My New Home

November 25, 2012       

Well, the news is that I am settling into my new place.  I have 3 rooms that do not connect.  I have to go outside on the covered veranda to access each room.  My place is just outside the kitchen door of the family whose compound I live in, and since it is mostly too hot to stay inside, they spend all their time in the shade outside their kitchen door.  That means that every move I make from one room to another has an audience.  So I am always on display except when I am in a room with the door shut.

Red Arrow - My Compound  Blue Arrow - My School

The family is very nice.  They are not intrusive at all.  They are a husband and wife with 4 daughters.  The oldest is 25 and has cerebral palsy.  The next is 23 and attends a technical school to learn tailoring.  The third is 18 and attends Senior Secondary School in Lobatse, and the 4th is 14 and attends Ntwalang Junior Secondary School where I work.  I think I couldn't ask for a nicer family.  I feel very safe here.  There are chickens on the compound and a big dog that looks like a greyhound.  He's very curious about me, but I ignore him. I think he is looking for food, because he's especially curious and assertive when I am carrying something that looks like it might have food in it.  I went to church with the youngest daughter on Sunday at the African Evangelical Church.  Other family members attend other churches in town.  

The staff at the school have been very welcoming and they have done their best to get me the minimum items I need like a bed and a small table and an old stove with a gas cylinder.  The landlady loaned me a couch and chair.  The Ministry of Education is supposed to provide furniture, but when I arrived on Friday they had only delivered a refrigerator.  I thank God for that because if they could only deliver one thing, I am glad it was the fridge.  It is wonderful to have a fridge here where it is so hot.  Right this minute there is no electricity, but it will probably be on again before tomorrow morning.  Today we had water, so I was able to fill my containers.  Peace Corps gave me a Katadyn water filter.

This is the same filter we used in Ethiopia

Last week, when my counterpart and I attended a meeting at the local Kgotla, also called the customary court, I was asked by the acting Kgosi (judge) to end the meeting in prayer.  I thought that was a nice way to say welcome.  

During my first week, I was asked to see a student for a counseling session.  My counterpart, the guidance and counseling teacher, has been trying to get her an appointment with a professional counselor for some time, but there were no appointments available any time soon, so she asked if I would see her.  She has issues from some traumatic events in the past.  The session went well and I think we are a good match.  She was quite articulate, even in English, so it went well.  

So I am well, and doing OK. It looks like I am going to be camping out in these rooms for awhile. The two larger rooms have windows on three sides so there's plenty of light and good breezes when the windows are open.  The rooms have a tin roof with no ceiling, which makes for a great audio experience when it rains.  

I have slowly gotten my things arranged over the last five days in the small room that I use as a kitchen and one of the bigger ones that is my all purpose room. There are no closets or shelves to put things on so my clothes are remaining in my suitcases.  I am using the refrigerator box as a table and a storage place for things I don't use every day.  I got a couple of apple cartons yesterday that I have put on top of the fridge to use as shelves for food.  I bought a microwave, and I'm using the box it came in as a cupboard.  I bought a big plastic tub I can bathe in and wash my clothes in.  I did buy a non-stick skillet and a set of three ironstone saucepans, but I haven't used either of them yet.  I am sitting here in the dark now typing this, but I am feeling more at ease today as I am beginning to figure out my schedule/routine.  So today was a good day.  

I am wanting to establish some positive connections before I whip out my camera and start taking pictures of everything (trying not to act like a tourist), but I hope to have some photos for you before long.  

At "home" in Botswana,
Barbara

Moving Towards Digawana

Thursday November 1

Where have the last two weeks gone?  We had a two-day workshop on Monday and Tuesday, October 22 and 23.  There we met people from the schools to which we will be assigned.  The person who came from Nthwalang Secondary School where I will be posted, is the Acting Headmistress of the school.  She is a very impressive woman in her mid to late 40s, articulate, and passionate about teaching children.  We found that we share many attitudes and values.  She will supervise my work at the school, but she is not the person I will be working with most closely.  My "counterpart" at the school will be the Guidance and Counseling teacher.  The headmistress described her as being in her 30s and "quiet but firm."  The headmistress anticipates that the G&C teacher and I will be a good match and find it easy to work together.

Peace Corps' policy is that all work attempted at your post should not be done alone but with a counterpart or with counterparts.  That ensures that when your tour of duty is completed and you leave, there are people remaining in the community who will continue whatever has been started.  One of our first tasks is to find in the community the people with whom we will be working.

The headmistress told me that the house they have arranged for me to rent is located in a family compound not far from the school.  She says it is owned by a man who has retired from being a security guard at the school where I work.  She said the logic directing the selection of this house is so that I won't be isolated.  This serves two purposes, security and helping me integrate into the community.  She anticipates that the family will include me in community events and introduce me to neighbors and people in the community.

