Christmas is soon approaching! But this year, instead of feeling loneliness and sadness for being far from home, I am filled with love and joy from all of my experiences here! Of course I still miss my loved ones back home, and it is always especially difficult to be away from family during the holiday season...but with all the joy around me here, it is difficult to be sucked down in sadness for very long!

Over the past several months, I haven't posted the many entries I imagined I would now that I have more regular access to e-mail. Instead, I have been busy with projects and traveling and new opportunities! I still plan to post a more in-depth version of some of the stories from these experiences, but here is some of my joys in a nutshell:

My youth group: S.W.A.P. Students with a Purpose.
In June, Sega and I started up a group with some students at the secondary school to address issues they want to address and to provide more activities for youth in the Charleshill community. Right away these kids wanted to have a games room and regular entertainment. Instead of jumping right in, we tried to get to know them a bit more and do some session using active learning methodologies of games and such to address leadership skills and to really get at what they wanted to do and how we could do it. Over the months, the group changed quite a bit. The first few weeks were awesome and we loved going to the school and had a lot of fun planning creative ways to hold each session but still to carry a message. As time went on, it started to drag a bit and the students started to get less engaged and excited too. We got frustrated and were a bit demoralized, but instead of giving up, we just refocused and restarted anew. We decided that instead of pushing around the idea of what to do and how to do it and to practice all the skills they needed to succeed in whatever they were going to do...that it was time to just jump in and try something! So, for the next few months we worked together to plan an end-of-the-year event for the students and to include the community. They decided that they wanted to put on a talent show. So that is what we did. We had the students plan and carry out the entire thing. They came up with some really good ideas and did some really good work! Of course, there was some prodding necessary at times, but in the end, they did it all themselves--and that was the most important part!

The last week before the show, everything just came together and every day I was more and more amazed at how well "my kids" were pulling together and doing such a great job at everything! All the leadership and responsibility and ownership steps we had taken before totally came out! The show itself was more than we could have hoped for and it had me smiling and singing their praises to anyone who would listen! The community came out and supported them, both in performance and in attendance. And the teachers and school totally saw all the hard work they did and said that they were impressed! We were so ecstatic that it all went so well! AND they even made almost P2000! What is so great is that they did it from nothing but their own drive and motivation and using whatever resources they could acquire! It was a real grassroots programme! And it built up their self-confidence and self-esteem so much that they can hardly wait until next term to start something new! I am so happy for them and to be a part of these amazing kids' lives!


THEN...
Camp GLOW

From there, life couldn't get much better, but it did! I just got back from an amazing week at camp with girls from Form 1 and 2 (ages 14-16). GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World and is a program that Peace Corps sort of developed but plays out a little differently in each country it takes place in depending on the volunteers involved. So...ours was better than we ever could have hoped for. These girls have so much to offer this world and are such deep and caring individuals. It totally breaks my heart to know about some of the difficulties many of them face, but I know that the future will be bright as long as they are in it! It was such an amazing experience to be able to witness the growth and development of each girl that happened right before our eyes in just one weeks time! The girls that were chosen came from 10 different districts around Botswana and were chosen for various reasons according to their leadership skills or room for development. They are now all going back to their schools to start up a leadership club for other girls in their villages to help empower others. I have a million pictures and video clips (that I hear I can post on yahoo...so I will look into that for my other picturs as well...so i can share the experience!) The entire time I totally felt like this is something that I would see on Oprah! Some of us even talked about maybe putting something together to send in to her because she is such a role model to so many of these girls. She would eat this stuff up! So anyway...that was a phenomenal experience with a group of phenomenal young women and peace corps volunteers. I will be sure to share more soon!


AND...if those two experiences weren't enough just to make me want to do Peace Corps all over again...well...it did!
So...a few days before the camp started, I was invited to go on site visits to visit a few NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that Peace Corps will be supporting as part of the PEPFAR (President Bush's Emergency Project for AIDS Relief) as a possible third year extension of service. So...I went to see several orphan care centres and another couple of community organizations and totally fell in love with one of them. The Young Women's Friendly Centre in Mahalapye (on the easter side of Botswana) is an amazing community organization that provides services and support to young women in the area. This opportunity would provide the chance for me to fulfill much of the empowerment and community development aspects of my background and passion in life that I want for my career as well as my personal development. I be able to serve a great group of young women to help them carry out the services they already provide as well as to help them further develop many of the new projects they have envisioned. It would be an incredible opportunity for continued service and I am sure that I have a lot to offer and to gain from this experience. So...I have submitted my request for a third year placement with the centre and am just awaiting the response from Peace Corps. There is another amazing volunteer who has requested for the same position, so it has become competitive. I am totally at peace with whatever the decision is. If I have the opportunity to serve there, I will fully commit myself to going the best that I can in this placement. However, if they decide that this is not the best fit for my continued service, I am completely satisfied with my service in Botswana so far, there is still more time to serve before I am finished, and I am confident that there will be additional opportunities for my skills and my passion back in the states or wherever my path may lead next!

So...there is the big ones in a nutshell! More to come!

Merry Christmas! May your holidays be filled with love, peace, and joy. And as you are saying your Christmas blessings...please don't forget about the little peace corps volunteers here in Botswana and all of the people they are trying their very best to serve in whatever way they can!

Hugs and Misses!

I probably should have written this entry long ago when all of these situations were still new and scary.  But it is starting to be "bug season" again so it seemed fitting and I felt like I had to share this part of my life here.  The working title of, “Doomed to Death” is something that a few Peace Corps Volunteers came up with and decided that it would have to be the title of the book or at least a chapter in the story of our Peace Corps experience.  DOOM is a spray insect killer like Raid, but it is seriously lethal and used for everything.  Literally anything that you don’t want, people just spray like crazy until it dies or at least slows down enough to kill another way. 

 

One day, Melissa walked into the clinic to find the FWE—family welfare educator—running around with a stick and a can of DOOM.  After the commotion died down, as did the little critter, she says that he had been spraying a bat.  A bat!  A mammal!  Small pesky mammals can now added to the list of things that DOOM was successful at extinguishing.

 

Living in the Kgalagadi Desert, one should be prepared to cohabitate with a number of creepy crawly type of things.  Before leaving from the states when I had no idea what kind of housing I would have I remember talking about some of my fears or things that I should prepare myself for with my dear friend Joanna.  I was having images of snakes being all around and that there would probably be some in my house.  I was wondering what I would do if I was sleeping and one crawled on my or fell on my face.  I imagined that Peace Corps would probably train us in how to manage those types of situations.  Now, after surviving Pre-service Training and more than a year of service I have to laugh at that whole idea…Its funny to think of what I thought training would be—more like a survival course of sorts when really it is more like useless lectures in a summer camp format.  But also, I have only seen a few snakes: I saw two cobras on the road on my way to another village in government transport.  Both times, the driver—nicknamed Killer—swung the bakkie around to run over the thing, which took several attempts and also included my counterpart screaming and gripping onto my arm for dear life—she’s terrified of snakes.  All the other times I only knew they were there but never encountered one face to face.

 

Due to my previous perceptions of what my living conditions may be like, you can believe that I was pleasantly surprised to find that I would have my own little two-bedroom cynderblock house.  Needless to say, however, it was not completely void of all things creepy and crawly.  But it was a newly built house so I imagine that it was better than most.  The first few months were ok.  I am straining to think of a time without mosquitos though.  I remember thinking that malaria wouldn’t be a problem for me because I was in the desert and there was no water around whatsoever.  But one day it dawned on me that if there were still mosquitos than there would still be malaria mosquitos—that’s the day I became more conscious of taking my malaria prophylaxis on time…

 

During the first few months the insects were pretty calm.  I don’t remember exactly when it started to happen, maybe little by little at first, but before we knew it they were everywhere and in all shapes and sizes.  Millions of insects that I had never seen or even heard of before.  Sega and I had to make up our own names for them in order to refer to them.  And by the time the heat came they were so plentiful that these new critters became a regular part of our conversations.  We were obsessed!

 

I remember quite vividly one evening encounter with a strange new species that totally shook us up.  We were still in our experimental stages of cooking and were trying out a new pasta dish that we were really excited about.  I don’t remember what the food was anymore, just that we were really hungry and this was something we were really proud of.  We were just about finished and just doing a few last touches on the meal when in comes this recklessly flying thing that was loud and buzzing and seemed to crash over and over again through the kitchen.  It totally took us off guard and we both screamed and ran around each other and out of the kitchen in circles.  It was quite a sight that made us laugh even in the moment!  Even funnier was that one of us ran back in to rescue the food and bring it to safety to the other room.  You could see where our priorities were!  So…once we and the food were safely out of harm’s way, I slowly krept back into the kitchen to see just what it was and to grab a can of DOOM out from under the kitchen sink.  When we saw what it was we were even more grossed out and didn’t know what to do with it, or even worse, how it got in!  It appeared to have fallen once again but couldn’t get back up because its long, fat, larvae body seemed too big for its thin wings.  I still don’t know exactly what it is because we have only ever called it the “big larvae bug” although we have since seen hundreds more—just not around our food preparation, thankfully!  I have thought it might be a gigantic termite a few times but have never had any confirmation on that one…The body of this disgusting thing is a light brown-orangish colored larvae-type worm that has no real distinguishable head or other segments.  It also has two silver-grey thin wings on each side that as I stated before, obviously aren’t enough to carry its weight so it sort of staggers around wherever it tries to fly.  The first time we saw it fly into my kitchen we thought that it had come in and was dying.  We came to find out that is what it always looks like since its larvae body is about the size of my pinky finger but maybe even a little longer because it slightly curls a bit whenever it crashes.  When that first one came flying into my kitchen we didn’t DOOM it to death because it was so big we didn’t know what to do with it and we were cooking afterall.  Instead, we opened the nearby window and tried to get it to fly out by coaxing it with the empty pasta box.  Seemingly too worn out from the many attempts at flight that brought it this far, we ended up having to scoop it up and fling it out—and then follow that with the heebie-jeebie motion to shake off all the grossness factor that had tormented our previously calm and enjoyable night of cooking.  Of course we weren’t phased for long because our hunger soon resurfaced and we finished our final preparations and sat down to eat and laugh at ourselves once again.

 

The other really freaky thing that we have encountered here we have named “The Hybrid”.  It must always remain in proper, uppercase format because of the seriousness of this thing.  The Hybrid is named such due to the appearance of being one of the creepiest spider-type things anyone has ever seen with the front pincers of a scorpion.  We have never been able to get any confirmation on what it is actually called or if it is dangerous or not.  The closest thing we have been able to find in a bug book is for something called a Red Roman, but that wasn’t exactly it.  Many local people call them “Sand Runners” or “selali” and even though they don’t react as freaked out as we do, and instead say, “we just live with them” some have actually admitted that they don’t like them either. When they are small they just kind of look like an almost transparent brown-orange colored spider that moves really fast, but once you kill it or find it immobile you see that it really doesn’t look much like a spider at all.  The big ones are gigantic and ugly and hairy and about the size of my hand.  I have so far seen two that size inside my house and quite a few more outside of my house and each time they catch me off-guard and make me scream and jump and run for the can of Powerfast Instant Killing Action DOOM faster than I have probably moved for anything!  The extra bonus on these things is that they are the fastest running thing you will ever find in Botswana besides the cheetah and they will run over anything.  Some local boys dare each other to stand in the way of a selali to experience the thrilling sensation of one of those creepy things running over them.  I have yet to see this and think that it is all just folklore to provide even more evidence of how silly we seem as Americans when left to survive in the desert, but who knows!?  In any case, when one of these things crosses your path, you either step aside or run the other way, or grab a can of Powerfast DOOM and unload the whole can on the sucker!  I am not sure that I am quite encompassing the full fright of these things since I am limited by my prose, but believe me they are scary!

 

Well, in addition to those larger scarier things in and around my house, there are also several others that I am not sure what they are but they don’t reach the magnitude of a short story—at least not anymore—because they are either DOOMed or squashed immediately or else we just live together in peace.  The flat spider is an interesting one though because it appears to be almost paper flat against the wall and doesn’t move at all for days if unprovoked.  But when provoked, however, it springs up the the tips of its legs and runs nearly as fast as The Hybrid.  These can be useful to keep a few of around the house because they may help to kill some of the smaller insects that may find their way into your house.  But in all things moderation, because it can soon appear as if you live in a spider colony.  And although these things are harmless, you don’t want everyone in Peace Corps talking about how you cohabitate with spiders or how they are your favored house guests!  The lizards are also a harmless addition to the home; but again, in moderation.  One of the other Peace Corps Volunteers was horrified of how anytime a lizard came into the house all the Batswana women would get out a broom or anything they could get their hands on and smash the poor cute little thing to death.  She kept saying, “it’s just a little lizard” and forbid anyone from killing them in her house.  After several months, however, in addition to several months of living in filth, she ended up with a house that had turned into a little lizard resort community.  She could hear little squeaks from time to time and after a while they even would come out in the open when she was around and play around right in front of her.  Eventually things got more serious and not only was there little lizard droppings all over the place, but she came back from a long weekend away to find that they had laid little lizard eggs that had since hatched under the warmth of her refridgerator.  That finally broke her of her need to stop the lizard killings in her community and they were all gone within a week or so.  True story.

 

So, I must end this with the story of my favorite bug in the bush.  The dung beetle.  These are the fattest, cutest, most determined little insects that you never knew you could admire so much.  These things are seriously amazing!  They lay their eggs inside of dung and then roll and roll and roll to protect the egg.  They roll it into a perfect ball and can actually move the ball of dung for several kilometers that is over ten times their body weight!  Seriously, these things are amazing!  These beetles come in a variety of species, but my favorite is the horned dung beetle that looks like an overfed armoured soldier strutting out to battle and willing to throw himself in the middle of the firing squad—or in most cases my brick wall underneath the porch light.  Each time, these little beetles, horned or otherwise, just pick themselves back up and ram into the wall again.  They flip onto their back and struggle till they’re back on their legs, they fall into the bowl of water and swim and swim until they can get back out.  These things are my heros and a perfect model for perseverance.  Against all odds, they just keep on trying until they manage.  No matter how many times they “fail” they just pick themselves back up and try again. 

