Yebo! Yebo! Yebo! Internet at Last!

Jess writes:

So first and foremost, two key notes about internet here in South Africa:

1. It is sometimes expensive.
2. It is often slow.

So with that in mind, we will do our VERY best to begin updating, once again, at something resembling our American fervor!! We are SO happy to be back to the digital world… yay!

But where on earth do we begin…

Okay, most importantly for the families, Adam and I are safe and healthy! We’ve only mildly endured some health annoyances – bug bites, angry tummies, weird rashes, the normal – ha! And since staging, we’ve only had to add one major medication to the routine: Doxycycline, a once-a-day antimalarial that makes you photosensitive (that is, overly-reactive to sunlight)… great side effect for Africa, right? Other than that, we’ve felt surprisingly safe in most all places we have visited and wonderfully safe in those areas that we have stayed – a huge relief for us both!

Next, and almost as important as health and safety, we are FINALLY official Peace Corps Volunteers!!! Our “Swearing In Ceremony” was held Thursday, March 25th with the PC South Africa Country Director, Associate Directors and other regional staff. It was short and sweet, but after 3 years of waiting, it was all we needed!!! Yay!

How to catch up?... As our last, very brief post mentioned, we spent an incredible first two months with our host family, the Mhlangas’, in Machipe – a small village near the border with Limpopo. We were quickly given our Swazi names: mine was “Sesi”, which means “Sister”, due to my willingness to fumble through the languages and hug all the women – ha! Adam’s was “Jabu”, which means “Happy”, because our host father, Johannas, was so happy to have a volunteer “son”. So perfect! Our parents there were wonderful and we met some wonderful friends in the area as well – not to mention our herd of yard (and sometimes mountain) goats, the obnoxious chickens, the sad and adorable town donkeys, and all the cows (I had a favorite set of baby cow triplets that refused to let me pet them… oh well.) Our days in Machipe were usually filled with long trainings at SS Skhosana, a private nature reserve where the “farm” animal scenery quickly turned to more African expectations – enormous baboons that howled from the rock tops, sneaky little monkeys (Adam adds: “Damned thieves.”), black and gray wildabeasts, an occasional water buffalo, and the very rare sighting of a white-faced springbok – so beautiful! It was a truly great place for training… and helpfully “escapist” for those super-long afternoons. All in all, Machipe was a wonderful start to our South African life. We were extremely sad to leave our host family and friends last week and MamaChristine sobbed through our whole departure!

So what’s next? We’ve finally arrived at our permanent site, which is… drumrole please… Eastern Mmpumalanga! Greatest part about our locale, we are a 10 minute drive to a primary entrance to Kruger National Park – the largest and most populated (animals, that is) natural park in all of Southern Africa! Cool, huh? We think so too! But there are some catches of course, the main one being… it’s HOT. And I mean HOOOTTTT. It averages about 38C right now (that’s about 100F)… oh, and by the way, it’s Fall. That’s right, we’re entering Winter, which apparently averages a wonderfully cooler 28C (and that’s 80F). So, Summer you ask? It meanders annoyingly around 42C (that’s 108F) most days… but its reached 46C (…115F!!!) in the past. Ugh. Did I mention that it’s humid also? But hey, we wanted Africa… we certainly got AFRICA. And speaking of those catches… they’ve switched our language again. Grrrrrr. Just when our SiSwati was far surpassing our initial skills in Zulu, we’re now in an area that speaks neither. In fact, we’ve now switched to an entirely new language family, called Shangaan. Specifically, we will be learning a local dialect of Tsonga. And in case you’re wondering, it’s not too similar to SiSwati, or Zulu. Oh well… bring on African language number three…

Luckily, we’ll be working with an awesome organization called Swa Vana, which translates to “For the Children” in Tsonga. You can (and should!) find them online at www.swavana.co.za and you can “Join” or “Become a Fan” of them on Facebook – so please do! We have a wonderful supervisor based in Jo’burg named Charmaine and an equally wonderful supervisor here on the homefront named Happy. (We love that his name is Happy, by the way! It matches Adam’s Swazi name!) The organization runs three full-time Drop-in Centers (initialed DIC) for Orphans & Vulnerable Children (initialed OVC). They have also begun a Home-Based Care branch (initialed HBC) focused on work with patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, TB and other chronic diseases. Our work with Swa Vana may be extremely diverse – ranging from physical building (they are in desperate need for a new, larger, center for OVCs), related business management skills training (especially for those boys involved in the building), mentoring and life skills guidance (via Boys Clubs and Girls Clubs), primary and secondary school teaching (English, Math & Science), the creation of Income Generating Activities (initialed IGAs), and of course, HIV/AIDS education and prevention (by way of all the activities described above). Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us these first 3 months, during which time we are to “observe” and “integrate” in order to better grasp the greatest needs of our communities. Whew….!

