02.06.11 mogobane
With my service ending in a little over four months, I find myself wondering, where has the time gone? It’s flown by faster than I ever imagined it could, which is both exciting (in that the number of months between now and when I finally see my family and friends again is countable on one hand) and frightening (trying to figure out if 4 months is really enough time to wrap up my work here). I’m tempted to update on everything since I last corresponded, but I feel that would be overwhelming for the both of us. Instead, I’d like to focus on one project that is at the forefront of my work right now.
At the beginning of 2010, I started working with the Mogobane Disabled Persons’ Committee (MDPC), an organization functioning primarily as a support and advocacy group for people with disabilities (PWD) in Mogobane. One project they had been trying for years to get started is a community garden where people with disabilities can work and thusly contribute to the community. After a focus-group discussion on HIV/AIDS and disability conducted by Colin Pappajohn, a Peace Corps Volunteer working at an organization serving PWD in the neighboring village of Otse, the MDPC established that PWD were particularly vulnerable to HIV infection and developing AIDS due to their dependence on caregivers. Revisiting their momentarily stagnant community garden project, the group decided that the community garden would not only benefit PWD by providing them greater autonomy and increasing self esteem with this avenue to contribute to and be involved in the community, but would also benefit people living with HIV/AIDS in the community (PWD and otherwise) whose immune systems would be bolstered by the nutritional foods produced in the garden.
Phanuel Nage, the MDPC Chairperson, Colin Pappajohn, and I have finally made headway with the project after a year of…extensive research. When I say “extensive research,” I’m referring to the number of government offices we visited, the number of bureaucratic steps we took towards dead-end grants, and the number of miles we hiked searching for an old government borehole that by all reckoning shouldn’t have been altogether too difficult to find, all in the name of this project. Now, I don’t regret that year of “research.” Rre Nage, Colin and I learned a lot in that time that I think has made all of us more capable community leaders and has assured me that we certainly know what it takes to build a community garden.
We submitted a grant proposal to the Peace Corps Partnership Program, which has as of last week been approved! Our donation page is on the Peace Corps website and I’m hoping it’ll been no more than 2 months before we’ve raised the $4755.63 we’ve set out to raise. This ought to give Colin and I a good 2 months to get this garden up and running before the bittersweet conclusion of our service.
For any of you who might be interested in contributing to the project or even simply learning more, we’ve created a website: http://mogobaneDPC.wordpress.com,
and a very short but entertaining video posted on youtube:
Please tell anyone interested in projects relating to HIV/AIDS or disability about our project! Every little contribution helps. If you know an organization that would be willing to hold a fundraiser specifically for our project, please let me know! And of course encouraging words, thoughts, and prayers in our direction are always most welcome as well.
09.23.10 gaborone (book sorting)
at a book sorting organized by pam shelton of the botswana book project. took place at baobab primary school in gaborone. i got my school library over 400 books! a handful of books for the clinic, and 200 books for each of the primary schools too.
11.06.10 ramotswa (cinematography workshop)
colin pappajohn and kip doran put on a great workshop in ramotswa as the first phase of their south east district movie competition, bringing together professional film makers and youth participants to creatively address the issue of teenage pregnancy. my form 2 GLOW students formed a production team and can be seen here active and engaged in the task at hand: an unfinished script whose story they must finish!
09.28.10 mogobane (inside my house)
so, after being in botswana well over a year, i’ve decided to finally begin a sincere chronicling of my experiences on video. forgive me for it’s length; i’m new to video journaling. my penchant for editing may suit me as a writer, but it has inhibited my readiness to share more visual renderings of my experience. but that, i hope, will be a thing of the past. expect more videos, and definitely expect more photos.
this is a video of my home in mogobane.
08.23.10 – 09.12.10 the philippines (manila, concepcion, dumaguete, dauin, vallehermoso)
Just got back from a three-week trip to the Philippines a week ago today, and I think my internal clock is only now finally reoriented. It had been 6 years since I last visited. We had gone for our grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary in Concepcion, Tarlac. We don’t visit often, because plane tickets are always so expensive, so when we do, it’s always precious, and this trip was no exception. And that I was going to see my brother and sister, whom I hadn’t seen in over a year, made it all the more special.
