Aubuxeni tichomi! (Hello friends!) Howzit?
Since my last blog, I've learned to cook a few things (surprising, I know…jury is still out on how well I'm cooking), I've acquired another kitten (Lerato is my new kitten's name - "love" in Setswana), I've eaten mopani worms (quite yummy actually), I've continued to be amazed by how beautiful a South African starry night is, I've learned where I will be going come September and I've realized how difficult it will be to say goodbye to my host family come September when we go to site.
Our group took our LPI's (Language Proficiency Interviews) on the 8th of August. The interview consisted of pretty basic things - introductions, where we are staying, who is in our family, what we are doing in South Africa, asking for directions, etc. To my pleasant surprise, I received a score of "Intermediate Low." By the time of swearing in, we are expected to reach this level, so I need to maintain my current language ability. However, I would love to score "Intermediate Mid" by the time of our next LPI, which seems to be coming up rather quickly. I am very proud of our entire group; we have all come so far in our perspective languages in the short time we have been learning them. It is definitely one of my goals to become fluent in Xitsonga during my Peace Corps service. I am hopeful that the people in my village and school will speak to me in Xitsonga, and not English. It seems that the kids will be very helpful when it comes to learning more of the language. I'd also love to pick up some introductions/sayings from the other languages in SA (there are 11 total languages in SA). Some things I have already picked up include "yebo," "sharp, sharp," and "oho! hi swona!" Apparently, "sammie" is "sandwich" in Africaans!!
One phrase I have mastered in Xitsonga is "ni kombeli," or "I'm sorry!" I believe, with my somewhat clumsy nature, that this will continue to be an important phrase. A couple of weeks back, actually on the day of the LPI, I went to a friend's house to watch a movie. When it was time for me to say my farewells and head back to my house, her family's dog thought it would be a good idea to walk me back. It was really very cute. Well, despite how adorable I found the dog and the dog's insistence on seeing me to my door, my host family had some trouble agreeing with me. As I was reading, my host Mom came and informed me that "the dog was doing bad things." Apparently the dog found our chickens as well as their eggs. Well…the dog won. Since that day, when I am leaving the house, my host Mom asks that I don't come back with any dogs. Understandable. My host sisters find it quite humorous, always asking, "Mpho, how is your dog doing?" No worries though, the dog's owner picked him up later that evening.
My host family finds my love of animals quite amusing. They were curious as to why I wanted a kitten as a pet in the first place. After seeing me play with the two kittens when I get home each day, my host Dad told me that I could have both. Lerato and Bontle are adorable; they're a pair, so I'm relieved that I do not have to choose one over the other. They have started playing outside and climbing on the tables. Always a dog person by nature, I am surprised as to how attached I have grown to them. I am very grateful to my host family for my kittens, and I know I will enjoy having pets when I am at site. I will be especially grateful if they take care of any mice and/or bugs that find their way to my house. If anyone has any advice on taking care of cats, be sure to send in my way. First time cat owner here.
My host family also finds my love of running/yoga interesting. They are very accepting of it, which is great. The other day, a group of us was doing yoga in front of my house. Later that evening, after helping my host sister with the dishes, she began doing some of the yoga on the kitchen floor. She had seen us doing yoga, and seemed to remember it pretty well.
Following our LPI was "National Women's Day" in South Africa. Since we had the day off, most of our group traveled to a nearby game reserve. We were a bit worried since we had been told that seeing any animals can be a hit and miss type of situation. However, apparently the animals were out and about, ready to strut their stuff; we saw many of the "Big 5" during our day at the game reserve. Our group saw giraffes (not too difficult since they really have no way of hiding), hippos, ostrich, rhinos, zebras, crocodile, wart hogs, springbok, and an elephant in the distance. It was a bit surreal to see all of these animals at such a close distance.
Last weekend our group traveled to Johannesburg ("Joni") to visit the Apartheid Museum. You could truly spend an entire day in that museum. In the two short hours we were there, I managed to learn a few more things about South Africa. I also managed not to get lost, which was a plus since the physical layout of the museum is a bit confusing to navigate. Visiting the museum helped to shed more light on current racial relations. It's incredible to think that the Apartheid ended so recently, and how far South Africa has come as a country in such a short time. In addition to speaking to the Apartheid itself, the museum also featured much of Nelson Mandela's life and contributions to South Africa. He is such an interesting and accomplished individual. I plan on reading his book soon, so I'll be sure to let you know when I do.
This past Sunday, rather than coming home with any animals, I came home with a loaf of banana bread for my family. Nick, another PCT and the Betty Crocker of our group, taught Hubble and me how to bake banana bread, from scratch! In order to make it even more delicious, we chopped up a chocolate walnut bar and added it to the batter. Quick lesson to anyone who is learning to cook like me - chocolate and peanut butter make everything better. Trust me. After Nick and Hubble had some laughs at my feeble attempts to bake, and about a dozen strangers asking if they could have a taste during my walk home, I made it back, banana bread in hand. The loaf lasted oh about 45 minutes. Needless to say, my family LOVED the banana bread.
This week we have continued with our routine training - language lessons, safety sessions, IT/computers in the classroom, and more culture education. It was a great week, but we were all really excited about Friday: Site Announcements. With Site Announcements, we learned the exact location of where we will be posted for the next 2 years, what schools we will be working in, and our distance from other PCVs in our group and from other PC training classes. I learned that I will be in Limpopo Province which I am really excited about; I will be pretty close to Kruger. While one of the schools I will be working in speaks Xitsonga, my host family speaks Sepedi, so I will have to begin learning this language as well. I guess I'll try to learn this just as well as Xitsonga! Speaking of the schools, I will be working at two higher primary schools (grades 5-7?). The schools want help with learning different teaching methods - working with teachers, working with students on English, helping with sports, and working with computers/libraries. I am really pleased with this description and cannot wait to get started. I will be living in a thatched roof rondavel, something I had really hoped for (this is the round home with the grass roof)! My family includes a host mother, a host father, and three host brothers. I will be about 40km from my nearest shopping town, and about 30km away from my nearest PCV. We plan on getting together in our shopping town every couple of weeks.
In addition to learning our site visits, a bunch of us signed up for a race in March. For now I signed up for the half, but there is also an ultra …not sure how I feel about that. I've done the marathon and I know how I feel after 26.2…not sure how I'd feel about going another 6 miles. We will see how my training is progressing come that time. I'm really excited to have something to train for! Additionally, this sounds like a great event. Following the race, all of the PCVs get together and brie (barbecue).
Next week we are doing our site visits, which I am really looking forward to. We will be spending a few days at our actual site, meeting our host families as well as our supervisor (the principal). We will get to see our house and learn what we need to buy for ourselves. I cannot believe how quickly training is going. Like I said at the beginning of this blog post, I will be very sad when it comes time to say goodbye to my host family. Although it has only been about 6 weeks, I feel like I am a part of the family. They have shown me so much warmth and love, and it will be difficult to leave. I definitely plan on visiting them over the next 2 years.
Well, I will be sure to update soon! I'll let you know how the site visit goes.
Sala kahle,
Meg :)
