Tala Like The Sky

Tala like the Sky
June 15, 2009

Well its 5:43am and as anyone who knows me might guess, I have been packed and ready to go for the last 20 hours and am up way before I need to be. So I thought I would tell you about my new dress!

Many of the older women in my village wear very simple, everyday dresses made of traditional Sepedi fabrics. The Sepedi, being an agrarian tribe in the semi desert, wear many of the colors reflect the colors of the surrounding environment. The fabric is often seen in dark blues, browns and gold with beautiful intricate patterns. Traditional Sepedi clothing is often much more subtle than their flashier neighbors like the Venda or Zulu.

So I thought it might be nice to have one of these beautiful and useful dress, both to wear here and to take home to share with others. A few weeks ago I found out that my friend Dorah’s mom is a seamstress, and lives just up the mountain for me. So I went to see her and get measured for a dress. We talked lots about the style; how they thought it should have shorter sleeves and how I would like there to be pockets. We also talked about colors, and I did a lot of pointing to dark blues (it’s a good color on me). We finally got all the major points settled and she promised to let me know when the dress was ready in about a week or so.

Well Friday I got the call that my dress was finished, so on my break from school I climbed up the mountain to get it. When I arrived I found that my dress was indeed finished and it was hot lime green! The dress is my favorite color from 5th grade; the color of my retainer and swimsuit from that year. Think lime sherbert but brighter. It has blue striped sleeves, trim and pockets and multicolored buttons.

On a side note I should mention that while everyday Sepedi clothing might be in the natural tones family, there is nothing neutral about their dress up clothes. Both men and women love to wear pink, orange, lime green, yellow, bright blues, etc.

By now I am pretty used to having everything I say be lost somewhere in translation, but how could this have happened! Until I realized that in Sepedi the word for both green and blue is tala. In order to distinguish which you mean you should say tala like the sky or tala like the grass. My bad.

So now I have a beautiful hot green dress that the 5th grader in me can’t wait to wear. I have no doubt that whenever I wear it I will get lots and lots of compliments! I will post pictures soon.

Alright now its 6:06am, only two more hours until the taxi comes.

I am headed to Pretoria today in time to catch the USA vs Italy Confederation Cup game. Go USA!! And I am flying out of Jo’berg Wednesday evening. I will be home Thursday afternoon!

Friday 19 June is Joanna’s 21st birthday! So if you are in the Boulder area please come help us celebrate!

The other big news of the week is that Joanna and Rob Davies (my friends who stay in Polokwane) had their second baby! Jesse John Ballot Davies came early last Thursday morning! Welcome to the world Jesse and congrats Jo and Rob!

See ya all soon!!!!

Happy Memorial Day

25 May 2009
Happy Memorial Day!

Just a quick update about life this side. I am having a (mostly) wonderful time being busy at school this quarter. I am still teaching a few literacy classes a week to grades 5-7. Grades 6 and 7 are awesome. We read lots of books, write stories and have a great time. Grade 5 is still a bit of a challenge. I believe they might actually be taking years off my life. 60 kids is a lot, especially if they don’t speak any English and don’t seem to be too wary of my threats to make them leave class. It is making me appreciate the basics of teaching, and I am going to be a pro by the time they are done with me.

I am also teaching some small group reading/writing to Grade 4. They are so excited about books that it’s hard to not enjoy hanging out with them. Also, props to all you teachers/parents out there who have taught reading. I never realized just how hard it is to do!

I am also getting lined up to do some health education at the Home-based Care Centre in my village. Each month the guardians of orphans and vulnerable children come in and I have been asked to teach them about some common illnesses and good health practices. Recent statistics I have seen show that about 17% of households in my village are child headed, and many more children are being raised by very elderly grandparents. Its also not surprising that about 1/3 of all kids in the province are malnourished. Luckily the HBC Centre here in GaMaja is very well run and does a lot of great work in the community. Side note: Lady Maja (who runs the HBC would like some sunglasses from the US- if anyone would like to sponsor her let me knowJ).

