There I was, watching 8 of my (female) friends perform The Vagina Monologues. For those of you who may have seen the Monologues at some point, I was watching the "If My Vagina Could Talk" segment of the show. And, to my surprise, Ivy stood up in the crowd, the surprise guest, and said those two words. I don't blush easily, but that just might have done it. But then again, I wouldn't have noticed, because I was laughing too hard.
Let me backtrack for a bit. After four months at site, Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) meet up for 8 days of In-Service Training (IST). For a long time, I had been looking forward to seeing my friends again --especially those friends who are located so far away from me that I hadn't seen them since our Pre-Service Training ended in October. Training would also be a chance for all of us to get some tips and tools to help us do our jobs better in our respective communities and schools.
I had been having some difficulties in my village for a while (more on that later), and so on Monday February 13, I called up my APCD, Lydia. (APCD = Supervisor, in Peace Corps lingo) I mentioned to her that I'd been having difficulties and would like to shadow another PCV for a week. One of my friends, Cait, has been extremely active and productive at her schools, and I thought that spending a week at her schools with her would do me some good. In addition, she would be holding some workshops on teacher work schedules and planning math/science curriculum that week, and would really be able to use my help. Lydia agreed, as long as I got one of my principals to approve it and sign a Site Leave Form. I got the signature, and had the form faxed to Peace Corps HQ in Pretoria. Everything was set, Cait and I prepared workshops, and I was ready to leave on Saturday, February 18. I would go to Cait's site, and then on Sunday February 27, we would head over to IST together.
However, I decided to leave a day early, on Friday. (It's a long story) I took a bunch of combies (taxis)--from Gonani to Malamulele, from Malamulele to Giyani, Giyani to Tzaneen, Tzaneen to Kgapane, and then from Kgapane to Cait's village. I was on the combie from Giyani to Tzaneen when Lydia called me. I couldn't answer my phone because combies are NOISY. So when I got to Tzaneen, I sat down at a coffee shop (Tzaneen is a civilized town; it has a real, actual, coffee shop!) and listened to Lydia's message. She said that before any leave can be approved, the Country Director, Lisa, has to sign off on it and give approval. Lisa wouldn't give approval to me going to Cait's site because she thought that it was too far from my site to be at for a long period of time. So Lydia told me not to go to Cait's, and instead she would call me later. I was already in Tzaneen, though, having left a day early. Eish!!
I was at Cait's house when we finally got in touch with Lydia. I mentioned the situation to her, and she gave me two options: either I could go back to my site on Sunday and go to my schools for the week, or I could stay and she'd have to talk to Lisa on Tuesday (since Monday was a US holiday) to decide what course of action to take. Lydia warned that Lisa could decide to charge me annual leave days for being at Cait's. I definitely did not want to go all the way back to my site, and we had already planned out our workshops, so I took my chances and told Lydia I'd be staying. She said she'd call me on Tuesday after speaking to Lisa.
I had a great weekend. I spent time in Tzaneen (which is a gorgeous town), saw some friends. Hung out with my friend Meagan. Saw a beautiful sunrise. I also had a very productive week with Cait at her schools. For more details, check out Cait's blog (the posts "Omar", "Dam", "Earthquake", and "Education" are relevant)
On Tuesday, Lydia called me, having spoken to Lisa. The decision had been made that my time at Cait's site would be counted against my annual leave; I could either go back to my site or continue to accrue leave days. I decided to stay and finish the workshops.
At IST, I scheduled a meeting between Lydia, Lisa, and myself. I brought up the leave issues; I mentioned that I hadn't been off partying somewhere; I was at schools, giving workshops. Granted, they weren't my schools, but I was still being productive. Perhaps they thought that Cait and I are "together"---also untrue. Finally, after 15 minutes of discussion, we reached a compromise. All of the days until I received final word from Lisa would not count against annual leave, but the days after would. So 6 days of leave was reduced down to 3.
However, leave issues were not the only topic at our meeting. There were site issues as well. I'd had some difficulties at my site for quite some time. Gonani is very far from the nearest combie stop, very isolated. The roads are terrible. When it rains a lot (as it did in early January), I am, for all intents and purposes, trapped. I definitely got stuck in the mud a few times trying to get to my schools. Trust me, when your shoe gets stuck in ankle-deep mud and comes off and then you have to dig into the mud to find it, it's not fun. And giving a workshop, you are much less effective and presentable when the bottom of your pants, not to mention your shoes, is caked with drying mud. Mud is definitely a problem. In early January, when I wanted to go to Thohoyandou and celebrate Eid-ul-Adha with the Muslim community there, my combie got stuck in the mud and I wasn't able to make it.
In addition, the roof of my house leaks. One of the leaks is directly above my bed--during rainstorms I need to cover myself in my waterproof sleeping-bag so that I don't get leaked on. And one of my interior doors fell off of the hinges. And the light in one of my rooms hasn't worked since mid-December. There are a lot more issues that I could mention, and I could go on and on, but I won't.
