Muckity Muck

so i'm getting ready to leave my little room in the village for a 3
week trip. i'm finishing food, packing, tidying up. i decided to wash
some clothes and its sometimes easier to use the river than hauling
buckets of water, especially when the community taps are not on. so i
packed a bag and headed out for the river not giving it too much
thought. i wind my way down to the river, not finding my normal path.
weird. i hit the river with a surprise slip in the mud and managed to
catch myself on the overgrown tangle of reeds next to me. eeew! gross
mucky river swirling with an unusually strong current completely
hiding my usual stepping stones. staring down, i realize duh. both
roads are washed out from the rain. it rained all night. of course the
river is swollen and muddy! so much for laundry today. i turned and
wound my way back up the path regretting my lack of umbrella in the
hot sun.

Dying Ducks

football (soccer) is a very popular sport for men in south africa. at the matches, people blow a big horn/noisemaker called a kuduzela. it originally was a horn/antaler from the kudu that was used to summon villagers to meetings. now they are made of plastic and used as team spirit. since the 2010 world cup is in south africa, these noise makers and many versions are the biggest fad in toys. many children in my village constantly blow these mini ones. to me, the cheap wannabe ones in the village sound like dying ducks and i want to hurt whoever gave these out. i appologize to all those i annoyed with my noise makers when i was little.

Washed Out

I went into Pretoria this weekend. Bridget was leaving because she decided Peace Corps wasn't fitting into her life's plan. I had a nice weekend in the city, hanging out with Bridget when she wasn't doing paperwork. I also took all my clothes to the laundromat since i hate hand washing. I also found where the weekly farmer's market is and got some GREAT cheese for a grilled cheese and some fresh strawberries at a steal. I decided a treat was ok to celebrate the end of the school year. I really didn't want to come back to the village, but I needed to. I left Pretoria on time, but spent all day traveling. For some reason, it took over 6 hours for the less than 3 hour trip. I show up to my taxi rank and am waiting for a taxi to come. There were none sitting there because it was too late and most of the drivers had already quit for the day. Finally a taxi came, but the driver needed to talk to me. "You know there is no road into Mare, right? You'll have to walk. Is that ok?" Like I have a choice. So on I went. The taxi took me part of the way, then let me off to walk the last 2-3 miles. At this point, I regretted bringing all my laundry to the city, but at least I was able to make it back ok.

Stuck in the Mud

It rained. The bus slid off the dirt road into a bush and got stuck in the mud. The bush shopped it from sliding down the hill to the river. They tried to get it unstuck...but failed.

Week 16: Awards and Party

This week we had a simple party and awards ceremony. Each girl got a membership certificate, crochet hook (by request of the 'school board'), group photo, and their club book. We played hot potato, 3 legged race, and water balloon toss. Then we celebrated with rice krispie treats and juice. The girls had a great time. It has been a long, hard 16 weeks. I hope it was worth it. It is my hope that these 22 girls came away with something more than they started with and that they will carry it with them always.

Some Photos

Ok. My intention was to share photos on my blog as I went, but I have no way to easily or cheaply upload them anymore. So, I made it to the internet cafe this afternoon and we have a fairly good connection. Hopefully this will work to upload a few photos.

Ok...not as many as I'd like. But I must go. Hope these are ok. Some from the Girls Club and 2 down by the river. Next time... :)

Week 15: Goals and Candles

This week we worked on setting goals. It was a huge challange. The girls didn't understand what a goal is or that setting goals is a good thing. We talked a lot about the steps to go through to set a goal that will help you be successful. I found a really cool interactive website that goes through the steps and used it to make a hard copy of the process step by step. Then they created their own goals and went through the steps they'll take to reach that goal. But I guess even the simple steps were too advanced. Next time I guess we need to start with something more simple and defining what a goal is. After that, I split the girls into 3 groups and I worked with 1 group making candles while Cainah and Elizabeth worked with the other 2 groups to finish their piggy banks. Then we rotated groups. The candles took longer than expected, but they turned out great. We had red, blue, and green candles when finished. Someone asked one of the girls what the candles were for. Her answer shocked me. "They're for Christmas." I totally forgot Christmas is in a few weeks. It's too hot for Christmas. :) But ready or not, here it comes. I guess it's time for me to get ready for my dad and Alicia to come.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!

A bunch of us met up in Polokwane for a traditional US Thanksgiving dinner. I wasn't sure I would be able to make it out of the village since it had rained so much. Cars were getting stuck in the mud and transport in and out pretty much stopped. I managed to make it out, thank goodness. We met at a former volunteer's house (a woman who fell in love during her service, married, and moved here permanently). She's been a great help for the current volunteers by providing a place to crash and free showers for anyone passing through. She also occasionally hosts parties such as this one. In true American fashion, we feasted on way too much food. We munched on snacks all day while several cooked dinner. One of the PCV's parents were visiting, so they brought us lots of treats and topped off our feast with cranberry sauce. We finally settled down for a great feast at 3. Then again at 7. Then again at 10. Everyone managed to find a spot here and there to crash for the night. Then we feasted again in the morning for breakfast. It was fantastic!:)

We also had a white elephant gift exchange. Some of the gifts were fantastic, some quite wacky. One girl came away with a can of Doom (my favorite weapon against insects). One girl won a baseball hat made out of woven plastic bags. Sometimes the crafts that come from the villages surprise me. I managed to come away with an amazing floor mat. I've been planning to make myself one, but haven't gotten to it yet. Now I have a pre-made one. It was perfect. Cement floors just don't always do it for me. After a short but amazing weekend, I made it back to the village safe and sound. The rain finally stopped and the ground is quickly drying out in the hot sun. The trip in was much easier.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. Mine was pretty darn good.