Finally, we have new cell phone numbers and hopefully a new P.O.B. soon, so we will be sure to draft a new “All the 411” post in the near future to keep you all up to date. We may have mentioned that we like mail…. Just a little… ha! In the meantime, we are able to communicate best with Facebook as our new phone has a nifty Facebook app that doesn’t eat too much of our data bundle. So please, PLEASE, send us messages and comments to keep in touch! We can’t explain how much we love reading little notes from friends and family members… I think it is actually a primary source of our continued sanity in this often stressful and somewhat insane process called “service”.

As always, we love and miss you all tons and are very much looking forward to keeping you entertained with some more posts in the near future. The list of things to blog about has just become overwhelming… oh gosh, we’re becoming one of those “bloggers”.

Talk again soon! Until then, Salani Kahle!!!

Adam writes:

First and foremost, I miss all of you. A lot. I knew when I left that I wasn’t going to find friends like you in South Africa. I knew that whatever adopted families and host families we had along the way wouldn’t be at all like our family at home. And they’re not. Of course we have been making friends and we are on our second host family and all of them are great. Just not the same. So before I go on with the observations about this country that I have been dying to tell you, let me just say again, I miss all of you very much. I always knew that you meant so much to us, now I just know exactly how much.

So interesting things about South Africa and our stay here so far:

The word for grandmother here is gogo. It has become already so ingrained in our vocabulary as women seeming to be retirement age or older is addressed as gogo. And there are a lot of gogos in SA. This leads me to two observations. First of all, I think this is the perfect word for my own grandmother as she will be turning 90 soon and she is always on the “gogo”. And that is what SA has done to my sense of humor so far. Secondly, this puts a whole new spin on the venue “Whiskey A GoGo”.

I miss home and I think of family and friends often. But not a single day has gone by in SA that I haven’t thought about my motorcycle. The weather is gorgeous and the scenery is unbelievable.

It is very weird to be in Africa and to be constantly mistaken as a native. People assume at first that we are Afrikaans or of British decent. Then we speak and they are immediately interested in who we are and what we’re doing here. It still strikes me as odd that it’s our accent and not our skin color that they find interesting.

There is something eerie about walking through a rural African village and hearing Beyonce or TuPac blaring from an unidentifiable source. At first it seems like it’s coming from the heavens, but it usually turns out to just be the shebeen, or tavern. Oh, and for some unexplainable reason, South Africans LOVE Celine Dion. We hear “My Heart Will Go On” everywhere, and only “My Heart Will Go On”. Nothing else by her.

This one is more specifically for Matt. They drive on the left hand side of the road here. Almost everyone drives manual. We’ve seen several Fiat Pandas, Fiat 500’s, a slew of new and old Alpha’s, and even a Ferrari in Pretoria and an R8 in Jo’Burg. Opel is still doing well here, though they no longer make the Cadet. And we actually see the different cars reviewed on Top Gear here including MG and Rover. Though come to think of it, I have yet to see a Porsche.

Braiing is a huge thing here. It is their word for Barbequing. And since it never really gets cold here they do it year round. I guess that one was also mostly for Matt’s benefit.

We have seen a lot of animals here and mostly up close as Jess has mentioned. Wildabeasts, springbok, zebra, antelope, warthogs, water buffalo, monkeys, baboons, and hyenas. But don’t worry Al, we have been nowhere near hippos. Although, we have seen “hippo crossing” signs on the highway. Apparently they like to wander across the road at night and people run into them. Usually the hippo walks away. And people think hitting a deer is bad. See Al, they are far more dangerous than you thought.

So that may wrap things up for now. We will update more often now that we have internet access and I will probably see most of you on Facebook. Until then, please inundate us with updates. We really are starved for information from home. And thanks to all of you who have already been commenting.

Sanibonani!

Jess writes:

Hey All!! Just a quick note to let everyone know that yes, we're alive!!! Adam and I are doing great! Quick update:

We are living at a homestay with MaChristine and PaJohannas in Machipe, just outside a larger town called Bhundu. We are learning SiSwati, a cousin-tongue of Zulu, and we're catching on fast!

