The Hard Part

The Hard Part

It has been far too long since I last blogged. As I sit here on a lonely Wednesday night I figure my thoughts can maybe come together to form a coherent thought about the past couple of months-or 16 of them.

Even though I have spent the most time with myself these past 16 months—I have done the least amount of refection. I don’t even know how to explain that.

Recently I got to celebrate becoming an official year two Peace Corps Volunteer! This past year has been an extreme roller coaster. Full of really awful days where I just wanted to cry and days that made me incredibly happy. Balancing the two have not always been easy but I am still here— aren’t I?

I try to remind myself on bad days why I actually wanted to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. So let me try and remember some of them and tell you what I think about it now!

I wanted to experience and find joy in the small things in life.

I wanted to know what success looks like in different forms.

I wanted to immerse myself completely into a different culture.

I wanted to try and see things in the world differently.

I wanted to feel really uncomfortable.

I wanted to love like I never have before.

I wanted to ultimately test myself.

You’re probably thinking—why would anyone want to do things like this? Well I am a little crazy but I can tell you that no matter how hard my life has been the past 15 months I wouldn’t trade coming into the Peace Corps.

The country I live in is one that has many problems (like most). I have seen things no one should ever have to see. I have experienced pure loneliness and homesickness I doubt many people have ever felt.

BUT:

I have got to find joy in the small things in life.

I measure success completely different than I ever have! If I can get a kid to smile at me I feel like that is a success for the day. When my kids want to practice anything with me outside the classroom I am so proud. If I have water I find that to be a success. If I get to wash my hair that is a success. I wish everyone could know what that is like.

I have immersed myself into another culture. But—I will forever be an outsider here. No matter how well you know the people around you in the Zulu culture and in my own village, they will forever see me as an outsider. I will never feel fully immersed and I think that comes with this culture. I can’t really blame them but it is something I have had to emotionally overcome.

I see EVERYTHING differently. I see people and life differently. I don’t know if I would ever be able to explain this accurately so I should probably not even try. I think back to how xenophobia was affecting my own village and the kids I am teaching everyday. It broke my heart to know that people could be so uneducated and have such a fear and hate towards other people from other countries. I won’t tell you what I saw but it will forever remind me that peace really should be one of our top priorities in life.

The moment I left everyone I loved I immediately felt uncomfortable. I knew no one! I went into a country not speaking the language and not having a clue what to expect. After I gained some of the best friends that I will have my entire life and stumbling my way through a foreign language I started to feel more comfortable. But how comfortable can someone be living in another country?! I have actually really enjoyed feeling uncomfortable and I now know how awesome I am with dealing with absolutely crazy things my peace corps life can throw at me. If you only knew :p

I am being tested every single day. Especially when I don’t have water, or electricity or service for my phone. When I feel homesick and so far away from convenience and comfort I am testing my will power.

The love that has grown in my heart these past 15 months is pretty crazy. I love my kids here like they are my own. I love my friends here and there because they mean so much to me. I am lucky because I got to fall in love with not only my best friend but my boyfriend. I have never had so much appreciation and love for my parents and my family. My heart is full and I have a new found love in my heart for everyone who crosses my path!

I am STRONG and I am BRAVE! You don’t know how brave you are until you have no other choice. If I ever doubted myself pre peace corps, I can honestly say that I never will again. I am very calm in times of crisis and I am proud of myself for making it 15 months doing something a lot of people are too scared to try.

It isn’t for everyone.

It will change you forever.

Your emotions will rock your world.

You will question everything.

You will lose faith and have to find it again.

You will change yourself.

You will bring hope to a forgotten part of the world.

Once it all happens you can say you went so far away that you really did find peace at your core!

Is it worth it? (I ask myself this question everyday…….I’m still here aren’t I?)

 

In Service,

Chels

Snitches end up in Ditches

Snitches end up in Ditches

I always try and find humour in situations that are not always the easiest to deal with or simply comprehend.

I am finally gaining my ground as a teacher in rural KZN and with that comes many ups and downs.

This past week I have had A LOT of ups and downs and I felt like I needed to share some of them to put things into perspective.

