20 Apr 13: Sarah Rides the Peace Corps Roller Coaster!

Happy Saturday, friends! It is a lovely autumn day in Botswana. I woke up this morning to COLD temperatures. I even cooked breakfast wearing my fleece coat with the hood up! It has since warmed up to a comfortable sunny day. I know that I just wrote a post a few days ago but so much has happened this week that I feel compelled to write another one.

This week has been a shining example of the roller coaster ride of frustration and triumph that is Peace Corps service. School started back on Tuesday and so did GrassRootSoccer. The man who had agreed to co-facilitate the club with me has been missing in action the last few practices so I was pleasantly surprised when he showed up! We had an incredibly successful meeting where we made an HIV Transmission Tree, which shows how quickly HIV spreads via unprotected sex and multiple partners. My kids are so smart and I can see their little brains soaking up the HIV messaging. HIGH!

After the meeting, a teacher approached me and asked me to come to school the next day to type something for her. That was pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back when it comes to all this "type for me" bullshit. I told her that they need to send me back and ask for a secretary instead of a PCV and that I didn't quit my job, leave my family, and sacrifice two years of my life to be her typist. Needless to say, she wasn't happy about that. Please note that I have offered to teach her how to use the computer but she always has some kind of excuse as to why she doesn't have time. LOW.

Wednesday I had a chat with the nurses at the clinic about an idea I had for a workshop. My village has 15 volunteers who go around to sick people's houses and care for them. They help them with all activities of daily living, as well as cooking food and collecting firewood. Having experience taking care of bed-fast people and palliative care patients, I felt that I could help them with their skills. The nurses were VERY receptive and I am proud to say that on May 2nd I am going to teach a workshop for the home-based care volunteers about how to care for a bed-ridden person. This includes bed bathing, catheter care, oral care for unconscious people, etc. Finally something I'm actually qualified to do!!! HIGH!

After my meeting at the clinic, I taught kick boxing at the police station. Several of my "students" stayed after to talk to me about the benefits of exercise. I even had a new student show up, a police officer who loves Foreigner and Led Zeppelin! HIGH!

I had been doing a lot of thinking about how the teachers are not utilizing my skills and I decided to have a meeting with my counterpart, the "guidance and counseling" teacher (she neither guides nor counsels.) On Thursday afternoon I went to her house during her 2 hour lunch break. I explained to her how offensive it is when the teachers ask me to type for them. I told her that I will not be spending much time at the school but if a teacher needs help on something ACTUALLY related to my job, he/she can call me and I will come to the school and help. I also decided that I am going to do twice-weekly individual computer classes for teachers. That way, when I offer the classes and no one signs up (as will most likely happen) I can say that I tried and wash my hands of them! High.

That afternoon at the school, there was to be a PTA meeting. My counterpart told me that I should do GrassRootSoccer at 3 o'clock since the kids wouldn't be in class due to the meeting. As I'm walking to school, I see one of my kids and I remind him about GRS. He tells me that the teachers told the students not to return to school after lunch because they didn't want the students to make noise in the yard and "disturb" the meeting. You can imagine my reaction. I was pissed. I went and found the deputy school head and asked her why the teachers would tell the kids not to come back to school when they know good and damn well that we have GRS that afternoon. She had nothing to say. I found a couple of my kids and told them that if everybody came for GRS that they could come to my house and get me and I we would do it. I was skeptical because I know how the students fear defying their teachers and getting beaten for it.
I went home sulking, mad as hell that the teachers at my school try to mess things up for me at every turn. I wasn't mad for long because at 4 o'clock a bunch of children came up to my door to tell me that everyone was there for GRS! Did I mention that I have the best kids in the world?!? One girl said to me "Maduo! This is our favorite club! We are learning sooo many things!" I went to school and we did GRS and were loud and proud and I hope that the PTA meeting was disturbed by our cheering for an HIV-free generation! HIGH!

Friday morning I met Ashley in Hukuntsi to get some stuff (booze) for a slumber party. After the week I'd had, it was wine o'clock. I had also invited her to attend my prison health talk. This week's activity was the Condom Time Bomb Game. I went around asking people in my village about common myths/misconceptions about condom use and sex in general. I wrote the myths on small slips of paper. When Ashley came over we put the slips in condoms and blew them up like balloons. I felt like Santa Clause carrying a big ol' bag of Christmas presents when we walked to the prison that afternoon. I had a garbage bag full of blown up condoms, my computer with music on it, and my resolve that by the time I left the prison those guys would be comfortable handling/talking about condoms.

The Condom Time Bomb Game works like this: everyone stands in a circle. Music is played and a condom balloon is tossed into the circle. The participants have to pass the condom balloon around until the music stops. When the music stops, the last person to touch the condom has to pop it. Watching someone try to pop a condom is pretty darn funny and it really keeps the game light. Then the person has to read the slip of paper and tell me if it is true or false and justify their answer. Some of the myths included "The lubricant on condoms causes kidney problems...The most important part of sex is that you reach orgasm. The woman's pleasure does not matter...If you put a condom on backwards just turn it around and put it on the right way." We got a lot of interesting answers and a lot of interesting questions. One man asked me about how he can protect himself when he is giving his girlfriend oral sex. I almost hugged that man for asking me that question. Why? Because THAT IS CRITICAL THINKING, FOLKS. That is progress!!!!!!!!!!!

Earlier this week I delivered a proposal to the prison asking the warden to let me teach yoga once per week. I was expecting a lot of resistance and a lot of red tape. So it was my absolute pleasure to announce yesterday to the group of 20 men that come to every one of my health talks that beginning on Wednesday I am going to teach them yoga every week. The class will be held on Wednesdays from 2-3 pm. I actually saw one man's face light up. Literally. You know when you're a kid (or an adult) and you put a flashlight under your chin and it lights up your face? That was that man! Lit up! HIGHEST HIGH EVER.

Ashley and I left the prison feeling satisfied that we had gained a point for orgasms for everybody (people who are sexually satisfied in their relationship are less likely to cheat which is important considering multiple concurrent partners is a driving force of the HIV epidemic in Botswana) and condom use. We came home and made a chocolate cake and buttery popcorn and drank wine. We spent the evening sending pictures to my friend, Marshall, who is coming to Botswana as a volunteer in August. The pictures were meant to show what PC service is like including "Ashley taking a bath."-->Ashley sitting in a bucket. "They forgot to deliver our beds."-->Ashley sleeping on the floor. And "Hello winter."-->Me wearing my coat and hood laying in my sleeping bag reading a book.

We woke up with the roosters this morning and I've since painted my nails with my new polish from America (I got a package yesterday!!!!!! Thanks Granny and Grandpa!!) and read some of my Teaching Yoga book. I have 4 days to become a yoga teacher and 5 days to become a computer teacher! But I'm not worried! Being idle and watching the world go by isn't really my style. I didn't come here to become an expert at spider solitaire, although that is a side-effect of Peace Corps service. I came to do something! And I'm doing it!!!

Namaste!

PS-Millie always wants to be one of the girls. She has to be right in the middle of whatever is going on. Last night, Ashley and Iet Millie come in the house and chill with us even though it was past her bedtime. She flew up onto the table and took a seat looking innocent as you please. She proceeded to stand up, poop on the table cloth, walk six inches to the right of her former spot, and sit back down like nothin happened. What am I gonna do with that lady?!?

PSS-You might recall that I'm teaching aerobics Wednesday evenings. Yeah that's right after my new yoga class. Be ready for me to come home lookin like the hulk! Muscles for days!