The first ten weeks at my post is intended to be used doing a community assessment.  That means I am to meet as many people in the community as possible, introduce myself and my reason for being there, and find out how the community works and what aspirations people have for their community.  In mid-January we Bots 13 volunteers will again meet for In-Service Training where we will compare and contrast our respective community assessments.  During that first ten weeks we Bots 13ers are expected to stay at our post communities except for trips to our shopping villages to get supplies.  We can have visitors from within Botswana, like other PCVs who want to get acquainted, but we can't travel anywhere during those first weeks.  Several of us are looking forward to the change from the tight schedule we have kept since we arrived.

I think everyone in the Bots 13 group is anxious to get to their new homes and settle in.  There is a considerable amount of concern about adjusting to water shortages, and figuring out how to get food and supplies.  Some have been told that their houses don't have electricity so they're figuring out how to manage that.  The ministry of education is in charge of providing basic furnishings, like beds and tables.  However, there's no guarantee the furnishings will have arrived before we do.  So many of us are preparing to camp out in our houses if necessary until we can get everything we need and settle in comfortably. 

We had the first of our two language tests on Wednesday October 31.  The final one is on Friday November 9.  They have told us that they will use the higher of the two scores on these tests as our criteria for language proficiency.  After my test yesterday, my interviewer said, "You did well, in spite of your age."  Then he redeemed himself by saying, "When I am your age, I will be learning a new language."  So goal #1 for my Peace Corps service is being accomplished, be a good example for the next generations.

There are only two more weeks to go in Pre-Service Training.  However, I have been amazed ever since I got here how much can change in only two weeks.  So I'm anticipating things to develop, though I have no clue how they will develop, in these next two weeks.  My hope is that my language skills will get stronger and my interpersonal relationship strategies will become more and more culturally appropriate and effective.

Talk to you next time

Barb

I'm Assigned To Digawana

The Assignment Ceremony is Over

Well, the ceremony is over!  I was the last one announced (we drew numbers for the sequence).

Reading My Assignment To My Fellow PCVs

I have been assigned to a village called Digawana (dee-ha-wah-nah).  It is near the Southeast border of Botswana.  It is a "suburb" (my word) of a town called Lobatse which will be my "shopping village".

The Red Dot indicates Lobatse

The language informant on the Peace Corps YouTube language lessons, Meshack, told me that Digawana is a very nice, small village that is growing because people are moving there from Lobatse.  

Main Shopping Street - Lobatse

He said the people of Digawana are very accommodating and that he has two aunts who live there.

I am assigned to the Nthwalang Junior Secondary School.  That means I will be working with teenagers, probably age 13 and up.

Counseling empowers HIV-positive adolescents to build positive relationships,
improve their self-esteem, and acquire life skills

On Monday and Tuesday we will travel to Gaborone, back to the Big Five Hotel, to have meetings with our counterparts.  Counterparts are the people who we will officially work alongside with, at our assignment sites.  We won't spend the night in Gaborone, but will bus back and forth each day.  It will be exciting to meet someone from the school where I will be working.

Well, the next four weeks will be the beginning of discovering and preparing for what my life will be like for the next two years.  I hope my gestation period in Kanye will have adequately prepared me for my birthing out into the world of Batswana.

Barb

“Sala Sentle” (stay well)

It’s been five weeks since we arrived in Kanye and were introduced to our host families.

It has been an intense five weeks of learning how to get around the town of Kanye on foot or in taxies, learning how to live as a member of a Batswana family, adjusting to new foods and to inconsistent water supply.  

At the education center they keep the schedule moving from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with language study and training in the goals and objectives of Peace Corps in Botswana.  We also attend classes on Saturday mornings. 

Last week we were all sent out of Kanye for four days of “shadowing” a current Peace Corps Volunteer, in order to have first hand experience of the varying living conditions and responsibilities that volunteers are managing.  I was sent to Maun which required a 12 hour trip by bus.  Consequently, I got to see a lot of the savannas and semi-desert terrain of Botswana.  I traveled with three other trainees who were going to nearby destinations.  

Returning to classes this week, it has been exciting to hear the reports of the differing climates, work settings, and experiences that were observed during shadowing.  Many trainees reported that it was a profound experience to see volunteers serving in some difficult environments and yet still reporting satisfaction with the lives they are leading there.  Conversations this week have been more focused on plans for managing food and water challenges and anticipating how to manage interacting within the systems to which we will be assigned. 

This group of volunteers is unique because we are the first group that will be assigned completely to schools.  All of us will serve alongside guidance and counseling teachers and we all will be assigned to sites that are south of Gaborone.  We may be in primary or secondary schools, or even boarding schools for children whose parents are not settled in one location.  

Some of us will have to learn another language in addition to Setswana.  We won’t know until Friday afternoon this week, who those persons will be.  Friday, October 19 is when we get our site assignments. 

As for me personally, I am finding that each day is a moment by moment experience. There’s little time for contemplation and no time for boredom.  The days start at 4:30 a.m. in the household where I stay, though I may sleep in a bit later.  I’m usually on my way to the education center between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m.  

