Finally in Empangeni Kwa-Zulu Natal

March 24, 2012- Yesterday I started the next chapter of my PC journey. I left my training site and was off to my permanent site! It was such and exciting and scary feeling that I didn’t really know what to think. I travelled with some of the other volunteers who will be placed in Eastern Kwa-Zulu Natal around me.

After a very long all day trip I finally arrived in Empangeni around 7 or 8. My new host grandparents greeted me once I arrived at my new home. Their daughter, her husband and their two little girls were also there. It was a good feeling to finally see where I would be living and what the people I would spend my next two years with would be like. My host grandparents are from Mauritius, which is an island country about 550 miles east of Madagascar. They are amazing cooks and I look forward to learning how to cook some Mauritian food. They speak English and French and maybe I will learn a little bit of French. I think I will stick to the isiZulu for now! Oh I think the new thing to get use to is not spider on my wall but geckos! Today my host family took me to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve. Um can you say amazing? When I thought of a safari I was thinking big open plains with a few trees and maybe some water holes. This was nothing like that. It was very green, hilly and full of vegetation. It was so cool to see everything and we had a very lucky day. My host family has gone several times before and has never seen as much as we were able to see. We started at about 7:30 AM and there was word that lions had been spotted. We headed towards the location of the lion spotting. On the way there we saw a heard of wild dogs. These are endangered and it is not common to see one let alone a whole heard of them. On the way to try and find the lions we also saw many wildebeest, impalas, a hyena (also rare to see,) water buffalo, zebras, vultures, and a rhino. I was so amazed by the size of the rhino. I think of the ones we have at the zoo, yeah those are nothing. These things are like the size of a medium sized elephant at home. I was shocked! The other thing that I really liked to see was the water buffalo. I could watch them all day, I love the horn thing they have and I think they are amazing.

It was funny when we saw the zebras, I was super excited and they just think of it as a horse with stripes. It is amazing the way everyone sees things differently. We saw a herd of elephants at a very far distance. They were all at the water and there was no way we could get closer.

There were a few spots throughout the reserve where you could get out of your car. One area was fenced and you walked down a wooden fenced pathway into a room that only had some small rectangular window type things to look out of. It pretty much placed you right on the side of a water hole. We were able to see some more bucks; I think they are really called springboks. The water hole was filled with turtles and surrounded by birds. It was really neat to be able to get out and be part of that. The other opening we went to did not have a fence. I just hoped that I would be able to run faster then Murray or Granny if need be :). Later I spotted a lioness and I was speechless. Murray was driving and all I could think to do was whack him so he would stop, I think he was a little caught of guard since I just met him! A lion was the number one thing that I wanted to see so I was pretty excited. She was sitting nice and peacefully in some tall grass.

About 40 yards ahead we saw a bunch of cars so we knew there was something neat. Sure enough there was a lion! We got lucky again and got to watch him for a few minutes. He was a lot harder to sit and watch because he was in some deeper brush and that.

We didn’t want to stay too long so other people could also see. The day was almost complete and we did not think that we would get lucky enough to see any of the other Big 5. I was also hoping to see an elephant up close and some giraffes. We headed towards the gate to leave and Granny spotted a giraffe. Then we saw another and I was a happy camper! It is really amazing to see all of these animals in their natural habitat. Speaking of natural habitat, we saw a wildebeest that was stuck in the river. I asked if they would go and try and get it out and they said no. It was just part of nature and that is how it goes.

That was interesting to hear because the rangers would be capable of helping it, but they want the reserve to be as natural as possible. I guess the crocs will get to have him!

We left the gate and as we were discussing the fact that we had not seen an elephant up close there one was! We were only about a mile outside of the gate and an elephant started to cross the road right in front of us. I found it kind of interesting because only in Africa would I ever see an elephant crossing a highway type road. I was excited that I was able to be fortunate enough to see all of these animals in one day. It was an amazing experience and I hope to take my parents when they come to visit.

I am a Peace Corps Volunteer!

