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.

 

Books, Barack and Bugs

I am writing this from the brand new library at my higher primary school! Last week I was given the task of organizing and establishing the school’s library. So far we’ve got an unused classroom, a couple of shelves, and about 500 very dusty books. The kids have been so eager to help, so to start with we cleared out stuff from the room we didn’t need (i.e. Shovels, tiles, old window frames, broken pots, etc.) and swept the room clean. Next we have been trying to sort through all of the books to see what we’ve got. The majority of the books are very out dated textbooks, mostly from the previous government. I have mixed feelings about these books. I grew up in a house where we loved books; old, new, fiction, nonfiction, you name it. We’ve always been a household that loves to read (Joanna- no matter how hard to try to hide it, we all know you can read). But these books that are stacked 3’ deep around my desk, make me nervous. There are history books explaining why African people are not as smart as Whites, science books with experiments that these kids will never see because we don’t have the resources, and civics books laying out the Apartheid government. But mostly they are in Afrikaans; the language chosen by the previous government because it is spoken no where else in the world, there by isolating the people of South Africa even more. Now please understand that not all Afrikaaners are bad people. I have met so many wonderful people in Polokwane, who are doing great things for their community, speak several languages and are very proud to be a part of the new South Africa. But there are still so many major boundaries between the Black and White communities. Last week I met a white doctor who drives past my village twice a day and never knew it existed. He couldn’t believe that I was safe living here and didn’t know why I’d chose to stay in the village when Town is so close by. I don’t think he is a bad person, he just doesn’t know what life is really like in the Black communities. It is really just the unknown that all of us fear.

            Anyway back to the books. There are some good novels and reference books I think we will keep, but there are still going to be a lot of books to get rid of. As I don’t think they’d appreciate me burning them, I think we will make paper mache globes out of them!

            The other big event last week was the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. On a personal note, I am so proud to be serving our country as we embark on a new chapter and I am so excited to see where the next four years will lead. I think everyone living abroad can attest to the fact that the US is seen as the example for the rest of the world. And here in Africa, especially South Africa, where race is a part of everyday life, the US electing a black President is tangible proof that the world is moving forward. So many people are excited about President-Elect Obama, they think of him as one of their own. The only draw back to this is that I think that many people expect him to use his position to benefit Africa. While I am sure President-Elect Obama will work to benefit the African economies, those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and other global issues, I don’t see him handing out large bags of cash to everyone in Africa. So it will be interesting to see how the sentiments change and grow in Africa during his administration.

Finally, I had the BIGGEST bug ever in my room yesterday! I was just lying on my bed reading a book, when I started to hear a strange scratching noise. There was a 7” long, black millipede thing crawling out of my suitcase (where I keep all my clothes because we haven’t gotten furniture yet). Now, I don’t think of myself as a bug screamer type, but I jumped up and stood on my bed screaming for a solid 20 seconds before I could do anything. Finally, I got myself under control to flick it (using a magazine) on to the floor and out the door- all while still shrieking. My 16-year-old host sister came over to see what all the fuss was about and laughed at me while I took a picture of it. She told me they start out as little flying bugs (which people eat), and then she kicked it out into the yard and went back to work. I think the world was a better place before I knew that thing existed…. Needless to say, I now avidly shake out shoes, sheets, clothes, etc. before I get too close. Ick. I will post the picture soon.  But today I saw a Dung Beetle pushing a ball of dung around with its back legs, just like on the Discovery Channel!

 

Happy Birthday Allyson!! I thought of you all day!

Friends of the World, Skype me!

Hello All!

Here is just one more way you get intouch with me! I have recently set up a Skype account and it works pretty well. There is just a slight delay, but its still wonderful to hear your voice! My account name is “lnictaylor”; so if you are a Skype user look for me, if you are not a Skype user you probably should be.

There is a ritual “widow cleansing” going on in my yard tonight. Apparently they are going to sing and dance all night, and there is a prophet coming. Details to follow.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! See ya on Skype!

Tiny’s Engagement

Sunday I got to attend church for the first time here in GaMaja, and boy was it fun! One of the very first people I met when moving to GaMaja is a gal named, Tiny. She is as her name describes, a very petite woman, about 24, who has been a wonderful friend to me. She has shown me how to take the bus to town, cooked me dinner and always reminds me of people’s names when I forget them. Well Sunday was a big day for Tiny, she was getting engaged! Her fiancé and his family were coming down from “Tzaneen side” and it was going to be a big celebration.

