and one of the best attitudes in the group. Also the one that most of the guys in the group have their eyes set on. She is just all-around really cool. Is pretty quiet in the large group, but one on one is both cogent and hilarious.

-Kenna. From MN too. Declared “best dressed” in Botswana despite lack of comfort items and living in a hut. She also has been seen using Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen lip gloss, but don’t tell anyone…

-Suzi. She was one of the first people that I met before we left the states. We spent time hanging out in the airport getting to know each other and spent a few times in training having out too. She’s from Arkansas, but turned out cool anyway (tee hee that comment was for you, Kristen and Jason!)

-Anne. The artist of the group. Very quiet but really great when she does open up.

-David Eaton. The best way that I can explain him is from a funny story from training. On our first visit to shadow the current volunteers during training, David and Shannon got to go up to Kasane to the Chobe area. They were outside one evening at a nice restaurant when a grasshopper jumped on his glass. Shannon, in her normal joking manner, says to him, “I dare you to eat it, I’ll pay you 5 pula” Without hesitation he pops it in his mouth and eats it and everyone is completely shocked and doesn’t even know what to say or do. Then he turns to Shannon and says, “It’s ok, Shannon, you don’t have to pay me, I was thinking about eating it before you even said anything.” As crazy as that part is, he then spent the next week or two violently ill after retuning to training and had somehow contracted tick-bite fever. People were really worried about him for a while and then that story came out and you just have to look confused and laugh!

-Judy Huth. From Akron, Ohio! Her daughter just had a baby back home and it was hard for her not to be there. She really wanted to come to Africa which is really the reason why she joined Peace Corps.

-Kathi Eggleston. Another Minnesotan! She was the other DAC who switched to the PMTCT programme the last week of training. She was a great person who always had a positive outlook without making everything too rose-colored. She was awesome to be around!

-Ruth. Ruth, what can I say about her. She is very distinctive… She is from Brooklyn. She is in her early to mid 40’s. We had a few rifts during training but spent our first in-service training as roommates and are actually ok now. It’s funny how everything that happens teaches us something about ourselves and how to live with others in peace…

-Sherrice. She signed up for Peace Corps to offer support to a co-worker who was applying so that they could go through it together. Funny how things work, she is here with us and her friend is still back in the states! Sherrice is great though, she had a bunch of problems during training but she handled them all with a good sense of clarity because of her faith and fabulous sense of humor!

-Renata. She is 23 and engaged. We were all shocked that she was leaving her fiancé back home, but she didn’t seem nearly as bothered by it. She has one of the highest energy levels in the whole group and is obsessed with nutrition and exercise.

-Bob and Debra. They are the married couple and everyone adores them! They also were my “cousins” because our host families were related so we shared our different stories and experiences to try to figure out the picture of our families better. Bob is a big bald man who is always cracking crazy jokes but also just really offers good feedback to almost every situation. He is also like a big kid at times. He was one of the people to give the speech at the swearing in ceremony and during part of it raised his hand and said “Pula!” like they do here in Botswana and that is how everyone in Botswana knows him…Debra is the sweetest thing with the greatest laugh (which she gets to use a lot!). Both Bob and Debra and fantastic one on one and also are awesome together!

-Marcella, 23. She went to Spellman in Atlanta, but I am not exactly sure where she is “from”. She is awesome. She and I were instantly friends and were roommates in Philly and South Africa and when we first arrived in Botswana before we left for our host family homes. She is spunky and independent and has a great head on her shoulders. She also looks great no matter what her living conditions are and was named “the beautiful one” right away by many of the counterparts.

-Sinu, 24 (?). Everyone also refers to Sinu as the beautiful one…I guess there are a lot of us who are beautiful here...Sinu is very sweet and emotional. Everything that she says and does is sincere and heartfelt. I remember her tearing up a few times during training when talking about the situation everyone is facing here, and I’m sure she had a few good cries at site working in home-based care! In addition to her soft side, she is also a ton of fun and one of her favorite phrases is, “Ooh girl…you know it!”

-Yumiko, 25 (?). She has traveled around the world her whole life. She is extremely quiet and reserved, often off by herself rather than hanging around with the rest of the group—it always seems like she is stuck in her thoughts. When she does speak up though her comments are filled with intense passion and heartfelt emotion. She takes her work here VERY seriously and has actually been labeled “the workaholic” by Peace Corps as well as Batswana. However, she is placed in Selibe Phikwe which has the worst picture of HIV (rates as high as 70% for some age groups between 15-34 years!) and the most work to do!

