Sitting Underneath the Peach Tree

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Sitting Underneath the Peach Tree

            Right now my light is flickering and it is very annoying.  I am sitting in my bed, which is where I usually sit.  I do have two chairs, but no real table.  A lot of times I also sit on the floor.

            I did make a table in the main room of my hut.  It is a door with cinder blocks under it.  When I get a little less cheap I do plan on buying legs and making a shelf underneath.  I have made my cubbies, which I love.  My family was shocked when they saw what I had made.  In my bedroom I have a few more cinder blocks under planks for a nice little shelf thing.  Its cute.  My closet it two metals poles hanging from rope.  It works pretty well.  I have started decorating my house, it looks the way most of the places I have lived look, slowly getting clustered.  I have hung up photos that people have sent me, they decorate random places on my walls and I love it.  I have a really pretty painting of Africa hanging. I go to my neighbor's and it is so cute, so I have decided to start taking things serious and we are going to redecorate.  I want to make things match a little and you know, make it cute and organized.         Hard, and it will take a while, but it will get there.

            On the work front, things are going well.  I have a community assessment do near the end of November.  I took a survey at my school which has been a complete hassle to compile, I am just at the beginning of it.  The survey asked questions about home life, who lives with you, do you eat three meals a day, have you ever been abused, what do you hope to be when you grow up, what activities do you do, etc.  This will give me at least a little basis as where to start.  I hope to start teaching life skills classes next year and really want to start a girl's club.  The club would be a place where girls could come and ask questions and have fun, and learn about growing up. 

            Every once in awhile I get hit with something that reminds me of how real things are.  For example, two Swazi foods are imbhidvo and ligusha.  Every time I heard imbhidvo I thought it was another name for spinach.  Ligusha, I knew was just a slimey green thing that looked like mucus.  Neither of which would be my cup of tea to eat.  Anyway, I just thought these were veggies.  Finally somebody made me realize, “No Jess, they eat them because they are weeds that grow everywhere and so are easy to get.”  Oh, good to know.

            Some things are ridiculous here a bit though. In one chiefdom, the chief banned cutting down firewood because his cows were being stolen.  In another a chief banned women wearing pants.  In both these places if a person was found doing them they would get charged a fine.  Making women wear skirts is one thing, but not allowing your people to be able to cook is another.

            I have started tutoring.  It is a bit difficult, but will hopefully be rewarding.  It is hard because one day I will have one student and the next, surprise, here are three of her sisters as well.  And “no, we didn't bring our books.”  I was very happy to hear that my student's mother was helping her correct her homework, but than even this was troubling when I saw a zero had been erased.   When I asked why she had erased it (because it should have been there,) my student told me her mother had told her it was wrong.  Bummer.  In some cases it is also a bit scary because since things are done strictly in one way here, I get nervous when I say, “no you should put a comma in your number to separate the thousands and hundreds.”  I can only hope the teachers do see that this is also correct.

            This weekend was Halloween.  The PCVs had a party.  It was a lot of fun.  It was great seeing how creative people were.  My favorite costumes were a killer bumble bee and a unicorn.  They looked great! My friend and I went as eighties dancers.  It was a blast.  As most people were going to sleep, six of us went to a bar. Wow! What an experience.  The male to female ratio was intense.  Let me put it this way, there were two other girls there and then the four of us girls.  People were gropey and vultures.  We stuck together with our two male friends.  I was happy to know dance moves that easily moved people away or made them realize that if we were going to dance, they wouldn't touch me the wrong way.  I am an assertive girl (so no worries mom, we were all safe).  Also, the friend who brought us was a very large man. 

            It was neat though because I had a very interesting conversation with a Swazi male.  We talked about how hard it is for Swazis, and the difficult infrastructure of the country.  We spoke about how different life in the rural areas of Swaziland is compared to the cities.  And truly, it is quite the difference, I will go into further detail in a later post. 

            Sometimes I think man, I miss America.  I miss my friends.  I miss my family.  I miss running water.  I miss Chinese food.  And then, I sit under the peach tree with my three bo-sisi and bhuti, all of them amongst the branches, eating peaches, and think, “Ya, I can deal with this.”