            Now, South Africans approach church with the same amount of enthusiasm as Americans have, for say, a basketball game against a big rival. So let me give you the play-by-play:

1^st Quarter:

            People begin to arrive, church has been moved to the tribal offices to accommodate the number of people expected. Season ticket holders take their usual seats, and chat with friends and neighbors. Everyone is wearing team colors, which seem to be anything but earth tones or pastels. Sharp black and white pinstriped suits with pink shirts and patterned ties for the men; beautiful silk blouses, pencil skirts and serious high heels for the young women and traditional dresses and head wraps in pink, orange and gold lame for the older women. As the crowd gathers, they begin to sing. Everyone knows all the words, to all the songs. There are no musical instruments or any type of sound system, so each song is kept in time by complex base lines stomped and clapped out. With each song, the enthusiasm and volume builds. Several times women jump out into the aisle to do a few steps of a traditional dance, never losing the beat. At the point when I think it couldn’t get much louder, the guests make their entrance. The fiancé and his family throw open the doors at the back of the room and dance their way up the aisle while singing, and blowing whistles and plastic horns. The visiting family is from the northern part of the Limpopo Province and several women are wearing traditional clothing of the Xtonga and Venda people. They have on black skirts, white shirts, with a black clothe pinned at one shoulder (toga/plaid style). They also have on dozens of beautiful beaded bracelets, belts, headbands and armbands. They take their seats of honor at the front of the church, and we get down to business.

 

2^nd Quarter:

            Any good basketball player knows this quarter is for getting down to business while you still have the crowd with you. Our coach this quarter is a younger preacher, whose hefty stature matched his voice. After a personal prayer time (when everyone prays out loud at the same time until they are done, and one by one sit down. You end up listening to the very last person’s prayers for a very long time), the singing starts up again at full volume. This time we are singing “Sisters lets walk…. Lets walk in the Light.” All of the young, unmarried women (including me) make their way out the doors at the back of the room and we dance down the aisle and around the table at the front, leaving Tiny at the alter. Next it’s the young men’s turn, and they do a little line dancing looking thing down the aisle as we sang “Brother’s let walk…”, leaving Moses (the fiancé) at the alter also. Now, I am not 100% sure what the preacher said, as it was in Sepedi, but he did point out several beautiful women to see if any of the other young men were interested in getting married and he made a point of introducing me to the congregation. He said, “This is Sister Leah from El Dorado…”. (I think he was trying to say Colorado. But El Dorado does seem fitting, considering everyone thinks the streets in America are paved in gold).

Then came the big engagement moment! Moses pulled out a gold band, and took Tiny’s hand (the first time they had ever touched- greeted with a BIG cheer from the crowd) and asked her to marry him. Tiny (bless her demure heart) looked completely embarrassed and finally squeaked out a “yes”. And the crowd went wild! The families of each partner then stood up and greeted each other. The preacher quieted us down enough to bless the couple; we all threw up our hands (free throw shot style) and asked God to blessed the couple.

 

3^rd Quarter:

            It was time to get serious, so our coach for this half was an older more serious preacher. He looked a lot like someone who would be coaching at big Texas school; he had on a white pinstriped suit, pink shirt, and white crocodile cowboy boots. He gave a very intense sermon, some of which Tiny, who was sitting next to me, interpreted for me. Mostly I just listen for words I know and try to interpret gesticulations, like I do for every conversation held in Sepedi that I am a part of.

 

4^th Quarter:

            To wrap us up and bring it home, one of the old women (who I love!), wearing a beautiful orange traditional dress, lead us in the tithe. Having not remembered to bring any money myself, a few rand was pressed into my hand from my wonderful host mother. Everyone took turns dropping a few cents into the bowls on the table in the front. I am repeatedly impressed with how generous people here are, especially when I know they struggle to feed their families.

            The service was wrapped up by a few more songs, and I am not kidding when I say they absolutely sound every bit as good as you could imagine an African gospel choir sounding.

