African Wanderlust

PNGC 2009 Award Ceremony and Our Farewell

2009-08-18T20:32:00.007+02:00

Last Wednesday, August 12th, was a big day. Combined into one large event, held at the Seleka Community Hall, was the PNGC 2009 Awards Ceremony and a community farewell function for Jessica and I. We could not have asked for a better day to mark the beginning of our final days in Seleka. Despite a mountain of preparation, last minute details and communication across a number of different organizations in Seleka and the surrounding area, the event not only went smoothly, but was truly a celebration of all the achievements this community has had over the past two years.

Our morning started at 5:30am, when a local tailor named Adam and his assistant stopped by to fit Jessica for her traditional dress. Seleka Higher Primary school had organized this dress as a gift for her. She had been measured only once and when she donned her new wardrobe for the first time, it fit perfectly. Adam is a truly exceptional tailor. He found out that I did not have a traditional shirt to wear for the ceremony, took a glance at me and said 'I know your size'. Unexpectedly, a couple hours later I was met by Mma Motshegwa and presented with a brand new, excellently fit, traditional shirt to match Jessica's dress. Truly incredible and a wonderful gift.

Jessica, Adam, and his assistant

After our early start and a strongly brewed cup of coffee, we made our way to school. Upon arrival and after many oohs and aahs at how beautiful Jessica looked in her dress, she was quickly ushered into Mma Modipa's classroom where a second traditional dress awaited, much to her surprise! The teachers shooed out all the men, helped Jess out of the first dress and into the second. We men were then called back in to admire the new look, which again was beautiful. A number of photos were taken, and then the men were again shooed away as the women decided which dress Jessica should wear for the day. They decided on the first.

Jessica (dress #2) and Mma Kgang

The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 10:00am. Knowing that it would not start on time (its the way of any event in Seleka) and having completed all our preparations in the previous few days, we were able to spend the morning on a few last details with the teachers and community members; setting up the PNGC Craft Sales table, making copies of the program for the day, setting up and testing the DVD player, etc.

PNGC Craft Sales Table - Business was good!

At the community hall, people began to trickle in around 10:30am. By 10:45am it was suggested we should begin, but then quickly postponed when it was realized that over half the honored guests, including all the PNGC Leaders and Jessica, had gone back to school to collect a few last items. Finally, at 11:15am the program started. For the next couple hours people continued to filter in as they arrived from different parts of the Seleka, neighboring villages and Lephalale. We were honored to have a couple representatives from Peace Corps join us for the day. Margaret Shebe is the Small Grants Coordinator and has been instrumental in assisting PNGC and Palala Clubs to get their funding and also to promote apron sales. Hendrik Matseke, Jessica's Peace Corps supervisor was also able to attend.

Hendrik Matseke and Margaret Shebe, Peace Corps

The first half of the ceremony was dedicated to honoring the work for Palala North Girls Club 2009. A few of the leaders spoke about the achievements of the girls throughout the year and explained the essence of club to the community. A dozen PNGC girls performed two poems centered on HIV/AIDS awareness, and Junitah Maphoto, the PNGC winner of this year's essay contest, read her essay on 'How she will work to prevent HIV/AIDS in her life and in the community'. It was great to see everyone in the audience so supportive of PNGC, the leaders, the girls, and all the work they have done. To know that the entirety of Seleka is behind the club lets us know that there will be encouragement to hold club again in 2010.

Mma Motsoko, PNGC Leader

Junitah Maphoto, PNGC Essay Contest Winner

Towards the end of the PNGC part of the program, we had the privilege of presenting the HIV/AIDS ribbon quilts from 2008 and 2009 to the community. It was decided by the PNGC leaders that the quilt of 2008 should be donated to Kgosi (Chief) Seleka, to be displayed at the Tribal Office. Kgosi Seleka had arrived shortly before and his entrance was heralded with singing and dancing. The presentation process was very unique. When addressing a Kgosi in Tswana culture it is appropriate to work through his main councilor, who will then relay the message to the Kgosi, even though the Kgosi is standing next to his councilor and can hear everything that is being said. This tradition is a sign of respect towards the Kgosi. Graciously Kgosi Seleka received the gift of the quilt and then rose to address the crowd. He spoke highly of the work that Palala Clubs has done, not only here, but in Klipspruit Primary where it began with our good friends Brandon and Rachel Johnson and their leaders Mma Ditsela, Mma Tema, and Mma Khalo. All three of those ladies were in attendance and were able to be recognized in person, a great thrill for them! We were also deeply touched when Kgosi Seleka thanked us for our time in Seleka. He made a point of telling us, and the community, that we are no longer visitors, but we are part of the Seleka family, with the name of Seleka . This makes us brother and sister to Kgosi Seleka, a truly incredible honor. It has been so much fun to meet with Kgosi Seleka over the last couple years and his welcome has been wholehearted. To have him speak about Palala Clubs so fondly and to thank us for our time was a wonderful part of our day.

Kgosi Seleka

Andrew Mocheko, Kgosi's Councilor and Kgosi Seleka
Quilt for Kgosi Seleka

After presenting Kgosi Seleka with his quilt, it was time to present the quilt from this year. For this quilt, the PNGC leaders decided to have a communitywide raffle to raise money for PNGC 2010. In the week leading up to the ceremony, all the PNGC leaders and girls had been selling raffle tickets. Anyone could buy one, and the winner would receive the quilt. The quilt was unfolded and displayed before the hall and our emcee for the day, Grace Masalesa (also a PNGC leader) explained the process. People young and old were digging into their bags and pockets to remove their ticket(s), glancing at the number, and eagerly awaiting the drawing. Mma Tema, from Klipspruit, was our guest raffle drawer. She dug around in the box, stirring the tickets for a few seconds, and then removed one and handed it to Grace. Grace, ever an entertainer, proceeded to ask the crowd in Setswana 'Who is it?!' 'What name is in my hand?!', while the crowd began to call out 'Bua! Bua!' (Speak! Speak!). This went back and forth for almost a full minute until the name Martjie Manyako was finally called out. Jessica and I had a hard time distinguishing the name, but out of the crowd popped a very surprised young girl, who happened to be a PNGC member from this year! As she walked up front she initially looked completely overwhelmed and not sure what to do. The crowd was cheering; the PNGC leaders were excitedly singing and dancing as they presented her with her brand new quilt. After about 30 seconds it all set in and Martjie broke out into a large grin as the PNGC leaders wrapped her up in the quilt. For Jessica and me, it was such treat knowing that one of the girls who helped to sew the quilt had won. Not only that, but the next day we got an even bigger thrill. We found out that after the ceremony, Martjie had gone home with her quilt. Upon seeing this incredible prize that she won, her gogo (grandmother) sent someone out with R45 to buy a live chicken and a two litres of Coke so that they could have a big celebratory dinner to honor Martjie. For a gogo to do something like this, and spend that kind of money on her granddaughter (gogo's small income comes from selling sweets to school kids during lunch break) is a big deal and might have been an even bigger event than winning the quilt itself!!

Quilt for the raffle

Grace Masalesa, PNGC Leader, teasing the crowd
Martjie Manyako, PNGC member and raffle winner

With the quilt presentations completed, I then presented the PNGC girls with a short photo slideshow from the year. They laughed and pointed and celebrated as they watched a review of all their lessons and crafts. It was an exciting to watch them revel in this video that was all about them. Unfortunately Jess was not able to see the girls view their video because she was taken out quickly with Mma Motshegwa to change into a third (yes, third!) traditional outfit of the day!

Mma Modipa, Jessica (dress #3) and Nancy

The video marked the end of the PNGC section of the ceremony and we moved into our farewell that had been organized by the various organizations in the community that we have worked with. It was marked by numerous singing and dancing pieces, a variety of speakers from each organization and throughout all of this there was a hearty traditional lunch served in take-away Styrofoam containers to each adult in the room (children ate outside in the shade). Needless to say it was very moving for us. Mr. Motsoko, a retired principal from Seleka Higher Primary, related the story of how when we first arrived, we refused to type documents for people, but were very happy to sit down with someone and show them how to type a document. His metaphor of choice was 'Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.' We were very impressed by his relating these stories, and also found it hilarious that they had grasped so early on the way that we wanted to work with the community just by the way we addressed requests to type! Other speeches included a touching farewell poem written by one of our grade R (kindergarten) teachers, a rousing speech from Mma Motshegwa, and a celebratory speech by the Itsoseng Elderly Group showing off all of the bead work they had created under Jessica's instruction.

Mr. Motsoko, retired principal from Seleka Higher Primary

Mma Chipana, Grade R teacher and poet
Itsotseng Elderly Group dancing

As the speeches wound down and the food was being finished we were presented with a few small gifts from the community. They are some very unique pieces of art from South Africa that we will be able to take with us. It was such a generous thing to do on top of throwing such a large celebration for us. In response, Jessica and I proceeded to give our prepared speech (in English and Setswana!) to thank everyone and each organization individually, for welcoming us into their lives and their community. Without such a welcome we could never had succeed as much as we did over the last two years. As our gift to the community we purchased a mango tree for each organization that has played an important role in our service in Seleka. We have now planted seven trees around Seleka that will hopefully remind people of us once we leave!

Mma Seleka, Paul, Mma Motshegwa, and Nancy showing off Bahoting's mango tree

After our speech there was a closing dance and singing before people dispersed. We lingered, enjoying the laughter and conversation that always follows a jubilant celebration, despite everyone being rather exhausted. Noticing the sunlight casting long shadows across the floor of the hall, I glanced at my phone to see that the whole event had lasted for over five and a half hours! No wonder we were tired. We finished collecting our things and assisting with cleanup, arriving home at around 6:00pm, over 12 hours after we started our day! I think we were asleep within an hour or two.

This celebration for us was such a grand event and so special for us. It was difficult knowing that this truly marks the end of our service. We are now in the closing days and weeks of our time in Seleka. Other than organizing our supplies and passing them all on to people to use here, we need to pack our bags and head to Pretoria. Each moment we have left is being spent with friends and colleagues. Many cups of tea and coffee, lots of laughs, reminiscing about an incredible two years together and dreading the inevitable last goodbye.

PNGC 2009: Weeks 1-11 in Review

2009-06-06T19:22:00.011+02:00

PNGC has almost completed its second cycle here in Seleka, as we move into our last week on Monday. Unfortunately, one of our leaders from last year, Jacqueline, was not able to participate as she was on maternity leave for four months; however we've had two excellent additions to the leaders to replace her for this year: Mma Motsoko (Jacqueline's sister) and Mma Masalesa. Both Mma Motsoko and Mma Masalesa teach at our lower primary school, Baphoting. Jacqueline just returned to school on Monday and PNGC presented her with a quilt, made by the leaders (a huge thanks to Rachel for the donation of warm, flannel material!), to welcome her back!

PNGC 2009

PNGC Leaders at Invitation Day

Mma Masalasa

Mma Motshegwa presenting Jacqueline with her quilt

Leaders with Jacqueline's quilt

This year we have followed the same format designed for Palala Clubs: a lesson and then a craft We've moved our location from the Seleka Higher Primary School Meeting Hall (which also serves as a classroom for one of our fifth grade teachers) to Mma Seleka's classroom (7th grade teacher and one of our girls’ club leaders). This has proven to make the set up and clean up run much more efficiently and allocated an extra 20 minutes weekly to club.

We used three new lessons this year: Rape and Abuse, TB, and Physical Activity. The leaders and I were hugely pleased with the seriousness and sensitivity the girls used in participating in the Rape and Abuse lesson, ending with an excellent discussion of adults the girls could come to in the community if they or someone they knew were ever threatened/abused/raped, how one should treat someone with compassion if they have ever been physically, emotionally, or verbally abused, etc. The physical activity lesson was a huge hit, as we followed up the lesson by getting outside to do relay races. The girls had the opportunity to jump around like frogs, give piggy back rides, and do the potato sack race. Some of the girls suggested that we end the day by having a relay for the leaders, but since most of them were wearing high heels, they decided to hold off! Paul and I loved getting a chance to see the 'athletics clothing' that was worn for the day. There were old flannel skirts, grandmother's aprons, biker shorts, and slippers!

Frog Jump

Piggy Back Rides

Potato Sack Race

We have also tried out a few new crafts this year including tie dying (my mom and sister crated a full suitcase of tie dye materials from the States when they came in September---we owe them big time!), Bohemian necklaces made with leather cord and wooden beads, and link bracelets with beads that Megan's (Paul's sister) class at Lincoln Park Pre-School so kindly donated. The girls were a bit leery when they eyed the plastic gloves they need to wear for tie dying, but it only took about five minutes for the die caps to come off and they dug right in.

Memory Wire Bracelets

Chain Link Bracelets

Mma Makhura helping the girls with Applique Bags

Name Necklaces

Beads donated by Lincoln Park Pre-School

Our dear friend Mmapula (Megan Owen) came to visit us and help out with girls club during week 9. She helped with packing 62 bead packets, being the official photographer, untangling knots, showing how to thread beads, etc. She was an indispensable member of our team for the week and we wished she could have stayed for the rest of the year!

Mmapula and Mma Seleka

Two of our favorite parts of girls club this year came in the form of an Easter egg hunt, and our four PNGC Student Council girls: Junitta, Anna, Johanna, and Vanessa. We organized the Easter egg hunt one Friday after school. We initially had been hoping to hold it on the Seleka mountain (loosely defined) and, per the wise suggestion of the leaders, headed over on Wednesday afternoon to the tribal office to make sure we could get the activity approved from the chief. Chief Seleka has been extraordinarily welcoming and kind to us in this community, and when we approached him this Thursday afternoon, he looked at us and said 'might it be possible to move the egg hunt to the other mountain (across the road) as this mountain is where our ancestors are buried'. Gulp. Paul and I have climbed this mountain many, many times, each time passing by the cemetery nestled at the base of the mountain, where the previous Kgosi (king/chief) Seleka's were buried, but hadn't ever considered the possibility that we shouldn't be traipsing up there. We quickly said that we would move the activity and decided that it would be to do it on the school grounds. However, as we like to say at home, 'no harm, no foul' and the hunt was a high point for all of us that week.

Girls holding their eggs

Having 62 girls in club this year has not allowed us to spend good time with all of them, but we have had the fortune of working very closely with four of them. Junitta, Anna, Johanna, and Vanessa have helped myself and the leaders to make the weekly craft packets, organize set up and clean up, recognize birthdays, and to ensure the smooth running of club. Paul and I have had the girls over twice to watch movies on a Friday, treating them to chocolate sweets from the States and the glories of Disney animated movies. We've loved getting to know these four girls and are going to miss them terribly once we leave.

Junitta

Anna

Johanna

Vanessa

Having the ending of PNGC so close is bittersweet. I have loved working with the girls and leaders. It has been such a treat. However, as we start to close in on the last few months of our service, I know this program is in good hands, both here in Seleka and in Klipspruit. I know that the program will be changed and modified in the future, as there won't be a full time person here to do some of the behind the scenes work, but that the core parts of it, the lessons, skills that have been learned, and the role models that these leaders have become in our community will continue, with or without me.

Tuesday in the Village

2009-05-27T09:09:00.006+02:00

It was midday and I was preparing for my afternoon computer class. As I was working on one of the computers, it just switched off. No power. I figured it was the same problem I had last week when the school was out of electricity so I hopped over the to principals office to check on the electrical box. Unfortunately I found it to be off as well, which means that the power was out for our entire area of the village. As I was discussing the power outage with fellow teachers, Jessica sent a message letting me know that the power was out at home as well, where she had been busy on the sewing machine with a Palala Clubs Apron Project order. Losing power is a regular occurrence here, though usually it comes with a storm or high winds. To the contrary, this day was a moderate, cloudless, beautiful winter day; a day you would choose if you could wake up in the morning and select the weather. As I went around to the teachers who are in the afternoon computer class to discuss rescheduling for a later day when electricity is available, it filtered in through a few students that there had been an accident. A baakie (pickup truck) had hit an electrical pole and knocked out power to our section of the village. Questions answered. Yet as I made my way home I saw ahead of me on the dirt road a large gathering of school children and adults from the neighborhood surrounding what I could only imagine was the fated baakie. I could see the power lines swaying low in the soft afternoon breeze and knew this was the site of the accident. Detouring through the crowd I asked a few students about the what transpired and this is where it gets interesting. Turns out the baakie belongs to the principal at the secondary school. Following the norms and standards of accepted practices at school, he had sent two boys on an errand (personal, not school related of course). This errand involved tossing them the keys to his baakie and directing them across the village to a local person who was going to repair his spare tire. Unfortunately, after the boys, giddy with the freedom of having the Principal's keys in their hands, careened down the first half kilometer of road they apparently lost control on the gravel and grated the passenger side of the baakie across the electrical pole. The boys were taken to the local hospital for treatment, but were found to have no injuries and are back in school today. The baakie, with half of the bed torn away and a punctured rear tire, looked like a casualty of urban warfare that you see in the news. After snapping a few photos and hanging out with the school kids to watch as they towed the baakie away, and Eskom (the electrical company) showed up to start repairs, I made my way home.

The remainder of our Tuesday night was taken up with a cheese and cracker dinner and strawberries for dessert by candlelight, all because a couple of high school boys went joy riding in the Principal's baakie and knocked out power to half the village.

Time Goes By

2009-05-24T12:06:00.003+02:00

For those of you who continue to check up on this page regularly, it may seem as if we have fallen off the face of the earth! It has been quite a while since our last post and since then much has happened. The pace of life at school and work has picked up, we have had a few visitors, and now we are looking ahead to the end of our service; a time that is quickly approaching. In the last five months we have had two fantastic holidays with members of our family, PNGC 2009 has been meeting weekly with a wonderful new group of girls and a few new leaders, computer training has taken off at the schools, we have been involved in a number of Peace Corps related trainings and we have really been enjoying the transition into South Africa winter. We have posted a number of pictures from our holidays to our web albums, which illustrate our travels more than we can in words, but here is a short list of highlights:

Megan and Kevin flew in for the Christmas holiday in December. We took a gruelling, harrowing, long, yet rather amusing overland trip via public transportation to make our way to Vilanculos, Mozambique for a week on the beach. Despite a few days of rain we were still able to enjoy time in and on the ocean. We spent a day snorkeling a reef out near one of the islands that makes up the Bazaruto Archipelago and topped the afternoon off with a lunch of fresh crab, mango, and assorted island treats. That pretty much sums up our daily agenda for our time on the beach. Relaxing, enjoying the water, and eating great food. After realizing we would get rained out if we stayed longer, we hopped our way back (this time by air) to South Africa where we spent time with friends, explored a few more areas of the country, Megan and Kevin jumped off a cliff (literally), we spent a few warm summer days in Seleka, and had one of the best safari adventures you could imagine when Megan spotted a leopard in a tree that proceeded to come down from his perch to see what we were doing in his park.

In mid-January Megan and Kevin departed and that ushered in the 2009 school year. PNGC started up and work at the schools took over our lives. Between weekly club meetings, running workshops, attending other workshops, and assisting individual teachers with different aspects of their days, our time clipped along. Throughout February and March we were also planning two big events. Firstly, our next holiday was approaching and that meant Dad and Mom (Barry and Pam) were on their way over for another three week family adventure! The other big event was the annual Longtom half marathon that Peace Corps participates in and that we were helping to organize. Days and weeks flew by and before we knew it we had collected Dad and Mom from the airport and made our way to the starting line of the race on the last Saturday morning in March. When the gun went off to signal the beginning of the run, we felt as though we had been already been running for much too long! Race day was a hit and we really enjoyed it, though the few weeks directly following it were a much needed holiday.

After Dad and Mom met us at the finish line with some homemade chocolate chip cookies and spent a couple days meeting our fellow PCVs we were on the road and ready to relax. We enjoyed a beautiful few days in the Graskop area eating wonderful food and resting (us from our hectic schedule, Dad and Mom from their long flight over). From there we took a leisurely safari through Kruger National Park, had some great sightings, including a pride of seven lioness out hunting, and finished each night in the park with a sundowner overlooking the Olifants river. Next it was on to Seleka. Introducing our parents to our friends and neighbors was a wonderful treat and we were thrilled to have them see where we live and work. However, that was just the first week of holiday! Following the village we headed for Cape Town. It was a beautiful week of exploring that brought us to vineyards, gardens, Table Mountain, Cape Point, and more. We awoke each morning in our flat to a view of the ocean and ended each night with a lovely meal at one the cities many excellent and varied restaurants. The final leg of our trip was a short jaunt up to Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls. With the water levels at their highest in over 40 years, we got few pictures of the falls, but we enjoyed a thorough soaking as we hiked the trails and bridges around the area. Mom leaped off the bridge that spans the Zambezi river, Dad took a flight over the falls in a microlight, and we enjoyed an exquisite sunset river cruise. Just as with the all the holidays we have taken, the time went much too quickly, though we enjoyed each and every minute of it.

Upon our return to the village mid-April we were now in the midst of PNGC, computer classes had started and we suddenly looked to the calendar and saw that our COS (Close of Service) conference was at hand in a matter of weeks! By the time the conference arrived, South Africa had elected, on April 22nd, Jacob Zuma as its new president with relative smoothness and predictability. As the conference came and went in the matter of a few days. We had the pleasure of reconnecting with other PCVs that we had not seen in almost a year, discussing the implications of the new government that the country now had and wondering what it would be like to watch things unfold from abroad instead from within. Our COS sessions revolved around the technical side of returning home (i.e. paperwork), reflecting on our service thus far and also thinking about how to transition back to life in the States.

This brings us back to present day life in Seleka. We now have a few short months left in South Africa with much work to do and many people to see. The coming weeks will be extraordinarily busy as we continue to work in the present, but start to plan further into the future for life beyond Peace Corps. Looking back on the past five months to write this is a great reminder of all the wonderful things that we have been able to do here and how much we have come to enjoy our life in Seleka. It is difficult to think about leaving, yet exciting to look ahead to a new chapter in life, despite at this point not know what that chapter holds! It is alarming, the speed with which almost two years has past. We know now how quickly our remaining time will go by and we hope to make the most out of each day.

Saying Goodbye

2009-02-23T20:28:00.004+02:00

November and December were months of celebrations and goodbyes for us as we celebrated the completion of the first year of Palala North Girls Club, the second year of Palala Girls Club, the first year of Palala Boys Club, and said the hardest goodbyes of all....to Brandon and Rachel.

Palala Girls and Boys Clubs joined forces to hold their end of year ceremony and Brandon and Rachel's farewell. It was a marvelous event that drew in villagers from all over Kgobagodimo to celebrate the accomplishments of their children and to recognize the sparkle, creativity, hard work, and friendship that Brandon and Rachel brought to their community. I felt honored to witness this community's love for Brandon and Rachel, and to know that their names (Thabiso and Koketso in Sepedi) will live on, even after they have left.

Paul, Jess, Rachel, and Brandon before the ceremony

PBC in their Wildcats shirts

Mma Kgonyane--Brandon and Rachel's South African mother

The teachers singing their goodbyes to Brandon and Rachel

The following week, we held the Palala North Girls Club end of the year ceremony in Seleka. Joining us for the event were Peace Corps friends, Gregor, Marguerite, and Joey, and the Kgobagodimo contingency of Brandon, Rachel, Maam Ditsela, Maam Tema, (Palala Girls Club Leaders) and Mr. Kgomo (the Klipspruit Primary Principal). The day was filled with speeches, singing, and dancing. The singing and dancing hit a high note when we received a surprise visit from some Grade R (kindergarten) students who performed for us. The crowd went wild!