How do I feel…

October 18, 2012
 How do I feel? Someone from home asked me this recently so I thought I would respond.  Honestly, recently I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster.  Its been quite odd.  One moment I’m happy, the next I could cry.   One morning I don’t want to get out of bed, and that afternoon I am happy as a lark because a girl thanked me in private for saying that she was my friend in front of all the other girls.
 I terribly miss wearing shorts. Skirts suck sometimes.  They are very restricting, and when the wind blows, up they go.  Women are not allowed to wear trousers here, one chiefdom even banned it. Sometimes I sneak in a pair of jeans when I go to the capitol city, but even when I do I feel odd.  I feel like people are looking at me, judging me for the pants I am wearing.   The females I speak to about this tell me not to worry about it, but it is hard not to. 
 As a women, when I do certain things people get pretty surprised.  I built cubbies this week, and even the Swazi male Peace Corps trainers were shocked when they saw it (but also very proud and inspired by my craftsmanship).  As an American I shock people with my skills.  People are shocked when they find out I can knit, sew, and chop wood.  I even carry my own water!  They expect me not to be able to cook or clean.  
 I am lucky to not get haggled for many too often.  Some of my friends have complaints of people asking them for money everyday, just because we are white.  Although I was stopped once and a mother asked me to pay for her child school fees, and a lot of times am ask to buy people things when I am at the sitolo (shop), I do see myself as lucky for not being harassed as much as I could be.
 Speaking of harassing, being a white woman causes me to be harassed.  I am constantly asked to be married and to give out my phone number.   Even on the days I know my outfit looks ridiculous and I feel that I look terrible, I know I will get hit on.   This was proven one morning when I was walking to my PC neighbors house.  I looked silly, hiking shoes and a skirt and hat.  As I was walking I thought to myself, I bet even when I look bad I will get hit on.  Sure enough, within five minutes of this thought I was hit on twice.
 These first months are important for relationship building.  This is proving to be extremely difficult.  Relationships are hard to build when they all seem so superficial.  People talk to me because I am white, because I am an American, because they think I will give them something.  Teachers ask for things from me (not all, but some).  This relationship building will be important so that I can get past this ‘fake’ feeling.
 And it ticks me off when people ask me am I homesick. What a strange question to answer, its not really a yes or a no.  Of course I am homesick, but I am ok.
 I miss taking showers.  I do love me a good bucket bath, they are important after a hot, dusty day,  but sometimes it feels like such a hassle boiling my water, than mixing it with cooler water, then just bathing in a bucket where half the time my back hurts afterward from being bent.  And grocery shopping sucks.  Its not too bad going into town (really I’ve just accepted it), but once you buy one thing you than have to carry it around with you the rest of the day, buying everything else you might need, and than take it on the bus.  The amount of people and things that fit into these transports!  Its not a done deal once you get on the bus either, because once you get to your stop you must maneuver getting yourself and all of your things safely off the bus, and than walk them the rest of the way home.
 I have loved bonding with my family, they really take you in as one of their own.  My gogo cares for me, and tells me I am one of her children.  This was most touching when one day I broke a vase, and when I brought home a new one (scary carrying class on the transport) she looked at me and said, “But why did you do this, you are my child.” And it is great if my makhulu is there when a man is trying to hit on me.  When I tell them he is my babe, they turn to him and ask “How much?”  This question is relating to how many cows do buy your daughter.  Its heart filling when my makhulu says, “Way to many for you,” following it up with, “Plus, you can not buy her, she is not for sale.”  My bosisi and bhuti are also becoming more comfortable with me.  It is funny, my sisi being her 9 year old self will ask me to help with things.  For example, today she said, lets go to the forest and get firewood.  I was not doing much so said sure. I had no idea gogo was out there about to carry a huge log back.  When I showed up with my sisi to help, my gogo looked a bit shocked (she never would have asked me to help), and than a look of realization came over her face where I could tell it just hit her that probably my sisi just asked me to come help. 

(and than there were boobs)

Thursday, October 11.
International Day of the Girl Child
 My first event! It was a success.  The girls had a blast.  I learned a lot and it was quite the experience.
 The girls participated in current dances, traditional dances, sang songs, and some even composed their own!  We had girls “Parade,”  which meant modeling.  I was pretty shocked and didn’t expect it when they came out in their outfits.  But hey, they sure were proud of being a girl!
 Rehearsals this week went well, although tough because of the language barrier.  The teachers helped out though.  We had two young girls MC the show, and they did a great job.  After lunch break we all began getting ready.  The teachers, well they were MIA.  At first the boys did not want to help, jealous of the girls getting their own day.  But after a minute of dislike, they soon were drawing on the chalkboards in support of the girls.  All of the students helped set up the school hall, which usually holds Grade 7.  The kids and I moved out the desks and they swept.  Than the grade 7 boys helped set up the chairs, a very chaotic scene.  Here, for assembly, every student carries in their chair.  Although hectic, we tried to keep things calm and the boys were a great help as the girls were getting ready.  They tried to control the flow of chairs into the hall from the 100+ kids trying to jam them in. 
 The girls were getting ready and I was helping set up the room.  I turned, and, not expecting it, saw all the 7th grade performers standing there, topless.  And than there were boobs.  I should have expected it.  These girls were doing the traditional Reed Dance, and so of course were dressed traditionally, meaning no tops.  But hey, they wanted to rock it, so rock it! And the judges voted them second place! Just after the sixth graders who also did the Reed Dance. 
 It is cool how boobs (should say breast, I know, but ‘boobs’ seems like a good word) are so accepted here.  What is not as acceptable are thighs, so bye bye shorts and my great looking legs.  Skirts aren’t always that bad, but are more restricting! I see breasts all the time, on kumbies with babies getting milked, at school with babies getting milked, out in the day when a woman’s shirt isn’t on correctly and she just doesn’t care.  And, in the talent show, of course.
 On a different note I have started making my garden. 

No Man Left Behind!

Monday, October 1, 2012
 First, let me start out by saying that I have saved this blog entry three different ways, so hopefully there will be no problems this time.
 The soundtrack playing in my head these last few days has begun with Passion Pit’s “Moth’s Wings.”  Followed by songs performed in Glee.  I wish I could remember more, that would have been something really cool to write about..I’ll keep you posted on the soundtrack…Actually, instead, I will just randomly place soundtrack songs into my blog and at the end of the two years we will see how the soundtrack is! I guess officially so far the soundtrack goes like this:
 1. Sawubona (a Swazi song)
 2. Rent’s “Out Tonight”
 3. Passion Pit’s Moth’s Wings
So, news.  I have been at site for one whole month.  Exciting! And people are actually getting to know me, and not just as ‘the white girl.’  But, I am being seen and having conversations with people, and it is good.  The first few weeks I really was a hut-body.  I don’t think this got posted because of the mess-ups the last times, but I asked my audience to remember this saying about things in a third world country, “What takes a day will take a week, what takes a week will take a month, and what takes a month will take a year.”  Things move slow, and take time.  The first three months of this experience is intended for strictly integration, watching how things go, and relationship building.  Please remember this about my service!  Yet, even though the things I do may seem small (I wont be saving the world) [Side note: I apologize greatly if some of this is repeat, I wrote the last blog twice and it got deleted both times, and some things I really wanted out there, so if it is the second time seeing it, just ignore it.  If not, great!],  I could inspire a girl to go out for a job when she gets older, and have a man get tested and therefore help him and save some of his future partners.  Small things will make a difference J