 

Post-Game Celebration:

            To celebrate Tiny and Moses’ engagement, Tiny and her family had stayed up all night cooking a huge meal for everyone. We all walked up the hill to Tiny’s house and had wonderful food and cold-drink (i.e. soda). As the visiting family was getting ready to leave, someone turned on traditional music and everyone streamed out in to the street to dance. Their traditional dances look a little like line dances, but with more rhythm and spirit. I got pulled in a few times, and did my best to keep up. I am not terribly good, but it was so fun!

            I stayed on and helped the church women wash all the dishes, and then headed back home. Tiny walked me home and asked if I wanted to be a bridesmaid! And Mma Pheladi said she would get me a traditional dress to wear to the wedding! I am so excited! It was a wonderful celebration, and I couldn’t help but be impressed by the support of the community and their enthusiasm. You’ve got to hand it to them; they sure know how to do church!

Observations: Grade 1 and Life.

So I have been trying to observe teachers this week, and having a hard time. Sometimes I am discouraged about how the educational system seems to be failing, but there are some great teachers out there who really do want to improve! But just to give ya an idea of what I am working with, here is my day so far (pretty typical):

Theoretical Schedule:

7:30am to Lower Primary

7:45am All school daily assembly

8am Observe 1st grade class, Mma A

9am To Higher Primary to observe 7th grade class, Mma B (the lesson I helped plan on Monday).

10am Lunch break

11am Observe 6th grade class, Mr. C

2pm Schools out

 

Actual Schedule:

7:30am Arrive at Lower Primary, 1/2 teachers already there

7:45am Teachers start staff meeting to update everyone on the meeting held at the circuit office yesterday (three teachers were gone all day yesterday). Learners entertain themselves in yard.

8:40am End of Staff meeting, all school assembly, send learners to class. I say “Hi Mma A, I am here to observe your class like we talked about yesterday. Oh, you are not ready? You have nothing prepared? Ok, well I have to be at the other school in 20mins, how about I come back later? Yeah, 12pm works great. See you then!”

9am Arrive at Higher Primary school, parent meeting in full swing with principal, one teacher, and 30 parents. The other two teachers are directing the learners in cleaning. Girls are sweeping, polishing the floor; boys are playing, watering the garden. Two classrooms have been emptied of all furniture to better accommodate the cleaning.

10:45am End of parent meeting (they were trying to get volunteers to help with the garden- good plan!) “Hi Mma B (suppose to observe at 9am) oh, its not going to work today? You have to go some where? Ok, I will come back on Friday. First thing in the morning. See you then.”

10:47am On my way out, I meet Mr. C in his car (whom I have scheduled to observe at 11am). “Hi Mr. C! How are you? Oh, you are “knocking off” just now (leaving/going home)? Ok, well I guess I will see you on Friday then.” Learners now are headed home for lunch… with maybe one teacher left for the afternoon.

11am Lunch (lentils and popcorn and coffee, yum!)

12am To lower primary to observe 1st grade, take two.

-Learners are coloring pictures of farm animals.

-Mma A reads the newspaper.

-The other 1st grade class comes in because their teacher has gone to town to “do 1,2,3…”

-Mma A instructs them to take a nap, the learners lay on the cement floor in a huge wiggling pile. Slams the yardstick on the desk a few times to get them to be quiet. I am a bit nervous for them….

-Mma A falls asleep sitting at her desk.

-Other 1st grade class sneaks out, past sleeping Mma. I have to laugh a little…

-Mma A has her class copy the words for each animal, while she tells me about her next lesson will be on a phonic sound. I think “great! Phonics is so important. I am glad she knows that!”

- Learners bring up their papers for “corrections”. Mma erases all the misplaced, misspelled words with complete disdain. She yells loudly if her first mumbled instructions are not immediately followed. I think to myself “we are ruining these kids. I would never put up with being treated to poorly by anyone, let alone a teacher! And these kids don’t even seem to notice!”

-Phonic lesson begins. Learners volunteer words that might begin with “th”. If they are wrong, Mma rolls her eyes and says “Aowa (No)!”

- A boy in the front offers a word without raising his hand, Mma A hits him several times over the head with the heavy wooden pointer she is holding. I want to cry….

- 10mins after the lesson begin, Mma A sits back down at her desk and begins reading the paper again. I decide I have seen enough, and get the hell out of there before I start crying.