Out of my 66 students, I have to say I love them all. The majority drive me crazy and I don’t say that lightly. They literally drive me so crazy sometimes I just need to sit in silence for a while afterwards. However, I still care about each and every one of them.

I spend my class teaching and of course managing behaviour. After I walk out of the room I become their caretaker while they are at school. They have finally realised I am there to take care of them.

This week I have dried many tears and maybe even caused some tears without meaning to. Several of my girls have had a tough week if it being other kids just simply being mean to them or feeling threatened. Even one of my boys ended up crying this week!

I was unaware that a student of mine has a really bad blatter infection that causes him to urinate blood and gives him severe pain obviously. He always asks to go to the bathroom even when I am in the middle of doing something important with them. He also cannot speak any English at all and causes behaviour problems with me. Friday during class I had to yell at him that he could not go to the bathroom. I was tired of him asking and class would be over soon. He needed to stay after class with me to write as punishment for his behaviour but when it came time to do that he was refusing so my other kids were holding him back and making him stay and he was putting up a fight. The kids finally started yelling and trying to explain to me that he must go to the bathroom. I could not understand them so finally a student used his hands to demonstrate then I found out that he has this terrible infection. I was really upset with my teachers for not telling me this. I was refusing a child the opportunity to go to the bathroom so he was beginning to cry! I of course let him immediately go to the bathroom once I found this out. He was crying and I felt terrible. I had one of my kids apologise to him in IsiZulu for me because I knew he wouldn’t understand me. I came back to check on him to find him crying again. He was hungry….. All of the kids had finished off the food the school gives them and there was none left for him because of all the commotion with the bathroom he missed his chance. My heart was breaking for him. I felt partially responsible and my teachers also shared that he has something wrong mentally and his mother won’t take him to the clinic to clear up his infection. It could easily be treated but if they continue to wait it will only get worse. I found 2 Rand and walked with him to go buy food. I knew he was hungry when he scarfed down the food he bought. Here I was yelling at this boy and he is hungry and in pain and I had no idea. It makes me think about all of the things I don’t know about my kids….

This leads to another part of the day that I will share about one of my students who has some issues at home that I can’t even imagine how hard it would be to deal with. He has no parents and the school doesn’t even know where he lives. He speaks hardly any English so I cannot communicate that well with him. He causes a lot of problems in my class and on Friday the principal decided to kick him out of school for the day. Within 20 minutes of the school day he was already gone. I am not positive what happened but I am pretty sure some of the kids were complaining about him. In this area the kids are very prone to tell on each other. They are snitches and they love to get other kids in trouble. It seems to make them feel accomplished. I wish I could understand but I will never be able to.

So shortly after one of my best students comes to me balling her eyes out. Apparently the boy threatened to physically harm her after school. He told her that she should not walk home because he will break both of her legs! I immediately went into mother mode and dropped what I was doing to rush her to the HOD and get this figured out so she would feel safe. He agreed this should not be taken lightly and we drove her home after school. My HOD stopped the car and noticed boys standing round and pointing. He was there waiting on her but thankfully my HOD ran and scared him off. He wasn’t coming back! So we let her go home and knew she would be ok that day. Unfortunately, since we don’t know where the boy is living we couldn’t go talk to his guardians.

Some days I feel like I understand what life is like here but then things like this happen and I am taken aback even more. I never want my kids to feel unsafe in school or walking home. But, it is a part of life and I think teaching them how to make safe and smart decisions is my first step in helping them.

Snitches may end up in ditches but not while I am here!

My compassion, love and understanding for the lives my students have, is only growing stronger and I think I need them just as much as they need me. They are apart of me!

In service,

Chels

I AM HERE

I AM HERE

I am here writing this sitting at school listening to the song “I was here” by Beyonce. I needed a break from school and wanted to write out how this song reminds me of what I am doing living in South Africa.

I have been teaching a couple of weeks now and it takes up the majority of my time. If I am not teaching, I am planning for my after school clubs or working in the school library. Sometimes I forget to stop and think about what is going on in my mind and my heart. Days teaching 66 kids can be extremely exhausting and frustrating. You can spend an hour and explain everything in great detail, they may seem like they are getting it but really they don’t. I have been hearing a lot of my friends let it truly affect their mood and spirit.