Girls watching the Grade R dancers

Paul had put together a photo slideshow of the year. Although I had seen it about 10 times before the ceremony, I still had a few tears in my eyes watching the girls and parents get such enjoyment from seeing themselves, or their children, and all they had done in the last six months. It was a moment where I realized that technology can be such a gift---putting together a simple slideshow enabled us all to celebrate the 'Best of PNGC' as one community. Although it was bittersweet seeing the girls finishing up the program and preparing to move into new schools, it was exciting to have watched how much they'd grown under the PNGC leadership throughout year, and to know they were about to embark in a new adventure: grade 8!

The crowd watching the PNGC slideshow

2008 PNGC Leaders

Girls with their certificates

Throughout all of these wonderful celebrations, Paul and I felt a sense of impending doom as we knew the day that Brandon and Rachel would be returning to the States was rapidly approaching. They have been incredible friends to us, and have profoundly impacted our service in South Africa and we knew their departure would be a loss for us. We felt fortunate to spend a few of Brandon and Rachel's last few days in the country with them before they flew out on December 12th. We'd encourage you to follow them as they transition back into life in the States on their new blog www.beyondsouthafrica.blogspot.com!

At the Pretoria Zoo

Palala Clubs Apron Project

2008-12-03T12:47:00.001+02:00

Started in June 2008, the Palala Clubs Apron Project blossomed out of one of the annual girls club craft projects: sewing aprons using traditional South African Fabrics. Palala Girls Club has sewn aprons for the last two years, and the Palala North Girls Club did it for the first time in 2008. In the past, Palala Clubs has been generously funded by VAST grants through the PEPFAR program. However, with the knowledge that this funding is short term, we felt it was of great importance to find a way to make the clubs self-sustaining. Using one of the pre-existing club crafts seemed the perfect start to designing an income generating project.

It has been such fun for Rachel and I to watch Maam Tema, Maam Ditsela, and Maam Khalo improve upon their sewing skills and to see them express it in each adult and youth apron, complete with a matching bag, they produce. I'm sure that when Rachel gave these ladies their first sewing lesson on an electronic machine, she had no idea how much they would love having the ability to create clothing, household goods, cards, etc. Each apron is being sold for R100/R150 with profits from the sales being given directly back to the leader who sewed the apron, and used to support Palala Club activities.

Towards the end of November, we held an apron workshop for the three above mentioned leaders to teach the Palala North Girls Club leaders how to perfect the art of apron making. Maam Tema, Maam Ditsela, and Rachel joined us in Seleka for an afternoon of talking about the project and working individually with the six Palala North Girls Club Leaders. I loved watching the women come together; seeing them teach and support one another was exciting--knowing that these women had taken hold of something, had pride in their work, and regarded it as their own. One of my goals for 2009 is to help the Seleka leaders improve their sewing skills so that if they choose, they too will be able to join the apron project.

PGC & PNGC Leaders at the apron workshop

Maam Ditsela (PGC) & Maam Motshegwa (PNGC) with a completed apron

One of the project highlight has been an invitation to bring our aprons to sell at the United States Embassy Craft Fair held in Pretoria in the middle of November 2008. Brandon, Rachel, Paul, Maam Tema, Maam Ditsela and myself spent the day at the embassy selling aprons, and getting a chance to meet some of the embassy employees. It was a great opportunity for the leaders to work on their sales skills, and to have the satisfaction of receiving such a positive reception to their product. Unfortunately, the embassy wouldn't allow us to take pictures inside the grounds, but we got some during the remainder of our time in Pretoria.

Maam Ditsela & Maam Tema at the backpacker in Pretoria

Rachel, Jessica, Maam Tema, & Maam Ditsela fabric shopping

Paul, Maam Ditsela, Rachel, Maam Tema, & Brandon

As Brandon and Rachel have now completed their Peace Corps Service and left South Africa (more about that in an upcoming blog), Paul and I will be working to assist the leaders in Klip and Seleka with the apron project and club until we leave in September 2009. Our hope is to iron out a few gaps: finding a reliable fabric supplier that will transport fabric to northern Limpopo, looking to see if there is a larger market for aprons in the States, and possibly finding a retail outlet for sales in South Africa. We are thrilled that the aprons have sold so well up until this point--our sales just topped 300---and we are excited to see what is in store for the project in 2009. For more information, or to order an apron (shipping is available in South Africa or to the States) please see the Palala Clubs website at www.palalaclubs.com.

Celebrating after the craft fair

PNGC Week 16: Fetal Development

2008-10-28T18:47:00.002+02:00

The last week of PNGC for the year has come and gone. It is surprising how quickly time passes. The day felt like any other day as the girls quickly organized the room, set up the sewing machines and turned up the volume on the latest Rihanna song. The leaders finished attendance, made announcements, explained the schedule for the day and off they went. The smoothness and ease with which the they orchestrated club for the day belied the true passage of time and how far everyone has come in embracing PNGC, making it their own.We had saved one of the more interesting lessons for our last day and were pleased to see how excited the girls became as the weekly story was related to them. The topic was Fetal Development and the lesson walked through the different stages of development from the early weeks to the last months. Along with the lesson, PNGC was able to borrow a set of Fetal Development Models from PGC in Klipspruit. The models are made to specific size and weight according to the various stages of development. Towards the end of the lesson, Ma Motebele began passing around the models as she explained in more detail each stage. The girls were giddy as the cradled these small and very lifelike models in their hands. Passing from one girl to the next, the models were accompanied by continuous cries of amazement, curious eyes, giggles and laughter. Pregnancy and birth are very important in the villages and the lesson brought new understanding for the girls and the leaders that was applicable to their daily lives. One of our leaders is currently about five months pregnant and there are a handful of students whose mothers are as well. At the end of the day, Ma Motebele even took the models home with her so that she could show her children and read them the story from club. Truly it was a perfect lesson to end this year's club.Once the din of the girls receded following the lesson, it was back to work on aprons. Almost half of the girls had the opportunity to sew their aprons the previous week, and the remaining girls had their chance this week. They modeled their finished product for their friends and were extremely proud of their own craftsmanship. Those who were not sewing began making up as many sets of earrings and beaded wire bracelets as they could. The hope is that the girls will be able to sell these extra items in the coming month as a fundraiser for next year's club. When they heard that this was the purpose of their work, they seemed to continue with ever more fervor. By the end of the day we had over 60 pair of earrings and even more bracelets, all with different patterns and colors. It was wonderful to see that the girls want to help in any way they can to make sure that PNGC continues for next year's 7th grade girls.The day wrapped up as any other day would. Dust settled from a final sweep of the room as the leaders put away all the supplies in the cupboard and the girls returned a few tables and chairs to their respective rooms. Bags were shouldered and thank yous were exchanged as we all waved goodbye to one another in the waning daylight hour. Walking home we felt a strong sense of pride in the leaders and girls. In a few short months they had taken a small set of lessons and crafts and turned it in to an incredible weekly program. It is an experience we hope the girls will carry with them throughout their lives. There is no question it has been a profound experience for both of us.

Rain!

2008-10-23T16:38:00.001+02:00

The first rains of the season arrived this week! It was a very welcomed relief from the intense heat that has been scorching the area for weeks. Not that it has completely cooled down, because we do still have hot days that are a bit more humid now, but there is now a chance each night for a cool and refreshing rain to wash away the heat of the day. The morning clouds that used to melt into flat, thin wisps of white and then burn away by late morning now remain large billowing cumulus bubbles that tell us the start of the rainy season has come. With moistened ground to walk on the dust has abated and we no long fear getting swept up in whirlwinds of red sand and trash that were daily occurrences only weeks ago. As we move further into the season our hope is that temperatures will drop slightly, at least into December. Never have we been so happy to see rain. We stood out on the front stoop with our cat and watched the storm roll onto the village. When the downpour came Jess tried hopelessly to chase the goats from our garage, but it was a losing battle. In the end, I would rather have to shovel a bit of crap out off the garage floor in exchange for the arrival of the rains.

PNGC Week 15: Physical Fitness

2008-10-22T16:11:00.002+02:00

It was a hot, humid and tiring day at PNGC this week. The first rains of the season came the night before which is great news, but it also makes the air heavy and sticky. Combine that with construction at school in some of the rooms and packing 54 girls, 6 leaders and the two of us into a small space makes for an uncomfortable start to the day. It was clear from the looks on every face that they were tired and hot and ready for a nap. We felt the same way, but put on a smile and some energizing music and went ahead with club.The girls were discussing physical fitness and the importance of exercise this week. Many of them love playing netball and football (soccer) and our hope was to hold some track and field type events for the girls outside. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we did not want to have the girls out running under the oppressive afternoon sun. Instead, we unpacked the sewing machines and started the last project of the year, aprons.Each girl began sewing their very own apron out of traditional fabrics. The leaders were each manning a sewing machine and assisting the girls that were sewing. It was clear that these fabrics are a special commodity in the village and the girls were very excited to know that they would be getting their very own. As the leaders and their girls hummed along on their machines, the girls who were waiting for their turn spent the time finishing up their 5-strand beaded necklaces from the week before if they had not already done so.These are a more difficult beading project and require many more beads to finish. I spent most of my day troubleshooting with broken crimp beads and clasps as well as handing out beads. This quickly turned into a very hectic affair. Everywhere I turned there was a girl who needed more beads or help tying off an end. I quickly realized that some girls were just asking for beads because they wanted to take some home, even though they had finished their necklace already. Some went so far as to hide beads under books, in shirt pockets, behind their felt squares and any other place they could find to put them. Then they would come to me saying they were out of beads and needed more. I began to get pretty frustrated with some of them, especially when I had to deal with two or three girls in a row who were blatantly lying about not having beads and demanding more, interrupting, snapping their fingers or flailing their arms to get attention and more.

I kept my cool through the rest of club, packed up and went home. As Jess and I sat enjoying some cold drink and unwinding from the afternoon I tried to pin down what my frustrations were with the girls that afternoon. Part of it was the heat that made everyone a little edgy, and some of their behavior can be chalked up to teenage attitudes and life, but there is part of the way that they acted when demanding this or that through the afternoon that still bothered me. It is not just unique to the girls, but to many people in South Africa. There is a sense of deserving among many people in the post-Apartheid era. It is very rare to hear please or thank you, to form a line instead of crowding and pushing for a space in front, or to wait patiently for someone to finish speaking or working instead of interrupting. These attitudes seem to be born from the idea that since people have been freed from an oppressive life, now they deserve to take it back when and where they choose. I think part of the reason why some of the girls acted the way they did was a learned behavior from their parents and friends. They have been given many things throughout club and perhaps now just expect to get even more instead of looking at everything as a gift and a privilege.

Yet this is not everyone. As I looked back on the day I also began to remember the other girls who were bringing back their extra beads, helping others to finish once they had completed their own work, assisting in cleaning up and organizing all of the supplies. There are a number of these girls and they are kind, considerate young women. They are the bright spots of club that let us know what we do with them and the leaders is worthwhile and important. There will always be struggles when we work with young people in a culture that works differently from our own, but at the end of the day it is worth every minute.

Mary and Vanessa Visit South Africa

2008-10-16T21:05:00.004+02:00

The first of our family members to visit South Africa arrived at the end of last month to spend a couple weeks with us in our village and exploring South Africa. Mary and Vanessa, Jessica's mother and sister, arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport after a two long, yet uneventful flights. In 14 months we had not seen anyone from our family, so as they rounded the corner and exited customs, needless to say we were slightly excited to see each other!

We made our way directly to the village to start off their South Africa adventure in Seleka at PNGC (read previous PNGC Week 13 post for details on their experience at club). Their fun filled first day was tiring in the heat, but also exciting to be able to show them all about what we do with PNGC each week. A few more days in Seleka and the surrounding villages allowed Mary and Vanessa to see our schools, our village, meet our teacher and the women at the drop in center, explore the bushveld with our friends at their homes and out on the farm and see pieces of our day to day life in Africa. Needless to say they were in for a number of new experiences. They got to help carry water, bathe in a bucket, brave the dust and heat of the day, eat warthog voers (sausage), braai, have a spitting contest with Impala dung, and much more. It was a truly jam packed first few days, and despite their long flights they were up to the challenge of meeting and greeting the whole village.However, Seleka is not the only part of Southern Africa worth seeing and our next stop was Lesotho. After a 15+ hour drive that included a few stops, bad traffic, a wrong turn, a near miss with a couple cows in the road, shady border crossings and some rough last few kilometers of gravel road we arrived at Malealea Lodge where we spent our next five days. Arriving so late the first night to a place with limited electricity hours and complete darkness otherwise, we spent the first day sleeping in and enjoying our first views of the mountains of Lesotho. The lodge is set on the edge of a beautiful valley surrounded by high peaks offering stunning views and cooler weather. Our leisurely day was also meant as preparation for our coming 3-day, 2-night pony trek into the mountains.Our trek began early the next day with a short introduction to our horses. Having packed our bags earlier in the morning, we stuffed a few apples, sandwiches and water into the saddle bags and set off with our guide Thato and his apprentice Jappie. In Seleka, I am also known as Thato, which means 'God's will' in Sotho. We felt this was a good sign for our trek. We bounced our way out of the lodge and started down the road. Malealea is a small village and soon we were out in the valley and the road narrowed to a thin dirt track that led us for about 6 hours down and back up gorges, across rivers, through small villages teeming with excited children and smiling parents. At times mountains loomed directly above us casting long shadows over our horses and at other times they were far in the distance leaving us in the spread of another valley under the intense sun of the day. We arrived in the village where we would sleep for the next two nights saddle sore and happy for the chance to stretch our legs.The village of Riboneng is accessible only by horse or walking. They buildings are predominately circular rondavels of stone, clay and stick with thatch roofing. With no electricity or running water, villagers fetched water from the springs up the mountain, washed clothes in the river below, and lit fires as the sun set behind the western peaks. We came to love this tiny village in the short time we spent there. The young boys telling us about their sheep and goat herds, the men playing an interesting game with stones on a carved rock, the women cooking in their communal reed kitchen, the old transistor radio bringing news from far away places and more importantly the South African soccer matches; all this was quite charming as we settled in for our two nights on thin foam pads with a gas burner supported by field stones for cooking.The second day of the trek brought a sunrise and the sounds of the goats and sheep in their kraal (pen) directly outside our door. We saddled our horses for a day ride up the mountain pass to the top of the Riboneng waterfall, instantly aware of how sore our backsides were. Yet after a few hours, the combination of gorgeous scenery to distract us and numbness setting in made for an very enjoyable day of trekking that included lunch at a cool mountain stream, stories from Thato about Lesotho traditions in the area and meeting a man and his brother hiking to the other side of the mountains to go meet up with his fiance and present her with a traditional Basotho Blanket. Upon our return to the village we had the option of striking out on a three hour hike to the base of the waterfall that we had just stood atop, however a short conversation with our bodies concluded it was wiser to work our the aches and pains with a stroll through the village and a glass of wine (yes, we packed wine all the way out to the village. It was delicious!).Winding our way back over the mountains on a different route we made our way back to Malealea the next day. Our trek had been extremely exciting, awe inspiring and scenic despite sore rear ends, Vanessa's midnight stomach bug and having two horses strike out for home without us on the last morning (somehow Jappie tracked them across the valley and up the mountain to a village about one hour's ride from our hut). We were glad to be back to a hot shower and some clean clothes, but part of us wished our pony trek adventure could have lasted for much longer. Our final day at Malealea found me in bed in a nasty disagreement with my stomach, but gave Jessica, Mary and Vanessa the day to explore the village and meet Thato's family. As we ascended out of the valley leaving Malealea we stopped at the top of the pass to look back on a once-in-a-lifetime trek through a unique mountain kingdom. With having done so much, what more could we possibly do? Next stop, curio shopping.Over the next few days we made our way through Lesotho, back into South Africa and on to Graskop near the Blyde River Canyon. Along the way we stopped in a few small villages to peruse the local craft markets. We met a fellow PCV from Lesotho at the weaving group she works with, enjoyed a fantastic meal in the artsy community of Clarens, and continued the theme of good food with Harrie's Pancakes, Portuguese beef entrees, fresh coffee with chocolate cake and more. The girls were able to take advantage of the Graskop area's excellent collection of crafts from South Africa and other parts of the continent. We took in a classic African sunset over the canyon as well as the rolling green hills and valleys that are in such contrast to the flat bushveld of Seleka. It was a time of relaxing and enjoying some of the best that South Africa has to offer. Yet with a few more days left, we continued on to what some describe as the best of South Africa, Kruger National Park.Early in the morning we packed up the car and drove the hour from Graskop to Kruger. The day was overcast and perfect for viewing wildlife. In our two days in the park, we had hoped to see the Big Five, but came up one short. Despite that, we had an incredible drive through one of the best game viewing parks in the world.On their last day in South Africa, we were back in the city and took a trip to the Apartheid Museum. Expertly designed and explored in detail, the museum offers a clear historical account of the history of Apartheid from factors leading up to its inception as well as the events that eventually led to it's end and culminating with the 1994 elections and Nelson Mandela's presidency. It was a sobering, yet important reminder of South Africa today and a good way to bring our trip full circle. As we sat having dinner with our friends that night prior heading for the airport, we candidly discussed the time Mary and Vanessa spent in South Africa. It's beauty, wonder, promise and hope as well as the struggles, challenges, obstacles and turmoil. They had experienced it all and at the end of the day found South Africa to be an incredible country.

PNGC Week 14: Eating Healthy

2008-10-14T10:18:00.006+02:00

After a few weeks off due to school holidays and our visit from Mary and Vanessa, PNGC was back in action this week in the run down to the final few weeks of club for the year. Despite yet another gruelling day of 100 degree heat, the girls arrived back enthusiastic. Of course their first questions to us for the day were all about our family: How was their trip? Where did you go? Will they be able to come to club again? and more. It was clear that the short time they spent with Mary and Vanessa was memorable for them and we were happy to know they enjoyed that day as much as we did. After recounting our holiday with the girls, we moved on to our first order of business for the day, birthdays. Each month the PNGC Student Council gives out nice new pencils to anyone with a birthday in the coming months. The girls really enjoy having new things for school and always look forward to the first club of each month. October was no different and this month we have seven girls and one leader celebrating their birthday!The lesson for the day revolved around Eating Healthy. Nutrition is something that is severely lacking in Seleka, and most other villages in South Africa. Fresh fruits and vegetables are not found in many homes. Partly this is due to a lack of produce available in the villages and also in part it is that not many families go out of their way to purchase them when they are in town. Sometimes this has to do with expenses. Maize meal, used to make bogobe, is inexpensive for large quantities. Heavy in starch and with the consistency of soft mashed potatoes, it is not an ideal food to eat day in and day out. Yet, for most households, it is eaten as the main course for one, if not two, meals each day. Along with that there may be a small amount of meat or vegetables served, but again they are unvaried and not helping to round out a food pyramid anytime soon. The other inexpensive way to eat in the village is to buy sweets. Zimbas, the equivalent of homemade Cheetos, are the most common. We see students on a daily basis buying them for 50 cents for breakfast, lunch and after school snacks. They also pocket a lolly pop or two if they can afford it. The result is an entire diet built on high sugar and starch intake with nothing else to balance it out. Fruits like apples and oranges are available in the village sometimes. We even see fruit trees in yards and gardens when we are out and about. The trick is actually getting the kids to choose these over their beloved sweets. The leaders emphasized to the girls the importance of this change of behavior, pointing out problems that many children and adults face with tooth decay, diabetes and other illnesses. The girls seemed to have a solid background in healthy eating as they discussed the lesson, though putting it in to practice will prove a larger challenge. The leaders asked the girls to spend this week trying to substitute fruit for sweets each day. We will see how it pans out!

Having exhausted the topic of food for the day, the girls then turned to their craft, a 5-string beaded necklace. At this point, the girls have done a number of beaded projects and at first they seemed to be rather complacent about the craft, thinking it was just like all the others. A few girls, however, tackled their necklace quickly and soon they could see how this project was different in look and style to anything they had tried before. Word spread about how cool these necklaces looked. They were different from the single strand work the girls had done in the past and as we tried to wind down club for the afternoon, many girls sped up their beading to finish before the end of the day. The day finished in a whirlwind of beads as girls secured their final threads and clasps to begin modeling their work. Using a number of different color beads and patterns the girls showed off their creative sides by designing many different styled necklaces. They posed proudly with their finished product and talked about how their mothers and sisters would really like this new look. We are now starting to see the girls realizing that other people in the village are interested in the types of things they are making. There is potential for PNGC to use these products as a way to raise money for future club projects and that is getting people very excited to keep learning new techniques. Our hope is that one or two of the girls came away from today learning that they can eat healthy and look good at the same time!

PNGC Week 13: Personal Hygeine

2008-09-24T09:46:00.004+02:00

This week at PNGC we had very special guests visiting. Jessica's mother Mary and her sister Vanessa had come to visit us here in South Africa and their very first day full day in the country brought them to our village to see club in action. As has been the trend over the past month, the day was hot, dry and windy but with such honored guests, the girls and leaders were all excited for club to begin. They had been hearing for a couple weeks now that Mary and Vanessa were coming with special craft supplies from the United States and were eager to see what everything was.
The girls lined up in front of the school hall as usual, chatting and gossiping about their day at school, while the PNGC Student Council and leaders helped to set up for the day. We first introduced Mary and Vanessa to the leaders and they happily assisted us in preparing for the day while learning about how this year at club has been going. The leaders were eager to share their stories and show off some of the necklaces and earrings they had made. When all the tables were set with a few supplies, Vanessa was asked to be today's bell ringer. Snatching up the bell and popping out the door to the hall, she rang the lavender bell, much to the girl's delight, and week 13 was underway.
The girls took their seats quickly, inspecting the containers of interesting looking sweets that had made the journey across the ocean for them, as well as the small tubes of paint in the baskets on each table. Their eyes were already lighting up and we had barely started. As Jessica introduced our special guests the girls applauded after almost every sentence. They could just not contain the excitement of having our family here to visit. At this point we probably seem rather ordinary to the girls, but our family had just stepped off the plane from America and the girls wanted to know all about them. However, before they could be bombarded with inquiries from the girls, Ma Masenya stepped in to present the lesson for the day on Personal Hygeine. It was clear to her and the rest of us that the girls were quite enthusiastic about the day and their attention was not easily focused on the lesson. Keeping that in mind, Ma Masenya improvised as she went, cracking jokes and incorporating anecdotes specific to daily life in Seleka to keep the girls listening and laughing. It was difficult to grasp everything she was saying as it was rattled off in Setswana, though it was clear that everything she was doing was bringing the lesson closer to home for the girls in a light hearted way. I was amazed at how she was able to maintain a level of participation from the girls on a day when they were easily distracted by so many other things.

