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
