hello to possible G9ers!

23 January 2011
Sunday
1122

Ekhaya wami (my house)


The office is about to begin site identification for Group 9 this week, & that means the new arrivals are just around the corner. My friends who are on the Peer Support Network begin their trainings in two weeks, & last week my co-editor & myself put out our first edition of the Sojournal, or SoJo (the Peace Corps Swaziland newsletter). The Volunteer Action Committee is about to begin their term next month & the new wardens will be trained (for if/when the Emergency Action Plan is activated) next month, as well. Next week is the seventh-month marker for my group, & I can hardly believe that I’ve survived this long in an African summer.

But what I’ve been thinking about this week is the scant month in which I quit my job, packed up & moved to the other side of the world. In that short time, there was so much to do, & I barely had time to think about what life here would really be like. I’ve heard through other PCVs here that they had about just as much time as I did to prepare for Africa, having thought that they would be sent elsewhere in the world. The few people that did know Africa was their continent had been given the idea that it would be the French-speaking Western African region. So I guess my point is that at this time back home, I wonder just how many people are actually thinking that they have a shot at Southern Africa. On the off-chance that there might be a Peace Corps Nominee reading this now or in the near future, I’m going to start listing a few things that I brought w/ me that I have proved essential to my existence here in the Swaz.

Peace Corps tells you so much (& so little sometimes), it’s easy to get overwhelmed & forget that oftentimes it’s the little things that will make you feel at home & like you could actually do this. I’m going to be stressing over & over for the next few months (if I remember, that is) just how important it really is to be flexible, try to keep an open mind about what’s going on & why you wanted to do this. Comparing a service to anyone else’s in the world is pointless, as every culture & every person is so different. But sometimes it is a good idea to get an idea of what’s going on at a Peace Corps post.

I don’t know how many people saw that 20/20 segment on Peace Corps that apparently aired last week. Certainly, we haven’t seen it here, though our Country Director gave us the heads up on the negative slant of it. So while I don’t know what you guys saw, I wanted to take just a quick second to say that I have never once felt unsafe at my post. The family that I live w/ is great, & I think that even the kids look out for me when I’m out & about. Living in the sticks can be just as dangerous as living in a big city anywhere in the world; it’s just that the variables have changed. I don’t personally know anyone who, having reported any unease to Peace Corps, wasn’t taken seriously or given assistance. Our Safety & Security Coordinator is utterly fantastic. He is the coolest guy you might ever meet, & his accomplishments are pretty impressive. You’ll find out when you get here. (It adds to his mystery if you find out a little at a time!) He was just given an award at the Peace Corps Safety & Security conference in DC a few moths ago for being one of the top five SSCs in the world. There have been times that I’ve been discouraged, but never once did I think our SSC would let me down.

Okay. That’s out of the way. Here is a quick list of things that I’ve brought or done to make myself feel like this hut that I live in is really mine & that I have a safe & comforting place to come back to when shit gets weird out there. & bear in mind that I live in down in Lubombo, the hottest region in Swaziland. The climate here really does change region to region, so as Staging gets closer, I’ll drop a few more tips on what really is appropriate to pack, & what I might suggest you buy in-country. Having a lighter load to cart across the Atlantic will really be appreciated (& also score you Hard Corps points among other PCVs when you finally all meet up).

