It's about that time again...

So yes I acknowledge that I have been lagging on my blog updates, but truth is, it’s hard! I’ve never had a blog before so sometimes I forget I have a blog and I’m supposed to regularly update it, and sometimes after all of the e-mails and letters and discussions it’s hard to put my thoughts down yet one more time. But as my April Fools Day resolution I promise to try harder.

Anyway, life since my last post has been nothing short of interesting. Last Thursday we officially became Peace Corps Volunteers and had a formal ceremony in which we butchered the South African National Anthem (the song is in 4 languages…its hard), heard some nice speeches, and gave each other a lot of hugs. Training was tough, and I am a lot more proud to have finished than I thought I would be at the beginning of this process. We had a heartfelt goodbye to our host families, we put on a little program for them over the weekend to say thank you. I was part of the cooking committee (slightly ironic considering I don’t know how to cook) and the food we made was DELICIOUS. Trying to bring some American flare to a gathering of 300 people we made Mac n Cheese, Greek salad (not so American, mainly we just miss eating vegetables) and a whole lotta pap. Pap is basically water and flour, and is about as flavorful and nutritious as it sounds. But it’s filling, and people love it. Before we fed them, we did a little performance of traditional Ndebele/Zulu dances (the guys dance was way cooler than the girls dance), sang some Ndebele songs, and put on a slideshow of pictures that we had all taken of us with our families over the months. It was a lot more special than it sounds as I write it down. I was really sad to leave the family I had grown close to, despite the fact that everybody busted a gut laughing when I told them I would be cooking for myself when I moved to my new site. I mean come on, it’s not my fault they don’t like fried rice. When we said goodbye I told them I was sad and they said, well it’s okay because you’re coming back next Friday. I am? I responded. Yes, they said. Well…I guess that’s settled.

Last week we moved to our permanent sites and I had to say goodbye to all of the friends that I had made over training. It was sad but I think for the most part we were ALL ready to be done with training and begin the 3 month period we lovingly call community integration. I am really starting to like the village that I’m living in, and have coerced my 16 year she old host sister into hanging out with me all the time. Sometimes she looks at me with that look I so fondly remember giving to my as a 16 year old every time she asked me to do something I didn’t want to, but sometimes I think she secretly enjoys hanging out with me. Most of those times involve me giving her chocolate or playing my movies for her, but hey…baby steps. There is another group of high school girls who have adopted me into their netball club (netball: a strange mix between basketball and ultimate Frisbee) and refuse to tell me the rules but make me play in every game. Sbongile mark your player! Sbongile throw it faster! Sbongile she isn’t on your team! This participation in team sports really brought me back to my days playing soccer as I got irrationally disappointed in myself when I messed up and the other team scored a point because of it. Or the days I would fake sick to try to get out of practice. I actually considered doing that one day when I didn’t feel like playing because I get embarrassed that everyone is better than me. Then I asked myself… seriously? I thought I was getting good but then yesterday in an attempt to block a shot, I knocked over the 10 foot tall basket and things got real awkward. Baby steps?
There has been a lot of ambiguity surrounding my work situation, so at the moment I am focusing on meeting people in my community as I wait to find out exactly where I will be working and what I will be doing. There isn’t much going on in my village so I am really excited about the opportunities for projects among all age groups.
I just returned from Pretoria where I had a marvelousssss weekend sleeping in a real bed an eating McDonalds…what? I think the last time I ate McDonalds was in the 4th grade, but hey if it isn’t pap I’ll eat it. I think I ate more this weekend than I have in the past month. I went to Pretoria so that I could go to an English speaking church service for Easter and was fortunate enough to stay with the family of the head pastor, who are some of the kindest and most giving people I’ve met. Other fun moments included seeing The Hurt Locker (I think that’s the name) in the movie theatre, stuffing myself with pizza, and just hanging out, resting, and meeting a lot of interesting people. I am coming back to the village refreshed, optimistic about the future, and very very full. It is a little bit crazy moving back and forth between the rural village where I don’t have constant electricity or running water (and a whole lotta bugs…I’ve become an expert at the sandal slap to kill spiders as I still can’t bring myself to touch them with a napkin) and the first world of the city where I can get anything at anytime and life moves just as fast as in America. I’ve heard that this is the biggest source of stress and challenge for volunteers in South Africa, but I think after living in Stellenbosch (in 2007)and working in a township school nearby I was able to figure out how to deal or cope with it then, and now I can embrace both for what they are.

Winter is finally upon us and as I write I’m watching the thunderstorm out my window, drinking tea and listening to Belle & Sebastian. So poetic. I am missing all of you very much, this being my first major holiday away from home or family in (I think) my entire life. I really love hearing about what is going on back home, especially in the form of letters and pictures!!!! Can I say that enough

Sala Gahle,
Emily