After completing a short discussion at the end of the lesson, the big surprise for the girls was finally here. Jessica began explaining that the paints on the table in front of the girls were fabric paints, and that today the girls would be decorating their very own PNGC T-shirt. More applause came quickly, but was soon drowned out by oohs and aahs, hushed giggles and knowing glances from girl to girl as the leaders began to distribute the T-shirts. Not much explanation was needed on what to do and soon every girl had a bottle of puff paint in her hand, aimed at her shirt on the table. At first, most of the girls took the initial suggestion that they could write their name on their shirt. Almost every girl started with that, though soon word spread around the room of other creative designs and patterns. In no time at all, simply designed shirts became elaborate mazes of different color paint that covered entire shirts front and back. Paints were being passed around the room, ideas shared and expounded upon, and everyone was having a fantastic time. Mary and Vanessa meandered through the girls, stopping to talk, or sometimes just to admire a shirt or two. As the girls neared completion of their shirts (meaning we started running out of paint!) They, along with the leaders, began to help the girls hang their shirts over chairs and tables so the paint could dry overnight. Once finished with their T-shirts, the girls now had their chance to ask the questions that had been burning the tips of their tongues all day. The two new Americans soon found themselves surround by eager young faces asking a range of questions from 'Do you know Beyonce?' to 'What does your house look like?'. They posed for pictures, laughed, joked, made funny faces and thoroughly enjoyed themselves for the entire afternoon. No one was too quick to leave at the end of the day, wanting instead to stay and keep talking, but we assured them that the following morning we would be back at school to take a group photo with all of their shirts. Knowing that, the girls and leaders all helped to clean, sweep, pack and organize shirts to dry. We made our way home with a troop of girls that continued to delight us with questions and conversation all the way to our front door. The evening was starting to cool down and we sat on the front porch talking about what an incredible day it was for PNGC.
The following morning we arrived at school to find all the girls already there, sporting their freshly dry PNGC shirts. After assembly we gathered everyone together for a large group photo. The girls grinned from ear to ear as they showed off their new look and posed for even more pictures with their new friends.

We would not have been able to do this craft without the generous contributions and support of friends and family back home. Please know that your donations will be worn with pride in our village. From all of us at PNGC, thank you.

PNGC Week 12: Money Mangement

2008-09-16T11:05:00.003+02:00

This week the girls discussed the topic of Money Management. For a large number of families in Seleka, money is not readily available. Many people rely a pension check and perhaps one salary to support their immediate and extended family. Being able to manage that money is essential to being able to make ends meet each month. Yet, young girls being who they are, and under a constant barrage of popular culture showing off the latest and greatest trends in fashion, technology and lifestyle, the ability to manage money effectively can be extremely difficult. The lesson for the day focused on the two main characters of all the PNGC lessons, Khutso and Mpho, and their trip into town to purchase food and supplies for the family. One girl spends her money wisely and the other unwisely. When they girls get home, it is clear what the correct way is to manage money. It is very likely this scenario has happened to a number of girls and it seemed to hit home for them. As we move forward with our craft making we want to begin encouraging the girls to think about ways they could use their new skills to earn money for club and for themselves. When that time comes it will be important for them to know the how to use their money wisely for themselves while still allowing for a special purchase once in a while. With few people in the village having their own bank account, cash is the only money people have and makes it all the more important to learn money management skills.To go along with the lesson for the day, the girls were able to sew their own personal coin purse. Having been on the sewing machine before, it was now much easier for the girls to zip through their sewing. Even with 54 girls in club and only four sewing machines we were able to sew up almost every coin purse in one day! They were immediately filled with some spare change, a pencil or pen, lipstick, chapstick, and other assorted items the girls had on hand. Hopefully each time the girls pull it out to buy something for themselves, they will think of the lesson for the day and remember what it takes to make good decisions with their money!While other girls were on the sewing machines, the remaining girls spent the day putting finishing touches on past projects like their beaded AIDS ribbon pins, or starting in on a beaded wire bracelet project. With all of the different activities taking place it was quite a busy day at club. Girls and leaders were buzzing back and forth amid the din of conversations and the hum of the sewing machines. It was a perfect scene of club, active and productive up to the last minute. The girls went home for the day sporting a number of new items and hopefully a few more bits of wisdom from their leaders.

PNGC Week 11: Respecting Elders

2008-09-09T13:26:00.000+02:00

It was another week of visitors for PNGC! Our good friends Chanda and Jacobus who live here in South Africa were hosting friends from back home, Ken and Pam, and stopped into Seleka for the afternoon to check out all they had been hearing about PNGC. Ken and Pam had only just arrived the day before and were fighting their jet lag, so the girls made sure that their music was turned up just a little bit more as club got under way for the eleventh week. After an introduction of our guests for the day and a huge round of applause for the special treats the brought from the United States for club (Starbursts), Ma Motebele hopped out of her seat wearing her bright blue sunhat and proceeded to give this week's lesson, which was on 'Respecting Elders'.
Growing up in the States, we always heard this lesson from our parents and teachers under the larger context of Respect. However, here in South Africa, elders in the communities hold a much more prominent role than what we may traditionally be used back home. In the past. community elders were those with the knowledge of the community history and heritage, important information when keeping custom and tradition alive. While this is still true today in many areas of South Africa, it is not as central to life as it once was. Still, the idea of respecting one's elders has not diminished in the least and this was an important lesson to remember for the girls who are now growing up with ever changing, and often conflicting, views of who constitutes your elder and how to show respect and care for them. The girls listened with intent to Ma Motebele and were quite talkative during the discussion. Clearly the tradition of respecting elders has not been lost on these girls considering the way that they treat their leaders at PNGC by listening and participating each week. It is really nice to see.
Following the lesson, the girls continued to work on their beaded AIDS ribbon pins that they began last week. The improvement of the girls in one week was astounding. Not only did they remember some of the tricks we taught them for keeping their thread on the needle and working through the pattern, but they really worked hard to make sure they were getting it right. Jess met with the PNGC Student Council girls at the end of last week to help them finish their pins in advance so that they could assist the leaders this week and help their friends finish. The student council girls shuttled around the room from one person to the next, guiding, demonstrating, encouraging and laughing with their friends as slowly, more and more pins took shape and brighter spots of red beads could be seen growing on the tables. With the help of the student council each girl was given special attention when they needed it and nearly all of the girls were complete or near completion by the end of the day. Our visitors strolled through the tables watching the girls and talking with the leaders about how the club is run. It was a great experience to have friends visit PNGC. I could tell the leaders enjoyed showing off their club and it's accomplishments. The girls were excited to meet new people and happy to indulge a photo or two (as if they could ever not be in the mood to have their picture taken!).

Organized Chaos

2008-09-05T13:26:00.000+02:00

We have now officially passed the one year mark and are quickly approaching the time when we no longer count how long we have been here, but how much longer we have left. In the first year we have gotten used to doing a number of things we once thought new and strange. Based on an informal survey of things I do on a regular basis around the house and extrapolating for the remainder of our service, I expect that by the end of our two years in Seleka the following can be added to my resume:

300 bags of trash burned
650 chamber pots emptied
700 baths taken using small red wash basin
1460 buckets of water hauled from the tap at the church next door
2190 articles of clothing hand washed
4380 litres of water boiled
13000 ants sent to their doom with DOOM

This is a short list of accomplishments that only begin to describe one aspect of my life here, but I like to think they are an intergral part of 'building character'. With all this to do on almost daily, it is a wonder where I find the time to do much else!

Truly, in the last month or so, the pace of life has sped up dramatically. After completing the fourth month of full-time teaching, the new teacher was finally hired for Seleka Higher Primary School's grade 5 Math and Technology position. I had just recently resigned myself to the fact that I would end up teaching the remainder of the school year because of the snail's pace at which the paperwork was moving for this new teacher. Of course, as soon as you make a decision here, something happens that completely upends your plan. The arrival of the new teacher happened right in the middle of a number of trainings and meetings that Jessica and I attended for Peace Corps in Pretoria and elsewhere. Between traveling back and forth from these meetings, orientating the new teacher to our students and our curriculum and be inundated with requests for help in other areas now that our schedule has opened up I feel a bit overwhelmed. Unlike the first year of our service when we were trying to figure out what to do, where to work and how to fit into our communities, we are now established in the schools and in the village. Therefore, when all these new opportunities arrive, we are in a better position to be able to start in right away. This leads to constant work in all sorts of areas. In the two weeks since we have stopped teaching, I have been asked to help start computer classes, work one on one with teachers in their classrooms, lead a team of teachers to organize a solution to the watering issues we are having at our new school garden, work with the school Surroundings committee to design a layout for their proposed landscaping and paving projects, assist in the creation and maintainence of the school budgets, and photograph the entire student population for portfolios and train the teachers on how to use their camera in conjunction with the computer to store their information. Each of these activities is not only possible in the next months or year, but they are all projects that I want to take part in and are areas where I can be productive in training our teachers. Yet having them all drop on my lap at once, just when I felt I was getting settled into the classroom, has caught me off guard.

We are just over 12 months away from closing out our service and previous volunteers have frequently said how their second year of service was much busier and went by much faster than their first. Clearly this seems to be the way our service is shaping up to be and because of that, we also must start to think about life after South Africa. This adds a whole new dimension to our plans that seems so far away, but in reality is just around the corner. There is an anxious feeling about the next few months and being able to get things reorganized so that we can continue to be productive in our village but also to feel prepared to move beyond South Africa after our service. Time here seems to have only two speeds, slow and relaxed (agonizingly so some days) or lightning fast, and the speed changes in the snap of a finger so that one day you wake up and realize a few months have gone by and tomorrow is today. Knowing that this will be the case for the rest of our service I need to continually remind myself to be taking in the small pleasures of each day, each sunrise and sunset, time spent with our friends and colleagues, and sometimes even finding pleasure in such things as hauling water or taking down laundry from the line after a labourious yet satisfying handwashing.

PNGC Week 10: Understanding HIV/AIDS Continued

2008-09-02T13:29:00.003+02:00

Another busy week of PNGC has come and gone. This week we had special guests at club; Brandon and Rachel Johnson, who began Palala Clubs in their village last year, stopped in for a visit to see PNGC in action and to meet the leaders and girls who are inspired by their clubs. It was great to have their support not only to observe, but to dive in and help where needed. With a packed schedule for the day, we were happy to have as many people as possible on board!

After last week's successful introduction to HIV/AIDS, the girl's this week did some more in depth discussion on how to stay safe and be prepared for situations that could lead to contracting the virus. It was great to see the enthusiasm was still there with the leaders and the girls for this topic which is often very difficult to handle. The leaders are becoming very comfortable talking with everyone and do not shy away from using vocabulary that often is not used when working with delicate topics. In turn, the girls give emphatic answers to most of the questions. Not only do they know what HIV/AIDS is and how to prevent it, but they want everyone else to know as well. To continue to keep the girls thinking and talking about HIV/AIDS, this week they were given an essay competition to write on the this topic. All of the essays will be reviewed by the leaders and the winners will have a chance to present theirs to the group. The girls were excited at the opportunity and the challenge. They are strong and find support with each other and we feel grateful for each and everyone of them who continue to work so hard on the main focus of club, life skills lessons for these girls.
The hard work translates directly from lessons into crafts and we are thankful for that too! The projects that the girls are getting into from now through the end of club are much more difficult and time consuming. We wrapped up round one of sewing this week as the last of the girls were able to finish making their quilt square and ironing it to prepare for piecing the whole thing together. When they were not sewing, the girls began work on a beaded AIDS ribbon pin. The pattern for the pin is tough. Girls must count out an exact number of beads, thread new ones in the process and keep track of the spacing and direction they are beading. Initially it was troublesome for many of the girls. We spent a great deal of time untangling thread, putting needles back on, tying off beads etc. Slowly some of the girls began to recognize the patterns and when they did, they were eager to help their neighbor, which took some of the pressure off all of the leaders to get to everyone. By the end of the day, almost every girl had at least began the pattern and was understanding how to continue. The girls will take up their pins again this next week to finish them off.
Teamwork was the word for the day. Between leaders, girls, Brandon and Rachel and ourselves, we needed every hand and every minute of the day to work. Despite the chaos it was successful, and you could see the sense of accomplishment and pride in every person's eyes after a solid afternoon of good work.

My Birthday, Seleka Style

2008-08-27T20:22:00.002+02:00

Yep, I'm one year older today. I read a passage from a book today titled "Somebody's Heart is Burning....A Woman Wanderer in Africa" by Tanya Shaffer that sums up my birthday here in our dusty, dry village beautifully. I wanted to share it with all of you.

If traveling has given me anything, it's given me this: the ability to float gently down the river of events--to relinquish control. In Africa, the boat leaves when it's full. You might wait an hour; you might wait two weeks. If you spend that time tipping forward into the future, you sink. The best thing to do is just to sit on the boat and look around at the other humans who are sitting there with you. You might discover you like the view.

My birthday consisted of small, magical wonders. Wonders that might not look like much to others, but to me, they have been a realization that 'I like the view' here in Seleka. I went into today expecting nothing out of the ordinary. However, I woke up to a wonderful cookbook Paul found for me (I've been searching for months to find it), a great cup of coffee from Superior, Wisconsin, a chalkboard decorated in my honor, cake, seventh grade girls looking for a little help with their homework, and a barrage of phone calls, emails, and sms from Peace Corps Volunteers, South African and American friends and family. It has been a day filled with an appreciation of what our life here is, and an acceptance that we have had to relinquish control of a number of things---special birthday dinners at a restaurant that serves more than chicken, etc., but I've come to take joy in the here and now. Often times back home we try so hard to do something special or extraordinary on occasions like birthdays, but today I was able to enjoy the ordinary routines of my life here, through the lens of greater appreciation we tend to put with birthdays, and see just how special they truly are.

PNGC Week 9: Understanding HIV/AIDS

2008-08-26T17:47:00.003+02:00

What a fun week at club! For the first time this week the girls were able to use the new electric sewing machines that were purchased for PNGC using the VAST grant funding. The four machines were set up in the back of the room in a line with a leader posted at each to assist the girls. For the first sewing project, the entire club is going to be making an AIDS ribbon quilt. Each girl received the pieces to compile their quilt square. They pinned them together in the correct alignment and took turns sewing their pieces together and ironing the finished product. When all the squares are finished, the leaders will work with Jessica to sew them together for the final quilt. At first glance the girls could not really tell what all these little pieces of fabric were going to make, but as the initial set of girls emerged from behind the machines, proudly displaying their new creations, it became clearer how this will eventually come together. I was surprised at how quickly some of the girls picked up the nuances of the machine. After a few different tries at the foot pedal they were finding the right speed, learning to manipulate the fabric with their fingers to keep it on line and so on. There were definitely hitches along the way with bunching, some rather curvy stitch lines, needles losing their thread or jamming, and fabric off center, but these were to be expected. Jessica spent much of her time troubleshooting on the machines while I monitored the ironing board and tried to keep up with my photography responsibilities. There was even one point where I ended up sitting at a machine helping to guide a girl through sewing her piece. It turned out that she did most of the guiding and I learned probably as much as she did! With only four machines, the remaining 50 girls who were not sewing got a packet of beads and some metal wire to continue practicing their beading skills. In no time flat we had a room full of multi-colored bracelets. These girls are truly mastering their crafts.
The starting of the quilt coincides with the heart of the PNGC curriculum, based on HIV/AIDS. This week was an introduction of the topic in club. We learned from the leaders that these girls have already received a great deal of information about HIV/AIDS in the classroom. For this reason, we designed an activity for the week that placed girls in groups of six. They were given a slips of paper in green and white. The green slips had questions relating to HIV/AIDS and the white slips had the answers. Their job was to match the correct answers to each question. In under 15 minutes all the groups were finished and the leaders reviewed with the girls as a large group, asking for individuals from each group to read their answer to a specific question. Almost every group answered the entire stack of questions correctly! This is great news given that all schools in South Africa are required to incorporate this curriculum into as many aspects of lessons as possible, but many do not. To know that our school is doing this well is a compliment to their commitment to the learners and their education. We were very proud of our girls, not only for the display of their knowledge on the topic, but also their willingness to read and discuss such a sensitive topic aloud with each other and the leaders. It was a big step for club in an area of discussion that we are putting a great deal of importance on for this year.

Cape Town - Long Overdue

2008-08-24T11:51:00.006+02:00

Again, it seems that time has slipped through my fingers. Looking back at recent posts I realize that, other than our weekly PNGC updates, I have not written since June. Over two months have passed and so many things have happened. I really do not know where to start, so I will go chronologically and start with our adventure in Cape Town. Future entries will catch everyone up on the rest of our life here.

It is hard to put down on paper (or onto a computer screen) exactly how interesting and incredible this trip was, so hopefully the pictures we have posted will help to show what I cannot explain.

At the end of June the second term of the school year came to an end. It also marked the close of our first full term of teaching. During the last week of school we, along with the other teachers, compiled each student's work, and signed report cards. The last day of school was a whirlwind of students running around with excitement at the dawn of a three week break as parents filed into the school grounds to collect their child's marks. Not only was the school buzzing with anticipation, but so were we. Our full-time teaching schedule coupled with the kickoff of PNGC had really kept us driving in high gear all term and we need a break. Physically, mentally and emotionally we were exhausted. It had been the most productive term of our service and also the most demanding.

Our relaxation came in the form of a two week road trip adventure with our friends Brandon and Rachel. Our destination was Cape Town and we took off with a full tank of petrol and empty memory cards in our cameras waiting to be filled up. Being on the road again in South Africa was a wonderful feeling. After a few months in Seleka, we begin to forget that there are places in this country that are not as dusty, dry and hot as our area. Though we have come to appreciate the beauty of the bushveld, we were excited about our opportunity to take in some new landscape. Driving south we passed through the rolling hills and fields near Bloomfontein, through the valleys and cliffs near Grahamstown, where we stopped for an afternoon at the annual National Arts Festival, and emerged on the coast of the Indian Ocean at Port Elizabeth. After a day of safari through Addo Elephant National Park we continued to make our way South and West along the Garden Route towards the Cape. Stops in Jeffrey's Bay, Mossel Bay, Cape Agulhas (the southernmost point of Africa) and Hermanus showed us incredible coastline landscapes. The Garden Route follows the highway as it winds its way between an impressive mountain range and the coast. Mountain peaks stand like infantry men, shoulder to shoulder, and march off into the distance as far as the eye can see. They are an imposing threat to anyone wanting to enter the interior of the continent. The coastline is just as rugged in some spots and strikingly beautiful with deep ravines carry water from the nearby peaks out to meet the waves crashing against the shore. One of the most breathtaking views (and harrowing when you are behind the steering wheel) was when we came through the last mountain pass leading to Cape Town. The sun was just setting on the Western horizon beyond the distant Atlantic, silhouetting Table Mountain and the city around it. The bays were a silvery grey dotted with ships and boats making their way to port for the night. Cape Point could be seen far off to our left and the city lights were beginning to pop on as daylight faded. The wind was whipping fiercely through the pass and it took careful maneuvering and steady nerves to navigate hairpin turns past semis and other vehicles on the descent down to the flats. It is hard to fathom how anyone every made it over the mountains before the road was built, but easy to see why someone would want to stand up there and look over this area.

Our time in Cape Town was magnificent. We took in sites like Cape Point, Table Mountain, Robben Island, and the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, and also ate incredible food (which was actually what we had planned the entire trip around). Our evening at Anatoli Turkish restaurant was unmatched by anything else we indulged in for the two weeks on the road, even the fantastic dishes that we enjoyed in the Stellenbosch wine region. Despite some rainy days in the vineyards, we warmed ourselves with a taste or two of local wines and met wonderful people at all the local wineries. Nestled between the mountains and littered with vines as far as the eye can see, the Stellenbosch region is truly a place to come to stay for a long period of time. In fact, we found ourselves saying that about almost every place we visited. Frequently we caught each other expressing 'I wish we had an entire year to stay here and explore'.

As we made our way back from the Cape via Kimberley to complete our large circle of almost half of the country, we found it hard to describe in words how incredibly diverse this country is in people, culture, landscape, economy, and feel. Every corner we turned gave us something new to experience and yet oddly, it all still fits into an overall sense of still being South African. We met country farmers, retirees in a golf course community, Zulu dancers, Indian shop owners, villagers from rural areas, people from cramped townships, fishermen, surfers, and more, all of whom spoke different languages, were from different backgrounds, yet all call this corner of the world home. It is both a blessing and curse to a country newly reformed and working to re-imagine itself and it's place in the world.

PNGC Week 8: The Effects of Alcohol

2008-08-12T16:35:00.001+02:00

This week marks the halfway point for PNGC. The last two months have been a whirlwind of glitter, glue, beads, bracelets, laughter, and learning. Most importantly the girls and their leaders have become a close knit group, as was shown by everyone this week.

Club got off to a late start because of some miscommunication from the school. An outside organization had put together a film showing after school on Monday, but those involved in planning never explained it to the remaining staff (which includes all six of our PNGC leaders). Therefore, when the lavender cowbell rang at half past two Monday there were a number of girls missing. Initially I thought there was a misunderstanding about having club because Jessica and one of the PNGC leaders were gone this week at a Life Skills Training seminar for Peace Corps. Talking with the other leaders, I thought perhaps some girls figured without Jessica around, there was no club. The leaders, however, knew otherwise. They quickly took control of their club, talked to a few other teachers and found out that the movie was something that only students who had paid could watch, though it was short in length. It was decided that club would go on as planned and the girls attending the film would come in immediately following the film and catch up with the lesson. Clearly club has become very important to the girls and the leaders for them not to cancel but continue, and on top of that make sure everyone can get the lesson and craft time in. Each week it seems to be a different leader taking charge and making sure things happen. This week it was everyone and they moved with speedy, quick decisions that I rarely see in our schools. I was thoroughly impressed.
Soon we settled in and club began. As we move into the heart of the curriculum for the year, the lessons have begun to cover more serious topics. This week was no different. As the story for the day unfolded I could see girls nodding slightly in agreement with different situations that they could relate to. When it the leaders followed up with discussion questions asking if anyone had ever had to deal with alcohol being pushed toward them, inebriated family or friends, and unwanted attention near the tavern the girls were in agreement that most people had experienced this in some form or another. Alcohol is a serious problem in many corners of the world and especially in the rural villages of South Africa, but it is seldom talked about openly. Being able to educate these girls about alcohol and it's effects in a safe environment is critical to helping them make good choices. The lesson seemed to take hold and the leaders are very good at bringing the lesson home in ways the girls can understand. It was an important day for everyone to be present and I was so pleased the the leaders had worked hard to have everyone in club involved.
After some serious discussion it was time to lighten the mood some. The leaders distributed tools and beads to the girls for this week's craft, chandelier earrings. A quick explanation was all it took for everyone to get started. No longer novices with pliers and wire cutters, the girls deftly maneuvered their way through the process and in no time were showing off their dangling earrings to anyone who would look. They have become so good at these earring and bracelet projects that we have begun to sell extra beads to the girls who want to make more earrings at home. The funds raised go toward buying sweets to enjoy during club in future weeks. It has proven to be a hit and even people not associated with PNGC are wanting to learn from the leaders and buy beads of their own. Hopefully this can continue to spread beading skills throughout the village as well as provide a regular source of income for club in the future. In the end, sustainable, fun, and practical projects are what we hope to leave behind.

PNGC Week 7: Sex vs. Abstinence

2008-08-05T21:38:00.001+02:00

Week 7 was a critical week for PNGC. We had one of our most important lessons of the program: Sex vs.Abstinence. Paired with the lesson was decoupage--a chance for the girls to cut out anything from magazines that struck their fancy and paste it onto their very own pencil holder. My, what sticky, glittery fun!
Going into this lesson the PNGC leaders and I felt very strongly that the girls should walk out of club with the who, what, where, why, and how of sex and abstinence. They wanted to make sure the girls felt comfortable asking questions freely and having the correct information when making decisions about their own sexual health. Watching our leader’s give this lesson was a tribute to their abilities as teachers. They were engaging, made the girls laugh, and conveyed the importance of understanding what sex is, what is responsible sex, how to abstain from sex, and why.
Learners in our village are becoming sexually active at young ages. At our last leaders training, Jacqueline (PNGC leader and 2nd grade teacher) told all of us that one of her second graders knows 'how to do' sex and likes to talk about it with his classmates. From spending time at the clinic, I know the percentage of babies born to Seleka women under the age of 18 are about 30%. Most of these young women will never graduate from high school as child rearing becomes their primary responsibility. You don't have to walk around the village very long before seeing young girls walking around with babies on their backs. One hopes that the baby doesn't belong to her, but too often it does.
It is my hope that our seventh grade girls will have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. Get an education, have good health, family and friends, a sense of spirituality, a comfortable home, an engaging/stimulating career, to provide for one's children, and to make South Africa a better place for all. I wish we could be around long enough to see how their futures unfold.

