Shine Komotso Shine! Mmmm Good Job!

23 September 2009

Last weekend here in GaMaja we celebrated the wedding of my friend Tiny! Tiny and Moses were married at Tiny’s family home last Saturday in a wonderful ceremony that was oh so very South African!

To begin, it is custom here for the groom to pay Lebola, or bride price. Which is traditionally cattle, blankets, etc. and in recent years often includes some amount of money; the families of the bride and groom arrange this. By South African tribal tradition once lebola has been paid the couple is officially married. But today many couples also have a Christian ceremony as well.

Tiny’s house had been transformed for the wedding, and it looked a little like a circus had come to town. Three large tents had been erected. One for the wedding ceremony, one for cooking and one for the men to drink in. There were about 100 hundred guests dressed in both beautiful western clothing and amazing traditional dress, all in bright colors. (How the women walk in high heels around here is completely beyond me.) There was also a very large sound system set up; complete with microphone, speakers, keyboard, and stereo.

The ceremony began (only about an hour late) with the groom and his 10 or so groomsmen dressed in crisp white suits dancing through the streets, first to a neighbors house then to the bride’s home, where they collected the 10 bridesmaids. The dancing train was lead by a very charismatic and enthusiastic minister, who is one of the most outrageous dancers I have ever seen! The dancing they do is almost like line dancing. It is to high energy house music and the wedding party forms a line that dances thru the yard, out into the street and back again. A train of other guests, dancing as well, often joins them.

The wedding party then made their way back to Tiny’s house, where they danced in a circle on the lapa (courtyard), and eventually Tiny made her appearance and joined the dance. Tiny’s dress was no less than 4 or 5 feet in diameter! It takes a professional to dance in a dress like that! The wedding party then danced their way into the main tent, and the bride and groom made their way into the tent, escorted by their respective families.

About this time a truckload of chairs showed up, so we all grabbed one and found a seat under one of the tents. Because there were so many people, a down hill slope and that I was seated in a far tent, I could not actually see what was going on but thanks to the sound system I could hear it all!

For about 2.5 hours there was singing, praying, a sermon, dancing, singing, praying, dancing, praying, singing and dancing. As it turns out, South Africans love to talk to big crowds and anytime a new person gets a hold of the microphone you know they are going to talk for a good long time. So its no wonder that events (wedding, funerals, meetings, etc) go on for many hours. Luckily people have a very enthusiastic manner of speaking, so it can be very entertaining.

Eventually we got to the actually wedding ceremony, which turned out to be the traditional Christian vows in English, and then translated into Sepedi. It was very sweet and I do believe that Tiny and Moses will be very happy together. After some more singing, dancing and praying it was time for lunch! The whole she-bang took about four hours.

After lunch the bride and her family traveled to the groom’s family home for some more celebrating and I was told they were not back until very late!
Congrats to Tiny and Moses! Halla! Halla!

The other exciting event this week was the awards ceremony at the lower primary school. The educators handed out awards for good behavior, academics and cleanliness to many learners. This was the first time they had done this, and I think it was a big hit with the kids. When a child received an award the whole school would shout “Shine (the name) Shine! Mmmm Well Done!” It was so sweet!

I would also like to say congratulations to Todd and Allyson who are going to be married at the end of this week. I wish I could be there with you, but know that I am thinking about you! Love you both.

Month Eleven: 13 May- 12 June 2009

-         My new mantra: Humility, Sincerity, Grace

-         People everywhere are resistant to change, pretty much no matter what. So its interesting that I picked a job with the sole purpose of creating, implementing, forcing, starting change.

-         How to make really good pita bread.

Month Twelve: 13 June- 12 July 2009

-         You can go home again.

-         Don’t whistle at marmots

-         Three margs is too many.

-         When people tell you who they are, listen.

-         10,000 miles is one heck of a long way!

-         Africa is a serious place.

-         Everywhere people are most concerned with their own problems. But can ya blame them?

-         Men do silly things for bachlorette parties.

-         All about wedding dresses.

-         There is no easy answer to “How is Africa?”.

-         In any way that really counts, people don’t change.

Month Thirteen: 13 July- 12 Aug 2009

-         I have a wonderful host family

-         Sometimes things are lost and either they are replaceable or they will find their way back to you.

-         We can reprogram our neurological pathways in order to experience things more positively.

- To knit from Grandma Della’s book

-         The history of Liberia

-         All about the most influential people in the world this year.

-         That 300 helium balloons tangled together won’t fly after 3 hours in the sun.

- Sometimes change happens in microscopic increments, and often goes undetected by the human eye.

Aug 13, 2009

Long Time No See!

Hello all you out there. It’s been a while since I have written. Let’s see, I had a wonderful trip home to the States in June. It was so fun to get to be at Tanner and Sarah’s wedding, throw Allyson a bachlorette party and win some money at mini golf. Plus I am really lucky to have such an awesome family, who lives in a great state. Thanks so much to everyone who helped make my trip wonderful.

I have been back at school for about a month now, and to be honest it’s moving very slowly. If I have learned anything in the last year it is that the old saying “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” is completely true. Just like everyone else in the world, the teachers I am working with are a little bit resistant to change. Change is hard and uncomfortable, and it is just so much easier to do things the way we know how. So even though in my American mind I wish change were faster in coming, I am trying to stay relaxed and focus on the small changes I can implement. I am still working with grades 5-7 on literacy and our project this term is to create a school newspaper. I am also teaching reading to grade 4 and computers to educators. I am really hoping to be able to teach computers at the higher primary school (grades 5-7) but the computers have been fixed several times in the year I have been here, and still don’t all work at the same time. So hopefully soon they will all work!

A couple of weeks ago I got to meet the new SA PCVs during their first week in country. We talked about learning to be happy in this new and uncertain place. I hope they got something out of it! I am headed back to spend a few more days with them next week, and will be talking about a couple of education topics.

Yesterday was the official halfway point of my service. 395 days down, 395 to go. Thanks Trevor for figuring out the exact count! Crazy!

I would like to remind everyone that I REALLY like getting mail, especially postcards that I can show kids. So here is my address again, in case you had misplaced it.

Leah Taylor PO Box 1964 Maja 0719 RSA

I hope you are doing well where ever this finds you! Much Love.

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!!!!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.