 

Several evenings have been spent out on my front porch sitting on the brick wall talking with the other Peace Corps Volunteers in my area or other local friends.  There is not a whole lot of action taking place in the middle of the Kgalagadi Desert, but especially not in the small, remote village of Charleshill.  Unless, of course, you count the swarm of activity taking place around the porch light right outside my front door.  In the middle of summer heat when the insects are at their peak, you can’t keep your lights on in the house after dark because it attracts too many insects.  Even the low flicker of candlelight brings in a few bugs too many and when we decide to watch a movie on the small screen of the laptop the picture is always slightly altered by the interference.  But outside, sitting on the porch, we just sit and talk and watch them all.  A bowl of water left out for the dogs is filled with hundreds of different types of bugs by morning—something we like to call “breakfast of champions”.  But during the night, occassionally some Deet is necessary to avoid too many mozzy bites, or you might want to beware of if one of the little black ones with blue-green irredescent shells or a yellow outline around the body lands on you because if it pees on you it will leave a blister that feels like all of your skin is burning off—it actually does burn you with its pee or some type of fluid it excretes.  Other than that, we just sit and talk and watch the dogs appear crazy as the night grows darker and the insect grow thicker.  Of all the insects, the dung beetle is the favorite for most of us.  We love the spirit and sit and contemplate ways we can learn to mimic their behaviors here from time to time.  We sit and talk and laugh and think about a time in the near future when we will look back on this time when we could just sit and talk and watch the insects and miss it all dearly.  For now, however, I’ll keep my can of DOOM nearby! :-)

I have been thinking about next steps for a while and wondering if or how I could use any of my experience here.  A friend sent me an article on inspiration.  Here is an excerpt I found particularly important in making sense of my experience here and the skills that I am losing and gaining.

 

If we truly wish to move from being tired to inspired, it will take courage, creativity and deep resources…Doing lots of things at once leads to doing many things poorly…If we want to achieve master in anything—and therefore be inspired by our countribution—we need to focus on one thing at a time, and accomplish it brilliantly.  This can happen by focusing our resources and talents, by slowing down, empathizing and serving others, by giving that rare gift: our full attention.  The inspiring thing about inspiration is that is can naturally flourish in almost every aspect of our world including organizational leadership, government, education, religion, media, healthcare and communications as well as the soul spaces that make up our everyday lives.  This is within us all.

 

For a while, I have been feeling like I lost all of my “skills” that I once had before coming here to Botswana—that my experience here took away my level of professionalism and ability to function well again in an American work setting.  The way time is handled, the accountability as individuals in the workplace, the urgency (or lack there of) of addressing tasks and needs and the overall approach to work here in Botswana that I have experienced frustrates me from time to time, but I still I have adapted enough that I have been unsure of my ability—or desire—to work in a traditional American work environment again.  However, while I was reading this article (it is a 7-page article, this is just one part of it), I realized that one of the most important skills that I am learning here is something lacking in some Western work/life settings that many people are trying to achieve and maintain.  In my work here I am fully in whatever task I am undertaking, I am fully committed to service by providing all of me or whatever is needed and things have definitely slowed down to a point where I am deliberately trying to see the meaning and significance of the work that is happening before it happens and throughout the experience.  It takes a month for something to “happen” here in what could be done in the states in one week or even one day.  However, the work I am doing here is conscious, deliberate and considers the needs and skills of those involved in order to be sure that development is happening in a way that will be meaningful and sustained by those who need it.  I can’t say that much of what I did before embodied these principles.

 

Now, I am not saying that EVERYTHING I do here is meaninful and significant or that no one in America does this—I know many people who strive to live their lives in a way that upholds their values and to make a difference.  In fact, one thing that I have been blessed to see here is that what I am doing here and what so many of my loved ones back home as well as many others are doing is not so different at all.  Here in Botswana and as a part of the Peace Corps Experience, I must learn to serve and give all of myself, while constantly learning and growing and finding new ways to do things—isn’t that just what life is all about?!?  Also, I am supposed to try to ‘make a difference’ and impact others in a way that helps but does not control or impose my own agenda on anyone—to consider their assets and needs and to try to use those to help them help themselves.  To inspire and empower others by leading by examle and being myself and the best of who I am, all the while being observed and judged by those around me.  This is what we are all doing all the time. 

 

My life here is no different than life anywhere.  Here it is just that this process is made conscious and deliberate and it is all “part of my job” here as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Aren’t we all always being observed throughout our lives as we are judged, or rather people are making conclusions of who we are by what we do.  People decide that based on how we act that this is how white people or Christians or Americans or women or young adults or professionals or volunteers (or whatever other groups we are classified by) are.  Often times I have been bogged down by the responsibility I have here to be a good example of all of those things because I am the representative that people see for those things.  But in actuality, we all have that responsibility every day every place, it is only that here it is part of the goal and part of the experience.  Every day I try to be the best of who I am but I am me and I am human and I am not always “the best” of all of those things.  But that is ok.  The best thing that I can do is struggle with the people here and be honest about me and my struggles and together we can try to make a difference and to find our way through—that is the only way to really make an impact afterall. I am very conscious of the personal process that I am going through and the struggles that I am facing.  However, this awareness is not only a difficulty but a strength that I am nurturing throughout this experience.  By better knowing me and taking care of my needs for inspiration and understanding, only then can I fully serve and empower others.  I am doing the best that I can with what I have and that is enough. 

 

As a perfectionist and someone who is way to hard on myself, this realization in itself is of great value to my growth and acceptance.  Hopefully this will help to serve me much better than my earlier multi-tasking skills that allowed me to be on the phone, reading or writing an e-mail, sorting through papers and writing a report all at the same time!  The skills and lessons that I am learning here are much more subtle yet much more significant to being the best of me in whatever job I am doing.  What that next job will be and where only God knows!  Hopefully someone will see that what I have to offer is significant and that I will find a place to serve and continue to grow.  For now I am just trying to do that where I am in what I am doing to the best of my ability and will have to wait and see just what lies ahead…

 

Ok, this isn't crisis mode and I'm not completely losing my mind. I realize that I don't completely deserve to hear from most people because I am really bad at keeping posted and keeping in touch...But with that said, this is a really difficult experience and requires constant support and love to continue to try every day to build up myself as well as to build up others.

My life is really great here and I am very thankful for this experience, but it is still one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Knowing that this is what I have always wanted to do and knowing that the challenge and growth and learning that goes into "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love" which was the Peace Corps slogan for years, doesn't make it any easier to go though. And seriously, the type of person who would sign up for something that promotes itself by saying it is tough, you kind of have to question a bit...but that has always been part of the draw for me. With that said, it IS a great experience and I am learning loads and loads of things that will help me thoughout life. I am touching lives here as well, although it often feels like not much is happening and that some days it feels like I am not doing any good here. But still, I am...but I need to be reminded.

So, in talking to a few people and uncovering the fact that this experience in itself is often a grueling (yet still rewarding) feeling of self-doubt and frustration, and also is filled all too often with words and thoughts about my personal approach and style and who I am as a person is often questioned and threatened. Its tough.

I have realized many times over, but especially during my time here that I need people. I cherish my relationships with others above all else. Furthermore, although my relationships here with people who have become a source of support, have been great, they just don't measure up to my relationships with friends and family back at "home". I have begun to admit that despite my independent nature, I fully depend on others to build me up and to fill me with the empowerment that I then can pass on to others. So I am sending out a plea...Send me love. Send me back my confidence and motivation. Remind me what is good about me and what I am doing, because I have a tendency to forget some of that when it gets beat out of me time and time again here.

So, although I have a few journal entries to post about updates on things going on here in Botswana, I really just need some love. So please send me some. In any format. Even though I can't check my e-mail that often, it is still nice to get some new messages when I do open it up. Of course letters and packages slow down quite a bit over time, as have mine, but those always brighten my day too!

I am thinking a lot of home--especially when my only view of home right now is the incredible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, but I am also starting to think about next steps and what lies ahead since I am starting to transition into the close of service thoughts a bit (only 7 months left! I can't believe it!) I have missed many weddings and births and other big special events, but I have especially missed the one-on-one time that I cherished so much and realize I depended on for my processing of things and generation of new ideas. Like I said, I have it here, its just not the same...

Ok, so with all that said, things are still going relatively well here and it is still a great experience. It is just hard and I need to acknowledge that and learn to ask for help and support when I need it so I am. Anyone who still reads this please let me know by sending me a quick e-mail to peacecorpskmu@yahoo.com or send me a letter or something to:
Sethunya (K. Unzicker)
Box 129
Charleshill
BOTSWANA

Lots of love!
Hugs and Misses!
~ME

One of the projects I have been working on with a group of Peace Corps Volunteers is to organize a marathon and other small, local races and fun runs /walks to promote healthy living and HIV/AIDS awareness. Although we have been talking about it and taking the first steps in planning, we are still in the very early stages of planning. We are hoping that this will take off all over the country, but many of us are just hoping for things to work for the big race and in our communities. Here is the plan overview that I thought some people may like to see...


Theme
"Run For Yor Life: Racing Towards a Healthy Future for Botswana"

The Idea
United States Peace Corps Volunteers Suzi Murrie and Judy Huth, based in Hukuntsi as well as many other volunteers based throughout the nation of Botswana noticed an apparent lack of concern about personal health in their communities. This lack of concern contributes to the spread of HIV. After contemplating what motivates behavior change and ways to raise awareness of this problem, the Hukuntsi volunteers conceived the idea for a marathon. The marathon is intended to promote behavior change that can lead to preventing the spread of the virus, to endorse healthy living, and to raise funds for an HIV/AIDS related cause. Other important aspects of the project include:
• Building the capacity of local fitness and AIDS awareness efforts in each district and sub-district
• Promoting positive self-image and self-esteem in local and national participants
• International exposure to the AIDS epidemic in Botswana
• Discovering talent in Batswana at local levels that has been overlooked
• Providing an opportunity for all Batswana to visit a “tourist attraction” and see the beauty of their country; and
• Promoting health, fitness and behavior change activities at a grassroots/local level

The Races
Local: The plan is to hold a 5km run/walk, a 10km run and a half marathon open to all community members in each district and sub-district from October – December 2005. These races would be coordinated by local representatives although some guidance may be provided upon request.
National: The winners will go on to participate in a nation-wide competition in February 2006 that will involve a 10km run, a half marathon and a full marathon. The national races will be coordinated by a team of volunteers and national representatives from each district and various organizations.

At a District and Sub-District Level
A local committee can form to plan each district and sub-district race. Depending on the area Peace Corps Volunteers, representatives from the Department of Sports and Recreation and the Department of Culture and Youth, running clubs or other interested groups or individuals will help coordinate the efforts. The members of the planning committee will be dependent on members from each area willing to help.
Ideally, each region will form a running group (may already exist) to conduct training lessons and to provide support while adding excitement and motivation for the participants. Each person who leads a local running group and/or coordinate the district races will receive information on training, planning, etc. from Suzi.
For funding, local race committees will need to try to find local sponsors and recruit participants within their district or sub-district only, focusing on youth.
Those who did not win or did not compete in the local races can enter the final race by paying an entry fee (this opens the marathon to international and professional runners). Most races can be officiated by the Botswana Amateur Athletics Association (among other things, this will allow winners to qualify for other marathons outside of Botswana).

Location
Local committees will decide on the location of their races. The location of the national race is yet to be determined. The location is to be a place that often attracts tourists, for instance in Kasane or the Makgadikgadi Pans. The idea is that the location should be a place Botswana is known for that the many Batswana have not had the opportunity to visit or fully experience. Ongoing research is underway to secure a location for the national races.

Partners
Currently, Peace Corps Volunteers, a representative from BOFWA and officers from the Department of Culture and Youth and Department of Sports and Recreation are organizing local races. The Department of Sports and Recreation works closely with the Department of Youth and Culture. The director of the Department of Sports and Recreation has offered representatives from these departments to support and help organize local races although names of those representatives are currently being solicited. The Botswana Amateur Athletic Association will officiate many of the local races as well as the national race. They will also help with organization and publicity. The Gaborone Runners Club has also assisted with advice and providing contacts and the marathon will be promoted by their club.
Ideally, additional partners will include all running and athletic clubs, all school athletic clubs and other HIV/AIDS organizations.

Sponsors
Local coordinators will find their own sponsors from their respective areas. Depending on the district or sub-district, the race can take on different forms. In more rural areas, the local race can function on smaller sponsorships because there are fewer sponsors available. Larger, urban areas will probably want to expand their race sponsorships.
Partial National sponsorship has been promised by Orange. Additional sponsorship is still being explored. Some potential sponsors have previously made offers for other HIV/AIDS marathons that never took place.
Budget outlines are with each of these organizations asking for t-shirts, advertising and prizes. The total budget for the national race is potentially over P50,000; although this figure will depend on the number of participants. If sponsorship is adequate and it looks like numbers will go up, the maximum number of participants can be raised. Other solicitations will be made for additional spot prizes and drinks (to lodges, restaurants, athletic stores and drink distributors) after the marathon planning has progressed.

I once heard a story about a Peace Corps Volunteer somewhere in the Caribbean or somewhere (could be a Peace Corps legend, actually…) who said that he laid down on his bed one hot afternoon looking up at the ceiling fan slowly spinning around and one day he woke up and three months had passed and he had no idea what he had been doing all that time!

When I first got here, (and definitely if I would have if I heard it back in the states before I left) this sounded completely proposterous! But now after a year and a half at site I can completely understand how that could happen! I often find myself just sitting—especially when it gets really hot in the afternoon or in the middle of a sand storm. Its almost like there is a-whole-nother world going on inside my head that is rapidly moving around so my actual physical life has to sit as still as possible in order to take it all in. I’m not only sitting and thinking, but also reading, listening to music, doing puzzles (something that I have totally gotten addicted to again as if I was in second grade again!) or else brainstorming new ideas or planning something out.

But no worries, I am not only sitting around here, I am also moving around the village and the country quite a bit. I am at the secondary school almost every afternoon now working on a number of projects and have at least 2 youth groups now. That has been a really fun and exciting component of my service—working and playing with the youth in the village and in the school. Not that I am that old, but young people have such a different perspective on the world and on how to do things that it is just fun to be around them and to be a part of that energy! I am also a the office almost every day working on various projects with many different sectors and also trying to improve the effectiveness of what is already going on. A lot of days I still just visit with people around the offices though.

