Thank You, South Africa

As some of you may or may not know, due to some security issues I was forced to come home a few months early from my Peace Corps service. Landing in America after nearly two years away was more overwhelming than words can say. If you are a fellow returned PCV, I am sure you know exactly what I mean. I have been spending the last few weeks trying to get my life together after an unexpected and abrupt end to my service, but I feel it is necessary to write a final closing blog to wrap up this momentous and unparalleled chapter of my life.

When I was debating whether or not to join the Peace Corps, I spoke to the friend of a professor who had interests similar to my own and had served in Ecuador. She told me, "aside from the birth of my daughter, Peace Corps was the most shaping experience of my entire life." Looking back now even if it has only been three weeks I completely agree with her.

Obviously, Peace Corps allows a LOT of free time, time to think about anything and everything, and time to learn from everyone and everything around you. I want to start by listing some of the most important lessons I have learned.

• Everyone deserves a second chance. 
• Kids are the ones worth listening to. 
• You have just as much if not more to learn from those you help in any capacity. 
• Age does not equal knowledge. 
• Elders ALWAYS, however, deserve respect. 
• Family time is of the utmost value no matter what. 
• Time spent, lost or gained doesn't always matter.
• Treating people with kindness, patience and respect is crucial in any work environment. 
• Give people the benefit of the doubt even if you do not want to. 
• Everything will work out the way it is supposed to. 
• The last lesson is one I learned when I had to say goodbye to my host family in a matter of 30 minutes. It was one of the most painful days of my life but it taught me that living in the moment, cherishing every possible second with those you love and where you are is necessary all the time. Never put off being where you are because like I experienced, you never know what moment might be your last. 

Next, I want to discuss everything about South Africa I am thankful for. Throughout all the frustration, tears, loneliness and pain there were also so many more important and valuable positive aspects of this country, these people and this experience. 

• First and foremost, I will miss the Makenas, my host family. They were and are the light of my life, and they are in my thoughts every day. I cannot imagine taking in some stranger from a foreign country no questions asked, and immediately treating them like family. My service, although the ending was unfortunate, was PERFECT because I can now call myself a Makena. The smiling faces of my host siblings, seeing my host grandma every morning and watching TV while sitting with the whole family will be some of my fondest memories of South Africa. There are no words I can say to thank them for their huge hearts and I am hopeful we will meet again someday. 
• I am thankful for everyone in Digwale who gave me a chance and allowed me to be part of their lives. Whether it was local teachers who allowed me to teach English and Health, community based organizations that welcomed me into their projects, or just locals who invited me into their homes I was so happy with how loved I felt by the community. 
• I am thankful for other volunteers, primarily the best friends I have gained while living in South Africa. The volunteer community is something so special and the types of bonds I made with other Americans during my service feel incomparable to any other type of friendship I have had. Not only are other volunteers friends, they are family and I know I will keep these bonds just as strong for the rest of my life. 
• Despite some issues I had at the end, I am thankful for Peace Corps staff. There are people at my post who genuinely care about the host country, the well-being of every volunteer and the goal of making the world a better place. Without them, post would crumble and we are all appreciative of their sincere and loving efforts.

Lastly, things I already miss and will continue to hold in a very special place in my heart. 

• Village sunsets and night skies.
• Village quiet.
• Village noises (cows, chickens, dogs, cars,, people you name it).
• Waking up in the morning to hear my host grandma yelling across the fence to her best friend having the same conversation they do every single morning.
• Seeing my host siblings run to school in their uniforms with backpacks that were way too heavy and big for them as I drank my morning coffee. 
• Watching soapies with the family at night.
• Greeting everyone no matter what and always asking how they are. 
• Taxi drivers and taxi rinks, the good and the bad. 
• Village sleepovers with close friends. 
• Partying and laughing with other volunteers during committee meeting weeks. 
• Playing with little kids constantly. 
• Traveling abroad.
• Girls' dance club meetings
• teaching life skills
• HIV awareness camps
• Overall feeling that my presence mattered and I was where I was exactly supposed to be.  
• Slowness yet fastness all at the same time. 

The list of everything I will miss could go on for pages, but I ultimately just wanted all of you who followed to  know what a magical place South Africa truly is. No matter what, the kids are smiling and laughing, people care for each other and at its roots this country is a place of love, kindness, generosity and amazing humility. I will miss it forever and am so grateful I was able to spend so much time there. 

Looking forward, I have a ton to be thankful for in the states. My friends and family at home have seen me through one of the toughest times in my life, and I continue to enjoy my time with them as it is the best medicine for this difficult process. 

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog, encouraged me throughout my service, kept in touch, donated to projects or simply has been on my side since I left on this journey. It really mattered, and as sad as I am that my service has ended, I will always remember it fondly. Again, thanks for reading :). 

And Suddenly Its Almost The End...

Okay I have been absolutely terrible with this blog in my second year. Everyone says the first year in Peace Corps is slow and the second one passes by in an instant. I now see what they mean. Although I do have my days where I feel time is moving so slowly, now I am at a place where the past seems kind of like a blur and all of a sudden I was spat out with less than six months left in country.

The past couple of months I have been at site finishing up a few projects. I am conducting a grade 6 boys club with 3 different primary schools, which I will be wrapping up in October, I just filed a grant for a World AIDS Day event titled, “We Are One,” and I am in the process of recruiting speakers, performers, caterers, materials and decorations for the event. It will be a great way for the community to get together and celebrate accomplishments of the past year and look forward to the future and set some new goals for kids, adults and the community at large. My after-school dance group has continued and the new youth center manager actually asked me if I could set something up for them to perform at his upcoming event. I have been holding practices for them twice a week and the routine is really coming together! They perform this week so I am hopeful that everything will run smoothly.  The learning center is coming along, I am just waiting on a final shipment of books and then I will arrange transport to take it all to the village. The process has kind of been put on hold because there is a post office strike in my area, which has lasted for the last few months. I am just letting in be and hoping all my books show up in once piece. Other than that, my projects mostly consist of decorating the dance room at the youth center and leaving it with all the supplies needed or it to continue once I leave, doing the same for the learning center, and just cherishing the time I have left with my host family and those I have deeply connected with in my community.

