Hello all you lovely people still following my journey, My previous posts have focused on my projects here in SA, so this post I wanted to share a bit of what I do outside of work. Just another special part of Peace Corps is that we are in this 24/7. Through living with a host family, making friends, and learning daily chores of life in SA - I feel like I’ve had to work just as much on everything outside of work, as I’ve had to on my actual job. When I first arrived at site, I pictured myself using my weekends to meet up with other volunteers, escape to local towns and take vacations. My mindset changed the closer I grew to my village. It costs money to go anywhere and so I recognized I was one of the few people ever leaving. Now I get serious FOMO (fear of mission out) when I leave my village, therefore I am happiest not going anywhere. On Saturday’s, I usually spend the morning doing chores. This includes laundry (all hand washing), mopping and polishing the my room (there is so much sand everywhereeeee). If there is a funeral, that will be held Saturday morning. It is a sad reality that funerals are apart of my communities weekly plans. When someone dies, prayer is held every evening leading up to the funeral and then the person is buried Saturday morning. I enjoy spending time with my younger siblings and neighbor kids on the weekends. We bake, watch videos, color, and DANCE (a lot). We also usually take walks to the local shop - by that I mean about 1/4 mile walk to the main road. They’ll always go with me cause I’ll buy them a sweet. In the afternoon I usually head out to my favorite part of my village; the station. This the area on the main road where you would go to catch a taxi to town. It is the ‘main hub’ and to me it feels like a student center on a college campus. At any time of day, I can go here and find people around - boy’s playing soccer, people sitting and vendors selling food on the side of the road. There are also car washes, small shops and the taverns. I usually come out to this area to meet up with my friends and sit together. Sitting with others is something I’ve never done as much as I have here. It was a change for me to enjoy sitting and not feel like I need to go and be materialistically productive somewhere else. I love it and I attribute a lot of my happiness to the station. Later in the evening, I’m going to be honest, I will go to the taverns in my village. This is quite rare for Peace Corps Volunteers, especially female volunteers. I attribute my ability to go here by the friends I have - most of whom are young men. I have friended this group become the reality is that most women my age are busy at home with their children. Women and girls therefore usually do not leave their homes and are also responsible for all the house chores like cooking and cleaning. Although I have conflicting feelings as I do not bare the responsibilities other women in my village have, I feel lucky to have these friends. A tavern in my village is one room, about the size of a small bedroom. You go inside to purchase drinks and then sit outside on plastic crates, rocks, or cement blocks. If someone has a car they will open all the doors and blast music from there. Interestingly enough, going to taverns has also been a successful place to talk about HIV. The number 1 way that HIV is spread is through unprotected sex. With this being a sensitive topic, it has been helped to discuss this topic in a more casual setting. On Sundays I usually go to church. Religion is very important to my host-family and overall in SA. Since arrival, one of the first questions people ask me is “what church do you go to?”. I usually have a hard time following everything being said at church but I enjoy the singing and being together with others. At church we are required to wrap our heads, wear a skirt and have long sleeves. If I don’t go to church, then I may find myself at Monchongolo. This is a traveling event that showcases traditional dance groups from surrounding villages. It is a huge event with crowds up to hundreds. It kindof turns into a big party once it get’s dark with DJ's blasting music and everyone showing off their incredible dance moves. And that's usually all for my exciting weekends. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in my projects, but being able to enjoy life outside of work is where I've found happiness.
Anyways, I hope some warmer weather starts coming to everybody that side! I'm eagerly waiting our 'winter' over here. - Josie :)
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Hi everybody and happy 2018! I’m going to try to catch you all up on the past few months, jumping back to last year and getting our first projects off the ground; a girls group and World AIDS Day event. I'm still trying to process how these projects went and what we can improve on. I now understand; living here is one thing, but trying to work here is a whole new ballgame. A major cultural adjustment of working here means that I cannot predict anything which is frustrating at times, yet keeps everything exciting, which I absolutely love.
