Friends!
I can now say I've lived in Africa for a
few weeks! One more week and it will be a whole MONTH in Botswana! How is
everything in Canada?! I am feeling more and more immersed in things here and I
had another great week working with SSI (www.steppingstonesintl.org). I've
gotten my act together a bit so this time I'll include pictures as I go. I’ve
realized that loading pictures on a desktop is a LOT quicker than over WIFI so
I have all kinds of pictures for you today.
Some things that happened:
- Since getting here, it seems like my
weekdays never have enough free time. I wasn't thinking too much about it,
until Kate and I realized that our days are LITERALLY 11 hours long (from
leaving the house to getting back in the door). We leave every morning at
7:45am, and get back at around 6:30.
Such long days! Here is a picture of the
path we take to get to and from work:
- SSI is really into capacity building
for their staff, so for the past couple weeks we've been coming to work thirty
minutes earlier twice a week for African sign language classes! SO COOL! Its
pretty much the same as American sign language so I really hope it sticks. I've
learned the alphabet, numbers, greetings, the basics (like who, what, where,
when, why, which etc) and some other random things. The instructor is doing it
all pro bono in order to gain work experience, so it has been a great set up
for all of us. He is VERY set on us having absolute focus, and although its a
little much for me as far as teaching methods go, it really does make us zone in
on what he's teaching. Look at me go! Gaining so many new skilllllzzzzzzz!
- This week I unintentionally facilitated
my first leadership session. As you may recall, the leadership program is for
older youth who are no longer in school (aged 16-26). This makes them a lot
more intimidating to me than the younger kids since they're around my age and I
feel like I have ZERO percent authority with them. The regular instructor was
away until this week, so when she got back we sat down and discussed how I'd
slowly ease into leading the sessions. Wellllll, it didn't quite work out that
way. In light of this week centring around the Day of the African Child (June
16th), a camera crew showed up wanting to speak with two orphans from the
leadership cohort. And the instructor had to help. So mid session she was like "okay,
here's a sheet with the activity, take it from here." It was SO
intimidating to try and BS the session in front of 40 youths! We were
discussing political figures and their leadership styles and I didn't even know
a bunch of them since they were from Botswana. I kiiiiiind of felt like an
idiot. And my English accent didn't help. I got through it all okay though, and
the silver lining was that after we finished the activity I finally got to
formally introduce myself to them all. I did an "ask me whatever you
want" period, and they were pretty receptive and curious about me. I guess
it was kind of like ripping off a bandaid- at least now the initial hurdle is
behind me. Their questions were pretty funny too: Are there cows in Canada? Are
you rich? Are you married? Do you live in an igloo? Here are the leadershipers:
Here are the leadershipers during phys
ed.
- Special education reading has been
ROCKING! I can't even believe how much I enjoy it. If my love for this work
stays as high as it is for the rest of my time here, it might be a bit of a
game changer for my future. So far I find it insanely rewarding. And now that I
have the right tools, the kids have been making so much progress each and every
session! I got this literacy guide that outlines the 20 something foundational
sounds of the English language, and it has been an excellent resource to help
me get my act together. You start by teaching a basic sound like
"at", and then show the kids what happens when you slightly change
the start of the sound to make a word like "cat", "bat",
"mat", "bat" etc. It just builds and builds and builds
until they're comfortable enough with the foundations that they can read almost
anything. SO great! I also got some flashcards and games together, and they
have been a hit. The kids are actually hassling me to read more often. Its
fantastic! Here are some of my resources:
- On Friday I presented my first sex ed
session with the girls! It went very well. I got them all sitting on gym mats,
had "Girls Only" signs on the entrances, and made the whole thing as
casual and relaxed as possible. In an ideal world it would be mixed genders, but its all about baby steps here. They seemed surprisingly comfortable with the
information and had questions for me during and after the presentation. We
covered the changes that happen in puberty, anatomy, and the menstrual cycle. I
made it very interactive and I think that was the key to keeping them engaged
throughout. Next session (probably in a few weeks from now) will cover healthy
and unhealthy relationships, contraceptives, HIV/AIDS, consent and sex. Woo!!!!
I'm SO down with these sessions. Its empowering for them to have enough
information to make educated decisions about their personal lives.
- The kids often ask us for things, and
our robot response is always "sorry, we're volunteers!" But this
week, I had a great moment with one of the kids. Her birthday was this week,
and for DAYS leading up to it she was begging me for a present despite my continual
speech about not being able to get her anything. A creative idea popped into my
head, so before her reading session I grabbed a piece of coloured paper and
drew her a big, bright, colourful flower. Underneath it, I wrote her name in
big curvy letters. And when she came for reading, I told her that I hadn't
forgotten and that instead of buying her something, I made her something
instead. She loved it! I think it was a great lesson about value of a
thoughtful gift as opposed to a bought one. It made me très happy.
Here are kids being goof balls
- Kate and I also have our first official
Botswana friend! His name is Kemelo and he lives next door. He comes by
everyday and it has been really great to hang out with him. Last weekend we
hung out after church and last night he was kind enough to walk us home from
the bus stop when we got back past dark. I'm hoping I will be able to convince
him to sing us the national anthem (in exchange for the most beautiful
rendition of O Canada anyone has ever heard) and he even gave me some mp3s of
traditional Botswana gospel singing. A-mazing! Kemelo you rock and you'd better
visit us in our new place.
- Speaking of which, it has been a long
time coming, but Kate and I will finally be moving out this upcoming weekend!
It will be so lovely to have my own room/our own kitchen/HOPEFULLY a shower.