Not being able to physically see change or how you are making a difference is really disheartening for a volunteer who has given up parts of their life to work for free for 2 years!

So I had such a heartfelt moment the other day. My counterpart randomly looked at me and said, “you are making a difference here!”. I just stopped what I was doing and looked at her with such interest. She went into a big discussion on how me being here really does help these kids even if I don’t see it right now. They are learning how to speak with confidence in English. They are more willing to try and talk to a white person in town. They see that you want to know them and that you care about them. I didn’t know whether to cry or hug her. I teared up and just sat trying to process it.

Yes, people back home are always super supportive of me and encourage me daily. But, it is so much different coming from someone who sees me at school and is South African.

I know there will be many months that go by and I don’t see any change or know if I am making a difference but I will always be able to go back and remember the day Ms. Mbatha told me I make a difference.

Now I move forward everyday showing all of the kids how much they mean to me and I take every chance to be with the kids outside of the classroom. It is not a normal thing for South African teachers to do this but I do it anyway! I am the example after all.

This week I am having my first Girls grade 6 and 7 Life Skills Club after school. I have 32 girls interested and excited to start. I just received 200 bears to give out to creche through grade 2 kids and I have some left over for local orphans. I will be giving them out soon and pictures to follow. I have a learner who came to me wanting to start a reading club after school as well. I am currently working to set it up logistically and I think it will be really beneficial to the kids who come!

Having the kids show so much interest makes me work harder to make them fun and educational. I want them to leave, forever remembering the time we spent together.

If they know I love them and want them to succeed—I have done a good job!

I am here for less than 2 years now and everyday will be spent giving my all and doing the best I can. It is one of my main goals being a PCV.

Before I joined the Peace Corps I found this song online. It was a video of Beyonce singing this song live and I cried. Just cried and didn’t even care. If you have never heard it before, I strongly suggest listening to it. If you have ever questioned joining the Peace Corps or doing something close to it, or simply following a dream in any way I think this song will speak volumes to you!

It has been suggested by previous PCVs to listen to songs that get you in the mood you were in when you wanted to join the Peace Corps or one that pumped you up right before coming. For me it is this song and it will always be my reminder.

To all future Peace Corps Volunteers—find your song!

In service,

Chels

7 Months 7 Changes

7 Months 7 Changes

I have been living in South Africa for almost 7 months now! It doesn’t really feel like I have been gone that long. I can still remember the flight and how I felt grabbing my bags at the airport. I remember how much PST taught me about myself and the Zulu culture. My PST host family taught me how to survive in this culture and country. I owe them a lot!

Over the past 7 months I have learned so much and have seen definite changes in myself. I have come up with 7 ways I have changed since being here and I think they have been in me all along I just needed a little extra push to find them!

I have really grown to appreciate America and everything that comes with the title of being an American (the good and the bad).

Living in another country for so long can really do this to anyone. But living in a rural village actually getting to know the culture, government and people you start to appreciate where you come from and how great the United States of America really is. Men and women fight for my freedom and I am truly appreciative of it. I know many people who really struggle with liking America. I used to be one of them. Yes, we have many problems with our government-but what country doesn’t? Whether you want to believe it or not how many countries are like America in terms of trying to take care of other countries? How many countries have programs like the Peace Corps where they send their citizens in to serve and get back in return? A country asks for the PC and America responds. I am grateful and hopefully other people can see it as well! I have listened to and sung the National Anthem so many times since being here during any training I have attended. South Africans love when we share this with them so they can sing along as well. It never fails that there are tears in our eyes when singing it! Why? Well, my group of volunteers really feel the power and strength that comes from America and we are truly proud!

I am appreciative for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE in my life.

I have always appreciated everything I have been given in my life and also the people that surround and love me. When you are away for so long you know that they are the people you want to keep around forever. Also, living with so little and having to change daily routines really showed me how everything I own makes my life easier. I like the challenge here but when I come back home doing any type of chore will be fun for me.

I am extremely conscious about money.

