The First of Many

So obviously I am in South Africa now and I have one word...amazing!! This is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to. The people are the best part of this experience. I love my PCT friends and I love my community. I have a host mom, Francina (38), three host sisters, Miashibe (20), Lizbeth (15), Mailous (8), and two host brothers, Komotcho (15), and Surprise (8)...yes folks...that is his name. They are wonderful. They do not speak much English, well Miashibe speaks a good amount, so verbal communication is not easy.. but we find other ways. I am uploading photos to my picture page so just click on the "Christi's Photos" link on the right hand side of my blog and you will be able to see what I have been up to. I do not have too much time left here at the internet cafe so I am really rushing to write this. I do not even know where to begin because these past thirty days have dramatically changed the way I view life and myself.
In the past 30 days, I have milked a cow, chased a rooster, took 150 photos, talked to kids in a language that I do not understand, took various walks around my community and greeted just about everyone I came into contact with. I am living a Sepedi speaking area but I am learning Zulu so I communicate mostly in greetings and other small phrases with my community. However, next month I will be moving to KZN and will be speaking Zulu and English. I live in a rural village/town called Motong, which is a part of Bakenburg. My fellow PCTs and I are the only white people in the village so we get a ton of stares, excited waves, greetings, and a million kids that follow us home just because they want to play with us. I am having a blast. I am sorry if I can only get a few pics up because this picture uploading is taking ten million years.
I am trying to read all of the e-mails I am receiving and I wish I could respond to them, but this blogging thing is making more sense now because this is only my first internet cafe trip. I promise I will try to write more next week. I just wanted all of you to know that I am alive and well and that is you have any questions please call Nida or my family because they are receiving letters from me that explain my experiences more in depth. I miss and love you all!!!

Until later..

On the Verge

After a largely successful and humorous PC two-day staging extravaganza we are about to get on our way to South Africa. I have found that the stomach is not a relatively stable organ of the body and that it seems to feel the need to change location whenever possible. I do not yet feel nervous, but know that I am, because my stomach has moved from the very bottom of my abdomen to staying in my throat for ten minutes at a time almost every hour. Or maybe it is just the absolutely delicious Indian food my roommate and I ate tonight…amazing! PC provides the volunteers with a relatively large spending allowance during staging. Maybe this is because they love us…or maybe because we might be eating some unfamiliar and perhaps less than delicious delicacies in SA. Who knows? Not me. However, I am feeling more anxious than anything else because I just want to get there and start with training and really begin the SA experience.

Being at staging is surreal. It is a sentiment that has been passed around a lot these few days. We have been waiting so long to finally get going and now the moment is finally here. It is a triumphant beginning. We waited months, some of us years, in the application process to finally step foot here…triumph. We passed the very intrusive and exhausting barrage of medical, dental, and eye tests…triumph. We wrestled with our luggage and packed and re-packed until we simply could not do it anymore….triumph. We said our tearful see-ya-laters to the friends and family that supported us enough to get us here and still managed to tear ourselves away to get on the plane…triumph. We navigated the murky waters of breaking the ice and getting to know other PC Trainees while undergoing almost 15 hours of training sessions…..triumph. We have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time and will soon conquer many more feats as the days progress.

This is it. I have waited for this and I am ready. Yesterday was tough and today was better….no, make that wonderful. I am by far the luckiest person I know to have this opportunity to serve but I am also going to miss my friends and family more than I can express. So any letters or packages would be greatly appreciated. You could be my best friend for life…well until the next letter comes from the next person and then they are my new best friend, but you can regain the BFF status by sending more packages or writing Nida and requesting such a status…you see the pattern…let’s make it happen folks. Don’t be offended when I do not respond or write back for the first few weeks. Communication back to the States is going to be difficult…at best…so I can only do so much. But I promise to keep in contact as much as I can.

On a heavier note though, if you are reading this please pray for my friend Elena and her family. They have suffered a great loss this week with the sudden death of her mother. Any and all prays will help.

Until next time…

Uhambo

Uhambo means "journey" in Zulu, and that is exactly what I am about to embark on in 3 days, 21 hours, and 48 minutes. I leave for Philly on Sunday at 9:25 a.m. and arrive around 10:30. Hopefully, I will be able to get a quick shuttle to the hotel so that I can have a few hours to myself to see the city before PC registration starts at two. After that it will be a day and a half of training before we get our vaccinations and are off to SA from NYC. We get to stop over in Frankfurt for twelve hours so hopefully I will get the chance to see some of Germany with my soon-to-be Peace Corps friends. 

Many of my friends and family members have been asking me how I have been feeling since the date is so close. My honest answer is that I really have no one word or sentence to describe exactly how it feels to be leaving everything that feels safe and everyone that I know and love to pursue a dream for two years and some change. I feel excited, anxious, happy, sad, impatient, calm, at peace, tormented, but mostly just hopeful. I have been waiting for almost a year now to actually be able to step foot on a plane and step out of my present life and into other circumstances. I am thankful for this opportunity because I know I am so blessed to be able to do this. However, that does not make it much easier to leave those that I love the most.  I have been saying a lot of "see you laters" to people these past few weeks and will continue that for a few more days before actually leaving. As hard as it will be to be away from my family and close friends, I am welcoming the challenges that I will face soon. There is much to do before I go, so I should cut this short.  

