Jess writes:
Last week was “World Cup Week” for me and Adam – with tickets to two matches in Nelspruit and plans to meet up with plenty of other PCVs for “Ayoba” madness!! And what an awesome week it was!! Ayoba!
Adam and I spent Monday and Tuesday packing, finalizing accommodation plans, and catching up on the latest scores so that we would be prepared for the final Group Round match-ups (we’ve continued to enjoy our matches on our hand-crank and solar-powered travel radio – what a little savior!!). On Wednesday, we left early for Nelspruit and met up with two SA19s (Nicole & Dave) at the taxi rank. With tent in hand, we headed to Funky Monkey Backpackers to set up camp – quite literally! Funky Monkey is a great backpacker on the outskirts of town, with the perfect backpacker vibe – flags hanging from every post, trinkets and knick-knacks in the every corner, and of course, a common-area with plenty of bean bags, overstuffed sofas, hostel bar, big screen and pool table. Also, with Nelspruit’s central location and it’s back-to-back games in town, every backpacker was crawling with fellow Americans, Aussies, and Brits, as well as a smattering of visitors from other Western European, African, and South American locations! What a great place to spend a few days enjoying everything World Cup!!
Wednesday night was Match #40 in Nelspruit – Australia v. Serbia – at 8:30p. But before the game, both the U.S. and England had uber-important matches in the 4:00p slots, so we headed to a local watching (and drinking!) venue, called O’Hagans Pub. We were met there by several other SA18s, 19s, and 20s, as well as hundreds of Americans and Aussies, all eager to see the final Group C scores before the Nelspruit game that night. While we all cheered loudly for the U.S., the Aussies enjoyed cheering boisterously for just about anyone else (including England), just to cause a ruckus – so, needless to say, songs, chants, and game-related and non-game-related bantering ensued… creating the perfect football-watching atmosphere!! (Crazy Aussies!) Luckily, England only won by two goals and the U.S. won by one, so before even seeing our own match that evening, we were able to celebrate wildly with the U.S. landing first place in their group!!! What a great start to the night!!!
Soon after the U.S. & England games, we were headed to the Nelspruit stadium. The Mbombela Stadium, built specifically for the 2010 World Cup, oozes with a Kruger Park theme. Riding up to the stadium, especially at night when it’s awash in flood lights, you can see the structural pillars of the stadium that are shaped like giraffes – with triangular tops for heads, and four separate structure beams below for legs – so great!! If you get there early enough, before the throngs of people arrive, you also get to see the awesomeness that is the actual seating, with seats painted black, white, and gray in purposeful stripes to look like a massive zebra skin around the whole field! Best of all, it’s a small enough stadium that there isn’t a bad seat in the house – so even the category four seats (in the upper levels), where we were seated, still offer great viewing!!
As soon as the Australian and Serbian national anthems had been sung, the vuvuzellas began buzzing and the game began!! Without much coaxing, the Aussie fans were wild within minutes, with two goals being scored by the Australian team in the first half. (As a side note: at halftime, Adam and I met a Serbian-South African Harley rider & tattoo artist that lives in Jo’burg and we now have contact info in case we get a chance to rent a motorcycle while serving here or need any ink before departing… how random… Ha ha!) The second half created quite a stir, with Serbia scoring a great goal, and then making an incredible, albeit offsides, attempt at a second… almost equalizing the game!! Regardless of their amazing final-minute efforts, Serbia did eventually concede to Australia, 2:1.
After the game, we got to experience the surprisingly organized manner in which Nelspruit handles its post-match transportation, with free busses, shuttles, and coombies that manage to get all the spectators to their respective corners of town in a matter of hours! Truly incredible!! Is it possible that this level of organization might actually endure after the World Cup ends?!?! …Well, one can hope!
We returned to the backpacker and enjoyed some post-game drinks with the victorious Aussies before we crammed our four bodies into the “3 to 4 Person” tent for the night. Even with all the body heat, it was a chilly… chilly… night!!!
Thursday morning came with sunshine and, after laying out long enough in that sunshine, we were able to thaw our bodies from the previous night’s sleep. After breakfast (and defrosting) Adam and I spent most of Thursday walking around Nelspruit, taking in some local sites: gawking at the enormous houses on the southside of town, meandering the streets downtown, grabbing lunch at the ever-popular Keg n’ Jock, and hitting the gigantic Riverside Mall for a matinee movie and window-shopping!! Of course, we made it back to Funky’s in time for our free dinner (ox tail, veggies, and pap – surprisingly tasty!!) and for viewing of the 8:30p matches. Before calling it a night, we “borrowed” seat cushions from the common area and lined the bottom of our tent, making for a much, MUCH cozier night outside!! Ahhhh!
Friday morning brought with it several of our own SA21s, for Match #46 at the Nelspruit stadium – Ivory Coast v. North Korea – at 4:00p. After grabbing a quick lunch, our growing group of now nine PCVs, made its way to the stadium to enjoy some pre-game happenings – on stages around the stadium there were singers and dancers, choreographing the crowd to the official 2010 World Cup theme song (“When I get older, I will be stronger…”) and Shakira’s butt-shaking, unofficial, World Cup anthem (“Waka, waka, hey, hey, it’s time for Africa!”). After we had our fill of dancing and mingling, we made our way to our seats – this time in the lower section, right on the corner… up close and personal!!