This has always been hard for me in America. I would not think twice about buying something unless I was running low on money. Now living with a certain amount of Rand each month opened my eyes to how to save and spend money on what I either need or really want that takes time to get! I have learned so much about saving money and I know I will be 100 times better when I move back home!

I have so much Patience!

When you live and work in a country different from your own you must be patient. Anything and everything can go wrong in a second. I may wait for a taxi to leave for 4 hours in the blazing hot sun. Going 300km may take me 10-12 hours. I may ask someone to do something that takes 2 minutes but it could take them 30. Patience is key in the Peace Corps! Time is different in South Africa than in America and it took me a while to adjust but I finally have!

Small successes mean everything to me

Seeing a girl and boy reading together is a success. Seeing little kids running and holding hands is a success. Doing a couple pieces of laundry is a success. Did I cook a legitimate dinner? That is a success. Getting kids to speak up in class is a success. Walking to get groceries and back is a success. In America I would do 10 tasks in a day and feel successful. In South Africa if I do 1 or 2 smalls things I have counted that for a successful day that I am proud of. Talking to someone about life in America is a success. My days are measured differently and I find it so amusing most of the time.

Bonding time is my favourite time of any day.

It can be any form of bonding. Whether it is sitting together outside, painting, reading, talking or not even talking. It does not matter because it is bonding and it means everything when you live alone in a different culture!

I have developed a thick skin

This is one that is sometimes difficult to explain. Being a young white female can be challenging. Men say things and I have thankfully developed the ability to let it go. To handle it myself in the best way possible and move forward. If women in the PC let everything someone says get them down they would leave sooner than later. I do not enjoy this about my service but I feel as though it is making me a stronger person in so many ways.

I found it fun and challenging to think about all 7 of these changes.

I have hard days but there are so many more good days than bad!

Because it was MLK day recently and he is one of my favourites!

“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”

In service,

Chels

Oh You Changed Your Mind?

Oh You Changed Your Mind?

January 26, 2015

It is the beginning of the new year as a Peace Corps Volunteer School and Community Resource Volunteer. School has been out for about 6 weeks and that unfortunately means that a lot of my learners have lost weight. The school lunch is the only nutritional meal a lot of these kids get through the week. It breaks my heart to see some of them losing so much weight because they are hungry. I am always happy to see the school year start back so they can hopefully gain weight and get some nutrients in their body. One of my biggest fears comes around when the Department messes up payments for school lunch and it has it stop. I will hope for a smooth and successful year of school lunches for the kids!

School starting back also means I must figure out what and when I am teaching each day.

In December I was told that I would be teaching Grade 5 English and Math. Grade 4 was so big it was hard to control and give them the attention they deserved. The school had decided to split Grade 5 into two classes. 5A and 5B. I would be teaching them both throughout the week.

I have been told over and over again to never have certain expectations in the PC. Why? Well, things change, people change their minds and if you have something set in your head of how it is supposed to go you might be disappointed. First day of school I was so excited to see my learners again. I noticed after assembly that they sent all of Grade 5 to one classroom. I immediately panic. Why are they not splitting them? There is not enough room in this smaller classroom for all 66 kids! There are not enough desks, chairs, etc. I run to my HOD and ask what is going on. He informs me there is not enough space for the learners to have 2 classrooms. I am completely confused because it has been planned since December to split the class. Why was it decided on the first day of school that everything would change? Here I check myself again and calm down because I know stuff like this happens all the time and I should be used to it. But do you ever get used to it? I guess I will find out!

There are several classrooms where there at 2 chalkboards available. They can remove one and put it in the extra classroom that does not have a chalkboard. I don’t know if and when this will happen but for now I am teaching 66 kids at once! The schedule was made for Grade 5A and Grade 5B so everyday I have to work with all of the teachers on when and who will teach at what time.

My fellow educators are already stressed to the max. In America most teachers in the grades 6-8 teach one or two subjects to several classes. Here one teacher could be responsible for teaching 5 different subjects from grades 4 through 7. That is a lot of different lesson plans! I am currently only teaching English and sometimes I feel like it takes a while to plan one lesson considering what the government of South Africa expects learners of English as a second language to be able to do in one hour of English class each day.