Today I asked Grade 7 what they would like to see if they came to America and most common responses included: Beyonce, President Obama, Leah’s family, Leah’s husband and/or baby (they still don’t seem to believe me that I don’t have either) and what school looks like. I’ve got pictures of my family, I seriously don’t have a husband or baby and its unlikely that I am going to run into either Beyonce or President Obama, so I am asking for some help collecting picture from American schools. So whether you’re a student, teacher, coach or whatever, if you could take a few pictures of your classrooms, students, building, etc I would really appreciate it! I know school is out soon, so hopefully I have caught you all in time!

Three weeks and counting until I am back for a visit! I can’t wait to see everyone, eat some good food and take a shower! Don’t kid yourselves; I am coming home mostly for the showers. I would love to see lots of people, so if you are going to be around let me know!

I hope you are all having a wonderful, relaxing Memorial Day! There is a graduation party going on next door, and the graduates have arrived in style. Taxi full of people, dancing to blasting music and blowing horns. You have to give them credit; they do know how to make an entrance.

Things I’ve learned lately:

Month Eight: 13 Feb.- 12 March 2009
- How to greet in Shona (the language spoken in Zimbabwe)
- To use the LST Manual
- Some traditional Sepedi games
- Some awesome new party themes.
- More about friend (not sure I really wanted to know THAT much)
- The importance of and to appreciate sincerity
- To just go ahead and say what I think.
- World Cup kick of 484 days away or so
- To watch the sun rise and set in the same day.
- All about Vegan Taxidermy- Check out Urbanbeast.com

Month Nine: 13 March- 12 April 2009
- 21 km is a long way to walk, 56km is a really long way to run.
- SA maps are not to be trusted.
- Map reading and directional skills are key to a backpacking trip
- How beautiful 8000 year old San Bushman rock art is.
- How to barter really well for taxis
- “Knowledge of Self is Knowledge of God” Persian Proverb
- Peace Rain Prosperity
- About the Basotho people of Lesotho
- Slumdog Millionaire is an awesome movie
- More of the similarities between US Civil Rights Movement and SA Struggle against Apartheid.

Month Ten: 13 April – 12 May 2009
- To have faith in the potential of South Africa
- The importance of good leadership (and the effects of poor leadership)
- That I have a ganglion cyst in my wrist and whacking it with a book doesn’t work so well.
- Freshly Ground is AWESOME
- Development in the way we are doing it now, might not be the best long term solution
- Phonemic awareness
- About teaching reading to new learners
- My way around Pretoria a little better
- How to play cricket- but not how to keep score. The whole sport is very strange.
- To fail gracefully, again and again.
- Shantih Shantih Shantih- “Peace Through Understanding”
- About wines from South Africa
- Not to believe everything I think.
- Loneliness is passing.

Did You Eat Your Holiday Well?

23 April 2009
Did you eat your holiday well?

Success! Thank you again to everyone who donated money to the KLM Scholarship Foundation! We were the 3rd highest fundraisers and are helping some awesome, deserving kids go to a great school and hopefully on to university. The marathon was also a great success. A whole bunch of PCVs and community members got up bright and early to do the 21km walk/run from the top of Longtom Pass down into the town of Lydenberg. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a wonderful time despite the blisters! We even had a few PCVs complete the 56km ultra marathon! Woah!

The following morning 14 of us haggled a ride down to begin our hike in the Drakensberg Mountains, which border the east side of Lesotho. We hiked out of the backpacker (hostel) where we were staying and on to the Giant’s Cup hiking trail. Day one was without incident. It rained for about 30 minutes but it didn’t slow us down as we snaked up mountains, leapt over streams and enjoyed the amazing views. In case you didn’t know, it was the Drakensberg Mountains that inspired J.R. Tolkin to write his Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. The first night on the trail we spend in a semi-gutted house with bunk beds and a large fireplace. Luckily all of the places we stayed had water- for drinking at least.