Week 14: Effects of Alcohol and Safety Pin Bracelets

This week we discussed alcohol and some of the effects alcohol abuse can have on a person or family. The girls didn't seem to take it too seriously, but they seemed to understand the content. Then we made beaded bracelets with safety pins. The bracelets were a BIG hit. I have hunted and hunted and hunted for enough beads to do this project with. I changed the design at the last minute thinking I did not have enough beads. Turns out, I have way more beads than I really needed. We have some left over and they can do it again next year. So awesome!

Just Peachy!

Peach season has officially begun. I just had my first peach from a
neighbor's tree. It was AMAZING! Maybe even the best peach I've ever
had. It was just the right sweetness and solidness. It looked like how
you would picture a peach to look and was peach colored on the inside,
only it was about the size of 2-3 walnuts. I never knew there were so
many different types of peaches before living here. My host family's
peaches are not ripe yet, but they have about 2 dozen peach trees.
Some are sweeter than others. Some are mushy, some crunchy. Some look
like peaches, some are more yellow, some more green, some more pink.
Some are larger, some smaller. My favorites are from one of the
smaller trees and are a bit greener, crunchier and sweeter than the
rest. Last year by January, I was so sick of peaches. I wish I knew
how to do something with them, like make pie, cobbler, jam, or can
them. Then maybe I wouldn't get so sick of them when my host family
keeps delivering them to my door.

It's A Hot One

It's 90 degrees in the shade. I wish I had a fan!

Hello Rainy Season!

The thunder is rumbling. The lightning is strobe lighting through my
shades. The rain is splattering my windows. It has stormed every
evening this week, but today it waited till 11 while I'm trying to
sleep! I've enjoyed sitting on my porch as the bolts of lightning
streak across the sky. It really is magnificent. The branches and
fingers so bright and bold. The thunder rumbles, but occationally
cracks making me jump even when I know it's coming. Eventually the
rain starts to splatter the ground, usually after a huge gusty display
of wind. The smell of rain so crisp in the air. Eventually, it turns
into a roaring downpour. I even had to put a towel at the crack of my
door the other evening as the rain was coming in at such an angle it
was flooding the floor. It quickly fills buckets when they are under
the down spout of the rain gutters, allowing me to haul much less
water. It's so much needed. All the fields and trees have turned to
green. It has, however, created a mud problem in the village.

Week 13: Money Management and Piggy Banks

our lesson this week was about money. it was like pulling teeth trying
to get a discussion with no help from my counterparts. i found out one
of the girls works in a hair salon, so that was an interesting find.
we talked about places to save money. they call piggy banks 'money
boxes.' we started making paper mache piggy banks. newspaper scraps
were everywhere. then came the balloon blowing up process. i refused
to help seeing as i had an allergic reaction to the balloon i used as
a sample. i finally had to open all the windows and step out when the
22 girls started blowing up the 22 balloons. i guess they were super
duper latex balloons and just being near them was too much. paper
mache is still one of the messiest crafts around and the room was soon
full of messy paste splatters and sticky hands. we finally got the
balloons covered with the paper. i must have done a poor job
explaining because my counterparts and i struggled to get the girls to
cover the entire object (match box and balloon) completely with paper
strips. clean up was a nightmare. slowly but surely, it happened. we
left the projects to dry overnigt so we could paint them today. well,
there was some paste left over and i was going to make a pinata for
our last day. when i got to school in the afternoon, the little
piggies were not dry and the paste pushed the lids off the containers
and overflowed making a huge, stinky, sticky mess. it was almost like
someone added yeast. so gross. we could not paint the pigs, so we
spent 3.5 hours crocheting instead. and believe it or not, only 2
girls finished a scarf! it is the never ending project. i hope they
are as proud of their scarves as i am excited for them to finish. 2
more lessons and crafts then an award ceremony left.