As you might have watched, Ivory Coast crushed North Korea, with a final score of 3:0 (YAY!!). Almost as entertaining as the action-packed game, were the Ivorian fans – hundreds of them, dressed from head to toe in orange, banging drums and dancing in sync with one another in the upper tiers – awesome!! But best of all was our front-row seats to see Didier Drogba (considered to be “Africa’s best footballer”) do some unbelievable footwork in the first half – wriggling away from two North Korean defenders in the corner and helping to score two goals in the first half!! Sadly, I never did get to poke "a real North Korean" as I had so desperately hoped... but, all in all, it was a great match, from start to finish!! :-)
Before heading back to Funky’s, we took advantage of Nelspruit’s celebration of its last World Cup match, and headed to “Fan Mile”, a city-sponsored block party with DJ’s, dancing, and plenty of food and drink! While our pizzas and beer were mighty tasty, the most enjoyable part of the evening was seeing so many South Africans, side by side with the thousands of foreign visitors, enjoying World Cup fever together!! It was a pretty awesome end to our World Cup Week!
Whew! We’re back to Huntington now… but no worries, we’re making plans for some upcoming trips to see other PCVs, catch the last remaining World Cup games, and experience some more Ayoba madness before World Cup 2010 comes to a close! So keep in touch and, as always, we’ll keep you posted!! Ayoba!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
In the News...
Monday, June 14, 2010Section: A, Page A1,A2
By Matthew Baker
NewsTribune Reporter
The 2010 World Cup began Friday to the delight of soccer fans around the world and even in the Illinois Valley, where the game has been gaining in popularity in recent years.
"Everybody's looking forward to opening day and that first match. It's going to be exhilarating," said Princeton High School girls soccer coach Ed Young in the days leading up to Friday's opening match in South Africa.
Whether you call it a soccer, football or futbol competition, the World Cup offers nearly a month of exciting game play and cultural exchange as 32 national teams compete to be the best in the world.
"There's going to be so many amazing games and it's all the best players in the world," Young said.
While local fans will be watching the footwork of Landon Donovan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and many other international stars on their television screens, one young man will be taking in the World Cup atmosphere first-hand.
Although his parents are back home in Peru, Adam Aleksy and wife Jessica have recently settled into World Cup host country South Africa while volunteering with the Peace Corps.
"Since we got off the plane, World Cup fever has been palpable," Aleksy said in an e-mail message.
During their early days in the country, Peace Corps volunteers were regularly greeted by locals "shouting to us 'Welcome to South Africa! Twenty-Ten! Welcome to South Africa!'"
The greetings reflect the residents' enthusiasm for the event and their acceptance of commercials urging them to act as "good hosts," according to Aleksy.
"You see, for most of South Africa, soccer is life. In the poorest villages, kids find a way to make some sort of soccer ball in order to play. They play all the time," he said.
World Cup "fever" in South Africa goes beyond the soccer pitch, or field, according to Aleksy.
The South African people take part in "Football Fridays," during which all are encouraged to wear their South Africa team kits, or uniforms, as part of their regular clothing.
"Their colors are green and gold, and though you see these colors a lot most days, towns are a sea of them on Fridays. It is truly awesome to see," he said.
The World Cup spirit has also spread into their Peace Corps work. Currently Aleksy is working with a group called Soccer Cinema, which tours rural communities screening soccer-related films while also providing information on social issues and HIV/AIDS programs.
Tickets to watch the U.S. team play sold out quickly, but Aleksy managed to get tickets to see Australia play Serbia and Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) face off against North Korea.
He's looking forward to seeing the Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba, "Africa's greatest player," playing in the first World Cup to take place in Africa.
"That should be particularly amazing," Aleksy said.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
A Y O B A ! ! ! ! !
Jess writes:
…we’re currently listening to the South Africa v. France game on our little travel radio... and so far Bafana Bafana is leading… 2 – 0!! Can’t believe it!! Can they actually win this one…
As most of you are well aware, the 2010 World Cup is in full-swing here in South Africa!! While Adam and I have been somewhat “distracted” by other recent happenings (see the previous post), we are thoroughly enjoying football fever! In fact, in our current situation, we are reveling in an unexpected Peace Corps-imposed vacation, and have been able to experience World Cup in some unique ways: indulging in the gloriousness of Hatfield Square in Pretoria, watching matches with international crowds at guesthouses and backpackers, listening to games “old school” on our travel radio, and planning for some upcoming travels to other local hubs for not only leisure, but of course, more World Cup shenanigans!!
But perhaps I should start at the beginning…
South Africa is hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with games being held across the entire country – Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Nelspruit, Rustenburg, Polokwane, and Bloemfontein (Adam and I head to Nelspruit tomorrow for two matches: Australia v. Serbia on June 23rd and North Korea v. Cote d’Ivoire on June 25th! So excited!!!)
Most important to note here is that this is the first World Cup to ever be held on the continent of Africa, so South Africa is brimming with pride to be the first African hosts. In fact, this South African pride could be felt in every city, every township, and every village since the day we arrived in this country, over four months ago. And for over four months, the South African television stations, radio stations, and news sources have been filled with calls to action, imploring every South African to do their part for World Cup. Thus, everywhere we turn there have been illuminated countdowns, green and yellow banners for Bafana Bafana, billboards about safety and security, welcoming shouts from every passing coombie, blaring vuvuzellas, articles about the intangible “Ayoba” spirit, and this growing sense of pride… that South Africans get to welcome the world to “The Continent”.
Needless to say, we could post about every remembered World Cup detail here, but I’m sure you would all tire of my long-winded way with words… ha!! So instead, I’ve included some cool World Cup stuff below that we thought may help to illuminate the World Cup experience for our blog followers (also, be sure to check out our 2010 World Cup album on Facebook, which we will continue to add photos to as World Cup continues!). But for now, hopefully there’s something here that will tickle your football fancy!!