We started off Day Two with high spirits but ended up walking out of the hut first thing in the morning and taking a wrong turn. By the time we figured out our mistake we were a ways from where we wanted to be. But have no fear! We had 20+ college degrees, an eagle scout and a map, no problem. Turns out our map was only about 75% correct. Enough correct that you were tempted to believe it, but enough false to get us a bit lost. So we made our best guess and headed straight up a trail to the top of a serious mountain (roughly 2000+ foot elevation climb in about 1.5km). At the very top we came to a large beautiful plateau, which had 8,000 year old San Bushman rock art and secluded waterfalls. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing! So we lounged in the shade for a while and had a long picnic lunch, all the while thinking we were on the right track. Eventually we began our decent only to find that the trail ended! After much map consultation, pointing and squinting and group discussion we decided to “free style” our way off the other side of the plateau. I won’t go in to details, but I think that if you asked any of us about the two hours we spent getting down the mountain we would all say it turned out to be much harder and more stressful than we could have guessed. Thankfully our map reading skills and determination came through and we caught up with the trail and made it to the hut within moments of night falling. Eish.

After a heck of a Day Two, Day Three was a piece of cake. And it ended up with a beer from a local bar, a fantastic lightening storm and taking shelter in rondovals.

The final morning we caught a ride back to the back packer where we started and spend the next couple of days recovering and enjoying the area. It was a wonderful vacation and I am continually impressed with the amazing and varying beauty of South Africa.

It is nice to be back at home again and school has gotten off to a busy start. In addition to the literacy and computer classes I taught last quarter, I am also doing some small group work with Grade 4 and helping start an income generating project to benefit the Drop In Centre.

I have officially booked my tickets to come home to CO for a visit 18 June- 13 July. I am looking forward to family, friends, food and fireworks! I hope to be able to see anyone who is around! Just let me know and I will pencil you into the schedule of fun! See you soon!

Wanted

24 March 2009
WANTED

WANTED: Smart, handsome, charming boyfriend for Leah. Existence is optional.

Applications are currently being collected for the post of my new fictitious boyfriend. For the past 8.5 months I have been trying to be an example of a strong, independent, happy, single women but now I am sick of being called “Mommy” by adult men. Don’t get me wrong! I am more than happy to talk to people about the fact that it is possible for a woman to be 24, unmarried, childless and HAPPY; even if the most common reactions include nervous laughter and stares of shock. But for the random men on the taxis, it seems I need more of a deterrent.
So my solution is to make up the existence of a man in my life and brandish him in the face of all the men on the taxis. Here is where you come in! I am looking for highly qualified candidates for this prestigious position. He can be real or fictitious; I just need some stats to convince others that he is in fact real. So please take a moment to fill out the application and a winner (or two or three) will be selected on 6 May 2009.

Name:
Occupation:
Hobbies:
Height:
Reading List:
Political Affiliations:
Possible back-story of how we met:
Picture (optional, but highly recommended):

Should this solution fail miserably, I plan to say, “Fine, you can marry me but I am very expensive. I cost 2000 cows.”*

*Note: Lebola or Bride price is paid here in the form of cows, money, blankets, etc. 2000 cows is about 1000% increase is what is a reasonable lebola.