 Transportation time!  I think all my complaining about transport here got deleted.  Let me recap:  Everything is a bit scary and unreliable.  Busses break down.  Kumbies break down (kumbie, similar to a camp van, hence the song last time).  And if there isn’t anything else you can always catch a lift, basically hitchhiking.  Transport gets VERY over packed.  On busses people stand butt to butt facing windows, with 6 kids to a seat.  If you have a child, no matter what age you can bet they are sitting on your lap.  Transport comes only a few times a day, hence the packing.
 I have two touching transport stories.  One day my handigas ran out.  My mukhulu’s brother had to go get fertilizer for his garden, and so I was lucky enough (truly lucky) to take the ride and go with him to fill my tank.  On the way we dropped off one person at the clinic past the valley (both sides of my town have a valley).  There a woman flagged us down to see if we could give her and an older man a ride.  Catching a lift seems a bit scary to me, but it really is the way people get around here.  Shamus said yes, and the woman called over to the man.  The man than hobbled over with his cane, barely able to walk.  Who knows how long he would have had to keep standing there in hopes of a different mean of transport, one he probably would have had to of stood on.  Swazis care so much about each other, always offering you a cup of tea when you enter their house.  If they are cooking they offer you food, even though they have little, they are generous.  This mentality must go into the driving too, just help each other out.
 My second transport story is this.  On Saturday I went into town to do some shopping.  I was getting nervous as I waited for an hour and a half for, hopefully, a kumbie.  I was nervous because I did not know if anyone around me was waiting for the same town, no one had said my name and said hello (an often occurrence).  After this time had passed, I finally turned to someone next to me and asked where they were going. “kmfkmsf”  Oh good, same town as me.  One woman had nicely from a distance asked me how I was, so I had hoped she knew me.  I think I was right.  Anyway, the kumbie drove up and we all swarmed to.  Quickly! It quickly filled up, and a girl inside with two kids took hold of my bags and told me to climb in.  Two men, one old and one middle aged, had let me step in front of them to get into the kumbie before the girl grabbed my things.  Than, bam, I had the last seat.  I felt awful! The old man was standing outside.  I turned to the girl and told her how I felt bad because that man gave up his seat for me.  She said no he didn’t, that was my sister’s seat (a girl about 6), we gave you the seat.  Her sister and son were now sitting on her lap.  I still felt bad.  Than the kumbie driver came back and the two men explained how they did not have seats, or so I thought.  The backseat had four people in it, the middle two with three people, and my row with three people (plus the two kids).  The man in the front seat had a huge box on his lap blocking his view of the street.  The kumbie was filled, or so I thought.  We would not leave anyone behind!  (Here I would like to say that when I was climbing in I offered to squeeze myself as a fourth in the third row, I could see I could fit and that way the old man could have had a seat.)  The old man climbed into the third row. At first than another woman climbed in and sat on his lap!  That didn’t fit.  The other man who let me pass climbed in and stood/hovered/crouched over the old man.  Than the second row seat was put down and the woman sat as a fourth.  We all fit! I was happy to be in the front with only all of my things piled on top of me.  Halfway through the trip, a baby from the back started crying.  All I could think was, “There’s a baby back there? Who knew!”   In what was a 15 passenger van, we fit 20 adults and 3 children.  Unsafe, yes, but I was happy we all had a way home.
 The ride got better.  When we left we noticed our window was gone, there was tape instead.  Driving along the tape got annoying, so the woman sitting next to  me ripped it off.  Lucky she did!  We were almost home and the girl starts speaking to the driver, he says no.  That’s when the woman held her son by the hips, pulled down his pants, and the 1 ½ year old just peed right out the (lack of) window!  Quite the adventure.
 School has begun, now that the teacher strikes and exams are over.  I am excited because for “International Day of the Girl Child” we are putting on a talent show.  I am hoping girls will sign up. 

First Few Weeks on the Job

This is the second time this blog has been deleted.. This post wasn't meant to be.  Another post another time.  Sorry everyone!



Things have started getting going here.  I am very frustrated this post got deleted twice.

My favorite part was this song:  "Oh you can't get to heaven! oh you can't get to heaven, On an African Kumbie! on an African kumbie, Cuz an African Kumbie! Is sure to DOOMBIE! Is sure to Doom-bie. I ain't gunna grieve, my lord no more!"

Next time I will re-write, for a third time, what things have been like here.  I apologize again.

FOR THE CRAPPINESS OF MY BLOG THIS TIME: SOME PHOTOS!

Babe making me my basket!

Banana trees at my old homestead! (Sorry Jeff, you got some serious competition!)

OFFICIAL Peace Corps Volunteer

August 23, 2012

       Today has been the proudest moment of my life.  I officially became a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Training has been long, and I am happy it is over.  But wow, I have been working for this for a long time and it is nice to finally begin my service.  Swaziland, G10: Where NO ONE has ET'd from our group yet.  Let me explain
        Out of 41 volunteers who came into country in our group, 41 swore in.  We are the largest group to swear in here.  Also, Swaziland has the highest ET (early termination) rate.  If we all stay the whole year the country director will give us a party.  Anyway, it is EXTREMELY impressive that no one left during training, this notion has been expressed numerous times, by all the officials of Peace Corps staff around us. Either we are the first group in a while that has no ETs during training in Swaziland, or the first group ever, anyway, it is very impressive.
      I am happy and proud of my whole group.
      But, tomorrow after this extremely happy day, I am told that tomorrow will be one of the hardest as we stand watching the dust settle as we are left standing alone at our huts as the Peace Corps Van pulls away.

So you wanna Send Me a Package, Eh?

Wed, Aug 8th, 2012


Hello world!
I figured I would offer some suggestions for in case you want to send me a package.  (On a side note, I am currently awaiting a package from my Lovely cousin Sarah and have no idea what will be in it, and am EXTREMELY PUMPED. I am easily satisfied with things. And if a package is too much, I love mail in general and so letters are greatly appreciated :)  Here is my address, if you need it:
Jessica Randall
C/O Peace Corps
PO Box 2797
Mbabane, H100
Swaziland,
  AFRICA.

