The Day to Day

I realize that all of my previous posts were very introspective, and so I’ve decided it’s probably time that I write a post that is a little more down to Earth.  So, this one is about a typical day in my life right now:

6:30-I usually wake up from a light sleep around this time.  I say light sleep because the roosters have been crowing for hours at this point, so it’s pretty hard to sleep even this late.  From here I usually bathe, eat breakfast (complete with my malaria anti-biotic), and cook my lunch. 

8:00-At this point, I head next door to have 4 hours of language class with two other trainees.  This may sound like a chore, and sometimes it is, but other times it can be a lot of fun.  The LCF’s (Language and Cross Cultural Facilitators) are great teachers and use a variety of teaching methods to keep things interesting.  Also, I kind of enjoy studying languages.  The goal is to reach a ‘novice-high’ proficiency rating by the end of training, which is what I did on my first practice test.  So, that’s one less thing to stress about.

12:00-After we finish with language, we make the 30 minute hike from Mafhikana (my area in Kanye) to our training site.  Once we get there, we have lunch, use the internet, and just hang out as a group. 

1:30-For the next three and a half hours, we conduct two sessions on a variety of topics, including: HIV/AIDS, specific roles of Peace Corps volunteers, methodologies and project design, community integration, cross-cultural, medical well-being, and a variety of other topics.  Some times these sessions are interesting, but often they’re very repetitive.  This part of the day is usually stressful and something that I just have to withstand.  It doesn’t help that I’m a very hand’s on person and I often end up sitting in a classroom setting for 8 hours every day.

4:00-4:30-Somewhere within this timeframe, we divide up based on what ward we live in and make the trek home.  Often times we’ll talk end up talking about our upcoming site placement along the way.  In one week, we learn our fate for the next two years; urban or rural, remote or near-by to a city, and even staying or leaving in some people’s cases.  Needless to say, some people are getting pretty worked up over it.  Oddly, this is one of the few things that hasn’t been getting me worked up.  I only have a few things that I need in a site, so I can only hope that the Peace Corps really has taken this things into consideration.  We’ll find out in one week.

5:00-6:00-I arrive home somewhere in this timeframe, depending on whether or not we stopped by Choppies (the local grocery store).  Usually, I’ll try to see if I can help with dinner preparations.  This typically means making some bread or chopping some vegetables.  This is an interesting cultural exchange, as it’s something a guy wouldn’t typically do in Botswana.  However, we’re repeatedly told that the homestay experience is about intercultural exchange.  And, as I live in a family of 12, I feel like I need to do my part.  So, usually I end up helping out.  I even go as far as to serve the food sometimes, just because it seems that they really get a kick out of being served by a Lekgoa. 

7:30 and on-Usually this part goes one of two ways.  Either I tell them that I have homework and they come and sit outside with me while I do it, or I tell them that I’ve had a long day and I’m going to go to bed.  I usually don’t actually go to bed at this point, but ff you’re observant you’ve noticed that I haven’t been alone all day.  One thing I’ve come to understand about myself since I’ve been here is I highly value my time to myself.  I enjoy writing, reading, listening to music, or even just sitting around and thinking about life.  The hardest part of PST (pre-service training) has been not having enough time to myself.  Along those lines, I’m not in control of my own diet, my own schedule, and I haven’t been sleeping well thanks to the numerous animals that call Mafhikana home. 

Because of these things, PST has taken on a ‘boot camp’ type of feeling.  It has become something to be survived.  Tensions have been especially high for the past couple of days.  Almost everyone is irritable for some reason, whether it is the changes in lifestyle, the lack in privacy, or the overloaded schedule that Peace Corps is having us suffer through.  Ironically, PST is pretty much the antithesis of Peace Corps service.  As a volunteer, we have a lot of freedom and a lot of time to fill.  And those two things are my selfish reasons for signing up.  I’m so excited for two years of self discovery and the ability to process things, ‘Walden Pond’ style!  I’ll also have a lot of freedom in my job.  I’m excited about being based in a clinic (hopefully!), but I’ll probably only be in the clinic two to three days per week.  Outside of that, I’ll probably start up a secondary project at a school.  I’m thinking of exposing kids to a variety of hobbies (i.e. sports, art, music, literature) to try and help them find their passions.  Honestly, a large part of the problem of HIV in youth is a lack out healthy outlets and ways to occupy their time.  So, playing soccer with the kids can be one way of fighting HIV/AIDS in my area. 

Now, I have to return to my introspective nature for a second.  The last month has been so incredibly stressful at times, as I’m sure the next month will be.  It’s really easy to get down on myself, get frustrated, and wonder why I’m here.  Attitude goes such a long way here.  If I start feeding those negative thoughts early in the day, you can probably assume that I’m going to have a long, frustrating, bad day.  But, I’ve learned something recently: appreciating the small moments can often bring you back from that dangerous slope.  The pace of life in Botswana is much slower than Americans are used to.  So, I’m trying to allow myself to slow down and take these kinds of moments in.  It might be helpful if I give an example…

When we get back to Mafhikana after dark, I often end up walking a few girls home…because let’s be honest, I’m from South Carolina.  The last stop on this route is Tija’s house.  The other day as I finished walking her home, I found myself extremely frustrated over little things.  However, on my way back I saw something that I was forced to stop and appreciate.  There is a small break in the vegetation near Tija’s house that allows you to see across to the other side of Kanye, which is built into a hill.  At this particular moment, the moon was just rising over the hill.  There was an azure blue on the horizon that rose and faded to navy, and you could watch as the stars made their first appearance.  You could see the city lights of Kanye (a very relative term), and for the first time all day, I heard silence.  It may sound like a simple sight, but at the time I felt like I was seeing a living version of Starry Night.  As frustrations pile up, and days get more and more stressful, these little moments get all the more sweet.  But, only if I stop and pay attention to them.  They really are incredibly easy to walk right by.  It honestly makes a world a difference, among the chaos that is my life right now, to be reminded once or twice a day that everything is going to be alright.

Cristofori’s Dream-David Lanz