6 Months in Botswana

Today marked 6 months of being in Botswana. On April 12th, 2010 I landed in Gaborone. In many ways it doesn't seem possible that I have been here that long and then in other ways it seems like I have been here longer. They say the first 6 months are the hardest part of your service and that it only gets better in time. I can see now why that is true. Since I have been here it has been a whirlwind and roller coaster of emotions. I love roller coasters but this one has been one I haven't always enjoyed being on. If the hardest part is behind me hopefully that means my train has climbed up the biggest part and I am now on the downward slope with full speed and momentum. Yes there will more bumps along the ride but hopefully they won't be as big as this first hill.

As I look back on my time here so far I can already see change in myself and isn't that partly why I decided to go on this journey? Even though there are still days where I hit a low there are many more where this feels right. Last Friday I went to the Prize Giving Day Ceremony at the Primary School. It was a lot like the one I went to a few weeks ago at the Jr. Secondary School. After I was fed lunch and started on my way home I heard someone call out "Refilwe." I turned to find my landlord's granddaughter peaking out from the fallen down tree behind me. I decided to go over and talk with her and her friends. I gave her my VIP card that was given to me during the ceremony, since I was one of the guests for the day. Her face just lit up so bright from a little piece of paper with some flowers on it. It reminded me of how much we take for granted the little things in life. She didn't receive any prizes during the ceremony because she didn't have the highest grades in her classes, but that little piece of paper I gave her probably meant more to her than any of the prizes that were given out at the ceremony. After a little bit the group of us walked home. Once I got home I changed and heard some noises coming from my front ledge. I went outside to find a whole group of kids sitting outside my house waiting for me to come outside. For the next hour or so I showed them how to throw a Frisbee. Afterwards Kenilwe asked me to teach her some English and she would teach me Setswana. I told her we could do that on Monday afternoon. Monday afternoon came around and once again she and I were sitting on the ledge under my window trying to teach each other languages we don't really understand. She is in form 2 (so the same as a 2nd grader) so her English is not all that great, which makes it difficult for her to teach me Setswana. It was fun spending time with her though. During those moments I felt like I was supposed to be here. I decided that I will need to find someone different to teach me Setswana, but I could probably still teach her English and will try to meet with her at least once a week. These are the types of things I pictured I would be doing as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I don't think anything could have prepared me for what I have experienced so far during my service. That is not to say it is a bad thing. Botswana and being a Peace Corps Volunteer is just very different than what I had thought before coming here. As time moves on I am noticing that I am being able to adapt to the changes or differences better than when I first arrived. I have made some friends in the community, I am starting projects (slowly but surely), I have a new family of support from the volunteers here in country that I can lean on when things get hard, and I have even gotten to travel a little bit around the country and see and experience things I never imagined I would had you asked me year or so ago. As I become more integrated into my community I am starting to scrape away the layers and see that there really is a need for me to be here.

I want to once again thank everyone back at home for all the support and words of encouragement you have given me. During the hardest times it's good to know people at home are thinking about me. The letters and packages are always lights in my darker days and I know I will continue to need and want that support throughout the rest of my service. As hard as these past 6 months have been, it makes me excited to see what the next 6 month will hold.