Check it Out:
- A football-dedicated blog, authored by a family friend, with some super interesting insights into the FIFA extravaganza that is “World Cup” (thanks Traci!): http://theunlikelyfan.blogspot.com/
- The heartbreaking story the South African Vuvuzela Philharmonic, portrayed by the oh-so-incredulous The Onion, in a truly one-of-a-kind World Cup article (so great!!!): http://www.theonion.com/articles/south-african-vuvuzela-philharmonic-angered-by-soc%2C17625/
- An incredibly-written NY Times column that a fellow PCV found about South Africa’s past and its “audible” future (a more serious perspective than the previous): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/opinion/18iht-edcohen.html?hp
- Coming Soon: A local article, written by Matt Baker (a friend of Adam’s), for the La Salle News Tribune. He includes quotes from us about World Cup Fever, here in South Africa, from an American perspective (Yay! We’re famous!). As soon as we get a hard copy, we'll include it in it's entirety on the blog.
It would be impossible to describe all the happenings of World Cup since the start and I’m certain that every volunteer, every South African in fact, will experience World Cup in a different way. And in the coming weeks, I’m sure Adam and I will do our best to describe our own piece of this experience in words worthy of depicting such an historical event… and thus, I am certain we will fail to capture all that is World Cup South Africa. Nevertheless, we will try.
In that vein, I wanted to include here something that was shared with us very recently. Last week, while staying at the guesthouse in Pretoria, we spoke late into the night with one of the owners about the impact that World Cup may have on South Africa. Mr. Ndivhuwo Mabaya is a Vendan chief, relocated to Pretoria for business, with deep roots to South Africa’s history and great hopes for its future. After thinking hard about our night’s discussions, he said:
“If this World Cup is to have a legacy, it will not be the stadiums, or the stores or the jobs… It will be what we have learned. If we could use even a small part of the energy and effort we put into preparing for this event into our country’s education system, its healthcare, or its issues with poverty, we could get things done here.”
After some more thought, he added:
“If we can have a World Cup, we can be a great country.”
As World Cup continues, and as Adam and I blog about the fun, the fanfare, and our own impressions, I hope that the quote above stays with you all as it has with me. It seems to embody what this World Cup has meant to this African nation.
Until the next post… Go USA! Go Bafana Bafana! AYOBA!!!!
Changing It Up!
Jess writes:
For our loyal Facebook followers, here’s the skinny to which you are already aware: Adam and I will be changing sites!!! Yikes!!
For various reasons (which I cannot innumerate here), but sparked largely by an unaccepted housing agreement, Adam and I will be undergoing the much-dreaded “Peace Corps Site Change”. Based on questions we received thus far and other tidbits of information that we’ve gleaned from our recent trip to the Peace Corps office, here’s what we do and don’t know:
- “Site Change” involves moving host sites (read as: “leaving Huntington”), changing host organizations (read as: “leaving Swa Vana”), and reintegrating into a new host country location (read as: “doing all that nitty-gritty community integration stuff over again”). Ugh.
- We have NO details about exactly when all of this will take place: site change can often take several weeks and with World Cup in full swing, we should expect to be hanging out for a while (we are still at our home in Huntington until the site change is complete)
- We have NO details about exactly where we will be stationed next (although Adam and I are REALLY hoping for a Zulu, Siswati, or Tsonga speaking area so that we don’t have to move onto South African language number four of our learning)
- We have only a few details about our next housing situation. Based largely on the issues we had in Huntington (and please know that our roommate Leonard was not one of them – we will miss him!!), Peace Corps is willing to ensure some things at our next site, they are: we will not have a roommate or have to share our physical living location with a host family (although there may be a host family on the same compound), we will work with Peace Corps to finalize all housing-related concerns (i.e., electricity payments, organization guests, etc.) with Peace Corps’ help upon move-in, and finally (and this one is a hope, more so than a guarantee), we will likely have a better water situation than the one in Huntington…. Simply put, if its any worse, Peace Corps probably wouldn’t be able to place us there. Yay for more water!!!
- We have only one detail about our next working situation, that is: Adam and I will likely work separately, as this helps couples to better integrate into the community and gain independent acceptance. Other than that, we do not know if we will still be working with OVCs or will instead be moved more to a Home-Based Care sector, or otherwise. It’s up in the air!
Needless to say, Adam and I are more than a little frustrated that Site Change will have to take place – we were really beginning to feel “at home” in the community, at work, with Leonard and his friends, etc. Nevertheless, many of these issues have been brewing since our first move-in and our situation here was far from the “norm” for most Peace Corps volunteers, so perhaps Site Change was always in the cards for us. Either way, after having some time to digest the news, Adam and I are very optimistic about what Site Change will mean for us: new home, new work, new friends, new opportunities. And to put it in the simplest of PCV terms: Adam and I want to do good work where we are wanted… and if that means moving to a new site to accomplish that, then we are happy to do so! So it might not be such a surprise to learn that we are already very excited about our next site – about starting off our community integration on a better foot, about getting our own hours of the day at our own organizations, about making a new home “our home” from the start…. We are excited to start at a new site with all those things that we didn’t get to start with in Huntington!!
On a different note, Site Change has brought about some other interesting “changes” in our recent weeks. We took a trip to Pretoria to meet with our Peace Corps staff and, during that trip, had some very interesting encounters…
First, we stayed at a great little guesthouse across the street from the PC office, called Chinakie Guesthouse. The guesthouse partners and staff were amazingly welcoming – even drove us around after dark to avoid us meandering in the “seedy” Sunnyside district. The rooms had showers, flush toilets, HD flat-screen TVs, tea & coffee, and the most comfortable beds we’ve slept on in four months – we couldn’t believe our little rural, volunteer eyes!!!! Each room also had aircon (whoa!!), but more importantly, they had much-needed heating units (it was FREEZING in Pretoria! Adam and I are now certain that “acclimatization” is not all it’s chalked up to be!!!) There was also a perfect outdoor dining area where you could watch the World Cup games with a beer and the company of fellow guests. Here, we met people from Cameroon, Australia, Ghana, Congo, and of course, South Africa, and had great conversations about everything 2010-World-Cup-related (in English, French, and some local dialects as well!!)