I’m not trying to defend myself by stating all that I am doing; rather, I am trying to talk about what a spectacular gift it is to experience time differently. For one of the first times in my life I am not trying to fill every space with productivity or to rush through the things that I am doing because “I have so much to do”. It’s funny though, because time still moves at the same pace, its just how I treat it that is different. Interestingly enough, I still get just about as much done, but I just don’t stress as much about things that get pushed off to another day. Patience is one of the many gifts that the Peace Corps experience can provide. But that gift is a choice and I am happy to be able to experience that gift a little more each day that I spend here!

All of this has been something that I have been thinking about and experiencing since I got here, but it is only now after a year and a half has past that I am really understanding how precious time is. The first 6 months, time is spent soaking so much up and learning everything and trying to find your footing and where you fit and what you can do. The next 6 months to a year is spent kind of appreciating that newfound knowledge and making sense and use of it by putting it into action. Then, one day, before you know it, you are looking down the path towards the “last” six months (its actually 9 months now, but I have always been a planner! ) and you are thinking about where all the time went and what you can “really do” to make a difference before you go.

Reflecting on how my time has been spent and what has happened is something that I think I should try to do in a conscious way to try to get a constructive account of my growth and achievements. I think that it might help me to appreciate my time here and really make the most of the time that is left in Botswana. But, in line with the pace at which things go here…that will have to be another day!

About a year ago I distinctly remember one evening when I was feeling particularly energetic and creative despite my current state of homesickness and uncertainty. It was the first month of winter in Botswana so although it was only about five o’clock, the sun was already beginning to go down. Sunise and sunset are my favorite times of reflection and awe here under the great big African sky. Soaking in all the shades of pinks and orange and bright reds mixed with hues of blue I never new existed, I opened up the window in my kitchen that directly faces the descent of the sun in the west and put on some music.

On this particular evening I was really missing my dad. I was wearing one of his old undershirts that I had confiscated before leaving the states (they are the most comforting to sleep or just to wear around the house) and popped in a Led Zeppelin CD. I had to kind of laugh at myself, but still was enjoying my slight neurosis! Memories of home were flooding my mind and most were bringing a smile to my face rather than the pangs of homesickness that rushed in from time to time over the last few months.

I can’t remember if I had been thinking of it for a while or if I just suddenly got a craving…but that evening I decided that I was going make pizza—from scratch. Literally. I had never made it before, nor have I ever really been known to cook or bake much of anything—especially on my own! But how hard could it be? I knew the basic ingredients: crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings. It was a good week so I just happened to have cheese and also had flour, yeast, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic and spices. Looking over the shelves at the closest SPAR grocery (210K away) I had also recently picked up some new items to experiment with last time I had transport back from Ghanzi. My favorite was a box of “soya” called Woza Woza that pictured an African woman on the front next to a drawing of a cow’s head and a red peppar to illustrate they flavor was chilli beef. It just made me laugh. Now all I had to do was deconstruct the 3 main parts of the pizza and think about what goes into each.

Crust: As Ramble On played in my small alarm clock cd player I started mixing flour and a little yeast packet with some water with my hands in a large pale green bowl that matched my kitchen curtains. Having no cookbook (looking back now that seemed much more important to pack than some of the other things that made the final cut in my luggage to bring here) I just kind of guessed and added more till it “felt right”. Operating on feelings and instincts and a basic ability to deconstruct a situation is an invaluable skill one acquires when you have nothing but yourself to rely on to make decisions and to try to “make a difference”. Feeling somewhat satisfied but more so just willing to wait and see how it turned out, I set my new experiment aside and moved on to the next step.

Sauce: I am a lover of pasta so I should have known how to make a simple sauce, but never really have. Like so many other things, I learned that I took a lot of simple luxuries for granted back in the states. Having several fully stocked grocery stores fully accessible with just about anything you might need to make whatever you wanted, (some even open 24 hours!) I now had to reframe a bit here. Now I was lucky to get to the grocery store about once a month and would then have to pray that it was the day they restocked and even still would have to just look and see what was there that day to decide what I could make. But anyway…tomato sauce is easy. Tomatoes and flavoring. Garlic and onions is an obvious addition. Some herbs. My herb choices now however are limited to the dried “Mixed Herbs” jar that speaks for itself as the ingredients are listed as, “A delicious blend that gives a distinctive but subtle herby flavor which enhances all savory dishes.” Good enough. Putting everything together into my one pan to cook down, I then added my new favorite find of chilli beef Woza Woza soya to thicken it up a bit and to give it more of a saucy taste. After adding salt, black pepper and a bit of ceyenne pepper for some kick, I was pretty pleased with my ability to just “figure it out” and to create something yummy.

Putting it all together: Going back to the bread dough, it didn’t appear to have risen much with it being cold already, but it would do just fine. I put a little oil into the oven pan I borrowed from my neighbor and then spread the dough with my fingertips. It appeared to have been the right amount for the pan so I silently praised myself a little more not only figuring it out, but also getting it right without any measuring—but humbly reminded myself that it isn’t finished yet. I spread my yummy sauce over the top with a spoon that I had used for taste-testing several times throughout the process—I wasn’t being evaluated my the health department and afterall it was mostly for me and I only had two spoons at the time anyway. A cut up the gouda cheese as little as I could to resemble grated cheese. I found myself smiling remembering how Jamie, my last roommate in the states, and I used to make silly little comments about gouda cheese like it was exotic or something, and now gouda was the cheese most likely to be found here. It’s the little things that make life interesting, isn’t it? I cut up some more onions and garlic and green pepper and put it in the oven. Lighting the oven was adventure enough, but adjusting the heat just didn’t seem to be a feature on this little thing so I just kept the flame in the middle and kept checking on it as it cooked.

Enjoying the results: As I closed the oven door and started to clean the kitchen up a bit I was so happy with how it all seemed to come together. My mind was now rushing with feelings of happiness on learning to enjoy doing things on my own. When I started I really wanted to call home and ask my mom for a recipe but instead decided to just try. Being the corny and somewhat sappy person that I am I kept thinking of all the metaphors for Peace Corps that I was working through with just this little task of making dinner. There are no “how-to” guides or instructions; scarce resources or at least different ingredients than I am used to; only myself to do the work or to turn to for answers; and an ability to just figure it out and have fun throughout the process. Regardless of how it turned out, it was already a success because it came together as a result of my two hands—but luckily it looked about right and tasted great! It took a whole lot longer than I thought it would, but the aroma filling the air while it cooked was fantastic and it only made me appreciate it more when it was finished. I had learned a lot about my own capabilities as well as how to improve it next time. As any good Peace Corps Volunteer would do, I shared with my fellow PCV next door as well as one of my Motswana friends a few houses down and taught them how to make it by doing it together next time.

Over the year we have made many different types of pizza by slightly altering the sauce or toppings based on what we had on hand or by finding easier ways to do it (e.g. using canned tomato puree or paste with spices, adding the soya first because its easier to spread that way or leaving it off all together, adding garlic, salt or other spices to the crust for a little flair, or making specialty sauses or toppings if we recently went to Gaborone and picked up more rare items like mozzarella cheese or pesto!) We also have mastered the process a bit so that we can each start the crust or sauce at our separate houses and then combine to save space or time or to have the other make the ingredient they aren’t as familiar with to sharpen both of our skills! We have made this meal for so many people that they have begun to request it and have also taught many of them. One of the greatest successes was brought to my attention when I learned that someone we taught made it on his own and also had taught someone else how to make it and they have then enjoyed it together many times! Now that’s what I call capacity building!

This may seem like a silly little (actually quite long) story about something that seems so simple. But the fact is, there are many simple things that we just don’t ever try because its easier just to go get it somewhere else or we just don’t know where to begin. Here in Botswana over the past year I have learned many things about what it means to depend on myself and also to learn and share with others and this simple story exemplifies just how important it is to try. You never know your true ability until you put yourself out there and just jump right in. Its amazing what we can do when we try.

Other than making pizza, I’ve also learned to make excellent rice and pasta dishes, salads and soups, and just about anything just by combining whatever I have. Some things have turned out just ok or something that I didn’t think was worth repeating, but most of them don’t have recipes so are much more difficult to pass on. That’s really the only way I know how to cook well. Whatever is available combined till it just looks or tastes good. If you ask me its much easier to make something good that way than to follow a precise recipe. If you can only make something by including specific ingredients in a certain way, then you will ultimately mess it up somehow—all the ingredients may not be available and really you are just interpreting some else’s invention. When you use whatever you have to make something good it will always turn out “right” because it is the best that you could do with what you had. So is life. You have to just jump in there and try with all you have to offer.

These days that’s all I am doing. Whether I’m working with a group of kids at the school, training with the group of people who just kind of came together to run to the Namibia border, helping to organize a village team to address HIV/AIDS for their community, facilitating a HIV education training, encouraging people to know their status, motivating community participation in events or efforts or just hanging around my house trying to take personal time to write letters, read or do whatever that’s all I can do: Just jump in with all I have to offer, learn from what happens and celebrate the process. Peace Corps has provided this opportunity, but it is me who made it into what is has been because of I’ve done the best that I could with what I had. I’m sure there are pizza-making people all over the world who every once in a while take a step back and see just how far they have come. I think we owe it to ourselves to celebrate even the smallest successes because of what they represent and they also give us courage to do even more great things!

From the moment I arrived in Botswana, I have wanted to have my family here with me. They bought their ticket many many months ahead of time and we have been planning and waiting for that time ever since. Now, after two and a half weeks, I am sitting here again without them. My family just left. I'm sitting here reflecting on the many conversations and the many many adventures and all I can think about is, what a fantastic trip! I am so happy that my family was able to experience part of what my life is like here and to meet all of the people here who have become such an important part of my life! The trip was a whirlwind of adventure and we are so fortunate to have had that experience together.

Here is our schedule of where we went and what we did and saw:

Tuesday, May 3rd (Windhoek to Charleshill)
Botho and I pick up Mom, Dad, and Andrew at Windhoek airport and drive back to Charleshill in rental car. Then sort through all the many gifts that everyone brought for me and for people in my community! It’s like Christmas—better than Christmas!

Wednesday, May 4th (Charleshill)
Mom and Kristin went to the clinic together—everyone loved it! In the afternoon we all went to the office to meet all the wonderful people I work with and talked for a while with Samapipi and Lesiela—the officers in charge—about history and background and stuff. Then, Samapipi had a welcome braai for the family at her house and many people we work with in Charleshill.

Thursday, May 5th (Charleshill to Ghanzi to D’Kar)
Go to Ghanzi to get snack for the long car trips ahead and family got to experience what it is like to do what would seem like a very easy task, but in Botswana ends up to be much more complicated than one could ever imagine—going to the bank to pull out cash!

Go to D’Kar Game farm. Check in and then go on a bush walk with 2 young bushmen girls who show us all the plants and their uses as well as animal tracks and other useful information for life in the bush. Come back and have tea on the veranda as the sun sets.

Friday, May 6th (D’Kar and Ghanzi)
Wake up for breakfast and watch the harem of ostrich pass by us. Go to Kuru Development Trust to see the projects going on for bushmen in the Kgalagadi and buy lots of crafts at the museum craft shop and at Ghanzi Crafts. Then go back to the farm for an evening braai and traditional storytelling about the fire.

Saturday, May 7th (To Maun and Shakawe)
Get up early for a game drive through the park—see zebra, impala, gemsbok, kudu, wildebeest, springbok, ostrich, and a beautiful sunrise (I am sure I forgot to mention some animals…) Then leave and pass through Maun for some more shopping and errands then drive on to Shakawe to the Fishing Lodge on the river. Check in and have a very nice dinner. Listen to hippos…

Sunday, May 8th (Shakawe) Mother’s Day
Sleep in and have a relaxing day on the river. Go for an afternoon boat ride and attempt fishing (though the water was too high to actually catch anything). Visit the crocodile farm and have a picnic lunch. Go for a sunset boat trip along the river and come back to another wonderful dinner at the lodge.

Monday, May 9th (Shakawe and Seronga)
Drive to Seronga via a long bumpy road along the flood plains in the delta for a mokoro (dugout canoe-like boat) trip at Mbiroba Polers Trust. Float through hippo trails and through the delta reeds listening to hippos and watching miniature painted reed frogs jump in and out of the boats. Spot elephants and baboons along the way. Have a picinic lunch under a shade tree and watch an elephant move slowly in our direction—but not too close! Enjoy the rest of the afternoon on the delta and then drive back to Shakawe for dinner and sleeping and preparing to leave again!

Tuesday, May 10th (To Victoria Falls through Caprivi Strip)
Leave Shakawe and drive through Caprivi Strip for a rather uneventful 6 hours other than a few animal sightings and a stop at a gas station that didn’t have any gas. Cross the border for Zambia and get the run-around about papers and stuff but make it through just fine. Drive into Livingstone and find Jollyboys Backpackers where we will stay for the week. Settle in and plan our events and activities for the rest of the night.

Wednesday, May 11th – Friday May 13th (Victoria Falls, Zambia)
Spend time viewing the falls and taking full advantage of all the fun activities in the area: We walked around the falls and got drenched by the spray on the bridge and took a lot of really great pictures. We also had the chance to do an awesome 30-minute flight on a Microlight aircraft (basically 2-person hanglider with seat and small motor) over the falls and Mosi-O-a-Tunya Game Park, a River Sunset Cruise along Zambezi River, a relaxing yet exciting Walking Safari through Mosi-O-a-Tunya Game Park where we came RIGHT UP to a white rhino and many other animals like giraffe, baboons, vervit monkeys, impala, warthog, many birds and lots of cool spiders and insects too! (I am sure I forgot to mention some animals…). Andrew and I jumped off a 100M cliff at the gorge swing-TONS of fun!—and also enjoyed the 30 minute walk back up through the gorge to do it again! We also did lots for shopping at the curio shops and markets and enjoyed some time walking around town in Livingstone too. The laid-back atmosphere of a backpackers place was a fun way to meet other travelers and really enjoy our time too! We had such a fantastic time in Livingstone that it was difficult to finally leave when it was time!

