after two days of staging, i feel overwhelmed. i still don't know much about what i am going to be doing in SA. i do, however, now know how everybody is feeling about leaving; all the fears and hopes for the PC experience. oh staging...
so tomorrow is it. we finally leave. right now it is hard to believe. i'm not looking forward to the flights, to lugging my bags around, or to the hot weather that is waiting for us all. ugh. but i am ready to learn more about what i will be doing and i am excited to go back to SA.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
tell me again what exactly i am doing??
This time next week (Jan. 30) I will be in Frankfurt, waiting for my evening flight to Joburg. I have been waiting for so long to leave and now that the day is around the corner, I am starting to wonder if this is really the right thing for me. The excitement is dying and I feel more stressed and annoyed, overloaded with information while also knowing very little. Everyone tells me that it it going to be ok; that it is going to be a great experience. I hope they are right...
Once I arrive in South Africa:
The first question this email raises is what does 'basic by US standards' really mean? No running water or electricity? That seems pretty basic to me. The second question I have is how will I get along with my family? I have had a hard enough time trying to get along with my actual family, so the thought of having 'another' family is a bit... overwhelming?
I am told that during my training, which lasts until April 3, I will have little contact with the outside world. No email, no cell phones, no smoke signals- nothing. I am ok with that (I think). I hope you are too.
During the first 8ish days I will be attending a very intense load of classes that include language, safety, history, geography and something called medical sessions. It looks like I will either be learning Afrikaans or Sepedi. Whenever I think about Afrikaans, I think of my American friend at UCT who used to call it the 'language of oppression.' Another one of my friends, however, pointed out that English could also be considered the same. Perhaps if I become fluent in Afrikaans, I will be able to communicate with the Dutch, and will in turn be able to go to the University of Amsterdam for my masters degree. Guess I shouldn't think about these things now...
On Sunday, February 10th you will travel to begin your stay with families in the Bakengerg area, which is approximately 1 hour from Mokopane and 2.5 hours from Pretoria, the capital city. All meals and day-to-day living activities (e.g., cleaning, bathing, washing clothes, etc.) will take place at your homestay. You are expected to become an integral part of your South African family, including joining them for your meals. The staple food is maize (corn meal), prepared as a thick porridge called “pap” and eaten with vegetables or a sauce. Fruits and vegetables are seasonally available. You will learn to enjoy the staple foods of South Africa.
I remember eating pap while I was in Botswana. I was sitting around a campfire and our Zimbabwean chef made it for dinner. The thought never crossed my mind that in 2 years I would be eating the stuff as my staple food. Funny how life works out.
Anyways, this is the gist of what I know now. After I move in with my host family, I continue with a rigorous schedule that starts at 7am and continues throughout the day. On April 3 we have our ceremony to swear us in, so as long as I pass my oral language exam and survive until then, I will become an actual volunteer. Yippie!
Once I arrive in South Africa:
Upon arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, you will be driven for approximately 2 hours to Mokopane Education Center in Mokopane, Limpopo Province. You will stay in a dormitory, which is basic by U.S. standards, and spend the first 9 days at a center being oriented to South Africa. Thereafter you will be welcomed into the home of a South African family who will be your host until April 3, 2008.
The first question this email raises is what does 'basic by US standards' really mean? No running water or electricity? That seems pretty basic to me. The second question I have is how will I get along with my family? I have had a hard enough time trying to get along with my actual family, so the thought of having 'another' family is a bit... overwhelming?
I am told that during my training, which lasts until April 3, I will have little contact with the outside world. No email, no cell phones, no smoke signals- nothing. I am ok with that (I think). I hope you are too.
During the first 8ish days I will be attending a very intense load of classes that include language, safety, history, geography and something called medical sessions. It looks like I will either be learning Afrikaans or Sepedi. Whenever I think about Afrikaans, I think of my American friend at UCT who used to call it the 'language of oppression.' Another one of my friends, however, pointed out that English could also be considered the same. Perhaps if I become fluent in Afrikaans, I will be able to communicate with the Dutch, and will in turn be able to go to the University of Amsterdam for my masters degree. Guess I shouldn't think about these things now...
On Sunday, February 10th you will travel to begin your stay with families in the Bakengerg area, which is approximately 1 hour from Mokopane and 2.5 hours from Pretoria, the capital city. All meals and day-to-day living activities (e.g., cleaning, bathing, washing clothes, etc.) will take place at your homestay. You are expected to become an integral part of your South African family, including joining them for your meals. The staple food is maize (corn meal), prepared as a thick porridge called “pap” and eaten with vegetables or a sauce. Fruits and vegetables are seasonally available. You will learn to enjoy the staple foods of South Africa.
I remember eating pap while I was in Botswana. I was sitting around a campfire and our Zimbabwean chef made it for dinner. The thought never crossed my mind that in 2 years I would be eating the stuff as my staple food. Funny how life works out.
Anyways, this is the gist of what I know now. After I move in with my host family, I continue with a rigorous schedule that starts at 7am and continues throughout the day. On April 3 we have our ceremony to swear us in, so as long as I pass my oral language exam and survive until then, I will become an actual volunteer. Yippie!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
the creation
well i finally started a blog (possibly many many countries too late). perhaps i will use this to write about my experiences in south africa... and then again, maybe i will keep them to myself.
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