Moitsi's Service

Jade has a new blog! So the deal is that there's a lot about the Peace Corps I want to talk about that doesn't really relate to travel. I'll still post here concerning subjects that fit within the previously stated parameters. You can look forward to (hopefully soon) posts here about my trip to Tsabong, the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, and the Royal Cemetery here in Serowe.Also, I'll let you all know about all the cool places to which I'm planing/hoping to go, like Planet Baobab and the Devil's Pool. If you're interested in my service in general, want to know about projects, or what it's like to be a volunteer check out my new blog at http://moitsisservice.wordpress.com/

~Jade

Under African Skies

Sunset in Gabarone

                Each morning I’m awoken at six by the Paul Simon song. After lying in bed a moment, still not believing I’m actually here, I slide under my mosquito net and make my way to the kitchen. There I find the large water pot already warm on the stove. My host mother, Mé, has already risen and prepared it for me. I carry the container to the bathroom where the water splashes into the tub. I run a bit of cool water from the tap, just enough so I won’t burn myself while washing.

                When I’m washed and dressed, I head back to the kitchen for breakfast. On weekends it will probably be a larger meal but on school days I have bran flakes and milk. The milk is whole and heated in the microwave. I then gather my bag, say “Go siame” to Mé, and head out the door.

                As I walk through Serowe, many people greet me. Some seem to want to use the English they’ve been learning since grade school, others are just friendly. I suspect that the children who look on with eager and some-what timid faces are just surprised to see a Lekgoa (white person). The bravest of them will call out “Dumela mme” or “Hello”.

Livestock on the side of the street is not uncommon in Serowe

                On my forty minute walk I leave my ward and immediately pass the shopping area. I continue along the dirt surrounding the paved road, passing the bus/combi stop, homes, churches, bars, hair salons, grocery stores, government buildings, and the library. I frequently see chickens and dogs wandering from yard to yard and from time to time a donkey or goat will cross the road. If I am awake enough I may sing one of the songs my Language and Cultural Facilitator has taught us. For instance, “Re tswa Amerkia/ Re baithaopi/ Re ithuta Setswana/ Re ithuta le ngwo” (We come from America/ We are volunteers/ We are learning Setswana/ We are learning the culture).

                I’ll usually reach at the teacher’s college (locally known as the TCC) where we have our classes by about 7:15. Sessions begin at eight but if I arrive early there are only one or two other people using the internet which means I can actually connect and send an email or two.

                The day is jam packed. We cover subjects from Setswana (studying it almost every day and sometimes twice a day) to development to strategies for keeping ourselves healthy. Today, a large portion of the day was spent on the basics of HIV/AIDS which will be extremely helpful since every Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana is addressing the epidemic.

                When sessions finish at five or five-thirty it’s time to make the long walk home. While I’m always tired after such a full day, the walk gives my brain a chance to rest before starting on my homework. Just as in the morning, many people greet me. Yesterday a woman even had a full conversation with me and insisted on walking me half way home. It turned out she was the neighbor of a married couple who are also Peace Corps Trainees.

                As I approach the house, Mé is almost always outside. We greet each other, ask how the other’s day went, and express that we’re happy to see one another. I head inside to do homework. I usually have some Setswana (which my family often helps me with) and some programing notes to review. We have biweekly assignments which are broken into smaller pieces making it very easy to do a little bit each day.

Ivy, Mé, and Jade

If homework doesn’t take too long I assist Girly (pronounced Gelé) or Ivy, my host sisters, with the cooking. Assist might be too generous a term. They’re teaching me how to cook the Setswana way. Some days, Matlhodi, my mother’s nephew will spend the evenings with us. He likes to help me with my language skills and make sure everything is going well. My first weekend in Serowe he showed me around the village and how to walk to the TCC.

                After a little time with the family and a second bath it’s time for bed. If I’m not too tired I might do some leisure reading but most days I’m so beat I’m asleep by nine-thirty. My life during Pre-Service Training (PST) is exhausting but I’m having the best time of my life.

~Jade

Criminals

Tonight was the last chance for us to hang out together while we were both in Seattle. And what did we do? Went to the airport of course!

The night didn't start out that way. But after seeing an outdoor performance of Henry V (great production by Seattle Shakespeare Company/Wooden O and beautiful direction by George Mount) we realized we needed more time. We tried to go to a bar but found nothing pleasing so instead ended up at the airport. 3 bucks to park while we discussed travel plans seems pretty good.