The Dreaded CV

i went to the high school like usual yesterday afternoon. the kids are
testing, which means none of the teachers appear to be doing anything
and only 1 class of students is on the campus. i sat down on the
computer preparing a computer skills checklist for the teachers who
want to start computer lessons. i was typing away and one of the
teachers thought she'd be sly and slip me her cv -like a resume- to
type for her. every time i've worked with a teacher on the computer,
her philosophy is 'you do it. i'll watch and learn.' WRONG! she often
hovers but will never accept my offer of her trying anything. i
scooted my chair over to let her up to the computer. she was taken
aback by my refusal, but had no choice other than to do it herself. i
showed her how to turn on the caps lock, how to type a colon using
shift, how to erase a mistake with backspace, how to use the space
bar, and how to move to the next line with enter. then i showed her
how to edit the way it looks by changing the font size, centering the
title, and lining up the text with the tab key. i know it was too much
to for her first time to retain it all, but it at least exposed her to
some possibilities. it took her over an hour to create one page, but
she did. she was so proud of herself and i hope it convinced her to
take some lessons that i have been offering.

Stomping Out The Dirt

finally...it's time. the rain has filled all the buckets and it's warm
enough that i don't need my huge, warm, fuzzy blanket on my bed at
night. i inquired with my host mom the best way to wash the gigantic
thing. first, i borrowed their 3 huge basins. i filled them with
water, syphened from the drum of rain water. i added laundry detergent
to one and shoved in the blanket. next, i rolled up my pants and
hopped in, stomping around like lucy does to the grapes on i love lucy
when she's making wine. then, little piece by little piece, i
transfered the blanket into a small, empty basin and my host mom
helped me lift it onto a wire table to drain down into another empty
basin. then, i ploped it into another huge basin of water and stomped
around. then, we repeated putting it on the table to drain. then, it
went in the third basin and with my hands was swished around. it was
hoisted back onto the table to drain one last time. finally, my host
mom and i took it over to the chain link fence and heaved it up with
all our strength to dry. then i had to empty the basins. since they
were too heavy, i took buckets and after many many trips, had empty
basins again. it took 5 basins to wash the darn thing and it took 2
full days to dry!

Week 12: Eating Healthy and Healthy Snacks

this week we focused on nutrition. we talked about the food groups and what each one does. i realized that the new food pyramid is not as easy to teach as the old one. i think if i taught it again, i'd go back to the old version. it just seems more clear cut and straight forward. but the lists of food each girl made seemed to be much easier in english than most tasks. then i thought about it and when learning a new language, food seems to be one of the first topics always covered in addition to greetings and key phrases. so for each food group, the girls got a sample. before they were allowed to touch their food though, we all washed our hands with soap. for our activity, we did some food art. we made ants on a log with celery, peanut butter, and raisons which totally flopped. many of the logs went out the window when the girls thought i was not looking. we also did 'bacon and eggs' with pretzle sticks, melted white chocolate, and hopefully a yellow m&m. we had difficulty melting the chocolate, but it tasted good. it was a quick lesson and went smooth enough.

Behold The Magical Beauty

Not one is ever the same. You cannot capture the moment in anything
other than a memory. Each mystifies me although it happens pretty much
daily, at a consistent enough time. As the seasons change from winter
to summer, it gradually moves from one edge of the horizon to the
middle, minutes later each time. When clouds appear, they only magnify
the beauty. Almost every single night as the sun sinks low, the pink,
red, orange, and purple erupt splashing the horizon with beautiful
splotches and streaks. I love the sunsets in this country!

Week 11:Personal Hygiene and Bath Salts

this week was our club meeting was short and sweet. we discussed hygiene and made scented bath salts in either blue or red. i'm not sure anyone understood the bath salts, including my counterparts. i tried to explain they go in your bath water to help you relax and smell nice, but are not soap. i wonder how many will actually use it. and yet again we were locked in the school grounds and had to call the security guard to let us out. i really wish i had a key!

Lebola

this weekend, there were several celebrations in the village. this
usually means no sleep for me, which rang true again this time.
celebrations here are huge. they celebrate weddings which actually
consists of 3 different parties (engagement, paying for the bride
'paying lebola,' and the western white wedding), graduation from
initiation school, passing the high school final exam, funerals, and
tomb stone unveilings. for each celebration, an animal is slaughtered
(usually a cow but sometimes a goat or chicken if it's a small
celebration). the day and night before the party, women will gather
and cook the huge feast. a tent is usually set up for shade and
speakers are brought in. they play their music so loud all night long,
i don't know how any of them have any hearing left. this weekend i
attended only 1 celebration, a lebola party. the man or his family
pays the woman's family for her to be his wife. after this, they are
considered married and can live together although i don't believe the
law recognizes this as married.
i spent most of the afternoon at the party trying to stay out of the
hot sun. at this celebration, the children danced. i took some video
that i hope i can post sometime when i go to town. then every body
ate, men were served from 1 table, women from another. so much food
-meat, rice, pap, potatoe salad, beet root, cabbage, pumpkin,
biscuits, soda, jello, custard. then more dancing. i finally left with
a pounding headache from the noise. overall, an enjoyable way to spend
a saturday.

