Feeling the heat, training, and some guests

It's now spring here and the shift in temperature has been dramatic- for almost every day in the last month I've been able to walk out my door before 8am in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals and be perfectly comfortable; by afternoon I'm hiding from the intense, dry heat. It's been quite a shock to my system, and it's only going to get worse- summer is fast-approaching and I'm awaiting the 100+ degree days. Good times!
The past few weeks have been filled with training, work, and a sprinkling of fun here and there. The last three weeks have been mostly consumed by counseling training which has been provided by my work- it’s good information, but it’s been very tiring to be in training even on Saturdays. This upcoming weekend is my first chance to really have some free time- it’s a holiday weekend since Sunday, September 30th is Botswana’s Independence Day. Botswana first became independent from the British protectorate in the 1960s, so it’s a fairly young country. Independence Day is a very proud occasion for the Batswana, and there are said to be a great deal of festivities taking place to mark the occasion.
Last week a volunteer from the US named Sarah arrived- she will be staying with me for the next 5 weeks while she helps teach the kids at our center how to come up with and run income generating projects. She has her degree in business marketing, and she has some great ideas for what the kids can work on. Fortunately she’s really nice and about my age as well, so the company is welcome! It’s interesting to get a non-Peace Corps perspective on things here- I feel a little bit bad because compared to America there is very little to do here for fun. It’s not safe to go out after dark (around 7pm), there’s nowhere to go even if it were safe (there aren’t really pubs or dance clubs or restaurants that aren’t pretty sketchy), and even during the day there is little to do besides socialize with the neighbors. I’ve grown pretty used to spending a lot of time alone, reading and writing and learning Setswana, but for an outsider it can be a little daunting. Hopefully Sarah will get a chance to travel around the country a bit to make things more interesting.
In addition to Sarah, I had a few Peace Corps friends visit me last weekend which was really fun. It’s always so nice to meet up with other volunteers and discuss differences and similarities in our experiences- I think we learn a lot from each other.
The kids I’m working with continue to be a source of energy and excitement- it’s so apparent that they take nothing for granted and that even the smallest gestures of kindness mean the world to them. We’ve been involving them in activities to help them learn job skills and I’m focusing on teaching them about creative writing- they put so much effort and thought into the activities, it’s really inspiring to work with them. I’m also trying to organize a group of kids to go to Camp GLOW- it’s a week-long camp in December to help guys and girls to develop as leaders, learn life skills and build self-esteem, and then to return to their villages and help to empower other youth to do the same. Hopefully things will work out so I get to go along as a group leader- it would be a great way to help work with youth to hopefully make some positive changes in the community.

Pictures from Kanye

Monkeys at the motel, eating garbage

Me and friends at "the beautiful place"

Sunset over Kanye

Monkeys, Soccer, and a New Home

The last few weeks were spent in Kanye, a bustling town in the southern part of the country. Kanye is beautiful, spread out over several large, rolling hills covered in greenish brush and red sand. I met up with about 20 other volunteers at a nice, quiet motel surrounded by trees and even a family of monkeys. We spent many days being trained in Setswana, organizational development, and other topics aimed at helping us be effective volunteers. The after-hours were spent watching movies, playing soccer (I hadn’t played in many years and it brought out my competitive side all over again, so fun!), and just catching up. It was great to see volunteers from all over the country and get different perspectives on life in other villages. It was strange to be around other Americans, but it was comforting to be with people I could better relate to, and it was great to see my friends from our initial training.
Coming back to Mochudi is a little hard since my good friend Manda, the other PCV in Mochudi, decided to leave Peace Corps early to go back to the U.S. She left earlier this week and unfortunately I didn’t get to see her before she left. The only upside to her departure is that she helped work out the details so I can move into her house- since I’ve had security issues at my own house, it’s really nice to come back to a place that is seemingly safer and also furnished- it feels much more like home.
The next few weeks will be busy with more training- I’m being trained to be a counselor to help with my work. I’m really excited to see the kids again since I’ve been away for so long- I’m anxious to get back to work!
In case anyone is interested in reading about Mochudi’s chief who recently died, here’s a link to an article from one of the main newspapers in Botswana: http://www.mmegi.bw/2007/August/Wednesday22/1.php