Library Books

26 February 2009
Library Books

Over the past couple of months I have been slowly but surely gathering, dusting, organizing and reorganizing all of the library books at my higher primary school. They have moved rooms several times, gone through countless sorting and many have been lost to the “out dated” pile but some in the end we have got a solid set of books. We’ve got books in English, Sepedi and Afrikaans on everything from computers to the Tour de France; from traditional African stories to classical English poetry; from beautiful picture books to wonderful chapter books. And just last week I finally felt like we were ready to be open for business!
So I thought to myself, what better way to get kids into reading and used to the way a library works than to take some of the wonderful books into each class and spend some time reading. Well Grade 5 was first on my list and I picked out 60 of the best books to take to them.
First let me tell you a little about Grade 5. There are 56 kids in the Grade 5 class, and collectively they speak English at about a 1-2 year old level. They have been instructed in English for a year, but don’t really understand any of it. Their classroom is the furthest out in the building, and they spend a lot of their day unattended. So like any group of 11/12 year olds they can be a bit…let’s say: rambunctious.
I arrive in Grade 5, arms full of books, to find them lounging around a very messy room. So first things first, I have them spend a couple of minutes straightening desks, picking up trash and sweeping up the floor. After about five minutes of cleaning I am ready to have them settle down, but they won’t quit cleaning! I keeping putting the brooms away, only to have another kid grab it to continue sweeping. Finally, the room is fairly clean and everyone is back in a seat. So I start in on my introduction to book reading:
Mma Taylor: “Good morning!”
Grade 5: “Good morning Mam’”
Mma Taylor: “Today we are going to read some books! To begin…..”

Midway through my first sentence they all jump up from their desks and run toward the table of books and me. It is a tidal wave of kids crashing over the table, books and each other. Everyone is grabbing at books, pushing others out of the way and yelling at the top of their lungs. It is a mosh pit. Probably louder and more earnest than a lot of mosh pits.
At first I am shocked, I can’t believe what is actually happening. Then I remember that I am suppose to be in charge to I ask them all repeatedly with increasing volume to put the books down and go back to their seats. Finally I am yelling the one Sepedi command I know: Dula Fase! Dula Fase! Sit Down! Sit Down! While trying unsuccessfully to pile up the remaining books, which continue to be pulled from my grasp by frantic fifth graders.
After what seems like an eternity, most kids have a book in their possession and are now just hovering around the table like angry bees, but I am able to shoo them back to their desks. So I go on to Plan B, which apparently is giving them all a book to read right now.
Now everyone has a book that they are reading; some actually read the books while others just look at pictures or continue to talk to their friends. We work out a pretty good system where if they raise their hand, I will come and exchange the book they are reading. Which for some kids is every ten seconds.
I try to read to them in English, but no one really understands. So I have a few brave souls read to them in Sepedi, but mostly they just talk over who ever is reading.
In the end I decided to let the brave souls who read out loud pick a book to take home for the night, but I apparently don’t explain it well enough because soon there is another mosh pit for the books. Finally it gets so loud that the teacher from the next classroom comes over to make sure they haven’t mutinied. With his help, I explain to class one more time that the two girls get to take home books as a reward, yada, yada, yada. And that I need all of the books back so that we can use them again….
I haul my books back down to the library only to be called back to the class again. The learners have discovered a few books that “accidentally” made their way into a few backpacks. It was at this point I had a realization. They are just books, and they are there for the enjoyment of the kids. I am not going to stress out about making sure all of the books get back in perfect condition, instead I am going to remember that books are fun and interesting and meant to be read. So I am going to keep braving the Grade 5 mosh pit to keep up their unbridled enthusiasm even if it means a few lost books and not being able to hear as well.

KLM Foundation Marathon

Big News! At the end of March I am planning to do (walk) a half marathon in benefit for an organization started by SA Peace Corps Volunteers a few years ago. The organization is called the KLM Foundation and the marathon raises money to sponsor several kids to attend a private secondary school in preperation for attending college or university.  While all kids have the opportunity to attend secondary school, many do not graduate prepared to go on to higher education. So to give a few kids a real shot at higher education and a chance to return to work within their communities will benefit many people. Plus it is a sustainable way to empower the communities! And as PCVs we are all about sustainability, and you should be too! (Seriously, think about planting that garden!)
 
The half marathon is March 27 over Longtom Pass near Blyde River Canyon and is 13 km. There is also an ultra marathon of 56km which a few PCVs completed last year and will be attempting again this year! 
 
I am hoping to raise money for this great organization from my wonderful family and friends! So if you are able, I would greatly appreciate any donation you could make. Remember that even $5 is alot- the exchange rate is working in our favor! If not, just send some good thoughts my way on March 27.
 