Wrap A Scarf Around This Dilemma

i have found 1 truth very frustrating with this girls club. the girls
do not understand it is optional. i know they enjoy coming, but they
don't realize it's a privilege and totally optional. they seem to
think it's mandatory and no matter what we are doing they must do it.
although i want them to participate, i don't want them to be forced
like they seem to be now. crocheting a scarf is one craft that has
brought this to my attention. while i want them to have a chance to
finish, it's getting to a point of ridiculous. when i say i'll be
there after school so they can work on their scarf if they want to (i
don't take attendance and they don't need their membership cards-it is
a very informal gathering), every single girl shows up. there as 3
girls who will just sit trying to look like they are working if you
look in their direction, but they don't get it. there are a few who
try to secretly do homework but insist they are working on the scarf
if i try to address the situation. several girls should have been
done, but they all of a sudden only have about 3 rows completed. and
for the rest, they are either working slowly, distracting others
instead of working, or trying to have others 'help' them and pass it
off for their own work. it is frustrating me to no end. i am not sure
what to do now. i do not want to scrap the whole thing since i know
some girls really want to finish, but i also do not want to spend much
more time on it and having the girls who do not get it or who do not
want to finish become negative or resentful about their incorrect
belief that they have to do it. there has to be a solution and i am in
persuit of it.

Week 10:Physical Fitness and Games

i guess last week went well in my absence. the record sheets were
lacking, but the ladies said everything was fine and they enjoyed it.
this week i didn't make it back to mare till tuesday night, so i had
no time to check in or plan for this week. cainah was sick as well, so
we decided to move fitness up on the list. it wasn't difficult to plan
and was quick to prepare. the lesson was short and sweet. then we
played some games to get the girls moving. they played spud and steal
the bacon then did a wheelbarrow race and crab walk relay. everyone
seemed to enjoy and i hope this got the point across that exercise
doesn't have to be awful or boring and that sports/active games are
not just for boys. i also realized one point that will need to be
added next time...good sportsmanship. i guess i take it for granted
that i learned this in gym class and extracurricular teams all
throughout my youth but these girls don't. it was fun to watch them
play and they caught onto most of the rules pretty quick. maybe
they'll even teach others these new games for fun.

A Travel Day In The Life Of A PCV

5:00 wake up (darn internal clock, you stayed up late and should not have woken me up yet!)6:00 a nice hot shower to start the long day (and although it'll be a nice memory, it'll have to last till who knows when
) 7:15 breakfast of toast and tea at the backpacker and packing
10:00 check out, hand in key, say goodbye to fellow PCVs, begin walking all alone to the street my taxi runs on (be vigilant and alert and always watch your back, not that i could do anything with the heavy bags weighting me down anyway)
10:30 stop a moving taxi and jump in with all the bags
10:45 arrive at taxi rank and unload all the heavy bags, walk to the correct taxi, avoid the'bag' people and the ones who say "here, let me help you with your bag" for they either want to take your bag or make money
11:00 make it to the taxi and climb in, making every possible effort to avoid the front and way back seats and to sit by a window
12:15 ward of the drunk guy who insists he loves me and wants my phone number, finish the lifesize game of tetris trying to fit everyone and all their bags, children, and parcels into the taxi
12:30 pull away from the rank only to have to stop at the petrol station before actually leaving, the stereo cranked to an ear deafening volume
1:45 a stop at a shop for a few minutes to get food and use the toilet
3:00 try to get the drivers attention so he will stop and let me off on the side of the road where i need to catch another taxi, playing another game trying to get out with all my bags and cross the road hoping to not be hit. here ends the tar roads. i climb into the next taxi that is not road worthy and i am not sure how it even moves. there are no good seats here. 4 adults to a seat that is super tight with only 3. another game of tetris to fit parcels and children.
4:00 it is finally full, someone on the outside assists in closing the door with much force and someone inside latches a latch that has been welded on. the rank master and several taxi drivers will push the taxi to get it moving while the driver tries to kick it in gear and start the engine. we bump down the road noisily.
4:45 get ou of the taxi and carry my heavy bags up hill on the rocky road to my house, greating everyone within sight as they are glad i returned and curious where i was. finally, back to my room after a long day.

Week 8: HIV/AIDS In South Africa and Beaded Pins

back to school this week. the mare girls club tackled a huge,
important, undereducated topic that affects everyone in this village
and everyone in this country. hiv is a scary virus that is not openly
talked about here or taken seriously but needs to be. we talked about
transmission, myths, symptoms, statistics, and prevention. then each
girl needed to choose one of the abc methods (abstain, be faithful,
condomize) and write a short essay about how she will protect herself
against contracting hiv. our lesson was longer than usual, but it was
important information that shouldn't be rushed. we moved on to the
craft, knowing we would only start and have to finish on thursday. we
were making beaded pins, a red aids ribbon on a white background.
beading was pretty much a disaster. the girls didn't understand how to
do the stitch and the ones who got it couldn't follow the pattern.
after 4 hours of work time, only 1 girl had a finished product and it
was her own makeshift design. about half the girls did not get past
the first row of 12 beads. the few who did get it kept getting their
strings knotted or broken or repeatedly undid their progress because
they could not follow the pattern. i guess my hopes are too high
sometimes when it comes to the girls and crafts. next week, i will be
at a peace corps training so cainah and elizabeth will be on their
own. i hope all goes well. it will be a true test on if they can do it
without me. they will be teaching about respect and making an origami
box.

