It was my birthday yesterday and on top of missing out on holidays with my friends and family last month, I have to admit I wasn’t a little scared I was going to be lonely. The craziest thing happened though, the staff in the capital called for a meeting on my birthday last week at the last moment, so a bunch of volunteers and I had to stay overnight the night before and after my birthday! I was so thankful. I wasn’t in my hut alone. The group ordered pizza for me and one of the volunteers made a cake for me too. They found candles and gave me small gifts that they could afford. My friend Jason bought me a guitar pic, my other friends bought me food, and made me a card. I think because we all know its hard being away from home, especially on holidays, birthdays, and funerals, that we all try our hardest to help each other on those days. I miss my parents and my sisters and nieces ad nephews. I miss my relatives and all my best friends at home, but I was really grateful that the other volunteers tried hard all day…all week actually, just to make me feel special. They were really nice. To end the day, I talked to Melinda on her lunch break from teaching the kindergarteners. It was good to hear from home. Hong also came last week to my site to wish me a happy birthday. We watched Transformers on my laptop like 2 teenage boys. I stumbled across the bootlegged copy in the office last week and I’m glad I had someone to watch it with. Making funny commentary isn’t the same when you do it alone. Especially when its about robots. Its just sad. Originally I wouldn’t have even had the desire to watch it, but I cut out a quote from Megan Fox in an old People magazine I received. She said, “My dressing room on the set of Transformers always smells like farts and I have no idea why.” What?! A) Why would I cut that quote out? And 2) Why would that make me want to see that movie? Really though, is it so weird to want to see a movie that could take me back to my childhood? Transformers were big around my time. Its the most random quote, but I have it on my bulletin board because for some weird reason fart jokes still apply to me. Just like Rainbow Bright, personal pan pizzas, and Gak. It brings me to a time when life was simpler with Pepe logo t-shirts and Unionbay jeans. Plus, I figure if someone can say a quote like that and have it published in People magazine, than she deserves someone to watch her movie. I was entertained.
Last Saturday I had my first Life Skills group meeting. The “kids” in the group ranged from 13-18yrs old. I was excited to start this group! Finally, my first big project with the youth in my community! I was hoping to use this youth group to turn them into peer educators for the community. There size can range up to 30 members (depending on the activity)! Today, I had 8 members. Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day… I was so excited about the possibilities of this group though and have already started thinking of field trips and stuff I could do with them. You know, at one time I thought about being a teacher back in the US. This class brought that feeling back to me. I’d take a group of class clowns and/or juvenile delinquents and show them this hard knock life isn’t so bad after all. I’d wear a leather jacket and sunglasses. Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise” would echo behind me as I entered every room. I’d slam the curriculum on the front desk and the room would stand still for a bit. Every eye on me awaiting my next move. I would then sit on the desk (not chair because cool teachers don‘t do that) and whip my aviators off. Maybe even a helmet would be cool too because it would give off the impression that I had a Harley. 5 more cool points. This prop wouldn’t be believable in Swaziland though because its against PC policy to operate a motorized vehicle, so in this case I would whip off a pink huffy bike helmet. My blonde locks would fall out and where as before they would have thought maybe I was a dude, but now votes were in and…I am not. Depending how engaged the class was I would break the silence by crushing a piece of chalk under my black steel toed army boot to give off the impression that “playtime is over…chicos.” After entertaining this idea for a few hours I realized I possess no classroom management skills…or leather jacket for that matter, so I always come back to this: what works for Michelle Phieffer may not work for me. Its been something that I’ve always had difficulty grasping. The group was small this time, but they seemed to like it. I was invited back this week to teach again, but I already am working with a support group for kids dealing with HIV. I hope for the best with that group though. It just gives me another reason to be here. And on top of that, more relationships to build on.
Lastly, I have a rat living in my room. I call him Chester the Cheeseman. I hate bats, but rats are like bats with wings so hopefully you understand my fear. I’ve been wearing shoes to bed because it makes me feel safer. It comes out at night while I sleep. In the daytime it hides. I talk smack to the rat (somewhere in my room) during the day. Mostly things like, “Your not so tough when Mr. Sunshine is around, are ya Rat!” or things like, “You make me sick…“ and I threw in some slams against his mamma hoping he would come out and fight like a man, but nothing. So tonight I wait to see if he comes out again. I don’t want Cholera. I’m going to be honest. Plus, no one’s ever given me rabies on my birthday before. Oh yeah. Sorry Jantina, I mean…no one’s given me a BAD case of rabies on my birthday before.