Living with our host has been an excellent experience, but it will be SO great
to fiiiiiinally settle in to our own space and fully unpack. Details to come on
this! I am SERIOUSLY hoping there will be a shower.
- There was one night this week where I
was woken up by dogs going bonkers in the yard. I was scared it was a robber or
something, but in the morning found out
that it was loose donkeys hanging out in the backyard here. Ohhhh Botswana!
- I'm pumped to start preparing actual
meals since my nutrition has been pretty limited these days. Cereal, pb and
banana sandwiches, grapefruit, and a few other very random things are the
extent of my diet. On Friday we went out for lunch with a gal from SSI and our
meal was a HUGE fried chicken thigh, fries, a warm roll, and pop. Delicious,
but OMG the carbs! Sooooo maaaaaaaannnnnnyyyyyyyy caaaaaaaarbsssssss!
- A kid fainted during one of the
sessions this week, and ended up having to go to the hospital. It was pretty
scary, but he is completely okay thank god.
- On Friday the kids were done eating
earlier than usual, so we all got to hang around outside for a while. Somehow
everyone ended up trying to braid our hair (our hair is quite a novelty here)
and it was SO hilarious having five sets of hands all grabbing at my head. The
pictures are pretty unflattering but also pretty funny. It was quite a scene.
Selfieeeeee!!! hahahaha
- This weekend ROCKED! Kate and I went to
Gabs yesterday (Saturday) and I honestly died and went to heaven. It was
PARADISE to me! Everything seemed so luxurious and modern and normal. I haven't
spent much time in the capital yet, so yesterday was my first time being able
to leisurely explore. We went to one of the grocery stores, and ohhhhhhhhhh my
GOD it was SO INSANELY NICE INSIDE, I couldn't even believe how pumped I was. I
never envisioned a day where a SUPERMARKET would make me so happy hahaha. Soooo
much selection!
We looked around the shops and there was
the equivalent of Shoppers Drug Mart here! Thank baby jesus! I was so happy. To
know that these places exist and have the things I need gives me SUUUUCH piece
of mind. I have been rationing a lot of things and I'm so pumped to know that I
can get it if I need it! This is me being the happiest in the world having
waffles with ICE CREAM
We also found a booth with local products
right from our village, and I got a BEAUTIFUL elephant tapestry to take home
with me! They showed us ones with guinea fowls on them and we were like OH GOD NO
hahahaha. If you didn't know, I looooove elephants and get a little one from
every place that I visit, so I picked up a super cool green one. I got a few
pieces of jewelry as well.
We went for dinner at a nice restaurant,
and sat on their balcony, and we ate a BURGER, and it was delish! Such a treat,
omg. Here is us and the sunset
We even picked up a few groceries that we
can't get here (and Kate accidentally paid $10 CDN for Honey Combs cereal
hahahaahha). I was hoping to find warm clothes and didn't have much luck, but I
managed to find a nice scarf which will serve me well in the mornings. Kate
didn't feel so hot on the bus ride back (and the INSANE bumpiness of the bus didn't help) so unfortunately she upchucked into a plastic bag before we made it
to Mochudi. So many props go to Kate on this one though! It was the most
discreet, casual, calm spew I've ever witnessed hahahah. Poor Kate! Poor lady sitting next to Kate! She's fine
today thank god. Here is a picture of what our buses are like. This is from a couple
weekends ago.
So aside from the less-than-ideal bus
ride home, it was a GREAT day! I feel infinitely better knowing that only a
short (ish) bus ride has almost all the things I took for granted in Canada.
- Today we finally did laundry. It was
veeeeery needed. It has been three weeks and I'm not being dramatic when I say
that my wardrobe consists of me alternating between two grey sweaters. Packing
fail. Who knew Africa was so cold?! I LOOOVE hanging things on the line (mom I
bet you are SO proud right now) but here the stakes are SO HIGH! If you drop
something, it falls into the red, red mud. I only dropped some PJs so I was
lucky.
- I have yet to see another white person
around Mochudi. In Gabs its pretty common, but here its rare. Thats why we're
such spectacles.
- So far I'm doing great for not missing
things. Certain things would be nice, but I haven't reached a OMG I'D DO
ANYTHING FOR _______ phase. Which is good. I miss PEOPLE! Big time. And I miss
the ocean. But I don't really miss THINGS too much yet. Actually I'd probably
do anything for a shower. But as for the material things I had the luxury of
back in Canada, I'm doing pretty okay so far without them! The emails from home
help a lot, and I've even been able to do a bit of FaceTime with my mom and the
lovely Maura in Cameroon (although the connection was so bad that we kind of
just smiled at each other for a while hahah). Ewa sent me here with some candy
keys and I finally cracked into them this week- SUCH a delicious and familiar
treat. But yeah. I'm happy my headspace is alright on this front so far.
- Oh oh oh oh ANDDDD my parents promised
to come visit me in a couple months!!! Mom, dad, its now blog official. You're
committed. Theres no going back now! SEE YOU SOON! :D :D :D
Oh and also, I am fully aware of the
correct way to use "its" and "it's" but in all honesty have
been lazy writing this. For the grammar enthusiasts out there, my
apoluhgyyyyzzzz!
Thats all for now! Email me about your
life/with any questions you have!
shilaleblanc@gmail.com
Here are some random pictures:
Here is Kate and one of our fave gals
Here is the gorgeous desert on our way to
Gabs
Here is the precious kid who lives on our
plot. He must have gotten into something pink, its all over his face. He was a
tough nut to crack but he came around, mostly because Kate had a soccer ball. He's finally our pal!