As an English teacher this is what I must cover in a one hour lesson for 66 kids!

Listening and Speaking

Reading and Viewing

Writing and Presenting

Language Structures and Conventions

Don’t forget I must spend time everyday on classroom management so I can keep the kids somewhat tame.

For learners only in the early stages of learning English, that is A LOT!!

I have developed a good program to hit all of these everyday so I can stay organised and make sure I am doing what the government of SA wants me to do for my kids.

If an American teacher was to sit in on my class I think they would have several thoughts running through their heads that might look like this:

When did she develop that accent? It sounds fake British!

Goodness she is talking slow!

I hope she knows she has chalk all over her clothes!

I wonder if these kids know what she is saying?

Bringing it old-school with chalkboards!

She can’t even walk up and down the aisles because of the kids without desks!

Everything I have encountered as a South African teacher has not stopped me yet. I am still very enthusiastic that I will get through to these kids and hopefully improve their scores on the ANA and each end of term assessment.

I am still a little frustrated that my school changed their mind on the class. My counterpart knows how hard it is to teach that many kids and she understands why this is not working for the kids or the school.

At the end of the day what is important is that I make sure every kid I have, knows they are cared for and I will do anything to help them succeed.

I have changed my perspective of how a classroom is run and what I am capable of as a teacher. If I can get through teaching 66 kids without all of them having desks or enough workbooks and no computer at school with internet access, I think I can teach in America. Maybe—just maybe!

“In a gentle way you can shake the world.” —Ghandi

In service,

Chels

November Tweets

Tweets for November, 2014

I decided to walk barefoot like all the kids do here because the sand was making it hard to walk. It ended with me wobbling home to use antiseptic wash, a needle and lots of blood #NEVERagain

I get fed lunch by my teachers everyday #ilovethem #itsneverhealthythough

Me: “what are those?” H: “Contraceptives!” Me: “Ummmm” H:”Jk its chocolate”  #WTH

Can you fix this stapler? Sure I can! Stabs self with stapler & bleeds all over the important papers #idrivethestrugglebus

Comic relief in the form of Mr. Tallman dancing throughout the staff room… #itnevergetsold #somuchlaughter

Joe made us homemade pizza, homemade cinnamon rolls and popcorn #heaven #hecouldbeachef

The day I ate french fries in between 2 pieces of bread I realised I had become a Zulu person #sounhealthy #whoamI?

One of my favourite learners is actually a refugee from Burundi

I danced in the car with my host mother #bonding

You know you’ve run out of groceries when…… all you eat for dinner is a sautéed onion #pcvlife

The CUTEST little 5 year old loves to hold my hand & walk around with me #thepreciousmoments

Im so hungry if I could find a cow I’d slaughter it myself #thoughtsduringschool

Haven’t washed my hair in 2 weeks & my fav teacher tells me I look like a princess #iloveheadbands #success

2 of my learners got locked inside the library and I couldn’t find anyone to help me #whoops

Walked home in the pouring rain with Laura because we had to! #thestruggle

When I turn down fried food from my teachers they automatically assume that I am trying to get a husband #weird

I love when learners come by my house for me to tutor them

Crowded taxi rides in a metal tin can for hours in the hot sun I do not look forward to #PCVlife

Long Time!

It has been a long time since I last blogged. I could say it was because I was busy with traveling or just being lazy. I have written several blog posts but have decided either to not post them or it just isn’t the right time.

The past month I have traveled to IST (In Service Training), visited my first host family, went on vacation in Durban and Warner Beach and I still have time off from school.

Before I left for IST a lot of the kids stopped coming to school so I was sad I didn’t get to say goodbye to all of the grade 7’s because they will be in high school and I won’t see them anymore. But when I left for IST some of the kids ran up to me and told me how much they were going to miss me over holiday and hugged me and reassured me they couldn’t wait to see me in January. I walked home that day with a smile on my face!

