Ngwaga o mosha! (Happy New Year!)

Hey everyone! Long time, no update, eh? Sorry about that! You know how the holidays are… busy busy busy. What’s that you say? The holidays ended a month ago? Well, no siree, they did not! I extended my holiday season this year until mid-January and since then it’s been rainy almost every day. And I’m on solar power, remember? So that means I barely had enough power to have a few lights on at night. One night I even cooked by candlelight! Now you tell me how I’m supposed to know if my onions are browning when everything in the room looks golden! Yeah… that’s what I thought. Life of a Peace Corps volunteer. Wah wah wahhhh. ;)

Alright then, let’s begin!

For xmas I went up north to Kasane with a few other volunteers. That was a really fun time! I think we all thought there’d be more things to do in Kasane but found it to be mostly big fancy lodges that you can plan outings through like game drives and day trips to Vic Falls. Being on a PC budget, we had to find cheap ways to entertain ourselves so we started a little something we called the Kasane Krawl, where we would go to these beautiful lodges and order appetizers and maybe a drink and then just sit there for the whole day and play cards or whatever. It’s an affordable way to enjoy the lodges. I highly recommend it! It also gave us a chance to scope out where would be good for xmas dinner. We ended up splurging for this huuuge dinner buffet, and it was delicious! Buffets are such fun!

We stayed at Thebe River Camp which I believe has rooms as well but we camped for a good price. The only downfall there was I learned my tent was not so waterproof and in the middle of the night had to gather all my things into the center of the tent and sleep in a ball (literally, a ball, think tornado drill position). haha The second night that it rained I got out and moved everything to shelter and stayed there for the rest of the time. We did a game drive and river cruise through Thebe River Camp on xmas day. We got to see hyena, monkeys, elephants, impala, kudu, lots of birds, a jackal and hippos. We also saw lion tracks, but no actual lion.

After xmas I headed back to my neck of the woods and celebrated New Years in the larger village near mine. In Botswana, it’s common to set off fireworks for New Years, so at midnight we were outside watching them all and toasting to the new year. It was nice. Then I was back in my village for a week before leaving for Spain to see Joe.

Spain was great! We stayed right on Las Ramblas, so we were in close proximity to plenty of paella and sangria. I also went on a personal mission to have ice cream from every ice cream shop on the strip (plus one sidestreet) because let’s face it, most of the ice cream sold in Bots is a disgrace to ice cream. The place we stayed was also right next to the huge market, St. Josep. I’ll post pictures of it, because it was so amazing. It had everything; fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, pastries, nuts, chocolate, tapas, yeah, you get the point. I could have easily never left that place, but being in Barcelona for only a week, it would probably be best to see some other things. So we went to the Parc Guell and this huge aquarium down by the sea and just walked around a lot. Parc Guell was cool. Since it’s up on a hill it had some really great views. The aquarium was alright, not all that impressive, but they did have a few crazy looking fish that were cool to see. I’ll post some pictures of those too. Ummm yep, I think most of our time was spent eating though. As it should be.

Since I’ve been back there hasn’t been too much going on. Last week we had a workshop for the VMSAC (Village Multi-Sectoral AIDS Committee) and Support Groups for two days. The first day was mostly going over HIV basics: transmission, prevention, myths, those sorts of things. The second day we broke into two groups (VMSAC or Support Groups) and went over our 2009 plan that we developed a few months back, adding a few events and specifying details. I think the workshop was most useful for identifying who was to represent each department in the village. Each department is supposed to send one representative to VMSAC meetings but generally there are only about 3 or 4 of us that show up. Two of the 4 being PC volunteers. So yeah, now that we know who is supposed to come we can hold them accountable. The activities we have planned are good and could be great, but there is often a lack of interest and support in carrying them out. I’m hoping this workshop will serve as a reminder for many of the departments of their duty to contribute to these events and do what needs to be done to ensure their success.

The other volunteer in my village and I were trying to organize a little party for Valentine’s Day to do something fun while at the same time give people information on HIV, but now the Men’s Sector from a village nearby is coming to hold a football competition on Valentine’s Day and talk about rape. I’m all about the men doing an event and taking leadership, but I find it a little bit of a downer to focus a Valentine’s Day event on rape. Some of us VMSAC members will be meeting with the Men’s Sector this Friday to prepare and I’m pushing for some talk time to promote making smart decisions and caring for and protecting oneself.

As for my work in the clinic, our PMTCT lay counselor recently attended the Infant and Young Child Feeding training that my former counterpart had taken, so now she and I will hopefully be working together to start up and run a mothers support group. That way, instead of doing training every day with the mothers who come to the clinic to weigh their children, we can hold meetings and train them all at the same time while also giving them the chance to talk with one another and exchange challenges and advice. Since part of the training will be showing the mothers how to properly and hygienically prepare formula and then having them demonstrate what they learned, it makes sense to do it all at once every now and then rather than everyday.