In terms of work with Peace Corps admin, my time as Chair of the Volunteer Support Committee will be ending in November when we have our next meeting. One of my final projects with the committee has been working with other committee chairs and PCSA staff to plan the country’s first All Volunteer Conference. We negotiated with headquarters to fund a conference in December where all volunteers can get together in the same place. I know it seems relatively easy to do, but South Africa is HUGE and it can often be expensive and difficult to coordinate everyone’s schedules, find a venue, etc. The conference will be right after SA27 (my cohort) close of service conference, so we will basically get almost a week of cohort bonding time which will be really fun. After this, most volunteers will be going on vacation, including me! A lot of us have gone in on a beach house together and plan to just relax, go swimming, cook delicious food and enjoy each other’s company for over a week. It will be a great way to end 2014.

This coming month, my grandma and grandpa on my dad’s side are visiting! I absolutely cannot wait to see them since it has almost been two whole years! It is their first trip to Africa, and they will be coming to my site before we do some traveling together. The kids cannot wait to meet them, and I think it will be super meaningful for them to see my work here and experience a piece of South Africa they wouldn’t be able to unless I was serving in one of the communities here. I will be sure to post some photos from their visit as soon as I can!

For now, I will attach some pictures of my latest village happenings (I am really bad about taking photos), highlights of Christina and Lauren’s visit, etc. Thanks for reading and I promise I will try to update more often…key word try ;). I am thinking of home always and cannot WAIT to give everyone the biggest hugs when I come back!

XOXO,                                                                                          

h

Better Late Than Never?

It has been SO LONG since I have posted on here, which means stuff has been super busy! I will do my best to catch you all up on what has been happening as best I can! Apologies for dropping the ball. I guess I will just do a run down per month that I haven't posted.

April-

• Lots of LSAT prep
• Lane, one of my best friends in Peace Corps turned 28!
• Continued teaching at local schools and finalized the shelving and painting in the learning center

May- 

• Got to meet Lane's mom and her best friend while they were visiting!
• Two big birthdays--George, a cluster mate turned 30, and Ed turned 35!
• Even more LSAT prep
• wrapping up planning for girls camp the following month

June- 

This was just a great month. We had a Volunteer Support Committee meeting on June 13th, right after the LSAT on the 10th, then a lot of us hung out in Pretoria for my birthday on the 14th! It was so much fun to be surrounded by great people, and I could not have asked for a better birthday or week. 

At the end of the month we held a girls sleepover camp, where over 45 young women ages 13-20 came with 10 counselors to a lodge outside of Pretoria and we had a huge health workshop for 4 days and 3 nights. We talked about relationships, sex, education, and even squeezed in time to have a talent show and make smores. All I can say is, I was blown away by all of these young girls. They completely came out of their shells, and it was so much fun to get to know my kids on a deeper level and spend some quality time with them. Coming back, I got so many messages from their parents talking about how much fun they had, and I am so happy the camp had a positive impact on them. It is hard to put into words how much joy it brought me to make them feel appreciated and cared for, and empower them in ways they had not experienced. I loved the camp, and I am so glad I was able to make that memory here. 

July- 

This month is just coming to an end but it was SO GREAT! Lauren and Christina arrived in Namibia on July 2nd, and for the next 2.5 weeks we traveled Namibia and South Africa together, ending at my site. All I can say is it was a wonderful visit. Sitting with them, drinking wine and catching up felt like no time had passed, and like we were picking up right where we left of. I LOVED having them here, and I feel even closer to them than I already did, which I didn't think was possible. I feel so blessed to have friends and family who will travel this far and spend quality time with me. The memories we made will be some I will remember for the rest of my life!

It is really hard to update even a month behind, so I apologize on how brief this is. However, in the next couple months, I am going to be finalizing the learning center project (books are on their way), working with The Mother Bear Project to donate some teddy bears to children in my area, as well as put together an event for World AIDS Day, which is December 1st. I am hoping to have a fundraiser/dance and singing show in my local community hall, bringing everyone together and raising awareness about HIV. These are a few of my final projects, but I will continue to do after school girls and boys clubs as well as teach dance.

I will try and upload photos as soon as I can, it all just depends on my access to fast internet. 

I cannot believe I only have about 8 more months in country, but I am hoping everything will wrap up smoothly as I enjoy the time I have left in South Africa. Thanks to everyone for reading and know the closer I get to finishing my service, home fills a bigger and bigger space in my heart!

All my love, 

h

Drakensberg Mountains and Lesotho!

I just returned from a much needed vacation, and all I can say is the Drakensberg Mountains are absolutely stunning.

Lane and I traveled for a little over a week, hiking, riding horses, doing a donkey pub crawl (yes, donkeys), and of course relaxing and enjoying each other's company. I will let the photos speak for themselves because it was truly an incredible trip.

This week I am headed to Pretoria for Mid Service Training, where our entire cohort will reunite and attend a conference preparing us for the second year, closing service, etc. It feels great to be in the second year!

Besides photos from my recent trip, I will also upload some random village moments and pictures of the dance studio I am working on building.

Thanks again for following, love and miss you all very much!

All my love,
h