As I was up on stage in the community center as a judge for the Beauty Contest for the Youth Rally that was going on over the weekend, I was looking around the room and quickly scribbled down the note that read, “Do you ever wonder how this is your life?!?!” I passed it across the table to Shouse “Malebogo”, another Peace Corps Volunteer in a nearby village. She, of course, agreed wholeheartedly and just smiled and shook her head. Throughout the rest of the weekend, the three of us (there are 3 PCVs here: me, “Segametsi”—also in Charleshill, lives next door to me—and “Malebogo” who lives about 80K away in Tsootsha) must have asked that same question about 100 times!

Now, whenever we find ourselves in a situation that we never imagined finding ourselves in (i.e. dancing with Afrikaner men—what white people from South Africa are called—to country music underneath a thatched roof beside a roaring fire in the middle of a small village in the African bush), “Do you ever wonder how this is your life?” has become our slogan. It is interesting how the more comfortable I become here and the more people I meet, the more strange my life becomes…

When the 7 of us that were placed in the Ghanzi District first set out to our new homes, the adventures (and punches!) just kept coming! We started this crazy journey just knowing that nothing that was about to happen would ever me “normal”—at least by any standards that we had known before. But somehow all the inconveniences, near death experiences (ok, you know I exaggerate a bit…but there were still a few close calls), miscommunications, frustrations, utter disbelief and new realizations just became good laughs between “Team Ghanzi”. In the beginning, nothing that happened made sense and whenever we thought something was going to happen a certain way, it didn’t. For instance, when we were all leaving Molepolole with all of our stuff (all of our luggage we brought for the 2 years, everything that we had since acquired during training, 6 bikes, 4 large water filters, all of the dishes, blankets and other items we purchased with our humble settling in allowance to survive on our own, etc), the Ghanzi district sent ONE COMBIE—which is equivalent to a large van and seats 10-12—to transport all of us AND all of our stuff 900K across Botswana on the Trans-Kgalagadi Highway!!!! We kept turning to each other hoping one of us had an explanation or some way of rationalizing all of the things that were happening (oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the combie wasn’t in the best condition even by African standards and had to be push started at every stop). Our new lives had quickly become a comedy of errors and we were all staring as the newly sworn-in PCVs. Our slogan at that time for Team Ghanzi was, “Ga ke itse!” which means “I don’t know” in Setswana.

Somehow between the I don’t knows and the crazy things we all experienced individually in our own villages, it has all somehow morphed into “Do you ever wonder how this is your life?” Another one that has passed our lips many times in various situations include, “Remember, you signed up for this!” But all in all, I LOVE MY LIFE!!! And more importantly, I LOVE MY LIFE HERE!!!

On Friday night after the Beauty Contest, (which started way too late in my opinion for young kids in primary and junior secondary school, so didn’t end until about midnight) several friends from Charleshill and surrounding areas—there are some male nurses who we have been getting to know pretty well and usually hang out with on the weekends along with people from my office and other randoms from around—came over to my place and put on some music with a sound system from someone’s car and just danced all night laughing and having fun. That night we stayed up just talking and dancing and having a blast until the sun rose the next morning. I took a short 2-3 hour nap and headed out to see the rest of the Youth Rally events, visit some other people and then head to Tsootsha.

By the time the weekend ended I realized just how much fun I am having here and how happy I am here—at work as well as after work. There is so much possibility here to transform myself into who I want to be as well as help transform a community on the many issues we face, such as HIV, faithfulness, alcoholism, idleness, etc. The excitement and commitment that I have already witnessed by so many people just amazing me and I can’t wait to dive in there and see what happens next!

I am heading into an extended holiday weekend now so I am sure that there will be many stories to share by the end. We are planning to have some friends visit on Friday. Saturday we are heading to a friend’s farm on the way to Maun to return on Sunday. And Monday we are planning to go to a nearby game reserve to see some animals (we hear there are giraffes there too!) or whatever comes our way. I am sure that whatever ends up happing that it will be a good time and will be filled with many laughs about how this my life…

I was thinking last night and today (I do that a lot now...especially where there is not as much other stuff to do at home...) that the journal entry I submitted last night might have come across negative if you read it the wrong way and since my tone cannot always be portrayed the way I want it, I wanted to say a few more things about what I was saying about this place...