MANILA/CONCEPCION
It took me well over a day to get from Mogobane to Manila. Took a khombi from Mogobane to the A1 Junction, a bus to the bus rank, crossed the bridge over the railway lines to the station, hailed a cab to the airport (GBE), flew to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB), had a 2-hour layover, flew to Dubai (DBX), had an hour layover, flew to Manila (MNL) finally arriving in the late evening to find my sister, Stephanie, who had just flown in from Los Angeles, and my Tito Emi and Tita Zeny patiently waiting for me. We drove to their home in Las Piñas, where my Kuya Ronnie was stuck waiting for a conference call, and I had my first Filipino meal in forever. Oh. My. God. I love Filipino food.
The next day, after a sleepless night of catching up with my sister and my cousin, we drove up to Concepcion, my mom’s hometown, and de facto seat of the Castro clan. We went straight to our lolo’s house, where we found our Tita Landa, our cousin Patrick, and, of course, our Lolo Aurelio waiting for us. Throughout that day, we had relatives pouring in and out of the house, some of whom had changed so much I hardly recognized them, some who had hardly changed at all, and others who 6 year ago had yet to be born and whom I was meeting for the first time.
The next week was spent between Concepcion and Manila, shopping, catching up with cousins, karaokeing, just having a great time. It was so great to see my younger cousins, all big now, studying at some great universities in the city. They’re all studying such great courses like management, nursing, dentistry, medical technologies, etc. Patrick has already been working for some time as a nurse at our Tito Dick and Tita Lita’s hospital, and Tosca just passed the board exam, which gave us even more reason to celebrate. I’m just so proud of them, and I know they’re all going to make the world a better place.
DUMAGUETE/DAUIN/VALLEHERMOSO
Stephanie and I flew out to Negros, a southern island in the Visayas, where most of my dad’s family are living. It was an hour-long flight to Dumaguete, the capital of Negros Oriental, and we were welcomed by our Auntie Luvis, Ate Aileen, Ate Stella, and Ate Mylah. We had lunch at the mall, where we ran into our niece, Stacey, who just finished her studies and is now working. Something interesting to note, in our father’s side of the family, we are the youngest, for which reason a number of our nieces and nephews are our age or even older. We drove out to Dauin where Ate Ai’s parents, Auntie Ipin and Uncle Dudoi, live and we got to meet her super chubby and super cute darling baby girl. We headed back to Dumaguete to our Uncle Lloyd’s place, where we stayed for the next three nights.
We drove up to Vallehermoso, our dad’s hometown, with Ate Ai and Ate Mylah the next day to see our Auntie Gaynor and the old house. We had wanted to overnight there, but only ended up being there for a few hours. The incidence of dengue fever had been on the rise and they were afraid we’d catch it. We drove straight to the elementary school our Auntie teaches at and our dad had once taught at. It’s amazing how similar all of my dad’s sisters are. I mean, I’m sure they don’t see it, but all those mannerisms and manner of speak that I love about my Auntie Jane in Germany (we see her a lot more regularly than we see them), I see in them too. Before heading back, we also got to see Grandma Dolores, who had been our nanny back in America for a few years. She’s related to us in some way, though I have yet to figure out exactly how. She didn’t recognize us at first, but when it hit her who we were, she was so happy. She’s such a sweet old lady, and I’m so glad we got to see her.
The next day was jam-packed with completely unplanned activities. That morning, our Tita Leta came out to see us (we had been planning on visiting her in Bayawan, but we were all so worn out from the long trip to Valle that that wasn’t going to happen). Our Ate Stephanie’s husband was really sweet and took us around Silliman University, the alma mater of our dad and several other relatives, that afternoon. In the early evening, Uncle Lloyd and Ate Stella took us out on their mopeds to the edge of Dumaguete to visit some close family friends of our dad. We ended the evening with Ate Stella again and our Cousin Steve, who took us out for some delicious crispy pata and ballroom dancing. Before heading back, he and I topped off the night with some balut (hardboiled duck fetus). Ate Stella and Steph expressed no interest in partaking.
We flew back the next day to Manila.
MANILA/CONCEPCION
Our lolo is so funny. Apparently, whenever he’s hooked up to oxygen, he starts speaking English. He gets very cheeky too. At least, this is what Tita Landa and Patrick were sharing with us when they picked us up from the airport. He had not eaten that morning on account of his medical exam in Manila. Upon being asked by the doctor whether or not he was hungry, he responded, “I’m not hungry, I’m angry! Because you didn’t let me eat this morning!” He was perfectly charming about it though.