To donate please visit the website www.klm-foundation.org and they will guide you on donating money for me. Remember that all donations are tax deductible and the organization will be sending you a letter verifying your contribution.
 
Thank you all so much! Please let me know if you any have any questions, and I will post pictures in early April.

Things I’ve Learned Update

Month Five: 13 Nov.- 12 Dec. 2008
- It’s usually best just to own up to stuff. Even when it’s embarrassing.
- To wear lipstick
- To “invigilate” exams
- Lots of PC acronyms (PCV, GTOT, PCT, PST, LPE, HCN)
- That the volunteers in other SA groups (i.e. 16,17) are AWESOME!
- How to get to Pretoria and to 1322 without being totally lost
- How to plan the PST calendar
- That it’s a little sick how much I love organization projects. I may need an intervention someday….
- That vibrating cell phones sound a lot like mooing cows

Month Six: 13 Dec. 2008- 12 Jan. 2009
- St. Francis of Assisi’s Prayer: “Lord, let me be an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love.”
- I have gotten better at creating and maintaining healthy boundaries, but I enjoy breaking them with people I trust.
- No matter where you go, people are still people.
- I may be allergic to Ibuprofen.
- I am capable of handling more than I give myself credit for.
- Vomiting together bonds people.
- I really LOVE traveling
- South Africans are better off than a lot of people and they are 100% capable of accomplishing anything they would like to do.
- Being violently ill in a foreign country with people you don’t know very well sucks. But having wonderful friends (especially PC friends who have lost most boundaries of normal society) helps a ton.
- I’ve changed and grown since arriving in SA.
- That my raincoat is cooler than all other raincoats put together.

Month Seven: 13 Jan. – 12 Feb. 2009
- To ask questions rather than offer solutions.
- To keep my mouth shut even when I have more logical, easy solution.
- To not believe everything I think.
- To find my center of gravity again (physically, emotionally, spiritually)
- To bring an apron to work because I always end up getting really dusty.
- That it can rain so hard that being inside only lessens the degree to which you are getting wet.
- There is a rabbit in the full moon.
- That race relations are infinitely more complex than I ever expected.
- To be REALLY proud of my President and country.
- That I am glad to be avoiding the US economy at the moment.
- That being a PCV forever changes the way you see yourself and the world.
- More about the transmission/treatment/testing of HIV.
- To be an active listener.
- How to carry live chickens on a taxi.
- That indoor plumbing with no running water is worse than no indoor plumbing at all.

Holiday Fun!

Travel Log for my holiday travels, Dec. 2008.

GTOT or General Training of Trainers
- I have been invited to help train the new volunteers joining the SA team in Feb.
- GTOT was held at the College of Education in Marapyane, where my PST was held and were the new volunteers will spend their first 8 weeks in country.
- We planned sessions on everything from how to keep yourself healthy to conducting community need assessments. The new volunteers will be part of the Community HIV Outreach Project, or CHOP.
- It was planning heaven! We had a whole wall covered in color-coded sticky nooks!
- It was really fun to spend some time with PCVs from others groups. And the flash backs from arriving in country made me realize how much I have grown in the past 6 months!

Holiday Travels with Kelly, Molly, Andrew, Jeff, Meg, LaTosha, and Kristy
Blyde River Canyon and Sabie:
- Andrew and I khumbied out to meet the rest of the group after GTOT.
- In Graskop, we rode the zip line across Blyde River Canyon (3rd largest canyon in the world)!
- Sabie is absolutely beautiful! Rolling hills, forest and lots of waterfalls.
- Jeff, Andrew and I went adventure caving. Our guides had us put on jumpsuits and helmets and let us on a 3 hour-long crawl through a cave- lit only by candlelight! Our guide, Robeck from Malawi, entertained himself by smearing me with “war paint” (i.e. mud) and pushing me into a giant mud hole. It was great!
- The next day all 8 of us dawned wet suits and went Kloofing (also known as Canyoning). Kloofing is basically rafting without the raft. In our wetsuits and helmets, we hiked down to the river where we made our way down the river by climbing over boulders, jumping off cliffs, floating through rapids and getting banged up in the process. It was AWESOME! At the end we hiked up the steep canyon wall and come up behind a fence with a sign reading “Danger- do not cross”. Needless to say, all of the tourists whose photos we interrupted were pretty impressed!

