Friday, May 20, 2011

The Strike and Mahalpye

Being an altruistic and idealistic PCT is both a blessing and a curse right now.  First, the curse:

My life right now is both incredibly hectic, and no longer my own.  I thought a few weeks ago that my life was consumed by the wants and needs of the Peace Corps and my homestay family.  Unfortunately, I didn’t know what would come next.  Last Saturday I received my site placement (which I’ll talk about in more detail later).  I was supposed to arrive at my site for my initial visit yesterday morning.  Unfortunately, the government workers had other plans.  Our site visit was cancelled for reasons related to both logistics and safety; both effects of the strike.  PST has been really challenging, and my site visit had become my respite.  For a few days, all I could think was “If I can just make it to Wednesday, I’ll be okay”.  So, needless to say, I wasn’t too happy when the decision was passed along to us that site visit would be delayed.  It may or not make sense.  There is no guarantee that the situation will be any better in a week.

Tonight, President Khama addressed the nation.  Government employees are supposed to get a five percent raise every year.  They haven’t received a raise since 2008, and inflation has quickly made many things that were once affordable no longer so.  The employees initially demanded a 16 percent raise, and planned to strike for 10-14 days.  It’s now been over a month, and the government has offered no more than five percent.  Many reasons were cited for this decision, including the world recession, the tsunami/earthquake in Japan (the second largest buyer of Botswana’s diamonds), and essential programs such as poverty relief.  Honestly, it’s hard to know which side is right in this situation, as media is very limited here and the government pretty much has it monopolized right now (not to mention I’m not sure that I’m allowed to express political opinions).  So, I’ll leave it at this, the strike reached the point where it’s affected the Peace Corps.  My hope is that after the address tonight, things will resolve.  However, if it doesn’t get any better there could be a variety of consequences for us, ranging from further delays to even facing the possibility of being sent home. 

To bring this back to my original point, my experience thus far has been pretty much the opposite of everything I spent time daydreaming about (while looking for lost Fluor boxes).  Don’t worry too much though, as my initial statement suggests…there is another side to this.  And it boils down to this:

PST is essentially the antithesis of Peace Corps service.  Right now life is too hectic.  I never get time to myself, and everything is planned out for me.  But in a few short weeks, everything will change!

I’ve been assigned to a clinic called Xhosa 1 in a township called Mahalapye.  I believe Mahalapye is the sixth largest town in Botswana.  The total population is right under 40,000.  It’s located right between the two largest cities in Botswana, Gaberone and Francistown.  It’s about two hours from each.  As we are one of the only (if not THE only) sections of the Peace Corps actually supported in part by the local government, my house is being provided for by Botswana’s government.  The idea of having my own house is one of the few things getting me through PST.  I honestly never get time to myself right now, but in a few short weeks I’ll have plenty.  I’ll once again be able to read, write, cook, exercise, etc.  Essentially, I’ll have my life back.

This freedom doesn’t only stop at my personal life, it carries over into my professional life as a PCV.  My role in Peace Corps Botswana is what we call a Community Capacity Builder (or CCB).  CCB volunteers are placed in either clinics, social work offices, or they become part of the District Health Team.  CCB volunteers often have the most freedom.  They work in the clinic, but there job also lies within the community.  Personally, I’m planning on trying to start some youth programs in local schools as my secondary project.  I’m fortunate to not only have the opportunity for secondary projects, but I also have a great desire to work in the clinic.  My experience before Botswana was in the clinic, and when I began applying for Peace Corps, that’s what I envisioned myself doing.  Now, nearly a year later, I’m back in Africa about to spend two years of my life working in a clinic.  This is exactly what I envisioned.  A few things are different than I envisioned, but they are pleasant surprises. 

Recently, my life has been frustrating, overwhelming, and sometimes upsetting.  However, I feel fortunate that I have a personality through which I can be sustained by what I envision in my future.  When I think about all of the personal and professional development I’ll undergo over the next few years, I get really excited.  I’ll have so much room to grow intellectually, physically, mentally, and in character.  And honestly, that’s why I’m here.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe in an altruistic side of things, but I don’t see myself as selfless, or any of that nonsense.  I’m going to change and grow in the next few years in ways that I’ll always appreciate, if I can keep my head on straight.  There is so much on my mind right now, but the one word that keeps resonating with me is…

Solitude.



‘Touch of the Sun’-127 Hours Soundtrack

Friday, May 6, 2011

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