Spanish Arm-Wrestling TWITs

The BIG three-zero!

Our most exciting update for last week is that Tiro (Ben) entered a new decade! That's right, on Tuesday he turned the big three-zero. (I think I was more shocked than he was!) We wanted to do something special to commemorate the occasion, but in an unfamiliar area where public transportation only runs at certain times (and we are on travel restriction until the end of December, anyway), our options were pretty limited. None the less, we did make the most of his special day with what was available: On Saturday we took a taxi (which is, remember, just a big van) into the closest town, Lephalale, and enjoyed a delicious lunch and ice cream sundaes at one of the little restaurants! Then on Tuesday evening, we made some tasty BBQ chicken pizza and chocolate muffins in our little oven. (Yum!)

Happy 30th Birthday, Tiro!

Finally, the grand finale…On Friday afternoon, I told Tiro to pack his bag for a night and that we'd be back the next day. We took a 45-minute taxi from Abbot's Poort to Ga-Seleka, the home village of two of our fellow Peace Corps Volunteers, Paul & Jess (also a couple). Tiro quickly realized where we were going, but he did not know that two of our other Peace Corps friends, Rachel & Brandon (another couple who have already been here for a year), would also be in Ga-Seleka to surprise him! It was fabulous. I brought taco fixings, Jess made beans and rice, and Rachel made a delicious chocolate chip & sour cream pound cake. After dinner, we played a great card game, "What's Wild?" (which I will humbly not mention who won) :-), and watched "The Butterfly Effect" on Brandon's laptop--Ben had been saying, lately, how much he missed watching movies and having game nights, back home, so this was absolutely perfect. On Saturday, the six of us enjoyed a nice pancake breakfast (thanks, again, to Rachel for a fabulous recipe, and Paul's handy work in grilling), then went on a delightful hike up a nearby "mountain" to see Seleka, below, its surrounding fields, and the hills of Botswana in the distance. It was beautiful! After returning to Paul & Jess's and having round two of tacos, we took further advantage of Brandon's laptop and watched "50 First Dates." It was after dark by the time Tiro and I made it home, but it was so worth it be able to celebrate his big day with such fantabulous people. Paul and Ben were in the same language training group and Jess and I were in another, so we've been blessed with their friendships since we arrived in South Africa. We even shared a terrific little traveling adventure with them after our site visit, when we spent a night in the cute town of Thaba Zimbe ("Iron Mountain")! We met Rachel & Brandon later on in training and connected with them right away--Brandon is a computer tech expert and Rachel's passion for girls empowerment led them to develop a highly successful after-school girls club at their site! (Sound familiar?) It's wonderful to be so close to such outstanding people and fun couples with so many similar interests!

Tiro's surprise birthday party with Peace Corps friends, Brandon & Rachel (center) and Jess & Paul (right), at Jess & Paul's house in Ga-Seleka.

A beautiful "mountain-top" view of Ga-Seleka with the Botswana hills in the distance. (Note the distinct border between the village and bushveld; this is true for most rural villages in our area and really gives us the feel of being "way out there!")

Spanish Arm-Wrestling

If you would have asked, two weeks ago, what I might see myself doing at Abbot's Poort Home-Based Care, two things I would not have mentioned are teaching Spanish and arm-wrestling. Well, it just goes to show that you really can't have any expectations when it comes to Peace Corps! I haven't made either oddity my primary project, or anything, but last week I did find myself teaching the NGO women a few Spanish words, since they were curious about other languages spoken in America, and on the same day I helped settle a light-hearted argument by teaching three of them how to arm-wrestle! It was a riot; we laughed hard together, giving each other high "5's" after each match--truly a bonding experience.

In terms of actual work-related topics, I spent two days, last week, guiding the women in organizing their "files" (binders), filing "cabinets"(metal closets), and labeling shelves. I've also been teaching three of the four women how to type, using a free typing program Ben found online. They really seem to be enjoying it! Filing and typing might not be the most exciting areas to assist with, but they are needs of the organization and it is encouraging to know that their goals are being met.

Mokgadi with the women from Abbot's Poort Home Based Care.

(Left to right: Tseneke, Matlodi, Sari, Tebello, and Reisebe)

Naturally, my most fulfilling part of working with the NGO is getting to interact with children. About 43 orphans, ages 5-20, stop by the drop-in center throughout the day for free meals, games, and songs. I love getting to talk with them in the afternoons, often times teaching them fun camp songs and learning their favorite songs, as well. I helped Maggie, one of the youngest girls who has a beautiful smile, re-lace and tie her shoes, one day, and although she hardly spoke any English, we had a wonderful time smiling and giggling, together, and counting in Sepedi; such a simple moment, but definitely one of my favorites, thus far.

Mokgadi, smothered in love, by the orphans at the drop-in center.