His antics carried over into dinner at Kenny Rogers, a fried chicken place. I was daring Tos to drink her ice tea to which I had just added hot sauce. Instead, it was Lolo who stepped up to the challenge, and proceeded to further experiment with other even more exotic concoctions, like mashed potato muffin or fruit cup juice over rice. Tita Landa accused me of being a bad influence…on my lolo…
Our brother, my twin, Scott, arrived a couple days later. We had a party that day at Lolo’s and ended the day shopping with our cousins at the mall in Clark. The night before, I had given our younger cousin, Jamie, a crash course in photography. She was a great student, and we spent a lot of that day taking photos. When we finally got back to Concepcion, Steph and I spent another nearly sleepless night catching up with Scott.
We spent the rest of the week around Concepcion and Manila, seeing family and catching up. Ate Kori and Kuya Ranran took us out with Jamie and Patrick for dinner at a Chinese restaurant and karaoke. It was good to hang out with Ate Kori, she’s been so busy lately, being a mother. It’s amazing the things that change over time, and while it’s a little sad saying goodbye to the past and how things were, it’s exciting to know there are family members I’m going to love so much that haven’t even been born and that I haven’t even met yet. It’s definitely a bittersweet sentiment.
After a couple days of lounging in Concepcion, we went to Manila for Jo’s birthday. Tito Dick and Tita Lita took us out to a yummy buffet, where Scott (on upright bass) and I (voice) ended up performing Stand by Me for Jo.
Our Cousin Raymund, the son of our Auntie Leta and our oldest cousin on our dad’s side, picked us up the next day to meet his family in Rizal. Remember how I said we’re the youngest ones on our father’s side? Well, our Cousin Ray is a grandfather. His family was so nice and had us over for a delicious lunch, and we got to meet his newest granddaughter. He drove us back to Manila, and that evening Tito Fer & Tita Beth treated all of us (Fritzie, Aui, Jo, Chino, Patrick, and Tos) to dinner. We spent the night in Nikka’s room playing…snerds.
The next morning, Tito Fer and Tita Beth took us to Tagaytay, where Jamie and I resumed our photography lessons. It was supposed to be cooler up there in the mountains, but somehow, that day, it was hot and humid as ever. That night we went back to Jo & Aui’s townhouse for some karaoke.
We returned to Concepcion, for one last hurrah. Saying goodbye to Lolo was hard. I remember, 6 years ago, the last time I had to say goodbye, I lost it as soon as I saw Tita Lora crying. I think I was steeled for that this time around, because I managed to hold it together when I saw her. But as soon as I saw Lolo break down, I lost it, and every kind touch, shoulder squeeze, and nod had me in tears.
I flew out that evening at midnight. Jo and Aui sent me off with Elmo to accompany me back to Africa. Our cousin Benedict, Jo and Aui’s younger brother, passed away some years back from leukemia, and Elmo was his favorite Sesame Street character. It’s only been a week since Elmo’s been here in Africa, but I’m sure my cousins would be happy to know he’s already seen a rhino and some baboons. He’s grown tired of my cooking though. I think he misses Filipino food. He’s definitely missing crispy pata.
05.20.10 updates (mogobane, molepolole, sowa)
It’s the 20th of May, just four days after the month after the year since I first left Los Angeles.
The new volunteers arrived over a month ago. As a part of the Peer Support & Diversity Network (PSDN), I’ve been in and out of Molepolole, meeting and counseling the trainees. I just had a couple of them (Anna Gianola and Tess Korbesmeyer) shadowing me a week ago, and it’s funny but I already miss them. It was great showing them around Mogobane, and it helped me realize and appreciate how well integrated I am in my community and how well my work is going after all. And beyond that, Anna and Tess are really great people and I couldn’t have asked for better company.
Colin Pappajohn and I have been working with the Mogobane Disabled Persons’ Committee (a support group for people with disabilities and their caregivers) for the past 6 months, assisting them with a gardening project they have been trying to get off the ground. They’ve already acquired a parcel of land from the Malete Land Board in Ramotswa, and have purchased some building materials, but it’s still a long way from becoming a garden. We’ve submitted a proposal to AED for the funds to get the water connected, build a fence and handicapable pathways, and everything is looking good, though we have run into a couple snags along the way. We are still waiting on a quote from the water agency in Gaborone…forgive my language, but bureaucracy is a bitch. And we also need to start up a business account for the organization, which although relatively straightforward, has proven challenging with regard to the schedule coordination of all necessary parties. It’s been great working on this with Colin and Rre Phanuel Nage, the modulasetilo (chairperson), and although the snags along the way have been at times disheartening, c’est la vie. Andrew Sigman from AED has been very supportive of our efforts, and continually reminds me, it’ll all be worth it in the end. We are probably going to have to resubmit our proposal for the next funding cycle, but that’s okay, because that gives us the time we need to become an even stronger organization. Ga go na mathata.