I better get back to wrestling with my suitcases. I am about to have to throw down WWF style on my bags to make all my junk fit. Hopefully I will come out on top, but I don't underestimate my suitcase...it is a worthy adversary.If you have the time, send a prayer up to the big man for me for a miracle to happen that my bags will magically expand to fit all of my stuff...no worries...que sera, sera. 

"Not all who wander are lost."

J.R.R. Tolkien

Future

So I was reading some Peace Corps blogs today, as I do everyday, when I realized this blog reading has become a dirty little secret. Whenever my roommate/best friend/soul mate/sister, Nida, leaves to go run errands or buy groceries, I stealthily tiptoe to my laptop and commence reading as many blogs as I can before she returns. As I hear her fumble for her keys in front of our apartment, I close the laptop and resume doing what I was doing before she left. She is fooled and once again I get to read to the blogs without her calling me obsessed or a dork, both of which I am. But all of that is besides the point…what I was trying to say was that I have more questions after reading the blogs than answers.

Many people I know suggest reading up on other’s experiences to prepare for mine in South Africa. And I, being a woman of a curious nature, take the advice and read up on how everyone is doing in PC SA. I am so grateful to be given this opportunity to do this, not only by the PC, but also by my circumstances. Let me elaborate. I was talking with a co-worker a few days ago who is one of my favorite co-workers and who I think is very insightful. She said that even if she wanted to do the PC, she could not. I replied that of course she could do it, she has so much of what the PC is looking for already. Then, she explained that even if she got accepted, who would pay her bills. Sure rent, food, insurance, and other expenses needed to live in Richmond would be taken care because she could not be living here and student loans can be deferred, but what about credit cards? She is not in debt because of her love for fancy appliances or because she has a fetish for expensive clothes or chocolates, because that is not the case. Instead, she has had to use the cards to pay for school, food, rent, and just daily living. She also works full time and is very frugal. However, entirely supporting oneself through school without a scholarship or help from parents has put her in a position where she cannot just up and leave like I can. Not to say that I have never had bills, I have bought a car, insurance, and the money from my parents helps a tremendous amount, but food and living expenses still cost more than I am willing to ask for.

I guess I thought that everyone who was single and without an extravagant lifestyle could follow any dream as easily as I am able to leave my home in pursuit of another. I was ignorant and now I am even more grateful for what I have been given. I have not had everything handed to me on a silver platter; I work hard, very hard. However, I have been given so much opportunity to make decisions that make me happy and allow me to pursue living the life I choose to. My parents are the ones that I am the most grateful to for this and they have inspired me do work hard to be able to do the same for my kids, if I ever have them, in the future.

With that said, I would like to address one simple question that I am getting asked a lot. When people ask me about Africa, they generally ask me what I am going to do afterwards. The question is fairly clear, but the answer is much more ambiguous. The answer is, I have no idea. I have not idea what I am going to do when I come back. Sure, I can go back to school and get a masters or go to nursing school or go to law school or get a job in psychology or work in the pharmacy or join the foreign service or do Teach for American or become a bum or get married or win the lottery or do a million other things. However, I have a general feeling that my Peace Corps service is not just a stop on the road to getting where I want to be, because I do not even know where that is yet. PC South Africa is not just “two-years off” or a vacation. I am not running away and I am not going to find myself. I know where I am, so why would I need to go looking for me? I know who I am and I know that this is not exactly who I want to be, but I am a work in progress that will not be finished until I die. I am here for now and will be some where else soon, all the time consciously aware that I am not lost. J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote that “not all who wander are lost”. Maybe PC will be two years of my life that I will extend to make a career out of. Or maybe I will return home in 27 months and join Teach for America for another 24 months and then do something different for another two years. As you can see, there is a lot of “ORs” in there. There is no need to settle.

It seems rational enough to believe that I will “settle down” eventually. Maybe I will come back to the US in 27 months and get a job and go to school and get married and have kids. Maybe I will, or maybe I won’t. The PC South Africa experience is not just two years, it will propel me to the next phase in my life rather than means I am in one place for years at a time or just months. This “lack of stability” is exactly what I need to have the courage to take risks in order to make great things happen. When good people accept the stability of their lives, they become comfortable many times to just stay there. After a while, life gets boring and repetitive. People can become disillusioned with the stability and yet they remain too comfortable to make a move. I just don’t want that and so the answer to the question is that I have no clue what I am doing when/if I return in 27 months, but I know it will be great.

Forgiveness and power

"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted." (Isaiah 43:25-26)

Something to think about...

Distracted...

