Chicken Feet and Fish Heads!

ADVENTURES IN EATING

Our first full week at site has been full of new experiences...In particular, new FOOD experiences! Tuesday, the women at Abbot's Poort Home Based Care (my NGO) served us "menatlana" (chicken feet) for lunch--bones, tendons, toe nails, and all! I couldn't bring myself to eat the tendons and toe nails, but Ben braved every bit, later saying that it was a strange sensation having tendons stuck in his teeth. (Ewe!) I really thought I'd be okay with eating chicken feet, but when the time came, I happened to notice how hand-like they were and that was the end of it...

Friday was another first-time experience for our taste buds when the home based care served us fried "hlogo ka hlapi" (fish heads)! The empty eye-socket wasn't very enticing, but the meat had been cooked with so much "fish spice," it actually tasted pretty good. Greasy, like a lot of the food here, but good. Chicken feet, fish heads, what will be next, worms? (Actually, we've heard that people DO eat worms here, so we have something else to look forward to).

NEW NAMES

I forgot to mention in our last post that our new host family gave us African names! Ben has been dubbed, "Tiro," (Tee-row) which literally means, "work," and refers to the good works he will do in Abbot's Poort over the next two years (Also the name they give to the books of Acts in the Bible.) I was given the name, "Mokgadi," (Mo-kaw-dee, the kaw is in the back of the throat like hawking a loogie) relating to water and "bringing new life" to this community. Our host mother named us after her grandparents, so it was quite an honor!

WEEK ONE AT SITE

Monday was Heritage Day, a national holiday, which made for a nice long weekend to get settled into our new house. We put maps on the walls and bordered the Washington one with a big picture collage of our family and friends. Now we can see all of your smiling faces, everyday! Monday, we also walked to a nearby dirt field to throw the Frisbee, and ended up having a little informal "day camp" as we led a number of games with the neighborhood children. It was a perfect start to the week!

Ben's schools are between terms and were closed, this week, so he joined me at the NGO (non-governmental organization), Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. We've been learning a great deal about the efforts these women are putting into their community to care for OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children) and terminally-ill patients (most with HIV/AIDS and TB). We also had the opportunity to spend time at the orphan drop-in center, since it's right next to the NGO office. We sang, danced, and talked with the kids for about an hour each day, thoroughly loving every minute of it...

Kids at the drop-in center with the home based care staff.

Saturday featured a fun outing in Lephalale, our closest town, with a few nearby Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). By private vehicle, it takes 30-40 minutes to get there, but by public transport (taxi or "kombi," similar to a 15-passenger van), it can take anywhere from 1-2 hours. It took us exactly 1-1/2 hours, this time; not too bad! We purchased a few settling-in items, enjoyed lunch with our fellow PCVs, bought groceries for the week, and made the journey home.

We managed to wash a few clothes, this week, as well; a task worth noting...

Tiro surprised Mokgadi by taking picture of the "hlatswa" (washing clothes) process. We use similar buckets for "hlapa" (washing ourselves). Ever tried bathing in just a few inches of water? It's quite the experience; just make sure you have a mop, handy!

COMMUNITY EXPLORATION

We dedicated Thursday to exploring Abbot's Poort and creating a physical map of the community. There are some beautiful things to see here!

A view of the natural landscape, near the Palala River. (River? Where?)

Artistic ravine sculpted by the river. (Yes, but where is the water? Hmm...)

Mokgadi in the "river," trying to use her African name to "bring new water" back to this dry bushveld. The river, apparently, hasn't been full since 1992, but people hope for it, each year, during the rainy season. Speaking of which, we got our first big RAIN, Thursday night--not just a sprinkle, either; an all-out lightening storm! It was tremendously exciting, to say the least, especially listening to the rain poor down on our little tin roof house. It hasn't rained like that since last March, and the storms are supposed to be even bigger as we get further into summer. Wahoo!

Tiro inspects a South African cactus!

Houses in Abbot's Poort are tightly clustered; narrow walking paths throughout the village provide access to shared water taps, community resources, and main roads.

Tiro with his two school principals in front of Abbot's Poort Primary School.

OTHER MOMENTS IN TIME

Just a couple more fun pics you might enjoy...

Neighborhood meeting in Necar (our section of Abbot's Poort), a weekly gathering of community leaders held underneath this tree.

Tiro and Mokgadi as official Peace Corps Volunteers! (Picture taken at the U.S. Ambassador's house in Pretoria, the location of our Swearing-In Ceremony).

Well, that about covers things up until now! We'll try to post a new entry every week. Please let us know if you have any questions and we'll do our best to answer them!

With much love and enormous hugs,
Susie and Benjamin (Mokgadi le Tiro)