Maputo, Mozambique
- “Sped things along” at the bored by paying a guy to help with paper work. Worked pretty well!
- Got held hostage (sort of) at a sketchy backpacker. Well the manager wouldn’t unlock the gate when we decided we wanted to stay somewhere else. Did the American thing and threw money at the problem until it worked!
- Visited the PC office- beautiful ocean views! Lucky…
- Got lost, and then stuck, in a traffic jam at a local market.
- At dinner at the fish market. First you buy all of the seafood you want from vendors, haggling is welcome. Then you go around the other side and restaurants vie for your business. When you pick a restaurant, they cook all of your food any way you like it. It was by far the very best seafood I have ever had! Meanwhile, there is an on going parade of vendors trying to get you to buy their goods.

Tofu Beach, Mozambique
- Traveled about 7 hours north to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Camped in the sand at a backpacker right on the water.
- Lots of dancing, napping, reading, and beer.
- Got pretty good at haggling prices down at the local market.

Nisela Safaris, Swaziland
- Nearly ran out of gas after stopping at 3+ petrol stations and all of them out of gas!
- Woke up to Lucky the Lion roaring! Got to pet him when his keeper came over say good morning. That’s right, a lion nibbled me.
- Game Drive: saw springbok, giraffe, warthog, ostrich, zebra, and more. Also got to drive the big safari truck!
- Held an albino python. Ick.
- Drove through basically al of Swaziland just to visit a glass blowing factory.

St. Lucia, South Africa
- Camped with Hippos (Hippos are known to come up into town at night- very dangerous!)
- Celebrated Christmas with White Elephant gifts and Secrete Santa. I discovered my hidden talent for wrapping presents in stuff laying around (burlap sack, flowers, palm fronds, etc. Martha Steward would be proud!)
- More dancing!
- Visited the Estuary where we saw crocs and hippos in their natural habitat!

Eshowe, South Africa – Zululand
- Backpacker and brewery all in one!
- Arial boardwalk tour.
- Fun playing tricks on Andrew in the car.

Warner Beach, South Africa
- Great food at a hole in the wall restaurant.
- Karaoke talents revealed. Not mine of course, I can’t sing to save my life, but I am a pretty awesome dancer.
- Watched the movie Twilight. I love Edward!

Durban, South Africa
- Visit to the largest mall in the southern hemisphere. Woah.
- Great food and fun on Florida Rd.
- Discovered I am most likely allergic to Ibuprofen by throwing up for several hours on New Years Eve and breaking out with larger blisters. Happy New Year!

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and we all made memories that will last a very long time. It was really interesting to see some more of SA and Southern Africa because it helped to put into perspective the situation of our villages and schools. In a lot of ways SA is better off then many of her neighbors, there is stronger infrastructure and more economic development. Also the racial diversity in South Africa, especially in the larger cities, rivals any major metropolitan city in the world. But the scars of Apartheid still seem to hold people back in ways that no one could have predicted.
Back at home in my village, I am glad for a little down time but also am excited to get started back at school. I am going to be teaching computer classes to both learners and teachers, and also literacy classes to grades 5-7. I am in the mist of reorganizing the library at the higher primary school, again. But this time we’ve got lots of space to grow! One thing this vacation made me realize is that the people here are completely capable of achieving anything they want, and have many more resources at their disposal than they know. So I am going to do my best to push them to recognize their own power and encourage them to create positive change in their own lives!
Thank you to all who have sent notes, emails, books, money, prayers, holiday joy, etc. I don’t think I will ever be able to convey just how grateful I am. Being away from home for the holidays just reminded me how lucky I am to have such awesome family and friends. It was tough not being there to enjoy shoveling snow, white elephants on Christmas Eve, New Years fun and spending time with all of you. But knowing that I have your support and hearing from you makes all the difference in the world! Thank you again! Ke a leboga kudu kudu!
Also, after two years of tropical Christmases, I am planning to have an over the top, gooey Colorado Christmas in 2010. So get your ugly sweaters and wassail ready!