We discovered after arriving that we probably shouldn't have been there since neither of us had a ticket for tonight, although Sputnik will be flying to DC on Thursday and Jade will be flying to Philly a week from Saturday. The sign above informed us of our criminal nature.

Oh well! We discussed how when Sputnik wins the power ball we'll do this again, getting on the next plane that's leaving. Let a steel bird transport us to a far away land with no expectations of what lays ahead.

Now we're sitting on Jade's brothers' couch reading a Lonely Planet Southern Africa guide, discussing what we might do when Sputnik comes to visit Jade in Botswana. Hard to believe she'll be in Africa in just over a week!

~Sputnik & Jade

Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots

We can all thank LMFAO for that contribution to the zeitgeist but I'm actually talking about the other kind. On Thursday I got my yellow fever vaccine and boy was it a doozy. With all the vaccinations I've ever had in my life I've never had any side effects with the exception of soreness at the site of injection. Boy is that not the case with this one. All of Thursday and Friday I had that weird feeling along the length of my arm and the injection site was bright red. This didn't bother me too much as it was to be expected and the shot was given in the back of my right arm so it wasn't very visible. Additionally, I had a slight dizzy spell Thursday night but that could have easily been attributed to my lack of sleep the night before. Saturday night a ran a low fever (about 99.5 but I didn't measure it so...). Sunday, the lymph nodes in my arm swelled a little and were uncomfortable. Sunday night to Monday morning I ended up sleeping for about 14 hours and probably would have continued if I hadn't had class to get to. The few hours I spent awake on Monday were exhausting but not because of physical or mental exertion. I was just plain tired. I got home and basically went to bed. But when I woke up this morning I was feeling fine again. Hopefully the side effects are over and I won't have this kind of reaction when I get my Polio vaccination in a few weeks.

~Jade

Update from Jade

It's been a year and a half since either of us has written on this blog and A LOT has changed. I'll let Sputnik fill you in on her own life but this post will let you know what's going on with me and what you can expect in the future.

Last June I moved away from Louisiana after 3 years of teaching. It was a difficult decision to leave the students and state I loved but I had to look at what was best for me long term. My darling brothers came all the way from Seattle to help move me up to the DC region. I will have to describe that trip in detail another day. I ended up living in Northern Virginia to pursue my masters degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management at George Mason University (GMU).

One of the main attractors of GMU for me was their participation with the Peace Corps in a program call Masters International (MI). MI students spend some time (usually about a year) in a graduate program, go into the Peace Corps for a full 27 month service, then return to their campus for a short period of time. Their service assignment is related to their studies and incorporated through a project.

Botswana is the dark blue country.

I am now approaching the end of my second semester at GMU and a little over two weeks ago I was officially accepted into the Peace Corps as a MI student. I will be serving in Botswana working on a HIV/AIDS capacity building project.

It probably goes with out saying that I am beyond excited about this. Serving in the Peace Corps has been a dream of mine since I was a child. I think it's fair to say that I am realizing one of my life goals.

With this life changing event comes a fair amount of preparation. There is the usual amount of doctors visits, etc. that come with traveling overseas in addition to specific requirements which must be fulfilled for the Peace Corps as well as final papers and presentations for my academic life.

One of the Peace Corps expectations is that you will prepare your life for the full 27 months of service. This is no easy feat. For me, a big part of this is basically as soon as I finish with classes moving everything I own from Virginia back to Seattle so I can store it with my family. The big move will be taking place May 29th.

After that I'll have a few months to spend with my family before heading to Orientation (which takes place in the US) on August 12. Immediately after that (August 14), I'll fly to Botswana to begin my Pre-Service Training.

This is a very exciting and busy time in my life which I would like to share with everyone. I intend to use this blog as a means for updates about the whole process. Since Sputnik and I have already established its theme as travel I will do my best to focus on that aspect of this adventure. While I'm still stateside you can expect updates as things occur (shots, acquisition of items, the big move, etc) but once I get to Africa it is entirely possible that my internet will be spotty at best. That is an issue I will have to tackle at a later time.

Today I shall leave you with a picture of the only purchase I have made thus far in preparation of departure (to the right).

~Jade