We also found our way to Hatfield Square – one of the best “unofficial” viewing areas for 2010 World Cup!! The place was decked out in Bafana Bafana gear, fans from every corner of the world, and on every corner, a news crew from every country of the world!! There was every type of food imaginable – needless to say, this was the BEST part of Hatfield Square – and we indulged in a glorious plate of Chinese food one night, and Sushi the next!! Ahhhh! Aside from food, there was also of course, plenty of drinks, live music, vuvuzella-ing and otherwise football fun to be had before, during, and after each of the games!! There was no way to stand in Hatfield Square and not “feel it”!! What a great experience!!!
Aside from all the frivolity (and of course the Site Change), we did have some other things to take care of in Pretoria – namely, I had to take a dreaded trip to the dentist. Much to my surprise, and in the spirit of changing things up a bit, it was actually Adam that became the medical center of attention this week. A very long story, in a very shortened version, goes as follows:
After the match on Monday night, Adam and I bundled up in bed to get warm (remember, it was REALLY cold in Pretoria!!). Sometime in the middle of the night, I awoke to a loud thud and Adam unconscious on the bathroom floor…. HOLY *&@#%*!!! About seven hours later (okay, that might be a slight exaggeration caused by the adrenaline), Adam was regaining consciousness and an ambulance arrived, with our Peace Corps Medical Officer not far behind, to bring Adam (and me, of course) to the hospital. At this point, with Adam reasonably alert again, we were able to piece together what probably happened: The cold temperatures, coupled with a few beers and our anti-malarial medication, caused a severe drop in blood pressure that triggered an extended black-out (thus, the “seven hours” that it felt like to me was due largely to the amount of time it took for his blood pressure to rise again in the cold room.) WHEW!!!!! After a short visit at the hospital, Adam’s vitals were back to normal and the only lingering problem were some severely bruised ribs from the fall. Luckily, the doctors were able to get him some pretty heavy pain killers (I should have asked for some pretty heavy sedatives at this point….!) and soon we were on our way back to the guesthouse with our PCMO. A trip to our PC medical office the next day and a refill on the pain killers got Adam back on his feet and feeling much better.
And I thought a trip to the dentist was bad…. Eish.
So, after much “excitement” and an extra day in Pretoria, Adam and I were finally headed home on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we managed to select the slowest and most inefficient coombies headed back to Hazyview that day and were terribly delayed most of the trip. This led to the final, interesting, aspect of our week – getting stuck in Hazyview after the last coombies home!! It was dark (and remember, it’s getting COLD here!!) and Adam and I quickly realized that we had no way to get back to our house…. GRRR! Lonely Planet to the rescue and within a half hour we had booked a couple dorm beds at a nearby backpacker. A super nice Dutch family saw our stranded faces and gave us a lift to the backpacker – the whole Dutch family was very enthused about us… these crazy, stranded American volunteers – ha! The backpacker, called Gecko BushPackers, was a great model of a hostel: pool table out back, decorated bar with overstuffed couches and bean bags, home-made food to order, international t-shirts hanging from the ceilings, graffiti-ed greetings over all the walls in every known language, and a raspy Afrikanner owner who got us checked in. We settled in to watch the South Africa v. Uruguay game (how upsetting!!) and then bundled up for our sleep in the open-air, dormitory bunk beds. All in all (aside from a chilly sleep), it was a great night!
Thursday morning brought enough strength (and daylight hours) for us to get home!! We decided to hike our way back to Hazyview, enjoying great views from the vistas and catching rides with friendly South Africans whenever possible. We made a pitstop at the Belgian bakery for breakfast (YUM!!), made a short trip to the Pick n’ Pay for groceries, stopped over in Mkhuhlu for mail and then finally, FINALLY, we were home and in bed for some much-needed sleep!!!
W H A T A W E E K ! ! ! But a rather great one, nevertheless!!
Okay, I think that just about recaps the whole smorgasbord of happenings – hope you enjoyed!! Keep in touch and, as always, we’ll keep you posted!!! Salani kahle!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A Day in the Life of a PCV… At Present
Jess writes:
Adam and I are in the cozy phase of Peace Corps service called “Training Phase 2”, also called “Community Integration Period”, also called (more commonly) “Lockdown”. After our initial training phase, this 3-month chunk (actually 4 months, due to the timing of World Cup) is meant to ease the PCV into community life by requiring the new volunteer to partake in the day-to-day life of the community, observe work at our host organization, and accumulate enough information and self-guided research to fill a “Community & Organizational Needs Assessment.” At times, this life does indeed feel rather at ease, but then again, there is plenty to this phase that is not always so easy. So, as I’ve done in the past, I’m including here a “typical” day in our PCV life, during this “Lockdown” phase, (although I’m not so sure anything here is entirely “typical”…) Anyways, here goes:
7:30AM- Wake, usually to the sound of chickens in the backyard or the cows coming down the road – yes, with cowbells! Begin water-related chores (remember, everything in Huntington revolves around such chores), such as hauling water to the kitchen for dishes or to the bathroom for bathing, heating water for washing or for making tea, stacking empty jugs in the garage, or carrying out handled jugs for filling later in the day. If time permits, I try to get on a pot of water to boil for drinking (it takes about 45 minutes to get boiling long enough to get it “clean” and most of the day to cool enough for filtering) – what a process. Tidy up the house and/or yard – this sometimes involves sweeping, gr. – and open windows (if its cool enough and not rainy). Pit stop at the latrine, of course, and getting dressed, etc. for the day.