Saturday, May 14th (Kasane)
Leave Vic Falls and drive back to Botswana—only a couple hours to Kasane to relax at a beautiful resort along the Chobe River. We watched warthog and vervit monkeys come right up to our room and next to us on the grass and the deck. We watched the sunset along the river while watching the warthog burrow in the grass and the vervit monkey run causing mischief. Ate a nice dinner at the restaurant that night—Mom and Andrew both ate warthog chops despite the fact that they loved them so much running around!

Sunday, May 15th (starting the trip back. To Palaype)
The whole day was just spent in the car—again rather uneventful, but we got to drive right next to a bunch of elephant in the road—not many other places in the world where you can do that! We stopped over in Palaype for the night to rest and visited with my good friend, Peter, another Peace Corps Volunteer for dinner and a nice chat.

Monday, May 16th (to Gaborone)
Leave early for Gaborone (again only a couple hours drive today). Check into the Big 5 Lodge and enjoy a great breakfast before heading out to Molepolole for the day. We visited with my host family and shared the gifts that we brought for them. Finally, my two families were able to meet! It was so much fun and everyone was so happy to meet that I just felt content in the moment and in my place here. We stayed and talked with them for a couple of hours and then headed back to Gaborone before sunset for a nice dinner at the lodge. One of my host brothers came to join us and really enjoyed being treated to such a nice meal! We got to enjoy exotic meats again—kudu and impala but also just had good conversations about our travels and all the fun things we were able to do and all the people we met.

Tuesday, May 17th (back to Charleshill)
We met the Peace Corps Associate Director, Cam Garrett for breakfast and a nice talk at the News Café before heading out on the road. It was so nice to have her meet my family that I talk so much about and to get my family to meet her since she is such an important part of my service here! But finally, we had to hit the road. We just drove the 1000K back to Charleshill not doing much but stopping for food and fuel along the way—this is a trip I am familiar with and take frequently for meetings and workshops, but it was probably a bit more difficult for the family. As we got back into the sub-district we stopped in Tsootsha and were greeted with a warm reception from Botho and other faces happy to see us back and excited about our trip. Finally, we arrived back in Charleshill just after the sunset. My family got to experience firsthand just how difficult the driving conditions are with donkeys and cows and horses running (or rather standing still) in the middle of the road! We made it back safely and then collapsed!

Wednesday, May 18th (to Mogapi Farm and Ghanzi and Charleshill)
We slept in (to about 8am) and headed out to Botho’s family farm to see all the cows and even got in the kraal with the enormous Brahman bulls. We had just missed the family so Botho showed us around and then we headed into Ghanzi again to meet Botho’s father and mother and little brothers and they even gave us gifts! It was great. After stopping of for a few last errands we finally headed back to Charleshill (just as the sun was setting) and watched the last beautiful sunset in Botswana—in Africa!

Thursday, May 19th
We stayed up as late as we could back at my place in Charleshill trying to pack and soak up as much time together as possible. It was quite a challenge to try to get all the great things everyone bought along the way packed for the long trip back! Early morning, the bags were all packed, the car was loaded and it was pulling back out to Windhoek. After many hugs and tears the 3 Unzickers pulled out and left the other littlest Unzicker behind to go back to work. Only 1 more year though till we meet again!

What a trip! It was a lot of fun and A LOT of driving! We got to explore 3 countries (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia—and could see Zimbabwe from the falls) and got a view of the people and places that most tourists don’t get to experience. We got to go to some great key destinations, but also got quite a ways off the beaten path quite a few times. We drove on all kinds of roads across every possible terrain in this part of the world—all without accidents or any real problems. It was such a great trip…now it is just hard to imagine that it is already over!

I will try to find a way to post pictures online (the limit is too small on the journal) but anyone who every sees my parents have probably already seen them! 

Now I guess its back to work…

I can't believe that it has been a whole year (actually 13 months now...) since I left the states and arrived in Botswana! So much has happened back home in the states and here as well...but yet it still seems as if I just left (sometimes it feels like I have been here forever though too!)

Life here in Bots is going well. There has been a lot going on but still it has been a nice balance much of the time also. After the AIDS Fair finished, the next week was my 27th birthday and also my 1 year mark of being gone and so I have been doing a lot of reflecting and mental evaluation and I am really happy with the way things have gone (for the most part, there has been a lot of growth and learning...so I am happy with that at least) and I am really looking forward to the year ahead. It is really nice to not be so new and unsure all the time and to just be able to work with so many great people to help us all grow together! Some of the things I have been thinking about are:

1) The time and distance apart from friends and family hasn't changed how much I miss people and how important everyone is in my life. I thought that after some time I might start to miss people less, but that isn't so...I just can't wait to come home and sit together and talk and share stories from the time we were apart!

2) I am a very poor correspondent when I don't have e-mail access or reliable phones (or the money to call back to the states)...My letter writing and journal writing has been extrememly neglected but I am getting better so I hope that will also improve some of the places where communication has started to wane...

3) I am also trying to start a new personal project (one of many) to take account of more of the stories and experiences that I have had here...not the big ones necessarily, but the small things--interactions or exchanges that are often commonplace now, but the things that make me really appreciate my time here and the things (feeling, thoughts, situations, etc.) that I never want to forget and that I want to share with people back home. I have started to jot down a few ideas so will see how far that goes...

4) I have come to realize just how much I need the support of people important to me and how much that positive reinforcement affect how I work and live. Everyone knows that I am a fighter and a perfectionist (and also a procrastinator!) but that there are different things that people have appreciated or priased me for from time to time. As I have grown accustomed to getting positive reinforcement in some way or another from people in my life, I have never really understood how much I NEEDED it, because I then take that and push myself further (most of the time...) and have the support of loved ones along the way...But here, I have not had the same level or type of support and positive reinforcement is few and far between. Also, I have found that when I don't get the positive reinforcement from people here, but instead get pushed by them or have my "isses" or struggles pointed out or made more obvious, I instead then have to find that support within myself and almost nurture the wounded child and end up not pushing myself in the same way as I do when I get that support externally and then have the drive internally...just a thought I have recently understood. But now that I have learned to see both the weaknesses and strengths myself, and am also getting more accustomed to others seeing those and pointing them out, I am finding that I am able to grow in ways that I never would have otherwise! Also, I am finding that my instincts are becoming even stronger which will serve me well in almost any setting! (But I still miss the support and positive reinforcement too! :0)

5) There has been a lot that has happened here in the community, but most of it is undetectable or seemingly insignificant. Much of these changes and developments would happen at some point or in some way whether I, or Peace Corps was here or not. But at the same time it is so great to be a part of that growth and to be able to contribute in small ways--some of which make a difference and some of which do not and to see how that affects us all as individuals and as a community. For instance, community activism and participation are serious problems in this remote village and people often feel left out or uninterested. Some of the things that have happened have helped to move that forward and consequently there have been some fun things or positive things that have taken place within the workplace, community and through the relationships that we have formed that hopefully will help to carry that out. I am excited for the year ahead and some of the projects or ideas that are in the making!

6) I have been able to travle to so many great places so far and have so many more journeys in my future plans. It is so great to be able to see so many incredible places and to be able to experience them somewhat from the inside to share the experience on that level rather than just as a traveler!

7) At the same time, it has been so fantastic to be able to have so many visitors from the states to be able to share this experience with and to be able to explore new places with them as well. Some of it is sharing what I get to do and see and to let them experience part of my life here, and also to extend that to other places as well! It is amazing how many people are willing to come here and are share this! So far I have seen Beth, Alison and Jackie, Danielle, Mary and Alisa, and...I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY BROTHER AND PARENTS TO COME HERE IN ONLY 2 WEEKS!!!!! Kris Kooiman will be coming in September to hopefully stay for a while and I have also just heard that Joanna is planning to come to this region in January! It is also amazing that I have been able to work out the leave time to travel with them and hopefully will continue to be able to work it all out! I am so blessed to be able to share these experiences with so many of my favorite people!

With that said, there is much more that has happened, much more that I have learned, and much more that lies ahead...but with the balance of the good with the bad, the strengths with the weaknesses and the challenges and the growth, this had been an incredible year and I am so thankful for all that I have and all that is to come! And I am looking forward to sharing as much as I can with all of my friends and family! As much as I am missing that breaks my heart back in the states, I am also gaining more than I could ever dream!

On March 19th we held a large community event—an HIV/AIDS Fair. These fairs are held throughout the country almost every year in each district (every other year in the sub-districts though) but this was the first one for Charleshill. Everyone decided that they wanted ours to be different—more fun and active and actually reaching the community. So Sega (the other PCV in Charleshill) and I helped them to come up with a plan that would be carried out much more like a “real fair” with many activities going on simultaneously throuhout the day. Generally these types of events include many long, boring speakers saying the same thing and everyone sits under a few tents throughout the whole thing with a few performances scattered throughout the program to break it up a bit. Although protocol is extremely important to Batswana and cannot be avoided for official events, we tried to stray from that as much as possible.

We got the community involved right from the start and had everyone joining together in the planning process throughout the whole thing—which is a somewhat novel concept here because usually people just do what they are told and the main planning is carried out pretty much at the last minute by those higher up or in offices. There are 10 villages in the Charleshill sub-district and one of the biggest main goals was to unite the entire sub-district for this event (which would then, in turn, carry over to other future activities and plans). We spent much of our prior months during the planning process to be sure to inform and involve everyone. We spent a lot of time writing official letters, holding meetings and going out to all the villages! And much to our excitement, it worked! All our hard work paid off—a good lesson to be learned! All schools were invovled in many of the competitions, art and performances, coming up with and carrying out educational games, and students and many community members participated in events throughout the weekend. Much of the smaller things that were planned didn’t go (or even happen at all) as we had hoped or planned or thought, but our major goal was met and carried out by all of those involved! And the best part was just that there was so much excitement and active participation around the activities—that was a huge success and the rest is just room for improvement!

It seems strange to sum it all up in just two paragraphs because that took up so much time and effort this year (actually since September, but fully from Nov/Dec through March)! Some of the other things that I’ve been doing is just getting to be more well-known and involved in the community—which must be working because most people do know me and EVERYONE helps me or looks out for me! I’ve also been working for closely with the Home Based Care program and have been going around the village on home visits to many AIDS patients or other sick or crippled patients. I have mainly been pairing up with volunteers from the Lutheran Church here (although the program is through the clinic) and also helping them with their garden. The pastor and his wife and another couple especially have been so wonderful to me here that it is always rewarding to work closely with them! It’s been really great!

Some future plans involve doing more of the same, but also helping to organize a Youth Centre to have a place that is safe and fun and just a place for young people to do and get invovled in a positive way in their lives and community. It should be a huge effort but also lots of fun!

All in all there’s lots to do and to look forward to…but I’m also just enjoying myself and taking things all in stride and at a much slower pace—it’s a great change…once you get used to it!

Mary (Linxweiler) Jackson and a friend of hers (Alisa Abrenica) came to visit me here in February and we had a fantastic tour of Botswana and they were amazing travelers! I ended up pulling it together to plan a really good experience…And mostly on a Peace Corps budget too! They were the perfect travelers, they were really excited about everything we were seeing and doing and were elated by all the love from my people and stuff. We went a few places and they just LOVED my village. Great time for all of us.

We were having a fabulous time and going and doing really fun things--I was really excited about showing them my life and exploring a few new places with them as well. We spent some time in Windhoek when I collected them at the airport after 2 sleepless days of travel. We then headed over to Charleshill to rest and to meet people and see my place in this big bad bush. No visit to Charleshill would be complete without a braai with some of my closest friends here…so of course that was organized to the fullest just in time. We then headed out to a really great placecalled D’Kar that is primarily made up of Basarwa. We stayed at the very cozy guest house with only candles for lighting and far away from everything and went on a bushwalk to track animals and to learn about the uses of all of the plants and everything from the bushmen in the area that run the place. This place is part of the Kuru Development Trust so we also visited the museum and art center for some of their development projects for the bushmen. We then headed to Shakawe at the tip-top of the Okavango Delta on the Northern border of Botswana and Namibia. We had a fabulous weekend going to Tsodillo Hills to see some of the ancient rock paintings and to get some exercise rock-climbing and we spend every evening at a beautiful little fishing lodge on the river where we took evening boat cruises to see the most beautiful sunsets over the Okavango and going on hippo hunts and trying to catch crocodiles. Everything was going all so well!

Everything was just more amazing than any of us anticipated...Or, at least it was until... we had a little bump in the plans...well, actually a pretty big bump and a major inconvenience, but again, as always, a big adventure and a great story. I HIT A DONKEY! Yup, the worst thing (or at least very bad, it could always be much much worse!) that can happen when friends from the states are visiting is to get in an accident that interferes with your transportation! But we were going very slow and were wearing our seat belts, the donkey was fine, the car was just not drivable...so they continued on for another couple of days up to Vic Falls by tour bus and I dealt with the car--total bummer and seriously had me depressed (well, not clinically) for about a month because it shortened our time together and made an even more difficult situation with the friend I borrowed the car from...but despite all that our travels and everything up to that point went amazingly well!

I was pretty upset (we all were, of course) but I also believe that everything happens for a reason so maybe this happening was just a way of preventing something much worse from happening along the way. Who knows...Thankfully, it happened when the world’s best travelers were visiting and they were relatively calm about everything. I am so lucky to have friends like that! (Hope they are still my friends too after that big fiasco!) We are all very thankful for how well it went--even during and after the accident--and just think of the experiences that they now get to share! :0)

So then that happened…

(that’s a little thing a few of the volunteers like to say whenever we are sharing our crazy stories with each other and there really isn’t anything else to say about the matter or you just want to move on…there are so so many adventures that we are all experiencing and it makes it easier to share them with such great people—here in Botswana and back in the states!)

I’m trying to think about where to begin to share what’s been happening in my life here in Botswana. I can’t believe how long I have already been here. It is all going by so fast, yet at the same time, time moves so slowly here too. The days go by so quickly when you stop to think about it, but everything about my life has changed so much here. We sit a lot more. I rarely feel like there is too much going on at one time—in fact, I have tried to try to just do ONE thing everyday. I’m not sure I have EVER lived like this! It’s kind of nice! But that also probably explains why I don’t do as much and why I am not as good at keeping in touch! I spend a lot more of my time just walking around and talking to people—either around the office, the clinic, or the community.

