Surprise

Earlier this week I went and checked my mail box to find this:

Christmas Cards from my Aunt Vickie's 2nd Grade Class

I have been corresponding with my Aunt Vickie's 2nd grade class this past school year, so these were a nice surprise! Guess I will have to leave my Christmas Decorations up a little longer so I can enjoy them :) Thanks for the Cards!

Holidays

Sorry for being a little MIA it's been a crazy past few weeks. I spent the holidays traveling with other volunteers and even got to experience a new holiday, Hanukkah!

For Christmas I went down to Lobatse, which used to be the capital of Botswana. It's a small town, set in the hills and reminded me a lot of home. The most Christmasy things we did was listen to Christmas music and sip hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows. I also got to skype with my family on Christmas Day. Since I was in a bigger village I was actually able to get some clear video for once. It was nice to see all their faces. I am happy that next year I will get to spend Christmas with them!

After Christmas I headed over to Kumakwane to celebrate Hanukkah. It was neat to learn about the Jewish traditions and eat some of the food that goes along with the celebration. 

lighting the menorah

yummy food!

 I then headed down to Cape Town with a large group of volunteers. It was great to get out of Botswana and be back in a metropolis. Cape Town is know as the "New York of South Africa" and it definitely deserves that name. It was nice to be back in a big city, complete with great food, buildings taller than a few levels, lots of things to do, and a huge night life. I spent the week eating everything from McDonalds to Sushi to Mexican to Ethiopian food, and it was glorious! I have not regrets in how much I indulged my palate in the wondrous variety of flavors these foods brought. I also got to go on a wine tour through the Stellenbosch Vineyards and enjoy some fine wine and cheese. OHHH the CHEESE!!! I spent a day relaxing on  a beach and even got into the frigid water in Camps Bay, just to say I did swim in the ocean. I went out and stayed out past my normal bed time (10pm). This was a nice relief. I rarely get to go out to the bars like I used to pre-Peace Corps Service, because a young single woman at a bar in Machaneng (or most of Botswana besides GABS) just spells all kinds of chastising and trouble. I got to see some African penguins which were soo cute!  I also got my thrill junkie fix by going shark cage diving!  Although there was no ball drop on New Years Eve, we were able to bring in 2012 at a ministry of sound electronic music festival and danced in the New Year until the sun came up! I am also pleased to say that my first meal of 2012 was in fact McDonalds! I'm Lovin It! I had a wonderful time on this trip and would love to go back to do some of the things I didn't get to. That will probably have to wait until I am a real person, with a real job, and a real salary, and making real money. Haha!

mmm Sushi! Don't worry I didn't eat all of this myself, I split it with another volunteer.

apple pies!!

getting ready to jump in the cage!

dahda, dahda, dahda, dahdadahdadahdadahda (jaws song)

yep I was in that cage!

wine country!

one of the many tasty wines I got to try

Ethiopian food! One of my new favs

all ready for NYE!

Dance Party Time!

Camps Bay = Really crowded + freezing cold water. But I still got in!

On the water front

View from the Cape Town Castle

It's always hard to come back to the village after a trip. Coming back means going back to work and dealing with the frustrations of daily village life. It's been super hot these past few days and I have found myself longing for the nice air conditioned rooms and stores, and the ocean breeze Cape Town provided.  Coming back also means I am that much closer to being done! Not that this experience hasn't been great, it's just nice to have the end so near in sight. It's crazy to think just 2 years ago I was still waiting on an invite from Peace Corps and now I am almost done! But it is good to be back "home". As great as Cape Town was it was also very tiring! I was exhausted by the time I got back and felt like I was hit by a train or something. Don't know how I am going to survive the go, go, go of the American lifestyle when I am back in the States.

In this 2012 year I didn't really set any resolutions, just some goals for the rest of my service. I hope to finish up my service strong feeling fulfilled and with a job well done. I want keep focused on the here and now and keep in mind what my original goals were when I first joined Peace Corps, and hope to stay true to those over the next 5 months. 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Actually it's not really…mostly because there isn't snow on the ground and it's about 78 degrees outside with no chance of it getting any colder.  So no White Christmas again for me. It also doesn't really feel like Christmas because Batswana just don't celebrate it like we Americans do. Their traditions for Christmas mostly revolve around going to Church or getting together with the family to eat a lot of food and drink. They don't give gifts to each other and they don't decorate. It was actually really funny when I tried to explain to some of the nurses who Santa Claus was. They had never heard of him before and were looking at me like I was crazy when I told them that in America most kids believe Santa Claus brings them gifts for Christmas if they have been good throughout the year. I stopped there because I figured telling them about Rudolph, the elves who make the toys, and the North Pole was too much craziness for them to handle. Although when I told them that the belief in Santa Claus stems from St. Nicolas they were a little more understanding.

Just like last year, it's hard to be away from the family during the holidays. I miss all of my family traditions and I get a little homesick. I am planning on getting together with some other volunteers for Christmas so hopefully that will keep me from getting too sad that I am not with my family.

I have done a few things to try to get myself into the Christmas spirit though. A few weeks ago I put up some decorations around my house and have been watching different Christmas movies.

Stocking that was sent to me last year by my friend Lindsay. 

Left over by the previous Volunteer

During the Christmas Season my Mom bakes a huge assortment of delicious cookies. I was missing that a little bit so earlier this week I made some brownies and put Christmas M&Ms in them that my Aunt Jana had sent me. Although it's not the same as making cookies with my Mom, they definitely turned out tasting pretty good!

mmmmm nom nom nom

To spread some Christmas Cheer I gave some candy canes to the family on my compound and to all the clinic staff members. They all really enjoyed this. 

Every year us "kids" and the pets take a picture in front of the tree. Last year my family improvised so that they could include me.

This year I decided I would take my own picture in front of my little tree with Dijo.

He wouldn't look and the camera :(

Kisses for Dijo :)

A few weeks ago I was talking to my counterpart, Interview (that's his name hehe), and he was talking about this candy he had tried from America that was really good. He couldn't remember the name and from his description I really couldn't understand what he was talking about. Later that day he remembered that it was a "Butterfinger"! In the Christmas package I had received from my family my Mom had put some fun size candy bars in it. When I saw there were some butterfingers, I immediately decided I had to wrap one up and give it to Interview for Christmas! Since Batswana don't really give gifts Interview was very thankful and excited to get something, even if it was something small. That is one thing that is nice about how Batswana celebrate Christmas. Because there isn't as much of a focus on the gift giving and trees and decorations, it reminds me to focus more on what Christmas is really about. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays for those who don't celebrate Christmas) and maybe we can all learn a little bit from the citizens of Botswana and step back from all the craziness of the presents and decorations and remember what Christmas is truly all about!

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them. "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord…."

Luke 2:9-11 NIV