New Accomodations

More changes for me! Three days ago, I moved to different accommodations. That is, I am now living with a new family in the same little town I work in. This family is Afrikaans. So, the statistics so far are that I have lived with a Zulu family for the two months of training, an Indian family for the past year, and now, an Afrikaans family for the remainder of my Peace Corps experience.
I had hoped to obtain a “garden cottage,” on the property of a residence here in town. Many of my PCV friends have a housing unit, like an efficiency unit, sometimes called a rondoval in the village, separate from the main house of their host family but on their compound. All of my accommodations have been inside the main house itself. That’s why I wanted a “garden cottage.” Oh well, I’m destined to spend my two years in very close quarters with my host family. At any rate, I was in very close quarters in the Indian family’s home and I just decided that I needed more space, at the very least, and, I need to be more a part of the family. This was not the case over the past year. For most of the year, it was perfectly satisfactory….eating yummy curries with our fingers every night, lots of Bollywood and an adorable nine year old “host brother” who loves cars. But, at mid-service I find I need more intimacy with those I live with, in this sometimes stressful and lonely experience.
Now, I am located across town, nearer to my office, but further away from my little gang of nine year old boys who were my buddies in the other neighborhood. Yet, I can still visit them anytime so it’s not like I left completely. Whereas the language spoken at the Indian home was English, now, the home language is Afrikaans which is a language based on Dutch and German. I’ve only been there three days but already the first thing I need to do is learn dog commands in Afrikaans so I can get the German Shepard from my bed! He just wouldn’t respond to “down” or “off.”
I am very happy about this change. The couple I live with are about my age and are offering me a home because they “respect the work I am doing in the community.” I am very fortunate to have the warmth and comfort they are providing me. They are excited about me teaching them how to cook Mexican food. For next Sunday’s dinner, we’ll start out with guacamole, instant refried beans (sent from home), and maybe burritos if I can find someone who is going to a specialty store 45 minutes away where there may be some “wraps.” What I really miss is fresh cilantro so I may have to buckle down and grow some plants. As I’ve probably mentioned before, Mexican food is what all of us PCVs really miss from home and a real curiosity for South Africans.
Well, my living arrangement is a change at mid-service which coincides with a sort of “where do I go from here” with work, learning the languages, the experience in general, etc. kind of feeling. It’s like I need to re-charge my batteries after one year of adaptation, stress and making new friends because at this point I know my way around. This lull coincides with Peace Corps mid-service training set for the second week of October, aimed to re-energize us to our goals. Let’s hope so…..

Mealie-Meal Donation Pix

Hello everyone from Peace Corps Headquarters in Pretoria. I am here in the computer lab provided for the volunteers, using the internet and printer free of charge. I have been in Pretoria for 5 days now completing my mid-service medical examinations and working on Diversity Committee documentation of trainings and facilitations we provided to the 85 new American trainees who will be sworn in as volunteers tomorrow at the American Ambassador's residence...an exhausting week after a previous exhausting week where three of the five members of the Diversity Committee lived at the rural village training site with the trainees in order to be a resource for them and facilitate an exercise....dusty, hot, hot, dry, but satisfying to be able to help them throught this stressful time....we remember it well.



I am a member of the Diversity Committee, 5 current PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) who help new trainees, current PCVs, and Peace Corps staff with trainings, facilitations, cirriculum and program development. We assist Americans to gain greater understanding of the many diversities in what it means to be an American and how these different identities, i.e. white, black, female, gay, agnostic, etc and different perspectives are impacted as a volunteer in South Africa. These trainings help the group of PCVs become more cohesive and pave the way for the support needed at site that everyone requires but sometimes doesn't know how to provide each other. It has really been rewarding for me to be a part of this aspect of Peace Corps. For those of you who know me well, I am passionate about "building bridges" between diverse groups of people.



Wow, if you ever want great healthcare, become a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am amazed at the quality of care from the South African healthcare system and what Peace Corps allows us to access. I went for a basic mammogram examination yesterday and was given an ultra-sound exam and complete bone density test as well.



The following photos were taken by me while sacks of mealie-meal were being delivered to needy families just before Christmas 2006. You can read the story of my first tangible success, mealie-meal donations to the OVCs in the township where I live, in the blog posted in the December 2006 archives under "Office Party and More," December 18, 2006.

(...this idiot computer was way too slow uploading the pix...will post pix in next entry, hopefuylly)