Year 1 Complete

Well, we made it.  I have officially been in South Africa for over one whole year.  It has been a year full of finding friends, a collective 28 days of diarrhea, an exhausting seven months of teaching English as a “first additional language,” a year of travel, a year of just utter chaos, and most importantly a year of adventurous happiness. 

I’ll be the first person to tell you that when I joined Peace Corps and was told I had a month until departure, I was beyond terrified and I questioned my decision to do it almost every day of that month.  I thought I would make it a year and want to come home.  In fact, I was just about convinced that that is what would happen. I didn’t believe in my ability to be away from home for two years and I didn’t think I would be happy being solo for so many hours during the week.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk and I love to be around people…pretty much constantly. 

PST (pre-service training) fed into this version of me since I talked to other trainees until 5 every day, spent time with my host family until 7 or 8 and then spent the rest of the evening glued to whatsapp. Moving to my site proved to be somewhat what I expected and everything more.  Did I struggle with my lack of social interaction? YES. Did I cry a couple of times here and there? YES.  Did I send an obnoxious amount of voice messages to my American and Peace Corps friends? YES. (And maybe I still do…) But finding the peace and happiness in being alone has overall been a good experience to show me that my friends will always be there but sometimes being happy with yourself means really being happy with….well, just yourself.

Another Peace Corps Volunteer recently did a blog post about her ups and downs during the first year and I thought that was a great idea! (Thanks Michelle!) So I’m going to steal it, with a twist.

As a true Hoosier….I give you the top 10 moments of my first year of Peace Corps Service. (Thanks David Letterman).

10.  Pam and Carl (my lovely parental units) visiting South Africa, receiving Venda names, hiking all over my mountain and then escorting me to Cape Town for a bougie vacation from it all

9.  Living with my host family in Moteti who gave me pap (a traditional African dish) every night and aided in my gaining of 10 pounds in just 2.5 short months by buying a 2-liter of Coke every night since they knew it was my favorite

8.  Waking up in the middle night (around 3 AM) with the worst stomach pains and only a few moments before disaster - with no time to unlock my door and burglar bars. I chose to desecrate my trash can instead of my pee bucket and well…I missed. #DiarrheaProbs #TMI (I know)

7.  Opening my library to 95 learners and having 20 learners in the library with a que of 40 outside the door on the first day

My "library" after I swept and moved some tables in

6.  IST (In-service training) where I had one of my many bouts of diarrhea and indulged in all of the cheese anyways

5.  Learning to wrap a baby on my back courtesy of my host mom (Lufuno) and my host brother who was 1 at the time

My library now

4.  Holding a menstrual health day for my girls and dispelling myths and stigmas about their periods

My girls with their signs of why menstruation matters

3.  Living without power for a month and half, cooking on the fire, and sleeping with 6 blankets since it was the middle of winter

2. Starting a CLUB GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)that makes my girls “happy to be a girl” (We cover topics like self-esteem, gender equity, healthy relationships, safe sex, goals and aspirations, and community change)

And the number one part to my first year of Peace Corps Service is….

1.  Meeting some of the best humans (Volunteers and South Africans) who support me in what I want to do, support me harder on my rough days, and keep me laughing and smiling for days

I’m sure there are a thousand other little moments that didn’t make my list like children yelling “ho naka” (you’re beautiful) as I sweat my life away on a run or the little moments of my kids understanding or finally participating or just lighting up my life in general.  Those moments are hard to tell stories about because there are just so many.  My kids are my reason for waking up and going to school every day and they are the absolute greatest.

I live in such a beautiful place.

With only a year left here, I keep thinking that I’m basically done but really my work is just beginning.  Within the next year, I plan to:

•       Hold a 4-day CAMP GLOW with a Let Girls Learn curriculum where girls will be further education on reproductive systems, teamwork, leadership, self-esteem, goals and aspirations, and how to lead a healthy life. 
•      Paint a World Map on the side of the school to increase global awareness and promote geography and social science learning
•       Hold a World Geography Day in which learners from all over the school interact with our new map with fun interactive activities
•       Zazi girls club for the secondary school girls – same general Let Girls Learn goals of GLOW
•       Roots Tribe Yoga – a yoga program aimed at getting the kids more comfortable, active and engaged in more productive ways of channeling their feelings
•       Teacher workshops – to share knowledge gained from workshops with the teachers at the school

So, there it is,  my past year in a nutshell.  Don’t worry, I’m still alive and well and I promise to TRY to update my blog a little more often from now on! One year in and going strong! See you in a year America!

And a shameless plug:

If you have any books that you no longer need, our library would love to take them from you! Just send it on over to my address here in Dzimauli. J Let me know if you are interested in sending books or school 

Phase 2 Complete

Little Successes

So, its been a while since I last posted and I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that my last few weeks have been filled with some of the biggest struggles I have ever found in my transitions throughout life.  These weeks have been full of struggles to find my place at my school, struggles of digestion, struggles of trying to find friends in the village, struggles to be myself again, and struggles to find my home in my new country.