Most of my “job” here is really just to get to know people, to make friends and develop relationships to share our culture and lives with each other to learn about each other to see what people really need or want, what motivates then and to try to then do whatever that is together. Since that’s how I would live anyway, it’s a pretty suiting job for me to have! I also have a place within an office working within the local government structure to try to meet the national objectives and to follow the strategic plan to try to do something about the HIV/AIDS pandemic—and that suits my training and background pretty well too so it seems perfect! But all in all, I’m here to make an impact on the community and to try to do something small to change individual lives, so that can be a struggle at time to keep that in perspecitive when we are at the office, but I’m lucky to have the flexibility as a Peace Corps Volunteer to have both and office and a community-oriented purpose that keeps me balanced. Once I got over the initial adapting process (although it never ends, I have been able to understand it in better perspective again…) I realized once again how lucky I am to be here doing what I’m doing with these great people! At times it is extremely draining and difficult because once you open yourself up for closeness to see things and people differently and you see the AIDS crisis on a personal level and really see the impact face-to-face and realize that there really isn’t much you can do! But most of the time these days Ive been keeping a good outlook and doing whatever I can that day and then just take it a day at a time. And also, it is often these things that break you down that also lift you up. It’s those same people and the same things they say that one day just make you want to give up and go home—or at least have a good cry! But other days, those are the people that remind you why you don’t fo and most importantly why we’re here. Luckily, these days there have been much less low days than before!

I’ve been learning Setswana to make it easier to communicate. I was one of the top in the class during training, but once I came to site here in Charleshill I didn’t devote the time necessary to keep learning and I hit a rather long plateau. There were just so many other adjustment issues that it just was too much. But now that life seems more “normal” and I don’t have to try to figure everything out so much anymore, I’ve been trying to get back into learning the language better again. I know that I know much more than it feels like most days—and I can understand much more than I can say, but you know how much I need to talk!  For instance, I have taken on some of the intonations and gutteral sounds that people make just naturally as part of the way we communicate but I don’t see that as learning, that is just something that you take on when you spend enough time in a place. Also, I have learned 11 different ways to greet someone and have also figured out the appropriate times and people to use them with. That alone is pretty significant when I stop to think about it! It is amazing how much people appreciate your effort. Even if I can’t communicate my full thoughts, if I try to just say it in an elementary way everyone appreciates it so much more when I am trying to use their language. Even though many people can understand or speak some English, Setswana is the main language spoken so I NEED it to be able to make it here. Also, it is interesting how much better I have become in these last couple of months just by trying to speak less English. It is really interesting to see how much my need to talk and the importance to listen and to understand shifts when you are learning a foreign language. I have been talking much less than I used to and that may be the biggest lesson I learn here afterall!

All of this, learning to communicate, learning about people and sharing our lives together. That is my real job here. The rest is just what happens when we better communicate and learn about each other. Through all of these conversations, many new ideas emerge and then we try to figure it out together and to find new things that might fun or at least might just be fun! It has been really intersting to find that comfort zone in the middle of “just being”. Being in an office where there is always something to be done and working in the field of HIV/AIDS there is always something that can keep you busy if you need to be distracted or when that is where your mind is that week, however, the most seems to happen when I am not TRYING to do anything and something just clicks. I am pretty sure that a million people have said it before me in a million different ways, but in simplicity we really do find our true purpose and worth. Although I have understood the concept and theory of it all, it isn’t until just recently that I have been able to fully put that into practice and let it just be natural. Of course, we really are doing real projects and various things in each of our villages that are much more concrete where we can say what specifically we have done in our places to address HIV/AIDS. But I believe that it is all the stuff in between where we are all learning much bigger lessons and sharing even more of ourselves…

So…there’s a friend from the states, Alison, that is working in Lesotho for the US Embassy (Lesotho is a little tiny country within S. Africa). She went to college at Ohio State and was the roomate of a close friend from high school. She also lived in DC at the same time as I did. Our friend, Beth, decided that there was never going to be another time in her life when 2 of her close friends were going to be in Southern Africa at the same time so she had to take advantage and her and a friend, Jackie, bought a ticket together. Alison arranged the whole trip and I joined in for the second half that was nearer to me. The trip took place from 1st-11th of January 2005.

The 4 of us met up just across the Botswana border in S. Africa at the cutest little tourist-rustic bush camp called, Mosetlha Bush Camp. We stayed there for 3 nights just having a great time enjoying nature, catching up, relaxing, drinking wine, and enjoying good food. We saw just about every single animal that you could dream of! It was just awesome! (But expensive! Too expensive for a Peace Corps Budget, at least.) This place was just the best experience! I would recommend it to just about anyone coming through that way! We met the greatest people there too! They say that this is the place for people who truly appreciate the bush experience and all parts of nature. There must be some truth in that because the people we met there seemed to really appreciate themselves and were much more laid-back about the whole experience, much less concerned about seeing every animal, but more appreciative of every single thing seen. But maybe that is easy for us to say because we were extrememly lucky and saw nearly every animal you could imagine! We saw Black AND White Rhinos; thousands of zebra, wildebeest, and warthog (Pumba in Lion King) and also we saw lots of little baby warthogs walking in a line behind their mom; tons of giraffe, and we even got to watch a few bend over to drink from a pool of water and then spring back up like a gymnast dismount!; hyaena and jackal; monkeys and baboons; kudu, gemsbock, springbok, steenbock, impala, eland, sable, waterbuck, and other deer-like animals (but much cooler because they have intersting differences in their body shapes and very twisty or long and straight horns and we were seeing them here!) Lots of little things like mongoose, scrub hare, squirrels, and meerkats (like Timon in Lion King) and bushbabies; oh and of course I can’t forget my favorites: Lions and Cheetahs!!! We saw a family with 2 dominant males and 4 females that were getting ready to probably break off into 2 small packs. Also we saw 2 youngsters who had broken off from their family early because there were new cubs to take care of and now were adolescents out on their own and extremely vulnerable. We ran into them a few times and I just wanted to curl up next to them as they lay in the shade! The cheetah we say were prowling and almost got a pack of warthog for lunch, but one of the warthog stood up to them and they backed off. It was all soo cool! We got up early every morning (around 5 am) for a sunrise game drive that lasted about 3-4 hours with a private guide that stayed with us for our entire stay and ended each day with an evening game drive that lasted about 3 hours with a break and sunset for “sundowners”. Sundownders is the southern Africa take on Happy Hour with a much more peaceful and beautiful approach to taking a step back to relax and unwind after a full day. Sundowners here are a drink two shared with friends at sunset outside in a beautiful place watching the sun go down together. The African sky is bigger and more beautiful than any I have ever seen before and it seems the perfect end to almost every day! The evening game drives also include about an hour of night driving with a red-shaded spotlight (to avoid blinding any predator animals that might interfere with nature’s course) where we shift our eyes from looking for movement in the trees and brush as we do in the daylight to looking for eyes in the dark night caught in the light. We did manage to see a few things at night (our first lion sighting with the whole family, bushbabies, and various other things that usually only come out at night) but the majority of everything we say, we actually saw on our first morning drive. We stayed 3 days which meant 6 full game drives, but most of what we saw came during our first 2 drives! After that we were satisfied with just spending time together and noticing some of the things you might miss otherwise like trees, flowers and birds. The birds here are so beautiful and unique that I actually really enjoy bird watching now! Anyway, it was just an amazing experience with wonderful staff in a wonderful place. It was very lush and luxurious despite the lack of ammenities that you might find at a pricey lodge, but they did such a good job that you felt completely pampered anyway!

After we left the bush camp we then went down south a bit to Clarens for some REAL pampering to the cutest little resort town ever with a little town square and little shops and restaurants. We stayed in a cute little bed and breakfast and also spent a day at the pool and had spa treatments! All of that is a life I used to enjoy quite naturally but now living the life of a volunteer it just felt weird to live and travel so luxuriously! (Somehow I managed, though…) I finally had a much-needed pedicure to try to heal my feet from the harsh sand and heat of walking everywhere in the desert with sandals on! And in the evening and morning we just walked around the little shops to the art gallery and wine shop and just relaxed. It was great, we had SO much fun!

From there we went a bit more south to the Drakensberg Range on a really strenuous hike to the top of the amphitheatre mountains overlooking the river gorge (an area on the NE Lesotho/S. Africa border, but we were on the S. Africa side) We climbed to the top using a trail not charted on any of the maps because it seemed like what we wanted to see...and it added just a little more adventrue! You know it always is that way with me! We went on the hike in the middle of the afternoon though under the HOT African sun and all of us at one point felt like dying—or at least were thinking that it was much harder than it should be for any of us! It was the most beautiful place! Every time I took another step and looked around it felt like the most beautiful place I have seen and it just kept getting more and more beautiful the higher and higher we went! Although we were walking through pretty high grass (exactly where snakes are always hiding—though we managed to avoid any attacks and just pretended not to see anything because none of us said anything about them until we were finished with the hike) and up and down steep inclines (all under the hot sun) we all made it just fine and sat at the very top and just enjoyed ourselves a bit before returning down. We stayed together that night in a lodge in the mountains and then parted ways the next day.
They dropped me off at a combi stand the next afternoon and you could tell that they were a little scared and hesitant for me as I pulled away in a beat up, packed van by myself. I told them not to worry, “this is the Africa I know” and headed down the road more south again to Durban. Its amazing how safe you feel in a foreign place if you justtrust the people around you. I try to believe that people are inherently good and just want to be treated like people just like me and so I do that and somehow I am blessed with meeting some really great people who are willing to help when necessary.

There was another friend from the states spending a month in Durban with some family friends so I had to take advantage of her heing there and being so close already and to see the other coast—the Indian Ocean (just after the most devastating part of the Tsunami, but Durban is so far away that there was nothing on the African continent other than a few strong storms). It was also so nice to stay with her and a familiy who had a young baby boy. Being away from my own family I have to take every chance I get to spend time with others! Also, I’ll never pass up a chance to get a hug from a friend from America! Danielle (the friend in Durban) is a friend from Atlanta who has been going to Durban for the last 3 years to visit this family after meeting them during a travel abroad course in college, so it was nice to visit Durban from all of their perspectives, rather than just as a traveler.

I had to take a bus ALL the way home which took me 2.5 days through the night. It wasn’t that bad though because I slept most of the way and I meet friendly people wherever I go. I realized while I was away that it is just amazing how many people here help me so much, in big and small ways, wherever I go! All when I came here to help…funny that! For instance, on my way from Durban to Johannesberg I had a really long layover waiting for my bus back to Gabs (Botswana) so the people that I was staying with in Durban and had JUST met called up a friend in that area to ask him to come pick me up downtown at the bus station and take me back so that I could bath and sleep and then take me back to catch my next bus. AND he did! He also fed me and picked me up snacks for the road and brought me into his house with his family…all never having met me or knowing anything about me, just because his friend told him I needed help! People amaze me! Also, on the very last leg of my journey I had to hitch with all my stuff from the junction where the bus goes to the road to my village (about a 2 hour drive/just under 200K). I was standing there exhausted after traveling on various buses along the way and very few cars were driving by at that time. I was standing there with about 3-4 other people who also didn’t get anything. I started to stand in the middle of the road for people to see me better because I just wanted to go home. Two young white girls drove by me and looked at me, but didn’t stop (white people rarely stop for hitchers) but then within 2 minutes they had turned around down the road and came back and asked me if I needed a ride. They took me all the way home and we talked the whole way home. They asked me, “What are you doing here?!?” and said that I looked very out of place at that spot on the road, they weren’t expecting to see me. They turned out to be Baptist missionaries from America doing an HIV education program in the schools. We exchanged a lot of stories and strategies and had a great drive home! My life never ceases to amaze me! I just run into the coolest people and get to do some really fun and funny things!

A Day in the Life…

Today I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. It is December 22nd so everyone has gone away to the farms or to their families for the holidays and Charleshill seems like a ghosttown. But if there is one thing I have learned in my nine months here in Botswana, it is that it is amazing what can happen when it appears as if nothing is going on!

The ways in which I feel more like a PCV today are threefold based on the goals of me being here: To step outside of my comfort zone to experiences new challenges that will help me to learn and to grow; To serve the people of Botswana in whatever way I can but especially within the parameters of preventing HIV and providing opportunities and available services; and To share my culture with others and to have others share theirs with me.

1) Since it is Christmastime the distance of just how far away I am really sinks in. Christmastime feels so different here. I am sitting in my house with a slight breeze blowing through the open windows to allow a small relief from the unbearable heat. It is hot (in the 90s or 100s every day sometimes it feels even hotter! and sunny, though when it rains occassionally it cools off for a few hours and it brings the blossoms of life throughout the desert and little yellow flowers and creeping plants sprout across the sand and fields. Christmas carols like, “I’m Dreaming of White Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” take on whole new depths of meaning for me this year.

Although Botswana is predominantly Christian, Christmas doesn’t seem like much of a big deal here. People don’t exchange extravagant gifts or have big dinners or anything that seems particularly special except that they take advantage of the slow time to take extended leave to the farms to work or to go back to their families—often for as long as a month! It is also the end of the school year and summertime here so it is almost more like just a summer vacation. It feels really strange…definitely out of my comfort zone of familiarity, but I’m making the most of it.

2) Today the people from Ghanzi who do rapid testing for HIV (“Tebelopele”) were here for their scheduled visit so we were busy mobilizing people in the community to come for testing. Many of the clinics in Botswana, but especially the Charleshill clinic has a serious problem of confidentiality which greatly affects stigma, discrimination and peors ples’ willingness (trust) to come for testing or any services for HIV at the clinic. Tebelopele offers a great service because it is a private organization, it is not linked with the clinic, and it does completely confidential and anonymous testing of HIV by rapid tests that provide results within 30 minutes. (It may be the fastest process for anything in this country!)