Within days of meeting Bongi last April, she told me she wanted to start a girls club, which made it more special when it become a reality. We had a group of 35 girls all in grades 8 and 9 at our local high school. We met with them twice a week for 10 weeks. One day a week was discussion and activities of topics including self-awareness, self confidence, health and HIV. The second day of the week was a sports day where we played soccer and the girls taught me the popular South African sport of netball. On December 1st, our Home Based Care, Youth Center and Clinic worked together to have our community's first ever World AIDS Day event. Our goal of the event was to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for those living with HIV, and remember those who have lost their lives to HIV. Our program included speakers from the Department of Health, individuals living with HIV, and community leaders. Our Girl's Club presented a drama they created on HIV and we also held a candlelight vigil for those who have lost their lives to HIV. We had booths for HIV & TB testing and we got to slaughter a cow to feed the audience. Going through these projects continued to make me think about what my role should be as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I’m working to find the balance between being a leader and also giving up control to let others take ownership. I want my co-workers and community to be the driving force behind these projects to ensure that they are important to the community and not just something I think could help. These projects also exposed me to unfortunate effects of money. We wrote a grant for these projects and as I tried to work hand in hand with all my host country partners by being transparent about the amount of money and giving others control of the money, this lead to tension, accusations, and ultimately the 'disappearance' of some money. It was really sad and hard to comprehend, but I just try not to hold negative feeling against anybody as I know I'll never be able to fully understand the effects that the history of this country and poverty can have on individuals. If Facebook didn't alert everyone enough :), at the completion of these projects my parents visited me! It still doesn't feel real that they were actually here. It was an incredible experience having them in village, meeting my friends and family, feeling the heat of the Mpumalanga sun and getting a glimpse of my new life over here. I can't say our trip was flawless though. I felt mentally exhausted nearly the entire time going from my integrated life in a rural village, to becoming one of the millions of tourists visiting Cape Town and other developed cities in South Africa. I've yet to meet someone in my village who has been to Cape Town and many people have never been to Kruger National Park (which I'm practically bordering). I felt torn leaving my village and jumping into this other world that I have the privilege to be apart of and knowing so many of those that I have come to love here will never be apart of, even though some of these amenities are just miles from their homes. My parents also felt at a loss of words to the complete and obvious inequalities and disparity in this country. My mom has struggled to explain it to others as she has returned home and so she asked to write a short piece to explain; it is attached at the bottom of this post if you'd like to read it. And finally, my old high school friend Tim came and spent a week in my village with me. It was all to special and unique that he had the desire to come and just experience what life is like over here. We had a jam packed week as I tried to fit in so many aspects of my life. Highlights included eating chicken & cow legs, riding the taxis, explaining to everyone he's not my husband, giving him the name Matimba (meaning strength) and my siblings & neighbors coming to adore him (some continue to ask where he went). Tim made a lasting impression here as he was determined to learn the basics of the language in just a short visit. I don't think many people would be able to handle some of the challenges as well as he did and it was all to meaningful to have him here. Phefffff sorry that was such a long post. To say the least, I cannot believe I've almost been here one year now. So much is still going on which keeps me busy, happy and more excited then ever to see what the next year will bring. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2018! Love, Josie Impressions from a PCV's Mother Now that we’re home people ask, “How was your vacation?”. Much to their dismay, it’s impossible to respond without acknowledging the struggle we saw. Having a daughter living in the midst of it slants my vision, but a summary of our trip would be completely lacking if it did not include the challenging reality that faces the majority of the population in South Africa. Three weeks road-tripping around 5 provinces in South Africa; we pinched ourselves frequently to make sure we weren’t dreaming. We experienced a wild & beautiful country, beautiful people & culture, with distressing & overwhelming problems. If you’re interested enough to read this – remember these facts: Of the 59 million people in South Africa. 