During IST I got to meet up with all 33 other Peace Corps Volunteers in my cohort. We stayed at a nice hotel in Empangeni near Richards Bay. We were fed 3 meals a day with desert. I had been 3 months without eating a lot so my stomach was a little confused at why I was eating so much. I had a nice shower to use everyday and trust me I sometimes used it twice a day. I washed my hair more in those 10 days then I had in 3 months combined. I was so happy to be with my friends that are not in my area of Manguzi because we had gotten so close during PST. We trained everyday from 8-5. The Peace Corps doesn’t joke when they say you will literally be in training all day everyday. We had fun as a cohort being together everyday and we also couldn’t wait to use the wifi after each training session. You don’t realise how amazing wifi is until you never have it. My blackberry gives me internet but there is only so much you can do and well I can’t even watch YouTube unless I pay for it. Weird right?!

The Hotel that hosted us during this training put on the best Thanksgiving I could have asked for. They decorated and tried to make us feel like we were back in America. As a group we sang the National Anthem and the South African National Anthem. Over the past 6 months of living in South Africa I have probably sang the United States National Anthem more than I ever have in my life. There is something about living abroad that makes those words mean so much more. I can’t help but get tears in my eyes when singing it because I truly am proud to be an American and coming here made me see that. I have contemplated how to explain and write out why coming here has made me more patriotic but just give me time, I am sure I will find a way to put it into words.

While we all filled our plates with so much food we sat around and said what we were thankful for. I can’t remember exactly what I said but I know I included my loved ones back home and the experiences I am getting to have here in South Africa.

During training our facilitators decided that the day we have been in country for 5 months they would take us to the Indian Ocean. It was hot the water was cool and the tide was super rough but we all had a great day getting out of training! Our last night we laughed, danced and had a good time together. I hated leaving everyone but I knew in a couple weeks I would be seeing the majority of them on vacation. The sad part is that a lot of them I won’t get to see again until MST (Mid Service Training) in October. I am going to try my best and visit other volunteers that live far away in the Battlefields but it will have to be during vacation some time.

After IST ended I went back to visit my first South African family whom I had missed so much. All of the kids were so happy to see me and Zimelelo would never let me put him down. I basically carried him around for days. I was reminded how sweet this family is and how thankful I am for them. They gave me my same room and fed me everyday. They already want to know when I am coming back and I plan on it being very soon! They are so loving and I know they made my transition into this country so much easier and I got to learn everything about the Zulu culture being in that village.

I had to leave and go back to site for a little over a week then I was packing up for my first vacation in South Africa. I got on a taxi for Durban that took about 5 hours. We even got stopped by the cops that were concerned with the amount of bags one guy was carrying. The cops were actually pretty rude and demanded they see mine, Caroline and Kim’s passport showing we could be in South Africa. We tried explaining that our organisation took those passports and we only have a Peace Corps ID. Kim didn’t even have that but I remembered I had a copy of that passport in my wallet and shoved it in their faces and said it was for all of us. They wanted to go through my bags but I pulled mine back because they would have dumped everything out and I was not in the mood to put it back in. I don’t know why they were so rude and pushy with us but they must have been having a bad day. Luckily they left us alone and we got on our way. We finally made it to Durban and I was reunited with some friends again.

I stayed in Durban for 4 days and spent my first Christmas away eating a delicious meal at the US Consulate General’s house. She was so nice and invited us into her home. Her house had the most beautiful view of the ocean and the food was amazing. I still think about it some days when I am sitting in my house eating boring cereal. I got to meet some very interesting people that work for the US government and they love living in South Africa so far. It was really interesting how much they don’t know about the Zulu culture because they live in Durban which is a different world from where we live in rural villages.

One of the hardest parts about living in South Africa is the change from 3rd world to 1st world. You might not think it would affect us that much but it really does take a toll on your emotional and mental health. It is always a hard transition from a big city with stores that have “options” and bathrooms with working toilets, running water and showers to going back home to no running water inside and bathing in a bucket. It is a challenge I will face my whole 2 years here.