-a few pics of friends & family
-two of my most favourite books of all time. The PCV library in the main office is pretty nice, actually. Books are regularly left there when Volunteers COS, so the selection is eclectic & fairly good.
-my favourite sweatshirt. It’s a pullover, though honestly I wish I brought a zip hoodie, or at least a track jacket. They are extremely popular here, & once you get to site you will blend right in when you wear it.
-media. It’s the life-blood for many a PCV here. Music, movie & TV files will make you a hit among your new peers, & for those of us who have been in-country for a while, we will just eat up any new release you have & love you forever for sharing it w/ us.)
-comfortable shoes. If you’re a gal, I wouldn’t stress too much about bringing “dress shoes.” You can get something nicer if you feel the need when you get here (as long as you’re under a size 9—the ladies here don’t typically have larger feet), but plan for lots of walking. Even if you’re fit at home, it WILL NOT BE THE SAME HERE. The terrain is so different that you soon will begin to feel muscles in your feet that you swear to god you did not have. Unless you’re an avid hiker, I wouldn’t suggest hard-core boots, either. They aren’t strictly necessary. Nice to have, but not essential.
- a tiny football. I, apparently, am one of the only people in the world that soccer does nothing for. If this sounds familiar to you, I insist that you bring a little Nerf football or even a ball & two baseball mitts (if that’s your thing). The kids are always into playing w/ you & will be down if you want to teach them a new game. I left my Nerf football w/ my Pre-Service Training little brother, & I’m confident that he will love me forever.
-board shorts. Even though skirts are heavily encouraged here (& Peace Corps even tells you that they are required apparel for women), it really depends on where your permanent site lands you. For example, my community is pretty relaxed about it, as is my host family. I do not wear skirts on the homestead or in town. At PST, it’s important to look the part for Peace Corps’ sake, but things change once those first two months are over. If you are like me & hate wearing those damn things, pack two or three decent-looking ones that can get you through the first bit of time, & if you find you like them or if your site doesn’t give you the evil eye for dressing in (longer) shorts or jeans, then you aren’t out a ton of money or space in your bag. & chances are you’ll want to buy a few traditional skirt wraps (called lihiya). Those go over well at more formal meetings w/ the chief & w/ other elders in the community (& even at the local schools).

That about does it for things that I brought. But before I go, since there’s a thunder storm blowing in pretty rapidly & I’d like to get off this thing before it blows out the power & fries my beloved laptop, I’ll tell you that decorating your hut is the No 1 thing that will make things feel all right for you. At least it did for me. I love the sea & anything to do w/ the oceans, so moving to a landlocked country that is hotter than the face of the sun has been difficult for me. I’m a Pacific Northwesterner, after all. Here’s what I did upon immediate arrival to my site: I painted. Peace Corps tells you to home-up your joint, & they are absolutely right. I bought a custom color at the hardware store in the capital, Mbabane, & even though it was a little pricey for 5-liters of my “arctic blue” shade, it has helped to convince my brain that it isn’t as hot in my house as it really is. I painted the bedroom first, & have plans for (& have sketched) a tall ship mural on one of those walls. In my sitting room, I painted one wall the blue & found gift-wrap paper w/ tropical fish on them. I spent hours & hours (w/ the help of my little brothers) cutting them all out & gluing them to the wall in schools. All that work was worth it, since at the beginning you will be having plenty of time on your hands anyway. But here’s why it was so good for me: 1, it was a great way to bond w/ the kids in my family right away (& it’s not something you really need impressive SiSwati language skills to do), & 2, it’s just awesome to look at. I’m not the most artistic person in the world, so for me to say that it’s beautiful isn’t me tooting my own horn. Every day when I get home, it refreshes me, & every time I have a PCV guest over, they say they wish they’d done something more w/ their house right away. It’s so much easier to do things right off the bat when you move it, because even though you have time, the motivation rapidly leaves you.

My suggestion is this: do the things that you want & think will be cool first. You’ll always make time for the things you need (like curtains) later. I used an old sheet for the longest time before I finally sewed my curtains… & I don’t even know how to sew. They are totally McGyvered up there, by the way. & they work just fine. So don’t freak out about stuff like that.

& lastly, since the lightning is getting pretty damn close, if you are a Nominee to Africa & have questions, leave me a comment or shoot out an email. I’m at quovadimus83 at gmail dot com. & assuming that our mobile carrier isn’t sucking the big one & lets me log in, I’ll get back to you fairly soon. There are plenty of welcome videos on youtube that G6 & G7 made last year, so look them up. They were really nice to watch before I shipped out. & since a number of G7s are trying to extend their service, you’ll even have a few familiar faces when we gather for 4th of July at your training. PCVs will travel across an entire country (ha. Cause Swaziland is so big) for free cake. :D