You Sleep Like a Goat!

This is going to be a long blog post so I’m sorry. I will try to update more often for the next two months or so while things are still new and interesting. So much has happened in two weeks that I’m finding it hard to figure out just want to start this blog with.

So on September 2^nd my cohort and I went to Khama Rhino Trust. The rhino reserve was absolutely amazing. It was my first ever safari and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. We saw wildebeest, springbok, zebras, an amazing eagle, impala, and a white rhino. The reserve is home to something like fifty white rhinos and five black rhinos. It has giraffes, hyenas, and occasionally big cats. It really was an amazing experience and it was the first time we didn’t have to be in the training center all day which was a much-welcomed break.

Later that same week Chris, Mike, Muhammad and I went to a small NGO in Serowe called Little Friends. Little Friends is a preschool for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) that was partially funded by St. Vincent de Paul. They provide OVCs ages 2.5-6 lessons in language (Setswana and English) and math as well as a number of life skills including toilet training, good touch/bad touch and HIV/AIDS prevention (yes they start them that young). It is run by a wonderful elderly Motswana woman named Ellen who is incredibly passionate about providing this opportunity for children that are not able to afford preschool. She told us her dream is “to educate every child in Botswana” but their mission was to “ensure that every OVC in Serowe goes through preschool.” It was really rather inspiring to be able to talk with this amazing woman and really get the chance to pick her brain.

The week after (so the week of the 10^th) was shadowing week. Shadowing is where we spend three full days with a current serving volunteer to really see how life is as a PCV. I spent my shadowing experience with the wonderful Mia Sprinke in a small village northwest of Gabs, in the desert, called Metsibotlhoko (met-see-boe-klow-koe). Now when I say small… I mean small… 400 people in the entire village small. From Gaborone, it took us an hour-long combi ride and an hour-long hitch to get to her site. She lives in a small two-room (kitchen/sitting room and bedroom) home with no electricity and no running water inside (which means a lovely pit-latrine). She is lucky and the community tap is no more than 50 ft from her home. She works at the primary school in her village. Her main job is to promote and teach life skills in the school. So I was with her every day at school working with the kids in the library on this book report challenge she was running. Every morning we would go to school at 7am then leave around 11:30 to make lunch then we were back by 2:30 to work in the library. Each night we came back to Mia’s house only to find the kids waiting for us hoping to get some hula hoops, a tennis ball, or a jump rope to play with for the night. I had a blast reading to them and playing with them until it got dark. I even got a little boy named Kabo to read and write for me, something all the teachers had struggled with. Somehow I always forget how much I love children until something like this happens and I am able to really connect with a child (a child that spoke almost no English mind you). While there I got the pleasure of perfecting my bucket bathing technique and my squatting over a pit latrine skillz. So the thing Metsibotlhoko is known for is the salt pans that are there. The people all around the saltpans used to go there to get their water. They dig these primitive wells and use buckets to scoop out the water. Now that they have their community taps it is used as a way to water their cattle and donkeys. We walked out there one night before I left just to see it. It was really neat to see this flat place where nothing really grows in the middle of the bush. So if you can’t tell, I had an amazing time at shadowing. I still think my favorite part was when the bus driver, on the way back to Serowe, randomly starts blasting “Call Me Maybe.” Classic Africa.

THEN, on the 18^th we went to the only closed city in Botswana, Orapa. Orapa is the site of two of Botswana’s diamond mines. We started the day out with a fun introduction on security and the history of Orapa and the diamond mining there. We also got a super fun explanation as to why Botswana’s diamonds are the best because they aren’t blood diamonds. So, no my experience was not nearly as exciting as the movie… in case you were wondering. Most of the diamonds mined in Orapa are used for manufacturing purposes (saw blades, etc.). They are open mines so they are not underground. Anywho the most exciting part of the entire trip (in my opinion) was getting to climb all over this massive dump truck. I’m going to try to get a picture of it to post up here because it was wonderful. All my dreams as a child were answered by climbing on this truck that had tires that wee twice my height. My inner 8 year old child self was jumping for joy… no shame. It was awesome. We were supposed to see a piece of machinery called ‘The Crusher” but it wasn’t running that day and my inner 8 year old died a little. We were also supposed to go see the processing plant but that also wasn’t actually doing anything that day so we didn’t end up going. It was actually a really fun trip and I am happy I got to see the thing that makes Botswana famous and wealthy.

Alright, last thing, I promise. So the most exciting thing that has happened by far… I GOT MY PLACEMENT! On October 15^th I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and get shipped off to my permanent village for the next two years. Now I have basically hit the Peace Corps Botswana lottery with this placement and immediately after you read this you should all go google image this place. I was placed in the beautiful village of Kasane, Botswana. My main project will be working with the Red Cross in Kasane but there are numerous other NGOs up in that area so I can diversify my service as much as I want while there. I will post more on this over the weekend. I'm thrilled to know where I am going and what I will be doing. 

Things are going great here! As always if you have any specific questions please let me know and I will answer them!

Love and miss all of you!

Erica

Leina La Me Ke Tebojo

In a week and a half so much has happened I am finding it hard to even figure out what to write about. I could go off on a HIV crusade and tell you about everything I have learned about the crisis here. About how one in five people are living with HIV, about how just about every Batswana has lost at least one family member to AIDS. I could talk on my soapbox for pages on the topic of female empowerment through male empowerment and the exploration of masculinity (I realize I’m the only one interested in this… I’ll just wait for my future dissertation). I could tell you about the amount of death I have already seen and heard of in Serowe alone then go on to make inferences about life, death, and love. I could talk for pages about the gender dynamics and tradition in Botswana. I could talk about the Kgosi and the amazing traditional governing in the villages. I could talk about the dynamic behind the non-acceptance/illegality of the LGBQT community here. I could talk about the kindness of these people and their openness to change and new thought. I could talk about the food, the music, the lifestyle, the way we do laundry, and on and on and on.

If I wrote about everything I could write about I would be writing a novel and I don’t want to bore any of you that much. I have told a lot of people that it’s hard to put this experience into words. Most of the time I love it but sometimes I hate it. Sometimes I want to go home; sometimes I want to call this place home. I will look at the donkeys with their front hooves tied together so they won’t wander too far away and think gosh this place is different then I’ll go for a walk and hear Mirrors coming out of some child’s phone and I am immediately transported home. There are parts of the culture in Botswana that are so completely different but then there are parts that are so incredibly westernized.

I am having a blast learning everything there is to learn about the people, the culture, and the language. I guess our practical sessions about HIV are okay too. This week I am going for a practicum to a NGO called Little Friends. It is a preschool for Orphans and vulnerable children. We are going to interview a few staff to see how the organization is run, what its mission is, and the kinds of services they provide. In a week I will be leaving Serowe (most likely) to shadow a current volunteer for three days. I will live with them, go to work with them, and explore the wonders of public transport.

I will do a post on a few of the topics up there in a few days/weeks, but for now I just wanted everyone to know that I am having a blast and am happier than I have been in a long time.

Love you guys and miss you all!

Setswana phrase of the day: Leina la me ke Tebogo mo Botswana. Kwa Amerika ke Erica. (my name in Botswana is Tebogo. In America my name is Erica.)

If you just want to say my name is (blank) it's: Leina la me ke (blank).

Picture Time!

 On the left is a little girl at the bar just in front of the college where our PST is. She had fun posing for the camera. On the right is my friend's home. 

 Perma-gardening! We made six beds and planted rape and spinach!

Puppy time. This little guy was a little shy but still adorable.