2pm Home, bath time.

3:30pm Chat with Mma Pheladi when she stops by for a visit. Says I must be enjoying South Africa because I am getting fat. Super….

4pm Some one comes by to install energy efficient light bulbs.

4:30pm, emailing and waiting for the principal at higher primary to call if we are going to meet with the consultant for the community empowerment project.

 

Yeah, so…. basically not only is the whole education system not functioning well, but it may be inflicting more damage to kids than not. Its just so hard because teachers know in theory what is good practice, but have absolutely no motivation/intrest/know how to actually use it. And the product is kids to who have zero critical thinking skills and have been powertripped their whole lives, so its no wonder they continue the cycle. I am just trying to keep some perspective on the situation. I feel like my two years here is basically doing triache (emergency repair) and trying to remember that this will be happening whether I am here or not, so I might as well try to do as much as I can.

This week has been a turning point for me. Up until now, my experience here has mostly been about me- adjusting, learning, surviving, etc. Now, its like I know too much. There is no way I could go home and not feel for these students. Now I have to stay and try to do something, hopefully when I do go home I will feel like I have done my best to improve the situation. But I also realize that I need to be careful not to get too emotionally involved/invested because I won’t be effective if I am crying every time I go to class.

Wow. I sound smart sometimes. Let me tell you what, there are many moments during the day when I think to myself “what the heck am I doing here!? I am never going to make any kind of impact and I could go home and eat an Illegal Pete’s Big Fish Burrito, get a job/apartment/car, and just live like everyone else.” But for some reason I just can’t bring myself to make the “escape call”, I am starting to think that being a PCV is grounds for an insanity plea. Just kidding!

 

Things I Have Learned

Well just this past Sunday, Oct. 12, marked being in SA for three months and being at site for one month. (Yay! Go SA18!) Starting at the first month mark I decided to write down everything I had learned that month, it seemed like a good way to reflect on how much I had accomplished and get excited for the rest of the adventure! So on the 12th of the month, I sit down and write all of the things I can think of that I have learned that month. So here is what I have learned in the first three months of service with Peace Corps:

Month One: July 12-Aug 12, 2008

-         Some Sepedi

-         42 new peoples’ names, locations and moods

-         How to bathe in a bucket

-         To love pap

-         Let go of control

-         To have confidence

-         To stay relaxed

-         To be humble

-         To be true to your self

-         To show people who you really are

-         To wear a hat/bandana/scarf

-         How to be a grown up (or getting there)

-         About being an extrovert and how to distance myself from other peoples’ problems

-         How to do laundry in a bucket

 

Month Two: Aug. 13- Sept. 12, 2008

-         Some more Sepedi

-         To hoard TP, because its worth its weight in gold

-         To ride in kumbies

-         To love the pee bucket

-         To cook for hundreds with no running water

-         To Jika-ma-jika

-         A pretty good “ill face”

-         That some S Africans think kittens are creepy

-         To drink coffee like my mom

-         To go several days with out the full on bucket bath

-         To make “No Bake Cookies”

-         To not solve other peoples’ problems

-         To set personal boundaries and enforce them

-         To acknowledge my needs and stressors

-         To focus on the present

-         To ask for what I want

-         To ask for help

-         To give comfort to others and myself

 

Month Three: Sept. 13- Oct. 12, 2008

-         To love cappuccino

-         To correctly go from plank to cobra (yoga that is)

-         To close the windows before turning on the lights in the evening, so that I don’t get dive-bombed by bugs when reading by headlight

-         To defend my personal boundaries, even when it is uncomfortable

-         To relax enough to possibly enjoy my time here

-         To ride in taxis pretty well

-         To avoid KleKle

-         More about the Afrikaaner perspective

-         To be lonely and live through it

-         To watch the stock market

-         To read A LOT

-         To reach out for support when needed

-         To “make” a home

-         To smile and nod my way through half understood conversations

-         To bend the rules a bit

-         To give myself pep talks

-         To enjoy being up at sunrise

-         To be mostly vegetarian

-         That the mesh bags that tomatoes/oranges come in work well to clean your floor, laundry, body…

Well there ya have it. Some days it seems like a lot, some days it seems like nothing, but I guess that is all part of this adventure! I will update you on the progress next month.