Week 7: Fetal Development and Beaded Necklaces

this week was a quick prep. my counterparts decided to meet at 10 on wednesdays to prep and we usually spend until about 2 getting ready for our club meetings. today was the last day of school before a week and a half break (with year round schooling, we get a break after each quarter). the school all of a sudden knocked off at 12, so we jumped into the deep end this week. we started with a game loose caboose: a tag game where the girl being persued must join a train of 3 girls becoming the new caboose and sending the engine off running. once back inside, we dove into the lesson. the lesson seemed to go ok. the girls seemed to like the fetal development chart with pictures i had included in their books. the discussion lacked as usual. knowing it would, i had also planned some activities. the girls each got a slip of paper with a phrase on it (drink plenty of water, eat healthy, smoke tobacco...). my counterparts did a great job translating the phrases as some terms like seatbelt or chemicals are not so common. they had to choose if their phrase would help or hurt a developing fetus and stick it in the correct column on the chalk board. then we discussed why for each. we tackled quite a few errors and it seemed to be high interest and the girls were curious. then we talked about becoming pregnant and reasons to wait. i split the girls into 5 groups. each group had a different description of a woman: single with a job, single without a job, married with a job, married without a job, in high school. they had to write on the board how they would feel and what they would do if they were to be that woman and become pregnant. then we talked about why and what choices a girl has and why someone would want to wait to get pregnant. their homework is to tell me at our next meeting why they will choose to wait. my counterparts really struggled with the topic this week and i know talking about some things openly is difficult in this culture, but i did not realize this would be one. i really wish i could lead these disscusions openly and in sepedi, but my star has not come out yet. our craft this week was making a beaded necklace. they enjoyed it, and most of them looked great. but something was not right and before we left 2 necklaces had fallen apart and 1 had a broken clasp. hopefully that is all the problems any of them will have. at the end of our meeting, yet again, we were locked in the school grounds and had to call and be rescued. i seriously wonder quite often what the purpose of a locked gate is and if it causes more problems than it prevents. some things i will never understand.

Doomed

<Swoosh> What was that? Oh my gosh what was that? Quick open your eyes and look around before it attacks! <bzzzzz> Wha oh my gosh, I'm going to die. What should I do? I can't sleep with that in here tonight. Make a plan...quick. Oh, a can of Doom 'to make any flying or crawling insect be doomed.' I spot the stinging monster. It lands on the rafter. <scraaaaa> Ok, the chair's in place. Climb up. Aim well! Don't close your eyes or you'll miss. Don't scream, you don't need an audience. <shhhhhhhhh> Uh oh, it fell beind the unfinished wall. Now what? Well, it'll die over there, no biggie. <bzzzzz> Holy cow, it's on my mat. In front of my bed. Not dead! <thwack, thwack, thwack thwack, bzzzz z zzzz zz, thwack thwack thwack, thwack! THWACK THWACK! Swoosh> Ew. Maybe i should pull my net down.

KFC

A new KFC opened in Jane Furse this week. I had to check it out when I went to get groceries today. It was nice. It had a clean bathroom where I could wash my hands with soap and running water! I miss doing that. KFC here is like McDonald's is in the US. They seem to be everywhere. Now if I could only convince the tiny village of Jane Furse, or the town of Groblersdal where the other grocery store I use is, that they need a movie theater...

Week 6: Sex vs. Abstinence and Crochet Scarf

This week's lesson was on a touchy subject. As I was training my counterparts, I got a taste of what was to come. They couldn't stop giggling! Our club meeting started with an activity this week. I posted 8 questions (What is sex? What is the result of unprotected sex? What is a condom?...) up around the room and the girls needed to rotate around and write an answer to each question. I was surprised to see how much the girls knew and were accurate about. We discussed the answers they had and then discussed the correct answers in much more detail. We talked about the ABC's of protection: abstain, be faithful, condomize. I did a condom demonstration which drew so many giggles. The nearby clinic provided some teaching aids for me to use as well, so each girl got directions on how to use a female condom and also got a male condom to open and see what it looks like and how it feels. This also brought many giggles. After our lesson, I taught the girls how to crochet. They started working. I went around helping girls and trying to demonstrate for them when they were confused. Unfortunately, the truth came out too late for me to retain my credit of knowing what I was doing. Apparently my counterparts and some of the girls already know how to crochet and use a different stitch than I was teaching. I was surprised my counterparts didn't say anything while I was teaching them. They acted like they did not know how to crochet, but then did it their own way. After the girls made some progress, I realized their projects look different than mine and when they would ask me for help, I would screw them up trying to show them the stitch that I taught. I eventually figured out what the problem was, that I was using a different stitch than all of them. By this time, the girls decided I did not know what I was doing and refused my help. We did not finish on Wednesday, so we met again on Thursday to finish. By now, many of the girls had interesting looking projects with several different stitches mixed in. A few of them started over, but some of them kept going. At the end of our time on Thursday, no one had finished their scarf, although a few were close. We will have to find another time for them to finish if they choose. Next time, I think maybe they should start with a smaller project, like a wash cloth or something. All in all, our lesson went really, really well but it is the first time our craft did not go as planned.