Emphasize Africa. Also, if you send me a package, declare on it cheap things, all adding up to less than a 50 dollars, so people are less likely to open it :)  White lying in this case is totes acceptable :)  (Sorry Tina Fay, people DO still say totes)

Here are some ideas that will probably suit me my entire stay in Africa, and of course feel free to elaborate with your own awesome ideas!
-Powdered Gatorade
-Granola Bars
-Face lotion w/ Spf
-Face lotion w/o SpF (for night time)
-multivitamins
-Protein/Luna Bars
-incense
-STICKERS!
-hand sanitizer
-deodorant (fiji-old spice)
-Trail mix: nuts, ones that don't add sugar, etc)-I don't like Raisins :)
-Shick Intuition Razors (for sensitive skin :) )
-"Always" clean wipes
-A World Map
-*Things to make my hut feel homey*
-Pictures of us!  Or of you and those I love!
-yummy nips :) (ie:baileys,etc)
-String to make friendship bracelets.
-White Chocolate!
-Other types of Chocolate
-Soap (all natural) from my friend Heather's awesome shop in Rockport, Kala Roopa
-Face wash
-Exfoliant
-Mac and Cheese
-Mix CDs
-Art supplies
-Garlic Salt, or others of those spices you can get for a dollar at Market Basket because all spices are pretty expensive here.
-Random yummy snacks that wont expire in 3 weeks of mail (ie:Oreos)
-toothbrushes
-all natural toothpaste (hehe)

I'm sure more things will come to mind along the way, but for a general idea those are some quality things! A general list that will be good the whole time I'm in Africa.

Send one,Send all,
Send none,Send Small.
Send Letters,and LOVE
I just love Mail, when push comes to shove!


Thurs August 16th.
I received two packages yesterday!Both containing socks (always greatly appreciated if you know me with my past and laundry).
But I received one GIANT LOVE FILLED Packages from Camp! (the one from Sarah I was waiting upon, Thank you Sarah for taking the initiative to put that together!).  Thank you Sarah and Miranda for your kind words and thoughtfulness (no worries about the evil look, I did notice, btw ;) The box was filled with hair accessories, puzzles, balls, notebooks, coloring items, Dinosaurs (which will nicely decorate my hut), camp awards, great postcards, and love notes! Such a great freakin box!  Really though, it is a box that will fill many kids with joy.  The crayons and colored pencils will add to so many art projects the youth around me will now have the ability to participate in.  And the toys will be loved and cherished.    A previous awesome package I received had such cute t-shirts and little (British) toy cars in it that my host family now will have such a blast in.  Really, truly, amazing things to send! Thank you!

I declared a few weeks ago that I would not be using Facebook.  Then, upon receiving cell phones, I was on facebook quite a bit.  But really, it stinks to use on my phone.  Typing is awful and many notifications and whatnots are missed. Emailing to get in touch with me is best, and snail mail is most fun. But the Internet on my little candy bar phone is pretty unreliable, so I just wanted to share that with everyone.  I am living in Africa here, what can you expect :)

I have to add that swearing in is in a week.  So, on the 23rd (C-Mc's Bday!) I will become an official Peace Corps Volunteer (as long as I pass all the tests I should be studying for right now tomorrow, but I think I will be ok).  Training has been long, but necessary.  I have learned a lot and got a lot of great resources, but am really happy to go begin my term of service.  I can't wait to begin making my hut my home, and feel settled.  Oh man will I miss my family here, including all the great vegetation growing around!  But I will come back and visit them, seeing that Swaziland is incredibly small and therefor travelling is doable, although the scariest part of my stay yet.  Wish me luck on my tests, and hope to post more after sometime after swearing in!


8/22/12
PASSES! Tomorrow is the day!!

Killed a Chicken Today...

Sunday, July 9th.

         ...Ok, truth be told, I did not kill the chicken.  I, in fact, was too chicken to even hold the chicken, and so just watched (and took a few snap shots).  It was a pretty gruesome thing, but not really at the same time.  It was really quick and didn't run around like a turkey. My Make just chopped its head off. We boiled water and poured it over the chicken and the feathers came off easily.  All I thought about the whole time was "Man, we really skip this whole process in America...I wonder what they really DO in those chicken factories.."  and "Holy Sh*t, I'm going to need a glass of wine to be able to eat this thing tonight."
All parts of that chicken were eaten, except the gizzards.  But my Make chopped the whole thing up and i put it in a pot and boiled it, my Make making sure to tell me not to put garlic in it this time (spaghetti incident, but also who knows how an anti-garlic Make and I get along?!?!). I snuck in some rosemary though, didn't tell anyone but everyone approved.
On a side note, I did go sneak a glass of wine.  Drinking in Swaziland is VERY STRONGLY looked down upon.  Anyone who drinks is an alcoholic.  So although this is my first bottle of wine I have boughten yet, I choose to keep it to myself for the time being (not very discreet, putting it on the internet and all,but ahwell).  When I move to my permanant site I will see what the sitch is or explain how one can drink a glass of wine and not be completely intoxicated, but we'll see.  For now, it is mine and the internet's little secret.
Anyway, after cooking the chicken, something AWESOME happened. Who knows if it was my complete and under boredom from only studying (for an hour...) all day, or the glass of wine, but it was pretty sweet.  Well, let me start from the beginning.  Today, I chose to just stay at my homestead all day.  A good choice, but also hard to slow down and just hang to with really not much to do all day.  In the morning my highlight was driving a wire-made car around my yard.  I was really surprised at how fun it was.  And seeing the cars these kids made really showed ingenuity.  Then, one of my happiest moments yet happened.  I made some lilayrisi and emabontisi (rice and beans) and sat on my step to eat it.  My Make had just finished making lunch for my fam and my youngest bhuti came to sit with me while we ate.  He was also eating Lilayrisi and was pumped that we were eating the same thing! (If you're wondering, I could see it in his eyes)  We sat on that stoop happy as larks, and it just made me really happy because it was so cute.  Just by accident we both were in the same sitting position eating the same thing, looking lovingly at each other doing it. Soo adorable!  As you can see, the small things are already becoming the biggest.
Back to after the glass of wine.  I was hanging out and a little girl had a tambourine type thing.  After dancing around with it (I guess it really was the boredom, not the wine) for a bit, I couldn't help myself but see a bucket upside down. I got two sticks and started drumming on that bucket.  Than my 12 year old bhuti showed me up and really started making some beats, but its all good and it was awesome.  My Make, Bandele, and I all just danced around and had a blast.  It was cool that we all got into it so easily, because drumming and dancing is awesome, and lets be serious, I am in Africa here.  It was really cute seeing my Make dance and let loose, and my Babe watched and I'm sure loved it.
I love it here, but am excited to move to my permanent site just so I can feel settled in.  We went to a perma-culture training this week, to get us amped-up for gardening.  It worked, btw. They taught us a lot about composting and watering tips and just some pretty awesome things, but now I'm ready to start working on them.  But, alas, I will not start composting now or stockpiling my rubbish because I just might (and will) find a use for it-tin cans, for example, to start seedlings, or making wallets out of Milk cartons?!?!- but know it will be better to hold off for a few more weeks so that I don't have to lug all my trash when I move.  I am excited to move, but do love this family a lot.  I like it so much when I see my Babe looking at his kids, or Bandelele looking at any of his siblings and family members, and just see love shining through their eyes.  I am happy it wont be too tough to come back and visit here either.
Apparently getting placed in Swaziland is basically 'the shit' too.  This is because here there are grocery stores, electricity, and well, just some development.  I know my service will be touching, and being in Africa am happy to have these amenities, but also do think it is interesting to think about how in other countries on this continent whole towns do not have electricity, verses here some houses do and some do not.  It is just good thing to think about.  My service will be very different than people who really live out in the middle of who knows where (even though trying to find anyplace on a Swazi map is 'who knows where' do to the sloppy geography of most maps made in Swaziland) but I know it will also be interesting and good.