I love you all! Happy New Year!

White Rabbits!

White Rabbits! I can’t believe its December already! I hope everyone had a fabulous fall break and a terrific Thanksgiving!

            Our PC community integration assignment for last week was to visit neighboring volunteer’s site and that is just what we did!

Travel Log:

Monday-

2pm Andrew and Leah meet in Lebowakgomo to head to Mphane to visit Kelly. Wait in a taxi for about 75minutes.

4pm Arrive in Apel Cross. Wait 58 minutes for a taxi.

6pm Kelly cooks us a wonderful dinner of meatballs, mashed potatoes, rolls and apple crisp! Forget to close the window in bedroom.

8pm Play some Phase 10, create a fabulous new game called Phase 9.

11pm Try to go to sleep. About 100 degrees in the room.

11:15pm-1am Every twenty minutes some jumps up screaming because a bug is crawling on them or the plastic covered bed is sticking to strange places.

 

Tuesday

10am Head to Molly’s village, Wonderboom (pronounced Voon-der-boooon).  Check out her seriously well funded school and the river where she washed cloths (no hippos or green mambas spotted).

1-3pm Wait for taxi at Molly’s house.

3:06pm Greatest Taxi Ride Ever!! Brand new, empty taxi and really cold beer- courtesy of the driver. Amazing…

4pm R2.50 Icecream cone at KFC

5:30pm Salon del Molly in Leah’s yard.

7:30pm Kelly stabs Leah while trying to eat spaghetti out of a communal pot with a sharp knife. Ahh PC eating habits….

 

Wednesday

9am Visit Leah’s schools and host family. Meet Chief Maja at the post office.

2pm Find out Leah and Andrew get to go to the next PST! “Training for trainers” is next week. (That is really what its called….)

4pm Catch taxi to Bochum

4:43pm Cross Tropic of Capricorn

8pm Toast and Rummy for dinner at Beth’s

 

Thursday

9am Tour of Beth’s village and work places.

12pm Lunch of delicious bogobe, nama and morogo.

6pm Leah and Kelly babysit Roscoe, bake cookies and watch TV. Got to love American media.

 

Friday

2pm Big Chickens/wee turkeys get started. Jam and juice merinade and cooked upside down (to make the white meat nice and juicy!)

2-6pm Supervising of cooking.

7pm Leah peer pressured into eating a termite. “The monkeys do it! They taste like peanut butter” Turns out they don’t really taste like much of anything.

9pm-2am Afrikaaner night club. Techno music, and terrible dancing.

 

Saturday

8:30am Afrikaaner neighbor offers grain alcohol to drink in celebration of Thanksgiving. “Umm no thanks, its 8:30am”

9am-4pm Leah and Kelly direct the cooking of pies, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole (including the creation of a fried onion topping), salad, etc.

5pm Dinner! Everything turns out great, even with some interesting substitutes of key ingredients (ie Pumpkin pie made out of butternut squash)

5:25pm Food coma sets in. Nap and watch rugby for the rest of the day.

 

Sunday

9-11am Sit by the pool. (Sometimes its hard to go back to village life).

1pm Home again! My bed has finally been delivered. Yay.

 

Well there ya have the run down of Thanksgiving week fun. Check out the pictures too!

 

I mentioned that I founded out last week that I get to be a part of the group of PCVs that help with the next training session for SA19! This means that I need to go to the “General Training of Trainers” or GTOT (don’t you love our acronyms?) starting Saturday for a week. Add this to the big Christmas trip and I will be gone for nearly a month!