Tinted World

I saw a kid walking to school. He must be about second grade I'm guessing. But there was something odd about this kid on this particular day. As he walked along, he was staring through a green beer bottle. He was holding it up to his eyes and looking all around himself. I can only imagine how the world must have looked to him as he masked this dusty place in green. Onced he got to school he dropped the bottle, watched it shatter, and looke a at me with a monsterously huge grin. It made me laugh and remember how fun it used to be to look at the world through anything different than my own eyes. I thought it a bit strange that he was using a beer bottle, but you never know what you're going to find here.

Week 5: A Young Man's Mind and Decoupage Pencil Holder

today was a true test of sustainability. i picked up a computer ink cartrige for a friend in the next village. she came by today at 215 right before mare girls club was to start. all the little kids swarmed her car as they left school instead of going home. we sat there in the street with no place else to go. about 15 min after our meeting was supposed to start, i ran in to see if my counterparts started. they were standing in the office, staring at the wall. i told them to get the classroom set up and get the girls signed in. i ran back to the car to check on my phone. she finished her email and i sent her on her way. when i got back to the girls club meeting, my counterparts had set up and were finishing the sign in process. without any help from me. yay! sucess 1. then, a teacher came to the door. she was locked in the school gate and needed the key, which i do not have. so i left to help find a key, seeing as we were locked in too. i told elizabeth to start with the lesson. when i got back, nothing had happened. i got the lesson started, 30 min late, and then my phone rang. it was the principal at the other school with an emergency. i said i could not help. when i went back in the room, the girls were lost and my counterparts did not know what to do. they just kept repeating themselves. so i stepped in and acted out the story, with lots of giggles when i showed the girls where the boys in the story were looking at the girl. then we had the girls volunteer and did 3 different role plays on the same scinereo acting responses in friendly, flirty, and a confusing mix of both ways. it seemed to really open up the girls. and for the first time they all had opinions. then we moved on to the craft. the girls cut up magazines and decoupaged them on to tin cans. they seemed to finally get the routines down and things ended smothly. unfortunately we had to scratch our game due to timing this week. so it seems my counterparts know the routines, but are still lacking the teaching skills and confidence to carry on without me. so, there is hope for the future and they are learning, but are not there yet. good thing we still have 1 year left to practice before they are completely on their own.

Seriously?!? Not yet?

I went to Polokwane this weekend to pick up the rest of the supplies for girls club that I ordered in mid June. You'd think they'd be in by now. But NO! They're not. The lady at the shop keeps telling me to come back tomorrow, every time I have gone in. She doesn't understand I live far away and can't. I think it's time to call it a wash and scratch this project of the list. But the trip was not a total waste. I got a fly strip for the pesky flies in my room and was able to see a movie, The Proposal, at the theater. I also had a cookout with some crazy Africaners. Best of all, I got a hot shower!

Week 4: The Woman's Body and Picture Frames

Last week we had to cancel our girls club meeting because everyone who went to Sudwala Caves got sick and had to go to the hospital. Several girls came and asked me if we get to do 2 crafts this week becase we missed last week. They were quite sad when I said no. This week, we started with a lesson about the female reproductive system and menstruation. The lesson didn't go smoothly. My counterparts didn't understand what I needed them to do or how to openly discuss the topic and the girls didn't understand the English content. Then the girls got a slip of paper to write an anonymous question, but they didn't understand what to do and my counterparts didn't understand they needed to answer the questions that the girls wrote. Major language barrier issues this week! Then we played a game where the girls picked an animal card out of a hat and had to make their animal's sound to find the other girl with the same animal. They didn't understand the directions, even with my animated example, and once they knew what to do and we started over, I realized the girls didn't know the animal sounds. After we got that all sorted out and ended the misery of our not-so-fun game, we made picture frames out of old cardboard boxes. Wish us better luck next week.

Fire!

i woke up last night around midnight to a crackling sound. it sounded like a control burn everyone does to their field, only it was the middle of the night. i threw on some shoes and went out into the warm night to investigate. as i open my door, the smokey smell wafts into my room. i'm thinking that can't be good. as i step out into the yard dazed by the orange glowing sky, i finally see the flames. i am guessing they are on the edge of the village, but they look as though they surround us in all directions i can see. i was quite freaked out by this, but i have learned something here: do not panic unless the people around me are worried. since no one else cared, and i could hear a few voices having a friendly chat so i know i am not the only one up or who has seen the fire, i went back to bed. this morning the world still smelled of smoke and everywhere you go even inside, there is ashes and soot. looking out, the big field outside the village is black, even the trees. everywhere that was not burned already. i cannot imagine that one was planned. good thing some of the other fields were already burned this season. crazy!