I'm Gaining Weight in Africa?!?!

July 23, 2012

I know, the name of this blog is mind boggeling, and a lot of you wonder, HOW CAN IT BE?  Well, I don't know if it is really true, but I'm sure it could be.
Let me explain why.  Training.  Although very important, most of what we do is sitting in a room for about 8 hours watching powerpoints and discussing.  And let me tell you a bit about Swazi life.
You wake up in the morning.  Or, I should say, you wake up in the middle of the night.  At least 3 times (I think the best I've got so far is only waking up twice, woot woot). You wake up so many times because the roosters start crowing at 2:48 am.  Ok times have varied since then, but I do know that was what time I first looked at the clock that first night at my homestead, about 3 weeks ago.  At first I believed the rooster was relatively timely, but after a few days I realized these roosters are whack.
The roosters are crowing all morning, and day.  And then, not only that, but really I am living in what seems to a be a giant farm.  Seriously.  Cows walk around randomly all the time, grazing anywhere they want.  Its a miracle people know whose cow is whose! But, they do seem to keep track somehow.  On every homestead chickens cluck about, chicks, teen-babies, chickens, we got all ages folks! On all homesteads! Goats walk around too, and just the other day I saw some RATHER LARGE (read: Cow Size) pigs doing the unmentionable.  See, large farm.
Anyway, you wake up early in the morning due to the roosters.  This factor is fine, seeing as I've gone to be by 8:30 almost every night.  So back to the weight gain.  I sit in school all day, from 8ish to 4ish.  Then I come home.  Another KEY aspect of Swazi Life is not going out at dark.  Therefore, from getting home from training, I have maybe 2 hours of daylight before eating dinner and going to my hut.  WHERE IS THE EXERCISE PEOPLE?
Also, in my no-exercise defense, I blame this also partially to not having electricity.  Because, if you would like to know the truth, my reason for turning on my laptop tonight was not to type this blog (Gasp!) but in fact to make sure my copy of Ab Ripper X worked. It does! (Don't forget about that 6 pack I mentioned before leaving the states people!) I do have goals of exercising, and if I do not have electricity at my permanent site I will definitely "work something out", but for now, due to time constraints, exercising is tough.  Anyway, due to the no electricity and no going out after dark, I just haven't got it down yet.  But I will, and things will change at my permanent site (not having to sit in a classroom for the whole duration of sunlight, per say).
ps. the no-going-out-at-night thing is because it is dangerous.  No one does it, Swazis or course included.  People don't even walk to the pit latrine at night
Another huge portion of how gaining weight in Africa is possible is because for the first 2 weeks I ate with my host family.  Ok, in truth this was awesome, because it was nice having someone cook for me every night.  But, it is also awesome cooking for myself now, because I can make healthier eating choices.  For example, I will never again have a meal which only includes lipalishi and beans.  What is lipalishi you ask?  Corn.  Corn that looks like mashed potatoes because it has been dried, ground, and then boiled.  Pop is pretty good, but just not with only beans.  I had other variations of pop with meals, they weren't all just with beans, just lipalishi and beans was my least fave. On a happier note, I have discovered a new love! Rice and beans! Who knew it was so good?  (I know, a lot of people, including Rob and someone else from SU..maybe it was Stephanie). I do really enjoy rice and beans, and am happy to have found it.
Anyway, eating corn all the time was heavy on my belly.  Another thing, avocados.  Ok, it is AWESOME (even though he doesn't see it this way) that my Babe has SOOOO much stuff growing at our homestead.  He grew the corn they will eat all year, and he grows most the other things the family eats too.  There are banana trees, avocado trees, papaya trees, there will be mangoes in season, there is an orange tree, and I just discovered a lemon tree.  It freakin rocks! But this also meant that for the first few weeks of not being able to go buy our own food I ate a lot of Pop, avocados, and peanut butter.  Not the healthiest. (Also, probably not the healthiest that I seem to enjoy a nice PB&A sandwich (pb and avocado), but things got desperate after the first 2 weeks of just pb!)
That is how I am gaining weight in Africa. I know I will be walking more when I get to my permanent site in a month.  Also, who knows if I will be lucky enough to have such a fruitful homestead once I move.  I just got to enjoy the avocados (and moan about how there are no tortilla chips in the Swaz) while I can! (while they are freeeeeee) :)

Bloggggg :)

Monday July 9, 2012
Right now I am getting movies from my friend's external  hard-drive onto mine..This whole getting 10 hours of sleep thing is really making me see I need to stock-up.  I am also waiting for my hot water to cool a little before taking a bucket bath.