7% white, 80% black, 13% mixed. The MAJORITY of the 47 million black South Africans, live in Shantytowns. Shanty towns are everywhere; big cities, small towns, & in the middle of nowhere. Small parcels of land with tens of thousands of families living on top of each other. Most have no running water, outhouses shared by many, no garbage collection or dump. Garbage everywhere. When the wind blows, plastic bags & garbage get stuck in the brush, on fences, strewn along beautiful beaches, giving the appearance of decoration, until you realize it’s garbage. In many places, only a street divides two extremes; plus high fencing with ugly barbed wire around the perimeter of every home. While leaving Cape Town, we drove alongside a shanty town for 30 minutes & never saw the end of it. Josie does not live in a shanty town; the Peace Corps doesn’t allow it. She lives in an extremely poor community with 80% unemployment. Her family is among the lucky; the family home has solid walls, partially functioning windows & doors, and a tin roof that only leaks a little. The fire they cook over is nearby & thankfully outdoors. Josie’s “dad” travels only a few miles each day to fill their water containers from a well. Her younger siblings only walk 2 miles each way, to school. Josie and her family don’t need to share their outhouse with the entire neighborhood; only with a few neighbors. Josie’s family has 2 mango trees; providing amazing relief from the powerful sun during the 6 months of summer. Josie takes malaria medicine daily; unfortunately, the family she rents from does not. There is a high school nearby; every single window was broken with jagged broken glass visible, no books, no blackboard, no desk for a teacher. The students from this school ask Josie for help with their online college applications. Her village is a place where malaria and HIV unfairly take lives every year.
There is much good in Josie’s community; people share pretty much everything they have. People get around by hitchhiking – hundreds and hundreds of hitchhikers get where they need to go because the level of trust is high enough that they get picked up. There is a lot of activity, kids playing, handshaking, dancing, and laughter. Josie has fully integrated herself into the life of this village; she is happy, with friends and people who love her. We had an amazing time in her village. I don’t have any good suggestions for the problems in South Africa; just sadness and dismay. Despite what I saw, I went on and had a nice time – spent money on nice hotels and adventures. Enough money to change the life for an entire family. Saddened daily by what I saw; but, enjoyed a nice meal in a restaurant with glass of wine by the end of each day. We tried to tip generously, smile big, learn a few words of their languages, and shake a lot of hands. Always feeling inadequate. Josie struggled throughout our travels, finding it almost impossible to accept that we were still in the same country she’s been living in for the past year. It felt like another planet. Imagine what it feels like to those who have spent their entire life there. Strong & hard-working. Many who live 10 miles from the famous Kruger National Park, will never step foot in it. I hope life will get easier for them, but I have no idea how that will happen. Now I understand why Josie’s blog posts are far and few between; some things are impossible to put into words. ps: I ❤️ Mpumalanga! Hi Everyone, Wow, I can’t believe I’ve now been in country for over 8 months. These past few weeks have been, to say the least, eye opening. I’m starting to realize why Peace Corps is 2.5 years; things I didn’t notice in the first few months being here are now unavoidably obvious. I can only imagine how my view will evolve during the coming months. I’ve been trying for a couple weeks now to write another blog post. When I was preparing to depart for The Peace Corps, nearly everyone warns you to stock up on books and fill your hard-drive with movies because you’re going to find a lot more free time then you’ve ever had. But that has not been the case for me, my reality is that I am absolutely exhausted. I take full responsibility for this, but now I’m trying to recognize why this is, so I don’t burn myself out. First off; it’s college application time. The process of applying to a university from a rural village in Mpumalanaga is a combination of frustration and defeat. Many universities in South Africa only allow online applications. Therefore, the lack of computer access simply adds another barrier for the students here. When students come to use our resources at the Youth Center, it can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to apply, depending on our internet connection, or if the on-line application itself is even working (the 404 Not Found Error page is a regular ☹ ). During the process, I am routinely begged by the student to change their grades for them. This always hits me hard. Looking at their grades, the students and I both know that they are not going to get accepted. And to tell the truth, I am tempted to change them; it’s not their fault that they were not provided textbooks, basic learning materials or assistance at school. I fear that if they don’t go to university, the cycle of unemployment and under-education will continue. My community currently has an estimated 80% unemployment rate. I’m tempted