Creativity

2008-07-30T16:06:00.002+02:00

On Tuesday of last week, I was at the Seleka Drop In Center helping the 10 carers hired to cook and provide activities for the 115 orphans and vulnerable children we serve. I admire these women immensely. Although it has taken a year, I think they finally trust and respect Paul and I as their own. Their job is daunting. We all volunteer for an organization which has little funding, and the money seems to 'disappear' regularly. This leads to weeks on end where there is nothing to cook for the children, even though we receive funding yearly from the government specifically earmarked for food. The women try their best to make ends meet by piecing together small donations and occasionally even give some of their own meager stipends to purchase mealies, beans, or vegetables. When first arriving in Seleka, Paul and I had high hopes of being able to help the drop in center financially in some way. However, after extensive discussion with the carers, we've decided that it is best to wait until the political landscape of our organization has changed before trying to make any steps forward. In the meantime, we still go after school on days when we don't have girl’s club commitments, to be with the carers and OVC's and help with the cooking and cleaning.
On this particular Tuesday, I happened to be wearing one of the crafts we did for girls club; a chain bracelet. One of the carers was admiring it and asked if I'd be willing to teach them how to do it? Of course! They all brought a few Rand and over the weekend I purchased some beads for them to make their own bracelets.
Arriving at the drop in center, supplies in hand, I had no idea that this small activity would bring out the sparkle, smiles, and girlish giggles of six women already in their adult years. Having put together a small bag of different beads for each one, they dumped them out on a piece of fleece, laid out on the table to diminish the number of beads rolling onto the floor. Eyes shining, they started making patterns--their own, creative, unique patterns, for their bracelets. Although the small holes in the beads were hard to see for a few (you hardly see anyone with glasses in our community, although I've noticed many of my learners and PNGC leaders squinting..), by the end of the morning they all had their own bracelets on, and were admiring each others.
Creativity expressed through art is not something that is encouraged, cultivated, or sought after in Seleka in the form I know it. Usually the resources needed are just not available. I remember when we were young, having ample opportunities to make things with crayons, markers, fabric, blocks, etc. You name the material; it probably was made into a Christmas ornament and hung from our tree at some point (except for the bird tree--Adam and Ness, you know exactly what I mean). Here in our village, art comes in the form of a crown made from sweet wrappers, a made up song, or drawing in the sand. Wonderful expressions of creativity, but sometimes just a few crayola would add the missing piece between a picture being lost in the next dust storm and being able to bring it home for grandma. Not that I'm advocating that we bring Target to Seleka; however sometimes dust, wrappers, tires, and leftover wire can only get you so far. Seeing the carers work with pretty, shiny objects brought out the young girls in all of them; the young girls that look at a necklace, bracelet, or earrings and say 'ohh'. I realized that morning that I was raised in a country where freedom of creativity is not only encouraged, but where most people have the financial means to achieve it. I guess I had never realized that even the most basic supplies that help young people to express their creativity are still out of reach for so many people in the world. My hope is that through our time here we can create new and sustainable ways to encourage the creativity of as many people as possible. The smiles and laughter on the faces of my friends here should be the norm, not the exception.

PNGC Week 6: A Young Man's Mind

2008-07-29T21:21:00.000+02:00

Last week's lesson/craft combo was 'A Young Man's Mind' and appliquéing bags. The objective of the lesson was for the girls to understand the changes taking place in boys as their mature, both physically and emotionally. Critical pieces of the lesson included how to safeguard oneself from unwanted advances, whether verbal or physical. The discussion questions at the end of the session brought out some giggles, but serious conversation as well. Mma Motebele asked the girls what they would do if a boy was giving them unwanted attention or admiring parts of their body. One of the girls responded she would tell them 'O a yaka' (you are lying!--a commonly used phrases here with our learners), while another responded she would kick him. We tried to talk her out of that one, but we were pleased she was engaged in the conversation. The answer I had been waiting for came at the end of the conversation when one girl said if a boy wouldn't stop touching her, she would go to a PNGC leader or a policeman. Excellent.
After wrapping up the lesson, the girls started appliquéing butterflies onto bags using the blanket stitch. I have found there are small skills, skills I take for granted, which the girls haven't learned how to do yet. For example, many don't know how to tie an over handed knot at the end of a piece of thread, or how to thread a needle. This has presented great learning opportunities for me in things to be teaching them in upcoming weeks and how to continue making small improvements in our crafts for next year. The majority of the girls seemed to get the hang of the blanket stitch by the end of our session, and proudly modeled their bags for all of us.
It has been so fun for Paul and I to walk around our community, or come to school, and see our leaders and girls wearing/carrying their own creations. We're always so pleased to see that sense of accomplishment when the leaders and girls conquer a technique and have a finished product to take home with them. I know they are showing family members and friends what they're doing, as many have come back to me asking if their sister, mother, auntie, etc. can make a pair of earrings. We're hoping the girls will use these opportunities as times to be teachers instead of learners, sharing their skills with other women in the community. In Tswana culture, it doesn't happen very often where children teach their elders. We're working on giving the girls some skills to do so, hopefully bringing them closer to other female members in the community by a shared bond: a love for the arts, and the creation of something special.

PNGC Week 5: A Young Woman's Body continued

2008-07-22T20:54:00.002+02:00

We are back! After a three week school holiday and the first week back off for club, PNGC was back up and running on Monday. It was apparent that the girls were excited to have club again, because I had a number of them come and find me throughout the day to make sure they could come after school. The day went quickly in the classroom and before everyone knew, the final bell had rang for school and the lavender cow bell was clanging to begin club. Despite having already been back at school for one week, the girls continued to talk and chat about how long it had been since the last club, what they had done last time, and wondering what was in store for this week. I had not put together a new music CD for this week's club because I figured it had been a while since they had heard the most recent mix and sure enough, it did not matter. Minutes after they began filing into the room girls were singing and dancing to the beat. It was going to be a good day.
I stuck around for introductions and welcome backs. Because we had missed the end of June and the beginning of July, we had the PNGC Student Council announce birthdays for the month and hand out small gifts of pencils and stickers to any girl whose birthday fell in either of the two months. Everyone cheered and clapped for each girl as she received her presents. Even more special was that one of the PNGC leaders, Ma Seleka, was having her birthday the same day as club. After the student council finished announcing the girls birthdays, we had Ma Seleka stand up to recognize her. Her gift from club was a beaded AIDS ribbon pin that Jess had made that came in a beautiful pale purple little bag. Ma Seleka liked her gift so much she even pinned the little bag to her sweater with the pin!
As the group quieted down from birthday celebrations I took my cue to step out of the room. This week was a continuation of 'A Young Woman's Body' lesson. I still do not have much to offer on the topic, so I took the time to do a bit of prep work for my Math classes for the following day. However, the recap from the leaders after club told me that not only did the girls remember a great deal of the previous lesson from over a month ago, but that their participation was even better as they became more comfortable talking in the large group and knowing that their questions and answers were part of a private discussion. It was a real step toward building off the great momentum of trust and comfortability that was set during the first four weeks of club.

Following the lesson I made my way back into the room to pick up my duties of DJ and photographer once again. This week's craft was chain bracelets. Not only did the girls do amazingly well at this craft, but it was clear they were becoming ever more comfortable with using the tools needed to complete the beading projects. Things like wire cutters and round nose pliers that were utterly foreign objects to them just a few short weeks ago now look like tools that they have been using for years. As some girls finished in record time, they turned their attention to helping their neighbors, picking up extra supplies, assisting the leaders and more. These were not just the student council girls that help us out each week to set up and take down, but all the girls. I was taken aback at how anyone coming in to watch club that week would not have known these girls had only attended four previous club meetings, let alone been on a four week hiatus since their most recent gathering. They looked naturally at ease and were completely enjoying themselves.
At the end of the day we gathered the group together outside for a welcome back photo to show off their dazzling new bracelets. The girls giggled and shrieked as they hopped in line for the photo and then sprinted over to me to peek over my shoulder for a glimpse of their face on the camera. It was a great capstone a fun day back at club. As we strolled home in the now extending daylight as we move toward Spring in South Africa, we had a hard time realizing we had been away for so long. It seemed just like any other day of club should feel and that made us smile. PNGC has fallen into it's routine and the girls and leaders are taking the lead in setting the tone for the rest of the year. If this week was any indication, the rest of this year is going to packed with good lessons and great projects.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T10:44:00.002+02:00

With all the children running around our village, over 1000 of them alone attending the two schools we work with, 160 of whom have been our wonderful 5th graders for the last term, there are certainly a number of fathers who need to be celebrated today in Seleka. Monday is Youth Day in South Africa, a public holiday, so families also have a long weekend to celebrate together. As I stretched my legs down our dirt road Friday morning and held a warm cup of coffee in my hands to abate the crisp winter air I ran into one of our grade 5 girls. We fell in step together (about three of hers for every one of mine) and started chatting. She is an adorable girl who loves to talk to us whenever we have free time. Very articulate and to the point, she is never afraid to speak her mind. That day is was just excitement that was pouring from her. I had asked about her plans for the long weekend and the up coming three week school holiday. 'Toropong!' she exclaimed, which means 'town' in Setswana. She went on to explain that for father's day weekend she, her father, mother and two siblings were heading into town for the day on Saturday to shop, eat lunch at her favorite restaurant, KFC, and 'ipshina fela' (just enjoy). To top it off, the following weekend they all planned to travel to a nearby city to visit her mother's family for the entire three week school break. Apparently it is an annual excursion. All this joy and happiness was let out in a matter of a few minutes that it took to get from the corner where we met up to the school gate where she promptly sprinted off to meet up with some of her friends hanging out against the side of the school building facing the sun, trying to warm up a bit before having to sit down in a chilly classroom for the morning.

I smiled as I walked up the path to our classroom to prepare for the day. This little girl was doing exactly what our family would do on Father's Day growing up. We would pile into the car and head up to the city for the day, go out to lunch, usually at one of our favorite restaurants as kids, not Dad's favorite restaurant (because we did not really have a taste for choice prime rib and a glass of wine in our middle school years) and just enjoy the day together. I decided to continue asking other students about their plans for the weekend and school break, quickly finding out that my companion for my morning walk was more of an exception than the norm. Most students that I spoke with talked about how their father works in the city, usually meaning Johannesburg, and that they usually only seem him a couple times each year. Others do not have a father figure in their lives. Many are never able to come home from the city because it is so expensive to travel. They send money home each month to the family and that is all they are able to do. Many have passed away at a young age from HIV/AIDS or other illnesses. Some children have neither father nor mother at home due to all of these reasons.

Each face that I looked at that morning I tried to see beyond the personality that comes into the classroom each day. Do they live in the few nice homes in the village or one of the many one room tin homes lining the dirt roads. Is it a family in the traditional sense at home, or just one mother, one father, one grandparent, an older sibling or is this young 5th grade child the head of the house? Unfortunately the latter options are the most prevalent here.

This is just one small village that suffers from the same concerns that hundreds of thousands of people in every corner of the world face. We have had the privilege of getting to know some of these children who may not get to celebrate this weekend with a father, or have someone celebrate them on Youth Day. We hope that in our short time here we can celebrate them each day for the fun kids they are. It is easy to get caught up in our work and see just students in the classroom from day to day. Friday I was reminded again that all these bright faces are not just students but kids in the midst of what for many is a difficult childhood, one that is too short when you are forced to grow up so fast.

So today, on Father's Day, Jess and I are thankful for the blessing of such wonderful fathers and families of our own. Ones that gave us the opportunities that allowed us to be here now. Fathers that taught use the importance of family, friends, and being together. I cannot be a father for every child that walks through the school gate each morning, but maybe I can be a positive male role model many of them want and need. We do not have to go on weekend trips to the city with them or out to lunch, but as long as we are in Seleka we can gather together and just enjoy.

Happy Father's Day.

PNGC Week 4 (A Young Woman's Body)

2008-06-09T20:15:00.003+02:00

Organizing the beginning of PNGC was a bit of a fiasco today. As Jess was trying to get back into school with the last of the supplies, she found the gate locked. Students who were trying to leave the grounds faced her through the gate, unable to leave. I hopped into the classroom where we hold club to begin setting up only to find it still full of students working with confetti that was all over every table and blanketed the floor. Searching around campus for the teacher to help close down her class and allow us to set up, I was approached by a number of kids who had come from the gate asking for the key, which I did not have. Other leaders were gathering the girls to help collect the extra tables and chairs we need each week and sending them the room, only to have them be told to wait outside until the other class was finished cleaning. The wind was whipping up dust storms that added clouded vision to my already cloudy mind as we went hither and tither to get everything going. Eventually Jess got a student to come back with a key to open the gate, letting her in and releasing a flood of students out into the the village. The girls were lined up, much thanks to our newly elected student council who really did great today! Soon everyone was inside and out of the cold, windy day.

This week's lesson was titled 'A Young Woman's Body'. As you may realize, I have very little knowledge to add to a lesson like this. To make it more comfortable for the girls during the story and discussion, I sat this week's lesson out and finished organizing a few of the items for the craft. Jessica will elaborate on the lesson:

Being a seventh grade girl once myself, I remember lessons in health class about the changes occurring in a young woman's body being frightfully awkward. Looking back on it, I now think, "what were we all so worried about?," however in those days, I dreaded it enough that it might have kept me up at night, trying to make myself sick in order to have a viable excuse to stay home from school. Keeping this in mind, I hoped that the girls experience today would be in a more open, comfortable environment then it was for me back in the seventh grade. Mma Masenya had volunteered to take on this important lesson, and she did it with gusto, making the girls laugh throughout it's entirety. After finishing the story, all six of the PNGC leaders opened the floor to questions, instead of our normally pre-written discussion questions. The girls were quite shy, not wanting to be the first to ask about menstruation, but eventually the questions did start popping up. I realized how important this lesson truly is when one of leaders leaned over and told me that many of the girls did not even know what menstruation is, much less that it would eventually happen to them. We'll continue this discussion with the girls in our next PNGC meeting. Paul, our official PNGC correspondent, will take it from here...
Once finished, I was summoned back to the room to take up my duties as photographer. The activity for the week was picture frames. I am not sure if it was something in the air, something that was talked about when I was out of the room or if it was the new CD I had compiled but the girls were in rare form today. Talking, giggling, laughing their way through the project they decorated their frame that held a picture of all the PNGC girls taken the day they received their invitation to club. Glue and glitter were everywhere and creativity was not lacking. As I went around to capture the day on camera girls were leaping in front of me posing with their friends and their frames. Once they had their photo taken would dance their way back to their seat to the beat of the music. It was hilarious.
We are amazed that our first month of PNGC has passed. The start up of club has definitely had its hiccups, but on the whole has ran exceptionally smooth. Leaders and girls alike have truly taken ownership and responsibility for ensuring each week goes according to plan (for the most part!) and that everyone is included in the fun. Unfortunately club will not meet again for five weeks due to a public holiday and the three week end of term school holiday. When that was explained to the girls today, we could see that some of them were sad they would have to wait so long to get together again at club. It feels good to know that the leaders and girls have come to look forward to their weekly lessons and crafts. We are expecting a queue of girls at our door when we return from break because we have promised them we will have more beads for them so they can make new necklaces and earrings. Until then, we have a few weeks to unwind a bit, recharge our batteries and prep ourselves for the next term which promises to be exciting!

Student Council Week!

2008-06-05T19:04:00.004+02:00

Today was the first of what will become weekly meetings with the newly (democratically) elected PNGC Student Council. We would like to introduce you to our girls!
From left to right: Salome Langa, Rosina Seleka, Christina Kgang, Caroline Lefawane

As a PNGC Student Council representative, the girls have agreed to abide by certain guidelines. The leaders hold high expectations for these girls to be kind, courteous, helpful, encouraging and all around good people. This is expected not only at club but also at school and at home. One of the goals of Palala Clubs is to propel these girls into a life of sharing their knowledge, skills and love with others. Their example will be seen and modeled by those who meet them and hopefully spread.
Specific to PNGC, the student council elect will meet each Thursday to assist leaders in assembling craft packets for the coming week. They will also arrive early on Mondays to help set up tables, distribute packets and make announcements. The girls will delegate responsibility among the other PNGC members and provide direct assistance to the leaders. It sounds like a great deal of work and it is, but there are also rewards for their efforts. Student council members have privileges others do not, such as selling extra materials for club to raise funds, coming to visit us to help prepare for club at our home and enjoying a few extra goodies from Thato's (my Setswana name) kitchen.

We are proud to show of the faces of PNGC! Check out other Palala Clubs Student Councils here.

PNGC Week 3 (Inward Beauty vs, Outward Appearance)

2008-06-03T20:23:00.007+02:00

Another week has passed at PNGC and again it was an exciting afternoon. After only two weeks, the girls are on top of everything that needs to be done for club to get going on Monday afternoon. No sooner has the final bell of the day gone off and a handful of girls have shown up to help rearrange the room. Others have hopped into our classroom to take the few tables and chairs we need to give everyone a seat in the hall. The remainder of the girls are arranging all the bags up against the wall outside and retrieving their membership cards and PNGC folders before finding a place in line alongside their friends to wait for the cow bell to sound. It is a bit like an organized chaos but in a matter of minutes all is set and off we go.

At the beginning of club this week we held PNGC Student Council elections. Unlike Zimbabwe or the Democratic Primary, all went very smooth. International election monitors (that would be us) agree that the four girls chosen will represent PNGC well in the roles and responsibilities pertaining to said PNGC Student Council. Polls show the victory was clinched by the candidates supporting issues of beads, fabric, lavender and talking about boys. There is little worry of corruption or military coup at this point and opposition parties seemed to be happy for their friends despite not gaining the majority. The election has been hailed as an example for all aspiring democratic nations and clubs.
Following election celebrations, this week's lesson tackled the topic of Inward Beauty vs. Outward Beauty. One of our leaders, Jacqueline, presented the lesson and Jessica again led the discussion questions afterwards. The girls realized immediately that the two girls in this week's story are the same girls from last week. Already they see the connection between this week and last, as well as between themselves and the girls portrayed. The story unfolded, bringing up issues about jealousy, compliments and being a good friend. The highlight of the day was during the final discussion question when the girls were supposed to talk about someone they knew who had both inward and outward beauty and why they thought so. After a few seconds of contemplation, the first girl raised her hand. Her person was none other than Maam Makhura, one of our PNGC leaders. Maam Makhura seemed slightly taken aback as all the girls clapped and whistled in agreement, but was glowing with pride and beaming shortly their after. The other leaders were all patting her on the back, shaking her hand and laughing out loud in support. It was wonderful to hear aloud one of our girls look up to and admire a leader. As a middle school student, it is hard to put yourself out there like that and the enthusiasm with which this first girl was supported made us smile with pride at these young women. They were clearly a close knit group before club began, but are becoming even closer each week.
Discussions closed on that high note and moved cheerfully into craft time. On the purple felt in front of the girls this week lay a small plastic bag containing a stretchy thread, a scoop of small pastel beads and alphabet beads to make a necklace. Each girl was given the letters of the alphabet needed to spell her name. Not much to explain about how to thread the beads, so the girls began as the music was turned up. Creativity was the word of the day as girls started separating out their pastel beads into colors and groups. Individual patters of twos, threes, fours, pinks, blues and greens soon emerged. Before long a few girls were proudly displaying their new necklace. Tying the thread proved to be the most difficult part of the afternoon and it probably took me twice as long to tie as it did for most girls to finish. We stayed until almost sunset to help the last of the girls finish up and put our room back in order.
Today at school we saw many name necklaces being sported around campus. We even had girls come find us during break asking to buy more beads to make more necklaces. Looks like we will be heading to the store this weekend. Hopefully this will continue, because they really help us. We are still working on remembering all 55 names!

PNGC Week 2 (Peer Pressure)

2008-05-27T21:30:00.004+02:00

Week two of Palala North Girls Club has already come and gone! Our days are packed with planning, prepping and organizing everything for club and then in two quick hours on Monday afternoon club has successfully happened again. It was obvious last week's first PNGC meeting was a positive experience for the girls. Immediately after the bell rang to signal the end of the day we had girls ditching their bags by the doors to the school hall and diving in to help the leaders set up. I sneaked in quickly to put a few songs on for the girls and then unpacked the camera to play the intrepid PNGC reporter. Luckily for me there is always something going on at club, making my job rather easy.

Unfortunately two of our leaders were at home sick from school and were unable to make this week's meeting. There was some initial stress on our part early in the day because one was supposed to be teaching this week's lesson, Peer Pressure. Our anxiety was quickly replaced by reassurances when the leader who could not make it phoned us ahead of time to let us know and another leader jumped in to take over the lesson. We had given a copy of the lesson to all of the leaders the previous week and they all had read and prepared themselves. Seems as though we have found role models in each and every woman who is helping to lead the club.

The lavender bell rang once again and the girls filed in to their seats. To begin club, we were able to hand out bright new purple folders to the girls to hold all their PNGC materials. With this folder, we also distributed brand new, laminated membership cards to all of the girls with their names and pictures on them. Last week I photographed each of the girls from club, but they were not aware of why the photo was taken. When they held their membership cards in their hands, hung them around their necks and showed them off to their friends, it was clear that the little things in PNGC are just as important to the girls as the bigger things. They beamed with pride to see their name and photo listed as an official member of such a fun club. One more special item was part of the day; two prizes made by Palala Girls Club for PNGC. Two lucky PNGC girls were the winners of a new pair of sparkling earrings and a bracelet. As you can see below, the girls were thrilled with their gifts. It really hit me that this concept of an after school program designed just for girls is such a foreign concept in the rural schools of South Africa. There is palpable sense of amazement and joy surrounding a club meeting. It is truly a unique experience for everyone involved.

This Monday was the beginning of the weekly lesson series at PNGC. Peer pressure was the topic and proved to be a perfect opening lesson. Not too difficult or personal, but gets the girls thinking relationships with their friends. Mma Motebele read the lesson in both English and Setswana to make sure the girls understood. As the story unfolded for the girls they laughed at the jokes and thought seriously about the actions taking place. Jessica then followed the story with a series of discussion questions. I anticipated the girls being perhaps timid and shy for their first discussion, but as the questions came, hands shot up around the room. A true discussion ensued. Having the leaders convey the messages to them in a way that they could understand and appreciate seemed to make the difference. The interaction between the girls and leaders was wonderful to see. I might even go so far as to say the girls even enjoyed it! The lessons throughout the year will follow the lives of two girls about the same age as the PNGC members and cover a variety of topics. If you are interested in reading more about the development of the curriculum that PNGC has adapted, please check out the Palala Clubs Curriculum page.

I had thought there was a good amount of energy in the group during the lesson and discussion, but that energy grew exponentially when it came time for crafts. Sealed in small single plastic Ziplocs for each girl this week was a group of multicolored threads to make a friendship bracelet. The girls were organized in groups of about 10 and leaders dispersed among them to begin giving initial step by step instructions and following up. The girls needed only to hear the word 'go' and they were off. At first it took a few times for girls to pick out the pattern to their work, but before long most of the girls could see their design developing as they wove the threads. Munching on peanut butter cookies and steadily working their way to a finished product, we wound down the remainder of our day.