Africa is amazing! Most days I really just don't know what to say about it or how to describe it just because it takes a lot of energy just to try to communicate and figure things out here that I run out of ways to eloquently describe the experiences (I know I say that too much, but its true!!!) I am starting to get into more of a routine and getting the hang of things now that I have been here 3 weeks (at my site that is, Botswana is going on 3 months! I can't believe it has been that long already! But also it seems like I have been here a lot longer some days too!) I actually live in Botswana! That is crazy to realize over and over some days!

I am meeting some amazing people and just trying to figure things out at work. It is just like the beginning of any job where I am just trying to find my way and see how things are done, it is just a little more complex when you throw in another few languages and cultures and when you have to figure out how to live and eat and where to go and what to do and especially when your every move is also observed by everyone! It is crazy how much of a spectacle i feel like most days. I really cannot leave the house without being willing to deal with that. Some days it feels like a lot, but most of the time it is just life...I am learning a lot about myself and about living and interacting and realizing that things here really aren't that much different in some ways, but very different in other ways...that may not make sense but I assure you that many an epiphany have spurred from that realization a few times...

all is sharpo! yes, i'm sorry to admit, if you thought i was a dork before, now you are really in for a treat because i get to mix my already dorkdom with bots lingo and what what and in the end you have a super big nerd! it is all fun though! all of us pcv's laugh at ourselves all the time. we have lost the ability to even tell stories from back in the states without mixing the new words in. it is almost a little scary how quickly that happens!

botswana is a fabo place to be, but i am literally living in the middle of a sandbox. it is like i live on the beach, only there is no water...literally. some days water doesn't even come out of the tap...but we adapt, we manage, and once peace corps lockdown is up (they want us to stay in our own village for the first 2 months to "get to know our community better") we will travel around to other places and see a little more diversity. My village is extrememly culturally diverse thought which is awesome! I am now having to learn 3-4 additional languages though! crazy!

anywho...more to come!

so...yeah...i live in charleshill which is a very small village, but it is the sub-district base for some even smaller villages in this area. work is going well, i have been meeting a bunch of people and doing some crazy things (like participating in a search and rescue party for a missing person, immunizing children under 5 for polio due to a recent wild polio case in Maun, and just every day activities that make me laugh or cry or scream--or maybe all at the same exact time!!!)

no, i havent' disappeared or gone on a desert vision quest, but I am way out in the middle of the "african bush" as far away from productivity and where things make sense so I haven't had any e-mail access (because i can't order mine for my office yet--beaurocracy!!! gotta love it! when I asked if it was available anywhere in other offices here I was lied to and told that no one has it here...only to find out at the end of my 3rd week that in fact, 2 people do have it and use it frequently. It is now 9pm and i have to be up at 5am so anyway...) and I just haven't written because I am just not feeling able to cogently speak about all the crazy things going on here. I really miss talking to people on the phone too which makes it difficult (but I have a cell phone where I can be reached at ANY time and I hear that bigzoo.com has fantastic rates that make it practically free to just call me up at any time...hint hint)

anyway, as i just said, i really can't update on anything because i am just not capable right now, but I REALLY appreciate hearing from people when i do and now that i know that there is e-mail access i will be on it as much as i possibly can and will update my online journal as well as get better at getting in touch.

ANYTHING (including letters or really anything at all) that you want to send would make my entire month and now that I am at my site i am getting packages in about 2 weeks! I live in the middle of the desert (no dessert either...) and access is very limited to everything...its hard to imagine because I live in a house and work in an office, but still there is nothing...just sand and cattle and donkeys and goats...also some pretty awesome people that I am getting to know. I am having a great time and really loving it! Everyday is a new adventure!

My new address is:

SETHUNYA / PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER / KRISTIN UNZICKER

Charleshill District Administration - DMSAC

Box 129

Charleshill, BOTSWANA

my phone number is: 267(the country code) 71214926

Talk to you soon!

lots of love!

Hugs and Misses!

~ME

Well, well well…I can’t believe it is already May! Boy how time flies when you are half-way across the world…fighting AIDS in Africa…tee hee. Training is now even more hectic than ever as we are now involved in many community projects and assignments and spend all of my time (when I am not in class or in meetings) with friends—both Peace Corps friends and Batswana friends from Molepolole. I didn’t imagine that I would actually miss it here, but as we are now nearing the last few weeks of training (already!!!), I can see that I really will miss my new family and friends—and just knowing how to get around a place is kind of comforting too!