So I have been working closely with the Ghanzi director of this organization to have them come to Charleshill more often and have been working with the community to encourage them to test—to thnk about if they are ready to test, to acknowledge and address their fears that are holding them back, and to take action steps to prepare to test and to ultimately deal with the results. Today I talked with a few more people that I have some time with and a few others to encourage them to come with me to Tebelopele today. Many people provided excuses and so we planned for more times to talk, but a few also decided today would be a good day to know their status and came with me for testing. I always offer to go with people for testing for follow-up appointments or to check out whatever services they need to help offer support and encouragement and to take that opportunity to get to know them more and talk to them about “positive living.”
Today one of my close friends came with me to test and I stayed there with her the whole time and sat with her while she waited, talked with her about what she was afraid of and how she was going to deal with it, and then finally celebrated an HIV negative status afterwards! We were both so happy, but spent the walk back talking about how important it is to remember how it felt before knowing your status, how powerful you are in the moment you decide to test and take action to actually go and carry it out, and most importantly how scary it was overcoming your fears preventing you from testing, walking over there, and then waiting for the results. We discuss how important it is not to forget that and to share with others to help give them support and encouragement to overcome their fears to ultimately take control of their lives by knowing their status. We went for tea at my house after and just talked about many things but those ideas and examples just kept coming up. The best part of it all was that she called her husband and sister immediately to tell them what she did and they both agreed to go for testing now too. Sometimes all it takes is one strong person to lead the way—and that is what she is! She told me that I helped to give her the extra push that she needed and the support and encouragement to “walk the walk” (she is a peer educator) and if I didn’t keep asking her maybe she still wouldn’t know her status. As good as that makes me feel, what is more important is that she went, regardless of who helped her to find the strength and to point her in that direction. As much as I may have helped her, she helped me to see my purpose here again in everyday words and actions and in sharing our lives together.

3) So after she left, I was on the phone with mom and dad talking about Christmas plans and opening gifts when a little girl named Goitsemang lightly knocked on my door. I went over to her. She looked up at me and smiled and softly said, “Ke kopa metsi” asking for water. This is something that many of the kids around us do to have an excuse to come visit us. Sometimes I give them their water and send them on their way, but today was a good day and I wasn’t feeling particularly in possessive of my private space so I invited her in, asked her a few questions in Setswana about where she is from who are her parents, where she lives and we just chatted a bit. I shared some lunch with her and then I was going to have her leave and was telling her I was getting ready to go but she adamantly told me that she wanted to stay for a few hours. I figured it could be fun. She doesn’t really speak English and since I don’t really speak Setswana we talked about how it would be good for us to learn together and that maybe she should come over more often. She sat on my couch and colored and drew pictures of different items and them writing their english names by them, we listened to music and danced a bit, looked at some pictures and then it was time for her to go. It was so nice to just relax and share that time with her trying to communicate but just enjoying each others company. She hung her picture on my fridge and we parted for the holidays agreeing to meet up again after the new year.

It was a good day. A few months ago I felt as if I was just getting through each day watching time pass until I would feel good again and counting how long I’ve been gone and how long until people visit or I go back home again. Now, although I am still so far away and as long as I have been gone, it feels good to be here and I can hardly imagine what it will be like when I HAVE to leave all these people in this new home…

World AIDS Day

December 1st marks the day where everyone worldwide unites to acknowledge a terrible disease, to remember the lives lost or those that it infects and affects, and to join together in action to do something about it. Until public health school I can’t say that I really knew it existed and since then I’ve learned that many people don’t know about it either and think of it as any other commemoration day like secretary’s day (actually there might be more people that know about secretary’s day…). I’ve heard of benefit concerts where artists like Bono perform with special guests like Nelson Mandela and events where there is a designated time set aside for candlelighting ceremonies and moments of silence.

Here in Botswana we celebrate everything with a “fair”. So in honor of World AIDS Day there is a commemoration fair held in one town or village every year where there are key dignitaries, speakers, drama performances, traditional dances and tents where national and community AIDS organizations present something. Despite how it might sound, these fairs are not a fun-filled day of juggling clowns and games and rides, but instead are filled with the protocol Botswana is famous. Protocol is very important to Batswana and so it seems like almost every event is exactly the same after a while since the program never changes (Opening Prayer; MC; Introduction of Important Guests; Welcome Remarks; Performance; Guest Speaker by Someone Relevant to the Topic; Performance; Key Note Speaker; Speech by Organization Rep; More speeches, more performances, etc. etc.; Vote of Thanks; Closing Remarks; Closing Prayer) All of the speeches go on and on and are almost always completely in Setswana so it gets difficult to sit though it all at times.

However, this year Ghanzi was chosen as the location for the National Commemoration of World AIDS Day so it was all very exciting to have something so big on our side of the country that is usually ignored and to hold it all in a village rather than a town in or near the capitol. The planning process was a joke. The Gaborone people were much more disorganized than anyone with such important jobs should ever be—even for Botswana. And it was kind of funny to sit through some of those meetings and to hear what people actually ask for and think. A lot of people think that way too much money is wasted on these kinds of events instead of going towards the actual programs or people that they talk about. But that’s just how my job here is. We do our best to help those with whatever means we have.

The actual event came off just fine even though everything wasn’t planned until the last possible second. That is often how things are here. It used to stress me out or frustrate me because some of the issues were so simple to solve…but now maybe it is part of the assimilation process or something…but now I don’t worry about it and just know that whatever happens will be fine and will happen one way or another. Just like gatherings of groups of people anywhere in the world, people will always complain about something, something will always be forgotten, but there will also be just as many things that go unexpectedly well and many people who turn out to make the event a success. So that is what happened in Ghanzi this year. It was combined this year with the campaign for the 16 Days of Activism for Against Violence Against Women—which matched well with the designated AIDS Day theme of “Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS”. Which meant that the speeches mentioned as part of their address that women are more greatly affected by this disease for many reasons and that issues that affect women like violence and power, etc must also be addressed in order to effectively address HIV. Good plan. President Festus Mogae even came out for the event and addressed the crowd saying something about that idea, at least that was what I was told—Setswana learning has kind of hit a plateau for now... There were a few famous Batswana artists who came out to perform for the event too. At the organization tents I met some great people who are doing some great things. I actually shook hands and spoke with the president too. It was a good day. I guess this is what its all about right?


In honor of World AIDS Day, Charleshill also had events for our own community as a way of getting people involved in a way that is fun and active. That is really the focus of most activities we are trying to do. Enough of these long programs that don’t really reach anyone except for the free food, t-shits or key chains that people receive for attending…In Charleshill we are focusing on the youth in the community and providing things that get people active and together. So the AIDS committee decided to hold the “Charleshill Fun Day for HIV/AIDS” as a way of commemorating the cause. As part of this Fun Day we would have a march, a girls vs. guys football (aka soccer) game, activities throughout the day and a candlelight vigil at the kgotla in the evening. Just like all event, planning didn’t really happen until the last minute and we were all doubtful if anyone was going to attend, but everyone came together to make it all really awesome!

The day began at the crack of dawn with the march. People all met up and then rode on the back of an open cargo truck to the Mamuno border with Namibia. We all had banners and posters and walked the 8K back to Charleshill while singing and laughing. The energy was high and the momentum kept building as our pace quickened and we actually ended up running part of the way back. It was a lot of fun and many more people turned out than we had expected. At the end of it our spirits were all high and most of us renewed our hope and motivation to continue to work together for this effort in whatever way we can. Lately many of us (me as well as many of the people in the offices and community) have been losing our motivation and this is just what we needed to unite together again and to see the possibility of what we can do here.

We were very lucky to have a drama group visiting for the weekend to perform their show on the PMTCT program and on educating us on HIV/AIDS. Immediately after the walk (they also walked/ran the whole 8K with us) they performed their show at the central area in front of the shops. Drama is very effective here in Botswana because it is done by youth that bring a lot of energy and creativity to present the stories back to the community in a way that they relate to and have fun as well as learn something. It is amazing to watch the crowd grow throughout a drama performance in the village. This group was fantastic and they also participated in all of the days events with us. They added so much to the day!

The soccer game took place in the afternoon on the field showgrounds near my house. It was supposed to be men vs. women but not enough women showed up in time and so we competed as co-ed teams, Charleshill community against the drama group. The whole week while we were advertising everyone was asking me if I was going to play and then they would act shocked and say they HAVE to see that! I played most of the game and everyone was shocked and applauding at how aggressive I was, how fast I ran, and every time I got the ball and did something with it. It made me think that it would be nice to go back to my high school days and play as well for real as I did for fun. I played almost the entire game but there were tons of people, both males and females, who played and came in and out and we all just had a blast! There was someone there who was saying that he was trying to get the community together to play every Sunday just for fun and to see how many people were interested so that we could create mens and womens community teams. Many people were playing and many people also turned out to watch and cheer. Again, it was a great success. But after the game most of us were exhausted from playing in the hot sun after the march and drama and all the excitement. The game ended with a huge thunderstorm that sent us all back to our homes to rest.

The candlelight vigil was supposed to begin at 7pm, but only if it wasn’t raining. I was still sleeping when the other Peace Corps Volunteer came to tell me it was time to go. You can see the road to the kgotla from my front porch so I looked out to see if I could see anyone coming that way. I reminded her that we said it would only happen if it wasn’t raining and the light drizzle still coming down was my excuse to go back to bed for a little while. I got up shortly afterwards though and decided that I needed to see if this was still going to happen and not just let it fail. I drove over to the kgotla to see if anyone was there and sure enough there were a few die-hard participators there! Together we made a few calls and went to pick some of the other up to finish off the day properly. With all the fun and excitement that the days activities held, it was nice to finish off the day actually commemorating the event in a way where we came together and sang and prayed and reflected and remembered why we were all here. There was no protocol and no program—jjust singing and sharing under the shelter of the kgotla with candles of hope burning in the night darkness as the rain came down around us. As I sat there and listened to people’s personal testimonies of how HIV has affected their lives or those of loved ones, and looked out at the glowing faces I was filled with hope and happiness for the day and the days to come. I felt complete in that space and time truly feeling the heart of my purpose for being there. I was asked to close the event and the night with closing remarks of summation and direction and then close in prayer. What I chose to say is:

I want to take this time again to thank everyone who came out today and participated in the days events. I especially want to thank our friends from the Ghanzi Artists drama group who joined us for their energy and enthusiasm—we couldn’t have done this without you. And to everyone who came and participated, this is what it is all about. When there are no answers on what to do or say to stop this terrible disease, this is where it starts. When we are united together in action, that is when we all find the strength and the hope to continue to fight and to do whatever we can to make a difference. May we continue every day as we have today.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for bringing us together today. Thank you for your never-ending love and support that provides us with our every need during this battle against HIV/AIDS. Continue to guide us in your way and to continue to serve you by serving others. Renew our hearts with the hope to continue your will every day. Be with as we part until you bring us back together again. Amen.

Then, as corny as it is, I led us in the closing song, “This Little Light of Mine,” that sang more slowly than it is usually sang in order to keep with the mood and to quickly teach them the simple words. We then added our own candles to the candle outline of the AIDS ribbon we placed in the center of the kgotla and hugged and parted ways. As simple as it was, this day was quite possibly my best yet. I am so thankful for the ways in which we are constantly reminded of our purpose and the renewal of our hearts to carry that out with joy and service.

My First Real Trip
To Gweta

This took place back in September/October but I then got so caught up in my downward slump—that and my lack of access to internet access—that I was never able to post anything. However, my time here in Botswana just wouldn’t be complete without sharing this fantastic experience…

Botswana’s Independence is celebrated each year on the last day of September. In 1966, the Bechualand Pretectorate was officially granted its independence from England to become Botswana. Botswana has always been a peaceful country with no real wars or fighting (HIV is the biggest battle this country has ever faced or probably will ever face). So when the people of this country simply asked for their independence, (they had been serving as an escape from the vicious struggles of apartheid in S. Africa and other surrounding countries) it was granted. No one thought this land was worth much of anything and appeared to be primarily barren desert with little opportunity for growth or development. No big loss or gain for anyone. But to everyone’s amazement, later that year (or maybe it was the next year) 2 of the 3 biggest diamond mines were discovered and Botswana was flourishing. Most of Botswana’s stability and development over the past 38 years has been based on this discovery, although those areas only make up a very small part of the land here. Cattle and other livestock are how the majority of Batswana find a living througout the country.

So for my first Independence in Botswana I and many other Peace Corps Volunteers decided that we should take a fun trip together over the extended holiday weekend. Since we are all on the “Peace Corps Budget” camping seemed like the best way for a group to be able to get together. We headed out to the middle of the country between Maun and Francistown to a little village called Gweta where Planet Baobab is located. This is a well-known and visited place by many tourists but it isn’t for the vast animal life—but rather for the vast open space on the Pans.

The first night we all just gathered together from our various sites around the country and set up camp as we each arrived. We spent a relaxing evening at camp sharing laughs and stories around the fire about our time apart and our different experiences. We also spent a lot of time singing and dancing and just being loud and wild Americans because that is often what happens when a group of us gather together! During our first 3 months at site we are not allowed to travel because we are supposed to be getting to know our community and letting people getting to know us. We refer to this time as “lockdown” because although it is for a good purpose, most of us are not used to that type of restriction. So this was really our first real time to get away and get together and we made the most of it.

The second night we all unanimously decided that we wanted to do something special (and didn’t mind spending a little money to do so). We browsed through the menu of options and all decided that it would be great to take the tour where we were able to ride on quad bikes (aka. 4-wheelers) through the pans and then camp out under the open sky cooking over the open fire. We decided that it was all or none and luckily we didn’t have to convince anyone because everyone wanted to do it—with 18 people that is quite a feat!

That afternoon we packed up all our stuff and waited for our guides. We headed out in open safari trucks through the bush while watching the scenery around us change. We passed by 2 of the oldest and biggest Baobab trees that seemed to be filled with a sort of life different from anything I had seen before. Through the hour or so drive out we watched the shrubs get smaller and smaller until we were right on the edge of vast nothingness.