            For the big Christmas trip, 7 other PCVs and I are going to try to see Blyde River Canyon (3^rd largest canyon in the world), Kruger, Mozambique, Swaziland, Wild Coast and Durban- all in about 3 weeks! Its going to be amazing. Plus, I will be pretty hardcore if I can live out of my backpack for a month. I will have my phone, so I will be able to check emails and get calls, but please don’t be sad if I don’t write lengthy responses. Its hard to type on the tiny phone buttons. But please write emails or call!

            Also, if you were going to send a package, procrastinate a bit more and send it in a couple of weeks so I will be here to pick it up. The post office only holds them for three weeks before sending them back.

 

I love you all and will be missing spending the holidays with all you!

 

Enjoy the Joy!!

 

PS Christmas music just isn’t the same when its 95 degrees!

Leah’s A Golly Good Lady!

Thank you again to everyone who sent birthday cards, emails, thoughts, etc. It really was so wonderful to hear from everyone, and I am so grateful for all of your support!

            Well I am 24 years old and it is good to be alive! Its been one year since I decided to apply to Peace Corps, and its has been a wonderful year! I can’t wait to see where the next year takes me.

            Birthday fun started on Tuesday when a fellow PCV came to my village to give a workshop to the Community Empowerment Project I am working with. After the workshop, we made yummy Mexican food and I blew out a match in a piece of lemon cake while my friend sang a fun birthday song about death. Thanks Jeff!

            Wednesday my host mom told me to invite a few friends over for tea and cake. Turns out “tea and cake” is code for 30 people, church service, full meal, lots of singing and finally cake. It actually turned out to be quite a lot of fun. My friend Tiny gave a sermon while the rain pounded the tin roof, they all sang “Leah’s a golly good lady” and we toasted with grape Fanta. I am starting to discover that most SA events are much more formal than I expect; so I gave a short speech before cutting the cake. But the best part was listening to my fantastic neighbor and a few young men play the penny whistles. Penny whistles look sort of like a recorder, and sound a bit like a flute. It was so wonderful listening to them play and watching the kids dance! It was a great birthday party and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful host mom and village friends!

            Finally to wrap up the birthday fun, I met a few other PCVs in Polokwane for lunch on Saturday. We ate at this really swanky seeming restaurant, which is completely empty whenever we go there. But it was great to catch up with all of them, and we are all starting to get really excited about our upcoming Christmas holiday vacations!

            So overall it was a wonderful birthday week and it will be hard to top next year! Nov. 12 also marked 4 months of being in South Africa, so here are all of the things I learned this month. (Luckily everyone here already knows my weird 12^th of the month coincidences, and are quick to cheers for our anniversaries!)

 

Month Four: Oct. 13- Nov. 12, 2008

-         When it rains, it pours. Figuratively and literally.

-         My name is Leah and I am a peanut butter addict.

-         That bugs over 7” long require screaming.

-         It’s ok to say “no” and not feel guilty about it.

-         To be proud of my President.

-         What it is like to be a teacher in South Africa.

-         Halloween does not translate.

-         About the Maxi Taxis. Yep, Maxi Taxis.

-         Where my room leaks when it rains. (Thankfully- in the only open floor space in the whole room!)

-         To carry an umbrella for the sun. It really works great!

-         To only half listen to conversations in Sepedi, and fully listen when they are in English.

-         That in 100% humidity, my hair is still straight. Maybe even straighter if that was possible.

-         To make popcorn without burning any of it and getting all of the kernels popped!

-         That no matter when I get to the taxi tree, the taxis always leave my village at 8:15am. Always.

-         That flies and ants were sent to earth to torture PCVS.

-         To right the date 12-Nov-08.

-         To try and bridge the 1^st/3^rd world gap.

-         Its not about the task, its about the relationship.

-         To be REALLY grateful for wonderful people!

-         If Greenwich is “mean” time, than Africa is on “kind” time.