Sunsets are earlier in the winter and it is probably my favorite time of day. Now on Mondays I get to watch after club as a group of outstanding young women trot off home with long shadows behind them, clutching a school bag over their shoulder, a friendship bracelet on their wrist and a friend on their arm. Just what middle school should be about.

Palala North Girls Club Week 1 (Introductions)

2008-05-20T20:01:00.006+02:00

PNGC kicks off in Seleka!

Palala North Girls Club came to fruition for the first time yesterday afternoon. As many of you know we have been working closely with our good friends and fellow volunteers Brandon and Rachel Johnson to expand their model of after school girls clubs to our village. Boys and girls clubs have been a big success for Brandon and Rachel and our teachers were eager to begin a club of their own. To find out how the clubs began and what is involved in starting and running these clubs, visit the Palala Clubs website that Brandon and Rachel developed at http://palalaclubs.wordpress.com.

Palala North Girls Club is held at the Seleka Higher Primary school hall on Monday afternoons for two hours. Jessica has been working side by side with six educators, three from Seleka Higher Primary and three from Baphoting Lower Primary, to prepare the materials and lessons for the start of club. Yesterday afternoon at 2:30pm, Jessica, her leaders, and 55 7th grade girls gathered at the hall to see what all the hype was about.

The previous Friday morning we asked the 7th grade girls to congregate in the schoolyard after assembly because we had a surprise for them. I stood snapping pictures of eager faces as the club leaders and our principal, Mr. Mfisa, explained that a unique club, solely for them, was going to begin next week. Each leader handed out the brightly colored invitations to each of the awaiting girls. As they turned the invites over in their hands and exchanged excited glances, it was clear that they knew something special was taking place and seemed slightly awed by the fact that it was for them and no one else.

As the girls dropped their bags by the door and formed a line to enter club they cheerfully waved their invitations high in the air, giggling and talking as they glimpsed the leaders through the windows setting up for the day. After switching on the CD player and turning up a mix of songs I had compiled the night before, I went outside to begin my duty as the only male involved in club; photographer/writer. One of the girls, hearing the music, quietly asked if what was playing was for them. I stood back so all the girls could hear me and began to explain that each week they would have music to listen to while preparing the room and working on their crafts. They immediately burst into chatter and smiles, asking if they could request songs, if I would make them copies of the CD, posing for photos with their friends and just being flat out silly. It was clear that it was a special day for these girls and we had not even officially started yet!

While we finished setting up, Mma Makhura came to the front of the line holding a freshly painted lavender bell. It rang clear and crisp to announce the beginning of club and the girls filed in one by one to take their seats, showing their invitations to the leaders as they went in. Whispers and curious glances filled the room as the girls beheld their tables laid out cleanly with purple and lavender fleece squares, earring making supplies, club information and a newly baked chocolate cupcake with purple frosting and pink sprinkles for each girl. (You may have guessed that purple/lavender is the official club color).

After a short prayer the leaders introduced themselves and began to explain what Palala North Girls Club is all about. They talked about the lessons that would be taught, the crafts the girls would learn and expectations of the girls in club and also at school. Very unlike some of the classes I had been teaching all day, the girls listened attentively to each word, smiling as Jess spoke in English/Setswana and then nodding in agreement as the leaders emphasized the finer points and added in their parts. To get the girls going they played a game involving chappies (gumballs) and the winner of the game got to take home all the chappies at their table. When the winners realized they would be taking between 25-30 chappies home with them at the end of the game, their eyes grew very wide and we heard whispers of 'nnete?' (seriously?). Yep, seriously girls, they're all yours.

Once all the intros were completed, information distributed, and mouths full of chappies and cupcakes, it was time for earring making. Initially it was to be a short demonstration followed by the girls beginning, but that quickly turned into a sort of learn as you go. The girls were so eager to get started they began to follow the leader's every move with their own supplies that were displayed in front of them at the table. Luckily the other leaders recognized this and began to circulate around the room advising and helping the girls where they needed as the demonstration wrapped up. From there on out it was up to the girls to finish. Many of them caught on right away and finished in a snap. They would then turn to their friend and help her finish her set as well. It was as if all we had to do was put all the pieces together in the same room and everything just started happening.

The preparations that Jessica and Rachel made, along with the two trainings that were held as an orientation for all six women leading the club were clearly a huge reason why the day went so smoothly and was such an amazing afternoon. I strolled through the tables taking pictures and heeding requests for a repeat of a song or two that the girls liked. They posed wearing their earrings and proud smiles.

The last item of the day was to get each girl's photograph. As they finished their craft I took them outside to line up for individual shots. They all wore their earrings and grinned as we snapped pictures, wanting immediately afterward to see themselves in the camera. Nearing the end of my line I noticed girls volunteering to help clean up, carry bags, sort papers and reorganize the hall so it could be used the next day for class. The sun sat low in the sky as we locked up the gate to the school and were accompanied home by half a dozen glowing young faces. They chatted us up about our families and friends back home, talked about where they lived, asked to come over this week to see Safiri, get help with homework, or just sit on the step and talk. We have already had girls stop by today just to see Jessica and say hello.

It is clear that an impression has been made that we think these girls and their leaders are special people and that we want to spend time with them. Our goal is for them to learn for themselves how special they are and what they are capable of achieving. As we collapsed into bed last night we were so tired that we could not even speak, only smile about the first day of what promises to be an incredible string of Monday afternoons in the months to come.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you 'not' to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Nelson Mandela

This quote was read as part of the introduction to Palala North Girls Club and a copy was given to each girl to take home.

Teaching

2008-05-18T13:36:00.002+02:00

There is nothing like coming back from a holiday with a few surprises waiting for you. It takes away all the rest and relaxation felt during those short days off, though without it the surprises might never be survived. In our case, the surprise came in the form of one of our 5th grade teachers not showing up for work on our first day back. A few quick inquiries to the other educators as we stood exchanging greetings and stories from our respective leisure of the previous weeks informed us that the reason behind our beloved teacher's absence was that he had taken pension (aka-retired) over the holiday. Substitute teaching is not an institution in much of South Africa, so the absence of one teacher means that those students do not attend that teacher's classes for the day and are split up among the other classrooms. In the case of our newly faced retirement, unbeknown to us or the remaining staff, our colleague had up and left us without a Math or Technology teacher for all of the grade 5 students. We were not initially expecting to teach when we came to South Africa, but looking around at the frustrated faces of our teachers at the thought of adding even more students to their already crowded classrooms, we offered up the question: 'Can we help?'

Immediately the response was 'Yes, you can start teaching tomorrow'. Startled at our sudden plunge into the classroom we worked out a schedule where we were able to work with the current 5th grade teachers and assess where the students were in their Math and Technology classes thus far for the year and begin in a couple days. This being the way of things here sometimes, between school holidays, meetings and other engagements, the school was not ready for us to begin for over two weeks. Nonetheless this gave us a chance to prepare some lessons, look over the curriculum and feel as prepared as we could for our first day at the chalkboard. As we stood in front of our Grade 5C class (we have four 5th grade classes A,B,C and D) on our first morning we realized that while English is taught in the schools here, they do not really formally begin until the 4th grade. Therefore, we quickly found that 5th grade students are not overly experienced in English. Those who are, due to speaking at home with family or friends and picking up much from television, are often reluctant to speak in English for fear of making mistakes in front of us. We have been slowly learning more and more Setswana as the months go by here, but our learning curve just increased exponentially. After day one, we brought our dictionary. Much of our first week was spent learning appropriate terms (kopanya=to add, ntsa=to subtract) to convey our lesson to the students. The students often laugh at our feeble attempts to speak their language, let alone pronounce some of their names while taking attendance but our attempt in itself has been a big help in getting them to come to class ready to learn. As we become more comfortable speaking, they become more comfortable asking questions when they do not understand. Some days it feels like our progress is incredibly fast, other days excruciatingly slow, but progress is progress and it is better than no class at all. Yet there are so many hurdles for these students to overcome.

The students here attend classes in concrete and brick rooms first built in the 1960's and not repaired since with one chalkboard, no decorations, pock marked floors, broken chairs and tables beyond repair. Regularly there are more students than chairs so the last ones to class end up sitting on tables or the floor. This leads to children running, pushing and shoving their way to class to try and get a seat. Our first day we had classes of 90 because two of our four teachers were absent. Discipline, order and structure are difficult to obtain and with class periods of either 30 or 60 minutes, less the time spent traveling back and forth between classes and getting 90 students situated in one room. Little time remains for an actual lesson. The rapidly rising cost of food means many students are distracted by hunger during the day. As winter descends on the area those without proper clothing will either stay home to keep warm or have difficult concentrating during class. Materials are scarce. We spent almost a week trying to unearth a teacher's guide for technology from the bottom of the library stacks that remain unused and out of date. We have a learner's book that we are able to work from, as do most other teachers, but none of the students actually has a book to hold in front of them. There is a photocopier to copy pages for distribution in class, but paper and toner are limited. Students have only the few notebooks they are given at the beginning of the year to work in. If they have work to take home, some may not have electricity to flip on a light to do their work at night once the sun goes down. The school qualifies for government funding but as of the end of this week the funding is months late and there is no definite knowledge of when or if it will arrive. The funding that will come is often already earmarked for critical repairs or supplies of which the list is just too long. Having spent just two weeks fully in the shoes of our fellow teachers here we realize even more how difficult it is to make meaningful and lasting changes to the education system. The curriculum that is in place is actually very well thought out and presented, but it requires time, materials, space and knowledge that most rural schools just do not have. Without being able to meet even minimum requirements in so many ways, it is plain to see how much work is still needed to produce the type of generation South Africa needs to continue all of the success it has enjoyed since 1994.

Despite the enormous challenges faced, students and teachers still come daily. Our teachers are trying many new and innovative to use the sparse resources they possess to educate their students. Projects for class are made out of anything and everything that can be found in the village. Bottles, cans, boxes, magazines etc. are brought to school each day. Activities and hands at work seem to be what our students have craved in the short time we have been working with them. They eagerly await class to see what strange new 'American' game or idea we will bring to class each day. The teachers have seen some of our ideas and we are working together to share what works and what does not with each other to try and get all of our students on the same page. Already we have reorganized the classroom layout to cut down on the longer distances the students used to travel to get to class, giving each teacher a few more precious minutes of face time with their learners. Our principal has been working diligently to acquire an adequate number of computers so that students can catch up on the current technology to those students in urban schools (one of the largest knowledge gaps in the country). Having really enjoyed just a couple weeks of having us as colleagues in the same boat as them, the other teachers are eagerly awaiting the hiring of a new teacher so that we will have more time free to devote to helping them personally with their classrooms as well. It is inspiring to see such unabated optimism in the face of daunting obstacles and it only increases our desire to continue working hard for our teachers.

For many months it seemed as though we may never be able to give our schools the assistance they need, but now that the right avenues have opened and small steps have been made, both we and our teachers see the possibilities that lay ahead. We have been busier and more productive in the last two weeks than any other two week span in our service. There is no sign of it slowing down anytime soon and none of us want it to. We may be living and working on what some call the Dark Continent, but the sun continues to rise every morning on our way to school.

April

2008-04-30T12:52:00.004+02:00

It has been over a month since my last post. As the month of April draws to a close, the sun now sits a bit shallower in the western sky and the mornings are accompanied with a cool bite of wind. Our house still warms to the sun during the day, though we have taken to adding an extra comforter to the bed at night. As quickly as our climate change has come upon us, so too has our time passed these four plus weeks. Much of our time has been spent on holiday. The public schools had a three week break between terms and a few other public holidays popping up here and there on the calendar have allowed us ample time to relax at home, host some friends for dinners and weekends, as well as do a spot of traveling ourselves. Most enjoyably we have been able to see a number of our fellow volunteers. This post is long so I have broken it into sections and added some pictures to hopefully keep some interest until the end!

Longtom Half Marathon

We kicked off the most recent holiday break by heading to Sabie to run the Longtom Half Marathon. We joined over 70 other Peace Corps Volunteers and a couple thousand other competitors to tread the 21.1km from the top of Longtom Pass down into the town of Lydenburg and the valley below. It was a beautiful morning for a run and we passed our time quickly by taking in the incredible views, cool weather, and pleasant company. For about five kilometers we fell in stride with a South African who had grown up in the Lydenburg area. He gave us a pop history lesson on the area on how the town began as a relocation settlement for malaria survivors and pointed out bluffs overlooking the valley that once shouldered the cannons of the Boer army as they fought the English. It seems as if every nook and cranny of this country has a story to tell about the not so distant past.

The weekend surrounding the race was also spent leisurely catching up with our friends. Stories, both successful and frustrating, were traded over a hot meal and cold beer. Showers, even cold ones, were a luxury many of us relished. We afforded ourselves other delicacies too; filling fridge with cheese and wine, dining at a quaint country restaurant serving exceptional food, and even sipping a true espresso with breakfast. It was clear again how important our support network of volunteers has become and the variety of experiences we all share in such an interesting country.

With most of us on break for another couple weeks, the weekend ended with smaller groups of volunteers breaking off at different times to pursue their next destination. Cape Town, Pretoria, Mozambique, Zanzibar, and others filled out the list of locales where our friends would find their way. Our next stop was not nearly as far as any of these, though it proved to be no less interesting.

Blyde River Canyon Area

Late on a Monday morning we had our rental car delivered to a friend’s place in Nelspruit and began our week long adventure on the left side of the road. Easing out into traffic in our sleek silver VW Polo, we cautiously picked up speed and successfully navigated our way to the open road heading north toward the Blyde River Canyon. Within a few kilometers the anxiety of traffic passing on my right had passed and the remainder of the trip went smoothly. After an eight month hiatus, the novelty of driving again failed to wear off the entire week. Truly, private transport is a luxury I once took for granted. No more. Being able to toss our bag in the back seat, drop a coke in the cup holder and throw in an MP3 CD as we crossed the countryside was nothing short of exhilarating. Not to mention the thrill of driving itself in this country. NASCAR should send drivers here to train. On one stretch of about 80km we were navigating evening traffic that consisted of a host of public taxis, trucks loaded full with people and produce, donkey carts, livestock, bicyclists, pedestrians and potholes. All of this squeezed between the yellow lines of a two lane road with no shoulder and a nominal speed limit. Makes road construction on I94 in July seem like an eight lane super highway.

For three days we explored the greater Blyde River Canyon area. Our jumping off point was the Graskop Hotel in downtown Graskop. Situated only about 30km north of Sabie on the southern end of the escarpment that divides the canyon area from the lowveld that stretches east through Kruger National Park and into Mozambique, Graskop is a quiet tourist town. Its array of local business and street vendors, an eclectic mix of restaurants, and proximity to well known attractions makes Graskop a wonderful town to visit. The hotel was beautiful. Rooms were soft and comfortable with an inviting lounge chair for the evenings after a long day and a patio with opening up to the garden perfect for an early morning coffee and newspaper. The dining hall and lobby have a very modern African décor that includes local artistry adorning walls, furniture and sculpture from across the continent in all shapes and sizes, and fireplaces centrally located in each section to gather guests together to share warmth and stories.

On our first morning, following a hearty South African breakfast and a coffee or two, we traveled west to the small town of Pilgrim’s Rest. Originally populated by a smattering of gold miners in search of fortune, Pilgrim’s Rest congealed into a full town when gold was found in 1873 and miners poured in from around Southern Africa. Eventually the gold dried up and the entire town was actually sold to the government as an historical landmark. Many of the buildings today sit relatively unchanged since the 1970’s. Tourism now replaces gold mining, though scars of the surface mines can still be seen etched in the surrounding hillsides. We arrived early on a misty morning and settled the car under the overhang of a few trees near the end of the main street. Despite the rain we strolled leisurely up and down the streets, dismissing eager vendors hawking macadamia nuts and ducking into almost every shop to browse as much as to catch a few minutes to dry. We have learned that most curio shops, street stalls and vendors on foot in South Africa are offering generally the same wares. Wood carvings pour out of each stall along the street with a woman’s voice not far behind offering each passerby a ‘special price’. Batik fabrics are draped on every fence, wire, string and tree branch in sight. It looks sometimes as if the entire town decided to do laundry at the exact same time and fought to find places to hang things out to dry. Brightly colored and intricately patterned, they are beautiful pieces. The shops housed in buildings were generally more expensive, though not by much, yet they usually offer a few things that the street stalls do not. Most of the time that means South Africa themed apparel and tchatchkies, similar to the items you might find at the Mall of America Store. Yet each store or vendor often carries one or two items that others do not, and those are the items we were usually after. We decided after a few shops that we had seen most of what was to be offered in the area, made a list of those items that caught our eye and then spent the remainder of our vacation bargaining from place to place until we got the price we wanted. Haggling here is not only fun, but generally expected from the street stalls and vendors. It helps to know a bit of the local language (it can be any of the 11 official languages here, excluding English and Afrikaans) and local dialects earn you bonus points that translate to even better prices.

After a few hours of browsing and a list of things to bargain for, we struck out to the northwest. Through passes and valleys we wound our way to the Echo Caves. Tucked away in the corner of a mountain 5km off the main road, Echo Caves is a series of passages that make their way down into the earth. A main entrance and exit are connected by the main passage, though other fingers branch off in different directions. We spent an hour or so exploring one of these fingers. I felt like Indian Jones as we ducked through low spots, avoided water pools formed by water dripping from some unseen crack in the cave wall and emerged into larger caverns along the way lit by small light posts that gave the cave an archeological and ancient feel. With no map and no guide, we were surprised by the lack of controls on the caves and the fact that we could wander anywhere we wanted. One could easily camp out in the caves and not have anyone come looking for you for a few days. We decided against that idea and instead trekked back out the way we came and continued on our way to join the north end of the escarpment road that follows the Blyde River Canyon.

The Blyde River cuts its way from north to south along the escarpment of the Drakensburg Mountains. The escarpment is truly an incredible geological phenomenon. From what I understand, the area was one of the first to break the surface of the ocean that covered the earth millions of years ago. As more land surfaced a crack in the earth formed. The weight of the ocean on the western side of this crack acted as a pushing force would on one side of a lever and heaved up the earth on that side. This formed almost a sheer wall of mountain that shoots straight up from the eastern lowveld region. The river then carved a deep canyon within the mountains along this line and views from the top of the escarpment that overlook the surrounding area and the lowveld below are spectacular. Highlights along this route include the Three Rondawels, named as such for their resemblance of local round huts with thatched roofs, Bourke’s Lucks Potholes, carved out of the stone surrounding a waterfall at the junction of the Treur and Blyde rivers, numerous waterfalls that crash down the cliffs to make their way into the river below, and a handful of viewpoints at which to gaze east across the plains with names like Wonder View and God’s Window. The drive is not more than about 50km, but takes an entire day to enjoy with all the stops along the way. At each there are curio stands run by women from nearby villages. Despite an overcast day and missing a clear view of the Three Rondawels, the day was incredible and near sunset the clouds broke to offer awesome views at the close of our day. It is difficult to put into words the beauty of the area. Such a stark contrast from the beauty of the bushveld that we know in our area, or the beaches of the southern coast, it was like one of those long country drives that we used to take with Grandpa. No real destination, just a drive through the country side to see what was there.

The following day we awoke to another filling breakfast and a journey north, back through the Blyde River Canyon and beyond to Phalaborwa. We made a quick stop on the edge of town at Graskop Falls so that I could jump off a cliff (literally) and then were on our way. With clearer skies, we made a stop again at Three Rondawels and this time were able to get a clear view with the lake formed by the dam in the foreground and the lowveld stretching out in the background. Definitely worth the extra stop.

We picked our way down the edge of the escarpment, around corners and through tunnels until we emerged at last a few thousand meters below the peaks and the car was able to stretch its legs on the flat expanse of the lowveld. We were now among familiar flora similar to what we find in our village. Our only stop for the day was the Amarula lapa at the Amarula plant 10km south of Phalaborwa. A small welcome center is all that is there, but the friendly staff and a tall glass of Amarula on ice made for a warm welcome. A short video explains the process of making Amarula and tells of the harvesting that takes place in the area. Because we were not visiting during the harvest, no tours of the plant were offered. So we enjoyed our beverage, made a few friends with the staff and left with a bottle for the road (not literally). We arrived in Phalaborwa as clouds gathered and enjoyed a meal at the Irish pub in town as the rains came down hard. We went to bed early that night at our backpackers. A good night’s sleep was needed if we were to start our next day at 5am to explore Kruger National Park.

Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park is slightly larger than Israel in overall area. Home to thousands of animals and the Big Five (Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino) the park is nothing short of incredible. Our plan for our one day in the park was to enter at the Phalaborwa gate and make our way south to the Paul Kruger Gate. We had our map of the park, a full tank of gas and 3 gigabytes worth of memory on fully charged cameras. There are paved main roads throughout the park. These major arteries for traffic transport people from camp to camp along the way. The camps are available for people to stay and provide a full range of amenities. Branching off from these roads are other dirt roads that are well maintained. Maps of the park are well marked with distances, watering holes, camps and descriptions of various wildlife. We entered the park at 6am when the gates opened, the third car in line for the morning, and took our first left off the paved road that we could. In the two hours that we drove on that small section of gravel we saw so many impala that we stopped counting and ran into the biggest elephant that we would see that day. A quick stop for coffee at Letaba camp and we were on our way again. Whether paved or gravel, you never know when or where you will see animals in this park. The terrain is straight out of the National Geographic photos I would look at as a kid, wondering what it would be like to see giraffe grazing on an acacia tree in the tall grass of the veld. Seeing it with my own eyes was more than I could imagine. We drove no faster than 40km/hr so that we would not miss anything hiding behind a tree or in the bushes. Often we had to come to complete stops as zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and buffalo were crossing the road in front of us. At one point, the highlight of our day, we were stopped for over a half hour because a female lion was stretched out in the middle of the road resting in the midday sun. Onlookers were hanging out windows to snap pictures, take video and just stare as the lion made its way to the edge of the road to sit and survey the plains. Cars were parked at different angles all over the road to try and get the best view and for a while we could not even continue down the road if we had wanted. Eventually the vehicles nearest the lion had taken their pictures and began to pull away down the road in search of the next sighting. As they dispersed, we were able to pull up to within about 10 meters of the lion. Jess hung out the window with the camera as the lion yawned and looked rather sleepy and disinterested in the people surrounding her. Needless to say, when we saw the size of her teeth when she opened her mouth we realized how strong this animal was. With paws the size of my head, claws the size of my hands and extremely powerful legs it is no wonder lions can bring down such large animals with a few swipes. We continued on our way, talking about how amazing it was to be so close to a real lion you could actually smell it and practically reach out to touch it.

With all of our stops to view animals, traffic jams caused by animals and a top speed half that of a cheetah in full sprint, we quickly realized that there was no feasible way to drive as far as we had expected that day before the gates to the park closed. Not wanting to incur a fine for being in the park after hours and not sure our little car would protect us at all from lions, we made our way to the Orpen gate instead. Orpen was only about half way along our route planned for the day, but we only made it out the gate with an hour or so to spare. After almost 12 hours in the car, a half a tank of petrol and some chips and salsa for lunch, we tallied the results of our one day drive through Kruger National Park:

Impala: over 1000 (stopped counting after a couple hours)

Zebra: over 1000 (again, stopped counting)

Blue Wildebeest: over 500 (stopped counting)

African Buffalo: 70

Giraffe: 37

Chacma Baboon: 30

Kudu: 11

Elephant: 10

Hippo: 10

Crocodile: 3

Ostrich: 3

Duiker: 2

Waterbuck: 1

Female Lion: 1

Assortment of birds

Driving through Kruger is often very surreal. The animals are used to traffic on the roads and go about their business of grazing, wandering, sleeping and hunting without much regard for people. It feels a bit like Jurassic Park without the fences. No doubt we will return to the park again in the near future and spend a bit more time exploring areas to try and see the rest of the big five that we missed and perhaps camp out where we can hear the lions roar at night.