Oh! In December, my counterpart, another nurse and I organized and put on a health talk for the maintenance workers in the village. Unfortunately, since it was getting close to the holidays a lot of the workers had already left to go back home, but we ended up with 11 men and the talk went really well. We planned an activity to see how much the men already knew about STIs and HIV and to create discussion about the material. I couldn’t believe how involved they got! I was expecting them to be like, “uhhh, why do we have to be here?!” but nope, they were totally getting into it. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and I think they’re a great group to target for additional talks in the future. I really enjoy talking about sexual health with adults (formal and informally). Because it’s an embarrassing topic for a lot of people, the atmosphere gets kind of goofy and childish but then people start to ask questions about things they have really been wanting to know for some time but have never asked or didn’t know who to ask, and it feels really good to be able to talk about those things with them and especially when it gives you the opportunity to clear up common misconceptions. In a country like Botswana with HIV rates where they are at, it can be a little disheartening to hear so many pieces of incorrect information floating around. HIV and AIDS prevention seems to be everywhere you look here. It’s built into every sector of the government and there are billboards and tshirts and what what what, but I think it’s become quite clear that while most people know about it, a lot of them couldn’t tell you what HIV or AIDS stand for, list the 3 most common modes of transmission, 3 ways you can protect yourself, and so on. So yeah, I guess that’s where there’s work to be done! But anyway, that was a rather long digression! Moving on…

The computer classes are still “happening”, but we haven’t held a class in some time due to the holidays and a shortage of diesel for the clinic generator. However, the current class has said they are eager to get back to the computers, so I’m hoping later this week we can have a refresher class before continuing on with the other lessons.

The health talks with the video showings have also been further postponed due to the shortage of diesel, and because they really don’t rank up there that high with demands for the generator. But lately I’ve noticed one of the Family Welfare Educators has begun doing a weekly health talk for the patients in the morning. That’s actually part of the FWE’s job description, but it wasn’t being done before which is why I thought introducing the videos might help create some interest in doing so. I think the sudden pick up in duties has to do with having a new nurse in charge. (There were two before: my counterpart, who was transferred, and another nurse who is on leave and then has been temporarily transferred to a nearby village.) I like this new nurse a lot. She has a good attitude and people seem to listen to and respect her. I had actually met her before my counterpart was transferred and was pleased to find out that she would be the one replacing him.

Alright, this has gotten quite long so I’ll spare you my usual lengthy bug/weather/etc. updates and offer up just a sentence or two for each. (Bet by now you’re wishing I’d do that for everything else, too, huh? ;) )

Weather: Like I said, we’ve had lots of rain and I thiiink it’s beginning to cool down in the mornings and evenings. Yay!

Bugs: Thanks to the rain and cooler weather, there have been less bugs, but, unfortunately, an increase in poisonous spiders in my house. Total count killed to date: somewhere between 14-16 (I lose track after awhile). I swear I keep my house clean, but I came back from holiday and bam, everywhere! So that’s been fun…

Etc.: I know I said I’d post a packing list in the near future and then didn’t, so for that I apologize, but here is one now! I hope it’s useful and feel free to email me with any questions or suggestions! I’m very excited for the new group of volunteers to come in April! Hope you’re all living up your last two months in the states! Woop woop!

Ok, that’s all! Eesh, 3 pages! You said you wanted an update! hehe

Hope everyone is doing well and surviving winter alright! It’s almost over! Talk to ya’ll later! :)

Packing Suggestions for Bots8ers!

While you can technically find most things in Bots, your days of entire aisles dedicated to shampoo and conditioner are over (or at least for the next 26 months). So, this packing list is more about bringing things that are key for maintaining your sanity and that are difficult to find/expensive/limited in options in Botswana.

•A backpacker’s backpack. I don’t think it’s necessary, but it’s definitely convenient (rolling suitcases aren’t so great when you don’t have tarred roads). They’re good for longer trips too.
•I brought a lightweight sleeping bag with a compact bag, so it shrinks down real nice and fits in my daypack with a few changes of clothes for short trips.
•REI towel – the kind that are super thin and soak up a lot of water. They’re great for traveling because they don’t take up much room and dry extremely fast.
•Laptop, if you were thinking about it. Most of us don’t have internet at our offices, so it’s handy to have to type up emails and whatnot before going to the internet café. Also nice for watching movies on the weekends!
•External hard drive. You’ll be taking lots of pictures over the next two years. It’s good to have a place to back them all up so you can reuse memory cards.
•I suggest bringing 2 memory cards so for long trips or whatever you always have a spare in case one fills up.
•Pictures!!! Lots of them! They’re cheap and easy to print off in the states. Do it while you can, cuz it’s hard to find places where you can do it here and its expensive when do find a place. They help to make your new home homier.
•Any makeup or health care products that you are particular about. ***Here is where I also recommend bringing a luxury item or two, because they do wonders from making a bad day not so bad.
•Hand sanitizer. I’ve only looked for it a few times, but haven’t ever seen any. Because toilets can be difficult to find (and ones with running water and soap are even more rare), I always carry some with me.
•For the ladies: tampons. I can find one brand at one of the stores in the larger village near mine, but that’s it, and they are expensive. I brought a bunch with me and have had more sent since.
•Other things that you can probably find here, but that I brought with me and found useful: string (I brought it to crochet but forgot how, so now I use it for lots of other things!), Ziploc bags (lots of them, all different sizes), and moist wipes (handy for those days when there’s no water/traveling/etc.)

That’s all I can think of for now. I’ll add more if something important comes to mind! Good luck! And here’s a piece of advice. Take it or leave it. Don’t worry so much about luggage weight. If you’re over, just pay the fee. It’s a small price to pay for having everything you want with you! (and it would cost just as much for someone from home to send it to you)

ADDITIONS!!!
-Batteries: I brought a few AA and AAA. The batteries here are really expensive and I've been informed by others that they're crap. So they don't take up much room. Pack a few spares.
-Blank CDs: For sharing music/movies/whatev with other PCVs, or for putting pictures on to send home to fam and friends. Also waayyyy cheaper in the states than here.
-Anti-virus software: If you're bringing a laptop, make sure it's got a decent anti-virus program. Computers and people's memory sticks are virus ridden!