The Invasion of the KleKle

The Invasion of the KleKle

 

            For the first time in more than a decade GaMaja is hosting an annual Girls’ Initiation School. For two weeks girls (ages about 10-16, maybe) from the surrounding village have come to stay in GaMaja to learn traditional songs, dances and customs. There must be almost 100 girls participating and they have set up large tents in the field behind the chief’s kraal. At dawn, they walk down the mountain and into the open fields across the tar road to hold school beneath a large tree and return in the evening to the camp. During the evenings they sing and drum (very loudly) traditional songs around dangerously large bon fires. Now, most of this is speculation and what I can figure out from distant observation. Part of the custom around initiation school is that people of the village are not allowed to the see the girls, and you can be fined if accidentally run across them. Also, no one I have asked seems to have an exact idea of what they do there, how long it will last, what the songs are about, etc. Part of the secrecy around girls’ initiation school is due to the KleKle, and this week the KleKle have come to GaMaja.

            On Monday morning I had gone down to the post office and noticed that the village was rather quiet, there weren’t many people out and everyone seemed to be hurrying about their business and going home (very unusual anywhere in Africa). Early in the afternoon I was sitting outside with a few of the women from my extended host family, trying to stay relatively cool in the shade of the big house. Soon it seemed that the whole village was sitting out in their yards and looking north, and there was a group of teenage boys who had taken a perch on the mountain just behind my house. (Luckily, my house sits close to the top of one of the foothills and overlooks the whole village, so I can usually tell what’s going on in the village from my front porch.) Then all of a sudden there was a ripple of noise through out the village as we watched 40+ figures emerge from a dry river bed, briefly cross the tar road (to where initiation school was going on), then break up into groups of two or three, and begin running toward the village. As soon as the first trill call had been made, any person out in the streets of the village took off running as fast as they could, locking gates and doors behind them. The KleKle had come.

            The KleKle are said to be possessed women, and have something to do with the traditions surrounding girls’ initiation school. The KleKle are women from the surrounding villages, naked (except for underwear) painted white, who patrol the streets with sticks and beat up anyone who caught out of their house or yard. I still have not been able to figure out their exact significance, but people are suppose to respect them by hiding, especially boys and men.

            From our porch (behind a cautiously checked locked gate) we watched the progression of the KleKle through the village. At first you would only catch glimpses of them, as they passed in between houses; blending in with the shadows of the white washed walls. If you listened carefully you could track their progress as they passed. As they approached a house the old grannies of the house would yell and make a lot of noise, then all would go quiet as the KleKle passed by or attempted to get into the yard and house. People were careful to hide themselves as the KleKle passes, but often the babies and little kids would start to cry. Then, when the danger was gone, everyone would come streaming out of the house and hoop and holler at being passed by. Several KleKle came by our house, only to move onto the next one. And they stayed in the village for several hours, before vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.

I have been told not to leave my yard, except for necessities, for the next two weeks, as no one knows when the KleKle will reappear again. My host mom said she called the chief to ask him to ask the KleKle to please not beat up our nice white person, but I don’t think I will take any chances!

It’s interesting to watch the interaction between old and new culture. In so many ways, life here in South Africa is similar to life in the States. The western world is quickly becoming the dominant culture, especially in big towns and cities. GaMaja is still a small, rural village but is located relatively close to the provincial capital, Polokwane. So while people know that they have no real reason to fear the KleKle, that they are just neighbor women painted white, there is still a residual fear and reverie toward the traditional customs and culture. It will be interesting to see how the people of South Africa cope with the growing clash between old traditions, which they still feel very connected to, and the push to become part of the emerging global culture.

As for me, I am going to stay out of the way of the KleKle, but if that doesn’t work, Ian pointed out that “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!”

 

PS. The KleKle return! Just as I was finishing this, I heard the alarm call from the neighbor’s house. This time, the KleKle had gotten all the way through the village and up into the neighbor’s yard before they were discovered! They didn’t seem to inflict any damage, and went away soon after. But we could hear the alarm calls as they made their way down through the village, back toward the riverbed.

Logistics of Life

Logistics of Life

            Well as I’ve got some time on my hands, I thought I would answer some of the questions I’ve gotten about the logistics of life in GaMaja.