March 22, 2012- The last two months have gone by so fast! I feel like just yesterday I arrived in South Africa. Finally the day had come that we were sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers. I no longer have to refer to myself as a trainee. It was a very exciting day and I am so glad to have reached this stage and be done with PST. Many current and past volunteers say that Pre service training (PST) is the hell of Peace Corps service. Since this is all I have done so far I can’t really say if it is the worst, but man I hope that it is the case. PST was not very fun and I am so happy to move on! My sisters made me a neck thing and a bracelet out of beads. You wear these to traditional ceremonies or important gatherings.

I spent my shopping day trying to find a skirt to match it because I really wanted to wear it to swearing in. I was able to find one and it matched pretty dang well I would have to say. Swearing in was a pretty quick ceremony. We have been practicing the South Africa National Anthem and sang that and our National Anthem. The SA one is hard because it uses 4 languages but it is a beautiful song. Anyways, after that we had some speeches by people like the PC Country Director John Jacoby, our training manager Victor Baker, Virginia Palmer (works with the US Embassy) and a few other speeches. Dan a fellow volunteer said a thank you speech in isiZulu and he was amazing! He really put my isiZulu to shame! Then Julie translated it into English and they did a great job with it. After all that we said an oath and that was it, we were now Peace Corps Volunteers.

We took a lot of pictures after and had a very yummy meal. About a half hour after swearing in several people in our group left for their new sites. I was lucky and was not leaving until the next day. I was able to go relax and swim at the river in Bundu. I was really surprised I swam in it because it was pretty nasty. It felt so good to just be free from training and the pressures of PST for a little while.

Host Family Farewell

March 18, 2012

Today started off way too early! I woke up at 4:30 to go to SSK and help cook food for our host family farewell party. The LCF’s were already hard at work and the kitchen was full of pots and food. They were also cooking food outside using big like cast-iron type pots and fire.

The day before the Peace Corps had a cow slaughtered so there would be enough food. I don’t remember if I have mentioned it before but when South Africans have parties everyone is invited and the more people who come, the better your party was. With 33 trainees and all of our host families, there were going to be a lot of people. We helped cook beef stew, chicken curry, vegetables, rice, pap, salad and several other small things. I really enjoyed getting to help cook with them. It was really cool to see how they cooked that much food and it seemed like everyone knew what their role was in cooking and preparing the meal. You should have seen me moving raw chunks of beef with the bone in it. I was putting it into a pot from a bowl and I thought I was going to barf. All I could think of was the picture of the skinned cows head after they slaughtered it that Cara showed me! Needles to say, I did not eat very much beef that day!

Several of the trainees were given traditional isiNdebele clothing/dress to wear from their host family. I wore a cute skirt that I got in Richards Bay. The LCF’s and the Peace Corps arranged for traditional dancers and some singers to come. It was very enjoyable to watch. I could watch the isiNdebele boy dancers all day. I think it is so cool to watch them. One of the groups wore very traditional animal skin clothing.

What I thought was funny was they were wearing this traditional dress with Converse All Stars. The other group was The Bundu Boys and they wore polo shirts and gym shirts but still did the very traditional dancing. There was also a group of girls who danced and sang. Oh and I can’t forget the Gogo’s who came, they also performed for us at the beginning of training. I have found that I love Gogo’s!

After the performances each trainee gave their host family a certificate of appreciation. My Ubaba came with Laiza, and the two younger boys. Kedibone also came but there were so many people there I never got to see her. All in all it was a great day. It ended a little chaotic when we were trying to serve the food. We had too many cooks in the kitchen and it was chaos. In the end everyone got feed and we had a great cultural experience. Here are a few more pictures from the day. I am still too new to figure out how to rotate the picture! Sorry!

Just a few things!

March 6, 2012

Today we arrived in New Castle for our supervisor workshop. My supervisor was the only one to not show. I guess my living arrangement did not pass safety requirements so it sounded like my org just kind of stopped doing it. The supervisor was supposed to take me to site tomorrow but they can’t come fetch me so the PC supervisor Matseke is going to take me. He is going to come to my room later and tell me more.