THIS JUST IN: For the next two years, Facebook will basically be useless to me! Internet is too slow and I won't want to pay for it on my phone.. If you want me, write me. Or email me, at j.h.r.2011@gmail.com.  I'm fo-serious on this.  So if you need to tell me something SUUUper important, messaging me on fb wont be good enough.  Without a strong and cheap internet connection,fb is useless.

I've been eating a lot of "pop" lately, or corn.  It is the Swazi staple food.  It is really not too bad, although nutritionally useless.  I have been eating with y host family everynight, and eating A LOT of peanut butter...I am not a peanut butter kind of girl, and Swaziland seems to have no jelly!, so care packages with anything else will be greatly appreciated..of waht, I do not know, but be creative!

Living here has been really nice so far.  Adjusting to life without electricity and running water has not been to bad too adjust to, shockingly easy actually. But, I have also only been here a week, so who knows how things will turn out.   I need to take a bath but don't want to do so while my computer is still on.  I had had hopes of watching a movie tonight, but those thoughts are quickly fading.. Oh well, another time.

I have enjoyed writing letters, and of course am jealous of people who have all ready recieved mail! Who knows how it was so quick! Oh well, I am sure your letters (for the next two years, dont forget) will surely start flowing :)  I really am soon to give up on the internet.. I am typing this blog tonight but who knows when I will post it.

I need to do my laundry soon.  Of course, being the over packer I am, I am still ok for a few days, but it will definetly be time soon. I forgot to bring sweatpants! Who knows what I was thinking (oh I know, it was stated that women DO NOT WEAR PANTS, so I didn't bring any).  THe other pants I have are all packed in a suitcase that I will get back afer being sworn in, in August.  It is definetly nice being without too much stuff, when I get my other suitcase back I really do not know where I will put my things.  Time to Bucket Bathe! More later!!


Friday,July 13, 2012
All of the time I took copying movies temporarily failed! I don't have a certain thing downloaded on to my comp! Bummer! When I get some reliable internet I will download the program.

     We left IDM today, the place where we stayed for our Pre-training.  Man were we spoiled there! with electricity and hot running water.
     I was SO NERVOUS to move in with my host family.  I guess the idea of it never really dawned on me.  But all my nerves evaporated when my bhuti(father) welcomed me with open arms.  I could see the joy of having me stay with his family in his eyes, it wiped away all of my fears.  Its so cute, he keeps telling me he wants me to feel free but that I also must be safe.. . For example, I can't go outside to the bathroom at night! (thank god for Burning Man!) He will walk me to school (training) in the morning and pick me up.  He told me if I want to go to a friend's house he will walk me there.  He is really sweet.  He speaks a lot of English, as most Swazis do, but all he says is "You will teach me English, I will teach you Siswati."  And let me tell you, Siswati is hard!  But he really pushes that I will learn, and it is really awesome.
 Right now dogs are barking all over this beautiful country side.  My bhuti works for himself, growing avacados, bananas, corn, etc.  He gave me a papaya he grew when I first got here.  And avacado trees are HUGE! I had no idea!! It is strange to live on a mountain, but the landscape is really growing on me.
 Being in Africa is really surreal.  I notice, and then I don't notice.  It is really beautiful, but then there is so much trash on the side of the street.
  Anyyywho, I am beat and need to go to sleep, it is coming up past 9 pm which is late for me now! I already have a list of things I would like in care packages, but am not sharing them for now.  This is because I have decided that instead of thinking about myself, for now I would like to think about this LOVING family that has adopted me.  I already have more things in my luggage than they probably own (besides my Bhuti's farming supplies). I'd rather wait to get Care Packages for myself until after I have moved to my permanant site, in September.  For now I would LOVE it if you sent me care packages for my host family.  I live with adorable kids.  I have a 3 year old Bhuti (brother), a 7 year old Sisi (sister), and a 12 year old Bhuti.  Honestly, my sisi showed me her little toys and what seemed like prized possessions and she had some crayons, a head band, and some hair clips from Clairs.  Great stuff, but I would love to be able to share more.  I, being the slow-ish person I am, of course did not bring ananything for my Babe or Mage, or their children :( Maybe some loving letters and some gifts for these people who now love me would be some things you could send.  Of course nothing large, shipping things to Africa will be expensive, but if your missing me a lot find something my new sibblings might like and perhaps send that along :)  My PC main post office (below) is the best place to send things, because it will be the cheapest for me because PC will not be charged customs.  Write "Jesus Saves" or something along those lines to help with the security of whatever you send. It will take a while to get here, so please send them before the end of July.
  I love you all and am looking forward to hearing from you!!

MY ADDRESS:
  Jessica Randall/ PCV
 PO Box 2797
  Mbabane H100

At JFK

Leaving. June 27, 2012.

I tried to upload a photo of me, there will be a before and after, but can't find y cord right now. Nor can I connect to the internet and so this is being uploaded a few days after I've left.
   Last night we went to dinner.  Philly for 12 hours was a good time.  Training really wasn't bad, carrying around my backpack was.  Ha.  Ad then they made me check it anyway, hence the lack of my cord.  I am aout to go on 15.5 hour flight, this will be interesting.  I must go buy a sandwhich first.
 It's pretty crazy to be going, but awesome!  I wonder how much I will be changing (a lot) and what I will be like when I get back.  I'm upset I can't connect to the internet right now, but I will get used to it.  I just don't want to pay 10.00$ for using the internet for an hour.  We start boarding in an hour, and after only sleping 3 hours on the bust today and then two on the airport ground I a ready to get some more sleep.

