Dumelang borra le bomma!(Good day, ladies and gentleman!)
Well, it’s September and we are finally getting the chance to update our blog. Yesterday, we “swore in” as official Peace Corps Volunteers! “Swearing in” consisted of a trip to Pretoria (the capital city of South Africa), leaving our training villages for the last time (unless we come back to visit), and enjoying a short celebration of Peace Corps’s 10 years in South Africa. Wednesday night, we stayed at the beautiful Farm Inn Hotel, just outside of Pretoria, and pampered ourselves with hot showers and air-conditioning (not exactly the typical Peace Corps experience, but a nice treat). Thursday morning featured a special ceremony with several of Africa's Peace Corps Country Directors and the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa. We enjoyed a delicious lunch, wished our new fellow volunteers, "Good luck," and took off for our sites!
I guess we are getting ahead of ourselves, though, because a lot has happened since we last wrote! I’ll turn it over to Suz, now, for the real update… Hey, much-loved family and friends! First of all, thank you, SO much, for all of your letters and postcards! They have been major boosts of support and encouragement, not to mention fun reminders of our beautiful Pacific Northwest. As a volunteer stated, before we even left, mail really is like “gold,” here!
Since so much has happened over the past month and a half, this blog might be pretty jam-packed. I’ll separate it by sub-headings, so you can read different parts of it at your leisure.
PERMANENT SITE PLACEMENT
Our most exciting news is that we are now living at our permanent site! We arrived, last night, and have been busy settling-in and spending time with our new host family. We live in a rural village called Abbot’s Port, in the northwest corner of the Limpopo province. They are currently finishing the paved road that runs through the village, and hope to have it completed by the end of October. We have a two-room building (one bedroom, one kitchen/dining room/etc), separate from the family’s house. Only the father lives there on a regular basis, but his wife and children visit on weekends. We have electricity, but no running water, so we use an outdoor “pit toilet” (outhouse) and fill water containers from the nearby tap. Ben will be working at two primary schools, less than 3 minutes from our house, and I will be working at Abbot’s Poort home-based care, less than 5 minutes from our house. Rather than start new projects, right away, Peace Corps encourages volunteers to dedicate their first three months at site to learning about their organizations and building relationships within their communities. We do know that Ben’s supervisors are interested in him coaching the teachers in instructional techniques and assisting with their math/science curricula, and that my home-based care unit works with OVCs, health promotion in schools, and adults with life-threatening illnesses. The rest will unfold with time...
The new Barr-Wilson dwelling!
Our host family, neighbors, and a couple of Ben’s teachers, gave us a beautiful, warm welcome when we visited our site, two weeks ago, to check things out. They sang, danced, and thanked God in prayer for our arrival. What a blessing! This was definitely another favorite, “Wow, we’re really in Africa!” moment.
NEW MAILING ADDRESS
We now have a permanent post office box! If all goes well (knock on wood), we should be able to receive packages. Please send all future mailings to:
Benjamin and Susie Barr-Wilson, PCV
PO Box 637
Abbot’s Poort
0608
South Africa
OPTIONAL PACKAGE ITEMS
Some people have generously asked if they could send us anything. First, please know that your letters are, by far, the best gift you could provide! We can pretty much acquire everything that we need here, but should you happen to feel motivated to send something along with your letter, any one of the following non-essential items would be thoroughly appreciated:
- Quart and Gallon Ziplock Bags
- Small bottles of hand sanitizer (or a large refill bottle, since we have our original small bottles)
- Burt’s Bees Chapstick
- Avalon/other organic body lotion (or Aveeno body lotion)
- Alba Organics body cream (or other body butter/cream; it’s so dry, here!)
- Emergency-C fizzy drink packets (tangerine)
- Organic herbal tea (echinacea would be great, but we love trying new tea, too)
- Dried fruit
- Granola Bars/Energy Bars
- Beef jerky (teriyaki)
- Wheat Thins (sun-dried tomato and basil)
- Trail mix (not necessary, but if possible, something different than peanuts, raisins, and M&M’s, because we can usually find these here)
Thank you!!! Please remember that when mailing a package, it helps to write “Education Materials” or “Religious Supplies” on the outside, to assure that it passes through customs. Apparently, "Used Supplies" works nicely, as well. Also, the higher the value of enclosed materials, the greater charge we’ll pay upon receiving the package, so if don’t mind writing as low of an estimated value as possible, that would be tremendous.
