It’s 9 a.m. I’ve already missed my first class as a teacher and, if things didn’t change soon, I could miss my second. I know I shouldn’t be on phone so much and instead take in the scenery around me … Continue reading →
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The following is an entry from journal, dated November 1, 2011. I was in training and had only been in country 17 days when I wrote this. I don’t like peaches. After my favorite meal – steam bread and beans … Continue reading →
It always seemed out of place, tucked in between a furniture store and a women’s boutique. Its checkered logo on the storefront didn’t match how I saw the place and the screen door behind the main entrance seemed odd sandwiched … Continue reading →
Megan* is beautiful, with silky brown skin and short black hair. Although her voice is soft, her English is outstanding for someone who didn’t pass high school. I met her a few months earlier, during training. Our topic for the … Continue reading →
I am not sure about you, but I am glad January is over. The first three months of the year always seem to tug on and, no matter where I am in life they tend to be emotionally down points. … Continue reading →
I do not like roller coasters. Heights and I do not get along well and I detest anything that involves moving downhill, i.e. skiing, sledding and even descending while biking and hiking. But lately, I find myself on a never-ending … Continue reading →
In our lives there are things that we don’t plan to do or expect we’ll be do forever but as we grow older we continually find ourselves doing those things. That’s my relationship with teaching. In third grade, or so, … Continue reading →
Hello, all, As I continue to record my Peace Corps service through words, I am going to take my writing a step further and will be a regular columnist for my former employer, The Capital Journal. The column will run every … Continue reading →
The rain gets me. I am a fan of the sun and enjoy perfectly chilly fall day like everyone else, but there is something about rainy days that put me into a reflective mood. During many rainfalls, I think of … Continue reading →
I have adopted a new approach to my life in Lesotho: What would Katie do? Katie was my neighbor in our training village and is one of my closest friends in this country. The girl doesn’t know how to utter … Continue reading →
When I went to Maseru a few weeks ago, a thick manila envelope with my name on it was waiting in the Maseru District box. Inside it were Peace Corp materials: the Lesotho newsletter, the headquarters publication and the magazine … Continue reading →
I have never met Ntate Ted nor would I recognize him if I saw him at an American coffee shop or bar. Yet, I know that he likes a good beer, plays the guitar, can ride horses, has a science … Continue reading →
At least once a week, sometimes more, I have a dream with the same theme. The faces and the situation always change, but the idea doesn’t – evacuated, again. In some dreams, I am already at home and trying to … Continue reading →
I’ve been in my village nearly three weeks and I’m starting my first project – a library. The previous volunteer obtained more than a dozen boxes of books from a university in New Hampshire via the African Library Project. At … Continue reading →
During both sets of training, in Niger and Lesotho, current volunteers are intertwined into activities and are great sounding boards for fears and obscure questions. They also tend to offer great advice. One of the best nuggets of wisdom I … Continue reading →
Going into 2012, I’ve been thinking about what this fresh set of 12 months will mean. This is the middle year of my service, if 2011 is the arrival and 2013 the departure. It will be my first, and probably … Continue reading →
“Attitude reflect leadership, Captain.” This poorly worded sentence comes “Remember the Titans.” The two of the players were discussing the dysfunction of the team and they argued whose fault it is. I don’t remember much other than that and that … Continue reading →
On a busy compound with animals and gardens there is a round hut made with bricks and straw roof. It is my safe haven. My home sits on the land of a family of three children, a wife who raises … Continue reading →
Now, in the new year, I am making it a vow to continue my Third Goal awesomeness and blog as much as possible as a way to record and educate. It’s my plan to blog about three to four times … Continue reading →
The other morning, while running on the brown, rocky road that leads to and out of my village, I was thinking about the year that was and realized it was a momentous year for friendships. With the evacuation, I was … Continue reading →
If my life were ever to be drawn into a map, there would be ups, downs and turns. One of the sharpest would represent 2011. The year began in an empty bar in Zinder, Niger, with other Americans dancing and … Continue reading →
Being away from home is tolerable 364 days out of the year, but there is one day when my heart longs for the comforts and familiarity of the place I grew up – December 25th. Leading up to this day, … Continue reading →
Six days into volunteerhood, I am in the most daunting part of the Peace Corps experience – integration. If there was a book on how to integrate without looking like a complete moron, could someone please hop on to Amazon … Continue reading →
Although my desire to be a Peace Corps Volunteer initially lit when I was a college sophomore, the flame didn’t really burn until I had completed school. Back in South Dakota after a brief stint in Idaho as a sports … Continue reading →
My emotions were numb when I stepped off the plane in Maseru back in October, which now seems like a lifetime ago. Yes, I was nervous, but not distinctively. The others I was traveling with – my training class, my … Continue reading →
Sunday mornings are my favorite in the village. Usually, I wake up with the sun, just before 5 a.m. The rising sun and stillness of the community are great running partners and I like to extend my daily run on … Continue reading →