My most heart-wrenching experience, so far in South Africa, was getting to visit several of the orphans' homes, last Tuesday, along with a couple crèches (nurseries) and schools. I saw some of the poorest of the poor: families stricken by disease and unemployment, wives deserted by their husbands, grandmothers raising the children of their own deceased children, and a 19 year-old girl caring for her own two children, plus her three younger brothers. I came close to tears, numerous times, but found myself simply trying to interpret the complexity of my own emotions. The love shared by these families was so beautiful and their devotion to one another in the midst of such strife was so powerful, I couldn't help but stand in humble admiration, overwhelmed with the incongruity of my own immense sadness and the authentic joy these people had for simply being alive and having each other.

This picture was actually taken at a crèche in Gopane, during our training. I did not take photos of the orphans we visited, last Tuesday, but the crèches were very similar and the children just as precious.

This Week In Tech (TWIT)

I knew I called Tiro, "Tech Boy," for a reason! Ben continued working on the computers at Jacob Langa Primary, last week, and on Wednesday, I joined him at school to help clean and reorganize the computer lab/staff lounge to make it more usable. After we had carefully rearranged all of the tables and chairs, alongside the windows, placing the computers neatly on top of the tables, the principle informed us that we would have to move everything to a different wall, because having the computers so close to the windows would "make people jealous." Slightly disappointed, but recognizing the significance of his comment, we then proceeded to move everything to the back wall. First, however, we had to remove the 20 stacks of books that were already on the back wall, so the principle sent in "reinforcements" (students) to help with the task. While we were moving books, Tiro found a rather decrepit old box that, in his words, seemed, "more alive than dead." No sooner had the Deputy (Vice) Principal warned us to watch out for black scorpions, than we saw the very critter she described scurry out from under the box, about 3 cm in length. Principal Mongwe calmly terminated its life and we continued moving the rest of the books, cleaned the floor (again, with the help of our reinforcements), and repositioned all of the tables/chairs and computers so that they were in the appropriate location. We were exhausted by the time we had finished, but the room looks 10 times better and two of the computers are now completely usable, plus a third Ben fixed up for the office! (Five more computers will be ready to go, as soon as the school purchases power cords, and possibly an additional two if the hardware can be repaired). Way to go, Tech Boy!

Tiro with the faculty and staff at Jacob Langa Lower Primary School.

At Abbot's Poort Primary, Tiro was hoping to observe classes, last week, but neither of us expected the teachers to feel so caught off-guard by this request. Only one educator felt comfortable with him visiting her class and the rest said, "next week would be better." So, Tiro continued taking photos of the teachers during breaks and designed a complete classroom observation schedule for next week, allowing him to visit every teacher and every class of students. After mastering the schedule puzzle, he was given the task of "fixing the TV." We had plugged-in the TV, VCR, and satellite decoder, the week prior, but not all of the channels were working, so Tiro spent a fair bit of time studying the manual and calling the service provider to get things sorted out. End outcome? Abbot's Poort Primary now has a fully-functional television; Tech Boy reigns, again!

One cute school-related story from our friend, Paul, in Ga-Seleka: Paul asked one of the teachers at his school if he could observe a Grade R (Kindergarten) class, next week, knowing that it might be a bit chaotic, since there is only one educator for over 100 learners. Only about 2/3 of the students seem to be in class at any given time; the other third can be found in the playing area, outside, or running around somewhere between the classroom and the playing area. To Paul's request to visit the class, the teacher responded, "Yes, but one day, next week, I will be marking papers, and not teaching." This raised the question of what the Grade R students would be doing on that day, and the teacher replied that it was their "reflection time."

"Hlogo, Magetla…Mongwele, Mengwana"

("Head, Shoulders...Knees, Toes")

One of our favorite parts of day-to-day life in Abbot's Poort is the interaction with the neighborhood children. Nearly every day, lately, a group of 2-4 children will stop by our house in the late-afternoon to ask us questions and see what we're doing. We've invited them inside to look at pictures and our maps of the world and Washington State, and a couple times, now, we've enjoyed singing a few songs with them. One of our favorites, since it helps expand our vocabulary, is their version of, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes!" We had a blast learning it in Sepede and they were eager to learn it in English. I will say, though, that the Sepedi version is much more complicated. Instead of just the four body parts we sing about, they identify the head, shoulders, chest, hips, knees, toes, and they have a whole second verse that describes a "father from the mountain" going to the hospital because he has problems with his head, shoulders, etc. Quite intriguing!

Although some children at the schools still refer to us as, "Ben" and "Susie," most of them are using our African names, "Tiro" and "Mokgadi." Some even formalize them to "Mr. Tiro" and "Mrs. Mokgadi." Names are a funny thing around here; everyone seems to know everyone else and many people share the same last time, either as a close or distant family relation. Adults always get a good chuckle when we introduce ourselves as "Tiro and Mokgadi Majadibodu (our host family's surname)" because the Majadibodu family is well-known in Abbot's Poort. The original Tiro Majadibodu was the former headman of our neighborhood, so some people call Ben, "Chief Tiro!" Humor is always a great way to connect with people from the get-go, so we are enjoying our family connections.

Manana and Magugudi, two of the adorable children who stop by, frequently, to watch and giggle, play chase, and do cartwheels and handstands with us.

Thinking of you and wishing you all a fabulous week! Sepela gabotse!

Lerato (Love),

Mokgadi and Tiro Majadibodu