Durban offered such good food and good times with friends! We danced a lot, laughed a lot and ate a wholeeee lot of good food. The next four days I traveled to Warner beach to have a more quiet and relaxing vacation with 3 of my guy friends. We camped near the beach and enjoyed the town where we found delicious sushi. We spent a whole day zip lining in a canyon and seeing giraffes, monkeys, wildebeests and conquering fears of heights together. It was the coolest thing I have done in country so far and I would recommend Lake Eland Zipline to anyone coming to South Africa. Where else will you zip line and have giraffes run beside you?!

I went back to Durban for New Years and ended vacation with a lot of my friends that met up with is after their vacations in various places. I was sad vacation was ended but actually happy to get back to my house to get a good nights sleep in a quiet place.

Going back I immediately was worried about the transition considering it took us over 7 hours on a taxi to get home. I was exhausted and had a bad cold. I have accepted that my body will forever be mad at me while I am here and getting sick is apart of the experience. I have had strep throat and a pretty bad virus in the past 6 months and I wont be surprised if something else comes my way!

I have a little less than 2 weeks before I start officially teaching Grade 5 English and Math and I am so ready to begin teaching and love on my students everyday! They are why I am here and I can’t wait to be with them everyday.

This experience has its ups and downs and I think the past 6 months have been crazy, fun, stressful, informative and overall life changing. Bring on my first year as an official Peace Corps Volunteer!

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country”—JFK

In Service,

Chels

October Tweets

Tweets for October, 2014

Every morning SOMETHING runs across my roof….I have yet gotten out of bed to look!

Dancing in the rain is refreshing and magical at the same time

43 times a day I think about pizza #imserious

I got locked inside my house with no service on my cellphone until my HOD came to see why I wasn’t at school #strugglesofmylife

I fell into a really big garbage pit #whatismylife

I am obsessed with freshly chopped down sugar cane

I have mastered washing my hair in a bucket #finally

After baking my teachers lemon muffins with lemon icing I got a marriage proposal #Iguesstheyweregood?

My 2 favorite 4th graders made me cookies and gave me a sucker #lovethosecuties

Favorite place in town is Mimi’s Ethiopian restaurant #cheap&delicious

To eno under a mango tree #safehaven

Making friends with cars are so useful!

I spent so much airtime downloading songs from Taylor Swifts new album #typicalgirlstatus

The Indian Ocean is better than I ever imagined it to be

After I read Eat Pray Love my desire to travel only grew larger #travellingisworthanycostorsacrifice

I have been thrown into a pool twice since living in Manguzi #thankstoHilly

The Sounds of my Life

The Sounds of my Life

I figured it could be hard to picture what my everyday life is like in a village. So I decided the best way would be to put it into sounds!

The sound of roosters trying to out rooster the other one travels throughout my village early in the morning.

Gogo’s banging pots and buckets getting ready to cook for the day.

Wind whipping the avocado tree over my house knocking branches onto my tin roof that always manage to scare me.

Rain pelleting my tin roof sounds more like gunshots than a peaceful melody.

Laughter lurking through my primary school during break time.

Bells being tossed back and forth indicating the school day is over.

Roars of hooray that the school day has ended and everyone can go home.

The tossing of water from buckets indicating one has bathed.

Boys screaming when they score a goal at soccer

My learners feet hitting the ground as they perform the powerful Zulu dance

When power is off and comes back bringing my fan back to life

My water tap gurgling trying to produce water as I stand telling it to please give me water.

Thunder and lightning make the world seem as if it is ending soon and we shall all die.

Thumps of loud music that seem to last forever and ever and ever.

Women selling fruits and vegetables chatting non stop in the blazing hot sun

Learners yelling “hello, Ms. Bowman”.

A day coming to an end by the sound of silence lurking through the village

The final sound of my life in the Peace Corps is sitting outside on my porch listening to nothing but my own thoughts.