In a previous post, I mentioned that my Key School Principal has kind of an abrasive personality. He is not an easy person to get along with. In addition, he had some misconceptions about my job and my role in the schools. When Lydia came to visit me in mid-January, and she tried clearing up matters with him, he lost his temper and yelled at her. She decided that he is not a good personality for me to be dealing with, and scheduled a meeting with all 3 of my principals and my Circuit Manager. At that meeting, a bunch of issues were brought up, work-related issues as well as site issues. Lydia decided that after hearing my accounts of leaks and getting stuck in the mud, among other things, my current living situation was unacceptable. She gave my principals and circuit manager a deadline of February 6 to find me a new, leak-free house near public transport. To make a long story short, they found a new house for me. I saw it, and it seemed okay to me. Lydia also came and saw it and gave her approval. The house was in the process of being prepared for me when I left to go to Cait's site.
When I was at IST, the new house fell through. I brought up this point at the meeting I had with Lydia and Lisa. They came to the decision to move me from my site. I was overjoyed. I would be given a new site, with new schools, a new village, a new house. A fresh start!! The move will be happening before the end of the month. For the time being, I'm back at my site (I got back from IST on Tuesday), wrapping things up at my schools while Lydia finds me a new site.
So, while I may be slightly frustrated with Peace Corps staff with regards to leave issues, I am really happy and grateful for all of their help with regards to my site issues. Sometimes it's nice to know that I have that support system behind me.
IST was, in general, a great time. It was held at a lodge just outside of Polokwane, the provincial capital. I shared a room with my friend Dan (check out his blog). We had a great time. It was a room with a flush toilet(!), a hot shower(!!), and air-conditioning(!!!). We spent 8 days eating good, large meals. I probably gained a few pounds. We played football in our free time. There was a small pool. I probably took at least 20 showers during my stay there. Our training sessions were well-run and informative, and I learned a lot.
But, most importantly, I spent a lot of time with my favorite people in South Africa--my fellow PCVs. When I look back on it, that's what I will remember. I can't recount exactly how much time I spent with Dan, Tom, Seth, Ivy, and Nichole listening to, and debating the intricacies of, Tenacious D. Probably more than is healthy! We would discuss and debate songs. For example:
WONDERBOY: This song starts out great, and legit, and then just turns absurd in the best possible way. "Mind-bullets?!?" And where, exactly, is the "Crevasse Village?"
ONE NOTE SONG: Who does the "bendy" first? Is It JB? Or, as Dan would argue, KG? The debate is heated.
F*CK HER GENTLY: After our Life-Skills Training, I asked whether this song was passive, agressive, or assertive. I mean, what about this line? "That's cool with me, it's not my favorite but I'll do it for you." Sounds pretty damned passive to me!
DOUBLE TEAM: What, exactly, constitutes a "side-hatch"? And what is the proper pronounciation of "underpants"?
MALIBU NIGHTS: I proposed the theory that, in terms of sheer number of laughs in the shortest amount of time, Malibu Nights is the funniest, best Tenacious D song. The theory hasn't been disproven.
....and the list goes on...
While we were at IST, the South African film Tsotsi won Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. We didn't get to see the awards, obviously, but the local channels played clips of the acceptance speech during the news. Best. Acceptance. Speech. Ever! I don't know if many of you saw the awards, but during the Tsotsi acceptance speech, the director yelled out "Nkosi sikelel i Africa!" which translates to "God bless Africa". It's also the opening line of the South African nantional anthem. Pretty badass, I think.
While I was at IST, I also signed up for the Longtom half-marathon. It will be held next month. I'm going to walk it; next year I'll try to run it. It's for a great cause, the Kgwale le Mollo Foundation. For more info on KLM, check out http://kgwalelemollo.org/ (and if you are interested in donating to this worthy cause, send me an email to omar.ahmed@gmail.com and I will forward you a donation form. It's all US tax-deductible and legit.)
So now, I'm back at my site, wrapping things up. There are a lot of things that I'm happy to leave behind, but there will also be a lot of things that I will miss. Children playing in the sandy street. Friendly greetings from villagers as I walk by. Children running with me when I run laps around the soccer field, just to keep me company. The beautiful mountains of Venda. And, most importantly, I will miss my host family--Max, Happy, and Hlaluko.
If you are planning on sending me any mail or packages, don't. International mail usually takes 2-3 weeks to arrive, and by that time I will probably be at my new site.
So now, I leave you with some words from the (funniest!) Tenacious D song, Malibu Nights. It sums up my opinions on life, love, religion, politics, philosophy, charity, and anything else you can think of.
"Because it's time for my breakfast.
Time for some cheese."
Take care.
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