March 13, 2012

I don’t really even know where to start! I have had yet another emotional week. We all expected this week to be hard. Traveling to site is a new scary and exciting thing for a PCT. The main reason for traveling to site is to get an idea of the organization you will be working with and to see the housing that will be provided. I arrived in Empangeni KwaZulu Natal on the 7^th.  Matseke took me to see my org, which is The Empangeni Child Welfare. I was excited to see this but very discouraged that I would be living in a city.  I meet Zama and Hlengiwe who are both social workers. I was also introduced to Ingrid; she was doing social work but now is going to work on starting and sustaining projects with me.  Later they took me to a bed and breakfast. Because my housing was not considered safe I was not allowed to stay there. Later Natalie came to visit me and take me to get some food.  She is a chair member for the welfare. It was great to get to meet everyone because we have been anticipating this for a very long time.  I am excited to work with the org and I feel that I really can help. 

I was really really disappointed to not be in a village. Times can be very hard in a rural village but I have loved learning about the culture and they way of life for many South Africans. I have loved the cultural exchange that I have received in the village and I don’t feel it is going to be as strong in a city.  I never thought that I would join the Peace Corps and be placed in a city.  I have access to almost everything I would ever need.  About 50% English speakers and 50% isiZulu speakers surround me.  I have heard that I am going to be living with one of Natalie’s friends in a granny flat. They are an elderly French speaking couple.  Until the Peace Corps approves the safety of the flat it is only temporary. I am eager to meet them and I am glad I will at least have a small family to be around.

I am trying really hard to put away my disappointment about being in the city. My number one reason for joining the Peace Corps was to volunteer and I have to remember that. The cultural exchange I believe will still happen, just maybe in a different way.  There are a few villages around me and I have asked if I can work directly with them.  It seems that it won’t be a problem. I don’t want to loose my isiZulu because I have worked so hard on it. The villages will be the best places to practice and I love seeing the look on peoples face when I start talking to them in isiZulu. It is such a rewarding feeling.  Nelson Mandela once said, “ If you talk to a man in language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” From what I have experienced in my interactions, this is a very true statement. I look forward to learning more of the language and hope to keep improving.  Natalie has a Gogo (grandmother) that brought her up and she lives in the village. I went and meet her and she said I could visit her whenever I would like. I think I will use those opportunities to learn about her culture and that of others in the KZN area. 

Um ya here is a lot of reading for ya!

Please keep in mind that I am not a writer. I will try and upload pictures later

January 27, 2012

Within the last 24 hours I- killed my first frog that I stepped on in my hut, walked in a spider web, took a cold shower, think I have pink eye, slept like crap, and have seen the biggest cricket ever! I think I have a lot to get use to as these are most likely going to be daily occurrences for me. 

I arrived in South Africa at about 8:00 am on the 26^th. The PC does not prefer that we stay in Joberg longer then we have to so we were practically rushed out of the airport. We got on a bus and drove about 10 minutes to a quick stop. We were allowed to buy food and drinks to hold us over for the next 2 hours on the bus. I discovered quickly that my debit card did not work! Oh lovely.  The bus ride was very beautiful and I was able to see a lot of what I would be working in.  It is very green and lots of tress. We arrived at a youth camp that is now used by the PC. Since the PC only comes once a year for only a week at a time, this camp is poorly kept. Other organizations will use it throughout the year but they practically destroy it.  So there are a lot of yard workers and repairmen fixing things up for us.  This is not the University dorm room that we were told about. I am not really sure what happened to that.

With the absolute lack of sleep and jetlag we were not required to jump into training when we first arrived. We had a small meeting and then were prepared lunch. After that we played soccer and volleyball. Only 18 out of the 36 of us were allowed to make phone calls home.  We had to drive about 20 minutes to payphones and they hardly worked. It served its purpose though.  We then were served dinner and asked if we wanted to watch a movie. Since we were all so exhausted most of declined and went to bed at like 8. I woke up early at 3 and did not go back to bed. I am in for a long few days of crazy sleeping.

