Halfway Through Training

  Before I begin, I just want to throw it out there that “Maybe Today” by Carbon Leaf might be one of the most beautiful songs written in my lifetime. That has nothing to do with anything, but I am listening to my iPod as I write, and the song is currently playing, so I have to be me. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program of my thoughts and experiences...

  So, the first thing I have to say is I love my host family. I know this may seem like something that goes without saying, given some of my previous posts, but I've realized this is something that I shouldn't take for granted. Because matching volunteers and families can't have been an easy task for the Peace Corps. And it doesn't always work out. In some cases, it's just a bad fit of personalities, or awkward exchanges with extended family, or a family who doesn't speak the language they're learning, or worse. But in my case, it's great. I love my host mom, and she's been really helpful for me in learning this language. I love my host siblings, who make me laugh and I get to have fun with. And unlike some of my friends, they don't simply sit around the TV all evening. I'm getting fed enough (which is less of a problem as my mom made me think it would be in Africa when I was little) and I'm not getting fed too much (which many of my fellow PSTs are having problems with). My room is small, and there is no AC, but my bed is comfy and I have enough space. Honestly, my only real complaint is the constant “praise Jesus” emanating from my host mom's room 24/7 and the fact that people are loud in the morning before I want to be awake. In the grand scheme of things, if those are my biggest complaints (along with the lack of vegetables in my diet, which gets covered by all the delicious fruits we always have), much less my only real complaints,other than being far from other volunteers, then I think Peace Corps did a d@mn good job placing me with a family.

  One of the more enjoyable parts of the last couple weeks was a class on sustainable gardening by a RPCV from Haiti (we've named him “Compost Peter” because we had a presentation a few days earlier from “Malaria Chris”). He taught us how to make compost out kitchen garbage. He taught us about things in a seemingly barren environment that could be used to improve a garden. And he showed us how to turn a patch of sand into fertile soil for planting. While some of this was stuff I knew already from my time at Fort Dupont, it was still very informative and enjoyable.

  Training is going very well. I sometimes feel like our instructors baby us a little (they give us a handout or put up a PowerPoint and then read directly from it, rather than trusting our abilities to read English). However, it's going well, and I do feel like I'm learning a lot. The resource volunteers they bring in have all been great so far. They know a lot and give us great advice. Last week, we got to participate in what I like to call our first “live fire exercises.” We were split into to groups and had to take turns leading classes to groups of youths at a school and with an NGO. The first course was a flannel-gram presentation on the dangers of unprotected sex and multiple concurrent partners. The next one was on puberty, gender, and healthy relationships. The third one was the one I was set to lead. It was proper use of condoms. And it went really well. For many of the kids, they knew what condoms were, knew why they were good, but had no idea of their proper use. So, after a few games and questions meant to deal with condom misconceptions (see what I did there?), we showed them how to put on a condom (both male and female, something I point out because a specific couple of you will be especially happy to hear about that). We finished with a Q&A and gave out post-it notes so kids could ask questions they didn't feel comfortable asking in front of the class. We didn't have time to answer them, so we're doing that as part of our fourth and final class. Of course, what I have yet to mention was that while the first 2 sessions were meant to give us a chance to practice, my presentation was the first evaluated one. And, like I said, I think it went really well. Which felt good.

  One issue I'm dealing with is balancing my duty as a “medical expert” with not trying to be a cultural imperialist. For example, when talking about things like multiple concurrent partners, making sure I share the facts about the risks without completely bashing their culture, while recognizing also that at times, there are cultural things (especially the gender inequality) that do need to be addressed, if for no other reason than I have been sent here to deal with the HIV epidemic here, and gender inequality is certainly one of the leading factors (along with multiple concurrent partners and unprotected sex).

  For those of you wondering, no, the positive tone of this post is in no way related to the previous one. The truth is, in spite of the event leading me to feel the way I did when I wrote it, I still love this country. It's not America, but that's neither a good or a bad thing. However, I feel like this I what I need, and really feel like I have a chance to make a real difference, even if only minor. Namibia has it's problems, but I am still extremely happy here so far (and if you don't believe me, just ask the former massage therapist in my training group who once tried to give me a shoulder massage, only to end up telling me how relaxed I was). However, I will say that while I have seen billboard and heard radio/TV ads regarding not drinking and driving, there is something missing. These ads never feature an alternative. Not once have I seen or heard anything referencing the value of a designated driver.

  I will say now that this post has been written over several days. By the time you all see this, class four (which I believe is about family planning) will have happened, but I'm only assisting that one, not leading it, so I probably won't focus too much on it. I would share this now, but I want to wait until after my midterm LPI and I receive my sight assignment so I could tell you more about what I'll be doing over the next 2 years. So, just know that everything after this came later.