It's SUPER hot here - about 32-34C every day... I think today we will spend some desperate Rand (dollars) for a fan!!!!

Training is going well and today we got to visit some primary and secondary schools to learn about the ways in which children learn about HIV/AIDS and interact with such discussions - it was great! I got some battle wounds from a dubious game of duck duck goose, but VERY worth it!!

Internet here is uber slow and we don't get into town often, so unfortunately we won't be able to update again soon... but PLEASE keep in touch by sending mail/emails so that we can hear what is going on. PS - The mail during PST has been pretty reliable, so feel free to send lots of letters... shameless plug, again!! Also, keep posting on facebook because we have some access to email via a PCT's blackberry and we LOVE to read the messages!! Again... shameless plug... ha ha!!

We love and miss you all tons - but please know that we are well and thoroughly enjoying the start to our African "honeymoon".... yeah for bucket baths!! So romantic!!

Okay, about to run out of time.... bye for now!!

Salani Kahle!!!

Ngiyabonga Kakhulu (Thank You)

Jess writes:

So as you read this post, we'll actually be on our way to South Africa!!! (Remember, I love that "Scheduled" post option... ha!). Since we may have little access to internet or phone during training, I wanted to set up one final, very important, post before we left. Yesterday's post may have covered the specifics of contact, etc., but there were some things that we both wanted to make sure were said upon our departure.... Thank You:

If we were to thank everyone who has helped to get us this far, this post would be far too long to read. So we hope you all know how very much your love and support has meant to us over the last few years.

In particular, to our "family" at ISU, the Boys & Girls Club and the Alliance - we could not have made it without your guidance and willingness to share our dream. To our "family" at WineStyles & Duffy's - you have made our last nights in the states so incredibly memorable! To our "family" of doctors - you have kept us in one piece before we embark, what a feat! To our "family" of friends, distant and near - your many visits and unwavering support of our endeavors has helped us to get through some of our toughest times. You have all done more than you could ever know.

And a special note to our actual families, who have been at our sides through all the thick and thin of this Peace Corps process. Adam and I would not have had the stamina to keep trying or the strength to keep hoping without your love and support of our dreams. You have remained, as always before, our physical and emotional foundations for life. We could never thank you enough for all you have done, but we hope you always know what it has meant to us.

To all of you, for all you have done,
Thank You.

"All the 411" (Episode 1)

Jess writes:

So as you read this, we'll be headed off to Washington D.C. for staging...!! (I love the "Scheduled" post option, so we can write these tidbits in advance for everyone!) But, before we take off, we wanted to provide all the important information that you'll need to get a hold of us, keep up with us, and follow the journey!

This informational mini-series (ha!), aka "All the 411", will be updated periodically as our information changes during training, site assignment and service. So look for our "All the 411" updates throughout our Peace Corps adventures!

Time Difference:

• Just a quick reminder that South Africa falls in the GMT+2 timezone... which is +7 hours EST, +8 hours CST, and +10 hours PST. So we appologize now if we are blogging / emailing / calling very early in the morning!!
• Also, South Africa does not observe daylight savings time... which means when all of you "spring forward", we don't, so the time difference is reduced by one hour (i.e., +6 EST, +7 CST, +9 PST). Hope that makes enough sense!! Ha!

Follow Us:

• Our Stories: We will update this blog as frequently as possible with our tales of Peace Corps Service. You can also leave us messages on any post - we would love to hear from you!
• Our Photos: When possible, we will update all photos in the "Albums" section of Jess's Facebook page (find link at right). At times, we may add some photos to the blog as well.
• Other Chit-Chat: When possible, we will be checking our Facebook pages (find links at right) to chat with friends and family and send brief messages if necessary.
• NOTE: We will not typically send mass emails or updates to friends and family, so please use the connections above to stay in touch!

Phone Us:

• During Training, we will not have general telephone access. (However you can always contact our family stateside by calling Mona at 815.228.5712.)
• In case of emergency, the S.A. Office Phone can be reached at: +27.12.344.4255
• In case of emergency, the S.A. Duty Phone can be reached at: +27.79.111.5810
• In case of emergency, the S.A. Country Director can be reached at: +27.79.111.8356

Skype Us:

• We have set up a Skype account (and have even bought a webcam!) in hopes that we will have dependable enough internet service at some point during service to say hello to friends and family "in digital person"!
• In order to connect, you must first set up your own Skype account (at www.skype.com) and then search us via our Skype account name, "JessAleksy" or via our Skype account email, BordAngel4@hotmail.com.