Today we will start our first language training. This week we will learn greetings and proper introductions in 4 languages. Next week we will find out what language we will primarily be learning and the other Peace Corps Trainees (PCT) that will learn it with us. 

January 29, 2012

It has been a long first week! Yesterday and today we had pretty mellow afternoons. Yesterday we learned more greetings in Sepedi and Afrikaans and today we learned them in Tshivenda. Tomorrow we will be learning them in Xitsonga. It has been hard learning them all at once because I have started mixing parts of words from different languages together on accident. I guess I am just making up my own!

Yesterday we started a running group. It was the first time we were really able to leave the camp on our own. It is so pretty! We followed a main dirt road and passed this beautiful river and a lot of interesting trees. I have found it common that Africans will play their music as loud as they can. I was surprised at the amount of sound coming from these very small houses. It made it nice though to run and be able to listen to music! Speaking of music, we had a group of Gogo’s (grandmothers) come today and play their traditional music. They formed their group about 11 years ago. It was very interesting to listen and watch.

Today we had some free time after lunch so some of us walked about 20 minutes to a village soccer field. It was more like a dirt field with really old soccer posts but it worked. It was amazing how word travelled throughout this small village that Americans were playing soccer in their field. We started with a few local boys and within about an hour we had several kids playing and their parents watching.  The boys play without shoes on and they are pretty amazing.  Today we also had our first rainstorm. It was intense and I wanted to go and play in it. 

I have a lot of things to get use to still. Like the fact that a bat just ran into my window several times and it is still trying to get it. I am not at all fond of the bugs but it is coming along.  We have had pap for every meal so far and that is already super old. I really am going to have to get use to pap, it is very common here because it is inexpensive to make. I have to watch what I am eating because we have had warm meals prepared for us every meal so far. We also get a tea break everyday at 10:00 and they have sandwiches and cookies.  Today they thought that we would like hotdogs for breakfast. So most people had hotdogs with vegetables on it and oats. This is kind of an adjustment that is for sure.

February 6, 2012

Well I have not written in awhile because it has been crazy! I have had a very interesting week.  On the 30^th I tried really hard to call Mom for her birthday. I went to a market that is about 15 minutes from camp. I really wanted to talk to her and this was the first persons birthday I was going to miss. Everyone made sure that I would get to make the first call because they knew how important it was to me. I got to the phones and they didn’t work. I came to realize that I was going to have to get use to things just randomly not working. I was pretty upset!

On the 2^nd I moved in with my host family. They live in a small village called Bundu. Bundu is in Mpumlanga Province and has a population of about 1000. There are about 20 PCT’s in Bundu Village and 16 in Machipe Village. I was not expecting to feel the way I did when I arrived. I knew it was going to be uncomfortable because of the language barrier but I did not realize how alone I would feel. I sat on my bed when I first got there and was wishing I had a phone so I could call someone from home. It was so hard and I don’t think I have ever felt so alone. I was around people I did not know, a language I did not speak, a culture I was unfamiliar with and not one person that I was close with to talk to.  It was a lot of emotion to handle at one time.  I was introduced to my host sisters Laiza, Antocia, and Kedibone. They have two sons Junior (5) and lil guy (3) (I don’t know is name) and their father Ubaba Nkosi.  Their house is fairly big for what I was expecting. It would be considered a nicer home here but is definitely a home of poverty in the states.  The water does not always work and has been off for about 2 days now. I finally got home from camp today and turned it on and it worked! I was so excited because I could take a normal shower. I normally have to take a bucket bath and it is really hard to wash your hair. They have a shower that is a normal bathtub with a showerhead on a hose. There is no curtain so I have to be careful I don’t get water everywhere. It is definitely a task!

