23 Feb 13: Sarah Goes to More Meetings, Plans a Game Drive, and Celebrates Peace Corps Week

Sometimes Millie thinks she is a scarf. 

My beautiful little baby pterodactyl.

Note: This blog is chock full of pictures of MILLIE!! Get excited!

Hey everybody! Guess what starts tomorrow, lasts for one week, and is celebrated by thousands of dirty, smelly, hairy Americans worldwide?!? You guessed it! Peace Corps Week! Sunday, February 24th marks the first day of Peace Corps Week, a week devoted to celebrating the amazing accomplishments of Peace Corps Volunteers all over the world. In Botswana, there are currently 130 Americans serving their country as PCV's. PCV's in Botswana participate in various projects from organizing "Girls Leading Our World" camps, educating young men about Safe Male Circumcision, planting backyard gardens for poverty eradication, and teaching life skills. Volunteers come from all walks of life but we all have 3 things in common: we are all working towards the nation's goals for 2016 of zero new HIV infections, zero HIV/AIDS deaths, and zero stigma, we have all committed to sacrificing our homes, families, and careers to help other people for two years and we all miss America like crazy.

I love to kiss Millie!

I am kicking off Peace Corps Week one evening early. I just had a hot shower. I am sitting on a REAL bed with springs watching Arachnophobia (yeah, the movie from the 80's) on a flat screen tv in air conditioning. LUXURY! I am in Jwaneng for the weekend at the Peace Corps Regional Meeting that occurs once per year. Me and my fellow volunteers arrived here on Friday and we depart tomorrow. The hotel we are staying at, the Cezar Hotel, is super nice and I think we will all be a little sad to go back to 90 degree nights and scorpions.

Millie is also a ballerina.

As if fate knew that Peace Corps week was coming up, I was blessed with several good moments this week. My week started off slowly with nothing much for me to do at the school. Monday, I finished my backyard gardening information board in the library. On Tuesday, the government delivered a brand spankin new computer to my school. I set it up of course. I also received a call that afternoon from a woman who works at the meteorology station in my village. She asked me to come by the following morning to discuss organizing a wellness seminar. Wednesday, I was scheduled to have a site visit by my Peace Corps Programming Managers followed by a meeting with the new officer in charge of the prison. I rushed to the meteorology station and I was thrilled by what transpired at that meeting.

Millie keeps her feathers very clean.

Let me preface this by saying that it is incredibly discouraging to approach people wanting to help them just to be constantly turned away. So when someone approaches ME wanting help, well, it's pretty much the best feeling ever. The meteorology staff had chosen me to organize and execute a wellness seminar about anger management, stress management, budgeting, and financial management. I have until the middle of March to become an expert in those topics and I am so excited! I also agreed to teach a twice-a-week fitness class for the meteorology staff and police
officers beginning in March. I'm going to be busy!

After that small victory, I walked to my school to await the arrival of my programming managers. I was excited to meet with them as I wanted to show them my garden, introduce them to Millie, and tell them about all the exciting things I wanted to do. They arrived several hours late for my visit, causing me to have to reschedule my meeting at the prison. The visit went ok. They seemed disappointed that I wasn't working on any projects with my teachers. I informed them that the teachers are not interested in utilizing my skills in helping them implement life skills lessons. They came and visited my house after our meeting and boy were they impressed! I think my garden knocked their socks off and they told me that my house is the cleanest Peace Corps Volunteer house they have ever seen. I know my grandmothers will be proud to hear that!

I was feeling a little discouraged when they left, wondering what I could do to get the teachers at my school motivated to increase their teaching of life skills. I felt a little like a failure despite the fact that I am so active in the community. That feeling was short-lived as I had another success at the prison the following day.
Thursday morning I made the 40 minute trek to the prison. Honestly, I love going there. I don't know if it's all the smiling faces, all the "good morning, madam"'s, or the captive audience but I just love it. I had met the new officer in charge only once and my nervousness at meeting with him proved to be unfounded. He and the deputy, whom I know fairly well, were thrilled at the prospect of having me there on a regular basis. Mr. David Phele, new officer in charge, wanted me to come every week and do something with the prisoners! The deputy suggested that maybe every other week would be better. We settled on me doing a health talk every other Friday from 2-3 pm. I know it's not the yoga class I envisioned but I am satisfied! I have made out a schedule for the entire year that includes topics such as HIV/AIDS info, gender-based violence, anger management, and proper parenting. Oh yeah, and when I went to the prison my old friend Phiri was visiting! I hadn't seen him since he transferred to another prison on the other side of the country.