Miss you guys. Love ya.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Breaking out of fat camp.
Yesterday a baby urinated on me. It reminded me that babies are babies in all parts of the world. Whether, Spanish, African, or American…they all know how to pick an easy target.
So if you are like me and my parents, you are thinking, “What is Jaci actually doing everyday?” Touché, my friend, touché. I ask myself the same question sometimes. haha Well, I have been doing some work. J I haven’t been able to help at the clinic the past month because I’ve been gone so much from home. I helped with World AIDS Day which was Dec. 1st. A Swaziland organization called NERCHA (National Emergency Relief Committee for HIV and AIDS) put together a walk to promote awareness in the rural committees. We walked from Mahamba to eNhlangano (about 3.5 hrs) and talked to people while passing by them on the streets. A lot of people joined and little barefoot kids ran beside us. The Swaziland Army band walked with us and entertained us for hours with songs we didn’t know. After a while though the tunes became familiar and I was able to sing along with my own lyrics. Another volunteer helped me serenade the other walkers in our limited Siswati lyrics we made up as we walked. So you know they were good. The Swazi people heard me sing Siswati songs titled, “Ngihambile kakhulu [I’m really hungry]“, “Ngifuna kuya umthoyi [I need to use the toilet]” and “Ngiyahamba na bangami bami [I’m walking with my Swazi friends]“ in every style. Rap, R&B, and Country. I made friends through my music….and enemies. We ended at a “stadium” where we had dramas and music. There was also free testing. So many people tried to test that they couldn’t do everyone. Its good that people wanted to test, but sad because a lot of people were willing to test and couldn’t. Who knows if they will try to do it again later or if they were just inspired to do it that one day. A main problem with events like these is not enough supplies, help, counselors for the magnitude of the events. People here love free stuff. You’d think they were Dutch. (drums) J A little joke for the citizens of Orange City. Its just frustrating because you want to help as many people as possible and turning people away when they are finally ready to do it really stinks. The other main event I just had was out Annual Youth Conference. Each volunteer in our region (7 volunteer villages in the south) met in one town with some kids from our own areas. I brought 20 teenagers. We brought in a girl in her 20’s who openly talked about being HIV+. The kids liked it and asked a lot of questions. Then I let them walk around town for a bit and had the kiddies back before dark.
I just got a message on my phone from another volunteer. She wrote, “How are you? Do you think this will be the hardest thing we ever do in our lives?” haha I laugh because texting is the only way to communicate so you can imagine the messages we give each other each day to support one another. Its not a surprise to get something like “Killed a rat against my mattress by running it into a corner. Scared to see if its still alive”….”My grandma is praying in front of my door with other elders in Siswati and I think they just prayed that God would use me to bring rain. I’m not comfortable with that.”…or “I made a bracelet out of leaves today. I used to be somebody...” Text messages keep us sane when we are hours away from each other. We need to send a message to vent about something that happened that day like being proposed to by an old man with horrific breath (the scent was a mix of decay and garlic) on a bus ride for 3 hrs! Yeah…I never knew I had a personal bubble until African public transport and I desperately wanted to turn to him and say, “tic tac, sir?” Or how about waking up with a bat caught in a sticky fly strip next to your head. That one was my friend because if it would have happened to me, I would be back in South Dakota. Probably doing intensive counseling sessions. So back to what I was talking about, J my friend asked me if I “thought this would be the hardest thing we’d ever do?” You know what, sometimes I think so. I guess it depends on the person. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but somedays if its not the physical or social challenges…than it’s the mental challenge that can easily discourage you. Being alone. So many changes are made the first few months that a lot of people ask, “Is it worth it?” Some it wasn’t, so they went home and I respect that. For me, I’m still here NOT because I haven’t encountered hard challenges or homesickness, but rather for a two reasons. First, I have faith God has something here for me yet. Something gives me hope to stick it out. I refuse to think God took me across the Atlantic to get diarrhea and bad tanlines. There’s hope in me still and it’s the kind that would be impossible for me to fabricate myself. I know He is intervening somehow. The other reason I’m still in Africa is because Timon and Pumba