This blog post goes out to my friend and fellow PCV, Casey. Casey, we all hope that everything is sharp sharp in America and that you can come back to SA ASAP!
I just returned from what I would categorize as one of the best weeks (okay, 10 days) of my life. Our group – SA24 – had our In-Service Training (IST) from the 5th to the 15th of December. Our IST was held outside of Pretoria and focused on life-skills training, HIV/AIDS training, and project/funding planning. While the queen-sized beds, hot showers, scenic runs, swimming pool, and endless amounts of delicious food (and tea time twice a day) certainly helped to make this a wonderful week, it was the people who truly made the experience an unforgettable one. Seeing friends and fellow volunteers from other areas of Limpopo, the Northern Cape and the North West was fabulous; some of these people I saw for the first time since swearing in three months ago. Seeing the Peace Corps staff and the LCF’s (Hlulani, na khensa ngopfu for playing telephone Pictionary) was also amazing. All of us swapped stories, smiled when discussing even the smallest of victories, vented about common frustrations, and laughed over crazy experiences.
Let’s start back on day one of the trip…I have never been known as the “lightest packer.” One of my closest friends here, Jill (Xongile as her village knows her) would rephrase this statement, referring to me as “the worst packer EVER.” I was thinking about how correct Jill was in her estimation of my packing, looking at my suitcase in my rondovel and thinking “how the heck am I going to lug this to the bus stop” when my host mom came in, on her phone, and picked up my suitcase. Like magic, a khombi was waiting for me outside of our compound. Can we say “lifesaver?” When I arrived in Giyani to catch our bus to Pretoria, I was once again crowded by one too many men asking “mi ya kwihi, mi ya kwihi?” Honestly, does it really matter where I’m going? Is it going to change your day? In response, I told them that I was headed to Pretoria, but that I’d be quite alright, I was catching the City to City Bus. Once I saw the cue to buy my ticket for the bus, I nearly died! It must have been a busy travel day. After about 45 minutes of standing in the cue, I eventually bought my ticket – phew, wicked close call (seriously, almost was not able to buy a ticket)! I was all settled in my seat, prepared for a nice relaxing trip to Pretoria when “splash!” went my coffee. Yes, this would be a very relaxing trip indeed…three bus transfers later and a khombi ride where we not only paid for our ride, but also gave the driver additional money for cold drink, we finally arrived at the Peace Corps Office in Pretoria.
The first few days at IST felt like a huge family reunion. We all caught up, as much as possible, on the ins and outs of each other’s lives at site. After big hugs and shouts of joy at seeing each other, questions flew – “What is your site like?” “How is your host family?” “How are the schools?” “What have you been doing?” “How hot is it where you are?” “How many weddings/funerals have you attended?” “Are you still eating pap?” Everyone’s answers varied, but we all understood each other and what everyone was going through, both the good and the bad. It was at IST that I truly realized how lucky I am to have these 50+ other volunteers I am serving with; they have all become like family to me. While we all have our individual experiences, we are all going through rather similar things. On tough days, it helps to know that I am not the only one who is in this incredible, yet sometimes rather difficult, situation.
The real fun started when our counterparts arrived at the hotel. As I may have explained in my latest blog post, each of us was told to bring a life-skills counterpart with us to our training. While many of my fellow PCV’s brought teachers, I brought my host mom, Maggie. Maggie is on the SGB (School Governing Body) and works at the Drop-In Centre for the OVC’s; I thought this training would really benefit her and the village. It was really cool seeing all of the Americans and the South Africans together – definitely a sharing/blending of cultures. I think it was a relief to all of us that our counterparts got the chance to see other Americans (since we’re the only ones they see on a day to day basis). It definitely helped to show how much Americans as a whole exercise!
Many of the sessions during IST were geared towards our working with our counterparts; this was very helpful. On one of the days, we were assigned the task of creating a project in our community. Maggie and I came up with the idea of a Girls’ Club in the village, something I had wanted to do. Beginning next year (when the school year starts in January) I am going to have a Girls’ Club one or two days a week after the school day knocks off. I still need to iron out the wrinkles, but I am thinking that at the Girls’ club we can make bracelets (feel free to send string!), talk about whatever the girls have on their mind, play games, etc. This will be a great bridge to when Jill and I hold our Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World).