WRAPPING-UP PHASE ONE
Our last few days in Borakalalo were full, but thoroughly enjoyable. Last Saturday, we joined most of our Peace Corps trainees on a venture to the town of Rustenberg (about two hours away) to shop for housing supplies for our new sites. It’s so strange to go from small, dusty, rural villages to large towns with department stores and restaurants in just a few hours, but that’s the intriguing dichotomy of South Africa! Just as we were leaving Rustenberg and not really feeling like we were in Peace Corps, anymore, after spending the day at the “mall,” our bus broke down, and all 80 of us had to walk uphill to a half-way shaded area to wait for the bus to be fixed. Ha! Made the day all the more memorable…
On Sunday, all of the Peace Corps trainees and host families came together for a Home Stay Celebration. Ben helped emcee part of the program and led our trainees in singing, “Sweet Home, South Africa.” I attempted to lead an ice-breaker with the large group of non-English speakers (fairly successful, given the circumstances) and recruited a number of trainees to fill different roles that were needed at the last-minute. After several songs, poems, and speeches, we served our host families the traditional South African cuisine: pap (corn-based, potato-like staple), meat (beef and chicken), and vegetables (cabbage, carrots, etc). The food highlight for the event was that a “whole cow” had been butchered for the occasion!
As Ben and I begin settling into our new home and community in Abbot’s Poort, we pause to reflect on the fond memories of our host family in Borakalalo. They openly and gently extended their hospitality to us for two months, teaching us about South African life, while kindly respecting our need for independence. We learned how to make African beer, pap, and bread (over the fire), and met several friends and co-workers of the family. One of the major blessings was having Ben’s language instructor, Lillian, live with our family as well.
Ben watches closely as a friend of our host family teaches us how to prepare bread over the fire. It was delicious!
Our Peace Corps Training host family. Thank you, Monemetsis!
CULTURAL EXPERIENCES
Monday was our last official day of training. In many ways, it seems like we’ve just arrived, and in others, it feels as if training was much longer than two months, because things have been so jam-packed. Some of our most memorable experiences have been those in which we’ve had a chance to observe the local culture and interact with the people in our villages. In August, we attended a National Women’s Day celebration, featuring traditional African dancing. One of the female dancers called out to her sisters in her native language, “Love yourselves! Women, protect your bodies! Don’t sell yourselves for money!” It was a powerful testimony to the efforts South Africa is making in the fight against gender inequality and HIV/AIDS.
Other special training events included a visit to a Traditional Healer and an insightful Diversity Panel on the status of women in South Africa’s diverse ethnic groups. Traditional Healers (or “Sangomas”) use herbs and natural remedies to treat illnesses. Many of them, including the ones we met, claim to communicate with the ancestors by “throwing the bones” (bones, rocks, dice, and other small objects) to detect ailments in their patients. Ben and I each observed a Traditional Healer do a “reading of the bones” for one of our trainees. It was a fascinating look into a deeply-rooted and highly-esteemed tradition in African culture.
We were the first group of trainees to have a South African Diversity Panel with an Indian-African woman (whose family has lived here for hundreds of years), an Afrikaans woman (of Dutch/British descent), and a Colored (biracial) woman. All three had amazing stories to share about their challenges and successes of living in South Africa. Speaking of South African culture, I have to say that the most intriguing aspect is the blend of traditional practices and beliefs with the influence of modern technology and ways of living. It’s like none we’ve ever seen, literally history in the making! The term “developing nation” has a whole new meaning to us and it is absolutely fascinating to be able to experience the development, first-hand…
Some of the Women’s Day dancers promoting their upcoming event. Notice the tribal clothing with blue jeans! A perfect example of the blend of traditional and modern cultures that is so prevalent here.
Sangomas wearing distinct African capes, but not without their cell phones. One would actually be hard-pressed to find someone, here, who does not own a cell phone; rich or poor, this modern day device is the standard form of communication.
A Traditional Healer in action, “reading the bones” for David, a fellow trainee. See how their capes are complimented by slacks and dress shoes?