But the even more exciting part is that on Sunday we will all find out our placements!!! Monday and Tuesday of next week (May 10-11) is a workshop with our future counterparts from our placement communities. They will be coming here to meet us and then we will spend the entire rest of the week and the following weekend at our future sites for a visit! Very very exciting to finally find out where we will be, meet the people we will be working with, and see our new area too! We are all on pins and needles in anticipation of the big announcements!

So much has been happening, and I am learning so much! I totally love it here and am so happy to finally be doing this! There are still some hard days when I just don’t want to speak Setswana or when I just wish I could eat what I want to or when I don’t feel like being around tons of people or just little things that make me miss people…but for the most part, those are just fleeting moments encompassed with overwhelming laughter and joy and good times and great challenges!

But anyway, since there is still so much that I want to share, and as always, NO time at these little internet cafes, I am working on composing a few journal entries about different topics that I would like to share. Some of these include: Life with my host family; Daily living: bathing, eating, etc.; Fellow Peace Corps Peeps; Getting to know Molepolole; Setswana Stories; HIV/AIDS in Botswana; The Lands; Gabs and Francistown: Life in the big cities; Interactions and Relationships; Marriage Proposals; Village Life: My visit to Kopong; Community Project with the Ditlhakgwa Tsa Kweneng Women’s Support Group, What I miss already, and more to come…

Hope you can handle the anticipation! I got my computer out of storage so I will work on composing them offline so that I can actually share something about my experience for a change!

I am missing people more and more as time goes on! But every e-mail and letter (and especially packages! Thank you, Thank you!!!) helps! Even though I don’t have regular e-mail access, it is still nice to open up my inbox and see that people are thinking about me from time to time! Hopefully I will be able to be in touch very soon. I am slacking quite a bit on my letter-writing…sorry! Postage just went up a whole P1.40 a letter! But I also heard that the dollar went up in value this week…so maybe it all evens out!

I just recently have been able to tune my radio to an international radio station broadcasted from DC, so I have enjoyed listening to some news or at least hearing little snippets about the US—even if it is all about war…:0(

Anywho…Africa sends its best…so do I…hope that everyone is checking out international airfare for the coming year or two! :0)

Next time I will be in touch I will know where I will be posted…and probably will have been for a visit too! YIPPEE!!!

Hugs and Misses!!!

~ME

Well, we learn quickly in Peace Corps to be patient and flexible! Training is going really well...my Setswana is coming along just fine and my host family is great! I live with my 7 brothers and sisters and their 6 kids plus a few other random "family" members! It is quite a change!

But...I don't have internet access! Oh well! Training only goes through May 25th and my worksite should probably have it. I am keeping a good journal, but just wont' be able to share it until I get to a place with access in June.

I think people back in the states all the time, but I am not homesick. I am having a great time and it is very comforting knowing that this is exactly where I am supposed to be at this very minute!

I will be better at getting in touch once I get regular e-mail access, but in the meantime I will just have to go back to the old fashioned way of hand-written letters!

Much love!

~Kristin

Staging in Philly went well but we are all anxious to finally be here. There are 39! people in the group and it is a very unique and fabulous collection of people! There are people from many different age, race, professional backgrounds and we all mesh really well together already.

We all arrived safe and sound--and rather easily actually! The flight was very easy and almost pleasant. The flight was not very full so we all got our own rows and were able to stretch out and sleep! Probably the best international flight I have ever taken! And to top it all off, we ALL got all of our luggage! Unbelievable!

We are getting ready to head out to Botswana today. They are all very anxious for our arrival! It was raining when we got here and it is supposed to be raining hard today. Rain (pula) is very good here and so it is said to bring good luck. As someone said, "We came with the rain" so we are sure to be blessed while we are here! I will be sure to let you know more when I can.

Love and misses!

~Kristin

During this transition time between DC and Botswana, I have had the opportunity to visit a lot of wonderful family and friends. I have been blessed to have this time to spend with everyone before leaving. However, I AM READY TO JUST GO!!!! My itinerary is as follows:

March 20-22 : Staging event in Philadelphia (This is where we gather to make sure that we have all the right shots and preparations and also meet the other people that will be going to Botswana with Peace Corps--there are supposed to be about 30ish going.)