In addition to the project planning, we were also assigned the task of presenting a lesson with our counterpart in the life skills department. As luck would have it, Maggie and I were given the lesson on HIV Prevention/Condom Demonstration. Unfortunately Maggie was ill on the morning of the lesson, so I was up to bat by myself. My crowd was great, and my friend Sean/fellow PCV was a great sport in helping me during the demo. Since it seemed as though a banana fairy ran off with our banana, we had to make due and use one of the water bottles. The lesson was not nearly as awkward as I had anticipated, and it led to some very interesting discussions between us and our counterparts. So often in South Africa, sex and contraceptives are a taboo to talk about for parents with their children. This has even crossed into sex education at the schools. However, as teenage pregnancy continues to be an issue and as HIV/AIDS continues to ravage these villages, we all agreed that this is a conversation that needs to take place. It was a big step for this discussion to take place with our counterparts, and I am hopeful that these discussions will continue to take place at each of our sites.
Another session that was held for us and our counterparts was a session on HIV/AIDS done by David Patient and Neil Orr. This was one of the most interesting lectures I have ever attended. David and Neil were both engaging and extremely informative. David is HIV+ and has been for over 28 years. You would never think this if you saw him in passing – he looks like he is in picture perfect health. During this talk, I realized that HIV does not necessarily mean a death sentence. As David is living proof of, you can live a happy and long life with HIV. By taking care of yourself, watching what you eat, exercising, and taking ARV’s, HIV does not mean the end of your life. It is unfortunate that so many people choose not to get tested because of the stigma that surrounds HIV/AIDS. If more people chose to get tested and knew how to properly take care of themselves, many people could live healthy and normal lives even with HIV. David and Neil taught us about nutrition (everyone, go eat pumpkin seeds) and gender roles in SA as well. David even led some of us in early morning yoga sessions!
Prior to our counterparts leaving, we had a dance/song session in the hot tub. Abby, one of my closest friends from our group/star PCV, helped to teach some of the counterparts how to swim. Once everyone became comfortable in the water, we were singing and dancing in the hot tub (which became more like a whirlpool after about 5 minutes). Songs included Shosholoza, Dipoo, and a host of other songs that I am unfamiliar with. It was definitely one of those “Peace Corps Moments” when you realize just how lucky you are to be granted this experience.
IST seemed to go just as quickly as it came. We all agreed that in the future there should be a weigh-in before and after IST for all of the volunteers – soooo much food! On our last night at IST we celebrated with one last dance party (yes, we had quite a few during our time there – “making the pap” is the newest dance move). I’m still not sure whether or not Chris and Daniel, two of the wait staff, were happy to see us go. We’re quite a lively group, but not in a negative sense of the term; we certainly kept them busy. Saying our goodbyes was hard, but I think we all left feeling inspired and invigorated, ready to start some projects when the New Year rings in. (It also helped knowing that most of us would be seeing each other quite soon for our Christmas vacations.)
As a child you have a difficult time realizing just how much wisdom your parents have; sometimes you even go against what your parents say just to spite them. However, as you grow up, you realize each and every day, “wow, Mom was right” or “oh, I guess Dad had a point there.” Pammycakes always says to me that “as nice as it is to get away, it’s always so nice to come home.” Tonight, as I ate scrambled eggs and beans under the brilliantly starry night, regretting my decision not to apply sunscreen on laundry day, I thought about how last week I was sitting in a plush hotel restaurant eating roast beef, sushi, and tiramisu (no, no, not all together). I have traded in the shower for my bucket bath and the flush toilet for my pit latrine and pee bucket. While some people might think that this is a loss, I don’t. I know this because getting off of the khombi Saturday afternoon, hearing the familiar “Naledi!” from the village kids, listening to my friend Tumiso shout “motswala (cousin)!” and getting to hold Rhulani across the street as she grabbed for my glasses made me realize that I was home. I’ll take Peace Corps over Posh Corps any day of the week.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy New Years to all of my friends and family back home!! I’ll miss being with you during this holiday season!!
Ke a go rata kudu!!
Meg :)
Xoxo
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