These struggles have certainly not come because of a lack of support from my amazing family and friends back home, my school staff, my amazing host family and my amazing cohort.  But rather, these struggles are just the staples of what life has to offer sometimes.  We can’t grow and appreciate the amazing moments of our lives without also feeling the struggle.  I have appreciated the struggles that I have felt, but I also almost fully feel prepared to defeat them. 

As I closed out my tenth day of diarrhea due to a parasite in my body and chugged a bottle of powerade that smells like jalepenos (just don’t ask), my host father came to my room.  He had just accompanied me to my in service training where we had sessions on teaching practices, lesson planning, and the South African education system.  He came to my door to announce that this was the best conference he had ever been to, he wants to attend another in the future, and he cannot wait to implement new ideas in the classroom.  He further went on to say that he has phoned the principal about the library, he fears they have not taken the library serious enough as I have been working on it, and he wants me to let him know if there is anything he can do to help me in getting our library up and running. 

Anyone that has talked to me about my school in depth recently knows that one of the biggest struggles I have been having at my school has been a lack of excitement or desire from the teachers in things that I have been attempting to get done.  Therefore, this was a huge victory for me and I am excited to see the new attitudes in action in our new term, beginning in January. 

Since I have last posted, I have…

• Found a waterfall near my house to play at on days off.
• Saw a beautiful rainbow in my backyard.
• Make my best South African attempt at a thanksgiving dinner.
• Became a Tshangane woman for a day. (Note: I’m usually part of Venda culture). 
• Ventured to IST where I found another beautiful waterfall.
• Received two wonderful packages from my mama and some of my greatest friends, Ari, Val and the kids.
• Played with a bunch of African animals.

 

IST – In Service Training

IST is the point in our service in which we get back together with our cohort (the 50 lovely people I went through my original training with.) This is the first time we all come back together since moving to our sites about 2 months prior.  During this training, we receive more technical training on language, cultural norms, safety and security, and technicalities of our work.  This is also our time to share stories and bond with roughly the other 47 volunteers who are going through the same types of struggles.  However, we also had time for socializing and bonding.

Crèche graduation

On one lovely Saturday, I decided to spend the day at another volunteers site and attend their local crèche graduation.  (Note: a crèche is a preschool.)  During the duration of this 9 hour program, community members made announcements about available resources in the community, many groups performed dances, and the crèche graduates received their diplomas and their new school uniforms.  Alyssa and I were VIP attendees of the ceremony and therefore partook in many pictures with all of the graduates and even performed the tradition tshitonga dance in front of the crowd.  It was a great day full of laughs, food, and cultural exchange.

Animal Interactions

As an education volunteer in South Africa, I have about four weeks off from school in December/January for summer/holiday break.  The first week of break was full of adventure for me!  The first adventure I took part in was a trip to Letaba River Lodge where I was able to snuggle with lion cubs, get climbed on by a crazed monkey, cuddle a leopard, and hold many other animals.  Despite the scratch marks all over my arms, this day was absolutely incredible.

On a separate day, we adventured to meet Jessica…the hippo.  Jessica is a hippo that lives in the home of a man and wife who rescued her after a flood carried her away from her mother and onto their yard.  They nursed her back to health, let her wander their house, feed her daily, and let her sleep on their porch every night.  She is like a child to these people.  Every morning, they allow visitors to come feed Jessica her sweet potato snacks and her warm sweet tea.  We were lucky enough to be those visitors this past week.  While hippos are known to be the leading cause of more fatalities than any other large animal, Jessica was as friendly as can be.  There were some precautions to petting, feeding, and loving on Jessica.  Following those directions gave me a feeling of safety though. 

 

Within the next week, I will be headed to Durban for a week to lounge on the beach and see another part of South Africa.  While holiday times creep up, it definitely becomes hard to not be at home with my family and friends.  I’ll be thinking of you all though as I swim in the ocean and sleep on the beach.  : )

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Shout Outs

Since being absent from America, there have been several significant events that I have missed and have failed to acknowledge in celebration properly.  Those events are as follows:

My best friend/college roommate/biggest supporter got engaged to the perfect man for her.  Rarely have I seen a couple more in sync and in love. Congrats going out to Em and Alex – love you both!

One of my best friends from high school/my part-time landlord (who accepted rent in friendship and my reese’s puffs) graduated with her masters degree, got her dream job, and moved to my favorite city, Chicago.  Even though I’ll miss having my second home in Lafayette, I’m so so so proud of you Stacy for following your dreams and I can’t wait to join you in the city to let our plans unfold in a few years!

My dearest sister and best friend since birth moved into her own apartment with her boyfriend.  I could not be happier for the two of you Becky and Scott, but remember…no babies or weddings for 2 years! I mean it!

Two of the greatest people alive finally got married! After years of being the most fun and loving couple, my platter mama and Dave tied the knot! I love you both and I can’t wait to celebrate (hella late) your marriage.