In the meantime, we can get started on the peer-education program. Oh sorry, rewind, okay, so, it was Colin who first initiated contact with MDPC after holding a focus group with them last year. Colin and his wife, Amy, are working at NGO’s and his NGO, Camphill | Motse wa Badiri, works with PWD’s and has been conducting focus groups throughout the southeastern part of the country to find out how to better provide HIV/AIDS related services to this at-risk population. At the conclusion of the focus group in Mogobane, MDPC committed to training 10 volunteers to reach out to PWD’s and their caregivers in Mogobane to educate them on HIV/AIDS and their unique risk as people with disabilities…hence, the previously mentioned peer-education program.
At school, I’m teaching guidance & counseling lessons as usual, though I have since expanded my scope. We have weekly themes every Thursday morning, during which time each of the teachers meet with their “families.” Something unique that we have started at our school is the division of “houses” (the school is divided into two houses, the Gold House and the Diamond House.) into even smaller units that we call families. Each family has about 10 students, 1 member of the teaching staff (teachers, administration, and myself included), and 1 member of the non-teaching staff (cooks, groundsmen, cleaners, etc.). The Guidance & Counseling Committee comes up with themes for the entire term, but I’ve become responsible for drafting short lesson plans for the heads of family to follow. The aim is to give students an even more intimate environment in which to share their thoughts and express themselves.
However, the project at school that I believe has the greatest potential for leaving a lasting impact is the Literacy Programme. Here’s an excerpt from my proposal to Mme Motswidinyane, the School Head:
In light of the previous year’s poverty of passing scores (2009) as compared to the number of passing scores the year before (2008), the School Head of Mogobane CJSS was prompted to explore possible reasons for the decline. This exploration discovered that poor literacy among our continuing students was perhaps the greatest contributing factor to the decline in examination scores. Upon the entrance of our incoming Form 1 students, it was discovered that they too experience a high rate of poor literacy, even higher than that of our continuing Form 2 and Form 3 students.
I go on to further propose 3 phases: Identification of struggling students; Testing for baseline literacy and possible learning disabilities; Remedial literacy lessons.
Right now, we just finally finished up with Phase 2, and seeing as how we’re getting into the 6th month of the year, I’d really like to get those remedial literacy lessons going. As it were, Colin’s mother, Jacqueline Starr, who I had the pleasure of meeting last year in Gaborone, happens to have a background in literacy and has played an immeasurably important role in this project. She has been kind enough to guide me along the way, and I can’t imagine how directionless I would be otherwise.
Okay, so I think those were all the updates I had with regard to my service…
Some snapshots from my life outside of service:
ロ Another memorable language week; this time in Otse.
ロ Playing guitar for the South East District Youth Against HIV/AIDS Day event. My students made me feel like such a rock star with the thundering ovation they gave me. The guest speaker (a news anchor from BTV) had to concede my celebrity nearly rivaled his own, but he was perfectly charming about it.
ロ Running naked amid thunder and lightning on the saltpans of Sowa to celebrate 1-year in country.
ロ Brainstorming a new TV show situated in town hall meetings with my friend, Erica. Go ahead, be skeptical, it’s gonna be a hit! We’re dead serious about this.
ロ Going to a wedding in Molepolole in stunner jeans and leather sandals (like the ruggedly fashionable Californian that I am) with the diva fabulous Irene.
ロ Celebrating “Diez y Cinco de Mayo” at Mich’s in Kanye with comida mexicana, a palate I have for over a year been deprived of. And, yeah, we know fifteen is quince…it’s a joke…relax…
ロ Oh, almost forgot, I have a new nickname that has persisted despite my best protests: Stu-balls…thank you Erica for the neologism, and asanteni sana Tunda na Irene for making it stick…
02.21.10 holiday updates (tsetsebjwe, francistown, sowa, etsha 6, shakawe, maun, windhoek, swakopmund)
TSETSEBJWE
Took 8 of my students to Camp GLOW in Tsetsebjwe on the Tuli Block adjacent to the South African border. The bugs were insane. The showers smelled pretty terrible due to their proximity to the pit latrines. I don’t think saying they smelled like death does their pungency justice. But the kids had fun, and that made it all worth it.
