Just so people don't think I've fallen off the face of the planet... I'm going on annual leave this week and will be back in my office March 19 and will have limited internet and phone access until then.
I'll be renting a car and road tripping to Namibia. After studying abroad in Maastricht, next to the Belgian & German borders, and not spending any proper time in either country, I've learned my lesson. Before lock down (after March 12, where Peace Corps Volunteers are not allowed to leave the country, and thus must stay local to close down their projects), I'll be heading to Namibia, which is too close by to pass up.
The first night I drive to Windhoek to have some German Eisbein and good beer. The second day, I go to Sossusvlei to camp at Sesriem, where early the next morning, I'll go hiking along the sand dunes, one of the most remote places on earth. The third day, I'll head to Swakopmund, the town along the west coast of Namibia, where to the north is the skeleton coast, and the south, the national park. There, I'll be enjoying Swakopmund's cold beaches, cold beers, and cold sushi.
After heading back to Maun, I'll be going down to Johannesburg, to fly out to Kilimanjaro International Airport. We spend 1 day/night on the ground to finish up payment and try on hiking gear. The 2nd day, we start the ascent up to Uhuru Peak. After 6 days of hiking and staying in huts, we'll come back to Moshi to spend a night relaxing our sore muscles and sleeping in beds.
After Tanzania, I return to Gaborone, Botswana, where we will have out Close of Service Conference for Peace Corps. Here, we prepare our selves for the last 3 months of service, have a ceremonial lunch with the ambassador celebrating our 2 years of service, spend time with our friends, and take extra time to complete medical exams and produce 3 consecutive stool samples to ensure I am worm and parasite free. If all goes well, I'll be back in Maun March 16. Almost a solid month from now.
Ta ta for now.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Event Planning in Africa
Planning ahead in Africa works like this: Even when you make Plan B and Plan C, you will find out that you will need to resort to Plan D. Even when you make Plans B, C, and D, you will end up with Plan F, because something out of left field was lobbed into the game play.
Of course, last minute planning is not advisable, but with all development work, plans need to have a level of flexibility. With Child Welfare Day tomorrow, I went to Dorcas's office to print the Child Welfare Day Agenda and the Children's Right's Flyer. From past experience of making Plans B, C, D... I decided not to do any of those, just knowing that I'll tackle whatever comes up - I had devoted my whole day to just these 2 tasks.
This morning, I called up Dorcas to see when I could come to her office, knowing we're all busy and I was subject to her schedule. She said come by as soon as possible. However, I was waiting for editing from one last committee member to the agenda.
An hour later, of not going to Dorcas's office, she asks when I'm coming. And that there's a problem with the toner. (Usually Plan B planning would begin here in the U.S.) In Africa, it's more like, "come here now so we can trouble shoot this now."
Dorcas runs across town to get another toner cartridge.
I finally get to her office and start printing.
The hugest lightning storm starts after printing page 132. Power goes out.
Luckily, today was not like yesterday when the power went out the whole day (of course, also a cause of last minute things).
Of course, it's advised that printing should not be left to last minute. But, when working with many many people and stakeholders and having to get more than 5 OKs on 1 document... with intermittent power outages... it's a necessary evil.
Of course, last minute planning is not advisable, but with all development work, plans need to have a level of flexibility. With Child Welfare Day tomorrow, I went to Dorcas's office to print the Child Welfare Day Agenda and the Children's Right's Flyer. From past experience of making Plans B, C, D... I decided not to do any of those, just knowing that I'll tackle whatever comes up - I had devoted my whole day to just these 2 tasks.
This morning, I called up Dorcas to see when I could come to her office, knowing we're all busy and I was subject to her schedule. She said come by as soon as possible. However, I was waiting for editing from one last committee member to the agenda.
An hour later, of not going to Dorcas's office, she asks when I'm coming. And that there's a problem with the toner. (Usually Plan B planning would begin here in the U.S.) In Africa, it's more like, "come here now so we can trouble shoot this now."
Dorcas runs across town to get another toner cartridge.
I finally get to her office and start printing.
The hugest lightning storm starts after printing page 132. Power goes out.
Luckily, today was not like yesterday when the power went out the whole day (of course, also a cause of last minute things).
Of course, it's advised that printing should not be left to last minute. But, when working with many many people and stakeholders and having to get more than 5 OKs on 1 document... with intermittent power outages... it's a necessary evil.
In the Spirit of Valentines Day
There was a hilarious article up on Peace Corps.
http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2012/02/12-reasons-to-date-a-returned-peace-corps-volunteer/
12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2012/02/12-reasons-to-date-a-returned-peace-corps-volunteer/
12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
By Erica Burman on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
(credit: http://laurapruittdesign.blogspot.com)
It’s Valentine’s Day! A day when we celebrate friendship, love, and romance. Through the years here at the National Peace Corps Association, we’ve heard countless stories of Peace Corps romance. The couples that met at the airport on the way to training. The couples that met while serving. The Peace Corps Volunteers that fell in love with a host country national. And the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers that connected back here in the States, discovering that the shared bond of Peace Corps service was the spark that led to a relationship.