The day after arrival at my home stay I woke up and I was fighting tears all morning. It had hit me that I was away from home and I was experiencing all of the above.  I walked out the front door and lost it.  I was comforted at camp by the other PCT’s who were also experiencing the same thing I was.  I started to write the letter that the PC told my family they would get. The letter that said how alone I felt and how I wanted to come home. I know these feelings will pass and I am taking it one day at a time.  The PCT’s and I have made the goal of making past 6 months. 6 months to a year is the hardest time for all PCV’s.  I have not one intention of heading home early, as this is a fight I am willing to fight and win.

I found out that I am going to be learning isiZulu.  This is the language I wanted to learn because I am hoping to go To KwuZulu Natal. My LCF (language culture facilitator) Is Nonjabulo. She is the LCF that I liked the most so I was really excited to have her. The LCF’s are also staying with host families because they come from all over South Africa. My language group is a group of 4, Rachel, Pat, and Greg. Pat and Greg are an older couple and Rachel is about my age. I think we will have a great group. 

On the 4^th a family in the village was having a party for their daughter. She was coming of age and we think that she either started her menstrual cycle or she was turning 18. The South African culture is that everyone is invited to your party. We were asked to come and it was very interesting. There were a group of girls that would be performing dances. Their costumes were made of all beads and I heard they were very heavy. In Africa breasts are not considered a sexual characteristic so these girls/women did not wear tops. It was kind of uncomfortable for us PCT’s because we are not use to it.  The girls danced and people would put money under the main girls beaded headband or put gifts in her hand. After the girls danced a group of boys showed up and also danced and sang.  I really enjoyed watching the boys because they get really into it. It was an amazing thing to be a part of and they were very excited that so many American’s came to their party.

Yesterday we did a community walk with our group. This is so that we can get more familiar with our village and see where everything is. A bunch of us have already figured most of it out. We found the Tuk Shops (gas station like shops with no gas)_ and we have been getting a cold drink and sitting outside of them. It passes the time when we are not with out family or at camp. The community walk was good to do because we got to see where everyone lived. I am fairly close to Rachel and Nonjabulo.

I just saw the first cockroach in my room. I must go kill it before I freak out and it goes on my bed.  

February 11, 2012

Today the Peace Corps took our group to the Voortrekker Museum in Pretoria. It was very interesting and pretty.  Pretoria is about an hour and forty-five minutes from Bundu. We were all so excited to go to the city for the first time. The first thing that we looked for were payphones. We could not wait to call home but since Pretoria is very developed we could not find any.  So instead we went to a fancy pizza restaurant. We all looked like a bunch of five year olds on Christmas. We have been in a very rural area and now we were in a very developed place. This is a very hard concept to fathom.  One minute we are having a very nice meal, shopping in a huge mall, and enjoying the city; yet at home we don’t even know if we will have running water.  Many people who live in the rural areas and work in Pretoria have to deal with this dual-economy daily.   While in the city, I was able to find Nutella and maple syrup.  I have wanted to make my host-family breakfast and I thought that they might like French toast. 

This weekend I also met the oldest sister in my family. She was ruthless with the language, meaning she would not talk to me in English. I had my first big isiZulu mess up with her like 10 minutes after I met her. She got to the house and said to me that she was hungry and go get her something. Well since I am not very good at isiZulu I thought she said are you hungry. I look at her and replied in isiZulu, “ no I am full, but thank you.”  Bad first impression, but it did make her laugh.  I found out the next day that she does speak English and just wanted me to learn it faster. She sat down and played cards with me and I was ecstatic! My next funny mess up happened a few days later. My other sister helped me with the dishes. I told her thank you for your help. Well help and fart are very similar in isiZulu. I really told her thank you for your fart and it took me a second to realize why she was looking at me like I was a freak.