still owe me poker money. Heard they blew it at a strip club and that money is supposed to get me home. Haha Just kidding. Sorry. Its actually because I’m still learning from this experience, so I know something is happening. I’m still changing. I try assess my changes, “Am I changing for the better?” I’m okay with changing, for the better, but its just as easy to change for the worse sometimes. You know, I came wanting to help people and not think of myself and by that I wanted to make changes for the better with the people I interact with. Little did I know, the first (and the hardest) change here was going to be myself. Its hard to explain how, but its more or less a testing period than a changing maybe. I really like the Mother Theresa quote, “God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.” J Mama T is right. We aren’t ever promised a comfortable life. So I don’t know why I’m always surprised when I don’t have one. Actually we were told the opposite in the Bible, but knowing that doesn‘t make going home, taking a long shower and eating Pizza Ranch pizza any less appealing. J
So is this the hardest thing I’ll ever do? I hope not. Because then my life will be boring…
I just came back from Mozambique last week. It was a lot of fun. It rained a lot of the time, but it was nice to see something new. It was only a 3 hr. drive from my place and around $9 to get there. Within three hours a whole culture and language changes. Its so weird. Huts go from mud in Swaziland to reed sticks in Mozambique within the poverty areas. We ate a lot. I ate like I broke out of fat camp. I experienced a lot of "first time" moments. I swam in the Indian Ocean for the first time. I ate octopus for the first time. I was cursed at by a guy who was as high as a kite on Christmas. That is a story in itself, but he apoligized soon after and the spirit of Christmas remained. I was also chased by an elderly topless woman on the boardwalk who was clearly crazy and tried to throw mud from the sewer at us in the rain. It started with us walking fast, but although old she was quick and soon the quick walking past formed into a dead sprint as the locals laughed at our misfortune from the beach. That was another "first time." And hopefully last. I had a wonderful Christmas though and I felt really blessed to go visit Mozambique. I missed home a lot and its definately reminding me how great you all are at home and will make me appreciate future Christmas' even more when I get to be with family and friends. Love you guys! Hope you are well! I will try to upddate again soon!
So if you are like me and my parents, you are thinking, “What is Jaci actually doing everyday?” Touché, my friend, touché. I ask myself the same question sometimes. haha Well, I have been doing some work. J I haven’t been able to help at the clinic the past month because I’ve been gone so much from home. I helped with World AIDS Day which was Dec. 1st. A Swaziland organization called NERCHA (National Emergency Relief Committee for HIV and AIDS) put together a walk to promote awareness in the rural committees. We walked from Mahamba to eNhlangano (about 3.5 hrs) and talked to people while passing by them on the streets. A lot of people joined and little barefoot kids ran beside us. The Swaziland Army band walked with us and entertained us for hours with songs we didn’t know. After a while though the tunes became familiar and I was able to sing along with my own lyrics. Another volunteer helped me serenade the other walkers in our limited Siswati lyrics we made up as we walked. So you know they were good. The Swazi people heard me sing Siswati songs titled, “Ngihambile kakhulu [I’m really hungry]“, “Ngifuna kuya umthoyi [I need to use the toilet]” and “Ngiyahamba na bangami bami [I’m walking with my Swazi friends]“ in every style. Rap, R&B, and Country. I made friends through my music….and enemies. We ended at a “stadium” where we had dramas and music. There was also free testing. So many people tried to test that they couldn’t do everyone. Its good that people wanted to test, but sad because a lot of people were willing to test and couldn’t. Who knows if they will try to do it again later or if they were just inspired to do it that one day. A main problem with events like these is not enough supplies, help, counselors for the magnitude of the events. People here love free stuff. You’d think they were Dutch. (drums) J A little joke for the citizens of Orange City. Its just frustrating because you want to help as many people as possible and turning people away when they are finally ready to do it really stinks. The other main event I just had was out Annual Youth Conference. Each volunteer in our region (7 volunteer villages in the south) met in one town with some kids from our own areas. I brought 20 teenagers. We brought in a girl in her 20’s who openly talked about being HIV+. The kids liked it and asked a lot of questions. Then I let them walk around town for a bit and had the kiddies back before dark.