We (the volunteers) decided to put together a dance number for the talent show. Our song of choice: Single Ladies by Beyoncé. We redefined awesome that night. The booty slap became very popular with the kids, an unintended consequence of our performance. To this day, my GLOW students like to end every meeting with a Single Ladies’ booty slap.
Another highlight was the campfire, during which each delegation performed a traditional song and dance from their home villages. Jill and I performed a charming little Setswana love song I wrote. Lyrics will come in a future blog update.
FRANCISTOWN/SOWA (THE “N-EAST”)
Passed through Francistown on the way up north. Stayed with my old friend, Mike. Spent a couple nights in Sowa with Erica and Jill. Single Ladies – Part II was well received.
THE OKAVANGO DELTA
Had Language Week with John, Paul and Tori at Allison’s place in Etsha 6. My God was it hot. It was great to be reunited with my bro (John), though the reunion did stir up some competition; jealous of our camaraderie, Allison and Tori decided to become “bras.” It must, however, be noted that whereas our “brohood” was established on the bond of friendship, their “brahood” was clearly reactionary.
We spent Christmas Eve on the hot and humid Okavango Delta at Heidi’s place in Shakawe. My God was it hot. The rivalry between the bros and the bras continued on throughout Christmas day. Though the bras’ attempts to outshine the bros were positively precious, the bros were the undeniable victors. Brohood can’t be learned overnight, after all. Nor can brahood.
Spent a couple nights in Maun with John at Roberta’s (or, as we call her place, “The Berta’s). Ran into some volunteers at the Old Bridge, a lodge at the riverbank with a good crowd and lively atmosphere. By a stroke of good fortune, met a nice German couple who were heading to Namibia first thing in the morning. It was decided that I would join them.
WINDHOEK/SWAKOPMUND (NAMIBIA)
Left that morning for Windhoek with Lina and Jan of Cologne. They were planning on spending New Year’s in Namibia, though they would ultimately return to Capetown, South Africa where they are studying law. The other happy beneficiaries of their kindness were Danielle and Julia, two Peace Corps volunteers who had just completed their service in northern Namibia. Having begun their well-deserved travels in Zimbabwe and Botswana, they were on their way to spend New Year’s in South Africa via Windhoek. They are at this moment on the beautiful island of Zanzibar off the East African coast, for which reason, I hate them. The four of them made such lovely company, that it seemed silly to alight in Ghanzi as I had originally intended (the plan had been for my friends who had rented cars from Gaborone to pick me up at the junction to Charleshill just south of Ghanzi). I, instead, rode with them all the way to Windhoek, where we spent the night.
That morning, I headed down to the city centre where I killed time at a café, walked around a bit, and bought a hat. My friends finally caught up with me, having spent the night in Gobabis, a town 2 hours east of Windhoek. We departed Windhoek around 10 and arrived at our final destination, Swakopmund, in the late afternoon, where I had my first glimpse of the ocean in over half a year. It was breathtaking.
The following day was spent looking for a man bag (a murse, if you will). Found one, sold to me by a beautiful Namibian girl by the name of Sharon, who, as you will learn, is my great disappointment of 2009. It was a charming affair really. We shared a few laughs, engaged in some witty banter, and ultimately exchanged numbers. She asked what I was doing that night (it was, after all, New Year’s Eve). I informed her I was having a braai (an Afrikaans word meaning barbeque) that evening with some friends, but that afterwards, anything was game, Why, do you have any suggestions? She replied, You should come to the beach; there’s a big party at Tiger Reef. I responded rather coolly, Maybe I will.
That evening we had the braai. Fast forward to two hours before midnight:
My friends and I arrived at the beach bar, Tiger Reef, which was absolutely packed with people. Sharon texted me, and long story short, we tried to find each other and failed. Sad, right? Yes. It was.
