It rained! Ka mpfula ngopfu!

I left my village for a few weeks over the holiday, and when I came back, it didn’t even look like the same place!! The rain had come! 

The Infinite Holiday

I swam in a new ocean, saw the Atlantic from a new corner, made lots of new friends, saw some people I’d been missing, said good byes that are always tough, won an excellent game of pool, and explored a new city this holiday. Last year was a whirlwind, and it’s not looking like this one will be any different!

Boxing in Jozi!

I spent a few days exploring Joburg earlier this month, and while there, I took some boxing lessons! It was awesome, and I was able to learn from a super cool dude, George Khosi. 

South African Surprises

So, as I leave my village for the holidays to explore a brand new part of the country, I wanted to just mention briefly how recently my point of view on South Africa changed a bit, for the better. 

Ladies’ Empowerment, Through Zazi

 

Last weekend, I helped facilitate a Zazi camp with my favorite fellow PCV, Molly! It went super well, thanks to a whole lot of groundwork done by Molly, the generosity of Daktari Bush and Wildlife School, and, most importantly, a pretty stellar level of participation from the girls we were working with. 

A Completed Computer Class!

A while back, I mentioned that I had begun teaching a computer class for grade 7 girls in my village as a way to begin to combat gender inequality. We, me and 21 of them, met each Tuesday and Thursday for about one hour after school. A few weeks ago, they finished the course! I wanted to tell you all a little bit more about the curriculum, and my future plans…or hopes, more aptly.  

Stuffing wa famba!

This year, I’m thankful for my awesome host mom, my good friend Lastynah, and my fellow kick-ass PCVs Molly and Shauna, who helped me cook an excellent Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday!

Celebrating Nutrition!

Yesterday, my women’s group completed their workshop on nutrition! If you remember, this group has created and is tending to a garden in the village, which is still flourishing despite the lack of rain and general suffocating heat. Once a week, when the women are done watering their plants, we all sit down and I teach them about eating healthy.

Understanding the Election from SA

So right now, I live in the aftermath of successful, systemic white supremacy. America is also still heavily affected by white supremacy, but for me, what I’ve seen, the effect is a little more blatant here. My village is largely the way it is because of the racism directed against black people, of hatred for people who are not white, of the belief that people who are not white are worth less than those who are white.

The American Girl Goes Running

Since settling down in my village, I’ve started running pretty consistently. I never liked running, and I maintain that not only is it one of the more mindless sports, it is unusually tough on your body. That said, I have been loving running!