Peace Corps is a life-changing experience that develops a unique set of skills and attributes. So it goes without saying: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers make GREAT dates. And just to prove it, we’ve started a list.
12 reasons to date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer:
- We can woo you in multiple languages. Who else is going to whisper sweet nothings to you in everything from Albanian to Hausa to Quechua to Xhosa? That’s right. Only a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.
- We’re pretty good dancers. Yeah, we don’t like to brag, but after 27 months in Latin America or Africa we know how to move it.
- We’ll eat anything. Seriously. No matter how bad your cooking, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have had worse and will eat it with nary a blink. Sheep’s eyeball? Water buffalo gall bladder? Grasshoppers? Bush rat? Bring it.
- We know all about safe sex, thanks to our very thorough Peace Corps health training. In fact, there’s a chance that we’ve stood unblushingly in front of hundreds of villagers and demonstrated good condom technique with a large wooden phallus.
- We’ll kill spiders for you. Well, actually, we’ll nonchalantly scoop them up and put them out of sight. Same goes for mice, geckos, frogs, snakes. Critters don’t faze Returned Volunteers.
- We have great date ideas: wandering a street market, checking out a foreign film, taking in a world music concert, volunteering…. Romantic getaway? Our passport is updated and our suitcase is packed. With us, life is always an adventure.
- We like you for “you”… not your paycheck. Especially if we are freshly back from service, a local joint with “character” will win out over a pretentious eatery. Living in a group house? No problem. Does it have running hot water? What luxury!
- You won’t get lost when you’re with a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Navigating local markets on four continents, we’ve honed an uncanny sense of direction. Or else we’ll ask for directions. We’re not afraid to talk to “strangers.”
- Waiting for a late train or bus? Don’t worry, we’ve been there, done that. We can share lots of funny stories about “the bus ride from hell” that will make the time go quickly and put it all into perspective.
- Our low-maintenance fashion style. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer guys are secure in their manhood and don’t mind rocking a sarong. Women often prefer flip flops to high heels. We don’t spend hours in front of a mirror getting ready to go out.
- Marry us, and you won’t just get one family — you’ll get two! When we refer to our “brother” or “mom,” you’ll want to be certain we’re talking about our American one or our Peace Corps one. You might even get two wedding ceremonies, one in the U.S. and one back in our Peace Corps country.
- And last but not least, we aren’t afraid to get dirty.
Friday, February 10, 2012
20 Days to Kilimanjaro
20 Days left til Kilimanjaro and counting.
For the last 4 weeks, I've been working out at least 4 days a week with a mix of running, P90X, Insanity, Jillian Michaels, parkour and yoga. The last 4 Saturdays, I've gone to the stadium in the morning to climb stairs for a solid 60 minutes. The stairs and yoga mix have been important since I'm still recovering from a knee injury in October which I'm currently taking anti-inflammatory meds for and to prep my calves in preparation for the 5 day ascent. My hope is that I acclimatise well since altitude sickness is the main reason that cause people not to reach Uhuru Peak. It's estimated that only 30% of trekkers make it to Uhuru Peak.
I've started packing for Kilimanjaro, digging all my cold weather clothes back out. The hike up Kilimanjaro is best described as a hike from the Equator to Antarctica in a matter of days. When we start the hike at the bottom, it will be hot and damp with rainforest, but when we get to the top of the peak, Kili is covered in glacier.
I'll be packing layers to put on and peel off, lots and lots of socks and lots of cotton underwear. We won't have access to showers until the end of day 6, so good deodorant. I'll be going directly to Close of Service in Gaborone where we'll have dinner with the U.S. Ambassador, so a dress for that.
For the last 4 weeks, I've been working out at least 4 days a week with a mix of running, P90X, Insanity, Jillian Michaels, parkour and yoga. The last 4 Saturdays, I've gone to the stadium in the morning to climb stairs for a solid 60 minutes. The stairs and yoga mix have been important since I'm still recovering from a knee injury in October which I'm currently taking anti-inflammatory meds for and to prep my calves in preparation for the 5 day ascent. My hope is that I acclimatise well since altitude sickness is the main reason that cause people not to reach Uhuru Peak. It's estimated that only 30% of trekkers make it to Uhuru Peak.
I've started packing for Kilimanjaro, digging all my cold weather clothes back out. The hike up Kilimanjaro is best described as a hike from the Equator to Antarctica in a matter of days. When we start the hike at the bottom, it will be hot and damp with rainforest, but when we get to the top of the peak, Kili is covered in glacier.
I'll be packing layers to put on and peel off, lots and lots of socks and lots of cotton underwear. We won't have access to showers until the end of day 6, so good deodorant. I'll be going directly to Close of Service in Gaborone where we'll have dinner with the U.S. Ambassador, so a dress for that.
Trim It!
Imagine pulling up to your local grocery store, Vons, Safeway, Trader Joes, whatever. And as soon as you get out of your car and head into the store, you see 10-15 people in bright yellow shirts and a guy announces in a large booming voice on loud speaker “Get Circumcised!”