Spring Is Here

yes. spring is finally here in mare village. the trees are all blooming. gardens are being planted. one of our goats had a kid on saturday. and finally, i don't freeze at night. it came suddenly, but it is mid 60s at night and has been in the mid 80s during the day. i'm liking it! i wish it would stay like this most of the year but i know it wont. and if it's already this warm, i guess i forgot how hot summer is.

Education Excursion aka Field Trip

my primary school went on a field trip to sudwala caves today. they brought me along so i could experience the area too. it is around sabi area; we actually drove the route of the longtom marathon. our departure time was 530am. i got up and made my way to school in the pitch black, surprised i did not stumble on the rocky road. the stars were amazing, no moon. i was the last one to school minus all the teachers and principal who did not show up until 545. all the woman were there with blankets wrapped around them to keep warm in the cold darkness as they waited for all the kids to leave. we loaded the bus with 85 kids and the mini bus got the rest and the adults piled in on top and we took off. the kids screamed and jumped and sang and whistled an ear piercing 45 minutes into our trip. i was prepared with earplugs. we stopped along the way to use the public coed outdoor bathroom-walk 5 steps and squat in the nonexistant ditch- twice and stopped at a grocery store for lunch. we finally got to the caves and took a tour that i understood about 5 words of but knew exactly what was going on because they are all the same. some of the formations were really cool and some spots had neat lighting. then we went to the dinosaur park and learned all about dinos in english. i felt bad for the guide who kept trying to make jokes to our non-english-speaking kids. the kids were pumped, but i think they would gave been just as excited to walk around a regular park unguided. they just never get to leave the village ever. and now we are back on the bus watching the sun set over the passing mountains. it would be serene and picturesque if i were not going deaf and getting constantly smacked in the head by the bouncing children. what a day. what an experience!

Week 3: Inward Beauty vs Outward Beauty and Beaded Earrings

so far, day 3 was the best! the girls were so excited, they were all waiting in the room before school even let out. a few girls forgot their membership cards, so we started the game without them so they ran home to retrieve their cards. we played group juggle where you call someone's name and toss them the ball. then we added some balls. it was a loud jumble of fun. elizabeth taught the lesson this week and it went much smoother than last week. she had a girl summarize the story in sepedi and then they discussed the questions in sepedi. i jumped in a lot more this week too as i could not understand the girls answers but could very obviously tell when they were not understanding or answering the intended responses. i think we finally got that looks are not as important as actions. and then the girls made earrings. they all turned out great! the girls were much better about clean up and all were so happy when leaving, telling me they would see me at school in the morning and cant wait for next week. and now i cant stop smiling.

Teachable Moments

so i've been sick all weekend with what seems like more than just a normal cold and have been freezing and exhausted. today wasn't any better, and the cloudy weather didn't help. my computer class at the end of the day was brutal with 2 very fast learners who are fluent in english and 2 very slow ones who aren't. we are working in a word processing program learning how to edit text. i wonder if i try to mix some sepedi text in next week if that would help or be more confusing. when i was done, i just wanted a nap in a warm blanket, but the sun had just poked out and was warm, so i settled for a book in the sun. my host sister who is in kindergarten came up to me to show me her numbers she wrote on her hand. they were backwards, so i decided to get out my notebook and pen to practice with her. we worked on 1-5. she was so excited to practice with me, i hope she will do it again so she can get them forward. as she was loosing interest, the grandma came home from her adult literacy class. she sat down and wanted help too. it was so neat to see her working. so much determination shines through as she works her way through her school tasks. i wish all students were that motivated to learn. she is learning time and how to read a clock. her homework was to make 3 clocks. so we sat and drew some clocks together. she was so proud of her third slightly lopsided clock that i did not help with at all. i got excited with her before i returned to my room for dinner. sitting here after my busy afternoon, i am really missing teaching.

Week 2: Peer Pressure and Friendship Bracelets

well, today was our second girls club meeting. it started off a bit chaotic since the entire school was in the kindergarten room watching tv. but once the girls came in, we tried to get organized. i had their membership cards laminated in town last friday, so they all got thier cards punched. each week we punch the card to keep track of attendence. i think it's sinking in that we meet every week. we went through the procedures again and dove into the lesson. the teacher in me came out and i so wanted to do all the good teacher tricks for comprehension, but i had to sit on myself as i had cainah teaching the lesson. i did have to jump in a few times, but i tried to keep it to a minimum. when the discussion came, it was a real struggle as i thought it would be. i wanted them to discuss in sepedi, but my counterparts refused because they had been told to do it all in english by the schools principal who doesnt quite understand that that wont work. so i finally convinced elizabeth to translate the questions. it went so much better after that. next week we will start with the discussion questions in sepedi right away. then we played the shoe find game. they took off their right shoe and put it in the pile, grabbed another shoe, and had to find the owner and introduce her naming her favorite food and sport only in english. the girls loved it and thought it was so fun and silly. they didnt stop giggling the whole time. it let them practice a little english and im learning names still so it helped me with that. then we settled down for craft. we made friendship bracelets. most of them seemed to like it, but some really struggled. clean up went much better today too. so we are slowly working out some kinks, but its a learning process and my counterparts seem to be learning more than the girls! that is a good sign because im hopping they will continue when i leave. so another week down.