In retrospect, maybe she was just trying to sell me a bag, maybe I should have invited her to the braai, maybe I shouldn’t have tried to be too cool for school, maybe, maybe, maybe…
But, although I wish things could have gone differently, I’m not altogether disappointed. It was a fun experience to be back in the game (having conclusively ended my most serious relationship ever a mere few months before). My first half a year in Botswana was overwhelming, to say the least, during which I was stretched to my limits, emotionally, intellectually, and otherwise. That brief two-hour period before midnight, despite its admittedly disappointing outcome, was invigorating. I don’t know if I can articulate why, but maybe it’s enough to say, it made me feel strong, unafraid, and quite simply alive.
So alive, in fact, that the next week was spent sky diving, sand boarding, quad biking, speaking in German and Afrikaans, eating seafood including crustaceans (to which I had, for the past couple years , had an aversion), drinking good wine and beer, and basically being the classic world traveler. For some reason, Swakopmund loved me, and I absolutely loved Swakopmund.
12.02.09 october – november
It’s 6:42, late afternoon, the 2nd of December, and I’m in the middle of cooking dinner. I’m not quite sure how long ago my last correspondence was…early October maybe? Surely not as long ago as late September…oh, well according to the archives, indeed it was…forgive me; ke ne ke pitlagane…thata.
OCTOBER:
Visited my counterpart, Thuli, ’s hometown, Gathwane. It was small, quaint, and charming and her mom’s a sweetheart.
Climbed a mountain in Otse with Karen, Phoebe, and the Pappajohns. Wore the same shirt for three days in a row.
Gave recognition to a Form 3 student, the first recipient of the Mogobane Community Junior Secondary School’s Botho Award, an award designed to honor students exemplifying “botho.” Botho is a Setswana word that embodies all the good things one finds in a good person.
Celebrated Annie Rose’s birthday at the Grand Palm hotel in Gaborone. Had a couple bloody mary’s for breakfast. Got sunburned poolside.
Turned my pink bed sheet into a toga for the Halloween party at the Pappajohns in Otse. It was a surprisingly close match with my pink boxer briefs from H&M Chicago.
NOVEMBER:
Traveled up to Maun for a Camp GLOW facilitators meeting. It was beautiful. I came back with a little scar on my forehead from scraping the bottom of the pool. It’s really kind of cool actually.
Celebrated my birthday at the Cumberland in Lobatse with some great friends. Great chocolate cake.
Spent a week at Megan and Jonathan’s in Mochudi for language week. Second birthday celebration with ice cream and brownies. So much good food and so much euchre.
Put on an end-of-the-year program from the Form 1 and 2 students. Had them reflect on the past year and assess their changing roles at the school. Insightful.
Attended a life skills infusion workshop at the Oasis in Gaborone for a few days. For some reason, there were kittens all over the place and they were sinfully adorable.
Participated in a Secret Santa sort of thing with the school staff. I got a wall mirror.
Celebrated Thanksgiving in Mochudi. Helped make the turkey. Brined it overnight in a salt water solution with sugar, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Smeared garlic butter, rosemary, basil, and thyme underneath the skin. Smeared harissa on the skin. Wrapped it in bacon, and stuffed it with an apple, an onion, garlic, a grapefruit and an assortment of other aromatics. It was savory, succulent, and simply divine.
DECEMBER:
Leaving for Camp GLOW on Saturday.
09.29.09 gaborone, mogobane
Dumelang ditsala! Ke mo ofising ya administration ya sekolo as has become my habit 7 o’clock, every morning, Monday through Friday. I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while. I think its been well over a month now since my last correspondence.
PEACE CORPS WORKSHOP:
To recap where I last left off, ke ne ke le kwa workshopong ya Peace Corps kwa Gaborone. It was a great chance to see ditsala tsotlhe tsa me di di tswa kwa all over Botswana. I got to see the volunteers down south in Verda/Middlepits, far west in Ghanzi/D’kar, northwest in Shakawe/Etsha, up north in Maun, up way north in Kasane, northeast around Francistown, and of course everyone down here in Kweneng and the Southeast District. Don’t these places sound amazing? And what with the all the rain we’ve been experiencing, I know its only going to get more beautiful.
I saw the worst movie ever with Shelly, Mike, John, Jeff, and Luke. It was G.I. Joe, and man was it terrible. But it definitely fell in the “so bad that it’s funny” genre, and it was definitely a good time. I think Jeff liked it more than he cares to admit, but he’s a nice guy so I forgive him for his poor taste in cinema.