February 16, 2012

It has been a pretty crazy week! The CDC South Africa has been here teaching us about HIV/AIDS. So far it has been my favorite of our classes.  The presenters are very educated and it has been great getting information specific to South Africa.  Our PST (pre-service training) has been very intense. Our average day normally will consist of 2 hours of language class in the morning. Language class is held on my front porch with my small group.  After language we catch a taxi to a nature reserve. We were doing it at the youth camp but due to some problems we moved to this nature reserve. I will talk more about it later. When we get to the nature reserve we have lessons of all types. Some of the lessons are on culture, youth groups, PCV medical, facilitation, history of SA and other stuff.  After those lessons we have lunch and then another lesson in who knows what! Then we study language again for another hour.  I am very lucky to have Nonjabulo as my LCF. She has been great and she is a jokester so we feed off of each other all day.  She is able to tell when we are frustrated and she seems to find just the right thing to say to lighten the mood. I don’t know how many times she has seen us all get so teary because we want to just toss in the towel and be done with it. I find myself frustrated most days in language training. It is so hard and there are so many damn rules that I just can’t seem to figure them out! I am doing pretty well with my nouns and verbs so that helps. I have to remember that the quantity of language training/lessons that we have had in the last 3 weeks is probably equivalent to a full semester in college.  Time and practice are going to be the most important things for us.  My family does not speak isiZulu as their main language so when they help me with my loads of homework I often get words that are not in isiZulu. This is also very frustrating because I think I did my homework right and then I find out it is all in the wrong language. 

Now the nature reserve! It is amazing and I am so glad that we are there. The first day we went there I saw my first wild monkeys, baboon and wildebeests.  Some of my group even saw Zebras! The monkeys have become rather distracting because they try to come through the windows during the lectures.  They also have tried to take peoples lunch bags right out of their hands. I am pretty fascinated by them and I love to watch them on my free time. 

I am still getting use to the way of life around here. Here are some things that I am faced with everyday. Pit latrines ugh they are nasty and you can’t use them past dusk because they get covered in cockroaches. Colossal spiders on my bedroom wall. The spiders are better then cockroaches so I let them stay. Eating pap and the intense heat. Looking both ways when I cross the street, not looking for cars but the herds of cows. These cows are also giant!  There are also a lot of goats and dogs on the streets (dirt roads.) Bucket bathing, if the water works I get to use a shower hose that is attached to the faucet.  I always wonder if the water will work when I get home. It will stay on for a few days and then is off for a few days. The longest it has been off since I have been here is like 4 days. I hear it can go up to 2 weeks being off. Luckily we have a big Jojo (water tank) that we can use as back up. Eating pap and the intense heat.  Oh I get to pick mangos off trees whenever I want one. That is pretty awesome and they are amazing! We have a rooster and about 10 chickens. I am getting use to the rooster as my alarm clock. It is very very annoying. The chicken’s roam all over the front yard and crap everywhere. It is frustrating to sweep and mop the front porch and by the time you put the mop away one of them crapped on it. Did I mention I am getting use to pap and how ridiculously hot it is here?

February 18, 2012

I have learned that we all have our good days here and our bad days.  Today is a GREAT day! We started off with a diversity fishbowl. It was composed of SA 25 (my PCT group) and current volunteers (SA 21-24) that all have some form of diversity. It was very interesting to hear how every one of them deal with diversity as part of his or her service. Some of them are African America, gay, lesbian, Hispanic, elderly, and of low SES in America. After diversity panel some of us went to a shopping town about 40 minutes from Bundu. I got to call my parents and my sister! I would have loved to call everyone but my phone card ran out while I was talking to Kimbo. It was so good to hear their voices and it is hours later and I am still on cloud nine.  Today I also used the language skills I have learned. I was at the market and though English is widely spoken here I am doing everything I can to speak isiZulu. I was actually able to explain what I was doing here and a few other things about myself. We have learned that everywhere we go we get stopped multiple times to be asked what we are doing here. People are rather interested in us white people with weird accents! It was flattering at first but now it gets kind of annoying. It is helping with the language so that is a plus about it.  I guess today I just feel very positive and happy to be here! We will see what tomorrow brings!