In service,

Chels

In Case You Were Wondering

In Case You Were Wondering

I have been at my permanent site for over a month and I have not even mentioned what my home is like. I live in a 2 roomed house all by myself. It has a twin bed with a lovely green mosquito net that I redneck hung up, a wardrobe, 2 plastic chairs, a table for children(my everything table), a desk that I use for my kitchen, a small fridge, a clothes hamper as my nightstand and a lot of water buckets. That pretty much sums up the inside of my house. I consider myself a lucky volunteer because I do have electricity, a flushing toilet, and a shower. BUT I would honestly rather have a latrine. I say this because I do not always have water and when that happens how do I flush the toilet? Haha I don’t! I have only used my shower twice since being here because of the water situation so I continue to bathe in my bucket and find it to be easy now. I have a water tap right outside of my house but I get the feeling like it is Christmas morning when water actually comes out of it. So you may think my Peace Corps life is easier from others but I wouldn’t go that far. I lose power ALL the time for days or hours at a time. I have completely adjusted to this and I have learned to buy food that doesn’t necessarily need to be cooked or refrigerated (it’s called snacks haha). I can walk 10 minutes and be at the nearest paved road. 15 minutes and I am at Spar. I hear a lot of stories about other volunteers sites and I want their sites as well. I think we all got great spots with positives and negatives.

I have finally become very comfortable with the teachers and learners at my school. I have been spending the past month feeling out everyone and seeing how I connect with certain people. I have two years to build relationships with everyone but I think today I took the best jump to start them.

I took over a couple of classes because the teachers were gone or doing something else so I finally got in the classroom and taught for the first time since teaching in China. It felt great and I was relaxed and at “home”. The learners are to say the least, obsessed with me. They want me to be their teacher next year but I am only teaching grade 5 English and Math as of now. I am planning on starting the World Map Project in January along with teaching. Once the map is finished I will be having weekly geography lessons with it and maybe even having competitions. I am so nerdy but I do love geography and learning about the world! I told some of the girls that even though I won’t be their teacher I will starting a girls club for grades 6 and 7 teaching them about anything from peer pressure, safe sex, HIV/Aids and life in general. I am hopeful that these 2 projects I am starting in January will be a success.

I want to mention the love I have for these kids. Even if we don’t talk much laughter is so universal. The creche learners that are 3 and 4 years old love to play tag with me. If I ever go “missing” you can normally find me playing with them and carrying them around. I even play with the older kids and they always dance for me. If only I had the skills they do! Do any of the other teachers do this? Nope they sure don’t. Maybe I am not being super professional by playing with the kids but you know I think everyone even the teachers should take a break from being so grown up and enjoy the company that surrounds them. These kids love the adults but they feel as though they are a child if they play with the kids. I say be a kid sometimes! My counterpart found out today that I went to University to become a teacher and she had the biggest smile and said, “I knew you were a teacher because you have so much love for these kids. You love them and you love to learn. You are definitely a teacher”. She doesn’t even know she made my day by saying that. I am ecstatic that someone noticed and I didn’t even have to tell her.

The rest of my week has been as chaotic and wonderful as ever. I attended a reading competition for Grades 1 2 and 3 and I was so proud of them working hard and placing 1st and 2nd in different categories. Let me just say that Grade 1 learners Anele is one of the most beautiful little girls I have EVER seen. She comes up to me and runs her hands through my hair and I fall in love with that girl. I can’t wait to watch her grow and become even more beautiful and brilliant over the next 2 years. Our school had a gradation for the Grade R learners (little cuties) and a farewell for the Grade 7 learners that are going to High School. There was a ton of food, dancing and singing of course. Some of my favourite learners could not wait to dance in front of everyone. They have been practicing for weeks and it showed. I of course was treated like VIP I got to sit at the head table and had to talk in front of everyone. I am so used to it now I just speak a little IsiZulu and sit back down. Even if you are not hungry you must eat. The Zulu know how to throw a party and they know how to throw back some food. This farewell leads into our field trip to the Indian Ocean.

To say I am excited is an understatement. I love being with the learners not in a classroom and they are going to have so much fun. I am so lucky to be living this kind of life. To know these people and to get to love them is changing my life. One of my favourite conversations I have had since being in Manguzi was with my counterpart. She finally understands that I am doing this for 2 years out of the kindness of my heart. Understanding I get no salary for this and that my government pays me each month for food and electricity is hard for people to grasp. I get paid less than someone working for minimum wage in South Africa. Imagine! She says I love to volunteer and it is within my heart to do so. Finally someone gets it. Someone gets SERVICE! Hallelujah

In service,

Chels