8:15AM- Lock up the house (we have a lot of locks: bedroom door, front door, burglar door, porch door, garage door, and front gate… on days when all need locking, it takes forever!). Walk to work, avoiding any angry cows hoofing at the ground (eeek!). The walk to work is short and rather flat, so no real trekking. But it is in the direction of the sun… so summer mornings are brutal!!! Along the way, we usually run into at least a couple of Gogo’s waiting for the local coombies to pick them up on the way to the 4-Way or Mkhuhlu, as well as other workers in Kruger National Park or Sabi Sands Game Reserve uniforms headed to the tar road to catch a ride in one of the employee safari trucks. We also typically get caught up in at least one group of pre-schoolers headed to the crèche in their unmatching red shirts. The annoying little ones still like to chant “We-Na-Malungu” as we walk by, but most of them now are more excited about waving and shouting “I’m fiiiiine” very lyrically before we even ask how they are doing. Too funny!
8:30AM- Arrive at work (although we’re often on our own form of “African Time” or “Volunteer Time” and thus, this fluctuates). Greet the LIMA Development workers sweeping outside the Center, greet the SwaVana workers preparing breakfast or tidying up the courtyard, greet the Home-Based Care workers sitting on the porch before home visits, greet Happy in the office, and greet the kids running around before school. Line up the water jugs by the concrete wall to be filled later and hauled back at the end of the day.
9:00AM- Head across the courtyard to the Center’s kitchen to get breakfast – wheat bread with Rama butter and apricot jam, with tea (unfortunately no milk, so we have to used the powdered stuff that never melts completely… shame.) And yes, it is the same breakfast for us each morning, but hey, it’s breakfast! Back to the office for morning work – this can range greatly from checking emails and Facebook, scheduling the week events with Happy, updating charts and numbers on bottle/brick projects, or simply chatting about “to do’s” for Peace Corps-related items (i.e., the needs assessment report).
10:00AM- Carry the water jugs across the yard, under the fence, and through the adjacent gate to Henna Pre-School, where we have access to a borehole for water. Water filling is a long and somewhat arduous process, as we have to wheelbarrow all the full jugs back up the path to the Center. But nevertheless, we get water without having to stand in line every 2 weeks when the taps are turned on for a few hours, or on the days the water truck comes in to make a stop on our road… so we don’t complain!!! Plus, while we wait for the filling, we get to chat with the pre-schoolers and watch the Henna carers cook over an open fire, so it’s not all bad!
11:00AM- Happy prepares to head out for site checks or supply pick-ups. This is where our “typical” day can go in a number of different directions: If Happy is heading to one of the shopping towns for monthly supplies of lunch meats or veggies (Mkhuhlu or Hazyview), we will often hitch a one-way ride with him to check our mail, get to the Cashbuild (think Home Depot) for house supplies, and visit the mall for groceries, toiletries, clothes and of course, a big greasy lunch before heading back to the bush! (A one-way hitch means that we head to the taxi rink at the end of the shopping day and pay for a coombie ride back home.) However, if Happy is heading to one of our local Drop-In Centers for site checks (Mabarhule, Justicia, or Lillydale), we will often utilize this route to hitch a ride to somewhere that might have information to provide on our “Community & Organizational Needs Assessment” – a local school to meet with students, teachers or admin staff to discuss issues of education; a local clinic or hospital to meet with nursing or doctor contacts to discuss issues of health and HIV/AIDS; a local government office to meet with municipal managers to discuss issues of service delivery and local politics; or to meet up with other local community members to converse with them about issues of social structure, community services, traditional government, and their ideas about bettering their own communities.
1:30PM- Make our way back to Huntington, about the time that kids from the closest schools (Henna Pre-School & Hundzukani Primary School) are arriving at the Center. Eventually most of the kids make their way to our office to ask for coloring paper, crayons, toys and Barbie dolls – they are very good at entertaining themselves with these supplies, albeit extremely loud and high on post-schoolday-adrenaline!!
2:00PM- Lunchtime! Depending on the day, lunch is always a bit different: Monday is stewed chicken and pap (always greasy and usually pretty tasty!); Tuesday is sugar beans and pap (definitely the most boring day, but pretty filling); Wednesday is beef or minced meat with rice, usually with a side of mashed pumpkin and shaved beetroot (this is our favorite day for sure!!); Thursday is wors (an Afrikaans sausage) and pap (usually pretty good!); and Friday is Pilchard’s canned fish, in a tomato broth, with pap (I don’t exactly know how to explain this one… it smells something like the fish docks after a hot weekend and it tastes pretty similar… needless to say, we usually skip Fridays!!!).
2:30PM- The older kids take over dish duty while the little ones start fighting for the soccer balls or other ill-fated sports equipment. This is about the time that the older girls begin filtering over to the porch to work on the Bottle Project, with each day’s bottle tasks depending on the stage of the bottles – newly washed, recently pasted, already glossed, in need of final cutting, etc. Adam has begun using this time to work with Leonard on plans for the Brick Project – meeting with boys, getting trained on concrete mixes, writing up plans for payments, etc. All in all, this is the last bit of our day, but usually the most productive in terms of actual projects with the OVCs. We often wish that could get more of this time, without taking them from school… but the day’s schedule doesn’t permit much time before the afternoon.