That was my day yesterday. As I was walking home from work, I did my usual walk to new mall and peered around the corner to Choppies (grocery store) and a bright yellow tent with an accompanying street team of 15 people in bright yellow shirts, were all donned with “Get Circumcized!” Behind them is a truck with loud speakers and a guy on stage with the same yellow shirt barking hurried Setswana.
These types of events are everyday occurrences in and HIV/AIDS ravaged country. In Botswana, 17.9% have HIV and in Maun, women my age (25-30) have a 40% likelihood of having HIV. Getting circumcised is one way to curtail a man’s chance of contracting HIV, but in no way (or remotely close), completely protects a person from contracting it.
One would think that a campaign like “Get Circumcized” blaring in a bustling high traffic town centre would gain a lot of attention. However, I did not see many bystanders showing interest.
I recall a friend in LA whose job was to call men who had opted to be contacted to hear about hair replacements. These calls were designed to be stealthy, because men are often too shy to talk about their hair (lack thereof) even to their wives. This sometimes resulted in their wives thinking that their husbands were sneaking around behind their backs – why would a young girl be calling you about an inquiry of a matter that she won’t state?
Anyway. If men are too shy to talk about their shiny balding heads to their wives, then why would any men want to talk about the head in their pants publically in the Vons parking lot and that they would like to get it trimmed?
Friday, February 3, 2012
Super Bowl
There was one other time I've seen the SuperBowl in another country - when I was studying in the Netherlands. We watched the Superbowl at 4 AM, at a bar I think was called The Highlander. They blacked out the front window b/c it wasn't allowed to be open that late. There were a bunch of us American study Abroad students who went to watch the game.
This year, I traded for some Satellite TV airtime for Mexican food to watch the kick off at 1:30AM this Monday morning at my friend Gary's House. Gary is a pastor and Coordinator for Love Botswana Outreach Mission, started by a couple from Texas more than 20 years ago. He's also the only other person in Maun that I know who is a Lakers Fan.
This year, I traded for some Satellite TV airtime for Mexican food to watch the kick off at 1:30AM this Monday morning at my friend Gary's House. Gary is a pastor and Coordinator for Love Botswana Outreach Mission, started by a couple from Texas more than 20 years ago. He's also the only other person in Maun that I know who is a Lakers Fan.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Children's Rights in Botswana
For the first time, Botswana has a flyer to distribute to the public to inform them of Children's Rights.
Botswana adopted the UN Convention on a Rights of Children and then passed its own legislation called the Child Act in 2009. Imagine, Children have "modern" rights legally since 2009 in Botswana. Most citizens of Botswana still don't know what's in the Child Act, hence, the District Child Welfare Committee, of which I'm the Vice-Chair of, will be holding Child Welfare Day on February 16.
As part of the Committee, I've created a flyer, drafted directly from the Child's Act that can be distributed to the public. With globalization, and Botswana trying to be a forward thinking country, the Child Act was written in English. Also keep in mind, that the Act was passed in 2009, yet copies of it didn't start circulating until late last year, 2011 to Police, Social Welfare Officers etc. The flyer is meant to be easy to understand, hence, while working with various people in my office and the Social and Community Development Office with Local Government here, we were able to translate the flyer into Setswana.
We will be distributing the flyer to the public at Child Welfare Day. Since we had issues getting funding for the printing, we opted for a simpler format (not designed by a graphic designer) and we will likely be using the resources of the Local Government Office, which literally means, printing dozens and dozens of flyers on an inkjet printer.
Of course, this does not go without challenges. Literacy Rates in Maun are about 85%, further up in the delta, only 60%. However, hopefully this will be a breakthrough, that can be replicated across the Nation and form a benchmark for other districts.
Botswana adopted the UN Convention on a Rights of Children and then passed its own legislation called the Child Act in 2009. Imagine, Children have "modern" rights legally since 2009 in Botswana. Most citizens of Botswana still don't know what's in the Child Act, hence, the District Child Welfare Committee, of which I'm the Vice-Chair of, will be holding Child Welfare Day on February 16.
As part of the Committee, I've created a flyer, drafted directly from the Child's Act that can be distributed to the public. With globalization, and Botswana trying to be a forward thinking country, the Child Act was written in English. Also keep in mind, that the Act was passed in 2009, yet copies of it didn't start circulating until late last year, 2011 to Police, Social Welfare Officers etc. The flyer is meant to be easy to understand, hence, while working with various people in my office and the Social and Community Development Office with Local Government here, we were able to translate the flyer into Setswana.
We will be distributing the flyer to the public at Child Welfare Day. Since we had issues getting funding for the printing, we opted for a simpler format (not designed by a graphic designer) and we will likely be using the resources of the Local Government Office, which literally means, printing dozens and dozens of flyers on an inkjet printer.
Of course, this does not go without challenges. Literacy Rates in Maun are about 85%, further up in the delta, only 60%. However, hopefully this will be a breakthrough, that can be replicated across the Nation and form a benchmark for other districts.
Just the drafts, English & Setswana
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