Mail Us:

• During Training, our address (for letters & packages) will be as follows:
  Volunteer Name Peace Corps
  PO Box 9536
  Pretoria 0001
  South Africa
• DHL Packages only (important, lightweight packages) should always be mailed to: Country Director U.S. Peace Corps 126 Verdoorn Street Sunnyside Pretoria South Africa
  
• Letters: estimated delivery time: 2-3 weeks
• Packages: estimated delivery time: 6-9 weeks
• NOTE: Letters are delivered to volunteers only once a month and packages are only delivered if office staff are visiting our sites (unless we travel to Pretoria for other reasons and are able stop by the office to pick up mail).
• IMPORTANT: Make sure to number & date all letters and packages (so we know if one gets "lost" in the mail) and mark all with "AIRMAIL" to ensure speedy-er-ish delivery. It is also suggested to mark all packages either "EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS" or "RELIGIOUS MATERIALS" to avoid theft while passing through customs and mailrooms.
• P.S. - We would LOVE to receive letters throughout service, and especially during training when we are in "adjustment" mode and have little other communication... so this is our tactless plea for your writing! Packages, however, are often very expensive for volunteers to receive (due to SA taxes), so as much as we would love goodies from home, please do not send any packages until we determine the most cost-effective way to do so. Thanks!!

Alphabet Soup:

Peace Corps service is a wondrous world of abbrviations, acronyms and interesting shortenings. So to keep you "in the know" (and make reading our blogs possible!!), here's a handy, alphabetical, list (Good luck!):

• APCD: Associate (S.A.) Peace Corps Directors (current: H. Matseke & K. Lelaka)
• CBO: Community-Based Organization (Grassroots, usually non-profit)
• CDO: Country Desk Officer (current: Fernando Moyle)
• CHOP: Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Program (our service program)
• HC: Host Country (i.e., South Africa)
• HCA: Host Country Agency (i.e., our assigned CBO or NGO)
• HCN: Host Country National
• ICD or CD: In-Country Director (current: McGrath Jean Thomas)
• IRC: In-Country Resource Center
• IST: In-Service Training (short stints during service, as needed)
• MI: Master's International Program (My Master's Program)
• NGO: Non-Governmental Organization (Non-Governmental NPO)
• NPO: Non-Profit Organization
• PA: Program Assistant (current: Jan Molomo)
• PC: Peace Corps
• PCD: Peace Corps Director (current: Aaron S. Williams)
• PCMO: Peace Corps Medical Office
• PCPP: Peace Corps Partnership Program (donor program for PC)
• PCT: Peace Corps Trainee (during Training)
• PCV: Peace Corps Volunteer (current)
• PST: Pre-Service Training (2 months prior to service)
• PTO: Programming & Training Officer (current: Lisa M. Jordan)
• RPCV: Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (alumni)
• SA or ZA: South Africa
• TM: Training Manager (current: Victor Baker)
• WWS: World Wise Schools (correspondance program with U.S. schools)

Hope that helps! We'll keep you posted!!!

A Pre-Departure Mini Tour

Jess writes:

So, first of all, I should mention how uber helpful the current South Africa volunteers (especially those from SA 18, 19 & 20) have been in our stressful preparation for service!!! They are so wonderful! Now to the point: a current PCV who will be assisting in our training from February-March recently visited our soon-to-be training area and took some photos for us! After a brief stay in Siyabuswa at a regional college to settle-in, finish immunizations, etc. we will be moving to our homestay sites in one of two villages outside of Dennilton (both in the Mpumalanga region, Northeast of Pretoria). The remainder of our training will take place at a facility in a local nature preserve, a short van ride from the villages. So before we even depart - thanks to our super-great PCV mentors!!! - here is a mini-tour of where we will be spending the first couple months of our stay in South Africa:

Around Dennilton - rolling hills!



Road out of Dennilton - headed towards the homestay villages.


Arriving in one of the homestay villages - apparently this area is frequented by baboons!!




The outside of one of the training facilities in the nature preserve.


The outside of another training facility - this could be interesting if it rains....!

The inside of the primary training facility - Hey look! There's electricity! YAY!



That's it for now - we'll keep you posted!!!
6 Days and counting....!!!