Visiting Friends

Through all of our adventures and after arriving back home we have had the opportunity to visit our volunteer friends at their sites and host friends at ours. Until now we had only heard stories, seen a few pictures and built up what images we could of life for other volunteers around the country. Having the chance to see these places first hand was quite eye opening. Each site is extremely different from every other. Housing situations, water availability, conditions of local villages, stability of projects and organizations and more factor into the success and frustrations of all of us but mix in such unique ways that it is impossible to predict the outcomes for any of us. Despite such differences, the common thread we hold of being outsiders trying to work in different areas help us to understand what each of us is going through. Being able to show people around our village and get tours of other places really drove home the importance for us of having other people ‘get it’ when we are talking about our site. People have a hard time understanding when we talk to them about our non-mountain mountain, the church women singing in the afternoon, the children who like to play in our garage and more unless they experience it. Likewise, we would never have fully understood what it was like to live in a house on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere; to share a compound with a number of other volunteers from around the world and work in a huge village that stretches for kilometers through the nearby hills; to live in a town and walk back and forth to the township location each day; or to live in an urban environment and deal daily with the safety concerns of a city with major crime. Looking back on the last couple weeks of seeing these different environments made us appreciate each and every visit we had. We know how important it was for our friends that we stopped to see their work, their home and their friends and we were ecstatic when we were able to share our village with others over smores and a bonfire. It is easy to feel isolated when we are in our village for long stretches of time and visiting other sites was rejuvenating for all parties involved. We shared project ideas, solutions to pesky household dilemmas that would otherwise be easy to solve if we had a readily available hardware store in town, and recipes that elaborate on rice in more ways than I thought possible. For both work and personal reasons these visits were probably the best part of our last month. It will definitely shape how we plan future holidays and give us a chance to see even more sites along the way.

Easter

2008-03-23T17:17:00.000+02:00

Today is Easter Sunday and usually we are at home with family. If it is a year where we are with Vig family we would be spending the day walking the family dogs down the roads and around the walking paths and man made ponds near my parents home after church and before a mid afternoon Easter lunch. Lunch is preceded by a ‘little lunch’ consisting of cheese, crackers, mixed nuts, potato chips and soda while we prepare the main courses. We eat well and play well, filling our time after our meal with more grazing from the ‘little lunch’ spread while we section off into pinochle teams. A few rounds of Grandpa and Kevin trading victories in a fierce bidding wars we then move on to more games. Loaded Questions, What’s Wild, Phase 10 and more.

Should Easter be in Iowa with the Harty family, our weekends are quite similar. Instead of walking the dog (Loki seems to prefer sporadic sprints from person to person and a foray to the creek behind the house) we spend our time getting lost on the way to church (my fault, though my young cousins could improve their navigator skills a bit!) followed by an afternoon of catching up over wine and cold beer as we prepare for an evening feast. A few games of hearts will break out with frequent and fantastic accusations of games past in which the queen of spades was unfairly dumped on someone the entire weekend. Post dinner entertainment is always provided by our innately talented and always delightful cousins performing a recently created and perhaps once rehearsed stage number. Choreographed to one of the latest top 20 hits and delivered with conviction and star power, Casey Casem would be proud. I look forward to it every time.

This year’s Easter is a tad different. A morning spent over coffee and strawberry pancakes coupled with good books and a plan homemade pizza as our main course for dinner (Safiri chose a freshly caught gecko for his entrée) take the place of ham, potatoes, lefse, pie, squash buns, bars, cookies and cheese platters. We miss the tastes of home, but enjoy the tastes of Africa. Gone are the chocolate bunnies, green shredded plastic, new sundresses, pressed khakis and pastel decorations. Found are the comforts of hymns from the next door church in the morning, quickly replaced by the subtle yet steady thumping of African house music streaming from multiple locations around the village. School holiday now in full swing, kids are free to continue their sandlot soccer matches in the street from dawn till dusk. Dodging broken glass and rusty chain link/barbed wire fencing in bare feet to chase a homemade plastic bag soccer ball for eight hours a day. Local shops are closed, though our yard is apparently still open for grazing by the neighborhood goats. People are with family and friend and they wave as they pass us on our front porch with our books and special holiday treat, a two liter bottle of 7up. We smile. To us it feels like any other day in South Africa. Villagers did not go to church today because it was a special day, they went because the go every Sunday and more each week. The pastor at the church my family attends back home once referred to the existence of religious submarines; people who surface at church only twice a year on Christmas and Easter but otherwise stay submerged. Those people do not exist here. Our neighbors did not get together with family just for the holiday. People either live with their extended family, see them every weekend, every month or every quarter, whenever jobs and available money allow for leave and/or travel. The same bogobe, merogo and chicken are served as the main meal, only larger portions denote a celebration of holiday. That seems to be the guideline for measuring the importance of events here, proportion. Whether it is Easter Sunday, the funeral we attended for a grade 6 boy on Friday morning, the wedding on the far side of town or monthly pension day sales. Life is pretty much the same, just more of it. Two helpings of bogobe for each at the table, adding the one tie in a wardrobe to the daily frayed, off-white shirt and plaid blazer, polish on the shoes, lipstick, hair extensions, nail polish, glassware replacing plastic, coke and biscuit appetizers, etc. These are not huge changes and difficult to see at first. After eight months here, we are seeing them more clearly and recognizing the significance of small changes. They are not extravagant in price, the way we like to associate positive change with higher cost back home. Instead they are extravagant in the detail of simplicity. People here (at least still in the villages) do not need to impress anyone so much with cost or brand or status, but work to make it known their efforts are to show their family, friends and guests that their presence is important and they value that presence in their lives, a presence they strive to acknowledge every day. Life is short here and people spend it doing what they love with those they love.

It seems that the story of the religious submarines can be extended to include other categories we are often concerned with back home: social submarines, familial, academic, political, activist, environmental, the list goes on. Obviously we cannot shed our submarine tendencies on every issue and every group that we follow or belong to, but there are some that can be given up much more easily than others and some that people sink into without ever knowing that they do it. Spend a few months in a village in rural Africa and it is easy to see what has been just above the surface in life if we only stopped to come up for air once in a while. Makes you want to sell the submarine and buy a sailboat.

Camp Fire

2008-03-22T17:15:00.000+02:00

My grandfather once told me a story about when he led my uncle and a group of his friends on a Boy Scout camping trip. This was before the days of GPS, Kevlar canoes, gore-tex jackets, thinsulate boots, Nalgene bottles and Clif bars. These were the good old days of military issue canvas tents, heavy aluminum cots, and green polyester sleeping bags with a red plaid interior stuffed with cotton. Wool was the gore-tex/thinsulate/dry-fit rolled into one. Instead of vacuum sealed space age trail mix in lightweight packs, scouts were toting 60 pound aluminum exterior framed packs filled with canned goods and perhaps a small amount of frozen food to be cooked the first night out from base. No weather.com reports were printed out along with a Google Earth shot to help plan ahead for the week. No burning a quick MP3 CD for the ride or charging the IPod for the hike. Simply bid the city goodbye, load up in a yellow school bus towing a trailer, and do not forget the deck of cards.

On this particular trip, the boys were gathered around the fire after using it to cook up their meal in the full set of pots and pans brought along more to add weight to the boy’s packs I think, than as a cooking essential. They talked of their day’s activities as they burned paper plates, napkins, and packaging in their fire pit, causing the occasional purple or green flame to leap up amid the orange before disappearing into a crumple of grey ash. As they sorted, cleaned and packed up their epicurean tools, my grandfather grabbed a can of unopened baked beans and sat down with all the boys around the fire. “What do you think would happen if we tossed this in there?” he mused. I can see my uncle and his friends exchanging sideways glances of smirks and half smiles of fear and intrigue. Receiving a few ‘let’s find out’ and ‘not sure’ responses he casually tossed the can into the flames. Being prepared, as all good scouts are, the boys and my grandfather leapt behind trees and bushes to hide from an impending explosion. It never came. Despite the anxious looks and quick ducking whenever a branch crackled and broke, nothing happened. Everyone finished packing up the makeshift kitchen, faced downwind when using the nearest bush and retired to their heavy canvas tents with their stiff cots. That’s when it happened. A loud explosion erupted from beneath the embers of the dying fire that had everyone sitting up in bed. One piece long johns with only one working button on the backside flap scrambled from tents and fumbled with large flashlights powered by half a dozen size C batteries. To the amazement an amusement of all, the baked beans had not only exploded and nearly put out the entire fire, but flaming hot beans had shot out like shrapnel burning dime sized holes through the heavy canvas tents and nearby foliage. Even sleeping bags inside bore marks where bean had melted into the cotton/polyester blend. Luckily no one was standing next to the fire at the time and everyone could laugh about the story, also understanding not to include this part of the week when relating tales to mothers back home.
I’ve always enjoyed those types of stories from my grandfather and always learn some life lesson from the telling. Those types of trips and others like them taken by my father have always been a fun filled way to guide my life. Perhaps it is what drove me to seek out remote parts of Africa instead of the comforts of Western Europe when traveling. These stories have always come in handy when on the road and the other day I learned what happens when you forget to heed the moral of the story.

Like camping expeditions 30 years ago, here we have no other way to dispose of our trash than to burn it in a large pit we dig in the back yard. Not the most environmentally friendly thing to do with plastic bottles and packaging, but better than strewing it across the lawn and leaving it to the wind. Hopefully someday soon communities will organize more efficient and effective ways of waste management here. Until then it is a box of matches and some dried grass for kindling before the rainbow of colored flames erupt from the components of our trash bags. The other night I was out after dark disposing of the last couple days of accumulated waste. We burn after dark because often times kids like to come put out our fires during the day to see what we are throwing away, wanting to take anything that looks valuable or interesting. It is only trash, but still, I am not excited about people digging through our stuff, even what we are throwing out. With a full moon beginning to rise I did not need to bring a flashlight with me. One match got the bag going and I sat adding a few scraps of old paper to the fire to make sure the entire bag was consumed. A few times I had been standing near the fire when an old milk carton or plastic bottle had popped and sent a few sparks up in the air, so I was now on the lookout for such things. Having tossed in all my extra paper and seen that the plastic had burned up sufficiently I stood back to watch some bright green flames move over a candy wrapper. No sooner had I taken a step back than a huge explosion sent me reeling back twenty yards, covering my face and expunging a few choice words. I whipped back around to look at the fire, feeling my face and body at the same time to make sure nothing was smoldering. I was fine. Jessica came quickly from the front side of the house asking if I was alright, wondering what had just happened. She had been washing dishes at the kitchen sink and came running when she saw the explosion through the window. Assuring her I was fine, we made our way back towards the trash pit to ascertain what had just happened.

A large, flaming mass of melted plastic and paper had been propelled onto a nearby pile of brush which was now growing into a mound of flames. I quickly scraped a thick line around the pile with my sandal to make sure the fire would not spread to the entire yard. We stamped out a couple more pieces of burning debris in the vicinity and then turned our attention to inspecting the blast site. At first we could not think of what could have caused such a big bang. Milk carton? 7up bottle? Glass jar? None of these were the culprit. Then Jess spotted globs of white foam scattered around. “What is that?” she asked and then she said it as I spotted it. “Did you put your shaving cream can to burn in the trash pit?!” Indeed I had. Picking up the charred remains of my Edge shaving cream I noticed the bottom of the can had blown out and what had remained of the shaving cream had been shot out like silly string all over the ground. I began to laugh as my grandfather’s story flooded back into my mind. There were no holes in canvas tents or sleeping bags, only small white spots of shaving gel that looked like remnants of snow in a March thaw on the ground. I tossed the now exploded can back into the fire, knowing the fireworks were over for the night and we made our way back into the house, joking that it was good I still had eyebrows. It was not quite as amusing as deliberately throwing a can of baked beans into the fire, but I could not help but laugh out loud. As I went to bed that night I ran my hands through my hair and the front of my bangs felt crinkly, like I had extra hair gel stuck there. It took me two seconds of wondering to realize that I had not escaped my night completely unscathed. My hair was a bit singed but not gone, or even noticeably different in the mirror the next morning. I smiled as I drifted off to sleep with the inevitable words of my grandfather ringing in my head. “If you play with fire, your gonna…” I know, grandpa, no need to rub it in.

Ga-Seleka Home Based Care

2008-03-18T17:19:00.001+02:00

With the New Year, came changes in my work life---all for the better. As many of you know, I have been struggling to find my way in an NGO facing internal struggles. Ga Seleka Home Based Community Care is currently being housed out of the local clinic’s garage. Amidst filing cases and one table, I spent most of my first three months working on improving my Setswana and trying to find a place where I could make a contribution. Peace Corps had pegged those months from observation; a time to determine areas we could work on within our NGO’s and the community at large.

The NGO oversees two parts; a team of 27 home based health care workers visit ill patients in Seleka, and thirteen surrounding villages, known here as “Seleka Trusts”. As we have an in-resident chief in the village, he is responsible for all of these villages. The second part of the NGO, a drop in center, is located not five minutes from the clinic. Here, we serve about 115 orphans and vulnerable children. They receive two meals per day, one in the morning before breakfast, and one in the afternoon before heading home for the evening. These meals are sustaining children that may be going home to grannies caring for five others. Or, maybe they at the young age of 15 are watching over siblings, making sure they do their homework, wash their clothes, and have a bed to sleep in at night. Either way, the nourishment and care these children receive from the drop in center is essential in their daily lives. A group of ten female carers work here, cooking, washing clothes, bathing young children, and organizing activities. Paul and I have been truly honored to become a part of their lives.

After Christmas break, we worked out a schedule where I would be at the drop in center 2-3 days a week, and the other days I would be helping out at the schools. Paul is currently spending one full day at the drop in center and many afternoons. One of the activities we have taken on is a Tuesday afternoon ‘Life Skills’ lesson. Working with Sello, a young man from a national organization called Love Life, we have now covered teenage pregnancy, nutrition, and puberty with the children. Normally, our days start with working with two carers and Sello, determining what information will be covered in our presentations and who will present what. I have come to look forward to these times as a time and place where the carers feel comfortable asking us health questions. Some issues that we consider common place, as we’re learned them in school, from family, church groups, etc. are not understood here. In our first presentation, one of the carers turned to us and asked “Boipelo, what is menopause?” Paul and I silently exchanged a glance realizing that she, an educated woman in her early 40’s, had never been taught what menopause is.

These days are not just an opportunity for us to teach. It is also an opportunity to be learners. During our nutrition lesson, we were discussing why it is important not to eat too many sweets. I mentioned that eating too many sweets, dizimba (a version of Cheetos here), and cold drink could make you feel sick, cause weight gain, rot your teeth……one of the carers interrupted me and said, “but Boipelo, here we want to become fat.” Of course, I had forgotten that in Tswana culture it is a sign of beauty for a woman to be round. She is then considered healthy, and well cared for by her husband. We quickly changed our tune, asking the carers if they knew about obesity. Yes, and decided that no, they indeed did not want to be obese. They later conveyed this message to the children by emphasizing that by becoming obese, you would be as big as a balloon; not being able to walk or even get out of a chair. This generated giggles from the children, and a realization by Boipelo and Thato that they had just received another lesson in Tswana culture.

At the schools, Paul and I spent one week working on a photo fundraiser. Between both Seleka Higher Primary School (grades 5-7) and Baphoting Lower Primary School (grades R-4) we took 452 photos. These photos look nothing like a school photo in the US. Children here are taught a different definition of what’s ‘cool’, and a photo is a prime time to show that they’ve learned their lesson well. Most of the boys wanted to cross their arms, definitely not smile, perhaps flex their well tone muscles, and certainly not stand up straight. Girls would prefer to wear sunglasses, again no smiles, with hips thrust out, generating laughs from all their classmates still in line waiting their turn.

Photos here are special. A family may have one small album containing every photo they’ve had taken in their lives. The day of handing out the photos was worth ever ounce of work that had gone into the fundraiser. From grade R, all the way up to the 7th graders, we could hear their squeals, laughter, and running from room to room to show friends. We were thrilled that out of the fundraiser, Baphoting made R1700 (around $250.00) and Seleka made R600 (almost $100.00). Baphoting will be putting the money towards purchasing their own digital camera, so that when we leave they will be able to continue an annual photo fundraiser. Seleka’s money is going toward buckets to help with their school lunch program. Who knew that our digital camera, a gift from dear friends and family, could be a tool to bring such joy to our community? Without even knowing it, you all have added a special photo to the family photo album of the majority of Seleka children. Thank you!

The Benefits of Exercise

2008-02-15T21:11:00.000+02:00

We have finally taken up running again. Though we consider ourselves runners, we had not laced up our running shoes in over two months. In fact, because I can wear leather sandals to school, I do not believe I have worn shoes for the last two months. It is not that we are opposed to exercise; in fact we really enjoy our running and find it to be rejuvenating. Recently our largest deterrents have been the added laundry that accumulates and the uncompromising African sun that has decided to shine relentlessly for the better part of the last month. The laundry really should not be an issue. Yes, we have to do it by hand, but either way we are doing laundry each week. The dry-fit clothing we run in is actually the easiest to wash anyhow. My attempts at rain dances at the top of our mountain have failed, so we are stuck with the blazing heat. The only respite we receive is in the predawn light of early morning and the last rays of sun in the late evening. If you know us, you know that predawn is out. Though I do not sleep until noon as I might have as a teen, 4:45am is too early unless I am hunting, fishing or playing golf. So we have opted for the waning light of day to reconnect with one of our favorite pass times. Fortunately for us we have a half marathon looming in our not so distant future that requires a bit of training.

Therefore last week we dusted off the cobwebs from our shoes (literally), dug out a pair of once white socks and made our way the front gate at a rather slow gait. The first few times out have been a bit rough. Apparently my body has not only lost its ability to sleep until noon, it has also lost the ability to recover quickly from a relatively feeble attempt at physical activity. Despite those frustrations it has felt great in so many other ways. I most certainly have more energy, which has been especially helpful as my workload at school steadily increases. It forces me to organize my evenings and I have been more productive as well; all the same arguments made in support of exercise, in all its forms, in every magazine and talk show from Runners World to Oprah. However, one benefit I had not considered, and which is usually not found in the 'get fit quick' guide, is that as we increase our distances during training, we make our way into the parts of our village we see less frequently. At this point we are part of the village and people know us. The surprise for them now is that we are out exercising or 'gyming' as some of my students like to call it, in their neighborhood at a new time of day. When our routine changes, the whole village knows and comes out to see.

Running is not a pass time adopted by many in our village. The youth are intrigued yet unconvinced that this is really a great idea. Old women smile and wave from behind their large black pots of steaming bogobe as their grandchildren run to the gate yelling our names and waving, not letting up until we say hello and wave back (towards the end of our run when we are short of breath this becomes more of a labor). Old men resort to the one finger wave with a slight nod of the head, commonly used between farmers in their trucks on gravel country roads back home. We pass the open field where men and women from the ZCC church gather for evening singing and dancing, as well as the bottle store across the street where men are always sitting. Both groups of people are always smiling warmly at us. Though one set of smiles is warm with faith and the other set warm with drink, each are happy to see us. We see people coming in from the fields with their cattle, women carrying enormous bundles of wood on their head, navigating winding dirt tracks yet not needing a hand for balance. Boys playing soccer are around every corner and sometimes we just have to run right through their game in the middle of the road. They do not mind at all, in fact they want us to stop and play. Just this week I was out on my own and a small group of boys took up a sprint alongside me and continued to stay with me for the last few kilometers of my outing. They were huffing and puffing their way down dirt and gravel paths littered with broken class and pieces of barbed wire stride for stride with me. One wore old Converse shoes, one flip flops, one his nice school shoes and the last boy was barefoot yet never once slowed down! I was amazed. They are all students our schools and they ask me now if I will be out running again each night. The village likes having us around and they show it when we are out on our evening runs. It is a great way to be visible in the community and we often find ourselves in conversation with neighbors as we take a cool down walk back to the house. It is possibly the best benefit I have gained from starting up again.

As the villagers have come to accept us, we in turn have accepted our position here and I frequently find myself forgetting that we are the only white people living here. Half way through my run on Monday I was passing by our every smiling friends at the bottle store when a truck slowed down behind me. I veered to the shoulder and kept pace, waiting for it to pass. Instead I heard a voice asking, in English, if I was ok. I turned to see a white farmer in his truck, most likely heading back to his farm for the night. My seemingly logical response that I was fine and just out for my evening run earned a rather puzzled look from the farmer. I followed up by mentioning that I live in the village. He shook his head in disbelief as he ground the gears into first and continued on his way. It took me by surprise that my presence was shocking to him, but it reminded my as I continued on my way that I was indeed a rare sight. I half expected the headline of the local paper the next day to read 'Tall White Kid Resides in Local Village!’ We move so easily in between town and the village that we sometimes forget we are the exception, not the rule when it comes to many interracial interactions. It makes it that much more enjoyable for me, knowing that I can be the person who will hopefully provide a bridge from one person to another, even if it all it takes is finally putting on a pair of shoes and stepping out the door. Who ever thought running could be so beneficial?

Routine Par

2008-02-02T12:21:00.000+02:00

For those of you who have had the privilege of following my father and I around a golf course, you will know that we like to inspect every corner of the course to ensure it is up to our high standards. Having been employed in the grounds crew maintenance field in the past, I am always eager to know if the current crew has properly groomed around large trees in the middle of the woods, edged and raked the fairway bunkers, trimmed the grass near the creek and the pond, and properly marked any out of bounds areas along the course. To do this, I frequently play my ball directly into these areas; bouncing, crashing, swatting, chasing, and cursing my way to the flag stick. On the rare occasion, all of those lawn sized divots, errant slices, botched chips and trips to the beach still result in what my father terms a 'routine par': running this way and that, never knowing quite how you got into the mess you are in, definitely not sure how to get out, but somehow ending up in the cup with a decent score ready to move onto the next hole.

Recently I returned from a week of IST (In Service Training) that all education volunteers attended. We discussed our training, first months at site, successes, failures, challenges, future plans and more. It is meant as a transition point from early stages of our time here into the meat of our service. When we are out in the village on our own, it is easy to get caught up in all of the small things (many of which are still very important) and lose sight of the large picture. It is common to lose oneself in trying to make each and every thought and moment count, going 110% everyday. By the end of a week we are exhausted and reflect on what seems, at the time, minimal gains in our work or community integration. Knowing that our time in South Africa is short, despite having just begun, there are times where we struggle with thoughts that we will not have the time to be able to accomplish all the things we would like to during our service. It is difficult sometimes to recognize all of the great experiences we have had and positive things we have done. Peace Corps recognizes this and plans for it by setting up our week of IST.

All of us education volunteers came together as a group and realized that everyone has been bouncing this way and that through their first months. Via workshops, seminars, discussions with staff we came to see our small gains as indeed rather large accomplishments. Making friends, gaining trust in the community, grasping the language and settling in are huge factors to our success in the coming years. We began to look at the past months in different ways and reevaluate our work in ways that gave us more direction for the months ahead. Many of us had hit similar roadblocks along the way in schools and the community. Each of us tackled them in different ways and employed a variety of methods to create entry points into our respective worlds here. This gave everyone the opportunity to share as well as learn from each person in the room. Collaboration was a huge part of our success for the week.

