My Assigned Location

Big News!

All 56 of us volunteers have been assigned to places all over Botswana. While others are going out to the Kalahari, the Okavanga Delta, and other exotic places, I will be in Molepolole for the next two years working with the Life Skills program at the Kgari Sechele Senior Secondary school consisting of 2500 students in form 3 and 4 ranging from ages 16 to 19 and above. The school is the highest level of learning under the British system before university and the only one in the district. My counterpart is supposed to be terrific so I feel very lucky to have this post.

In terms of our training, in addition to the language, we have been learning the Peace Corps model of development which involves terms such as integration into the community, appreciative inquiry interviews, seasonal and other calendars, maps of the community, and participation action planning. Collectively, they are called PACA tools. A partner and I just finished a two week project visiting a school and put on a skit today that made fun of the Peace Corps volunteer and her role in finding "opportunities" for moving forwards. I wore a cape with a Peace Corps sign on it and ran in with my hat, sunglasses and sandals, which are normal Peace Corps attire. I carried my PACA tools. We all had a good laugh and we received a standing ovation. We had fun planning it as well. So you can tell we are all a bit stir crazy after 6 weeks of training. It was only funny if you had gone through all the classes we have.

Next week we meet our counterparts and learn more about what we will be doing and where we will be living for the next two years. I will have cell phone coverage and internet as well as electricity. I will also have an outhouse and water available outside, which is the way the family I live with now lives.
Peace Corps in Botswana is considered to be Africa lite, however, we have other stresses and strains. For example, a Peace Corps volunteer who was extending to a third year beginning in a few weeks was just killed in a car accident in the capital, Gaborone. Car accidents are the second highest cause of death after
HIV/AIDS.

On a lighter not, most people here begin the day by drinking tea in the morning rather than coffee. Both are imported from South Africa. Tea time with a snack is about 10 or 10:30. Lunch time is about 1:30 to 3pm. There can be a late tea and also a late dinner. I find I am hungry all the time. Although most Batwanans are not vegetarian, they eat lots of porridge with few vegetables and some meat or chicken. Desserts are not common general speaking, but I do enjoy their scones and fried bread called fat cakes with my morning tea. Fruit such as apples are available for snacks.

So keep the comments and e-mails coming. Although I buy a newspaper, I do not get world news. For example, I hear nothing about the war in Iraq or the election, so any news is appreciated.