4:00PM- Heading out. Most of the younger kids start the walk home to avoid getting stuck on the roads as the sun goes down (some of these little ones have to walk 30-45 minutes to get home on the other side of town!). The older kids help clean up of the Bottle Project supplies and finish with the Brick Project plans, while Adam and I organize all the paperwork from our research on the “Community & Organizational Needs Assessment” and ensure that the computer and all its accessories get back to the backpack for the trip home. We say all our “Sala kahle’s” to the carers and remaining kids and finally, we struggle greatly to get all the filled water jugs into the bakkie before hopping in a free (and hopefully dry!) space for a ride back to the house. The ride back is usually consumed with conversations about what we will snack on or make for dinner at the house… yes, we just had lunch and we’re already talking about dinner... everything revolves around food in this country!
4:30PM- Back to our “Kaya Sweet Kaya”! Usually a quick run to the latrine for a much-needed pee break, before beginning again with water-related chores – this time for cooking, heating and cleaning. Last-minute yard chores (i.e. sweeping, etc.) before the sun goes down and quick treks to the tuck shop if we’re craving cold drink (Coke) or have a serious hankering for greasy food (we can get “slop chips” here, which are basically soggy French fries that you douse with a little salt and vinegar, top with achaar – and Indian spiced mango mix – and smash into sliced, white bread. Holy carbohydrates but oh-so-tasty!!!) Then, after the shops, finally, some relaxation!!! Relaxation at the African Aleksy home is usually marked by TV episodes of The West Wing and The Wire or epic marathons of Harry Potter movies or old Indiana Jones adventures! I’ll usually combo this with a cup of tea or crinkle crisps, while Adam usually pairs his viewing with peanuts or popcorn. Yummy!
5:30PM- Between the snacking and relaxing we usually start craving real food again (yes, food again! It really is amazing we’re actually getting smaller here…?) and begin making plans for dinner. Dinners are reasonably diverse after shopping days and become increasingly more repetitive and boring as the week goes on. A good dinner (i.e., night after shopping) might consist of fresh salad greens and a balsamic dressing with broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken cutlets (we can get these frozen in Hazyview!!) with rice – woohoo!!! A more typical and mundane dinner will consist of canned greenbeans and Raman-type noodles with some garlic-sprinkled toast. Still not too shabby, right??
6:00PM- Closing up the house (windows, doors, bars, gates, etc.) while dinner cooks to avoid both bugs and burglars after dark. Around this time we’ll be sure to filter any water that has cooled from the morning to be stored in our drinking jugs by the fridge and if there’s a stovetop spot open, we may boil a second round to cool for the morning (especially if we’re running low on drinking water).
6:30PM- Dinnertime with some more computer viewing, followed by an end-of-the-day glance at emails, Facebook, and BBC.com (I like my international news sources!!). The rest of our down-time is usually consumed with reading magazines sent from home, writing up grocery and shopping lists for the next trip to Hazyview, summarizing notes and creating outlines for our Peace Corps reporting, uploading and organizing photos, and dreaming about all the cool places we want to visit in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Madagascar via our awesome Lonely Planet Africa edition.
8:00PM- Darkness is complete and at this time of year, it starts getting uber-cold (down to the 60’s at night!! Eish!!! Lol!). Around this time I inevitably end up on a cockroach hunt, since the little buggers don’t come out until it’s darker and cooler, and thus Adam and Leonard are reassured of my presence by the continuous smacks of my flip-flop on walls, countertops, tables, and bucket tops. I will kill them all… it may take all 2 years… but I will eventually kill them all. Gr.
9:00PM- The day finishes with some good ‘ol antimalarial medications, washed down with lemon creams or chocolate squares for dessert. Tubside in the bathroom for teeth brushing and face/foot washing (our feet get horribly, horribly dirty!!!) and then back to bed for a final episode or two of the evening’s series. Almost without fail, I will fall asleep before the second episode and will have to wake up to Adam putting away the “TV” (aka, computer)… because of this, I’m pretty sure Adam has seen roughly 20% more of almost every TV series or movie we watch in the evening. Ha! Oh well…
10:30PM- It may seem early, but we’re usually asleep not too long afterwards… we must be getting old… or African.
So there you have it, an overly-detailed account of a likely day here in Huntington, South Africa. You might want to know where in all that mess we get other important things done – like laundry, planning and prepping for the garden, calling home, visiting PCVs or getting visits from PCVs, or just walking around the community to “integrate” – well, that’s what the weekends are for. Laundry takes 1-2 hours, depending on the pairs of pants (they are the hardest to wash and the most difficult to wring out), and wet clothes take almost all-day to dry in our current, “wintery” weather, while garden plans and community walks get fit into the hours with light… remember, we can’t (and aren’t suppose to) do much of anything after it’s dark, so days are short! Finally, our families are great enough to work around our awkward schedule, so weekend nights are usually highlighted with calls from home and sometimes even a long-awaited video Skype with the month’s remaining data bundles.
We don’t necessarily feel that it’s an American-style life, nor is it entirely an African-style life, but it’s a reasonably comfy mix of both, so it works for us! I hope you enjoyed spending a day in our lives, at present!!
Keep in touch and Sala Kahle!!