A few people have asked if we’ve seen any “wildlife,” yet. The most common animals we see are the random donkeys (ditoniki), chickens (dikogo), and cows (dikomo), that freely roam our rural villages. Other than that, we have seen some beautiful birds, one deadly scorpion, and several baboons and warthogs along the main roads. Not exactly Africa’s “Big Five,” but we are living near a few game reserves for the next two years, so I’m sure our wildlife sightings will expand.
TRAINING
Although some of our training has been together, Ben and I have mostly had separate daily schedules. Ben spent two weeks in Borakalalo Primary School, first observing classroom instruction, then teaching 4th and 5th graders about science and technology. After spending his first full day at school, some of the children walked Ben home to "make sure he found his way." (They just loved being in his presence!) He facilitated a hands-on experiment, measuring temperature, and guided the students in creating a product advertisement to demonstrate the Design Process. Utilizing his camp experience, he also led the “Alive, Alert, Awake, Enthusiastic” song and a number of rhythm games. Needless to say, the students adored him! After Ben visited the school, we would walk around our neighborhood and frequently hear, “Benjamin!” or renditions of, “Alive, Alert, Awake, Enthusiastic,” a true testimony that he had made a lasting impact in the lives of those children.
In addition to several presentations about non-governmental organizations and HIV/AIDS relief in South Africa, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with community members about the assets and challenges in their villages, visit a non-governmental organization (“Hands and Hope”) that provides outreach programs for OVCs (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) & adults with terminal illnesses, and tour a variety of income-generating projects for children and women. Such projects included paper-making, gardening, jewelry-making, shoe-building, and hat-weaving. It’s all been quite an insightful look into rural community life, but I have to admit that my personal highlight of training has had nothing to do with our organized schedule. NGO sessions take place at Lefoko Primary School in Gopane, so once or twice a week, I’ve been using my lunch break to lead tag games and silly songs with the children. (Once again, out comes the camp influence!) The best part is that nearly every day, whether I’m just walking around the school or throughout other parts of Gopane, I’ll hear kids shout, “I said a Boom Chicka Boom!” and I joyfully pause to sing a few lines with them.
Susie with some of the children at Lefoko Primary School in Gopane.
WALK TO BOTSWANA
Shortly after our last entry, we joined at least 50 of our fellow Peace Corps trainees on a casual Sunday morning stroll…to Botswana! We’re not allowed to actually leave the country until the end of December, but that didn’t diminish our ambition to at least walk to the border. The walk was about 12 miles, round trip, and we had a blast! Just imagine, if you will, the spectacle of 50+ Americans walking along the one major (paved) road through the desert hills and dry flatlands of Africa. We got more questions and funny looks than I could count! People don’t exactly “walk for fun,” here, so our reason of going to Botswana to simply to see the boarder was unfathomable.
Ben and Susie with fellow trainees at the Botswana border crossing.
Susie and yoga buddy, Maria, doing “tree pose” at the entrance to South Africa’s Northwest Province.
“MR. AND MRS. PEACE CORPS”
Early-on, someone kindly referred to us as, “Mr. and Mrs. Peace Corps.” I’m not sure if we’re deserving of such a title, but we have tried to do our part to contribute to our fellow SA 16 Peace Corps crew. Ben was a transportation team leader at the very beginning, he composed our group song, “Sweet Home, South Africa,” and he recently designed the front logo of our t-shirts (see below)! Further utilizing my camp background, I fulfilled a request for “teambuilding” by facilitating a session of Challenge Course games and initiatives for the NGO trainees. I also provided a song, here and there, when energy-levels were down, the most memorable being the “crazy Banana Song!”
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Ben’s winning t-shirt design! An African baobab tree will decorate the back of our t-shirts.
GOODBYE
Phew! This blog has definitely been a doozy, hasn’t it? If you managed to make it to the end, thank you for your persistence! Now that we have more frequent internet access (we just purchased a cell phone that allows us to connect through our laptop!), we’ll be able to update our blog more frequently, so entries won’t be quite so long. Know that we miss you, dearly, think of you often, and that we take your love and encouragement with us, each and every day. Thank you and, “Sala Gabotse!” (“Goodbye” or “Stay well!”)
Re a go rata le re go gopotse!
(We love you and miss you!)
Susie and Ben
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