Hello everyone!
I don’t have a lot to report as far as my daily activities
are concerned lately. I recently returned to site from a 10 day Peace Corps training,
and now school is wrapping up for the year and the teachers and students are
busy with exams. This leaves me hanging out in the staff room, chatting with
teachers and distracting them from their grading, or sitting at home collecting
more litchis and mangoes and guavas than I could possible ever consume from the
neighborhood kids and my incredibly generous Gogo.
Our training was a long, busy ten days of siSwati language
sessions and other information about how to properly report our work to our
sponsors, a few more cultural lessons, an NGO fair where we were able to make
some contacts with other organizations working in our communities, and lots of
time to reconnect with my fellow G12 volunteers after two months apart.
On the last day of training we held elections for different
clubs and committees that exist within Peace Corps Swaziland and help make it
work. I was elected to be one of three co-directors for the GLOW program. Girls
Leading Our World is a global Peace Corps project where volunteers partner with
local women to start clubs for young girls (ages 9-19). These clubs are
designed to improve self-esteem, teach leadership skills, sexual reproductive
health lessons, and empower girls to make positive choices for their lives.
They are also a lot of fun! Each year PC Swaziland puts on a GLOW Camp, where
the club leaders and few select girls from each club (who must apply and/or be
recommended by their club leader) are able to attend a 5 day intensive workshop
with other GLOW girls from all over the country. Food, lodging, and programming
costs are fully covered, and aside from being a transformative experience, it
is a real treat for the girls, too. This year, the GLOW team is trying to put
on two camps! One will be aimed at the younger girls and one for the older
girls. Because this is a huge undertaking, we are in major need of some assistance
from home. I’m attaching the link with more information about GLOW in Swazliand
and the opportunity to donate and help make GLOW camp happen this year! I am
just starting to get involved with the program, and will be attending the camp
this year mostly to observe and begin planning for next year…when I’ll be
helping to run it! I’ll be absent from holiday gatherings back at home this
year, and I would greatly appreciate a donation to GLOW in place of Christmas
and birthday gifts. These girls need GLOW and I really want the camps to be
successful! Donations are tax deductible and are needed like, nownow. This
project is really close to my heart, and I truly hope you’ll consider contributing,
or at least pass the word on to others!
Since then I’ve been spending a lot of time at home,
recovering from the overload of social interaction. I had gotten so used to
minimal conversation and the slow pace of life that I’ve come to enjoy at site,
so training was a shock to my system. In a good way. The rains have finally
come! Everything is turning green and the fruits are ripening! This week we’ve
been experiencing daily lightning storms. I’m beginning to get used to the hours
and hours of constant thunder! Times are going to be pretty slow here until the
new school year starts in January. This term wraps up at the end of November,
and then everyone is on break! This means I won’t be getting much work done,
but it also means I’ll finally be able to do some exploring around Swaziland.
Thanksgiving Day marks the end of our integration period and the end of our
strict travel restrictions! I’m really excited to go visit some other
volunteers at their sites and maybe do some of the touristy things we’ve heard
about since we’ve been in country.
My mom sent me a Halloween care package with entirely too
much candy inside, and the neighborhood kids have taken notice. They found out
I like mangoes, so they all take turns using the big stick to knock them out of
the trees for and bring them to me. Yesterday, each of these boys came to my
door, one by one, bearing a mango and saying, “I am asking for chocolate”. It
was too adorable. The only problem is at this point, I have a giant stockpile
of fruit and my candy stash is frighteningly low.
I’ve been really bad about taking pictures lately, I’ll try
to get better! The phone I’m using doesn’t have the best camera, I never
realized how much I used my phone camera at home, or how good it was! If I’m
not able to post again before Thanksgiving, I hope you all have wonderful long
weekends filled with plenty of family, too much food, and just enough wine! :)