Adam and I are in the cozy phase of Peace Corps service called “Training Phase 2”, also called “Community Integration Period”, also called (more commonly) “Lockdown”. After our initial training phase, this 3-month chunk (actually 4 months, due to the timing of World Cup) is meant to ease the PCV into community life by requiring the new volunteer to partake in the day-to-day life of the community, observe work at our host organization, and accumulate enough information and self-guided research to fill a “Community & Organizational Needs Assessment.” At times, this life does indeed feel rather at ease, but then again, there is plenty to this phase that is not always so easy. So, as I’ve done in the past, I’m including here a “typical” day in our PCV life, during this “Lockdown” phase, (although I’m not so sure anything here is entirely “typical”…) Anyways, here goes:
7:30AM- Wake, usually to the sound of chickens in the backyard or the cows coming down the road – yes, with cowbells! Begin water-related chores (remember, everything in Huntington revolves around such chores), such as hauling water to the kitchen for dishes or to the bathroom for bathing, heating water for washing or for making tea, stacking empty jugs in the garage, or carrying out handled jugs for filling later in the day. If time permits, I try to get on a pot of water to boil for drinking (it takes about 45 minutes to get boiling long enough to get it “clean” and most of the day to cool enough for filtering) – what a process. Tidy up the house and/or yard – this sometimes involves sweeping, gr. – and open windows (if its cool enough and not rainy). Pit stop at the latrine, of course, and getting dressed, etc. for the day.
8:15AM- Lock up the house (we have a lot of locks: bedroom door, front door, burglar door, porch door, garage door, and front gate… on days when all need locking, it takes forever!). Walk to work, avoiding any angry cows hoofing at the ground (eeek!). The walk to work is short and rather flat, so no real trekking. But it is in the direction of the sun… so summer mornings are brutal!!! Along the way, we usually run into at least a couple of Gogo’s waiting for the local coombies to pick them up on the way to the 4-Way or Mkhuhlu, as well as other workers in Kruger National Park or Sabi Sands Game Reserve uniforms headed to the tar road to catch a ride in one of the employee safari trucks. We also typically get caught up in at least one group of pre-schoolers headed to the crèche in their unmatching red shirts. The annoying little ones still like to chant “We-Na-Malungu” as we walk by, but most of them now are more excited about waving and shouting “I’m fiiiiine” very lyrically before we even ask how they are doing. Too funny!
8:30AM- Arrive at work (although we’re often on our own form of “African Time” or “Volunteer Time” and thus, this fluctuates). Greet the LIMA Development workers sweeping outside the Center, greet the SwaVana workers preparing breakfast or tidying up the courtyard, greet the Home-Based Care workers sitting on the porch before home visits, greet Happy in the office, and greet the kids running around before school. Line up the water jugs by the concrete wall to be filled later and hauled back at the end of the day.
9:00AM- Head across the courtyard to the Center’s kitchen to get breakfast – wheat bread with Rama butter and apricot jam, with tea (unfortunately no milk, so we have to used the powdered stuff that never melts completely… shame.) And yes, it is the same breakfast for us each morning, but hey, it’s breakfast! Back to the office for morning work – this can range greatly from checking emails and Facebook, scheduling the week events with Happy, updating charts and numbers on bottle/brick projects, or simply chatting about “to do’s” for Peace Corps-related items (i.e., the needs assessment report).
10:00AM- Carry the water jugs across the yard, under the fence, and through the adjacent gate to Henna Pre-School, where we have access to a borehole for water. Water filling is a long and somewhat arduous process, as we have to wheelbarrow all the full jugs back up the path to the Center. But nevertheless, we get water without having to stand in line every 2 weeks when the taps are turned on for a few hours, or on the days the water truck comes in to make a stop on our road… so we don’t complain!!! Plus, while we wait for the filling, we get to chat with the pre-schoolers and watch the Henna carers cook over an open fire, so it’s not all bad!
11:00AM- Happy prepares to head out for site checks or supply pick-ups. This is where our “typical” day can go in a number of different directions: If Happy is heading to one of the shopping towns for monthly supplies of lunch meats or veggies (Mkhuhlu or Hazyview), we will often hitch a one-way ride with him to check our mail, get to the Cashbuild (think Home Depot) for house supplies, and visit the mall for groceries, toiletries, clothes and of course, a big greasy lunch before heading back to the bush! (A one-way hitch means that we head to the taxi rink at the end of the shopping day and pay for a coombie ride back home.) However, if Happy is heading to one of our local Drop-In Centers for site checks (Mabarhule, Justicia, or Lillydale), we will often utilize this route to hitch a ride to somewhere that might have information to provide on our “Community & Organizational Needs Assessment” – a local school to meet with students, teachers or admin staff to discuss issues of education; a local clinic or hospital to meet with nursing or doctor contacts to discuss issues of health and HIV/AIDS; a local government office to meet with municipal managers to discuss issues of service delivery and local politics; or to meet up with other local community members to converse with them about issues of social structure, community services, traditional government, and their ideas about bettering their own communities.
1:30PM- Make our way back to Huntington, about the time that kids from the closest schools (Henna Pre-School & Hundzukani Primary School) are arriving at the Center. Eventually most of the kids make their way to our office to ask for coloring paper, crayons, toys and Barbie dolls – they are very good at entertaining themselves with these supplies, albeit extremely loud and high on post-schoolday-adrenaline!!
2:00PM- Lunchtime! Depending on the day, lunch is always a bit different: Monday is stewed chicken and pap (always greasy and usually pretty tasty!); Tuesday is sugar beans and pap (definitely the most boring day, but pretty filling); Wednesday is beef or minced meat with rice, usually with a side of mashed pumpkin and shaved beetroot (this is our favorite day for sure!!); Thursday is wors (an Afrikaans sausage) and pap (usually pretty good!); and Friday is Pilchard’s canned fish, in a tomato broth, with pap (I don’t exactly know how to explain this one… it smells something like the fish docks after a hot weekend and it tastes pretty similar… needless to say, we usually skip Fridays!!!).