February 26, 2012

Well it has once again been another interesting week. To start with Friday we had our LPI midterm. It looks to see where we are at with language. Lets just say that we have a lot of work to do. It has been an extreme 3 weeks of language training. I guess most PST last 3 months and ours is only 2.  We are getting a lot of language crammed into pretty much 6 weeks.  We also had a meeting with our APCD (Associate Peace Corps Director) I told him that I did not really want to stay in Mpumlanga Province/Bundu. I am really hoping that I do go to KZN. Only 5 more days until I find out where I am going and what I will be doing.   I said that for my main project I wanted to work with HBC’s (home based care) or with OVC’s (orphans and vulnerable children).  Either way I am thinking of doing a youth group or occupational safety as my secondary project. The secondary projects are not required but most volunteers do them. It is a project that you do on your own that does not necessarily have to do with HIV/AIDS. The youth group I want to do life skills orientation and that is like a yearlong project.  They say that volunteers get bored a lot because work will normally end around 3 or 4. It will be good to have something else to do.

Yesterday we left at 6:30 am to head to Johannesburg.  On the way there I was able to check my email from someone’s phone. I was excited to read my emails and wished that I could have responded to them. Thanks for all of your words of encouragement.

We got to the Apartheid Museum and I was going to go through with a group of PCT’s but I decided I wanted to go through the museum alone. I put my iPod in and kind of just took it all in. It is hard to explain the way it made me feel, angry might be a good word for it. I just don’t understand the hate that white South African’s had for coloreds at the time. South Africa was filled with hate for so many years and I believe that it is still a problem. Some of the videos and pictures were rather graphic and a few times I had to look away. I was glad that I was able to go to the museum but I wish there had never been the Apartheid.  I can say that Nelson Mandela is quite the man and had a lot to do with the ending of Apartheid. I heard yesterday that he was put in the hospital. I have not heard anything else but I hope that he is okay.

February 28, 2012

We had some health workers and Home Based Care reps come to class today to talk with us. The one that I found most interesting was the traditional healer. Traditional healers are very common in South Africa. The biggest concern with traditional healers is when it comes to the “treatment/cure” of HIV/AIDS.  I believe that the government is working with them and teaching them that HIV/AIDS patients need to be treated in a hospital or clinic that is capable of the appropriate treatment.  The traditional healer that visited us works closely with the hospitals. I find this very admirable. It allows her to still follow her beliefs about traditional healers but allows that the patient receives appropriate treatment.  It was interesting because she has a bag of bones and she dumps them in front of her, she reads what is wrong with you by looking at the way that the bones landed and by taking to ancestors.  I am not sure that it is something that I would spend my money on, but it would be interesting to see what she had to say. 

Nothing too exciting has happened since I last wrote. I took some small video of the cows today. I still think it is so weird that I walk with them a lot.  The monkeys are becoming a pain in the butt.  They are getting pretty comfortable with us and are getting to the point of almost ripping stuff out of your hand. One of the PCT’s went to throw away her banana peel today and a monkey started chasing her for it. You should have heard her scream. We have two big rocks on the trash can lid now because they have figured out how to open it.  We had a monkey in the kitchen today also. They still try to come in the windows while we are in class. Damn monkeys!

Tomorrow we find out where we are going to be placed! I can’t wait! Monday we will go to our sites for a week. We will see what happens!

March 4, 2012

The first week of my home stay my sisters church was held at our house. I went one time and there were only about 8 of us. It was a rather interesting experience but more uncomfortable then anything. Well today I went to a new church. All of the PCT’s were invited to go because this church just opened today. I asked my host father if I could go with him and he seemed excited when I told him that I wanted to join him.  I was ready a half-hour before it was time to go and I waited and waited for Ubaba to get ready. I finally left without him! Africans have what is called African time. I have not got use to it and I don’t know if I will. It is where they run late for everything! So I show up with Nonjabulo (my LCF) and we got there around 10:15. The ribbon ceremony was supposed to start at 10:00. It started a little after 11:00. Ubaba showed up right when it started so he obviously has this African time all figured out!  Since the church just opened service went for 5 hours! I did not know that I could possible sit still for that long! A Korean Pastor and his wife funded the church. This meant that whenever they were preaching in was in Korean, then translated into English, then into isiZulu.  My teacher translated everything into isiZulu and she did a great job. I will touch more on this later.