We jumped on the quad bikes at this point and took a 2-hour ride through the Pans experiencing a whole new form of beauty. Everywhere you looked all you could see was blue sky and grey-brown earth. Experiencing this site on the quad bikes was like no other way to see it! There were no trees, no animals, no sign of life anywhere to be seen as far as you could look. The Pans are flooded during the rainy season and then various animals migrate to where the water is. During the rest of the year, however, these flooded areas dry up completely and all that is left is dry salty earth, almost appearing like the largest fossil you could imagine. We rode through the pans at high speeds as if we were riding to the end of the earth only stopping once to switch drivers (we were in pairs on the bikes) and to examine the various remains that could be discovered in the earth at a closer look. I was the second driver that then took us into where we were going to camp (the guides had it all set up for us and just had to direct the way). As we were headed into camp the last hour or so was just spent watching the sun get lower and lower and the sky and landscape around us get more and more beautiful. Like so many things I have experienced here, I never expected to see so much beauty in so little—although this seemed like the largest span of land I have ever been on, there were no distractions of the eye, just vast beauty in nothingness and the shared time and space of all of us together for this experience in peace.

As we drove into camp, the ones who remained, cheered us on, welcomed us back and then got on the bikes for an evening ride. As we were driving in, the sun was at its lowest point of sunset turning everything to a warm and rosy glow. It looked as if the sun was going to fall right off the edge of the earth! Experiencing life from this place made me really see why Columbus had to fight so hard to prove that the earth really wasn’t flat!

As soon as the sun set it was darker than anything I could have imagined! I had never taken any astronomy classes or really paid much attention to the sky other than noticing when it was a full or new moon. So until this point I knew that the sun rose and set, but I never really tought of the moon going through a similar process. So when everything around us turned to the darkest blackness I could imagine (even your eyes could not adjust enough to find anything!) I thought maybe the moon was not out that night. Within a few hours of sitting around the fire (and eating an amazing steak dinner that our guides prepared for us!) the biggest ball of bright light seemed to be appearing from the edge of the earth. I thought it was a car heading towards us with its beaming lights, but sure enough it was the bright almost full moon rising. For the rest of the night the moon acted like our giant spotlight on our humble camp. We sat around the fire signing and telling stories once again, but this time with a new sense of peace and calmness that wasn’t there the night before, sharing more reflective thoughts on our time and purpose here.

As the night wore on, one by one many of us had wandered off to find stillness and quit underneath the blanket sky of the stars and moon. And similarly, one by one we all found our place to lay our sleeping bags on the dry flat earth and sleep under the giant sky. As with most slumper parties I have attended, I was one of the last awake and huddled together in a 6-person spoon to try to conserve heat on this chilly night.

The next morning we packed up camp and headed back to town. We stopped once to visit a friendly pack of cute little meerkats (think Timon from Lion King) that let us get right up next to them and take their picture before we continued on our way. It was enough to satisfy some of our desires for wildlife.

As we unloaded our things and sat together at the bar/restaurant wishing we didn’t have to separate again, we made our next plans to meet again and all parted ways back to our sites spread across the country. But I am pretty sure that we all looked at the desert land just a little differntly now…

Life is a series of peaks and valleys. No matter where you are that holds true. Although I have always been aware of these times in my life, over the years I have tried to hold on the peaks and revel in them just a little bit more, while trying to acknowledge the valleys as just that and shorten the time I spend down so low. In Botswana as a Peace Corps Volunteer the peaks and valleys seem more dramatic than any other time I’ve known (and for a drama queen that says a lot!) The good times are higher than anything you can imagine, but the low and lonely times of fear or hopelessness and lower than I could have imagined…But just like every other series of these peaks and valleys I try to keep perspective on what it is that I am learning and all the ways that I am growing to be able to overcome even more and to be that much more compassionate—with myself and with others. I knew that I would eventually come out of this sad, sickening, slump but crawling out was painful.

I can’t even fully explain what was “wrong” but general feelings of lack of direction, the weight of just how little I can actually DO here to “make a difference”, the homesickness and inability to see and hear and visit loved ones when I want to, and then the whole process of culture shock, assimilation and adjustment just tends to weigh on a person I guess. Also, since this was always something I wanted to do, the realization that it was hard and I was struggling was a difficult picture to face some days.

I understand now, however, that that experience is necessary to make this an even richer experience and so that I can better learn and grow and serve to my fullest ability. Without the low times we often can’t reach as high. Thanks to the amazing support of our APCD and all of the PC staff and other volunteers, as well as so many of my wonderful Batswana friends I was able to see my place here and to come out of it even happier than I came in. I found inspiration from many places, one of the biggest of course was knowing how many people are back in the states praying for me and thinking of me and people who believe in me at times when I no longer can. The hardest part of all of this was that I began to doubt myself which is the most dangerous thing to do.

I’m not even sure when it all changed, but little by little, I found enough sources of inspiration that reminded me that there is something bigger going on here than my own experience and through that realization was able to see the beauty in the struggle that eventually gave me the strength to climp out and experience this place in a whole new light. Then before I knew it I was where I am now looking back on it all as that time and place necessary to get me to where I am. Thank God for time to get us through whatever we are going through!

One night I just poured over every resource I had or could get my hands on to feed my soul with the nourishment it was craving. In my neighbor’s yoga magazine of all places, I found these various quotes that I pieced together to describe part of the picture:

If we recognize our situation we can begin to be open to what is.

We have to prepare ourselves to see and hear—and to be there when we are called.

We can do the divine will when we do not do our own.

I live, yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me. (Galations 2:20)



Then, I also found these passages on service to help direct my path:

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was duty. I acted and behold, duty was joy! ~great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore

Feed people, serve people, love everybody, tell the truth. ~Maharajji

We can only work on ourselves to keep another person in our heart: to be there, open, waiting, loving, spacious, nonjudging, appreciating…and listening.

When you offer yourself in service it opens your own heart so that you may once again taste the sweetness of your own heart’s innate compassion.


So these are some of the many sources of inspiration (at least the ones that I can relay in words) that helped me out of that awful slump to be able to enjoy this experience even more…and much differently now! Unfortunatly, I have very few journal entries during this time (part of why I wanted to write this…) because I just was so sick of myself and my thoughts that I never wanted to put them down on paper. So now as I look around and see all that I have and all that I love and realize just how far I have gone and how much I have grown over these past few months I realize that I don’t have much of a record of this process. I shared countless conversations with a few other volunteers, that I wished I could replay on tape, because together in our stuggles we were able to find wisdom and strength to pull through it together. These conversations really served as our external journals and sounding boards and it is difficult to imagine what it would have been like without that. But many times all I wished for was that I could have the people back at home with me to talk to and hug and just experience all the highs and lows together. But now as sit here on the other side, I can feel the power of those bonds even greater than before and I am even more thankful and hopeful for what lies ahead…

I am in Gabs (the capitol city) right now at the Peace Corps office because I had a bit of a "breakdown" this week (one that has been perpetuating for about 2+ weeks) so I had to get away and talk to someone...but barring no other outbursts, my internet connection will still be very infrequent for the time being...

My lack of connection to friends and family has left me spiraling into a mad bout of homesickness mixed with a bad case of frustration with work. Due to my exorbitant mood swings I have been unable to write letters home because when I most need it all I can do is cry or complain and that is not at all the message of my life here and one that I refuse to portray to loved ones at home.

When I am not feeling like that I don't feel like sitting still to write a letter because I am finally out of my slump. This roller-coaster emotional ride is giving me motion sickness. Apparently, this is "normal" to feel at this stage (6-9 months) but that doesn't make it any easier to get through or make me miss people any less.

The issues that I'm dealing with now are big ones some days and little ones other days, but its real and its life and its just the way it is. I have a good support system of friends and co-workers in my village and peace corps around the country and of course I know that I have friends and family back at home who all want the best for me...All 3 of which really want to know what I'm really doing here...that question will become more evident in time...but for now I am just being.

Today I am taking some time to reflect and refocus and am planning to spend the weekend at a peace corps party with a bunch of friends. Should be just what I need to hold me over until I hear more about lovely people coming to see me here or until the phones start working regularly enough to hear those much misses voices and until the letters start flowing again... Despite my moodiness, every day I am reminded of how fabulous my life is and how lucky I am to be able to share it with all the amazing people I know around the world. For that I am truly thankful.

The whole time I was applying to Peace Corps and then preparing to come here, I never really thought of it like a sacrifice. This is something that I’ve wanted to so for so many years and it always just seemed like such a perfect program for me: one of adventure and travel, challenges and opportunities, the perfect forum to actually practice what I preach and all that I’ve studied, written and spoke about for years.

The first several months I was here I was constantly overcome by the euphoric state of contentment of being exactly where I am supposed to be doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. People from home wrote to me about how exciting it all was and how much I was doing and various comments about “changing the world” and “serving the Lord”. As much as I needed to receive these letters and packages and sentiments, I honestly never felt like I was doing much of anything.

Everyday I was just living my life—only I was living it in Botswana. I have a cute little brick house with friendly neighbors. I have an office (but no office equipment and no office supplies) and a place to “go to work” with (mostly) wonderful people who laugh and smile with me and make my days worth getting up for. I have great friends—from Peace Corps and Botswana that help the time to pass by pleasantly or who help to make this into the crazy adventure of living somewhere far away from home.

But day to day, I never really felt like anything I was doing was all that special and that I was almost afraid to tell anyone at home in fear that it might shatter their ideas of my life here or their dreams that I needed to much to be able to keep going. In all honesty though, it never really felt that tough. Sure there were minor inconveniences and things that make life difficult—like water going out for hours or days at a time (usually just when I was about to clean or cook or bathe…) or constant transport uncertainties or inconsistent and unexplainable phone connections or lack thereof or a number of other things that now just have melded into “the way life is”…

The thing is…now that these minor inconveniences have just become normal (and honestly most of the time, my life seemed somewhat “normal”) now it is the REAL things that are starting to get to me…and now I am realizing just how tough this all is. Now I have to learn how to deal with the loss of friends, co-workers, and people in the community (due mostly to traffic accidents or because “they were sick for a long time” because of course no one ever dies from AIDS or at least never talks about it…). I’m also trying to figure out just what I can say to someone who is pregnant (and may be HIV+) but won’t get tested because her husband won’t let her or else he will leave her—what can I say that will actually help her and her baby? Or how can I be there encourage someone who is HIV+ and has been waiting for the ARV drugs but doesn’t have anyone in his life—close friends or family—that can help him through this process? How can I encourage and empower these people and actually “build capacity”? What can I REALLY do? There is no manual for these types of things. No matter how good or bad a pre-service training is, one can train us on how to do this.

Before swearing in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer we all have to meet with the director and talk about our thoughts and feeling and challenges and plans. I was so sure of it all and so confident that when asked about my commitment to serve as a volunteer I stated, “I am completely committed to Peace Corps for 2, maybe even for the 3rd year. I believe in it. I have wanted to do this for most of my life and have been trying to get here for many years. I feel like this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now. At this point, you are going to have to force me to go home. I’m not going anywhere, nothing is sending me home—go ahead and try!” I felt like I was asking for trouble with those statements…like I would be eating my words someday…But still, I said it with conviction.

Although I still feel like this most days and I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be and I am doing just what I want to do…now my confidence and assurance aren’t quite so confident and assured. Now after 6 months, it is tough. Now I really feel the weight of this sacrifice and really understand why people make a big deal out of this. For the first time, I really feel like this is a sacrifice. I wonder some days why I signed up for this self-imposed poverty, this constant state of uncertainty and lack of access to almost everything, for this place so far away from everyone I know and love. The old Peace Corps slogan used to be, “The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love”. I really liked the idea of that. As mom has said to me on more than one occasion, “Kristin, nothing in your life has ever been easy” and that’s just the way I like it. I love a challenge. I love adventure. I love trying to things. And most of all I love—and live for—learning.

Here I am continuing to learn everyday. I’m learning things about myself that I thought I had all figured out. And I am also learning that I did have some of it figured out right. But most of all I am learning just how much through all of it, I really miss people and miss a lot of things. But it is through the connections at “home” and the connections we continue to make as we set out on each of our journeys in different directions (hoping to converge our paths again)—that is the place where our hearts and characters grow and the place where we become and are able to be who we truly are. On good days and bad days, we really are all united across the world and it is our duty to do something every day to make it just a little bit better in whatever way we can. Every phone call and letter and package I have received has helped to make my world better in many ways. Every smile I have received and every hopeful word I have heard (and understood!) has provided just a little more encouragement to keep me here and to keep me going. I just hope and pray that I can do enough to instill the same encouragement and hope to make a difference in other people’s lives the way they all have in mine.

My Peace Corps friend received this statement in a letter from home. Thankfully, she then shared it with me. It has been an ongoing source of encouragement to me:

Just by being there you are accomplishing something,
and by the time you go, you will have done much more
than just BE there.

So for now I am just “being”. And in the meantime I am sharing my life with people who are sharing their lives with me and together we are all trying to just live together—healthy and happily. That’s all I can ask for and more than I could ever hope for.

Fellow Peace Corps People

I feel like I haven’t ever really talked much about the people I spend my time with and that is what this whole experience is all about—relationships and personal impact. Most of my pictures are of the other Peace Corps people so I should tell you a bit about them for when you finally see some pictures...for now its just for your information. I’ll share info on all of the Batswana friends I am making here very soon. The other Peace Corps people have been great! We are all so diverse but have come to really form some great bonds over time!

Four people went home now from when we started in Philly back in March. The first one left before we even met our host families or really began training. The 2nd went home in the first few weeks because she realized that she really didn’t want to do this (Those 2 were the oldest and the youngest in the group). The third one to leave unfortunately couldn’t be sworn in because she was injured during the site visit when she fell into a ditch and broke her leg! Pretty sad! She spent several weeks in South Africa and had surgery and never was able to swear in. I think she is back in the states by now. I actually hear that she is coming back here to Botswana though. It is a miracle that she was medically cleared because she was pretty badly hurt! The last one that went back to the states broke my heart…she was my best friend here and everyone adored her. She was everyone’s favorite. Jean had to leave because of medical reasons but is hoping to come back within the year to finish out her service. She had some unexplained problems that they originally thought was parasitic, but then they thought she might have a chronic disease so they sent her home to figure it out. Very, very sad…
Of the other 35 of us that remain, there are a lot of different personalities, ages, experiences, ethnicities, and other things that make us all very unique. But we are all here together in Botswana throughout the country and are all working on HIV/AIDS. There are 3 different programs that we are divided amongst: Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), Home-based care and Orphan Care (HBC/OC), and my group who works with the District AIDS Coordinators (DAC) in the government offices.