2:30PM- The older kids take over dish duty while the little ones start fighting for the soccer balls or other ill-fated sports equipment. This is about the time that the older girls begin filtering over to the porch to work on the Bottle Project, with each day’s bottle tasks depending on the stage of the bottles – newly washed, recently pasted, already glossed, in need of final cutting, etc. Adam has begun using this time to work with Leonard on plans for the Brick Project – meeting with boys, getting trained on concrete mixes, writing up plans for payments, etc. All in all, this is the last bit of our day, but usually the most productive in terms of actual projects with the OVCs. We often wish that could get more of this time, without taking them from school… but the day’s schedule doesn’t permit much time before the afternoon.
4:00PM- Heading out. Most of the younger kids start the walk home to avoid getting stuck on the roads as the sun goes down (some of these little ones have to walk 30-45 minutes to get home on the other side of town!). The older kids help clean up of the Bottle Project supplies and finish with the Brick Project plans, while Adam and I organize all the paperwork from our research on the “Community & Organizational Needs Assessment” and ensure that the computer and all its accessories get back to the backpack for the trip home. We say all our “Sala kahle’s” to the carers and remaining kids and finally, we struggle greatly to get all the filled water jugs into the bakkie before hopping in a free (and hopefully dry!) space for a ride back to the house. The ride back is usually consumed with conversations about what we will snack on or make for dinner at the house… yes, we just had lunch and we’re already talking about dinner... everything revolves around food in this country!
4:30PM- Back to our “Kaya Sweet Kaya”! Usually a quick run to the latrine for a much-needed pee break, before beginning again with water-related chores – this time for cooking, heating and cleaning. Last-minute yard chores (i.e. sweeping, etc.) before the sun goes down and quick treks to the tuck shop if we’re craving cold drink (Coke) or have a serious hankering for greasy food (we can get “slop chips” here, which are basically soggy French fries that you douse with a little salt and vinegar, top with achaar – and Indian spiced mango mix – and smash into sliced, white bread. Holy carbohydrates but oh-so-tasty!!!) Then, after the shops, finally, some relaxation!!! Relaxation at the African Aleksy home is usually marked by TV episodes of The West Wing and The Wire or epic marathons of Harry Potter movies or old Indiana Jones adventures! I’ll usually combo this with a cup of tea or crinkle crisps, while Adam usually pairs his viewing with peanuts or popcorn. Yummy!
5:30PM- Between the snacking and relaxing we usually start craving real food again (yes, food again! It really is amazing we’re actually getting smaller here…?) and begin making plans for dinner. Dinners are reasonably diverse after shopping days and become increasingly more repetitive and boring as the week goes on. A good dinner (i.e., night after shopping) might consist of fresh salad greens and a balsamic dressing with broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken cutlets (we can get these frozen in Hazyview!!) with rice – woohoo!!! A more typical and mundane dinner will consist of canned greenbeans and Raman-type noodles with some garlic-sprinkled toast. Still not too shabby, right??
6:00PM- Closing up the house (windows, doors, bars, gates, etc.) while dinner cooks to avoid both bugs and burglars after dark. Around this time we’ll be sure to filter any water that has cooled from the morning to be stored in our drinking jugs by the fridge and if there’s a stovetop spot open, we may boil a second round to cool for the morning (especially if we’re running low on drinking water).
6:30PM- Dinnertime with some more computer viewing, followed by an end-of-the-day glance at emails, Facebook, and BBC.com (I like my international news sources!!). The rest of our down-time is usually consumed with reading magazines sent from home, writing up grocery and shopping lists for the next trip to Hazyview, summarizing notes and creating outlines for our Peace Corps reporting, uploading and organizing photos, and dreaming about all the cool places we want to visit in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Madagascar via our awesome Lonely Planet Africa edition.
8:00PM- Darkness is complete and at this time of year, it starts getting uber-cold (down to the 60’s at night!! Eish!!! Lol!). Around this time I inevitably end up on a cockroach hunt, since the little buggers don’t come out until it’s darker and cooler, and thus Adam and Leonard are reassured of my presence by the continuous smacks of my flip-flop on walls, countertops, tables, and bucket tops. I will kill them all… it may take all 2 years… but I will eventually kill them all. Gr.
9:00PM- The day finishes with some good ‘ol antimalarial medications, washed down with lemon creams or chocolate squares for dessert. Tubside in the bathroom for teeth brushing and face/foot washing (our feet get horribly, horribly dirty!!!) and then back to bed for a final episode or two of the evening’s series. Almost without fail, I will fall asleep before the second episode and will have to wake up to Adam putting away the “TV” (aka, computer)… because of this, I’m pretty sure Adam has seen roughly 20% more of almost every TV series or movie we watch in the evening. Ha! Oh well…
10:30PM- It may seem early, but we’re usually asleep not too long afterwards… we must be getting old… or African.
So there you have it, an overly-detailed account of a likely day here in Huntington, South Africa. You might want to know where in all that mess we get other important things done – like laundry, planning and prepping for the garden, calling home, visiting PCVs or getting visits from PCVs, or just walking around the community to “integrate” – well, that’s what the weekends are for. Laundry takes 1-2 hours, depending on the pairs of pants (they are the hardest to wash and the most difficult to wring out), and wet clothes take almost all-day to dry in our current, “wintery” weather, while garden plans and community walks get fit into the hours with light… remember, we can’t (and aren’t suppose to) do much of anything after it’s dark, so days are short! Finally, our families are great enough to work around our awkward schedule, so weekend nights are usually highlighted with calls from home and sometimes even a long-awaited video Skype with the month’s remaining data bundles.
We don’t necessarily feel that it’s an American-style life, nor is it entirely an African-style life, but it’s a reasonably comfy mix of both, so it works for us! I hope you enjoyed spending a day in our lives, at present!!
Keep in touch and Sala Kahle!!
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