  I have taken my LPI in KKG. I think I did okay, I certainly think I passed (granted, that just required a level of Novice High). While I struggled, I only said one word in English, and it was “um”. I did have to say “//nau!na tama ta ha” a few times and asked my interviewer to “khawa mi re, toxaba” a few times (“I don't understand” and “please say it again”). Honestly, I was a lot less stressed than everyone else, I think. I don't know, maybe it was just that I realized this was simply a gauging test so we knew how to improve for the real one at the end of PST. But I like to think it's just that I'm naturally a more relaxed person. With sight visits coming up, I think all of us are just going crazy waiting for our swearing in.

  We finally got our sight announcements (a week after Benna's April Fool's joke got everyone's hopes up a little early). So, before I begin, I guess I should make some things clear: Peace Corps wants their volunteers to be flexible. As such, we often get very little info on things and don't have much say. The other night I was studying language. My host mom asked me why I chose KKG, and I replied that I really had no say, that Peace Corps assigned the languages. Honestly, if I'd had a choice, I would've picked Afrikaans. It's the most widely spoken language in Namibia and would've been the most useful, honestly (it's also probably the easiest of Namibia's languages to learn, but that's beside the point). When we got here, Peace Corps interviewed us about what we wanted in our sight and what kind of work we wanted to do, whether we wanted to live in a village or a town, etc. Then they matched what we said with our resumes. And then they fitted us to the program that best matched us. Or at least so they say. Honestly, I wouldn't be too surprised to find a Namibia-shaped dart board in the office in Windhoek (just kidding). The way they announced the sites was actually kind of fun. They made a large map of Namibia out of rope and rocks and put a piece of paper and a rock in the rough location of each town. Then, one by one, we were called up and they said which town we were going to and who we would be working with there and we all walked to our spot. It was cool to see who would be close to us and who would be less close.

  And now, without further ado, it is time to announce where I will be living and what I will be doing. Sort of. I will be living in a town called Khorixas (this part should not be any surprise to anyone who is my friend on Facebook). It's a small town a little south of Etosha. It's got a small Wikipedia page (something I found out not all of our towns can claim). I will not be living in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere. Sorry for those of you hoping I would be. I will be living in a homestay for the first 6 weeks or so (which I wanted) and then (once they finish making it livable) I will be moving into a small flat with at least one co-worked (a female, according the info packet I was given). I will have electricity, water in my house, some form of toilet/hole in the ground with a seat (the form says a flush toilet, but this is Africa, so you never know), and a bath tub/shower (which will probably be closer to a hose and a bucket, I'm guessing). But, at least I have a door (suck on that, CJ). There are 2 other PCVs in my town, and both of the girls studying KKG are within an hour or so of me, which will be nice. My host mom says it's very nice and very safe (which should make my relatives happy to know). The father of her children was from there and much of his family is still there. It's mostly Dhamaras/Namas territory, though there are some Herero I believe. I think I'm the closest in our group to the Atlantic coast. Oh, and for those of you wondering how to pronounce the town, it's “Ko-ree-has”.

  So, what will I be doing? That's a good question. I'll tel you when I have a real answer. I will be working with a local Youth Center. The application for PCV came from the Ministry of Youth National Service, Sport, and Culture, and my position is listed as “Rural Youth Officer”. I'm thinking my experience with soccer might just come in handy here, and for those of you familiar with A's and Aces, there is a similar program called Grassroots Soccer based in South Africa. That's about as much as I know. I may get a better idea once I go for my sight visit, but honestly, it's really going to be my own initiative guiding the next 2 years. Still, it's very exciting. Like, super exciting. I don't think I can put into words how I feel, since it's finally getting real and I'm sooooooo close to finally being a PCV and getting to do what I've wanted to do for so long.

  One thing I want to comment on is the concept of volunteerism. I recently read an article in a newspaper by someone I respect (I will leave them nameless, this who they are is not important). They were talking about white privilege in America and were using the Peace Corps and similar volunteer programs as an example. And they were critical of how we get paid despite being volunteers. So, I want to clear something up: we are volunteers, not slaves. We don't get paid a lot, we are given a basic living allowance, enough to cover living expenses comparable to the average living conditions of the country where we are volunteering. I am not going to become rich as a volunteer. In the US, I wouldn't even be making enough to pay taxes. Certainly not getting paid anything close to what members of our all volunteer military make (which is a road I won't go down, since many of you know my opinion on the amount of money that goes to the military as opposed to foreign aid and development programs, and this is not the forum for that). And no, I'm not asking for more money, I'm just hoping people realize the reality of our situation before they go off on how the Peace Corps is a waste of money spent on satisfying the egos of whites (by the way, just under 50% of my training group are not white, and our country director is African American).

  Also, this past weekend we changed our clocks. We fell back, so I am now an hour closer in time to you all (in America, that is).

  And while none of you will get this, or even understand it, tita ge a JJb xa !gaibahe.

  So with that, I leave you. I go now now.