Friday, February 25, 2011

i swear i heard the goat say ngiyapila.

A belated happy holidays and new year to you! It's nearing the end of
summer here in South Africa and am I ready for the cool air. Here's a
quick update of what's been happening since October.

The last term of the school year is all about revising/reviewing and
national testing. The primary school has become a "Health Promoting
School" meaning we have met the criteria set forth by the Department
of Health, which includes- a clean environment (no trash), nutritional
food, hand washing, HIV/AIDS educational programmes, gardens, secure
fencing, etc. Gazini Primary school is the 1st school in the district
to gain HPS status, and we are all very proud! There was a series of
meetings in which the school was evaluated at the district, municipal,
and provincial levels. The assessments were tough and we stayed
sometimes until 5 o'clock at the school preparing the needed paper
work and evidence. (They say evidence for photographs and there is a
big binder called HPS Evidence File which includes pictures of the
learners and teachers in the garden, singing, washing their hands,
etc. hilarious!) It is still, at times, a shock to me to be
volunteering at this school and to work with such motivated educators.
My expectations for Peace Corps are constantly turned upside down. The
high school however, is more of what our training attempted to prepare
us for- to work with tired unmotivated educators and schools
struggling with infrastructure, a lack of resources, etc. I find
myself experiencing an echoing of the sharp divide of this country on
a daily basis when I walk 100m in the sand from one school to the
next. For me this is still a confusing place.

The second week in December we had our final phase of Pre-Service
Training. We stayed in a lodge for 5 days and attended workshops on
grant writing, literacy, food security, health, and more. We got to
take hot showers, have food cooked for us, and enjoy being together
with out fellow volunteers.

After training I did some traveling with a few volunteers. We visited
Pretoria to go to the PC office and take advantage of the internet and
we attended a cricket match! India vs South Africa. It was my first
time and we had no idea what was going on. Again the divide of the
country was visible in that we were surrounded by white people and the
food got really expensive! Next we went back to our training site to
visit our original host families and to see my host sister get
married. The wedding also illustrated this dynamic country with it's
two part structure- contemporary white wedding gown, flower girl,
suit, church, the whole works, and part two- traditional Ndebele
attire, traditional dancing, food, a huge tent, and the beloved South
African house music. After that we went to a few beaches/estuaries and
spent days in the sun and warm water of the Indian Ocean. We saw
monkeys, hippos, crocodiles, tons of brilliantly colored birds, and
the touristy side of the country. About 40k from my village is Kosi
Bay, an estuary and system of 4 lakes, immense wildlife, and
picturesque white sand and blue waves. I spent Christmas with a at a
volunteer's site and we attended the host families' traditional Zulu
wedding. It took place on a mountain top with lots of dancing,
singing, and sweet Zulu beaded threads. One day I'll add some photos.
For New Year's I was in my village. I stayed up late with my family
and at 12 we yelled and yelled and yelled and watched the few crickets
(fireworks) explode against the dark blanket of stars.

For the rest of the break I spent time with volunteers in my area, and
with the help of a friend finally painted my house and put up some
shelves. December-March is summer time here and also begins mango
season. I think from Dec-Jan I ate mangos every single day, and it was
wonderful! I've tried many of the Zulu fruits without English names
and my sister Thandeka lets me help her grind and pound the food in
the hollowed out tree stumps sometimes. One day I was ukugana
(grinding moneky nuts (peanuts)) and she thought it was hilarious! I
got tired really fast, and she made a video of me with her cell phone.
My host sister made a video of me with her cell phone! That is
definitely something I never expected that would happen in Peace
Corps. Oh also I suppose it's goat birthing seasons because the 40+
goats are now 50+ and very vocal. The little ones squeeze through the
bars on my door and visit me.

The new school year started on the 17th of January. This year I am
co-teaching English to Grades 6-9. So far the experience has been
everything from a joy to almost intolerable frustration, and the
spectrum keeps the days exciting. It's a beautiful challenge to try
and teach english with another teacher, and to teach in english
learners who don't really understand english. Eish. All in all, I find
that I love going to school. Apart from teaching I'm working on the
development of libraries in both schools and starting a girls club at
the primary school. One of my teachers from Cooper High School back
home, Mrs. Judy Falls, so kindly sent a box of books for the primary
school which we are all so grateful for and excited to read!

Speaking Zulu is still a challenge for me, kodwa ngiyazama (but i
try.) In the afternoons I spend time cleaning, reading, writing, and
more recently painting and drawing. Sometimes kids come by for help
with homework, which is this difficult language barrier I'm glad
you're here and I wish we understood each other kind of thing. It
provides some good laughs for all of us. I go jogging and a handful of
kids run with me, I love their company.

I'm becoming much more comfortable and relaxed at my home and in the
village. I think I have a healthy range of emotions and feelings
ranging from 'I love living here and 2 years doesn't seem long enough'
to 'how many more months do I have?'

At training one of our staff members asked us, as we stood in a
circle, to describe a Peace Corps moment, meaning a unique experience
we've had because we live here. Here are just a few I'd like to share:

Catching the sunrises and sunsets

Push starting Baba's truck down the hill with Thandeka and jumping on
the bumper once it gets going, riding, laughing, and finally jumping
off.

Host mama #1 knocking on my door during a heavy down pour, all to
quickly ask how I am and to give me a bowl of sweet potatoes, then
swerving around the sand, belting out Zulu gospel, enjoying the bath
from the sky. Sure do love that crazy lady.

Host mama #2 giving my KFC for dinner when I have friends visit.

Walking into grade 9, 62 learners, and teaching them about pronouns
with the song we learned in elementary school, "I and we, he and she,
it and they and you!" and listening to them sing it, and being
completely floored when it sounded like a professional gospel group
with harmony and all. It seems like everyone is born singing and
dancing here.

And all end with a quick story and a quote. At the high school the
teachers like to ask me what random sayings mean, like 'it's raining
cats and dogs.' I contsantly wonder where they get these things. DS
Mthembu says, "Terri, what does 'A rolling stone gathers no moss'
mean?"