There are 3 different groups that I have been a part of since I got here and just as an added reflection on how this is exactly where God wants me to be right now, somehow they all involve my favorite number/holy number 7. I didn’t realize it at first, but over time it has been cool to see the Divine involvement in my experiences since I arrived…

AND THEN THERE WERE 7: During training, I got to know a number of people pretty well when we all realized that at the end of the day it was the group of us that always remained together hanging out and talking. We named it “and then there were seven…” because there were always 7 of us that ended up together. There is really 8 of us though, but 2 of them would somehow not be there one day or the next. This is still some of my closest friends here. They are me and the following 7 others:
ü Peter Ellwell, 24, from Minnesota and proud of it! He is the only other DAC person and therefore is my “tandem buddy” because he is on the other side of the country. He’s gives the best hugs of anyone in the group and is always available to lend a friendly ear or go for a walk when needed. He also has a great perspective on life and is just a great friend.
ü Michael Gillette, 24, from Texas who studied music composition and is a very talented artist. He decided he wanted to do Peace Corps one day and just signed up and here he is! He is now stationed on the east side of Botswana.
ü Jean Milam, 28, from San Francisco is actually of one my closest friends here. Her site is clear on the other side of the country (despite our request to be near each other). She was a social worker/counselor back in the states and is really just a really cool, laid-back, awesome person to hang around. She cracks me up and also seems to understand and love me similarly to some great people back home. She keeps me sane here much of the time. However, now that she is home in the states we are just hoping and praying that everything turns out ok she will get to come back within a year, but we’ll see. :0(
ü Shannon Lorenz, 24(?) is just awesome. She is from Minnesota which is an automatic bonus point, but is just great regardless! She has done some really cool stuff including motivational speaking to school kids. She is hilarious and a ton of fun, but also someone who is very compassionate and fantastic at just listening and providing good advice. She makes great connections with people! One of our favorite common phrases of hers is “I’m not scared…!”
ü Denise Prendergast, 34 from Detroit and California and was my partner in crime throughout training. She also was a social worker/counselor in the states and was a DeadHead back in the day and is still very cool and laid-back. She is one of those people that I could always rely on to stick by my side back in training or now that she is many hours away in the south of the country to send a funny text message whenever in need. Friendship and respect are very important to her and she is therefore an excellent friend and would do just about anything for her friends.
ü Veronique Ortiz, 25 from San Jose and is now my neighbor in Charleshill. Her Setswana name is Segametsi (which means water carrier/bride). She gave the speech at our swearing in ceremony and has since been in tons of articles and is therefore famous around Botswana! She is Vietnamese Peruvian and beautiful with long dark hair that everyone is amazed by. She is super into yoga and studied it at an ashram back in the states a while back which changed her life. She has a radiant smile and really sees the best in people and is a great person to share my site with. We both feel like we are very blessed to have each other most days!
ü Melissa Shouse, 29 from San Francisco and Oklahoma. She has a very interesting family and past and tells the best stories! She is the other one who is in my area, although she is about 80 kilometers away. We both share our stories and laugh together but also spend a lot of time having some really in-depth conversations about life. She is very creative and likes to play but also is very serious about what she is doing here.

All of us had a lot of fun and laughs together but also really have been able to discuss some real life topics throughout it all. I really believe that all of us have the ability to really make a great impact in our communities. We are learning a lot from each other through continuing to share our stories over text messages on our cell phones since we can’t afford to actually call each other very much! We plan to travel together on breaks and many of us are talking about probably living near each other back in San Francisco after 2 years! That is far, far away from now…but it gives us something to hold on to and to get through tough days and something new to think about…



TEAM GHANZI: There is another group of Peace Corps people that I share a lot with—Team Ghanzi. There are 7 of us assigned to the Ghanzi District. We are all in very different villages far away from each other, but we are all about an hour or so away from Ghanzi—except me and Sega in Charleshill who are about 2 hours or so away.

So, first of all, I am in Charleshill with Sega as I mentioned above. We spent some time getting used to each other in the beginning because we realized that we really don’t know each other very much, are very different people in some ways (although very much the same in several ways too…) and we were kind of thrown in together—right next door—and expected for everything to just be great. It is and we are so happy to have each other here to share our experiences, but it took both of us a little bit of an adjustment period. Now we really can’t imagine doing this without the other and are great support for each other as well as partners in crime for some of the more fun times! Malebogo is the other person I am closest to and the three of us get together quite often. She is working with the PMTCT programme in Tsootsha which is in my sub-district, so we have many excuses to get together or just talk about work-related stuff. This helped both of us a lot in the beginning when we really needed to just talk work things over with someone and now we are a powerful team that shares our experiences to work with our communities better. We also have a lot of fun together.

The others in the group are Nate “Mpho” who is in a tiny village (only ~400-500 people) named Qabo. He is from Cody, WY and totally awesome! He is super laid-back and has a great perspective on things which helps to balance out the group a lot. He never gets caught up in drama but just kind of casually laughs or simply says “Is it?” which is the big phrase here in Southern Africa. We all say it non-stop but Nate has it mastered. His Setswana name is Mpho which means gift, but usually goes by is nickname which is Poster (“posta!”). Somehow nicknames in Setswana tend to be longer than the actual name…go figure!

The other 2 people are Joanna and Jeff who are in New Xade. Both Qabo and New Xade are predominantly Basarwa villages which means that they have to learn to speak Sesarwa which is a clicking language and the most difficult language to learn. There are also several different dialects of the language which adds another level of difficulty. I have only learned one word and I can’t even pronounce it correctly most of the time! I hear that this is making their assignments even more difficult too. The final person in Team Ghanzi is Matt Onega (he doesn’t have a Setswana name) who was a PCV from last years group. He is doing the same job I am doing in Ghanzi and he kind of plays the role of big brother to all of us new PCVs and also acts as the host when we all meet up in Ghanzi. Together the 7 of us are one heck of a group! We are all pretty separated from the others so we have to be pretty flexible and adaptable and be up for just about anything. So far our many Team Ghanzi adventures have provided many opportunities to put us to the test, but also have formed us into a pretty close group.






There are many other people in the group that have been awesome or others that I haven’t had as many connections with, but all of them have impacted my experience so far. I won’t go into as much detail just because I feel like it would end up into a book, but here are the others…Now that we are all spread throughout the country I don’t have as much contact with all of these people but over time I am sure that new stories will help to paint a better picture of the people I am here with…


CLUSTER 7: In training we were clustered into groups of 3-4 for language learning within our different programmes. All of the groups got pretty close because we all adjusted to this new place together and the clusters were the first point of communication for any and all issues—including the challenge of learning a new language! 3 of us really excelled in our language learning, but Mary Beth always struggled just a bit. Our group had a few struggles to get over in the beginning but we all communicate well and just got it all out in the open and worked through it all. Many other groups had conflicts later as training went on, but by then our group was a strong cohesive unit! We all were pretty dedicated to training and Peace Corps and also liked to have a lot of fun together—a great combination!

~Mary Beth Hunt, 45 has been a CEO of a nursing home and also for United Way for many years and comes with a great deal of experience. She was the one who lived closest to me and I spent a lot of time with her and her host family during training. She is really great! She has a great sense of humor and kept our group laughing every day. She struggled a lot with the language but more than made up for it in her personality! She is now as far away from me as she can get and still be in the same country in Tutume near Francistown. We still get in touch over text messages from time to time to check in.
~Harmony Caton, 29 is from DC and also in Public Health and we have been hanging out since Philly. She lived in Namibia with Foreign Service for 2 years and said that over time she felt herself loosing part of that person she had become there and wanted to get back to it and be involved with Peace Corps with public health back in Africa. She is a great friend but also was pretty high strung for most of training. Over time others saw how great she was too. During the last week of training she switched from the DAC programme to PMTCT because we were asked if there were any volunteers and she felt like this was a better fit for her afterall.
~Jabeh Peabody first introduced herself to the group as a Liberian American. She just finished her Masters in International Development and has a lot of knowledge from her studies that she is now getting to put to use. We always liked to make fun of her because her host family was an older woman who was like her Nkuku (grandmother) and liked to spoil her. We also liked to take advantage of all of her cooking and hospitality too! Jabeh, along with the others is a great friend.

THE OTHERS
All of whom have impacted me in some way, some whom I am still getting to know better…Together we make up one heck of a powerful group of people!

-Bonnie Orton. From Peoria, Illinois and is now the oldest one in the group at 66. She is smiling and very good at making good one-on-one connections and just an great person. She has great, positive things to share all the time and really just has a great perspective.
-Brenda. From Georgia. We had a few moments of friction during training for no reason really, but now are great! She cares very much about people and just tells it like it is.
-Kate Freeman. The Buddist. In her 40s. Worked for the government in various positions for the last 15-20 years. Has had a very interesting and diverse past. Things you would never guess! Has been trying to get to Africa for quite some time and is very happy to be here and to find herself some more again.
-Rodney Paul. Rodney likes to talk. A lot. Kind of rambles a bit but also has some good stuff to say every once in a while. A little and random and seems a little arrogant at times but really is a very positive person that really
-Janice. Fellow public health person who just finished her masters. From Florida. Is kind of the high-maintenance princess of the group but seems to also be doing just fine!
-Jim. Ex AirForce and father and grandfather. Also gives great hugs and provides great nuggets of wisdom from time to time. He is stationed in the north middle part of the country in a very isolated area that is noted as the best fishing in the country and is therefore ecstatic!
-Nicki. From Cadillac, Michigan, Just graduated from college and is very emotional but also always likes to joke around and have fun.
-Amanda. Has the worlds best laugh and one of the best attitudes in the group. Also the one that most of the guys in the group have their eyes set on. She is just all-around really cool. Is pretty quiet in the large group, but one on one is both cogent and hilarious.
-Kenna. From MN too. Declared “best dressed” in Botswana despite lack of comfort items and living in a hut. She also has been seen using Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen lip gloss, but don’t tell anyone…
-Suzi. She was one of the first people that I met before we left the states. We spent time hanging out in the airport getting to know each other and spent a few times in training having out too. She’s from Arkansas, but turned out cool anyway (tee hee that comment was for you, Kristen and Jason!)
-Anne. The artist of the group. Very quiet but really great when she does open up.
-David Eaton. The best way that I can explain him is from a funny story from training. On our first visit to shadow the current volunteers during training, David and Shannon got to go up to Kasane to the Chobe area. They were outside one evening at a nice restaurant when a grasshopper jumped on his glass. Shannon, in her normal joking manner, says to him, “I dare you to eat it, I’ll pay you 5 pula” Without hesitation he pops it in his mouth and eats it and everyone is completely shocked and doesn’t even know what to say or do. Then he turns to Shannon and says, “It’s ok, Shannon, you don’t have to pay me, I was thinking about eating it before you even said anything.” As crazy as that part is, he then spent the next week or two violently ill after retuning to training and had somehow contracted tick-bite fever. People were really worried about him for a while and then that story came out and you just have to look confused and laugh!
-Judy Huth. From Akron, Ohio! Her daughter just had a baby back home and it was hard for her not to be there. She really wanted to come to Africa which is really the reason why she joined Peace Corps.
-Kathi Eggleston. Another Minnesotan! She was the other DAC who switched to the PMTCT programme the last week of training. She was a great person who always had a positive outlook without making everything too rose-colored. She was awesome to be around!
-Ruth. Ruth, what can I say about her. She is very distinctive… She is from Brooklyn. She is in her early to mid 40’s. We had a few rifts during training but spent our first in-service training as roommates and are actually ok now. It’s funny how everything that happens teaches us something about ourselves and how to live with others in peace…
-Sherrice. She signed up for Peace Corps to offer support to a co-worker who was applying so that they could go through it together. Funny how things work, she is here with us and her friend is still back in the states! Sherrice is great though, she had a bunch of problems during training but she handled them all with a good sense of clarity because of her faith and fabulous sense of humor!
-Renata. She is 23 and engaged. We were all shocked that she was leaving her fiancé back home, but she didn’t seem nearly as bothered by it. She has one of the highest energy levels in the whole group and is obsessed with nutrition and exercise.
-Bob and Debra. They are the married couple and everyone adores them! They also were my “cousins” because our host families were related so we shared our different stories and experiences to try to figure out the picture of our families better. Bob is a big bald man who is always cracking crazy jokes but also just really offers good feedback to almost every situation. He is also like a big kid at times. He was one of the people to give the speech at the swearing in ceremony and during part of it raised his hand and said “Pula!” like they do here in Botswana and that is how everyone in Botswana knows him…Debra is the sweetest thing with the greatest laugh (which she gets to use a lot!). Both Bob and Debra and fantastic one on one and also are awesome together!
-Marcella, 23. She went to Spellman in Atlanta, but I am not exactly sure where she is “from”. She is awesome. She and I were instantly friends and were roommates in Philly and South Africa and when we first arrived in Botswana before we left for our host family homes. She is spunky and independent and has a great head on her shoulders. She also looks great no matter what her living conditions are and was named “the beautiful one” right away by many of the counterparts.
-Sinu, 24 (?). Everyone also refers to Sinu as the beautiful one…I guess there are a lot of us who are beautiful here...Sinu is very sweet and emotional. Everything that she says and does is sincere and heartfelt. I remember her tearing up a few times during training when talking about the situation everyone is facing here, and I’m sure she had a few good cries at site working in home-based care! In addition to her soft side, she is also a ton of fun and one of her favorite phrases is, “Ooh girl…you know it!”
-Yumiko, 25 (?). She has traveled around the world her whole life. She is extremely quiet and reserved, often off by herself rather than hanging around with the rest of the group—it always seems like she is stuck in her thoughts. When she does speak up though her comments are filled with intense passion and heartfelt emotion. She takes her work here VERY seriously and has actually been labeled “the workaholic” by Peace Corps as well as Batswana. However, she is placed in Selibe Phikwe which has the worst picture of HIV (rates as high as 70% for some age groups between 15-34 years!) and the most work to do!