Go ahead and get comfy, Millie.

Friday, I got up at 3:45 a.m. so that I could get my P90X workout in before heading to the bus stop. At 6 a.m. I set out walking hoping for a hitch to catch the bus. I walked for almost an hour, finally got a hitch, and caught the bus just in time. Because everyone had just been paid, mine was the last body they could fit on the bus. I had to stand on the engine cover for the first hour until I was able to move to the back with the other volunteers who had saved me a seat. I have had meetings all weekend but it has been really nice to meet and talk to volunteers who have been here for a while. This meeting included PCV's from groups other than my own. After talking to them I have validated my own feelings about my assignment and cemented my plan for the next year and a half.

So...what did I learn this week? I learned that you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. If the teachers at my school don't want to teach life skills like they are supposed to, I can't force them. They know that I am available. They know that I am more than willing to help them. That is the best that I can do. I am (hopefully) starting my after school GrassRootSoccer program this week. Until the teachers want help from me, extracurricular activities are going to be the extent of my work at the school. I am going to begin cutting back the time I spend there, going from 5 days a week to 3 days a week or maybe 2 days a week.

awwwwwww Millie! Have you ever seen such a cute face?

This brings me to my next lesson. I spent some time this week beating myself up about being more active in the community than in the school. The school is supposed to be my first priority with the community coming in second. Having talked to other PCV's, I have decided that I am going to do what the community wants me to do and what makes me happy. If the community wants aerobics classes, I'm teaching aerobics classes. Do they need condom demonstrations more than aerobics classes? Yes. Do they want condom demonstrations more than they want aerobics classes. Not at all.

The last lesson I learned this week is how very important it is to feel needed and wanted. That is something that was lacking for me in my position at the school. I know the kids wanted me to be there but the teachers just don't want the kind of help I can give them. All they seem to want is for me to type letters for them. Unfortunately, the kids are really the ones losing out on the deal. I absolutely cannot work with the kids without a teacher acting as the translator. I couldn't do it alone. When and if the teachers want my help I will be there. If they want help 8 days a week, I will be glad to do it. But until then, I'm gonna go where I'm wanted and needed and that is at the prison and at the police station.

In other exciting news, I am going on a 3 day game drive this weekend to the Transfrontier National Park. On Friday, me, the 3 PCV's near me, a volunteer from Greece, a guide, and his assistant are going into the park to see LIONS!!!!! Not just any ol' lions. These are lions that only live in this one park. I forget what they're called of course but I will take pictures! We are going to be camping there Friday and Saturday night and returning home on Sunday. Because there are some many of us going, we are getting a good deal. The trip will likely cost me 1000 Pula, which is less than $150. How awesome is that?!?

Diane and I are also planning a trip. We have a 4 day weekend at the end of March, beginning with Good Friday and lasting until the following Monday. We are seriously discussing a 6 day trip to Cape Town, South Africa. We would stay in a backpacker's hostel and do free stuff since we are poor Peace Corps Volunteers. Everyone says that Cape Town is not-to-be-missed and with winter approaching we have to do it now or wait until late this year.

onion seedlings

lettuce seedlings

beetroot seedlings

Me! Sweaty, dirty Peace Corps Volunteer!

Between my small victories in my village, getting to see my friends, sleeping in air conditioning in a real bed, and planning mini-vacations, I can say this week was a success. In honor of Peace Corps Week, please take a moment this week to think about all of the Americans living overseas sacrificing their time/health to spread the love, kindness, and good fortune that we enjoy by birth as Americans. When you're snuggled up in your warm bed, think about the PCV's in Ukraine who live without heaters. When you're eating your delicious dinner, think about the PCV's in Africa who are taking prenatal vitamins because they can't get nutritious food. Please take a moment,
just one, to appreciate the bonds that are being forged, the FRIENDS OF AMERICA, the allies that are being made by Peace Corps Volunteers worldwide.