Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I spent most of January in in Gabarone, Botswana (the capital city), attending In-Service Training (or IST). IST is an intensive training after volunteers complete our Community Assessment period. The Community Assessment period (in colloquial terms for us PCVs, it is referred to as “lockdown”) is the first two-and-a-half months when volunteers are at sites, and they compete a report about the community, and what needs the PCV finds in the community. During IST we were trained on various tools to implement in our communities, such as Grassroots Soccer, STEPS films, and more. I will dedicate future blog posts to explaining these types of tools and how they benefit the community I am working in.

IST, just like Shadowing during PST, was a wonderful break from site.  It was the first time I had seen all 56 of my fellow PCVs since our swearing-in ceremony in October. It was so great to talk to my friends about their sites, the hardships they had faced, and the friends they had made. In addition to seeing my friends, a wonderful bonus was the amenities: our room had air conditioning, a shower (no bucket baths! No having to heat up water to bathe!), a pool, and catered food. It was a great break.

One of the best parts was exploring Gabarone. And by exploring, I mean going to the malls! Walking through the malls felt very weird. And normal. I went into a bookstore, a store called Hi-Fi (akin to a Best Buy), and found Nutella and gluten free pasta. There was even a movie theater! 

However, even at the hotel we were staying in, I couldn’t forget I was in Botswana. On night two, the AC broke in our hotel room and we had to open the windows to let cool air in. While my roommate was opening the curtains to get to the windows, a cockroach fell from the curtains. We then spent a few minutes trying to catch the roach as it scurried about our room. Once we opened the window, mosquitoes flew in, and kept us up the rest of the night. The next night, I killed a cockroach in our tub. Because it was late, I didn’t move it out of the tub. The next morning, our bathroom was swarmed with ants carrying off pieces of the cockroach. It was gross.

For the most part, IST was a welcome relief from village life. Here are a few things I didn’t miss about village life:

·     Chasing chickens out of my house.

·   The rain falling on my tin roof as I try to fall asleep (it sounds like the sky is falling when it rains, it is so loud!).

·     There were about 5 dead cockroaches on my floor when I came home.

·      Sand – it gets everywhere!

·   Lack of running water. Last night, after making a dinner of canned chicken and gluten free crackers (courtesy of my aunt – thanks!) I put the dishes in my sink to do in the morning. Well, the next morning the water went off. Having to boil water before doing dishes is really tedious.

·      The birds on my roof.

·      How hot it is!

While I enjoyed IST, I am very glad to be back in my Sefhare. I have many ideas of projects I want to implement in my village, and now, I finally can!