As I walk around the village or on my way to work, I am now accustomed to carrying a yellow umbrella with a tropical motif on it. Whether it is sunny or raining, the umbrella offers me perfect protection. It protects me from the wind if it is cold or keep me cool if it is hot. But I do not fly into the sky as Mary Poppins does. Nor do I dress like her. I am usually wearing my baggy Indonesia pants. And fortunately, I am not the only person carrying an umbrella. Many women in Botswana carry them as well. But now, I not only stick out because of the color of my skin, but also because of the bright umbrella I carry. So I now am getting used to weather which is mainly warm, but can also be rainy or at times cold. What follows are some of my reflections.
At many schools in Botswana, they have what is called a group entitled, Circles of Support. It is intended to support orphans and vulnerable children. The child is to be supported by the extended family and friends, the school, the community and various governmental and non-governmental organizations. I feel that during my first year in Botswana, I have been supported by my family and friends back home, my formal and informal relationships with Peace Corps, several teachers and administrators in the school where I have been assigned, and families in the community where I have been living. This may sound trite, but it is true.
Receiving e-mails, care packages, letters and phone calls from people back home have helped me stay in touch with more my family and friends. A cousin often keeps me posted on family news and gives me my national and international news fully edited in short. I enjoy the items people send and caring thoughts behind them. A neighbor has sent me wonderful poetry books that I can pass on to others and leave at the Peace Corps library. Family and friends have sent books, articles and delicious goodies which are very much appreciated and devoured. They also send cards and photos that I put on my walls. I am interested in news of all kinds in terms of people’s lives as well as Obama’s solutions to our present situation. It is important for me to share what I am doing here with what friends and family. Their activities and problems are also of interest to me. These threads keep me connected.
As I have mentioned in the past, Peace Corps has been very supportive in terms of language training, healthcare and culture. In the process, I am getting used to their reports, procedures and even their personality traits. The office has been most helpful with some back issues I was having. For this I am very grateful. The continued support with language classes and tapes has been very helpful.
But it is the personal interactions with my contemporary Peace Corps volunteers both young and old that keep me supported on a regular basis as I go through lots of trials and challenges. We often work together on projects. Some of us are trying to start a women against rape WAR) chapter in our village. Another volunteer has encouraged me to have 150 visit my school in May for a candle light memorial day against HIV/AIDS. She even arranged for us to get funds for feeding the students. We share the details of our frustrating work as a way to helping us understand the cultural challenges and changes necessary in the schools. We support each other constantly by texting with our phones. These discussions and support from fellow volunteers keep me engaged since I never knowing what might happen next. We share books and discuss them. We often travel together. By knowing what other volunteers are experiencing both comforts and reassures me.
At the senior secondary school where I have been working in the Guidance and Counseling department, I have been fortunate to work with two wonderful senior teachers who have guided me along the way making helpful suggestions in undertaking any task, whether it is organizing a workshop, a meeting, or a club activity. Several teachers have also befriended me and have given me support and important feedback in terms of what is happening around the school and telling me who does what, when and why. They guide me to get permission for my activities, quotations for the purchasing, and clue me in on when and where to make things happen. It is through them that I learn to write proper memos and speak to the right person. To say the least, I have been lost both physically and mentally on many occasions. Just learning names and faces has been challenging especially when people keep changing their locations, hairstyles and clothes on a regular basis.
Finally, the local communities and families I have been living with have been accepting and understanding of my stumbling ways. Whether it is my pidgeon-Setswana or my unintended rudeness due to not understanding the culture, people have accepted me. When I go to funerals now, I see people neighbors and other relatives there who are friendly and will help me find my way to the burial site or simply find a place to sit. I can now understand a few words of the service relating to God and attempt to join in songs sung at school or at funerals are now more familiar. People are very kind at sharing food, although being vegetarian, still is very foreign to them. I am getting accustomed to how life is lived outside the home on the patios rather than in the darker houses. Plastic porch chairs are always available and can be moved throughout the day depending on the sun or shade.
I also now know that when I am standing in line at the bus or post office, the lines get longer as I get closer to the head of the line because people often leave and have others save places for them. For example, just yesterday, I went to Gaborone, the capital, because school was let out one day early before Good Friday. When I went to get my bus back to the village, the lines were long and no buses were coming. But a young neighbor spotted me. He and the relative traveling with him decided to join me in line rather than go to the back. Fortunately they did, because together we weathered a bus breakdown, transfer to another bus, oil problems with this bus, and traffic and a road block which mean a trip that should be one and one-half hours was closer to three or four hours. Not to worry, we could share food and talk as we all sat together on the crowded bus for hours!
So thanks to my own circle of support, I have been able to live and work in Botswana for the past twelve months. It has been a time of growth and development for me. It has required me to become extremely aware of my own needs and feelings on a regular basis so I can differentiate between what is going on around me versus inside me. In these ways, I have learned to live and work in Botswana. And no doubt, when I leave in the middle of 2010, I will carry good memories of the students, teachers, friends, and Peace Corps volunteers I have befriended over the past several months.
Forgive the long post. It is hard to write down everything. Do send your comments and reflections. To say the least, I am not always coherent.
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