I learned Yooker! a card game from the Midwest played in teams. I doubt the name of the game is supposed to be capitalized, and am certain that it isn’t followed by an exclamation point, but its kind of fun that way don’t you think? It’s like Yahoo! though I must admit, I am a Googlehead. My old friends from Ntloolongwae, Mpho le Thabang were eager to teach me, and I finally caved, sat in on a game, and became quickly addicted. Because losing can be demoralizing, some teams will give themselves a name to boost morale when things are going badly. Jonathan and I, unfortunately, found ourselves in this situation. We dubbed ourselves the Liquor Jacket (no plural “s”), or LJ for short, and sure enough, we ended up winning throughout the day. On the other hand, the winning team may, in the mean spirit of competition and spite, celebrate their anticipated win when they’re “in the barnhouse” (one point away from a win) by “milking the cow,” rudely directing the milk into the other team’s faces. For those of you who are familiar with the “awkward cow” method of diffusing awkwardness, it’s exactly that. Jonathan and I tried to do a variation thereof incorporating the LJ symbol we had given ourselves (yes, we had not only a name, but a gesture), but it was unforgivably awkward and I cringe inwardly at the mere memory of it…
I just got a text from Megan correcting my spelling of Yooker! Apparently, its Euchre, which is actually even cooler than Yooker! It almost looks Greek or something.
MOGOBANE:
The Dorans and the Pappajohns visited me a couple weeks ago! They were my first visitors ever, and it was a good time. I made them brunch, which turned out alright, though they insist it was more than alright and, in fact, excellent. I think they’re just being nice. I just found out Colin, who’s working with people with disabilities, is learning American Sign Language! The ironic thing is that the very night before, I temporarily lost my hearing (I was frying rice, and when the crackling subsided, I realized I could no longer hear out of my right ear!), and upon contemplating how great a loss hearing would be for someone like myself for whom music and language are undying passions, concluded that this momentary loss of hearing (I was sure it would come back) was an opportunity to experience, even in small part, what being deaf was like. While a far cry from actually experiencing Deaf culture, the experience did provoke me to learn more about ASL and Deaf culture at large. ASL is a fascinatingly expressive language and has made me acutely aware of the incredible eloquence of nonverbal language.
A man came to Mogobane CJSS on behalf of the Ministry to discuss our opinions on inclusive learning for students with disabilities, and he said one thing that has rung in my head ever since: disability is a social construct. While I have long accepted the idea that race, gender, and even sex are social constructs, I never thought much about disability. But, here in Mogobane, whose roads are not paved but dirt, it hit me how very inaccessible this village must be for anyone with a physical disability. In America, where schools are expected to have wheelchair ramps outside every building and Braille signs labeling every room, physical disability does not imply inaccessibility to and inequality in education as much as it is implied here. It was a good discussion that we had, and I know that through impassioned people like the gentleman from Gaborone and my counterpart, Thuli, equal and accessible education for students with all forms of disabilities will be a possibility here in Botswana.
Since getting back to Mogobane, I’ve been teaching a lot. Nothing new to report. It has been up and down to be honest, but such is the ebb and flow of teaching the youth. Some days, they’re with you 100%. Other days, you wonder where their mind has run off to, and whether they like you or not.
I finally started a choir! We’ve dubbed ourselves the Mogobane Gospel Choir, though we haven’t given ourselves a symbol or gesture of some sort…the Liquor Jacket has kind of ruined that for me…
Like teaching, starting this choir has been no crystal staircase. For starters, the students are great kids, but I don’t think they’re used to approaching singing with the focus and discipline that I expected. Furthermore, for some of the songs, I have distinct parts (soprano, alto, and tenor) I want covered, but they are so accustomed to making their own harmonies, that such direction is, for them, wholly unexpected and is probably something akin to micromanagement. But, I’m accepting that my conception of my role as director of this choir must change, because the reality is that their approach to singing is a beautiful one that I celebrated when I first got here—I cannot forget that.
I had the students select the first part of our repertoire, which now includes six of their favorite songs in Setswana. I am including three American Gospel pieces I learned from Professor James Roberson at UCLA. They’re fun pieces, and I’m excited to hear what my students can do with them.
P.S. I got a cat I never told you about. She was kind of a rebound cat, after my dog died. Her name is Fiona and she ran away. But I’m okay with that, because she was mean. She hissed at me and tried to scratch me. She wasn’t very nice. She’s still my cat though. I just haven’t seen her in over a month…
"I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded..." 
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