I.S.T.

Jess writes:

It’s been almost a month since our last post!! We’ve been neglecting our communicatory obligations – lol! Sorry about that!

Anyways, we’ve been pretty well-sidetracked with Peace Corps Trainings, jobs and projects at the new site, and of course, our many, many plans for visiting home (T-minus 7 days… and counting…)!!!

But as promised, here is our post about IST:

IST, or “In Service Training” is one of several –ST’s during Peace Corps service. First, there is PST (Pre-Service Training), then IST (In Service Training), then LST (Life-Skills-Orientation Training… the “O” doesn’t count in the acronym, apparently), and finally MST (Mid-Service Training). After all those –ST’s, we have COS (Close of Service) and then they ship us back… so each one marks a significant benchmark in our service, bringing us ever closer to that big “Close”. It’s kinda weird… to think that PST is long gone, IST is a recent memory and LST is just around the corner (sometime in October, if all goes as planned). And before we know it, MST will arrive and we will have been here for 15-months, with only one year to go before our time here is done. Strange.

But back to the point…

IST is meant as a four day post-community-integration-and-assessment-get-together, in which everyone gathers, eats far too much food, drinks slightly too much, stays up way too late, and talks about the last three months that we’ve been “on our own” – that is, without the safety net of our fellow SA21’s to see everyday at language class and training sessions. Most of this time is taken up with summaries of our “Community Needs Assessment” reports… of which mine and Adam’s was brief, to say the least, (since we site changed). The rest of our sessions revolved around proper planning techniques for those projects that were identified as a priority during our assessments… which, again, was less-than-useful for me and Adam, since we don’t quite have all our projects figured out (again, since we site changed). So, needless to say, Adam and I got plenty of time to reflect on that recent site change, finish up some other work, and have lengthy chats with our fellow SA21-ers on everything from politics to parties!

So… since conversation marked most of our IST experience, I’ve decided to include here a list of the Top 10 Most Discussed IST Topics (that is, those not related to the actual IST-portion of the discussions), as well as some of their commonly heard snipits. It should give everyone some real insight into the minds of us PCVs… it’s pretty enlightening if I do say so myself! Enjoy!!

Top 10 Most Discussed IST Topics:

• #10 - The Barber Shop: For those who many not know, Tia is our in-house barber. So, heard throughout the week is “I’m next!” “No! I’m next!!” since everyone’s hair is in various, sometimes hazardous, states of disarray. Tia was smart, however, and made a schedule. So we also heard her often saying, “No, not today, but I can fit you into the 4:30 slot tomorrow.” Too funny!!

• #9 - Food: For anyone who has been reading this blog, it should be no surprise that food is a permeating topic for all PCVs. “What’s for dinner tonight?” “You got Chinese food? Where?!?” and the most fervent, “When are we getting those brownies??”

• #8 - Travel: Fill in the blanks, “We went to ______ and stayed at ______ and it was so ______!” We can plan an entire trip around a simple sentence like that… we like to travel!

• #7 - File Sharing: Movies, TV shows, Podcasts and MP3s are kinda like crack to us…lol! The best was, “We have all 6 seasons of Lost!” to which some replied, “No way!! I’ll go empty my whole hard-drive… I’ll be right back!” Ha ha!

• #6 - Illnesses: One PCV got a stomach worm and she explained, “I named him Sipho… which means Gift in Zulu.” Yup… Peace Corps sicknesses.

• #5 - Poop, Vomit and Other Bodily Functions: Closely related to the last topic, although we can often find very normal circumstances in which to discuss any of these items, and rather casually. My favorite is, “Did you know that those beetroots will turn your poo red?” It’s only scary after an hour-long medical session about all the ways in which you can die from “red poop”. Eish!

• #4 - Sex: Those who have… and those who haven’t… etc. You get the idea!

• #3 - Peace Corps Gossip: “Did you hear that…” just finish it up and again, you get the idea!

• #2 - The Newbs: “Who are they?” “Where are their sites?” “Are they cute?!?” With some of the SA22’s on the same compound every day, it was hard not to talk about them every day!

And the most discussed topic at IST was…

• #1 – Our Own Insanity: Yes. Many of us agree that after only six months of service, we may have completely lost our damn minds. We often find ourselves singing or dancing without reason or, worse yet, laughing hysterically without cause! It is entirely possible that we have lost it. But… we kinda like it… so we’ll ride it out and see where it takes us!!

Finally, a few of our PCVs also perfected the start of a wonderful endeavor: a “PCV Anthem”. Currently only two verses long, I sincerely hope that we add to this great song and compile an entire medley of PCV experiences!! But for now, I will end with what has been created thus far:

(Sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy):
A PCV went into town
Riding on a coombie
Asked how much the ride cost
And got called a mahlungi’!
Then he went to Pick n’ Pay
Then he went to Spar
Then he went to Boxer
And bought a lot of Achaar!”

Yup, I think that sums it all up. Anthem, insanity, et all. What a great week!!!