to change their grades, potentially break this cycle and give them a chance. (For the record I haven’t though). But I'll continue working to try to find achievable and sustainable solutions to help these students help themselves secure a bright future. Another thing that’s weighed on me lately is that I unfortunately had my first theft. I was losing little things here and there, which I figured was probably kids snatching them when I wasn’t looking. After some bigger items went missing I realized that someone had a spare key and was getting in my room when I was not there. I hopefully have straightened things out, but it was a bummer of a process. On the plus side, I have an after-school girls group starting next week. I want to quickly explain why it’s only a ‘girls’ group. In South Africa, girls ages 13-24 are currently the most at-risk group for contracting HIV. Currently, my community is estimated to have a HIV rate of 25-35%. The reasons for girls are more at risk in SA include the following;
I also will incorporate the topic of teenage pregnancy in this club. The principal at the school requested I incorporate this due to the increase instances of pregnancies among students. In addition, I have recently experienced someone I care about realizing they are pregnant and going through risky abortion here, without many options, which was upsetting and scary to say the least. Sorry that this post was not very upbeat, but I thought it important to share some of the challenges along with everything else. I’ll end on a brighter note; I’ve been putting together a 1-second-per-day video for the past month or so, and so I thought I’d share the link with you all in case you’re interested to check it out! ~Josie Hi Everybody! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I just returned from a 3 week excursion for Peace Corps training and my first vacation! It was quite an adventure so I'll try to fill you all in on the past few weeks. To start, before I left site, I celebrated my birthday in South Africa. It came at a perfect time, closing out my 3-month integration period. I was speechless by the love from my friends, coworkers and family as they tried to make me feel welcome and at home. My day started with carrying a live chicken to work, which my friends then killed and cooked for my special birthday lunch. My co-workers blasted African house music all day and I made cookies and brownies for us. In the evening, I dished out all the cookies, homemade pizza and brownies that my little stoven could produce with my family and neighbors. The night ended in a dance party in my room with 'all my friends'--- aka about 10 kids all under the age of 12. EPIC. A year ago, I never would have pictured this to be my 25th birthday to be, but at this moment, it was perfect. Shortly after my birthday I headed south to Bronkhorstspruit for a All-Volunteer conference and to celebrate Peace Corps's 20th year being in South Africa. It was great to finally meet serving volunteers from all cohorts in SA. With everyone in various parts of their service, it was motivating and interesting to hear all of their stories and imagine what lies ahead for me. One of the best parts of heading south was that it finally actually felt like winter! (Yes that is frost on the ground) Straight from this conference, my cohort and I headed further south to the infamous province of KwaZulu-Natal for our 2 week In-Service Training (IST). IST comes after our integration period and marks the time when we are ready to being implementing projects. These weeks were filled with session on project management, grant writing and policies. It was a blast to reconnect with my cohort and taking a real shower was nice too. My friends and I managed to find some breweries to hangout, relax and exchange stories at Part of IST also includes training with our supervisors and counterparts. Our supervisor's are individuals selected by Peace Corps to guide us through our service. My supervisor's name is Joyce and she founded our Home Based Care. Counterparts are individuals that we choose to work side by side with on projects and are vital to our success as they know our communities inside and out, and will promote the sustainability of our projects once we leave. I had the PERFECT counterpart to bring to IST. His name is Fumani and he is a volunteer at our Youth Center. We had a blast going through all the training together, but unfortunately he just accepted a new job in Johannesburg. It was quite a bummer, but I'm motivated once more to find another counterpart that will be assets to my service. Fumani and I after completing our Grass Roots Soccer Training and some friends and I enjoying the luxury of a hotel And finally, my first vacation! My friends and I headed out to get a glimpse of the India Ocean in Durban. We hung out around the beach, celebrated our first Women's Day, and then went on to check out Johannesburg (or Jozi) and see Trevor Noah Live. And now I'm back in my home sweet home. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty confusing to come back; although I knew that South Africa was unique with aspects of both a first world and third world country, seeing the disparity first hand was shocking and leaves me kindof speechless.
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