Perhaps though, the most important part of the week took place outside the conference room. Socially we needed, and took advantage of, a week of fun and games. Just having the ability to catch a drink with friends and relax felt great. The pool table, and an actual pool, were immensely popular. Impromptu plans for each evening were always amusing and everyone participated. In short, it was just fun to be together again. We reminded each other that while we may be in the village on our own, we are in this job together and are able to support one another. By the end of the week our stress was alleviated. We had new ideas heading back to work and a renewed sense of purpose, reminded of all the reasons we love being here. I came away with a more defined game plan for the remainder of this first quarter and even more ways to try and implement my strategies.

After a crashing and careening our way into a new home, new culture and new language we are holding onto the positive strides we have made and are building off of them. Big picture we are on track to do great work in the time we are here. We continue to be optimistic and excited about what lays ahead of us. Routine par.

Unexpected Adventure

2008-01-19T11:29:00.001+02:00

I truly had the TGIF feeling going for me yesterday. The week had been extremely busy at work as the new academic year moved into week two and full swing. Children are now showing up at the drop in center regularly after school again and that means our day has usually just begun once the final bell of the day rings after class. It has been overly hot these last few days with temps easily hitting 90 by late morning. Under the hot sun, under the weather with a head cold and under pressure to get things going at school as well as wrap things up to be ready for my week of training ahead I was rather exhausted. As I left school Friday at noon, I was feeling extremely happy. The weather had cooled a bit, clouds were rolling in and other than a few loads of laundry waiting crumpled in the hamper at home, I had nothing to do for the next day a half except pack a bag for the coming week, have a cup of coffee or two and catch up on some old Newsweeks. It was going to be great. I strolled down the drive of the school, half a dozen children in tow and crossed the tar road to Rafik's shop. Out of toothpaste at home, I thought I might want to have fresh smelling breath to give my wife a kiss when she got home from her meetings in Pretoria. Rafik is from India and owns a few shops in Seleka and surrounding villages. Always one for conversation, we leaned across the shop counter from each other, sharing a coke, he enjoying his regular cigarette and talked business for almost an hour. Reluctant to leave, but wanting to knock out that pesky laundry and have my schedule completely free, I swallowed the last of my cold drink and bid farewell to Rafik until the next morning. He had invited me to come and see the new shop he opened in a nearby village and see if I had any ideas for helping him set it up.
With the weather being so nice, I decided to postpone laundry a bit more. I struck out for the drop in center to say hello and remind the children about my upcoming training, assuring them that I would be back to play games the following week. While I was there I helped the women install a new printer so they could finish a few reports, had some tea under the tree and caught up with a few of the carers that I had not seen since before Christmas. The afternoon was getting better every minute.
Finally I resolved to get laundry on the line before the sun got too low in the sky to dry anything on the line. A few minutes later I was at the front door. Safiri eyed me through the window from his perch atop the little lookout post we constructed for him from old cardboard boxes. He enjoys watching the chickens and goats make their way through the yard, though I think he is much braver when there is distance and a pane of glass between him and the rest of the neighborhood livestock. I turned the key in the lock and pushed on the front door. Nothing happened. The door was still locked. Strange. Our door has swollen a great deal from the recent rains and so I pushed a bit harder, thinking it was just stuck. Still no luck. Pulling my key from the keyhole, I glanced down. The tooth of the key had snapped cleanly off in the lock. Suddenly Friday afternoon was not looking quite as productive and relaxing as I had thought.
After a few choice words and a failed attempt at channeling MacGyver through my fingernail clipper, a paper clip and smaller keys I realized I was stuck. Both Jessica and I have a key to the house; unfortunately she happened to be in Pretoria and not coming back until the next day. Now, skeleton keys in South Africa are all labeled with different letters and numbers. This means that you can go to the store and buy a new key matching your letter and number which will be pre-cut to match your lock (we have a second lock on the door to keep others with our same key from getting in and that key was still intact). Thoughts were now flying in and out of my head:
Do I have any money for a taxi to town?
Yes, luckily had some in my school bag left from a previous trip to the shop earlier in the week.
Any taxis going to town on Friday afternoon at 3pm?
No, too late in the day.
Anyone in the village I could bum a ride with to town.?
No. They have all made their way much earlier while I was enjoying coke and tea.
Any place in the village that may have these keys?
Rafik!
On my way back to Rafik's I went. Safiri staring longing from his post, wondering why I had not come inside. Luckily I had given him a fresh bowl of food and water before heading to school that morning, I thought. Hopefully it would be enough to get him through as long as this fiasco takes. Rafik greeted me with a smile and a laugh as I explained the situation to him. He pulled out a plastic bag from under the counter full of keys that clinked and clanked as he rummaged through it. Non matching keys were being tossed here and there about the counter and the bag was slowly emptying. As the last key hit the counter with a dull thwack, I heard the words before Rafik said them, 'Sorry, don't have it. Anyone that can get you to town?'. I already knew that answer. As we stared at the pile of silver keys in front of us Rafik spotted one without any marking on it. It looked very similar to the key that I needed, maybe even was the exact one! He held it up and said to give it a shot. While I snatched it up and made for the door, he offered to call a few friends in neighboring villages to see if they might carry keys in case this did not pan out. Hoping against hope that it would not come to that I set out down the road back to the house. Waving to Safiri, whining on his perch, I gently slid the new key into the lock. It stopped. Maybe, the fragment of my old key was still in there. Pulling out the key and peering in the keyhole I could see straight through to the oscillating fan I had left on that morning for Safiri, in case it got hot and he wanted to sleep on the table with a cool breeze. Not the old fragment. I tried the key again. Again it stopped without entering the lock. Maneuvering it this way and that I tried in vain to make the key fit. After a few more failed attempts I pulled out the key and inspected it's grooves and markings to see how close I was to making it work. The one groove that did not match was off by about an eighth of an inch and had left a fresh silver scratch mark on the key where it was meeting with the tooth on the lock. Not the key for me.
Again I left Safiri staring after me and was making my way back to the shop when an idea hit. Perhaps one of the women at the drop in center have the same key for one of their houses! Half walking, half skipping I quickly changed course. Surely this was the the answer. Rounding the edge of the drop in center building the women greeted me again and inquired as to my return. Explaining the situation for the second time, I was met with exclamations of 'Oh shame!' 'Sorrrrryyy!' and 'Eish!' as they all pulled keys from their purses to inspect them. It took less than a minute to find out that again lady luck was still not on my side. Thanking them for their time I turned dejected and trudged back out the gate. Words of encouragement and wishes of good luck from the women falling on deaf ears. Kicking up dust as I grumbled my way back to Rafik's shop for the third time that day, I could tell the neighbors were beginning to wonder why I was wandering back and forth around the village. Indeed, I was beginning to wonder the same thing.
Rafik could see in my eyes before I could open my mouth that the unmarked key had not worked. Though he picked up a my spirits a bit with his words. Sounded like a friend of his in Boskop or one in Tom Burke may have keys. I was not eager to start catching taxis to other villages. It was getting on in the afternoon and the later it gets, the fewer taxis there are that run between the villages. However, since my other option was to stay in Seleka with no key and no place to sleep for the night, I grit my teeth and made for the tar road. Never having been to Tom Burke, I opted to head south to Boskop. I found a taxi half full heading my way. Climbing in we made our way to Boskop. At this point I was doing all I could to avoid thinking about my predicament. This proved difficult because I was inundated with questions from the other riders and our driver as to why I was heading to Boskop so late on a Friday. Not wanting to get into my story for a third time, I chalked it up to visiting friends.
As I unfolded myself out of the backseat of the taxi and onto the side of the road at Boskop it hit me that not only was my relaxing afternoon gone, but tomorrow was shot as well. Even if I could get a key here, by the time I would catch a taxi the other way there would be no daylight left to do any work. I found a woman walking down the dirt path that parallels the tar road and in tired Setswana asked her to please point me in the direction of the largest shop in town. She fingered a building across the road on the other side of a small field. Thanking her I made my way under the barbed wire fence and over the patchy grass field.
My time at the Boskop shop was short. The store owners looked the tall, lanky white man up and down curiously as he questioned them in their own language about the keys Rafik had called about. 'Sorry,' they replied, 'we are out and so are the other shops in town. Maybe try Witpoort.' Thanking them for their help they went back to whatever conversation it was that my arrival had interrupted and I stepped my way back to the tar road. Witpoort was the next main stop down the road, but I was pretty sure it did not have a shop. It is the location of the Magistrate's Office, area hospital and the Department of Education Circuit Office. Other than that there is nothing. Still, they had suggested I try, and as I was debating my future a taxi speeding in the direction of Witpoort came into sight on the low rise of a hill in the distance. I crossed the road, flagged it down, and hopped in. Ten minutes later I was disembarking at Witpoort, standing looking for a shop that was not there as the taxi turned around, slowly shrinking out of sight as it made its way back to Seleka. I thought about checking the Magistrate's Office or the hospital to see if perhaps someone there could help me out. Though as I made my way toward the hospital gate I realized that at Friday afternoon a little after 4pm, things had shut down for the weekend. A few last people were being let out of the hospital gate to make their way home. The parking lot was vacant, windows to the offices were dark and shuttered. Across the yard and through the opposite fence I could see the same held true for the Magistrate's Office.
I did not know where to go now. Slumping to a seat on the side of the road I flipped out my phone and browsed through my contact list to see who I could call. On the first page was Ben's name. Ben and Susie live in Abbotspoort, a village further south of Witpoort on same road that I currently sat stranded upon. Emptying my pockets into my hand I counted up a small bill and few coins. Enough money left to get me back home looked back up at me, but no more. Even if I got home, what would I do then? Where would I sleep? Sending a quick text, I asked if Ben and Susie would be interested in company for the evening and if they happened to know how much a taxi from Witpoort would cost. Not knowing exactly why in the world I would be sending this message to them, they still eagerly responded saying they had a thermarest pad and a sleeping bag with my name on it. Luckily the cost to head south to Abbotspoort was the same as making my way back north. The first good luck I had encountered over the last few hours.
Crossing the road I approached a baakie (pickup truck), it's bed loaded with a heap of tomatoes, a couple dozen watermelon and half a dozen people. 'Where could I catch a taxi to Abbotspoort,' I asked. Smiling and laughing that I was trying speak their language they told me that taxis would be hard to come by but they themselves were heading back to Abbotspoort right then. They proudly asserted that I must be on my way to see Tiro and Mokgadi (Ben and Susie). I agreed and they told me that they knew Tiro and Mokgadi very well! 'We will take you right to the school where they work!' they exclaimed. Offering me a seat in cab, we buckled in, others hanging on in the bed and the small troop of South Africans, fruit, vegetables and one American made the final trek for the night. We laughed and talked on the way down, my spirits rising a bit knowing that I at least had a place to sleep for the night. They explained how they had met Tiro and Mokgadi, knew their host family and were very happy that I was coming to see their village. I answered their questions about where I was living, if I had a wife like Tiro did, and what type of work we were doing. We made it to our destination in no time at all, though a bit slower than normal due to our payload in the back. As I thanked them all and shook hands, promising them I would be back often, they promising to visit us in Seleka, they pointed just across the road. Through the trees and fences I could see my sanctuary for the night. A quick hop over the ditch and a narrow dirt path brought me to the yard where Susie was chasing the neighbor kids with water bottles as her squirt guns and Ben was draping some laundry on the line with his host mother. I arrived with the clothes on my back, a school bag, and a new tube of toothpaste and a few coins left jingling in my pocket. Warm hugs, smiles and a place to sit awaited me. With my adventures over, at least for the day (key problem still not solved) I was happy to indulge their questions on what it was that actually brought this far. They laughed with sympathy at my plight and we decided that the first order of business would be to get some dinner under our belts before we figured out what I would do the next morning. We made our way back toward the tar road, Ben and Susie being greeted by all their neighbors and introducing me. I following with answers to the questions of where I live, what I do, etc.
At the shop we were gathering some bread and supplies for a night of grilled cheese and tomato soup (warm meals are always a remedy for long, hard days, or weeks, in my case). As Ben and I talked with the shop owner, she is also one of the teachers at his school, he casually mentioned my reason for being in Abbotspoort. She halted our conversation and said a few quick words in Sepedi to someone in the back room of the shop. He hurried off only to return a short minute later, producing two keys bearing the exact letter and number that I had been looking for all afternoon! Ecstatic at my good fortune I happily exchanged the last of my coins for these two pieces of metal that had suddenly become more precious than gold.
As we exited the shop bound for the house, I was back on cloud nine. In a few short hours, that at times felt like days, I had gone from footloose and fancy free, to homeless, broke and stranded on the side of the road, back to smiling and relaxed. Finally I was able to laugh at myself and the events of the afternoon. Yes, I had lost my afternoon of laundry, but I still had the whole following day. I could rise early and catch a taxi back to Seleka in time to wash and have my things on the line by mid-morning drying a summer breeze. Also, I had gained an evening with friends, a warm meal, a walk to the river as the sun went down and a game of cards. Not bad outcome for what seemed a dire situation earlier.
Arriving back home this morning to an attention starved kitten, though still well fed kitten (his food and water had lasted him through the night), I looked back on my unexpected adventure and came away with three lessons. One, always have a spare key. Two, keep a bit of cash in your pocket for just these types of days. Three, life will always turn out well when you have good people to turn to for help. Everyone I met that afternoon was more that willing to help me in my distress and that is a lasting characteristic of this country that will never go unnoticed or unappreciated.

December Holiday

2008-01-14T13:40:00.000+02:00

How time flies! One day you are at the onset of a long break from work and a holiday vacation, then next you open your eyes and the first week of work in the new year has already come and gone in flash.

December was a whirlwind of fun and excitement. School ended for the students at the end of November and the staff stayed on until the 4th of December to tie up loose ends from the year. With five weeks of break from schools ahead of us, we felt as though we had all the time in the world to catch up on email, update friends via this blog and post some more pictures of what we have been up to. Obviously those goals seem to have escaped us! Those first few weeks of December were spent doing a good deal of work at the Drop In Center to organize for the end of year party held annually for the children there. It was a busy time, but the event went off with great success and we had a wonderful day. Our final week before heading out on our holiday vacation was spent with friends in the village. We hosted dinner at our place one evening for a good friend to celebrate a good year and all of the help he has given us in getting settled in the village. We introduced him to tacos, complete with homemade guacamole, sour cream and cheese. He was thoroughly impressed and enjoyed every bite! It was nice to have a friend over for the evening. We truly enjoy hosting and it feels like a big step to have already made good friends in these short months to invite into our home.

On the eve of our departure for holiday adventure, Brandon and Rachel came to our place so that we could all leave together the following day to head out for Pretoria. We enjoyed a rather eclectic meal that consisted of anything in our combined refridgerators that needed to be consumed before departing for a couple weeks. It turned out to be a rather cold, rainy night, in fact one of the coldest we have had in quite sometime requiring long pants and socks just to sleep comfortably. The low temp that night dipped into the low 40's farenheit, which we realized later was within 10 degrees of the high temp back home in Minnesota! Not typical for this time of year, but we were not complaining since the alternative is weather in the 90's. En route the next day we stopped in Ellisras, the town where we do our shopping etc. to drop off Safiri. Our friends, Pieter and Denise, were kind enough to look after him for us while we were gone. He lived up to his name by traveling relatively well in his box on Jess' lap all the way to town in the taxi. We tried to be discrete about having him on the taxi with us, not because animals are uncommon on taxis (in fact, chickens are quite common) but because we already draw enough attention to ourselves as it is. Adding a cat in a box with blankets and toys might be pushing the envelope. We did get a few inquisitive stares and confused faces, but all of our fellow passengers thought it was more or less hilarious that we would carry our cat with us to town. I suppose that all we need to do now is get a lease for him and start taking him on walks through the village. Then any doubt about how crazy the Americans are will be put to rest!

With Safiri settled in and introduced to Pieter and Denise's two dogs (quite a shock for all parties involved), a wonderful meal shared with friends, and good night's sleep under our belts, we caught a 5am bus on our way to Pretoria and holiday enjoyment! We arrived and spent the day exploring Menlyn Mall, which is enormous, savouring the taste of a Cinnabun for breakfast, and catching a movie. It is rather incredible that in a few short hours we can transport ourselves from a quiet life in the village to a bustling mall in the suburbs of the city. Most people in our village will never see the suburban, upper-middle class side of their country. They see it on TV and read about it in the paper, but it still remains an idea in their mind, yet to be seen with their own eyes. We feel privileged to be able to live and work in the village, to exchange conversation about our respective lives with our friends here and to be able to learn from each other. Yet at times is easy to feel guilty about the privilege we have to pick up and leave for a time to explore the city and the country. Our mobility is a bit of a double-edged sword, allowing us to connect in ways many others cannot, or do not, and at the same time it clearly defines us apart from those we live and work with. What we have come to realize is that there is no ill feeling toward us for this ability, only a desire to learn about what it is that we do when we leave, where we go, and how much of this beautiful country of theirs we will be able to see.

The following day in Pretoria we ventured out to collect a bag that was being held for us in a nearby suburb. Amanda, a good friend and former colleague of Jess was kind enough to tote along an extra suitcase with her in November when she came to South Africa on business and leave it with a friend for us to pick up. Packed with goodies from home contributed by family and friends from all over we were extremely excited to finally retrieve it. So on a sunny, warm morning we hopped in the rental car with Brandon and Rachel to find our bag. They were kind enough to chauffer us around a bit, and it helped pass some of the time while they waited for Brandon's parents to arrive that evening from home. We met up with our bag and it's handler, Wojtek, who is an exceptionally personable man who invited us in to share a seat on his patio in the shade and chat for a while. It was a great way to pass an afternoon and we very much enjoyed getting a chance to meet. Our hope is to cross paths again the next time we are in the Pretoria area. The genuine sense of welcome we felt at his home is a characteristic that seems to run through most any of the people we encounter on our travels here, one not found in every corner of the world. We have come to appreciate this hospitality more and more everyday.

Early the next morning we caught a cab to Pretoria Station and the bus that would carry us south to our main destination, Amanzimtoti. Having met up with some fellow PCVs at the backpacker the night before, five of us climbed aboard at 7am. The drive was scenic to say the least. Initially we drove through Pretoria and Jo'burg to pick up a few more passengers at other stops and then made our way into the countryside. Initially we drove through grassy fields and rolling hills that gradually morphed into crisp plateaus that rose straight up out of the surrounding flatlands. Eventually we came to a point of winding descent into the valleys east of the Drakensburg mountains. Hills and cliffs climbed around us as we snaked our way through and every once in a while we could glimpse the Drakensburg themselves off in the distance. This continued for the remainder of our drive (quite a time when the overall trip took just over nine hours) and as we finally made our last drop toward the coast and Durban we finally looked out upon the end of the land and the vastness of the ocean. We were picked up at the Durban Station by the landlord of the house we had rented for the holiday. A quick half hour jaunt south of and we were there.

The house was beautiful. Room for all 11 of us, with multiple showers to clean off all the sand and salt each day. Five minutes walk to the beach, grocery store, bottle store, restaurants, coffee shop, book store etc. Out of 10 days in Amanzimtoti, Jess and I spent 9 of them on the beach. The water was perfect, large waves crashed on shore all day long, and it was relatively quiet apart from Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Each day we would fill a bag with some light literature, some food to graze on and a bottle of sunscreen. Shouldering the umbrella we would make the trek down the hill and across the beach front road right to the waterfront. Naps were a common occurance. With shade, a cool breeze, and the sound of the water it was hard not to doze off. One of our favorite activities was sending a delegation over to the Indian restaurant for take away. For 9 rand (about $1.30) we would get vegetable curry bunny chow. It was incredibly good and large enough to split between two people. The coast around Durban has a rather large Indian population. Along with that comes fabulous Indian cuisine and we took full advantage. The one day we did stray from the beach, we ventured to Durban proper to explore the Victoria St. Market. Housed in large purple and pink building just off a trainstop and shadowed by the overpassing interstate it is packed with small African craft boutiques and Indian spice shops. Bins full of Masala, Tikka, Biryani and other wonderful spices crowded out of entry ways onto the sidewalk. We mingled around for the afternoon and enjoyed chatting up store owners. It was a Sunday and the market was a bit quieter, which we prefered. After having our fill of shops, we were now thoroughly craving a traditional Indian meal. Taking direction from one of the women who had helped us at her shop, we hopped out onto the street. A few rights and a couple of lefts later we were sitting down to one of the best meals of our holiday. Not only was the food tremendous, but the owner himself took care of us and made the entire experience memorable.

In the evenings after the beach we took to either relaxing or exploring the neighborhood. One night we had a large braai with friends and sat watching the lights of ships pass up and down the coast. Another night we ventured to nearby 'Funland', which was complete with bumper cars, arcade, bowling, and bar. There we stunned the local population with amazing renditions of classics during their weekly karaoke night. The locals also stunned us with their own versions of classics as well as their amazing ability to dress as if it were still the 1980's. Most nights however were spent making dinner with whomever was around the house and playing games. We sat on the patio eating and talking into the night, guarding our food from the monkeys that enjoyed stealing from the table when they could.

It was the holidays and of course we celebrated them together. Christmas morning we all woke and gathered around the table to share a homemade breakfast of egg's benedict and vanilla cinnamon pancakes. Our friend Erin had made Santa hat stockings for everyone and we decorated a paper Christmas tree with ornaments. With our yule log burning on the TV screen behind us, we also played a gift exchange dice game which was a big hit. People took calls throughout the day from friends and family back home telling of sunburns, great food, huge waves and a much needed rest. It was the best way to spend the holidays when you are away from home. A highlight of the day was watching a train of Santa had clad beach goers descend the stairs en route to another day of fun in the sun. We rang in the New Year by heading down to nearby tavern with a patio overlooking the ocean. We danced, talked and took in a beautiful night. As the clock struck midnight we toasted having made our way through everything to get to this point and to a successful year ahead of us all.

As we made our way back up through the hills and watched the ocean disappear behind us on our way back to Pretoria we felt refreshed and ready to head back to our villages. The last few months had been exhausting as we struggled to learn new communities, people and languages. Having the chance to recharge mentally and physically was extremely beneficial and will make a world of difference as we approach this new year. As we walked up to our front door after our journey back, cat in hand, we were greeted by all of neighbors with excitement, eager to know how our holidays had gone. People waved as we went to the store to pick up a few provisions and children were continually asking us if we were going to be back at school this year, wanting to make sure we would still be around to hang out with them. We felt as though people were welcoming us home again, and in many ways this is becoming our second home.

Weathering the Storm

2007-11-28T19:34:00.000+02:00

Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone leaving Christmas right in front of us. Though we will not be having a white Christmas, we did have at least a small spell of cool days over the last weekend and it made for some fantastic adventures.

On Thursday we were able to spend the night at Brandon and Rachel's place and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal as well as celebrate Brandon's birthday. No turkey, but still plenty to be thankful for, namely good food, good friends, and electricity. Most of our meals live and die by our access to electricity and Thursday afternoon produced quite a storm. Jess and I were lucky to still be at home when the worst came through, sounding like cannons firing across our tin roof. If not for the iron beams that hold the house in place I thought for sure everything was going to collapse on us. After a solid 30 minute pounding the rain slowed and was building up again on the north side of our little 'mountain' (really an oversized hill of rocks). We made a break for the main road to try and stay as dry as we could. Luckily we happened to meet a truck that was heading toward our destination and were able to be dropped off at the front door in Klipspruit just midnight blue clouds and scores of lightning were descending upon the village. Huddling in their house, Brandon and Rachel informed us that their power was out (as was ours in Seleka after only a few minutes of the earlier downpour). The plan was to have BBQ chicken along with mashed potatoes to complement our green salad, cranberry Jell-O salad, pumpkin spiced pudding and banana cupcakes. Yes, it was as delicious as it sounds! We had finally bitten the bullet and sat down under candlelight to consume what cold items we had. No sooner were our glasses raised to toast salad and good friends when the fan began to whir back to life. It was music to our ears! With the return of power we were able to enjoy our feast in full under the soft glow of fluorescent bulbs, though we kept the candles for a bit of holiday ambiance.