I just got a message on my phone from another volunteer. She wrote, “How are you? Do you think this will be the hardest thing we ever do in our lives?” haha I laugh because texting is the only way to communicate so you can imagine the messages we give each other each day to support one another. Its not a surprise to get something like “Killed a rat against my mattress by running it into a corner. Scared to see if its still alive”….”My grandma is praying in front of my door with other elders in Siswati and I think they just prayed that God would use me to bring rain. I’m not comfortable with that.”…or “I made a bracelet out of leaves today. I used to be somebody...” Text messages keep us sane when we are hours away from each other. We need to send a message to vent about something that happened that day like being proposed to by an old man with horrific breath (the scent was a mix of decay and garlic) on a bus ride for 3 hrs! Yeah…I never knew I had a personal bubble until African public transport and I desperately wanted to turn to him and say, “tic tac, sir?” Or how about waking up with a bat caught in a sticky fly strip next to your head. That one was my friend because if it would have happened to me, I would be back in South Dakota. Probably doing intensive counseling sessions. So back to what I was talking about, J my friend asked me if I “thought this would be the hardest thing we’d ever do?” You know what, sometimes I think so. I guess it depends on the person. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but somedays if its not the physical or social challenges…than it’s the mental challenge that can easily discourage you. Being alone. So many changes are made the first few months that a lot of people ask, “Is it worth it?” Some it wasn’t, so they went home and I respect that. For me, I’m still here NOT because I haven’t encountered hard challenges or homesickness, but rather for a two reasons. First, I have faith God has something here for me yet. Something gives me hope to stick it out. I refuse to think God took me across the Atlantic to get diarrhea and bad tanlines. There’s hope in me still and it’s the kind that would be impossible for me to fabricate myself. I know He is intervening somehow. The other reason I’m still in Africa is because Timon and Pumba still owe me poker money. Heard they blew it at a strip club and that money is supposed to get me home. Haha Just kidding. Sorry. Its actually because I’m still learning from this experience, so I know something is happening. I’m still changing. I try assess my changes, “Am I changing for the better?” I’m okay with changing, for the better, but its just as easy to change for the worse sometimes. You know, I came wanting to help people and not think of myself and by that I wanted to make changes for the better with the people I interact with. Little did I know, the first (and the hardest) change here was going to be myself. Its hard to explain how, but its more or less a testing period than a changing maybe. I really like the Mother Theresa quote, “God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.” J Mama T is right. We aren’t ever promised a comfortable life. So I don’t know why I’m always surprised when I don’t have one. Actually we were told the opposite in the Bible, but knowing that doesn‘t make going home, taking a long shower and eating Pizza Ranch pizza any less appealing. J
So is this the hardest thing I’ll ever do? I hope not. Because then my life will be boring…
I just came back from Mozambique last week. It was a lot of fun. It rained a lot of the time, but it was nice to see something new. It was only a 3 hr. drive from my place and around $9 to get there. Within three hours a whole culture and language changes. Its so weird. Huts go from mud in Swaziland to reed sticks in Mozambique within the poverty areas. We ate a lot. I ate like I broke out of fat camp. I experienced a lot of "first time" moments. I swam in the Indian Ocean for the first time. I ate octopus for the first time. I was cursed at by a guy who was as high as a kite on Christmas. That is a story in itself, but he apoligized soon after and the spirit of Christmas remained. I was also chased by an elderly topless woman on the boardwalk who was clearly crazy and tried to throw mud from the sewer at us in the rain. It started with us walking fast, but although old she was quick and soon the quick walking past formed into a dead sprint as the locals laughed at our misfortune from the beach. That was another "first time." And hopefully last. I had a wonderful Christmas though and I felt really blessed to go visit Mozambique. I missed home a lot and its definately reminding me how great you all are at home and will make me appreciate future Christmas' even more when I get to be with family and friends. Love you guys! Hope you are well! I will try to upddate again soon!
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