Valentine's Day and getting in shape

For Valentine's day we decided to have a bit of a party with the kids at my program. I ended up baking about 150 heart-shaped sugar cookies, with the help of a few of the older kids in our program, and each kid got to decorate (and eat) a bunch. These kids aren't used to having many sweet things, let alone a treat of any sort, so the sugar was quite a shock. I've never seen these kids with so much energy and hyperactivity, it was pretty amusing.
My own Valentine's day was a nice treat. My boyfriend Jason came up to visit and we had, over the last few months, collected all the ingredients to make sushi. We had discovered an Asian food store in Gaborone where we were able to get the seaweed wraps and wasabi; my mom was gracious enough to send some vacuum-packed smoked salmon, and after a lot of searching I managed to find pickled ginger and cream cheese. Sushi is one of the foods I've missed the most since living in a land-locked country, so this was a very exciting occasion. Amazingly it was pretty tasty despite my extremely minimal experience with making sushi. It's surprising how exciting food becomes when your options are limited.
This weekend some other volunteers and I are celebrating "Peace Corps Prom". We definitely have to be creative with ways to have fun, so we're all getting dressed up (as much as is possible with the limited wardrobe and funds that we all have) and having a dance. It should be pretty entertaining, I'll be sure to post some photos after the event.
I've officially started training for my 3-day sponsored walk that's coming up in May. I've been walking a lot pretty much everyday and started running as well. Fortunately it has been relatively cool in the mornings and evenings so all this exercise isn't unbearable. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has helped me raise money so far, including the recent additions from aunt MJ, Brian, J and Tony, and Tim. I've raised about $600 so far, only $400 more to go! Please email me if you're interested in helping out, leslie.duling@gmail.com. Thanks!

Quick Update

I don't have a lot of time to write, but thought I would document some of the highlights of the last few weeks. Things have been going really well at work- we have several new people working with us which has made things run more smoothly at the centre. A member of the national rugby team is designing a sports program for the kids and comes to the centre once a week to get everyone in shape- the kids really enjoy it, and even my coworkers and I get involved. Some of the kids just started doing horseback riding- the older kids had done it before, but the younger kids had never gone. I got to go with them on their first trip and they had a fantastic time. None of the kids had ever ridden a horse before and they couldn't stop smiling. It was inspiring to see them so excited about something.
For those of you who don't know I'll be participating in a sponsored walk for Y Care Charitable Trust (check them out at www.ycare.org.bw)- the proceeds of which will go to non-governmental and community-based organizations throughout Botswana which do crucial work with, among other groups, disabled and disadvantaged youth. If you are interested in helping me reach my goal of raising $1000, please email me at leslie.duling@gmail.com. Donations of any amount would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much to those who have already offered to help out:
Mom and Dad, Betsy and James, Geoffrey and Liisa, Saret, and Brooke.
I'll be posting more pictures and stories soon!