            I have been here in GaMaja for 11 days now and spent all last week drawing a huge (3’x4’) map of the village. GaMaja is about 30km south on R37 from Polokwane, then about 10km east off R37. Apparently you can see the Chuene reservoir on Google Earth (at the corner of R37 and the GaMaja road). My house is about 10km east, just by a red and white cell tower. The big house is pink and we have a huge round water container just in front of my little white house. Let me know if you can find it on Google Earth!

            Anyway, GaMaja is long and narrow, sitting along the north side of the mountains that run east/west right here. The next big town to the south is Lebowakgomo, which means “North Cow”! I can’t tell how many people live (nor does anyone seem to know) but I live in the Mosate region of GaMaja, which is where the chief lives. I have my own little house in the yard of a wonderful woman named Mma Pheladi. Pheladi is a fantastic older woman, who has worked as a primary school teacher and for the government developing curriculum. She and her husband, Serogole, have five grown up (very well educated) children and eight grandchildren. My house, like most in rural SA, has electricity but no running water. Our water comes from a tap just outside the yard. But because the tap is not always on, we also have a large metal container (not the one you might see from Google Earth) which sits right by my house. I have a pit latrine for a toilet and do all of my bathing in my room in a large basin (2’x18’’x1’) with about 2.5” of water. [There is a bit of strategy to this. Start at the top and work your way down. When it comes time for your lower half, go a head and stand in the basin. Surprisingly effective!] I also do all of my cooking in my room. I have a two burner electric hot plate, two basins (to wash dishes/be the sink) and an electric hot water kettle. I use the frig in the big house, and, because our furniture has yet to be delivered, store everything else in boxes. (Luckily I have a bed from Pheladi and a table I wrestled away from the school). All the trash gets burned, and we’ve got about 10 cows in a pen (or kraal) in the front yard.

One of the most amazing things to me is that all of the cows and goats in the village leaving their kraals every day at dawn, go out into the bush to feed and return back to their kraals at sundown. All with no human help! It’s amazing. ( FYI: the cows come home at about 6pm, hahaha!) We have one cow with a new calf, which tried to run me down while I carried in water the other day! Luckily I made it to my porch, but then she walked around behind my house and stood right at my window! I think we’ve come to an understanding now, I give her my food scraps and she doesn’t stare menacingly into my house. A few other people have cattle (a sign of wealth), but mostly people have chickens and goats. By the way in case you didn’t know, roosters crow all day long, starting at about 4am! Not cool.

The scenery here looks a lot like NM or AZ. It’s very dry, with big cacti and thorny trees. But the purple Jacaranda trees have just bloomed (as its spring now) and I have heard that it gets very green when the rains come.

I have been assigned to two schools with in about a km hike from my house. The lower primary school, grades K-4, has about 200 learners and nine teachers. The higher primary school, grades 5-7, has about 120 learners and four teachers. The actual buildings are made like everything else in town (including my house) of cement bricks, which are plastered and painted, with sealed cement floors and tin roofs. The classrooms have between 30 and 50 learners per class (low for SA), and not much, if anything, on the walls. Both schools have several very old computers that no one knows how to use.

For the next three months I am doing community integration work that PC has assigned, but I think that I will end up teaching teachers how to use computers, helping develop/improve the school gardens (which feed learners during the day), organizing/improving/creating school libraries and helping teachers update their teaching and classroom management skills. I think I will definitely be busy once all these projects get started!

GaMaja is hosting a girls’ initiation school this week for the first time in ten years! From my house I can see the tents they have set up and can hear them singing and drumming. Its purpose is to teach girls about becoming women. (Boys initiation school is held every winter and is followed by circumcision.) But I have been repeatedly warned that part of the things this week with include women painted white, called Kleklekle, who run around the village and beat people with sticks if they are in the streets. So I am suppose to stay in my yard or have an escort through the village for the next few days. I am not sure what the cultural significance is of the Kleklekle but I don’t want to get beat up, so I think I will stay out of their way!

I have been getting a chance to do some yoga everyday, but am running out of sequences/ideas. So if you wanted to pass on any good sequences you know about, or cut outs from yoga magazines- that would be awesome! Also, I would love any new-to-me music or audio books you might have lying around! Cheers!