The following day was wonderful! Overcast, cool and relaxing as we worked together on some up coming projects for next year. Officially through with Thanksgiving we merrily turned up the Christmas music on the radio. Towards dinner time the calm, grey clouds of afternoon transformed into a wall of black that was quickly marching upon us; preceded by rolling thunder and lit with spectacular bolts of lightning. We made the decision to quickly head up to the shop to pick up a few items for dinner. Not the wisest move, but hunger was gnawing at us. The enormous revolving eye of the storm seemed to gather speed the further we got from the house. Just as we were in sight of the shop it was as if a wall had come down on the edge of the village and a flood of wind tore through, whipping up a magnificent dust storm that sent us and the few other villagers in sight running, eyes shielded and shoulders braced, the last 1000m to the shop. No sooner had we taken huddled alee of the storm the rain came. It was not the heavy, damaging rain we expected, but a steady, cleansing rain. The clouds overhead began to swirl and move as they passed. Most ominous was the thunder and lightning. Bolts were striking within what seemed a stone's throw of where we stood and thunder crackled across the entire sky. For almost 45 minutes this continued all of standing mostly silent and just watching. Then slowly the rain began to ease. We emerged from our hiding and happily danced our way home around the puddles and small streams that had formed on the main dirt road, laughing about the fact that when we arrived home we knew we would be without power again.

Giving Thanks

2007-11-22T11:14:00.000+02:00

Though Thanksgiving is not a holiday in South Africa, we have come to realize people here give thanks everyday for the good in their lives. Their lists mirror ours in so many ways. We all give thanks for family, friends, our home and our food. While we enjoy the comforts of many things, they are often not what we are truly thankful for and we are humbly reminded of this each day in our village.

Spending this day with friends sharing good food and fun stories we will be thinking of home. We give thanks for the opportunity to be here doing this work and we give thanks for the love and support of our family and friends. Today, and everyday, celebrate and give thanks for all that is good in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving
Paul and Jess

Funerals

2007-11-22T10:00:00.000+02:00

Although most villagers of Seleka live with many uncertainties (will we be able to stretch our food out through the end of the month, can we afford school fees for the children, when will the rain come, etc), one certainty always remains: with the arrival of every weekend there are
funerals to attend. Since our arrival on September 20th, there have been more funerals than we care to count.

We attended our first funeral a month ago. The husband of one of my colleague passed away unexpectedly on a Tuesday, therefore his funeral was planned for the following Saturday.

Preparations for a funeral often take an entire extended family a full week of preparation. When someone dies, extended family will travel to be with the family of the deceased. They will stay through the weekend of the funeral, assisting with all the necessary preparations. Throughout the week, friends will stop by to find a plate of fatcakes (they taste similar to a funnel cake, but without the powdered sugar), and a freshly steeped pot of tea waiting for them. Whereas many of us in the United States may wait for a proper invitation to stop by or attend a funeral, it is an unspoken norm here that if you knew the person, or any member of their family, you are expected to visit that family during the week and attend the funeral.

Towards the end of the week, a tent will appear in the yard, and a cow and/or goats will be slaughtered. All the women will start cooking the meat, vegetables, rice, potatoes, pap (a South African staple–a dense starch made from maize meal and water) and pumpkin using large 3-legged pots. The family will be expected to feed all those who attend the funeral.

On the eve of the funeral, friends and family will stay up throughout the night singing and talking by the fire. Once the first ray of daylight breaks across the horizon, the ceremony begins. Proper attire consists of a blazer and long pants for men, and skirt, and shawl for women. Women are also expected to cover their hair. Once the ceremony has concluded, everyone will travel by foot to the graveyard to watch the lowering of the casket into the ground. Men are expected to stand to one side of the casket, with women on the opposing side. Immediately following the lowering of the casket into the ground, family of the deceased are invited to throw a handful of dirt on top the casket. Although a list of songs to be sung doesn’t seem to be prepared in advance for these occasions, the initiative is always taken by someone to lead the group through a series of songs during the burial process.

Following the burial, everyone will walk back to the house and eat together. It is easy to understand why funerals can be financially all consuming for a family as the cost of feeding an entire village and more can be staggering. Families will often join funeral co-ops; paying monthly dues in order to receive financial assistance when a loved one dies.

To observe the coming together of many to express love and support for family or friends is a humbling experience. It is in these occasions that the spirit of South African Ubuntu, “I am because you are” is unearthed from deep within. To be joined with a people so connected by land, tradition, culture, language, and struggle sheds new light on the notions of community as family, and family as community. We hope to remember and appreciate these experiences long after we have left our new South African home.

Letsatsi go a fisa!

2007-11-20T17:34:00.000+02:00

Translated ‘The sun is hot!’, this phrase sums up most every conversation we have these days with people in the village. There are a few reasons for this:

1) It is in fact getting very hot. In recent weeks it has become more and more uncomfortable during peak hours of sun while our days of clouds and cooler temperatures have lessened. Our house does not cool as quickly at night and the mornings are warmer. The fan runs constantly when we are home and ice has become more valuable than gold. We hear it only gets worse from now through February.
2) People here are very concerned that we are unaware how hot it will actually get. We are asked frequently if we have weather like this at home. When we tell them it is similar in the summer, but not this hot all the time, they proceed to be sure we know to drink enough water, wear a hat, and find shade to rest during the afternoons. It is comforting to know that the village is looking out for us. Not so comforting is knowing this weather will last for quite some time.
3) Unbrellas serve a completely different function in Seleka. Instead of their traditional role of helping to keep a person dry, here they are used as a sun shield. Jessica is asked regularly where her umbrella is as she should be using it to shade herself. She has tried to explain the concept of suntanning, mentioning that many people in the US actually go out and lay in the sun purely to darken their skin. This conversation normally ends with her friends and colleagues letting out a rip roaring laugh as this is an entirely foreign concept to them.

If I were to speak only the phrase ‘Letsatsi go a fisa’ for these next few months, I think I could manage any conversation just fine and no one would take notice that I was not saying anything else. It’s just that hot.

Teaching

2007-11-14T18:12:00.000+02:00

We have been rather busy in the last few weeks! Schools have been gearing up for final exams that start tomorrow. I have been teaching in a 7th grade classroom for three weeks leading up to the exam period. We were doing review of their work from the year in science and economics. My goal was to gain a bit of insight into the life of an everyday teacher in rural South African schools. It was very wonderful gesture for one of the teachers at the upper primary school to allow me into her classroom and work with her for those few weeks. Due to the installation of a new fence and some repair work on a few of the classrooms at the school, one of the grade 7 classes was displaced from it’s normal classroom and split amongst the other two grade 7 classes for two of the three weeks that I was teaching. This meant that each day when I came through the door to class, I turned to face a small room, crowded with about 75 young faces peering back at me. On my first day, I wondered what they thought of this strange American who has suddenly appeared in their class to teach. The students had seen me around the school grounds, and I spent time with many of them playing frisbee at the drop-in center after school, but most seemed unsure what I will end up doing at their school. With a short explaination in my somewhat improved, yet still inadequate Setswana (and quick blurb of clarification from the teacher I was helping) they understood why I was there and off we went. Over the course of these weeks the students seemed to enjoy having me in class. My lessons were somewhat different than what they are used to seeing, incorporating some fun review games from home (hangman was a favorite and they requested it on a few occasions). Not knowing what exactly had been done to teach them the material earlier in the year it was very much for me, and sometimes for them, like learning it all over again. My accent and swiftly spoken English occasionally took some extra questions and clarification to get the point across. I learned to speak more slowly and to incorporate as much Setswana into each lesson as I could to help the students understand and build their confidence in English. It was a give and take process many days, but as the days went by classes became smoother. Students seemed to be more comfortable asking questions of me, raising their hands, inquiring about help after class and more. Many of them now seek me out to say hello during the day (frequently just to hear my amusing attempt at Setswana in return), or they want to know if I will be playing frisbee after school, do I have my camera to take some pictures of them with their friends, are our other Peace Corps friends coming to visit etc. They are some amazing young people and I cannot wait to continue being a part of their lives.

My interaction with the teachers before school, after school and durning lunch were just as much of a learning experience for me as my time in the classroom. Being able to plan lessons and discuss activities with my counterpart teacher for these weeks was incredible. My knowledge of the workings of the school has expanded enormously and I feel that many doors are opening to possibilities for projects and other work that I can undertake in the coming year. On top of that, just spending time with the teachers in conversation makes for a pleasant day. The staff at the schools are very welcoming. We sit over lunch and talk about the day, the weather, family, the village, sports, etc. As I continue to make friends at the school and deeper connections with the community, more and more I realize the scope of what it means to live in rural South Africa.

There are some amazing things taking place yet at the same time some gaping holes in areas of life that need immediate attention. The task set before us of creating a meaningful, practical and sustainable impact on our village is rather daunting. We constantly are reminding ourselves that this change will take time. Very likely it will take more than our two short years in the village. However it is apparant that there are people, teachers and otherwise, in this community and this country who are working diligently toward the improvement of life here. They are qualified, motivated and doing great things all around. Continuing that in the future means raising the children to believe they can do the same. We see this happening at the schools and the drop-in center and find ourselves drawn to spend much of our time with the youth of the village. We realize that every day spent with the children here is a day we can put down in our books as a great day.

Minnesota Connection

2007-11-06T18:15:00.000+02:00

Each day in the village we are reminded how different the life is that we lead in South Africa. A far cry indeed from the bustling city life we led back in Chicago. Hours are spent fetching water from the tap in the street, cooking, washing dishes and clothes by hand, sweeping and cleaning from all the burnt orange dust that gathers in each nook and cranny of our home, walking to the shop to pick up our eggs and vegetables, etc. The list goes on. It is not at all a bad life to lead though, and we enjoy many of the simple pleasures that come with our days and weeks. We read more, take early morning walks to enjoy the cool mornings and spectacular sunrises, play cards (Uno has become very popular) and frisbee with the kids in the afternoon, and sit on the front patio in the evening to watch the stars come out and escape the heat inside the house. Our work keeps us busy during the day, however with the heat of summer upon us, being busy often means working to find a bit of shade a hopefully a rustle of breeze. Not quite the weather we associate with the holiday season. We are reminded of that each time we go to town to pick up groceries and see silver tinsel lining the windows of shops and green and red wrapping paper sold at all the stores. Crisp fall/winter mornings and a warm cup of coffee back are frequent thoughts of holidays back home when we are pulling out shorts and a t-shirt for the day thinking even that will be too hot to wear. Sometimes home feels like a long way off.

Yet, just when we think we have left home for good for these next two years we find that there is a bit of truth to the phrase ‘it’s a small world’. On one of our forays into town a few weeks back we heard tell of a woman from Minnesota who, with her husband, is part owner of a BuildIt store (hardware store similar Menards). We had the chance to meet them the other day and come to find out that Chanda, originally from Minnesota and her South Africa husband Jacobus, lived on a hobby farm just outside of Nerstrand, MN (the next town down the road from Northfield where Jessica and I grew up). Sitting in their office here in South Africa over a cup of coffee we were exchanging names of mutual friends and neighbors, popular hunting areas (Jacobus is an avid bowhunter), favorite places in Minneapolis/St, Paul and more. It truly felt like catching up with old friends (the popular, yet very positive, stereotypes of ‘Minnesota Nice’ and ‘The Long Goodbye’ were played out in full). They are extremely welcoming and generous people whom we hope to spend more time with, perhaps sharing a front porch, a little lunch and making the holidays seem a bit more like home.

A Glimpse of Our Village

2007-10-26T14:36:00.000+02:00

Here is a quick sample of pictures. I also attached a few to previous entries. You should be able to click on the thumbnail to view a larger image. If you have any problems, please let me know. We are working on posting our pictures to another site with better access and viewing capacity. Once that is set we will provide a link. Until then, enjoy!

Helping Hands

2007-10-21T19:46:00.000+02:00

As we continue to settle in we are frequently reminded of how genuinely kind and considerate the people are here. Not just the adults, but the children as well. During one of our first weeks at the village, we realized we would need one more plastic school chair for our house so that we could both study and work at the table together. Paul asked at the primary school if we could borrow one (for two years) and promised to take good care of it so that we could return it when we leave. Instead of getting just one chair, we received two more smaller school tables, a chair, a shovel and a pick axe. It was explained to us that we would both need our own table to work as our desk and that we could have more chairs at any time. The shovel and pick axe were to be used so that we could dig a hole in the back of our yard to burn our trash. They had were thinking of everything. So, after school, Paul and a troop of fourth grade boys gathered up the items and set off down the road. One tall American surrounded by half a dozen young lads in their black trousers and white oxford school uniforms. They eagerly practiced their English, pointing out their various items and testing each other, laughing whenever Paul tried the same in Setswana, but always assisting with the correct pronunciation eventually. Despite the short walk, it was a warm day and not ideal for hauling things back from school, but they were nothing but happy to help. After, arranging our assorted furniture on the front step they grinned as I thanked them in Setswana and proceeded to scramble off to play yelling back that they would ‘See you tomorrow malome(unlce)’.

Once the tables and chairs were inside, it was time to dig the hole. It is necessary to burn our trash here because there is no central, or community, waste disposal system (unless goats count; they will eat anything!). This is not the most environmentally friendly option, considering some of the plastics used each week, but it also keeps streets and yards from piling up with trash. The nice thing is that most all the glass bottles from colddrink (the one word that is universal for ’soda’ here in SA)or the taverns are recycled by the shop owners. A good start! Since we cannot use only glass or paper products here, Paul went out to dig our hole. The ground in our yard is a burnt red color and a bit rocky, so the pick axe came in handy. Having only been working for around a quarter of an hour, but already sweating rather uncomfortably, a young boy appeared from around our house heading toward Paul, shovel in hand. His name is Salan, a lanky 7th grader from the upper primary school where Paul works. Looking from me to my unfinished hole he asked rhetorically, “Need some help?”. No sooner had Paul said yes, than he was drawing a line in the sand with the corner of his shovel, saying, ‘You need to make it larger and deeper.” Side by side they worked for another hour, making small talk about school and the village. Once the hole was complete, he surveyed our work and smiled, half with approval, half amusement that this American was actually digging holes and burning trash. We exchanged a few laughs about our settling in, a handshake and then he was off for home to help his family prepare for dinner. We were amazed. At that age we would not have been too eager to help small hole to plant a few flowers, let alone help the new neighbors dig a hole in their backyard large enough for a few months of burning trash.

That is what life is about here. Everyone helps everyone else. Young or old, black or white, it does not matter. It was explained to us by a couple young guys from the high school who helped us hang the line outside for us to dry our clothes:

“If we help you today, and you help us tomorrow, everyone is happy and we get to know our neighbors as friends.” The village becomes a family.

Springboks Win!

2007-10-21T19:44:00.000+02:00

The South Africa Springboks won the Rugby World Cup last night over England 15-6. The match was intense with a near try by England that would have dramatically changed the way the end was played. Celebrations were had all around the country and President Thabo Mbeki was on hand in France to help hand out medals to the team. In the last month we have been transformed into die hard SA Rugby fans. The sport is fantastic and addictive. It commands the same attetion that the NFL does on a Sunday afternoon back home.

We have met some great friends, Stehpen and Jolene, in our shopping town and they invited us and some other friends over for the day to watch the match. In the afternoon, Brandon, Stephen and myself went over to the local rugby field. Stephen, who plays on a team in town, gave us a quick tutorial in the ways of rugby. We passed, kicked and goofed around on what turned out to be a great afternoon. Afterward, just prior to the start of the match, we put together a braai (BBQ) of lamb chops with a potato bake to compliment. It was a perfect way to spend the day, and a new part of South Africa for us to experience. One we hope to take part in again. Go Springboks!

Settling In

2007-10-14T15:08:00.000+02:00

On September 20th we had our official swearing in ceremony in Pretoria. Our training class is the 10th anniversary of Peace Corps in South Africa and the largest class South Africa has sworn in. We were joined by our Regional Director, our supervisors from the village, as well as a large number of current volunteers in South Africa. Our hosts, the US Ambassador and his wife, provided a delicious spread for lunch and we sat in the shade on a warm afternoon enjoying last moments with our friends from training before departing with our supervisors for our new home. We traveled with Ben and Susie, another couple serving in a village about 40 minutes by car from ours. With all our boxes, bags and people, two of our supervisors actually sat in the back of the truck for the four hour ride from Pretoria! We arrived at sunset, but there was a miscommunication with the keys, so we sat on the front step in the dark with our bags for around an hour until we could reach the woman from the church who had them. Despite the long day, we laughed at the thought of such a long journey only to be met with a locked door.
Our house is an old mission house owned by the Dutch Reform Church, our neighbors with whom we share a fence. The house is quite large by Peace Corps standards and we live on our own, not with a host family as is the case with most volunteers. There are four bedrooms, a main room, dining room/kitchen, and small bathroom. Our room and the dining room are the only furnished rooms. Another bedroom is used for storage, one for exercising, and the last for hanging ‘unmentionable’ laundry that we would rather not hang outside! We have electricity, but no running water. There is a tap in the church yard where we fetch water to use in the house. The water is rather bitter and a bit salty, so we resort to boiling and filtering our drinking water. Coffee, tea and Tang serve as a great way to give it a better flavor, if you are inclined to send any packages our way!
Our new home is slowly taking shape and looking like our own. We bought our first major appliance as a married couple just the other week, a new mini refridgerator! Being in a home without a host family we have had to buy a few larger items that other volunteers usually do not get. We also purchased a small oven with two hot plates on top. Just these two items have transformed the possibilities for us here when it comes to food. They will definitely get a workout over the next two years, at least when the power is on. Whenever it rains the power goes out, and it has rained.
It has rained more days than we can count. Mostly it has rained at night which is nice. We are grateful not to slop through the mud to work, and the steady drumming of rain on our tin roof lulls us to sleep at night (when we do not have rain, we rely on barking dogs, crowing roosters, bleating goats, noisy donkeys, and the music from the local tavern to sing us to sleep). Unfortunately in the morning we have to navigate a few pools of water on the floor that have formed beneath the few small holes in our roof or blown in under the cracks in the doors. A few strategically placed buckets and a mop have sufficed until we can patch things up. What may be an inconvenience for us is a great thing for the area around our village. Last year the rains did not come until later in November and crops were not good. This year is off to an early and good start with rain and they are beginning to plow. Mealies (or maize/corn) is the staple crop here in South Africa. The way it is prepared is not like anything we are used to eating. The mealies are ground down to flour and usually boiled in water with salt to obtain a sticky, mashed potato-esque, consistency. Served with one of a variety of sauces or gravy made with vegetables, beans, and occasionally meat this is the main course on most days for the large percentage of the rural population. We eat it occasionally when visiting friends, but at home we like to cook dishes that are a bit more familiar. Nothing like recipe from mom’s cookbook to make this truly feel like home.

The Road Thus Far

2007-10-14T15:07:00.000+02:00

After two days in Philadelphia, we traveled for another two days on long flights with a substantial layover to arrive in Johannesburg on July 21. Our first order of business upon arrival was to grab a copy of the newest Harry Potter book at the Jo’burg airport. We had barely left the baggage claim and had not even met our South African colleagues before ducking into the nearest shop in the terminal to buy it. Following a two hour bus ride from the airport into the North West Province, we finally came to stop at Mankwe Teacher’s College. Our first week was spent here as we struggled to overcome jet lag and began to learn more about the work we will be doing. A broad overview of our projects was given and we were introduced to the training staff that would become our sources of information and our good friends over the next couple months. We met current volunteers as well, who provided a glimpse into our future in South Africa. Over the course of training we met many more volunteers from all different areas of the country. They provided short trainings on different work we will be doing, gave a number of amusing, yet informative skits on scenarios we are likely to encounter during our stay, and lent an ear to many of us individually who had questions or concerns regarding our service.
After our initial week at Mankwe, our training moved to a cluster of three villages just outside Zeerust, a town in the North West Province. There we all stayed with families that volunteered to host us for eight weeks. Our host family was wonderful. We lived in a lovely home with our Gogo (grandmother in Setswana), our host aunt Sidi, her son Amo, and our two host sisters Lekhabe and Mpho. Our host parents, Mmampho and Bushy, along with our host brother Robbie, lived in another house near the shop that they own. We shared meals with them, learned to cook a few delicious South African dishes, became avid soccer fans in a short time and were quickly told that the Kaizer Chiefs are the team to support. The love and hospitality they showed us made for an enjoyable transition into life here. They were also very helpful in getting us started on the long road to language learning by helping us each night master a few words and phrases.

During the days at training, we were attending sessions for our respective projects. We had speakers, workshops, presentations and short field trips around the area to bring us up to speed on South African history, culture and daily life. Along with this, each day we also had language training for a few hours. Our days started early, we were out the door around 7:30am and lasted until about 5:00pm. By the time we got home, did a bit of language homework and reading for the next day, helped with dinner and chatted with our family, we were exhausted. Average bedtime for training: 9:30pm. We just could not keep our eyes open much past that time.
On the weekends we were able to spend more time with our family and they were eager to show us around. The very first weekend in the village we were taken out to our family’s cattle post where Bushy and his colleagues care for their cattle. We learned about the cattle industry in the rural areas, weather patterns, rain (or lack there of in recent years) and much more. Cattle farming is a common and successful business for many people in the area. We had a home cooked meal over the fire that afternoon and it was a great day. Other weekends we were able to visit our host parents at their shop, see other family members for lunch or dinner, visit our fellow trainees and explore the village.
As the weeks went by we became quite comfortable in the village. Neighbors would recognize us and stop to talk, usually in a combination of Setswana and English. We had a number of experiences with all sorts of people around the village. Here are a few anecdotes from those two months:
-Walking to Botswana. Round trip was just over 20km.
-Learned the intricacies of South African pop-culture life through the soapies (soap opera) Generations.
-Visited a sangoma, or traditional healer and watched as they cast bones to read the future of a volunteer.
-Our bus broke down on the interstate from Rustenburg. We had to walk a couple km on the side of the highway to get to a B&B to wait for a new bus.
-Cooked dinner for our host family in the dark after we lost power. Luckily they had a gas stove!
-Our big training party fell on Jess’ birthday weekend. She had a cake and ice cream.
-Made sloppy joe’s for the host family. It was a huge hit.
-Paul tried cow brains. They taste like scrambled eggs.
-Peace Corps held a big event to thank our host families for their hospitality.
-Spent our 1st anniversary having lunch at our host aunt and uncle’s place. They had a huge spread for us and it was a great way to spend the day.
-Paul shaved his head.
-Spent many evenings with Gogo learning to speak Setswana, watching WWE (she loves it!), meeting her friends who are over for tea, and listening to stories from her 87 years in the same village.
-Paul spent two weeks teaching grade 6 at a primary school.
-Listening to our host cousin giggle at the noise of us shuffling a deck of cards. We spent countless hours keeping up with his four years of constant energy.

We have been busy, yet there is so much to learn about South Africa we feel we have barely scratched the surface. Thankfully each day we are greeted with smiling faces and genuine warmth everywhere we go. People are eager to know about us and even more eager to invite us into their homes and their lives. So with our Setswana dictionary in one hand and usually a small neighbor child grasping on to the other, we set off each morning down the dirt road in front of our house for another day under the African sun.