Flat Tire

i just spent a wonderful weekend with several other volunteers to celebrate another pcvs birthday. on my way to the city on friday, i picked up some supplies for girls club. i have been searching for a bead store and found the perfect one in groblersdal. i was in grant heaven! then i spent a great weekend with good food, good friends, and went to see the 6th harry potter movie. it was a long holiday weekend, woman's day, so i stayed until this morning. i caught a minibus taxi to go back to mare. i waited an hour for it to fill so we could leave. crammed in like usual, the baby on the woman sitting next to mes lap was fussing and kicking me. all of a sudden, our tire popped. so now, we piled out and are sitting on the side of the highway. i love the huge shoulders on the roads here. while we are waiting to get it fixed, i struck up a conversation with one of the women. she is a teacher at the school behind my post office and loves teaching second grade. its nice to meet someone who loves teaching. that doesnt seem to happen much here. because of aparthied, many black people did not have many job options and were forced into teaching to survive. so it was nice to meet a passionate teacher today. but with a flat tire, it looks like we might be stuck here for a while. i hope you all have better car luck than me today.

Week 1: Introduction and Thank You Cards

so elizabeth and i finished preping today. we put together all the booklets and got the craft supplies ready. it was a chaotic process. and for some reason all the teachers at my school decided to ask me for help with whatever they were working on, which made things a bit more stressful and busy. but after a year of planning, i was ready. at 230, 21 girls showed up for our first club meeting. we did some personal introductions and went through the club rules and schedule. i talked as slow as possible, but my counterparts elizabeth and cainah had to clarify a bunch. Then the girls made thank you cards as their craft. they loved it! it was so neat to see the girls excited and busy. the cards were so creative and unique. as the girls were leaving, there was an excited buzz as some of them realized that mare girls club meets next week too. i guess some of them took a while to process that point somehow. they are all so proud of their cards and excited to come again next week. day 1: a sucess!

Night Before Jitters

It's the night before Mare Girls Club is to begin. I've created books for the girls that contains visuals and extra information for the lessons we will cover. Due to all the chaos that has gone on with my supplies for the club, I was not able to get ink for the printer at school until last week. My book was done and ready to print when BAM! Computer virus struck the school. I spent all my time fixing the computers so I have not had time to print these silly books. So the night before club starts, I'm sitting at school waiting for the slow as molasses printer to print the 32 page booklet...25 copies of it. Thank goodness the principal gave me his keys and let me stay. I'm crossing my fingers I finish before dark, but it's not looking promising. AHHHH!

Mare Girls Club Preparations

I cannot even explain how frustrating this journey has been to start a girls club. My whole life I have been involved in girls clubs, from girl scouts to brigade and beyond. It has made up such a huge part in my life that I want to help other girls experience something special as well. I was inspired during training to apply for a VAST grant and start a girls lifeskills club in my village. I had no idea how to do that, so I asked my supervisor. She told me to wait because we would be trained on it later. So I found some other volunteers who had done the same thing in their villages and got their curriculum. I began tweaking it and molding it to me. 6 months later, we were trained on grants. I began working on my grant proposal. It was more work than I had expected, but that was ok because it would result in wonderful things. The grant process took me to Polokwane to get some pro forma invoices stating how much money I need to purchase the necessary supplies. My first trip was not successful as it was a Saturday and businesses would not give me the invoices on a weekend. Normally, that would have been devastating. But the next week, there were 2 days off of school for a school holiday. I made my way back to Polokwane to finish my task. I completed my grant proposal and submitted it. I waited for what seemed like forever. Then, I got a text message from our grant manager saying my grant was approved! I was so excited and began planning again. The funds were put into my account and I made plans to go shopping for my supplies. I called ahead and ordered everything from computer printer ink to craft supplies to storage compartmemts and planned to bring Adam with me when he arrived to help carry everything. When we got to Polokwane, most of the supplies were not ready. A friend of mine who I arranged to pick us up came and brought us back to the village. I now had a dilemma. I was on a month long vacation with Adam and had planned to start the girls club upon my return, but I didn't have the necessary supplies. I met with the 2 women who will help with the club and filled them in on what we still needed to do and we decided to start on August 5. I'd have to figure something out. When I returned to my village at the end of July, I planned another trip to Polokwane and off I went. I was able to get a few things, but I am still missing at least 1 item from each of the 16 weeks projects except 2, but we're starting anyway! So I typed up the invitations, printed them off, and Cainah, my counterpart who is helping me run the club, helped me hand them out on Friday. So here we go!

Introduction

So after a year serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa, I've decided to start a blog to track some of my experiences. So here we go. Let's see if I can make this work, blogging from a non-electrified village through my cell phone. :) And so you know, these are my persomal views, not the views of The American Government or Peace Corps.