Greetings, my lovely readers. Have you missed me? I certainly missed you. For the first time in what seems like years, I am pounding away on my computer. Not some ancient computer at an internet café, but my dirty white … Continue reading →
Lumelang! Finally, a blog update. This is literally the second time I’ve been near a computer since landing in Lesotho. It will be a compressed update, but at least an update. We arrived well and happy in Maseru nearly a … Continue reading →
My younger by 15 months brother was married this weekend to a stunning girl. It was a beautiful ceremony with a wonderful reception and dance. It was a bit surreal to see different friends and family members blend together in … Continue reading →
Two stuffed bags sit in the corner of my room. In a few days, they’ll become my home, my comfort in a strange place. The rest of the room is on the verge of becoming a museum, items most likely … Continue reading →
Year 26 began in a crowded hostel in Niamey, Niger. There were some resemblances of a birthday – a pineapple cake, chocolate bar presents and chalk board with my name and a cheery greeting etched in various colors – but my life … Continue reading →
I’ll never forget Oct. 8, 2010. I was drinking tea with the headmasters of the elementary and middle schools and few other village men. The headmaster got a call, but because service was sketchy, he walked off to a nearby … Continue reading →
Friends and family have asked me how I am feeling about the departure to Lesotho, trying to get at something that I only reserve for those special to me. I try to explain to them this muddled mess of emotions … Continue reading →
This is Micah. Last night, he performed at a Sioux Falls comedy club and, to be honest, he killed it. I am not sure I stopped laughing through his five-minute set. I’m not being biased either, the entire room … Continue reading →
So, yesterday I wrote all about my changed view of food. Today, I am going to write about pre-fast: eating myself into a comma that required a fast to get out. Don’t judge me. Please. A few weeks ago, I … Continue reading →
Today is the seventh and last day of my juice fast. Now, I know what you are thinking. “What hippie-dippie thing is Heather doing now?” “Is she insane? She has only a small precious amount of time to eat all … Continue reading →
Many have asked why I feel the urge to enroll in the Peace Corps. Even more so, why I want to start it all over and try again. Truth is, I don’t have a good answer. When I return to … Continue reading →
With ample electricity and Internet, I’ve been doing little things to get my computer ready for Africa. Unsubscribe to daily emails, download new music and delete blurry photos for more storage space and less clutter. As I was going through my inbox … Continue reading →
“Have you seen the list?” Elizabeth beamed at me. I had just gotten out of a mandatory therapy situation that was required of all volunteers during the evacuation conference in Morocco. The day prior, we applied for transfer locations but … Continue reading →
I need your help. A very sweet and generous friend recently gifted me a Kindle. It’s pretty fabulous. I’ve talked to current and former Lesotho volunteers and they all agree that a loaded Kindle is a great Peace Corps companion. … Continue reading →
Hi. As you can see, I have changed my blog appearance for the umpteenth time. Well, I can’t find one that I honestly love and I am not in the wealth or talent department to buy or design one. So, … Continue reading →
I know what you are thinking, that is unusually long blog post title. Well, we are getting a bit wacky over here today. Anyway … The best part of leaving in October is that I get to experience some pieces of fall, such as runs with the fresh autumn air, wearing tights and inhaling anything [...]
A friend recently overheard a young woman talking in a public setting. She was just coming home from the Peace Corps. Her “grand adventure” ended earlier than she predicted, or wanted. My friend, being a courage and brave person, approached the young woman and said she knows someone who was in the Peace Corps and [...]
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of my swear-in ceremony in Niger. On Sept. 23, 2010, I became a Peace Corps volunteer. Fast forward a year and a day and I am sitting at my parents home in South Dakota, drinking coffee, making a mental farmer’s market list and wondering how I’ll spend my responsibility-less day. You [...]
The greatest lesson Nigeriens gave me was that there is only one truly important thing in life (below God, of course): friends and family. I suppose that is a given for all of us, but in Africa, there no cheesy reminders that you can stick to your wall and it doesn’t take a traumatic event [...]
The next leg of my trip brought me to Omaha to visit my old friends Kate and Cy. I met them when I lived in Idaho and, although my time there was short and sometime ago, we’ve stayed in contact over these years, especially while I was in Africa. I really wanted to visit them [...]
This morning, I had a nightmare that woke me. It was the kind that sticks with you and prevents sleep, so I grabbed a glass of water and turned on the TV to watch the season premiere of “How I Met Your Mother” on DVR. It was 4:25 a.m. when my father came downstairs. He [...]
After the Bon Iver show, I crossed the state border into Omaha and spent the night with Kate and Cy. Because it was late and we had to get up early for my flight, we had to cap the catching up time, but there will be more about them in the next post. They kindly [...]
Hello, all, So le blog has been a bit quiet the last couple of weeks. For my Twitter followers/Facebook friends, you are probably happy to not see my automated posts clog your feeds. The rest of you, though, I like to pretend that you do a happy dance with each new post. Too optimistic? Anyway, [...]
I am sitting in a coffee shop in Sioux Falls, pulled to prolong my stay until I able to tap out a few words. For the past two weeks, I’ve been traveling, visiting friends and stuffing myself full of terrible, delicious foods. It’s time to go home now and start the process of leaving. Through [...]
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