I Love you all!  Next time I'll be in Swaziland!  Some intense training is coming up.  Meeting everyone yesterday was awesome.  41 people in my group, and we all connected so quickly, easy to do when you are going on a mission this big.  Most of the people in Group 10 are around mmy age, but it is really neat to have two married couples, one a bit older who have served in PC before, and then a range of ages.  A 32 year old girl said she felt old, and I told her not to worry, if it was the right time to join now then she was not too old to do so.
 Saying goodbye yesterday was tough, watching everyone as I walked away from the airport entrance and through security.  But I can't wait to be in touch soon!!

NY, 4:30 AM

Me before I left! (not the greatest photo, I blame the photographer)

Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER

This blog is all words of my own and does not represent the thoughts, views, or opinions of the United States Peace Corps or the United States Government.

My Aspiration Statement

When a PCV accepts their invitation to the Peace Corps, they must write an aspiration statement on their goals and what they hope to gain.  This is mine.



A: The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service.

            I know that during my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer one important thing to remember while serving will be professionalism, and that remembering this while serving will help me reach goals.  While serving in the Kingdom of Swaziland I will adhere to the standards and policies of the country.  Respecting the country's policies as well as the policies of the school I am working with will help establish me as a professional, which will help with my engagement and interactions with my community.  By respecting these things I hope to in return gain the respect of those around me.

            Something I have learned that will help my professionalism during my service is remembering to be self aware as well as socially aware.  Being socially aware relates to being aware of others' emotions, experiences, and points of view, enabling me to create strong relationships with those around me.  Looking at these things will help establish me as a profession, which will then help in the success of the goals of my assignment.  Remembering to be self aware is also important, and this includes understanding my own emotions, strengths, limitations, actions, and reactions to things.  By keeping in check with myself about these things I will be able to grow safely and healthily, greatly expanding what I will be available to learn and teach.

            Being socially and self aware will also help me reach my goals as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  One of my largest goals is to integrate myself into the community.  I hope to establish relationships of trust and partnership.  Creating these types of relationships will aid in collaborating visions for the community, which will lead closer to the success of the visions. By enveloping myself as a member of the community I will be able to expand lessons for the prevention of AIDS/HIV.  I hope to come up with creative projects and lessons to help in teaching.  Not only do I want to share these with the younger population, but I hope by becoming an active member of the community I will be able to share with the parents and the older generation as well, which will help in encouraging the lessons taught at school or in youth groups/activities.  

B: Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.

            Working with my host country partners will be imperative to the success of my assignment.  My host partners' input will allow goals to be catered to the specific needs of where I am working.  I took what was called a leadership course last year and I believe that some of the lessons this course taught about being an inclusive leader will help me work with my counterpart.  In order to improve the relationship with my counterpart I will need to be willing to be vulnerable, enabling me to take risks.  Even though I will already be taken out of what is seen as my comfort zone, accepting a vulnerability will let my counterpart and I work through questions that are seen as "hard," allowing us to delve deeper into things and therefore working out better solutions, finding what will be most useful and able to be sustained.

            Other strategies I will use to better work with my counterparts will be cultural self-awareness, active listening, and patience.  Being culturally self-aware will help me work with my counterparts because it calls for me to be aware of how my cultural identity impacts my perspective.  My perspective on things will be very different then those of my counterparts, and by being aware of this I can move away from being stuck in one certain line of thought.  Being aware of this reminds me to try to look at things from a different perspective, and my counterpart will be one of the most important people to help me do this.  Active listening will also help me do this.  Active listening means listening with a desire to understand rather than just listening to prepare a response.  This is a great tool to use because it closes a cap on cultural lenses we tend to find ourselves using when speaking with someone who differs from ourselves.  Using this technique will also help create respect between myself and my counterparts.   

            Growing up in the United States a "go,go,go" attitude is instilled into people at a young age.  Because of this, I think patience will also be a great asset to the success of my assignment.  I will need to have patience with myself and with others.  Sometimes getting things done can take a long time, but by having patience I will encourage my counterparts and myself to not give up hope if a project seems to be taking longer than anticipated.  Patience is also important because of the language barrier that will be encountered at first.  I think the most important reason why patience will be a good thing to use with my counterparts and my community is because building strong relationships does not happen in a night, and I will have to be patient to build trust which will lead to stronger relationships of working together.  

C:  Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.

          I am excited to go to a new country with a culture I have never experienced before.  I think the strategy that will be most useful to me is one that I have used often in the past, embracing things as they come along rather than assuming about them before I go.  This strategy has helped me get through many transitions in my life, including transferring to completely new schools multiple times as well as studying abroad in Granada, Spain for four months.  It is also a strategy that excites me and that I am very comfortable with.  I let go of assumptions and expectations of what I do not know, and instead go into a new space with a completely open mind to what might happen.  I have found this to work very well because inhibitions are let go of, offering the best kind of experience that can be achieved.   

            I will respect my own background by staying aware of it as well as staying true to what I believe.  Staying aware of my background will enable me to expand my perspective on things by remembering that people do not share the same background as I do.  By staying true to what I believe I will be able to do my job with integrity, and keeping my integrity will improve the way I work and projects that are done.   

            While adapting to a new culture another thing I believe is important to remember is that even if things are very different and seem uncomfortable at first, comfort levels will raise with time.  It is important to remember that even if things are tough at first, the rewarding experience will be sticking it out and learning from it, rather than running from it.  I think it will be useful while serving to embrace differences, using them to my advantage and viewing them as assets.  Different perspectives will aid in the success of my assignment.

d:  The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project.