The Okavango Delta and some new housemates

After Christmas some other volunteers and I decided to venture up north to the Okavango Delta to go camping and visit some volunteers that live in that area. We rented a truck and started the long trek- it took us a few days to get to our final destination- and we passed the time by playing car games, it was a nice flashback to childhood. We passed through many villages which I had heard about but never seen- Nata, Maun, Gumare- and we managed to spot some elephants in the wild, I was so excited to finally see some after hearing so much about how many there are in Botswana. We stayed in Gumare with a volunteer and had some trouble sleeping- partly because there were 5 of us sleeping side by side, and partly because the insects were abundant, pestering us while we tried to sleep. The following day we travelled further north along the western side of the delta, arriving at the Okavango River where we took a ferry across to Shakawe. We then drove south to our final destination of Seronga, a small traditional village of mud huts and sandy roads. Some of the travel was difficult given the deep sand and gravel roads, so we were thankful to have 4-wheel-drive. We stayed with a friend of a volunteer and rather large group of other volunteers, most of us camping in the yard which bordered beautiful grassy wetlands. The sunset that night was amazing, so many shades of pink and purple over settling over the water. The following morning we awoke and proceeded to an “island” (supposedly when it rains more it really is an island, but it was hard to tell given the current level of water)- the driving was a real challenge and I was thankful to not be behind the wheel. We drove through deep white sand on windy paths, then arrived at a pond which we had to drive across- it was a little scary but we managed to get across without any trouble. We finally drove through a huge field of tall grass and arrived at our campsite, only to drive right into a huge whole that was hidden by the grass. With the help of an experienced driver we managed to get out of the hole with no damage to the truck, what a relief. We set up camp near a beautiful pond covered with lily pads and lotus flowers, surrounded by tall trees and grassland on the periphery. There were tons of amazing birds that I couldn’t identify, and we discovered lion tracks in the dirt where we were setting up our picnic area. All of us at some point heard strange grunting noises coming from the bushes and we were later told that it was most likely hippos- not the most reassuring thing to hear given how violent hippos can be, but we managed not to get too freaked out and went the whole trip without actually seeing any. We spent the few days sitting and talking around the fire, reading, taking naps, hiking around, swimming, playing volleyball in the pond, and riding a mokoro (like a canoe) around the pond. We spent New Years eve with some Afrikaners who were camping across the pond from us, it was interesting to meet some new people although they were a little crazy. They had roasted an entire goat on a spit for the whole day and I got my first taste of goat meat- it was actually pretty good. Some of the volunteers put on an entertaining skit of events from 2007, and we all toasted with champagne to ring in the new year under the stunningly star-filled sky. The trip back was long and tiring, but at least we managed to see more elephants, this time much closer- they were right on the side of the highway. It was amazing to see them up close, so giant and majestic. All in all it was a good start to the new year.
Now I’m back at work with our center reopening on Monday. It will be nice to see the kids once again and start a new year with new programs and staff members. I’ll be working on developing a peer education program aimed at training our kids to work in their schools to improve education regarding children’s rights and healthy relationships. It should be challenging and interesting. The highlight since I came back from vacation is that I’ve adopted 2 kittens, both black and white- their names are Batman (since he looks like he’s wearing a mask) and Mittens. It’s been really nice to have some companions to come home to.

Pics from my New Years trip

Here are some recent pics from my trip to the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana. I wrote a whole story to go along with them, but I forgot to bring it with me to the internet cafe :) I will post it in a few days, but in the meantime enjoy the pictures!

The Okavango River, other volunteers and myself on the ferry across, sunset from our campsite

Pictures from the kids performing at our Christmas party: Bonno reading poetry; The "Four Super Boys" performing, Keneilwe doing a very dramatic scene, and a bunch of the kids plus my coworker Tinny dancing

Happy Holidays!

The holidays are here, but it still doesn't feel like it in Botswana. The heat is back in full force after 2 months of frequent rain and thunderstorms. Christmas is not a huge deal- there's some of the same hubbub at the stores, a ton of people traveling, but I really have to use my imagine to envision it being Christmas. I'm spending Christmas with a few friends, eating lots and trying to make it seem more festive.
Last week Stepping Stones International, the NGO that I'm working for, had our Christmas party with the kids. The kids pretty much organized the whole event, coming up with songs, dances, poetry, and even a drama to perform for their caregivers, my coworkers and I, and some members of the community. It was a great way to end the year with the kids, since our center will be closed until after New Years.
I'll soon be leaving to go up to the Okavango Delta for the first time- it's supposed to be the most beautiful part of the country, with some of the most diverse wildlife and a welcome watery diversion from the otherwise parched desert. I'll be visiting with other volunteers and camping out for the New Year, so it should be a great time.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Years. I miss everyone back home and hope you're all doing well!

Holidays

I spent most of Thanksgiving weekend waiting for buses and riding them- not how I had intended to spend it, but at least the times between busrides were enjoyable :) I went up to Mahalapye to visit my good friend Chandni and her parents who were still visiting- they were having a party with a bunch of Chandni's coworkers. Her mom cooked an amazing Indian feast and we all ended up dancing- some Setswana dancing, some Indian dancing, and some dancing I really couldn't associate with any culture. It was certainly a unique evening.
The following day I ventured out to Phikwe where I met up with at least 20 other volunteers for a real Thanksgiving feast. I arrived just in time to eat all my favorites- mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and a bunch of other comfort foods. It was so nice to meet up with so many other volunteers and get updates on their progress with their projects. Many people are struggling in their jobs- one of my friends had her counterpart (boss) die very suddenly and now her organization is nearly closing; another was strangled in her house. But overall most people are making some progress in their work- it's just a very challenging experience.
Things at work have been okay for me- things are slowing down a bit as the kids are on their holiday break from school- many are out of town visiting family. We're planning a big Christmas party next week, complete with a drama performance by the kids, prominent community members visiting, a big feast, and presents for the kids and their families. It should be really fun, I'll do my best to get pictures to post.
As Christmas approaches, I feel really sad to be so far from home, but I'm very thankful to be safe, have good friends here, and to be able to keep in touch with everyone.