My cousin and one of my biggest supporters Matina/Matt got a big, adult job with his company where he will be doing fancy, important things that I only sort of understand.  Have a blast in San Diego and then get your butt over to South Africa! Can’t wait for our Italy trip in the future. :)

One of my favorite coworkers I have ever had/partner in crime/and a truly beautiful soul, Danielle, started her second year of teaching 5^th grade with some of my former students.  It’s so great to have an insider to see how my chitlins are doing and to see the growth you are pulling out of them. Don’t be afraid to send them out the window though. ;) You can do it brucey!

My best friend/confidant/and the only person who can always calm me down, Kendall, decided on the chance of a lifetime to go with World Race to over 10 countries.  She leave in January and I could not be more proud of her.  If only I could be there for your panic moments pre-departure like you were for mine.  Our reunion in December will be so so sweet after our adventures though! I love you k.

My hip-buddy/best friend/lover booked her flight home! Even though I won’t be there this December
to help you with all of your tasks, take you out to eat at Jimmy Johns, and eat all of your taquitos, I absolutely cannot wait to see you next December in a true celebratory fashion. This is the longest our hips have been separated, but they will be reunited in the future. :)

And last but not least…

My mini me/other half started her final full year of college and is rocking it.  Along with rocking her district board position and VP position in Circle K. Only one more year and Germany stand in the way of our beautiful reunion. Keep working your butt off, Mo. It won’t be long until we are back to our city. Love ya lady.

Its been difficult to not be there for all of these moments, but I know that it will be so much better during our reunions when you have all of these stories for me and I have all the stories for all of you.  I could never make it through my experience without all of the inspiration and encouragement from you fools. Keep it coming!

Thanks for letting me be sappy. :)

One Month

My school. :)

I’ve officially been living in Mukondeni for a month and in South Africa for over 100 days.  In three short weeks, I think that I have started to adapt well to my new life and my amazing view.  My past few weeks have been spent with my host dad – who is also my counterpart since he is a teacher at the school, my host mom, my 6 year-old host brother and my twin 8 month-old brother and sister.

I know I don’t post pictures or post on Facebook nearly enough, but I promise I’m still alive! Since I have posted last, I have finally gotten my room set-up, temperatures here are reaching the 100 degree level, I learned how to wrap a baby on my back, found my favorite spot to sit and to workout (its nice and shady), I visited one of the biggest baobob trees in the world, and said goodbye to the two 8 month olds as they moved in with their gogo (grandma). 

I found this new friend the first night at my site.
I believe he is a roach/spider/something else
hybrid.

Living in my new village on my own has given me the ability to see my service as it will truly be.  There will be a ton of time alone, there will be super frustrating moments when I struggle with tshivenda and the fact that I’m not even close to fluent in it, and there will be times in which I struggle to understand why I have to bathe in one bucket and pee in another all in my rondeval.  However, there will also be moments where my learners run to greet me and almost knock me down a hill, there will be moments when I skillfully use my tshivenda to communicate with my gogo and secretly dance around my room to Chelsea Dagger in celebration, there will be moments when I get to sit in my backyard and realize that after years of dreaming, I’m in Africa in the Peace Corps. My dreams have come true.  Life isn’t perfect and neither is my service.  There are moments that make me question everything I have ever wanted and have challenged me beyond belief, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t have those moments back in America as well.  I’m living my dream watching as my 6 year-old brother has already made progress in his English and as the teachers tell me that they want to know all about how we teach in the United States and if I will teach them.

One of the largest baobob trees in the world.

The next few weeks (5ish weeks to be exact), I will be busy starting to put together a library with some help from teachers and learners at my school, teaching English to grade 6 and 7, continuing to try to meet everyone in my village and the surrounding couple of villages, and taking lessons on tshivenda.  Everyone feels confident that I will be fluent soon, but I’m not gonna hold my breath! Ha

The books that I found at school for the library.

My learners are always ready to help or learn. The top left is a picture of learners practicing their multiples by jumping and clapping every multiple of 4.  The top right picture are the primary learners rushing the car one day at school.  The bottom picture is my primary learner helpers helping me get the library organized by carrying desks.

Thanks for being patient with my updates!

P.s. The picture above is all of the books that I have for my learners and their library.  I'm in the process of requesting books from organizations, but even one or two sent my way could add up and help the learners at my school become stronger readers! My new address is listed below if you want to send books for our library or if you want to send me goodies from America. I'm really struggling with my access to new music, the lack of access to reese's, reese's puffs and cheetos. In case you were wondering. I also appreciate snail mail with dirty jokes, quotes and updates on the lives of people I love (that's you!). 

Address to send your love to: 

(Note: while appreciated, it is normally frowned upon to mail yourself to me, but visitors via plane are encouraged!)

Jessie Robinson

Luheni Primary School

PO Box 337

Dzimauli 0975

South Africa