March 22: LEAVE FOR BOTSWANA (via New York to Johannesburg)

March 23: ARRIVE IN SOUTH AFRICA, Travel by land to Botswana

I don't know a whole lot about the specifics of my assignment or about where I will be living or what I will have. I don't know exactly what all I will or won't need, but I do know that I will need and open mind and open heart and willingness to learn and to grow and to serve. So as far as I see it, I am packed and ready to go!

As I go, I will also need the thoughts and prayers of my family and friends...and ongoing letters and mail (and of course e-mail too!) to help me through some of the lonely times of transition that I may face in the coming months. I will be in training in Botswana until mid-May (intensive training on language, culture and specifics on my assignment). Mail will be received in the Gaborone office and delivered to the training site on a near daily basis. After training I will move to my assigned site where I can use a personal address (or I can still receive my mail sent to the training address). To help facilitate this communication, here is my contact information:

Kristin Unzicker

c/o U.S. Peace Corps

Private Bag 00243

Gaborone, BOTSWANA.

E-mail: peacecorpskmu@yahoo.com

What I do know about my assignment so far is that I will be a District AIDS Coordinator (DAC) in one of the 24 Health Districts in Botswana. What that means is that I will be working at the community level with another Batswana DAC to help facilitate HIV/AIDS efforts throughout the district. That means that we will be doing some training and education, some program development, a lot of evaluation, and whatever else needs to be done to work with the Botswana government and directly with the people in the field of HIV/AIDS.

I will be sure to provide many additional details as I find out more and especially as I begin my work and see how it all plays out. I will also have to provide many entries on how my Tswana communication skills are coming along! I am sure that there will probably be a funny story to two about some of the fumblings of learning a new language!

Peace be with you!

~Kristin

Here is some other information that may be helpful to learn more about Botswana. Enjoy!

**The CIA World Factbook on Botswana:

(Please remember that this is just one version of the country, some of the statistics differ in other publications)

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bc.html

**US Embassy in Botswana:

http://gaborone.usembassy.gov

**Botswana Tourism:

http://www.gov.bw/tourism/index_f.html

Peruse some of the local papers:

**Mmegi/The Reporter

http://www.mmegi.bw

**The Botswana Gazette

http://www.info.bw/~gazette/

**The Daily News (a government publication)

http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi

Find out more about the Basarwa and other minority peoples:

**Kuru Development Trust

http://www.kuru.co.bw

**The Kamanakao Association

http://www.mindspring.com/~okavango/kamanakao/

**Explore Botswana wildlife

http://www.geographia.com/botswana/

Information on AIDS:

**Southern Africa's first ever ONLINE AIDS awareness campaign

http://AIDS.eDumela.com

**AIDS Link (non-profit AIDS organization in South Africa)

http://www.aidslink.org.za/

***LINK FOR MORE INTERNET RESEARCH ON BOTSWANA

http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/bots.html

Another chapter comes to a close...I am not gone yet, but finishing up work at the SOPHE office and saying goodbye to friends and neighbors.

It seems as if I just got here...it can't possibly be time to leave already!

DC has been really good to me. I have met some awesome people and have had some fabulous opportunities.

Although I am excited for what lies ahead of me, in a strange sort of way I am a little sad to leave.

Top 10 things I'll miss about DC:

10) The metro--we all love to hate it, but honestly it runs pretty smoothly and gets us where we need to go (most of the time)

9) Hearing political conversations everywhere I turn--I am kind of sad that I will miss all the excitement of DC in an election year, and although all the talk can be quite stimulating, too much is too much...

8) No eye contact and passing by the same people every day without any recognition. I hear Africa is very friendly and exchanging pleasantries is extremely important. Although I will feel more at home at times I am sure I will miss just being able to go on about my way in silence...

7) Overdramatization of winter weather. I mean, c'mon!

6) Construction on every corner--especially the ones outside my window that start at 6am EVERY morning.

5) Happy Hours almost every day!

4) Many, many fabulous restaurants and making up a reason to celebrate over dinner and drinks whenever necessary.

3) I hate to admit it, but all the touristy places that make it fun to live in a city that so many other people want to visit too--monuments, festivals, etc, etc.

2) THE SALOON! (aka. my second home) and other favorite U St neighborhood attractions.

1) My beloved roommate, Jamie, our frequent house guest, Randy, and so many other awesome friends and neighbors!!!

I'M OUTY!!!

Later, gaters!

~Kristin