            During pre-service training I hope to improve strategies on counseling.  Although I do have some skills in this area, I think strengthening them will greatly improve the work I can do in Swaziland.  I believe that counseling will be important to help people deal with the loss that the AIDS/HIV pandemic has caused, as well as then counseling on the prevention on these diseases.  Improving my skills in this area will aid in my teaching and guidance of persons of all ages and genders.

            Upon being invited to serve in the Kingdom of Swaziland I have heard about many trials volunteers have encountered due to the emotional taxation the AIDS pandemic has taken, from my assignment description and from others who knew volunteers placed in similar situations.  One thing I hope to learn during pre-service training is how to take the potential surrounding devastation and turn it into something that can be useful to my purpose there.  The devastation there will have a personal effect on us volunteers, and rather than allowing the pain we feel and see around us have a detrimental effect on the work we are doing, I hope to gain knowledge of a way to change it from a negative to a positive to improve sharing our message and education.   

e:  How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends.

            I think that Peace Corps will greatly impact my personal and professional aspirations at the end of my service by guiding me to a more specific area of study for graduate school and my career.  After graduating with my degree in English, I have discovered that I greatly want to expand my areas of expertise.  I want my studies to move on to a more globally conscious humanitarian path, and find a career that greatly involves serving others, which is why I am so excited to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer because I know I will be fulfilling and learning about these things.  I know that I will learn a new way of living and expand my beliefs in this area while serving, which will help me choose a course of study.

            By living in what will seem to me a new world, I am excited to grow personally and professionally, which will undoubtedly happen.  Recently I have been trying to discover what direction my life will take me next, and what I wish to accomplish with my time, and I am grateful for the experience that Swaziland will give me in figuring out what my aspirations, both professionally and personally, truly are.  I am excited for the opportunity ahead of me to experience a new culture and to learn from it, on a personal level with the Kingdom of Swaziland as well as looking at in on a global scale.

            

A Month Before Departure

        In a little over a month, I will be on my way to Swaziland, Africa, to serve as a volunteer in The Peace Corps, and this is my first post to begin the adventure.  And an adventure really is what it will be.  I hope to learn a lot, about myself and about another culture.  I hope to learn about what I want my future to look like, what to study and maybe do as a career.  I know I am going to have fun, be scared, and miss a lot of people.  But I will also meet a lot of people who will change my life, and I hope to be a part of a change in others lives.

WHY?  
      Everyone around me wants to know why I am doing this.  So I will try to explain.  To me, in a lot of ways, it began with an idea my friend Elizabeth Mattuchio gave me.  In high school we started playing with the idea of joining the Peace Corps, saying that she would take photographs and I would write articles, and together we would send them to National Geographic.  Back then it was an idea that seemed interesting and fun, and perhaps something I really would want to do, but I can't say that I knew I would actually follow through with it. Liz and I graduated at different times, so our idea of going together faded, but in my junior of college I decided that joining the Peace Corps was something that I really wanted to do.  
    The idea of it began with Liz, but the joy of service started long before I met my best friend.  I started in youth group at The First Congregational Church in Rockport in the 6th grade.  I joined because Chelsea Picardo's, a close friend of mine, mother ran it, and I always heard about how much fun they had.  I believe this 6th grade youth group built on, and, in the 8th grade, our youth group (and close-knit group of friends in the rambunctious Sunday school class) was very strong.  Our leader, Mindy, began formulating an idea for our group to go on a Mission Trip, and we were all into it.  Our group of about 17 kids (I think) and the supportive adults, in a year raised 20,000 dollars to go to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, for our first Mission Trip.  Following this trip until after I graduated high school, I participated in each Mission Trip we went on, 5 mission trips.  It was great, and definitively a huge part of my life.   These trips included a whole bunch of fundraising and volunteering throughout the year, and then an intensive volunteer week in places of need.  You beginning to see why I am joining the Peace Corps?
      Service has been a big part of my life, and I know that another factor into my idea to join the Peace Corps was my lack of service while I was abroad.  I studied abroad in Spain, and while I was there I wanted to volunteer but just never found myself doing so.  This had a huge affect on me, I really had wanted to do while service abroad.  And on built the intrigue of the Peace Corps.  
      I returned from studying abroad with the intent to transfer schools, and upon completing this and settling down, I began researching what I had to do to make the Peace Corps a real possibility.  


      The Peace Corps is not something you can just jump into on some hasty decision, which I think sometimes is hard to see for my family.  It is really something I have worked hard for and have thought about.  I want to join so that I can satisfy my need for serving abroad, where ever else in the world this might take me in the future as well.  I am not joining AmeriCorps for a reason, I want to go serve abroad and then when I come back, take what I have learned and apply it to my home country.  Two years is a long commitment, but at the point I am in my life I need a long commitment to help me navigate to the next stage.  I feel that right now something short term would be used as a filler, similar to what my study-abroad program was for me in college.  Although it was a great experience,  I am looking for something more long term to help guide me on to the next step, not hold me over until hopefully some direction comes.  The Peace Corps IS my next step in my own search for direction, and it is an opportunity to do something amazing.  


When?
          June 5th and 6th, 2012: Pre-Departure Staging
          June 7th-August 2012:  Training
          August, 2012-August, 2014:  Service


Where?
         Swaziland, Africa.  :)  (More on the where in a later post)


What?
      Joining the Peace Corps..durrrr


Who?
   Me, Jessica Hope Randall I, born on June 17th, 1989.  Grew up in Rockport, the girl who went to 3 different high schools, and then technically 3 different colleges.  Graduated cum laude with a degree in English Literature.  The girl ready to go on an adventure, to learn a lot, to experience a lot of new things.  The girl who will miss all her loved ones and friends, but hopes they send her love and happy thoughts, and knows that she will visit everyone in their dreams.  The girl who will send postcards and who hopes to get postcards (and care packages of things I probably will need).  Who? Who knows.
                                                                                                       (Just kidding, I know.  It's ME!)