Time away from school is a mixture of routine chores (like bathing, hand washing clothes, housekeeping tasks) and interacting with the children in the home and helping them with homework.  Weekends have usually included the long walk (takes me about an hour and a half so I get a ride one way) to or from Kanye town center, in order to shop for needed items and/or study language with classmates.

I attended church one Sunday at what is called the London Mission Church, which my host said had been established by David Livingston.  I thoroughly enjoyed being there and heard some of the most beautiful singing I’ve ever heard.

I look forward to writing you again at the end of this week with the news of where I’ve been assigned.  

Til then, let me say “sala sentle” (stay well).

Settling In To My New Home In Kanye Botswana

Dear Friends,

Barbara has asked me to bring you up to date on her arrival in Botswana and put up a few pictures. (Jim)

Barbara left Nashville on the 11th and flew to Philidelphia where she met her new Peace Corps co-workers and received her new Peace Corps passport.

Arriving at Ramada Inn Philadelphia

After an afternoon of meetings and orientation, they all turned in early in order to rise at 2:30 am for their bus trip to JFK airport.

Waiting in line at South African Airways

After their check-in they moved to the boarding gate where their plane was waiting to carry them off to Johannesburg in South Africa.

Barbara arrived safely in Gaborone where they received a warm welcome from the staff.

Welcome To Botswana!

Our long time friend, Pam Workman met Barbara and took this picture.  Amazing how fresh She looks after the long 14 hour flight to Johannesburg and then the short flight to Gaborone.

How many pockets in that vest?

After arrival at the airport the group was taken to a very nice Lodge, the Big Five Hotel, outside of Gaborone for some well deserved rest. After a day of recovery at the Lodge and a chance to freshen up, Barbara's "batch" had their first group picture taken.

Barbara is up on the balcony on the left!

Next, the group was bused down to the town of Kanye, Southwest from Gaborone, to the Education Center campus where their three month orientation and language training takes place.

The Kanye Education Center

The Red arrow points to the Center and the Blue arrow points to the home of Barbara's host family.

Education Center in Kanye

All of the volunteers were given a brief orientation and then introduced to the Botswana families that are hosting them in their homes.

Host Families meet their American guests

The next morning Barbara walked from her host family's home to start classes at 8 a.m. !

First day of School?

The language classes take place in area homes with a small group of students.

Peace Corps volunteers learn Tsewana

Barbara's language teacher

Basics of Tsewana are taught daily

Last Saturday Barbara and several PCVs walked down to the center of Kanye to shop at the Shopping center.

Choppies is a Supermarket chain found in South Africa and Botswana

Barbara has a Peace Corps issued phone that has a built in flash light and FM radio.  I have been able to call her often and the reception is as clear as calling any other cell phone.  She is able to receive International calls but cannot place them.  She is able to call within Botswana as well as send SMS messages.  She is delighted to be in Botswana and is really enjoying her host family and their children.  Barbara has taken pictures of her home and family but does not have permission yet to post them.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Jim for Barbara

Two Recommendations

This last week I've been studying Setswana as much as I can.  One of the resources I've used is on Youtube.  It is lessons given by two of the language teachers, Tonic and Meshack, at the Peace Corps training center in Kanye, Botswana where I will be spending eight hours a day for the next two months.  There are eighteen videos, and in one of them, Tonic interviews personnel at the center.  I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the people I will be interacting with, as well as getting to hear a bit of the language.  Don't worry, it is translated in subtitles.  Here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYtF9VJ7vqM&feature=share&list=ULyYtF9VJ7vqM

My second recommendation is a book I have been reading, Saturday is for Funerals, by Unity Dow.  Unity Dow was the first woman judge of the Botswana High Court.  She announced earlier this summer that she intends to run for Parliament in the next election. This book is written in conjunction with Max Essex who is Lasker Professor of Health Sciences at Harvard University.  This book is a rare combination of stories that reveal the unique culture of Botswana and how it has been effected by the AIDS epidemic and fascinating technical information about the treatment of AIDS and its progression in Botswana.  If you want to know what issues I will be encountering, this is the ideal book to read.  It is still contemporary, having been published in 2009.  Unfortunately, you cannot download this book to a reader, you have to purchase a hard copy somewhere.  I got mine from Barnes and Noble.  You can also order it from Amazon.  I am sure your local library would like to find it for you as well.  I intend to leave my copy here for Jim to read, but I definitely want another when I get to Botswana. 

The Learning Continues

In response to the first blog, I got the question, "How can we know when you post new material; can we subscribe to the blog?"

That was a new concept for me, so we researched it and added a place at the bottom of the blog where you can enter your e-mail address.  This will take you to site where you can arrange to get an e-mail notice that there is new content on the blog. There is no charge for this service.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom), which is also at the bottom of the page, is another alternative to get notices about new entries. 

My snail-mail address in Botswana during my first two months training will be:

PCT Barbara Singleton
c/o Peace Corps Botswana
Private Bag 00243
Gabarone, Botswana