Ahh! How in the world am I supposed to get any work done with this picture on my desktop!?! Apparently, this is Mokopane. For what I understand, this is where I will be in less than two months and the suspense is killing me. I am at the library and it is 5:59am. I have been here since 5 working on my Urban Sociology final paper. Graduation is on Saturday and a ton of family is coming down to celebrate the holidays and graduation. It should be fun. Well back to work...this paper is due in less than 12 hours. Could this exam week be any more stressful?

Uyaphi?

Uyaphi means "where are you going?" in Zulu. As time is ticking towards departure, I am increasingly being asked by friends, family, acquaintances, etc, where exactly I am going. In the spirit of full disclosure and to make it easier for everyone (myself included) to understand exactly where it is I am going I have included the following breakdown of it...

Map of Africa: South Africa is at the very bottom of Africa....it is bordered by Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, and Swaziland. South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho. South Africa is about twice the size of Texas.





On the right, there is a map of South Africa alone. Limpopo, the place where the SA17 (my group) is rumored to be having training and permanent site placements, it at the top right-hand side. Kruger National Park is home to some really amazing animals, such as elephants and cheetahs, which can be viewed in a very natural environment...much more spectacular than the DC Zoo.

On the left is the Limpopo province. Mokopane, the location for where SA17 is supposedly going to train, is towards the center and bottom of the map. The temperature is supposed to be very very hot when we get there. I am using the words "supposedly" and "rumored" because I am not sure if this is exactly where we are going. I will not find out for another month or so. It is just hearsay from current SA16 volunteers.

The Peace Corps address where mail can be sent to me at any time, especially, before I have a permanent address is...

Christi Gibson, PCV
Peace Corps
P.O.Box 9536
Pretoria 0001
South Africa

As you can imagine...I am very excited! The countdown is on and there are only 64 more days left until staging and 67 until arrival in South Africa. It is funny how quickly word spreads around the VCU campus about anything unusual. Apparently graduating college early to move to a first/third world country and live on a volunteers salary in a land where you do not speak the language(s), have never tried the food, and are completely oblivious to the cultural norms and values, is unusual. I guess it has never really sounded the crazy to me...well, yet. The point is word has traveled fast and I am getting a lot of questions about why I am going, where I am going, who I am going with, when I am going, and what I am going to be doing there. Once I answer these questions, I get the same three responses just about every time. The first response, which is the one I get the most, goes something like this...

Person:"So are you going to have to like live in a hut."
Me:"Perhaps. It could be nice."
Person: "Well there are going to be bugs and outdoor toilets and not air conditioning."
Me:"Perhaps. It will be an experience, I am sure."
Person: (Face is pulled back into an awkward, forced smile with eyebrows raised and eye wide open.) "Well good luck to you. I could never do something like that.'

The second conversation, which is also the least numerous type, goes a little like this...

Person: "Africa, huh?"
Me: "Yep, South Africa. I am excited."
Person: "Wow, the Peace Corps. Good for you! You are gonna have a great experience."
Me: " Thank you. I hope so."

The third one, which I hear fairly often (generally from the older population), goes something like this...

Person: "Well what do you parents think about it."
Me: "They support me.They are going to miss me, but they want me to follow my dreams."
Person: "Well, it is dangerous over there."
Me: "Yes, there are dangers. There are also dangers here too."
Person: "You said you might be living alone."
Me: "Most likely, I will be with a family, but living alone is a possibility."
Person: "But you are a female....(sigh)"
Me: "I am aware of this, yes. I will try my best to be conscientious of my safety at all times."
Person: "Well, there are so many people here in America that need help. Help them first and then do what you feel like you want to do overseas."
Me: "Yes, there are many people here who need help, I do not deny that. However, this is just something I am called to do."
Person: "Well, if I was you parents I would not let you go."
Me: "Okay, well this was fun. Nice talking to you."

Those are the basic conversations I have had so far with almost anyone who has asked me. There have been a ton of people, mostly family and close friends, who have been incredibly supportive of this dream. Then there are the few indifferent people who are making polite conversation. However, there are always those few that feel the need to let me know that they believe I am making a big mistake and that I ought to stay here. I do not like to argue with these people because I am just wasting my breathe, just as they are wasting theirs. I have but one thing to say though...I am preparing to so some great things. I am preparing to meet some amazing people and work for a cause that I really believe in. I am preparing my mind, my body, and my spirit to be transformed entirely by this experience. I am preparing to have my world rocked, shaken, stirred, and turned upside down in order for me to gain a new perspective on life. So, please, bring on the criticism. The criticism and lack of support do not make me doubt my choice, rather, they make me more resolute. The criticism is preparing me for the much larger challenges I will soon face. So bring on the rain. It helps. And to those who continue to support this dream, I am so innumerably and unequivocally grateful for you. I hope that I am able to challenge and support you in reaching beyond what you think you can do while you strive to live the life you love.

On a less serious note....I bought Christmas gifts today...good ole' Black Friday. If anyone has a request...they had better get it in soon because I am wrapping gifts soon and not becoming a slave to holiday to-do lists that many people seem to have. This is my last Christmas in America for a few years and I plan to enjoy it...so get those orders in ladies and gents.